The Snake Princess (Magi Fanfiction)

Chapter seventeen

Chapter seventeen

Amirah jolted awake, adrenaline flooding her body and making her shake uncontrollably. She pulled her legs up to her chest, eyes darting around the dark room fearfully. She couldn't see much, which only made her more scared. She practically threw Akido across the room when he slithered by her thigh.

Apologizing to the snake, Amirah shakily got out of bed. She was trembling so hard she almost felt like her body was walking on its own. Slowly she made her way out of her room, the guards thankfully not guarding her door. Instead, they were farther down the hall, guarding the stairs. Soon they would make their way back up to the end of the hall, though, which made Amirah move faster.

She knocked on Sinbad's door with uneven raps, shifting her weight worriedly between her feet. Amirah was terrified. She needed to know if what she saw was truly a dream, or if something horrible had actually happened. The candles weren't casting shadows under the door, and her reply didn't come instantly, meaning the king was sleeping.

Guilt quickly washed over her, but was too weak to overpower her fear. Amirah wanted to turn back to her room, to wallow in her thoughts alone, but she so desperately didn't want to. A few stressful moments of indecisiveness later she heard a raspy 'come in' from within the room.

~

Sinbad woke slowly at the sound of knocking on his door. It was rushed and needy, like someone was in trouble. He propped himself up on one arm, looking to the door with half-open eyes. "Come in," He spoke, messing his hair up a bit as he ran his hand though it.

Hesitantly, Amirah stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. Even in the dark Sinbad could see how badly she was shaking, her arms trying to keep herself still in vain by wrapping around her stomach. The king woke up almost fully at the sight, worry becoming prominent on his features and in his actions.

"Amirah?" It was the first time he'd called her just by her first name, and it seemed to draw the princess out of her fearful haze. She blinked at him in the darkness, her body calming some. Sinbad drew back the blankets he was sleeping with some, offering her to come over. It was a daring request. He expected -wanted- her to blush and refuse, but was surprised as the princess complied easily. Something was definitely wrong.

She gingerly climbed into the bed beside him, curling up into a ball facing Sinbad. Surprisingly unsure what to do, Sinbad lowered his arm that had been holding the blanket up and rested it lightly on her shoulder.

The simple touch seemed to literally break the princess. She suddenly buried her face into Sinbad's bare chest, crying uncontrollably. This worried Sinbad even more.

This was not how Amirah acted. Typical Amriah showed little emotion outside of joy and humbleness, with the exceptional sarcastic remark directed at the king. She never showed much anger nor sadness. In fact, it was as if she repressed most of her emotions.

Emotions weren't 'princess-like'. Showing 'weakness' -crying- wasn't 'princess-like'. Anger was beneath her, as she had to accept everything as it was. This was especially proven in how she acted after being released from her captors. She smiled, acted like she was perfectly fine, like she wasn't affected at all by the month of horrors she'd been though. She made sure no drop of emotion seeped through the cracks of her plastered on personality.

However warped her view on life was, seeing Amirah in such a vulnerable way was heartbreaking for the king. He wasn't sure what to do besides try and comfort her. One arm rubbing her back, quietly 'shh'ing her in an attempt at calming her down.

After what seemed like forever, Amirah gradually calmed down until her cries were soft whimpers. Her body was too tired to do much more than that. Sinbad looked down at her with worried golden eyes. All he could see was her pearl-white hair, the rest of her was buried under the blankets.

Softly, Sinbad asked with a small smile, "Hey, Amirah, can you even breathe under there?" His only reply was a weak chuckle; a puff of hot air against his chest.

"I can breathe," Amirah confirmed, lifting her head some.

"Are you alright?" Sinbad asked just as gently, not wanting to prod if she didn't want to talk.

"Yeah..." Came the princess' soft reply. More tears welled in her eyes. "N-No..." She shook her head, and Sinbad hugged her against him. Hiccupping some, she explained, "I had a nightmare..."

Sinbad nodded once, he had assumed that. "About what happened?"

Amirah shook her head, "Worse."

Sinbad frowned. He didn't know for sure what she'd gone though -she hadn't told anyone yet- but he couldn't imagine anything could be worse. Nevertheless, he asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

"Okay."

And with that, the pair fell asleep, Sinbad staying up a bit longer to make sure Amirah was alright before allowing himself to sleep as well. He could already imagine how she'd act in the morning. Blushy and attempting to hide it, she'd most likely fall out of bed. And Sinbad would laugh and tease her, because honestly he thinks it's adorable. And he'd probably end up with a pillow being thrown at his face and some choice words from the princess.

That is unless Ja'far wakes him up early with another tsunami of overdue work like he usually does. In that case, Sinbad would have to think up an explanation as to why the princess was in his bed before Ja'far's head popped off with rage. If that were to happen, the pointed looks and elbow nudges from the generals would never end once word got around he'd 'slept' with the princess.

Sinbad sincerely hoped for the former to take place.

~

Author's Note-

this is definitely my favorite chapter so far. It was really fun to write idk