by Angela Kulig
"It is not in my nature to care," the genie said. "Make your third wish if you dare."
The Vizier seemed to think of his words more carefully then. Since now, two wishes had been wasted.
My grandfather lunged for the lamp.
But my grandfather was an old man who faltered.
In the Grand Viziers other hand, a knife snapped out, slicing a deep gash from one of the Sultan's ears, across his throat, and even one shoulder.
I didn't know I was screaming until I'd screamed to the point where my throat was raw. I could scream no more. Tears wet both the general’s arms as I thrashed with all the might of a tiger, even if I was only a girl. I could feel his teeth clattering together as I rocked, but he still wouldn’t release me.
Abbas fell to the floor beside Grandfather, and with a trembling hand, he reached for him, and it came back bloodied and slick. "How could you?" Abbas glared daggers at the Grand Vizier, the horrible smirking snake of a man, and he said:
"Is it my fault if I wish for a ruler worthy of my kingdom?"
The storm raged, even before the Vizier realized what he had said.
"It is done." The genie’s hands rose toward the ceiling, and the clouds of the room swirled, an angry sea of purple and black and gray. And in that storm, a crown appeared above my head, formed from the magic itself, and cast in the violent storms. The general dropped to the floor near my feet. The crown lowered, and as it touched down on my dark hair, sparks beamed from my body as if I was a purple gem tossed into a pond. Rippling out across the whole palace, then the kingdom, and then the world.
Something was beating on the doors of the parlor, something that wasn’t the storm that seemed to be getting sucked back into the lamp.
"No," the Vizier shrieked. "No, that is not my wish!"
He reached for the genie then. Reached out just before the entirety of the being was pulled into whatever existed beyond the lamp.
And that was a mistake, because the Vizier was turned to smoke, and dragged into that otherness with the rest of the clouds.
Guards burst into the room as I raced for my grandfather.
"My Queen!" the guards cried.
Like a man made of moving stone, the general picked himself up from the floor and started after me, but the two guards intercepted him in a clash of swords and knives.
All of that happened, and it seemed as though time stood still, just as I fell next to Abbas.
There was so much blood. Too much, I realized, for one person to lose and recover from. My grandfather's eyes were closed as if he was asleep, but there was no life left in him.
Aladdin crouched on his other side. Tears had fallen from his brown eyes. He retrieved the lamp, but there didn't seem to be any life left in it, either, or I doubted there would be, not for another hundred years.
Epilogue
After the storm had passed, and I had properly mourned my grandfather—well, I wasn’t certain I would ever grieve him long enough. He’d sacrificed his life in an attempt to save mine. I would forever be grateful and forever miss him.
Since that dreadful day, Aladdin and Abbas had become permanent fixtures at my side. Aladdin as my… suitor? Perhaps husband-to-be? Only time would tell. As for Abbas, he was now my closest advisor, and I trusted him with my life. He, Imani, and Mara—my trusted family of advisors, I should clarify. Although Mara still treated me as a child at times, Queen or not. She said it would build my character. I loved her so.
Imani had just finished preparing me for a ball I was actually looking forward to. “Oh, Cyra. You look stunning.”
Mara slapped her on top of the head, and I had to contain my giggle. “That’s Queen Cyra to you. Lest you not be forgetting it.”
“Yes, Mother.” Imani peered over her shoulder as Mara left my chamber. “She is worse than ever now that you’ve become Queen.”
I smiled at that. “I think it’s sort of nice. She keeps me grounded and reminds me to always remain humble.”
“I suppose you’re right.” She clutched my hands and spun me around. “Just look at you, though. Queen, and you now have Aladdin.”
At the mention of his name, a knock sounded at the door. I glanced at her expectantly. My dress was gorgeous, in the same style Grandfather had designed for me, but a deep blue in color with various shades running throughout. And, of course, a silver belt with the shape of a star.
Imani’s smile brightened when she turned to me. “He’s here! I mean, Aladdin is here to pick you up, my Queen.” She coughed into her hand.
I laughed and went to the door, bidding Imani goodnight. Aladdin was dressed in ivory and it suited him. His black hair swept across his forehead, and a few strands fell over one deep brown eye. “Thank you for meeting me.”
“Thank you for accompanying me, my Queen.” He bowed, then held out his arm to escort me downstairs, and I looped my own through his. “You are simply breathtaking.”
I felt the color rising to my cheeks. “Thank you. Are you prepared for this?” I turned my head toward him. “For the ball, I mean?”
He winked. “With you by my side, I feel as if I can conquer the world.”
“Let’s not go that far, dearest Aladdin. We’ve seen how that worked out for the last guy.”
The two of us broke out in a fit of laughter. The Grand Vizier had indeed created his own destiny—he wanted my kingdom, and a worthy ruler, and instead, he got me, and a nice little home inside a lamp. I’d made sure that lamp was buried so deep into the earth, it would take a miracle or magic to find it.
Speaking of magic…
“Yes, he certainly knew how to screw up a good fairy tale romance.” Aladdin knocked on the massive doors leading to the ballroom.
“Not only him.” I smiled before my people as my presence was announced. “All those who write silly childhood fairy tales. They never seem to get them right. The happily ever afters?” I nodded politely to a young woman standing off to the side.
“What do you mean, Cyra?” Aladdin stopped me in the middle of the dancefloor. “You don’t believe in fairy tales?”
I rose a dark brow and thought for a moment as he took my hands in his. “Well, I assume if we have a happily ever after, then perhaps. But typically, no.”
Aladdin’s face fell as the soft music began, and it was difficult to hold in my laughter.
“Unless there’s a shapeshifter involved. Then, of course, there’s a happily ever after. She must be all claws and fur, though.”
At that, a smile greater than I’d ever seen brightened his handsome face. “I quite like your version of this fairy tale.”
“I thought you might.”
And we danced the night away without a villain in sight. Would I marry Aladdin? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Either way, I was living the life I had only ever hoped and dreamed for.
I dared to hope.
I dared to dream.
And in some fairy tales, dreams do come true.
The End
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About the Authors
International Bestselling author, Angela Kulig is an American gypsy, and former pirate. She has been from sea to shining sea—and though she is currently trapped in the desert against her will, she escapes every day in the form of many books.
Angela Sanders is an International Bestselling author of Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, and Urban Fantasy. She's a multi-genre author who also writes psychological thrillers and murder mysteries, her debut novel being, NEVER AGAIN. As a retired Navy Chief, wife, and mother, Angela lives in Kentucky where she enjoys writing, editing, reading, or all three.
Her son is the key to her
heart; he has the writing bug, wanting to be like his mommy when he grows up. She began her writing journey, first in the political world, and then left it all behind to explore the more fantastical world of fiction. With the help and support of several authors pushing her along, she published her first book in June 2017 and has been writing since.