Author's Note: Well, not much for me to say in this portion of the fanfic. But there are some important facts about me and this fanfic you might want to read after this chapter, so don't skip them. You might only further be confusing yourself.

Disclaimer: I do not own Magi. All credits to Shinobu Ohtaka and her editors.

Warning: No red flags here.

.

.

.

Night 3

My relationship with Alibaba ever since the bandit incident became… stretched and forced. We still lived together and worked together… but there was this awkward tension in the air that I really wanted to break between us.

When we reached the destination of our last job, the chief of the village we were supposed to deliver the goods to, heard of our attack. They took care of us for a few days and gave us some goods and to send a message to Jamil himself, which was written in a scroll.

It really made me annoyed that even though I wasn't exactly officially Alibaba's partner, I still had to serve under the reign of that annoying and arrogant man.

Throughout the whole trip back to Qishan, not one of us said a word to each other. For me, I didn't want to talk to Alibaba because I felt ashamed of letting my true colours reveal in front of his face. As for Alibaba, I wasn't sure why he wouldn't talk to me. Maybe it was because he didn't know what to talk about or he saw me in a whole new light.

I didn't know. But it was completely nerve-wrecking, having to figure out what Alibaba was thinking. Out of everything in this world, the only thing I cared about was what how he thought of me. I guess that I would've broken down if he abandoned me, since he was all I got.

I sat on the remaining pieces of the roof of Alibaba's small house, my legs dangling over the edge of the small building. I leaned backwards, stretching my arms back to support my upper body weight as I watched the stars twinkle above me.

In the previous world, star gazing was such a difficult hobby. With the pollution and the city lights, the stars were barely seen in the night sky. But here in this world, I could see the millions of stars scattered above me, shining brightly through the darkness of the night sky.

It relaxed me. The calm and soothing silence plus the gentle and cool breeze of the desert night. I had long grown accustomed to the ever changing weather of Qishan, though I was still uncomfortable with the heat. I preferred staying up in the night since it was so cool and soothing.

"Is there a seat for one more?"

I turned to my side and found Alibaba climbing up the ladder, walking over the remains of the roof of his building and sitting beside me.

I looked away from Alibaba and nodded wordlessly, not wanting to make any contact with him.

"The stars are sure pretty tonight." He said.

I nodded once again. Slowly, I looked up to the sky again and watched the sparkling balls of gas above us. The way they twinkled in sparkled— childish to say, but it seemed so much like a fairy tale.

Through my peripheral vision, I saw Alibaba turn to me and give me a sad smile.

"How long are we going to not talk to each other like this?" he asked.

I clenched my fists and leaned forward, sitting properly. I placed my hands on my lap and looked down, my bangs covering my eyes.

"Alibaba… do you hate me?"

The blond beside me blinked in surprise.

"Hate you? For what?" he asked, genuinely surprised.

"… you saw me kill someone mercilessly in front of you. I thought you weren't talking to me because you didn't want someone like me."

"That's not true!"

The volume of his voice surprised me. I looked up and turned to him nervously, only to see his dark brown eyes hardened. With what emotion, I wasn't sure. But whatever it was, it must've been something strong.

"I don't hate you for what you did." Alibaba said. "I'm disappointed… but I understand why you did it. I just… didn't know how to react."

With that said, Alibaba faced forward and held both of his hands tightly, looking down.

"And… I was ashamed."

'Huh?'

Alibaba laughed bitterly to himself and ran a hand through his blond hair.

"I mean… I was the one who wanted to protect you. And yet, being the coward I am, I froze up and nearly allowed you to be captured. If you hadn't did what you did… then god knows what might've happened to you. I'm just… ashamed that I'm so weak."

"You're not weak."

Alibaba looked at me, brown eyes wide.

I looked at him with steely gray eyes hardened with resolve.

"You are anything but weak. You are brave, kind, caring, and smart. You helped someone like me, a complete stranger, and gave her a home to stay. You suck up to nobles and rich customers for our sake, so we could find a more and better way to live our life! You literally swallowed your pride just to protect me!" I said, standing up and placing a hand on my chest.

"Never say you're weak, Alibaba. You are strong. You're a hero!"

