Previously:
"Then let's compete," Sharrkan said.
"By seeing whose disciple is stronger!!" Yamraiha finished with him. For once, they were on the same page.
"What!?" Aladdin gasped, shocked. "Alibabaaa—" Aladdin cried as they were separated.
"Aladdin!" Alibaba said as he was literally dragged away by Sharrkan.
"Let's start training now!" Sharrkan said.
"I'm glad that I have Masrur with me," Morgiana said.
"And Ja'far..." Hope agreed, sweat-dropping again as she watched.
"What am I, chopped liver?" Faith asked, also sweat-dropping. Yamraiha seemed to have completely forgotten she had a second student in her rivalry.
"But start their training tomorrow," Sinbad said.
"Huh?" Alibaba, Aladdin, Sharrkan, and Yamraiha said.
"Tonight, we'll have to celebrate," Sinbad said with a smile.
"Gratitude to the king and the Eight Generals," one of the men who was helping collect the meat for cooking said. "Gratitude to the grace of the southern seas!!"
Chapter 64: Maharajan
All around, the moray's meat was prepared and cooked—grilled, cut up and put into a soup, skewered—every way you could think of.
Large sea monsters, known as 'southern creatures' inhabited the waters were Sindria was situated. A few times a year they would get past the lookout and come to attack to island. It is the duty of the overwhelming, powerful king and his elite subordinates, the Eight Generals, to fight them off whenever they attack. As Sinbad turned the attacking of the threatening creature into a performance, it calmed people's fears, and at the same time, earned them tourists. The southern creature that was killed is an abundant source of protein and it was distributed throughout the country to be feasted on. Sindria referred to this harvest festival as 'Maharajan'. And tonight too, the magnificent feast would begin!
—∞—
Bonfires blazed, musicians played, and beautiful women served the food. The festival was already in full swing.
"To King Sinbad and the blessings of the southern sea!!" the people toasted with big smiles, holding their drinks high in the air. Up on a balcony of the palace, Sinbad and his Eight Generals raised their glasses too. Alibaba stared in amazement.
"T-This is an incredible festival!" Alibaba exclaimed.
"Yeah," Sinbad agreed. "There are a lot of guests watching and enjoying the Maharajan. And the citizens are looking forward to it as well. They are really lively! Come on, Alibaba, you should enjoy the festival as much as you can!"
Alibaba wasted no time in following this advice. He was running down among the people, taking in all the sights and sounds, when he heard a familiar voice.
"Hey, hey!" Aladdin said, calling him over. Alibaba turned to look and found himself staring into the face of a monster. "Bam!"
"Owaah!?" Alibaba gasped, flinching in shock.
"Hehehe, did I surprise you?" Aladdin asked him, removing the mask he was wearing.
"What, it's just you, Aladdin!" Alibaba said, blushing a little and laughing too.
"The men of this island told me to wear this mask of the 'god of the Southern Sea'. I have one for you, too!" Aladdin said, holding it out.
"Really?" Alibaba said happily, taking it.
"Even the girls have exotic outfits for today," Aladdin said, pointing with a very happy expression on his face.
"That's true!" Alibaba agreed, blushing and smiling when he saw a lot of them were wearing revealing costumes that made them look like dancers.
"There you are!" the twins said, walking up with a group of other women in matching outfits of light green in the same style as the natives. They were easy to recognize because they weren't wearing masks. Alibaba stared. He knew they were attractive, but wow. However… "Uh… which of you is which?" Not only were they wearing identical outfits, they had ditched their initialed necklaces for the evening. The different designs on the necklaces were what helped him tell them apart.
"I'm Hope," Hope said.
"And I'm Faith," Faith said.
"You both look so pretty~!" Aladdin told them.
"This is going to be a long night..." Alibaba said, sweat-dropping. The twins still looked just as hard to tell apart as ever to him.
"Aladdin can tell us apart," Hope said.
"That's because the way the rukh flutter around you is a little different," Aladdin said, with a smile.
"Normal people can't see that!" Alibaba pointed out.
