Summary: The Sands have been released and the Prince and Farah have fled for their lives. How will they survive without the Dagger?

Wow, I have no idea what's going to happen until I actually type it up, either! That's so coool!

I wanted to say thanks to my reviewers. I told ya it would take a while to update! Sorry about that, I had a butload of schoolwork. 2nd semester heck. LOL! Ok, ok, on to the story, before I get lynched:-P


Fate
Chapter Three: Phobias, Part One

The door closed and not even a second later they heard a great roar as Sand came rushing through the hallway they were just in. A yellow light emanated from Farah's amulet. Never one to show surprise, she calmly examined the tunnel door. "Well, it looks like we won't be getting out this way," she said to herself.

"Why not?" the Prince asked, speaking from somewhere behind her. There was a barely controlled tone of panic in his voice. Moving the amulet to and fro, Farah found him trembling on the ground with head on his knees and his arms wrapped around his legs, incoherently whispering something over and over.

"What is it? Are you ill? Cold?" Farah asked, alarmed. The Prince looked up at her with wide, pleading eyes. Pleading for what, she did not know.

"Your word isn't working," he accused.

She blinked. "What word?" she asked.

"Nevermind," he said crisply. A second later he managed to murmur just loud enough for her to hear, "I don't like closed spaces." Farah was barely able to contain her laughter.

"What?" he demanded. "I don't see how you can find this the least bit humorous. It's perfectly reasonable for someone well acquainted with large, open spaces not to appreciate being so… enclosed."

"You were fine before," Farah accused.

"I had a lot on my mind," he whined. 'Stupid light… it wouldn't be as bad if I couldn't see the walls… no. No, it'd be worse. I wouldn't be able to reassure myself that the walls weren't closing in on me without it…'

Her hands lifted his face from his arms until his eyes met hers. "There's no way to open this door from the inside, so we'll have to find the end of the tunnel. But we can't exit this tunnel if you can't even move," she said calmly and stood up. His eyes followed hers, never losing contact.

As if mesmerized, Farah found herself unable to tear away from that piercing emerald gaze. 'Those eyes…' She stumbled, leaning against the wall for support. The rough wall against her bare lower back snapped her out of it and she looked away. "Please don't look at me like that," she whispered.

"Like what?" the Prince asked. Farah didn't answer and instead began her way down the tunnel, her face downcast as her amulet lit the way. He followed, lost in thought until he collided into a suddenly stationary Farah and was jolted back to reality.

"Hey! Watch it!" she yelled.

"Why did you stop?" he asked.

"Because I didn't particularly feel like getting skewered by spike traps right now," she said, turning around to glare at the Prince. He wasn't looking at her though, he was looking behind her.

"Oh, no," he moaned.

"What's wrong?" she asked, her hands touching her bow automatically. It was then that she heard a horrible roaring sound echo in the passage. 'What is that?' She followed the Prince's gaze behind her and saw yellow balls of light at about mid-height, further down the passage. She gasped, loaded her bow and aimed it at the light.

"We can't fight them," the Prince said, pulling Farah back towards the entrance of the tunnel. 'If only I had that sword that I found after…' he mentally winced. 'No, now is not the time to think about that.'

A whooshing sound roared through the tunnel and a humanoid figure appeared before them. It was barely visible despite its glowing midsection and the suddenly intensified emanation of green light from Farah's amulet. However, the Prince didn't need to see it to know what it looked like. Every detail of such creatures, from the sallow, grayish skin stretched across a barely clothed body, to the unexplained, random rips and tears, had been forever imprinted in his mind.

The creature raised its arm. The Prince instinctively parried the blow and yelled to Farah, "How did it get in here? Those creatures can't go through walls!"

Farah furrowed her brow and fired her bow. "I don't have a clue how, but now is not the time to wonder." The arrow embedded itself in the creature's arm. The monster gave a great scream and pulled the arrow out.

The Prince jumped back to avoid a blow, nearly running into Farah in the small space. "Farah, there's not enough room. Find the exit, but be careful!"

"Alright, then," Farah said. He saw the light of her amulet going slowly down the tunnel and strained his ears for the sound of any traps going off. The sand creature lashed out at him, cutting his arm and painfully reminding him of its presence. He felt blood trickle out of the wound and instinctively clutched his arm with his free hand. He held up his sword in defense and waited.

'I just have to figure out its' style…' It surprised him by aiming a direct blow to his stomach, which he was barely able to block. He heard a shattering sound and guessed the creature's sword had broken. 'Now what?' He didn't have long to wonder. Traps went off behind him and he turned around. He saw something coming straight at him and instinctively ducked. He turned around to see an arrow embedded in the monster's skull. The creature gave a mighty scream and the Prince slashed at it with his sword. The creature fell down and the Prince began his way across the trapped floor.

"Are you trying to kill me!" the Prince yelled at Farah as he went.

