Big big thanks to SmileRen, Akumarayne and Perpetual Dreams for the reviews, plus anyone else reading this far :) I know it's a little of a slow start, but it's going to pick up now! And hopefully this will clear up the whole Alibaba seeing rukh thing too.

Enjoy~

Chapter 6

Mere hours had passed since the king and his advisor had returned to Sindria's shores, and home. For now Sinbad relaxed, lying back on a darkly toned and lavish sofa and finally felt at home. Through the window opposite to him he watched the naive day grow steadily brighter, to the point it spilled light over the scarlet and hanging gardens outside. He took a slow drink, and from a sake bottle rather than the glass set out for him. Jafar raised a pale eyebrow as he did. "...So you actually met with Kougyoku then? Alone, and at night? And you promised so many times you wouldn't cause me any trouble."

His advisor sat at the king's desk in his pristine and white office, with his feet propped up on it and lounging back just as lazily. Or perhaps that's because travelling by boat really didn't agree with him. Even so, amber eyes glanced over to the man as he fanned himself with an emerald-green keffiyeh usually worn on his head.

"Perhaps you should start thinking that when I say something I mean the opposite. It might stop us confusing each other," Sinbad offered somewhat unhelpfully. His old friend of fifteen years gave him a disapproving look, drank heavily from his desk and tilted his chair back against the cool, gold-lined wall behind him. "But really it's kind of endearing after this long you believe and hang onto my every word."

"Trust you to say something like that," Jafar's freckled face already looked somewhat tinged pink from attempting to match the older man drink for drink. Somewhat dejectedly he lightly tossed his hat where it skidded lethargically over the heavily paper-strewn desk as if admitting defeat. "But things like that don't create the best impression for Sindria."

"Its fine, she asked me out to talk to her. I think. Or maybe it was her attendant – the creepy one you always glare at – ah, I can't remember. This was months ago," and an event which had occurred months ago which he was finally drunk enough to talk about. Jafar ran a somewhat irate hand through his silvery hair. "As she didn't have to marry Abhmad, she wanted to know if she could come here. In fact, she seemed pretty excited to come here."

"More than likely she was trying to get you to propose to her," Sinbad choked at that. "It's not that surprisingly, surely. If Kou allows her out of backing out of marrying him, the girl still has to marry someone. I'd feel more bad at your being second choice to...him. Look, are you positive you weren't drunk enough to lead her on?" Jafar asked, and his dark eyes narrowed as the tall man shook his head after pausing for a little too long. "Really, why is it when it comes to these things you just end up causing me trouble? People are going to start talking."

"People talk about me anyway; I guess it's a good thing. Reim writes to us, and think we're allies with Kou. And Gyokuen as we saw seems convinced we're allied with Reim; amusing seeing as we don't have the best history with them over what they did to Partevia. And you're going to ignore all that, and instead ostracise me over talking to some little girl?"

"You remember that little girl is a princess? And Kougyoku, like so many other, has taken that sort of liking to you now she's a little older?" his advisor just received a very blank expression at that. Sinbad stretched back on his sofa and yawned widely. "You didn't notice? Do people need to literally get up and throw themselves at you?"

"You mean like Judal?" Sinbad asked. Mentioning his name seemed to cause a cold, inexplicably sharp twinge to run through him which he couldn't explain. "Subtlety never was that boy's strong point. But it's not my fault if people like me."

"Yes. And Gyokuen didn't even make Kougyoku go to Balbadd, did she? She let the girl chase after you instead. Kou really are trying with you now, you should be worried."

And indeed he was. Even if Sinbad had toyed with Kou neither too little nor too much, being pushed into allying with them wasn't so inevitable. His seven nation alliance, after all, was steadily growing more important concerning trade, especially. Reim were interested enough in Sindria for their Magi to write to him, and he knew sooner or later he would need to deal with her. And Kou, that shadowy and ever-growing monolith he stayed friendly with as he wanted their two Magi, wanted more than just a tense friendship. The empire was definitely growing more ambitious and was now devouring any country in its path. Balbadd and meeting Kouen there was an indication of that, and they were getting a little too strong a little too quickly for his liking. Right now Sinbad just didn't want to side with one or the other, and the idea of a political marriage terrified him.

"But she didn't ask me about that though. She just said being in Kou unsettled her and as Judal was meant to come here she wanted to come too. They're close, but obviously as he stayed she didn't ask me again," Sinbad recalled, finishing his current bottle and reaching for the next. Jafar was visibly relaxing upon hearing that. "Really, just Kouen telling me he didn't want to send Koumei back there even if he's ill again says a lot about the state of things. All of that insanity just makes me glad we can run back here and not deal with it."

