Minor rant….

A lot of times when a person like Esra is sick in a show like this in a different time period people guess that they died from an sickness, like influenza or such. But what about other less commonly thought of diseases. Like what if she actually suffered from Heart Muscle Disease and has had these issues for years. I just kind of think it's a deeper level to the character.

Just imagine that Esra struggled with the symptoms for years, but for a long time had Badr to help her. And then when he went away to war it became more difficult to manage the symptoms while raising Sin on her own until one day her body just can't continue to push through. That's when she official took sick.

So what got me thinking along this path was the part of the anime where they show Sinbad's birth. Badr was present, but that's not typical. That's more of a modern western tradition, so why was he there? What if it's because the symptom of her disease got worse when she was pregnant and there was a chance she wouldn't make it. That he was in there to be with her in what could potentially be her final moments. Be with his wife and his child as a family at least once.

…

This is a rabbit hole that as made me a bit sad thinking about but is important to how I view her condition for how I write her character. And now a chapter with some angst…

Sorry…

I do not own magi or the characters. I do own my oc.

Chapter 11: Little Girl Pt 3

—Badr's POV—

"Badr, I need your help," says Suma coming over I don't move, but hold Lala a little more tightly. "Please. Vartan. I need to find him."

"Why," I ask moving closer. This doesn't feel right. "What happened?"

"He took my daughter," says Suma. Her face holds a panicked expression, but her eyes are emotionless. "Please, Badr. I have to get her back."

"I'll help," I say just wanting to get Lala out of here. She has to be talking about Lala. "Just let me take her home."

"You're baby," she asks trying to peek at Lala's face.

"Please," I say stopping her hand. "She's been sick and I finally got her to sleep. Let me take her to her mother and then I'll help see if Vartan is in the village."

"I'm sorry," says Suma stepping back a bit. Her eyes hold suspicion though. "I'm sorry. I'm just overwhelmed. I just want my baby girl back."

"I know," I say trying to come off as soothing as possible. "I'll help you find her, but my little girl needs to be with her mom. I'll only take a few minutes."

I start towards home, keeping Lala as close as possible. If Suma figures out that this is the girl Vartan brought to town I don't know that she won't kill her. Lala whimpers a little in her sleep. I lean forward and kiss her head hoping to calm her down.

"You're okay, sweetie," I coo as she starts to sleep deeply again. "Everything will be fine."

"Has she been sick long," asks Suma. Her hands are shaking and she looks the part of terrified.

"Since she was born," I remark figuring it's better to lie. "Our son was healthy but she was so small and weak. We're just grateful that she's lived this long." Not all of that is a lie. Esra and I are relieved that Lala's doing better now.

"Twins," muses Suma. She looks so sad. "Always more trouble than you'd think."

Shit. Her nephews. She'll be really interested in Sin and Lala now.

"Samaa," I say as Suma looks at me. "That's her name. My son's name is Sinbad."

Huh…that works better than I thought it would. I hope Esra's okay with it.

"A precious little name," replies Suma working to keep up with me.

I walk inside, finding Esra still up.

"Samaa's finally asleep," I say carefully handing her to Esra. She pause before noticing Suma. "She still whimpering a little."

"At least she's sleeping now," says Esra. She looks worried and ready to cry. I can feel how nervous she is. "Badr…"

"I know," I remark leaning my forehead on Esra's. She hugs Lala close, one hand reaching for Sin. "Both of them will be okay, love. Don't worry." I lightly kiss Esra who still isn't at ease. "This is Suma. She's an acquaintance from Heliohapt. Something happened with Vartan and her daughter. I'm going to help her look. If you need-"

"I know," she says gripping my hand.

I wrap my free arm to hold her close.

"Take them and go," I whisper quietly. Esra nods into my embrace. "I'll find you when this is over."

"I love you, Badr," she whispers, squeezing my hand.

"I love you too, Esra," I whisper. I get up and kiss Lala on the head and move to do the same with Sinbad before urging Suma to leave.

—Esra's POV—

I hold Lala close feeling my heart pounding. She whimpers a little, pulling me from my daze.

