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Chapter Text

The sun rose over the horizon, welcoming a new day, and a new life into the world.

Bells rang and the entire Kingdom of Hokori could hear them. People gasped.

The Queen finally gave birth.

People shouted in excitement. It had been many years since the Queen had been able to create a child. After many failed attempts, a little Prince or Princess was finally born.

Yunan opened the door to his treehouse, Scheherazade gently sipping her tea behind him. "It is a boy." she mused. "A small blonde boy with much potential."

"I see. And will this young boy make a good King?" Yunan asked her.

Scheherazade stood up, taking her staff into hand and walking next to Yunan. "Maybe. I believe he could either destroy the Kingdom or create peace within our world."

"Did Solomon tell you that?"

"Solomon is long dead, but his advice still rings through my head like a fond memory."

Yunan nodded, helping his wife down the ladder and the two floated through the air on a cloud of rukh. The citizens below them cheered in excitement, all walking towards the palace. Today was a day to celebrate, no one would have to work today, only partying for the delivery of the new Prince.

Inside the palace, however, there was no cause for celebration at all. Sinbad sobbed against the bedside where his wife lay dead. Ja'far put a hand on his shoulder. "Sin..." he breathed, voice just barely audible enough for Sinbad to hear, yet he went ignored.

Masrur stared down at the baby in his arms, asleep, blissfully unaware that his mother had just died giving birth. "Sinbad, the people will be expecting you soon." Ja'far tried again, a little louder this time.

Sinbad swallowed, tightening his grip on his wife's cold hand. He took a shaky breath and stood up, wiping his eyes. "My darling... I'm sorry..." he whispered, kissing the blonde woman's forehead and closing her dead eyes. He faced Ja'far and nodded. "I'm ready."

Masrur handed him the baby, swaddled in white and blue cloth. The young Prince opened his eyes just barely, reaching out and closing his tiny fist around one of Sinbad's knuckles. Sinbad smiled and kissed the small boy's forehead. Ja'far mirrored the King's expression. "What will you name him?"

"Alibaba. That's always what she wanted to name our child if he was a boy." Sinbad replied.

"I like that a lot." Ja'far agreed

Sinbad walked out to the balcony where all the people were standing in the courtyard. Yunan and Scheherazade landed on the balcony railing, both bowing to the King. "Your majesty." Yunan greeted him, tipping his hand. "May I see the young one?"

Sinbad nodded and handed the child to the Magi. Yunan smiled down at him. Scheherazade looked over and poked his nose. "Yup, he'll grow up to be a fine warrior and ruler, that I'm certain of." she nodded.

"Thank you, Lady Scheherazade. Both of you, thank you for coming." Sinbad said, taking his child back.

"Of course. I'm assuming the Queen has passed?" Yunan asked.

A grim look crossed Sinbad's face as he nodded. Yunan frowned. "I see. I hope she joins Solomon and the other great rulers in the stars."

The wind blew past them, as though it was confirmation of what Yunan said. Scheherazade smiled and gestured to the people. "They're waiting for you," she spoke.

Sinbad let out a sigh and smiled, stepping forward and waving to the people. They all cheered in happiness.

"My people! Please welcome Prince Alibaba! My son!"

More cheering. Streamers floated through the air, and Yunan and Scheherazade looked up into the sky to see many rukh butterflies flying around, all circling around the small Prince. Sinbad smiled widely, glad that the people couldn't see his puffy eyes. Alibaba made a small noise, probably irritated by the loud noises. Sinbad kissed the small child's forehead. "Don't worry, Alibaba. One day you will be King of this land, and then everything the light touches will be yours."

Alibaba smiled. The tiniest smile of a newborn, even though he could never fully understand what Sinbad was saying, he somehow understood that only great things could come from this.

~~~

A few months later another small boy was born into a family way up in the mountains, far away from where the light touched.

It hadn't even been a week before that boy's entire family was killed and he was taken away to the Kou Empire, a Kingdom so far from the light that none of the citizens ever thought they'd taste the sweet taste of peace. It was constant fighting and sorrow, so far from the eutopia that was Hokori.

That baby was taken to the Empress of the Kou Empire, presented as a young Magi, a powerful element that the Empress could not refuse.

So she swore to herself that she would raise this child to become a Dark Magi, a Fallen Magi, a Magi with a pitch-black heart and a thirst for war and bloodshed.

She renamed him Judar, and she lumped him in with the rest of her children, even though she felt no motherly attachment to him.

It was that moment when Alibaba's and Judar's fates would be connected, when Solomon and the rulers up in the stars made a decision.

These two would be the ones to bring the Kou and Hokori together, to prove to the Empress and the King that there were no difference between them. These two would be the ones to bring peace to everything the light touched and beyond. 

Chapter Text

Nine years later...

Alibaba closed his window as quietly as he could, breathing a sigh of relief as he hopped down from the windowsill.

"And where do you think you're going?"

Alibaba yelped as he realized his father was right in front of him. Sinbad had his arms crossed and one eyebrow raised, smiling, as he had just caught his little lion from sneaking out.

The young Prince laugh awkwardly. "Uh nowhere?" he tried.

Sinbad sighed, picking Alibaba up and slinging him over his shoulder, earning many protests from his son. "Nope, you're not going anywhere by yourself. Hokori can be very dangerous at times."

Alibaba huffed, ceasing his struggling and just going lax against his dad. "It's the middle of the day, dad! No one is going to kidnap me!"

"You're a Prince, and my son no less. That makes you a high target for kidnappers."

Alibaba groaned as he was set down on a chair in the parlour, a huge room in the palace with many chairs and small tables. Many of the servants bowed down when they saw the two royal figures, offering snacks and drinks to them as soon as they settled down. Sinbad sighed, pressing two fingers to his temples. "Honestly, Alibaba, what am I going to do with you?"

"You could start by treating me like a Prince." Alibaba snapped. "I'm not a little kid anymore, dad."

"Your child is so defiant." Ja'far laughed, coming in with Masrur next to him, the Fanalis carrying a small child barely three years old slung around him. Morgiana, Masrur's niece.

Sinbad shot his advisor a look. "I don't need your sass." he knelt down next to Alibaba. "You shouldn't sneak out. You worry me."

Alibaba kicked his legs out, trying to hit his father but his tiny legs couldn't reach him. "I just wanna see more of the kingdom, is that too much to ask?"

A laugh could be heard from above. Sinbad looked up and sighed dramatically.

"You're really keeping Alibaba cooped up in here? I'm surprised he can even walk by himself from how much you baby him!" Yunan shouted from the rafters, his young son Titus in his lap.

"Nice to see you too, Yunan."

The Magi hopped down. Masrur took Morgiana off of him and set her down with Titus. The small Fanalis started crawling all over the even smaller Magi child. They were getting along well.

Yunan walked over to Alibaba and lifted his chin up. "Hey now, a growing boy is going to want to travel the world at some point. You were very much the same way, Sinbad."

Alibaba slapped Yunan's hand off of him. "Don't talk like I'm not even here!" he shouted, puffing out his cheeks.

Yunan gasped loudly and practically swooned into Sinbad. "Look at that, he's becoming spoiled! Look what you've done to your child, Sinbad!"

Sinbad sighed again, feeling especially exasperated with this entire situation "Fine. Alibaba, you can go out. As long as Masrur stays with you the entire time." he looked over at his bodyguard. "Is that alright?"

Masrur nodded. "Yeah, that's fine." he scooped up Morgiana again and practically pushed Alibaba out the door. "C'mon, let's go."

Yunan beamed, clapping his hands together as Titus walked on tiny legs towards his father, letting out a string of incomprehensible blabbering. Yunan picked him up and set him on his shoulders. "See? It's not going to kill him to get out once in a while."

"I wholeheartedly agree," Ja'far said, coming up next to Yunan. "Sin, you have to stop being so overprotective over him."

Sinbad covered his mouth with his fist. "I trust Masrur not to let him get into trouble, but I'm just worried about him."

Ja'far hummed. "Sin, he's exactly like you were when you were that age, don't you remember?"

"Of course! And that's why I'm so worried about him! Don't you realize the kind of trouble and dangerous situations I got myself into when I was his age?!"

Yunan and Ja'far gave each other a look. Sinbad narrowed his eyes. "No, stop doing that. Don't have a telepathic conversation without me."

Yunan giggled, walking over to Sinbad and patting his shoulder. "By the way, Scheherazade's pregnant again. We're expecting another boy here soon. He might be an even more powerful Magi than I or Scheherazade ever could be."

"I worry for that woman every time you say you're going to make another child. I swear you're going to break her." Ja'far murmured.

"She's not going to break, and we're only having two." Yunan reminded him, holding up two fingers to emphasize his point. "Anyway, I do have to leave you now. Gotta get this little guy to bed. I'll see you later then, Sinbad."

He waved as he floated out of the parlour. Sinbad gave him a halfhearted wave and started walking into the throne room, Ja'far hot on his tail. "Seriously, Sin, what do you expect to happen?"

"I don't know... the Kou Empire infiltrating our walls and killing him on sight?" Sinbad replied, plopping down on his throne.

Ja'far made a face. "You realize that's a worst-case scenario, right?" he said. "What happened? You used to be so care-free."

Sinbad shrugged. Ja'far thought for a second, then he spoke again, "Is it because you don't want what happened to your wife to happen to your only son?"

That pulled at heartstrings. Sinbad set his face in his palm, trying not to cry. Nine years and he still couldn't think about his late wife without getting emotional. Alibaba seemed to understand that at a young age and never asked about his mother, no doubt he was curious though. Sinbad let out a strained laugh. "I just... I can't lose him..." he whispered.

Ja'far nodded. "I understand. Maybe you should take a break. Bathe, go take a nap, eat something. I'll take care of some of your work for you."

Sinbad looked up at his advisor. "Are you sure?"

Ja'far nodded again. "Yes. Just come back refreshed and ready to work, alright?"

"You're the best, Ja'far!" Sinbad exclaimed, standing up and hugging him as tightly as he could. Ja'far slapped the King's back in order to get him to stop squeezing him so tightly. 

"Yeah yeah I got it, I know I'm the best. Now go."

Sinbad pulled away, absolutely beaming, and ran off. Ja'far called after him. "And don't go and stalk Alibaba while he's with Masrur and Morgiana!"

"What?! Why would you ever think I'd do such a thing?!" Sinbad laughed it off.

Ja'far let out a breath. Jeez, that guy was a handful sometimes.

~~~

Alibaba was in awe as they walked around the marketplace. It was incredible, the scent of spice heavy in the air, the people around him colourful and fun, all sorts of treasures in the booths, it was fantastic.

"It's so bright here, Masrur!" he exclaimed. "I love it!"

Masrur only nodded as the Prince started jumping around. People would stop and bow to him occasionally, and there was the one old lady who came over and patted him on the head, which made Alibaba even more excited and hyper. Masrur pretty much warded off anyone suspicious, so the Prince could run around all to his liking.

They reached the end of the marketplace and near the edge of the Kingdom when Alibaba saw it.

"Masrur, what's that?" he asked, pointing to the tall building right in front of the Kou Empire's walls.

The Fanalis looked up at what Alibaba was gesturing to. "That is a dungeon," he explained.

"Wassa dungeon?" Alibaba question.

"It's a place with unimaginable power. A place you will one day go to and claim a Djinn."

Alibaba tilted his head, and Masrur realized all of this must sound very confusing to a little kid. There was a tiny laugh from behind him and Masrur spun around, but it was only Scheherazade. She looked pregnant, was she pregnant?

"You're very bad at explaining things, Masrur," Scheherazade spoke. She walked over to Alibaba and put her hands on his shoulders. "You will one day become King of this land, but in order to do that, you will need a metal vessel. Now, Sinbad has seven, but you only need one. And you will need a Magi that will support you as the King, and that will either be my son Titus or this little guy right here." she patted her stomach, a baby bump barely showing.

Alibaba looked down and also patted her stomach. "Can I hear him inside there?"

Scheherazade smiled and nodded. Alibaba knelt down and pressed his ear against Scheherazade's stomach, listening intently. He didn't hear anything at first, but then there was a small echoing sound. He gasped. "I heard it! I heard it!" he said excitedly.

"Yup, and he's very excited to meet you once he's out of here." Scheherazade laughed.

"How do you know it's a boy?" Masrur asked. "Muu had no idea until Morgiana was born what her sex would be."

"Well, I am a Magi after all. I just know these things." Scheherazade replied. 

