Make a Wish

The young princess sits on a couch in her bedroom beside her window, looking out at her kingdom that sits just behind the castle walls. Beyond them is the vast desert that swallows up everything around it. The hills in the distance spit out the massive ball of fire that grants light to the world.

The more she stares outside, the more she feels as though she is just a bird in a cage, the sky right in front of her but trapped behind bars that she cannot break through. It weighs down on her as she can hear her mother and father’s voices outside of her room. They speak to Ahish, trying to stall him. But she just can’t go out there. Her gut stirs every time she falls victim to his stare. His eyes always hold a deeper message. She feels so unsafe. If she allies with Saraia, then her kingdom could be decimated. They would have all of the power. Her kingdom is not as powerful as they are.

Footsteps move along the outside of the young princess’ door, forcing her to snap out of her long, pondering thoughts. Her mother enters the room, eyes set on her in a deeply concerned manner. She slowly breathes in as she musters up the right words that can convince her beloved daughter to face her fears. “_____, we’ve been stalling for too long. You need to get dressed and go out there and speak to him.”

With a deep frown, the young princess crosses her arms, unwilling to move from her seat. “Mother, I cannot.” Her eyes drift away and set onto her lap. She just can’t bring herself to go anywhere near that man.

Her mother releases a long sigh as she says her daughter’s name again. “You must. This marriage will save us all. These are dark times.”

Hearing this, the young princess continues to persist. “You still refuse to tell me why this marriage must be arranged.”

“His son needs a wife and an heir to the throne. You were chosen to fulfill that role. That is just the way life is for a Princess. You must fulfill your duty to your kingdom.”

Such words are anything but reassuring to the young princess. She was expecting this answer, but hearing it aloud makes her feel much worse. “You really think this is the best way? Selling me away to those selfish, power-hungry people?”

Her mother clutches her own chest tightly as she is forced to explain the world’s harsh expectations of her own daughter. “We have little choice when it comes to marriage. It took me years to learn to love your father. When you were born, our teamwork to raise you is what brought us together. It wasn’t until you were 5 years old when I began kissing him goodbye everytime he went off to work.”

It gravely pained the young princess to hear such a thing about her own parents. And now she must suffer the same fate. It made her sick to her stomach. Such a fool, she thought of herself. She always believed in true love but it was an obvious mistake.

The queen speaks again, forcing her daughter out of another deep, pondering, trance. “Look, I know you don’t want your father coming in here.” Hearing this agitates her daughter, and she knows all too well why. “I know he’ll just make it worse. He’s a fool.” Her daughter does not respond to this, forcing her to plead. “Please, just get yourself together and come out and talk. Please.”

The young princess watches silently as her mother leaves her alone in her room once again. But before she can fall into another long, brooding trance, purple light begins to flash before her eyes, engulfing the room. A soft chime bounces off of the walls, causing her eardrums to tingle. As the light fades, the mysterious young man with purple eyes appears before her.

“Zassul?” The young princess responds in shock to his sudden appearance. “What are you doing here?”

“I sensed your distress so I wanted to see what was wrong.” He watches as the shock from the young princess’ face shifts to a distraught state. Her eyes fall onto her lap and she goes silent. Zassul can’t help but tilt his head in concern as he looks down at her. “What’s wrong?”

With a deep breath, the young princess forces a smile on her face as she looks up at him. “It’s nothing. I’m fine.” She knows this is hardly convincing as she sees Zassul cross his arms. “Really, I’m okay.” She desperately tries to reassure him, but it seems he can see right through her.

“You don’t have to lie to me. I know you’re having marital issues.” The young princess leans back in her chair, feeling uncomfortable at the realisation that Zassul has been spying on her. He sees this and only smiles. “That necklace connects me to you.”

She looks down and grasps its delicate, purple and silver features. “You know, I think I already knew that.” She begins to remember the feeling she got when it first appeared around her neck. She could feel this man’s presence lingering at every step, and it was still there even to this morning. She relaxes to this thought and looks back up at him. “It has such a strong force radiating from it. I can feel your energy coming from it as well.”

