Part II: Fugitive

Ellone woke with a start and lay gasping quietly. A rustle and a sigh from the bunk next to her made her freeze until her bunkmate quieted and their breaths steadied into deeep sleep again. She lay still and quiet, listening to the rush of water against wood, feeling the gentle rise and fall of the White SeeD ship as it rode the waves, its destination known only to the Captain and Matron.

It was a dream that had awakened her this time, she knew. The other thing, the strange power that had made Sorceress Adel and her wizened toady Dr. Odine nearly tear apart Galbadia just to take her, was altogether different. No matter how bad, and vivid, the nightmares she lived through while in the throes of that power, she was unable to escape their grip so easily. Instead, she had to remain a helpless spectator to whatever event she had stumbled onto. Despite Matron's tutelage, Ellone hadn't quite gained control over her "talent".

No, this was simply a nightmare. A tragic memory that she could not, hard as she tried, forget. She knew already it was useless to try, so simply lay quietly and let it come.

She had been gathering wildflowers out in the fields, because Raine liked flowers and so did she. Uncle Laguna gave Raine flowers alot too, which always made her smile and kiss him. Ellone liked to catch them kissing like her parents had done, it made her feel part of a family again.

When she got back home, she gave Raine the flowers and got a hug and kiss from her as a reward. Uncle Laguna was still on his monster patrol; Ellone had wanted to pick flowers so he'd slowed his circuit to give her time to do so, and had sent her back home for lunch when her arms were full, telling her he'd be home a little later when he'd finished.

"What would you like for lunch sweetie?" Raine asked her, pouring a glass of milk, which Ellone took and drank eagerly.

"I dunno...peanut butter and jelly?" Ellone asked.

"Well, that's a start, would you like a sliced up apple to go along with it?" Raine asked.

"Yes." Ellone answered, sitting down at the table.

Raine quickly assembled her lunch and Ellone started eating, enjoying the contrast of crunchy and sweet apples with the gooey peanut butter and jelly. She was just finishing up and putting her plate and glass in the sink when she heard a sound from the pub downstairs. Frowning, Raine went to investigate.

At first she thought it was Uncle Laguna coming home, but then she heard Raine say, "I'm sorry, the pub doesn't open for another two hours. Come back later."

Ellone felt a prickle at the back of her neck when a harshly accented male voice said, "I think we'll stay. Fetch us beer, woman."

Creeping to the edge of the stairs, Ellone crouched down to keep herself concealed as much as possible and peered thorugh the bannister. There were three of them, wearing the same scary uniforms that Ellone remembered from the day her parents were killed. The Bad People were back to kill Raine and Uncle Laguna now. Ellone suddenly wanted to cry but clapped her hands over her mouth to stifle any sound that might escape. She had to be quiet, lest they see her and kill her too.

She watched as Raine drew herself up, eyes flashing, and said firmly, "The pub is closed. Come back later."

One of the men, prowling around the pub with his gun at the ready, said something to the leader in a language that Ellone had never heard before. Then he indicated the stool at the bar where Ellone usually sat while Raine was working. Ellone bit her lip as she realized she had left her coloring books and crayons there, intending to color while Raine was working that night.

The leader, apparently the only one of the trio that spoke Galbadian, asked her, "You have a child? Son, or daughter?"

Ellone started to shake. Raine did not answer and refused to look upstairs where she knew Ellone was.

The man waited but when the silence stretched, he snapped out an order, which the other two men immediately moved to obey.

"They will search the building. I assume you live upstairs?" he asked her. Raine's eyes widened, and she shook her head in denial.

"No! No please, don't.." She began, but was silenced when the man coldly backhanded her.

"Will you answer my question? Son or daughter?" he asked her.

"Why does that matter? What do you want with us?" Raine asked, and the man raised his hand as though he was going to strike her again.

He didn't get the chance. Out of nowhere, Laguna tackled the man, taking him to the ground. Ellone wanted to scream, like Raine, who was crying out, "Laguna, don't, he'll kill you!" as the two men wrestled and grunted on the pub's floor at her feet. Frozen by the tense fight below, Ellone did not see the other man until he was already halfway up the stairs and had seen her.

