Chapter Five
Ugh… if only those idiotic foreigners hadn't attacked, he wouldn't be on this blasted island, arguing with this flat chested, aggravating, pompous, high-and-mighty bitch! All he wanted was revenge, but no, now he had to go through all this nonsense to get it! How he wished he could just rip that dagger from her hands and tear out her vocal cords. That would at least shut her up. But he had to restrain himself, however difficult that was becoming.
He wasn't quite sure how it had happened, but he, the Dark Prince, had cheated his own destruction. All he knew what that one moment, his very being was disintegrating, and the next, he was in a body of his own and the Dagger of Time belted at his hip, in a back ally of a small town. He was no longer composed of the Sands, of that much he was certain, which meant that the Empress must've had little to do with it. Some other deity had taken pity and rescued him from certain destruction.
His very first intentions were to go to Babylon and exact revenge on his alter ego. He made the long journey through the dunes of the scorching deserts towards Persia's capital, only to discover it to be in ruins. Along the way, he'd learned that his reincarnation had taken a while. About seventeen years, if he wasn't mistaken. The prince had since become king, and was now married with a little daughter.
He was enraged about the fact that Babylon was no more and that the prince wasn't his for the taking. Now he needed a plan… and that stupid girl was exactly what he needed. His archenemy had done a poor job raising her; she was naïve and weak, and he'd had an easy time fooling her into going to the Island of Time. Sure enough, she would turn the clock back for him, and allow him to quench his blood thirst.
During the night, when the dark entity slept, he had dreams of the island and of a secret chamber only the Dagger could open. Inside that chamber was a pool of some kind… at first he assumed it was just plain water. But after looking deeper into these dreams of his, he knew there was something about the waters that would help him accomplish his goal.
"Do you just enjoy not acknowledging a single word I say?" Ravan interrupted his thoughts once again, probably to ask some stupid question. He didn't answer. "I'll take that as a 'yes.'" Summoning every bit of patience he could, he turned to face her.
"What is it now?" How wonderful it would be if he could just murder her in cold blood right there…
"I was asking if you even know where you're going. It seems we've been walking around this place forever!"
"It can't be much further." He hoped it wasn't much further. He could only stand so much more or her arguing before he had to kill something, and since she was the only living thing around…
Suddenly, he heard something heavy hit the ground behind him. He looked back, finding Ravan sprawled on the ground. He laughed.
"You are the clumsiest member of the royal family I have ever seen! How many times have you fallen on your face by now?" she glared up at him.
"It isn't funny, Erik," she spat back, and brushed her bangs away from her face. That was when he noticed the trap door sticking an inch of two above the ground… "How much farther until we reach whatever it is you're looking for?" she whined again, but this time they almost fell on deaf ears.
"You're sitting on it," he replied, "Get up."
"What?" she asked stupidly. Erik wasn't in the mood to explain it to her, so he only gripped her forearm and yanked her aside.
"This is it," he murmured to himself, "the place from that dream…"
"Speak up. I can't hear you when you mumble." He hardly regarded her and he started to brush sand and dirt away and uncovered the old passage door. The two forced companions stared into the dark abyss when Erik opened the door. "What's down there?" Ravan inquired. At last… he thought gleefully, Revenge is just a staircase away…
"I don't know, lets find out!" The dark prince then shoved her as hard as he could down the black hole. There was a series of loud 'thumps' and shouts of pain as she tumbled down the staircase, until she hit the bottom.
"…I think my legs are broken…" she grumbled.
"Is you're skull broken?" he called back.
"No… but I think my spine is…" Feeling a little disappointed that she wasn't dead from a broken neck he started down the stairs.
"Isn't that a shame…" he said, smiling as he passed her as she lye on the floor in a crumpled form. But Ravan didn't enjoy being the butt of Erik's joke at all, and retaliated by tripping him as he walked past. He stumbled, but didn't trip, and let out a nice steam of curses in her direction. Ravan only grinned in revenge.
However, another door blocked their way. This one was a heavy stone door that looked like it would take a dozen men to even budge it. On it there were various carvings of symbols and whatnot that he didn't care for. All he was interested in was the slat in the center.
