Chapter 02: Balbadd

This place was very weird.

VERY weird.

It's like I landed in a world where the power of electricity has never been reaped before. I haven't seen a single vehicle on the road and I was walking around for almost an hour now. Everywhere I turned, I saw people using some poor animal to pull a cart with baskets, crates or sacks. There were no cars, busses or even a bike!

Honestly, I don't know if this was one of those places that prefered not to use any technology or if I landed myself in a convention of some-sort. Maybe this is the equivalent of a renaissance faire? It would explain a lot, actually. Why else would everyone dress around as if they're from that era; the one with the Ottoman Empire or was it another Empire?

I'm not sure.

I was never any good with history.

But a faire was the only explanation. Granted, this was probably the largest one I've ever set foot on and where everyone was really into their roles and detailed costumes, it's absolutely amazing. Some even wore nothing but rags to roleplay as beggars! That's so very hardcore of them. But I worry that they're pulling the look off a little too well, a lot of them looked malnourished.

Also, I have never in my life seen so many baggy pants before. It's like I've been thrown back into the eighties! Except it's less colourful. Most of the guys wear them in different shades of brown.

50 shades of brown. I let out a silent snort at the thought, earning several odd looks from the people around us. I shrugged their gazes off. I've gotten used to the stares of the people the moment I stepped foot in the city. I'm just glad that I'm not the only one garnering attention.

Aladin, Morgiana, Sin and I stuck out like a sore thumb. Me with my grey tank top, shorts, converse and backpack, while the reason the other three looked out of place was because of their very colourful hair. People didn't even so much as blink when they saw Sin in his half naked glory until they saw his incredibly long purple hair! Sure, some raised their eyebrows, but other than that, no reactions at all!

A man walked by with a basket on his shoulder and I tried not to barf at the stench coming from him. Most of the odor came from the basket, I don't know what's inside it and frankly that kind of smell should be illegal. Something is definitely rotting inside that thing. I watched the man dump fishes on the table of a vendor. Eww.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and looked at the person who took me away from my observation. It was Morgiana. She said something to me in which I answered with a shrug. She repeated her words again, albeit a lot more slowly than before. The only thing that I understood was "Aladin". I'm not sure why she's asking me about the little boy. I haven't seen him since...

Oh. I get it.

It seems that we lost the tiny boy, and only person who can understand me, in the crowd.

Morgiana nodded her head -to signify that she understood the hopeless look in my eyes- and began to sniff the surrounding like a dog. Her face scrunched slightly in distaste at the odor of the place, but she continued smelling the air.

I couldn't help but smile. I have no idea why she was acting like a dog, it's not like the human sense of smell is on par with that of the animal, but I find the sight to be endearing and hilarious at the same time. I followed her as she dodged the crowd of people walking around the market place and ignored those who were yelling out their products and prices to garner the attention of passerbys. While I bumped into a few people and made sure to stay away from anything fishy, I couldn't help but wonder where Sin went. Was he looking for Aladin too or did he ditch us?

It didn't take long to find the young boy. He made quite a spectacle, it seem. A vendor was yelling at him, waving chubby arms around and spewing spittle everywhere. Gross. I wonder why he's angry at Aladin. My eyes wandered to the crowd that gathered around the hysterical merchant and sheepish young boy. They were all watching with interest, some were whispering to each other while others grew bored and went to do what ever it was that they were supposed to be doing before they got distracted by the commotion.

I saw Sin at the other side of the crowd, trying to see what was happening. He saw me and caught my eye. I gave him a nod and let my gaze wander once again.

Out of the corner of my eyes, Morgiana tensed and a second later I heard a cry of pain. My attention instantly returned to Aladin and I felt my anger rise. How dare that fat guy manhandle a little boy like that! Aladin was clutching the vendors' arm who was holding his braid and swinging it around, tugging the little boy along. In the back of my mind, I couldn't help but note that it was his real hair after all.

Morgiana walked towards the man and Aladin, her anger was obvious in her body language and deadly gaze. She took a hold of the man's arm and spoke to him, her voice calm. The guy tried to tug himself free, but Morgiana didn't relent until he let go of Aladins' hair. That girl had a grip.

I moved to help the boy up who had fallen to the ground by the lack of gravity pulling him up. Gently I pushed away strands of hair from his eyes. "Are you alright?" I asked.

He nodded and shifted his turban to make himself look presentable, wincing slightly as the clothe brushed a sore spot.

"What happened?" I pressed on.

"I was hungry and ate some apples," he said with a bashful smile on his face. "and I didn't have any money to pay him."

My lips twitched in a grimace and I pinched his cheeks out of instinct. "Thievery is not good, Aladin!"

