Author's Note: Since I live in the Philippines, summer ends and school starts at early June. Updates from here on will be slow, just a little heads-up.
Disclaimer: I don't own Magi. Never had, never will.
Warning: A few inappropriate scenes, but nothing else.
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Night 4
I exhaled once, ridding myself of my anxiety and useless thoughts. My eyes were close and my breathing was steady. I was slowly calming down, letting myself depend on my other senses for direction.
A few moments of silence passed.
I snapped my eyes open and started sprinting. As I ran, I readied my hands up high in the air and jumped forward, tilting my body forward. My whole body turned upside down, my legs high in the air and my hands acting as a support for my body to keep upwards.
A split second later, my body continued fall forward, allowing me to land on my feet again. The sudden rush left my heart pounding and as I returned to my original stance, I looked behind me, only to find that no one had watched me practice my stunts.
I sigh in relief.
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Alibaba's POV
"Hey Miriam, I'm home—"
In a flash, a dagger had appeared out of nowhere. It zoomed past Alibaba, nicking his cheek.
"A-Alibaba!" Miriam cried as she straightened herself and tried to hide her flustered face.
Rigidly, Alibaba turned around. He noticed a spade shaped dagger stuck on the wall behind him, perfectly aimed on the bulls-eye marked on the wall with chalk.
Alibaba turned back to Miriam, looking pale.
"Y-you weren't trying t-to kill me back there, r-right?" Alibaba asked.
Miriam blushed, but it was hardly evident on her face. Her pout though was obviously seen.
"Cut me some slack, I'm just practicing." she mumbled, pouting as she crossed her arms over her chest and looking away from the blond.
Alibaba gulped and turned back to the sharp weapon that Miriam had expertly threw and nearly missed gouging his right eye out.
'I-I should really stop making Miriam mad if she's going to learn how to fight.' Alibaba thought fearfully as he glanced at the dark haired girl in the middle of the room, who refused to make eye contact with him.
"Uh, Miriam? Sorry, I didn't mean what I said earlier." Alibaba said, scratching his head and smiling.
When Miriam didn't respond, Alibaba started to sweat. He knew that Miriam was one person you didn't want to end up in a fight with. After all, he learned that from experience. Once he accidentally dropped a sack of fruit above her while hauling a few goods from another caravan and made the mistake of laughing at her.
The next day, he found himself sleeping on the tallest palm trees in Qishan with no way of climbing down. Also, it seemed that he the tree had been inhabited by a few snakes – not poisonous – and some other insects he never knew existed in the desert.
It took a week, but after constant begging and pleading, Miriam finally forgave him. Of course, not before making sure he was covered head to toe in insect bites and snake bites.
"Miriam? Miriam?" Alibaba repeatedly called, poking Miriam's shoulder. He tried to get within her line of sight by appearing in front of her face, but she just 'hmphed' and turned her head to another direction away from him.
Alibaba gulped. He didn't want a repeat of what happened last time. Miriam was NOT a force to be reckoned with.
"C-come on, Miriam~" Alibaba sang, trying to loosen the tension between them. He walked in front of her and placed his hands on both of her shoulders, giving her a comical smile.
"How about I get you some food? What do you want? Bread? Milk? Come on~ You can't stay mad at me for long, you know that~"
As Alibaba teased her, he noticed no change in her pouty expression (which he secretly found cute) which just made him fearful.
"Aww, Miriam!" Alibaba whined, acting childish. He snuggled his head on her shoulder, hoping that him acting like this would make her loosen up.
"Pleaaaaaseeee…" he whined.
He peaked through his bangs and saw Miriam trying her best to hide her smile. His eyes immediately lit up.
"Aha! You smiled!" he said.
"I didn't." Miriam huffed.
"Yes you did~ You can't ever say no to me!" Alibaba sang triumphantly.
Though that's how Alibaba acted, he was really and truly scared whenever Miriam would get mad at him. There was always a small voice in his head that would whisper to him that Miriam could leave his side in search for a better place if ever given a reason. A better home. A better companion.
He didn't want that.
He wanted Miriam to stay with him. He was desperate, and he was thinking of entering the dungeon 'Amon' earlier than planned if Miriam ever showed any signs of being tired of his own presence.
