My life turned into a crazy two-sided masquerade. During day I tried to focus on my studies, to act like nothing had changed at all. The nights I spent on Sinbad's arms, often listening to his stories of the world before I inevitably fell asleep. Even though he offered every night, I couldn't find the courage to ride the magic carpet out there again.

And with every passing day my 18th birthday drew closer. The day when I'd leave the palace and travel far away to meet my fiancé.

A few weeks before my scheduled departure father came to see me again. "I will miss you, my son," he said.

I nodded, speaking the appropriate reply without much emotion. "As will I, father."

"You will come to love her, I'm sure of it."

"Yes, father." I couldn't completely keep the frustration out of my voice. Especially since Sargon's last letter had been all about the wonderful woman he had met and would bring home as his wife. Why was he allowed to choose his bride and I wasn't? It wasn't fair.

He sighed and shook his head in the way aging people often do when reminiscing on the old days. "I understand. I was also young once. But whoever it is you're dreaming of, you must forget her."

"There isn't a woman I'd be dreaming of." It wasn't even a lie.

He smiled sadly. "Don't worry. I know my sons. It is not wrong to fall in love when you're young."

"Then why not let him follow his heart instead of forcing him to marry for the sake of your politics?"

My heart almost skipped a beat as I turned and saw Sinbad enter through the balcony door. And in broad daylight!

Father drew his sword and moved protectively in front of me. "A common ruffian seeking my life?" he asked. "Come on then. I am not yet so old that I couldn't defend myself."

Sinbad just grinned and unsheathed his own saber.

Unsure what else to do, I moved back as steel clashed against steel, praying that neither would kill the other.

It was over almost instantly. My father's sword was knocked out of his hand and he was forced against the wall, the tip of Sinbad's blade at his throat.

"Cursed street rat!" he spat out. "My sons will avenge me!"

"I am not interested in your life," Sinbad spoke calmly and sheathed his sword. "I only came to take what you clearly don't value enough."

"Sinbad..." I whispered. The blackbird in its cage next to me started cawing, "Sinbad! Sinbad!"

Father clearly paled. "You dare...!"

Sinbad grinned. "I do."

The next instant he was at my side, grabbed me on his arms and dashed back to the balcony. His magic carpet waited there, and before I could as much as utter a word we were already far above the palace.

"You are crazy!" I yelled at him the moment I found my voice again. "Father will send every soldier he can find after you!"

He laughed. "Admit it, you love it."

I did. In a completely insane, irrational sense I did.

"I will not just hand you over to a marriage you don't even want."

I kissed him slowly. "Destiny does not work that way. It was decided almost as soon as I was born that I'd marry her."

"We make our own destinies," Sinbad replied, not letting go of me yet.

I chuckled. If only it were that simple. "Spoken like a true street rat."

"Something like that," he agreed.

I noticed we were heading away from the midday sun. A desert lay this way. "Where are we going?"

"A hidden cave. Your father's soldiers won't find us there."

~*~*~

The carpet landed at the foot of a high cliff, hovering about a foot above the endless sands. Sinbad nimbly hopped down and then held out his hand for me.

I wouldn't have really needed it, but any excuse was good enough to touch him, so I took it and let him help me down to the ground.

"Where is this hidden cave?" I asked. I could only see solid rock.

Sinbad grinned. "Watch." Then he pressed his other hand against the cliff and spoke, "Open."

A crack appeared on the smooth surface. Then another. Light poured out from the inside as a huge stone slab literally moved aside to reveal a large open space beyond.

Sinbad pulled me inside, smiling all the time. Probably at my slack-jawed expression.

The cave was lit by countless lamps and braziers. On one side lay a huge pile of treasures reaching halfway to the ceiling. Everything from gold coins to pieces of art the kind of I had never seen before.

"What...is all this?" I breathed out, unable to tear my gaze away from the wonders around me.

"This is where I first met Medela, a djinn of great power."

"Did she give you all those treasures? I can't imagine why you'd steal with all this."

Sinbad shook his head. "No, she only gave me this ring." He showed me a simple ring with two interleaved squares in the middle finger of his left hand. "It is the proof of a bond between a human and a djinn, a promise to lend some of her powers to me. It also lets me control magical items."

He looked at the pile of treasures. "Unfortunately we got careless. She was captured by bandits, and they demanded as ransom a mountain of treasures to fill this cave."

"So that's why you're stealing..."

He nodded. "I couldn't think of any other way. I'll get there. It will just take some time."

"I'd like to help, but I don't think even all the valuables in the royal palace would be enough."

"Arash, you don't need to-"

"But I want to!" Think, think, think. Was there anything I could do? "Wait...If djinns really exist...Do they grant wishes too?"

"Well..." Sinbad hesitated. "Some might. They're not gods, but they have magic far beyond humans."

"When I was little, my mother used to tell me a story about a djinn buried deep under the desert. Whoever found him would have one wish granted. But the path through the dungeon he was imprisoned in was wrought with danger, and none returned."

"That's an old children's story. My parents used to tell it too. But..." Sinbad looked like he was deep in thought. Then he retrieved an old, rolled-up parchment from a large jar containing several and spread it on the single sturdy table in the cave.

It was a map. A very old one. The names of the cities meant nothing to me, but the shape of the land seemed familiar. "Is this...Persia?"

"Yes, and some of the surrounding lands too." He tapped one of the symbols like the one in his ring marked on the map. "Medela said all of these are key places tied to djinns. As locations go, this one would be in the desert where we are now."

My spirit soared at those words. "So the story might be true?"

"Perhaps," Sinbad said as he rolled the map again. "But I'm not sure if I want to take the risk. Even though it might be the fastest way to free her."

"I'll help you!"

"I can't ask you to."

"I already said I want to! I believe in you. We'll get through that dungeon together."

He gently gathered me in his arms. "...Thank you."