Chapter two

Several days later, the princess and her assistant arrived in Sindria. As the pair walked off the ship, they were amazed at the foreign plants and scenery.

"Wow! This country is even more amazing in person!" Zaahira marveled, running off ahead.

"Yes, it's very beautiful," Amirah agreed, "I'm glad we came."

As they reached the end of the docks, they were met by King Sinbad, "Welcome to Sindria!"

"Hello, King Sinbad," Amirah greeted, nodding her head respectfully. Zaahira bowed momentarily.

"It's a pleasure to have such beautiful women visiting my country," The king smiled, "Would you like me to personally show you around?"

Amirah scanned the nearby area. A saddened look flashed across her face as she realized her younger sibling wasn't present. The quick negative emotion led Sinbad to believe he had already said something wrong. He panicked as his white haired general, Ja'far, gave him a look, urging him to fix his mistake.

But as quickly as the expression appeared, it vanished, replaced with a smile, "I'm flattered, King Sinbad, but I prefer to figure things out on my own. You might also want to note that although under the Alliance, Brother Armakan would surely have your head for flirting with his dear little sister."

A wave of worry flooded the present general's faces, while Zaahira giggled. Ja'far glared at Sinbad, who was wide-eyed and confused. None of them wanted to think of Armakan getting angry like that. Nor Sharrkan, who would surely react the same.

"Right..." Sinbad chuckled lightly, trying to regain his composure. "Well then, how about we meet for dinner tonight instead?"

"That sounds like a great idea," Amirah agreed, a small smirk still present on her lips. She turned to see what Zaahira thought, but found her absent from where she had stood beside the princess. "Zaahira?" Amirah frowned and turned to look behind her. She found the blonde hiding behind her, blushing furiously. Amirah chuckled, "Come on now." She waved a farewell to the generals and king, then ushered her assistant away from everyone.

Once they were out of earshot, Amirah turned to her assistant, "So, what had you so flustered back there?" There was a hint of amusement in her voice.

"Did you see how nice looking that white haired man was?!" Zaahira's fading blush returned, even darker than before.

"I didn't notice, no," Amirah shook her head, smiling. "Have you fallen for him already?"

"What?! N-No, of course not!" Zaahira denied. She shook her head, blush finally fading, "What about you, Princess? You seemed to enjoy toying with King Sinbad." The blonde smirked.

"Oh, no. I was merely teasing," Amirah spoke, closing her eyes. "King Sinbad really lived up to Brother Armakan's description, though."

"What? A huge flirt?" Zaahira giggled as they began walking again.

"Exactly," Amirah nodded. "I won't fall victim to a playboy, and if I do, Zaahira, stop me."

"Really? But what if it's meant to be?"

"Are you and Ja'far meant to be?"

"H-Hey..." Zaahira blushed again. "Wait, his name is Ja'far?"

"It is," Amirah confirmed.

"That's a pretty name..."

Amirah smiled, "Why not go and try to find him? I'm going to go find Sharrkan, I'd like to speak with him, so you can go. We can meet at dinner."

"Yeah, alright. See you later, then, Princess!" Zaahira agreed, happily scampering off.

~

"There you are," Amirah sighed. She'd finally found her younger sibling after hours of searching. He was training in an open area, pausing when he spotted the princess.

"Amirah!" He gasped, lowering his sword.

"Hello, Sharrkan," Amirah walked forward to stand just a few feet away from her brother, "I didn't see you when I arrived. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, everything's fine," Sharrkan assured, sheathing his sword.

Amirah frowned, "Did you think I didn't want to see you?" Sharrkan remained silent. "Why would you think that?" Amirah knew why. When Sharrkan had left she was extremely upset, furious even. Back then, Amirah had refused to even meet with the teen he was leaving with- King Sinbad. She had even caused a scene, forcing servants to usher her back to her room. But by now, she'd gotten over her childish reaction, and had assumed Sharrkan had forgotten about it. Clearly he hadn't.

"I didn't think that, I just forgot," Sharrkan tried, looking down at their sandaled feet.

Amirah sighed again, then smiled, "I've missed you, Sharr. Akido has too."

Sharrkan looked up and smiled, "Yeah, I've missed you too." He raised his hand and offered it to Akido to inspect. The snake looked it over before nuzzling into it, allowing Sharrkan to pet him. "I was really surprised when King Sinbad said you were coming here."

"This is really a beautiful country, I'm glad I came," Amirah looked around at their surroundings. They were in the Silver Scorpio Tower training grounds where the soldiers trained, along with the generals if they wished.

"Have you met the other generals yet?" Sharrkan asked, breaking her from her thoughts.

Amirah shook her head, "No, not yet. King Sinbad wants me to dine with him tonight, where I imagine he'll introduce them." She looked Sharrkan over; he was still dressed like the typical Heliohaptian. A white off-the-shoulder tunic with matching shorts and sandals like Amirah's. "I did catch a glance of them when we arrived, though."

"We?" Sharrkan echoed.

"Oh, right. My assistant, Zaahira, came as well," Amirah explained. "We met in Reim a few years ago."

"Oh, cool. I didn't know you went to Reim."

"Mhm, I did. But what about you?" Amirah changed the subject, eager to know what he had been doing over the past several years.

"I'll tell you all about it on the way to dinner. Sound like a plan?" Sharrkan offered.

"Sounds good," Amirah smiled.

~