Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Prince of Persia. They all belong to Ubisoft.
Italic text is used for thoughts, dreams and flashbacks.
Only Time Knows
Chapter Six: Realization
Overlooking the sea was a large cliff. Up there the Prince sat alone. Down below was the forest where Kaileena sat by herself as well, weeping silently.
He stared out at the sea, getting lost in the roaring waves and cloudy gray sky that seemed to blend in with the water.
In a few short days his life had gone from perfect to spinning completely out of control. No, who was he kidding, the day he entered the Maharajah's treasure vaults and held the Dagger of Time in his hands was the day his life began to unravel.
He closed his eyes and images of the past played before his mind's eye. Everything, all the happy, sad, funny, and scary times, from the moment he first met Farah to when she was taken from him by the Dark Prince, and also Kaileena's last words to him before she vanished out of sight still rang in his ears: "You're wrong Cyrus. I do know what that's like. I have loved someone…
"Who? Who have you ever loved?"
"You…"
So, Kaileena loved him. Well, he'd kind of guessed when she kissed him back on the ship while they were returning to Babylon. But he thought he'd made it clear they would only be friends.
Then again, it was like him he supposed. Just because someone says they can't love you, doesn't mean your feelings for them suddenly change.
Quietly, he said to himself, "I'm sorry Kaileena, but you and I can never be anything more than friends. Though it kills me to break your heart, I can't deny how I feel for Farah." Then it occurred to him. He loved Farah. He wanted to spend the rest of life with her. He wanted to start a family with her. That was what he should have said when she walked out the door that night. Now he could see everything clearly.
"I will get you back Farah. I promise."
He got up and headed down the mountain. Once in the forest he went to look for Kaileena. He found her exactly where he expected he would.
"Where are you going?" she asked when he passed her.
"I'm going to get her. And I'm going to tell her everything I never did. You should stay here, or hide somewhere else that's safe." He walked away and stopped, "I'm sorry…"
She didn't reply. There was really nothing she could say. His apology was for what she knew it was for, breaking her heart once again.
He continued on and Kaileena watched him go.
I'm sorry too Cyrus. I'm sorry it had to come to this. And she took off in the other direction, taking a longer, but safer path to the palace.
In the darkness of the cell, the Dark Prince and Farah held each other silently. There was nothing, at the current moment that they could say to each other. Right now, physical communication was all that mattered.
He stroked her face gently, mentally noting how beautiful he thought she looked.
"What?" she asked with a smile.
"Nothing," he replied leaning down to kiss her again. "I love you, so very much."
"And I love you," she said pressing her lips against his yet again, only much longer this time.
He pulled her body closer to his and she suddenly winced, squeezing her eyes shut and digging her nails into his strong shoulders.
Worried, he said, "What's wrong? Am I hurting you? I'm sorry."
But she shook her head and tried to forget the pain, "No, no it's alright. I'm fine."
"No, you're not fine," he said. He could feel moisture against his own skin. Looking down at her stomach he saw the source of her pain. Just below her left rib there was a huge, black bruise surrounding a gash that was dripping blood.
"You're wounded," he said.
"It's not as bad as it looks," she insisted. She hated it that he was so worried about her. It made her sad to see that he always blamed himself.
But he wasn't listening. He got up and got dressed, leaving her lying there alone on the floor, covered in his cloak.
He picked her up, wrapped in the garment, and set her down on the gurney in the middle of the room. "Stay here. I'll be back soon. I'm going to have words with the Empress."
And much to her dismay, he opened the cell door and vanished down the hall, the door slamming shut with a loud bang behind him.
She let her head fall back and stared blankly at the wall.
When the Prince came to the edge of the forest, he began to become more cautious. The sand army of the Dark Prince's was still after him, and if he was caught then it was all over. Best to be as careful as possible.
Glancing around, he saw that the coast was clear. He dashed into the nearest alley and decided that the best way to get around undetected was to travel where he wouldn't be seen, namely by the roofs of Babylon.
So using windows and doorframes as boosts, he made his way up to the roof of the first house. He leapt from roof to roof, stopping only when it was absolutely necessary. The more time he spent resting, the more time Farah remained in the clutches of the Dark Prince.
The sun was beginning to set, though one couldn't really tell because it had been cloudy all day, and the Prince was resting on a roof, drinking from the flask he'd been carrying since the war began, when he suddenly heard voices behind him.
They weren't speaking any known language, but he knew that by the way they spoke that they were sand creatures. Peering over the roof's ledge carefully, his suspicions were confirmed. Two large sand soldiers were stationed on the next roof over, right in his path. This must be a sentry post.
