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Chapter 3 – the Allies

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I had lost the advantage of height for the time being – thus I had to be most careful. As much as I disliked hiding, it was necessary when some larger patrols went my way. I would have to find a better position – I had to keep moving. I was too much of an easy target down here and I refused to damage my bow in close combat. It was too much of a risk and I would do no one any good by getting myself killed. I knew my limits. I was neither invincible nor immortal and I was vastly outnumbered. I would have to think this through.

Clearly, all this was Zurvan´s doing. My thoughts froze as I considered the possibility that this transformation of his armies was the result of his success. But… becoming a god was nonsense, impossible, out of the question! Still, a fear gripped my heart and I sped up somewhat. I spotted a large building ahead, several stories high. That could be a way, I thought. I might be able to spot a window that would lead to a rooftop and the balconies I saw would provide a great position and shelter as well. No one would really expect me to be lurking there.

For the first time since I had been brought to Babylon, I actually entered a house the proper way, immediately readying an arrow to shoot any guards that might be within. Only one was there and he had his back turned to me, so his death was quick and not particularly messy. Slowly, bow at the ready, I proceeded up the stairs. There seemed to be almost no sign of movement within the house, save mine. Perhaps they had thought that the patrols in the streets were enough. And, anyway, most of the soldiers were far too busy bullying citizens and, in rare cases, fighting armour-clad men, whom I assumed to be the remnants of the Babylonian guard. They were putting up a fight, but somehow, I didn't believe they had much of a chance against these things.

Who has? I asked myself. I was determined to fight to the death, however. I would not give up… simply because I couldn't. I fought to avenge my people, my father and, not least, to stop the destruction. I wouldn't allow the delusions of a madman ruin another kingdom. It was my responsibility, after all. I was the daughter of the maharaja and this was a renegade servant who had to be punished for his crimes. I didn't even realize that part of the reason why Zurvan had imprisoned me was to get rid of the true heir of the kingdom and claim its armies for his own.

It was hunger that brought me to reality. So consumed I had been with political and personal matters that I had completely forgotten that I was ravenous. During my imprisonment, I had never been starved. The Vizier made certain that I wouldn't be given the chance to die, to pass out. That I would have to watch, knowing that I can do nothing, not even end the pain. But I had not eaten since yesterday and I finally realized that. With a small sigh, I searched for the food storage of the house. The soldiers that had raided this house would have taken most of the stored food, but I still had hope. And I found several pieces of bread and, after accidentally knocking my bow against a seemingly solid piece of the wall; I discovered some cooked meat and a few vegetables. Not entirely fresh, but not unhealthy. I ate with gusto and quickly. Water was not an issue – fountains were frequent in the city, both small and large, and I was not picky when it came to necessity.

A few minutes later, I was quite sated and ready to proceed. I had eaten quietly, but in a city packed with undead sand beasts, there was no ending to taking care. I proceeded to the third and highest floor of the building. An open balcony offered me the view of the square-shaped plaza. However, I had little time to examine the surroundings. A man rushed out of the exit a floor below and as I looked at him, recognition flashed in my mind. But yet again he found himself in the situation when a sand guard was attempting to attack him from behind. I dislike cowardice at best, loathe it at worst. Automatically, my hand went to my bow. I slew him like the previous one. Three arrows were more than enough to paralyze him. Surprisingly, with a cry, he still lunged at the man with a sword, but the man was quick enough to stab him with a dagger and finish him off.

His eyes then automatically searched for his rescuer. This time, I lingered long enough for him to spot me standing on the balcony. It was definitely the same man, but I had no time for questions. I had to keep moving. I turned on my heel and wanted to return to the building. Then…

"FARAH!" he shouted quickly and I spun on my heel. He stood there, with his arm raised, clearly his cry was meant for me, to stop me from disappearing. But I was shocked, genuinely shocked. He knew my name! I had no idea who this stranger was and yet he seemed to know who I was. Perhaps I shouldn't leave just like that, I decided.

"How do you know my name?" I demanded, giving him a suspicious glance. He seemed to suddenly realize that I had actually heard him and muttered nervously something to himself that sounded like "Yes… well…" as if he didn't know how to say it or didn't want to tell me the truth… the whole truth, anyway. He hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"I have heard tales… wondrous tales of a beautiful," I gave him a slightly outraged frown and he quickly added: "and brave Princess of India! Who has come to Babylon to punish… an evil Vizier, who has caught her great distress!" I had more than a nagging suspicion that he was making that story up as quickly as he could to explain his knowledge of my name.

However, during his rather pointless ramble, he failed to notice that another sand guard was creeping up from behind, his sword raised, ready to sever the man's head. While he was clearly lying to me, I didn't need a reason to save his life. Well, I already had it: curiosity. But he was, after all, human like me. That was enough reason for me to save him. I closed one eye and readied my bow, quickly aiming an arrow at him. For a moment, I saw the man's eyes widen, as if he thought I was going to shoot him. But why would I do that? I asked myself as I released the arrow and slew the sand creature. The man turned and saw the arrow hit the creature. It turned into sand right in front of his eyes.

I shook my head in disbelief. "How in the world have you managed to survive this long?" I asked, my tone serious, "Good luck, stranger." I wished him. And I was being honest – getting distracted easily like this was no good in this situation. Clearly, he had had a whole lot of luck or skill he hadn't yet displayed in front of me.

