Never Childhood
By Thomas G. Wier III
Bosofrod@aol.com

Based upon the characters, storyboards and other related materials of Hironobu Sakaguchi and Tetsuya Nomura

I.

Hide. Run. Eat. Sleep. Wake up. Hurry up. Get moving. It had been a life of simple commands, and a life that would offer no more. The young girl had accepted that. There was no other choice. She could either obey her mother's commands, or die and let the alley rats mourn her passing only after they stripped the flesh from her bones. Her mother would certainly have no time to grieve. It would be hard enough to find a place to leave her body. After that, perhaps even joy might follow, as one mouth would be much easier to provide for than two. The child was otherwise never regarded beyond those commands. There was no love - there had never been any time for that.

It was no exception on that cold night, as they ran, hand in hand out of necessity rather than a bond. The young child's legs simply could not keep up with her mother on their own; they were much too small. As to the age or name of the child, she knew not. As was the case with love, there was simply no time to deal with the luxury of knowledge, and names were not currency with which to purchase a loaf of bread. All that was needed was to know how to run, just as they were then running from the soldiers. Just as they would be running until the day they died.

"There she is!" came a shout from behind, and immediately following came the gunfire. It was no shock, no surprise, that the soldiers would open fire on a child and her mother. It had been that way since she was born, and it would always be that way. She never questioned their actions, just as they never questioned their orders or their consciences. This was life on the streets of Esthar, and one had to either accept it or lose one's place.

The bullets ripped into the sides of the alleyway, sending painfully sharp fragments of steel and stone cascading past as they ran for cover. The young girl cried out weakly as one of those pieces struck her leg. She would have fallen, open to the next barrage, had her mother not jerked her by the arm and ran with her around the corner. Her mother was strong, and the girl admired her for that. Yet what else could be the result of carrying her daughter all of her life and keeping her safe from the many threats of the city? It was life that they fought for, even when such life brought only misery and pain.

"Hide." came the simple order, and like a soldier herself, the young girl hastened to obey. They had been fortunate enough to find a small crevice in the wall of a run-down theater that emptied into darkness. They would not be followed in there. For a moment, they were safe.

"Wait." her mother commanded, the voice as strong in a whisper as it was in a shout. She would have to check and see if the coast was clear. Danger had an odd way of lulling one into a false sense of security, but it was never able to trick her mother. Her mother was the greatest person she knew.

"Get moving." she said, poking her head back into the crevice. The soldiers had already given up, going back to their bars or brothels or whatever held their interests until their next shift began. The mother and child were not important. They were not worth noticing. They were hardly even worth killing, had not the scent of blood excited the soldiers into their only outlet of rage. The homeless were often butchered at the expense of a good time. It would be no different with the child and her mother than it would be for any other like them.

They left the theater, scampering stealthily down the deserted alleyways, creeping past the corners manned by the jealous whores and their pimps. Without being seen by anyone, the mother had returned her daughter to the safety of their own alley, one used for little more than the disposal of rotted fish. The smell had long ago ceased to bother them, and the seclusion it offered an unexpected surprise. It was wet, slimy and miserable, but it was quiet. That was all that they needed...all they could ever expect.

Wrapping her child in some crusty blankets in the shadowy corner of the alley, the mother produced a small pastry and broke it in half, handing it to her daughter.

"Eat." she commanded, and the young girl did, not even tasting what some would deem stale and bland. She consumed it ravenously, nearly choking on each crumb. It did not take her long to wolf the small thing down. When she finished, she watched as her mother did the same, not even aware of her child's pleading stare. On the streets, it was one against everyone else...even when "everyone" included your own child.

"Wait," her mother said, as she quickly brushed her daughter's face with her rough, callused hand. "Stay." Without another word, she was gone, and the girl knew that she would be gone until the morning. There was only one way for a woman to make money on the streets, and her mother could not leave that money to everyone else. It was needed. Pride was for those who still lived for life. They merely lived to live. The child understood that. That was the way it was. That was the way it would always be. That was what she would have to do when her mother was gone. Live to live, and for no other reason.

Death would be a reprieve, the child often thought, but her mother had told her that it would be a sin to let themselves die. They would go to a place called Hell where they would be tormented night and day. The child knew that this was silly, though. After all, it made no sense to punish torment with torment.

Unwrapping herself from the blankets, she looked down at her muddied leg. Blood ran in dark rivers down the flesh, twisting and turning as it snaked along, a perverted tattoo so commonplace that she paid it little heed. She also pulled out the fragment of stone from her leg without so much as a wince. Pain was nothing new to her. She could deal with pain.

Now she had but to wait for her mother to return. She would have money, and they could eat a decent meal. It was all she could hope for, and it would haunt her thoughts all night.

But it would not be her only thought. Nightfall was the time when she would be able to let her thoughts run wild without worrying about commands. She could sit back and just think. It was a luxury that her mother would never have, and it was a treasure that she held on to enviously. No one could ever take her thoughts away from her, even when she would grow up and have to assume her mother's unclean profession.

They were never common thoughts. Often, the young girl could see places...places she had never been before, places that she had never heard described by anyone. She had never been out of Esthar, and most likely never would leave. Those distant lands, however, still called out to her, a beacon of hope placed tantalizingly out of reach. She had spoken of those places with her mother only once, and what followed was the closest thing to a conversation they had ever had.

"Mother," she had asked, "is there such a place where the water stretches farther than the land, and the birds fly over tall wooden beams with green fur?"

Her mother only nodded, obviously thrown out of her practiced daily routine. She did not appreciate her daughter's inquiry.

"And is there such a place where the stones climb to the stars at night, taller than the tallest buildings?"

"Yes, but nowhere near here. Now be quiet and keep your mind on finding something to eat."

They were the most words she had ever heard her mother speak out loud, and the shock of hearing her voice for more than a brief moment did indeed bring the young girl to silence. Even at her early age, she could tell that her mother did not want to think of such things as vast puddles of water or high rocks. She would never see them, and neither would her daughter.

That did nothing to keep her thoughts still, though. The young girl could see those lands, smell the clean air, listen to the animals cry out deep within the gatherings of those beams. There were other people, too. They lived in cities, but they were not like Esthar. They were small, peaceful, and clean. Children laughed and ran around in fields, interacting with one another in a strange, yet appealingly innocent way. They didn't have to hide from soldiers, and they could walk about the city without fear of being shot. Everyone had enough to eat, and most of the homes had a man and a woman live with a small group of children.

Best of all, though, was that she was there with them. She would laugh and run as she played with the other children, not even knowing that what she was doing was called playing. She would swim in the giant puddles of water, and no one would shout in anger or hurt anyone on purpose. After a day in the vast land of plants and water, she would run inside one of the houses where a man and woman would feed them yummy, wonderful food, and they would nestle in large beds with thick, warm blankets. The other children in the house, two boys and another girl, would wish her a good night, and call her "sister." They had names of Alan, Jacob and Julia, but she was happy with sister. It fit her, and though she would have liked a name as well, she was happy to be accepted by them...to be loved.

It was during these moments, just as her thoughts led her into slumber, that she would suddenly realize where she was. The last thing that she would invariably see before her eyes fell shut and pulled her into slumber was the opening of the alleyway, as the dim streetlights flickered on to drive the vipers of the city streets back to their dens...just as others took their places. It was the end of another day in Esthar. Another one just as dismal would await the young child in the morning.

......

When she awoke, the sun was already high up in the sky. Looking about her, she searched for her mother. Tossing aside the blankets, she began to panic.

"Mother?" she asked. She was not there. She had never come back.

"Mother?" she cried out, caring not who heard her. Jumping out of the pile of blankets, she looked around her wildly, tossing garbage cans around the alley in a vain attempt to find her mother. Tears formed in her eyes, though she tried to hold them back. Her mother would not want for her to cry. She would want her to focus and remember where she was. She would want her to find food. She would look for breakfast. That, however, would mean leaving the alley, and that was something she had never done without her mother.

She had to go. That was all there was to it. First, she would have to skip breakfast. If she didn't find her mother, it would all be for naught anyway. Her mother was the survivor; the child was just the companion for the bitter journey, an extra worry in a world that offered no more than peril. There would be no point to her life without her mother.

The young girl stared out into the street from her dark sanctuary. How could she bring herself to step amongst the vultures when she herself was but a mouse? There was a simple answer that found its way through her jumbled thoughts. She would have to imitate the survivor. She would have to be like her mother.

Narrowing her eyes into contemptuous slits, just as her mother had done before leaving their illegitimate home, she tightened her hands into fists and strode briskly out toward the light, not even thinking ahead. She would have to be the survivor now...at least until she found her mother. Then the title would be handed back to her with great appreciation and due awe.

There were not too many people out on the streets. Many who lived in the run-down area were still inside their homes, most likely too afraid to leave for fear of being mowed down by either the gangsters or the soldiers. Either way, the girl was relieved to find that she would be unmolested during this first leg of her search. People in the city other than her mother frightened her. Certainly, they didn't frighten the survivor.

Almost laughing, she suddenly remembered that it was she who was now the survivor. People should not scare her. The survivor would just be one of them and find a way to get through the next twenty-four hours. The survivor was fearless, so even if she was scared, she would have to pretend to be fearless.

And so the new survivor set out, walking down the street with a no nonsense air, glaring at those few people who shared the dingy streets with her. Some ignored her all together, while others saw her but still paid no mind. A child in Esthar was no precious commodity unless they were born to the wealthy. Besides this, she was dirty and small, and she was avoided like the plague. Finding her mother would be easy, it seemed.

The city seemed to open up as she walked, people sitting on their front steps, others talking or arguing with soldiers, and other street children gladly helping themselves to the contents of all of the unwary pockets.

The girl had seen this done before, and asked her mother if she should do the same. The notion had struck her mother as horrifying, however, and she gave her simple response.

"No."

While the girl never understood why she should not take from others when clearly so many others did just that, she obeyed her mother. She was the survivor. She would know what to do when she found her.

Walking the streets seemed rather harmless. She didn't understand why it was that she hadn't been allowed to walk about more freely before. Certainly the soldiers that passed her didn't bother her, and no one even bothered to look down at the child that walked by so piteously and without the gruff guile that masked all others in her station. She was free of assault, but she still wanted to find her mother. While she was gone, everything seemed to move so slowly. It was almost surreal.

It wasn't until an hour had passed that someone called out to her. Looking behind her at a large, stained dumpster, she saw an older man amble out with arms outstretched. He was easily twenty feet away, but a horrible reek was still quite noticeable on him. Eyes glazed over and mouth hanging open, he lunged forward with a low gurgling sound. No one on the streets even bothered to notice, and no one interfered. Frozen with terror, the girl could do nothing as she was grabbed and dragged back to the dumpster.

The smell of the man was so horrible that it brought tears to the child's eyes, and his clothes were covered in mucus and other unknown fluids. It wasn't until he reached to pull at her tattered hair, however, that she kicked at him. She knew not where she kicked, but he released her and fell to the ground. Screaming after her, the bum did nothing but writhe in agony.

Not even looking back, the child wordlessly ran back toward the alley, dodging both people and their rude comments. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she could barely even see where it was that she ran to.

It took her a short while to stop and rest, recovering from what had happened. Her mother had had many terrible things happen to her right before her daughter's eyes. Looking up to the sky, the child breathed in silent thanks that she had saved herself. Even after her experience, she had to smile. She had survived!

However, after looking around, she realized that she was still very far from her alley, and skipping breakfast had taken a terrible toll on her young stomach. It growled its protest, despite having gone without many times before. Clutching her gut as she walked, her newly found misery afforded her no reason to look to the old woman who watched her with intense interest. All she did was amble back to the alley, aware that as a survivor, she had neglected to find food for the day. That would have to wait until the next day. For now, all of her energy allowed her nothing more than the luxury of finding her odiferous sanctuary. She had gone without food before, she could do it again.

......

There was no dream that night; no thought to fill her head. She counted this as a blessing, though, as she had had nightmares before, and her current situation would have provided her with little else. As it was, she had awoken many times that night, reaching for her mother who sometimes slipped under the blanket with her at night. It was a reaction she never realized she made, and tears began to form in her sleepy eyes. Waking from her restless sleep, she looked out to the morning sun. It was time for her to go out into the world; a thought she little appreciated.

She walked down the sidewalk, careful to keep her distance from the alleys and dumpsters. This time, she would have to find a meal, and then her mother. Again, she did not even hear the old woman speak to her until she had nearly passed her by.

"I said come here, little girl! Come here and sit, little one!" The old woman's voice was as rough as her mother's hands and deep from over-use. The girl turned and looked at the old crone and winced. She was a stooped, wretched looking creature with many huge warts that adorned her face like badges of honor; a reward for surviving the harsh reality of Esthar. Her hair flew all over, falling to the floor in sheets of gray, tangled and split beyond repair. She clutched greedily at a thin wooden cane with gnarled fingers gripped by debilitating arthritis. Looking down at the girl with eyes small and set deep within her skull she called out again,

"Come here! Don't be afraid of an old woman! If anything, I should be afraid of you!"

The girl was uncertain as to whether or not she should go. For one thing, her false courage was no match for the hideous spectacle that was the aging beast before her. For another, she wanted desperately to find her mother. She would just keep walking and leave the old woman to her own survival.

As the girl turned, however, the old woman called out, louder this time so that all on the street might hear, "I know where your mother is, I do!"

She stopped. Turning slowly, disbelieving, she raised an eyebrow just as her mother would have. She would not let this old hag bully her!...but how did she know about her mother? How could she be sure? Her mother would want to know. So would she.

Walking to the old woman, she put on her meanest face, which was actually comical under all of the dirt and grime, scrunched up her nose and asked boldly, "Oh yeah? Then where is she?"

Sitting back, the elderly crone motioned for the girl to sit. The girl did, but hesitantly, betraying her actual terror of all things human. She lost all former semblance of a survivor. Now she look like a child about to be scolded by her grandmother, keeping her arms folded tightly against her chest, eyes darting from the woman to the street.

"Where is she?" the girl asked again, trying to sound brave, but by now that act had been misplaced. The old woman knew just who she was.

"There will be time for that later, my child. For now, I'd like to talk about you."

The young girl could feel the tears form in her eyes. She didn't want to talk! She wanted to find her mother and go back top their alley forever and never leave it again. Still, all she could do was sit there and be silent as the tears began to flow freely, her dirty face much too caked with filth to show it.

"Very well then," said the woman, her voice friendlier now, "I'll talk about myself...then I'll talk about you, ok?"

The girl could only nod, and the woman continued.

"My name is Callie. Miss Callie Deling. No, I never married, and no, I'm not sorry. Far too many evil men out there to tell them apart from the good ones, I say. I travel around, looking for this or that, and I've been doing that for the past fifty three years."

The girl looked up, her interest peaking. Fifty-three years was a number so immense to her that it seemed like an eternity. Staring at the woman, her eyes widened in wonder and she forgot about her mother for a moment. In her underdeveloped, neglected mind, the child was sitting in the presence of time itself.

"I know much about the world, and I know much about what's NOT in the world, as it were. I see things in people that almost no one else can see. I can see their lives, their souls...I can see their worth. Let me tell you child, I have been very disappointed by what I have seen in this 'Jewel of the Empire.' To be sure, I was hoping to meet someone very special..." She looked to the girl and added with a smile and a bit of mirth, "Maybe you can help me find them?"

