"Hey! Rosette!"
"Come on, Joshua! They'll catch us!"
The two twelve-year-old children both ran harder when the distant sound of sirens reached their ears. They ran and ran for several blocks, until at last, they collapsed against an abandoned building.
"Phew! Almost thought that we wouldn't make it!" the girl – Rosette – panted as she leaned against the wall.
"Joshua. You okay?"
He was sitting on the ground, coughing into one hand. Rosette leaned down beside him.
"Hey. Joshua. You all right?"
His coughing subsided and he looked up to flash her a grin.
"I'm fine, Rosette! But, honestly – did we have to run away from the orphanage?"
Rosette pouted. "Of course! That stupid church dude probably wants to take you and do weird stuff to you…" She shuddered as her overactive imagination took over. "They'll probably brainwash you so that you obey their every order, and turn you into a killing machine… Or they'll perform weird examinations that will probably involve ripping you open and taking your organs – or they're planning to-"
Joshua sighed loudly, interrupting her thoughts. "Rosette, you've been reading too many of my sci-fi novels."
Rosette hmphed. "They might actually do it, you know! Just 'cause it's in a book doesn't mean it can't happen in real life! I've got to protect you! I'm your big sis, after all!"
They really did look like siblings. They both had the same crystal-clear blue eyes, pale skin, small nose and blonde hair – although Rosette's hair was more of a honey-gold, whereas Joshua's was more white-blond.
"Still… I'm tired. And hungry. What're you going to do about that?"
Rosette's stomach grumbled loudly just as she opened her mouth to respond. There was a long silence, and then they both burst into laughter.
"That's right," Rosette said, wiping tears away from her eyes. "We missed lunch, didn't we? And it's just about dinnertime now… Fine, then. We'll go back – the minister's bound to have left by now."
She pulled her brother to her feet, and they set off.
-0-
"Uh… Rosette…"
"What is it?" she snapped as she looked around, trying to figure out which way to go.
"Didn't we pass this building just a few minutes ago?"
She leaned back her head and peered up. "No way – all these buildings are just really similar, that's all. Now, come on! I'm pretty sure we came from here…"
Five minutes later:
"Rosette. It's the building. We've passed it twice by now."
She gulped as she stared up at it. When she looked down, she could see faint footprints in the dirt. "Uh. Well… I just made a wrong turn, that's all!"
Joshua's voice was small as he said, "Come on, Rosette. Admit it. We're lost."
The twins jumped as they heard a thunderclap in the distance.
"R-R-Rosette! Was that…"
"Y-Y-Yes, I-I think it w-was."
There was an enormous flash of light, followed by another bang. The two siblings clung to each other for dear life.
"Eeeeek!"
Of course, they both remembered the last time they'd been in a thunderstorm. Let's make a long story short: Forest. Hiking. Lost. Thunderstorm. Tree. Lightning bolt.
I'm sure you can fill in the blanks.
"C-C-C-Come on, R-Rosette! L-L-Let's get out of here!"
"W-Wait! I-I-It's too dangerous out here! L-Let's go into that building!"
They both dashed for the building that they'd passed two or three times during their walk. Joshua ran into the building, slightly ahead of his sister, and stumbled on an unseen step. He managed to regain his balance, then turned around to call, "Watch out, Rosette! There's a-"
Too late. With a high-pitched shriek, Rosette tripped over the step and crashed to the ground.
"Rosette!"
She was wincing as he ran to her side. "Ow ow ow ow ow…"
"Rosette! What-" He winced as he saw her knee and her hands. "Ooh, that looks nasty."
"It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!" she wailed. "I'm gonna diiiiiiiieeee!"
Joshua winced and held his hands over his ears. It was a good thing that his sister seldom wailed – it was loud enough to make him feel like elephants were stampeding all over his head.
"Rosette! It's fine! I'll heal it!"
He took a hand off one of his ears, wincing as her yells hit his eardrums full-blast, and held it over her blood-red palms and knee. Then…
A soft glow came out of his palm, and grew until it enveloped the two of them. Rosette quieted and stopped her wailing as the light did its trick.
When it at last vanished, Rosette's hands and knees looked brand-new – not a bit of red on them. Not even scars.
"Wow, Joshua," she exclaimed as she examined her hands. "Thanks!"
Joshua smiled sadly. "Glad to help, Rosette. I just wish I could heal my own injuries, too."
Rosette frowned and stood up, making sure to brush all the dirt off her dress. "Don't be ridiculous, Joshua! What's with the long face you're pulling?"
She reached out and grabbed two handfuls of his cheeks.
"Hey! Rosette! Ouch! That hurts!"
