CHAPTER 3 - PART 1

The night fell on the desert slowly. The last rays of the sun vanished little by little and the darkness covered the land. The sands of the desert were quiet with the calm that had reigned over those lands for a thousand years.

The full moon started to rise in the night sky and its silver light caressed the sands softly. By the touch of the moonlight the sands started to burn. Suddenly those sands that had been quiet for a thousand years started to move, to make noises, to shake under the moonlight.

And then a big noise was heard. Like the sound of a powerful thunderbolt perturbing the calm of the desert. And with the boom of that thunderbolt the sands of the desert parted and the dust covered the plains and the dunes.

Then there was silence. A total and profound silence. As the dust started to settle down slowly, the silhouette of a city started to take form in that place where nothing had existed for centuries until two minutes ago. A big impressive city, a dark city that had been under a spell for the last thousand years. The Dark City of Karak.

The dark palace of Karak overlooked the whole city and its dark shadow protected Karak. The streets were empty and the whole place seemed to be abandoned. The sound of the wind resounded in the lonely streets of the city. The only place of Karak that seemed to be inhabited was the palace, the dark, huge, impressive palace.

The heavy doors of the throne room opened wide and a dark man entered. He was a man in his late 30's or early 40's, dressed in an impressive outfit. He was tall and thin and he had a serious and dark expression on his face.

A couple of guards dressed in dark uniforms entered behind him and took their places on both sides of the throne, that was guarded by two cobra-shaped torchieres in which the fire was burning.

The man walked directly to the doors of the balcony and from there he looked at the city. His gaze went to the sky and he noticed the full moon and the alignment of the stars.

"We only have three days." He said entering the room and talking almost to himself. "In three days Karak will be vanished from Earth once again until the stars are aligned this way..." He looked at his guards. "Azrak was a powerful magician and this spell cannot be broken. I was lucky when I could at least get these three days... we cannot lose time. We cannot afford that!"

The man went to the throne and gestured some magical movements. Beside the throne there was a water mirror, almost like a small pool. He looked at the water and some figures started to appear in there. It was Azrak, his old teacher. It was the moment when Azrak had cast the spell on Karak.

"He was always clever." The man said looking at the scenes in the water mirror. "He could vanish Karak... but he protected himself with a blood spell... and as long as his blood was in Karak, our city would live... do you know what that means?" He asked to the guards.

"A thousand years have passed ever since then, Lord Aswad."

"Azrak cannot be alive anymore."

"I know..." He said thoughtfully. "But we are still in here... alive... in the real world people cannot live this long... not by themselves anyway... but Karak only can live with the blood of Azrak."

Aswad paced the room from one side to the other, lost in his thoughts, his hand rubbing his chin and his green eyes shinning under the fire of the torches. Finally he grabbed an old parchment and opened it, reading it out loud for his guards.

"The city would reappear for a whole full moon, and during those three days the evil would run rampant across the deserts..." He looked at them. "This is what is going to happen now... the evil will run rampant for three days... we only have three days to find the way to live again... and you are going to help me with that!"

"How Lord Aswad?"

"Azrak's blood is still alive... not in him, but in his descendants... and according with my knowledge we can break the spell having one of his descendants here in the city... not any of his descendants though, that person must be either a male magician or a maiden... if we can find a man of Azrak's blood who's able to use magic... or a maiden from Azrak's line... the city of Karak will live again... and you are the ones who will bring this descendant to me!"

"But where should we look? We only have three days and the deserts are so big!"

"Don't worry... I'll locate this descendant with my magic and I'll let you know where to find him... or her... once we know who this descendant is, you'll bring them to me... and Karak will be reborn again, thanks to Azrak's blood."

Aswad turned to leave.

"Don't disturb me... I have little time... and so much to do... somewhere out there, in the sands of the deserts, someone who holds Azrak's blood in their veins is waiting for us."

* * * * *

It was a specially warm and wonderful morning in Agrabah. Azul was heading to the palace, smiling and saluting the people she found on her way. She was humming softly to herself and almost dancing her way to the palace. She looked particularly happy that morning.

Aladdin and Jasmine had been away for a couple of days and everything was going great in Agrabah. Ali had been ruling the city wonderfully. She giggled when she thought how serious Ali was when he was taking care of the royal responsibilities.

