~***~

Part Two -Random Hearts

~***~

In the artificial light, Squall looked even more handsome then he did in the darkness. His eyes positively sparkled, though they remained emotionless. She saw now that his hair was a canvas of dark and light browns, spiky bangs falling over his forehead. He seemed uncomfortable in front of the others, especially Seifer, whose eyes he avoided studiously.

"Who's he?" Irvine asked, making a circle around the newcomer and scrutinizing him with envious eyes.

'He probably saw how I was looking at him,' Selphie thought to herself, then blushed when she realized they were all staring at her, waiting for an answer.

"His name is Squall," She said, straightening her back and conjuring up her most authoritative voice. " I hope you're familiar with the Dollet Lights. Squall used to be a member of their resistance faction before Vinzer Deling tore them apart."

"Oh yes, I remember them," Quistis said, folding her arms. "They would have been successful if it wasn't for a spy in their midst." She cast a look in Squall's direction and soon, Seifer and Irvine followed her gaze. Squall matched their distrust with a scowl and stared at each of them until they all looked away. Only Seifer kept his eyes on the man Selphie had identified as Squall.

"I don't know who you people are," He said, appearing disinterested. "All I want is to get to Timber, but Selphie said that there are SeeD there. I'm not here for political reasons, I'm just a traveler, trying to start a new life."

"You're going to give up on your dream so fast?" Selphie asked, her green eyes wide. For once Squall seemed affected by something that she said. He cast her an inquiring look. " Well, I just know that when someone has a dream, it never should go unfulfilled."

Squall nodded and for the first time since she had met him, he smiled. It seemed somewhat out of place on him, like a flower growing out of concrete.

Selphie shivered and smiled back weakly.

~***~

"Selphie."

Seifer didn't bother to knock, a habit of his, but Selphie was still shocked to see him enter her room. He never did seem to care about her, or acknowledge her presence in any way other than to be sarcastic. What surprised her even more was the expression on his face. He appeared worried and tired, as if he spent the entire night brooding. He strode in without an invitation, and Selphie stared at him. She made no effort to rise from her seat; the only thing on her mind was Seifer's purpose in coming to her room.

"Seifer, what are you--"

"There's something wrong with him," Seifer cut in. Some things would never change, one of which was Seifer allowing Selphie to talk.

"Wrong with whom?" But she knew what he was talking about.

"That guy you brought, Squall."

"You say that about everyone, Seifer. Please, we have more important things to think about right now." She rubbed her temples and yawned, inwardly willing him to leave.

"But this time I mean it!" He grasped hold of Selphie's shoulders and gave her a slight shake. "I don't know what it is, but you have to believe me!"

Selphie angrily pushed his hands off of her and stood up from her desk. "Calm down, Seifer. Your suspicions are noted. Now go lie down, you look like hell." With that she strode out of the room, standing as tall as her tiny frame would allow. The last thing she needed was Seifer telling her that she was wrong for helping a stranger. Then again, Seifer was Seifer.

She made her way out of the building, deciding to go back to the bridge. At least there was one place she could be left in peace without being bothered by people who'd never had faith in her anyway. What right did they have to question her when they'd never given her a chance? Her feet kicked up little clouds of dust as she stomped for all she was worth. It wasn't like they would hear her small feet trying to make noise; they were probably in a meeting trying to figure out how to get rid of her. She snorted indelicately, and threw a disgusted glance back at the tiny shack that was their headquarters.

Rin...

Others had been lost due to their cause, but they hadn't been so close to Selphie as Rinoa had been. They had been best friends since Selphie had joined their faction a year ago. Rinoa had been here on this very bridge, crying about something, Selphie still didn't know what. At least Rinoa's leadership had been respected, revered. She'd made friends with everyone. But not Selphie. Even her boyfriend chose to desert her.

One of Selphie's tears fell onto the pond beneath her and the ripples reached out, spreading almost the entire width of the water.

If only I could leave like she did…I wouldn't care if it was the SeeDs that got me. Just somewhere. Anywhere but here.

