"She is meeting with the priests," Theo assured Leila, hands up at a surrender. "She is safe. I was sent here to wake you and also bring you to the priests."

"Why?" Leila asked.

"I don't know, my lady." Theo shrugged his shoulders, "Nalick ordered it, and I am generally obliged to follow my king's orders."

"I am not," Leila responded, walking into the next room. Theo followed behind her. "If you would be so kind to send my reply to him," she smiled at Theo, "it is no. I don't take too well to be given orders."

"Um, I am not quite in a position to be telling the king such things," Theo began to turn red.

"Well, in that case, just send him here to ask me himself. I have no problem telling him no. Maybe if a few more people would tell him no, he would learn to be a nicer person." Leila walked over to the table and grabbed an apple. Then she realized that her wrists were still locked to her waist. She set the apple back down. "This might a bit of a problem for me," she said to Theo, indicating to the chains. "Would you be so kind as to unlock these?" she asked sweetly.

"Well, I am not supposed to remove those." Theo did not want to tell her no either.

"Theo, I am not going anywhere without Kay. So, you really think a few chains would stop me from leaving if I so chose? Please just unlock these so that I can eat and bathe. After that you can lock me back up if you choose. Besides, if you stay here with me, then technically I am not alone," Leila bartered with him.

"Well," Theo stared at her closely. "You promise not to run away? You will stay right here in this room?" She nodded her head yes.

Leila waited as Theo knocked on the door to open it. He stepped outside the room momentarily and then returned with a key to unlock her wrists and the chain around her waist. Leila briefly stood and stretched her arms before walking over to the bathing room. Theo looked like he didn't know if he should follow.

"There are no windows in this room," Leila reassured him, "But if you still don't think it is safe to leave me alone, by all means, come on in."

Leila had never been shy. In her line of work, one would use any way possible to accomplish an assignment, and the female body could be very persuasive. The hint of watching her bathe turned Theo an even darker shade of red.

This poor man, she thought to herself. I hope I don't get him into too much trouble. Leila walked into the bathing room and started the bath water. She left the door open a crack as she began to undress. She quietly slipped into the warm bath water. After falling asleep, Leila did not have a new plan to leave the palace and the longer she stayed, the harder it would be to get her inexperienced friend free.

Leila had been in the water for only a few minutes before she heard the outside door unlocking. She closed her eyes and smiled. Outside in the main room she could hear Nalick questioning Theo.

Maybe I will be able to at least teach this king some manners before I get out of here, she thought.

"I'm in here," Leila said loudly while not opening her eyes. "I promised not to run away for the moment," she replied before Theo could answer Nalick's next question.

Leila heard the door open a bit more. "Yes?" she asked, turning her head to look at Nalick standing in the doorway. "Contrary to belief, I am not a ghost. I, too, need to bathe and eat regularly. Though I can go about two days before I get hungry." She smiled at his shocked face to actually find her bathing. Leila dipped back under the water to rinse out the bubbles in her hair. "I will not be leaving your company quite yet, so I thought it would nice if I was able to clean up a bit, but if you need me to come right now." Leila stood, allowing the bubbles from the bath to cover her body but just barely.

Nalick had no response. He was sure that she was planning her next escape and was stunned to actually find her bathing. Embarrassed, he quickly turned his back to her.

"When you are done, Theo will take you to the priests," Nalick stated.

"No," Leila replied, reaching for a towel.

"What?" Nalick asked as he turned slightly. She was now wrapped in a towel but not much more presentable than she had been only a minute before.

"I don't think you have a hearing problem." She raised her eyebrows daring him to counter. "Do you need me to repeat myself? I said no."

"I wasn't asking you a question," Nalick began to get frustrated with Leila, which made her smile.

"See, that was the problem," Leila explained, coming face to face with him while only in a towel.

"Then let me rephrase that. Would you please accompany Theo to the priests after you are done, my lady?" Nalick asked while giving her a wink and a small bow.

