treavellergirl - Oh, I really advise you to read it! It's an awesome story and very original too. It's based on the story of Aladin and Alibaba. As for the compliment; thank you!

Masrur's age: 7 years old

May's age: 6 years old

Morgianas age: 1 year old

Pride of the Fanalis Clan

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By Angelbloodlover

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~ One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood.

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Lucius Annaeus Seneca

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Chapter 4: New Friendships

According to father another year had passed, I was now six years old. Instead of being happy, I was scared shitless and more prone to have panic attack, always on high alert.

I knew I was worrying my parents, and most of my clan member, but I couldn't help it. I was afraid of the future. I was so damn afraid and there was no one I could tell this secret to. It was killing me that I had no one who I could talk to, confide my secrets with. The stress was gnawing at my brains and lately I had pesky nightmares and bags were visible underneath my eyes.

Sometimes I hated to be born with so much responsibility, but then I felt guilty thinking like that and upped my training further. Training was my only solution-I would work myself until I dropped and afterwards father would come and take me back to the camp. They had questioned me numerous times as to why I was doing that to my body, but I couldn't tell them. I couldn't tell them the fucking truth!

"Ma! Ma!" came a loud, demanding shriek.

I turned around and saw my mother, accompanied by Morgiana who was demanding my attention. Every time I saw her cute, face I would be reminded of the harshness that would be bestowed upon her. I didn't want her to have such a childhood where she would be tortured by Jamil, I couldn't have that. She was the one person that would melt all my troubles away, she was the person that I loved with my entire being.

...and sometimes I was jealous of her carefree life. Here I was, fighting for the future of Fanalis while my sister, and all the others were living without any looming trouble. No one knew what would happen, only I. And that part right there was all I could think of. I couldn't even stop and enjoy the moment, always training and training and more training.

I hated this...

But I couldn't do anything about it, only train and hope for the best.

..just please, help me. Anyone.

"May-chan, how are you doing?" Mother asked me gently, her calloused fingers stroking my hair.

I became a puddle of goo as mother gently stroked my hair-this was also something that I was incredibly proud of. The color of my hair, a beautiful red, long and usually braided, was something that I fell in love with. Even mother liked my hair, even though we had the same-looking hair. Everyone had red hair, but we all tried to fix our hair into different models.

Differences were nice, differences distinguished you from others, differences made you for you are.

I hummed quietly, "Good."

"Ma! Ma!" Morgiana quipped up, her chubby fingers grabbing a hold of my red strands.

I hissed in pain when she tugged very hard, "Mor-chan, let go!" She didn't budge and screamed in delight, continuing her tugging and pulling. Even when Mira tried to pry her hands away, she didn't budge, "Ow! Morgiana, let go!"

"Mor-chan, be a darling and let go of your sister's hair."

No help at all. For a little brat Morgiana had a strong grip. I whimpered when she pulled harder and grabbed her hand, prying her fingers off. I really loved Morgiana but there were times when I wanted to throttle her.

...like right now.

"May-chan! Don't hurt your little sister!" Mira chided, hand on her hip.

I mumbled in annoyance, shooting my sister a nasty glare as she squealed in happiness, a tuft of red hair in her hand.

"Stupid sister, pulling my hair out of my scalp." I panted as I kicked and punched.

Ever since I had remembered Morgiana train her strength by wrapping rocks around her arms and legs, I started doing the same, getting a few curious glances. Flipping forward, I rammed the heel of my feet against the ground, enjoying the way it shattered. This herculean strength was something that still amazed me. And the power that coursed through my veins- it was something that always left me wondering.

And it really was paying off, all these harsh training, strengthening my body. If I compared myself to last year, I had risen much more than I had expected. I remembered as if it was yesterday when I had returned from our three-month trip. When mother had seen us, she started crying and thanking Solomon repeatedly. I had never seen her like that and it made me guilty. I didn't want her to cry like that, she was much prettier when she smiled, which I told her, "Crying doesn't suit you, mother. Smile."

This in turn made her giggle loudly as she kissed every spot she could reach. Then, she moved to father, pressing her lips greedily on his, snaking her arms around his neck. Father hadn't hesitated and returned the kiss as hungrily as her. To be honest, I hadn't felt ashamed of that act, if two people loved each other than why should they hide it?

The clan had been mad, anger pulsing through their veins when they heard what had happened to us. But father reassured them that May had taken care of them, which had surprised the bulky men from our clan. And when I had explained the working of the magical weapons, they had been stunned. I didn't blame them, if I would hear a story where a five-year old girl would slaughter six men four times her size I would be baffled to.