She screamed and ran, trying to find a place to hide, but it was too late. He caught her in two strides, snatching her up despite her strident screams and futile kicks.

A single shot rang out, and Raine screamed. Laguna was moaning and coughing alarmingly. Ellone saw blood. Raine knelt next to him sobbing, pressing a rapidly reddening bar towel against his wound.

The last thing Ellone saw before they took her away was Laguna reaching out a bloodstained, trembling hand and croaking out, "Ellone...no..."

"This is the one we want," the leader said in satisfaction. "Let's go."

Ellone had gotten very good at crying quietly.

"Concentrate. Clear your mind."

Matron always began her lessons that way. Each day, they worked together in an effort to gain some kind of control over Ellone's otherwise wild talent. It was only partially successful, in that her ability had nothing to do with actual magic, at least not as the world at large knew it, and everything to do with Ellone herself.

Ellone did as she was told, and when she achieved clarity, she opened her eyes and waited for Edea's next directive.

"Good. Now, first, I want you to connect yourself to the earth..."

"I'm on a boat."

"The concept is the same. Ground yourself. Always."

Sighing, Ellone did her best to do as directed. It was difficult though. Edea's methods were perhaps gentler and less punitive than Dr. Odine's, but she was no less relentless in urging Ellone to exercise her ability. She didn't understand why and didn't want to try and use that strange power she had. She just wanted it to go away. It had cost her everything she loved.

Eventually, she found her anchor point and, despite the shifting pitch of the White SeeD's ship, her perception steadied.

Sensing this, Edea said, "Good. Now, I want you to extend your awareness outward."

Closing her eyes, Ellone struggled to expand her mind, extending her inner senses, envisioning something akin to the radar sweep she had seen multiple times in the ship's command center. What was she even looking for? Edea hadn't been clear on that and the uncertainty frustrated her.

Then she dismissed the thought and just let her mind wander. She touched Edea, who gave her a brief burst of approval, then brushed the minds of the SeeDs on the ship, then the children who populated it along with her. She was Sis here too, though it didn't have the same feel as it did when...

Thinking of him directed her mind to him. She tried not to, Edea was very clear that Ellone should leave Squall alone as much as possible, lest she somehow interfere with whatever Edea felt he should be doing. Ellone couldn't always help it; she missed him horribly and would sometimes connect with him in her dreams, quite without intending to. Thus far, she'd managed remain in the background, so that her little brother was unaware of her presence in his mind.

Another reason why Edea had counseled against Ellone peeking in on Squall was the fact that his life as a SeeD trainee was not an easy one. It was lonely, harsh, and dangerous. Each time she saw, and felt, what he was going through, she was wracked with guilt for days afterward. She felt as though she'd abandoned him, even though the choice had not been hers.

Through Squall's eyes, she saw Seifer, older than she'd seen him last (how old would he be now? Twelve? Thirteen?), arrogant smirk on his lips, and a dangerous glint in his eyes. She felt Squall's weary resignation as Seifer's fist shot out and connected with his face.

He hit the ground with a grunt, twisted to avoid Seifer's kick, and surged to his feet, launching himself at Seifer. Ellone couldn't contain a burst of anger, spurred in part by Squall's own fury, and that energy in turn lent power to Squall's attack. She felt the impact as his fists connected in quick succession to Seifer's gut first, then as he doubled over, his face, and registered his surprise at Squall's fierce response. Several more punches followed that Seifer was unable to completely block and avoid, forcing him back, one step at a time.

The whole time during the fight, Ellone, as a passenger in Squall's mind, felt his inital flash of anger give way to icy calculation as he continued his relentless attack. Seifer fought back of course, and it was by no means an easy fight for Squall, who at only eleven was much smaller than Seifer. But Seifer's arrogance finally got the better of him and Squall saw the opening he needed to end the fight as a winner...for once.

A sloppy punch from Seifer was easily avoided by Squall, who ducked under it and inside Seifer's guard, taking the opportunity to employ a sweep and takedown. Seifer hit the ground with a surprised grunt, and his green eyes widened as Squall followed up by pouncing on him and simply pummeling him until he was dragged off by a pair of older cadets who were worried that he'd actually kill the other boy.

Suddenly the link was severed and Ellone stood blinking at Matron's stony countenance.

