Chapter 11 : A Broken Promise

A promise must never be broken. Alexander Hamilton

"Ali…baba," Aladdin said. Alibaba gave a glance back at Kassim, answering his question before he turned back towards Aladdin.

"Aladdin, it has been a while!" He raised his voice and for a moment there, Aladdin actually thought that nothing had changed at all. However, on the contrary, everything had changed. Aladdin knew it from the new looks in the blonde's eyes. They were much colder than before but still he had to make sure of something for himself and so he threw himself down and landed before Alibaba.

"Hey, Alibaba, it has been a while. I hope you didn't forget our promise. You said that you're going to show me the world." Those words were what Alibaba had spoken before. He said so himself that he was going to show him a lot of interesting things around the world and they would see them together. Then, why did he walk straight past him with a mutter of apology, something about him couldn't keep the promise?

Aladdin didn't know why it hurt when Alibaba did so. He didn't know why his body refused to move no matter how he urged them and he didn't know why the words had died on his tongue. He should have been prepared for this since the very start…but why? His mind was blank and his limbs were weak.

Forcing himself to spin around, what greeted him was a burst of flame and his crumbling ice wall as the flame devoured it. The ice hissed under the heat and it cracked before evaporated. In the deepest recess of his mind, he had a feeling that it was not just the ice wall that was crumbling away but him as well.

"The army is here!" Zaynab yelled in alert.

"Alibaba, we've to get out of here!" Kassim advised.

"Got it," Alibaba replied, unsheathing his knife and holding it in the air.

"Spirit of propriety and discipline, I command thee and thine. With my magoi as your source, use your great power to bring my will to life!" The seal shone brilliantly.

"Come forth Amon!" The chant was all Aladdin heard. With a blast of flame, he was gone. The person he called friend was gone. Aladdin dropped shakily to the ground but he opted himself to be calm and nonchalant. Behind him, he could sense Mor shifting as the black fog began to disperse. He couldn't stay here. Every moment here hurt. He needed to sort out his mind first before he could face anyone and to accomplish that, he would need to go somewhere quiet and safe.

It was all a mess now. He thought he was strong enough to do this. What a fool. He was a fool.

Morgiana gasped in surprise when Rukh, black and white came buzzing through. She reached out for Aladdin but the Rukh began to twirl madly and when they finally ceased, the child was nowhere to be seen. Ja'far stared with his eyes narrowed. Thing had gone through a pretty bad turn.

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"That's unexpected. There's a dungeon capturer in the Fog Troupe? And he's the person Aladdin's looking for? Just what kind of person is this Miracle Man Alibaba?" Sinbad listed out all his questions. Eying the massive damage done here, he shook his head. It really was a mess here. Never mind that, the most important thing was to deal with the Fog Troupe. The government could clear this mess up by themselves.

"Where's Aladdin?" The king asked when he scanned around, noticing the absence of the blue haired magi. Ja'far shifted and sobered. "He left soon after the thieves. I've no idea where he went."

"I see," Sinbad voiced while Ja'far frowned.

"Sin, if I told you this before, I'll tell you again. I've a bad feeling about that child," Ja'far said gravely.

Morgiana sniffed and gave the area a total scan, picking up the scents of various people. She had to do something about him; Alibaba.

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Alibaba didn't know what the right thing to do at the moment was. He wanted to be convinced that what he was doing now was right but he knew that deep down in his heart, it was not entirely right.

He confronted Kassim about the reason he took in so many random unknown men out of nowhere. He nearly got a heart attack when Kassim joked about starting a war. That was when he began to doubt himself about his doing. However, it seemed to be the only thing he could do for now. He wanted to see the smiling faces of the slum children. He wanted them to be able to live and stay safe.

He thought about Aladdin and a part of him wanted to ask for help and guidance from the child but he squelched the mere thought of it. After all, he had resolved to do this all by himself. He couldn't turn back or run away now. It was his responsibility and he would shoulder it alone.

If by continuing fighting was the only way of doing it, then he would do it for their sake.

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"I can't keep that promise."

