Chapter One
The Beginning of the End

Her gown was deep purple tonight; ankle-length and flowing. But it still made him think of the night, nearly a year ago, when a doe-eyed girl dressed in a short white dress had asked him to dance.

It was funny, the difference eleven months could make. If someone had told him then that he would fall in love with the slightly silly, moderately annoying young woman, he would have been appalled, and quite frankly, a little offended. Didn't they know him better than that?

But they would have been right. And they would have known him better than he knew himself. Because the "slightly silly, moderately annoying" Rinoa Heartilly was indeed, someone he had come to care for -- and yes, even love -- very much.

She looked up at him from across the room, where she was chatting with Quistis and Selphie, laughing at something Zell said. Her brow furrowed when she saw that he was standing all alone, and she excused herself and resolutely marched over to him.

"You are not only the best-looking guy here," she said sternly as she approached him, "but also the guest of honor. And here you are, all by yourself yet again." Her hands were on her hips, her head cocked to one side, and a warning tone was in her voice.

"Just observing," he said calmly.

"Observing?" Rinoa chastised. "Observing what, exactly? Your friends having fun at your eighteenth birthday party without you?"

"You know I don't like parties, Rin," he muttered.

"But everyone else does," Rinoa remarked smoothly. "And we did this for you. You deserve some fun … it's been six months since we defeated Ultimecia, and you haven't relaxed once, Squall."

"If you let down your guard, you give …"

"… 'give your enemy the perfect opening to attack'," Rinoa finished with a giggle. "How many times are you going to remind me of that?" She gestured grandly at the lavishly decorated ballroom in Balamb Garden with her arms. "But, Squall, we're safe here. How often do you tell me that Garden is the safest place anywhere? Besides, what enemy? We defeated Ultimecia … the Sorceress is no more. So, can't you just … loosen up, or something?"

"Rinoa," he began.

"Don't you 'Rinoa' me, Squall Leonhart," the brunette said firmly. "If you don't … disengage … from this wall right now, I'm going to make you dance with me."

He fought the urge to laugh. She was forever trying to speak "military" to him, but half the time, it just came out wrong. "Wait!" Rinoa cried triumphantly. "That's a -- why, Squall, I believe you are smiling."

He shook his head. "Whatever."

Rinoa grinned at him slyly, and leaned forward, gently brushing his lips with her own. "Happy birthday, Squall," she said softly. Then she pulled away and took him by the hand. "Come on, let's go be sociable." She stopped, looked at him and wrinkled her nose. "Sociable, you know, it means when you go and actually talk to other human beings."

He looked at her warily. "Very funny," he said dryly. "But maybe I'd rather just be sociable with you …" He let his hand run down the length of her bare arm, noticed her nearly imperceptible little shiver and inwardly gloated, thinking he'd won.

She narrowed her eyes. "No way, Mister. You're not going to charm your way out of this party."

Dammit, he cursed. That almost always worked these days. Not that they'd done much more than kiss … but even that would have been a very pleasant alternative to this damned party.

"Ah, you got him, Rinny!" Selphie said cheerfully as the couple approached the other SeeDs.

"Was there ever any doubt?" Rinoa asked breezily.

"Of course not," Quistis said. "Rinoa has always had a way with Squall."

Rinoa beamed at the older girl, and then turned her megawatt smile to Squall. "See?"

"It's a conspiracy," Squall groused. "How long is this thing supposed to last?"

"Until the very last person goes to bed," Selphie said brightly. "And it's rude for the guest of honor to leave before everyone else, so …"

"You've got to be kidding me," Squall said sharply.

"Of course she's kidding," Rinoa replied with exasperation. "Like we'd do that to you."

"You would!" he protested.

"Quit bitching. Selphie, where'd Irvine go?"

Selphie's green eyes narrowed. "I have no idea. He was flirting with some redhead earlier and I haven't seen him since. And I don't care. It doesn't even matter."