While Masrur and Scheherazade exchanged conversation with each other, Alibaba quietly slipped away from them, running off undetected while Masrur was distracted... towards the direction of the dungeon.

~~~

Ten minutes and some tunnelling under the walls of Hokori and Alibaba got to see the dungeon up close. It was absolutely massive, would he really get to capture it someday? That was so cool.

But now that he was past the walls of Hokori... he felt a little scared. Only a little.

The so-called 'outlands' weren't what Alibaba was expecting at all. He heard the stories about when the first king Solomon clashed with Al Thamen and separated the Kingdoms. He wondered if anyone was still living here.

Alibaba walked around, specifically around the moat and trenches that cut them off. It all looked so dangerous... but that kind of thrilled Alibaba in a new kind of way, so much so that he started skipping.

That was a horrible decision.

He tripped and fell down on the trenches, rolling around in the dirt, ruining his outfit completely.

He bumped into something which stopped his rolling.

"What the fuck?!"

Alibaba spat out the dirt that got into his mouth and looked up at whoever just cursed at him.

There was a young boy, probably not much older than him, with pitch-black hair which grew long and separated off into bubbles behind him and deep crimson eyes. He was wearing many layers of a black, white, and red outfit with a golden symbol sitting against his chest. It looked really hot and heavy, especially in this weather. And he... what were those black wet lines running down his face?

Alibaba stood up and brushed himself off. "I'm sorry, I fell and I didn't see you."

The boy scowled. "What are you doing here? You're Prince Alibaba, aren't you?"

"How did you-?"

"Oh, please. Everyone in the Kou Empire knows about you and the royal family, you bunch of snobs."

Alibaba tilted his head. "Kou Empire?" he asked. "There's a whole Empire behind the walls?"

The boy's mouth dropped open. "You're kidding, right? Oh my Al Thamen, you're clueless." 

Alibaba felt offended by that. "H-Hey! I'm not clueless!" he protested. "My dad just didn't tell me there was another Empire behind the walls..."

"So you didn't know? Jeez, you really don't get out much, huh?"

"My dad doesn't really let me leave the palace so no..."

"Aw, do you do everything you're dad says? You daddy's boy?" the boy cooed.

Alibaba gasped and pushed the boy backwards. "Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"AM NOT!"

Alibaba pushed him maybe a little too hard and he fell backwards into the moat. The boy shook himself off and lifted his arms. "UGH! Seriously?!" he yelled. "First my makeup and now THIS?! You're really a little fucking cunt aren't you?!"

"Serves you right!" Alibaba replied, crossing his arms and sticking his tongue out at the black-haired boy.

The boy sneered, but then his face fell and he looked around him, trying to stand up but failing under the heavy clothing which probably weighed ten times more now that it was wet. Alibaba stared at him quizzically. "What...?" he started to ask, then he saw it. 

A huge sea serpent was headed this way. 

"UH OH!" Alibaba let out, grabbing the boy by the wrists and lifting him up from the moat, dragging him through the trench and trying to get out of it. "C'mon!" he shouted, trying to climb out. When the boy didn't follow him he turned around, desperate. "What are you doing?! Come on!"

"I can't!" the boy replied desperately. "I can't do that in these clothes!"

Alibaba let out a few quick breaths, then let go of the dirt under his fingers, jumping next to his new acquaintance. "Okay um..." he looked around, then pointed. "If we keep going that way we should be able to find an area that-"

He was interrupted by a loud hissing noise. Apparently, this was the type of serpent that could walk on land as well. And it brought friends.

Alibaba heard the boy next to him scream. No time to think. Alibaba crouched down. "Hop on my back! I'll carry you!"

"WHAT?!"

"We don't have time to run! These things are fast! Just hop on!"

"Why should I trust you?!"

"BECAUSE YOU'RE GONNA DIE IF YOU DON'T!"

That seemed to flip a switch. The boy hopped onto Alibaba's back, wrapping his arms and legs around him. Alibaba grunted under the weight but began to climb up the trench. The serpents only got closer, but luckily he was able to get up before they reached him. One of them tried jumping but the boy on Alibaba's back kicked that one down.

It was probably the hardest thing Alibaba's ever had to do, but he managed to climb up and out of the trench, collapsing once they made it to the surface. Then he started laughing.

"What are you laughing at?"

Alibaba sat up, still giggling violently. "That was crazy."

"That was fucking nuts, is what that was."

Alibaba looked over at the boy he just saved. He had shed at least one layer of that excessive outfit and was drying it off. Alibaba stood up and stuck out his hand. "I'm Alibaba. Prince of Hokori. Nice to meet you."

The boy stared at his hand, seemingly confused. "I... uh... I'm Judar. Magi of the Kou Empire."

Alibaba gasped. "Oh, my gods! You're a Magi! That's amazing!" he exclaimed. "I'm gonna have a Magi of my own support me as a King someday!"

"That's nice. I'm already supporting like three Princes and Princesses." the newly-named Judar replied.

"Hey, how old are you anyway?"

"I'm nine."

"Oh! Me too!"

Judar gave him a look. "Why are you being so friendly towards me?" 

Alibaba smiled, taking Judar's hand. "Because I wanna be friends with you! You seem really cool and stuff!"

"And stuff?" Judar let out a small laugh. "You're such a dork."

"So... does that mean you'll be my friend?"

Judar bit his lip. He reached up to try and wipe his dripping eyeliner off, but only smudged it more. "I... um-"

At that very moment so many things happened it felt unreal.

Someone was standing in front of Judar, wielding a sword pointed at Sinbad's neck, who had stepped in front of Alibaba, holding his own sword against this mystery woman's neck.

"Sinbad..." the woman hissed.

"Gyokuen," Sinbad spoke through gritted teeth.

For a second, the women looked almost happy that she was able to get both Sinbad and Alibaba alone, only for that smile to melt once Sinbad's eight generals came up behind him... and Masrur was still carrying Morgiana.

"You brought a child with you?" Gyokuen scoffed at Masrur.

"This child could kick your ass in seventeen different ways and she's about to turn four," Masrur growled. "I'd shut your mouth."

Sinbad tightened his hold on his sword. "Gyokuen, you know the punishment for coming into Hokori."

"Of course I do, but it's your son's fault for trying to take away the Kou Empire's Magi." Gyokuen barked right back.

Ja'far let out a small gasp in offence. "The fact that you even have a Magi outrages me," he said with a scowl.

"At least it's something with the little Solomon left us all those centuries ago!"

Sinbad didn't waver. "Leave now. You have your Empire, and I have my Kingdom. Leave your children out of this."

"As if I would be graced enough to give birth to a Magi!" she grabbed Judar and held him close to her. "He's beloved in our Empire, a ray of hope for us, that we will one day take over your disgusting Hokori."

She spoke their Kingdom's name like a disease, the disgust clear in her voice like she wasn't even trying to hide it. Alibaba winced. This woman was scary.

"Saltiness isn't a good look on anyone!" Hinahoho said somewhere in the background.

Sinbad lowered his sword. "Take your Magi and go. I have no other business with you."

He turned around and grabbed Alibaba, the eight generals following their wake. Alibaba looked behind him. "Goodbye," he whispered to Judar.

"Bye-bye," Judar replied, getting dragged off by Gyokuen.

That was the first event that would trigger either war with the two countries, or peace to fall between them, all because of these two, which were like fire and ice, sun and rain, light and dark... and yet...

Chapter Text

Alibaba felt his soul leave his body as he walked back into Hokori. He just knew Sinbad was going to give him hell for sneaking off like that, and probably even worse because he talked with an outsider.

The eight generals went ahead of them. Sinbad still had a tight hold on Alibaba's arm. He gestured for Ja'far and Masrur to go ahead.

Uh oh. Not good.

Once all eight generals were out of earshot Sinbad lifted Alibaba up and set him down on a large rock near them. The sun was setting at this point, and the sky was turning a very pretty shade of pink. Alibaba tensed up, getting ready for a lecture.

"Alibaba, what were you doing outside the walls?"

"I... um... I wanted to see the dungeon..." he confessed.

"The dungeon? What about the dungeon was so interesting to you?"

Alibaba started rocking back and forth, not making eye contact with his father. "Uh... Scheherazade told me one day I was gonna capture it when I was big and strong... I just wanted to go see it."

Sinbad exhaled, relieved. "I'm glad you didn't try to go in."

"I'm not that stupid, dad."

Sinbad let out a breathy laugh. "I know." his expression hardened. "But you did talk to the Kou Empire Magi..."

"You didn't tell me there was a whole Empire outside the walls!" Alibaba burst out. "Is there really?!"

"Alibaba," Sinbad warned.

"Are they as big as Hokori?! Judar told me there were at least three Princes and Princesses, are there more in the royal family?!"

"Alibaba."

"Do they have dungeons out there too?! Was that scary woman the Queen?!"

"Alibaba!" Sinbad nearly shouted. "Listen, the reason I didn't tell you about the Kou Empire was because they are dangerous. They follow Al Thamen and are descendants of those who killed our ancestors in the war with Solomon! There is a reason they are separate from us, Alibaba, they aren't part of our world!"

"But Judar didn't seem that bad!"

"Because he's still just a child, just as you are. He will one day grow up to be just as cruel and vile as the Empress, Gyokuen."

Alibaba pouted. "But... But I wanted to be his friend..."

Sinbad drew his mouth into a line, reaching over and hugging his son tightly. "I know it's hard... but sometimes we have to let some people go... alright?"

Alibaba didn't cry, even though he was very close. Sinbad let him go and smiled, kissing Alibaba on the forehead and ruffling his hair. "One day you will understand, but for now you're too young. You must learn and train to become King one day."

Sinbad took his hand as they started heading back to the castle. Alibaba looked down at his feet. "Dad... what if I don't wanna be King one day?"

The most surprised look came across Sinbad's face. "That's like saying you don't want to be your mother's son. It's not a choice, Alibaba, it's in your blood."

"I really don't get a choice?"

Sinbad thought for a moment. "Well... no, however, you can choose to rule the kingdom however you want. And when you get your own generals, members of your household, then you will see just how fun being King can be. You'll have a wife and kids someday-"

"Or a husband!" Alibaba chimed in.

Right... Alibaba had been talking about that lately. Frankly, Sinbad had been worried at first, about his son's attraction towards both males and females, but Scheherazade and Yunan said it was fine, that he would still grow up to be a fine ruler. Sinbad only hoped they were right.

"Yes, if you want, you can have a husband," Sinbad added. "And you and your husband or wife will one day rule the Kingdom rightfully."

He lifted Alibaba up and set him on his shoulder. Alibaba smiled and reached up toward the setting sun. "And everyone in the Kingdom will love me, right dad?"

"They already love you, Alibaba. Everyone in the Kingdom is your family."

"But I'm not related to them?"

Sinbad chuckled. "It has nothing to do with blood relation. But we all are one family under the sun regardless. Because we understand each other, we all treat each other as equals. We are one big family, Alibaba. We are more than we are, we are one."

Alibaba considered this. "If there's so much I must be, can I still just be me? The way I am?" he asked.

"Of course you can, my little lion."

They arrived at the palace gates. Ja'far was there, waiting for them. Alibaba started to rub his eyes, getting tired already. Sinbad started humming. "Tears of pain, tears of joy, there's one thing nothing can destroy..." he lifted Alibaba down and held the small Prince against his chest. "Is our Kingdom, cause deep inside, we are one."

Alibaba closed his eyes, humming along with his father as they walked towards his bedroom. Ja'far followed Sinbad closely. "Sin, I understand that you want to protect Alibaba, but you need to tell him everything about what really happened, otherwise he'll blame you when he finds out."

Sinbad set Alibaba in his bed, the Prince grabbing his pillow unconsciously. Sinbad lifted the sheets and pulled them over his son, sitting down next to him and carefully petting his head. "I know... but he doesn't need to know all that right now. I'll tell him eventually, but he's still just a child."

Ja'far nodded. "I trust you will. I'll leave you then," he said, then walked out.

Sinbad sighed, removing his hand from Alibaba's hair and standing up. "Goodnight, Prince Alibaba," he whispered, kissing his son goodnight and extinguishing the candles, shutting the door on his way out. 

Alibaba would be King one day, and while that might have been a scary thought for a nine-year-old, Alibaba understood that he would rule over a kind and peaceful Kingdom, and he would be a great ruler just like his dad.

Just like Solomon.

He wondered if Judar would watch his coronation. Or his wedding.

What if he was there at the altar with him?

~~~

"Alright, I ditched him."

Hakuryuu sighed as he sat down in the seat next to where Kouen and Hakuei were playing chess. Koumei was at Kouen's side and Kougyoku was sitting in Hakuei's lap, both watching their older sibling's every move.

Hakuei sighed, picking up her knight and moving it to capture one of Kouen's towers. "Hakuryuu, you know mother's going to give you hell for abandoning our Magi."

"I don't really care. I don't see the point in me hanging around that kid anyways."

"Isn't he older than you by a year?" Kouen pointed out.

"Oh shut up!" Hakuryuu yelled.

Koumei snorted. Kougyoku just bobbed her head, too young to really understand what her siblings were talking about. Hakuei inspected the board. "Mother will be angry with you. You know raising the Magi is important."

"Just because you guys have metal vessels and I don't doesn't mean you get to look down on me!"

"Can ya'll fucking keep it down?" Kouha asked with a yawn, walking into the room and also crawling into Hakuei's lap. "I was trying to take a nap. Hey, where's Judar?"

Hakuryuu groaned, tilting his chair back. "I just don't get why this random mountain kid is getting treated the same as us royalty! I mean he can't even do any impressive spells!" he started rambling. "All mother is doing is making a fool out of herself for raising a dumb kid that spends an hour doing makeup everyday. And he's a guy!"

Kouha gasped loudly. "How dare you? The absolute audacity! Judar looks great in that makeup and you know it!"

"Alright, calm down you two." Hakuei patted Kouha on the head. "Hakuryuu, listen, I know you aren't particularly fond of Judar, but he does think of you as a friend, which is why he sticks with you. And he will get stronger one day, as will you."

Hakuryuu huffed, crossing his arms and pouting. He tilted a little too far back in his chair and fell backwards, yelping on the way down. When he opened his eyes he saw his mom standing above him, dragging Judar by the wrist. He nearly screamed again and scrambled to stand up. "Uh, hi, mother..." he mumbled.

Kouha smiled and got out of Hakuei's lap, running over and hugging Judar around the neck. "Dude, why are your clothes all wet? And- OH NO!" he squished his face. "Oh, my Al Thamen you messed up your makeup!"

Judar laughed it off. "I just fell into the moat. I'm fine."

Gyokuen seemed pissed. She turned towards Hakuryuu. "Weren't you two supposed to be at each other's side the entire time?"

Hakuryuu cringed, petrified at what his mother would do to him if he told the truth. Judar noticed this and swallowed and stepped forward. "It's not his fault your highness. I ran off by myself and Hakuryuu lost me, I'm sorry."

A complete lie but no one else but those two knew that. Hakuryuu was astounded that Judar would try to protect him like this. Gyokuen sneered and grabbed Judar by the hair, yanking him towards her. "Then what were you doing near the Prince?"

Judar bit back a scream. "I didn't know! I'm sorry!"

"Don't apologize! You should've killed him on the spot and cut off Sinbad's bloodline!"

"I don't wanna kill him! He's my friend!"

Gyokuen threw him at the wall. Judar hit it hard, curling up and coughing violently. Hakuei gasped and ran over to him, Kouha hot on her tail. Hakuei made sure the Magi was alright, glaring at her mother. "That was a little unnecessary, wasn't it?"

"It doesn't matter. What did he expect? He thought he could get close to the Prince, and somehow be accepted into Hokori? What an idea!"

At that very moment, all of the Ren siblings understood what Gyokuen was thinking. They all looked at her in unison. Kouen crossed his legs, lacing his fingers together. "Am I to assume that's the plan then? Get Judar close to the Prince so he can weaken Hokori from the inside?"

"Precisely," Gyokuen spoke with a smile, walking over and picking Judar up. "Now, bedtime for all of you. The sun is going down, and you all have a lot of training to do in the morning." 

So the Ren siblings all got up and followed their mother, who was carrying a very tired Judar with her. Because of the small size of the palace, all of the younger ones shared one bedroom. They walked in and all of them got into their respective beds without a fuss, because they knew the hell they would be in for if they defied Gyokuen. You saw what happened to Judar.

Gyokuen set Judar down in his bed, patting his head. "Now, young Magi. You must be exhausted," she spoke in a baby tone of voice. "Sleep, my darlings. Rest your pretty little heads. Because one day when you're all big and strong, you will rule the world. And our lovely Judar is going to help you."

Judar offered her a tired smile. "Good night, your highness."

The Empress went to each of her children and patted them goodnight. "You all will do me proud, that much I know. I believe in each of you."

Lies, all of it. She didn't love any of them, what they were were tools for her revenge against Hokori. They all knew and accepted that role. 

Judar crawled into the blankets as Gyokuen started humming. Some kind of lullaby. About pain and suffering and blood and gore and all the horrible things in the world. She left the room and closed the door. Not even two minutes later Kouha crawled over to Judar's bed and shook him awake. "Hey, what was he like?"

"Who?"

"The Prince."

At that point, most of the Ren siblings were sitting up in their beds. Kougyoku had waddled over to Judar's bed and was trying to climb up it but was unsuccessful. Hakuryuu tried to look like he wasn't interested but he was secretly listening. Koumei rocked back and forth with a pillow in his arms, wanting to hear the story as well. Kouen appeared to be actually passed out, and Hakuei was trying to fall asleep, but she wasn't able to because of the noise.

Judar tapped his chin. "Uh, he was kinda dumb, and definitely a daddy's boy." he snickered. "His hair had this one part that stuck up like a shark fin, it was cool!"

Kougyoku had successfully managed to get on Judar's bed and fell into his lap. "Was he pwetty?" she asked.

"Yeah, he was really really pretty," Judar replied, hugging the small girl. "But still kinda dumb."

Kouha smiled. "Don't catch mother saying that boys are pretty, she'll have your head without hesitation."

Judar's smile faded. "Yeah, I know..." he mumbled, laying back down with Kougyoku. "I'm gonna sleep now."

"Aw, c'mon. You gotta at least lemme wash your face off. That makeup's gonna stain your skin otherwise." Kouha protested.

"Will it really?"

"Probably." 

So, very reluctantly, Judar got up and followed Kouha to the bathroom and sat on the sink while the younger cleaned his face. "So you fell in the moat?"

"Yeah."

"Did the Prince push you?"

"Yeah."

"Sounds like a prick."

"He is."

Judar bit his lip and leaned back when Kouha tossed the cloth he was using away. "But he was still... so sweet..." he mumbled.

Kouha side-eyed him. That dreamy expression, Gyokuen was going to hammer it out of him eventually. This might be one of the few times he got to see Judar truly happy.

"Well, you'll get to see him eventually... but you might not feel the same way about him."

~~~

Yunan hummed to himself as he sat on the roof of his treehouse, watching the night sky and listening to the whispers of the wind.

"Solomon, you know Alibaba grows more handsome and talented every single day, and he will one day be a great ruler. But if Gyokuen keeps filling our young Judar's heart with hate, I'm afraid that even Alibaba will not be able to stop him. I'm very worried about both of them. I seek your advice." he spoke to the stars, closing his eyes to listen to what the first King of Hokori would say to him.

The wind carried with a message, and it rattles the leaves, blowing in Yunan's face. The rukh around him fluttered about, spelling out the solution.

Yunan opened his eyes and grimaced. "Are you serious? Judar and Alibaba... together? You mean in a romantic sense?"

The wind whistled in agreement. Yunan gaped. "Absolutely not! That's not going to work!" he sighed. "I think you've been up there for too long, your head in is the clouds, Solomon."

There was a sudden loud gust of wind that nearly blew Yunan's hat away. It only took a few seconds before the Magi gave in. "Okay okay okay! I do not think this will work, but I do trust you." he sighed. "I just hope you know what you're doing..."

Solomon twinkled at him from the stars. 

Yunan climbed down back into the house, turning off all the lights and closing the blinds. He wasn't a fan of the light, so better made sure no sunlight would wake him in the early morning hours.

He walked into the bedroom where his wife and two children were sleeping. Aladdin had just been born yesterday, and Titus was already so protective of the tiny boy. Yunan smiled to himself as he walked over, picking up Titus and carrying him to his bedroom, tucking him into his bed. He then took Aladdin to his cradle, being especially careful not to wake the baby. When all was said and done he sat down on the bed and took off his hat, letting out a tired breath.

"What did Solomon say?" Scheherazade rose from her slumber in order to ask.

Yunan offered her a small smile. "Nothing much, he told me a little bit about Alibaba's future, but other than that not much."

Scheherazade hummed, closing her eyes again. Yunan laid down next to her and pulled her close to him, running his fingers through her long blonde hair. "Thank you..." he muttered.

"For what, my love?"

"For birthing two wonderful little sons."

Scheherazade giggled. "You were part of the process too, Yunan."

"Yes, but you were the one who carried them both for nine months. Compared to that my role was very small."

Scheherazade looked up to gently kiss her husband on the lips. "They are still as much as your sons as they are mine."

Yunan's smile grew and he kissed her again before falling asleep in her arms.

Maybe this crazy idea of Solomon's would work after all...

Chapter Text

Ten Years Later...

Gyokuen smiled wickedly as she knocked on the door to her children's room to wake them up. She stepped back as the door opened, revealing all her fully-grown spawn. Kouen was the first to emerge, followed by Koumei, Hakuei, Kouha, Hakuryuu, and Kougyoku. Gyokuen did a headcount. Someone was missing.

"Where's Judar?" she asked.

"Out in the courtyard," Kouha spoke up. "He woke up early today!"

"Well, that's a first..." Hakuryuu mumbled under his breath. 

Gyokuen furrowed her brow. She walked in the direction of the courtyard with the Ren siblings in her wake. She stepped through the doors. "High Priest Judar?" she called out. "Are you out here?"

"Over here!" a voice called from the orchard portion of the courtyard.

Hakuei walked next to her mother, curious. Gyokuen stepped past the trees and gasped, falling backwards. Kouen caught her before she hit the ground. He looked up, looking disgusted. Koumei almost threw up.

There was a whole-ass bear right in front of Judar, except it was dead. Sharpened shards of ice had penetrated its body, and its mouth was hanging open, eyes looking sad as the light died from them. Judar stood over it, a blood-covered peach in his hand, the animal's blood splattering his cheek.

"Good morning, your highnesses!" Judar waved over to them.

Hakuryuu actually did throw up. Kouha ran forward and poked the bear. "Did you kill this?! That's incredible! What happened?!"

"It got a little to close to the orchard and tried clawing up the peach trees. I simply put it down." Judar said with a smirk, turning the peach to the one side not stained with blood and took a bite of it. "Not much of a fight to be honest."

"It appals me that you can say all that with a straight face." Kougyoku shook her head, also walking over.

Kouha continued to poke the bear furiously. Then he kicked it violently, only succeeding in stubbing his toe. Gyokuen seemed to have composed herself. She cleared her throat and dusted herself off. "Judar, are you forgetting what today is?" she asked. "Today is the day our plan goes into action, it's Alibaba's dungeon capture."

"Oh, yeah, I know that. It's why I got up early." Judar tossed the peach behind him and came over towards Gyokuen, kneeling to her. "I'm ready to begin, milady."

Gyokuen smiled. "Good. Now, let's go. We have a Prince to roast."

Back in Hokori, the sun was just rising. Sinbad was absentmindedly rubbing his hands together, clearly nervous.

"He's going to be just fine, Sin," Ja'far assured him. "Morgiana will be with him, remember?"

Morgiana nodded, standing next to her uncle with her hands behind her back. She had grown up a lot in this past decade, enough so that she was permanently placed as Alibaba's bodyguard. "I won't let Prince Alibaba die, your majesty."

"I know, I know. I'm just worried is all." Sinbad ran his fingers through his hair.

"Oh, Sinbad!" Yunan laughed as he walked in, Aladdin attached to him at the hip. "The kid's nineteen and you still can't stop worrying over him. Tsk tsk."

Yunan wasted no time in flicking the King in the forehead. "Besides, if you trained him well, he shouldn't have to worry! Amon is waiting for him, after all. Isn't that right, Aladdin."

Aladdin nodded. "Yeah! Amon is gonna be very very happy when Alibaba defeats the dungeon! And I know he can do it because he's Alibaba the Wonder!"

Sinbad let out a sigh, but he smiled and patted Aladdin's head. "Alright, I trust you." he looked up at Yunan. "How's she doing?"

"Not any better than yesterday, but not any worse," Yunan replied, shrugging. "I don't blame Solomon for wanting her up in the stars with him, but it does seem a little soon..."

Scheherazade had been sick for a while, even going to the point where she could barely get out of bed. Everyone was worried for her, even though Aladdin kept telling everyone his momma was fine. Sinbad nodded. "I understand. I just hope she stays as long as she can."

"I'll be the optimistic one to say she'll make a full recovery." Yunan laughed, even though it was forced.

"Are you guys talking about Lady Scheherazade?"

Sinbad turned around to see his son come down the stairs. Alibaba wasn't dressed in anything regal, just his warrior clothes. He stepped down from the last step and walked in front of Sinbad, smiling. "Hi..." he spoke. "I'm ready to capture a dungeon."

Yunan and Aladdin cheered loudly in sync.

Ja'far handed Alibaba and Morgiana their bags filled with food rations and anything else they might need in there. They were expected to be in there for maybe two weeks, possibly less depending on how fast they can get through it. Yunan said he would repeal the dungeon if a month passed, which was the part that scared Sinbad the most.

"Just... don't die, okay?"

"Dad, I'm not going to die. You trained me well enough for that."

Sinbad offered him a half-hearted smile, placing his hand on Alibaba's shoulder. "That's my boy. Now, go get 'em, little lion."

Alibaba and Morgiana waved goodbye to everyone as they walked towards the dungeon. Aladdin ran forward to try and follow then but Yunan caught him by the braid before he could. "Sorry, Aladdin. You're staying right here. You've still got magic training to go through."

Aladdin groaned loudly. "But I wanna go capture a dungeon!" he whined.

Yunan smiled and lifted Aladdin up. "Our job as Magi isn't to capture dungeons, nor can we assist our King's candidates in defeating one. We can raise one to test their abilities, and repeal one if no one promising comes around any time soon in order to capture a Djinn," he explained for what was probably the millionth time. "You chose Alibaba as your King's candidate, and now you need to wait and make sure he's worthy to have your support."

Aladdin huffed. "Awww... I wanted to join him though..."

"You're still only a decade old, Aladdin. You could very well die in there. And then Alibaba would have no Magi to support him."

"Why doesn't Titus support him?"

Yunan deadpanned at Aladdin. "Because your older brother is still pinning for that boy with the snake and is waiting until he's old enough to raise dungeons in order to convince that Spintus boy to capture one."

Ja'far tilted his head, raising an eyebrow. "There's an age limit on raising dungeons?"

Yunan shrugged. "Technically no, it more has to do with a Magi's skill level and how well they can use the rukh. If Titus were to raise one at his skill level he might very well pass out or die. Even using magic for an extended period of time seriously weakens us, despite having unlimited access to the rukh's magoi." he set Aladdin down. "But that's enough time for pleasantries. If you'll excuse us, we'll be returning home. I need to take care of my lovely little wife and Aladdin needs to study some more."

Aladdin slumped. "Yeah..." he mumbled in agreement.

Yunan saluted as he and Aladdin basically disappeared into a gust of wind. Sinbad waved goodbye to them then trained his eyes on the horizon. "Do you think he'll be okay?" he asked Ja'far and Masrur.

Masrur shrugged, expression as stoic as ever. "He is your son, isn't he? He'll be more than okay. He'll come out as a King's Candidate."

Sinbad smiled to himself. "Yeah... I guess you're right..." 

