Chapter Nine

The hours drifted by slowly aboard Sapphire, and yet there was nothing to do but watch the smooth waters and think. Contemplate. Samirah sat stiffly at the bow of the boat on the railing, letting her legs dangle over the side of her beloved boat. Below in the waters she stared back from the wavy reflection, cold and isolated. Her thoughts were on her father, and for the first time the memories of him brought a dismal feeling that left her with bitter guilt for failing him. Sapphire was ruined. The ship he had intrusted to her as he died, making her vow to keep his jewel on the seas and in the family was now more likely to turn into rubble and watery debris. She had once promised him she'd do whatever was necessary to keep her seaworthy and in her finest shape. She had done so, she had followed his wishes ... until now.

Spitting in the water at her reflection, Samirah watched ripples explode across her mirror image and distort the features until it was only an unsightly blur over the ocean. Turning, she gazed over the wreckage of her ship, the burnt and destroyed pieces were strewn everywhere across the deck and some floated nearby in the water. "I'm sorry..." She whispered, tears burning in her eyes as she felt the full pang of guilt overwhelm her. "I failed you, Papa." As quickly as the tears developed, the sobs overcame her and wracked her body. Drawing her knees to her chest, Samirah buried her face in her knees and cried. She knew she didn't have the money, the resources, or the correct materials that it would take to put Sapphire back together properly.

When a hand rested on her shoulder and gently squeezed, she didn't acknowledge the gesture and continued to fall into her own inner despair. Hamal stood over her, his mind still fogged by the drugs forced upon him by Mu'sad and his men, and his lungs sickly coated with a thin layer of smoke and dust from the fire. Still, despite the fatigue and dizziness he was experiencing, he couldn't bring himself to leaving her alone in her desperate time of need.

"We'll fix her." He reassured gently, giving her shoulder another squeeze. Samirah knew him to be the pessimistic one, so his words brought much comfort to her. If he believed, perhaps she could.

"I wish we could, Hamal." She said as she sniffed away the remaining tears. "It's just not that simple. We're both nearly broke and there's nothing anywhere close by that we can get supplies from to fix her." She stood, giving him a weak smile in return for his helpful condolences.

"How far are we from Dukan?" He questioned, looking over the horizon towards their original destination.

"I don't know, not too far." A light beamed within her, giving her a small thread of hope that began to quickly weave into a tapestry of dawning promise. "Not far at all." Quickly she ran below deck and into her cabin and within a few moments returned with a tattered map marked several times over from previous trips and voyages. "We were attacked here, and must have drifted at least this far by now. Even without wind, the waves still carried us a little." She pointed on the northern end of the sea. "If we could just find some way to rig a sail, we could get there within a day. We were less than two days away when the Barracuda hit us." Samirah pursed her lips and thought over the coordinates and assured herself that her calculations were correct. If they could just hobble to Dukan, they could perhaps barter for enough supplies to last Sapphire until they reached home. 'Not to mention', she thought shallowly, 'Aladdin still has to pay for his ride.' Immediately she felt remorseful for her greedy thoughts, but knew it was necessary for her ship to survive. 'And you know very well that if you didn't desperately need the money, you wouldn't even dream of taking it.'

Hamal nodded at her plan, considering their options as well. "We could make some kind of sail, out of sheets, clothes, whatever." He began, looking over the map and feeling relief as he saw the green shade of land wasn't too far off. "If we pull it across the two support masts, maybe ... just maybe we can limp the rest of the way there." Afraid to dwindle her hopes, he tried to hide his concerns, yet they needed to be voiced. "But..." He began skeptically. "We're not going to go anywhere anyway without some wind."

"We'll, then I guess we just have to wait." She sighed and began to fold the map up. "In the mean time..." She began, tapping the rolled parchment against Hamal's chest thoughtfully, a shadow of a smile began to appear. "We better get to work on that sail."

Below deck, as Hamal and Samirah began to stitch together a makeshift sail, Aladdin tossed and turned in his sleep, a battle of emotions forging within his soul and ripping apart his heart. He dreamt vividly, an onslaught of images and colors pelted his mind and overloaded his senses as his inner demons overtook his guilty conscience. Sweat dappled his forehead and caused a thin layer of perspiration across his body. His stomach twisted and churned with acid rising inside his abdomen and sending shockwaves of pain and anxiety throughout his system. His memories whispered in his ear devilishly as he remembered, and tried to forget at the same agonizing moment.

"Jasmine..." He muttered in his sleep, the images coming more and more alive with each passing moment. Memories became clear and faded all within seconds of each other, ripping him apart. Voices soon followed, echoing and overlapping the other, memories... all memories he had never forgotten but somehow suppressed over the last week or so - now came fighting back to the surface to be remembered and faced. The voices rippled in his mind, louder and louder than the previous.

"Do you trust me?"

"Please Princess, give me a chance."

"You are a worthless street rat. You were born a street rat. You'll die a street rat. And only your fleas will mourn you."

