Chapter three

The siblings arrived to dinner a bit late, having taken the scenic route to talk more. By the time they arrived, everyone was already seated, talking leisurely. Sinbad was at the head of the time, to his right his white haired assistant. On the king's left was an open seat, where Sharrkan told Amirah to sit as he took his own seat beside a blue haired woman.

Sitting down, Amirah saw Zaahira to the right of her, in deep conversation with Ja'far. Seeing Amirah, Zaahira paused and turn to her, "Hello, Princess."

"Hello. Sorry I'm late, Sharrkan and I were talking."

"That's fine," Sinbad assured, turning the princess' attention to him. "We still have a few minutes before dinner is served, would you like me to introduce you to everyone?"

Amirah smiled, "Yes, if you would."

Sinbad nodded and raised his glass, tapping on it with his fork. The gathered generals quickly quieted. "Alright, everyone. I'd like to introduce you to our very special guests, Princess Amirah of Heliohapt and her assistant, Zaahira of Reim." He then began introducing the generals at the far end of the table- Hinnahoho of Imuchakk and Drakon of Partevia, who oddly resembled a dragon. Next was Pisti of Artemyra- a blonde haired girl with dark eyes-, and a quiet redhead named Spartos, who was from Sasan.

Beside Sharrkan sat Yamraiha, the blue haired magician. Lastly, Ja'far and Masrur -a pink haired Fanalis- were introduced sitting closest to Sinbad.

Just as the introductions were concluded, several servants entered with trays upon trays of food. Every dish Amirah could think of was present, as well as several she'd never seen before. She had no idea where to begin.

"Wow~" Zaahira marveled, "There's so much food here! Are you sure it's not too much though...?"

"You'd be surprised," Ja'far huffed. Zaahira giggled.

"So, Amriah," Pisti called a few seats down, leaning forward and resting her head on her hands, "what was Sharrkan like as a kid in Heliohapt?"

Amirah looked to Sharrkan, who was visibly uncomfortable with the question, worried she'd say something embarrassing. The princess turned to Pisti and shrugged, "He was like a normal kid, I suppose. He loved listening to me sing."

"Oooh, you can sing?" Pisit leaned forward more, growing more mischievously interested.

The princess blushed, "A bit..."

"A bit?!" Zaahira exclaimed. "You're amazing at singing, Princess!"

Amirah shook her head, embarrassed, yet flattered.

"Yeah, you're really good!" Sharrkan agreed. "Why don't you sing for us?"

"Yeah, sing!" Pisti chirped excitedly.

"Well..." Amirah looked down at her lap where her hands were folded. She thought for a moment before looking up to Sinbad, "If it's alright with you..."

"Of course, go ahead," Sinbad smiled reassuringly.

"Alright... I'm a bit out of practice, but I'll try," Amirah breathed in deeply. She was quiet at first, the generals stares making her nervous. She'd never sung in front of so many people before. But as she continued her tune -one she had wrote and sang for Sharrkan countless times as a child- she grew more confident, and her volume rose.

With her eyes closed, it almost felt like she was back there again, singing her little brother to sleep every night and keeping him safe.

The feeling must have rubbed off on the others as well, they all quickly became relaxed, completely captivated by the sound. Even the energetic Pisti was calm, lulled into silence by the princess' voice.

After a few minutes, Amirah slowed her singing until the song faded completely, leaving the air silent yet pleasantly content.

The princess opened her eyes to find everyone staring at her in awe. "Was that alright...?" She asked cautiously.

"That was beautiful!" Pisti jumped up, disrupting the peaceful silence.

Zaahira nudged the princess with her elbow, "See? I told you you're good!"

"I know, I know..." Amirah blushed deeply again. "Thank you, everyone."

~

After dinner, Amirah and her assistant left to their room to unpack and get a feel for the palace's layout. The first few weeks were spent exploring the kingdom and meeting its people, the pair buying almost everything they saw on display in the market shops.

Now, several weeks later, the pair laid on their beds, Zaahira's legs thumping against the bedframe as she swung them, "I really like it here, Princess. How long are we staying?"

"As long as King Sinbad lets us, I suppose," Amirah answered.

"So, forever?"

Amirah sat up and chuckled, "No, not forever. We have to go home at some point."

Zaahira groaned, "But home is so boring! There's so much to do here!"

"I know, I agree. But Brother Armakan will want me back eventually."

"Why bother?" Zaahira sat up and looked at Amirah seriously. "Not to be rude, but there's nothing for you in Heliohapt. It's already been decided that you'll never be queen. We might as well just live as we please."

"He's still my brother," Amirah tried.

"Sharrkan is too!"

Amirah sighed, "We'll stay here as long as we can. I want to do a lot of things, everything I can't do in Heliohapt."