~~~

Alibaba arrived at the entrance to the dungeon. He took a deep breath and looked over to Morgiana. "You ready?" he asked.

Morgiana nodded once. "As I'll ever be," she replied.

Alibaba held out his hand. Morgiana took it and laced their fingers together, more of a platonic gesture than anything, and the two stepped through the door. Alibaba squeezed his eyes shut as he did so, a foolish move but he couldn't help it. Once they were through he cracked one eye open. It was dark, not dark enough that they couldn't see anything, but darker than the sunny outdoors, and it took Alibaba's eyes a minute to adjust.

"Alibaba, look." Morgiana tapped Alibaba on the shoulder and gestured downwards.

The Prince looked down at what would be their first problem. They were standing on what appeared to be a giant lilypad, and the liquid it was sitting on wasn't water... but was seemed to be boiling hot tar. The smell hit Alibaba's nose the second he realized it and he covered the entire lower half of his face in order to mask it. It didn't work. 

"Oh my Gods... that's terrible..." he complained.

"You forget I have a keener sense of smell that you do. Just grin and bear it, I can get us through this." Morgiana replied, letting go of Alibaba's hand to stretch.

Alibaba shot her a look. "Look, I don't doubt your abilities, but you're not wearing any shoes and walking across this would cause certain death, surely."

"Not necessarily. If you look along to walls and ceilings there's a bunch of little indents made for people to jump on them, although it would take incredible athletic ability."

"What indents?" Alibaba asked, squinting through the dim light and still not seeing any.

"They're barely visible, but they're there. And someone without a developed sense of smell and sight wouldn't be able to see it. You're glad King Sinbad asked me to come along with you." Morgiana smiled even just slightly.

Alibaba rolled his eyes. "Okay then, please explain to me how we're going to get across this then."

Morgiana didn't even answer his question when she picked Alibaba up bridal-style and stepped backwards, launching forward and jumping onto the walls, bouncing off these so-called 'indents' and ignoring Alibaba's screeches. They travelled maybe 100 meters before coming across a second lilypad. Morgiana spotted it right away and landed on it, accidentally throwing Alibaba at the door the lilypad was connected to. Alibaba wheezed as he calmed down from the adrenaline rush. "Sometimes I forget how badass you are..." he choked.

"And sometimes I forget that you still aren't perfect. C'mon. We still have a lot of dungeon to cover." she helped Alibaba stand up.

They opened the door together and walked into the new area, a set of spiralling stairs that either went up or down. A choice. Morgiana crossed her arms. "Okay, what do we do now?" she asked.

The door shut suddenly behind them, and just that simple action alone caused both of them to be thrown into a dizzy spell. Alibaba felt lightheaded, and he couldn't tell what was up or down anymore.

"What... the hell?" he gasped out.

"Limited amount of oxygen in the air... can barely... breathe..." Morgiana fell to her knees.

Alibaba squeezed his eyes shut and tried to focus. He took a few labouring breaths, shallow and quick. He opened his eyes again to see everything fuzzy. He squinted, then took a step forward, which felt like torture. Oxygen wasn't going into his bloodstream, and that wasn't good. He reached out his hand and felt a gust of wind, very powerful, right in the eye of the spiral staircase.

What if...?

He dragged Morgiana forward and knelt next to the eye. He unbuckled his bag with much too much effort and dropped a bag of food rations down the eye. It floated up straight to the top.

What if they were able to float on this airstream?

Alibaba shook Morgiana slightly. "H-Hey... I'm gonna push you off, alright?"

"What?" Morgiana asked.

"You'll be fine, but you gotta trust me, okay?" his voice sounded hoarse, and he was basically gasping.

Morgiana didn't press any further. Alibaba pushed her as gently as he could towards the airstream. She fell slightly before getting pushed to the top, slowly at first. She gasped as she realized she could breathe again. Alibaba let out as much of a breath as the limited air around him would allow and fell down as well, soon joining Morgiana as they floated to the top.

"Oh my Gods, I can finally breathe." Alibaba continued to laugh. "I felt like I was gonna die in that staircase." 

"I think that's where they get you. This wind is invisible to the sight and even I couldn't hear it. If you hadn't realized it was pushing upwards and trusted it to support our weight them we would probably die from lack of air." Morgiana pointed out, lifting her hand to high-five Alibaba, to which he gratefully obliged.

It took maybe ten or so minutes to get all the way to the top, and in that time Morgiana and Alibaba were able to eat lunch in relative peace. When they finally reached the top they were set down gently, a final gust of wind blowing at them before they stepped off and out, blowing Morgiana's skirt up and ruffling Alibaba's hair. Morgiana dusted herself off. "Well, that wind is very perverted..." she mumbled.

"What?" Alibaba asked, having not realized that Morgiana had accidentally flashed him. He hadn't been paying attention, and even if he was he would have averted his eyes. Morgiana was pretty but he knew her since she was a baby and that would be weird.

"Nothing. Let's keep going."

But before they could even take their next step something that sounded like the slamming of a door rang through the next room of the dungeon. Alibaba drew his dagger and looked around. Something fell from the ceiling... or rather... fell from the wall.

It was clear to Alibaba now... the walls here were made of coffins. The ground, the ceiling... this entire room was made of coffins. Whether or not they all were full of dead bodies was yet to be determined.

Morgiana went over to inspect the thing that fell down. "It's a human skeleton," she reported.

Well, that answers that question.

Alibaba sheathed his dagger and wrinkled his nose. "Gross."

"At least it's not wet or soggy."

"Double gross." 

Morgiana stood up and kicked the skull. It pinballed across the room and landed in front of the door, the only thing not made of coffins in the entire room. Morgiana and Alibaba shared a look. They knew they were in for hell, there was no way it was that easy.

"Well... the only way to go is forward!" Alibaba announced, taking a step forward...

...only for someone's hand to rest on his shoulder. That was definitely not Morgiana.

Alibaba turned around slowly to reveal a six-foot-tall skeleton with hollow eyes. Oh, and it was also holding a sword. Fantastic.

Morgiana kicked it's head off as well.

A shiver ran through Alibaba's spine. "Okay, yeah that was so normal."

Morgiana dusted off her hands. "More are coming..." she predicted.

Alibaba blinked, then heard more coffin doors open. He spun around and multiple skeletons fell down from the walls and starting charging towards Alibaba and Morgiana. Some of them held weapons, some had jewellery and scraps of clothing. Alibaba couldn't tell which ones were male and which ones were female. There was even a bird skeleton resting on his shoulders.

Morgiana raised her fists and Alibaba drew his dagger again. The two stood back to back like they had many times in training. Morgiana looked back at Alibaba as the androgynous skeletons ran towards them. "You ready?" she asked.

"As I'll ever be, baby!" Alibaba laughed, running forward.

The skeletons didn't move around like they were in control of their own bodies, almost like puppets really. Alibaba could easily counter their attacks, one hand behind his back as he swung his dagger through the pile of bones. Morgiana absolutely destroyed them, stomping on the bones, scattering the skeletons around. Luckily they didn't seem to get up after they were knocked down, but there was still a lot they had to go through. Alibaba only prayed to Solomon that all of the coffins weren't all going to open at some point.

The bones were piling up, so much so that Alibaba could barely take a step without stepping on a femur or humerus or Gods-forbid a pelvis.

Alibaba scoped out the area, which was pretty hard to do given he was still fighting this army of skeletons.

And then he saw it. That skeleton with the bird on their's shoulder... they had a key around their neck like a necklace. Alibaba guessed that was the key to the door.

He looked around, then jumped up, tripping over the skeletons, bonking their heads as he jumped from their shoulders towards the skeleton with the key. He finally made it towards them and jumped on them, rolling around and grabbing the necklace, breaking the string and holding it up.

At that very moment all of the skeletons just... collapsed. Morgiana let out a breath and held onto her side. "Ah... damn that was a lot..."

Alibaba walked over to her, holding up the key triumphantly. Morgiana furrowed her brow. "Alibaba, you're bleeding."

"Huh?" Alibaba asked, reaching up to wipe his nose, blood staining his hand. Oh, he was... damn...

Morgiana pulled a cloth out of her bag and pressed it against his nose. "Be more careful. King Sinbad will have my head if you get hurt."

Alibaba resisted the urge to push her off. "Morgiana, I'm perfectly fine. I'm not fragile."

"I know that. But losing blood isn't a good thing. We should probably eat a bit before we move on."

"Yeah... yeah that sounds good..."

~~~

So for three days Morgiana and Alibaba went through the dungeon, defeating challenge after challenge, each one increasing in difficulty. But on the afternoon of the third day, they finally came across a door that was bigger and grander than the others, made of pure gold and intricate designs engraved into the shimmering metal.

Alibaba turned towards Morgiana with a smile when they came across this door. They were both pretty banged up, both of them having bruises and cuts on various parts of their bodies. Luckily they had basic medical equipment, but that had all been used up throughout the dungeon. Morgiana had a bandage wrapped around her upper right arm as well as one around her left shin and a healing scar right under her lip. Her eyebrow had also been slit at some point, that was was more recent and had a gross-looking scab over it. Alibaba supposed he also wasn't in the best condition. He had a large bruise on his jaw and his nose was red from the number of times he got hit in the face and released a stream of blood from his nose. Both forearms were covered in bandages and he had a slight limp.

But they were both still alive, and that was what mattered.

"I just can't believe we finally made it." Morgiana breathed, voice slightly hoarse from the amount of times she'd screamed at the enemies, another Fanalis ability she knew how to use to her advantage. "Do you think it's actually the end?"

"I certainly hope it is..." Alibaba replied, placing his hand in the door. "Open Sesame!"

The golden gates cracked open, swinging open to present a treasure room, just like those in books. Gold, silver, and other valuables piled so high they reached the incredibly tall ceiling. There were also bookshelves in the circular room that must've contained every book and scripture ever written. Alibaba gaped in awe as he walked in. Morgiana ran around, suspicious of every single coin.

They came to the centre of the room which had a golden oil lamp. Alibaba cocked his head and reached out to touch it... but didn't really get a chance.

Out of the lamp came a mass amount of blue smoke that billowed up, revealing a very... old, fat, and wrinkly old man. But he was also a lot larger than a normal human being... and he was bright blue.

Morgiana gasped and ran next to Alibaba. "This must be the Djinn Amon!" she exclaimed. "Prince Alibaba, we did it!"

Amon raised his hand, almost like a waving gesture. "Who enters my dungeon and wishes to be King?"

Alibaba nodded, smiling as he drew his dagger and presented it to Amon. "It is I, Prince Alibaba, selected King's Candidate of the Magi Aladdin, who wishes for you to dwell within my dagger and my body, to come when I call for you and assist me in my journey in becoming the King of Hokori!"

And that was enough to trigger it. Amon nodded once, going back into his smoke form and rushing forward into Alibaba's dagger, imprinted a symbol that looked similar to that of the Star of David into the weapon. Morgiana steadied herself as she felt the ground shake. "Alibaba, the dungeon's gonna disappear soon and spit us both out. I won't be joining you once you get out," she said. "I will see you again though."

Alibaba nodded, practically jumping on Morgiana to give her a hug. "Thank you, for everything, Morgiana."

Morgiana hugged him back just briefly before pushing him off. "Now, let Amon adjust to you before we get chucked out of this place."

Alibaba smiled and nodded again, holding his dagger in both hands before raising it up, the blade becoming engulfed in flames. "Amon!" he shouted.

For a brief second, Morgiana saw it. The full-Djinn equip that Alibaba wouldn't be able to do again for a long time. He looked so much more powerful in that form and gave off a kind of aura that entranced Morgiana.

There was a flash of light and she got thrown away from the area of the dungeon.

Alibaba screamed when the fire took over him, and then nearly lost consciousness when the dungeon disappeared. He hit the ground, feeling the sunlight, the soft earth under his palms. 

He smelled smoke.

It wasn't coming from him.

Alibaba opened his eyes and begrudgingly sat up, his entire body feeling sore.

The entire field around him was doused in flames.

Chapter Text

The field had caught on fire. Alibaba needed to get out of there as soon as possible.

He stood up on shaky legs, lifting the collar of his shirt over his mouth and nose to protect his lungs from the smog, and started running towards the area with the least amount of flames. He ran past them, barely even thinking, he couldn't think, didn't have time to think. Morgiana wasn't with him to help, he was stuck here.

He jumped over a small patch of flames only to see cliffs above him. He'd have to climb them to get out of the trench. He spun around and saw the flames only getting closer, the smoke clouding his vision. He couldn't breathe yet again, and that was scary.

Alibaba started climbing up and out of the trench, but since he started getting a warped sense of perspective because of the carbon dioxide, it looked a lot steeper than it was. Multiple times Alibaba slipped and thought he was going to fall into the flames.

After when seemed like an eternity he made it to the top and collapsed. He couldn't go on any longer. All energy had been zapped from his body, but he couldn't see a way out. He was still surrounded by fire. Was he going to die here? When he just captured a dungeon?

Alibaba closed his eyes, dry tears falling down his cheeks and hitting the black dirt.

Something cold hit him. Alibaba opened his eyes and realized he was now laying on a thin layer of ice, the fire still present, but pushed away from him. He saw feet. Alibaba looked up and saw a dark figure with red eyes looking down on him. 

"Prince Alibaba?"

Alibaba opened his mouth to speak, to ask who this person was, but all that came out was a hoarse, "Help... me..." before passing out.

Judar sighed, picking Alibaba up and carrying him on his back. "Jeez, Alibaba, you're so helpless sometimes," he mumbled.

He stomped on the ground, causing the flames to be covered in another layer of ice. Judar ran forward, trying to get as close to the gates of Hokori as possible. He heard shouts, most likely the soldiers guarding the walls. Judar looked around, occasionally casting more ice magic to keep the fire away. He looked back to see if Alibaba was alright. He seemed to be fine, albeit breathing unevenly. 

In those two seconds that Judar distracted himself with the well-being of the Prince, they fell into the moat. It wasn't a deep part, but it was taller than Judar. He let go of Alibaba when they fell, and when he came to the surface, he saw his target sinking. Judar gasped and dove down to rescue him, pulling him out of the moat and onto dry land, right up next to the gates. 

More shouting, but that's not what Judar was focusing on right now. He knelt down and pressed his ear against the Prince's chest, hearing both a steady heartbeat and feeling the rise and fall of his lungs inside of him. Judar let out a breath of relief. He knelt over Alibaba, inspecting his face. He was actually... really sweet when he was asleep, even though he was bruised and there was a smear of soot on his cheek.

Almost made Judar feel sorry for him.

Alibaba coughed, then took in a gasp of a breath. Judar gently touched Alibaba's chest, helping him heave in as much fresh air as possible until his breathing became semi-stable, or at least stable enough for him to stop gasping so desperately.

When Alibaba's eyes finally fluttered open Judar smiled at him, supposed to be a gesture to ease his mind, but instead Alibaba yelped and pushed Judar off of him hard, jumping up and drawing his weapon. "Who are you?! What were you doing standing over me like that?!"

Judar hissed, popping his jaw back into place cause Alibaba had accidentally dislocated it. Damn, that kid was stronger than he thought. "Well, I was saving your life, but if you were just gonna do that directly afterwards it's making me regret my decisions of doing so," he replied, standing up and crossing his arms.

Alibaba narrowed his eyes. "Answer my question. Who are you?"

Judar placed a hand on his chest, scoffing. "I'm offended, Alibaba. You don't remember me?"

Not a flicker of recognition came across Alibaba's face. Judar made a face. "Alright then. Daddy's boy." he teased.

That's when it hit him. Alibaba lowered his weapon as a precious smile consumed his face. "Judar?"

The Magi smirked and nodded. Alibaba gasped, running up and nearly tackling him in a hug. "Oh my Gods, it's been forever! What, ten years? Dude! How ya been?"

Judar seemed taken aback by the sudden contact, and he wasn't sure how to react to it. He just patted Alibaba hard on the back before he let go. "Oh, sorry. It's just... you look so different. You used to wear so much more clothing," Alibaba said, letting out an awkward laugh.

"Ugh, don't remind me." Judar laughed. "This is much more comfortable honestly." he gestured to his body, catching the way Alibaba's eyes lingered on his exposed stomach before looking back up, still smiling.

"Yeah, I think this definitely suits you better. And you got better at the eye makeup I see." he teased.

"That and I'm not crying it off three times a week," Judar said that like it was a joke, although to be completely honest, it was really more like every other day back when he was still wearing excessive layers of clothing. Now he just got used to it.

Alibaba nodded. He fiddled a bit with his fingers. "So, uh, if you don't mind me asking... why did you save me?" 

Judar chewed on the inside of his cheek. "Well, uh... the reason for that is-"

Sinbad kicked him far away from them. Alibaba gasped, trying to run forward to help his friend but was stopped by Masrur, who picked him up by the back of his collar and lifted him so he was left kicking the air. Ja'far stood by Sinbad's side, his weapons dangling from his wrists.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Sinbad said through gritted teeth.

Judar stood up, glaring at the King. Alibaba yelled out. "Wait, Dad, don't hurt him!"

"Shut up, Alibaba!" Sinbad silenced him. "This isn't your battle. You're wounded, you need to get back to the palace immediately."

"Dad I'm serious! Don't hurt my friend!"

Judar made no move to attack Sinbad, instead, he knelt down. "King Sinbad. I wish to be welcomed into your Kingdom."

"So you can corrupt us from the inside?! Like hell, we'd allow that!" Ja'far snapped.

Yunan seemed to come out of nowhere from behind Masrur, walking in front of Sinbad and tilting his hat. "Ah, yes, Fallen Magi. How dare you save the King's son? How dare you prevent the death of the Prince of Hokori? The absolute audacity of you!"

Judar raised an eyebrow. Sinbad looked confused. "Yunan, are you serious?"

Yunan nodded. "Ask him yourself," he said, gesturing towards Alibaba.

Masrur finally let Alibaba down. He hit the ground and stood up properly, dusting himself off and looking at his dad from down his nose. "Yes, I fell unconscious in the field fire and he saved me from certain death."

"It doesn't matter! He's Kou!" Sinbad tried to argue.

"I've left the Kou Empire!" Judar cut in. "I went rogue. I'm no longer the Magi that supports the Princes and Princesses of the Empire. They are without a Magi and limited on magic without me."

Ja'far scowled. "And how can we be sure all that is true?" he asked.

"The Empress is a cruel and cold woman, I've been forced into a life as a Dark Magi, but I don't want that anymore! I realize that following Al Thamen won't get me anywhere, and so I wish to join Hokori." Judar emphasized his point.

Sinbad still didn't look like he believed him and started pacing, keeping an eye on Judar. Yunan sighed, clearly bored with the situation. "Sinbad, you owe the boy your sons life!"

Ja'far turned his nose up to Judar. "While part of Hokori's laws implanted by Solomon state all royal debt be paid, perhaps we can make an exception this one time."

Judar glared in their direction. "Are you saying I am to be persecuted for a crime I didn't commit, your majesty? Might I remind you that Al Thamen and Solomon both died before I was even conceived!"

Sinbad clenched his fists around his sword. "I'll reserve judgement for now. Solomon's word still stands strong," he spoke at last. "But you will not be welcomed as some honoured guest."

Then he turned around and started walking towards the gates. Ja'far spat in the dark Magi's direction. "Riffraff."

Masrur followed the two. Alibaba ran forward to grab Judar around his wrists covered in golden bracelets, leading him along with him. "C'mon, there's so much we need to catch up on! I have so many people I want you to meet, I need to just take you on a tour of the Kingdom!"

Judar laughed out loud. "I doubt your dad will let me walk around unguarded."

"Alibaba!" Sinbad called to his son. "Come here!"

Alibaba gave Judar an apologetic smile. "Don't worry, I'll get through to him, promise," he said before running up to join Sinbad and his righthand men. 

Judar smirked to himself. Ah, yes, everything was going perfectly according to the plan.

In the distance, Hakuryuu tossed a burnt-out torch up and down. "Man, I would've thought he'd get out with at least a nasty burn scar. Why did Judar have to save all of him again?"

"Why, did you want to match with him?" Kougyoku teased.

"Oh, fuck off!"

Kouen shushed them both. "It doesn't matter. The Prince is safe and Judar has infiltrated Hokori. Now we wait as he weakens their defence... and hopefully kills Sinbad while he's at it."

"Aw, does he have to kill the King? He's really attractive y'know." Kougyoku complained, kicking her legs off the edge of the cliff.

Hakuei came up from behind the three, a torch also in her hand. "The fire plan was a success, and we just put out the remains of the fire. All we have left to do now is wait."

"Nice work, everyone. Koumei and Kouha are waiting for us back at the palace. We'll get a progress report form Judar in about a week most likely. We must be patient and wait for that. The sun is going down, and that's a dangerous time out here. We must make haste." Kouen ordered, ushering everyone towards the direction of the palace.

