CHAPTER 2
THE QUEEN RETURNS
Taban hurried everyone out of the square, panicked and not knowing at all what to do.
"Show's over, folks!" Taban yelled. "Go on, enjoy the rest of the fair! Get outta here!"
As the last of the crowd left, Taban rushed to the machine, staring at it at a loss as to what could have happened. He turned to Lucca.
"Lucca!" He yelled. "What happened? Where did she go? We tested that thing thoroughly, and nothing like this ever happened! What the heck is going on?"
"The way she disappeared," Lucca said, more to herself than to her father. "...it couldn't have been the telepod device. All the device seemed to do was transport her into the gate. The way her pendant glowed...I think somehow the warp field was affected by her pendant. But how? And why?"
Crono stood there, staring at a loss at where Marle had stood. Could she be gone forever? No, that gate had to lead somewhere. Suddenly, something on the left telepod device caught his way, much the way it had caught his eye when he was looking for it earlier in the square.
"Her pendant!" Crono yelled, rushing up to the platform and picking it up.
"Crono!" Taban yelled. "Stay away from the telepod, it's dangerous!"
"The pendant!" Lucca said, surprised. "She must have dropped it during the commotion! Crono, let me see it!"
She rushed up to the platform, and Crono handed it to her. She looked at it carefully, rolling it around in her hands. She sighed.
"I don't get it," she said. "It seems to be just an ordinary pendant. Though the material it's made out of is strange...I don't think I've ever seen it before. Another thing that's bugging me...I know I've seen that girl somewhere before. This is all just so strange..."
Crono nodded, and a determined look came onto his face. He placed a hand on Lucca's shoulder.
"Right," Crono said. "It's too strange for us to figure out just by talking about it. We have to take action."
Lucca looked at Crono, and smiled when she saw how determined he looked. She had seen that look on his face many times before, and whenever he had that look she knew that they could solve whatever problem was presented to them. They could do this.
"You're gonna do what I think you're gonna do, aren't you?" Lucca asked him, a half smile on her face.
Crono nodded, and Lucca sighed.
"Right then," Lucca said. "I'll stay here and look into the device, try to figure out exactly what happened. I'll come for you as soon as I figure out how to activate that gate without the use of the telepod device. And here." She tied the necklace together, and put it around Crono's neck. "Make sure you don't lose that pendant, Crono. It's probably very important."
"Alright," Crono said. "I'm ready."
Lucca nodded and stepped down off of the platform, then stepped over to the monitor. Taban stepped over to the other one, sweating. Lucca gave the thumbs up to Taban, and he activated the machine. Lucca pulled down on the lever, just as before, and the telepod stalled again as the pendant began to glow. Electricity began arcing between the two platforms once again, and Lucca and Taban stepped back. Lucca looked over to Crono, concern on her face. Crono gave her a reassuring grin and thumbs up, and she smiled and gave him a thumbs up back.
The gate opened, and Crono soon found himself inside of it. He fell backwards through the void, as the gate closed and his view of Lucca and Taban disappeared. He seemed to have no control at all as to where he was going, falling freely. The void carried him for a long distance, the swirling water-like patterns all around him. Finally he was flung out from the void, and fell hard onto the ground. He lay there; breathing hard as the gate above him closed.
He got up, brushing himself off and looking at his surroundings. He seemed to be in a forested area. It didn't look like any place he was familiar with, so it couldn't have been any place in Guardia, as he had explored much of the kingdom. Nearby he could make out the trickle of a creek, which reminded him that he was thirsty. He took out his canteen and drank some lemonade as he looked around.
"Marle!" He shouted, hoping she'd hear him. "Hey! Marle! Are you there?"
He waited, hoping he would receive a response. He did, though it wasn't quite the response he had been hoping for. Some strange, mischievous laughter came from the shrubbery around him.
"I'm right here, precious!" Said a high pitched, almost screechy voice.
There was more of that strange laughter, as a trio of imps emerged from hiding, surrounding Crono. Crono put his hand on the hilt of his wooden sword, preparing himself for the inevitable.
"I don't want any trouble," Crono said. "I don't have any quarrel with mystics, so just move along."
"Ahh," said one of the imps. "No quarrel with mystics, yes? Intriguing, yes!"
The three imps laughed, still circling Crono menacingly.
