Jay leaned his chin on his hands, staring at the sand. "How to do this..."

"So, what are you going to wish for?" Nadakhan asked, taking a sip of something that looked suspiciously like orange juice.

"I think I kind of know, but.. it's complicated." Jay couldn't help a little smile at the thought of finally being able to help Nya.

Nadakhan raised an eyebrow. "I see. Does this happen to involve a certain young lady?"

"WHAT? No! Of course not."

"That is a lie if I've ever heard one."

"Okay, okay, fine. It's nvolving a girl. She's incredible and we had a connection."

"A connection? Interesting. You do remember that I can't make anyone fall in love with you, right?"

"Yes, I remember." Jay shifted a bit. "You see, it's a bit more complicated than that. She's a princess, and... stuck in an engagement she had no choice in. I promised I'd help her, but I didn't make the time to think of how until after I got the teapot. Now that I have it-" He shrugged. "Well, I have to figure out how to help her get out of her engagement without getting her into any trouble. If that makes sense."

"Oh yes, totally." Nadakhan glanced at Bequeath. "Did they really have a connection?"

Bequeath gave him a look and shrugged. Well, as much as a monkey CAN shrug, anyways.

"Alright then. We can work with this."

Jay raised his hand. "Quick question."

"You do know that you don't have to raise your hand all the time, right?"

He sheepishly put his hand back down. "Right, yeah... anyways, is there any way you can look... normal?"

"Normal? I am not going to lie, I'm kind of offended by that. Still-" He snapped his fingers, changing out of his genie clothes and into something a little more... well, like it would blend in on the streets of Agrad. He was still orange, though.

"... most people aren't orange."

"Fine, fine, that's fair." He snapped his fingers again, and this time, he looked like a normal person. He raised an eyebrow at Jay. "Better?"

"Yes, much better. I'm not sure if many people use topknots anymore, though."

"My apologies, but I am NOT changing the topknot. It's part of my signature style."

Jay rolled his eyes. "If you say so."

"Anyways, we need a plan to get you into the palace so you can then get the princess out of her engagement, correct?"

"That's right." Jay thought for a moment, and his eyes got wide. "Could you make me a prince?"

There was a pause for a second, and Nadakhan sat up a bit. "There is a lot of gray area in 'make me a prince'. For instance, I could just summon up some kind of prince." He gestured vaguely and a confused looking noble appeared in front of them. "I don't think that was what you were going for."

"Uh..." The guy looked around, extremely confused. "How did I- where-"

Jay shook his head vigorously. "Oh no, not at all."

"I thought not. You would be stuck with him for the rest of your life."

"Have you guys seen my castle?" The prince asked, looking uncomfortable even asking this. "It's really tall, made of stone... has a wall around it?"

"Right, sorry." Nadakhan waved his hand around again and the prince disappeared. "Be very specific with your words. If not, you could end up in the ocean or something."

"Yeah, okay, that would be bad." Jay glanced over at Carpet, who was still zooming around in circles. Just looking at that was making him dizzy. "I think I know how to do this."

"You sure? I mean, I gave the last wish to you for sneakiness, but that's not going to happen again."

"I'm sure." Jay stood up, placing Bequeath on the chair where he had been sitting. "Nadakhan, I wish-"

"You're missing something." Nadakhan gave him a look.

"Right." Jay grinned and grabbed the lamp, holding it in both hands. "Alright. Nadakhan, I wish to..." He paused, trying to figure out his words. "I wish to become a prince!"

Nadakhan grinned widely, his hands already glowing a bright orange. The magic sparkled and shimmered in the sunlight, making Jay wince from how bright it was. "Your wish is yours to keep."

The orange mist (was it really mist? It was magic, but it didn't feel very... magicky. Was that even a word?) surrounded him, and for a second, he couldn't see a thing. Before he could protest, though, his feet touched land again and he tripped, nearly falling on his face. "Typical."

"Alright, now, let's see what we can do here." Nadakhan zoomed around Jay, summoning magic and with it, princely attire. When he finally stopped, he stepped back a bit, considering the look. "I'm not really feeling it."

"It's... PINK?!" Jay looked down in horror. "What?"

"I see your point there, it is also pink." Nadakhan idly waved his hand in the air and in an instant, Jay was no longer wearing pink, thankfully. "I don't think the scepter is quite working for you."

"Why... why would I be holding a scepter? That doesn't even make any sense."

"One good thing is that I have realized your complexion isn't quite right to wear pink."

"I could have told you that before, you know." Jay grumbled.

"I would advise for you to be quiet and allow me to do what I do best." Nadakhan considered for one more second and snapped his fingers, getting a hint of inspiration. "Oh, I know! This is going to look perfect!" With a loud whoosh, Jay was suddenly not wearing white anymore and was instead dressed in a deep blue suit, like something a prince would wear. It had hints of yellow and silver on it as accents, and the lining was really incredible.

