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Description
      "Never fall in love.... or never let anyone fall in love with you....", a young man wrote in a letter. "Hi Jim, how are you? I bet you're wondering why I just wrote that. Well... its quite a story, and if you have some time", he laughed, "I'd like to tell you about it. And like with all stories, let's start at the beginning........"

The Not So Ordinary Adventures Of
Jack Taylor
         Secrets Beneath The Sands

"I guess it started five years ago, in Cairo." As this man started to write more of his letter, he started to slip back into his memory, remembering the events to come. I was traveling down there for the Pharaoh festival, as I always do. But this time was different. A woman told me about a city, a special city, one that can only be found during a sandstorm. "The city in the sands" , she said, "it is a mysterious city. Few have found it, none have returned.....". "Ok....How do I get there?", I asked. "Sandstorms...sandstorms are the key...", she answered.  "But be warned young traveler, once you find your storm, you might not find your way out". And knowing me, I was stupid enough to wait for one anyway. And when I found one, oh boy did I find one. I wandered aimlessly for hours, caught in the storm. That is, until, I fell off of a cliff into the sands below. When I was about to lose consciousness, I saw a figure in the sands, reaching out to me, then I blanked out. When I came to, I was in a city, a city called Zaph'e'nath.  "Are you alright?", a caring voice asked. "Huh, who are you?", I asked. "My name is Ha'rwoh, and I am the King of this land."  "Where am I?"  "Well my friend, you are in Zaph'e'nath: the city in the sands"  "I'm sorry, did you say 'city in the sands'?"  "Yes I did."  With a puzzled look on my face, I realized that I was there, finally. "Now, we know who I am, but tell me stranger, who are you?", he asked again. "My name is Jack, Jack Taylor", I answered. "Where do you hail from?", he asked. "From North America."  "Tell me Jack Taylor, why have you traveled all the way from America to here?", he asked. "Because of a story; a story of mythical proportions. It fascinated me so much that I had to see it", I replied. "Come", he said, "I will show you what you want to see"  We then left the palace, and explored his domain. We first walked in the courtyards, then we went outside the palace. "You see, because of the position of the city, when the sun hits the top of the city, it creates a solar beam that acts as a shield, protecting the us from any harm from anyone", Ha'rwoh was telling me as we walked through the city, while a certain  girl was following us. "And no one goes hungry, or needs any shelter?", I asked, "Not under my rule!!", he replied. "My family has ruled this land for generations. We have always been just and fair, giving even out of our own surplus. If they need shelter, they have the palace. If they need medical attention, they have the palace. If they need anything, they have the palace. Even outsiders are cared for here, we turn no one away." "Well  then....I'm  glad that you keep to that vow", I said, as we both started chuckling along the way. After going back to the palace, we come into a feast, for a bountiful harvest year. "Wow, you guys know how to put the 50's to shame", I said, eyes wwiiiddddeeee open from the feast before me.  As I was "Indulging" on the culture, I began a conversation with a servant girl there, a very interesting conversation. "So you chose to serve here by choice?" , I asked. "Yes I did; the work here was not hard, and nothing was too demanding", she answered. "It helped my family greatly, while they were alive", she said. "I'm so sorry. If you don't mind me asking, what happened to them?" , I asked. "Well", she started, "they were on their way back from a business trip in Cairo, when they were robbed on the way home. Days later, they wandered back to the city, beaten within an inch of there lives, stable only until they passed away a few days later", she finished, sighing with every sentence. The only words I could muster out was: "I'm sorry". "But hey, its not all bad. The king was kind enough to let me stay here, I can do what I want, and I got to meet you", she said, with her frown slowly turning into a smile. "So that's why you were following us earlier", I said. "Yeah", she replied. "You know, I forget to asked. What is your name your name?", I asked. "Its Shi'ahna", she said. As we finished our dinner, we went to the balcony to continue our little chat. "So, how long are you here for?", she asked. "Not more than a few days; I have to leave, I'm needed" , I said. "Oh...", she said, with her voice beginning to tremble, "Are you sure you can't stay?", she asked. "I would love too, but I have some pressing matters back in America" , I told her. "Will I ever see you again?", she asked me, to which I said: "Just keep an eye on the horizon, you'll see me...".  A few days later, as I started to depart from the city, everyone showed their gratitude for a..."humble" guest. As they were giving their goodbyes, and wishing me well on my journey, I saw (but never thought anything of it...), from the corner of my eye; that girl from the dinner, Shi'ahna, she had evil in her eyes, and a smirk on her face. She was biding her time. But what happened next...I never expected.