"No quarrel with mystics this human says!" Said another imp. "Tell me, human! Do you fear us?"
Crono hesitated, not knowing if there even was a right answer to this question.
"No," he said.
One of them growled. "You are looking for her, yes?" He asked. "The one who is important to you! That damned blonde woman!"
"You've seen her?" Crono asked. "Please, tell me where she is!"
"Yes, we've seen her," said the imp. "Don't know how she escaped Master Yakra, but escaped she did apparently."
"We will not let you escape us though, human!" Said one of the other imps. "We are hungry, and we desire human flesh!"
The imp charged at Crono, and leaped at him. Crono sidestepped the imp, causing him to land on the ground face first. The imp growled and leaped back to his feet.
"What are you doing?" Crono yelled. "You're violating the treaty!"
"Treaty?" The imp asked. "There is no treaty! We are at war, fool!"
"But there hasn't been a war between humans and mystics for 400 years!" Crono said.
"Fool human!" The imp yelled. "We do not know what you are babbling about! The great Magus leads us in glorious war against you foul humans! Now die!"
The imp leaped at Crono again, and Crono, surprised by the second attack and also by the mention of the name "Magus", smacked the imp on the side of the head with his sword. The imp plummeted to the ground, unconscious. At this, the other imps growled and both charged at Crono, who ran out of the clearing away from the imps. He emerged from the brush to find himself in what appeared to be a small canyon, a creek running down the center of it. He looked from side to side, and spotted a rope ladder leading up a ledge. He jumped onto it, climbing up swiftly as the imps ran after him, yelling profanities. He didn't know what was going on, or why the imps thought they still served Magus, but Crono did not want to risk violating the treaty between humans and mystics, as tenuous as the peace was.
Crono looked back, to see the imps grab hold of the feet of a couple of eaglets, and head straight for him. Crono ran across a bridge, where one of the imps sideswiped him, almost causing him to fall off. Crono regained his balance on the fragile, small rope bridge, and ducked as the next imp swooped down at him. He then continued across, and touched solid ground again on the other side. He leaped down another ledge, as one of the imps jumped down from his eaglet ride onto a passing roly, a green armadillo like animal. The imp rode it like a ball, speeding after the bewildered Crono.
Crono turned around suddenly, just as the imp jumped up and kicked the roly out from under him, straight at Crono. Crono held out his wooden sword and then swung it like a bat, hitting the roly and sending it right back at the imp, nailing it right in the face. Seeing this, the other imp still with its eaglet retreated, and Crono was finally left in peace. He continued on until he finally exited the hostile canyon.
Crono thought about what the imps had said. Magus? Did they really think they still served that wizard? His forces had been defeated 400 years ago, and a treaty had been signed between the mystics and humans soon after, that forbade combat between the two. The imps must have been radicals, who still worshipped Magus and hoped to ignite another war between the humans and mystics. He'd have to consult someone about this. But first, he needed to figure out where he was, and search for Marle.
He found a dirt path and walked down it, past landscapes that were vaguely familiar. This area looked a bit like the area around Truce, but it was too different. For one, there wasn't a huge crowd gathering for the Millennial Fair, and there were no merchants lining the sides. Also, the direction he had come from would have been from Leene Square, but there was none. It gave him a creepy feeling, but he dismissed it, not quite knowing why it gave him such a feeling.
He took another drink from his lemonade, and then put it away. He continued walking, always calling for Marle and never receiving a reply. He hoped the gate hadn't sent them to entirely different places. If so, Lucca would be just as lost when she went through it.
By now it was getting darker, and Crono finally came upon a village. His hopes were low, having not found Marle yet, but they were lifted slightly coming upon the village. Perhaps she'd be here. He wondered what village it was that he had arrived at. It was smaller than Truce, and definitely quieter. Most of its residents were probably in Truce right now. Crono then paused. Why was he assuming he was even in the same world? The gate very well could've sent him to a completely different world, even a different dimension.
His thoughts soon stumbled upon the answer. Because if it was the same world, at least it'd be more familiar to him. He shuddered at the thought of being sent to an entirely different world or universe. Talk about being totally alone.
