Author's Note: I don't own Final Fantasy VIII. This is my first fanfic to be putting on so please be nice. Read and review.

The young boy's name was Squall Leonhart Loire. He was a very bright but quiet ten-year-old boy. He was at the top of his grade and was liked by everyone, even though he hardly said a word. He loved to smile though. Whenever someone would say hello to him, he would smile shyly and hide his face in his mother's skirt. His father, Laguna Loire would laugh and say hello for him.
His mother, Raine Leonhart Loire was born in the little town called Winhill. It was sunny and warm town. There wasn't very much publicity there except they have the most beautiful flowers in the world. Raine was the daughter of the Mayor, Clark Leonhart. She not only owned the pub, but she owned the most successful flower shop. She would sell her flowers to all over the world.
Her older sister, River Leonhart married a scientist named Garrett and they had their daughter, Ellone. The three lived next to Raine. Then a handsome stranger by the name of Laguna Loire waltzed into town doing an article on Winhill's greatest festivity, The Spring Fling Festival, where they celebrated the day Winhill was founded. A man called Marius Winhill built it in the spring. He was a great but mysterious man until he died mysteriously. When Laguna first met Raine, they hit it off very well. They started off as friends, which soon turned into a romantic relationship. When Raine ended up pregnant with Laguna's baby, they married. And thus, their son was born.

They lived happily together with River and Garret next door. Squall would always play with Ellone. They were fast friends and they always looked after one another. No one ever saw them not together. Then a strange new man arrived in town, living in the mansion not far from the flower shop. No one knew anything about him or hardly ever seen him. He never really came out of his house. And then, River and Garrett died. Only did the man come out his house.

It was a very dark and cloudy day. The wind was unbelievable. It was blowing up some of the flowers and people were starting to worry about the fields. Shutters were banging against the windows and the sides of the houses. Thunder and lightning were practically tearing at each other in the sky. The sun couldn't shine through the thick clouds.
Business was slow that day for Raine. Not many people were wandering the streets because of the storm. In fact, if anyone were smart, they wouldn't. Raine was making supper for the children; her eyes were still red from crying since the death of her sister and brother in law from three days before. Laguna was writing in his notebook, as always. Squall and Ellone were playing together in the foyer. They were trying to ignore the sounds of the storm.

Suddenly the door opened and in walked the most unlikely person. Squall knew right away that the man was different when he had first seen him. There was just that strange feeling about him. And Ellone didn't like it.

The man was tall and fair looking. He was about Laguna's age, close to his thirties. He wore black cloths with a black cloth trench coat. A wide brimmed hat was on his head protecting him from the rain and wind. The collar of his coat was pulled up shielding his neck and face. He had slightly pale skin, looking like he hadn't seen the sun for a few months now. His fair, dark brown hair was pulled back into a small ponytail. He looked almost aristocratic. And his eyes were a pale dying blue color.

When he had entered the pub, the first thing he did was look right at Squall. A ghost of a smile printed on his face. The man stood at the door brushing drops of rain off his coat before he smiled towards Raine and Laguna, who were both watching him. He gave them a nod of a greeting.

"Hello. Nice day, huh?" He asked with a tease in his voice.

Raine and Laguna both cracked smiles and nodded. "Very nice indeed. What can we do for you, stranger?" He asked closing his notebook and standing.

The man took off his hat and shook the drops of rain off. "Actually, I'm Marius. I'm the new neighbor that no one has seen yet."

Interest sparked up in Laguna's eyes as he stood. "Ah, so you're the one who everyone has been telling rumors about. You've been living in Winhill for about a month now yet you haven't ever came out of your home."

Marius nodded. "That'd be me, sir."

Raine tilted her head to the side, looking curious indeed. "What brings you out of your home on day like this, may I ask?"

Marius nodded. "Actually I heard about your sister and her husband. I came to pay my respects to you, Miss Leonhart. I knew her at one time." He said. Raine shook her head. "It's actually Mrs. Loire now." She looked to Laguna. "I have been married for about ten years now. This is my husband, Laguna." She said placing her hand gently on Laguna's arm. Marius nodded. "Ah, yes. I have forgotten. Forgive me."