Alibaba didn't like being alone. It was painful before he met Miriam. After he had run away from Balbadd, it was by luck he managed to find a job in Qishan as a Cart Driver. But he had to hide his identity and his true personality, sucking up to other people and having to leech and depend on the money of his customers. Not to mention he owed a lot of people money. He had debts all over Qishan.
Only when Alibaba realized how precious and valuable money and riches were did he start to change into a greedy and cunning man. Alibaba himself knew about his own change in personality, but he couldn't help but treasure money as if it was the only thing that could bring happiness in the world.
He thought the same for Miriam. Maybe if he had money and riches, she'll stay. But silently, he hoped she wouldn't stay for only that reason. He knew he sounded selfish, but he wanted Miriam to be with him.
He wanted to go back to the days he was back in the slums, where nothing else mattered to him as a child. He was starved, dirty, and pretty much rebellious, but he was happy. With his mother, Cassim, and Mariam. How he wished to go back to where he was surrounded by people he loved and loved him back.
"… fine." He heard Miriam mutter softly.
Alibaba smiled widely as he saw Miriam uncross her arms and place her right hand on her hip.
"Yes!" Alibaba said.
If he wanted to keep Miriam, he needed to make her happy. He knew that should she decide to leave him, he had to let her go, but he silently wished it would never come to the time where she would really leave him.
She was all he had, after all.
She was more precious than money, or all the treasures in the world.
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Miriam's POV
"Too slow!"
I jumped up, avoiding a swift kick Alibaba aimed at me. I landed back on the same spot and raised my fist, directing it towards Alibaba and hitting him on the chest.
"Oof—" I heard him say as he tried to steady his footing.
His left hand grabbed my fist before I could retract it. He pulled me forward and kneed my stomach.
I gasped at the pain but tried my best to ignore it. I grabbed hold of Alibaba's leg and using all my strength, flipped his body over.
Since Alibaba was sort of light, I successfully flipped him. I watched as he landed on the ground on his back, wheezing slightly at the brute force I exerted just to defeat him.
"Geez— you hit harder than I do." Alibaba said painfully as I stretched my hand at him and helped him on his feet.
"You're fault for underestimating a female." I said, smirking slightly.
Alibaba froze visibly and scratched his head, smiling nervously.
"That obvious?" he asked.
I nodded.
"I could use it to my advantage though." I said, clenching and unclenching my fist, which was still stinging. "If I could grow stronger, I might be able to take somebody off-guard and beat them. You know, even if it is someone twice as bigger as I am."
"If it does come to that, I'll be sure to run to the hills. I can't imagine you stronger than you already are." Alibaba muttered.
He then tilted his head to the side, giving me a look of curiosity.
"But why are you so intent on becoming stronger?" Alibaba asked as I stretched my arms behind me.
I hummed quietly under my breath and gave him a rare smile.
"You plan on capturing a dungeon." I stated. "And thousands of people have died there. I don't want to be one of the 99% of the people who died there. I want to be one of the people to survive it."
And I believe you'll be the one to conquer Amon."
Alibaba's eyes went wide and he scratched his cheek in embarrassment.
"Hehe, you have that much faith in me, huh." Alibaba said cheekily. But his façade dropped and a sad smile appeared on his face.
"I-I don't think I can." Alibaba admitted shyly. "I mean, I say that stuff but in honesty, I don't know if I'm courageous enough to do that. I'm a coward."
I narrowed my eyes at him and frowned in disapproval. I stood in front of him and crossed my arms.
"Then just use me." I said.
Alibaba looked at me, confused.
"I'll become someone stronger than you could be. I'll be your tool. If you ever need anything, a shield or your weapon, I'll be just that." I said, smiling slightly.
I placed my right hand on my chest.
"You gave me this life, and I'm willing to return it to you. So use me however you like. But one thing is for sure; no force in this world will stop me from following you, Alibaba. You're my hero, and don't say otherwise."
Throughout my mini-speech, Alibaba's cheeks turned red.
"G-geez, how many times do you have to keep saying stuff like that?" Alibaba said, covering his face.
I closed one eye and placed my hands on my hips.
"How many times will it take for you to realize that you are NOT a coward?"
Alibaba groaned and scratched the back of his neck, hiding his face away from me.
But I saw the smile on his lips, which caused me to smile as well.
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I felt a hand shaking my shoulder, causing me to wake up from my peaceful slumber. With an annoyed groan, I sat up and rubbed my eyes. I saw Alibaba hovering above my sleeping form, grinning slightly.
