Chapter Two: A Wrinkle in Time

Yuri ran. He could hear the knights behind him, so there wasn't time to stop and think. All he knew was that he was in a weird place with weird people who knew far too much about him. Time travel? They really expected him to believe that? He was eight years old, not a little kid!

Whoever those weirdos were, they hadn't been lying about being in the castle. They must be some nobles who had a sick idea of fun that involved kidnapping kids and messing with them. Well, he wasn't here for their amusement! He needed to get back to the lower quarter before Flynn - his Flynn, the real one - started crying or something.

Yuri dashed past a startled maid and around another corner. Man, where was the exit? This place was huge! Maybe he could climb out a window or something if he got to the first floor.

As long as he outran the knights! He was out of breath already and those guys had long legs. Yuri found a staircase and scampered down it. At the end of the hall, he spotted an open window. It had been left open to let in the breeze, but he was going to use it to let himself out. Yuri reached the window, grabbed the frame, hauled himself up, and then froze as he looked out. He was on the first floor of the castle, so he could jump down to the grounds from here and then try to find a way over the wall. It was night now and the thick, warm air smelled like dead grass. That wasn't what Yuri was focused on, though.

The sky was empty. Rather, it was filled with more stars than he had ever seen, because normally they were drowned out by the light from the barrier. Now, the barrier was gone. After spending his entire life looking up and seeing that protective light, the sky looked alien without it. If the barrier was gone, monsters could get into the city! Why weren't more people freaked out by this?! He had to get to the lower quarter and make sure Flynn and his mom were all right.

"Ah-ha!" Someone grabbed the back of his shirt and yanked. "Got you now, boy."

"Hey! Lemme go!" A knight grabbed his upper arm and twisted his it painfully behind his back. "Ow, stop!" Yuri twisted and pulled to try to escape, but then he turned enough to see who had grabbed him and his blood ran cold.

There was no reason for this reaction, which was the odd thing. Yuri had never seen this knight before in his life. Something about his powder blue hair and garish purple uniform just made Yuri's stomach clench and his hands turn clammy. He felt like he should know this man, and know why his pointed face caused so much anxiety, but it was like trying to remember a fading dream.

"Breaking and entering for a little thrill, are you?" the knight sneered. "Don't think you can escape punishment because you're still a child."

"I didn't break anything!" Yuri took a chance and rammed his free elbow back. It smashed right between the knight's legs, but he was wearing something hard for protection and Yuri ended up hurting his elbow.

He did succeed in annoying him, though. "Why, you little-!" He raised his hand and Yuri braced himself for the strike.

"Captain Cumore!" The man calling himself Flynn rushed down the stairs toward him, Estellise close behind. "That will not be necessary."

Cumore straightened up and lowered his hand. "Ah, there you are, Commandant. I was apprehending this child as per your orders."

Flynn reached them and Yuri found himself sandwiched between a pair of adults he didn't like. He didn't want to think of this Flynn guy as his rescuer, because he had kidnapped him in the first place, but he was grateful he hadn't been hit.

"Thank you," Flynn said, "but he is not a criminal so please let go of him."

Cumore glowered at Flynn but said, "If you insist, sir."

As soon as he released his grip, Yuri dove for the window. Flynn caught the back of his shirt and then grabbed his waist.

"Oh, no you don't. You're coming with me." For the second time, Yuri was pulled away from the window. To Flynn's credit, he did it more gently. "Captain Cumore, your assistance is appreciated but no longer required. You are dismissed."

Cumore bowed slightly. "By your leave, Your Majesty."

After he was gone, Estellise said, "We're sorry we scared you, Yuri."

"I'm not scared," he pouted and crossed his arms. Flynn stood next to him with his hand firmly on Yuri's shoulder. "But…" his eyes went back to the window, "where's the barrier?"

"We don't have barriers anymore," Estellise explained. "We found out blastia were harming the world, so we got rid of them."

