Chrono Trigger

The Queen is Gone; Another chapter in which Lucca inadvertently expresses her true feelings for Crono.

We have already seen the relationship between Crono and Marle, yet we have yet to touch upon a third party whose feelings run deeper than the other two realize. As Lucca ran through the city, following closely behind Crono, she momentarily forgot the thought which so plagued her since the accident. It was a good thing for her mind to be diverted, because at the time she could not stop asking herself questions and she did not know why she cared. It began to tear her apart, insomuch that simply staying behind in her time seemed ridiculous. It was not the main point of her trip, yet it was a small detour which she wanted to take.

She simply wanted to know what exactly the relationship was between Marle and Crono.

Lucca and Crono had been friends for years, even since their childhood. They knew everything about each other had held no secrets. However, Lucca had a secret that she did not even realize, being blinded by the ideology that they could only be friends. Deep down inside, in the most cluttered regions of her heart was the knowledge that she felt something for Crono that was far more potent then a friendship. She might have known it when she was younger, but she had stored it away so well that he had forgotten it completely. However, there are times when the door to her heart opens and leaves it vulnerable.

When he was in danger and when there seemed to be a romantic interest.

She did not know why, but when she saw that girl at the fair she could only sneer in annoyance. Everything about her appearance was disgusting to Lucca because it indicated more than anything else that she was soft, giggly, flirtatious, and everything that Lucca was not. That giggling girl was dressed in clothes that Lucca could never bring herself to be in, solely because that went against her nature. She was tomboyish, and that was mostly due to Crono and his influence.

When she was young she used to dress up in gowns and billowy skirts, but tossed all that aside so she could play rowdy games with Crono and the neighborhood kids. Over time that had become her taste in attire and she had become the bane of most girls her age. That did not matter to her, because Crono was always by her side and he would threaten anyone that dared to pick on her. Imagine her admiration when that young red-headed boy would shake a fist at anyone that dared to pick on her! Even though she was not dressed like one, that made her feel more like a princess than anything else.

As they got older and became occupied with their extra curricular activities she began to develop a strong, resilient personality, knowing that Crono would not always be there for her and eventually she no longer needed his protection, but they would always watch out for each other. At this point they were no longer addressed merely as Crono and Lucca, but their friendship had progressed so much that they were referred to the public as "they" or "them".

Notwithstanding her changes there were still strong underlining feelings stirring within her heart that would occasionally beg to be brought to attention whenever the above situations would occur, but she had long forgotten what the feeling in her heart meant, so it only caused embarrassment and confusion. It was an odd dilemma, and time worked against her. The more time passed, the more crystallized their current relationship became. However, since it only came up at certain times, Lucca rarely gave it any thought and was more than happy to be Crono's friend, not realizing that her heart desired more.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Time is a very fickle thing and it always seems to work against you. You will find that time is extremely relative and that it serves no man. There have been many instances where the pair of investigators felt that time had slowed to a crawl while they were in school, and flew by during their holidays. That only built the tension in an already apprehensive situation that grew inevitably closer. Perhaps the worst thing about this was the fact that neither of them knew how much time they had left to save the real queen. For all they knew, she could be dead already and Marle was lost to them forever.

Just the thought of that put a very dark and hollow feeling of failure into Crono's heart. Instead of reflecting on such depressing thoughts he only focused on leading the way towards the center of the city where the cathedral was supposed to be. So speedy was his flight that he didn't realize that Lucca was yelling his name. It was only until he was standing in the center of the city, panting for breath, that he realized Lucca was shouting at him. She had fallen far behind, not being as fast or as strong as he was, and she was yelling at him furiously between heavy gasps.

"Crono! You idiot! What makes you think there will be a church here!" She hung over; her hands on her knees, panting like a dog.

"What do you mean? The church has always been around the center of town!" He said, looking frantically for a monolithic building with bells.

"Yes, it has! In our time! But this is the past, remember? You won't find the cathedral here!" Lucca shouted irritably in reply.

At that moment Crono felt very idiotic whilst Lucca tapped her foot impatiently. He turned about, jogged over to her and said, "Well, where can we find the cathedral? Where is one in this time?" She immediately had an answer. She asked him if he remembered a pile of ruins over by the western forest in their time and he replied that he did. In their time there was an archaic ruin that was covered in ivy and black with ashes. The foundation itself was still solid and even a few crumbling walls were all that remained of a grand building. A cathedral as a matter of fact.

