Chapter 10: The Little Mermaid Part 2

During their trek, Alibaba got to see his new surroundings without any distractions. The land was an expanse of uniform greenness where trees clustered at the edges. Whenever the wind blew, the gentle gust rustled the grass and swept his hair in a caress. Behind the forests were snowcapped mountains that reached for the clear skies. The air here was so fresh and filled his lungs invigoratingly.

As much he missed Balbadd, Alibaba would admit that the environment here was a salubrious comparison to the people-infested streets he had grown up in.

While taking a stroll in a place like this would have been a pleasant event, taking a stroll with Hakuryuu made it an awkward one. Their conversations were stilted and soon came to a halt after Alibaba had regurgitated the same slave trader story that he had told Hakuei. Hakuryuu had given him his condolences, but that was it. Alibaba had no idea what to say afterwards, and it was obvious that Hakuryuu didn't know either.

He also felt certain that Hakuryuu did not hold any feelings for him, whether romantic or sexual.

Rather than worrying about what their next discussion topic should be, Alibaba busied himself by observing more of the area. It wasn't everyday that he got the chance to be in a place where he wasn't enclosed in slabs of concrete. The open terrain instilled him a sense of liberation that nearly compelled him to run around in circles. But he didn't. Because that would be unladylike.

Besides, he wouldn't be able to do so when wearing a dress like this.

"Pardon me, Lady Ariel, but there is something that I wish to talk to you about."

Hakuryuu's voice broke through his reverie. When Alibaba registered the prince's words, he felt his blood chill. Oh no. Was the guy going to confess? Maybe Hakuei was right all along.

The blond forced a smile and asked, "What is it, Prince Hakuryuu?"

"Let's sit down for this."

Oh nooo. He was getting serious! "Of course."

Since there wasn't a log or boulder in sight, they settled down on the verdant stalks. Alibaba was briefly worried that the grass would stain Hakuei's gown, but the fields turned out to be dry and perfect for sitting. The stalks that weren't compressed under their weight acted like their nesting walls. Was this how baby birds lived like?

Alibaba turned his attention back to Hakuryuu, who was now fidgeting. He suppressed a grimace.

"What was it that you wished to tell me, your highness?" Alibaba prompted.

"Well, this has been on my mind for quite some time," Hakuryuu began slowly. He paused. "I mean, when I first saw you, that is."

Alibaba's stomach lurched, but he maintained his smile. "Yes…?"

"Please forgive me if I sound rude…"

"Out with it, man!" Alibaba's mind screamed.

After moments of dawdling, Hakuryuu finally managed to blurt out, "Excuse my imposition, but you don't happen to be Cinderella of Balbadd, are you?"

"My apologies, your highness, but—" Alibaba sighed out before he cut himself off with, "Wait, what?"

His mind went blank before it kickstarted back into action.

"Huh?" Alibaba choked out.

"Huh?" Hakuryuu parroted. "What are you sorry for?"

"I—uh—it's…" Alibaba shook his head vigorously. "It's nothing! But—what—Cinderella?"

"Um, are you Cinderella?"

"What? No!" Confusion, anxiety, and fear surged within him, causing him to stumble over his articulation. He tried to smother them. "I-I'm not. My name is Ariel. I—didn't your sister tell you that?"

"She did, but…" Hakuryuu chewed his lip. "I just wanted to make sure."

"Well, I'm not this Cinderella person," he reiterated.

"Oh. Okay."

Silence ensued.

"But why do you ask?" Alibaba asked. He didn't stammer, but it was a close thing.

"It doesn't matter," Hakuryuu said. He abruptly stood up and bowed. "I sincerely apologize if I caused you any discomfort. That was not my intention."

"No, no! It's fine," he insisted, waving his hands in front of him. "Please, your highness, sit back down. There is no need for you to apologize, I assure you."

The compunction marring on his face conveyed otherwise, but he nevertheless lowered him, albeit reluctantly. "Even so…"

"Despite your presumption, I am hardly offended at all. You simply had a curiosity that you wanted to satisfy—that is hardly a crime, your highness." Upon hearing that, the tension in the prince's shoulders eased slightly.