Yuri looked around the marble hallway and suddenly realized the lighting came from the flickering of gas rather than the steady light of blastia. Flynn and Cumore were both high ranking knights, but they weren't wearing any blastia either. There was no denying what he'd seen in the sky, either. There really were no blastia. That couldn't have happened in one afternoon.

Flynn got down on one knee. "I know this is hard to believe. I'm struggling to believe it myself. But I really am Flynn Scifo, and you really are in the future." He held out his forearm, just like Flynn used to when they started their special highfive.

Tentatively, Yuri bumped his forearm against Flynn's and then lifted it to the air to see what the man would do. Flynn mimicked his actions perfectly and slapped Yuri's hand in the air without missing a beat. It was exactly the way he and Flynn always highfived, except now the other's hand dwarfed his own.

Now that he was over the initial shock of waking, he took the time to really look at this man's face. When he got beyond the unfamiliar signs of age - the stubble on the defined chin, the new lines around eyes that seemed smaller in a larger face - he saw all the things that weren't different. The shape of his nose, the way he held his mouth, even his hair was the same unmanageable blond mess.

"...Flynn?"

He nodded. "That's right. It's me."

"But… you're… you're old."

Flynn pouted. "I'm only twenty-two."

"That's really old!"

Estellise covered her mouth with a giggle.

"It is not old," Flynn insisted.

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

Yuri had to snicker at the stubborn expression on Flynn's face. Yeah, this was definitely Flynn.

Flynn seemed to realize he'd gotten into a bickering argument with an eight-year-old and his face relaxed. "Anyway." He stood up straight. "Estellise, would you mind leaving us alone tonight? I think Yuri and I need to talk."

"Yes, of course." She gave him a quick kiss on his cheek. "I'll be in my room if you need anything. Have a good night."

After she left, Yuri started following Flynn toward his apartment. After a long silence, Yuri smirked at Flynn. "So… you like her, don't you?"

Flynn looked down at him. "Yes. We're in a relationship."

"Ha-ha, Flynn has a crush."

"It's more than a crush, Yuri."

Yuri scowled. "You're no fun anymore."

When they reached Flynn's place, the big dog Yuri remembered from earlier paced up to them and sniffed Yuri's hand.

"Yuri, this is Repede. Don't worry, he likes kids."

Repede woofed and sat before Yuri. "Hi." Yuri rubbed the side of his neck.

"See, he likes you already."

Yuri didn't stop petting him to ask, "What happened to his eye?"

"He got hurt when he was still a puppy. He's ok now, though."

"Oh, ok."

Flynn asked, "Are you hungry?"

It had been a long time since lunch, Yuri remembered. Actually, it had been thirteen years. That was still so hard to believe. Most of his afternoon was gone in a fog, but this morning didn't seem like that long ago. He pulled his hand away from Repede and nodded. "Yeah, I'm starving."

"I'll make you a burger."

"You know how to cook?"

Flynn hesitated and then confidently stated, "Yes."

"I can cook too, you know."

"No, you can't." Flynn crossed to the kitchen.

"I can, too!" Yuri hurried after him.

"Knowing how to make toast doesn't count as knowing how to cook."

In the kitchen, Yuri clambered up a stool by the counter so he wasn't so far below Flynn's eye-level. "It's cooking, isn't it? The bread cooks into toast. Cooking."

Flynn smiled. "Sure, Yuri." He pulled out a pan and then dug ground beef out of the icebox.

As Flynn prepared the burger, Yuri looked around the apartment. It was bigger than the house they'd lived in with Flynn's mom. The marble floor was covered in a blue rug and all the furniture had swirling decorations carved into the legs and arms. The couch was soft suede and so plush it was like sitting on a cloud, and he remembered waking up in a bed that was bigger than the tiny room he and Flynn shared. Used to share.

