The Candle Princess

by Raine Hughes

  Through the new transparent curtain, Jasmine’s room looked equally bright and exotic. A canopy of filmy silks cascaded down around what was obviously a bed, but it sure wasn’t the one he’d slept in. He’d never gotten around to replacing the beautiful antique bedroom set his ex-wife had taken with her. Until now he hadn’t cared. The shabby furniture he’d resurrected from his childhood room over in his parents’ house, had somehow suited the mood of his life.

  “This you like?”

  The velvety soft voice caused him to spin round, feeling like a bad boy caught peeping. That sense of naughtiness increased as he feasted on the figure moving into the room. Jasmine was wearing a new costume of lime and dark green, very similar to her other one, right down to the beaded string jacket and bare midriff. This time a transparent flowing green veil sheltered her neck. The bits of cloth covering her in no way hindered her graceful movement, but complemented each shift, making her body even more appealing, inviting, bringing his body to life, too.

  He dragged his gaze away as he tried to shake off the feeling of not being in control of his faculties. It was difficult to assimilate a coherent answer, especially since the strange musical hum in the room grew louder. Fixing his stare on the statue, he cleared his throat before trusting himself to speak. “You have a flair for design that some in high society would welcome.”

  * * *

  He did not like the room, Jasmine concluded by the flatness of his voice and his repeated glances into one corner of the room. What disturbed him? A glance showed everything was order. The wall covering emitted a quiet melody that should calm the soul.

  She refocused on him and caught his intent gaze sliding over her body in a slow, thorough manner. Had any of her previous masters looked at her in quite the same absorbing way, she would have been repulsed. Instead, Noah’s sizzling gaze sent a tiny shiver of delight through her. Her father’s suggestion that she experience a mortal, echoed his approval in her head.

  “It is not as you like?” she queried, disappointed when his absorbed perusal broke.

  “Yes. Yes, I do like.” His gaze was slow to move from her, then he darted a look at the statue. “I, um, just don’t like to be stared at, even by something that’s inanimate.”

  Jasmine looked at the fine elegant statue of her mother’s likeness. It appeared to be watching them with a keen interest, though that was only an illusion. But, it obviously unsettled him. She folded her arms and with a nod, replaced it with a white horse that reared high up to the ceiling. “This is good?”

  “He’s beautiful.” Eyes still on the replacement statue, he raised a hand and lightly touched the wall, only to snatch it away as the material vibrated under his fingers. His gaze focused on the wall as he rubbed fingers and thumb together. “Is this, um, stuff alive?”

  Jasmine giggled at the idea. “To the surroundings, it is sensitive, although not empowered with life as we are. It is the life of the plant that remains in it. The fibers are encouraged by the music to bring out their best colors as they try to soothe our disquiet.” Mortals were not as attuned to nature as many of her people were.

  “Great! Great!” His enthusiasm sounded forced but he tentatively touched the wall again. Its disquiet remained evident, a reflection of his uneasiness and the way he gave it a couple of slow strokes indicated that he realized that he was upsetting it. She could imagine his reaction should he witness the whirlwind of her ability to transport herself to another space.

  He cleared his throat. “I came in to watch the news broadcast on television.” He pointed to a black screen situated within a multi-shelved cabinet. They had watched it previously. Jasmine found the talking pictures fascinating.

  She had relegated it to a corner during the renovation. By crossing her arms and nodding, the unit was supposed to come forward. Unfortunately, the television floated out, leaving the wooden piece of furniture behind. Noah intercepted it before it crashed to the floor. Jasmine cringed waiting for him to explode into anger after he settled it back in its proper place. She noted that even while he did that, his attention was on the gauzy partition in the doorway of her bedroom. The material would allow him an almost unimpeded view. With a jerk, he stepped back and faced her, or rather he settled his gaze on the rearing horse.

  “Thank you for thinking of me, Jasmine, but this room”—he waved his hand to indicate the living room—“should be part of your private quarters. It isn’t right for me to intrude on your privacy.”

