“I said we needed a plan,” I said weakly.
“Have you convinced Genie that it would be better for all of us if he was free yet?”
I shook my head. I’d not brought it up with him for days.
“He thinks he can protect me better if I have a wish left.”
Jamal stroked his chin. “If we can persuade him to give up that last wish, he’s one less thing to worry about. I can take the guards away from the desert and bring them here. I’m afraid I’m not doing enough to protect you.”
I bit my lip and considered his words. In theory, he had a point, but there were things he hadn’t considered.
“My father used his last wish to free Genie eighteen years ago. It lasted until The Vizier came back. My worry is that even if I do use that last wish to free him, The Vizier will be able to enslave him again.”
“What if we find the lamp before he does?” Freya asked. “Maybe having the lamp itself is the key to this?”
I shrugged. I’d been through this so many times in my head, but it felt so much scarier when I put it into words.
“The Vizier managed to magic the manacles back onto Genie without the lamp. He can’t control Genie without the lamp, but he seems to have the ability to control whether or not he is a Genie.
“Ok, so freeing Genie might be temporary, but if he owns the lamp, he’ll never be able to be controlled. It’s not ideal, but it’s better than nothing while all this is going on.
“You’re right!” I said, a little too quickly. My heart quickened its pace as I thought about what she had said. Until we caught The Vizier, the chance of him finding the lamp to control Genie was huge, but if we had the lamp, there was nothing he could do to Genie. Either the last wish would always be mine, or I’d use it to free Genie. Either way, he’d be safe.”
“Hang on!” Jamal said, holding his hand out to the pair of us. “What exactly are you suggesting here? Didn’t you say that you were almost killed when you went back into the cave, and you didn’t even see the lamp.”
“I don’t know where the lamp is,” I said excitedly, “but I know a man who does. And it just so happens he is coming to the palace for lunch!”
Jamal rolled his eyes, but he didn’t have anything to add. I was going to stay in the palace as promised, and it was an answer to one of our problems. It wasn’t a permanent answer, but it was something.
“Now that we’ve figured out what to do about Genie, what are our plans to defeat The Vizier?”
Two pairs of eyes stared blankly back at me. For a second, I thought they’d succumbed to the sickness that was inflicting everyone else.
Freya shrugged and looked toward Jamal. Jamal held his hands up.
“I don’t know. He’s too powerful. Apart from you, we’ve had no sightings of him still.”
“He’s hiding in the mountains...wait. No one saw him the night he kidnapped me? He chased me all over town.”
Jamal shook his head. “Nope. Not one sighting. I guess you must have kept to the back streets.”
It didn’t make sense. How had no one seen me being chased? “I was throwing fireballs at him for goodness sake.”
Jamal looked uncomfortable. “People saw you. Just no one saw who was chasing you?”
I shifted my weight on my feet. “You think I made it up?”
“No,” Jamal said, measuring his words. “I think that The Vizier is clever at not being spotted, even though we have people out looking for him.”
“He’s hiding in the mountains! I told you that. Have the guards looked there yet?”
“Yes. It’s the first place I sent the guards to when you told me what happened, but the mountain range runs for hundreds of miles. There are caves and trees and a million places he could be hiding. We don’t have the capacity to send too many guards there.”
Freya marched between Jamal and me and raised her voice. “We can’t fight The Vizier now. We don’t know where he is, and if we did, we wouldn’t know how to defeat him. All we know is that this has something to do with Gaia and her birth and the other princes and princesses in the other kingdoms. Until we can figure that out, we will have to do what we can to stop too much damage. Arguing between ourselves isn’t going to help that.”
Both Jamal and I nodded, both of us looking contrite.
“Sorry,” I said. “I promised my mother I’d shower and change before my father comes. She wanted me to look nice when she introduced her daughter to Aladdin.”
Freya smirked at the irony of it.
“I was thinking of asking Genie to join us. It’s possible that seeing Aladdin will jog his memory too. He’s been hiding in his suite pretty much since this whole thing started.”
I waited for Jamal to say no, but to my surprise, he nodded and said it was a good idea.
“I’ll see you both in the dining hall at noon. Please can you make sure the guards know to let my father in when he arrives? I gave him some clean clothes yesterday, but after a night of him sleeping in the bell tower, they probably won’t look too smart.”
“Would you like me to make sure he has access to a shower and clean clothes when he arrives?” Jamal asked.
“Yes, but make it quick. My mother never liked tardiness.”
I left them to it. Maybe they’d go back to kissing with me out of the way. I found I didn’t mind. They were both so great and made a great couple. Maybe one day, they’d actually bring their relationship out in the open. I looked at the clock. I had time to go and see Genie and invite him to dinner.
I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea or not, but to have the trio together again would be wonderful. My mother and Genie were living in the same house, and yet, they’d not spoken to each other in weeks. They didn’t even know who the other was.
I’d barely opened the door when Genie ran over and swept me off my feet. He greeted me with a kiss that took my breath away.
“I’m here to invite you to lunch,” I laughed when I came up for air. “You’ve not eaten a meal with us for weeks.”
He pulled away and turned his back to me, lowering his head.
