Into the Woods and Down the Dell
SUMMARY: AU: Once upon a time, there was a maiden who lived with her stepsisters. Well, half-brothers, actually. And this maiden was no maiden, but no one, not even his fairy god father, could make that distinction for some reason.
Chapter 2: Cinderella Part 2
"Alibaba, please tell me what was going on in your head when you decided to attend the ball?" Sahbmad desperately asked. "Why are you dressed this way? Why did you come even though you knew that Brother would be highly upset with you being present?"
"I'll explain later, Sahbmad," Alibaba whispered. "But please keep your voice down. As of right now, you have to refer to me only as Cinderella, your sister."
Sahbmad looked like he wanted to say more, but then he lowered his gaze to the floor and despondently nodded. Then he murmured, "I hope you know what you're doing…"
"Trust me. I've got everything planned out." More like Yunan did, but a plan was a plan, wasn't it?
The two sat behind the curtains before the party as they waited for Ahbmad, King Sinbad, Prince Kouen, and the other Kou prince to finish their discussion. Funnily enough, that sluggish-looking man was a prince after all—Prince Koumei, to be exact.
Alibaba would have skirted past the situation by getting up and leaving, but when he attempted to excuse himself beforehand, Prince Kouen had him sit back down after casting him a stern look. That man was frightening. It was a wonder how Alibaba managed to dance with him.
Sahbmad had shared the same thought because when Prince Kouen escorted him to a seat, Sahbmad went into hysterics and started hovering over him in breathless cries of "Are you insane?" Alibaba had to keep his older brother from revealing too much. He wasn't sure just how well the Kou prince would react to knowing that the supposed Balbaddian princess was actually a cross-dressing servant.
Apparently, neither King nor princes bat an eye to the sudden existence of there being a princess. They were under the impression that the late King Rashid was overprotective of his only daughter, so he had her hidden from the world behind the strong walls of the palace. Surprisingly, it was Ahbmad who kept things under wraps. Alibaba thought that the eldest would be eager to tattle on his slum rat of a sibling.
Alibaba lifted his dress by a few inches to inspect his foot. Along with Sahbmad's horrified squawk, Alibaba worriedly frowned. "How could my foot gone from red to purple?" he wondered aloud. "It looks swollen too."
"Oh no! Ali—Cinderella, how does it feel? Does it hurt when you apply pressure on it?" Sahbmad fretted.
"I don't—ow! Yeah, it does hurt." Alibaba winced.
"You certainly don't know when to hold back, brother," the second prince of Kou sighed. Alibaba looked up, finding all four men staring at him. When did they get here? Weren't they just standing by further away?
"I hope you won't treat your wife the same way you treated me, my lord," Alibaba said, only to receive a whack on the head from Ahbmad.
"Do not," Prince Kouen's voice resonated in command. Immediately, Ahbmad recoiled from the Crown Prince's glare and scooted away from Alibaba.
"I-I was j-just punishing my foolish s-sister, your highness," stammered Ahbmad. "Sh-she doesn't know when to control that loose tongue of hers!"
"Even so, I believe that it might be too much to hit girl," King Sinbad said disapprovingly.
Oh no. Ahbmad was being pushed to a corner. Once the ball ended, it was Alibaba who would be receiving the brunt of Ahbmad's ire (if Alibaba being here hadn't already set off that incentive). "No, no, please. Enough of that," Alibaba cut in. "My brother is right. I am in habit of speaking out of turn. In fact, it would be quite hypocritical of you to berate him, Prince Kouen, because it was you who crushed my foot in response to my bad manners."
The Kou men, the ones who were standing behind Prince Koumei during the ball, directed baffled and angry looks at Alibaba. They were rather peculiar in appearance—one with a head of snake-like tresses and the other with a piggish nose. Yet that seemed to intensify their intimidating presence along with their glowers.
"Which hurts a whole ton more than someone cuffing me," Alibaba added, hoping that would clarify anything. It produced the opposite effect that he would have liked to see on the two guards. If anything, they looked like they would be inclined to bludgeon his head.
Fortunately, King Sinbad reacted by snorting good-humoredly. "Yes, the princess is right about that. What are you going to do now, Prince Kouen?"
Prince Kouen frowned. "Can you stand?"
Alibaba slid off from his seat and placed all his weight onto his good foot when the other foot instantly throbbed painfully at the tentative contact with the floor. "I think I can hobble at most."
"I see."
Prince Kouen suddenly stepped in front of Alibaba. He then slid one arm around the boy's waist and the other swept under his legs. Alibaba squawked in surprise when his body was being lifted up as his arms automatically flew up and wounded around the man's neck.
