Dream Tunnel (14 page)

58

C
rane walked into the church and found the spot reserved for him on the front pew. He checked the wall clock. Things were so different from last night, he thought, when he and Conroe had so much trouble getting there for the wedding, making it in the nick of time. The ceremony would begin at six o’clock. Nineteen minutes to go. The ceremony had been carefully timed to wrap up just before 7:12 p.m., when Conroe would officially turn eighteen.

The Royal Symphony Orchestra members were tuning up their instruments. The Royal Choristers milled around, chatting. A steady flow of people streamed into the pews.

Crane began to get the feeling that he was missing something. He went through a checklist: shoes, socks, pants, shirt, coat, tie…what else? He felt his neck and panicked. He had forgotten to put on the necklace when he was getting dressed. It meant something very special to Conroe for him to wear it. He figured he could easily make it to the castle and back before six, so he got up and went out the side door.

Crane borrowed a man’s horse, explaining, “It’s okay—I’m Conroe’s husband. I’ll bring your horse right back. Thank you.” It was a one-minute ride to the castle.

He ran into the castle, up the stairs to the second floor, and then into Conroe’s room. He put the necklace on, lowered it inside his shirt, and ran out into the hallway.

“Hello, Crane.”

It was Frederick. Two men stood behind him wearing swords.

Crane stopped cold. “What are you doing here, Frederick? You have no business being in the castle. How did you get in here?”

“You have something that’s mine, and I want it back.”

“Leave right now, before I call the guards.”

“Oh, Crane, you just don’t understand the magnitude of this coronation ceremony. Everyone, and I do mean
everyone
, is at the church—even all the staff. We’re the only ones in the building—just the six of us.”

“The
six
of us?” Crane asked.

Frederick nodded to someone behind Crane.

Crane looked back. It was two more of Frederick’s men, wearing swords.

“You have my time travel computer,” Frederick said, “and I want it back—now.”

“Very funny. You think I’m going to give it to you so that you can transport Conroe out of the church just before she’s crowned queen?”

Frederick smiled. “You talk as though you have the power to stop me from taking it.” He told his men, “Guard this fool while I go in and get the device.”

His men pulled their swords.

Frederick walked past Crane on his way to Conroe’s door.

“Your plan, whatever it is, will fail,” Crane asserted.

Frederick stopped and turned around. “Oh, you little man. You still have no idea who you’re dealing with. Sure, I considered transporting Conroe out of the church just before she was crowned. That would be quite dramatic—for her to vanish right in front of the queen and the priest and all the peons. But then I realized it would be even more fun to transport
you
.”

“
Me?
”

“Yes, because if it turns out that Conroe did not have a husband at the time of her coronation, then she will not have met the marriage requirement.”

“The priest married us last night,” Crane said. “Hundreds of people witnessed it. How can anyone claim that she has not met the marriage requirement?”

“It doesn’t matter whether she was married last night, or if she was still married tonight at six o’clock. She must be married at the very moment the priest crowns her. So, if her husband were to drop dead right before that moment, for example, then she would not be eligible. The coronation would be deemed null and void.”

“But I won’t be dead—I’ll just be in another time period.”

“True, but only because I would prefer not to kill you. That could backfire if your body were ever found. But if I transport you…well, how can Conroe be married to someone who does not exist? Once I expel you to another place in time, my friend, how will she prove in a court of law that she was indeed married to someone for whom there are no birth records? Ah, the questions they will ask: In which hospital was this man born, and on what date? Who were his parents? Does he have any family whatsoever? Can you prove that he ever even existed? The answer will be NO—because you
won’t
exist here in our world, Crane.”

“What about all the people who have seen me here—the witnesses to my existence?”

“Well, all I can tell you is that judges and juries like to see a body. No body, no crime, as the saying goes. You’re simply a figment of our collective imagination.”

“Conroe would tell them the story of where I came from,” Crane said. “A jury would believe her.”

“You think so? They would believe that she traveled to the past and brought you back here? Sure, the people of Ampla do that all the time. I’m certain they would believe her. Or…would they think she had gone stark raving mad?” He laughed.

“She would show them the time travel computer for proof.”

“But hers doesn’t work anymore, does it? The battery is dead by now. And I’m going to take both of the time travel computers with me so that I can destroy them when I’m done with you.”