"Why do you do this? You cannot help him, and may actually harm him."

"I...I'm sorry, Matron."

"You do understand why we have to do this, don't you? Why you need to gain some sort of control over your gift..." Edea began, to be interrupted by Ellone, who said sullenly, "it's not a gift.."

"It is a gift," Edea insisted, "And if you want to be able to use it instead of becoming a tool like Dr. Odine and Sorceress Adel tried to turn you into, you will have to work on it. We are running out of time, Ellone."

Ellone swallowed. She hadn't wanted to believe Matron when she was finally told why they'd had to leave the orphanage in the middle of the night when she was eight, leaving her baby brother and all of her friends behind without even a good-bye.

Then Edea's eyes flared gold and Ellone shuddered as the Sorceress whispered, "I'm holding her back, but I can't hold her for long..."

She remembered that day. An apparition, bleeding pain and malevolence, stalked Edea's garden, searching for something... Ellone had been picking flowers at the edge of the great flower field when it-she- suddenly appeared from nowhere. She heard Squall calling somewhere in the distance, and Ellone had frowned in irritation and ducked down into the carpet of flowers to hide from him. Much as she loved him, she didn't always want to be bothered by him.

Screened by the foliage, she saw an odd tableau: the apparition, which was revealed to be a richly dressed woman, was walking slowly, and with difficulty, as though wounded and/or dying, along the path leading to the front door. She turned as though sensing Ellone's presence and made as if to approach, but suddenly Matron was there, stepping out of the shadows with Squall and a dark-clad young man, who drew a sword-like weapon and stood ready for battle. The woman redirected her progress toward them, and Matron laid her hand on the young man's arm. The young man turned to look at her, and sheathed his weapon at her direction.

Then she stepped forward to greet the wounded woman, who fell in front of her, then disappeared in a puff of purple smoke. Matron sagged momentarily, and the young man leaped forward to support her, releasing her and stepping back once she'd steadied. Then he drew himself up, standing to attention just like she'd seen Uncle Laguna do, and saluted Matron, before walking away and fading into the shadows.

Squall said something then, and Matron bent down to hear him better, brushing her hands over his head to smooth his unruly hair.

Matron was strange for days after that, and Ellone could hear intensive, low-voiced discussion between her and Cid. Try as she might though, she could not hear all of what they said, and understood none of what she did hear. Still, it left Ellone with a sense of foreboding that was borne out when out of nowhere one night, Matron directed her to grab her meager belongings and follow her.

They boarded the White SeeD ship that night, and had been there ever since.

Ellone's days aboard the White SeeD ship were strictly regimented, and often boring. Still, the routine was occasionally comforting in its predictability. Up at dawn to eat breakfast with the rest of the kids and crew aboard, school, lunch, then her lessons with Matron. Chores with the crew, self-defense lessons, dinner...then free time until bedtime.

She usually read, sometimes she meditated, particularly if Matron felt she needed a little extra focus. Truth be told, the meditation often did help her come to grips with her still largely uncontrolled ability. The ship was safe, for the most part now, but still they kept sailing, usually stopping in port only to take on fuel and supplies.

Ellone remembered the first few years after she boarded the ship with Matron, when they were hunted, oddly, not by Esthar, but by Galbadia. Suddenly, Esthar wasn't a threat, though nobody could say for sure why. The entire country simply went silent and withdrew. Ellone hadn't felt Adel's presence since Uncle Laguna had rescued her from Dr. Odine's lab and returned her to Winhill.

He had apparently made good on his promise that the sorceress would never threaten her again. The other promises he'd made: that he'd be back soon, that they'd be a family again...had gone unfulfilled.

Raine had died soon after giving birth to their son, still hoping that he'd return for her, for them all. But he never did. Ellone didn't know if she could ever forgive him for that...if he was even still alive.

It occurred to her suddenly, that if she wanted to, she could find out. She was strong enough now that she could attempt to connect with him, if he was. The question was, did she want to? There was a long list of reasons why not, the ethical ramifications of doing so being one of them. Matron had been very strict about that, another reason why she disliked Ellone popping in and out of Squall's mind like she did.