He looked for an Inn, thinking that if she had come to this village, Marle would most likely be staying there. As he walked through the streets of the village, he felt the cool sea breeze. It reminded him a lot of Truce, actually. And not just the sea breeze. The layout of the village in fact was very reminiscent of Truce. He felt as if he knew exactly where he was going.
He turned a corner and stared. This was too weird. He had come to the inn exactly how he'd come to it if this were Truce village. He turned on the same number of streets, in the exact same direction. In fact, the street names were the same as in Truce. He stared even harder as he saw the name of the inn. Truce Inn. He couldn't believe it. He was in Truce.
He pondered, wondering how he had come back to Truce. But it couldn't be Truce. None of the neighborhood his house was in had been seen on his way into the village. And yet, here was Truce Inn, so recognizable to him now after living here for 16 years. Here was Truce Inn, written right on the sign. Suddenly an idea dawned on him, and he got a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. He ran to the nearest person.
"Excuse me!" Crono said urgently. "Can you tell me what year it is? I, uh...have slight amnesia."
"Uh...huh," the woman said, looking at him oddly. "It's 600 AD, and not to be rude but those are the strangest clothes I've ever seen on a person."
Crono was in shock. He quietly walked away from the woman, not even hearing the second thing she had said. 600 AD. So his feeling had been right. Somehow, he had been sent back in time. That gate was a time warp. He was now in the age of war between humans and mystics, the age of the powerful wizard Magus.
Crono sat in the inn, sipping on a mug of cider, hunched over in his chair at the bar. His hand was on his forehead, as he contemplated all that had happened. He had questioned everyone in the inn, and no one knew anything about Marle. All he had found out was that the queen of these times, by the name of Queen Leene, had recently been found in the same area that he and Marle had been at, the canyon. Crono planned to go to the castle the next day, and hoped the castle officials in this time were more welcoming to commoners than the ones in his own time.
As he sat at the bar, the door of the inn opened and a rugged looking man walked in. He had brown hair and a mustache, and wore what were clearly the clothes of an experienced traveler. An orange jacket, white shirt and brown pants with orange boots. A bandanna was also tied around his forehead. He smiled at the woman who ran the check in desk, who did her best to avoid his gaze. As he came over to the bar, the barkeep raises his arms.
"Toma!" The barkeep said. "What a pleasant surprise, to see you here after so long! What brings you to these parts?"
Toma sat down at the bar, next to Crono. "Cider please," he said to the barkeep. "And yeah, it's good to see you too," he said, with a quick smile. "Anyway, I came to Guardia when I heard that your Queen was missing. I did some checking around, and I think I have something. You know that cathedral in Yakra's Forest? I went in there, and-"
"Toma, Toma," the barkeep interrupted. "Save your breath, friend. We have just received news from some of our soldiers that Queen Leene has been found in Truce Canyon. She's safe and sound, though they say she was acting a bit strangely."
"Eh?" Toma said. "Really? Well I'll be damned. I was sure there was something fishy about that cathedral, but if they've found her I suppose I was wrong. Strangest thing though," he continued. "I went into that cathedral, and those nuns in there! They really creeped me out. It was almost as if they were sizing me up like a rancher sizes up which cattle are ready to be slaughtered for the feast."
"Oh well they're bound to be a bit odd," the barkeep replied, handing Toma his cider. "They're all the way out in Yakra's Forest for goodness sake. They're just reclusive."
Having no further interest in the conversation, Crono got up and headed over to the check in desk, ready to call it a night. The woman smiled at him as he approached.
"Good evening, sir," she said. "Would you like a room for the night?"
"Yes please," Crono said.
"15 gold coins sir," she said.
Crono handed her the money, thankful that they still used the same currency in this time. In fact he hadn't considered that at all before now.
The clerk handed Crono his room key, and he headed up the stairs. If he weren't so worried about Marle and his current situation, he probably would be enjoying this a lot more, he realized. The inn was actually very cozy; it seemed even cozier than in his own time. Candles dimly lighted the halls, and it was very quiet. The only noise was the sound of talking heard faintly coming from the bar downstairs.
Crono arrived at the door to his room, and he went inside. It was pretty small, being a room only for one person. Looking around the room, Crono realized with a sinking feeling that there was absolutely no toilet in the room, and he wondered where they went to the bathroom in this time. Crono walked over to the window of his room and peered outside. The night was misty, giving it a mysterious quality. He sighed, and hoped with all his heart that Marle was all right.
