Disclaimer: Not Mine.
"So, why didn't you with Aladdin and Morgiana?" Alibaba asked while juggling Olba's son on his knees.
Toto and Olba look at each other, communicating as only married people can. Alibaba looks like someone who just bites into the sour plum. Dammit, why did someone younger than him already married and with children?
"Birgit, can you bring the children to sleep? It's already passed their bed time" Toto asked, passing her sleeping sons to her sister-in-law.
"Okay," Birgit said while kicking Yon to move and helping her. With a set of instruction from Olba – it's not as if Birgit are not familiar with the twins sleeping pattern – what to do, Birgit and Yon leaves them to talk.
"After your death," Olba begin "me, Toto and our siblings left Balbadd. It's rather hard for us to be there without you. Morgiana and Aladdin went to Kou after leaving your body to Yunnan to stay with Hakuryu"
"Really? I thought that all of you stay with each other after my 'death' and just come here after Hakuryu abdicated the throne" Alibaba said.
"No way!" Alon shouted, looking as if Alibaba just insult him and Olba.
"Alibaba, I know to you, Aladdin and Morgiana that person is you friends, but to us Aum Madura pirate he is the person who killed our mother and he is also the one who killed you. I know" Olba continued when Alibaba tried to object "you are not dead but it still doesn't change the fact that he did kill you."
"When I said I want to take revenge for your death, Aladdin stops me and I also know that it's not the path that you want me to take. So, we left. Not killing him is the farthest I can do for him"
"Since then, we stay here in Reim. Aladdin and Morgiana came once in a while visiting Titus and Muu. We talked however they didn't show any sign of leaving. You probably already heard from Titus about their last visit to Reim" Toto continued.
"Yes, I have" Alibaba nodded.
Their conversation stops after that. Alibaba seems to think over the information that he just gets and also from the conversation he had earlier with Titus.
"Have you gone back to Balbadd since you come back to life, Alibaba?" Bror asked trying to dispel the awkward situation.
"Eh? Oh, yes. Balbadd is my first destination as Kou's spoke person. Balbadd really changed so much since last three years ago" Alibaba said with enthusiasm, his face lit with smile eagerly explaining the changed in Balbadd to Bror and Alon.
Olba sighed; honestly, sometimes he had a hard time wrapping his head around Alibaba. Become the spoke person of your former enemy and negotiating with your own homeland? Olba and the rest of his siblings did not have homeland so it's not as if he understand the feeling towards one own homeland. But he knows that to Alibaba, Balbadd has special place above any other place he ever lives in his heart. He really does have a big heart, Olba smile ruefully.
"Yes, I heard that Balbadd now on its way to be as strong as it used to be in the past. But, two years ago during the rebellion, it's really scary. Even we at Reim heard of the uprising, right Toto?" Alon said directing his gaze to Toto.
"True," Toto said sipping her cup of wine. Seeing Alibaba interested face, she continued. "I'm not really clear on the details but it seems like it was the news of your death that spark the uprising in the first place. After Kouen execution, there is a lot of rumors going on Kou's territories. Some are more bizarre than the first. But in Balbadd, it's largely accepted that Kouen killed you and Hakuryu executed Kouen. So in the first year, Hakuryu got a lot of support from your people. Since Aladdin and Morgiana stay with him, so the rumors are considered as the truth"
"Then out of nowhere, the truth about Hakuryu is the one who killed you got out. Then you know the rest, Balbadd revolt, got their independence and became a republic. Well, to be honest, I don't think Hakuryu put that much fight against your people in the first place. Maybe he does that as some kind of atonement for your sake. But who knows?" Toto refills her goblet and passes the wine jug to Bror. Alibaba still nursed his first cup.
"Balbadd is the first to rebel" Alibaba put his goblet on the table, pouring the wine into his goblet until it overflow "then it spread towards the nation neighboring to Balbadd" his finger spread the spilled wine on the table, eyebrow scrunch together trying to paint the picture of what happen for the past three years ago." Kou Empire started to decline after that. At the same time, International Alliance and Sindria Trading Company founded, or was it the other way around?"
"The International Alliance and Sindria Trading Company founded right after Hakuryu enthronement, right?" Alon asked his brothers. Olba and Bror nodded.
"Argh, there are so many things happen in just three years that I don't know which is which first" Alibaba moaned, his fingers pushing on his temple "I need to write all this down, so I don't mess it up again"
"For someone who been dead for the past three years, you had a better understanding of the current event that most people here. Even we sometimes got confused" Toto said, throwing the towel to Alibaba to wipe the spilled wine. "But you are right, lots of things happen in the past years"
"Tell me more of Balbadd uprising," Alibaba said, throwing the soaked towel to the nearest wicker basket.