"It's to be expected I guess. There are a lot of weird people over there if you ask me," their conversation was abruptly interrupted by a quiet tapping at the door. Jafar tilted forward in his seat before slumping up, glass in hand, to go and answer it. "But don't relax on this. You're not quite off the hook with me about Kougyoku yet."

"Strange; I don't remember you having a hook in me to start with. And I'd remember that sort of thing," Sinbad grinned at him. The door opened, and on seeing who entered he quickly stashed the bottles, empty and full, under the sofa and out of sight. He then straightened himself up and attempted to look sober and presentable. "Now...that's an odd pair to see," he said as he looked over a prince from Balbadd and one of the twin Magi from Kou.

"Very odd," Jafar agreed with a slight hiccup as he closed the tall and heavy door behind him. it was then he panicked and rushed over to clear the mess he'd left on his king's desk.

Sinbad himself rubbed over his handsome face, and willed for that numbing, intoxicated feeling to fade from him. He watched Alibaba eye over him, as if knowing full well what he had intruded on, and seemed somewhat guilty and nervous at doing so. He definitely resembled his father, at any rate, with his lightly toned golden eyes and dark blonde hair.

"It's nice to finally meet you. I'm sorry about disturbing you like this..." Alibaba started. The prince bowed to him, respectfully yet clearly not that accustomed to dealing with royalty. Not that Sinbad was much more comfortable in that regard.

"It's a pleasure to meet you at last," he smiled in reply. He knew, with sketchy details, of what exactly had happened with Alibaba and his Fog Troupe even if he had delegated a lot of that to Yamaraiha and Sharrkan. The little he knew concerned with the people Alibaba must have known being executed, and the prince himself had been severely wounded. Such thoughts proved enough to sober him up. "It's good to see you up and about, even at this time in the morning. I trust you're feeling alright?"

"Ah, erm...yes. thank you," Alibaba straightened out of his bow. He gave Aladdin a long glance, who seemed to not notice and instead had taken to sitting close at Sinbad's side and seemed perplexed by that. "I know you literally just got back. But I caught this thief here stealing...which seems to be happening again." He noticed as the blue haired figure helped himself to some nearby grapes. "So I just wanted to tell you so you could punish her – him" he corrected himself quickly.

Aladdin seemed to preoccupied by the fruit and scanning over the elaborately furnished, fragranced office to take note of their conversation however. The king ruffled at the back of his long azure hair affectionately. "I see. In that case thank you."

This clearly wasn't going as the young man thought it would. "...You're welcome."

"And you, little thief," Sinbad smiled and watched Aladdin look up at him. "Did you manage to eat as much as you needed before our guest here decided to get you punished?"

The young Magi nodded. Sinbad stood gracefully, brushing off his long robes and his amber eyes fixed in amusement at the expression adoring the prince's face. "Yes, he was kind enough to do that," Aladdin told him, even with a mouthful of fruit. "But I thought you said I could do whatever I wanted here. Did I do something wrong?"

"It's a misunderstanding. Whilst you're here, this is your home," he reminded the Magi. "Do you remember Balbadd, the country we docked at before coming here?" Aladdin nodded. "Alibaba's the prince from there, you know."

"Really? he didn't tell me that. but he did threaten me with a pocket knife and call me a thief and a stowaway. None of the princes in Kou ever did that, it was amusing."

Alibaba's eyes widened, looking down at the ornate knife at his side. It certainly seemed more than a simple pocket knife. "You can't go round telling him, a king, something like that?"

"But I just did though..."

"You're worse than Judal sometimes," Sinbad sighed. "Alibaba, Aladdin here is one of the Magi from Kou. He's going to be studying here for a while, and I've known him and his brother for most of their lives. He might seem harmless, but he's sharper than he looks."

"So is Sinbad-sama. Sometimes," Aladdin said, looking eyes with Alibaba curiously. The prince averted his gaze as if embarrassed by this whole situation. But Alibaba-kun is special; he can see rukh. Just like you can."

Sinbad glanced over at Alibaba sharply at that, thinking for a long moment. He then ruffled softly at the Magi's long fringe as if to assure him there was nothing to worry about. "That's interesting; as you know not many people can see them."

"Mm...they say back in Kou only is and magicians can see them. So then –"

"I'm sorry..." Sinbad interrupted him and yawned, covering his face as he did so. He hoped that was as convincing as it sounded. "But it's a bit late for this, and for you to be up this late. Gyokuen wouldn't be happy with me. With everything that happened, we got here a little later than I expected to. But there's going to be a celebration to welcome you here, Aladdin, and I want to talk to you then. I'm sure you'll love it," the Magi gave him one of those searching looks, as if staring straight though him, before nodding. Sinbad's eyes fixed on Jafar, who watched the three calmly from across the room. "Could you please show Aladdin to a room near mine? I'd like to keep him close by."