  Now he studiously refrained from looking around at all, his words and action indicating that he was a man of honor who held himself accountable to certain standards. They would not allow him to take liberties such as looking into a lady’s bougrat al-noum, her bedroom.

  The idea of a mortal master with honorable intentions was tantalizing as well as amusing, leading her to feel just a tiny bit naughty. Could he be led astray? The idea was intriguing, especially since her skills with men were not well-practiced. She was a princess, after all, and unlike the common Djinni, not allowed much freedom regarding kissing let alone other sexual contacts.

  Once more Prince Jafar’s parting suggestion that she experience a mortal man meant those expectations would be relaxed to allow her to follow her attraction. With a stifled giggle, she turned the see-through silk into sheltering velvet.

  “You may stay without discomfort.” She was quite pleased with the way she was picking up his speech, a strange combination of sophisticated and informal.

  * * *

  Trying to ignore his surroundings and the situation sent his head in a whirl of sensual overload. As the television came to life Noah hastily lowered himself onto the sofa, apprehensive that the sheepskins, too, might have some of the living qualities that the walls had. He was relieved to sense no such thing.

  He almost leaped to his feet when he realized Jasmine stood at attention as if waiting for his next command. “Sit!” Way to go, Noah, can you make it sound any more like ordering a dog to do your bidding?

  She sat close.

  Perspiration sprang out on his forehead. Noah kept his gaze fixed on the television set though he really couldn’t follow the storylines. Jasmine’s closeness kept his thoughts in her direction. Her enticing perfume reminded him of spring, of running through the field barefoot, of stripping out of his clothes to feel the sunshine, of Jasmine’s naked body…

  He started at the forbidden vision and jumped to his feet. “Dinner. Chicken. I have to get the chicken—” Jasmine’s instant leap to her feet, arms crossed before her, halted him.

  “If it is roasted chicken you wish, it is my pleasure.” With a quick nod the table was set. With another nod, the chicken appeared, complete with serving bowls of steaming hot vegetables, potatoes, and a leafy-green salad like he’d prepared the day before.

  Unfortunately, the rooster was in the middle of the kitchen floor. It stood on two feet and crowed at them.

  Noah leaped back at the indignant crow.

  “Oh, camel spit!” a soft voice said behind him.

  “Camel spit?” He slowly turned to cast a wary gaze on his guest, keeping one eye on the colorful bird that strutted around his kitchen. “I did not wish or even say I wanted the chicken for tonight. In fact, I wanted it out—the very dead one in my deepfreeze—to thaw overnight so that we can eat it tomorrow. I had thought to have hamburger—beef burger, that is—for tonight. Now, take this rooster and put it back wherever you got it from.”

  “Thee is angry with me.” Her lower lip quivered but only for a moment. “Next time I wait until you have given me the wish, thy entire command.” With a nod, the chicken was gone from the middle of the room. It reappeared in the center of the table.

  Her sigh came out as an agonized moan, prompting Noah to say with much less force, “I’m not angry.” The rooster strutted to the bowl of potatoes and began pecking them. Even that failed to quell the wayward thoughts of moments ago. He’d never in his life allowed himself to dwell on sensuality and here he was with an acute se
nse of awareness for a woman totally out of bounds!

  Dragging one hand down his face, sobered him. That’s when he realized that while he’d adamantly proclaimed he wouldn’t make wishes, Jasmine was taking it upon herself to treat his statements as such. He’d have to watch his words so there could be no mistaking a mere idea for a wish.

  He cast a glance at her and watched her blink back tears. Jasmine’s powers might be disconcerting to him, but the difficulties she had in magically delivering his perceived requests were obviously distressing her.

  Or maybe his reaction had caused her tears. His curt emphasis on the beef burger, a little more high class sounding than plain hamburger, annoyed him, too, because no matter how he looked at it, it was probably very inadequate in terms of the fine dining she must be used to. He was way out of his league, in more ways than one.

