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Cursing Hasan for distracting her, she headed back to her apartments. Her only consolation was that she left him cursing just as colourfully behind her.
EIGHTEEN
Aladdin didn't bother to greet his mother when she returned. "What did the Sultan say?" he asked eagerly.
Maman set her cloth-wrapped bundle down. "The Sultan said the princess is to marry the Vizier's son, and he is building a magnificent palace for her. You are too late, my son. I told you she would only bring hurt and heartbreak."
A magnificent palace...where had Aladdin heard those words before? Not from his mother, surely.
It wasn't until he sat down to the noon meal with his mother, the remains of the royal repast the djinn had brought for them the previous night, that he remembered it was the djinn who'd mentioned palaces. And how he could build them.
"Maman, I need you to go back to court, and speak to the Sultan."
She stared at him. "Did you not hear what I said? She is marrying someone else, as soon as the palace is finished! Did you lose your wits out in the desert, and bring back madness in its place?"
Aladdin laughed. He did feel a little giddy, but only because he could feel happiness in his grasp. Maram had a chance at freedom – marriage to the Vizier's son would grant her that. All she needed was a suitable palace – a palace he now had the power to provide, thanks to Gwandoya. "No, Maman. I brought something far more valuable with me. Do you recall the lamp you tried to clean last night? It is no ordinary lamp. It contains a djinn."
She shuddered. "Djinn are unholy creatures, traitorous magicians who deserved to die for their crimes, but the sultan they pretended to serve was merciful and let them live on in slavery instead. If that lamp contains a djinn, you had better throw it into a deep well, where it can no longer harm you. I shall do it myself." She rose and looked about her.
Aladdin was doubly glad he'd hidden the lamp. "No, Maman. I shall deal with the lamp. I need you to speak to the Sultan. Do you still have the gift?"
Maman waved irritably at the bundle. "I wish I did not, for it is a cumbersome thing."
"Give it to the Sultan, as I asked you to this morning. Beg him to grant me a private audience tomorrow morning, when I will bring another gift, more sizeable than the first." Silently, he prayed that the djinn had not lied about his abilities. If he had, then at least Aladdin would have the garden. That was something, at least.
Maman pushed her dish away. "I am no longer hungry. I will go now, for the sooner we put an end to this folly, the better. I ask only one thing. If the Sultan refuses to see you, will you forget about the princess, and pursue more sensible things? There are plenty of merchants' daughters in the city who would happily agree to marry a handsome boy like you. I would like grandchildren."
No merchant's daughter would spare him a second glance, Aladdin knew, and nor should any princess, either. If the Sultan did grant him an audience, Aladdin would need to dress like he belonged in the palace. More to ask for. He hoped it would not be too much.
His mother departed for the palace, grumbling as long as she was in sight.
Aladdin slipped back into the house and shut the door. "Kaveh, is my mother correct? Are all djinn evil?"
Kaveh burst from the ring in a flash of blinding blue light. "What have I ever done to you that you call me evil?" he demanded.
Aladdin cast his mind back, trying to recall his mother's exact words. "Maybe not evil. Just traitorous. Are you a traitor?"
Kaveh's dark eyes burned. "There was once a sultan who called me that. Now he was evil, in the worst sense of the word. Half the kingdom wanted him dead, me included. I led the rebellion that brought the palace down on his head, crushing him beneath the stone. His successor, a man who had fanned the flames of our rebellion to white-hot heat, only to reap more benefits from it than anyone else, was my judge. He could not risk another rebellion, he said, so all traitors must be punished. Many of my men were executed, and my family had perished at the old sultan's hands, so I stood alone, the last of all of them. I expected death, but he saw fit to grant me life. A lifetime of servitude, as a servant to the ring, a punishment reserved for magic-wielders who betray their rulers. I believe he meant it as a gift to me, but a warning to everyone else that he would not tolerate treachery, for I had pledged my loyalty to the Sultan before him."
"Who or what do you serve?"
Kaveh let out a weary sigh. "I am the servant of the ring you wear, remember? As long as you wear it, I serve you."
"At what cost to me?"
A new respect dawned in Kaveh's eyes. "You must wear it always, for I will pass to the ring's new owner should you lose it. But other than that...no, I bear the cost of my servitude. The spells I cast come from the magic in my blood, blood I am bound to shed in your service and anyone else who wears the ring."
"What about the djinn of the lamp?"
Kaveh shrugged. "He is bound as I am. If you wish to know his crimes, you must ask him, for I do not know. Both of us are bound to use our magic to serve our masters, and perform whatever magic they wish of us, if we can."
"What can you do?"
"I can move things with magic, or make things unseen. I could carry you through the desert, if you commanded it, or make you invisible, but if you were to ask me to enchant this princess so that she falls deeply in love with you, that is something I cannot do. I have no aptitude for seduction magic."
"And the other djinn?"
Kaveh glared at something over Aladdin's shoulder. "Why don't you ask him? He's been listening to every word we say, but only now does he make an appearance. You should probably consider yourself honoured, for his previous master had to polish his lamp before he'd deign to help him, and even then, his gifts were tainted."