Crono set off the next day for the castle. He walked out to the middle of town, where a fountain was in his time, and peered northwestwards. Sure enough, just as in his time, there in the distance was the castle, past the upward sloping Guardia Forest. Of course it appeared very small from Truce, but it was visible just the same.
He left Truce, after following the road out of town for a while. Soon the road turned into a dirt path, and skirted the edge of Guardia Forest. He heard many familiar birdcalls, and it occurred to him how little the environment itself must have changed over 400 years. The natural world truly was more permanent and durable than civilization. He wondered if the path through Guardia Forest was the same as well. If so, that would make his journey through the forest much easier.
The path skirting the edge of Guardia Forest soon took him into the wildlands of Guardia, having passed the last farm a while ago. He fingered the hilt of his sword, not quite knowing what to expect in these days of war in the wildlands. Depending on exactly how far along the war was, the front would be either closer or farther to Truce and the castle. He had read that at one point, there had been battles right in front of the main entrance into Guardia Forest. That had been at the very start of the war though, when the mystics had launched their initial, surprise attack.
Finally Crono arrived at the main entrance into Guardia Forest, finding the familiar path, and even what seemed to be the same sign that pointed the way to Guardia Castle. Reassured by these things, Crono stepped into the forest with little hesitation.
The canopy above him caused the sunlight to shine into the forest in broken patches, making warm spots of sunlight in various places of the forest. It was of course dimmer in the forest than outside, but none of the mist was present. Crono stuck to the path, and soon came to another familiar sight. Just like in 1000 AD, there was a fork in the path. The left way was quicker, but in his time it was rarely used due to a colony of Hetakes making their home there.
Of course, it was impossible that this same colony was still there now, so Crono decided to take the left path. And indeed, he was right. In the small clearing that usually contained the mushroom-like monsters, there was nothing. He walked through the clearing at a steady pace, happy at the way things were turning out so far today. The familiarity had strengthened his resolve once more. As he exited the clearing, he heard a rustling in the bushes, and turned around to see what was causing it.
Stepping out cautiously from the bushes was a strange creature he had never seen before in his time. It was short and plump, and had an abundance of fuzzy white fur. Its face was hairless, and it had ears that stuck out quite far. It seemed harmless enough, so Crono gave it a friendly smile. The strange creature stepped forward a bit more, apparently curious about this new visitor to the forest.
Crono kneeled down a bit, and held his hand out cautiously to the creature. The creature put his own paw on Crono's hand slowly and then grasped his hand. It gave a strange sort of purring noise, but suddenly as the purring noise strengthened, so too did the creatures grip. It swung Crono away, causing Crono to stumble and fall onto the ground.
"Hey!" Crono yelled.
The creature gave a sort of victory whistle and jumped onto Crono, taking his pouch and then running away into the forest. Crono got up quickly and made a sort of half hearted attempt to give chase before he realized he'd likely never find the creature in this forest, and would probably get lost himself if he strayed off of the path. So he reluctantly continued on.
"Man..." he said as he walked the path. "My lemonade was in there."
Disappointed at his loss but still determined to go on, the teenage boy continued his walk through the forest. Eventually he came to the point at which the two divergent paths once again met and continued on. As Crono passed this spot, he once again, but very brief this time, heard a rustling in the brush. He unsheathed his wooden sword this time, and snuck up to the bush. He did it very quietly, in case whatever was in there couldn't see out of the bush very well. He raised his sword slowly, and then brought it down hard onto the bush. There was a squeak, and the same fuzzy white creature fell out of the bush, dropping Crono's stolen pouch and running away. Crono chuckled, happy to get his pouch back. He'd be doubly careful the rest of the way through the forest.
The rest of the trip through the forest passed rather uneventfully. Luckily the front was apparently further away from the forest and castle. He hadn't heard a single sign of battle before entering the forest, and besides the fuzzy white thief, nothing was going on inside the forest as well.
He arrived outside of the forest, and found himself looking up the rest of the upward slope at the now very close Guardia Castle. The beautiful castle towered above him, overlooking almost all of Guardia. As Crono walked up the slope, he looked around him. In the distance to the southeast could be seen the village of Truce. Almost directly to the far south, the line of the ocean could be seen, and Crono knew that Zenan Bridge still lay in that direction in this time period. To the southwest could be seen what seemed to be an extension of Guardia Forest that Crono wasn't familiar with. He wondered if that was Yakra's Forest that Toma and the barkeep had mentioned.
