Ellone's Tale (A speculative fanfic)

by Laguna

Fandom: Final Fantasy 8

Pairing: No pairing

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: Square owns them. Not me. Ain't gettin' paid.

Synopsis: This is a speculation about how Ellone met Laguna long before the game. It is based on visual and verbal clues that appear in the game.

Ellone's Tale

by Laguna

Occupation. Its a good thing when it's your job. Its not such a good thing when its another country's army.

This is, no doubt, what the people of Winhill were thinking when the Galbadian Soldiers walked into their town and just made themselves right at home.

"Shh... hush, little Ellone," a man cradled his little girl in his arms as he sat at the table in the cafe . Like the rest of the people, he was less than fond of the Galbadian soldiers.

The infant wailed, her face red, and he looked down to soothe her.

"Poor thing,"

The man looked up and saw a dark-haired Galbadian soldier standing inches away from him. The raven-haired was smiling down at little Ellone. This made Ellone's father very nervous. Was the man going to kill his little girl?

The soldier reached into his backpack. "Let's see. Maybe I've got something that'll cheer you up,"

"Your leaving will cheer her up," Ellone's father growled.

The man didn't seem to hear him as he continued rummaging through his backpack. Then, he shook his head. "Sorry, nothing in here a little girl would like. Unless you like magic. I'm not very good, but..." he reached behind Ellone's ear a few times and pulled out a number of coins. "There," he said, placing the coins on the table. It was just enough money to cover the cost of the meal the man had just eaten.

"We don't need Galbadian charity," Ellone's father said, pushing the coins toward the dark-haired man.

"It doesn't come from Galbadia," the raven-haired man replied. "It comes from Laguna Loire."

Ellone's father watched as Laguna Loire stood up and, finally, departed from the cafe.

*****

Word had come down from High Up that an anti-Galbadian faction was meeting that night. Action was to be taken that night. The rebels had to be eliminated before they started a riot. The soldiers who had been selected were to go in, eliminate the problem at hand and make sure there were no bodies. The bigwigs would take care of eliminating any evidence. By morning, there would be no indication that the people in question had ever been born.

One of the soliders picked for the raid was Laguna Loire.

The raid took place as scheduled. The soldiers, including Laguna, ran into the house, guns blazing. The small group of people who had been sitting there were taken completely by surprise. None of them managed to even stand up from the table they were seated around.

Laguna's clip emptied and he started to fit another one into place when he noticed the room for the first time.

This was no rebel meeting. No military faction. It was a simple family celebrating a child's birthday.

Laguna swallowed the lump of guilt in his throat, fit the clip into his machine gun, and emptied it into the other Galbadian soldiers.

It was then that he saw the little girl. She was lying on the floor, her little dress covered with blood. Whispering in her ear, he cast the last of his full-life spells upon her.

"I'm sorry," he sobbed, cradling the infant in his arms. "I'm so sorry."

The Galbadian General marched in. "Good job, m..." the words died in his throat as he saw that everyone, except Laguna and a single infant, had been killed. "What happened, Soldier?"

"You tell me, murderer." Laguna's eyes burned with hate. "Who did you want dead? This was a personal vendetta, wasn't it?"

"How dare you question a superior officer."

"You're not superior," Laguna retorted. "And I question any officer who orders a raid on a child's birthday party."

The General glared. "Pack up," he ordered as he turned to leave. "The transport departs for Galbadia in ten minutes.

Laguna Loire would not be on that transport.

*****

A dark-haired soldier sang a little girl to sleep, praying that she would be okay. He didn't know a thing about raising children, and was, at the age of seventeen, barely more than a child himself. But he was sure he'd done the right thing by deciding to become her father.

There was no formal adoption, he doubted the courts would have granted him, a former Galbadian soldier, custody. Especially since he was one of the people who had killed her family.

The child looked up at him, her eyes filled with wonder, trust and love, and his own heart felt lighter.

He already loved her as though she had been born his own.

(OWARI)