Another reason was the fact that she might learn things she didn't need to know. Hurtful things. What if he never intended to return for them? What if he'd forgotten them? What if...

A sudden flash of memory came to her then: Uncle Laguna, and his friends, tall and slender Kiros, gigantic Ward, both standing at his back, guarding them both. Uncle Laguna had squatted down on his heels in front of her like he usually did, so that he could see her face better, he said, he being so much taller than she was.

Tucking a stray bit of hair behind her ear, he said gently, "I'm sending you home to Raine, peanut. It's not safe here for you. Not yet."

"Aren't yoo coming home with me, Uncle Laguna?" She asked.

He shook his head, eyes glittering wetly, "No sweetie, I can't. You see, I made a bargain with the people who helped me find you. I can't leave until I fulfill that bargain."

"Will you come back home when you do?" Ellone asked him.

"Yes. I promise. You go with Kiros, baby. He'll take care of you."

"Why can't you come?" Ellone asked, eyes starting to tear up.

Uncle Laguna closed his eyes for a moment and swallowed hard before he answered in a thick voice, "I have to fight Sorceress Adel, sweetie. Until she's dealt with, she'll always be a threat to you. That's why I'm staying here to help the resistance. They need my help, and I need theirs. We can't do this alone, she's too powerful."

Ellone frowned. Adielle...or Adel, as she turned out to be, was not the friend Ellone had originally thought she might be. In fact, she was the worst entity she'd ever encountered. Queen she might be, but she wasn't a good Queen. She was selfish, cold, and cruel. And what Ellone had endured while in Dr. Odine's hands, at Sorceress Adel's urging, was the stuff of nightmares.

"Will you kill her, Uncle Laguna?" Ellone asked, causing his eyes to widen in surprise and dismay.

Staring at her in consternation, he answered slowly, "If I can. Whatever happens Ellone, she will no longer threaten you. If its the last thing I ever do on this earth, I will at least make sure of that."

Ellone wondered if in fact it was the last thing he'd done in life. If so, then perhaps he'd found Raine and they were together. Perhaps.

Shaking her head in exasperation, she got up and left her berth. Too much time spent in her own head was starting to make her feel confined and anxious. She needed fresh air. She decided to stop thinking about Uncle Laguna for the time being and went up onto the deck.

The White SeeD ship was a marvel of marine design. A sleek, fast craft with uniquely constructed solar sails that not only caught the wind but the sun as well, it used both to power it silently through the waves. There was a diesel engine as well, but fuel was costly, so it was only used at great need.

The sun had set long since, so it was the freshening evening breeze that was filling the great sails and speeding them on their way. Ellone walked forward to the bow, and, with the wind at her back, watched a huge, golden moon rise above the darkened surf.

Squeaks and clicks coming from the water below the rails had Ellone leaning upon them to look into the dark water below to see what might be there. A pale grey shape broke the surface with an exhalation of air and sliced back under the waves. A porpoise. Another breached, leaping impressively high, nearly level with the ship's railing, before falling back into the water.

Suddenly the entire pod was doing it, and Ellone watched, entranced, as each creature took it in turn to leap to the level of the ship's rail, as though to get a better look at her. Ellone wondered if the animals found her as diverting as she did them. Eventually, they tired of that activity, or they'd all figured out what she was, and decided to make a race of it instead. Their sleek bodies sped through the water and kept pace with the ship easily, then pulled ahead as they continued on whatever route they had decided to travel.

Ellone sighed, watching them go. Feeling better, she decided to return to her berth and start getting ready for bed.

Ellone was just finishing breakfast when one of the White SeeDs, a young Ensign not much older than she was, came up to her where she sat with the rest of the kids.

"Matron wants to speak with you when you're finished there." he said.

"I'm finished now," Ellone said, discarding the remains of her breakfast and following him to the Captain's cabin, where Matron was waiting for her.

"You wanted to speak with me?" Ellone asked upon entering.

"Yes." Matron answered.

"What about?" Ellone wondered.

"Your progress here." Matron answered. "You've done well with your lessons. Have you given any thought to what you wanted to do with your life once you've finished school?"

"I thought I was supposed to play some important part in this war you keep talking about." Ellone replied wryly.

"You will, but you will have a life after it's done. What do you want to do with it?"