All at once, Crono understood. The old ruins that inhabited their time were, in fact, a beautiful and well-ornamented cathedral in this time. It would also confirm to him like nothing else that everything Lucca said was true, for he knew those woods like the back of his hand, having run through the whole of it in his younger days. He immediately changed his course with the same speed he had before, Lucca following closely on his heels. After a few moments they left the mess of old buildings and where on a rural road that led to the west.

In older days the cathedrals were placed in the outskirts of towns for many reasons. One of the main reasons was solidarity and peace from the outside world. The people who had sworn to their oaths were far from any temptations that large cities had to offer. It was also commonly believed among those in the highest rank of hierarchy that being a distance away would sort the truly faithful from those who would only profess their belief. Unfortunately, there were also those who did not have the purity of heart as others and they used the distance as a barrier to shield any heinous deeds done by their hands. However, as the times passed there was conspiracy that circulated throughout the religious world concerning secrets that assaulted the integrity of all those that resided in convents. As those years had passed and great damage was done to the faith of the people they made it a point to live in the eye of the public.

At that point, Crono wished it was the same in this time, for the sun above them had become unbearable. They had sprinted quite a distance until Lucca complained that she could no longer take any more abuse. Despite his anxiety, Crono was compelled to travel at a brisk walking speed, knowing that Lucca was most likely feeling pain all throughout her sides. A feeling of guilt came over him as he saw Lucca was rubbing her forearm against her head, and it was wet with sweat from the many times she had cleared it before. He looked at her with a smile and said, "We should probably rest for a moment."

Lucca was very happy at the idea and they went off the dusty trail to rest underneath a large tree. They both kicked off their shoes and enjoyed the feeling of any sweat drying from their bodies, the cool wind gracefully roaming throughout the forest. Lucca groaned and fell on her back so that she looked up into the sky that had become a darker hue of blue. Not bothering to sit up, she took a canteen that she had prepared before they left and took a long draught, not caring if the water dribbled down the sides of her face and atop her throat. She wiped off her mouth and handed the canteen to Crono who had taken it gratefully. He had not realized how exhausting their trek through the forest was until he stopped to have a rest.

Crono drank from the canteen and wiped the water from his mouth; he laid his back on the grass, resting his hands behind his head. While he did so he was unknowingly being watched while he contented himself to stare at the clouds. Lucca looked at him, but only from the corner of her eye, not daring to make full contact with his attention. Her heart fluttered as she listened to the calming sound of his steady breathing. At that, she shook her head vigorously, almost like she was trying to shake thoughts from her that she regarded as ridiculous.

"Is something wrong?"

Lucca was embarrassed when she realized that Crono was watching her while he was leaning on his side. She jerked her eyes away from him, looking back to the sky and trying her best to seem cool and collected which is what she did whenever something was uncomfortable for her. A few awkward moments passed and she realized that she did not answer his question. "Nothing is wrong." She said sternly.

"Oh ho! I can believe that!" Crono said with a laugh.

"Believe that then." Lucca said with a snort.

"Come on. Tell me." Crono said, smiling and poking her in the stomach.

"No!" Lucca said, brushing his hand off her and covering her stomach with her own.

Lucca rolled her eyes as Crono sat completely upright, his legs crossed over each other. Lucca only lay on her back, starting to ignore Crono for the sole reason of pestering him, which she had tried a thousand times but has never worked once. It was only a waiting game for Crono, because he knew that her personality would inevitably lead her to yell out the answer at him and one well thought-out answer would calm her wrath. He could already see his nonchalance having an effect on her as she fidgeted with the folds of her clothes. The next stage was an exasperated look whenever she saw Crono making puppy-dog eyes at her which she hated but found adorable.

"Stop it Crono!" She said gruffly, "This time is different." She said with an aura of depression.

"Well, what is the problem so I can fix it?" He said tranquilly.

At this point, it is fitting to say that there are people who let their hearts lead them so much that they are constantly hurt, yet there are people that are lead by their brain so that they miss great opportunities and never find true happiness. Lucca proved to be the latter, knowing full well what her brain wanted but not knowing what her heart desired. A truly happy person is balanced between the two, thinking logically, yet being able to explain the feelings of their hearts. Lucca could not find the words to express her emotions because she relied too much on one thing. So what could she do? That is simple. She would express herself inadvertently in a query.

