Chapter 3: The Queen is Gone

August 1, 600

Act One

"So, Marle," Magus continued. "I think I have a good use for you."

"You told me that already," Marle said as she folded her arms in disgust.

"You do look like Queen Leene, after all," Magus observed. "Perhaps we can use that to our advantage."

"Forget it!" Marle dismissed. "I'll never bow to you!"

"I'm not giving you a choice," Magus reprimanded.

"I'm not Queen Leene!" Marle snapped. "But I am a member of the Guardian royal family! I am Princess Nadia! Daughter of King Guardia XXXIII!"

"There is no Princess Nadia!" Magus retorted. "Slash! Flea!"

Slash and Flea promptly appeared in the throne room.

"Yes, your majesty," greeted Slash.

"Take her to the dungeon," Magus commanded. "I'll decide what to do with her later."

Slash and Flea each grabbed an arm and began to drag her away.

Crono, thought Marle as a tear rolled down her cheek.

MEANWHILE...

Crono led Lucca through the woods near the cathedral. The foliage was so thick that it blocked out the sun, leaving the woods quite dark and gloomy.

"These woods are creepy!" Lucca observed.

"What's the big deal?" Crono asked. "You used to take me through the cornfields at night when we were kids. You'd always turn around and scare me."

Lucca gave Crono a sheepish look.

"I did, didn't I?" she admitted, remembering how she would sometimes torment him when he was five and she was seven.

The two cousins continued along the path that led to the cathedral. Suddenly, Lucca heard rustling behind her. She quickly turned to see a cloaked figure standing about three feet high several yards away.

"Crono!" Lucca exclaimed as she ran to him and tightly grabbed his arm.

Crono quickly turned around and drew his sword.

The cloaked figure then scurried away.

"It's gone," Crono assure her.

"Thankfully," Lucca said.

A few minutes later, they were at the entrance of the cathedral.

"Well, there it is," Lucca said. "Manolia Cathedral."

"Hang in there, Marle," Crono said.

Lucca turned toward him.

"Crono," she said, "I've never seen you act like this before."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I've never seen you so determined to help someone like this."

"The queen is gone. We have to keep history from being changed, don't we?" Crono asked.

"But you said you never listened in history," she pointed out. "You don't...have feelings for her, do you?"

"What makes you say that?" Crono asked.

"I may be going blind," Lucca replied, "but I can still see in other ways."

Act Two

Crono and Lucca quietly entered the cathedral. The chapel itself was a modest room, with an organ, an alter, and several rows of pews. A door was in the back of the room.

Four nuns were quietly sitting in the pews. They seemingly ignored the two intruders as they began their investigation.

Crono suddenly spotted a sharp, shiny object near the alter that he cautiously picked up.

"What did you find?" Lucca asked.

"King Guardia said that was a sentimental item for Queen Leene," Crono replied.

"A hair pin," Lucca observed. "That's Guardia's royal crest!"

"Which King Guardia is it here, anyway?" Crono asked.

"Guardia XXI," Lucca replied.

Suddenly, the four nuns stood up, and began to approach Crono and Lucca.

"You forgot who our beloved king is?!" the first nun shouted.

"That's a terrible sin!" the second nun hissed.

"You should be excommunicated by Pope Gregory himself!" the third nun declared.

"Posthumously!" the fourth nun cackled.

Suddenly, the nuns transformed into Naga-ettes; they were somewhat like mermaids, only with the bodies of a snake instead of a fish.

Crono quickly drew his sword and dispatched all four of them, one by one.

"Phew!" Lucca sighed. "That was close!"

Suddenly, a fifth naga-ette jumped down from the ceiling, and began to close in on Lucca.

And then, someone else jumped from the ceiling, sword in hand.

It was the cloaked figure that had been following Crono and Lucca through the forest.

Before anything else could happen, the figure drove his sword into the creature, immediately causing it to fall down dead.

The figure then withdrew his sword and lowered his cloak, revealing the most profound surprise of the day so far.

He was a frog.

He stood about three feet tall, and was dressed in medieval clothing.

And he was a frog.

Lucca immediately grimaced.

"Lower thine guard and thou'rt allowing the enemy in," the frog reprimanded. He then turned to Lucca and Crono. "Thou'rt here to save the Queen? The lair is deep within.
Will thee accompany me?"

"A frog!?" Lucca exclaimed, still in disbelief. "Crono, it's a talking frog! I hate frogs!"

"My guise doth not incur thy trust," the frog lamented. "Very well, do as thee please. But I shall save the queen."

The frog then turned to the door leading to the next room.

"W-wait!" Lucca pleaded. "You don't seem like a bad…person-frog-thing…I mean..." She then turned to her cousin. "Crono! What should we do?"

"Go with the frog," Crono replied. "It may be risky going alone."

