Notes

CHAPTER ONE:

Ch.1 | Dasht-e Kavir, 550 BCE
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Her chest was tight, agony strangling her heart with greedy hands. Anahita shook her head as tears fell from swollen eyes that had witnessed her brother, Jeremiah, go through so much hell by drowning and her being unable to save him. Closing her tired lids, she tilted her head back on the sand and softly pleaded. "Please be safe little brother." The corner of her lips trembled when she sucked in a shaky breath. Desperation clawed its way into her core, controlling her every thought and emotion.

Anahita stared up at the sun. It looked like a glowing medallion in the sky. Her hair flows like a river of curls, shiny, cascading like a waterfall to her shoulders, and spread out along the sand, with a beach soft, bounce. Her body lied on the sand, her clothes wet and covered in it as well.

Anahita couldn't bring herself to view the ocean waters and see her brother floating dead.

Finally gaining the courage to stand on her two feet. Anahita rose from the sand and wrung out her drenched thin dress she was wearing over her bathing suit of the salt water she had come from. She could still remember the coolness of the water sinking on her heated skin. The refreshing feeling of a boiling stone being poured with water and sizzling. That is how she felt. She felt as if her skin was lava and that water would cease to cool off her sweat and boiling temperature.

As she turned to view the ocean, it wasn't there. Anahita believed she was still at the beach because she could still see miles and miles of sand and feel the sand stick on the balls of her feet.

She trudged along, beads of sweat clinging to her brow. Her heels, cracked and dry, scraped along the earth. She could barely see through her squinted eyes.

"Jeremiah!" She called but barely a sound escaped because of her swollen glands.

Her ears pop, all noise muffle and sound distant. She constantly blinked but her vision was extremely disorienting, and as she continued to walk, her skin clammy and the blood rushing from her head.

Darkness starts to cloud Anahita's brown eyes.

The sand was her only support during the fall. She lied back on the sand once again, looking at the sky. This time, she sighed, she could tell much time has passed since she started trudging on the hot sand. Her eyes only able to look up at the sky, gazed at the star-lighted sky and watched as they dazzled more brightly. If she were to tilt her head ever so slightly her head would pound and cause her to be dizzy.

Find the stars within yourself, I promise they exist. Her mother's words slipped in her mind like a constant reminder. If she were here she would probably tell her the same thing but after she finished panicking about losing her son. Soft giggles escaped Anahita's lips as she thought about her mother's face when she would panic, but it barely sounded like giggles and more like heavy coughs.

Gasping for air, she needed something to ease the pain for her Inflamed throat. She closed her eyes and only thought about cool fresh water slithering its way down her throat easing the swelling. Cutting her off from her wandering thoughts, she could hear the tympanic rhythm of someone's sandals as they shuffle against the sand. Feeling the small grains of sand blow against her face and sting her eyes. In her blurry sight, she noticed a tall figure standing next to her leaning over to her.

Her heartbeat drummed within her ears, she was terrified.

His gaze fell upon her sunken eyes that were encased with dark circles. Lying in the sand she'd spent too much time in, Anahita let out another painful moan. Her chest rose as she labored to take shallow, raspy breaths. "Help-m-me." Was all her scratchy swollen throat would let on.

As she felt his hands slide under her legs and her back she scampered in reflex kicking the air to be released. Although she asked him for help, she didn't think someone's touch would sicken her into believing she had asked the wrong person. The man's strength frightened her, but she was too weak to fight back and ask for a background check. It seemed she had no choice but to give into the man's help and wait for morning to come.






CHAPTER TWO: Kidnap

Ch.2 | Persepolis, 550 BCE
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Shock flared in Anahita's eyes as he wiped her face with the cool cloth, but soon the emotion dispersed and left her serene.

"What happened.." She spoke soft and sotto as the cloth was removed. Anahita's eyes followed the young man in front of her as he submerged the cloth again and wrung it back out. "Who are you.." Sitting up on the bed Anahita looked at the man sitting on an aged stool. He was smiling at her and her initial reaction was to smile back.

Her eyes suddenly went wide and she averted her gaze around her surroundings. "Where am I!" She turned her head to the man sitting on the stool and crawled closer to him. "Where did you take me!?"

"I don't understand what you are saying." His voice was deep and soothing to her ears.

"Where is my little brother, he is fifteen and is about up to my shoulders, and he has dark brown curly hair that reaches up to his brows and his skin is the same colo-."

"I don't understand what you are saying."

Anahita looked down at the sheets confused, she put the puzzle pieces together and discovered that he was speaking Persian and it took a moment for her to process the words, she thought then where is she if she's not at home? The last thing she remembers was diving into the whirlpool to save Jeremiah, and waking up in the middle of a desert-like area.

