- PART THREE: KARAK -
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CHAPTER 10 - PART 1
It was the beginning of the end of Karak… * * * * * Aswad was pacing from one side to the other in his throne room. He was very nervous and a very dark expression covered his face. His eyes were burning with fear and rage. He stopped and looked at Majid who was right in front of him."But that cannot be possible, Majid!" He yelled at the guard. "The Lion of the Desert cannot be inside the city! That is just impossible!" "I received the report, my Lord." "And you did nothing?" Aswad was screaming. "The moment you received that report you should've sent your guards to find him… and to kill him." "My lord," Majid said nervously. "I… I just didn't know what to do… the prophecy says that only…" "To hell with that prophecy!" Aswad said. "This is an emergency… I was really patient with that boy… and look what has happened… you are useless, Majid, do you know that?" "But sir, I---" "I don't want to hear your excuses… I don't want to hear Faaris' excuses either! He failed! He said he wouldn't fail… and he failed! That Ali of Agrabah is only a boy! A stupid boy! How hard can it be to kill him?!" "I just…" "Shut up!" Aswad yelled at Majid. "Faaris failed… the brat entered the city… and my captain of the guard, what did he do? He did NOTHING! And now that stupid kid is running around the city just like that!" "My Lord, sir… I never thought he'd be able to survive Faaris' attack… and in any case, no man on this Earth could enter Karak. Who could go through those walls of fire, sir? No one!" "No one but that cursed boy." Aswad said rubbing his chin. "Well, that means I have no time to lose… Majid, guard the palace, and I hope this is an order you can carry out, for your own good." "I'll do it, sir." "I expect so." He said. "As for me, the time has come… I need the girl… on second thought, send your men to guard the palace, inside and out, you come with me. I need someone to help me with her while I perform the ceremony." "Yes my Lord!" "Go then! Quickly! We have no time to lose!" "I'll have all my men ready in 2 minutes, sir!" "Do it, and then go to the chapel, that's where I'll perform the ceremony." "Yes my lord!" Majid bowed respectfully before Aswad and left the room in a rush. Aswad looked at the window. Before him the Dark City of Karak slept his eternal dream. His eyes scanned the city under him. "Somewhere out there… somewhere out there you are, Lion of the Desert. But learn this, you just cannot win! I won't allow that to happen! I've come so far, I won't let you ruin my plans. This is not over yet, boy. And I'm holding all the cards in this game. You will never be here in time. Like it or not your precious Azul is about to be mine!" By saying that Aswad left the room. He was very upset and nervous and it was quite obvious. He shut the door of his throne room behind him and with long and steady steps he went in Azul's chambers' direction. "The time has come!" He kept repeating to himself. "This is the night Karak will be renewed." * * * * * Azul was in her room. She was lying on her bed, her gaze totally lost in space. She was staring absently at the window but her eyes weren't focused on anything. She was lost in her own thoughts.She sighed deeply, almost painfully and rested her head on the pillow she was hugging. Her face was all tear streaked. She felt she had no more tears to shed. She was feeling so empty, so lonely, so helpless. "This is it?" She whispered softly. "This is how it ends?" She closed her eyes. She was feeling so tired and so sleepy then. It was as if all the strength in her body had abandoned her. She only wanted to close her eyes and sleep. She wished she could close her eyes and forget. She wished she could just close her eyes and die. "Why?" She said in the same soft tone. "Why do I have to go on? Why do I have to continue fighting when in my heart there's nothing else to fight for? I remember Agrabah and my parents… all the people that are important to me. But it all seems so blurred, so far away. That happy life I lived there just faded in my mind. It was only a dream. I should've known it was too good to be true… too good to last." Azul sighed deeply and snuggled against her pillow. "All that love… all that happiness… all that tenderness… it's all gone." She closed her eyes and a single stray tear escaped the corner of her eye. "If I have to die now," She said softly. "At least I know my life was worthy. All this pain is worth it for those two blessed years I lived by Ali's side. For all the happiness he brought into my life. For all the love he gave to me. Life was perfect because of him, because of his love. Because of his tenderness and his sweetness." Her mind flew back to those old days when she lived in Alexandria. She had a wonderful life there with her family. She loved deeply her family. She loved her parents and her uncle and cousins. And she loved her grandmother. But things had never been easy for her when she was living there. Outside the walls of the family house there was another world. A menacing world. A world of people that never accepted her. That never liked her. People who were always molesting her and making fun of her. "Guys in Alexandria were mean." She thought. "I never thought I was worthy then. They made me look at myself as if I were a weird animal… a freak. I never knew what a friend was. And I never expected to be loved. I always thought I was ugly, I was low, I was weird… love was a wild dream to me and I never cared much for it, for I had the firm idea that love was not for me." She closed her eyes and something, like a small smile appeared on her face. "And then came you…" Azul opened her blue eyes and stared absently at the window. "What did you see in me, Ali?" She whispered. "Just look at me… I'm not the kind of woman that's suited to marry a prince… I'm so common and so… messy. Every time I looked at your mother, Ali, I thought I was not the kind of woman you deserved. Queen Jasmine is so elegant and so sophisticated and I--- I am so common. And yet, whenever I looked into your eyes, my love, and I saw my own reflection there… then I found a totally different girl there. That reflection always showed me a real princess. Ali, my love, you made a princess out of me… you made me feel like a real princess. You thought I was a princess. I always wondered what did I do to deserve you, to deserve your love?" A deep sob escaped her throat but there were no tears left in her eyes. "Thank you Ali… thank you my Ali, my prince. Thanks for all the moments you gave to me. Thanks for the life you gave to me. Thanks for the most wonderful two years of my life. Thank you for your love and your devotion. Thanks for seeing the woman in me…" She gulped and a deep, shaky and painful sigh came out of her soul. "I always thought we'd spend the rest of our lives together, Ali. I always thought we'd share the eternity… I always thought we…" She sobbed quietly. "I guess I took love for granted… I guess I never thought something this awful could…" She stopped. Another sob came out of her chest. A violent one. One she just couldn't control. She hugged her pillow and buried her face on it. "Why Ali?" She was saying between sobs. "Why do things have to be this way? Why did you do that to yourself? Why? Why did you love me that much? Why did you let me be the cause of your death? You my Prince, the man I'd give anything for… the man I'd give everything to… and look what I did to you!" A last long sob escaped her throat and she stayed there, silent and motionless on her bed, just staring at the window. "Oh Sweet Allah… let this be only a nightmare… only a nightmare… let me open my eyes and discover this is not happening… that this is nothing but a bad dream… oh all Mighty Allah, give us the chance to start again… just tell me this is not true… just… tell me things are not this way…" Little by little she started to get more and more sleepy. As much as she was trying to keep her eyes open she just couldn't. She wanted to stay awake. She wanted to be prepared. But she was exhausted. She just couldn't resist anymore. And as much as she was fighting it, she started to doze off. "I feel you…" She was muttering. "You are here, Ali… you are close to me… I can feel you here… Ali… I love you…" Her eyes finally closed as a last tear escaped them. Suddenly the loud noise of steps was heard in the hallway. Azul tried to open her eyes and blinked a couple of times at that sound. She was just lifting her head when the door opened making a big noise and Aswad entered the room. Azul practically jumped off the bed and went to the window's side but Aswad walked towards her and for the expression on his face Azul could see he