Yuri looked back to Flynn, who was now grilling a burger-shaped piece of meat in the pan. He leaned forward and rested his cheek on his fist. "I like this future. You're really rich and you have a pretty girlfriend and jerk knights do what you say."

"Things have definitely turned out well for me."

"Who was that knight from earlier? The one who was gonna hit me?"

Flynn's happy expression soured. "Oh, him. His name's Captain Cumore. You know we used to complain about the knights who were awful to our neighbourhood? He's one of the worst of those."

"Ick. Can't you fire him?"

"I'd love to, but he has too many connections with the Council. Last year, he did some truly horrible things in Mantaic, but managed to pull enough strings to get pardoned. He hasn't done anything awful enough for discharge since I became commandant and I can't discipline him for things he's already been pardoned for."

"That sucks. He creeps me out."

"I'm doing my best to reform the Knighthood, but it's a slow process."

"What's that mean?"

"It means it's taking a long time."

Yuri rolled his eyes. "Not that part, dummy. 'Re-form'," he said the word slowly.

"Oh. It means to fix it and make it better."

"Oh, ok." Yuri didn't like how much more… grown up Flynn was now. Flynn had always been stronger and faster and smarter than him, and now he was all of those things times infinity. Flynn was a successful grown up and Yuri was still a kid. He was never going to catch up now. "Is that supposed to be smoking?"

"Hm? Oh!" Flynn snatched the burger off the pan with a pair of tongs and threw it on the waiting bun. "Oops. It's still ok."

Yuri smirked. "Thought you knew how to cook?"

"I can cook better than you, Mr. Toast-is-Cooking. What do you want on it? Lettuce? Tomato? Onion?"

Yuri wrinkled his nose. "Ew, that stuff's gross. Just put cheese on it. Lots of cheese!"

"That's all? Just cheese?"

"Yeah."

"That's not very healthy."

Yuri crossed his arms. "I don't want to eat healthy, I want it to taste good."

"If you insist."

Flynn brought the plate to him and Yuri dug in with gusto. He hadn't had a meal like this in ages. Flynn's mom made sure they never starved, but they never had more than they absolutely needed.

"Hey," he paused between bites, "shouldn't we go see your mom and tell her I'm ok?"

Flynn, standing across the counter from him, paused and tightened his face. "Ah…. Yuri, the thing is… my mother passed away a long time ago."

Yuri slowly lowered the burger to the plate. "What? Mrs. Scifo is… is dead?"

"She got sick. It was a few years after you disappeared."

Yuri gaped at him. "But - but I just saw her this morning!"

"I'm so sorry."

"Who else is dead? What about Hanks? He's still here, right?"

Flynn nodded fervently. "Yes, Hanks is perfectly fine. He's the one who found you."

"And Mrs. Cameli?" She was a nice old lady who lived in the lower quarter and gave them candy sometimes.

Flynn shook his head. "I'm sorry. She passed away about five years ago."

"Oh…." He looked down at his plate. He'd missed everything. Now Flynn was a grown up and the grown ups he'd known were gone. His best friend had lived a whole life and Yuri had missed all of it. What was he supposed to do now? He didn't belong in this world, but he had no idea how to go back to his own time. "So… what do I do now?"

"I don't know." Flynn rounded the counter and sat on the stool next to Yuri. "You can stay here if you want."

"I don't have anywhere else to go. Is it ok to stay in the castle?"

"Of course. I'm the commandant. If I say you can stay, you can stay."

"Well… ok, I guess I'll hang out here." He finished his burger and pushed the plate away. "Ok, now you need to tell me everything you've been doing since I left."

"Everything?"

"Yeah. How'd you get to be the commandant and date the empress? I want to know everything!"

"That might be a bit of a long story."

Flynn told Yuri everything he could. He had to summarize a lot, but he got the main details about joining the Knights and working his way through the ranks. Yuri was especially excited when Flynn told him about the adventure last year and kept stopping him to ask questions about monsters and villains.

