“Thank you, Genie,” I said, carefully shielding my eyes and the tears that fell down my cheeks as I turned to walk away.
2
18th June
I was woken by a dream about my parents. One I’d had many times over the years and one I knew intimately. It was a dream about how I’d come to live in the palace as a newborn. I couldn’t remember it, of course, but I’d been told the story so many times by my mother that I felt that I knew every detail. Just over eighteen years ago, an older and younger woman showed up at the palace gates and handed me to the sultana and the sultan. Genie was present as were a few members of the palace staff.
After carefully inquiring around Kisbu, it was as if I’d appeared out of thin air. No signs of either women or of my possible beginnings. Therefore, my parents adopted me. It wasn’t a secret that I wasn’t their natural-born child. However, they had loved me so, and the entire people of Badalah always accepted me as such.
As a child, curiosity had gotten the better of me. Like a jigsaw puzzle, I’d tried desperately to piece together where I’d come from, trying to glean information from the older guards who had worked at the palace at the time, but the attempts were fruitless.
I’d questioned my parents numerous times about how they could simply take in a baby, no questions asked. But, of course, love was always their response. They loved me from the first moment they laid eyes on me. Which, to me, sounded highly implausible. I was sick of hearing stories of love conquering all. What about knowledge? I’d rather they had asked for a name of my birth parents or something rather than falling in love with me the second they saw me and taking me in blindly. And yet, they’d brought me up as though I was their own and loved me and cherished me and given me everything my heart desired. That had happened eighteen years ago. Eighteen and a half years ago, to be precise. Eighteen and a half years ago when the kingdoms found peace and unity until... I pulled the other papers I’d been saving from under my bed and picked up the top one. The Draconis Sentinel dated early January. Just after my eighteenth birthday. Just after the birthday of the princess there, Princess Azia. She’d gone missing about a month after her mother got sick, and the royals of Draconis were being tight-lipped as to where she was. They didn’t seem particularly upset by her just disappearing into thin air, so I supposed they must know where she was, but it was strange. She used to be seen so much in royal life, and since January, there were only photos in the papers of her father and brothers.
It was all very strange. But in the papers, I saw patterns and clues which to most people wouldn’t seem to have any correlation, except I did see it. This all started around the time of my birthday. It was hard to pinpoint the exact date of my birthday, but I was very young when I’d been brought to the palace, no more than a week. We celebrated it on 26th December, one day after the winter festival.
I reached under the bed to grab the next batch of newspapers, deciding to go through each of them one by one, all the way back to my birthday. There had to be something concrete I could show my father or Genie.
Fear started finding its way through me as I slowly came to the realization that many of the rulers seemed to be impacted, if only subtly, by the most recent change of events.
It was as if each thread of magic was being pulled back.
First, it was the queen of Draconis, then the queen of Atlantice, followed by the Red of Elder. Elder didn’t have a newspaper as such, but there were ways to find out information. It didn’t take a lot of effort to find out that Elder was having problems with a sickness among wolves. It was like something was taking each kingdom down, one by one, starting at the head of every kingdom. Whatever it was worked indiscriminately, and the pattern I’d found didn’t extend to location. As far as I could tell, there had been problems in Draconis, Atlantice, Elder, Floris, The Vale, and, most recently, Arboria. The other kingdoms didn’t seem to have any problems yet, but I had a feeling it was only a matter of time. I thought back to my parents dancing together the day before. Whatever it was, it hadn’t gotten to us...yet. Or had it, and I hadn’t noticed because it had started small. The low yields on crops, the increase in petty theft, my parents' sudden interest in finding me a husband. It all could be linked, or I could be seeing things that weren’t even there.
I continued leafing through the papers. Something. There had to be some clue that linked everything together. I needed Genie here to go through the papers with me. He would spot the pattern in a second. His brain just worked that way, but I was still upset with him for brushing me aside.
Throwing the papers to one side, I dragged myself out of bed.
Asher made a horrible squawking sound taking me from my thoughts.
“Oh no, Asher! What is the matter with you?” His limp body was barely staying upright on his beautifully hand-carved wooden perch. His beak was as pale as grey ash. I petted him ever so gently, unsure of what to do. His head rested on the back of my hand. “Please, Asher. What do I need to do?” My words trembled as they came out. Asher couldn’t be sick, not now. Aside from Genie, he was the only one who actually listened to me.
Genie! He would know how to help Asher.
I ran out of my room to find him, almost crashing into Freya on the way. “Your Highness, please slow down before you hurt yourself.”
“I need Genie, something is wrong with Asher. He’s sick.”
Freya’s brows furrowed. “I’m so sorry, Your Highness. I was on my way to speak with you. Your father has been taken ill. The Genie is with him now.”
Her words hit me like a punch to the gut. I’d been waiting for some such tragedy to befall our kingdom, and here it was. First Asher, now my father. My knees barely kept me standing as I reached for the wall. Could it be? Could my own father now be affected by whatever seemed to be spreading across the kingdoms?
Pulling myself together, I gathered inner strength. My mother had trained me well in how to keep my composure. Yet something happened in that moment of despair. It was as if I’d been ignited from within. Heat traveled through my veins, making me dizzy.
