alltheteainchina: Thank you so much ,you are far too kind :D. I am so happy you are enjoying the story so far, things are going to pick up and all that sexual tension will soon be hard to suppress ;). Enjoy the new chapter :D

TheLastRider: Thank you so much ^^. Yes most chapters are short and it was intentional, cliffhangers and keeping the readers on edge sort of thing. I hope you don't mind it too much. Well the story is honestly just starting to pick up, I am so excited to release the next few chapters, things are about to get heated ;). Thank you so much for the long review you have no idea how much I loved reading about what you thought. Looking forward to reading more from you, hopefully the story will continue to keep you on edge ^^. Enjoy the new chapter :D

Please review, I really want to know what you guys think ^^.

xx

SSC

Chapter 15

Khan found her sitting on top of a sand dune staring up at the night sky. He wasn't surprised that she had managed to evade the watchful eye of the guards that surrounded the palace. She had even situated herself on the face of a dune, out of sight.

She had left deep foot shaped pits in the sand that were slowly disappearing in the light wind. The cool air licked at his forearms as he ascended the hill. He could feel grains of sand seep into the shoelace holes in his boots and fill the insides. He ignored the itchy sensation of the granules and focused his attention on her.

She was lost in her thoughts. Her soft, cognac and honey curls fluttered around her. Her fingers were gently clenching and releasing the sand under her, allowing the grains to slip through her the gap between her fingers. Her legs were crossed in a meditative position, her breathing effortless.

"This is what you wish to do with your freedom?" He inquired his voice silvery in the silence.

He paused to mimic her attention to the sky "Star gazing."

Despite awaiting her reply Khan couldn't help but be a little enchanted by the twinkling lights among the sea of black. The desert was a mere silhouette of waves, shadows compared to the beauty of the night sky. The heavens were gleaming and glittering like diamond dust on black velvet.

"We were never taught what they are." Her statement snapped him out of his spell.

"What?"

"Stars." She whispered into the night.

"I know their name, like I know that is the moon." She raised her arm up and pointed to the full moon that hung proud and porcelain above them. "And the sun rises and sets and the vast body of water we are surrounded by is called a sea that leads to an ocean. But I don't not know what makes them. What is a star? Why does it twinkle? Why does the moon only show its whole face once a month?"

Khan couldn't hide his stupefaction. His stare was powerful enough to burn a hole through her. His lips parted at an attempt to form words to such a astounding revelation. They weren't taught basics about the world they habituated? It was positively blasphemous in his eyes. Khan had lived most of his short adolescence questioning everything around him. Curious about every living and lifeless object that he came across. The scientists even struggled to provide him the answers he desired. Even then, he sought information on his own.

The fact that Zahara had lived with all her questions and no answers bothered him immensely. He was sure he felt something close to sympathy for her.

"Why were you not taught this?" He demanded.

"Unnecessary information." Her words held a disembodied tone, like she was repeating a sentence that had been said to her many times.

"We were taught ways to kill a man. How to survive in harsh climates. Use our bodies to their utmost potential. Information about the world we live in was simply...irrelevant."

Khan couldn't help but feel insulted. Knowledge was the most relevant thing on the planet, without an understanding there would be no key to success. He tried to imagine himself without all that he knew. The idea was horrifying.

He averted his hard gaze to the stars once more, their light reflected in his clear eyes.

"Stars are exploding balls of gas, mainly hydrogen and helium." He began to explain "The plasma is held together in space by its own gravity. They give off their own light, hence the twinkling."

"What about the ones that do not twinkle?" She asked eagerly.

"Those are planets."

"Planets, like ours?"

"Not exactly." He paused to glanced back and see if anyone had noticed them loitering in the desert. The palace lights were shinning bright and the area around it was knew the staff was too busy tending to tasks concerning the ball the next day, none would notice the two of them in the outskirts. Satisfied he lowered himself on to the ground and sat down beside her. Zahara watched his movements the entire time. There was a glimmer of hostility in her eyes but she didn't utter a word of complaint.