"Ravan," he commanded in a low voice, "the dagger. Open the door."
"How?" she answered. He sighed impatiently and pointed at the slat.
"There. Surely you aren't dumb enough that you cannot figure this out." She threw him a glare, and with a swift motion, stabbed the blade into the slat. Nothing happened at first, but eventually, the door started to react. It creaked and groaned as it slowly slid across the stone floors, until it was wide open.
The room was bare except the thin, but tall set of steps along the far wall that led nowhere, and in front of them was a large pool of water that took up half the room. After Ravan picked herself up, the two companions approached the pool. Ravan crouched down and brushed her finger through it.
"Water? Is that what you wanted to show me?" she questioned. Erik only stared at the liquid.
"Not just any water, princess…" He held his hand out to her. "Give me the dagger." Ravan gaped blankly at him for a moment, until he threw her a menacing glare. Letting out an aggravated growl in the back of her throat, she shoved the Dagger of Time's hilt into his hand. "What you see before you is something no one has ever laid eyes on before… No one except the father of time himself…" He slowly knelt down and stared at their reflections.
"Well, what is it?" Ravan wanted to know. The Prince of Darkness slowly lifted his gaze to meet hers and his face slowly contorted into a cruel smile. This unnerved Ravan, and she started to inch back away from him.
"What is it now, Princess? Don't you trust me anymore?" he said in a low, mocking and tormenting voice. A look a horror passed the girl's delicate features, and Erik suddenly snatched her by the forearm. She struggled, but the Dark Prince's hold was too strong for her to break.
"Let go of me!" she shrieked, putting every bit of strength her little body could muster to free herself. Erik held her in front of him, keeping his death grip on her arm, making Ravan sure she would have a nice sized bruise there. He held her only inches from his face, staring into her fearful eyes. "Why are you doing this?" Ravan demanded, trying to keep her voice from shaking, "Let me go, you maniac!" He let go of her arm and grabbed her neck instead.
"Do you even know who I am, you stupid wench? I am the very embodiment of hate and cruelty. You think wrongly if you believe I would take pity on you. You, the very flesh and blood of my worst enemy. Believe it or not, girl, you are going to help me get my revenge on that fool you can 'father' weather you like it or not." He laughed darkly and shifted the dagger he still held. Ravan stared at the weapon.
"How do you plan to do that if I am dead?" she asked bravely.
"Oh, you will be far from death… I assure you." The princess's eyes widened, and an ear-shattering scream of terror tore from her throat as Erik plunged the Dagger of Time through her belly as deep as he could. Her free hand reached up for the wound, and her fingers wrapped gingerly around his. He watched her pained eyes, and his grip loosened some when he realized her hand was over his, trying to pull the object out. Deciding to oblige her, he ripped it from her body and dropped it, letting it clatter to the floor, drenched in her blood.
Ravan's knees finally couldn't hold her any more, and she collapsed, landing in Erik's arms. The Dark Prince only continued to stare at her as she coughed painfully and a single stream of crimson blood dripped down her chin. Why was he hesitating? Why did the sight of her in such a feeble state make him so reluctant? He couldn't figure it out. She coughed again, this time it sounded like a liquid was caught in her throat and more blood started dripping from the corner of her mouth. Her stomach was already filling with blood. He had to hurry before she choked to death. Returning his attention to the task at hand, he scooped her up bridal style and stood up. But something made him stop dead in his tracks…
"Erik…" the princess said in a small, hoarse whisper. Her fingertips lightly brushed his chin. She was trying to get his attention. "Why…" she coughed one last time before falling limp in his arms. What was this feeling? Remorse? Was he regretting what he had just done to her? Was that why he was pausing? No… he couldn't let this new feeling stop him from completing his task. Shoving it all to the back of his mind, he focused and tossed the unconscious girl's body in the water.
"Now all I have to do is let the Waters of the Ages have their way with her… and vengeance will be mine."
Kiri: GASP!! Holy crap, dude! ...That cloud has a face! ok, really, he stabbed her, omg! Now all she can do is wait... just wondering what's going to happen... is it the end? No one knows... Excpt me, of course! stay tuned for chapter six!