Eventually, the questions came less and less. Yuri leaned against the pillows on the side of the couch and struggled to keep his eyes open. Flynn was telling him about Duke and the Adephagos when he glanced at the clock and suddenly wondered what an appropriate bedtime for an eight-year-old was. It had to be earlier than midnight, which was the time now. Yuri had slept all afternoon, but passing out post-time travel probably wasn't very restful.

"We should stop for the night. I'll get you a blanket and you can sleep on the couch."

Yuri must have been tired because he didn't even argue. Flynn lent him a shirt to sleep in that was comically large on Yuri's slight frame and then Yuri stood to the side while Flynn pulled sheets out of the closet and spread them over the couch. When everything was arranged, Yuri climbed back onto the cushions and Flynn spread a sheet over him.

"Hold on, I just remembered something." Flynn hurried to his bedroom and then reached for a box at the back of his closet. There were two faded, grungy stuffed animals in the box, and Flynn carefully pulled out the wolf. Many times over the years, he'd considered throwing out Yuri's favourite toy, but he could never bring himself to. When he was younger he insisted on keeping it safe for Yuri when he returned, and when he was older it just felt heartless to toss the last personal possession of a dead child into the garbage. He was glad he'd held onto it now.

"Here." He returned to the living room and held it out. "I kept this for you."

Yuri's face lit up. "Growly!" He grabbed the toy with a smile, but then then quickly shoved it under his sheet and crossed his arms. "I mean, it's not like I need it or anything. It's pretty lame that you still have it."

Flynn just smiled. "Right, Yuri. I know you've had a frightening day, but try to get a good sleep."

"It wasn't frightening!"

"Of course not. Sorry for saying it was. Don't hesitate to wake me up if you need anything. Goodnight."

"'Night."

After getting ready for bed himself, Flynn lay on his mattress and stared at the ceiling. Yuri Lowell was back. He wasn't even sure how he felt about this. Happy? Excited? More like confused and overwhelmed. He hadn't actually missed Yuri or wished he would return in years. He was happy Yuri hadn't been murdered, but to have him in his life again was more than he had bargained for. What was he supposed to do with a child? Certainly he and Yuri would never be friends the way they used to - the gap in age and experience was too wide.

Should he send him back to the lower quarter to grow up? But that seemed cruel. The lower quarter was their home, but the people there still lived in poverty. He couldn't impose a new mouth to feed on anyone he knew, and it seemed heartless to kick Yuri out of the luxury of the castle to go live in the slums again. Could Yuri stay here, though? What he needed was a parent. It had been so hard for Flynn to grow up alone without parents, and he didn't want Yuri to grow up like that too.

He had to find a family for him. Flynn was far too busy with work to take care of a child, but there were plenty of childless couples in Zaphias who wanted a kid, right? With his connections, he could find a good, loving, stable home for him. With that decided, Flynn rolled over and tried to go to sleep.

The next morning, Yuri was still on Flynn's couch. Oh, Flynn thought as he paused in the doorway. It hadn't been a dream. Yuri was fast asleep on the couch, the sheet abandoned on the floor. One leg hung over the edge and his arm rested on his chest.

Flynn poured cereal into a bowl. What was he supposed to do with him now? He had work to do; he couldn't babysit Yuri all day. Well, he considered as he poured milk into the bowl, Yuri didn't really need constant supervision. His mother had left them alone plenty of times. This whole mess had started when they were off playing alone, and the castle was certainly safer than the lower quarter.

He poured himself a glass of juice and turned around to find Yuri sitting up and leaning over the back of the couch. "Good morning."

"Hi. Is that your breakfast?"

Flynn set it on the counter and began to eat standing up. "Yes. Are you hungry?"

Yuri bobbed his head.

"What would you like?"

"Uh… what is there?"