Alibaba stared at me with wide eyes. I saw some tears form on his eyes, but he kept blinking to keep them in bay. He then looked away and wiped his eyes using his forearm, chuckling a bit.

"I'm a hero…" he muttered.

"Yes, yes you are! And I'm sure someone else would say the same, if they saw your true colors!" I insisted strongly, dropping to my knees and kneeling beside Alibaba.

"You're a hero, Alibaba. You're my hero. You saved my life, and I would gladly give it back to save yours." I said, determined.

We both stared at each other's eyes, brown meeting gray. I didn't turn away and kept staring with a determined expression, persistent to convince him that he wasn't weak. After a few moments, a small smile appeared on Alibaba's face.

"Thank you Miriam." He said, his voice soft as he turned to look up at the sky.

I did the same and stared at the sky above us. The scenery hadn't changed a bit while we talked, but I swore I saw the stars twinkle and shine brighter than when I first came up the roof and gazed at them.

On instinct, I grabbed Alibaba's hand and entwined our fingers together. The said action caused Alibaba to turn to me with a pink face.

"W-what are you doing?" he asked, flustered.

I smiled at him and leaned on his shoulder, making myself comfortable and him uncomfortable.

"Let's stay like this a bit longer…" I murmured, giving his hand a squeeze.

I could literally feel the heat of his blush but I guessed he wanted to play it cool and casual so he cleared his throat and turned to the side.

"F-fine." He said quietly.

I giggled under my breath and closed my eyes, my head still on his shoulder.

"Thank you Alibaba." I murmured as I felt drowsy.

Before I completely fell asleep, I felt him squeeze my hand back and his other hand patting my hair soothingly.

"Thank you too, Miriam."

.

.

.

"GAH! MIRIAM HELP ME OUT OVER HERE!"

I turned around and saw Alibaba struggling to keep the camel from running away. Alibaba's feet were digging into the ground and his hands were on the camel's reins, but it was as if that didn't matter at all to the animal. It casually kept on running with Alibaba flying right behind it as he held on to the reins for dear life.

I stared for a few moments before casually whistling innocently and walking away.

"NO MIRIAM DON'T LEAVE!"

"You're on your own there, Alibaba." I called as I fixed the contents of the other crates I was assigned to fix.

"Aaaaaaahhh!" I heard Alibaba cry, the volume of his voice becoming lower and lower.

The old man, who was Alibaba's boss, sweat dropped.

"Don't you think you should help him, Miriam?" he asked, turning to me.

I shrugged.

"He'll live."

.

.

.

"I hate you."

I turned to Alibaba, who was fuming and pouting like a spoiled child as he fixed his dirtied and ragged clothes.

I covered my mouth with my fingers, laughing quietly to myself.

"It was just a disobedient camel." I said as I helped clean the inside of Alibaba's house. After discovering that a nest of rats nearly ate all our supplies of food, I took it to myself to start cleaning his house every time we come home.

"It was a rampaging beast." Alibaba muttered.

I rolled my eyes and dusted our sleeping rug, letting the dust flow out of our room and out the window. As I beat the rug with a stick, Alibaba was seated on one of the baskets in the house, holding a small peach colored sack in his hands.

I caught eye of him staring at the sack in his hands and decided to ask him about it.

"What's that Alibaba?" I asked as I placed my beating stick on the floor and dusted my hands, wiping the extra dirt on my long skirt. I walked towards Alibaba and stood in front of him.

"Your money."

I blinked a few times and tilted my head to the side. I stared at the sack in Alibaba's hands and watched as he slowly stood up and took one of my arms, placing the sack on my palm.

"It's your money." He said, closing my fingers on the small bag. "Use it to buy something."

"What?" I asked in slight disbelief. "But this is your salary—"

"Ever since you came along, I've been able to accomplish a lot of work. My boss gave me a few extra because we were able to do so much. But you also helped so I want to give you—"

"I can't possibly take it." I said, trying not to drool over the amount of money the sack in my hands could possibly hold. "I mean, it's YOUR pay."

"I insist, and just take it Miriam—"

"Well if you say so." I chirped as I grabbed the sack and opened it, counting the money I had earned.

