Previously:
"!!" Sinbad's eyes were wide with astonishment. To think that they had faced something so terrible at such a tender age… Not only that, despite all obstacles, Hope had overcome her fear to secure their survival.
"But… even though we were rescued, it took us a long time to get over it…" Faith said sadly with a frown as she released his hand. "Hope blamed herself for our mom's death… even though it wasn't her fault, she held herself responsible for not being able to save her… I don't think she's ever forgiven herself. That's why she had such an extreme reaction, the guilt. She didn't just see a tub, she saw our mom's death. She's always been more sensitive than me, and I mean that in a good way. She's also has a really creative mind... So when she saw that covered tub here, with the same kind of claw feet as our old one, her imagination filled in the gaps. The beans under the blanket became our mom's corpse… the rust stains became blood… Her mind forces her to relive every excruciating detail, right down to the smell… And she's been carrying that with her ever since we were eight!! We've both learned how to cope since then… and she's been through things that would drive most people insane… But on the rare occasions when she does actually have a full-blown attack, like last night… I guarantee that when she wakes up, she'll act like nothing's wrong. Her only concern will be how it affected the people around her. So, tell me… do you still think my sister 'doesn't have fortitude'!?" she finished hotly, shooting him a sharp glare, before turning on her heel and stomping out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her.
"…" Sinbad stared at the closed door for a long moment before raising his hand to scratch the back of his neck. He felt like the worst sort of cad for doubting Hope now that he had heard the full story behind her panic attack. "… Ja'far. About what we were talking about, the thing about Alibaba and Hope… It seems that it is still too early to determine whether they're good candidates or not."
"That is because you're drunk, Sin," Ja'far stated bluntly.
Chapter 51: Duty and Determination
When Hope opened her eyes again, she thought she was staring into a mirror for a moment, until it spoke to her, and then her foggy mind cleared enough for her to realize that it was actually her sister.
"Oh! She's up!! Welcome back," Faith greeted her with a grin.
Alibaba and Morgiana's faces appeared next.
"Ah, what a relief!" he said, looking glad to finally have some good news.
"You gave us quite a scare," Morgiana said calmly, though Hope could see the worry in her eyes.
"... I'm sorry... Is everyone all right?" Hope asked with concern.
"Uh, shouldn't we be asking you that?" Alibaba said, sweat-dropping. He wondered if she was still disoriented.
"The answer to your question is that everyone's fine!" Faith reassured her sister brightly.
"What about Aladdin...?" Hope asked, slowly sitting up with Morgiana's help. Her muscles felt stiff, and her ribs hurt more than before. She then noticed Aladdin lying unconscious on the bed next to hers and understood that they must have put her in his room.
"... No change..." Alibaba said, hanging his head.
"... I see..." Hope said sadly, disappointed. She had hoped that at least some of the color in his face might have returned by now. She wished they could at least give him an I.V. 'Maybe we should try coaxing a mix of hydrating fluids down his throat...' she thought, but she wasn't sure that was the best idea. She was worried there was a risk that he could develop pneumonia if it went down the wrong way...
"Um, are you feeling better...?" Morgiana asked her, wishing she would answer Alibaba's question.
"Huh? Oh, yes. I think so..." Hope said, taking a quick inventory of how she was feeling. In addition to her sore and stiff ribs, her head ached a little, and she had a sore throat. Other than that, she felt fine. Her lightheadedness was starting to go away. "What happened?"
"You don't remember?" Alibaba asked, surprised.
"Well, I remember going to get more beans..." Hope replied, frowning a little while she tried to recall how she had ended up in bed.
"Yeah... you fainted. Dizzy spell," Faith said, but gave her a look that silently hinted at a deeper issue.
Hope knew that look, and she immediately understood what the real problem had been. "Ah... I did it again, didn't I...?" Hope said, disappointed in herself. She had been doing so well up until now. "I'm sorry."
"Huh? What are you apologizing for?" Alibaba asked, confused.
"We're just glad that you're all right," Morgiana said.
"Yeah, that's what's important," Faith agreed, giving her sister a smile and a one-armed hug. "So quit apologizing for something that isn't your fault."
"Yes... Thank you..." Hope said, closing her eyes while she gently returned her sister's comforting embrace.
"..." Sinbad had paused outside the door with his hand on the doorknob when he came to check on them and heard their voices. Faith had been right. Even though she had every right to be thinking of herself after what happened, Hope's only concern seemed to be for the others. He took a breath and opened the door. "Feeling better?" he asked with a kind smile when she looked up at him.
