Author's note: Okay, so this chapter is pretty long. I knew where I want to end it, so getting there took me a lot longer then I had planed. I wrote this up on wordpad, and it doesn't have spell check so forgive me for any mistakes I might have made in spelling. I was to thank those who reviewed. I appreciate them!

Disclaimer: I do not own FF8, So please do not sue me. All I have is a 15-year-old dog and a car that makes lots of black smoke and sounds like nails on a chalkboard. :-p

Chapter One

Rinoa walked into the small inn and headed up the stairs to her room. All she could think about was a long bath and her bed. Was it just her, or did they add more stairs everyday? Once she finally reached her room, she unlocked the door and went inside. She flopped down on the bed. Fatigue overwhelmed her. That bath would just have to wait.

"Your not going to believe this."

"Cut to the chase, Zell."

"Alright, alright! Don't get your panties in a bunch!"

"Zell!"

"Anyway, like I was saying..." Zell paused as he rolled his eyes. "I stopped by my mom's place, and I was in the kitchen talking to her, she was making apple dumplings, and those are my favorites..."

"I don't give a fuck about that, just get to the point!"

"Well, I was going back out into the dinning room, and she walked right in though the door! I was in shock. I never thought she would be here, this would have been the last place I looked."

"Are you sure it was her?"

"Of course. I asked Ma and she said that her name was Rinoa, and she just showed up here a few weeks ago. She said that she found a job, and has been staying here. She also added that she was a nice girl who knew how to make dumplings..." Zell continued.

"Are you sure she's not going anywhere?"

"Yes, from what everyone said she seems content here."

"I'll be there soon. Make sure you keep her there no matter what."

The line went dead.

"Fucking Seifer. That guy thinks he owns everyone." Zell said to himself as he slammed the phone down on the receiver.

Zell turned and walked back towards the kitchen. He could smell the apple dumplings in the air, and his stomach was growling.

Rinoa was awakened by a knock on the door. She mumbled to herself as she forced herself off the bed. She opened the door, and immediately regretted it.

"Hiya Rin!"

Rinoa looked at the cheerful girl and rolled her eyes. As usual she was dressed in a bight yellow dress, that make you want to squint your eyes when looking at her. "What do you want Selphie?" She opened her eyes to notice that Selphie was no longer in the hall. She and somehow managed to bounce into Rinoa's room, and was now sitting on the bed. That girl doesn't know what the term walking is.

"Out. I am tired, and I just want to go back to sleep." Rinoa leaned against the door, and half-heartedly pointed out to the hall.

Selphie jumped up. "No can do, missy! Ma gave me strict orders to take you with me to get some milk, then to bring you to supper. Come on!" Selphie grabbed Rinoa's hand, and dragged her out of the room. As they headed down the stairs Rinoa missed a step and fumbled, causing them to tumble down the stairs in a blur of yellow and blue.

"Klutz!" Selphie yelled as she stood up.

"Well if you hadn't be dragging me, maybe we wouldn't of..." Rinoa stopped as she heard laughter. She took up to see a guy standing over her. She was about to say something, but noticed his hair and started laughing. His blonde hair was spiked out, but one of the spikes had come lose somehow and was falling in his face. Rinoa stood up.

"Come on Selphie, let's go." With that the two girls talked out of the inn.

"Selphie, do you know who that was?"

"Hmm? Oh yeah, that is Zell. Ma's son. He stops by every few months or so. He works for some rich guy, he's always looking for stuff for him. I can't remember his name... oh well, why?"

"I was just curious. Now that I think about it he looked kind of familiar."

"I think Zell just has one of those faces, ya know the kind that reminds you of someone. Here we are, stay here, I'll go in and get the milk." Selphie said as she went into the small store.

Rinoa looked around. That was bothering her now. Why does he look so familiar? She knew she had met him somewhere before but where?

"Hello."

Her head snapped up at the sound of the voice. It was Zell. "Hello." She replied nervously.

"Sorry about back there. My name is Zell." He extended his hand to her.

She shook his hand. "Rinoa."

Just then Selphie came out. "Got it Rin. Oh, hiya Zell."

The three of them walked back to the inn. While Zell and Selphie were engaged in conversation, Rinoa was deep in thought. She had a bad feeling that she had met this Zell before.

"Come on, let me buy you a drink! It's the least I can do for laughing at you earlier."

Rinoa looked at him. She sighed. "Okay, but just one. I have to work tomorrow."

Zell jumped up from the small and went over to bar. "Give me two beers please." The bartender nodded his head and bent over to retrieve two bottles, and handed them to Zell. Zell took them, and turned to head back towards the table. She wasn't looking his way and he grinned slowly. He slipped a small white pill into one of the bottles. Once at the table he handed her a bottle, and took a seat. "Cheers." he said and took a drink. His smile grew even wider as he watched her drink the entire bottle. This is one time Seifer isn't going to get what he wants. He looked over at Rinoa. She was pretty. Her hair was long, and jet black. Almost like a raven. Her eyes were the color of melted chocolate. Zell scanned the small room. This late, everyone came here for a drink. The inn had pretty much everything. Rooms to sleep in, a restaurant, and a bar. Small towns... he shook his head. Suddenly something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye.

