Magi: Judar's Princess

43. Bidding Farewell

My eyes fluttered open and I caught sight of orange sunlight filtering in through the window. Judging by how dark the room was, I could tell it was still quite early.

I glanced over, expecting to find myself alone when I was faced with the unexpected warmth of a body pressed against mine. Judar was still sleeping soundly, his fingers wrapped loosely around a strand of my hair. I watched him sleep for a moment, smiling to myself at how peaceful and content he seemed in his slumber.

My insides then churned with a familiar unease as I remembered the promise I'd made to myself the night prior.

(I know you well enough to know that last night was just a ploy to you.)

I ran my fingers through his tangled hair, my heart fluttering in my chest as I did so.

(That's the way you'll always be, I think. And for that very reason, you'd never be able to return my feelings.)

I recorded every detail of his face to memory, hoping to never lose sight of it. I blinked through the sunlight that had grown slightly brighter as the star burned higher in the sky now. I pulled myself out of bed and dressed myself as quietly as I could, sneaking across the room towards the door. I stole one last glance at Judar's sleeping figure under the bed covers, smiling to myself as I shut the door quietly behind me.

--

I wandered the halls until catching sight of King Sinbad. I jogged to catch up to him, bowing quickly to greet him.

"Princess, Good morning! Why might you be up so early?" he asked, surprisingly chipper considering how much he'd had to drink the night before.

"I just wanted to thank you for everything before I left," I told him, smiling brightly up at him.

His amber colored eyes widened as my words sunk in. "Leaving? But it's so early," he said, unable to mask his surprise.

I nodded slowly, casting my eyes down to the floor. I studied the lavishly colored tile as I spoke, "I've caused such a mess for everyone and it only seems right that I leave them be for a while." Sinbad listened intently as I continued. "Besides that, I don't think I can handle staying--"

(Around him...)

My heart clenched in my chest and Sinbad smiled knowingly down at me. "Where do you plan to go then?" he asked. "You're more than welcome to stay here if you wish," he suggested kindly.

"Oh, but then I'd be your burden to bear," I laughed along with Sinbad's chuckle. "Maybe I'll return here and take you up on your offer. But what I really want is to explore. My life was cut so short before and I never had the chance to really experience the world," I admitted, smiling bitterly at the recollection of my past life under Natalia's reign.

"You can't go," I heard him say, his voice much more urgent now. I glanced up at Sinbad questioningly but noticed his gaze was directed somewhere behind me. I turned around, catching sight of the flustered magi with his hair still a tangled mess as if he'd jumped out of bed and ran straight here. "I mean, you can't go alone," he stammered.

"Are you implying that you come with me then?" I scoffed, my heart thumping irregularly in my chest.

"Yeah, actually," Judar said, meeting my gaze directly.

My brows furrowed at his proposition. "Why would you?" I asked, not understanding what exactly was going on.

Judar looked a little flustered again as he stuttered, "W-Well, because you might need someone to patch you up after you exhaust your magoi."

My brow furrowed deeper now. "I don't need your help with that anymore," I huffed, turning to face Sinbad again.

"Well, the old guys in Al Tharmen would be pretty upset if anything happened to you," he said desperately.