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Chapter Text

The year is 520. It has been six years since Laios was crowned king of Merini. Most of that time was focused on cultivating the land, building homes, and establishing relations between other kingdoms.

In all that time, Marcille had stood by Laios's side. She was his royal magic advisor, but more importantly, she was his friend. Laios was 32. On average, a Tall-man lives to be 60. It didn't mean that was when Laios would die. He might live longer. But no matter how long he lives, it would be nothing compared to how long Marcille would live. She was only 56 at the moment. By elf standards, 56 is still a child. But Marcille was a half-elf, doomed to live 1000 years. By that standard, Marcille might as well still be an infant.

Laios most likely had a little less than 30 years left to live. If Marcille was lucky, he'd have 40 years left. But that was still so little of her life. Marcille didn't want to waste a single moment. For all she knew, she could blink and 20 years would pass.

Falin was 29. She had been traveling the world since she was resurrected. She'd visited the various Dwarven cities of the Eastern Continent and had returned to the Northern Continent to visit her parents. Whenever Falin returned to Merini, she told everyone about what she'd seen, the foods she ate, and the various festivals and events happening. Every time Marcille heard these stories, she thought "I wish I was there with you. I wish these could be memories of us together."

Chilchuck was now 35. He was growing old by Half-foot standards. He came by every couple weeks to catch up and have dinner with Laios and Marcille. Sometimes, he brought his daughters.

Meijack was his spitting image. She wasn't nearly as talkative or sociable as Chilchuck's other daughters, but Marcille liked her because she was so much like Chilchuck.

Flertom looked the least like Chilchuck. She had black, wavy hair which she probably got from her mother. She liked talking with Laios, but she especially loved talking with Senshi. Whenever she and Senshi were at the castle together, they were always working in the kitchen together.

Puckpatti was Chilchuck's youngest daughter. Her face was more similar to Flertom's but she had some of Chilchuck's appearance as well. Like Flertom she also liked talking with Laios, but she and Laios really hit it off. They liked talking about silly little things. They'd both gotten by doing odd jobs, and liked to think about the beauty of simple things. When Laios learned Puckpatti used to sell dragon dung, the two of them spent hours talking about their diets and how those contribute to the smell and consistency of the dung. Marcille was grossed out by that conversation.

Senshi and Izutsumi would come and go as they please. Sometimes they came alone. Sometimes they came together. Senshi was 118 and would likely live 30 - 40 years after everyone else had already passed away. He'd agreed that he would settle down in the castle permanently after Laios passes away so Marcille could have a little more time with one of her friends.

There was no guarantees about Izutsumi though. Izutsumi was 23. She promised she was taking care of herself and was eating properly. But sometimes she'd arrive absolutely filthy, or underweight, or with various cuts and bruises that needed tending to. Marcille expected that one day Izutsumi would leave and never return and no one would know what happened to her.

Marcille wanted nothing more than to spend every moment she could with her friends. Even if you added all the time they had left, it would still be nothing compared to how long she would live. But since there was only one Marcille, she wouldn't be able to do everything she wanted. She would have to sacrifice precious opportunities.

****

It all started one day. Laios was in his study going over various papers that needed his approval: business licenses, payment forms, bills to sign into law. Marcille was with Laios. She was reading through some of the papers and writing notes to make them easier to understand or give her own thoughts on them. Suddenly, Kabru burst into the room shouting "You're needed in the throne room right away!! It's urgent!"

When Laios and Marcille asked him to explain, Kabru said it would be easier to show them. He said something about needing Marcille's magic expertise and Laios's monster expertise to figure out what was going on.

In the throne room was a woman. This woman looked almost exactly like Marcille. The lines around her eyes and mouth were a little more pronounced than the ones on Marcille's face and her hands had callouses on them that Marcille's hands did not. She carried a staff that looked like Ambrosia, but it had several more leaves growing out of it. She was wearing a dress similar to Marcille's but it was red whereas Marcille's was black.

Kabru whispered to Laios and Marcille "This woman looks exactly like an older Marcille. I can't find any faults in her appearance. I need you two to figure out if this woman is using an illusion and whether or not it's because of a person or a monster. I have the guards ready to arrest her on a moment's notice."

Laios sat down on his throne and Marcille took her place standing beside him. Laios addressed the mystery woman and asked "I welcome you. What can I do for you?"

The woman responded "I'm sure my appearance is a bit of a shock. I am Marcille Donato, but I come from 200 years in the future."

Before anyone could react, a second woman who looked like the first suddenly appeared. This one was wearing a cloak over her head, was wearing a blue dress, and had a large suitcase as well. She proclaimed her arrival "And I am Marcille Donato from 200 years and 6 months in the future. Sorry I'm late."

Laios, Kabru, and Marcille stared in stunned silence. The first mystery woman chuckled and said "So this is what it was like to be on the other end of the conversation. Marcille," Marcille snapped out of her stupor when addressed. "How about we show you that we're really you from the future? Let us speak in private."

"Hold on," shouted Kabru. "There's no way I'm letting you two lure our court mage away. How can we trust that you aren't assassins trying to disguise yourselves as Marcille?" Kabru turned to Laios for his opinion.

"Nothing about their behavior or appearance suggests they're monsters," said Laios. "At the very least, these are people."

"Yes, and I don't detect anything like illusion magic either" Marcille added. "That second woman used something that felt like teleportation magic though."

Marcille agreed to speak with the two women in private. Laios and Kabru stood outside the meeting room just in case. 15 minutes later, Marcille, the two mystery women, and a third elderly woman came out of the room. The elder was shorter than the others. She had a wrinkly face, whitened hair that was once blond, and she used a staff like Ambrosia as a walking cane. Her staff had leaves growing all over it. She was wearing a near identical dress to the one Marcille was wearing.

Laios and Kabru looked at the elderly woman and Laios asked Marcille "Where did she come from?" Marcille looked uneasy as she told Laios and Kabru "These are indeed me from the future. And the older woman is me from 920 years in the future." Kabru began to ask how Marcille was sure their story was correct, but Marcille turned beat red and shouted "Just trust me on this!! It's true!"

The elder Marcille walked forward and asked "Laios, I'd like to ask something from you?"

Laios responded "Well if you are indeed Marcille, I would be happy to help. What do you need?"

"May I feel your hair?"

Laios approached the elder Marcille and leaned down so his head was near hers. She gently grabbed his head and started feeling Laios's chin, his cheeks, his nose, and his hair. Laios looked into her face and saw the cataracts in her eyes; this Marcille was blind.

"I can't see you and the others anymore, but there are other things I can enjoy. I wish to enjoy the sound of your voices, the warmth of your hands, and the smell of these halls." The elder Marcille took her hands of Laios's face. "I've lived a long life, and I want nothing more than to spend my last few years with the people I love."

***

It took a few days to get used to these new Marcilles. While no one mistook the elder Marcille for any of the others, most of the castle residents got Marcille and her other two future selves confused all the time. The only one who never got anyone mixed up was Kabru, so Marcille was at least thankful for that.

The Marcille from 200 years in the future, Future Marcille 1 as everyone called her, explained that she had just figured out a spell that lets her travel back in time and was eager to test it out. She assured everyone that there won't be any potential rips in time or parallel timelines or such. She had experienced everything happening from Marcille's perspective once.

The Marcille from 200 years and 6 months in the future, Future Marcille 2, was here on vacation. Specifically, she said Falin will ask Future Marcille 1 to join her on her next trip and Future Marcille 1 will have to decline because she didn't bring any of her things with her and hadn't planned to be away from her timeline for an extended period.

As for the elder Marcille, she came here to retire. She had accomplished everything she set out to do in life and just wanted to be in the one time and place she felt most at home.

Everyone had their own opinions on the situation. Yaad thought they might be helpful when dealing with any diplomatic meetings, Kabru was hoping they could share any future technology or magic to give Merini an edge over the long-lived kingdoms, Pattadol had to be convinced nothing illegal was happening when she found out during a diplomatic visit, and Laios just enjoyed having the extra company even if he couldn't tell one Marcille from another.

Marcille thought they were all really annoying.

They were bossy and stuck-up. They treated her like a child. They would never give a straight answer about anything. Whenever one of Marcille's friends visited, the future Marcilles would hang around them so much that Marcille never got to have any time with them. Marcille was almost happy when Falin took Future Marcille 2 with her on her next trip. While it meant Marcille missed out on a chance to be with Falin, she at least had to deal with fewer of these annoyances. And if they were telling the truth about how time travel works, Marcille would get to enjoy that trip herself, though she didn't like having to wait 200 years and 6 months.

They weren't even good for conversation. One time, Marcille sat down with Future Marcille 1 and Elder Marcille and brought up the Daltian Clan. If they were her future selves, then certainly they would love talking about her favorite book series.

"Oh yeah. I lost interest in it decades ago." Future Marcille 1's response shocked Marcille. How? How could any Marcille from any timeline have no interest in the Daltian Clan? How could she not react to Forva's struggles against half-elf discrimination? How could she not be moved to tears when Uriale meets her aunt Uranesse? How could she not be swooning whenever General Hareus appears?

Marcille was sure that she'd made a mistake. These Marcilles must be imposters and this must be an elaborate plot to infiltrate the castle! But like every other time someone asked them about the future, the future Marcille's refused to say anything. The only thing Future Marcille 1 said was "You'll know why I lost interest when you're older. But don't worry, you're still young and there are so many works you've yet to discover. You'll find something even better."

***

Elder Marcille came from 920 years in the future meaning she was around 976 years old. She would likely pass away around the same time Laios, Falin, and Izutsumi would if not sooner. So Marcille was stuck with her for the remainder of their lives. But Future Marcille 1 should have only been around for a few days at most. She was just testing her time travel magic after all. But then days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and months turned into years. And before Marcille could notice, two years had passed and Laios's wedding was coming up.

Chapter Text

The year is 522. It has been two years since a trio of Marcilles from the future appeared in the castle.

Elder Marcille had become a beloved figure in the castle. She wandered the halls using her ancient Ambrosia as both a walking and guiding cane. Despite being blind, she recognized everyone in the castle. She said it was because she could hear the differences in everyone's footsteps and the ways they breathed. During meals, she liked to ask how everyone is doing and if they have any interesting stories to share. Sometimes she would begin to tell stories of her own, but she would always stop herself.

Future Marcille 2 was rarely around. She joined Falin on her adventures around the world and was only around as long as Falin was. Marcille was envious of this other Marcille getting to spend so much time with and having so much fun with Falin.

Future Marcille 1 had become the bane of the present day Marcille. Future Marcille 1 never interfered with Marcille's job as Royal Magic Advisor, but she got in the way everywhere else. She always stayed by Laios's side unless Senshi, Chilchuck, or Izutsumi were visiting. In that case, she'd stick around them all the time. And since no one except Kabru could tell Marcille and Future Marcille 1 apart, they often never realized the mix-up. Senshi at least had the courtesy to take time for Marcille when he realized his mistake. Chilchuck and Izutsumi often told Marcille that they'd hang out with her in the future so she shouldn't worry about it.

Marcille only had so long to spend with her friends and every moment was being stolen by her future self.

At the same time, Yaad and Laios's other advisors began pressuring him to get married. As king, he had a duty to have an heir to succeed him. Since Merini was a new kingdom, Yaad felt it necessary to tie the royal family to existing nobility to give it greater legitimacy.

Laios marrying a noble from the Eastern Archipelago became the popular suggestion. As it was another Tall-man kingdom, and one with little influence from the long-lived races, a marriage alliance would strengthen both of them and allow them to be more independent from influence from other nations. Laios suggested marrying Shuro's sister so they could become brother-in-laws. This was quickly shot down because Shuro does not have a sister.

Laios, Marcille, and Future Marcille 1 would just sit through all these meetings and deliberations without saying a word. Laios was nervous through each one. After all, they were deciding who he should marry. Marcille and Future Marcille 1 appeared bored throughout these meetings instead. They sat next to each other and assumed the exact same blank facial expression.

Marcille however was deep in thought during these meetings as she weaved together a wonderful romantic tale. The great hero king beloved by all falls head-over-heels for the girl of his dreams. Marcille imagined a forbidden romance due to the king's beloved not being of the noble stock demanded of a future queen. She imagined court intrigue, scheming and jealous suitors, and a true, passionate love that overcomes all.

But every time Marcille tried to imagine Laios as the hero king, it all turned into a horror story of his stupid smiling face trying to make some poor girl eat giant scorpion intestines sauteed in spider fluids.

All these meetings and discussions broke down entirely when someone suggested the unthinkable: Falin should marry Shuro to strengthen ties with the Eastern Archipelago. They brought up their arguments that the two of them already have strong rapport and Shuro has tried to court Falin before. Marcille's blood boiled hearing these words, treating Falin as a thing to be sold off. She stood up.

"HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT FALIN LIKE THIS!!"

Marcille realized her outburst and looked around the room. Everyone - Laios, Kabru, Yaad, the advisors - were looking at Marcille. The only one not looking at her was Future Marcille 1. She was staring at the council with a burning hatred in her eyes.

Marcille took a deep breath and calmly continued. "How can you call forcing someone to spend the rest of their lives in a potentially loveless marriage a good thing? You're suggesting sacrificing the future and happiness of someone who isn't even here. You should all be ashamed for treating people as objects. This entire fiasco has been a waste of time."

"That's enough." It was Laios who spoke up. His face carried a certain stern anger to it. There were very few things that would make the generally non-confrontational Laios willing to argue, and threatening his sister or her happiness was one of those things. "I know Shuro well enough that he would be equally against this. If we forced Falin to marry him, he would stand against it and us." He took a breath. "And besides, I'm against it as well. Falin is free to choose how she wants to live. I'm the one who needs to marry, but I would like to choose my bride for myself. If I don't find someone by the year's end, I'll accept whoever you choose."

No one was willing to argue with the king. With that, the final meeting to discuss his marriage was adjourned.

Marcille spoke to Future Marcille 1 after. "You know who Laios will marry, don't you?"

"Yes."

"Can you tell me who she is?"

Future Marcille 1 paused for a moment. "She's someone you'll be happy with."

"Oh come on! I want to know!"

Future Marcille 1 smiled at Marcille "But isn't it more fun to find out for yourself who he'll choose?" She was right.

Marcille kept a close eye on every woman who interacted with Laios. She observed the way they looked at him and how he responded to them. Each time, Marcille asked herself "Is this the one?" but the answer was always a blunt "No." What's worse, Laios didn't seem to actually be trying to find a wife. Word got around about the situation and women would approach him wherever he went. Some of these women were interested only in him only for his position, but others seemed genuinely interested in Laios as a person. But he never caught onto any of this. And then he'd spend his evening time worrying about how no one in the kingdom wants to marry him.

***

Falin had been away on an adventure at the time and returned a few weeks later. Marcille was sure that if anyone could help, it was Falin. But unfortunately,

"I don't know anyone he would like."

At first, Marcille was dumbstruck that Falin couldn't help, but then she remembered that Falin was clueless about Shuro's feelings until he proposed to her. These siblings didn't know the first thing about romance to the point you could kiss them on the mouth and they'd think the other person was just being polite.

"Nothing at all?"

"Well, I think he likes women with big ears."

That answer was unhelpful.

"I guess there's nothing to be done here. I'll just have to figure this out myself." Marcille excused herself to leave but before she left Falin requested "Could you let the morning staff know we'll have guests tomorrow?"

"Right, Future Marcille 2 came back with you."

"Not just her. Puckpatti came with me on my last adventure and I'm letting her stay here tonight."

Puckpatti... If she married Laios, that would make Chilchuck Laios's father-in-law. And then Marcille saw it. The wedding scene! Bells are ringing. Flower petals are falling from the sky. Puckpatti as a blushing bride in the wedding dress. Laios... is there.

Chilchuck walks Puckpatti down the aisle and gives her hand to Laios. Laios kneels down as he lifts her veil for the wedding kiss!

Laios and Chilchuck were such good friends and if Laios married Puckpatti, they would become family. Marcille wanted that. She wanted it! She wanted it!

And then she came back to reality. "Would they be interested in each other? Puckpatti does have big ears so there's that at least."

Breakfast the next morning was an exciting affair. Laios, Marcille, Future Marcille 1, Future Marcille 2, Elder Marcille, Falin, Puckpatti, Kabru, and Yaad were all sat at a table together. Eggs, sausages, pancakes, bread, oatmeal, and various fruits were served.

Falin's most recent destination was the Western Continent. She described the arid deserts, the interesting plants and animals that live in it, and the war-scorched ruins. When she told them about the kobold settlement they encountered, Kabru chimed in.

"I hope they didn't cause too much trouble. Kobolds are quite savage. You can't reason with them."

"Actually," Future Marcille 2 chimed in. "I know how to speak Kobold. It was easy to request hospitality of them."

"You can speak Kobold?" Kabru asked.

"I can speak several languages. I've had a lot of time on my hands after all."

Elder Marcille chuckled. "By the way. Puckpatti, wasn't this your first adventure? What was it like?"

Puckpatti's face lit up. "It was awesome! I'd seen these in books but the real thing is so much better. There were prickly plants and spiky lizards. The air smelt so different. But man was it hot. You could cook a slab of meat on a stone."

"And did you get along with Falin and Marcille?"

"Yep. I'm so glad they let me come with them. We've all become good friends!"

"What were the kobolds like?" asked Laios.

"They were really friendly and cute. Well actually, at first they didn't really like Falin and Marcille, but they got used to them after a bit. Whenever they saw me, they'd sniff me and start wagging their tails."

"And what was the food like?"

"It was...interesting. They offered what they had, but it wasn't much. And some of it wasn't really safe to eat. They dry a lot of their meat, but they also sometimes just eat rotten food. They also hunt monsters like huge scorpions and griffins."

"And did you eat them? What did they taste like?"

"Marcille made a hotpot out of the huge scorpion. Said it was the first monster dish you guys ever ate. It was really good. The griffin was a bit gamy though."

Kabru was becoming uncomfortable with where the conversation was going. Future Marcille 2 decided it was time to change the subject.

"Hey Patti, how about sharing that request you wanted to make to the king."

"Oh right."

Puckpatti got out of her seat and approached Laios. She gave a respectful bow to him. "King Laios, I was thinking. Merini manages to make so much food. But not everywhere is so lucky. I humbly request that we help the Kobolds and the people in the Western Continent. Surely we have enough that we can share it with others. I want to do what I can for them." Puckpatti got on her hands and knees and bowed her head to Laios.

There was a quiet in the room. Yaad broke the silence. "Your Majesty, we do produce enough food that we can extend aid to other kingdoms and peoples. It could help your public image to provide it to those in need. We could also use it as an avenue to open trade with the countries in the Western Continent if there's anything there we might find valuable."

"There's something I think is more important though," Kabru chimed in. "Kobolds are frequent victims of traffickers. If we offer help to the Kobold people, we should also look into finding any trafficking rings both within the Western Continent and locally."

"I don't see anything wrong with that." Laios turned to Puckpatti. "Thank you for telling me. I'll do what I can to help the kobolds, Puckpatti. Please, stand proud."

Puckpatti stood up and smiled at Laios as she raised her head. The two of them locked eyes. "Thank you. And please, call me Patti."

All the romance synapses in Marcille's brain started firing at that once. This was it! She was the one! But now she needed to make sure Laios realized.

Laios, Kabru, and Yaad retired to Laios's office to discuss plans while Falin escorted Puckpatti back to her home, leaving Marcille alone with her future selves.

"So it's Puckpatti?"

"What is Puckpatti?" Future Marcille 1 asked coyly.

"She's Laios's future wife! Don't try to hide it!"

"Maybe? Maybe not? Who can say?"

"All of you know it! I know it! You two!" Marcille pointed at Elder Marcille and Future Marcille 2. "You set this all up! You made sure Patti said she was friends with Falin and made sure she was talking about monsters and food and monster food!"

"All I did was ask Patti about her experience," Elder Marcille chuckled. "I didn't set anything up."

Then Marcille glared at Future Marcille 2. "And you got her to show she has a kindly nature and has ambitions that would align with Laios's. Did you tell her she should approach Laios like that when she made the request? Did you know he'd look her in the eyes if she bowed to him and he asked her to raise her head?"

"I just told her to give him her request. She did everything else on her own."

The future Marcilles all looked away and had giggly smiles on their faces. Future Marcille 1 spoke up "Are you against this?"

Marcille took a deep breath. Her expression changed from annoyed to excited. Her eyes sparkled. "Not in the slightest."

***

Marcille spent several months using subtle prodding, setting up the mood, and playing wingman as part of her plan to get Laios and Puckpatti together. And when all of that failed, Marcille lost her temper and told them to their face that they should marry each other, and that finally got Laios and Puckpatti to seriously consider it. It took them less than a week to realize that they did in fact love each other and they should in fact get married.

The wedding was a grand event. A whole after-wedding tour of the kingdom was planned for King Laios and Queen Puckpatti. There were some concerns about monsters entering Merini while Laios was away from the castle, but thanks to Mithrun's diligent monster surveying, the exact radius of the curse's effects had been determined and it was far enough that Laios could travel the entirety of Merini without worry.

The wedding itself drew friends and delegates from all around the world. Everyone else at the party was eating, drinking, and having a raucous time. Yaad, Kabru, and Marcille were stressed out by the event. Yaad and Kabru were dealing with perfectly normal and reasonable things to stress out over: poisoned food, assassins, purse thieves, the elves and dwarfs getting into an argument that escalates to another world war, and drunken brawls. Marcille was stressed because she kept finding more and more of her future selves at the event. When she asked Kabru how many he'd found and he said 17. Well, if she revisits this moment that many times, then it must mean all the hard work put into the wedding was worth it.

Shuro and his attendees traveled all the way from Wa to attend Laios's wedding. The two of them hugged when they met each other. Then Shuro revealed surprising news of his own.

"I'm getting married in a few weeks myself."

Laios let out an excited gasp and turned to everyone. "Is it too late to change our plans? Can we go to Wa for our honeymoon?"

"No. That's too far away from Merini." Kabru's response was firm.

Falin spoke up. "I've already spoken with Shuro about this. I'll be attending in Laios's stead."

Marcille knew her first thought was wrong, but she needed to confirm it. "You're not Shuro's bride-to-be, right?"

"No. And besides, I've been planning to visit the Eastern Archipelago for some time now."

And wherever Falin went, Future Marcille 2 was sure to follow. So that was another thing Marcille had to look forward to in the future.

Shuro spoke with Laios. "I know your advisors were hoping to strengthen ties between our kingdoms. Even if we aren't tied by marriage or blood, we are tied by the trials we endured together." Shuro grabbed Laios's hand in a firm handshake. "I promise on my name as Toshiro Nakamoto that I will do all in my power to ensure our nations become staunch allies."

Laios took a second to process Shuro's words before smiling and responding "And I will return the favor as well in the name of our friendship."

The wedding went as Marcille wanted, and it ended even better than she hoped. Chilchuck walked Puckpatti down the aisle and shook Laios's hand. Laios got on one knee so he could look Puckpatti face-to-face. He lifted her veil and they kissed. And instead of walking down the aisle, Laios picked Puckpatti up and carried her down the aisle. Puckpatti threw the bouquet behind her and Falin caught it, got embarrassed, and gave it to Rin.

***

With the wedding over, all that was left was making final preparations for the newlywed's journey around the kingdom. Everything was packed and the work to be done at the castle was already determined. There were just last-minute checks and double-checks to make sure all was in order.

Kabru was going to accompany Laios while Yaad stayed at the castle. Senshi had learned about Laios's honeymoon plan and offered to accompany him on his tour around the kingdom. Flertom, who was becoming noticeably pushy about being around Senshi ever since Puckpatti's engagement, also asked to join.

Marcille was also to go with Laios and Puckpatti, but Future Marcille 1 stubbornly insisted that she should go instead. Marcille had put up with her future self butting in and monopolizing her friends' time for far too long. But this was the final straw. Marcille had been looking forward to this trip for weeks and now her future self was saying she ought to wait for another 200 years instead?!

"You've been here for two years and you've long overstayed your welcome! Shouldn't you have returned to your own time a while ago? Or are you planning on staying here for the rest of our lives?"

Future Marcille 1 put her hands on Marcille's shoulder. She looked down at the ground as she spoke to Marcille. "I know you're upset, but this isn't because I want to go on this trip. I need to."

"The trip you NEED to go on is a trip back to your time."

Future Marcille 1's grip tightened. She looked up at Marcille. Her face was grim and she looked like she was ready to cry. "I need to be by Laios and Puckpatti's side. I can't tell you why, but I need to do this."

Marcille remembered making that face when she used ancient magic to resurrect Falin and when everyone was killed by head-hunter rabbits. This was a matter of life or death to Future Marcille 1.

"Okay. I'll let you go. But you'd better tell me everything that happens when you come back."

Future Marcille 1 hugged Marcille. She started crying and futilely tried to say something, but no words would come out of her mouth.

***

And so King Laios, Queen Puckpatti, and their entourage set out on a tour of Merini to celebrate the wedding with all the kingdom's people.

Over the next several weeks, letters arrived letting Yaad and Marcille know where the entourage was, how the journey was going, and any concerns the townspeople presented. Marcille looked forward to them until one day an emergency message arrived.

Someone had tried to assassinate Laios and Puckpatti.

Chapter Text

Before I explain, know that everyone is alive and the situation is under control. There was an assassination attempt on King Laios and Queen Puckpatti. Two assassins snuck into the manor we were staying at. There was a fight and one of them got away. We managed to capture the second alive. We have guards searching the city for any clues they can find.
Puckpatti is unharmed, but Laios received several injuries during the skirmish. Future Marcille 1 was able to heal him back to proper health, but he's missing a finger. Laios insists on continuing his tour of the kingdom and would prefer we not make this public for now.
I believe this attack may have been motivated around Laios's monster-repelling curse more than any political reasons. The assassin who escaped was the one who cut off Laios's finger and we were unable to find any trace of it. I believe the assassin fled with it.
I've left Senshi in charge of protecting Laios. I will be returning to the castle with all haste with the assassin we captured.
-Kabru

Marcille and Yaad sat in silence after reading the letter. Marcille's body trembled slightly as she tried to think. Her future self must have known this was going to happen, where it was going to happen, and when it was going to happen. So why did it happen? She should know everything down to who the main conspirators are and should have been able to stop them long before this could have happened. Or were the masterminds so competent that Future Marcille 1 was never able to find out who they were?
Or was Marcille still not capable even after 200 years.

***

Kabru arrived with the captured assassin in tow.

