This world was a cruel place. That's what I believed. Nothing good ever happens to the ones that pursue happiness. I always believed that I didn't ask of too many things when I prayed. I only asked for happiness, and sometimes something selfish, but we all do that, don't we?

My life was a happy one, as far as I could recall. My mother was a woman who everyone smiled at, and my father was someone they trusted. My younger brother brought smiles on people's faces when he spoke, and I, well, people loved how understanding I could be.

I saw through people at a young age.

And that made me a little different from the rest.

But, I was still accepted nonetheless. Whenever they said my name, I would smile at them, and greet them with equal respect. My neighbours and my parents, my aunts and uncles, all cared for me like I cared for them.

But, one day, everything changed.

Have you ever been so helpless that even when you say something, your words don't reach the other person? You might yell, you might even grab hold of their hands and bodies and yet, your words just don't pass through. Or, have you ever been so lonely that even when the room is filled with people, people who are shouting out your name, you feel nothing?

Absolute nothing.

Like you never existed.

Every time I close my eyes, I see nothing. Darkness, I would like to call it. I wonder, why is it that the most loyal, and the most normal of people have to face something as harsh as darkness? Cruelty, hatred, and all the other things that define evil. Why does it embrace people who don't deserve it, and walk away from those who do? This world is consumed by those emotions, that we don't even know what to do with our lives anymore.

One minute we are smiling, one minute, we cry. Just the other, we pray to survive. We go off into our daily lives, like the warriors that fight a war. And those left behind, pray for our well-being. Some of us, return unharmed, and some, don't. Why is it us, the people who live our lives to the fullest who are consumed by this darkness?

Is there a reason?

Why it is always us?

Is there a reason, why the less fortunate don't live lives like the Kings?

…I want to find out why.

I move as fast as I could, for someone from the slums, I can move as agile as any man who was trained to run. I was ordered to complete a task that night, and I will not back down. For each time I complete these deadly tasks, I am rewarded. And the reward isn't money, or jewelry.

I jumped past a guard who barely noticed my presence and entered the palace.

The reward was for me to be able to see my brother's face one more time.

It was what kept me alive, it was what kept me going in this empty world. For someone like me, hope was never an option, and escape was never a possibility. I was bound, forever, and that is how I will live till the very last breath I take. Nobody noticed my presence, and all those years of running from such guards has increased my speed, and my agility.

I entered the palace and hid behind a pillar. My head was clouded with my thoughts. For me, life has been a struggle like no other. To kill, or be killed was how things were. I was no assassin, for I was a fugitive, running for my life, living for my brother's.

I cannot lose.

And it is not my life I fear of losing, it is my brothers.

I glanced at the King, talking and drinking with a table full of food. I ignored the hunger from my own stomach, and looked around the room. There were women, dressed with such little clothing, it made me feel pity for them. They too worked for money, did they not?

And here I was, a woman, who barely looked like one.

There was another man, at the far end of the room, he was pale, and he looked fragile. That stranger looked like he was in deep thought. The way his eyes fell on the King looked like he was grateful. In some way, it looked as if that King had saved his life a long time ago.

But, I couldn't say nay.

My job was to end that King's life that night, so I could see my brother's face. So I could know that he still lived. So that I could know my life was of use. My deeds were nullified with every breath my brother took.

In order for me to be careful, I had to wait. And I entered the room. As swift as I got in, I swarmed under the King, and my blade touched the crook of his neck. But something stopped me. I gasped and tried moving, when I heard a voice. "Stop." It was the King.

I struggled, but all in vain.

And I knew right then, my brother's face would be something I wouldn't see that night. "Ja'far, stop." King Sindbad said, and I stood up straight. The King was about to life the hood off my face when I spoke. "Don't touch me."

"Why should I listen to someone who wants me dead?"

King Sindbad sounded like he didn't mind that I had almost pierced his chin and taken his life. I was bound with wires, and I could tell it was the pale man from before, Ja'far, as King Sindbad called him was responsible.

"I have no personal grudge against you." I spoke, my voice not wavering. Ja'far didn't loosen his hold on me and King Sindbad spoke. "Who sent you?" I could not say.

I did not speak.

King Sindbad sighed and said, "Tell me, what reason do you have to kill me? Did your leader tell you he would pay you?" I could tell him that much at least. After all, I was caught red handed.

"No payment. I did it all for one reason only." King Sindbad listened. "To see my brother's face one more time."

"Ja'far, loosen the holds against him." I could laugh if I were somewhere else that the King thought I was a boy. I wouldn't let him know yet, but Ja'far didn't listen to him. "Sin-""Ja'far, trust me." Now, Ja'far did as he was told, and I did not move.

There was no use for me to kill him now.

"Who are you?" Sindbad asked, and I did not say. In all those years of fighting, not one person had asked me that. No one bothered about my identity. So, I did not think of it often, and that led me to forget about it.

I remembered my name, and that was it.

But, who I am? I didn't remember that. I couldn't remember anything about the days I smiled. All I know was that I was happy once. But that was a different world. I didn't remember my parents' faces and I couldn't recall my brother's. It had been three years since I last saw him.

"I don't know who I am." I said, and King Sindbad held a look that said he pitied me.

"If you tell me who you are, I can help you." I chuckled. "Help me?" "Sin, you don't even know who this boy is."

I sighed. "King Sindbad-"I knelt on my knee and Ja'far took a stance. "I do not wish to hurt anyone. I was ordered to kill you, but I failed. If I go back without completing my mission, my brother will die. So, I beg of you. Kill me."

King Sindbad took a breath. I was sure Ja'far would be more than happy to kill me. I stood up and I felt Ja'far pull me, by encircling his hand around my waist.

And as soon as he touched me, he released me.

"S-Sin, this person is a-"I removed my hood and I closed my eyes. "Kill me, King Sindbad." I spoke, revealing my face to the enemy.

Sindbad's shocked expression didn't alter and Ja'far readied his ropes. I was sure this was the end.

But, nothing came at me.

But a hand, on my shoulder.

"It is against my policies to attack a woman. I have decided. I will help you." King Sindbad said, and I stood there, shocked. Ja'far relaxed and looked at my face. "Who are you?"

I was sure they would recognize me.

I knew that he would at least.

Being an adviser he would know of the local troubles in his country.

Therefore I didn't tell him who I was.

I told him my name.

"Aliya."

And my name never revealed who I was in that country.

The Trickster who robbed the poor, only to feed herself. To keep her body strong, so that one day, she would use it to free her brother. What was it called when you lived for another? Such devotion you held for another person that the very reason you existed was to save the other person's life? Was it called love?

No, it was more than that.

What I felt for my brother, was certainly more than that.

Author's Note: I hope this story gets reviews from the first chapter :)
This takes place before the start of the Magi manga. Before everything, just after Ja'far and Sindbad meet.
Review my dear readers! (And, I'm working on a Judal story as well, if you want you can check it out!)