I growled at him.
"You know that last night was the only night that I could sleep comfortably." I said, annoyed. "You better have a good reason for waking me up."
Alibaba chuckled and handed me a bucket of water.
"Hurry and freshen up Miriam! We gotta go work!" he said cheerfully as he marched outside the house with a happy smile on his face.
I stared for a few moments and blinked.
"… why is he so happy?" I murmured quietly as I forced myself to stand up.
I fixed the rug I slept on and hung it over a clothes line near the wall. After washing my body, I changed into my usual outfit and combed my hair with a cheap comb I had managed to haggle with an old travelling merchant a few days ago.
Once I felt clean, I turned towards the door and headed outside. I caught a glimpse of myself on the mirror of the house and stared blankly at my reflection.
Even after so long, I still wasn't used to seeing my appearance. Every time I look at the mirror, I wouldn't expect charcoal black hair, pale-ish skin, and striking gray eyes. But every time I looked, that's what I would see and get. I made it a point to avoid looking at mirrors as much as I could because I didn't like my appearance.
Not because I deemed myself ugly. In fact, I deemed myself too beautiful. Unrealistically beautiful. I didn't like it at all.
I pushed the door forward and covered my eyes from the sun's sudden rays. After adjusting to the brightness of the day, I blinked a few times and turned my head from side-to-side.
I caught eye of Alibaba who was fixing and petting the horses. I noticed that our caravan was unusually neat and that the squeaky wheel on the right side of the cart had been replaced with a brand new one.
I started walking towards Alibaba.
"Is there a reason why you're so chirpy and why our cart looks better than usual?" I asked, helping him fix the reins on our horses.
Alibaba grinned.
"We hit the jackpot today, Miriam." Alibaba said as he turned to me with a somewhat triumphant smile. "Lord Budel, a wealthy merchant and a famous wine-maker, had asked for the boss' service. Luckily, we ended up with the job. So if we satisfy this guy, we might get some extra payment and probably win some favors from him!"
I perked up at the mention of the word 'Budel'. It took me a few moments to recall why that name had sounded so familiar before I realized that he was the stupid fat-ass in the beginning of the manga's first arc.
"It's starting." I mumbled.
Alibaba looked at me in puzzlement.
"Starting? What's starting?" he asked.
I blinked before shaking my head.
"No, it's nothing important." I said dismissively. "So are you going to suck-up to him again like you always do?"
Alibaba nodded. "That is the plan."
I sigh. "I'd rather you not. It's displeasing to the eye and those types of people look down and start insulting you because they know you won't retaliate."
"We just have to keep quiet about it." Alibaba said. He then turned to me and gave me a warning look. "I'm serious Miriam. I know you want to protect our pride despite our low-life jobs, but sometimes we have to swallow our pride and prioritize."
I bit my lower lip.
"I do not like it." I mumbled.
"You made it clear when you nearly killed our last client." Alibaba said.
"He trailed his hands on my leg and personally asked me to become his fourth wife." I gritted my teeth. "And in addition to that, he kicked you every time you would look at me throughout the whole trip."
Alibaba stayed silent.
"Yeah… I didn't like the way he treated you." Alibaba admitted, his voice sounding slightly dark. "In fact, I don't like it when any other man tries to hit on you."
I glanced at him.
"I won't let any sleazy old man get you… but now, we'll just have to be quiet about it, okay?" Alibaba said. He sounded as if what he was saying was frustrating him more than anything else.
I stared at him. It was quite obvious he was overprotective of me. I was overprotective about him myself. But at the same time, it was hard for both of us to hold back when it came to each other's safety.
Although my reactions are very dangerous. The only reason why most of Alibaba's clients aren't dead yet is because Alibaba had to hold me back and cover up for me each time.
"If he tries anything to hurt you Alibaba…" I murmured.
"I'll stop you before you can even try to stop Master Budel." Alibaba said.
"I know but…"
Alibaba sigh and gave me a smile.
"Hey, I'm a man. I can deal with a little pain." He joked lightly.
I frowned in disapproval but just let the topic slide.
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[A/N:] I'm sorry for the late update guys! School has kept me very busy, but I promise that though the next update would take longer than usual, it would be very long and entertaining to read.
After all, we're reaching the point where Alibaba, Miriam, and Aladdin meet. ;)