"Fine! I'll wear a lei," Faith said, throwing one over her own head. "Better?"
"Yes!" Alibaba said, relieved.
"Here you go!" Hope said brightly, putting a flower lei around Aladdin's neck for him while one of the girls they had been walking with, who had also stopped when they started talking, gave one to Alibaba.
"Ah, thanks!" he told her. He looked around and noticed someone was missing. "Eh? Where is Morgiana?"
"Man, you're slow," Faith said, shaking her head.
"Huh?" Alibaba said, getting annoyed. Couldn't she lay off him for one night? The girl who had given him a lei tugged on his sleeve, making him look at her. She removed her mask to reveal a familiar face. She was Morgiana. Again, Alibaba was stunned.
"What are you saying, Alibaba? I've been here in front of your eyes for a while now," she told him. Alibaba blushed. All three girls were dazzling in their party outfits, but Morgiana's change was the most dramatic. "They told us that the young girls have to dress like this and distribute flowers..."
"It really suits you, Morg!" Aladdin said happily. "Hope and Faith too!"
"Thanks," Hope said.
"Naturally," Faith agreed with him.
"..." Alibaba stared at them, still too startled by Morgiana's transformation to speak for a moment. "He's right, it really suits you!" he told her. "You're so beautiful that I thought you were someone else!" Morgiana turned away from them. "E-Eh?" He couldn't see it, but Morgiana was blushing and holding her face, kneading her cheeks.
"?" Morgiana said, wondering why she was feeling the way she did.
'Did I… say something bad…?' Alibaba wondered warily.
'She's so cute,' Hope and Faith thought affectionately.
"Hey, hurry up and let's go eat you guys!" Aladdin said, taking the twins by the hand and pulling them along.
—∞—
"Heeh? So something like that happened. I'm glad that you will have your Household Vessel soon!" Aladdin said after they filled him and Faith in on what happened earlier that day when they were with Sinbad over a meal.
"Yes," Morgiana said.
"… Hey, Morgiana, there is something bugging me..." Alibaba said carefully. "Is it okay for you to be together with us all the time? When we were in Qishan, you really wanted to return to your hometown, right? I asked Sinbad, but aren't there ships going to the Dark Continent?"
"… Yes. Even if the 'Dark Continent' belongs to the savage lands, it seems its northern part is becoming civilized as part of the Reim Empire..." Morigiana said. "Anyone can go to the Dark Continent if they take a direct ship from the ports of the Reim Empire."
"So..." Alibaba said, waiting to hear more.
"But… then I heard about that… I heard about the 'Al-Thamen' a little, too..." she said.
"!" Alibaba said.
"I'm not able to forget about the battle we had in Balbadd..." Morgiana said. "Until now, I stayed with you in order to repay my debt, but it is not just that anymore… just like the two of you who are fighting for the oppressed people… I want to fight together with you two, like Hope and Faith. Please, take me as your companion!" she said, kneeling before them.
"… Hey, that's a little too much..." Alibaba said. "As a companion..."
"Yeah, you don't have to kneel," Faith told her.
"..." Morgiana looked up at her.
"Is that what you want to do?" Hope asked her.
"Yes," she answered.
"Then that's what you should do," Faith said, grinning at her.
"Aren't you glad, Alibaba. Morg is happy to be together with us, and she is so reliable!" Aladdin said.
"Um... is it okay that I can be your companion?" Morgiana asked.
"Of course! We're friends aren't we?" Hope said.
"If Morg wants it, then we'll do it!" Aladdin agreed. "As long as we can be together like we have been until now!"
"Yeah, that's right!" Alibaba agreed.
"And, for future reference, you don't need our permission," Faith said, winking at her.
"..." Morgiana watched her friends smile and talk with each other about how fun it would be to be together. 'They allowed it...' she thought. 'No, even without their permission, they said that it was good if I wanted to do it… They said we were friends…' She looked at her hands. "Is it okay to wield this power together with them… Like I did in the past and for ever?" She looked at her friends. 'I wonder why… I'm so happy. What should I do...' She started fidgeting. 'About this feeling I'm not able to contain…?'