"I'm sorry, Lala," I whisper laying her down on the bed next to Sin. She stays asleep as Sinbad makes a little noise. "I guess it's Samaa now though…"

I get up to pack a few items quickly, pausing as a wave of dizziness hits me. I brace myself against the wall, trying to calm down. There's no choice but to get those two somewhere safe.

Quickly, and somewhat unsteadily I take clothes for diapers and blankets. Taking the little bit of money that we do have and any medicine we have. I take one of the blankets quickly wrapping Sin up as he stays asleep. Lala on the other hand is still restless and starting to wake up.

"Go back to sleep, Lala," I whispers to her picking her up. She whines a little blinking drowsily. "I need you to go back to sleep."

"Mama," whines a groggy Sinbad. He blinks and starts to cry. "Papa."

"Oh no," I say picking him up and sitting down with both of them in my arms. I bounce them both a little as Lala tears up now starting to hiccup. "Calm down you two. It's going to be okay."

I set them down and grab the bag before picking up the two upset kids holding them close.

"Don't cry," I urge as Lala grips my shirt. Sin has one little fist around the fabric of my shirt and the other on Lala's blankets. I hate seeing tears in both of their usually bright happy eyes. "We'll be okay. I promise."

I have no choice but to go to town and hopefully find a place to stay for the night.

Damn it, Badr. I wish you were here. I don't know if I'm strong enough to protect them from whatever this is.

Feeling myself shake I go to walk outside, freezing as a figure looms in the doorway.

"What could you possibly be doing this late at night," says the raspy voice of the man. I take a step back as he comes inside holding Sin and Lala as close as possible. "Don't babies need their sleep."

I take a shaky breath as he raises a narrow eyebrow at me. He's a board and tall man who would probably tower over Badr. Short cropped pink hair and dead gray eyes watch me, calculating what I'll do. His thin lips curved in a vicious grin.

"I need to get my children somewhere safe," I say taking another step back as he looms closer. "My…my husband isn't acting like himself. I'm scared for them."

"Yeah…no," remarks the man quickly. I go to argue, but he shoved me back into the wall. I hit my head and pull the two closer as he looms over us. Sinbad's completely bawling now and Lala hides her face in my shoulder hiccuping. "How about you hand over the girl?"

"Please, just leave us alone," I plead. I want to hold Lala and Sin closer but the man grips my arm. "No," I say as he reaches to grab Lala.

I flinch as the man is tackled away from me and quickly scramble away.

"Esra, Go," yells Vartan struggling to stop the pink haired man. He gets punched in the jaw, but isn't stopping. "Now!"

I go to run even though my head is spinning. Quickly running towards the door, I'm stopped as Badr stumbles in. I pause as to not crash into him. Immediately, he stands up and pushes me behind him. There's blood on his clothes and I can see the cut in his only leg.

"How dumb do you think we are," hisses the woman from earlier. Badr glares at the woman, his arm in front of me.

Before anyone can do anything else, she goes over and kicks Vartan in the head as he continues to struggle against the man. He ends up on the ground, breathing heavily and clearly in pain.

"This was supposed to go much smoother," sighs the pink haired man. He jumps up, looking more annoyed than angry. "Thanks for the help hun," he says turning to Suma with a smirk. She just glares at him. "You know how much trouble my brother dearest can be."

"Shit," hisses Badr moving me more behind him as the man turns towards us. The man smiles at Badr looking proud of himself.

"How nice," condescends the man. He turns to Vartan, who's moving to get up, and places a heavy foot on his chest. "Don't get up, brother. You're still in trouble, but I do appreciate that you mentioned me to your friend here. But back to business. I need that girl."

"Why," I ask holding the two children close. Badr turns towards Suma with a glare as she moves to come closer. She immediately pauses. "Please don't hurt her."

"How sweet," laughs the man. His eyes watch me dangerously as Badr tries to keep my out of their views. "Only has the brat a week and already in Mama bear mode for her. Too bad, she has to come with us."

"No chance," says Badr coldly. The man seems more impressed, but is growing angry. His gray eyes are cold and calculating. It sends chills down my spine as I try to quiet down the two kids since Sinbad is still crying and Lala is hiccuping.

"I didn't want to do this," sighs the man. Even Suma pauses and seems to not like what he's going to say. "I can just kill you and your family and take her by force."

"You son of a-"

"Badr," pants Vartan, stopping my husband. Badr's about ready to lunge at the man and kill him. "Just do what he says."