Of course, since I had defeated those men, their properties belonged to me. But I had given the other five lightning weapons to our leader and shaman, Marus, who in turn divided it between the strongest Fanalis warrior, who had enough Magoi to use it. Magoi was something that we didn't have much, and we had to tread carefully with it, which meant that it should be used when the threat was too big. Then there was Marus- he had been shocked to find out that I wanted to train in the art of magic. Even till now, I didn't know how to use my Rukh effectively, I didn't have proper guidance, and there was a huge comparison between reading it in the manga and trying to do it in real life. It had frustrated me to no end and left me feeling utterly useless, so I had sought out someone who could train me. For once, I was lucky, because in our tribe there was only one person who could use Magoi without dropping like a fly. His Magoi was incredibly high for a Fanalis and it always left me mesmerized when he mumbled out a spell, playing with the elements as if it was child's play.

He had read me many stories about King Solomon and how life resolved around Rukh. To his amazement, I had grasped an understanding about the flow of Rukh. I couldn't tell him that I had read all these information through a source of entertainment, or more precisely the manga called 'Magi'. But unfortunately, I couldn't order my Rukh to do any magic. Neither shaman Marus, nor my parents knew the cause of it.

I had been very sad about this since I had wanted to become a magician where I could heal any injuries. That was all I wanted-I didn't want power, I didn't want flashy techniques, only the power to heal.

...but it seemed that I wouldn't be able to achieve that dream of mine.

Of course, I didn't let it drag me down, instead I would use to learn another skill, more precisely; the art of swordplay. I only needed to find a master-father and mother didn't have very good sword skills, so I was left finding another teacher. Till, now no older Fanalis was interested in teaching me.

"Huh?" I turned around, smelling a person behind me, "Marus-sensei?"

The old man whose hair had become white smiled gently, "How about I teach you something that would help you in your quest to heal others?"

I ran towards Marus' place, a bowl of freshly picked herbs in my bag, "I'm coming, Marus-sensei!"

He could be a very scary whenever I would arrive a second too late. One week had passed and I was being referred to as Marus' disciple. I had to admit though, Marus was very good with healing salves and potions. But the ingredients used to create them, ...not so much. Many disgusting things, such as the eyeball of the black saber-tooth tiger, the venom from the yellow snake, the heart of a lion and more. Surprisingly though, when he combined those ingredients, they would work effectively.

"Where have you been?!" He screamed in annoyance, staff aimed at my head but I dodged it. Before he would try to hit me again, I placed the bag in front of him, smiling widely. "Oh?" Anger forgotten, he opened the bag and took out the ingredients he had asked me to bring.

Heart of the lion.

Juniper berries.

...and the wings of a vulture.

The vulture had been a pain in the ass to get since they would fly off the moment I neared them. It was only through luck that I managed to snatch one of them from the air. Long live the Fanalis skill to jump very high in the air.

"Good, very good. This may be it. I can feel it in my bones."

I ignored his murmuring and watched as he combined them ingredients together. For a leader, he was a very weird one. Well, the Fanalis didn't really have a leader, but everyone saw Marus as a sort-of leader since he was the oldest and wisest among them. They all respected him and often came to him when they had a problem.

When he was finished, he retrieved a vial from his chest and filled it up, "This will cure Malik from that pesky disease he seemed to have." He turned around and handed me the medicine, "Now, you know where Malik lives, right?"

I tried to think of a Malik and remembered that he had a son around my age. Nodding quickly before he would explode from anger, I took the said object, "I'll find it, Marus-sensei!" and left off.

I ran, enjoying the calm breeze and the tingling caress from the sun. In our tribe many Fanalis admired the God of the Sun, the Phoenix. It was also the Dark Continent's emblem, where many of our clothing was decorated with that same emblem. The symbol behind it was very easy; a phoenix obtained a new life by arising from the ashes of its predecessor. In the case of our tribe, it meant that new life would be given through another.

Birth.

The meaning behind it was really beautiful and ever since then I had fallen in love with the tales about the rise of the Phoenix. And to my joyful shock, I had noticed that the necklace mother had given me had the symbol of the Phoenix engraved on it.

Avoiding running children, I continued. It's been a year since Malik had fallen to an unknown disease and Marus was trying everything in his strength to find a cure for it. But no matter which medicine he was using, no recovery had been noticed. I was very saddened about this because Malik had a wife and a son and there would be no way that we would let him go. Marus and I were doing our best to find a cure for him; while I fetched every ingredient he needed, he created the potion, sometimes letting me do it, but for now he had taught the working and effect of every herb. So, it would be a long time before I would be called an official healer (without magic).

And to top it all off, mother had been adamant that I should learn how to read and write. While I had refused to become literate, mother had pointed out the many advantages one would have if they could read. Normally, she would have taught me soon, but because I had been engrossed with my training, she had postponed. But now, she wouldn't postpone anything, hell, she had even threatened me that father wouldn't train me in the art of martial arts until I would accept her tutelage.

