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.
Thanks to Sophie for part of the battle sequence idea. Love the idea, but I'm probably going to change it just a bit.
Only Time Knows
Chapter Seven: Half a Man
Breathlessly, a shadow, one of the Empress's invisible spies, approached the Empress.
"Mistress! The Prince of Persia has been spotted leaving the prison. He was following the Dark Prince and the Princess."
"They escaped!" she asked.
The shadow cringed at her sharp tone.
"There was nothing we could do Empress," the shadow replied.
The Empress used her powers, catching the shadow by the throat and began squeezing. The shadow clawed at her throat, gasping for air.
"Get me my swords; have them sharpened and ready for me in five minutes. I had better catch up with them or I swear all of you will know the true meaning of pain and suffering!" she said and let the shadow go. The scared servant instantly left to pass on the order and hide incase the Empress decided not to be so forgiving.
The Empress growled to herself. Her plans were unraveling. They should still be here in the palace and she should be going to them and convincing the Prince to join her.
Oh well, she could still salvage it. She just needed to catch up with them before it was too late.
The Prince had never run so fast in his life. Everything was a blur around him as he sped through the city. He was no longer worried about the sand army. He was to angry to care, and they probably couldn't see him anyway.
I will get you back Farah. I won't let him take you away from me. I lost you before and I'm not going to again. I'll prove to you my love. I will do whatever it takes, even if I have to die trying.
He'd followed the tracks left by the Dark Prince's and Farah's horses. They finally led him to the forest.
Luckily he'd been able to follow them this far, for it was beginning to rain and it would have washed any trace of them away.
The rage that burned within his soul showed him the rest of the way. He knew exactly where he'd find them. So, pausing for only a moment, he dashed into the trees after them.
Riding slowly, Farah couldn't seem to get the Prince out of her mind. She kept remembering everything he'd said to here, even before this happened…
"Y'know, it takes looking death right in the face to truly realize what's most important to you," he said.
"I got to thinking that I couldn't lose you again. I lost you the one time and I'm not going to stand around and let it happen again."
"I love you so much, and I promise, from this day forward, nothing will ever tear us apart."
"What are you talking about? I love you. I always have. I'm going to get you out of here."
"No! I loved her! I didn't give her up! I couldn't have!"
"Farah?" The Dark Prince's voice snapped her back into reality.
"Huh?"
"Are you okay? You've been a little quiet ever since we left the palace," he said.
"Oh, it'd nothing. I've just been thinking about some stuff," she replied smiling.
"You're thinking about him aren't you?"
"Who?" she asked innocently.
"You know who I'm talking about. You can't stop thinking about him." They came upon a clearing and he stopped his horse, getting down.
Farah followed suit and got down as well. He held out his hand to her and she took it. "Are you happy with me?" he asked as they walked a bit.
"Of course," she replied. "I love you. I've never felt happier then when I'm with you."
"Then why do you keep thinking about him?"
"Look, I love you more than anything. But I had a relationship with him. We were in love too, or at least I thought we were. We were going to get married even. When you've been through so much with someone, it's not simple forgetting about them. It takes time, if I ever forget him." But in her heart, she knew, without a doubt that she'd never forget him. What was happening? Did she still love him as much as she had?
"Alright, if you say so. I understand and accept that. I just don't want memories of him to upset you," he said hugging her.
"Oh…they won't, I promise I won't let them," she replied closing her eyes and savoring the moment.
As he came upon the clearing, the Prince slowed down, making little noise. He peered through the trees and spotted their horses. Moving closer, he saw them, holding each other silently.
His hand moving to his side, he pulled out a dagger. Gripping the hilt with white knuckles, he let out a deep breath and prepared for the final fight.
The Dark Prince broke the silence by saying, "Hey, we don't have to hurry or anything. Why don't we stay here tonight? It looks like a storm is coming and there's plenty of shelter here. What do you say?"
"I'd say that sounds lovely," Farah said.
He gently tilted her chin up and leaned down to kiss her. But just as their lips met, she was torn from his arms. He realized a moment later that he'd actually been tackled and the force of the blow caused him to release her.
Falling to the hard ground with a thud, the Dark Prince felt a heavy weight crushing his chest. When his world came back into focus, he saw that it was the Prince who was on top of him, holding a dagger against the soft flesh of his throat.
He could hear Farah calling to him but the Prince suddenly said, "Get out of here Farah! This is between me and him. I'm going to end this once and for all."
"No!" she cried and ran over to them. She grabbed the Prince's arm and tried to pull him away, but she was just too weak. With a shove of his shoulder, he sent her tumbling backwards, falling to the ground.
