Chapter 11: Knowledge

Trigger warning! Skip "/" if you don't like to read about an assault.


I hummed a nursery rhyme Ja'far had taught me as I walked down the corridors towards the library.

Hanging out with Pisti was fun, she literally dragged me all over the palace and the nearby market place. I had a hard time following what she's saying, since she tend to speak fast, but I picked up a few words.

She introduced me to her pet bird, which was larger than an ostrich, and her prefered mount whose name I forgot again. It was a lovely bird and incredibly sweet as long as Pisti was nearby. Without her, the bird becomes a monster. I saw it once try to peck the eyeballs out of some poor stable boy as I passed by to deliver a message for Ja'far.

Pisti invited me to ride on her bird some time, but ever since seeing the boy's frightened face and terrified screech for the bird to stop trying to eat him, I had been avoiding answering her question. She's stopped asking after a while, which was a huge relief.

She taught me how to barter when we went down to the market place. Thanks to her, I have a lovely bronze butterfly hairclip pulling back my long bangs away from my eyes. It wasn't exactly the cheapest thing in the market, but she helped me haggle.

As for where I got the money from…

It's from Ja'far.

I started helping him sort the library in my spare time. I thought it's a good idea for me to learn new words and get more acquainted with the alphabet, which he agreed whole heartedly. It wasn't until three weeks ago that he started paying me though.

I had refused him profusely. They were already letting me live in the palace, gave me clothes, food and and education, but in the end, I gave in.

My older brother once compared my stubborness to a wire fence. It's easy to break through with a good argument. And if my stubborness can be compared with a wire fence, Ja'far's would be a wall. A great big wall. The wall of China. Sinbad is probably the only person who can change the white haired man's mind. So I'll compare the king to a wrecking ball.

You can say that Sinbad came in like a wrecking ball whenever he tried to persuade Ja'far to do something.

Aladin was the one who convinced me to take the cash. "Do you wish to stay here forever?" the young boy had asked in English.

"Of course not."

"Then you'll need money if you want to survive the outside world."

That was a really good argument on his part. A really, really good one. It seems that even in a fantasy world like Magi, money still rules the world.

I told Ja'far that I won't accept the payment if I hadn't earned it and he agreed to let me work as his personal messenger. I ran around carrying papers and scrolls, went to do random errands and sometimes, Ja'far would bring me with him to greet some noble or dignitary waiting to meet Sinbad, who was still somewhere in the Kou Empire.

Those gatherings were incredibly nerve wracking, but they usually ignored me whenever he had to meet them. All I had to do was stand there and look pretty, pour in some tea every now and then before giving the sweetest smile I could muster.

I adjusted the uniform I wore. Everyone in the palace, besides the soldiers and guards, wore them. It's the beige and green robes that Ja'far always wears. I've never seen the guy in any casual clothes. Does he even own casual clothes?

Mine's a bit different thanks to Pisti. It's a lot shorter than the standard and barely reached my knees. When I asked her if it was alright to be customising the clothes -because really, wasn't the point of uniforms supposed to be make you look the same as everyone else- she told me, "The colours and colars are what's important. You can wear and customise it in anyway you want as long as those stays the same."

Usually, people don't bother with changing the clothes because it costs too much. The blonde girl decided to get mine tailored before I found out about it. She even payed for it!

I swore to her that I'll pay her back, but she just shook her head and gave me an impish grin. "Being one of the Eight Generals of Sindria has it's perks, you know," she winked.

I opened the library and stepped inside. I placed the messenger bag I've been dragging around with me everyday, on a nearby table but froze as soon as I caught a glimpse of the library.

It was in total chaos. There were books and scrolls strewn everywhere, and for a moment, I saw red. I've been cleaning up and organizing this place for months, I left this place immaculately clean yesterday and now I return to chaos.

I knew it can't be any of the regulars who would dare to make a mess in here. They've seen me chew out some poor soldier searching for a book and accidentally made a clutter of everything.

Everyone knew that if you're not going to return the books or scrolls or whatever you borrowed in the correct place, you'll be in for a world of pain. If they thought that I wouldn't know, oh, they are so wrong. I'll know since no book will leave or enter this place without them being registered and catalogued.

