Chapter 9: A chance in despair

Kaileena woke up after some hours. She still felt weak, but she was recovered. Her servants offered her some food and water right after she woke up, but she refused their offerings. She wanted to know what had happened in the time she was unconscious. She got up and headed to the Hourglass chamber as fast as she could, in search of the Crow. She didn't found him there or in the Throne Room. Confused, she asked a Raider what was going on there.

"Where is the Crow?"

"After ordering all the army to open our eyes and find the Prince of Persia, nobody has seen him again. He said he would be flying around the Island searching for him. He said that you should hide in the Throne Room."

"Hide in the Throne Room?"

"Yes, the soldiers of the Towers are waiting orders to deactivate them and close the main door. He said that you could enter through the corridor of your chambers."

"Alright … close the gate."

In the Present, the Prince was facing a new challenge. He had to find another Portal to return to the Past. Running through the few halls still not destroyed, he reached the previous room to the Sacrificial Altar. The access to that chamber was blocked and there were some soldiers on the central platform, Raiders, as he could see. After wallrunning and jumping from the edges to the central platform, he discovered a disgusting surprise. So many soldiers there had a good reason.

"He´s the one the Empress wants dead!" Said one of the Raiders.

"Well, it seems that the Empress knows I am here. I guess she has foreseen me."

"Get him!"

The Raiders were joined by three Blade Dancers who didn't seem very sure about if they wanted to kill the Prince or seduce him. He hated these warriors. They confused him with their unusual in-battle phrases and they were really agile. Every time he tried to attack them, they jumped over him, avoiding his blade. The ninja outfit they wore was right, they moved like ninjas.

He killed the Raiders throwing them off the platform so that he could focus on his three "little friends". He couldn't attack them straight, he couldn't jump over them … One of them jumped over his back and tried to cut his throat, but, luckily, he was able to get rid of her in time. He got a cut in his shoulder, but at least he wouldn't drain off.

"I´m not trying to hurt you …" She laugh.

"Really? I think you have a wrong concept of hurting!" He said, attacking again, causing her a cut in her leg.

"Hit me harder, Prince! Harder!"

"I´m growing tired of this!"

The Blade Dancers kept laughing in the Prince´s face, who, tired of their mocking, ran up a wall and jumped over them. At last, he was able to cut them in two halves and get rid of them.

"I really hope I won´t find more like them. They really make me go mad!"

After having a break, the Prince continued his path. He found a small mirror in the wall and he stared at his reflection. He still had the mark of Shahdee´s wound on his face. That scar would be there for the rest of his days. He looked down and saw the Amulet. It had three tanks full of Sands. The small half moon was glowing and the mechanism in it also glowed.

"That's weird … Might my travel through time have activated it? Let´s make a test."

He took a sword and threw it away. Then, he pressed the Amulet mechanism, keeping his finger on it. The sword came back to him. When he stopped pressing on the mechanism, everything settled.

"Alright. I already know which is one of the powers. But, what about the other one?"

He pressed the mechanism again. When he did it, everything around him looked like distorted. But, what was going on? He heard a sound behind him and he turned around to see a small rock falling down to the ground … Very slowly.

"Oh, perfect! Now I can slow time! That will be very helpful to fight against those damn Sand Creatures. If I had knew this earlier, I could have defeated those women faster!"

The Prince kept walking and climbed to a passage in the wall. But when he was walking across it, he felt that he was no longer alone. Instinctively, he looked back and saw the Dahaka approaching him.

"The Dahaka! It has found me? HERE? Impossible! How has it reached his Island?"

There was no time for questions, he had to run away. The floor under his feet began to shake. If it toppled, he would fall down and die. He had to find a way out. With the Dahaka behind his steps, the Prince ran as fast as his legs allowed him. He saw a small crack on the wall on the other side of the abyss. If he reached it by jumping with some bars, he could save himself. He reached it with difficulty because the Dahaka nearly caught him with one of its tentacles. But it didn't give up! It reached the Prince´s position with just a leap. How could it jump like that? It was coming over him. He jumped inside the crack, just in time. The Dahaka seemed to have lost him.

"How has that beast reached this place?" He asked to himself. "I better find a Portal before he finds me again."

The Prince arrived again to the room from where he reached the Castle. Everything seemed calmed, but he could feel the Dahaka close. It had to be following his trail. He´d have to be on his guard. That silence troubled him. But, at least, it helped to hear the Dahaka approaching. He heard its steps. So, he didn't think it twice and started running to the Portal. He thought it had caught him when he saw its tentacles coming out of the walls before him, nearly touching his legs. The Portal was close, but the Dahaka was closer. Unable to think, the Prince jumped to the gateway. He was surprised when he saw that when the Dahaka tried to go through the waterfall with one of its tentacles, it backed away, hurt.

"What´s this? It can´t cross the water …" He said, surprised. "It seems that it has a weak point … This is certain to come in handy."

While all this was happening, Kaileena was getting ready to isolate herself in the Throne Room. She looked at the Hourglass, which grew emptier. When the last grain fell, her death would happen, and if things continued like that, the Sands of Time would fill it, capturing her soul until someone opened the Hourglass and used the Sands. If that was enough for her, a messenger told her notices that terrified her even more.

"Empress!"

"What is it?" She asked, more worried while the seconds passed.

"The Dahaka, it has been seen in the Prince´s time. It´s on the Island!"

"What?" Kaileena couldn't believe those words. "Then … The Dahaka is after him. But if it finds the way to go through the Portals …" Then, she would be in serious trouble, because she feared that if the Dahaka found her and remembered what she did, it would take revenge of her. "Make sure that all the Portals have the waterfalls working! We can´t let it come to our time!"