Thoughts of her mother returned again, and the girl was taken aback, but not by the request. It was rather with her own inaction. She began to offer her apologies and made ready to leave.

"No, I'm sorry, but I'm just a girl, and I need to find my mother..."

"Oh hush now," the woman interrupted, "your mother can wait, and you are not just a girl. Oh child, you are so much more..." She paused to clear her throat and continued on, leaving no time for protest.

"You are one of those people I have been looking for. In fact, you are the most beautiful of all!"

The young girl had never considered herself beautiful, even though she rarely had time to search for beauty itself. She had no idea what she must have looked like then, but she had seen her reflection a few days before. The dirt that marred her plain features could not possibly be a desirable enhancement to a face born for poverty despite her lucent, silvery eyes. She had long blonde hair that might have at one time been pretty, but it was now home to blackish soot and grime. A queen of the alleys she might be, but beautiful?

None of this she said out loud, but Callie seemed to sense her apprehension.

"I can see it in within you child, and don't bother to deny it! I don't like it when folks call me a liar!

"There are some people who are born seemingly for no reason. They go through life hurt, miserable, lonely, and one day they decide to end it all and waste the precious gift that has been given to them. They could have been great, leaders of all men, but they can't see their own worth. Instead they give it all up to eternity and jump feet first into the void...no, don't interrupt me now, I've got much more to say!

"Anyway, those folks are not always a lost cause. They leave behind an even more precious gift to the world; a gift that could change the very face of life for all people. Do you know what such people are called?"

The girl shook her head, and the old woman smiled, as if she had been holding in a secret so profound that she physically felt relief upon the notion of its release.

"Sorceresses! They are the ones who guide life for good or ill, and they are the blessed of the world!"

Then, calming down a bit, the woman suddenly changed her direction completely and asked the girl, "What is your name, child?"

"I don't have one," the girl answered honestly, "my mother never gave me one."

"What?!" the hag shrieked, "Your mother never gave you a name? How could she not understand what a truly gifted... oh, it doesn't matter. I think, though, that you need a name. I don't want to keep calling you child all the time, since you will grow up eventually! Would you like for me to give you one?"

The girl nodded eagerly. "Oh yes!" she shouted, again forgetting her mother and waiting for a name that her brothers and sister could call her...a name her mother could call her by.

The old woman thought for a moment, grumbling to herself as the girl sat in expectant agony. She could not wait too much longer. The anticipation was far too great! A name! To be someone when she visited her family at nights! To be a person to her mother, a person to all people! She almost burst when the old lady started to speak again.

"You, my dear, dear child, are destined for greatness. There is a name which means 'Great Life' in the old tongue, and I believe that it was fashioned those millennia ago just for you! Your name is now Ultimecia!"

Ultimecia tried out her new name on her tongue. It didn't seem to fit her, belonging more to the upper-class ladies she had seen drive past her and her mother as they returned from a day of scavenging. It was alien, it was strange, and it was wonderful!

"I'm Ultimecia! I'm Ultimecia!" she chanted over and over, hugging the old woman with delight, bouncing up and down as she did so.

"I am Ultimecia! My name is Ultimecia! I love my name! It is me! I'm Ultimecia!"

An abrupt thought suddenly halted her rapture, and she sat back down, crestfallen.

"But...will my mother be angry? What if she wanted to name me? What if she was just waiting and..."

"Oh hush now," the old lady chided comfortingly, "I truly don't think that your mother will ever object to your name...ever. What we need to discuss now, however, is you dearie!"

"Me?" Ultimecia asked, wondering what there was to talk about. There was absolutely nothing of interest about her or her life. She had simply run with her mother whenever they were in trouble, and ate whenever they could find food.

"There is nothing about me to say," Ultimecia added. I just do what my mother says."

Callie frowned and let out a sigh. "Child," she huffed, "there is much more to you than you now realize. For one thing, where did you learn to speak the way you do?"

Ultimecia shrugged and replied, "I guess my mother taught me. I just listen to her." From the moment that comment left her mouth, though, she realized how hollow it sounded. Her mother rarely said anything aside from the normal commands. It had been that way since she could recall with any certainty. No one else ever spoke to her, and the only other words she had heard in her life came from the slurs and curses of soldiers and prostitutes.

"You just knew how, didn't you?" Callie prompted. "You never had to learn. It was born to you, a talent you never even realized as the blessing it is!"

She smiled wryly and licked her elderly lips with interest. A look of mischief briefly played across her face and she said with confidence, "I'll wager there are a few more talents you haven't shown anyone. I'll go further and say that even you don't know what they are, eh?"

"I really have no idea what you're saying," Ultimecia snapped, her outward appearance showing anger, but her inner voice shrieking in terror. There was only one thing that Ultimecia could think of as a talent...her thoughts. That someone else should be privy to her own mind! The idea was ghastly, and for a moment she felt like running from Callie. Those thoughts were hers and hers alone, and an old woman would not be allowed inside without her permission - something she would never receive.

"I know about your heart," Callie breathed softly just as Ultimecia was about to jump up and run. "I know that you hold great innocence for a little girl who has been hurt so badly. There is such love in your heart, and in a world lost to vile wickedness, that is a powerful, beautiful thing. It's that love that keeps your world from falling, and it's that which allows for you to hope for more."

Dangerously close to saying too much, Callie suddenly went silent. Her small, sunken eyes fell on Ultimecia with affection. Sitting in Callie's presence, the city noises seemed to blur, fading as it did so, leaving the two of them alone on the steps.

At first she was frightened, and she turned to run. But the darkness just swallowed her, a darkness not of evil, but of a cool summer's night...a night with her brothers and sisters. She ceased to struggle and let it guide her mind. She could feel her thoughts, just as she always did, take hold, and now she could see. There, within herself, was the love that Callie had mentioned, the love she had never thought she herself could even begin to possess.

"How are you doing this?" Ultimecia whispered, her eyes wide in amazement, wet with tears of joy. It was so wonderful! A warmth of such gentle tenderness flooded her whole being, lifting her beyond the stink of the city and taking her from its fears and vulgarity. All fell before the power that lie dormant in her heart, a force of will so strong, yet one she never even knew was there. Nothing else mattered now...nothing else even existed. How could it when her very soul was being lifted toward such splendor?

"I am doing nothing but showing you who you are..." came a voice so distant yet distinct. "This is you, my dear, dear child, my Ultimecia. Such boundless hope and peace rests within you, one that can bring light to all in all lands...all times. Your heart rules you, and one so blessed can only lead all mankind to salvation. I have finally found you...so many years I have held your image in my mind in vain; you are more beautiful, more radiant than I ever could have dreamed of!"

Ultimecia sobbed openly, actually feeling beautiful, but not for her face. Her Inner Light turned plain to radiant, dark to light. It made all things glorious, and even the evil that was Esthar could do nothing to quench its magnificence.

"Love needs no reason to grow," Callie continued, "it only needs a willing heart...the perfect heart for a sorceress. Many have corrupted their hearts with the power. They never knew what love was. Now you see. Love is not for the deserving, it is for all. You can feel it without warning, you can feel it for your enemy, and you can feel it even in the darkness. Love carries us beyond such mere obstacles as death, and it feeds the starved soul. In you, such love is perfect, and you have found a way to keep it within yourself...even in the black heart of Esthar."

"I can see it!" Ultimecia cried between sobs, never wanting to lose sight of it again, wanting only to stay within her own heart, looking at all the world with her new perfect sight.

"But one must not hide within," Callie warned, "or life will lose its purpose. You must guide your soul through life with as light a heart as you have now. There are others who need your example, as they are weak, and can ruin the world with their foolish pride. You must look to the light within, for in times of struggle and despair, your own voice is the truest. I will guide you always...now awaken!"

Looking around her, Ultimecia could see the world return, and she willfully stayed in place, allowing her love to transcend her disappointment. If she must return to Esthar, she would do so in grateful silence, fully aware of the lesson that she had just learned.

"Well," Callie began, looking upon Ultimecia with adoration, "what do you feel?"

Immediately the child flew into Callie's arms, finding words a poor substitute for the feeling within her. She wrapped her arms about her in a warm, tender hug. Returning the gesture, but also eyeing the growing crowd on the street, Callie drew the girl closer to her, facing her away from the road. Just then, two soldiers in strange white uniforms marched down the middle of the avenue, and to the shock of all, carried a limp, lifeless body. Only Callie knew who they were, and she eyed them with a look of both revulsion and pity.

"What is that?" Ultimecia yawned, her newly discovered senses still keenly aware of the tension on the street. She sat up groggily to see what was amiss, but the old woman turned her about gently and let her rest her tired head on the blanket draped across her lap.

"Nothing, my child. Rest now. You have just been through so much for one so young. I am so proud of you!"

With that, Callie began to hum an old song she had once heard a mother sing for her sick young boy in the ruined town of Balamb. Lovingly, she brushed Ultimecia's dirty but soft hair with her long, bony fingers.

Had Ultimecia seen the soldier's victim, she would have surely recognized the mangled face, long, tangled brown hair, and the small but powerful mouth, a mouth that would never again be able to utter another command. The lesson Ultimecia had learned would have been for nothing, and Callie would not allow the child's soul to die. The title of survivor would have to remain in Ultimecia's hands, as would one more fitting of her mild spirit. It would come in time.

"Sleep, then, my angel, and when you wake up, think no more of dreadful things. A new life is beginning for you here, but only you can make it whole. I promise."

......

"This was once such a glorious city," Callie noted as she and Ultimecia walked down one of the busier boulevards of Esthar's commercial district. "People would marvel at the grace and splendor they found here during the days of President Loire. Technology had improved the quality of life for all Esthar's people, and it looked as though someone had for once lead a nation down the right path."

Ultimecia listened with half an ear, as she was more concerned with the chocolate ice cream cone that Callie had just purchased for her. Trying to aim it at her mouth as she walked, there was more chocolate on her face than actually in it.

Still, she noted the important names and places her teacher mentioned, occasionally offering a non-committal "Yup," or "Uh-huh." She did care dearly for the knowledge that was being imparted to her, but ice cream was something she had only dreamed of having only weeks earlier, and now treasured it as though it was a small, melting fortune. She didn't even notice the hovercars or transports as they whooshed along the most pristine neighborhoods of the city, or the constant flow of people to and from the various ergonomically shaped buildings. Esthar was alive in the central district, though it was a clever mask to the chaos and malignant darkness it hid within the city's festering heart.

"Now we have to contend with corrupt fiends like our current President Udine. He has allowed more than the degeneration of Esthar to continue...he has sold it pride to nations like Timber and Dollet in the form of bribes..."

Callie went on as she often did about Esthar's political state. She had turned out to be more than an old woman on the streets. Much to Ultimecia's surprise, she was rather wealthy, having come from a life as an advisor to the New Galbadian Republican Senate. Her great great grandfather had once served as that nation's President, but was killed in a coup d'etat. She told Ultimecia that although his name had been tarnished, the family fortune had remained, and after the hostile regime that overthrew her ancestor was overturned, her family was welcomed back to the Galbadian political forefront.

It was not that politics interested either Callie or Ultimecia in the slightest, but it had afforded the elder with a handsome stipend that she could use to live comfortably as well as support a growing young girl. Now, Ultimecia walked hand in hand with the old woman, dressed in fine red silks and designer fabrics. Her blonde hair, free of its charcoal prison, shined like the sun, and it fell youthfully around her pale-olive complexion. Her step was light and carefree, and for once she appeared to the world as she really was: a beautiful child more than worthy of its love, but not so proud as to demand it.

At first, Ultimecia rejected such lavish extravagance, feeling as though she did not deserve it after having let her mother disappear. The idea of parading about in dresses that cost more money than she even knew existed was appalling, and she refused to either wear them or even wash her hair. Callie herself even wore drab knit throws and simple black dresses. Ultimecia often wondered why she was different.

It wasn't for a week after she and Callie had met that she fell into another thought. It was late at night, as she lay in her large, obscenely comfortable bed. Having been unable to sleep all night, she suddenly went into the darkness. Within, she could feel her mother's spirit. The survivor was at rest. There, in the darkness, mother and daughter had their last meeting. She didn't know where she was, or why she was there, but the feeling her mother exuded was so soothing that Ultimecia could not but feel happy for her. She had protected her daughter in many times of danger and had been abused by the very streets to which she had been born - it was her turn to stay in peace. Daughter would not call out to mother; she would not pursue her. She owed her the rest. And yet, before she left her, the spirit surrounded her daughter in a loving hold, an embrace that more than made up for the years of emotional neglect. Ultimecia's final gift was the feeling that Callie had taught her, one that her mother would cherish for eternity. They whispered their good byes, and Ultimecia awoke to her own voice calling out softly, "I love you, mommy."

Her final link to the past was finally at peace, and she was free to look forward, finding solace in Callie's company, guardianship, and wisdom. She never contradicted her and always obeyed every instruction she was given. Together, they had begun to discuss all of the things of the world - history, literature, mathematics, philosophy - there were so many subjects that a normal child would have been hopelessly overwhelmed.

Ultimecia, however, absorbed all of it greedily, thirsting for knowledge as she had once thirsted for water. She was particularly interested in language and geography, often combining the two into one lesson. Now she could learn the names for all of those wonderful creations of nature, and they rolled off her tongue as she savored every fragile sound, enunciating every syllable as though it was to be the last word she would ever speak. Lakes, trees, mountains, plateaus...all such marvelous words, all such marvelous things! What she really wanted to know about, however, were sorceresses. The word Callie had used intrigued her on the day they met, and she spoke it out loud almost every hour. She was not quite ready for that yet, Callie had said. It would be time, but not for a little while. Until that time, she warned Ultimecia that it might be better if she not mention the word sorceress in public for a while.

"...on your face than in your mouth!" she suddenly heard Callie finish saying, realizing too late that her thoughts had trailed off without her. Looking up at her teacher, she asked meekly, "What did you say, Callie?"

Stifling a small laugh, the old woman repeated herself.

"I said," she chuckled, "you seem to have more ice cream on your face than in your mouth!"

Licking her lips, Ultimecia discovered that she had definitely been a bit careless with her frosty snack. Sheepishly, she grinned and laughed, the ice cream cone a goopy mess in her left hand. Taking out a large handkerchief, Callie began to wipe Ultimecia's face and hands, throwing away the ruinous cone with her fingers which barely pinched it in her grasp.

"I think," she said, still wiping her child's face, "that it is time to resume your studies. It is getting late anyway, eh?"

Rather than pout, Ultimecia was glad for the chance to gain more knowledge about the world. She nodded eagerly and began to skip in place, all ready to return to their uptown townhouse. It was only a block away, so she at first tried to run ahead, pulling Callie as she went.

"Let's go!" Ultimecia begged, tugging at Callie's sleeve. The old woman pulled her back gently and held her hand in a firm but even grip.

"You must be patient in all things," she said, "for that is the way of not only a great person, but of a sorceress as well!"

Upon hearing the treasured word, Ultimecia went silent, focusing her excited eyes forward in the sort of mock patience that only a child could muster. She would endure anything to learn about the sorceresses and their special place in the world. Skipping as she walked, the child began to sing softly the song that Callie had sung for her on those nights when she found it difficult to sleep. She pronounced each word with a delicate lisp, still stumbling over the ancient language in which it was first written. Her teacher smiled as she sang, humming the tune along with her as they neared their townhouse.

"Fithos, lusec..."

......

