Unbeknownst to both Nadir and Adil, as they went to bed with very heavy hearts, Leila and Inaam were well and truly alive but in the much-feared and dreaded palace dungeon, which was an eerie-looking tower at the far-right wing.

It was where Alazawaya's criminals were placed in damp and dirty conditions until they met their fate with a sharp axe and wooden block or a rope around one's neck if the terrible conditions didn't kill them first.

Something that the girls were were pretty sure would soon happen to them.

Leila didn't blame Nadir for what had happened and thought of him as she reached for the bangle in her pocket, but the chains around her wrist made it difficult.

Please don't blame yourself, Nadir, she thought as she looked up to the stars through the small and narrowed barred window tucked away in the corner,

You did everything you could, and I don't hold it against you. Please know that no matter what happens to me, I'll never forget you and will always keep you close to me.

Leila blew a small kiss towards the window and sighed as she tried to make herself comfortable in the small, stony and lonely prison.

In their cell, Leila and Inaam were sitting opposite each other in the dark, with the moon providing the only light as it shone through the small window.

They were chained up to the stone walls by their arms above their heads and were trying to get themselves into a comfortable position which was difficult as the chains chafed their wrists horribly and restricted their movement.

Neither sister spoke as they tried to process all the events that had unfolded that very morning, especially with finding out that the two strange runaways that they had befriended and hung out with were the princes.

Leila was in disbelief when she found out that the boy she had fallen in love with and shared a kiss was the crown prince and that it had ended abruptly.

'I just can't believe it,' Leila said,

' I can't believe that he was the crown prince all along. Here was I, thinking that he was just a naïve runaway and he was Prince Nadir himself!

How could I not see it? I've must've looked like an idiot to him!'

'And it took you this long to figure it out?' Inaam said sarcastically, to which Leila rolled her eyes at her sister.

'Didn't you pick up the few hints he had dropped? No, you were too busy flirting, laughing, drinking rosewater, chucking grapes at him and making out to see them!' Inaam then said.

'I DID NOT MAKE OUT WITH HIM, INAAM!' Leila shouted, 'All we did was kiss and hold hands, accidentally the first time when we reached out for the grapes and bumped our heads.

But we liked it and held hands as we slept, separately, and he stroked my hair and cheek….'

'Right, now I get it,' said Inaam, 'but did you want to…you know..'

'No, you heard what he said; it was immoral for him to do so! And like you said, I had only met him! Don't be stupid!' Leila said.

'Alright, don't get touchy. I'm just saying how could you not know that lover boy was the prince?'

'Well, now that you mention it, I did see that he seemed out of place being at the market, and he had fancy jewellery that I know no one can afford except for the royal family.

Also that he ran away because his mother was forcing him to marry, and the guards were after him as he and Adil had escaped from the palace, but I didn't put two and two together!

I was too distracted by his beautiful voice and his gorgeous eyes..' sighed Leila,

'Too right you were,' said Inaam, teasingly,

'From what I heard last night, you and Nadir were flirting and chatting like crazy, and he gave you his bracelet! And, as you said, he kissed you and held your hand as you slept.

I know that because I saw you two before Adil and I went to get breakfast, and it looked so sweet, him stroking your hair!

That is until those bloated chump guards ruined everything for us! Why did the princes blow their cover and send us into the dungeon?' Inaam said bitterly.

'It wasn't their fault; Nadir was just trying to protect us,' Leila said. 'He wouldn't have done what he did if he hated us.

Anyway, it's not like we'll ever see them again.'

'What do you mean by that?' said Inaam.

'You said it yourself, Inaam, Nadir can't be with me. He has to marry a princess according to the law.

No way would be a lowly street mouse like me would ever fathom marrying the crown prince.

That has never happened in our city's history and never will. It's the status quo.' Leila said.

'Never say never, Lei,' Inaam said,

'What about in Agrabah? The prince consort used to be a street rat, and he married the sultana! If he could, so can you.'

'Only because they changed their law and he had the help of a magic lamp to make him a prince to impress her at first! And he had to learn to be himself along the way.

But I don't see the law here changing any time soon. Nadir will marry a stupid and spoilt princess and have spoiled children while I'll suffer a miserable death from the noose.

Unless, by some miracle, we get out of here,' said Leila sadly.

Inaam, seeing the pain and sadness on her sister's face, stretched out her leg and rubbed her foot against Leila's ankle.

Then, as if by some impossible miracle, a very familiar and welcome sound of chittering could be heard from outside, and the girls looked up to see Dalia waving her hands around and holding a metal pick in her tail.

