Chapter 16

I wasn't sure what to say when Farah pulled me along into that magic place she'd talked about only moments ago. We moved at a very quick pace, neither of us saying anything until we were inside the one room I remember the most from the game. The place where the Prince and Farah had shared their first kiss. I hadn't really thought much about what I would do at this point in the game. I guess I had just planned to wait up in the tomb for them… but I guess now that won't be the case.

The bath of steaming water was more than inviting. Without even saying anything, I knew what she was thinking.

"Should we?" I inquired. She looked at me.

"Yes." With that, we quickly discarded our clothes. Farah slipped into the water first, then me. I had never realized until now just how sore and achy my muscles really were after all that. But the hot bath was heaven. I immersed myself in it, then surfaced with a huge sigh. My wings were soaked, but like I cared at the moment. If I were not a virgin, I probably would've said something along the lines of "Lord, this is better than sex!" But I was a virgin, so I didn't say anything.

"You think he'll find us down here?" I asked after a moment.

"He might. But even if he does, it will take him a while to get the doors right," she answered. I laughed.

"Farah?"

"What?"

"Why'd you bring me down here, anyway?" She stopped to think about this.

"…I don't know. I suppose I just like the idea of having another girl to talk to."

"So what is it that you want to talk about?" She didn't say anything for a long while this time around.

"…When all of this is over, I think I'd want to take a good, hot bath, just like this one," she said, smiling at me. "What about you? Are you going home?"

"Uh… no, I don't think I'll be going home," I replied.

"Why not? Is it far?"

"It… you could say that." The two of us suddenly perked up at the sound of a certain familiar voice.

"Farah? Naomi? Where are you?" The Prince. He'd finally gotten down those looooong stairs.

"He's here… should we call him?" I asked, keeping my voice low. She looked down at the water and simply nodded. At that, I walked to the edge and hauled myself out of the water and quickly went to get my clothes back on. If he was going to find us, like hell I was about to let him see me naked. Farah already had the hots for him, and I wanted him to get together with her. The way I saw it, he didn't need any temptation from my end getting in the way.

"What are you doing?" Farah asked when she saw me pulling my jeans on.

"Getting dressed. What's it look like?"

"Why?" I rounded on her.

"Look, I have no problem whatsoever with being naked in front of you. You're a girl. But Princy-boy is a guy. And guys have a tendency to think a little more with their reproductive organs than with their brains." She giggled at that. "The last thing I want, or need at this point is him lusting after me." I finished buttoning my jeans up, put my bra on and grabbed my shirt. "Besides," I yanked it on over my head, "as far as romance goes, you two are the best pair out of this trio." She looked at me, not saying anything, her dark eyes clouded with several emotions. But she smiled.

While the Prince ran around outside and Farah continued her bath, I sat at the edge, my feet dangling in the water. Every so often one of us would yell to the Prince, or he would yell to us. It seemed to take forever… if I'd known he'd be taking this long, I would've stayed in the water a bit longer! So when he finally walked in, I grimaced.

"About time, slowpoke!" I teased. "If I were a bird, I probably would've molted three times waiting for you!"

"I'm not sure what that means… but where's Farah?" he asked, looking at the bath. I only pointed at the figure submerged in the water, whom surfaced a moment later.

"It's beautiful," she said when she came up. I pulled my feet out of the water as she swam up to us and looked at the Prince. "Come on," she beckoned him. He didn't need a second invitation. He smiled, then got up, set his weapons off to the side and jumped in with her. At this point, I got to my feet and backed up, watching them carefully. As far as I was concerned, they were already an item, and I, the third party, didn't need to be there.

When I was certain that they weren't looking at me, I grabbed my shoes and snuck away, turning back just once and smiling as Farah pulled herself out of the water and sat on the edge. Time to go.

I knew I was going to be kept waiting for a while, but in all honesty, I didn't mind very much. Those two belonged with each other, and though I did feel a ping of jealousy towards Farah for having bagged a real hottie, I wasn't about to get in their way. I flew out back into the crypt, parked my rear end on one of the tombs and kicked back on it.