"We do not know much, but Birgit keeps close eyes on the event"
"That I do," Birgit said from the doorway. Alibaba gestured for Birgit to take a seat and continue. After taking a seat at Alibaba's right, she continued.
"There are actual, three factions during the uprising. One faction heed by the government officer who are the Balbadd citizen, one faction of the people of Balbadd and another faction by the previous rebel who topple the monarchy, The Fog Troupe. The officer wants Kou to get out from Balbadd, the citizen faction also wants Kou to get out from Balbadd and the crime for killing you answered. The Fog Troupe just wants to avenge you. Things turn to chaos for a while there but you'll be surprised that much of the victims are actually from Kou. Even Fog Troupe who the most vocal didn't lay a hand on their fellow citizen"
"I think you know better than us about fighting in the city. Thing got tenser for the next six month and in the end all three factions decide to fight together and kicked Kou ass out of Balbadd." Birgit end her speech with a grin. Alibaba nod thoughtfully and asked "Is there any uprising or major event in the course of the uprising? Like another place in Kou also got caught up in rebellion or something that Aladdin or Sinbad do?"
All five of them look to each other and Birgit said: "I don't really remember but I think shellphone are introduced around that time?" She looks at her brothers and they said yes.
"What's wrong Alibaba?" Toto asked.
"Hmm, I'm trying to see a pattern here, but I think I need to sleep on all this information before I can make any assumption," Alibaba said trying to still his yawn. It's been a long day for today.
"Then you can take the bed in the guest room. We are all tired today, tomorrow we can visit around the capital. You'll be surprised how much Reim had changed without slave as manpower" Olba said directing Alibaba towards the next room.
Sleep didn't come as fast as Alibaba hope. Meeting with so many people after such a long time, how the younger one has grown, the event of the past three years. As he lay in the bed, he still tries to make a flow chart in his head of the event that leading to Aladdin disappearance, but with not many success as he hoped to get.
He turned to the right searching the best position to fall asleep just to came face to face with Olba's old water sword. Alibaba knows that his supposed 'death' hurt lots of people, but to think there are people who wish to avenge him put things in different perspective.
Olba who looks like he's holding himself back when talking about Hakuryu makes Alibaba thinking, how many out there feels the same as Olba. Since he comes back, meeting old friends, not many mention Hakuryu to him – except in official matter capacity – Sinbad seem to gloss over the story, Kougyaku seems to distract with Kou condition to talk about her other brother. Barkak, Yamuraiha, Shisou, Jaafar, and so much more. Now that he thinks about it, it does seem weird that Hakuryu name hardly comes into the conversation unless he mentions it.
Ah, another thing to worry. At the back of his head, he could hear Judar snide words.
Try to act goody good again, Haniwa.
But, thinking back maybe it's not that weird. Hakuryu is considered as criminal by International Alliance, and they are the side with Sinbad and at the moment, Sinbad pretty much own the world. Pissing of Sinbad by talking about international criminal are not wise things to do. Alibaba turned towards the wall next.
There are so many things he wants to know and countless things to do, but without complete knowledge, he would probably end up as he was three years ago.
At the moment, the most relevant issues are how to save Kou's economy from collapsing and transportation circle is the first step. This is what he want to do.
After that there is Sinbad. Yunnan wants Alibaba to save Sinbad – he may not put it into words but all the sign is there – but Alibaba is not sure whether Sinbad wants to be saved at all or whether he need it or not. Sinbad said he is not David, he just using David for all the information. Alibaba still has his doubt about Sinbad. In the past Sinbad said the he does not need children since all Sindria is his children and yet this same person, three years ago said to his children to not be trapped within small boundaries called countries. Is that something that you tell your children? Alibaba does not know since he never has children.
Then, there is the world. He might be wrong, but he got an inkling that this is what Alma Thoran wants Alibaba to saves. This is probably going to end up worse than his previous attempt to get Balbadd authorities back from Kouen. When someone is convinced he is alone responsible for the fate of the country, things are not going turned up good.
Using excuse such as 'for Sindria's sake', 'for Kou's sake' and 'for Balbadd's sake' to dirty your own hand and even pointing your sword to your beloved friends, he will not take that path again. It's easy to say 'I will dirty my own hand' when the one who is bleeding is someone else.
So, no. Not anymore, Alibaba has decided that regardless of what people are going to say, he will do things as he like without compromising his own self-value. Without using any excuse, he will do things as he like.
Decision made, Alibaba starts snoring.