There's Something in the Air
By Lilly Blitz
Chapter 16: To Where It Began
No matter what, family is very important. They're always there for you when you need them, and they're always close, no matter how much they fight. Father, mother, brothers and sisters; even grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins. Family will stay by you.
"How much further is it to the village?" Schala inquired.
"I don't think it's that much further, but I'm not sure," Marle replied, tightening the cloak around her. They had luckily thought in advance to bring something to help with the cold. Though the Dark Ages weren't as cold as it used to be, it could still catch you if you weren't prepared.
"For all you know, we could end up lost," Ozzie muttered, though not quietly enough that he wasn't heard. "How can you not know where it is?"
"Well, it's been around twenty years since we were last here," Crono answered testily. "Seeing as Schala wasn't here than and I was... dead," he looked slightly disconcerted about talking about it, "Marle's the only one who has the slightest idea where it is."
Ozzie didn't respond, at least not to having his question answered. "Why couldn't you do us a favour and stay dead?"
Crono didn't have to waste his breath with a retort; one look from Schala shut the green Mystic up. He tried and failed to suppress a grin. Out of all the arrangements there could have been, he was quite content with the group he was with. Schala genuinely liked them, and she was able to keep the comments from her... husband, down to a minimum.
In which case, he had to wonder how Lucca and Glenn were making out, being put together with Slash and Flea. He wanted to think they were fine, but with everything that was happening lately...
Crono's expression turned sombre. And than there was his son, who he had just found, but was off in another era trying to find his adopted sister. His son, who was with three Mystics that could rival their parents in temperment and a knight that, though Crono did trust Michael simply because he was Glenn's son, he didn't know at all. Carlos was the only one Crono did know quite well, and that still didn't reassure him.
I should have told Darien to just go home. He knew, though, that Darien would have done no such thing. He certainly wouldn't have, and it certainly ran in the family. He just hoped that one of the groups would find Brianne, and that would be that.
"Schala, if I may ask, why do you want Brianne to stay with you?"
Except for that... Crono looked at Schala, wanting to hear that answer.
"You mean, besides the fact that she's a Mystic who should be with her own kind, and not you pathetic Humans?" Ozzie answered, sneer firmly on his face.
Marle bit her cheek from to keep from lashing out at him; Crono gritted his teeth. "Besides that."
There was a moments pause before Schala answered. "There's something about her. I can't explain it very well, but, it made me think that I'd like her there with us."
Marle exchanged a quick look with Crono; he understood it. "Is she related to you? I mean, is she Janus..."
"No, I'm afraid not." The Zealian princess looked truly dismayed about it. "She didn't understand the language of my people, that both myself, my son and my brother can understand."
"Well, if she was, than the other Mystic's probably wouldn't have wanted her around," Crono pointed out, with a significant look to Ozzie.
The Mystic actually looked insulted at that. "What are you, stupid? Unless it's Magus himself, I don't care."
This shocked Crono; he was expecting Ozzie to carry the grudge over to Magus' relatives. Though, if he did...
Schala smiled softly as she felt an arm snake around her waist; both Crono and Marle turned quickly, both giving the other looks of disgust. One thought went through both their heads.
Out of everyone Schala could have been with, why the imp?
The group had finally come across the village. It was slightly larger than Marle remembered it; more people were moving about. The group received more than a few stares, though these were all focussed on the Mystic.
"Do you think you could change forms or something?" Crono demanded quietly to Ozzie.
Ozzie just smirked smugly. "You think I care what anyone thinks? Deal with it."
There were, however, a few looks from the elders that were directed at Schala. Probably because they remembered the gentle woman, and were hoping that it was indeed her.
"Do you think we should to talk to someone?" Marle inquired looking around.
"Probably," her husband replied, "before we freeze, or get attacked." Ozzie pointedly ignored the spike-haired Human.
Surprisingly, they didn't have to find anyone, because at the moment, Schala felt a soft tap on her arm; she turned. Standing there was a man just entering the late stages of his life, his beard and hair slightly sprinkled with grey.
"Pardon me," he said gently. "I've been watching you since you entered this village, and I wanted to know... Are you..."
Schala smiled, waiting patiently for the question she knew that would be asked.
"That is to say... Could it be... Miss Schala?" the man finished, looking hopeful.
She nodded. "Yes, that's right."
"How wonderful!" the man exclaimed, frightening a few people passing by. "We had always hoped you would come back, seeing how kind you were to us all those years ago." He gestured to a nearby hut. "Please, I would be honoured to have you in my humble abode."