Marcille only knew about assassins from her books. They were supposed to be these roguish people covered in scars with tattoos on the hands or the back of their necks proving they're part of some assassins guild. This man was very plain-faced. He was a middle-aged Tall-man you wouldn't be able to notice in a crowd. He didn't have any markings on his body implying he was part of some organization.

Kabru's investigation found the assassin they'd captured was among a group of temporary workers the local lord hired for Laios's visit. All the remaining temporary workers had been interviewed by Kabru and he confirmed their alibis. The second assassin was not among them.
The assassin they caught had a key to the room. Only the regular house staff had room keys. One staff member admitted they lost a key a few days ago and reported it. The key the assassin used was their missing key. This staff member was further investigated and there was no evidence that they were involved in the assassination plot. The key had likely been pickpocketed.
There was also no indication the local lord was involved. His staff testified that he was hoping to leave a good impression with Laios, and there was no paper trail nor discrepancies with his finances that could imply any involvement either. The worst he did was use the same lock and key for every guest room. Kabru told him to change the locks so each room needed a different key and then let him go.

"Has he revealed anything about his client?" Yaad asked. "Do we have any leads?"
"No. He doesn't seem to know anything. All I can say for sure is he was hired by someone somewhere else." Kabru looked at the assassin with that icy stare of his. "I figured a change of scenery might help us out."
"You're not going to torture him, right?" Marcille looked toward Kabru nervously. Something about that look Kabru was making always made her nervous.
"Of course not. Torture is useless. Torture victims will confess to anything." Kabru addressed Yaad. "What's the status on the other investigation?"
"It is as you suspected. The poison was dwarf make."
"P-poison?" Marcille hadn't heard anything about this investigation. "What are you two talking about?"
"Someone tried to poison you and Laios during the wedding."
Marcille felt a chill.
"My great-gradfather was killed the same way during my grandfather's wedding," said Yaad. "I'm glad we didn't have a repeat of that incident."
"And were my suspicions correct?" ask Kabru.
"Indeed they were. We traced the poison back to the former Island Lord."
"And most likely, the Shadow Lord had something to do with this as well."
Marcille had never met the Island Lord before Laios became king. She'd heard he wasn't a competent ruler by any means, but Laios still granted him governance over the area that used to be the Island. She didn't know who the Shadow Lord was at all.
Kabru looked back toward the assassin. "I don't suppose he was your client was he?"
The assassin snarled. "I don't know one bit who wanted the king dead. I was hired to pick pockets and slit throats. I don't care why"
"So are you willing to tell us everything you know about the other one?"
"He always wore a mask and cloak so I don't know what he looked like. But he was a bit short."
"Did he have an accent?"
"Nah. Just talked really proper."
"And his ears?"
"What? You think he was some knife-ears? I didn't see no bumps from his cloak if that's what you want."
Kabru sighed. "Alright then. There's nothing else of value with you. You'll be staying in the prison until we decide what to do with you."

The guards escorted the assassin away and Kabru, Yaad, and Marcille discussed the situation.
"No leads then," said Kabru. "If we're lucky, this will all stop at the Island and Shadow Lords, but if my hunch is right, the actual objective may have been to get a piece of Laios to study his curse."
"The true nature of the curse is a tightly guarded secret," Yaad thought for a moment. "There are plenty of rumors that Laios is the reason Merini is free of monsters, but all the rumors assume the king needs to be alive. If the other assassin stole one of his fingers, then he must have known that the curse is tied to Laios's body."
Marcille had a realization. "Do you think the Western elves are behind this? I've found many magic animal spies throughout the kingdom and castle and most of them were from the elves."
Kabru's face grimaced. "I wouldn't doubt that. They like to hoard magic for themselves and a power that drives away monsters would be too good to ignore. But if it comes to it, can we fight them?"
The answer came in the form of the uncomfortable silence.
Kabru broke the silence. "Let me speak with Pattadol and Mithrun the next time they're here. They're certainly not involved in any of this, but they might know something helpful." Yaad and Marcille agreed. "Also, I think we should speak with Future Marcille 1 as well."
There was a pause and Kabru continued. "If she's a future version of the Marcille here, then she already knew about the assassination plot but didn't try to warn us about it beforehand. I'd like to know why. She's over 300 years old. She must have learned more since then."
Marcille was confused. "Wait. She should be around 260, shouldn't she?"
"You hadn't noticed? The real Future Marcille 1 and 2 returned to their timelines a long while ago. They've been trading off with later versions of themselves each time they do."
"Wha-huh?"
"Yeah. Each one only stays for about two weeks. Then another Future Marcille arrives to take her place. I'd estimate the future Future Marcilles are always roughly a year older."
Marcille had to pause and think what this means. Future Marcille 1 arrived in the year 520 from the year 720. She spent two weeks in the castle until a future Future Marcille 1 arrived from the year 721. Future Marcille 1 then returned to her time and six months later she came back to 520 as Future Marcille 2 who went on a trip with Falin and presumably also returned to the year 720 when a future Future Marcille 2 arrived from 721. Then Future Marcille 2 became the future Future Marcille 1, traveled back to 520 to trade places with a past Future Marcille 1. Then the future Future Marcille 1 would pretend to be Future Marcille 1 for two weeks until a future future Future Marcille 1 shows up, and then....

No. Marcille had to stop. She was seriously going to do this in 200 years?

***

Against Laios's hopes, word of the assassination plot spread throughout the kingdom. At the same time, Kabru began his investigations into the Island Lord and found the proof that he had indeed tried to poison Laios and Marcille during the wedding. Not only was he a lousy lord, he was also a lousy conspirator. He left multiple correspondences lying around and even kept a small container of the poison out in the open. The Shadow Lord was much smarter and had long fled with no trace to be found.
Because Yaad and Kabru kept the first assassination plot under wraps, the people assumed the Island Lord was behind the second assassination attempt. Marcille thought it would be for the best. If anyone assumed the elves were behind it, many of Laios's efforts to remove the stigma against magic and build unity with the many races would be destroyed. She feared anti-elf sentiment could escalate to people accusing her of being part of the conspiracy as well.

Kabru took several soldiers to arrest the Island Lord and bring him to the castle. They returned about a week later with both the Island Lord and Izutsumi in tow.
"It's because that dastard tried to kill Laios." Izutsumi later told Marcille. "He tried to kill Laios so I was going to kill him. But then that cabbage guy showed up and got in the way." Izutsumi's ears drooped as she told Marcille. Marcille hugged her. She wanted to tell Izutsumi that she shouldn't take justice into her own hands, but she would have done the exact same thing in her place.

Laios's entourage returned a few days later. Marcille, Izutsumi, Kabru, and Yaad greeted them back to the castle. Puckpatti had a brave face, but when Marcille looked her over and then gave her a hug, she started to cry. Laios knelt down and placed his left hand on Puckpatti's shoulder. Marcille saw that the pinky finger and part of the knuckle below it was gone. Marcille gently grabbed his hand, pulled it toward her face, and started to cry.

The assassin and Island Lord were made to kneel before the king. Laios, in his painfully good nature, wanted to hear them out and know what would make them try to kill him. Marcille took her usual place during these moments standing at Laios's side. At Laios's left side. Izutsumi was also in attendance next to her.
Marcille didn't listen to the excuses being made. All her focus was on that scarred hand of Laios's and Izutsumi. Izutsumi's ears were bent back, her teeth were bared, and her fur was standing up. Marcille could hear her angry murmur.
When Marcille looked at the men, her grip on Ambrosia tightened. These men were only alive because of Marcille's restraint. They weren't bloodied stains against the walls because she had self-control. But each moment, each word spoken, each glimpse at that scar weakened her restraint until she finally broke.
"Sorry. But I'm going to take my leave for a moment. Izutsumi, please behave yourself."

Marcille left the throne room and began wandering the castle. She found Future Marcille 1 sitting on a bench in the hallway. It almost felt like she was waiting for Marcille to arrive. Marcille pretended she wasn't there and kept walking past her.
Marcille didn't want to look at her. She was already in a bad mood and seeing that face made it worse. She was annoying. A busybody. Useless. Absolutely useless! She had acquired all this knowledge and built up all these skills and she was useless when it mattered most! Who cares if she can mend wounds or save someone from danger. If she had half the competency she acts like she has, she would solve every problem before anyone needs healing or rescue.
"You should just say what you think. You'll feel better."
Marcille turned around to face her other self. She just stood there waiting for whatever happens. Marcille walked up to her, grabbed her by the shirt, and pulled her closer. "Why didn't you stop this from happening!?" she screamed.
"You knew this was going to happen! You knew exactly when and where this would happen! So why did it happen!"
She fought back the tears. "If I had gone with Laios instead, he'd be dead. I didn't know anything that was going to happen. I wouldn't be able to save him.
"But you knew! You wanted to go because you knew! So why didn't you stop this! You're centuries older than me! You should be so much better than me! Why are you still so useless!?"
Marcille started breathing heavily. Her face was flush. She let go of Future Marcille 1.
Future Marcille 1's face was unmoving. "I can't."
"You can't what?"
"I can't. I just can't."
A loud THUNK was made. They turned to the source. Elder Marcille would loudly hit the walls or floor with her Ambrosia when she wanted to announce her presence.
"Tell me, my younger self. You know that some day, you'll have the power to travel through time. If you had that power right now, what would you do with it?"
Marcille said the first thing that came to her mind. "I'd stop the assassins before they hurt Laios. I'd warn him and Kabru about them. I'd set up extra guards. I'd search the whole town for them before they could try to hurt him."
"What else would you do?"
Marcille thought for a moment. "I'd also go back and see how Laios and Falin became adventurers. I'd save Falin from being eaten by the dragon. I'd tell my younger self that she has a wonderful life to look forward to."
Tears started falling and her lip quivered. "I'd...I'd show papa what a grown woman I'd become and I'd give him another hug and tell him I love him and miss him."
"So then why has none of that happened?"
Marcille looked at her elder self confused.
"If those are things you'd like to do, then why hasn't that happened? We want to do the same things after all." Marcille had no answer.
"The past is immutable. We cannot change what has already happened. We can only be here because when we were young, our future selves came to visit. When you're in your own time, you're free to do as you please. But when you travel to the past, you are a guest and have to abide by the restrictions placed upon you.
"When I was younger I tried to do everything you want and more. But I wasn't allowed to. I couldn't save Falin. I couldn't see papa again. I couldn't protect Laios. I couldn't even apologize for failing or say goodbye to you."
"Say good- !!" Marcille turned to where Future Marcille 1 had been standing. She was gone. "Where'd she go?"
"Back to her own time."
"Why? Did I upset her that much?"
"No. She desperately wanted to stay. She wanted to apologize for failing. And she wanted to say goodbye to everyone first. But she wasn't allowed to. From your perspective, that Marcille just suddenly vanished. And for us that happened in the past, so we were all forced to follow it.
"This magic is not all-powerful. We may have far more knowledge and power than you, but we can't even move a finger unless the timeline says we can. You're actually the strongest one of us here because you still have the freedom to do what you want."
Marcille fell to her knees and began to wail. Elder Marcille placed a hand on her shoulder and offered herself as someone for Marcille to cry on.

***

Three verdicts were made. The assassin and Island Lord were sentenced to prison for the rest of their lives for attempted murder against the king and his magic advisor during the king's wedding and honeymoon. Izutsumi meanwhile was sentenced to Marcille's room for the rest of the trial for attempted murder against the assassin and Island Lord during their trial. Marcille later reprimanded Izutsumi for her actions in a way that most definitely did not hint that she completely approved of what Izutsumi did.
Laios had hoped their actions were because of some desperate circumstance he could try to resolve and was so upset that wasn't the case. Even after everything he does for everyone, there were still people who hate him.

Pattadol visited the castle a few months after Laios and Puckpatti's honeymoon trip. Kabru invited Mithrun to the castle and the three of them and Marcille had a chat. Kabru asked a lot of questions about how Queen Hemea was doing and how things were in the North Central Continent. He was hoping Pattadol would say something implicating the elf continent in the assassination attempt.
Pattadol happily answered Kabru's questions but never said a word that could imply what Hemea was up to. Of course, there's no way Pattadol would know any plots; she's too honest to be trusted to know.
When any questions were directed to Mithrun, he'd give reports about monster sightings and eradications, the types of noodles he made each day, mana levels in various dungeons and locations, the number of noodle bowls he made each week, his patrol patterns around Merini, where he harvested the herbs he used to make noodles, rumors he heard that could be of interest to Kabru, and how his noodle-making skills have improved. He never once said anything related to the elf kingdom.
When the recent assassination attempt came up, Pattadol was glad that Laios wasn't killed, both because of the turmoil it would cause the kingdom and because a hero like him should not meet his end in such a way.
"I was shocked when the news reached the Central Continents. Someone attacks him on his wedding night and steals one of his fingers."
"Actually, it was several weeks after the wedding," Mithrun corrected. "The wedding incident was the poison assassination attempt."
"Wait! How do you know that?" asked Marcille.
"Kabru asked me to help out," Mithrun responded bluntly. "He asked me, and you from 772, and you from 813, and you from 947, and you from 726, and you from -"
"Okay I get it." Marcille did not need to know just how much she was going to abuse time travel. Hopefully she was going to frequent Laios's wedding because she enjoyed it and not because the assassination plot was that extreme.

After the meeting, Kabru pulled Marcille aside. "Did you catch Pattadol's slip?" Marcille did indeed. "She said Laios's finger was stolen, but the actual reports say he lost his finger."
Maybe Hemea was involved or maybe she wasn't, but some faction within the Elven Kingdom was behind the attack.

Chapter Text

The year is 538. It has been 16 years since Laios and Puckpatti's marriage, the attempted assassination against them presumably by the Elven Kingdom, and Future Marcille 1's disappearance.

The kingdom fell into a general state of panic for a few years due to the assassination attempt. Laios wanted to continue making public appearances and periodically travel the kingdom to meet with citizens directly. And he did make some additional tours, but the first one was several years later. In the meantime, laws and policies were placed to make something like that far less likely. For example, any building designed to host guests for an evening, such as an inn or a mansion, must use different locks for each guest room and must change out the locks to a room if a key for it goes missing.

When Falin returned from the Eastern Archipelago and learned about what happened, she swore to stay by Laios's side and protect him forever. Laios convinced her that it wouldn't be necessary and she should still enjoy her life, but she decided she would accompany him on all his future trips around the kingdom.

Relations had soured with the Elven Kingdom somewhat after the assassination attempt. No one accused the Elven Kingdom of being behind the plot, but there was a certain feeling whenever they had to interact with members of the Elf court. Pattadol still made diplomatic visits, but they were becoming more rare as time went on. Meanwhile, new diplomats were being appointed and they had the arrogance of an Elf supremacist and a smugness to them because they knew they could get away with murder. Izutsumi was not allowed to attend court whenever one of them came by.

But as relations with the Elven Kingdom were weakening, relations with other nations were growing stronger. Shuro made strides to broker an alliance between Merini and the Eastern Archipelago. Progress was slow as each island tended to operate independently. Shuro managed to convince his own local lord with Falin's help, but convincing other lords often required him to travel to their lands to make a case. He admitted that the Merini-Archipelago alliance would likely not be completed in his and Laios's lifetime, but an informal alliance and trade agreements were made between Merini and the regions that accepted the idea.

Queen Puckpatti also became popular with the people of the Western Continent. She originally wanted to help out a Kobold tribe, but her desire expanded to wanting to help the entire Western Continent as she learned more of its history. Her main goals were to open trade routes to bring supplies and aid to the Western Continent and to destroy the trafficking rings that preyed upon the Kobolds. The first major breakthrough came when one trafficking ring was uncovered and its prisoners saved. The people from the Western Continent were more willing to believe the queen's good intentions when she was accompanied by a shipload of former slaves who could give a first-hand account of her good intentions.

Future Marcille 2 stayed around the castle more often now that Falin stayed around more often as well. When Future Marcille 1 disappeared, several of the castle residents, especially Laios, mourned her disappearance. This was an awkward moment for Marcille as she often found herself literally standing next to a group of people crying because they would never see "Marcille" again. All their grieving ended when Future Marcille 2 returned to the castle and reminded everyone that she was Future Marcille 1 but six months older.

As the years moved on, it was clear that Kabru's observations about the future Marcilles was correct. Every two weeks, a Marcille from further in the future would arrive and take over the role of Future Marcille 2. This created a curious illusion that Future Marcille 2 seemed to age at the same rate as a Tall-man. Marcille found it ridiculous at first, but when she took the time to really think about it, she realized that she'd like to grow old alongside everyone as well. She barely looked older at 74 than she did at 50.

In 524, Laios and Puckpatti had a son who they named Chilsen. There were some arguments about whether he should follow the Half-foot naming style and be called Chilsen Laios, or if he should follow the Tall-man naming style and be called Chilsen Touden. The Tall-man style won but everyone in the kingdom unofficially called him Chilsen Laios Touden.

He had much of his father's build but also his mother's features. He had chestnut hair and light-brown eyes. His face was round like Puckpatti's but he had Laios's eyes and nose. In some ways, he looked almost like Chilchuck.

As a half Tall-man, half....Half-foot, Chilsen had several physical traits that were in between the two races. Ear size, growth rate, and height, were all roughly in the middle of a Tall-man and Half-foot. He was the same adventurous child his father was. Marcille stressed to Laios to always be up-front about his reasons and intentions with Chilsen so their relation wouldn't be damaged by any misunderstandings.

Chilsen was taught everything a prince would need to know: politics, history, warfare, culture. He showed competence but his favorite activities were music and dance. He liked the flute in particular and preferred more experimental music over classics. When he first heard someone sing the mermaid's song, Chilsen became obsessed with converting it to flute. People who heard it commented that they felt charmed as if they'd heard an actual mermaid.

When Chilsen was born, Laios wanted to hold another grand festival, but he got vetoed because the kingdom was still a bit on edge. Rather than having a single large gathering, it was decided that several smaller local events would be held around the kingdom instead. Merchants scrambled to get supplies to every part of the kingdom in preparation for the festival day.

Most of these festivals included a grand feast. As the years went by, feasts became the default way to celebrate any major event such as a marriage, a birth, a coming-of-age, or even a funeral. "Eating is the exclusive privilege of the living" was the king's motto. So the people of Merini would eat as a way to celebrate life.

The kingdom's love for food also caused Merini to grow into a gourmet hub. People from around the world would travel to Merini to exchange recipes, techniques, and supplies. Certain areas in Merini developed their own culinary styles due to their neighboring nations. The eastern part of Merini liked to use heavy spices from the dwarfs while southern and eastern Merini took interest in the Eastern Archipelago cooking style.

Monster cuisine became an interest within the kingdom as well, but it tended to be more common around the borders rather than within the kingdom. There wasn't a stigma against eating monsters. The king loved eating them and Senshi's dungeon cuisine was known throughout the kingdom. The problem was it was nearly impossible to actually acquire monsters because of Laios's curse. Monster materials had to be imported pre-killed. On rare occasions, someone would try bringing a captured monster instead and the monster always flew into a frenzied panic and would either escape and flee or kill itself in the process.

Sometimes, Merini's tendency to blend styles caused some amount of strife. There was a debate that lasted for years caused by Northern immigrants creating something they called the "meatball" and marketing it as a Northern dish despite it not originating in the Northern Continent. And one of the bloodiest riots within Merini, which required Laios to put the town under martial law to stop it, occurred in the northeastern towns because of an argument over whether the Northern method of breaking long pasta noodles into smaller pieces before cooking them or the Eastern method of leaving the noodles unbroken was the "correct" way to make noodle dishes. This became known as the Noodle Riot. Laios had to make a law protecting the rights of people to make and serve food as they liked.

With Laios growing older, he decided he'd step down as king and let Chilsen officially take the crown. Chilsen would rule officially while Laios played a support role to ease the transition.

This year would be both Laios's 50th birthday and the year of the new king. Laios wanted to celebrate with an event as grand as his and Puckpatti's wedding. Those words sent Kabru into a spiral because he remembered what happened the last time and he was growing far too old to deal with this.

***

Senshi, Izutsumi, Falin, and Flertom headed out on an adventure several months prior to the party to "catch something worthy of a king" as Senshi put it. Future Marcille 2 decided to not go with them for some reason. She said she was getting too old to adventure and there was no need to. She didn't seem to care that the others were similarly quite old. Future Marcille 2 was far more interested in spending time with Chilsen. She used to enjoy dancing whenever he performed a song, but now in her older age, she wasn't quite as physically active. She instead started putting on light shows to accompany the prince's little concerts and would frequently wander around the castle like Elder Marcille did.

There were also signs that she was starting to lose her vision. She could still walk without assistance, but she was having a harder time reading small print text. She also once mistook Laios for Falin from a distance. She probably knew this as well. She had recently gotten into a habit of staring at peoples' faces. She liked to just stand near someone, smile, and just look at them. She sometimes got far too close to their faces for comfort.

Elder Marcille was counting down the days to the party. The only thing keeping her excitement in check was the time travel restraints and her bad hip. At one point, she said it will be a once-in-a-lifetime feast and that this would be the 50th time she attended it.

50? Marcille didn't care to ask at this point. She was just glad Elder Marcille let her know so she could tell the party planners to accommodate seating for 50 additional guests.

***

Rather than the smaller local festivals that were typically held, Laios's 50th birthday festival was turned into a grand event much like his wedding. The people insisted on celebrating in-person and they all wanted to see the official coronation of the new king. And what truly drove the people to want to join in a big celebration was the meal that was being served: Dragon meat cooked by the legendary monster chef Senshi.

Senshi had set out following rumors of a dragon-infested dungeon to acquire meat for the festival. He figured that since Laios's time as a king began with people feasting on dragon meat, it should also end that way as well.

Logistics were set to be a nightmare due to the need for transport, preservation, and the party being quite on in years. But Senshi gained a great boon in the form of Future Marcille 3 (Not to be confused with Future Marcille 1 or Future Marcille 2). As Senshi recounted, she met the party at the port, already had all the supplies necessary to carry two or three dragon corpses, and even had learned ice magic to keep the bodies from rotting.

"Honestly, she didn't even need us to fight the dragons. She only brought us along for company and so we could pass along how she pulled everything off."

This future Marcille looked a bit older than Future Marcille 1 and Future Marcille 2 when they first arrived. She wore that same dress they all liked to wear, but this Marcille's dress was green. Marcille assumed she was probably from around 350 years in the future. She added that to the mental list of things she'd have to do in the future. She'd say she could never complete all these things in her lifetime, but her future selves kind of proved that she will.

Kabru set very strict policies around who could cook what, how food was to be served, and what to do with any unattended plates or drinks. Only the team of chefs approved by him and Senshi were allowed to make the meals and only the staff members Kabru trusted could serve it. He also kept plenty of healers on standby.

Serving stations were set up all around the castle grounds and anyone wanting any food must get in a line to be served; no dishes were to be left unattended. Attendees were encouraged to eat whatever the chefs had available. They could make requests for particular dishes, but no promises were made about whether or when they would be ready. Drinks were similarly available at serving stations with bartenders offering special cocktails.

Any food or drinks left alone at a table with fewer than three people sitting at it had to be disposed. Taking smaller portions, keeping your plate on you, and eating while walking around were encouraged to avoid food waste.

Plenty of people voiced their annoyance, but it did ultimately keep the festival organized, made it easier to sample everything offered, and the worst thing that happened was a few people vomiting because they overate.

Just like Laios and Puckpatti's wedding, this event attracted people from all around. Pattadol arrived as a friend rather than a diplomat. She was 106 and was becoming an even more lovely woman.

Mithrun had been focusing primarily on making noodles. He used to work in the Eastern area but was chased out of town for breaking the noodles before cooking them. He was now 209, but he looked far older.

Namari came to visit from Kahka Brud. She was now 85. She was every bit as strong and confident as Marcille remembered. And she held her head high after paying off her father's debts.

Zon, his son Bahay, Leed, and many from the orc tribes arrived. Despite being 46 and well past his prime, Zon still carried himself like a warrior and leader. Bahay had taken three wives at this point and was set to become the chief after Zon's passing.

From the Eastern Archipelago came a young man not much older than Chilsen. It was clear by his appearance and demeanor that this was Shuro's son. He had his face, but his cheeks and chin were a bit softer.

He and his retainers arrived at the castle a few days before the festival. When he met Laios and Chilsen, he bowed and introduced himself. "I am Shugero Nakamoto, son of Toshiro Nakamoto. I've come in my father's place to represent Wa during this celebration." He was even overly-formal like Shuro.

Laios and Chilsen gave Shugero the same wide-eyed look. Chilsen walked up to Shugero and Shugero started to become nervous. "You're from the Eastern Archipelago? My dad has always wanted to go there. Could you tell me about it?" Chilsen grabbed Shugero's hand.

Marcille saw the early signs of the same conflict that happened between Laios and Shuro. Chilsen was acting a bit too pushy and there was no way he was going to notice Shugero's discomfort. But Shugero sighed and said "My father warned me that I should speak my mind, set boundaries, and not rely on social cues to tell people when they are crossing those boundaries." Shugero patted Chilsen's shoulder and smiled. "I'll be happy to tell you what I can. But I'll let you know when I'm tired."

Marcille and Shugero's attendants stayed close to the boys just in case.

The two of them sat and talked for hours about their homes, their family histories, and the types of people in their lands. When Shugero tired of it, they decided to share a meal and they compared various ways food was served. Then Chilsen gave Shugero a tour of the castle.

Through all this, Shugero would often become tired from Chilsen's excited energy. But when Chilsen became too much, Shugero would simply ask to take a break and Chilsen would oblige. And when Shugero was ready to continue, he'd let Chilsen know. And Chilsen took those moments to adjust his own behavior so Shugero could enjoy himself as well.

There was nothing to worry about.

There was a special table for Laios and his friends during the festival. All the attendees who didn't know were confused why they were using such a large table and why there were so many chairs. But they quickly understood once the singularity happened. Marcilles from across time appeared suddenly. They were all lively and excited to meet and greet everyone attending the festival. Everyone who was already aware of Marcille's time-traveling antics found the moment hilarious. Everyone who wasn't aware but knew Marcille simply sighed and said the wasn't even the strangest thing they expected of her. Shugero was the only person scared by the situation. Chilsen assured him that this was perfectly normal.

The coronation happened before the food was served. Marcille stood in the front of the courtyard with the others and excitedly waited for the king to make his appearance. Laios and Chilsen took their places in the castle's lookout platform overlooking the festival grounds. The crowds cheered when Laios stood before them. He raised a hand to silence them and spoke.

"24 years ago, I became king and celebrated with a feast. Today, I abdicate the throne and hand it over to my son."

