I Still…Ch 7

Hey Everyone! What's up? I'm so much better today, no longer sick. Alright, first off, A Big, Huge, enormous thank you to Petiyaka, a great reviewer! More of me talking in the author's note below chapter.

Enjoy!

"Speak"

'Thought'

Chronos' viewpoint

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A soft chiming melody filled the room. Two little figurines rose from a music box as the tinkling song continued. Together, they glided on top of the box. The leading dancer had short black hair, barely reaching the shoulder, and wore a deep blue uniform. The follower had silver hair elegantly parted down the middle. She wore a dress of pearl white, and bore on her brow, a golden circlet.

The song came to a halt and the figures were lowered back into their room.

Chronos smiled. The musical box was given to her by Serenity on the first year of their relationship. It depicted their first dance together, Chronos' in her diplomat uniform and Serenity in her royal gown. Back then, everything had been different. Chronos had been cocky and selfish; she didn't care about the alliance that she was there to sign. Serenity was spoiled and annoying; she always took time to check her hair and makeup before moving an inch, and refused to eat anything that wasn't prepared by her favorite chef.

But that all changed when they met. Chronos started to look after her people more and became aware of the ongoing chaos in her universe. Serenity became calm, serene and gentle. Together, they transformed each other for the better.

Chronos locked the box away in her dresser.

'It's only been two days into our voyage and already I'm reminiscing. I'm whipped, aren't I?'

She stretched out her legs, and stood up to leave. Locking the door behind her, she upturned her head towards the sun star. The air blew softly around her, tugging at her pants and wove around her hair. She could see the distant planets of Mars and Mercury from the railing, and, if she squinted, the Moon.

"You don't have to be shy, you know. I thought sailors were supposed to be reckless."

A young woman dressed in hardy pants and a torn shirt joined Chronos at the rail.

"Shyness and recklessness are not in my vocabulary, Princess Chronos. Tahara Ayako, formerly of planet Tyros, I'm the bosun."

Chronos smiled, Tyros was one of her favorite planets to visit in her hopefully kingdom. The weather was always perfect for cloud watching and being lazy.

"Nice to meet you miss Tahara. If you're not shy, then why have you been staring at me since I came onto the Chios?"

"Just wondering something…"

"Pray tell?"

"…where do you get your hair cut?"

Chronos blinked several times, staring at Ayako as if she was crazy. Of all the questions she expected, that wasn't it.

"Umm…the Moon palace has a royal hairdresser."

"Oh, okay. Thanks, I have no time to worry about hair but it's always nice to find out, if I ever have the time. Oh hey, there's the captain, I think he wants to talk to you."

And with that, Ayako walked away.

'That wasn't weird at all. For minute, though, it seemed as if she was going to say something else. Well, better go see the Captain; he's not getting any older.'

While she was grateful that he wasn't going to charge her for the trip, the captain was a headstrong, arrogant, young man, and very rude; her least favorite traits.

"Ah, Princess Chronos, how nice to see you, are you out enjoying the fresh air? I hope Miss Tahara hasn't upset you; she has a rather unique way of putting things. Please disregard anything she says, she's not exactly there in the head."

"No, Miss Tahara didn't upset me in the least. We merely commented on the weather and exchanged pleasantries. May I inquire as to why you made her bosun if you know she's not entirely okay?"

The captain seemed reassured that Tahara had not upset her.

"While her thinking mind is not the greatest, her memory and ways of organization are effective, and she can get the men to work faster than most others. If you excuse me, I must attend to some personal matters. After all, I only employ the best for my ship."

The Captain left Chronos there in the middle of the deck, not waiting for a dismissal.

'Curious, while I talked to Tahara she didn't seem to have a disability, but why would the captain say something like that? Is there something he's hiding?'

She went back to the railing and sat, observing the crew of The Chios as they worked to keep the great ship moving. She noticed that a lot of the sailors had the features of people from the Third Universe; the silky black hair of Dihnos, her home planet, the short muscular form from the Tierces, the oval face and bright green eyes of Tyros, like Ayako's, and the sharp nose and quick smile of Tacharones. It seemed that all of the crew had originated from her kingdom, a fact which both startled her and comforted her. It was nice to be among people that shared a common home place with her.

