Fate of deception

Chapter 16 - Amir's POV

I walked through the narrow winding streets of a place I didn't recognise. The sky was an odd shade of violet, and the building around me seemed to pulse with a life of their own, their walls breathing in and out as if each was the chest of a giant sleeping beast. Despite the strange surroundings, I felt a sense of peculiar calmness, as if I had been here.

I followed the cobblestone path, my feet moving of their own accord. The area was empty, devoid of the hustle and bustle I was accustomed to. Instead, a strange, warm wind whispered through the air, carrying it with an  almost inaudible murmur.

At first I dismissed the sound as nothing more than the wind playing tricks on me. But as I ventured further, the whisper grew clearer, more distinct. It was a voice, deep and smooth, like velvet in the night.

"Amir..."

I stopped, glancing around, but there was no sight. The voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere, all at once.

"Who's there?" I called out, my voice echoing strangely off the living walls.

"Follow the path," the voice whispered. "You must help me."

The cobblestone beneath my feet gleamed faintly, lighting up one by one, forming a trail that led deeper into the heart of the forest. I hesitated. Something about this place, about the voice, felt off. But the pull was irresistible, an invisible thread winding around my heart, tugging me forward.

"What do you want?" I asked, more to myself than the voice.

"To save ourselves," the voice replied, an edge of urgency creeping into its tone. "The princess... she must be protected." Was it Umaizah?

The mention of the princess, a princess stirred something in me. This can't be Princess Umaizah, King Fahd's daughter. She was the light of the Kingdom, cherished by all. If she was in danger...

"Where is she?" My steps quickened, driven by a sense of duty, or perhaps the voice's strange influence.

"She awaits you," the voice said, almost soothing now. "But you must first gain her trust. She will not listen to a stranger."

I've met her though. The words couldn't come out.

"How?" I asked, already knowing the answer but compelled to hear it aloud.

"Deception, Amir," the voice replied, so close now it was as if the words were whispered directly into my ear. "You must trick her, for our own good. Convince her to leave the palace... alone. Only then she can be saved."

Saved from what? I couldn't let the words out. Something stopped me from doing so.

The path led me to the gates of the royal palace, towering above me like ancient giants. The violet sky darkened, swirling with strange, ethereal clouds. I hesitated at the threshold, my hand resting on the white metalled bars.

"Amir," the voice murmured, gentle and coaxing, "the fate of the kingdom rests in your hands. You must do this. For her. For us."

I nodded, the muscles in my neck were controlled. I pushed open the gate, the groaned as it swung inward, revealing the grand entrance. The palace loomed ahead, its spires piercing the sky like the claws of a massive beast.

Inside, the palace was silent. I moved through the empty halls, the silence pressing down on me like a weight. Finally, I found her, standing by the window in a room bathed in the pale light of the moon. She was beautiful, her face serene though her eyes were full of untold wisdom and sadness.

"Who are you?" She asked, turning to face me as I entered. Was I unrecognisable?

"Play along." The voice stabbed into my ears.

"I'm a friend," I said, my voice steady. "I've come to help you."

She studied me for a long moment, her gaze piercing, as if she could see straight through my soul. "Help me? How?"

"You're in danger," I said, the words coming easily now, as if they were my own. "You need to leave the palace, now, before it's too late."

Her brow furrowed in concern, but still, she hesitated. "Why should I trust you?"

I stepped closer, lowering my voice to a near whisper. "Because I know things... things only someone sent to protect you would know." She didn't budge. "Please, Princess, time is running out."

For a moment, she wavered, doubt flickering her eyes. But then, with a sigh, she nodded. "Very well. But only because my heart tells me you speak the truth." Mentally, I was shocked. Physically, it didn't show.

She moved towards the door, and I followed, a strange sense of triumph swelling my chest. We reached the courtyard, and as we stepped outside, the wind picked up, howling around us  with a force that nearly knocked me over my own feet.

Everything changed.

The violet sky split open with a crack of thunder, the palace was twisted and disoriented, and the cobblestones beneath my feet began to crumble away. The princess's form wavered, her features dissolving like mist in the morning sun. The voice returned but this time it was no longer a whisper. It was a laugh, dark and echoing, reverberating through the very fabric of the world.

"You've done well, Amir," the voice boomed, now full of malice. "But did you really think you could save her in this realm? You need to do it in the one you're in."

My heart pounded in my chest as inaudible words spoke in my head, it tore my sanity. My surroundings melted away, revealing nothing but a darkness void that seemed to stretch on for eternity. The princess was gone, and in her place stood a figure shrouded in shadow, it's eyes glowing with an unnatural light.

"Do as I tell you: lure the princess to the Crystal Cave and I'll grant you anything you want. It can only be one thing though. Choose wisely when you've completed this quest. Don't mess this up!"

The shadow laughed again, before disappearing in amidst. The darkness closed in around me, swallowing me whole.