Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Prince of Persia or the companies that make the games. I just own my own characters, like Arsalan and Roya. But I really wished I owned the Prince (or Kamal, as I've named him).
A/N: Hey guys. Sorry I haven't updated in a while. Guess what I did? I wrote a whole chapter (8 pages long!) and then my stupid MS word shut down on me before I could save it! I was so PO'ed! So I had to write it all over again. I probably would have had this fic updated with a brand new, nice; long chapter around 5:30 today (Monday, 23rd), but I didn't because of my stupid freaking MS word. Sorry, guys. Oh, and has anybody here seen Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith? I haven't yet! But I'm seeing it this week and buying the game this weekend, so I'm excited. And, not deserting the Prince; ANAKIN SKYWALKER IS HOTT! But I still think the Prince of Persia is cute, don't worry. I haven't left him in the dust yet! (and I probably never will…..I'll be sitting on my sofa as an old lady, PS2 controller in hand even then)
Review Responses: I can't get on the internet right now because my internet is down, so please just hold on a while longer and maybe for the next chapter I'll post some responses for you reviewers. Sorry again!
And NOW, on with the chapter.
Resurrected
Chapter 33
"You are close to reaching the Temple and achieving your destiny." The Old Man said. The Prince rolled his eyes.
"And why can't you say anything new? Why don't you converse with my fledgling, or maybe one of my friends?" He said.
"I was just reminding you of what you have to do." Farzan chuckled at the Vampire's annoyance.
"I hardly believe a broken record is ignorable." Kamal replied dryly. The Old Man narrowed his eyes, prepared to make a nasty remark; but he held his tongue and kept his patience.
"You are nearing a forked road in the forest. There is a sign there, but be careful in deciphering it." He said, and left the Prince in his dreams.
Kamal yawned and rolled over, noticing he was lying on thick, woolen blankets and was surrounded by the wooden walls of a hut. He pulled the blankets up over him, shivering slightly. Even if the cold couldn't hurt him because of the fact that he was dead, he still felt the freezing temperature.
He spotted his fledgling, who most likely had slept by his side through the night. He was awake now, and looking relieved.
"I was wondering when you were going to wake up." Shahin remarked. "You snore like nobody I've ever heard. You almost woke the dead." He complained. The Prince raised his brows.
"No pun intended? Come on, let's go see if the two lovebirds are awake." He said. Shahin frantically leapt to his feet, almost crashing through the wall with energy. Kamal chuckled as he stood, gathering two cloaks lying to the side of the hut that he quickly found. One was black, one was dark brown. He handed the brown one to his fledge, who slipped it on with a momentary shiver. The Prince did the same. They pulled the hoods over their heads and stepped outside into the frosty breeze.
"And calm down while you're at it." Shahin's sire laughed. The fledge followed him out of the hut, trailing close by his Vampiric parent as he always did.
Kamal, with his superior eyesight as a Vampire; easily spotted Layla through the thick snow and fog of the village. She waved a fellow werewolf off to do his work for the day and turned to greet the two Vampires.
"Good morning to you, Miss Layla." The Prince greeted, bowing politely. He turned to glance at Shahin, and with a slight jump he did the same as his sire. The werewolf lady curtsied low and smiled warmly.
"The horizon is foggy, though beautiful today." She replied. Kamal nodded, placing a hand on his hip.
"Have you seen our friends lately?" He asked. Layla frowned.
"Unfortunately, I have not seen them since they went to bed last night. I have even sent a few of our most trusted Pack Leaders out into the surrounding forests to see if we could spot them, but no traces of your Vampire friends were found." She said. Kamal and Shahin gave each other worried looks. They turned back to their host with eagerness.
"Surely you and your Pack know these woods. Do you have any idea where they could have gone?" The Prince asked. Layla held a grim expression.
"Come with me." Was all she said before she turned, glancing behind her to make sure they followed. Sire and fledgling stared after her for a moment and then trailed behind her.
She led them to a single tepee in the back of the Werewolf village. Odd paintings were embellished onto the Indian structure, and smoke rose from the top between the carefully placed sticks that held the tepee together. Layla led them inside, where they found a single elderly Native American-looking woman in meditation. A small but brightly crackling fire resided in the middle of the tepee, cascading its colorful yellows and oranges against the sides of the steadily built Indian home.
"You two must be new to the village." The woman stated suddenly as Layla sat down in front of the fire, motioning for the two vampires to do the same. Kamal and Shahin could tell the woman was another werewolf by her scent. All they'd smelled since they entered the village was the smell of dogs.