"He is a cutie!" She said out loud and laughed happily.

The people of Agrabah had grown up a sense of sympathy and fondness for that girl and they all smiled at her and waved their hands to her when she passed by, happy as always, carrying her bag on her shoulder and smiling and waving back at them.

Azul entered the palace and thought the menagerie looked wonderful as never before. All the flowers were blooming and their scents and the chirps of the birds and the sounds of the water in the fountains were wonderful.

When she entered the main hall of the palace she found Cassim in there. She smiled friendly at him and he responded with a movement of his head.

"Good morning Cassim," she said happily. "What a wonderful day we have!"

"Good morning Azul." He responded politely.

"So... where's Ali?" Azul's eyes shinned.

"Ali?!!" Cassim said alarmed. "I thought he'd be with you!"

"Me?" Azul frowned. "No... I haven't seen him today."

"He didn't show up for breakfast!" Cassim said.

"Oh well..." Azul smiled. "He told me he had some stuff to take care of last night... some documents of some sort... maybe he worked late and he is oversleeping."

"Oversleeping?" Cassim said even more alarmed. "We have an important meeting in 10 minutes! That's why he needed to have those documents ready! He cannot be oversleeping!"

"Oh boy!" Azul said a little alarmed. "Keep those people busy Cassim... I'll go to wake up Ali!"

"Alright..." He said not very convinced. "But tell him he better be in that meeting in 10 minutes!"

"He will." Azul responded running to Ali's room. "Don't worry!"

Cassim looked at her, a preoccupied expression on his face. He shook his head and sighed heavily and walked in the throne room direction.

* * * * *

The door of Ali's bedroom opened wide with a big noise and Azul's voice sounded alarmed.

"Ali! Ali wake up! You have a meeting in 10 minutes!"

Ali was peacefully sleeping when that noise disturbed him. He woke up in a jolt, almost hitting the ceiling and at the same time he tried to get out of bed. It was a reflex. It all happened so fast, he turned in bed and his sheets tangled around him, so he fell off the bed hitting the ground hard. Azul stopped short and covered her mouth. A couple of seconds later Ali's head popped up from behind the edge of the bed.

"... morning Azul..." He said drowsily.

"Ali, you have a meeting in 10... no, make it 5 minutes!"

"Oh my gosh!" Ali's eyes widened. "The meeting... oh Allah!"

He stood up and tried to run to the bathroom but the sheets were still tangled around his legs and he kept stumbling all his way to the bathroom, dragging his sheets along.

"Uh... uh..." He was muttering. "Late... late... it's late... what should I do...? What should I wear...?"

Azul smiled amused, shaking her head and rolling her eyes.

"The future Sultan of Agrabah... and my future husband... oh Good Allah, have mercy!"

She went to Ali's side and stopped him.

"First," She said untangling the sheets. "We get rid of this... then..." She took his clothes from a chair. "You go to the bathroom and change your clothes... fix your hair and that's it."

Ali smiled fondly at her.

"See you at lunch, okay?"

"Okay."

Ali smiled and leaned over, brushing her nose with his playfully.

"Now hurry!" She said softly pushing him gently to the bathroom.

Before he entered the bathroom he stopped, turned to her, smiled sweetly and winked. Azul smiled shyly and turned to leave.

* * * * *

Later that afternoon Azul went to the backyard of the palace. She leaned on a rail and smiled when she discovered Ali in there all alone in his training clothes practicing with his sword, fighting an imaginary enemy. She stared at him for a long while thinking how strong he was and how well he handled the sword. It always amazed her how he was so tender and so childish even though he was a great warrior and a wise prince.

He always took his official affairs very seriously and he was always eager to impress his parents and to prove himself worthy before them, but as soon as he was with her he changed completely. When he was with her he was a playful and funny boy, someone who was always trying to make her laugh and to make her feel special. And he always succeeded in his efforts.

She thought how they were the best friends ever. They were lovers and they were engaged to be married, but their relationship was deeper than that. She loved him, but she also admired him and respected him. And she knew Ali felt the same way about her.

Azul smiled and came closer to him, leaning against a tree and contemplating his movements. He looked so sure and so dashing.

"You look really impressive when you're playing with your sword, do you know that?"

Azul's sudden voice took Ali by surprise. He turned to her and smiled.

