𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
khadijah had a soft smile plastered over her, feeling the cold morning water wash over her toes every now and then. her hair had been left down, silky white pants reaching and tightening around her ankles. her top was a pretty white lacy bralette, a design of flowers woven around the cup. she had long since taken off her veil, letting the ocean smell waft into her nose.
"our ocean back home was filled with shit." alicia's obsidian eyes were filled with disgust, watching her counterpart continue to smile in broad daylight. "why the fuck are you smiling so much?"
"i can't enjoy the fucking view?" she snapped back, turning to face herself. alicia was wearing dirty maroon ripped jeans, a oversized black shirt tucked into them; the last outfit she had worn before dying. "why the fuck are you haunting me?"
"because you've turned useless. what happened to your goal of power? at your age, we had already dominated the underground fighting arena and the underworld trade market." alicia's eyes were filled with disgust and anger, her tanned hands coming up to grip a fitful of khadijah's hair, scoffing of how well-kept it was. "at nineteen, we were respected-everyone would flinch when they saw us, they get on their knees and would bow before us. and now what? you're nothing but a fucking whore, a side-peace for that bastard you sleep with every night-no one respects you, they don't fear you."
"first of all, mind yer fucking tone," khadijah snapped her hand away, narrowing her eyes, ignoring the pain coming from her scalp. "i'm no fucking whore and this world is different; we have no power. i need to learn, adapt, i need to figure out how to grow and overpower everyone." hearing alicia scoff, khadijah curler her lip back in anger. "i can just fight anyone here, alicia. with how much power they hold, power where they can bend the elements to their will, throw a boulder with their bare fucking arms and call upon gods, ill die immediately if i challenge them."
"to 'learn, adapt' you say.. and how long is that gonna take? sinbad overtook his first dungeon when he was merely twelve fucking years old."
khadijah's breath hitched, now silent as she watched alicia flip her mangled dirty purple mane back.
"you're pathetic khadijah. you have no montgomery blood running through your veins." alicia grinned at her expression; khadijah had slowly began to pale, the realization slowly washing over her. "you're so damn weak. so useless. you have nothing! you couldn't protect shamir! what have you done? absolutely nothing! you've been leaching off other people's fucking strength to forge ahead!"
"that's where you're wrong, bitch." khadijah wrapped her hand around her past life, clutching her throat as she dug her nails into her trachea. "i made it past twelve. remember? it's always been a fucking achievement to reach the age of thirteen. i made it out from the damn slums! AGAIN! and i'm not fucking weak." her vibrant magenta eyes had began to glow, rukh flowing out of her as she grew angrier. "since your plebeian peabrain headass couldn't fucking understand, lemme tell you again; this world is different. unlike you, i have the luxury to grow into something you never could; a queen; an empress-i will become someone great when i overtake the power presented to me this lifetime. i have the opportunity to grow into something you only dreamed of."
"and yet," alicia cackled, gripping her arm as she grinned. "no matter how many fucking times you repeat that every night, you don't believe it." black rukh flowed out of alicia, the two colors clashing against each other as the sky began to grow darker. "every-night when you tell yourself you'll regain the respect and strength you once had, you don't believe it. say it! you useless BITCH! say the truth khadijah! you know you're weak!"
khadijah faltered, eyes widening when alicia had thrown her down into the sand. glaring when alicia simply hummed in amusement, khadijah gasped when the woman had twirled her hair around her arm, beginning to drag her over to the water. with a pained grunt, khadijah quickly escaped her hold, standing up before connecting her first with her cheek.
how the hell was she supposed to fight her past life?
her hands redirected away the two hits alicia wanted to land, head-butting the woman. momentarily, while she hissed in pain, khadijah brought her arm back, her elbow immediately coming in contact with alicia's throat. khadijah watched as alicia fell over, clutching her throat as she wheezed for air-her assault didn't stop however, straddling the woman as she continued to deliver blow after blow.
"you're so stupid." alicia sat up, the broken nose and loose teeth being spat out before she quickly changed their positions. she wanted to laugh at the current situation, but noticing the walls around khadijah begin to crumble, alicia couldn't help but laugh maniacally, her whole hand over khadijah's face as she kept her counterparts head underwater. "how fucking unsightly, you should just die."
"fine! fine! you wanna hear it?!" her voice was muffled, gurgling with water before alicia let the woman go, standing up as khadijah held her neck, coughing out any water she had swallowed. "i am weak! i'm fucking powerless right now!" khadijah snarled in anger, snapping her venomous glare over to alicia. "is that what you wanted to hear!? that i'm useless?! I KNOW I AM!!"
time stilled.
she felt alicia throw her back towards the sand, whispering something she couldn't hear.
"HAHA! you're nothing special, khadijah. unlike alicia montgomery, you have no meaning to your name. just like every normal, person on earth."
khadijah shook in her spot, wondering if this was the reason she was being tormented through the night. she knew, albeit subconsciously, that she was without a fault, weak. the very word she fucking hated, was what she was. without the magoi and rukh sinbad spoke of-khadijah didn't know if she could speak of being someone great.
what had she done these past years?
absolutely nothing.
she could've challenged dungeons, killed, gathered respect and loyalty like once before by sheer force. but she hadn't. and now at the age nineteen-khadijah wasn't known at all; she was continuously disrespected, continuously shown how much stronger everyone else was compared to her, for fucks sake! aladdin could kill her if he wanted. unlike before when she lived as alicia, khadijah hadn't accomplished anything.