“What’s the matter?” I asked, putting my hand to his shoulder.
“There’s a reason I’ve been eating here.” He turned to me. “I know my memory is not as it was. Once upon a time, I know I was something. I have some memories. They are feelings rather than distinct memories, but I know I could once walk through these corridors and have people look up to me. Now I don’t know who the people are. I don’t know if they know me anymore.”
“I know you.”
He smiled and took my hand. “I know you do. Without you, this ordeal would have been too unutterably horrible to contemplate. I’m scared, Gaia. I’m scared that I’m lost. I’ve lost my past, and my present keeps being pulled out from beneath my feet.”
I led him to the sofa and sat with him.
“Until a month ago, my mother and father ruled Badalah as the Sultan and Sultana. You were always there with them. Yesterday I introduced them to each other. They didn’t remember each other, but the love they had was still there. My mother invited my father for lunch today, and I’m inviting you.”
He wavered. “I don’t know, Gaia.”
I looked him in the eyes. “I’ve never known you to be scared, but I understand why you are.”
“I’d go out and fight a dragon for you if you wanted me to.”
I smiled. “I know you would, but I don’t think it will come to that. I’ve not invited any dragons for lunch.”
“Gaia.”
“I’ll be there with you. I’ll be holding your hand the entire time,” I insisted.
“You want to tell your parents about us?”
I leaned closer and kissed him. “It’s not a secret. It’s never been a secret.”
“Besides, your parents don’t even remember either of us,” he smirked.
“That too.” I returned his grin before he pulled me to him and kissed me.
“What time’s lunch?” he asked.
I glanced at the clock. “I have to have a shower before lunch. I should go and change.”
“Or you could just shower here in my suite,” he replied with a wink. He wasn’t the type of man that winked, which made it all the more amusing.
Later after a long slow shower that involved both of us, I dashed to my room and threw on a sundress. Genie stayed by my side the whole time, rushing me along the corridor to my room.
When it was time to leave, I saw his nerves in the way his hands shook and in the way he held himself. The Vizier had taken a big part of Genie by putting him in chains. He did his best to hide them as we walked to the dining room by putting one of his arms behind my back and the other under a robe. The length of the chains meant both his hands were to one side.
“Ready?” I asked as we came to the dining hall door. Genie took a deep breath and nodded. He knew he was there to meet my parents. He didn’t know if he’d recognize them.
My mother stood and held her arms out to me as we entered. Genie dropped his hands to his side, taking one from my back. I grabbed it with my own hand.
“Gaia, darling. You remember Aladdin?” My father stood as I held out my hand to shake his. Beside him at the table, Freya almost choked, trying to contain a smirk.
“I do. Do you remember Genie, Mother?”
She paused, and the smile slipped from her face as her eyes turned his way. I saw recognition in them.
“You do seem awfully familiar. Gene, is it?”
She held out her hand to shake his. Beside me, I felt Genie relax.
“It’s Genie. Pleased to meet you. And you, sir,” he said to my father.
I watched as my mother’s eyes flitted down to my hand. The hand that was holding Genie’s. She raised an eyebrow and looked my way as Genie introduced himself to Freya and Jamal.
“Boyfriend?” she mouthed.
I nodded, feeling squirms in my stomach. I’d spent so long reassuring Genie about our relationship, that I’d quite forgotten to worry myself. Genie was my parents’ best friend. My mother might not know that, but the age difference between Genie and I was difficult not to notice.
To my relief, she gave me a wide grin and held her thumbs up.
Lunch was a strange affair. My mother and father flirted outrageously with one another much to the amusement of Freya, and if I was honest, of me too.
Genie barely said a word, which was unlike him. He wasn’t one for small talk or waffle, but he could usually be relied upon to join in on affairs of the kingdom.
“The Badalah people outside Kisbu are still bringing food into the city,” Jamal began. “I think they are only doing it because they are running out of money. Resentments are high between the city folk and the country folk, but as far as I can see, there have been no real problems for days. Obviously, Badalah cannot carry on like this, but for now, I’m taking every win I can. As you all know, the problems we are having stem from magic. The magic of the old vizier, who eighteen years ago tried to take over Badalah from Sultana Jawahir’s father. I’ve got the palace guards and the town guards out looking for him both in town and in the desert. Freya has made up posters to recruit people of magic to help us in the fight against him, but so far, we’ve had little response. Years of fear and oppression against the magical folk have made recruitment difficult.”
“Jamal is doing a marvelous job,” my mother said, looking toward my father.
“I can see that. It sounds like you have everything in hand, young man.”
Jamal smiled. “Only until our Sultan comes back. I’m trying to keep things steady until then.”
My mother shot him a confused look, but she did not dispute him on it.
“Actually, there was something I wanted to ask Aladdin,” I said. “The Vizier is after me, and he’s after Genie. If he gets the lamp, he’ll take control, and I believe his wishes will have severe repercussions on all of us. We know the lamp is in a cave protected by magic. I have the ability to make it open. I just need someone to go down there with me and get the lamp.”
It was like all hell erupted around the table. I don’t know who was shouting more, Jamal or Genie, but the gist of what they were saying was the same thing. Neither of them wanted me to go to the cave.