"You're still alive, aren't you?" she said. The tone of her voice brought an image of her standing there with her hand on her hip, smirking at him almost playfully, into his mind. He felt his heart jump as he pictured her. 'Such defiance in anyone else would have been too much to bare, but in her….'

The traps stopped about ten feet away from where they began. Farah stood waiting for him. 'As always.'

"You're lucky I was able to duck," the Prince said.

Farah took that pose that made his heart race. "I figured you were smart enough to put two and two together when the traps went off."

He felt his lips twitch into a smirk. "So you finally acknowledge my superb intelligence, then?"

She scoffed. "You presume too much, Prince."

"Perhaps," he glanced down the tunnel, "So, any idea how much farther the end is?"

"Why? Starting to get claustrophobic again?" Farah asked.

"Maybe," was all he said before he started walking.

"Just think of wide open spaces," Farah offered.

"Like that'll help," the Prince grumbled. Farah rolled her eyes and muttered something about 'ingrates' but otherwise was silent. A few moments later the Prince began repeating a mantra under his breath. Farah caught what he was saying and smirked. 'A desperate ingrate. Handsome, too, and he knows it.'

"You might want to let met lead. Afterall, I have the light and my head about me," Farah offered.

The Prince scowled. "I am fine!"

"If you say so," Farah said.

Not a moment later the Prince walked straight into the wall, giving himself a nasty bump on the head. "Ow!" he yelped. He rubbed his throbbing temple and turned around to see Farah grinning. "You could have warned me, you know!" he accused.

"You said you were fine," she said, her grin widening to a point where it appeared menacing in the glow of the amulet. However, a familiar whooshing sound echoing down the tunnel stopped him from commenting. All humor left the two of them as Farah quickly darted ahead to find the dent. The Prince unsheathed his sword and took a guarded stance. He stared straight ahead at the blackness and saw a small glow that disappeared and appeared again closer and closer followed by the ever-growing whooshing sound. The Prince backed up unconsciously.

"Watch out," Farah yelped when the Prince backed into her.

"Sorry, have you found it yet?" he asked.

"No, and you're not helping!" Farah griped. "Oh! Here it is!" the little light they had disappeared and was followed by a huge grating sound which drowned out the sound of the approaching monster. Moonlight spilled into the tunnel as the wall slowly moved to the left. The Prince kept his eyes on the approaching light and estimated how far away the monster was was.

"Farah, get out of here. That monster will be here in-" he was interrupted by the appearing sand creature knocking him off his feet. 'I hate when they do that!' The Prince held up his sword above his face and got to his feet as quickly as he could. Gleaming yellow eyes shone from empty sockets at the Prince's height as the creature threw another punch at the Prince. The wall finished its journey and moonlight filled the tunnel, giving a clear view of the monster. A thin layer of skin stretched over what could be seen of its gaunt frame, emphasizing every bone, but not a single muscle.

"There is no man that thin," the Prince gasped.

"Obviously, there is," Farah said, "Come on!" She retrieved her amulet and the wall began closing again.

"What are you doing?" the Prince asked nervously.

"Trying to trap it inside!" Farah replied.

The Prince struck at the monster but it used its own bony arm to parry him. He tried to run, but the monster struck every time he moved. He felt sweat roll down his face. 'I can't get away! I'll be trapped in here!' He tried to scream for Farah, but his throat wouldn't work. The door was halfway closed. Suddenly, an arrow sped by and lodged into the creature's skull. The monster retreated a few steps to pull it out.

The Prince seized the opportunity and swung at the monsters lower legs, knocking it off its feet. He darted to the exit, which was only two feet wide and closing. He could hear Farah urging him to hurry outside. Turning sideways and pressing against the wall, the Prince shuffled through the opening. Farah heaved a sigh of relief as the Prince made it out. The monster's screams were the last things they heard before the wall sealed shut once more. The Prince's sword slid out of his shaking hand and landed on the marble floor with a clatter that echoed through the silent hallway. He leaned against the wall and slid down it into a sitting position with his face in his hands. Farah approached his shaking form and tried to calm him.

"It's all right, you're safe. Look at me," she urged. The Prince slowly lifted his face from his palms until he was staring into those beautiful black orbs. "Look around, you made it."

The Prince tore himself from Farah's gaze long enough to look around. They were in a long empty hallway, illuminated by moonlight filtering through large stain glass windows. The walls were far apart and the ceiling was high. The Prince calmed down immediately. Farah backed off and he stood up. He picked up his sword and returned it to the sheath on his back.

"Where are we?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," Farah replied. "There are many hallways similar to this throughout my father's palace."

Monstrous screams tore through the silence from the opposite direction. The Prince whirled around to see five or more sand creatures further down the hall, staring right at them.

"Run!" the Prince shouted.


I noticed so many things I didn't really the first time I played. For example, try staring at Farah in 1st person before & after saving after the jail escape (& fight). You get an interesting reaction. :D

Sorry for the poor descriptions, especially fighting, but hey, they're in a dark tunnel! Don't worry, there will be better description in the next few episodes and more fighting once the Prince gets a weapon. :D