'Just call me Khakulukia.'
I slid down that tree so fast I felt the inside of my legs burning, but it had been worth it. The look of surprise and shock on her face was perfect. She was perfect - doubly so in that night robe -but she didn't remember. She would have no choice but to believe me: I knew her secret word, I had returned the Dagger to her, I had destroyed the trecherous Vizer. I was her hero.
But still the memories of what had once been haunted me, like the nightmares of a child. I couldn't understand: she had lived it through with me, and now I was doomed to remember while she lived on in ignorance?
Well, not exactly doomed. The memory of that swim is something I wouldn't lose for all the gems in Persia.
'I could marry her...'
Through the jungle of that palace, my mind kept returning to the slim, Indian Princess.
'If you can fit under that door, I'll really be impressed. ... I knew that crack was there.'
I still have the scar on my hand from where the Dagger of Time bit me, taking her slight weight. Strange, I assumed it had never happened, along with everything else she didn't remember.
I should stop being so bitter. After all, the next time we meet our fathers could be holding a peace treaty. I'm sure we will meet again. A lifetime with only memories of that face is not something I could live through.
Maybe the only thing I need to do is to say her word, and a magic door will open.
... Don't be so stupid.
"Khakulukia".