A year or so later, I received a message from Zaph'e'nath, saying that there was an emergency in the city, and that I was "needed immediately" . So, I hopped on the next flight outta town, and went to Zaph'e'nath. But when I arrived, the city was different. The once crisp, clean streets of the city, they were littered with trash, debris, and madness. Buildings were in shambles, chaos filled the streets; people who once enjoyed the freedoms of the city, were now forced to board up their doors and windows. It had looked like Marshal Law was put into action; guards marching around everywhere, people in fear of their lives, the skies for, some reason, were darkened. And as I looked at the madness all around me, I knew something had to  be done... I had to see the king. I made a dangerous trek to the palace, jumping off  and over rooftops to avoid the guards. But as I was being the Prince of...um, ok let's not use that. Anyway, I saw a girl who was being harassed by a few guards; but as I was about to intervene, the girl showed me that not everyone here was helpless. After she took care of two of the guards, I jumped down on top of the one left, before he could grab her. "Thanks, I think", the girl said, a little apprehensively. "What do want eh?? My money, my food, my life?!?!", she said agitatedly. "No no, I don't want anything like that..", I told her. "Then what do you want??", she asked me. "Same as you, the city back to way it was", I told her. "What do you know of this city? What do you know about 'how' we once were?", she asked. "I know, because I was here once, before all this mess. I saw the city in its prime, I saw a kingdom thriving from its peaceful ways and its peaceful king. I want to see that again", I said to her, trying to prove that my motives were true. "It sounds like you did", she said, picking up on my sincereness. "So what do you say, will you help me?", I asked her. She took a moment to think about it as I extended  my hand out to her, but in time, she accepted it and said: "Alright, for now". As we walked through the city, avoiding guards wherever we went, I asked her: "How did 'this' happen?". She then started to tell me about a sudden illness of the king, which eventually led to his death, the prince who mysteriously disappeared for unknown reasons, and a so called unnamed heir who ascended to the throne in a heartbeat, causing the mass chaos I saw before me.  As we came upon the palace, we saw a huge vanguard  guarding the entrance. "How are we supposed to get past this guy??", she whispered to me. "Watch this...", I whispered back. "Excuse me good sir", I said to the lead  guard loudly, with my hand trembling behind my back, "I was summoned here at the whim of the ruler to come at once". "Yes...we have been expecting you", the guard answered, "And who, is this??", he asked, glaring down at the my friend. As she stared at him, speechless, I finally said: "Um...this is my 'Traveling Adviser' um...", "Shei'r'rah", she finally said, "My name is Shei'r'rah". "Um...yes, Shei'r'rah is my adviser", I continued. I then nudged her to start, "Advising". "Oh, um, yes; you see, this...this is sand", she said as I was agreeing with her, "And this...this is a city!!", "I never knew that!!", I said, "And this...this is a scary guard, eeerrrhhhhaa", she said as the guard rolled his eyes at us, sighing loudly. "Alright, alright...you can go in. Just no funny business", he said to us, leaning in with a stern look on his face. "Jawohl", I said; a little smug, a little scared. As we walked past the guard, with a small sigh of relief, I said: "See? That wasn't too bad...". But when I looked at her face though, it told a different story. We then came into the royale chamber, where the good king used to rule. To my surprise, when I looked at the throne, I saw that servant girl, it was Shi'ahna!! "Shi'ahna, how did this happen??" , I asked her. "It was simple really, I wanted to see you again. And as the king was 'dying', he told me, his most trusted attendee, that if the prince did not return, I would be made his successor", she started to explain, but was interrupted by Shei'r'rah who screamed: "LIAR!!! YOU DID AWAY WITH THE KING AND THE PRINCE AND YOU KNOW IT!!", she then turned to me and said: "You know this horrible witch!?!?!". "Yes I knew her. But before she went Psycho!!", I said. "Enough!! The kings death is saddening indeed, but I had nothing to do with it, nor the prince's disappearance", she said, with authority, "And yes, my dear, I am the 'only' heir left. If the prince would have'ever' returned, I would willingly give up the throne, but that is not the case right now. I have the throne, I have the power, and now, I have my king...". "Umm....your whaa???", I said, a little stunned by that last statement. "Yes, I have chosen you to be with me, on the throne; that's way I've called you here, that's the purpose for all of this", she said. "I will not stay and be king", I said firmly. "I did all of this for you, and you reject me??", Shi'ahna said, shocked at that statement. "You had people ripped from their homes, the city is in chaos, you rule corruptly, and you expect me to be ok with that?!?!", I said furiously. "Yes"."Well, I'm not. I can't and I won't be". "Fine then.", she said, angered, "If you won't marry  me, then I'll imprison this street urchin brat until you do!! Guards!!!!", she said screaming. As the guards were pouring in to arrest Shei'r'rah, I did my best to stop them. But Shi'ahna had other plans: "Guards!! Seize that man!!". But they never had the chance; thankfully my ninja training came in handy this time,  as I had avoided the guards, and managed to escaped through a window.

