Chapter 13

Lucky for us, the Prince was a fast learner. I tried my best to explain to him the basics of flying and I wasn't sure if he really understood at first, but once I got him in the air, he picked it up quickly. By now, he was keeping up with me, but like I was when I first got my wings, he got fatigued very fast and constantly had to stop and rest.

But I was right about one thing. We got through the tower MUCH faster this way. And we were able to get away from Dahaka much quicker, too. All and all, I'd say the Prince was warming up rather well to his new wings. So well that I was almost sad when I thought about having to take them back. After all, they did belong to someone else, even if it was a Renegade…

At one point, I decided to let the Prince solve one of the puzzles on his own for a change. My brain was still throbbing from the last one, so a quick break couldn't hurt. Besides… there was something in my shirt poking me in the boob and I needed to find and destroy it for bugging the crap outta me! This had to be done away from the Prince, of course. All bra digging had to be done away from the prying, peeping eyes of men.

After a good few minutes of trying to see and grab whatever the super-annoying object was at the same time, I snatched it and pulled it out.

"Now I have you! You—letter?" I blinked as I looked over the thick parchment. …I remember this! That letter I got from the council! I totally forgot about it! Well, I guess now is as good a time as any to read it.

To Miss Angelina Samira,

We, the members of the Council of Angels, take great pleasure in—

"Naomi!"

-take great pleasure in informing you that—

"Naomi! I need your assistance!" Grrr…

-in informing you that you will not—

"NAOMI!"

"I'M COMING, I'M COMING! KEEP YOUR FREAKING PANTS ON!" Thoroughly annoyed, I stuffed the letter back in my tunic, resolving to read it after I helped Princy-boy do whatever he couldn't do by himself.

It turns out he needed help pulling a double switch to get a door open. From there, we continued on, so I didn't have time to read my letter. And every chance I got, I glared at my companion when his back was turned.

So anyway, we pretty much finished the Tower and did the whole handshake thing again when we saw all of our hard work crack us out an open throne room door in return. So now, we could officially say that we had completed an 'impossible' task, and needless to say, we were pretty damn proud of ourselves, and neither of us hid it as we made our way back to the central hall to met the Empress.

But if only I'd known what all this was going to lead up to, I would've about-faced and marched right out of there.

"So… Naomi…" the Prince began, sounding as if he were trying to decide the best way of wording his next sentence.

"Yes, Prince?" I encouraged him on.

"I was… I was wondering…"

"Yeeeeeees?"

"When all of this is over…"

"Keeeeep gooooing…."

"When all this is over, what are you going to do?" I didn't have to look to know what he was getting at. But he did bring up a valid point. What was I going to do? Probably go back up to the Heavens…

"I… don't really know."

"I know last time I asked you, you said you had obligations to the Academy… whatever that is. But didn't you say that you were finished with that, now?"

"Yeah… I am…"

"Then what will you do after we face the Empress?"

"Well, provided that we don't die," I began, then paused for thought, "…I don't really know."

"Don't you have any family?" I stopped walking. Family? I hadn't though about my family for years… And now that the Prince brought it up, I couldn't help but wonder about my mom. How had she fared with me gone all this time? Was she all right? Did she think about me often? Would she recognize me now? All these questions suddenly made me realize how much I missed her… Her and Uncle Chad, whom I used to see a lot when I was little. Would either of them know me if they saw me now? Would I ever even be able to see them again?

But then… there was my dad and brother, whom I hadn't seen or heard from since I was little. But like hell I was EVER going anywhere near THAT duo. They'd probably kidnap me for ransom, then torture and hang me.

"Naomi…? Naomi, are you all right?" the prince's voice grabbed me out of my thoughts and brought me back to reality. He had a hold of my shoulders and was staring at me like you would stare at anyone who just snapped out of a daydream. I stared at him a moment, knowing that he was going to ask what that had been all about, but I beat him to the punch.

"No," I said simply, "No family." I pulled out of him grip, slid around him and started walking again. Oh, that was so smooth… now he'll suspect something for sure and knowing him, he'll push the issue. But much to my surprise, he didn't.

"Ok… then… are you going back to your homeland?" he asked, jogging to catch up to me.

"…No."

"Why not?"

"It's too far."

"If it's so far, how did you end up in India when I first met you?"

"You're really persistent, aren't you?" I said, now getting annoyed.

"Well… it's just that you've never told me anything about your homeland… or your family. And now that I'm bringing it up, you act as though—" I quickly rounded on him.

"Prince, I just told you, I'm not going back! I have nothing or no one to go back to! So would you drop it already?!" this time he kept his mouth shut. Satisfied with the quite, I continued on. But low and behold, he didn't stay silent for long.

"If that's the case… then come with me to Babylon." This made me halt my steps again. One thing was certain about him. Even though he was a complete jerk these days, deep down, he was still as sweet as the young naïve prince I knew in Azad. And to tell you the truth, I found the thought of going with him to his home more appealing that returning to the Heavens, or to my own home.

"Prince," I began, pausing momentarily, "There is nothing I would rather do than go back with you." I folded my arms behind my head and leaned back a little. "And this time I can say that with no strings attached." I saw a spark of hope in his eyes.

"So, you will?"

"Didn't I just say that?" He must've forgot all about dignity and honor and all that crap, because something in him snapped and he grabbed me around the waist and hugged me so tight I could hardly breathe, laughing as he did. "Prince, please," I said, my voice muffled from his strong grip, "you're squishing me…" He then realized how tight his grip really was and dropped me back on my feet.

"Oh… sorry," he apologized, still grinning widely. I took a deep breath and smiled.

"Forget about it. Sheesh, if I had known you were gonna get all happy-jump-around-like-a-child about it, I'd have told you a lot sooner." But even though I'd agreed to go with him, something told me that the 'family' thing wasn't gone for good. Well, if it came up again, I'd just keep knocking it back until it's finally forgotten. Seriously, that's my business and mine alone.


Kiri: ok, this one was more of a pointless filler chapter that anything else. and it was kinda hard to write... the only part I really had fun with was when she's trying to read the letter but Princy won't let her. That's was funny.

Naomi: Not funny! Annoying! (glares at Prince)

Prince: well... er... sorry?

Kiri: Well, I know you all are curious as to the letter... but you'll just have to wait and find out, cuz I'm a bitch like that! Mwuhahaha!

Naomi: You're a bitch for making my life miserable!

Kiri: heheh. Well, no FAQ today, I've got some other crap to do. So make sure y'all leave a nice review! Reviews always encourage me to get off my butt and write some more! So until next chappy! Ciao!