AHHHH! This chapter!
It was a pretty long write since I had to switch over so. many. plots. and. narratives. Not only that, I had to choose between keeping a certain scene in or leaving it out for the flow of the chapter. At the end, I had to leave it out.
But, on to some questions that must be answered!
How do Kougyoku and Kohaku think of each other since they were mother and daughter in the other life?: Well, they have a close friendship. Kohaku looks onto Kougyoku as an 'older' figure she could depend on but she doesn't see Sydney/Kougyoku as her mother since they are so different in personality. Kougyoku still dotes on Kohaku. So, their old mother/daughter relationship is null because of some circumstances. They're just really good friends who understand each other.
Did Kougyoku make a little slip during her rant?: Why yes, yes she did. "I'm not even attracted to him this time!" She had said. She was bound to slip a little while ranting. It's just a good thing Judal didn't catch it.
Who is going to replace Judal and Hakuryuu as the big baddie?: (Evil laughter)
And that's about all!
Onwards!
Children of Solomon
Chapter 28: If Not Treated Carefully
"Who will be King?"
Amani knew that she could never get used to the appearance of the djinn. She had already jumped through four dungeons before this one, but it still didn't dampen that awe and apprehension that she always felt when the djinn appeared to choose his or her king.
"My name is Zagan, the Djinn of Loyalty and Purity!"
Zagan, in his magnificence, towered over the whole group in his original form. At first, he looked down at the group dispassionately. Then, at the sight of Aladdin, he bent down on one knee and bowed with reverence.
"Magi, I apologize for the trouble that my dungeon creatures caused. Since the djinn cannot leave their treasury, I was unable to do anything when I lost control of my dungeon creatures. For your troubles, I will immediately release the spell that was cast on the Toran Villagers. Also," Zagan's gaze landed on Tiare, who pulled her ears back defensively when his powerful gaze landed on her, "I will…try to reverse what happened to this little one."
Small plants grew from the ground and wrapped around Tiare's legs. At first, she shifted uncomfortably in her weak bonds, but stopped at Amani's look. "It's for your own good, Tiare." The Blessed Child told her. "Zagan is trying to find a way to return you back to your original form."
Tiare relaxed and waited.
"Strange." Zagan mused. "I've never seen anything like this before. The pieces of the dungeon creature that she consumed have assimilated their rukh to hers. It's as if her very rukh is being enhanced by the cellulose that she swallowed." He frowned apologetically at Tiare. "I'm afraid that I won't be able to fix this completely."
"W-What do you mean 'I can't fix this'?" Alibaba spoke up. "Weren't you the one who turned Tiare into this?"
Zagan completely disregarded Alibaba. Instead, he turned to Aladdin and Amani to answer the question. "This was not my dungeon creature's doing. This child had willingly consumed the skin of the true body of my dungeon creature in her desperation to help the Blessed Child escape. Though admirable, her actions had strange consequences…as you can see."
"But you can do something about it, right?" Amani asked with a knowing glint in her eyes. At Zagan's nod, everyone sighed in relief. "You said that you couldn't help her 'completely'. What did you mean by that?"
Zagan smiled at the pale blonde. "How insightful, Blessed Child. Though I cannot permanently reverse this strange magic, I can bring the child back to her original form."
At Amani's inquiring look, Zagan heaved a great sigh and waved his hand.
Immediately, Tiare began to writhe, shrink, and change. Everyone cried out in relief at the sight of Tiare's human form. The young girl looked at her hands with wonder and extreme relief. Then, she turned to Amani and threw her arms around the older woman, babbling incoherent sentences in Toran.
Alibaba turned from the heart-warming scene. So Zagan wasn't such a bad person after all! "Thanks, Zagan!" He called out. Zagan pointedly ignored the blonde and stared ahead as if he didn't hear him. Unfortunately, Alibaba didn't get the message and continued trying to gain the djinn's attention. "Hey Zagan!"
"…Bleeeeegh!"
Amani watched Zagan's antics with a degree of amusement as he revealed his true colors to Alibaba. Well, the dungeon creatures did say that their personalities were based on the original, so her brother really shouldn't be so surprised. She patted Tiare's hair comfortingly as the girl clutched at her dress. She paused in her affectionate actions when her sharp eyes caught sight of something faintly glowing on the child's collarbone.
"Zagan?" Amani called out, putting a pause in the small exchange between Alibaba and the said djinn. "Why does Tiare have an eight-pointed star on her chest?"
"Ah. About that…" Zagan cleared his throat uneasily. "As I said before, I couldn't reverse the strange affect completely. So, I made the child a…Household Member of a sort, so she could retain a human form. Unfortunately, since her rukh is already affected, she will be required to shift into her altered form at least once every day."
"So it's like more advanced version of Assimilation?" Amani asked.
Zagan nodded. "Though I wouldn't advise it for anyone else. The girl is very lucky that her rukh is compatible with mine or she would have imploded."
Well. If he put it that way…
"Tiare, never eat strange things again. Make sure you know what they are before you put them in your mouth." Amani told the young girl. "You don't know where they've been."
"Yes, Amani. Tiare won't." Tiare chirped obediently in the common language.
"Good. Now that's settled," Zagan's gaze sharpened, "I will choose a King among those who are in the treasury!"
After a tense silence, Zagan pointed a finger at his choice.
"My master is…you! Ren Hakuryuu!"
Hakuryuu stared back at the djinn in shock.
Alibaba and Aladdin, on the other hand, both lit up and cheered. "Great job, Hakuryuu! I knew that you could do it!" Alibaba congratulated the scarred boy while patting him on the back supportively.
Hakuryuu shot Alibaba a confused look.
"A-Alibaba-dono?"
Her brother offered him bright smile. "Just accept it. You've probably been chosen for a good reason, right? Don't doubt yourself."
Amani knew that in reality Alibaba was somewhat disappointed that he wasn't chosen despite his exuberant congratulations to his comrade. But he pushed away his disappointment to offer encouragement to his comrade. (Solomon knows he needs the support. Sometimes, Hakuryuu tended to underestimate his own abilities.)
Pride swelled in Amani at his show of maturity.
"Alibaba is correct." Zagan agreed. "You are most suitable for me out of the rest because of your magoi manipulation ability. It has a good compatibility with my life magic."
"But…I think that there are other people who are more suitable than me." Hakuryuu claimed with a doubtful look on his face.