Not one to quit easily, he unsheathed his sword and dagger (one he carried just in case of emergency, and this was considered an emergency) and leapt onto the roof behind the two creatures. An advantage for him was that sand creatures tended to be good in combat, but stupid when it came to anything else. He was able to approach them without being caught. But as soon as he struck, his cover would be blown. But, he had no choice.
Jumping onto the first sand creature's back, he drove his dagger deep into the soft flesh at the back of the soldier's neck. The soldier let out a roar and tried to grab the Prince, but failed. Its roar alerted the other soldier who tried to swipe at the Prince with its sword. He decided to use this to his advantage.
Flipping over the other soldier, he stood in front of the wounded one. The creature swung his sword and the Prince, at precisely the right moment, not a moment too early or too late, jumped. The creature's blade missed him completely and hit the wounded creature instead, decapitating him cleanly with a splash of blood. The corpse fell to the ground and the head rolled off in the other direction, its cold eyes rolling to the back of its head, and vanished in a few seconds. He picked up the fallen warrior's weapon and put away his own dagger. Facing his opponent he blocked the swings the creature delivered. One of them was too much for his to block and he fell to the ground. The creature reared back for a final blow, but the Prince, moving quickly, swung his sword and cut the creature's legs, the blood splashing his face, and caused it to plummet to the floor. He took his secondary weapon and drove it into the soldier's chest, killing him instantly.
Taking off before anymore showed up, the Prince continued traveling by rooftop.
Kaileena reached the palace much sooner than the Prince, for he was held back by guards with a bounty on his capture. She did not have to worry about fighting any of them as he did. Transforming into the Empress again, she walked through the reception hall, her heels clicking on the marble floor and resounding off the walls.
She settled in the throne and ordered a servant to bring her a drink.
With the knowledge that the Prince would soon be here, Kaileena allowed the Empress to plan out their final move.
With the Prince coming here, he can see for himself that Farah doesn't love him anymore. And we'll be here to consol him. Finally, he will realize that we've been here all along and he'll finally love us the way we love him.
That sounded like a plan to Kaileena. Soon, she'd be the one getting married to the Prince, being loved by him and perhaps even bearing his children. She could see it now, the glorious life that awaited her.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the banging of the hall doors as the Dark Prince stormed in.
"You bitch!" he growled, approaching her.
"Problem?"
"How could you! How could you send your minions to harm her?"
"Oh, are you referring to Princess Farah?" she asked innocently.
He didn't reply; he simply glared at her.
"I take that as a yes," she said. "Well, it had to be done."
"It had to be done? What the hell are you talking about? How can you possibly justify sending your goons to beat, rape or even kill her?"
"I won't lie to you, I hate her. I want her dead."
"She never did anything to you!"
"No? That little whore stole the love that was supposed to be mine! Cyrus was supposed to love me!"
Moving more quickly than she'd ever seen possible, the Dark Prince grabbed her roughly by the neck, "Don't you ever call her that again!"
The Empress wasn't scared of him. "Get off me! I have no more use for you. Prince Cyrus is on his way here as we speak."
Then he understood. He'd been so stupid. "You used me…" he said, "You used me to lure Cyrus here!"
"And it worked too," she replied with a grin.
"I should have killed you when I had the chance. I'm so stupid!"
"Hey, you said it, not me."
He squeezed her throat harder. "Don't make me kill you."
"You won't."
"And why not?"
"Because, you still need me. Once the Prince arrives, once he sees you, he'll kill you. And you can't have that happen. I can-"
Letting her go, he turned and walked away, "Screw you. I don't care anymore. I'm out. I've got what I want. Farah loves me, we're together now. We can leave, and start a new life together somewhere away from here."
"But you'll die," she pointed out.
He stopped in his tracks. "You know it as well as I do. Come on. What are you waiting for? Kill me, release the Sands and save your life. But I think you've forgotten something. Once you release the Sands, without the amulet, which Cyrus destroyed, she is vulnerable to the Sands and will become a sand creature."
He hadn't thought of that, mainly because he didn't know his other self destroyed the amulet.
"Well, consider yourself save then, Highness. I don't care about myself. I won't let any harm come to her, and if I die as a result, then so be it."
And he walked off, not looking back.
As the Prince came upon the palace, there was a rumble of thunder off in the distance. The clouds overhead looked heavy, signaling an oncoming storm.
He got down from the roof and approached the palace from the shadows. A raider was patrolling the front entrance, but he quickly dispatched of him by throwing his dagger into the back of the raider's head.
He picked up the dead raider's weapon and entered the palace. He knew the palace so well he could have traveled through it blindfolded. He crept down the cellar passage at the end of the entry hallway. He heard mumbling up ahead and recognized it as a keeper. Ducking behind a wall, he waited for the keeper to get closer. He passed right by the Prince without noticing him.