"Azul! I thought you were with the kids."

"I was... but it's almost lunch time so I sent them to get ready for lunch... and came to find you... how are you? How did the meeting go?"

Ali leaned against the same tree gasping for air and brushing the hair off his sweaty forehead.

"Oh, it went just fine..." Ali said trying to catch his breath. "I made it quick... I had training... and Cassim told me he'd take care of the documents... it's economical stuff and you know Cassim has a thing for economical stuff so I guess he's happy... he's a great help."

"He is... it's always nice to count on someone like him with official affairs, isn't it?"

"Oh yeah... he's very good at it."

"But you look tired... have you been training the whole morning?"

"Well, yeah..." Ali smiled. "You know you must always be prepared... I mean, for the last four years I've been... mhphhh..."

Ali couldn't continued for Azul's lips were pressed against his. He smiled and kissed her back. Azul pulled away and looked up at him with a shy and tender smile. Ali sighed and looked at her with dreamy eyes.

"What was that for?" He asked.

"Oh nothing... I just felt like kissing you."

She looked down at the sword Ali was holding and put her hand over his.

"May I?" She smiled playfully at him.

"Oh sure!"

Azul held the sword in her hands.

"Oh geez, this is heavy... it's amazing how you can handle this so well, Ali... it's really heavy."

"Well, practice I think..." Ali took another sword from the arms that were there and stood in front of Azul. "Okay blue eyes... let's practice... are you ready?"

"Yeah..." She smiled moving clumsily the sword. "More or less..."

"C'mon!" Ali said holding his sword in front of him. "Hit here! Hit the sword!"

Azul hit Ali's sword with hers a couple of times. Ali was laughing.

"Very well Azul.. c'mon, do it again!" He said lifting his sword. "Follow my sword... hit it... c'mon, follow the sword."

Ali moved his sword up and down randomly and Azul hit it every time. Ali laughed happily and put his sword down.

"Bravo!" He said cheerfully. "You did it just perfect my girl!"

"You think so?" Azul said happily putting her sword down.

"Absolutely..." Ali went to her and took the sword from her placing it aside. "You never know when this can be useful... my tough blue eyed warrior!" He said sweetly caressing Azul's face.

She giggled and brushed the hair off his forehead, but his bangs fell back immediately.

"I hope I never have to use this though."

Ali smiled and tapped the tip of her nose playfully with his finger.

"Well, at least you know how to defend yourself if you need it sometime... now could you please go to the dinning room? I'll catch you there... I just need to take a shower."

"Alright..." She said cupping his face and kissing his cheek lovingly. "See you there my love!"

Azul left the place and Ali smiled dreamily. He sighed happily and looked at himself.

"I REALLY need a shower... what a day!"

* * * * *

The laughters and the giggles interrupted the peace of the halls of the palace of Agrabah. The huge doors of one of the rooms opened wide with a big noise and a tornado entered the place. Ali was chasing Azul and the twins.

"Argh!" He groaned. "You have no way out!"

Ali threw himself on them, trapping them against a corner and he hugged the three of them groaning and making savage noises. Azul and the kids were laughing like crazy. Ali squeezed them tightly and nuzzled against their faces and necks making them laugh.

"Stop it Ali!"

"It tickles!"

Ali laughed and let them go. The four of them were laughing and gasping for air, but their faces showed how happy they were.

"You are mean!" Najila giggled.

"I told you you shouldn't mess with me... next time," Ali said hugging his little sister tightly and tickling her neck with his nose. "Next time I'll eat your brains!"

Najila squealed and freed herself from Ali's grip.

"You can eat our brains?" Nasir said still laughing. "Awesome!"

Ali was recovering from his own laugh. He went to Azul's side and smiled at her.

"You are terrible, Ali!" She smiled.

"Oh well... I enjoy making your suffer." He said evilly. "So, here we are, the toy room of grandfather Hamid... how about this?"

"Oh yay!" The kids said excitedly.

"I've always loved this place." Azul smiled looking around.

"Oh, the little camels!" Ali said playfully. "Do you want to play with the little camels?"

"Ali..." Azul said. "We're supposed to go back to the studio and continue with the lessons now!"

"Aw, but we want to play!" Najila protested.

"We've been studying the whole day Azul!" Nasir said. "Let's play!"

