Chapter 15

"Naomi…" a low voice hissed in my ear. Was I dreaming? "Naomi, wake up."

I groggily opened my eyes. Everything was double for a moment, but my vision quickly corrected itself and I found myself looking up into a pair of blue eyes. Not just any blue eyes, though.

A wave of panic shot through me and my self-preservation instinct took over momentarily. I yelled and scrambled backwards in attempt to put as much distance between he and I as possible. It didn't work very well.

"Naomi, it's me! It's me!" Jericho exclaimed, trying to calm me down. Once I recognized his voice, I blinked and looked around the area, confused. The Prince was on the ground several yards away, looking dazed and Dalila and frantically trying to get him back on his feet. The guard was gone, too. Wonder where he went?

"Jericho? What... happened?" It was only after I asked the question that it all came rushing back to me. My little stick attack on Dalila's foot, the Prince intercepting my escape attempt and nearly killing me... My hands went to my belly, where the wound had been. My dress had a large slash mark in it and was stained with my blood, but there was no sign that an injury had ever been there.

"Looks like I got here just in time," Jericho told me. "A wound like that would've killed you."

"So... did you...?" He held up an empty vial, which gave me an answer to my question. "Oh... thanks. I thought I was a goner." He smiled at me, then turned his gaze to his brother, who was quickly recuperating from Jericho's attack.

"Thank me later. We've got bigger problems." He got to his feet and pulled me up after, then pushed me behind him protectively as the Prince began to pull himself to his feet and picked up the sword he'd dropped.

"Oh, put that away, Sora," Jericho finally said in a scolding type of voice. "You and I both know who would win in a fight." The Prince narrowed his eyes threateningly. "Look at you, taking the word of this... harlot over that of your own flesh and blood."

"You are no brother to me!" The Prince snapped. "You are traitor!" Jericho raised his eyebrow.

"Wow, it's worse than I thought," he said to me, tilting his head in my direction. I kept my gaze on the Prince, until I noticed something a little perculiar about him... More precisely, his eyes.

"Jericho... there's something wrong with his eyes," he said, trying to keep my voice quiet.

"I know," he answered. "Dalila's doing. She's probably done the same to everyone else."

Maybe it was the distance between us, but I couldn't place it. There was definitely something very different in his eyes. Those same eyes that had once looked at me as a friend and colleague, and had once fallen in love with me, now held none of the warmth I'd come to recognize in him. There was no sympathy in them for me, nor was there much else except... hate. He hated me. My heart clenched at the realization. What sort of monster could take such enormous love and friendship and twist them so horribly into cold hatred?

Unfortunately for us, it was at this time that our stand off was interrupted when the King and about two dozen soldiers came bursting into the scene and completely surrounded us. Jericho quickly grabbed my arm protectively in order to keep me close, and I didn't protest. I clung to him like a frightened child and watched nervously as every possible route of escape we had was closed off by menacing looking soldiers with big, shiny swords that all had our names carved in them.

"Oh, your Majesty, thank the Gods you're here!" Dalila cried, putting up her innocent facade again. I felt like gagging. "Those two horrible, horrible, traitorous monsters made an attempt at my life! If your son hadn't arrived when he did..." Someone kill me now. The King offered her a sympathetic nod before stepping up along side the Prince.

"She speaks the truth, Father," the Prince said, "It appears that Jericho was working through Naomi, as she suspected." The King only nodded, keeping his cold stare on Jericho and I. Seeing him look so emotionless sent shivers down my back. His face didn't change as he approached the two of us, and something told me that impending doom was staring us in the face. We couldn't run anywhere: we were surrounded. We couldn't fly either, since the archers here would shoot us out of the sky. We were trapped.

Then he stood in front of us, his tall form seeming to tower above us like a judge. He looked us both over, and to my surprise, his face softened when he looked into the eyes of his son.

"...Jericho, my son," he said, almost sadly. "I never would have imagined, in all my years, that you would turn your back to me in this manner." I heard Jericho's breath catch in his throat.

"Believe what you will, Father. It won't make it true," he replied emotionlessly. The King shook his head, a melancholy expression on his face. Then he turned to me and his face hardened. Gulp.

"And you. I welcomed you into my city, and this is how you repay my hospitality?" he demanded angrily. I shrank back, trying as hard as I could to become one with the grass. Jericho squeezed my hand reassuringly, but that didn't help. Somehow, the way the King was scolding me made me feel ashamed of myself. "You deserve no mercy!" I bit my lip, trying to keep myself from sobbing. Thankfully, he returned his attention to Jericho, his face softening just a tinsy bit. I had to hand it to Jericho... I never would've been able to stare into my mom's eyes for this long if she were scolding me. He was definitely brave.

"What would your mother think if she knew?" the King said to his son, voice soft, yet dripping with disappointment. That seemed to strike a nerve with the elder Prince. A very sensitive nerve.

"Don't you bring Mother into this!" Jericho snapped nastily.

"She would be ashamed if she knew about this," the King continued sadly. Jericho inhaled shakily and I could feel him start to tremble.

"Jericho, don't listen," I tried to tell him softly. He squeezed my hand even tighter, and I swear I could see him fighting back tears. He probably already knew that King Sharaman wasn't himself, since his eyes were just as different as the Prince's, but hearing mention of his mother must've hit home... but good. What had happened between them, I wonder?

It was around this time that Dalila, with the help of the Prince, hobbled up to the King's side and, with a sickeningly sweet smile, asked if he was ready to pass his judgment on us for our crimes against the crown. I almost lost my dinner at how easily she could manipulate him. This was not going to end well. Bad Juju vibes...

