by Arby Robbins
Conroe seemed to understand what Crane was thinking. She moved in closer to the four-foot shaft of water.
Together, they fended off their attackers with the thundering torrent of water at their backs.
Crane pointed up and smiled. They were within five feet of the ceiling.
Conroe nodded. Then she disappeared.
Had she made it out? Had Geneva been able to rescue her? Crane wondered if he too would transport out at any moment. Then he realized that Conroe had not vanished—she had gone down! She had apparently gotten too close to the powerful stream and been sucked under. He paddled in closer and held his breath, and then he was pulled under.
The water burned his eyes as he searched for Conroe. He spotted her near the floor, flailing about, as though she had lost her bearings and didn’t know which way was up. Crane’s lungs began to tighten. He would need to get to the surface soon, and he was afraid Conroe might already be swallowing water. He swam down to her, wrapped his arm around her waist, sank to the floor, and then pushed off with all his might, sending them up like a jet.
When they reached the top, they both gasped for breath. Their heads were nearly touching the ceiling. Spiders surrounded their heads, ready to attack. The water continued to roar. There was no way out.
He motioned for her to take a deep breath and go under.
They did it together.
Crane didn’t have a plan. All he had left was hope—hope that something miraculous would happen. But it had better happen soon, or they were going to be out of breath and out of luck.
Conroe put her arms around him.
They looked into each other’s eyes through the dirty water. Their love would go on forever.
Crane’s chest burned. He knew that once he gasped for breath and sucked in water, he was a goner. He would force himself to hold on. He couldn’t give up before Conroe did. He couldn’t bear to let her down. He felt as though his eyes were about to burst. For the first time, he saw desperation in Conroe’s eyes. He would have given his life to save hers—but that wasn’t an option. They would both die today.
A loud rumble and vibration was followed by an enormous cracking sound. The top blew off the cave, and Conroe and Crane were spewed out like volcanic lava, sliding and twisting and rolling down the exterior of the cave…into blinding light.
56
“Conroe?”
“Crane, I’m here.”
“Where are we? I can’t see anything but white. Is this Heaven?”
“No. I think we made it out,” she said.
“Wait—my eyes are adjusting. Now I’m starting to see something.”
“What do you see?”
“It’s…,” he smiled, “my beautiful wife.”
She leaned in and kissed him.
“My ‘Dream Girl,’” he said.
“My dream boy.” She kissed him again.
“I wonder what time it is,” he pondered.
They heard horses approaching.
“They made it!” Geneva yelled from her horse, laughing in delight.
“Well done, Geneva,” Will said from atop his horse.
“You are amazing, girl!” Conroe jumped to her feet.
Geneva dismounted, ran to Conroe, and hugged her. “I was so worried about you.”
“And me too, right?” Crane teased.
“Oh, sure, Crane,” Geneva replied. “You too, of course.”
“It’s nearly four o’clock,” Will said.
“How did it get so late?” Conroe asked. “We left at around two a.m., and we couldn’t have been gone for two or three hours.”
Crane agreed.
“When Frederick reprogrammed his time travel computer, he added in some kind of time shifting algorithm,” Geneva explained, “and I wasn’t sure how to fix it.”
“Algorithm?” Conroe asked.
“It’s computer talk,” Will said. “Just take her word for it.”
“It seemed like Frederick intended to trap you inside the computer—until his battery ran out,” Geneva asserted.
“But Geneva reprogrammed his code to give you a way out of the cave,” Will revealed.
“It took me forever to figure it out,” Geneva said.
“But you did it,” Conroe boasted. “I’m so proud of you.”
“Thanks,” Geneva replied. “Now you need to get back to the castle and get ready for your coronation.”
“Oh my!” Conroe exclaimed. “What about Mother and Daddy? They must be worried sick.”
“Yes, they are,” confirmed Geneva, “but Will rode in and talked to them first thing this morning and explained what was going on.”
“I told them that everything was going to work out fine and that you would definitely be home in plenty of time for the ceremony tonight,” Will said. “I’m sure glad I turned out to be right.”
“Me too,” Crane agreed, laughing.
“Let’s go,” said Conroe.
57
Conroe and Crane ran into the castle and up the stairs to the second floor.
Wally stood at the top of the stairs. As they flew past him, he said, “Oh, thank God, you made it. Are you okay? You two look like you’ve been rolling around in the mud.”
“We’re fine, Daddy,” replied Conroe, without slowing down. “Love you. See you at the church.”
They ran into her bedroom and shut the door.
“I’ll bathe first,” she suggested, “since I need to get over to the church early.” She opened the linen closet and pulled out a sheet. “Drape this over the chair to protect it so you can sit down while you wait. You’ll wear your tux from last night.”
“Was that just last night that we got married?” he asked. “Seems like a week ago.”
“Yeah, I know.” Conroe opened a drawer and took out some undergarments. “We’ve been through a lot since then, honey.” She gave him a quick kiss and zipped into the bathroom.
He spread the sheet over the chair and sat down.