Aladdin had reached his room at hotel and almost immediately, he sank into the soft bed. His mind was weary as he revised those words. He could feel his chest tightened. Groaning, he pushed himself up roughly, stumbling towards the window. Maybe, some viewing would help.

It didn't, instead it had make matter worse. Seeing that lonely moon in the sky brought back many memories, too many; their meeting, their adventure and finally their promise. Why? Why did humans make promise that they couldn't fulfil? Why did it hurt so much now? Argh, it was all so damn frustrating, annoying, irritating and confusing…

He sat on the floor, his back leaning against the wall as a support. His eyes firmly closed to push away those useless recollections. He was feeling so weak now. What caused him to be so?

The air stirred and Aladdin creaked open his eyes. In front of him, the dark Rukh was forming a passage before a figure emerged out of it.

"Markkio," Aladdin addressed lazily. He was in no mood to talk now.

"What's with the foul mood, magi?" The man asked. Aladdin's eyes lidded but no sound left his lips. "I see."

"Huh?" Aladdin was positively sure that he hadn't said anything!

"I told you before, right?" The masked figure began. "Friendship is useless. It'll only tie you down, making you weak."

"But, he's…Alibaba i-"

"He broke it, didn't him?" Aladdin's argument was cut in. "He broke his promise he made with you." There was a pause. "Face it. It's all a lie, so beautifully woven to trap you."

No, he refused to believe this but it was hard not to be convinced under these circumstances. Perfectly aware of the inner turmoil of the child, the man continued, "You know what to do from here on, right?"

A smirk and he was gone.

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There was someone in his room. Alibaba thought so but when his eyes perceived nothing, he concluded that he must have been more tired than he thought.

Alibaba felt like screaming. I meant who wouldn't if they lied down only to find a person stretched out directly above of them. He would have screamed if not for Mor to place her hand over his mouth.

It took a moment or two to finally register the fact that Morgiana was standing in from of him.

"Why're you here?" was the first question he posed.

"I tracked your scent here," Morgiana replied. "Why are you with the thieves? Please explain yourself to Aladdin. He seemed pretty sad about it."

"There's nothing to explain. Also, you're in the den of thieves. Leave before you get yourself killed." Did Mor look like she cared? It didn't matter where she was as long as she got to talk with the blonde. She needed to obtain some explanation from him, not only for her sake but for Aladdin's as well. Ever since the child vanished that night, Mor had a bad feeling. It felt as if something was going to happen if she didn't at least try to do something about the situation.

"I will not, Aladdin specially came to see you," Morgiana added.

"And what of it?" Ah, Alibaba was really getting on her nerve now. After a few failed attempts to argue with Alibaba, she deemed that it was useless to get through him with words. She would drag him along, kicking and screaming and so she did just that. Picking up the blonde teen easily in her arms to cut off his excuses, she leaped into the air.

"I will take you to Aladdin now," she said as the final warning before she jumped from roof to roof with Alibaba's scream torn through the night sky.

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"Balbadd's economy is currently in a terrible state of disorder. And this…" Ja'far held up a paper note before resuming, "…is one of the reasons."

"Paper money issued by Kou Empire," Sinbad stated.

"The Kou Empire is using their military prowess to try to circulate this paper money even in neighbouring countries. Balbadd's king, Ahbmad, has fallen under their influence. According to my research, it appears that he has married a princess of the Kou Empire," Ja'far informed further and Sinbad found himself frowning. That jerk. He didn't tell him that.

"There's also the problem of the Fog Troupe. Perhaps we should think about our next move and get in touch with our home country," Ja'far suggested helpfully and Sinbad agreed with him, saying that he had no a single metal vessels on him.

To make matter worse, Sinbad had a very bad feeling about something. It was as if calm before the storm. His mind wandered to a certain child and he couldn't help but worried about the child. Then, out of blue, he felt a tinge of dark feeling. It was teasing as if it deliberately let itself be known before it faded away to nothingness.

"Did you feel that?" Sinbad asked. In front of him, Ja'far threw him a confused stare. Wasting no time at all, he hauled himself out and decided to see for himself the source of the strange feeling. Ja'far, of course, followed him without any objection though he was baffled by the king's sudden movement.