Crono arrived at the large doors of Guardia Castle. He could sense himself being watched from the guard towers as he walked up to the wooden doorway. As he arrived he realized how foolish he had been to hope that they would be more welcoming than the castle officials in his time would. Of course they wouldn't! They were at war right now, and a human spy for the mystics was not a concept that was out of the question.
The doors were opened for him, and he stepped inside the castle. The soft, red carpet of the castle's floor, the glow of torchlight, and the suspicious faces of the guards greeted him as they closed the door behind Crono. The door closed, and as soft as it was, it echoed throughout the castle, alerting every soldier and knight there that someone had arrived. It was probably very effective to keep them on alert in case they heard any sort of struggle or conflict afterwards. The guards walked up to Crono, sizing him up.
"State your name and business now, boy," one of them said.
"My name is Crono," Crono replied. "And I've come to ask the queen a question."
"Hmph," the guard said. "That's a pathetic reason for us to let you pass. Be more specific. What's your question, and why do you think it's good enough to grant you audience with her majesty?"
"I want to ask her if she saw any sign of my friend when she was in Truce Canyon," Crono replied. "She's missing, and around Truce Canyon is where she was last seen."
The other guard chuckled. "Check out this kid's hair," he said, seeming to ignore Crono's reply. "You one of Magus's troopers? I've never seen a normal human with hair like that."
"Please, let me pass," Crono said. "I'm really worried about my friend. It's just a single question."
The guard who had initially greeted Crono laughed, then got a stern look on his face. "We're at war, son. We don't have time for your ridiculous requests. If the soldiers who had found Leene had seen any girl, they'd be searching for her. But apparently they haven't, as they're down in the mess hall eating right now."
"But what if Leene-"
"Beat it, shrimp!" The guard yelled, grasping his spear.
"Stop that at once!" A somewhat familiar voice demanded sternly.
Crono and the guards looked up the nearby steps to see the queen herself standing in front of the doors to the throne room. Crono was amazed when he saw her. She looked exactly like Marle!
"Show your manners!" She said angrily. "This is a friend of mine. This young man is the one who found me, and led the other soldiers to me."
Crono immediately picked up on what was going on. She didn't look exactly like Marle, she was Marle! This meant the real queen must look almost exactly like Marle, but then it also meant...
"But, your highness!" The soldier started.
Marle gave the soldier a look that shut him up immediately.
"You dare question my orders?" She asked.
"Forgive me..." he said, and turned to Crono. "Please enter, sir."
Marle giggled, and stepped into the throne room. Crono stepped past the two guards, giving them a wave as he passed them. They looked away sheepishly, as he stepped up the steps and into the throne room. He hesitated immediately as his eyes met those of King Guardia himself, sitting on his throne at the far end of the room. Marle was whispering something to him, then smiled at Crono and left the room, going up some stairs to the right of the thrones.
Crono stepped forward slowly, the king and the chancellor watching him as he walked down the long, red carpet of the throne room. As he arrived near the king, the chancellor (who looked very grumpy) stepped forward and addressed Crono.
"Please kneel and state your name so the king may hear," the chancellor said loudly.
Crono kneeled and spoke his name for the king to hear. King Guardia nodded at Crono, and Crono stood up slowly. The king of this time seemed to be about middle aged, with a gray mustache and hair. He wore the same fancy clothing that King Guardia of Crono's time wore. However, a sword sat at the side of the throne. It was customary during times of war for the king to carry a sword with him at all times.
"I understand that you are the fine young man who found my dear wife," King Guardia said to Crono.
"Yes, your highness," Crono said, playing along with Marle's ruse. "I found her while looking for a friend of mine. She is missing as well."
"My word!" The king said. "I'm very sorry to hear that, young man. Was she in Truce Canyon as well? Would you like me to send out a group of soldiers to look for her?"
Crono shook his head, starting to think this little ruse was getting out of hand. He and Marle could get into serious trouble for this if they were found out.
"I wouldn't want to trouble you, your highness," Crono said. "I have a feeling we'll find her soon anyway."