"Yes, Empress." He said, bowing and then leaving the room.

"Things are going from bad to worse …"

Kaileena finished preparing her belongings. She walked up a ladder near the Hourglass to reach one of the Swords from the Order which she had made with her own hands. It was the Serpent Sword. It was a sword with a curious "S" form. It wasn't only a weapon, it also served as a key to access the Towers. That was the only thing which would allow his enemy to open the Throne Room and find her.

She heard steps getting closer. She looked at the doorway, expecting to see one of her subordinates. But no … It was the Prince. With a mixture of fear and anger for having him ahead, Kaileena faced him and threatened him.

"This is a dangerous place! You shouldn't have come back!" She said. "The Empress could find you."

"I have the feeling that the Empress already knows that I´m here." He answered.

"Of course she knows."

"Have you told her?" He asked, blaming her.

"The Empress doesn't need me to know that there´s an intruder in her Castle. If the traps are activated and the soldiers are though the main rooms and halls, it´s because you´re not welcome." She said, walking to his position.

"Is she scared?" He asked, smiling.

"Scared of you?" Kaileena felt herself hunted. She didn't know what to say.

"Well, if she isn't, why hiding? Why does she send her soldiers to fight me instead that fight me personally? If she´s so powerful, she shouldn't have any problem in facing me."

"I´ve already told you she´s busy. You can´t see her!"

"My mission is very, VERY urgent. I must see her!"

"You don't understand!" She pointed to the Hourglass. "When the last grain of Sand falls from this Hourglass, the Empress will create the Sands of Time." She looked back at him. "No business of yours could be more important than that!"

"I´ve come to stop the Empress from creating the Sands!"

"Stop her? You?" That confused her for a moment. But she wasn't going to fall in his trap. She wouldn't let him. "Don't make me laugh."

"You´re too bold to be just a servant. I demand you to show more respect." Kaileena was making the Prince angry.

"You can thank the Gods that I haven't told the soldiers you´re here. You´re not welcome in this place. I´m treating you as you deserve. The creation of the Sands was foretold in the Timeline, it cannot be stopped."

"I just saved your life." He noted. "Twice. Now, I demand you to help me in gratitude! If I don't avoid the creation of the Sands, the Dahaka will continue hunting me!"

"Help you? If the Empress discovers that I´m helping you, she will kill me for high treason! Are you mad?"

"Do you want me to kill you right now?"

The Prince was threatening her. If she continued angering him, he would discover the truth. For a second, Kaileena doubt. But an idea came to her mind. The Prince came to save himself from the Dahaka, he had to avoid the creation of the Sands. There was something in that phrase that Kaileena didn't like, since it didn't fit with her visions of death. But if it was true, their paths would meet sooner or later, and that would cause her death. She couldn't let the Prince win. She didn't trust him. However, this gave Kaileena an idea, a chance to save herself. If the Prince could, why not her?

She would fool the Prince to make him open the Throne Room gates. That would give her the time to get ready. She would gain his confidence and, when she got him inside the Throne Room, she would tend him a trap and kill him. She had to try!

The cold steel of the Prince´s Sword on her neck broke her thoughts. Her murderer´s patience was running lower.

"I will ask you one last time." He threatened her. "Where will the Sands be created?"

"In there." She said, pointing the Throne Room entry. "But the room has been sealed. You cannot enter."

"I´m sure there´s a way." He insisted with his sword still on her neck.

"Hah!" That insistence made her laugh. "You´d have to undo the very fortifications of the Castle, something impossible for you."

"When a man is faced with his own death, he finds the impossible less of a barrier. Tell me how!"

"Release me if you want me to help you."

The Prince hesitated. He didn't know if he could trust her or not. But that woman was no rival for him. She was just a servant … Or that´s what he thought. Kaileena told him how to open the doors. He´d have to activate both Towers to do it. She also gave him the Serpent Sword. The Empress herself was opening him the doors to bring him closer to her. It was very risky for Kaileena, but, at least, that gave her a chance.

"Is that all?" He asked.

"It is, for now. When you activate the first Tower I´ll wait for you in the Access Hall to give you more instructions. But I warn you, if the Empress discovers that I have betrayed her, it´ll be the end for both of us."

"For your own sake, you better be loyal. The same way I have saved your life, I can take it from you. You owe your life to me doubly. Now, where is the mechanism to access the Towers?"

"In the Access Hall. When you activate it you will see a lever. Use it. It won´t make a difference, though …"

"What do you mean?"

"Whether you get to the Empress or not, it´ll be the same. You cannot change your fate. What it´s written in the Timeline, cannot be changed."

"Thanks for the advice."

Without saying goodbye, the Prince left the room. Kaileena sighed in relieve. She had got rid of him for some time. She returned to her chambers to plan slowly her stratagem. She took her diary and left a note on it.

"This might be my last chance to write on these pages. I´ve managed to fool the Prince. If I behave as he wishes I´ll be able to gain his confidence and trust, and when he has fallen into my trap, I´ll kill him. And once I´ve killed him, I´ll take revenge of his whole family and all his Kingdom. Chaos will fall over Persia!"

Kaileena visualized her plan in her mind. After killing the Prince, she would go to Babylon and show the King his son´s head. Then, she would kill all the Family members and create chaos among the citizens, killing everyone she found and destroying everything she saw. Her rage clouded her mind with visions of victory. Could she do everything she planned without being discovered? Will she really change her fate?