The genie moved about the camp, creating a bright blue fire at the heart of a clearing in the trees. I watched it with unease as she tried out different colours on the flames. Magic made my skin crawl. It wasn’t natural dammit.
I became even more concerned when she started talking to herself again. “Not blue. Well what is it then? Pink. Oh yes you're right, it's pink.”
I frowned, surveying her intently as I tried to assess how much of a threat she was. My instincts told me she was innocent enough, but she was still a weapon. And as she didn't seem to be particularly familiar with how the world worked, that made her potentially volatile.
I'm going to walk a ticking bomb into the palace...and then what?
Had I screwed up here? Should I have been working harder to get my hands on that lamp? Marching a common thief into the pageant didn't sit entirely right with me. But the kingdom was at risk. And I didn't see another way to take on Gothel. Even if I did destroy the lamp, that wouldn’t stop her from controlling my Emperor for the rest of his reign.
So maybe this was the better option. I’d get into the palace and figure out how to expose her for what she was.
Aladdin was sitting cross-legged in front of a mountain of gold coins. He was counting every piece of the treasure Kyra had summoned onto the backs of our camels. The beasts were currently settled down in the grass, their bellies full from the food Aladdin had conjured for them.
“I'm so rich, I'm so shitting rich,” Aladdin breathed for the millionth time.
I chewed on the inside of my cheek, rising from the log I'd been perched on and approaching him. As my shadow blotted out the light of the fire and stopped him from counting, he glanced up at me with a scowl.
“Care to move out the way, mate?”
“Rich people don't act like they've never seen a pile of gold before,” I said evenly. How was I going to train this lout up to be fit to face the Emperor and his daughter? I didn't much like the idea of having a hand in this lie. But it was for the greater good. Once I was inside the palace walls, I could get to Gothel. And that was what I needed to concentrate on.
“I'm not at the palace right now, so who cares?” Aladdin demanded.
I kicked his pile of carefully stacked coins and he scrambled around after them with a curse of anger.
I shook my head at the pathetic act. “Noblemen don't care if they lose a coin or two.”
Aladdin ignored me, gathering each and every coin up from the grass as fast as he could. Kyra was still having a conversation with herself about what colour a fire should be and my patience with my current company was starting to wear thin.
I rounded on her. “Red. Orange. Gold.”
Her eyes widened as if she'd just remembered we were here. “Oh thank you, Cassian,” she said like I'd just made all of her dreams come true. My gut twisted at being so short with her, but stress was starting to taking its toll on me.
I am Cassian Lazar. And I can handle a crazy genie and a greedy peasant.
The fire turned to a normal shade with perhaps a little too much gold in it, but I nodded my approval and Kyra gave me the brightest smile. It was hard not to stare at her with the way her skin continually rippled and changed across every colour of the rainbow.
Aladdin made sure every single coin was back in his pile before he acknowledged me again. “Fine. Teach me,” he demanded.
“Get up,” I sighed and he rose to his feet, his cocky swagger already dripping from him.
“Shoulders back. You slouch.” I moved behind him and straightened out his back. “Like this.” I strode away from him with my head held tall.
He watched me a moment then strutted forward like a peacock. “Yeah...that'll pass,” I murmured and he gave me a slanted grin.
“What next?” he asked.
“I can't teach you all the customs of the nobles in one night.” I fought a grin. And for you I’d need a decade.
He raised a brow. “Well how long do we have till the pageant starts?”
I looked up to the moon. Five nights had passed since I'd first been imprisoned. “It’s in two days,” I announced and Aladdin suddenly looked half a fraction less confident than usual.
“Teach me,” he encouraged so I did. I had more on the line than he did, so I had to give it my all.
I taught the thief how to bow, how to stand when in the presence of a lady. I tried to improve his speech and the way he should address other nobles. One evening wasn't enough for all of it, but he'd made vast improvements by the time we sank down to the ground around the fire and called it a night.
At least this dog is teachable. He actually listens when I speak. Kinda feels good too.
