The Snake Princess (Magi Fanfiction)

Chapter twenty four

Chapter twenty four

When Amirah made it to the top of the winding staircase of the Purple Leo Tower, she was astonished to see Sinbad was already there, leaning against his door with a smirk on his lips.

"You used a djinn equip, didn't you?!" She accused, breathing heavily and crossing her arms.

Sinbad simply shrugged, still smirking. "Did I?"

"Of course you did, you're a cheater!" Amirah pouted. Her gaze drifted from the king to the pile of boxes ranging in size in front of her door. Her eyes widened- she'd forgotten about all the gifts he'd bought her. Sighing, Amirah facepalmed and muttered, "You're an idiot, King Sinbad..."

Amirah reached over the tower of boxes and opened the door to her bedroom. In the same instant, a chill ran down her spine, and she felt a darkness looming over her.

Amirah~

Whirling around, the princess' eyes darted around the dark hallway behind her, searching for the source of the voice. It wasn't Sinbad's. It couldn't be. It was a female, but was a slightly higher pitch than Antheia's voice.

Goosebumps covered her skin, her hands beginning to tremble against her will. She struggled to shake it off, turning back to her door. Amirah reminded herself of Sinbad's presence, and felt herself relax some.

Her calm didn't last long, though.

She quickly realized the king's presence wasn't the only thing she could sense standing behind her. Amirah closed her eyes, trying to convince herself that nothing was there. That it was just her and Sinbad in the hallway. Seconds later the feeling vanished, and Amirah opened her eyes.

Before her was the ajar wooden door to her bedroom, open just enough to see how dark it was inside. It was impossible to see anything. Completely shaking off her fear, Amirah maneuvered around the boxes to enter her room, planning to carry them in once she'd lit a candle or two.

Her plan came to an abrupt halt as a wide grin formed in the darkness just inches away from her face. Stark white teeth smiled at her, then opened into a mouth to laugh maniacally. It made no sense. It didn't have a body. No eyes, no nose, not even a vague shape of a head. Just an eerie smile that grew as Amirah trembled, frozen in fear for several seconds.

Amirah quickly snapped out of her panic, stumbling backwards out of the room, and tripping over the boxes as she went.

"Amirah?!"

The princess fully expected to land harshly on her butt, though she was too scared to really care about embarrassing herself in front of Sinbad. Speaking of the king, Amriah was surprised to find he'd caught her before she fell.

"Amriah, are you alright?!" If Sinbad wasn't already sober from their previous encounter, he was now. The princess shook in his arms, her pupils so wide the gold of her irises were barely visible.

"Y-Yeah..." Amirah shook her head in hopes the smile would disappear. When she opened her eyes again, it was gone, it's maniacal laughter fading into nothing.

"What happened?"

Amirah pulled away from Sinbad, giving a small shake of her head as her reply. Searching for her composure, she replied properly, "It's nothing... I just thought I saw something..."

Sinbad peered over her shoulder into her room. He couldn't see anything in general, nevermind out of the ordinary. He scanned the hall as well, just in case. Nothing.

What had she seen?

It was unlikely, but Sinbad couldn't help but wonder if it was something her captors did to her. No, it couldn't be. If it was, why was it only flaring up now?