Out of nowhere chapter is out of nowhere. Again, I thank my ever patient beta-reader FrozenPeaches from the bottom of my heart. I'm hella difficult to deal with, I drop off of the grid for days on end and move glacial slowly with getting new chapters out.
In this sense, I also thank every one of you from the bottom of my heart. For sticking to this story even though it updates like...once every half a year (I WILL do my best to update more often, I just can't promise it yet) and for keeping your interest alive. Thank you, I am very grateful and happy for that.

Judar stood at Sinbad's side, watching how the big ship drew into the harbor, the white sails displaying Reim's crest. On top of the main mast was Reim's flag, swaying gently and steadily in the strong breeze of the ocean.

If the Magi was honest, he was feeling a little jittery. A part of him wished for news from his old home, from the Kou family and another part of him secretly dreaded meeting old foes.

Sinbad, who noticed Judar's slightly tense shoulders and how he gripped his wand, chose not to comment on it. If the Magi needed anything, he hopefully would speak up. Until then, Sinbad had to focus on greeting Muu the best he could. The redheaded man wasn't exactly fond of him and Sinbad wanted this to be at least a civil encounter.

The familiar creak of the ship, the lapping of the waves and the flutter of sails brought a familiar and quiet longing up in Sinbad's chest. He missed travelling around the world; he missed the breeze of the sea and the adventures in unknown lands. He never regretted founding Sindria or the work he did, but a small part, a young part of himself, never stopped missing his travelling days.

Then the ship slowed to a stop, ropes were tied and the first people stepped out onto the docks. Muu was one of the first, along with two more Fanalis, a young woman with two long pigtails and scars and the other one was a towering man with a wild grin and a scarred mouth.

Judar watched the whole encounter with careful eyes, the distant if still polite way Sinbad and Muu greeted each other, before introducing people. A part of him already tried to decide how dangerous the newcomers would be, before he realized they all carried Fanalis blood and therefore could easily kill him if he didn't have his wand.

Shaking those thoughts away, he glanced back at the ship, at the handful of soldiers he didn't recognize and of course the crew and he froze when he saw who else arrived with Muu and his escort.

Alibaba and Aladdin had climbed down with big backpacks and they grinned as they joined the group. Sinbad was visibly delighted to see them again and some of the almost frigid air around Muu seemed to relax and soften a bit as well.

Ja'far, who accompanied them as well as Spartos, both smiled at the duo, looking like they were happy to see them – while Ja'far was just a little more open about his feelings and Spartos just subtly shifted his stance to one that was slightly more relaxed than before.

Judar subconsciously lagged back, as Sinbad moved to shake hands with his advisor at his side, and asked everyone how they were. The Fanalis were more open now too, seeing as everyone relaxed around the blond Conqueror and young Magi.

Though, now that Judar looked closer, he saw how they had changed too. Aladdin wasn't the little child he remembered anymore, he had grown tall and moved with an air of warm confidence and welcome openness that rarely anyone had these days. Alibaba looked like he had grown up too, less easy to shake and he seemed truly comfortable in his skin.

It all made Judar realize how different they were from him. Their Rukh was a bright, glowing white that chirped and fluttered happily, swirling around the group and mixing with the white Rukh of Sinbad and the Fanalis.

"Where did you leave Morgiana?", Sinbad asked in this moment.

"She chose to stay behind." Alibaba said and exchanged a glance with Muu.

"My sister took a shine to her and they're training together for a while." Muu added and a small, soft smile fleetingly graced his face, before he turned a bit more serious.

Now that the greeting was over, the more business-like feeling returned and Sinbad waved Judar closer.

"As you all know, Judar has become my Magi since the war." He smiled kindly and warmly, as Judar slowly stepped to his side. "Judar, this is Muu Alexius and I'm sure you still remember Alibaba and Aladdin."

Muu gave him a small, polite nod – though it wasn't quite possible to know what he was thinking as he looked at the Magi – and Judar returned it, before remembering to give the other two Fanalis' the same courtesy. Then he looked at the Conqueror and Magi duo.

"Yeah, I remember them." He said and tapped his wand lightly against his leg. An uncomfortable, tight feeling was nestling between his shoulder blades and around his lungs and a part of him regretted coming along.

However, he really wanted to know how things were back in Kou and therefore he took a careful breath past the constricting sensation and nodded at the duo as well.

Alibaba looked slightly surprised, while Aladdin glanced from Sinbad to Judar and back, before he gave his fellow Magi a small smile.

