f There Be Thorns

By: Maggie Griffin

CHAPTER 2: Storm of the Desert

The sun had set over the desert, yet one place alone still possessed an unnatural light of its own, illuminating the green shrubbery and the many colourful flowers and plants that grew there. As always, the gates to such a place remained closed to outsiders, keeping it safe from both intruders, as well as the harshness of the desert sand.

In this strange light, Arbutus' garden bloomed beautifully, more so then any other in the world. Not a leaf grew brown, or flower wilted, reminding all that this way a place of eternal life. At least in the eyes of Arbutus himself, who had long ago closed the gates permanently, his battered soul not wanting to fathom even the slightest chance of encountering another human.

Jasmine had been enough.

For what must have been the one hundredth time since finding himself newly resurrected, Arbutus recalled the events that had transpired. Events that had given him false hope that perhaps humans truly were misunderstood. That like the Princess Jasmine, some could be brought to understand the pain he felt when one of his children was ripped from the earth.

Now however, he knew better. For like the Princess Jasmine, he now saw the human race as one of betrayers, liars, and killers. The Princess Jasmine and her lover had seen to it. He had been lied to, betrayed, and finally killed.

A sigh escaped his lips, and he lost concentration on the piece he had been working on. The flowers tangled themselves, creating a rather unsightly mass before him.

With a wave of his hand, the vines and flowers untangled themselves, spreading into different parts of the garden. Unfortunately, such a thing had become routine as of late, and was more than just getting on Arbutus' already fragile nerves. Since his betrayal by the one human he had thought understood him, Arbutus had felt more alone then ever before. While it was certainly true that he still had his trees and flowers; his children of sorts, there was still an emptiness inside he knew no one would ever be able to fill. Why, he thought with a growing sense of bitterness, were the most intelligent creatures on the planet so ignorant. Not just ignorant. Cruel. So much potential wasted.

With another forlorn sigh, he returned to his work, knowing beforehand it would be another failure.

In the days that came and went, Aini had become comfortable around the many people around her. So much so she no longer violently stuttered whenever Razoul spoke to her, which was seldom. The first little while had been a rather tiring feat for the regulars of the palace. Getting Aini out of her room, and then trying to make her a bit more comfortable.

"I've never met anyone that was as skitterish as you kid! You gotta have more of a back bone, and being around this group will do that for you!" Genie has said to her upon one of their conversations. Despite the very strange events that had transpired the first time they had met, Aini and Genie were getting along better then well. In fact, Aini had found it easiest to talk to Genie than to anyone she had met thus far. It wasn't that she didn't get along with everyone, but Genie's natural friendliness and the animated way he carried himself made him the easiest to speak to.

Jasmine had also been especially kind to her, lending her some of her older clothes to replace the rags that had passed for a cloak for so many years. The clothes were from when Jasmine had been a few years younger and inches shorter, making them an appropriate fit.

Sadira had continued visiting, and Aini had started looking up to her in a way she had never looked up to anyone before. That probably being that since she had been abandoned as a child, Aini had experienced very little positive influence. One would think that living in the worst parts of Agrabah by oneself would work on improving a person's backbone, maybe toughening them up on the inside.

Unfortunately, seeing that Aini was more or less a jellyfish, that theory could be discredited.

Indeed, she remembered very little of her parents. She could, at times, recall her mother. The scent of her hair or how warm Aini's tiny hand had felt clutched in hers. She so vividly recalled her mother bending down to kiss her cheek that once last time before turning and leaving forever. The sound of her voice, lost now to time, was indistinguishable from other women, but Aini still remembered being told to be a good girl and to wait until her parents returned to fetch her.

It was sometimes difficult to believe that such a woman had abandoned her. But so it was, since neither of her parents had returned to her into that dark street. She had sat there on the dirty ground for hours, waiting and waiting. Finally, dawn had broken through the sky and flooded the street with a soft, yellow glow.

Merchants had begun to set up there tables and stands, and people once again flooded the streets. It was only when a group of rowdy teenage boys had approached her, teasing her when they saw how young and timid she was, that Aini had upped and left the street. Unfortunately, her sense of direction had never been that great, and she never did find her way back home.

It didn't matter all the same, because since that day she had not seen a sign of her parents. Time passed until she could no longer remember what they looked like. On that day, she recalled, crying harder than ever before. Desperately trying to keep some solid semblance of their images in her mind. Now, she only had those bits. The warmth against her hand and the smell of her mother's hair. Like fruits.

Unbeknown even to Sadira, Aini had taken to looking to her as a sort of strange parental figure. She always paid attention to her, listening in such a manner that Sadira felt as though she were the teacher to Aini's student. It flattered the young woman immensely. It also put a notion into her head that she mulled over and tossed about in her mind for some time.

It was on one of their walks through the grand palace garden that Aini brought up a topic that had first intrigued her, but had been temporarily forgotten in the commotion of recent events.

"Sadira?" Her voice interrupted the silence they had been sharing, and Sadira looked over at Ai, who was looking back at her with wide eyes.

"Yep?"