"I don't believe it..." he said softly.

"Sorry, I didn't understand that."

He looked back at Rinoa. "Sorry, I was just talking to myself. Excuse me. I see someone that I need to speak to."

Zell stood up and strode across the room. "Well, if it isn't Squall Leonhart!"

The man just glared at him. "It's Zell, Zell Dincht. From Garden."

"Ah. How ya been?" he replied slowly.

"Let me buy you a drink!" Zell said and ran off to the bar, not waiting for an answer. An evil smile spread across his lips. A plan was beginning to form in his head. The time had finally come for me to make Seifer pay.

Rinoa was stunned when Zell got up and walked away. She watched him walk over to a table where some guy was sitting all alone. She looked at this newcomer, and noticed how his brown hair fell over his eyes, almost looking like me meant for it to look that way. He opened his eyes as he looked up at Zell. Wow. His eyes were blue, but not just any normal blue. They was a shade all their own. They was like two calm blue pools. She laughed at herself as she thought this. Then she noticed how his shirt seemed to cling to his chest. She felt her cheeks growing warm and looked back at the table she was sitting at.

"It's Zell, Zell Dincht. From Garden."

She could hear Zell's voice carry across the room. Her body went stiff as the words sunk in. That's where she knew him from! Seifer had someone at her aunts before that worked for him, his name was Zell. That means... "Oh no..." She whispered to herself. Seifer has found her! She jumped up from the table and ran up the stairs. I have to get out of here before Seifer shows up. I won't go back to that place. If he finds me, he'll force me to marry him. I have to get out of here, now! She ran into her room, and started tossing her clothes into the suitcase she had brought with her. She was about to close it when she suddenly felt dizzy. She sat down on the bed and wait for it to pass. She closed her eyes, and felt the room spinning. Before she knew what happened, her body slumped back on the bed as she passed out.

"Here we are, room three." Zell said as he opened the door. He smiled as he seen the two naked bodies lying in the bed, tangled together. "Opps, Sorry. I was told this room was empty." He said and slowly closed the door. Not slow enough to be obvious, but enough that the gentlemen standing behind him would see who was in the bed. He smiled to himself. "Sorry about that, Ma told me that room three was empty."

"Wasn't that Squall Leonhart?" The older man whispered to the man standing next to him.

"Yes it was, but who was that girl?"

Zell opened the door across the hall. "Here we go, a room that is empty. Enjoy your stay." He said and handed the extra key to one of the men. He headed down the hall, and heard a scream coming from room three.

Squall cursed as he heard the door open.

"Here we are, room three." he heard a voice say. Squall opened his eyes, and glanced over at the door. He cursed again when he noticed that the men standing there with Zell were none other then the President's right hand men.

"Opps, sorry. I was told this room was empty." he heard Zell say as the door was closed.

Squall put his hand over his eyes. Damn, of all the places to run into them... his thoughts was cut short when he finally realized that someone else was in the bed with him. he looked down, and saw a girl curled up against his chest, her dark hair flowing around her standing out even more against her pale skin. It was only when she stirred slightly that he noticed they were naked. Great, what a big fucking mess. Before he could do anything, the girl shot up and looked at him her eyes wide. She screamed.

"Who are you? What am I doing here?" She demanded.

"I have no idea either of those lady. Last thing I remember was walking in here and passing out. Next thing I know, someone was showing some very important people into this room. They all managed to see us like this." He answered her honestly.

She looked down and screamed again, and grabbed the blanket and pulled it up over herself.

Squall noticed a blue dress lying on the floor, he grabbed it and handed it to her. "I believe this is yours." He said as he searched for his pants and pulled them on. When he turned back around she had pulled the dress on. She was cute. "So what's your name?"

"Rinoa...and your...?"

"I'm Squall. Do you have any idea what kind of mess we are in here?"

"We are not in any kind of mess. I am leaving, and I shall forget that any of this ever happened." She stood up to leave.

"It won't be that easy. Once them men find out your name, your reputation will be destroyed. You'll be labeled as...soiled." He said hoping she understood what she meant.

She smirked. "Well then it is a good thing I am getting out of this town."

"And where will you go?"

She tilted her head slightly. "I'll head to Deling. In that city, it shouldn't be too hard to find a job."

"No one will hire you once they hear the rumors. Those men where important men. People will believe them."

She sat back down on the bed looking defeated. She knew he was telling the truth. He could remember what happened to girls that got that kind of reputation. She looked at him, she forced herself to ignore how cute he looked with his shirt off. But her eyes had a mind of their own as they roamed over his well-toned chest.

He looked down at her. He noticed that she was staring at his chest, and it made a certain part of his body respond. He groaned softly, and cleared his throat. "I do have a suggestion. It would work out for both of us."

She looked up at him. "So what is it?"