Now, while the Fanalis tribe had great physical strength, most of them were illiterate, not being able to read nor write. But they had never needed it to survive, which had made me question mother as to how she was able to read and write since most couldn't. She had told me that her grandfather had taught her the art of reading and writing. At first I had thought that the Fanalis didn't have any books, but how wrong I was. It may not have been a giant library, but it was good enough to teach five to ten children with. Surprisingly, some of the Fanalis opted to learn to read and write.

...and to my increasing surprise the language that I was being taught was the language of Torran. If I remembered correctly that language was the language written in the Dungeons. Of course, next to the ancient language, mother had taught me the current language of the world.

Even now it still baffled me that the Fanalis would want to read and write, but since most human would like to know as much of the world as possible, including the ability to read and write, it doesn't shock me that much now. In fact, I was even glad that mother had forced me to learn these languages since I would gain many advantages of it. The only drawback would be that I had less time to increase my martial arts.

My training program consisted of martial arts with father, herbology with Marus and literary with mother. I still haven't found anyone who could teach me how to use a sword effectively, which sucked, since I would want to be able to defend myself if I would face another sword-user.

Pretty much the entire people who I had read in the manga used a sword; Alibaba, Sinbad, Sharrkan, ...

I seriously needed to find someone who could help me out with this dilemma.

Finally after getting lost two times, I had found Malik's house. I stopped running and walked leisurely towards the house, enjoying the bright sun above me and the calm breeze that played with my waist-length braid.

I almost bumped into a person, stopping right on time but the boy didn't see me. With my honed reflexes, I kept him steady, grimacing when I noticed his worried eyes. "Is everything alright?"

He blinked his eyes and looked at me, understanding written inside his red orbs, "Y-yes." He stuttered and gently pried my fingers off him.

Raising my eye brows, I tilted my head to the side, "Are you sure?"

He nodded and walked away, his back rigid. What was up with that? Shrugging, I continued on, furrowing my eye brows when the boy was walking towards the same direction. As if he had read my mind, he turned around, and stopped, "Can I help you?"

I took the vial out and shaking it, I smiled brightly, "I'm going to Malik-san's house."

His eyes widened as saucers and before I knew it, he appeared in front of me, "I'm his son, Masrur."

I swear to God when I heard that name, I almost dropped the vial. Thankfully, I didn't do something stupid like that. Examining the Sinbad's future adviser, I ignored the slight blush that covered his cheeks. "Nice to meet you, Masrur-kun, I'm May." I inclined my head in respect and smiled widely, enjoying the way his cheeks colored cutely.

He sure seemed different from his older persona. Here he was more sociable than his future self. Masrur returned the gesture and led me towards his house where I could hear loud coughing. I suppressed wincing as the coughing seemed to become worse. From the corner of my eye I noticed Masrur's clenched fists. I kept quiet, not knowing what to say. When he held the flap of the tent open for me, I walked in, thanking him quietly. Inside, I grimaced when I saw the state Malik was in.

"Malik-san, I have Marus-sensei's medicine for you."

His tired eyes locked with mine and I tried my best not to flinch under that stare. It made me feel so cold to the point that it scared me. Diverting my attention from him, I looked at Masrur, smiling weakly, "Masrur-kun, can you bring me a bowl of water?"

He nodded at my command and disappeared.

I didn't show any unease and walked towards him with professional care. This was no time to become a petty child, I hadn't been a child for over seventeen years. Cradling the vial close to me for fear of shattering it, I walked towards him. At that time Masrur appeared with the bowl of water. His wide eyes were filled with hope as he asked me the question that every healer dreaded to hear, "Will he be cured with this?"

Coughing slightly, I smiled reassuringly towards him, "Let's hope for the best, Masrur-kun."

He frowned but didn't say anything-this wasn't the question he wanted to hear. Taking the bowl from him I poured the vial in it, watching it dissolve within the water. Once the two liquids mixed up perfectly, I brought it to Malik. "Here, this will cool down that fever of yours."

Gratefully, he accepted it and drunk it all in one swig. I waited until there was no drop left and giggled quietly when he scrunched his face at the disgusting taste that accompanied it. "This is awful," was his disgruntled reply.

Masrur chuckled and took the bowl from his father, leaving the two of us. When he had disappeared, Malik's face darkened, "Tell me, will this heal me or not?"

I looked at the place where Masrur had headed of. Taking a deep breath, I replied as truthfully as possible, "Malik-san, Marus-sensei and I are doing our best to find a cure, but it's not easy."

He didn't respond, instead he watched me. Finally, he nodded, "That's all I ask for."

A sigh of relief escaped my lips, "Thank you."

By the time Masrur returned, I had left the tent since Marus would expect me to return as soon as possible.

"Wait!"

Frowning, I turned around, wondering what he would want from me. "Masrur-kun?"

He smiled softly, "How about we become friends, May-chan?"

I jerked my head back, wondering if this was the same Masrur from the future. It seemed that the harsh reality hadn't ruined his friendly persona. Slowly, I accepted his hand and wondered how much my presence would change this world.