Prince Kouen was carrying him like a bride.
"What—wait, wait, wait!" Alibaba sputtered. "H-hold on! Put me down!"
"You can't even walk," Prince Kouen stated flatly.
"But this is embarrassing!" And it was attracting undesired attention from the guests. And from his gawking brothers.
Prince Kouen ignored him and briskly passed by the men. Prince Koumei, unfazed by his brother's abrupt action (that would imply that Prince Kouen did these sort of things often, wouldn't it?), called out after him in a slightly curious voice, "You shouldn't leave when the ball isn't over yet. Where are you headed?"
"My room."
"You two kids have fun," King Sinbad cheerfully said.
To think that all it took was a broken foot to infiltrate the area where Alibaba had to go to in the first place. And it was the Crown Prince himself who was taking him there.
The prince's guestroom, like all the other rooms, was furnished in Kou design. Granted, there wasn't much to alter the beds, desks, and couches; however, there was still a nuance from Balbadd to Kou. The hanging pictures, the color and patterns, the fragrance of lit incense… Even the lighting was different—if anything, the room seemed dim.
Yet, unlike any room within the palace, Prince Kouen's room was quite spacious and luxurious, strangely more so than even King Rashid's when Alibaba had entered inside the hours before his timely passing. On the long table in the middle of the room was a large bowl of exotic fruit. Against the farthest wall was a tall shelf that housed numerous scrolls. Alibaba suspected that Ahbmad decided to shower Prince Kouen in extravagance. Though, he was certain that it was Sahbmad who made sure that the extravagance wasn't taken to an obnoxiously flamboyant degree.
Prince Kouen set Alibaba down gingerly (as carefully as a man of his disposition would, supposedly) on a chair. Alibaba gave an involuntary shiver when the man's large hands gently cradled his ankle and propped the swollen foot on a stool. It wasn't that the prince's hands were cold…but it felt strange. Alibaba then winced when his golden slipper was pulled off, his foot throbbing once more.
"Looks bad," Prince Kouen commented absently.
Did he not know how to behave contritely or was he too prideful? Alibaba wondered a bit petulantly.
Prince Kouen rose back to his full height and walked over to a chest that sat at the foot of the bed. It was then that he pulled out a sword.
"Whoa! What are you going to do with that thing?" Alibaba exclaimed, reeling back into his seat.
"Do not fear," Prince Kouen said, approaching him as he unsheathed the blade.
"A-are you going to stab me? Because, let me tell you, this won't give you a good reputation…!"
The sword began to softly glow. The words that trailed off of Alibaba's lips were cut short and his eyes were drawn to the illuminating eight-pointed star mark on the blade. Prince Kouen lowered the sword so that the flat tip gently kissed his bare foot. Warmth permeated into his skin, and Alibaba couldn't help but gasp at how the comforting heat made the pain dissipate. He glanced down, finding his foot back to normal.
"Unbelievable! You have a magic sword that can heal injuries!" he said in awe, wriggling his toes and lifting his foot up to better inspect it.
"Hm." Prince Kouen slipped his sword back into its scabbard and set it aside before sitting down across from Alibaba.
"I think that I should thank you, but it isn't like you gave me an apology," the boy prompted, wondering if the prince would then actually utter two apologies afterwards—one for stepping on him and another for his discourtesy (not that Alibaba was one to talk).
But, instead of apologizing, Prince Kouen said, "You're unlike any princess I've encountered."
Alibaba blinked. "Have…you met several princesses then?"
He gave some sort of grunt. Alibaba didn't know what that meant.
"Well, it's not like I'm a princess anymore." Or at all. "Kou subjugated Balbadd, so I'm without any standing."
Prince Kouen tilted his head to the side, as though thoughtfully. "Do resent me for that?"
Alibaba was taken aback by the question. "I…don't like how our culture has been taken away from us," he answered honestly. "I don't like the slavery system, even if the slaves would be freed after five years of work, but I suppose that it's a better alternative to what my oldest brother was planning." Alibaba couldn't help but frown at the remembrance of Ahbmad wanting to sell Balbadd's citizens to pay off his increasing debts. The very idea of turning his fellow countrymen into slaves was downright repulsive. "On that note, the economy is handled better."
"The slavery system is comparably more humane than any other part of the world."
"While that may be true, to have a person enslaved in the first place isn't humane at all," he said, eyebrows furrowing. "I'll be straightforward and say that my brother Ahbmad was thinking selfishly when he thought that it would be a good idea to make our people into slaves and sell them to Kou. It's injustice to force a person out of his home and suddenly live his life as a dog just because the king decrees it so. In fact, the king would be no king, but a dictator."
"And you would label us to be dictators?"
