Chapter One

Well, at least it isn't a warship. This thought was little consolation as Ja'far was informed that the visiting ship that had arrived that morning was flying a Kou Empire flag. For the past few hours, the ship had lingered just off the coast of Sindria, neither docking nor sending out a longboat to declare their intentions, and each passing moment of suspense made the king's advisor more nervous.

"What could they want? You didn't invite them here, did you?" He was pacing slowly about Sinbad's office, keeping his hands hidden in his sleeves so that he wouldn't fidget. "I'm certain this is something bad."

"Ja'far, relax," the king laughed, hoping his laidback nature would help to calm his friend. "You worry too much. I'll go down and meet them myself. Whatever this is about, we can handle it." The general sighed and glanced out the window toward the sea.

"I hope so."

At the same time, in the grand cabin of the Kou ship, a company of handmaidens was helping a mage with dark hair and a darker heart to finish changing clothes. An Imperial ambassador stood to one side of the room, observing, skeptical.

"They'll never believe this," she said. "Why the Emperor is allowing this farce is beyond me." An amused chuckle floated through the room.

"He's allowing it because he knows I'll get my way one way or another, and I'm more useful to him when I'm happy." Oh, yes, Judal knew well that he was little more than a tool to the Empire, but that was all right. After all, he was using them, too. It was better not to have any illusions to the contrary. "Besides, who else could get under Sinbad's skin as well as I can?" To be honest, he'd been looking forward to this for some time. He was starting to get bored back at the Empire, and this little game would offer plenty of opportunities for fun. The ambassador who had accompanied him watched him finish applying makeup to his eyes and get to his feet. She didn't have as much faith in the magi as the Emperor did, but it was not her place to argue.

"Are you ready yet?" she asked flatly. Judal took a final look at himself in the polished surface of his mirror, satisfied that he looked sufficiently different enough to fool most onlookers. For an extra laugh, he shook his hips once or twice like the dancing girls did, and a smirk curled his lips beneath his veil.

"Okay," he said. "Let's go."

It was not long after that Sinbad received their request for him to come to the docks. He did so without hesitation, but not without caution, bringing Ja'far and Masrur along with him. When they arrived, they found a group of women had come ashore: there were several handmaidens dressed in white, all circled around another figure—but it was the ambassador who spoke.

"Gracious king Sinbad," she said with a bow (which her companions mimicked). "King of the Seven Seas and noble ruler of Sindria, we have come from the Kou Empire to extend our hand in friendship."

"You're welcome in our kingdom, of course," the king answered with a nod, discreetly surveying the company of beauties, though he was most curious about the one the others were hiding. "Though I have to wonder what prompted this."

"His Imperial Highness recognizes Sindria's power and respects you greatly; he wishes you to know this and to offer his power to you as an ally."

"We don't—" Ja'far began, but she talked right over him.

"As a gesture of our goodwill, we have brought you a number of gifts." She presented a chest filled with fine silks and silver trinkets, treasures meant to please even a king who already had so much. "And…" The ambassador nodded to the others, and they moved aside to reveal their other "gift." Sinbad's eyes were immediately drawn to her. She wore a long, sheer cloth over her head, which draped down her back to hide her hair, and a veil masked the lower part of her face; the mystery was nothing short of intriguing. As she stepped forward, all black and red silk, golden jewelry shining in the sun, he couldn't help but feel there was something familiar about her.

"Your Highness." Stupid king. Judal was abuzz with excitement, but he still managed to disguise his voice by making it a bit higher and airier. This act might not be easy to maintain (since he was hardly "demure" by any standards), but he was sure it would be worth it. He noted with delight that Sinbad was observing him closely. He wants me! I know he does!

"Your emperor must be mad to give such a beauty as a gift," the king said smoothly, taking his hand to kiss it. However, as Judal raised his crimson eyes toward the king, recognition dawned on his face, and he froze. Sure that he would call for the guards immediately, the magi began to reach for his want—but Sinbad completed the gesture and kissed his knuckles softly. His stomach squirmed with excitement, even as the king added, "I'll be sure not to take my eyes off you." Judal smirked.

"You're as wise as you are powerful," he cooed, already having a lot of fun.