was not happy. "The time has come." The dark sorcerer said going to her. "NO!" She yelled knowing what those words meant. "Stay away from me!" "I don't have time for this!" Aswad said grabbing Azul's arm and dragging her along. "All your little games are over, Azul. You're coming with me now!" "No!" Azul said grabbing her bed. "Never! I am not coming with you!" Aswad tried to drag her, he tried to pull her away from the bed but she was determined not to go with him. "I'm so tired of you!" Aswad said madly. And before Azul could react Aswad's hand was already grabbing her by the neck. He was holding her really tight, almost strangling her. She had to let go of her grip and her hands went to the hand that was asphyxiating her. But Aswad held her neck even tighter. "From now on you'll do as I said. I have no time for you and your games anymore. You are coming with me, that's final." He released her and she gasped for air. She felt her legs weak, not able to support her anymore and even if she felt she was going to collapse right there, she felt Aswad's arm around her. The man held her tight and started to walk in the door's direction. "No!" Azul was screaming. "Let me alone! Let go! Let go!" But it was only a useless cry for help, for it was obvious that Aswad was determined to finish with his plan that night and no one would come to help her. She was on her own. As much as she cried or tried to fight, Aswad had everything planned, everything under his control. Azul was trying to resist but Aswad was acting really violent, holding her tightly, almost painfully. She tried to kick him, to bite him, to scratch him… whatever would do it, as far as she could free herself of that grip. Of that embrace of death. But Aswad was not going to let her go. They were already in the hallway and he was not saying a word, he was just dragging her along. But it was very obvious he was really upset at her. He didn't have time and she was not cooperating. Suddenly he stopped and without any warning he slapped Azul on the face. She let out a little yelp. No one had ever hit her before. And it had been a really hard slap. She touched her cheek and looked at Aswad. The man frowned at her. "Are you done with your whimpering?" He said. Fire appeared in Azul's eyes. She sent him a terrible, sharp, killer look. "You are a coward!" She said coldly. "Am I?" Aswad smiled malevolently at her. "And what's your boyfriend? The man who took his own life… what do you call that? Cowardice!" "No!" She said trying to resist him. "Ali was never a coward!" "I'm not here to discuss your boyfriend's actions… and I have no time to lose." He said dragging her along. "Aswad!" Azul said with a firm voice. The dark man stopped and turned to face her. "What?" "I will never be yours! Never! You can have my body but you will never have my spirit!" "Don't worry, your body is all I need." He laughed softly. "And yet, you'll have to kill me first!" Azul screamed and started to fight again. Aswad grabbed her wrist and held it tight. "But you ARE already dead!" Azul frowned and threw herself to him, beating him over and over, trying to get rid of his grip. She was conscious of her situation. She had no chances to escape that place. She knew it was the end and there was nothing she could do about that but she was determined to fight to the end. And she was determined to die before letting that man lay a finger on her. Her heart and her soul had never been his. Aswad had never conquered or broken her spirit and he would have to break her body before she would allow him to take her. She promised herself that she would fight to the end. No matter what, she wouldn't make things easy for him. And she would die fighting. But Aswad was annoyed enough by then. He sent a blast of magic to her. It hit Azul and she felt her body collapsing under that flash of light. It threw her away from Aswad, she crashed against the wall and her limp body fell to the floor. It had been really painful. She opened her eyes and blinked a couple of times, rubbing her temples and shaking her head. She was feeling dizzy and weak. But before she could react Aswad grabbed her by the collar of her dress forcing her to her feet and crashed her against the wall again. "If you want things the hard way, that's the way we'll do them, Azul!" Aswad said through clenched teeth. Azul wanted to reply something but she was breathless. She was just gasping for air. Aswad placed his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him. She wanted to defend herself but her body was not reacting to her orders. That's how powerful the blast of magic had been. Aswad led her to a huge room she had never been in before. It had high ceilings and it was completely empty, save for some sort of altar. The huge windows let the moonlight in and it gave the place a very ghostly appearance. Behind the altar there was a fire, and Azul noticed several magical items on the altar, including a very sharp dagger. The memory of Ali stabbing himself immediately came to her mind at the sight of that dagger. She closed her eyes and tried to take that image out of her mind. She couldn't be weak then. But then she realized that dagger was prepared for herself and she gulped in terror. But then she frowned and recovered her determination. Death was better than subjection. Aswad went to the altar and threw her to the floor savagely. Her legs were still weak and she couldn't avoid it, she just fell at Aswad's feet. The dark man ignored her, he just looked at the huge window beside them and nodded when he saw the alignment of the stars in the sky. Immediately he went to the altar and opened a book while he started to prepare his stuff. "Take care of her!" He commanded over his shoulder. Almost immediately Azul felt Majid's strong arms around her. The guard forced her to her feet and grabbed her wrists behind her back, to prevent her from escaping. Azul sent him a sharp look and the guard avoided her eyes. Despite all of it he felt sorry for the poor girl. "The time has come!" Aswad announced and Azul felt fear running across her body. "The stars are in position. This is the night. The night you Azul from Azrak's blood will give Karak life. This is the night you will give me an heir from Azrak's linage." "Never!" She said trying to free herself. But Majid's grip was really strong. Aswad looked at her and smiled evilly, then he turned to the altar and looked at the book. "Let's start with the ritual now…" By saying that Aswad started to prepare the stuff he had on the altar while he was reciting some magical words in a strange language. The fire behind the altar started to burn violently. Azul's eyes were wide open with terror and desperation. There was nothing left she could do. And yet she was determined. She'd die before allowing Aswad to lay a finger on her. The dark man turned to her then… the glow of the fire gave a terrible expression to his face. He was smiling evilly and Azul screamed, not wanting him to get closer to her. Aswad held her by her wrist pulling her to him. She was screaming and trying to free himself from that grip but magic was flooding Aswad's body then. Azul could felt that electricity running across her own body. He had her totally under his power. Azul's blue eyes opened wide when Aswad embraced her and his face got closer to her. As much as she was trying to push him away it was useless. "And now, Azul… now you will be mine…" * * * * * The long corridor was totally empty and dark. Only the moonlight illuminated the place giving it a gloomy appearance. Ali looked around him. That place gave him the shivers. It had something evil about that palace. Something like a dark energy in the air.The Prince of Agrabah made sure no one was around and slowly he started to walk carefully in a huge door's direction. He didn't wanted his steps to make any noise for it was rather obvious that the minimal noise would be echoed all over the place and he didn't want to be discovered. He wanted to give them a surprise. "This place is so creepy!" He thought. "I don't know how anyone could live here. I know I wouldn't want to spend a single day here. The palace is huge and beautiful. And yet it has something of evil, something of… terrible. It must be all the evilness stored in this cursed place." Ali heard some steps coming from inside the room at the end of the hall and some voices echoing in the huge corridor. He covered himself in the shadows of another corridor and put his hand on the handle of his sword ready to prevent any attack. As the voices came closer he could understand what they were saying. "… the ceremony is taking place now." One of the men, obviously a guard, was saying. "But everything is so calm." His partner responded. "Nothing has