“Come with me to the Sultan’s room!”
Shocked by my cold and commanding voice, I arranged my robe and followed the chambermaid. Her short but nimble legs carried her lightly toward my parent’s wing of the palace. All the way, I wondered what was wrong with him. The Queen of Draconis had fallen asleep and never woken up, just like the curse she had suffered before I was born. The Queen of Atlantice had gone back to her original state of being a mermaid. Were the kings and queens of all the kingdoms destined to go back to how they used to be? But my father had never been under a curse, and he’d never been anything other than what he was now. Sure, he was poor as a youth, but poverty wasn’t an illness.
I found my mother in the corridor outside her bedroom, talking to one of the butlers.
“Mother, what is it? What is wrong with Father?”
She dismissed the butler then turned to me. “It’s nothing, Gaia. Why do you look so worried? He’s just been feeling a little fuzzy-headed of late. Genie is making sure he’s alright.”
“Fuzzy-headed?”
“Yes. I ordered him to take a nap. I think he’s been overdoing things, what with trying to keep the kingdom together and the additional pressure yesterday of entertaining our guests.”
Guests? Oh, she meant the sheik and his son. So they were still here.
“But he’s ok?” I pressed.
“Of course, he’s ok. He’ll be right as rain after his nap.”
I wouldn’t be completely reassured until after I saw my father, but my mother didn’t seem too bothered by the state of affairs. “Is there anything I can help with?”
“I’ll need you to attend to our guests. They were expecting to have lunch with us, but as you can see, your father isn’t quite up to it.”
The thought of spending a meal talking to that idiot didn’t sound like my idea of fun, but it was the least I could do after my huff with them the day before “Yes, I can
do that.”
She wore a bright, infectious smile. “Thank you.”
“Oh! Before I forget. Asher. He doesn’t look too good. I think he’s sick too.”
Her hand went to my hair, and she brushed her long slender fingers through it. “He’ll be fine. He’s a Phoenix. Phoenix are magical birds. If you like, I’ll ask Genie to go and take a look at him once he’s finished with your father. Now go and get yourself dressed and then head down for lunch.”
I nodded in understanding and returned to my room.
I’d barely noticed I’d been walking around the palace in only my pajamas and robe, but now that my mother had pointed it out, I needed to go and get dressed.
I went into my closet and looked for a dress to wear for lunch.
My hand automatically went to the teal outfit I wore on many occasions, but something stopped me. Instead, I picked out a dress I’d never worn before. The rich burgundy and gold were the perfect color for my taupe skin tone, and I had plenty of gold jewelry to match it.
“That’s one beautiful gown,” Freya beamed as she walked through the door. “I’ll go draw you another bath, and while you are bathing, I’ll put together some jewelry to match.”
“Why are you so excited?” I asked suspiciously, narrowing my eyes.
“I’ve just seen the sheik’s son,” she babbled. “He is absolutely to die for. And, well, he’s rich. You two will make a beautiful couple.”
The words she spoke were probably the talk throughout the palace. It was as if the entire Kingdom of Badalah wanted to marry me off already. At eighteen!
“I’m sure he’ll be a great catch for someone else. I’m really not interested.”
Freya’s face dropped. She looked at me as though I’d broken her heart.
“Please, don’t pout. I’m too young for marriage. There is a whole world of knowledge out there to be explored before I settle down.”
“But that’s so boring,” she sighed. “You know what’s interesting? Weddings. Royal weddings,” she added pointedly. “And royal babies. Oh, the sheik’s son would give you such beautiful babies.”
Now it was my turn to frown. I’d gone from dating to marriage to babies in a heartbeat. It reminded me how different I was from other girls my age. I didn’t want everything she talked about, and there was no way I could muster up even a tiny percent of the excitement she felt about the whole matter.
“You’ll change your mind once you get to know him,” she said before heading into my bathroom to run my bath.
Anger flowed through me at her words. I liked Freya, I truly did, but she was so vapid. Why was it that I was expected to want marriage and babies? I’d be happier locking myself in a library and spending my life reading books. I didn’t need a man, and I certainly didn’t want one. Genie’s face popped into my mind, but I pushed it away.
“I don’t need him either!” I huffed to myself.
“What was that, Your Highness?” Freya called from the bathroom.
“Nothing!” I shouted back. I didn’t want to get into a conversation on my feelings about Genie. Not when I didn’t even know what those feelings were myself.
My anger grew stronger. So strong that I didn’t even know who I was the maddest at: My parents for wanting me to marry, Asher for being sick, Freya for thinking everything would be fine if only I had a wedding, or Genie for...well for not really seeing me.
My anger grew, like a knot in my stomach until it turned to heat. I felt a strand of something move through my core and up my chest, snake-like.
The feeling was warm, expanding quickly.
My stomach ignited, and I quickly moved toward the floor-to-ceiling, three-way mirrors in my closet, afraid of what might be inside of me, fighting to escape.
There, I watched as a light glow emanated from my skin like a halo but all over my body. I dropped my robe to the ground, which only seemed to make the glow brighter.