“I need a drink.” Aladdin snapped his fingers at Kyra and I scowled at the way he beckoned her. She hurried over, dropping to her knees in front of him.
“Oh great Master of – er- the world. What can I do to serve your ugliness? Humbleness!” she corrected instantly, muttering curses to herself.
I snorted a laugh. This girl was definitely growing on me.
Aladdin's upper lip pulled back in agitation. “Gimme a drink. A bottle of...” He glanced over at me. “What's the priciest drink in the kingdom?”
“Cartlanna honey wine,” I said without hesitation.
“That.” Aladdin pointed at me while staring at the genie.
“Your wish is my remand,” she said proudly.
“Command,” I corrected quietly and she blushed before a large bottle of the wine appeared in her grip. She placed it in front of Aladdin triumphantly and he nodded his approval.
“Thanks, Kyra,” he said, throwing her a wide smile.
Aladdin plucked the cork out and I darted forward, snatching it from his grip before he could drink it like a barbarian. That’s worth a hundred kuruş a drop, is he insane?
“Give it back,” he ordered, snatching a dagger from his hip.
Holy shit, was he going to try and stab me over a bottle of wine?
“If you drink Cartlanna wine like that in the city you're going to give yourself up in five seconds.”
He groaned, turning to Kyra again. “Cups?” he asked.
She nodded keenly and two golden chalices appeared in her hands, the most beautiful cups I'd ever seen. She handed us one each and I inspected mine with intrigue. This kind of magic isn’t so bad I guess.
“One for the lady perhaps?” I kicked Aladdin and he rolled his eyes.
“Get yourself one,” he said to her and she smiled broadly before conjuring another of the chalices for herself.
I poured out the wine then we dropped down to sit in a circle. Kyra watched me like I was about to perform a magic trick and Aladdin looked like he was tempted to glug his wine before I gave him any instructions.
“Do as I do,” I ordered and Aladdin nodded, gesturing for me to go ahead.
I clinked my chalice against Kyra's then lifted it to my lips. “To the Emperor Faisel,” I said. “May his daughter bear glorious heirs.” But by Osaria, don’t let them be Aladdin’s or Kahn’s.
Aladdin echoed the traditional words and Kyra joined in with a giddy grin.
I sipped the wine, the honeyed nectar rolling over my tongue and down my throat. I sighed contentedly as the alcohol fizzled in my gut. I'd always wondered what this stuff tasted like. Even highborns like me weren't privy to this level of wealth. A bottle of Cartlanna wine would have been the equivalent of two months rent even for a royal guard.
I could get used to this...
Aladdin tossed back the contents of his cup and smiled widely. “That shit is delicious.” He hurriedly poured out another glassful, his eyes flipping to me as he sensed my disapproval. “It's not like I'm gonna do this in the palace. But we're not in the palace right now, mate. So let's drink.”
He glugged down another glass and Kyra started copying him, not seeming remotely affected by the alcohol as she knocked back glass after glass.
Aladdin grew more and more drunk while I continued to savour my single cup.
“Oh Cassian,” Aladdin said dramatically. “Drink it, will you? There's an endless amount. And we earned it.” He rested a hand on my shoulder and I frowned. I'd never taken more than I'd needed of anything. Food, water, clothes. I lived within my means. And I'd never been drunk a day in my life. I worked seven days a week, when was I supposed to have time for it? And if I had turned up to guard the palace with a raging hangover, I would have been beaten worse than I had for that kiss.
But no one’s ordering you around now. You can do whatever you damn-well please.
That doesn’t mean I have to lower myself to his standards.
“How did we earn it exactly?” I pressed my lips together, stifling the urge to devour the entire contents of this delicious drink. But a rebellious part of me was clamouring to be heard.
“We survived!” Aladdin announced. “Another day alive is always worth celebrating.”
“That actually makes sense, I suppose,” I said, a grin pulling at my lips.