Silently, he followed the keeper and when the time was right, he planted a kick at the back of its legs, hearing the satisfying crack of its bones as they shattered beneath his booted foot. The keeper tried to let out a cry, but the Prince silenced it with a hand over its mouth and a dagger to the throat. The keeper immediately shut up but the Prince slit its throat anyway, slicing the dagger neatly through its flesh like a knife through butter. He stripped it free of all its garments and put them on himself so that he looked like a keeper. This would allow him to pass through the palace easily.
He walked down the hallway and tried to act casual, drawing as little attention to himself as possible.
"What are you doing here!" a harsh female voice demanded.
For a brief moment, he panicked, believing his disguised had been seen through and he was discovered. That was, until the other sand creature, a blade dancer, continued, "Your orders were clear fool!"
She approached him and held her disc blade up to his throat, "You're supposed to go back to the girl in the torture chamber and finish her off!"
Trying his best to disguise his voice, he replied, "Yes, sorry, I got a little…sidetracked."
"Well, don't let it happen again! If you're caught off guard, that'll be the end for you." She looked him up and down once. "Aren't you a bit tall to be a keeper?"
That was it! He was caught. "You're the Prince!" she gasped. Quickly, before she could call for reinforcements, he grabbed her arm, threw her against the wall and drove his sword through her stomach. She gasped for breath, and he twisted the blade a few times, hearing the muscles squishing almost like someone squishing grapes beneath their feet. That finished her off. The blade dancer slumped to the floor and the Prince removed his sword from her body and continued down towards the torture chamber.
It was just like his dream. The prison, the sounds of screaming from other cells. His heart began to race and he started running down the hall to the room at the end, where he could hear the sound of someone crying.
Opening the door he saw what he most feared. Lying on a gurney in the middle of the room was Farah. She looked terrible; all bruised up and broken. There was blood and tears smeared on her face and she was crying as she stared at the wall blankly.
Racing to her side, he removed the keepers mask and said, "I'm here now. Farah, I'm here."
She stared at him, as if not quite knowing who he was. "I'm so sorry," he said, "This is all my fault."
"No," she said, "It's my own fault. For being so stubborn when you clearly didn't feel for me anymore."
"What are you talking about?" he asked, "I love you. I always have. I'm going to get you out of here."
"A part of me knew you'd come. But I can't leave with you. He won't allow it."
"Who won't?" he demanded, "That…bastard-"
"Don't call him that!" she said angrily.
"Did he hurt you?" he demanded, and for the first time since he arrived in the cell, he noticed her lack of clothing. "What has he done to you?"
"He didn't do anything to me," Farah said, "Nothing that I didn't want him to do."
"You mean…?
"Yes, I gave myself to him willingly. I don't want you to get me out of here, I don't want to leave. He loves me," she argued.
He sensed that they were no longer alone.
"Get away from her," he heard the Dark Prince say.
He turned and faced his alter ego. "You've turned her against me! You've tricked her into loving you, so you can do with her as you please."
The Dark Prince shook his head, "No. That was your own doing. You gave her up; I only got back what was always mine. I love Farah; I can make her happy, like you never could. She's happy with me! She loves me just like I love her, and I won't give her up like you did."
"No! I loved her! I didn't give her up! I couldn't have!" he said.
"You did; you gave her up for that whore Kaileena!"
"Don't speak about Kaileena like that!" he said.
"See!" he accused.
Finally, with great effort, Farah got up and stood between them, one hand keeping the cloak around her small body. "Stop it! Both of you! Stop fighting!" She looked at both the Prince and the Dark Prince. "I've made my choice, and it is my choice, it was not made for me by either of you." She moved towards the Dark Prince and he wrapped his arms around her, "I'm sorry Cyrus, but I choose him."
"No…" He felt like someone had just stabbed him in the heart. "Farah, don't do this," he begged, "You're making a mistake."
She was crying new tears when she replied, "No, actually, I've never been more correct. He's right. He makes me happy. A year ago, when we met up again in the Old Man's house, you told me the old you, the one I met in the Sultan's palace, the one I fell in love with was dead. I was too stubborn to believe you. I thought he was still somewhere deep inside you. But I was wrong. You were right. He was dead, or as close as he could be. But here he is. And I've never been happier."
He couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"I'm sorry…" she said.
"Come on," the Dark Prince said, "We're leaving. I'll get you something to wear."
And they walked down the hallway, leaving the Prince alone. He leaned against the wall and slid to the floor. For a while he just sat there in silence. Allowing some tears to fall, he said, "I've failed her, and now, my failure has cost me her. I've lost her for good this time."
He couldn't stand it. He couldn't stand the thought of Farah with the Dark Prince. He couldn't allow her to go through with it. He had to get her back.
That's what he'd do. He'd prove to her, someway, that he still loved her, and then she'd come back to him and he'd never let her go, ever again.