"So you found him?" The prince asked.
"Yes, we did. The idiot, I'm surprised he got this far without getting himself into trouble." I said.
"He really is a good fighter, and he's fairly resourceful, he's just reckless is all." The prince told me.
"Sounds a lot like someone else I know." I said, snickering. I sighed, "Any luck finding the dagger?" I asked.
"It's kind of hard to look when you can't really tell anyone what it is you're looking for. I've been making it sound like I'm trying to find a wedding present for you, but it's not easy. I've checked the market places, I've even had a…ah, friend, look in the black market for me, but there's just no sign of it. If it is here, it's been hidden quite well. I even had a good look in the treasury, nothing." He said.
I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair, "Does your castle, perhaps, have secret passages or something?" I asked him.
"I know of a few, and trust me, I've looked."
"Have you taken your room completely apart? It could have been planted there." I asked him.
"No, I did look, but it's not like I've turned over my bed or anything." He answered.
"Do that, and check other rooms as well. Keilic's room, my room, anywhere that it might be found and blame put on the wrong person." I told him.
"Alright, I'll do that, but I really don't expect to find anything." He sighed, "What do you intend to do when you get to India?" He asked.
"My first priority is Farah, she's in danger there, and it's my fault. I gave her the copy ring to help protect her, but I don't know how much of its power she can use." I answered. "I intend to get her out of there and hide her somewhere until Mychala gets rid of Zervan. Then I'm going to give Mychala to Wemlast." I said.
"You really are upset about this, aren't you?"
"Yes, I hate her and I want her to suffer."
"Such a sweet-tempered young lady you are." He muttered, gaining himself a jab in the ribs. "Owe!" He huffed, laughing.
"Watch it." I told him, "This sweet-tempered young lady packs a punch."
"Don't I know it?" He said, kissing me passionately.
We rolled over on the sands so that he was on top of me, the kiss deepening as our tongues entwined with each other. Sharing each other's taste. That sweet intoxicating narcotic passing from him to me through the dreamscape, an almost unbearable high, and at the same time one I simply could not get enough of. He caressed me, tenderly, lovingly, and my head swam with disconnected thoughts as we came together in this dark world of morbid beauty, becoming one, a single entity. We were two halves of an even greater whole, but even though we were together here, we were still separate, and that separation burned like the ultraviolet rays from a desert sun, becoming a cancer of our flesh.
"It's been so long…too long…I can't stand it." He murmured, "When will I see you again?" He asked.
"I don't know." I murmured, pressing my lips to his neck and nibbling a bit, like he nibbled on me. His breath caught in his throat as my hands moved to work his shoulders and arms.
"I want to come after you." He murmured, "I could meet you in India, I could come by sea, you might even be able to bring me there yourself."
"No, Prince, you can't." I told him, "You're already suspected, let me take care of Zervan, and then we'll decide what to do from there together. We still have that other threat that Shahdee told me about to take care of." I said, frowning. "She says he's been pulling all the strings and that I'm giving him all the tools he needs, but if I know Sacrosanct, at the very least, I know that she will not tolerate being used, even if it's indirectly."
"I just wish you knew more about this 'hooded figure'." The prince sighed. He kissed me again, "Come back soon. I don't know how powerful your teleportation ability is, but if you can teleport yourself right back to me, please do it."
"I suppose if I took the sea myself I would have made better time, but I would have had a harder time staying anonymous on a ship than traveling on land, and I doubt many captains would have let a masked figure like me onto their ship. Also, if I had…I wouldn't have met Aizira and her brothers." I said.
"I'm glad you found another friend. I'll keep looking for the dagger, you take care of yourself." He told me.
"I will. Sayonara, watashi no Ryuujin." I said.
XD
The Maharaja's palace was even more magnificent than I remembered it in the game. It was truly amazing, and more than a little daunting. We made our camp outside the city walls to wait for sunset. For the first day I simply intended to scout out the place. I made sure to change up my disguise so I didn't look like one of the cultists, but it was difficult to do that and still make myself look like a man. I used a hood and changed up my colors a bit so that they were black and blue. I looked like an assassin, but it was better than nothing.
