Dear Squall,

I was born and raised in Winhill, a sleepy little town far from Galbadia's capital city of Deling.

Although it's in the middle of nowhere, the town has a gorgeous view of the city, and a field of flowers to stroll by.

I wonder what the original settlers were thinking when they chose to build a town here, right in the middle of nowhere. I'll never find my answers for sure.

Winhill has one of everything- One general shop, one clinic, one flowershop, one weapon shop…. You name it.

I, of course, ran the only tavern in this sleepy town.

Yes, your mother is a super woman.

I operated the pub, all alone.

All alone.

How cool of me, yes?

But I wasn't always alone. You see, my parents, or your grandparents, first established the tavern. After years of living in the beautiful yet polluted city of Deling, they decided to migrate into this beautiful little town in the middle of nowhere.

Mother was attracted to this town because of the field of flowers. Whenever she wasn't helping father, you could see her at the flower shop, talking to the nice old lady who operated it.

Your father, on the other hand, loved wine. Wine or beer, yes, you name it. Take the man from beer, but you cannot take the beer from the man, and so, he established the first tavern in Winhill.

And it became a hit with the locals, traveling merchants, wandering mercenaries and even the Galbadian soldiers who were stationed here.

But your grandparents died too soon.

Several years after they settled here, a cholera outbreak devastated Winhill, killing half of the five-hundred population. We were quickly becoming a ghost town.

My mother had passed away first, leaving me to care for my father. However, looking at my him, it was imminent he would follow her soon.

"Raine," he called for me. "Please take care of yourself."

I nodded.

"Take care of your mother's flowers."

I nodded again, brushing the tears from my eyes.

"Take care of my tavern."

I knew he loved me, his only daughter, but aside from me and mother, but it was amusing that even on his deathbed, he still thought about beer and wine.

I hoped someone would have same devotion for me, the same way my father had for wine.

That was how I became an orphan at the age of seventeen.

Left to fend for myself, I did my best to manage a tavern, no matter how daunting it was.

Didn't I tell you your mother is a superwoman?

No wonder your father fell in love with me.

Not long after the outbreak, war broke between Galbadia and Esthar and whatever men remained in our two hundred and fifty population was pulled out.

Winhill was truly now a ghost town, and at that time, believed I had to fail my father and close the business. He would've haunted me from his grave, reminding me of my promise. My only hope was to relocate to somewhere where his ghost couldn't even find me.

Of course, dreams were free and I just kept that a dream.

Monsters started to show in our streets, prompting the remaining residents to migrate to safer towns. I, however, remained in the middle of nowhere, caring for the tavern that no longer had customers.

Luckily, a couple moved next door. Like my parents, they too came from Deling City. They had a charming five-year old daughter named Ellone.

Yes, the same Ellone I mentioned in the previous letter.

"My name is Ellone, how about joo?"

Joo? "Raine Leonhart."

"She has a lisp." Her mother told me apologetically.

"No, I don't." Ellone cried.

Her mother ruffled the child's hair. "It's okay darling." Then she turned to me, "Do you live alone?"

"Yes. My parents recently died."

"Isn't it difficult to live by yourself?"

"I get by."

She gently tapped my shoulder. "You're always free to visit us if you need to talk to someone."

And so, Winhill was almost saved from the brink of extinction, thanks to the addition of three people.

They could've chosen Balamb, Dollet or Trabia, but I'm not complaining. If they hadn't moved here, I would have sold the tavern and moved elsewhere. So I have thank them for that.

But the happiness didn't last.

Months later, Esthar soldiers overpowered the Galbadian Army stationed here, invading our sleepy little town. Seriously, for what reason would they have for invading us?

You'd easily recognize the Esthar soldiers thanks to their bug-like suit of armor. They moved in packs, wielding scythe-like hammers. I wondered if they were truly humans, or insects because of how they looked.

Esthar was a nation in another continent, led by the Sorceress Adel. From what I learned in World History, there are quite a few Sorceress left in this world, and the remaining ones wielded tremendous power.

Esthar soldiers barged in my tavern, looking for any signs of a child. Apparently, the reason why they invaded Winhill was because Adel demanded to kidnap all children in the world.

Crazy sorceress, huh?

Since Deling was located on the northwestern side of the Galbadian continent, Esthar took its time to invade us- the town located on the southeastern part of the continent.

What a bummer.

Because they couldn't find any child, the best thing the soldiers did was wreck everything.

The chairs and tables were upturned, and the bottles I kept were smashed into pieces. .

At least they discover my secret underground inventory of wines.

When they finally left, I remembered Ellone and her family. I heard the cries of children forcibly taken from their families, and I feared for Ellone and her parents. There was a secret door connecting our residences, and I used to enter their house.

Ellone was still sleeping in her room when I entered. Her parents had entered. You could hear the banging sounds on the door downstairs.

"How did you get here?" Ellone's mother asked.

"There's a secret passage connecting our houses."

The husband and wife looked at each other for a moment. Finally, Ellone's father gazed at me, "Please take our daughter with you."

"But what about you?"

"We'll stall them."

"The secret door is this cabinet, " I said, pointing to the corner, "I'll wait for you when the soldiers have left.."

Her parents kissed and hugged Ellone, before giving me their daughter, and I vanished behind the secret passage.

I heard screaming and gunshots….

And then silence.

Ellone had slept through the ordeal.

I didn't dare return to her room, unless I risked everything.

A reinforcement Galbadian soldiers arrived, but everything was too late. Ellone's parents were dead, and I was left alone to care for a five-year old child.

AN: Yes, I did change the title. It's no longer Dear Squall. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!