Chapter One - Don't worry Elle

Authors Note: I do not own any of the character's in this Fan Fiction, nor do I own Final Fantasy. They belong to and are copyrighted by Squaresoft/Square-Enix. Please R&R!

A small girl ran through the field of flowers. She was wearing a light blue dress and light yellow shoes. She had short brown hair that didn't reach to her shoulders. She was called Ellone.

Ellone's parents had died a few years ago in a car crash in the city. They had left Ellone in the care of the next door neighbour while they went away for a few days. They died the night they went away when a criminal, trying to escape the police, crashed his get-away car into the front of their car.

Ellone's father, who had been driving, died instantly. While Ellone's mother died a few hours later in hospital. The criminal survived. He was then tried and later charged with their murder as well as the theft he had commited just before the crash.

A pair of police officers drove out to the sleepy town of Winhill, where Ellone was, and told the next door neighbour about the car crash. It was later decided that Ellone, who had no living relatives, would stay in the care of the next door neighbour who became her legal guardian. That neighbour, was Raine Leonhart.

Raine, who had no family of her own either, raised Ellone like her daughter. As Ellone grew up, she thought of Raine as both a big sister and a mother. Ellone remembered little, if anything, of her parents. Raine just told her that they had to go away. She would tell her about it all when she was grown up. She was too young now.

Ellone continued running through the field. She loved Winhill. She eventually stopped near the road and sat down amongst the flowers. She lay back and watched the clouds.

She heard a small 'squeak' or 'chirp' sound and sat up. She saw a small chicobo infront of her. Ellone smiled and waved playfully at the chicobo. She got up and went over to it. But as she approached the chicobo it got scared and ran off. Ellone frowned and skipped back home.

"Hey Raine. Guess what. I saw a little chico...bo..." Ellone burst out as soon as she got back to Raine's pub.

Ellone stopped short because she saw Raine arguing with several villagers. Raine had lived in Winhill all her life. She wore black trousers and a white jumper. She had long brown hair, which she kept out of her face with a yellow hairband.

They didn't seem to have noticed her. She also saw a man lying on a home-made stretcher thing which was lying on the stone floor of the pub. He was screaming and crying in pain.

Ellone, un-noticed, walked slowly over to screaming man and bent down. He was covered in blood and cuts. She looked at the man. The man noticed her looking at him and stopped screaming, but tears still ran silently down his face. He looked at her, as though making sure he wasn't hallucinating.

Ellone looked back at the man. She sat down properly on the floor and started crying herself. For the first time, Raine noticed she had come home. Raine turned away from the angry villagers and when she saw Ellone crying she instantly calmed down and forgot the fight.

"Hey, Elle. When did you get home? You shouldn't be here. Oh, baby, come here." Raine said softly and hugged Ellone.

She then, still hugging Ellone, picked her up and then faced the villagers once more. Raine sighed and shook her head slightly.

"Fine, fine. Put him in the bed in the house next door. I'll look after him." She said.

With that, the men picked up the injured man on the stretcher and carried him next door while Raine took Ellone upstairs. She put Ellone on her bed and closed the curtains. She then went back over to Ellone.

"Sshh. Don't worry Elle. He'll be okay. Just have some sleep. You're tired. I'll wake you up for dinner. Just go to sleep." Raine said softly, then kissed Ellone on the forehead.

Ellone curled up her bed and closed her eyes. She quickly drifted off to sleep. Raine went downstairs. She returned a few minutes later with a vase of fresh white flowers. Raine loved these flowers, loved their fragrance. She put the vase on the bedside table next to a sleeping Ellone.