The sunlight peered through the window's broken glass directly to Adila's face, and she grunted as she proceeded to cover them with the black cloth of her veil.

She felt oddly uneasy that morning, as if whatever she chose to do from now on would change everything and everyone... not necessarily in a good way. The worse part of that thought? It was true.

Struggling with ever muscle she had, she got up and proceeded to wash her face in one of the old sinks which somehow still had a water flow. Now that she was stopping to think about, that would be funny if it wasn't so sad. Many people all over the East, not even only in Agrabah, dying from heat strokes and thirst... and meanwhile, there was a perfectly good flow of clean water in a building that had been abandoned for almost 20 years in the middle of nowhere.

Breathing deeply, she stared at her own ruby eyes in the dirty mirror. "You can do it", she told herself. "You have to."

That was the moment she had lived for. The one thing that kept her going on with that miserable life of hide-and-seeking. She had been preparing for that every single day of her life since Jafar's execution.

"So what if it goes wrong?", she asked her reflection. She never had a backup plan. She raised herself to do one thing, and one thing only – avenging her father's death. And if it didn't go as planned... everything would have been in vain. Her life would have been in vain. Everything would be even worse.

Or would it? She already lived as a plagued dog, stealing for a living, unknown and unnoticed by everyone, constantly hiding. A reject, living in a rejected house, eating rejected food. Could things really get worse from that?

"To hell with fear, I don't have anything to lose on this." She told herself while landing her fists heavily in the sink, almost breaking it. "I'm taking everything from them. From all of them."

Adila then reached behind the loose mirror and grabbed the choker she hid there. She then proceeded to wrap it around her neck, a single ruby dangling from the black leather. After arranging her hair into a side braid, she unfolded her black abaya and pressed it against her body, admiring the grayish details swirling in the sleeves and chest.

For a few seconds she just stood in that position, admiring her curves and stunning ruby eyes, her crimson lips crooked in a mischievous smile. What was she even worried about ealier?

It took her about five seconds to snap out of that trance, quickly throw the stolen abaya on, and head out to the Palace.


- I have to say, miss Ahmad, you might be the best candidate we had here today.

- Thank you, cid.

- Between us – I believe the job is already yours.

- Really? That's so exciting! As I said, I really need this job.

- ...

- Umm... is... something the matter, cid?

- Oh? Oh no, no. It's just... these reddish eyes of yours. They're just mesmerizing.

- Oh! Believe me, I actually get that a lot.

- Well, good luck, miss Ahmad. We'll inform you later about the job.

- Thank you, cid. Ma'a salama!


- Look at her. – The girl in the left said. – Red eyes. Isn't it weird?

- It is. - The girl in the right answered. – I don't want to stare, but I can't help it.

- Please, Vina. - the girl in the left rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed. – It's not that special. It's just freaky.

Adila smiled to herself, wondering if that two knew she could hear them perfectly from across the room.

Finally, after what seemed like na eternity, Padma came out of the interview room.

- Ladies, the Sultaness and I came to a decision.

Every girl in the room stood up, hoping that they were the chosen ones.

- The chosen ones are...

Even Adila was completely tensed up. That was the moment.

- Vina al-Khader.

In the other side of the room, one of the two girls from earlier couldn't help herself from jumping in excitement.

- And...

Adila's heart momentarily stopped as she waited for the answer which would change everything. She could feel every fraction of second crawling in her cappuccino skin. This was it.

- Adila Ahmad.


- Are you nervous? – the girl asked, to which Adila only nodded.

- I've never seen her personally. – she lied. – Or any royalty, for that matter.

- You're not from here, are you?

- No.

- I figured. You'd know her if you were from Agrabah. She's a... very public person, you know?

Adila tried her best to hold her laughter. "Public person" was a pretty gentle way to say how pretentious Jasmine was.

- Regardless, people here really love her. – the girl, Vina, continued. – And everyone likes it that she and Sultan Aladdin share their personal life with us. I guess it shows that they care.

"Or that they've taken panem et circenses to a whole new level", Adila thought to herself.

- If they don't hide from their people, that must mean they care enough, right? You don't let someone you don't trust enough judge you. – she said, hoping that the irony in her voice wasn't too obvious.

- You're right, I think. – Vina said, her almond eyes staring the door. – Still, I'm so excited for this. I really needed the job. And good or bad... who doesn't want to serve in the Sultaness' court?

- I know. I'm really thrilled too! – Adila let out a small crooked smile, and immediately took it back. Fortunately, Vina didn't seem to notice.

Vina was about to say something when the door knob made a quick movement. Both girls froze in place, and the knob moved again, this time a bit slower. Adila suddenly feel every hair in her body go up in anxiety as she watched the door open silently. Finally, the tan lady entered the room, her raven hair graciously swirling in her back, closed the door behind her, and gave a warm smile to both girls.

The eyes, the big brown eyes. Adila would never forget the anger in these very eyes when they looked at her father right before murdering him.

The Sultaness' eyes. Jasmine's eyes.