"I was going to pay him, but he said that he doesn't take any coppers anymore. Only paper money," he mumbled through strained cheeks. Hastily, I let go of his face and apologized. How odd. I usually punish my little brother in this fashion when he did something incredibly stupid. I guess Aladin has this presence around him that screams "I'm an adorable kid and a perfect little brother" that my reflexes got a hold of me.

Patting his head gently -whilst minding to avoid the spot that made him wince earlier- and earning a small grin in return, I glanced over to Morgiana who was staring down two bulky men standing on each side of the vendor. They seem like the bodyguards.

I better step in before she gets hurt. I looked at Aladin and asked, "How much were the apples?"

A thoughtful expression crossed his face and seconds later he began mumbling whilst counting his fingers. "One piece is usually thirty copper coins," He said. "And I had ten... I think."

What.

Ten? A little boy ate ten apples in the span of mere minutes, when I wasn't looking. I'm sure I wasn't deep in thought that I was spacing out for more than a minute or two. I glanced at his flat uncovered stomach. Where does he put all that food?

I sighed. "Can you ask the vendor how much he needs?" I rummaged through my backpack for my wallet and found it underneath my umbrella. Inside I found fifty Israeli Shekel and British Pounds, along with some coins I didn't bother counting. I hope that these were enough.

"He said he needs 100 Huang."

I blinked at Aladin. I have never heard of huang before. The name also sounded suspiciously like chinese. I showed the man the israeli shekel, hoping that he'll take the money anyway. After all I am still in the same land, surely the currency wouldn't change because I'm in a different part of the city or something. Maybe Huang is the "currency" they use at the faire and one had to exchange real money at some booth to buy anything here?

I felt a gust of wind pass me and the money disappeared from my fingers. The vendor was examining it thoroughly, holding it to the sun, rubbing the paper between his fingers and practically gushing over it. What the hell. "He said he's never seen paper with such a colour and detailed illustrations before," Aladin translated upon seeing my confused look.

"Aha. He'll take it then?"

Aladin talked to the man some more and he received a bag of apples in return. The young boy gave me the fruits with a grin. "Did you just trade my money for a bunch of apples?" I could feel my eyes twitching. I'm positive that I would have gotten some change. At the boys' nod, I refrained myself from gritting my teeth and pinching his cheeks until they've turned red like a baboons arse. "Why?"

"Well, apples are really delicious!" was his enthusiastic answer. "And they're very expensive and hard to come by, so I think it was a really great deal!"

Fantastic.

My bus money got spent for some red fruits. Fruits that were almost rotting too. Honestly, it's like you couldn't buy apples at the closest super market. They're really going too far with trying to keep everything as realistic as possible in this faire, but at the same time I have to applaud them for their accuracy.

"Are you mad, miss?"

I glanced at Aladins' blue eyes and groaned inwardly. He looked like a kicked puppy. One that I kicked. "No."

The crowd of onlookers began to disperse once they realised that the problem has been solved. Sin finally decided to grace us with his half naked glory and pointed towards a large luxurious building in the distant. I narrowed my eyes at him and muttered to Aladin, "Why are you following this weirdo around?"

"I don't know."

Taking a deep breath and tucking my hands inside my shorts' pockets, I gave the little boy a smile. "Come again?"

Aladin shifted and rubbed his cheeks unconsiously, no doubt still feeling a sting from when I scolded him. "Ah... ummm. Look!"

My eyes wandered to the direction he was pointing at. It was at a random building with graffiti on it.

I stopped and stared.

Not at the building, which looked like it would fall over any minute now, I could care less about it. What caught my eyes was a corner where a mother and her children were begging. She was probably a beauty in her youth, but now, nothing was left on her but hollow eyes on the verge of cursing the world, sunken skin and bones. Her children had her same pale complexion, bony body and gaze. There was no way that these people were acting. Renaissance faire or not, no one would look at the world with such pitiful eyes or force children to starve.

My eyes met the gaze of the young girl besides her mother. I bit my lower lip. Dad always told me to never to make eye contact with beggars. Once you did, you can't help but show pity. The money that the kind people give them were often wasted on drugs and used for other illegal activities, is what my father told me as a child. My father who's a policeman often came across such people. He tried to help whenever he can, it was his job afterall, but there were those who refused to be helped and let themselves sink deeper into their addiction.

The sack of apples that I could not put in my backpack felt heavy in my hand. Taking a deep breath, I walked towards the family and kneeled before the woman. Her eyes grew wary but hopeful at once. I smiled at her and offered the sack. "Here. You need them more than I do." I opened it to show the fruits. Her lips trembled and her tired gaze met mine, searching my eyes for any hint of trickery. She took an apple and gave it to her two children and another for herself. Tears were flowing down her eyes as she ate.

