A pale hand stroked the head of the wolf, whose yellow eyes were like slits. A ruby ring sparkled in the candlelight, reflecting upon the pool of dark water in the stone basin. A few muttered words and the darkness cleared, revealing a struggling princess. Crimson lips spread into a smile as the dark one watched Amira be taken from her home.

I warned him he would pay…


Damis stared at the ground, mentally kicking himself. He had debated coming to apologize, and had decided to do so. Yet no of his calls were answered. The night was silent and the moon's light seemed less bright than usual. No insects chirped and the breeze was unusually still.

He paced below Amira's balcony, wondering if he should just leave. Perhaps Amira was still upset with him. Perhaps she never wanted to see him again. His thoughts were filled with ridiculous worries.

"Amira!" he called again. He did not call very loudly for fear of waking others, yet Amira had always heard him before. A sinking feeling began in the pit of his stomach. He walked to the other side of the balcony, where his rope still hung from the night before. Swiftly he climbed and landed silently on the marble floors. If Amira was indeed mad at him, he knew she would never forgive him. Yet something seemed out of place.

Damis pulled back the curtain that separated the balcony from her bed chamber. His worst fear had been realized. She wasn't there.

The sunlight sparkled on the lily pond outside the king's chambers. A crunching twig of a dappled deer stepping forward sent the flock of flamingos out in a flurry of pink and white. A sheer curtain was pulled back and the king blinked groggily in the light.

"Sir, your majesty." a voice said through the fog. Bahram rubbed his eyes and look up at the speaking servant. The servant's voice was low and his face solemn and almost fearful. "It's your daughter, sir."

Memories of the past morning's incidents came flooding back. Amira had been angry with him. Alarmed Bahram sat up quickly, his head whirling from the sudden movement.

"What of my daughter?" he asked, his voice dangerously low. The servant licked his lips and shifted his weight nervously.

"She's missing." Bahram stopped and stared at the servant. His mind worked feverishly to try to grasp the news. Amira couldn't be missing. She was his daughter. Bahram rose from his bed and ran to his daughter's bed chamber. Her door was opened and the room was empty.

The memories of four years ago, the déjà vu overwhelmed King Bahram and his legs collapsed beneath him.

It was late. Bahram paced the floors, an anxious look upon his face. Malakeh had promised she would be home in time to put their daughter bed. She had never been late before. Yet Amira had been asleep for several hours and Malakeh still had not returned.

Weary, Bahram fell asleep on the balcony, waiting for his wife. She never came, and was never seen again.

Cursing to herself, Sahar rushed out of her house, not even taking the time to grab the sweet roll her mother had laid out for her. Yunis hated it when his dancers were late, and Sahar had woken up late.

Quickly she rushed to the tents, where much of the activity was already underway. Today was the first rehearsal for next week's grand parade and Sahar could not miss it.

However, when she arrived, no one had begun. At first Sahar thought she was not as late as she had supposed, but the position of the sun dismissed this conjecture. Yunis greeted her, a wild look in his black eyes.

"Have you seen Amira?" his voice was pleading, an expression Sahar had never heard in the ringmaster's voice.

"Amira?" she asked quizzically. She had not seen Amira since the last performance two days ago. Yunis's shoulders slumped and in his eyes was a look of defeat. He turned to the rest of the dancers.

"You can go home." The other looks confused. Sahar ran to catch up with Yunis, who had already moved on.

"What are you doing? She is just a little late." Sahar demanded angrily. Yunis shook his head.

"Amira has never been late for a rehearsal." Sahar was confused. Yunis never acted this way. The man who was walking away from her never behaved this way. Yunis was a tough man, seemly harsh and very strict. And he never gave up.

Shaking her head Sahar returned to the rest of the girls, who were packing up their things. Something was not right.

Damis stood on the balcony of Amira's bed chamber. Absentmindedly his hand grasped the silver wolf ring that he always wore on his finger, twisting it nervously. His mind made up he turned and exited the balcony and quickly made his way to the servant quarters. To his relief, there was no one there. Quietly he gathered his belongings and stuffed them into a leather knapsack.

The sky had started to grow dark and Damis grabbed his bag and left the quarters, checking that no one was watching. He made his way to the garden wall and climbed it swiftly. His feet firmly on the ground, he set off to find his beloved Amira.

A/N: okay, i decided to be nice and update now, even though i was going to make you all suffer a little longer. :-P I know this chapter is kind of lame, but bear with me.

My Reviewers: Big Thanks to all of you, you are all very helpful!

Areida Rivers: Good point, i was actually thinking that the whole scene was kind of awkward. thanks for hte advice, Ill will no fix it for a while though, cause i need to get the rest written before i revise too much and completely change the story. :-P

Metaphorical: Finally! i was waiting for you to review. Jk, thanks for all your reviews of al my stories!

monkeys-and-bananas 76: I'm glad you like it.

Akwyn: good, I'm glad. And it is sort of inspired by Aladdin, well by the stories of Arabian Nights, which Aladdin was inspired by. anyway, eventually you will see the whole Twelve Dancing Princesses part.

Cinnamon: here an update!