Chrono Trigger
The Counsel; an assassination attempt is discussed…
There were more unusual occurrences that night. While Crono enlightened Lucca to his troubles the counsel had stayed for the space of two hours discussing what must be done. These were trivial things in the king's sight: the organization of the troops, the possibility of raising taxes in order to bury the dead and repair damages, planning of treaties and alliances with the neighboring kingdoms, plans for trading, whether or not to charge the kingdoms for their assistance, and many other topics. During their entire discussion not a single soul dared to discuss their plans for Magus, and if the topic came about the king would give the speaker a venomous look. He also did the same for whoever spoke ill of Crono and his companions, for the king had grown very fond of the group.
When the session came to a close the counselors and lords left the hall while a few people ambled around the room. When the doors closed once again it was only the king, the knight captain, the chancellor, and Toma who remained. They all gave each other cordial handshakes before taking their seats around the table. Toma seemed horribly out of place, even more so than Crono and his band. His appearance before the battle was rugged before, but now spots of dry blood stained the hems of his clothes and splashes of mud covered his breastplate. However, he leaned back into his chair with his hands behind his head as if he were clean and in his nightly robes. The king did not seem to mind but the counselor and knight captain gave him quizzical glances.
"Would you like to wash yourself and return, Toma?" The counselor asked pointedly.
"No," Toma said with carefree ease, "I'm fine. Besides, business before pleasure is how I do things."
"You look like you are enjoying yourself pretty well." The knight captain sniggered sarcastically.
"I am." Toma replied with an earnest smile. The counselor and captain shook their heads and turned to the king.
The king gave them each glances as if he were quickly appraising each man in the court. After a few moments of silence the king cleared his throat and began to speak. "I would like to thank you all for staying after the meeting. I know that you are tired, captain. Toma, I know the same applies to you, and I know the counselor has many other duties which need attention. The reason I have called you all here is because this matter concerns a matter that affects us all greatly. We know that the war will not be over until Magus has been slain, but unfortunately we cannot make our move against them. I had planned to discuss this in the actual meeting, but I am disturbed by the lack of trust our advisors have in myself and our friends."
"You speak of those visitors, do you not?" The counselor asked.
"I do."
"They are made of solid stuff, I admit, but are you sure they even stand a chance against Magus? They are children. The boy can barely grow any hair on his face and you expect him to fight Magus?"
"You called him to the battle field, did you not?" The king gave him a shrewd smile. Toma stammered for a moment.
"I feel that is almost too much to ask of them, and they feel the same." The counselor said.
"I saw the red-haired boy fight and I still stand amazed, sir. I know that if anyone of us can take on Magus it would be him." The captain nodded solemnly to his own words.
Toma looked at him, "I suppose the times are changing, aren't they? I didn't think there would ever be a time that a man who was not of Guardia would have the honor to sit in the war room of the castle, and five of us have done so today."
"Why is Toma here, sir?" the counselor said with an air of disdain and annoyance.
"You know of his history," the king said with a smile. "He is the legendary treasure hunter. His exploits are known even to the Mystics. He has brought to my attention something that I thought only I knew. Evidentially, he knows the location of the Masamune and how to open the passageway to the eastern continent."
"Sir, you knew about the location of the Masamune?" The captain began, "How could you keep this knowledge secret from us? We could have gone after Magus years ago! We could have used it in the battle!"
"Captain, forgive me for what I shall say and please do not think of yourself as less honorable, but you would not have survived. Had I given you the sword you would have fallen just as Cyrus had, and he was a finer swordsman than you."
The words did hurt. The captain pounded his fists on the table and gritted his teeth. He said nothing more, for he knew and agreed to the very same. He knew of Cyrus the knight. He trained under him and felt his skillful handling of the sword. He idolized him and followed in his footsteps. When Cyrus died he felt as if he lost his own brother and lost all hope of ever becoming a skillful as he was. Even still, hearing those words from the king's mouth, the very center of his purpose, was the most devastating blow he had ever felt. He folded his arms and furrowed his brow while fighting back the mounting tears of bitter indignation. There was a moment of awkward silence before anyone spoke again.
"How did Toma find out about the sword?" The counselor asked.
"Scripture, sir." Toma said with a mysterious tone.
The counselor scoffed, "Scripture, you say? A man as dirty and savage as yourself professes himself to be a master of ancient writ?"