Laguna just shrugged off the apology. "Don't worry about it. We thank you for your care and consideration though."

Marius just smiled before looking at Squall and Ellone. "My, such charming children. Do they belong to you?" He asked looking back at the two parents. Raine smiled and nodded. "Yes. That's our son, Squall and our niece, Ellone." She spoke. Marius smiled at the two children before bending down in front of them. Ellone frowned and backed away from him. She didn't like him at all. She even pulled Squall back too, who looked at her in confusion. Marius laughed. "Quite the shy one, isn't she?"

Ellone narrowed her eyes a little at him and her frown deepened. "She's not really the shy one. Squall is. Ellone is the outgoing one or at least she usually is." Laguna said before looking at his little niece. "Elle, be nice and say hello to Mr. Marius." He told her.

Ellone looked up at him as if asking, 'Do I have to?' and Raine scowled at her as she placed her hands on her hips. "Go on, Ellone. Say hello." She told her. Ellone looked back at Marius before lowering her head in defeat. "Hello, sir." She muttered. Marius just smirked. "Hello, Ellone." He turned his eyes onto Squall who stared back with bright and curious eyes. "Hello, young Squall." He said gently. The ten year old nodded back. "Hi."

Marius just smiled a ghost of a smile. His dying blue eyes said one thing that only Ellone could read. They were saying, 'You're mine.'

As the days turned into weeks, Squall was growing quite nicely. He was becoming very strong and fast for a boy his age. He had an interest in Marius. Every time he saw him, which was mostly after the sun had set, he couldn't help but smile. He liked him for some reason. The man was very friendly to him. Ellone however would glare. She had told Squall many times to stay away from Marius. She told him that Marius was a bad man and he was just playing everyone as fools. Raine would scold her when she heard such things. And when Ellone would turn to Laguna, he just shook his head. "That's not very nice to say such things, Elle. You should know better." He told her gently.
Ellone sighed and would stomp up to her room. Squall ignored his cousin. He liked watching Marius whenever he saw the man taking a walk in the moonlight.

It was only after the weeks turned into months then did Raine grow ill. She was had woke up one early Sunday morning to get every thing started but was very weak in doing so. She was very pale and looked like she was catching a fever. She had tried to do her morning chores but it was very difficult on her. She even tried to keep her illness from Laguna and the kids.

However, Laguna was not as dense as everyone believed him to be. He noticed that she was very ill. He put her right back into bed the very minute he noticed. She hadn't gone without an argument though. She and Laguna argued about her health and yet he won. He had refused to let her out of bed until she was well again. Which never happened. She just got sicker and sicker. The sicker she became, the more devastated Laguna and the kids became. Raine was not getting any better than they had hoped.

Then, Raine died.

Everyone in Winhill was devastated. They had lost someone so dear. No one knew what the cause was for Raine's death. Only that when the doctors studied her, they found that she had blood loss. Some how she lost so much blood without actually bleeding. No one could explain it.
Laguna, however, grew angry. He didn't say anything to anyone about why he was angry but he did leave for a while. He left Squall and Ellone in their grandfather's care while he was away in Deling City. He would call the kids every night though to tell them that he would be home very soon. He just didn't know how soon.

While in the care of their grandfather, Ellone grew a little nasty towards Marius. She said some very vile things about him that Squall didn't understand. No one really did. When Marius came over to pay his respects for Raine, Ellone shouted at him and told him to go away. She even had the nerve to call him a vampire right into his face. That would only get her into trouble.

"Ellone, you better watch your tone, young lady! You are being very rude to our guest and I will not tolerate it!" Grandfather Leonhart scolded her.

Ellone stomped her foot. "He is too a vampire! He's nothing but a blood-sucking monster! He killed mom and dad! He killed Aunt Raine! He's going to kill us too if we don't stop him!" She exclaimed.

Squall just watched her, stunned. He couldn't believe she was acting like this. Grandpa Leonhart however gave her a very dark look. "Ellone Marie! You better go to your room now. I will not hear such vile things. Marius is a very kind man and he is not a vampire. I think you need a little time out. So go to your room!" He told her pointing at the door.