I guess because we always had to stay on our toes and keep careful watch of our surroundings, I never really noticed how tired my body was. I couldn't blame it, really. I hadn't slept in days. With this whole Sands of Time thing going on and my spat with the angels, I'd never really had the time to eat or sleep, and it was starting to take its toll on me. I yawned and wondered if falling asleep would be too dangerous to risk. Who knows what could be lurking in this dark mausoleum. But then again, I had a while to wait for my comrades… I guess I'll just rest my eyes…for a few… moments…

I woke up to the sound of scuffling and soft footsteps. Crap, I'd fallen asleep! Damn it all! I groggily opened my eyes, finding myself still lying on the tomb. The crypt was lighter now, and the door to that magic cavern was closed. The Prince, of course, was snoozing away soundly, a small smile playing on his lips. But Farah… she was awake and quietly picking up the Dagger of Time.

"That's called stealing, you know," I spoke out calmly, causing her to gasp and whip around, seeing me still lying there, watching her every move.

"Don't scare me like that," she breathed in relief. "And I know what I'm doing, thank you very much. I need this to undo this mess." I jumped to my feet, wincing as my sore achy muscles shrieked in pain.

"Why don't we all go up together like last time?" I questioned, gesturing at the sleeping Prince. She looked at him sadly.

"I wish we could… but I just don't know if I can trust him again." We both gazed at him. She definitely had a point. What if he hesitated again? What if we weren't lucky enough to get out with our lives next time?

"I understand. But it's way too rough for you to go alone, so I'll tell you what. I'll fly up and scout the area, take out some dudes, and we'll meet at the top. Sound good?" I suggested. She looked from me, to the dagger in her hand and back to me a little skeptically.

"Well… I suppose." I knew she was feeling horrible for leaving the Prince alone in this place, but this was something that had to be done.

"I know… I'm sure he'll be fine," I offered. She sighed. "Let's go before he wakes up." With that said and done, Farah took his sword and the dagger, left her medallion behind and together we headed out.

Just like I promised, I flew ahead and cleared her a somewhat safe path. She made her way up after me using cracks in the walls. I knew the Prince would wake up soon, though, so we was trying to cover as much ground as possible before he would wake up and realize we were gone and come chasing us.

I looked down at the princess from my high perch on a rock as she emerged from another crack, then I looked up to see how much more progress we had to make. Lots. I groaned. I knew this would be a long climb up, and at this rate, Princy-boy would catch up.

"Farah, hurry up!" I called down.

"I'm going as fast as I can!" she called back. She ran across the small area to the next crack in the wall…

"FARAH!!" That took me completely by surprise. He'd gotten here faster than I'd expected, or wanted. We needed to really pick up the pace now. I stared down at him as he stood by the door leading out of area where the last sword rested. Said sword was in his hand. I was pretty far away, but I could make out the pain on his face, and hear it in his voice. It was time for Farah and I to just haul butt out of here.

We only got up a little ways, however, before he did catch up. Sorta. Farah was already slipping through the next crack with he climbed up to our level.

"FARAH, COME BACK!" he cried desperately. It almost tore me apart to keep running away from him. I can only imagine what it was doing to Farah. Either way, we had to keep going. "Farah, be careful!" I heard the prince shout again, "Don't use up all the sand!" Don't worry, Princy. Even if she does use all the sand, she wasn't about to go and kick the bucket. Not while I had a say in it.

Somewhere along the line, I got a bit too anxious and I started flying towards the top of the tower. I was just going to see how much longer it would take us to get up there and come right back to help Farah. But I suddenly stopped when I heard a loud grunting noise. I only had a split second to think and react before a net was thrown over me by a group of Sand Monsters. I was stunned at first and fought hard against the thick ropes that made up the net and tried to find a way out of it. It was no use.

I heard them make some noise that might've been laughing as I struggled against my bindings. They reeled in the net, and one roughly slung me over his shoulder. Wherever they were taking me, I had a strong feeling that it would bode very bad for not just me, but for Farah and the Prince as well.

Kiri: Sorry this wasn't up sooner, guys! Had some difficulty in the homework department today!

Naomi: suuuure you did. Lazy person. You were too busy chatting with your alter ego.

Kiri: he's not my alter ego. He's my twin. Isn't that weird?! Idiscovered that someone almost exactly like me yesterday. We're the same age and everything! Freaky! But aside from that, we're almost done! that makes me a saaaad panda. But anyways, how about that FAQ? anyone?

Everyone:...(crickets chirping)

Kiri:... anyone at all?

Everyone: ...(crickets)

Kiri: ...Fine ya lazies! but I'm not in the mood now... not to mention, there aren't really that many questions. At least, questions that I don't plan on answering later on, or questions that haven't already been answered. So, I'll just go rush to finish my homework now.

Mike: AND MAKE SURE YOU PEOPLE REVEIW!

Kiri: That too. So see y'all next chapter!