A hand on her shoulder made her gasp and spin around.

"Do you like sneaking up on people?" She asked angrily, using the back of her hand to wipe away her tears. She hoped he hadn't noticed the shiny tracks down her cheeks.

"Are you alright?"

Hyne this guy was creepy. His eyes were dull and empty and as always, his face held no emotion whatsoever. There was a possibility, as much as she hated to admit it, that Seifer was right.

"I'm fine," She growled, wanting him to leave her alone. Stop staring at me.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I have the tendency to do that." When Selphie cast him a questioning look, he sighed and said, "To sneak up on people."

"Well, you are a tad bit odd." Selphie never was the one to hold back what she thought. If someone was being a jerk, she would let him or her know. If she hated someone, they would find out soon enough, and not from the rumor mill.

He let out a low chuckle, almost sounding like he was laughing at her.

"What is it this time?" Odd. Very odd. This guy got weirder by the second.

"...Whatever. It doesn't matter."

She decided not to respond. No reason to force it out of him, and personally she couldn't care less at the moment. Maybe in a few minutes, hours or days, maybe even in a month or so, but not right now. She turned back to facing the pond and staring at the reflection of the stars in the water. Minutes passed and she wondered why he wasn't leaving.

'Maybe I should tell him myself,' She thought but then she began to have another conflict with her brain and her heart. One side said that he was wearing out his welcome, but the other was saying that she was being too harsh on him. She dismissed both thoughts; all she knew was that if she didn't say something soon, she would scream.

"What's that on your finger?" The ring had caught her attention; it was very peculiar that he was wearing his ring on his leather glove; even more so was the odd monster decorating it.

"A ring," He said, in a tone that indicated that he thought she was an idiot.

"No, I mean, what's on your ring."

"It's...Griever." He stoked the ring thoughtfully.

"Actually, I recognize it." Selphie couldn't believe it. The ring looked so familiar. "I've seen it somewhere before..."

"There's only one. It was specially made."

"But I'm positive!" She protested.

"...Whatever." With that single word, he had closed that topic in their short-lived conversation. But Selphie wouldn't let him go so easily. Now this dark stranger who attempted to keep to himself intrigued her.

"So tell me, why do you want to bring down President Vinzer Deling?"

"He killed my mother."

Selphie started slightly at his words, but she could sympathize with the stranger. She too was an orphan, her parents most likely dead. She stared at him silently for a moment before she spoke, her voice halting and full of an old pain.

"My parents were killed by him too. It's lucky that didn't get a hold of us, or else we would have become SeeDs."

"What?" For the first time emotion showed on his face, complete and utter shock. It wasn't just an act, like when he had smiled at her, because under the shock there was no blank slate. She had surprised him.

" You don't know?" Selphie was positive that someone whose mother had been killed by Deling would at least know the man's true purpose. "Garden recruits its SeeDs from children who have been orphaned on Deling's account. That way he can not only rid of people who plan to rebel, but build up his army as well. Kind of ironic really, sons and daughters of those fighting for peace helping to maintain the war."

Squall seemed to be thinking about her words, surprise still playing across his face, but at a lesser degree. Finally he shook his head and looked at his shoes, seemingly very interested in how the laces were tied.

"I can' t let him do this," He whispered. "I have to go to Timber."

"There's no need." Selphie placed a comforting hand on Squall's stiff shoulder. "Welcome to the Forest Owls."

~***~

He lit his cigarette and gazed thoughtfully at the pond. This place held great significance to the girl and to Rinoa. The raven-haired princess was standing behind him, asking him not to hurt Selphie, not to play with her emotions. He could tell that she was upset that her friend had told Squall about the Forest Owls. Silently he congratulated himself on having won part of her trust so soon. Yet now was not the time to be celebrating. He still had a long way to go before he could get close enough to move in for the kill. She wasn't as dim witted as she seemed, and he knew she'd have the others watch him furtively. Three more people to win over, then he'd have a clear path to the lot of them.

