Hi Everyone
Hope the weekend is treating all of you well. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing my fic. I hope you enjoy this chapter and will write soooon!
Love
A
Chapter 13
Dastan lunged forward and kept his hand on Garsiv's to prevent him from drawing the sword. "Garsiv, your hand is on your sword again!"
"Where it should be!"
However, Dastan did not let his brother's hand free only once again reiterated that he needs to listen before he reacts.
"You brought an Alamutian into the Palace! Dastan, this is treason," he said again in anger.
"Please Prince Garsiv," Tamina pleaded, "he did not know that I was the Princess."
At her words, Garsiv pushed his sword back into the sheath and looked at his brother. "Both of you have very little time to tell me what is going on!"
Tamina took this opportunity to narrate to Garsiv how she was concealed to be smuggled out of the city on that fateful day and all that happened thereafter. As senseless all this was, Garsiv understood why the Princess did what she had to but it did not take away the annoyance.
"Are you the Princess who was a maid or a maid disguised as the Princess?" He questioned again in confusion.
Dastan nodded, "Garsiv, she is the Princess of Alamut who was disguised as a maid."
"Did you know?" Garsiv questioned his brother in a sporadic irritated outbursts.
Dastan shook his head.
"Did she know that you didn't know?"
"Yes," Tamina replied before Dastan could.
"Did you know that she knows that you don't know?" Garsiv questioned again.
Dastan shook his head in annoyance, "how could I know that she knows that I don't know when I didn't know what she knows!"
Garsiv sat down, even more annoyed than his brother, and poured some wine into a chalice, "oh this is fucking my mind!"
"Well your mind is about to be further fucked," Dastan mumbled to himself.
Garsiv, however, was too occupied with the mess Dastan had made brining an Alamutian into the palace and the argument continued between the brothers.
"I helped her because she saved my life and I could not let her return back to Alamut in the state it was in."
Garsiv turned to Tamina, "so who was that man you met at the well?"
At this question, Dastan's attention was also heightened.
"He… is my head guard... I lied that day and said that we were… lovers," Tamina said, uncomfortable at her own words as Dastan looked away to mask his true feelings.
Garsiv's eyes suddenly lit up and turned to Dastan, "this is why you didn't want to marry the Princess and wanted to marry the maid; because you were in love with the maid… but the maid is the Princess."
Tamina suddenly looked at Dastan. He had wanted to marry her, even as a maid, he really did.
"Now is not the time Garsiv," Dastan said with clenched jaws, just as any embarrassed sibling would.
"Why have you called for this 'secret meeting'?"
Dastan rested his hand on his brother's shoulder. "Garsiv, we have been wondering what has been happening in Alamut. And she has the answer."
"The enemy Princess has the answer?"
"She's not our enemy," Dastan defended, "Nizam is."
"Dastan, we discussed this; our theory about Uncle did not make sense. Now, an Alamutian is telling you that our uncle is the enemy. What proof do you have?" Garsiv questioned his suspicions, ignoring the Princess.
Dastan took out the Dagger from the sheath and held it in front of his brother, "This is no ordinary Dagger. It is this mystical devise that made Nizam invade Alamut."
Garsiv sipped his wine, "Mystical devise?"
"Well then," he spoke again, "let me just get the Genie out of my ass, hop on our magic carpet and fly away to warn Tus."
With Garsiv's mocking tone, the discussion between the two Princes now turned into an unmitigated argument and Tamina feared that brining Garsiv into the secret was a mistake.
"Give him the Dagger," she suddenly said.
The brothers abruptly stopped the argument and looked at her. "Give him the Dagger to see for himself."
"See what for who-self?" Garsiv asked annoyed and confused.
Dastan looked at Tamina and she nodded again to reassure him. He approached his brother and held the beautiful Dagger before him.. Garsiv looked at the Dagger and took it to his hand without the gentleness it deserved. He tilted the handle to observe the sand glide across the glass chamber.
"What is this?" Garsiv asked.
"That is the reason for the invasion of Alamut," Dastan said.
"A dagger? Are you completely off your head?"
"Press the jewel on the hilt, Prince Garsiv," Tamina said in her calm warm tone.
"What, so that my head will blow off?" he argued.
"Garsiv, just do it… press the jewel," Dastan said annoyed at the brother.
"No!"
"Why are you so stubborn?" Dastan shouted.
"Shhh," Tamina said, "Nizam might hear us."
"And why are you so gullible to what this woman says?" Garsiv asked.
Tamina looked at Dastan with needing eyes, taking him back to how she had to convince him.
"What?" he looked at her, "I am not going to stab myself for him!"
Garsiv shook his head in anger, "what the fuck is going on?"
"Garsiv, just press the fucking jewel already!"
