I'll be focusing on this story from now on. As some of you may know, my other story, Wings of Time has been deleted. I'm ashamed to say that I plagiarised the great Ashbear's work. I didn't copy her story, as those who read her works will know that WoT had NOTHING to do with her fics. I took some paragraphs from her one of her stories, and I was caught. I came clean about it with Ashbear, and I can only hope for forgiveness from her and from my readers.

I've started working on a re-write of WoT, this time, every word of it will be mine. Even if it's shit material, it'll be my own material, I promise.

But fear not, for this story contains no plagiarised work whatsoever. And as always, for anyone who has seen the movie, you will know which stuff is directly from the movie itself and which is my imagination.

Final Fantasy VIII belongs to Square Enix, Ladyhawke belongs to Warner Brothers. Sadly.

Onward and Forward

They rode on for several hours heading, in according to Zell's opinion, no where. Sometimes they took turns riding Squall's magnificent black stallion, Griever. At the current moment, Zell was walking after having rode Griever after three hours, in which which Squall had walked for.

Rinoa soared over them, every now and then, she would fly off in some other direction, most likely for food. As Zell watched Rinoa fly, he was reminded of what Cid had told him. The curse that they had been living with for the last two years, and of the possibility to break the curse. Squall would no longer be a wolf at night, and Rinoa wouldn't be a hawk during the day. Zell looked behind him, there was a large carriage being pulled by a mule. It was Cid, following close by, but staying away from Squall, as Squall was rather bitchy when Cid was around.

"Hey Squall..." Zell spoke as he jogged a bit to catch up to the trotting horse. "What if the old man's right?"

"About what?" Squall asked absentmindedly.

"If you and Rinoa could face that jerk together, as man and woman." Zell finished.

Squall's eyes twitched. "You will not mention that again. Not to me, not to her. Is that understood?"

Zell sighed. He was starting to get to know Squall well enough to the point of not pressing the issue any further. He glanced back at Cid and shook his head. Cid sighed and pulled on his mule's reins. "Abraham, will you get a move on? It's going to rain soon."

The skies above them were darkening, the air was cooling, and there wast mist in the air. They went on in silence like that for many more hours, eventually Squall get off his horse and Zell rode on. Rinoa eventually flew down, and landed on Squall's shoulder. The mist became thicker, until it sprinkled. Rinoa ruffled her feathers, all the water collected on her feathers hit Squall's face. He raised his eye brow at her, but she obviously took no notice. They entered a forest, where the water didn't reach them as much.

"Where the hell are we?" Zell finally spoke after an eternity of silence. "I'm getting hungry."

There was a loud rumbling noise. Squall raised his eyebrows at Zell. "Was that your stomach?"

"Haha, no." Zell hissed. He looked up at the sky, it was incredibly dark, and the rumbling intensified. "Looks like a big one, man. We're gonna get soaked."

Squall took Rinoa from his shoulder and placed her on Zell's own shoulder. "Find shelter." He looked at the sky. "The sun's going down."

Zell frowned. "How can you tell?"

"After so many sunsets?" He pet Rinoa's head and wings gently. "Take care of Lady Hawke."

Zell nodded, he clicked his tongue and tugged on Griever's reins. "Come on, boy."

They rode out, but before they were out of ear shot Squall muttered, "Tell her I love her." He wasn't sure if Zell heard him, but the skies rumbling made him turn, when he spotted another rider. Squall looked closer and saw that at the sides of the horse's saddles were covered in...wolf's skin. His eyes widened and slowly followed the other rider. The hunter was somewhat tall, but his clothes were absolutely filthy and his face was covered in dry mud. His hair was completely disheveled, his appearance was overall unpleasant. Squall hid amongst the forest trees, following the hunter closely by.

The hall was completly clear, there was not a soul in sight. He walked out of his room, carefully making sure that no one would hear his footsteps. The king and queen would soon be having their tea before going to bed. This was his only opportunity, it was his one and only chance. He made his way past the Grand Hall hallway, passing by a row of suits of armor with their weapons, but around the corner, his green eyes caught something.

Queen Raine was standing out in one of the hallways to the service rooms and was talking to none other than Edea Kramer.

"I...Edea, this is..." Queen Raine muttered, her hand covering her mouth.

"I know it sounds nearly impossible, but please believe me!" Edea pleaded. "Duke Almasy is responsible for Prince Squall's disappearance!"

Seifer backed against the wall, hidden in the shadows. His eyes narrowed at Edea.

"He cast a curse on him, when he realised that Miss Rinoa and the Prince were eloping!" Edea said frantically. "He became mad, and he hunted them down until he found them and cursed them!"

"But...where would Seifer have learned magic?" Raine gasped. "All of the Sorceresses died during the Crusades! Not one survived!"