Laios unclasped his royal cloak. Chilsen stood next to him and stood still as Laios draped the cloak on him and clasped it tight. Chilsen stood before the crowd which was quietly waiting to hear his words.

"Today, we celebrate both my father's birthday and my ascension with another feast. Under my father's rule, Merini has become a bountiful land. We eat because we live; that is the exclusive right of the living. But we should also be able to celebrate being alive. But I shouldn't take much longer. The food will get cold. Everyone, please eat your fill and celebrate today. May this be the first of many celebrations to come!"

The cheers were deafening.

***

Laios's inner circle waited in a special room inside the castle. Most of them were bringing out dishes and serving plates, but the future Marcilles decided to get up to something. Marcille couldn't tell if they were doing this for fun or to mess with her, but half of her future selves organized themselves into 5 rows of 5 and took the same pose waiting for Laios and Chilsen to enter the room. There was an open space in the middle of the front row.

Marcille realized exactly what they were planning even before two of her future selves dragged her kicking and screaming into that spot. But as soon as they got her there, Marcille stopped fighting and took the same pose the rest of her selves were making.

"What am supposed to do?"

"Say and do exactly what you want to do", said the Marcille to her left.

When Laios and Chilsen walked into the room, Marcille and her surrounding future selves simultaneously clapped their hands, smiled, and said "Congratulations Chilsen. You did great!" Everyone in the room had a hearty laugh. In her heart, Marcille was happy she did that.

Laios sat at one end of the table. Starting at his left and circling back around to his right were Puckpatti, Falin, Marcille, Marcille, Senshi, Flertom, Marcille, Izutsumi, Marcille, Elder Marcille, Marcille, Marcille, Marcille, Zon, Marcille, Bahay, Marcille, Leed, Marcille, Marcille, Marcille, Marcille, Pattadol, Marcille, Marcille, Marcille, Mithrun, Marcille, Marcille, Marcille, Marcille, Marcille, Namari, Marcille, Marcille, Marcille, Marcille, Marcille, Marcille, Marcille, Marcille, Future Marcille 3, Marcille, Marcille, Mithrun, Marcille, Marcille, Kabru, Rin, Marcille, Marcille, Marcille, Marcille, Marcille, Marcille, Marcille, Marcille, Meijack, Marcille, Marcille, Marcille, Marcille, Marcille, Future Marcille 2, Marcille, Shugero, and Chilsen.

There were two empty seats at the table for those who could not make it.

The first was for Yaad. In 527, the leaked power of the dungeon eventually became too thin for him to stay alive. One day, he and all the surviving residents of the Golden Kingdom began to rapidly age and a month later, they were all dust. All of them lived close to the castle, and when they realized their time was up, they all came to visit Laios and share one last meal.

The second was Chilchuck. He passed away two years ago in 536. He was 51 when he died. He passed away in his sleep. Everyone was heartbroken when he died and no one cried harder than his daughters. In his memory, Chilchuck's family and friends all shared some of the Clingley Brewery's stout at his funeral.

There were several dishes Marcille recognized from the time they ate Falin: dragon gratin, dragon meat pies, dragon blood sausages. But there were also exciting variants and new dishes created thanks to all the cooking ideas that had spread throughout Merini. There was a dairy-free gratin, extra spicy sausages, and dragon meatballs. Mithrun, ever the noodle-brain, made himself a bowl of long noodles with meatballs and crushed tomatoes on top. The idea spread around during the festival, but Kabru made sure to tell the chefs to make short and long noodle variants to avoid a second noodle riot.

Marcille found her three favorite new dishes during the festival. The first was called the hamburger, named after the Half-foot chef who created it, Hamjon Burgs. It was a simple but delicious innovation on the sausage where it was served inside a bread roll. Thanks to the shape of the roll, it was also possible to add various spreads like butter or dip it in soup when eaten.

The second was a sandwich called a brudwurst, named after Kahka Brud where the idea came from. It contained something called a patty (No connection to Queen Puckpatti) which was minced meat padded into a circular shape, coated in flour and fried. Popular fillings in the brudwurst were cheese, tomatoes, and cabbage.

The third was something similar to the brudwurst but was simply called a minced meat sandwich. It had a similar patty, but the patty wasn't coated in flour and was grilled instead. Apparently, some people argued this should be called a brudwurst, while others said it isn't because the patty is not cooked the same way.

The festival lasted a week. Laios, Puckpatti, and Chilsen, accompanied by a few Marcilles, would periodically mingle amongst the attendees. During these moments, Marcille always kept an eye out for threats. But thankfully she only encountered drunken revelers and people not watching where they're going.

But one time, a pair of young men saw Laios with Marcille and two of her future selves accompanying him. Marcille saw them nod understandingly to each other and leave. They weren't a threat but she knew she needed to kill them. It was well known that Marcille was the mage to Laios's old party, and people often (WRONGLY!!!) assumed the two of them were secretly lovers because of those stereotypes about adventuring parties. And now these two men definitely thought the king kept a harem of elves.

Before she could hunt those men down, the other two Marcilles stopped her and simply shook their heads no. Marcille accepted their actions and assumed they knew Marcille was overreacting.

She was not overreacting and the old rumors evolved into whispers that Laios kept multiple identical lovers. Some variants said the women were unrelated and Laios just liked blond elves. Others said they were all sisters and Laios had a thing for sisters. The sister-fetish version gained more traction when people realized Puckpatti was the youngest of three sisters.

The rumors inspired a new wave of erotic fiction featuring Laios and Marcille. In them, Marcille was portrayed as the youngest sister within Laios's concubine and his most favored. Marcille hated most of them because of the topic and how she was portrayed as romance-crazed. But there was one particular story called The King's Queens which also featured Puckpatti and her sisters. In it, Marcille and Puckpatti bond over being youngest siblings within Laios's concubine and they conspire to become Laios's favorites and become co-queens so they eventually depose him to set Falin as Merini's ruler. After she read it, Marcille sent an anonymous donation with a letter asking the author to make The King's Queens a series but also change the names of all the characters.

As the festival winded down, the Marcilles gradually returned to their own times until it was once again just Marcille, Future Marcille 2, and Elder Marcille.

Senshi spoke with Marcille after everything was cleaned up. "Well, now I can finally give this to you." Senshi handed her a journal. "It's some notes I made during my adventure with your future self. I figure you should have it since it will be useful to you some day."

The journal opened with a drawing of Senshi, Flertom, Izutsumi, and Falin together. Senshi's drawing of Flertom was beautifully detailed in contrast to everyone else. Each day noted their meals, little things about their journey, and Senshi's concern about everyone's fitness to face dragons. They met Future Marcille 3 at the port and traveled to the Western Continent to a dungeon with dragons. Senshi drew a rough approximation in his journal. He drew some wheeled carts with the dimensions on them.

There were some rough sketches of wyverns, the gemstones in the dungeon, and the green dragon they fought. Senshi didn't say anything about how the fight went except "Marcille managed to handle it alone. She didn't need our help with anything, including hauling the dragon back to the surface." There was a drawing of Marcille apparently teleporting the dragon onto the cart and casting ice magic on it.

The last page of the journal was a sketch Senshi made of Future Marcille 3. She looked just like her mother.

Chapter Text

The year is 561. Yaad has been dead for 34 years. Chilchuck has been dead for 25 years. Meijack and Flertom have been dead for 10 years. Kabru has been dead for 8 years. Puckpatti has been dead for 6 years. Falin has been dead for 3 years.

King Laios of Merini has just passed away at 73 years old.

Laios's long life was the topic of a lot of discussion. Some believed it was a blessing from the gods, some thought he was kept alive thanks to healing tonics and magic, and others whispered that he died long ago and what people saw was actually his corpse reanimated by his elven lover.

The truth was mundane. Laios insisted on eating a balanced diet, regulating his daily rhythms, and doing moderate exercise. He kept at it every day until age made him unable to eat most things, forced him to spend most of his time asleep, and he became too weak to leave his bed.

Laios promised to stay alive for as long as possible for Marcille's sake. Falin and Puckpatti made the same promise, but Laios's devotion to it was on another level. He avoided stressful situations and anyone who was sick. Part of the reason he passed the crown to Chilsen was so he could escape the stress of rule.

But sometimes, he became so obsessed that he missed the point sometimes. He tried to ignore his grief when his wife and sister passed because he was afraid it would harm his health. Marcille had to tell him she wanted to cry and grieve with him for Laios to mourn.

Future Marcille 2 returned to her own time in 548. Or rather, different future Marcilles stopped showing up to replace the future Marcille currently operating as Future Marcille 2. She was only slightly younger than Elder Marcille was when she first arrived, and her vision was nearly gone. The castle had a small going-away party for her since she didn't get to have one when she was Future Marcille 1. She insisted we not mourn her leaving since Elder Marcille was just an older version of her. Though true, the castle didn't quite feel the same with one less Marcille.

Elder Marcille was still around, but she could no longer get around unassisted and spent most of her time sleeping. Whenever she woke up, she would often mumble "Not today." She was 1023.

After Chilchuck's passing, Elder Marcille led a project to make a mausoleum for Laios and the others near the castle. It wasn't very elaborate. It was roughly the size of a single floor of the castle and had a domed roof with an opening in the center. There was a single large room which held 6 coffins. Five were laid in a row. The outermost coffins were smaller than the rest. The sixth coffin was set in a separate row further away and perpendicular to the middle coffin in the other row.

A giant statue of the Winged Lion was integrated into the design. It's head was the first thing you saw when entering the room. Its head and body leaned against the wall opposite the entry. Its wings were integrated in the walls to make it look like it was covering the room with them. Its face looked down toward the middle tombstone. At the right time of day, the sunlight would shine through the opening in the roof and shine on that same tombstone.

Originally, the five coffins were for Chilchuck, Izutsumi, Marcille, Falin, and Senshi while the sixth would be for Laios and Puckpatti. But Izutsumi was against laying in a tomb for all eternity. She said she wanted her ghost to roam the land and protect them from graverobbers. Elder Marcille suggested entombing Izutsumi in the Winged Lion statue so she could act as their guardian diety. Izutsumi loved it.

Puckpatti also wished for her sisters to be buried with her. Since Izutsumi wasn't going to use her coffin, that freed up one spot, and Senshi asked that Flertom be interred in his coffin as well. After a little reorganizing, the five coffins were assigned to Chilchuck, Senshi and Flertom, Marcille, Falin, and Meijack.

When the mausoleum was completed, Chilchuck's remains were exhumed and interred. The rest were filled in gradually until only the center one was completely unoccupied. As each tomb was occupied, Marcille found herself wandering into the mausoleum more and more. The castle was now full of strangers while this was where her friends were.

Marcille thought about her own coffin and how it would be a long time before she'd ever use it. But Elder Marcille interrupted her pondering to inform Marcille that coffin wasn't for her. "It's for me. Once I'm done with this place, I'm gonna hop in that coffin and spend eternity with everyone."

So even in death, these future Marcilles still were going to steal Marcille's chances to be with her friends.

Laios's inner circle knew for some time that his monster repelling curse was so he could never be fed to monsters like he wanted. So the curse would still drive away monsters as long as his body still existed. Laios worked with Namari and Mithrun to figure out what to do with his body after death. Namari knew several dwarven techniques for preserving things in a diamond-hard resin. She thought sealing Laios's body in it would keep the curse active. Mithrun tested it out by taking a bit of Laios's hair sealed in the resin to a dungeon outside the curse's range. While it still deterred monsters, it wasn't nearly as effective as the same amount of hair left lying in the open.

Mithrun concluded they could use Namari's recommendation, but suggested cutting Laios's body apart, sealing each piece and then placing them in various key locations to maximize the amount of space Laios's curse would cover. He also suggested collecting Laios's poop, urine, and some of his blood and sealing them in resin and provide additional parts they could use. The first suggestion was accepted with much trepidation. The second was rejected.

Laios requested that if his body was to be scattered around, then he'd like his head, heart, and stomach to be buried with Puckpatti.

And so it was done once he finally passed away. Marcille didn't dare watch any of the process happen. But she joined Senshi and Izutsumi in placing Laios's head, heart, and stomach with Puckpatti. Marcille placed his head next to hers, Senshi put his heart in her arms, and Izutsumi just tossed his stomach in and said that was good enough.

Everyone in the kingdom was understandably weirded and grossed out when they were told about the curse and that Laios's body was being scattered around the kingdom.

***

Chilsen had proven himself a competent king. He was better at the position than Laios, but he was always compared to his father. The people said Laios was more charismatic (he wasn't), more politically savvy (not in the slightest), more handsome (no comment), and more battle savvy (probably).

Chilsen's rule had been one of peace and prosperity. His rule was objectively better than Laios's, but it didn't make for good story and song so he was always compared negatively to his hero king father.

It's hard to compare to someone who delved into the deepest dungeon to slay a man-eating demon, turned into a dragon to eat said demon, freed a lost kingdom and the souls of its victims when he ripped open the demon's stomach, and was made king of that kingdom (that's the story most often told).

But Chilsen slew a far greater beast: the rich man's opposition to paying taxes. He successfully pushed a luxury-goods tax that was used to build and support a new liberal arts school. From Marcille's experience, it was easier to free souls from a demon's stomach than it was to free coins from a rich man's purse, but the latter story wasn't nearly as exciting to read about.

Chilsen had also gotten married since becoming king. Shugero brought his younger sister to the kingdom a few years after Chilsen became king and a request from Shuro telling Laios that he hoped Chilsen might marry her to strengthen the alliance between Merini and the Eastern Archipelago and so the two of them might finally call themselves family.

She was an anxious girl and didn't cope well with new situations. She spent the first two days locked in her guest room and she barely ate during that time. Even once she was calm enough to walk around the castle, she would only do so if Shugero and eventually Chilsen accompanied her. Meals were difficult for her because she hadn't eaten many of the things offered and got scared whenever anything loud happened. She tried her best to be an ideal bride to Chilsen, but he decided to reject marrying her because he understood that the Eastern Archipelago was her home and that's where she wanted to be.

Sometimes, Laios questioned if never getting to be related to Shuro was part of the curse as well.

Chilsen instead married a Tall-man noble woman from the Western Continent. She was shrewd and perceptive. She had the same eye for people Kabru had, but she didn't have his silver tongue. She liked to give people nicknames and she called Marcille 'Marcy'. Marcille could never tell if her nicknaming habit was a sign of endearment or condescension.

She often attended Chilsen's court and whispered her opinions to him so he could decide how best to respond. Together, they had a daughter who took after her mother in both appearance and personality.

Marcille did not get along with Chilsen's wife. She had some anti-elf prejudices that were common within the Western Continent. The best they could do was respect each other's capabilities and otherwise bite their tongues whenever they started getting annoyed with each other.

The princess seemed fascinated with Marcille and liked to follow her around. Marcille tried getting along with the new princess, but just couldn't. She had no reason to feel any animosity toward the child, but Marcille couldn't see anything about her that reminded her of Laios or Puckpatti. Eventually, the princess stopped following her around.

Chilsen declining to marry an Easterner in favor of a Westerner hurt Shuro's efforts in uniting the archipelago in an alliance with Merini. But Chilsen managed to resolve those issues when he personally traveled to Wa to pay his respects at Shuro's grave.

Shugero similarly traveled to Merini when he heard about Laios's passing.

***

It was several months later when two pieces of dire news arrived. The first message came from Namari. "Kahka Brud is planning an invasion!"

In the early years of Laios's reign, relations with Kahka Brud were shaky. It used to be a coastal town, but its economy was destroyed when Merini rose out of the sea. Laios provided aid, offered special trade deals, and gave special permissions to traders, but nothing he did could undo the fact that Merini had usurped Kahka Brud as the primary trade port between the east and west. Sometimes, the only thing keeping the dwarfs from attacking was their respect toward Laios for defeating the demon.

Chilsen heeded Namari's warning without hesitation. "What can you tell us about it?"

"There are plans to simultaneously attack from the east and south. I believe they may also be sending naval forces to block some of the coast as well."

"And are these attacks from above or below?"

"I know they will attack from above, but I don't know about any underground attacks."

In ancient times, the castle was built on top of an even more ancient dwarven city which later became a dungeon. Kabru and Mithrun led various projects to discover and investigate several dwarf ruins scattered under Merini. Each one was fairly self-contained with only some hidden passages that usually led to nearby long-collapsed caves. If the dwarfs were going to invade from underground, they wouldn't get far before they'd have to surface.

But it wasn't like they actually needed such tactics. Merini wasn't exactly the most militant kingdom. Most of the army were orcs and former adventurers looking for work, and it operated more like a kingdom-funded adventurer's guild rather than a proper military. Soldiers typically worked as guards or bodyguards. Sometimes they'd be sent on patrols to root out bandit encampments as well. The only time the military was ever deployed was to stop the Noodle Riots. And the army got routed by ordinary citizens the first time it tried to stop the riots.

Leed was put in charge of military training after, and the army's strength and skill greatly improved, but it was still wholly unprepared to fend off an invasion.

The court was still working out how to prepare against the invasion when the second piece of dire news was brought in from Pattadol. "Queen Hemea is planning to annex Merini!"

The court wasn't nearly as willing to hear Pattadol's words as they did Namari; Most of the current members of Chilsen's court joined long after Pattadol's last diplomatic visit. Ever since the assassination attempt against Laios during his honeymoon, Pattadol had visited less and less. The last time she'd visited Merini was during Laios's 50th birthday and Chilsen's coronation.

As the only one who was remotely familiar with Pattadol, Marcille spoke up in Pattadol's defense. "Pattadol is a former diplomat from the Western Elves and a leader to the Canaries which answers directly to their queen. If she would tell us this, we should hear her out."

"Thank you, Marcille." Pattadol got on one knee as she told the king her story. "As Marcille said, I was a former diplomat to Merini and I used to answer directly to the queen. I say used to because in the last several decades, I've been gradually relieved of my duties.

"I was hoping to regain my former position as a diplomat to Merini but also knew that King Laios would pass away soon. So I researched everything I could related to monsters, curses, and magic that might be helpful to you once he was gone.

"But my research led me to discover something horrible." Pattadol paused for a moment to calm herself. "Hemea has been studying Laios's curse using finger bones supposedly taken from him."

Marcille gripped her staff tightly. Kabru was right all along.

"I believe their primary goal is Laios's body. Hemea wants to steal it to benefit her kingdom only."

Chilsen's wife looked down at Pattadol with that glaring distrust she always showed Marcille. She whispered something in Chilsen's ear. Chilsen nodded and spoke. "Tell me, why did you tell us this? You should know you'll be branded a traitor. So why?"

Pattadol continued to kneel in silence. Her face was locked to the floor. It took her a few seconds to answer. "I'm not sure. I guess it's because I wanted to do the right thing. And, I respected Laios. I was part of the Dungeon Investigation Unit assigned to the Island dungeon when he defeated the demon. But we didn't actually help him. If anything, we only got in his way.

"But even as we were trying to hunt him down and kill his friends, he still saved us." Pattadol looked up at Marcille. "Marcille, I think they may be after you as well. You know a fair deal about Ancient Magic and what truly happened. Your existence is a threat to our kingdom's ability to control access to magic."

Pattadol stood up. "So I guess my reason is because I regret who I was 47 years ago. I followed rules, laws, and procedures and it nearly doomed us all. And I remember how we still tried to arrest Marcille after everything had happened.

"This time, I'm deciding for myself what is the right thing to do. So please, let me do whatever I can to help."

There was a long pause. Marcille looked to Chilsen and his wife. They looked at each other, smiled, and nodded.

"Pattadol, thank you for warning us" said Chilsen. "But I don't know how much this will help us. We already are preparing for an attack from Kahka Brud and we don't have the power to repel a second invasion. It's very likely that Merini will fall before long."

"But even so," Pattadol clenched her fist. "Let me do what I can to help."

***

Chilsen went through all his options to prepare for war. He sent letters to the Western Continent, Northern Continent, and Eastern Archipelago. The Western Continent and Eastern Archipelago promised support. The Northern Continent lacked a strong military but promised to do what they could to intercept ships leaving the Eastern Continent and traveling the north Merini coastline.

Shugero was already in Merini when all this was happening and he offered his support and that of his retainers as well. But that was likely the only support that could be expected. The Western forces would have to pass by the Central Continents, and therefore the Elven Kingdom, to help. And forces from the Eastern Archipelago would have to either go around or through the Eastern Continent first. By the time they arrived, Merini would likely already be conquered.

From what the court could determine, the elves and dwarfs were working together and were planning to completely encircle Merini to force its army to spread itself thin.

The best chance Merini had was if it could quickly push back the elves from the west before their ships reached land while holding back the land invasions from the dwarfs. Once the elves were repelled, the eastern forces would reinforce the southern front and gradually push back the dwarf invaders.

No one expected it to work, but it was better than lying down and waiting to die.

All the magic casters available were sent to the western front. The elves were most likely to use magic, so magic was their best counter. Warriors, archers, and anyone able to fight in long-term skirmishes were deployed east and south. As promised, the Northern Continent managed to prevent forces traveling to the north coast so that left one less area to worry about.

Marcille and Pattadol were to be sent as part of the western forces. Marcille understood she was going to be in charge but she dreaded the thought. The last time she ever led an army was when she commanded monsters, and it was only effective through numbers which she did not have this time.

Chilsen and Shugero would lead the southern and eastern fronts respectively. Shugero had military experience and decided he should handle the front that was likely to be the last one to get reinforcements.

Senshi was among the fighters who joined the east front. "I'm old and wouldn't offer much. But I can still cook a meal that will strengthen your muscles and hold a shield if I must."

Izutsumi, at age 64, insisted on joining the southern front. Her fur was gray, and she had lost most of her agility. When Marcille told her she didn't have to fight, Izutsumi responded "If we lose, I die either way. So I might as well fight."

On the day before Marcille's squad left the castle, Elder Marcille had a request. "Today is the day it seems. Marcille, carry me to the mausoleum. And bring my pillow as well." It was standard protocol to give soldiers a free day before being deployed so they could do whatever. Marcille was hoping to share a calm meal with everyone, or take a walk around the castle, or read the final volume of The King's Queens that she had been putting off. But instead, she was spending her time doing her older self's bidding and enduring all her berating at how slow they were moving.

By the time they reached the mausoleum, it was evening. Not much light was coming through the opening in the roof, but Marcille could still see the 5 closed coffins and the one open one in the center - her own coffin.

"Finally. That walk took forever. Hurry up and put me in my grave already!"

Marcille helped her elder self into the open coffin and at that point was so fed up that she felt almost excited that she was about to be rid of the last of her future selves.

Elder Marcille took her pillow, fluffed it up and laid it on the coffin floor before laying down herself.

"So that's it? You spent 40 years doing nothing around the castle and then you decide to lay down and die right before Merini is destroyed." Elder Marcille did not respond. "Should I just go ahead and seal your coffin while I'm here?"

"No need. You can do it when you return."

Marcille was at least happy Elder Marcille was confident she'd return. Once her anger subsided, Marcille realized that at least she would survive; her future selves were the proof. But she didn't know anything else. She didn't know if Merini was doomed, if everyone would survive, or why she travels to the past to begin.

Marcille's mind raced with everything her future selves did. Trying to save Laios, traveling with Falin, adventuring with Senshi, attending Laios's wedding and Chilsen's coronation (over and over and over), and living alongside, growing old, and dying with everyone.

Were they trying to stop all these horrible events from happening and then just gave up and accepted it?

"MARCILLE!!" Elder Marcille's shout snapped her out of her thoughts. "Listen to me. You still have a long, long life ahead of you. I've tried to cram as much of it into the past 40 years as I could. You'll get to enjoy it all. I've already laid the groundwork. You just need to continue what I've done. Don't worry. You don't understand everything now, but I know you'll understand everything soon enough."

***

The next day came and Marcille traveled to the western front and arrived a few days later. The west coast of Merini was a bustling port town with a fort built in the center. There was an odd sensation in the air as mana flowed in strange patterns. The fort had been stockpiled for some time in case of a siege but it likely wouldn't come to that. This had to be either a quick victory or a sudden death.

From the walls, Marcille could see the ships in the distance. She made a circle with her finger and thumb and looked through it. This was a simple spell that let Marcille see further away. She could see the ships more clearly and could also see something rising from the ships.

Familiars.

The elves weren't even planning to land. They were going to attack using familiars instead.

Marcille quickly told her squad the situation. This was going to be an aerial battle. Everyone needed to focus on spells that could strike upward or attack with the wind.

Depending on the type of familiar, the user might have a psychic link to it and killing it would harm the caster. That was the best possibility to what they were going to deal with and killing enough familiars would weaken the elf forces. But in a worst possibility, these were closer to the remote control familiars Marcille once made. In that case, the casters could keep summoning them as long as they had the resources to do so.

But Marcille couldn't predict what the elves were actually planning. All the familiars swarmed together until they took a winged serpentine shape. It reminded Marcille of the coatl she once commanded. It flew high above the fortress, further than anyone could hit, and it ignored them and flew right past them to the east.

Marcille realized what they were doing. The elves weren't interested in engaging with them at all. They didn't intend to invade the western ports. They just wanted to lure part of Merini's forces away from the true battlefield against the Kahka Brud forces. But they could still use that beast of a familiar to attack the southern or eastern fronts from behind.

And Marcille couldn't order a retreat because then the elves could just take over the western port and trap everyone in a pincer attack anyway.

She fell to her knees and began to cry. It was over. It was all over! Yes, Marcille was going to live, and it was because she ended up deployed to the safest front. But Senshi, Izutsumi, Chilsen, and Shugero were doomed.

With no other option, Marcille clasped her hands and prayed.

The Winged Lion was once the guardian deity of Merini. The demon took the lion's form when it turned the kingdom into a dungeon, and Laios wanted to keep its memory alive after he defeated it. Falin once told Marcille how the lion guided her back to the living world when she was resurrected, so it still existed somewhere.

Marcille hoped it would hear her prayers. It once served her and supported her desire to make all the races live the same lifespan she would. But it only did so because it wanted to eat her and her strong desires.

Marcille lost her desire to take care of her hair the last time. She kept it long and had it braided in various ways because that's how her friends remembered her. But Marcille couldn't remember why she liked to keep her hair long and go through all that work to keep it clean and straight. She'd wanted to cut it all off for a long time, but never did because Laios and Falin would get upset whenever she tried.

Surely, Marcille's desire to save Merini was strong enough to attract the lion to help her again. She filled her mind with all the reasons she wanted Merini to be saved, but then she realized it wasn't really what she wanted.