"Yes," she replied with a smile, putting on a brave face that only made him feel guiltier.
"... All right," Sinbad said, though he was still concerned. "Get something to eat, and when you're done... I'd like to talk to the four of you..."
He didn't get very far down the hall before Faith casually excused herself to go after him and stopped him with a tug on his sleeve. "Hey, what the hell was that?" she asked with a disapproving frown.
"What was what?" Sinbad asked, confused.
"You know what! I didn't tell you that story so you'd pity us. We might have some dents, but we're not broken, you know," she scolded him, her brow creased in annoyance. "I just wanted you to show a little respect. Hope doesn't like to make people worry, so quit looking at her like she's wounded, or she'll start to feel self-conscious. She'll appreciate it a lot more if you just treat her normally."
"... Normally?" he asked, taken aback. How was he supposed to do that after everything he had heard, knowing all of the terrible things she had been through?
"Yeah. It still hurts, but she's not some helpless little girl," Faith said, crossing her arms. "There's a quote she likes: 'We are not what happens to us; we are what we choose to become.' So do that. Treat her like the strong woman she's become."
Sinbad stared at her in astonishment. Then he smiled. "... You're a lot smarter than I gave you credit for."
A vein ticked on Faith's forehead. "Are you implying you thought I was stupid!?" she snapped angrily, jabbing her fist in his side.
"!?" Sinbad grunted in pain at the sharp blow and bent over to hold his aching organs while she stomped off in a huff. 'That girl is really violent...!!' he thought with a bead of sweat sliding down his face, making a note to be more careful around the intimidating brunette. She packed a mean punch!
"The Kou Empire... It's a country that has been displaying quite a bit of power recently," Sinbad began once they had all finished eating and gathered in his room. Faith and the others had already updated Hope on everything she missed. "What's this?" he asked when Hope set a worn teapot with a soothing steam floating out from its spout down on the table in front of him, and Faith added a banana.
"Lemon balm tea and a banana," Hope replied. "The tea is to help you relax, and the banana is for energy."
"Yeah, I figured you could use 'em since you were acting so grouchy earlier," Faith added, giving him a look that dared him to deny it.
Sinbad sweat-dropped, feeling a little chagrined. "Ah, thank you... but I just had a little too much to drink. I need to stay alert, so..."
"You had wine for breakfast?" Faith asked dubiously. "That's a bad habit, man."
"You're gonna need a new liver if you keep that up..." Hope said, frowning with concern.
"Well, I haven't been able to get any sleep, so..." Sinbad tried to say in his defense, but there was something about those big, soft amber eyes that made it unusually hard for him to turn her down. "Ja'far...?"
"Shall I pour you a glass?" Ja'far asked, suppressing a smile. He appreciated the scolding the girls gave him, especially since they actually managed to get him to listen.
Sinbad sighed and nodded, deciding to give in. It was just an herbal tea, after all. The bright smile on Hope's face made it worth it... but he could have done without her sister's smirk.
"..." Alibaba watched Ja'far pour the tea and glanced between the twins and the king in awe. He had no idea how they were able to talk so comfortably with such a famous person.
"Um... you said you wanted to talk to us about something?" Morgiana asked, reminding everyone why they were there.
"Yes. The Kou Empire," Sinbad said. "I believe you've already had a few run-ins with them?"
"!" the twins and Alibaba immediately snapped to attention.
"Yes, we met a couple of their generals on two separate occasions..." Hope replied.
"Yeah, her boyfriend even put up some wanted posters, so we had to dye our hair," Faith added.
"??" Sinbad said, wondering who she was talking about. From the details he picked up the other night, it had to be Kou's Prince Kouen, but he didn't like the way that had been phrased... He was also curious now about what their natural hair color might be.
"He's not my boyfriend," Hope corrected her for the umpteenth time. That joke was really starting to get old.
"You sure? He seems to be going through a lot of trouble to get you back..." Faith teased.
"That's just harassment!" Hope retorted.
"Anyway..." Sinbad said, deciding to continue for now and save his own questions for later. "The Kou Empire is a militaristic country that reigns over the central plains and has been displaying quite a bit of power recently. Although it was a minor country in the east not too long ago, it only took them a small amount of time to take control of the entire central plains. We can't just turn a blind eye to such ruthlessness, but I now know one of the reasons for the viciousness like we saw yesterday."