"There's something I've been meaning to ask you about the first time you took me here! Something that Razoul said..." she trailed off, not really knowing how to put the question to Sadira.

She recalled how Razoul had called her a 'witch'. Then remembered the earth beneath Razoul's feet begin to shake. Normally, such a small thing could have gone unnoticed, but to Aini, who spent most of her time looking at the ground, it was something that had caught her attention and refused to let go.

"What's that?" Sadira's expression had gained a knowing shade, as if she already knew what Ai was going to ask her.

"It's about when Razoul called you...well...," she trailed off again, looking at the floor as if she had become fascinated with the pebbles.

"A witch?" Sadira's sudden statement caught Aini off guard, and the younger girl looked up at the woman in surprise, but then nodded her head. "Well, it's true! I'm a Witch of the Sand...still learning!"

Aini blinked. "What's a Witch of the Sand?"

"Oh, the Witches of the Sand used to be powerful magic practitioners!" Sadira began to explain. They sat down on a white bench, and she continued. "They used to rule the seven deserts by calling on the power of the sane and controlling for their own gain," she frowned, as though remembering some distant, painful memory. "Anyways, they...up and left, leaving behind all these scrolls that could teach a person how to use their power! I just happened to find their temple one day, and well, the rest is history!"

Aini had remained silent, captivated by what Sadira was telling her. It wasn't so much the mention of power that drew her, so much as the mention of something unreal. As if the company of a flying carpet, a Genie, and a rather rude talking parrot hadn't convinced her yet that the world was not as normal as it was said to be.

"Wow, that's incredible!" She sighed, and Sadira grinned broadly.

"You know...I could teach you!" Sadira offered suddenly, the offer catching Aini out of the blue. "I mean, you and I are friends now, and you could use some help, no offense...," she trailed off, referring to the fact that sooner or later, Aini had to return back to where she had come from, with a better sense of learning how to take care of herself. There was little risk of Jasmine turning her out to the street, but Sadira knew it was only a matter of time before Aini would come to think of herself a burden and wish to leave.

Aini herself had known that despite Jasmine's wonderful hospitality, she couldn't keep taking advantage of it, and the thought made her feel guilty.

She nodded, looking back at Sadira.

"You...you would teach me? To be able to take care of myself like you, and use your power? You'd be willing to do that?" There was clear amazement in her voice. Nobody had ever offered to do anything so nice for her before.

In her case, nobody before Sadira, Aladdin, and Jasmine.

Sadira nodded vigorously, her grin broadening.

"Well, yes! I mean, I think it would be great! You could learn some really useful things. Besides, I wouldn't offer if I didn't think you were responsible enough to not abuse it," Sadira stated.

Aini nodded, her eyes widening further.

"No, of course I won't!" She nodded enthusiastically. "Oh, I'll be a great student Sadira, I promise!"

"Yeah, and this is pretty great," Sadira laughed. "You can sort of be my...apprentice!"

With that, the two girls began laughing again, continuing their walk through the garden.

"Concentrate, Ai! You have the basics down, but you have to learn to defend yourself!" Sadira instructed.

Aini stood in front of Sadira, hands out before her body with a look of pure concentration on her face. Her eyes were tightly closed, as they often were when she tried to channel the power Sadira had recently introduced her to. Unfortunately, it seemed that even in the usage of such power, Aini was somewhat squeamish.

"But Sadira, I don't want to hurt anyone with it!" She squeaked, her hands creating gestures which the sand floating before her followed rhythmically.

"Ai!" Sadira exclaimed, rather exasperated. "When some guy catches you and tries to rape and kill you in an alley, do you think you should be very concerned with getting sand in his eyes?"

Aini shook her head quickly, and made a wild gesture with her hands, flinging the sand across the room in a wild arc. It hit the wall opposite so hard it left a small dent in the stone.

"Alright!" Sadira cheered as she saw what Ai had done. "Looks like fear is your incentive. Not a very good one, but good for now!"

Aini scowled at the idea of using her fears of being hurt to gain such advantage. It would have pleased her to know she could do that by simply thinking it, like Sadira had the power to do. However, if it helped for the time being, she supposed she would have to work with what she had.

"Come on, I want to take you up above and see what we can do with all the sand they have lying around in the desert!" Sadira winked, anticipating some fun. "I'm thinking it's time we started something a little more advanced than throwing sand in people's faces!"

Aini nodded and followed after her. In moments, they stood outside the temple, facing away from Agrabah in the event that Ai should lose control and end up sending something unpleasant towards the city.

Sadira took a few minutes to describe the intricacies of what she was about to teach Aini, warning her of the dangers as well. One had to know both how to begin something and how to end it, she knew. "Okay, now do what you did before, only this time, concentrated on moving a larger mass! Remember, try to visualize a pattern in the sand, it will make it easier to group together as a single mass. Just visualize what you want," Sadira instructed.

Aini took a deep breath and closed her eyes, visualizing a massive wall of sand that flew down the slopes of the desert. It was always as she had seen them, powers onto their own. Alive, in their own way.