been found in the city yet and the palace is so peaceful." "But we must be prepared. You don't want to deal with Lord Aswad when he's angry. We cannot allow the Lion to enter in here." The men continued with their round and Ali smiled evilly. "Too late." He thought. "The Lion is here… so, Aswad is waiting for me. That is good because I have some stuff to deal with him." Ali made sure the guards were gone before leaving the protecting shadows. Then he returned to the corridor and almost ran to the doors of the room at the end of the corridor. By the looks of those doors he could say that was an important room of the palace. Ali reached the doors almost immediately and entered the room closing the heavy doors behind him. He leaned back on the door and his eyes scanned the empty place. It was a huge throne room. There was a throne there, a big and impressive throne. The throne of the Lord of Karak. There were two snake-shaped lanterns, one at each side of the throne and fire was burning in them. And right before the throne there was some kind of water pool. Ali was curious. He went closer to the water pool and he could see his own image reflected there. He frowned and leaned over to touch the water, but as soon as his finger touched the water there was a flash of light and Ali stepped back holding his hand to his chest. "Stupid water!" He groaned. "It hurt!" His eye was caught by a big ancient book that was on a small table by the throne. He went there and he could see an intricate snake design on the cover of the book. He noticed it was the same design that was all over the palace. Ali touched the book tentatively and stepped back, expecting it to react the same way the water had reacted but it didn't happen. Ali opened the book but he realized it was written in an unknown language. "It must be a spell book." He said. "And that water must be magical… I wonder where the Lord of Karak is?" Slowly he went to the other door of the room, the main door and he opened it carefully. Outside the throne room there was a huge gallery. He stepped out and tried to decide which way he should take, for many corridors and hallways could be seen from there. "I have to find the Lord of Karak!" He was thinking. "But I have to avoid his guards. This is something between him and me… which way should I go?" His eyes were going from one side to the other of that huge gallery trying to decide the way he should go. But suddenly a loud noise made him step back and take off his sword. He leaned against the wall, his heart racing and his eyes moving from one side to the other. He tried to locate the source of that noise. "It was a scream." He said pulling his bangs off his forehead. "This place is so creepy!" He held his breath trying to listen and he could heard voices… voices coming from one of the corridors. He went there and entered the long and dark corridor, his sword in his hand, ready for the battle. At the end of the long hallway there was a door. It was half opened and there was a glisten of light coming from inside the room. Something like fire light. He could hear a voice inside the room, as if someone was praying… or chanting. "What is that?" He thought as he approached the door slowly. But suddenly he stopped. He looked at himself. Something was glowing on his chest and the sudden glow scared him. He stepped back, leaning against the wall and his eyes opened wide. "Wha--?!" He removed his cape and he could see Azrak's amulet glowing in his chest. A soft but bright blue glow. "What is this? Why is this--?" He couldn't end his thought, for the voice inside the room went louder and he could hear another scream… the scream of a woman. He frowned and held his sword tightly in his hand. "What the heck is going on in there?" He thought approaching the door slowly. He noticed the medallion was still glowing but he was more interested in what was happening inside that room. He pushed the door softly, just the necessary amount to peek inside and he could see the huge room. It was all dark, with enormous windows that let in the moonlight. There was some kind of altar in the back of the room and a big fire burning there. And right in front of him there was a man standing. From his clothes he realized it was one of the guards of the palace. But right by the altar in the back of the room there was a tall, dark, elegant man. He was struggling with someone, but from where Ali was standing he couldn't see who was the other person in the room. "Is that Aswad?" Ali thought. * * * * * Aswad was holding Azul close to him, embracing her and laughing softly. She was trying to free herself from Aswad's grip but the man was controlling her, not only with his strength but with the energy of his black magic."You are about to be mine!" Aswad was whispering hoarsely against Azul's face. "Never!" She was muttering. "First you'll have to kill me!" "Stupid woman!" He said placing his hand on Azul's stomach. "Now it's the right time… tonight I'll make you the mother of my child!" "NO! Never!" With a sudden strength born out of desperation Azul shoved Aswad away and she tried to run, but the way was closed by Majid who was ready to prevent any attempt of escape. She stopped short and immediately she felt Aswad right behind her. She turned just to see Aswad's mad face. Without any warning he grabbed her by the chin in a very savage way and he pulled her close to a kiss. Azul couldn't react in time. She felt Aswad's lips on hers and she felt how Aswad arms closed around her in a tight embrace. As much as she tried to resist and fight Aswad was there, finally kissing her. She wanted to cry, she wanted to escape, to run away but Aswad's embrace was so powerful. She knew he was using magic… and she couldn't fight it. A tear was escaping the corner of her eye and for a moment she felt she was defeated. But then her eyes opened wide. She had promised herself she'd die before surrendering to him. With all the strength she had left in her body she shoved Aswad away. The sorcerer was taken by surprise and he stepped back. Azul looked at him with disgust clearly showing on her face. She was gasping for air. "You are making this very hard!" He said hoarsely. "I cannot lose any more time!" "You'll never have me!" She said determinedly. Aswad stepped forward and Azul tried to slap his face, but Aswad was faster than her and caught her hand in the air and responded with a slap of his own. He slapped her so hard that he sent her to the floor. * * * * * Ali was still trying to get a look at the person who was with Aswad. Suddenly the dark man turned to that person and grabbed her, pulling her into an embrace. That woman, for Ali was now sure it was a woman, was fighting and resisting Aswad's touch.The guard moved trying to cover an attempt of escape from that woman, or so Ali thought. Then he could see the woman clearly. She was a young lady dressed in a very uncomfortable dress with crescent moon designs and Ali thought he had seen that design somewhere else. Ali's blood started to boil when he saw Aswad abusing her. He was forcing her into that embrace and suddenly the girl tried to escape, but the guard stopped her. Ali could then see how Aswad grabbed her and forced her into a kiss. The prince of Agrabah couldn't resist that anymore. He grabbed his sword and he was about to step into the room when he saw something… Suddenly his whole world started to spin around… he had recognized that woman… that woman in Aswad embrace… that woman that man was abusing… that woman Aswad was kissing… that woman was Azul. Ali's eyes widened with the surprise and his heart started to race. His blood was boiling in his veins and he felt the rage blinding him. And suddenly that man slapped her. That man dared to hurt what was the most precious and sacred thing in the whole universe, his Azul. "NO!!!!!" As soon as Azul hit the floor she heard that desperate cry. Aswad was also taken by surprise by that unexpected noise and so was Majid. Azul's blue eyes opened wide with surprise and her already racing heart speeded up. "ALI!" She screamed. She was shocked. Ali practically jumped on Aswad, sword in hand, as a lion. "The Lion of the Desert!" Aswad said stepping back as rage and fear appeared on his face. But before Ali could reach Aswad, a side door of the room opened and Faaris appeared there, groaning loudly and tackling Ali to the floor. Azul was staring at Ali in amazement and she yelped when she saw Faaris falling on Ali. But Aswad took advantage of the diversion and grabbed Azul's arm, forcing her to get to her feet. She tried to resist herself but Aswad was acting really rude. He pushed her to him and he started to drag her out of the room. "Ali!" She was screaming at him, stretching her arms at him. "Ali!"