"What do you care?" Ellone said, suddenly angry. "I'm as much a tool to you as I was to Dr. Odine and Sorceress Adel. At least they were up front about wanting to use me and why."

"I care," Edea said evenly, "because I want you to survive this and to have the life you want and need, after its over. I... it may be possible to regain at least a portion of what you lost..."

"Unless you can turn back time or resurrect the dead, I don't think so."

Matron fell silent and studied Ellone for a moment before saying gently, "trust me Ellone, when I say that all is not lost."

"Why can't you just tell me how we can stop ..whatever... is coming? Why all this...this fiddling around and dodging and avoiding stuff? Why? I thought you could see the future!" Ellone cried in frustration.

"It's not that simple, Ellone." Matron said. "Some events...loom larger than others. Events that affect many will have far too many destinies involved to prevent or redirect. Such events never have just one person or situation that can change their course. Sometimes, no matter how hard you try to avoid it, Fate will simply redirect you to that same path."

"So, it doesn't matter what I do then, does it? Whatever happens will happen regardless. So why do anything at all?" Ellone said, flinging her hands out. "Hyne! I'm so tired of this stupid boat! You know how long it's been since I've stepped on land for even a minute?"

Edea sighed. "Far too long, I know. Ellone, another of the reasons I wanted to talk to you was to let you know that...I'm going to have to leave soon. It's... It's time."

Ellone froze and stared at Matron. No, that flash of gold in her eyes had not been an illusion. Not her imagination. The entity whose power Matron had accepted all those years ago at the orphanage, was growing stronger.

Matron had told Ellone of why they were on the boat when she'd been old enough to understand it.. At least in part. Some of it, even now, she struggled with and Matron couldn't explain it. She'd also been told that eventually, for her safety and the safety of the children on the ship with her, they would have to part ways.

"Captain Tarin has told me that we need to make port for supplies. She's thinking Dollet. We should be there long enough for you to see the sights with your friends," Matron said into the heavy silence.

"Praise Hyne. I get to set foot on solid ground for a change." Ellone said sarcastically. "How many SeeDs are you going to saddle me with this time?"

"Just two. And they're friends of yours, so I don't think you'll find their company too trying." Matron said dryly.

"Sarine and Tressa?"

Matron nodded.

Ellone sighed, "well I guess that won't be too bad then."

"Glad you approve. Now then," Matron said briskly, standing up. "I need you to join me in the work room this afternoon, after lunch. One-thirty."

Ellone suddenly went cold all over, and she took a deep breath and asked, "You want to try...it...again?"

Matron nodded, "Yes. I know you can do it..."

Ellone swallowed and looked away, "but.. I don't want to do it."

Matron's expression turned both compassionate and sad as she said, "I know you don't. I know what they did to you in Esthar. But that is the core of your power Ellone. What we've been doing, while important at refining your control, is really just nibbling around the edges of it. You need to get comfortable enough to actually use that power."

Ellone folded her arms over her chest and shook her head. It was one thing to let her mind drift and brush the minds around her. She had gotten better at not intruding and seeing things that she shouldn't. But forcing someone else into a link? If such an intrusion were a physical one, it would be called rape. As a young child, she hadn't understood those boundaries.

It had taken both Dr. Odine and Sorceress Adel to teach her that rape wasn't always a physical assault.

"Ellone. I give you permission to link with me, and in turn, I want you to link me with Cid."

The "work room" was essentially the brig. However, there was little need for it in the normal course of things, and it was windowless, secure, and soundproof. Sorceress Edea had also warded and sealed the doors and added several magical shields.

Adel, or any other sorceress, would be unable to sense the working of magic within those wards and shields. Despite the fact that neither she nor Ellone had sensed Adel in several years, she was taking no chances. Even though Ellone's power stemmed from within her rather than from the lineage of Hyne, Edea, and any other sorceress, could still sense her psychically.

"Do you remember how to do it?" Matron asked her.

Swallowing, Ellone nodded. She would rather she didn't, but Dr. Odine's tutelage had been very thorough.

"Proceed then," Matron directed after she'd found a comfortable spot on the floor, leaning against the ship's bulkhead.

