A/N: I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts, dedlidee, there they are standing in a row, bum bum bum, big ones small ones some as big as your head, just give 'em a flick, a twist of the wrist, that's what the showman said!
XP
"Are you…friendly, with that prince?" Kaileena asked me.
"In a manner of speaking. We only met…probably an hour ago chasing her royal b(beep)iness Shahdee." I answered.
"Why were you chasing her?" She questioned.
"She shoved me."
"That's it?"
"And I don't like her."
"Oh well that explains everything!" She said, throwing her hands in the air. But then she sighed and went to sit down on the staircase. "Do you think he'll come for you?" She asked.
"For me? Heck no. For the 'Empress', yes, definitely." I answered, walking over to join her.
"You sound as though you know him well enough."
"Well, I kind of do. Just like I know you well enough already, though not as much about you as him." I told her.
"Is there anything that will dissuade him?" She asked.
"Nope. Nothing whatsoever. He's more stubborn than a mule, and just as selfish." I answered without hesitation.
"I can still try…" She murmured.
"…You know, you can change your fate." I told her.
"Says the child with no experience in the matter." She snorted.
"What makes you so sure I have no experience?" I demanded.
"You are far too young, you can't expect me to believe you truly know what you're talking about." She told me.
"I may not be as old as you are, but I'm not a child. And maybe I don't know what I'm talking about, maybe I'm just mouthing off my own beliefs which have no real power in any case. But in my opinion, what a person believes is often the most powerful factor in their lives. If you believe you cannot change your fate, then you can't, it's that simple. But you're trying, if you didn't believe you could, you wouldn't be trying so hard to defy what you've seen in the Timeline." I said.
"Oh yes!" She laughed derisively, "If I simply believe that I can change my fate, I can! How silly of me, I should have thought of this before!" She shook her head, "If only it were that simple."
"Listen, it isn't…it isn't fair!" I exploded, standing up, unable to sit still, unable to hold it in anymore.
"What, that I'm going to die?" She asked.
"No, it isn't fair that, that you're fated to die here! This, this isn't your world, you're only here because you were trying to find your world, and you got stuck. Why, then, why should you have to die for this world? What right does the Timeline of this world have to make you die in order to create the Sands of Time!?" I exclaimed, pacing back and forth, finding myself having to wipe away silver gossamer from my eyes. Great, well at least my tears were pretty, even if the rest of me wasn't so nice to look at. "It isn't fair! I don't see how the 'fate' of this world can get up the nerve to make you die, to use you like this! There just doesn't seem to be any point to it!? Why should the Sands of Time even exist if the Dahaka's just going to kill anyone who uses it? If using them just messes everything up?! I don't get it, you're right, I don't understand! I don't understand why you have to die for no reason!!!" I thundered.
"You're…you're crying…for me?" Kaileena murmured as I wiped away another bout of silver tears.
"Yes, yes maybe I am." I answered, my voice shaky and choked with sobs I couldn't quite understand, "I'm just so angry…There's no point to it, none at all." I turned to her, "I'm not telling you to change your fate, I'm telling you to defy it!"
She shook her head, "Impossible…" She said.
"If you believed that, you wouldn't be trying to do just that." I told her. "'You cannot change your fate', 'you cannot change your fate'! I don't believe that, and neither does the prince. For that, I admire him, even if his intentions are purely selfish. At least he's doing all he can."
"He's still here, he isn't dead. Tell me how I can change my fate if, even through all this, he will not die?" She asked, standing up herself. The sands in the hourglass swirled furiously when she touched it, and I saw the image of the prince, running for his life away from the Dahaka in 'present' time.
"That's up to you." I told her. I was mad at her, mad that she refused to listen to me. I thought about telling her he was only going to kill her because she presented herself as his enemy, but something held me back. Not sure what, perhaps part of me still wanted the storyline to play out, still wanted the prince to go through the motions, and I wanted to be apart of it this time.
Kaileena let the sands fall with a deep sigh, and she turned to me, "Tell me about your world, while we wait for your precious prince."
