Chapter 3

When morning came, the first thing the Prince did was gather a small group of his finest guards and explore the perimeter of the city. Had his encounter with the horseman been a dream? He had to know. Maybe if he looked hard enough, he could find something, some clue that would lead him to his answer.

The party searched and searched for something, anything that could act as convincing evidence of the Headless Horseman's existence and pursuit of the Prince. The hours passed, and not one of them found anything. The morning became midday, and midday faded into afternoon, but no trace of the horseman was found. All that was there were the faint outlines of hooves from his horse, but the desert sands churning in the soft breeze quickly covered them up.

Finally, the Prince gave up. He returned to the palace with a heavy heart to a rather worried fiancé. He spilled his troubles to her once again, but no matter what way he looked at it, the whole thing made little to no sense. And, in all honesty, it was driving him mad.

"I don't understand it!" the prince exclaimed as he paced around his bedchamber. Farah sat anxiously on the bed, watching him with concerned eyes. "Not a single trace! Just what the hell happened last night?!"

"Prince, perhaps you should just… let it go. It's over now," she told him. He stopped pacing and dropped his head into his hand.

"I know it is… but I just can't get rid of the feeling that this whole thing isn't over. When he spared my life and rode away… it was as if he were simply… toying with me. Like he didn't want to end it so quickly… like he wanted to play with me a little."

"Maybe this is what he wanted! Look at you, Prince!" Farah exclaimed, "You've been obsessing over it all day long! Perhaps he wants you're ignorance to get the better of you!" Normally, the Prince would've become defensive at this and make it clear that he was not obsessing over anything, but miraculously, he stopped and seemed to consider this.

"Perhaps… perhaps you're right…" he admitted quietly. "But even so… this isn't the end. I know he'll come back… I just know it…" At this, Farah sighed and placed her hand carefully upon her abdomen. There was something she had been itching to tell him all day long. She knew he would be overjoyed at what she had to say, but how could he be happy when he was in such a state? "Very well," her future husband declared, "I will go out again tonight. This time, I will go alone. If the horseman really wants me, he'll come. At least, I hope he will." With that, he walked out of the room without giving Farah the chance to respond.

True to his word, the Prince of Persia mounted his horse when night fell and rode out through the city gates. He took with him his father's sword and wore his armor. It hadn't failed him when the Dahaka had chased him… how could it fail him now?

The hours passed agonizingly slow as the moon, still full, climbed higher and higher in the sky. Again and again he circled the city of Babylon, going a little farther and a little farther with each new lap. No sign of the horseman. But the Prince wasn't about to give up. He rode on, determined to find what he was searching so hard for… and when the moon reached it's highest point in the sky and the lights of Babylon were only a twinkle in the distance… the Prince got his wish.

It happened slowly. The moon was slowly covered by that same veil of ungodly light, and the environment changed with it. But the Prince was not afraid then. He urged his horse on, not satisfied with just the change of the moon, and squinted into the crimson darkness for any sign of his target. For a long while, he found neither hide nor hair of the horseman, but it turned out that the Prince didn't have to find the horseman… the Horseman had found him.

The Prince had always prided himself on his keen senses. Ever since his scrap with the Dahaka, his eyes, ears and mind had been sharper than a fine pointed sword. They had to be; otherwise the Dahaka would have caught him a long time ago. But now…

It all happened to fast that he hardly had time to realize what had happened. It had been so silent… so still… but then a slightlywhoosh right behind him broke that eerie tranquility and the Prince had had only seconds to realize that the Headless Horseman was back and he had almost effortlessly snuck up on him and then suck before the demons blade took his head off.

Alarmed, the Prince immediately kicked his horse back into motion and fumbled for his sword. But just as he got a firm grip on to and prepared to tear it from it's sheath, the Horseman was right up on him once more. The Prince had to duck and dodge several more swings before finally getting the chance to unleash his own sword. He felt a small burst of confidence as he felt the blades familiar weight in his hand and his skill came flooding back to him like a reflex.

