“Eira!”, the prince smiled at the sight of his best friend. He wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace. “I’ve been waiting for you to show up. Have you seen the rest of the school yet?”
“Hey, stranger!”, Aziz smiles before giving the girl a hug. She was right and he felt bad about it, especially considering recent events. “So, tell me, what’s my faourite genie been doing lately? It’s been a bit crazy here lately,” he chuckles.
Aziz nodded, showing that he was beginning to understand her story. He felt grateful for the fact that the Genie stumbled upon Jini and adopted her-witch or not, she was a part of his family. On the same note, it was probably a good thing that the curse got lifted and that she knew the truth-as painful as it might have been. At the same time, a part of him wondered whether his parents had known about this all along well-or why Genie didn’t say anything earlier.
But truth be told, he was more concerned about Jini in all of this.
“So, uh, how are you handling all of this?” he asked in the end. “How did you take it?”
She opened her mouth to speak, but Aziz spoke first. After hearing his words, she groaned and couldn’t contain her voice anymore. “Oh my fuck! I’m not mad! I’m upset, and I’m sad because I feel like the person who I call my sister didn’t trust me enough with this kind of information.”
Rosemary focused her attention on Katie. “And if I know then my dad knows? Did you really think I would tell Dad about this? Katie, if you didn’t want him to know then I wouldn’t have said shit, and you should know that I can keep secrets.” She scoffed. “But apparently you didn’t.”
She turned to Aziz. “And I still question why you’re here on the girl’s side of the dorms at this time of night but whatever. I’m certainly someone who shouldn’t judge.” She shrugged and sighed.
The bird squirmed in her hands. “Now, I have to go and release this little guy outside before he flies away again, so I guess I’ll leave you guys to your conversation. Excuse me.” She walked past them, heading towards the roof. Along the way she took the note off of the pigeon’s foot. What the hell did her father write her this time? Probably something stupid.
Katie groaned in frustration, running one hand through her hair, “Rosie, wait-” but before she could say more, her sister had walked off. She’d have to get her in a few minutes, because she’d need someone who knew their way around Tortuga to help. Sure, it wouldn’t be the most enjoyable journey over, but Rosie would have her back in a fight.
Turning her own attention back towards Aziz, the pirate admitted, “Uh…thanks, for trying to defend me, al-Hamed. But Rosie will cool off when she’s ready and not a second before,” rubbing her temples, she added, “Luckily, that doesn’t mean she can’t sail. And if we are going to leave, we need to go now. You know anybody who won’t miss a yacht? We’ll need some leverage, and a distraction.”
Aziz watches Rosemary walk away, a bit amused despite the gravity of the situation. Rescuing Katie’s father with her was definitely going to be fun.
He turns to Katie, giving her a reasuring smile after she thanks him.
After her next words, he pauses a bit to consider their options. The Agrabanian royals didn’t have a ship docked there, as Aziz mostly rode to school on the magic carpet. But he did know someone who was so wealthy that she wouldn’t mind missing one yacht-Milan Tipton.
Aziz looked back at Katie, “That ship won’t be a problem. As for the leverage, I think I can talk to my cousin. We haven’t spoken in a while”, he frowns a bit at the understatement, “but I’m sure it’ll work out”. He hopes.
“Hey, stranger!”, Aziz smiles before giving the girl a hug. She was right and he felt bad about it, especially considering recent events. “So, tell me, what’s my faourite genie been doing lately? It’s been a bit crazy here lately,” he chuckles.
Aziz stands there, his mouth agape. “I’m sorry, did you say witch? And..adopted?”
“I’ll take that to mean you want the long story. Let’s sit down, it’s a bit much.” Jini leads him over to a nearby table outside, sitting with him, her hands shaking a bit as she considers what to say.
“You know how, all our lives I’ve always been like, probably one of the most easygoing people anyone could ever meet? Like how I never got angry or cried or– anything, really, that might be considered a ‘negative’ emotion?” It’s a weird jumping point but it’s the one that, to her, makes the most sense. “I was born to an evil witch. I guess evil enough for someone to punish her by casting what was apparently called a ‘goodness’ spell over me when I was in the womb. I wasn’t physically capable of showing anything someone might consider… dark.”
She shudders. “My birthmother wasn’t powerful enough to break the goodness spell over her baby. Instead, she put me under a sleeping curse, where I’d be trapped, unaging, undying, until the curse was broken. Her plan was, probably, to find a way to break the goodness curse, wake me, break it, and raise me.”
Aziz sits down, nodding at her rhetorical question. He’s always liked her positive attitude, thinking that it simply boiled down to a personality trait and nothing more. It was possible that he shoul’ve questioned it a bit more before, but now it was too late for that.
After she’s done, he looks down a bit, trying to take it all in.
“So, how did Genie find you? Did he manage to break your curse?”, he asks in the end, confused.
“Hey, stranger!”, Aziz smiles before giving the girl a hug. She was right and he felt bad about it, especially considering recent events. “So, tell me, what’s my faourite genie been doing lately? It’s been a bit crazy here lately,” he chuckles.
Jini sighs a bit. Guess she might as well jump right into it.
“My dad’s fine. You should ask more about your favorite witch, and it’s only getting crazier from here. Long story made incredibly short… turns out, I’m adopted.”
Aziz stands there, his mouth agape. “I’m sorry, did you say witch? And..adopted?”
