Captive

Cold water splashed on his face, and he woke up with bated breath.

Everything felt wrong.

The world was spinning in his head.

Javi opened his eyes, and he saw stars… literally. Small yet intensely bright miniature stars twinkling all around him. It should not be possible, yet it was.

"You are awake." A soft voice said.

He tried to whirl around, only to get up from the floor of wherever he was, only to find he couldn't.

He looked down, to see himself bound in pink ropes, which were so soft, almost like the muslin silk from his mother's homeland, that he hadn't felt it till now… What was astonishing was that despite its appearance and texture, the rope kept him immobilized.

Magic… he thought bitterly.

What had he got himself into?

Where was he?

The figure… the same woman he had seen before he fell unconscious, walked from behind him, and knelt beside him.

"Welcome, Javier Garcia."

How did she know his name?

Where was he?

He knew better than to open his mouth. It was obvious this creature, no matter how wondrous it looked, was a fey… Some of the most dangerous creatures in existence, and everyone knew better than to talk to one. The fey would offer to fulfill their wishes, except the moment they would speak, these vile creatures would twist their words, and make them regret wishing anything in the first place.

The creature laughed without a care in the world.

Her fingers tousled his hair, before cradling his face.

"Foolish human." She pinched his cheeks. "We don't need you to enunciate your wish in words, just think it, and your wish has already been granted."

What! No. That can't be true. He hadn't wished for anything since he got up, but wait… she had appeared before that. Just after he had stopped singing. What was going through his head that time? Nothing to attract the fey, definitely!

"Wrong." She smirked, as he pulled away from her touch. "Your wish was so powerful I didn't even need to touch you to hear your mind. You wished to sing forever… I intend on granting that. You will sing for eternity… in the court of King Rexigan."

Javi gulped.

He had heard that name before… from his mother. That creature was no fey… He was a djinn. The despotic djinn who ruled the Noor dimension… the reason his mother and many others fled from their motherlands to seek refuge in distant realms. Their kingdom was not connected to the Noor, then how…

"Fey…djinn… it is all the same, human." The woman told her airily. He realized she was still able to hear his thoughts. "Your mother's home Bharat is more tied to our dimension, true, but recent events have changed the circumstances. A witty jester has been able to outwit the king and forbid him from attacking that kingdom, and King Rexigan got bored and sent us, his knights to acquire some new pets to entertain him."

"I am no pet!" Javi snarled. "I demand to go home!"

"You humans think you are oh so powerful, but your survival depends on the mercy of your gods. And let me tell you a secret…" She bent so her lips touched his ears, and her hair covered his face. Javi felt his face heat up at the proximity… and he hoped it was from humiliation and anger, rather than anything else. "The Djinn answer to no god. The only entity we fear is our king. A human can demand nothing from our kind. You think we grant your wishes… Wrong. We play with you. We don't need you. You exist for nothing other than our amusement. Learn your place now, human… Lest you embarrass yourself in the king's court, and the king or his council will not be as kind as I am."

She stepped back from him, and he felt pure terror claim his heart.

He had just traded one prison for another.

Maybe here, he could sing… but he would still be deprived of his freedom.

No, this twisted irony cannot be his fate.

An idea hit him.

"Djinn, I wish to be back in my home!" He said firmly, trying his best to not show his uncertainty.

The djinn laughed.

"You think just by using the word 'wish', you can escape. Things are more complicated than that, silly." She laughed. "But you amuse me. I will grant you this wish."

Javi's eyes shot wide open.

What, why?

Who cared, another voice said inside his head. A lot of the things he had heard about the tricksters had turned out to be false, but if anything was constant in every story and folktale, it was the fact that these fey were so full of themselves, and their mind was like that of a child, unpredictable and restless.

"Your wish is granted." The djinn said, before laughing again, on seeing his hope fade.

"I am not home. You lied!" He shouted.

Anger flashed in the djinn's eyes, as she flicked her wrist, and Javi yelped as he felt his body hover in the air and rotated till he was facing her.

"The djinn never lies!" She snarled. "Don't you dare say that, especially in Rexigan's court, or they will be the last words you ever speak!"

Javi could only nod, before his body slammed to the glazed marble tiles. His body ached, as he gazed up at the woman, as she looked down at him.

"There is a reason I chose you to be my offering to the king. You have no home, Javier. You never did. A home is a place where you could truly be yourself, where your family accepts you… You never had that, or maybe you did, but did not appreciate them, and now you will never get the chance to do so again."

Tears ran down his eyes, as it hit him all at once.

He would never see Izzy or his mom or even his dad again.

He would never be able to talk with them or even argue with them again.

Maybe his father was right all along.

If it were not for his obsession with his songs, he would not be trapped.

He prayed to whatever God was listening to him, to save him.

But nothing happened.

No one came, except the djinn, who looked at him as if he were a circus animal.

And he looked back at her, he saw only the monster within, not the ethereal beauty he had borne witness to the first time he had gazed at her.

Sorry for the late update. Hope you liked this, and despite what it seems, Amelia is not a bad guy. More on that later, since Javi does not even know her name yet.

There are two easter eggs in here.

One, Rexigan is a villain who was mentioned once in Mystic Force.

Two, the Noor dimension is what the home of the djinn was called in the MCU.