The Snake Princess (Magi Fanfiction)

Chapter thirty seven

Chapter thirty seven

Amirah slowly blinked her eyes open, gazing at the ceiling far above her in confusion. It was unfamiliar and painfully bright, forcing her to close her eyes again. She moved around some, freezing as she realized someone was holding her right hand. A soft smile made its way onto Amirah's lips as she opened her eyes to see it was Sharrkan, leaning over and resting his head on the bed beside her as he quietly slept. Careful not to wake him, Amirah moved her hand to run it through his hair. After a few moments of peaceful silence, he woke up anyway.

"Hey...you're awake," Sharrkan murmured, lifting his head. "How do you feel?"

"I'm alright," Amirah smiled, then asked, "What happened?"

When Sharrkan finished explaining what happened -ending with the fact that Amirah being awake was phenomenal, as in past experience none of the generals had seen someone survive depravity magic before- Amirah insisted on seeing Zaahira. No exceptions.

"I'm not sure you should be getting out of bed," Sharrkan shook his head. "Even if you feel okay for now we've-" He stood as Amirah sat up properly, moving to swing her legs over the side of the bed. "Amirah, wait-"

"Take me to her, then," Amirah held Sharrkan's gaze determinedly until the general cracked, sighing and letting her climb onto his back.

"You're a pain in the ass, you know that?" Sharrkan grumbled as he carried Amirah to Zaahira's room.

Amirah chuckled, resting her head on her sibling's shoulder, "I would have walked myself, but you refused. If anyone's the pain, it's you." Sharrkan huffed at that, threatening to drop Amirah and laughing when she let out a yelp of surprise. Pouting, Amirah changed the subject, "Where's Akido and my normal clothing, by the way? And Alex, he was underwater with me."

"The prince's assistant brought both to King Sinbad just after everything. He probably has them still. As for Prince Alex himself, I'm not sure. I haven't seen him at all recently."

"I see..." Amirah nodded. Thinking back, she could vaguely remember being pulled onto the docks by someone. She remembered coughing violently, and barely being able to see her savior against the sun that shined brightly behind them. Though she had caught a glimpse of who it was, just managing to call his name before blacking out. I'll have to thank him...

Sharrkan entered Zaahira's room, forgetting to knock on the way. Their entrance startled Ja'far, who sat beside Zaahira's bed, sleep deprived and worried sick. His head snapped up at the pair, his shoulders relaxing as he realized who had entered. "Oh, hello Sharrkan, Princess Amirah... W-Wait, Princess Amirah! You're awake!" Ja'far stood, watching as Sharrkan set the princess down on Zaahira's bed.

"Hello, Ja'far," Amirah greeted, looking Zaahira over. She was sleeping peacefully.

"How long have you been awake?!" Ja'far asked anxiously. "Yamraiha and the other magicians weren't sure you were going to wake up...at least not so soon...."

"About fifteen minutes?" Sharrkan offered, collapsing into a nearby chair lazily. He leaned back and folded one leg over the other, ready to fall asleep at any moment. "She surprised me, too."

"You should have Yamraiha take a look at you before trying to move around on you own," Ja'far advised.

Amirah nodded, "I will, but I want to wait for Zaahira to wake up." She watched the blonde sleep, guilt washing over her. She just wanted to help me, even if it risked her life...

"Princess..." Ja'far hesitated to say it. Saying it out loud meant accepting it, and that was far too painful.

"She'll wake up." Amirah's tone hardened, her eyes remaining fixated on Zaahira's sleeping figure. "I'm not going to let anything happen to her. She was only trying to help me."

Ja'far sighed, "I know... I warned her, but I should have taken the scroll from her. I knew-"

"It's not your fault, Ja'far," Amirah assured, finally turning to look at the general.

Ja'far nodded, trying to convince himself her words were true. Straightening his posture, the general said, "I should tell Sin and the others you're awake. Make sure you check in with Yamraiha, alright?"

"I will," Amirah smiled, watching as Ja'far left the room. Sharrkan had fallen asleep in his chair, and Amirah could feel her eyelids growing heavy. Turning back to Zaahira, Amirah curled up beside the blonde, resting an arm over her stomach to assure Zaahira and herself that she was safe from any harm. It wasn't long before Amirah drifted to sleep, though her rest was interrupted soon after by Prince Alex entering the room.

Alex realized too late that everyone within the small hospital room was sleeping, cracking a guilty smile and muttering "Oh, sorry," to Amirah when she raised her head to look at him with tired eyes.

Before he could duck out of the room, Amirah sat up somewhat, saying, "No, it's alright. Come in."

Alex walked into the room, quietly closing the door behind him. He stood nearby Zaahira's bed, on the opposite side Amirah was lying. "Ah...how are you feeling?"

"Better." A smile Alex felt was full of uncertainty pulled on Amirah's lips.

Alex didn't ask how Zaahira was. The emotion hidden behind Amirah's expression said everything he needed to know. Taking a step closer, Alex said, "She'll be fine, you know."

Amirah's gaze dropped to the bed, examining the off-white fabric as if it was actually interesting. Despite how confident she had tried to be for Ja'far, she was really very worried. Her voice just above a whisper, she found herself asking, "How do you know?"

"Because," Alex offered her a honest, bright, smile, "she has you." Simple words of encouragement were all he could offer. He knew Zaahira was fine, but there was no way he could tell Amirah that without revealing everything. "I'm one hundred percent certain she'll be fine."

A small chuckle escaped Amirah lips, her eyes raising slightly to meet Alex's. Seeing how earnest he was, she felt her mood brighten. "Thank you, Alex."

"No problem," Alex held Amirah's gaze, captivated by their golden shimmer. They were lighter than usual, most likely because of the tears welling in her eyes. He was tempted to reach out to her, rest a hand on her shoulder, do something to comfort her further. He nearly did, but froze as yet another male entered the room: King Sinbad.

The king was clearly still angry with Alex, glaring the prince down without restraint, unaware Amirah had caught sight of the nasty look. Her eyes hardened, her sadness pushed aside for a moment as she pondered how to deal with the situation. The silent treatment always worked like a charm, she decided.

Sinbad tore his gaze from Alex -who was practically cowering in the corner like a lost puppy-, and said in his normal happy tone, "Good to see you're awake, Amirah."

The princess paid him no mind, continuing to watch Zaahira sleep silently. Amirah listened as Sinbad walked to the end of the bed, just feet away from Alex. The prince looked between Sinbad and Amirah, growing aware of the tension that filled the room like heavy fog.

It took only a few seconds of thought for Alex to decide it was a good time to leave the room, and just a few more for him to scamper to the door. As he went he heard Sinbad chuckle under his breath, and caught sight of Sharrkan still sleeping in a chair near the door. Except the general didn't really look like he was sleeping- at least to Alex. It looked like he was faking it. Alex smirked on his way out, good luck with that.

~

Author's Note-

lmao I had to go back and reread some stuff cause I forgot what terms Amirah and Sin were on with each other. It's been like 3 chapters since they properly interacted???? woops