"I'll just have to handle it!" Lucca agreed. "I mean…deal with him! What's your name?"

"Frog will do," the frog replied.

"All right," Lucca said. "Nice to meet you Frog."

"Mayhap a hidden door lurks nigh?" Frog suggested. "Let us search the environs."

"What about that?" asked Crono.

At the back of the chapel, to the right of the organ, was a door.

"I think the queen is back there," Crono finished.

"There's only one way to find out," Lucca added.

Frog nodded, went to the door, and cautiously opened it.

In the next room, three light-brown devil-like creatures were roaming the hallways.

"What are those things?" Crono whispered.

"Mystics," Frog replied. "Diablos. Loyal servants of Magus."

He quickly drew his sword and dispatched all three of them in thirty seconds flat.

"Where did you learn to fight like that?" Crono exclaimed.

"Mine old friend, Cyrus," Frog replied.

The three entered the next room to find a surprise.

There stood King Guardia, Queen Leene, and a loyal soldier.

"Are you here to save Queen Leene?!" the soldier asked.

"We are," Crono replied.

"Oh, what a relief!" the soldier exclaimed.

"How nice of you to come," added King Guardia XXI. "I'm sure Yakra will be just as pleased. Why not rest in here until he's available?"

Lucca displayed a skeptical look on her face.

"There was no need for you to come rescue me!" added Queen Leene. "The master, Yakra, is very kind! I've decided to stay here. Now why don't you make yourselves at home, too!"

Frog hesitated for but a few moments before taking his sword and driving it into her heart.

Queen Leene fell to the ground, dead.

"Are you crazy?!" Crono exclaimed.

Suddenly, Queen Leene's corpse slowly morphed into that of a large, purple snake.

King Guardia and the Soldier both morphed into two more giant snakes.

Frog quickly dispatched of them in one swipe.

"Gnashers," he muttered.

"Gnashers?" asked Crono.

"Ordinary serpents," Frog replied. "Given powers by Magus."

"Wow," Lucca exclaimed.

"Magus giveth power to all mystics," Frog informed her. "They were all formerly normal."

"Where did he get his powers from?" Crono asked.

"Nary a soul knoweth," Frog answered.

In the next room, there were four largely-built creatures that were worshipping a statue of Magus.

"Fiends," Frog whispered. "Former humans turned into monsters."

And then, on of them noticed them.

"Come join us in singing your funeral dirge!" one of them taunted as he began to charge Frog.

Frog quickly killed him.

Crono dispatched the remaining three.

Frog then to a look at the statue of Magus before, while displaying a look of rage, he took his sword and sliced off the head.

He then caught his breath, and the look on his face returned to normal.

Lucca quickly saw the connection.

"Did Magus turn you into a Frog?"

"Aye," Frog replied solemnly.

Lucca began to feel somewhat guilty, realizing that Frog was as much a former human as the mystics.

In the next room, there was a bridge with more henches and naga-ettes.

Crono and Frog began eliminating them with their swords.

One of the henches attempted to grab Lucca, whereupon she flipped him over the bridge, causing him to fall to his death.

Both Crono and Frog were stunned.

"You haveth great strength, my lady," Frog observed.

"Whoa!" Lucca exclaimed. "I'm nobody's lady but my own, Froggy!"

"Aye," Frog agreed in humiliation.

MEANWHILE...

Marle sat on the floor of the cell she had been locked in, with her arms wrapped around her knees. Slash and Flea stood guard right outside, hindering any chance of escape.

She attempted to think of happier times. She remembered her mother, Queen Aliza, although those memories were distant. She then remembered meeting Crono earlier that day, and she even smiled briefly. The smile quickly turned to tears as Marle realized she would probably never see him again.

Suddenly, Magus entered the room and immediately approached the cell.

"Leave us," he ordered.

Slash and Flea quickly did as they were told.

"Stop wallowing in your on pity and stand up," Magus commanded.

Marle stood up and faced her captor.

"You're not Queen Leene," Magus began, "but you said you were a member of the royal family?"

"That's right," Marle replied. "I'm Princess Nadia. Daughter of King Guardia XXXIII."

"King Guardia XXXIII," Magus repeated to himself.

"That's right," Marle said. "He's my dad."

Magus rubbed his chin.

"What year is this?" he asked.

"What year is this?" she repeated in confusion.

"Answer the question," Magus commanded.

"It's 1000," Marle replied.

Magus stood in silence for a few moments before shaking his head.

"This is the year 600," he informed her.

"600?!" Marle exclaimed.

"Did anything out of the ordinary happen to you today?" Magus inquired.

"A my pendant made a circle open and swallow me up," Marle replied. "It put me back where I was, but the Fair was gone."

Magus' eyes widened.

"What color was the circle?" he asked.