"I mean no offense. I was just stating aloud my opinions, if you didn't mind. I'm hardly well-informed of anything that goes on anymore, but from what I've gathered the Kou Empire intends on having the entire world under its rule. If I'm correct, then this slavery system is somehow relative to that plan. Is it to induce fear? Remind the people of something? I can't say that I know for certain. I'm just…a former princess, so I wouldn't know anything. But I would say that our beliefs differ. But, then, I say again, the system is better than my brother's alternative and the economy is well-handled."
"But you still despise Balbadd being under Kou's rule."
"Um, yes. I hate it. Balbadd had been going through a difficult state, but I loved Balbadd for what Balbadd is. For what Balbadd was." He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "But, well, not that it matters, I guess. My opinions aren't important, and it isn't like they were in the beginning either… Kou is the handler on Balbadd's future—that's how it is now."
"And Balbadd will be in capable hands," Prince Kouen said as though it was an affirmation. "This country is now a part of the Kou Empire, and I won't allow it to fall."
The corners of Alibaba's lips quirked upwards. "I haven't known you for very long, lord, but I can already tell that you're a man of your word."
"I haven't known you for very long, but I can already deduce that you are insecure of yourself in contrast to your outspokenness," the prince replied bluntly. "I wonder if you are the type to be perfectly comfortable in running away from the situation or leaving the responsibility to others. You see yourself possessing better capabilities than the governor, in which you perhaps do. It is shown how you would have fortitude for your people. Yet you hold yourself back because you are limited by the mentality that a princess cannot do anything. I would not have regarded you to be a fool until now after hearing how you would make note of your limitations. If you truly do love your country, then any obstacle you face shouldn't make you waver in indecisiveness."
Alibaba's smile and mood dropped faster than someone would with a hot potato. He was tempted to say, "Thank you for the criticisms. I'll be sure to apply them to my life sometime later," but held his tongue. This man was very good in ruining the ambience. But Prince Kouen harshly criticizing him wasn't what really rubbed Alibaba the wrong way—it was how accurate he was in describing him and how much Alibaba just realized this.
To believe firmly in something took shape in Alibaba's wish in having done something to prevent the mistakes that Ahbmad had committed. Yet he always held back because…he was the third prince, he was the bastard son of the king, he was a slum rat. Everyone in the palace didn't believe that he could amount to anything and that it was a wasted effort trying to turn him into a child of regality from the dirty brat he was more familiar as.
Momentarily, Alibaba felt angry. What would Prince Kouen know about his limitations? Wasn't he, after all, born and groomed into royalty? How easy would it be to ignore those judging eyes that would wait to see him make a slip-up? To shake off the scorn from every person who he talked to? Or, rather, be suddenly thrust into a completely different world and had to learn how to adapt without the support or acknowledgement of his father, the man who had landed him such a life in the first place?
But, then again…if he truly loved Balbadd and its people, then shouldn't they matter more?
The anger faded away into resignation and mild self-depreciation. He lifted his gaze from where they had fallen onto his lap and gave a pursed smile. "You are right about that, my lord," he sighed. "I did not do a thing."
"Hm."
"But that isn't to say that I'll start taking action against the Kou Empire. I don't fancy the idea of costing lives due to rebellion."
Prince Kouen stared at him for a moment. "You are unlike any princess I've encountered," he repeated, "and I can see that your faults are stemmed from childish ignorance."
"Is that a compliment or another censure…?"
"Take it however you like." Prince Kouen stood from his seat. "If you had the opportunity to reign as queen of your country, would you take it?"
Alibaba was startled. "Wh-what? Queen?"
"That could be resolved easily," the man said, crossing his arms while looking down at him, "if you, Cinderella Saluja, would marry a Kou prince."
Alibaba's jaw dropped. And gaped at the man for ten seconds. It was ten seconds that was enough to rouse impatience from the prince.
"Well? Do I have your answer?" Prince Kouen snapped.
"M-m-m-marry? In-into Kou?" Oh no. Oh no, no, no. This was not looking good. How could this have happened? "B-but why? I mean, why me?"
"You interest me, and I can already see the prospering future you could bring to Balbadd. Whether to have you as my sister or wife, if you are to stand by Kou then such entitlement can be granted to you."
Oh goodness. As his wife.
For the sake of his pride as a man (and the safety of his wellbeing), Alibaba mustered up an answer: "I'll think about it."
This, unfortunately, displeased Prince Kouen. "There is nothing to think about," he said. "There should be either one answer: yes or no."
"Look, your highness, while it may be easy for you to answer, for me it is not so!" Alibaba weakly protested. "I-I mean, we just met! Isn't a proposal a bit too soon?"
