Tolly: Ah yes, so sad…tear…well, here it is. The final chapter. There are more "explanations for existence" thingies in here (did anyone catch the carpet?). So read on…
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Something was going on outside my lamp. My last master had finished his three wishes and hadn't passed me on to someone else yet. I could just barely hear people's voices. I listened closely.
"We'd better get started if we're going to clean this place out today." said a female voice.
"Yeah, but just look at all this stuff. There's no way we can get rid of all of it. Abu, don't touch that." This was a man's voice.
"Let's just get it over with." There were the sounds of someone rummaging around, then… "Hey, come look at this"
"What is it?" said the man, not sounding as if he was looking at it.
"A lamp." said the woman curiously, and I felt myself being lifted
"A lamp? Here?" Now the man sounded interested. "But if he…you don't think it's…?"
"Only one way to find out, hmm?" My lamp was rubbed. Instead of appearing completely, I decided to send a small flame out of the spout of the lamp.
"Oh, it's just an ordinary lamp, I guess." said the man.
"Yeah, I guess so." The woman sounded a little disappointed. She set my lamp down again.
"Well, I'm going to take this box upstairs. You'll be alright down here by yourself?"
"Of course. Abu will keep me company."
"Alright, be right back."
There was a snuffling sound near my lamp. I looked out through the flame. A monkey was examining the lamp. Then he saw my eyes in the fire and jumped away, screeching.
"What is it, Abu?" said the woman, evidently calming the monkey down. More screeching. "Oh, the lamp? Don't worry; it's just a regular lamp…" She trailed off, staring.
My flame-shape grew larger, turning blue and twisting around itself until taking my regular form. I heard a gasp from the woman and took a look at her. She was very pretty, with her black hair tied back and her fine clothing. The monkey, however, seemed terrified. He clung tightly to the woman's arm, gawking at me with wide eyes.
"Master, how may I serve you?" I said, in a regular voice (as in, not huge and booming).
"So, Jafar had another genie." she said with a nervous laugh.
"Yeah, seems like it." I said, not caring much about what my last master had been up to since his last wish. "Now, about your three wishes…"
Before she could say anything, the man came back down the stairs, this time accompanied by a parrot. A very familiar-looking parrot, I might add.
"Jasmine," he said, looking at me. "What's going on?"
The parrot took a good look at me as well. Suddenly he squawked, "You!"
I'd recognize that annoying voice anywhere. I groaned. "You're still around? I thought for sure you'd be dead by now."
"Wait, you know this genie?" the man asked.
"Well, yeah." I answered for him. "And I'm terribly sorry for you. It's my fault he can talk."
"You mean Iago was one of Jafar's wishes?" asked the woman, Jasmine.
"Unfortunately, yes. His first. So I had plenty of quality time with the feathered annoyance." The parrot made a face at me. I made one back at him.
"What else did he wish for?"
"This place, for one. And a few certain…artifacts." I said, remembering one in particular.
"Like his staff?" asked the man.
I nodded. "And a…well, a key."
"A key? A key to what?"
I was silent for a while, remembering a night ten thousand years before. "The Cave of Wonders." I whispered, my quiet voice echoing around the chamber.
"The Cave…?" Jasmine suddenly looked at the man. "Aladdin, where's Genie?"
"Oh, great, there's another one." I muttered. They paid no attention to me.
"He's upstairs with Carpet. Why?" said Aladdin.
"Get him." said Jasmine. Aladdin looked at her, confused. "Now!" He snapped to.
"What do you know about the Cave of Wonders, Genie?" she asked, turning again to me.
"Only that I created it. And filled it." I added quietly.
"Genie…" Jasmine sighed and shook her head. "I can't keep calling you Genie."
"Why not?"
"Because I already call someone that. Do you have another name?"
I thought about that for a minute. I must have had a name at one point. But thirteen thousand years can make you forget a lot of things. "None that I can remember."
Jasmine opened her mouth to say something, but just then, Aladdin came back, with company.
I stared at the being, my mind refusing to believe it. It had been so long. It couldn't be…
"Adira?" he said, incredulous as well.
Sparkling tears streaming down my face, I rushed into Najib's arms. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," I sobbed, thousands of years of guilt and sorrow bubbling up inside me. "I couldn't do anything. I didn't mean to, I couldn't…"
"Shh." Najib tilted my face up, and looked into my eyes. "It's over now. I'm free, and we're together again."
I shook my head, still crying. I couldn't say it, that we could never be free, that we'd just be separated again, that the shackles still bound us.
Najib looked past me, at the humans. "Jasmine?" he asked. "Please?"
"There's no need to ask." Jasmine turned and picked up my lamp. "Genie," she said. I turned to face her, Najib's hand still clasped tightly in mine. No matter what happened, no matter what she wished for, I refused to let him go again.
"As your master, I am entitled to three wishes." I nodded, accepting the inevitable. It always happened this way. The master wishes, the genie grants. I was helpless, as always.
"But I'm only asking for one." Now here's something new, I thought, slightly puzzled.
"Genie," she said, holding up my lamp. "I wish you were free."
I was momentarily stunned, and my magic took over for me. My lamp rose into the air. The voice I had heard that night so long ago returned. "You are free…" It said faintly, fadin away to nothing. An amazing feeling came over me, and my silver shackles fell off. The lamp, my prison, clattered to the floor and I stared at it. Najib touched my shoulder softly.
"Adira," he whispered. "Now we're both free."
I was still speechless, so my powers spoke for me. Fireworks exploded, shrouding us in blue smoke as I kissed him.
The end.