With a few blocks and some well-placed combos, the Prince was finally able to fight the horseman man to man. The only problem was that the horseman's blows and strikes were powerful. Too powerful, the Prince thought with the slightest hint of fear, too powerful to be human.

It was absolutely clear that what ever this horseman was, it was definitely no prankster, nor was it a thief. This fact became even clearer as the horseman locked swords with the Prince, snatched his collar with one arm and effortlessly shoved him from his horse. The prince yelled as he hit the ground and rolled. His sword flew from his hand and clatter to the ground several feet away out of his reach. Groaning in pain, he slowly got back to his feet rubbing the back of his head and looked… just in time to see the horseman turning, twirling his sword skillfully in one hand and charging right at him with the intent to claim his head.

Now panicked, the Prince yelled again and dove to the side, missing the horseman's deadly swing by mere inches. The Prince looked around madly for his sword as horseman turned his horse once again and began his second run, once again missing the Prince's neck by a disturbingly small space. Only then did the Prince spot his blade and jumped for it. With some luck, he scooped it up cleanly and held it at the ready.

"Come on! Fight me fairly!" he cried as the horseman once again rode towards him. But the horseman clearly had no intentions of giving the Prince the benefit of a fair battle. Whatever the reason, the mysterious rider wanted the prince dead at all costs. But the Prince was not going to give in so easily to this madman with no head.

As the horseman passed by for his third try at the Prince's head, the Prince leapt up and shoved his sword into the horseman's chest with all his might. His plan was successful, as the horseman fall back from his steed and on the ground… and didn't move. Was it over?

The Prince nudged the fallen rider with his foot, but there was no response. There was no evidence of breathing… no sign of any blood flow… it was over. At last, the Prince could rest easy. Relieved, he sighed deeply and sat upon the desert sands and gazed up at the blood moon. It was over… no more Headless Horseman… no more chasing… no more worries. Maybe now he could return to Farah and not—

The horseman suddenly sat up. Genuine fear flooded the Prince's heart and he slowly began to back up at the horseman effortlessly tore the blade from his chest, tossed it aside and got back to his feet.

"No… no, how can that be… you were dead… you were dead…" the Prince mumbled desperately, not able to believe what his eyes told him. This was no prankster. Nor was this a thief. This was no mercenary, or a crazed murderer. This thing… this headless rider… wasn't even human. "What the hell are you?!" the Prince cried, a foreboding feeling of helplessness overcoming him. "What do you want from me!! WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME!!!" But the demon rider gave no answer. He only advanced on the Prince, his intentions all but crystal clear.

Pure animal instinct took over. He ran. He ran away as fast as he could from the Headless man, just as he had run from the Dahaka. He ran and ran, and ran until he got a hold of himself and stopped to look back. Nothing. Had he got away? Was he safe again? Maybe he could take a small rest… No! That would give the horseman more time to track him! He had to move! But he was so tired by now…

His body betrayed him and he sank down to the ground, still panting terribly. It had been so long since he had done so much running… Since he took over his kingdom, he had had little to no practice with his weapons… thus, he was a little out of shape. He had to rest. Just a little while…

But then… the Prince's eyes shot open when he hear it. It was soft at first… but steadily grew. Hooves. A horse. The horseman had found him. But he was so tired… He tried several times to get up, but his body refused. He was just too exhausted. And because of this, he was going to die tonight.

"No… no, please, no…" he groaned feebly, "No, just… go away… you bastard…" Tiredly, the Prince looked up once again, but all he saw was a glint of metal, a flash of white… then blackness.

Kiri: it that it...? No way! He's not dead, I promise. But we got to see our old buddy the horseman again, and we got to see that he's no where near human... but what even does he want with the Prince? Hmm... I wonder... lol. Stay tuned! And some reviews would be nice, too, by the way!