Toma gave him a stern look and said, quoting a verse, "'The lord god looketh upon the heart and not the apparel.'"
The counselor laughed, but less scornfully, "Your majesty, you are trusting an outdated manuscript in a time of need?"
Toma gave him an indignant look, "Outdated? Outdated, you say? 'And I saw a field where men and their ancestors fought due to an unholy alliance held against their will. And then I beheld that giants did battle against the unrighteous bringing peace to the land.' Does that sound fairly recent to you?"
"Where did you read such a verse?" The king asked.
"It was written in a tome I found years ago. It was called the book of Gasper."
"Lost scripture." The king stroked his beard. "Even now we are still finding the resting places of old prophets who warned us of sin and an unforeseeable disaster. Who are we to say that these words are not true?"
"There are three books that I have found, sir. And the recent events are disturbingly similar to the words I have read in their pages."
"Well, what did your books say about the Masamune?" The counselor asked.
"'A light I shall give unto you that ye may smite those who oppose all righteousness as long as thou art worthy. The light comes in the form of a lion's fang, which pierces the strongest armor, and purifies the darkest soul. At first there was nothing but darkness, and then the lord said there shall be light. Therefore, in similitude, the lion's fang shall be created and strengthened from darkness. Just as day turns to night, so will be the fate of the lion's fang. It shall not abide for a season, but light will return again by the hand of he who is a prophet of life. When the time comes, giants shall find the fang of the lion upon a windy peak where water springs forth continually and in the midst of he that fears death and darkness.'"
"What nonsense is this?" The counselor said after some thought.
"The verse relates to the creation of the Masamune. I do not comprehend the scripture in its entirety, but it says that it is the bane of evil, that it has shattered (which I had decided after reading that the Masamune rests in two places at the same time), and that a prophet must fix the sword. The winds of the Denadoro Mountains are legendary and it is full of water falls and springs. As for the second place, I don't have anything close to an idea."
"And what he has said is incredibly accurate." The king said with a look of warning towards the counselor.
"The strength of the Masamune has always been told for generations, but we have always supposed it to be made by the hands of men. However, after reading these pages I believe it has been made by a more," Toma looked around as if he were about to say something scandalous, "divine origin."
"Sir," the knight captain spoke so solemnly that he was barely heard, "I do not know why, but I felt a great warmth within me as he spoke those verses and I almost shrunk to say anything about it. I believe him to be right."
"I feel nothing!" The counselor said with annoyance, "What does that matter? I believe him to be wrong."
"Even then, you have agreed that it would be suicidal to send an army against Magus now. We will send Crono if he is willing, and Toma will assist him in the search of the Masamune and for the prophet who will repair the sword." The king added, "After all, it is in the best interests of my men."
"I will not argue if that is your wish, but if I may speak freely?" he waited for the king to nod his approval. "I find it very disturbing that you trust foreigners more than your own countrymen."
"This is more than protecting our homeland and it is not a matter of who I trust," the king began, "this is the beginning of a massive alliance. We cannot feud against the other kingdoms in a time like this. We must band together or we will die."
The counselor sighed grudgingly, "Very well. I consent to the motion. We will see what Toma and these newcomers can do. Just remember that I advised against it."
The king gave the counselor a questionable grin before he said, "When we have achieved victory, I will remember your feelings on it quite vividly."
There was only the sound of fire crackling as Crono and Lucca held each other.
They continued to embrace until they finally parted. Lucca felt her heart beat wildly as she looked into Crono's eyes. She could feel his eyes boring into her own as he leaned in closer, closing his glorious apple-green eyes. She could feel her cheeks flush and her lips quiver as she found herself drawing closer as well. Finally, the moment she had secretly wished for had happened and her heart soared. The kiss felt as sublime as her heart had wished
And then she woke up.
It was no longer a giant mystery to her. She had feelings for Crono and when the dream ended she growled in frustration. It was a good dream she thought, and it ended far too soon. She was not thinking this for dirty reasons, but merely because she could still feel the embrace they shared last night. Although she was hugging him last night, she did not reflect on his warmth until later when it was appropriate. She was happy she relived the moment in a dream. That way she remembered that feeling and was able to relive it again without having to force Crono into a death grip. However, she could not help but admit to herself that something seemed very awkward about the whole thing.
