I know I've been gone for forever and a day. I had to spend some time in a mental health facility after my depression got severe. But I'm back and ready to go!

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Once they left the palace, Sinbad let Alibaba trail behind him as they went to the Fog troupes hideout. Sinbad allowed Alibaba the quiet moment alone with his thoughts. He knew the young prince must be overwhelmed with emotions over what his brother was choosing to do with his country.

Sinbad walked confidently down the hallway. Ja'far dropped from the ceiling above him. He fell in step with Sinbad. "My King? What's the situation?"

"Diplomacy has failed." Sinbad informed his vizier quietly. "Balbadd will not be saved."

"The king has refused our negotiations?"

"I was never able to offer any. Alibaba offered sanctions and Ahbmad refused. It became so volatile that I had to escort Alibaba out of there for his own safety."

"The ambassadors will be here in two days. But the political situation is becoming dire. What should we do?" The grey eyed man asked.

Sinbad looked out a dirty window nearby into the alley beneath. A small group of street children were crowded around a rubbish bin digging for food stuff. "We should hurry and get the children out of Balbadd. Have Masrur escort them to Sindria. You and I will have to stay behind and try to salvage what we can."

"Alright. Is there anything else?"

"Judal is here."

"WHAT!" Ja'far screeched suddenly, halting in the middle of the hall. His face drained into a ghastly shade of grey. "How did he get here? Why is he here?"

"Apparently Ko is involved with Balbadds descent. As for why Judal is here- he thrives on human suffering. Can you imagine he'd be anywhere else but a collapsing country?"

Ja'far let out a long-suffering sigh. "I suppose not. But he can't know about Sina, can he?"

"No. he doesn't. if he did, he'd already be here trying to kill or kidnap him. Or Judal would have taunted me in the Balbadd courtroom. To try to embarrass me or something."

"So, we have to smuggle the boys out as fast as possible."

"Yes. And not just Sina and Nakht. All of the children. Aladdin, Morgiana, and Alibaba too. Do you think you can manage that?"

"It won't be easy, Sin. Getting Sina and Nakht out of here will be simple enough. But getting a Magi and a Fanalis to go anywhere they don't want to go isn't something I pretend to be capable of."

"And leaving them in a Kou controlled Balbadd is not acceptable." Sinbad stared resolutely ahead.

"It might be better if we leave the prince behind. Taking him to Sindria might incite some political unrest."

"If he's left behind, Kou will see him executed. He's already shown to be capable of stirring public unrest." Sinbad frowned heavily upset at the situation.

"That's the problem with being the people's champion. When the people lose, it's your head they'll take."

"We could shelter him in Sindria."

Ja'far rolled his eyes, "You really need to stop picking up strays."

"I've taken in unwanted princes before. Besides, if Balbadd rises in revolution someday it would be convienant to have a future king of Balbadd who feels a measure of loyalty to Sindria and who isn't an idiot. I can accomplish both things by taking Alibaba with us."

"As you say. I can't argue that having Balbadd as an ally isn't enticing."

"I know. And letting Sina have a decent example to learn from as a prince would be helpful."

"Shaarkan would weep if heard that he's not a 'decent example' of a prince."

"He spends more time in the red light district than I do."

"You're not wrong. Not exactly a good role model."

"No. We should probably reign him in. I don't want Sina picking up bad habits."

Ja'far snorted. "If anyone teaches him bad habits, it's going to be you."

Sinbad huffed. "Well I suppose the royal nanny shouldn't let that happen then."

"Royal nanny?"

Sinbad tossed a sly smirk over his shoulder. Ja'far blanched. "Oooh no! Not me! Nuh uh! Cleaning up after your messes is work enough!"

"But you did so well when you watched over Pipiriku back in the day!" Sinbad laughed.

"No way Sinbad. I will actually kill you. Find someone else. I'll tutor him in language and diplomacy. But you should hire someone else to raise your son."

Sinbad's laughter stopped as he sobered. "I'm not going to pay someone to raise my son. I'm going to raise my son."

"Most kings don't involve themselves so heavily with their future successors. King Rashid didn't."

"And look how well that turned out."