Slowly, the sands before them began to shift and slowly lift into the air, until it swirled together and the first vestigial signs of a wall began to appear amidst the turmoil.

"Your doing it, keep going!" Sadira urged, watching the spectacle with glee.

Obliging, Aini opened her eyes to see what she was doing. The wall seemed to rise higher and higher as more sand joined the fray. Soon, it was howling in the air, blotting out Sadira's whoops of excitement and praise. The sand storm raged directly in front of them, staying still as Aini could will it to.

The entire experience however, was not so pleasing for Aini, who was using a tremendous amount of energy to keep it under control. Still, no matter how much she clenched and unclenched her fists, no matter how much she ground her teeth and struggled to keep even control, she could feel herself slipping. First bits and pieces she managed to take hold of, but soon she found more and more of her control over the storm was unraveling, like the first bits of string pulled to undo a great tapestry.

"SADIRA, I CAN'T HOLD ON TO IT!" She screamed over the din, realizing she was about to lose control.

"ALRIGHT, LET IT GO AND I'LL BRING IT DOWN!"

Aini obliged happily, releasing her hold of the sand with the expectation that Sadira could get control and bring the storm to a peaceful halt. She miscalculated. In her effort to keep control, Aini had not fully comprehended the size and strength of the storm and thus, in diminishing her control all at once instead of gradually, could not foresee the consequences. Like trying to keep a beast at bay that gradually tore down your strength, the storm tore away from her the moment she relinquished the first tiny bit of control.

"N-NO!" She protested, her cry lost to the din.

Aini looked back wide eyed as she heard Sadira scream a protest and watched as the humongous storm raged forward at top speed.

"WH-WHAT HAPPENED? CAN'T YOU STOP IT?" Ai yelled, the storm having produced such a roar that it was almost deafening. She watched as it headed off further into the desert, thankfully away from Agrabah. She didn't even want to think about what could have happened if they had been facing in the direction of the city.

Sadira tried once more to gain control, finding absolutely no leverage to do so. She finally collapsed on her knees in the sand, too tired to try again. Aini breathed in air as it cleared around them the further the storm went, also exhausted.

"N-Now what?" Ai asked, worry lacing her tone.

"Well, at least it's heading off deeper into the desert! It won't be able to hurt anyone now!" Sadira breathed, then helped Ai stand.

"I'm so sorry, I couldn't hold on to it, I really tried!" Aini whimpered, her eyes falling instantly to the floor.

"Hey, I couldn't stop it either! That was one massive surge of power you had going there," Sadira shrugged. "All the same, it won't hurt anyone, so we both got off lucky!" She smiled, content in her belief that they had narrowly avoided a small calamity.

Arbutus has not seen the storm approach.

Although he had heard the strange howling from far away, he had assumed it had nothing to do with him, delving back into his work and his rather depressed state of mind. So when the storm hit, no defences had been initiated, and nothing had truly been protected and ready.

The storm had taken an incredibly short amount of time to get from Agrabah's desert to his green home, but when the sand came pouring through the gate, Arbutus had just enough time to register shock before the heat swallowed his beautiful garden whole.

He now stood in its centre, examining the damage, knowing it was fixable, but furious all the same. Who wouldn't be, if their children had been slaughtered before them? The grass, the flowers, the plants, all his beautiful creations lay buried under the sand. Arbutus had narrowly escaped only due to the luck of having been standing above his garden at the time, in the tangle of vines that made up a gazebo that overlooked most of the garden.

Arbutus saw the remains of his beautiful garden, buried under searing sand, turning brown and wasting away in its heat. As he watched the irregular shifting within the sand, he saw the work of not nature, but magic.

Deep inside this supposedly natural disaster, one he would have normally forgiven to the workings of mother nature, he saw the roots of magic and meddling where there should have been none. Magic to tamper with the natural world. His fury instantly rose ten-fold. To think that someone, someone, had done this...

"Someone did this!"

His eyes narrowed, and his fine hands turned to tight fists. He was out the gate in seconds, his anger and stride having taken him from his perch on the gazebo out into the element of the desert itself. Behind him, the garden was already beginning to heal and rebuild itself. Come the next nightfall, it would be back to its old self. Yet the screams of his children rang in his sensitive ears, and Arbutus could not simply forget that.

He could not forgive that.

The anger that had been steadily building inside him finally erupted as he felt the first traces of heat touch his sensitive body. A good reason he seldom ventured into the desert. He imagined this small pain, multiplied a hundred fold and bearing down on the delicate forms of his creations. His children.

Burning them alive.

With a shrill howl of agony and hatred, the earth around him shifted on his own accord, forming a tight seal around him as the earth swallowed him up. He let the underground take control then, his instincts taking him to the storm's place of origin. To the one responsible for this unprovoked attack and destruction of his home.

On the inside, he seethed, feeding his hate as screams continued to echo in his head.

Next: Arbutus finds Sadira, who, in an attempt to cover for Aini, blames herself for the accident. Her self-sacrifice backfires however when as punishment, Arbutus claims Aini instead.