Ali was on the floor, fighting Faaris bravely. His eyes reflected fear and preoccupation when he realized Aswad was taking Azul away. "Azul!" He screamed in a hoarse voice. "Stop! Leave her alone! Azul…!" But Faaris punched him in the face. Ali was blinded by the rage and the hate he was feeling at the moment. It was a real shock to find Azul alive in there but to see Aswad abusing her that way had made him go crazy. He felt his body flooded by a new energy, by a new strength. That force only Azul could give to him. "ALI!" Azul was screaming. It was really difficult for Aswad to take her out of the room. She was trying to punch him, to kick him, to slap him. She was trying just everything, trying to get rid of Aswad's grip. And as much as he was trying to control her she was just impossible. The dark man raised his hand with the clear intention of slapping her face once again, but this time Azul reacted real quick and before Aswad could stop it she was biting his hand. Aswad screamed in pain and Azul was freed from his grip. But as soon as she wanted to run to help Ali, Majid stopped her. "Azul!" Ali was screaming in the middle of the fight. At that moment that was the only word in Ali's mind… and in his heart. "Ali!" She threw herself on Majid trying to get through and the guard had to practically tackle her to stop her. Aswad was still rubbing his hand. He had a terrible expression on his face. With a quick movement he took the dagger that was on the table and grabbed Azul, pressing the dagger against her neck. "That's it!" He said. "This is over… I have no time now… I need your blood!" Azul gasped at the cold feeling of the blade of the dagger against her neck. Ali's eyes widened. "NO!" He screamed and tried to reach her. But Faaris was faster. He jumped on Ali's back tackling him to the floor once again. "The blood Aswad!" Faaris screamed. "Get the damn blood!" "Azul!" Ali was screaming at the top of his lunges. "NO!" Aswad looked at Majid and motioned to Ali and Faaris with his head. "You stay here! I want that prince dead!" "Yes my Lord!" Majid bowed and grabbed his sword, going to Ali and Faaris. Aswad dragged Azul out of the room. She couldn't move for the slightest movement could provoke a wound in her neck, for the dagger was pressed tightly against it. And she couldn't give up then. No when her Ali was there. Until a few minutes ago she wanted to die but then she was determined to live. "Ali!" She screamed for the last time before they left the room. "AZUL!" Ali yelled loudly. "Hang on! This time I won't abandon you!" But the situation was not easy for Ali. Not easy at all. Faaris was over him, punching him and just waiting for the perfect time to attack him with his sword. And the guard, Majid was there, ready to help and support Faaris. But Ali wouldn't give up that easily. He was fighting like a lion. Like a mad lion. The rage and the hate he felt in his heart at that moment was too much for him to handle. He was acting like a demon. He didn't even have the time to ask himself why Azul was in there. In his mind he only had her image. And now that he had seen her again nothing and no one in the world could stop him. * * * * * Aswad and Azul entered the throne room. Aswad closed the door behind him and locked it. Then he shoved Azul away from him."You liar!" She said sharply. "I knew Ali would never do that to himself!" "You know NOTHING!" He said slapping her face again. "I had plans for you Azul… I liked you… I was nice to you… and look at what you've done… I never wanted to do this, Azul… but you forced me!" "I've proven that my love is stronger than your spells, Aswad!" "As strong as your stupid love can be, this is over now." Aswad took the dagger and grabbed Azul by the neck, almost strangling her. "What… are you doing?!" She gasped. "What I should've done from the first day… I wanted you to live… now I want you to die… I'll get your blood, just the way I was supposed to from the moment you arrived in Karak!" "No!" Azul said. But she felt her legs getting weak for she couldn't breath. "Ali!" She thought. "Please… hurry!" * * * * * When Ali saw Aswad and Azul disappearing behind the door of the room he went crazy. He knew Aswad was running out of time and only Allah knew what that man was going to do to her then.Ali knew the pain of losing her once and he wasn't willing to go through that pain one more time… never again. Suddenly the amulet on his chest started to glow again and Ali felt electricity running across his body. Even though Faaris was on him and kept him pressed to the floor, Ali suddenly shoved him away and with a quick movement he jumped to his feet. Faaris was taken by surprise by Ali's sudden reaction. But by then Majid was already attacking Ali with his sword. But Ali was totally out of his mind. Only a couple of movements were enough to make Majid lose his sword. The guard looked at Ali in fear when he found himself disarmed and Ali with a quick movement hit him on the face with the handle of his sword and taking advantage of the momentum Ali finished him with a strong punch on his face. Majid fell on his back and stayed motionless on the floor. But as soon as Ali did that he turned to Faaris who was already on his feet and ready to attack Ali, sword in hand. The prince of Agrabah frowned. The most terrible expression appeared on his face then. "She is alive!" He screamed. "And you wanted me to end my own life!" "It almost worked!" Faaris replied. "As for she, I doubt she'd stay like that for long. We need her damn blood! Other than that she's just a…" Faaris couldn't end his sentence, for Ali had punched him in the face as well. The dark warrior stepped back in pain, for Ali's attack had been a very unexpected one. Blood was coming out of his nose and that was enough to fire his rage. Faaris roared and charged against Ali who received him with his sword. A terrible sword fight started then. Faaris was attacking Ali with all he had but the prince was really good handling his own sword. He was returning every single attack Faaris made on him. That energy that was flooding his body was so powerful that at that moment Ali felt he could lift the world. Faaris had never seen someone fighting the way Ali was doing it. The Lion of the Desert was a demon incarnated. Even his face looked different. He was mad, mad as he had never been before in his life. As much as Faaris was trying to hurt him, he kept defending himself and returning all his attacks.
"I'm here to win!" Ali replied. "I'm here to finish YOU!" With that Ali tried to hit Faaris' stomach with his sword. He almost did it but Faaris could barely avoid the hit. But he lost balance and Ali took advantage of that, sweeping his foot under Faaris'. The dark warrior fell to the floor and with a quick movement Ali grabbed a small jar from the altar and threw the contents to Faaris' eyes. That was some kind of magical powder and Faaris screamed in pain for he had been blinded by that. Ali didn't lose any time, as soon as he saw Faaris like that he ran to the door and stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him. He was gasping for air but he immediately opened his satchel and took his snake-shaped flute out of there. "You can open doors," He said. "Close this one! Please!" Even if he was out of breath he played the melody as fast as he could. The medallion was glowing on his chest and he was feeling that electricity again. When he finished playing the song he tried to open the door, but it was closed and he couldn't open it. "Good!" He said. Faaris was still blinded but he moved to the door and tried to open it. But the door was closed and all his effort was useless, for he couldn't open that door. "I'm going to kill you!" Faaris yelled from inside the room. "Next time we'll meet I'm going to kill you!" "See you later!" Ali said under his breath and ran in the throne room's direction, the place where he knew Aswad had taken Azul. * * * * * Ali crossed the corridors of the Karakian Dark Palace, almost flying in the throne room's direction. He wished he could be faster to get there."Azul!" He kept thinking. "Azul is here… she's here!" His mind was blurred. He didn't know what was going on there. He simply couldn't understand things. It was all so confusing for him to understand it. The idea of Azul being there couldn't completely sink in him. "But I saw her!" He repeated over and over. "She was there… she was calling for me… oh Allah! She's alive!" In a couple of minutes he was right in front of the huge doors of the throne room. He tried to open them but they were locked. Ali made a face and groaned. He started to hit the doors loudly with the handle of his sword. "Open those doors!" He was screaming. "AZUL! Let me in!" Inside the throne room Aswad was still grabbing Azul's neck. She felt she was about to pass out. She couldn't feel her legs anymore and she felt she couldn't breath anymore either. Her hands went to her neck trying to push Aswad's hands off her but it was useless. Aswad's grip was really tight and she was very weak by then. She barely lifted her gaze to look at Aswad's face. The dark man smiled malevolently at her and showed