Disclaimer: the usual

A/N: hiya. Heres some more. Btw I love all the theories you have all sugestes on the meaning of the rose. you are all getting close! Thanks to lilnaych hououza, teresa pham. Acho111, r, EmoDiva, Leonharted, leonhartilly, Rinny Leonheart, Ookami Fuu. You all rock lots ! So read on if you like…

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Squall stepped into the main room to see a middle aged man waiting for him. When Squall entered he rose and extended his hand "Good day. I am General Karlson."

Squall nodded to acknowledge the man, but did not take his hand. He was not yet sure if he entirely trusted this man, there was just something about him.

"Are you Squall, son of Laguna Loire?"

"Yes." Squall said sharply. Why did people always want to talk about his father?

"I believe you could be of great help to us."

"Really. And why is that?"

"Well it is well known, that your father was a legendary soldier and I have heard you very much inherited his skill with a sword."

Squall knew this was true. He had spent a lot of time training, despite not being a soldier himself. When he was young, one thing he remembered his father doing, was training with swords. Squall had admired his power and control and desperately wanted to learn the skill, but his father always told him he was not allowed near a weapon until he was older. But when Laguna disappeared one of the first things Squall did was pick up one of those swords.

"What of it?" Squall said, dismissing the memories.

"Well as you know, we are eager to eliminate the sorceresses and the new leader has become insistent we increase the speed of the hunt."

"New leader? Who is he?"

"I do not know. It is all very secretive, the orders are merely passed down to me. But it is his wish that we gather every remaining sorceress and have them all by the Twilight eve, which gives us.."

"Exactly 4 months today I believe" Squall said.

"Yes. And on that sacred day, these witches will be burnt, sacrificed. A symbol of evil being cleansed form our world. But 4 months is not along time Squall, I believe someone of your skills could be useful to us. We have come close many times to catching these witches, but they escape our soldiers as they are not trained enough to capture them."

"So you wish me to help you hunt these women?"

"Yes, I do."

Squall was all set to answer, but he found himself starting to hesitate. He found himself thinking about…his dream. He had never had any sympathies for the sorceresses. Most of them were inhumane, evil…but he had dreamt of one who did not seem it, he dreamt of the pain that this hunt was causing. The fear, the anxiety. Even if it was only a dream, it was what prevented him from accepting..

"No." Said Squall "I don't wish to help you."

The general looked shocked "Squall, surely you do not support the sorceresses, surely you want them gone also."

"Very much. But I value my own life and these witches…they are dangerous."
"Very well then" the man said stiffly " then I suppose I have no further business here…"

"No" Squall said leaving the room "You do not."

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Rinoa awoke to find herself laying in a completely unfamiliar room, and she sat up, instantly scared. Where was she? How had she gotten here?

Looking around, Rinoa saw an older women placing coal onto the fire.

"Who are you?" Rinoa asked nervously

The woman looked up and smiled "Ahh you are awake. My name is Cella."

"I'm Rinoa. How did I get here?" she asked timidly.

The woman tucked a strand of her greying hair behind her ear.

"You were running, but you fainted, exhaustion I would imagine. I was out walking and I saw you it was the early hours of the morning, so I brought you here. You were not safe out in the darkness."

"But…why were you out at such hours?"

"I do not fear the darkness. I find it quite calming. And I find night the best time to gather my herbs for my potions."

"Are you a…"

"A sorceress? Yes I am dear, just like you are."

Rinoa could not help but wonder how she had known.

"Are you wondering how I know?" asked Cella looking a little amused.

"Are you reading my thoughts?" Rinoa asked. She had heard that this was a rare ability that only some sorceresses had.

"No no child, just the expressions on your face. Sometimes what is obvious is more magical than magic itself. Your expressions, they tell your story like magic never could. And I can also sense your power as no doubt you will sense mine. Here.." the woman handed Rinoa a small glass bottle "Drink that, you will feel better."

Rinoa drank the potion and then held the bottle nervously in her hands. "Thank you so much."