Alibaba sweat dropped.

"Gold digger." He muttered.

I looked at him and, with dignity, hit his head with a broom stick.

.

.

.

I sigh quietly to myself, handling the reins of the horses as they pulled the cart forward. Alibaba was busy sleeping inside the shaded comforts of the caravan, snoring as if there was no tomorrow.

I wasn't annoyed by the fact that I ended up driving the cart. I was quite grateful, to be honest. There was little to nothing I did aside from loading and unloading crates.

As the day went on, I was busy worrying over the future events that would occur once we met Aladdin. While I still believed that the best route for me to take for survival is to stick with the main character, there were still some skills I needed in order to make it out on my own.

At the moment, I was simply a commoner. I could not fight, unless provoked, and I would like not to depend on my wrath whenever I engage in battle. Since this was the Magi universe, that would be often. And really— there is only so much anger one person can invoke at a time.

Plus, I was not trained. I had no proper skills. Aside from seduction and probably my intellect, that was all I had. Alibaba, at least, knew royal sword play and could hold his own off against an enemy. I could not.

So therein lies the problem.

"What could I do…" I murmured, covering my lips with my fingers.

Simply relying on Alibaba throughout my whole life wasn't something my pride could take. Even if I had somewhat changed my point of view, there was still a part of my being that thought that I could still use Alibaba to my advantage.

But at the same time, I cared for him so much I didn't want him to get hurt. And yet, I wanted him to be my shield and manipulate him to do what I want.

These two conflicting feelings of mine made me feel dirty. My entire being is clashing against my own ideals. I couldn't get my feelings straight— did I care for Alibaba or was he just leverage?

I heard a light snore coming from inside the caravan and I turned around, watching Alibaba briefly as he tossed and tumbled inside, sleeping comfortably.

A frown tugged my lips.

"Just what is my goal in this world anyways?"

.

.

.

Today was one of the rare days that there were no work assigned for us. We actually had a simple day off, which most people would rejoice to.

Me? Not so much.

After thinking so much, I realized that the heavy-lifting from transporting cargo from one cart to another had somewhat increased my strength. It wasn't as noticeable because of my figure, but I swear I could lift two or three crates at the same time with only slight difficulty.

Now I knew how Alibaba stayed fit all these days in this world. His work and his previous royal training must've paid off.

Alibaba had left me alone to my devices, probably re-stocking our goods and finding a neat place to rest. Me, on the other hand, preferred to stay somewhere near the edge of the town, staring at the sandy desert scenery before me.

I had little to nothing to do at the moment, so I was extremely bored.

I was about to doze off and have a good afternoon's nap before I heard the clashing of swords.

I bolted up and quickly stood straight in my feet. It had been weeks ever since my last and first fight in this world, and I admit that I had wanting to fight again. It was as if there was an animalistic instinct. The moment I started fighting against someone, swords clashing against each other, I enjoyed every moment of it.

I felt thrilled when fighting.

I ran towards the source of the sounds of fighting, but I was too focused on the sounds that I momentarily forgot my environment. Out of nowhere, I had bumped into a smaller body than mine and caused both of us to topple forward and trip, our faces landing straight on the dirt.

"Oof—" I said, holding my sore head. I turned around. "Sorry about—"

And that's where my eyes widened.

A girl with pink-ish red hair and similar coloured eyes was on the ground. She wore a tattered peach coloured slave attire and her feet were bound in sturdy and metal chains.

Morgiana.

I slowly stood up from my place as Morgiana composed herself. I looked around, searching for anyone possibly watching us. Luckily, we were in a slightly isolated area and there were absolutely no one around.

"Here," I said, bending forward and stretching my open hand towards Morgiana.

The said girl looked at me with surprised pink eyes for a moment. She looked hesitant, her hand twitching slightly as she slowly neared it to mine.

But then she twitched and quickly retracted her arm, holding it close to her chest.

I frowned sadly and knelt in front of her, giving her a long and hard look.

'… she'll become a valuable asset to Alibaba.' My mind thought. 'If I re-direct her admiration from Alibaba to me, then maybe she'll be willing to protect ME at any costs.'