"It's good to see each other under good circumstances", the younger Magi said.

Judar didn't know how to respond to that and just shrugged a little, tapping his wand against his leg one more time. Of course he still remembered how their last encounter went. He had punched the little Magi in the face and for a moment; Judar felt his resentment towards Al-Tharmen rise.

How stupid he had been back then, stupid enough to attack a child, as if Aladdin had been any sort of threat back then. He hadn't seen it though, hadn't seen the practically defenseless little Magi who didn't even know how to use a single spell. He had been so blinded and darkened.

His black Rukh fluttered and suddenly his white ones chirped loud and clear and Judar blinked, as he carefully shook those memories away. As if leaving a haze, he noticed his surroundings again and it felt a little as if he surfaced back to the present. The tight feeling around his chest however, stayed.

"Let's return to the palace." Sinbad suggested. "We can discuss everything there."

The group started to move and Judar slowly lagged back until he felt more comfortable and he walked beside Spartos, who quietly brought up the rear. He didn't like having all of the newcomers at his back and he much rather watch them. Now that he thought about it, he always watched, preferably from higher above. It was safer this way.

Then, Alibaba was siding up to him and cleared his throat quietly, looking a little awkward and more like the boy he met than the young man he was now. Judar suddenly realized how much time had passed since he last saw him and Aladdin.

"I, er, was given something for you." The blond murmured, glancing at the group before them. No one was paying attention to them though, aside from Aladdin maybe. However, the other Magi joined the conversation between Sinbad and Muu, easing the subtle tension between the two dungeon conquerors.

Looking back at Alibaba, Judar saw the other pulling a slightly bend letter from his pocket.

"It's from Kougyoku." He said quietly. "She told me to give this to you."

Judar stared at the letter, feeling like something hit the air right out of his chest. He didn't expect this and he fought to keep the surprise from showing on his face. His hand felt oddly numb, as he carefully took the letter.

The paper was cool and light between his fingers and it was from his old hag, it probably had news. She was allowed to write a letter, which meant she must be well and comfortable enough to do so.

The next breath was lighter in his chest and Judar felt like a part of the tension left his back, the tight feeling between his shoulders loosening.

Even more carefully, he pushed the letter into his own pants pocket and now he couldn't wait to return to the castle.

Judar looked at Alibaba, his face unreadable as he looked at the dungeon conqueror. "Thanks."

The blond was blinking in surprise, before he gave him a tentative, if real smile and walked back to Aladdin's side.

The whole way back, Judar's hand brushed over the letter in his pocket, reassuring himself that it was still there. Once they reached the palace and the rest of the generals greeted their guests. Judar excused himself as soon as it wouldn't be seen as rude and walked to his rooms.

Once the door closed behind him, bit louder than he intended, he pulled the letter out and quickly broke the envelope open. There were one and a half pages, filled with Kougyoku's handwriting and he fumbled with the paper, needing a moment to calm his too fast movements so the letter wouldn't accidentally slip out of his fingers.

Plopping down on his bed, he began to read, mouthing along the lines. His grip was just a bit too tight, creasing the paper a little around the edges.

The first few sentences were meant to reassure him and she told him that everyone was alive and well. He paused there for a moment to breathe a sigh of relief. They made it, no matter what happened after he left or how they resolved it, they were alive and still together.

Kougyoku wrote him a little about what happened once he left – after telling him exactly how stupid she thought he had been and while he scoffed a little at her strongly worded opinion, he couldn't help but agree. He could have ended up with anyone, and that it was Sinbad, was something he couldn't have predicted or known.

Then she mentioned some of the different ambassadors and other people who were around to help build the country back up. It were just a few sentences and he was glad she kept it short. Politics were never his favorite subject.

Kouen and Koumei were in countless meetings, she told him as well, working over contracts and agreements and Kouha and her were given the task to help give out food and care for the people in their city. None of them got their Djinn's back and she wrote that she didn't expect it to happen anytime soon either, but things were as good as they could be.

Aside from that however, everyone was mostly fine. She told him a little about her troubles and that she noticed that Koumei slept even less than before and Kouha was working a bit too hard to care for their people. Kouen was doing everything he could as well, though she hinted that she worried and that things weren't easy for him.

He frowned a little at those words. It wasn't like they surprised him, but for a moment he wondered who looked after them. If there was someone to make sure they ate enough, if they had someone to talk to about their nightmares. He knew they had them, none of the Kou siblings were made of stone and just because Kouen had a strong pokerface, it didn't mean that he was okay.