"No problem at all. We must stick together or the vile soldiers will have their way and we will disappear forever." Rinoa watched as the elegant woman walked over to a small cupboard and took out a loaf of bread. "You must be hungry" she said as she cut the bread, and then poured soup form a pan into two bowls.

"Here, keep up your strength." she said as she handed her the food.

Rinoa felt incredibly lucky to have encountered this woman. As they ate they spoke of various things about being a sorceress.

"The persecution, I wonder if it will ever end." Rinoa said.

"I imagine not. People are very closed minded. They see us as evil."

"I suppose even if we are never caught we will be permanently on the run. We will always be lonely, never with the chance for family or friends or love."

"Well, that is dependant on if you believe in the power of the Knight." Cella answered

"The knight?"

"Ahh. I take it form your puzzled expression you have yet to find yours. A knight, it is said, is a man whose true love for a sorceress will protect and save her from all danger. They say every sorceress needs a knight for without them, they will be corrupted and become mad."

Rinoa had briefly heard the mention of Sorceress' Knights before but had never heard much of the story behind it.

"Do…do you have a Knight?" Rinoa asked Cella

"I did…but he passed away. But I believe the love that we shared was more than enough to keep me protected and sane until the end of my days."

"I have no one" Rinoa said sadly.

"At the moment. But that is not to say you will never find one. It is believed as with normal people, sorceresses too have one true love out there, one soul mate. This person is our Knight. The only problem is not all sorceresses get to find their knight.Of course, it all originated form a Legend…."

"A legend?" Rinoa asked

"Yes, have you not heard it? The Legend of the Sorceress Yonia, and her great Knight."

"No. Would…would you tell me it?" Rinoa asked shyly.

"Of course. Yonia Telamria is said to be the first documented Sorceress. When her powers were discovered, the King sent an army of his Finest Knights after her. The leader of these Knights was Lord Atoi. But it is aid that when he found her he was so captivated by her beauty and innocence that he allowed her to escape. When the King found out what he had done, Lord Atoi was banished from the Kingdom for his treachery. But in the next town, he crossed paths once again with Yonia. She was being chased by a mob, and in order to save her, he fought these people. He then took it upon himself to protect her and gradually they fell in love and after that they were never separated. And he is believed to be the first ever Knight from which the tradition stemmed. His and Yonia son went on to become Knight to another sorceress. And so knights were born form many lines. Of course there is no way to tell if a man is destined to be a knight, but it is believed certain men are destined for a certain sorceress. So there is someone out there who is destined to be your Knight, your hero."

For some reason just hearing that story brought tears to Rinoas eyes. She had never really thought about there being someone destined for her. But it gave her, in a small way, some hope. Maybe one day she would find her Knight.

Later in the evening Rinoa went into the nearby village. Cella assured her she was quite safe as the soldiers had passed through the town recently and moved on. She gave Rinoa money to buy some things she may need when she left to continue her journey. Rinoa felt safe in the village, it was if no one noticed or cared she was a sorceress. It was the tolerance she had always longed for.

It had been quite a walk form Cells house, So Rinoa headed back just as darkness fell. She did not want to be out too late in the pitch black night. But when she returned she noticed the door was ajar.

"Cella" she called nervously.

But she gasped in shock when she stepped inside the house. The place had been destroyed and Cella lay slumped on the floor, a bleeding wound in her stomach.

"Cella!" Rinoa cried running over to her. "What happened? The soldiers??"

Cella weakly shook her head. "No…a young man…I did not know him. And there….there was a woman…the strangest silver hair…and that man, his scar.."

"Was he blonde?" Rinoa asked. For so long now she had been being followed by a young blonde man with a scar that ran across the top of his nose. Rinoa never knew why he was following her, because he wasn't a soldier. But he was certainly evil. He had done this.

"He was searching for you. He knew your name…he claimed it was urgent and he became impatient.."

"I am so sorry" Rinoa cried

"Do not be my child. I have lived a happy life. But take this.." she handed Rinoa a small blue crystal "Good luck." she whispered before her eyes fell closed.

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Poor Cella. I think its clear who the guy following Rinoa is now….anyway hope you liked it and I'll add more soon if ya want. Let me know what ya think. xx