"Don't worry about that." Aizira told me, "If you're seen just ask whoever sees you where the nearest inn is, and then make like you're following their directions until you get out of sight." She said.
"Alright, thanks." I said, using my male voice.
"That's…rather disturbing." Keilic told me, "How are you doing that with your voice?"
"I'm full of surprises." I answered. "I'll be back, I don't know how soon, but I'll be back." I said.
There was a very simple path leading up to the top of the wall, and after getting caught once and rewinding time to when I didn't, I got over it and landed softly onto an Arabic structure, too smooth to really get a good landing on, but I grabbed the center of it and was able to swing around to a more flat surface.
I had a very rough destination in mind, but I soon Saw the path I needed to take, and I took it.
I had time to think a bit while getting myself through the maze, and ponder on what the best course of action really was. Exactly what would happen if I just took Farah and ran? Duh, they would think the Persians kidnapped her. But what was I suppose to do when I found her? Tell her to wait a bit longer until Mychala got rid of the big bad evil dude? Somehow I didn't think she'd stand for that. She wasn't the sit-at-home-and-get-rescued princess. Had I really thought this through?
Nope, I hadn't. I had virtually no idea what I was going to do next. I just knew that I wanted to be there in order to better protect her. The thought of posing as her handmaid crossed my mind…and then flew right on out the window. Yeah, sure, I could pass myself off as a simple handmaid, riiiiiiight. It was easier passing myself off as a freak'n man. I could become her bodyguard, but would I be able to do that without attracting a whole lot of attention?
I didn't have a lot of options here, not many which didn't involve revealing who I was just to make the Maharaja listen to Farah and me about Zervan. It was obvious that the royal family were afraid of the 'Empress's wrath being brought upon them due to the loss of 'her' dagger, but just how much power, otherwise, did the title of 'Empress of Time' have with them?
First thing was first, I needed to talk to Farah.
It was perhaps 15 to 20 minutes before I found myself at Farah's balcony. I swung over, about to go in and announce my presence, but suddenly an arrow flew right at my face, and, had I not Seen it coming, it would have killed me on the spot. I caught it just before it lodged itself in between my eyes, and stared at the figure behind the veiled curtain, which was pointing another arrow at me.
"You're good, but you can't catch all my arrows." She snarled, letting another fly after me.
"Can't we talk about this!?" I exclaimed, dodging the other. "I mean, sheesh, I came here as fast as I could!" I said, pulling my hood back and my mask down.
Farah's jaw dropped, and she lowered her bow and arrow, "E-Empress!" She gasped, "I-I'm so sorry, I didn't know!"
I chuckled, pulling my disguise back over my face, "Of course not, that's the whole idea. I'm glad to see you're still alive, I'm so relieved, I'm sorry I couldn't get here faster but it's not like you have a very speedy mode of transportation in this world." I told her.
"N-no, of course not." She said, smiling weakly, "I'm sorry, I thought you were…"
"One of Zervan's assassins?" I finished, and she nodded.
"This ring is amazing." She told me, fingering the golden band on her middle finger as I entered her chambers through the meshwork curtain. "I feel like I can do almost anything with it, I've almost had to watch myself to make sure I don't. When I shoot my arrows, my targets become sand, just like that. It's a mixed blessing, really, because I can't present the bodies to father to show him that I'm serious when I say people are trying to assassinate me. I don't get it, use to he would jump into action if I so much as said someone made me nervous, but now…"
"I get the feeling that Zervan's doing his best to convince him that you're becoming a nervous wreck, and using more than just words to do so as well." I said. "Listen, my 'followers' are almost here, and I've told Mychala under the disguise as the 'Brother Amon' that Zervan is responsible for the disappearance of the Dagger. Hopefully she'll get rid of him for us, but if not there's always plan B."
"What's that?"