'Dalia!' the girls said happily, and the monkey squeaked as she managed to squeeze through the thin bars.

She climbed down the wall and landed rather ungracefully on the floor, yelping angrily and rubbing her bottom.

'Are we glad to see you,' Leila said, as Dalia chittered and expertly used the metal pick to unlock the chains of Leila and Inaam to their relief as they gave their arms a well-needed stretch.

'Ah, that's much better,' Inaam said as she rubbed her wrists to relieve them of the chafing of the chains.

Leila dug her bracelet out from her pocket, feeling a pang of sadness as she slipped it back on her right wrist.

Inaam, meanwhile, was making a big show of stretching out her arms and body.

Dalia chittered, ranting in monkey speak, and it was about the unfairness of being trapped in a pot and the trouble the girls' new friends had put them in.

'It wasn't their fault, Dalia; the poor guy has a lot on his plate right now. He didn't mean for us to end up in here.

You don't have to worry about him or his brother anymore; we're not going to see them again.' Leila said.

'Although I wish I'd gotten the chance to tell him how I felt….'

'What's stopping you, child?' a mysterious and eerie voice said from the shadows and startled the girls and Daila.

They turned around and saw an older woman sitting next to them, as they had not noticed her at all and were surprised that she had been there the entire time.

The woman smiled sweetly at them with several missing teeth in her mouth, and her face had wrinkles that crinkled as she smiled.

She wore a tattered brown robe with the hood firmly pulled over her head, although a few curly strands of white hair fell on her face.

Leila thought she heard squawks of a parrot who was struggling to get out of the robe before the woman shoved the bird back in.

'Who are you?' Leila said while staring warily at the woman who hobbled over to her and put her arm around the girl, making Leila shudder.

'Don't be afraid, my dears, I mean you no harm,' the woman said in a sweet but rather unsettling tone,

'I just want to help you, that's all, but only if you do something for me in return.'

'How can we tell if you're trustworthy?' said Leila, sceptically.

'Yeah, why should we trust you?' Inaam replied, 'How do we know that you don't have any malicious intent towards us?'

'Because, my dears, I'm just like you,' the woman said. The girls raised their eyebrows at her, unsure what to make of this.

'How?' said Leila.

'Like you, I too am nothing more than a lowly street peasant who had to resort to stealing so that I could feed my hungry family and paid the price for it. That's how everyone sees us, but we can be so much more than that.

After all, there is more than meets the eye, isn't it?'

'Yeah, yeah, spare us your sob tale, you old hag and get to the point before you bore us to death,' said Inaam.

'Such a rude and impatient child you are,' muttered the woman while Inaam shot her a dark stare,

'But you, my dear,' she then said to Leila, 'are not like your sister, for I can see that you are kind, compassionate and caring towards others.

I've seen you give food to hungry children and rescued the crown prince from cruel punishment, and that is why you are my chosen one,' the woman said to Leila.

'Don't ask me how I know this, I just do,' when Leila looked at her, 'and I can also tell that you have feelings for the prince, do you not?'

Leila nodded while twirling her bracelet.

'And he seems to reciprocate those feelings by giving you that beautiful bracelet, but alas, the law will not allow you to be together, and the poor boy must now think that you are dead,' the woman said.

Leila nodded again.

'But there might be a way to change that, for you see, I know of a beautiful place out in the desert.

It's a vast cave filled with beautiful treasures and coins that will make the sultana go green with envy and a unique object that I have had my eye on for years, one that no one has been able to retrieve.

Yes, child, it is...The Forbidden Cave!'

'The Forbidden Cave?' said Leila in surprise,

'But no one has been able to enter it! I've heard many stories about people being forcefully dragged there by a mysterious figure, and they either never returned or were severely traumatised by their ordeal!'

'That is true, child, but I believe that you are the one to enter, the one that the cave desires,' said the woman,

'Of course, I would go myself, but I'm far too old and tired to climb down those huge steps, but a lovely, young and strong girl like you should have no problem at all, and your sister can help as well.'

'What's in it for us?' Inaam said,

'Patience, child, I am just coming to that,' the woman said,

'I'm not asking for much; all you have to do is go down to the cave and retrieve the object. It's a much better fate than being hanged by the neck at dawn, which I'm sure you two do not want.

It's your only chance of escape, and you will be handsomely rewarded.'

As she said it, she dug into her robe pockets and pulled out handfuls of rubies, diamonds, pearls, emeralds, sapphires and gold coins.

Leila and Inaam, seeing the fabulous treasures, stared at them, dumbfounded while Dalia's eyes grew wide, and she squeaked and drooled in delight as her tiny paws reached greedily towards the gems.