Nevertheless, I couldn't hesitate anymore. I had to regain the rooftops. Leaving the balcony, I decided to see if there was any other way out of the building. On this floor, there apparently wasn't. But there was a way to enter the next part of the building from the second floor. I chose that as my exit, glancing at the plaza out of a nearby window. I didn't see the man anymore.

I decided to leave through another, larger window, when no danger was involved – I dropped down to another rooftop, which was only about a meter below me. From there, it was easy progress. Apparently, this part of town wasn't yet infested with the sand creatures, since the Temple, a dominant building, was nearby, and clearly some of the guard decided that their last attempt to resist would be best placed there.

I decided to check the Temple out myself – it was a good place to start.

My progress was quite easy until I reached an open staircase that would bring me a level higher. I glanced to the right mid-way. It was him. But what captured my attention was the weapon he accidentally held up for me to see. He had a sword in his left hand, but it was the dagger that caught my attention. It was glowing.

"The Dagger of Time!" I said, stopping dead in my tracks. My surprise turned to a frown. "How did you come to possess that?"

The man almost shrugged. "I took it. From the Vizier."

Had he been at the palace when the change came? Was this his fault? But the mention of the Vizier caused the flame of anger in me to light up again. "That traitor! He murdered my father, enslaved my people, imprisoned me! And all in the name of becoming some kind of god!"

He frowned deeply. "I know too well what he is capable of." His eyes darkened as he spoke words of vengeance. "But I intend to find him. And punish him for what he has done to my kingdom."

My eyes widened again. Was it him? "You are the son of Sharaman?" I asked, surprised, "The Prince of Persia?"

"And you are the daughter of the maharaja." He said simply, not asking. "We both seek the same thing… perhaps we should journey together." There was a slight hopefulness in him that I viewed as strange.

However, he had survived all those sand creature attacks, had he not? He had, unintentionally, freed me from my cage, apparently. Should I trust him? Join with him? Perhaps. I would have to see with my own eyes that he was capable of all those things I hoped he was capable of. "Perhaps." I said, attempting to sound as if I couldn't care less. "Provided you can keep up!" and I was off quickly, running up the stairs.

I managed to get to a series of bridges on which I could follow his path, whichever he would choose. Meanwhile, I managed to get a closer look at him. He seemed to be slightly older than me, but by no more than two or three years. His black hair fell into his eyes and his green eyes flared with anger and showed experience. He was more than well-built and I saw, as he once again proceeded to run along the wall and kill sand creatures with a series of well-chosen movements, that he certainly was no novice to combat and endurance. And I admit that beneath the darkness I saw in his look, there were attractive features and a pleasant voice. But he was surrounded by a shadow, as if something dark weighted him down.

Elaborately, he killed two guards at the same time on one platform. I realized that it wouldn't be wise to refuse – I could cover him with my bow and together, we could probably move with speed and effectively do what we couldn't do alone. I ran along one of the bridges towards him.

"Alright, I'm impressed." I said, slightly breathily. He made quite a progress. "I suppose it is wise to journey together. There is strength in numbers, after all."

"I'm glad you've come around." He said, with a quiet satisfaction that was in no way resentful.

I felt the sudden urge to be slightly less amiable. For some reason, it seemed like the natural thing to do. We were allies, but there was too much going on around us. We had lingered there for too long. "Just don't make me regret it. Now, let's find the Vizier!"

There was no way for him to leave the platform other than returning back from where he came, but there was a shut door behind him. I saw the stuck mechanism, though he didn't. This was one of those moments when a ranged weapon was truly far handier than a sword or an axe. I fired an arrow and the door opened, the mechanism now functional again. The Prince spared me a glance before collecting a new sword, as the last one had been reduced to sand, and proceeded through the door. I found myself staring after he left for a moment, but I snapped out of it and quickly returned my mind to the task at hand.

I saw that the path he took could only head down. I watched him progress through the streets below. I was lucky that I actually saw what path he took. It seemed that the road would bring him to the Temple, so that was where I decided to go myself.

I progressed easily, killing a few sand guards just because they didn't see me and I felt that the less sand guards would be lurking at strategic positions, the better for us. Meanwhile, the voice in my head – my conscience, apparently – was berating me for staring at him.

Yet I hadn't been staring! My intentions were completely clear – we were allies brought together by a series of events. We both had our responsibilities in this situation. He had a throne to reclaim, I had a would-be tyrant to stop. There was nothing wrong with judging his abilities by his appearance or his deeds!

This was not the time for a war with the part of me that was clearly female. After all, the relationship between Persia and India hadn't been completely friendly before this whole conflict – there was really little we could do about that. Thus our allegiance was purely a necessity. In any case, I could always go solo if he didn't live up to my expectations.

I eventually found a tunnel that led me to my destination. The Temple was straight ahead, but as I spotted the main entrance, I saw that it was sealed. However, a brief survey of the surroundings alerted me to the rather large crack in front of me. Someone had tried to bombard the Temple, apparently… or was just extremely clumsy. Whatever the case, that would be our best bet to enter the city.

The Prince rejoined me in a moment, just a ledge before mine. I wanted to say something, I suppose, something encouraging, perhaps tell him of the plan I had formed while he had been away. But then something so surreal caught my attention, I almost felt as if I was seeing things. I couldn't imagine what it was, this thing…

Other than the fact that it didn't look very friendly.