A jade moon heralded the midnight hour over the small town of Truce. For many years, the fairgrounds of Leene Square held an important place in the hearts and minds of the Guardian population; not only was it named after a very popular queen in the seventh century, but that's where Princess Nadia met the man she would fall in love with, Crono. True to the legend, Leene's Bell rang out when they first met, proving that they were fated to be together forever.

For the past three years since their marriage in 1002 A.D., Crono and Nadia (who honestly preferred to be called Marle as opposed to any "official" title) bounced their lives back and forth between royal duties and trying to live out a normal life. Usually, this meant that when things became hectic in the castle, they would retreat to Crono's house and hide in his old room. His mother never understood why they would prefer the cramped space of the upstairs as opposed to all the luxury the castle must offer; regardless, she always informed the soldiers that they weren't there, covering for her son and daughter-in-law at every opportunity.

At nighttime, they could be found strolling through the dimly lit town or watching the moon rise above Leene's Bell, hand in hand. They were never separated. Tonight was no different, even with the rising tension between Guardia and its neighbor to the south, Porre. As other couples walked by, they smiled at the royal pair. Crono didn't like being referred to as a "royal pair"; he believed, just as Marle did, that they were people first and royalty second.

Leene Square looked calm and peaceful. The trees were a healthy shade of green; any day they would begin to turn their dark red to herald in the autumn season. Peddler carts sat around the outer rim of the Square, still willing to sell various trinkets for even the tiniest of profits. And then there was the small corner of the Square where their adventure to defeat Lavos began.

'To think,' Crono pondered, 'that something as small as a telepod would trigger our entry into saving the world!'

Even after facing Lavos, it was weird for both of them to be facing confrontation from something so trivial. Porre may have begun a military, but they weren't ready for combat. While it was expected that the rise of Porre would eventually die back down, the contrary became very real when a Porrean ambassador wanted to discuss terms with the King of Guardia. A meeting was set up to discuss solving all the problems. Tomorrow, Crono and Marle would meet up with Lucca for the negotiation with Porre emissaries. The prospect of facing off against those who might do her country harm didn't seem to have fully dawned on Marle as she watched the jade moon rise.

"Isn't the moon wonderful tonight, Crono?" Marle asked. They started moving south, heading towards the exit of Leene Square. They stopped at the fountain, where Marle put her hand under the running water as it fell. It felt cool to the touch, even though the air around was warm with the autumn humidity. It was a nice mix of sensations. Crono sat along the edge of the fountain, smiling at his wife; he couldn't understand how she could be so calm when one wrong statement tomorrow could set off a massive war. He didn't mind, however; he knew together they could fight off anything. Crono looked Marle over. Her strawberry-blond hair was unusually accented by the moon's light; the reflection of that light off the fountain water gave her face the same accent. Her green eyes stood out against the moonlight, even though that was already a nice tint of green.

"Tomorrow is the big meeting with Porre's emissaries. I'm trying to stay neutral for the moment, but with all the build up to this...Daddy's worried..."

"He's not the only one. Porre's had some massive technological jumps from what we remember. Who knows what might be next?" Crono responded, feeling his throat ache as if he hadn't spoken in a long time.

"I hope nothing bad happens," Marle responded to her husband's thought. She sighed, and looked down into the water at their reflections with the moon behind them. "It's sad to think that we can save the world, and yet we can't change these people's minds..."

Crono could see the anguish in Marle's face. She wasn't tense or worked-up about the chain of events: it was utter sadness. Crono wanted to take the same stance as many of the soldiers did, wanting to believe things would just calm down. Marle was legitimately feeling sorrow for their set ways; she knew that even if the actions stopped, the feelings were still there. Another escalation years down the road might cause problems for the future; having time-traveled, Marle understood what cause and effect were first hand.

"Hey, don't worry too much," Crono said as he put his hand under his wife's chin, lifting it up to look into her eyes. "Things will settle down." Crono smiled at her. He waited for her to smile back before breaking her gaze.

"...Yeah, I'm not going to worry about it, I guess. It's such a beautiful night."

"Why ruin it?" Crono replied. Marle smiled at him, knowing exactly what he meant. The moment was perfect: she had Crono by her side, the moon was the perfect shade of green, and the future they secured by defeating Lavos never looked brighter. She was where she wanted to be.

But she knew she had to be in the castle early, so she had decided to sleep there as opposed to at Crono's house. Crono didn't mind as he had few royal duties, though he understood much more was expected of Marle.

"Well, it's getting late," she finally said. "Don't sleep in..."

"Trust me, I won't," came Crono's reply. He grinned.

'Something tells me he will,' Marle thought to herself, chuckling as they walked back to Truce. She stole one last look at the moon sitting perfectly over Leene's Bell. As they stepped down the final steps at the entrance of Leene Square, the moon seemed to smile over the couple as they walked towards a new adventure: tomorrow.