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Chapter 5

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The thing in question was at least two and a half meters tall, almost twice as wide and floating above the ground. It was a creature, a living thing, because I believed I saw its breathing. But the spectacular golden wings and unworldly appearance gave it the look of a much too oversized scarab beetle that had been twisted into some sort of monster. It wasn't paying the slightest attention to us and I doubt the Prince would have noticed it, as he had just arrived and the thing was floating very quietly.

"What is that thing?" I asked, pointing at the… thing (I really had no other name for what I saw). Perhaps the Prince had seen it before…

And, apparently, he had. He turned quickly to see what I was pointing at and at once jumped to the broken railing to his left. "It's the Vizier!" he cried, enraged but unsurprised.

Zurvan? I thought. This couldn't be… "What's happened to him?" I had a hunch why he looked like an overgrown scarab, but I had absolutely no idea how he had achieved this. It had been a mad scheme in my eyes up till now, an impossible thing… but even my logical strategic mind couldn't deny that this… thing, this… god, I was afraid to say, was there, present, very much alive.

As suddenly as he appeared, Zurvan disappeared in the Temple and the doors sealed themselves behind him before either of us could even move a muscle. The Prince appeared greatly frustrated that he couldn't have charged head-fist at the Vizier and expressed those feelings with a loud "No!" and by banging his fist against the railing with a great force. Under any other circumstances, I would have thought his behavior very ridiculous. But I understood his frustration that he couldn't do anything, because I partially shared it. The difference between the two of us was that I had mastered this impulse, thanks to the weeks I had spent in a prison.

"Be happy that he is gone." I said, trying to calm him with kindness. "You would never have stood a chance."

He turned to me with a look of disbelief and for that brief moment, I saw just how hurt he was by hearing this response from me. As suddenly as it appeared, it was gone, replaced by a cynical face. "Oh, how silly of me! You're right. Maybe we should surrender. Or turn away and leave the city! I know a lovely little island just a few weeks journey from here, I'm sure by the time we arrive this will all be sorted out!"

My hands at my hips, I glared at him. The old Farah wouldn't have wasted a moment before snapping something really vicious right back at him. But there were greater things happening around us and we didn't have time for this particular conversation. For the moment, I decided to leave this fight to someone pettier than I. "If it comforts you to mock me, then by all means continue. But you are so focused on killing him that you have thrown strategy completely out of the window!" I snapped pointedly, turning away and folding my arms. "You could have died."

And why would that mattered to you, hmm?

Allies are important! Together, we have a chance!

You weren't so keen to join forces ten minutes ago…

The Prince interrupted my mental catfight. "I suppose." he muttered, "But we need to get to the palace. We're wasting time here."

"That seems to be out best bet." I said, turning and pointing at the major cracked wall I had noticed when I first arrived in the courtyard. I thought I saw a switch there and hoped that it would open one of the two doors I spotted ahead of us. One was directly in my path, so it would be easy.

A strange roar was the first thing that alerted me to the fact that the Prince was already below, fighting some strange greenish warriors. However, after seeing the Vizier, the fact that they seemed to be invisible wasn't all that intriguing. Once you see the giant bug-like golden floating thing, a bunch of invisible guys just isn't enough to attract your attention. Naturally, the Prince experienced no problems whilst fighting them.

He switched swords, because the one he had been fighting with looked much worse for the wear and there was another one lying around. With a mix of climbing, jumping and wall-running, he was able to get just below the crack in the wall. That was where he stopped, because there was no obvious way to get to his destination. Fortunately, he had me, and I, being the archer, spotted things that had eluded his attention. I saw the bell some meters above him and quickly severed its rope with a well-placed arrow.

The Prince ran up the wall. I didn't see what he did inside the opening in the wall, but the next noise I heard was the door opening. I wasted no time, aware that it would close in a moment.

"It worked!" I exclaimed, "I'm going in!"

And boldly, I did that, not even waiting for him to answer me. He probably wouldn't wish that I go, but I needed to explore the surroundings a bit, spot enemies, before he would come charging in with a sword.

I found myself in a tower with many stairs, and I began making my way up at once. It was a long way up, my footsteps weren't that loud and I thought that I had time, so I saved a bit of energy and ascended slowly. After all, I didn't want to run into an enemy on the stairs simply because I would be foolish for a moment. Any enemy above me would have the higher ground, which, as all fighters knew, was essential when it came to battle.

Finally, a streak of sunlight showed me that I was finally atop the tower. Ahead of me was another one, and then two more. They all seemed to be connected with stone ledges. "Such a beautiful building…" I couldn't help but say.

"Father built these gardens as a symbol of his love for our people." The Prince's voice startled me a bit. He was, once more, a level beneath me, in a courtyard with the thickest and least intact looking tower of them all, clearly slightly faster than I. "Once, all of the kingdom looked like this."

Then I noticed the strange levers nearby and suggested to him that he use them to get me to the other side – I had spotted a door there, but there was no visible means of getting to the switch, as usual. The Prince spotted the levers as well and proceeded to pull them. It was a lengthy process and a difficult one, because each of the levers activated two of the platforms. But he figured out how it worked and got me past the first ledge… however, as I jumped to the other side, I felt slightly frustrated. He was the one who had said we shouldn't be wasting time and now look at him!