"What is it?" Hope asked.
"The Kou Empire's magi—Judar," Sinbad replied.
"Judar..." Alibaba, Faith, and Morgiana said grimly, while they and Hope furrowed their brows and frowned at the memory of him.
"Um... I'm sorry, may I ask what actually is a magi?" Morgiana asked.
"I want to know too..." Alibaba said.
"Hey, didn't Aladdin say Baba told him something about it?" Faith asked her sister.
"Baba?" Sinbad asked. He hadn't quite caught that name before.
"She was the elder of the Kouga Clan. They helped us out when we were lost on the Central Plains," Hope explained. "Unfortunately, she passed away, but... she told Aladdin a legend of a time when there were no countries, and the world suffered terrible disasters, plague, and starvation. Then a young man appeared and erased the natural disasters with his magic staff. He told the people to build a country, to unite and support each other if they wished to live on. He said they would be blessed with days of tranquility if they did. The people agreed, and the young man waved his staff once more. As he did, a great tower appeared from within the earth. The young man then told them the one who wished to rule should enter. If they overcame the trials within, they would gain the power to become king. Many people entered the tower. Finally, one boy came back. He held many treasures... and a strange power. The boy became king, and built a great, great country. The people were blessed with tranquil days. The people, led to peace by the 'mysterious young man', gave him respect and called him... the 'magi'. Baba said this was the legend of how the native country of the Kouga Clan's ancestors, the Great Kouga Empire, was created..."
"Wow..." Alibaba said. He remembered hearing about the Kouga clan from them the night they all shared their adventures over the last six months, but he hadn't realized they were so great.
"That legend seems to be correct," Sinbad said. "Another name for magi is the 'magician that shapes the world'. By using Magoi, they are able to control the world's rukh. But, the power of a magi that we are most familiar with is... the power to summon dungeons, and to lead people in there. There are many 'powers' that can be found in dungeons. Magic incantations, magical items, as well as metal vessels. The magi bestows these items to the people he leads... Those who have been given the power of dungeons, as well as the people around them, will rise to fame and glory with the aid of the magi."
"Too bad you didn't find one, huh?" Faith teased her sister, patting her on the back.
"Well, fame isn't everything..." Hope said wryly. She didn't really want fame or glory anyway. She had enough going on already, and there was a certain freedom in anonymity.
"Huh, but... aren't you with Aladdin?" Sinbad reminded them.
"Yeah, but not because he's a magi," Faith said. "Hope wandered into her dungeon by accident."
"I see..." Sinbad said. He did remember Hope saying something like that when he eavesdropped on their story exchange, but he might not have believed it if he didn't know they were from another world. Taking that into account, it was plausible to assume she probably hadn't known what it was when she saw it.
"But Aladdin did lead Alibaba into a dungeon," Faith said, pointing at the prince. "I just tagged along 'cause it seemed like fun."
"Fun...?" Ja'far said, sweat-dropping. She thought facing near certain death was fun?
"..." Masrur watched the strange girl out the corner of his eye.
"So, is it the same for Sinbad, too?" Alibaba asked curiously.
"No, I'm different. My approach was more like Hope's, though I did it intentionally. I used my own strength to conquer the dungeons summoned by Judar. And I have clashed with that troublesome guy a couple of times," Sinbad replied. "In any case, even with exceptions such as myself and Hope, the reason why the Kou Empire has risen to such glory and power is no doubt because of their magi. Judar mentioned it before that he's using his strength as a magi to help the Kou Empire. Judar has sent various people into the dungeons he summoned... making Kou a rarely seen large and powerful empire in this era. Also, they seem to have no intentions of stopping their forceful invasion..."
Hope and the others furrowed their brows with concern and beads of sweat formed on the sides of their faces when they realized what that would mean.
"You're saying..." Alibaba asked, gritting his teeth.
"That's right," Sinbad said grimly. "The country they have their eye on right now... is here, the Kingdom of Balbadd. Actually, since a long time ago, the Kou Empire has persistently been using their military influence to suppress Balbadd's economy. After that, they waited for the kingdom's power to diminish so as to ensure Balbadd would use huang for their finances. What they can use isn't only their military's strength... but also that guy that has been manipulated by them... Ahbmad Saluja."
"Ah, that ass-hat..." Faith said with distaste.
