The prince and Kaileena had been walking through the streets of Babylon, trying to get a sense of direction. They'd been walking for an hour. They had made sure that wherever they go, the palace would stay in their sight.
"Up ahead is the town square. That is where my father would announce the next king of Persia," said the prince. He began to say something else but was cut off when he heard something. The sound of hundreds of voices. They were coming from the square up ahead. The prince and Kaileena went to the square to find it packed with the entire city. Up ahead on a large stand was one of the skull-masked guards. He was yelling something the prince couldn't hear. Then the guard pointed down to someone on the stand. The prince froze on the spot, anger now coursing through him. There on the stage, tied and bound, was the prince's father.
"What is happening here?" the prince asked a man next to him.
"The Second Empress called everyone to watch the execution of the king to show her power over everyone now. Where is the prince during these times?" replied the man. The prince began to run through the crowd toward his father. He would not let his father die.
He was almost there. Suddenly two people got in the princes way. He shoved past them, looking up ahead. He saw a guard with a giant scimitar raised. The entire square started yelling in uproar. The prince ran faster now. He was almost there. Suddenly the guard dropped the sword.
"NO!" yelled the prince but his voice was drowned out by the squares yells and screams. The prince dropped to his knees. His face was now covered in tears. Slowly everyone filed out of the square. The guards left, leaving the princes father to lie up on the stand.
After awhile, the square was empty except for the prince and Kaileena who walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder.
"It was an unfair trap. The Second Empress is only trying to draw you out into the open by killing people who she knew I cared about. But why does she want you? She should still think I'm dead."
Suddenly the prince got up and walked over to his father. He saw the large slash in his back.
Instantly the prince's mind filled with memories of his childhood. As a boy the prince would always try to sneak into his fathers treasure vault and wander through the many splendors. Every now and then the prince would get caught by his father, who would laugh and congratulate his son for making it this far.
"Son, I give you credit for making this far. But please leave it this far. Beyond this point is the armory which is far more perilous to get to and I know you would never make it."
Never again would the prince get to have more memories like this. His father was gone. The prince's sorrow had turned to hatred when he thought of the Second Empress. The prince had a determined thought. He will finish the empress today. No matter what.
"Kaileena, follow me." The prince began to run, Kaileena closely behind. They were next to the outer part of the palace. A wall was guarding the entrance. They had to find a different way in.
"Come, I know a another way." Said the prince. He led Kaileena to a tall palm tree. He began to hug the tree.
"Tree hugger are we?" asked Kaileena with a smirk.
"No, just a trick I learned as a boy," replied the prince. The prince began to shimmy himself up the tree. When he was high enough, he jumped onto the, then lowered himself to the other side, jumped onto a tree and lowered himself to the ground. When he was again on ground he started to feel around on the wall. When he found a certain stone he pushed it in. A rumbling filled the air. Suddenly a doorway opened in the rock and Kaileena came walking through.
"What's the point in the door?" she asked.
"We used it to get slaves in and out of the palace faster. My father didn't want anyone else to know about it but the slaves. I found out because I was a best friend with a slave. He told me where it was." The prince replied. They both started to head toward the palace.
Getting inside the palace wouldn't be the problem. Its moving around that would prove to be the problem. The prince was sure that the Second Empress would have guards patrolling throughout the palace. He and Kaileena would definitely need to move with caution once inside.
They both ran through the courtyard easily. When they reached the steps that led into the palace they saw two guards at the door. The prince and Kaileena knew they both could handle this. The prince handed the Dagger of Time to Kaileena while he kept his Eagle Sword. They crept along the wall until they were both behind the guards. Kaileena went first. She stabbed the guard in the back, then in the neck, making it an almost instant kill. The second guard began to run to help his comrade but the prince was to quick. He pierced the guard in the neck, rotated to the front of the guard and stabbed him in the stomach. Now that the entrance to the palace was open, both people still alive walked in.
The hallway was clear so the prince and Kaileena walked around, straining to see if they could here something coming their way.
"Quickly, we need to get to my fathers armory. There we can prepare ourselves." Said the prince now in a slight jog.
"Prince, there is something I've kept from you that I think you should know. Something that might give us a hint as to who the Second Empress could be. This isn't the place for me to say, so once we get to the armory." The prince looked at Kaileena in confusement.