  “Since the chicken is here, why don’t I take him to the barn?” Without waiting for Jasmine’s reply, Noah picked up the rooster, tucked it under his arm and left.

  Once more he felt relief at having escaped from the presence of his houseguest. Was she using some sort of spell on him to elicit these images and thoughts? He doubted it. Her gaze was clear and innocent; she was totally unaware of how she affected him. None of his wayward thoughts were her fault. They were his and he had no idea of how to deal with them. Look buster, remember you and the princess can only be acquaintances, friends at the most. If he could only abide by his own advice!

  Noah found himself deep in thought, in the middle of the barn with the rooster still under his arm. The chicken didn’t seem to mind. Noah bent down and released him. The bird promptly began investigating his new domain, beginning by strutting up to Jersey, puffing up his feathers and crowing.

  He chuckled as the cow shook her head at the cheeky rooster before going back to nuzzling through her hay for the tastiest stems. Jersey plainly had the ability to ignore a newcomer, unlike her owner. Would he really be able to cultivate a friendship without always thinking of more?

  Noah threw the cow another forkful of hay, and scattered some grain on the floor nearby for the rooster.

  By the time he returned to the house he had resolved his guilt over the hamburger that he’d forgotten to tell her was partially unthawed in the fridge. Jasmine had made no complaint when he’d served stew for lunch. In fact she had said it was some of the best she’d ever eaten and he realized now that she wholeheartedly meant it. She seemed to be a very down-to-earth human being, if that was possible given the fact that she might in fact not be human at all.

  * * *

  Jasmine poked her head into the porch with apprehension as Noah entered. “Perhaps,” she cleared her throat, “perhaps you will wish to remove the beef burger to the barn.”

  Noah crooked an eyebrow. She didn’t let her gaze falter under his silent query as she stepped back and handed him a rope. On the end of it was a huge bull. Noah gaped at sight of the docile Shorthorn. “The beef burger did not, well, turn out as I wanted. I found some food in a can. Hamburger N’ Gravy, it is called.”

  Then his rounded eyes turned to her. After a long astonished silence, he burst out laughing with a heartiness that came from deep inside. Jasmine’s tension eased and she was able to draw a full breath.

  When he wound down, Noah agreed to the meal. “Maybe you can use the conventional method of opening it with a can opener and heating it in a pot on the stove?”

  Jasmine relaxed further at the reassuring look he imparted. She bowed and gained his laugh once more. She was glad to see he was not going to wish her gone already, not that she could go, but still, it felt good that she was safe for now. He also informed her that he had been coming in to tell her he would take a little time to clear out the driveway, pushing the snow aside so that vehicles could travel it.

  She watched as he guided a tractor back and forth from the yard to the roadway, a blade in front pushing the snow aside. Now she realized something similar and a lot bigger must have swept her and her urn up in the snow on her fateful landing.

  When Noah once more returned to the house, he grinned at her as she stood stirring a pot on the stove. “At this rate, I’ll soon have the barn full.” He winked. “But, I’d prefer to do it my way, please.”

  She smiled back, her mood continuing to lift at his easy manner. She liked Noah. Would he remain placid and easily humored as the days moved on?

  Why did things suddenly go awry for no reason? Under stress, things only got worse. Would she ever learn to curb her impulse to act until she was properly set to carry it out? It was an unpromising prospect, especially since often she had no idea what went wrong.

  * * *

  Much later Noah contemplated another slice of cranapple pie that Jasmine had managed to assemble from the packages he’d pulled out of his deepfreeze. He’d informed her that he wasn’t going to let her put exotic food on his table. Allowing her to bake and cook using magical means was enough. He’d read the instructions from a cookbook while she assembled the pie under his guidance.

  “I really don’t know much about being a Djinni except what I’ve read in that book, Arabian Nights, or through various Djinni jokes I’ve heard.” He was quick to add, “Not that I believe them all, but I believe your purpose was to grant me three wishes, then be on your way. Is that not so?”

