Disclaimer: The characters, objects, and places that pertain to The Prince of Persia belong to Jordan Mechner and Ubisoft. No copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

IV.

I am running. I can hear my pursuers behind me -- grunts of an inhuman nature and feet thumping upon the ground -- but I dare not look. If I do, they will catch me. All I know is that I must run. As I sharply turn a corner, I find myself in a circular room. Mirrors are scattered throughout, reflecting rays of light around the chamber. In the centre lies a great sword...Perhaps if I could get closer-

The snarls of my predators near, filling me with dread. As I dart through a crack in the wall, my surroundings slip from my consciousness. I can no longer see, hear, smell, or taste. I can only feel...fear. As I run, tears of anger stream down my face.

"What am I doing?" I scream into the night. How could I have treated him like that? Why did I do it? My pace slows as I realise I am no longer being chased. I slump against the cold wall, the tears now freely running down my face. "What have I done? I...I loved him and...I...used him..." I sink to the ground, the dagger and sword clattering by my side -- an empty victory that leaves me hollow.

You're a fool Farah. What would you achieve? You need him. Without him, you are nothing and with him, you may as well be. But he didn't deserve that. No one does. But you did it all the same. You're a thief, a whore and a liar, and you don't deserve redemption.

I look into the night sky, the stars distant above my head. "What do I do now?" You finish what you set out to do. So I run.

My eyes flutter open. The cold marble beneath me chills my skin. Where am I?

"My lady? My lady, are you all right?" a small voice I recognise well asks me.

"Yes, I'm fine Daya," I reply to my handmaiden.

As I attempt to rise from the stone slab, Daya reaches out to steady me.

"You did not move for a while, my lady. I began to fear the worst," said the young girl, her voice laced with genuine concern.

"I will be fine. I am...tired," I lied.

"Perhaps you should return to your room for-"

"No. I...I would rather walk around the gardens...for a while..."

To sleep, to dream...this means nothing to me now. My life has now become a haze. I am starting to forget where the dreams end and life begins. Do the dreams even end? What if I'm still asleep?

"Then I shall accompany you my lady."

IV.

Come What May copyright © 2004 by ElfinEmpress & HystericFreak

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