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When Markkio was gone, Aladdin stole a glance at the night sky. His mind was processing all the words the man left and suddenly the room felt stuffy and uncomfortable.

Sighing heavily, he pulled at his turban and the cloth unfolded at the familiar movement. A step on the ground and he lifted himself onto the turban. Using it as a lift, he waited as the cloth carried him downwards. He didn't quite feel like using the main doors now for known reasons.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, he gave one last look at the night sky before wandering into one of the many alleys of Balbadd. Taking a late night stroll sounded good, especially for sorting out his messy mind and of course to decide on the thing he had to do after this.

The night air was cold and foggy as expected of a port city; Balbadd. Aladdin had thought that it was really beautiful city during the day but the only comment he could give to the city during the night was cold. It was everything but warm. Aladdin actually found it quite fitting with how he was feeling now and he let out a bitter chuckle.

He had lost count of how many turns he had taken and how many streets had he passed. All he could take note of was the soreness of his legs as he forcefully dragged himself across the many streets and alleys. He was lost both physically and mentally.

To say that the night was extremely dangerous was a true statement. What often happened when you let a child venture the night alone?

He was not in any mood to play. Aladdin mentally groaned when several men appeared out of nowhere. Their hands armed with various weapons. His eyes roved over the area to discover the fact that he was surrounded by ten or more men, each carrying a weapon of their own. Aladdin's steps fell to a halt and he finally realized how painful they were. Why did things always have to go against him?

Snarling, a man stood, taller than any of them and his knife dangerously held.

"A child? Hey, you little brat! This is not a place for a child so go away before we kill you!" The man yelled and others agreed. Aladdin made a motion to walk forward. This, however, displeased the man.

"What're you doing?" The man asked.

"Getting out of here," Aladdin stated. He really wasn't in any mood to play.

"No can do, child! You stumble upon this place and you'll pay for it!" The man barked. They were liars. Liars. The word caused Aladdin's stomach to churn and he hated the word. It reminded him too much of that person. He promised so, yet he was the very same person to break it. That promise wasn't something like a contract. A contract was different. It could be retracted without leaving any trace and a broken contract wouldn't hurt as much as a broken promise. Fine, if this was the way Alibaba treated their friendship, he would do the very same thing in return.

When had the man charged at him? It was yet another thing he hadn't take note of. He strolled past him and instead of being cut; he gave the man a detached body. Screams were in the air, both from the fallen man and his companions. Without giving them any sort of eye contact, he continued forward. They shakily parted away from the child. Fear was evidenced within them from their trembling figures.

By the time Aladdin reached the end of the alley, he turned. The smile on his face was deranged and a pair of blood shot eyes shone under the brilliance of the moonlight. Painted red was the street and dead were the men. His feet splashed against the warm liquid and he laughed, sang and twirled around them. It was as if he was on the verge of insanity but he liked it. Insanity numbed the pain in his heart.

It was clear now; what he had to do. It was proven to be a mistake for him to make friend since the very beginning and he would make sure he rectified his mistake by wiping away an entity known as Alibaba.

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"Are you sure, Sin?" Ja'far asked. He didn't like to intrude other's room just because Sinbad felt something ill coming from it.

"Yes, I'm sure. This is where I sensed that ill malice. It was gone now but just to make sure," Sinbad said and pushed open the door. What greeted him was a normal room and for a second there he doubted his sense.

"See, there's nothing here. It's rude to go into other's room without permission," Ja'far reprimanded. They were about to leave when a scream announced the arrival of Alibaba through the window. The newcomer rolled and slammed into the wall beside the door with a dumb look on his face.

Sinbad, Ja'far and Masrur stared in confusion at the sudden arrival of the leader of the Fog Troupe whereas Morgiana followed in gracefully and she exchanged looks with the trio.

"What're you doing here, Morgiana?" Sinbad questioned. He was sure that this wasn't her room.

"I'm taking Alibaba to Aladdin. I can smell him here so I guess this is his room," Morgiana replied. The leader of the troupe gathered himself into a sitting position. He knew that escape would be futile with these unknown people blocking the door as well as Morgiana who was still standing by the window.

