At last, Winhill was in sight.

The trip hadn't been an easy one for Cariad and Chwaer, despite the fact that it was the shortest trip any of the Pride had to make from the spot Irvine had selected. Neither of the girls were really combat-oriented, and their power was utterly useless against anything that could fly. Mostly, they'd had to fight by jumping onto monsters and beating them senseless, in the classic Zell School of Unarmed Combat fighting style, and afterward Chwaer held her sister while she cried. Cariad had none of the internal defenses that all the others had - she wasn't willing to fight even when it was necessary for her own survival, and only joined in because her sister needed her to. Cariad was the only one of the Pride to be a vegetarian, and refused to eat anything of the monsters they had to kill.

Chwaer had several fewer scruples, however, and was quite willing to dine on monster meat. But now they both would have more variety, with Winhill achieved.

They were quite a pitiful picture as they stumbled into town. Both petite and pretty, the residents of Winhill forewent their usual cold shoulder to strangers and offered them complimentary rooms at the inn, to settle in and get cleaned up. Two young girls traveling alone and unarmed...perhaps it should have rung alarm bells in the residents' minds, but it didn't.

The twins regarded the bathtub as they might have regarded heaven; it was huge enough for both of them, and filled with soapy water. They took turns scrubbing each others' backs, and discussed their next goal.

"Do you think she'll be like Father at all?" asked Cariad wistfully.

"I doubt it," said Chwaer. "She's adopted after all, and they've led very different lives."

"But Father is very like Grandma Raine, and Raine took care of her too didn't she? She could have picked it up..."

Chwaer sighed. "Cari, she's probably not going to be like Father. Let her be herself. She's our aunt, and she's the only living relative we've got. We ought to see what she's really like, not what we want to see."

Cariad looked down, pale gray eyes contemplating soap bubbles. "I know," she said softly. "It's just...I miss them. It'd be nice to have someone like them around."

Chwaer's stern expression softened. "I know," she admitted. "I miss them all, too. But think of it like this - we have each other, where everyone else had to go alone. And we have a town to live in, when Taran's just got empty spaces. And we get to meet Ellone - and nobody else will get to do that unless Ellone leaves Winhill. Really, we've got it the easiest of all of them. Be strong for them, Cari. Taran wouldn't want you to cry, now would he? And you know what happens when you cry around Father."

Cariad sniffled, mustered a small, radiant smile. "I know," she said. Squall didn't show it enough for strangers to notice, but he got panicky when his children cried. He didn't know how to deal with it, so his first reaction was to do whatever he could to make it stop. It tended to make Cariad laugh; not much so completely unnerved their father.

"That's the spirit," said Chwaer hearteningly, and got out of the bath. "Irvine hadn't heard any news of change here, so Ellone probably still runs the bar. We can find out what she's like there. Go ahead and soak if you want - I'll take our monster pieces down to the shop and see what sort of Gil we can trade them for."

"Mmmmm," said Cariad, and sank gratefully into the bubbles.

Chwaer got into a clean set of trousers and a plain blue shirt, and hefted the skin bag she'd made to haul around monster pieces in. Surely they had enough here to make a start in Winhill, it had to weigh at least two hundred pounds. Casually she hefted the bag over her shoulder, and left the room. Cariad finished her bath and got dried off, and was just shrugging into a plain sun dress when Chwaer returned with a small, fat pouch.

"Seven hundred Gil," she said quietly. "Enough to stay in this hotel a week, if we do nothing else." She frowned. "The items shop is run by owners whose sympathy for newcomers goes only to the top of their pockets, not in them."

Cariad smiled. "It's all right," she said. "We'll talk to Ellone, and maybe work out a way to stay with her."

Chwaer blinked. "You're not planning on telling her who we are, are you?" she asked. "Father was pretty specific on that point. Nobody's to know - too easy to get word back to Seifer."

Innocence radiated from Cariad's eyes and voice as she said, "Of course not. I don't break my promises, and I certainly don't break promises I make to Father. But Ellone is smart, and she can see the past. What makes you think she won't try to see ours?"

Chwaer pursed her lips. "I don't know," she said. "Lack of curiosity? Maybe the fact that using her power is very draining on her? That she has no reason to believe she has nephews and nieces running around the planet and that a couple would just casually stop in for a visit? Cariad...Ellone was told that Father died twenty years ago. We don't look a day over fifteen. Even you must admit the math there is a little skewed."