"That guy has been deceived by the flowery lies of the Kou Empire and has been pushing the country into its current poor state," Sinbad continued. "Losing its land, losing its rights... and now he is even planning to sell the citizens as slaves..."
"Unbelievable... governments exist for the sake of the people. It's supposed to be a symbiotic relationship," Hope said with a frown, clenching her fists. Ahbmad Saluja was more of a parasite than a king.
Sinbad nodded his head in agreement. "This is what we have to think about—a plan to solve this imminent major problem!"
"...Then our enemies are the Kou Empire and Ahbmad Saluja, right?" Morgiana asked.
"Ah, you can put it like that," Sinbad said.
Morgiana stood up and walked over to the door, and Alibaba followed her. The twins stayed where they were. "I understand, thank you very much," she said, giving the king a polite bow before exiting the room.
"Um, I still have some questions..." Hope said as Alibaba moved to leave too.
"Wait, Alibaba," Sinbad called, stopping him. He wanted to speak with the twins, but he wanted to have a talk with him, too. "I still have something to speak to you about, so don't go far. Let's talk about it with just the two us after I've finished talking with Hope and Faith."
"All right...?" Alibaba agreed before leaving, wondering what it was about.
"Sorry," Sinbad apologized to Hope. "You said you had some questions?"
"Yes. Actually... I was wondering if you could teach us more about magic and Djinn Equip?" she asked.
"!" Ja'far was surprised. Sinbad and Masrur were too, but they weren't as obvious about it.
"I see..." Sinbad said. He had already been planning to offer to teach her about Djinn Equip, but he hadn't expected her to ask about magic. 'I guess my suspicions were correct...' he thought, glancing at Faith. "You've already had some training, right?" he asked her, assuming Hope had asked for her sake. "How far have you gotten?"
"... Huh? What are you talking about!?" Faith said, bewildered. "I can't do magic!"
"Eh? But... didn't you use it last night to crack Judar's borg!?" he asked, taken aback.
"No, no, no... No," she said dismissively, waving her hand. "I used my psychic powers. Totally different."
"Psychic powers?" Sinbad said with a slight crease in his brow.
"There are two types of psychic power: E.S.P. and P.K.—E.S.P. stands for Extrasensory Perception. It's a special ability to perceive things that ordinary people can't. P.K. is Psychokinesis. It's the ability to move objects using only your willpower," Hope explained helpfully. "Generally, a psychic can be classified as either P.K. or E.S.P. You'll occasionally find people who are a mixture of both, but most people can be clearly classified as one or the other."
"I'm P.K." Faith said proudly. "I can make still objects move and bend spoons without touching them!"
"That's a bit of an exaggeration..." Hope said wryly.
"Okay, fine. I did touch them, but only slightly with the very tip of my finger..." Faith amended with a small pout. "I really did manage to bend some metal spikes at the bottom of a dungeon trap without touching them, though."
"That's amazing," Sinbad praised her. "... But in this world, we would call that magic. I saw a black energy around your hand when you cracked Judar's borg last night. I believe it was a manifestation of strength magic."
"... 'kay, I'll admit that part with the black stuff was weird... but I'm a psychic," Faith said, tilting her head slightly. What part of that didn't he get?
The slightly pitying look she was giving him, like she thought he was acting slow in the head, kind of pissed Sinbad off.
"You said 'this world'... any particular reason why you would feel the need to phrase it that way?" Hope asked the king cautiously. She knew he had eavesdropped on them the other night, but she couldn't be sure how much he had heard. She didn't want to say anything that might give their strange origins away if he had missed that part.
"Well, you're from another one, aren't you?" Sinbad said, watching the twins carefully to gauge their reaction.
"Huh?" Faith said, dumbfounded. It was true, but where did he get that from?
"I see... so you heard that," Hope said calmly, poker face firmly in place. "But what makes you so certain it isn't a joke?"
"You weren't being as subtle as you thought you were," Sinbad replied with a smile. "I noticed some clues in your behavior and the way you talked." Especially with all of the unfamiliar objects and items Faith had mentioned in her story about their childhood trauma.
"..." Hope and Faith stared at him for a moment before looking at each other. They weren't sure they wanted anyone else to know that, since the last person of authority who found out had tried to take Hope captive... but they could tell Sinbad was already very sure of what he was saying, so was there seemed little point in trying to deny it. And he didn't seem like a bad guy, given everything he was doing to help the Fog Troupe and the people of Balbadd.
"Okay," Hope said with a small sigh. "You're right. We aren't from this world."
