Tragedy of the Raven Part 1, Chapter 6
By Prince Nightmare
Raven would never forget his ride in the Epoch. At first he had been frightened when the machine hovered off the ground. Lucca had smiled at him reassuringly.
“Do you see this lever here?” she asked, pointing to the largest lever on the control panel. He nodded. “When I push it down, it makes the Epoch slowly lift off the ground. If I push it further down, the higher it will go.” Raven watched fascinated. He wished he could ask what made if fly. Lucca must have guessed his question from the slightly confused look on his face.
“There is something inside the machine that is called ‘titanium jet propulsion’... that’s a fancy term for fuel cells that power the machine. You know... kind of like, well when you put wood on a fire, it burns hotter?”
Raven nodded, sort of understanding what she meant, though the terminology of jet propulsion was something he’d never heard of before.
“Well, those titanium fuel cells are like the food for the Epoch. The good thing is they recharge themselves, as long as they aren’t damaged. When the fuel ignites, it creates energy that makes the Epoch fly. When the cells are full of this energy, you can push that big lever and the Epoch will take off.”
Raven tried not to look as confused as he really was. Half the terms she was using were unknown to him. He was more interested in seeing it work than listening to how it worked anyway. He looked down at the ground, nearly 10 feet below them. They were still hovering in midair.
“You want to see what she can do?” Lucca asked with a smirk on her face. Raven couldn’t help but grin in excitement. Lucca pushed her glasses (she explained to him earlier they helped her see better.) up a little and hit a small green button. There was a slight humming noise. She winked at Raven. “Hold on to your seat! Here we go!”
The Epoch shot upward over the tree tops. Raven’s sapphire blue eyes widened in surprise. They were really flying! Higher than the birds even! He peered over the edge of the cockpit. I can see the whole WORLD! he thought, grinning like crazy. Lucca laughed at his expression.
“Pretty cool, huh?” she said as she adjusted a knob and pushed some more buttons. “I love this thing!!” Lucca looked almost as thrilled as Raven. Science was her passion and the Epoch was her most treasured possession. “Can you believe that this thing can go into the Future?”
She took the steering wheel in one hand and casually maneuvered the Epoch through the air. Raven looked at her with a raised brow. That sounded just a little too far fetched.
“Yep. The Epoch can go through time... into the Future or the Past. I come from the Future... I bet Glenn told you that, but did he explain what it meant?”
Raven shook his head. He knew that the “future” was tomorrow, or a year from now, but the way she said it made it sound like a much larger amount of time.
“I live almost 400 years in the Future!” she grinned at him. “But I can go to any time I want with this machine. I’ve traveled 2000 years into the Future, and I’ve been to the Past too... almost to the beginning of Time!” She laughed when the little boy’s eyes got even wider. Raven looked back over the side, amazed at the view.
Lucca studied him for a moment, thinking about Janus... had he ever been amazed as a boy? Had he ever felt wanted, except by his older sister Schala? They had all learned more about him after the incident in Zeal... his life had seemed bleak even when he was only a child. Lucca felt a sudden understanding come over her. No wonder Janus had become so hateful and bitter towards the world. The one person he had ever loved was ripped from him by Lavos... and his own mother. Perhaps his son would have a better life now that Glenn had taken him in. It was so ironic that the one time bitter enemy of Janus would be raising his orphaned child. But of course, Glenn was just the type who would never abandon a child just because his mother or father was someone he had once hated. In fact, Lucca thought, I think it makes Glenn want to help Raven even more.
Thinking of Glenn made her smile. He the type of knight one might read in a medieval romance novel... brave, strong, kind...and handsome. How could Glenn ever feel anything for her? She was so plain and boring compared to someone like Marle. She sighed a little and pushed the thought from her mind. Lucca circled the Epoch around the forest one more time. They were over the cottage now, and she slowly landed the Epoch. Glenn was standing in the yard, making thrusts at a straw dummy with one of his iron practice swords. He grinned as he saw the hatch door of the Epoch open.
Raven clambered out, his eyes shining. He had never felt so breathlessly happy before! He’d never dreamed such things could ever be possible. Only a little over a week ago he was fighting for a scrap of meat and somewhere out of the cold, and today he was flying! He tried to stop smiling but he couldn’t. Desperately, he tried to think of a way to say “thank you.”
Lucca stepped out of the flying machine and was almost as surprised as Glenn was when the boy threw his thin arms around her waist and hugged her tight. She smiled and put an arm around him. “You’re quite welcome, Raven. I had fun too.” After a moment he pulled away, seemingly embarrassed.
Feeling a little stupid at the display of affection, Raven blushed and looked around for a place to run off to. He bolted towards his favorite spot. Maybe now he could balance all the way down the fallen trunk. He made a vow to himself he wouldn’t fall off at all today.
Glenn chuckled as the boy ran off. “He really likes you, I think. He’s never hugged me like that. You have a way with kids. They all seem to think your really...um... chilled.”
Lucca broke out into hysterical laughter. “Oh Glenn! The word is “cool”! When are you ever going to learn that?”
“Oh... sorry.” Glenn turned red. Not only because of his mistake, but because Lucca looked so pretty when she laughed like that. He began to twirl his sword nervously.
“Where did Marle and Crono head off to?” Lucca asked, suddenly blushing too. She had never really been alone with Glenn, save for the times when they were traveling. Back then, they’d all been too busy staying alive to think of anything else.
“Err... for a picnic I think, in the meadow. Uh... I guess we’re alone.”