"I insist!" King Guardia said. "First thing tomorrow after I knight you, we will send you out with a group of soldiers to continue the search for your friend."
"Knight me?" Crono asked, startled.
"Why of course!" King Guardia said. "You found my wife, and was willing to look for your friend in dangerous territory! Those are acts worthy of knighthood!"
"But, uh," Crono continued, getting nervous. "Don't you need all the soldiers you can spare to fight Magus's army?"
King Guardia sighed, a less cheerful mood coming upon him now that the threat of Magus was once again put into his head.
"It is true, we are having some trouble in the war," he said. "But no, I can certainly spare some soldiers to look for your friend. If I could spare them for my wife, certainly I can spare them for your friend. This is my final decision."
"Thank you, your highness," Crono said, bowing and not knowing how he was going to get out of this situation.
"Now, my wife has expressed her wish to speak with you," King Guardia continued. "But first we both insist that you have something to eat in the dining hall downstairs. You will find it through the door you came, and down a staircase located to the left."
Crono bowed again, and then took his leave of the king, heading in the direction that he had been told. As he walked through the castle, he could see various maids and guards looking at him as he passed, whispering to each other. He was the center of attention for something he didn't do, and if he was found out he could be charged with aiding whoever it was that kidnapped the queen.
And there was the other problem. With Marle being here, that meant the queen was still missing. And now no one was looking for her. Wherever she was, her kidnappers were free to do whatever they desired.
Crono walked down the stairs, the smell of delicious food becoming present as he entered the dining hall. Here, many soldiers were assembled at various tables, enjoying their meals. A number of beverage filled barrels lined the walls, and Crono wondered if Guardian lemonade existed in this time yet.
"Oh, you must be Crono!" Said a maid that Crono hadn't noticed before now.
"Oh," Crono said. "Uh, yeah I am. The king invited me to get something to eat here before meeting with the queen."
"Yes, we were told you'd be coming down here," she said. "We've prepared a table just for you, sir. Please follow me."
Crono was led through the dining hall, past the soldier filled tables, to an empty table near the middle of the hall. The maid seated him, and then went to get him some food. As he sat waiting, a group of knights entered the hall, led by a knight clad in golden armor and a red cape. Clearly he was the knight captain.
"Maid!" The knight captain called. "Where are you? My men are hungry!"
The knights accompanying him seated themselves as the knight captain stood waiting for the maid, who quickly ran out of the kitchen to see to their needs.
"My men are fighting a war out there!" The knight captain yelled. "Can't you even keep us fed? These brave knights are fresh from the battlefield and you're messing around in the kitchen instead of waiting out here seeing that my men are served promptly!"
"Forgive me, sir," the maid said. "But I was just telling the chef what to make for the young man who found Queen Leene."
"Is he here?" The knight said, looking around the hall. "I'd like to congratulate that young man myself."
"Oh yes, he's sitting near the middle of the room over there," the maid said, pointing Crono out to him. Crono smiled weakly at them.
"Thank you," the knight said to the maid. "Oh uh, now please see to it that my men get their food as well."
"Certainly sir," the maid said, then rushed back to the kitchen.
The knight captain walked over to Crono, and held out his gauntlet clad hand. Crono stood up, and shook his hand.
"It is an honor to meet you," the knight captain said.
"The honor is mine, sir," Crono said.
The knight captain smiled and nodded at Crono, then an inquisitive look came upon his face. "Tell me, how did you happen to come upon the queen? I was so sure that my men had combed that area thoroughly."
Crono winced, having to go through this lie again. "Well, I was looking for my friend, who's missing as well. That's when I found the queen, in...a clearing not far from the main canyon."
"I see..." the knight captain said. "Well, our queen is strong. Perhaps she escaped from her captors and arrived there after we had combed the area. Nevertheless, a fine job. And what of your friend?"
"The king has graciously offered to lend me some soldiers to help in the search for her," Crono said, groaning inside.
"Ah, well I assure you that you could find no better help," the knight captain replied. "My men are the best help you can get. Speaking of which, have you considered joining the Guardian army? We could use a young man like you, especially with this war going on."
"Actually, I-"
Crono was interrupted by a loud bang coming from the kitchen, and the chef running out with an angry look on his face. He looked around the dining hall, and seeing the knight captain he walked over to him and Crono very quickly.