Most of the people she loved were already gone. At this point, she was just waiting for the day she'd be able to be with them again. The lion wasn't going to help her, she knew. Marcille's true desire was in the past. She already was beginning to feel her detachment from Merini. She didn't know nor care about the people who were slowly replacing her friends.

So why was she fighting? If they lost, the elves would steal Laios's body away to do who-know-what. They would desecrate the graves of her departed friends. The castle where Marcille had so many wonderful memories might be destroyed. The places where so many wonderful festivals and celebrations were held would be destroyed. The story of King Laios, devourer of the bizarre, would be lost forever. Marcille might be dragged away and never see her home again except in her memories and through some vague promise from the future.

Marcille stood up, wiped the tears from her eyes, and looked up at the sky. The sky was cloudy except for where the giant serpent had slithered. Marcille took a deep breath.

"WINGED LION!!! GRANT MY WISH!! PLEASE SAVE US!! SAVE MERINI!!"

A powerful explosive force came from the east. It knocked everyone off their feet. Marcille struggled to stand up and looked at the sky. The giant serpent had been blown back and was disintegrating.

Mana began to blanket the area. Marcille felt a strange sensation in her body. It felt similar to when a ghost passes through your body, but this was warm instead.

"Don't worry." Marcille didn't see his face, but she could tell who it was. She knew he wasn't actually there, but she still felt his hand on her shoulder. "I'll take care of the rest."

Marcille got up and looked over the fortress wall. She saw a person walking toward the shore. He raised his hand and all the mana flew toward him and his body grew and transformed until he became a giant winged chimera monster with heads: a wolf, a horse, and an eagle. It looked as lame now as it always did, but Marcille couldn't help but chuckle because this was exactly he would handle this.

The monster flew high into the air and divebombed the elf ships, destroying them all.

Marcille watched the wreckage for any signs of the monster. But there was nothing. It vanished when the ships were destroyed.

Pattadol found Marcille and asked what was going on.

"It was Laios. Laios saved us all again." Marcille collapsed to the floor. She wanted to linger in this feeling for a little bit before moving to the next battlefield. It felt like she was being held by her friends.

Chapter Text

Marcille ran. She ran and she ran. But she couldn't outrun the monster chasing her. The monster was an open mouth that swallowed everything it passed. Marcille warned everyone she met, but they never listened and were swallowed up shortly after.

She ran down an endless hallway. There was nowhere to hide. She could only go forward.

As she ran, she found Laios and Puckpatti sitting at a table and sharing a meal.

"Hey Marcille," said Laios. "Enjoying your run?"

Puckpatti cheerfully chimed in. "You must be hungry. We just set the table. Join us."

"What are you doing?" Marcille shouted. "Run! The monster is going to eat you!"

Laios and Puckpatti laughed and pointed her to an empty chair at the table. The chair was facing toward where the monster was approaching. Marcille sat down and began to eat. She saw the monster approaching, but it moved a little slower each time Marcille took a bite of food. She tried stuffing her face and swallowing as much as she could but that didn't slow it down any further.

Laios looked at Marcille with concern. "Hey Marcille. Slow down. You should enjoy your meal."

"But," Marcille swallowed the food in her mouth. "But it's right there."

The monster hovered over the table and began to pull Laios and Puckpatti into its mouth like everything else it encountered. They were unaware of anything happening. Marcille grabbed their hands and tried to pull them away as she desperately cried and screamed.

"Marcille, why are you sad?" It was Puckpatti. "Aren't you enjoying the meal?"

Marcille lost her grip and they were swallowed up. First Puckpatti. Then Laios.

Marcille screamed in anger and ran at the monster. But another Marcille stopped her.

"What are you doing? Are you going to throw yourself into its mouth?"

"Yes! Yes! I'm tired of running all the time! I'm tired of watching this thing eat everyone I love!"
The other Marcille pointed in the direction Marcille had been running. "You still have more running you need to do."

Marcille saw the seemingly endless path and slumped. "But I'm tired of running."

"Well then take a seat at those other tables and enjoy another meal to regain your strength."

Marcille saw hundreds of tables along the path. Each one had people sitting at them. There was an empty chair at each table. The people were all looking away from the monster, but the empty chair was facing toward it. Marcille trembled with fright.

"But I don't know any of those people. I only want to share meals with Laios and Puckpatti. Or with Chilchuck and Izutsumi. Or Senshi, Meijack, and Flertom. Or with Mama and Papa and Pipi." Marcille tried to hold back a tear.
"So you're not going to eat?"
"No. I'm not. I don't want to watch any more people I love get eaten."
"Well you have to keep running. And everyone you meet will be eaten regardless. So why not enjoy the meals along the way?"

"But I-"

Other Marcille looked Marcille in the eyes and placed her hands on her shoulders. "You run faster than everyone else, so you're going to have to watch lots of people go away." Other Marcille hugged her. "There are so many wonderful things you've yet to experience. Please don't let this monster stop you from enjoying them. These people know it exists. They're just trying to enjoy their time before it gets them. And they want to share that time with you as well."

Other Marcille ended her hug and pointed to the wall. "I know it's going to be tough. So I hid a few secret spots for you." Other Marcille walked into and through the wall. Marcille followed.

Through the wall was a secret room. All of Marcille's friends were there and cheered when she appeared. The monster was nowhere to be found.

Other Marcille spoke. "When you're at your most weary and your legs are about to give out, you'll find these little pockets where you can rest and enjoy your time without fear. But you have to keep moving to find them. And you have to keep eating to keep going.

"And don't worry. I don't have a chair for you right now, but I will have one for you next time."

***

Marcille woke up. She was leaning against a wall out in the open. Maybe it was the wind or a trick of the light, but she thought she saw Puckpatti standing next to her.

She collected her thoughts. She was inside the fortress in the Merini Westport town. She was fighting an invasion, and then there was an explosion, and then...

A healer came by. She was a gnome. "Oh good. You're awake."

"How long was I asleep?"

"Less than 10 minutes."

The last thing Marcille recalled was the enemy ships being destroyed. She stood up and looked out to the port. What once was several Elven ships was now a wreckage. "Laios really did save us."

"Um, would you let me check you for injuries?" The healer seemed concerned.

"I'm fine. But more importantly!" Marcille spread her arms in excitement and was grinning from ear-to-ear. "Did you see what he did! Laios showed up and turned into a giant monster and smashed all the ships!"

"I'm going to check you for injuries. I think you might have a concussion."

"Why are you so calm? How can you be so calm after seeing that!"

"We're not sure exactly what happened, but there was some explosion from the east that blew away that giant serpent. And it also created waves strong enough to cause the ships at sea to crash into each other."

Marcille's excitement deflated. Maybe she did hit her head after all.

Marcille found Pattadol assisting the healers. Everyone in the fortress was alive, but several people were hurt when that explosion happened.

"We've accomplished our mission here, " Marcille said. "We need to set out for the southern front as soon as possible."

"Right." Pattadol was trembling slightly and she was struggling to keep her composure. "Right."

"Pattadol, stay here with a few soldiers and begin rescue operations. Go out to the wreckage and find as many survivors as possible."

Pattadol looked at Marcille confused. "Aren't we at war? Why should we spend resources saving enemy soldiers?"

"The battle is over. Now they're just victims needing rescue." Marcille sighed. "Also, I can tell you're scared about who might have been on those ships. They are your former countrymen.

"Heal everyone you can and then bring maybe about 20 to the castle. Prioritize the ones who might have useful intel. Leave the rest here. And make sure everyone understands they are to be treated well."

***

Marcille's division left the fortress before nightfall. They traveled light so their carts could move faster, but it would still be two days before they reached the southern front.

The general plan when rendezvousing with Chilsen was Chilsen's forces would attempt to hold their ground, but if they had to fall back, they would fall back westward. Then Marcille's army could reinforce them from behind and provide long-range firepower.

But when they reached the battlefield, the fight was already over. Chilsen had already won.

According to the soldiers who stayed behind, the dwarfs were pushing them back, but there was a massive explosion from the north which caused the dwarf ranks to suddenly fall apart. Chilsen saw the opening and had the army smash the dwarf lines causing them to rout.

Chilsen had already taken half his army to reinforce the eastern front. Izutsumi was among the soldiers who stayed behind. She was sitting around doing nothing. Izutsumi smiled when she saw Marcille and said "We're winning."

The squads camped for the night and were going to continue to the eastern front at sunrise next morning. Their evening meal wasn't the most exciting thing: a stew made from some onions, a bit of meat, and mushrooms. But it was far better than empty bellies.

Izutsumi ate every spoonful of her stew. Even the mushrooms.

"Hey Marcille, did you feel that explosion as well?"

"Yeah. We only won because it caused the elves' ships to crash into each other."
"Is that all that happened?"

"What do you mean?"
"Everyone else says that explosion caused the dwarfs ears to get dizzy or something. But I saw something different. Chilchuck and Meijack appeared. They fired a bunch of arrows at every dwarf's head. But everyone says that didn't happen."

Did this mean Marcille really did see Laios? "I saw Laios. He turned into that one monster and smashed the elf ships."
"You mean that stupid-looking one?"

"Yes."

Izutsumi chuckled. "I wish I'd seen that." Izutsumi sighed and smiled. "So I'm not going crazy then. They somehow came back to save us."

They went back to eating and Izutsumi made one last comment. "This stew really sucks. I can't wait to go back home and eat something good."

***

Marcille and Izutsumi's squads caught up to Chilsen and Shugero's squad. The plan here was to pin the enemy between both groups. Shugero's squad would fall back north-westward so that Chilsen's forces could approach from the southwest and they could attack from two sides. Marcille's squad would place itself in the point where the two squads meet so it could safely provide long range firepower.

But the fighting was once again already over before they arrived. Shugero had driven the enemy forces back.

"It was like a miracle," Shugero explained. "There was an explosion from the west and everyone's wounds and fatigue was lifted. The enemy's spears couldn't pierce us. Their arrows bounced off our shields. We pushed them back until their lines broke and they fled."

Senshi was preparing food for everyone. When he saw Marcille and Izutsumi, he embraced them both and started to cry. "I thought we all must have died fighting after what I witnessed. But here we all are."

Izutsumi asked "What did you see?"

"It was Falin though no one believes me. I saw her in the middle of the battlefield. She raised her mace into the air and a rain of healing and protective magic fell upon us. And as we pushed against the enemy forces, I saw Flertom beside me helping us along."

So Laios, Chilchuck, and Falin saved them. But also Meijack and Flertom helped too. So what Marcille saw must have indeed been Puckpatti.

They had a different stew made from rice, radishes, and beans. It was tastier since Senshi made it, but Izutsumi still complained about wanting to having something nice back at the castle.

Marcille had a question of her own. "Hey Senshi. When that explosion happened, did you feel any disruption in your semi-circular canals? And did any of the enemy army show signs of teleportation sickness?" Dwarfs' semicircular canals help them keep track of direction. They often get sick from teleporting because the sudden change in direction or elevation rattles them and makes them dizzy. They don't tend to get disoriented by loud noises the same way other races do.

"No. I felt fine. And the enemy line wasn't affected either. We pushed them back through sheer power."

If that explosion caused the southern invaders to suffer teleportation sickness, the same should have happened to the eastern invaders. But neither they nor Senshi suffered any ill effects. All of these miracles really were because their friends somehow appeared to save them.

And the source of the explosion was somewhere in the center of Merini: The castle.

***

Marcille, Izutsumi, and Senshi took a carriage back to the castle. Chilsen and Shugero stayed behind to organize troops along the borders and would return after.

Izutsumi was sleeping soundly on Marcille's lap. Marcille petted her gently on the head but would periodically place her hand on Izutsumi's side to check her breathing. Izutsumi's breaths were deep.

Senshi was sitting across from Marcille and quietly writing in his journal.

They would reach the castle soon enough so Marcille decided now would be the best time to ask some questions that were on her mind. And Senshi was the best person to ask.

"Senshi." Senshi looked up at Marcille. "What are the names of the queen and princess?"

Senshi looked at Marcille with disappointment. "You've been living with them for years and don't know their names?"

Marcille's face turned red. "W-well, I- um"

"Have you not spent any time with them at all? Do you just lock yourself in your room all day reading those silly romance novels?"

It wasn't all day! And it wasn't just romance novels. Marcille was also reading a few historical dramas.

Marcille slumped. "I mean, no I haven't paid them much attention. I was too bothered by how different they were from anyone I knew. And I've been feeling like everything around me changed suddenly."

"That's just what life is like when you're a long-lived person living among short-lived people. I guess it's worse for you since even we long-lived people will live only a fraction of your life."

"Yeah, but this is the kingdom Laios built and this is the world he saved. So I want to be part of this kingdom and enjoy this world even as it changes."

"I see." Senshi paused. "In that case, why not ask the queen and princess for their names?"

"BECAUSE IT'S EMBARRASSING!!"

Izutsumi got startled awake. She looked around for a moment and then went back to sleep.

"The queen is Emeraude. And the princess is Marinfal. Make sure to remember them this time, especially Marinfal. Chilsen named her after you and Falin."

Marcille felt a strong ting of guilt. Was that why the princess was always trying to be near her?

"Okay. And how old is Marinfal?"

Senshi once again looked at Marcille with disappointment. "14. I know the perception of time is very different for you, but you need to pay attention to these things."

***

It was pretty obvious where that explosion came from once the carriage was within site of the castle. There wasn't a giant tree behind it the last time they were there. It looked similar the tree house Marcille made when she was a dungeon lord. It had many giant branches weaving up the tree until they reached the top and spread out almost like a flower. The tree towered over the castle.

The tree's base was centered where the mausoleum was built. Senshi wanted to investigate, but Marcille suggested they report to Queen Emeraude first.

Izutsumi decided to go to her personal guest room while Marcille and Senshi requested an audience with the queen. Emeraude quickly welcomed them into the courtroom once she heard the request.

"How's Chilsen? What's the situation?" Her tone had a mix of eagerness and fear. "If you're returning, then it means the fighting's over, right?"

Senshi gave a quick bow before responding. "Chilsen is alive and well. He stayed behind to better organize the borders and should return within a few days. And yes, the fighting is over for now. We managed to drive back the invaders from Kahka Brud and the Elven Kingdom."

"No doubt it has something to do with that big tree outside. Hey Marcy, any idea what that is? I think your future self made it. It kind of looks like your staff."

Marcille agreed with that observation. Marcille's dungeon house was based on Ambrosia's design too. Ambrosia was made from the roots of second generation clones of the world tree. It could grow in mana-rich environments, but Marcille couldn't imagine how much mana would be necessary to make her staff grow into a giant tree. But then again, this was also Ambrosia after taking on mana for nearly 1,000 years.

"That's definitely something my future self made. I can't tell you why or how though. We're 920 years separated from each other after all."

Emeraude was annoyed. "Why do you elves always have to keep secrets. It would have been nice knowing what she was planning and now we have to figure out what's going on with this giant tree."

Marcille's brow furrowed. "My future self's behavior has nothing to do with being an elf! If I was her, and one day I will be her, I would want to tell you everything. But she and all my other future selves weren't allowed to do anything that could alter the timeline."

Emeraude sighed and looked away. "Yeah. Sorry. By the way, sweet little Patta-pon arrived a few days earlier with some elf prisoners. I have them locked in the nice prison cells. I've spoken with them and they don't have much useful intel and they probably won't be useful ransoms for peace negotiations. There are 5 criminal conscripts, 1 really young noble, and the rest are regular soldiers of no particular note."

"How many did Pattadol bring."

"There are 17 survivors."
"And how many are at the west fortress?"
"...There are 17 survivors."

Shouldn't there be more? One of those ships might have 100 or 200 crew members. And there were 5 of them. 17 was far too few survivors. Marcille felt a chill.

Emeraude spoke. "I granted Pattadol an indefinite leave after she gave me her report. Whatever carnage happened out there shook her to her core. If you need it as well, I'm happy to grant it."

"Thank you, but I should be fine. I'll go speak to the prisoners."

"Actually, would you investigate the tree? It's completely sealed the mausoleum and no one can get in. Someone's been trying to enter with no luck and we can't get him to stop. That tree was made by your future self so maybe you can figure something out instead."

The person trying to enter the mausoleum was Mithrun. Marcille and Senshi watched as he attempted to teleport into the tree and then teleport immediately back out. When they approached him, Mithrun pointed them to where the mausoleum entry should be and told Marcille "You should know how to open this, right? Nothing I've tried works. I can't even teleport in. It somehow is able to force me out."

Marcille approached the mausoleum entry. The mausoleum entry was sealed by a series of small interweaving roots. Marcille tried to think of anything that she might do to open the way. Maybe cast a spell? Or say a special phrase? Or maybe wipe some of her blood on the tree?

But when she looked at the roots wrapped around the entry, she knew what to do. Over the years, Ambrosia had learned how she liked to grip it and it shaped itself to accommodate her hands and maximize the amount of mana she could give it. When it grew new branches in mana-rich spaces, it never grew any in the spots Marcille liked to hold it. Even Elder Marcille's Ambrosia still had the grooves where her hand could hold it.

Marcille saw the roots and just knew where to grab so that the tree recognized it was her. She felt a little mana flow into the tree, and the roots moved aside.

Inside the mausoleum, Marcille, Senshi, and Mithrun found Elder Marcille's Ambrosia embedded in the ground between her and Laios's coffins. It stretched up and through the opening in the mausoleum. Ambrosia's roots snaked outward and covered the entire floor.

And Elder Marcille was dead inside her coffin. Everyone's best guess was she cast whatever spell she cast while standing in the coffin, and then collapsed backward into the coffin after. They couldn't tell how long she'd been dead. There was a certain magic that was preserving her body.

"Do you realize what your elder self has done?" Mithrun asked with a bit of aggression.

Marcille and Senshi were confused.

"Haven't you noticed at all?" Mithrun yelled. "Your future self opened a portal to the demon's dimension! This mausoleum is a dungeon. And it's actively expelling mana across Merini! This entire kingdom is going to turn into a dungeon again!"

Mithrun grabbed Marcille by the collar of her shirt. He stared at her with his good eye with the same murderous intent he made the last time they fought. "What are you plotting? Are you trying to summon the demon? Are you again trying to extend everyone's lifespans? Are you trying to resurrect Laios? What are you doing?"

"SHUT UP!!" Before Marcille could answer Mithrun or realized who that was, Mithrun got hit so hard in the leg that there was an audible "CRACK". Mithrun fell to the floor, and behind him was Elder Marcille. Except on closer inspection, it was probably Future Marcille 2 right before she would have aged into Elder Marcille.

She looked at Mithrun and hit him with Ambrosia. "Listen here, child. You don't know anything at all! This is the culmination of 900 years of research. Don't you dare think I'm just trying to repeat the same mistakes as the ancients." Elder Future Marcille 2 continued hitting Mithrun as she said all that. He was very non-responsive. "If you really want to know what this is, I'll tell you on your deathbed." Mithrun nodded.

Elder Future Marcille 2 looked at Marcille and said "That felt good. I've wanted to do that for over 800 years. Well anyway, I think we've given you all the information you'll need to figure out the rest."
Marcille felt uneasy. "I'm supposed to figure out what you did, or what you're going to do?"

"Don't worry. We were all you once. You'll figure it out. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some final preparations to take care of. Then I'm going to retire. I'll see you sooner."

Elder Future Marcille 2 vanished. Mithrun laid on the floor and looked around expectantly. "I suppose I won't know what she did for another 150 years or so. I'll trust she knows what she's doing." He looked at Marcille. "Could you heal me? She broke my leg so I can't get up."

Marcille cast healing magic on Mithrun. In the years since being an adventurer, Marcille had decided to follow Falin's lead and use magic to numb the pain that normally comes from healing someone. But she made an exception here. She wanted this to be as painful as possible. However, he didn't seem to notice his bones shifting as they got set back in place.

Elder Marcille had told Marcille she could seal her coffin when she came back, and she, Mithrun, and Senshi did so before heading back to the castle. Marcille and Senshi didn't really want Mithrun to stay for dinner, but Mithrun followed them all the way back and at that point it was too awkward to tell him to leave.

***

Marcille knocked on Izutsumi's door. "It's dinner time. Let's head to the dining hall." No response.

Marcille opened the door to check on her. Izutsumi was lying in bed. When Marcille tried to stir her awake, she noticed Izutsumi's body was stiff and she wasn't breathing. She checked her pulse, and there was none. Izutsumi was dead.

A tear fell down Marcille's cheek. "This isn't fair. You've been waiting to get a nice meal at the castle. You can't die before you eat it."

Marcille knelt by Izutsumi's bed and bawled her eyes out.

Marcille was woken by a knock at the door. It was Marinfal. "You and Izutsumi hadn't come to dinner so I came to check. I brought you some in case you didn't feel like coming down."

Marinfal had a plate of crab cakes. They weren't quite as good as the ones in the north area where the crab was served fresh, but Izutsumi still loved them.

"She's dead isn't she?" Marinfal showed a calm demeanor that masked her sadness. She placed the plate on a table. "I'll leave these here and let someone know we'll need to get her body ready."

"Marin, could you stay a while?" Marcille looked at her and put on as warm a smile as she could. "I don't want to be left alone."

And so Marcille and Marinfal stayed by each others' sides for a few hours. Marcille grieved and told Marinfal about her time with Izutsumi and they shared those crab cakes together.

Izutsumi was entombed inside the Winged Lion statue. Marcille placed two crab cakes in with her and told her to enjoy them.

Chapter Text

So many things happened after the battles in Merini. Repelling the invaders should have been the end of things, but it was only the start. Merini didn't have a strong military force, but it was an exception among the various kingdoms and settlements of short-lived people.

Samurai from the Eastern Archipelago invaded the Eastern Continent through Sadena and Bonnario. There was some initial conflict, but the two Dwarven cities decided they'd rather not drag themselves into a war because of a different Dwarf city's actions and they allowed the armies of the Eastern Archipelago to pass through and attack Kahka Brud.

Meanwhile, the Central Continents found themselves invaded by armies from the Western Continent. Those armies were mostly Tall-men but there was also a sizable Kobold population within it as well. The Southern Central Continent quickly surrendered to them leaving the Northern Central Continent to fend for itself.

Forces from the Northern Continent blocked ships from traveling out of the Eastern Continent and secured ocean supply lines between Merini, the Eastern Archipelago, and the Western Continent.

The Southern Continent was the only place not involved in the war. It swore neutrality from the start, but shored its defenses in fear of an invasion from the Eastern Archipelago that never happened.

At first, Marcille loved how Merini's allies rallied to its defense. This was the culmination of the years Laios and Chilsen spent fostering friendships with kingdoms around the world and she wished Laios could see it. But as the fighting progressed, she realized that the short-lived people were not fighting for Laios. There was a seething anger in their actions. A festering rage that has existed within the short-lived races for over 1,000 years had finally reached its limit. And they were using Laios as an excuse to justify their violence, hatred, and cruelty.

Laios had become a folk hero to the short-lived races. They spoke of King Laios the Mighty slaying the man-eating demon that the long-lived races released upon the world, King Laios the Generous who shared the bounty of his land while the long-lived races hoarded their wealth and forced the short-lived races to fight over scraps, and King Laios the Open-Hearted who made a kingdom where all were welcome while the long-lived raced engaged in their petty squabbles that brought division and destruction to the world.

The soldiers invading the elf and dwarf lands were burning down homes, killing civilians, and doing it all in Laios's name. If she could, Marcille would kill every single one of them, because how dare they trample Laios's legacy and sully his name with their barbaric actions.

King Chilsen opened Merini to any and all war refugees. Merini's allies demanded Chilsen expel its refugees and threatened to invade in order to "purge the threats". Chilsen had some choice words.

"I am Chilsen Laios Touden!
"I am the son of the Hero King Laios Touden who you claim to admire. My actions are the same actions Laios the Generous and Open-Hearted would take. He made a kingdom that welcomes all.

"I stand in defense of the downtrodden just as King Laios did. These people are my people. And anyone who would threaten them is my enemy and the enemy of the Hero King Laios the Mighty. If you threaten them, then you threaten the kingdom of the hero whose name you sully with your deeds.

"If you truly admire King Laios, then lay down your arms at once!"

Chilsen was small and generally soft-spoken, but the crown and cloak fit him well that day. It made Marcille to remember when Laios placed her under his protection from the elves and shielded her with that same cloak Chilsen now wore. In that moment, Chilsen appeared even greater a king than Laios was.

Chilsen's words were spread around the world and it shifted the opinion of the war. The short-lived people were forced to acknowledge they were using the hero king they loved as an excuse to enact their hatred on others.

Within a year, peace terms were offered, and the Elf Kingdom and Kahka Brud quietly accepted them. The elves were to share their magic knowledge with the world while the dwarfs were to share their technological knowledge with the world. The short-lived races were to be seen as their equals in all political matters. Technically, this agreement only applied to the elves of the Northern Central Continent and the dwarfs of Kahka Brud, but all the major elf and dwarf kingdoms agreed out of fear. The gnomes also willingly offered to share their knowledge of spirit magic.

Kahka Brud managed to recover over the next several years with help from Merini and the surrounding Dwarf cities. During that recovery period, the leaders of Kahka Brud presented a dwarf prisoner to Chilsen. They said he was the leader of a secret organization aiiming to stir discontent within Kahka Brud and was secretly working with the elves to destroy Merini. According to the Kahka Brud leaders, he used to be an influential figure on the island and was hoping to regain the power he'd lost when Laios became king. When he was brought to Chilsen's court, Marcille noted his gold hair and beard that were both groomed into prominent curls, but no one recognized him. Chilsen handed him back to Kahka Brud to decide what to do with him and the man was never seen nor heard from again.

The Northern Central Continent fell into sharp decline after the war. Its population had already been shrinking and the losses from the war only furthered its collapse. The Northern Central Continent lost most of its political power when it was forced to share all the magic knowledge it had been hoarding. It being the home of the World Tree should have been one potential resource it could still use, but the great tree in Merini, which eventually became known as the Barrier Tree, was functionally identical to it.

The Southern Central Continent eventually found itself to be the center of elf culture. It was generally more inclusive and already had a notable population of Tall-man immigrants from the Western Continent. With the shift in power, the Southern Central Continent provided support to both the elves of the Northern Central Continent in recovering from the war and to the people of the Western Continent to improve the lands they live on.

***

As promised, Senshi lived in the castle for the remainder of his life after Laios passed away. He was now 159. Senshi and Marcille spent much of their free time in the kitchen together. Senshi taught Marcille every recipe and technique he could so Marcille would have something to remember him by that couldn't be stolen or destroyed.

