Chapter thirty

The next day, Sinbad invited Amirah and Zaahira to his office along with Ja'far to call and ask King Armakan to reconsider his decision to wed Amirah with the prince of another country. Sinbad and Zaahira were determined to get Amirah to stay, but little did they know the princess had long since lost hope, a new kind of hope sparking within her.

"Good morning, King Sinbad," King Armakan greeted via Eye of the Rukh. "I didn't expect you to call. I assume this is about the terms of the new trading route between Heliohapt and Askal."

"Good morning, King Armakan. Yes, that is exactly why I called," Sinbad nodded, being sure to keep his cool. "How long has the king of Askal been bothering you about this?"

"It's been just over three months now."

"If there is a threat of war upon your country, King Armakan, I'd prefer if you came to me before taking it upon yourself to make such an important decision."

"Oh, King Sinbad, I can assure you, I mean no harm!" A new voice spoke cheerily, the Eye of the Rukh splitting in half to show not only Armakan, but a jolly man with green eyes, chestnut hair, and a braided beard.

Sinbad's eyes widened, as well as everyone else who was present in the room. Regaining his composure, Sinbad said: "You must be King Alexandros."

"That I am! I was just talking with King Armakan when you called."

"I see," Sinbad nodded, thinking over his plan of attack. "This makes things easier, actually. King Alexandros, would you be willing to come to an agreement that doesn't involve a marriage between Princess Amirah and your son?"

"Nope!" Alexandros grinned. "I'm quite looking forward to it, actually. We're a very small country, King Sinbad, barely the size of your Sindria. It would be an honor to be a part of your trading network, as well as your Seven Seas Alliance."

"That is up to me to decide, you know," Sinbad reminded. He already didn't like this man.

"I'd say it's up to Amirah to decide," Armakan spoke up. He spoke a bit louder, knowing his sister was in the room, "What do you say, Amirah? You already know the conditions, now decide."

Amirah stiffened, not expecting the weight to fall on her. Those who were present in the room looked to her, waiting for her answer. What would she choose? Risk war between her country and another just so she can be with Sinbad? Or would she live up to the expectations placed on her by Armakan and prove herself useful to the Alliance, yet sacrifice her life with Sinbad? Amirah avoided Sinbad's gaze as she stepped into the frame to speak:

"I...I agree to the proposal." Armakan didn't react- he knew she'd choose that. Meanwhile, Alexandros lit up, while Sinbad turned back to look at her in angry shock before remembering he needed to stay composed. Then Amirah continued: "Under one condition, that is."

"Sure!" Alexandros smiled. "What would you like, Princess?"

"The...prince... He shall come to Sindria instead, then we will travel to Askal together..." Amirah trailed off. She couldn't bring herself to leave Sindria right away. Even a few more days while the prince traveled to Sindria- at least she'd have some time with Sinbad.

"How about he stays with you in Sindria for two weeks before traveling here?" Alexandros proposed. "That'll give you plenty of time to get to know each other and say your farewells, right?"

"Yes...that will do. Thank you, King Alexandros." Amirah bowed momentarily.

"Great! Then my second son, Prince Alexandros Jr, will be there in about three to five days!"

Shortly after that, King Alexandros and King Armakan said their goodbyes and ended the magic call, leaving Amirah and everyone in the room in an awkward silence. Until Zaahira snapped:

"What was that, Princess?! I thought you were going to tell King Armakan to change his mind?!"

Amirah swallowed hard, taking a step back. "I-I know, I just..." The blonde looked at her expectantly, waiting to hear her excuse. "I...I can't go against my brother...I'm sorry."

"That's not all, is it?" Sinbad finally spoke up, yet he didn't look at Amirah. "This is about proving yourself useful, right?"

Amirah hated to hear him say it. She visibly recoiled, glancing towards the door as she planned her escape.

Ja'far noticed, looking to Sinbad, "Sin, stop. You too, Zaahira." He cast his glare on the blonde briefly. "It can't be helped. I figured you would think this is a good idea, Sin. Why do you feel differently?"

"No reason," The king turned his gaze away from Ja'far. The white haired man sighed, then turned to the fuming Zaahira.

"Zaahira, calm down," He placed a hand on her shoulder. She pushed it off.

"What do you need to prove, Princess?" She questioned, just as shaken as Amirah was. Zaahira barely waited for a reply before continuing, "We all know you're strong! You're beautiful and smart, so why? You don't have to prove anything to us, you're just hurting yourself!"

Zaahira's outburst surprised Ja'far and Sinbad, whose eyes both widened. Sinbad especially was amazed; it was exactly what he wanted to say. Meanwhile, Amirah had inched closer and closer to the door as the blonde spoke, making her teary-eyed escape as Zaahira finished.

Sinbad instantly stood, calling after her, "Amirah, wait!" He moved to go after her, but Ja'far stopped him.

"Let her go, you two." Ja'far sighed, turning to the pair. "She already had a lot of pressure on her, yelling at her like that's no help."

Zaahira's shoulders slouched, her anger fading. "I just... She takes everything on by herself and it's not fair."

"Princess Amirah wants to prove to King Armakan -and to you, Sin- that she's 'useful', I suppose," Ja'far spoke.

"She's not just a puppet, though!" Sinbad argued angrily.

Ja'far looked at him with raised eyebrows, "That's surprising to hear, coming from you."

"Shut up." Sinbad turned away again. He muttered, "She's different..."

"I know you both care about her, I do too, but it's too late now. The prince will be here in a few days."

~

That night, Amirah avoided everyone. She skipped dinner, heading straight to her room the second the sun started to set. Yet, to her dismay, King Sinbad had still beat her to their rooms, desperately wanting to talk to her.

"Amirah," Sinbad started, reaching out to grab her as she fumbled with her bedroom's doorknob. "Hey, I just want to talk."

Amirah stopped struggling, closing her eyes as she spoke. "You're just making this harder, Sinbad. Please."

"You don't have to prove yourself to me, or anyone for that matter." He took a step closer to her, lightly touching her shoulder, "I love you, you know."

"I know," Amirah's voice cracked. Quietly, she continued, "But we both know it'd never work. It's my duty as a princess to serve my country. That comes first, over everything."

"Screw being a princess, Amirah, what about being a queen? Ruling by my side?"

Amirah laughed weakly, "Yeah, right. You deserve better than me, Sinbad. I can't." She pulled away from him, entering her room without looking back. She couldn't face him, nor herself. What Zaahira had said before was completely true, and it killed Amirah to hear the truth.

She was running away from her problems, but she knew she could only run so far before everything caught up to her.

~

Author's Note-

Updated again cause A- I'm v impatient and B- I love this chapter?? It's super sad but I think I did a p good job