"Kill him in his sleep and hope he doesn't come back from the dead." I answered, "Listen, I had so far been planning on grabbing you and finding someplace for you to hide until all of this blows over, but I've had some time to think, and I don't believe that would be the best course of action right now. I can see that you are more than able to take care of yourself, and that's a great relief. Tell me what's been going on, since we last spoke." I said.
"I messed up, Empress, I said too much, and Zervan found out I knew what he'd done. He's been sending assassins, and of course they don't tell me who they work for, but I know it's him, every time I look into his eyes I know he's trying to get rid of me. Still, there's not much he's been able to do to me. I've sort of been…sensing him attempting to do something to me, I don't know what, but this ring is creating a shield against it. I just hope he never finds out what is protecting me." She told me.
"If he ever gets his hands on the ring it'll be on his own head." I said, "I didn't safe guard it for him, just for you. To tell you the truth these rings are not exactly good. Remember that little chant I told you?"
She nodded, "'One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, one ring to take them all, and in the darkness bind them.'" She repeated.
"Not exactly the serenity prayer is it?"
"It did seem to activate the ring like you thought it would." She told me.
"Well that's something. Listen, I better get back. I'm not here alone, I sort of have a little group of friends waiting for me, but I'll be back, when, I'm not sure. We need to come up with a good strategy for what we're going to do. But before I go, can you tell me what these people know of their Empress?" I asked her.
"That in your human form you have hair of blood, eyes of gold, and black markings upon your flesh that describes the cosmic order. That your anger will cause nations to fall, and kings to kneel before you begging for mercy. That any who provoke you to wrath will rue the day they were ever born and beg for the death that awaits them. They also told us that your favor will make a powerful nation out of a simple village, will turn peasants into kings, and kings into icons. That all who are seen as jewels in your eyes rather than dirt will be gifted beyond their wildest dreams. They say that you have come to this world to create paradise, but that your judgment is severe and that not everyone will be seen as fit to enter it. That's what they say." She answered.
"Riiiiiight, okay! I think someone got confused when reading stars or looking into crystal balls or whatever. That first part that describes my appearance is actually freakishly accurate to be honest." I told her.
"I know…wait, do you mean to say that your markings do describe the cosmic order!? What do they say!?" Exclaimed Farah, her eyes wide.
"Uh…That'd take a while to explain, but most of that is highly exaggerated, and that last bit is a load of crap. I did not come here to create 'paradise', I'm no god, thanks, I didn't even come here by choice, funnily enough. Still, I guess if they all think I'm some deity it'll be easier to deal with them, though I'm not sure how I'm going to handle all the bowing. I am seriously not use to this sort of treatment." I sighed, rubbing my forehead. "Oh well, thanks for the heads up. I'll see you when I can." I said.
"Alright, goodbye." She said, nodding.
I turned and began heading back the way I came.
XD
Something was wrong. Even before I was completely over the wall, I could tell that something was definitely wrong. What? I wasn't sure, but I rushed to the camp where I'd left the others. My heart was pounding in my ears, I couldn't quite understand it, except that I knew, I knew that something had happened.
Something terrible.
"What-what happened!?" I gasped, before I'd even arrived on the scene, before I'd even seen the wreckage properly, before I saw Aizira sobbing over an unconscious Tormal, before I saw the heavy wounds on Alzik and Keilic.
Before I realized, with a heart-stopping jolt, that Kassima was nowhere to be seen.
Aizira stared up at me, her eyes full of pain, "They took her…they found us, and they took her away, Kaida. And Tormal…he's dead, he's dead!!!"
"No…" I breathed, struggling over to where she was, practically ripping off the hood and mask as I bent down over him, "No, no he can't be, he can't!" I pressed my ear to his heart, I put my fingers to his wrist, I shook him, I pulled his eyes open, I did everything and anything I knew of.
There was nothing, there was no pulse, there was no heartbeat, there was absolutely nothing.
Kassima was gone.
Tormal was dead, because of me, because of what I had done…
Kassima was gone.
It was my fault, it was all my fault.
I had promised her I wouldn't allow this to happen to her anymore, I promised her a new life.
Tormal was dead.