"Hmm? Morgiana?" Hope said when she noticed the younger girl was not only quiet, but gone.
"Look at that young girl!" someone shouted, directing their attention to the stage. There was a bunch of beautiful women dancing to some great music. One of them stood out from the rest.
"Eh!?" Alibaba said when they looked. "Isn't that Morgiana!?"
"It certainly is!" Hope said, smiling at how much fun she appeared to be having dancing on stage. She was really good, too.
"Whoo!! You go, girl!!" Faith shouted over the cheers and music. Alibaba was amazed by Morgiana.
"I don't understand what kind of dance that its," Aladdin said, smiling.
"Me too, but… You're really beautiful, Morgiana!!" Alibaba called. Morgiana spun around and gave him a wonderful smile.
"And you are beautiful too!!" Alibaba started telling the other women near him. "Those clothes really suit you." Aladdin went with him to flirt. Morgiana stared at him.
"..." the twins said looking at Alibaba, unimpressed. Morgiana stomped her foot so hard, she put a hole in the stage.
"!?" the other dancers said, backing away from her warily.
"Come on!" Faith said, pulling Hope with her as she hopped up on stage. They each stood on either side of Morgiana.
"Ignore him," Hope said.
"Yeah, let's have a girls' night!" Faith said, and she did a funny little dance that made people laugh. Morgiana smiled slightly. "Let's go!" she said with a smile, and the three girls started to dance.
Sinbad looked down on them and smiled. He saw the graceful, sensual way Hope moved and the warm light in her beautiful eyes. She seemed to glow up on that stage. She was obviously enjoying herself very much. And she was keeping up with Morgiana, which was impressive. He watched Faith clutch her side and walk away to stand off to the side. Hope and Morgiana continued on, dancing faster and faster, jumping higher and higher—and then Hope tripped over the hole in the stage and stumbled. Fortunately, she didn't fall, but that seemed to signal the end of their dance contest, because Morgiana stopped dancing too. The people were applauding them. Hope beamed at them with a smile that lit up her whole face, with an endearing touch of shyness mixed in. He smiled again.
—∞—
Meanwhile, down by the harbor, Aladdin and Alibaba were sitting by the water. They had wandered away from the festivities.
"Urgh, I ate too much," Alibaba groaned.
"Me too," Aladdin said. They both felt a little sick. "This place is a lot quieter and it has a relaxing atmosphere. It became real quiet…"
"..." They both sat there in silence for a moment.
"… You know, Aladdin, there is something I want to discuss with you, even on a night like this," Alibaba said.
"Me too, Alibaba," Aladdin said.
"Aladdin… what do you think about Al-Thamen?" Alibaba asked. "I think that I cannot forgive them. Because they made Cassim die so easily. He always thought he was trash… and the ones that induced him to believe that were Al-Thamen. Plus, I cannot forgive myself because I was not able to stop him before the final confrontation… No matter what you did wrong… it is impossible for a person to become trash while he lives. If there are people like that around the world, I want to try to stop them." He stood up and turned to look at Aladdin. "For that reason… from now on, I will fight..." Aladdin quietly admired his resolution.
"Are you sure…?" Aladdin asked.
"Yeah, I'm sure," Alibaba answered.
"I will fight Al-Thamen together with you as well," Aladdin said. "To lead the right kings, and to clear the darkness together with them. To clear the darkness from the magi and the kings that were corrupted by Al-Thamen. I was born for that reason."
"…??" Alibaba said.
"I still cannot speak about that in detail," Aladdin said, smiling. "And there is another reliable king that is fighting the same objective as ours!"
"Eh? That's… right," Alibaba said. "Sinbad, right? This country is a monarchy but the people are all puffed up with pride… because that person is an incredible king..."
"Right. But I think that you will become like that, too."
"Eh?"
"Didn't you realize it? You, with your beliefs, will stand together the valorous people against the different paths that unfold before you. Your fight is the 'rukh's guidance', that is destiny itself. That's why the reverse 'flow' of fate will aim for you and probably continue to attack you…" Aladdin stood up. "But you will climb over that and, one day… a really distant day in the future…" Aladdin placed his hand on Alibaba's chest. "You will become king! One of the vanguards that will lead the world towards the future. I'm a magi. I'm here to guide you there!"