It took her a few moments, but she managed to gather all of her emotion into one pivotal question which seemed to be the source of her recent concern. That concern happened to be Marle and Crono's willingness to undergo such a dangerous task to retrieve her. "Tell me, Crono." She sighed deeply before continuing, Crono leaning in closer to better understand what she was saying. "Why did you come here and not go for help first?"

"Do you mean after the accident at the fair?" He said, not looking at her but further down the path.

"Yeah."

"Well, I guess it was because I panicked. I thought that if I didn't go right away, Marle would die or disappear or something." He said, sounding unsure in his reply.

Something about the way he said her name seemed to scratch at her nerves, causing a slight surge of anger within her which she tried her hardest to quell. It was still able to surface in her reply which sounded like an angry, incredulous response. "Why did you care? I don't mean it like she is worthless, but I mean, you hardly knew her, so why did you go through the risk?"

"Because she is my friend." Crono said honestly.

There was far more strength to this comment than he knew, because a deep sadness had dug its way into Lucca. She was no longer laying down, but sitting upright and looking down into her lap with misty eyes. Something about that response almost seemed to say to her that he cared more for Marle than for her. "Oh." She said softly. Her eyes went wide as she looked at Crono and started frantically, "But she lied to you! Do friends lie to friends? Have I ever lied to you? How can you trust her?" Suddenly she was silenced as she felt firm hands grip her shoulders and she turned to look at Crono who looked so incredibly sincere that she could do nothing but believe what he had to say.

"I know you don't like her." Crono said.

"What makes you think that?" Lucca said, half-laughing.

"It is obvious." Crono said with a smile. He scooted closer to her and Lucca felt that fluttering feeling again, not knowing it was expectation for him to make a move or a romantic gesture, but that expectation was never realized and he merely put his arm around her. She jerked her head in the opposite direction, not willing to meet his eyes, but what he said so surprised her that her mood had completely reversed.

"If you want me to, I won't visit her."

"What?" Lucca said in disbelief.

"You are my best friend. I would be a fool to have anyone replace you, because you are irreplaceable. Just say it and after all of this I won't see her again."

"You would do that for me?" Lucca said, her chest swelling with relief.

"Of course. Just say it and it's done."

Instantly, the uncomfortable emotions had disappeared as her mind won over again, the heart being content in the knowledge that she had more time to come to terms with her feelings. However, a pang of guilt came over her as she thought how controlling that really was; having him give up a friend just because the other didn't like her right away. Maybe she would learn to like her, if that were possible. She wanted so badly to say that it was done, but all the while she respected Crono so much that she didn't want to put him in such an awkward position, so all she could say was, "No, just knowing I'm still your favorite is good enough for me."

They both laughed which caused a small muscle ache in their stomachs. Crono nodded and gave her an extra squeeze with his one arm before he got to his feet. He offered her his hand and she took it gratefully. "Are you ready? It seems like we are getting close to the cathedral now." He pointed to a small post in the distance that was covered in arrows pointing to different directions.

"Yeah. Let's go." She said.

"Alright."

"And Crono…Thanks." She patted him on the back as she walked past him with a little extra spring in her step.

"You're welcome." Was all he said.

And as we leave this scene, let it be known to the reader that such an act on Lucca's part was so contrary to her nature, but such a demanding circumstance had such an affect on her that she was compelled to reveal her concern to some degree. Let it also show how close their friendship really was and how much they would go through for each other. They were extremely lucky in this aspect, because far more vile objects in their path were still only three miles further down that dusty road…

Author's Note: I would like to thank Kit Thespian for all of the comments and for anyone else that has reviewed my story so far. This was a particularly hard chapter to write and I think that in the future they may need more rewrites. I'm not certain if this chapter was really necessary, but I felt that having them run full speed into the cathedral would be rushed and unrealistic, so I made it out to be a long walk, but if it were just that it would be boring, so I shifted the object of the chapter to specify Lucca's emotions for Crono. It is not a major factor of the story, but I tried to portray her with dignity. Hope I did. It gets a little dizzying to write larger stories; I can see why some people make some good money from it.