The early rays of the morning sun were shining on Nadir's face when he slowly woke up the next day after a surprisingly good sleep despite sleeping on a hard cold stone floor instead of the slippery satin sheets at the palace.
At first, he thought he had dreamed the previous day as he saw the hovel come clearly into view and then remembered what had happened.
He was fleeing the gilded cage he had been trapped in, seeing the streets, giving a hungry child his food, finding Adil with that girl, Inaam.
He felt the stirrings of romance when he saw her older sister and eye-flirting and the girl saving him from having a chopped-off hand.
Running away from the angry vendor, coming back to her hovel, seeing Adil have the most fun he had for a while with Inaam while he and Leila sat on the ledge looking at the stars at night.
Him opening up to her about his life, eating grapes and drinking rosewater and giving her his bracelet, as he saw his bare right wrist and rubbed it.
It had looked so lovely on her, and she took great pride in wearing it, and he was glad to be rid of it.
And he had found himself falling for the girl even though he had never asked what her name was (not that she knew what his name was either as he wanted to remain incognito).
He even shared an accidental kiss with her and fell asleep holding hands (but lay apart with separate blankets), and in all honesty, it was probably the best day Nadir ever had.
He smiled to himself as he turned over and saw Leila still sleeping and holding his hand, which proved that he hadn't been dreaming. She was drooling slightly but was breathtakingly beautiful in the early sunshine.
He gently stroked her hair and cheek with his free hand until she stirred and slowly opened her eyes and smiled at him.
'Good morning, sleepyhead,' Nadir said as he sat up and rearranged his hood carefully and stroked her cheek again.
'Good morning, yourself,' Leila responded while propping herself up on her elbow, ' did you sleep well?'
'Surprisingly, yes,' said Nadir, chuckling,
'I never thought that I would sleep on a stone floor, but I was just so worn out from the wonderful day we had yesterday and feeling your hands circle gently on my palms. It was so soothing.'
'Yes, it was wonderful, wasn't it?' said Leila, as she twirled her bracelet around.
'And this may seem crazy, but I thought I was dreaming, and none of this happened, but when I woke and saw you there, I'm glad I wasn't.' Nadir said, blushing.
Leila blushed, and the two leaned forward, foreheads touching and their arms wrapped around each other, ready to kiss when all of a sudden...
'Hey, no making out in front of the kids!' Inaam shouted as she and Adil clambered back in the hovel, which made the two yelp and broke apart to see their siblings carrying two baskets of fruit.
'Oh, Inaam, we were just about to….' Leila said, annoyed.
'Yeah, I know, but take it slow, you've only just met him, and you're making out like you're a couple already! I mean, do you even know his name?' Inaam said.
'Um…. I don't..' Leila said while Nadir rubbed the back of his head.
'Hey, you're awake!' Adil then shouted when he saw Nadir,
'Too bad you missed going out with us to get food; it was a lot of fun! I even nicked this huge watermelon, look!' as he proudly held up the massive fruit like it was a trophy.
'Very nice,' Nadir mumbled.
'Oh, don't pretend to be interested in what I've done. You want to have some alone time with Inaam's sister.
I wonder what Mama would say if she knew that you were kissing strange girls, especially out of marriage..'
'That's enough, Adil, we haven't done anything other than kiss and hold hands. You know that it's immoral for me to consummate outside of marriage.'
'Sure you did!' Adil said, teasingly, but a fierce glance from his brother made him change the subject, and he started to talk about the exciting adventure he had with Inaam that morning.
'We wanted you and Inaam's sister to come, but you were still sleeping, so Inaam decided to go without you two and….'
'Now that you finished flirting and making out, we need you to get us some loaves of bread.' Inaam said.
'We already told you we weren't making out!' Leila said as Inaam rolled her eyes.
'Whatever, Lei, now go and get the bread before it goes stale! And you better watch out; there are more guards out than usual!'
At the mention of the guards, Nadir flinched.
'The palace guards?' he said.
'Yeah, those bloated chumps are swarming the streets! I heard talk that the princes are missing and they are out looking for them.'