After a few minutes, there was a knock at the door and Geneva walked in carrying her dress and shoes. She stopped when she saw Crane sitting in the chair. “Oh. I guess I’m going to have to stop barging in like that. Sorry, Crane.”
He smiled. “Thanks again, Geneva, for all you did.”
“You’re welcome. And thank you for what you did. If you hadn’t knocked Frederick out and then let me send you to the past, knowing full well how dangerous it was, I don’t know what would have happened to Conroe. She’s my dearest friend. I don’t know what I would do without her.”
“Remind me to hug you after I get cleaned up,” he said.
She smiled.
“What about you and Will?” Crane asked. “I got the feeling that something was going on between you two.”
Geneva smiled bashfully. “I think so. I hope so.”
“You two make a great-looking couple.”
“Thanks,” she said. “We’ll see where it goes.”
Conroe burst out of the bathroom. “Okay, Crane, your turn.”
Crane covered his eyes. “You know you’re half naked, right?”
“Honey, we’re married,” Conroe replied.
“Yeah, but…Geneva’s here, so it’s kind of weird,” he said. “Plus, I’ve never seen you naked before.”
“Sorry.” She slipped into her bra. “You can open your eyes now. And let me get you a fresh pair of underwear and socks.” She opened a drawer full of men’s underwear. “Here you go.”
“Where did you get all of that?” he asked.
“I picked them up for you yesterday with the tux and the shoes,” Geneva answered.
“Thanks.” He started toward the bathroom.
“Oh, wait,” Conroe said. “One more thing.” She opened a jewelry box and took out a diamond-encrusted gold cross on a chain. “This necklace belonged to the king—my grandfather. It was passed on to him by his father, Harry. I want you to have it, Crane.”
He held it in his hands. “Wow, this is beautiful.”
“I’d like you to wear it tonight,” Conroe said. “You know—under your shirt.”
“But why wear it if nobody can see it?” he asked.
“I’ll know it’s there,” she replied. “Just do it for me.”
“I’ll be honored to wear it, sweetie. Will I be up at the altar with you during the ceremony?”
“No, you’ll be sitting in the front pew, and then I will call you up to stand with me at the end of the ceremony.”
“This is all so amazing,” Crane said.
“I know. Now go take your bath—you’re smelling up the place.” She grinned.
“Yes, I guess I am.” He laid the necklace on top of the dresser and went into the bathroom.
Conroe turned to Geneva. “Could you help me with my hair?”
“Of course,” Geneva replied.
Conroe sat down at the dresser, and Geneva stood behind her, brushing her hair.
“So,” Conroe began, “it sounds like Will was a big help to you and Crane last night.”
Her eyes lit up. “He was wonderful. He went to the OutCastle with us, and he and I nearly got caught by Opal. Then we barely escaped from the dogs.”
“You had quite an adventure of your own,” Conroe said.
“Yes, and then we spent all night and half the day at the big tree stump.”
“That’s where you took Frederick’s time travel computer and reprogrammed it?”
“Yes. And Will gave me great moral support—and he kept me warm.” She grinned. “He’s going to sit with me at the ceremony.”
“Oh, Geneva, I’m so happy for you.”
58
Crane walked into the church and found the spot reserved for him on the front pew. He checked the wall clock. Things were so different from last night, he thought, when he and Conroe had so much trouble getting there for the wedding, making it in the nick of time. The ceremony would begin at six o’clock. Nineteen minutes to go. The ceremony had been carefully timed to wrap up just before 7:12 p.m., when Conroe would officially turn eighteen.
The Royal Symphony Orchestra members were tuning up their instruments. The Royal Choristers milled around, chatting. A steady flow of people streamed into the pews.
Crane began to get the feeling that he was missing something. He went through a checklist: shoes, socks, pants, shirt, coat, tie…what else? He felt his neck and panicked. He had forgotten to put on the necklace when he was getting dressed. It meant something very special to Conroe for him to wear it. He figured he could easily make it to the castle and back before six, so he got up and went out the side door.
Crane borrowed a man’s horse, explaining, “It’s okay—I’m Conroe’s husband. I’ll bring your horse right back. Thank you.” It was a one-minute ride to the castle.
He ran into the castle, up the stairs to the second floor, and then into Conroe’s room. He put the necklace on, lowered it inside his shirt, and ran out into the hallway.
“Hello, Crane.”
It was Frederick. Two men stood behind him wearing swords.
Crane stopped cold. “What are you doing here, Frederick? You have no business being in the castle. How did you get in here?”
“You have something that’s mine, and I want it back.”
“Leave right now, before I call the guards.”
“Oh, Crane, you just don’t understand the magnitude of this coronation ceremony. Everyone, and I do mean everyone, is at the church—even all the staff. We’re the only ones in the building—just the six of us.”
“The six of us?” Crane asked.
Frederick nodded to someone behind Crane.
Crane looked back. It was two more of Frederick’s men, wearing swords.
“You have my time travel computer,” Frederick said, “and I want it back—now.”
“Very funny. You think I’m going to give it to you so that you can transport Conroe out of the church just before she’s crowned queen?”
