CHAPTER ELEVEN

'So you mean to tell me you've been at this for months now and not once, thought to save the royal family from the invaders?' the Prince responded with justified anger towards Darius. 'I've fought many a warrior, but to not preserve such strong allies who would only benefit your cause in the long term... I feel nothing but genuine disgust for you.'

'Hey, be grateful that my men managed to find you barely alive in the streets at all, Prince. We could very well have left you for dead instead, much like that former female compatriot of yours.' Darius said with unsympathetic resolve. 'We fight to save who we can and in this war, its kill or be killed.'

The Prince went absolutely livid and pinned Darius against the wall as background soldiers and Asha could only watch in stunned horror. 'How dare you, you stubborn, pig-headed charlatan! Do you possess so little empathy, so little humanity, that nothing but a good battle matters to you? Imagine if your sister Farah were in the position Kaileena put herself in. Would you not seek to avenge their memory by doing what you can to save others from a similar fate?'

'Don't you dare bring my sister into this!' Darius boomed. 'I do what I can, holding back this plague in order to prevent the rest of the world from falling alongside Babylon. If they were to reach India, I don't know how I would live with myself if...'

The Prince cut him off as Asha placed a frail but gentle hand on one of his, non-verbally signalling him to let go of Darius, which he did with great reluctance.

'I was like you once,' the Prince said, his back to everyone in the room. 'Being young and full of pride. Always trying to prove how good I was to my father as I engaged in one battle after another, simply for the honor and glory of it all.'

The Prince then turned to face his fellow compatriots as he continued, 'But after many adventures spent exploring various strange and unusual continents throughout the world, I eventually came to realize something. A true warrior fights for something other than himself and that's what I intend to do, in order to honor Kaileena's memory and ensure that her sacrifice was not all for nothing.'

The Prince requested a sword from one of the surviving Persian soldiers present who did what was instructed as he was ready to set off and do this battle on his own.

'Wait!' a young boy cried to the Prince as he headed straight for the door, grabbing his hand. He had brown hair and looked no older than fourteen, possessing a decent build for his age in spite of evidently having to live on the streets. 'Please Sire, stay and reconsider. The grown-up numbers have been going down at an alarming rate. Your presence here is the best news all of us have received in a long time. Without you, I fear what will become of us if those creatures eventually find us. Please... don't leave!'

As the child started to cry, holding onto the Prince's hand with both of his own now, the Prince decided to humor the young man's request and crouched down to his level, his left leg in a standing bent position as he placed his right hand on the child's shoulder. 'Very well, I will stay for a moment longer. What is your name?'

'It is Ervin,' he responded, as he released his grip on the Prince's hand to wipe his face of tears. 'Asha has... told stories about you to us, about how you vanquished great beasts entire armies couldn't hope to defeat. Stopping great tyrants who would seek to do harm to the world before leaving for another adventure, utilizing various tools and potions in your quests...'

'OK, I believe Asha has slightly over exaggerated my exploits to you Ervin,' the Prince admitted. 'Now run along and be with your friends.'

'I will. Thank you again Sire,' Ervin said as he rushed into the back, closing the door behind him.

Asha smiled at the Prince as everyone gathered around a circular table with maps of the city on full display as they began to discuss what they intended to do for restoring order back to Babylon once again.