Rinoa looked at the girl sympathetically. Selphie had been trying for months to get Irvine to confess his feelings for her, and settle into a real relationship, but the sharpshooter was a perpetual flirt, and didn't seem very likely to settle down any time soon. "I'm sorry, Sefie," she said quietly.

"Whatever," Selphie said breezily. "He's an idiot anyway." She rolled her eyes. "I keep giving and giving and giving … and he just …" She trailed off when she realized that the others were staring at her. "Never mind."

Rinoa and Quistis giggled. "You're right, of course," Quistis said. "Most men are idiots. Present company … well, included." Even Rinoa laughed, for the look on Squall's face was priceless.

"You're right, Rinoa, this is fun," he said dryly.

"Oh, for the love of … Look, over there. It's Zell. Go talk to him about macho things or something," Rinoa said resignedly, giving him a pat on the back. "Since we girls are so boring to you."

"Whatever," Squall said as he headed in the direction of his friend.

Rinoa rolled her eyes. "He's so outgoing," she said good-naturedly as she watched him walk away. The other girls shared a grin as they watched the brunette's eyes become glassy with adoration.

"Sooo," Selphie said. "Have you done it yet?"

"Selphie!" Rinoa gasped, in abject horror.

"What?" Selphie asked, eyes wide with innocence. "Rin, we're all pretty much adults here … and you guys have been … well …" She raised her eyebrows suggestively.

"That is absolutely none of your business! And I'm shocked at your blasé attitude. It's not like you've …" Rinoa's eyes widened as she caught the expression on Selphie's face. "Oh, my Hyne … Sefie."

Quistis gasped. "I thought you said you weren't going to until he was willing to make it exclusive?" she said to the younger girl.

"I tried," Selphie said petulantly. "It's not like it's that big of a deal anyway. And between you and me … he's all talk."

Rinoa snorted. "Too much information. Really." But she was chewing her bottom lip thoughtfully, looking across the room at the SeeD Commander. "When … I mean, okay, when did it happen?"

"A couple nights ago," Selphie said, shrugging. "I don't really know what came over me, it just kinda … well, he was telling me some silly story and he just looked so cute and then he told me that he was falling in love with me …"

"And you didn't realize it was a line?" Quistis said cautiously.

"Oh, like you're one to point fingers about indiscretions, Quistis Trepe!" Selphie said shrilly, causing Quistis' blue eyes to widen.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Quistis asked coolly, one hand reaching up to fix her hair. It was a nervous habit, one that both Rinoa and Selphie knew meant she was hiding something.

"You know what it means. I've seen you … every night this week and last week," Selphie retorted. "Sneaking out of that guy's room …"

"Wait, wait, what am I missing here?" Rinoa asked, brown eyes darting back and forth between her two friends. "Quistis … you have a … guy? Since when? Who is he? I can't believe I'm the one with the boyfriend, and you two are the ones having sex!" she hissed.

"I don't know who it is … but she comes tiptoeing back into the girls' dorm every morning around four or so," Selphie said.

"Quistis!" Rinoa said, mouth agape. "I'm … impressed. So spill … who is he?"

"It's no one you know," the blonde said quickly. Too quickly.

"Lying!" Selphie said, pointing her finger in Quistis' face. "Quisty! Why are you trying to hide it from us? We're your friends." She started giggling helplessly. "And it's not like you're doing it with Seifer or something."

Quistis exhaled loudly and refused to make eye contact. Rinoa's jaw dropped again. "Oh, my Hyne," she repeated. "You're sleeping with Seifer?"

"Rinoa, shhh," Quistis hissed. "I don't need everyone to know about this."

"When did this charming development occur?" Rinoa asked playfully. "I mean, he's a good kisser, but …"

"It's only been going on for a couple of months," Quistis muttered.

"Months?" Selphie cried. "Months? And you haven't told us?"

"It didn't seem important," Quistis said lamely.

"Not important, she says. You went and hooked up with Seifer Almasy! How is this not important news?" Selphie demanded. She was practically jumping up and down.