When he was speaking with the girl, she had told him that President Vinzer Deling had killed her parents. Which of course meant, in essence, his soldiers. The thing was that when he had told her that his mother was killed by Deling, it was a half-truth. His mother had been killed, but by whom, Squall did not know. Cid and his wife Edea Kramer had adopted him and raised him in Garden. From childhood he had been trained to kill. To kill these rebels, but that was not his concern.

But Selphie had raised a few questions in his mind. There was a possibility that in fact Squall's mother too had been killed by President Deling and he was raised in Garden for the same purpose as all the others. To defend a man who'd made him an orphan.

He had to know more.

~***~

"It's a simple plan. We just find our way into Balamb Garden during the Annual Ball. It's a masquerade, so they won't be able to distinguish whether we're SeeD or not. Then we confront President Deling, tell him our demands and see what happens." Selphie smiled and looked around for her friends' response. Seifer, as always, was the first to speak up.

"What if he calls in the guards and kills you?"

Selphie's face fell.

"Oh...well, he won't do that."

"How do you know?"

"Argh...I just do!"

"Selphie, that is not a valid reason," Quistis broke in.

"How about we negotiate with Deling on the balcony, away from the guards and festivities? That way he won't be able to escape and will have to take our words into account."

Everyone turned to face Squall, but it seemed that none of them were going to take his suggestion seriously. They were still angry with Selphie for inviting someone they knew so little about into the Forest Owls. How could they be sure he meant well at all? He was silent and unfriendly, and their questions were met by silence for the most part. Even Selphie didn't trust him fully, and for the three other members, that seemed enough to condemn him without a second chance.

"Take the new kid with you. That way when the SeeDs find you out, only one valuable member of the Forest Owls will be killed." She could here the sarcasm placed on the word valuable, twisting it into something more akin to 'disposable'. She held back bitter tears of resentment.

Selphie glared at Seifer then pushed past him to go to her room, muttering profanities.

~***~

Squall and Selphie made their way from a darkened hall into the faint spill of light just outside the ballroom. Selphie swallowed nervously and checked their appearance in a decorative mirror.

Squall looked handsome, if somewhat bored, dressed in a standard black tuxedo. His mask was black with white edges. He'd flatly refused to dress up as extravagantly as Selphie had, saying he'd go as the average penguin. She chuckled at the memory. Her own ensemble was much more detailed, a red strapless satin gown that flowed to the floor and pooled around her feet. She had to be very careful not to trip. Over the satin lay a lighter red mesh, embroidered with thousands and thousands of little golden stars, and edging the hem a complicated design done in the same color. Her mask was also red, with feathers and sequins adorning the sides, and a gold symbol off to one side. It had eyeholes that were quite oversized, so as not to limit her peripheral vision. Together they were a striking pair, but before they opened the mahogany door to enter the ballroom, she whispered an aside to her ally.

"Act like SeeD," Selphie hissed, "That way, we'll blend in. And please keep your mask on!"

"It looks so stupid," Squall groaned. "And the elastic is digging into my head."

She smacked him on the arm and even through her mask he could see her giving him a dirty look. It had been difficult enough for them to sneak into Garden while being dressed formally. They had to go through the infirmary window and tell the guards that they had become lost. Luckily, the idiots bought it and led them straight to the ballroom. It was time to put their plan into motion.

What seemed like hundreds of SeeD waltzed together, some laughing, as if they were normal people who didn't kill others for a living.

"Disgusting," Selphie muttered. "But never mind that, we have to find Deling."

The pair scanned the room, then groaned concurrently. They had forgotten that everyone would be wearing masks.

"I do know that he's fat," She offered. But then again, so was half of the population. Glancing up on the clock that hung from the left side of the room, she bit her bottom lip in panic. They only had about an hour before the ball would end and they had to flee well before that time or they'd be discovered. The good thing about Balamb Garden was that it was small and there were less SeeDs than in Galbadia, so if they were found out, they still had a chance to flee. Fewer people meant fewer guards, which bought them some time at least.