~~~

The Kingdom of Hokori was a lot more bright and lively than Judar ever imagined.

Somehow Alibaba had managed to migrate next to Judar again, smiling as Judar looked around in awe. The people were so colourful. Women were wearing brightly-coloured headdresses and men were talking loudly and animatedly while selling whatever they had in their booths. There was joyful music playing somewhere in the background. Many people bowed to the King and the Prince, but they didn't cower in fear in front of them. All of it was such a new experience for Judar. 

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Alibaba remarked.

"I... it's okay..." Judar replied, not making eye contact with Alibaba. It's not like it was bad, it was just so different and Judar didn't know how to take in this new information. 

Alibaba chuckled. "Wait until you see the palace. It's huge!"

"Am I actually gonna be let into the palace?"

"I don't see why not. I know my dad doesn't really trust you, but I don't see what would be the problem! The palace is one of the most heavily guarded places, even if you wanted to do something to mess up our defences, there's not much you'd even be able to do."

Well, that may be a problem. Didn't matter, Judar would cross that bridge when they came to it.

And then the palace came into sight. Alibaba had been right, it was big. Bigger than the palace in the Kou Empire, and much more impressive. Alibaba led Judar inside, going in front of Sinbad and the other two. Judar caught a glimpse of the King's disapproving glance, but he ignored it as Alibaba dragged him into his room...

...which was bigger than the one room that all of the Ren siblings plus him slept him, maybe even bigger than Empress Gyokuen's was.

Alibaba ran inside and sat down on the bed. "We can get another bed in here so we don't have to share, even though this one's big enough for both of us to share. But I already know dad won't give you your own room even if I beg him, so you can stay in here for now!"

Judar almost refused to go in. The bed wasn't just big, it could probably fit a family of five on there. And it was a canopy bed. Fucking rich people. Judar swallowed hard and walked in. "Why are you being so nice to me?" 

Alibaba shrugged. "Well, like I said before. You are my friend." he jumped off the bed. "And I'm not gonna just abandon my friend."

"That logic is flawed."

"Maybe so, but it saved you, didn't it?"

"... touche."

Alibaba beamed. "Ah, I have been meaning to ask though, you said you had three King's Candidates last time we met, do you have any more now?"

Judar nodded, falling down on Alibaba's bed, marvelling at how soft and plush it was compared to his bed back in Kou. "Yeah. Six now."

"That's incredible!" Alibaba sat down next to him. "Did you raise all of the dungeons that they captured?"

"Mhm..." God this bed was so fucking soft. "And I helped them with their magoi manipulation so they can all do a full-body Djinn equip. Even Hakuryuu."

Alibaba drummed his fingers on his knee. He looked like he really wanted to ask a question but couldn't find the words for it. "Uh... well then do you think you could teach me?"

Judar sat up and tilted his head at Alibaba, looking at him quizzically. "And why would I do that?"

"Because I saved you from having literally no place to live."

"Only cause I saved you from a fucking fire!"

"Your point?"

Judar groaned dramatically. "Ugh, fine. We start in the morning."

Alibaba cheered and knocked Judar over in a hug, taking the Magi off guard with their closeness. He had to will his blush away before shoving Alibaba off of him. "Don't take it as though we're actually going to get along." he snapped. "I'm just doing this so I don't have to live in a Kingdom with a useless King, probably for the benefit of everyone else in this place as well."

That didn't discourage Alibaba, because he just smiled and nodded. "Right, thank you."

Chapter Text

Morning came. Judar slept in because getting up early was for the weak. But even he rose before Alibaba, who was still passed out with one leg over the side of the bed.

Judar carefully crept out of the room and through the palace, careful to avoid guards and not seem suspicious. He made his way outside and spotted Sinbad up on the balcony, looking out on the horizon longingly, guard down and unsuspecting.

Judar drew his wand from his pocket, fully prepared to assassinate the King right then and there until someone tapped his shoulder. He nearly jumped a mile into the air and nearly killed the guy but he realized it was just Alibaba and calmed down. "Don't sneak up on me like that! Jeez..." he turned around to see his target had already left the balcony. Damn.

"Sorry, you said first thing in the morning, but when I woke up I couldn't find you," Alibaba replied.

Judar turned around, long braid almost hitting Alibaba in the face. "In that case, we should go. Where's the best place to train?"

Alibaba ran up to catch up with him. "Probably the colosseum. That's usually where I go to train, at least when there's not a match or a show going on."

"Is there one going right now?"

"It's Sunday, so probably not. But there will be other gladiators training there."

"Should be fine. Lead the way, your majesty." 

Alibaba grimaced as he led Judar out of the palace and into town. "You don't have to call me that, y'know. I get enough of that wherever I go, I don't really need my friends calling me 'your majesty' and 'your highness' all the time."

Judar crossed his arms, avoiding eye contact. "Force of habit," he replied.

"Do you call all your King's Candidates that?"

"Only the older ones. Kougyoku and Kouha hate it as well. But the Empress is really adamant about that stuff."

"Understandable."

They hadn't even made it halfway to the colosseum until there was a loud and very familiar scream headed their way. Alibaba barely had a chance to register who it was before Titus was grabbing onto him and Aladdin had somehow jumped into Judar's arms, both had doughnuts in their mouths.

"Get back here you little thieves!" a shop keeper shouted at them.

Alibaba glared at Aladdin. "What did you do this time?" he asked.

Aladdin smiled at him. "Absolutely nothing!" his voice was muffled by the doughnut in his mouth.

The shopkeeper approached them and scowled. "These two just stole from my shop!"

"We did not! We paid for the stuff!" Titus fought back.

Alibaba facepalmed. "Sir, I apologize for my Magi's actions."

The shopkeeper's eyes widened. "Oh, uh, Prince Alibaba... these... one of these two is your Magi?"

Alibaba pointed to Aladdin, which Judar had dropped on the ground without any mercy. "Yes, this is Aladdin, my Magi, and his brother is Titus, also a Magi but he's not supporting a King's Candidate at the moments."

"O-Oh I apologize then... um... please continue what you were doing... I'll be going now..."

As soon as the shopkeep was out of earshot Aladdin stood up and brushed himself off, snickering. "Thank you, Prince Alibaba." he teased.

Alibaba pushed him. "Stop it. I just said that so Yunan wouldn't literally kill you two when you got home."

Titus poked his fingers together. "Well... he's kinda been stressed out lately with momma being super sick and stuff right now but-"

"Wait, Lady Scheherazade is sick?" Judar asked.

Aladdin paused, looked up at Judar, then yelped and climbed onto Titus. "WHAT THE FUCK IS HE DOING HERE?!"

"Aladdin, language." Titus reminded him.

Judar flipped Aladdin off, who promptly stuck his tongue out at him. "I thought you were rotting in the Kou Empire?" Aladdin sneered.

"Wait, hold on, time out... how do you guys know each other?" Alibaba stepped between them, crossing his arms over each other to point at them.

Judar shrugged. "Magi are connected on a level humans can't begin to understand. So we're basically all related in one way or another, even if the title of 'Magi' isn't a hereditary thing. Titus and Aladdin just had better chances of becoming Magi because their parents were."

"The last part I knew, but you guys knew each other even before you came here?"

"Pretty much, yeah. Cause of Djinn stuff and Alma Torran."

"... oh."

Aladdin hopped down from Titus and tugged on Alibaba's sleeve. "Hey, where are you two going?"

Alibaba crouched down so he could meet Aladdin at eye-level. "We're going to the colosseum so Judar can teach me how to use my metal vessel. Do you guys wanna come?"

Aladdin nodded furiously and grabbed Titus' hand. "Yeah! Sounds like fun!"

"Alright then, let's go!"

"STOP RIGHT THERE!"

"Oh fuck."

Alibaba spun around and saw a band of maybe 15 or so thugs, all carrying weapons, probably looking to loot the Prince, charging towards them.

"OH FUCK."

Judar was the first to take initiative, grabbing both Alibaba's and Titus' hands, with Aladdin still holding onto his brother. Judar turned around to Aladdin and Titus. "Please tell me you can fly!"

Aladdin laughed loudly. "What do you take us for, amateurs?" he asked, jumping up and lifting Titus into the air with him. 

Judar looked behind them. It seemed as though the thugs were still chasing them. He flipped Alibaba up and the Prince landed in his arms as he jumped up onto the roof of one of the nearby buildings where Titus and Aladdin were standing. Aladdin gestured for them to start hopping the buildings and they continued to run after Alibaba had been set down. Still, the criminals pursued them.

"Damn, we can't seem to catch a break..." Alibaba muttered under his breath.

Titus laughed out loud. "I know, but this is so much fun!"

Judar looked at him in confusion. "What are you talking about? This is a life-or-death situation! This is in no way, shape, or form fun!"

"Jeez, you need to get out more, Judar!" Aladdin replied, hopping onto Titus' shoulders. "Full speed ahead! We'll be safe in the colosseum!"

But that was still a good kilometre away. There was no way they would be able to run that far from these thugs. Alibaba scanned the area, then he spotted it. An alleyway tucked behind a corner. Perfect. He pointed to it, and the wordless plan passed between him to Judar, and the Fallen Magi understood immediately. He ran in front of the others and when they arrived at the alleyway he jumped down into it, Alibaba and the other two Magi following in his wake.

When he jumped down they landed on top of about five or six dirty mattresses all stacked on top of each other, even though the alley was very small and the four were squished together, it was enough so that the criminal's chasing them sped right past, not seeing them and missing them completely. After about five minutes Titus declared the coast as clear and Aladdin tried wiggling out of the alley.

Meanwhile, Judar was... laughing? 

"Oh... Oh, my gods... that was... so much fun!" he admitted, huffing, but still letting out the most gorgeous breathy laughs.

"Yep, adrenaline rushes are great, but they are dangerous so we should probably get to the colosseum as soon as possible," Titus replied, moving his body so he could also exit the alleyway.

Except in doing so he also pushed Alibaba so he fell against Judar, and because of the position they were in their mouths accidentally pressed together very briefly. Alibaba separated first, eyes going wide. Judar felt his blush travel all the way to his collarbones, but luckily for him the Prince just laughed it off awkwardly. "Yeah, um, we should get going."

