Chapter Three

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600 A.D.

When the portal opened up again, Marle was thrown out onto the ground and landed with a loud thud. "Ouch!" She exclaimed as she made her way back to her feet. She looked around and found herself standing in the middle of a clearing. "Huh?... This isn't the castle... Where am I?" There were trees surrounding the entire area, fresh, green grass was under her feet, and the sky was a dark shade of blue. She was starting to get a little nervous. She looked at the gate key and found that it was broken. It must have broke when she landed on the ground. At that moment, a rustling sound could be heard in the bushes. Marle tensed up, making herself ready for anything. For a moment, there was nothing but silence. Finally, she heard a hissing voice say,

"My poor Queen Leene... All alone and so far from home."

Marle whirled around and gasped at the sight: a vicious looking yellow creature with gray claws, an angry face, and a terribly evil leer. The thing swiftly crawled over to her and grabbed her before she had a chance to scream. At that moment, they both started... glowing a bright red light! She made a mean face at the creature. "What are you doing!?

He snarled. "I'm taking you home, my queen!" With that, everything in the area suddenly started glowing white. Marle had to shut her eyes.

o O o

Chrono and Lucca jumped out of the portal and landed on their feet in the clearing. They jerked their heads all over the place, looking for any sign of Marle. "Where is she?... Marle!" Chrono shouted, his voice echoing through the clearing.

Lucca started pacing around the area. "Well, it's quit obvious that we have, in fact, landed in a different era." She examined the size of the area. "From the looks of things... This must be the forest that used to stand before the Leene's Square was built back in our time." As she scanned the ground, here eyes spotted something shiny. She bent down and picked it up. "Chrono! Look at this!"

Chrono walked over and took the item from Lucca. It was a heart shapped silver pendant on a linked chain. "Marle's pendant!"

Lucca nodded. "That means that she was here... But where did she go?

o O o

It was a dark, creepy, mysterious fortress, both inside and out. The wretched yellow creature carried a struggling Marle all the way to the throne room.

There, a man waited.

He had pail skin, long blue hair, green eyes, and wore a long red cape with purple pants, brown boots, brown gloves and a brown breastplate. The yellow creature threw Marle on the floor in front of him. "I have returned with the queen, master."

The man stood up and smirked. "Very good, Yakra." He stepped down from his throne to greet Marle. He bent down to her level. When he came close enough, his smirk faded. "Hmm?" He placed his hand under her chin and raised it up to look at her in the face. For a moment, he just stared at her, and she did not make a sound or a movement. Finally, his eyes shifted from her to Yakra. He let go of her chin and stood up. "Yakra, this is not Queen Leene."

Yakra's was immediatly shocked. "What!? How can that be? She looks just like the queen!"

The man walked over to him and towered above the pitiful creature. Finally, he kicked Yakra in the side. "You will not question me again! She is not Queen Leene! Understand!?"

Yakra shivered in pain and fear. "Yes, Master Magus!... Shall I take care of her?"

Magus looked at Marle again. She did not break eye contact. "No... I will keep her here for a while... In the mean time, I want you to find the real Queen Leene."

Yakra nodded. "Yes, Master!" With that, the bright red light surrounded Yakra once more and he dissapeared into thin air.

Marle waited there on the floor while Magus marched back up to his throne. He took his seat and stared down at her, his head propped up on his hand. Their eyes locked once again. "What is your name?" he asked, breaking the silence.

She gulped. "Marle... Marle of Guardia."

He smirked. "I am Magus... Soon to be king of all of Guardia... Would you mind telling me why you bare such a stricking resemblance to the queen?"

"I... I really don't know." Then, she remembered something. "Actually, now that you mention it, one of my descendants... her name was Leene. But she lived hundreds of years ago."

On that note, he stood up once more and walked over to her. He reached down, grabbed her arm, and pulled her up, staring at her in the eyes. "You lie."

Marle appeared to be surprised. "What?"

"I have been interigating people for years. I can tell when a person is lying... Marle is not your real name."

Marle was silent for only a moment before she jerked her arm away. This was one of those moment when her royal liniage just might pay off. "I am Princess Nadia, daughter of King Guardia XXXIII. And if you do not release me, my father will send his royal army to arrest you!"

Magus blinked, his eyes wide. "Guardia XXXIII?... It couldn't be... Are you... from another time? The future?" After a moment, he regained his composure and returned to his throne once again. For a moment, he just stared at her. Then, he began to chuckle. finally, he burst out laughing.

"What is so funny?" Marle asked.

"Oh, this is perfect!" Magus exclaimed through his laughter. He snapped his fingers. "Slash!"

At that moment, a man appeared out of thin air, right beside Marle. He had purple skin, a bald head, and wore very sophistocated clothing. "Yes, sire?"

"Go and find Yakra... Tell him that Queen Leene will no longer be needed."

Slash appeared surprised, but nodded. "Yes, sire." With that, he dissapeared once more.

Marle was confused. "What was that all about?"

"Young lady, I don't think you realize the role you play in all of this," Magus began. "From what I've learned, you are from the future, yes? Well, why would I want to take the hand of a queen who rules in such a symplicitic time as this... when I could rule a more advanced era, hundreds of years into the future."

"What are you talking about?"

Magus chuckled. "My dear, Guardia is ruled by none other than King Guardia XXI and his wife, Queen Leene."

Marle took a minute to do the math in her head. Finally, she came to the realization. "Oh no... I've gone four-hundred years back in time!"