Alamut, storage rooms,

Today the supplies Alamut had agreed to provide the Persian army with would be transferred to the camp outside the outer walls of the holy city. Asoka was glad that this task of supervision was fulfilled. He hated that kind of work, but hadn't been able to refuse a charge given by the High Priestess herself. Upon reflection … that had never happened before… There was no time to continue his musings as the caravan left the storage. The donkeys used for transporting the food were passing his horse. He had to deliver the whole freight to the camp and to consign it to the intendant of the Persian troops then he could resume his more usual day-to-day work. With a sigh he pushed his mount forward to have it follow the slow moving file of animals through the winding streets of the oldest part of the city.

As soon as the caravan reached its destination the intendant and his aides started signing off on the list of required rations. The flow of the pack animals slowed considerably, so Asoka pushed his horse forward to pass the halting caravan, when suddenly there was shouting at the front of the trek. Digging his calves in his horses sides Asoka urged it into a canter to reach the spot faster. It didn't take him long to see the reason for the commotion.

The supervisor of the Persian army stood yelling in front of the man leading the pack donkeys. The latter looked outraged, his face acquiring a deeper shade of crimson with each passing moment.

"What's this all about?" A voice boomed over the quarrel. Asoka turned his head to see prince Tus riding up. The men bowed as a sign of respect even as Tus repeated his query, his patience waning.

"Sire, the list of rations we established doesn't match the goods that are being delivered."

As his Alamutian counterpart braced for his retort Asoka stopped him. "I'm sure we'll be able to find an explanation." At Tus' nod he turned to his man. "Tell me, what goods are missing?"

"Mainly food, sire."

"Has there been any disruption in the loading process?"

"No, everything was packed early this morning, before dawn, as requested."

Puzzled Asoka asked: "Requested by whom?" He hadn't issued such an order.

"The High Priestess herself." At that both Tus and Asoka exchanged a frowning look.

"Since when does the princess take interest in such things?" Tus inquired.

"She doesn't…" Even as the words left his lips, Asoka put two and two together. "She wouldn't…" but he knew her since childhood and he suspected, thinking about her nightly expeditions, there was more to this than met the eye. He needed to get back to the Palace as rapidly as possible!

"I need to check on the princess!"

"Go!" Tus nodded and turning to his supervisor he instructed him to proceed with his task as planned. Asoka took off at neck breaking speed, praying his intuition was wrong, but sensing it wasn't…

Flashback -

Tamina was pacing her chambers. She'd shed her usual high priestess attire to don travel clothes. It would be easier to pass the gates in this disguise than with the showing dresses she was supposed to wear. With time, she'd grown accustomed to them, but she had to admit that kamiz and shalwar were far more comfortable. Especially when one had to walk in the desert for hours on end… The thought startled her as strange. In fact she'd never been walking for hours and certainly not under the baking sun… So how would she know? Turning around she resumed her ambling. It was almost time to leave now… She took the woollen mantle and walked to the northern wall of her chambers. There was a small alcove there filled with a low table holding a large silvery dish with fresh fruit. Tamina didn't spare a glance for the delicious treats but shimmied instead past the obstacle. At the far end her hands slid along the intricate artwork adorning the wall. Stopping her finger over a smooth spot, she pushed and a faint click resounded as a small door sized panel opened and stale cold air breezed past her. She froze… the sound had seemed loud to her nervous ears. When no one stormed into her rooms, she gathered her courage and pushed the panel fully open.

After stepping through, she carefully reset the mechanism. To her right a narrow staircase led to the lower part of the palace, to her left the steps wound up to the Sky Chamber. The passage wasn't used, it was more of a hidden escape route and until now she had had no use for it.

Hastily she climbed the stairs. Time was of essence if she wanted to leave the Holy City at the break of dawn…

As she set foot on the base of the shrine holding the Dagger of Time, she stopped quickly sending a prayer asking for forgiveness to the gods. What she was about to do went against the teachings of her childhood. But she had no other choice. If what the scrolls had shown her was true…

Her fingers closed around the cool pommel of the dagger and slid it into her belt. It would be securely hidden under the folds of her kamiz. Quickly she slid back into the passageway closing it off. She accelerated to get downstairs. It took her some time to navigate the hidden corridors to get to the stables and she was panting once she got there. While she caught her breath, she thought back to the day she'd surprised the princes talking about Dastan. Shaking off those thoughts she came back to her present task. She'd to find herself a good mount to continue her mission. Unfortunately horses weren't her specialty and hadn't had a large part in her education, but she'd been taught the basics. First she would saddle a horse and then she'd go get one of the packages destined to the Persian army. She figured it wouldn't raise suspicion when one went missing…

Walking through the rows of stabled horses, she found it difficult to choose one. They all looked good to her. So she simply took the bridle from one of the hooks and slid into a box. Curious, the horse inside turned its head towards her and snickered in greeting. Instinctively she put a hand on its neck to calm it. Stepping up, she pushed the bit into the large mouth and rose on her toes to pass the headstall over the ears.

