The blue portal closed behind them.
Jasmine sighed as Rajah followed through the portal. She walked over, holding him. "I told you to stay behind. But since you're here, you might as well come along."
Rajah let out a low growl in response, sticking close to her.
SWOOSH!!
An arrow landed in the sandy desert before Aladdin.
"IDENTIFY YOURSELVES!" a voice echoed from the top of the fortress.
Aladdin looked up and saw a guard dressed in a white scarf tied around his head.
Before Aladdin spoke, Genie stepped ahead in guard attire, leather armour and a white cloak over his head, half his face hidden. He conjured a megaphone and shouted,
"HOW DARE YOU SHOOT AN ARROW AT PRINCE ALADDIN ABABWA?"
Genie's voice produced ripples in the air that seemed to spread across the fortress walls and into the city beyond.
Suddenly, the guards froze. But it was only for a second before one of them turned to his companions and shouted,
"OPEN THE GATES!! HIS MAJESTY, PRINCE ALADDIN ABABWA HAS RETURNED!!"
Instantly, the towering fortress gates swung open.
Numerous guards walked out into the desert and stood in rows on both sides of the gates, taking their positions. ,
"Let's go in," Genie said, leading the way forward.
Aladdin, Jasmine, and the others followed behind.
***
On the other side of the large fortress of Ababwa lay vast lands bordering towns, villages, and cities, filled with incredible architectural marvels that couldn't be found anywhere within the Seven Deserts.
Amidst these lands stood huge monumental statues rising into the skies, representing the Empire's rich heritage, strength, and wealth. At the centre of the Empire was a vast river, filled with exotic fish and marine life.
This river flowed like a stream through these lands, nourishing the inhabitants before branching out across the vast region. Surrounding its banks were lush greenery, inhabited by exotic animals never seen anywhere within the Seven Deserts.
At the very heart of it all, amidst the great river, stood an immense palace stretching hundreds of meters into the sky, visible from every corner of the land.
It was a vast oasis upon which the entire empire had been built, sustaining billions of citizens. Compared to the other Seven Kingdoms, this was paradise.
However, at this moment, a cloud of uncertainty hung above the Empire.
Within the Royal Palace,
"What happened?" Rakim asked himself, trying to recollect his memories. However, for the past two days, his mind kept replaying that day, when calamity had befallen the Empire.
On the Princess's first birthday, the Royal Family held a grand celebration, sending letters across the Seven Deserts inviting others to join in celebrating the birth of their child. They had longed for a child for many years, and this one had come as a miracle.
But on the day of the celebration, tragedy struck.
The Great Rift had appeared.
The Great Rift was a powerful entity, manifested by the magic of the Green Emerald of Khufu. When the jewel was worn, it created immense anger within its user, poisoning their heart and filling it with evil. The more battles the wearer engaged in, the more power was transferred into the Great Rift, making it stronger and more solid over time.
No one knew how it was created or what the entity truly was. All that was known was that once summoned, it was capable of reducing any kingdom to ruins due to its unique and overwhelming abilities.
And someone had summoned this formidable entity within the Empire on the day of the celebration. Fortunately, the power of Ababwa was not something that could be easily trifled with.
A terrifying battle broke out between the Great Rift and the Grand Magician and his court. They managed to capture the being and seal it away before it could grow any stronger.
The attackers turned out to be the Witches of the Sand, an ancient and powerful order of one thousand witches who could control sand and even tame the Seven Deserts. For over a thousand years, they had conquered and ruled both small and large desert kingdoms, including some of the great kingdoms.
The only region they had never been able to conquer… was the Empire of Ababwa and other kingdoms bound to it by treaty.
Initially, there had been rumours that the decline of the royal family and the inability of the current rulers to produce an heir was the handiwork of the Witches of the Sand.
And it was at that moment that those rumours were confirmed.
Their goal this time was to directly eliminate the entire royal family. They placed a curse on the Empire, turning everyone and everything to stone, and covering the Empire itself in sand, forever lost to the passage of time.
Because the Grand magician and his court had expended their powers to seal the Great Rift, they had only enough strength to send the Royal Family, along with their attending servants and warriors, into hiding, allowing them to live in secret, safely away from wandering eyes.
Then, they placed their own blessings on the still-unravelling curse, ensuring that it would be undone when their Princess or any member of the Royal Family found their true love, thereby continuing the lineage of the Ababwa royal line, one that the Witches of the Sand had tried so hard to destroy.
With the last remnants of their power, they fought against the witches, killing hundreds of them, even at the cost of their own lives. As the Royal Commanding General, Rakim had also fought valiantly against the witches before being turned to stone by the curse. It had been one of the fiercest battles ever fought in the history of the Empire of Ababwa, and perhaps in the entire Seven Deserts.
He had no idea how long he had been under the curse. But he knew that he had awakened, which meant only one thing…
The Princess had found her true love and taken him as her partner, inadvertently breaking the curse of the Witches of the Sand.
What worried him was that none of them had any idea where the Princess or the Royal Family was, or when she would return. They had no idea how many years had passed, or if the Witches of the Sand had already learned this and were plotting their next attack.
The Grand magician was dead, and the magical court was now in decline, with only those who had fallen to the curse, turned to stone temporarily, and regaining themselves like them.
If they were to face the witches again, they would be utterly doomed. Because of this, they had yet to send scouts outside the fortress and had kept to themselves since awakening, hoping the royal family would find their way back to them.
"What do I do?" Rakim muttered to himself, grabbing a handful of his black, woolly hair.
As the only high-ranking official left alive, the fate of the Empire now rested on his shoulders. The state was in distress, and he was caught in a dilemma over what action to take.
BAAMM!!
The door suddenly slammed open.
A soldier, dressed in light brown leather armour with a black coat tied around his head and a sword strapped to his waist, rushed into the room.
"What is it? Can't you see I'm busy?" Rakim shouted, not minding his current appearance because this wasn't the first time since yesterday that someone had barged into his office.
They had been doing it every ten minutes, and he was now reaching the limit of his patience.
"He's returned!" the soldier said, breathing heavily. "We've received a message that the heir to the throne… Prince Aladdin Ababwa has returned!"
BANG!!
It was as though an explosion had ignited in Rakim's mind, causing him to temporarily lose control of his train of thought before regaining it.
Without hesitation, he leapt up from his seat, pushing the table across the room, and rushed out through the door.
The soldier followed after him. As they ran through the palace, he screamed, "PRINCE ALADDIN ABABWA HAS RETURNED!! PRINCE ALADDIN ABABWA HAS RETURNED!!"
Soon, Rakim arrived at one of the highest viewing points in the palace, facing the direction of the front gates. He peered through a large telescope mounted on the floor. Through it, he saw the gates held wide open, and a young man, strangely bearing a resemblance to their Princess, dressed in royal princely attire, with a monkey, also in royal attire, perched on his shoulder.
Accompanying him was a beautiful young woman, her beauty capable of toppling kingdoms and nations, clinging intimately to his arms. They soared on a flying magic carpet, with rows of guards flanking them on all sides.
Perhaps the rulers had given birth to another child? Rakim thought quickly, dispelling it.
Rakim had no idea how or what was happening, but he knew one thing.
The royal lineage had returned to claim the throne!
Tears streamed down his face.
/////
Fortunately, I managed to create something. I need help to turn this into a fully functional, professional discord group. Any application?
Join the family on Discord: https://discord.gg/mmE9qbMA
This chapter was supposed to be extra-long because to the surprise, but I was caught up in creating a discord group. The surprise will be released at the time of the next chapter.
Yes, I'm creating suspense!
Unfortunately, I can't post it on webnovel due to restrictions.