The burrow was relatively large enough to accommodate them both, yet it had a low ceiling, which meant they had to lower their heads if they wanted to stand up or move around. It was mostly Zarqa who did so as she paced to and fro before an annoyed Ali Baba, fussing about their dilemma.
" You're going to cause me a headache… just… settle down for a second…" The boy told her in an attempt to stop her frantic pacing. Despite it being quite the sight, for he only knew her to be stone-like with little emotions to show, he couldn't handle her panic fit.
Zarqa did stop, yet it was to consider him, as though trying to discern his inner thought process. " How come you can be so calm?"
" And how come you could be this worried?" Before he knew it, the words were spoken aloud, earning him a quirked eyebrow from Zarqa. " I mean, you always appear to be the one with the cool head. I've never seen you panicking like this before, not even when Al-yamama was under attack."
Zarqa chewed on the inside of her jaw. " Is that how it seems?" The girl sat down, holding her knees to her face and looking directly at Ali Baba. " I was very terrified and afraid back then. But, I knew that I had help, visions, and Sindbad… This time however…"
It was then that Ali Baba realized it. " Your vision… You didn't see any of this coming?" She shook her head. " That's why you're restless." Zarqa buried her face into her arms shamefully. Ali Baba merely snorted. " So now, you're as useful as Morjana, maybe less seeing how she can fly."
As she looked up, she fixed him with a death glare that could have pierced the stone, but it was diminished by the fact her face and ears were glowing red. " You're surprisingly calm considering the whole mess we're in."
Ali Baba picked up a small pebble and jiggled it in his hand. " You lose your cool you lose your life, that's how it's in the suburbs where the leftovers of society are thrown. If I were to pace back and forth here like you, I would run out of strength to run away when I get the chance to. Which is why it's better if you save it up as well."
He pelted the tiny rock towards the entrance of the burrow and it hit against a chest of gold. Not a second later, Habib's face appeared at the entrance draped in the shadows of the last light of the day. As he peered into the darkened space, he heaved a satisfied huff upon seeing Zarqa and Ali Baba were still in their spots and retreated.
" They're keeping quite the tough guard on us. Escaping would be a problem." Ali Baba deduced, head hanging down in annoyance. Both of them fell into an awkward silence, only the crunching of the sand beneath them could be heard when any of them shifted.
Ali Baba sneaked a few peeks at the girl across from him as she looked towards the hole, a mixture of sadness and worry palpable in her bejeweled eyes. " I'm sorry…" Once again, the words left his mouth before he could think them up. Zarqa sat up straight and peered at him through the shadows, her eyes almost glowing in the dim place. " You were right, about the gold. The moment I saw it, I was captivated by it and forgot where I was. I should have listened to you. This whole thing really is a trap of kind."
Hearing his apology, Zarqa let go of her tension, allowing her shoulders to slump and for her fear and guilt to shine through for a brief second. " I'm sorry too I wasn't much of a help."
The burrow was growing darker by the moment, Ali Baba wouldn't have seen his fingertips if he had placed them in front of his eyes. The laughs and shouts of the three men could be heard from afar along with the dim light of a campfire, not too far from them. The smell of roasted meat tickled their nostrils and Ali Baba tensed like some stray cat alerted for danger. " Morjana…"
Zarqa looked from him to the entrance worriedly. " It can't be that…"
Ali Baba stood up, back hunched so he wouldn't hit the ceiling, and walked to the hole, poking his head slightly outside. He could see the three brothers out there, gathered around the fire while laughing and stuffing their faces with food, with meat.
A heavy lump formed in his chest and his blood seared at their sight, it must have shown on his face because Zarqa held on to his arm and gave him the slightest shake of her head.
Keep calm. He reminded himself as he sat down again, pressing his hands to his ears, trying to block the voices of these three from his head. Keep calm!
A weak light came through the entrance, washing away the darkness of the burrow as it grew brighter. Zarqa and Ali Baba tensed with the source's approach before a shadow appeared before them, tall and thin. The boy's hand reached to his side yet clutched on loose clothes, reminding him that he no longer had his dagger. The other one then dragged through the ground, considering if he could defend with a sharp rock.
The figure loomed over them and they backed further into the wall when a hushed voice spoke up. " Don't be afraid. I won't harm you."
It took a few seconds for their eyes to see past the light the shadow was holding to see the boy from earlier. He fell on both knees and crawled inside to get to them. He set the candle he brought along in the middle and reached into his own satchel, bringing out two loaves of bread. " That's all that I managed to sneak away. You need to eat."
The two kids considered him before reaching for the bread he offered and munched on it, their hunger outweighing their suspicions and the need to be caution. " You know this is the food you stole from us, right?" Ali Baba fixed him with a sharp glare as he pointed it out. The boy merely lowered his head in shame. " Whatever…"
" That reminds me." The older boy fished out a thin line of gold out of his pocket which caused Zarqa to choke on her loaf.
" That's…"
" The good thing is that they can't keep track of all the gold here," he told her with a smile as he nudged closer. Zarqa raised the hem of her robe and he bend to fasten it around her ankle.
" How did you get it?" Ali Baba questined as he watched him struggle with fixing the chain closed.
" Majid merely threw it in the closest pile. I only picked it up when he wasn't watching." He backed when the anklet was properly fastened around Zarqa's ankle. A wave of relief and joy washed over her face as she checked it. Ali Baba even caught her smiling softly. " I'm Jamal."
" Zarqa." The girl answered automatically before both of them looked back at Ali Baba who wore a deep frown as he looked away and obliged.
" Ali Baba."
Jamal shifted so he was sitting comfortably beside Zarqa, his face beaming with joy. It was probably the first time he had the chance to talk with people around his age. " You're travelers too, I presume."
" Well, kind of," Zarqa answered, her tone betrayed a deep disappointment.
" What brought you all the way here?" At that question, Ali Baba gave him a sharp glare, almost accusing.
" What makes you think we came for anything other than the treasure?"
Jamal squinted at him before giving a large smile, as if trying to push away any suspicious thoughts the boy had towards him. " If you were, you wouldn't have tried to run away leaving all of that behind you."
Ali Baba considered him, trying to spot the slightest defiance, the smallest giveaway that he was untrustworthy. Failing to do so, he instead asked. " Why are you being kind to us? Why did you save us?"
Jamal turned to the entrance for a second before speaking up. " I've had enough of seeing them kill and torture others. I just…" His hand squeezed into a tight fist.
" Could have helped Morjana too," Ali Baba added bitterly as another fit of laughter could be heard from outside.
Jamal kept his calm smile as he opened his satchel and took out a ball of fluff and feathers. Ali Baba wasted no second as he quickly took Morjana off his hands. The bird was curled on herself, her whole body shaking. A stripe of a dirty white cloth wrung around her left wing.
" Saïd broke her wing to drop her down. I tried to mend it the best I could." Ali Baba gently stroked her feathers and the crow gave in to his touch, her shaking stopped, finding safety in his arms.
" I thought you…" Ali Baba opened his mouth and closed it a few times before finding a good question. " What are they eating then?"
" A hare, managed to get one." Once more he pulled something else from his satchel and Ali Baba recognized it immediately. " I had to borrow your knife to hunt it though, hope you won't mind." He threw him the dagger and Ali Baba caught it in midair.
" Won't they notice?" Zarqa asked worriedly.
" Don't worry about it. Made sure to give them an excess of wine before serving it. There's no way they could figure it out," Jamal answered confidently. Although, he kept looking back at the entrance as if expecting one of the three brothers to crush on them any moment as he continued to speak. " If you don't want to tell me what you're after then it's fine. But we need to get out of here."...