"Blue," she answered.

Magus closed his eyes in a rare display of emotion.

"So you went back in time," he said.

"I did?!" Marle exclaimed.

"By 400 years," Magus informed her. "That's why you were mistaken for Queen Leene. You must be her descendent." He paused. "Which means the mission to eliminate her failed."

"Listen," Marle pleaded, "please send be back to the castle. I'm literally nobody here. I promise I'll go back to my own time and won't interfere with anything."

Magus rubbed his chin again.

"You're a time traveller," he informed her. "This was not something I was expecting. How did you manage to bend the rules of time?"

"I don't know," Marle replied. "I'll probably find out more if you spare me."

Magus stood still for a few more moments. He thought carefully.

Finally, he spoke.

"Alright," Magus agreed. "Let's go."

"You're sending me back?!" Marle exclaimed.

"I am," Magus replied. "But I shall call for you again."

"Oh, thank you!" Marle exclaimed in gratitude.

Act 3

Queen Leene stood helpless against the back wall.

"Prepare yourself, Queen Leene!" the chancellor announced with a grin as he aimed a dagger straight at her heart.

He then turned to see Crono, Lucca, and Frog approaching.

"You!" he exclaimed. "How did you get in here?"

"Frog!" Queen Leene exclaimed.

"Majesty," Frog announced as he drew his sword, "stand back and allow us the honor!"

"Be careful!" Queen Leene pleaded.

"It's useless to fight!" the chancellor cackled. "No one will leave here alive! Stupid frog! It's time you jumped off this mortal coil!"

As he spoke this, the chancellor's body began to glow.

"True-form change!" shouted the chancellor as he disappeared in a flash of light.

When the light faded, he was no longer human. In his place stood a large, yellow tardigrade-like creature with horns and a face.

"Yakra!" Frog exclaimed. "I should have known!"

Yakra, wasting no time, charged directly at Frog.

Frog, being, well, a frog, jumped high into the air just as Yakra nearly impaled him.

Yakra crashed into the cathedral wall, struggling to free his horns.

Frog then immediately saw his chance. He leapt onto Yakra and drove his sword into the creature's back.

Yakra let out a hideous sound before he was silenced, and became still. He was dead.

Frog retrieved his sword and jumped off Yakra's corpse, which quickly disintegrated to jelly.

"You came to rescue me!" acknowledged the grateful Queen Leene. "Thank you Frog."

"The King awaits," Frog said. "Let us return to the castle." He then turned to his companions. "I thank thee Crono, and Lucca."

"Yes, thank you so much," Leene added. "Please join us."

It was then that Lucca noticed a large treasure chest in the room that seemed to jolt.

"You guys," she called. "I think there's something alive in that treasure chest."

In response, Crono and Frog approached the chest with their swords drawn.

"Stand back," Crono warned as he kicked the chest open.

Queen Leene was the first to smile in relief.

"Phew, thank you!" the real chancellor said as he climbed out of the chest. "That monster stuffed me in there." He then spotted Queen Leene. "Oh! Your Highness! As you can see, I am undamaged!"

"Let's return to the castle!" the queen commanded.

MEANWHILE...

"Slash!" called Magus as he stood outside of the cell that Marle was being held in.

"You rang?" Slash replied as he approached the cell, with Flea following closely behind.

"Open the cell," Magus ordered.

"But sire," Slash protested. "We can't let her escape."

"Just do it," ordered Magus as his eyes began to glow red.

Slash unlocked the cell door and opened it, and left with Flea without a word.

Magus then signaled Marle to follow him. He led her to his throne room, and picked up the wand that he had used to summon her to his castle.

The room turned a blue-green tint. Marle began to dematerialize. Moments later, she was gone.

Magus remained alone in his throne room.

"So she was from another time," he said to himself. "Hopefully, I'm right that she can find a way to get me back to my time."

SOMEWHERE ELSE...

"You had me worried, Leene," said King Guardia XXI as he embraced his wife.

"That no good Yakra!" added the chancellor. "Impersonating me and kidnapping the queen! We must create a criminal justice system in this kingdom to do away with such fiends."

Frog, meanwhile, lowered his head. He was in no mood to celebrate.

"I failed to protect Queen Leene," he muttered. "I hath disgraced thee."

"Frog!" exclaimed Queen Leene.

Frog simply bowed and left the throne room.

Queen Leene then turned her attention to Crono and Lucca.

"Your timing was perfect," she said. "Who knows what would have happened had you not saved me! By the way, where is the girl who was mistaken for me?"

Crono gasped.

"Oh, yeah!" Lucca exclaimed. "I forgot all about Princess Nadia! Crono! Where did Princess Nadia disappear? She may still be there!"

"We'll be back!" Crono announced before running out of the throne room, around the corner, and up the stairs.