"Vartan-"

"It's not worth it if everyone here dies," snaps Vartan, his gray eyes cold and dull. "She's a strong kid. Whatever happens, she'll be able to handle it."

"Good choice," says the man. He looks between Suma and Vartan, both having significant injuries. "You," he snaps at me. I look at him, wishing I could get away. "You'll treat their injuries. I need them to be able to travel."

"Certainly didn't care about her health though," says Badr forcefully. The man just glares at Badr before looking at me again.

"Fine," I say. Badr turns to me to argue, but I stop him. "But Badr holds the babies until I'm done."

"Fine by me," says the man with a creepy smile. "I get my way in the end."

Badr looks at me, asking that I don't do this. I'm not wavering though. Maybe with some time, we can figure a way to get the two kids to safety. He sighs, but sits down leaning against the wall since he isn't quite balanced without his cane. I hand the two kids over to him. Sinbad eagerly grabs onto his Dad, crying into his chest after I kiss his head, but Lala doesn't want to let go. Gently, I get her to let go and hand her to Badr placing a gently kiss on top of her head. She's crying a bit louder now, still hiccuping, reaching out for me to hold her.

"Shh," starts Badr pulling the two close. "It's okay."

In silence, I start to treat Vartan's injuries feeling myself getting upset because of the two kids still crying. Out of the corner of my eye I can see Suma and the man growing irritated. I quickly finish telling Suma to come over. She doesn't even acknowledge me as the pink haired man forces Vartan to sit away from Badr and the kids.

I work silently, noticing that Sinbad has calmed down and is quietly whimpering, but Lala's still hiccuping and crying.

"Damn brat," growls the man going over. I stop what I'm doing and watch as he grabs a chunk of Lala's hair and pulls. She lets out a scream as Badr reaches over and forces the man to let go. "Shut her up or I will."

"I'd rather shut you up," says Badr, gently laying his hand on Lala's head as she hides her face in his chest.

She isn't making a sound, but her chest jerks with each little hiccup. I can see Badr's hand shaking, and knowing him, he's been pushed to the point that he's angry enough to fight back. If he wasn't holding them, he'd have lunged at the man already. Instead he gently and sweetly takes care of the two upset and terrified kids in his arms.

"You're a piece of shit, aren't you," hisses Badr. The man just rolls his eyes, not giving a damn about what Badr said.

I finish up quickly and Suma stands up. I go over, taking Lala from Badr working to soothe her. She shaking and panicked. I noticed that she would glance at the man before trying to hide and move closer to Badr.

"Time for us to take her and go," says the man. I shiver at the idea of her being with him. He'll only hurt her.

"Just give us a moment," says Badr standing up. He shift Sinbad to his other arm coming over.

He reaches over gently patting Lala on the head before kissing the top of her head softly.

"You hang in the, Lala," he whispers to her. She watches him with her big gray eyes, tears in the corners. "You'll be okay."

I hug her close as she turns to look up at me. I offer her a smile, but I can tell that she knows I'm upset. I kiss her forehead before hugging her close again. She makes some little noises.

"Be careful," I whisper to her. She looks at me as I feel myself starting to cry. As quickly as Lala got attached to us, we got attached to her. "We all care about you. Don't forget that, Lala."

I want to hug her again, but the man comes over and takes her from me. He isn't rough or violent, but quickly hands a whimpering Lala to Suma. He looks almost….jealous. No. That can't be. Any man who does this can't possibly have feelings.

Before uttering another word, he grabs Vartan's arm forcefully dragging him outside.

"I'm sorry," says Vartan quietly, not looking at us. They leave without another word, Lala reaching towards us. She wants to come back, but Suma just forcefully grips her hands.

The entire house falls silent, but now Sinbad's getting upset that the man came in and took Lala.

He…

I fall to my knees covering my mouth as I cry. Badr is quickly beside me, pulling me to lean on his chest. She's gone. We couldn't keep her safe. Will we be able to keep Sin safe?

"It's going to be fine, love," whispers Badr. Sinbad reaches towards me, so I take him into my arm, crying as I hold him close. Badr wraps his arms around us firmly. "We're all okay, and Lala will be too."

I don't think that she will.