Judar sat in silence and felt his chest being tighter for a moment. He knew that even if he was there, they wouldn't accept his attempts to at least help out and he also knew that he wouldn't know how to tell them that things were going to be fine. He wasn't good with words, he knew that, less of all comforting ones.

Taking a deep breath and forcing the air past the tight feeling, he focused on the good parts. It sounded like they made it all just fine. They were okay.

His sacrifice, as much as it turned out to be the best thing in the end, hadn't been for nothing. His fear in the beginning and his time wearing the wretched necklace had been worth something after all. Judar felt almost light headed at this thought. He had done something right for once. And maybe, his sacrifice was just the thing that bought them the time to save themselves.

He breathed lighter then and felt some more tension in his back uncoil.

He continued reading and then Kougyoku mentioned the emperor.

Or rather, the former emperor. Judar only managed to read that he was dethroned and had to serve a sentence for his orders in the war and he felt an odd sort of satisfaction, while his gut tightened painfully at barely awakening memories.

In all actuality, he didn't want to know anything about the man. He could die, he could be locked away at the other end of the continent, it didn't matter, as long as Judar never had to see him again.

After that, Kougyoku told him that Hakuei had showed up a couple of days ago, but Hakuryuu was still nowhere to be found.

Hakuei had been taken to safety by her brother and they had taken care of the countryside in secret, the places where the army would take a while to reach and the food was scarce and the people needed every help they could get.

Then, once the worst was over and everyone began to recover, they split up. Hakuei said she didn't know where Hakuryuu went and she also had no way of convincing him to come with her. Her fan with her Djinn had been taken from her upon arrival.

Judar exhaled heavily and rubbed a hand over his face. Stubborn, prideful Hakuryuu, who had done what he could to protect someone he loved. Where was he now though? Where could he possibly go? Everyone out there knew who he was. Was there even a safe place? People who wouldn't rat him out as someone from the Kou Empire?

Still, this letter was good news. Everyone was mostly fine and alive, which was as hopeful as Judar had dared to be.

Some niggling worry over Hakuryuu nested close to Judar's stomach and he tried to ignore it, though it also refused to leave or lessen. If anything, the prince was resilient and should be able to survive everything life threw at him. He had so far. Judar just had to keep reminding himself of that.

Folding the letter back up again, Judar was torn between relief and the tiny whisper in his mind, that told him to go look for the missing prince. Shaking his head, he ignored it for now and instead focused on breathing deeply past his spinning thoughts, while some of the tightness around his chest seemed to seep away.

Dinner was a lively and yet also a little bit of a stiff affair. It was lively when it came to Aladdin and Alibaba who didn't have problems with anyone present and it was slightly tense whenever Muu and Sinbad tried to converse.

Judar wasn't entirely sure what had happened between those two, but he had to admit that as long as things stayed civil, he wasn't too interested in finding out. Besides, Sinbad was a grown ass adult and could act like one, so he should be able to deal with his own problems one way or another.

The Magi, in an attempt to keep a little distance between the guests and himself, had taken to sit between Yamuraiha and Hinahoho. The later was nudging food towards him in a subtle gesture and the magician animatedly talked with Aladdin, sharing tales about Magnostadt and other places.

Sharrkan and Alibaba, meanwhile, sat together and caught up as well, laughing and joking. It was one of the very few evenings when no pink Rukh swirled around the swordsman and Yamuraiha, since they were both focused on their former pupils.

Drakon and his wife sat also a bit away from him, so their pink Rukh stayed far enough away that their warm chirps didn't annoy or disturb him, so that was good as well.

Judar himself felt comfortable between the generals and he was more than fine with everyone's attention being away from him. He actually managed to eat well and if it was from the relief to have heard from Kougyoku, he didn't know – though a part of him suspected it was. Hinahoho also looked pretty satisfied by the end of dinner, so the Magi suspected he'd done a pretty good job.

The table was soon cleared by the servants and everyone retired for the night.

Sinbad and Judar walked back to their rooms together and when they were about to separate, Judar realized he wasn't feeling tired. And to his quiet surprise, he also realized he didn't want to be alone right now either.

Pausing, he turned to Sinbad, who noticed him stopping and looked back at him as well.

"Do you want to come in?" The king offered before Judar could form a question and voice it out.