Chilsen spent the remainder of his rule bolstering Merini's army as well as providing post-war aid around the world. Emeraude suggested using horses in combat. In the Western Continent, warriors sometimes rode horses into combat which allowed them to quickly overtake non-mounted combatants. Chilsen's military took the idea and modified it somewhat by adding specialized armor to the horse and rider and equipping them with special long-spears.

Test runs found these soldiers, called cavalry, had the ability to break shield formations, easily circle around enemy troops, and quickly reinforce units. However, it would take some time to make them fully practical because the military would first need to breed stronger horses that handle wearing armor and also make them less prone to panic in large battlefields.

Marcille was personally opposed to the idea. It was bad enough that people were being sent out to die. Now they were sending poor horses too.

In 565, Marinfal married Shugero's nephew Tsugutsuge. Marcille excitedly spent the evening of their wedding at Laios's grave telling him that he and Shuro were finally family like he'd wanted. In 567, Marinfal gave birth to princess Puckpatti. The name was chosen because Marinfal expected she would spend the rest of their lived advocating for the downtrodden races just as her grandmother had, and she wanted her daughter to carry on that legacy.

Indeed, when Marinfal became queen in 574, she focused her rule around fighting the lingering hostilities from the war and ensuring equal rights among all the citizens of Merini regardless of race. Princess Puckpatti was an unexpected ally to her cause. Patti was a cheerful and friendly girl who loved to explore. She became the kingdom's delight. Everywhere she went, she insisted on bringing Aunty Marcille and Grandpa Senshi with her. It was difficult to justify hatred when the princess so clearly loved the two of them.

And as for Marcille, while she was still employed as part of the royal court, she was attempting to transition most of the duties to Pattadol so she could focus on studying the Barrier Tree and spend as much time as she could with Senshi, Marinfal, and Puckpatti. She moved most of her research lab within the mausoleum. She still had a room in the castle (Marcille did not want to sleep inside a crypt), but her most precious belongings were now kept in the mausoleum.

The magic within the mausoleum caused items inside it to decay far slower so it became a great place to keep mementos. Marcille kept Laios's old gourmet guide and boots, Chilchuck's lockpicking tools and his pouch, Falin's mace and clothes, several of Senshi's old journals and his helmet, and random rocks and odd trinkets Izutsumi collected. Marcille regretted that Laios's armor had rusted away long ago. He'd left it and Kensuke behind in a cave a year after he became king and Marcille could only find rust scraps when she went there to recover it.

Sometimes, Marcille was certain she saw the spirits of those resting within the mausoleum when she spent too long inside it. When that happened, it was time to take a break, get some fresh air, and fight off the accusations that she was a necromancer trying to resurrect Laios to be her undead lover (The necromancer accusations were true, but not for the reasons people assumed).

Marcille's relation with Queen Emeraude also improved. The two of them had a conversation late in Emeraude's life that would forever stay in the back of Marcille's mind.

It was 571. Marcille and Senshi had just returned from a trip in town with Puckpatti. Puckpatti took Marcille to the queen's room to tell Grandma Emeraude about the wonderful day she had with Aunty Marcille and Grandpa Senshi. After hearing Puckpatti's story, Emeraude asked to speak with Marcille "grandma to aunty".

"You've changed over the last decade. You always seemed so listless, but now you love being around everyone, especially Mari and Patti."

Marcille couldn't deny that. She and Marinfal became like sisters. Marcille was Marinfal's best woman at her wedding and was with her when she gave birth to Puckpatti. Marcille was the one who named Puckpatti.

Emeraude continued. "For all the time I've known you, you always seemed anxious about something. You loved Mari when she was a baby, but then you stopped playing with her when your Half-foot friends passed away.

"And with each death, you started to cling more to King Laios and Lady Falin's sides. And when dear Falla died, I remember Mari wanted to be there for you but you gave her such a look that she was too scared to ever approach you again."

Marcille did that? Was that why Marinfal had stopped trying to be around her?

"How long do elves live? And when is an elf considered an adult?"

Marcille responded. "About 400 years, and 80 is the usual age of maturity."

"So a tall-man can live their entire life in the time it takes an elf to lose all their baby teeth?"

"Not exactly, but close enough."

"It must be why you elves are so dismissive of us. We grow old and change, but you stay the same. And you're going to live 1,000 years so our lifetimes are barely anything to you."

"But I don't want them to mean nothing. I wish you all could be in my whole life, but you can't. So that's why I decided I'm going to be as involved in your lives as I can."

"Marcy, thank you for making us all part of your life. Other long-lived people are like stones in rivers. They refuse to move no matter how many people they meet. But you who should be the biggest stone are trying to move alongside us.

"You're slower than the rest of us and have to watch us all run ahead of you. But you still want to make the most of the brief moments we're side-by-side."

***

They year is now 587. King Chilsen the Peacemaker passed away 4 years ago. Queen Emeraude passed away 2 years ago. It is the 13th year of Queen Marinfal and King Tsugutsuge's reign. Princess Puckpatti is 20 and men and women of all backgrounds flock to gain her favor.

The world has been at relative peace for 25 years. The forceful disclosure of magic and technology hoarded by the long-lived races gave additional reason for the short-lived races' anger toward them. In particular, the people of the Western Continent learned the elves knew a way to purify the soil polluted by the ancient war, but kept it secret for fear that the Western Continent people might form a kingdom that could one day oppose them.

It would take several Tall-man generations to restore the Western Continent to the state from before the Ancient War, and it was recommended to not attempt full-scale terraforming to avoid any unexpected consequences. However, several restoration projects were underway in the most war-scorched areas where no life existed. It took 12 years for the first weed to appear in one such area, but it was the first plant to appear there in hundreds of years.

The dwarfs shared their telecommunications technology and steam engines. They were working to build a worldwide system that supported instant communication with people around the world. The dwarfs also introduced the world to heating and internal plumbing. The world was becoming more sanitary and everyone (especially the people of the Northern Continent) could enjoy a warm home in the winters.

Even though the world was becoming more interconnected, centuries of bad blood don't disappear over night, and they especially don't disappear so early after a war. Marcille could feel how there was growing disapproval of her presence in the royal court because she was an elf.

But Princess Puckpatti came up with a solution that only she would come up with: The Cultural Court house. She believed the best defense against bigotry was exposure, and so she expanded Merini's arts schools into cultural centers and invited delegates from around the world who could share their culture through language, story telling, food, song, and dance. The first CCH was in Merini's capital with smaller branches around the country. But after several years, it gained enough popularity that it started a traveling troupe. Detractors called it a cultural clown house because of its focus on fun and entertainment, but it gradually turned into a popular nickname because people loved when the CCH came to town.

***

As the world turned, Marcille tried to keep up while also researching the things she needed to know as Future Marcille. She knew she would need to learn teleportation, ice magic, and Kobold speak on top of whatever magic was behind time travel and whatever the Barrier Tree was.

Marcille was taking care of the language requirements by going to the CCH with Senshi. Twice a week, they attended language classes, had lunch together, and would watch a performance.

She was also working with Mithrun studying the Barrier Tree. Mithrun had been surveying the mana flow in Merini and discovered that while large amounts had flown out of the Barrier Tree, it was being concentrated into various focal points.

Marcille's first breakthrough in understanding out the Barrier Tree came when Mithrun pinpointed the location of one of those focal points: a cave northeast of the castle; a natural dungeon.

Mithrun recommended they create an adventuring party before exploring. Even though Laios's curse was still in effect, there was no guarantee how much it might protect them in a dungeon.

Marcille immediately invited Senshi, but he declined pointing out he was 185 and barely able to walk without assistance.

With that excitement crushed, Marcille now had to find other people to party with instead. Namari was 134, and she admitted to being rusty, but she was happy to join when Marcille asked. In the time since Laios became king, Namari had managed to repay the money her father stole from her clan and she was welcomed back in. Then she was once again kicked out when she sided with Merini against Kahka Brud. But since then, the leaders of her clan acknowledged she was right and apologized. Namari chose not to return to her clan.

Marcille petitioned the military to hire a healer and her request was quickly filled filled by a gnome woman named Woola. Woola was one of the healers assigned to the Western Port Fortress with Marcille and Pattadol during the war. She'd spoken with Marcille once and said she was hoping to get to know her better.

Finally, they had one additional member, an elf mage girl named Silvia. Silvia was the noble who was captured after the battle at the West Port. She and the other prisoners were supposed to be sent back to the Northern Central Continent as part of the peace treaty, but political turmoil there and the elf tendency to not notice the passage of time left the prisoners stranded in Merini. Chilsen eventually decided to just handle sending them home himself if they wanted. But a few of them, including Silvia, chose to stay in Merini.

Silvia said she chose to stay because she had no prospects back home and she had nightmares from the battle. She was the second child of a minor noble house and was shipped into military service the moment she came of age. She was 83 when the war happened. Silvia once told Marcille her view of the battle at the West Port. She specialized in support magic and was only expected to fight if enemy forces sent ships near them. When the giant serpent familiar was destroyed, Silvia heard her teammates simultaneous screams, saw the blood pour from their noses and ears, and watched them all collapse to the ground.

And then there was the explosion that shattered their ships. Silvia was buried under wood, blood, and bodies. She was trapped in darkness with only the sound of the ocean water as company. It was about 5 hours before she was found, but it felt like eternity to her. When she heard Pattadol screaming for survivors to respond, Silvia screamed and screamed until her voice gave out.

Since her release, she'd been apprenticing under Pattadol. She was joining Marcille's party on Pattadol's request to gain some practical experience.

***

Marcille, Namari, Woola, and Silvia set out from the castle and met up with Mithrun at the dungeon entrance. As it was a cave, the party assumed they shouldn't need to worry about traps like you might find in a manmade dungeon. There also hadn't been any monster sighting reports around so they didn't expect to encounter anything dangerous either. Even so, Silvia knew trap detection and life detection magic and served as a lookout for the team.

The cave was dark and required light magic to navigate. They found some small walking mushrooms and slimes. One slime tried to drop on Woola, but Marcille managed to drive it away with a fire spell.

One section of the dungeon walls was embedded with several gemstones. Silvia wanted to grab one but was stopped by Namari.

"Hold it! I need to check something first." Namari took her axe and poked one of the gems with the hilt. The gem squished slightly.

"As I thought. It's a treasure insect."

"Wait, really?" Silvia looked at it curiously. "I thought they looked like coins and jewelry."

"Only if they're in a manmade dungeon. In the wild, they disguise themselves as gemstones and ore."

"Wow. The dungeon guides I read never said anything like that."

"And if there are treasure insects, then there are likely mimics. Treasure insects feed on them." Namari pointed at a rock. "Cast your creature sighting magic there."

Silvia cast a life detection spell and it revealed there was indeed a mimic under the rock.

Marcille started thinking back to the time she and her friends ate boiled mimic. She kind of wanted to boil and eat that mimic. She thought it would taste nice thanks to the mineral seasoning in that rock.

"You're drooling." It was Woola. Marcille quickly wiped the drool from her face.

"I heard you were part of King Laios's party," Woola playfully said. "You must have eaten all sorts of crazy things together. What was your favorite?"

Marcille did not want to admit that it was rice porridge with fishman eggs so she said the first thing that came to mind. "Bicorn brain". She should have just said the porridge.

Woola, Silvia, and Namari all looked horrified in response. Mithrun didn't care.

"Look! It was actually pretty good. It was a doria made with succubus milk."

Namari looked ready to throw up.

Marcille continued to defend her statement. "Brain is kind of like shirako! It's fine!"

Silvia asked "What's shirako?"

Marcille responded "Fish testicles."

The girls all fell to the ground and started dry heaving. Mithrun looked at Marcille and said "I've had shirako. It's good. I'll have to try that some time."

At the end of the dungeon, the party found a large pond of clear water. It was in a circular depression with some dry land in the center. In the central island was what looked like an obelisk with the top broken off. There was a faint glow coming out of it.

"That's the focal point," Mithrun said as he pointed to the obelisk.

Silvia chimed in. "Let me handle this. I can use waterwalk to help us across."

"No," said Marcille. "We'd best stay out of the water. Silvia, cast life detection."

Silvia cast the spell and it revealed that the pond was a single giant slime. The spell also revealed several bats were perched above.

Woola began casting support magic while Silvia began charging a fire spell. Marcille stopped them both before they could finish. "The slime is a cornerstone piece to this dungeon. Take a good smell of the air. Can't you tell how crisp it is." Everyone else took a breath and all nodded.

"Slimes can break down matter and release mana and oxygen. Walking mushrooms go around eating decomposing matter, the mimics eat the mushrooms and other small creatures, the treasure insects eat the mimics, the bats eat the insects, and then the bats return here where their droppings feed this slime which turns it into the air needed to survive. If we kill it, the dungeon will die."

Silvia raised her hand. "Isn't that a good thing?"

"What happens in the dungeon affects more than itself. The bats likely travel outside the dungeon and eat insects there as well. If the dungeon becomes uninhabitable, then the bats will die or move somewhere else. Everything is interconnected."

Marcille smiled and head her head proudly. Namari quipped "You've been hanging out with Senshi too much."

Mithrun spoke. "We just need to get to the center. I'll just teleport us." He teleported himself and Marcille to the center island. The obelisk was half as wide as Marcille and slightly taller. It had etchings all over it. They seemed to be a mix of Elven, Dwarfish, Gnomish, and Common. But nothing formed into any coherent words. Marcille took several papers and some charcoal and made rubbings of the obelisk.

After copying the text, she peered into the center of the obelisk. The glow was coming from an odd crystal. Marcille poked it and she felt a buzz as if she had cast several explosion spells in quick succession. Whatever this was, it absorbed mana into itself.

Mithrun made his own discovery while looking around the obelisk. There was a bone shard the size of a pebble encased in a clear resin. This could only be part of Laios's skeleton.

"I never put any parts of him in this cave. And this piece is too small to be any use. It's able to deter the slime from approaching the obelisk, but that's it." Mithrun left the piece where he found it just in case they might need to return some day.

With their investigation ended, the party returned to the surface. They returned to the castle and disbanded after a welcome-back meal thrown by Marinfal and Puckpatti.

Marcille threw herself into trying to decode the words on the obelisk. At first, she thought it was some kind of simple cipher: The original text was converted to characters in another language, then some of those characters were changed to a different language, and so on. This was not the case. To begin, each language had a different set of letters, and every letter from each language was present. After a few weeks, Marcille realized that the original characters did not have a 1-to-1 match with their encrypted characters. The same encrypted character might match to two different characters at a given moment and two different characters might match to the same thing. And sometimes, she'd find bogus symbols that mapped to nothing.

She was about ready to give up until she found inspiration while attending a class at the CCH. Marcille was learning how to read and write in the Kobold language when it clicked. Part of the message was encrypted using Kobold but every Kobold character was gradually replaced with other language symbols.

With this new inspiration, Marcille was able to make breakthroughs in decoding the message. Not only did the encryption process use Kobold, but it turned out the message was written in the Kobold writing structure, the primary decryption key was in Kobold, and each line used the Kobold encrypted layer as the encryption key to the next line. All Marcille needed to do was find what the first line was, and she could crack the code.

73 days after she started, Marcille finally knew how to decode the message and now just needed to write it out. She sat at her table and started writing the message in her notebook. She wrote each character one-by-one but soon realized what the first line was going to be.

[GOOD WORK, PAST ME]

Marcille threw her notebook across the room and went to bed.

Chapter Text

At first, Marcille thought she had cracked the encryption algorithm her future self made. But as she wrote the decrypted message she started to think there was some additional layer of encryption involved because the message started turning into a nonsense series of letters, numbers, and symbols. But as she continued to write the decrypted message, she realized that she did in fact decrypt it successfully. The problem was she didn't have the requisite mathematical and scientific background to understand most of what her future self was saying.

She recognized one section was related to the construction of a dungeon. Specifically it was a formula that redirects the flow of mana to bind things as part of the dungeon. But this formula was a little different from the one Marcille knew and there were additional terms, variables, and constants she didn't recognize.

Marcille shared her findings with Mithrun first. He read through all the formulas with a seemingly sagely gaze before saying he didn't understand most of what was written. However, he recognized there were several formulas related to teleportation magic.

He then explained (or attempted to explain) concepts related to relative and absolute velocity, conservation of energy, and fluid displacement. This was apparently basic knowledge necessary to use teleportation magic, but Marcille struggled to follow along.

Mithrun also pointed out that the formulas in Marcille's notes had various modifications and included an additional term when calculating distance. He made a copy of that section and said he'd try figuring out what Future Marcille had discovered.

Marcille next showed the notes to Pattadol. Pattadol was interested in the Barrier Tree as well, and Marcille was hoping Pattadol might have some of the formal education to determine what the remaining sections were about. She also didn't know what most of the notes referred to. However, she recognized there were several formulas related to barrier magic.

She then explained (or attempted to explain) concepts related to particles and antiparticles, electromagnetic fields, and plasticity. Marcille was able to follow along a little bit since she knew some warding magic already, but this was on a completely different level.

Pattadol also pointed out the formulas were for an inconceivably large barrier and there were additional sections which seemed to focus on calculating stability. And there was one section about the barrier's behavior that she didn't understand. She made a copy of that section and promised she would help Marcille figure everything out.

After consulting with Mithrun and Pattadol, Marcille was able to break all the notes into 4 sections. One section pertained to dungeons, the mana flow within them, and binding objects to the dungeon. The second pertained to teleportation magic, but seemed to expand beyond the normal concepts of movement within a 3-dimensional space. The third pertained to casting a barrier in a large space and how the barrier affected things within it. And the fourth was still unknown.

The fourth part was written in a Gnomish style rather than Elvish, but it didn't match anything Marcille recognized. In a way, it almost didn't seem to be a formula at all. It wasn't structured, and there were no consistent values or calculations.

Marcille didn't know how helpful she might be, but she was hoping Woola might give some insight. All Woola could tell was it was spirit magic of some kind but the formula was incomplete. It was asking something from the spirits but she couldn't tell what.

Marcille considered speaking to an expert in spirit magic, but decided it was best to keep these notes as secret as possible.

***

Marcille, Pattadol, and Mithrun formed a council group to analyze the notes. They invited Silvia, Woola, and Namari to also be part of it since they helped find the notes (Namari declined).

Marcille's eventual discovery of time travel was a closely guarded secret. Silvia and Woola were initially kept in the dark, but they were told the truth once Pattadol thought they could be trusted. Silvia reacted about as well as one might expect. She thought she was assisting Pattadol in researching some recently discovered ancient magic. But instead she was researching whatever the opposite of ancient magic is. Woola was excited to help from the start and became more excited when she learned the truth. Marcille was not happy when she learned why Woola was so dedicated to this research.

It was after the meeting where Marcille revealed to Silvia and Woola that she was trying to learn time travel. Woola approached her in the castle hallway after everyone had left.

"So you want to travel back in time?"
"Yes. I know it sounds insane, but I have met several of my future selves. And one of them made the Barrier Tree so I'll need to figure out how she pulled it off."

"But is there anything else you want to do?"

Marcille smiled as she thought. "I'm going to spend a lot of time with my old friends."

Woola held Marcille's hand in both of hers and looked at it. "Don't worry." She looked up at Marcille and there was a joyous shine in her eyes. "I'll do everything I can to reunite you with your your beloved Laios!!"

Marcille brain get da dums.

"I understand what you're feeling (Not at all)! You and the hero king were party members turned lovers (Uh uh), but he was doomed to live only a fraction of your life. But your love is so strong (No it's not) that you'll tear down even the concept of time to see him again (It's not just about him).

"I caught my first glimpse of King Laios when he passed the crown to his son. Even at his advanced age, I could see what a gallant (Not really), charming (Nope), charismatic (Dead wrong), and handsome (No comment) man he was. If I were the healer in his party, I don't know how I could resist falling for him (Easily once you got to know him).

"And I'd heard all the rumors. You two were forbidden from marrying because your infertility prevented him from having an heir (What!?), and you were forced to merely be part of his personal concubine (Part of his what!?) and you're trying to resurrect him to keep him by your side forever (Why does everyone think that?)!

"But the truth is purer than I could ever imagine!"

Marcille bran no is renspod.

"It breaks my heart that you have to go to such extremes to enjoy the bliss that was stolen from you because of that scheming half-foot tricking Laios into marrying his daughter."

It was pure instinct. By the time Marcille's mind regained control of her body, she'd already slammed Woola into a wall, and was grabbing at her throat.

Marcille bit her lip so hard she tasted blood. Her face was red from a mix of embarrassment, sadness, and rage. She looked at Woola and saw the terror in her eyes. She loosened her grip and began to speak sternly.

"I am Marcille Donato and every rumor you've heard about me is a lie. I am a half-elf. My mother is an elf and a former court magician. My father was a tall-man and a court historian. After he died, I enrolled at the magic school near Kahka Brud where I met Falin and she later invited me into her brother Laios's adventuring party. And when a dragon ate Falin, that 'scheming' half-foot Chilchuck was the only other person who stuck with us as we embarked on a suicide mission to rescue her."

Marcille let Woola go and Woola slid to the floor.

"Think or say what you want about me. I don't care. But don't you dare insult my dear friends or their memory."

Marcille walked away. She heard Woola's wails echo through the hall.

***

The year 609 was a tragic year for Merini as Queen Marinfal the Uniter and Chef Senshi the Great both passed away on the same day. Marinfal was 62. Senshi was 207.

Senshi was laid to rest alongside Flertom in the mausoleum. Marcille initially thought how Senshi's burial meant that everything precious to her was now sealed inside the mausoleum. But Chilsen, Emeraude, and Marinfal were buried elsewhere - a royal crypt separate from the mausoleum.

Senshi and Marinfal died 3 weeks before Marcille's 145th birthday. Each birthday was always special. Senshi made Marcille a different cake and she received a journal of all the things that happened that year written collectively by everyone.

That year, Marcille spent the day inside her room. She had outlived 3 generations of the royal family and each death did not become easier to handle. In some sense, Marcille enjoyed the pain she felt because it meant she still had something to be attached to.

A knock came at the door.

"May I come in?" It was Puckpatti. She entered the room carrying a plate of lemon squares and a present. Puckpatti was now 42. She'd grown into a lovely woman with prominent laugh lines on her face.

Puckpatti held out the plate and present to Marcille and said "Happy birthday."

They sat together and shared the lemon squares. "I made them for you. Senshi wanted to make them and gave me the recipe just in case. How are they?"

Marcille took a bite of one of the squares. It was too sour for her liking. The inside felt a bit too gooey and the crust was too crumbly.

"I like it."

Puckpatti laid Marcille's head on her shoulder. "Grandma Emeraude told me how you're a stone in a river trying to chase the water. You move slower and will be left behind."

"My mother said I move faster and will leave everyone else behind instead."

Puckpatti chuckled. "I guess it's different perspectives. For you, our relation is tragic because I cannot be with you your entire life. But for me, it's tragic because we won't grow old together."

"Isn't that the same thing."
"Not at all. I used to call you my aunty. But at some point growing up, I changed while you stayed the same and I kept changing while you kept staying the same. And I've had to constantly adjust how I think of our relationship since you don't change with me.

"I don't wish I could live as long as you. I wish instead that we could grow old together and that our relationship never changed."

"What do you think it is?"

"At this point, I think of you as a daughter. I look at you, and I see a young woman with fears about finding out her purpose in life. And all I can do is help guide you and give you a sense of security and belonging."

Marcille didn't really understand what Puckpatti meant. She was one of the people who helped Puckpatti grow into the person she was. And hearing someone 1/3 her age call her her daughter sounded strange. But she was still happy to hear it.

Marcille's present contained another memory journal of the previous year. There were several pages from Senshi about the meals they ate at special events, conversations Marcille had with Marinfal and Puckpatti, and notes from Pattadol and Silvia about their investigations. In the margins were comments by Mithrun. And then there was the section from Woola about every moment that made her laugh.

Marcille nearly destroyed the chance to be friends with Woola 22 years ago, and she was so glad she didn't. After what happened that day, Marcille realized she acted almost the same as Shuro did way long ago. Woola didn't mean any harm. Everything was a misunderstanding. But Marcille took all her frustrations about every nasty rumor, misunderstanding, and forgotten scrap of history on her. The first chance Marcille got, she begged Woola's forgiveness and Woola asked the same. And then Marcille shared her stories about Laios, Falin, Chilchuck, Senshi, and Izutsumi.

Woola, being a complete romantic, initially concluded that Marcille actually loved Falin and compared Marcille to the protagonist from her favorite book series The King's Queens. Marcille did not dare tell her the inspiration for that series.

Along with the memory journal, there was a second book, The TRUE Dungeon Gourmet Guide written by Senshi of Izganda with assistance from Laios Touden, Falin Touden, Chilchuck Tims, and Izutsumi.

The opening dedication was to Marcille "so that we might always stay alive in her heart ."

There were pages written by Senshi of recipes for all the meals they ate on their adventures and some new ones he created after. Falin talked about dishes from around the world and how to modify Senshi's recipes based on different kingdoms' cooking styles and the types of monsters around the world. Laios wrote about the physiology, behavior, and combat techniques of the various monsters needed to make the dishes. Chilchuck drew various trap schematics and explained how to disarm them or use them to kill or cook monsters. Izutsumi did not have her own section, but she wrote comments all over the book about how much she liked or disliked certain foods, boasting that she could beat any of the monsters, and calling anyone who fell for one of those traps stupid. She also spilled ink all over one page which Senshi had to rewrite.

At the end of the book was a drawing of all of them together with Marcille in the middle. And there was one final comment written in Marcille's handwriting: "Hello Marcille. I had everyone put this together to help you get through the next 100 years. This is going to be the loneliest time of your life, but I know you can pull through."

Marcille threw herself into her research. She spent hours within the mausoleum studying the mana flow within the Barrier Tree and more than once found herself waking up on top of someone's coffin. She started bringing more and more items into the mausoleum to turn it into a second home. First she brought a sleeping bag, then some cooking tools (sadly, she didn't get to have Senshi's pot. It was donated to the CCH as one of Merini's national treasures), and finally some renovators to install a toilet with plumbing in a sequestered alcove to the side of the mausoleum. Marcille's favorite spots to sleep were next to Falin's coffin or under the Winged Lion. Her dreams were typically about whoever she slept beside .

She continued trying to figure out the secrets of her future self's notes only leaving to buy supplies or to join expeditions with her research party.

One day, Marcille received a visitor. It was Puckpatti and she was 55.

Marcille stared at the elderly woman. And then her face slowly contorted into horror as it dawned on her that she let 13 precious years slip by unnoticed. She hugged Puckpatti and cried.

"I'm sorry. I let all this time slip away."

