Chapter one: Hello

I was lost.

I Claire Hawkins, was utterly lost. I took a deep breath and tried not to panic. It's not like I wandered off that far from the city. I just took a short walk.

I began to pace. Glancing once again at my cellphone, I wished for the umpteenth time that I had service. That way I could use google maps and be on my way back to the hotel. But no, seeing that I'm in a foreign land, I'm roaming and using the internet would cost me a lot of money. Dad would kill me if my phone bill got over 50 pounds again. Of course I could always tell him that it was an emergency. That's definitely the excuse I'd use if I had service, which I still don't have damn it.

Why did I have to follow that stupid bird?! Granted it was glowing and I was curious. It wasn't everyday that you see a glowing bird. I wanted to get a good look at it and followed it out of the city. Before I knew it, I was hopelessly lost.

Once again I took a deep breath and took off my sunglasses to rub my eyes. I will not cry. Absolutely not.

But as much as I wanted to, the waterworks decided to let loose. I just want to get back to the hotel, explore Jerusalem with a tour guide as planned and then go hiking with my family before we have to return to London.

I think I was crying for 20 minutes until I was calm enough to think rationally.

First thing first, is to get out of the sun and into the shade. I don't want to get sunburnt after all. Donning my sunglasses back on, I stood up from my crouched position -which I did not remember getting into- and looked around. I spotted a tree and some shrubs. I walked towards them.

Second: water. Do I have enough water? I checked my backpack, which -thank goodness- I brought with me. Usually I prefer to walk around with a purse, but seeing as my family and I were planning to hike after lunch, I brought a backpack with me. It's small, only giving me enough space to put the essentials in there. Like a water bottle which is almost empty, an umbrella incase it rains, my wallet and passport, along with my earphones, useless cellphone and a hoodie. It gets rather chilly at night. Shoot I forgot sunscreen.

Great, I can already feel my skin peeling.

What do I need to check next? Food? Well I think I can survive a day without it if I ration my water well.

I think...

I stayed under the shade for about two hours, thinking about what will happen if I don't get out of this place where the sun shines so brightly and I'm all alone. Will I die from starvation? Dehydration? What if those birds decided that I look like gourmet food. What if the ants thought that I should become their new home when I sleep tonight?

My thoughts were getting darker and weirder with each idea to the point where I would have started crying once again. Where it not for the voices I heard coming closer, I would have too. I wiped my face and made sure I looked presentable before heading to where the sound of a conversation came from.

It felt like the voices where getting more distant and in a panic I ran towards the sound of laughter before it could disapear entirely. Not far from me, I spotted a girl with fiery red hair and a boy with long braided blue hair.

How funky.

"Excuse me," I called out whilst stumbling out of the bushes. The two paused in their chat and looked at me. "Hi! I'm kind of lost and was wondering if you can point me to where Jerusalem is?"

The girl blinked and looked confusedly at the younger boy. Maybe I spoke too fast? I wish I knew a bit of their language, even just a little. It would make things a lot easier. "Well... Umm... Are you two going towards the city?" I asked slowly. I hope that they know a bit of English. There were a lot of tourists who visit the holy land after all.

"You don't belong here, miss."

That was the boy speaking. Oh he does know English! Perfect!

The girl looked surprised at the boy before her gaze turned to regard me apathetically once again. I pushed my sunglasses up on my head and looked into the boys eyes. They were a vivid blue. "Why yes, you see I'm a tourist and I got lost," I answered, bending my back to look directly into his dark eyes. Odd, I could have sworn they were blue before.

He blinked. "That's not what I meant. I mean that you don't belong in this world."

Is this boy trying to pick me up? Call me an angel who fell from Heaven afterwards? "Right. So are you guys headed to the city?" I ignored the previous statement.

After an intense stare, the boy nodded excitedly. "Yes! We're headed towards Balbadd!"

Balbadd? That sounds familiar for some reason. "Do you mind if I go with you?" I asked him with a smile. This Balbadd must be a big town or city if I remember it. Afterall my knowledge in geography was limited to the big cities. And if it's tingling my memories then I must have heard of it from somewhere. Cities meant internet café and that meant Google. If they didn't have one, I'll ask someone who can speak English if there's a bus headed towards Jerusalem instead. After I arrive back there, I can ask someone again where the hotel is or go find the nearest Starbucks and from then on I will tell my adventure to my parents and younger brother and they'll all laugh and call me an idiot.