I slapped myself internally. How could I have come up with such a dirty and sly method of using another person and manipulating them to do my deeds? Just like what I was doing with Alibaba…

"There's no one around. You can accept my hand, it's okay." I said softly, giving her a smile as I stretched my open hand in front of her once more.

My mind silently hoped that she would/wouldn't take my hand. I have developed a second conscience— a clean conscience that started to think of other people's feelings and what I should do to please them and make them happy.

My first conscience and second conscience were not agreeing to each other. Therefore, I was almost conflicted every single time I think upon my actions, which is probably 24/7.

Morgiana was still staring at me with wide eyes. She looked at me, her pink eyes showing me the pain and suffering that Jamil had put her through ever since she was a child. But there was still a small flicker of hope inside of her.

Slowly, her dirty hand grasped mine. I noticed how bruises and calloused it was and frowned. A girl's hand, as young as she was, shouldn't have been this scarred.

I slowly pulled her up, her chains making noise as she stood. She was still staring at me with a dumbfounded expression, as if she couldn't believe what was happening.

"You're a slave, am I correct?" I asked gently.

She nodded her head.

"May I know your name?"

"…" she looked unsure, but eventually answered. "Morgiana."

I smiled and brought my hand up to her. She immediately closed her eyes and flinched as my palm hit the top of her head.

Her eyes then snapped open as she realized that I was petting her hair soothingly, as if I was her older sister comforting her.

"You're such a strong girl, being a slave of someone like Jamil." I whispered.

Boldly, I wrapped my arms around her, which only caused her to stiffen against my touch. It must've been so long ever since she experienced a genuinely caring and warm hug.

"One day, you'll be free. I'll free you from your chains, even the invisible ones that Jamil has around you." I whispered motherly into her ear.

Still dazed, Morgiana could only muster a few words.

"… but why?" she asked. "You only met me…"

I smiled and slowly pulled away.

"Because everyone is obliged to have the freedom to choose what kind of path they must take. Not everything is as pre-determined as it seems, Morgiana. You won't have those chains forever on your feet."

I then stood up and swatted my skirt off the dirt from the fall earlier.

Morgiana was still looking at me, awed.

I smiled at her and turned my body around, though my attention was still focused on her.

"Remember Morgiana. You're free to do whatever you want. Those chains won't bind you forever." I said before running away from her, continuing my search for the sword fight and leaving Morgiana alone to her thoughts.

.

.

.

Morgiana's POV

The pink haired fanalis stared as the mysterious black haired woman disappeared from her sight, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

Why did she help her? She was just a simple slave. No one should've cared for someone of her status.

And yet…

Morgiana recalled her warm smile and pleasant touch. Her body tingled and she silently wanted to return the hug back to her as well. But she could, would never admit that out loud.

It was as if a mother's feelings were transmitted to her.

'Mother…' Morgiana thought, casting her eyes downwards. She yearned for her family. She yearned for her home country. But most of all, she yearned for her freedom.

With the chains on her feet, she was bind by the words and cruel actions of Jamil. She could rarely do anything about the metal clamps around her legs and desperately wanted them to get off. She wanted to run away from him. She wanted to go away.

She wanted to be free.

'You're free to do whatever you want. Those chains won't bind you forever.'

The words of the mysterious woman rang inside Morgiana's mind and somewhat brought back what little hope she had in her eyes to life.

Morgiana looked at the direction the woman had disappeared to, wanting to chase after her. She wanted to learn more about her. She wanted to know why and how she could possibly help her.

But most of all… she wanted to know what kind of person she was.

Someone who looked at her with equality, with caring eyes and gave her help even though she was nothing but a slave— Morgiana yearned for someone like that. And she had found her.

But she couldn't bring herself to move forward. She couldn't bring herself to chase the woman. Instead, her feet started to disobey her thoughts and walk closer back to the mansion where Jamil resided in.

Inside, Morgiana wanted to run. She didn't want to return to Jamil. She wanted to go away from him and to feel safe and secure. She wanted to go back to that woman from before and stay in her arms, being able to feel safe. Being able to act her age and ask for someone to care for her as a mother could care for her child.

But she couldn't. As she neared the gates of the mansion, her fear grew and anxiety gnawed her insides. Morgiana knew she couldn't escape just yet.