Ellone sniffed as she glared at her grandfather before stomping up the stairs. The only one she complained to was either Squall or Laguna when he called. He usually just listened silently before trying to calm her down when she grew out of control of her emotions.

Squall, however, was not helping the situation. He found a new way of teasing his cousin and it only aggravated her. He would pull a bed sheet around his shoulders and run around Ellone while she was yelling at him.

"Mwahahahaha! I'm here to suck your blood!" He said laughing.

Ellone gave him a dark look. "Knock it off, Squall! You're not a vampire! Marius is!" She said. Squall peeled back his upper lip and gave a hiss. "I'm a vampire, Ellone! I'm here to drink you blood!" Then he laughed again. Ellone stomped a foot and started yelling at him. "Be careful of what you say, Squall! It might just come true!"

Squall just folded his arms and smirked at her. "I hope it does. I think being a vampire would be cool!"

Ellone gave him a loathing look. "Squall Leonhart Loire, someday you're going to be so sorry that you said that." She turned and stomped away. Squall just hmphed. "I will not!" he called after her.

He teased her a lot about it now. Even others teased Ellone. They would laugh and say, "Ellone is our precious vampire expert." It only made her madder.

Marius even found the time to tease her too when he went over to visit with the mayor. He would smirked at her while she was glaring. "Don't worry, lil' Ellone. I don't bite." He paused smirking even more. "Hard anyway." Ellone gave him the darkest look before storming out of the room.

When Laguna came home for a short while, she cried to him about how everyone was teasing her. He held her close and tried to calm her down. "Ah, Ellone. They're just doing it because they know it gets to you. You should try to ignore them." He told her. Ellone sniffed as she continued to cry. "But no one believes me! Marius is a vampire! I swear he is!" She cried. Laguna was quiet for a minute before he wiped her tears away. "Ellone, if he really is a vampire, I will take care of it, okay? But no more talking about it. Don't tell anyone that Marius is a vampire anymore, all right?"

Ellone sighed and nodded. "Fine. I won't say anything anymore."

Laguna smiled at her, before patting her on the head. "Don't worry, Lil' Elle. No vampires are going to get you or Squall. I promise." He said. Ellone smiled up at him and nodded.

Then while Laguna was gone again on business, things really got ugly. Grandfather Leonhart had invited Marius over for dinner and he had brought red drinks over to drink for the children. Ellone really freaked that night. Marius and Grandfather Leonhart were having such a pleasant talk together and Ellone was eyeing the red drinks with disgust. She didn't want any of it. She didn't even want Squall to have any of it.

"Hey, Marius. Can I have some?" Squall asked.

Everyone looked at him and Marius smiled. "Why sure, Squall." he said and poured some into a glass. He handed it to Squall.

Ellone stood up quickly and knocked it out of her little cousin's hands. "Don't drink it, Squall! It's blood!" She gasped.

Everyone had to jump away from the table to avoid the red liquid. "Ellone! What is the matter with you! It's only fruit punch!" Grandfather Leonhart exclaimed as he and Marius began mopping up the liquid. Squall was glaring at Ellone. Ellone ignored him. "It's not! It's blood!" She said. Grandfather Leonhart huffed angrily. "That is it, young lady! I have had it up to here of this vampire nonsense! There are no such things as vampires! Go to your room!" He demanded. Angry tears filled in Ellone's eyes as she glared hatefully at Marius, who was looking at her darkly.

"Marius, I am so sorry for Ellone. She is only a child and doesn't understand anything." Grandfather Leonhart said.

Marius shook his head. "Don't fret, Mr. Leonhart. I understand. I'm actually used to this. I do night shifts at the Hospital so I intend to sleep during the day."

Ellone just looked at him disbelievingly. Grandfather Leonhart gave her a look. "Ellone! I told you to go to your room! Now go!" He barked pointing to the stairs. Ellone sniffed heavily before she turned and stormed towards the stairs.

