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"Once upon a time – for that is how all such stories must begin – there existed a small desert kingdom. Or, rather, it was the tiny oasis in the midst of a vast desert, beautiful and prosperous.

In many ways, it was quite different from the traditional kingdoms of stories – perhaps most notably, in that it was ruled not by a king, but a queen. Lovely, kind, and wise, she was the pride of her people. The men of the kingdom vied for the opportunity to serve on her personal guard – many offering their services without asking for compensation.

Yet the queen understood the needs of men. She paid them well, and went so far as to keep a small harem in her palace – it was customary of many rulers, though generally only those male. Girls often wished for the day they could be selected to the queen's harem – "

"Why?" Yusuke cuts in incredulously. "Why would any girl want to be part of a harem?"

Kurama turns towards him, blinking in surprise, and Yusuke gets the feeling that the djinn's forgotten he has an audience.

"What?"

"Why?" Yusuke repeats.

The djinn blinks a few more times before explaining. "Girls in a harem are well cared-for – three meals a day, hot baths, a roof to sleep under – which makes it preferable to trying to eke out a living on the land, especially for a low-born girl. And the queen of this kingdom was adamant that the men in her palace treat her girls with the utmost care. Any suggestion of misconduct, and the guard in question was promptly executed – all on the mere word of one of the young women of the harem."

Yusuke nods slowly. "Oh."

Kurama doesn't appear to hear him, though – the djinn's gaze is distant as he continues.

"Yes, girls wished, and prayed – and for one peasant girl, the gods seemed to hear. For one still afternoon, while she was tending her family's small garden, the royal guards found her. Even dirty and dressed in rags as she was, her beauty was clearly evident, and the men were quick to locate her parents and make the offer they had only dreamed of – a place for their daughter in the queen's harem.

For a long while, it seemed as if the young girl's every wish had come true. Her beauty brought her the most prominent position in the harem, made her much sought-after. She had everything she could want: men fought for her time, brought her tokens of their affections; the other young women in the harem looked up to her, loved her.

But all good things must come to an end.

Knowing well that her kingdom would require an heir, the queen decided that it was high time she took a husband. From the many suitors who appeared, she finally chose one – a young man; gentle, slender and pale, with hair as black as night. The queen loved him with all her heart, and he loved her in return.

But he was a naturally curious man, and that curiosity drove him to spend hours wandering the halls of the castle – which is where the trouble began.

The girls of the queen's harem had been warned to keep away from him, naturally, and all were eager to comply – they loved their queen as much, perhaps even more than, anyone. But, as fate would have it, his wanderings brought him into the baths – just as the young peasant girl was bathing.

To call it love at first sight would not be inaccurate, I think. All thoughts of duty and honor fled the two of them, and the young man lay with her there, taking her on the warm tiles. Daily, they met, in secret, their love too strong to deny. But a queen has eyes everywhere, and it was not long before they were discovered.

The queen was enraged – that the man she loved had spurned her affections, had sought comfort in the arms of a low-born girl of her harem. And yet, her love would not allow her to blame him. The girl alone was punished.

For the queen, you see, was also a powerful enchantress – "

"Oh, come on," Yusuke protests, and he watches Kurama come slowly out of what seems to be a deep reverie. The djinn turns, one delicate eyebrow arched.

"What is it, Yusuke?"

"An enchantress, Kurama? That's so…cliché."

The djinn only smiles, almost sadly. "Be that as it may, such is how the story must be told."

Yusuke sighs and subsides, muttering, "I still think it's a little ridiculous."

Kurama just shakes his head and continues.

"'As you have stolen my love, so shall I steal yours,' the queen declared, and with that, placed a deep and terrible curse on the young girl, a curse condemning her to a life without love.

But the curse did not stop there. It bound the girl to an eternity of servitude, with never a chance for love. Yet, it could be broken only by love – true love – and at a terrible price. For if anyone loved her – and she them, in return – enough to break the spell, the cost would be their life."

For a moment, the room is deathly silent. And then, the djinn continues, very softly.

"She was exiled. Bound forever to a material object and cast into the desert, to be lost in the changing sands. An eternity of imprisonment, cold and lonely, save for those brief moments she was freed to glimpse the sun."

Something in his voice makes Yusuke look up. The djinn is perched gracefully on the edge of the bed, face drawn in the moonlight, and what's in his expression is the most overwhelming sorrow that Yusuke has ever seen. To him, it's hard to believe that anyone could ever exist feeling such a thing, and suddenly, everything clicks into place.

"It was you, wasn't it?" he asks, and Kurama's gaze turns slowly to him, dark and pained. It's all the answer Yusuke needs. He realizes that, perhaps, this is what the djinn has wanted all along – someone to listen to his story, someone to hear his pain.

"How did you survive?"

"I didn't," Kurama answers, with a shrug that is nearly as expressive as his eyes. "You've seen that."

And Yusuke recalls his second wish, everything he learned through it: particularly the way Kurama lost – or hid away – all that he once was.

"No one ever tried to free you?" he asks incredulously. "In all these years, there's never been anyone who fell in love with you?"

Kurama's gaze hardens again, and he turns away from Yusuke, moving back to the window. He leans against the wall beside it, staring out for what feels like an eternity – except that it doesn't, really, now that Yusuke has a better understanding of what an eternity feels like – before he finally replies.

"Once," he says softly. "A very long time ago."