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Maram swallowed. If Aladdin did not want to see her again, would Sadaf tell her? Or would she worry about offending a princess, too?
"If you have not heard anything by the end of the week, summon Sadaf the spinner to the palace," Maram said.
Another bow. "As you wish, Your Highness."
No, what she wished was to see Aladdin now, at this very moment, but Maram knew as well as anyone that wishes were seldom granted, and when they were, they would rarely be what one wants.
So she sighed and forced herself to find some distraction to keep her mind busy until she received the word she wanted, or the week ended. Whatever came first.
FOURTEEN
Aladdin was certain he had to be dreaming, for he distinctly heard his mother's voice, and his mother never left the city. Even if Berk had told her where her son had gone, there was no way she would venture out alone to search for him, and she did not have the money to hire men to help her.
So he took his time opening his eyes, for surely he had collapsed in the desert, and the sun above would be drinking the last drops of water from his body before it killed him. At least the last thing he heard would be his mother's voice and not Gwandoya's mad laughter. And dying of thirst was faster, kinder than a slow death by starvation. He almost felt like he was lying on a bed, instead of in the unforgiving sand. Still, the sand at the oasis had been soft...
But someone would find his body, and the ring, and Kaveh would be angry that some corpse robber had him. So Aladdin had to get up, and struggle on, or Kaveh would roll a boulder across him...
Aladdin forced his eyes open and sat up. His head hurt like he'd drunk too much wine again, but he'd grown used to that in Tasnim. He blinked away the blurriness, waiting to see either the desert or the rock walls of Tasnim. What he did not expect to see were the whitewashed walls of his mother's house.
"Maman?" he croaked. If this truly was her house, she must be here, for he'd heard her voice.
He heard something crash to the floor. "Aladdin?" A moment later, she emerged from the gloom.
"How did I get here?" he asked. "And do you have any water?"
"Of course!" She reached down and only now did Aladdin see the jug and cup on the floor beside him. She filled the cup and handed it to him.
Aladdin drained it, then refilled it himself and drank a second cup before his parched throat felt moistened enough to speak. "How did I get here?"
Maman shot a dark glance over her shoulder. "Your friend, Kaveh, carried you in here, half dead from exposure and thirst. He comes every day, bringing food and other things, but he refuses to take any money or thanks for it. And he disappears, like he has done again. It is as though he does not wish to be seen here."
Something tightened around Aladdin's finger, before the pressure eased as quickly as it had come. Kaveh's ring. He was not gone, the pressure reminded him.
"I will settle everything with him, Maman," Aladdin promised. "You don't need to worry about it."
"I do not trust him. Yes, he saved your life, but he has secrets that he does not say." His mother frowned.
"Let the man keep his secrets. He is allowed to them."
"We still must pay him. Did you bring any money back from whatever you were doing? I searched your clothes, but all I found was this thing." She held up the blackened lamp. "Perhaps we can get a coin or two for it. It is heavy brass. If I can polish it well, perhaps enough to pay him back a small amount..."
Before Aladdin could stop her, she spat on the lamp and began to rub at it furiously with a handful of her skirt.
Blue smoke erupted from the spout of the lamp, pouring out until it filled the room from floor to ceiling. Just like with the ring, the smoke took the form of a man, a man so enormous he had to bend double to fit in the room.
"I am the servant of the lamp," the smoky man boomed. "What do you wish of me?"
Maman's eyes widened in terror, and she whimpered as she tried to back away from the djinn, for surely this was another of Kaveh's kind. Then she overbalanced, falling backward and striking her head against the wall.
"Maman! Are you all right?" Aladdin asked, rushing to check. The back of her head was bleeding from where it had hit the wall, but she still drew breath. He carried her to the bed, not sure what else to do.
"I said: what do you wish of me?"
Aladdin whirled to face the djinn. The lamp had fallen to the floor, so he picked it up. "You frightened my mother and now she is hurt. I wish you would fix the mess you have made."
"I cannot undo what has been done, but I can heal her," the djinn said.
Aladdin blinked in surprise. It took him a moment before he had the presence of mind to say, "Then do it."