"Sure," Leila listened to Nalick leaving the room and the door being locked again.

Leila promptly dried off. In the corner of the room stood a closet. She walked over and looked through the clothes in it. Most of the clothes were her size, but nothing she would choose to wear normally. She pulled a random dress out and put it on.

"I am so sorry," Leila apologized as Kay entered the room only moments later. "I didn't know that that tracker was waiting for me. I ran into him and another tracker earlier yesterday morning but easily lost them when I came looking for you," she explained, hugging her friend and checking her over since she last saw her. "I should have been there with you."

"If I had listened to you, he would not have caught me," Kay sighed dejectedly and sat down in the living room. "I messed up again. When I got to the end of the tunnel, I didn't remember which way to turn. I chose wrong. I tried to get out the door, but it was guarded so I went out the window." Kay shook her head, "I should not be doing this job. I am no good at it."

"If you just stick to level one and two assignments you will be fine," Leila reassured her. Kay finally hugged her back. "You have never failed any of those missions," she reminded her friend.

"Yeah, but the one time I fail, I put your freedom in jeopardy," Kay appeared like she was about to cry. "I will never forgive myself if you spend the rest of your life caged up in chains like this." Kay picked up the chains on the table, "I woke up this morning and felt so guilty."

"So what did the priests say?" Leila asked, changing the subject and picking up an apple.

"Not good." Kay responded.

"At all?" Leila asked between bites, "Did the priests say they will help us out?"

"Not exactly," Kay paused, seeing the anger start to boil within Leila. "I didn't understand much, but they said something about the seer."

Leila stood and started to pace. She had been thinking that the best way to get Kay out was with the help of the priests, but if they were unwilling to help, it would take much longer to get her out. This time the plan needed to be foolproof. Alone, this was going to be difficult.

"It seems there are certain rituals that have to be done to us. But everything was so confusing. There was all this talk about you and some white aura." Kay looked across the room at the opening door as she trailed off in thought.

"My lady," Theo said, entering the room and giving a little bow to Leila, "would you please come with me?"

Leila stood up and turned back to Kay, "stay right here, and I should be back soon."

Theo walked over to the table and picked up the chains and again wrapped one around Leila's waist. He tightly locked both her hands to the chain around her waist. Leila did not mind the treatment for she won the battle with getting the chains off while she was in the room. This escape would require that she escort Kay so that she had no chance of forgetting anything and being chain free would be the key.

Theo led the way back down the stairs they had climbed the night before. At the end of the stairway was Macarius who joined Leila and Theo.

"He really doesn't trust that I can walk to another place in the palace alone?" Leila asked the two men. "I do know my way around."

"Do you blame him?" Macarius asked.

Leila thought a second, "No, I suppose not," she paused, and then told the men, "but I am not yet ready with all my plans to leave." Both men laughed at her last comment. "What? I was telling the truth, which I suppose I don't do too often."

"So we have been told," Macarius added. "Did you really walk out the front door of King Jahangir's palace?"

"Yes, and why not? It was the way I came in; I thought it would be fitting to leave civilized through the gate." Both men laughed. "I walked out the palace door right under King Amet's watch also. He didn't even recognize me and paid me a small gold piece as I left because he thought I was part of the performing troupe."

"Really?" Theo asked in amazement. "So when you finally decide to leave us, you will just vanish?"

"That's how I work," Leila told the truth. There was no need to lie to these men. They were not the ones holding her against her will.

"I hope you decide to stay," Theo added. "It is nice to have someone around that doesn't fear Nalick."

"I honestly didn't think there was a woman out there that could handle the man Nalick has turned into over the years," Macarius explained. "He has been king years now and yet shows no sign of wanting to take a bride until you came along."