—∞—
Aladdin and Alibaba were walking back to rejoin the festivities. Alibaba was thinking about how Aladdin told him he would probably become a king.
'What did Aladdin mean… with those things he said earlier?' Alibaba wondered. 'He also said something like, 'I still cannot talk about it.' Oh well...'
"Let's go back, Alibaba!" Aladdin said suddenly, excited. "I feel like I can eat a lot again!"
"Are you going to eat even more!?" Alibaba asked, wondering if he should be concerned.
"Aladdin, I'm sorry that I delayed this kind of talk until today. You are really incredible. You were waiting for me, pretending to be taking it easy until I figured this stuff out, right?"
"What are you talking about? Alibaba," Aladdin said with a Mona Lisa smile.
"Well… take care of me in the future as well!" Alibaba said, smiling.
"Okay!"
—∞—
The party was still in full swing. If anything, it had gotten livelier. Some people were red in the face from drinking.
'I wonder where Aladdin and Alibaba went…?' Morgiana thought, standing off to the side while Hope and Faith talked to some palace maids they were on good terms with, thanking them for helping them with their outfits for the evening. They hadn't been talking that long, but Morgiana was already feeling a little restless. 'I'm really troubled. I don't know what to do in such a lively place...' It was at that moment that Masrur appeared with a plate of food. It was fish, her favorite.
"Eat," he told her, pointing to a place at an empty table.
"!" Morgiana said. He handed her the plate. "Thank you very much." The twins turned when they heard.
"Oh, are you hungry again, Morgiana?" Hope asked.
"I could go for some fish myself," Faith said.
"We have to go now. Thanks again!" they told the maids and excused themselves to join Morgiana. Masrur watched and nodded in approval. Then he turned and walked away.
"Wow~" Sharrkan said.
"What is it, Sharrkan?" Masrur asked.
"It's just that… that girl is… you know..." Sharrkan said, talking about Morgiana.
"What are you talking about?" Masrur asked.
"Don't play fool with me! Every day you practice that hand-to-hand training with such zeal, in other words… You have quite lewd thoughts about that girl, right?" Sharrkan teased with grin.
"You are wrong," Masrur stated bluntly. "Don't group me together with people like you."
"What did you say!?" Sharrkan said, putting on hand on Masrur's throat and pulling his cheek with the other. "You are too impertinent!" Masrur's expression still looked stoic as ever.
"Don't bully your junior," Ja'far scolded Sharrkan, giving him a swift hand chop on the head.
"Are you sure you should hit me, Ja'far?" Sharrkan asked, holding his aching head. He was twenty-one, and Ja'far was twenty-five.
"Ah, that's right," Ja'far said, sweat-dropping.
—∞—
"Ufufufu," a shapely woman giggled.
"I'm the next one," said another.
"No, it's me!" said a third.
"Let me be next, please!" said a fourth.
"A~~aah, King Sinbad~~" said a fifth.
"Your Majesty~~" said a sixth.
The seventh held his hand against her chest.
Sinbad laughed and smiled pleasantly, enjoying all the attention. The girls were all over him, vying for the two spots on his lap.
"Wow," Judar said while he, a smiling Sharrkan, and stoic Masrur stared at their king.
"Wow!" Alibaba said as he walked up, going red in the face.
"Uwaah, I want to do that, too!" Aladdin said excitedly. Faith smirked in agreement. Hope deadpanned at the ridiculous sight. Morgiana was quiet.
"Ah, you're back, Aladdin, Alibaba..." Sinbad said, his smile falling a little when he saw Hope and suddenly felt the inexplicable need to tell her 'this isn't what it looks like' even though it was exactly what it looked like.
"Yes?" Hope said when he kept staring at her, smiling sweetly.
"Is something wrong?" he asked her a little nervously. Why didn't he see her coming and fix this?
"No," Hope answered, still smiling.