"Ah…" Zagan's eyes flickered down to Alibaba. "You're talking about your comrade, Alibaba, right? Hmm…well…"
Alibaba tensed.
"Totally out!" Alibaba flinched at the immediate rejection. "I'd hate to serve under the same master as that old fart Amon. And above all," Zagan pointed accusingly at her brother, "you weren't even able to completely master Amon!"
Alibaba was taken aback by Zagan's proclamation. Amani even more so than her brother. Sai had told her about the little problem Alibaba had with controlling his rukh because of his spiritual battle with Kassim in the canon timeline. Kassim's rukh had mixed with Alibaba's, causing a small disruption to the magoi flow.
But that didn't happen this time.
Alibaba didn't need to save Kassim from depravity. Their childhood friend had died shielding her from an incoming dagger. Amani knew this more than anyone.
So why did Alibaba still have trouble with his control over his djinn?
Why?
"Dwell in my body, Andromalius!"
'No, I did it wrong. Again.'
"Dwell in my body, Andromalius!"
'Wrong. Again.'
"Dwell in my body, Andromalius!"
'I have to try doing it again. It's the consistency and speed of summoning your djinn equip that reveals your talent.'
Shion grunted in annoyance as only half of his djinn equip appeared on his body again. Andromalius' telltale dark blue robes hung off of Shion's waist. But, the monstrous, claw-like arm that Shion always had when equipping was only halfway-formed, looking less threatening than it should be. His other arm lacked the snake tattoo that usually wrapped around it.
Well, at least the gray feathers that always sprouted from his back and hair were still there.
Shion fingered the feathers entangled in his hair with his clawless hand. "Not quite." He muttered to himself in disappointment. "Why can't I do it again? I did it before…"
"That's normal. Retaining your whole djinn equip takes time and practice. It took me a while to get the hang of it myself after I captured Baal." Sinbad assured him from the sidelines.
A bit startled by his father's sudden appearance, Shion accidentally dispelled his equip. "Ah man. And I almost got it too."
Sinbad chuckled and came over to his son. "You should take a break. You've been working on this all morning. If you're not careful, you might exhaust all of your magoi and worry me."
Shion sighed and threw himself onto the grass. He stared up at the sky for a long moment before wailing, "This. Is. So. Hard!"
Sinbad sweatdropped and took a seat beside his wailing son. "You do know that people older than you took longer in achieving their djinn equip, right?"
Shion sat up and pouted. "But I had mine ever since I was five, Father. Five."
"…Normal five-year-olds wouldn't be able to conquer dungeons, Shion."
Shion hung his head.
"Well I'm not normal" was what almost left Shion's lips, only to be held back at the last second. His father didn't know about what he knew. He didn't know how old, how experienced Shion truly was. So instead, he reluctantly agreed with his father. "I guess…"
Sinbad patted his son's head affectionately. "Shion, I know that you're working hard to be a strong prince and I love you for that. Sindria loves you for that. But I want you to know that it's fine to act your age. You shouldn't act so independently. Honestly, Shion, you act so much like Ranya sometimes."
Shion stiffened at the mention of his mother.
Sinbad did too when he realized his little slip.
"…Really?" Shion spoke up tentatively after a beat.
His father swallowed thickly and took his hand off of Shion's head. "Yes." He said with much difficulty. "I see a lot of her in you. We were good friends when we were younger, so I knew her well."
Shion looked down at his lap shyly. "I don't know much about Mom." He confessed quietly. "She was always there for me for the first two years, but then some Al Thamen's goons caught wind that I was born, so they tried to take me."
"Al Thamen almost-?"
"Yeah. But it wasn't because they knew I was your kid. They didn't. It was because I was related to Uncle Yunan." Shion assured his father, but that didn't seem to be the main subject of concern for his father.
"Did they do anything to you?"
"Did they-? Oh. Oh! No, no, they didn't even have the chance to lay a finger on me. Mom was on them before they had the chance." Shion recounted proudly. Then, his bright expression darkened. "But one of them managed to shoot a nasty spell on her before she took care of him." What was his name again? Shion swore that his mother had called the Al Thamen Member by name. Etha-something.
Sinbad winced. "How is she? You said that she was still unwell. The spell that he cast on her must've been quite nasty."
Shion nodded in agreement.
"It was terrible. Mom was completely weakened after she was hit with that spell. Even Uncle was at a loss for what to do. Sometimes, she would wake up long enough to talk to me or just hug me, but most of the time, she would be…sleeping." Shion didn't even want to consider the alternative.
Sinbad twitched. "Sleeping?" He repeated slowly.
"Well, yeah." Shion said uneasily. "Isn't that what you do when you feel sick? Sleep? Uncle always told me that sleeping made the dark bruises all over her body hurt less for her."
"…Shion, what exactly is Ranya sick with?"
The Veteran, who had lain dormant since the reappearance of his friends, reared up his ugly head in defense of the intensity in the king's voice. The Child, too, cried out in alarm. "Why?" Shion asked sharply, expression morphing into horror. "Do you think that she's…she's…?"
"No." Sinbad said quickly.
(But there's a flash in his eyes that said that maybe, maybe-)
"Uncle never told me." Shion confessed tensely. "He just said that it was some sort of magical illness that was too difficult for me to understand."
Shion silently prayed that his Uncle didn't lie to him yet again. His mother mustn't be dead. He would know. She had been breathing. He made sure of it.
But that was back before he left home. That was before his Uncle carried his mother off to Solomon-knows-where.
"She could be dead." The Veteran informed him glumly. "Our Uncle could have lied about her being alive. She could be dead."
Shion knew that this could be a high possibility, but he didn't want to think about it.
"How are Judal and his brother?" He asked suddenly, changing the subject.
Sinbad took Shion's obvious attempt in stride and easily switched over to their new topic. "Judal is behaving. Surprisingly. Tao's health is also improving, which is a good thing. Though I'm not sure what to take from this new development, I'm going to let those two stay here for the time being."
"That's good." The young boy said, relaxing as their conversation transitioned to the trouble-making magi. "I think you should give him a chance."
"Really?" His father's expression turned doubtful. "Shion, I don't think you know what he did. Judal performed many terrible acts. Some weren't even under Al Thamen's orders. He just wants war."
"Wanted." Shion corrected. "Judal just wanted war in the past. I agree with you, Father. He was a bloodthirsty, amoral monster. My encounters with him were less than pleasant. But why was he that way in the first place?" His blue eyes traced the clouds in the sky. "Judal was chosen by the rukh for a reason. His fate wasn't meant to be like this. He wasn't supposed to destroy. He was supposed to help creation move along like Uncle and Aladdin does."