Inaam whistled while Leila looked suspiciously at the woman and the jewels. She wondered how she could have gotten them on earth when no one could enter the cave except the so-called 'street diamond', which the woman supposedly said.

And why was she so willing to share them with her and Inaam? And why did she need her to get that mysterious object in the cave?

It didn't make much sense to her at all, but it seemed that it was the only way to escape the dungeon and maybe, just maybe, reunite with Nadir, and the object could help her win his heart.

Leila took a deep breath, looked at the woman in the eye and said,

'Well, alright, I'll do it,' as the woman grinned toothily at her, with a hint of an evil smirk which she quickly hid.

'A wise choice, my dear, you will not regret this,' she said, 'and as I've promised, I will get you, your sister and your filthy monkey….'

Dalia blew a raspberry at hearing that last remark,

'Out of here, for I know a secret passage. Follow me, my dears and don't dawdle; we haven't got all night!'

Going at a snail's pace, the girls and Dalia followed the older woman as she hobbled her way towards the stone wall at the near end of the dungeon and used her walking stick to tap lightly against it.

It then magically moved to reveal a set of curved stone steps leading to Allah knowing where.

'So there was a secret passage this whole time?' Leila said, which made the woman chuckle wheezily.

'Things aren't what they seem, child,' she said and slowly started to walk up the seemingly never-ending steps.

Leila and Inaam looked at each other, unsure what they had gotten into, as Dalia chittered nervously.

They still didn't trust their mysterious new companion entirely, but they had no choice and followed the woman up the steps just as the stone wall closed behind them.

The woman gave an evil smile as she led the girls towards the still night, where the greatest treasure of all was waiting.

Through the quiet corridors of the palace, Saira softly walked, feeling more relaxed now that Nadir and Adil were safely home yet was concerned about the sad moods that she had seen from them when Nadir came back from talking with Jawahir.

It upset her to see her sons miserable as she passed by Adil's room and peeked inside to see the younger boy sleeping so peacefully, holding Salma close to him.

Sighing sadly and feeling guilty about leaving Adil with Jawahir and not paying much attention to him, she bent down and gently kissed Adil's forehead and stroked his head.

'I'm so sorry, darling,' she whispered as the boy slumbered on and she left him to sleep, each of her steps getting heavier as she walked on towards Nadir's room.

Expecting him to be in bed, she instead found him still sitting on the balcony, petting Jumara and staring at the stars, twinkling brightly as ever, and she could hear his muffled sobs which made her heart sink.

Not wanting to startle Nadir and provoke Jumara, Saira gently walked across the room while seeing the untouched grapes and rosewater jelly in the bathroom and the still-made bed.

She approached her son and the tiger gingerly as he looked up, his eyes red from crying and his face tearstained.

'Nadir, darling,' she cooed as she sat down next to him on the chair as he hurried over,

'Please tell me what is wrong; I can't bear to see you so upset. I promise that I'll sort out whatever has been bothering you.'

'It's Jawahir…' Nadir managed to choke out before bursting into fresh tears as his mother gently scooped him up in her arms as he sobbed heavily and clung to her, breathing in her strong jasmine and sandalwood scent.

'What did Jawahir do, darling?' said Saira, soothingly, 'you can tell me, I won't be angry with you. Is that why you and Adil have been upset?'

'She..she did a dreadful thing!' gulped Nadir, 'she ordered the execution of the two girls we met in the marketplace! I tried to stop the guards, but they didn't listen to me!

I did everything I could, but it was all for nought, and now they're dead because of me!'

Nadir continued to sob while Saira tried to digest what she had just heard and felt the stinging deceit of her most trusted advisor and curled her lip in disbelief.

'Is this true, Nadir?' she said, and Nadir nodded.

'That devious woman!' Saira then shouted, 'I had told her repeatedly that she has no authority to execute prisoners, and she goes and does it behind my back!

And the guards let her do it? That's outrageous!

Well, don't worry, darling, I'll get to the bottom of this and have a very stern talk to her!

Thank you for bringing that up, and I'm sorry that it has made you and Adil upset. I'll nip this in the bud before she does any more damage.

But for now, please try to get some sleep, and I'll give Jawahir a proper dressing down tomorrow morning!'

'Alright, Mother,' Nadir said, yawning as he got up, stretched and climbed into his bed with Jumara lying protectively near the foot of the bed as she usually did.

'Good night, my darling,' Saira whispered as she watched Nadir drift off to sleep and gently kissed his forehead before she walked out, fuming at what she had just heard.

'Jawahir is not going to get away with this,' she muttered under her breath as she went to retire to her chambers.