So you know what she is dreaming about, I have switched to Shirin's POV.

Chapter Thirteen: Kidnapped

I didn't know where I was, but wherever I was, I felt a presence that I found comforting. I sat in the eternal darkness. Why, why was I wearing this dress, a yellow dress...there was something so familiar about it. My thoughts, mixed with the voice of someone else, a man, ran over my head like water. I said nothing, I just sat, a golden glaze over my eyes. Was I thinking all those dark thoughts? Who was replying? I hate her so much, I wish she was dead. Well you know what you should do, the dagger and medallion are yours after all. I leapt up as those worlds flowed through my mind with the man's voice. Half of me was nodding, agreeing. Yes, that was what I would do, I would slay her, I would slay him. I wanted it! My father wanted it! But then there was the other half of me...the other half that was disagreeing, that was screaming back at the man's voice, telling him to shut up. That half made me run, I ran through the shapeless world trying hard to find a way out of this place. I was breathing hard and then suddenly realised the man was chasing me. I couldn't outrun him...I wasn't strong enough. But then...I hit someone as I didn't pay attention to where I was running. I stood back. It was him, not the man, it was the Prince. He said my name, and then I was drawn out of the world...I was taken out of the nightmare.

I sat up immediately, my cheeks - damp and more than likely reddened. I was safe, I was back in the tent that I had gone to sleep in, I was back in the real world. The tears continued to run though, I didn't realise the Prince was there until I looked up and saw him, he looked concerned.

"What are you looking at? This isn't an exhibition! Get out!" I ordered but he stayed put.

"Why were you crying?" he asked.

"GET OUT! It's none of your business!" I screamed at him, yet he still didn't move, what was his problem? Why couldn't he see I just wanted to be left alone?

"We're leaving soon, we have to go, are you okay with that?" he asked calmly.

"Fine! Whatever just go away before I hit you!" I cried, he finally removed himself from the tent and left me alone. I was beginning to hate him...wait, I wasn't, I wasn't sure about my thoughts towards him, him or Farah. The dream...I had never dreamt such a thing...it had felt so real, was it? Who was talking back to me? That was a question I knew the answer to, or at least, I was sure I knew. It was my father. When I was in that dark world...I knew everything, I was sure I did, I knew who I was, who was speaking to me...but for some reason I could barely recall any of it. Or maybe I wasn't allowing myself to do so, maybe I knew the truth was too dark for me to handle and I was just hiding it from myself. Who was my father? How could I know that it was my father speaking to me if I didn't even know who my father was? My thoughts were all over the place, all of my thoughts trying to understand the dream. But then I came to a conclusion, the dream was only a dream and a vague one at that, it meant nothing. I grabbed a small comb and straightened my black hair, and then I tied up my bandanna and went outside to face the Prince again...and then there would be Farah. She approached me.

"I heard you shouting, are you all right?" she questioned, I could here the genuine concern in her voice, but that didn't stop me from totally blanking her and walking past her. She didn't understand my behaviour, I knew she didn't because of her confused face. I washed my face with some water, the coldness of it refreshing me. "Did I say something to offend you, Shirin?" I heard Farah ask. I turned to face her.

"Well, you being here is getting at me but it's not like I can fix that...well I can but I'm sure the Prince here wouldn't like that," I grimaced deviously. The Prince knew what I was getting at and glared at me madly; I didn't care what he was thinking about, at least I knew I didn't lead people on to think about things that didn't exist, like certain emotions. When I thought about that, it made me want to slit his damned neck in the night; if he was cursed to die, then I wanted to be the one to end his life...but then I really thought deeply and knew I couldn't do such a thing – no matter how much he annoyed me. I wasn't sure what was wrong with me; I didn't understand why my thoughts had suddenly become so dark and twisted. I began to drink some of the water.

"Are you actually going to help pack away?" asked the Prince's voice from behind me. I didn't turn around.

"Hey, it's your quest, I'm just the guide," I shrugged continuing to drink my water.

We started our journey again quite late in the morning, my lack of help did have some effect; but I believed in what I had said – it wasn't my quest! What was wrong with me? I could hear the voice again; it was fluttering around me...was it really there? Why couldn't anyone else hear it? I was asking so many questions - questions I couldn't answer. I didn't feel very good, I just felt really lousy and things were going to get worse. A sudden energy-drain hit me, blood rushed to my head making me dizzy. I found myself losing consciousness; everything darkened and soon all I could hear were the faint calls of the Prince as I fell off the horse, then I heard nothing.