He motioned to one of the soldiers, who came running up and snatched me away from Jericho and held me back from him at knife point. Jericho just stood there, his expression hard and unfeeling. I can't imagine how he must've felt, being condemned by his own father all because of one power hungry demon hussy.

"Your Majesty, with permission, I don't believe presenting evidence will be necessary. He looks to me like he's ready to confess his crimes," Dalila said smoothly. The King considered this for a moment, all the while never once taking his eyes off of his eldest son. He said nothing, but nodded solemnly and stepped back. She grinned from ear to ear as she let go of he Prince and walked, without any trouble, to stand in front of Jericho. No one said anything about it, either.

"Well then," she said cheerfully, "you've been found guilty of high treason and conspiracy. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Go to Hell," he told her bluntly. Suddenly, there was a bright red flash and Jericho let out a scream of pain and fell to his knees, holding the sides of his head.

"Now, now," Dalila scolded him, wagging her finger, "just be a good boy and confess to your crimes." Jericho ground his teeth together in pain. Somehow, I just knew that she was doing something to try and manipulate him like she had everyone else. I wanted to run to him badly, but the soldier holding me would not relent. But if I didn't do something...

"Nu... No..." Jericho strained. He was fighting her! My heart leaped with hope. Maybe his mind was too strong for her after all! Maybe she couldn't get to him like everyone else. they were all just standing there, watching all this play out like nothing was wrong. Unfortunately, Dalila's cocky smile ruined whatever hopes I'd just had.

"Well, now, you certainly are a fighter, aren't you? But I'm afraid that no one withstands my hypnosis. Not even Angels," she said smugly. Whatever she was doing, I had to stop it!

"Leave him alone!" I shouted desperately. She flicked her wrist at me dismissively.

"Yes, yes, you'll have your turn soon enough." She knelt down in front of him and smiled tauntingly at his writhing form. "Now, I will ask once more, Prince Jericho of Persia. Do you confess to your crimes against the throne?" There was another bright red flash and Jericho let out a louder scream. He twisted and squirmed on the ground, trying with every bit of will power he had in him to fight her. I bit my lip as I watched in horror, fearing that he might not have the strength...

At last, he stopped thrashing and slumped down in surrender.

"I... d-do..." he mumbled pitifully, but still strained.

"No! Jericho!" I screamed, not wanting to believe what I'd heard. She'd beat him. She'd invaded his mind and...

"There you have it, my King," Dalila said in triumph. "A confession."

"You evil bitch! I'll kill you for hurting him!" My threats were ignored, but that didn't stop me from making them. "You horrible cheating woman!" I was ignored again... at least until I elbowed the soldier in the stomach with a strength I didn't know I had and ran toward her with every intention of ending this mess right here. I guess everyone else was too shocked that I'd even managed to break loose to do anything... except for the Prince. He intercepted and grabbed me just before I could reach the bitch in red.

"No! Let go! Let go!" I shrieked, tears now streaming down my cheeks. He held onto me tightly, but I kept fighting. She was only a few meters away... If I could just get there, I could finish this before Jericho really gets hurt!

"So I don't believe there's any need for a trial now... you should just execute him now and save time," Dalila continued, ignoring me. When I saw the King actually start to consider it, I completely lost myself. My face now scarlet with rage, I started screaming as loud as my lungs could stand it. I screamed and screamed and couldn't stop screaming. Everyone in the gardens doubled back and many plugged their ears. Even the Prince was taken aback by this. I kept screaming, not stopping for breath, or anything.

"Someone shut her up!" I barely heard the King give the order. The Prince tried to grab me back even tighter, but before he could get a grip on me, the garden was suddenly flooded by an explosion of white light. I kept screaming, not paying attention to anything around me. Not the guards, not the shouting going on beneath my own high pitched wail, not even the pain that was beginning to sear into various places in my body.

My lungs began burning and my head felt like it was swelling, but I still couldn't stop screaming. Even when my vision went foggy and eventually blacked I couldn't stop. A whirlwind of emotions ricocheted through me like a hurricane, and showed no signs of letting up. The pain I was feeling also continued to get worse and worse, and the more I screamed, the more intense it became. But I still didn't stop. The world around me was becoming fuzzy to my perception and soon all I could sense was what was going on inside of me. I lost track of everything. Everything except the burning fire that was consuming me and at the same time fueling my emotions and not allowing me to stop. Within minutes, I didn't even know why I was screaming, only that I had to keep going. My rage and passion and sorrow refused to let up and as long as they swirled around, slicing into me like those spiked poles the Prince and I had constantly had to avoid in Azad, I wouldn't stop. I couldn't.

And then, with no warning at all, everything stilled. The tornado inside of me stopped as though it had been frozen in time. I stopped screaming.

Kiri: Hmmm, what could've happened?

Naomi: What the crap...

Kiri: :)

Naomi: ...

Kiri: Maybe I'll let Dalila live a bit longer...

Naomi: DON'T YOU DARE!

Kiri: I'm the authoress here! I'll do what I want!

Naomi: HEY!

Kiri: OK, well, I'm cutting it short here. As a final note, Christmas vacation is just around the corner, and lucky me, i get to go up north and see my brother. (gag). But don't worry, I won't be gone for long, and I'l lbe sure to have the next chapter out before the end of the week to tide you guys over. Ok? Ok. So until then, Ciao!