Sinbad X Reader

3. The Kou Empire

The door opens up to face a twisted tree, which is covered in strange creatures, all of whom have turned their gazes to me. They cock their heads to the side in unison, as I stand frozen in place. Careful not to make any sudden movements, my eyes dart to my right, where odd shaped dead branches lay in a neat stack. I don't question the fortunate weapon like objects, but instead slowly grab one, as the creatures begin moving towards me.

The bird like creatures don't show any sign of stopping, nor do they use their black wings to fly over to me. Instead, they creep towards me, increasing the suspense, as I wait for them to make the first move.

•••

I stand over the pile of dead birds, wiping the sweat off my brow with the back of my hand. My hands are raw, and cut from their talons and beaks, and my body is weak from the fight. I'm about to fall down, before a peculiar blue figure appears in front of me. The Djinn.

"You did well," the Djinn tells me in a kind voice. I stare up at it, who turns out to be a him. He is a chiseled man, with a kind eye, clad in gold jewelry just like the other Djinn.

"Thank you," I smile tiredly, my eyes connecting with his.

"I'm Dagon, the Djinn of Earth and rock, are you worthy of being my master?" He asks, his tender voice raising and echoing throughout the room.

"I've fought long and hard so that I could be, and I'd like to have another friend," I smile, as he chuckles lightly.

"Master and friend aren't one in the same."

"They could be," I smile back, as he nods slowly.

"Perhaps... Choose your metal vessel then," he announces, pointing to the piles of treasure around me.

I glance around, before my eyes fall upon a short dagger. I do need a weapon...

I walk over and pick it up, feeling it's weight in my hand, then nod my head. As I stand in front of Dagon, I hold out the dagger, "I like this one if you do too,"

"I don't have a preference, so it will do." He smiles, as the knifes blade is brandished with the Djinn seal, "I look foreword to working with you..?"

"(Y/N)," I finish for him, as he repeats my name back to me.

In a flash, the dungeon around me is gone, along with Dagon, and I'm left standing at the bottom of a giant pit.

I shield my eyes from the sunlight, and spot a familiar Magi dangling his feet off the edge, "Took you long enough." He shouts down, his voice annoyed.

"Can you get me out?" I groan, as he smirks.

•••

"Here you have it," he smirks, "The great Kou Empire."

He waves his hands around, as I glance around at the artfully crafted buildings. Judal doesn't seem to think very much of them, but I haven't seen anything like them in Reim or anywhere else I've wandered to.

"What exactly are we doing here?" I question, blindly following him through the busy streets.

"Quit asking questions it's annoying," he retorts bluntly, "It's not like you have any say in the matter anyways."

I glare at the back of his head, what a-

He abruptly stops, as we face an enormous building, decorated finer than any of the other buildings, and protected by a high wall. This must be the castle. What in Gods name are we doing here?

When the guards watchful eye falls upon Judal, he immediately opens the door, letting both of us inside. I look around at the walkway we're entering, as even more guards look at us. They focus on Judal instead of me, which makes me think that maybe he's important around here. I could see what the Kou empire wants with a Magi...

"Judal, you're back." a bright pink haired girl shouts, upturning her nose when she sees me, "Who's this?"

"An apprentice of sorts," he shrugs, "Not really important."

"Well then maybe-"

"I'll speak to you later Princess," He sighs annoyed with their conversation already.

"Whatever," she scoffs, "I don't know why you ran off then brought back some tramp."

"At least she's an entertaining tramp,"

"We're going to Balbadd tomorrow be ready," she glares at him, before walking gracefully away.

"Fine, fine," he waves her off, as we head in the opposite direction.

"Who was that?" I whisper once we're out of ear shot.

"Again with the questions," he grumbles, "If you have to know she's Princess Kougyoku, the eighth Princess of the Kou empire. And a lonely stubborn kid."

"Harsh," I chuckle, as we continue through the castle, winding through the corridors until we get to a large courtyard.

"Listen (Y/N), I can make use of you so don't screw anything up."

I nod, "I'm not planning on it."

He turns away from me, facing a large peach tree at the corner of the courtyard. His feet lift off the ground, pulling a peach off of the tree, then landing again, sinking his teeth into the fruit.

My mouth waters as my stomach grumbles. It's been a while since I've had something to eat, but I don't see Judal offering anything to me. He turns and notices me staring, only smirking at my hunger. He leans against the tree, sitting beneath its broad leaves which offer the only shade in the space.

"You should begin to practice with your new Djinn, you're coming with us to Balbadd. That is if you can make yourself useful."