"And who do we have here?" a voice rose behind her making her almost jump out of her skin. She turned on her heels facing the potential threat only to find herself in front of an amused looking Bis.

"Whoa!" He raised both hands palms facing up to show her she wasn't in any kind of danger. Tamina released her breath in relief. «What are you doing here? She hissed.

« I could ask the same question, princess … »

Tamina could discern genuine interest in the man's eyes. Should she tell him? Maybe he'd try to stop her?

Sensing her internal battle, Bis interrupted her thoughts. « So you plan on following Dastan? »

« How…? » Realizing too late she'd just confirmed Bis' suspicions she stopped. A sigh escaped as she came to the conclusion she could as well tell him her intentions. Maybe he'd join her? « I'm following him, he'll need help or he won't be able to fulfill… » She dropped mid-sentence barely refraining from blurting out what what she'd discovered on her nightly errands.

Bis observed her attentively. Had he caught her slip?

« Let's get our horses saddled. Dawn is near and we need to put some distance between Alamut and us. »

Tamina couldn't help but stare at him open mouthed. « You're going to help me? »

A grin spread on his face as her turned to put the saddle on her horse. « Sure. Dastan is my master after all… »

« I didn't… »

A chuckle rumbled in his chest. « I was just kidding. » He rapidly finished tying the girth and steadied a stirrup for her. As she wrestled herself up, he gave her a deft push to boost her into the saddle.

A strangled sound escaped her lips. Undeterred he got his own mount ready. He led them out of the stables and carefully closed the doors before hoisting himself gracefully onto his horse.

« Lead the way, princess… »

Not wanting to delay them any longer, Tamina pushed her horse in the direction of the nearest city gate. It would already be open by the time they reached it. Then they would head toward the Hidden Temple.

The day had been a harrowing one, by nightfall Tamina's muscles were hurting, even those she wasn't sure having. She was painfully aware of every beat of her horse's hooves. A sigh of relief almost escaped her as Bis reined in his mount near a drizzle in a rocky outcrop. With envy she observed as he gracefully slid out of his saddle . She wouldn't make such an elegant figure, of that she was sure of. Elegant? Since when did she think of the Persians as elegant people? It must be because she was fatigued.

During the afternoon, her leg muscles unused to prolonged stays on a horse had progressively stiffened up to the point that now she wasn't sure that they would carry her body weight. Bis had turned toward her and was looking at her expectantly. Had she said something aloud?

« Do you intend to stay on your horse for the night, princess? » He repeated his query, mirth sparkling in his eyes. Her puzzlement must have shown on her face… With an annoyed huff she boldly swung off her horse and as soon as her feet touched the still warm rocks, her knees gave way. She would have landed flat on her nose, hadn't Bis anticipated what was about to happen. He steadied her by gripping her waist. First a yelp of surprise, then an angry hiss was all he got for his attempt at rescuing her pride.

« Don't! » The murderous look in her eyes made him let her go and raise his hands in surrender . « Sorry, princess! King Sharaman insisted on us being educated properly. We were taught to help a woman in distress. » Realizing belatedly his explanation had the wrong effect on the princess, he quickly busied himself with his horse's girth.

« I'm not a damsel in distress! » she spat. The words were hitting him squarely in the was sure that if they had been a weapon he'd be dead by now.

« I wasn't suggesting that, princess. »

While Tamina still fumbled with the tack, Bis started building a small fire to ward off the cold the night would bring. He discreetly observed the princess. Her movements seemed choppy and from time to time a grimace slipped her careful mask. Deciding the risk was worth it, he rummaged through his saddlebags extracting a small recipient. He waited for Tamina to settle down across from him, her facial expression confirming his suspicions, before reaching it to her. She eyed it distrustingly, unsure about how to react.

« What's that? »

« It's… » He timidly gestured toward her legs. Realizing what he tried to say her cheeks flamed red.

« I'm not implying… » Bis stammered. A raised hand stopped him, while with the other one, she grabbed the small flask. Opening it she sniffed at its content, almost immediately her graceful features distorted in disgust.

« There's no way, I'll use that. It smells worse than camel turd. »

« It's not supposed to be a perfume, but to alleviate the pain, please princess, accept it. » Was it his pleading look, or the still throbbing backside and legs that made her acquiesce, she couldn't say. Noticing her looking around to find some privacy, he gestured to some larger rocks. With a barely audible thanks Tamina ambled toward them while Bis prepared a frugal dinner.