"This is a scene we've seen many times already," Faith added with a smirk, sensing weakness. "You know, from our dad, the womanizer. I see you've really been hitting the wine tonight too, huh?"
"..." Sinbad felt unpleasant. Why was he suddenly regretting all of his usual habits?
"Yep. You look just like Dad when you do that," Hope agreed, putting the final nail in his coffin. "You were saying something?"
"Ah, yes… I was waiting for all of you..." Sinbad said, doing his best to recover quickly. "Eight Generals, Assemble!" he called.
By the time Sinbad had finished freeing himself from his admirers, everyone was present.
"I will introduce to you the guardians of Sindria, the Eight Generals, because we did not have the chance to introduce everyone to you," Sinbad said. He pointed at Ja'far. "This guy is, you know..."
"I was already introduced in Balbadd," Ja'far said, sweat-dropping, noting that his king was drunk.
"He's Ja'far," Sinbad continued on. "Normally he is a parliamentary official. Even if he looks like this, he is strong because he is an expert in a unique assassination. So he will be a good master for Hope and is fit to be the next opponent in your training, Alibaba." He pointed at Masrur. "Masrur is wielding a humongous sword, but he is not suitable to become Alibaba's master. When he was little he was a gladiator, but he stopped doing that. He is quite rusty now!"
"Sorry about that," Masrur said stoically.
"You have gladiators here?" Faith asked.
"… What is a 'gladiator'?" Morgiana asked.
"It is a hand-to-hand contest really popular in the Reim Empire… I think, but I only heard about it in rumors," Alibaba said.
"Reim?" Faith asked. They mentioned that place earlier too.
"It's a country that seems to be a lot like ancient Rome," Hope replied.
"Oh. How do you know that?"
"Because some of us studied when we had the chance."
"Nerd. Maybe we should pop over there someday, see how our ancestors lived."
"Ancestors?" Aladdin asked.
"Yeah. We're French-English-Lebanese on our dad's side and Irish-Italian-German on our mother's side," Faith explained.
"None of that made any sense to me," Alibaba said.
"We're getting off topic again, y'all," Hope reminded them.
"Did you call me, King Sinbad?" a large man with blue hair asked. He towered over Aladdin, Alibaba, Hope, Faith, and Morgiana and all the serving ladies standing up behind them. He was holding what appeared to be some kind of huge spear. His kids came running over after him. The tallest of them was the same height as Masrur, even though they looked very young.
"Can I drink alcohol, Father?" one of them asked.
"No, you are still too young!" he told her.
"One of the Imuchakk warriors of the extreme North's unexplored region, Hinahoho," Sinbad said, introducing him. "He has a gigantic physique, but everyone of his race is like that so, don't mind him." Next Sinbad called their attention to the general who looked like a dragon. "He is a former soldier of the Partevia Empire, Drakon. He has the appearance of a dragon, but he was originally a human and is a sincere man. There is no reason to be frightened. He also has a beautiful wife!" Said wife was standing beside her husband, looking lovely.
"..." Alibaba stared up at him. He was exceptionally tall too. Aladdin had his eyes on the wife. Alibaba and Hope both grabbed him as soon as he tried to make a run at her.
"You can't do that to a married woman!" they scolded him, holding him back.
"Yeah, married women are off limits," Faith agreed. "You don't need that kind of trouble, trust me,"
"..." Alibaba, Aladdin, and Sinbad all stared at her.
"What?" Faith asked.
"What did you do?" Alibaba asked her, clearly assuming the worst.
"I'm not speaking from personal experience. I've just heard enough stories to know it's more trouble than it's worth!" Faith replied, crossing her arms.
"Anyway..." Sinbad said, moving on. "Yamriaha from Magnostadt. Sharrkan from Heliohapt." He pointed to each of them in turn. They were both fighting again. "Pisti from Artemyra." Pisti was a petite blonde girl, laughing at Sharrkan and Yamraiha. "Spartos from Sasan." Spartos was a young man in armor with asymmetrical bangs. He looked like a quiet person. "They are members of the royal family of my allied countries that I had to give refuge to, for one reason or another, or people that cannot remain in their country for personal reasons and now live in Sindria. Alibaba, they probably are people that resemble you."