Nodding, Judar caught up to him and Sinbad opened the door to his rooms with a warm, inviting smile.

"Take a seat anywhere you like." The king said as he removed his jewelry and took off his shoes. He sat down on his bed and stretched out his legs for a moment.

Judar noticed that Sinbad looked a little worn out. Not exhausted to the point where he seemed to fall asleep at any second, but there was a little tiredness showing in his face, especially when he relaxed fully and moved to sit up against the pillows. The king gave him an expectant look and Judar realized he was still standing.

He hesitated, bit the inside of his lip and then slowly moved towards the bed as well, perching at the foot. Sinbad showed a flash of delighted surprise, before the expression smoothed over to one of his warm smiles.

The raven couldn't help but notice the way the king's Rukh began to glow pink. Somehow, it didn't scare him anymore. Sinbad hadn't changed and still treated Judar as an equal and with respect. Nothing about love was bad, the Magi slowly began to believe that and relaxed, the subtle tension leaving his shoulders.

Sharrkan had been right – something he wouldn't tell the swordsman or he would never hear the end of it – and Judar felt a little stupid for having a freak out about it.

"How are you?" Sinbad suddenly asked. "It feels to me as if we haven't really talked with each other these past few days."

Judar sat cross-legged and tapped his wand against his knee. "Yeah, I needed…a bit of space."

The king nodded, understanding in his eyes and his smile still warm and welcoming. The simple acceptance of his explanation, the sheer patience and the way Sinbad didn't expect anything from Judar, made the younger man's chest flow with warmth suddenly. Any sort of tightness left and his lungs expanded with a deep breath.

He knew he was expected to do his best when it came to his duty as a Magi, but he also knew now that even then people were always willing to help and stand by him. And aside from that, no one wanted to form him to be someone, no one pushed him to act a certain way and no one forced their ideals on him.

He found a home, friends, and even a family he slowly accepted and was accepted into and now…now he even was loved. All of a sudden his chest felt too filled with emotions and he wondered if it spilled out and into his Rukh.

"Judar?" Sinbad leaned forward and Judar's hands twitched as a thought popped up in his head, daring and asking something he never knew he wanted like this.

"Can I hug you?" He asked before he could think better and yet he wouldn't take it back. The emotions still swelled in his chest and they wanted out and for the first time, Judar wasn't afraid of acting on them. Sinbad blinked in surprise, before he shifted to make space and opened his arms.

The king looked pretty happy about the question though, shifting a little to make sure that the Magi could comfortably hug him.

It was so unfamiliar to be the one to move first in a setting like this and still Judar reveled in the feeling of choosing, of being the one to instigate it and being accepted all the while. He scooted forward until he could slowly wrap his arms around Sinbad's torso, who gently hugged him back, once he settled against his side.

The raven had always thought that being enclosed like this would be scary. It wasn't and he exhaled heavily, his weight sinking a bit more firmly against Sinbad.

The king held carefully still, his hands warm on Judar's upper back and after a moment, the Magi let his head sink against Sinbad's shoulder. It was like a sort of tiny, silent worry left the older man then and he gently rested his cheek on Judar's temple.

Judar found the full feeling in his chest lessened and his breaths came lighter. He also noticed he didn't feel like letting go, not right away. So he stayed, hugging Sinbad and leaning against him, while the king gently held him back.

Somehow, it was the most peaceful evening Judar had in a while and time trickled away soft and comfortably between them. However, once he noticed his eyes growing heavy, he reluctantly disentangled himself from Sinbad.

"I should go." Judar mumbled, shifting to get off the bed. "Good night."

The king gave him a small, relaxed smile. "Sleep well. I'll see you in the morning."

The Magi nodded and only when he left the room, he realized that he had smiled a little as well. The light smile stayed all the way back to his rooms and when he lied down, his eyes fell to the letter on a table at the side of the room.

This night, his sleep was entirely without nightmares.

Sinbad felt amazingly good the next morning. He slept very well and most importantly, he got to hug Judar, who usually didn't instigate physical contact. The Magi often was alright with casual touches and he didn't seem to mind when Sharrkan, Yamuraiha or Pisti touched him to get his attention or to convey something.

However, the Magi himself didn't reach back out. He raised his voice when he needed someone to turn around and he didn't jostle the generals back when they playfully nudged him with their elbows.

So yes, Sinbad thought of this as a big step and it was a sort of silent, unspoken honor to him that Judar trusted him enough to ask for a hug.

