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“That’s all the sails?” she asked.
“That’s it. I can throw an oar in the water if you want to paddle?”
“I’ll let you do that,” she replied.
“I’m sailing this ship,” Harry said—and indeed he was moving back and forth, checking all of the ropes that wound from the gunwale to the masts, from mast to mast and from mast to sail. And all the while he had to make certain the rudder was set in the right direction. He’d fastened it in place with a lash, but it needed constant correction. “If you don’t head straight into these waves they can knock you over, leaving you on your side. And then you’re done,” he said. “The sea is growing rougher: the waves are certainly higher, and the wind’s stronger. I hope this trident of yours is worth all this effort.”
“It is—trust me,” said Uma. “With that trident, we can buy our ticket out of here.”
Harry shrugged. “I hope so. We’re all counting on it.”
“You think this will work?” asked Lonnie, as she and Ben watched a group of strongmen from Agrabah take sledgehammers to the Great Wall. The stone crumbled underneath their blows, and soon enough, there was a hole big enough to see through to the other side, where a similar group of imperial soldiers was doing the same thing.
“I hope so,” said Ben, waving to Charlie, who waved back from his part of the wall.
When the hole was big enough to walk through, Ben crossed from the desert kingdom into Northern Wei’s territory, the Grand Vizier by his side.
“Welcome to Stone City,” said Charlie, bowing to the Grand Vizier.
“It is an honor to be here,” said the Grand Vizier, bowing low as well. The two shook hands, and Charlie motioned for the group to take a seat on his porch, where they could watch the construction from a safe distance.
Ben had sent a pigeon to carry a message over the wall after he had convinced the Grand Vizier of his plan. Charlie then forwarded the message to the Emperor for approval. The Imperial City had sent its response—a white dove that meant the plan was approved.
And so, for the first time in the history of the Great Wall, there was going to be a door to Stone City on the other side. The people of Agrabah would no longer need to fly their carpets over the wall in order to get access, and the people of Stone City would no longer be aggravated by the noise from the pesky things.
“After all, we are not enemies,” said Charlie. “We are neighbors and friends, and have been for thousands of years. The wall was built for one purpose, but now must serve another.”
“Not enemies at all,” agreed the Grand Vizier, slurping his bubble tea and chewing noisily on the tapioca balls. “What is this amazing concoction?”
Charlie explained the provenance and the ingredients that went into the making of bubble tea, and the Grand Vizier declared he would press the Sultan to serve it during their festival, which was coming up in a month or so.
Ben laughed, glad to see that the dispute had been resolved amicably.
The two kingdoms also agreed that the olive trade would be overseen by foremen from both sides of the wall, and that the Stone City and Agrabah would both take care of harvesting the olives and pruning the trees. The desert farmers even offered to teach the villagers how to nurture and care for the trees, and in turn the villagers offered to trade recipes and other spices. A few Stone City farmers even suggested planting olive trees on their side of the wall, although the Grand Vizier told Ben in confidence that he wasn’t sure that was a feasible idea, since the climates of the two kingdoms differed greatly. Olive trees were a desert fruit, and the Stone City’s mountainous terrain would not be conducive to its flowering. But who knew? Ben reminded them they lived in Auradon after all, where the impossible had a way of becoming possible: where street rats married Sultans’ daughters, and awkward girls grew up to be great warriors.
Ben and Lonnie bade their goodbyes to Charlie and the Grand Vizier. “You must come visit us again, especially during harvest season,” said Charlie.
“I will.”
“See you at the Agrabah Festival,” said the Grand Vizier.
“I look forward to it.”
“And thank you again, young lady, for being brave enough to change an old man’s mind,” said the Grand Vizier to Lonnie.
Lonnie bowed low in appreciation.
“They’re bringing your horses now,” said Charlie. “Safe journey back.”
Ben thanked them again, and watched as Charlie and the villagers retired to their side of the wall and the Grand Vizier and his entourage exited to their side. But a few workers from both cities stayed at the site, finishing up the construction of the Great Wall’s first Great Door.
“Where did you get the idea to apologize like that?” Ben asked Lonnie, when their new friends were out of earshot.
“From my mother,” said Lonnie. “I realized not every dispute has to be resolved with a sword. She said that sometimes a good apology can also do the trick. Mushu is always apologizing, by the way.”
“Of course he is,” said Ben, chuckling.
They headed toward the royal jet, when all of a sudden a strange whirlwind surrounded Ben.