"We agreed not to talk about it. It was just … a thing that happened … and is still happening …" Quistis laughed a little bit, finally. "But we promised we weren't going to talk about it or say anything to anyone. So you can't let him know that you know."

Rinoa rolled her eyes. "Yeah, because I'm going to go up to him the next time I see him and ask him all about it," she said, smacking Quistis on the arm lightly. "But how did you get him to keep his mouth shut? I mean, it is Seifer we're talking about."

Quistis shook her head, biting back a grin. "I have ways."

"Oh, my Hyne!" Rinoa cried, putting her hand to her forehead.

"Well, at least we know the whip's good for more than just battle," Selphie quipped.

Rinoa covered her mouth with both hands and laughed. "Sefie!"

"Shh, Squall and Zell are coming," Quistis hissed, clearing her throat. Rinoa couldn't stop giggling and was supporting herself on Selphie's shoulder when the two SeeDs approached.

"What is going on here?" Zell asked, grinning. "Looks like we've been missing all the fun, Squall."

"Mm, I bet," Squall said uninterestedly, eyeing Rinoa carefully. What was she laughing so hard about? "Rin? You all right?"

Rinoa straightened herself up, smoothed out her skirt and cleared her throat, trying to stifle the giggles. "I'm fine," she said. She looked out of the corner of her eye and saw Quistis glaring at her, and she was done. The giggles came back in full force.

It wasn't long before Quistis and Selphie had joined her, and the two young men just stood, perplexed at this odd female-bonding ritual. "I'm going to get some more hot dogs," Zell muttered. "You coming, Squall?"

Squall eyed the girls again, one eyebrow cocked in confusion, before nodding his acquiescence to Zell and following him away again.

Quistis whirled on Rinoa once they were out of earshot. "You're going to be the death of me," she gasped out between snickers.

Rinoa's eyes grew huge. "I'm sorry, Quisty. I don't even know why it's so funny."

"I do," Quistis said, serious again. "Because it's absolutely ridiculous to even consider the possibility."

"But are you happy?" Rinoa asked, her laughter subsided.

Quistis couldn't fight the small grin that made it's way to her face. "I am. He's … not at all what I expected."

Rinoa nodded. "I know. He can be pretty amazing." She smiled. Had it really only been two years ago that she and Seifer had dated? So much had changed in such a short amount of time. "If you'll excuse me … I'm going to go try and get that boy of mine out on the dance floor at least once."

Quistis and Selphie nodded. "Go for it!" Selphie said. "You and Squall dance so nicely together, it's fun just to watch!"

"See you later," Rinoa said as she walked toward the table where Squall, Zell, and the cute pigtailed girl from the library -- her name was Lia, wasn't it? -- were sitting.

"Hey," she said as she approached.

"Hey," Squall said, nodding his head in the direction of the chair next to him.

She shook her head. "No, I'm not sitting. And neither are you." She smiled and held her hand out to him.

"I'm not dancing," he said firmly.

"Yes, you are," Rinoa said. "Because otherwise …" She sighed loudly and got a forlorn look on her face. "I'm going to be very sad."

He rolled his eyes. "Quit that. It doesn't work on me, and you know it."

"Just one dance … and then we can leave?" She smiled widely, showing all her teeth in faux-perkiness.

He thought for a minute, then stood up. "Deal," he mumbled as she led him to the dance floor.

The song was a slow one, and didn't require them to do any intricate steps. Not like the first time she'd dragged him out on the dance floor. The "Waltz of the Moon" was not an easy dance to master, yet they had done it near perfectly that night. That was the first time they had met.

Squall liked this slow song better. It allowed him to just hold her, and breathe in the scent of her hair -- lavender and vanilla -- and feel her skin underneath his fingertips. She rested her head on his shoulder, and her breath on his neck was warm.

He couldn't wait for the song to be over. As soon as the last note faded, he tugged her by her arm out into the hallway and through the empty corridors toward his dorm room.

