Thank you for the kind reviews! I've added some well-known poetry by William Blake to separate the two scenes in the previous chapter and replaced the word "marines" for "sailors", as has been suggested. Hopefully, this chapter will be clearer. It is slightly shorter than the last one, but I think it's more effective because of that. No Prince yet, plus beware – this isn't exactly a happy chapter.

X X X

Chapter 2 – the Capture

X X X X

Several years passed since my father returned from the Island of Time. It was a time of tranquil peace for India and for me, a time to mature and grow a little wiser. I was still the brash Farah of old, but I have gained a certain majesty, I suppose, when I outgrew my teenage years. I was now twenty two, my next birthday coming soon, a grown woman by all laws of the world, a child only in the loving eyes of my father. It was one of the reasons why he never forced me into marriage or courting, knowing me far too well.

Yet while beyond the palace walls, nothing suggested any kind of hostility, all could sense a danger when they entered our halls. Repeatedly, the Vizier had requested leave from the palace, but he would not give reasons. Repeatedly, my father had refused, for he wouldn't grant his advisor leave without a proper reason. And it seemed that the Vizier was highly unwilling to give one.

What day was it when it happened? All I seem to remember is hearing from the servants that the two men were now arguing quite fiercely in the throne room, though in private, and they have been for at least an hour. I had been sitting in my quarters when it had happened, putting away my bow after a pretty long and exhausting practice.

All of a sudden, the doors of my chamber had been violently knocked open. Warrior instinct kicking in, I turned on my heel sharply and saw several of our soldiers there. I frowned, about to demand how they dared, when they suddenly made way for the familiar figure of Zurvan. He seemed eerily calm and I didn't miss the triumphant look in his eyes.

"Vizier, what is the meaning of this!" I demanded angrily, "How dare you barge into my chambers, uninvited, with armed men! I will not stand for this, Father will…"

He chuckled darkly, interrupted by one of his regular coughing fits, but he still smiled as if he had the upper hand in the argument. It unsettled me greatly; I had never seen that look in his eyes before. "Princess, I assure you, the maharaja will be doing nothing for a very long while, except enjoying the view." With that, one of the soldiers, with a terrible grin, brought forth a pillow upon which the royal jewels normally lay. I shrieked unlike I have ever shrieked before, my scream distracting me for a moment from the horror of what I saw. All the crown jewels were there.

Displayed to perfection on the severed head of my father.

It didn't take too much intelligence to put two and two together and once I overcame the primal urge to scream, I knew that I must avenge my poor father. Tears of anger were now streaming down my cheeks as I leapt to my bed to grab my bow and an arrow, but my assailants were far greater in number. I only managed to pierce one's throat before another came at me, grabbed me and another wrestled the weapon out of my hands.

"Be gentle with her." The Vizier commanded sternly. "We don't want our Princess injured."

By then, I had no means to fight other than the verbal battle. "Why don't you just kill me and be done with it!" I spat.

"Farah, Farah." Zurvan said, shaking his head, "You misunderstand. What use would killing you have? I killed your father because he wouldn't share my vision. It was necessary."

"Vision?" I snarled in disbelief, struggling against my captors. In vain. "For some foolish dream you killed my father, a good man who always listened to your counsel! For a delusion of an insane mind!"

"Hardly." He hissed and drew a dagger. For a moment, I thought he had changed his mind and would indeed kill me, but then I saw that it was no ordinary weapon. It was the Dagger of Time. But it shined with a strange glow that was far more frightening than anything in the room. As if the dagger wasn't metal at all, but something different, something… alive. "This is a sign."

"A sign of your madness, perhaps!" I snarled.

"Little Princess, you are way too young to understand what the prospect of death at any moment means. But on the Island of Time, I have discovered a means of avoiding that. The books we have captured showed me that immortality may not be a delusion of an insane mind. I have part of what I need already – this dagger. And now, it draws me to my next destination, where I believe I will find the last piece of the puzzle." His smile mocked me.

"You're mad! The people will never follow you!"

"But I will become a god – who is to question what I am besides immortal? And your people are of no interest to me. As you can see, some of the generals are more than willing to change their leaders… you, however, are a slight complication. You are useless dead and I imagine you will make a wonderful trophy."

With a whirl of his cloak, he slipped away from the room as the soldiers grabbed me roughly once again and dragged me after him. But I was dragged to the palace prison, put in a cell, stripped of my weapons, waiting for my trial like any criminal. And the very next day, when I thought perhaps something might change, he returned, now certain of his victory.

To invite me to a trip to Babylon.

A trip in a cage.

They encased me in a small box, just big enough for me to fit in with my arms wrapped around my shoulders. It had sticks attached to it, so that it could be carried. The bars allowed me to see everything around me, exactly as the Vizier intended. I would have preferred if the box had been completely solid. What I saw drove me to silent tears – it would have driven anyone to that.

My people fought, but had no chance. They were tortured, captured, some slaughtered mercilessly. The able ones were recruited to the army, willingly or not. Some thought that siding with the Vizier could save their lives, so they betrayed India. And so, after a week, the palace I had grown up in almost lay in ruins, its halls deserted, the rich city streets red with blood, filled with bodies.

I thought I would go mad.