"C'mon blue eyes! Besides, part of the education of the kids is give them the chance to exercise themselves... to have some fresh air... to run a little."

"But Ali, I..."

"Please?" He said looking at her with those big puppy eyes of his.

"Please?" The twins said imitating Ali's expression.

"Oh Allah!" Azul laughed. "You guys are terrible!"

"Well," Ali said formally. "As the Grand Vizier I consider you guys need some rest... and I order you to have a free evening... go to the menagerie... have fun... and I personally will supervise that my orders are followed!"

"Alright..." Azul said slowly. "I guess the kids need some sun and some exercise, that's right... but tomorrow we'll study the whole day, okay?"

"Okay!" Najila and Nasir said excitedly.

"But what about you, Ali?" She said worried. "Don't you have official issues to take care of?"

"I have a bunch of papers and documents to take care of... but I can do that tonight... I can stay up late working on them."

"And then you'll be oversleeping tomorrow!"

"Oh..." He smiled mischievously. "You know me so well!"

"Okay smart boy," Azul laughed. "What do you have in mind?"

Ali smiled and pointed up.

"Those!"

Azul and the kids looked up.

"The kites!" The twins said excitedly.

"There's a great wind today... let's fly the kites!"

"This is going to be fun!" Azul laughed.

* * * * *

The four of them spent a wonderful evening flying the kites in the menagerie. The kids would never stop, they were so playful and so restless and Azul loved the patience Ali had with them and the way he treated them. Seeing Ali playing with his siblings like that made Azul think of the kind of wonderful father Ali would make when it was the time. She was sitting under a tree lost in her thoughts, smiling dreamily at Ali who was helping the twins to fly their kites.

Ali came to her and held his hand for hers.

"You are lost in space blue eyes!" He said playfully. "Where are you?"

"Oh..." She smiled taking his hand and going to her feet. "I don't know... somewhere far away."

"I'd give anything to read your thoughts!"

Azul smiled and looked into his eyes.

"Ali, you DO read my thoughts!"

They laughed softly and Ali handed to her the string of a kite.

"C'mon, the twins have theirs in the air already... it's our turn... let's show them how it's done!"

Ali took her hand and they ran across the menagerie laughing happily. They really enjoyed moments like that, moments to spend time together, have fun and just be happy in each other's company.

When the kite was finally in the air Azul was holding the string.

"They are beautiful!" Najila said looking up at Azul. "Don't you like them?"

"Yes..." She smiled at her. "I love kites... but you know what I love more than kites?"

"What?" Nasir said not taking his eyes from his own kite.

"The fact that we are here together, having fun."

"Oh, I love that too!" Najila said happily. "I always have fun with you!"

"Me too!" Nasir said. "I'm glad you decided to be our sister!"

Ali smiled and came closer to Azul, closing his arms around her waist from behind and resting his chin on her shoulder.

"Oh, I'm so glad you decided to be their sister!" Ali said hugging her tightly. "So, so happy!"

Azul turned her head and smiled tenderly at him.

"I can't wait for you two to be married!" Najila said. "I want you to live here in the palace with us, Azul."

"Me too." Nasir said. "It's going to be wonderful to have you in here day and night."

Azul and Ali smiled.

"You are going to need a bigger bed then, Ali." Najila said.

"Yeah... otherwise one of you could fall off the bed in the middle of the night."

Ali and Azul chuckled and blushed a little. Azul turned her head to face Ali.

"If one of us is going to fall, that wouldn't be me." She winked at him.

"You meanie!" He laughed. "Now you're going to tease me about that for the rest of my life!"

"Well," She whispered. "You're cute when you fall off the bed."

Ali groaned playfully and kissed Azul's cheek. She laughed and rubbed her face onto his and they continued flying their kites and playing in the menagerie for the rest of the evening.

* * * * *

That night the kids were really tired. They had spent a very busy day playing and studying. Ali entered the kid's room and stopped in the doorway when he saw Azul in there, putting the kids to sleep. He leaned against the frame of the door and contemplated the scene with a smile on his face.

Azul was fixing the pillows and the blankets of the kids and talking softly to them. The twins were sleepy already and they were just muttering in response. Azul made sure they were comfortable and warm and then she contemplated them for a couple of seconds, smiling tenderly. She leaned to kiss them good night and carefully she blew out the lamp.

