After so long… well, I had a lot of work to do and I was gone for a month. I don't know if I should continue this story, because I suppose Mirrored Fates deals with TTT already and will deal with Kaileena´s part to some degree… anyway, here you go!

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Chapter 6

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The Prince was already at the Hourglass when I entered the Hourglass Chamber, ready for him and anything he could throw at me, or so I hoped. Only the sound of my heels echoed in the chamber as I approached him, wiping all hostility or despair from my face. I found myself staring at the Hourglass alongside him. The Sands of Time. They were the bane of us both. And unlike the Dahaka, these couldn't be outrun or escaped.

"Time is running low," he said, almost darkly, "You ready?" We walked up the stairs together, I still silent, unwilling to voice my fears or my hopes. Both would be something I wouldn't be able to explain to him. "I've been thinking Kaileena..." he spoke up with uncommon kindness. "There is little for you on this island. And there will be less still once I've stood before your mistress. "Come with me to Babylon! You'll have a chance to begin a new life, free from the evils of this place!"

I looked at him, struggling to hide my surprise at such an offer… but it could never be. Death or life, that was the ultimate choice. "I am sorry, Prince… but I cannot take you up on your offer." I said, walking past him into the throne room. I positioned myself near the door switch once I entered, ready to throw the lever once he would enter and face the truth. The Empress and the Sands were absent from the chamber. Or so I would have him think.

But the Prince didn't even look at me as he entered the throne room, and when he did, it was a fleeting glance of ice. He continued walking towards the throne, the empty throne, as if he saw an imaginary monarch sitting there. I frowned, confused by this turn of events and walked towards him, even as he ascended the few steps and grabbed my prized twin blades, turning towards me with a determined look in his eyes.

"It doesn't have to end this way!" he called to me and, with all the strength he could muster, he took the heavy blades and threw them away to the left corner of the room, out of my reach, or so he believed.

He knew. I hadn't anticipated that. I had thought he believed me to be a mere servant of the Empress, a handmaiden at best, but then again, being the only human-looking creature he had encountered, save Shahdee, I imagined it hadn't been that difficult to figure out.

But then he surprised me with another shock when he didn't draw his own weapon, but took a step towards me and extended a friendly hand. "Come with me… into the present!"

The present! He knew so little of Time. What he believed to be the present was only one of a zillion possible futures that was being modified and adjusted to the new past and his intrusion into it as we spoke. But I didn't have any trust for any living being. I had experienced fear, anger, hatred. I knew that I had to be strong in order to survive. And surely his hardened soul hadn't lightened up simply because he wanted me to live.

"So you can kill me in your time instead of mine?" I asked viciously, unbelieving. Silently, I commanded the swords to come to me. They were my creations, they had to obey. A soft crackling came from them and they were flying through the air towards me. Effortlessly, I caught them in both hands, ready for battle. A vicious smile crossed my face. "I am sorry, Prince, but only one of us can cheat fate today."

I charged at him, fully expecting him to attempt to block the first blow, but instead, he climbed atop my throne and raised his sword high. Only when the wall broke did I realize that he was attempting to get away. But what for? The portal behind the wall was inaccessible to all but me and I knew better than to travel through time myself.

I moved in to strike him, but he grabbed me by the shoulders, forcing me to lower my hands. "Kaileena... Empress... listen!" the Prince said to me, firmly but pleadingly as well.

For a moment, I stared at him, disbelieving, but then I shrugged him off, "No, YOU listen.

The timeline has said you will kill me, but I will change the timeline!" Pushing me off as I attempted to hit him again, he rushed into the portal chamber, waiting for me down the corridor.

I charged at him, knowing that now he had nowhere to run. With all my strength, I swung my blade at his torso, but suddenly, he had vanished from in front of me and I felt a brief weight on my shoulders. Half-turning my head, I felt his breath on my cheek even as I felt hands on my back and a strong pressure that sent me stumbling forward… straight into the swirling sand vortex in front of me.

I felt my feet leave the ground. I screamed as a swirling sandstorm surrounded me, obscuring my vision and I felt as if I were being thrown forward very quickly. I landed on my feet and lost balance, almost crashing into the ground. Wiping my hair away, I looked around. I was precisely where I had been… only the glamour of my fortress, the red tapestries, the sea of candles, the polished stone, all was gone. Roots of dead-looking trees and crumbling ruins lay around me. I was in the future.

I scrambled to my feet with a frightened gasp, backing away from the sand portal, stumbling clumsily, running away in panic. I knew I couldn't reenter the vortex and the Prince would be here within a manner of moments. I did the logical thing. I ran.

The caves I entered were dark and filled with fog. These were the Mystic Caves, an area of my fortress which I scarcely entered, because it was the realm of my wolf beasts. I knew my way through them, however, and I quickly teleported myself to the highest platform that lead to the ancient tombs. Over a pit I teleported myself and then reached the great platform where my griffin usually made his lair. But he didn't come. I was in the future. And, with all likeliness, if the Prince knew about the portal and had it activated, he knew about this place and had encountered the griffin already. That the Prince was alive was very clear evidence of the griffin's death.

But I stopped short on the platform. This was a perfect place as far as battlegrounds go. I didn't want to run anymore. I didn't want to keep hiding and remain frightened my whole life. Here, nothing could surprise me, here, I was still powerful. Here, I would be able to put up a fight.

Within minutes, he was upon me, flipping to where I was. As soon as he landed in front of me, he proceeded to speak instead of fighting. "I know what you've seen, what you think

You've seen in the timeline."

I was perplexed. But also determined. "Then you know I have no choice."

"There is always a choice, Kaileena!" He implored.

"Then I choose to live… and for you to die!" I said quickly, charging at him with my swords once again.