Cariad blinked, looked crestfallen for a moment. "I know," she said. "But...Chwaer...she is our aunt. I want so much for her to know us for who we are, as family. It feels wrong to hide the truth from her."

"Think of how Father must feel, sister," said Chwaer. "You've heard him speak of her - she's right behind Rinoa in his heart. He has to let her believe he's dead - she'd already gone past her grief when he learned Irvine could visit, and to tell her then would just reopen a healed wound. Don't think of it as hiding from Ellone - think of how Father will feel when we can tell him how she's doing now. We might have cousins! Don't you want to be the one to tell Father he's an uncle?"

Her coaxing had the desired effect; Cariad was plainly delighted at the idea of delivering such news. She took her sister's arm and they left the hotel, thanking the innkeeper for the room and cheerfully greeting any who crossed their path.

Winhill was probably the closest any town could get to paradise. Flowers grew everywhere, and Cariad was having to remind herself not to pick them. Children played in the streets, and elderly folk watched from comfortable porch chairs. The houses were clean and neat and uniquely decorated both inside and out. And the addition of two pretty, young, harmless girls was apparently more than welcome to the locals. It was like walking through a fairy tale, and even Chwaer's protective guard was lowered as they breathed the pure sweet air.

Most of the adult population was gathered at the Silver Lining, which was the name that Ellone had apparently given to Raine's bar. She seemed to serve a little of just about everything, and the two girls made their way shyly to the bar and took seats on the stools.

Ellone was in her forties now, her dark brown hair showing a few strands of gray. But she smiled readily and often, and handed the two newcomers tall glasses of ice water as a friendly hello.

"It isn't often we have visitors here," she said pleasantly, "and even less often that we don't mind. What brings you to Winhill?"

"Family," said Cariad brightly, before a surreptitious kick from her twin caught her on the ankle.

"We're...researching our family tree," said Chwaer carefully, shooting a glare at her sister. "Is there a records hall here, or a cemetery?"

Ellone laughed, a sweet sound. "Of course there's a cemetery," she said. "People die here just as they do everywhere else. The main one's just outside of town. I'm afraid there isn't a hall of records, though. We don't much like making people into numbers, here."

"The main cemetery?" asked Cariad. "There's another one?"

Ellone flushed slightly and concentrated on polishing a glass. "Well, there's the SeeD Memorial now, up on the bluffs...but I doubt you'll find what you're looking for there. Not if your family lived here."

"Then why would there be a memorial here, if no people of Winhill are buried there?" asked Cariad innocently - earning her another kick from her sister.

"Because my brother's cenotaph is there," said Ellone sadly, "and he was born here in Winhill. And our parents, Raine and Laguna, rest there too. Laguna was an outsider, but Raine was much loved here in Winhill, and she lived here all her life. It's mainly a memorial for my family, and the SeeDs who fought Ultimecia. If your family is from here, chances are you'll find their headstones in the main cemetery."

"I see," said Chwaer, to forestall another leading question from her twin. She leaned forward. "Ma'am, we don't have anywhere else to go. We're willing to work hard - do you think the townsfolk would let us live here?"

A keen look from Ellone then. "You're orphans?" she asked sympathetically. "I did wonder what brought you here alone, at your age. Well...there's the rooms above this bar - they've been empty since the last tenant died. I own this bar and the house next door - if you're willing to work for me, you can have the rooms above. What can you do?"

"Do you have any gardens?" asked Cariad eagerly. "I'm good with plants. I'll weed and water and whatever you need me to do. Herbs, vegetables, or flowers, I don't mind."

Chwaer shrugged. "I'm not as good with plants as she is," she said, "but I can take care of any livestock you might have. I'm very good with chocobos."

"Quite a pair, you two are," said Ellone with another smile. "I'll have to ask Chris to get his boxes out of the attic before you move in, but you'll do fine. Yes, I do have herb gardens and flowers that could use attention - and while I don't have any livestock and only one chocobo, I could use a willing helping hand with the bar. How shall I call you?"

"I'm Cariad," said that one, plainly delighted that now she would be able to work with flowers again.

"I'm Chwaer," said her twin, pronouncing it something like 'khwar'.

"Well, I'm Ellone, and we'll just see about getting you two settled in."