her his dagger. "It's time!" He said solemnly. But just at that moment the echo of stampeding feet was heard outside the room, in the hallway and Ali's voice calling for her and hitting the door over and over. Aswad got nervous when he heard that. He released Azul and she almost fell on to her knees but she gasped for air and found support on the throne. The dark man looked at the door. "He can't go through those doors!" He said under his breath. "ALI!" Azul managed to yell. "Ali, I'm in here!" Aswad turned to her and without any warning he slapped her face again. He was acting really violent. Azul looked up at him and she found in his face a expression that was a mixture of fear and hate. She had never seen that expression on his face before. Azul's face was very hurt by then. He had been slapping her and strangling her over and over and even if she felt her body was getting weaker and weaker she could also felt her spirit growing stronger and stronger. She looked up at him with a challenging look. She was going to fight. She was not going to let Aswad get away with his plan. She was going to be brave to the end. With a quick movement Aswad waved his arm at his water mirror and it started to glow. Azul looked at it in amazement not knowing what to expect. Aswad frowned and looked at her, waving his arm at her and pronouncing some incomprehensible words. "Your blood will give life to Karak!" He said getting closer to her. "I only need a couple of drops of your blood to start… and then I'll take the rest of it!" Azul froze under Aswad's terrible look. She could still heard Ali hitting the door over and over and calling for her. She shook her head trying to get rid of those dark thoughts that were tormenting her and without any warning she tried to run in the door's direction, but Aswad stopped her grabbing her arm violently and pushing her close to the water mirror. "Karak a adiv ad ergnas ut!" He said as the water mirror started to glow more and more. "Ariviv Karak, lam led saz'reuf sal ed erb'mon ne!" "No!" Azul said stepping back as she felt a shock of energy running across her body. "NO! ALI!" Aswad grabbed Azul's hand and looked at her eyes evilly showing the dagger to her. She wanted to be strong but she felt her body trembling. "Your precious blood… the life of Karak!" Right at that moment the noise outside the room ended abruptly and almost instantly a soft melody started to sound out there. "Ali!" Azul said shocked. "But what--?" "What the heck is THAT?" Aswad asked annoyed. "Music? What for?" And with a big scandal the door flew wide open. Both Aswad and Azul jumped at the unexpected sound and Ali appeared in the room. Aswad's eyes widened in fear, but immediately his expression changed to a very fierce one and taking advantage of the fact that Azul was still staring at the door, with a fast movement he cut Azul's palm and blood appeared there right away. Azul screamed in pain when she felt the cut and paced back. It had really hurt. But immediately she held her wounded hand against her chest, not wanting to give Aswad a single drop of it. But for Ali that was the final drop. His eyes reflected all his hate and his anger and rage and the fact that Aswad had hurt his Azul like that was enough to made him go crazy. Ali jumped to Aswad, sword in hand and yelling in fury. Azul stepped back still holding her hand against her chest. She was scared. She had never seen Ali like that before. He was mad and in his face there was a mixture of rage, hate and desperation. Ali looked so different from the Ali she knew. And the expression on his face, specially that furious look in his eyes were enough to scare Azul. But at the same time a warm feeling invaded her. The certainty that things were going to be alright, that she was going to be alright now that Ali was there. Ali went to attack Aswad and his intentions were clearly obvious. He wanted to kill that man. Aswad was totally taken by surprise and he stepped back in panic when he saw the Lion of the Desert falling on him. He barely could stop the hit of Ali's sword using the dagger he still was holding. The dagger that still had Azul's blood smeared on the blade. "I'm going to kill you!" Ali muttered through clenched teeth using all his strength to press his sword against the dagger that was defending Aswad's body. "You cannot kill me, boy!" Aswad muttered back. "You cannot kill a magical being such as myself! All your efforts are useless!" Azul's blue eyes were wide open in terror at the image before her but suddenly she blinked as a thought came to her head. Her hand went to her belt and she found there something she has been keeping all that time. The half key she had gotten from Aswad's library long ago. The key of the temple of Karak, the place where the center of the power of Karak was. She looked at Aswad who still was under Ali's attack and her eyes were caught by the little bag around Aswad's neck. The other half of the key. "The bag!" She screamed. "Ali, get the bag!" Ali heard her voice and looked over his shoulders at her. He wasn't sure what bag she was talking about. But Aswad took advantage of Ali's distraction and he shoved him away. Azul covered her mouth to suppress a yelp but Ali recovered fast and jumped to Aswad once again. But this time the dark sorcerer was not going to be taken by surprise. He received Ali's attack striking him back with a flash of magic. Ali was hit by Aswad's magic and he crashed against the wall behind him. It had been a very hard stroke of magic and Ali felt dizzy. He shook his head and tried to recover himself but he had not time for Aswad was already attacking him, aiming his dagger at Ali's neck. The prince of Agrabah barely escaped that mortal attack, moving away real fast. Azul was really scared and she didn't know what to do. Aswad took advantage of Ali knowing the prince was still harebrained by his magic and sent a new magical attack to him. Ali couldn't avoid it and he felt his knees weaken. He was not able to support himself anymore and he fell on his knees under Aswad's magic. The magic was making him choke. A very annoyed expression appeared on Azul's face. She practically jumped on Aswad's back and hit the sorcerer's head over and over with her fists. That took Aswad by surprise and for a moment he couldn't react. He was only trying to defend himself from her. "Leave him alone!" Azul was screaming. "Leave him alone!" "YOU!" Aswad said annoyed and shoved her away from him. The magical glow around Ali vanished and he gasped for air. But as soon as he lifted his head to see Aswad he saw the dark man shoving Azul away from him violently. Rage appeared on his face again and he jumped to his feet, holding his sword and he went to attack Aswad. The Lord of Karak was still looking at Azul when he felt a heavy weight falling on him. Ali and Aswad fell on the floor. It was specially painful for Aswad who had Ali over him. But it was even worse when the prince of Agrabah started to punch his face over and over with all the strength he had in his body. "You cursed, damn man!" Ali was yelling at him. "You are going to die! I'm going to kill you! You are going to suffer, you damn Aswad!" Azul was very scared. She had never seen Ali like that. He was not a man but a demon. She had never thought her sweet Ali was capable of such fury and such violence. Aswad was trying to defend himself but Ali didn't allow him to move. He had him trapped under him. But Aswad still had the resource of the magic. But in order to use his magic he first had to take that annoying boy off him. He reached for his dagger and with a fast movement he hit Ali's arm with it. Ali screamed in pain and shoved away from Aswad. It had not been a deep or dangerous cut, it had barely ripped his shirt and cut his skin but it had been painful nonetheless. But that was all Aswad needed. Before Ali could react Aswad hit him with another powerful stroke of magic. Ali fell backwards to the ground screaming in pain. "NO!" Azul screamed and tried to get closer to Aswad. But the dark man turned to her and hit her with the same magic he had hit Ali. Azul fell on her knees. It was a powerful magic. "You cursed children!" Aswad said solemnly. "You really think you can win? You should realize you are in Karak, in my land and under my power!" Aswad turned to Azul and grabbed her by the neck, forcing her to her feet violently. She tried to resist Aswad, but the man grabbed her wounded hand and smiled when he saw blood on it. "This is it!" He said. "NO!" Ali said recovering himself from the magic of Aswad and throwing himself to them. "Leave her alone!" But before Ali could reach them Aswad hit him with magic once again sending him to the floor one more time. Azul gasped and tried to release her hand from Aswad's grip but the sorcerer held it tighter. "You think you are so heroic coming here to rescue her, don't you Ali?" Aswad said malevolently. "But why don't you tell Azul why it took you so long to get in here? Why don't you explain to her why you never came back to her that cursed night when I kidnapped her?" "Shut up, Aswad!" Ali warned him coldly. Azul looked at Aswad, annoyance on her