What the actual… I stopped myself.
I'm glowing!
I stumbled back toward the doorway.
"Your Royal Highness!" Freya said loudly, bringing her hand up to her chest. "Quick," she continued as she ushered me back into my closet, closing the door behind us. "You must not be seen like this. We shall wait here while your magic wears down." There was a faint smile forming at the edges of her lips.
"Magic?!" I screamed. “I’m on fire!”
“You are not on fire,” she assured me. It was easy for her to say. She wasn’t the one glowing like a torch. “You are magic!”
My throat tightened as I swallowed back a retort. What on earth was happening?
Just as the question escaped my thoughts, a strand of light…fiery light, exited my fingertips as I put my hand before me, mesmerized by what I was witnessing.
"What were you saying?" I asked incredulously, trying to keep from having a complete meltdown—both figuratively and literally.
Freya nodded her head as though this was the most normal thing in the world. "Fire and light, it would seem."
I glanced back toward the mirror. "Yes, it would seem," I echoed weakly.
"Princess Gaia. Did you not know?"
I shook my head. I was pretty sure I would have noticed if the ends of my fingers had erupted into flames before. The question was, why was it happening now? I took a couple of deep breaths, trying to gather my thoughts. I felt hot, but despite the illusion of flames, I wasn’t burning. At least, that was something. The flames licking my fingertips were not damaging my skin.
I looked back in the mirror and waved my hand, watching as the trail of light followed me like the ribbon of a rhythmic gymnast.
“It truly is beautiful,” Freya marveled. “It makes sense why the Phoenix took to you. It must’ve sensed your magic from afar. Phoenix are birds of fire after all.”
"Asher?"
"Yes."
"Oh, Asher." I was reminded of how sickly my bird had been. “He’s not well.”
"He's getting ready for a rebirth," she said knowledgeably. “That’s probably why you are like this.” She danced on the spot as though she’d just figured something important out. Maybe I’d judged her too harshly, after all.
"What?" I knew that when phoenix die, they are reborn in the ashes. I just didn’t expect to be going along with him for the ride.
“Umm hmm. Because your magics are akin. As you are coming into your magic, Asher’s is dying. He will soon be reborn, and you and he will be paired for life.”
She lit up, sharing the tidbit of information with me.
"How do you know all of this?" It seemed awfully strange that she was so well informed about magic and my bird.
“I studied magic at school. One of our seminars was the pairing of magical beings with magical animals.”
“But I’m not magic,” I asserted.
She grinned then flicked her eyes to my mirror image. “Your reflection suggests otherwise.”
I looked at myself. The glow was diminishing now, and my fingers were no longer alight.
The revelation immediately made me wonder just how many more people within the city were of magic.
No, I wasn't ignorant to the fact that magic existed. It simply wasn't something that was common, anymore. At least, not in the Kingdom of Badalah.
Immediately, my thoughts returned to my recent research of the kingdoms and the sudden shifts toward chaos.
Magic.
It all went back to the magic that seemed to hold together peace in the kingdoms. Peace that had come about around the time of my birth. In every kingdom. Every. Single. Kingdom. And now that peace was falling apart.
And then there was me. Now that I was glowing and apparently had magic, specifically a fire affinity, I needed to figure out how it was entwined with the current happenings.
I looked back at Freya, who seemed to be lost in thought herself. "Did you come across any other magic people in your seminars?"
She shook her head. "No. I guess here in Badalah, magic folk keep to themselve
s. There isn’t a lot of it about. Since Genie lost his magic, and your grandfather’s vizier tried taking over the kingdom with it, it’s kind of fallen out of favor here. People fear it."
I contemplated her response. How could this be? After all, Genie was the very Genie of the Magic Lamp. His name literally meant magic person, and he was pretty famous for beating my grandfather’s advisor all those years ago. So, how could the people of the kingdom fear it?
But then, I remembered how Genie had flinched when I’d mentioned it the other day.
"Your Highness, look..." Freya said, pointing at my eyes in the mirror.
I turned back to my reflection. The gold outer part of my iris was glowing even though the rest of me had stopped.
"What is going on?"
She took a few steps back. "I don't know anything about that. In all the lessons I took, no one ever mentioned glowing eyes."
I wasn't sure if she was afraid, or if she was simply caught off guard. Either way, her body language told me she wanted to put a lot of distance between us.
"I'm sorry. I need to step out and get some fresh air. Please excuse me, Your Royal Highness." She scrambled quickly out of my closet, closing the door behind her.
I turned back and stared at my reflection. My eyes were glowing golden. How was I supposed to leave my room and host an elaborate dinner with the sheik and his son without anyone asking questions?
A knock at my bedroom door had my heart hammering. I concentrated on not glowing, which was difficult seeing as I didn’t really know how or why my eyes were glowing in the first place and headed out into my bedroom and to my bedroom door.
“Who is it?” I asked.
"I'll see you at lunch," I said, barely opening the door to find Genie. My eyes were somewhat back to normal. Other than being glossed over with tears which had come about due to shock rather than sadness, it didn’t seem anything had severely affected me on the outside.
Gaia: Daughter of Aladdin Page 3