Frederick turned and reached for the door handle.

“I may not be as smart as you,” Crane said, “but we both know who’s
stronger
. How’s your head feeling? Still sore from when I beat you up last night?”

Frederick turned around, incensed. “That was not a fair fight, and you know it.”

“I think it was
perfectly
fair,” Crane replied. “You’re just not the man I am.”

“I just wish I had the time to take you on right now.”

“Oh, is that your excuse—you don’t have
time
right now?” He asked the guards, “That’s believable, right?”

“Enough!” Frederick yelled. “Let’s do it.”

“So, you’re saying that
this
will be a fair fight? Five against one, and these guys have swords?”

Frederick ordered his guards to put away their swords and back off. Then he moved to the center of the hallway, facing Crane. “Okay, give me your best shot. Isn’t that the expression they use in your world?”

“Yes, very good. But I’m passing the first move to you.” He closed his eyes.

“What is this—did Conroe teach you how to do that Gomwei crap?”

Crane held out his hand and motioned to Frederick. “Bring it on. Are you familiar with
that
phrase?”

“Yes, I am.” He stepped up to Crane and cocked his fist.

Crane kicked Frederick hard in the crotch.

Frederick never saw it coming. He bent over in agony and fell on the floor, holding himself.

Crane asked the four guards, “Is this the kind of man you want to work for? Is he even worthy of your loyalty?”

“Don’t listen to him,” Frederick squeaked, still writhing in pain on the floor.

“My wife is about to be crowned queen,” Crane said. “Wouldn’t you rather work for her? I will personally put in a good word for the four of you, and I can guarantee that she will not hold this against you. But what I need you to do right now is to carry your former master back to the OutCastle and hold him there. You’ll be hearing from me tomorrow.”

“Don’t be fools. Kill him!” Frederick stood up.

The guards drew their swords.

Frederick laughed. “Good try, Crane—you fool. But my men are not as stupid as they look.”

The guards surrounded Frederick.

“What are you doing?” Frederick asked.

“You will not regret this, men,” Crane assured. “Take him away.”

59

W
hen Crane got back to the church, he saw hundreds of people standing outside surrounding the building. He worked his way through the crowd by repeatedly informing people that he was Conroe’s new husband and he needed to get inside. Many of them wanted to shake his hand, slowing his progress. Finally, he slipped in through the side door and hurried to his reserved seat in the front pew.

No sooner had he taken his seat than the clock struck six and the ceremony commenced. The Royal Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Choristers performed an English version of “Sing the Lord, Ye Voices All,” from Franz Joseph Haydn’s oratorio,
The Creation
.

Crane was surprised at how his emotions were stirred by the music. He loved listening to and playing music and writing songs, but he had never before heard a live orchestra and chorus. He was thrilled to see that they had musical instruments in the year 2521. Surely he would be able to find a guitar somewhere and serenade his wife.

Then the realization that he was married began to sink in. That alone was huge—married to a beautiful, strong woman he had fallen in love with over a matter of days. Perhaps it was the adventures they had experienced together—harrowing adventures—that caused their love to grow so fast. He remembered the bridge, the burning rope, and the rat spiders in the cave. They lived through it all—together. And now he felt such a closeness to her, a feeling he had never had for anyone else. He was
married
to her…and now she was going to be a
queen
. He had no idea what his role would be in this new world, other than husband of the queen, but he was excited to find out.

The orchestra played its last chord, and it continued to reverberate throughout the tall, narrow sanctuary for a full eight seconds. Incredible, he thought.

The priest stepped up to the altar and said a prayer. After that, there was more music.

Crane enjoyed it all. It seemed more like a dream. But then, he’d had that feeling of being in a dream so often lately.

It was about seven o’clock when the priest got to a part that reminded Crane of the wedding ceremony: “…so by the power vested in me…”

At 7:06, the priest turned to the congregation and proclaimed, “And now I present to you…Queen Conroe of Ampla.”

The orchestra and choir began performing another piece from Haydn’s
The Creation
: “The Heavens Are Telling the Glory of God.” The congregation stood.

The former queen—now the Queen Mother—and Wally walked up the stairs to join the new queen. Conroe motioned for Crane to come up and stand beside her. He was overwhelmed by the reality of the moment. Or maybe it was the music. Whatever it was brought tears to his eyes.

