Author's note: I do not own Final Fantasy VIII or its characters. This is AU.


Going to Town

Quistis came into town on a regular basis. So no one thought much of her strolling into the general store in order to chat with Selphie. It wasn't long before Rinoa caught wind that she was in town, and the three girls retired to Rinoa's home for tea, snacks, and conversation. Selphie wrinkled her nose.

"I'm not entirely sure what's up with the price increases, Quisty. I can ask Father if you want. It was sort of odd, but they were passed down from our supplier."

Quistis sipped her tea. "Thank you, Selphie. I appreciate it."

"No problem. Are you worried about the ranch?"

She just sighed. "I'm not sure yet, Selphie. I just don't trust Miss Adel."

Rinoa frowned. "Why not? I admit, I don't really like her either, but that's mostly because she seems so interested in Squall."

Rinoa was blushing by the time she finished that sentence, and Quistis knew why. Rinoa had been sweet on Squall since the two of them had first met. Of course, given that Squall was both shy and rather uncommunicative, Rinoa wasn't aware of the fact that he liked her just as much. Quistis found it rather amusing to watch at times. Other times she considered locking the two of them in a room together until they sorted things out. She was still undecided about whether she really was going to that or not.

Quistis just shook her head. "The first thing she did after we met was try to take my home away from me. Why should I trust her?"

Rinoa frowned at that. "She is a business woman, Quistis. It might not be personal."

"Not personal to her maybe. The ranch is the only home I know. Even if my father was willing to sell, I wouldn't give it up without a fight. But he's not willing to sell, and I don't trust her not to try and make him."

Rinoa just sighed. "I'll see what I can find out at the bank. If she's raising capital, someone will know."

"Thank you."

"It's the least I can do."

The three women chatted for awhile about more mundane things. There was a new school mistress, and it seemed that Zell had fallen for her. The Trabia Triple Triad ranch was planning on having a barn raising in a few months, and Selphie had offered to help with the dance that would follow. She also had her eye on getting Irvine to agree to take her to that dance. Given that those two had been chasing one another for years, this was not at all surprising to Quistis.

She finished her tea and cookies before making her farewells. Quistis still had the local city hall to visit. Well, it wasn't much of a city hall, but it was where all the local records were kept, and Quistis needed to see what land had changed hands recently. She had a hunch about that. And she would like to see that hunch proven right. It wasn't as easy as it sounded.

For one thing, the records were not in any particular order. Quistis found herself actually spending more time organizing things than anything else. For another, Adel had been smart when she had made her land purchases. Not all of the purchases were in her name exactly. But Quistis happened to know that Edea Kramer was dead, and given that the purchases of land that "Edea" had made fit nicely with the ones made by Adel and ones made by Adel's right hand man, Martine, it wasn't hard to fit things together.

It was a lot of land, but that alone wouldn't necessarily be suspicious. It was also not only the best land in the area, but it also encompassed all of the land that the proposed railroad would go through. No matter what Adel chose to do with that land, it would make her a very rich woman. She didn't even need Quistis' ranch to make her plan work. But it was clear that she wanted it for some part in this scheme. Quistis wasn't going to let her get it.