Kiri: Well, I'm sorry to say that Finals are next week, and I have a crap load to do to get ready...

Ravan: If you weren't such a procrastinator, you wouldn't have to cram so much in at the last possible minute!

Kiri: I can't help it... all the distractions...

Ravan: (rolls eyes)

Kiri: well, this is one of my longer chapters, it seems... but I still am in need of reviews, peeps! I'm almost at the six hundered veiw mark, but only twelve reveiws? Still a bad ratio! So enjoy the story!

Chapter Ten

Everything was the same, and yet, everything was so different. I felt like I was walking around in circles. It took me a long time, but I eventually backtracked to the battleground I had seen in my vision. From here, I would have to find that woman in red… she undoubtedly knows where the empress is. But it was also in that very time that I met up with a certain someone I had almost forgotten…

You know that feeling you get right before something bad is about to happen? You know, that nagging feeling in the back of your mind that something is out of place and that it's going to come after you if you don't hurry and fix it? The one that makes you feel so uneasy that it's all you can think about for a long while? Well, that feeling has been clawing at my insides for the past few hours and I can't figure out why. Ever since my left hand started aching…

I've been thinking. Maybe, that morning I woke up in Babylon when the riots broke out, I should have just stayed in bed and died there. Maybe then I would at least be somewhere other than this miserable castle. I was tired, my feet and legs hurt, and my head was unclear. Yes, I know what you're thinking. Why don't I just stop and sleep a little, rather than press on like I am? After all, I'm in no hurry. Well, it's easier said than done, my friend. I did try to sleep, but that horrible nagging feeling prevented any sleep from coming to me, and my left hand seemed to hurt even worse. So I have to press on. Maybe I'll push my self so hard that I'll just pass out somewhere, or accidentally stumble on my own feet and fall to my death. Wishful thinking.

The hallway I was traversing was narrow and full of traps. I had to sit down and rest at least three times before I got to the end of it. I was going at a snails pace now, and I was wishing I was back home in Babylon, wandering through the hanging gardens, creating problems for the guards like I used to do when I was young. What fun those days were. It was in these gardens that my mother taught me her secret word, just as her mother had taught her. Kakulukiam. She said that if I was ever afraid, all I had to do was speak that word. I never tried it, nor have I ever told anyone about it.

Finally, I sat down at the end of the hall and rested again. My head was really going fuzzy, and my entire body felt so fatigued I thought I wouldn't be able to get up again. Resting against the wall, I thought I would just close my eyes for a few minutes and then press on… That nagging feeling was still there, and the clangs and bangs of the traps in the hall I'd just gotten through were slowly fading away. My hand ached, still, but everything seemed to become suppressed beneath a veil of darkness, and I at last drifted off to sleep…

Rude awakening. Something sharp poking me… get ready to grab it… one, two… THREE! I jerked up and snatched at the sharp object that had disturbed me. But my victory smile didn't last long when I saw a big black bird struggling to free its beak from my grip. Stunned, I let go and it hopped around, but didn't fly off. I blinked. How in the hell did a bird get inside the vicinity without so much as a scratch, or a ruffled feather?

"Did you have to do that?" the bird exclaimed. I blinked again, then rubbed my eyes and shook my head. I'm dreaming. I know I'm dreaming. Birds can't talk… "I mean, I fly all through this deathtrap of a castle, avoiding traps and whatnot, trying to find you and in return I almost get my beak yanked off. Does that sound pleasant to you?" There has to be a logical explanation for this…

"Uh… sorry?" I answered, trying to come up with some reason to put behind this.

"Yes, yes, that's what they all say." The bird hopped up and perched itself on my knee. "Well, you must be Ravan Sharaman, yes?" I nodded slowly, not taking my eyes away from this spectacle. "Good. I," he pushed his chest out proudly, "am known as Hadi. I am a guide of sorts, and I have been sent to you to aide you with your newfound powers." I poked his feathered chest.

"…You're a bird…?" I asked dumbly. He batted my hand away with his wing.

"No, I am a spirit guide. But in this case, I had to take this form." I reached up to touch him again, but he batted my hand away again. "No, you are not dreaming, and yes, this is reality. Now pay attention." He cleared his throat. "You may not remember, but you met with the Father of Time himself when you fell into the Waters of the Ages. Those waters have endowed you with power over the flow of time. You discovered this when you met with Shahdee, no?" I nodded. "Good, good, excellent. As you are no doubt aware by now, you are not in your present time any more. You are now in the past, during the time your father was dealing with his quarrels with the great Dahaka—"

"Wait, he what? What's a… Dahaka?"

"The Dahaka was a terrible beast created for the sole purpose of ending your father's life when he cheated his destiny and changed the course of history. Yes, you're father was notorious for such things, and caused the father such headaches…"

"Why didn't I know about this?" I asked in a demanding tone.

"Who knows? Now quiet and listen. You have a very distinct air of destiny about you, and one that is similar to your fathers. I can already see what troubles you will bring the world by your manipulating time. But fate works on strange ways. Only the father knows what will happen in the long run, and he encourages you to master your abilities. That is why I am here: to coach you."

"Ok… I understand… I think…"

"You wish to save your Babylon, don't you?"

"Yes."

"And your family and people?"

"Yes!"

"Then let's get moving now!" As I stood up, Hadi perched on my shoulder. Having his claws digging into my clothes and skin was really uncomfortable, but what could I do?

I started to walk. I felt much better now, and my head was clear enough to think in a strait line. I suppose I was apathetic about having Hadi as a companion. At least I would have someone to talk to now and I wouldn't feel so alone. And at least now, I had someone to point me in the right direction, however annoying he may become. After a small ways, I came to another hallway filled with traps. Sighing, I started forward ready to put my neck on the line once again.

"Hold it! Stop, stop!" Hadi shouted. "You're not going in there, are you? "

"Well, yes. I must get to the other side."

"And risk your neck doing it? Why don't you do it the simple way?" he asked suggestively.

"Simple way?"

"Must I explain everything to you? Freeze time, girl! That will make things far easier." I tilted my head.

"But how to I do that?"

"Well, since you are still a novice, I will start you off simply. Now, look at the traps. The Spiked poles, the saw blades, everything. Think of them as obstacles."

"…They are obstacles."

"You know what I mean. Now listen. Think of them as your worst enemies you have faced by far. You have tried every tactic you know and they stand even with you. They are all out to kill you no matter what, and they hunt you relentlessly…" I tried to do so, and it took me a little while. "Now… extend your hand… and say it with passion."

"…Stop." Nothing happened.

"Louder! More passion!"

"Stop!" I tried again, but still nothing.

"You can do better than this! Now say it!" I swallowed.

"STOP!" Everything suddenly froze. All was still… "Hey, I did it!"

"Nice work, kid. You show some promise. Now, hurry and get to the other side, will you?" Cautiously, I made my way to the other end of the hall, curiously poking at the devices as I passed them. "Now, try to unfreeze it," Hadi encouraged as I reached the other side safely. A little difficult, but I managed. "Good. You learn quick, meaning less work for me."

"Hold on… what's this…?" As I was putting my hand down, I noticed markings on my left hand… the same one that had been aching earlier… But they were very faint. Hadi examined them.

"Hmm… the markings are faint… unreadable… Keep an eye on this hand, yes? Now, let us press on. We must reach the thrown room where the Empress resides." With a simple nod, I turned my back to the trapped hallway and continued my trek.