HOME | DD

Description
Chapter 8: Becoming Royalty

A swirl of color ended the song and we were back on the rock. Abu pouted when his fez turned up empty and Al and I grinned widely. Genie was on his stomach an almost bored expression on his face, but I could tell he was happy. Behind him a sign that looked slightly broken blinked 'applause'. Carpet and I clapped loudly and Abu came into my lap frowning at his fez.

"That was fun!" Genie grinned at my expression and Al laughed.

"So what'll it be master?" Genie asked, looking at his nails.

"You're going to grant me any three wishes I want, right?" Al asked and we looked at Genie. Genie got a strange look on his face. And then he changed into a strange-looking man.

"Ah, almost there are a few agenda's, some quid pro quos." He counted on his fingers.

"Like?" I prompted.

"Uh, rule number one!" Genie popped up beside Al. "I can't kill anyone." He pretended to chop his head off and held it in his hands. "Ack! So don't ask." We looked at him in slight horror and I grabbed my throat as Al grabbed his.

"Uh, rule number two!" I jumped as he popped up between me and Al as a pair of big red lips. He grabbed me and before I could get away he kissed me. "Mwah! You little punim there." He pinched both my cheeks then and then poofed back beside Al.

"Blah!" I hollered and I wiped my face as Al laughed at my horrified expression and I glared at him.

"Rule number three!" We looked back at him and blanched. He was now a sickly green and he had a very nasty complexion. "I can't bring people back from the dead. It's not a pretty picture, I don't like doing it!" I clutched my stomach and Al looked sick.

"So, other than that, you got it."Genie smiled at us and then got down in front of us, hiding his face behind his hands. I pointed up and Al nodded.

"Provisos? You mean limitations? On wishes? Some all-powerful genie." Al pretended to scoff and I looked to see Genie slowly uncovering his face with a look of fury. Abu got into it too. 'Oooo' he waved his arms like he was really scared.

"Yeah, he can't even bring people back from the dead." I added and I could feel the anger radiating from Genie as he glared into my back.

"Oh, well looks like we'll have to find a way out of this cave ourselves." We started to walk off when a large golden, curly toed shoe landed right in front of us blocking our way. I jumped back and hid behind Al. We looked up at Genie.

"Excuse me? Did you rub my lamp? Did you wake me up? Did you bring me here? And all the sudden you're walkin' out on me?" With each step Genie got madder and madder and I gulped nervously. Maybe this was a bad idea. "I don't think so! Not right now! You're gettin' your wishes! So SIDDOWN!" Al and I fell backwards in shock and fear, landing on Carpet. Genie popped up in front of us and I hid again in case he was still mad. My eyes went wide as he popped into girl clothing and grinned at us.

"In case of emergencies the exits are, here, here, here…" on and on he went as he pointed them out with his many arms. "Anywhere!" he pulled his arms back in and made his normal two, short. "Keep your hands and arms inside the carpet, cause we're… Outta here!" quicker than I could register we shot up and out of the cave into the night air.

A yawn escaped me and Al turned his head to look at me. He frowned.

"Alaric, when was the last time you slept?" I yawned again and looked at him. I could barely keep my eyes open.

"Huh?" I asked sleepily. I glanced around Al at Genie who was watching us with half-a grin. I tried to keep my eyes open and looked at Al. "What did you say?"

"You haven't been sleeping well have you?" I shook my head. "Go to sleep then."

"Not tired." I said and made myself wake up and moved to sit in front of him.

"Of course you're not." Al said sarcastically, but I was too sleepy to argue.

"WhatifIfalloff?" I asked in jumbled words and closed my eyes. I could hear Genie laughing and Al sighing.

"You won't fall off." he promised and I nodded as I then was out.
LineBreak
The next morning I leaned over the edge of Carpet and laughed at my shadow on the ground. I lay flat on my stomach and held my arms out and waved them, watching as my shadow did the same. Suddenly I started head first off of Carpet.

"Whoa, short man!" Genie pulled me back onto Carpet.

"Oops." I said and Al frowned and rolled his eyes. Genie patted me on the head and I grinned at him.

"Just don't try to fly again, okay? Well at least until you get those frequent flyer miles." I laughed even though I had no clue what he was talking about and he then poofed back into a girl's outfit and handed us strange drinks. After a while we came to a small oasis.

"Thank for choosing Magic Carpet for all your travel needs." Genie said in a girly voice. I snickered and Al rolled his eyes. "Don't stand until the rug has come to a complete stop." Carpet slowed down and he made steps for us to walk down. "Thank you good-bye. Good-bye, thank you. Good-bye." Genie waved us off Carpet and then popped back to normal going to stand smugly in front of us.

"Well now. How about that, doubting Mustafas?" I stifled a snigger as Al grinned at me sneakily. Genie eyed us in suspicion and it only made me laugh harder.