"Miss Lei..." began a young man who walked up beside her. She waved to him to stop before he used her real name. "I am honored to be in your presence. I have heard many tales about you, but none can actually compare to meeting you." The young priest had a starry gaze in his eyes. Theo and Marcarius stayed behind and the man ushered Leila away into the priest quarters.

"Will you help me and my friend escape?" she whispered, eager to be on her way.

"Escape? But I thought you were brought here so that I could teach you the rituals that need to be followed to marry our King?" the young, confused priest said.

"I do not wish to marry your king," Leila responded.

"But I thought it was your destiny to stay here," the young man was now truly confused.

"I have always chosen my own destiny," Leila explained, "and I don't plan to stay here any longer than necessary. If you are unwilling to help me, our conversation here is done. I will find my own way out of this palace." Leila turned and started to walk back toward the hallway and waiting men.

The young priest was startled by the news that this woman did not want to stay. Once he realized she was leaving, he ran to catch up with her.

"That is not required," an old man's voice said from behind Leila and the priest. "I don't think she will leave quite yet."

Leila stopped walking away and turned to face Gabor. "So, you will not be helping us leave?" she questioned the old man angrily.

"Have you ever thought that maybe I am doing the best for you?" Gabor asked.

Leila glared at him. "You are just full of lies. I am not staying. I am going to get Kay out of here first, and then I will be on my way, whether you want me to or not."

"What would it take to make you stay anywhere?" Gabor pondered, not moving any closer. "Would you stay if I told you that you would be happy here?"

"How could I ever be happy being confined to a palace as a prisoner?" Leila turned to walk away. As she neared the door, Gabor made one last comment.

"Erich died wanting you to be happy. For once, child, stop worrying about the rest of the world and look in your own heart. Are you happy with your life?"

Leila pounded on the door until it opened. She did not want to be told by some old man with his own priorities what would make her happy. Angrily, she exited the priest's chamber and walked back to her room with Theo and Marcarius in her wake. As all three approached Leila's room, she turned, took their keys, and opened the door herself.

"Thank you," she said, handing the keys back to a shocked Theo.

Chapter 4.

How dare he talk about Erich? If it weren't for stupid kings trying to force me to marry them, he would still be here. Leila took some food off the table. She stomped back to the bedroom and climbed back up into her chair by the window, passing Kay on the way. It was past lunch time. Leila was hungry, but the chains around her wrists would not allow her to eat. Kay kept away knowing that Leila needed time to think.

Leila tried to fight back tears. It had been four years since King Jahangir had imprisoned her in his jail when he made the same proposal that ended with the death of Erich, her partner and fiance.

I am happy, Erich, she lied to herself. As happy as I can be without you. Leila had not spent a day without thinking about her dead fiance. She wanted to be happy, but without Erich, it was not possible. She stared out at the horizon. Beyond her view were the mountains and the home Leila was raised in.

I need to get Kay out of this, she thought. That's where she needs to be. Leila heard the outside door open again, and she quickly wiped away her tears.

"Miss," a young servant girl asked, peering into the bedroom. "Could you please come with me?"

Finally, someone with manners, Leila thought. She climbed down from her chair. Kay stood in the middle room.

"You, too," the girl requested of Kay.

Kay and Leila followed the servant girl. Theo and Macarius trailed the three girls.

"Please sit there," the servant asked, pointing to two chairs in the room. Theo and Macarius stopped and waited outside the room.

In the corner of the room was a fireplace that was lit. It seemed odd to Leila that a fire would be lit somewhere where the heat was hardly bearable during the day anyway. Leila and Kay sat silently, waiting to see what was going to happen next. An older lady entered with hair dyed bright red and three male assistants. The lady walked over to Leila and pulled Leila's hair away from her face, examining her as Leila kept perfectly still. Then the woman walked over and inspected Kay the same way.