I've convinced Ja'far to hire some more librarians since they only had a few before, which is why the place was in total disarray when I arrived. Ja'far confided that it hasn't always been like this.

However, after Sinbad had no more room left to store his private book collection in, the guy started to dump them in the library. At first everyone was delighted, because come on, you can read and borrow the private collection of the king, how cool is that? But then other people started leaving their own collections in the library, and since then, it's been a total mess.

There were only a few librarians who had the nerve to tell civil servants off, and they usually lost their job really fast. Which is why I was a blessing in disguise, because everyone knew that if they mess with me, they mess with Ja'far.

And no one wants to mess with Ja'far. Not even Sinbad.

It made me feel mortified that people would think that Ja'far was so over-protective of me. I don't want people to treat me differently. It's almost the same as back home. My classmates tend to walk on egg shells around me, because they're afraid of my parents.

My father was the chief of the police and mother was a judge.

Yeah, no one ever offered me drugs in high school.

When I asked Ahmira why people thought that Ja'far would be angry if someone decided to be a little shit head to me, she answered with "You're basically his apprentice," and left it at that. As if that explained everything.

But she explained to me that Ja'far tend to baby youngsters, which is why he's acting like a new mother, unsure what to do but coddle the children. Right, that didn't make me feel any better.

I jumped in surprised as the pile of books and scrolls on the floor shifted and a blond head poked out. "Ow…"

It took me a long time until my brain registered that I knew that voice. "Alibaba?" I asked while slowly approaching him.

"Claire! Hey," he looked up and laughed nervously, embarassed to be seen in such a position. "Long time no see."

"Indeed," I dead panned. I think the last time I've seen him, he was moping around in his room. It was when I approached Aladin to teach me how to read. "What are you doing here? And were you the one who made a mess here?"

He looked at me with wonder, as if he's never seen me before. "Wow, Aladin wasn't joking when he said that you learned the language in such a short time! You're really smart."

I straightened and looked away, my anger momentarily forgotten. Monique always told me that I have a hard time accepting compliments. And that I have a bad habit of straightening my clothes whenever I'm flustered. Which I am doing now. Damn it.

He stood up and dusted his clothes, wincing slightly as he patted his back. "Something wrong?" I asked.

"Uh nah, everything's fine." He hissed as he rubbed the back of his skull, looking at his hand with shock.

Gasping, I grabbed his hand and stared with wide eyes. "You're bleeding!" Before he even realised it, I was dragging him to the nearest chair. "Stay here," I ordered.

I quickly went behind the counter and reached for the first aid kit. There were several bandages there because the band aid hasn't been invented yet. And if you're wondering why a library would even have a first aid kit, well, we had to treat paper-cut with something. No one wants to read anything with blood smears on it.

I went behind Alibaba and examined his head. The wound was shallow, which was a relief. I wouldn't know what to do with a deep wound. I'd probably have to run and find the nearest person to call the medic, who was most likely having lunch, so the they had to run to the other side of the palace while I try to make sure Alibaba stayed alive.

I parted the blond hair and cleaned his wound as best as I could. It was weird to see him defeated by books, when only a few months ago, a black monster was throwing him all over the place. Was this the power of being the main character of a series?

Surviving monsters but getting killed by something simple as a fall? This made me wonder what ultimately killed the main characters of a story. Would it be the villain who was finally able to defeat the hero in an epic battle? No, sir. The one who killed the hero was a peanut. Didn't you know that the hero has a peanut allergy? Well, neither did he.

All this time I was tending to him, Alibaba hasn't said a word. I started talking to fill in the silence. I refrained from asking if he had a peanut allergy. Did they even have peanuts here? "So what brings you here?"

"Oh, uhhh…" He tilted his head slightly as I began to bandage him. "I heard that the latest 'Adventure of Sinbad' scroll has been released and thought that they might have a copy in the library. I don't have enough money to buy it at the market place and I really want to read it. But so far, no luck."

I hummed and tied the bandages, dragging a chair to sit in front of him as I examined the palms of his hand. There were several scratches on his right hand and his wrist looks like it's slowly turning blue. I poked it and watched him wince. "Can you move your hand?"