Squall nudged Selphie and cocked his head towards their right, in the distance were two guards staring at them. While they stood motionless in the midst of the festivities, the others were either dancing or chatting at the tables littering the edges of the room.

"Well, shall we?" Selphie offered her hand, waiting for Squall to take it.

"I can't dance," He said, shaking his head.

"Don't be ridiculous, everyone can dance!"

She grabbed him by the arm and dragged him to the middle of the dance floor. Placing his left hand on her waist, she grasped the right in her own and began to glide through the crowd to the dance floor. Squall stumbled slightly, and blushed when he regained his balance. Taking a deep breath he followed Selphie into the middle of the floor. After a few false steps, and a lot of stepping on toes, Squall started to fall into the rhythm of the music and the waltz.

"And you said you couldn't dance! What'd I tell you?" Selphie smiled engagingly when suddenly another couple bumped into them, knocking Squall into her. They gave the dancing pair a dirty look. Selphie was unaffected and stuck her tongue out, just to be contrary. Only proves how arrogant SeeDs are. For Hyne's sake they crashed into us!  "C'mon Squall, don't get discouraged, that wasn't our fault."

Too soon, the final steps of the waltz played out and the song began to wind down. The dancers slowed, and Selphie looked up laughing. But the giggles died in her throat when she saw how hard Squall was staring at her.

When the song had ended, they stood frozen in the other's arms, until the fireworks went off above them. While Selphie looked up in awe of the shimmering explosions, Squall watched the lights play across her face.  They reflected in her eyes, the sparkling colors playing in her own green orbs. Squall couldn't help but think he'd rather watch them that way than against the canvas of the high ceiling. When her eyes finally lowered he saw himself reflected in them. She smiled at him, thinking how cute his hair looked, constantly messy.

Suddenly, something caught Selphie's eye and she broke away from Squall.

"It's Deling!" She whispered. "Stay here but keep watch. If I need your help, you'll know it." Quickly she made her way to the President, pushing past the SeeDs in her way and ignoring their dirty looks. The President was standing alone, if one didn't count the wineglass in his hand, possibly his only friend. His eyes lit up when he saw the lovely young girl making her way towards him, and he donned his most charming smile. It only served to make him look more like a serpent.

"How may I help you, young lady?" He asked, looking Selphie over.

'Might as well play along…' Selphie thought to herself, and plastered a fake smile onto her face. She lightly placed her hand on his shoulder and cast him a flirty look.

"I was wondering if you would join me on the balcony..." She trailed off and began walking slowly to the balcony that was not too far from where they were. She knew as well as anyone else did that Deling would follow her. To add a little extra incentive, she swung her hips seductively as she made her way to the balcony.

Almost as soon as they were along, Deling made a grab for her. She danced out of his reach.

"I've been wanting to get to know you, sir."

"Well, I have private quarters where that could be achieved." He raised an eyebrow and took a step toward her as Selphie suppressed the instinct to hit him.

"Well, I don't know. Perhaps you might want to reserve that invitation for one of the more beautiful ladies on the floor." She smiled engagingly.

"You're a beautiful lady," Deling breathed, sending shivers of distaste down her spine. "I wonder what you're doing here with SeeD. I could always make a spot for you in my office."

Ok, that's it!

"Listen, I wanted to talk to you about something of an important matter," Selphie said firmly. "Timber's independence."

"You're from a resistance faction, aren't you?" He asked, his face darkening.

"I demand that you hear me out. I'm here to talk this out peacefully. Per...perhaps we can come to a solution."

"Do you actually believe that I would listen to a young girl? Feel threatened by her?" He had backed her up into a corner and in an instant, pulled out a revolver from his coat. He pressed it up against Selphie's neck and laughed.

"If you shoot me, then everyone will know that you're a killer. You will be forced to resign from your position as President," Selphie whispered with more confidence then she felt.

"You see, that's the beauty of it. I can kill you, then say that it was out of self defense."

