AN:/Wow you guys rock. 30 reviews! Haha! Good job, you're wonderful reviews are causing me to both finish the story and put off my Lit homework.

Cambridge was right, we were missed. Natalie had a whole list of chores for me to do before I could sleep. By the time the floors were scrubbed, decorataions hung, tables set up, silver polished, her shoes polished, dress altered (she gained a bit of weight this week), and breakfast prepared, I finally got to retire to my quarters. The others were already getting dressed and ready for the morning when I collapsed on my bed.

"The hall and ballroom look wonderful," Theresa whispered as I lay face first into my bed. "What happened yesterday?"

"Cambridge and I were chased by ogres. We had to hide until they went away," I mumbled into my pillow. "Then the walk back took forever."

"But why did his sister come back so early?"

"She didn't come with. She went with Mandy, Queen Eleanor's servant."

"You and that handsome prince all alone? You're so lucky!"

"I almost got eaten by an ogre!" I yelled, pulling my face off the pillow. Theresa's smiling face made me laugh. "Alright, it was amazing. He kissed me on the way back." Theresa squealed and flopped onto me, to give me a hug.

"You're in love!" She said in a high pitched voice.

"Maybe you're right."

"Too bad you can't go to the ball. He's picking his bride tonight." She bounced off the bed and straightened her apron. "I have to serve breakfast. Anything you would like me to tell your Prince?"

"No, just think in your mind 'Don't pick a bride tonight.'" She gave me an odd look, then shrugged.

"Alright. I'll see you later tonight. Natalie has forbidden all wenches to leave their quarters tonight. She doesn't want anything to distract the Prince from picking her to wed." She left the room, and I collapsed again. I felt a hard bump when my head hit the pillow. The witches gift was hidden with my dress.

When the last servant girl left the room, I pulled it out to see what was inside. Wrapped in many layers of burlap was a small golden oil lamp. I tried to open the lid, but it was stuck. I pulled and pulled, a few times it slipped from my hands. What a useless gift. I can't even fill it with oil! I turned it around in my hands, rubbing the side softly. Suddenly it jerked itself out of my hands! It bounced twice on my bed and fell off. I crawled to the side to peek at it. Blue smoke and sparks were bellowing out the spout. A strong wind came from out of nowhere, whipping my braid around. A purple skinned man with a yellow turban and black beard formed out of the smoke. He stretched his arms and looked at me with his furious yellow eyes.

"Who dares disturb the Genie of the lamp?" His voice boomed. I just looked at him terrified. "Speak!"

"Er... Maleen, sir. My name is Maleen. I didn't mean to disturb you, I just thought the witch gave me a useless lamp."

"Witch? You have met the Witch Hazel? That miserable wench is the reason I'm in that cramped lamp!"

"Well, why don't you just get out? You're out now."

"I have to be beckoned. I am chained to the lamp until I'm set free."

"How do you get free?"

"My master, or mistress, must wish me free."

"Wish? What do you mean wish?"

"Don't you know anything? I'm a genie, genies grant three wishes to whoever rubs this lamp."

"You grant wishes?"

"Yes, go ahead and make a wish."

"MALEEN!!!" That familiar shriek sounded. I jumped up, frightened.

"Get back in the lamp! My mistress is coming." With a hiss, he shrank back into the lamp.

Natalie burst through the door just as I kicked the lamp under Zell's bed. The Genie wouldn't like that very much.

"Maleen, you ruined my dress! It's too small now!" She screamed.

"I made it bigger! I even got the same fabric!"

"It's too small!" She threw the pink dress at me. I saw that she ripped part of it. "You did this on purpose! You've been sabotaging my chances to wed with Prince Cambridge.

"You are mad." I hissed. She slapped me across the face with all her might. I glared at her as I placed my hand over the burning cheek.

"You are out of here. Come next Friday you will be publicly beheaded, or hanged, I haven't figured out which one I like more yet. But it will precede my ball, which now I must postpone." She said all this with a smile on her face. She looked down at my bed, and pulled the pillow off it. I don't know why she did it, probably to smother me with, but the dress was revealed. She snatched it up before I could grab it. "And now I have reason! You're a thief!"

"I am not! Cambridge gave it to me!" I screamed, trying to rescue the dress. She jumped back and cackled.

"As if a prince would give you anything, not even the time of day."

"He's given me more attention then you. Why do you think we were gone all day?"

