Schala left the throne room and made her way down the hall. She hoped that Janus wasn’t too upset about what happened with their mother or being sent away. As she reached the end of the hallway, she came face to face with the head of palace security, Dalton.
“Ah! Pardon me, Lady Schala. I was just about to see your mother about this week’s reports,” Dalton said with a smile and a lingering gaze. Schala inwardly cringed. There was something unsettling about how polite and formal Dalton acted. She couldn’t put her finger on why his aura bothered her either. Smiling politely, Schala said, “You have good timing, Dalton. My mother was about to summon you about something important.”
“Why not come with me, M’lady?” Dalton offered, moving uncomfortably close to Schala. Schala inched away and said, “I was just dismissed by her, actually… and I really need to go check on Janus.”
Dalton nodded and said, “Well then, I won’t keep the Queen waiting. Do tell your brother not to be late to training tomorrow morning. Farewell, Lady Schala.”
With a bow, Dalton turned and walked towards the door to the throne room. Schala sighed and began to walk towards her and Janus’s quarters. Finding Janus’s door locked, she knocked and asked if she could come in. There was a moment of awkward silence before she heard footsteps and the door unlock.
Letting herself in, Schala found Janus already huddled on his bed with Alfador. After closing the door, she went and sat on the edge of the bed.
“Do you want to talk more about what happened in Kajar?” she asked. Janus stroked Alfador’s fur, looking down at his cat. After a moment, he said, “There were two girls and one had a pendant that looked exactly like yours but it didn’t glow.”
Looking up, he asked, “Did Mom ask you about getting married again?”
Schala sighed and nodded. Janus frowned. “Why does she care so much about that?”
“It’s part of my duty. Someday I will be Queen and she worries that our bloodline will end with us,” Schala replied. “I have my whole life ahead of me to find someone. I want to be happy like Mother and Father were. Not married just because it has to be done.”
Janus sighed, remembering the day their father died. Schala placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and smiled, “I know you are still worried about those strangers. Dalton will find them and we’ll figure out what’s going on.”
Getting up and walking to the door, Schala turns and said, “When you are ready, why don’t you join me in the gardens?”
Janus nodded. Schala smiled and departed. As she made her way to the main hall of the palace, she saw her mother walking beside Dalton. They seemed to be discussing the strange people that Janus had reported. She heard her mother ask Dalton to bring them to her if he found them.
“Of course, Your Majesty. Do you think they have hostile intentions?” Dalton replied. Schala listened from the walkway above. Her mother sighed, “Janus has a habit about worrying over the strangest things but he never lies. My concern is that they may be Earthbound who somehow can use magic.”
Not wanting to be caught eavesdropping, Schala continued to the gardens. She wondering if she should seek these strangers herself with Janus. She never admitted to Janus that she never heard this wind he spoke of but she did feel something unsettling in the air.
Schala paced around the holding cell on the Blackbird. The shackles on her hands kept her for using her magic and she felt helpless. It had felt like hours since Dalton had tricked her into banishing Janus to wherever those strangers had come from. She prayed that he was safe with them, whoever they were.
The door opened and in stepped Dalton. He looked at her and smiled. She looked away, only for him to walk over and force her to look in to his eyes. Despite his caring expression, his eyes shone with malevolence.
“Dear sweet Schala, I understand you must be feeling angry with me,” he said soothingly. “I know you cared for your baby brother but he’s better off with those people. He had no place in this kingdom, surely you realize that?”
“How could you do this? Your father-“
“My father was a great man!” Dalton bellowed as he gripped Schala’s face roughly. “He was loyal to the crown and did everything in his power to keep your bloodline safe!”
He pushed Schala, causing her to stumble back and fall to her knees. Standing over the terrified princess, Dalton continued, “If it wasn’t for your foolish father and your bitch of a mother, he’d still be alive!”
“Do you know what it’s like to watch a nation hate a man who was only doing his duty?” Dalton asked, almost laughing. “Did any of you ever ask me how I felt when he took his life?!”
“Dalton, I’m sorry about your father,” Schala said softly. Dalton turned and gestured to an invisible audience. “Oh, the princess is sorry! A decade late but there you have it!”
Turning back to Schala, he said, “There is one way you can show me how truly sorry you are… Become my wife and join me in godhood.”
“What are you talking about?” Schala asked. Dalton grinned. “The source of magic, Lavos… once I have the Mammon Machine in place, it will grant us endless power and we will become immortal.”
Schala just stared at Dalton. Dalton chuckled. He gazed at her and said, “Your mother and the Gurus betrayed us, dear Schala. They had plans years ago for a palace below the sea that could grant us immortality but your mother and the Gurus were too afraid. They let their fear deny us our right.”
“But I am not afraid… I alone will usher in a new era, an era of godhood… and you can join me if you are wise.”
Tomorrow is the 12-year anniversary of a stupid Chrono Trigger comic that one of my best friends and I started drawing together (starring Dalton, for whatever reason. We were strange kids).
It's always held a close place to my heart, so this is a gift for my dear friend, godtier1! Thanks for sticking with me for all of this time!