"Yes, well, as nice as these gifts are, Sin, I'm not sure we should be accepting this," Ja'far said, stepping a bit closer to the king to hiss at him, "We don't know what these gifts are meant to imply, and we don't know what accepting them will mean to their emperor." Judal shot him a poisonous glare but looked away before the general could notice.

"Maybe not," Sinbad answered. "But I do have a pretty good idea of what it will mean if we reject them." He had a point; to reject a proposed alliance was the equivalent of stating quite clearly, "We aren't with you, so we must be against you." Ja'far clearly didn't like the situation, but he didn't protest as his king addressed the ambassador.

"Your emperor is generous. Let him know that we gratefully accept the gifts and that we will consider future dealings with your Empire." He had never been very fond of standing on ceremony this way, but after having done it for so long, he'd gotten quite good at it. It would be best to be rid of their ship as quickly as possible so that he could deal with the most pressing problem: Judal. The ambassador bowed her head, satisfied with his answer. After all, the "alliance" was not the true goal of the journey.

"Then we will take our leave and look forward to meeting you again," she said, stealing one last glance at the magi before leading her companions back to their ship.

"Masrur, if you would." The Fanalis nodded and retrieved the chest, carrying it on his shoulder with ease as Sinbad led the newest addition to his harem over to the horses they had ridden down from the palace. He added to his two generals, "You two go ahead of us. I'll lead our new guest back to the palace." Ja'far rolled his eyes, not suspecting for a moment who that "guest" really was; he simply assumed the king was intent on working his charming wiles.

"Fine, but please don't forget that we need to talk about this." The king paused beside his horse to watch his generals leave before turning to Judal.

"I get the feeling we've met somewhere," he said, eyeing the magi carefully, unsure of whether he had plans to attack.

"Hmmm, no, I would remember that," Judal answered, still affecting his breathy, feminine voice. He glanced toward the horse and then back at the king. "Aren't you going to help me up?" Sinbad's eyes narrowed. What is he playing at? Still, he would play along for the moment. With a firm grip on the mage's scantily-clad hips, he raised Judal up to set him sidesaddle on the horse's back.

"I can't imagine why the Kou Emperor would give up a treasure like you," the king mused as he led the horse back toward the palace. Again, he had to dance around the real subject, keeping his words tinged with double-meanings, always wary of his new "guest."

"He must want your power badly," Judal said, rubbing his nearly-bare foot against Sinbad's arm. "That's a feeling I understand well."

The king pointedly avoided his eyes. Perhaps he shouldn't have been surprised by Judal's flirting, but the conflicting feelings caused by advances from this man in particular put him a bit on edge. On the one hand, this was his enemy, someone who had attacked him and his subordinates several times, someone he should hate without question. On the other hand, however, Judal had always been nice to look at (especially now, dressed the way he was), and there was something dangerously attractive about his power and confidence. And now, he'd be living right there in his palace for who knew how long. Yes, Sinbad would have to be very careful about how he handled this.

"And what do you think will happen if he doesn't get it?" he asked.

"I wonder~." The king's frown deepened; obviously, he wasn't going to get a straight answer out of the magi. He'd have to get him alone so that they could talk privately and stop this charade. He didn't try again as they continued on their way, but that didn't keep Judal from making subtle passes at him, batting his eyelashes, wiggling his body so his accessories and coin-trimmed scarves jingled. He certainly made an apt distraction, if that's what they were going for. When they reached the palace, he waited for Judal to come down, but the magi just extended his arms, awaiting another assist. If this had really been a woman, Sinbad certainly wouldn't have minded all the touching and flirting, but as it was, he had to stop himself from leering. As he helped his newest "girl" down, Judal's arms draped over his shoulders, pressing their bodies closer together than strictly necessary.

"Thank you," he purred, fingers sliding through the king's hair. Suppressing a shiver, Sinbad pulled away. What an insufferable tease.

"Would you mind joining me in my chambers; I'd like to have a private word with you," he said, reading amusement in those red eyes.

"Nothing would make me happier."

…

A/N: Hello, friends~. I hope you enjoyed my first chapter here. I don't know why, but I've kind of always seen Judal as having the potential to be a belly dancer. So now I'm making it happen. I don't know if you can tell, but I hate writing third person, so the rest of the future chapters will be in first (from Judal's p.o.v.). I hope you'll stick around for that. ^^