"Idiot!" she said, ignoring his exclamations of pain. "You've got the ability to heal others – be happy for it! And don't worry – there are plenty of doctors in the world who can heal you!" She released him and flashed a grin. "Big sister Rosette's better than any doctor in the world, anyway!"
Joshua smiled as he rubbed his aching cheeks. "If you say so, Rosette. But-"
Thunder crashed again and Joshua forgot what he was about to say as the two of them began to run further into the building for cover.
-0-
"Cool!" Rosette breathed as she took in all the sights around her. "This place must've been a museum, or a-a hotel! Or something!"
"Yeah," Joshua murmured as he surveyed all the doors around them. "I bet that this place is full of cool stuff!"
Rosette peered down a hallway and gasped in awe. "Joshua! Look – look at that door! It's enormous!" She dashed towards it and stared up at it wonderingly. "It's beautiful!"
"And…impossible to open," Joshua added as he came up to her side. "What's this writing on it?"
"Huh?" Rosette leaned down to look. "Writing?"
"Yeah…it says something like, 'Here rest priestess Magda peace' or something… It's too dusty. I'll just-"
His hand brushed the door and there was a sudden flash of blue light. Joshua fell back and Rosette gave a cry. "Joshua! Are you all right?"
"Yeah," he said, wincing. "But – look, I think the doors are opening!"
He was right. Right before the twins' astonished eyes, the doors began to slowly creak and groan, and, as though someone were pushing them open, they revealed the room beyond.
"Is this…a grave?"
Rosette shivered and took a step back. Something about dead things just freaked her out. She could never understand it, but fear was fear - who cared about the cause? "Is it? Joshua, can you go check?"
He sighed but obliged. "Yeah…I think there's a coffin in here or something."
Rosette stifled a shriek. "Is there really?"
"Yeah." Joshua added wickedly, "Why don't you come check? I'm not too good at this sort of stuff."
Rosette gulped hard, then descended the steps into the room. One… two… three…
"Yeeeek! It's a coffin!"
In her surprise, she somehow managed to trip over her own feet while trying to back out of the room. She landed with a thump on her right shoulder. When she looked up from where she lay on the ground, she met the dull eyes of…
…a boy?
"Hey! Who're you?"
Joshua hurried down the steps. "Who're you talking to, Rosette?" He stopped as the strange figure slowly stood up. Before them stood a boy who looked to be about their age, with expressionless purplish eyes and dark blue-purple hair that went all the way to his waist. He wore a decorated red headband and an old, battered up traveling cloak that hid the rest of his clothes, although Rosette caught a glimpse of black boots under the top layer. The only other thing she could see was a watch, hanging on a chain around his neck.
"Who…are you?"
Rosette jumped as she realized that the boy had spoken. "W-Who, us?"
He ignored her question as he shifted his gaze past them to the open door.
"How did you get in here?"
Joshua stiffened as those blank eyes fell upon him. "I didn't do anything," he said defensively. "I just touched the writing, and then they opened on their own."
The stranger made no sign of having heard, instead choosing to look at Rosette as she stomped up to him until they were nose-to-nose. Then…
"I could ask you the same thing!" she yelled. "Who in the world are you, and what're you doing in this tomb of a place? Sitting next to a coffin, of all things?"
"I am Chrono. I'm what you humans would call a demon."
"A…demon?" Joshua said softly as Rosette fell back a step. A demon? What in the world…?
"I am also sometimes referred to as a devil. Either way…" He took a step forward that maybe would've been menacing, if he hadn't looked so emotionless. "I'm a being that humans should fear."
Suddenly, without warning, he fell to the ground and let out a groan of pain. Rosette gasped and knelt beside him.
"Are you all right?" she demanded. "Anything wrong? No hurts, pains, injuries?"
"It's nothing," Chrono forced out through gritted teeth. "I am merely lacking in astral energy."
Rosette's face scrunched up as she worked through his words. Finally, she realized what he meant. "So basically, you're hungry!" She rummaged through one of her pockets, mumbling, "I'm sure I had it in here… I'm positive…"
Joshua walked forward until he was by his sister's side. "What is it, Rosette?"
She ignored him, and let out a triumphant ah-ha! as she found what she was looking for. She held out her hands, now filled with candies, to Chrono.
"Here! I've been saving this up for an emergency, but you look pretty worn out to me! You can have it!"
Chrono looked from her hands to her face, as though unsure of what to do. The room was completely silent for a few moments. Then:
"Hey! I've been suffering from hunger all this time, and you kept these from me?"
"Shut up!" Rosette retorted. "I've been saving these for an emergency, I said it already! Your stomach can wait! His can't! He's been locked up in a tomb for who knows how long!"
