Chapter One

Tifa Strife opened first one eye and then the other. One look out of the tall bay window across the spacious room was enough to tell her that it was early. Very early. Or late, depending on how one looked at it... But, in any event, she was probably one of the only people awake in the whole palace anyway. She'd have to dress herself today.

Climbing out of her enormous king sized bed, the petite raven-haired beauty took a moment to stretch. He would be coming today. She knew. Even though he hadn't sent a letter before hand, Tifa always knew when he was in the city. She always had that dream. The feelings of fear were as fresh and real as ever. And after she had that dream, he would always show up.

Padding through the plush carpet in her room, Tifa made her way to the adjoining bathroom to draw her morning bath. As she watched the steam from the faucet roll up toward the ceiling, she pinned her hair up, somewhat absentmindedly, as she thought. How long had it been since she'd last seen him? Three years? Four? She wondered what he'd look like now. Still impossibly tall. Most likely still serious and brooding...

Turning off the water, Tifa tested the temperature with her hand before slipping off her night clothes and stepping into the gloriously warm water. She sat for a moment, her head leaning against the pillowed edge of the tub, as her body simply floated, enjoying the liquid heaven that enveloped her.

Maybe things would be different this time? Maybe, after he rode to her rescue, he would stay. She knew everyone would think her naive for even hoping for such a romance, especially with someone like him, but Tifa still held on to hope. Besides, she had heard that time and distance sometimes had a way of bringing out peoples true emotions. Perhaps Squall would finally be able to see how much Tifa cared for him. Perhaps her love would finally be returned! But, first things first. He had to help rescue her one last time. First, Squall had to help her escape from her wedding.

Squall looked out the window as the train sped on its way toward the city. Zanarkand rose out of the darkness like a beacon signaling him home. But this wasn't his home, he thought dejectedly. Balamb was his home. Always had been, and always would be. Zanarkand was just a place that was filled with dead ends and unfinished business. He may have spent a great deal of time there, but his heart would always lead him back to Balamb.

As the train began to descend below ground to dock at the underground subway station, Squall crossed his arms over his chest and resumed his former train of thought. Tifa. Another one of Squall's many loose ends. As the last surviving heir of the Strife royal family, he had obligation to look out for her that he had to obey. If anything were to ever happen to her, the entire country would face an uncertain future. Although she hadn't technically taken over all of the responsibilities of a Strife heir, there was no doubt that she had an amazing amount of political power, especially where the people were concerned. The people loved Tifa. For her ,they would do or give anything. And for Tifa, keeping the people happy was something she saw as a duty more than a right. That was most likely the reason, Squall assumed, that sweet little Tifa would agree to marry an ogre like Maester Seymour.

"You'd better stop frowning like that, Squall. Your face might get stuck that way."

Squall didn't look up at that blond who sat down next to him. As she turned her attention more fully toward him, he simply turned his attention back toward the window. "You look like you're taking this news pretty hard. You might be the only person in all of Spira that isn't happy and rejoicing over this union." Squall said nothing. He simply sat staring out of the window. Quistis knew how Squall felt about this wedding, yet she couldn't really be sure why he was so dead set on stopping it from happening.

Quistis Trepe had known Squall for almost three years now, and in that time she'd never seen him show any sort of emotion for anyone or anything until, that is, he'd heard the news about the Princess and Maester's plans. Quistis just couldn't figure it out, no matter how hard she tried. She knew that Squall had ties to the Princess, and that was to be expected since he came from a family of knights. However, he didn't seem to have a reason why this marriage shouldn't occur, especially when it would be a fairy-tale dream come true for the rest of Spira. The only thing Quistis could come up with was that there was more to this pair than she'd previously assumed...

As if sensing Quistis' thoughts, Squall reprimanded her brusquely. "What I do and my reasons for doing so are of no concern to you, Quistis. I'm simply doing a favor for a friend, so if you're going to be a nuisance, I suggest you stay on this train and go right back to Galbadia where you belong. I never wanted you here and I won't put up with any meddling or distractions."

Just as Squall finished his speech, the train finally stopped. He was back in Zanarkand yet again and he wasn't very happy at all. Without waiting for one of her smart ass retorts, Squall grabbed what few things he'd brought from the over hang and rushed off of the train. Quistis sat for a moment, chuckling at Squall's scathing remarks. Well, he was still in as foul a mood as ever. At least some things never changed. Without wasting anymore time she grabbed her things and filed off the train as well, though at a much slower pace.

On the platform, a magazine vendor finished stocking the latest edition of The National Tattler, Zanarkand's number one selling gossip tabloid. Pasted on the cover was a picture of the sixteen year old Princess and the much older Maester. Looking at the papers, Squall was once again reminded of how very little time he had left to stop this wedding. There were only three days left before the "Marriage of the Century", the magazine bellowed. Squall cursed in disgust as he made his way up the subway stairs and into the city.

AN: Well, here we are. The first Chapter of AMM done. This is the first story I've done in quite a while, so please, bear with me. As I've said in my profile, this story is the first of two stories that go together to make one big story... I hope that made even a little sense. But, in any event, I hope you enjoyed this first installment and I hope to see you all again soon.

Blazing-Soul

P.S. Heh. Sorry. I accidently spelled Quistis' last name wrong in this chapter, but I've fixed it now. Thanks for pointing it out. That's what I need readers who actually know something about FF for, I guess. ;