The old books before Ultimecia were quite yellowed with age, and had a smell about them reminiscent of Callie herself. In that way, they were a true testament to the time both they and their owner had been in existence. That alone was enough to deem them sacred in the young girl's mind.

They went further, though. Those books were crammed to the binding with knowledge more valuable to Ultimecia than any amount gold ever would be. As she opened the books, she was careful not to tear the brittle paper, or to crack the ancient spines. Breathing deep, she took in the scent of the ages and readied herself for her studies.

Her eyes acted as two windows to her mind, and she shoved the information in as fast as she could through those portals. As she read, her eyes flew over the pages, the ability to read seemingly instinctive. The writings of Cid Kramer, President Laguna Loire, and even older scholars, came to life through their words, each one a message from a time of learning and reason rather than money and politics.

Callie had constantly insisted that Ultimecia was being naive, and that men had always been corrupt souls. In fact, she insisted that even the words of President Loire were tainted by biases he himself held toward other nations and people. It was the way of the world, she tried to explain, that men would lead average lives and still try to make themselves sound quite grand on paper.

"The important thing," she had once told her, "is that you can take from the text the lesson of the words, not the man. The man is imperfect, but the words are not the property of anyone. They can show the world that a perfect thought can come from an ignorant mind. Develop yours to know the difference!"

She devoured her history lesson, reading the account of the Galbadian takeover of Dollet, the liberation by Trabian forces, and even the assassination of the Galbadian President by a militant organization known as the Forest Foxes. It seemed to her that Galbadia had made many obvious errors in their attempt to overthrow the Dollet Parliament. Then she read about the destruction of the southern continent by the Lunar Cry...a theory that some scientists still deemed preposterous. The various viewpoints were all expressed, and then she wrote her three-page summary of her lesson.

Then came math. In this subject she truly excelled, but she cared for it very little. So many theorems and formulae, she would have preferred to keep learning about the world.

"Math," Callie had said, "is not something that I place too much stock in myself, but it is important to know where men have gone wrong and see how far off track they are. Once you know where they are coming from, it will be that much easier to deal with them."

She never pressed the point, and Callie never elaborated on it. Ultimecia merely continued her work, never bothering to look up until it was all completed. She hoped that she never learned all that there was to know. The thrill of being able to discover so many new things was in and of itself a wonderful thing. Every new fact was like a large, delicious ice cream cone that she had to but bite into to taste heaven itself.

In the end, she was always tired, and Callie would sit her down and talk with her about what she had learned. That evening, they planned to discuss history. Ultimecia, however, planned on turning history to her own advantage.

"Why," Ultimecia asked, "do we know so little of the sorceresses throughout history? It seems to me like they would be on every page of every book."

Callie frowned slightly, and said, "I have told you that we will have that discussion sometime in the future. When you are ready, I will tell you all about the sorceresses..."

The phone suddenly rang, and Callie rose to answer it, calling back to her student, "Please read more on the Adel atrocities. I will be back in a moment."

Ultimecia did pick up the book on Estharian history, but her attention was on the conversation that Callie was having on the phone. As she listened, she could hear bits of the exchange that piqued her interest.

"Yes, Senator...of course! Oh, we wouldn't miss it for the world!....Yes, she is quite an amazing young child. I am very lucky to have her company....Yes, I plan on bringing her with me....and the report that I asked you for? Fine then, I shall see you in three days! Splendid, good bye!"

She hung up, and Ultimecia quickly ducked her head behind her book. Her eyes quickly scanned the text and she set the book down with enough confidence to know that she could answer most of Callie's questions. Callie did not ask any, though. Instead, she sat down and began to speak. "That was Senator Gradey of the Galbadian Senate, a representative of the National Defense Council. He is hosting a banquet in the capital of Deling City for the dedication of the Republic's one-hundredth anniversary and the nomination of new presidential candidates. We have been invited to attend as the last remaining members of the Deling family."

"Really?" Ultimecia gasped, her eyes as wide as dinner plates. She had always wanted to see the city that Callie had grown up in, as well as attend a formal party. Every feeling in her body hummed in pleasure, and she stood up excitedly.

"A real party? Oh wow...!"

Callie giggled at Ultimecia's reaction and sat her down, hating to tell her exactly what happened at the parties in Galbadia.

"It will be very dull, I'm afraid," she said, "and there will be mostly discussion over political matters. As a former advisor, I am expected to personally nominate a candidate for the presidency. You'll probably fall asleep within the first hour or so..."

"No I won't!" Ultimecia objected, "I'll love it! I'll get to wear a nice dress and talk with people who write books, and..." Her voice trailed off as she ran out of the room, and Callie could hear her child's closet door fly open. Unable to suppress a laugh, she followed into her bedroom.

As Ultimecia removed dress after dress from the closet, her guardian sat on her bed and asked almost nonchalantly, "You had another thought last night, didn't you?" The dresses stopped flying out of the closet, and the child poked her head around the door. Patting the bed, Callie made room for Ultimecia to sit down, and the young girl did.

"It's that obvious, huh?" she asked, and Callie nodded.

"You are very euphoric today. Everything seems to excite you all the more than usual, and that is quite a bit. Would you like to tell me what it was about?"

"I would," she answered, her words soft and graceful, "but I don't really know much else. I was sitting on a beach, and I wanted to go swimming, but a lady wouldn't let me. She said it was dangerous and that the other children weren't allowed to go in, either. Then I looked over and there were other kids, and they wanted me to play with them! I was so happy that I forgot about swimming, and then we played so many games. Then the sun began to go down, and the lady came back to tell the other children that it was time to go inside. I was about to follow them when I woke up."

Callie scratched her chin and thought about what Ultimecia had just told her.

"A lady, huh? What did she look like?"

"I don't remember..." Ultimecia replied truthfully. "She seemed very nice, though."

Again, Callie scratched her chin. She thought carefully before she spoke next, wanting to tell her girl only what had to be known before they went to Galbadia. It was very early, but if the child was already having those same thoughts...

"There is an inner power," she began, "that every sorceress hold the key to in her heart. The love and strength of a sorceress can be powerful things on their own, but if all sorceresses were to come together, the result would be beyond description."

Ultimecia blinked quizzically, uncertain of what her teacher was trying to say. What she did understand was that she was finally hearing about the sorceresses, and that had gained her fullest attention.

"The ability to manipulate and reshape the very core of reality to create a true utopia has been the goal of every sorceress alive since before anyone can remember. That combined ability is referred to in languages and civilizations long forgotten by time. Only now, through the hearts of all sorceresses, can we speak of it in words that we can understand."

"What is it?" Ultimecia asked, her hands shaking as Callie spoke. She had never seen her teacher so serious or so uneasy. Even in such extreme youth, with no true concept of infinity, the importance of this power was made very clear, and it frightened her as well.

"In this language, one could call it simply Time Compression. It is having the very fabric of time placed within your hands and molding it as you choose. This power is not very well known, but in circles where this knowledge flows freely, there are many who fear it."

"They fear the sorceresses?" Ultimecia asked, still trying to understand the idea of time being related to fabric, "but aren't their hearts full of love? Isn't that what makes a sorceress?"

Shaking her head, Callie clasped one of her child's hands tightly.

"I only wish that were true. There have been those who perverted their hearts with hatred, jealousy, and pain and still have been able to gain the title. One name you might recognize that became little more than a witch with her evil ways was the sorceress who ruled Esthar for many years. Her name was Adel."

A sick, twisting sensation filled Ultimecia's stomach. In her own innocent mind, she had pictured the sorceresses as perfect beings who would do the world no harm. They loved everyone and used their mysterious powers to help those in need.

But now, hearing that Adel, too, was a sorceress...it was too much to bear. Her fantasy came to a crashing halt, and reality poked its head in, forcing open the blinders within her mind to recall the stories she had heard about the creature known as Adel.

The former ruler of Esthar, Adel had butchered thousands in meaningless assaults on every nation in the world, her vanity sending millions more to prisons and workhouses to build her technological empire. Her bloody campaign would have been much longer, had not President Loire interceded. He deposed the fiend, and she was sent into exile on a space colony.

Familiar tears formed in Ultimecia's eyes. She could not believe what she was hearing, and she clasped her hands over her ears to keep out any more of the truth. She knew that she was being childish, but she didn't care. The noble hearts she believed in were no longer so noble, and nowhere near as pure.

"I loved all of the sorceresses!" she sobbed, her voice broken in anguish, "I thought...I thought they were so, so beautiful!"

"Oh my lamb!" Callie cried, and hugged her girl close to her, "Oh my darling, I know. Believe me, I know only too well. You wanted so much to think of the sorceresses as angels. It cannot be that way, though, my dear, dear babe! They are just as human as you or I, and their hearts can be filled with just as much rage and grief as ours. They are not gods. They have paths to choose just as we do. Adel chose the wrong path, but that doesn't mean that all sorceresses have or will!"

Ultimecia's body still shook mildly as she sat in Callie's embrace, but it was apparent that she was calming down. When finally she did stop her tears, she said to her teacher, "I don't ever want to be like that."

"And you never will," Callie promised her, running her fingers through her silken hair. "You are going to be the great life that saves this world, my child. You are going to save us all."

With that, she slowly raised herself from the bed and began sorting through dresses.

"Enough of this fussing!" she proclaimed. "Let's see what we can find for a young princess to wear to a banquet, shall we?"

Ultimecia looked up and wiped the tears from her eyes. Smiling broadly, she hoped down from the bed and helped Callie in the selection process.

......

The train bound for the Galbadian Republic was very cramped. It had, after all, been built to accommodate no more than one hundred very important persons within its marble-laden splendor. Now, however, there were one hundred and twenty-one dignitaries, Ultimecia herself among them. It was rather boring for her, as all anyone talked about was the imminent Galbadian elections. She wanted to discuss the country itself, and how it had survived as one of the world's oldest nations. She wanted to find out more about what the children there for fun, and she wanted to hear more about the Deling family, Callie's own kin.

Callie was one of those who were forced to mingle with the Estharian elite during the trip, and was unable to attend to Ultimecia's amusement. Instead she gave short renditions of her election proposal to the assembled senators and cabinet members. President Udine was not in attendance, though. He would arrive via special transport later that day pending an audience with the Dollet Parliament.

Shifting uncomfortably in her seat, Ultimecia turned toward Callie, who was dressed in ceremonial Esthar robes of Congress, but also wearing her Galbadian family broach. As the old lady spoke before a group of five senators, her eyes blazed indignantly with each fiery word.

"And I still say that Caraway was nothing more than a coward! He would have used any means of gaining the office of president that he could, and the fact that he staged a coup in a time of peace only proves this! Now you want to elect his great great grandsire on grounds of name recognition?! Think of whom we would be dealing with! A man barely capable of attending a dinner meeting without making rude noises or making passes at the officials' wives. No, gentlemen, Fenix Caraway will NOT receive my nomination, no matter how much of a show he puts on tonight."

One of the senators interjected. "But Ms. Deling, we both know that it doesn't matter who the president of Galbadia is as long as we are able to control their Congress! After we won the war, they agreed to allow us full control over the nomination process, and..."

"I don't need a history lesson from you, Senator Aldrict. I know very well that we cannot fail no matter whom we choose, but do remember how our choice reflects back upon Esthar! All credibility with Timber and Trabia will fall, and the Shumi..."

Ultimecia had heard enough. Callie could handle all of the politics she wanted, but her student would have none of it. How she wished Callie would just give up her ties to the Senate! All politics seemed to do was turn people into mean spirited backstabbers like Senator Aldrict, whom Callie had given a few choice words on in the past.

Of course, she was still too innocent to make the connection that it was these men who had created the extreme conditions of poverty in the lesser regions of Esthar, but their arrogance and posturing was enough for her to condemn them by. Opening up her textbook, Ultimecia began to read a rather large book silently, tuning out the squabble behind her.

It was a book that Callie has surprised her with just before they left Esthar. On the cover, faded golden lettering spelled out the title Hyne and Her Legacy. It told about the first sorceress, Hyne, who came from simple origins much like Ultimecia's. She was very beautiful, very powerful, but also very vain. In fact, as Ultimecia read on, she was horrified to learn that her vanity had lead to not only the enslavement of the world, but also a massacre from which Adel must have drawn inspiration. Even through the years, the brutal cries of anguish and bloodthirsty reign of Hyne made its way into Ultimecia's thoughts, and she would find herself a part of a very different world...one constantly at war, people knowing nothing but pain and hardship.

Yet she never let her thoughts carry her too far. That was always the danger of becoming a part of history - that you might very well be unable to escape.

Still, it was very important, Callie had said, that she read about Hyne's errors and learn from them rather than learn of them later. As long as her thoughts wandered no further than the text itself, she would be fine, and the lesson learned would be far more of a credit to the world than if she were to pretend that Hyne had simply never happened.

"Ultimecia?" Callie suddenly called out, "would you come here for a moment, my dear?"

Rising from her seat, she did her teacher's bidding, and squeezed past various suits and dresses, all far too tall for her to see faces in that maze of satin and silk. As she pushed her way to Callie, book still wrapped in her arms, she smiled just as she was taught. It was her job, Callie had said, to be agreeable, no matter how pompous the politicians behaved.

"This," Callie announced as Ultimecia stood by her guardian, "is Ultimecia Chere Deling, heiress to the Deling family fortune. Ultimecia, these are Senators Aldrict, Halzih, Fortes, Kelm and Drismen."

Book and all, Ultimecia curtsied and widened her smile. The senators each let out their own reference of adoration. After the embarrassing yet inevitable cooing, Senator Kelm looked Ultimecia in the eyes and asked, "How old might you be, young lady?"

After genetics testing done by the doctors in Esthar, Callie and Ultimecia had been able to determine her birthdate down to the hour. Before answering the Senator's question, however, Ultimecia decided it might be fun to play with him for a bit.

"Now, Senator," she mewed, "is it truly proper to ask a lady's age, especially when you have only just met her?"

Having never been addressed by a child in such a manner, Senator Kelm was flustered, truly having no idea how to respond. The other Senator's and Callie all had a great laugh at his expense, and to show grace as well as wit, Ultimecia decided to save him from his own befuddlement.

"I am eleven and a half years old, sir, and very pleased to meet you."

"I, uh, yes," he said, taking her hand and kissing it lightly. "I am very pleased as well to have you and your...?"

"Grandmother." Callie said helpfully.

"Ah, yes, your grandmother here with us today. Are you at all interested in politics yourself?"

Ultimecia feigned a blush, at which she was particularly adept, and let out a small chuckle. "Oh no no no! I would never think to ever be able to rise to the level of knowledge and unquestioned experience necessary for so lofty a position!" Inwardly she was tickled pink to be able to use all of those words in a conversation with someone other than Callie. Each one tasted of honey as it fell from her lips, and for once, she felt as though talking with the impish men might provide a bit of enjoyment after all.

"I daresay," she added, "that I should never be able to make much sense out of the political world!"

"You tease us, Callie!" said a shocked Senator Halzih, "How could you expect us to believe this child to be only eleven years old! You said she was gifted, but such sagacity of speech from one so young..."

"Your pardon, sir," Ultimecia begged, "but I am eleven and a half, after all, and much can happen in six months to add to one's general knowledge!"

She watched as they all had a laugh, including Callie, and she was quite pleased. Any favorable impression she made on them, she reasoned, must reflect well upon Callie. She could do her part to help her loving benefactor; it was the least she could do.

