Chapter 2 – Jazz and her Master

Kayden was speechless. He looked her up and down again and pinched himself. No, this obviously wasn’t a dream, so what was happening? He wasn’t technically old enough to drink, but maybe he had found some way to get himself a hangover. That might be it, that sounded plausible, or maybe all of this was some strange joke?

The genie coughed impatiently, jerking his consciousness back into reality. She repeated her phrase like a broken record: “What is your bidding, my master?”

“What am I allowed to, erm, bid?” Kayden tried to ask nonchalantly. She looked a bit amused at his surprise, and then she sighed out of boredom.

“You have three wishes, and I am at your every command to carry them out.” She informed him of the rules as if she had done so a million times before and the tedium of it all no longer amused her. “But there are some restrictions-”

“What’s your name?” Kayden suddenly asked as he sat down onto his bed, the ripples from his weight creating small waves.

“M-m-my name?” she stuttered, looking quite taken aback by such a simple question. “No one has ever asked me that… before…”

“Surely you must have a name.”

“I think it is… Jasmine.”

“Jasmine…” he repeated, rolling the word in his mouth and trying to taste its flavor. “I get three wishes, you say?”

“Yes, but you can not wish for more wishes. And I can’t make people fall in love, or bring people back from the dead, or kill them either.”

Kayden scoffed and questioned, “Then what good are you?”

“You can have riches…” she suggested seductively. He laughed, causing her tempting resolve to falter.

“Look around you!” he cried, waving his hand about his lavish room. No one could miss the opulence that his decorating scheme of gold and marble conveyed. The shelves were also covered in expensive-looking sculptures, electronics, and more. “I do not need money. I have plenty of that.”

Jasmine smiled sweetly at him, causing him to involuntarily shiver. What was she staring for? “I’m glad to see that you’ve discovered that money doesn’t mean happiness.”

“Can’t say as I’ve discovered that yet, Jazz. You don’t mind if I call you that, do you?” Without waiting for a response, he continued, “I really don’t see a need for three wishes at the moment. Why don’t you just go away, back into your little lamp, or something?”

Jasmine cringed, looking back at the miniscule lamp. It had been so long since she had freedom, and now she was being banished, just like that, for no real reason. She couldn’t help but protest, “But I want to… learn more about this strange culture.”

“Oh, well, it has its interesting aspects.” Kayden responded unhelpfully. Jasmine folded her arms and shivered a bit.

“It’s so cold here. How do you stand it?”

“Well, your little entrance did create quite the draft.” he replied with a hint of annoyance, although he decided not to mention the air conditioning that was beating back the humid waves of outside heat. Kayden absentmindedly gazed out the window, watching his older sister swim laps in their pool. Jasmine followed his gaze a stepped toward the balcony. She was about to open the latch when Kayden came back to his senses and pulled her hand back, towing her to the opposite side of the room, as far from the glass doors as possible.

“I can’t have my sister seeing you!” Kayden cried, trying not to raise his voice. Jasmine had a curious look in her eyes. “You aren’t exactly dressed… normally…”

“I am not in a normal country, am I?” Jasmine pointed out, sitting down onto his bed. She gave a small shriek of surprise as it changed shape and she jumped back onto her feet. Gingerly she prodded the bed with a finger, covered in gold rings, until she deemed it safe. “Such a bed like this I have never felt before!”

“Such a girl like you, I have never seen before.” Kayden commented, furrowing his brow as he observed her strange behavior.

“You live in a strange place. The air is cold, the beds move, and there is no sand outside!” Kayden tried to suppress a smile at her last point, before she added, “And you dress so strangely. What dull colors!” Kayden tried not to take offense, but look who was talking! All he was wearing was gray jean shorts and a collared shirt. It was even a striped shirt! Gray and blue stripes, sure, but it was more color than he usually let grace his presence.

“You want sand, I’ll give you sand.” he declared, grabbing her wrist and dragging her off toward the wooden doors. Jasmine was about to protest, but relented. She wanted to be taken outside, to see the outside world of such a peculiar country. “But first, we need to get you some normal clothing.”

“What’s wrong with my clothing?” she wondered curiously. He shook his head at her lack of understanding.

“It’s a bit… revealing, for one thing.” Kayden disclosed, trying not to stare at her body. She blinked a few times with pure innocence.

“What about the girl outside swimming?”

“Bikinis are different.” Kayden replied, even though he had nothing to support such a statement. Jasmine accepted it silently, keeping her comments to herself. She had long since learned to accept the strange cultures she ran into without snide remarks. That had been how she got herself into this situation, after all. Kaydne was surprised by her silence, and added softly, “You’re in a whole new world.”

A/N – Yes, a reference to Aladdin there. I hope the description of Jasmine came across. Personally, I don’t like this chapter terribly, but tell me what you think!