The man raised his hands and lightly grabbed her shoulders breaking her away from her thoughts. He leaned forward, his lips grazing her forehead and kissed her. "Calm down."

Anahita shuddered and scooted in a panic over the pillows. "You don't just kiss girls you find in the middle of nowhere!" She yelled in Persian, she took the covers and pulled it up to her forehead wiping away his kiss. He tilted his head back and laughed heartily. It was deep sounding. Mellow. Calming. Like a deep river washing over a path of stones.

“Please tell me where I am,” She pleaded.



CHAPTER THREE: The Troops

Ch.3 | Persepolis, 550 BCE
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For an instant, no one moved. There was a long silence in the air and it left her uncomfortable. Anahita took a deep breath, trying to slow her frantic heartbeat. Then suddenly one of the boys in the crowd of incognito faces spoke up.

"I'm Mirza, and this is my little sister Shideh," she smiled and waved at Anahita.

Anahita smiled and waved back at Shideh. They looked very much alike, Shideh was average height, but her appearance was very adorable. Her hair was a lovely shade of mahogany and braided into a twist crown braid, but in the back, it was loosened into waves to adorn her honey, creme skin. Mirza seemed to be a giant when standing right next to her.

Anahita then looked at the rest of the gathering. "Hello, my name is Anahita Tavana, and it's a pleasure to meet you all." as she introduced herself, two children slithered out of the mob and tugged on her dress. "Are you uncle Octavian's new woman?"

"Xerxes! Omid!" Lady Mahin yelled slapping the back of their heads.

Anahita's face flushed bright pink. She looked away nervously, but she couldn't hide the red glow that came over her face. Her hands clutched at her sides. She choked on her words, "N-No, I just misshapen to be here because of an accident that coiled a few days ago." She waves her hand trying to pass the subject.

"Why don't you take Anahita here on a tour of the den?" Lady Mahin suggests.

"Okay!" The two grabbed Anahita and dragged her out of the lounge.

"Lady Anahita, where did you come from?" Xerxes asked.

Lady?, Anahita chuckled to herself, "just call me Anahita."

Xerxes and Omid looked at her bit surprised and nodded with a smile. Xerxes held Anahita's hand and Omid held the other. "I come from a time where there are silent mornings and noisy nights. It's very different from this time where we are now, but there are beautiful things."

"Like what?" Omid wondered.

"It may seem silly but, where I come from the feeling love is something quite rare."

"How's that beautiful?" Xerxes snickered.

"It's both beautiful and vile. Such as, love is something everyone wants but some people just struggle to show or tell that specific person they love them. And if you don't tell them, then how will they know or feel loved?"

"Then that person won't get love.." Omid theorized.

"Exactly. So that is why you always have to tell the people you love them, and if not at least show them that they mean something to you."

Anahita began telling stories, such as beauty and the beast, to the movie Aladdin. Omid and Xerxes sat on her lap while constantly asked her questions about the princesses and princes.

"Why was he a beast?"

"Why was she kept captive?"

"The princess fell in love with the peasant? But why?"

"Does everyone have a prince and princess? And if so, will we ever find our princess and princes?"

Anahita explained the stories and the meanings behind them. She just loved seeing how they were so interested in the stories. Their smiles and giggles reminded her of Jeremiah when he was just a child. He loved listening to Anahita's storytimes before going to sleep. She found herself brushing her fingers through their hair and watching as they fought to keep their eyes open.

Whispers escape their lips. "Lady Anahita, we want you to stay here."










CHAPTER FOUR: Make a wish

Ch.4 | Persepolis, 550 BCE
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Anahita lurched upright, the echo of giggles ringing in her ears. Confused, she blinks at her surroundings while taking in the mud brick walls, the two columns standing on each side of the ledge she and the twins were sitting on and the small candle lanterns that were hanging on the walls. Finally, she remembers having fallen asleep with the two.

The taps of plates set in front of her with various options of meals grabbed her attention. Anahita looked down as she heard her stomach growling, don't mind if I do. With gentle movements, she replaced her lap with a pillow so that the twins may sleep comfortably. Then crawled toward the plate filled with sliced meat and two sides of half a loaf of bread. Next to the plate was a small dish of fruits and herbs which she saved for the kids.

As she falls into her innermost thoughts, tears threatened in her eyes, as she blinked them away. Her life, her dreams, her family. Gone. There was nothing left for her, and for as long as it takes she will have to search for her brother and return home with no time wasted. It was the only solution and plan she had going for her. But first, she needed to know how long it was going to take or even how to return home. But if there was a way to transport here then there must be a way to transport back!

Taking a few more bites, she looks around to see if there was anyone there, but there was no sign of life. Anahita lifts herself from the ground and begun walking down the halls not caring for her messy appearance as long as she was up and healthy that was all that really mattered.

The empty halls