Kiri: Phew! Finally, an update! Sorry it took so long, peoples... I was completely out of ideas!

Ravan: And you've been completely obsessed with that new Zelda game...

Kiri: ...shut up. Anyways, I hope I do not disappoint with this chapter... and I plan to have our favorite Dark Prince come back at any time now... stay on your toes!

Ravan: Just get to the story, you lazy writter.

Kiri: Then get your butt back in there so I can! Enjoy the chappy, everyone!

Chapter Eight

After a lot of thought, I finally decided that I could either race ahead of father, or lag behind him, but I had to avoid meeting him again at all costs. Since he'd already passed me up, the best thing to do would be to lag behind and try to figure out a few things. He would undoubtedly lead me strait to the empress, so I started there.

I let out a huge sigh as I pulled myself over a ledge and flopped over onto solid ground. This terrain was getting more and more crazy and ridiculously hard to traverse. Maybe it was because I was still a little woozy from crawling out of that water. During the time I'd spent trying (trying being the keyword…) to keep pace with my father, I'd thought on what had happened back at that fountain. Somehow, I'd manipulated time flow, but how was the question. I'd attempted to do it again, but it wouldn't work, so frankly, I was stumped. My best bet was to find the empress.

Ugh… Why does he have to move so fast? I'll never keep up with him at this rate! All it's been so far is climb up some rocks, trip over something, nearly fall off ledge and kill self, jump over a gap, again almost fall and kill self, walk carefully along dangerously small and unstable ledge, climb up some more rocks… When will it end! Thank god when I finally reached a huge set of steps leading to an oversized palace…

Wait…

This has to be it! If it's not, I swear, I'll go kill something. Actually, I'm unarmed still, aren't I? DAMN. Well… maybe I can find something inside… no doubt my father will have cleared most of the way already. He's probably years ahead of me by now… Sighing heavily, I started my way up.

I was right about one thing. My father had cleared the way. Broken weapons and somewhat fresh blood littered the floor, and the door was opened. The next few chambers were basically the same. I continued along my path until I was in a large chamber with numerous bottomless pits, a lot of high up platforms and a large set of stairs in front of me. I ascended them, only to find myself at a dead end. Ahead was a large decorative pillar sitting on a track with an open door behind it. To my right was a set of stairs leading down, but they were broken. I looked around.

"A dead end… now what?" I mused, exploring the room with my eyes for a way out. It was then that I started feeling… odd. It started as a small tickle in the back of my mind, so I ignored it, thinking it was nothing. It grew into a dull pain, and then increased in magnitude. Unable to stand it, I dropped to my knees, clutching my head. My vision grew blurry and strange noises of undistinguishable whispers, being underwater and moaning filled my ears. "What is this!" I shouted desperately, "What's happening to me!" everything suddenly went black and very silent…

Suddenly, I was on my feet. Before me were two women, the same black-clad woman father had saved me from, and another in an elegant red dress. The two were locked in battle, and the woman in black seemed to be gaining to upper hand. Suddenly, the red-clad woman looked over.

"You! Help me!" I looked around, and there was my father, in all his glory. He stood there a second, just watching the two struggle.

"It is as they say," he mumbled to himself, "'the enemy of my enemy is my friend.'" The woman in black finally overpowered the other and threw her off the edge. With a small cry, she clung to the edge, holding on for her life. The woman in black lifted her foot to stomp the other's hands off the edge, when my father intervened. "Leave her alone! You and I have unfinished business!" With a sneer, the black-clad warrior turned, and the fight began.

I think it's safe at this point to assume that no one could see me. But that woman in red… do I know her from somewhere? Slowly, I crept around the fierce battle, watching my father with deep admiration as he viciously fought the woman. I turned my attention away when I stood over where the red-clad woman clung to the ledge for her life. I knelt and leaned over to look at her. I could see the desperation in her eyes as she bit her lip, trying to keep her grip. Unexpectedly, she looked up strait at me. I flinched, but didn't move. Her bright green eyes bore into mine. Could she see me…? We only stared at one another, or at least, I think so, until my suspicions were confirmed.

"…You…" she whispered almost inaudibly. I froze. I was visible to her, but how if I wasn't to anyone else?

A suddenly painful yell drew my attention back to the fight. The woman in black was now sprawled on the floor, her weapons out of reach, and my father stood over her, with his blade plunged into her stomach. I stood as he ripped his black back out and took the moment to take in his victory. The woman beneath me let out a cry, which drew his attention. I stumbled back out of the way as he went to help her. When he pulled her up, however, she said nothing and started to walk away. I felt compelled to follow, and started to, but my father wasn't about to let her get away just yet.

"Wait!" He called, "Please, I must speak with you!" she whipped around.

"What do you want from me?" she demanded.

"I seek an audience with the Empress," he explained. She laughed.

"The Empress meets with no one. Who do you think you are?"

"I am the Prince of Persia." She stopped and dwelled on this a moment.

"I see. Today is a very important day. She cannot be disturbed," she declared. Obviously, father was becoming exasperated.

"I don't think you understand how important this is!" Somehow, I'd migrated over to where the woman in black lay mortally wounded without knowing it. I leapt back when she stirred.

"Fool!" she exclaimed in painful words, holding herself up as best she could, "Don't you know? You cannot change your fate." She dropped back down and in a burst of golden light and was gone… Well, I can rest easy with her gone, now…I think.

"'You cannot change your fate…'" my father echoed, "Was she speaking to me? How could she know my mission?" Just as he finished his words, the ground shook. Rubble fell from the ceiling. Father and the woman in red hurried out of the way, but just when they thought they were safe, a large chunk of the ceiling fell. Father immediately tossed the woman out of the way and shouted, "Watch out!" The dust cleared. "Stay there!" he called to the woman, who was at the lower half of the stairs, on the other side of the large gap that now stood between them. "I will find my way to you!"

"No, prince!" she shouted back defiantly, "Leave this place and never return! The Empress has no love for the world of men. She will kill you if she learns of your presence!" She turned and left. Forgetting that I was invisible, I came up behind my father and reached out to touch his shoulder for reassurance, but I was unpleasantly reminded when my hand went right throw his shoulder and he stood there, unaffected.

"Curses…" I grumbled. Everything blurred again. My father turned and started on his trek once again, just as my vision left me…

I was back in the same place I had passed out, in the exact spot the fierce battle had just taken place. With a certainty I couldn't explain, I knew I was in the exact place, but in a completely different time. Little did I know then that I had just had my first glimpse into the timeline…

Kiri: There, all done! I'll try to get chapter nine up before the weekend is over, but I make no promises! Until then, may your sails stay full and your socks stay dry!