Disclaimer: I own only my ideas and words, not the plot, characters, or the entire canon of things upon which they are based.

A/N: Okay, so this is going to be a ridiculously long author's note, but it's all stuff that needs to be gotten out of the way before I can embark on the epicness that this fic is promising to be.

So. First off. Though the first two chapters deal with the end scenes of the movie, that is not all this story is going to be. Those two scenes just fit best with what I was doing, and allowed me to get a little practice with inner dialog before I had to make up what they'd say out loud.

Second. This story is going to be roughly seventeen chapters long, with each chapter based on a line of the song I Remain by Alanis Morissette. I loved the song about as much as I loved the movie, and I thought it fit so perfectly with their story that it'd probably fit the new one, too, the one that begins with "Walk with me" and ends who knows where.

That said, the lines from the song are INSPIRATION. I am not writing a songfic.

Third, I will do my best to update this regularly, at least once a week if not more. I do work full time, and I work the early shift so I spend a lot of my free time sleeping because I have to wake up at one of those hours of the morning that really just shouldn't exist. So, while I promise on my honor not to hold this ransom for reviews, reviews would definitely help me choose the fic over sleep.

Fourth, this is going to be a coherent story, not like my alphabet stories. Part one is followed by part two, etc.

Fifth, If I am feeling it, and if people want it enough, I might be persuaded to do this whole thing from Dastan's point of view.

Sixth, I am making things up as I go. I have not played the games, only seen the movie. All of my stuff is based on movie canon. Also, in my opinion, while Tamina isn't going to remember what happened in the alternate timeline, being the protector of the dagger has to give her some perks, so she gets to have a weird sense of deja vu on occasion.

WOW that was a long author's note! And now, on to the fic that has been taking over my brain since I saw the movie. The title comes from the poem of the same name, specifically the line, "I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul." I thought it fit with Dastan's line about making our own destiny.

Invictus

How crass you stand before me with no blood to fuel your fame.

She stared at the Crown Prince of Persia, a Prince Tus, who was offering her apologies for his army's attack on her city.

As if apologies could erase the damage done, the homes and business lost. As if apologies could make up for all the lives lost.

Not that many lives had been lost. Miraculously, only a handful of her soldiers had been killed. As a sacred city, Alamut did not have a particularly large or well-trained force of men with which to defend herself, trusting on the piety of kings to keep her safe. This strategy, obviously, had not been entirely successful this time, but from what Tamina understood that was more due to the treachery of the king's brother than any real wish to invade the city.

The credit for the nearly bloodless victory seemed to rest with the man her guards were whispering about, the Lion of Persia. One of the commanders of the army, she supposed. Well, they would have to excuse her for not thanking him for his consideration.

But while this Prince Tus might have returned command of Alamut to her, he was still very noticeably the conquering army. While he'd withdrawn the troops to outside the city walls, the force was still large enough to be very threatening and certainly it had only to decide to declare its control of the city to take it again.

And so she was cautiously waiting for the inevitable appearance of the catch, the term upon which he would make peace with Alamut.

And, as she predicted, there it was. A bond closer than friendship? Did he mean...

Marriage. Of course. To his younger brother. Savior and conqueror... Good lord, this must be the Lion of Persia.

She studied Prince Dastan as he grinned at his brothers, who were currently pushing him towards her. What had Tus said, royal blood or no? Prince Dastan was not of royal birth?

"Hello, Princess." He bowed a little awkwardly, and stepped forward. There was something in the way he'd been watching her, something in his eyes, like she was the center of the world and he was trying to memorize her face. "Um, it is customary to accompany a proposal with gifts, but, uh, I was surprised, and alas I'm unprepared." Why did Prince Tus roll his eyes at that? "I have nothing for you, save..." Prince Dastan reached around under his cloak and withdrew...

The Dagger! She had not realized it was not safely in the temple in the Hindu Kush! How had this Prince acquired it? And did he understand the value of the gift he offered with his hand in marriage?

"That which is already yours." He knelt before her, offering the dagger carefully with both hands. To anyone looking on it probably appeared to be a Prince giving a betrothal gift to his intended. A bit dramatic, perhaps, but a simple and common gesture. There was something in his face, however, that told her that somehow, he understood the exact significance of what he was doing, what he was placing back in her care.

She took it from him, delicately, never breaking eye contact. She was trying to determine what he knew and why he looked at her as though he knew what she was about to do.

It was a disconcerting look, in a disconcerting face. He was ridiculously attractive, with that slight scar on his cheekbone and not even the decency to be dirty after invading her city. His clothes were those of a fighter, though, not a prince, and he certainly looked less regal than either of his brothers, though the style suited him better. The Lion of Persia, they had called him. His eldest brother had the lion's mane, the middle the lion's temperament, but Dastan, she decided, had the lion's skill, cunning, and sheer love of life. He looked more like a ruffian or a foot soldier than a prince of a mighty empire, and yet his fame was greater at the moment than either of his brothers.

Such a confusing man, and yet...

"Walk with me, Prince Dastan."