Flynn had limited food in his apartment because he usually had the kitchen staff bring him prepared meals. "Well… there's cereal here, but I can get just about anything brought up from the kitchen."

Yuri's eyes widened. "Anything?"

Flynn nodded. "It's the best stocked kitchen in the empire. What would you like?"

Yuri thought for a moment as the endless options of food ran before his mind. With an excited smile he said, "Cake!"

"For breakfast?"

Yuri nodded fervently. "Yeah, can I have cake? You said I can have anything, right?"

"That's not really a filling breakfast…."

Yuri crossed his arms. "So?"

Flynn sighed. "I'll see what I can do." He shovelled a few more bites into his mouth; he was used to eating fast. "Yuri, for today, I want you to stay on the castle grounds but other than that, you can go where you like. I'm going to inform the knights that my nephew is staying with me so they won't stop you. Feel free to explore and play anywhere you wish as long as you don't bother anyone."

"Wow, really? I can just run around the castle?"

Flynn saw his expression and remembered what their childhood had been like. More forcefully, he repeated, "As long as you don't bother anyone."

"Yeah, yeah, ok."

"I have to leave shortly, but I'll have someone bring breakfast and some clothes for you."

"What's wrong with the clothes I have?"

"They're filthy." Flynn had been shocked at the state of Yuri's clothes. He didn't remember his clothing being so patched and threadbare, but he supposed if he was being honest, he'd spent most of his childhood wearing hand-me-downs from older kids in the neighbourhood. Clothes in the lower quarter were never wasted; they were just handed down to the next kid until they disintegrated. Yuri couldn't keep wearing Flynn's shirt, either. The short sleeves came down to his elbows and it looked more like a dress.

"Ok, but I don't want any fancy nobley clothes with like buttons and lace and stuff."

Flynn smiled slightly. "I'll get you the simplest clothes I can find. If you have any problems today, just come to my office. Ask any knight in the building and they can tell you which way to go."

"Ok!"

"I have to go to work now. Wait here until breakfast and clothes come up. Don't get into trouble."

Yuri rolled his eyes. "I won't."

Flynn didn't go straight to work. After finding a maid and asking for clothes and breakfast to be sent to his room, he went to visit Estellise. He found her in her room, still in a nightgown and reading the newspaper at the breakfast table.

"Good morning, Flynn!" She beamed at him. "How was last night? Did things go ok with Yuri?"

Flynn sat around the corner from her and let out a long breath. "I suppose you could say that."

She frowned. "Is something wrong?"

"No, not wrong. Just… I'm still feeling overwhelmed."

"No kidding. I'd feel overwhelmed, too, if someone I thought was dead suddenly came back to my life. Plus there's the whole question of time travel."

Flynn leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms. "You know, I've been thinking a lot about that. I remember the day he vanished very clearly, and I recall that right before he ran off, we'd been talking about the mages. They'd been conducting some kind of experiment in the lower quarter that summer, as I recall, and Yuri was keen to investigate. What if instead of hiding, he decided to check it out? And what if whatever the mages were working on sent him through time?"

Estellise nodded slowly. "That would make sense. Well, I mean, it makes more sense than anything else. Rita and the others are coming to town tomorrow for the parade next week. Maybe she can help."

"I was going to ask you talk to her. If the mages had something to do with it, maybe a mage can help us now."

"Do you mean you want to send him back?"

Flynn froze for a moment and slowly met her eyes. "Send him back? I just meant to explain how he got here, but if it's possible…." How would that work, though? Flynn was here and he had lived his life without Yuri. If Yuri went back to his time, that would mean he'd been here all along, and obviously he hadn't been. Would time change? Would it snap back and the him that he was now would cease to exist? Flynn rubbed his forehead. "Time travel hurts my head."

Estelle smiled in sympathy. "Me, too. I don't know how it would work. I'll ask Rita."

"Thank you. Anyway, I ought to get to work. I'll see you tonight for dinner?"

"Of course."