The Balbadd palace was a lot different from the one back in Kou, the weather was a lot hotter too. Judar was glad he was wearing clothes that didn't trap any body heat. His normally pale skin had a touch of red from the harsh sun rays.
Judar pushed through to the throne room, upset with all the people blocking his way. His eyes widened and a chuckle escaped his lips.
"What the hell? What are you doing here, Stupid King?"
The tall purple-haired man turned at Judar's words and his eyes widened. Of all the people Judar would have seen in this shitty country, he never would have expected to see Sinbad King of Sindria.
Sinbad was not happy to see him, which made Judar's smile grow even wider. He stalked over to Sinbad and circled him like a predator.
"What are you doing here, Judar?"
"Oh, have you not heard? Judar is the acting Oracle High Priest of the Kou Empire." Some man who Judar only knew as The Banker explained. Sinbad's face fell and he looked at Judar with shocked eyes. Judar looked smugly at the island king, but before he could spout any taunts, a new voice cried out through the throne room.
"Listen to me dammit! Ahbmad, you bastard, swear that you'll protect the people of Balbadd! Swear it!"
Judar looked over to see a blonde male being held back by a pair of guards as he desperately yelled at the King of Balbadd. Judar's eyes went cold and his face steeled over, he reached for his ruby tipped wand.
Peli.
No, this male was not Peli but he did look an awful lot like him. Judar's anger cooled down into suspicion and interest. Why was the Peli look-alike in the throne room with Sinbad?
Judar watched as the blonde was kicked out of the throne room, Sinbad followed him closely after.
"Who was that?"
"Oh, just some insolent peasant boy who thinks he can tell me what to do." The King said nonchalantly.
"That was Alibaba Saluga, Third Prince of Balbadd." A man dressed in military clothes quipped, seemingly peeved by the King's dismissive attitude.
"Ha! That boy is nothing but Father's mistake, not to mention a disgrace to the royal name!" King Ahbmad huffed.
Judar scowled, no longer amused by the politics of whatever was going on. He slipped out the door while the Banker was going on about the might of Kou and how the king had been wise to entrust his finances to him.
The air around Judar felt hot, but the stone flooring provided some coolness for his feet. He fanned himself with his hand as he walked around, looking for something to pass the time with.
As he passed an open courtyard a flash of light caught his eye. He turned and his heart nearly stopped. A group of girls were dancing, actually they were practicing a dance that looked very similar to the one Ruhya would do.
Their stomachs swayed and rolled as their hips shook and their arms waved. The jewels of the two-piece dresses jingled and reflected the suns setting rays.
Judar stood frozen as he looked at the girls, hoping to see one with a blindfold over her eyes. He was disappointed but not surprised when he saw that there wasn't. A sudden pain washed over him and his legs felt weak. Judar pulled his gaze away and stumbled to a pillar on which he leaned and clutched his chest.
"Ruhya, why can't I escape you? The harder I try to forget the more I see you." Judar lamented as he covered his eyes with his hand. Visions of Ruhya's smile danced through his mind and the sound of her laughter filled his ears.
There was no denying it, he was still in love with her.
Judar yanked his hand away from his face, his eyes narrowed and his teeth clenched. He needed to get his thoughts away from her. He needed things to go back to the way they were before he met Ruhya, back to the time when war and destruction filled his days. Back to the time before he gave his heart away, back to a time when he didn't feel the sting of heartbreak.
Judar clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles turning white. He knew what he needed to do. He needed to replace all the sadness he felt. But with what?
Anger? Restlessness? Spite?
No, he would replace the heartache and sadness with power. He would replace it with the feeling of beating down opponents, the rush of adrenaline when he let his magic power seep out of his pores and rain destruction down on those who oppose him.
A predatory grin spread over Judar's face. Yes, this is who he was; a powerful Magi that spread fear and destruction with his very presence, not some heartbroken weakling that pined after a woman.
"Now, where did that Stupid King run off to?" Judar asked himself sinisterly, his feet leading him to the flying carpet stored in his room.
***
"Peli! Peli!" Ruhya shouted into the dim hallway. She let out a sigh as the blonde finally came into view. He hurried over to the door and quickly scooted Ruhya back into the room, closing the door firmly behind him.
"Ruhya, what did I tell you? Stay inside, why won't you listen to me?" Peli snapped as he grabbed Ruhya by the upper arms.
"Ow, you're hurting me!" Ruhya shouted as she pulled away, "I just wanted someone to talk to. I'm lonely in here, I want to go outside."
Peli sighed deeply and rubbed his face with both hands. He turned from Ruhya and groaned before quickly spinning back around. Any annoyance he had was gone from his face, instead his lips stretched into a pleasant smile.