face. "Ali is here now!" She said in the same cold tone Ali had used. "And now you don't have any chances, Aswad!" "I wouldn't be so sure, Azul." Aswad said amused. "Why don't you ask your prince where he has been all this time?" He turned to Ali. "C'mon Ali, tell Azul about Queen Karima for instance…" Ali looked at Azul. For the first time in months their eyes locked. And much to Azul's despair she found shame and fear in Ali's eyes. "Don't listen to him, Azul!" He pleaded. "Are you going to tell me I'm a liar?" Aswad smiled malevolently. "I trust you, Ali." Azul said softly to him. "Or even better," Aswad chuckled. "Why don't you explain to her why you wanted… why you actually TRIED to kill yourself?" Ali saw the painful expression on Azul's face at Aswad's words. He was feeling so ashamed and so guilty. He gulped nervously and lowered his eyes not wanting to look at Azul anymore. He was feeling so unworthy of her. "I don't care what he did!" Azul screamed at Aswad and started to fight again. "He is here now and that is all that matters to me!" Aswad was taken by surprise by Azul and she shoved her hand away from him. Ali reacted quickly and he took his sword and jumped to his feet, throwing himself to Aswad once again. Suddenly the amulet on Ali's chest started to glow again. Aswad looked at it and frowned, for he recognized it immediately. "Azrak's amulet!" He muttered. But Ali was really mad by then. He was mad and hurt. The secrets he wanted to keep away from Azul were revealed and that was painful to him, for he was feeling so ashamed, so unworthy. He was a low creature before Azul now. But the amulet on his chest gave new strength to him. For Aswad tried to hit him several times with new strokes of magic and all of them bounced off his sword. Ali was beginning to understand that his sword was not any sword, but a magic one. Aswad was terrified. He never thought things would be that way. That the prince of Agrabah had such strength, such bravery… and not only Azrak's amulet, but also Azrak's sword. He had to act quickly, for he knew his chances were minimal now. "Get the bag, Ali!" Azul screamed once again. "Aswad's bag!" The dark sorcerer realized that Azul knew what was in that bag. Ali sent Azul a quick gaze and nodded in understanding. He was attacking Aswad again and again with his sword and he had the dark sorcerer almost against the wall. When he was close enough to Aswad he stretched his arm trying to get the bag but Aswad anticipated Ali's movement and he received him with his dagger… and the dagger made a deep cut on the palm of Ali's hand. The Lion of the Desert groaned loudly but that didn't stop him. In fact that only made his hate burn even more in his chest and he hit Aswad's face with the handle of his sword at the time he took the bag off his neck and threw it away from them to the floor. Azul rushed to pick up the bag but as soon as she had it in her hands Aswad reacted to Ali's attack sending a powerful stroke of magic against the prince of Agrabah. Ali screamed in pain and fell to the floor. Azul gasped and looked at Aswad. The magician was not in good shape and he was mad. She knew he'd kill Ali with his magic and she had to do something to help her prince. Her eyes scanned the room nervously and finally they stopped on the spell book by Aswad's throne. She looked at the sorcerer. He was too busy with Ali to even look at her. She looked then at Ali. He was on the floor, at Aswad's mercy. She gulped. Her eyes went from Ali to Aswad and then to Ali again… and finally to the book. A determined look appeared on her face, she nodded to herself and ran to the book, opening it in a rush and trying to find a spell that could help them. "You cannot survive in Karak without Azrak's medallion!" Aswad was telling Ali. "What if I take it away from you?" Azul gasped and paged through the book desperately. Ali looked up at Aswad and despite of the magic that Aswad was using to conquer him the Lion of the Desert sent the Lord of Karak a dirty and sharp look. "Try it… if you dare!" Ali said through clenched teeth. Aswad got closer to Ali and his magic grew stronger. Ali groaned in pain trying his best not to give up under Aswad's powers. "You think you are so powerful and so strong, Prince Ali," Aswad said mockingly. "Now I know where Azul got it from… but you two have never realized your situation here in Karak… you are here to die!" "No," Azul whispered. "We are here to find life... even if we have to fight death!" Her eye was caught by a spell. It was a spell to open the portal of the water mirror. Her eyes were wide open in surprise as a small evil smile appeared on her lips. "This is the realm where the demons of wind and the demons of sand Aswad tried to free are imprisoned now… here's where I threw that sandglass… this could work!" Azul looked up at Aswad who was still unaware of what she was doing. She gulped and made a quick prayer for that spell to work. Aswad lifted his arm with the clear intention of getting Ali's medallion but at that moment Azul started to speak loud and clear. "Latrop ed sarb'mos y albein, eterba y aerc anu noixenoc noc etse odnum..." "WHAT?!" Aswad stopped what he was about to do and turned to Azul. The water mirror was starting to glow and a wind was running around the room. "No!" Aswad screamed. "Stop it!" He released Ali from his magic. The prince of Agrabah fell to the ground gasping for air but immediately his gaze went to Azul. A soft blue glow was surrounding her and the water mirror was now glowing brightly. Wind and noise were all around the room. "Azul!" Ali muttered under his breath. Aswad was coming closer to her, yelling at her to stop. Azul's eyes widened and she read quickly the last part of the spell. "Enq al aigam ed Karak arba sut satreup arap redop rartne a sut sonerret ed sarbmos y anep..." "You cannot invoke the powers of Karak!" Aswad screamed. "You CANNOT!" "Eterba aroha!" Azul said the last words and ran away from the book. The portal opened with a loud noise and a bright light illuminated the place. Ali's eyes widened and his mouth hung open. Aswad turned to Azul, rage in his eyes. "What have you done? Do you have any idea what you've opened?!!" Aswad tried to grab Azul but Ali ran to them. "Azul!" He screamed. "Get out of there!" Her gaze went from the portal to Aswad and then to Ali. She was scared. The prince of Agrabah was coming to them, his sword raised high over his head, ready to attack Aswad. Azul moved aside to the throne. Aswad looked at her but he decided he had to defend himself from Ali's attack in the first place. He sent some magic in Ali's direction but the prince avoided the stroke of the dark magic with his sword. Aswad's gaze went from Ali to Azul for the Lord of Karak was not sure who was the most dangerous and he couldn't trust any of them. But he didn't have much time to think about that. He could barely put his dagger in front of him to stop Ali's sword. The prince of Agrabah was aiming at his head and for the look in Ali's eyes Aswad knew he was determined to kill. "Ali!" Azul screamed to let her voice be heard between the noise. "The portal Ali!" Ali sent Azul a quick gaze of understanding. He still had his sword pressed against Aswad's dagger and he was trying with all the strength of his body to shove the dark sorcerer inside the portal. Aswad couldn't resist Ali's force anymore. The prince of Agrabah was totally worn out after his journey across the desert and he felt he had no strength left in his body, but the minute he saw Azul alive a new wave of energy flooded him. And despite his tired and worn out body he still was much more strong than Aswad. And the magical amulet of Azrak was glowing on his chest… Aswad looked at it. He knew without that medallion Ali couldn't survive in Karak. With all the strength he had left he tried to get the amulet. When Ali realized what the Lord of Karak was trying to do he stepped back immediately, for he knew very well that the moment he'd take the medallion away from him he'd be at his mercy. Aswad took advantage of that. The moment Ali stepped back he hit him again with a stroke of magic. Ali couldn't react in time and the magic sent him to the floor. He screamed loudly and Azul gasped. "Ali!" She said leaving her safe spot by the throne room and running in Ali's direction. "NO!" Ali screamed. "Don't come any closer!" Azul stopped short and Aswad looked at her smiling malevolently. With the bright light of the open portal he looked really scary. Almost like a demon. "We have some unfinished business, Azul!" Aswad yelled, his voice barely audible in the loud noises of the open portal. Azul's eyes widened in panic and she tried to go back to her hiding place but Aswad was quicker than her and grabbed her arm. "NO!" Ali yelled jumping to his feet. "Leave her alone!" He raised his sword over his head and ran to Aswad. But with a very quick movement the Lord of Karak pulled Azul to him, grabbing her arm behind her back and his other arm around her shoulders, pressing the tip of the dagger against Azul's neck and keeping her in front of him as a human shield. Azul gasped and Ali stopped, terror on his face.
