CHAPTER Nine: THE BEST JEANNIE
A/N: the scene in this chapter picks up from the previous scene with Hadji speaking to Tony and Roger, so no time or very little has passed.
Please read and review. Usual disclaimers apply.
"So, you two humans have summoned me, Hadji said as though they were not in the room. "What is it you two want?"
Tony was beside himself with several emotions. He was happy that his communication plan worked. He was also a little intimidated by the Genie Master's fierce look. Major Nelson also felt curiosity to see how Jeannie would react to him when they saw each other, if they saw each other. The powerful being standing before him had no reason to grant the astronaut's request. Tony realized he would have to tread very carefully, lest Hadji disappear forever.
Roger was backing away slowly toward the door. He decided that even a session with Doctor Bellows in the psychiatrist's office was better than being where the irresistible force (Tony) and the immovable object (Hadji) were.
"Can we go to my house first?" Tony asked, trying to be humble. Hadji wasn't buying it.
"You try my patience, mortal," the Genie Master said, folding his arms defiantly.
"Please," Major Nelson asked. "I promise, I'll tell you whatever you want, but I'd rather have some privacy." Roger's hand found the doorknob.
"Very well," Hadji replied, taking both astronauts with him to Tony's living room.
When the three men were in front of Tony's couch, Hadji asked, "Now, why did you call me?" Roger pointed accusingly at his best friend.
"Oh, no...I didn't call you," he said. "He did the calling! I have no problem with leaving you alone." Tony gave Roger a withering look. Hadji was annoyed with the babbling astronaut.
A gong was heard as Hadji commanded Major Healey, "be silent, mortal." Roger's hand flew to his throat as he found he couldn't utter a sound.
"Rog!" Tony exclaimed as he realized what had happened. Hadji turned to Major Nelson.
"What is this all about?" he asked. Tony sat down on the couch; Hadji did the same.
"I want you to take me to Jeannie," Tony said at last.
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Mahrouf and Jeannie listened to Jalisha's plan for them to escape. After a moment, the shoe merchant shook his head.
"We cannot do that," he protested, forgetting that if the Princess wanted to, she could have commanded both himself and Jeannie to obey her idea. "Even if we could use these sheets and blankets for clothes to disguise ourselves, the Sultan and Jaffey would know. And, we would need weapons to defend ourselves, but we cannot get them without someone telling our enemies about it! They have spies everywhere, and we would be observed much more closely this time."
"I could blink and turn them into frogs, or something," Jeannie offered, smiling a devilish grin.
"You will turn them into nothing!" Mahrouf yelled.
Jeannie was a little shocked. Her new Master had sounded just like her old one. The magic maiden recalled a similar situation where Custer, a precocious boy in Major Nelson's neighborhood, had always been watching them. She had offered her help, but Tony was adamant that he would do things himself.
"I will not have you tormented," Jeannie had told Tony. She'd put her fingers to her chin.
"Ahhh! I can think of many solutions to this problem," she had said. After thinking a moment, Jeannie declared, "I'll turn him into a fr—".
"You'll turn him into nothing!" Her previous Master had yelled, aghast that she should say such a thing.
"An excellent idea!" Jeannie agreed. Tony put her arms down beside her before she could cross them to blink Custer into a frog.
"No, I mean, you'll leave him alone!" he insisted, waving his finger at her.
Jeannie was disappointed, but she did as Tony had asked.
"Very well," she said, her mind returning to the present. "But I think you are making a mistake, Master." She wanted so badly to aid her current Master, but the lessons she'd learned told her that he had to make his own choices.
Mahrouf could guess the minds of both women. He realized he was being very irrational, but he had learned his lesson about taking the easy way out to escape his problems when he'd lied about being a sheik when he had been with his friend, Ali. His distortion of the truth had only led to trouble of the worst kind, making him a fugitive from justice. He would never travel down that road again. Jeannie's magic, while welcomed by him, would be too tempting to use every time he had a problem that he didn't want to address. No, it was better to survive by using his wits, rather than a magic carpet ride to get out from under the mess they were in.
"You could be making a mistake," Jalisha finally said. Mahrouf looked at the Princess incredulously. How could she even think of such a thing?
He asked with condemnation in his voice, "So, you wish to turn humans into frogs, then, Your Highness? If you were to be in control of my genie, you would use her magic to solve a problem?"
"No!" Jalisha ground out. "I am not saying that, and I don't see magic as the end to all problems, but as you said, they are watching us! We do not have a lot of options right now!"
While Mahrouf and Jalisha argued, a lone figure paused outside of the door to the cobbler's room.
Zarina, the head housekeeper, came closer to the listen intently to the trio's conversation. So, Mahrouf's friend was a magic girl, was she? The older woman thought about all of the possibilities if she were to gain control of whatever bound the genie to her master.
Then, she could use the instrument and it's servant to her advantage, particularly where Jaffey was concerned.