Alibaba was made incredulous by this behavior. One would think that a member of the royal family would be without any reservations in inquiring anything from someone seemingly of lowborn status. Yet, here he was, trying to set the prince's mind at rest knowing that he did not place an attack on his dignity. No one would be offended by the question of being compared to someone else.

Well, actually, people would be offended by that, but the way Hakuryuu had asked it would hardly evoke any insult. Although, in Alibaba's case, it was more troubling than offensive.

Firstly, he was indeed Cinderella of Balbadd (and the specification was made too clear to let there be any other Cinderella—not that there was anyone with that name); secondly, there was a Kou prince other than Kouen and Koumei who knew about Cinderella. That implied that Kouen must have had deigned it important to allow his family to become aware of Cinderella and the proceedings of the ball; thus, they knew about the stolen document.

And if Hakuryuu had asked him about being Cinderella, then that meant that they were keeping a look out for him.

That was when he realized: Was that why Hakuryuu had looked at him the way he did when he was unconscious? According to Hakuei, her brother hadn't been able to tear his eyes away from his face, so perhaps…?

But how was it that Hakuryuu had been able to arrive to that conclusion when Hakuei hadn't? Did Kouen not tell her about Cinderella?

No, Kouen probably did tell her—he had told her of a Balbaddian blonde girl. Hakuei had undressed him and had discovered him to be a man, which must have had cleared him of suspicion in her eyes. But Hakuryuu remained under the impression that Alibaba was a woman, hence him asking.

(Then again, reflecting back on Hakuei's gross story, it seemed that she hadn't even thought about him being possibly Cinderella since she had been so absorbed in giving her brother a lady friend.)

Alibaba's insides twisted in discomfort. He reminded himself that he was still in the Tenzan Plateau, that he wasn't in Kou, that he had Hakuei to testify for him (for the time being). When his nerves settled, he braved a chance to look at Hakuryuu who happened to be looking back at him.

"I wish to make something clear," Hakuryuu said. "It wasn't that I did not believe your story regarding you and your family's misfortune. I just wanted to…confirm something. I hope you can see that my contrition is sincere. I apologize for taking you lightly."

So that was what he was upset about? This guy really was something…

A nice person, he thought.

"I understand," Alibaba said. "Although, I am curious as to who this Cinderella is. I assume that she looks just like me?"

"I don't wish to trouble you over the details. It's an unpleasant story."

Unpleasant? Unpleasant? If it really was unpleasant, then Alibaba supposed that he was better off not hearing about it. He already figured that he was a wanted person, anyway. "If you deem it as such, your highness."

Hakuryuu nodded. "Anyway, we should be heading back now if we want to make it in time for lunch."

"Certainly."

Hakuryuu stood up and presented him his hand. When Alibaba accepted, he was surprised to find how easily the prince was able to pull him up. For someone who was similar in his height and size, Hakuryuu was quite strong. Alibaba was glad that he had taken up Hakuei on her offer of training.

When night fell, Alibaba retired to his tent. Hakuei followed him inside.

"So? How was your date?" she asked.

He reflexively made a face at the word "date," but knew that Hakuei wasn't serious by it. "It wasn't too bad," he allowed. "Although, I do believe that you're mistaken in your assessment of your brother's feelings."

Hakuei blinked. "How so?"

"That night when he brought me here, he wasn't looking at me because he fell for me; he looked at me because I seemed familiar," Alibaba said dryly. "This morning, he asked me if I was Cinderella."

"Oh," she said blankly.

"He didn't tell me who this Cinderella was, though. He said that hearing it would be unpleasant."

"It is." Hakuei sighed and sat down next to Alibaba. "For that poor girl, it certainly is."

Huh?

For that poor girl?

She made it sound as though she felt sorry for Cinderella.

Alibaba furrowed his brows. "What do you mean?"

"Since you were travelling at the time, you probably wouldn't know too much about it. I wouldn't know how the news would spread to your ears if you're on the road," Hakuei began. "Well, over a month ago, one of the Kou Empire's domains, Balbadd, held a ball—"

"A month ago?" Alibaba couldn't help but blurt out.

She glanced at him, puzzled. "Yes, a month ago. Technically, a month and a half. Is there something wrong?"