'People that resemble me...' Alibaba thought, watching Spartos and Pisti break up the fight between Yamraiha and Sharrkan. 'A lot of things happened in Balbadd… and there were a lot of people hurt there, but… there are different people from different countries here, living in harmony, and they support each other.'
"Spartos! Let's go play with everyone else!" Pisti said, pointing at the girls who had been hovering around Sinbad before.
"I cannot stomach such vulgar games," Spartos replied calmly.
"Don't say that!" Pisti said.
"Don't say that!" Sinbad said, sitting one of the ladies down on Spartos's lap.
"Spare me, your majesty," Spartos pleaded.
"Are you refusing your king?" Sinbad teased. Pisti was clearly enjoying herself.
"King Sinbad. It is good to play with women, but you will never change your mind and marry a woman, right?" Drakon said.
"Yeah, he is right, Sinbad," Hinahoho agreed. "It is good to have brats around, you should have a lot of them too!"
"What are you saying?" Sinbad asked with a smile. "Even if I don't have children, I have lots of citizens that are a part of my own family." He stood at the balcony and raised his cup. All the people below followed his example with cheers.
"Blessings to King Sinbad and the Kingdom of Sindria!" they cheered.
'Although...' Sinbad thought, glancing at Hope out the corner of his eye.
"The festival will be finished soon!!" someone shouted while they worked more on the bonfires. Hope wasn't sure what they did, but the flames shot even higher into the sky. She, Faith, Aladdin, Alibaba, and Morgiana stared at the towering inferno with wonder.
"The Kingdom of Sindria… It is a small island and yet, it is a big country," Aladdin said.
"… Yeah!" Faith and Alibaba agreed, staring at the fires. Hope smiled as she looked out on all the happy faces.
—∞—
And then the night of the banquet passed. Everyone was cleaning up or going home. In the last great 'hurrah' before the party ended, a lot of people had gotten a little too carried away. Like Sinbad, who had somehow been lured into a drinking contest with Faith.
"We can help him get to bed," Faith said, a little pink in the face, volunteering herself and Hope.
"We can?" Hope asked. That was a long way to go, and Sinbad seemed like he might fall asleep or pass out before they got there. She was sure he had attendants or something like that for this. Apparently not, because Ja'far looked too relieved.
"Would you?" Ja'Far asked gratefully. "We still have a lot to do here."
"Sure," Hope said, deciding she may as well go along with it, if only to keep her sister out of trouble. There was no telling what she'd do if left alone with him in such a vulnerable state.
Between the two of them, the twins managed to guide and half carry Sinbad to his room in the Purple Leo Tower. They had plenty of experience helping their dad in similar situations before. Unfortunately, when they were trying to get him into bed, he ended up falling over and taking Hope with him.
"!!" she said, startled to find herself pinned to the bed by his dead weight.
"Pfft!!" Faith laughed. "You should've seen that, that was hilarious!"
"A little help here!?" Hope said, annoyed. "Can't you roll him over or pull me out from under him!?"
"Hmm… I might could do that..." Faith mused, holding her chin. She looked at the huge luxurious bed that had enough room for seven people. "But I won't. Guess we'll just have to live here now!" She jumped onto the bed and rolled around. "Oh, this is much softer than ours..."
"You little…!!!" Hope snapped, vein throbbing on her forehead. "I will get you for this!!"
"But not until tomorrow~" Faith sang with a Cheshire cat smile before rolling over to get some sleep.
"Ugh!!" Hope groaned in annoyance. 'This is so embarrassing…!!'
—∞—
Embarrassment gave way to anger the next morning when Hope woke up to a strange sensation and realized someone was grabbing her boobs—no, scratch that—two someones were grabbing her boobs. Her sister and the king. Each had one hand on one side of her chest. Hope turned bright red. Not only that, but Sinbad was now naked for some reason. That was the last straw.
"You two perverts deserve each other," she told the sleeping offenders, vein throbbing on her forehead. She smirked when she thought of a good way to pay them both back.
