When Ellone was still very young, a group of Esthar soldiers came to take her away to be the successor of their ruler Sorceress Adel. Adel was evil and malevolent, eager to destroy anything that got in the way of what she desired, and she desired Ellone. Ellone's parents refused to give up their little girl, and were shot on the spot.

Somehow Ellone managed to evade their grasp, and found solace in the care of her next door neighbour Raine. Raine Leonhart was a kind-hearted and gentle woman who maintained the Winhill pub. She took Ellone in and raised her as if she were her own child. She was very tender and understanding of what Ellone had gone through, but was not afraid to be strict whenever the need arose. It didn't take long for Ellone and Raine to become very close.

One day Laguna Loire, a wounded soldier of the Galbadian army, was carried into the pub crying like a baby. Raine was unimpressed by him, but agreed anyway to take care of him until he was well. During the time that he spent bed-ridden, he got to know Raine and Ellone very well, and the three of them grew to love each other.

An entire year had passed before he had fully recovered, but it seemed too short a time for Laguna. He never wanted to leave his new home and the two people who he had become so very attached to. Raine, however, insisted that he work for what he eat, so he took a job as the Monster Hunter of Winhill, patrolling the streets to destroy fiends that might be lurking nearby.

Since Laguna already thought of Ellone as his daughter, he decided to make it official by adopting her. This overjoyed Ellone, but it was not quite enough. She could see that Laguna and Raine were in love, and she wanted them to act on it, constantly pushing the thought of marriage upon them.

One beautiful, star-spangled night, somewhere in one of Winhill's many fields, Laguna got up the courage to propose to Raine, who agreed with a smile. He slipped a smooth silver ring onto her finger, and then embraced her.

Just when Ellone's dreams seemed to have been coming true, things took a turn for the worst. As it turns out, Ellone was no ordinary girl: she possessed the mysterious ability to manipulate time, and because of this was kidnapped by Esthar soldiers.

Laguna immediately left for Esthar on a mission to rescue his little girl, finally finding her under the research of a man called Dr. Odine. Dr. Odine had been intrigued by her power, and had created a way to emulate her brain waves using a little invention that he called Junction Machine Ellone. Laguna would not have it, and sent Ellone home to Winhill to be with Raine, staying, himself, to finish off fighting in the dreaded sorceress war that was going on in Esthar at that time.

When Ellone got back to Winhill, she learnt that Raine was pregnant with Laguna's son. There was no way, however, for them to tell Laguna of the good news so they were forced to wait until his return. Sadly, Raine died before this was able to happen.

On August 23, Raine gave birth to a son, Squall, but died shortly afterwards, sending her two beloved children to live with the kind-hearted Matron in a small stone orphanage by the sea. It broke Ellone's heart that Laguna was never able to see the baby, and that her family had been torn a part the way that it was.

Ellone was the oldest child at the orphanage, and loved by everyone. It was there that she developed the nickname Sis, a term used by everyone except herself and Matron. All of the other children came to think of her as their loving older sister, and would constantly compete with each other for her time and attention. No one stood a chance against Squall, however, as the bond that he and Ellone shared was unsurpassable.

After a few years had passed, Matron became fearful for Ellone's life, and took her to live on the White SeeD Ship. Matron captained it, constantly moving from place to place to keep Ellone as far out of Esthar's reach as possible. Before long, more and more children were brought onboard, and it began to serve as another orphanage. Matron raised all of the children to become SeeD, and they learnt to fight to protect Ellone.

One day, Galbadia began to pursue the White SeeD Ship. They tried to run, but to no avail; a battle seemed inevitable. Just as the White SeeD were preparing to attack, an Esthar ship sailed up beside them averting Galbadia's attention. Esthar soldiers boarded the White SeeD Ship, and tried to convince them to evacuate. The SeeD, however, were suspicious of their intentions and did not listen, so Esthar gave up and began to pull away. At the last moment, without warning, Ellone yelled something and jumped onto their ship.

As it turns out, Laguna had become president of Esthar and was finally reunited with his dearest Ellone once again...