I allowed myself to relax, and settled down to tell her what I could while waiting for him.
XD
"There you are!" Said the prince, rolling into the room with us. He glared at me, obviously he didn't appreciate me deserting him like that. He probably thought he could count on me for support or something. Imagine that! "Funny, you don't look any different." He said, he looked a bit bruised and he went over to one of the fountains in order to recover his health.
I rolled my eyes at him, "Ha, ha, very funny. It's only a temporary fix." I said, showing him the ring. "I have to wear it, and it won't last forever, I'll have to take it back off fairly often."
"So I guess the two of you have been having a nice leisurely chat while I was gone?" He asked, eyeing Kaileena and I suspiciously. Kaileena simply stared back impassively, the serpent sword held lazily in her hand, but she needn't react anyhow. His jive was directed at me.
"You seem upset, or simply irritated because you thought you could count on some extra help. Well, sorry, but I'm not too fond of the Dahaka myself, and would much prefer not to come face-to-face with it…ever." I told him.
He seemed a bit taken aback by this, but recovered himself, "How did you get here without any trouble? I had to go forward in time just so I could get past a few key parts."
"Sucker for details aren't we? Must you know everything? You already know my deep dark secret, or secrets if you want to think of it that way, what's it to you how we got here without trouble? What if Kaileena knows the place that she lives in a bit better than you do?" I asked.
He decided to ignore this jive, and put his hands on his hips, "Well?"
"Uh, well what?"
"Does that ring actually work?" He asked, looking irate and impatient.
"So you came all this way just to see what I really look like? I'm honored. Well I haven't tried it yet, but I suppose I might as well now that I have an audience." I stood up and slipped the gold band onto my ring finger, because that just seemed to be the right place for it somehow.
There was a delay for about a second, and then…pain shot through my chest, a burning, choking pain that made my heart slow down to nothing. The world around me spun, my head, my limbs, I felt like there was too much blood in my body, like I was going to burst. The feeling you get when someone chokes you just the right amount for a long time, that was all over me, everywhere, along with the pain in my chest, and the feeling that something was strangling me.
"On!" Sacrosanct yelled through my mouth, "Hcitb gnilddem ouy!!! Siht rof llik ll'I!!! Gniodnu rouy eb lliw ohw I si ti, eid lliw ouy ecaf ym ees ouy yad eht dna!!!"
I felt as though my skin was being stripped right off of me, with every slow beat of my heart, another layer came off, until, finally, after a second that lasted for eternity, I fell onto hard stone ground, and my bodily functions returned to the way they were suppose to be.
Two faces were looming over me, and I was quite disoriented, and still in quite a bit of pain. "Ugh…either of you catch the license plate of that buss?" I asked.
"I find it amazing that you can make jokes after that." Kaileena said, clearly shaken, as the prince helped me to my feet.
"Which one was that and what did she say?" He asked me in my ear.
"Later." I answered, waving him away.
Kaileena frowned, and opened her mouth, "Nomed yranidor on saw taht." She told me.
"Oh hell." I groaned, "Reh dootsredun ouy?" I asked with a grimace.
"Sey." She answered.
"Yes, if you haven't already figured it out, she is one of my inner demons. Her name is Sacrosanct, and she's the one who turned me into that creature in the first place. Hey, Prince boy, I can stand thanks." I told him, taking my arm from his grip, which hadn't left me. "And helping me change back obviously made her mad. Don't worry, she might be the most powerful, but she doesn't have a form of her own…I don't think, so she won't be able to hurt you…I hope."
"You sound so sure of yourself!!!" Kaileena exclaimed, taking several steps away from me, clearly unnerved by whatever she'd seen.
"I'm sorry." I said, my expression softening. I took a step towards her, holding my hands out. "I didn't know she would do that, I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault, you didn't have any control over it." The prince said, putting a hand on my shoulder, which I shrugged off.