When she turned to leave she found Ali in there, staring lovingly at her. She smiled and spoke softly, barely a whisper.

"They are tired... let's go."

She grabbed Ali's arm and they left the room, closing the door behind them softly.

"Oh Azul!" Ali said tenderly. "You are so good to them!"

"I love kids." She said. "And you know how much I love your siblings."

Ali smiled lovingly and caressed her face and her hair, thinking the kind of wonderful mother Azul would make some day. He blushed at the thought of that and Azul understood what he was thinking, so she blushed as well.

"This was a long day!" Azul said. "I'm so tired... and you still have to work on those official documents."

"Yeah..." He said absently, still looking at her face. "But we had a wonderful day."

"We did." She smiled.

Ali shook his head and grabbed Azul's face almost desperately, kissing her lips tenderly. Azul placed her arms around Ali's neck and kissed him back. They kissed for a long while. When they pulled away Azul chuckled.

"And that was because...?"

"Azul," He said seriously. "I really want you to be my wife... every day I feel this need growing in my heart more and more... I love you, blue eyes... I adore you!"

"Oh Ali!"

"I just... I don't know... I think we spent such a beautiful day... and now I have to walk you home... and tell you good night... and come back all alone... Azul I--"

"I know my love... and I understand... this is hard for me as well... I wish we didn't have to say good bye... never... the way that goes from my house to the palace is longer every day."

"I know... and we still have a date to set."

"I haven't forgotten about that!"

Ali smiled and kissed her forehead.

"Okay... let me take you home... we can talk about this tomorrow when we're rested and it's early... I don't want to rush things."

"Sounds good to me." She smiled back.

"Well, so lets go to your home... you look so tired and you need your rest."

Azul looked in his eyes lovingly and lightly reached for his hand. After a second she smiled a gorgeous smile.

"What?" Ali smiled back.

"I lov-" Azul couldn't end her sentence, for Ali's lips were pressed against hers already.

"I know." He said gently when they pulled away.

They smiled tenderly and Ali kissed her hand. They left the palace walking slowly and talking softly about their dreams and their hopes, about the wonderful day they had spent together and about the wonderful life they'd have together.

* * * * *

The full moon was high in the sky that night. It was all so quiet and so mysterious. The fire that was burning in the torchieres by the throne was reflected in the green eyes of Aswad, who was sitting on his throne, staring at the water mirror before him.

"This is the second night..." He finally said to his guards. "We cannot lose more time... we only have 24 hours left... this has to be done right away... as soon as possible. Before the moon sets tomorrow night, Azrak's blood must be in Karak!"

"Where should we go?" One of them asked.

"Have you found Azrak's blood yet?"

Aswad looked at his dark guards and smiled a small, evil smile. Then he made a movement with his arm and the water started to glow as an image appeared there.

"It was not easy to follow the trail of Azrak... it's been a thousand years and his blood could be anywhere in the world... but Azrak's blood cannot be ignored. It's a powerful blood... it can be sensed magically... and I did it."

"So, who's this descendant who will make Karak live again?"

Aswad motioned at the water mirror.

"That descendant... Azrak's last descendant is a woman."

"A woman!" One of the guards repeated.

"Easy enough." The other grinned.

"She is young..." Aswad said staring at the image in the water mirror. "She is beautiful... she has a big power inside her... she holds Azrak's blood... she even has Azrak's blue eyes... and she shares the name of her ancestor... she is Azul."

"Is she what we need?"

"She is..." Aswad smiled evilly. "She is a maiden."

"Where can we find her?"

"She lives in a city about a journey away from here... a city named Agrabah."

"We need to bring her in here then... right away!"

"We do." Aswad said calmly still looking at the reflection in the water mirror. "But you must be careful when you get her. She's engaged to be married to the prince of Agrabah... you have to make sure no one can follow you... once Azrak's blood is in Karak we'll be indestructible again and we will be able to conquer the Seven Deserts and all the magical powers in the world... but before that we have to make sure this girl arrives in Karak safe and sound... is that clear?"

"It is, Lord Aswad!"

"Get her when she's alone... when no one is around... I want to make sure we don't have any troubles bringing her in here."

"But what about the prophecy?" The guard asked. "What about the Lion of the Desert?"