Ali gulped. He was gasping for air. His fear and desperation were clearly visible on his face. "No!" He said. "Don't hurt her!" "Her life is in my hands… and now you, Lion of the Desert, you will do whatever I command… otherwise your precious Azul will die. And you know I'd kill her. You know I need her blood!" "Don't listen to him Ali!" Azul muttered. Her heart was racing in her chest and she could barely breath, for Aswad was pressing her tightly against him. She could feel the cold blade of the dagger firmly pressed against her neck. She thought with the minimal move it would cut her skin and cause her death. She was scared. "I'll do whatever it takes!" Ali said quietly, terror on his face. "But don't hurt her! PLEASE, don't hurt her!" "I'm glad we're starting to get an arrangement here, Prince Ali." Aswad smiled evilly. "Now put your weapons on the floor, slowly…" Ali looked at Azul. His own terrified expression was mirrored in her face. Their eyes locked and Ali could read something in Azul's eyes. Like a spark of light. Aswad couldn't see Azul's face so he didn't notice it but Ali knew, without any doubt that his girl had an idea. Azul's eyebrows raised and Ali barely nodded in understanding. "I understand." He said softly. Aswad smiled malevolently, for he thought the Prince of Agrabah was talking to him. Ali put his sword on the floor slowly and then took out his dagger. "On the floor!" Aswad screamed. "But first," Ali said. "You must promise me Azul will be safe from any danger…" "I need her as much as you do." Aswad said. "I'm interested in her safety as much as you are, so don't force me to kill her… be a good boy and put that dagger on the floor… NOW!" Ali started to lean over slowly to place the dagger on the floor, but he kept his eyes on Aswad and Azul. She was looking at him and breathing really fast. As soon as Ali placed the dagger on the floor and threw it away from him she could feel Aswad relaxing his grip on her. "Good boy!" Aswad said softly. But Azul didn't have any time to lose. As soon as she felt Aswad relaxing she moved really quick, pulling Aswad's hand away from her neck and with all the strength she had in her body she hit Aswad's stomach with her elbow. That took Aswad totally by surprise. He hunched over in pain and Ali, who was ready to react to Azul's action jumped on him. Azul threw herself to the floor just in time, for Ali fell on Aswad like a lion attacking his prey and he tackled him into the open portal. Aswad screamed when he felt the magic of the portal dragging him inside it. He lost his dagger but with a real fast movement he grabbed Ali's foot. The prince of Agrabah tried to find something to grab but he couldn't find anything. He fell on his stomach and as much as he was trying to get a grip of something he couldn't. "ALI!" Azul screamed. She ran to him and threw herself to the floor. Ali stretched his arm to her and she barely grabbed his hand. "Azul!" He screamed between the loud noises of the open portal. "Don't let go!" "I won't!" She muttered through clenched teeth. "I won't let go of you!" She was holding Ali's hand with all she had in her. It was not easy, for Ali was heavy and Aswad was dragging him along to the magical portal and the realm of darkness inside it. But she wouldn't allow Ali to go there. She was determined to save him at any cost. "Ali!" She was muttering. "Hang on! Please!" Ali was holding her hands with all the strength he had in his body. But Aswad was pulling his leg and it was really painful for him. "Please!" He was whispering as his face showed all his pain. "Please don't let go!" Azul was being dragged along to the open portal. She felt as if her arms were about to break, to be taken away from her body. But he was holding Ali's hands with her life. She looked at the throne. She gulped and feeling her heart racing in her chest one of her hands released Ali and grabbed the throne searching for some support there. "Hang on Ali!" She muttered. "I wont' let you go!" Ali felt secure in Azul's grip. He looked down and sent Aswad a hateful look. The Lord of Karak was really scared. The magic of the portal was sucking him inside. To the realm of darkness, the place where the demons of sand and the demons of wind were imprisoned. He'd spend the rest of eternity with the demons he once wanted to summon to destroy the seven deserts. "No!" Aswad was screaming. "This cannot end like this! I am the Lord of Karak!" "The prophecy said," Azul muttered. "That Karak can only be destroyed… by the Lion of the Desert… and Azrak's blood…" Ali looked up at Azul. He knew she couldn't resist any longer. A determined expression appeared on his face and with a very unexpected movement he kicked Aswad's face with the foot that was free. Aswad screamed in pain and released Ali's leg. At that moment the magic of the portal sucked him inside. Ali's eyes widened in panic, for he felt that magic was strong enough to suck them as well. "Close the portal Azul!" He screamed. "Close it now!" Azul gulped. "Etarreic arap erpmeis!" She yelled not releasing Ali's hand. A strong wind started to blow around the room. Flashes of light were every where and a loud noise, as if a hundred demons were screaming… Azul threw herself to the floor yelling in terror and covering her face. But Ali and she kept holding their hands tightly. Ali closed his eyes and also covered his head. A big noise as a big explosion resounded in the room. And suddenly there was silence. A deep and absolute silence. The portal had closed. * * * * * Ali and Azul were still laying on the floor, covering their heads and still holding hands tightly. They were breathing real fast, almost gasping for air and feeling their hearts about to explode in their chests.After a minute that seemed to last eternally they lifted their heads timidly, as if they were scared of what they could find there. But the only thing they found was each other's face… each other's scared eyes staring back at them. They were still gasping for air. Slowly they pushed themselves up off the floor, to a kneeling position. Their hands were still pressed together and they started to feel something weird… some sort of electricity running across their bodies… an energy coming from their pressed hands. They looked at their hands and then at each other's eyes. They didn't know what was happening. Very slowly they stood up, their hands pressed together before them. They didn't know what was happening there. Those were their wounded hands. The ones Aswad had wounded with his dagger… the ones that were bleeding. And then a glow… a blue glow. It was soft at the beginning but it was starting to glow brighter and brighter between them. And they were feeling that energy, that power running across their bodies. They were shivering at the feeling of that electricity between them. It was a power that was coming from their blood. Their bloods were mixing… Azul's blood was spreading in Ali as much as his blood was spreading in her body. And Ali noticed a blue glow spreading from Azul's hand into his own.
Ali looked at Azul and gulped. His eyes were wide open with surprise. In the last minutes he had seen the first sights of the power that really lied within his blue eyed girl. "Oh Allah!" Ali thought not being able to speak. "She IS the real thing!" Their hands pulled away slowly. They kept their gazes on each other's eyes. They were together again. After all those weeks of pain and solitude they were finally together one more time. But they just couldn't react. Things had been happening to fast for them. they just couldn't understand what was going on there. It was almost as if they were in the presence of a ghost… of someone who had just came back from death. Ali looked at his hand in front of him. It was still glowing softly. He had a dumbfounded look on his face. They were too confused to understand things. He looked back at her again and their eyes locked one more time. And Ali could see something in her eyes that was never there before. Something had changed inside her, he could clearly see that. He could see some kind of power in her eyes. A new light glittering in those royal blue eyes he loved so much. But Azul could notice something about him as well. Something in his eyes told her he had changed too. He was not the same Ali she left in Agrabah almost two months ago. He was a strong man now. He was the Lion of the Desert. But most of all she could find a new maturity in his eyes. The maturity of a man who has been proven in courage, wisdom and purity. They looked into each other's eyes in amazement for a long while. But they just couldn't say a word. Nothing was coming to them. They were just staring at each other, as if they were afraid of it being only a vision… or a dream. But suddenly Azul's amazed expression changed to a scared one. Fear, terror appeared in her eyes and they started to get all teary. She gulped and she felt she was about to cry. Ali noticed it and stepped forward to her. As soon as he did that Azul practically jumped into his arms. It was an automatic reaction, Ali closed his strong arms around her fragile and small body pressing her against him tightly and they searched desperately for each other's lips. And they finally melted into a deep and passionate kiss. They were practically devouring each other, kissing each other desperately. They had never kissed like that before. It was a deep kiss, as if their souls wanted to meet in their lips. As if they wanted to fuse into the other with that kiss of pure love and devotion. Ali kept his arms around her body, trying to protect her, to feel her real, to feel her there with him. It was not a dream. She was with him for real. He was embracing her so tightly. He was hugging her so tight that he thought he was going to asphyxiate her with his embrace. But Azul didn't mind it.