Ellone closed her eyes and extended her senses, touching the intimate familiarity of Matron's mind. She was never sure how to describe what it was she did, she only knew that it was easier when she knew the person or persons involved. Matron acknowledged her presence but did nothing else, waiting patiently for Ellone to establish the link.

Despite the fact that she wasn't as familiar with Cid's mind, Matron still had an active bond with him, so it was easy for Ellone to follow it to him. Feeling her way through the link, and acting as a conduit, Ellone sensed both minds on either end.

She paid scant attention to the emotions between the two, lest she be distracted by them. Concentrating on Edea's mind, Ellone pulled her into Cid's. Suddenly, they were in a dank, dark office with a hugely corpulent and rather sinister looking Shumi rumbling something incomprehensible at him.

"Fururururu...I did not provide you funding for this enterprise of yours, Cid Kramer, without some hope of receiving benefit from it. Your last crop of SeeDs were a disappointment. I have concerns about your training program. The reputation you have managed to establish over the last four years is in jeopardy. "

"There haven't been enough good jobs to send them to, Norg." Cid said, frustration evident to both passengers in his mind.

"None that you will entertain," the Shumi said disdainfully. "You seem unaware of the true function of mercenaries, and keep passing up lucrative jobs because of something you like to call 'integrity'. Integrity! PAH! FUFUFUFU! They are mercenaries! For sale to the highest bidder, whatever the job! Reputations are built on results, not philosophies! This is a business, not a charity! Furururu!"

Cid growled under his breath. How could he explain what Edea had seen when she absorbed the power of that dying sorceress? She could not tell him when the future she'd seen would come to pass, only that their foster children would play an important part in it. Those children were, even now, in the process of becoming the warriors that Edea said they needed to be.

But he wasn't fully comitted to stealing their childhoods, or the childhoods of any of the children he'd forged into SeeDs, and in this, he realized he'd done them a disservice. His young warriors were dying because he wasn't giving them enough seasoning. He was failing them.

"Despite your...issues... we do have several jobs available, if you would deign to accept them." Norg rumbled wryly.

Cid frowned, then sighing, said, "Show me. I'll see who's available."

The massive Shumi handed over several folders, which Cid took without comment, turning to leave.

"You will send me your recommendations by end of day."

Cid scowled but bit his tongue. He needed Norg as his partner. Without him Balamb Garden would not even have been built. But being beholden to that renegade Shumi was galling. He nodded silently in acknowledgment instead, then walking out the door.

As he headed to his office, he began mentally sifting through the active SeeDs that he knew were available and what their specialties were. He knew he needed to read the offers first to see what the clients wanted and which SeeD would be the best for which job...but it never hurt to have them in mind when he did.

Upon reaching his office he sat down and opened the first folder, beginning to read.

This is not the right time. We need to go back farther. Matron sent. Go to the day we met.

All right, Ellone responded, then pulled. Matron had sent her the date, but even so, it was easy to home in on the precise moment, because it was vivid in each of their memories.

A blink, then she and Matron were in Cid's mind...and he was fighting.

Ellone couldn't hide her astonishment at seeing, and feeling, Cid dodge, dance and cleave his way through a group of enemy fighters, wielding a gunblade.

When the last enemy fell, Cid kicked open a door that he'd been battling toward, revealing a dank, filthy room full of what appeared to have been hostages, mostly women and children.

"Come on," he said. "We need to get out of here!"

They all got up, the younger children ushered out by a beautiful young woman with long, black hair. When everyone had cleared the room, only she remained.

"Come on, we need to go," he urged.

"Leave me." she said. "I will make my own way out."

He stared at her, puzzled at her resistance, and yes, attracted by her beauty.

"You'll never make it out on your own, this place is crawling with bad guys."

"You didn't kill them all coming in?" she snorted disdainfully. "Then why should I trust you to get me out safely? Just go. They'll be too busy chasing you to worry about me."

Frowning fiercely, he growled and grabbed her arm, dragging her along. "Come on lady, I don't have time to debate this!"

"My name is Edea." she said, ceasing her resistance and grudgingly following him.

"Mine's Cid. Cid Kramer." he grunted, releasing her arm and hurrying to the front of the group to lead them out. Edea, interested in spite of herself, followed him.