Zassul seems to beam as she says this. “You really are a remarkable human being.”

The young princess shrugs off the heat that begins to engulf her cheeks. “That’s such a strange thing to say. It’s so obvious. Can’t you feel it?”

He nods in response. “Of course I can.”

“So, what is it for?” The young princess takes the chance to try and ask him once again about what he is. Perhaps if she does not directly ask him, he may reveal something to her that could give her some sort of clue.

“You saved me from a seal so now I owe you. That necklace binds me to you.”

“What seal?”

“Somehow you were able to enter my temple. When a gifted maiden steps foot in that temple, the seal is penetrated.”

“But I’m not gifted.”

“You found your way to the temple and were able to enter without a problem.”

“But I just walked in there. I think I would know if I penetrated something.” Zassul chuckles at her response which leaves her even more confused. “What?”

He only shakes his head. “Nothing.”

Growing impatient, the young princess begins to dig deeper into the conversation, desperate to get an actual answer about what this mysterious man is. “So, all this magic. Will you tell me what you are?”

“No.” Zassul answers plainly without any other explanation.

The young princess grows frustrated once again. “Why not? If I freed you from a seal then you owe me.”

He remains neutral and unmoved by the young princess’ persistence. However, she does make a good point to him, so he decides to appease her. “Well yes, I suppose you are right. But can you handle the truth?”

She tenses up at his ominous tone. Staring into his purple eyes, she notices that they hold a luminescent glow to them. She begins to realise that she can’t form any more words to speak. But before she can resist her tense state, her father’s voice cuts through her bedroom.

“_____! I want you out here, now!!”

His yelling seems to shake her back into reality. A soft sigh escapes her as she looks back at Zassul who remains in his neutral state. “I…have to go.” She speaks in a quiet, unsure tone. He can tell how badly she doesn’t want to leave her room. But for now, he knows there is nothing he can do.

“I’ll be here.” He tells her. Within seconds, purple light takes over the room once more, his body disappearing within it.

The young princess’ hands curl up into fists as she is left alone again. Now she must go out there. If she doesn’t, her father will come to her instead.

She steps out into the hall just outside of her room. All is silent but she can sense the tension that cuts through the air like a knife. Her footsteps are like earthquakes as she walks to one of the lounge rooms on the same floor as her quarters. As she steps in, all she can see is her mother and father. She relaxes to the thought of not seeing Ahish, but her father’s sharp, furious gaze tells her that her absence is the reason why he is not in the same room.

The young princess’ father angrily approaches her. “Ahish has left! He got sick of waiting for you! This marriage needs to happen in order to keep the peace!”

The young princess becomes too overwhelmed by the sudden outburst. “Stop yelling at me!” She demands. “I have a right to be upset!”

Unwilling to listen, her father continues to yell. In his mind, all he sees is his selfish, stubborn daughter who is refusing to do as she is told. “You must marry into this family! This can’t be all about you! You have a duty to uphold!”

The young princess begins to feel defeated. “Do you even care about my feelings at all!?”

“You can’t walk away from this!” Unwilling to hear anymore, the young princess turns on her heel and exits the room. Her father rolls his eyes in disappointment and looks back to his wife. “Malika, do something about your daughter!”

She crosses her arms and glares at her husband. “What do you expect me to do? I’ve already spoken with her. Arguing with her will make it worse. Try seeing her side in this instead of being so damn impulsive.”

Ahish falls silent. He stares off into the empty hall his daughter disappeared into,slowly becoming engulfed in his thoughts. While he does so, further down the hall is the young princess who walks slowly in silence. Her mind wanders as her father’s does. She knows deep down that he does love her and wants what is best for her, but he can’t express it the way that her mother can. It’s his job to bear the burdens of the kingdom as well. Despite everywhere he looked for another option, there just wasn’t one.

“Trouble?” A shrewd voice crawls along the walls of the hall like a filthy bug making its way out from the shadows.

The young princess looks up with a scowl to see Ahish standing before her. “Is there something that you need, Your Majesty? I thought you went home.”