Lucca was a dreamer as are most inventors. She did not bury herself in science periodicals only, but she would also read stories of history, fiction, and even stories of love. (She did not favor the latter, but every once in awhile she could not help herself). If you would ask her about those stories to her face she would only laugh and say that they were over-dramatic and coated in syrup. When you weren't looking you would find her sighing wistfully as she read a passage about a proclaimed love. Even then, she would excuse this behavior by saying she rarely read them, if at all. But in all honesty, her dreams were usually about inventions and her intelligence being known to everyone. Even still, a dream about love is a very nice thing to have.
It should be told that even though she knew she had feelings for Crono she still continued to lie to herself, saying that they were merely infatuations and would disappear with time. She rose from her bed and found that her clothes had been cleaned and washed since last night. She changed out of her pajamas and put on her traveling clothes. She walked as some women do when they care deeply about someone. Some women become very excited and they are full of giggling charm, others are deep in thought about how to best carry-on, but she walked around the hall with a dreamy smile.
"Did you sleep okay, Lucca?"
Her heart skipped a beat and she could feel the blood rush to her face. She forced it down and addressed Marle as she bounded towards her. Marle gave Lucca an unexpected hug which almost made Lucca blush again. "Did you hear? Crono says that he is ready to go after Magus!" Lucca gently unhooked her and straightened out her glasses. (In Marle's exuberance she accidentally shouldered Lucca's glasses so that they were askew). She gave her a glance that seemed to suggest that going after Magus would be obvious. However, Marle was not so excited about Crono's decision, but was more excited at the prospect that their struggles were coming to an end. "Just think about it! Once Magus is gone we can go home and carry on with our lives!"
"Don't get so excited yet, princess." Lucca said calmly, "It could take us weeks to put ourselves in a position to get Magus."
As they walked down the stairs they were joined by Robo who clinked noisily behind them, "Why did you call me 'princess'?" Marle said with a slight frown.
"Aren't you a princess?" Lucca asked with a smirk.
"Just call me Marle, please?"
"Okay, I'm sorry. It just came out that way. Besides, when we go home that's what we have to call you, right?"
Marle only replied with a grunt that sounded like an agreement. Marle said nothing else and Lucca did not call her by her title. It was a strange thing, because one small offense can greatly change your attitude for the day. Marle was no longer smiling, but was following behind morosely. When they reached the base of the stairs there was an attendant that escorted them to the war room. The doors opened and Lucca was surprised to see Crono, awake so early in the morning, and speaking with the king.
"Crono woke up on time? Crono never wakes up on time." Lucca thought to herself. Perhaps she had more of an affect than she thought.
Men are quite different than women in regards to returning their affection. Usually a man would stare at his affection or would avoid her gaze altogether. It usually depended on the person but with Crono it seemed obvious to Lucca that he would be bashful when put into such a situation. When Crono looked up and saw Lucca his mouth went agape for a moment as if he were trying to say something, but turned into a welcoming smile instead. He scratched the back of his head and averted her gaze. Crono pulled the chairs out for Marle and Lucca and seated them both while Robo was content on standing. They all faced the king who was joined by a clean shaven (save for his mustache) Toma. He wasn't wearing armor any more, but was dressed in traveling clothes.
"The king and I have been discussing the best way of assassinating Magus. Evidently, there's some humungous detour." Crono said this with an exasperated sigh.
Before they could ask what is was, the king began by saying, "First off, there are many things about Magus that the public does not know."
The king turned the story to Toma and he began with a hushed voice as if they were huddled around a campfire, "We have known about his cruelty, for he has done horrible things over the years. There are even Mystics who say that he has made a deal with the devil himself."
"What?" Lucca nearly sneered in her surprise, "What could possibly make you think that the devil exists, let alone having him make a deal with Magus?"
"What people don't seem to realize is that Magus does not rule the Mystics with kindness and a gently heart like your majesty. He is not even a Mystic. He is human."
This was new to them. "Human? Why would he fight for the Mystics?
"It's a long story and I admit that much of it is based on speculation only. Are you ready to listen?"
They nodded in reply.
"Very well…It all started when he was a child…"
Author's Note: Well, remember when I said that I would get to the battle with Magus in one chapter? Uh...I lied. Sorry about that. I hope you guys enjoy this and I'll go into Magus' history a bit next chapter. I already started it.