"You wish."

"He kissed me, you know, and tells me I'm beautiful. He even snuck up here one day to see just me, and to hide from you." She slapped me again. I fell against the bed from the impact. I closed my eyes, trying to stop the renegade tears. My face burned.

The sound of fabric tearing made me grimace.

"This is what you get for making me have to postpone my ball." She tore again. "This is for me having to send 20 messengers out to the people I invited to my ball to tell them about the postponement." Another tear. "This is for lying about my betrothal." A long sickening tear. "This is because I don't like you." She dumped the shriveled dress on top of my fallen form. "Now, slave, get my bath ready for me. I'm taking Cambridge into town to find the executioner. Live the rest of your life fully, because your days are numbered."

When I heard the door slam, I sobbed. My beautiful dress, my last hope of human kindness, my life. Lost so much in such a short amount of time.

"She's worse than that witch," the genie said, as he slithered out of the lamp.

"I wish you would kill her."

"Sorry, I can't do that. There are a few basic rules I must follow with wishes. One, I can not kill or bring the dead back to life. I cannot mess with love. You can't wish for more wishes. You cannot mess with freewill."

"I'll never be able to go to the ball now. I'm going to be killed for festivities."

"You could wish for it to be postponed."

"Can't I just wish to not be beheaded?"

"No, for there are ways around it. It will result in you being killed another way, or the guillotine stopping just above your neck, and they will burn you for a witch."

"I see your point. Alright, I wish for the beheading to be postponed until Cambridge leaves."

"Your wish is my command." His eyes rolled back and the wind picked up again. The sleeve of my ruined dress was carried off to the other side of the room. His yellow eyes went back into place, and he smiled at me.

"Thank you. I need to draw Natalie's bath now." I wiped my face off, then gathered up the remains of my dress. I can survive until Cambridge leaves. "Can you go back into your lamp so I can hide you? I'm sorry for kicking you under the bed."

"It's quite alright. If she did to me, what she did to that dress, I'd rather be kicked."

I tried to follow the rules today. I'd rather be beheaded a month from now, than to be whipped today. You must have a strong spirit to not cry when they whip you, and I don't have that right now. Part of me was glad that Cambridge left with Natalie, that way he couldn't read my mind. But the other side of me wished to confess everything and have him hold me.

I was fine, until dinner when I served them. I kept my mind blank, or focused on how warm the plate was. I avoided looking at him, and tried to hide my bruised face. Natalie's smirk almost broke my concentration. I saw Cambridge pale and his jaw dropped. I rushed out of the dining hall and into the kitchen. Natalie must have been thinking about it.

"Petunia, I can't go on serving them. I'm too tired, I'm afraid I'll drop something again."

"Fine, just go do the dishes, and stoke the fire in the main hall."

"Thank you."

"I heard what happened earlier. Natalie came down and told me to start looking for a new hand-maid." She paused and looked down. "I'm proud of you, you stood up to her. We are all going to try our best to delay your execution. Greda's brother is the executioner in town, she's already written to him. He's going to tell the princess that he's too busy until at least a Sunday. It's the best he can do."

"Thank you." I headed into the front hall, somewhat more cheerful, knowing that Petunia actually liked me, and was proud of me. I place more logs on the fire, enjoying the warmth that came up. The flames were hypnotizing. I got lost in them, lost my worries. All that matter was the ciders turning bright orange.

Two arms wrapped around me, and I jumped.

"Shhhh..." Cambridge whispered. The sound of his voice made me break down. I started to cry as he held me. He must have heard Natalie thinking about my head rolling into the basket. He kissed me as I cried into his shoulder. He picked me up into his arms and carried me. "Natalie is coming." I wrapped my arms around his neck and clung to him as he headed to his bedroom.

He laid me down on his bed, and crawled next to me. I couldn't stop sobbing, and no matter how hard I tried, nothing I said could come out right. Finally, I resorted to my thoughts.

"I love you too." He said, kissing me softly on the lips. He kissed each tear that clung to my cheeks. He kissed me so many times I lost count. But it didn't matter, because I love him, and he loves me.

AN:/ I wrote the part about the genie before I saw that someone else wrote an Aladdin based fic. I didn't get to read it yet, but just wanted to reassure the author that I didn't copy them, the genie was in the plan since the beginning.

There's only one more chapter left. So if you really want to see what happens, do what you did last time and review review review!