Jay grinned, looking down at it. "Now this is more like it."

"Mm, yes, the color matches your skin tone, it doesn't clash, it's tasteful-"

"I know one thing that very good about it. I isn't PINK."

"Well, that too, yes." Nadakhan summoned a mirror for Jay to look at his reflection. "Thoughts?"

"This is perfect! Not only does it match my personality, but I really like this shade of blue."

"I do as well. It has a certain amount of flair to it befitting a prince."

Jay turned, watching the colors. "Won't someone recognize me, though? I mean, a lot of people know me."

"Oh no, that's the thing about my brand of magic. No one will recognize you. However, we will need a different name for you. Jay is way too.."

"Boorish? Normal?"

"I was thinking more like easily recognizable, but yours works too." Nadakhan grinned. "Is Jay your real name?"

Jay shifted, looking a bit uncomfortable. "Well... not technically."

"I was wondering about that."

"My parents were from the Commonwealth, and just about everyone from the Commonwealth is oddly formal."

"So... what's your real name then?" The mirror disappeared with a poof and Jay blinked the residual sparkles away from his vision.

"Well, it's-" He looked down, muttering it under his breath. If he was being totally and completely honest, he hated his given name. It was way too formal for someone like him! Besides, it just sounded weird to say anyways.

"I didn't quite catch that."

Jay sighed, turning to face Nadakhan. "James. My given name is James Imperial Walker." Even saying it made him cringe. It was just... awful!

"But- that's a perfectly acceptable name. I do not see why you wouldn't like it." Nadakhan seemed a little put out by that. "Formality is not a bad thing, you know."

"Maybe sometimes, but it isn't helpful a lot of the time."

"Well, I am in no position to argue currently." Nadakhan shrugged, watching Jay smooth out his jacket.

"So... if they won't recognize me, what does changing my name have to do with anything?"

"I would think that this would be obvious. If your name stays the same, people will be more likely to recognize you. Therefore, we shall use your given name and add a title." Nadakhan did a little flourish with his hands. "You are now Prince James."

"Prince James of..." Jay trailed off, glancing up at him.

Nadakhan frowned, thinking. "Of the Imperial Walkers?"

"Are they actually going to believe that?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't they?"

"Because it sounds-" He struggled for the right word for a second. "Pompous?"

"Here is a tip for life, James. More often than not, people who are the same rank as you are now are often pompous. You must act the part."

Jay nodded, inhaling. "Right, yes. Now... we need to get to the city, right?"

"Of course, but not currently. Right now, we must add a little more flair to all this. A good impression is imperative to getting you inside the palace grounds." Nadakhan tilted his head to the side and his eyes landed on Bequeath, who was watching what was going on with wide eyes. "Ah! I know!" He snapped his fingers at Bequeath, turning him into a mechanical horse. Bequeath whinnied in surprise. "I'm not really feeling it..."

For a second, Jay was at a loss for words. "Is... he going to be okay?"

"Yes, yes, he'll be fine! It's only temporary." Within the space of a few seconds, Bequeath turned between a horse, a camel, a donkey, and an elephant, all mechanical. Bequeath looked... admittedly a bit freaked out.

"Come on, think! This needs to be amazing, with a flair for the dramatic!" He considered for another minute, muttering to himself. "AH!"

Jay watched nervously as Nadakhan waved his hands at Bequeath. For a second, the orange mist surrounded him and when it finally cleared, Bequeath was a gigantic mechanical dragon. It was... both really weird and really cool.

Nadakhan nodded, very, very pleased with himself. "Ah yes, now that is just perfect! I don't know how I do this, but it's very, very impressive."

"He's- he's a dragon."

"Indeed. A very good looking dragon, I must say." Nadakhan couldn't help a self-satisfied smile. "A work of art, if I do say so myself."

Bequeath unfolded his wings and almost tripped on them, huffing a puff of smoke. The gears on his sides whirred.

"I would say to give it a bit to get used to the wings, but other than that, it's perfect!"

Jay was still in shock. His monkey was now... a dragon? This magic was really, really odd.

"And lastly, we have one more item still to do."

He tore his eyes away from Bequeath. "What is that?"

"Every prince needs an entourage, don't you think?"

Yes, yes, I am still here! I just had a hint of writer's block with this chapter, but now that it's written (thank goodness), I'm very pleased with how it turned out! Thank you CDubs!

I hope everyone's holidays were good and merry and pleasant and... bright! I know mine certainly were. GOODBYE 2020! Thank you so much to everyone who has read through my stuff through 2020, you guys are one of the reasons I keep writing and publishing! If you liked this chapter, feel free to drop me a review!