At breakfast, he smiled at the younger man, who returned it and it felt like something between them was relaxed again. The odd distance the king had felt before seemed to be gone. Sinbad didn't know what had caused it in the first place, but whatever issue or problem Judar worked through, it seemed to have resolved itself. He was glad about that, very glad.

The meeting with Muu a bit after breakfast went well enough too. The Fanalis was practical around him, to the point, and didn't appreciate any joking around. The man wanted business to be dealt with and Sinbad found himself working through more things with him than he expected.

They discussed Kou and the economy, the partially destroyed harvest and the impending famine in some parts of the country. It was more than a little alarming and distressing to see how the former emperor had run parts of Kou into the ground during his war.

Muu provided important insight to some problems with the people in Kou and how they could help out. Reim would also do their best to bring some food over, since they could afford to do so.

Sinbad himself promised to call in a meeting among the other countries who were part of his Seven Seas Alliance, while Muu was still here and they planned on what topics would be the most important to talk about.

Muu himself only brought Judar up in their conversation once and when he heard Sinbad's opinion and thoughts, he nodded and left it at that. If it was only for now or if the Fanalis believed him enough to speak the truth, Sinbad wasn't sure.

All in all, the meeting went a lot better than he thought and he could swear that Muu maybe had warmed up a little to him afterwards. They probably would never be close friends or even friends, at least not in the near future, but there could be a respectful way of working with each other.

After lunch, the king found himself involved in a conversation between Yamuraiha, Judar and Aladdin. They discussed a part of Sindria's defensive system and while Sinbad wasn't a genius like Yamuraiha, he could understand the details pretty well.

"Could you show me?" Aladdin asked, his eyes sparking with an unbound wish for knowledge and Sinbad smiled a bit to himself at seeing it.

"Why not?" He said, glancing at Yamuraiha and Judar. "If you don't mind."

The female magician and the raven exchanged a look and Sinbad felt another wave of delight at seeing a bit of silent conversation between them. They probably weren't completely aware of it, but they knew each other pretty well by now, well enough to understand each other's unspoken gestures.

"We could show you something we've been working on." Yamuraiha said with a warm smile towards Aladdin. "Judar can explain it as well."

The Magi shrugged a little, though he also looked a bit satisfied at what Yamuraiha had said.

"Then lead the way." Sinbad said, smiling at them, before his gaze shifted to Judar. He still remembered the hug he got and it filled him with happy warmth.

Aladdin paused beside him and shot Sinbad a surprised and slightly confused look, before looking at Yamuraiha and Judar. Before the king could ask anything however, the young Magi already started walking.

They reached the magical research rooms pretty quickly and Yamuraiha and Judar started to explain some intricate mechanism they were working on, to ensure that communication with other countries couldn't be disturbed anymore.

At some point though, Yamuraiha and Judar suddenly had a new idea and went off track, bouncing it back and forth, seeing if it was doable, both of them brightening and getting more and more lively. Sinbad couldn't help but smile fondly, feeling his love curling around his chest and all the way up to his throat.

He barely noticed Aladdin siding up with him. The younger Magi glanced at him and then at Judar, before he smiled.

"I'm happy for you." He said quietly and once he noticed the king's confused look, he subtly motioned to Judar. "You love him."

Sinbad felt his eyes widen and his body stilled. "How do you know?" He asked in a hushed voice, quickly glancing at his Magi. Judar however, was too involved with the new idea Yamuraiha and he had.

"Your Rukh." Aladdin explained with a small smile, gesturing at the air. "It's glowing pink. That means you're in love."

"Oh." Sinbad didn't know what else to say and a second later, he felt realization slam into him. Judar could see the Rukh as well, he must have noticed. He must have noticed and drawn the right conclusion.

"Oh." The king leaned back a bit, unsure what to think or feel. If Judar knew, his behavior the past days made a lot of sense. Rubbing a hand over his face, Sinbad wondered what he should do now. Maybe nothing? Judar hadn't said anything himself after all.

With a silent sigh and a quiet ache in his chest, Sinbad resolved to do the same. He couldn't expect his feelings to be reciprocated and Judar had his plate full enough already. That didn't mean it didn't hurt.

Aladdin suddenly looked unsure. "I'm sorry." He murmured. "Maybe I shouldn't have said anything."

"No, it's fine." Sinbad gave him a reassuring smile, though it probably held a hidden, sad edge as well. "It's fine."