"Squall!" Selphie shrieked, clamping her eyes shut and waiting for the bullet to pierce her. But instead of the shot, she was shocked to hear the sounds of someone struggling with another. She opened her eyes and saw Squall fighting with Deling. He punched the larger man in the jaw and sent him sprawling on the floor of the balcony. Stepping on his hand, he relieved him of the revolver and held it to his temple.

"I take it you tried to hurt the lady. Hardly acceptable in polite company, wouldn't you say?"

"Guards!" Deling shouted and soon dozens of guards were making their way towards the balcony.

"Oh no, this is not good," Selphie moaned. "We have to get out of here!"

"I agree," Squall said.  Hauling Deling roughly to his feet, he gave the fat man a hard push, sending him crashing into the first three guards. Then he grabbed Selphie around the waist and jumped off the balcony.

~***~

He didn't know why he did it. He could have just let Deling shoot the girl and then his job would have been done. But for some reason, he saved her. Endangered his life for her.

The girl was lying on the sandy beach of Balamb, unconscious. He had carried her from Garden to this place, despite how sore he was from cushioning her fall. In a few hours the guards would find them, but right now they were shielded by a fairly large, grassy hill. He didn't know where to go from here. It would be easy to simply kill her and throw her into the ocean, but he couldn't do that either. Not now, at least.

There was something about her, a strange aura that made him want to know more about her. She was bubbly, kind and was never afraid of doing things herself. When she was dancing with him, he enjoyed having her in his arms, while other men looked on with envy. For those few minutes he had felt…free. Yes, free. He wanted to feel like that again, it was such a tranquil enjoyment of all life had to offer. Yet she was somewhat paradoxical to him. She was so carefree but simultaneously possessed such a tenseness to her features, as though waiting for a big cat to strike.

He got up from the sand and leaned down to pick the girl up. For once her features were relaxed, and he smiled to himself. She deserved a little rest, even if it came from falling off a balcony. He remembered that the blonde man -Seifer, was it? - had told her to meet them at Balamb station at 20:00 hours. He looked down at his watch and noticed that he had five minutes before 

Running towards Balamb City with the girl, he was grateful that no SeeD or guards were in the city. He wasn't about to be stopped by people he ranked by at least twenty levels. He'd take his own bloody time on this mission, and the personal agendas of a few soldiers sent by an angry Deling weren't going to deter him.

 When he arrived at the station none other than Irvine, Selphie's boyfriend, greeted him. If you could call him that, he wasn't doing such a bang up job of it. When he saw Selphie hanging limply in Squall's arms, his eyes narrowed dangerously.

"What'd you do to her?" He growled, taking a few steps toward Squall.

"I didn't do anything to her. We had to jump off a balcony. I think she hit her head." He sighed, clearly frustrated with being slowed up. "Look if you don't mind, this is a rather public place, and we're being hunted by quite a few angry soldiers who don't appreciate their President getting jerked around. So we can stand here for a while and chat about why your girlfriend isn't conscious, or we can get her some medical attention, cowboy." Irvine just gave him a look that told him he'd be at the bottom of the ocean right now if he weren't holding Selphie.

"Give her to me." The cowboy held out his arms to relieve Squall of the tiny girl. Squall smiled cruelly.

"I don't know about that. She might have a head injury, the less we move her, the better." He shouldered his way past Irvine and made his way toward the shack the Forest Owls called home. Irvine's heavy footsteps followed him a few seconds later.

~***~

September 16

7:09 am

Re: Forest Owl Operation

Director Kramer:

Selphie Tilmitt has informed me of a rather interesting story. The 'story' is regarding how Vinzer Deling sent his army officials around to murder those who rebelled and turn their offspring into SeeDs, to be used for his benefit. I am going to find out the entire story, so that I can decide who is telling the truth and who is feeding me lies.

The girl has recruited me to join the resistance faction, the Forest Owls, and her trust in me is growing by the second. I have already accompanied her on a mission. I'm positive you have been informed about the Balamb Ball ambush.

If you're wondering why I have not killed her, my reason is simple. I have not yet found out enough information about the Forest Owls and I would like to take this operation slowly.

--Squall Leonhart