"Welcome. My name is Jaci." She opened her eyes and they narrowed, then widened.
"You're…vampires?" She asked with awe. "I haven't seen a Vampire since I was just a little girl! I'm afraid I'm old and gray now. Well, make yourselves comfortable." She said, smiling warmly. Layla smiled back.
"They are here because their friends have gone missing, and none of the Pack can search them out. I and the others believe the…feared ones…have had something to do with it." She replied. Jaci frowned, grimness in her old eyes. "They need to know what kind of hands their friend's lives are in, if indeed they have been kidnapped." Layla added. Jaci nodded nonetheless.
"Very well." She said, and began weaving her hands in curious patterns before the sparking fire. Rivulets of smoke from the flames rose into the air and formed shapes, magically turning different colors. The smoke formed into the shape of the Earth, and two humanoid figures along with a wolven one stood atop it.
"Very, very long ago; Humans, Vampires and Werewolves lived together in harmony. No harm came to the three races, and we worked together throughout our everyday lives. Humans helped the Vampires, Vampires helped the werewolves, werewolves helped the humans and so on as it went in a continuous circle for many years. This peaceful society, however; was disrupted." She paused, the smoke forms in the air changing shape to a beautiful woman.
"One day, 200 years ago; the evil Empress Afsaneh, also known as the great grandmother of Rostam; parted the sky and placed her evil, unworldly creatures upon the land. They slaughtered countless people, and just as many Vampires and Werewolves. They devoured their food sources and took their children and fledglings, they tortured them and told them lies. When those children grew up, they were set free from a great temple the creatures took them to, and they went back to their parents. They murdered their relatives because of the lies the evil beings told them, because they had believed them." She wove her hands again and the smoke formed countless burning homes.
"These children of the three races became enemies with one another and never spoke to each other ever again. They kept themselves secret from the other races. The humans began to dominate the earth, and the Vampire descendants who used to hold a peaceful bond with them, began to hunt them in their need for blood. The humans struck back against the Vampires, however; with their first armies of Vampire hunting brigades. The humans could not tell a Vampire from a werewolf or an evil creature because of the werewolf race's ability to shift into a humanoid form, and the humans thought the evil creatures were already gone so many werewolves were mistaken for Vampires and killed." The smoke now formed into torch and cross-bow carrying Vampire hunters, and then changed to the shape of the Earth once more.
"For a time when the humans thought the Vampires were extinct, the world remained peaceful. Vampires went unnoticed and only hunted in secrecy, while the werewolves went across the sea and went into hiding on an island. The Island turned out to be this one, the Isle of Hadi. The Earth has existed this way ever since the first day the humans thought the Vampire race was extinct." The smoke formed the shapes of monstrous, shadowy creatures with hideous claws.
"But the evil creatures Empress Afsaneh were not completely gone. They followed the werewolves to this Island, and have haunted these forests for the past years. They will not attack a Vampire, for we believe the evil Empress Afsaneh told them not to. We, the werewolves, believe she is planning something for us; and we tremble with fear at the thought of it. Some of our kind have ventured out to seek the Temple of Rostam in the dense forests to learn of her plans. None of them have returned." She finished. The smoke evaporated into nothingness, leaving the Prince and his fledge to stare in awe. The crackling fire was the only thing that prevented an uncomfortable silence.
"If you want to find your friends, Vampires; you'd best do it quickly. There is no belief that the feared ones will not do them harm." Jaci said grimly, closing her eyes to resume her meditation. Layla smiled.
"Thank you for telling them the story, Jaci." She said. The old Native American woman nodded.
"Always." She said. The two Vampires across from her stood and pulled the hoods back over their heads.
"I take it you are going to look for your companions, Arsalan and Roya?" Layla asked. The Prince nodded solemnly.
"If what she says is true, which I am more than sure it is; Shahin and I must get moving to find them." He said. He looked towards Jaci.
"Thank you for your time." He said. The elderly woman nodded again as they exited the tepee, Layla sending them her best regards and waving after them. Jaci stared into the fire and held a grim tone in her voice.
"Good luck."
A/N: FINALLY!
Prince: About time, lazy.
Ancient-v: I had exams, and all you have to do is lay around and have your servants feed you grapes!
Prince: Life is hard.
Ancient-v: (rolls eyes) PLEASE REVIEW!