Though she might not have been able to get the Prince off him, he sure could. With a bit of difficulty, the Dark Prince managed to get one foot between himself and the Prince. Planting it on his alter ego's stomach, he kicked out and sent the Prince flying back a few feet.
That also knocked air out of his own stomach and he could not get up. Farah crawled to his side and helped him into a sitting position.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
"Fine," he replied, "But he'd right. This is between the two of us, you need to take cover, this could get messy."
"No, I'm not leaving you," she argued.
"Go!" he said a bit too sharply.
She wanted to argue more, but bit back her tongue and obeyed, taking refuge in the bushes nearby.
Kaileena reached the battle field moments after it started but hid far in the trees so no one could see her. She didn't want her presence known quite yet. Gripping her swords in sweaty palms, she waited for the right moment. This was it, this was the end.
Getting to his feet, the Dark Prince said, "Will you never learn? She chose me. Nothing you can do can change that, and killing me will just end us both."
"I choose death over allowing Farah to be with the likes of you!" the Prince replied.
"Fine," he said shrugging, "It seems that that's the way you want it. Words don't seem to have any effect on you, so teaching you your own lesson seems to be the only thing I can do." The Dark Prince unsheathed his sword and got into an attack stance.
Unsheathing his own sword, the Prince made the first move. With a loud clash of metal on metal, the Prince and Dark Prince were only inches apart, each trying to over power the other, make it so the other was off balance.
Farah watched from the side lines with a pounding heart. She had to do something.
"Don't you understand?" the Dark Prince asked through clenched teeth, "You can't beat me! I have the exact same skills and strength as you do, this is useless."
"I will kill you," he simply said.
"Such big words for someone who's making no progress."
Finally, the force that was being created between them caused them both to stagger backwards.
The Prince swung his sword low, trying to catch his legs, but almost seeing it coming, the Dark Prince jumped, the blade missing him easily. He returned by spinning and kicking the Prince in the jaw. But he too saw this coming and held the blade of his sword up so that the Dark Prince's foot connected with the metal instead of bone.
This continued, each attempting to one up the other, but having their attack either blocked or parried by the other. It was only a matter of time before they became weak from this game.
Sweating and lightheaded, each combatant backed away from their foe but did not take their gaze off them, lest they retaliate and strike them down.
The Prince wasn't giving up so easily. It seemed he could not fight him, but he did have one more trick up his sleeve. Something that was sure to end this. He turned his dagger over in his hand so that he was holding the blade by the tip.
"It's over!" he said triumphantly. And he pulled his arm back, preparing to hurl the dagger at the Dark Prince with all of his strength, so quickly that he would not be able to stop it.
Farah knew what he was about to do. Her heart almost stopped beating. If that dagger hit the Dark Prince, he would die. There was not a doubt in her mind that it would kill him. And she was not going to let that happen. She would not lose him, and worse, she believed him when he said he and the Prince were connected. So that meant if he threw that dagger he'd be committing suicide.
"No!" she cried out.
Without a second thought, just as the Prince let go of the dagger, sending it soaring, she dashed out of the bushes. She ran in front of the Dark Prince, her body blocking his and the dagger struck her right in the side, breaking a few ribs and puncturing her lung.
"Farah!" both cried out at the exact same time.
She fell to the ground and the Dark Prince instantly got to his knees and gathered her into his arms. But the Prince was there in moments as well and shoved him out of the way, picking her up into his own arms.
The Dark Prince, in no mood to argue when Farah was now so badly wounded, simply accepted it and held her hand, the one that was not covering the wound.
"Farah," the Prince said, "Oh no, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hit you."
She smiled faintly at him, "I know…" She cringed and tears fell down her face.
"You have to be alright," the Dark Prince said, his yellow eyes watering, "You can't die."
"He's right," he said not holding back his own tears, "You've got to hold on. Oh God, I'm so sorry."
"Shh," she said, "It's alright. I just don't want you two to fight anymore. I'll be alright."
"We can't lose you Farah," the Prince said, "We need you."
"We love you," the Dark Prince agreed, kissing her hand softly.
"I love you too, both of you," she replied weakly. "I've been thinking…I can't love half a man. There are qualities about both of you that I love and need. I need you, as one person, the person you were meant to be."
The Princes looked at each other hesitantly. Could they really become one once more?
"Please…don't be sad. I've gotten what I've always wanted: Someone who loves me, that's all I have ever lived for." She tried to laugh and said, "Kakolukia, remember?" She reached up with her bloody hand and rested her hand on the side of his face, "I'm sorry; I shouldn't have looked at everything so black and white."
"You don't need to be sorry," he said, "I should be. I should have told you how I felt from the beginning. I should never have doubted our love." He turned to the Dark Prince, "And I should never have allowed myself to forget who I once was, and who I should still be."