Yet.

That surprised her. Was she actually hoping to be saved, after 14 years of unfair and cruel slavery? Did that woman spark a light of hope inside of her? Was she actually waiting for her words to come true, waiting for fate to take its course and free her from the chains that trapped her?

Morgiana wasn't sure. She knew little to nothing about the woman.

But she knew one thing.

She saw her as a ray of hope.

And that was what Morgiana needed.

Hope.

.

.

.

My eyes sparkled with fascination.

A couple of travelling street performers were doing a fighting performance. One of them was a man, and the other a woman. The woman's choice of weapons were two dual swords while the man had a sturdy and pointy spear.

The man twisted his spear professionally, holding the pointed end towards the woman. He thrusted it forward and swiped it from left to right, aiming to stab her heart or possibly any part of her exposed body.

The woman, however, was quick and agile. She blocked most of the attacks with one sword and attacked with another. She twirled and danced around the ground, using various of steps and timing from dancing styles as an advantage.

'Using dancing as part of a fighting style. That could be a good style for us. It's unpredictable, and it would make it difficult for my opponent to find any openings.' I thought.

"But I still need someone with proper sword fighting skills to help polish my skills…" I murmured as I kept on watching the performance.

Suddenly, my eyes lit up as a brilliant idea came to mind.

.

.

.

"You want me to what?"

I looked at Alibaba and nodded.

"Teach me how to fight." I said.

Alibaba stared at me, gaping slightly. He then started to fidget around nervously, waving his arms around everywhere and flailing them.

"H-how do you know I know h-how to fight?" Alibaba asked.

I pointed to his dagger that he kept attached on his person at all times. Following the direction of finger, he saw me pointing to his short bladed weapon and he sigh in defeat.

"Well, yeah. But I don't know why you need to learn how to fight." Alibaba said, scratching his head in confusion.

"… I just want to defend myself from pedophiles." I said blankly.

Alibaba sweat dropped.

"And because you look like an impressive fighter. I would like to learn more from you." I said, flattering him as much as I could.

I saw that familiar spark in Alibaba's eyes and I knew he was buying my pretty words.

"Well, if you say it like that." He said, looking quite smug.

I rolled my eyes.

.

.

.

"You're open!"

A strong stab from Alibaba's hilted dagger hit my left shoulder, pushing me back. I fumbled slightly but held my stance, holding a piece of wood in both of my hands.

"Why are you fighting me with a hilted weapon?" I asked, panting slightly.

It has been a few days ever since Alibaba had agreed to train me. He said he wasn't so good in sword fighting, and yet here he was, teaching me like a strict master and pointing out all my flaws in my fighting style.

"Because you're still not adapt." Alibaba said. "You haven't found your fighting style. I don't know why you insist on using dual weapons, Miriam. It's easy to use one weapon at a time."

I shook my head in disagreement, holding the two circular wooden sticks in each of my hands.

"I prefer dual style. It's much more comfortable. Plus, I feel twice as safe for some reason." I admitted.

Alibaba cracked a small smile, to which I returned a small one of my own.

"Alright." He said. "Again! You have openings, mostly on your left side. Since you're dominant on the right side, that would most likely be where your powerful attacks, am I right?"

I nodded. As much as a goof he acted, I still found it amazing how analytical and how he could perceive such information at such a short period of time.

But if it came to skills of observation and counter acting against it— then I was better.

"Let's have a go one more time." I insisted, standing up straight. "I have an idea."

Alibaba looked at me in confusion.

"Well I'm not going to tell you." I said, rolling my eyes.

"Alright." Alibaba said as he readied himself in his stance, his curved dagger in front of his face and his left arm behind his back.

I readied myself in a stance of my own— one I felt completely relaxed and comfortable with. I flipped over the wooden stick in my left hand and pointed where I imagined the blade part of the sword would face behind me and held the wooden stick in my right hand like any normal person would.

Alibaba watched me with interest as I resumed my own stance.

"Here I go!"

Alibaba rushed forward. He pushed his arm straight at me, aiming once again for the left side of my body, or specifically my left shoulder.