“I’ll leave in due time. I do need to make something clear. You cannot find a way out of this marriage. You have a duty to uphold. You will give yourself to my son.”

His words make the young princess’ blood boil. She just cannot believe the audacity of this man. He speaks far out of turn when he is walking in territory that is not his own. A soft ringing remenates in her ears as they grow hot from the heat of her anger. Distracted for just a second, she brings her attention to her surroundings.

“Is there a problem here?” Zassul asks her from the unknown. She glances down at her amulet, knowing that he is watching her every move.

“Have something to say, Love?” Ahish continues to push past the line.

The young princess raises her hand and points it furiously at him. “Do NOT call me love! You can go right to hell!” She knows she also crossed her own line saying this, breaking character and disrupting her role as the princess. However, under the circumstances, she can’t be bothered by the overly prestigious rules. But she knows by the look on Ahish’s face that he won’t let it slide.

He grits his teeth as he speaks to her. “Why you insolent wench!” His hand flashes before her eyes for a second before her entire surroundings are engulfed in purple light. He shrieks from the sound of something hitting him, but the young princess cannot see what. As the light fades, he lies on the floor, unconscious.

“Zassul!” She places a hand over her mouth in shock. “What did you do!?”

He speaks casually in the air, his location still unknown. “I knocked him out. Did he hurt you?”

With a soft sigh, the young princess replies. “No, he missed. But why did you do that? How can I explain this!?” Thoughts begin to overcome her mind as she tries to think of an excuse. But seeing what is before her, she’s the only one in the room and Ahish is unconscious by her feet. She runs stressed fingers along her forehead as she continues to stare down at him.

Zassul speaks up again. “Leave him. You don’t want to get caught standing here with him knocked out on the floor.”

Her legs move without thought. She locates the nearest door and rushes out of the room. The hot sun slams against her skin, followed by a brusk gust of wind that throws her hair in her face. From her panicked breathing, she receives an unpleasant mouthful of it. A purple light flashes before her eyes and Zassul appears behind her.

Taking a deep breath, she faces him and tries to collect her thoughts. “Zassul…” She starts. “I appreciate you trying to protect me, but you shouldn’t have done that.”

Zassul’s crystal purple eyes roll backward as he looks away irritably. “He deserved it.”

“I do not disagree. However, you created a bigger problem.”

His orbs set back unto her and he observes her troubled state. “Making you upset was not my intention, Your Highness.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t. But I wish you hadn’t have done that. Now I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

A soft sigh escapes from the supposedly young man’s lips. “Your desire to cover this up is beyond my comprehension. But if it will please you, then I shall do it.” He raises his hand. As he does, purple mist begins to flow around it. As he snaps his fingers, purple sparks shoot out of them, disappearing into mist.

The young princess stares at him in shock. “Wh-what did you just do?”

“Ahish will wake up with no recollection of this incident. He will return to his kingdom like he said he would.”

The young princess shakes her head, still in disbelief by what she just saw and what he just told her. Having the ability to teleport was already suspicious, but now she worries about what she is standing before if he can alter memories like this. “But how? What did you do? Zassul, what are you!?”

He remains neutral from her sudden bombardment of questions. He answers her calmly. “If you do not freak out, then I will tell you.”

“That’s not a very reassuring thought.” She says timidly. She begins to feel vulnerable as he stares down at her with his purple eyes. He doesn’t utter another word, but instead, waits for her to give him an answer. She takes a deep breath before giving it to him. “Alright, I will make the promise. I won’t freak out.” She almost regrets her decision as she watches his lips curve into a mischievous smile. His eyes seem to glow as he raises his hand again.

All she hears is the snap of his fingers before everything around her fades into purple. The balcony she once stood on seems to disappear under her feet. It’s replaced with a softer surface. The sun is cut off and replaced with a purple curtain that covers the golden roof over her head. The purple and gold walls around her seem to bend in a way that turns the room into a bottle. Fancy furniture take up the small room, a couch curving around each side of the wall.