She was gone, they'd come and they'd taken her back, back to that woman, back to that life, back to wishing she were dead.
And they'd kill Tormal, they killed him, when it should have been me, it should have been me…
Vague thoughts entered my mind as I placed my hands over Tormal's chest, a rough idea of what I was going to do in my mind. I was going to rewind time, just like I had for that ship, for the supplies that were on it, just like I had pushed time forward for the wine, I was going to bring him back to life, I was going to—
"No, Kaida. Don't you dare." Sacrosanct hissed, and all four of us jumped, "Empress of Time or not, you are no god, you cannot bring the dead to life!"
"I could!" I yelled back, "I could reverse time! I can make it so that his time was before he died! I could—"
"And what do you think the consequences of those actions would be!?" Sacrosanct demanded, "I've been lenient with your recklessness so far, but I will not allow you to jeopardize everything by doing this. You know what you would really be doing by bringing him to life!? You would be declaring yourself a god! And perhaps in a way you are a god, but not this way! That is the greatest of sins, Kaida, and the payment for that sin would be more than you could possibly handle. Reversing time itself to save yourself from falling to your death due to an error in judgment is one thing, but reversing the time on a person to before they died, that is another entirely." She told me.
"Then what do you expect me to do!?" I roared, tears falling freely as I raised my fists into the air.
"What do I expect? What do you think, Kaida? I expect you to get revenge, of course. I expect you to go after the girl and take her back, by force if need be. That's what I expect you're going to do, that's what I know you're going to do. I could care less whether you do it or not." She answered, and with that I felt her presence fade away.
"Which one was that?" Asked Aizira softly.
"Wh-what do you mean 'which one'!? What was that!?" Demanded Keilic in a panic.
"Her name is Sacrosanct, she's the only one without a body, and she's the only one I can't control completely." I answered.
"The only one what!?" Keilic demanded.
"He doesn't know?" Asked Alzik.
"Believe it or not I don't really bandy about the fact that my inner demons are a lot less 'inner' than the name implies and have their own bodies and consciousnesses." I answered, "Keilic, you know what a summoner is, right?"
"Er, yeah, are you saying that you're—"
"We'll, that's not what I am." I cut him off, "My 'summoned creatures' are not 'summoned' at all. They are my own inner demons, they were created from negative parts of my psyche, and some of them are extremely powerful. Sacrosanct is the most powerful, even though she's the least active. I don't really know what sort of things she can do, but she's responsible for a lot of things that I'd rather not go into at the moment." I said swiftly. I sighed, "Fine, I can't bring him back to life, but at least I can use this to heal wounds, or would I be overstepping my boundaries with that too!?" I demanded of Sacrosanct. But she didn't respond, so I went ahead and did this.
"What are we going to do now?" Asked Aizira, wiping away her tears and looking ready for action.
"We're going to give Tormal a proper barrial, and after that, I'm going to avenge his death. I'm going to get Kassima back, and then I'm going to—"
"You mean we, are going to." Alzik corrected me.
I stared at him, and at Aizira too, "You two…you still want to help me? Even after Tormal died because of me?" I asked them.
"It wasn't your fault, Kaida…listen, Tormal he…he wouldn't back down. The rest of us got beaten up and we just sort of…" Aizira looked away, as though she were ashamed, "But he, he kept on fighting, he wouldn't let them take her…but…Oh gods, Kaida I'm so sorry! Kassima was screaming like she was being tortured, I could hardly stand it myself, it was like we were watching her being taken down to hell. And there was nothing we could do about it. Please, Kaida, please let's bring her back. We can't leave her like that, we just can't! I don't care if they kill every last one of us, don't let them keep that little girl!" She exclaimed.
"I won't, I won't." I said.
And that, that was a promise.
XP
Rhea: Ugh, you guys are lucky to have a chapter at all today, I have a SPLITTING headache and it is NOT going away…so, no FAQ today, though I'm sure there are many questions for this chapter and a lot of you are probably angry about me killing off Tormal…don't wanna deal with it, going back to bed…or I WOULD if I didn't have WORK…(grumble grumble)