'This is Aladdin's room?' Sinbad bellowed mentally. If so, then the malice from before…no, did something happen to the young magi? No, there's no clear evidence that revealed any fighting or struggling that occurred here. Furthermore, he was a magi. He wouldn't die that easily, right?

Convincing himself with that thought, he knew that there was something else that he had to take care of first and with that, he glanced at the blonde who had remained silent all the while after his epic screaming.

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Judal never thought that it would last so long, too long for his liking. He was dragged to the palace, just to show his face to that pig of a king and somehow it took much, much longer than he expected to return. Therefore, eagerly, he travelled back to make sure Aladdin was okay. The younger might throw a tantrum for making him wait so long.

"Woah, wait!" Judal barely managed a brake as he reached the hotel room. There was someone in there and it didn't feel like Aladdin. It felt more like…the idiot king! What was he doing here?

Hmm, he took a peek. They looked as if they were starting an important conversation. Tempting as it seemed to just eavesdrop and get a vast amount of information out of them, Judal wasn't really interested in this sort of conversation now, especially not after a day or two which were completely filled with political talks that made him want to puke.

His eyebrows knitted together and he had an urge to blast them out of the room but not now. He had a feeling that there was something more important to take care of; Aladdin. The mere absence of the young child alerted the elder. He knew something was off. With the dumb king and the others in their rooms plus the grim atmosphere in the air, something was not quite right here.

He turned and went away, searching for a familiar child that he had found himself worried about again.

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"Who are you?" Alibaba shrieked.

"I'm Sinbad, King of Sindria," Sinbad introduced himself to the blonde. Alibaba gave the man a good onceover. The man before him was the High King of Seven Seas, the one he adored for so long? He found himself gaping in shock.

"Now, if you will kindly tell me the reason you are helping the thieves, Miracle Man Alibaba?" The king asked. Alibaba bowed low. He clenched his fists tightly until his knuckles grew white. Biting his lower lips, he growled, "It's none of your business."

"On the contrary, it's my business in one way or another," Sinbad replied.

"Still I refuse," Alibaba declined, keeping his head low and gaze fixated to the floor.

"You refused? Do you know what's happening to this country because of your Fog Troupe?" Morgiana cut in. She balled her fists tightly until her hands shook. Anger built up within her. "Domestic insurrections have caused trade to come to a halt, the government is abandoning its citizens and formerly free, innocent people whose crime is poverty are being forced into slavery and now you're acting like that?"

Alibaba flinched when Mor stomped, reducing the floor under her foot into rumble.

"Don't be like that, Morgiana," Sinbad waved to get the girl to calm down before sobered, "Now that you know the seriousness of the situation, tell us the reason. Please take note that I don't take the answer 'no' too well."

"Fine," Alibaba sighed out in defeat. His option was quite limited now and he found it bizarre when he had a feeling that lying would get him nowhere. Inhaling deeply, he began, "First of all, I'll tell you about…a friend. His name is…Kassim."

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It was not hard to find that chibi. Really, for once it was easy, especially when the blood was splattered all over the street and the sense of the metallic liquid was overwhelming in the night air. There he was; the child he was looking for. Judal couldn't say that the child was alright with his insane laughter in the air and the torn limbs of some unfortunate men on the ground.

Something had happened and it was nothing good. Judal descended from his position in the air. Approaching the child who was still using the dead bodies as punching bag, well in this case as slicing bag, he frowned. Aladdin normally didn't act this way. He hadn't since a long time ago and Judal thought that he had changed. However, it was clear that something unpleasant had occurred to make him revert back to how he once was; darker, colder and more merciless.

Judal didn't know whether he should rejoice or worry about this. The organization would be more than happy to know about this since they were not all that happy when Aladdin changed into someone who was kinder and tenderer. Judal could still remember their words when they said that kindness wasn't needed.

Judal liked it; the kinder Aladdin, the one who smiled genuinely. It reminded him of those small significant times they spent in the past when everything wasn't so complicated, when they could still live the ways the wanted.

"That's enough, chibi," Judal couldn't bear seeing this. Aladdin was too unstable like this. Whatever or whoever that had caused Aladdin to be like this would be marked as the first to suffer in his list. The child didn't hear it. Even if he did, he made no move to oblige.

