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Here they stood on the very edge of space and time. Reality seemed to bend in on itself in places and in others, it did not. This must be the power of one who controlled the four elements and stole the light from the crystals to gain more power, to conquer the world and to devour the weak. To think the source of the darkness and of all their troubles was none other than Sir Garland, a former knight of the kingdom of Cornelia - her kingdom. If she had known that this was the path he was going to walk... Well, she would've ordered his banishment far from their fair little kingdom. He wasn't a cool guy and he was ugly, especially so in his gaudy, golden armor. And he had wanted her to marry him!? Ha!Her companions fought admirably during this last battle of theirs that would decide the fate of the world. Garland, or rather Chaos, could go on and on and explain how he had traveled back in time to the far-flung echoes of the past to gain extraordinary power, but she didn't care. She wanted to put a stop to this madman. To live forever, to never die, to be so powerful that your existence was an anomaly... It wasn't right. There were so many people back home that were suffering. Her companions were the same. They had all come together for the same reasons, the same purpose.Puffy, Flitz, Matoya, Bahamut... And even her, Princess Sarah of Cornelia, were all fighting to save the world, and restore the light to the crystals.As Garland finished his explanation about time travel and destiny, her companions went in for another attack. They did some damage, but not a lot, and Sarah, with her hands clenching her staff, jumped back. A deafening crack rang through her ears. She turned to see the impact of the attack that she had just narrowly avoided. If she didn't focus, she'd die, and the very thought chilled her to her bone. She didn't want to die.He must have seen her then. "You're next, Sarah!" His deep voice roared, and she clenched her staff, unshed tears burning her eyes. This stupid man!Would his assault be physical, or would he use magic once again? She had been caught unaware plenty of times in the adventure - by Kraken, by the strange technology the Lufenians used to power airships and spaceships. She would be ready this time. She had to be. They all did - for the sake of the world.He cackled as he launched a torrent of water at her and then conjured a giant tornado right after. It was as if the four fiends had come back from the dead to assist their master in one last hurrah. “Your father was such a foolish man not to do as I commanded! The unlimited power I wield now is no match for your puny kingdom! I could take over the universe if I desire!”Narrowly missing the first attack, the powerful gust of wind sweeps her off her feet and the sight of Garland in front of her was no longer. He was several feet below her with his arm outstretched as if to catch her? Attack her? She didn’t know. Struggling to breathe from the sudden loss of her balance, the ground draws closer, but before she could wonder how she was going to get out of this mess, the wind was taken from her again. This time, however, there was something solid beneath her and instinctively, she wrapped her arms around and held tight.It was Bahamut to the rescue.“Th-thank you!”The surrounding air grew very warm and Sarah held on tightly as Bahamut zipped between the volley of fireballs that Garland threw their way.“I don’t think that’s any way to treat a princess, you fiend!”Jumping off of Bahamut’s back once they neared solid ground, Sarah found herself next to Matoya who was busy chanting. She knew what would follow and hopefully the attacks from the small mage would be enough to distract their opponent–even if only for a second. Bahamut also took to the skies once more to launch his own attack. Flitz and Puffy were also getting ready for another round.Though it was a matter of life and death, her mind drifted to when Garland had offered his hand in marriage to her and how she had scoffed, laughed even, and turned him down. He was much too proud (and too ugly) for her. Oh, how her parents had been quick to scold her, but not quick enough for them to stop Garland from kidnapping her. She remembered how quickly he had dispatched her father’s men, how quickly he had wounded her father, and how quickly he was to bind her so she couldn’t fight back.If she had accepted his advances, his proclamation of ‘love’ (which was surely a jest. All he ever wanted was power.), would they even be standing here right now? At the edge of existence with all reality warping around them in an age long passed. Would they even all be here together either? Garland had told them how he pulled all of them from different periods, different times. None of it made any sense to her.Large parts of the temple narrowly miss both her and Matoya, and Sarah snaps back to the present. Shaking her head, her knuckles turn white on her weapon as she follows Flitz onto the battlefield. “If your goal was the world then why kidnap me? Why make Cornelia suffer?”A rush of wind and rocks slice against her skin