"So what plans have you, then, Miss Ultimecia, for the future?" asked Senator Drismen, his speech somewhat stuffy. She looked to Callie for help, and received a cautious stare. Her dreams would have to be put to the social backburner, she realized.

"I imagine that a living maintaining the family estate is to be my lot in life," she said after a short pause. The Senators all nodded and murmured their agreement with what they saw to be a noble undertaking.

"The Deling family shall always hold a special place in the world, then," Senator Halzih added dryly. "To the Deling family!"

They all raised their glasses to the toast and Ultimecia was pleased beyond description. Certainly, her first meeting with important officials could not possibly have gone better. Now she would not only be tolerated on the trip, but also appreciated as an important person herself. Children, she mused, did not have to do much to gain the affection and attention of impressionable adults.

Just then, the conductor of the train made an announcement over the loudspeaker. The car grew quieter as he said, "We are now within Galbadian borders. Our time of arrival, distinguished guests, is but ten minutes more. Please take your seats until we have arrived. Thank you."

Ultimecia took this announcement as her dismissal, and she quickly found her way back to her seat. Opening her book, she began reading while simultaneously thinking about the conversation she had just had. Men in power, it seemed, had lonely souls. They treated her like they would their own daughters. It was no surprise, though, as she could feel that they had no children of their own. Halzih himself had lost a child. She could hear it in every agony soaked word that he had spoken to her. While others could not sense his pain, Ultimecia could feel it easily, and it was like a fire burning behind her eyes. There was nothing more horrifying, she then understood, then watching a man's soul die right before one's eyes.

In any case, all she could do was read and think, always careful of falling too deep into her book. The past would have to remain within those yellow pages, just as Halzih's would also have to be put behind him. It was a lesson she was very proud to have taught herself.

......

The Galbadian Hotel in New Deling City was far removed in importance from the Presidential Residence, but also more of a neutral ground to which the election procedure could be discussed by the Galbadian and Estharian officialdom.

Callie and Ultimecia had long since been checked into their suite and were now sitting at a long table in the dining hall of the hotel. Joining them were officials from Esthar's senate and the Galbadian Presidential hopefuls. Ultimecia had wisely brought along her book, knowing that she would be needing some sort of a reprieve from the lengthy speeches and addresses that Callie had warned her of.

As Ultimecia read, she could feel herself drifting away, the words of the speakers becoming more and more garbled until they simply did not exist at all. She was not falling into the book, but she knew where her thoughts were taking her now. She was going back to the sea.

The sun was so warm, and she was able to lie on the beach without any cares, soaking in the delicious heat as the soft waves caressed her feet. Aimlessly tracing her fingers in the sand, she sighed and watched as the clouds floated slowly by. She had grown quite used to this beach, having allowed her thoughts to take her there many times before. Callie had no idea how many times she ventured into the unknown realm, and she herself didn't really care. There, alone with the breath of the sea, nothing really mattered to her, but that would instantly change.

A shadow then covered her body, and she could feel a chill as the sun was blocked from her. Sitting up with a slight shiver, she looked over to whatever had caused her discomfort. It was a boy, and he stood there silently, his eyes innocuous and pure. He looked to be about as old as she was, perhaps a bit older. He was unlike any of the other children she had met before on the beach. He was radiant, as though he too shared the heart of love Callie claimed on Ultimecia possessed; in fact, Ultimecia was certain he did.

She was unable to speak at first, so she was very glad when he spoke first. Running a hand through his brown hair, he asked Ultimecia, "Are you new here?"

Without thinking, she replied, "Sort of. I've never seen you before." Then, as if all else mattered not, "This place is so beautiful."

"I guess so," the boy answered, and he sat down next to her. Ultimecia felt a tingle go through her body as his arm brushed hers delicately. In an instant, she could feel something she had never felt before, and it was both strange and wonderful at the same time. Wherever she was, whoever the boy was, she didn't care. She just never wanted to leave. He was like her. They were supposed to be together. No more thought than that was necessary, no words adequate to express her sudden inner peace. Contentedly, she sighed and looked out toward the water, her mind quiet save but one thought: she must hold his hand.

Without asking, she took his hand in her own, and he did nothing to protest. He merely tightened his own grip almost unnoticeably. Smiling, she looked down and saw a ring on his finger. It was too large for him, looking as though it belonged to a man. On it was etched the head of a lion.

"That's very pretty," she said, gesturing toward the ring. The boy also smiled and looked down at it. Without taking his hand from Ultimecia's, he removed the ring and held it out to her.

"It's for you, then," he said without guile. "It would look even better on you."

Wide-eyed, Ultimecia breathed, "But I can't take this from you!"

They stayed that way for a moment, neither one saying a word or moving. In that perfect instant, nothing could be said or done. All they had to do was be. She knew that they had been created of a moment to be the life of each other. She loved this boy in a way she could not describe. Almost breathless, she felt her heart beating in time with his, and neither one knew what it was that they were feeling.

"I call him Griever," the boy said of the ring. "He keeps me safe when I'm alone. I want him to keep you safe from now on."

Ultimecia watched as he slid the ring on her finger, and she began to cry, feeling the reassuring weight of the thing, warm from his own hand.

"But what will keep you safe when you are alone?" she asked softly, almost inaudibly as her lips trembled.

"I'll think of you," the boy said, and he wiped away her tears of joy with his free hand. "I'll think of you and I'll never be afraid again."

They sat together and watched the waves roll peacefully in and out again, and Ultimecia let her head fall on the boy's shoulder. Somehow, she knew that she must leave him, but never for long. She would always be back for him. For now, she would sit and be with her other half, the light of her soul.

It was hours before they heard a call in the distance. The woman in the black dress was calling out to them. Somehow, Ultimecia knew that she would be there when the time came for her to go.

"Squall!" called the woman, "Come on, sweetheart! It's time to come in now!"

Squall. That was his name. She tried it our silently on her tongue as she had her own name when it was fresh and new. Now she had a name to come back to as well.

He stood and offered her his hand to help her up. As she grabbed it, she felt him squeeze gently and say, "Now you know me. Who are you?"

Smiling into his steely eyes, Ultimecia gave him her name. As he repeated it once, he, too, smiled.

"Do you want to come with me, Ultimecia?" She released his hand and hugged him suddenly, whispering so only he could hear her, as if they were in a room filled with many people.

"I'll be here waiting for you. I promise." The tears began to flow once more. "When you need me, I'll be here."

"And I'll be here for you," he said, shaking somewhat. Looking over his shoulder toward the woman, he said, "I'd better go."

Ultimecia nodded and watched as he ran toward the woman, waving as he stopped to look back at her. When he finally reached her, she closed her eyes, and could begin to hear applause and whistling. In a moment, she would be back, ready to face the trials of a boring formal dinner.

......

"Are you all right, dear?" Callie asked quietly as the room burst into applause over a impressive speaker. Ultimecia nodded, but realized the tears in her eyes. Wiping them away, she smiled widely and beamed, "Yes, I feel very well indeed!"

Callie smiled back and replied, "We'll talk more about this later."

Ultimecia said nothing and sat back, completely content. She almost didn't even notice when the woman sitting next to her asked her a question.

"Not too much fun to be sitting here, huh?" Ultimecia turned to her on a reflex, having not even heard the woman's query. Realizing that she had been spoken too, she immediately apologized.

"Oh, I'm sorry, what did you say?" "Just wondering if you're having as much fun as I am," the woman answered, the sarcasm in her voice comic enough to draw a faint grin on Ultimecia's young face. The lady was very pretty, with straight red hair and a pair of hazel eyes that sat evenly within a well-tanned, youthful face. She wore an elaborate evening gown with white and black trim which bordered almost upon prudishness, were it not for the way it flowed majestically over her athletic frame. Ultimecia found that she trusted this person instantly, though her own feelings said, little, as they were quite exhausted from her last thought.

"My name is Llnaya Alaster. What is yours?" "Ultimecia Deling," she answered without pause. "Are you a Senator?" Llnaya simply laughed. It was a pretty, melodic sound that was neither piercing nor clumsy...almost controlled. Whatever the case, Ultimecia liked the sound. It reminded her of the beach and...

Regardless, she found herself ready to engage in conversation, which was all the better, since Callie was holding court with several Senators and the presidential nominees. Llnaya quickly answered her question, and it was the start of a long but refreshing discussion.

"No, I'm not, but my uncle is. He's a Galbadian Senator named Gradey. Do you know him?"

"Yes!" Ultimecia answered readily, "he's the man who invited Cal...my grandmother and me here for dinner."

"So your family has ties with Galbadia then...? Oh," she interjected, as if abruptly recollecting something obvious, "you are a Deling! Of course my uncle would know your family! What brings you both here tonight?"

"My grandmother has a nomination for the Galbadian Presidency that she wishes to make. Other than that, I think we're just visiting as Senator Gradey's guests."

Llnaya clapped her hands together soundlessly and uttered happily, "Oh, then you'll be able to take a tour of the city with me, then?"

The idea seemed very good to Ultimecia, and she responded enthusiastically, "I would like that very much!"

"Good!" Llnaya exclaimed, "though I think we'd best ask your grandmother. Perhaps she would like to come along, as well?"

"I hope so!" Ultimecia cried, and she was suddenly very anxious. She had wanted to see the world, and this was her first opportunity to see the city she had only glimpsed at on her way to the hotel.

More applause filled the room, yet Llnaya and Ultimecia didn't even notice.

"What do you do, Llnaya?" Ultimecia asked of her new friend. With a brief moment's thought, she answered, "I'm a student at a university in Balamb. I've been there since I was seven."

"Really?" replied a stunned Ultimecia, "that seems a long time to be away from home."

"Oh, it's not so bad," her friend stated, "as long as you have a little fun while your at it! I've made some really good friends there and I'm getting a great education."

"My grandmother teaches me," said Ultimecia. "I work at home on my subjects."

"Then she must be doing a wonderful job," Llnaya added, "because you seem to be very bright to me. Do you work in mathematics at all?"

Ultimecia made a sour face. "Yes, but I don't like it very much. I prefer history and language studies. Math takes all of the mystery out of things, and that is never good."

"What level are you at, then?" Llnaya asked, intrigued by Ultimecia's response.

"I just finished up my calculus lessons, and now I'm moving on to something called particle physics. It's all so boring, though!"

"Boring but useful," Llnaya added once more. "You'll find much more opportunity out there for someone who can use those skills. Frankly, I'm amazed to hear that you are at the physics level. You can't be more than twelve years old!"

"Eleven and a half," Ultimecia corrected. "Why, what would other kids my age study now?"

"Probably their division tables!" Llnaya laughed, and Ultimecia frowned in disbelief.

"Division?! How could anyone be so far behind? Division is so simple!"

"Like I said," Llnaya chuckled, "you are very bright. In fact, I'd bet that there's not a smarter girl your age alive...or boy, for that matter!"

Blushing, Ultimecia shook her head modestly, although she was genuinely touched by the remark. Looking momentarily in Callie's direction, she turned back and asked Llnaya, "Do you know much about sorceresses?"

Llnaya crinkled her brow in surprise. "Sorceresses? Why would so young a girl want to know about something so...archaic?"

"They interest me," Ultimecia answered plainly. "I think they were the most beautiful of all people...except for Adel, of course. My grandmother won't tell me anything about them, and the books I have only talk about Hyne. I really want to know more, and I thought you might know about them since you attend a university."

Taking a sip of her wine, Llnaya frowned somewhat and thought for a moment, keeping the rim of her glass just under her top lip. Then, after she had given the matter a bit of thought, she said, "Your grandmother is right, you know. The sorceresses are not something to take lightly. Still, you are certainly intuitive enough to find out on your own, anyway. I'd rather you found out from someone who knows what they're talking about."

"Really?" Ultimecia gushed, and she began to fidget, becoming increasingly excited by Llnaya's acceptance to her request.

"But only the historical stuff," Llnaya added. "I won't be responsible for filling your head with all of the theory and magical nonsense. It's all just superstition, but it's a superstition that many people in history have become obsessed with."

"I'll be fine," Ultimecia promised, somewhat taken aback by the superstition comment. For some reason, she was hurt that Llnaya didn't share her views on the sorceresses. She still, however, would gain as much information about the sorceresses as she could no matter what the source.

"Hyne was the first, as you probably know," Llnaya began without another word, "and she was very wicked. In fact, she was to set a standard for many sorceresses that has become the popular cultural norm. The sorceress that succeeded Hyne in legend was Sorceress Ambrosia, although she was an enemy of Hyne's who was able to slay her and gain control of her powers. Afterwards, the world supposedly came to peace under her rule. That's when the minor sorceresses of the world who had feared Hyne banded together to defeat Ambrosia. From there, her powers were divided, and the minor sorceresses were left to quibble over who had earned the right to rule the world."

"How many were there?" Ultimecia interrupted. "No one really knows," Llnaya added, "because one of them stole the spotlight and slew all of the others. That was Sorceress Belladonna. Her rule was benevolent enough, but people still felt as though they were oppressed. They revolted against her, but she hadn't the heart to fight back...or so history says.

"From there the nations of the world were left to thrive in peace, until one of them on the Centra continent became all powerful. It declared war on all of the other nations. To protect themselves, the western nations formed the Galbadian Empire in order to defend against Centra. The war officially began shortly after, and Galbadia was quickly beaten down. Their enemy was just too strong. It was only after the Lunar Cry that Galbadia was free from Centra's hold. You are aware, I take it, of the Lunar Cry?"

"It's one of the first things I studied in history," Ultimecia informed Llnaya. "I wondered if that ever really could have happened."

"It did," Llnaya assured her, "but the most recent were nowhere near as devastating as this first one. It destroyed all life on the Centra continent, and no one had seen it coming. Many believed that it was the power of Hyne that brought all of those monsters to Earth, while others believed that it was the work of modern sorceresses who practiced their powers in secret. The latter was believed, and soon a witch-hunt of sorts went through the world, reaching as far as Eastern Esthar."

"Even though the sorceresses may have saved their lives?!" Ultimecia demanded incredulously. "That wasn't right!"

"Well, perhaps not," Llnaya said, shifting slightly, "but it happened. Anyway, the hunt didn't last very long, as the sorceresses went into hiding once again. This time they would remain hidden until one came to power." Ultimecia frowned her displeasure, spitting her next statement with obvious venom. "Adel. How did that happen?"

"Many of the nations of the world had forgotten about the sorceresses after awhile, and soon the wars began. The descendants of Centra immigrated to the area of Esthar, while others began the Dukedom of Dollet in order to utilize the mountainous terrain for defense. Then Adel brought Esthar into the war, and the tide quickly turned. Galbadia began to fall, Dollet was too weak to stand against the Sorceress, and for a short time it looked as though Adel would conquer the world."

"I know what happened next," Ultimecia cut in. "Adel was deposed by Laguna Loire, who then became the President of Esthar, correct?"

"That's right," smiled Llnaya, "and he immediately ended the war and isolated Esthar from the rest of the world. It was many years before the world came to know the next sorceress, and that was Edea."

"Edea?" Ultimecia asked, intrigued by the name. She had run across only one other Edea in her history lesson, and that was Edea Kramer, wife of the same Cid Kramer whom had written so many of the books Ultimecia studied from daily. "Is she the same as the wife of Cid Kramer?"

