Author's notes: Ah! I see some of you are still reading this! Thanks again for all your comments! Urgh... 4am... summer has completely screwed with my body clock!

Alethea Melanie-Rose - I know, I kinda feel sorry for Zolm too when I'm writing bits of this! Also, I'm glad you found the last chapter epic! Hope this one is too!
sorree - Glad it was worth the wait, and it's great to know that the depth and humanity that I'm trying to give my characters is coming across!
exnavybrat89 - Great to know that you appreciate Zolm much more here than in the movie! Means I'm doing my job right!
Max Pettyfer - Thank you so much for your lovely comment! Yes, Nasreen and Zolm are complex people, so of course their relationship is naturally going to be the same ;)
Yume - Thanks so much! I was worried when writing this that people would only find some of the story lines interesting, but it's good to know that you love them all!
Peacefreakx3 - Definitely E.v.i.l.! Pity he was the last to realise or things might have been a little better for poor Zolm ;)

Woffles92 xx

Chapter 14 - Control The Storm

"What do you make of that?" Garsiv asked, his voice croaky from a long silence. He and Tus had little to say to each other after the time they had spent together in the cell, but having just witnessesd the very peculiar scene, there was finally something worth talking about. The oldest of the Persian princes opened his eyes from either prayer or sleep.

"Make of what?"

Garsiv rolled his eyes.
"Trust you to sleep through the only interesting thing to happen for days!"

He supposed that they had been here for days, but there was no way that he could be sure. Without windows, there was no way of knowing when it was night and when it was day. They slept fitfully and often, which just added to the confusion of the passage of time.

When Garsiv had finished explaining what had happened, his brother closed his eyes in what appeared to be thought, but he took so long that the middle prince was sure he had gone back to sleep. He was just about to give Tus a kick when he opened his eyes.

"The stranger won't succeed," he stated matter-of-factly, "Those powers came from the gods, and it is only they who can take them away again. I don't know how many times I have to tell you this before you will finally understand."

Garsiv slammed an angry fist against the dirt floor.
"But that's just it! If there's nothing that can be done then it means there is no hope of a reprieve, and I just can't accept that!"

"Don't be so unfaithful!" Tus rebuked, "There is always hope, we just have to put our trust in the gods of justice and mercy, that they will see the devastation that Nizam is reeking on this land, and that he will meet his end soon."

"Of course that's your answer. Pray and everything will be alright? Will forgive me if I don't join you brother, for I believe that any gods worthy of my prayer and worship wouldn't allow such madness to reign!"

Tus gave him a knowing smile.
"Worthy? You think the gods need your prayers and worship? They could snuff out your life in an instant, they could kill ever man, woman and child in Alamut and beyond with a single whisper yet they allow us to live. That is why we worship them, and that is why I pray they will forgive you for your blasphemy."

Garsiv glared at being reprimanded in this way, but didn't say anything further.

"Just be patient little brother, for it may be in an hour, or in a year, but the gods will deliver us!"

The wind raged outside, causing the sides of the tent to blow in and out in a rapid and noisy fashion as a seemingly unending wall of sand bombarded it.

Tamina was sitting with her legs pulled tight against her chest with her chin resting on her knees. Her deep brown eyes stared at the fabric of the tent wall as it billowed.

"Are you cold?" Dastan asked, concerned. Even though they were in the middle of the desert, whenever the sun set or was hidden in a sandstorm, it was always a surprising how quickly that the heat disappeared and left an unfriendly chill.

She looked up, startled.
"Sorry," she muttered, "I was miles away."

"I asked if you were cold," he repeated patiently.

Tamina paused for a moment as though it was something she hadn't thought about, and then nodded her head.
"A little," she admitted.

Dastan moved close, put his arms around her shoulder and pulled her to him. She allowed herself to be taken into his embrace, thankful for the warmth of his body. For a few moments, they remained like that, enjoying the feeling of being physically close to each other. Eventually, Dastan spoke.

"I'm curious. When you said you were miles away, where exactly were you?"

In truth Tamina had been back at the broken down inn, at his bedside as the fever ravaged him. She had almost lost him then, yet the journey they were making now was no less dangerous. Their companionship, or whatever name could be given to the unusual nature of their relationship, was fragile. To protect the sacred dagger was no easy task, and thoughts of Alamut being left to ruin under Nizam came to her fitfully. Yet all the while she was haunted by the tangible prospect of losing Dastan in her efforts. A week ago, she would have been focused and determined on the destiny that had been thrust upon her at birth. Now her heart had two champions who were locked in an unending battle, with neither gaining advantage. Of course, she wasn't about to tell Dastan all this, for men had no understanding of the wars women waged on themselves.

"Nowhere special," she lied.

"As long as you're here with me now, that's all that matters," he replied softly, as his lips turned up in a dreamy smile.

Her heart seemed to grow too large for her chest and she was sure that it was going to burst at any moment. Moving her body around so that she could see him clearly, she gave into impulse, took his face in her hands and kissed him. Dastan was momentarily surprised by her sudden affection but was only too willing to reciprocate. What had only been intended as a brief moment of affection quickly turned into something much more as the kiss deepened. It ignited a burning sensation between them that was unlike anything Tamina had experienced before. The taste of him excited her as their mouths moved in a perfect harmony. He put his hands on her, and his touch, even through the material of her clothes sent shivers running every which way over her skin. Without even thinking, a groan of pleasure escaped her throat as his hands traced all the way from the curve of her waist to the back of thigh.

Suddenly, fear gripped Tamina and she felt as though she was about to suffocate. She was transported back through memories and saw the creased face of the old priestess as she wagged a bony finger, telling her all the horrible fates that awaited those who indulged in lustful acts before marriage. With a shove, she pushed herself back from Dastan whose face crumpled into a look of hurt and concern.