Puckpatti hugged her back. "It's okay. I know time feels different to you. I wanted to see you at least one more time. And I thought you've spent so long in this one place, that it might be nice to show you what Merini has become."

Marcille wanted that. Anything to catch up to her dear Puckpatti.

They planned their route, loaded a carriage and began their journey. Starting at the capital city itself, Marcille was shocked to realize how much it had grown. She usually made supply requests to the castle and hadn't gone into the city much. The CCH had grown into its own district which had multiple amphitheatres, a museum, and it had combined with the liberal arts school Chilsen had made long ago.

From there, they traveled south. The towns in the south had a thriving dwarf and gnome population. There was an archaeologist guild interested in studying the various dwarf ruins around Merini as well as uncovering anything they could about the kingdom from before it became a dungeon 1,000 years ago.

Next, they traveled west. The western port had grown so much bigger since the war. It was a bustling port city and there were many elf immigrants who now made that area their homes.

The north side of Merini also had some trade ports but it was more focused on transporting goods between the west and east halves of Merini. It was the most diverse part of the kingdom as people of all races came through to make a living. There was a thriving fishing industry and it had the best food.

Finally, they traveled east. Much of Kahka Brud's former port had been absorbed into Merini's borders and the population greatly shrank over the years. The eastern area still got business as a stopping point for travels to and from Izganda.

Marcille never stopped being surprised at how much Merini had changed in all these years. And more importantly, there were all sorts of new food varieties. She still loved hamburgers especially, but now they came in special rolls that perfectly fit the hamburger. And there was a new tomato sauce called ketchup that was drizzled over the hamburger as well.

Brudwursts had been renamed to hot dogs at some point. No one gave Marcille a straightforward reason for the name, but she was assured the hot dogs do not and never did have any dog meat in them.

Basic minced meat sandwiches hadn't changed much. However, it had become a vehicle where any filling could be added. Marcille's favorite fillings were eggs, mushrooms, and ketchup.

Everywhere they went, there were poles placed into the ground . Puckpatti said they were necessary to set up a communications network that would let people talk to each other from long distances without needing magic.

When they returned to the castle, Puckpatti asked what Marcille thought.

"It was amazing. Merini has changed so much since Laios was king."

"Yes. I was worried you were starting to forget how quickly the world can change."

...

"I know the castle was once visited by various forms of you from the future. What year did they come from?"

"The youngest was from 720. The oldest was from around 1440."

"And it's currently 622. You still have 98 years to figure out time travel and over 800 to figure out everything. You don't need to devote all your time to this. Make sure to enjoy the now ."

So that's what this was about. Puckpatti didn't just want Marcille to catch up with her. She also wanted Marcille to catch up with the kingdom .

Puckpatti the Beloved would pass away two years later at 57. After, Marcille continued her research but would take time each year to travel the land and learn what was happening. She wrote travel logs on each trip and added them to her bookshelf. She was able to stay in contact with people she met thanks to the communications system set up through Merini.

***

In 650, Mithrun , age 329, made a major breakthrough in the notes Future Marcille left behind. The addition al term to the teleportation formula was time. Time travel was an advanced application of teleportation. However, while he had the theoretical proofs, the actual framework to implement time travel were out of anyone's grasp. Based on existing formulas related to teleportation, it would take the mana from several elves to send a pebble back by one second. Future Marcille's casual use of it means she either found a way to bypass those requirements or had free access to a huge font of mana.

Naturally, the latter was assumed since the mausoleum was a portal. But the Barrier Tree didn't let them freely access mana beyond the amount it was normally producing. And the amount it was producing was nowhere near enough mana.

While they tried to figure out the remaining parts of Future Marcille's formula, Mithrun decided to teach Marcille how to use teleportation magic as well.

Marcille and her council group also continued to search for the various mana focal points around Merini. The second one they discovered was in a dense forest that quickly grew after the appearance of the Barrier Tree. The forest was outside the range of any of Laios's body parts, so the sudden growth was likely a mix of said mana concentration and the forest turning into a dungeon of some kind.

The party geared up expecting to encounter anything from basilisks to man-eating plants to giant bats . But they didn't encounter anything of the sort. The forest was remarkably calm.

At the center, they found a clearing containing an obelisk and hundreds of mandrakes buried in the ground.

Pattadol looked at the field excitedly. "Look at all the mandrakes we could harvest. We could supply the entire kingdom's needs for years from this!"

"We didn't bring any dogs," Mithrun said. "We won't be able to harvest them right now."

Marcille, Pattadol, Silvia, and Woola all yelled at Mithrun.

"We're beyond such horrible, inefficient methods" declared Marcille. "Let me show you how to safely harvest mandrakes."

Marcille took out a knife, grabbed a mandrake by its leaves, and cut the head off with her knife before pulling out the rest of the body.

"See. Body harvested and it didn't make a sound."

Pattadol responded. "That's actually not a good harvesting method if we want to make mana roots."

Woola added "Mandrakes store most of their mana in a form that humans can't absorb directly. But if you let it scream, then that stored mana is released through the body and it can be absorbed."

Marcille trembled "B-but. What about the poor dogs?"

"Don't worry," Pattadol assured. "We've long since found a better method to harvest mandrakes. Let me show you."

Pattadol cast a barrier around the field. She began explaining.

"-- ------ -- -- --" she said(?) "-- -- ---- --, -- -- -- -- , ----"

Pattadol pulled one of the mandrakes out of the ground.

"----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"

Pattadol looked at the others cheerfully. "---- ----"

Silvia raised her hand. "-- -- -- -- -- -- --"

"-- ----" Pattadol responded(?) "-- ---- ---- -- ---- -- ---- -- -- -- -- -- , -- ---- -- --, -- ---- -- -- , -- -- ---- -- -- ---- -- -- --, ------ --------"

"-- -- ------ ------ -- -- ------"

"-- ---- -- --, -- -- , -- ---- ---- -- -- ---- -- ---- ---- -- -- -- -- -- , -- -- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- -- --"

"-- -- , --"

Marcille raised her hand and signaled that she couldn't hear anything they were saying. Pattadol dropped the sound barrier and apologized. She didn't tell Marcille what she said or what that conversation with Silvia was.

They investigated the obelisk. It was the same general design as the first one with a strange mana-absorbing crystal in the center. There was some encrypted writing on it but it wasn't anything of note. It just said [THIS WILL BE HELPFUL. ENJOY AND ONLY TAKE WHAT IS NECESSARY].

The party followed the advice from Future Marcille and only harvested 15 mandrakes.

***

The year was now 715. The world continued to change. Five new generations of rulers have taken the throne. Strife often appeared within the courts, but Marcille and Pattadol were there to guide the new rulers to be worthy of their crowns. At this time, Chilsen III sat the throne.

Marcille's council had made a grand breakthrough in figuring out the secret to time travel thanks to an observation from Woola. She discovered that mandrakes don't just store mana in a concentrated form that gets released when they scream. They also have some way to refine natural mana into a form of "purer" mana. Mandrake's high mana concentration was because they were actually storing this far more efficient form of mana, but it would get reformed back into the more natural mana when it le ft the mandrake's body.

Thanks to her research, she was able to figure out the mandrake characteristics that allowed it to store this purer mana and found that the Barrier Tree had those same characteristics. In other words, they could travel back in time from inside the mausoleum.

Mithrun wasn't going to take chances with this however. He wanted to start small before letting Marcille travel back in time. They started by ensuring this purer mana could safely exist in large quantities. Their tests found that it could cause light-headedness akin to mana sickness, but the worst that happened was a hangover that could be resolved by leaving the mausoleum. And the Barrier Tree could quickly reform purer mana back into the regular form they were used to.

Next, Mithrun did very small tests to figure out how mana is spent when time traveling. He'd send small objects back in time by a second, then several seconds, then a minute. The mana cost were proportional to the size and how far back the item was sent. Interestingly, it cost almost no mana to send an item back to when it came from. And if an object was sent forward, it would always return to when it would have been if it had never traveled in the first place.

The most unusual discovery happened one day when Mithrun was testing time travel on a set of objects. He had three bowls, a red one, a green one, and a yellow one. He was testing combining time travel with regular teleportation so that an object could appear somewhere else in the past. He asked Marcille to stand outside the mausoleum and tell him where the bowls appeared. While she was outside, the yellow bowl appeared in front of her. Five minutes passed and the other bowls never appeared. She went back into the mausoleum and Mithrun was staring at the other two bowls.

"Are you still waiting to send those two into the past?" Marcille asked. "I've been waiting for a while."

"I can't make them time travel. I've tried several times, but these two won't go. But the other one did. How long ago did that bowl appear?"

"About six minutes ago."

"I sent it back by three minutes three minutes ago. So it's still working."
They thought for a moment. Marcille had a realization. "My elder self told me that she and my future selves couldn't freely act in the past. Maybe those restrictions also affect what and when something can be sent back."

"So in other words, we can't use this power freely. I guess that means we don't have to worry about it being misused."

Three years later, Mithrun ran his final test: Sending himself back in time. He had a bag of mana herbs to replenish his mana, and intended to travel as far back as he could and check what happens. The mausoleum's mana was converted into the purer form, and Marcille, Pattadol, Silvia, and Woola watched Mithrun disappear. He reappeared 1 minute later.

"How was it?" asked Pattadol.

"It worked. I managed to travel pretty far into the past. But I wasn't able to stay long."

"Does anything feel unusual?"

"I refilled my mana somewhat while in the past. But I still feel dizzy. The teleportation also hurt my vision. I'm seeing spots."

" D id you go to when I think you did."

"Yes."

"When did you go?" asked Marcille.

"I think I shouldn't tell you. I saw you in the past and you were surprised to see me."

During the next two years, the council further refined their methods until they understood everything related to traveling to the past. Mithrun made one additional trip to the past and managed to stay there for an entire day.

They realized the secret to Marcille's ability to stay in the past was Ambrosia . Her staff was a younger version of the Barrier Tree and therefore had the power to store greater concentrations of purer mana. She just needed to channel it all into the staff and she could use it to stay anchored in the past for longer.

And so in 720, Marcille prepared for her first trip to the past. She had bought the red dress Future Marcille 1 wore when she first arrived. Mithrun (age 391), Pattadol (age 288), Silvia (age 242), and Woola (age 202) were there to see her off.

Marcille thanked everyone for all their hard work so far, turned the mana in its purer form, channeled it into herself and Ambrosia, and cast the spell to travel back in time. Marcille saw a blinding light when the spell activated.

***

The year is 520. It has been six years since Laios was crowned king of Merini.

Marcille was in the courtroom of the castle. Kabru was standing in the room and looking at her in confused shock.

Marcille looked at Kabru. "I wish to meet with Laios and Marcille. Please bring them here."

Chapter Text

The year is 720. Or rather, the year Marcille is from is 720. The current year is 520.

Marcille was alone in the throne room and was waiting for Kabru to return with Laios and her past self.

The longer she waited, the more giddy she became. Marcille started giggling and tip-tapping on the ground and then she began hopping and spinning around the room. She was about to reunite with Laios and she should see Falin again in a few days. This would be the first time in about 160 years since Marcille last saw them. And if she was lucky, she might also get to see Chilchuck, Izutsumi, and Senshi again soon.

Marcille's jovial dancing was abruptly ended when her body stopped in place. Marcille's body moved on its own and forced her to stand in-place, Ambrosia held in her right hand. This was how she remembered seeing her future self.

Marcille noticed the callouses on her hand and and could feel the lines on her face. Ambrosia had grown 2 extra leaves as well.

Laios, Present Marcille, and Kabru entered the courtroom and looked at her. Kabru whispered to Laios and Present Marcille. She remembered that he was concerned she might be some imposter or illusion.

Laios sat down on his throne and Present Marcille took her place standing beside him. Laios addressed Marcille. "I welcome you. What can I do for you?"

Marcille responded "I'm sure my appearance is a bit of a shock. I am Marcille Donato, but I come from 200 years in the future." She wanted to say more, but she couldn't. She wanted to run up to Laios and hug him and cry until all her tears were shed. She wanted to tell him how much she missed him and everyone else, but she was forced to stand there with a stoic look and wait for the other future Marcilles to arrive.

Future Marcille 2 appeared wearing her cloak and her blue dress and carrying a suitcase with her. She proclaimed her arrival "And I am Marcille Donato from 200 years and 6 months in the future. Sorry I'm late." How could she be late? She arrived exactly when she was going to.

Laios, Kabru, and Present Marcille stared in stunned silence. Marcille chuckled and said "So this is what it was like to be on the other end of the conversation."

She addressed her present self. "Marcille, how about we show you that we're really you from the future? Let us speak in private."

"Hold on," shouted Kabru. "There's no way I'm letting you two lure our court mage away. How can we trust that you aren't assassins trying to disguise yourselves as Marcille?" Kabru turned to Laios for his opinion.

"Nothing about their behavior or appearance suggests they're monsters," said Laios. "At the very least, these are people."

"Yes, and I don't detect anything like illusion magic either" Present Marcille added. "That second woman used something that felt like teleportation magic though."

The Marcilles all spoke in a private room and 15 minutes later the three of them, along with Elder Marcille in her black dress that looked like Present Marcille's, came out. Laios and Kabru looked at the Elder Marcille and Laios asked Present Marcille "Where did she come from?" Present Marcille looked uneasy as she told Laios and Kabru "These are indeed me from the future. And the older woman is me from 920 years in the future." Kabru began to ask how she was sure their story was correct, but Present Marcille turned beat red and shouted "Just trust me on this!! It's true!" Marcille thought it was adorable how her past self was so easily flustered.

Elder Marcille asked to feel Laios's hair and then talked about all the little things she wanted to enjoy at the end of her life. This time, Marcille knew her elder self had another reason to be here. Marcille's Ambrosia grew extra leaves when she traveled back in time. Future Marcille 2's Ambrosia had the same number of leaves. But Elder Marcille's Ambrosia was a thick tangle of leafy vines. That Ambrosia was somehow storing vast amounts of the purer mana needed to one day create the Barrier Tree.

***

Pattadol and Mithrun came to visit a few days later. Present Marcille was panicking and trying to hide Marcille and the other future Marcilles because she was afraid Pattadol would arrest her. But Marcille assured her that there was no need to worry. She had once been in Present Marcille's position but Future Marcille 1 managed to convince Pattadol and Mithrun to let them be after a private conversation. And now that she was Future Marcille 1, it was her turn to protect her past self.

One problem: Marcille had no idea what her future self did to convince Pattadol that she wasn't doing something arrest-worthy.

Marcille, Pattadol, and Mithrun sat at a table together in a private room. They had a few snacks and drinks with them as well. Marcille was on one side of the table. Pattadol and Mithrun were on the other side.

"Let me make sure I understand," Pattadol began. "You're from the year 720. And you are the first of several future selves who currently are and will travel back in time."

"Yes." Marcille did her best to stay composed, but she was secretly terrified.

"I know you wouldn't have any ill intents, but we cannot be sure of any other users. Who currently knows about this, both now and in the future?"

"Uh...Laios, myself, Kabru, Yaad."

"And the future?"

Marcille couldn't say anything. Marcille was sure telling Pattadol that she'd become a future collaborator was what would save her. But she realized she wasn't allowed to say anything.

"W-Woola...and..." Marcille was losing her composure. She literally couldn't say any names Pattadol would recognize.

Pattadol furrowed her brow. She was not happy with Marcille's uncooperativeness.

"Okay. Well let me ask you this. Does the future change in any way because you or the other Marcilles are around?"

Marcille thought and came up with plenty of things that happen because of her selves time traveling. Laios isn't killed in 522. Merini is not conquered in 561. The Barrier Tree only exists because of her future self's actions.

Marcille couldn't say anything. All she could do was look nervously at Pattadol and Mithrun.

Pattadol sighed. "I think you should come with me back to the Elven Kingdom. We'll need to know what this magic is."

"Good luck arresting me. I can return to my own time at any moment." Why did Marcille say that? She did not want to say that!! Why was the time magic making her say that?!

"I suppose that's true. In that case, maybe I should ask Marcille to explain what she can."

Marcille jumped out of her chair and slammed her hands on the table. "You're going to arrest someone who hasn't done anything!! And it's a member of the king's court! Are you trying to cause a diplomatic incident!"

Pattadol got nervous. Mithrun spoke up. "I think I might know how to resolve this. I'll research this myself and we'll decide if any arrests are necessary after I've completed my investigation. By the way Marcille, am I still alive in 720?" Marcille nodded. Mithrun then took a plate with a slice of cake and held it out next to him. A much older Mithrun appeared next to him and took the cake.

"I've researched everything there is to know about time travel," said the older Mithrun. "Don't worry about it. And don't report it to the queen." Future Mithrun ate the cake offered by Present Mithrun as well as a mana herb he had and then vanished.

"That settles that. My investigation concluded there is nothing to worry about and no need to tell the queen." Mithrun began eating a slice of cake.

That was what Mithrun used time travel for!?!

Marcille was exasperated. Pattadol was confused. Mithrun was eating cake.

"I guess that settles things," said Pattadol. "We'll just not worry about it."

***

When Falin returned to the castle, she took the sudden appearance of several Marcilles in stride. "I can take one of them with me on my next trip." Marcille was the first of her future selves Falin saw when she decided on her next trip. But before Falin could invite her, Future Marcille 2 shoved herself into the conversation and asked to go instead since she had already packed a suitcase.

Marcille was upset she didn't get to go but at least she would get her turn soon. She had waited over 160 years. 6 more months would be nothing.

Besides that, Marcille needed to use her first visit to figure out how the restrictions on her worked. She already experienced them twice at this point. The restrictions could force her to move or speak against her will. And they could prevent her from acting or talking too. She needed to know what she generally was able to do.

She began small. She'd say silly things, make odd movements, or try speaking about future events. Sometimes she'd be stopped, sometimes she could proceed.

Eventually she found two primary reasons she'd get restricted. The first was she could not say anything that might influence whether or when an event happened. This could be anything grand such as trying to tell Laios he'll marry Puckpatti or about the creation of the Barrier Tree. But she was even restricted from mentioning minor ideas or creations from the future.

The second reason she would get restricted was because her past self was in the same room as her. Marcille could only say and do the things she once witnessed her future selves say and do. As long as Present Marcille was not in the same room, and nothing that she did got back to her, Marcille was (mostly) free to do whatever she wanted.

maximizing her time with Laios required Marcille to keep him away from Present Marcille and make her focus on her duties as Royal Magic Council. And there was definitely nothing wrong with Marcille monopolizing Laios's time away from Present Marcille. This was totally not at all like how Future Marcille 1 kept stealing Laios away from her. After all, Future Marcille 1 was doing that because she was a selfish jerk. Marcille was doing it so she could regain those lost moments that were stolen from her.

Marcille mostly just watched Laios doing paperwork. She was enjoying watching him focus on his work and noticing the little details about how he held his pencil in his right hand and might get a little charcoal on his nose because he taps his pencil against it when he thinks.

Sometimes she'd ask about his parents (They'd made up and they were doing well), the others (Chilchuck was doing well, and Laios was hoping Senshi would come visit soon), the townspeople (Zon and his tribe started their own farming community), or him (Doing okay he guessed).

One time, Marcille absentmindedly started stroking Laios's head, to which a bashful Laios asked what she was doing. Marcille turned beat red and excused herself to wash her hands because Laios's hair was dirty.

When Chilchuck came to visit, Marcille hugged him so hard he thought he was going to suffocate. Marcille hadn't seen Chilchuck in 184 years since he passed away 16 years from now. Marcille was going to especially need to take time to be with him since she had so much less time to do so.

Chilchuck took a quick look at Marcille and commented "I know your job is stressful, but I wasn't expecting you to age this quickly. I hope you're taking time to relax."

"Don't worry. I have plenty of time to do what I want."

"Good. I know how much of a workaholic you are. You might get to live longer than us, but that doesn't matter if you let Kabru and Yaad work you into an early grave."

"And speaking of work, how's business for you?"

"Pretty quiet, which I like. Most of my lockpicking jobs are to open things like old jewelry boxes or lockets. There isn't much work for adventurers these days so the Half-foot union hasn't had as much business either. I've been teaching Meijack all the ins-and-outs so she can take over. I'll probably retire in 5 years."

"Why not move into the castle when you retire? There's always room for you and your daughters."

"No thanks. It's not lively enough for me."

"But then how can I spend time with you?" Marcille tried to hug him again while pretending to cry.

"You can visit me whenever you want." Chilchuck shoved her away.

"Really. Well in that case, I'll be visiting you often."

Chilchuck sighed. "Don't make a habit out of it."

At that moment, Present Marcille appeared. "Chilchuck! I wasn't expecting you today!" She ran up to Chilchuck and gave him a friendly hug. Chilchuck looked at her, then back to Marcille, and then back to her and he became more confused by the second.

Finally, he pushed Present Marcille off him and shouted "What the hell is going on!!"

Present Marcille composed herself and introduced Marcille. "Chilchuck, this is future Marcille 1. She's me from 200 years in the future."

Chilchuck took a moment to try processing what she said. "Why the '1'? How many are there?"

"Three. But one of them is traveling with Falin."

Chilchuck realized something "So wait a second. I just gave a time traveler permission to jump through time whenever she wants to ask me how my day's been going?"

Marcille responded "Yes."

"I gave you that offer cause I thought you'd only do it on the days you weren't busy. If you can just pop in from any when you want, I am going to need to set a few rules about when you can stop by."

Marcille asked Present Marcille if she and Chilchuck could use one of the conference rooms and the two of them drew up the visitation plans. They agreed to once every other week while Chilchuck was working and then twice a week once he retired. Also, Marcille's visits had to be linear in relation to Chilchuck's perspective of time. He did not want to deal with Marcille randomly aging and de-aging and having to figure out what conversations he has and has not had. He'd let her know if he wanted her to visit on holidays.

Izutsumi's first visit to the castle was not the joyous moment Marcille was hoping for. When she saw Izutsumi, Marcille greeted her and tried to hug her, but Izutsumi responded by yelling and scratching Marcille's hand so hard it bled.

Izutsumi's hair stood on edge, her tail was puffed up, and she was baring her teeth. "Who are you and where's the real Marcille?"

"I am Marcille, but -"

"No you're not! I can smell the strange magic coming from you." Izutsumi turned and fled.

Marcille healed her cuts. She remembered Izutsumi being initially spooked by the future Marcilles, but she didn't know it was this bad. Marcille waited for Present Marcille to come with Izutsumi hiding behind her. She had to explain everything to Izutsumi, but it still took a bit of time for Izutsumi to feel comfortable around Marcille and Elder Marcille.

When Senshi first returned to the castle, he saw multiple Marcilles and told her "You really should stop using magic so carelessly."

Marcille had a lot of things she wanted to do with Senshi. She'd been practicing her cooking skills and had a whole list of foods she wanted to show him and get his expert advise on how to improve.

Except she wasn't allowed to say anything.

She was at least able to cook meals alongside him, but she found herself constantly restrained from showing any ideas that someone else would invent in the future.

***

Marcille could tell how much her past self did not like her around. She was once the past Marcille after all and her future selves were the most annoying people she'd ever met. Marcille did her best to leave Present Marcille alone mostly because she couldn't do anything she wanted whenever Present Marcille was around, but also because they didn't get along well.

There was one time where Present Marcille invited Marcille and Elder Marcille to tea and tried to start a conversation about the Daltian Clan. In her mind, Marcille was disgusted that her past self loved reading the works of such a horrendous author, but all she was allowed to do was calmly say "Oh yeah. I lost interest in it decades ago."

After the war, the book's author came out as an elf supremist-extremist. He joined a political group that believed the elves were the master race and everyone who wasn't "pure" should be driven out. He claimed that there was a conspiracy by the stupid and filthy King Chilsen and his equally filthy whore Marcille to replace the elves.

"Filthy" isn't the exact word he said though. It's the closest translation into the common tongue of the elven word used. The word he used means something that is nauseating just to look at and will make you sick and equally filthy if you touch it. Something that filthy had to be thrown into a fire along with the clothing that touched it in order to prevent the spread of the filth.

When the author's words reached Marcille, she decided to host a protest against him where she declared his works to be contaminated by his filthy words and she burned her entire collection using the same procedure needed to safely dispose of something contaminated by that filth. She also petitioned Queen Emeraude to ban the sale of the Daltian Clan throughout Merini but Emeraude had a better idea. Instead of enticing people into reading forbidden literature, the series could still be sold. However, the authors words against Chilsen and Marcille had to be plastered on every official copy sold in the kingdom.

Marcille let her younger self go on her tantrum over how great the Daltian Clan was and once she was done, Marcille calmly told her "You'll know why I lost interest when you're older. But don't worry, you're still young and there are so many works you've yet to discover. You'll find something even better." Really though, she wanted to tell Present Marcille about all the other books she'd read since then and which currently do not exist. Maybe when Present Marcille was older, they could all sit around and talk about some of them.

***

Another wonderful day was spent with her friends. Marcille retired to her room for the evening and was met by another Marcille.

"It's time for you to leave."

"But I'm going to visit Chilchuck tomorrow." As Marcille said that, a bright light flashed and she was back in the mausoleum in 720. There were spots in her vision for a few minutes.

The air didn't feel strange so Marcille decided to go sleep. She would report everything to the others tomorrow.

Chapter Text

Marcille dreamed that she visited Chilchuck. She met Meijack, the three of them went to lunch, and they enjoyed hot dogs together.

She woke up next to Chilchuck's coffin. She wanted to see him now, but she was resigned to doing that later, like most everything she wanted to do.

***

Marcille met with Pattadol and Silvia in the castle. They informed her that it had been two weeks since Marcille made her first trip to the past. After counting the days she'd spent in the past, Marcille concluded that was how long she was there too. It aligned with earlier observations that time-displaced objects returned to their own time would return to when they would have been.

The topic moved onto the Barrier Tree's mana production. Silvia took charge.

"I've been tracking the flow of mana around the tree for several weeks prior to your trip. The mana flows at a fairly constant and steady rate.

"However, when we convert the mana to the more pure form, the tree's production drops rapidly. It most likely is because the purer form supplies the tree so incredibly well that it does not need to pull more mana."

Marcille nodded and followed along.

"We have smaller datapoints from Mithrun sending items back in time by several minutes as well as the larger points from when he sent himself back in time a few centuries. In all these instances, the tree's reserves of purer mana were depleted and it had to intake the normal mana sooner.

