Tales From the Cave-Wally and the Magic Lamp

Escape

Kamobye wandered into his personal study, littered with paperworks and little trinkets that held sentimental value. He sat behind his desk and buried his face in his hands. "I just can't fathom it! Isis was nowhere near as picky..." Just then, a tall, dark shadow fell over his weary form. He looked up and a relieved smile found it's way onto his face. "Aah! Vizier Vertigo! My most trusted advisor."

Standing before him was the former Count Vertigo of Vladiva. He wore his usual dark green cape over a new African uniform.  He smiled like a snake that had just consumed a fat rat.  "Good morn, my leise.  Something...troubling you?"  Kamobye groaned.  "Its my daughter, Vertigo!  She just can't understand the importance of the ancient laws!  Every suitor that comes here leaves sooner than the last!  I'm at the end of my rope!"

Vertigo clicked his tongue in disappointment.  "Disgraceful.  Well, you've talked to the right man.  My life is but to serve you, my Lord.  Perhaps I can define a solution to this...dilemma of yours."  Kamobye sighed with relief.  "Oh, thank Allah!"  "But...", Vertigo intercepted, leaning in towards the king.  "It would require the use of His Majesty's mystic blue diamond."  He took Kamobye's right hand and held it up to show the exquisite jewel bursting from his golden ring.

"My ring?", Kamobye said, taking his hand back.  He stared at it with worry etched onto his face.  "But—But its an heirloom...its been in my family for centuries...are–are you sure..."  "It is necessary if His Majesty wishes to find a suitable husband for the Princess.", Vertigo told him, in a slow pace of voice to instill guilt onto him.  Kamobye sighed as he reluctantly slipped the ring off his finger and held it out towards Vertigo.

He snatched the ring faster than the king could blink.  "P-Promise you'll return it undamaged?"  Vertigo smirked as he slipped the ring into his pocket.  "Your Majesty has my word that it will be returned in perfect condition."  With a deep bow to Kamobye, Vertigo spun on his foot and whisked out of the king's study.
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Deep within his quarters, Vertigo made sure no one else was nearby.  He drew the curtains in his window closed and snuck over to his bookshelf.  Reaching over his head, he pulled at the book A Thousand and One Arabian Nights.  There was a click, and the bookshelf shifted to the side, revealing a hidden doorway into darkness.  Vertigo slipped past the bookshelf as it shifted once more to seal the hole and look as if nothing happened.

As soon as the doorway sealed, the lights came on.  Now standing in the secret hideout within the palace walls with Vertigo were Vandal Savage, Klaricon the Witch Boy, Sportsmaster, and Cheshire.  "We came to check on your progress.", Sportsmaster said.  "How did the guy we picked out for you come along?"

"Horrible!", Vertigo snapped.  "He had barely set one foot in the Cave before it buried him alive!"  "That's what you get for thinking a common thief is worthy to go inside the Cave of Wonders!", Klaricon whined.  "I told you!  All the scrolls say only a diamond in the rough may enter!"  "Well, maybe if we knew what that meant, we could find him!", Riddler exclaimed.  Klaricon put his hands up in defense.  "Hey!  I didn't write it!  It was written by a good guy."

"Do not fret.", Vertigo said as he reached into his cloak and pulled out the diamond ring.  "I have the mystic blue diamond from the king.  With it in our possession, and a little dark magic, we can find this "diamond in the rough".  Then, using some good old-fashioned manipulation, I will send him into the Cave of Wonders, where a thousand great treasures lie, including the greatest treasure of all..."  "The Genie's Lamp!"  They all said it at the same time.

Vertigo grinned with malicious glee.  "With the power of the lamp in my hands, I will overpower that trusting chump they call king, throwing him off the throne and claiming it for myself.  Then, after forty-seven years, I shall at last have what I so richly deserve—a kingdom of my own to rule with an iron fist."

Savage stroked his chin.  "I'm interested to know how you got that away from the king."  Vertigo chuckled.  "Oh, I told him I'd use it to help that stubborn daughter of his find a husband."  Sportsmaster looked at him.  "Artemis still refuses to marry any prince that comes to call?"  "Please!  That little witch is driving her suitors away in droves!  The king has become so desperate, he willingly gave me the ring!"

"The pot is boiling over.  I can tell something big is going to happen concerning that ungrateful Princess."
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It was only a few minutes after midnight. The royal palace gardens were dark, lit only by a few candles whose light was already fading, perched atop tall golden poles. Every creature on the palace grounds, big or small, tall or short, furry or feathered or bald, was deep within their dreamlands—all except one.

A dark figure snuck through the gardens, moving quickly, their nimble feet not making a sound. They wore a dark brown cloak over their body, their faces hidden in the shadow of their large hood. They came to a macadamia nut tree, reaching tall against the palace wall, the peak of their height only a foot below the edge of the wall. The mysterious figure began to climb the tree when they felt a tug at their cloak.

The tug pulled the hood off, revealing the face of Princess Artemis. She wore only her crown, the jewels removed from her long golden braid. She looked down to see Sultan the tiger pulling her towards him, the end of her brown cloak in his teeth, his large eyes pleading with her. For such a ferocious creature, he looked sad and pitiful.

Artemis stepped down from the tree and knelt beside him, stroking his thick black, white and orange coat.  "Oh, Sultan...I'm sorry, but I can't stay here and have other people choose who I am.  I need to be able to live my own life."  She buried her face in his fur.  "I'm gonna miss you."

She stood up once more and reached for the branches.  Sultan put his head under her elevated foot and pushed to help her up the tree.  She climbed to the very top and stood on the highest branch.  Putting her hands on the edge, she pushed herself up to sit upon the thick wall that surrounded the palace and had separated her from the rest of the world for so long.

She looked over her shoulder at Sultan, a few tears in her eyes.  "Goodbye.  I love you."  And with those words spoken, she jumped over the wall and was gone.  Sultan looked at the top of the wall as he curled up under the nut tree for what he knew would be a long and sleepless night without his Princess.