Sinbad sighed. "Still. I can't risk the safety of my country on an assumption."
"Well, can you at least wait until Aladdin comes back?" Shion suggested. "I'm sure that Judal won't be acting up any time soon as long as Kougyoku is there to keep a close eye on him. His brother is under our care too."
Sinbad nodded slowly. "Yes…yes, that is true. But what if he acts out before Aladdin comes back? Shion, why are you so insistent on keeping him here?"
Shion paused before he answered carefully.
"As a Prince of Sindria, my intentions are aimed more towards his potential usefulness. If we treat him and his brother kindly, Judal's knowledge of Al Thamen's workings and secrets would be useful if he turned to our side, right? Also, if he decides to revert back to the light rukh, Judal would be a powerful magi, maybe even more powerful than he ever was. Wouldn't it be advantageous for Sindria to have him and Aladdin?"
Sinbad nodded as Shion listed his reasons. "Yes, I can see where you're coming from. But what is your personal reason, Shion?"
"Um…well…" Shion shifted uneasily. "…If Al Thamen really did manage to take me and brainwash me, I think I would've done lots of terrible things too. So, I can emphasize with Judal's current situation. A lot, actually." Shion raised his face to his father's. "If it was me, what would you have done?"
"…"
Sinbad found himself at a loss for what to say. Then, he let out a defeated sigh.
"Fine. I'll let the two of them stay in Sindria for now."
Mentally, both Shion and the King smirked victoriously.
'Judal will be staying here in Sindria. Without doubt, Tao's influence and Kougyoku's presence will convince him to change sides. This will definitely be another significant 'pull' to the rubber band. It's our victory.'
(Checkmate.)
Screw the alliance. Kouha wanted to kill something. Now.
Usually, he would've gone right to it the moment the smug, Knight King rudely rejected the official proposal. But Kouha held back the natural urge since he really, really, needed the approval from her grandfather. Without it, the chances of Yasmine being married into his family would go down to zero. So he haggled even more. He even raised the price, which was high to begin with!
But it would've been all worth it. For Yasmine? Anything.
It was a known fact back in Kou that Kouha was enamored with the Blessed Child of Sasan. Hell, it wasn't as if he tried to hide it! He would drop by Sasan whenever he could. He all but harassed Amani for information about Yasmine.
But even when he got enough information to feel confident enough to pursue her, Kouha didn't seem to do anything right.
Gifts, visits, and even the flirty lines that Kouha dropped from time to time were either cast aside or shot down. But Kouha continued to persevere. It came to the point that the servants were comparing him to Judal. Him to Judal!
(Okay, fine. So he was getting a little obsessive during that stage of their friendship. He couldn't help it! How was he supposed to know that Yasmine hated extravagant things?)
It wasn't until Yasmine accepted the small, simple hairpin that Kouha got it.
Simplicity. Yasmine enjoyed simplicity.
So, Kouha pulled back on his advances a little bit and focused on building upon their friendship. 'Start simple.' He had decided. 'Friendship first. Then…' But it hadn't been that simple. It took a lot of time, experience, and effort until Kouha managed to earn that "close, best friend" title.
(What did he expect? It was Yasmine, not some boring, palace girl.)
During his years knowing Yasmine, Kouha learned to be patient. Patience was never his strong point. If it was any other girl, he would've whisked her away to his bedroom and done away with it. But then again, those relationships were more of a one-night thing that Kouha had no issues with leaving and forgetting the day after.
(Not that he would ever do that to her. If it was ever her, he would stay until she woke up and come right back the next evening.)
Yasmine was the more romantic sort, Kouha found out. She liked taking things slow and making things meaningful. It was hard to slow down his normally fast pace, but Kouha learned. Problem was, Yasmine didn't open up easily. Her trust came slow. And her reciprocating his feelings? Even slower. Almost nonexistent. Minimal at best.
It was frustrating. But Kouha was willing to wait for her for ten more years if he had to.
Well, that was how he thought until the Emperor came up with the suggestion of hitching him with her so Kou could gain another Blessed Child.
Honestly, Kouha didn't care about Yasmine's Blessed Child status. Even if she didn't have her unique abilities, Yasmine still would have caught his eyes with her macabre sense of humor and her rare actions of kindness that drastically contrasted the former. Well, Kouha had to admit that her title as a Blessed Child would help his beloved brother En, but that was just a bonus in his eyes.
No, the true prize was Yasmine's affections. Surely, if they were married, she would realize…
"Don't bother convincing me, boy." Darius scoffed. "Because I have already accepted a different engagement offer."
Kouha's already little patience snapped when that old fart revealed that he had given Yasmine away to some…some scamp under that Sinbad's influence!
"WHAT!"
But no one was as shocked as Yasmine.
"You…you arranged a marriage behind my back with that bas- Shion's father? Without considering the consequences or even my feelings? How could you?"
Or as angry.
"Granddaughter? You are displeased with this arrangement?"
And the old fart had the gall to look and sound surprised at her reaction.
"Shame on you!" One of the knights shouted out, immediately annoying Kouha with his sneering tone. "It's an honor to have a marriage offer from King Sinbad himself! For once, you would be useful, you little monster! Just accept the marriage like your mother and thousands of other women did with theirs and leave the room!"
Yasmine shook.
"Kaveh, at ease." The Knight King ordered sternly. "Don't be so harsh on her. Yasmine is your daughter. Have some compassion for the girl's confusion. It was a surprise, after all."
Kouha was momentarily taken aback by Kaveh's revealed identity. 'Yasmine's father? That smug asshole over there? Really?' He thought first.
Then.
'No wonder she hates it here.'
Despite Darius' reprimand, Kaveh continued to talk down to his daughter. "Disappointments you and your brother are. First, there's you, the abomination. Then, there's your brother, the crazy one. Can't you see how much of an embarrassment you two cause to this respected family? I'm always in a state of disbelief that both of you are my kin!"
"You're not the only one." Kouha heard Yasmine mutter under her breath. "Bastard."
"What did you say?" Kaveh demanded, storming up to Yasmine's face.
Yasmine promptly knocked him over with a sweep of a foot. "Oops." She mocked at his downed body, feigning concern. "I apologize for the act of disrespect dear father, but you were about to make eye-contact." Then, she lifted her gaze up to her grandfather.