She was relieved to see that he hadn't come alone, he did have a team to back him up, so she didn't have to use much of her power to help them battle their way out. Certainly, not enough to attract undue attention.

Cid himself however, he attracted her attention quite handily. Stocky and powerfully built, made so by the huge blade that he wielded, he had a strong jaw and light golden brown hair...and, when he looked back and grinned triumphantly at finally winning through to freedom, her heart leaped right into his hands. His brilliant, dimpled grin was her undoing.

Cid, for his part, battled his growing attraction to her the entire way back to Galbadia. The prisoners they had liberated needed to be debriefed by President Deling's newly created Security Council for any information on their captors that they could recollect before they could be returned to their homes. So it wasn't until their last day together that he kissed her.

Enough. Matron sent. Take me back to the present.

All right. Ellone responded, reconnecting with present-day Cid.

He was still reading the proposals he'd been given. Ellone gradually became aware of a deep and profound grief coming from Matron.

Cid, my beloved. My knight. My husband. She whispered into his mind.

He froze. Dee?

Yes, my love.

He swallowed. How...are you? I...I miss you, Dee.

I am well...for now. I miss you too, Cid.

Is...SHE...getting stronger then?

Yes.

So this is good bye.

Yes.

Ellone felt the sudden sting of tears and wished she could be anywhere other than there, privy to this most intimate of conversations. She wondered why Matron, with her powers as a Sorceress and the bond she had with Cid, had chosen to have Ellone link them instead. She decided to ask Matron as soon as she could.

Are...are the children doing okay? Edea asked.

They are coming along. Squall is quickly becoming a prodigy with the gunblade. Seifer's not too far behind him. I'll have to find a gunblade master to teach them soon. They're already very close to outstripping my meager skills. Cid answered.

You give yourself too little credit.

And you give me far too much. I'm out of shape and out of practice. They need someone better than me.

I wanted to tell you, Cid, that I...

I know Dee.

I love you, darling. I will always love you, so long as my soul still lives...

As will I. I hope this works. I hope this will all be worth the sacrifice.

So do I, Cid.

So, what now?

I...must sever the bond, my love. It is very possible that the next time you see me, I will be a stranger.

And I will have trained our children to kill you. Dammit Dee, I wish there was some other way...

You know there isn't.

I know.

Farewell, my love.

Good bye Dee. I love you...

A flash of power cut through the link, severing the bond that Ellone could sense, like a hot knife straight to the heart. Love, pain and grief washed over her, and she came out of the link with a jerk, eyes streaming tears.

Matron leaned against the bulkhead, face white, sobbing silently.

Ellone sat at a patio table, enjoying the bright sun, the cool coastal breeze and the solidity of the ground beneath her, enjoying an ice cream cone. Her friends/bodyguards, Sarine and Tressa, sat with her, likewise enjoying some ice cream while occasionally scanning the area. She didn't mind that their attention wandered periodically, it was their job after all, and the fact that they were friends made it easier for her to take. At least she knew that they were taking her safety seriously not just because they'd been ordered to, but also because they genuinely cared.

"I think Sabin has a crush on you," Tressa was saying, tossing her thick braid of blue-black hair back over her shoulder.

Ellone snorted, "He's sure got a funny way of showing it. He hasn't said two words in a week to me since forever."

"Yeah, he's bit of a loss for words around you, poor lad." Sarine said sympathetically, in between licks of her ice cream cone. "Still, the signs are there, if you're paying attention."

"What signs?" Ellone asked, curiously.

"Did you ever notice that he blushes just about every time you say anything to him?" Tressa asked her, blue eyes sparkling.

"Really? No, actually I haven't." Ellone said.

"Poor Sabin. So, he's got no chance with you, does he?" Sarine asked.

"I didn't say that!" Ellone protested. "It just never occurred to me! I mean, like I said, we've barely spoken!"

"A bit shy, Sabin is. Still, if you catch him right, you can tell he's definitely interested." Sarine said.

Ellone frowned, unsure of what to think. She liked Sabin, and had found his shyness kind of endearing. She thought that his reticence might be due to the fact that while he was a junior SeeD, he was still a SeeD and several years her senior. While a three-year age difference wasn't much in the larger scheme of things, the fact that he was eighteen to her fifteen appeared to matter a great deal to him.