Aswad shook his head.

"That's why I want this to be done in secret... once the maiden is in here I'll find the way to make it permanently... somehow... I'll make sure Azrak's blood would never leave Karak again... as for whoever this Lion of the Desert could be... I'll make sure he'd never get the chance to rescue the maiden."

"Do you have any idea who this Lion of the Desert might be?"

"No..." Aswad said making the image in the water mirror change. "The only person close enough to Azrak's descendant is her fianc�... the prince of Agrabah..." he stared at the reflection of the couple in the water mirror. "But he is just a boy... he's not the Lion of the Desert of the prophecy... he is nothing but a kid... we shouldn't worry about him."

"So, what are your orders, Lord Aswad?"

"Go to Agrabah... wait until the maiden is all alone and then bring her to me... safe and sound... but be quick about it... before the moon sets tomorrow night she must be in here... Azrak's blood must return in Karak before the end of the full moon!"

The two guards bowed respectfully to Aswad and left the room. He stared at the reflection of the young couple in the water mirror and smiled.

"A thousand years..." He said. "And your blood remains the same, Azrak... this is going to be easier than I thought..."

* * * * *

It was past noon in Agrabah. Azul was tutoring the royal twins as always and wondering where Ali could be. She hadn't seen him during the day and she was already missing him.

"Azul?" Najila brought her back to reality. "What are we going to do with these paintings?"

Azul shook her head trying to keep herself in focus.

"Oh... um... oh yeah, look kids, it's important you develop your artistic side... you know how your mother is a wonderful artist. She can paint wonderful portraits and landscapes."

"She can." Nasir said. "Just like you!"

"Yeah," Najila said. "Remember the portrait of Ali you painted?"

"Well, yeah... I-"

"He has your portrait on his night table in his room, did you know that?" Nasir said.

"Yeah, I knew that he---"

"What about you? Do you have his on your night table?"

"Of course I have it there... I-"

"That way you can see his face when you wake up, don't you?" Najila said.

"Or in the middle of the night when you cannot sleep!" Nasir completed.

Azul laughed softly and shook her head.

"Kids... please, let's focus in here!"

"But Ali has another portrait... on his desk... haven't you seen it?"

"Yeah... he has several portraits in there." Nasir said. "One of him with father, when Ali was like 4... have you seen it?"

"I have." Azul smiled.

"And the other one, the one of the two of you together."

"Yeah..." Azul said softly. "I love that portrait!"

"Azul, when are you getting married?"

Azul shook her head trying to slap herself back to reality. The twins always managed to make her lose track of what she was saying.

"Alright, we'll chat later... now pay attention here... do you see these pictures in these books?"

"They are wonderful!" Najila and Nasir said.

"Okay, so you kids will pick up the picture you like the most... and you are going to try to copy it on your canvas with the paintings you have in here... what do you think?"

"It's going to be fun!" Nasir said.

"Should we use the brush?" Najila asked.

"Can we do it with our fingers?"

"Well..." Azul thought about it for a second. "I guess it's okay if you use your fingers... but you must be careful, try to keep yourself clean, okay?"

"Okay!" The twins said happily.

Half an hour later the door of the studio opened slowly and Ali peeked inside. He smiled happily when he saw Azul in there. He entered the room and Azul noticed his presence in there.

"Ali!" She said happily standing up to receive him.

"Ali!" The kids said.

"We are painting!"

"It's so much fun!"

"Good!" Ali said to the kids, but his attention was only for Azul.

He approached her slowly, a small, mischievous smile on his face and his hands behind his back. Azul smiled up at him, placed her hands on his stomach and lifted her face for a quick kiss.

"Where were you?" She smiled when they pulled apart. "I didn't see you during lunch and I was told you weren't here for breakfast either."

"Well, I woke up really early today... I had a lot of things to do in town and I wanted to have them done as soon as possible... but there's good news, I'm done for the rest of the day!"

"Hmmm..." Azul smiled. "So that means we have the evening for ourselves?"

"You tell me about it... what do you say?" Ali said playfully.

"You could convince me." She said mischievously.

"I think I can do that!" Ali leaned over and kissed her again.

"Okay..." She laughed. "Count me in!"

Ali chuckled and Azul sent him a playful look.

"So, what's behind your back?"

