To Far Away Times: Chapter 2

A long, horrified hush fell over the crowd as everyone stared at the spot where the girl had been standing only moments before. Finally, Taban managed to get his wits together long enough to hustle all the gawkers out of the square.

"Show's over folks, let's go! Move em out!"

Finally, once the entire murmuring crowd had been cleared out of the square, he whirled on his daughter in a fury.

"Lucca!" he screamed, grabbing the front of her jacket. "What happened? Where is she!"

Lucca was at a loss for words. "I don't know! But the way the field reacted to her pendant… it couldn't have been the telepod…" She shook her head in frustration. "I'm getting the strange feeling like I know her from somewhere."

Meanwhile, Crono had been gingerly approaching the left telepod, where the pendant still lay, glowing faintly. He carefully picked it up from the pod, holding it at arms length like he expected it to blow up in his face.

"Lucca, do you think we can use this to go after her?"

Lucca gaped. "Well, yes, I suppose we could, but are you sure you want to do it? There's no telling where you'll end up!"

Chrono looked at the pendant for a moment, and then fastened it around his own neck.

"You're actually going to try?" Taban exclaimed. "What a brave lad!"

Lucca nodded. "We don't know where this is going to send you, and there's a chance that you'll both be lost. That pendant is the key. Hold onto it, and brace yourself! I'll follow as soon as I'm able."

Crono climbed onto the telepod and tried not to look scared.

"I'm ready. Throw the switch."

"Here goes nothing. Power on! Begin energy transfer!"

Once again, the strange red light formed around the pendant. As the telltale whine grew louder, great gouts of electricity began to appear from the controls of the machine.

"I think its working!" Lucca shouted over the din.

Sure enough, the strange blue rift began to form over the telepod once again. Crono felt an odd tugging sensation forming at his neck, slowly working its way down the rest of his body. Unable to move, Crono felt the entire world spinning around him as he was drawn into the swirling blue vortex.

"Ohh… my head." Marle moaned. She pulled herself up to a sitting position and took stock of herself. All body parts seemed to be in their rightful place, but her pendant was missing! Her eyes instinctively dropped to the ground around her, but she suddenly realized she had more to worry about then her missing pendant. For one, she didn't know where she was. She obviously wasn't in Guardia City anymore. She was in a thicket in the middle of what appeared to be a dense forest up in the mountains.

"Great…" she muttered. Pulling herself up, she picked a random direction and started walking. Before long, she emerged from the forest and found herself at the bank of a river. However, a noise behind her told her she was not alone. Slowly turning around, she saw a squat green skinned figure staring at her gleefully and fingering a crude waraxe.

Screaming with all her might, she tore off along the river bank, followed closely by the creature and several of its fellows that emerged from the woods. As she went tearing blindly along, fleeing from their cackling laughter and angry shouts, she felt an explosion on the back of her skull. Toppling to the ground, she saw another of the creatures emerge from behind a tree, holding a bloodied club. The creature snarled as it raised the weapon…

…and then stopped as an arrow appeared to grow out of its chest. Through her rapidly fading vision, she saw a number of figures charge in, routing the monsters quickly. One of the figures stopped next to her and knelt down. The last thing she saw was a stern face kneeling over her.

She vaguely felt the sensation of movement. Opening her eyes slowly, she saw a figure in medieval style armor striding at her side. She was being carried on a makeshift stretcher by two men. Seeing that she was awake, the figure in armor spoke. "Rest easy, Your Majesty, you are in safe hands. The Mystics are gone, and we are returning to the castle. We will be there shortly. For now, get some sleep." Too exhausted to question why something out of a bygone era was calling her "Your Majesty," she quickly fell back asleep.

Crono nimbly dodged to the side as the creature took an awkward swing with a makeshift axe. Seeing an opening, he swiftly plunged his blade home, ending the battle. Panting heavily, he wiped his sword on one of the dead things before returning it to his sheath. Almost immediately after he'd emerged from the portal, he'd been set upon by these strange creatures. He wasn't sure why. Luckily, there were only a few of them, and they were obviously unprepared for battle. He had been able to make short work of them. Leaving the battle scene, he followed what looked like a path. The path led him out of the forest and to the banks of a river. A grin split his face. He knew this river, it ran down the mountains and just past Guardia City. So he was still in Guardia, that much was certain. If he just followed the river, he'd end up back at Guardia City. This was going to be easier than he thought.

Fairly soon, he was able to spot the city in the distance. He couldn't quite make it out, but something about the city made him feel uneasy. The closer he got to the city, the greater the feeling of unease he felt. Something was definitely wrong. While it was obviously Guardia City, a number of things seemed different. The houses seemed smaller, roads narrower, and the people more gaunt and weather-beaten. Strolling through the city, he spied a local drinking house. Maybe he could find some clues there.

Crono picked a barstool at the far end of the counter. The frumpy middle aged woman behind the counter eyed him with the bored look of someone who had long since lost interest in her customers.

"What's yer pleasure?"

"Um… cider please," he requested, placing a few coins on the counter. The woman scooped them up in her meaty fist and placed a mug in front of him. In the meantime, the good natured but scruffy looking young man sitting next to Crono decided to try and strike up a conversation.

"Hi there, stranger. Haven't seen you around. Name's Toma, the explorer, you heard of me?"

Crono absentmindedly shook his head.

"No? Well, it's hardly a surprise. But I'll be famous one day, mark my words!"