"Grandfather…"
Yasmine stepped over her father's body and made her way toward Darius. Instinctively, the other knights shied away from her presence, giving her a clear path to her grandfather.
Kaveh sat up, face turning an interesting shade of red. "You dare-! What are the rest of you fools doing? Restrain that monster! Can't you see that she's trying to kill him?" Kaveh made a move to stand back up, but Kouha subtly knocked him back down with a quick, well-aimed kick at his shin. The man hissed in pain. "You bloodthirsty Kou heathen!"
Kouha pulled his eyelid down with a finger and stuck his tongue out.
Beginning to feel uneasy, Darius turned his spear on Yasmine as she reached a foot in front of him. Yasmine paused and looked down at the sharp end of the weapon with an air of bemusement.
"Really?" She seemed to say. "Is that the best you can do?"
Incited by her silent challenge, Darius' spear made a jab at Yasmine's side. It grazed at Yasmine's side, drawing blood. The Knight King immediately drew his weapon back when he saw that his granddaughter didn't dodge the threatening move as he has expected her to.
Kouha began making a move to grip at the hilt of his sword, but Yasmine beat him to the punch by unsheathing a dagger that had been hidden in her boot.
"Knight King Darius," Yasmine began as she lifted the little blade, "because of all the mistreatment your country has done to this Blessed Child and all the ones before, because of your negligence to the health and desires of your own blood, because of what you did to Raja, I will…"
Yasmine brought her blade down, eliciting a gasp from the onlookers and making Kouha's jaw drop. Darius, by then, had closed his eyes with weary acceptance.
The soft sound of a 'thunk' opened the Knight King's eyes. His eyes widened as his saw a brown braid at his granddaughter's feet. Kouha watched as the considerably shorter-haired Yasmine bent over and picked up the braid. Then, she tossed it at her grandfather, giving him no choice but to catch it.
"…leave Sasan. Permanently." Yasmine finished after a moment of silence.
King Darius stared at the braid. Then, he turned to his granddaughter. "Only men can leave Sasan."
Yasmine gestured over to the braid. "Did you not see this? This is my femininity and I am more than happy to throw it away for my freedom. Burn it. Chop it up. Throw it away. I don't care. Until my hair has grown back to its original length, I am no longer a woman. And even when my hair grows back, I am no longer part of your family. It is one of the laws of our religion, is it not?"
"Are you saying that you would forego your own gender and family to leave this country? Are you that adverse to the marriage proposal?" The Knight King demanded.
Yasmine shook her head. "I had planned on doing this even before the whole proposal. King Darius, not once, since its founding, has Sasan used the power of the Blessed Child. In actuality, they fear it. Too long has this country repressed me and my predecessors! King Darius, I request you to let me go from this country and from this family. Please."
Darius let out a heavy sigh.
"…Fine. You have my permission. From this moment forward, you are no longer the Princess of Sasan." The Knight King raised the braid. "Let it be known to all of you! This woman is now a common Knight. This woman is now a man. 'He' is no longer my blood. And for 'his' imprudence to me, the Knight King, this common Knight hereby shall be banished from Sasan."
And, as tradition went, Yasmine was stripped from her Sasan uniform, leaving her with her tiger pelt, her pants, and her chest bindings. Some of the knights blushed and averted their eyes at her state.
Yasmine took a step back and tilted her head respectfully. "Thank you. I will escort myself and my friend out now."
She calmly made her way toward Kouha. On her way there, she paused at the still-downed Kaveh. He sneered as he got to his feet. "What?" He snapped sharply. "Are you here to-
Yasmine cut him off with a swift kick between his legs, making all the males in the room wince.
"That," she stated as he went down howling, "was for my brother. Jamal is not an 'embarrassment'. Frankly, he's worth a thousand of you plus infinity."
Then, she proceeded to kick him in the shin at the exact spot that Kouha kicked him at just a few minutes before.
"That," she continued, "was for my friend. He's not a 'Kou heathen'. He is Prince Kouha, a person far above your status. Call him by anything but his title again, I'll hunt you down and flay you alive, father or not. Understood?"
Kouha felt warmth swell in his chest at her words.
At his weak nod, Yasmine strode away from him. "Let's go." She told Kouha quietly as she passed him.
Without answering or asking any questions, Kouha followed Yasmine.
"Ah! So this is the Princess Kougyoku my cute little brother has been talking about! It's an honor to meet you! My name is Tao. I hope that we will get along!"
Kougyoku's eyes flickered from Tao's outstretched hand to the bandages wrapped around his side to the area over his shoulder.
'There's a Shinigami behind him at his right. Death..? But he isn't dead? So…half-dead? Or did he cheat death somehow? Something's not right.'
Another figure at Tao's left caught Kougyoku's eye. Wait, no…there were two of them. Those figures seemed to have noticed her gaze. They waved in tentative greeting, surprising Kougyoku.
'None of the visions had ever interacted with me before. Could their subconscious even be…conscious? Of me?' Kougyoku thought as she inclined her head slightly at their direction. 'Just who is this guy?!'
"Nice to meet you." Kougyoku answered almost absent-mindedly. At his confused expression, she shook herself from her thoughts and took his hand. "Thank you for taking care of Judal. He is a very precious friend to me, so thank you for brining him back to me safely. I hope that we can get along as well."
Tao laughed.
"Kido, you found a good one! Don't let go of her, you hear? These only come once in a lifetime."
Judal blushed brightly. "OI! Don't say things like that in front of her!"
"Ah! My bad, my bad." Tao chuckled with good humor. He tossed Kougyoku a small wink before breaking into loud coughing. "Sorry…Kido…but do you mind getting me some water? The pitcher is empty and my throat is a bit…"
Judal sighed and took the pitcher. "Yeah, yeah, I got it. I'll go get it myself. Just wait a bit." He glanced at Kougyoku. "You mind if I leave you two alone?"
"Don't worry, Kido! I'll entertain her. Thanks!"
Tao smiled cheerfully as Judal walked out of the room.
"Wow." Kougyoku commented. "That's…wow. Judal actually doing something…selfless. He could get one of the maids to get the water. He knows that, right?"
"Oh yes. King Sinbad made it very clear that his staff would be available to help me with my needs. He's a very pleasant man." Tao informed her. "Unfortunately, Kido doesn't seem to trust the staff…or King Sinbad. So he does everything for me himself."
"That's sweet of him."