As I looked down from a building I was clinging to, I leaned over to see what was happening. I could read Shi'ahna's lips, telling her guards to scour the city to look for me. But I was more concerned about finding out what happened to my "adviser". I tailed them to their prison, and tried to find a means to get in. While searching through windows, trying to find Shei'r'rah, I finally found her in the highest tower(ugh...). Once I got her attention, I tried multiple ways to try to communicate with her, and failed. That is until, I used Sign-Language. Thankfully, her people knew it, and knew it well. I asked her if there was a way in or out, but she couldn't tell. But what she did tell me though, was truly interesting. She said that she found the prince, alive and.....well, alive. I asked if I could talk to him, she asked him, and he agreed to it. I signed to him asking that if I released him, would he be able to turn the city back to what it once was and to rule as his father did; he signed back saying that he would do his utmost to fulfill all that I asked. That was good enough for me. As I lowered down some rope that I..um...borrowed from a guard, they made their way up to freedom. As we helped the prince to his feet, unbinding his hands and unwrapping some cloth around his face, we all had one thought on our minds, Shi'ahna.... As we went down from the top of the prison, the prince and Shei'r'rah were trying to figure out what to do about her, I told them: "Don't worry, I have a plan..."

We followed the prince through a secret passageway, directly under the throne room. As we went through, I told them about my plan: "You see, with the majority of the guards running through the city looking for me, there won't be enough people guarding her". "That's it??", Shei'r'rah asked. I gave her a look and said: "Who do you think I am, Alexander the Great??". Afterwards, we made it to the throne room, determined to end this once and for all. As I thought, her main guards were away searching for me. We hid in the shadows of the ceiling, waiting for our moment to strike. She sent her remaining guards out to keep up the search, and returned to the throne. We slowly descended from the ceiling, jumping down from tapestry to tapestry. As we dropped down to the ground, the prince looked at her and said: "Your reign of terror is over". "I beg to differ", she said to him, after which she called in her guards and ordered them to seize us. The prince stood up, after tussling with a guard, and said: "You will not harm a hair on their heads".  "And who are you to tell us this?", one of the guards asked. "Because I am Prince Ahc'men, the true heir to this throne", he said with conviction, showing them his royal ring, giving ample proof of who he is. "My liege", the guards said, bowing on one knee. "No, no, this was not how it was suppose to be", Shi'ahna said, running away to the top of the palace. As Shei'r'rah was getting ready to chase her, I grabbing her by the arm, and said: "No. She's mine". As I got to the top, I found her at the edge of a window, looking like she was ready to jump. "You don't have to do this", I pleaded. "You don't understand, I can't go back", she said with fear in her eyes, "Do you know what the consequences are for what I've done??? I could be exiled, left to die in the Sea of Sands. I'll never see the city again". "There are worse things than exile", I said to her, trying to ease her mind, to help her think rationally. "But they would never forgive me, I've done far too much". "You can never do too much", I said, extending my hand out to her. "Just take it, what's the worst that can happen?", I said, giving her a warm smile, letting her know it was ok. She hesitated, but eventually, she took my hand, and we went back down together. "You have a lot to answer for", the prince said, "I know; and I ready to accept whatever comes from it", she said, looking at me with hope in her eyes.  As Shi'ahna was facing her judgement, I turned to Shei'r'rah and said: "What will you do now? The city's safe, things are getting back to normal, and I think the prince can handle things from here". "I don't know; maybe 'travel'?" So, with the tyranny crushed, and the oppression oppressed, I decided to take my leave(and just so you know...her sentence was light, proving that the prince kept to his word).