“Drink it,” Kyra said excitedly. “Drink it, drink it, don't drink it, don't drink it.” She slammed a palm to her forehead. “It was the first one idiot.”
Aladdin reached towards her as she went to hit herself again. “Don't do that,” he said with a confused frown.
My eyes fell to my drink again and I figured, what the hell? and drained the glass in one long, delightful, thrilling gulp. Not a sip. Not a sup. A whole, damn swallow.
Aladdin rounded on me with a laugh of satisfaction. “More,” he said immediately, refilling my glass before his own and Kyra's.
I grinned, my heart thundering as I lifted it to my lips and drank deeply once again. Aladdin kept filling it and I kept drinking. An electrifying burn grew in my chest and all of my worries just faded the hell away.
Why did I never drink like this before? Oh yeah, I was guarding stuff.
“Tell me 'bout the Princess again,” Aladdin slurred, rising to his feet in a fit of excitement.
“What Princess?” Kyra asked with equal fervour. “The one you’re going to marry? Or another one?”
“No.” I raised a hand in a warning. “No no no no.”
“Yes!” Aladdin begged.
“Okay.” An idea hit me and I got up, pulling Kyra to her feet with me. “You can alter this, right?” I gestured to the ever-changing multitude of colours that were rippling across her skin.
“Yes,” she said brightly.
“Can you do gold hair?” I asked and she immediately did it, her hair flowing down to her waist and dancing in an enchanted breeze. It was too gold. Like actual gold.
“Sort of.” My brow creased. “Can you do freckles?”
Huge purple blotches appeared all over her body and Aladdin fell to his knees with laughter.
“Is this right?” Kyra asked. “Is this how she looks?”
I snorted a laugh, stumbling away from her.
My boot caught on Aladdin's leg and I collided with the ground. Pain blossomed through my side and I tugged up my shirt as I rolled over, finding the blistering burn the torturer had given me splitting open.
Aladdin got to his knees, eyeing my wounds with a frown. The older bruises on my side had turned black and yellow and fresh ones lined my skin from The Forty's fists.
“Genie,” Aladdin called and Kyra appeared beside him in a flash. “Can you fix these wounds?”
“Is it your wish?” she asked and he nodded. “And do you agree?” she asked me.
“No.” I lurched away, shaking my head fiercely. This girl thought freckles were giant purple spots, what the hell would she do to me if she tried to fix my injuries?
“What's up?” Aladdin asked.
“I could end up inside out like Jadar and co,” I blurted and Aladdin's mouth fell open before he burst into a fit of laughter.
“That's – not -funny,” he said through his hysterics, dragging in air.
“Why are you laughing then?” Kyra asked. “Oh wait, are you crying? It's crying when the tears go up your nose right? Are they going up your nose or falling from your ears?” She moved to inspect him and I lost it.
I snatched up the bottle of Cartlanna wine as our laughter rang out through the trees. “This stuff is strong.” I staggered toward the fire. “Wait a second...I'm strong. I'm made of steel.”
“What's that, mate?” Aladdin rose to his feet.
I tipped the bottle into my mouth like an absolute ruffian and stepped toward the fire. “I am made of steel!”
“Are you gonna jump through it?” Aladdin asked excitedly.
“Oh no, he'll freeze,” Kyra gasped.
“I'm jumping through it,” I confirmed, rolling my shoulders. I was a royal guard. I'd been trained by the best fighters in the country. I'd been told I was invincible. And I damn well believed it tonight.
Yeah...this is a brilliant idea.
I backed up a few steps, the golden flames roaring before me.
“You're made of steel, mate, you got this!” Aladdin called as he sat down in the grass to watch.
I ran flat out toward the fire, my heart pumping, freedom calling my name.
Cassian Lazar! Cassian Lazar!
I leapt upwards, the flames licking the bare soles of my feet. A thrill danced in my chest as I landed on the other side. Triumph, victory, glory! I skidded on the grass and crashed to the ground. I rolled and rolled before slamming face first into a tree and blackness descended on me like a plague.
