Chapter 7

I was sitting at the base of the stars in the Hourglass Chamber when the Prince rolled in and joined us. He quickly healed himself at the fountain and came into the room. I gave him a little wave and a short smile before Kaileena came down the ladder, looking irritated but not surprised by his intrusion.

"You should not have come back. This is a dangerous place," she stated firmly, the Serpent Sword handing from her hand. The Prince came closer.

"I'm afraid I don't have… the luxury," he replied, "I must see the Empress."

"Impossible." At this point, I got up and joined the Prince's side.

"My mission," he pressed on, "It is very urgent. I must see her."

"You don't understand," Kaileena argued, determined to change his mind, "when the last grain falls from the hourglass, the Empress will create the Sands of Time. No business of yours can be more important than that." But the Prince was not about to give up.

"I have come to stop the Empress from creating the Sands." She paused a little, looking a little amused, but only a little.

"Then yours is a fools errand. The creation of the Sands was foretold in the timeline. It cannot be stopped." At this, the Prince pointed his finger accusingly.

"We just saved your life. Twice," he said firmly and somewhat menacingly. "All we're asking for is some information. Tell me where the Sands will be created." Kaileena seemed to study him a moment. She could probably tell that the Prince was not about to back down. After all, he was more stubborn than a mule. Finally, she pointed back to the throne room doors.

"In there," she said, her voice a little softer. "But the room has been sealed. You cannot enter." Crossing his arms, the Prince stared at the thick steel locks on the door.

"There must be a way." Kaileena laughed.

"You would have to undo the very fortifications of the castle! An impossible task!" Oh, here it comes, me favorite line in this game! Glee!

"When a man is faced with his own death," the Prince began, "He finds the impossible much less of a barrier." I had to restrain myself from leaping in the air and squealing like a little fan girl. If I remembered anything from the series, it was that line. But I couldn't hold back my grin. In fact, I actually had to turn around to hide it. "Tell me how," he finished.

"Very well," I heard Kaileena agree after some consideration and she began describing how to unlock the door. "The gate is controlled by an elaborate clockwork system located inside the Mechanical Tower. Even assuming you could reach the device and activate it the machine still needs power. As water passes through the moat, the machine will receive power. But first you'll have to fill the moat from the supply in the Garden Tower." She looked at the door briefly. "Activate both towers and the gate will open." I blinked.

"Wow…" I muttered, "That is a lot of work…" But I knew that prince would break his neck if he had to to do it.

"You'll need this," Kaileena continued, holding out the Serpent Sword to the Prince, who took it. "It's more than just a weapon. It also serves to activate a system of bridges which will grant you access to the other towers." She sighed. "It won't make a difference, though." The prince's eyes left his new weapon and went to Kaileena again.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Succeed or fail, the outcome is the same. You will not stop the sands from being created. What is written in the timeline cannot be changed."

"Again with the timeline fate thing…" I said, rolling my eyes. But the Prince didn't give a reaction. He was probably as tired of hearing that as I was.

"Thanks for the advice. Let's go, Naomi." He started to leave. All I could do was offer Kaileena a small shrug before having to run to catch him.

"So what did the two of you talk about while I was gone?" the Prince asked me as we re-entered the central hall. I just shrugged.

"Nothing in particular," I replied. "Lots of weird stuff."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, apparently my future is all clouded up cuz it's undecided," I explained, recollecting what Kaileena had said. "I guess I'll have some big important decision to make soon. Though I'm not sure exactly when… or what." I just watched as the Prince took his new sword in hand and stabbed it into the switch. Using it as a lever, her yanked it back, which looked like it took a considerable amount of strength and activated the bridges. I glanced around at all the possible routes.

"So… where to first?" I asked, "Turn on the machine? Or power it up?" the Prince stood next to me.

"She said that the machine needed power first. I think we should head to the Garden Tower first thing and give the machine power. Then activate it in the other."

"Sounds like a plan, man," I smiled. He only gave me a look before heading over to the lever at the other end of the room. He gripped the handle and started to turn it, but then stopped and looked up at the doorways. "What's wrong?" I called.