"Uh?" Ali said pretending to be surprised. "Oh... this..." He said presenting a beautiful rose to her. "Well..." He said casually. "I just wanted to show this rose what real beauty was."

"Oh Ali!" She said blushing and taking the rose. "It's so beautiful... and you are so sweet!"

Ali grinned at her and she went to the window, where she kept a vase. Ali approached the kids and smiled seeing their works.

"Hey... I never knew you kids were artists."

"We are..." Najila said. "Just like mom!"

"And Azul!"

Azul smiled and sat on the pillows beside Nasir. Ali sat by her side.

"You guys work so hard... but you know, kids, you should be grateful to have such a lovely and smart tutor... a very funny one besides... when I was your age I had the most boring teachers... they never let us do anything fun... Yesny and I really suffered with them."

"Anything fun?" Nasir asked. "Not even painting like this?"

"Nope... not even painting."

"Ugh!" Najila said. "How boring!"

"We like Azul a lot!" Nasir said.

"Yeah, we do... she is great... isn't she great Ali?" Najila said.

"She is." Ali stared at Azul and she smiled. "I'd have given anything in this world to have her as my tutor back then."

"But then you couldn't marry her." Najila replied. "You'd be just a kid... you couldn't marry her that way!"

"She has a point." Azul laughed.

"Never mind." Ali chuckled. "Either way you are here now taking care of all of us."

Azul smiled but said nothing.

"Hey!" Najila said. "I have an idea! You can have fun with us now, Ali!"

"Yeah!" Nasir completed. "You should try this, Ali... it's real fun!"

"Oh well... I-"

"C'mon!" Najila smiled at him.

"Here! Have some paint!"

Nasir handed the bottle with paint to Ali but he did it so quickly that the paint spilled on Azul's shirt.

"Oh boy!" Azul said looking at red painting on her shirt.

"Uh... um..." Nasir said sheepishly. "I'm sorry Azul."

"That's okay..." Azul said trying to clean the paint with some sheets of paper. "It was an accident... don't worry... it will come out with water... I hope..."

"Oh geez..." Ali said staring at the stained shirt. "That's bad!"

"Maybe... uh... maybe I should go home to change... I-"

"Hey, that's okay." Ali smiled at her. "You can borrow one of my shirts."

Azul smiled up at him. She obviously liked the idea. Ali stopped when he thought his shirts were so big for her.

"Or maybe we could check on Yesny's room, maybe she'd have some shirts in there that you could---"

"That's okay..." Azul interrupted him smiling tenderly. "One of yours is fine."

"Okay." Ali smiled back. "You kids stay in here and finish this."

"We'll be back in a couple of minutes."

Ali and Azul left the room. Najila and Nasir looked at them and smiled.

"They won't be back in a while." Najila said casually. "They'll end up hugging and kissing somewhere."

"As always..." Nasir replied in the same casual tone, all his attention in the painting he was working on.

* * * * *

Ali opened his wardrobe and stared at his clothes for a minute.

"Hmmm... let's see here... let me find something for you... let's see, let's see... oh here!" He said triumphantly grabbing one of his shirts. "This is the one I was looking for!"

Ali turned to Azul and presented to her one of his shirts.

"A blue shirt for my blue eyed girl!" He smiled.

"Thank you Ali... this red stain is really bad... it almost looks like blood!" She shivered.

Ali put the shirt in front of Azul and chuckled.

"What?" She smiled suspiciously at him.

"I don't know... I just find this funny... look at the size of this shirt... and you are so small... this shirt is going to swallow you!"

"Well... I'll take the risk."

"You are going to look so cute wearing this!" Ali said handing the shirt to her.

Azul took the shirt and smiled at Ali. He kept smiling down at her, a loving expression on his face.

"Ahem!" Azul said. "Ali... I think I have to change here...?"

"Oh..." He said sheepishly. "Oh yes... yes... uh... I just... um... I'll wait in the hall, okay?"

Ali left the room and Azul smiled at him. She shook her head and caressed Nevi's furry head.

"He's so cute, isn't he, Nevi?" She laughed.

When Azul changed her shirt she had to laugh. It was huge for her. But it was so comfy and so soft. And best of all, it smelled like Ali. Azul hugged herself and went to see her reflection in the mirror. She had to giggle at herself.

*        *         *

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