At this, Edea looked downward, and Raine understood immediately. "You...you're a-a so-sorceress...?"

"I am, your majesty." Edea looked up at the queen, her dark blue eyes swimming in tears. "But not by birth. When I was five, I came across a sorceress. She was dying at the moment and she looked at me and said that I would have her powers."

"Oh Edea..."

"I never knew who that poor soul was," Edea said quietly. "she simply transferred her powers to me, and that was the end of that."

"But why did you teach Seifer?" Raine asked as she hugged Edea, who was now crying.

"I raised him as if he were my own son..." Edea sniffled. "One day he came to me, asking me for a perfect gift for Miss Rinoa. After I suggested the usual flowers and candy, and he said no. He said he wanted to give her something unique. When I used my magic to create a glass heart, he asked me to teach him....I couldn't say no to him, he was only a child, after all."

Raine pulled away from Edea slighlty, but keeping her arm around the sobbing woman.

"You have no idea how much I regret teaching him magic." Edea whispered. "I've regretted ever since the day the Prince and Miss Rinoa went missing."

Seifer was seething, his hands were balled up into fists. You'll pay for this Edea, I swear it.

The king's voice made Seifer retreat to the Grand Hall hallway, away from the scene. No doubt that Edea would tell the king what she had just told the queen, and if not, then the queen would tell the king. Either way, this was bad news for him. He made his way through the castle, his destination was the kitchen. He was careful to not make any noise as he entered through the great wooden doors. He saw a few scullery maids cleaning around, and three kitchen maids preparing the tea for the night; two trays were in front of him. One had a fine china tea cup with a floral pattern teapot, the other had two cups with the very same floral teapot.

They all bowed at him when he entered, he didn't make any sign of acknowledgement as he walked past them. He mad his way into the giant walk-in pantry and searched viciously through the glass bottles each one with dark liquid in them, until at last he found the one he was looking. He took a small cup from a nearby cabinet and filled it up with the glass bottle's contents. He corked the bottle closed and placed the bottle back in its place.

He took a quick sniff at the cup, it was by far the most foulest thing he had ever smelled. He made his way back to the main kitchen to find that the kitchen maids were having a chat amongst themselves, with their backs facing him. He quickly poured the dark contents of his cup into the teapots. As he finished, a maid turned to him and he quickly brought the small cup to his lips, making it look like he was drinking.

"May I help you, sir?" asked the maid politely.

"Just came for a sip of wine." Seifer said curtly. The maid looked taken back by his tone as he placed the cup in a bucket full of dishes and left the kitchen. He made his way back to his room, back to the Grand Hall hallway, passing the row of suits of armor. As he was about to turn the corner, he spotted Edea. She was till standing in the same place, except this time she was alone. Seifer looked at the suit of armor closest to him. He took one of the daggers.

He walked towards Edea slowly, like a prowling cat cornering a mouse. With the dagger in hand, he drove it through her left side, aiming for her heart.

Edea gave a strangled gasp, as her body slowly became limp. She collapsed onto the floor, Seifer turned her around so that her dark eyes met his.

"Sei-Sei-Seife-Seifer...." she croaked before her yes closed.

Seifer picked up her limp body and ran as fast as he could towards the stables. He kicked the door open, startling some of the horses. He prepared one, and taking Edea's body with him, he rode out of the castle, into the forests as the sun set over the horizon.

Zell tied Griever's reins onto a stable, making a tight knot, before setting Rinoa down on an old saddle. Squall had said to find shelter, but funny enough, Squall took the pouch with the money. So, rather than booking a room at an inn, Zell managed to make his way to a barn. There was various types of gardening tools, as well as horse equipment. There was two other horses in the other stables, as Zell rolled on some stacks of hay to Griever, the other horses neighed for his attention. Zell frowned as he rolled a stack a hay to the other two.

Rinoa chirped merrily as she ruffled her wings, Zell leaned on a wooden pole in front of her. He noticed she was clicking her beak.

"Are you hungry?" He asked the bird. "Do you understand me, Lady Hawke?"

Zell walked over to her and stoked her chest with his index finger. "You know, it was my favorite dinner, hawk. My father used to take me out hunting for hawks every day."

He walked a few steps away from the bird. "Man, karma is a bitch." He began pacing. "It serves me right for getting involved in this nightmare. Or daymare."

Rinoa chirped at him, almost as if she understood. But Zell was too busy thinking aloud to notice. "And then, there's the 'night without a day, day without a night' shit that Cid said. What the hell is that supposed to mean? It makes as much sense as everything else!"

Rinoa again chirped as if she understood him. Zell looked outside and saw the sun was hiding behind the mountains. "Uh oh, sunset. I'll wait outside."

As he walked towards the barn's doors and saw that it was pouring outside, it also dawned on him that Rinoa did not have any clothes for her to wear after her transformation. He looked back at her, she was cleaning her feathers.