"This should not be a problem under most circumstances. The tree initially slows production while using purer mana and slowly increases it back to the normal production rate as the purer mana is consumed. However, your staff's ability to absorb the tree's purer mana created a sort of mana vacuum which caused the tree to overproduce mana to compensate. Immediately after you traveled back in time, the portal in the tree erupted with so much mana that we had to flee lest we get sick from mana toxicity. It took several hours for it to stabilize."

So in other words, the Barrier Tree has a limit to how far back and how long it can let Marcille stay in the past at any given time. Traveling back two centuries for two weeks caused the tree's mana production to go out of control for several hours. If Marcille wanted to keep traveling to the past, that meant the tree would become more unstable over time since she would end up traveling further and further back.

So how much purer mana did Elder Marcille need to travel over 900 years into the past, stay there for over 50 years, and also spawn the Barrier Tree? Actually, was her body still in her coffin? Marcille would have to check that later.

Pattadol spoke. "Thank you Silvia. Now how about we move onto another topic. How was the trip?"

"It was wonderful seeing everyone again. And it was a little strange experiencing the same things through a different perspective. But I felt like I was a little closer to everyone this time then I was 200 years ago."

"And you were the first Future Marcille who ever visited the past, correct?"

"Yes. I went back as Future Marcille 1."

"So why did you never tell me I was helping you? If you told me from the start my future self was a research collaborator, I would have trusted everything you were doing."

Marcille threw her hands in the air in frustration. "I tried! I was trying to say that but the stupid time restrictions wouldn't let me!"

"I...see. You and Mithrun have both talked about restrictions. What are they?"

"I experimented a bit to understand them and I think time travel requires you to act in certain ways. Elder Marcille once told me that a time traveler is a guest and must follow the rules of the past. The restrictions are likely just ensuring that a time traveler doesn't say or do anything that could alter the future."

Silvia spoke up. "But you very much did alter the future. We wouldn't be discussing all this if none of your future selves ever appeared."

"True." Marcille pondered. "The Barrier Tree is the most obvious change. And it's the reason Merini still exists. But then there's smaller things like the large mandrake garden and the mausoleum. Those only exist because of a future Marcille as well."

Marcille also remembered the assassination attempt in 522. If Future Marcille 1 hadn't gone in her place, Laios and Puckpatti, and maybe even Marcille, might be dead. Marcille was going to need to prepare for that. By Kabru's estimates, each Future Future Marcille 1 was one year older than the previous one. So if Marcille advanced as Future Marcille 1 at a rate of 2 weeks per year, then it would take around 26 years in the current time to experience 1 year in the past. So this meant she had about 50-60 years to prepare to stop the assassination plot.

But wait! That's the second one. Someone also was going to try poisoning Laios at his wedding. But there were also several additional future Marcilles there. So maybe she didn't need to worry about that one as much.

Marcille was tired of stressing about things that did (will?) happen. "For now, I think we should compile what we know my future selves did so we know what I'll need to prepare for. In 6 months, I'll be traveling back again as the first iteration of Future Marcille 2."

***

Marcille compiled the list of every known task she would need to accomplish. First, her role as Future Marcille 1 would end in 522, while her role as Future Marcille 2 would end in 548. This meant she'd be working at those for roughly 50 and 730 years respectively.

She would also attend Laios's 50th birthday 47 additional times if she didn't include the instances where she would be Future Marcille 2 and Elder Marcille. And in one instance, she was going to join Senshi in hunting a dragon.

Mithrun had identified 20 additional Marcilles at Laios's wedding and identified what year several were from. Her first known trip back would be in 726.

And for every one of the mana focal points they found, that would be another trip back. And finally, there was that one moment where Future Marcille 2 beat up Mithrun before becoming Elder Marcille.

Marcille was surprised how flexible her schedule was after writing everything down. She could likely get everything done with two long trip per year and still have plenty of time to attend Laios's wedding roughly every 40 years and attend his 50th birthday roughly every 25 years.

Per Silvia's recommendation, Marcille was going to limit each trip to once every 3 months so the Barrier Tree could recover its mana reserves. The longest trips would be spaced out every 6 months as well.

And 3 months after her first trip, Marcille decided to attend Laios's birthday for the second time.

She performed the necessary spells and drew in the mana needed to travel to 538 and stay there for 2 days. There was a blinding flash and she was now at the special table during the festival and was with many other Marcilles.

Marcille was in the crowd during Chilsen's official coronation, but she wasn't interested in hearing Laios and Chilsen's speeches. She was looking for Woola. Woola saw the coronation and would have been maybe 20 at the time. Marcille thought it would be funny to tell Woola she found her past self and she also wanted to see how cute she was when she was little.

Unfortunately, Marcille couldn't find her in the crowds. The loud cheers signaled that Marcille needed to return to the dining room.

When she entered, several Marcilles were lining up to applaud Chilsen. Marcille watched two of her future selves drag Present Marcille into their formation. It was funny watching her past self get dragged into the formation while kicking and screaming only to stand in her spot quietly once she was in place.

And when Present Marcille and the other Marcilles all simultaneously clapped, smiled, and said "Congratulations Chilsen. You did great!", Marcille had the longest, hardest laugh she had felt in well over a century. She needed to make sure she was part of the formation next time.

When everyone sat down to eat, Marcille sat to Mithrun's left. To her left was another Marcille, Kabru, and Rin. Marcille was surprised how much Mithrun barely aged over 200 years. But as she looked at the crowd of people, she noticed there was another younger Mithrun on the other side of the table.

Marcille wanted to shout, but the time restraints forced her to sit calmly and eat her meal. There were two Mithruns and she somehow didn't notice the last time. He did spend an entire day in the past during one test trial. Why of all possible times did he choose this one? She'd ask him when she returned to the future. For now, she decided to eat hamburgers and brudwursts and be upset about that empty chair reserved for Chilchuck.

The next day, Marcille, another future Marcille, and Present Marcille accompanied Laios around the festival. She already knew nothing would happen, so Marcille relaxed this time. But when Past Marcille tried to walk away for a moment, Marcille realized she had a sacred duty she needed to fulfill. There was one additional thing Marcille's time travel had caused and she needed to act now to ensure it would happen. More importantly than the Barrier Tree, more importantly than saving Merini, and more importantly than saving Laios, Marcille's time travel created the rumors about Laios keeping a harem of elf sisters and that would inspire the creation of the King's Queens. Marcille and the other future Marcille stopped Present Marcille. They shook their heads no and let the two men who would start the rumor leave.

***

After returning to her time, Marcille spoke with Mithrun.

"So why did you go to Laios's birthday party?" Marcille asked.

"I wanted to talk to Kabru one last time."

Marcille was surprised at that answer. "How come?"

"He was always worrying about how I would take care of myself once he was gone. He spent a lot of his free time with me helping me recognize when I needed to eat, sleep, or poop. Sometimes, he'd recommend various activities to give me more motivation to live as well. I just wanted to let him know that I managed to live a fulfilling life after him, despite everything."

Marcille had a big smile on her face.

"The food was also really good."

It was indeed.

" I also went back to help my past self figure out what to do with the rest of his life. Part of what's kept me motivated for so long was helping you in your research. I won't live to see it to completion, but I'm glad I told my past self about all this."

Marcille blinked. "What do you mean? The time restrictions prevent anyone from talking about the future."

"No. They prevent you from altering the future. I told him everything I know and then ordered him to play ignorant until 650."

"So...You've known about time travel, the Barrier Tree, and the purer mana for nearly 200 years at this point, but you didn't tell anyone until 70 years ago?"

"Yes."

Marcille was barely able to keep herself from strangl ing him. "And you didn't tell us because...?"

"Because my future self told me not to."

Marcille felt something in her mind snap. She got up and left the room.

Later, she went over her time-travel to-do list and underlined and circled the note that one day she would beat Mithrun to a bloody pulp.

***

The year is now 720 and 6 months. Marcille was wearing her blue dress, had her suitcase packed, and was ready to go on that vacation with Falin she'd long awaited. She cast the spell to travel back in time and nothing happened.

What went wrong? She cast the spell correctly. The Barrier Tree had more than enough mana stored up to send her back. She was dressed exactly like she remembered Future Marcille 2 was dressed. Was this the wrong date? Or maybe she was bringing something back with her that she shouldn't.

Maybe Marcille packed something that shouldn't appear in the past? She wanted to pack the King's Queens and a few travel books with her but decided against that because they didn't exist yet and had details about events that hadn't happened yet.

She went through each item she wanted to bring with her. She had an extra set of casual clothes, clothes for cold weather, and a swimsuit. She brought some paper, a quill, and some ink. There was her toothbrush, a sleeping bag, and her pillow.

She couldn't tell what if anything might be illegal to bring into the past. Maybe a shirt was embroidered a certain way that didn't exist yet or was it using a dye that hadn't been invented yet ? Maybe the ink was made by a company that doesn't exist? Was the paper a certain size not used in the 500s?

Marcille decided to just unpack single item s and try traveling back without it. When the casting failed, she packed it back in and tried again. She finally managed to go back by leaving behind her quill.

With a flash of light, Marcille found herself back in 520 as Future Marcille 1 introduced herself. Marcille scrambled to follow up "And I am Marcille Donato from 200 years and 6 months in the future. Sorry I'm late."

She went through the script of Future Marcille 2 and waited for Falin to return home. Falin invited the wrong future Marcille to go on her next trip so Marcille shoved herself into the conversation and showed that she had already packed her things for the trip.

In all this time, Marcille never asked where they were going.

"I was thinking of going to the Northern Continent. It's been so long since I've seen my parents."

Marcille had spoken to them once shortly after Laios became king. She had learned that everything Laios told her about them was entirely because everyone in that family is horrible at speaking their thoughts and reasoning. She decided to visit them personally, give them a quick lecture about communicating ones thoughts and brought them to Merini to talk with Laios and Falin and make up.

Marcille was looking forward to meeting them in a more proper way this time.

"I'm glad you're coming with me this time," Falin said. "You're from the Northern Continent too, right? Do you have any family you'd like to meet?"

Marcille grew still as she thought. Her mother would still be alive at this time. And she'd be living with Marcille's gnome step-father. She hadn't seen her mother in centuries. Was she even still alive in her time?

And then Marcille thought about her papa. Elder Marcille said she wouldn't be able to see him, but she still wanted to try .

Marcille perked up, or rather was forced to perk up. "My mother should still be living in the Northern Continent. I'd love to introduce you to her."

***

It took several days of travel by carriage to the Northern Port town and from there they spent several more days travel ing by ship to the Northern Continent. During their trip, Marcille and Falin shared stories about growing up. Falin had many stories about playing with their dogs and exploring the woods with them and Laios. Marcille didn't have nearly as many tales, but she did have some stories about chasing chickens and going fishing with her parents.

Marcille's hometown had grown larger, but otherwise seemed mostly the same from what she remembered. Despite being a port city, there wasn't much trade with other kingdoms. It mostly used the port for fishing. But in recent years, Merini had brokered a trade agreement which allowed the city to grow a bit larger. Though it still was a fairly meager port since the Northern Continent didn't have much to offer that other lands didn't also have.

Marcille estimated she had 3 days left before she returned to her time once they finally reached the Northern Continent. They'd docked in the port city her mother lived in so they might be able to meet her before then. If not, then the next Future Marcille 2 should be able to meet her instead. Her mother was still a court mage when she went to the magic academy so Marcille figured the best way to start looking for her was by asking the local lord.

The lord's mansion was the largest residence in the city and there were several additional buildings around that served as the homes for the staff. There was also a large field for growing crops and raising livestock.

Marcille and Falin approached the guards in front of the manor.

"An elf?" said one of the guards. "Are you a friend of the court mage?"

If the court mage was an elf, then they were likely referring to her mother. Marcille had never met another elf before going to the Island.

"I was actually hoping to meet her. I am Marcille Donato. Would you please let her know I came to visit?"

The guards looked at each other for a moment. One of them spoke. "I'll pass the message along. Please wait nearby until then."

The guard ran inside. The other guard pointed them toward where they could wait under until then.

Marcille and Falin found a gazebo overlooking the farmland. The y could also see a field of chickens running around. Marcille almost wanted to take Falin and go chasing them.

About 30 minutes later, the guard returned and asked them to come with him into the manor. He escorted the two of them to a guest room and told them the court mage would meet them shortly after.

Marcille was on edge. She didn't know what to say and was scared what her mother would think when she saw how much older Marcille was. The present Marcille was 56. An elf girl that age should have had her first major growth spurt and be starting to develop into a woman. But Marcille passed that point long beforehand. And now she was 256 and looked maybe like an elf who was around 200.

"Are you nervous?" It was Falin. "It'll be okay. I know you're excited to see her."

Marcille calmed down. Falin was right. She shouldn't worry. Her mother would be excited to see her. Instead, Marcille started thinking about telling her about Falin and Laios, and their adventures, and how she (or rather, her present self) was serving as a court mage as well.

There was a knock on the door and in entered Marcille's mother. She only looked a little older than Marcille remembered. She had the beginnings of lines on her face. She took one look at Marcille and for a brief moment, she looked shocked. But then she smiled and said "You've grown so much."

Hugs and greetings were exchanged and then everyone sat down together. Marcille introduced her mother to Falin.

"You're her friend from the academy? Marcille told me so much about you. She said you have an aptitude for magic that could rival an elf's."

Falin blushed. " Thanks. But Marcille is also great . Whenever we fought monsters, she was all Ba-boom and the monsters died. "

Marcille's mother looked at Falin intensely. "By the way, are those feathers growing out of your body?"

"Yes. I'm half-dragon."

Marcille did not want Falin to say that. But it w as going to come up at some point .

Marcille told her mother about her adventures on the island (minus the parts where she used Ancient Magic and became a Dungeon Lord). Her mother was both captivated and terrified to hear what her daughter had experienced. And she was nauseated to learn what Marcille ate on her adventures.

Falin giggled throughout. "You two look so alike. And you even make the same faces."

Marcille's mother asked them to stay at her house for a few days. She had moved to a different house after Marcille's father passed away and Marcille left for the academy, but it was near her old home.

When they all arrived at the house, Marcille and Falin were greeted by Marcille's step-father. He was excited to finally meet the daughter his wife loved to talk about.

Marcille and Falin planned to stay the next two nights and leave the next morning. The next morning, everyone sat down for breakfast. Marcille's mother spoke up in the middle of it. "Marcille, you need to take better care of your hair."

Marcille always tried to at least keep her hair clean and sometimes she'd brush it, but the ordeal always bored her and she often found tangles. She really didn't understand why she liked it so much and only kept it long because her friends liked it. She liked when they would decorate her hair though.

Marcille's mother decided to clean up Marcille's hair after breakfast. She spent a while brushing it until it was straight, and then she braided it into a waterfall braid. Marcille loved it, but more importantly, she loved that her mother made it.

Marcille and Falin spent the day exploring the city. Marcille showed Falin various eateries she liked and talked about the fishing competitions that were held throughout the year. They had some of the local cuisine including long noodles served with shrimp in white sauce. That evening, Marcille's mother served them a roast pork. It tasted just like Marcille remembered.

Marcille slept peacefully that night until she was woken up by someone. That person was another Marcille.

"I have to go already? Can't I say goodbye first?"

"I know. But I'll be sure to do it for you."

And with a flash, Marcille was back in the mausoleum. But her things were not. And it was late at night so she couldn't just go to the castle. And by the time she'd reach an inn, it would be almost morning anyway. So she was stuck sleeping on the hard floor instead.

***

The next day, Marcille went shopping to get a new sleeping bag, toothbrush, and clothes to replace the things now lost in time. She also asked about her quill. One shopkeeper told her it came from a monster called a minokawa which was only recently discovered in the Western Continent. Marcille guessed she couldn't take it back in time because of that.

Once she had replaced her lost things, Marcille planned a trip to the Northern Continent again. She wanted to visit her mother in her time and tell her everything up to this point.

Travel took less time than it did in the past, and her hometown had changed greatly in 200 years. There were pipes and street lights and the port had far more traffic than before.

The lord's manor was still the biggest building in the city, and it was even bigger now.

Marcille inquired with the guards about her mother and whether she was still the court mage. The guards looked at each other and one of them spoke "I'm sorry, but she passed away 3 years ago."

Indeed, Marcille found her grave at the cemetery. She was buried between Marcille's father and step-father.

When she returned home, Marcille tried to go back in time to some when her mother would be. But the Barrier Tree wouldn't let her. Each day after, Marcille tried again, but the tree never responded. As time went on, she tried different points in time, wearing different outfits, and even started trying to go back to when her papa was. Elder Marcille said it couldn't be done, but Marcille was determined to succeed no matter how many times she failed.

After four months of failed attempts, the Barrier Tree finally reacted. Marcille performed the ritual and cast the spell to go back in time. And with a blinding flash, Marcille found herself in 538 among the various Marcilles attending Laios's 50th birthday.

Marcille didn't want to be there. She wanted to hide in the mausoleum and cry in frustration or maybe find Falin and cry on her shoulders. But she was forced to smile and celebrate and join the other Marcilles in clapping and congratulating Chilsen on becoming king. Everyone laughed and she hated it. She didn't want to laugh right now.

Marcille sat next to Falin when they ate together. She wanted to tell Falin what she was feeling but wasn't allowed to. She could only eat the food in front of her and say it was delicious. It was good, but Marcille wanted to eat her mother's roast pork at the moment.

8 hours after going to the past, Marcille was returned to her time. She finally was able to break down and cry like she wanted.

Marcille stopped trying to visit her parents after.

Chapter Text

Marcille and Chilchuck were relaxing in the backroom of Chilchuck's shop. Chilchuck was enjoying an ale while Marcille instead had a light wine.

Chilchuck was sharing all sorts of stories about running his shop. Marcille's favorite story was the one about Chilchuck opening a heart locket belonging to someone's grandma and there was a portrait of a cat in it.

There was also the occasional brute who thought they could commit an armed robbery against him because he was a half-foot. Chilchuck would just pull out his bow, shoot the weapon out of their hand, and dare them to try again.

But Chilchuck was most lively when talking about his daughter Meijack. She was working with him and had picked up his skills. Chilchuck wanted to brag about how she was the best lockpick in Kahka Brud, but didn't because he didn't want people thinking she was a thief.

He showed Marcille one safe someone brought in that had several hidden locks and secret keys in it.

"It took her a whole day to open it, but she did it. And it was all thanks to my guidance."

"I did it cause you couldn't figure it out at all!" Meijack was at the store's front counter and heard everything. "How's about you retire already. I'm already more capable than you."

Marcille giggled. "Is she better than you?"

"Of course not!" Chilchuck shouted while nodding his head. "She's still got plenty to learn. I'm still too far from retiring."

"You and ma should just enjoy your twilight years already," Meijack responded. "Instead your just wastin your time sitting in a room drinking."

"And how is your wife?" Marcille asked.

Chilchuck retorted "Ex-wife. I told you before that we decided to just be friends from now on. It's fine by me. I can drink more."

Marcille had met Chilchuck's wife in 522 during Laios and Puckpatti's wedding. She was a friendly woman but tended to keep to herself. She only visited the castle twice more. Once was shortly after Chilsen's birth and then once more 5 years later.

Marcille, Chilchuck, and Meijack had dinner in the tavern. Then Marcille returned to Merini. She'd waited a year for this day. Nothing special happened, but Marcille wouldn't have it any other way.

Marcille spent the rest of this trip to the past wandering the castle grounds and speaking to anyone she came across. Izutsumi was still nervous around her and Laios would often bring papers to her to ask her opinion before she told him she was the wrong Marcille.

And when the next Future Marcille 1 appeared, Marcille went back to her own time.

***

The year was 721. After her failed attempt to see her parents again, Marcille re-evaluated a few things about time travel. She had no actual control at all over it. Maybe it was the will of the Barrier Tree or there was something else at play, but she couldn't actually go to any when she wanted. Every journey was pre-determined.

This power let her see her old friends. And that was all it let her do. She couldn't see her parents or anyone else she might miss. She'd never be able to see Queen Emeraude, Queen Marinfal, or her beloved Queen Puckpatti again.

And she couldn't confide in her friends either. All she could do was smile and laugh. But she would never be able to cry or share her grief with them. But then again, grief and mourning were only for the living. The dead can't share such things.

Marcille revealed everything that happened to her council. They comforted and held her close when she told them about her mother's passing (Except Mithrun. But he did make Marcille a very tasty cheesy short noodle dish).

"What if I don't have any free will at all?" Marcille felt trapped. She didn't have any actual power over time. She could not choose where or when she went.

"I have to follow a predetermined set of actions when I'm in the past. What if everything I'm doing now is also predetermined?"

Mithrun responded. "Has anything forced you to travel back in time?"

"Well I have to. I'll have to do everything my future selves did at some point."

"But what if you decided not to? What does it feel like when you're in the past?"

"It feels like something is forcing my body to move in ways I don't want it to. I'll try to speak but my mouth won't move. Or maybe I'll say something I didn't want to say. I'll walk when I don't want to. And I'll stand still when I want to move."

"And have you felt anything like that in the present?"

"No."

"Then there's nothing forcing you to do anything."

Marcille was getting annoyed. "So you're saying I can just not time travel and just ignore doing anything my future selves did?"

"Sure. If that's what you want to do."

Marcille left the room. There was no convincing Mithrun about anything. She'd have to prove that she has no free will.

***

6 months later, on the exact anniversary of her earlier trip as Future Marcille 2, Marcille prepared to go back in time as Future Marcille 2 once more. It was late at night, like it was when she returned. She was wearing the same outfit she wore when she returned and she was ready to cast the spell.

But she hesitated a moment. She remembered Mithrun's words and wanted to know if she really could just choose to not go back in time. Marcille's hands gripped Ambrosia tightly. All she needed to do was strike the ground with her staff and the spell would begin.

But what if she decided not to. What if she just let go of Ambrosia. Surely that wouldn't happen. She was gripping it with so much force the idea of loosening her fingers seemed ridiculous. She just needed to strike the ground to begin the spell. But she wasn't doing that. She just stood there, holding Ambrosia in place.

She tried to wiggle her fingers but they wouldn't move. She tried to move her arms, but she couldn't. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. And then she heard something hit the ground.

When she opened her eyes, Ambrosia was no longer in her hands and was instead on the floor. Marcille looked at the Ambrosia that made the central stalk of the Barrier Tree and quivered as a child who had just broken something. She left Ambrosia behind and fled the mausoleum. She hid herself away in the castle grounds for several hours until she thought she was safe from whatever punishment she was afraid of. When she returned to the mausoleum, the sun was beginning to rise.

The next night, Marcille prepared to travel back again. And at the last moment, she decided to try to not do it. She looked at her hands holding Ambrosia, and she imagined them uncurling and Ambrosia falling from her grip. And then her hands did exactly that and her staff fell to the ground once more.

She looked at the Barrier Tree's main stalk again. She was nervous, but she felt a little more courage. For a moment, she thought she saw Falin standing there and nodding in approval.

Marcille decided she needed to sleep.

The next night, Marcille didn't try to go back in time. She looked at the Barrier Tree Ambrosia with a smug look. As much as she hated to admit it, Mithrun was right. She wasn't forced to time travel if she didn't want to.

But now she kind of wanted to. Marcille wasn't dreading going back anymore and started thinking about what she'd like to do. She was likely to travel back to where she left off as Future Marcille 2. That meant spending time with Falin, meeting Falin's parents, and saying goodbye to her mother. She wanted to do all those things.

But she would do that tomorrow. She didn't feel like time traveling tonight.

***

Marcille and Falin double-checked their belongings to make sure they didn't forget anything.

Marcille hugged her mother. "Goodbye. I miss you."

She hugged Marcille back "I'll miss you too."

Marcille and Falin left and waved goodbye. Marcille's step-father shouted "Don't be a stranger!" as he and Marcille's mother waved back.

Marcille did not expect she'd be able to do that.

Marcille and Falin found a carriage going to Falin's village. They expected to get there by the end of the next day. Normally, Marcille would be reading a book during the ride, but she wasn't able to bring any of the ones she wanted to read so she caught up on sleep.

Marcille woke up with her head resting on Falin's shoulder, and Falin's head resting on her head. There was also a little drool coming out of Marcille's mouth.

Falin spoke. "You're awake?"

"Yeah. Sorry." Marcille sat up. "How long was I asleep?"

"Not long. I don't mind letting you rest on my shoulders or lap."

Marcille blushed.

"By the way, is there something on your mind you need to talk about. You were making a sad face in your sleep."

"No. It's alright." It's not like Marcille could tell Falin anything anyway.

Falin placed her hand behind Marcille's head and slammed Marcille's head next to her chest. Marcille appreciated the intent behind the gesture, but the execution needed a lot of work. Falin pulled Marcille toward her with way too much force, and Marcille's head hit Falin's collarbone instead of her breast like she probably intended. Marcille was sure she was going to have a bump on her head later.

But her annoyance gave way when she felt Falin stroke her hair.

"from your perspective, we've been dead for a long time, haven't we?"

"Yes. More that 100 years." Marcille was surprised she got to say that, but then again, it's not like that information is anything surprising.

"Is there anyone we know who's still alive? What about your mother?"

Marcille kept quiet. She wanted to tell Falin about how she let time slip away and let her mother die without ever seeing her. But she just surrendered herself to whatever the restrictions were going to make her say and do.

"She's been dead for 3 years." Wait, what? "I was so focused on creating time travel that I never visited her once in the last 200 years."

Marcille's mouth continued to move and speak.

"You and Laios and Chilchuck and Izutsumi all died so soon. And then it was just me and Senshi." Marcille's body began to cry. "And when he died 50 years later, I threw myself into my research. And the next thing I knew, Laios's great-granddaughter, my beloved little queen, had grown old and I hadn't even noticed.

"And then I wasted 100 more years solely devoted to my research. I achieved everything I wanted and there's an empty century in my life to prove it."

Wasted 100 years. That couldn't be right. She had spent so much time with Pattadol, Silvia, Woola, and Mithrun. But actually, most of that time was spent studying the Barrier Tree or dealing with politics. Had she ever gone with them to a performance at the CCH? When was the last time she'd been there? And what about the king? Chilsen III sat the throne. But Marcille couldn't recall ever speaking to him personally. He was Laios and Puckpatti's descendant. Marcille ought to have hundreds if not thousands of fond memories of him. And not just him. She should have memories of every king and queen since Puckpatti, but she didn't.

Marcille was not the one saying any of those words and she was not the one shedding any of those tears. But the more she ruminated, the more she realized she should be. Those really were 100 empty wasted years.

Marcille hugged Falin and wailed. Falin held her tightly, and Marcille continued to cry until she fell asleep.