Sinbad's smile grew, while Ja'far's jaw dropped, and even Masrur's eyes widened slightly in surprise.
"Yeah, but our world's kind of lame," Faith said carelessly, leaning back in her chair. "We don't have any magic or dungeons in our world outside of stories or games. They really only exist in fiction there. It's pretty boring."
"... Is that so...?" Sinbad said, trying not to sound too disappointed. A new world would mean a multitude of new possibilities to explore—the ultimate adventure! But Faith was giving off such an intensely disinterested aura just thinking about their home, that it didn't seem too promising...
"Pretty much," Hope agreed, glad Faith's apathy toward their world's more rigidly scientifically defined reality and advanced technology appeared to be working in their favor this time. "And since we come from a place without magic, it's a bit difficult to believe Faith used it... so would you mind explaining why you thought that?"
"Well, if you don't think your sister can use magic, then why did you ask about it?" Sinbad countered.
"Guys. Sitting right here," Faith reminded them, a little annoyed that they had begun to talk like she wasn't there.
"Sorry, Faith," Hope quickly apologized to her sister before facing the king again. "Because one of our enemies used it against us," she stated calmly. "The better we understand it, the better countermeasures we'll be able to come up with."
Sinbad's eyes briefly widened a little, and he smiled again. "Yes, I suppose that's true," he said, admiring her forward thinking. "Very well... Simply put, magic is the transformation of magoi into other substances. Unfortunately, Faith wasn't awake to see it, but an example of this would be the way Judar switched from firing pure magoi to using it to create lightning and ice."
"I didn't see it with my own eyes, but Hope did tell me about it..." Faith said. "She said that Judar guy mentioned something about giving the rukh orders...?"
"Yes. Magic is used all throughout this world. Rukh cause all of the world's natural occurrences by using the energy it produces. It causes storms, fires, lightning, and etc. Magic can do various things by giving ceremonial orders to the rukh at will. One can cause anything if they give the right orders to the Rukh, that's the invisible truth that organizes our world," Sinbad explained. "By using this energy and ceremonial commands, certain people can use rukh in order to reproduce these natural occurrences. They are called Magicians. The strength you have in using Magic is decided by the quantity of Magoi you are able to extract from the rukh. Even though Metal Vessels, Household Vessels, and magic tool users can use their own special magic, their powers are not as diverse as magicians', but they are amplified. Although, come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen a magician perform magic without some kind of wand or staff before..."
"That's because I'm not a magician," Faith deadpanned.
"..." Hope held her chin, thinking very carefully about everything she had just heard. The rukh sounded like they could be fulfilling the same function as subatomic particles and forces in their world... but she didn't have as firm or detailed of a grasp on that concept of physics as she would have liked, and she didn't think science could explain everything about the way magic worked in this world. After all, it couldn't fully explain all of the phenomena in their world yet, either. "Before, you said you saw a black energy around her hand last night... I also noticed that. But it's never happened before, and with so much going on... I thought maybe I was seeing things... Does that happen a lot with this 'strength magic' you mentioned?" she asked Sinbad.
"Huh? Don't tell me you're hopping aboard the Hogwarts Express, too?" Faith asked her, sweat-dropping. She did think it would be super cool to be able to use magic, but it seemed too good to be true.
"Strength Magic allows Magicians to utilize pure physical force as a form of offense and defense," Sinbad answered, while wondering what a hog's wart could possibly express. "Magicians who possess the ability to use such magic are able to generate these elements and manipulate them. Those using strength magic are able to use spatial influence to twist things, compress them, make them float, or fire compressed projectiles of pure force... which is strong enough to pierce a magician's borg—the kind of protective barrier Judar used—easily. Users of this magic are also able to augment their physical strength to use empowered attacks. I thought that might have been what Faith did... but whatever it was, if Judar had been an ordinary magician, she probably would have shattered his borg and been able to reach him. Strength Magic can also be hard to deal with, because the techniques are invisible to the human eye. However... high amounts of pure force can be visible and materialized in the color of black... Sound familiar?"
"!" the twins said, taken aback.
"Faith's powers are usually invisible to the human eye, too..." Hope said thoughtfully.
"Wow... you mean, I really might be a magician after all!? That sounds awesome!!" Faith said, getting excited. She jumped up out of her chair and ran for the door. "I'm gonna go find me a stick!"
Hope stared after her sister as the door shut behind her. "... Will any stick do, or does a wand have to be made from something special?"