Squall glared after her. He was extremely angry with her for soiling his drink that he had wanted to taste. So out of spite, he made the biggest mistake he would ever make. He turned to Marius. "Hey, Marius. Will you make me into a vampire? I want to be one too!"

Ellone spun around with a shocked look on her pale face. Her heart felt like it nearly leaped up into her throat.

Something had flared up in Marius's eyes though. He looked extremely interested. His dark eyes turned right over to Ellone, who turned a dark look onto him. He smirked at her before nodding. "Do you really mean that, Squall? Because if you don't, you should not ask. Making this choice is a last decision one. You can not change your mind once you've asked." He said in a joking way.

Squall just laughed, shooting his cousin a look. "Yeah! I want to be a vampire!"

Ellone looked at him with tear-filled eyes. Her face was full horror and sadness. Marius just winked at Squall. "Very well, Squall. I will turn you into a vampire. But let us wait for a few years. Maybe until you're of age. You don't want to be a child forever, now do you?" He asked. He and Squall just laughed while Ellone scowled with tears running down her cheeks. She turned and ran up the stairs, crying horribly.

That night, while Squall was asleep, Ellone snuck out of bed and went over to the phone in the corner. She knew her Grandparents were asleep, which was a relief. She had cried well into the night but now it was time to not cry. She had to make a call. Quietly, she crept to the phone in the corner and began to dial the number. After a few rings, someone answered.

"Hello?" Laguna's tired voice came.

Ellone felt tears stinging her eyes. "Uncle Laguna, it's me."

"Huh? Ellone? What are you doing calling me so early in the morning? What time is it?" There was a pause then a yelp. "My goodness, child! It's 2:20 in the morning!" He gasped.

Ellone sniffed. "Uncle Laguna, we have trouble. I think Squall is in trouble."

"What?! What do you mean?! What's wrong, Elle? What happened? Is Squall hurt?"

Ellone shook her head. "No. B-but...he's done something very stupid. He's asked Marius to make him into a vampire! You've got to come home!"

There was a very long pause. "You called me about Marius being a vampire again?" Laguna sounded a little irritated and angry now. But there was still softness and concern in his voice.

Ellone sniffed. "I'm sorry, Uncle Laguna! But I'm just so scared! Marius is going to hurt Squall!" She cried softly. Another long pause.

"Ellone, it's too early to talk about this. Just don't worry about Marius right now. When I come home, I will talk to him about him teasing you, all right?" Laguna asked.

Ellone shook her head. "But...!"

"Elle, just trust me on this, okay? I will put an end at this when I get home. I promise. You know I never break my promises."

Ellone then nodded. "Okay." And the conversation ended there.

Things really quieted down when Laguna had gotten home. He had gone to speak to Marius about the problem and apparently it worked. Because Marius never really came over to the house anymore. He was hardly ever seen by anyone. And Squall blamed Ellone. He was so annoyed with her now that he couldn't speak to Marius anymore. He became very quiet and anti-social. Ellone tried to talk to him about Marius being a vampire and he ignored her. They hardly ever talked anymore unless they really had too.
And Laguna only went away once a month to Deling City but came back within days. He didn't want to leave the children by theirselves for very long.

A few years had passed and there was rumors that Marius was still in Winhill, though he rarely shown himself to anyone. Squall was growing quite nicely. He was 18 years old in no time.

And now that he was of age, Laguna decided to give him something that had belonged to him. He believed it was time to hand it down to his son. It was a silver ring with a lion carving in it.

"It had a name once. But I'm afraid I have forgotten it." Laguna told him as they sat down together. "You can call it whatever you want now that it's yours. It once belonged to your great, great, great grandfather. But as years went by, it was passed down to generation to generation. And now it's yours, son."

Squall smiled at him. "Thanks, dad." He said. Laguna patted his son's shoulder before standing.

Things between Squall and Ellone were still very tense. They hardly spoke to one another, speaking to each other when it was really necessary. Ellone was suspicious all the time. She acted like there was something evil around. She was even very protective of her younger cousin. And it really annoyed Squall. He would try to sneak out without her knowing, because she always asked him where he was going. And it was during the summer when things really changed for him.