***

Falin's home village was small. There were maybe 200 people total. Marcille noticed the eyes upon her and Falin as they walked the main road together. People were quiet and whispering to each other. But then a shout came out. "Isn't that Lord Touden's daughter!?"

Falin stopped, turned in the direction of the shout, and gave a confident smile and nod.

Several children came running to her shouting "Dragon princess! Dragon princess!" And soon enough, many of the adults came out to talk to Falin.

"You and your brother actually killed a demon?" "Are you really part dragon?" "You're now a queen of the dead?"

One little girl ran up to Falin and asked her to pick her up. When Falin did so, the girl smiled and shouted "Help me! The dragon has me!" Two little boys carrying sticks ran up to Falin and one said "Prepare yourself dragon! We're gallant knights here to save the princess." Falin looked at the girl she was holding and they both smiled at each other. The girl said "Please save me sir knights!"

Falin put her down and said to the boys "I'm a scary dragon! You'll have to defeat me to save her!" She then showed her teeth and gave a playful roar before chasing the boys who laughed as they ran away.

Marcille and all the townsfolk were laughing at the scene. The little girl approached Marcille and gave her an excited look before saying "You're hair is really pretty!" and running off after Falin and the others.

Marcille followed after them as well and found Falin up a tree with several children surrounding it. "The dragon's flying!" "No fair! Fight us!" "Fireball! Fireball! Pyoo! Pyoo!" When Marcille approached them, Falin jumped down and laid on her belly. The children then started hitting her with sticks and Marcille shouted at them to stop hurting Falin.

The children and Falin all looked at her confused. One boy asked "Are we hurting you Miss Falin?". Falin shook her head and said "I'm not hurt. But I guess we should stop for now." She pointed to the little girl from earlier. "The princess is saved!"

"You beat the dragon!" shouted the girl. "I'm saved!" The kids cheered and ran off.

Falin was filthy from lying in the grass, and she had some leaves in her hair. Marcille looked her over for any cuts and bruises, but there were none as Falin had cast a warding spell on herself.

"We should do that again." Falin was all smiles. "Want to be an evil wizard?"

"I'd rather not get beat with sticks."

"Alright. Then you can be the sage who guides them."

They reached the Touden home and Falin knocked on the door. A moment later, Falin's mother opened it. She saw Falin and and began to cry happily. "Falin! Is that you!" Falin nodded and the two of them hugged each other. She then saw Marcille and got very nervous. "Oh, it's you. Miss, um... W-what brings you to our humble home this time?"

Falin answered. "I wanted to visit you and I wanted to bring her with me."

"Please don't be afraid," Marcille said with as gentle a tone as she knew. "All those misunderstandings between you and Laios are fixed. I wanted to meet you in a more cordial way this time."

Falin's mother invited them in and went to fetch her husband. Marcille and Falin sat at a table in the guest room and waited for both of Falin's parents to enter. Falin's father smiled at Falin the same way Laios would smile and said "Welcome back Falin. It's been so long." He then turned to Marcille and said "And I welcome you as well Mar-... Mar..." He paused to think before remembering "Marco!" (Wrong!)

His wife spoke up. "Honey that's a boys name! Her name is Merkales (More wrong!)"

"It's Marcille," said Marcille in a deadpan tone.

Falin's parents both closed their eyes and uncomfortably looked away just like Laios would when he knew he screwed up. These two really were his parents.

Once the awkward tension was broken, everyone sat together and started talking. Falin told her parents about what happened with the children and they were all smiles and laughs. "I've been working hard to get this village to accept magic and mages," Mr Touden said proudly. "Sending Falin to the magic academy was the right decision." He then got a little glum. "I just wish I told you all why I did it. Even though everything worked out, I'm still haunted by what I did to Laios."

The room got a bit quiet and Mr Touden decided to start talking again. "But it's not like things didn't work out. I mean, he saved the world and he's now a king! And also-" Mr Touden held Marcille's left hand in both of his. "He's got such a wonderful fiance!"

What!? Nononononono no! He was completely wrong! She'd never even consider marrying Laios! Never!

Marcille got red with embarrassment. "Laios and I do not have that kind of relationship!"

"That can't be right!" Mr Touden let go of Marcille's hand. "What's not to love? He's a great king beloved by all (He's okay at his job). He's a hero who saved the world from a demon (It was all an accident really). He's grown into an upstanding and dependable man (He's actually kind of weird but he is trustworthy). And he's become a remarkably handsome man (No comment)."

Mrs Touden pulled Mr Touden aside. "Honey, she said she wasn't Laios's fiance and that's that. If she were, Laios would be the one introducing us to her." Marcille breathed a sigh of relief. One of his parents was reasonable at least.

"The truth is clear." Mrs Touden held Marcille's right hand in both of hers. "She's actually Falin's fiance!"

What? No! That was wrong. Falin had never proposed to her.

Marcille blushed. "W-we don't have that kind of relationship either!"

"That can't be." Mrs Touden let go of Marcille's hand. "You two have known each other for so long. (Yeah that was true). You risked your your life and broke taboos to save her (Also true). I saw the way you smile when Falin looks at you (Falin's face does have that effect on people). And she'd make such a beautiful loving wife (Oh, most definitely)."

Marcille looked away. Hr face was flush with embarrassment. "R-really. We're just friends. She just invited me is all."

Falin, who was completely unfazed by the interactions she just witnessed, agreed. "That's right. There are so many Marcilles at the castle right now so I decided to bring one with me."

Falin's parents tilted their heads in confusion.

"Oh right. I didn't tell you. This isn't the Marcille you met before. Well, I guess she is actually. Maybe. But she's from the future."

Falin's parents stared at Marcille and blinked a few times. Then they shouted with excitement. And then the questions came. How far in the future is she from? Do Laios and Falin have children? What's the village like? And so on.

Marcille couldn't answer most of them either because of the restrictions or because she didn't know.

Falin's father raised his hand to quiet the room. "I understand you cannot answer all our questions. So I think it is best if we stop pestering you after one last question." He took a deep breath and looked at Marcille with a look of grim seriousness. "Are there horseless carriages in the future?"

Falin's mother scoffed at him. "Honestly, that's such a ridiculous question. It's impossible to have horseless carriages. But there will surely be flying carriages."
"And what dear wife will move the flying carriages? Horses?"

Falin spoke. "I think they would be pulled by wyverns." FALIN NO!!

All three of them went back and forth about this absurd idea until they agreed to ask if there really were giant flying carriages that look like two-headed dragons in the future.

They all looked at Marcille excitedly while she looked at them dumbstruck. She told them bluntly that there were no such things and the three of them slumped in great sorrow.

These really were Laios and Falin's parents.

***

They stayed at the Touden residence for about a week. Mr Touden tried to introduce them to his dogs, but the dogs were afraid of both of them. With a bit of time, they started to warm up to Falin, but they would always shy away from Marcille.

Each day, the children asked to play with Marcille and Falin, and each day, Marcille would agree and collapse from exhaustion at the end of the day. She could not keep up with these kids.

But the children were also interested in magic and asked Marcille to teach them some. She tried to teach them the basic fundamentals about spirits, mana, and incantations, but Marcille wasn't well equipped to teach children from scratch.

On the last night she stayed at the village, Marcille decided to put on a magic display. A simple show of lights using flash, followed by casting small explosions in the sky to look like fireworks. The children loved it.

***

Marcille and Falin's return trip necessitated returning to Marcille's hometown and ruining the dramatic moment where Marcille gained closure by finally being able to say goodbye to her mother and accepting she'd never see her again. Marcille ended up seeing her again when they arrived.

They had to stay in town a few days until the next ship to Merini set sail. While in town, Marcille decided to buy several introductory books on magic and asked her mother and step-father if they could deliver them to Falin's home village. They promised to do so.

And on the night before they would leave, Marcille was visited by her future self and then she was back in her own time.

Marcille was glad to be back in the mausoleum. That adventure was exhausting. She placed her bedroll by Falin's coffin and fell asleep the instant she tucked herself in.

***

Marcille called a meeting among the her council. She needed to discuss an important matter that had been bothering her for a while.

"What's currently happening at the CCH? Are there any plays or musicals we should go see?"

Everyone stared at her confused. Marcille always called these meetings to discuss concerns about the Barrier Tree.

Marcille blushed shyly. "I realized that I've only interacted with you all professionally for the last 100 years. I was thinking maybe we could do something as friends instead?"

Mithrun nodded. "That sounds nice. There's a dwarf culinary event that I'd like to go to."

Pattadol raised her hand. "After that, maybe we could check out the art exhibit. There's a stone mason from the South Central Continent crafting something."

Woola waved her arms. "There's a theatre performance being done entirely by kobolds! I'd like to see that."

Silvia nervously scratched her cheek. "I guess we can look at some books while we're there too."

They all sounded like wonderful ideas to Marcille. She and her friends went to the CCH together to have the first of what she hoped would be many memories to make up for the last 100 years.

Tomorrow, she would meet with King Chilsen and try to restore her connections with Laios's descendants.

Chapter Text

Marcille and Chilsen explored the royal crypt together. It was a simple hallway made of stone. On either side was an alcove with a coffin in it. Above each coffin was a painting of the person laid to rest. The tomb included both Laios's descendants and their spouses.

At the start of the hallway was a portrait of Laios and Puckpatti. This portrait was the only one without a coffin in front of it. After all, Puckpatti was interred in the mausoleum while Laios was scattered across the kingdom. From there, Marcille saw Chilsen, Emeraude, Marinfal, and Puckpatti II. All their faces looked at her with the warmth of a long-lost friend. She paused to look at Marinfal and Puckpatti's faces. They looked just as wonderful as she remembered. She placed a hand on Puckpatti's coffin. She was right in front of Marcille. It would be a simple matter to sneak her into the Mausoleum. No one would ever notice. But the thought faded and she continued her tour.

She saw the faces of people she didn't know. There was Chilsen II, Erikor, Jagen, and Danaka. And of course, there were also their spouses interred as well.

Marcille did not like looking at them. Their judging gazes were filled with scorn. If she hadn't been so focused on the past, these could have been people she would have gotten to know, love, and mourn.

"So why did you want me to show you around?" Chilsen was standing by the first empty alcove in the hallway. He had black straight hair he kept short and a bit of stubble on his chin. He was 20, but he carried himself as a king would. "They say you speak to the spirits of the dead in the mausoleum. Were you hoping to speak with these dead too?"

Marcille wished that were true. She wanted to apologize to them for her absence. "I just wanted to see all their faces."

Chilsen chuckled. "You're a strange one from what I can tell. I'd heard stories about a mysterious witch living inside the Barrier Tree. Imagine my surprise when Lady Pattadol told me there really was someone living in the tree, and that she was a companion of my ancestor. And imagine my greater surprise to be the first ruler in five generations to meet her again."

Marcille's ears drooped. "I'm sorry. I should have been by everyone's side." She looked at Danaka's portrait. Her hair was also black but it was messy. She was drawn with squinting eyes, a soft smile, and flush cheeks. She looked like someone Marcille would have been great friends with. "Can you tell me everything you know about everyone. I have 100 years I need to catch up on."

"Very well. But most of what I know beyond my grandfather is just stories."

Marcille and Chilsen sat in the crypt for hours as Chilsen told her everything he knew. Chilsen II invested heavily in forming alliances with the Elven Kingdom of the Southern Central Continent. Through this alliance, new research fields in magic and biology arose. When Erikor became king, he focused more heavily on uncovering why the long-lived races lived so much longer and why their lifespans have slowly decreased.

Jagen was less interested in the elves and instead took interest in the ogres. He took an ogre from the Eastern Archipelago as a wife saying he "wanted to make sure the ogre race survives in a small way through his lineage." Chilsen recalled how she was so tall but gentle whenever she'd pick him up.

Jagen had an older son named Darius who took more after his ogre mother. He was a master of all things military, but he wasn't comfortable being around people. Some said he thought talking to 2 people was more terrifying than facing 100,000 soldiers. When Jagen abdicated the throne, the people wanted Darius to be king. But he refused saying he could only offer war and violence, and he gave the crown to Danaka.

Chilsen's face almost seemed to glow as he talked about his mother. He described her as adventurous and mischievous. She loved to explore the crypts and liked to take things apart. She once tried to study magic under Silvia but stopped after she accidentally set her hair on fire. And even if she didn't look it, she had the fighting spirit you would expect from an ogre. While her brother was strong, he was also meek. And Danaka would quickly charge in to fight anyone who bullied him.

She wanted to bring all the kingdoms together and traveled the world before becoming queen. She met her husband, Rokushiro, when she traveled to the Eastern Archipelago. He was appointed to be her bodyguard while she was there. One night, they were attacked by an assassin. Rokushiro was injured when he shielded her from the attack, and she then beat the assassin into unconsciousness in retaliation.

Even after becoming queen, Danaka continued to tour the world on diplomatic visits which often forced Darius to handle things domestically. Her tenure as queen was cut short when she and Rokushiro died in a rockslide accident while traveling in the Northern Continent. Chilsen was 10 when it happened.

Every story about Danaka made Marcille regret more and more that she hadn't been there for the last 100 years. She looked at Danaka's portrait and saw someone who she truly wished to meet. She wanted to see Danaka's magic mishaps, join her in standing up for her brother, watch as she fell in love with Rokushiro. And she wanted to cry at hearing about her death. But Marcille only saw a painting of a woman.

"She sounds like an amazing woman. I wish I had met her."

Chilsen stood beside Marcille and looked at Danaka's portrait. "She would have liked to meet you too. She loved the stories about her ancestor Laios, but she especially loved the stories about his beautiful elf companion." Marcille blushed. "Those were her words, by the way."

"And what stories did she hear?"

Marcille had heard plenty of incorrect versions of her adventures with Laios. Stories about how they met ranged from Marcille and Laios being childhood friends to the two of them being strangers or rivals who were forced to work together. Marcille found stories depicting her as a slave Laios set free, a princess from the golden kingdom, and as a long-lost half-sister. And almost every story made them lovers (even the ones that assumed they were related to each other).

"She told me that Marcille was a great mage who controlled a giant winged serpent. She taught Laios how to summon a dragon and the two of them rode their beasts into battle against a demon." It wasn't anywhere close to the truth, but Marcille was liking this story so far. "And after they slew the demon and freed Merini from its stomach, Laios asked Marcille to marry him but she declined."

Marcille sighed. "They always assume we were lovers."

Chilsen looked at Marcille. "So you didn't love him?"

Marcille turned beet red. "It-We weren't like that. We were just friends and nothing more." She stammered and flailed. "He never proposed to me!"

"Would you have accepted if he did?"

Marcille thought about it and she had thoughts she didn't want to think.

With a melancholy tone, Marcille asked Chilsen "Can we go back to talking about Danaka?"

Chilsen scratched his cheek nervously. "Right. My mother wanted to be a mage because she admired that story about you. She was good at casting magic, but bad at controlling it and gave up after causing one too many fires. I know she would be over the moon knowing you're visiting her grave right now."

It was late afternoon when the two of them left the crypt. Marcille was about to say her goodbyes, but Chilsen spoke first. "If you're not busy tonight, I'd be happy to have you as a guest for dinner." Marcille looked at him and saw a faint bit of loneliness in his eyes. "I'd be happy to join. And I hope I can be a frequent guest from now on."

***

"Thank you for volunteering to help. I'm sure I don't need to explain what we are doing." Kabru stood before Marcille and two of her other future selves. She did not know what they were doing.

She had come from the year 726 and was now attending Laios and Puckpatti's wedding. She was enjoying the festivities when she was suddenly made to approach Kabru and these two other Marcilles and tell them she was there to help.

Kabru looked at Marcille with those piercing blue eyes that always made her uncomfortable. "You look slightly older than Future Marcille 1 looked when she first came here. Is this your first time visiting the wedding?"

"It's the first time I've been here."
Kabru shook his head. "In that case, I'll explain what I want to do. But first, confirm something for me. Does anyone get hurt or die during the wedding and the reception?"

That's right! The former Island Lord attempted to poison Laios and her during the wedding but Kabru and Yaad managed to stop it from happening.

And then someone tried to kill Laios and Puckpatti later.

"No one gets hurt or dies. You manage to keep anyone from drinking any poison without anyone noticing." But then a second attempt on Laios's life happens later.

Kabru smiled. "That's good to hear. I was hoping you Marcilles would be able to help make sure that happens. Yaad and I already intercepted what we think were all the poisoned wine casks. But we figure we should make sure there weren't any other poisoned items or someone doesn't try to poison something during the wedding."

One of the other Marcilles spoke. "You can count on the 10 of us!"

10?

With a flash, seven more Marcilles appeared. Simultaneously they said "Reporting for duty!"

Kabru winked and gave a thumbs up. "I'm counting on you. I know you can do this."

Marcille had no idea what she was doing. She wasn't a wine connoisseur. She couldn't spot anything strange about these drinks. She didn't know what looked or smelled off.

A future future Marcille approached her. "Don't worry. Nobody drinks the poison. Whatever actions you take will be the right ones. If you're not sure what to do, just let yourself be guided by the flow of time." That was a poetic way to describe being dragged around like a puppet. But she followed that advice.

She'd traveled back in time nearly two dozen times at this point and she became used to giving up control of herself when she didn't know what she should do or say. It was quite relaxing to not have to worry about what to do and just let herself move. Her body once decided to brush Falin's hair. Another time, it gave Izutsumi a bath. It once joined Senshi in making a cake for Laios. There was one time where it drunkenly cried to Chilchuck and wished to see him and his daughters again. She could be a little more intimate than Marcille the Royal Magic Advisor could. She was old enough to not care about those youthful anxieties to appear like an adult.

Marcille was walking past a table when she suddenly stopped moving. Her body turned to look at a goblet with red wine on the table. It grabbed the goblet and escorted Marcille to Kabru. "Check this."

Kabru took the goblet and took a sniff of it. His eyes darted wide open. "The smell is subtle, but this was definitely tampered with. Where did you find it?" Marcille directed Kabru toward the table she found it at. He thought for a moment. "Thank you, Marcille. I'll investigate this lead." Marcille did not want to know what went through his head that he thought there was a lead to chase. Was he keeping track of where every drop of wine was flowing?

Marcille didn't find any more goblets, but she did find Izutsumi, Meijack, and Flertom sitting, talking, and eating together. It had been so long since Marcille saw them and she didn't want to miss this chance.

She sat down next to Izutsumi and said "I didn't know you were all friends. What are you talking about?" Izutsumi looked at Marcille with a slightly annoyed look in her eyes. "Which one are you? You don't smell like the future Marcille I know."

Marcille blushed a little and nervously responded "I'm a different future Marcille. I'm just here for the wedding."

Izutsumi sighed. "Flertom's complaining about Puckpatti getting married first. And she's complaining that she didn't get married to Laios. That's weird. Can you please tell her she's being weird?"

"I'm not being weird!" Flertom was slapping the table as she said that. "It's embarrassing to still be single when you have younger siblings who are married. Right, Meijack!?"

Meijack was sitting quietly and trying to not get involved. "I don't get the point of marriage? I woulda thought staying with Ma after she divorced dad woulda changed your mind."

"Yeah! Who needs marriage?" Izutsumi cheered. "You'll just end up staying home and cooking dinner all day. Y'know what? Let's go on an anti-marriage tour of the kingdom. The four of us and Senshi."

"What even is an anti-marriage tour?" asked Meijack.

"We show off how cool it is to not marry by showing that we're not stuck making dinner all day. Senshi can cook for us."

"I'm pretty sure he's going to join Laios and Puckpatti on their honeymoon."

"Well then Flertom can cook for us."

Flertom thought for a moment. "I should see if I can join Puckpatti. Maybe see if I can get some quality time with Senshi."

"You're still on about that!?" snarled Izutsumi. She turned to Marcille and made the cutest begging face. "You'll come with us and cook right?"

As much as Marcille wanted to squeeze and cuddle Izutsumi, she couldn't. "Sorry. I'll be returning to the future before the end of the day."

Izutsumi's face was the epitome of sadness and disappointment as her ears drooped and she looked at Meijack.
"You and I both know neither of us can cook."

Marcille patted Izutsumi on the head. "Don't worry Izutsumi, we can destroy the institution of marriage some other day."

Izutsumi pouted. "If you guys weren't busy getting married, we could go on an adventure together."

"Don't worry. I'll have all the time in the world to go on adventures with you."

Izutsumi's ears perked up. "Really!? There's some ruins I found that I want to explore. We should go some time. You and me! And also Senshi and Falin! And Meijack! And Chilchuck if he feels like it! Flertom and Puckpatti can come too I guess. But not Laios! He'll scare away the monsters!"

Marcille didn't remember her future selves going on any adventures to any ruins. But if it meant making Izutsumi happy, she would definitely bend space-time to schedule an expedition with her.

***

The year was 728. And Marcille was in her own time. It had been 7 years since she first returned to the king's court to rekindle her friendship with the royal line. She did not reclaim her former position of Royal Magical Advisor; Pattadol had been doing a fine job and Marcille was too out of touch with the current political landscape to take over. But she served as Chilsen's friend.

Marcille always tried to invite Chilsen on her friendly trips with her other friends but he often could not join either because of his duties or concerns about his safety.

The first time safety came up, Marcille assured him that any would-be assassins would think twice when he's surrounded by a team of powerful mages. But what neither of them considered was the rumors that would get spread after the king was seen being escorted by a group of beautiful women (and Mithrun). Those rumors grew into whispers of the king keeping an elven harem and inspired a wave of cheesy romance novels. Pattadol was mortified because she was usually the romantic lead thanks to her position as Royal Magical Advisor. Marcille thought it was funny that it happened again, especially now that she wasn't the main focus.

She was less amused when people realized who she was and the next wave of romance novels were about her and Chilsen. One of her least favorites portrayed her as not only Chilsen's secret lover but the secret lover of every royals dating all the way back to Laios. She especially hated the chapter about her and Queen Puckpatti; it was completely wrong about what kind of lover Puckpatti was.

Among all the books that came out, one other stood out to Marcille. It was called Inherited Romance. It opened with Queen Danaka introducing Chilsen to Marcille and each chapter started with the previous ruler being introduced to Marcille with the same speech from their parent:

"T he first king loved her and his love endures long after he perished. Through us, that love persists. The first king swore to love her all the days of her life, and now I pass this duty onto you. Love her with all your heart. Love her even more than you love this kingdom. That is the most sacred duty we have as descendants of the first king."

Marcille loved it, but she only managed to read Queen Danaka and King Jagen's chapter s and stopped halfway through King Erikor 's chapter. Trying to read the book or even think about it broke her heart. The author hit the mark a little too well. She wished these stories were true, or at least that there were stories of her with them.

728 was the last year all the members of Marcille's research group would ever be together as Mithrun, age 399 passed away.

During his final days, he stayed in a guest room in the castle with Marcille, Pattadol, Silvia, Woola, and Chilsen s taying by his side as he laid in his deathbed.

On the day of his death, Mithrun looked at Marcille and said "Please remember this day. There's a promise you need to keep." As if on cue, a future Marcille appeared in a flash of light. She looked like Elder Marcille when she first came to Merini in 520. But her staff was not the tangle of vines it was then.

Mithrun put on a small smile. "You came."

"I've kept my promise Mithrun."

Everyone aside from Mithrun and Marcille was shocked to see Elder Marcille. Chilsen was especially surprised.

"Everyone, could you please step outside." Elder Marcille pointed her staff toward the door. "I need to speak with Mithrun alone."

They all filed out of the room and the door was closed behind them. The five of them waited in silence for what seemed like an eternity. They stood leaning against the wall to Mithrun's room. Pattadol and Silvia stood by one side of the door. Marcille, Woola, and Chilsen stood on the other.

The silence was broken by the sound of sniffling, followed by sobbing. It was Pattadol. Silvia held her close and let Pattadol cry on her shoulder. The rest of them let them be.

Elder Marcille opened the door and came out of the room. "He died with a smile on his face. He said he was satisfied with his life." The hall was quiet save for Pattadol's crying. Marcille looked at everyone and saw how Silvia and Woola had tears as well. But Marcille could tell her eyes were dry. Chilsen similarly was dry-eyed and stoic. He was a king. Kings had to look strong in tragedy. Marcille did not know why she wasn't crying.

Elder Marcille looked at Marcille , quietly said "No. You won't", and then vanished in a flash of light. Marcille did not know what she meant.

"I'll handle the funeral arrangements" spoke Chilsen. "If you want to stay, feel free. But I'm going to take care of preparing his body."

They all decided to leave. Pattadol and Silvia went one way. Marcille and Woola went the other.

Marcille and Woola walked together down the hallway. They weren't going anywhere. They were just walking.

"Will you be upset when I die?" asked Woola. Marcille looked at her confused. But then she noticed how Woola's face was wrinkled, and her hair was white, and her body was hunched over slightly.

Marcille's lip quivered. "How old are you again?"

"211. I'll be lucky to live another 30 years."

Marcille's chest tightened. She took short deep breathes to keep calm. How long did Pattadol and Silvia have left? 100 years? 150 years? She would have lived the full life span of an elf once they were gone, and that would still be less than half her life.

But also, Chilsen didn't have long to live either. He probably only had another 30 years or so to live as well.

The last 100 years went by so quickly. But it was only because Marcille wasn't seeing anyone else moving through it.

There were more than happy memories Marcille needed to catch up on. She also had to catch up on every tear she should have shed in that time.

Woola touched Marcille's arm. "You're spacing out a bit. I know it must be a shock. You've always had a bad sense of time." Marcille looked at her face. It still had that cheerful expression she'd always known. "You've lost so many friends and your dear Laios (She still thinks that?) to time. I know it hurts to let more people into your heart, but I was still hoping there was still room for me in it."

Marcille smiled. "Of course there's room for you. And it's okay if it hurts. It means I've spent my time well with you."

Marcille took a deep breath and put on the most excited face she could muster. "In fact, let's make sure your death hurts as much as possible." Woola nervously scowled. Then Marcille realized what she said. "I meant for me! W e still have 30 years. Let's make them count. Let's stay together for the rest of your life. I want to enjoy being with you so much that I'll be inconsolable when you die."

Woola sighed in relief.

Then Marcille remembered. "Oh, but I also want to spend time with Chilsen too. He's got maybe 30 or 40 years left as well. And of course, we should be there for his children and grandchildren too. "

Woola laughed. "I'd like that. But don't stretch yourself too thin. There's only one of you in this point in time."

Marcille thought for a moment that maybe she could change that if the Barrier Tree would allow it, but then she realized that was what Elder Marcille was talking about. She would not be able to go back to this time aside from speaking with Mithrun. It was only to be used to visit her old friends in the past. She could not put off making the most of the present.