Queen Conroe was all smiles, waving to her subjects. Crane began to smile too, in spite of the fact that tears were running down his cheeks. He felt like such a wimp for crying, but Conroe didn’t seem to mind. She turned to him and mouthed, “I love you.”

When the music concluded, the congregation cheered, “Long live the queen! Long live the queen!”

60

A
t the Coronation Ball, the royal table had been set for four people: Queen Conroe, the Queen Mother, Wally, and Crane. At the last minute, Conroe had asked the staff for two additional place settings in order to include Geneva and Will, much to the dismay of the Queen Mother.

Everyone at the table ate and politely chitchatted until Wally asked the Queen Mother to dance. As he escorted his wife to the dance floor, he looked back and winked at his daughter, Queen Conroe.

She smiled and gave her father an appreciative nod. He was providing an opportunity for Conroe and Crane to visit with their friends.

“You two make a lovely couple,” said Conroe to Geneva and Will.

“Thanks…again,” Geneva replied.

“Did I already say that?” Conroe asked innocently. “Well, it’s true.”

“
Conroe
,” Geneva admonished.

“Perhaps we should get in the habit of addressing her as
Your Majesty
,” Will said to Geneva. “She
is
the queen now, you know.”

“That’s not necessary,” Conroe replied. “Well, at least not when we’re in private. In public—well, that’s different.”

“There you have it,” Will said.

“So, no more girls’ nights?” Geneva asked.

“I would appreciate a few boy-girl nights with my wife first, if you don’t mind,” Crane joked.

“Oh, that’s right,” Geneva said. “You two haven’t even consummated the marriage.”

“That will be remedied very shortly,” Conroe asserted.

“Good,” Crane responded, smiling.

“Crane, I’ve got to ask you about this,” Geneva said. “Where did you go right before the ceremony? We saw you get up and leave. You barely made it back in time.”

“Oh, you won’t believe this!” Conroe exclaimed. “I nearly died when he told me about it.”

“What happened?” Geneva asked.

Crane explained, “When I sat down, I realized I had forgotten to put on the necklace Conroe gave me—you know, her grandfather’s gold cross. And I felt like it meant a lot to her for me to be wearing it, so I went back to get it. But when I came out of Conroe’s room, Frederick was waiting for me in the hallway.”

“No!” Geneva said.

“What did he want?” Will asked.

“I’ll bet he wanted his time travel computer,” Geneva surmised.

“That’s right,” Crane said.

“Did you tell him that
I
have it?” Geneva asked.

“No, because I didn’t want him to go to your house and get it. So I stalled. But I couldn’t stall for too long since I needed to get back to the church.”

“Don’t forget to tell them about the guards, honey,” Conroe urged.

“Oh, yeah,” Crane said. “He brought four of his guards from the OutCastle.”

“I guess he wasn’t man enough to handle you by himself,” Geneva cracked.

“That’s exactly the approach I took with him. I offered to fight him if he’d make the guards put their swords away.”

“So you fought with him?” Will asked.

“Sort of,” Crane replied.

“He
outsmarted
him,” Conroe said with pride.

Geneva giggled. “What did you do?”

“I pretended that Conroe had taught me Gomwei,” Crane said.

“Which was a lie,” Conroe added, “but I will teach it to you when we have the time, sweetie.”

“I’m looking forward to that,” Crane responded.

“Well, if you didn’t know Gomwei, what was the trick?” Will asked.

“I closed my eyes like Conroe does and dared him to hit me. He thought I was going to try to defeat him the same way Conroe had. I’m sure that shook his confidence. But what he didn’t realize was that my eyes were not completely closed. I could still see his lower body when he walked up to me. He was about to take a swing at me when I kicked him as hard as I could
right where it hurts
, so to speak.”

Geneva’s jaw dropped, and then she began to laugh.

They laughed so loudly that the Queen Mother gave Conroe a stern look, so Conroe asked them to hold it down.

Then she offered a toast to her husband and their two friends. “To great friends and a wonderful husband, without whom I would probably not even be here, and I certainly wouldn’t be Queen of the Kingdom of Ampla. I love you, and will be forever indebted to you.”

Geneva held up her glass. “Long live the queen.”

Will and Crane joined in as she said it again.

“Long live the queen.”