Holy shit I am not made of steel.
Night might just have been prettier than day.
I sighed as I lay back on the sloping hill, enjoying the feeling of the lush grass beneath me as I ran my fingers through it and looked up at the stars.
“The sky is so far away,” I murmured.
It was always that far away, there just used to be a lid between us and it.
“I hope I never see that lid again.”
“What lid?”
I stilled as Master sat down beside me and I only turned my eyeballs to look at him. The moonlight was shining off of his hair and I couldn’t help but wonder what it would feel like to touch it.
It would probably feel a lot like being a weirdo who touches other people’s hair.
He raised an eyebrow at me and I realised I hadn’t answered his question. I forced myself to move, rolling upright and angling myself towards him while hugging my knees to my chest so that I could look at him properly.
“The lamp lid. It’s all I could ever see when I looked up for... a very long time.”
“Looking up is always pretty good when you’re out in the real world,” he commented. “It’s what’s closer to home that reeks of shit.”
“Do I smell?” I asked in confusion. I wondered if washing in a pool of tears was really washing at all. Maybe I smelled like I hadn’t washed in a millennia.
“No. I meant that the stars always look pretty because they’re far away but the stuff closer to us tends to be a lot uglier.”
“Like you,” I pointed out.
“No, I’m pretty up close,” he said, throwing me a wink.
He’s flirting with us!
“I don’t think so,” I murmured as I felt blood heating my cheeks.
Master frowned at me, obviously thinking my comment had been meant for him and I recoiled internally as I realised it sounded like I’d disagreed with him.
“You would be the first person I’ve ever met to think that,” he said irritably.
“Would you like to be handsome?” I asked tentatively. “You could just wish it and-”
“I am handsome!” he snapped.
“Are you sure?” I asked with a frown. Things like that were so lost to me now. I hadn’t seen any faces in so long, it was like I’d forgotten where the features were supposed to sit and I couldn’t decide if his looked right or not. Maybe if I shifted his eyes so that they were both on the right side of his face it would help. Then I could look into both of them at once more easily.
“I’m sure,” he growled a
nd I chewed my lip instead of responding. I didn’t want to contradict him again but I was having trouble seeing it.
You would have killed for the attention of a man who looked like him once upon a time.
I wasn’t sure if that was right but I didn’t want to speak to myself again with him here. I’d gotten myself into enough trouble as it was with one comment and I wasn’t going to risk a second.
Master looked out over the sweeping valley towards the desert beyond, seeming to be too annoyed to talk to me again. I wondered if the fractured pieces of my personality would ever stitch back together into one person or if I’d always be this confused, divided thing.
“Cassian’s still passed out,” Master said eventually, as if I’d asked. Which I hadn’t. Cassian wasn’t really my concern; my life was tied to my master’s and nothing else really mattered to me aside from that. “So I was thinking we could talk without him for a bit.”
“Okay,” I breathed. He seemed to mean that. He wanted conversation from me. Not wishes. The idea was exciting and kind of terrifying too. The only person I’d had to talk to for a thousand years was myself and I didn’t even like her.
“It’s just that as much as I like Cassian, I’m not sure me and him are totally on the same wavelength when it comes to me having my wishes,” he said.
I nodded understandingly but I had no idea what he meant.
“And I think that he might just try to steal your lamp from me,” he added.
“No,” I gasped, unable to believe that Cassian would do that to his friend.
You’re so naive sometimes, it makes me sick.
“Yeah,” Master said sadly. “And he’s also been saying some stuff... about putting you back in the lamp.” He looked me in the eye as my heart pounded and I was struck by how concerned he seemed for me.
I think he’s more concerned for himself.
“What do you want me to do?” I asked softly, sensing he needed me to help him somehow.
“I think we need to do something about the lamp so that there’s no chance of him taking it. Or anyone taking it for that matter. So that I can protect you,” he said.
Keep you for himself more like.
Forbidden Fairytales- The Complete Series Page 14