The beach was nice. The sound of crashing waves lulled Aladdin to sleep. Judal played with her hair while she used him as a pillow for the fifth nap of the day. It was nice to spend time together again. After so long apart Aladdin really didn't want to leave Judal's side for a minute.
Sinbad and Jafar were standing on a pier watching the two interact under the pretense of inspecting a new ship. All of the generals were interested in the dynamic of the magi's relationship. Each of them had found some reason to do work very close to the two. Jafar hadn't let them have more then a few moments away from his watchful eye. He didn't like seeing the dark magi that very recently had threatened Sindria with war so close to Aladdin. Much to Jafar's chagrin Sinbad seemed completely amused with the goings-on.
Aladdin didn't like being watched constantly. It made her feel anxious and trapped. Judal could tell she wasn't comfortable by the way she kept turning in her sleep. He turned his glare towards Sinbad. It didn't take long for the king to meet the magi's eyes. He just offered a broad smile and waved. Judal was not in the mood to deal with the idiot king.
"Oi! Idiot King. Stop spying on us and go do your paperwork. You are bugging Aladdin."
"Mmph. Jugemu you are too loud."
"Shit. You know what; this is all the stupid king's fault. Aladdin, let's go back to the palace. You can sleep in Sinbad's bed given how many times he has interrupted your sleeping because he and the snake wanted to watch us together."
He knew about that huh? "Judal how can you blame me when you are the one yelling?"
"Shut up you stupid king. You are so annoying. How the hell is anyone supposed to get any sleep around here with all the spying you two are doing? Instead of watching us you should be getting ready for the upcoming battle."
"Don't tell me you are still threatening Sindria after everything we have done for you, dark magi."
"Cool it snake. I have more interesting things to do right now then destroy this stupid place, but I'm not the only one who's ever been interested."
"Juju I want to eat melon."
"Then let's go. You know, the fruit in Kou is much tastier."
"I thought Sindria had the best fruits."
"Yeah, tropical fruits. But I didn't hear you asking for coconuts and mangos. Peaches and melons taste better in Kou."
"Mmmm, we should get some there one day."
Judal threw a smirk over his shoulder at the two spectators before picking Aladdin up and flying her back to the palace.
…
Aladdin was waiting for Judal to start talking. While they were eating fruit and hiding from Sinbad and the eight generals Judal said something about Al Thamen. It was just a little mutter but she knew they were planning something.
"Judal? Why are you so agitated?"
"I'm not."
"You keep pacing around the room. You never walk around unnecessarily unless you are upset. You always float around."
He looked at her for several moments before sitting down and pulling her onto his lap.
"I want to take you to Kou."
"But I don't think that's a good idea. Al Thamen is everywhere and-"
"Just listen to me for a minute Chibi. Right now the Kou Empire is the safest place for you to be. My King's Candidates have the most influence in Kou and so do I. Al Thamen is already planning attacks on Sindria and Reim. Even if you are there they will be more concerned with taking Sinbad's country from him. I can't have you caught in the middle of that fight when you can't use magic."
"Judal I can't just leave my friends when I know that they are going to be attacked!"
"If it makes you feel any better I'll warn the idiot king that something is coming. They won't tell me when they are attacking yet though. I'm supposed to be causing chaos in towns all over the place. That's why it took so long for me to get back to you."
"Juju I'm not so sure about this. I really think I should stay here. I don't know people in the Kou Empire and what if Alibaba or Morgiana want to find me?"
"Then we can publicize that you are in the freaking empire. And you know Kouha. He never shuts up about it. You met Hakuei and Hakuryuu too. What's the big deal?"
"I need to be in a place with people I know."
"I think it is more important that you are in a safe place. And like I said you now people in the Kou Empire."
"Juju I don't know."
"I will tell Sinbad that he needs to get his shit together. Do you really think that he will be defeated if I give him a warning? His ability to live is a pain in the ass sometimes but in this case I think it should give you more then enough reason to think of yourself and choose to go where it is the most safe."
"I…Only if you tell Sinbad right now."
"Then I will be back. Get some sleep. Your eyes shouldn't look like you've been punched."
"Juuuuu! That's not nice."
Judal laughed and kissed her on the forehead before heading out to find the idiot king.
It didn't take long, considering Sinbad and Sharrkan were standing just around the corner from Aladdin's room trying to figure out what was going on. Judal smirked at the two idiots; he had put up a barrier to eliminate the possibility of any more spying.
"Idiot King and Idiot Swordsman, stop being pests."
"Are you insulting my swordsmanship?"
"No, I was insulting your intelligence."
"Sharrkan, why don't you finish that report I asked for? Jafar is already mad enough. If both of us ignore the paperwork we will never hear the end of it. And he will probably cut down the party budget even more."
"I'm going. I need my booze."
"Why did you come out Judal?"