I raised my left arm and used the wooden stick to defend. Using my right stick. I swung it forward, as if I was about to stab Alibaba's chest.

He defended himself by twisting his body to the side and avoided the hit. He then started coming at me seriously, aiming a barrage of stabs and hits that were all focused on my face.

I was inexperienced at dodging, but I managed to hold my own. When the dagger came a bit too close to my face for my liking, I turned my body fully to the right. I then turned around and brought both of my sticks at Alibaba's arm.

He made a small noise of pain and momentarily lost his footing. Seeing this chance, I kept hitting him with a number of swift hits. I used the same fighting style as the street performers did when she was fighting.

I was dancing to my own rhythm as I fought.

As I twirled from side to side, my skirt flowed freely. It gave more of an effect to my fighting style and Alibaba's eyes widened momentarily, probably mesmerized by my style.

Finally, he left his guard open on his bottom. He swiped his dagger at me and I ducked down. I stuck two of my sticks in between his ankles and swept my weapons outwards, causing him to trip and fall backwards on his back.

He fell back with an 'oof!' and I was still on my position, my arms spread out and one of my legs kneeling on the ground while the other bent slightly.

Alibaba slowly sat up and rubbed his head, his dagger a few ways behind him.

"That was great Miriam." Alibaba said with a smile.

I flushed and smiled back, feeling quite proud of my achievement.

.

.

.

It was another late night. Inside the building, Alibaba was sleeping soundly on the rug, his arm sprawled out beside him and his other arm resting on his chest.

I watched from above the roof as the blond tossed and turned around in his sleep. I giggled to myself when I noticed a small trace of drool escaping the corner of his mouth.

What was I doing out so late at night? Stretching.

I learned from Alibaba that stretching the body could help my abilities in fighting, especially since I relied more on my footwork, speed, and agility rather than brute strength. That lead me to discover that my body, while slender, was not fit as I thought for fighting at all.

So here I was on the roof, doing a split. And let me tell you, I was glad to have a woman's body. Compared to a man's body, doing the split could be a thousand times more painful if not able-bodied enough.

I've been stretching every night and morning as much as I could. Simple arm and leg stretching, going as far as to break my boundaries and dare to do stunts that only a gymnast or probably a ballet dancer could only do.

While I've had a couple of mistakes, over-stretching and probably causing a few of my bones to break or possibly fracture over simple stretching exercises, I never regretted doing them. If a little pain was the cost of my body being well-trained enough for incoming battles, then I would've gladly done it.

Though after a few days of constant stretching, I've noticed my body growing accustomed to the various weird positions I have gotten my body into.

As I continued to do the splits, I was thinking deeply.

Slowly, I placed my hands on the roof and pushed myself upwards, allowing myself to stand up. I walked over the edge of the building and felt the cool night breeze brush past me, sending shivers down my body.

I tapped my feet twice on the floor before boldly performing a cartwheel.

As I felt the sudden rush of blood to my head, I nearly lost my hold on the ground and could've fallen to my side and died a quick death. But thankfully, I managed to successfully pull of the said stunt.

I blinked a few times before a smile crept up my face.

"Oh, this is going to be good."

.

.

.

[A/N:] I believe that I should clear up a few misunderstandings before I continue on with his story.

First of all, this account 'pandalatte' is controlled by one person; Roxanne. Now, Roxanne has 2 personalities— one who wrote the previous fanfictions of this account, and the other one; ME.

I am 2nd, also known as Roxanne's other personality. I see some of you have noticed Roxanne's sudden change of personality when I/she posted the author note stating that I/she is back from hiatus.

So to sum it all up, Roxanne has two personalities. The first one she uses to write the fanfictions such as "Sky Maiden", "Radiant Light", "Gazing Through the Other Side". And the other personality, me or 2nd as I prefer to be called, is writing this fanfiction, "Past Differences".

Now do you see where I got the idea of conflicting personas and consciences? Hm?

So yes. I'm 2nd, the other side of Roxanne and I'm the one writing this fanfiction. While there will be some slight comedic scenes, this will mostly focus on what I like to call the human mentality.

If you are bored of reading this, your loss. But anyways, that's pretty much all I have to say. :)