Chapter 6
We had to go back in time to reach the sacrificial alter, and to my surprise, we arrived there fairly quickly. And just as I remember, Kaileena and Shadhee were locked in battle and so far Kaileena was losing. Not sure if I should run in and intervene, I looked quickly at the Prince, whom was watching the battle, also trying to decided what to do.
"It is as they say," he said under his breath, but still audible, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." I was about to open my mouth and ask him just what the hell that was supposed to mean, but Kaileena beat me.
"You!" she exclaimed, catching sight of us, "help me!" The Prince finally made his decision when she was thrown over the edge. He ran up the remaining steps and stood a little ways from the battle.
"Leave her alone!" he yelled as Shadhee prepared to grind Kaileena hands with his boot. The warrior looked over at him and scowled. "You and I have unfinished business!" With that said, he rushed in, sword drawn, and drew Shadhee away from where Kaileena hung from her fingertips. Deciding I'd best make myself useful, I snuck around the fierce battle that was already raging between the two warriors and looked over the edge at Kaileena.
"Are you alright?" I asked, gripping her wrists and starting to pull her up. It took a great deal of effort, but I managed to haul her up onto solid ground. She took one look at me, or rather, at my wings and said, "You're an Angel." My eyes darted around a little and rested back on her.
"Well… yeah. I am."
"Why are you here?" she demanded. I glanced quickly at the Prince, who was sword locked with Shadhee.
"I'm here because he's here," I answered. She glared at him, then at me.
"Just who are you, exactly?"
"Uh… well, my name's Naomi Fox… but my angelic name is Angelina Samira." She just looked at me for a moment, as if trying to decide if I was telling the truth. I just stood there awkwardly, listening to the insults, curses and battle cries going on in the background.
"If you're an Angel, what are you doing with him?," she asked, jabbing her finger towards the Prince, keeping her voice low so only I could hear. I rubbed the back of my neck.
"Uh... He's my friend..."
"May I see your markings?" she asked. Without answering, I pulled my hair off my neck and turned, giving her a clear view of the angelic writing on the back of my neck. "…Angelina Samira…" she whispered, "no rank… you should not have come here." I let my hair back down, and turned back around, my brow furrowed in confusion.
"What? Why not?" Before either of us could speak again, the Prince chose that particular moment to shove Shadhee to the ground and thrust his sword into her stomach.
"Are you alright?" he asked us when he came over. I just shrugged, while Kaileena, with a look of obvious disgust, just brushed right past him without a word.
"You should not have come here. Either of you," she said firmly.
"Wait!" the Prince called after her, "Please, I must speak with you." At that, Kaileena rounded on him.
"What do you want from me?" she asked, her hands on her hips.
"I seek an audience with the Empress."
"The Empress meets with no one. Who do you think you are?"
"I am the Prince of Persia. And this is my partner, Naomi Fox." Kaileena paused for a second, as if sizing him up, considering how best to deal with the situation.
"I see," she said finally, "Today is a very important day. She cannot be disturbed." But the Prince wasn't about to take no for an answer. Not after all he'd been through to get here.
"I don't think you understand how important this is!" he argued, but before he could continue, Shadhee stirred.
"You… fool…" she gasped, a slight smirk on her blood stained lips, "Don't you know? You cannot change your fate…" and with her dying breath, she collapsed back down and her body exploded into a sand cloud.
"'You cannot change your fate…" the Prince mused after the dust had settled a little, "Was she speaking to me? How could she know my mission?" but before anyone could say anything else, the ceiling started giving away from the shock of Shadhee's demise. "Watch out!" the Prince shouted, grabbing Kaileena and tossing her to safety. I quickly opened my wings and leapt backwards, as did the Prince. Just in time, too. Rubble and dust came crashing down, breaking the steps and separating us from Kaileena.
When the dust settled, I looked towards Kaileena, making sure she was alright, which she was. I watched as the Prince looked at the huge ravine that now stood between him and his ticket to seeing the Empress.
"Stay there!" he ordered Kaileena, "I will find my way to you!" But Kaileena wasn't about to listen.
"No, Prince!" she argued, stepping forward to emphasize her point, "Leave this place and never come back! The Empress has no love for the world of men. She will kill you if she learns of your presence here!" And with that, she turned and left.
I merely shrugged when the Prince looked back at me. Even though I knew the 'truth' about Kaileena, I wasn't about to tell him that. I wasn't about to mess around with the timeline. I mean, just look at where that got Princy. But even so… maybe I could catch up to her and get more information... and maybe she could tell me what that stupid little voice is!
"Prince," I began and waited for him to look at me before continuing, "I'm going to catch up to her and see what I can find out. Ok?" He just nodded once.
"Alright. Be careful," he cautioned. I gave him a quick smile, spread my wings and took off after Kaileena. I didn't have to fly for very long before catching up with her. Apparently she hadn't teleported… yet.