Prince Kouen looked like he was about to break into another tirade of fault-picking when there was a knock on the door. The prince didn't shift his gaze or frown from Alibaba's face, but it was to the boy's immense relief that he didn't ignore the knock.
"Enter," Prince Kouen barked.
"My brother and king," said Prince Koumei greeted after opening the door. "You've taken longer than I thought you would in healing the princess."
"What is it, Koumei?"
"King Sinbad requests that we start the meeting now. Apparently, he wants to get this over with like how we do."
"Hm."
Alibaba belatedly noticed that Prince Koumei was looking at him over his fan. He awkwardly bowed his head towards the second prince, and kept his eyes cast low and hands folded like how he would see the nobles' daughters would do. Of all times to act demure, and it had to be after Prince Kouen made his freaking proposal. Did it make it appear as though he was happy by the prospect of marriage or the other way around? Alibaba didn't know; at the moment, he was in shock. He couldn't bring himself to raise his chin and meet gazes.
A hand clamped down onto his shoulder, eliciting a jump from him. "Remain here," Prince Kouen ordered meaningfully. "I will be back to finish our conversation."
"R-right…"
After watching the two Kou princes make their leave, Alibaba shot up to his feet with a hardening determination.
He needed to get that document.
Neglecting his other shoe that sat on the stool, Alibaba bounded over the stool and hurried towards to where the desk was. There, on top of the smooth oak, was the silver envelope. The envelope was two hands wide and three hands tall. The small closed flap at the top was sealed with wax. He picked up the envelope and was surprise to find it mildly bulky. It would take a little less than a fortnight to finish reading the document.
Alibaba tucked the document under his arm and went straight to the door. He was about to push it open, but paused when he heard voices. He pressed an ear against the surface, hearing a conversation being exchanged between two men in another tongue—the language of Kou.
He stepped back. Did Prince Kouen station guards at his door? If so, then it looked like Alibaba had to find another way out. Who knew how long this meeting would take? If the prince caught sight of him stealing, then he would probably retract that promise of beheading him.
Then…to the windows.
Outside the twin windows was a balcony. Alibaba wasn't sure exactly how he was going to get down, but if he managed to climb down that mountain of trash in the junkyard back in the slums when he was five-years-old, then scaling down a building shouldn't be so hard, right?
Alibaba peered down, down, down, the railing pressed against his stomach.
Yeah, this would be impossible.
"Ugh. What now?"
He suddenly had a vision of him partaking henna night with a group of females, giggling and gossiping. Alibaba scowled and shook his head.
He was in a white gown, holding onto the arm of Prince Kouen as they stood before a priest.
No! No! Becoming a Kou bride could not be the solution!
They had five kids.
"Gah! How could this have happen!" Alibaba cried, digging his fingers into his hair. "How is this my life?"
Concealed by the shadows, a figure fell somewhere from above and landed onto the balcony with a thud. Alibaba shrieked (like a man) and backed away in stumbling steps.
The figure straightened to its full height and stalked onwards. Stepping into the lighting, it was revealed to be none other than…Yunan.
"Oh, geez! You scared me!"
"Sorry about that," Yunan said with a merry smile, effectively cutting off the sincerity of the apology. "Anyway, do you have the document?"
"Huh? Oh, right." Alibaba held up the document, to which Yunan hummed in approval.
"Excellent. While you were busy for the past two hours, I made you a satchel to store your items in." The man in green tossed him a dark brown bag with a strap. "I placed a barrier seal on it so that the contents would be protected and safe from thieving hands. Store the document inside."
Alibaba did as he was told, and then slung the strap over his shoulder and chest. "Okay, now what?"
"Now we wait."
"Wait for what?"
Yunan did a cursory survey of the area. "Oh, a friend," he explained offhandedly. "He'll be joining us on our adventure." When his head turned to the roof, he paused. A smile then broke across his face. "Ah, there he is."
A man, as far as Alibaba could tell under the shadows, slid down from the slope of the rooftops and leapt down. He stepped out of the darkness.
"You got the carpet!" Yunan exclaimed gleefully. He took the rolled carpet from the man and set out to lay it across the floor. "By the way, Alibaba, this young man here is—"
"Kassim," Alibaba finished in a choked voice. He couldn't stop staring, his widened eyes drinking in the sight of the person before him. Those dreads. Those eyes. It just… How could it be…?
Yunan raised his head from the carpet and glanced between the two. "You two know each other?"
"You can say that," the man—Kassim—said. He took the cigar from his lips and blew out a stream of smoke. "Though, I gotta say, I was expecting a prince instead of a princess."
Kassim smirked. "You're full of surprises, Alibaba."