"I wonder why, I mean, I'm sure he probably thinks I'm still a kid..." Ellone began.

"Ellone, I know he doesn't." Tressa said gently. "He sees in you what we all see: your sweetness, how gentle you are, how, despite everything you've had to deal with, you're still so innocent it makes my heart ache. I'm sure it does his too. The fact is Ellone, we all would die just to preserve that innocence."

"And don't sell yourself short in the looks department either, Elle. You've got skin to die for, and the prettiest brown eyes I've ever seen!" Sarine said.

Ellone studied both friends, while heat bloomed in her cheeks, suddenly at a loss for words herself. Both girls were beautiful in their own right, resplendent in their brilliant white and gold-chased SeeD uniforms. Tressa, tall and graceful, with dark lashed, crystal blue eyes and thick, midnight silk hair and Sarine, petite and curvy, with a tousled cap of short-cropped golden hair and jade green eyes. They both joked that they were so good at protecting their clients because they were too beautiful for anyone to believe they were actually bodyguards. Until it was too late, and whatever threat to their client was eliminated with astounding speed.

Needless to say, they were much in demand.

Ellone found it interesting however, that they would never talk about any of the jobs they'd been on, even if they'd been gone for an extended period of time. At least, they wouldn't tell her about them. Knowing what she did about what SeeDs were however, Ellone was okay with not being told the gory details.

And then there was Sabin. In truth, Ellone did find him attractive. Tall and lithe, he wore his dark brown hair long; he normally had it confined in a tail at his nape. His eyes were a warm chocolate brown, and his smile dazzled with its sweetness. He was intelligent and kind, and Ellone decided that if he was indeed interested in her as more than a friend, she would not be opposed to a romance with him.

Their conversational topic moved to more general things, shipboard gossip having long been exhausted. It was a rare afternoon when Ellone could, just for a moment, pretend that she was just an ordinary teenager out with friends, enjoying ice cream in a beachside parlor.

Ellone returned to the ship feeling much refreshed by her all too brief foray ashore. The rest of the White SeeDs and the kids aboard had also had the opportunity for some R & R, so everyone was in a festive frame of mind.

Dinner that evening, as the ship sailed away from Dollet, was an enjoyable, convivial affair, and Ellone, feeling greatly daring, had started to engage Sabin in conversation. After getting over his bashfulness, he turned out to be as articulate and interesting as she had hoped he would be.

So caught up was she in her efforts to make a new friend, and perhaps more, of him, she didn't notice that Matron had not been at dinner. Realization didn't dawn on her until she read the contents of the folded envelope that had been left on her pillow.

Ellone.

My dearest child, the moment we have been dreading has come. Events that have been set in motion almost from the moment of your birth are now moving at a pace much faster than I can manage any longer. The OTHER...will have engulfed me utterly by the time you read this, and so with the last of my strength, I have attempted to sever all bonds. Do not try to find me. If we meet again in the future, we will be strangers, and I will be your enemy.

Remember. Please, REMEMBER. There is a REASON that I forbade you to train like SeeDs do; they use Guardian Forces, which supplant and some say, even ERASE memories. While this was a desirable outcome for SOME of my children, I wanted at least ONE, YOU, to retain ALL of your memories. They are more important than you know.

Be well child. Be strong. I cannot tell you more of what is to come and your part in it because SHE is listening. Her name, by the way, is Ultimecia. Remember it. As yet, she does not know that you are the one she seeks, but eventually she will. Trust your instincts, they will not steer you wrong.

I am no longer Matron; I am now Sorceress Edea.

Farewell, my dear.

The words blurred as Ellone's eyes flooded with tears.

Matron was gone.

Author's Note: So, here's the next installment... hope you all enjoy it. Doing my best to keep my writing going daily and hope to finish this story by month end. For some inexplicable reason, ffnet is being...strange... when I try to copy and paste my story docs from yWriter. the formatting is just...WEIRD. conversely, when I copy and paste from AO3 over to here, it's just fine. So, going forward, I'll be updating the story there first. I don't use Word any longer, and really the only thing I miss about it is the fact that I could just upload from Word directly to ffnet.