Frederick smiled. “You talk as though you have the power to stop me from taking it.” He told his men, “Guard this fool while I go in and get the device.”
His men pulled their swords.
Frederick walked past Crane on his way to Conroe’s door.
“Your plan, whatever it is, will fail,” Crane asserted.
Frederick stopped and turned around. “Oh, you little man. You still have no idea who you’re dealing with. Sure, I considered transporting Conroe out of the church just before she was crowned. That would be quite dramatic—for her to vanish right in front of the queen and the priest and all the peons. But then I realized it would be even more fun to transport you.”
“Me?”
“Yes, because if it turns out that Conroe did not have a husband at the time of her coronation, then she will not have met the marriage requirement.”
“The priest married us last night,” Crane said. “Hundreds of people witnessed it. How can anyone claim that she has not met the marriage requirement?”
“It doesn’t matter whether she was married last night, or if she was still married tonight at six o’clock. She must be married at the very moment the priest crowns her. So, if her husband were to drop dead right before that moment, for example, then she would not be eligible. The coronation would be deemed null and void.”
“But I won’t be dead—I’ll just be in another time period.”
“True, but only because I would prefer not to kill you. That could backfire if your body were ever found. But if I transport you…well, how can Conroe be married to someone who does not exist? Once I expel you to another place in time, my friend, how will she prove in a court of law that she was indeed married to someone for whom there are no birth records? Ah, the questions they will ask: In which hospital was this man born, and on what date? Who were his parents? Does he have any family whatsoever? Can you prove that he ever even existed? The answer will be NO—because you won’t exist here in our world, Crane.”
“What about all the people who have seen me here—the witnesses to my existence?”
“Well, all I can tell you is that judges and juries like to see a body. No body, no crime, as the saying goes. You’re simply a figment of our collective imagination.”
“Conroe would tell them the story of where I came from,” Crane said. “A jury would believe her.”
“You think so? They would believe that she traveled to the past and brought you back here? Sure, the people of Ampla do that all the time. I’m certain they would believe her. Or…would they think she had gone stark raving mad?” He laughed.
“She would show them the time travel computer for proof.”
“But hers doesn’t work anymore, does it? The battery is dead by now. And I’m going to take both of the time travel computers with me so that I can destroy them when I’m done with you.”
Frederick turned and reached for the door handle.
“I may not be as smart as you,” Crane said, “but we both know who’s stronger. How’s your head feeling? Still sore from when I beat you up last night?”
Frederick turned around, incensed. “That was not a fair fight, and you know it.”
“I think it was perfectly fair,” Crane replied. “You’re just not the man I am.”
“I just wish I had the time to take you on right now.”
“Oh, is that your excuse—you don’t have time right now?” He asked the guards, “That’s believable, right?”
“Enough!” Frederick yelled. “Let’s do it.”
“So, you’re saying that this will be a fair fight? Five against one, and these guys have swords?”
Frederick ordered his guards to put away their swords and back off. Then he moved to the center of the hallway, facing Crane. “Okay, give me your best shot. Isn’t that the expression they use in your world?”
“Yes, very good. But I’m passing the first move to you.” He closed his eyes.
“What is this—did Conroe teach you how to do that Gomwei crap?”
Crane he
ld out his hand and motioned to Frederick. “Bring it on. Are you familiar with that phrase?”
“Yes, I am.” He stepped up to Crane and cocked his fist.
Crane kicked Frederick hard in the crotch.
Frederick never saw it coming. He bent over in agony and fell on the floor, holding himself.
Crane asked the four guards, “Is this the kind of man you want to work for? Is he even worthy of your loyalty?”
“Don’t listen to him,” Frederick squeaked, still writhing in pain on the floor.
“My wife is about to be crowned queen,” Crane said. “Wouldn’t you rather work for her? I will personally put in a good word for the four of you, and I can guarantee that she will not hold this against you. But what I need you to do right now is to carry your former master back to the OutCastle and hold him there. You’ll be hearing from me tomorrow.”
“Don’t be fools. Kill him!” Frederick stood up.
The guards drew their swords.
Frederick laughed. “Good try, Crane—you fool. But my men are not as stupid as they look.”
The guards surrounded Frederick.
“What are you doing?” Frederick asked.
“You will not regret this, men,” Crane assured. “Take him away.”
59
When Crane got back to the church, he saw hundreds of people standing outside surrounding the building. He worked his way through the crowd by repeatedly informing people that he was Conroe’s new husband and he needed to get inside. Many of them wanted to shake his hand, slowing his progress. Finally, he slipped in through the side door and hurried to his reserved seat in the front pew.
No sooner had he taken his seat than the clock struck six and the ceremony commenced. The Royal Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Choristers performed an English version of “Sing the Lord, Ye Voices All,” from Franz Joseph Haydn’s oratorio, The Creation.
Crane was surprised at how his emotions were stirred by the music. He loved listening to and playing music and writing songs, but he had never before heard a live orchestra and chorus. He was thrilled to see that they had musical instruments in the year 2521. Surely he would be able to find a guitar somewhere and serenade his wife.