Ever since her mother had been taken with Zarina to work for the Sultan and his officials in the place, the elder woman had schemed and planned a way to advance to an upper position. If the Captain desired something, for example, Zarina's mother provided it without arguing, even if it involved sexual favors. If the Prime Minister's underling wanted her, she would submit in exchange for gold and a more comfortable room.
Whenever the other female slaves glared at Zarina's mother and whispered hateful things about her and her advancement, she would stare them down and walk ahead of the girls. Zarina copied her parent in everything she did. The young servant had neither the beauty of her mother nor the poise, but she had the drive and the ambition.
She also had a desire for the unattainable Prime Minister, and to achieve her goals, Zarina had become a palace spy. It was easy to put the flower of the Bizantyum into the Sultan's drink to make him comply with Jaffey's commands. It should be a piece of Kanafa cake, Zarina decided, to steal the magic instrument and present it to Jaffey, the man she wanted more than anything else in her poor life. He was sure to reward her for her cleverness.
She pressed her ear to the door and waited to seize any opportunity.
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Hadji considered Tony's request. He had to admit that although mortals tended to be irritating, he was surprised by the younger man's ingenuity at contacting him. He decided that he at least owed this human the chance to speak his mind.
"Why?" the Genie Master asked sternly.
Tony spoke without hesitation. "Because I love her," he said simply.
Again, Hadji was surprised. He never expected this mortal to admit his feelings for Hadji's favorite.
His eyes bored into Tony's, as thought he was measuring the astronaut's worth by what he said. "You are not," the head genie pronounced. "I have heard the cries of my little dove, even from this great a distance. She wanted nothing more than to please you, to grant your every wish, to make you comfortable. And you threw it back in her face, over and over!"
Tony hung his head, not daring to meet Hadji's censuring gaze. He wanted to defend himself, to say that all he needed was a chance to stand on his own two feet, to make his own choices in life. But, he couldn't. He couldn't, because the Genie Master did have a point.
As Tony searched his memories of his time with Jeannie, he knew that he had treated her horribly. He had said that she never did anything right as a genie, but as he recalled his instructions to her, he wasn't exactly an Olympic Gold Medalist in the wishing department either.
"Why should I bother to bring her back here, amongst this..." Hadji's arm swept the length of the house..."den of misery? She deserves better, and she will have it!"
Roger had heard enough. He couldn't talk, but he would still let Hadji know what he thought. Major Healey dropped some magazines loudly on the coffee table. Both other men turned in his direction. Hadji worked his mojo on Roger's voice. Tony's friend cleared his throat.
"Thanks," he said. "Now look here, Hadji...".
"Roger..." Tony said warningly. Roger wouldn't be deterred.
"We've had to put up with a lot from that girl! Tony is a great guy, and if you don't know that, then you're crazy!" Roger shouted. Hadji gave him a look that suggested Major Nelson's best friend would be better off as an inanimate object. Tony caught that immediately.
"Roger, look," Jeannie's former master bade. "Why don't you go on home? I'll handle this by myself." He steered Roger toward the door.
Do a friend a favor...Roger thought, but he did as Tony asked.
Roger told him, "I can take a hint. See you Tony. Call me if you need me." The other astronaut let himself out, closing the door softly.
When they were alone, Hadji said, "I shall be precise, mortal. I care not for you, nor for what you think you feel for my turtle dove. If you are truly in love with her as you say, you will have to prove it. I will deliver you back to where she is, but the rest is for you to do. If after all of this, my Jeannie does not wish to be with you, you will leave us, never to bother her again! Is that clear?"
Major Nelson nodded, silently agreeing to every word. He thought then about Jeannie's sister, and the bargain they had.
"What about her sister?" he asked. "She came to see me." He told the Head Genie all that had transpired. Hadji's brows drew together as he considered the astronaut's words.
"So!" the Genie Master exclaimed. "She is up to her tricks again while her Master is away!" He looked at Tony.
"She will be punished for her offense," he told the other man, waving him off. "As for you, you agree to my words?"
Tony thought about his job and how long it might take to win Jeannie back, as well as her new Master. He might not want to give her up, especially if they were truly happy together. Major Nelson felt curious as to the type of man she ended up with. Was he rich? Was he handsome? Did she like him better than Tony? Would she be happy to see her old Master, or would she turn him away? Was he making the biggest mistake of his life in wanting her back?
You know you are making a mistake, one side of his mind told him. You could have any woman you want, like Miss Atom Bomb, or maybe someone like Melissa, or a completely new woman who'd never give you any trouble!
But another side of him, the side that was his heart and soul, said inside of him, you know she's the woman for you. Without her, life just isn't worth living.
His mind made up, Tony said resolutely, "Yes, all right. I accept whatever I have to do to get her back."
He is a brave mortal, Hadji thought. Stupid, but brave.
"Then, we shall go immediately," the Genie Master responded. "Once there has been a resolution, I will appear and take you back to the future." He conjured up some clothes for Tony; then, the Master Genie and the former Master went back to the past.