"Yup," Llnaya replied, "and a sorceress as well. Some referred to her as the Benign One, since she raised children who were orphaned during the Sorceress Wars. I believe she lived on the Centra continent, but nothing of her orphanage remains now."

"So there WAS a good sorceress," Ultimecia said, smiling.

"I suppose so, but don't think that it was because she was a sorceress. Edea was probably incorruptible from the start. She just happened to be one of the few people that could balance power and control." Llnaya said this with absolute certainty. Here was one, Ultimecia realized, that truly disliked sorceresses. She didn't like the feelings she was getting from her dinner companion, as they made her very sad. How could she convince her that the sorceresses were good? How could she show her the feelings that they carried, the same as Ultimecia herself?

"Why do you hate them so much?" she asked, almost unaware that she had spoken the words aloud.

"I..." Llnaya began, but there came a burst of fanfare to cut her off, and the whole room stood as all eyes fell on the large hall doors. Callie quickly returned to stand behind her seat and bade Ultimecia to do the same. After the fanfare died down, a page entered the room.

"Most gracious Senators and Candidates," he began in a loud, deep voice, "his Excellency, President Gennaro Udine of the pristine Empire of Esthar!"

Thunderous applause filled the room as a tall, thin man in a black set of ceremonial robes entered the room. Looking about with impatience, he had neither the bearing nor the grace of a leader, but rather a pompous, almost flamboyant air to him. His long black hair was tied back in a ponytail tied with a black ribbon so tightly that it pulled the skin of his face taut. He was an evil looking man, and Ultimecia disliked him instantly.

He pulled himself forward impatiently, as if each step was not worth his efforts. It was literally minutes before he made his way toward a throne set aside especially for him. Still the applause filled the room, however, as none would dare be the first to cease honoring the most powerful person in the world. Sitting himself slowly down, President Udine looked about the room with a scowl. Immediately the applause halted.

"Honorable delegates," he began, each word dripping sarcastically from his tongue as though he hated to use the word 'honorable' when not referring to himself, "we face a daunting task tonight. We must find a new leader for the nation of Galbadia. I believe the nominators have made their selections, so without further discussion, I would like to hear from them now."

Senator Alrdrict stood without any introduction and spoke evenly before a man he obviously despised; he regarded Udine in the same patronizing tone the President had used.

"Great President Udine, my colleagues in the Estharian Senate and I have selected one who needs no introduction save his name. I present Fenix Caraway of New Deling City!"

Applause erupted yet again as Caraway stood and bowed quickly. He was not the most congenial of choices, Ultimecia noted from his gravy stained suit and bulging paunch. He seemed rather oafish, and she wondered why anyone would choose him to lead an alley, let alone a nation.

"Fine fine fine," Udine muttered impatiently, "who is next?"

Callie stood then and clutched Ultimecia's hand. Squeezing back, they looked at each other briefly and smiled. They both held the same opinion of the petty man before them, but Ultimecia knew that her grandmother could use all the support she could get.

"President Udine," Callie called out, her aging voice still more commanding than the President's own, "I represent the interests of the Deling family whose bloodline runs deeply within Galbadia. The choice I have made comes not from a simple name, but rather one who would do will lead Galbadia in a way that would benefit both our nations. I present to you Llnaya Alaster!"

Wide-eyed, Ultimecia turned to Llnaya as she stood, her proud bearing and beauty a welcome surprise to the assembled politicians. Alrdrict sneered slightly, but it was obvious that the Galbadians approved. They all clapped enthusiastically, realizing that Callie had made the best choice.

When the applause died down, Udine shifted his weight and sighed, an action that belied his interest in this turn of events. Reedy voice filling the hall, he called back to Callie, "Such a surprise to hear such a nomination. Really, Ms. Deling...a SeeD? One would never guess you could be so...hypocritical."

A murmur went through the room, though Ultimecia could plainly feel that it was unease rather than agreement. She, however, was angry. How dare that silly little man speak to Callie in such a manner! She was about to cry out when Callie spoke, her tone even and controlled.

"I have made a choice based upon one who knows the politics of Galbadia, has ties to the nation, and can actually do the job, Mr. President. My personal reservations have nothing to do with her nomination, nor are they of any interest to the Presidency. SeeD or no, she is the person for the job."

"And this is your final nomination, then, Ms. Deling?" Callie but nodded and took her seat, never failing to meet the President's gaze. Ultimecia followed suit, her own eyes thin crescents of undeniable contempt.

"Do you accept this nomination, young SeeD?" Udine asked Llnaya.

"Great President Udine," she replied, her voice clear and bold, "I am most honored by the Deling family and the people of Galbadia and Esthar for their consideration, and accept the nomination humbly."

"Very well, then," Udine said, "the matter will fall to the Galbadians at the beginning of the next term in two years."

And that was all. Without speaking to another soul, he lifted himself from the throne and made his way slowly out as all stood to applaud him as he left. When he was gone, however, all sat back with relief, their applause turning to private conversations of distaste for their unofficial dictator. Ultimecia, however, was now more full of questions than ever.

"You are grandma's choice?" she asked as Llnaya sat down. The SeeD nodded and said nothing in reply; Callie was watching the both of them, and it was plainly evident from her gaze that their friendship was not a welcome one.

"Ms. Alaster," she said, "I believe the time has come for us to part ways."

"But grandma," Ultimecia begged, "I was talking with Llnaya and..."

"No!" Callie spat quickly, and she motioned for Ultimecia to stand.

"We will finish this meeting tomorrow," she said to her nominee, and to Ultimecia she said, "Let us get to our room now. We have a long day tomorrow."

"I know," Ultimecia said. "Llnaya said that we could take a tour of the city tomorrow with her!" Eyes widening, Llnaya began to stammer, saying, "Maybe this wasn't such a good..."

"Oh really?" Callie interrupted, never taking her eyes off of Llnaya. "I have fulfilled my obligation to your family, child, and am obligated to do no more. Leave my family from your disastrous ways. I bid you good night."

"But Ms. Deling, I was only trying to..."

"Good night, Llnaya," Callie said with finality. Llnaya could but shrug at Ultimecia and watch as Callie pulled her student away from the table and toward their room.

"Callie, why don't you like Llnaya?" Ultimecia questioned, disturbed by her reaction to the young woman. Unusually curt, Callie was obviously distraught by the idea of spending time with the young SeeD. She burrowed into a crowd of senators at the main doorway and guided Ultimecia through the garment-laden labyrinth.

"Someday," she began to reply when they were out of the room and walking down the ornate marble hallway, "you will learn many things, and one of them will be who your enemies are. In this life, there will be those who will try to tear you down no matter how much you love the rest of the world. They will fight against you at every turn, using all methods of trickery to bring you down. For now, all you need to know is to stay away from all SeeDs."

"But..." Ultimecia began, but thought better of it. It was not the time to argue. Clearly, Callie held SeeDs in high contempt, and that was enough for Ultimecia...for now. They walked the rest of the way in silence, Ultimecia turning her head to look behind her. She caught one last glimpse of Llnaya, who looked after them with an intense stare. Not knowing why, she let out a little shiver as she turned back toward Callie. It was forgotten as soon as it happened, and Ultimecia let her mind drift toward the dessert Callie had promised her after the dinner. Absently, she played with a rather large ring that sat on her finger, one that she had not entered the hotel with in the first place.

......

Ultimecia never had a chance to explore New Deling City, although she had promised herself that someday she would return. Callie had insisted on taking the first train back to Esthar the very day after the nominations. The whole process had been a blur, and all Ultimecia could remember seeing on their way out of town was the steady procession of unremarkable buildings.

The train they rode was a bit less luxurious than the one they arrived in Galbadia on, but Ultimecia didn't care. She had since let her mind wander while watching the scenery of the world unfold before her. Staring listlessly over the ocean that rolled beneath the train, the child could do little else than think about the brief history of sorceresses that Llnaya had given her. She had delivered it with so much spite and malice that it was clear she disliked the very idea of sorceresses altogether.

Another thought that occupied her mind was the notion of SeeDs. She had no clue what they were or why they made Callie so mad, but if it made her mad, then they couldn't be good...

...or could they? Llnaya hadn't seemed evil to her. Quite the opposite; she seemed quite nice. She was much nicer than President Udine, a man who now embodied the very spirit of evil in Ultimecia's mind. Whatever Callie's views, Ultimecia decided that she wasn't going to form an opinion on Llnaya until she found evidence to condemn the beautiful SeeD with.

Llnaya...Udine...Deling...Hyne...Edea...all of the names flooded together in her tired mind. At her age, she had already determined that nothing was as it seemed. This thought stayed with her as her eyelids began to droop. She didn't realize what was happening until it was too late, but when she did, she was overjoyed. She was back on the beach.

The sun was as warm as ever, and the cool ocean breeze tickling her skin as she looked down toward the old house that sat on the dunes. Squall would be there, she knew.

Instead of running to find him, though, she sat on the beach, letting the gentle waves tease her feet. She hadn't been able to enjoy New Deling City, and the water was so cool and inviting...Squall would find her. She knew he would. They had promised each other. Closing her eyes, Ultimecia relaxed as the sun held her in its ethereal embrace. Here she was free from all worry, a place apart from the rest of the world.

Suddenly, a shadow covered the light of the sun, and even through her closed eyelids, she knew what had happened.

"I knew you'd be here," she said, almost absently. There was a rustle, and she knew that Squall had sat beside her.

"I promised you I would be," he replied, and then let out a small laugh.

"What's so funny?" Ultimecia asked, sitting up and looking over at him. He looked back, smiling broadly.

"You knew it was me before I even said anything." Ultimecia scrunched up her nose, as she was often wont to do. "Why is that so funny?"

"Its not really funny," Squall answered, "but it's like we've known each other forever. It just...feels funny."

"Oh really?" Ultimecia replied playfully, pushing Squall teasingly back. When he fell, he did not get up, instead looking up at the clouds. He was so secure, having no other thoughts or cares. To Ultimecia he looked so serene, so at peace. Looking over him with the eyes of an innocent love, her heart skipped a beat. How could she leave him again, one who had just appeared in her life and fit without rhyme or reason? She belonged there, he belonged with her...

"You know," she began, "sometimes I feel so scared..." Squall sat up and looked over to Ultimecia, whose gaze had moved out to the ocean.

"About what?" he asked. "I sometimes feel like I don't deserve everything I have been given lately...it's stupid, I guess..."

"No!" Squall interrupted, "nothing you say is stupid! Just tell me what it is."

A tear formed in Ultimecia's eye, and it fell down her cheek freely, catching the light of the sun as easily as any precious metal. She couldn't bring herself to look at him, yet she didn't know why. Everything else was so simple for her to learn, but the feelings she had for Squall were so different. She couldn't even tell what they were, and that frightened her.

"I feel as though everything I've come to know will be taken from me. It has been a year since I left the alley, but I worry that someone will come and take it all away from me. I want to be able to stand, but I can't stand by myself. I try to hide it from myself, but I'm scared of falling back into that alley. Do you understand?"

Squall nodded thoughtfully. "I think I do."

Standing, he drew her up by her hand and lightly turned her head so she could look into his eyes.

"You want someone to protect you." "Yes..."

"Someone who will be there for you..."

"Yes..."

"I could do that!"

She smiled at him, her knees suddenly weak. She could barely stand, so tremulous his gaze made her feel. He wouldn't let her fall, though. When she was with him, she could tell that she never would. All she wanted to do was stand there with him...hold him. He could be the strength that she was searching for.

"You know," she said, her smile growing wider, "I once read that a sorceress was supposed to be protected by her knight...someone who would swear his life to protect her."

"A knight..."

"Yeah," Ultimecia said, blushing suddenly. "He loved his sorceress more than anything else, and she loved him even more. I want someone to be my knight."

Straightening himself up, Squall adjusted his tattered tee shirt and saluted, his face suddenly grave and serious.

"Then Knight Squall is reporting for duty!" he said, his voice soldier-like and stern. He looked so silly that Ultimecia began to laugh, and she fell into his arms as she did.

"You sounded so silly!" she said, wiping more tears from her eyes. Feeling Squall's arms wrap around her, she could hear him say, "But I'm still serious."

She hugged him back, lost in his arms, but not caring if she ever found her way out. She could be as incoherent as she pleased, and Squall would always understand her, just as he did then, holding her with the arms of a knight.

"Griever looks really good on you," Squall said suddenly. He turned the ring as it sat loosely on her finger, catching a bit of sunlight that gleamed as pleasantly as Ultimecia's tear.

"It does, I guess," answered Ultimecia. "Thank you." "I wouldn't say it if it weren't true," replied Squall. "You have a good spirit. Griever really likes you."

"You make it sound as though it's alive!" Ultimecia giggled, and Squall laughed, too.

"We can always pretend it is," he suggested. Ultimecia scrunched up her nose, the idea seeming rather childish to her.

"Why would we want to do that?"

At that comment, Squall merely looked out toward sea. Ultimecia looked out as well, and at once she understood.

"We don't know what is out there," she breathed. "Griever could protect you, too," Squall noted, rolling the ring between his thumb and forefinger. "Nothing that's out there could hurt you if..."

She drew him to her, hugging him intently and burying her head in his chest. Breathing deeply, she smiled, saying, "You're all the protection I need."

......

"Am I?" Callie asked, and Ultimecia looked up, startled. No longer was she on the beach, but rather she was sitting back on the train. Watching her with keen interest, Callie reached over and ruffled her protege's hair.

"Callie! I was...that is..." "Don't try and apologize for your thoughts, my child," she said, placing her index finger gently over Ultimecia's lips to quiet her, "they show your beautiful spirit, and that is more than anyone could ever hope for."

"Hmm..." Ultimecia hummed, her thoughts still taking her back to the beach. From the warmth of the sun above the train, she could still feel the waves tickling her toes, and the sweet, soft breeze as it held her in tranquil arms. Most of all, she could see Squall's face, a face she could not even place a description upon. Where was he, and how could she find him? She needed him in her own life, and soon enough her thoughts would not be enough for her to grasp a hold of. Like a spoiled child, she wanted him with her forever...to protect her as her knight.

"Callie?" Ultimecia asked, "how can I find my knight?" Letting out a small chuckle, Callie moved over to her child and sat beside her. They had the whole car to themselves, it seemed, as no one else was even on the train but the conductor.

"You have been reading far ahead, haven't you," she tittered. "Well, I imagine that in a sorceresses life, they will just know. I never found my knight, you see. I left that up to the romantics." She let out a slight sigh. "No, I imagine that knights are for the young, and if they can keep em, God bless em! It's hard enough to keep a man in one place long enough as it is!"

"But...what if...what if I've already found him?" Ultimecia's eyes were suddenly cast downward, and Callie looked at her, understanding but uncertain.

"What do you mean by that, dear?" she asked, and Ultimecia looked up, her eyes brimming with tears.

"I found him, Grandma! I really have! I go to him in my thoughts, and he's always there to sit with me and talk with me...he said that he will always be there to protect me!"

Callie was silent for a moment, carefully pondering her student's words. At first, Ultimecia expected for Callie to be mad at her, as though she saw something of her mother in the old woman's eyes just at that moment. However, Callie instead answered in a way she hadn't expected.

"Perhaps I've underestimated your progression, sweetie," she said, somewhat timidly. "Perhaps you are ready to truly learn about the power you hold. I should have known that you would already be seeking out the signs, but I never imagined it would be so soon...but the ring you wear says more than anything you need tell me."