Of course, Nadir thought to himself, but the girls don't know who we are, so we're safe.
'But don't worry, we always know how to keep one jump ahead of them, and they never succeed in catching us thanks to my smarts, Dalia's cheek and Inaam's diversions.
Also, the boarding school students distract them, so we should be safe.'
'You promise that we won't get caught?' Nadir said.
'I promise,' said Leila, tossing a basket to Nadir, who caught it one-handed,
'Now let's go, and I'll teach you the tricks of the trade..'
But as soon as she said it, there was a loud crash, the sounds of swords slicing wood and fabric and the wheezing of the guards as they climbed up the steps.
'There they are, boys!' the head guard shouted, 'let's get them!'
'Oh, for crying out loud!' shouted Inaam in dismay as Dalia squeaked as she tried to shove some oranges in her mouth.
'Oh, no, they found us!' Adil whined worriedly.
'They're after me!' Leila and Nadir said simultaneously before looking at each other confusedly.
'They're after you?' they then said.
'My mother must have sent them!' said Nadir, 'she must have realised that we've gone missing!'
'Then let's get out of here!' Leila said.
'Quick, hide the bracelet; they'll think you stole it from me,' said Nadir as Leila took it off and hid it in her pocket.
Quickly, Inaam grabbed one of the ropes and tossed it over the window for her and Adil to climb down.
Leila then grabbed a yellow rug and positioned it on the edge of the other window, and Dalia leapt on her shoulder as the guards came closer while panting.
'Come on, Adil, we've got to go!' Inaam then shouted to Adil as she started to climb out the window.
But the younger boy was too nervous about moving as the guards came closer to the runaway princes.
'But I'm too scared!' Adil shouted back, 'I'll fall and hurt myself!'
'It's okay, just jump onto my back and hold tight!' Inaam said, 'trust me, I won't let anything happen to you, but you've got to come with me right now!'
'Okay,' Adil said shakily, realising that he had no choice as Nadir nodded at him.
'Go on, Adil, don't be afraid, Inaam will look after you, and we'll follow you soon,' he said.
Adil nodded, jumped onto Inaam's back, and held on to her as his life depended on it.
'We'll go first, then you come after,' said Inaam as she and a scared but determined Adil slid down the rope.
The two safely but clumsily landed on some fertiliser which covered them with stinky brown mush.
'Ewwwwwwww!' they both said while laughing.
Meanwhile, along with Dalia, Leila beckoned Nadir to come where the rug was ready to glide on the ground while Nadir showed the same reluctance as his brother earlier on.
'Come on, jump!' she shouted.
'Are you crazy?' Nadir shouted back, 'I could fall and break my neck!'
'Do you want to get caught?' Leila shouted,
'That's the most important rule of the streets; you're only in trouble if you get caught! And we won't get caught if we jump NOW!'
'Are you sure it's safe?' Nadir shouted back,
'Do you trust me?' shouted Leila.
'What?' shouted Nadir.
'Do you trust me?' said Leila.
'Yes!' Nadir replied.
'Then jump on and wish us a happy landing!' said Leila.
Nadir then jumped on the rug and wrapped his arms around Leila's waist tightly, taking a deep breath and hoping that it would turn out alright.
Leila gently pushed the rug off the edge just as the guards entered the hovel and saw that it was empty, leaving them to go back down the steps, some cursing loudly as they did so.
Outside, Inaam and Adil were wiping the fertiliser off their clothes just as Leila, Nadir and Dalia were soaring down on the rug at an alarming speed and were screaming just before they too landed, albeit roughly and onto a massive pile of fish.
'Eugggh, it had to be fish, didn't it?' Leila said while Dalia made a face at the fishy smell.
Leila and Nadir stood up, unharmed and dusted some salt off them as their siblings watched with some amusement.
'About time you joined us!' Inaam said, somewhat sarcastically.
'Did you have a nice trip?' said Adil.
'We've had better,' replied Nadir dryly.
'Come, let's make a run for it while we have the chance,' said Leila.