A red ball rolled into her leg, and a young child quickly followed it. It was a girl, five years, with Tyrosian features, and dark black hair.

Tahara Ayako followed her.

"Princess Chronos, we meet again. Can I introduce you to my daughter, Sunoco? Sunoco, don't hide behind me, it's rude. Come on out."

The little girl peeked out from behind and slowly inched her way out from behind her mother. Chronos grinned and gave a little wave to her. Sunoco vanished behind Ayako again.

Chronos and Ayako laughed

"Nice to meet you Sunoco, how are you today?"

No answer

"I see we have a real talker on our hands, Miss Tahara, or is it Mrs. Tahara?"

"Just call me Ayako. Sunoco's really shy, but she'll warm up to you in time."

"If she's anything like her mother, then she'll be outspoken in no time. Please call me Chronos in that case."

And with that, they became fast friends.

In the weeks that followed, Chronos came to know the past of Ayako and Sunoco. When Ayako was little, her parents had been killed in a raid by rogue Misty Galaxians, and had to be sent to live with her grandparents. She joined the crew of the Chios when she was eighteen, and fell in love with a fellow shipmate that had been killed in a pirate raid and left her with a baby, Sunoco. Chronos now took care of Sunoco whenever Ayako couldn't and thought of it as future training for when the day came for her and Serenity's baby.

But something kept nagging Chronos in the back of her mind. She hadn't read about any raids from the Misty Galaxy that occurred on Tyros, only a brief rebellion had happened around the time when Ayako had been young. Chronos disregarded it.

Until the seventh week of the voyage, that is.

It was a fine day, and Chronos was taking care of Sunoco. As they walked around the ship, Sunoco had to go to the bathroom and Chronos was waiting for her return when she overheard voices whispering behind a door.

"I can't wait for IT to happen! But have you heard that Ayako's trying to get out of the plan?"

"Yeah, I did. Unbelievable, out of all of us, she wanted IT to happen the most, what with her past with the soldiers from the palace. They killed her entire family and yet now she wants nothing to do with the plan. She's still too late; she swore to the plan and can't get out of it now."

"Right, she's stuck with her part, and thanks to the gods that she is. Come on, let's go eat something."

Unable to go anywhere to hide, Chronos had only one option. She reared back and then crashed through the door, knocking one man to the floor and using a piece of the door to fend off the other. The man underneath her struggled and managed to knock her into the hallway. The two large men advanced on her as she brandished her part of the door.

'Shoot! Hmm…they look Tyrosian, maybe..,'

"As your future queen, I command you to halt and explain that conversation you just had!"

The two men looked at each other, and grinned. They continued to back Chronos against the wall.

Unwilling to be backed into a corner, Chronos leapt towards the man on the right, and collided with him. They fell against another wall, and Chronos quickly started to punch before his partner could intervene. The man's shouts rang out, and a group of sailors came rushing into the hall. Chronos felt herself getting pulled back and thrown against the wall. As her head hit the wall, she could see a mob trying to get to her. A barrage of punches and kicks hit her as she slid down the wall, in a futile attempt to cover herself from the worst of them.

Chronos groaned her entire body a mass of bruises and raw nerves. She looked around the dimly lit room. It was unfamiliar to her. A snore emanated from a corner. A man slept there, but whether he was there to protect her or to guard her. She did a short physical test to make sure nothing was broken before trying to move off the bed. Her legs gave out as they touched the floor and she collapsed ungracefully on it.

'oww…they really did a number on me…wait a minute, this floor isn't the same as the ship's floor…we must have docked somewhere…maybe I can escape and get to Tyros before they realize I've gone…or not'

She stared upwards as a pair of boots obstructed her vision.

'Shit…'

I am so sorry that this is so late, I've been crowded with work and everything that I had no time, please accept my apologies! I'll give you cookies!

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