"I think anything will do as long as it helps the magician focus their power," Sinbad replied. "Would you like to hear more about Djinn Equips now?"
"Yes, but... maybe it would be better to wait for Alibaba," Hope said. "You're planning to teach him too, right?"
"Yes, that's right," Sinbad said, glad she was so quick to understand. It would be more convenient and save time if he could explain it to them both at once. "All right, I'll teach the two of you together."
"Okay. I'll let Alibaba know you're ready for him," she said, giving him a smile as she stood up to leave. Sinbad admired the view from behind while she headed for the door.
"Hah..." Sinbad sighed heavily, feeling disappointed after his talk with Alibaba. His attempts to impress upon him the responsibility he held as a prince of this country and the duty he had to it as a possible ruler appeared to have been a waste of time.
"Look out!"
The warning cry came too late, and the king suddenly found himself being smacked in the face with a wet and wriggling live fish.
"Eh?" he said, holding it up by the line it was attached to. His eyes followed the string over to a pair of sheepish twins. Well, one of them had the good grace to look apologetic. The other was laughing her ass off at him.
"Bwahahahaha!!! Good one, Hope—that was priceless!!" Faith bawled, holding her sides, while she rolled on the ground.
"Sorry..." Hope apologized, both for the fish in the face and her sister. "I didn't think anyone was behind me..." It was only when she turned her head to follow the flying fish on her line that she saw him. "He refused to come out, so I pulled a little harder than I meant to."
"I see..." Sinbad said with a wry smile, examining the fish in his hand. It was actually a fairly decent size, considering the state of the canal they had fished it out of. He could see their first handful of attempts had resulted in a small pile of very damp trash. "Well, you did well catching it."
"Of course! We're not your typical spoiled rich kids," Faith said with a grin, clapping her sister on the shoulder.
"We come from a long line of fishermen on our mother's side," Hope explained proudly. "Our grandpa has been taking us shrimping and crabbing ever since we were big enough to hold a net. So we thought we might be able to put our skills to some use and catch a few fish to throw in a stew."
"I also come from a line of fishermen," the king said with a smile as he walked over to hand them their fish, suddenly feeling nostalgic. "In my case, it was my father who taught me. Mind if I join you?"
"Sure!" they said, both smiling pleasantly at him this time.
"You can have this one," Hope said, handing him her pole when he sat down on the other side of her, opposite from Faith, before turning to sift through some of the garbage for something useful. "I can make another from this stuff."
"Good thing we've had all our shots," Faith quipped with a lopsided grin. "People always assume Hope's the clean one, but when we were little, she'd always be the one who managed to find the biggest, deepest mud puddle, and the first to jump in!" she confided to Sinbad with a conspiratorial tone, even though Hope could hear every word.
"And I was always the first in the tub after, unlike someone..." Hope added, tying a piece of old string around a bent nail for a hook.
"Guilty," Faith chimed carelessly, kicking her legs over the edge of the canal, avoiding the water so she wouldn't startle the fish. "Heh. I just remembered that time Grandpa and Uncle Joe caught a Mako, and they brought it over to the serve up at the church's fish fry. Remember that?" she asked her sister with a snicker.
"Pfft! I'll never forget the look on Father Simon's face!" Hope laughed, cracking up at the priceless memory of her relatives proudly presenting their trophy to have it blessed before throwing it in the vat.
"What kind of fish is a 'mako'?" Sinbad asked curiously, having never heard of one before. He assumed it must be a species from their world.
"A shark," they both answered with straight faces, only to start laughing again.
Sinbad's level of respect for the men in their family instantly skyrocketed as he recalled the nasty ones he had encountered firsthand on his own fishing expeditions. Of course, they were nothing compared to the Southern Sea Serpents, but for ordinary fishermen...
"It scared the crap out of me when it jumped in the boat," Faith added, startling him further.
'A shark jumped into a boat full of people on its own...?' he thought, bewildered since this was the first time he had ever met anyone with that experience.
"Yeah, it probably would've gotten me if I hadn't fallen overboard in surprise," Hope said with a wry smile, nodding her head in agreement.
"!" Sinbad's eyes widened at the close call.
"Haha! And then, then Therese thought she saw another one coming up behind you, and you screamed like a little girl!" Faith howled.
"Therese??" Sinbad asked, wondering who that was and how this wild story would end. Obviously both of the twins had escaped in one piece, but still.