Subconsciously, Ultimecia hid Griever in the fold of her dress, twisting it about her finger through the fabric. "What do you mean," she asked, startled by her grandmother's blatant acknowledgement of the ring.

"What I mean is, I have been treating you as though you were a child. The past few months I have kept you locked away from much of the outside world, and left you entrenched in history. A true sorceress needs to be exposed to the world so that she may let her powers grow and benefit her surroundings. I have stunted that growth in one of the most early stages...your childhood."

"But I never had a childhood to begin with," Ultimecia said consolingly, "not like the other children I have seen, anyway."

"My point is that you shouldn't have had that happen to you," Callie added, "and I have done nothing but make it worse. From now on, you are going to have a bit more freedom."

"Freedom?" Ultimecia asked, "To do what?"

"To learn!" she replied enthusiastically. "To grow! To meet people and experience new things! Your life has always been so shut in, and now I finally realize that you don't need protection from me, you need support. These past few months have made me feel differently, myself. I want to keep you safe, but there is a power out there that has given you years of that kind of training. I need to help you grow emotionally."

She looked away, her elderly eyes tearing up as she wiped them. "Part of me was just so glad to have a family that I..."

Without a word, Ultimecia hugged her. "I love you, grandma," she whispered.

"I love you, too, my darling girl," she answered as she softly ran her fingers through her silken hair, "I know you will be someone great. I'm so proud of you!"

"I'm going to be a great sorceress," Ultimecia promised, "just like Edea!"

"Edea?" Callie asked suddenly, "Where did you learn about Edea?" "Llnaya told me about her," the child stated.

"She did, eh?"

Callie thought about this for a moment. Some hidden thought brought obvious turmoil to her ordinarily organized mind. She shook it away, however, and began to speak once again.

"Sorceresses must begin their training by learning all that they can about the world they live in. Only then can they understand their place in the world. Many have abused their powers, and that is what I have been trying to avoid with you."

"Oh Grandma," Ultimecia laughed, "I won't do anything bad!"

"I know you won't," Callie replied with a smile, "and I know that you will do great things in life. I'm going to start training your abilities next. Already you have discovered some of them, and that power is beyond my comprehension."

"What is that?" Ultimecia asked.

"Your ability to travel to any place you wish in your mind. You can visit any location, regardless of your own experiences, and if I guess correctly, you have already made a connection with another sorceress from another era."

"Really?"

"Oh yes," Callie answered, "most assuredly. I can feel it every time you emerge from your thoughts. You have been to Edea Kramer's era."

Silence fell, and Ultimecia pondered Callie's words. She understood so little of her own powers, and yet she was so eager to expand on them. Did Squall have something to do with it?

"What does it mean?" she asked finally. Her confusion forced her to scrunch her nose in disgust to her own ignorance, and Callie tried in vain to suppress a slight giggle at her child's comic countenance.

"We may never know," Callie said, "but you must not force yourself to understand. Everything you need to know will come in time. Some things defy explanation...even for a sorceress. For now, think only on what I've taught you, because confusion will get the better of you if you try too hard."

"I want to learn magic," Ultimecia said suddenly, "like Hyne and Edea."

"And you will," Callie promised, "but only if you are patient. All good things come in time."

Ultimecia thought about this and decided that it made a great deal of sense. She decided, however, that she had more questions even after she told her mind to quiet down.

"Grandma," she asked, "why did you nominate Llnaya Alaster for the presidency if you don't like her?"

Leaning back, Callie frowned and looked as though she was choosing her words very carefully. Finally, after considering the subject, she said, "Politics can often mean siding with your enemies. I owed a favor to Llnaya's family, and I certainly didn't want Fenix Caraway to carry the nomination. She was the only suitable candidate who would actually accept my nomination. I would have liked to avoid nominating a SeeD, but..."

"And why are SeeDs so bad?" Ultimecia pressed. She didn't understand Callie's aversion to the mercenary group that had recently become a political machine under the Balamb Parliament. Besides the fact that they were known to vote on a strictly liberal bent, Ultimecia saw no reason for any hatred for their kind.

"SeeDs," Callie began suddenly and without pause, "were predicated on the concept of mindless bloodshed. Their original fortune was made upon the deaths of countless sorceresses, including Edea Kramer. They still practice their disgusting profession without conscience or moral guidance. They are the enemy."

As she spoke, her face twisted into a mask of absolute loathing and revulsion. Ultimecia had never seen Callie's face so full of distaste. Tentatively, she put her hand on her shoulder, which Callie quickly took in her own. Grasping it firmly, she spoke again, this time in a softer tone.

"For now, I just think it best that you keep yourself away from them until you are able to stand on your own. A sorceress cannot afford to be swayed by the errant words of an ignorant militarist. Follow your heart, and you will be fine."

They sat in silence the rest of the way, and Ultimecia knew that Callie would show her the right path. Completely secure in her own limited dominion, Ultimecia put her head on her grandmother's shoulder and rested for the remainder of the trip, the train lulling her into slumber with its ceaseless, rhythmic progression.

......

It would have never occurred to Ultimecia that time could move so quickly, yet as the years progressed, they moved faster and faster. Her training, studies, and travelling filled her days with seemingly endless responsibility, and in the end, the path to becoming a sorceress looked to be a lengthy one. Still, she had managed to maintain a sense of her own childhood needs throughout her duties, never thinking twice to enjoy a delicious ice cream cone or simply watch as the clouds floated overhead. Often, she imagined what it would be like to live up in the sky, away from the problems and cares that plagued the world below. Each day progressed normally for her, and it seemed as though life would continue that course for all foreseeable days to come.

For three years, her life had grown even stranger and more wonderful to her. Her days with her mother were well in the past. Callie, it seemed, had rescued her just in time before her mind would have been closed to the gift granted unto her. Her young mind had been spared a lifetime of past regrets.

Now she enjoyed her scholarly life, being taught both the ways of the world as well as the ways of the sorceresses. Between two worlds, her thoughts became more peaceful by the day, and Squall was always there for her. In many ways, she had finally accepted a life that she once believed that she would never have. Politicians called her Madame, servants brought her food, and she easily allowed herself to fall into the comfortable folds of her newly protective life. Inbetween it all, she managed to find time to study magic, just as Callie had promised she would. Her own powers, still weak in her youth, still seemed limited to her own thoughts.

It was upon her fourteenth birthday that Callie granted Ultimecia the title of Heiress to the Estate, which afforded her control over a fortune that was often compared to the Estharian treasury. From that time, she met with the politicians as an equal, her cultivated lineage a tool of her newfound political arsenal. SeeDs visited her despite Callie's warnings to the contrary, pleading for money for various Garden functions, tuition, or student loans.

During her time in this office, she often met with Llnaya Alaster, the President of Galbadia. As Heiress, Ultimecia had a great deal of control over the family fortune, and as such Llnaya had often appealed to her friend for economic aid.

Now, as Ultimecia had turned sixteen, Llnaya had become her closest confidant, a person she told almost everything about her life. She never mentioned Squall or her thoughts, but in many ways, Llnaya had become like a sister to her. Often, they quarreled as sisters, as well, but in the end, they always made amends.

They also had a competetive streak that found them constantly trying to out-do the other one. When one slipped up or the one beat the other in a sport or game, they kept a constant score. Ultimecia was ahead by three points, but mostly because she was so much better at turning the heads of aristocratic young men than Llnaya was.

Regardless, Llnaya always stuck by her side, and it was she who sat with Ultimecia just then as she poured over her books, looking out the window absently. Callie was away on unknown errands for the week, and Llnaya offered to look in on Ultimecia while she was in Esthar.

Llnaya looked back at Ultimecia and smiled, clutching at the presidential seal that hung from the lapel of her black suit-coat. Ultimecia was wearing her own exquisite dress of red and silver that shimmered even as she sat still. Her hair had been pulled back and fastened with silver hairpins with etched glass chocobos on the ends. She appeared very much the picture of royalty, the aristocratic blood of Callie's family almost a natural bond rather than one of choice. What were out of place were the books on her lap, old and musty. With the quizzical look on her face, she looked like a fashionably dressed librarian, especially with the way she crinkled her nose.

"You seem puzzled by something," Llnaya noticed. "What is it?"

Slowly raising her head with dignified poise, Ultimecia formed each of her words carefully, an exaggerated accent of the upper classes teasing each of her Cs, giving her an almost smug air.

"I kan't for the life of me understand the politikal history of your nation..." she replied, using her pet name for Galbadia. "There is little reason why the kountry had not been destroyed years ago! They fought against every nation, lost three wars, and have insulted every person on this planet with their ridikulous reforms!"

Llnaya almost interrupted, mentioning that it was her ancestry that had started those wars and instituted those same reforms of which she had previously mentioned, but held her tongue, knowing the pride of the aristocratic families to be great to the point of obsessive. Without prodding her further, Llnaya merely nodded and smiled, the child's intelligence still a great wonder to the young ruler of Galbadia.

"The Dissertation on World Peace by Laguna Loire only affirms this..." Ultimecia continued, her eyes once again focused the historical words before her. "There is no point to war at all, and yet so many have followed its meaningless path..."

"A lesson to be learned, for sure," Llnaya said, and she sat down next to Ultimecia. "I suppose it is human nature to fight."

"It is not," Ultimecia countered, "the nature of the Sorceresses."

"What about Adel?" Llnaya reminded her friend. The mention of the Odious One was not meant to be an insult, but from the tone her voice implied, Ultimecia certainly saw it that way.

"Adel was a fluke," she hissed. "That was proven when Loire deposed her and exiled her to spatial kontainment. Were she righteous, she would have prevailed."

"I see..." Llnaya said, deciding to change the subject. "You know, I have an urgent need to ask for personal funds. Government funds cannot be used in what I am about to mention."

The essence of mystery that shrouded Llnaya's last phrase intrigued Ultimecia, and she forgot about Adel.

"Really? Now we get to the reason of your visit!"

Llnaya nodded and continued on. "Yes, the Galbadian government has for some time been investigating a religious cult in the Centra region. It has until now been harmless, but a rash of mysterious deaths in the region have triggered great interest in the Parliament. We want to send troops in two days, but the money would have to come from Esthar. We cannot afford that kind of publicity now, especially with President Udine's executive inspection fast approaching. The whole maneuver will take no more than three days."

There was a silence for a moment as the young heiress considered what had been told to her.

"And you want me," Ultimecia reasoned, "to fund your investigation...interesting."

"Well?" Llnaya asked.

"Well what?" Ultimecia asked. "You want me to make a decision without having even konsulted my grandmother?"

"She is no longer in command of the Deling fortune," Llnaya reasoned. "Besides, you know that my dealings with her were concluded on the night of my nomination as Galbadia's President! How am I supposed to convince her that any military funding will be necessary?"

Shrugging, Ultimecia knew that Llnaya was right. There was no way that Callie would support private funding for a military exercise, especially when it was the idea of Llnaya Alaster. However, she could sense that there was something else that the president wasn't telling her. Ultimecia could always tell when she was not being told the whole truth: her thoughts twisted uncomfortably within her, making her nauseous and ill tempered.

"Is there something that you haven't mentioned?" she asked her friend.

"Well," Llnaya said, squirming slightly, "I think that there is one detail that neither you nor Callie would approve..."

"And that is?" Ultimecia asked impatiently. She never appreciated it when someone tried to dodge the issue. She had, after all, made it a point to be completely honest with Llnaya at all times. Political life was already stunting the former SeeD's manners.

"Well, the Galbadian military cannot be involved in this mission...we have a treaty with New Balamb in Centra to forego all attacks. That is why I have contracted outside help."

Ultimecia's eyes narrowed somewhat, comprehension hitting her as it Llnaya's nervousness increased. She knew perfectly well what she was asking, and the very idea was enough to make her slam her book shut.

"You want me to pay for SeeDs." she spat, her own contempt for the organization having grown with Callie's own, despite her economic dealings with them. "You want me to assist the murderers of the sorceresses..." She trailed off, not wanting to insult Llnaya. Because of her desperation or her friendship with the young heiress, she said nothing. Instead, she waited for Ultimecia to calm down. When she did, she had tears in her eyes.

"Is this another witch hunt?" she asked. "Are we still fighting against the sorceresses after all of these years?"

Llnaya's eyes widened, aghast at Ultimecia's outburst. "No no no! This is merely an investigation! I am not authorizing any engagements of any kind. We will merely be sending in SeeD to investigate the issue. Their armaments will just be a precautionary measure."

Ultimecia sat back, folding her arms in contemplation. There was no reason for her not to support Llnaya. As much as she tried, she could feel nothing more from her friend, as her own powers were still very weak. Callie, she reasoned, might even be proud of her if she could make such a momentous decision on her own. Within moments, she had made up her mind.

"Alright," she said, "you will have your funds. Leave the transfer number and the gil will be processed by tomorrow morning."

"Thank you, Ultimecia," Llnaya said. Glancing at her watch, she said suddenly, "Oh! I have to get back! My train will be leaving in less than thirty minutes!"

Moving to the door, Ultimecia curtsied slightly and bade the Galbadian President farewell.

"Goodbye, Llnaya."

"Goodbye, Ultimecia. I hope to see you again soon!"

Smiling, Ultimecia nodded sagely and said, "You most certainly will."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Llnaya. The look in the child's eyes was mischievous, and suddenly, she wondered what she had gotten herself into.

"I plan on akkompanying the SeeDs to New Balamb."

Llnaya was about to protest, but Ultimecia would hear none of it. Quietly, she began to push her softy out the door as she overshot the president's protests with her own arguments.

"I have full rights to oversee any matter that involves Deling monies, and I fully intend to be there when the SeeDs arrive on the Centran shore. There is no need for koncern. I will stay on the boat and you kan be reassured that I will only be along for the ride. Thank you, Llnaya, good day, and au revoir!"

As she closed the door on Llnaya's protests, she smiled, imagining that she had won a great victory. She would be back well before Callie was expected to return from her mysterious errands. In the end, she would prove to be the perfect Deling, and Callie would be so proud! Slipping back into her futon, she closed her eyes. It was time for her to consult with her knight.

......

"Squall?" Ultimecia called out when she found herself on the beach. Her accent faded while in her other-worldly sanctuary, she cried, "Where are you?"

From behind her came a pair of arms that wrapped about her waist, hugging her gently. She didn't jump or gasp in surprise as she might have not four years earlier, but instead brushed them gently with her hands. Laying her head back against his chest, she knew that Squall had come. She squinted against the sun, but for all of its heat, she melted only when she heard his deep, aged voice.

"How is my Sorceress faring?" he asked, kissing her shoulder ever so slightly. Turning her head to look over her shoulder, she caught a glimpse of his handsome smile.

"I am wonderful, now," she said wistfully, turning her body to hug him back. "I had to come back and see you!"

They began to walk along the beach, arm in arm, the scent of the salty ocean air sending cascades of glittering surf against the distant rocks that sheltered the lighthouse. It seemed an eternity before Squall spoke again.

"Something is about to happen, isn't it?"

Caught somewhat by surprise with the sudden outburst, Ultimecia stepped back slightly and look her knight in the eyes.

"You seem to know a great deal," she hinted slyly. "Indeed there is something that is going to happen..."

"And what is that?" he asked.

Ultimecia rarely talked about the realm in which she normally resided, but Squall knew enough about it to understand what she told him. As she related Llnaya's request, he nodded occasionally. When she mentioned the name SeeD, his eyes narrowed as her did, feeling nothing but anger toward the organization that would dare to offend his Sorceress.