—∞—
Sinbad woke up with a pounding hangover. He reluctantly opened his eyes and saw a head full of ginger hair. He started to close them again, when they shot wide open. Ginger hair!?
'It can't be...!!' he thought, staring at the silky locks, slender neck, and smooth white shoulder sticking out from under the sheets. From the little he could see of her, he could tell she was naked too. 'Don't tell me… Hope…!? How did we…!? Did we!?' He carefully sat up and reached out to touch her. 'Don't tell me we… and I can't even remember it!!?' If that was the case, he felt sorely cheated. He really needed to stop drinking so much. "Hope?" he said gently, placing his hand on her shoulder. She rolled over onto her back, gazed up at him sweetly with those big amber eyes… and smirked.
"Heh. Guess again," Faith told him with a devious grin.
"!!?" Sinbad exclaimed, reeling back in shock, taking his hand off of her so fast, you would think he had been burned. 'It's the other one…!!?' The angel he thought he found in his bed turned out to be a devil! He really needed to stop drinking so much! Faith sat up and stretched, letting the sheet fall down. Even though it was something he had really wanted to see, Sinbad couldn't say he was enjoying the view. He felt sick. It was the wrong twin!! What was Hope going to say when she found out!?
"So, I guess this means I'm queen of Sindria now, huh?" Faith said, fully enjoying her view.
"!!!" Sinbad exclaimed, grabbing his head. This was a nightmare. He definitely couldn't marry this twin, but if he didn't, Hope would think he was dishonoring her sister, but if he did marry her, then he could kiss any chance of being with Hope goodbye… It was a nightmare.
"Pfft! Hahahahahaha!!" Faith laughed, cracking up. "Oh man, you should see the look on your face. Priceless!" Sinbad stared at her with wide eyes, dumbfounded. She was laughing? "Dude, relax. Nothing happened. Hope and I put you to bed last night. You were too passed out to do anything to either one of us. This is probably her getting revenge because one or both of us groped her in our sleep…"
"She wouldn't..."
"Oh, she so would," Faith insisted. "I know my sister. She's got a zero tolerance policy for sexual harassment." She looked around. "Any ideas where she might have hidden my clothes?"
"This seems a bit extreme..." Sinbad said, sweat-dropping.
"She knows that if she doesn't make the culprit feel just as embarrassed, they'll do it again. Trouble is, my threshold for embarrassment is a lot higher than hers. I have no shame."
"Yes, I can see that..." he said, sweat-dropping again. She was just walking around his room in her birthday suit without a second thought.
"We should just consider ourselves lucky she didn't butter the floors while she was at it."
—∞—
"Where were you last night, Hope?" Aladdin asked innocently at breakfast, which was buffet style. He, Hope, Alibaba, Morgiana, and Masrur were already seated and eating. "Neither you or Faith came back to the room last night."
"Hey! Aladdin!" Alibaba said, whisper-yelling. "You can't just ask people stuff like—"
"Stuff like what?" Hope asked defiantly, daring him to accuse her. "We didn't come back because we spent the night in Sinbad's room," she answered Aladdin calmly. Alibaba's jaw dropped and he dropped his fork. At the same time, there was a loud clatter and the sound of plates breaking. Hope turned in her chair to see Ja'far staring at her in shock. "Not like that." she clarified. "He fell on top of me, so I was trapped under him. Faith thought it was funny, so instead of helping me, she decided to climb into bed and sleep there too."
"Ah, I see..." Alibaba and Aladdin said, nodding their heads in understanding. They could totally see that happening.
"I played a little prank to get back at them," she added, feeling satisfied with her handiwork. She could imagine their reactions.
"I see," Ja'far said, exhaling a sigh of relief. "I'm sorry you had to go through that..."
"What kind of prank?" Morgiana asked.
"I hid their clothes," Hope responded with a sparkling smile. Well, she hid Faith's anyway. Sinbad still had a whole closet full of them to fall back on. Ja'far and Alibaba nearly choked on their drinks. How could she say such a terrible thing with such a lovely smile!? Masrur stopped chewing.