The hut was actually bigger than it looked on the outside; all of them were able to fit into a sitting area comfortably.
The man took a seat, the others followed suit; Schala sitting close to the older man with Crono and Marle taking seats across from them. Ozzie chose to stand behind Schala, rather than sit.
"I wish that the former Elder was still alive; he was very fond of you, Miss Schala," the man said with a smile. "As it is, I have taken up his duties. It can be quite exhausting, especially trying to create a peaceful coexistence between my people, and the Enlightened Ones.
Crono had to stop himself from snorting. Just wait a few thousand years...
The Elder turned to Crono and Marle. "You two do seem familiar, though I can't quite remember how..."
"They're the ones who freed Melchoir from Mount Woe," Schala supplied.
"Of course! I remember now!" He smiled brightly at them. "Do forgive me, I only saw you once, before the whole event happened. But now that you mention it... Weren't you one of the three that was captured by Dalton in the Blackbird?" He was gesturing to Marle.
She grimaced slightly. "I'm afraid so."
"But you also destroyed that accursed ship, and got rid of him?"
She grinned cheekily. "I'm afraid so."
The Elder laughed at that. "It was a good thing you did, a very good thing." Now his attention turned to Ozzie. "Now I know I've never seen you before. You are...?"
"That's my husband," Schala answered, a slight fondness in her voice.
"Husband?!" The Elder's eyes bugged out slightly, as he looked from Schala to Ozzie. "Are... Are you serious Miss Schala. You're married to... him?!"
"You have a problem with this?" Ozzie growled.
The Elder quickly composed himself. "No, of course not. So long as Miss Schala is happy..." He received an affirmative nod. "Good, than it's... good." He quickly turned away, so not to attract anymore attention. Crono had a hard covering up his snickers; Marle did no such thing, earning herself a blazing look from the Mystic.
"But I suppose there's a reason why you're here, Miss Schala?" the Elder asked, once everything had calmed down.
"Yes there is. Two things actually." Crono and Marle exchanged confused looks. Two things? Crono looked over slightly at Ozzie; he was shaking his head, looking weary.
"Have you seen a girl with long black hair and pale skin?"
The Elder thought for a moment. "There are a few girls that match that description. Is there anything else you can tell me?"
"She has long, pointed ears," Marle put in.
"Than, I'm afraid not." The Elder sighed. "I'm sorry, but I'm sure I would have remembered seeing her." He suddenly looked thoughtful. "Though..." He shook his head. "No... never mind."
Marle clenched her fists until they were white; Schala looked equally saddened.
"She... might be in another era..." Crono said softly, though he didn't sound very hopeful about that.
"Or she could be stuck somewhere in this frozen wastleland, dying if not already dead." Ozzie muttered. Despite his words, he sounded worried about her as well.
The Elder bowed his head. "I'm truly sorry I couldn't help you. Now... was there something else you wanted to ask me?"
Schala, still looking troubled, nodded. "Yes. Is..." She swallowed a bit. "Is my brother here?"
Crono could not keep the disbelief off his face. After all these years, she still wants to see Magus? Marle had a similar look on her face. Ozzie rolled his eyes; he had known she would have asked that.
"Janus?" The Elder suddenly looked sorrowful. "I'm so sorry, he was here... but that was years ago..."
Schala looked really crushed. "Did he..."
"I'm not sure if he died or just disappeared again," the Elder explained. "He was here for a few years, than he was just... gone. So were his wife and daughter."
This made all four of them were shocked and disbelieving. "He had a wife?!" Crono exclaimed.
"He had a daughter?!" Marle cried out.
The Elder looked slightly amused. "He did, though it is indeed hard to believe. You knew him?"
"Enough to know that it's impossible," Marle stated firmly. "I mean, we always used to joke that..." She closed her eye; she couldn't even say Brianne's name. "But that's just..."
The Elder just smiled; he glanced at Schala. "You knew his wife, Miss Schala."
"I did?" Schala replied faintly.
"Yes, it was Aurora. She was a good friend of yours, wasn't she?"
There was a shocked silence. Marle who was already pale from earlier, turned more white. Crono seemed to be at a loss for words; his mouth moving, but no sound came out. Schala was looking at the Elder in disbelief, not believing what she had heard. Ozzie had no expression, but he squeezed Schala's shoulder in comfort.
"It's can't be," Schala was whispering. "It just can't be."