"Yeah, well, that's the problem isn't it? I didn't have any control, I wasn't able to keep her quiet, was I? Sacrosanct is the only one I can't control completely, and if she wants Kaileena dead for this," I waved the hand with the ring in front of him, "Then we have a problem, a big problem. And what's worse is I don't understand why she's so mad. It isn't as though this is permanent, the moment I take this ring off I go back to my other form, and, according to Kaileena, I can't keep it on for very long either. Not yet anyway. Still, Sacrosanct isn't usually one who tries to interfere with my life, she typically stays in the shadows of my mind, uncontrollable, but un-controlling, and docile." I began chewing on my thumb nail, "I don't understand why she's doing this though…"
"I've heard of inner demons which could take on bodies of their own." Said Kaileena, and I immediately spun, staring at her with wide eyes.
"You have?!" I exclaimed, rounding on her with an incredulous look on her face. I wanted to yell at her for not having told me sooner when she pressured me into revealing the fact that my inner demons made my life hell. I mean, what the heck!?
"Yes…but there's nothing I can do for you there." She said, holding her hands out to me. "I've only heard bits and pieces of that, that such a thing is rare, but that it does happen to one out of hundreds of worlds. And everything I've heard has the victim dying at a very early age. The fact that you're alive at the age you are…" She shrugged, "It means that you must be much, much stronger than all the others."
I decided not to bust out laughing at that notion, like I desperately wanted to, and simply nodded. Yes, she could think that if she liked. It was a bald-faced lie, seeing as I'd tried to commit suicide countless times, but she could believe it if she liked. "Sounds good to me." I said.
"You should leave this place now, the both of you." Kaileena said looking wary, "There's nothing more I can do for you." She told me, "Though…it was nice having someone to talk to, other than sand monsters."
"I'm afraid that I don't have…the luxury." The Prince said. My this all sounded familiar. "Please, you may have been able to help Kaida, but I must speak with the Empress herself. And perhaps the Empress could do more for her than you." Oh the irony of that statement.
"You're a fool then. When the last of the sands fall from that hourglass, the Empress will create the Sands of Time. No business of yours can be as important as that." She told him, trying her best to dissuade him, but she wasn't going to succeed.
"I must stop the Empress from creating the Sands." He told her.
"Then yours is a fool's errand. The creation of the Sands of Time was foretold in the Timeline, it cannot be stopped." She told him.
"Bull(beep)." I spat, and the two of them looked at me, "I don't know who this 'timeline' person is, but the moment I find him he's getting a very nasty letter from myself. There is no single set future, time isn't like a river that flows in a single direction. It bends, it forks, separating in an infinite number of different ways constantly. There are millions of possible futures, and the Empress does not have to create the sands. Therefore, the creation of the Sands of Time, can, in fact, be stopped."
Kaileena stared at me, her expression hidden from the prince, it was one that said, quite plainly, she was exasperated with me for my insistence, but that she also hoped to gods that there was even a small, itty bitty chance I was right. "If you're honest with yourself," I said, "I don't think you want the Sands of Time to be created anymore than the prince does." Oh look, more irony.
"Maybe not." She said, looking away and turning from both of us, "But I'd like to see you try and stop it. Who do you think you are, that you can defy fate?" She asked me, frowning.
"It's not who I think I am, but what I think. I don't believe in 'fate'. I don't believe that fate is what dictates our actions, we are. Our futures are set by the choices that we make, not by some higher power." I looked at her for a moment, and then said, "Uoy did, spahrep, ymene sih sa flesrouy tneserp uoy llik ot gniog s'eh nosaer eht taht kinth ot pots?" Kaileena looked taken aback by this, so I went on, "Ygolohtym ni emit eht lla ti ees I. Egdelwonk sti ot gnitcaer snrecnoc ti esoht ot eud ylelos si ysehporp a fo gnillifluf eht. Taht touba kniht." I told her.
"Alright, what are you saying!?" The prince demanded, "What language are you speaking?"