"Uh-huh..." 

~~~

Alibaba was sure he could master this, he'd watched Sinbad do Djinn equips plenty of times, and he was his son after all... but it turned out to be a lot harder than he originally thought. Not to mention Judar wasn't... the best teacher.

"How's my form?"

"Form? Equips don't have a form. Whatever you're doing is fine."

"That doesn't help me at all."

"I already told you what you need to do."

"Like that made any kind of sense..."

Judar kicked the back of his knees, nearly making Alibaba fall over. Aladdin was laying on his stomach while Titus rebraided his hair for the third time. They had been here for over an hour and hadn't made any kind of progress. Alibaba was getting increasingly more frustrated, with himself and with Judar. "Can you just... take me step by step?"

"Okay. Partial Djinn equip. Go." Judar waved at him.

"That's not-"

Judar groaned and walked over, standing behind Alibaba and adjusting him, using one of his hands to point his dagger at an unspecified spot in the colosseum while he bent the other one behind him, like in royal swordplay, then kicked his legs to make his stance wider. "A metal vessel isn't a sword, so don't treat it like such. It's like an extension of your body and-"

Alibaba burst into flames. Judar jumped back and Aladdin jumped up in excitement, his braid falling out by accident. "You did it, Alibaba!" Aladdin cheered, clapping his hands.

Well, yes but not really. The flames disappeared almost immediately leaving Alibaba was a tomato-red face with confusion written all over it. What... why had he reacted like that?

Was it because of Judar? The way he was pressed up against Alibaba like that, featherlight touches on the parts of exposed skin, his wrists and ankles... oh Gods...

"Well, that's certainly a start." Judar laughed. "Now, do that again!"

Alibaba tossed him an annoyed expression, blush finally cooling off his cheeks. "Yeah, I don't think I could repeat that if I tried. It was just a fluke."

"Fluke or not you still did it for half a second, which means you're capable of doing it eventually." Judar teased, poking Alibaba's cheek and rubbing it in. "So, do it again!"

For the rest of the day, that's what they did. Alibaba trained and trained, getting a good feel for his magoi and what exactly caused his flames to burn. He still wasn't even able to do a partial Djinn equip, but they were certainly making progress. By the time the sun went down and Titus and Aladdin had gone home Alibaba felt exhausted, probably needing a hot meal and a bath. And like 14 hours of sleep. Oh Gods, that sounded so good right now.

"We can repeat the same process until you've got it down. Tomorrow morning as well then?" Judar asked. He had somehow migrated to the bottom step of the bleachers and was watching Alibaba from above, shouting down to him whenever he had something to say.

Alibaba nodded. Judar hopped down and the two started heading out of the colosseum. But since it was just the two of them, things felt extremely awkward, especially considering they had accidentally kissed a few hours beforehand.

"Um, so, this is how you taught the Kou dungeon captures how to use their metal vessels?" Alibaba tried to strike up a conversation.

Judar shrugged. "Well, kinda. I didn't exactly train them, but I gave them a head start. Empress Gyokuen is the one who really trained them. I've watched her repeat the same training on all six of her children so, naturally, I have it drilled into my head."

"Did she give the same tough training to all of them?"

"Well, she expected all of her children to be perfect, to be able to achieve greatness right away. And when they couldn't live up to her expectations then she would punish them brutally."

Alibaba knit his eyebrows together. "Are you serious?"

Judar nodded. "It's just how she worked. I guess it's not a bad thing. Parent's hit their kids all the time, right?"

"They shouldn't. My dad never hit me."

"Because you're the perfect Prince of a perfect Kingdom."

Judar started walking faster, trying to avoid Alibaba, but the Prince matched his pace right away. "Because you have a loving father who's only concern was keeping you safe and not trying to take over a whole kingdom. Because you didn't grow up in a household where you were expected to act a certain way and were afraid of every little slip-up. You were spoiled and not forced into a life you didn't want to live-"

"Judar." Alibaba interrupted him.

Judar stopped dead in his tracks, taken aback. Alibaba stopped too and faced Judar, grabbing one of his hands and taking it into his own. "I... think I can see why you went rouge..." he mumbled. "But you shouldn't have to worry about that here. Hokori is supposed to be a safe place, away from all of that. No one expects things of you, good or bad. You are free to be you here."

The grip on Judar's hand tightened. Judar swallowed hard and ripped his hand away from Alibaba. "No... we grew up differently. We are not the same, Alibaba."

The two didn't talk all the way back to the palace.

Chapter Text

A week passed. Every day Alibaba was subjected to intense training to work with his magoi manipulation and how to properly use his metal vessel. And he was slowly getting there. Emphasis on slowly.

Judar wasn't really all that patient with him though. He would get borderline furious when Alibaba almost had it... and then lost it a few seconds after. Eventually, Yunan did come over and check to see if he was actually doing it right, and he gave the thumbs up so everything should be fine, Alibaba was just a slow learner. Nothing new there. 

Things weren't as awkward as Alibaba originally thought they would be, especially after that conversation with Judar a while ago. They slept on it and kind of smoothed it out with each other. They were able to have proper conversations and were even teasing each other like real friends, which made Alibaba ecstatic.

By the end of the first week, he felt like things were going well. His dad still refused to speak directly to Judar or even be alone in the same room as him, always having Ja'far or one of the other eight generals as a buffer. But even he seemed to be warming up to the dark Magi.

The night of the seventh day Judar and Alibaba were talking before they went to sleep, as two friends often do, when there was a knock on the door. "Come in!" Alibaba called.

To his surprise, Morgiana walked through the door. She bowed once and walked over to Alibaba, who was sitting against the headboard. "Alibaba, I've been meaning to ask you something." she started off.

"Shoot," Alibaba replied.

"I just wanted to ask now if it's alright if I become a part of your household."

Alibaba smiled softly at her. "Yes, of course, Morgiana. Why wouldn't you be?"

Morgiana nodded. "Thank you. We haven't had much time to converse this past week, both of us have been training nonstop."

Alibaba let out an awkward laugh, idly scratching the back of his neck. "Yeah, sorry about that. We're still working on getting a hold on my metal vessel. But we're making lots of progress!"

"I can see that." Morgiana smiled. "I know you'll make a fantastic warrior, and an even better King someday."

"Aw, thanks Morgiana."

The Fanalis bowed one more time before taking her leave, shutting the door quietly behind her. Judar narrowed his eyes. "Are you two together or something?" he asked.

Alibaba looked over Judar, surprised, almost like he had forgotten he was there. "Huh? Oh, no. Morgiana's sweet but she's just a friend. I love her to pieces, but not in that way, if that makes sense."

Judar shrugged and stared up at the ceiling, laying on his back. His choker and bracelets were off and his usual attire was traded out for borrowed night clothes that he had tied a knot in the front to reveal his stomach and abdomen. He claimed he got hot really easily, but Alibaba almost swore that he did it on purpose to try and rile Alibaba up. Asshole.

"Hey, did you have a partner back in the Kou?" Alibaba asked.

Judar trained his eyes over to Alibaba, whose mind was racing with please say no, please say no, please say no. Judar looked back up at the ceiling and shook his head. Alibaba let out an audible sigh of relief.

"I can't."

"Can't is a weird choice of words. Why not?" Alibaba asked.

Judar exhaled slowly through his nose. "Cause Empress Gyouken would quite literally kill me if I did ever manage to score a partner."

"What? Why would she-?"

He was cut off. Judar rolled over on the smaller bed right next to Alibaba's that was set up there specifically for him so that his back was turned towards Alibaba. "I'm tired. Shut off the lights, will ya?"

Alibaba wanted to pry, but he probably would only make Judar uncomfortable and he really didn't want that. So he blew out the candles and wiggled into the covers. "Goodnight," he whispered.

No response for a minute or two, then Alibaba heard a very soft, "Good night, Alibaba."

Alibaba smiled to himself as he fell asleep.

Once Alibaba's breathing became even Judar slowly snuck out from under the covers and headed to the closet. Hokori was freezing at night and despite Judar being a cold-weather person he knew he'd get hypothermia if he went out in just nightclothes. He grabbed a dark brown cloak and threw it on, pulling the hood over his head and walked out the balcony. He turned back and stared at Alibaba's sleeping face. He clenched his fists at his sides before quickly running back and brushing Alibaba's bangs out of the way so he could kiss his forehead and then proceeded to jump out the balcony.

Judar walked through the Kingdom, the nightlife wasn't anything unusual, and Judar didn't feel like he was in danger at all. He was actually able to make it to the gate fairly easily. He waited until he was completely out of sight from the guards and tapped his wand against a section of the wall. It practically eroded in front of him and he slipped through. 

He walked for a little while before arriving at the meeting spot and taking the hood off. "Hey, I'm here."

Hakuryuu and Koumei emerged from the shadows. Judar smiled and waved at them. "Yo, sorry I'm a bit late. The Prince was keeping me up a bit later than anticipated."

"That's fine. Do you have any reports?" Koumei asked.

"Kinda. Been working with Alibaba a lot cause he's fucking pushy about learning to do an Equip. Wanted to lead him down the wrong way at first but he's surprisingly good at figuring things out himself. But I've been doing what I can. My current plan is to just kill Sinbad outright and make it look like a bloody accident." Judar giggled at the idea of murder. "Plus, once he's dead all his household members lose the ability to use their metal vessels. The eight generals will be out of commission and the only one left with an equip will be a young, inexperienced Prince."

Hakuryuu smiled. "That's perfect. You think you can pull that off?"

"Course I can! Just gimme a bit more time and I'll pop his head clean off! Or I'll strangle him with his own intestines... or I could just cut off both arms and legs and just watch him bleed out..."

Koumei rolled his eyes. "Alright, tone down the psychopath. Aren't there four Magi in Hokori? Are you certain they won't be any problem?"

Judar shook his head. "Two of them are literal kids and the old hag is bedridden. Trust me, we don't have to worry about their deadbeat Magi."

Hakuryuu started looking around, almost like he heard something. "We need to get going. Judar, we trust you to take care of everything."

Judar mock-saluted as Koumei and Hakuryuu disappeared into the darkness again. He turned around and went back in the same way he came, using earth magic in order to rebuild the wall which took about 3 seconds. He headed back towards the palace, being extra careful not to be caught by the guards sneaking around. He could very well go and try to kill the King now... but he wasn't sure how that would work out.

He folded the cloak and left it hanging over the window. He was getting way too hot with that thing on. He started walking down the halls, looking around for Sinbad's room... he didn't actually know where it was. Fuck. It didn't help that this place was like ten times bigger than the palace in Kou. And even that was hard to navigate.

Within minutes Judar was completely lost.

All the hallways looked the same and Judar was 90% sure he had already passed that painting.

Fan-fucking-tastic.

Then he spotted something. Or... someone. They were walking down the hallways seemingly content. Ja'far, Sinbad's right-hand man. Judar hit behind a corner and watched him. Could he be going to where Sinbad is? Judar had to follow him.

So he snuck around, following Ja'far as closely as he could. Eventually, the advisor came to a door and quietly slipped in without a word. Judar walked up to it and put his hand on it when-

"Judar? What are you doing here?" a tired voice spoke behind him.

Judar muffled his scream in his throat and spun around. Alibaba was standing there, rubbing his eye sleepily. "It's the middle of the fucking night. Did you get lost trying to find the bathroom again?" Alibaba asked.

"Uh, yeah. Sorry, your palace is just absolutely huge." Judar laughed it off.

Alibaba yawned and stretched his arms over his head, exposing a sliver of his stomach from his shirt riding up that Judar unconsciously watched as the slip of skin disappeared again. "Well, that's Ja'far's private quarters. So not the bathroom." Alibaba explained.

"Mhm, yeah I figured. I already took a piss though so I was trying to find your room again."

Alibaba grabbed Judar by the wrist and started leading him back. "C'mon... 'm too tired for this."

Judar stared down at his wrist, the uneven colouring apparent from his jewellery being there most of the time, caught between Alibaba's fingers. He felt his heart jump a bit, but he didn't acknowledge it. He turned around and glared at the door, as if that was the source of all his problems.

Whatever, that much didn't matter. Judar would find a way to kill Sinbad.

~~~

Alibaba felt his entire body engulf in flames, just like that time in the dungeon. He felt a burning sensation in his hands and the dagger in his hand changed to a charcoal-black with orange cracks, as though it was a recently cooled chunk of magma.

"Oh yeah get it I guess." Judar half-heartedly cheered from the bleachers.

Alibaba rolled his eyes and pointed the weapon up at Judar. "Hey, I finally did it, didn't I?"

Judar kicked his legs lightly off the edge and shrugged. "I mean, yeah, but it took like, over a week? Pathetic."

"Jeez, you're grumpy." Alibaba acknowledged, letting his dagger return to normal before sheathing it.

Judar shrugged again, averting his eyes. "I'm just tired," he mumbled.

Alibaba made a face, then walked over and climbed up to sit down next to Judar, elbowing him a bit. "Hey, since I finally was able to do a partial Djinn equip, why don't we take a day off?"

Judar looked at him as though he just proposed they jump off a cliff into a river, confusion and bewilderment, and the smallest bit of 'absolutely not'. "Yeah, no. We don't take breaks until you can fully equip, which apparently will be another thirty years from now."

Alibaba elbowed him harder. "Hey! I'm working on it!" he sighed. "Besides, what's the harm of just goofing off for a bit, right?"

"A lot of harm? It could throw off your entire training schedule and then you'll bitch about it to me!"

"I can guarantee that won't happen."

Alibaba stood up and placed one hand over his heart, the other up in the air as to make a promise. "I, Alibaba Saluja, Prince of Hokori and heir to the throne, promise that if we can take a day off then I'll immediately return to training with my metal vessel and building my household."

Judar side-eyed him. Alibaba gave him an honest smile. Ten seconds of silence and Judar sighed dramatically. "Fine. Jeez, I thought you were going to pull the puppy dog eyes, and trust me, years of experience with Kougyoku and Kouha has made me immune to that shit."

Alibaba cheered and basically dragged Judar up so he could bring him to all the best places in Hokori.

First things first, food. Alibaba brought him to a really cool place that had these pancake-like things, but thinner and filled with fruit or chocolate or cream. Judar was gifted with a peach one and Alibaba had one with chocolate and strawberries. Judar had said it was only okay, but the light in his eyes when he took the first bite gave him away, plus the speed at which he managed to finish it. After that, they mostly walked around the marketplace. They ran into Sphintus and Titus at some point but didn't talk for long. 

Near the end of the day, there was an actual match going on at the colosseum, a ferocious beast versus one of the strongest gladiators. The two opted to go to a theatre performance instead. It was some kind of adorably ridiculous production about an overpowered sailor and his adventures. Like I said, ridiculously adorable.

By the time they got out, the sun had set and it was nearly curfew, but there was still one more place Alibaba wanted to go. He led Judar far away from the main city, into the rolling hills and fields with a few trees here and there that you could see the walls from. The sun was completely behind the horizon and the stars were out to play. So Alibaba practically pushed Judar down onto the ground, receiving a pained whine from the Magi before settling down with his head next to his, but was turned the opposite 180 degrees.

Alibaba pointed up to the stars. "They're prettier out here," he noted.

Judar turned to his and gave Alibaba a confused look. "They're just stars though. They look like fireflies that flew up too high and got stuck."

Alibaba laughed at that. "That's quite an interesting theory," he said. "But they're nice. Nicer to look at than the sun. And they can make pictures sometimes."

He pointed up into the sky at a cluster of stars. "See? That one looks like a bird. And that looks like a rabbit or a hare."

Judar titled his head. "Nah, you're just delusional." he snickered.

Alibaba rolled his eyes. Judar lifted his head slightly to place his hand under it, staring up at the sky as well. Then he suddenly pointed up at something. "If we're making pictures then that looks like two guys having a sword fight. Hopefully, it's a bloody battle. I think the guy with the bigger sword is gonna win."

"I'm sorry, who was the delusional one?" Alibaba teased.

"Shut up," Judar replied just as endearingly. Then he exhaled softly. "Gods, I never got a chance to just... fuck around like this," he admitted.

Alibaba looked over at him. "Really?" he asked. "Me and my father used to do this all the time. He'd tell me about Solomon and the other great rulers of the past, said they were up there, watching over us."

Silence. Then, "Do you think Al Thamen's up there?"

Alibaba blinked, the looked over at Judar, a little confused and concerned. Judar sucked in a breath and sat up. Alibaba turned around and looked up at Judar, who was hunched into a ball, knees pulled against his chest. "Sorry, I just... hard to break habit. Empress Gyokuen had all the stories drilled into us from day one. Treated him like a God..."

"And you went along with it?" Alibaba asked, scootching next to Judar, elbows resting on his knees as he looked over to see Judar's face. He looked... a little lost.

"I... I was- am young and impressionable. But then I realized she was a fucking bitch and her children were fucking worse. I left of my own free will, not because of some dumb reason like not wanting to follow in Al Thamen's footsteps."

Alibaba laid his head down on Judar's shoulder, not missing how the other nestled his cheek against the top of his head. "I think that's fine," he whispered. "Doesn't really change who you are now. A spoiled, arrogant son of a bitch."

Judar let out a startled laugh. "You are so mean sometimes."

Alibaba shrugged. "I learn from the best." he continued to tease.

Judar shook his head. "You're such a prick, y'know that right."

"But I'm your prick."

"My prick, huh? I thought your Magi was Aladdin."

"You know what I mean."

"Enlighten me."

"Oh my Gods, c'mere."

Alibaba lifted his head and held onto Judar's face so he could mash their lips together, both closing their eyes on impact, a little rough at first but soon smoothed out. Alibaba's hands sunk into Judar's hair and the Magi carefully held onto his shoulders. Alibaba exhaled softly and tilted his head so their mouths could slide together better. Judar pulled apart to take a gasp of air but Alibaba was reclaiming his lips before he got a chance to properly breathe.

Judar could barely believe this... Prince had stolen his first kiss but...