"You're just saying that because you wanted to keep them all to yourself! Here! Give me some!"
Joshua lunged and Rosette pulled her hands back. "That's ridiculous! I'd happily share with you, but it wasn't an emergency!"
"Liar!"
"Stupid!"
"Greedy pig!"
"Hey! You…"
They continued bickering, completely forgetting about the third person in the room. That is, they forgot about him until they heard chuckling. Both of them turned from their half-wrestling position to look at Chrono, who was now full-out laughing. It was Rosette who spoke.
"Chrono? It's Chrono, right? What's so funny?"
"Oh, nothing," Chrono said, but even as he said it, he was laughing – although the laughing was considerably softer and more muffled than it had been before.
"It's just… You two fight like a pair of alley cats, but you're siblings! It just seems so funny!"
Rosette straightened and brushed off her clothes. "Well, of course it seems funny! You've been locked up with this coffin for so long that you don't even remember what funny means, probably!" Then something occurred to her. "Wait. Who's in the coffin?"
Chrono looked away. "It's the holy priestess, Magdalene. She…well…"
He was interrupted when his senses informed him about a slightly malicious presence nearby. Not exactly malicious, but…something along those lines. He slowly turned his head until he was facing Joshua, who had sparkles in his eyes and was smiling like it was his birthday and he'd just gotten all the gifts he wanted.
"Are you really a demon?" Joshua demanded as Chrono instinctively took a step back. You could almost hear Chrono think uh-oh as Joshua pressed onward. "I was so caught up in the whole candy incident that I forgot, but now that I think about it, you said you were a demon, didn't you? What's a demon? Are you really one? Is there any difference between you and a devil? I mean, I've read lots of sci-fi books, but they've never said anything about that! Oh, and also…"
Joshua's voice went on asking questions. Rosette smirked when she saw the look of helplessness on Chrono's face. He looked at her from his position against the wall and gave her a look that screamed, help me! She knew how he felt – she'd been subjected to Joshua's endless questioning many times before. But as much fun as it was to watch him do it to someone else, she had to stop him before he scared off the newcomer. So she marched up and grabbed the back of his shirt, then yanked. Hard.
"Hey! Ouch!" He tumbled head over heels, rolling until he came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs. He rubbed his backside with a wince, then glared at Rosette. "That hurt!"
"Oh, sorry," she said loftily, "but if I let you go on, this poor guy here probably would've died under pressure. Plus, it seemed to me that your face was getting slightly red. I had to make you breathe somehow, didn't I?"
This started another argument between the two siblings. They bickered, and began to wrestle until their fight was interrupted by an enormous boom! that seemed to make the building rock on its foundations. They immediately stopped fighting and clutched each other, as though they'd die if they let go.
"W-W-W-Was that…"
"R-R-R-Rosette, I think…"
"Waaahh! Help, somebody!"
"H-Hey, Rosette, i-it'll be f-f-fine…"
They both shrieked when there was another boom of thunder, and turned to Chrono.
"H-Help!"
"W-W-We're going to d-d-die!"
Chrono looked down at them in slight bemusement. They were both shaking so hard that they seemed to be vibrating, and from the looks on their faces, you would've guessed that the devil itself was after them. "What are you two talking about? It's just a thunderstorm."
"Y-You don't understand," Rosette whispered as they huddled into a ball on the ground. "T-The last time there was a t-t-thunderstorm, w-we were taking s-shelter under a tree, a-and…"
"It got hit by lightning. Is that it?"
"Y-Y-Yes!" the two screamed simultaneously as the thunder made a sudden reappearance. Chrono knelt down beside the two.
"Don't worry. It'll be fine. It'll be over in a few minutes."
Two tearful faces turned to him. "R-R-Really?" Joshua whispered doubtfully. Chrono gave him a reassuring smile.
"Really."
Although the storm was still raging outside, Joshua and Rosette had somehow fallen peacefully asleep. Looking at them, you never would've imagined that they'd been emotional wrecks just a few minutes ago.
Chrono sat next to the coffin and watched them.
He didn't need to sleep. Not really. After sleeping for about fifty years or so, he had enough rest for a century. Maybe not that long, but he was still well-rested enough to go for at least a week without sleep.
He watched the two intriguing children who had stumbled upon him and wondered, What will happen to them in the future? Will they be healthy, and strong? Will they be lucky enough to live long and happy lives?
Or will they die early, like Magdalene did?
A clap of thunder interrupted his thoughts. He burrowed his head down into his arms. Perhaps it would be best if he closed his eyes for just a few seconds. Not to sleep – of course not. Just to rest. Calm his thoughts.
Before he knew it, his eyelids were slipping shut.