Tao nodded with enthusiastic agreement. "Isn't it?" Then, he leaned in with a peculiar smile. "But…that's not what we should be talking about, is it? You must be curious about my little problem."
Kougyoku blinked. "What…are you talking about?" She asked uncertainly. "Can you clarify that for me?"
Tao smiled pleasantly.
"You must be wondering about the ghosts over my shoulder, yes? Blessed Child?"
Kougyoku laughed uneasily.
'Oh Solomon. What have I gotten into?'
"Mother! Father!"
The whole group watched with smiles on their faces as Tiare was reunited with her family. She babbled quickly to her parents before dragging them over to the group. She introduced Amani and Hakuryuu to them.
"This is Amani. She is brave. She kept me safe!" Tiare said happily. "And this is my new master!" She gestured over to Hakuryuu. At her parents' strange looks, Hakuryuu laughed nervously. "Amani-dono, what did she say?" He whispered to Amani urgently.
"Tiare, maybe we can talk about that later?" Amani suggested gently to the little girl. "Why don't you tell your parents about your little adventure." She looked up at the parents. "You have a brave daughter, Ma'am, Sir."
The parents nodded to her respectfully and said their thanks.
Amani turned to Hakuryuu and patted his back. "They don't know about what happened to Tiare yet. Make sure to take care of her after this is all over. You're her Master now, remember? Take care of your Household Member well or I might get angry."
Hakuryuu blanched. Making a pregnant woman angry? That was suicide.
"Y-Yes, Amani-dono…"
Alibaba patted Hakuryuu on the back and laughed at his friend's expense. "Don't worry. Since Morgiana activated her Household Vessel, I'm in the same situation. Don't worry. I'm sure that you'll be great!"
"Ah, Alibaba. That reminds me." Amani turned to her brother. "The same applies to you when it comes to Morgiana."
Alibaba blanched.
'I-I'm dead!'
Amani whisked past her brother and clapped her hands sharply. "Now! Let's help out with the packing. We shouldn't leave all the hard work to the Toran Villagers, right?"
Hakuryuu and Alibaba immediately snapped into attention.
"YES!"
"Ach!"
Hakuryuu hissed in pain and ripped off the snake from his hand. He flung the creature away and rubbed his wound.
Alibaba looked up from packing. "Ooh. That looks bad. Do you want Amani to look at that? She's pretty handy when it comes to injuries."
"Oh no, no," Hakuryuu assured Alibaba quickly, "I don't want to trouble Amani-dono over something so insignificant."
Alibaba grabbed his friend's hand. "Are you sure? The snake could have been poisonous, you know."
"It's fine, Alibaba-dono." Hakuryuu assured the blonde. Then, he hesitated. "Well…how about I ask her to check it after we get out of the dungeon? She seems to be busy with the packing."
Alibaba smiled and patted Hakuryuu's shoulder. "Don't strain that hand too much, okay?"
"Understood. And…Alibaba-dono?"
Alibaba looked up.
"Hm? Yeah?"
"Thank you. For encouraging me back in the treasury."
"…No problem, Hakuryuu."
Alibaba sat awkwardly across from Amani in their mindscape. It seemed that they were stuck in the same dimension mid-way through the transition from the dungeon to the surface. Their respective djinn took up the opposite corner and spoke to each other in low voices.
"So…" Alibaba started slowly. "I'm going to be an Uncle."
Amani nodded with a proud glow in her eyes. "Yes." She wrapped her arms around her stomach gently. "It should be about…three months old? Almost four?"
"Ah, so…it was…the wedding ni-" Alibaba choked in mid-sentence and flushed brightly.
Amani continued nodding. "Yes."
"So that Prince Koumei really did put his hands on you." Alibaba muttered darkly. "The nerve of the guy. Before he even got my approval!"
"…Alibaba, you do know that he's my husband…right? And this is a given when a man and a woman are married-
"Ahhhh! I don't want to hear it!" Alibaba shouted while covering his ears. "I get that it's supposed to be normal, but can't I react like every brother would in this situation? I don't even know what the guy looks like! Solomon, this is so annoying!"
Amani giggled and placed her hand on her brother's. She squeezed it.
"Then why not just feel happy for me? It's less complicated."
At her words, Alibaba sent his sister an apologetic look. "No! I'm happy for you and the baby. Really. And," his eyes softened when his gaze landed on her stomach, "I think you'll be a great mom."
"Really?"
"Yeah. But I'm still going to give that husband of yours a what-for once I meet him." Alibaba promised.
"Alibaba please…hold back your punches. My husband isn't that strong."
When Alibaba and Amani arrived at the surface, they came to the worst possible scenario.
People were strewn about left to right. Some faces Amani recognized from the packing of the magical items and the treasures. Some faces were completely unfamiliar.
They were all either running, screaming, or…dead.
Dead.
Foras pulsed uneasily at Amani's side.
"What's going on here?!" Alibaba shouted, panicked. He wrapped his arms around his sister protectively. "Amani, you should go back down. I'll handle this."
"No, they'll have an easier time getting to me if I let them have the higher ground." Amani insisted with a sharp shake of her head. A small body was thrown back from the magically made tornado and skidded to Alibaba's feet. "Aladdin?!"
"Alibaba, it's bad! We were ambushed outside of the dungeon! It's Al Thamen!"
As Aladdin filled in the details, Amani's sharp eyes assessed the situation. 'Hakuryuu and Morgiana are still fighting, but they're battle-worn. Tiare is in her dragon-form. That's good. But she seems to be tiring too. Aladdin is completely out of stamina.' Her gaze swept up to the enemy. 'Three of them. Just as Sai said. All of them have some sort of dark djinn equip. We had such a hard time with Dunya. Now there are three? We're completely outnumbered. Since so many things happened in the dungeon, I couldn't prepare for this incident ahead of time. Dammit.'
"Alibaba, I think we should-
Amani was cut off when Alibaba sharply pushed her down back into the pit. A blanket of sand cut off her sudden fall and gently deposited her onto the ground.
Above her, a violent whirlwind raged, throwing people about. Amani caught sight of a mop of blonde hair before it disappeared into a sea of black and red.
'Thank you, Alibaba. I'll take this opportunity to strike back at the enemy.'
Amani immediately took account to the remaining weapons that she had. Three kunai knives, a ball of cutting wire, a pack of Jamal's homemade exploding senbon needles, and a spare pair of Ja'far's rope darts.