  Jasmine’s lips curved upward, probably at the hopeful tone he’d deliberately injected into his voice. “That is one option,” she conceded. “The other is a lengthier service more suitable with our circumstances, since I cannot leave until I find my urn. And of course, it is my father’s wish that I experience mortals more fully.” She beamed at him.

  His gut automatically clenched with alarm. She’d said much the same thing about experiencing mortals before, but perhaps her intent wasn’t the way it sounded.

  “Much of your information is wrongful-leading and untrue!”

  Noah forced himself to relax then raised an eyebrow, glad to have his thoughts sidetracked.

  “There are no monsters in Djinn society, though there are Djinn who are evil and they may be somewhat less pleasant to look at.”

  That sounded diplomatically worded but he had no time to consider the implications.

  “We cannot change the way we appear, and we cannot grow bigger than life-like.”

  She sat back and crossed her arms over her bare belly, as usual only moderately sheltered by tassels. Her bosom lifted enticingly and Noah’s gaze settled there a moment. He liked Jasmine the way she was. Very much. It was easy to fantasize over his houseguest. That was definitely worrisome. His thoughts tended to get out of line.

  He dragged his thoughts back from the brink and said, “I was afraid one night I’d wake up to find some hulking big monster with freezing breath that would turn me into an icicle.” He chuckled at the idea as he teetered precariously on two legs of the old wooden chair he’d settled on.

  “Oh, that my father can do, all except being hulking big, that is!”

  Noah let his chair down onto all four legs with a crash.

  “But only if I request him to do so. You are my master and he cannot interfere, unless—” she cut off that statement. “No matter what will happen this time, I will not ask him to help me!” She held her head with a determined lift to it.

  Noah tried to relax, not sure which part of her statement could be looked on as reassuring. From what he could gather, her father might not even consider helping her anyway. With that assumption at least he’d be safe from her father’s wrath! Once more he pushed his chair off its front legs, but only a little way, lest another alarming statement cause him to tip over backwards.

  “I must focus, but even when I take time, I get muddled.” She wrung her hands in obvious distress. “You did not make your voice shout so my bungles did not become worse.”

  No, he hadn’t raised his voice in anger. He felt her frustration. He’d briefly speculated on the outcome had he berated her over her ineptness. He’d have to mask his frustration. He al
so silently prayed to God for his own patience and understanding, throwing in a plea for control over his attraction to her.

  He leaned forward, focusing on Jasmine’s so-called duty once more. “If you’re here to serve me according to my whims, then you have to do as I say, right?” At Jasmine’s enthusiastic nod, Noah allowed himself to speculate. He could live it up. He could have riches beyond imagination. He could flaunt them in front of his ex-wife and people like her.

  But they weren’t worth the effort and he never was one to show off. Besides, what riches would make him happy? All the money and power in the world wouldn’t give him the one thing he wanted most—a woman who wanted to share his dream and his love, one who would be happy simply being his wife and partner in life. He sighed. He’d handled that all wrong once already, and like Jasmine, he didn’t want to go on compounding an error.

  “You have a command for me?” Jasmine’s fingers fluttered on his arm.

  A bolt of energy ripped through him. It was not a welcome feeling. No, but you enjoyed it, nevertheless. He was a bundle of contradictions, apparently, and he hated that as much as anything.

  “I’m not sure what your supernatural capabilities are, but I would very much like to command that you only resort to using your magical powers as a last resort. There is nothing that I want that requires magic. I’m just a plain, simple man and it takes very little to satisfy me: wholesome food, cleanliness, someone to talk to.”

  Mostly someone to talk to. He cleared his throat as the loneliness of the past months assaulted him. He hadn’t realized he was lonely until now. He’d successfully warded off the feeling though it had been lurking within him.

  “But, Master!” Jasmine objected vigorously.

  “Noah, remember.” He kept his voice amiable.

  “Noah,” Jasmine conceded. “I do not know how to cook or do other things mortals do. That is why we have powers. If I do not use them, I will lose them.”