Kalim was digging in the treasury for something when Jamil walked in.

"Kalim, we need to have a talk," said Jamil.

"About what?" he asked, waist deep in the gold piles.

"Why you've been avoiding me."

"I'm not... There you are!" crowed Kalim victoriously. In his hands was an ornate lamp, one that clearly needed cleaning. At least it didn't hold any oils or liquids inside, from the way Kalim was holding the handle.

Jamil eyed the lamp. He had been incredibly suspicious as to why there hadn't been any attempts to assassinate him...or Kalim, for that matter.

And the last time he had passed Kalim's room, he had smelled what was unmistakably blood, only to find there was nothing there. However there were scuff marks on the banister that lead to the window outside.

Kalim refused to rely on Jamil any more than he had to, and while Jamil was a little happy for the space, he was also very suspicious about the sudden independence from someone who had acted incredibly spoiled until this point.

Kalim reached for a cloth, only for Jamil to snatch the lamp from him.

"What are you hiding?" demanded Jamil.

Kalim had a worried look on his face, though why Jamil couldn't say.

"I'm not hiding anything!" he said, trying to reach for the lamp.

"Don't lie to me. I know you too well for that. You've been acting oddly since winter break. What happened after I was taken by Gryffin?" said Jamil, holding the lamp close to prevent Kalim from taking it.

"Nothing happened! I lead my father's trackers on a wild goose chase because I didn't want them to find you," said Kalim. He attempted once more to grab the lamp from Jamil, which annoyed the other boy immensely.

Actually, why was Kalim so concerned about the lamp? It didn't look very expensive, and it was baffling why such a tarnished thing was in the treasure hoard the Al Asim had left with their heir.

Jamil's eyes narrowed...and deliberately rubbed the lamp, as if to wipe off some of the dust.

Kalim winced.

"Now you've done it..."

Jamil gaped when he realized that the tattered lamp he had considered a tacky antique held an honest to Seven genie.

The immortal being cast a glance at Kalim, before looking at Jamil.

"What is your desire?" he asked. "You only get three wishes."

Jamil didn't have to think twice, especially since his bonds with the Al Asim were gone.

"I wish to meet the Sorcerer of the Sands in his prime," said Jamil without hesitation.

He idolized the man for good reason.

"So be it...good luck finding your way back with your paramour."

"My what?" said Jamil, utterly baffled, before things turned gold. He barely managed to retain hold of the lamp until the end.

In the desert sands...

"Ow...what did he mean my paramour? I don't have a lover..." said Jamil, getting up slowly.

That was when he noticed the extra.

"Geeze...that genie is always such a jerk when it comes to granting wishes! It's not my fault it took me ages to find where his lamp disappeared to!" complained Kalim.

"Kalim?!" said Jamil.

As Kalim slowly stood up and started to brush off the errant sand, Jamil noticed something. Kalim wasn't wearing a jacket, so part of his upper back was exposed.

And there was something there that shouldn't be, last he checked.

Jamil got up and walked up to Kalim, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

He yanked part of Kalim's shirt down to expose...an all too familiar gryffin tattoo. One he had gotten a very good look at once, and had all but memorized from the photo he had managed to take with his phone. It wasn't perfect, but it was still pretty hard to copy.

Kalim tried to pull back, but Jamil felt something brush up against his stomach. Before the other could respond, he reached in and pulled out...a familiar mask.

Disbelief filled his features. Jamil thought back on what little he knew of the man called Gryffin, and suddenly everything made sense.

A family that would disown him if they knew his preferences. Gryffin's ability to procure things that the Al Asim would make an outsider pay through the nose for. The 'strong spell' that created rain from almost nothing.

"Kalim...You're Gryffin?" said Jamil in disbelief.

Kalim seemed to debate to himself, before slumping for a moment.

"Yes."

"Why? Why did you go to all this trouble..."

"I love you," said Kalim. Three simple words, but he had been trying to say them for years now.

Jamil froze in shock.

"What?"

Kalim knew the cat was well and truly out of the bag, so he might as well go for broke.

"I don't know when, but at some point I realized I cared for you as more than just a friend. But I knew my family would never allow it...my father is homophobic and my mother would be angry over me falling for someone of a much lower rank than myself," said Kalim with bitterness. "And then I found out about the Sacrifice...it nearly broke me, seeing you like that every time an attack happened. I dove into curse breaking, trying to save you...except eventually your body couldn't take it anymore."

Jamil was not an idiot.

"That lamp. You found it before."

It wasn't a guess.

"I dug into every folklore I could trying to find a way to bring you back. Not by resurrecting the dead, because that never ends well and I had no guarantee that you would be free if I did. But time travel was another story entirely," said Kalim. "I kept digging through the treasury, because I was forbidden from leaving the palace after your death...it was clear I would never put the Al Asim first, but I was a figurehead that the various factions could manipulate without having to put in any real work ruling over the family."

Kalim let out a bitter laugh.

"I was a broken man, and everyone knew it. And then...I found it. The lamp."

There was a strange resolve that Jamil was not used to in Kalim's eyes. A sort of madness that said he would gladly jump into the worst depths of hell to fulfill his greatest desire.

"I made a wish for a specific power. One that would allow me to travel wherever I wished, whenever I wished, without having to worry about being trapped in a cage ever again. Then...I wished for the genie to send me back to an age where I could change things," said Kalim. "I woke up in my five year old body with all the knowledge I had gained as a cursebreaker and what was to come."

"Why? Why did you go to so much trouble? Couldn't you just ask the genie to remove the Sacrifice from me?"