Marle seemed to be mouthing the same thing; her husband had gathered enough of his wits to address the Elder. "What was his daughter's name?"
"It was Brianne."
The first bout of silence was discomfiting; the seocnd one was even worse. Schala's breathing had become sharp, haggard. Crono and Marle looked worse than before. Even Ozzie's green skin paled a bit.
"No, it's not true." Schala wrapped her arms aorund herself.
"Miss Schala?" The Elder looked concerned; she was looking quite sick.
"She can't be," Schala repeated, mostly to herself. "She would have understood the language."
"She could have just pretended she didn't," her husband replied, being the voice of reason for once.
"By why? Why would she not want me know?" She sounded very sad, and a little hurt.
"It was probably them," Crono stated quietly, slightly regaining his composure. He pointed to Ozzie. "She was probably afraid of what their reaction would be."
Schala shook her head. "Would she have really thought that...?"
"Listening to all those ridiculous stories about us, I'd say there was a really good chance." Ozzie sneered at the two Humans. "We knew she was scared of meeting us, because of who raised her. It's quite easy to see that it's true."
The Elder had been quiet the entire time, observing all of them. "So, the girl you are looking for is Brianne?"
"You met her?" Marle asked, her complexion still looking sickly.
He nodded. "Yes. Aurora brought her around a few times before they all disappeared." He smiled, reminiscing. "She was a beautiful baby. Would have only been a year when they were gone, perhaps a bit younger."
Crono smiled a little, remembering the night when he first saw his adopted daughter. "Yeah, she was. She looks a lot like her mother now."
"Is Aurora well?"
"No." Crono shook his head sadly. "She died, right after entrusting Brianne's safety to us."
"You raised her than?" The Elder looked a little surprised. "I wold have thought Miss Schala would be the natural choice to raise her, if her parents weren't around."
"I don't think Janus knew I was alive," Schala replied sadly.
"We certainly didn't until a little while ago," Crono agreed.
The Elder nodded. "Yes, that would make sense." He looked at all of them. "Janus seemed to be on the verge of suicide when he first came back here. If he hadn't met Aurora again and they fell in love, he probably would have died a log time ago. Being a husband, and a father made him very happy, from what I can recall."
"It was strange seeing him again. When I last saw him, he was still a small child; than only two years later, a full grown man. If it wasn't for his uncanny resemblance to Vexacon, no one would have ever believed it was him."
"Vexacon?" Crono inquired.
"That would be, or was, our father," Schala answered, frowning a little. "He was very odd, but he treated both Janus and I with kindness. It was after his death that Mother began changing."
The Elder nodded. "I thought that it was Vexacon at first, but he was too angry to be the former Zealian ruler." He sighed. "I truly wish I could in finding the young lady, but there is nothing can I do. I can offer you shelter for tonight, if you'd like."
"That would be nice," Crono said with a nod. "Everyone will be meeting here tomorrow anyway. Hopefully, one of the other groups found her."
The Elder gave them directions to an empty hut they could use before bidding them farewell. "I hope the next time we meet, Miss Schala, will be more happier times."
Schala was able to produce a tiny smile. "I hope so too."
The four walked in silence for a while. Marle was the first to say something. "It's strange, how we used to joke around about the possibility of Magus' being Brianne's father. But now that it's true, it doesn't seem so funny anymore."
Schala nodded, but smiled a little. "I'm just happy that Brianne is my niece. It makes it better, in away, even though both Janus and Aurora aren't with us anymore."
There was another silence. They had reached the hut and were about the enter, when...
"Schala?"
Schala looked at Crono; both him and Marle looked unhappy. "We've been both thinking, and..." He took a calming breath. "If we find Brianne, and she'd rather stay with you, than it's fine with us."
Schala looked a little surprised and Ozzie looked downright shocked, though he tried to hide it. "Are you sure?"
"We're sure," Marle repeated, her eyes misting a little. She managed a smile. "Besides, I'm sure Magus would have wanted you to raise her anyway."
The blue-haired princess was stil taken aback, but was also touched. "Thank you. Than means a lot to me. And if Brianne would want to be with you, I'll make sure the others understand." She gave Ozzie a side look with that; he merely shrugged slightly.
With that said and done, they got ready for sleep, hoping that tomorrow would be a better day.
A/N: Well, this didn't take as long as my last one, but still longer than I had hoped for. I hope you enjoy this one, even though it is shorter. My next one will be longer, and the action begins to pick up a little. And I hope that one doesn't take as long.