Chapter ten

"Try again, Anne. This will work."

A few weeks later, Anne was with her mother, her brothers and sister watching nearby. "Come forth, Antheia!: Anne held Amirah's golden fan with both hands, trying to force the djinn to equip.

"Again." Her mother ordered.

"Antheia! Come forth, Antheia!" Nothing. Not even a glow from the djinn symbol.

"This would work better if we knew the djinn's magic type and chant." Lee spoke, an annoyed tone to his voice as he crossed his arms.

"Princess Amirah said she doesn't know anything. It's not like you gave her time to use it anyway." Anne said, annoyance creeping into her tone as well.

"Princess Amirah?" Their mother echoed.

"If she'd gotten back to Sindria we wouldn't have been able to get past the barriers," Lee reminded. Neither had heard their mother.

"Are you getting chummy with her, Annalena?" Their mother asked, her voice louder this time.

Anne froze, lowering the fan. She wasn't used to hearing her real name anymore. "W-What?? N-No-no- I..."

"She has," Lee spoke up. Their mother grew visibly angry. "But it's been getting us answers. I'm thinking of mixing her method it with mine a bit."

"Absolutely not," Mother growled. "That is not her job, Lee. You and Al shall do the interrogations. No one else is allowed to see the prisoner."

"But-"

"No 'but's. Now, go. Both of you."

~

"Miss Ami-wahh?!" Al stepped into Amirah's cell, glancing at her before covering his dark red face. "W-Why are you-?!"

"Is this a problem?" Amirah asked casually. She was sitting cross-legged on the cell floor, stomach still bandaged and chest exposed.

Al kept his eyes covered, turning his back to her. He contemplated going to Lee for help, but quickly changing his mind, remembering how angry his older sibling was. "N-No...it's not an i-issue..."

"Good," Amirah nodded curtly. She couldn't help but want to tease the inexperienced male. It was far too easy. As long as Lee didn't show up, she should be able to get some information. "Where's Anne and Lee?"

Al slowly turned around, unshielding his eyes, "Anne's back on scout duty, she got yelled at by our mother. I don't know where Lee is."

"Is Anne your older sister?"

"Yeah, Lee's the oldest, then Anne, then me. I also have twin sisters that are twelve." Al answered easily, instantly relaxing. Then he tensed, "W-Wait, why are you asking all this?"

Amirah shrugged, "There's nothing else to do here. Unless you plan on torturing me for more information I don't have?"

"I-uh- no. I'm not going to do that. Mother told Lee and I not to for now..."

"Really? Why not?"

"You c-clearly don't know anything, so, I, uh, asked Mother not to. We're just keeping you here as bait, I think."

"For King Sinbad?"

"Yes."

"How's he going to be able to find me? We're obviously in a very secluded area."

"No, we're not, really." Al shook his head, walking over to the metal bed and sitting on it. "We're... Hey, you're not trying to trick me, are you?"

"Of course not." Amirah shook her head innocently.

"Look," Al sighed, "I'm not good at this kind of thing... I don't want to hurt you or anything, but..."

"Then why don't you help me escape?"

Al's eyes widened under his mask, "N-No way... I couldn't do that. Mother would kill me!" He stood, becoming angry. "I-I... You're my prisoner. You don't get to tell me what to do!" He backed up, bumping into the barred door and stumbling out of it. He quickly locked it, and glanced around. His eyes landed on Amirah again, "I'm sorry but...I can't be weak anymore."

~

Al snuck out of the prison, quickly making his way to his quarters which were two gigantic staircases up. On the way he passed several rooms, and in his haste barreled straight into someone.

"Al! Al! Play with us!" Two little girls with long, bright blonde hair and green eyes spoke in unison. They looked up at him with puppy-dog eyes, smiling widely.

"S-Sorry, I can't right now." Al pushed past them, heading up the second staircase.

"Al!! Why not?" One twin asked.

"Why are you wearing that outfit still?" The other asked.

"I had work."

"Was it with the princess?" The first one asked, both twins running up the stairs behind him.

"The one with the white hair and weird skin? She's so cool! And she's just like us!" The second one marveled.

Al glanced back at the twins, "What are you talking about? She's not like us."

"Sure she is!" Both twins nodded. "We're all princesses!"

Al chuckled, "I'm not a princess."

"Yeah you are!"

Finally at his bedroom door, Al turned back to his sisters, "Go away for now, alright? I'll play with you later." The twins pouted, yet complied, skipping excitedly down the stairs.

Once alone, Al buried himself under his blankets. It didn't take long for his thoughts to take over, darkness corroding all of them.

"Al, darling, come here." His mother had cooed sweetly, beckoning him closer with a hand.

Sheepishly, Al stepped up to her throne-like seat, asking, "Yeah?'

"You're weak." Her tone hardened. "Get your act together or I will be forced to take action. You know how important this operation is. Any weak links in the chain will be promptly removed, do you understand, child?"

Al's eyes widened, scared of what 'removed' entailed. "I understand."

Not long after, Al met his older brother in the hallway.

"Sup, midget? Upset you got yelled at by mommy?"

"Lee, cut it out." Anne scolded.

"Why should I? She's right. You are the weak link, Al. Might as well pack up and run to Sindria while you've got the chance."

Weak. That was the only word continuing to echo in his head.

"You're weak."

Weak. Weak. Weak. Weak. Weak. That's all he'd ever heard his entire life. From everyone. His family, his friends, everyone. He'd tried to ignore them, he'd convinced himself it wasn't true and that their opinions didn't matter. It worked for a while, but the way their princess prisoner acted towards him killed him. She taunted him, teased him, acted like he was a pure idiot. He hated it. He hated her. His hands shook as he thought of it, but he couldn't help but want to kill her.

~

Author's Note-

Hey! Sorry if there are any errors, I only finished writing this last night and I am not used to publishing right after I finish writing xD

But quick question-

Is anyone feeling bad for Al or? It'd be interesting to know your thoughts~