He bit his lip when he noticed that a man had pulled up in a cart at a short distance from the barn. The man got off and walked inside the town's inn which was now playing lively music. Zell narrowed his eyes when he realised that the cart had clothes in the back.

"Hold on a minute!" Zell told Rinoa, as he dashed out into the pouring rain. He made his way up a stone path and lingered a bit when more people approached the inn, which Zell noticed had the sign "Tottoro's Dinner" at the left side of the building. Not only was this an inn, but a dinner as well. Zell's stomach really hated Squall at the moment. When the last group of giggling women had entered the diner, Zell jumped onto the back of the cart and rummaged through the assorted garments. He found a simple blue dress with a lily pattern on the bottom of the dress and thin see through sleeves. He held the dress up slightly, he wasn't sure if it would fit Rinoa, she was so slim, after all. He tucked the dress under his arm and picked out a white loose shirt, a dark red camisole with a hood, and a plain pair of blue pants. Zell jumped off the cart and ran back to the barn as fast as he could before Rinoa transformed.

Luckily for him, when he returned to the barn, he found that Rinoa was still a hawk and in the same spot he had previously seen her. He took the dress from under his arm and laid it out in front of her, on an old saddle.

"Look, this was the first thing I saw, so I can't vouch for the fit." He said. "I'll wait outside, so take your time, Rin."

The hawk chirped a reply and Zell walked out of the barn, closing the doors behind him. He stood infront of the doors and began to undress, hoping that no one would see him.

His heart beat was quickening, but he had to keep his eyes on the hunter. Squall could feel his muscles aching, his hair was becoming darker, his eyes became yellow. As he ran amongst the trees, Squall began to strip off his armor, his breathing became heavier, and his fingers began to deform. He could feel the cold rain hitting his back, his nose was filling up with scents he didn't recognise hours before, his eyes began to see farther into the reaches of the forest he couldn't see before.

He could hear the thunder so close to him, as if it were right above him. There was a blinding flash of lightning and Squall, the human was gone. Instead, the black wolf that he now was emerged. The creature blinked in confusion, but walked on the path forward, following the scent of dead wolves.

Damn, how long does it take to put on a dress? Zell's mind complained. He had been out in the pouring rain for several minutes now. He was freezing his ass of and he was starving to death. He watched the people enter the diner with jealousy, he could smell the meat cooking and he licked his lips, savoring the taste. He tried to put his hands inside the pants pocket but he realised that there was something there already. He dug his hand out and grinned when he saw that it was money! He counted it and smiled, he had enough to buy a bowl of hot stew for him and Rinoa, and perhaps a cup of sweet wine. His attention snapped back to the barn when he heard Griever neigh.

"Miss?" Zell knocked on the door."Milady? Are you done?"

There was no response. He gulped as he dared himself to push the door open. He walked to the stables at the end of the barn and saw Rinoa crouching down, giving Griever more hay. She stood up when she heard his footsteps, and Zell was relieved to see that the dress fit her perfectly.

She curtsied. "You brought this for me?"

"Yeah." Zell grinned.

"Thank you!" Rinoa smiled radiantly before giving him a hug. "And what's with calling me 'Miss' or 'Milady'?"

"It's called manners...?" Zell shrugged, but grinning all the same as she pulled away.

"Well manners my butt!" She said in mock anger. "Call me Rinoa, or Rin. None of this formality crap."

"Good, 'cause to be honest," Zell said. "I don't like it either."

Rinoa looked back at Griever, and Zell knew what she was gonna ask before she opened her mouth. "How is he?"

"Squall's alive, that's for sure." Zell chuckled. "His attitude is as bright as the sun."

Rinoa snorted.

"He left you in my charge, y'know."

Rinoa looked over her shoulder and raised her eye brow at him. "Really?"

"He told me to tell you that, you are to follow my instructions as if they were from him." Zell spoke in an authoritative voice.

Rinoa grinned as she pet Griever. "Good evening, Griever." She kissed the horse as Griever shook his head appreciatively. Rinoa looked at one of the nearby windows and said quietly, "He's taking us back to Aquila, isn't he?"

Zell wasn't sure whether she was disappointed or angry, so he grunted in reply.

Rinoa turned to face him, and smiled gently. "Well, what shall we do? What do you instruct?"

Zell grinned. "I instruct you to sit by a warm fire," he said as he walked closer to her. "to drink a cup of sweet wine, and to listen to bright music cheerfully played."

Rinoa's smile only grew wider, she looked at Zell with an amused air.

"And who knows? Maybe we can dance...?" Zell said playfully as Rinoa giggled. "So how 'bout it, Rin? Wanna dance?"

"Right now?" She giggled, holding her hand to her mouth.