"Which way do we go?" I stopped. That was actually a good question. Which way DID lead to the Garden Tower? Let's see… eanie… meanie… miny… "Naomi?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think you could fly up there and find out?"

"I thought you'd never ask." I opened my wings and gracefully darted into the air and zipped through one of the doors, checked it out, then did the same with the others. Honestly, I had almost no memories of this part of the game… seven years of tarnish to the old memory banks, after all. I remembered there was a health upgrade somewhere around here… and two doors led to either tower…

When I came back down, I noticed immediately that the Prince was staring in the other direction and hadn't noticed that I was back. I couldn't resist. Staying ever so silent, I made like a church mouse and made my entrance from above. I carefully lowered myself down and then sat on his shoulders and tapped him on top of the head. He quickly looked up, but since his head couldn't lean that far back, he looked to the side instead.

"Naomi?" he said, even though he knew it was me, "Which way?" Without saying anything, I grabbed the sides of his head and turned it in the direction of the health upgrade.

"We need to go there before we go into the tower," I explained simply.

"Why?"

"Just be a good boy and trust me." I gently patted him on the head.

"…Are you sure that's the wisest move?"

"What, going that way?"

"No, trusting your…ah…'judgment.'" There was a moment of silence as I scowled at him, even though he couldn't see it.

"Oh, HA HA HA!" I exclaimed sarcastically. He chuckled. "That's just SO freaking FUNNY I forgot to laugh! Now shut up and get your royal ass up there!"

"Well, I can't turn the lever with you on my shoulders."

"Bet you could."

"No, I really can't. My balance will be thrown off and I won't have full use of my arms."

"So?"

"So, will you get off?"

"Maybe you should ask nicely."

"Please get off?"

"Hmmm….. Nah, I don't feel like it. Ask again later."

"Naomi!"

"Yes?" He was getting frustrated. I could tell by that low growl in his throat. But hey, I was his best bud. I was supposed to push his buttons right to the limit. And boy, did I know exactly what buttons to push. "Say Prince," I began, lightly twirling a lock of his hair around my finger. "Your hair looks like it's seen better days. When's the last time you had a bath?"

"NAOMI!" At this point, I nearly hit the floor laughing. But it was time to stop teasing him. He was already mad to the point of strangling me. I quickly contained my laughter and jumped off of his shoulders. He quickly looked back at me with 'I'm-going-to-kill-you-by-the-end-of-the-day' written all over his face. To lighten to mood a little, I came over and hugged him and gave him a little kiss on the cheek.

"I'm just teasing you, Prince. That's what best friends are for. I only do it because I love you." That seemed to calm him down a little, but he was still aggravated. I moved behind him. "Here, I'll get us up there quicker." I wrapped my arms around his middle, spread my wings out and with a good amount of effort, got us both into the air.

He was a lot heavier than the last time I'd tried to keep us both airborne. But even with his extra weight, I'd gotten much, much stronger over the years and I could now carry him, even though it took quite a bit of muscle power.

"You've gotten stronger," the Prince said with evident amazement in his voice as I set him down in the trap-infested hallway.

"Yes, but when all this is over, you may want to consider dropping some weight," I answered, rubbing my arms. He turned around and looked down the hall.

"So, why are we going this way?"

"You'll see, Princy. You'll see."


Kiri: HOLY CRAPERSA ON A STICK YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!!! 28 REVIEWS!! I LOVE YOU ALL!!!

Naomi: We seem to be getting popular...

Kiri: Yes, and it has made me a VERY VERY happy authoress. And just because I love you all, I'm going to try and finish another chapter today. I make no promises, but I'm going to try. In other news, I think I should let you all know now, this story may turn out to be short, since not much really happens here. But trust me, when part three comes out, THAT's when the shit hits the fan and all hells breaks loose and has a big Halloween bash in the living room! But there will be some important elements here to remember.

Naomi: great. Just freakin perfect.

Kiri: Well, no FAQ today. I gotta get started on that chapter then I've got homework to finish! So all ya'll keep the reviews comin', ok? Ciao!