The city guards were happy. The sharks were happy. The kids… well, at least their choices were theirs, now. And Cassim slept a lot better at night. Even if he did grit his teeth and try to bury Miriam’s memory, because what would she think of her murdering big brother? He’d never, ever told her what he’d done, he couldn’t bear to see that horror in her eyes-
Only… Kougyoku adored her big brother. He could see that in how pink eyes had sparkled, how pale yellow silk had shimmered over her bosom as she drew deep breaths to explain how Cassim looked like one of the people she loved most in the world. He could even hear it in what she hadn’t said; not one word to try and paint Kouha as anything but a killer who looked after his people. She was proud of him.
If I’d told Miriam… if I told Alibaba….
Solomon, being in the palace was twisting up his brain. Princesses, magi, empires; he had no place here. He just had to string the Kou officials along long enough to get out of here.
Right. Get out of here. She’s a princess and she’s pretty. She’s still the enemy.
Though maybe an enemy he could get to pack up and go away, instead of slitting her throat and letting her blood run in the streets. That’s what the Fog Troupe wanted from the Empire: to go away and leave Balbadd alone, so he could wipe out the nobles on his own schedule.
Killing their princess won’t make them leave us alone, Cassim decided. Getting her into position so she comes out on top when the rest of the Empire’s reeling from Alibaba’s scorched earth – that’ll keep them busier, playing their noble politics with each other instead of us.
Crossover Queen's Creative Chaos 
Does somebody have a puppy crush?
To be fair, Kougyoku’s one of the few girls who wouldn’t automatically react in horror if the boy she likes admitted to killing someone. She’d ask if was okay, ask why, and then play distraction and provide an alibi while he disposes of the body.
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Yes. Exactly! *G*
…Judar is currently silently going, “D’awww, this might work… And he’s definitely an improvement on Abhmad!”
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>And he’s definitely an improvement on Abhmad!”>
There are very few individuals that wouldn’t be an improvement.
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Sadly true.
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Do I spy Judar!Cupid’s plan working? I think I did…
…and now I’ve got a mental picture of Judar dressed up as Cupid, complete with bow and his wand as the “arrow”. BRB, dying of laughter.
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You should have seen my face when the bunnies first proposed putting these 3 characters into close proximity.
…There may have been hysterical laughter involved. Especially when picturing how several of Al-Thamen’s plans could go splat due to sparkly eyes.
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Cassim, it is not the palace or the pretty princess. It is the clue-rockets that the author and the bunnies has been patiently firing into your face at point-blank range since the start of this story . . .
Through to be fair, having evidence that your personal bias and/or neurosis might not be quite as concrete as you think them does tend to make things feel slightly unreal . . .
Through I have the feeling the World According To Cassim has only just began to go tilt.
So maybe he’ll accept any number of clues that have been trying to get through.
Through I think even with pretty conclusive proof, when and if he gets a Djinn, he will still maintain that he is the only sane King. The rest of them are complete lunatics, especially Alibaba, but he is sane. He is completely immune to the skeptical looks on everyone’s faces along Zainab’s not at all quiet snort of disbelief.
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Oh, definitely. And Alibaba will agree with him on Sinbad. Heck Alibaba may agree with him on most of them, given the rest of the Seven Seas Alliance seems to have been blissfully ignoring the Kou Empire for years. Ouch.
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Yeah. That one is a major face-palm. It’s note like it’s Al-Thamen working behind the scenes . . .
Why do I sense a very annoying combination of It’s Someone Else’s Problem and Access To Powerful Magic Makes One Forget One Is Not Immortal and/or Vulnerable?
Sinbad isn’t the only King who is arrogant. Some of the others might be worse in their own fashion because they were actually born and raised as royalty. Nothing like privilege and powerful magic to make someone overconfident . . .
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That and apparently they didn’t know the Kou had a magi working for them until Sinbad found that out in Balbadd. That does tend to up the danger level!
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gotta say I am thinking of the clue barrage as more along the lines of the hammer from Super Smash Bros. It’s just a bit more intimate to smash someone in the face with a mallet than a rocket and let’s face it, Judar is getting all up in his business. And as for ignoring the Kou Empire….Well that just reminds me of Germany just pre-WW2. …Does that make The Seven Seas Alliance the USA? Don’t get me wrong, I am proud of my country but at the same time….Sitting in a corner going “lalalalalalalala I can’t see or hear you!” while a murderous home invader is coming systematically for your neighbors….good way to get yourself killed and kill your conscience at the same time.
I gotta say Ms. Crossover you have done some pretty crazy stuff with my values with some of your stories. Just the concept of good neighbors being more clearly defined can do some pretty crazy stuff…. Thank you for that.
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Might want to remove your eyes from that heaving bosom there, Cassim. Actually, now I’m imagining him seeing her in full Djinn equip. His eyes are going to really get stuck.
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Oh, now that is an image. *Glees*
Maybe it’ll be Alibaba getting to tease Cassim, instead of the other way around….
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It’s pretty fun to watch Cassim be the one to rationalize away doing the right thing as being the logical choice for once.
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*Snrk* Yeah.
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