"Removing the Sacrifice wouldn't help," said Kalim. "The Al Asim knew who the next one is within a month of their birth and keep close track. If it never awakened in them, they would immediately suspect something. They can't afford to have the vessel for the curses to be broken."

"You did all this...created an entire kingdom and a false identity...because you're in love with me?" said Jamil. He couldn't imagine the sheer amount of money, resources and effort Kalim had gone to.

It staggered the mind, especially since Jamil could remember vividly all the headaches Kalim had given him over the years.

"The genie likely tossed us here because he was tired of me dancing around the issue. I know Seti has been telling me to get on with it and tell you how I felt," said Kalim.

Well that certainly explained the paramour comment.

Seeing a city in the distance, Jamil was fully prepared to start walking.

Kalim put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

"What?"

"Want to find out why I took the name Gryffin? It had nothing to do with the marking on my back."

"Sure," said Jamil. It might give him a chance to digest everything he learned.

His eyes widened at the sight of magnificent white feathers filling the air. Great wings spread from Kalim's back, before wrapping around him. When they spread again, in his place was a massive white gryffin with familiar red eyes.

He crooned, before nuzzling Jamil.

Jamil was in disbelief, but took the hint when the gryffin kneeled enough for him to get on.

It was odd, riding the creature that was once his master. Kalim seemed to sense he needed time to think. Honestly, Kalim needed time to sort through his own thoughts.

The moment they entered the city, Kalim drew upon his magic to create cloaks.

"What are these for?"

"You wished to meet the Sorcerer of the Sands in his prime, yes?" said Kalim.

"What about it?" asked Jamil.

"Did you really forget the other part of his history?" said Kalim pointedly.

Jamil blinked.

"The Sorcerer was at his greatest during the time period the Sultan was trying to marry off his daughter," Kalim reminded him. "The same daughter that later married a street rat."

"Wait...the one celebrated during..." said Jamil, eyes wide.

"I'd rather explore the city before we get mistaken as suitors," said Kalim, laughing.

"...Wasn't she the princess who had a pet tiger that she set upon people?" asked Jamil.

"Yup," said Kalim.

"Right, let's go exploring. That said, how are we paying for anything?"

Jamil found himself with a hefty bag of coins. He looked at Kalim.

"What? No one's bothered to do any auditing of the treasury the Al Asim dumped on us in the storage room for months. I've been quietly swapping out the coin in there with barely noticeable fakes for a while now."

"And this?"

"Real coin," said Kalim without hesitation. "I haven't had a chance to dump this into the Oasis cleansing room yet."

As the two wandered the city, Jamil had to admit, he liked this side of Kalim.

The happy go lucky personality was still there, but it was subdued under a more...mature...mindset. He could see the great leader that had the city of Oasis so enamored with him. Why Seti spoke of Gryffin with such respect.

Jamil was quite annoyed when Kalim managed to disappear without warning.

Even with a more mature mindset, Kalim was still the same.

In a nondescript alley...

Kalim bit back a laugh at the young man who managed to slip past several guards...most of whom landed into a pile of manure. Not exactly the most pleasant of landings, but at least they would live.

He had to smile seeing the teen hand several urchins the loaf of bread the guards were so determined to retrieve.

"That was very kind of you," said Kalim.

The teen jumped, and the monkey gave him a suspicious look.

Kalim took out some of the apples he had bought earlier, and tossed them to the boy and his pet.

"Thank you?" he said confused.

"Not many would give up their hard acquired meal to people they barely knew...much less hungry children."

The monkey had no issue, and was already eagerly biting into the apple. Kalim gave the teen his sack.

"Why are you giving me this?"

"Call it a thank you for the amusing show you gave me with the guards," he replied. "I would give you coin, but that wouldn't exactly fill a hungry belly and people are likely to be dubious of it's origin."

The boy gave him a grateful look, and the monkey scurried onto his shoulder. However he would remember the odd stranger with the warm garnet red eyes.

"Kalim, you shouldn't run off like that!" scolded Jamil. "Where are the apples I saw you buy earlier?"

"I gave them to someone who needed them more," said Kalim.

Which was in line with Kalim's kind nature.

"Honestly, I can't leave you alone for five minutes," said Jamil. He crinkled his nose. "Why does it smell like fresh manure?"

Kalim hooked a thumb behind and to the right of him.

"A couple of guards fell into a pile chasing the kid I gave the apples to," he replied.

Jamil wasn't going to ask, he was too used to Kalim's antics.

"So how are we going to meet one of the Seven?" asked Jamil.

"You make it sound like it's hard," said Kalim.

"You have a plan."

"It's easy enough. We just make it out like I'm a possible suitor," said Kalim.

Jamil stared at him.

"When the Sultan asks, we're really here on a vacation after slipping away from my parents, and we heard Agrabah is a rare jewel in the desert," said Kalim. "I certainly have no interest in that idiot princess."

Jamil raised an eyebrow at him, as he didn't need to say anything.

Kalim raised an eyebrow of his own.

"She set a tiger, a known man-eating beast, on her suitors because she didn't want to be married off. I might have played the oblivious idiot, but even I wasn't that bad."

"...Point," conceded Jamil.

Kalim was oblivious, not malicious. He never would have set a tiger on important visitors so casually. The idea of having a man-eating beast attack people went against Kalim's personality.

"Plus imagine all the effort Jafar likely went to bring those people here, before modern transport or even magic was used... It's amazing Agrabah still had allies at all considering how many people she pissed off with that stunt," said Kalim.

"True," said Jamil. "Your antics were ridiculous, but not that bad."

As Kalim predicted, getting into the palace was ridiculously easy. He gave off the air of a rich kid, which was exactly the type of person the Sultan was trying to marry his daughter off to.