"Why did you lie to me!? Did you think I was stupid? That I wouldn't figure it out?"

"I do love you, but I gotta stop pretending to be something I'm not."

"Who are you? Tell me the truth."

"Once a street rat, always a street rat."

" ... Despite what my mind is screaming, I have to listen to my heart. I want you to stay ... with me."

"I choose you, Aladdin."

"I love you Jasmine."

"I can't stop how I feel, and I do love you."

"Do you trust me?"

"I do love you, but I gotta stop pretending to be something I'm not."

"Something I'm not."

"I gotta stop pretending..."

"Stop pretending!"

Aladdin shot up in his bed, panting for breath and wishing the remnants of his dream to flee his mind and leave him be. In wonder, he sat and thought of the wild relapses of voices, mostly his own. Events that happened not too long beforehand, when he was nothing but a poor boy living along the streets, in the gutter. He found a beautiful woman that wanted to not only love and marry him, but defend his right to become a sultan. Was he even worth that much? Worth the trouble and the defense?

Now there was a another beautiful woman that wanted him, coming from nearly the same background as him and understanding the trails and tribulations he had gone through from first hand experience. With her, he didn't need to constantly be reminded of the difference in class and the fact that he was indeed, not worthy of such a woman and such a role in society. He was a street rat. The name always left a bitter taste in his mouth, whether it be the fifth or five hundreth time he thought of it. Street Rat. Plague of the streets. Gutter. The lowest form of a peasant or commoner was made his alternate, and preferred by most, name.

Defend his name as he might, he couldn't shake the utter truth that he was in fact what he had been called all his life. Rasoul, the guards, other sultans and leaders and even his formidable enemies all called him that low name as a jab at his esteem and constant reminder of his place in society. It wasn't a coincidence. He had to stop pretending that he could be sophisticated, lead a kingdom and marry a Princess. Some dreams are, in fact, not meant to come true.

'Does this mean you're giving up?' His mind whispered, his heart fighting to hold on to the happier memories with Jasmine. Playing by the peacock fountain, picnics in the garden, the adventures that took them across the desert. No matter how he was beginning to feel for Samirah, he couldn't shake the undeniable love he had for Jasmine. 'You just had to run to the pier that day, didn't you?' Aladdin scoffed and ran his hand along the back of his neck. Sighing, he closed his eyes and tried to vision a life with Samirah. The harder task was trying to envision his life without Jasmine. 'Oh Allah, what do I do?'

But he wasn't given a reply, only the gentle lapping sound against the hull was his response. Stretching his limbs, he rose and left his cabin. When he found Hamal and Samirah working on the sail, they quickly filled him in on their plan. It didn't take long for the three of them to work together and finish off a sturdy sail made out of thin sheets and shirts that were randomly sewn together. After hooking the sail to the remaining masts, they sat back and admired their work, merely waiting for the right set of winds and waves to carry them onward.

"We're close, Aladdin." Samirah reminded thoughtfully, turning her sight away from the sail and towards the sinking sun in the horizon. "She's out there. Your fiancé." Her gaze fell to the floor as a twinge of envy struck her heart. "And I've decided..." She began, causing Aladdin's head to snap up in surprise. Wasn't he the one who was supposed to decide? "I've decided that I want you to be with her. You deserve her, Aladdin. You should never question that. You are worth more than a thousand sultans and your heart is more pure than any I've ever met. The question isn't whether you're worthy of her, but rather if she's worthy of you?"

Aladdin watched her, unable to respond at first. His mind was vigorously processing her words in awe. "I don't know what to say." He murmured, looking deep within her eyes and studying the emotional struggle wielding behind them. "But, it's my choice, Samirah." He reminded, shaking his head as if trying to forever delay the inevitable.

"Well, I can tell you one thing. You can't have us both. You're going to have to make yourself decide at one point or another and no matter what you do, no matter who you try and spare, someone is going to be hurt; someone will end up with a broken heart." Standing, she brushed off some bits of burnt wood from her pants in a futile attempt to clean them off before turning towards him. "You should know that I've never loved anyone like you, and I doubt that I will again. Yet, no matter what you eventually decide to do, I will never regret or wish to take back this trip. It may have left me with a broken dream, and perhaps maybe a broken heart again, but I can mend the pieces back together and get on with my life. I have my boat and the waters. The sea will always be there for me, and I know I will always be able to look into the ocean and feel complete. What you need to discover for yourself is which girl can do for you what the ocean does for me?"

As he watched her look down upon him, calm and impassive, a gentle breeze blew through her hair and tossed it around her face, framing her delicate features. Steadily, the wind began to pick up and billow out the main set of the sail and slowly bring Sapphire to life once again. Turning her attention to the sudden shift in weather, Samirah smiled lightly.

"We're on our way, Aladdin." She sighed and busied herself with some rigging. "Let's get you to Dukan."

To Be Continued . . .

As Always, Please R/R! :)