CHAPTER TEN

As the Doppelganger looked down upon Babylon from the safety of the Babel Tower, he couldn't help but have his mind wander.

It felt good to see Kaileena sacrifice herself in order to preserve the life of his pathetic mortal self for a few more measly moments and gain full access to the Sands dispersed throughout Babylon as a result of that faulty decision. It would take a few days, maybe weeks for his mages to draw it back towards the hourglass to be sure.

But so long as the Prince continued to live, there was still a serious threat to his rule and the last thing the Doppelganger wanted was for the citizens of Babylon to start rising up and opposing his forces.

Yet after succeeding at one of his primary goals he'd waited so long to achieve, a feeling still tugged deeply at his heart. Perhaps it was the scraps of his former humanity springing to the surface or maybe something more?

For all of his committed monstrous atrocities, for all the battles he had to endure to survive on the Island of Time as an outcast abomination who fought his way through the surviving ranks to become their new leader... he was still human deep down, wasn't he?

Granted he looked like something out of a child's nightmares, but he also shared a lot of the same memories & experiences as his mortal counterpart undoubtedly did. He remembered all those he'd fought beside, those he had loved... It almost tore him up inside to have to relive those memories he'd long thought were buried.

'No!' he shouted defiantly. 'I'm doing what's right. And once I kill the Prince, I will bring him to his knees. Then, as I stifle that last bit of light from his eyes, the world will know for certain who is the rightful Prince of Persia. With him gone, perhaps I can finally move forward and have my centuries of torment finally brought to rest. A shame Kaileena couldn't be easily coerced to my side. I can imagine there's a great deal I would have gleamed from her... if only matters weren't so complicated.'

The Doppelganger got brought back to reality as one of his loyal servants, Mahasti, entered the throne room. Her appearance was that of a concubine at first glance with combat attire to match that was a strange mix of purple and white in color scheme. But underneath the shallow facade was an expert fighter who had mastered her preferred weaponry with style and finesse that very few could match.

'My lord,' she inquired. 'Has there been any news as to the whereabouts of yo... that mortal imposter?' Mahasti nearly bit her tongue as she managed to catch herself just in the nick of time.

She knew full well that her master loathed being compared in any open capacity to the Prince (having witnessed several soldiers pay the price for their poor choice of words with their lives).

'I'm afraid not Mahasti,' the Doppelganger responded, his back still to her as he didn't even give a passing glance to acknowledge Mahasti's presence in the room. 'I know you've got your own reasons for wanting to hunt him down, but remember where you stand my dear. No one kills that conniving bastard but me. Is that understood?

'Yes... my lord. A thousand apologies my lord.' Mahasti responded.

'Oh and before you go, could you please escort our new general to his living quarters,' the Doppelganger said. 'Despite a successful transformation, he's still having trouble with knowing where he needs to be at all times. And I'd just hate to have such natural talent go to waste over a minor... misunderstanding.'

Mahasti only gave a snide grunt in return as she left the throne room and once again, left the Doppelganger to his own thoughts.

'I know you're out there somewhere Prince,' the Doppelganger said to himself, as he looked out at the full moon displayed in the sky. 'And when we do get a chance to reunite and duel to the death, it will be on my terms. And without the Empress to support you, there will be NO second chances.'

The Doppelganger displayed a satisfyingly smug grin across his face as he continued to stare off into the night.