"Slow down, Squall," Rinoa said, though she secretly liked it when he took charge like this.

"A deal's a deal," he told her as he slid the keycard into his door and waited for it to whoosh open.

She smiled. "So it is. But we didn't even say goodbye to anyone. What will they think?"

"Whatever," he replied, pulling her into his room, and pushing her back against the closed door.

She looked up at him, mischief glistening in her chocolate-brown eyes, a smirk playing at the corners of her lips. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were just dying to get me alone."

He silenced her by crushing his lips down on hers. His hands pushed the straps of her dress off of her shoulders and he lightly trailed kisses down her neck to the exposed skin of her collarbone.

"Mm, Squall," she whispered, excited by his sudden intensity. "What's gotten into you?"

He looked up at her, his dark hair falling into his steel-blue eyes. Rinoa felt her breath hitch in her throat at the sight. He was so very beautiful … and all hers. He kissed her again, gentler this time, but with more passion. "Hyne, I love you," he told her between kisses.

She couldn't help the grin that spread across her features, the warmth that flooded her all the way down to her toes. She'd kind of thought that maybe … but he'd never said it before! She pulled back from him a little, to look at him closer. "I love you too," she said earnestly.

They both smiled like loons at each other for a moment and Rinoa started giggling again. "Wow. Somehow I thought that would be …"

"Harder," Squall supplied, his forehead pressed up against hers.

"Yeah," Rinoa replied. "But it wasn't at all, was it?" she asked softly, her fingers flicking a stray piece of his brown hair off his forehead.

"No," he said honestly. He grinned at her again and Rinoa would have sworn that there was no sight more wonderful in the entire world. His fingers traced lightly over the bare skin of her shoulders and neck, and soon his lips were following.

His hands were now rubbing her back and sides, wanting desperately to inch slightly higher, slightly more forward, but he wouldn't if she wasn't ready. To his surprise, she lifted his face to hers and kissed him soundly. Then she pushed him back from her, and smiled ever-so-slightly. Her hands moved behind her and slid the zipper of her gown down slowly. When it was unzipped, she held the dress against her and looked at him.

"Rinoa," he croaked. "You don't … have to …"

"Be quiet," she told him teasingly. "I know that. I want to." And with that, she let the dress fall and tossed it to the side. She now stood before him, wearing only a lacy black strapless bra, matching lacy panties, and black thigh-high silk stockings with lace trim.

She looked like a freaking goddess. He exhaled loudly, afraid to move too quickly. She looked at him expectantly. "Squall?" she said after a few moments of stunned silence. "Um, you can …" She started laughing. "Just come here, would you?"

He swallowed hard and went to her. Their lips met again, hungrily, like they were going to devour each other. Never in her life had she felt need like this. With trembling fingers, she pushed his uniform jacket off of his shoulders and tossed it aside with her dress. She pulled off his white undershirt and ran her hands tentatively across his well-muscled torso. She liked the way Griever looked against his bare chest, and, feeling somewhat emboldened, traced it lightly with the tip of her tongue.

He shuddered violently at the sensation, and pulled her back toward the bed, "Are you … are you sure, Rinoa?" he whispered, his fingers tracing the contour of her cheek gently.

"Yes, I'm very sure," she told him, leaning forward to kiss him again. "Are you?"

He looked down at the girl beside him, and knew he'd never been more sure about anything in his entire life. "Yes," he breathed, pulling her closer to him. His hands ran along her back, and when they hit the clasp of her bra, he paused.

"Go ahead," she urged him.

His fingers fumbled with the unfamiliar mechanism, and Rinoa tried to keep from laughing. She didn't want to offend him. He looked so cute when he was concentrating like that. He finally managed to unhook it, and tossed the confounded article aside with a mild look of disgust. Then he turned to look at her and forgot everything else in the world.

xXx

Several Hours Later

Rinoa woke up and stretched lazily, feeling pleasant and loved. She turned her head to look at the man lying beside her, smiling at the memory of the evening … and realized that she was not in Squall's bed … and he was not beside her.