He really couldn't find it in himself to complain.

~~~

Sinbad stood behind a tree, carefully watching as his son and the Fallen Magi started making out right before his very eyes. He had half a mind to go down there and stop them but...

Alibaba wasn't having this forced on him, if anything he was the initiator. He wanted this, and Sinbad wasn't sure he could deny him that.

Sinbad placed his hands together and leaned against the tree. "Solomon help me. Judar is one of the Fallen from Kou, but Alibaba has come to love him. I don't know what I should do..."

There was soft laughter from nearby. Sinbad looked over to see Ja'far walking towards him. "Stalking your own son, tsk tsk Sin."

"Oh, Ja'far... it's just you..." Sinbad breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yup, just me," Ja'far replied, walking next to Sinbad and placing his hands in his sleeves. "What are you even doing?"

Sinbad crossed his arms, looking up at the sky. "I was seeking advice from the great rulers of the past."

Ja'far nodded. "Mhm... and did they say anything?"

"No... I'm not Yunan, I can't talk to Solomon like he can."

"Why are you of all people asking for advice? Aren't you Sinbad the sailor? Capturer of the Seven Seas and the man notorious for making the right decision under any circumstance?"

Sinbad pressed his mouth into a line. "This is different and you know it."

Ja'far deadpanned at Sinbad. Then he facepalmed, dragging his hand down his face. "You really are dense sometimes," he mumbled. "I can see them clear as day down there too. You're putting stress on a relationship that doesn't need it"

Sinbad didn't say anything. Ja'far bit his lip then moved and bopped Sinbad on the shoulder. "I'm serious. Things will work out. Maybe not in the way you prefer, but if you want your son to be happy you have to let him live his life."

More silence, then Sinbad let out a chuckle. "I swear if I didn't have you by my side I'd make a thousand bad decisions every day," he spoke. "Alright, let's head back then."

Chapter Text

Judar separated from Alibaba and looked away so the Prince couldn't kiss him again. "Judar?" Alibaba asked.

"I..." Judar tried to form words. That had been the best kiss of his life, albeit the first, and he really didn't want to stop, but he knew something was keeping him from continuing. He wanted more, he wanted what he couldn't have. This wasn't his purpose, this wasn't why he was here. Then why...

Why was being with Alibaba so addicting?

"I can't," Judar mumbled and stood up. "I can't do this."

"What? Hey! Judar- wait!"

Judar started speed-walking towards the city, fists clenched at his sides as Alibaba tried to chase after him. He didn't actually get very far before another, very familiar, face was right up in his.

"Where do you think you're going, mister?" Yunan poked Judar in the nose.

"Uh... nowhere?" Judar replied.

Alibaba caught up to him (dammit) and stood next to him. "Oh, evening, Yunan." 

Yunan smiled and stepped back to give Judar some room. "If you're going nowhere then why are you going?"

Judar raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, what?" he asked.

Yunan chuckled, hopping on his staff and floating in the air. "You two are still not getting it, are you? Well, that's fine... follow me!"

Alibaba smiled, grabbing Judar's hand and running to keep up with the other Magi. Judar yelped as he was pulled away. "Where the fuck are we going?!" he asked.

"Doesn't matter!" Alibaba laughed. "As long as it's with you, I'd go to the end of the earth!"

Judar blinked. He didn't understand why, maybe it was his smile or his words, but Judar finally realized why he was really here, why he had originally been so excited to find out that he would get to see Alibaba again, to come to Hokori.

Because ever since he was a child, all he wanted to do was see his friend again.

Friend?

No, that wasn't right.

They came to a pond with a bridge over it and trees in the surrounding area. Yunan stopped above the bridge and clapped his hands.

"Halhar Infelgar!"

From one of the trees, Aladdin had cast some kind of fire magic. The pond was covered in fire for a second, and then when it cleared a thousand lit candles floating on the water were revealed. There were three boats. One of them Titus was sitting down and Aladdin had hopped into it. The other one housed a sickly-looking Scheherazade, but she was smiling all the same. Yunan floated down to sit next to her and laid his head in her lap.

The other boat floated up near the arc of the bridge. Alibaba understood immediately and dropped down into the boat, then reached out for Judar to follow. The Magi was hesitant but then followed in Alibaba example, sitting down across from him. Alibaba offered his hand and Judar took it, lacing their fingers together. Titus lifted his wand and twirled it around. The boats were all carried around the pond as though there was a strong current moving them, but the candles were staying perfectly still. Alibaba laughed out loud and grabbed Judar's other hand. Judar tensed a bit at the sudden movement, and how they started spinning around.

The Magi family kept a respectable distance, but it was still a little unsettling about how they were all watching the two of them so intently. The wind carrying over some flower petals from the trees, the white and pink petals landing in Judar's hair. Slightly annoying but, "You're so pretty." Alibaba commented, reaching up and cradling Judar's face, running his thumbs over his cheekbones.

Judar flushed red and tilted his head down so he was looking up through his eyelashes. "Um, thanks?" he replied. "You're... decent looking."

Alibaba laughed. "You're not very good at compliments, are you?"

"Not particularly..."

Alibaba tilted his head. "That's okay," he whispered.

Yunan pulled a small guitar-like thing out of nowhere and started plucking at it, the strings laced with magic so the light from the candles seemed to actually float off the flames, carrying around like fireflies and surrounding the pond with even more light, stars dancing around in the sky.

Scheherazade started humming along as the boats spun around again. Judar and Alibaba passed under the bridge.

"Hey," Alibaba whispered, so soft only Judar was able to hear it. "I love you."

Judar looked away, taking Alibaba's hand off his face. "I don't know what love feels like," he replied.

Alibaba turned Judar's face towards him again. "That's not true. Everyone loves. Be it romantic, platonic, familial... we all have someone or something we love with all of our heart, and sometimes that's multiple people. That's what makes us the same."

Judar tightened his grip on Alibaba's hand, biting his lip. "I... love you?" he said, more of a question than anything.

Alibaba smiled. "Do you?"

"I... I love you. I do."

"Then can I kiss you again?"

Judar nodded. Alibaba stood up, tilting Judar's head back as their lips crashed together for the second time that night. Judar had been right in his original assumption. Kissing Alibaba was intoxicating. He didn't want to stop. Ever.

Yunan let out a silent cheer. Solomon's plan was working, at least for now. Scheherazade smiled down at her husband. Aladdin had fallen asleep on Titus's shoulder, and the older was also straining to stay awake. Yunan sat up and kissed Scheherazade on the cheek. "We should give them some space," he murmured.

"Agreed."

~~~

Alibaba and Judar giggled like the lovestruck teenagers they were as they ran back into the palace, hands intertwined. The guards stared at them in bewilderment as they passed, running towards Alibaba's room. They finally arrived and Alibaba nearly shoved Judar onto the bed, climbing on top of him and kissing him immediately, both of them barely able to keep their lips connected with how much they were smiling. Judar wrapped one arm around his neck while the other lazily fell around his shoulders. Alibaba moved to start peppering small kisses all over Judar's jaw and above his choker.

"Gods, I've waited so long for this." Judar breathed.

Alibaba stopped for a second to look down at Judar, a single question in his expression. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Judar hesitated, then breathed out heavily. "Ever since I had to leave you, I've been thinking about seeing you again," he admitted. "I love you, and I always have. That's why..." he kissed Alibaba at the spot between his eyebrows. "I've been waiting for this."

Alibaba smiled, reaching one hand up to push Judar's bangs out of his face, able to see his pretty, eye-liner lined eyes properly. "And here I thought you didn't want this."

"I want it. More than anything... I want you."

"You're so soft around me."

"Shut it."

"Make me."

Judar scrunched up his face and lifted his hips up, making Alibaba gasp and tighten his grip on the sheets. Judar smirked, sinking his fingers into Alibaba's hair. "What are the chances that Fanalis or your dad will walk in?"

"Uh, pretty low?" Alibaba replied. "Why?"

Judar lifted his head to kiss Alibaba on the mouth again. This one was different, tongues pressing against each other as they actually took the time to explore each other's mouth, not the nervous first kiss that was just trying to find their bearings, this was the kind of kiss only two people that were really, truly in love would have. It's the kind of kiss they were having because they were two people, two men, that were absolutely in love with each other.

This wasn't a trick, wasn't any kind of scheme to get close to Alibaba and kill him. Judar genuinely wanted all of this. In fact, he had completely forgotten about Gyouken's plan, his desire to kill Sinbad, all of it. All that mattered now was that he was going to have sex with Alibaba.

The Prince pulled back, panting slightly. "You really want that?"

Judar nodded. "Yes. Alibaba... please."

Alibaba smiled, kissing Judar on the cheek. "Yeah, let's do it," he spoke softly. "Turn around."

Little did the two know was that outside on the balcony, hidden from sight, Kouha was watching them while a hand covering his mouth. "Oh... oh my Al Thamen..." Kouha breathed. 

There was a small crystal in his hand. He tightened his grip on it as he watched with an awed expression... his Magi was a fucking bottom. He held the crystal up and it captured a small picture of the moment, then he pressed it to his chest. This was too much, Judar didn't need to do any of that. But...

He had to go tell Gyokuen.

Within the hour Kouha had made his way back to the Kou and opened the door of the throne room dramatically. "GUESS WHAT I JUST SAW!" he shouted.

The rest of his siblings looked over at him in bewilderment. Gyokuen wasn't there, but that was fine for the time being. Kouha stormed in and slammed the crystal onto the table where Hakuryuu and Kougyoku were playing with cards. "So I snuck into Hokori because I wanted to check in with Judar cause he was being quiet and stuff and nothing had happened and I found him in the Prince's bedroom doing this!"

He tapped the crystal and the image reflected onto the wall. Kougykou squeaked and covered her eyes. Hakuryuu looked like he wanted to puke. Kouen and Koumei both had a very similar 'What the fuck' expression. Hakuei slapped a hand over her mouth. "I... Kouha why did you..?" she tried to form words.

"I'm just upset the guy got action before I did!" Kouha threw his arms up in the air, exasperated. "And he's a fucking bottom! I have never been more disappointed!"

Hakuryuu gagged, punching his chest. "Kouha, what the hell?! Why are you showing us this?!"

Koumei shook himself out of it and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Are you serious? This was completely unnecessary. What is Judar thinking?"

Kouen looked over at Kouha. "Are you certain this action is consensual?"

Kouha nodded. "Yup, they went through a whole sappy love speel about how much they love each other and then made out for like ten minutes before just fucking right then and there!"

Kougyouku peeked through her fingers. "Uh... but why would he feel the need to do something like that?"

"What is going on in here?"

All of the Ren siblings went silent and spun around, watching as their mother laid eyes on the reflected image, blinking, walking closer, double-checking to see if this was truly what she thought it was. "Kouha... are you certain this is real?" she asked calmly, making everyone stand on edge.

Kouha nodded. "Affirmative. I saw it with my own eyes." he saluted.

Gyokuen curled her lip into a scowl. "Judar cannot betray us."

~~~

Alibaba woke with the sun. Blinking his eyes open to blurriness. It was warm though. A good kind of warm. He held on tighter to that warmth, burying his face into black hair, hands trailing up, counting ribs under soft skin.

The warmth whimpered. "Alibaba, I'm still sensitive..."

Alibaba opened his eyes, pressing gentle kisses to Judar's neck, left exposed after he took it off last night. "Good morning to you too, darling."

Judar sighed, taking great effort in turning around to snuggle into Alibaba's chest. "I'll throw you off a cliff..." he muttered.

"I love you too," Alibaba replied, wrapping his arms around his lover and kissing the top of his head. "Are we going to train today?"

"Eh... not in the mood." Judar still hadn't opened his eyes. "Rather cuddle with you all day."

Alibaba let out a short laugh, following the bumps along the curve of Judar's spine. "I'm alright with that."

Both of them were about to fall asleep again when...

"ALIBABAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"

The door swung open. Judar was so startled he jumped out of the bed and fell over. Alibaba sat up and looked over at the doorway. Titus was standing there with Aladdin on his shoulders. 

"Alibaba wake up! It's breakfast time!" Aladdin laughed.

Titus scanned the situation, seemingly understanding immediately what had gone on and quickly turned a dark shade of red. "Oh... Oh, my Gods..." he blurted out.

Judar lifted himself up and draped over the side of the bed, his exposed lower half hidden behind the mattress. The sheets had pooled in Alibaba's lap, leaving much to the imagination. Aladdin, innocent as he was, only blinked and smiled. "Why are you guys naked? Were you sleeping in the same bed?"

Alibaba buried his face in his hands and Judar laughed out loud. Titus cleared his throat and turned around so they were both facing away from them. "Uh, get dressed as soon as possible, please! King Sinbad is expecting you two in the dining hall soon. He's been waiting for a minute too long."

Then he left with Aladdin, closing the door behind them. Judar burst into another fit of giggles, rolling around on the bed while Alibaba quietly wished the world would end so he wouldn't die of embarrassment. "Kill me now."

"That could be arranged, but it wouldn't be all that fun." Judar pried one of Alibaba's hands away from his face to kiss his palm. "Besides, I don't think Titus is gonna tell anyone, and Aladdin barely understood what we were doing. We should be fine."

"That's not-"

Alibaba was interrupted once Judar leaned over and kissed him, effectively shutting him up. Alibaba sighed, closing his eyes and kissing back, hands winding into Judar's hair to pull him closer. They pulled away after a few seconds with a smirk playing on Judar's lips. Alibaba smiled back. "We should probably get dressed. Especially if we don't want my dad to walk in on us."

Judar whined but begrudgingly got up. That didn't stop the two from teasing each other while they got dressed, playful ass grabs or neck kisses that made them take so much longer than usual to get out. Once they did exit the room, however, that didn't mean all contact ended. They stood close together with their interlocked hands behind them, both talking with genuine, loving smiles on their faces.

Once they walked into the dining room, however, they separated. Sinbad stood up and speed-walked over to them, an angry expression on his face. Alibaba swallowed, afraid he was going to get chewed out for something when...

"Alibaba, there's something I've been meaning to talk to Judar about. Do you mind giving us a moment?"

Huh?!

Chapter Text

For the first five minutes, there was just silence.

Judar would glance up at the King from time to time but he just wore the same stone-faced expression. Lovely.

The two of them had gone out of the palace entirely and were walking out of the fucking walls. Judar had no idea what Sinbad's plan is but he already didn't like it. 

They walked to the area where the dungeon had been, the spot was still burned and charred from the fire weeks ago. Judar forgot how much damage that had actually done, and he wondered if the outcome would've been any different if he hadn't saved Alibaba that night.

"Judar, if you don't mind, can I ask you about Al Thamen?" Sinbad spoke suddenly.

Judar looked up, but the King still wouldn't make eye contact with him. He looked at his feet. "Uh, Empress Gyokuen told us that Al Thamen was a very powerful man that wanted to rule the world under one King, and he wanted to be that King. He was cruel and relentless and would discard any kind of weakness in both himself and his country. He thought of humans and magicians as superior to everything else. Then Solomon came along with a thirst for power just as strong, the two went to war, Solomon won and killed Al Thamen, and his descendants were kicked into what is now the Kou Empire." he replied.

Sinbad finally spared him a glance. Judar swallowed hard. "That's... just what she told us anyway..."

That's what he had been raised on, Gyouken had been ruthless in pounding that information into his skull and making sure he and the Ren siblings knew the story by heart. He really didn't know or understand the other side of things, in fact, he really didn't think Solomon or Al Thamen were even real people.

Sinbad looked over at a burnt tree and let a branch crumple into dust in his hand. "I see. Then you probably don't know the full story, or at least the other version of it." he turned around and faced Judar. "Solomon wasn't hungry for power as Al Thamen was, he wanted to stop him from his reign."

Oh, okay. Was this the only reason Sinbad brought him out here? So he could piss on the ideals that he's known for his entire life? Alright then.

Sinbad turned around again. "Listen, you probably won't believe this side of the story, but I want to tell you regardless..." he took a deep breath. "Solomon believed that all of us were connected, even if we had many differences between us, we all were one. We all had one thing in common, the ability to love. Al Thamen didn't share his ideals, he believed that some were above others because of the circumstances of their birth, something they can't control. And for that, they went to war."

"Sorry, I don't follow. The two fought because they didn't share the same opinion? The fuck kinda reason is that?!" Judar scoffed.

Sinbad shrugged. "Countries all over the world fight because of smaller things. But that's not the point of the story," he added. "Solomon wanted the world to be free from a dictator, to be able to embrace the love we all share, be it familial, romantic, or platonic... he wanted us to be happy."

Judar wrinkled his nose. "That sounds super cheesy. Full offence."

Sinbad let out a short laugh. "Maybe... but it worked. Now we pretty much live in peace, with only the remnants of Al Thamen being our enemies..." he looked... kind of sad right there. "But you've shown me something. Maybe the generation after Al Thamen, you and the other Ren siblings... maybe you can grow better than Al Thamen."

He crouched down and cleared a small patch of dirt away, revealing a small bud, a baby tree. Judar felt himself tense up. "Yeah, I'm really no better than they are though," he mumbled.

"Alibaba doesn't seem to think so," Sinbad smirked.

Judar felt his ears go red. "You... You know about that?"

"Well, I know he kissed you and confessed his love for you, and judging from your body language around him you accepted." Sinbad laughed.

Judar buried his face in his hands. "Oh... my Gods... I am so sorry."

"Don't be. I... actually don't think you'd be an awful husband for my son."

Judar turned even redder. He looked up at Sinbad. Was he really okay with all of this? Okay with this thing between him and Alibaba?

"Um... I-"

There was a cackle. Judar felt his entire body freeze. Sinbad drew his sword and looked around, on edge. From the fog emerge a single silhouette. "Excellent work, Judar," Gyouken spoke. "Now, allow us to take care of Sinbad, you've done your work here."

Sinbad let out a gasp, then spun around, glaring at Judar with a look of utter betrayal. "You?! How dare you?!"

"I-I had nothing to do with this!" Judar shouted back.

"Oh, come on! Don't start lying now!"

Hakuryuu, fully equipped, jumped down next to his mum. "After all, the plan was to seduce the Prince and cut off the bloodline. Didn't think you'd chicken out though, and after you took it from behind by Alibaba for it."

"You did what?!" Sinbad shouted.

Judar waved his arms dramatically. "You don't understand! I'm not-"

The other Ren siblings dropped down, all fully equipped and ready to murder. Sinbad scowled and quickly equipped into Baal, stepping back. Judar was completely frozen, unsure of what to do here.

Kouen attacked first.

Sinbad parried him without much trouble, but he wasn't going to be able to do this alone, especially with all six of them there. Judar practically scrambled to get out his wand but he was shoved over by Kouha, falling off the edge of the trench.

Sinbad shoved Koumei off of him and jumped up into the sky and landed over in a different spot, the Ren siblings following him. He ran towards Hokori walls and came across a problem. He was stuck in a valley that was blocked off by rocks and branches. He looked back to see his enemies still following him. He had no choice. He started climbing up.

Gyokuen stopped at the edge of it, assessing the situation. Hakuryuu jumped in front of her and started climbing after Sinbad. "I got him!" he shouted.

Sinbad turned around and scowled.

"Sinbad!"

Sinbad looked up at the top of the pile. On a different cliff was Judar, standing there, wand between his teeth as he tried to figure out a way to safely get to the King.

Hakuryuu grabbed Sinbad's ankle and sank his claws in. "You are not getting away from us!"

Sinbad kicked his face.

He fell. Hit his head on a rock and tumbled to the bottom, immediately unequipping. Sinbad climbed up over the edge and fell over the other side, disappearing from sight.

"HAKURYUU!" Gyokuen shouted.

The rest of the Ren siblings unequipped, except for Kouen who quickly changed into Phenex in order to start healing his little brother. Hakuryuu was breathing heavily, eyes unfocused, twitching at every flutter of the wings around him. At some point Judar had joined them, standing in the back with a horrified expression.

Hakuryuu blinked a few times and looked up at his mom, who was kneeling beside him. He let out a broken laugh. "I-I'm sorry... mother... I-I tried..."

He fainted. Kouen grit his teeth. "He's fine, just concussed. I'm going to need a lot more time to heal him."

Gyokuen grit her teeth. "Dammit... why..."

She stood up and turned around, glaring at Judar. "What the actual fuck what that?!" she started yelling, making the Magi flinch. "Did you really think you could switch sides like that?! What has gone through your head?!"

She stomped over to him, unsheathing her sword. "Don't you see you've nearly killed Hakuryuu?!"

Judar didn't flinch. He looked up at her. "I. Did. Nothing," he spoke through gritted teeth.

"Exactly. And in doing so you have betrayed us all!"

The silence was deafening. Judar furrowed his brow and stood up straighter. "I don't care," he replied. "I don't care anymore. You are not my mother and you will never command me! I decided of my own free will to leave you and this filth of a Kingdom and I don't fucking care what you do to me because I did nothing wrong-!"

Gyokuen slashed his face. Kougyoku gasped loudly.

Judar slapped his hand over his eye, removing it and seeing it come back bloody. Gyokuen had drawn a deep crescent wound over his left eye, slitting his brow and causing a thin line of blood to drip down his chin.

Gyokuen started laughing, that maniacal laughter that chilled each of the Ren siblings to the bone.

"Are you kidding me?! You've broken multiple Kou Empire laws! If you weren't a Magi I would've killed you here and now!"

"Other than treason?" Hakuei asked tentatively.

"Of course. Not only charged with treason, but also the attempted murder of a royal family member, and we of course can't forget sleeping with someone of the same sex." Gyokuen explained.

Kouha opened and closed his mouth. "Oh, I forgot that was illegal here. Oops."

"Oops?" Koumei repeated, exasperated.

Judar looked up at Gyokuen. He wiped at his eye, damn, that was gonna leave a nasty scar. "You're going to charge me for a crime I didn't commit, and on top of that persecute me for something I can't control?!"

"You know the laws."

"TO HELL AND BACK WITH THE LAWS!"

To this day, he's not sure what happened. Something snapped. Judar was immensely angry and frustrated with everything. As a fallen Magi he feeds from the black rukh, anger and hatred. Maybe that's why, but he suddenly found himself with his wand having grown larger, sharper, darker, stabbed into the rock right next to Gyokuen's head. He was breathing hard, rendered almost blind with rage. None of the Ren siblings even dared to breathe.

Gyokuen let out a short chuckle and a menacing smile. "Fine, go back to the Kingdom you love so much, back to the Prince you love so much, let me know how that goes for you." her smile melted. "And when you come back here begging to be let in, I'll kill you on the spot."

Judar titled his head up and took his wand out of the rock, placing it over his shoulders and walking off.

Fuck it all, he wanted to see Alibaba again.