He looked at his companion and they said something to each other. I'm guessing he's asking if I can tag along with them. "Sure Miss! I'm Aladin and this is Morgiana." He gestured towards the girl Morgiana who bowed in response. I didn't know they bowed here to introduce themselves. I always thought it was an asian thing. Huh, the more you know.

"Thanks! I'm Claire." For some reason I feel like I should know these two from somewhere, but I just couldn't wrap my mind around it.

"Miss Claire, where are you from? The rukh around you are behaving weirdly."

I smiled at Aladin. I have no idea what he meant by rukh but he's such an adorable boy. "I'm from England."

"England...?"

"Yes. I'm only on vacation here. I'll be back there in three days." We didn't speak after that. He just "hmmed" at me while tapping his chin thoughtfully. He and Morgiana however, continued to talk and I listened. I think they were talking about someone. Alibaba or something. That name really sounded familiar. Aladin's specially, but I blame Disney for that. After a while, I realised that the reason why I heard about Alibaba and Morgiana was because they were part of the story from the Arabian Nights.

I stopped. Alibaba, Aladin and Morgiana. Yellow, blue and red. A dungeon capturer, Magi and Fanalis. The memories were starting to return now. I only read up to volume three of the manga, but if I remember correctly, those were the names of the main characters. My friend who is an avid fan -and the person who lent me the three volumes to read for the plane ride- kept mentioning Balbadd when I was packing for the trip to Jerusalem. She was talking and talking and I didn't have the heart to tell her to shut up because she was so passionate about the story. She said she'll give me the other volumes once I return.

"Is something the matter?" asked Aladin.

"Umm... No, everything's fine," I told him. Monique is going to be incredibly jealous when I come back and tell her that I met some really awesome cosplayers, who may or may not be internet famous. After all those wigs look real -it must be high quality- or it's their real hair and they had an incredible dye job. If it was, I need to ask Aladin who their hair stylist is. I've always wanted to get my boring auburn hair dyed, I just didn't trust anyone with my hair. I wonder what colour would suit me? Pastel blue or pink would look cool.

Aladin and Morgiana were probably on their way to meet up with their Alibaba to complete the cosplay group. I glanced towards Morgianas' ankles and noticed that she was not wearing any shoes and that they were a bit scarred. Wow, they didn't leave out any details at all. They must have a very talented make-up artist.

Yep, definitely internet famous.

I should ask for their pictures once they meet up with their Alibaba too. I was very deep in my thoughts indeed if I hadn't noticed the man in front of me. I bumped into him and an apology automatically escaped my lips. I looked up to gaze at warm brown eyes. Blinking away my blush at the dazzling smile he sent me, my eyes wandered towards the muscled arm that's holding me balanced. Wow, he's really sculpte-

OH MY FUCKING GOD THIS GUY'S NAKED.

I sat besides Morgiana, my head bowed down and staring intensely into the fire that Aladin created whilst the exhibitionist put on some of the young boys' clothes. He came out of the shrubbery and grinned at us, flicking some wayward purple hair out of his face. Really? Purple?

The clothes did not fit the man at all, in fact it did not even cover any of him. He might as well wear hot pants and a sleeveless bolero. At least those won't make him look like an overgrown baby. One with the body of an Adonis...

The realisation that I was thinking about the pervert almost made me jump up from my seat. Bad Claire! Don't think about those damned abs. Ugh, I can feel myself blushing once again.

I tuned out everyone while I tried my best to hide the flush on my face. Shifting in my seat, I poked the fire with a stick that was resting near me. They were talking about something and since I couldn't understand what they were saying, I grew bored rather quickly and spaced out. I didn't notice Morgiana stand up and sniff the air as a breeze passed our circle. It was a few seconds later that I realised she and Aladin had ran away from the camp we created, leaving me with the man.

I glanced at him and he sent me one of those smiles that any Hollywood celebrity would die to have. I stood up abruptly and ran after the two. I don't want to be alone with that guy! I don't even know his name and after what happened, I haven't got the courage to ask him. He probably introduced himself, but I have no idea what he's saying until I can ask Aladin.