Crono had come in here looking for clues, and he decided the chatty Toma offered as good an opportunity as any.

"I was looking for the Millenial Fair; do you know where it is?"

"No Millenial Fair around here, guv, don't have many fairs since the war with Magus started. Kinda hard to have fairs with fighting going on, ya know what I mean?"

"I see your point."

Crono's heart sank. Now he was sure. The strange portal had sent him back in time to 600 AD, the time of the Mystic Wars.

"So, have you heard the latest news?"

Crono numbly shook his head.

"The queen's been rescued! Apparently some blokes found her wandering around in the mountains. Everyone was in a panic, cause they thought she'd been kidnapped by Magus. Funny thing is, the last place she'd been seen was around the cathedral to the west of the castle, which is on the opposite side of the region where she was found. Funny, no?"

Crono's ears perked up. That was near to where he'd come from. Maybe they'd found Marle as well.

"How do I get to the castle?"

"Eh, fancy a visit with the queen, do ya? Don't think they'd let you in, but the castle is just past the forest on the south end of town. Can't miss it."

Crono ran out of the establishment and headed south. Hopefully the queen could provide some answers.

Marle pulled at the silk dress she'd been forced to wear. "It's like they designed these things to itch in places you can't reach," she grumbled. She'd managed to give the guard the slip and now she was determined to get out of this nut house. Always calling her "Queen Leene" and "Your Majesty," like she was the real queen. She was going to get out of this crazy era and back home no matter what.

"Halt! Who goes there!" a voice called from the front gates. For a moment she thought she'd been spotted, but then she saw the guards detaining someone at the front door.

"You one of Magus' soldiers, kid?"

"Not likely, he looks too puny!"

"Beat it kid, this is no place for the likes of you."

Curious, Marle decided to take a look. That was when she caught a glimpse of a familiar head of spiky red hair. "Crono!" she gasped. She had no idea how he'd found her, but he obviously needed her help. Summoning up her best regal pose, she marched forward.

"Stop this at once! This man is my special guest!"

The soldiers whirled around and immediately dropped to one knee.

"Our apologies, Queen Leene, but there's something suspicious about him!"

Marle glared at the soldiers.

"Do you refuse to obey my orders?"

"Ah…of course not, Your Majesty! Please enter, good sir!"

Marle barely suppressed a giggle. For a brief moment, she thought, it's good to be the queen.

"This way, Sir Crono."

As they marched up the stairs to her room, Marle could barely keep herself from exploding with laughter. It was obvious that Crono didn't recognize her. She wasn't surprised, what with the fancy clothes, the pinned up hair, and all the makeup, she bore little resemblance to the tomboyish teenager he'd met at the fair.

Crono was at a loss. He'd come with the intention to ask the queen about Marle, but somehow the queen knew his name, and not only that, was inviting him to meet with her privately. He was also surprised at how young the queen was. He'd known from studying history that the king and queen were fairly new to the throne at the time of the Mystic Wars, with most of the affairs of state being run by the Chancellor. But it still surprised him. He made up his mind to question her thoroughly when they were alone.

Marle opened the door to her room. "Leave us," she commanded the servants who were busily tidying up the room. Giving her slight bows, they rushed out of the room. Marle felt another giggle coming on. Indeed, it was good to be the queen. Seating herself at the table, she motioned to Crono. "Come closer, good sir." Crono cautiously walked closer. Marle couldn't take it anymore. "Fooled you, didn't I, Crono? It's me, Marle!" She couldn't help but giggle at the awestruck look on his face. "Everyone calls me Leene, though." Marle stood up and walked over to the window. "To be honest, I'm glad you're here. I just knew you'd come for me, even though we barely know each other. So, I just want to say, thank you, Crono."

There was a long, awkward silence. Marle could feel her heart beating out of her chest. At first, she thought she was just nervous, but then, as she began to break out in a sweat, she realized something was wrong. "C… c…. Crono… Something's wrong…" her vision began to swim and she collapsed on the floor. She gasped as pain tore through her. She looked down and saw her body slowly fading into nothingness. The pain grew even more intense, like two giants playing tug of war with her head and her feet. She stared up into Crono's panic stricken face. He was shouting something, but she couldn't make out what he was saying. "H… help me, Crono, I'm scared, it hurts, w… what's happening to me, help me, please, Crono!" Then, everything went dark, and she knew no more.

"Marle!" Crono screamed in horror as he grabbed at the empty space where she had been only moments before. "Dammit! I just find her and now I lose her again! What the hell is going on!" He punched futilely at the floor. The sinking pit in his gut growing ever larger, he marched of the room and down the stairs. It was when he reached the bottom that he heard a familiar voice.

"Crono!"

Huffing and puffing, Lucca ran up to him from down the hallway.

"You're all right! Did you find the girl?"

Crono's eyes dropped to the floor. Lucca didn't miss the motion.

"Crono… what happened to her?"

"She's… gone."

Lucca's eyes bugged so far out of her head they almost touched her glasses.

"GONE! Whaddya mean she's gone!"

"She vanished… into thin air."

Lucca thought that over for a minute.

"Hmm… it's just as I thought. I knew I recognized her!"

"… Explanation, please?"

"Well, this castle looks the same as the one in our time, right?"

"Not as old, but yes."

"So, they probably mistook her for one of her ancestors! You see, she's a member of the royal family in our time. She's Princess Nadia!"