The Dark Prince let go of Farah's hand and got up. He walked over to the Prince and asked, "Do you mean that?"
"Of course," he replied.
"So, what do you think? Should we give it another shot?"
He nodded, "Defiantly. There's no use just fighting each other. We're both dying the longer we're separated."
"Couldn't have said it better myself," the Dark Prince said grinning. "Don't forget about me again."
"I won't, I promise. Thanks…"
"For what?"
"For showing me what's really important to me, and what I almost gave up."
"Anytime," he said. The Dark Prince closed his eyes and smiled. "I'll always be here if you any help." And slowly, he began to vanish. The Prince felt an odd sensation, almost as if he were waking up from a dream. He knew, without a doubt, that the Dark Prince was back inside his soul where he belonged.
"I'm glad everything worked out." The Prince turned back to Farah. She seemed weaker.
"Hey, you're going to be okay," he promised her. "Just hold on. I'm going to bring you to the palace. They'll take care of you and you'll be alright again."
"It's too late for me. Just know…that I love you. And I will always be with you," she said, letting her head fall back, and closed her eyes for the last time.
"No…" the Prince said. He held her body close and cried into her hair. "You can't be dead. Farah please, wake up. I need you."
"You don't need her," a voice behind him said.
Startled, it took a moment before he could place the voice. Turning sharply he saw Kaileena standing not too far away, holding two sharp swords in her hands. She looked different, somehow.
"Kaileena, what are you talking about?"
"You have no need for Farah anymore Cyrus. She's gone. It's time to move on. To be with the woman who's always been here for you."
"Kaileena, we've-"
"I'm not Kaileena anymore. Now, I am the Empress of Time!" she declared.
"What!" he asked.
"We told you we loved you, but you wouldn't love us back. No, because you were in love with Farah. I knew we had to get rid of her, that way, we could have you all to ourselves, but Kaileena was not for it, thanks to you and your goody two shoes ways. She was in love with you, as I was, but she didn't want your love if it meant harming someone. But I needed you, as I still do. So, I allowed her to see you and Farah together. She was heartbroken and gave herself to me. She allowed me to trick the Dark Prince into providing me an army, to burn down the city and kidnap Farah. Then I almost killed her, but he had to intervene. Farah fell for him and I thought that perhaps you'd finally give up because you'd realize she didn't love you anymore. But you still wouldn't give her up. Well Cyrus, now she's dead. It's finally time you were with a true woman. One who's prettier, smarter, and more powerful. I can make you happy. Just love me, as I have loved you."
"You don't even know what love is!" he said in disgust.
"No?" she asked. She transported herself over to him and kissed him passionately. He pushed her away and backed away from her. He glanced down at Farah's pale body. "Why do you look at her like that?" the Empress asked. "You feel remorse? Sadness? That's because you enjoyed that kiss didn't you? Well, that's just for starters. There are many other ways in which I'm better than her. Both emotionally and physically."
"Don't make me sick," the Prince said. "You're right, you aren't Kaileena anymore. She would never do this. I'll kill you before I ever love you."
"Fine, have it your way, but I won't lose. I guess that's what you want isn't it? To be dead so you can be with your precious Farah again," she said.
She made the first move and the battle was on.
The Prince was propelled by his anger and hatred for the Empress. He used all his skills to keep her off balance and on the defense. She was growing weak as she tried to keep him at bay, but he was lucky enough to land a couple hits, grazing her arms and even bruising her with a few punches.
Their battle took them through the forest and up the mountain. When they reached the top, the large, bleak mountain top served as a great place for Kaileena to fight back, using the vast space to her advantage.
Here, she could kill him, throw him off the mountain if need be. She may have loved him, but he wanted her dead, and it was now a matter of survival of the fittest.
He couldn't believe it. When the order had gone out that the prisoners were to be set free, Omar couldn't believe it. He'd left the palace expecting a starry sky and a peaceful town. But it was the opposite. Babylon was destroyed, and the sound of thunder and flashes of lighting struck fear into his heart.
Kaileena…
Where was she? There was no where to hide in all this destruction. He prayed she was alright.
The loss of his hand had caused him to lose a lot of blood, and though the bleed had been stopped, he still felt light headed and weak. He wanted to die right now, let go of the pain he felt in every fiber of his body, but he would not quit until he made sure everyone was alright.
He tripped as he staggered about the rubble, calling out the names of friends and fellow soldiers. No replies came back. He knew the king had been released from the prisons at the same time he was and was safely back at the palace, getting medical attention incase he were injured in anyway, but he had not seen any sign of the Prince, or Farah or Kaileena. He needed to find them, hopefully alive.
Some instinct in him told him he'd find them in the forest just outside the city, so that's where he began to look…