~~~

"Yams, I'm fine." Sinbad insisted.

"No, you're not." the witch replied, continuing on with her spell. "You have several scratches and a broken ankle. You are very much not fine!"

Sinbad sighed and let her continue with healing him. Alibaba stood next to the medical bed, hugging himself, unsure. "Dad, are you absolutely certain-"

"Yes, Alibaba, I am. Judar led me straight into an ambush and tried to murder me. I was right all along, he is our enemy..." Sinbad interrupted him, looking away from his son.

Alibaba didn't believe it. "But that doesn't-!"

"Alibaba, I'm telling the truth here! Drop the subject now!" 

Alibaba was rendered silent. He bit his tongue angrily and stared at the floor. Yamraiha let out a sigh.

All of a sudden Ja'far burst into the medical ward, panting. "It's Judar! He's in the throne room!" he announced.

"What?!" Sinbad asked, suddenly standing up, nearly falling over. Alibaba helped him maintain his balance again.

Ja'far nodded. "Yes, he says he wants to speak with you."

The rest of the eight generals were standing next to the throne, all glaring at Judar, who looked small in comparison. He looked awful, a bright new scar running along his face, wispy bits that probably fell out of his ponytail falling down the sides of his face, framing it. He looked tired more than anything, those all-too-familiar black wet lines staining his cheeks.

Sinbad didn't look at him with a shred of sympathy.

Alibaba breathed a sigh of relief and tried to run towards his lover, only to be caught by Masrur. "Hey! Let me go!" he shouted.

Judar clenched his fists. "Your highness, King Sinbad, I've come here asking your forgiveness."

"Forgiveness?! Are you joking?!" Sinbad shouted. "You came into my Kingdom with evil intentions, with malice in your heart! You came here intending to destroy the Kingdom from the inside out and you expect me to put all of that aside?!"

"No! You don't understand! They set me up for this-!"

"Liar!"

Sinbad's booming voice echoed through the throneroom, rendering everyone quiet. Judar drew back a bit, tensing up. Nobody dared to speak for a few seconds. Judar looked back up at Sinbad. "What are you going to do to me?"

"I should have you executed for treason and defiling the Prince of Hokori," Sinbad spoke through gritted teeth.

Oh fuck. Alibaba looked over at his dad in fear. He knew. Judar hugged himself. "Defiling? You talk as though I assaulted him. I did no such thing."

"That much doesn't matter." Sinbad dismissed it. "You asked me for judgement and I pass it now. You are a traitor to my Kingdom, and therefore you will be exiled back to Kou where you belong!"

Judar glared. "The Kou Empire has abandoned me! Where exactly do you expect me to go?!"

"That's none of my concern." Sinbad snapped his fingers. "Guards, get him out of here."

Deception...

Immediately the guards in the room came forward, extra cautious around the Magi, but he appeared not to put out any kind of fight. Alibaba, however, was extremely upset. "LET ME GO!" he yelled. "DAD! SINBAD! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING!"

An outrage...

Sinbad wouldn't look his son in the eye. Alibaba grit his teeth. His dagger burned hot at his side. Masrur noticed this and loosened his grip. Alibaba used that to wiggle out of his hold and run forward.

Disgrace...

"JUDAR!"

For shame...

Judar turned around from the entrance but was immediately blocked off by the guards. Alibaba reached out to him, desperate. Judar reached out his hand as well but the guards started forcefully shoving him away.

Evil as plain as the scar on his face...

Yamraiha stepped forward and waved her wand, making a whole wall of water just to block them away from each other. Alibaba ran straight into it and bounced off it, nearly falling. He stood up quickly and banged on it, screaming, the ripples in the water reflecting to the other side, even though no sound could pass through. Judar shouted as well but Alibaba didn't hear it. He disappeared from sight within a minute.

He asked for trouble the moment he came...

Alibaba fell to his knees and started crying, covering his sobs with his hand. Sinbad walked over to him. "Alibaba I know you're upset but-" he reached out to put his hand on Alibaba's shoulder but the Prince slapped his hand away.

"Are you fucking kidding me?! Upset?! I'm upset for multiple reasons, dad!" he yelled. "I can't believe you! This goes beyond just sending away someone I love! You've proven yourself to be a terrible king and I'm angry at myself for not realizing it earlier!"

"Prince Alibaba that is no way to talk to-" Ja'far tried to stop the fight.

"Shut the fuck up! You all see it too! He's all about carrying on Solomon's will but won't fucking follow the one thing he wanted more than anything!"

Sinbad took a deep breath. "Alibaba, I get that you're angry, but you have to understand that I was just trying to protect the Kingdom. Solomon's Kingdom."

Alibaba scowled and glared up at Sinbad. "You will never be Solomon."

That rang through the throne room like a bell. Alibaba felt more tears welling up in his eyes. He ran away, sprinting out of the throne room. Ja'far walked over to Sinbad. "Sin?" he asked.

"It's fine. You understand. Judar is not one of us. Alibaba will accept that eventually."

Chapter Text

Alibaba slammed the door shut behind him and leaned against it, falling to the ground and crying into his arms.

He was frustrated and angry and sad and all-around tired of all of this.

He sobbed and felt his breath leave him, heaving for air as he tried not to get too emotional. He got attached, far too attached. Alibaba didn't even know if what Sinbad was saying was true. Did Judar really betray them all?

...no. No, there was no way.

Alibaba calmed down a bit as he realized. Judar had reached out to him before being escorted out. Alibaba had reached for him and Judar had reached back, even though he knew he was discovered, he still reached for him. Still wanted, still loved him. He wouldn't have done that otherwise, Judar isn't the type to do unnecessary things like that. Alibaba wiped his eyes and stood up, walking over onto the balcony, leaning over the edge and looking down. Hokori seemed peaceful at this time, but from how high up his room was, Alibaba would only jump down if he had a death wish.

If only there was a way to leave without anyone suspecting him...

"Prince Alibaba?"

Alibaba jumped out of his skin. Yunan stood on the balcony, offering him a soft smile. "You weren't thinking of jumping, were you?"

"Oh... no I wouldn't do that," Alibaba replied, looking back over the Kingdom. "I just... I want to find him, bring him back, make my dad see that he isn't a bad person."

Yunan let out a short laugh. "Your father is a stubborn man, but then again you are just as stubborn." he sighed. "You and Judar were supposed to be together, not quite soulmates, but very close. Solomon wanted to see you two married."

Alibaba smiled to himself more than anything. "Really? I would've thought he'd recoil at the thought of his decedent marrying a Kou Empire Magi... and a man."

"Love is love, Alibaba. It does not have boundaries. Solomon understood that more than anyone."

Yunan tapped his staff against the ground. "But you two are blocked by a barrier at the moment... and Solomon has specifically asked me to make sure you two are allowed to be together." he smiled. "So I will help you."

Alibaba spun around so fast he nearly gave himself whiplash. "Wait, seriously?!" he asked.

Yunan nodded. "Of course, but, as you are not my King's Candidate, I cannot help you directly. Instead..."

There was a knock on the door. Yunan gave Alibaba one last smile before disappearing into thin air. Alibaba blinked, rubbing his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things. There was a knock again. "Come in!" Alibaba called.

The door opened to reveal Morgiana. She quietly shut the door and walked in, standing a good couple feet away from Alibaba. "Um... Masrur told me what happened..." she started.

Alibaba nodded once. "Yeah... I'm sorry I-"

"Alibaba. You don't need to apologize. I get it."

Alibaba blinked. "You... do?"

Morgiana nodded, taking another step forward. "Yeah, in a weird way, I kinda do." she smiled. "So... I'm going to help you sneak out and go see him."

"What?! Seriously?!"

Morgiana nodded again. "As a member of your household, I have to do whatever I can in order to assist you, right? So..." she reached down into her dress and pulled out a bundled up rope, holding it in front of Alibaba. "I'm going to help you because I know how much he means to you."

Alibaba grabbed Morgiana's hands and pulled her into a hug. "Thank you so much, Morgiana. I can't express to you how much this means to me."

"Of course, Alibaba. You've been there for me as long as I can remember, I just want to give back to you."

Five minutes later and Alibaba was lowered down from his balcony. He hit the ground running, waving up to Morgiana before heading out, avoiding all the guards and sneaking out of the palace.

He checked everywhere. The colosseum, all of the food places, the pond, everywhere. He was frantic, desperate, only running on the blind faith that Judar hadn't left Hokori yet.

The sun was going down as Alibaba ran through the fields that they had gone stargazing at, the fields where they shared their first kiss. He could feel the tears running down his face but he barely paid attention to them. He couldn't help it. He was upset and scared.

He tripped and fell face-first into the grass. He didn't get up. Alibaba heaved his body up and laid on his back, looking up at the darkening sky, feeling the wind blow on his face.

Was this it? Was he really never going to see Judar again? No... it's can't be...

Alibaba closed his eyes and tried to forget, forget everything that happened, to go back to right before he ever went to the dungeon. All he wanted to do was forget about all of this, about Judar betraying them. He still couldn't accept it. Was it really all a ploy? Seducing him, leading him on only to break his heart like this?

No... it couldn't be... because Judar had reached to him. Even when he had been caught, he still reached for him.

Alibaba opened his eyes and sat up. He had to keep looking, no matter what.

"Didn't think Sinbad would let you out of the palace ever again after that."

Wait...

Alibaba snapped his head up. Standing in front of him, in all his glory, was Judar. Alibaba felt fresh tears sting in his eyes.

He bolted upwards and ran forward, tackling Judar in a hug and sending them both rolling down the hill. Once they finally stopped spinning and Alibaba had landed on top of Judar, encasing him in his arms, both of them laughing like idiots, Alibaba kissed him again. It just felt so right like this. Alibaba never wanted to be robbed of this ever again. He kept kissing Judar like the world was going to end.

"I love you." he breathed. "I love you I love you I love you!" he repeated.

Judar chuckled and looped his arms around Alibaba's neck. "I love you too," he replied. "I'm... so sorry."

"Don't be. I believe you."

"But I-"

"Shut up." Alibaba kissed him again. "I don't care. What matters now is that we're together. And I'm never going to let you go again."

~~~

"Empress Gyokuen, the preparations have been made."

"Excellent, we ride at dawn."

"Understood."

"Mother, what about Hakuryuu?"

"His condition could be critical. For now, he'll rest. When he wakes up we'll have taken full control of Hokori."

"Are you certain this will secure victory?"

"Of course, Sinbad is wounded and vulnerable. Household members don't stand a chance against dungeon captures."

"But without Judar we-"

"We don't need Judar. We'll win and finally take back Al Thamen's land and legacy without the use of a Magi! It's not like he's on Sinbad's side at the moment."

"The military is prepared to take off."

"Good... very good..."

~~~

"Sinbad! The Kou Empire is breaking through the walls!"

"What?!"

"They're declaring war on us!"

"Fuck... shit... get the military ready and the eight generals! The Fanalis corps! Any and all Magi or dungeon captures! Put all the citizens on lockdown!"

"Understood! Making the preparations for battle now!"

"Let's just hope we can end this with one fight..."

~~~

"So... what are we gonna do?" Alibaba asked.

The two had switched positions. Judar was lying down on him, head resting on Alibaba's chest while the Prince had his arms loosely wrapped around the Magi's middle. They had been together all night after finally being reunited. At the moment, they were both very tired, but also very lost and confused about what to do. Judar shrugged, looking up at Alibaba. "I'm not sure. I don't think either of us are able to go back to our countries."

Alibaba reached up and ran his thumb over Judar's scar, frowning. Then he heard it. The warning bells, letting the citizens know they needed to get to a safe place as soon as possible. That could only mean one thing.

Hokori and Kou were going to war.

"We have to stop them," he said.

Judar titled his head. "This isn't our battle. It's a war built on years and years of holding a useless grudge, it isn't our fight." he shifted, hands on either side of Alibaba's head while he fit himself between his lover's legs. "I think we should run far, far away. Start a country maybe! All our own..." he teased, rolling his hips slightly against Alibaba's at the words. "We could go off into the world, have wild sex every day, and fucking... I dunno, join a band of pirates or something!"

Alibaba whined a bit then let out a short laugh. "That... does sound appealing. But I have responsibilities to Hokori, and like it or not you have responsibilities to the Kou as well."

Judar groaned, falling down onto Alibaba again. "They kicked me out, remember? I don't belong there... or here..." he trailed off.

"That's not true. Gyokuen may have taken control of the Empire, but what about the Ren siblings?"

"What about them?"

"Don't you see them as your own siblings?"

Judar paused. He buried his face in Alibaba's chest. "I... I hurt my friend though. I hurt Hakuryuu."

"And you have a chance to make that right."

"What if I don't want to?"

"Oh my fucking Gods, Judar." Alibaba sighed, exasperated. "I know you understand where I'm coming from. You, to a certain degree, love the Ren siblings like a family, and I know you want to save them."

Judar hesitated, sitting up and straddling Alibaba, who propped himself up on his elbows. Judar looked down, averting his gaze from Alibaba's. "I want to, I do. But... it's hard. I don't like... the idea that I am able to love."

"Then let me in, help me change that," Alibaba replied, softly, reaching up and cradling Judar's face in his hand. "Because I love you so much and I want more than anything to marry you, but I can't do that if the other people we love are dead."

Judar leaned into Alibaba's touch, closing his eyes. "Alright... I can't say no to you." he smiled.

Alibaba mirrored it and leaned in for one more kiss, slow and sweet and loving, breaking down the carefully crafted walls Judar had put up, that he had let Gyokuen put up.

That's it, that was the final straw. He was addicted.

When they finally parted Alibaba stood up along with Judar and unsheathed his sword. "Now... let's go save the world."

Chapter Text

They didn't see the sun come over the horizon. It had started raining as soon as the Kou Empire could be seen breaking down the walls and coming into the Kingdom.

Sinbad had already Djinn equipped, the eight generals standing slightly behind them, and the military and the Fanalis corps a little further behind. Drakon gestured for them to wait and be patient. Sinbad was tense, Ja'far noticed this.

"Sin, are you sure you're ready for this?" he asked.

"It doesn't matter if I am or not. I have to be. Otherwise, the Kingdom's future is full of darkness." Sinbad replied, raising his sword.

On the other side, Gyokuen led her children and the army towards the cliffs where Sinbad and the others were waiting for them. She was smiling, ready for a full-on war to break out, confident they would come out of this the victor. No matter how many causalities, they would win. Black rukh fluttered around them like a storm.

All of her children were waiting to equip, saving their energy for the moment. Kougyoku looked a little scared. Kouha had an unreadable expression, but it was clear he didn't want to be here. Koumei was following Kouen closely, glaring at the other side with distaste. Hakuei didn't look nervous, but determined. Kouen walked next to his mother, leading the military with him. Hakuryuu wasn't present, he was asleep back in the palace, unable to wake up for the time being, deep in a coma.

"Be on your guard at all times," Gyokuen warned. "Remember your relentless training, and put it to use."

Scheherazade tightened her grip on Yunan's hand inside their little hut. Aladdin and Titus were huddled together, Titus close to a panic attack and Aladdin on the verge of tears. The amount of black rukh and hate in the air was giving all of them anxiety, affecting the pure Magi in ways that were unfavourable.

"W-We need to help them." Scheherazade whispered.

"We can't," Yunan replied, voice even softer than normal. Solomon's words were deafening, so much so they sounded distorted in his ear, unable to clear through the fog of Fallen rukh swarming around. "If we do there's nothing we can do in order to help them and you know it."

"We can't just leave them there!" Aladdin tried standing up, only to fall over. Titus was shaking hard, rocking back and forth.

Yunan cursed. "Fuck... the only one who can help them is Judar. He's the only one of us that's Fallen."

Scheherazade winced. "B-But we don't know where he is."

"I have faith that Alibaba will bring him back." Yunan forced a smile. "Please... we have to trust them."

Back on the battlefield, the Kou and Hokori stood just meters away from each other, staring each other down. One by one, down the line, each of the Ren siblings Djinn equipped, ready to fight. Sinbad took a deep breath. "Gyokuen..." he spoke. "You have infiltrated our Kingdom and expect to take it over, but we will not go down without a fight, do you understand?!"

Gyokuen let out a shrill laugh. "You really believe you can defeat me? Well, that's a thought. You only have one or two dungeon captures, correct? And where's your precious Prince Alibaba? Oh, wait, he can't even do a full Djinn equip! You are utterly powerless against us!"

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Sinbad replied.

"Enough talk, let's fight." Kouen stepped in.

Ja'far tightened his grip on his weapons. "I couldn't agree more."