"You sure showed us." Al said giving Genie a smirk to which Genie didn't notice. "Now about my three wishes…" Genie paused and cupped a hand to his ear.

"Dost mine ears deceive me? Three? You are down by one, boy!" he shouted holding a blue finger in Al's face. Al shoved it away with a smug look.

"Ah, no I never actually wished to get out of the cave." Al said smoothly causing Genie's jaw to drop in shock. I sniggered again. "You did that on your own."

"Yup, you kinda walked into that one." I added and Genie's jaw dropped further.

"Well I feel sheepish." As he said this he poofed into a sheep and got into Al's face. "Alright you baaad boy!" he said and then he started to walk away and flipped his tail in the air with a snooty face. "But no more freebies." I laughed again and Genie then went and hung himself between two palm trees.

"Fair deal." Al said and then he put a hand to his chin. "So, three wishes? Hm. I want them to be good." Carpet flew around me to follow Al as he began to pace. Al stopped and looked at me. "What would you wish for Alaric?" Stunned at being addressed I looked at Al.

"Me?" Al laughed.

"Of course!" I looked down then and shifted my foot in the sand. What would I wish for? Food? An real house? That my mother had loved me? No, I shook my head those weren't good things. I liked living with Al, I had all I wanted. No more curse? That was one that I really would like, but Al would kill me if I said it out loud. Besides I didn't want to scare off my new friends.

"Well, um nothing I guess." I said and Genie looked at me curiously.

"Come on, Rick." Al prompted and I sighed. Deciding to go with something that I felt strongly about.

"Well, maybe that everyone had a someone, you know? That way no one would ever have to be alone. And that the world didn't judge you for being different." I looked down again and shuffled my foot again. "But it's your wish not mine." I said looking up quickly and Al turned to Genie. Genie gave me a sad look.

"What would you wish for?" Genie sat up in shock and floated to the ground.

"Me? No one's ever asked me that before." I felt sorry for Genie and frowned for thinking of myself. "Well, in that case…ah, forget it." I came up to Genie and touched him on the arm. He turned to look at me.

"Please? I told you mine." I said and he smiled at me gently.

"Freedom." He said and he showed us his wrists. I eyed the golden cuffs sadly.

"You're a prisoner?" Al asked. Genie nodded solemnly.

"It's all part-and-parcel, the whole genie gig." He grew giant then and spoke in a loud voice. "Phenomenal cosmic powers!" then he went down into his lamp and we peered at his squished form. "Itty bitty living space." He spoke in a squeaky voice. Now I really felt sad.

"Genie, that's awful." Al said and I nodded. Genie came out of his lamp, stretching to the sky. "Not have to go, Poof! What do you need? Poof! What do ya need? Poof! What do ya need?" I watched with wide eyes as Genie had Al's vest in a tight vice-grip. He let go and sighed.

"To be my own master." He said thoughtfully, slowly rising into the air. "Such a thing would be better than all the magic and all the treasures in all the world!" Then it was as if reality hit him, looking slightly put out he came back down slowly. "But what am I talking about, here?" He said smacking himself in the forehead. "Genie wake up and smell the humus."

"How come? You seem like a good guy to me." Genie smiled at me and then rubbed the back of his neck.

"The only way I get out of this is if my master wishes me out. You can guess how often that happened."

"I'm sorry, Genie." I said looking at him sadly and he ruffled my hair and smiled at me.

"That's okay, kiddo."

"I'll do it." Al announced and we looked at him. "I'll set you free." I grinned. Way to go Al.

"Uh-huh, yeah right." Genie scoffed and then I jumped as he poofed into a wooden puppet and made his nose grow out long. "Whoop!" Al pushed his nose back in.

"I'm serious! After I make my first two wishes, I'll use my third wish to set you free." Genie eyed Al for a moment.

"You can trust him. He wouldn't let you down." I said and Genie nodded.

"Well, here's hopin'." He shook Al's outstretched hand and I grinned. Genie did too.

"Let's make some magic!" He poofed into a fancy man again and I laughed as he tossed cards out of his sleeves. He then turned to normal and put an elbow on my head and leaned towards Al. I tried to get out from underneath his arm as he put his weight on me and almost knocked me over, but failed and just laughed.

"So how 'bout it? What is it you want most?" Al got a look on his face and I knew what he was thinking and who he was thinking of.

"Well, there's this girl…" I jumped when Genie suddenly made a loud buzzing sound and I turned to see him with a red heart crossed out on his chest.

"Ehhhh! Wrong! I can't make anybody fall in love remember?" he tapped Al on the head.

"Oh, but Genie she's smart and fun and…" Al struggled for the right word.

"Pretty?" Genie offered and I sniggered at Al's expression.