I seemed to have just passed out but then I regained consciousness again, some form of consciousness that is. I drifted in a ghostly form across the desert, the Prince wasn't in sight; all I could see around me was the rippling air in the desert heat. The voice began fluttering around me again, repeating its message in a shadowy voice. They are near. They are approaching. Be aware of them. Yet those words meant nothing...somehow, I still felt disconnected from my body. I suddenly found myself teleported to a different part of the land. I followed two racing black horses, but I did not get lost or suffocated in their dust cloud. The riders were two desert nomads...their clothes were unusual. They wore red cloaks, but these cloaks did not go to the ground nor did they cover the arms of the wearers. They were wearing black trousers and shoes that actually resembled red slippers – their outfit seemed a little bit oriental. They had long black hair but it was tied in a long plait that probably travelled all the way to their feet. On their backs were double blade staffs, on one end was a long harpoon-shaped spike and on the other was a half-moon blade. The sun had darkened them and they were twins. Both with broad noses, angular chins, thin eyebrows and blue eyes. They were young, about three years older than me and had that adventurous but somewhat devious glint in their eyes. They were of a masculine build and probably had brains as well as brawn. They were using some sort of glowing stone, maybe it was a tracking device of some kind, or it could have been just a pretty glowing stone. I immediately felt some sort of fear from these two...and I quickly found out why. I twisted my body, so a drifted facing away from the two. I saw they had a whole army of followers, they carried swords, maces, arrows, daggers, all sorts of weapons but none wore the same clothes as the two leaders. I found myself slowly drifting back, out of this form of consciousness and then slowly falling back into my body, my physical body.

My eyes eased open slowly. My head was on the ground; no, it was on something like a small folding up blanket. My dazed eyes stared at the blue sky. We had stopped; I smelt the aroma of something nice waft under my nose. Farah quickly came into my view and I saw her hand me a bowl.

"What's this?" I asked sitting up. In the bowl was a mixture that consisted mainly of what appear to be spices with lentils, this was also accompanied by white rice.

"It's just tarka dhal with chawal, you'll feel better once you've eaten," said Farah, I took the bowl. Her words hadn't been filled with any bitterness...unlike like my words would have been. I felt bad, she was being so nice to me...and I had just been so mean to her. She went back to the pot and continued to stir the tarka dhal. I could not see the Prince anywhere. I looked over at Farah, she took little notice of me, maybe, maybe I could try being nice to her.

"Um," I started, Farah turned round and looked at me, I wanted to continue...but the words couldn't come out, instead I was filled with dark thoughts and thought about how she had just walked on the scene and was suddenly the most important thing. I hated her!

"Did you want to say something?" I heard her ask. I looked up and frowned.

"No! Why would I want to talk to you!" I sneered and returned to sit quite hunched over my food. Why did she have to be here? Why was the Prince still stuck on her?

"Oh." said her hurt, soft voice, "Well, if you want to know where the Prince is, he has gone for a little walk, you were out so long...he should be back soon." I rolled my eyes, just because she was a Princess – that was the only reason the Prince liked her. But suddenly that became the last thing on my mind as voices ran over my head, I didn't realise whom the voices belonged to, but I eventually figured that one belonged to the Prince and then there was another voice, well there appeared to be two other voices that were young, dark and sinister and very much like each other.

Who are you?

Are you the demon?

What?

You know whom we are talking about...but it is not you, we are looking for a woman, you know her don't you?

What? I haven't a clue what you are talking about!

Silence. All those connected to her will suffer.

If you want to fight then just bring it on.

We do not fight with swords; it is a shame you had to find out this way.

I suddenly heard a scream rattle around in my head! It was him, it was the Prince! The bowl slipped from my hands, it did not brake but a shattering sound echoed around in my head.

"If you didn't want it you could have just given it back to me," I heard Farah's voice say. I didn't move, I just sat frozen. What were all these voices? Was it just my overactive imagination or was I actually listening to a scene where the Prince was being hurt. I heard Farah's voice call my name, but it was like I was slowly sinking into water, her voice become muffled. I seemed to sink into a catatonic state. I found images flickering in my sight. I was walking through the corridors again, in my yellow dress, my hand tracing over the walls of what seemed to be a temple. I peered into a doorway and stared into a large vast room. There was a large see-through dome above, the sky was darkening again. A dark figure stood in the centre of the room, draped in a dark cloak. His voice fluttered around me, a familiar voice, the one I had heard when dreaming.

I told you they were approaching, why do you constantly refuse to listen?

The words...they were words I didn't understand. My world was suddenly shattered, I leapt back and found myself back in the desert. I heard the flash behind me, the flash of teleporting. I leapt up and looked who it was. It was the two men, the ones I had seen travelling. They stood brandishing the bladed staffs. They were by themselves. I saw Farah load her bow.

"Who the heck are you?" I asked. They were holding up a pinkish glowing stone that was tied up with string – I had seen it before.

"It's one of these two," said one of the two. The other one began to utter some words...I had never heard them before, but they were causing some sort of effect on me. Heat swept over me, a stifling feeling that slowly robbed me of air, I fell, with Farah, to the ground, all my strength was taken. I collapsed.