"Our older cousin," Hope explained before turning back to her sister. "I was a little girl! Thank God it was just a dolphin," she sighed with relief, remembering how terrified she had been at the time. "But, being the genius you are, you took her at her word and dived in with a harpoon to save me," she added lovingly, putting an arm around her sister.
"Of course!" Faith grinned. "Who else am I gonna blame for all the random crap I do that gets me into trouble if you're gone—Oww!!" she whined when Hope pinched her.
"So you're the one who pushed the blame for the incident of the broken Noritake vase on me... I knew it!" Hope said indignantly, narrowing her eyes at her guilty sister. "Grandma Selma spanked me so hard, I couldn't sit for a week!"
"She would've spanked both of us if I didn't give her a clear answer!" Faith said defensively.
"Get spanked by yourself, then! It's behavior like this that perpetuates the myth that redheads have no souls," Hope scolded her, cheeks flushed furiously from the painfully embarrassing memory.
Faith laughed. "Come on, Hope. You know I had mine removed ages ago to make room for more sarcasm."
Sinbad raised an eyebrow. "So... you're actually redheads?" he asked, deciding to focus on that fun little tidbit of new information rather than touch any of the other potential bombs that had just been dropped.
"Yeah, but probably not like you're thinking," Faith said. "We aren't tomato heads like Masrur and Morgiana."
"Our shade is more like a ginger," Hope added.
"Heh..." Sinbad said with admiration, trying to picture it. "I'd like to see that. I'm sure it's very pretty..."
"Yep!" Faith said proudly. "Having such colorful hair naturally is rare where we're from, so we're special. You'd be considered a complete freak of nature with that purple hair of yours."
"Heh..." he said again less enthusiastically with a small vein throbbing on his temple. She had a lot of nerve saying that about him.
"There are people with purple hair, it's just that they have to use an artificial dye to get it that color," Hope explained with a nice smile. "But I was surprised when I saw yours, because it's such a beautiful shade." Combined with his golden amber eyes, his appearance reminded her of the deep purple and yellow irises that grew in their aunt's garden.
B-thump.
"!" Sinbad was surprised to realize that his heart had actually skipped a beat. 'Eh...?' "Ah... Is that so?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck, feeling strangely flustered.
"Yeah, the violet's sexy," Faith agreed, also recalling an image of the 'LSU' irises, "but Barney-purple would've been a deal-breaker..." She had always found that dinosaur a little on the creepy side, even as a kid.
"Barney...?" Sinbad started to ask, when they were found by Ja'far and Masrur.
"Sin. How's the progress of making Alibaba the king of this country?" Ja'far asked.
"King?" Faith asked, screwing up her face.
"Well, he is a prince... and he'd be the next in line to the throne after his older brothers," Hope mused.
"Oh, right. I keep forgetting," Faith deadpanned.
'So does Alibaba...' Sinbad thought. "Ah... He's already lost his confidence..." he replied with a sigh, feeling tired again now that he had to recall it. "He didn't give us the reply that we wished to hear..."
'Geez, who died?' Faith thought, sweat-dropping when she saw the depressing expressions on Ja'far and Sinbad's faces. Even stoic Masrur seemed down. 'You'd think it was the end of the world from the way they're acting...'
"... Well, I'm sure he'll come around," Hope said with a quiet confidence after a moment, surprising the men.
"What makes you say that?" Ja'far asked.
"Because, even though I haven't known him long... I can tell how much Alibaba loves this country," she answered calmly with a small smile. "There's no way he would be able to sit back and do nothing while it's in trouble."
"If Hope says so, it'll probably happen," Faith agreed. "She's a Pisces. She knows things."
"Pisces?"
"I'm just observant." If she had been born two minutes earlier, she would have been an Aquarius, like Faith.
"I see," Sinbad said, returning her smile, as he stood up with the bunch of fish he had caught tied up together. 'It would be great if that were the case...'
"Whoa!" Faith exclaimed, while Hope's jaw dropped when they saw how many he had caught in such a short time. "When did that happen...!?"
"While we were talking," Sinbad replied with radiant grin, beaming with pride when he saw their cute reactions.
"We'll stay here a little longer, then..." Hope said, turning back to face the canal with her fishing pole in hand.
"Our pride as fishermen is on the line!" Faith concluded, grabbing the freed rod for herself.
"But, aren't you girls?" Ja'far asked, sweat-dropping at the burning fighting spirit that had suddenly kindled within them.