The young girl returned, carrying a case that she sat on the table next to the chairs. The older woman opened her case and began to sort through the jewelry inside it. Every now and then, she would stop and hand an assistant something specific. Leila watched what was happening but was not sure she was correct in her thoughts. In Lexia, engaged women pierced their ears and wore ornate jewelry to announce their engagement. Nalick was marking his intentions. Leila stood up. All six people in the room looked at her.

"Kay, we are leaving," Leila turned to go out the door.

Before Kay had a chance to stand, one of the men placed both of his hands on her shoulders and forced her to stay sitting. The two other men acted at the same time to hold Leila back down in her chair. Caught off guard and with her hands tied to her waist, Leila was unable to fight back efficiently. She had not assumed the men were there to fight.

"The king has ordered you be prepared for your upcoming wedding," the red-haired woman explained.

"Then why are you holding Kay here as well," Leila demanded.

"I was told that the king plans to marry both of you," the woman continued. Leila's heart sank. Was Nalick truly a man who would not only force one, but two women to marry him? Leila struggled to try to free herself from the two men.

"I was told you were a fiery one. Everyone in the palace was told that they could not harm you for any reason, no matter how disrespectful you were, but the king never said anything about punishing her." The woman walked over and forced Kay's hands onto the table. The man holding Kay down placed her hands palm side up as the woman struck Kay's hands with the lash she had just pulled out of the bag. Leila continued to struggle as the two men held her in her chair.

"You will learn some manners," the older woman said to Leila. Kay closed her eyes but did not make a sound as the woman whipped her hands five times. When she was done, the woman walked over to Leila. "You will learn that we all follow the king's orders, no matter who we are." Leila continued to struggle.

Kay opened her eyes. "Leila, please stop. It is okay. I am fine," Kay lied to her friend to try to calm her down, although her hands were red with welts beginning to form.

"Let go of me," Leila said angrily to the men still holding her in her chair. "I have never killed a person before, but there is a first time for everything." Both men did not hesitate as they immediately released her. Leila walked over to the door and opened it. Theo and Macarius were not outside the door, but a new guard was there.

"Where is Nalick?" Leila demanded of the startled guard.

"Um, at this time of the day, um," the guard looked at Leila's face and was beginning to get scared. "He should be in his office, on the fourth floor of the royal wing," the young guard began to explain.

Leila knew where she was going. She took off down the hall as the young guard stood near the door wondering what he should do. There were two prisoners. Which one he should follow was the question, but before he could decide Leila was out of his sight. On her way up the staircase, Theo came down the stairs. He was so startled to see Leila coming up that he just stopped and let her pass by. After Theo realized Leila was alone, he hurried to catch up with her. Leila climbed the stairs two at a time and was soon on the fourth floor. Theo followed close behind, but did not try to stop her. From the look in her eyes, Theo had a good guess where Leila was heading, and he didn't want to bear the brunt of her anger. Leila took a sharp left at the fourth floor door and pushed past the guards that stood in the doorway. Nearing Nalick's office, she noticed a figure at the end of the hall standing on the balcony. It was him. She walked down the hall quickly.

"How dare you!" Leila yelled at him.

Nalick slowly turned around, unfazed by the angry Leila that stood before him.

"This is the best time of the day," Nalick said, turning back to look out the balcony over the city. "The city gets this deep red haze that fills the sky." He continued to ignore the anger in Leila's voice.

"She doesn't deserve to be punished for what I say." Leila wanted to slap Nalick, but with her hands chained down she was unable to. "You are truly the man I heard tales about, forcing two women to marry you unwillingly."

Nalick still didn't give into her anger. "As a kid I would sit here for hours, just waiting for the sun to set and the sky turn blazing red."

Out of frustration, Leila turned around and walked away from Nalick. She walked halfway down the hall before she stopped and returned to him. "What do you want?"

"You already know," Nalick continued to stare out at the city. The sun was beginning to set and the sky was slowly turning a burnt red color. He paused and turned to face her. "I am not a monster. You name it and it will be done. All I ask for in return is that you stay here with me."