There was also something else, though. His eyes were not only narrowed, but glossed, as if by tears. When she looked again, however, they were gone.

"There is something wrong," Ultimecia noted, holding Squall's hand. "What is it?"

He looked away, a sudden hint of fear playing across his face. Mumbling, he replied, "Nothing... nothing at all."

Ultimecia had learned to read Squall's face over the past four years. She had, after all, grown up in her new life with him constantly in her thoughts. She had struggled often with the concept of his actual existence, until finally she realized that he was indeed real...he was only somewhere else. With that realization came her understanding of him, and when he was sad, she could feel it ten times greater than she could anyone else.

"Why are you upset?" she asked, leading him to sit with her along the shore. He was still looking away, staring out to sea.

"Something else is going to happen. I can feel it." Smiling, Ultimecia placed a placating hand on his shoulder.

"You worry too much." Placing a kiss on his cheek, she leaned against him. "What is it that you feel?"

Squall shrugged. As she looked up at him, she could see how much he had changed.

"I feel...worried."

"Worried? About what?"

Again Squall shrugged and threw a pebble out into the water. It skipped three times before it sank, sending a series of glittering ripples across the water.

"I'm worried that maybe I'm not the one for you. Maybe we aren't meant to be together..."

Ultimecia stopped, her heart suddenly feeling as though it had fallen into her stomach. What was he trying to say?

"I have known for the past three years," Ultimecia said, "and never once have I doubted it. Soon, I will find a way to be with you forever. That is why I will become a sorceress. I want to be with you!"

"You have to do for yourself, first," Squall said. "That is the important thing."

"In a way, this is for me," Ultimecia countered. "My one wish is to be able to always be with you...to hold you and never let go!"

"How can you be sure that I am the one, though?" Squall asked. "I can't be sure...I am too young, but I really want for it to be you..."

"Are you trying to say that you've been leading me on this whole time?!" Ultimecia asked incredulously. "Why did you say that you loved me if you do not?"

"I do!"

"Then what is the problem?"

Neither one could look the other in the eye. Both had shed too many tears to see straight, and both wiped at their eyes ashamedly. Despite herself, Ultimecia clung to Squall tightly, her tears running down his back as they fell from her cheek to his shoulder.

"I don't know what is happening, Ultimecia. I am just getting a feeling. I don't know if you are the one that I need, and I need time to be sure."

"Have I not shown you enough faith? Have I not loved you enough?" Ultimecia sobbed. "What have I done that has changed things so much?"

Squall lifted her chin gently with his forefinger, so that he might look her in the eyes. Softly, he whispered to her.

"It is nothing that you have done. You are such a wonderful spirit, and your love is so powerful...so powerful that sometimes it scares me. You are still so young, like me, but you are somehow so committed..."

"It's called love, Squall!"

"...but I don't know how to take it! How can I? I have never had any reason to trust anyone before. Now I have to discover things on my own..."

"You mean, you want to see other girls?"

"No!"

"THEN WHAT!? Why are you doing this to me?" She could not hold back. She was almost to the point of hysterics, her nails close to digging into Squall's back for support.

"I have always been able to tell things about you, Ultimecia. I cannot always be there for you. There will be times in your life that are going to be very painful, and I won't be able to help you. There will be heartache, and for some reason, I can tell that you will not...handle it well."

"But..."

"And when those times come, I don't know if I will know who you are anymore..."

"I love you!"

"And I love you! You have to believe that. It is not that I want to find someone else, its just that I'm scared of what you might become. One day you will be here, and the next you will be somewhere else. I know that something is going to happen. Will you still be you when it is over?"

......

"Yes!" Ultimecia cried, awakening to her dark room. She was clinging to his blankets, large lacerations made from her nails. One of them, she could feel, had broken to the quick. Climbing out of bed, she walked over to the window. As she watched the late night traffic, she thought about her promise to Llnaya, trying to atone in her realm for the unpleasant thought she had just had.

Picking up the phone, she dialed the President, knowing that she would be back in Galbadia by then. After three rings, Llnaya's voice greeted her.

"Hello?"

"Llnaya, it is me."

"Oh," Llnaya replied, "how are you, Ultimecia?"

"I have changed my mind," she said. "I won't be going with you to New Balamb."

"Why is that?" Llnaya asked, sounding obviously relieved.

"I'm not sure," Ultimecia answered. "I just don't think that it would be a good idea."

"That's fine. I must be going now, Ultimecia. I have a meeting with the senate in less than ten minutes."

"Take kare, Llnaya," Ultimecia said.

"You too, darling."

As soon as she hung up, Ultimecia rang for the doorman. Within moments, he stood before her, ready for his orders.

"See what you can do about securing a boat for me," she said. "I will be traveling to New Balamb in the morning."

He left, and Ultimecia congratulated herself on her cleverness. Certainly, it would be much more efficient to oversee the operation when Llnaya had no idea that she was being watched. Secure in the knowledge that she had taken care of Squall's concern, she returned to bed, ready to see just what Llnaya had planned. Besides, this would just be one more point for her.

......

New Balamb had been dedicated as a sort of tourist attraction that had grown into a small city around the old Centra Ruins. The land had been desolate for so long after the first Lunar Cry had struck. Now, it had been artificially revived and made into one of the most prosperous nations independent of Estharian control. It was considered by many to be the perfect place to live, affording beautiful, majestic oceanside living with contemporary comforts that rivaled that of the mighty Eastern power.

Ultimecia's boat approched the eastern harbor that New Balamb overlooked. It was a sprawling city that covered the coast like a festive blanket. She knew from many maps that it continued far inland, although the actual live-in population was comparatively small. The tropical clouds, bright and puffy, sat like enormous balloons overhead. The scent of the salty waters filled the air as the small craft kicked up a fine mist behind it as it traveled along.

"Kaptain," Ultimecia said in a small reciever phone, sitting in a high-backed chair on deck, "please put into port diskretely. I want no one to know that we have arrived."

"Yes, Miss Deling," came the response, and Ultimecia relaxed and sat back, admiring the ocean sky as she tanned herself in a red bathing suit. Sipping lemonade from a tall, frosty glass, she put the task of spying on Llnaya toward the back of her mind. She was well ahead of her opponent as it was. It would also give her some time to relax and focus on gathering her powers.

After a few moments rest, they arrived, and Ultimecia rose to greet the new town. Taking in a deep, appreciative breath, she stepped off of the boat and looked about her.

The port town was teeming with life, people selling, buying and milling about the various vendors and side booths. Several sidewalk cafes offered their tantalizing dishes to passers-by, while children played among the people, dodging in and out of the crowd with reckless abandon. It was hot, but a cool wind from the ocean helped to balance any discomfort.

Ultimecia walked with four family servants behind her, each carrying a suitcase or travel bag, while still two more went off into the city proper as per Ultimecia's orders. They would find out what Llnaya would be up to, and hopefully locate the "cult" that she had spoken of before they did. More than anything else, Ultimecia wanted to avoid the tragic mistakes of Galbadia's previous raids, and although she trusted Llnaya to an extent, she did not trust fate. The vacation she was taking was the best cover she could manage on such short notice.

"Bring my bags to the hotel," she commanded her servants, and they bowed as much as their heavy loads would allow before departing. She had decided to take up a room even though she only intended on staying through the night. In any event, she would talk with Squall before she met with them again. Walking down on the beach, she found a quiet spot and sat out on one of the many beach chairs that the New Balamb tourist bureau had set out for its visitors. Closing her eyes, she allowed herself to drift into her thoughts.

......

The beach was darker this time, as though it were awaiting a great storm in mid-day. The waves crashed upon the shore with such force that they dragged back with them great amounts of sand. Frightened, Ultimecia looked about herself frantically. The lighthouse light was at full strength, lying in wait for any ships that might have been caught out in the typhoon. It had never been this chaotic in all the time that she had visited Squall...never.

"Squall!" she cried out, running against the wind down the beach, rain stinging her eyes as she hurtled herself forward. "Where are you?"

A flash of lightning illuminated a lone figure perched upon a rock a few feet above the raging waters. Squall sat hunched over, his knees drawn closely under his chin. He shivered greatly as the water occasionally doused him, but otherwise he did not move. Ultimecia ran to him and tried to climb up on the rock. She slipped many times, and cried out to Squall to help her up, but he ignored her, watching as the waves ravaged the coastline.

She fell, the waves catching her and pulling her under. Struggling against the fierce current, Ultimecia would have drowned were it not for a piece of the rock that jutted out like a handle. Grabbing hold, she allowed the water to receed before she attempted to pull herself up.

At last, Ultimecia climbed up on the rock with Squall, but rather than hug him, she sat staring at his back, shocked at his inattentions.

"Why didn't you help me up?" Ultimecia said, tears forming against the rain that already streaked down her face.

Turning slowly, Squall looked at her sadly and said, "What does it matter? If you die here, you wake up in your own world as though nothing happened. This is just another place for you to go. For me, this is all I have, and you are destroying it..."

"What?!" Ultimecia spat in disbelief. "What are you saying? I couldn't cause such a storm..."

"Yes," Squall answered in dead-pan fashion, "you can. You have been ever since you began your training. That is what I could sense. If you become a sorceress, then I am lost...all of this is lost."

"Why?" Ultimecia asked, her voice weak against the thunderous sky. "Why is that destroying this world?"

Squall shrugged indifferently. "How should I know? You're the sorceress, remember? All I know is that you are opening up something that should have been left closed."

"You have to help me stop it, Squall! What should I do?"

"You could stop training to become a sorceress..."

Ultimecia forgot the storm that raged before her, struck to her very core. "What?!"

"If you let your powers grow, then I am gone. There will be no more room left for me in your life...your knight cannot be of another plane."

"How do you know all of this?" Ultimecia begged, hoping that Squall would suddenly turn and hug her and forget that this ever happened. Even in the face of such destructive power, the only thing she cared about was him.

"I have been listening to you talk about all of it for years now...and I have had time to ponder it all between your visits."

"So what should I do?" she asked, grabbing his shoulder and squeezing to hold on, as though he would disappear at any moment.

"You must not become a sorceress...or I won't be here when you come back...none of this will."

"Then my whole life will have meant nothing..." Ultimecia breathed, more to herself than to Squall.

"I mean nothing?" Squall asked, his eyes never moving from the ocean. "You would not be happy with me?"

"I don't know!" Ultimecia shouted. "I have been raised as a sorceress, and I don't even know what that really means yet! I don't know what I am meant to do! I want you and I want to be a sorceress...I want to do what is right!"

Squall turned his head, his face a mask of sadness that wrenched at Ultimecia's heart. She could not possibly leave him...not now, not ever.

"I won't, then..." she whispered while choking back a sob. "I will be here waiting for you. I promise."

......

She awoke against her own will, the sun begining to set on the horizon. The beautiful colors and hues did nothing to calm her nerves. All she could see were the storm clouds of Squall's world...all she could do was cry as she sat alone on the beach, alone except for one who stood behind her.

"Madame?" came the voice of one of her servants. "Madame, Miss Alaster's team has arrived on the southern shore. They have set up a camp of sorts. Do you need us to do anything else?"

"No," Ultimecia replied, wiping her eyes, "I shall take kare of this now. Just get me a kar to take me to the southern shore."

The servant bowed and left, leaving Ultimecia to her own devices. She would have to go and get changed, and then she would follow Llnaya to see what was going on. Suddenly, she regretted coming all of the way to New Balamb to spy on her. What had begun as a sisterly game was begining to seem more and more dangerous, and yet she had little idea as to why. All she knew is that Squall was in danger, and she could literally do nothing to help him.

She found a small booth for changing and put on one of her loose fitting gowns and tied back her hair. She didn't know what she was going to find when she met with Llnaya again, but she somehow knew that she wouldn't like it.

......

The Southern Shore was a glittering gem in the moonlight by the time Ultimecia had arrived. The ride had been uneventful, her mind beginning to create various scenarios, a vain attempt to prepare her for whatever Llnaya had been planning. Something was wrong, and since Llnaya had no idea that Ultimecia was in new Balamb, she could not block her thoughts. The Galbadian President was planning something sinister.

Getting out of the taxi provided for her, she bid the driver to leave quietly and without his lights, as not to alert Llnaya of her arrival. Then, focusing the little bit of power she had, she bent the light about her to blend in with the land. According to her servants, the camp was less than five hundred yards from the Eastern Shore border.

Walking slowly, she tried to admire the peaceful night sky, but was unable to shake her unease. Her coming here had been stupid, she thought. Nothing could be gained by her presence...

There was an explosion somewhere to the north. Running, she tried to find where it was coming from, and sure enough, a bright orange flash erupted over one of the sand dunes. Climbing quickly, she looked down on what was a small settlement of beach shanties and small, make-shift living structures. Flames danced about as the primitive buildings began to erupt into chaotic pyers, each burning with a fevered intensity. People ran about screaming, some clutching children as they ran toward the shore. Not far behind them were soldiers in white uniforms. SeeDs.

Horror settled over Ultimecia's face like a heavy blanket. She watched helplessly as they caught up with the terrified mass of people. There were perhaps fifty of them, running with all of their strength, some falling as the gunblades of the SeeDs cut them down in place. Men, women, children...all fell methodically as the butchers from the North slew them wordlessly.

One old woman caught Ultimecia's attention immediately. She ran, holding a small child in her arms, trying to out-distance her pursuers. It was Callie.

"Grandma!" Ultimecia shouted, and she ran toward her, hoping to catch her before one of the SeeDs did. The shoreline was rockier than it was in the East, and many times Callie tripped, slowing her progress.

One SeeD nearly caught up with her, but Callie instinctively turned and made an odd motion with her hands. The SeeD was instantly turned to fire, writhing on the ground. In response, several of the SeeDs held out their hands toward her. There was a bright purple flash, and she fell to the ground. The SeeDs had drawn her magic from her, and the force of the simultaneous draw had proven painful. The child, a young girl of about five, went sprawling to the ground. One of the SeeDs grabbed her and took her out toward a boat that had newly arrived on the shore. Within minutes, all of the people lay dead except Callie, the SeeDs slaughter being so effective that not one had even soiled their uniforms.

"Are all the sorceresses dead?" a familiar voice from the rear of the SeeDs called out. A confirming report was given, and one gestured to Callie.

"This one still lives, Sir." came his report.

Ultimecia watched as the leader stepped forward, a confirmation to the worst of her fears. It was Llnaya, dressed in proper SeeD attire.

"I see," Llnaya replied, her tone cold and calculating. "I shall handle this one. Clean up the area and report back to me."

The other SeeDs, about thirty in all, saluted and carried out her orders, running back to erase the evidence of their presence. Llnaya strode over to Callie, the sole survivor of the raid, and knelt before her. Ultimecia was still too far to help her, but ran as fast as she could. All the while, Llnaya spoke to the wounded sorceress, placing her gunblade at Callie's chest.

"It appears that I was right," she said. "The sorceresses always congregate somewhere during the year. This time, I have found you all...with Ultimecia's help, of course." A satisfied smile crossed her lips. "A successful conclusion to my seven year campaign against your kind."

"You...you used us all..." Callie stammered, her eyes mixed with a combination of sadness and anger.

"I did, but I also rescued Ultimecia from a terrible fate. How could you subject her to becoming a freak like yourself?"