"Beautiful!" he corrected and Genie and I rolled our eyes. "She's got these eyes that just…and this hair, wow and her smile…" he trailed off with a dreamy look. Suddenly I found myself sitting beside Carpet and Abu at a small table and Genie was dressed in a striped black and white shirt and was smoking as he leaned against the table.

"Ami. C'est l'amour." He said as he blew a heart-shaped smoke ring. I snorted and Genie grinned in my direction.

Al sighed heavily. "But she's the princess. To even have a chance, I'd have to be a…" he said and I saw his face light up with an idea. "Hey, can you make me a prince?" I looked at Genie who suddenly was in a bright pink apron and was wearing glasses. In his hands was a large book which he was flipping through. I read the cover. 'Royal Cookbook'. I then went behind him and tried to peer over his shoulder at the book.

"Let's see chicken a'la king?" Genie pulled a chicken with a crown out. "Nope." I yelped as he flung it back and almost slapped me in the face. "Alaskan king crab?" Genie pulled a crab out attached to his finger. "Ow." He said as he flung it off and I had to duck again. "I hate when I do that. Caesar's salad?" I jumped back as an arm with a dagger came out of the book and I hid behind Genie. "Et tu, Brute? No." He shoved the hand back into the book and then looked up at Al.

"Ah, to make a prince." He read and then he looked up at Al with a sly grin. "Now is that an official wish? Say the magic words."

"Genie, I wish for you to make me a prince." Al said with a deep voice.

"All right! Genie exclaimed. "Woof! Woof! Woof!" Then he popped into a tailor. "First that fez and vest combo is much too third century." I sniggered and went to sit on the ground by Carpet. Genie pulled the patch off the knee of Al's pants. "These patches-what are we trying to say-beggar-no. Let's work with me here." Genie then zapped Al into a very princely outfit. Al looked in the mirror that Genie had out there and he grinned at his reflection.

"I like it muy macho!" Genie said and Carpet clapped, I did too.

"Very nice, Al." I said and he grinned at me in the reflection the a mirror.

"Why thank you." he said snootily and we burst out laughing. Suddenly a shadow fell over me and I looked up to see Genie standing over me rubbing his chin in thought.

"But it's his wish, not mine." I said looking between Al and Genie.

"Come on, Alaric, you're like my little brother." I looked at him then and he smiled at me softly. "Besides it wouldn't be the same without you."

"Really?" I asked in disbelief.

"Of course." He said as if it was an ordinary thing. Stunned I didn't notice as Genie started to walk around me. Suddenly he stopped and before I could say something he zapped me. I opened my eyes and looked down to see that my clothes had changed. I went over to the mirror to see.

For a moment I didn't recognize myself. My outfit was the same color as Al's but I had a dark blue where Al had gold. I also had a vest that that was a teal blue and the cuffs of my outfit and my shoes gold. I didn't have a cape but I did have a turban. Mine was like Al's with a teal feather and a red stone in the middle. For a moment I could be someone else, someone different. I could be free of the curse! A slow grin spread across my face and I turned to look at Al and Genie.

"You look great!" Al said with a grin and I hugged Genie who looked shocked.

"Thanks Genie!" He hugged me back then, unaware of why I was truly happy.

"No problem, kiddo." He said and I pulled back to look up at him. He grinned at me and then got that thinking look again.

"Hm. You know what this says to me? This says, 'mode of transportation'." He looked at Abu and clapped his hands. "Excuse me, monkey boy! Aqui, over here!" Abu tried to run but Carpet brought him over much to his horror. Genie made a stage appear and I sniggered at the outfit he was wearing and the big cheesy smile he had on his face.

"Here he comes, and what better way to make a grand entrance on the streets of Agrabah than riding your very own brand new camel! Watch out they spit." Abu appeared as a camel and I snorted with laughter as he spit. Abu glared at me but I couldn't help it.

"Mmm, not enough." Genie mused and then he snapped his fingers. Abu became a fancy white horse. I was practically rolling now and Al let out a small chuckle too.

"Still not enough." He snapped his fingers again repeating 'What do we need?' over and over as Abu was transformed into several things.

"Yes!" he finally said and then he stood over Abu who tried back away. "Esalaumbo, shimin dumbo! Boo!" Abu was now...an elephant. I now clutched the stand that Genie had been at earlier, in laughter.

"Talk about your trunk space check this action."Genie commented. I laughed so hard that my eyes watered and Genie grinned from ear to ear. Abu gave a shriek after looking in his reflection and tried to scramble up a tree. The tree bent under his weight and he flipped upside down. Al went over and grinned at Abu.

"Whoa Abu…you look good." Abu scowled.

"He's got the outfit, he's got the little brother, and he's got the elephant, but we're not through yet. Hang on to your turban's kids I'm gonna you stars!" Genie announced and I exchanged a look with Al. Whatever it was it was going to be over the top.