'And since we stink of manure and fish, they won't want to grab us!' Adil said as the quartet and monkey laughed ran while smelling horrible.
But they didn't get very far before being surrounded by the guards, undeterred by the terrible smell, and had blocked off every possible exit no matter how much the group tried to dodge them.
Dalia then created a diversion by jumping on the head guard's hat and ran around in circles, which made him dizzy and allowed a brief reprieve in which the group made a run for it, but the other guards blocked them off.
'We have you surrounded, street mice, there's no escaping now!' one said as he roughly grabbed Inaam by her wrist.
She tried kicking and punching to free herself, but the guard just laughed as he tied her wrists up with rope.
'Let her go, you bloated old chump!' Adil yelled.
But he was powerless to help as he and Nadir watched in horror as Dalia was cruelly grabbed by her tail and shoved into a large clay pot with the lid firmly closed as she squeaked furiously inside.
'Let my sister and monkey go!' Leila shouted, running over to them.
But she was soon met by the enormous burly chest of the head guard looking at her like a hungry snake looking at a helpless mouse before devouring it.
'You just can't stay out of trouble, can you, street mouse?' the head guard sneered as he grabbed Leila's wrists.
He tied them together with rope as she struggled and kicked against him to no avail.
'And every time you do, I'm always there! Well, you're not going to get away with it anymore!
You and your sister will be going to the dungeon for the rest of your days!' he said as he began to lead his furious prisoners away.
Leila looked back at Nadir, who was shocked and appalled at what he had just witnessed.
Even though he was about to blow his cover, he couldn't just sit by and let the girl and her sister go to prison for a petty crime they didn't commit.
He had to do something, and since he had the authority to do so, he cleared his throat and said in his most princely tone,
'Let them go at once!'
'Yeah, what he said!' Adil chimed in, determined not to be left out.
The guards turned around at the sound of Nadir's voice and were greatly surprised to see the two disguised princes staring at them with disgust, but they didn't recognise them.
'Oh, look what we have here boys, two street rats!' the head guard said, in a somewhat mocking manner,
'Our day has just gotten better! Get them both!'
'Yes, boss,' two rather stupid guards said eagerly, but Nadir put out his hand, which stopped them in their tracks.
He accidentally revealed a plum coloured silk sleeve which surprised Leila and Inaam as they knew a street urchin couldn't afford such a luxury.
'I order you to release these two girls on the command of the crown prince!' Nadir said in his princely tone as he pulled down his hood to reveal his crown.
Seeing the prince made the guards and the girls gasp at seeing his true identity as his cloak fell away, revealing his royal clothes.
'Prince Nadir!' the guards gasped as they bowed to him.
'That's the crown prince!' Leila whispered in shock.
Adil, realising that the façade was over, pulled down his hood and revealed his royal clothes.
'Prince Adil!' the guards gasped again as Dalia peeked out from the pot lid and squeaked in surprise.
Inaam whispered, 'I can't believe it! All this time, we were hanging out with the princes!'
'But what are you two doing out of the palace?' the head guard said, questioningly, then snarled,
'Don't you realise that your mother has been worried sick about you two?'
'Oh, now she cares about me,' muttered Adil sarcastically.
'And what were you doing out on the streets with these street mice? And what happened to your father's bracelet?
Did that filthy street mouse steal it from you?' the head guard said as he noticed Nadir's bare wrist.
'That does not concern you,' said Nadir, 'release the girls at once.'
'Well…' the head guard said, hesitatingly,
'We would do so as you are the crown prince, but I'm afraid this matter is out of yours and our hands. For you see, we are simply following the orders of Jawahir.'
'That's right, Your Highness,' said a guard, sheepishly, 'we didn't want to since she is only the advisor, but she manipulated us into doing her work..'
'You idiot!' the head guard growled and whacked the poor guard on his head, making him wince.
To Nadir, he said,
'You have to talk to Jawahir, but she has ordered us to imprison the girls and throw them in the dungeon to protect the peace of Alzawaya.'
'Oh, trust me, I will,' Nadir said coldly.