He did not look back to see how close Lucca was; he only looked ahead. He had never run with such direction in his life.

He reached the top of the stairs. He ran down the hall.

He ran into the queen's chambers.

Crono entered the room just as a familiar face began to materialize.

He smiled for the first time in a while; he was quite happy to see her.

Marle smiled back; she was just as happy to see him.

Crono and Marle smiled at each other for but a moment before throwing their arms around each other.

"Crono!" Marle said happily as she continued to hug him. "I really missed you."

"Me, too," Crono replied. "I'm just glad you're okay."

Just then, Lucca entered the room, and placed her hands on her hips.

"Getting cozy, I see," she observed. "It's good to have you back, Princess Nadia."

Marle smiled at Lucca before turning her attention back to Crono.

"It was awful," she said to him with a sincere look in her eyes. "I can't recall it all. I was in a castle somewhere cold, dark, and lonely. Is that what it's like to die?"

She paused, and suddenly her mouth went dry. She turned to Lucca once more.

"'Princess…Nadia?!'" she echoed. Uh-oh."

She turned to Crono again, and gave him a sheepish look. "I guess you guys figured it out, huh? Sorry, Crono. I didn't mean to deceive you." She broke the hug and stepped back. "I'm Princess Nadia. My father's King Guardia XXXIII. I really enjoyed being with you at the fair. But if you had known my identity, Crono, you wouldn't have shown me around the fair, right?"

"Wrong!" Crono insisted.

"Oh, Crono!" Marle said happily as she hugged him again. "That's why I like you! The real Queen's safe, right? So let's go home, Crono!"

"Let's," Crono agreed.

The three of them happily walked out of the queen's chamber. On the way down the stairs, they passed the chef.

"What?!" he muttered. "That wasn't Queen Leene?! And I wasted my time whipping up a batch of that 'eyes cream' dish she wanted so badly! Yuck!"

As they entered the throne room, Marle noticed her counterpart.

"You're the real Queen Leene, huh?!" she observed.

The queen smiled and nodded.

"You really could be my twin," she said.

Marle grinned.

"Well, you two better get along, or I'll be in big trouble. I'll keep my fingers crossed!"

"Excuse me?" asked the baffled queen.

"Never mind!" Marle dismissed. "I guess it's time to go!"

"Come back any time!" said the chancellor.

"You seem like one of the family now!" added Leene.

"Thank goodness you're safe!" said King Guardia XXI. "You may resemble Leene, but you sure don't act like her! Anyway, you've really helped me. Let me know how I can repay you."

Crono, Marle, and Lucca said their good-byes and exited the castle to the outer stairs. There stood Frog, with his back turned toward the three of them.

"'Twas a fault of mine, which endangered the queen," he lamented. "I shall depart for good."

He then turned, and he and Marle noticed each other.

"Eeeek!" Marle squealed.

"Indeed, your resemblance to the queen is uncanny," observed the unoffended Frog. "Crono, you hath potential to be a good swordsman!"

With that, Frog turned again, and marched forever out of the castle.

"Froggy, you weren't such a bad guy either," Lucca called.

LATER...

Crono, Marle, and Lucca stood at the spot where they had first entered the year 600.

"How do we get home?" Marle asked.

"Your highness," Lucca began, "Princess-"

"Please call me Marle!" she insisted.

"Well then, Marle," said Lucca as she produced a red key. "Observe!"

She pointed the key in the direction of where the circled had opened, and it opened right on cue.

"Wow!" Marle exclaimed. "Lucca, you're amazing!"

"Ain't it the truth!" Lucca laughed. "Oh, um…I mean…"

"Enough with the false modesty!" Marle insisted. "You have a real gift! I would trade my royal ancestry for your genius in a heartbeat!"

"Well, if you say so," Lucca said. "Anyway, I call this thing a Gate. It's a kind of portal, that takes you to the same location in a different era. Gates are very unstable, so I used the principle behind my telepod device to create a Gate Key. Now we can use them as we please."

Crono looked at Lucca as if to say "fraud."

But, thought Crono, where did she get the Gate Key?"

"But why did this Gate suddenly appear?" Marle asked.

"Either the Telepod had something to do with it," Lucca replied, "or something else made it."

"This is getting pretty weird," Marle said. "Let's at least head back to our own time!"

"All right!" Lucca agreed. "Coming, Crono?"

"No," replied Crono sarcastically. "I'm going to stay here. Maybe you'll discover my grave someday."

"Get your butt over here!" Lucca demanded as she practically yanked him.

The three of them entered the Gate, and the Gate closed.

THE STUFF THAT MIGHT HAVE GONE UNNOTICED:

Gregory was actually the Pope in the year 600.

Crono's suggestion that they find his grave was taken from the novel Timeline.