"It doesn't matter, you should be thanking her." Kaileena paced for a moment, fingering the serpent blade, "There's only one way to open the door and meet with the Empress. You have to undo the very fortifications of the castle, an impossible task." She gave me a sideways look, "However…The gate is controlled by an elaborate clockwork system located inside the Mechanical Tower. Even assuming you can reach the device and activate it, the machine still needs power. As water passes through the moat, the machine will receive power. But first you will have to fill the moat from the supply in the Garden Tower. Activate both towers and the door will open. You'll need this, It's more than just a weapon. It also serves to activate a system of bridges which will grant you access to the other towers." She handed the Serpent blade to the prince. "It won't make a difference, though."
"What do you mean?" he asked her.
"Succeed or fail the outcome is the same. You will not stop the Sands from being created. What is written in the timeline cannot be changed." The Prince was undaunted.
"Thanks for the advice."
"Stubborn about that, aren't we?" I asked, frowning.
"No, I'm realistic. Maybe you should think about your own stubborn views." She answered. "Are you going with him then?" She asked, trying to sound casual, but I could sense that she preferred me to stay. Was she so starved for company that she'd accept a 'child' continuously telling her she could defy fate?
"Maybe, maybe I want to prove to you and the Empress both that fate is not set in stone. You did help me, and I know you don't want the sands to be made either, so I'm going to help you if it kills me."
"It just might." She warned me. She gave me one last look, wishing I might reconsider, and then she left the prince and I alone.
"I don't want you to put yourself into any danger, you got what you came here for, sort of. You don't have to help me." The prince told me.
"Excuse me? It took you how long to get here? Freak'n forever! I'm the one with a wide range of Inner Demons at my beck and call, I should be worrying about you." I said, rounding on him, "You're reckless, and stupid, and a selfish git. You need me."
"I what?" He demanded, looking incredulous at this notion. "I do not! I got here just fine without your help!" He said. Oh look it! Someone has pride issues.
"Oh yeah? If your trip here was so swell, how come you're in such a foul temper?" I asked, smirking, letting my hip jut out with a hand on it. "Admit it, you kept thinking throughout the entire thing how much easier it would have been if I had stuck around to help, weren't you?" I could tell I was right, but he wasn't going to admit it if it killed him.
"No! I was angry because, because…"
"Because I'm right?"
"No! Because you called me an overgrown baby!" He said. Oh he so thought of that on the spot.
"Oh I'm sorry," I said sarcastically, "I didn't know that such a childish insult would hurt you so much. Did I awaken suppressed memories of being bullied by the other kids with shinier swords?" I asked in a sugary sweet voice.
"Even if that were true, at least my bullies don't come out of my own head!" He shot at me, and the next moment he seemed to loose his nerve, thinking he must have gone too far.
I, however, didn't care, "So you're admitting that you had bullies." I said, quite cheerfully.
He just looked at me, "No, I didn't." He said, but his voice lost its vigor. "Look, I didn't—"
"I swear, Prince, if you're about to say that you 'didn't mean it', I am going to hit you as hard as these week little girly arms possibly can. Because you did mean it, and, you know what? I don't care! No, I'm serious…oh come on!" I exclaimed, pulling on my bangs, "Alright, let's get one thing straight, I don't need your sympathy, okay? Or your pity! So you can stop feeling sorry for me and start arguing back g(beep)d(beep)it!!!" I yelled at him in frustration.
"You're crying." He said, his voice was dead.
"I'm, what?! No I'm not!" I exclaimed, shocked. I touched my cheek, and found out he was right. I was crying. I swore, loudly and furiously. "Alright, fine, I am crying, but it's not because of this." I told him, though he knew I was lying.
He put a hand on my shoulder, "Kaida, I'm—"
I shrugged off his hand, "Okay, seriously, stop that." I told him, backing away, "If you're trying to comfort me, that's not going to work. I don't like being touched, alright? It's not because I'm refusing your help, and it's not because I don't like you or anything, I just don't like being touched." I dried my eyes.
"Why won't you let me help you?" He almost demanded, looking like he wanted nothing better than to hit me right now for this.