"So?" the twins asked darkly, daring him to spout some misguided patriarchal bullshit in a pathetic attempt to stop them.
"... Nevermind. Please, carry on," Ja'far responded wisely.
"Don't stay out here too long on your own," Sinbad advised them. "The sun will be setting soon."
"Roger!!" the twins responded, keeping their eyes on their fishing lines.
Sinbad chuckled a little as he turned to leave, amused by their reactions. He had been so absorbed in their story that, for a moment, he had forgotten all about the current problems he faced. He was used to getting others caught up in his own pace, not the other way around. Those girls were really interesting. "... What is it?" he asked when he noticed the way Ja'far and Masrur were staring at him.
"Nothing... You just seem rather happy, considering the setbacks we've suffered," Ja'far observed.
"Eh? Do I?" Sinbad asked, surprised.
"You're grinning," Masrur stated in support of Ja'far's assessment.
"Oh, I was just thinking about those twins..." Sinbad said, trailing off when he saw the jaded expressions on their faces. Their disapproving eyes were clearly accusing him of something lecherous. "Not like that!! I was just thinking that they're very mysterious!" the king protested as they entered the Fog Troupe's base, annoyed that they would immediately doubt him like that. 'Get your minds out of the gutters, you jerks...!' They might have been right under normal circumstances, but this was different! The rest of Sinbad's argument in his defense was cut short when Alibaba came running up to him.
"Sinbad..." he called earnestly. "Please, teach me how to use a djinn... I need power. The power necessary to protect this country!" he declared with renewed resolve.
"!?" Sinbad and many of the Fog Troupe members around him were surprised by the sudden declaration. It hadn't taken long for Hope's prediction to come true.
The serious moment was broken when Faith burst onto the scene.
"Oh, yeah!! We're havin' a fish fry tonight, baby!" she cheered waving the large bundle of fish that she had strung up together around as she skidded to a halt in front of Sinbad, thrusting her bountiful catch in his face.
"..." Everyone stared at her. The fish looked good, but they wished she would stop and read the mood once in a while.
"?" Hope said as she joined them a little behind her sister with a slightly smaller bundle, taking her time because of her injury. "Did something happen?"
"Yes," Sinbad replied. "Alibaba says he's ready to learn how to use his djinn."
"That's good," Hope said with a smile. "We can learn together, then. When do we start?"
"How about tomorrow?" Faith suggested.
"I'd like to start as soon as possible!" Alibaba said, determined not to waste any time now that he had made up his mind.
"But if you start now, Hope won't be available to fry the fish..." Faith pointed out with a frown.
'So filling her stomach is more important than the future of this country?' Sinbad wondered, sweat-dropping.
"Is that all you care about?" Alibaba asked, also sweat-dropping.
"Of course not, but people gotta eat," Faith said reasonably. "You can't run a revolution on an empty stomach, right?"
"If you want, you guys can get a head start while Morg and I take care of supper," Hope suggested. "And I can join you after."
"No, that's all right," Sinbad told her with a smile. "We will start tomorrow. You guys should use this time to rest."
"Yay~!! Fish fry~!!" Faith cheered with a little jump, pumping her good arm in the air.
"Well, more like fish bake..." Hope corrected her, smiling a little wryly and sweat-dropping at the super disappointed look on her sister's face.
"What!? Why?" she asked, gasping dramatically.
"Because they also need the oil for their lamps, so we have to ration it. They were low on flour too last time I checked," Hope reminded her calmly. "So it's better if we bake it instead... Unless you'd rather have it in a fisherman's stew?"
Faith sighed. She was tired of eating soup. "Baked is fine..."
While the girls finished planning the evening meal, Sinbad decided to have another word with Alibaba.
"Come with me," he told the young prince, leading him into a room for privacy. Ja'far closed the door behind them. "You want me to teach you how to use your djinn? What's with the sudden change of mind?" the king asked. Sinbad was glad he had turned around, but he couldn't help but wonder why.
"That is because..." Alibaba said, glancing at the floor before looking up at him again. "I have thought seriously about what you said... Even though I'm still not sure whether or not I'm befit to be a king... But if there are things that I can do right now... I wish to do them!"
Sinbad had a feeling Alibaba wasn't telling him everything, but at least he seemed to have found the resolve to take some responsibility for his country. "Alright, I will help you out."
"Thank you very much!" Alibaba said gratefully.