"Ah, no, no. I just thought I misheard it," he said hurriedly. "Please continue."

"Ah, alright." She still appeared confused but nonetheless moved on. "As I was saying, Balbadd was holding a ball. Kings and queens and anyone with distinguished titles were invited to come, but the main attraction was the king of Sindria and the princes of the Kou Empire. There was a need of a discussion regarding Balbadd's trade industry since Sindria was reliant on them for resources."

Which Sindria had been cut off from the trade because the Kou Empire's takeover.

"For some reason, the Balbaddian governor even allowed women of various upbringings to attend the ball." She shrugged. "Perhaps it was to show his goodwill to his people. Perhaps it was to fill up the palace with female company. Regardless of the reason, it was a bad move on his part."

"Why do you say that?" he asked.

"You'll see what I mean afterwards. Anyway, my cousins—Lord Kouen and Lord Koumei—attended the ball."

Cousins? They were cousins? Alibaba did see that Hakuei and Hakuryuu held little to no resemblance to the redhaired princes, but he had at least thought that the two sets of siblings had just ended up inheriting one of their parents' physical traits more strongly than the other.

"Lord Koumei is a somber and taciturn man, yet he does have his moments of humor. It was on that night that he decided to make a show for it when he dared his brother to dance with one of the patrons. Never one to back down from a challenge, Lord Kouen went for it," Hakuei sighed, although her fondness for both men was apparent.

Alibaba pursed his lips. So the reason why Kouen had dragged him to the dance floor was due to a dare?

"The woman who Lord Kouen danced with happened to be the governor's younger sister, Cinderella. Lord Kouen hadn't told us much, but Lord Koumei said that the girl had Lord Kouen captivated."

Captivated? Was that how Koumei described two people not getting along? Otherwise, he needed to get his eyes checked.

"Unfortunately, in a rare bout of clumsiness, Lord Kouen stepped on her foot, which resulted her injury."

That was not how it had happened. Kouen had done it on purpose!

"Penitent, he then carried her to his quarters where he treated her. I have been told that Lord Kouen and Lady Cinderella established an understanding with each other and that they agreed upon a contract of marriage."

That wasn't what had happened either! Alibaba had voiced his uncertainty and Kouen had gotten pissed at him for being uncertain! Had Koumei been the one responsible for telling her all these inanities?

"He was then called away to hold his meeting with King Sinbad of Sindria, leaving Lady Cinderella alone. It was in that duration that Lady Cinderella was abducted."

"A-abducted?" Alibaba repeated.

"Yes. When he returned to his room, he found the doors to the balcony wide open and her slipper left behind. On the balcony was a ransom note."

"A ransom note," he sputtered.

Hakuei nodded. "The person who wrote the note said that he was grateful for the opportunity to enter the palace permitted by the governor and to steal away the girl. He added that he would return Lady Cinderella in exchange for Lord Kouen's abdication to the throne."

Alibaba gasped.

Mistaking his shock for that being for Kouen's sake, Hakuei smiled grimly. "But there is no need to worry—Lord Kouen is not one to surrender. He made a vow to find this villain and rescue Lady Cinderella."

Only the villain was his fairy godfather and Lady Cinderella was in no need of rescuing.

For that matter, Yunan had lied to him. The man in green hadn't said that the note demanded for Kouen to give up the throne! He had said that the note…!

Actually, Yunan hadn't lied to him at all. He had said that what was written on the note was a secret.

Alibaba wanted to slap his forehead in exasperation. That man and his stupid secrets. It seemed that he had a closet full of them.

Just what had Yunan been thinking when he had left that note?

"I truly admire my cousin for being so valiant in his efforts."

"I wouldn't think that your cousin would care to find a foreign lady who he just met for one night," Alibaba said awkwardly.

"Lord Kouen did say that she made quite an impression on him," Hakuei said. "It explains why he is devoted in saving her."

Devoted, she said.

Did he really impress Kouen? All Alibaba had done was make fun of Kouen's dancing and attire and had nervously insisted for the man to not behead him. He recalled that Kouen had stated that he normally didn't receive any backtalk from any women, that Alibaba had been an oddity. Rather than wowing the man, Alibaba was positive that he had just annoyed him.