He gave it a little slow twist, his face set in a grimace.

Well, at least it's not broken.

I cleaned the wound and searched for an ointment in the kit. "Well, you're out of luck. For some reason, there's not a single copy of the scroll in here."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

He looked down like a kicked puppy and whimpered like one too as I gently applied the ointment. I sighed, "You know what, I'll ask some people here if they own it and borrow it for you, is that alright?"

"You'll really do that?"

I shrugged "It's not like it's a big deal."

I tied the bandage and looked at my work. It's not bad, I've had a ton of practice bandaging my brothers wrists. My big brother was a basketball player and sprained his wrists a couple of times before he stopped playing because he didn't want to hurt his hand anymore. Aiming to be an artist changed his perspective on things. Like his hand, which became such a valuable body part for him, he would have insured it for thousands of pounds if it weren't for mother telling him not to be a dumbass. Dave was the goalie of his school's football team and he has the tendency to hurt more than his wrist trying to catch the ball. Like his nose.

I stood up and went to pick up the mess he created when he fell down from the ladder to reach a book from a higher shelf.

And when I say high, I meant high. The shelves in this place is as high as a three story house and Ja'far mentioned that they might add more to it. These people are crazy, it's like they're trying to recreate the library of Alexandria.

"I'll help you with that."

I looked behind me to see Alibaba standing up from his seat and holding the first aid kit on his good hand. "It's fine, I can do it on my own."

"No, I'll help. It's my fault that it's a mess."

"You're hurt," I pointed out.

He lifted the first aid kit with a grin, "Well, good thing I have another hand, right?" He started picking up the books and scrolls before I could even comment. I shrugged and went on with it.

"So, are you a fan of 'The Adventures of Sinbad'?" he asked as a conversation starter.

"I've never read it before," I looked up at the sudden silence and saw Alibaba freeze in his task. I was instantly reminded of Monique when I somehow, in someway, slighted her. "Uhhh, but I've wanted to read it when I heard of it. They just didn't have it in the library…"

There was a glint in his eyes that, once again, reminded me of Monique before she starts to sprout about whatever obsession she currently fancies. "I have the first scroll with me, if you want you can read it." Alibaba's enthusiasm was very much like my friends'. They're so alike at the moment, it's kind of scary. I bet that if Alibaba was as animated as Monique, he'll be threatening me until I decide to agree.

"Sure," was my simple reply.

"Great! I'll bring it over tomorrow."

I nodded and grinned. "It's a date then." I watched in amusement as his head became as red as a tomato and he turned his back to me. He crouched and rocked back and forth, mumbling about something or another.

This… is kind of creepy.

I cautiously approached him. I hope that he didn't hit his head that hard to the point that he became crazy. This close to him, I can understand what he's whispering about. "Finally, a date. See Kassim, I don't need your help to get a girlfriend."

Oh dear, it seems like he took the joke seriously. "Uhh…"

He stood up quickly, startling me, and grinned. "Yes, it's a date then."

His good mood and bright smile was contagious, I couldn't bring myself to tell him that I was kidding. Who would even agree to have a library date? I don't think bookworms would even like that. Anyway, a single date didn't mean that we're a pair.


Pisti almost choked on her drink as I told her about my oncoming rendezvous. "Oh, my goodness! A date in the librury. That is so cute,"

I rolled my eyes as she started to guffaw once more. "It's really not that funny…"

"It's no wonder that he's in such a good mood when I saw him! You need to officilly introduce me to him. As your newest best friend, I demand to know the boy you'll be dating." That's right, Pisti hasn't met Alibaba yet. She knew of him, like everyone else who's part of the great gossip ladder, but she didn't know him.

Being a banished prince seeking refuge in Sindria isn't special. Pisti told me that there are a lot of royalties living in the tiny island, but seeing as Alibaba is a Dungeon Conqueror, more people payed attention to him.

"Pisti, you sound like my mother." I drank a sip of my favourite drink in Sindria. It tastes a lot like Pina Colada, except there isn't much alcohol in it. God bless Sinbad for making the legal age to drink certain alcohol fourteen. I'm not allowed to drink the strong stuff like Pisti yet.