"Aladdin," Judal called, shifting nervously as the cutting and tearing motion paused. Time seemed to freeze when the younger spun around. Red met red. Judal was taken aback a bit as the red hue in the younger's eyes were so intense that they looked as if they were about to murder you with just a single eye contact.

He was brought out of his stupor soon when light rays flashed at him. He moved out of the way just in time before they hit him. His own eyes trailed along expertly to pinpoint the caster and he jolted. What? Aladdin was attacking him. He took a good look at the younger and almost got himself cut by a slash of wind. The child's eyes were wide. They looked like they weren't actually seeing anything.

"Damn," Judal cursed. More slashes and whips of wind seemed to depict the increasing anger and annoyance in Aladdin. He could only dodge the fierce attacks. Aladdin didn't act like he noticed that it was him yet and at that moment Judal made a reckless movement. He charged, straight towards the child. In his advance, some attacks managed to get him a few scratches and cuts but he couldn't care less. All that matter now was Aladdin. He couldn't go on like this.

"Aladdin!" Judal called. His hands gripped the younger's shoulders and he shook violently, hoping that the child would regain some sense, at least enough sense to recognize him. How unfortunately that he didn't, Aladdin merely raised his hand. His eyes were blank and emotionless. Judal knew the flow of Rukh well when they moved to gather at the top of the child's palm.

"This isn't good," Judal mumbled desperately. Finally, he braced himself and couched down. His arms flew to round the child, squeezing the smaller tightly to ensure that the younger knew that there was someone there holding him. That motion succeeded in halting the gathering of the Rukh which indicated that Aladdin noticed him, well he hoped so.

'Warm. It's warm,' Aladdin began to think for the first time since he started the slaughter. Why did he have his hand up in the air? He blinked, trying to recollect his memories. No, nothing. The only thing that registered in his mind was that he wasn't cold anymore. It felt so warm now. Aladdin finally closed his eyes slowly and laid his head onto the shoulder of the person that embraced him. Inhaling the familiar scent, he recognized it. His raised hand dropped back down and his legs gave up as he fell further into the embrace. Ah, so tired.

'Thank goodness' was Judal's immediate thought when Aladdin finally collapsed in his hold. For now, he was fine. He brushed away several strands of hair from Aladdin's forehead as he watched the child's sleeping face. Whatever that had happened really worn the child out. He gave one last stroke on the child's hair before he collected Aladdin in his arms.

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"Kassim is the real leader of the Fog Troupe. He was my friend during my childhood days." Alibaba mentioned and his eyes brightened, recalling the times they had as children. He even supressed a chuckle when he told about the time they fooled around, racing to the top of the 'mountain'. He would always find a way to dig a tunnel here and there in order to snatch the flag from the hand of Kassim who by no means was the winner for every race.

They argued a lot. They fought a lot too but despite all those, they were still friends. They would run around the garbage-filled streets together every day. Life was hard but Alibaba had a caring mother at home. She was just a prostitute in the slums but she was always laughing and their life together was joyful. However, it was different for Kassim. His father was a good-for-nothing loser. He hit his own children when they failed to get him what he wanted and life was hard for both him and his sister, Mariam.

And then, one day, Kassim's father disappeared from the slums. Since that happened frequently down in the slums, no one actually cared. Alibaba's mother kindly took in the both of them and the four of them became a family. Every day was loud and lively and fun but that didn't last long.

Before long, Alibaba's mother died of an illness. Thinking back, Alibaba scoffed at himself for being so weak that he couldn't do anything but cry. Kassim was different. He didn't cry and he swore to protect them both.

From that day on, they worked together and they tried really hard. The three of them scavenged through the trash, shone shoes and gave tours. Not long after, Kassim fell in with a bad group of kids and turned to thievery. Alibaba didn't blame Kassim. He was probably pretty desperate to make sure that they all survived. That was why, one day, Alibaba decided to offer him his help.

"You don't need to dirty your hands. You're no like me. I share the same blood as that loser of a father so I'm rotten by nature but you're not. You should live a respectable life, just like your mom did." Back then when Kassim left those words to him, he was confused for Kassim acted kind of strange that day.

