Cairo  

XXII  

I hope Jasmine knows what she’s doing. She grabs my hand, and practically drags me to the door. People are still staring, and nobody has done anything yet,… but that’s not a surprise, considering the fact that they may still be in shock, not to mention Zaro’s... reputation.  

Him, and the city law enforcement in general, all have a reputation of capturing people for fun, and only releasing them for insanely and ridiculously high bonds. In fact, if I had to assess the situation, I’d say that a lot of people were probably ecstatic at the fact that we got away from the guards and even injured them.  

However, that doesn’t mean that they like us. It just means that they don’t like us, or the guards.  

While these thoughts plague my mind (the most I’ve thought of in a while!), Jasmine and I sprint through the cobblestone streets, and make our way through the crowd that is forming in front of the diner. I look back, and can see Zaro, but he is too far away to be of much threat, and is being swallowed by the crowd.  

We run for a little longer, then Jasimine grabs me and drags me behind a liquor store.  

“What are we going to do?!” I ask.  

She covers my mouth with her hand. “Be quiet. We have no idea what sort of spies they may have, which is highly likely. I think I have a plan, but you have to do everything that I say.”  

At this point, she removes her hand from my mouth to let me speak, but puts her finger on her lips to remind me to stay below a whisper.  

“Got it. So what’s the plan?”  

She moves from in front of me, moving to stand beside me, and leans against the liquor store wall. “Well, I suspect that they have Calipso out there somewhere looking for us, since she wasn’t with them. But I haven’t seen her around here yet, and she’s not that much of a threat anyways, so we should be good.”  

Calipso? “That’s the shy girl that Zaro always drags around with him, right?” I inquire.  

“Yes. I have no idea why, but she’s his right hand woman of sorts, behind Tashe. So, back to the plan.”  

I nod in anticipation.  

“We need disguises until we can figure out our next move, but I don’t know where to get them.”  

Suddenly, an idea pops into my head for once.  

“Don’t worry, princess. I have an idea.”  

Jasmine  

XXIII  

I stare at Cairo in shock, and tuck the frying pan that I've been holding this whole time into my cargo pants. Him? An idea? Preposterous. Unheard of. Ridiculous.  

Nevertheless, I’m currently out, so I suppose that leaves me with no choice but to listen to his.  

“So? Spit it out. What’s your once-in-a-lifetime-idea?”   

“Well,” he turns to look at me, tucking a strand of silvery hair behind his ear. “My family.”  

“Come again?” What is he on?  

“My family. My mother is a seamstress. She and my sister can get us disguises in no time!”  

His... family?  

I begin to laugh, uncontrollably.  

“What?” His brow furrows in confusion.  

“Nothing, it’s just...” I begin. “My family practically disowned me after I stole for the first time. It wasn’t even that big of a deal- I was seven, and it was a schoolbook. I was just trying to learn more, but they took it as the worst possible crime and berated me for months. I... I guess I just find it funny that other families are so forgiving.” I turn away. I don’t particularly like talking about my family, but sometimes I just get started, and can’t stop.  

“Well,” he moves closer to me. “I... I don’t really have a choice. They steal too. We can’t afford items, so it’s more of a... need-based crime. But occasionally, if I have the opportunity, I will snag some cash. Money cures all, right?”  

“Well, yeah,” I reply. “And... speaking of family...”  

He looks at me expectantly.  

“Since we’re going to see yours, I just want to apologize... for being so pushy when you told me you couldn’t leave the island.”  

He nods, and I know that is as good of an acceptance as I’m going to get.  

“And... princess, I’m sorry too. For stealing your bracelet. It looks like you really care about it, so I’m sorry, for all that’s worth.”  

I haven’t thought about the bracelet since he gave it back. He’s right... about it being meaningful for me, but I’ve just been so caught up in this whole situation to think about it. Nevertheless, his apology is greatly appreciated, so I nod to acknowledge my forgiveness as well.  

“So? What do you think of my idea?” he asks.  

“It’s not the best, but it’ll have to do. Where do you guys live?”  

And so, another long trek begins.