Jafar nodded, bowing deeply before silently shepherding the Magi from the room. Once the door was closed, Sinbad folded his arms and turned back to the prince. "So..."

"I didn't mean to threaten him. I didn't know who he was..." Alibaba stuttered.

"No, I guess not. Aladdin just isn't what you'd expect, and not what someone would picture in a Magi. Most people think they'll be a lot older, more imposing perhaps..." however, judging from Alibaba's expression he was still unclear what a Magi really was. "You'll see just how strong he is though. I was going to ask him to demonstrate his magic at the celebration tonight."

"...Right," Alibaba said, a little nervously.

"He said you can see rukh?" Sinbad asked, even if part of him really didn't want to ask about that. The young man nodded. "I see. And that happened when you saw Aladdin just now?"

"Yes. How did you know that?"

"Just a guess."

Alibaba frowned at that. "They were these...white, shining things that flitted all about him, brightening up the sky as they went. They were weird, but really warm. They made me feel calm."

"So they were white?" he nodded, and relief flooded through the king.

"Why? They can be other colours?"

"No," he replied rather flatly. Sinbad didn't really want to remember about that dark day, or the rukh he had seen. Those cold and dark flashes which had cast the day to shadow, of the friend he had lost and the events which had transpired. It had been the events of that day which had caused Sinbad to owe this man's father so much. Enough, after all, to save Alibaba's life and to bring him to Sindria. "Can you remember what happened in Balbadd at all?"

"I can't, no."

"Rukh tend to show themselves to people who have been through a bad experience. I'd not worry," Sinbad told him. "Magi are loved by the rukh, and can always see them. I've met all four Magi, and all of them say they're always surrounded with rukh."

"And Aladdin seems..." Alibaba started before stopping himself and flushing slightly. Sinbad gave him a searching look and the prince cleared his throat. "But...about Balbadd. I'm beyond thankful, really. But I don't completely know what happened there. No one will tell me."

"Just focus on your health for now. Kouen Ren is a good friend of mine, and is taking care of your country at the moment. He'll let me know when it's safe for you to go back," he led Alibaba gently back towards the door. "But we'll speak later, I promise."

Alibaba went to reply, but Sinbad had already pressed him out of the room and closed the door behind him. The king crossed to his desk, noticing Jafar had forgotten his keffiyeh there. He picked the soft headpiece up, passing it gently from hand to hand, and fell into deep thought. Remembering those black rukh, and the apparent curse which had mysteriously taken him all those years ago, wasn't all that pleasant. But then how nice could it be, to remember the loss of a close friend? Someone who had been irreplaceable to that day. He slumped back, closing his eyes, and tried to block the memories flooding back to him.

The day passed slowly to noon, and Alibaba hadn't left his bed. Instead, he inhaled deeply on the joint he was smoking; stretching his legs up to rest his warm feet against a cold and white wall ahead him. Lying down like this helped him to stem the thoughts bleeding into his mind after all. He watched rolls of dark mist well up ahead of him, before veiling and painting the perfect ceiling in a cloud of tarnished grey. Within moments those thoughts of the flames licking at Balbadd, of how his home and people had been turned to dust, faded away. He remembered no more fleeting memories of strange men, of the black fog which seemed so alive, or of the weapons and their eerie powers. Eventually, and above all, Kassim's accusing eyes would also be forgotten. For now at least.

He remembered the heavy book resting on his stomach and casted it aside. He had borrowed it from Hakuryuu, and it happened to be one of the many works the Sindrian king had written himself. It had been interesting enough, even if Sinbad seemed to live up to his reputation of exaggerating things, no doubt to make his work more attractive. For now he wasn't focused enough to read, and instead watched the pages flutter indignantly in the lazy tropical breeze. His thoughts numbed over, but he did remember the book mentioning how Sindria was dependent upon two things; trade and its people conquering dungeons. It was that which had given Alibaba an idea...

That idea, however, fled from him as the door opened. He watched Hakuryuu draw in, fragrant steam clinging to his bare skin from the bath he had just taken and wrapped in a long white towel. He had been in the process of rubbing a second towel through his soaked, ink-hued hair before stopping. A palm armed wafted away the translucent mist, and looked at it curiously as if he had never seen anything like it. More than likely, as Alibaba remembered him mentioning he had never shared a room with anyone before, he hadn't. "...Just what are you doing?"

"Smoking. It's good for the pain," Alibaba told him. It was a habit he had picked up years ago, seeing Kassim do it and that making it appealing enough to try. "...Really good for the pain."

