The king and his phoenix

Wedding crasher

Tonight was the night of the wedding. For the past three weeks, Sinbad and Ja'far had been learning all that they could about Sapphirian culture, while Sinbad himself was taking his time to know Lydia better. Let's just say that Sinbad had the princess wrapped around his finger. She loved any and all of his attention, and he loved hers. Sinbad was drawn to her, for something about Lydia made him want to be around her. It actually scared him at times, because he wasn't known for falling for someone. Rather, he was known for people falling for him, especially if they were women. He was also used to waking up with a woman in bed with him after a night of drinking.

Well, Sinbad finally had met Lydia's husband-to-be, and he had begun to realize why she hated him. He was the angel of the Blazing Castle to the eyes of the public, but behind closed doors, he was cruel and abusive. He wanted nothing but power and revenge on anyone who had wronged him. Sinbad wasn't aware of it, but Lydia was one of those people who had wronged him. That was why he took great pleasure in tormenting the woman.

Tonight was the night of their wedding; families from far and wide had come to see this union, including some of the people from a neighboring kingdom by the name of Barbaros. Lydia's younger sister was their queen, from what Sinbad had been told; she married their king to keep the peace between the neighboring kingdoms. Barbaros, from what Lydia told Sinbad and Ja'far, was the smallest of three major countries. Their people were nomads and were known for their barbaric nature when it came to battle, hence their country's name Barbaros. What really intrigued Sinbad was the sheer size and muscle of the people of Barbaros: they reminded him of Hinahoho and his tribe. Their sigil was a golden bear holding a spear, to commemorate their first king who fought just with all of the might and ferocity of a bear with his spear during wars of the first rulers.

Sinbad stood beside the queen and her great-granduncle Ushkom as the music played, indicating the princess was coming down the aisle. Sinbad's heart skipped a beat once he saw her in her stunning dress. It was a sacred dress to the Sapphirians, something that was passed down from generation to generation among the queens. It was a form-fitting dress: ivory white that faded into ink black. Her body was adorned in gold and sapphires. Lydia made her way down the aisle and made eye contact with the purple-haired king. Despite her beautiful appearance for the occasion, her eyes were sad and filled with dread.

It was at that very moment when an idea popped into Sinbad's head; he could take her with him to Sindria. It was brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! The people of the court cooed and gasped at the princess' beauty. When her husband-to-be set eyes on her, a malicious smile spread across his face. Lydia paid no mind to her fiance's disgusting smile and stood in front of him with a blank expression. The cleric spoke up as the music died down. "You may now begin the eternal bond by presenting your blood." Sinbad watched in amazement as Lydia presented hers first.

Her wings spread out in all their beauty, the fiery reds, oranges, and yellows in her wings were dazzling enough to make any girl jealous. Her husband Habicus presented his, and the women of the court gasped in awe. His wings were huge and angelic, the tips of the feathers dipped in gold. He had a fan of tail feathers much like a peacock that cascaded on the floor like a half-moon. They took each other's hands and looked one another in the eye to begin the process. That was when Sinbad struck when she began to murmur the words of the bonding process. He sprung up and used his djinn-equip Baal; he grabbed his friend Ja'far and ran to the princess. Before anyone could realize what was happening, Sinbad hefted Lydia over his shoulder and began to fly out of the ceremonial room. It started a wave of outrage among the crowd, and Habicus flew after them with a pack of guards trailing behind him. "Stop that man! Get your grubby hands off my bride!"

Lydia wiggled out of Sinbad's grip and spread her wings to begin flying. Habicus saw this as an opening and struck the princess with a bolt of crackling lightning. She screamed out before plummeting to the ground. Sinbad swooped down after her, Ja'far screaming as his king nose-dived to catch the princess before she hit the ground. He could feel the cool night air licking at his face, and his vision was blurred whilst he squinted at the speed he was going at. Sinbad could barely make out a black figure making its way to Lydia as well. It caught her and flew right past him. Sinbad leveled out his flying and made out what the creature was. It was a Pegasus and a huge one at that. It was pitch black as the night sky, while the only noticeable features were the glowing orange tips of the wings, mane, and feather fur around the creature's hooves.