While they were arguing Tamina jumped forward and pressed the jewel with Garsiv's hand. He did not have time to react, but the next thing he knew was his body and soul being separated. He was somehow out of his body, looking down on himself. He squeezed his eyes shut and when he opened them, he was back to moments ago.
"Garsiv, just press the fucking jewel already!"
He had been here before! He had traveled back in time! Garsiv threw the dagger at Dastan not willing to hold it and swore, "Shit! What the fuck just happened?"
"Oh you pressed it," Tamina said relieved that he too would now believe her.
"I need to sit," Garsiv said and sat at the table, filled his chalice and gulped down the rest of the wine from the jug itself.
Dastan almost burst out laughing at his 'brave' brother's reaction as Tamina started to relate the story of the Sandglass.
"How… how long can this Dagger take us back?" Garsiv questioned.
"The handle holds only a minute but there is an unlimited source which Nizam is very close to locating," Tamina answered.
All three of them now sat across each other in silence until Dastan spoke again.
"Nizam wishes to go back in time and…" before Dastan can continue, Garsiv finished the sentence.
"And not save father from the lion that day," he said sadly. "But why? He can be King any day even now… if he kills all who have claim on the throne."
Dastan smiled, comforted that his brother was now starting to believe him, "he cannot become King now without Persia being reduced to ashes with civil unrest. More than that, he wants to enjoy decades of being a King. He had to distract us with Father's death… so he used me for that."
He looked at Garsiv again, "He gave the robe to Tus… his hands were burnt just like she told me in the desert. He told me that it was from when he removed the poisoned robe from Father. But I have thought about it over and over again… he never touched that robe!"
Garsiv hung his head as he spoke with the guilt of the past weighing him down. "Nizam wanted you dead… and he even said that you had attempted to kill him. He wanted you silenced and recommended your death. Tus disagreed and ordered you to be brought back alive. But why does he want you dead?"
"He wanted me dead, Garsiv, because I have the Dagger. He has even hired Hassansins to make that happen. He wants me dead because of what I might say, and to whom I might tell."
The room fell into silence once again, as if a judge was contemplating a sentence.
Finally, completely understanding what had transpired, Garsiv rested his hand on Dastan's knee, "tell me brother."
Tamina sighed in relief at the outcome and looked at Dastan with hope. They discussed strategy, with the information at hand, and a defense plan- to be discreet with their actions and return the Dagger to the Gods. Tamina informed them of the Water Temple and how, with it destroyed, the only option is to return the Dagger to the Gods through the Sandglass Chamber. They knew that once the plan was in effect they will have to battle against men loyal to Nizam and worse; the Hassansins. Garsiv decided to send word in secret to the cavalries stationed at the Alamutian borderlands to arrive close to the city walls. They would advance once Dastan and the Princess leave to the Sandglass Chamber.
They had spent over an hour in discussion and Garsiv once again looked at the 'two lovers', as he now named them, and felt that there was more to this story.
"Is there anything else I should know?" he questioned.
"Yes," Dastan said as he looked at Tamina, "I… I am also the… the Protector of the Covenant of the Sandglass of the Gods."
"What the…?"
The words sent Garsiv into disarray. He was expecting confessions of love, secret marriage plans or even being with child. But this was not farfetched after hearing what he did today.
Dastan recounted to Garsiv about the prophecy, Tamina's brother and how he found his way to Nasaf. Garsiv suddenly spat out the wine.
"Wait, are you two siblings? YOU SLEPT WITH YOUR SISTER?"
"No, NO! What the fuck, Garsiv!"
"Aren't you two some holy sacred prophecy thing?" he tried to reason.
"Yes, but she is NOT my sister… and I did NOT sleep with her," Dastan said through clenched jaws.
After calming himself down from the excitement, Garsiv left them to send Roham and Asoka to his commanders at the borderlands, and once again, Tamina and Dastan were left to themselves. He turned the Dagger in his hands, thinking of the irony of how such a beautiful object can bring out such viciousness in people.
"The inscription on the blade, that's ancient Alamutian?" he asked as she nodded in reply. "What does it say?"
"Our lives are forever in the hands of the Gods," she said in a whisper.
She fought against looking at him again, worried that she will not be able to hold in her feelings. She still wanted his forgiveness. Tamina moved to the connecting door to leave, but turned and thanked him for all what he has done.
"What is your real name?" he suddenly asked.
"Tamina. My name is Tamina. I never lied to you about my name, just as I never lied to you about who I am only what I was," she whispered her reply.
Yet, he was not done with his cruel words, "once this is over, we separate our lives, never to meet again. From this moment on, there is no bond binding us together."
Tamina slipped away without a reply and he exhaled and hung his head as soon as the door closed behind her. It seemed like he could only breathe when she was away from him. He could not think when she was around, and the anger only seemed to be in retaliation for the hurt she had caused him.