Callie said nothing, but instead turned her head, resigned to death.

"Nothing to say? Fine. That just makes this all the more easy."

Llnaya raised her gunblade, and Ultimecia forced the magical camoflage that she wore to vanish.

"Stop, Llnaya!!" she shouted, but it was too late. The gunblade fell, and Ultimecia could only watch as it sank into Callie's flesh. Llnaya looked over to the child and stood in shock, her own blood freezing even as Callie's oozed from her body in ragged spurts.

......

Llnaya didn't drop her gunblade, didn't take her eyes from the stunned young girl in front of her, didn't even breathe. She merely stood there, shaking as the tears formed in Ultimecia's horrified eyes.

"I..." the SeeD managed to utter, her own throat choking as the word barely made its way out of her mouth. "I was..."

But Ultimecia could not hear her. All she could hear was Callie's heart, sputtering erratically as it tried to correct the wound dealt to her. It only made things worse, as the blood was quickly set free, soaking her dress and running in small, crimson rivers down the rocky coastline.

"Gram...Grammy!" Ultimecia cried out, losing her snobbish accent in her surprise. She ran over to Callie's side, dropping knee-first into the puddle of blood pooled about the old woman.

"Grammy!!" Ultimecia shouted once more, grabbing her head and clutching it to her chest. She sat there, sobbing lightly at first. As she rocked in place with her grandmother's head in her lap, the child began to cry hysterically, tears flowing without end. "No no no no no nononononononono!"

She was stilled, though, when Callie's hand lifted from her and brushed her granddaughter's cheek ever so slightly. Looking up, Ultimecia watched as Callie opened her eyes and smiled weakly.

"My little girl..." she said, her voice frail and distant, "...don't cry. You can't...you can't let this rule you. I...I need to...give you... ...something."

"What?" Ultimecia breathed softly, clutching Callie's hand in her own. "I don't want it if it means you have to leave! I want you to stay here with me!"

The old woman smiled again. "Oh, child, you...you have to...you have to think. I have to...I...have to leave you."

"NO!" Ultimecia shouted. "You can't leave me!!"

"Do you remember...do you remember the song?" Ultimecia nodded slowly, her body wracked with shuddering sobs.

"Why don't...why don't you...sing it for me now...?"

Without thinking, Ultimecia obeyed her teacher, softly singing the words she had sung all of those years ago, each one marred by her continuous crying.

"Fithos lusec wecos vinosec..."

"Callie," called out Llnaya in a tremulous tone, "what are you having her do...?" Neither one heard her words, though. As Ultimecia sang, Callie relaxed, a pinkish mist forming around her body.

"Reflect on..." Callie gasped, "reflect on your... childhood."

"...lusec, wecos..."

"Your sensations..."

"...vinosec..."

"Your words..."

"Fithos, lusec..."

"Your emotions..." "Stop her now, Callie!"

"...lusec...wecos..."

"These are your power..."

"...fithos...lusec..." "Shut her up!"

"All that you'll need..." "I'll have to kill her!"

"Time...it will not wait..." "...wecos...vinosec..."

"...no matter how hard you hold on..." "Callie! Stop her now!"

"...it escapes you..." "Don't make me hurt her!"

"...fithos..."

"The Succession...."

"...lusec..."

"...of..." "NO!"

"...wecos..."

"...the..."

"...Vinosec." "DON'T!"

"...Sorceresses..."

Callie fell back, her life ceasing as she smiled one last time at her little girl. Eyes falling shut, she took her last breath and finally rested her head on Ultimecia's lap. In that moment, Ultimecia's only family was destroyed.

"Ultimecia..." Llnaya started, but was stopped short as a luminous, pinkish mist began to envelope Callie's body.

"Oh no...!" the SeeD gasped, and Ultimecia looked up, startled by the light around her. She stiffled a sob within her, suddenly confused by the light which danced about in calming waves.

"Grammy?" Ultimecia sniffled, and the mist shined brightly in response. "Is it you? What do you want me to do?"

For a moment, the whole area was seemingly bathed in silence, all sound being lost as though swallowed whole by eternity. Ultimecia merely stared at the mist, nodding occasionally. She couldn't hear any words, but she somehow knew what to do. She reacted, and as her mother and Callie before her, Ultimecia could feel the Sorceress' spirit all about her. Losing control, she lifted her arms to the night sky. She had to accept that spirit, make it a part of her. She could hold onto it forever...but it was still not her grandma...it would soon be her.

"Ultimecia!" Llnaya tried to cry out, but her voice was lost in the eternal cloak that bound them all almost jealously within that moment of time. She couldn't even raise her gunblade, as it felt as though it weighed twenty times its actual weight. She could only watch, forcibly transfixed as her years of patient work and sacrifice were wasted. Now, she had to watch as a new sorceress was born...the very thing she had been trained to prevent. All of her days at Balamb Garden, all of her studies and preparation, even the Galbadian election; she had done so much to please her headmaster and father.

Ultimecia, on the other hand, was entranced by the light about her. She knew what was happening, she just couldn't believe it.

"I want you to stay," she said as tears rolled down her cheeks, and the mist slowly wafted toward her. She had to accept Callie's power, or she would never be able to rest. She knew it all, but she was still scared. Her own voice trembled into gibberish as she pleaded with Callie to somehow stay with her...

...And then it happened. Without warning, without a chance to prepare, Callie gave her power to her grand daughter. There was no feeling of inner peace, and there was no feeling of calm. A flash of light later, the mist was gone along with Callie's body, and Ultimecia was alone with Llnaya. She was a sorceress.

"No grammy!" she sobbed, and threw herself to the ground where Callie's body had once been, "please come back! I need you! I love you! Don't go!"

Llnaya could feel herself regain control over her body. Looking down the shore, she could see that the other SeeDs were too far off to notice what was happening. She had to strike now, before it was too late. Taking up her gunblade, she silently walked to Ultimecia, standing behind her with the blade at the child's back.

"You understand, don't you, Ultimecia? You understand that there are forces at work that we know nothing about, don't you? How could we ever? This is the way it has to be! The world...it cannot go on if there are those still with magic. How can we progress? How could we ever understand ourselves if we relied upon magic? There never would have been any order that they would not allow us to have! You understand, don't you? Ultimecia?"

Ultimecia shook as though she were being battered from all sides. She didn't understand any of it! How could she? She never understood any of it! Why did Llnaya have to kill her grandmother? It didn't make any sense!

"I could have been a sorceress many times," Llnaya started, "but I resisted the temptation. I allowed their powers to perish with them, knowing that it was for the good of the very world..."

"If this world needs to revel in bloodshed to survive, then it deserves to die..." Ultimecia hissed, her pain slowly turning to anger. "You kould never have been a sorceress, Llnaya! You need a heart to be a sorceress! You need a pure will! You SeeDs are trained to kill your emotions! All you kare about is death!"

With no warning, Ultimecia stood and pushed Llnaya away with a mere gesture of her shaking hand, the SeeD's gunblade clattering to the ground beside her. Dripping with blood, she stood over her former friend and trembled with rage.

"But, you say that you kould have been a sorceress. That must mean that you have a heart..."

Llnaya tried to move, but she could not. Without any sort of flashy display or movement of any kind, Ultimecia had pinned her to the ground with her newly acquired powers. Opening her mouth, she tried to call out for her comrades, but all that erupted from her mouth was the sound of air escaping from her throat. Taking in ragged breaths, she tried to keep oxygen flowing into her lungs as she was pressed firmly into the stone about her.

"If you do...have a heart I mean..." Ultimecia intoned, her voice even and controlled; she was calm, eerily so. The expression on her face was neutral, her eyes wide and emotionless. Somehow, this frightened Llnaya more than the child's wrath ever could. The youthful, energetic look in her eyes was gone, replaced now with an empty gaze, one that looked right through the woman on the ground as though she weren't even there.

"If you do have a heart, Llnaya...then I want to see it."

Llnaya's gunblade began to shake. As if by an unseen hand, the weapon was raised in mid air, the blade pointed now at Llnaya's chest.

"d...don't..." Llnaya breathed, her eyes wide with fear. She could feel the tip of the weapon edge through the fabric of her uniform, piercing the skin ever so slightly above her heart. It began to beat faster, sweat seeping into her wound. Wincing, she waited for the final strike.

"I don't understand anything save this," Ultimecia continued in her bland tone, "I understand that you are a SeeD. I understand that you are about to die. I need to understand nothing more."

An aura of white surrounded Ultimecia as she prepared for the final strike. Concentrating, she focused her energy and unleashed her powers through fury alone. Although she could not see her targets clearly, she knew that the SeeDs further down the beach were dead.

"Now for you," Ultimecia said, turning methodically back to Llnaya. Closing her eyes, she prepared for the end. It did no good. Tears still ran down her eyes as she whimpered in terror. Why didn't Ultimecia understand? Why didn't she see things like Llnaya herself? Didn't she understand that Callie had to die?

Suddenly, none of it mattered. The blade plunged forward. There was the initial pierce...a wave of agony to end all agony, and then, she tried to open her eyes. It wasn't for a moment that she realized that they were open; her sight had gone before she had. Quivering uncontrollably, her body contorted about the gunblade. Soon, she hoped to Whomever would listen, she would be dead.

"I have no one, now," Ultimecia said, though the words seemed impossibly distant to Llnaya. "I am alone again..."

Just before she blacked out, she could see someone. It was Callie, and she was crying. Llnaya didn't know that it was Callie right away; the figure before her was so young and vibrant...but she soon felt the familiar spirit.

She ran to see her, but no matter how far she ran, she never got any closer. Just then, she could see what Callie was crying about. A dark shadow had grabbed ahold of Llnaya, and it was pulling her back. She didn't know where she was being pulled, but she knew that she didn't want to be there. With an unworldly cackle, it pulled harder, claiming its prize. All about her, the stench of rot and decay filled her being, as tangible in death as in life.

She struggled against the dark shape, but it did no good. With a flash of horrified realization, she understood what was happening, and she tried to cry out an apology to Callie...but it was too late. She was being erased from her own body, death and the darkness each claiming an equal part of her.

As she cried out to the heavens, she felt herself slip totally out of her body...but not before she felt a slight, teasing kiss on her forehead. She wanted to reach out and beg the one who gave it to her for forgiveness. Instead, she felt herself being dragged away, and then...nothing.

......

"Squall? Where are you? Mommy? Grammy? Where am I?" Ultimecia's voice rang out in the darkness, a shrill, frightened sound. She didn't even realize that at the moment she cried out for someone to hold her, she was slaying her Grandmother's murderer. Instead, she allowed impulse to guide her worldly actions as her spirit combed her soul for any trace of those she loved. Squall was gone. Her mother was gone. Callie was gone.

"Where are you?" she cried, hoping for someone, anyone, to respond. No one did.

"Grammy! Mommy! Please speak to me! Say something!"

There was nothing. She was alone in her thoughts, no one to meet her, no one to bring her out of her misery. What was happening was real, and now she was comforted only by the blackness that filled her being as she watched Callie perish before her very eyes.

"Not my thoughts!" she sobbed, her spirit burning in agony as she grew aware that she was being deprived of her final shelter. She could see nothing beyond the pain she held, a pain for which she had never realized that she had the capacity. She could never see Squall again, not if she had no way to guide her thoughts.

"Squall! Answer me! Please! You are my knight! You have to protect me!...please? Oh God, please!"

Huddled within her mind, she never even noticed as she slowly subdued her pain, allowing the anger she felt begin to rise, creating a thin wall about her fragile soul. Comprehension building slowly, she cried out in agony as she allowed her rage to swallow her spirit. Her small resistance, weak now from loneliness, was no match for her human mind's only defense: crush the weakness. There could be no more room for such pain to be felt.

Perhaps the strangest thing about all of it was that she realized that it was happening. At first, she fought back, but when she tasted how sweet and simple it was to let go, she could do little else. Soon, that fear became relief, and in one instant, the sorceress heart that Ultimecia held was corrupted. The darkness spread throughout her very being, and she relished every degrading wave. As it washed over her, she felt comforted, her pain still existing, but able to be controlled...and used.

Inwardly, she could see her mother and Callie, both of them crying. She could feel their torment, two souls lost in the void of oblivion. She reached out her hands, but it seemed to make them more distant, as if she pushed them out of reach with her mere gesture. Eyes burning in horror, she watched as they faded from view, their last moments in her sight filled with anguish and pain.

"NO!!" she shrieked, and she gathered all of the strength that she had just received. "Come back!"

She used her anger, her hatred and her own anguish to amplify her powers, feeling wave after wave of dark energy swallow her in its cold, tenacious grip. She searched the void that her soul had so quickly become, looking for her mother, her grandmother...the only ones who could pull her out of her own degeneration once more.

Still, the more she tried, the further it seemed as though they fled from her. Misery clung to Ultimecia's heart like a blackened cancer, and for the first time, she truly realized that she was utterly alone.

"i...i'm not strong enough for this..." she thought. There was no one to hold her up...no one to hug her when she was sad. Her knight had abandoned her, and her only parents killed. "i have no one to live for anymore..."

Consumed by her losses, Ultimecia turned to the darkness that teasingly floated about her, as if physically faced by a wall of negative emotion.

"then end my life..." she begged the shadowy vortex that sought to devour her, "...end it all now..."

Plunging headfirst, allowing the void free reign over her very soul, she fell inside of her own self, completely submerging herself in the hope of death from the evil that poisoned her heart. She could feel its icy fingers close about every organ; a sickening, violating feeling.

"...end it now..."

But it would not end. She continued to suffocate within the folds of her own agony, death never claiming the prize so readily dangled before it. When she finally understood that the darkness would not slay her, it was too late. Every enhanced sense, every heightened nerve, every delicate emotion had been saturated in the evil she was surprisingly ready to accept with open arms. As if in welcome, she heard a low, ominous voice, an echo from somewhere within her.

"FiTHos...lUSeC...WEcOs...ViNoseC..."

She replied with the same verse, allowing the unknown words to fill her with its comforting refrain, a refrain that allowed her to shelve her pain for one brief, intoxicating moment. Overpowered, she could only wait with open arms as the darkness swarmed over her, clenching down tight with jaws of unending, bitter torment.

"FITHOS LUSEC WECOS VINOSEC!"

The voice within was a cacophony of ear-rending sound, her finely detailed senses recoiling as she was so assaulted. Deep within her mind, the memory of her song, her voice, her happy, carefree emotions, all of it was lost with her childhood, a childhood she might as well have never had. She reflected, just as Callie said, but could see nothing but darkness. All of her hope for the future had been wiped away in a single, defining moment. The song, now twisted beyond her possible recognition, continued on. The Sorceress within her was being born to the music, a song that bore with it a dark testimony, a dark nature that she could hold as a shield against her pain.

"...fithos...lusec...wecos...venosec..."

Her own voice melded with that of the shadows which first uttered its unholy melody.

"Fithos Lusec Wecos Venosec!"

She grew louder, more bold, ready to grab ahold of the darkness that she allowed free reign of her being. It would all be over soon, she hoped. She would be free from those cursed feelings that so beset her with misery. She would kill them, find shelter within her own self, and from there, with her powers, she could shape her world as she saw fit. She was empty, and would stay that way.

As she sang, her voice strong and yet still so frail, she began to fade from within her thoughts, awaiting her rebirth into the damned world that first greeted her fourteen years before.

(...mommy...grammy...i love you...squall...why did you leave me...?)