'Jamal's invention could cause a smoke screen for me to safety carry my friends away to a safer place. I'll make a trap out of the remaining cutting wire I have. Then, I'll use each kunai knife for those three. Ja'far's gift…just in case.'
With a plan in mind, Amani activated her misdirection ability and slowly began to climb her way up, stopping mid-way to wait the magic-induced storm out. As she waited, she listened to the cries of the Toran people and imprinted the sound in her mind. This was what Shion was trying to prevent. What happened in his future would not happen in this one. Not this time.
But still…
The cries Amani heard now were deafening. She squeezed the vine she was hanging off of and bore it.
When the winds finally died down, Amani slowly finished her climb and paused at the edge. She held back a horrified gasp at the sight of her brother's beaten body. Amani was sure that one of his legs were twisted and rib or two were broken from the violent attack.
"…Already broken." She heard one of their attackers say. "They're a little too fragile…right? For Dunya to lose to these weaklings, she's really incompetent. She should've brought me along after all…right?"
"Ithnan is partial to Dunya, so it can't be helped." Another one commented.
"That's not fair!" The first speaker whined. "That's sexual discrimination…right? Apollonius?"
Another voice, Apollonius, Amani assumed, answered the first. "That's right. By the way, have you seen Ithnan anywhere? ...Oh well, let's eliminate these two. Just as planned…"
Amani had a plan. It was a plan that possibly could have worked immediately after it was executed.
But she couldn't risk Alibaba or Aladdin's safety on that 'possibly'!
Amani struck out with a dozen senbon needles, aiming for the enemies' vital points. She managed to hit the old man on the thigh, but the bulkier man and the swordsman were able to deflect her attack at the last moment.
They exploded.
"Dammit!" Apollonius howled as the senbon embedded at his side exploded. "That person got me! Zurmudd! Byoln! Get him!"
Amani quickly slinked away into a group of bushes to make her next attack.
'They used up a lot of power from that extreme magic attack they used earlier, so they won't be recreating that attack soon. I have to make this quick. I'll set up a trap over here for those two.' A smile crept across her face. 'Let's see how well they can put up a fight against a weapon they can't see.'
After Amani finished putting up her cutting-wire trap, she moved herself to a different part of the mass of trees and tossed a stone at the trap's direction to draw her opponents there.
"Ack!"
"What is this?!"
Just as expected, the bulkier man got caught up in her trap. His many arms were sliced off by the wires. Amani was surprised that they were easy to cut, but accepted it as it came. Unfortunately, the swordsman was smarter, so he was able to avoid being caught in the trap.
"The bastard! Byoln, help me out of here!"
"Ah fine, fine."
And so, the hide-and-seek game commenced for the next ten minutes just like that. Amani watched with amusement as they fell for her wire-traps again and again. Just to be creative, she used Foras to weaken and stir up certain areas of the earth to put her enemies off balance. It was very useful in hindering Apollonius, who had to navigate himself around with his wheelchair.
As they struggled to find her, Amani began moving her friends to safer places. Tiare, Aladdin, and Alibaba were moved to a safe, hidden area near the groves.
…She was at Morgiana when they finally caught her.
It was the bulky man with many hands. He had stayed behind, probably noticing the disappearing bodies. He held her up by her foot and inspected her thoughtfully as his companions came over. "So you were the little sneak causing us so much trouble. It's no surprise that you're a woman."
"Ah, yes. Us women tend to be very sneaky, you see." Amani said quite agreeably. She angled herself away from an angry swing and wrapped her arms around her abdomen protectively. "Mouthy bitch."
The swordsman looked at her before his eyes widened in recognition. "Oh! You look exactly like that blondie we beat up! You must be that Blessed Child we have been hearing all about."
"Sneaky one. Sneaky one, she is." Apollonius muttered spitefully. "But didn't you two hear how important it is to eliminate her? The higher ups would praise us if we brought her pretty little head in."
The bulky man tilted his head. "I also hear that killing that child in her is important…right? Then we should kill that first. I don't discriminate, you see."
'No.'
The swordsman appeared a little conflicted at his accomplice's words. "Hey…that woman is pregnant, right? You should go easy on her. Make her death quick. The baby naturally dies with its mother, so you shouldn't go that far, Zurmudd."
"I don't discriminate." Zurmudd repeated as his other hands forced Amani's arms away from her abdomen. "Whether it is males or females."
Amani's horrified eyes watched as a fist swung back and snapped forward.
"NO!"
CRACK.
"Look at this mess. I hope the document wasn't important."
Koumei clicked his tongue as he lifted the wet document. Chuu'un was at his side immediately, cleaning up the spilled tea and saving the other scrolls from getting wet. After Koumei set the wet document aside, he lifted the broken teacup and gave it a betrayed look.
"And you were working so well." He muttered.
Chuu'un looked up from his cleaning and hissed. "That looks like a deep crack, Prince Koumei. I hope this isn't a bad omen."
"Ridiculous." Koumei said duly as he threw away the shards. "I don't believe in those things."
"YOU STUPID OLD MAN! WHAT GAVE YOU THE IDEA THAT MARRYING ME OFF WOULD MAKE ME HAPPY?"
Four crows were startled from their perch as the scream pierced the air.
Yasmine panted heavily. Kouha, on the other hand, had fallen over from the unexpected emotional reaction. He slowly got up onto his feet and raised a placating hand. "Yasmine? You okay now?"
"Don't come over." Yasmine ordered sharply. "I'm at an unstable state right now. I can't really control my abilities when I get like this. Just don't… don't look at me…okay?"
Kouha nodded slowly. "Alright." He said. "Alright, I won't look. Take your time, Yasmine. Let it all out."
Yasmine took deep breaths and closed her eyes. She knew that it wouldn't really do much, but the action gave her false sense of control. Her eyes burned behind her eyelids.
"Hey," She heard Kouha say quietly, "you okay? Do I have to go back to teach those guys a lesson? What did they do to make you cry? Yasmine?"
…Crying?
"Ridiculous." She scoffed. "I don't cry."
"Oh, I must've been seeing things then."
"Yeah. You were."
Kouha chuckled and peered up at Yasmine. "You know…I only thought that you were because it looked like you were about to cry back there. But that must've been my imagination too. Right, Yasmine?"
"…"
"Yasmine?"
Yasmine kept her eyes on the ground. "Kouha, do you remember that time when you were surprised at the number of assassins that were sent for me?"
Kouha nodded in affirmation. "I didn't like it when I found out that your own family was trying to kill you. It's not right."