~~~

"They're fighting at the cliffs!" Alibaba shouted as he and Judar ran in that direction.

They ran over the bridge and heard the sounds of fighting, yelling, metal clinking against metal. Alibaba grit his teeth and ran faster. Judar grabbed his hand and ran ahead of him, then jumped up. Alibaba yelped as they flew into the air, Judar holding onto him as they went higher into the sky.

"YOU CAN FLY?!" Alibaba shouted.

"YES!" Judar shouted back. "You can't see them but the rukh are holding me up, they can't carry you though, so I have to hold onto you like this!"

"Don't you fucking dare drop me," Alibaba warned, not daring to look at the ground.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Princey." Judar laughed, scanning the ground as they got closer and closer to the battle site. "We're getting close, do you think you can do something for me?"

"What is it?" Alibaba asked, cracking an eye open.

"I need you to equip. Like, fully."

Alibaba cringed. "I can't do that right now."

Judar rolled his eyes. "Dumbass, I can help you!"

Alibaba blinked, then tilted his head. "Huh?"

Judar stopped right above the battle, looking around. Many of the Ren siblings were engaged in battle with the eight generals while the armies on both ends fought with each other. The Fanalis corps appeared to be carrying most of the battle though. Sinbad was going against Kouen, who was actively protecting Gyokuen. Judar looked back at Alibaba. "There's a lot of black rukh around here. Amon is unique and so is your magoi. I'm gonna funnel my magoi into you and it's gonna help you Djinn equip. We're gonna pray you don't Fall."

"Wait HUH?!"

"If you Fall you'll probably die, so let's hope that doesn't happen!"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN- AH!"

Judar locked his hands with Alibaba's, closing his eyes. Alibaba burst into flames, a bright light that startled everyone down below. Sinbad looked up with wide eyes. A moment later the flames disappeared, and in the air was Alibaba and Judar. Alibaba was full equipped and Judar was holding his hand, smiling at him. "Thank God you didn't Fall," he laughed.

Alibaba smiled as well. "Yeah."

The two dropped down, Alibaba stood in front of Sinbad and Judar in front of Gyokuen and Kouen, the two back to back.

"Dad, you have to stop this," Alibaba spoke first, pointing his dagger at Sinbad.

Sinbad scowled. "Alibaba, this doesn't concern you-" he tried.

"You told us the Prince couldn't equip and now you're here helping him?! What the fuck, Judar?!" Kouen shouted.

Judar paid no attention to him. "I helped him because I've decided I'm done. Alibaba may not be my King's Candidate but I love him enough to want to help him against you and Hokori!"

Most of the Kou seemed shocked by that statement. Sinbad's scowl only deepened. He swung his sword and grazed it against Alibaba's throat, holding it tight against his skin. "Fall back, Alibaba."

Alibaba pointed his nose up, tightening his grip on Judar's hand. "No." he refused flatly. "It's time to stop the fighting, stop the war before it stops, you know this isn't what Solomon would've wanted-"

"I am protecting Solomon's Kingdom, his legacy!" Sinbad interrupted him.

"Solomon's been dead for centuries and so has Al Thamen!" Judar shouted, gritting his teeth. "Stop talking about the past and move on to the future! What the fuck is the difference between us anyway?!"

Complete silence, the only sounds being the heavy breathing of the militia and the raindrops against metal armour and weapons. Sinbad exhaled letting go of a breath he didn't realize he was holding. His Djinn de-equipped as the full force of those words hit him. Most of the Ren siblings seemed utterly shocked by this. Sinbad looked up, rain soaking into his hair and clothes, and smiled at Alibaba. "I think... I think I get it now. You're right," he admitted, letting out a small chuckle and looking up to the sky. "After all, we're all human, aren't we, Solomon?"

Kouen tightened his grip on his sword. "What are you talking about?! This is utter insanity!" he yelled. "You have betrayed us all, Judar, and now you are working with Hokori to-"

"I don't know what Gyokuen has washed your brains out with this time, but I ain't on Hokori's side!" Judar snapped back. "I'm on Alibaba's side here, and I'll stick by his side regardless! If you still call that betrayal then fine!"

Kouha sighed and de-equipped as well, walking over in front of Judar and bopping him on the head, then smiling at him. "I think I get what you're saying. And as long as there's no discrimination and no ostracization based on any uncontrollable basis, race, sexuality, gender identity, magic ability, etcetera, then I will stand with Princey along with you." he turned back to Gyokuen and flipped her off. "Which is something I hate about our country and have hated about Hokori. I stand by the side that doesn't let intolerance rule them."

Hakuei de-equipped as well, Kougyoku directly following her. Both girls were thinking the exact same thing and walked next to Kouha and Judar. Koumei looked over at Kouen, looking for some kind of help.

Gyokuen let out one of her infamous giggling fits. "Fine. If you want to side with the enemy, then you shall be treated as an enemy! I didn't think my children wanted to die that badly."

Kouen sheathed his sword, Koumei following him. Both immediately transforming back. Kouen shot his mother a look. "You've taught us that family is above everything, and now you are to throw all of that away, meaning to disown yourself from our family and our Empire."

He stood along with Koumei with his other siblings and Judar. The military all stopped and knelt, as Kouen was their commander and would follow him, not Gyokuen. The Empress frowned and narrowed her eyes. "I can't believe you all. The fact that you would seriously side with the enemy over your own country appals me."

"Joining Hokori is better for us anyway, don't you think?" Kouha explained. "You're holding onto centuries worth of grudges, it's not your place to act on them."

"You can't possibly be serious!"

It was clear that Gyokuen was denying the whole ordeal, watching her children, no, her country turn away from her like this... it had to have been heartbreaking. But Alibaba had little to no remorse for her and Judar didn't give a fuck about her feelings in the matter.

Alibaba stepped forward and held out his hand to her. "Empress Gyokuen, I'm begging you, please let go of whatever grudges and hatred you hold for Hokori, for Solomon," he spoke. "I know you believe our differences may be too great, but in the end, there is one thing that binds us all, be it human or not! I know you love your children, you nurtured them for nine months in your womb and taught them all to be the great people they are today! To say you didn't love them would be erroneous!"

Gyokuen's expression fell. She glared at Alibaba, scowling. "My children disowned themselves from me the second they sided with you."

She drew her sword in a desperate attempt to attack Alibaba, blinded by rage. Alibaba let go of Judar's hand which resulted in him immediately un-equipping. He parried the Empress and sent her sword flying. She stumbled backwards, slipping on the mud on the ground.

Alibaba gasped.

Some of the Ren siblings cried out.

Gyokuen screamed.

The next few seconds were a blur. Gyokuen was dangling off the edge, her wrist caught in Alibaba's hand. He breathed heavily and she looked up at him, confused and shocked.

"Empress Gyokuen... please let me save you," he begged. "I forgive you for everything, a-and I'm sure my father will too. Please just... let me help you up."

Gyokuen's expression softened. Then she smiled sweetly.

"I'd rather die and drag you down with me."

She kicked off the edge of the cliff, dragging Alibaba with her. They both fell down the ravine.

More than a few people screamed. Gyokuen laughed out loud, spreading her arms as though she was welcoming death. Alibaba closed his eyes, bracing for impact...

...that never came.

He fell into something, a pair of arms wrapping around him, slowing and then stilling mid-air. Alibaba cracked open an eye and saw Gyokuen still falling, no longer smiling.

"TRAITOR!" she screamed before her body hit the river.

Alibaba took in a few labouring breaths, adrenaline filling his veins. He looked over at his saviour. Judar held on tight to him.

"Never fucking do that again," he mumbled. "You fucking gave me a heart attack, you idiot."

Alibaba smiled and kissed Judar happily. "We won," he replied. "We actually won."

Chapter Text

"Oh my Gods, this thing is so heavy."

"Shush. I've already altered it to be a bit more accommodating to you."

"Hakuei I can't breathe."

Kougyoku laughed from the couch where she was sitting. Hakuryuu walked around where Judar was standing, inspecting him, occasionally flattening out a wrinkle in his clothing. "The ceremony is in less than an hour, you'll be fine," he said, stepping back.

Judar flapped his arms, ruffling the fabric.

You're probably very confused as to what's happening. Simple, Judar and Alibaba were getting married! Almost a year after Gyokuen's death, Alibaba would be accepting the role of King within a month, but he would be getting married first. Married to Judar.

There were a lot of preparations going into the wedding, one of them being the outfits, which Judar was currently being dressed in. The outfit was specially designed by Hakuei, black, gold, and white with long sleeves almost covering Judar's hands completely, cropped at the rib line, of course, with an A-line skirt with golden decals. Hakuei had somehow managed to get his choker off of him and Kougyoku had taken the liberty of decorating his hidden wrists and exposed ankles with henna tattoos. 

"It's still fucking uncomfy," Judar complained.

Kouha practically pushed him into a chair and leaned over him with a tiny paintbrush, making the face he made when he wanted to concentrate. Judar closed his eyes out of habit. It had been a while since Kouha had done his makeup, a few years actually, but he had insisted on doing it this time. Kouha mumbled something about wings while he started painting on Juda'rs eyelids. In the corner, Kouen and Koumei were watching.

"I still can't believe you're the one getting married before any of us," Koumei remarked.

Judar cracked a smile. "I'm not surprised. I firmly believe you two will remain single until the day you die."

Koumei dropped his mouth open in offence. Kouen rolled his eyes. "What he means is that is strange to see a Magi getting married to a Prince. Usually, that kind of thing doesn't happen."

"Well if we're being technical, in the past some Magi have even sworn to celibacy. Yunan and Scheherazade decided to take a difficult route and marry each other, creating two more Magi themselves. But in the past, they really didn't marry anyone at all." Kouha explained, still concentrating immensely.

"And that's not to say some Magi haven't taken advantage of their power over everyone else," Hakuryuu added. "There were some cases of, specifically Fallen Magi, doing some particularly nasty things to other people."

Judar cringed. "Yeah, no. Not my style."

"Shut up about Magi stuff! This is Judar we're talking about! He's gonna be married in an hour and he beat all of us to it!" Kougyoku interrupted, standing up.

Kouha let out a little chuckle. "At least his fiancee is attractive."

"Are you tryna steal my mans?" Judar asked, opening the eye that Kouha wasn't working on to shoot him a half-hearted glare. "Cause I will take your Djinn away if you try."

Kouha gasped dramatically. "You wouldn't."

"I can and I will."

"Okay stop it." Kouen interrupted. He sighed. "Honestly, you two are so high maintenance sometimes."

Kouha and Judar guggled in unison. Hakuei sat down next to Kougyoku and started fussing with her hair. "By the way, Judar, I've been meaning to ask. How long has same-sex coupleage been legal in Hokori?"

Judar hesitated before answered, "About a week."

Almost complete silence. Hakuryuu shrugged. "I think King Sinbad just got around to doing it recently, and Alibaba and Judar are gonna be the first same-sex married couple here," he spoke, starting to adjust Judar's hair of his own accord. "Besides, Kouen only made it legal, like, a month after he'd been deemed King in Kou, cause of Judar and now apparently Kouha, Hakuei, and myself."

Kouha snickered. "Let's get one thing straight... or not. I'm attracted to men, that doesn't mean I like men."

Judar laughed. "Amen to that!"

"You are literally about to get married to a man!" Hakuei pointed out.

Judar waved her off. "I tolerate Alibaba. And his d-"

"Okay! That's enough!" Kouen interrupted. He rustled up everyone and basically shooed them out the door. Kouha finished the last little touches on Judar's eyeliner right before Kouen dragged him away. "We gotta get in place otherwise His Majesty will kick our asses."

Hakuryuu waved to Judar before the door shut behind them all, leaving Judar in his room. Well, it was really his and Alibaba's shared room. He was supposed to wait here until Scheherazade would come to take him to the actual ceremony part. He stood up and walked over to the mirror.

Wow, Kouha had really outdone himself this time. Judar now looked like he had butterfly wings attached to the corner of his eyes. It was actually really enchanting. He shoved his sleeves up to inspect the henna and smiled at it. Kougyoku may not look it, but she was an incredibly creative girl. The outfit may be a bit uncomfortable but Judar could admit to himself that it was pretty.

"Checking yourself out over there?"

Judar spun around to see none other than his fiancee standing in the doorway, smiling as he looked him up and down. "Wow... you looked incredible."

Judar breathed a sigh of relief. "Hey, isn't it bad luck to see the wife before she comes down the aisle?"

Alibaba let out a short laugh and walked in. Similarly, he was also dressed to the nines. White and forest green with a lot of gold and silver jewellery. It looked a lot more flowy and breathable than Judar's own outfit. "Yes, but you're not my wife, you're going to be my husband," he replied.

Alibaba hugged Judar around his waist and pulled him in, kissing him once on the lips but just barely. "And besides, I'll probably cry when I see you coming down that aisle to meet me anyways."

Judar let out a short laugh, bracing his hands against Alibaba's chest. "Don't cry, that'll be embarrassing."

"Since when have I ever cared about embarrassing you or myself."

"Oh my Gods, you're the worst."

"But you love me."

Judar sighed. "Yeah... I do," he said with a smile.

Alibaba mirrored it and leaned in to kiss Judar again, this time lasting a bit longer. Judar whined and tugged at his collar. "I'm burning up in this thing," he complained, fanning himself a little with his hand. "I can't wait to take it off after the reception."

"You mean you can't wait for me to take it off."

"That was smooth as fuck."

"Thanks." Alibaba giggled. He separated from Judar, holding onto his hand until the very last second. "I'll see you at the altar then," he spoke before once again disappearing behind the door. "I love you!"

Judar smiled to himself, holding his hands against his chest. "I love you too," he whispered, even though he was sure Alibaba couldn't hear him.

~~~

Scheherazade knocked politely on the door before opening it, seeing Judar sitting in the room fidgeting. She smiled. "Judar?" she called out.

Judar looked up and immediately stood up. "Um, hi... Miss Scheherazade..."

Scheherazade let out a tiny laugh. "No need for formalities like that. Now, are you ready to go?"

Judar nodded. He walked forward and Scheherazade took his hand gingerly, leading him out of the room and towards the closed door. On the other side was everyone. Kouen, Koumei, Hakuei, Kouha, Kougyoku, Hakuryuu, Morgiana, Aladdin, Titus, Yunan, Sinbad, Ja'far... fuck it, everyone. Judar, for once, was completely speechless. This was actually happening. He was actually getting married here.

"Nervous?" Scheherazade asked.

"How could I not be?" Judar admitted.

Scheherazade's grin only grew. "I remember feeling that. It's exhilarating, but also terrifying." she closed her eyes. "But at the end of the day, this means you'll be spending the rest of your life with the person you love more than anything else in the world."

Judar exhaled softly. That was true...

A change in music. Scheherazade adjusted her grip so she was holding Judar's arm, smiling up at him and opening her eyes again. "Ready?"

Judar smiled back. "As I'll ever be."

The doors opened and immediately Judar felt a bit overwhelmed. There were quite a lot of people in here. Judar swallowed hard and started forward. He made eye contact with Alibaba, with his very-soon-to-be husband. Alibaba smiled at him and everything melted away. All of a sudden Judar simply couldn't stop smiling. He wanted to abandon Scheherazade right there and run into Alibaba's arms. He almost did, but he also knew he'd never hear the end of it if he did, so he composed himself.

He got up to the altar and Alibaba took his hands right away, bringing them up to kiss his knuckles.

Judar could already feel his jaw cramping from how much he was smiling.

The wedding wasn't incredibly long, but that might just be because Judar spaced out at some point. Everything kind of passed in a blur. Judar knew he was clutching Alibaba's hands so tight that he was probably cutting off circulation to both of them but frankly he didn't care. He just felt... so incredibly happy in this moment that he just didn't care.

"And now, for the very first time, you may kiss the groom."

Judar barely registered the words before his lips were on Alibaba's and the crowd around them was cheering loudly. Alibaba separated from him just briefly and smiled. "I love you." he mouthed.

"Love you too," Judar replied, kissing him again.

~~~

The reception was fun. The food was great, obviously. I mean, Hakuryuu had made the majority of it along with the Hokori palace chefs so of course, it was fantastic. People were coming up every other minute it seemed to congratulate the happy couple. Morgiana was super sweet and polite the entire time, and so were the rest of Alibaba's household members actually. Aladdin was super excited and kind of on a sugar high because there were a bunch of treats and stuff around so his parents and brother were having a hard time containing him. The majority of the Ren siblings either teased Judar or Alibaba or were generally just nice. The eight generals were also super kind. Sharrkan said something about Alibaba 'growing up so fast' and Pisti had held a full conversation with Alibaba about the wedding and Judar in general for about five minutes. Hinahoho and Drakon were both a bit too happy that Alibaba was finally married.

And then there was Sinbad. At first, Alibaba was a bit afraid about what he was going to say, but surprisingly...

"I'm glad you're happy, Alibaba," Sinbad spoke, placing a hand on his shoulder. "And I'm glad that you will one day become a King like none other."

Alibaba let out a short laugh. "Thanks, Dad," he replied. "I know you were a bit reluctant about this whole thing at first, but I'm really glad you've come around."

"Of course. You were right, love is love, that's the same for everyone." he looked over at Judar. "And I shouldn't be stopping you from loving who you wish."

Judar smirked. "Thanks, old man. You're alright."

Sinbad snickered and shook his head. "That's father-in-law to you now."

"Oh Gods, I hate that." Judar groaned while Alibaba laughed.

The cake, of course, was peach flavoured and tasted absolutely immaculate along with everything else. The kids were eventually put down to sleep around sunset and the adults stayed around to drink and generally have a good time. Alibaba and Judar got one more dance of the night together, encased in each other's arms, the happiest they've been in a long time.

That very night, when the festivities had calmed down, when everyone had gone home and the moon hung high in the sky with the stars, when Alibaba lay in bed with Judar, brushing his bangs away from his sweaty forehead, drinking in every soft sigh that fell past his lips, holding him against him in a passionate embrace. That was when Alibaba fell in love with Judar. All over again. And he would continue to fall in love with him every single day until he died.

Alibaba kissed Judar as though it was their first, and as though it was their last. Cradling his face gently, exhaling through his nose softly and fluttering his eyes closed.

Not just his husband, his other half, his light, his everything.