“I guess we are.” Lucca began to close the hatch of the Epoch, trying not to look flustered. Glenn sheathed his sword slowly and went to help her.
Glenn took a deep breath. “Lucca... I want to tell you how I feel about you.” His voice was trembling a little. He almost couldn’t believe he had finally said it. Lucca didn’t look at him but the redness of her cheeks darkened. “I... well, sometimes I think about you and ...” he turned abruptly. “I sound like a fool, don’t I?”
Lucca finally looked up at him. “No. You don’t... I sometimes feel the same way Glenn... I guess I always loved you...”
Glenn wheeled around, grinning. “You do? Thank the Light! I thought you didn’t feel like that towards me! I mean... after I was a frog for so long I thought you could never love me like I loved you!” Glenn brushed back his thick hair sheepishly. His brown eyes sparkled with joy.
“Glenn... I do love you...but we come from a totally different world. I’ve thought about this and I don’t think you’d like it anymore where I come from than I would like to live here the rest of my life.” Lucca’s voice wavered, she was on the brink of tears.
Glenn’s grin faded and his eyes became sad. “ I... see...” he paused, “couldn’t we try though?” his voice became desperate. “Lucca... we have a time machine! For Light’s sake, can’t you bring your laboratory here? You could always go back and forth to get what you needed! And it isn’t just me who needs you now either... think of it... we could be a real family!”
Lucca slowly removed her glasses and looked at him, who was anxiously waiting for her to answer. Glenn could tell she was considering the options. Finally, she smiled. “You know what...maybe we could try it. Heck, you never know! I could come up with some real inspiration, living in the Dark Ages!”
Glenn pulled her into his arms. “That’s why I’ve always loved you! You’re always so brave and willing to forge ahead...well, behind in this case.” Lucca blushed and was about to say something, but didn’t get the chance because Glenn picked her up and kissed her firmly on the lips.
Just then Marle and Crono walked in from the woods. Marle almost dropped the picnic basket she was carrying. Crono cheered. “I KNEW IT! HAHA!”
Glenn put Lucca down and turned all shades of red. Lucca glared at Crono. “Oh, that’s great. Just sneak up on people! Shame on you!” She fidgeted with her glasses.
Marle recovered from her shock and grinned impishly. “Oh it’s so good to see you two finally together! So...when’s the wedding??”
“Shut up!” Lucca said, trying to sound mad. The effect was ruined by the smile on her face.
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The week seemed too short for them all. Soon the day dawned when the friends had to say goodbye again.
“You’ll be back next month, right Lucca?” Glenna asked her nervously. “I mean... I’ll have everything ready here by then. I’m going to build a place for all your equipment, and I’ll make this place a little more decent...”
Lucca leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “I promise I’ll be back in a month. I’ve just got to finish up some business and get everything read to go.”
Crono leaned on the Epoch and grinned. “Sure going to miss you Glenn. It’s been great visiting you! Sometimes I wish I could come stay here instead of being the Prince to the throne of Guardia...” Glenn grinned at his friend. Crono had never been one for politics, but Marle was a different story. She loved the challenge.
“Oh sure, Crono. Like you suffer sooo much.” Marle snorted. They all knew that the constant bickering masked the deep love Crono and Marle shared for each other. “Where is Raven, I want to say goodbye to him too... next time I see him, he’ll be ten years old!”
“He’s hiding behind the Epoch, probably scared you’ll kiss him again.” Lucca smirked. Raven slowly emerged from behind the big flying machine. Marle rushed over to him and hugged him so tight he could hardly breathe.
“You’re going to be such a heartbreaker next time I see you. I bet all the girls will be in love with you!” She let go of him and ruffled his long black hair while he gave her a look of annoyance. That made her giggle. “I remember your father was such a beautiful man... you look just like him when you make that pouty face.”
Crono looked at her, pretending to be hurt. “Hey! What about me? Aren’t I handsome too?”
Marle smirked. “Sure you are.” Crono grinned and winked at Raven. Raven smiled back. Crono was always acting silly, and he thought it was funny the way he and Marle pretended to be mad at each other because they weren’t very good at pretending.
Lucca smiled at Raven. “Well, I have to say goodbye too, but not for long! What do you think of that?”
Glenn had told him the evening before that Lucca would be coming to stay with them for a while, maybe permanently. Raven didn’t want to admit this made him happy. Since that day when she took him out on the Epoch, Raven had gone fishing with her and showed her where the deer hid in the meadow. He liked the fact that she never talked to him like he didn’t understand just because he was mute, and she wasn’t always giggly like Marle. It got him thinking about what his mother must have been like. He’d never really thought about it much before, he’d always been too miserable. He wondered if she had been as nice as Lucca was.
Finally all the goodbyes were said and the trio closed the hatch of the Epoch. It rose slowly in the air, hovering for a split second. Then there was a loud noise like thunder. The sky flashed and for a moment all was a brilliant white. When the flashing stopped, the space where the Epoch had been was empty. Raven blinked. He hadn’t even seen it move, it went so fast.
Glenn looked both happy and sad at the same time. He wouldn’t be seeing Marle or Crono again for another 5 years, but Lucca would be back in only a month! He could have danced, the thought made him so happy. Without warning, he scooped Raven up and tossed him into the air, laughing. He caught the startled boy and swung Raven up on his shoulders, carrying him back inside the small cottage. Raven wondered if he had gone mad... but it was fun being up so high just the same.
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