"I'm sorry I hurt you, but you really need to listen to me. You can't go outside, it's dangerous. I don't know what I would do if someone were to snatch you away. You belong here with me." Peli said apologetically.
"I don't belong anywhere, and I don't belong to you. You can't stop me from going out." Ruhya snapped as she backed away from Peli. All her pent up emotions from being locked up were coming out.
"Ruhya, you're misunderstanding-"
"Judar never treated me like this!" Ruhya shouted impulsively. She gasped and covered her mouth, surprised by her own words. Peli glared at her, clenching his firsts.
"Do not compare me to him. I'm nothing like him. He let you be taken, he let you get hurt, he hurt you himself! I won't ever let another man touch you, I won't let you be hurt!" Peli exclaimed as he grabbed Ruhya again.
"Peli-"
"Choose me! Forget about him! Why won't you just choose me? I love you, I'm your sun and you're my moon." Peli cried out as he cupped Ruhya's face, a touch of desperation in his voice. His fingers traced the curve of her cheek down to her jaw and then chin. Ruhya's breath hitched in her throat as Peli raised her face and leaned down.
His lips brushed hers with the touch of a feather, not quite fully connecting.
"No!" Ruhya shouted as she pushed Peli back. She looked at him with horror as The Fear burst from its cage and gripped her body.
"Ruhya-"
"Get away from me!" Ruhya blubbered out as tears filled her eyes. She crawled onto the bed and grabbed a pillow to shield herself.
Before Peli could do anything there was a knock at the door. Peli scowled before angrily walking to the door and yanking it open.
"What? I thought I told nobody to come here!" Peli snapped gruffly. He quickly calmed down when he saw that it was just Alibaba.
"Peli-"
"I'm sorry brother, I didn't mean to yell at you. I'm- I'm just under a lot of stress right now." Peli sighed.
"Peli, I just came back from the palace. The negotiations didn't go well, I have to tell everyone about it. I could really use your support right now." Alibaba said with downcast eyes. Peli frowned before wrapping his arms around his older brother.
"Of course, just give me a minute. Wait outside, I'll be right there."
Alibaba nodded before closing the door, leaving Peli and Ruhya alone once again. Peli turned and walked over to the bed. He sat down and stared at Ruhya who had her face buried in the pillow.
"I have to go. I'll be back, we can talk then. I'm sorry."
Ruhya flinched as he gently put his hand on her shoulder. She didn't raise her face until she heard the door open and close, signifying that Peli had left.
Ruhya got off of the bed and marched toward the wardrobe, wiping away the stray tears that spilled from her eyes. She yanked the wardrobe open and quickly put on a fresh dress and pulled her shoes on.
She was going to go outside, she didn't care what Peli said. She let out a breath of confidence and headed to the door. Just as she was going to open it the door burst open. Ruhya cried out in surprise and fell backward.
"Ruhya, are you okay?" Ikala exclaimed as she quickly leaned down and helped Ruhya stand up.
"Ikala, thank goodness! I need to get out of here, I can't stay here anymore."
"Are you okay? Did Peleus hurt you?" Ikala asked worriedly as she glanced over Ruhya.
"He just grabbed me- wait, what do you mean by Peleus?" Ruhya asked slightly panicked.
"Wait, you don't know?"
"Know what? Tell me, I'm tired of being left in the dark!" Ruhya exclaimed with frustration.
"Peli is just a nickname, only the people closest to him can call him that. His real name is Peleus. Not only is he the fakest motherfucker, but he's also incredibly dangerous." Ikala explained.
Ruhya's stomach dropped and her skin turned to ice. There was no way that was true, it had to be a joke. Peli was the sweetest person she knew- or was he? Her thoughts went back to how differently he had behaved earlier.
Suddenly she remembered the note that had been slipped under the door. Ruhya scrambled to the bed and stuck her hand under the mattress, fishing for the note.
"What is that?" Ikala asked as Ruhya pulled the crumpled note out. She took it from Ruhya's hands and read it. Her eyes grew wide as she finished it.
"I don't know who wrote this, but the handwriting looks familiar. It might be Sa'id. It's a good thing you hid this, I heard a rumor that the last person who tried to help you lost their tongue."
"What?" Ruhya breathed out with wide eyes. Memories of the sailor that talked to her on the boat and the mute man filled her mind. Her knees felt weak as she realized the two men were actually the same.
"I know it's a lot to handle at one time-"
"But that can't be right! I've known Peli for years, he's never done anything like that before!" Ruhya cried as her breathing became shallow and rapid.
"Of course he's never done anything like that in front of you, he wants you to think that he's a golden boy or something. He's a master of manipulation, trust me, it takes one to know one."
"He's only 16, there's no way he can actually be like that! It can't be true!" Ruhya shouted as she clutched her head, "It's not true! It's not true!"