She was honest about everything but she hid an important part. Tamina concealed the fact that returning the Dagger to the Gods meant paying the original price - a pure life, her pure life, would be taken for atonement of Nizam's treachery. Sadness engulfed her at the thought of leaving Dastan behind but then again, it was a better path than being married to the brother of the man she loved.
It was almost dawn when Garsiv returned but entering Dastan's chambers, he noticed that the connecting door to the Princess's Chamber was ajar. He pushed open the door and stepped in to see his brother, wine in hand, looking at the sleeping figure. Dastan held up his hand to cease his brother from advancing towards him, and rising from his position, led him back into his chamber. As the connecting door closed, Garsiv turned to his younger brother.
"Did you sleep with her? You do realise that she is your sister-in-law?" he questioned to tease Dastan.
"Garsiv," he said with his voice void of any playfulness, "I have not and will not sleep with her."
"Yes, because now it will amount to treason, and you seem to be a fan favourite when it comes to that crime," Garsiv joked but his brother stood looking down in melancholy.
He finally spoke, "Garsiv, Tus cannot marry her."
Garsiv picked up his chalice and sat on the bed. "So first you did not want to marry her, then you didn't think you would marry her, and then you wanted Tus to marry her, who by the way was NOT easy to convince, and now you don't want Tus to marry her?"
"Tus cannot marry her," he once again said with his eyes cast down.
"Because you want to marry her?" Garsiv questioned.
Dastan stood quiet for a while. "No."
"Can I marry her?" Garsiv asked, making his brother protest in anger.
"Garsiv, what the fuck!?"
"I'm kidding! I'm kidding," Garsiv laughed. "Let me ask this; do you want anyone to marry her?"
Dastan simply looked at his brother, walked towards him and took the chalice off his hands, "no... she lied to me... I cannot marry her… but someone else…"
"So, the Alamutian bloodline has to end and the course of nations have to change because you got your little heart broken?" Garsiv questioned.
"And you are suddenly an expert in love? The man who married for duty?"
As soon as the words left Dastan, he knew it was insensitive and out of spite. Yet before he could apologise, his brother spoke.
"My wife and I would not have had an epic love affair, but she is the mother of my children, and I do love her. I may not be in love with her and I may not be the best person to give you advice on love, but I will advise you on sense," he said. "Leave love to the poets and storytellers Dastan, for duty is our destiny."
He emptied the wine, left the chalice on the table and held his brother by his shoulders.
"You don't want her to marry anyone because you love her. You don't want to marry her because she lied to you. Yet if you were in the same position, would you not lie to save your own people? But since you are going to hold on to that grudge, let her go. You must let her go. She is Tus' wife now."
Saying that, the elder Prince retreated to his chambers to await news from Roham on the position of the Persian cavalry. As soon as the army comes to sight, Nizam would know that his secret has been uncovered and chaos will prevail. However, Dastan's mind was more troubled by the feelings he had for Tamina. Whenever he closed his eyes, even now, he could see them together holding each other. He could see the last day they were together, his body hovering over hers, wanting to make love to her. He had obsessed over Tamina, the maid, being touched by that man; the guard who he was made to believe was her betrothed. It was worse at nights. Now, there was a chance, no it was not confirmed that it will be his brother who would touch her. Dastan knew he would have to sit through their wedding, jokes and rumors of their consummation and everyday live though the fact the Tus would be with her at night, all while living under the same dome of the Palace. To Tus, she would be another one of his many wives but to him she was the only one. But it was him who made this happen! He was to marry her!
He looked at his hands which knew how it felt to touch her alabaster skin… and in anger, threw the chalice at the wall.
"Dastan…"
He heard a whisper soft against his rage.
He had not heard her come in, but there she stood in the dark room, her face just as he remembered. Just as beautiful. Just as enchanting. He walked to her and raised his hand almost to cup her face.
How could his life turn this way? Only a few months ago, he was carefree and void of an imprisoning feeling of concern for a woman, and life was about serving his country and crown. Duty was second nature and giving up his life did not incite countless regrets. As he looked at her, he remembered the cruel words he uttered to her.
In Dastan's mind, he uttered words of hate, yet he did not know the gravity of what he had spoken. The Hassansins could not see him because Tamina was with him and the binding prayer that she recited when he left for battle had protected him from those evil eyes. The Dagger had been used twice, unsettling the aura, and the young Prince's words broke every protection he had from the evil clairvoyance of the Hassansins.
'There is no bond binding us together.'
Those words echoed to the Hassansins' lair and Zolm traced out, smiling at his vision.
"The Dagger is with the Prince…. Prince Dastan," he hissed and turned to Nizam who stood by him. "Tell me, what would you like to do now, my Lord?"
It was finally here… what Nizam was waiting for, possibly a lifetime. "Well," he said, "let's go kill some Princes."