and blood bursts forth from the cuts. Gritting her teeth, she lunges at Garland. She refused to acknowledge his new moniker of Chaos. The storm inside him and the powers he wielded were chaotic, but to her he would always be Garland–Garland, the fallen knight of Cornelia. Flitz took to the other side and dove his daggers into a chink in the fiend’s armor. A growl erupted forth from their enemy’s lips and a massive arm shot out and grabbed Flitz by his throat. In a blink of an eye, Flitz was on the farther side of the arena almost as if he had never been by Sarah’s side at all. The four elements seemed to blaze brightly then, knocking her companions to the floor and then their enemy’s eyes came to rest on her once more and one of his massive arms grabbed her by the throat too. Her weapon slipped from her hands as she tried to free herself from his grasp.“Because, Your Highness, the light you wield within you, the light that your kingdom reflects so brightly, has no room in my world of darkness. And now that I have the power I sought for so desperately, I can extinguish anyone who gets in my way.”His grip tightened, and Sarah gasped, her feet swinging frantically in the air. The edges of her vision darkened and the voices of her companions seemed to come from a distance. Was this how she met her end? At the hands of someone who had once claimed to love her? Was this her fate? If so… Well, fate was cruel. The strength she had once felt in her arms seemed to wash away like her companions only moments before. Her grip faltered, her eyes drifted shut, and then…Her eyes opened, and she found herself back in her bedroom in Cornelia. Was that all a dream? The door of her bedroom opened then and in came her mother in swirls of petticoats and the soft scent of roses. “Sarah! Finally you’re awake! Get up! There is someone here that wants to speak with you!”Her maids rushed into the room and helped Sarah from her bed, rushing her behind the lovely floral printed screen to get her dressed for whatever the occasion may be. Though she wanted to protest, her mind was still swirling from her ‘dream’. Already the images seemed to fade from her mind and she could just barely make out who seemed to be companions in the fog - companions and an enemy. Something inside her told her she knew these people, these companions, but their names and their faces had already slipped from her mind. She was only pulled back to the present upon seeing her face in the mirror and realized that whoever had come calling was no ordinary person - otherwise she would not be wearing such bright lipstick and modest blush.“Mother, who is this person who wishes to see me?” The final touches were applied and Sarah stepped out from behind the screen, thanking her maids. Her hair was in two twin tails, her crown rested firmly on her head with her veil trailing softly behind her. The golden dress she wore was a stark contrast to the gray stoned walls of her bedroom.Her mother fanned herself with the little lacy fan she always kept on hand. “That magnificent knight in your father’s army - Sir Garland! Oh, what a handsome man he is! I hope you finally accept her hand in marriage!”The blush she wore on her cheeks, she thought, was not needed as she could feel the blood racing to her face as she pouted and raced to the window. The cool, morning air felt pleasant against her skin and she watched as other soldiers and servants went about their day below. “But, Mother! He is ugly! I refuse to marry such an ugly man! I want to marry for love.”Her mother gasped. “Sarah!” “Give me a moment alone with my daughter, please!”Sarah sighed as she heard the maids all scurry from the room like rats. She heard a few exclaim, ‘Excuse me, your majesty.’ and she turned to see that now her father had joined them. Great. Now she was going to receive a reprimand about how it was her duty to marry well and to carry the line of Cornelian royalty through the ages. “You know we just want to see you well-off and I would very much like to see you married before you become an old maid! Don’t you ever think about our feelings? Say something to her, honey!!” “Er… Well, I think she should marry whomever she wants. It doesn’t have to be Sir Garland…” Her father bulked, putting his hands up. They both knew how pushy her mother could be with marriage. A feeling washed over her like déjà vu as if this conversation had already happened before and she knew that the next words out of her mouth would acquiesce to her mother’s demands and to see Sir Garland, but she also knew she could not stop herself from rejecting his advances, but what came after… Well, that had vanished from her memory too as with her dream filled with adventures and her companions from other worlds and of an enemy that was too close to home.What would come after differed greatly from the tale that time had once told - when Sarah rejected Garland’s hand in marriage, he did not kidnap her and try to lay claim over her country and kin, but he accepted the rejection with grace in his heart if only to drown his sorrows at the local pub that had a certain young elf named Puffy as its waitress.