“Where are we?” She asks. Before Zassul can even give her an answer, the realisation strikes her. “You’re a djinn!” She backs away from him in terror. “How could I have not seen it before!? This is your bottle!”

“Calm down, _____.” He tells her with an eyeroll.

Too frightened, she continues her rant. “This means this isn’t your true form!” She aggressively points a finger at him. “Whose body are you possessing!?”

“This is my human form.”

She slowly shakes her head at him. “This is insane…”

He crosses his arms as he is forced to explain himself. “I possess magical powers. I don’t understand why this is so shocking to you.”

“Well, I wasn’t expecting you to be a djinn! I was thinking you were a fairy or something!”

His left brow curves upward in annoyance. “Do I look like a damn fairy?”

The young princess’ face grows hot and she looks away from him. “Well…no…but…”

“No one would want to imprison one of those kinds of creatures in a seal.”

Hearing this, the young princess begins to worry even more. “What did you do to get imprisoned?”

“After your reaction to my true form, I’m not telling you.”

She begins to grow even more uncomfortable from his words. There are nothing but horror stories about these kinds of creatures and she can only imagine what horrible deeds he has done in his lifetime.

Zassul’s smile suddenly returns. “Look, I told you already that I’m not going to hurt you.”

“That is NOT assuring at all! I’m not even worried about that!” The young princess yells at him inside of his bottle, her voice bouncing off of the walls and erupting in the confined area they are in. “I’m more upset because I couldn’t sense the full extent of your chakra! I should have known before!”

Zassul shrugs. “Well, I was concealing it. I didn’t want to frighten you.”

Her anger subsides as a more pressing issue falls back unto her. She still has to face her future that is being forcibly thrown at her. Being in this djinn’s favour, she could just wish away all of her problems. But when it comes to these creatures, a price must be paid for it and she’s not willing to take such a risk. The only real way out of this is to end the life of Ahish and his son, and she cannot take part in such a heinous act. Allah would never let something like that go.

“Look…” She starts exhaustedly. “I should be getting back.”

Zassul abides by her wishes. Purple engulfs her surroundings as he sends her back to her castle.

Returning back inside of her confined walls, the young princess slowly makes her way to the main hall where her parents wait for her.

Instead of her father yelling at her once more, her mother speaks up. “This cannot go on any further. The decision must be made.”

Her father sighs and begins speaking to his daughter with a calm voice. “Ahish has returned to his kingdom. His patience is running thin. This cannot be delayed any further. A car will be sent for you tomorrow. You must go.”

The young princess leans back from the sudden decision. She knows it’s futile but she begins her protest. “That is far too soon! How can I prepare myself in such short notice!?”

“We don’t have a choice!” Her father’s voice raises for a second before he releases a defeated sigh. His brows curve upward in a distraught way. “He’s pushing for this marriage. It’s out of our hands.”

The young princess falls silent, not knowing what else to say. She turns around and returns to her room. She nearly stumbles as she sits down on her bed and stares down at her feet.

Purple flashes before her eyes and Zassul appears in front of her.

“Yes?” She asks him quietly, not even looking up at him.

“There must be something I can do.” He stares down at her, trying to understand this strange feeling of sadness she is going through.

“You can’t help me again. I can’t just abandon my kingdom. If I walk out of this marriage then Ahish will start a war. That’s the kind of person he is.”

“You just need to change your fate.”

“How do I do that?”

“Eliminate the problem.”

The young princess catches onto what he means quickly and glares up at him. “No, Zassul! You can’t solve everything with violence!” She looks away from him and drops her head into her hands. “I wouldn’t expect you to understand. Please, just go. I need to be left alone. I have to prepare for tomorrow.”

Zassul quietly fades away into his purple light. The young princess feels a bit guilty being so harsh with him. But she can’t accept help from a djinn. Their only way is death and destruction. She can’t just eliminate the problem like he suggests.

Her eyes slowly rise to the ceiling as she begins to pray to Allah, wishing for her future to be bearable so she can keep going for the people of her kingdom.