And she was no longer at Balamb Garden. In fact, she didn't know where she was. It was a long, narrow room; dingy and dark. There were no beds, just straw mats on the floor. And there were about twenty other girls there, as well, all of whom seemed to be asleep.

What in the hell? she wondered. She heard movement on her right side and turned. A slender dark-haired girl, just slightly older than herself was sitting on the mat beside Rinoa's. "Rinoa?" the girl whispered when she saw Rinoa looking at her.

Rinoa's brow furrowed. She knew that voice. "Ellone?" she said as realization dawned on her. "What … where are we?"

"I don't know," Ellone whispered. "I was in Esthar, with Uncle Laguna, having dinner. I went to bed, and when I woke up, I was here."

"We're still in Esthar," a third voice said, from just a little farther down the line of sleeping girls. "We're in the bowels of the city, far below Dr. Odine's laboratory. They brought me here … before."

"Matron?" Ellone said, disbelieving.

"Edea?" Rinoa gasped.

Suddenly there was a shaft of light from the opposite end of the room, and a tall man, cloaked in shadows, stood in the doorway. "There are three," he said, mostly to himself. "You will come with me."

Rinoa looked at Edea and Ellone. They stood up, and so she did too, though something told her that this man was dangerous, and that she shouldn't go anywhere with him. But she followed the older women, and they walked to the doorway.

"The three of you are incredibly fortunate," the man said. Now that they were near him, Rinoa could see that he was a handsome man, with blond hair and gray eyes behind wire-rimmed glasses. He was tall and well-built.

"Why is that?" she finally managed to ask him, after she was finished with her assessment of him. She couldn't shake the feeling that there was something very wrong here … and that she'd need to remember every little detail in the future.

"And you are …" He looked down at his notes. "Ah, yes, Rinoa. We found you in the SeeD Commander's bed." He chuckled lightly. "You shouldn't sully yourself with such filth, my dear. You have a much more important purpose."

"You found me in … you took me from Squall's bed? But how did you do that without anyone noticing?"

"Too many questions, Rinoa," the man said, still good-naturedly, but with an edge of danger in his voice. "None of that is important. To that world, you no longer belong."

"What does that mean?" Ellone asked hesitantly.

The man led them into a small room, filled with what appeared to be magical paraphernalia. There were several chairs against the far wall, hooked up to machines of some sort.

"Your destiny awaits!" the man proclaimed.

"How did you get me away from Squall without him noticing?" Rinoa demanded again.

"My dear, dear girl. Why do you insist on asking so many questions?" He sighed. "It isn't important. What is important is the fact that I have found you, at last! We've been gathering girls for months, and not one of them has been able to pass the test. But you three, our final three candidates … you've done it."

"Done what, exactly?" Edea asked, arms crossed in front of her.

"You've passed the tests! You are the true descendants of Hyne."

"And what does that mean, exactly?" Ellone said, head cocked to the side.

Rinoa felt the bile rising in her throat. "Hyne's descendant." Hadn't they called her that … before they locked her in the Sorceress Memorial?

"It means, my dear," the man said coolly, "that you will help us bring her back."

"Her?" Ellone continued.

"The Sorceress," Edea breathed.

"You're crazy!" Rinoa cried out. "How do you think you're going to get away with this? Squall will find me. Squall and Zell and Quistis and Selphie … and Laguna and Cid, too. How can you possibly think …"

The man's hand on her wrist was like ice and she instantly froze in place. He … he was using Sorceress Magic. But how was that possible?

"Follow me. I'm taking you to your new rooms. Only the best for the Descendants of Hyne." He released Rinoa's arm, and she could move again. She followed him down the hallway, Ellone and Edea not far behind.

She told herself not to worry, that Squall would find her. He'd never let this lunatic get away with this … Squall loved her. He'd come looking for her.

That was the only thing that kept her moving forward.