"Yeah, why not?" Zell said as he took a few steps back. He held his left hand in front of his face as he skipped oh his right leg towards Rinoa. When he reached her, he took both of her hands and led her to the middle of the barn, laughing as they went. Both of them placed their right hands on each other's left shoulder and spun around merrily. After six spins, they held onto each other's waist, and walked three steps forward and three steps back for five times. And then they held hands and began to spin around like little kids, laughing happily. They spun slowly at first, but they began to pick up speed as they went.

"Holy crap!" Zell laughed as they gained more momentum, while Rinoa laughed her head off. He could feel her hands slowly slipping from his grasp, but he didn't mind.

And then Rinoa went flying in another direction, dizzily trying to keep her footing. Zell spun about two more times until he came to an actual stop, at least his body did, because his mind was still going around in circles.

Both of them howled in laughter as their vision cleared. Rinoa was leaning against Griever's stable as Zell held onto a wooden beam. "Oh Hyne," Rinoa panted as she smiled. "It's been a long time since I danced!"

"Ditto." Zell replied as he caught his breath. He grabbed onto the beam beside him as his eyes slowly focused. "So, ya hungry?"

"Starving!" Rinoa replied. She stood up straight and walked over to Zell. He was looking around the stable, shoving various gardening tools aside. Rinoa raised an eye brow. "Um, what are you doing, Zell?"

"Looking for something to cover us from the rain, duh." He replied. He went back to Griever and withdrew Squall's sword from the stable.

It hadn't occurred to Rinoa that it was raining outside. She looked out at the window and saw that indeed, it was pouring.

"Ah ha!" Zell said. He pulled out a moth-eaten old blanket. Rinoa instantly frowned. "What? Don't get picky with me! Unless you wanna walk out in the rain?"

"Uh, no thank you." She murmured. Zell grinned as he draped the old blanket over himself and Rinoa. He went back to Griever and withdrew Squall's sword from the stable.

"So, you intend to be my knight in shining armor?" Rinoa smiled.

"Of course! I am a gentleman, after all." He grinned. "That and Squall would kill me if anything happened to you and his sword."

"Some gentleman." Rinoa scoffed. Zell merely shrugged and Rinoa rolled her eyes. He placed the sword at his side tucking in it in his belt.

As they made their way through the barn door, Rinoa pulled up her dress to her ankles, revealing a pair of soft boots. When Zell raised an eyebrow at her, she muttered, "I don't want mud all over it!"

"It's not like it's yours, really." Zell grinned.

"Did you steal this?" Rinoa grinned. "Zell, did you steal my dress?"

"Hey, if I hadn't gotten the dress, you'd be naked." He countered.

He had a very valid point, and Rinoa burst into a fit of giggles as he opened the barn door, and the two began to make their way to the dinner. He pulled the blanket over their heads and held it with both hands, while she held on to his waist, attempting to stop giggling. "I can't believe you stole my dress."

As the two trudged onto the muddy trail toward the dinner, with the blanket covering their vision save for the the path they were walking on, the two of them bumped into something quite unexpectedly.

Zell pulled the blanket over and his eyes widened. Wolf skins, about eight sopping wet wolf skins were in front of him, on top of a horse.

Rinoa let out a shriek of terror. Zell knew why. "Rinoa, Rin!"

She covered her face as she cried, horrified by the wolf skins in front of her.

The rider of the horse was a somewhat tall man, his clothes were sopping wet, but even so Zell could tell they were filthy. Zell continued to calm Rinoa down, calling her name several times.

"Rinoa..." The man spoke in a raspy voice, smiling bearing his yellow teeth. "Rinoa!"

Zell glared at the hunter, but directed his voice at the frantic girl in his arms. "Rin, get inside! Get inside the barn!"

Rinoa continued to cry, her sobs were hysterical as she refused to take her eyes off the wolf skins. With no other choice, Zell gave her a light shove in the direction of the barn. Rinoa at last ran inside, and Zell immediately drew out Squall's sword, albeit rather clumsily.

"If you lay one hand on her, you'll find on the ground next to your head!" Zell yelled at the hunter. "Now fuck off man!"

"Easy little, man." The rider chuckled. "You're frightening me."

"Are you deaf!?" Zell bellowed. "Fuck off!"

The rider burst out in laughter, but he nonetheless turned his horse around, Zell closely behind. "Turn around and you're dead!"

When the rider was finally out of sight, and into the woods, Zell lowered the large blade. "This night better not get worse."

As soon as he said that, he heard the loud neigh of Griever. Zell turned towards the barn and saw that Rinoa had mounted Griever and bolted out of the barn, heading directly for the woods. There a fierce look on her face as she held onto Griever's reins tightly and galloped into the rain.

"Rinoa! Rinoa!! RINOA!!!" Zell hollored after her. But she did not look back and entered the woods. "Fuck, Squall's gonna kill me...!!"