“Calm down, everyone,” my mother said, standing up. “I can’t hear myself think. Jamal, you first. What do you want to say?”
He glared at me then turned his attention to my mother. “Gaia promised me that she wouldn’t leave the palace.” he turned to me again. “You said Aladdin could do this.”
“I know what I said, but then I remembered that Aladdin alone can’t open the cave. He probably won’t even be able to find it without me. It’s only findable by magic.”
“I can feel magic. I’ll go with Aladdin,” Jamal countered.
“You can feel it, but you can’t use it. I can.”
Jamal gritted his teeth.
“I don’t agree to this,” Genie said, butting in. “I’d rather be The Vizier’s slave for eternity than put you in danger.”
Jamal stood and held his hand out to Genie. “See. He doesn’t want you to go either.”
“It’s not just me, though, is it? It’s not about me, and it’s not about Genie, it’s about every single person in Badalah. What do you think will happen if The Vizier gets to Genie? He’s already more powerful than he was eighteen years ago. Look what he’s managed to do. No one knows who they are. Spouses are forgetting each other. Parents are forgetting their children. He’s managed to completely derail the whole of Badalah without being seen. Can you imagine the damage he will do if he has Genie’s power too? It will be catastrophic. We need the lamp. We only know two people that can open the cave. Me and The Vizier. Who do you want to choose?”
“Why can’t Genie go for the lamp? He’s magic.”
All eyes swiveled toward Genie.
“No!” I shouted out. “He’s too valuable. I don’t want The Vizier to get him even if he can’t use his magic without the lamp. He’d lock him up until he could find the lamp.”
“Don’t you think you should let your boyfriend speak for himself?” Jamal spat out. “He’s being awfully quiet about this whole thing.”
Beside me, Genie sighed. “However much I wish it wasn’t so, I cannot open the cave. There are certain caveats to me being a genie. I cannot escape the lamp, for example. Not unless someone frees me. I cannot give life, and I cannot interfere with people’s free will. Opening the cave is one of those caveats.”
The room became silent as everyone digested what he’d said.
Aladdin finally spoke. “It seems like we are at an impasse. I would be more than happy to do my duty and go into this cave of which you speak. It seems that young Gaia here will have to come with me. I will do everything in my power to protect her.”
“So that’s decided then,” I said, folding my arms. “Tomorrow morning, we will go out and fetch the lamp. That should give you enough time to get the guards ready, right?”
Jamal nodded his head. His face paled, and he looked sick, but Aladdin had spoken, and whether my father knew it or not, he was still the Sultan of Badalah.
4
11th July
Between the six of us, a plan had been put in place. The majority of the guards, both town and palace guards, had been pulled away from their duties and were due to meet at the palace before dawn. I’d wanted to make the trip out to the desert with just my father, me, and the magic carpet; but Jamal, my mother, and Genie had insisted on us having the guards with us.
The Vizier was probably out there watching everything from the outside, but I couldn’t help but think that we might as well have a parade through town with a full orchestra announcing our plans.
I slept in Genie’s room, but sleep was hard to come. Not even Genie’s arms soothed me. He pretended to sleep, but each time I peeked through my eyelashes, he was staring at the ceiling.
In the morning, breakfast was a somber affair. My father did accept my mo
ther’s invitation of a bed for the night. He slept in our best guest room. No one had even asked him if he wanted to go to the cave. It was just assumed that he would. And yet he’d offered to go without question. If anything, I saw a glimmer of excitement in his eyes at the thought of the adventure. He was the only one around the table with any enthusiasm for the idea. But without any other ideas and no clue how to actually go about defeating The Vizier, it was all we had. It was only a stalling tactic, but anything that could buy us time was worth it. If it could stop The Vizier getting Genie, then it was definitely worth it.
As the sun peeked over the horizon, three hundred men and women began the short trek into the desert. We’d got so far without a problem, but I didn’t expect it to last. There was no way The Vizier didn’t know we were here, and it was not much of a leap for him to guess what we were doing.
Jamal took the lead on the back of a camel. He had a sword at his side and a bow on his back. He looked so dashing in one of my father’s uniforms. My mother had loaned it to him so that he could show he was in charge if questioned. Behind him trotted a row of guards, also on camels. My father and I were on foot right in the middle of a hundred guards. The thought was that if the Vizier was to see us, he’d go for those on Camels first. I had ten guards to one side of me, my father on the other, and past him, another ten guards.
“Are you sure I’ve done this before?” My father whispered. “Before I rescued you, I mean.”
Despite everything, the sides of my mouth curved into a smile. There was no one I’d feel safer going into a deadly cave with than my father.
“You did. You found Genie and saved the kingdom.”
He furrowed his eyebrows then grinned. This was his greatest adventure.
The vibrations of magic strengthened. I shouted out the agreed command to stop. The guards feathered out, leaving a circle around my father and I. I closed my eyes and pulled on all my magic. Last time it had reverberated through my body, building up slowly. This time I’d been so consumed in conversation with my father that I’d not noticed.
Gaia: Daughter of Aladdin Page 29