And yes, Pisti is in fact older than me. Imagine my surprise when she told me that. I thought for sure that she was at around the same age as Aladin.

"Oh phshhttt. You can't lie to me. I kno you think it's arobalble? Aroboblel. Arbodoral?"

I smirked at her. "You mean 'adorable'?"

"Yeaaaah! Thas te word!"

I shook my head at her and glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. It says that it's almost midnight. I stood up and placed the money I owed, "I got to go now, Pisti."

"Awwwww really?" She clung to my arm and gave me her puppy dog eyes. "Can't you tell Ja'far to stop bein a worrywart? He's like a motherhen. Tell him you're not his doghter! That way we can hang out looooonnnngerrrrrrrr."

I gently pried myself off from her and smiled. "You know I have to wake up early tomorrow. I have to deliver his messages before the ship to Reim sails at the crack of dawn." Me having a bed time didn't have anything to do with Ja'far. I created it myself so that I can work to the fullest in the morning.

She pouted but let go, shifting her attention to a handsome young man sitting across from her.

I smiled fondly and went out, waving at some people who worked at the bar Pisti and I frequented. Once I was out of the lively establishment,I took a deep breath and glanced at the sky full of stars.

It's quiet incredible how welcoming this place has been once I was able to understand the language to some degree. It felt like I lived here forever. Like I grew up in this wonderful island filled with kind people. That I've been friends with Pisti for eternity. It felt like my previous life is slowly slipping away from me. Like my parents, siblings and friends have been nothing but a dream. London wasn't real, England never existed and the Earth with all it's amazing technology was nothing but a figment of my imagination.

I fingered my cellphone in the pocket of my dress. The cold touch of metal reminded me that my previous life on Earth is real. The pictures inside the phone aren't fake. I'm Claire Hawkins, daughter of Benedict "Benny" Hawkins and Elena Hawkins, half sister of Jonathan "Jay" Martin, older sister of David Hawkins and best friend of Monique Cisse.

I'm real and they're real.

A huge hand grasped my arm and dragged me to a dark alley. My body moved on its own accord and I punched the person behind me in the gut, only to wince because the guy was wearing armor.

/

The man reeking of alcohol threw me further into the alley and chuckled. I winced as my knees scraped on the floor. I stood up craddling the hand I used to defend myself with, slowly inching further and further until my back hit a brick wall. "Let's have some fun, missy," he slurred.

I looked to the right and left, trying to find somewhere to run, but so far, the only way out of this situation is straight ahead. I'm trapped like an animal in a slaughter house.

What do I do?

What do I do?

What do I do?!

Mother never taught me how to defend myself against someone wearing armor! I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself. "Not gonna cry and beg for mercy? That's fine too."

Before I knew it, he was clutching my face and giving a forceful kiss. Half my dress was ripped and barely hanging on my shoulder and I was struggling to get out of his grasp.

He pulled back to take a breath and I saw my chance. I kicked his left knee as hard as I could. The result was music to my ears. His bone snapped and he yowled in pain. I think he was expecting me to kick him in the nuts because he moved his hand to cover his middle. So me breaking his knee was a surprise to him.

But the fact that he was expecting me to hurt his family jewels meant that this wasn't the first time he tried to assault some poor girl.

I didn't have time to admire the bone sticking out of his leg or the blood gushing out as I made a run for it, only for the guy to grab a hold of my hair and slam me at the wall. "You little … sucking bitch! You'll pay for that!"

He smashed my head again and again until I could feel blood running down my face and getting to my half lidded eyes. He let go and like a rag doll, I slid down the wall.

"Some one, please help..." I murmured.

The man scoffed and balanced himself on one leg to take off his pants.

/

This feeling of fear that's overcoming me reminded me of Balbadd. Of the black devil destroying everything and everyone. Of Morgiana protecting people she didn't know and Alibaba trying his hardest to save his friends. Of Aladin coming to the rescue and a voice whispering in my ears, only this one's worse. Because no one will come to my rescue.

Morgiana isn't here to catch me. Sinbad was in a different land. The hero of the story was happily going through his luggage, excited for his date and the young child Aladin was already asleep.