If Koumei had been the only one to relay what occurred during the ball, then Alibaba would have been able to chalk it up to the man seeing things with rose-colored lenses. But Kouen had even placed his input! Alibaba genuinely didn't believe that Kouen had actually developed any feelings for him, but rather had viewed the blond as a tool to secure Balbadd's capitulation to the Kou Empire.

Also, knowing the man's nature, Kouen had been ticked off being blackmailed in such a manner. Surrender the throne? No, no. Certainly not. He was going to find the perpetrator and kill him for even thinking of making demands from the Crown Prince.

"How will your cousin find Lady Cinderella? Does he have an inkling as to where she might be?" Alibaba asked.

"Her location is uncertain. What we do know is that, regarding the note, the kidnapper was possibly someone without rank. The guards cleared the attendees of their innocence, but it would make sense that they would be. After all, the kidnapper wouldn't have stayed long to be caught."

"But couldn't the nobility have hired someone to do the kidnapping? They could have lied about something in the note."

"Lord Kouen had Governor Ahbmad verify that. The first suspect was actually King Sinbad."

No way.

"Since Sindria suffered the most from Balbadd's change in governance, it was believed that King Sinbad intended to hold Lady Cinderella hostage until the proceedings went his way."

"But he was proven innocent?"

"No, but he wasn't proven guilty either. As of right now, there exists tension between Sindria and the Kou Empire more so than before," Hakuei said seriously. "I myself hold no opinion since there isn't enough information to determine what the case may be. After all, anyone could have committed the crime."

To think that this big of a mess had occurred just because Alibaba had disappeared that night. He wondered how his brothers were faring now that they were in the center of it all. And how was it that Sahbmad had managed to convince their eldest brother into not disclosing Alibaba's true identity? Alibaba had been sure that Ahbmad would have done it the moment the news of his disappearance had been inevitably brought up.

"Since your brother asked me about Lady Cinderella, I'm assuming that your cousins told you to be on the lookout for her while on your expedition. Am I correct?"

"Yes. Although we do not have any paintings of her to go by, what we have been told is that Lady Cinderella is a girl with a slender figure, yellow hair, and hazel eyes."

"I can understand why the prince believed me to be Cinderella," Alibaba laughed nervously.

"It is remarkable how you fit the description so uncannily," Hakuei agreed. She paused and then asked him, "You wouldn't happen to see a girl like that during your capture, have you?"

Alibaba shook his head.

She sighed. "I don't know whether to be relieved or not. There's a possibility that she hasn't been slaved, but there's a possibility that she's experiencing an even worse fate."

Her words made his head spin. Kou had a slavery system themselves, which they had later implemented into Balbadd. Hakuei and Hakuryuu had expressed their sympathies for Alibaba's lie, though, so they were at least aware of the different treatment towards slaves. Admittedly, the five-year slave contract was more like indentured servitude.

He rubbed his head. His thoughts were trailing off on tangents. His exhaustion was wearing him down.

Hakuei took notice before he could say anything. "Oh, pardon me. You must be sleepy. It is getting late." She stood up and asked, "Do you require assistance in getting out of the dress?"

"No, I think I can handle it. Thank you, though."

"Of course," she said with a warm smile. "I apologize for keeping you up. I'll see you in the morning."

"No need for apologies. I'm grateful that you shared," he assured. "Have a good night, Hakuei."

"You as well, Ariel."

After Hakuei took her leave, Alibaba released a breath and wrestled himself out of the gown. He made sure not to ruin the fabric since he wanted to return it to its rightful owner. When finished, he slipped on the white robe left for him on the futon, and then collapsed onto the covers.

It turned out that Hakuryuu had been right. The story was unpleasant.

The day had been a long one. While he had basically done nothing eventful, the change of his surroundings and people had been a lot to take in. He rolled over to his side to blow out the candle, allowing the darkness to envelope him.

Too lazy to crawl underneath the covers, Alibaba closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

At some point, he woke up again to a vague thought. His mind supplied him a brief rundown over the important conversations he had with the prince and princess. His mind then pointed out that there was something about Hakuryuu's account that didn't quite add up.