"Good morning, everyone~!!" Faith said brightly as she entered the room, followed by Sinbad, who looked like he was having a hard morning. Faith was wearing a robe she had borrowed from Sinbad.
"Couldn't find them then?" Hope asked her.
"Nope!" Faith responded cheerfully.
"Um… Hope, whatever I did… I'm sorry," Sinbad apologized, truly repentant. He never wanted anything like that to happen again. The shock alone probably took ten years off his life. Ja'far was staring at him in shock, like he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"Apology accepted," she said calmly with a nice smile.
"Yeah, me too, I guess," Faith added carelessly, already piling food onto her plate.
"Apology not accepted," Hope deadpanned in response, annoyed by her lack of remorse.
"Does this mean you've finally learned your lesson?" Ja'far quietly asked Sinbad.
"… I think it does..." Sinbad answered, feeling like he needed a drink, before reminding himself that was how he got in trouble in the first place. Again, Ja'far stared at him. All these years he had been trying to curb Sinbad's drinking and drunk hookups, and all it took was one prank from Hope. Ja'far wanted to throw her a party.
"Ah, that's right..." Sinbad said, suddenly remembering something important. "He looked at Alibaba, Aladdin, Morgiana, and Hope. "I have something to tell you."
"…?" Alibaba said.
"It is about the Kou Empire. During the negotiations, I took a request from the empire. That is, to make one of their princes study abroad in Sindria. That prince will come soon. It is an arrangement for the friendship of both countries…" Sinbad explained. He looked at Alibaba again. "He is the prince of the country that occupied Balbadd, so it could be difficult for you, but for now I want you to carefully supervise him."
"Yes," Alibaba said, nodding his head in understanding.
"A prince from the Kou Empire..." Aladdin said.
"I wonder what kind of person he is," Morgiana said.
"Any ideas, Hope?" Faith asked with a smirk as she joined them at the table.
"No, I'm just as curious as the rest of you," Hope answered, narrowing her eyes slightly at her sister. She had better not start up about Koen again…
"Ah, Sin, about the empire," Ja'far said. "Did you talk with that person? I mean Princess Ren Kougyoku that we met in Balbadd. At least it seemed like she… um… yearned for you."
"Really?" Sinbad said innocently.
"Airhead of the Seven Seas," Masrur said quietly, making Faith laugh.
"What was that, Masrur?" Sinbad said, chagrined. He dared him to say it again.
"The Kou Empire, huh..." Sharrkan said, joining them. Apparently he had overheard part of their conversation. "I'm so jealous of his majesty. I don't like the Kou Empire that much, but it is full of beautiful women just as the rumors say. About that princess, I tried to play with her for an evening as well." Ja'far stood up so fast he almost knocked over his drink.
"I-It cannot be..." Ja'far said, staring at his king. "It cannot be… Sin… You even laid your hands on a royal princess… without permission!!? When will you stop playing around!?" he yelled. "If you are imprudent, there could be a war between our countries!"
"I know that!" Sinbad said, sweat-dropping. "I went for diplomatic reasons, you know!? It was all for the people of Sindria and Balbadd. Like I would behave in such a manner that would brings us only disaster!"
"Thank goodness," Ja'far said, breathing a sigh of relief.
"Obviously, I didn't do anything to her," Sinbad said with a reassuring smile.
—∞—
Meanwhile, at sea, a small fleet of ships from the Kou Empire was on its way to Sindria.
"We will reach Sindria according to our schedule. Your Majesty," one of the soldiers onboard reported to a young man dressed in black and white with black hair and blue eyes with a scar on one side of his face. He was the Kou Empire's fourth prince, Ren Hakuryuu. Inside the cabin behind him, a dark aura was emanating from their other distinguished passenger, Kou Empire's eighth princess, Ren Kougyoku.
"I will kill… Sinbad… I will kill… Sinbad..." she muttered over and over like a curse, gripping her Metal Vessel so tightly that her hands shook. She was so upset that she had activated a partial Djinn Equip. "To do… something like that to me…!"