Who can help me now? Who can protect me? Ja'far? Pisti? Who?

Who can help me?

Come child. Embrace me and I shall protect you for all eternity.

That voice sounded really familiar. Like an old friend holding my hand, my father's protective embrace and my mother's warm smile.

Yes, I'd like that.

Come.

I could feel power going through me. It was cold and hot at the same time. Like alcohol and honey sliding down my lungs.

I heard someone scream and the sound of glass shattering. "What's going on here?!"

A womans voice.

Laughter.

Hissing.

Darkness.


She sighed as she finished healing the girls' wounds. She woke her up as soon as possible to test if the younger girl had a concussion. Luckily, she didn't, which is why the brunette was resting peacefully in the hospital ward.

She knew the girl. She knew that she was Ja'far's unoficcial apprentice/assistant. He won't be happy when he found out what happened to her. He's always been a bit of a motherhen.

"Where is she?"

"Right on time," she thought. She didn't say a word as the pale man saw the young girl and headed straight to her. She could tell that he was analysing the damage in his own way and she waited for him to finish.

"What happened to her, Yamuraiha?"

The witch of Sindria and one of the Eight Generals shifted on her feet and explained. "I think that she was about to get raped."

That froze the man. A fire she rarely saw nowadays ignited in his eyes and she shivered at the thought of whoever decided to get on his bad side. "Where is he," Ja'far didn't scream, only spoke in a low voice. Dangerous and deadly, that's what he is.

Yamuraiha calmly gave him a jar full of dust. The white haired man looked at it in confusion. "Why are you handing me this?"

"That's him," she answered with a light shrug. "He got incinerated when I got there. I wasn't harmed thanks to my borg."

"What?"

"You heard me. That girl over there did some really powerful heat magic and turned him to dust," Yamuraiha saw the conflicted look the white haired man shot the young girl and she could hear the gears in his head turning. "Don't worry, she won't be a danger to Sindria, the Eight Generals or anyone with a high amount of Magoi. Unless she got her power controlled."

Ja'far sat at the chair beside the bed and leaned his head on his hands. "Sinbad told me that she performed magic in Balbadd. She was casting borgs at the soldiers and protecting Morgiana from the attack of the Black Djinn."

Yamuraiha straigthened at the mention of magic and frowned as his words sank in. "But you have to be a really powerful magician to perform a borg for others."

"Yes, and as far as Sinbad could tell, her borgs were erratic and wasn't perfectly balanced like those of a trained magicians. Sin could tell easily where to strike to destroy the borg completely."

Yamuraiha hummed in thought. "Usually, a well balanced borg is a sign of mastery. Since she obviously has no idea what she was doing... is it possible that she never had magical training before?"

Ja'far shrugged. "I never had the time to ask her," at Yamuraiha's lifted eyebrows, the man added, "Well, I can't just ask her if she ever had any magical education before. She didn't even know how to speak our language when she first came here."

"I guess you're right, but raw talent such as this would be a waste not to polish, no?"

Ja'far sat back and watched the magician through half lidded eyes, trying to find out what was going through her head. "You're planning to teach her magic?"

Yamuraiha smirked and lifted her staff. "She's obviously not of this world. No matter how far south she says she lives in this world, there's no way that she cannot know of the language we speak."

The four children who came to Sindria months ago was the talk of the island. There was a banished prince, a Fanalis, a girl who didn't know of their language because she lived really far away and of course the Magi. Yamuraiha was excited to meet the Magi, but her experiments and potions made her too busy to even search for him.

"That's what Sin said."

"Oh, the king knows?"

Ja'far shrugged. "You know that no matter how much he tries to hide it, Sin is incredibly shrewd."

Yamuraiha smiled. "Indeed."


AN: Hi guys!

Sorry for the late update! Work has been crazy this past few months! I was planning to post this chapter on the first anniversary of this fic, but alas I tend to pass out once I'm home.

But now that the brochures has been printed and the event on it's way, I can finally take a deep breath and rest!

I didn't want to put the warning for the assault at the beginning of the chapter, because it'll spoil it, but it's better safe than sorry. I don't want anyone to feel hurt by that.

Anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter! And yessssss Yamuraiha is introduced!