Seeing Aladin and Morgiana standing on the edge of a cliff, I slowed my run. No need to bump into them and accidentally push someone to their death. I looked over Aladins head to marvel at the majestic city and the sea. It was truly a beautiful sight.

Taking a few steps back, I dropped my backpack and rummaged for my phone. After I found it I took two pictures, one with Aladin and Morgianas' backs facing me and the other showing the environment only. I hope they don't mind me taking their pictures, but they looked amazing with their cosplay costumes and the background, I couldn't resist.

Satisfied with the quality and perspective of the photos, I tucked my phone back inside my backpack. I'll put them on instagram and facebook later once I get some wi-fi.

The man caught up with us and said something to me. I blinked and looked at Aladin. The little guy shrugged and translated. "He's asking about the device you used," He sounded unsure of what he was saying. "The square thing."

I blinked again. "Do you mean my phone?" Aladin muttered something. I glanced at the man. He was giving me a rather intense stare. Creep.

My attention went back to Aladin who tugged my arm shyly. "Phone?" he asked.

My eyebrows scrunched in confusion until I came to the realization.

I took out my cellphone once more and showed it to him. He was probably asking what brand my phone was, but couldn't because he didn't know how to translate it in english. "It's a Samsung Galaxy." They all surrounded the device like they've never seen one before. Maybe they're more of an iPhone fan? I know some real fanatics who looked at me like I've grown a second head when I told them that I did not own an iPhone. I had two of them a year ago, but sadly they both broke due to my clumsiness. Dad said that if I wanted a cellphone, I'm getting one that doesn't break so easily, thus I got myself a Samsung. He wanted to give me a Nokia, which I refused.

After a second or two of staring, I put my phone back inside my backpack. It's not like they'd ask what it's for since it's obviously that: a phone. And who doesn't know about smartphones nowadays anyway.

"Are we going to go down or not?" I asked Aladin. I would have just walked away if I knew where to go -because to be honest- their stares were making me very uncomfortable. I waited for them to lead the way instead. There's only one way that I will end up in the city without getting lost, and that is if I jumped off the cliff.

I rather fancy myself alive though, so no jumping off cliffs for me.

It took us around half an hour to reach the city, and during that time I asked Aladin who the sex god was. I admit that I am rather attracted to him. He is really hot and I blame my teenaged hormones rampaging inside my body. Of course I didn't mention the "sex god" part when I asked him. That would be very emberassing and I just met the boy.

As it turned out the man was called Sin. I wondered if that was his pornstar name, because let's be serious here, no parent in their right mind would name their child Sin.

Apparently, he's been robbed clean when he was napping after a tiring night. Really now. A tiring night, huh. Like I'll believe that. I highly doubt that he was in such a deep sleep that he did not feel anyone taking off his clothes. And no matter how many times he flashes me that charming smile of his, I'm not letting my eyes off of him. I don't trust this guy. He suddenly comes out of the bushes butt naked and approaches two defenseless children. No way in hell am I trusting him.

I decided to accompany Aladin and Morgiana to their hangout "Balbadd" and make sure that this weirdo of a man won't try anything to them. I fingered my pepperspray in my shorts' pocket. Being the daughter of a karate master helps too. Mum thought me self-defense since I was very young. She had been a victim of a very unfortunate event that I'd rather not think about when she was just a teenager. I know I'm not stronger than Sin -I've seen his muscles afterall- and there's a chance that I'll get hurt in the process, but the power of surprise and ten years of self-defense training is on my side.

I'll fucking kick him in the nuts if he glances at Morgiana and Aladin the wrong way.

Authors Note: Hello! This is my first fanfic since I was... 15. So no, this is not my very first one. Fire away with the reviews! I'd like to hear some critics! English is not my mother language, but I believe that working in an English company has made me better at it! If you see any grammar error, please notify me of it.

This fanfic is a practice in creating characters that are believable. Please tell me if Claire starts becoming too much of a Sue.

Thank you,

Love P

Edit 08.01.14: Changed some sentences and corrected grammar mistakes.

Disclaimer: I do not own Magi