"Hey!" He yelled at the knight captain. "Who do you think you are, storming into my dining hall and giving my assistants trouble? Do you think fighting a war gives you the right to act like that?"
"Brother, please," the knight captain said, shutting his eyes as if he had a bad headache. "This war grates on one's nerves, and I do apologize for how I treated your lovely assistant. But your continued badgering of me grates on my nerves as well."
"You're not the only ones fighting in this war!" The chef yelled. "I work night and day making sure all your troops are fed, and on top of that I now have to accommodate the strange tastes the queen seems to have acquired during her absence! Do you know what "eyes cream" is, because I sure hope it's not what it sounds like! My nerves are being grated as well!"
"That does not excuse you from yelling at me like this!" The knight captain replied.
"Oh, but one apology from you and I'm supposed to excuse you for yelling at my assistants?" The chef yelled back at him.
The knight captain clenched his fists, and stormed out of the dining hall, his cape flowing behind him as he left.
"Here's your food!" The chef yelled at Crono, slamming a plate of food down in front of him and storming back into the kitchen.
Crono blinked and sat still in his chair, the argument and sudden serving of his food taking him by surprise. He then began on his food, in a total daze after all that had happened that day and the day before. He was sure he was going to go insane if this kept up.
Having finished his meal, Crono headed towards the queen's chamber to finally have a word with Marle. He walked through the throne room, the king apparently being up in his own room now, since only the chancellor was there now. The chancellor, a short bearded man, looked suspiciously at Crono as he walked by, and fell into step beside Crono as he walked.
"Hello there," Crono said as they walked.
"Yes, yes, hello," the chancellor said in a rushed tone of voice. "I was wondering if I might ask you a few questions, boy."
"Not again," Crono thought. "Yeah, ok," he said to the chancellor.
"You say you found the queen in Truce Canyon?" The chancellor asked him.
Crono nodded, wondering why he was being asked this yet again.
"Hmmm..." The chancellor said. "How can that be...? That's nowhere near where we expected her to be."
"Really?" Crono asked. "But the knight captain said his men had searched there."
"Yes, yes, quite," the chancellor said. "Those buffoons think it prudent to search in every possible place, wasting manpower and valuable time. I'm wondering however..." the chancellor trailed off, seeming to go into his own thoughts. "Excuse me, I have something I must look into," he said, and began to walk out of the throne room. "You there," he said to a passing maid. "Tell the king that I have gone for a moment to the cathedral, to gather my thoughts and pray. Have him send my attendant if he needs me for anything."
The maid nodded, and she and the chancellor left the throne room. Crono pondered the chancellor's hasty questions and quick exit. He soon remembered what he was doing, though, and so began up the spiral staircase to the queen's room.
At the top of the staircase he found a knight guarding the door leading to the queen's chambers. The knight recognized immediately who Crono was, and bowed as he stepped aside and opened the door for Crono. Crono nodded politely to the knight, and walked through the door into the hallway leading finally to the queen's room. Lining the walls of the hallway was Guardia's royal crest, an orange and red shield bearing the silhouette of a lean, spiky dragon. Crono arrived at the end of the hall, and entered the queen's room.
Marle turned around in front of the window, to see who had come in. Seeing Crono, she excused the two maids from the room so they could talk in privacy. With the maids gone, Marle burst into a run and hugged Crono, surprising him greatly.
"I'm so glad you came for me!" She said, still hugging him. She then let go and smiled at him. "I knew you would."
Crono smiled and nodded, then his face grew serious. "Marle, why did you let them believe you're the queen? We could get in a lot of trouble if they find out the truth, and this means the real queen is still in danger too."
"I know, I'm sorry," Marle said. "I was just so confused and scared when I came out of that weird hole thing that I didn't know what to do."
"Yeah, I can understand that," Crono said. "But we need to figure out what we're going to do now to get out of this mess. I think we should find the real queen. It's our fault she's not being looked for anymore anyway."
Marle nodded. "You're right. But let's wait until early tomorrow morning, and leave before your knighting. But wait, do we even know where to look?"
"I have a pretty good idea," Crono said. "When I was in Truce village someone mentioned a strange cathedral. And the chancellor acted pretty surprised that 'the queen' was found, and went to the cathedral. I think the chancellor is involved, and is holding the real queen there."