The two had, inadvertently, ended up sharing a room together after Hakuryuu had worried too much over his wounds to leave him alone. So the two had moved from their respective rooms into this one, which hadn't bothered Alibaba too much. After all, he had never really slept alone during his years in the slums, and the years in the palace to follow had been far too lonely. His fellow prince, however, seemed a little rigid and nervous still over things. Smoking included.

Hakuryuu coughed and rubbed at his eyes, and then headed out to the small marble balcony connected to their room. He was, after all, too polite to really complain. And Alibaba right now was too lethargic to remember to be courteous. "...I see. Just who gave that...that thing to you anyway? I've been tending to you more than anyone. And I'd never recommend...that."

"Well, you should. And when I met Sharrkan he gave it to me."

"O-oh!" in a flick of damp hair, a pale torso came into view from the corner of Alibaba's eye. "So you met him. That's good that...awful thing aside."

"He said if I'm careful I shouldn't have a problem training with you guys," Alibaba said. He reached an arm out, offering that joint to the other prince. Hakuryuu's miss-toned cerulean eyes eyed over it as though it had offended him greatly. "Try it. You can't hate it if you've never tried it?" he informed him, and watched Hakuryuu approach him curiously. "I've been smoking them in secret for years now."

"But I'm clearly in no pain," he said flatly.

"Just lie to yourself then. Tell yourself you have a headache or something," Alibaba watched him take it from him. From the moment Hakuryuu drew that join to his mouth, it seemed that he dissolved into a series of shallow coughs. His eyes watered and he hastily handed it back and retreated to his balcony.

"I mean no offense, but maybe you could keep that habit a secret. I want no part in such a foul thing."

"What part of that wasn't offensive...?" Alibaba murmured, extinguishing the joint as if to appease him. He gazed up at the ceiling, looking for non-existent cracks as Hakuryuu shed his towel to dress. "That Magi from Kou arrived by ship really early this morning," he could almost hear Hakuryuu whip round to face him. "I met him. He didn't seem scary or intimidating at all."

"You...met him?" Hakuryuu asked nervously, and Alibaba faced him. "Which of them was it?"

"He called himself Aladdin," he informed him, before flushing and looking back at his ceiling. Equally embarrassed, Hakuryuu cleared his throat after being seen in such a state before hastily pulling his clothes on. "He was...just glowing and surrounded by these white lights. I've never seen anything like it."

"You mean rukh?"

"Yes – wait, you can see them? Wow, it seems everyone has seen them. Sinbad said that was rare," Alibaba was beginning to think the king hadn't told him everything.

Now dressed, Hakuryuu sat down carefully on his own bed, hands settled in his lap. His fingers gracefully indicated the scar marring the left side of his face, and the eye almost shining with its blackened light. "I saw them a long time ago, but it's an event I remember little of. It happened when I lost my father and two brothers, as a child as we fled from Kou. I almost died, and as I lay injured I thought I saw a flicker of black rukh, a little like dark fire, against the fires of that night."

"...Black rukh?" he asked as he looked over that brightened eye. He did so for a long time, and clearly long enough for Hakuryuu to nervously cover his face with his hand. "Sorry...but you know, the rukh I saw were white. Does their colour matter? Sinbad seemed surprised I saw white ones. He said they show themselves to people if they were troubled.

"Perhaps that is the case."

"Anyway, I guess we should get ready for that celebration. They're throwing it to welcome Aladdin here and apparently that means he's going to show off his magic," Hakuryuu's wide eyes suggested he couldn't think of a less welcoming thought. "I guess Magi are meant to be pretty amazing to watch."

"Yes, they are – for better or worse. If he's using magic I'd...rather not go."

"You have to, though," Alibaba watched him shake his head. "He's going to be studying for a full year, you know. You can't avoid him all that time."

"I can try. I definitely don't want to watch something dangerous as that," Hakuryuu told him firmly. He had drawn up gracefully to open a cupboard at the end of his bed. From it he drew out a neatly folded pile of a foreign and soft looking material toned in midnight blue and deep ebony. Smoothing his fingers over it, he passed it to Alibaba. "You told me you didn't have much in the way of possessions when you were brought here. This is called a kamishimo, and they're very popular to wear at festivals back at Kou. I figured you could borrow it if you want."

Alibaba looked over at the clothing curiously. They ran over his fingers like liquid and cool silk, and he placed them lightly to the side of him. "Are you sure?"

Hakuryuu nodded. "Yes, just be careful with them."

"Of course...thank you. But don't lock yourself up training tonight, alright?" he told him. Alibaba drew up and headed to the door to take a bath himself before looking back to Hakuryuu. "But...you should meet with Aladdin. He's very much...not scary," he added, and to his surprise found himself once again blush. Quickly he closed the door behind him, thinking it best his fellow prince didn't see that.