Zaahira smiled, "Where do you want to start?"

"Pardon the intrusion," Ja'far briefly knocked on the bedroom door then poked his head in. "Will you two be joining us for the festival tonight?"

"Of course we will!" Zaahira smiled and jumped up.

"What's the occasion?" Amirah asked calmly.

"You didn't hear?" Ja'far asked, surprised. "Tonight is Mahrajan."

"Oh, right." Sinbad had returned from being in Balbadd earlier that day. Amirah wasn't sure why he and some of the generals were even there for so long. Right after Amirah had arrived, the king had left to Balbadd, but the princess never had time to ask why. "Yes, we'll be there," Amirah decided.

"Good, good," Ja'far smiled. "Sin wants to introduce you to someone, so please look for him before you go off on your own."

"Alright," Amirah nodded. Ja'far returned the gesture and took his leave.

"I wonder who he wants us to meet?" Zaahira asked, practically bouncing around the room she was so excited.

"I'm not sure... Maybe someone from Balbadd?" Amirah suggested.

Zaahira shrugged, "I dunno, let's go find out!"

~

"Ah, there you two are," Sinbad smile at the females, waving for them to come over. All of the generals were scattered nearby, and three kids sat together on a bench across from the king. As the pair approached, Sinbad continued, "And lastly, this is Princess Amirah of Heliohapt and her assistant, Zaahira from Reim."

"Hello," Amirah greeted the trio, nodding politely. Zaahira smiled and waved.

"Princess, Zaahira, this is Alibaba -a former prince of Balbadd-, Aladdin -who's a Magi-, and Morgiana, a Fanalis like Masrur," Sinbad introduced them.

Prince? Amirah thought, looking over the blond haired teen. He looked just a few years younger than Zaahira.

"So you're a princess?" The ex-prince asked.

"I am," Amirah nodded.

"Are you related to Mr.Sharrkan?" Aladdin, a blue haired boy, asked.

"Yes, he's my younger brother," Amirah answered, smiling.

"Princess Amirah isn't tried to fight in any way, but I'm sure she'd be of good company," Sinbad spoke.

Amirah pouted, "I'll capture a dungeon eventually!"

"And I'll be your household vessel!" Zaahira added cheerfully.

Sinbad smiled at the princess's comment before being dragged into a conversation by one of his generals. Meanwhile, the three teens went off on their own thing and Amirah hung around with the generals, just listening to their conversations, while joining in sometimes. Zaahira was talking with Ja'far again, and seemed to be enjoying herself.

Amirah had a few drinks, but made sure she didn't overdo herself, careful to remain sober. Zaahira, on the other hand, wasn't as mindful. She'd had several drinks already, and had even coaxed Ja'far into having a few himself. The blonde was giggling and smiling, her cheeks flushed red. Ja'far looked rather amused with the girl's behavior.

Amirah's view of the pair was obstructed as Sinbad sat down on at the table across from her. "Oh, hello, King Sinbad," She greeted.

"Hello, Princess. Are you enjoying yourself tonight?" The king asked, playful smile on his lips.

"Yes, I am," Amirah answered. "This is such an amazing country you've created, I almost wish I had been there to help you in the effort."

"We never got to meet when I was in Heliohapt all those years ago, did we?"

"Sadly not," Amirah replied, although she knew she had purposely avoided him back then.

"Well," Sinbad spoke, changing the topic and pulling the princess from her thoughts, "you mentioned earlier about wanting to capture a dungeon...are you sure you want to?"

"Of course I'm sure." Amirah smiled, "It sounds like fun."

"It is fun," Sinbad agreed. "But why do you want to? What would you use that power for?"

"To protect Zaahira," The princess responded. "And my country, even if Brother Armakan has his own djinn and doesn't need me, I still want to be of use of him. And to the Alliance." She paused, then asked, "Why are you asking me this?"

"A dungeon appeared east of here recently, in the middle of the ocean," Sinbad began. "You can capture it if you want."

"A dungeon?" Amirah echoed. "Wouldn't you want to capture it yourself?"

"I would, but I've already obtained seven djinn. The generals and I can't enter any more dungeons."

"Oh..." Amirah thought for a bit. "So you're letting me have it...?"

"Yes," Sinbad nodded. "I don't know much about the djinn, but their name is Antheia, and it's the 48th dungeon to appear. It's such a low number because it's been under the ocean for some time now, inaccessible to humans."

"Alright, I'll go," Amirah decided, although the news of it suddenly appearing from the ocean was a bit troubling.

"I can't send anyone in with you, so it will just be you and Zaahira," Sinbad warned.

"That's fine," Amirah said. "We'll be plenty."

"Then I will have a ship prepared for you tomorrow," Sinbad smiled.

~