"I see..." Marle said. "The chancellor has been acting pretty strangely, and didn't seem happy to see me at all."
"Yeah, he definitely has something to do with it," Crono continued. "Alright, so let's-hey, what's wrong?"
Marle was bent over, and her eyes were closed tight as if she were in pain. "What's happening...?" she said, gasping.
A faint blue glow started to emanate from her, bathing the room in it's eerie light. Marle stumbled, catching herself on a nearby table. Crono rushed to help her up, but was startled as his hands passed right through her. He backed away slightly, not having a clue what was going on. She looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears.
"Crono...!" She said, between pained breaths. "It hurts! What's happening to me? Crono, I'm scared! Please-"
She stopped short, and screamed. The blue light emanating from her blazed, causing Crono to shield his eyes. A brighter, white light engulfed Marle, and it grew more and more intense until finally the light dissipated completely, leaving absolutely no sign of Marle. Once again she had disappeared, and this time Crono had absolutely no way of following her.
Crono stood in shock, having no idea what he was going to do now. His heart raced, with him not knowing what just happened to Marle. His thoughts soon turned to what would happen to him if someone came into the room, having heard Marle's scream and finding only Crono there. This situation kept getting worse and worse, and Crono was exhausted just from all the worrying he'd been doing lately.
He jumped as the door to the room opened, and he turned to face it, backing up and looking for a way of escaping. However, his nerves were relaxed and he was almost overjoyed to see a familiar face peek into the room. It was Lucca. Seeing Crono, she stepped into the room all the way, and closed the door behind her.
"Finally I find you!" Lucca exclaimed. "Uh..." she looked around the room. "Where is she?"
Crono sat on the bed, looking dazed.
"I have no clue where she is, Lucca," he said.
"But the maids said the "queen" was in here," Lucca replied, confused. "I figured they mistook Marle for the queen, so..."
"They did," Crono said. "And she was here...a moment ago. I was standing right in front of her. But all of the sudden she seemed to be in pain. And then...she disappeared. Right in front of my eyes." Crono clenched his fists and turned to face Lucca. "What happened to her, Lucca?" He said angrily. "What's going on?"
Lucca looked at her friend, feeling sorry that she had let him jump into all this having no idea what was going on. She had the luxury of studying up on things; he had gone through this blind. She walked over to Crono, and leaned against the table across from him. She folded her hands in thought.
"Ok..." Lucca said. "The first thing you need to know is who Marle really is. I knew I recognized her when I first saw her at the fair, but I wasn't sure where from. I figured it out while I was thinking about that strange hole that appeared at my presentation. The truth is that in our time, she's Princess Nadia."
Crono stared, shocked and yet not too shocked. He should've known it from the start, but he had never thought of it. Seeing the princess in public was very rare, and no one ever saw her in casual clothes.
"That explains why she and Queen Leene apparently look so much alike," Crono said. "But that doesn't explain what just happened."
"Yes it does," Lucca said. "But it requires some thinking. When Marle...I mean, Princess Nadia...appeared here, they called off the search for Queen Leene because they thought they had found her. That means that nothing was to stop whoever abducted the real queen from carrying out their plan. Apparently, this plan is murder. That's why Princess Nadia disappeared. Her influence on this time changed history, killing Leene and so causing Princess Nadia to no longer exist."
"So we can't do anything..." Crono said. "Marle is...dead?"
"Now hold on," Lucca said. "Don't lose hope too quickly. Queen Leene may not be dead yet, so we might still be able to bring Princess Nadia back. Time has already erased Princess Nadia because there is no factor within this timeline that can effect the fate of Queen Leene. But there are outside factors. Namely, you and I. We're from a different time. We don't become a factor in this time until we do something to actually effect it. Being outside factors, we have to earn our place in this era. Well...in theory, I mean."
"We better act fast, then," Crono said. "Who knows when even we won't be able to do anything."
Lucca nodded. "Right," she said. "But, uh...we better not leave the way we came. There will be way too many questions."
"So how do we get out of here then?" Crono asked.
Lucca pondered the problem, and walked over to the window and looked down. She looked back at Crono and smiled sweetly.
"It's not too far down," she said.