"Do you think you could move a little faster?" I asked snappishly, slightly more princess-like than I had behaved before.

He looked up at me, with a tinge of annoyance in his voice and… was that amusement in his eyes? "You're more than welcome to come down here and try it yourself!" he called, indicating at the lever. Then he lowered his head and shook it, now clearly amused, muttering to himself. "Seven years and still, nothing has changed."

I frowned deeply. What was that supposed to mean? Seven years of what? "Seven years? What are you talking about?"

He seemed to realize only then that my hearing wasn't damaged and he had been talking out loud. Quickly, with the same desperation he had shown when I had asked him how he knew my name, he quickly stuttered: "It's… uh… a figure of speech!"

It was probably the dumbest excuse I had ever heard in my life, but I wasn't going to pry. Maybe he actually told the truth this time, but I doubted it. After all, why would he be surprised and frightened that I heard if it was a mere figure of speech? Besides, I thought I knew all the figures of speech that mattered, having grown up among politicians, but I had never heard this particular one before. It smelled like a made-up excuse to escape telling the truth… and I hated lies.

My eyes narrowed slightly as I observed him now. "There's something very odd about you…" I said slowly, watching him for a moment even as he ignored me and got back to work. This time, he managed to move me slightly faster, but the mood was darkened once, because once I got past two more ledges, I heard his voice from below.

"Ah, we're making progress." He said dryly.

Ignoring him, I examined the crack on the wall of the collapsed tower. I saw a bell there… or I thought I did. I could sever its rope, that should do the trick, just like before! Quickly, I informed the Prince of this plan, hoping that he would accept it without any snide remarks. After all, our roles had been chosen, it seemed: he was the warrior, I was the strategist. Once I would sever the rope of the bell, he would get to the switch.

"With my luck, it will probably trigger some terrible trap." He said with a slight bitter laugh. "Or summon sand creatures. Or bring about the end of the world!"

Now I was angry. "Would it kill you to show a little optimism?" I asked him, hoping that it would silence him.

"Experiences taught me that wishful thinking only leads to disappointment." He said darkly.

He left me to wonder what experiences those might be and continued with his work. And I really wondered what had caused him to grow so bitter. I had heard tales of him even in India, of his bravery as well as kindness, before he departed for the unknown without a reason or purpose and no one knew why or where he went. I had heard of his good nature, albeit a little too proud for his own good, but still, there were no tales of the bitterness of this man, whose eyes were old far too early, his gaze hardened before his time. This was no little pampered princeling whose only concern was which horse to pick and which uniform to wear to look good during a parade or a banquet. This was a man who had seen war and fought alone in it. He had had his own battles, entire wars, perhaps, and all the time, he had been victorious… and alone.

Perhaps that was the reason why he had such difficulty in accepting that the world wasn't as dark as he believed or that at times, he could trust the judgment of another.

By the time he had gotten me to the last ledge and I readied my bow to shoot the bell down, I decided to be slightly kinder, though I still voiced my point. "See? You did it!"

"We did it." He corrected me, with a slightly less bitter voice… though I could have imagined that, I suppose.

I shot down the bell and he proceeded to trigger the switch to which I had given him access. I was about to say that I would be able to get back down to him somehow, maybe if he would catch me, I could jump it… but I was spared the need to choose the means of transportation when I heard screams and sounds of pain… and they were coming from within the tower… the entrance was right behind me.

"Wait! There are people hurt inside!" I quickly turned around, examining the source of the noise. "We should help them!"

After the briefest hesitation the Prince nodded. "Go, Farah. Tend to the wounded. I will catch up with you as soon as I've dealt with the Vizier."

I saw no other choice but to trust him – I couldn't leave the people to suffer and he wouldn't follow me right now, I knew. And perhaps he would succeed within the walls of the Temple. Perhaps… either way, my need to help those people took over. I nodded curtly and ran through the entrance, quickly searching for the source of the pained noises.

But my conscience didn't want to wait, apparently.

He could get killed…

He won't. he is a capable warrior.

A few minutes ago, you were the reasonable one.

I still am! But the people need my help!

And what if the Vizier kills him?

Then we will have less hope of succeeding.

You were almost willing to jump from that tower and trust him to catch you.

Yes.

Why?

Why not? Why wouldn't he catch me? I'm not that fat…

Truly not. But you haven't trusted anyone this much since… the siege in India. You wanted to trust him with your life.

I guess so… I saved his life a few times, too, so I don't suppose he'd just let me fall. Besides, showing my trust is enough to gain his for a moment, I hope.

And why do you hope that?

Collaboration is the key to our success.

You are curious about him, that much is clear.

I didn't have the time to answer. The last pained sounds have died away, and I had been left alone in the frightening darkness of the city. I finally left the tower and entered some kind of large room… but it was filled only with death. Bodies, corpses everywhere… I didn't know what to do except leave. All of the wounded were dead – I checked their pulse - so I only collected what arrows I could find and quickly left through the only open exit.

It led to a tunnel, through which I raced, quite eager to rendezvous with the Prince. I had seen enough of death for one day, way too much. I ran through the tunnel, but I stopped short, with a slight gasp. My breathing stopped for a moment.

Again. A cage. The tunnel exit was barred.