Namely, why did Hakuryuu bother asking Alibaba in the first place?

If Hakuryuu did receive the same story that Hakuei did, then why question him being Cinderella regardless? Cinderella, being stolen away from her home, would have confessed who she was the moment she saw Hakuei, especially after developing a good relationship with the Crown Prince of Kou. If Hakuryuu believed the Cinderella in that story, then he would have dismissed Alibaba being Cinderella the moment Hakuei had told him that his name was Ariel.

Why would he think that Cinderella would hide who she was? Unless Hakuryuu had speculated that Cinderella had gotten amnesia or something? Maybe he had thought that she had been threatened not to reveal. Yet, putting that aside, it wouldn't make sense for Hakuryuu to want to bother confirming that Ariel was really Ariel.

Alibaba frowned to himself. He was probably overthinking these things. Hakuryuu was convinced that Alibaba was Ariel in the end, so there was no point in wondering about this.

On a cheerier note, Alibaba knew that Hakuryuu didn't like him the way Hakuei had believed, so he probably didn't need to maintain this stupid girly disguise any longer.

He then reflected on what Hakuei had said about Ahbmad allowing commoners to attend the ball. He hadn't thought much of it at the time, but, now that she had brought it up, he did think that it was weird. Ahbmad viewed peasants disdainfully, whether they were women or not.

If his revulsion for them wasn't enough, then granting potential thieves a convenient entry to the palace grounds was stranger. If not a woman, then anyone could have disguised himself as one and roam about freely—that was what Alibaba himself had done. Ahbmad was incompetent in terms of ruling, but he had enough sense to see that that had been a foolish move.

A foolish move that none of the guards, servants, or maids had thought of it to be. Not even the old cook with her arsenal of derisive comments had disparaged Ahbmad for his oversight. It was as if everyone in the palace had shared this lapse of judgment.

Alibaba was startled into sitting up.

He and the cook had joked about Ahbmad wanting to appease King Sinbad for his love of women, hence why he had invited women to attend the ball. Yet, jokes aside, the elder Ariel had made not one critique about Ahbmad's decision. She always had! She hadn't brought up her husband's usual skepticism about it either. She had just said about Sindria and Kou preferring to duke it out on lands that weren't their own—or, at least, that had been what her husband had told her.

He cupped his chin, pensive.

Alibaba considered that he was overthinking again, but another thought occurred to him. How was it that most of the residents of the palace had forgotten his position as a prince? Only his brothers, swordsman instructor, and two of his tutors remembered him being the late King Rashid's youngest son. But with him acting as a prince for three years and Ahbmad's public disavowal of him, everyone should have had known him.

Alibaba realized that he hadn't once thought of it as bizarre. Peculiar, yes—but not to the extent where he had been deeply troubled by the apparent holes in everyone's memories. Ever since he had begun his duties as a servant, the people there had treated him as though he had been merely a newcomer.

The deference and courtesy had been replaced with flippancy and affability. He had no longer been complied to, but rather had been bossed around.

And while Alibaba had admittedly preferred the casual treatment over the princely one, the abrupt alternation of behaviors should have been incredibly jarring. Yet it was as if his three years as a prince had been a distant memory. Alibaba himself hadn't bothered.

He was bothered by it now.

It was clear that being within the palace grounds had influenced the occupants in some way, from forgetting crucial details to sharing an oversight. But what was this daunting effect that had taken hold of everyone? Just…how was it that it had made them think the way that they thought? Or act the way they acted?

Magic, his mind suddenly pointed out.

Could it be…?

No. No.

Well, could it?

On the night of the ball, Alibaba had encountered Yunan for the first time. Yunan had claimed to be a close friend of Rashid and had managed to convince him into instigating his prophesized journey for the sake of Balbadd. True, he would have sacrificed himself for Balbadd's sake, Alibaba conceded to himself, but he wouldn't have had allowed himself to believe anything that Yunan had been spouting.

Not even when the man in green had transformed his clothes into a dress and elongated the length of his hair.

Did this mean that his fairy godfather had been the one who caused all this?

But for what purpose?

Alibaba lied back down and brought his hands over his eyes. He groaned.

He wouldn't be able to fall back asleep now.