And then he was asleep.
-0-
When he awoke the following morning, it was to find Joshua and Rosette already up and fully - or at least, mostly - awake. Rosette noticed him as he slowly stood up. "Oh! Chrono! Good morning!"
He gave her an unhappy look as she beamed at him. Clearly, this girl was very energetic in the morning – something that he was not.
"Rosette, leave him 'lone… He's probably tired, too… Not everyone actually wakes up this early in the morning like you do, y'know…"
Rosette frowned at her brother. "Nonsense! This isn't early – what're you talking about? The sun's up and the birds are singing – I'm guessing it's about eight o'clock. And you're complaining?"
Both Chrono and Joshua groaned. Eight o'clock was early – too early for sleepyheads like them.
"Come on, you two!" Rosette laughed. "Joshua, we've got to get back to the orphanage, so whether you like it or not, you've got to get up. As for Chrono…"
"I'm not coming with you," he said quickly. "I'll just stay here."
Rosette frowned. "Why not? I mean, we could just pretend you're an orphan, too – nobody has to know that you're a…you know."
Chrono shook his head. "No. I think they'll be able to tell." He pushed back his hair to reveal a pointed ear – an ear that most definitely was not human.
"Oh. Oh. I see…"
"Besides," Chrono continued, "I want to stay here. No point in burdening you two with my presence."
Rosette was instantly upon him. "Burdening us? What're you talking about? It's a pleasure for us to hang out with you! You're – I don't know, but you seem…"
"More fun than any of the other kids we know?" Joshua supplied helpfully as he stifled a yawn.
"Yeah! That's it!"
Rosette and Joshua both stood up and walked towards the door. "Oh, and by the way," Rosette added, just before she and Joshua left the room, "we'll be back, Chrono – okay? You can be sure of it! We'll make out way back somehow!"
"You mean, we'll try to come back and you'll get us lost again?" Joshua mumbled.
Rosette shoved him, not too hard, but still pretty hard. He stumbled and just barely managed to catch himself before he planted his face in the ground. "Rosette! Why, you…"
"We'll be back though, okay?" she called back to Chrono. Then she and Joshua left, bickering all the way.
Chrono sighed and went back to his position next to the coffin. Would they really be back? Maybe, maybe not.
He heard a small crinkling sound as he settled himself down. He felt the ground and couldn't help but smile when he found the source of the noise.
In his hand rested several candies.
-0-
"And how, Rosette, do you plan on us being able to find our way back?"
Rosette didn't answer. She was too busy looking for something on the ground.
"Rosette?"
She finally came up with a series of stones. "Here! We'll use these!"
Joshua stared at them. "They're rocks."
"Yeah!" Rosette beamed.
"And how, daresay, do you plan on using rocks to let us find our way back?"
Rosette sighed. "Oh, my poor, unimaginative, creativity-deprived brother… We'll use these at intersections to mark which way to go."
"Wha…?"
She knelt down beside the entrance to the building and stacked a few rocks on top of each other to form a sort of pyramid. "There! See? That tells us that this is the building!"
Joshua still had a befuddled look on his face. "Won't they just fall over the next time there's a windy day?"
"Silly little brother! Watch." She bent over and blew hard on them. They didn't move. She flicked one of the bottom ones with her finger. It didn't move. She placed her finger on the centermost rock on the bottom and pushed. Other than a slight movement, the structure didn't move.
"See?" She stood up and grinned. "Perfectly stable!"
Joshua, who'd been watching silently all this time, just sighed. "Okay, then. Can we go back now? Please? I want to curl up in a nice, warm, soft bed and sleep for the rest of the day."
She scowled. "Jeez, you're so lazy! But you're right – we should go now. Come on!"
Three days passed and Chrono still hadn't seen any sign of the two children who'd passed through this room on the day of the thunderstorm. It was fine, though, really. He didn't really expect for them to come back – after all, who'd want to be friends with a demon?
Suddenly, his ears perked up. What was that he heard in the hallway?
Footsteps.
As they approached, he could hear the familiar bickering: "Joshua! Give it to me! I'll hold it for you – you're too weak!"
"Oh, shut up, sis! I haven't had a fit for almost a week now – I'm perfectly fine!"
"Come on! Just give it!"
"You just want to have first dibs on food!"
"Is that all that you think of your elder sister? What a shame, Joshua – truly, what a shame…"
Chrono ran to the doorway, and, sure enough, there stood the two children.
"Hey, Chrono! We brought a picnic! Want a snack?"
He felt a slow smile creep onto his face. They'd come back, after all. Even against all the odds. He took a few steps back so that they'd be able to pass and nodded.
"Sure."