"Hey, we're friends right?" Without a doubt, Alibaba said yes. Of course they were friends. It was true that they fought a lot but those were minor thingy.

That day, the king of Balbadd came down to the slums. Trust me, Alibaba still held the disbelief within him when the king said that Alibaba was his son. From the king, he learned that her mother, Anise was once a maid at the royal palace where the king met her and fell in love with her at first sight.

Being a friend he was, Alibaba told Kassim all about it. What Kassim said made his heart fall. He told him that they were different and had always been since birth. Kassim told him to get out of there. At that time, Alibaba was enraged. He tackled Kassim to the ground and landed punches on him with the thought that Kassim would stop him from either punching him or leaving. He was Alibaba's family, damn it! He never did stop him. So, in the end, Alibaba left the slums.

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Aladdin could be very messy if he wanted to. Judal stared down at the child when he set him down carefully onto the magic carpet. Many parts of the child were covered with blood that was definitely not his. Seeing the frown on the child's sleeping face, he reached out to try and smoothen it, wondering what in the world had happened in his short (for him it was quite long) absence.

Without a second thought, he leaned down until his forehead touched the child's. It was an ability they shared; to show each other's the memories and thought or sometime even feelings if those emotions were strong enough regarding certain matters or events that happened in the past. They did this when they didn't want to talk about certain things or were just too lazy to.

Judal dived deep down into Aladdin's mind. It was usually peaceful and neat but now it was chaotic and messy. He sent his will out, hoping that the younger would show him what exactly had made him so lost. After a moment of deliberation, the space shifted and shook before finally revealed the information the elder yearned.

Judal could see the pure bliss on the child's face when he made his first friend. He could feel the leap of Aladdin's heart when the very same blonde made the promise with him. No wonder Aladdin was so excited to see him again and Judal couldn't halt his lips which curved into a small smile at the sight of the child's genuine smiling face.

Everything flashed in a blur and Judal found himself in Balbadd. He watched as a bystander at the reunion and finally heard every word the blonde left him. Judal didn't need to guess what the child was feeling for those feeling; the pain, hurt, sadness and surprisingly regret came crashing down on him at once like waves. It wasn't a surprise. Who would feel hurt when your very first friend said something like that to you? All the expectation and enthusiasm Aladdin had in the blonde had done nothing to ease those pain.

He tried his best not to drown in the sheer emotion waves.

'So, that's what happened,' Judal concluded and withdrew himself from the younger's mind before he was swept away in the mist of the turmoil of pure emotions.

He blinked, panted and looked. He made it back. Moving as gently as he could, he detached his forehead away from Aladdin's forehead. The younger whimpered at the loss of the pressure. Judal pressed one of his hands over Aladdin's closed eyes and whispered, "Shh, it's fine now. Everything will be fine."

The whimper ceased and Judal kept his hand on the child just in case, his own red eyes glued to the night sky. Human was really foolish creature. They held so much power that with words alone they hurt others. Judal recalled the cold, bitter feeling he felt from Aladdin. It hurt so much that he just wanted to tear it away. It must be a lot harder to bear for a child no matter how powerful he was.

That was it. The blonde would be a dead man when they met. He would die slowly and painfully. Judal would make sure of it. Surely, he would make sure of it.

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'Alibaba is the prince of Balbadd, an illegitimate child of the late king of Balbadd? Now this's really unexpected turn of event,' Sinbad thought before his attention reverted back to Alibaba who described the change in his life in which he had maids to tend to his every needs and harsh lessons to go through every day. Well, that was necessary for a prince anyway.

Swordsmanship, languages, manners, studies and so on were on the list to-be-learnt for Alibaba. Just like that three years went by. The days he had in the slums faded into a distant memory. Until one night, Alibaba felt the urge to visit the slums once again and so he secretly snuck out of the palace. That was deemed to be a wrong move and Alibaba regretted it up until now.

The slums weren't there anymore. The place was cleared and remodelled but not a single person from the slums was to be seen. He wandered for a while longer and he ran into him, Kassim, his friend and family.