So, that's it. That's why I said: "Never fall in love, or never let anyone fall in love with you". But I'll add this: "Unless you know that you love them, and they love you back. Because if they're not the one for you, you won't be the one for them". And Jim, that's something I had to learn the hard way. By the way, if you were wondering what happened to my "Traveling Adviser", well...she's just waking up from the flight back home. See ya soon Jim.

        With love, Jack T.


                                     END

Dramatis Personae_______________________________________________
Jack Taylor - Adventurer; Jack of All Trades
Shei'r'rah -(pronounced Shi-ahr-ruh) -Traveling Advisor; Adventuress
Shi'ahna - (pronounced She-on-nuh) - Attendant to the King; Grand Ruler
Ahc'men - (pronounced Auck-mihn) - Crown Prince of Zaph'e'nath
Ha'rwoh - (pronounced Hair-rhoww ) -Ruler of Zaph'e'nath

Description
      "Never fall in love.... or never let anyone fall in love with you....", a young man wrote in a letter. "Hi Jim, how are you? I bet you're wondering why I just wrote that. Well... its quite a story, and if you have some time", he laughed, "I'd like to tell you about it. And like with all stories, let's start at the beginning........"

The Not So Ordinary Adventures Of
Jack Taylor
         Secrets Beneath The Sands

"I guess it started five years ago, in Cairo." As this man started to write more of his letter, he started to slip back into his memory, remembering the events to come. I was traveling down there for the Pharaoh festival, as I always do. But this time was different. A woman told me about a city, a special city, one that can only be found during a sandstorm. "The city in the sands" , she said, "it is a mysterious city. Few have found it, none have returned.....". "Ok....How do I get there?", I asked. "Sandstorms...sandstorms are the key...", she answered.  "But be warned young traveler, once you find your storm, you might not find your way out". And knowing me, I was stupid enough to wait for one anyway. And when I found one, oh boy did I find one. I wandered aimlessly for hours, caught in the storm. That is, until, I fell off of a cliff into the sands below. When I was about to lose consciousness, I saw a figure in the sands, reaching out to me, then I blanked out. When I came to, I was in a city, a city called Zaph'e'nath.  "Are you alright?", a caring voice asked. "Huh, who are you?", I asked. "My name is Ha'rwoh, and I am the King of this land."  "Where am I?"  "Well my friend, you are in Zaph'e'nath: the city in the sands"  "I'm sorry, did you say 'city in the sands'?"  "Yes I did."  With a puzzled look on my face, I realized that I was there, finally. "Now, we know who I am, but tell me stranger, who are you?", he asked again. "My name is Jack, Jack Taylor", I answered. "Where do you hail from?", he asked. "From North America."  "Tell me Jack Taylor, why have you traveled all the way from America to here?", he asked. "Because of a story; a story of mythical proportions. It fascinated me so much that I had to see it", I replied. "Come", he said, "I will show you what you want to see"  We then left the palace, and explored his domain. We first walked in the courtyards, then we went outside the palace. "You see, because of the position of the city, when the sun hits the top of the city, it creates a solar beam that acts as a shield, protecting the us from any harm from anyone", Ha'rwoh was telling me as we walked through the city, while a certain  girl was following us. "And no one goes hungry, or needs any shelter?", I asked, "Not under my rule!!", he replied. "My family has ruled this land for generations. We have always been just and fair, giving even out of our own surplus. If they need shelter, they have the palace. If they need medical attention, they have the palace. If they need anything, they have the palace. Even outsiders are cared for here, we turn no one away." "Well  then....I'm  glad that you keep to that vow", I said, as we both started chuckling along the way. After going back to the palace, we come into a feast, for a bountiful harvest year. "Wow, you guys know how to put the 50's to shame", I said, eyes wwiiiddddeeee open from the feast before me.  As I was "Indulging" on the culture, I began a conversation with a servant girl there, a very interesting conversation. "So you chose to serve here by choice?" , I asked. "Yes I did; the work here was not hard, and nothing was too demanding", she answered. "It helped my family greatly, while they were alive", she said. "I'm so sorry. If you don't mind me asking, what happened to them?" , I asked. "Well", she started, "they were on their way back from a business trip in Cairo, when they were robbed on the way home. Days later, they wandered back to the city, beaten within an inch of there lives, stable only until they passed away a few days later", she finished, sighing with every sentence. The only words I could muster out was: "I'm sorry". "But hey, its not all bad. The king was kind enough to let me stay here, I can do what I want, and I got to meet you", she said, with her frown slowly turning into a smile. "So that's why you were following us earlier", I said. "Yeah", she replied. "You know, I forget to asked. What is your name your name?", I asked. "Its Shi'ahna", she said. As we finished our dinner, we went to the balcony to continue our little chat. "So, how long are you here for?", she asked. "Not more than a few days; I have to leave, I'm needed" , I said. "Oh...", she said, with her voice beginning to tremble, "Are you sure you can't stay?", she asked. "I would love too, but I have some pressing matters back in America" , I told her. "Will I ever see you again?", she asked me, to which I said: "Just keep an eye on the horizon, you'll see me...".  A few days later, as I started to depart from the city, everyone showed their gratitude for a..."humble" guest. As they were giving their goodbyes, and wishing me well on my journey, I saw (but never thought anything of it...), from the corner of my eye; that girl from the dinner, Shi'ahna, she had evil in her eyes, and a smirk on her face. She was biding her time. But what happened next...I never expected.