"Yet it has always been like this for me…and Raja…and the others…" Yasmine trailed off. "Did you know that Raja was actually a cousin of mine? I think he was a cousin from my mother's side, whoever she was. And the Blessed Child before him was connected to the royal family in some way. But that didn't stop them from trying to kill him either. So it doesn't matter if the Blessed Child is related to an influential person in Sasan. At the end, they're always treated as a dangerous animal. Even by their family members."
"Ah."
"But Kouha? It's a little funny. I've been planning on leaving Sasan ever since my stay in Sindria. And just when I made up my mind on cutting ties with my family…" Yasmine's eyes watered behind her mask. "That Knight King…that old man…actually did something for me as a grandfather would for once." She barked out a bitter laugh. "He actually set up something for me and I practically threw it right back in his face. It's disgusting that I'm actually feeling guilty about this after all the things he did to me, but…"
Yasmine finally let out a sob.
"Grandfather actually…cared…about me…even a little this time."
Kouha was silent.
"But…I'm free."
Yasmine almost jumped when she felt a hand land on her shoulder.
"Then that should be all that matters. Don't let that old man get you down. You're free. And that's what counts, right?" Kouha gave her shoulder another pat before retreating.
The moment the words left Kouha's mouth, Yasmine suddenly felt her shoulders lighten. No, everything was light now. Her much shorter hair and her armor-less shoulders made everything seem so…light.
'Raja, wherever you are, are you happy for me? I'm free.'
'I'm finally free.'
Kougyoku felt a cold chill run down her spine.
'What was that?' She wondered as she stared at the man lying in bed across from her. 'It was such an ominous feeling. Was it my ability at work or shock from what this guy just told me?'
"I would appreciate it if you didn't tell Kido about this." Tao calmly informed Kougyoku. "He already knows about the ghost part. The other…well, I'm thinking of telling him at a later time."
Kougyoku nodded in agreement. "I think Judal already faced enough surprises in such a short time. Don't worry. I'll keep it a secret." Then, with a brighter voice, she gestured over to the ghost pair over his shoulder. "Are they Judal's parents?"
"Mn. That's Mom and Dad."
"I see." The Blessed Child smiled at the couple sadly. "I'm sorry for your loss."
"It's fine." Tao assured her. "I can still talk to them, so it's like they were never gone. Usually, people would be afraid of my abilities. Thank you for being so understanding."
Kougyoku knew he wasn't talking about his ability to see ghosts. Then, something on Tao's person caught her eye.
"That scarf-" She started to say, but was interrupted by a loud announcement.
"The Pharaoh of Heliohapt has arrived!"
Snap.
"Ai, why did the sandal strap have to break? That's always a bad sign."
Normally, Sai wouldn't be one to trip. Actually, he never did. But because Reim got crowded easily, the shape-shifter was bound to bump into some people. One just happened to knock him over with her groceries.
His sandal strap had snapped.
"Oh, I'm so sorry! Are you alright, sir?"
At the woman's genuinely concerned tone, Sai smirked slightly and got right back up. "Maa, maa, no troubles~ It was my bad!" He assured the lady.
She was a pretty thing. If Sai had been back in Balbadd, he would have mistook her for a prostitute. And he meant that in a good way. Prostitutes were always very pretty. They wouldn't be able to attract any customers if they weren't, could they? But since she wasn't throwing herself at him, Sai safely assumed that she was a woman of a stable household. Mentally, Sai whistled appreciatively. Black hair, wide, golden eyes, and a good body, the lady could be the ideal woman for any man in this world.
Too bad she wasn't Sai's type. And she was too old for him. Was she somewhere around her late twenties? Yup. Too old.
But…something about her was familiar…
"Oh, your sandal!" The woman continued to fuss. "Why don't I fix that for you since it's my fault? My house isn't far from here." She gave Sai no chance to answer. Instead, she gave him one of her bags and took him by the arm, taking him completely by surprise. Seeing his surprised expression, the lady laughed.
Sai allowed the woman to drag him into her home. He helped her put away her groceries as she quickly fixed the broken strap of his sandal. The mundane task of putting away groceries gave him a sense of nostalgia of his old life. He used to bring home the groceries for his mother every day.
"Ma'am, should I put the fruits with the bread or put them away separately?"
"Separately, please." The woman answered as she finished up fixing the sandal. "All done! Thank you very much for your help. I don't think I could've carried those groceries all on my own! My son usually helps me, you see, but he is away at the moment."
Sai nodded. "I see. Thank you for fixing my sandal strap, Ma'am."
"My name is Maya. And you?"
Sai considered lying to the woman like he always did when he bumped into strangers. But then, he decided not to. He was going to stay here for a while, after all. He would bump into her again sooner or later and telling her wouldn't hurt, right?
"My name is Sai."
"Well, it is nice to meet you, Sai." Maya said. "Why don't you stay over for dinner? I have lots of food to spare and you did help me."
Sai was about to politely decline the invite, but was interrupted by a familiar voice.
"Maya, honey? I'm home!"
Muu Alexius stepped into the house with a broad smile on his face that was immediately wiped away at the sight of Sai.
"…Muu! Welcome home!" Maya came over to him and pecked him sweetly on the cheek. "This young man helped me bring my groceries back home. So I invited him to eat dinner with us. Will you stay over for dinner, Sai?"
Taking one look at Muu's face, Sai gave Maya a sweet smile. "Why, I would love to, Miss Maya. And what a coincidence! I actually know Muu very well since he is an associate of my grandfather's!"
"Oh, really? We must talk about it over dinner!"
"Pharaoh Armakan! Welcome to Sindria! I hope that you are well. This is my son, Shion. You've heard of him, yes?"
"King Sinbad, of course I have heard of your talented son. Bring him closer so I can see him."
Shion smiled charmingly at the Pharaoh and respectfully bowed to the ruler. "Your majesty, as my father said, welcome to Sindria. I hope you enjoy your stay here."
The Pharaoh nodded to the young boy in acknowledgement. He caught sight of Jamal. "You, you're Kaveh's boy, aren't you? Prince Jamal?"
Biting back a grimace at the mention of his father, Jamal bowed. "Yes, your majesty."
Hel bristled when the Pharaoh's eyes landed on him. "And you are?"
"I am Hel, a representative of Reim…your majesty." He introduced himself stiffly, eyes flashing as he dipped his head. The Pharaoh nodded with disinterest and turned his attention back to Sinbad. "King Sinbad, I hope that you don't mind that I brought my sons."