"We could get married."

Her eyes went wide. "No way! I'll take my chances in Deling." She stood up and headed for the door, but he grabbed her arm.

"Rumors like this follow you everywhere. There is no other choice. If we don't, then you'll never be able to get any kind of respectable job. You don't look like the type that could handle the jobs you could get."

"Why would anyone be interested in this? It's not like they know who we are."

"They know me. More importantly, they know who my father is. People would be very interested in knowing about this. Trust me." He let her go and sat down on the bed.

"Who are you?"

"My full name is Squall Leonhart... Loire." He whispered.

Rinoa's eyes went wide. Her mind repeated what he just said. "Wait, your father isn't..."

"Laguna Loire."

So that is why people would care. The son of the President of Esthar. What kind of mess have I gotten myself into now.

"So now you see why I say we have no choice but to marry."

"I don't even know you. How can you possible think I would marry you?"

"It would, save us both."

She looked at him. He didn't appear to want to hurt here. They had been alone in this room for at least an hour, and he never made one move to try anything. She couldn't marry him. She didn't know him, let alone love him!

"Think about it. You wouldn't ever have to worry about a place to live, or working for that matter. If you felt the need to do something productive, there are lots of things to do around the estate. You wouldn't have to worry about people snickering behind your back as you walked down the street."

She thought about it. She knew he was right. People would always talk about her, even if she did manage to find a decent job, she would more then likely lose it. She had to try. She couldn't just give herself away after running away from a marriage she didn't want. Wait, if I agree he'd have to take me to his home to get married. I could ride with him, then escape somewhere along the way and be closer to Deling, and further away from Seifer. "Okay, I'll do it."

He looked at her. "Good choice. We'll leave in ten minutes. I'll come to your room and get you. What room are you

in?"

"Room Six." She whisper and headed out the door. She went down to her room, and looked at the open suitcase on her bed. She had almost made it out of here. Now she was going to leave with some guy she didn't know, heading towards a wedding that she didn't want. Hopefully she could manage to escape from him before then.

"Hello?"

"Irvine, I need you to do me a favor."

"Squall is that you?"

"Yeah, will you do it?"

"Do what?"

"I need a special license to be issues today. A marriage license."

"What! Are you serious?"

"Very. You know that girl that we heard was being searched for?

"Yeah, the one that is supposed to marry Seifer Almasy?"

"That's her. I'm going to marry her."

"Squall, you can't be serious. How in the hell did this happen? Do you realize what your in for when he finds out?"

"Can you get me the stupid license or not?"

"Yeah. I'll meet you at the little church outside of town in an hour."

"Why are we stopping?"

"Because, we are getting married here."

"What? What about the license?"

"I got a special one earlier today, before we left Balamb. I have connections you know. This way, it will be easy for people to believe that we was already married when we was seen together."

He mind went numb. What was she going to do? She was being pulled out of the car, and she was heading inside a small church. She cried. There was no way out of this. She was about to be married to someone that she didn't know. She was no better off then she was a few weeks ago. No, that wasn't true. Just the little bit of time she had spent with Squall, she knew he would never try to do the things Seifer had done to her. Soon her and Squall stood in front of the preacher. She couldn't recall what was being said, she was simply directed though the movements, and at the end she repeated Squall when she heard him say I do. They exchanged rings, and then he kissed her softly on the lips. His arms went around hers, and he pulled her closer, and felt his tongue run along her bottom lip. She had never been kissed before, not like this. And her body seemed to react on it's own. She parted her lips and felt his tongue invade her mouth. She shyly pressed her own tongue against his, and heard a soft growl come from him, as he deepened the kiss, and it became more aggressive. She felt her knees get week, and her entire body seemed to be on fire, and it all seemed to settle between her thighs. She had never before felt anything like this. Then suddenly without warning, he pulled back. Everyone around them was clapping.

She was married now. She didn't feel any different. Aside from the side effect left from the kiss. Squall took her hand and lead her outside towards the car.

"I forgot something inside, I'll be right back." Squall said and headed back inside the church.

Rinoa watched him go inside. she was about to get in the car, when she heard someone yell her name. She turned around, and wished that she hadn't.

Standing in front of her was Seifer.

"Seifer! What are you doing here?"

"Rinoa, you made a big mistake taking off like that. It is time for you to come back and marry me like planed. I tire of this game you are playing. It's time for you to become mine." He said and grabbed her arms, and kissed her. His kiss was nothing like the one she had just shared with Squall. It made her feel sick, and his lips were pressing so hard against hers that she could feel her teeth cutting into the soft flesh. She tried to scream but her voice was too muffled to do any good. The more she struggled the tighter he held her. Suddenly he was pulled away from her.

"What the hell..." Seifer's words was cut short.

Rinoa opened her eyes just in time to see Squall punch Seifer in the jaw. Seifer flew back from the force, and landed on the ground.

"What the hell do you think your doing?" Seifer said looking stunned.

"I'll do worse then that if you ever touch my wife again."