I was forced to watch all of this, paraded around like an expensive bird in a cage, shown to my people as a prisoner that could do nothing but watch. I had lost my pride during those days, because I was strong. I could deal with mockery, with humiliation, with all the Vizier would do to me. But he knew me too well and struck where it hurt the most. He enslaved my people and broke their spirit. If I suffered, their torments were a zillion times worse. And at all times they were reminded that their king was dead and their princess no more than a trophy slave. Only at night was I allowed to return to the prison, to my lightless cell. Only in sleep did I allow myself to show weakness, but perhaps the ever-watching eyes of the Vizier saw my true thoughts.

Over time, however, he began to focus on his mad scheme of becoming a god and mostly ignored me, only sparing me a glance when he saw me. I became quieter then, less aggressive, since there was no way to escape. Guards surrounded me at all times, mocking me by waving my own weapons in front of my cage, tapping the bars with an arrow. I ignored them, sinking deeper into my mind, visions of my people in pain haunting me even there.

Things changed when we came to Babylon.

I have heard stories about this city, considered a wonder of the known world, with its tower reaching the skies themselves, the spectacular palace atop of it, the streets, the back alleys, the whirlpool of life. Ruled by King Sharaman - called the Wise by his own people – it was a city of peace which was content and welcomed strangers with open arms. Its proud armada protected it from all intruders, along with the high walls surrounding it. If you were an enemy, you would never pass through the famed gates of Ishtar. You would be discovered and captured before you even set foot in the city.

I have wanted to visit the city and in any other situation, I would have been glad to have had the chance to see it. But even the brief sight of its beauty didn't ease my heart. After we arrived, it took very little for the city to begin to collapse as my hometown has. The armies fought bravely, but the Vizier's armies were determined to take the city. And, aided by his witchcraft, it seemed they were invincible, a dark power protecting them, and not even the Babylonians could prevail against their might.

I sighed inwardly. It had been a week since we entered this city, a week since the Vizier began his "next step" in becoming a god. I didn't know what he pursued here, but I knew that if the tales from the books were correct, there was something wrong with the fact that the hourglass that still remained in my father's ruined palace was empty. I myself have often wondered why it was empty. Who would need an empty hourglass? Did someone intend to fill it? With what? What was the significance of the dagger and the staff?

My eyes moved up. At least this cell had a window, I thought. I had no chance of escaping, but I had a view of the stars for a while. A view of the tower of Babylon, of the royal palace, where the Vizier had taken up residence. Where I would be moved once it would be secure, probably. I would be paraded again… it didn't matter anymore. Not when guards surrounded me, chains bound me and I had no means of escape.

As I watched the stars, I suddenly realized that there seemed to be too many of them. But what I saw was too much, too quick, but still bright as stars. It seemed to be stardust. I frowned deeply and tried to focus on it. Like a tidal wave, the streams of gold were spreading from one of the towers of the palace, spreading through the city, heading in all directions. And finally, the glitter moved even to the walls of my prison.

I froze and backed away towards the wall. Whatever it was, I didn't like it. What would it do to me? In a matter of seconds, like a stream of light, it soared through my "window", but completely ignored me. I frowned. It seemed so strange, so unworldly. Yet I felt no desire to touch it. I was beyond the phase when hands-on exploration was the first thought.

My guards, who had been sitting at a table several meters away, however, didn't share my luck. The golden dust found its way to them and surrounded them, like a cloud. Screams rang through the silence and seemed to echo terribly. I covered my ears and closed my eyes. When I opened them, the strange cloud was gone, the guards were still there. Something was very wrong, however.

The glitter seemed to vanish into them, as if they had absorbed it. I was breathing heavily. What had just happened? There was only one way to find out. One of them, I couldn't tell which, their helmets were so alike, realized that after over eight hours without any food to speak of, I might be starving. I was ravenous, true, but I wanted to find something out.

I could sense that the guard grinned underneath his helmet when he picked up a dirty plate of some leftover food and came towards my bars with mocking words of: "Dinner, Your Highness." The others laughed, as if drunk.

He slipped the plate through a tiny crack underneath the bars, which was made for this purpose, but didn't manage to withdraw his hand before I managed to step on his fingers with all my strength. He yelled in pain and cursed, but I ignored that. I was certain I had at least broken one of his fingers and I was looking for a sign of blood, reddened skin, anything. But even as I backed away to avoid any assault they might attempt, I saw that his fingers, squashed, returned to their normal position. They glowed for the several seconds that it took and the strange cloud seemed to surround them, only smaller. I glanced down at the stone floor of my prison. Something was there.

The guards talked and cursed me for a while, but I ignored that. I waited for them to go back on patrol – only one would stay, and he sure as hell wouldn't be staying in one room with me. Only then did I kneel on the floor and investigate what it was. It emitted a glow not different from the one I had seen before and finally I saw what it was.

Sand.

The Sands of Time. That is the name the books have used. The hourglass… it was to contain sand. But I still didn't understand what this meant, if it had any significance. Perhaps this was just sand and I was imagining things. But I was certain that I had pressed with my full might – I might be of petite built, but that doesn't mean I can't kick hard enough when needed. I simply prefer other types of combat.

What was the meaning of this? Why had the guard remained uninjured? What did the glow that emerged from the Tower mean? I frowned.

It doesn't matter. You can do nothing anyway. A tiny voice in my mind said. I snapped at it to shut up.