Suddenly Ali felt tears running down Azul's cheeks. His hands went to her face cupping it amorously as they slowly pulled away from that kiss. They didn't want to finish it. They wanted to stay like that forever. But they had to come up for some air. Ali sighed deeply and opened his eyes slowly. He was cupping her face and he kept his own face close to hers. He felt tears of his own running down his face. For a second they looked deep into each other's eyes. Finally Ali brushed softly the tears off Azul's face with his thumbs. He tried to talk but his voice died in his throat a couple of times. He cleared his throat and finally words came out of him. "This…" He said with a shaky voice and caressed her face tenderly. "This has been the longest night of my life… blue eyes." Azul smiled softly even though tears were escaping her eyes. She knew he was referring to the last time they had said goodnight to each other in Agrabah, many weeks ago. She touched his face tentatively. "Alas," She said with a weak and equally shaky voice. "I have no breakfast ready for you… my prince." Ali smiled unable to contain his tears. "Don't worry… I know you've been busy… but a kiss, a kiss would do it fine…" He moved slowly to her. He was still cupping her face. With an infinite tenderness he pressed his lips softly against hers, barely touching them. They closed their eyes and just enjoyed the feeling of their lips against the other's. It was a very soft kiss. They pulled away slowly. Ali opened his eyes and what he saw was something that healed all his wounds right there. Azul was smiling at him, the most wonderful and beautiful smile was on her face and her blue eyes were shining despite of the tears that she still had in them. Ali's world was illuminated by that wondrous smile of hers. A big smile appeared on his face and he couldn't avoid the laughter that escaped his chest. He started to laugh at the time he picked her up and spun around the room with her. "Aw! You are alive! Good Allah, you ARE alive! Blue eyes… my blue eyes!" Azul threw her arms around his neck and started to laugh too. It was a dream, it was a perfect dream. It was a moment they never thought they had the chance to live. They were together again. Finally together. He put her down and before she could say anything he was already showering her with kisses. He was kissing her all over the face again and again. "Thanks Allah!" He kept muttering between kisses. "Thanks All Mighty Allah!" Suddenly he stopped and looked deep into her eyes. "Oh Azul… are you alright?" "I'm fine." She said not very convinced. "Now that you are here I'm fine." Ali cupped her face and rubbed her cheeks softly with his thumbs. The marks of Aswad's abuse were visible there. Azul cringed a little and a mad expression appeared on Ali's face. "What did that cursed man do to you?" "It doesn't matter anymore." She said softly. "He's gone now." Ali kissed tenderly both of her cheeks and then examined her neck carefully. "Let me take a look at this… didn't that dagger hurt you?" "I'm fine." She said. "Don't worry, I'm fine." Ali's hands went to her neck and caressed it softly. He was glad to see she had no marks on there. Azul kept her eyes closed as he was examining her. Ali smiled tenderly and his hand went to his pocket and then to the chain that was around his neck under his shirt. Slowly he went behind Azul pretending he was still examining her. And suddenly Azul felt Ali's lips pressed against her neck. She opened her eyes in surprise and a tender smile appeared on her lips. "Oh Ali!" She said softly. Ali didn't respond. He just kept his lips pressed against the spot of her neck where the dagger had been. Azul closed her eyes and thought how different Ali's touch felt from Aswad's. But as soon as Ali pulled away she felt he was placing something around her neck. She opened her eyes and looked at herself. "What's--?" "Oh," Ali said softly in her ear. "This is yours." Azul smiled when she saw her blue diamond around her neck again. She was going to ask him where he had found it but Ali was already whispering the answer in her ear while closing his arms around her. "Faaris gave it to me as a proof of your death… now I'm returning it to you as a proof of my life… and of my love." "Ali!" She whispered softly snuggling against him. "I love you!" "I love you too, my blue eyes." He said softly and kissed her cheek. "I never lost my faith in you." Ali sighed deeply, almost painfully and held her even tighter. He closed his eyes and pressed his cheek against hers. "And yet, I have so much to be ashamed of myself… so much to be mad at myself. Azul, there's so much you have to forgive me for." "No Ali. I don't care, whatever it is, I have nothing to forgive you for." "You still keep your faith in me, blue eyes, and I've deserted you in so many ways." "You are here now, that's all that matters to me." "I love you Azul… I love you, my blue eyed angel!" "And I love you, my prince!" "Azul… my Azul!" He kept repeating over and over as if trying to convince himself it was not a dream. "Ali!" She said softly turning to face him and he looked into her eyes. "Are you alright?" "I am." He smiled tenderly. "I am now." "Oh Ali… I was so scared… I was so alone… I was terrified… I thought I was going to…" Azul put her arms around him when she felt her knees finally gave up. Ali rushed to support her and embraced her, holding her close to him, as close as possible. She put her arms around Ali's neck and hid her face there. And without any warning she started to cry. "Ali!" She was whimpering. "Hold me… just… hold me!" "Shhh!" Ali was whispering tenderly in her ear. "Everything is okay now… everything is just fine… I'm here now and I won't allow anything bad to happen to you… I know you are scared but we are together now. I was very scared myself but… it's over, my love… it's all over now! I won't abandon you ever again!" "I was so scared…" She was whispering between sobs. "Aswad scared me so much… I felt so defenseless… Ali, I was so terrified… He wanted me… he wanted me to be the mother of his child and it was just so terrible for me…" "He is gone… he got what he deserved. We finished him together my love. He's paid for what he did to you!" "He kept telling me all that horrible stuff about you… but I knew you were coming… but then… then I saw that image… Ali, please, promise me you'll never do that! Please!" "What image?" He said alarmed. "You… killing yourself." "Oh Allah!" Ali whispered to himself. "Tell me that wasn't true, Ali… tell me you never did that!" A stressed expression appeared on Ali's face and he frowned, mad at himself. "Shhh…" He said softly. "We'll talk about this later… now we have to focus on what's coming… Aswad is gone but we still have a city to destroy… and we have to do it fast." He pushed her away from him softly and looked into her eyes, brushing her tears off her face tenderly. "C'mon blue eyes… don't you cry anymore… you've been a brave girl and I need you now. Let's finish with this now… we'll be in Agrabah very soon but we have to destroy Karak first… can I count on you?" "Yes." She said softly trying to smile at him. "I'm a brave girl." Ali smiled and pulled away, keeping Azul's hand in his and examining her dress and her hairdo. "Hey!" He tried to lift the mood. "You look great! That is a nice dress!" "Ugh!" Azul made a little annoyed face. "Please, don't even mention it!" Ali chuckled and Azul smiled softly. "Ali," She said. "Did you see what happened?" "What?" "Our blood Ali… our blood has mixed." She said extending her hand and taking Ali's wounded one. "I know." He smiled. "Just like the prophecy said." "Yes." Ali said kissing Azul's hand. "We've made a blood alliance… now we are bound to each other… forever." Azul smiled and Ali ripped two strips of fabric from the edge of his cape, took Azul's hand and wrapped one of the strips around her wounded hand. Then he did the same with his. "Alright," He was saying while wrapping the fabric. "We don't have any time to lose… we have a city to destroy here… you seem to know a lot about Karak and its magic… it was impressive the way you cast that spell." "Oh well," She smiled. "I had nothing to do when I was here in Karak… I only could read all those old magic books again and again… and you know I'm a fast learner." "You are." He smiled. "So tell me, blue eyes, what do you know about Karak? How can we destroy it?" "There's this place, the center of the power of Karak… I never was allowed to enter there but I know it can be opened with a key, and we have the two halves of it. I had one of them and in Aswad's bag is the other half of it." "Great!" Ali said finishing the wrapping and picking up his sword and his dagger. "So let's go there!" "But we have a problem, Ali!" She stopped him. "I've been researching and we only can perform the ritual to destroy Karak if we have 3 magical stones and alas, I have no idea where those stones can be found." "Oh," Ali said casually opening his satchel and taking a small and beautiful wooden box out of it. "You mean THESE stones?" Ali opened the box and Azul's eyes shined with joy as a smile appeared on her lips. "Ali!" She said happily. "Where did you get them?" "Oh, they were just laying out there in the deserts… well, this one was in a volcano, this one was in the sea and this one was in the highest mountain of the land… I found them while traveling around." He said casually and shrugged. "No big deal." She looked up at him and smiled mischievously. "Really? So you've been having fun while I was away, have you?" "Lots of fun." He chuckled. "If only you knew! You really have no idea!" "So… do I want to know who Queen Karima is?" Ali smiled mischievously. "No… for my own safety." "Okay." She chuckled. "But we have to talk about this later. You won't get away that easy, boy…" "I wouldn't even try it!" Ali slipped his arms around Azul's waist and leaned over to kiss her. They kissed quickly and then Azul pulled away smiling up at him. She took his hand and started to drag him along. "C'mon Ali, before we go to the temple we have to go to the library to get the book where the spell is… and the way to the library must be guarded so we still have to…" "Hey, whoa!" He stopped her. "Let's go directly to the temple, we have no time to lose!" "But the spell? We need the book and…" "Trust me blue eyes," He smiled mischievously. "I have the only book we need in here." He said patting his satchel. "Okay." She smiled back at him with a questioning look. "You have a LOT of explaining to do when we are done with this!" "And a lot of kissing to do." He laughed. "Oh that too!" She giggled. "Now let's go… we have a city to destroy!" "Such spirit! And I really think you look very pretty wearing that dress!" Ali teased as she took his hand and dragged him along. "Please Ali, don't ruin the mood…" She warned him playfully as they abandoned that place. "You look so cute when you are annoyed, do you know that?" Ali's voice faded away in the huge hallway outside the throne room. * * * Design by The Meanies |
