Fallen Kingdom

Where Is 'She'?

An hour has passed after the incident and Solomon became anxious. They were still all together, Falan with her family and Setta with Ithnan. Aladdin was quietly sitting with Ugo. Solomon kept looking down at the town like he was searching for something. He paced back and forth. Wahid and Setta knew why Solomon was being like that but the others didn't.

"Why don't you just go look for her?" Setta asked.

"Her?" Ugo and Ithnan asked.

"Sheba. Who else. Why isn't she back yet?" Wahid casually said with a shrug.

Ugo flinched. Falan and Ithnan gave Wahid a confused look. Aladdin became attentive but he kept quiet. His heart started beating loudly. He couldn't understand why.

"Isn't she with you, aru?"

"What do you mean? I didn't meet her yet when I came back" - Solomon

"She didn't disappear with you?" Ithnan asked

"No..." Setta became terrified at what the conversation was headed.

Solomon was left wide eyed. Standing still without moving a muscle. "Don't tell me..."

"She isn't here, Solomon. She never was. She disappeared as well, seven years ago. If she's not with you..." Falan explained.

Aladdin shut his eyes tight. He started shaking. A young little boy who isn't even twelve, it's natural to think to want to have a mom as well. He saw and watched the interaction between Tess and his parents and he felt kind of jealous. He wanted to be loved too. Just like them. But with where this conversation is going, it won't seem to happen.

"Solomon" it was now Ugo who spoke.

Solomon turned his head to look at Ugo but instead, Aladdin caught his eye. Or more like, the necklace he was wearing. "That's Sheba's-"

Aladdin looked at where Solomon was looking and it was directed at the crescent moon-like necklace he was wearing. He stood up quickly and clumsily removed the necklace. "I-I'm sorry. Do you want it back, King Solomon?"

Aladdin extended his hands, holding the necklace to give it back.

"No, it's yo-" When Solomon looked at his young son and his face, his heart shattered. He felt like his heart was ripped out of his body and torn into pieces. He couldn't even breathe.

Tears. That's what he saw on his little boy's face. Aladdin looked up at Solomon and saw pain in his eyes. He realized he was tearing up when a tear flowed down his face. He bit his lips to try to stop himself from crying but it did little to none.

Aladdin quickly wiped the tears but it didn't stop. He rubbed his eyes so hard that it started to turn red. He didn't want to cry. He didn't even know why he's crying. But it's just that he didn't want to accept it. 'He never knew them, so why would he cry for them?' Was what he thought

Solomon bent down to Aladdin's level and held the little boys hands to stop him from hurting his eyes further. Then he took the necklace and placed it back on the boy's neck.

Solomon didn't know what he was supposed to do. But he just pulled the boy closer. Aladdin clung to his father as he bawled his eyes out. Solomon could only breathe deeply and closed eyes as he hugged his crying son tightly. All the fatigue caught up with the two little boys so they laid them to bed. Now that the kids were gone, it became a little awkward once more.

"Ugo, you know what happened to Sheba?" Solomon asked then.

"Seven years ago, me, Sheba, Aladdin, and Tess were together. Sheba entrusted me with the kids to go to the undergrounds but we were confronted by David. Sheba then came and confronted David"

No one spoke a word. They just listened at what Ugo was telling them. So he continued.

"She had to do something, I was knocked unconscious back then so to buy us time to escape, she used a spell I created. She knew David would be able to overcome it, but it'd keep the kids safe. "

"What spell?" Solomon asked

"A spell to open up barriers and push the other to a different dimension. The spell was only a theory of mine and I didn't know what would happen to the caster"

"She... Died?" Ithnan was the only one brave enough to say it straight.

"After casting the spell, David disappeared but so did Sheba and Aladdin. I thought that maybe she just disappeared with all of you, but she didn't. She really is-"

"She's gone" Solomon said in a soft and quiet voice.

No one said anything for a long period of time. It was Setta who first spoke up.

"You said Aladdin disappeared as well?"

Everyone looked at Setta then at Ugo.

"Tess told me. You were with Aladdin only recently"

Solomon furrowed his brows. Why were they just with one another recently.

"Yes. He disappeared and I wasn't able to find him"

"How long?" Asked Setta

"Seven years" it was Ithnan who responded. "I thought he died as well but then he appeared to me"

"Aladdin was raised in an orphanage. He was found in a cart going to Balbadd and he was sent to an orphanage. He grew up there and stayed for seven years. Not even a year ago, he escaped and wandered around countries". It was Falan who spoke. She knew what happened since Arba told her everything she discovered about Aladdin.

It was just heartbreak after heartbreak for Solomon. His people rebelled against him, his friends betrayed him, they wanted to destroy and harm the people of Alma Torran, his son doesn't recognize him as his father, Sheba died seven years ago and he didn't know, and now he was told that Aladdin didn't even get to grow up with Ugo beside him. He was raised in an orphanage.

For the first time in his life, he felt like he wanted to cry. If not for Aladdin being alive and with him, he would have lost all hope and the drive to move on forward. But he couldn't. He isn't allowed to show weakness.

"I'm sorry. This is all mt fault!" Ugo started to tear up. Falan, Wahid, Solomon. I'm sorry. If it weren't for my weakness then everyone should've been safe. This is all my fault. Falan, I'm sorry for keeping Tess from you. Solomon, I'm sorry i didn't find Aladdin sooner"

"It's not your fault Ugo. None of it was" - Setta

"Setta's right. You did great for keeping the kingdom all together and not letting it be destroyed. You helped Tess regain consciousness as well and you found Aladdin" - Wahid

"I am grateful Ugo." Solomon patted Ugo's shoulder. "Thanks for everything. It must've been very hard for you but you still held on. You are the hero who saved this kingdom."

"If it weren't for the barrier that you were about to create, we wouldn't have been able to come back"

"He's right! That was a heck of amount of rukh you had there" - Wahid

"What do you mean? " Ugo asked

"The 'secret weapon' that Ugo was supposed to activate? I realized it didn't really happen" - Ithnan

"Brother, that's because we used the rukh gathered in one place to cross dimension, of course, with great effort. We weren't able to come back earlier since we had no source of rukh and we tried to make other plans until the opportunity presented itself."

"Ugo... You brought them back. Thank you..." It was Falan who spoke.

Ugo started crying again but now, it is tears of joy. After enduring the pressure of governing a kingdom, protecting it, saving Tess, looking for Aladdin, and having his friends consider him as enemy, now, it all paid off. He was just so glad they're together once more.