"Hey! Empress! Wait up!" She didn't stop. I didn't matter to me, since flying was faster than walking. I landed right next to her and started walking fast enough to match her pace. "Hey! Wait a moment, will you?" Finally she stopped and turned to me, looking rather annoyed.
"What do you want?" she demanded.
"Look, I know who and what you are, and I'm kinda going out on a limb by not telling the Prince. I just want to talk!" I pressed. She only sighed.
"Fine. Then come with me," she said, extending her hand. I took it and she teleported us to the Hourglass Chamber where we could talk without interruption.
"Now, would you mind telling me exactly who you are and why you're here, now that we can speak freely?" she demanded immediately.
"...Pushy, aren't you?" She continued to glare. "Fine." I decided I might as well tell her the whole truth about myself, since we were out of earshot of everything else. "It really all started seven years ago… I used to live in another world with my mother, until I had an... 'accident'... and I woke up here. As for why I'm here, the Prince is a good friend of mine who happens to be in mortal peril. Why wouldn't I be here to help him?" She was quiet again.
"You said you were from another world?" she asked, her expression softening a little.
"Yeah, I am," I nodded.
"Then… you and I are not so different," she said, "I do not belong in this world, either, but for some reason, I cannot leave. And now, I am fated to die here by his hand." I glanced off to the side.
"I've never been much of a believer in predestined fate…" I said, and looked back, "you probably won't believe me when I say this, but you don't have to die. Neither does the Prince." Scoffing, she put her hands on her hips.
"How can you stand there and say that when you have no experience in the matter?"
"Well… I may not know a lot of things, but that one thing I'm pretty sure about. How it's done is up to you… but one thing I won't do is let the Prince die after all he's been through already. I'll do my best to help the situation, though I can't promise anything for certain."
"You certainly are an angel… you sound exactly like one." She sounded like she was trying to sound exasperated, but I could see the beginnings of a smile. "But there's something not quite right about you." My mood fell and I stared at her. "I... cannot see into your future."
"...what?"
"There is an air of… uncertainty around you..." she began. "All I can make of it is that your ultimate fate is undecided."
"Undecided?" I repeated.
"Yes. Unlike the Prince, whose fate is written and sealed, yours is... It is as though fate cannot touch you." She turned her head to the side. "Give me your hands." I stood there gaping for a moment and mindlessly held my hands up. Kaileena took them and held them firmly. "Close your eyes." I did what she said, although I was starting to worry a little. Was not having a fate a bad thing? Or, considering the Prince, a good thing?
We stood there for a long while. I was starting to feel a little silly about it, when something began creeping into my mind. Kaileena's grip tightened, and then the visions came.
At first I had trouble making sense out of anything. They were just flashes of images and sounds, but the more they went on, the more sense they made, even if they were very brief. I saw the Prince and I standing together, then a flash of Babylon City, then I saw myself in the Prince's arms... and then I was in someone else's arms... then I saw an image on four people standing together, overlooking a city. I recognized myself and the Prince, and Farah was there too. But the fourth, a tall, muscular man... no, an Angel, I didn't know. Then, the visions stopped.
Kaileena dropped my hands and stepped back. I opened my eyes, my head still reeling from the experience.
"...I haven't seen this in a long time," she said softly.
"Uh-oh. What? Or do I even want to know?"
"Something is protecting you... I cannot say what it is exactly."
"Protecting me? What for?" I urged.
"I do not know. But there is a strong sense of destiny around you. There are forces already at work trying to tempt you. My advice to you is to ignore them and chose your own path."
"Well... I'll try. And I'll also try to help you as much as I can. even if it's in the time line, I won't let you die. Promise." She smiled gratefully, but shook her head.
"It won't matter in the end. What is written... cannot be changed."
"I don't believe that."
"Believe what you will. Fate cannot be changed."
Kiri: Well, another chapter in the bag! Sorry if this one seems poorly written... I was in a bit of a hurry to finish it. But enough of that, let's get to the FAQ!
Q: WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT LETTER NAOMI GOT IN CHAPTER 4!!!
A: ...jeeze, impatient, aren't we? she started to read it, but then stuffed it away and forgot about it, so chances are you won't know what it says until much later. So just have a little patience, will you?
Q: Fine. Why is Naomi's future all clouded like Kaileena said?
A: well, if you had been paying attention, it's because her future is undecided, meaning it hasn't been written yet. she'll have an important decision to make soon, which will decide what her ultimate destiny will be.
Q: Forces are trying to tempt her? What the crap?
A: Well, just like any other decision, there's always going to be two sides of the issue trying to sway you into thinking that doing it their way is better. It's no different in Naomi's case. The only real difference is that she isn't really aware of it yet.
Kiri: Ok, that's all for now... it's a school night, so I have to get to bed soon. Hopefully I'll have the next chappy ready soon!