"how sad." alicia scoffed, watching as khadijah slowly became enveloped with black rukh. "how disgusting."
「 。。。 」
weak. weak. weak. weak.
am i weak?
of course i am.
i can't even hold a candle to the people surrounding me.
i've only gotten ahead through sheer luck and muscle memory.
but have i ever trained myself?
who held me back?
shamir bhaad?
the only parent i had in both lives?
his weakness and frail body took my time to grow stronger.
no-no. this is my fault.
khadijah ignored how alicia continued to chant in her ears, the words 'pathetic, weak, useless' dancing around her head as she gazed at the ocean. she was seated now, knees to her chest as she hugged herself into a tiny ball.
"what an embarrassment. you let your past life put you in your place."
should i go out and conquer a tower?
no, i'll die.
then, should i join the underground trade and make my name from down there first?
"khadijah~"
khadijah narrowed her eyes, a flare of both gold and black rukh leaving her body as she wrapped her hands around alicia's neck. "you know what just occurred to me?" she continued to squeeze the life out of her, watching alicia grin in amusement. "i may be fucking weak, a whore and useless. but i will fucking grow-i'll be better than you ever were. i'll surpass alicia montgomery. and unlike your ass, i'll still be alive."
watching the woman beneath her suddenly begin to bleed, she had let go, immediately recognizing the wounds; it was the wounds that bastard cop had given her.
"i see our intelligence is limited as always. you stupid bitch. you should've realized sooner what your new strength was."
khadijah formed a crease near her forehead, watching alicia disappear before her black rukh was sucked into her own body, the feelings of regret, guilt, anger and sadness immediately overtaking her as she began to cry-all the feelings she had repressed as both alicia and khadijah attacking her tenfold as she stayed still and let the tears flow from her eyes.
she wasn't weak.
not anymore.
khadijah felt her blood rush backwards, jolting in pain as she felt her body be encased by something hot. her blurry eyes snapped over to her arm and stomach, watching multiple colors begin to decorate the exposed skin-they were the very same tattoos she had as alicia montgomery. "jesus fuck.. you can't stand the fact you're dead and making me the same as before?" she groaned, watching as a light glow of gold surround her body, flickering to black every couple of seconds. "what did you do?"
"you're adapting."
screaming in pain, khadijah felt as if her bones had began to break and mend themselves back into place. saliva dripped from her mouth, mixing with the tears that ran down her face. "what the FUCK is happening!?" she gasped, arching her back as she continued to scream.
"your body; organs, bones. everything is changing so you can rightly 'adapt' to this world now." alicia watched khadijah continue to scream in pain, ignoring the snapping of bones and the sounds of them being put back into place. "hmph. you should be lucky i haunted yo ass the past year."
khadijah raised her middle finger, flipping the hoe off before she sighed, feeling everything suddenly stop. "what's that new strength you spoke of?" she mumbled.
"being alive."
「 。。。 」
everyone was surrounding khadijah along the coastline.
after the failed negotiations, they had momentarily forgotten the people of balbadd, looking for their companion before they stumbled upon her sleeping figure on the beach. they had sat down beside her, in their own thoughts before a sheer scream had left the sleeping woman's mouth, startling everyone to their feet as they watch khadijah begin to turn and fidget in pain.
they all jumped back when they heard something snap.
sinbad was the first to act, holding her in his arms as he fretted over her. none of them understood what was happening except aladdin who claimed she was fighting something inside her-two different colored rukh fighting around her body. he had advised them to stay away from her, holding her hand as he frowned.
he prayed she would win.
"FUCK! BITCH! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU! WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN BEING ALLliveee?" her eyes snapped open, a hue of green now mixing with her bright purple eyes. khadijah pursed her lips, holding aladdin's hand. "were you all planning to hold a burial for me?"
"y-you're okay.." morgiana slammed into the girl, sending them flying back. "w-when you were screaming.. we didn't know what to do!"
khadijah had only wanted to confront her nightmare to get a better night sleep, yet it seemed like she had come back from a hundred year old war, died and came back to life. how much had they seen for them to worry so much over her? did they see her ass be mutilated like in the exorcist?
wrapping an arm around morg, she rubbed her back. "i'm fine now."
"where did those come from?"
khadijah glanced down at herself, licking her lips as she recognized all the designs and art that decorated her exposed skin. "they've always been there," she cheekily smiled, avoiding his eyes.
"khadijah-"
clenching her hand, khadijah felt a light tingle run down her arm before a ball of fire shot from her hand, incinerating sinbad's fucking cowlick.
"shit 💀"
before sinbad could've killed her or throw her into the ocean, khadijah watched a multicolored rukh fly away -one wing golden whilst the other was black- into the direction of the moon before it abruptly paused, returning back to her.
"alicia montgomery is dead."
it landed on her forehead.
"khadijah bhaad is all that remains."
the tip of her nose.
"rise like once before, khady."
and finally on her lips.
"give 'em hell."