"They are built up of different compounds and are uninhabitable to us. There are nine planets in our solar system." He continued to teach, she listened intently. "We can only see one side of the moon, as it orbits us the shadows mask the sides that leaves our sight, the alignment with the sun plays the most part in that. Once a month it completes its cycle and we see the full moon again."

Silence wrapped around them once more, but it was full of ease. Zahara was pondering the information he had bestowed upon her. Khan watched her from the corners of his eyes.

After a moment she shifted around so her profile faced him. He craned his neck to observe her. He could see her nervously twisting and pulling at her fingers, trying to gather words.

"I haven't been grateful for much." She began to say softly "I don't really know what the word meant until now but..."

A shaky breath left her lips and she found the courage to meet his gaze. Even with the faint light they were provided, Khan could still see the specks of gold in her eyes.

"Thank you, for freeing me."

Gratitude was not something he was accustomed to receiving; initially he didn't know how to respond.

"Ultimately you freed yourself, I merely orchestrated it." He insisted flatly.

"Maybe one day, I can do the same for you." He couldn't help but snort derisively at the seriousness in her tone.

"That would be highly unlikely. I never intend to be captured." He vowed smugly. There was silence at her end. He could feel her scrutinizing stare dance over his face.

"So confident." He did not miss the playful tone to her words. "What is it that makes you so sure of your abilities?"

"Science. Me and my kind are genetically engineered to be superior." He answered assertively.

"At what?"

"Everything."

She fell silent but it wasn't the ego-bruised, seething, kind of quiet. She was calm, collected and observant of him.

"My condescending tone does not offend you." He noted surprisingly unsure himself.

"Why would it offend me?" She responded.

"Your only great talent is murder, in a world among intellects you will fail."

"That is true." He could hear the smile in her words and suddenly wished there was a more efficient method of illumination. "But my interest does not reach to intellects."

"What is your interest?"

"Survival."

A bitter conviction underlined her tone, he needed to know why.

"What is the reason behind your need to survive?" He knew he had asked the right question. There was always a reason. No one survived just for the sake of existing. He survived for power, he craved it, to rise above and bring world order under his thumb. He doubted Zahara had the same desires he did, hers were more skin deep.

"My sister." She said her voice tight and controlled "We were separated, it was my fault. I wouldn't behave and they grew tiresome of my rebelliousness, so as punishment they took my sister from me. My whole purpose in coming here was in the hopes of finding her. But my search has yet to be fruitful and I was not expecting their...mind control."

"How did they do it?"

"Needles and a lot of noise." She was frustrated with her own vague response "It's hard to describe I—I don't remember most of it. But I do not think it is the only one command they have for me."

Khan mulled over her words while pressing his fingers together in thought. He knew it was intentional, a form of hypnotism to imbed the words into their subconscious.

"I didn't think so either." He murmured "Was it the Sheikh that funded this...project?"

"I never saw the face of the benefactor. Only the scientists. Their faces I do not intend to forget anytime soon."

"When do you intend to forget them?"

She looked to him "Once I kill them."

Khan smiled, impressed by the lethal vindication in her voice.

"Maybe they will be present at the party tomorrow." He cut a glance at the twinkling lights of the palace in their background.

"It's not just revenge; I want to emancipate my people."

He looked to her, trying to peer through the darkness and witness the determination he heard.

"It will be difficult."

"But not impossible." Khan knew that was a blurred line to her now, considering she had held on through sweat, blood and tears to break through her mind's compulsion.

"Once you share all you know and after you help me conquer that which I desire?" He asked.

"Yes." She nodded.

He fell silent, considering her request. It was a simple enough deal, help her free her people for the information he needs to defeat his enemies and conquer the Middle East. He stood to his feet and then stretched an arm out for her to take.

"I agree to your terms, Zahara." He stated confidently.

She reached out and grasped his hand firmly and hoisted herself up. Once she was eye to eye with him, she smiled.

"And I you."