Alibaba really needed to work on his drinking skill. He was so happy that Kassim greeted him and treated him to a drink. However, after a few drinks later, Alibaba was feeling a little bit lightheaded and they talked, talked and talked. Alibaba apologized for punching Kassim. Kassim shrugged it off like nothing.

He never felt more ashamed of himself for leaving his guard down. He blurted out how he snuck out the palace and that was through a tunnel he dug. He even boasted about his ability to dig tunnel. What he failed to notice that time was the slight dark look in Kassim's eyes at that split moment.

He had felt so happy when Kassim said that they were still friends and he was convinced that Kassim actually wanted the best for him which was why he didn't realize that Kassim ordered someone to follow him secretly as he returned to the palace.

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Judal felt the eyelashes brushing against his palms so he removed his hand. His hand froze mid-air when he saw that the eyes that looked up at him were a pair of icy red. Now, this wasn't normal. Aladdin bumped his head against the palm before he sat upright.

"You saw what happened, right?" was the first thing that escaped the closed lips. Judal gave a nod while the child set his head down onto his crossed legs. Aladdin stared up at the elder with his heavy lidded eyes. Judal met his gaze and he waited patiently for some response but still none.

Judal sighed and patted the child on the head. "It's fine if you don't want to speak of it now but promise to tell me about it later, okay?"

Aladdin's eyes widened and the red hue flickered, flashing the soft blue for a second before the child smiled and gave a small weak nod. His small hands slowly cupped the elder's cheek and they glowed for a while. The glow soon faded and Aladdin dropped his arms down unceremoniously.

Judal didn't want to admit that he was surprised when Aladdin's hands came up to his face. He could feel the warmth from the tiny palms when they glowed. At the same time, the cut he got from Aladdin's attack closed up. By the time the palms left his face, he felt a strong desire to grab them so that he could feel the warmth again but he couldn't. He wasn't so selfish to not let the child rest properly. It didn't require multiple looks to tell that the child was tired.

Touching his cheek softly, he was amazed that there wasn't even a single scratch left. For once, he thought that healing magic was actually not so annoyingly useless.

"Thanks and sleep. You need it," Judal whispered and obediently the scarlet orbs slipped close with one last sigh of content before the younger's breathing eased into soft snores.

"Don't worry. I'll protect you no matter what."

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Alibaba shuddered suddenly. Strange, he thought that he was used to Balbadd's night wind. He continued to tell Sinbad and the others about the king's illness a while after the meeting with Kassim. Alibaba was called to the bedside of the ailing king.

The king said that he didn't have much longer and that he would leave the country to him. Alibaba knew that he had to grab the chance to ask something that he had wanted to ask for a while now and it was about his mother. What exactly did the king feel about his mother?

From the tone of the king, Alibaba realized the genuine love flowing and the sorrow for not being able to be together because they had too many obligations. He loved her.

It was no long after the conversation that Alibaba heard the grunts of pain from outside. Excusing himself to see what was going on, he remembered how tense his body felt when he saw the familiar figure of the man he called friend.

"Kassim!" It was all he could manage when a stick connected to the back of his head, knocking him down. His consciousness wavered and before him stood Kassim. After ordering his men to tie him up and left him there, he saw the fire burning and he could feel the heat against his face. He also saw the king of Balbadd upstairs, staring down at the burning treasury. The king didn't stand long. He clutched his chest as if in pain and sank to the ground.

Kassim, his friend had used the tunnels that Alibaba had told him about that night to steal the treasures from the palace. Alibaba's heart felt heavy when he saw with his very eyes, the person he called a friend standing in front of the towering inferno and so Alibaba finally faded to the darkness, not bearing to perceive the scene much longer.

Kassim was a friend, a very important one. They played along, worked together but now everything was different. Kassim betrayed him.

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Back at the base, Kassim was staring longingly at the tree when someone announced the disappearance of the leader.

"Gather the men," Kassim ordered. "We'll get him back."

URGENT NOTICE!

This year will be an extremely important year for me. So, I won't be able to keep up the weekly routine. HOWEVER, it's not like I won't update. It'll only take longer to do so. Therefore, I'm sorry and please have patience~

Signed,

ReneeNCC