"Listen to me! If you don't wise up and start believing me then you're going to get hurt. I don't know how long he'll keep up the good boy farce!" Ikala snapped as she grabbed Ruhya's shoulders. Tears filled Ruhya's eyes as she slowly began to realize that Ikala was right, she had begun to see the cracks in Peli's mask.
"If you still don't believe me, put on this ring. Whenever someone tells a lie, the ring heats up and the jewels slightly glow." Ikala said as she took off a snake-shaped ring from her finger and slid it onto Ruhya's.
"Peleus is Alibaba's half-brother, their mother was a prostitute from the slums. She died when they were very young and the two brothers were separated, Peleus was taken in by some palace musician or something. At 12 he killed his adopted father and disappeared. It wasn't until a few months ago that he finally contacted Alibaba again. He said he would come home if we helped bring you here."
"Four years ago, that's around the same time he joined the circus. Oh my god." Ruhya croaked in horror as she sunk to the floor. The ring on her finger was cold as ice.
"Ruhya-"
"He killed someone?"
"I've seen him in one of his violent fits before, I couldn't even recognize the poor bastard once Peleus was done with him. I wouldn't doubt it if he's killed more than one person."
Ruhya screeched as she rolled over. She felt sick. Her body jerked as she felt like vomiting. Her eyes burned as they glowed bright red. She scratched at her face in grief, leaving red marks down her face.
"Stop that! That's not going to help anything. You need to leave right now, escape while he's distracted. I can't go with you, Cassim needs me." Ikala commanded as she grabbed Ruhya's wrists, stopping her from hurting herself anymore.
"I have nowhere to go, I don't know what to do!" Ruhya sobbed with despair. Ikala sighed and she rubbed her face.
"Listen, I don't know if I heard right, but I think Judar is here. Whoever that is."
"What?" Ruhya breathed, her heartbeat suddenly speeding up.
"Get out there and find him, don't look back. Who knows what Peleus might do once he finds out you've left."
Ruhya nodded, stifling her cries. She wiped her eyes and stood up, determined to finally escape. Quickly she gave Ikala back her ring and took deep breaths to calm herself down. Ruhya turned to Ikala and gave her a tight hug.
"Thank you."
"Good luck, be careful out there." Ikala whispered as she squeezed Ruhya.
Ruhya let go and dashed out the door. Her footsteps were light and quick as she raced down the stairs and out the main door.
The moonlight attacked Ruhya's eyes as she stepped out into the Balbadd night. She flinched and cursed herself for forgetting to grab her blindfold.
"I don't have time for this shit." Ruhya grunted as she clenched her teeth and bared the stinging pain building up in her eyes.
A loud crash and screaming caught Ruhya's attention. She turned and saw a large cloud of dust and smoke rising up into the air. She didn't want to put herself in the middle of a commotion, but the haze would block out most of the moonlight and give her a minute of relief to think.
Ruhya ran toward the nearby commotion, her breathing speeding up.
"Thag-Al Salos! "
Ruhya stopped dead in her tracks. Did she hear right? Was that Judar's voice coming from the heart of the commotion? Yes, it had to be!
The ground felt hard under her feet as Ruhya pumped her legs and ran faster, she held up the bottom of her dress to let her run faster. Ruhya smiled widely as she got closer.
Just wait, Judar! She was coming! Leaving him was a mistake, and now she was going to fix it.
Ruhya slid into the mess of broken buildings and screaming people, her eyes wide open as she looked for Judar.
He seemed to be in the middle of a fight with... a blue giant?
Ruhya rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things. As her vision cleared the giant was still there. She could see Judar's huge grin as he impaled the blue giant with a large spear of ice. It seemed like victory was his.
"Judar!" Ruhya screamed as she waved her arms to get his attention. Judar turned in her direction, but Ruhya wasn't sure if he saw her.
The next few seconds seemed to move in slow motion.
The giant's large hands slammed Judar from both sides, squishing his Borg into a weird shape. Cracks spread over the magic shield as the giant squeezed harder.
Crunch!
Judar's bones made a loud crunching sound as the giant broke his Borg and crushed him in between its hands.
Judar made no sound as the giant opened its hands and dropped him to the hard stone ground.
Ruhya's heart stopped and her blood turned to ice.
"JUDAR!!"
Ahhh! So much happened in this chapter, it's definitely my favorite chapter. It's also one of the longest chapters because I got really excited and had a lot of fun writing it.
What was your favorite part?
Were you surprised by Peli's true identity? There were actually a lot of clues and foreshadowing leading up to the reveal. They became more obvious closer to the reveal and I'm sure a lot of you probably caught on. At the end of the story I'll make a list of all of them. But until then, how many did you catch?
By the way, I post chapters almost as soon as I finish writing them, so they're not edited.
-Panama