But… "Stand down!" the Prince called, " I do not want to kill you!"

I stopped feet away from him and lowered my blades for a moment. He didn't understand that will had nothing to do with this. The Timeline was merciless. Fate would find a way to fulfill itself. And I would find a way to avoid it. "Even if you do not want to kill me, you will." I reasoned. "The Timeline demands it."

But he raised his hand to contradict me. "No, Kaileena. You can change your fate. I have done so." I frowned, surprised. "A terrible beast was destined to take my life, but I have freed myself from-"

But something else caught my attention. Darkness emerged from above us. A creature obscured in darkness, in blackness, a beast with shining malicious eyes and bent horns. It was immense, with tentacles emerging from its mid-section. A fear crept through me.

"What is that thing?" I yelled as it jumped down to our level.

"No, no!" the Prince said to himself, "How is this possible? I stopped Kaileena from dying in the past! There are no Sands in the Hourglass!" Boldly, he charged at the creature and raised his sword… and, with an immense hand, it cast him aside with gigantic force. And I realized its eyes were fixed on me. I raised my swords quickly, but I knew it was useless the moment several black tentacles shot out towards me. I ducked one, but the others snaked their way around my arms, my legs and waist, preventing me from being able to slash at it with my swords.

I fought with all strength I had, but I was panicking. Teleportation was almost impossible, because I couldn't see and if I couldn't see, I could end up in the middle of a wall. Dimly, I realized that this was the Dahaka and that I was caught because this wasn't my timeline. I didn't belong in the future. And, despite being the Empress of Time, I was still mortal… and misplaced here. I was about to die and not at the hands of the Prince, though it was his fault.

I heard the Prince shout: "This is all YOUR fault!" and I thought I heard a sword cutting through something. Suddenly, the tentacles retreated, dropping me. I didn't waste a second. I bolted away from the creature before it could summon the energy to grab me again.

At the edge of the pit, I teleported myself to the higher ledge, my clear intention being sprinting towards the sand portal and making it back to safety. I knew very well that the Dahaka was invincible. Fate Incarnate. And then I suddenly realized that the Prince hadn't had the slightest reason to get involved. The Dahaka had cast him away. It hadn't wanted him, only me. And now, he had remained behind.

I chanced a look around and spotted the Prince battling the Dahaka. It was the impossible, really, and he was attempting it. Fighting fate… and he was doing it because of me. I drew a breath and attempted to figure out what to do. The Prince's sword apparently hurt the creature. But the abilities of the Dahaka were far beyond those of the Prince when it came to the physical. But then again, my magical abilities were more than a match for the Dahaka, now that I was free of the tentacles.

Gathering all power I could summon to me, I threw a whirlwind of the Sands at the Dahaka. The blow was powerful enough to knock it off the platform and into the water below, but the thing was resilient and managed to grab hold of the edge of the platform.

I took a step back. The attack had tired me but the Prince seized his chance and was upon the Dahaka at once. Apparently, he had utilized some of the abilities of the Medallion as well, because he was moving abnormally quick. It seemed that the monster was about to leap back to the platform, but then the Prince struck it with his sword, using all the strength he could muster. I teleported myself back to the platform in case there would be any need to support him and throw the creature down.

There was a frightening moment, but then the body of the Dahaka was sent to the pit below. We were still, the Prince and I, waiting for whatever surprise was awaiting us. Sure enough, the Dahaka rose from the water in a terrifying motion, but a moment later, it was sucked back into it, unable to prevent it. And then, it seemed that the darkness surrounding us lifted as the Dahaka vanished. We both exhaled loudly, panting.

Had fate been cheated?

I felt, after what seemed centuries, and perhaps it was, a smile cross my face. He had rescued me… for surely the Dahaka would have come after me. He had helped me cheat my fate. And now, the Dahaka was gone. Was it possible to cheat fate? Was it possible to defeat destiny? Perhaps it was. Perhaps our enmity was now useless, now that there was no shadow looming over us.

I approached the Prince slowly, causing him to look up from his sword. My smile puzzled him, apparently, but as I didn't move to attack him, he seemed to have relaxed.

"You saved me." I said, looking at him with a newfound kindness. Never during my whole long life had I encountered anyone who would have willingly sacrificed themselves for an enemy.

"I had… been attempting to do that… ever since we first met." the Prince said, panting slightly. He stood up, his height not as impressive when I was standing next to him. "Will you come with me now, Kaileena? There is nothing here but dark memories… memories of sad times. A new life awaits you in Babylon. I promise you that you will have everything you could ever dream of."

I lowered my gaze for a moment. After all, there was truth in his words. There was nothing for me here anymore. My realm was a graveyard as surely as my fortress had been a magnificent tomb all these centuries. I wanted to roam the world freely. And where better to start than in Babylon, with him at my side, no masquerades between us now?

"I had ships in the harbor in my timeline, but I doubt we will be able to bring them to this timeline." I said grimly, "And traveling back to my timeline would be risky – it could create another monster to come after us. I'm afraid we will have to go see if anything is left of the harbor in this timeline and build a ship for ourselves, if we are to leave this island."

The Prince nodded. "Where is the harbor? What route will we take to it?"

I looked up and smiled again. "This one. Hold tight. Don't let go and don't be afraid." Approaching him, I embraced him tightly and willed us to pass into particles of sand, just as it always happened when he traveled through time. But this time, we were traveling through space and staying on the same spot in the timeline.

In a moment, we were standing in the ruined harbor and I released the Prince. He observed me with a slightly admiring look, but nevertheless proceeded to look around. The ships were wrecks, but there were nevertheless parts that we would be able to use to create our own vessel.

With his strength and my powers, it was a matter of hours before we had a functional vessel ready. Within hours, we set out for a new future… for Babylon.