"What did I do?" he asked fearfully.

Tamina had placed her hand over her mouth and her eyes were clamped tightly shut.
"I'm sorry," she whispered between her fingers, "I can't."

"Was it something I did?"

"No! No, of course it wasn't you. I… I shouldn't have done that."

Dastan took a deep breath, then let it out again slowly.
"I know I made you a promise that after we were married I wouldn't ask anything of you that you weren't comfortable with but…"

As he trailed off a mischievous smile played across his lips.
"You're not exactly making it easy for me."

Tamina didn't seem to share in his amusement.
"But that's the problem isn't it?" she scowled, "We're not married."

His smile faded.

"So that's the reason. You're angry because we were never married?"

"I'm not angry."

"Well you could have fooled me."

He shot her a look that was something like resentment as he said, "So we can't even kiss until we've been properly wed?"

Tamina's face flushed with what could have been embarrassment or bad temper, but probably both.
"Of course you may kiss me, just not like that!"

"As I recall it was you who initiated that little exchange, princess," Dastan snorted with indignation.

"And I said I was sorry!"

The hastily erected tent now felt overwhelmingly small and there was no sign of any let up from the storm that raged outside.

"What is marriage anyway?" Dastan asked without invitation, "It's a lot of pomp and ceremony over something that should be the intimate choice of two people."

Tamina was aghast.
"How can you say that? The marriage vows are a promise made before the gods to bless the union of man and woman. All this pomp and ceremony as you call it is to call the attention of the gods to witness it."

"But don't you believe the gods are always watching us?" he countered.

"A union isn't sanctioned unless done so by a priest."

He paused for a moment, opened his mouth, and then closed them again. On his second attempt he managed to speak.
"All right then," he said calmly, "You're a priestess, aren't you? If it's so important then why couldn't you do it?"

A laugh of disbelief escaped from her lips.

"You can't be serious?"

Dastan shrugged his shoulders, indicating that she would have to make up her own mind as to whether or not he was serious.

"Who do you think marries peasants that live too far from the city? Or what do you think they did in the days before priests and temples?" he persisted.

"You can't perform your own wedding!"

"Why not?"

"Because you just can't!" she cried.

At this point he realised that he'd pushed her too far, and he even regretted perusing this path of though for as long as he had. Her face was a thunderous mix of anger and hurt.

"I never asked you to share my beliefs Dastan, but I had thought you would have been enough of a man to respect them!"

The small space of the tent was now suffocating. In the silence that followed Tamina realised that although inside the thin canvas walls there was a storm brewing, the winds outside seemed to have ceased. She opened a gap to see out and her heart lifted as she had her suspicions confirmed that indeed the sandstorm had passed.

"God's be praised," she muttered as she left, relieved to be out of the unpleasant atmosphere. Without a word to Dastan she made her way across the sand and stomped down a dune, leaving a trail of fresh footprints in the smooth sand. She clenched her fists trying to control her anger as she paced up and down, kicking sand with her beaded slippers in an attempt to relieve some frustration.

She glanced back over her shoulder to see the others slowly emerging from their tents. To her annoyance, so to was Dastan. Whirling back around she stomped further in the opposite direction.

"Tamina!"

Gritting her teeth she quickened her pace, but even as she did she could feel his presence growing closer behind her. She whirled around to see him following her, a hurt expression on his rugged face.

"Leave me alone Dastan!" she yelled over her shoulder.

He ignored her and sped up, running awkwardly as the sand shifted unpredictably under his feet. She looked quickly over her shoulder again, and seeing that he had almost caught up with him she began to run.

"I said, leave me alone!"

But he was quicker. Dastan grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him.

"Tamina," he pleaded, "Just listen to me for a moment."

She pressed her hands hard against his chest, pushing back from him, but he had both her arms now and held her steady.

"Let me go," she hissed, wriggling to free herself from his grasp.

"Not until you listen to me," he replied gently.
"I'm sorry that I offended you. I know how important your beliefs are too you and I shouldn't have questioned them like that."

She stopped fighting now, and straightened up to fix him with a cold gaze.

"No," she agreed, "you shouldn't have. I don't ask why you're an ignorant ass, so you don't get to question my religion."

Her words were said with a barbed tongue with intent to injure, but instead he just laughed and she couldn't help but feel the tension between them begin to ebb away.

"I guess I deserved that," he said kindly, and Tamina began to feel her vicious remark had been unjust.

"No," she sighed, "You didn't. I'm just… tired."

She allowed him to pull her close in an embrace.

"We all are," he replied.

Tamina sighed, releasing all the tension that had been built up inside her. Of course she had been offended at his mildly blasphemous comments. But it wasn't the fact that he had said it that she found frustrating, it was that he had actually made sense.

They remained like that for some time, just holding onto each other as they tried to make sense of what their life had become in the madness of the last few days. Then, the blissful calm was shattered as a coarse voice came from the camp.

"Oy! You two lovebirds coming or not?" Sheik Amar called to them.

Slowly, they walked back together.

"Seso thinks we should find some proper shelter before night. He says there's something odd in the air. A load of mumbo jumbo if you ask me, but I don't see the harm, besides, if we get caught in another one of those bloody sand storms I'll be picking sand out of my ass for a week!"

Dastan laughed and Tamina crinkled her nose at his crude words.

"There's a little oasis at the bottom of…" she counted the peaks of the mountains to get her bearings, "that one. I'm sure we'll be safe there."

The Sheik nodded in approval and they began to gather their things together.

By a fire somewhere in the desert, the Hassansin snapped open his ice cold eyes and a satisfied grin spread across his lips, causing the burnt side of his face to wrinkle.

"Got you," he whispered triumphantly.