A year or so later, I received a message from Zaph'e'nath, saying that there was an emergency in the city, and that I was "needed immediately" . So, I hopped on the next flight outta town, and went to Zaph'e'nath. But when I arrived, the city was different. The once crisp, clean streets of the city, they were littered with trash, debris, and madness. Buildings were in shambles, chaos filled the streets; people who once enjoyed the freedoms of the city, were now forced to board up their doors and windows. It had looked like Marshal Law was put into action; guards marching around everywhere, people in fear of their lives, the skies for, some reason, were darkened. And as I looked at the madness all around me, I knew something had to  be done... I had to see the king. I made a dangerous trek to the palace, jumping off  and over rooftops to avoid the guards. But as I was being the Prince of...um, ok let's not use that. Anyway, I saw a girl who was being harassed by a few guards; but as I was about to intervene, the girl showed me that not everyone here was helpless. After she took care of two of the guards, I jumped down on top of the one left, before he could grab her. "Thanks, I think", the girl said, a little apprehensively. "What do want eh?? My money, my food, my life?!?!", she said agitatedly. "No no, I don't want anything like that..", I told her. "Then what do you want??", she asked me. "Same as you, the city back to way it was", I told her. "What do you know of this city? What do you know about 'how' we once were?", she asked. "I know, because I was here once, before all this mess. I saw the city in its prime, I saw a kingdom thriving from its peaceful ways and its peaceful king. I want to see that again", I said to her, trying to prove that my motives were true. "It sounds like you did", she said, picking up on my sincereness. "So what do you say, will you help me?", I asked her. She took a moment to think about it as I extended  my hand out to her, but in time, she accepted it and said: "Alright, for now". As we walked through the city, avoiding guards wherever we went, I asked her: "How did 'this' happen?". She then started to tell me about a sudden illness of the king, which eventually led to his death, the prince who mysteriously disappeared for unknown reasons, and a so called unnamed heir who ascended to the throne in a heartbeat, causing the mass chaos I saw before me.  As we came upon the palace, we saw a huge vanguard  guarding the entrance. "How are we supposed to get past this guy??", she whispered to me. "Watch this...", I whispered back. "Excuse me good sir", I said to the lead  guard loudly, with my hand trembling behind my back, "I was summoned here at the whim of the ruler to come at once". "Yes...we have been expecting you", the guard answered, "And who, is this??", he asked, glaring down at the my friend. As she stared at him, speechless, I finally said: "Um...this is my 'Traveling Adviser' um...", "Shei'r'rah", she finally said, "My name is Shei'r'rah". "Um...yes, Shei'r'rah is my adviser", I continued. I then nudged her to start, "Advising". "Oh, um, yes; you see, this...this is sand", she said as I was agreeing with her, "And this...this is a city!!", "I never knew that!!", I said, "And this...this is a scary guard, eeerrrhhhhaa", she said as the guard rolled his eyes at us, sighing loudly. "Alright, alright...you can go in. Just no funny business", he said to us, leaning in with a stern look on his face. "Jawohl", I said; a little smug, a little scared. As we walked past the guard, with a small sigh of relief, I said: "See? That wasn't too bad...". But when I looked at her face though, it told a different story. We then came into the royale chamber, where the good king used to rule. To my surprise, when I looked at the throne, I saw that servant girl, it was Shi'ahna!! "Shi'ahna, how did this happen??" , I asked her. "It was simple really, I wanted to see you again. And as the king was 'dying', he told me, his most trusted attendee, that if the prince did not return, I would be made his successor", she started to explain, but was interrupted by Shei'r'rah who screamed: "LIAR!!! YOU DID AWAY WITH THE KING AND THE PRINCE AND YOU KNOW IT!!", she then turned to me and said: "You know this horrible witch!?!?!". "Yes I knew her. But before she went Psycho!!", I said. "Enough!! The kings death is saddening indeed, but I had nothing to do with it, nor the prince's disappearance", she said, with authority, "And yes, my dear, I am the 'only' heir left. If the prince would have'ever' returned, I would willingly give up the throne, but that is not the case right now. I have the throne, I have the power, and now, I have my king...". "Umm....your whaa???", I said, a little stunned by that last statement. "Yes, I have chosen you to be with me, on the throne; that's way I've called you here, that's the purpose for all of this", she said. "I will not stay and be king", I said firmly. "I did all of this for you, and you reject me??", Shi'ahna said, shocked at that statement. "You had people ripped from their homes, the city is in chaos, you rule corruptly, and you expect me to be ok with that?!?!", I said furiously. "Yes"."Well, I'm not. I can't and I won't be". "Fine then.", she said, angered, "If you won't marry  me, then I'll imprison this street urchin brat until you do!! Guards!!!!", she said screaming. As the guards were pouring in to arrest Shei'r'rah, I did my best to stop them. But Shi'ahna had other plans: "Guards!! Seize that man!!". But they never had the chance; thankfully my ninja training came in handy this time,  as I had avoided the guards, and managed to escaped through a window.