"Because Aladdin wants me to warn you before we leave. Al-"
"Leave? Why are you moving Aladdin? It isn't healthy for her to-"
"Look, I'm not an idiot okay? I had to bless plenty of aristocratic pregnancies when I was in training. Aladdin is perfectly fine to travel right now. Shut up, I can see you getting ready to ask another question. I'm sure your spies already informed you and you already anticipated it, but Al Thamen is planning to attack you. The Organization wants Sindria, wants you to finish falling. There, I finished my side of the bargain. We will be leaving for the Kou Empire soon."
"How is that any safer then here? Al Thamen is based in Kou!"
"My power is limitless in the Kou Empire. And it isn't under attack. I don't want Aladdin caught in the crossfire of any war. She needs to be completely safe, not feeling obligated to protect the country of a friend even though she shouldn't be using much magoi."
"If you force her to do anything she doesn't want-"
"I haven't done that for a while. It isn't any of your business anyway."
With that, Judal turned away from Sinbad and returned to the room. Aladdin lay sleeping on the bad. He looked through the room and gathered the handful of items she seemed attached to. She would be pissed if they left without saying goodbye so sneaking away before the mother bear found out wasn't going to work. He threw up a barrier to keep Jafar away and lay down next to Aladdin.
Aladdin didn't wake up until the following morning. By that time Jafar was trying to take down Judal's barrier using his metal vessel, causing Judal an enormous headache. She rubbed her eyes and took a few minutes to wake up fully before getting ready to leave. She didn't have much to do because of Judal's preparations. She stopped Jafar mid-attack and hugged him goodbye before sprinting off to find the other generals and Sinbad. She said goodbye to everyone, taking an especially long time with Yamraiha who wanted to check on the baby one last time before she let the magi leave. None of them liked the idea of letting Aladdin go to the Kou Empire but it wasn't like they could force her to stay.
She and Judal flew on his magic carpet. She relaxed against him and enjoyed the feeling of the wind on her skin. He flew faster then she did.
It didn't take as long as she expected to reach the palace. Judal flew low over the capital city so she could see the busy streets filled with carriages and people. She gasped when she saw the palace.
"It's so different from what I imagined. It's nothing like Sindria's palace."
Judal smirked at her and landed in the middle of the gardens near his favorite peach tree. Aladdin stood up and looked around. The gardens had a very different type of beauty from Sindria. Aladdin wanted to lie down and take a nap but Judal was pulling her away. She followed him into the palace and through several corridors. They kept going deeper and deeper into the palace. Aladdin lost track of how many turns they made when they finally stood outside a door. She noticed there weren't any servants in the area. There was a familiar voice coming from inside. Judal flung the door open and walked in casually pulling her alone with him. He seemed bored.
"Judal you're back! And you brought…Aladdin? I thought you were in Magnostadt."
"Kouha!"
"You know her?"
"Mei Mei she is the one I traveled with on the way to Magnostadt. She was going to study magic over there. Why are you here Aladdin?"
"Uhhmmm…It's kind of a long story actually."
Kouha looked between the two magi and how they were holding hands before breaking into a huge grin. "So that's how it is huh? Is that why you were in such a good mood great Oracle?"
"Shut the hell up. I don't need to deal with a noisy King's Candidate right now."
"Judal what's going on?"
"I brought a friend home with me. You don't have a problem with that do you?"
"And who is this friend? Last I checked you wouldn't even consider Kouha a friend."
"Kouen, you are too obsessed with history. Stop thinking about the past. You're the one who said I should find a woman to 'relieve some stress.'"
"This isn't exactly what Brother meant. You have been gone for too long. The empress is getting testy."
"You are saying she is annoyed because I have been ignoring my work? That's funny coming from my laziest dungeon capturer. Where is the old hag? I need someone to watch Aladdin while I'm gone doing Gyokuen's dirty work."
"I'll do it! I haven't seen Aladdin since we parted in Magnostadt."
"Are you talking about Kougyoku? We don't really get along well."
"Aladdin you seem different from last time."
"Well, like I said a lot happened."
"I wonder why Judal took such an interest in you. If he was so interested in younger women there are plenty here."
"Maybe it's because I'm a magi too?"
"I don't remember Kouha mentioning that."
"I didn't know! That must be why you seem so much more powerful then before."
"Uh, I guess. I had magic tools blocking the flow of rukh to my body so no one would be able to tell."
"I see. Well, we can talk about that later. Let's go get food."
Kouha took her hand and pulled her away from Judal. Koumei blocked the door before he could follow after them.
"What do you want?"
"You brought your pregnant girlfriend, who is a magi, here. Without any warning. Judal do you understand what will happen if Reim or Sindria find out. We are on too many military campaigns right now to protect ourselves from the full force of either of them."
"I thought En wanted them to give him a reason to start those wars. But it doesn't matter. Sinbad already knows and he won't do anything right now. He is too busy getting ready to fight Al Thamen."
"Judal, what happened?"
"En, you ask weird questions. I found something that stopped my boredom. Now if you don't mind I'll be entertaining myself some more."
Hello!
How did you like this chapter? There will be some bonding moments between Aladdin and the Rens coming up.
Ummmmm...If you would please take a moment and vote in the poll I would really appreciate it.
As usual feel free to review.
Until Next Time!
-Kizuna