The guards then took Leila and Inaam away with them still tied up. However, Dalia managed to get out of the pot and followed them.
The princes were then reluctantly escorted back to the palace by the head guard.
'Come on, Your Highnesses, let's get you home. I'm sure that your mother will be more than relieved that you're safe and sound from those street mice.' he said.
'But they are our friends!' said Adil.
'They only wanted to be friends so they could steal from you!' the head guard snarled.
'That's not true!' Nadir barked.
But he knew it would fall on deaf ears unless he confronted Jawahir and planned to do that as soon as he got back home.
As the girls and princes parted ways, Leila and Nadir smiled at each other for the last time.
The prince blew her a kiss while Adil waved sadly at Inaam, who grinned at him, sad to lose his new friend and upset about going back home to Jawahir.
While trying to be calm and composed, Nadir was fuming inside at the injustice and unfairness of the city's laws and losing the girl he had fallen in love with.
When he would become sultan, things would be very different in Alzawaya; now, he had seen what the outside was like for the first time.
Jawahir saw the morning's events on her hourglass and grinned with evil delight as Leila and Inaam were taken to the palace and thrown in the dungeon.
And she was pleased that she had successfully manipulated the guards to follow her orders.
She was so ecstatic that she didn't mind that the princes were found safe in the streets with them, and Adil would soon be back in her care.
She had successfully carried out the first part of her grand plan as her perfectly manicured nails lovingly stroked the hourglass.
'Now, to get the lamp, I need to persuade our little street diamond to enter the cave, but since the prince has gotten rather fond of her and would plead her case to me, I'm afraid I'm going to have to spin a little white lie to him.' she said.
'What, you're going to tell him that you executed her for kidnapping him?' said Tala, who was busy rubbing some moisturiser on her feathers.
'Precisely, Tala. However, about the younger sister, I haven't thought about what to do yet, but eventually, I'll figure something out.
After all, she is an accomplice, and she also bamboozled Adil by luring him into her twisted world. Not to mention, the elder girl stole Nadir's bracelet, which belonged to his late father and cherished by him.'
'But you don't have the authority to execute prisoners!' Tala said.
'That is true, but I had already persuaded the guards to capture the girl; I'm sure that I would be able to order the execution. Why must you always doubt me, Tala?' said Jawahir.
'Because you make outlandish plans which never work and you're always frustrated about being second best….'
'WHAT DID YOU SAY, PARROT?!' Jawahir roared as she grabbed Tala by the neck, almost choking her.
Tala could only make gurgling noises as Jawahir gripped her neck even tighter.
'WHAT DID YOU SAY TO ME?!' Jawahir roared again.
'That you..were..second-best..' Tala managed to gasp out, and that made Jawahir even angrier.
'I TOLD YOU NEVER TO SAY THOSE HIDEOUS WORDS TO ME EVER!' she roared so loudly that all of Alzawaya could hear her.
'NO ONE WILL EVER SAY THAT AGAIN ONCE I GET THAT BLASTED LAMP, AND I WILL NO LONGER BE SECOND BEST OR A BLASTED NURSEMAID TO THAT LITTLE BRAT!
GET THAT THROUGH YOUR THICK SKULL, TALA, AND IF YOU DO NOT HELP ME, I WILL SELL YOU TO THAT SILK VENDOR, AND I WILL FIND ANOTHER PARROT WHO WILL NOT DEFY ME!
Do I make myself clear?' Jawahir said, calm again.
'As crystal, Jawahir,' Tala said, shakily as Jawahir let go of her neck, and the poor parrot gasped, wheezed and coughed.
'Do stop coughing, Tala, that's rather annoying,' Jawahir said, irritated. Just then, the door to her chambers opened, and footsteps were soon approaching.
'Oh, great, the little brat is here,' sighed Tala.
'Jawahir!' Nadir's voice rang out from outside, 'are you in here? I need to talk to you this instant!'
'Don't worry, it's only Prince Nadir,' said Jawahir, 'and what perfect timing for I have some rather alarming news for him,' as she chuckled evilly and hurried up the steps.