As I looked down from a building I was clinging to, I leaned over to see what was happening. I could read Shi'ahna's lips, telling her guards to scour the city to look for me. But I was more concerned about finding out what happened to my "adviser". I tailed them to their prison, and tried to find a means to get in. While searching through windows, trying to find Shei'r'rah, I finally found her in the highest tower(ugh...). Once I got her attention, I tried multiple ways to try to communicate with her, and failed. That is until, I used Sign-Language. Thankfully, her people knew it, and knew it well. I asked her if there was a way in or out, but she couldn't tell. But what she did tell me though, was truly interesting. She said that she found the prince, alive and.....well, alive. I asked if I could talk to him, she asked him, and he agreed to it. I signed to him asking that if I released him, would he be able to turn the city back to what it once was and to rule as his father did; he signed back saying that he would do his utmost to fulfill all that I asked. That was good enough for me. As I lowered down some rope that I..um...borrowed from a guard, they made their way up to freedom. As we helped the prince to his feet, unbinding his hands and unwrapping some cloth around his face, we all had one thought on our minds, Shi'ahna.... As we went down from the top of the prison, the prince and Shei'r'rah were trying to figure out what to do about her, I told them: "Don't worry, I have a plan..."

We followed the prince through a secret passageway, directly under the throne room. As we went through, I told them about my plan: "You see, with the majority of the guards running through the city looking for me, there won't be enough people guarding her". "That's it??", Shei'r'rah asked. I gave her a look and said: "Who do you think I am, Alexander the Great??". Afterwards, we made it to the throne room, determined to end this once and for all. As I thought, her main guards were away searching for me. We hid in the shadows of the ceiling, waiting for our moment to strike. She sent her remaining guards out to keep up the search, and returned to the throne. We slowly descended from the ceiling, jumping down from tapestry to tapestry. As we dropped down to the ground, the prince looked at her and said: "Your reign of terror is over". "I beg to differ", she said to him, after which she called in her guards and ordered them to seize us. The prince stood up, after tussling with a guard, and said: "You will not harm a hair on their heads".  "And who are you to tell us this?", one of the guards asked. "Because I am Prince Ahc'men, the true heir to this throne", he said with conviction, showing them his royal ring, giving ample proof of who he is. "My liege", the guards said, bowing on one knee. "No, no, this was not how it was suppose to be", Shi'ahna said, running away to the top of the palace. As Shei'r'rah was getting ready to chase her, I grabbing her by the arm, and said: "No. She's mine". As I got to the top, I found her at the edge of a window, looking like she was ready to jump. "You don't have to do this", I pleaded. "You don't understand, I can't go back", she said with fear in her eyes, "Do you know what the consequences are for what I've done??? I could be exiled, left to die in the Sea of Sands. I'll never see the city again". "There are worse things than exile", I said to her, trying to ease her mind, to help her think rationally. "But they would never forgive me, I've done far too much". "You can never do too much", I said, extending my hand out to her. "Just take it, what's the worst that can happen?", I said, giving her a warm smile, letting her know it was ok. She hesitated, but eventually, she took my hand, and we went back down together. "You have a lot to answer for", the prince said, "I know; and I ready to accept whatever comes from it", she said, looking at me with hope in her eyes.  As Shi'ahna was facing her judgement, I turned to Shei'r'rah and said: "What will you do now? The city's safe, things are getting back to normal, and I think the prince can handle things from here". "I don't know; maybe 'travel'?" So, with the tyranny crushed, and the oppression oppressed, I decided to take my leave(and just so you know...her sentence was light, proving that the prince kept to his word).

So, that's it. That's why I said: "Never fall in love, or never let anyone fall in love with you". But I'll add this: "Unless you know that you love them, and they love you back. Because if they're not the one for you, you won't be the one for them". And Jim, that's something I had to learn the hard way. By the way, if you were wondering what happened to my "Traveling Adviser", well...she's just waking up from the flight back home. See ya soon Jim.

        With love, Jack T.


                                     END

Dramatis Personae_______________________________________________
Jack Taylor - Adventurer; Jack of All Trades
Shei'r'rah -(pronounced Shi-ahr-ruh) -Traveling Advisor; Adventuress
Shi'ahna - (pronounced She-on-nuh) - Attendant to the King; Grand Ruler
Ahc'men - (pronounced Auck-mihn) - Crown Prince of Zaph'e'nath
Ha'rwoh - (pronounced Hair-rhoww ) -Ruler of Zaph'e'nath