I stood up and walked towards the others who were waiting for me. Aladin and Morgiana gave me a smile whilst Sin gave a nod of acknowledgement and approval. Embarrassed, I walked pass them, trying hard to hide the smile on my face. Father said that its better to share food instead of tossing money. And I have to agree with him.

Helping those in need is a great feeling.

I stopped and looked back. I put my hands on my hips and glared at the other three to hurry up. After all, I have no idea where I was supposed to go.

We were standing in front of a luxurious building and I began to fidget. "Aladin, are you sure you should be following someone who you just met a few hours ago inside a random -albeit high class- building?"

Aladin blinked big dark blue eyes at me. "But you also just met us and yet you're still with us," The boy had point. Why exactly am I still following them around? Aside from making sure that he and Morgiana were safe from the shady purple haired man, I have no idea what to do. Was it because he was the only one I could talk to right now? "Besides, Sin said that this is the safest place in Balbadd and that he'll pay for our stay!"

I blinked.

Wait.

Balbadd is not a code name for their hang out but the name of the faire?

Okay... I can roll with that.

But I'm not comfortable being in the same building as Sin. He's too suspicious. However I guess I have no choice. After all, someone decided it was a great idea to buy apples with my money. I would have probably been able to stay at a youth hostel for a night with the change, but I guess I should stop complaining and just suck it up. How bad can Sin get if he's willing to pay for our rooms anyway.

I raised my eyebrows and watched as the guards nearby stopped the half naked man from stepping another foot inside the building. I grabbed Aladin and Morgiana by their shoulders. "Let's find a youth hostel", I said dryly.

I was about to drag the two outside until someone said something in the commotion that made everyone silent. Sin was mentioned in the sentence and suddenly all the guards backed off from the purple haired man.

Sin greeted two other guys with a huge smile on his face. I gaped at the two men who came out of the shadows. One had the freckled face of a young man with incredibly white hair and a robe on, while the other was a giant with red hair and apathetic eyes wearing armor that looked like it belonged to a gladiator.

Discreetly, my eyes wandered to Morgiana. She looked somewhat surprised at the appearance of the red headed man. I couldn't tell with her since I barely know her. Hell, I'm not even sure what her and Aladins' real names were! I just decided to go with the flow when they introduced themselves as the characters from the manga called Magi.

I only met them a few hours ago after all.

Well, meeting new people was an adventure too... plus it's not like a cute little kid like Aladin could harm a fly and Morgiana seemed kind of shy and a bit socially awkward, which is really cute too.

It's Sin I have a problem with. I glared at the man and his companions and noticed something. Instead of a faire, am I in an anime convention instead? I wondered while looking at the colourful mop of hair surrounding me. But that does not explain why everyone else was wearing costumes too, unless it's a joint convention?

Do such things even exist? I need to ask Monique once I return to London.

Sighing in defeat, I rubbed my temples. I'm starting to have a headache. I'll try and see if I can find a phone tomorrow and if I can get their wi-fi password. This was most likely a five star hotel, if the interior was anything to judge by, and most of the time hotels such as these have free wi-fi.

Aladin grabbed my hands and began pulling me along. He let go once I nodded at him to show that I wasn't spacing out anymore. It seems that our paths split. Sin and his buddies went to terrorize other people while a young lady showed us to our room.

The room was large and had three beds filled to the brim with decorative pillows, a lot of tapestries with intricate patterns hang on one side of the wall and a huge glassless window overlooked the whole city.

She was about to close the door when I opened my mouth at the same time as Aladin. The lady looked confused and the young boy stifled a giggle. I hid a smile. Aladin glanced at me, telling me to ask my question first. What a little gentleman.

I turned to the lady "Do you speak English, miss?"

My hopeful gaze vanished at her blank stare.

I groaned.

When will I meet someone who can speak English again? I flopped on one of the beds, kicked off my shoes and shrugged my backpack while I burried my face on the numerous pillows the hotel provided and finally, I cacooned myself with the blanket. I could feel the others staring at me, but I didn't care. I was incredibly tired.

Tired of walking, of people staring and tired of not understanding a word of what was being said. I hate not knowing anything!

I closed my eyes. I'll search for a phone tomorrow.

Authors Note: Thank you very much for all the reviews on the previous chapter. It really motivated me to write faster!

Here we see that Claire has a habit of pinching the cheeks of naughty children! Poor Aladin!

Also, Jafar and Masrur are introduced.

Disclaimer: I do not own Magi. Only Claire.

EDIT

14.01.14: Corrected Sinbad into "Sin". Thanks a lot to Kougari for pointing this out.

24.01.12: Corrected some grammar and spelling errors. Nothing huge.