Sinbad laughed and patted Armakan's back good-naturedly. "Of course not! I'm sure that Sharrkan would be thrilled to see his nephews after he returns from his mission."
"Mission?"
"Yes, just a small problem back at the nearby Toran Nation, nothing that your brother can't handle." Sinbad assured the Pharaoh. "Shion, why don't you show the Pharaoh's sons around Sindria?"
"Of course, Father." Shion agreed as two figures emerged from behind the Pharaoh.
"This looks like an interesting place. Right, Askan?" A youthful voice drawled. "Say your greetings to the king and prince, shrimp."
"I-It's nice to meet you, King Sinbad, P-Prince Shion. Thank y-you for your hospitality. I am Prince Askan." The smaller boy stuttered shyly.
"Welcome. I'm Shion." Shion nodded at the younger prince with a friendly smile before moving his gaze to the older one. His friendly greeting froze at his lips once he fully had a look at the older sibling's face. Behind him, he heard Jamal choke and Hel hiss quietly.
"Eh? No greeting? How boring."
"O-Oh, sorry. Welcome to Sindria." Shion held out his hand. "I'm Prince Shion."
The boy looked at Shion's hand disinterestedly and scoffed. "Name's Hakkan, Prince Hakkan. Try to remember that once I become Pharaoh. I guess you already know that since we're going to have to become allies when we grow up…or something." He sighed. "How boring."
Hel growled lowly under his breath.
"Snake."
Things just got a little complicated.
XD And here I must stop. Now, onto the Chibi-Omake that sparked my muse.
Chibi-Omake: Not Sai's Fault…For Once (or, How Selene Became Interested in Poison)
'Good morning, Snake-san. How are you today?'
Selene can't talk. That was a given fact.
'Good morning to you too, child. I am well. Where is that annoying, bigger two-leg that follows you around everywhere?'
"Mou…what is my cute little sister doing here? A-re? Is she playing with her snake friends again?"
'Ah, never mind. Here he is. Speak of the devil and so he comes.'
Selene looked up from her kneeling position to smile brightly at her older brother. Sai kneeled down beside her and stared at the little snake. "Mou, Selene, shouldn't you be a little more careful? Some snakes could be poisonous and their bites hurt."
Selene shook her head.
"A-re? So the snake isn't poisonous? Okay, if you say so." Sai got up to his feet. "Come back inside when the sun is at its peak. Amani will have lunch ready by then. Happy playing~!"
Selene waved her brother goodbye and turned back to the snake.
'Is it really that dangerous if you bit me, Snake-san?'
Selene couldn't talk. That was a given fact.
But somehow, snakes would understand her just fine while the humans, birds, and fish didn't. Couldn't.
It was her little secret.
'Yes, child. Though, you must be careful of the poisonous ones. Their bite can be painful, maybe even lethal if they aren't the friendly sort. Why, I knew this snake who managed to take down a bird with her venom.'
'A bird?' Selene repeated with wonder.
'Yes child. So be careful.'
Selene was in deep thought for the rest of the day and couldn't really pay attention to what her snake-friend babbled about for the rest of the morning. By the time she came back inside, Selene had made her mind up about something.
For the coming days, Selene began to spend time with the more vibrant and poisonous snakes, asking them questions while keeping a safe distance. She also visited the town's healer, watching him as he worked with certain herbs.
"That's a poisonous plant, young lady. It might look pretty, but it's lethal." The healer warned her one day when she brought in a pretty flower. "Don't put that it your mouth or you'll die within an hour."
Selene began to bring in many different flowers and plants to see the healer's reactions. She had to be careful to wear gloves while handling the plants just in case, but the knowledge she received was worth it.
'That's it. I'll use these plants as my venom, just like those snakes.' She thought with determination. 'Who needs to fly? If I can learn to defend myself, Sai will be proud.'
'I'll show all of those girls back in Artemyra. Even snakes can bring down a bird!'
Somewhere else:
"Sai, what did you do?" Yasmine demanded suspiciously as she eyed Selene wearily. The little girl was avidly reading a book about poisons.
Sai looked up from eating. "What? My cute sister wanted the book, so I bought it."
"That's why you're such a bad influence! Now you're going to give her bad ideas!" Yasmine accused him. "Just know, if Selene becomes some poison user instead of a healer when she grows up, it's your fault."
"But…but…but…"
"Your fault, Sai."
And that, my readers, was how Selene became interested in poison. Everyone still thinks that it was Sai's fault to this day.
Now, onto some IMPORTANT NOTES and QUESTIONS:
Amani's Scene: Remember what I said about the scene I had to cut out? Yeah, it was part of this one. I wasn't planning on leaving Amani's situation in a cliffhanger but I had to find some sort of way to introduce my new OCs. Now, let me make this clear since this wasn't supposed to be a cliffhanger: Amani will be fine. She and the baby will be fine. Okay? Okay.
Hair: I actually based the whole 'cutting hair' thing on Asian culture. I read somewhere that the action of cutting one's hair was an act of being 'cut' away from one's family. I noticed in the Magi universe that there was almost no short-haired girls. Only Artemyra was an exception with Pisti. Since Sasan is such a religious country, I made up this stiff culture of treasuring the hair. Since Yasmine cut her hair short, she is now considered a male and an exile by her people.
I also found this pretty nice chart in pinterest on how the anime hairstyles correlate with their personality. According to the chart, a braid hairstyle is considered "mature" while a short hairstyle is considered "rebellious". What do you think?
Tiare, the Household Member: See? See? I just made that official! :)
Tao's Secret: Stays a secret for now with Kougyoku. Poor Judal/Kido. He's out of the loop again.
Maya (27): Finally, Hel's mother makes her entrance into the story. Maya is going to be shown as the stay-home mom of Hel's and sweet girlfriend of Muu's in the beginning of the story. But her connection with the Pharaoh will reveal a little more depth in her old character before she was broken during slavery and her history.
Hakkan (12) and Askan (9): They are brothers who share the same mother, Queen Eirenne and half-brothers to Hel. And, as you can guess, Hakkan is the "snake". The question up there about the new enemies has been answered. Now commence with your barrage of questions and/or OMG's! over my new OCs. I shall be waiting.
That's about it. Thanks for reading. This chapter has been fun to write. And all your suggestions are helpful in rekindling my chibi-Muse.
Don't forget to REVIEW!