"Why should I?" I asked, "What, you think you can? Don't you think you should be worrying about your own problems? That's why you're here, isn't it? You don't want to die, so you have to stop the Empress from creating the sands, and to do that, you should be focusing a little less on female water-works and a little more on getting the door open." Gods, why, why did I have to start crying!? I wasn't even sure why I was crying…
Well, maybe it was because the first person to ever show concern, to ever stick around in spit of their fear after seeing something like Kagero…was a character that I knew was selfish and conceded, and already had a love interest. The same character that had somehow understood how I felt about him seeing Kagero, that had realized the best thing to do would be to act as though none of that had happened, and pretend that he'd simply decided to ask for my help because he recognized my abilities in that sand form. The same character that wasn't suppose to care for anyone but himself, wasn't suppose to give me more than a second glance, wasn't suppose to worry about me, to even care…Why did he care? Actually, I'm not sure he did, it was more that I was one of the only human beings in this fortress of monsters, and he wanted to keep me going with him for that reason. For that bit of companionship that I could give him, whether it was particularly enjoyable or not.
"Just go." I told him, turning my back on him, "I'll catch you up when I've gotten control of myself." I said.
I waited until I knew he was gone, saw the door close behind him, and then I crumbled in front of the hourglass, and cried.
And cried, and cried, until I thought I might cry out all the rest of my body fluids and turn into salt if I didn't stop.
XP
Kaida: Hang on a minute, I'm CRYING!? What the crap!? And in front of him too!!! That's not cool man!!!
Prince: You're telling me.
Rhea: Well you've gotta show us a little emotion now and again…
Kaida: I HAVE ENOUGH EMOTION AS IT IS!!!
Rhea: Eeep! Okay, okay, I'm sorry! (Backs away cautiously) I don't feel like doing the end of chapter FAQ, so this time, Monigan's going to do it!
Kaida/Prince: WHAT!?!?
Monigan: YES!!!
Q: How come Kaida doesn't like Shahdee?
A: No idea, you'll have to ask her that.
Kaida: She's a b(beep)!!!
Q: How come the author bleeps all the cuss words out like that?
A: That's not her, it's Aggle, and she just likes the sound the bleeper makes.
Prince: I've been wondering about that myself…
Q: What's with the silver tears deal? Why aren't they blood instead as per-usual?
A: Good question, blood would have looked cooler. I guess the author just didn't want to be so cliché in that.
Q: Why does Sacrosanct want Kaileena dead?
A: I don't know and I'm not about to ask her. She scares the crap outta those of us who are aware she exists. We're not stupid enough to mess with her.
Q: Why was Kaida crying?
A: Because she's a big baby and a nervous wreck. She use to cry all the time, it was so cute, but she doesn't do it very much anymore. I'm glad that's changing.
Kaida: HEY!!!
Q: Is Kaida going to be able to convince Kaileena she can change her fate?
A: No idea, we'll just have to wait and see.
Q: Why was the prince REALLY mad when Kaida went with Kaileena rather than help him out?
A: Because he's so in love with Kaida already that he doesn't want to go a second without her.
Prince: ExcUSE me!? I AM NOT!!!
Kaida: Yeah! He's in love with Farah you dolt!!!
Prince: 0.0, HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT!?
Kaida: Do you really want me to answer that?
Q: How come the prince suddenly got all caring and stuff when Kaida started crying in front of him?
A: Because he's a man, and men can't handle crying women. It's something in the makeup of their brains that prevents that from being a possibility. They turn to putty, it's like a defense mechanism in the makeup of the human gene.
Kaida: Oh, is that what happened?
A: No, I'm lying, he's in love with you.
Prince/Kaida: I/HE AM/IS NOT!!!
Q: I'm starting to like Monigan for some reason, is that wrong?
A: Not at all! I am a very likable demon, you simply can't help but fall in love with me!
Kaida: HA!!!
Well, that's it for now! Reviews are appreciated, as always!