At the same time Prince Joshua came back from another visit at a Princess’s kingdom. This time it was Princess Bobbie from the great Hindustan. JC met many Princesses in his life, but no one of them was ever so bitchy and annoying as Bobbie was.

When JC entered the palace, she was waiting next to her father. Both were sitting in the throne room and greeted Joshua. Joshua bowed to the king and his daughter to show his respect for the kingdom Hindustan. The king treated Joshua respectful as well and gave him a big festival to celebrate Joshua’s arrival.

As opposed to this Bobbie didn’t seem to be interested in Joshua. She just didn’t care. When Joshua introduced himself to Bobbie her exact words were: “Why should I care?”

When the king wheedled Bobbie and Joshua to talk, they went into the backyard and were talking, while they watched all the beautiful flowers growing there. Joshua tried. He really tried to talk normal and respectful to her, but her only responses were “Whatever”, “Do you even know who you are talking to?”, “I am a big price to win, so you should do your best to convince me” and “Are you still talking?”.

It didn’t take a long time, until JC was so annoyed that he left. He just stood two hours there until he went away with the nice apologize “I think Princess Bobbi and I don’t really fit together, I am really sorry, my lord.”

The only thing Joshua heard before he left the palace, were the king screaming at Bobbie that she can’t scare all Prince’s away.

When Joshua came home, he directly went into his room. He didn’t talk to anyone. Not even to the sultan. He was done from the long journey, especially because he couldn’t rest there. He really couldn’t stay one minute with Bobbie.

The sultan entered Joshua’s room. He went to Joshua’s bed and sat next to him.

“You look tired.”

Joshua nodded.

“It was a long and exhausting journey, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, I can’t let my eyes open. My eyelids feel like heavy stones.”

“I just have a question son. Why are you already back? You were just 2 weeks away and the journey to Hindustan takes a week, when you are fast. Why didn’t you even stay a night? That’s rude.”

“Dad, you should’ve seen her. She was the most impolite, bitchy, rude, exhausting and annoying person, I have ever met in my life.”

“Josh, you exaggerate…”

“No, seriously! Even her father warned me! She was definitely the wrong one…”

“I really try to understand, my son. But she is the 16th wrong one. It’s hard to believe you, when you constantly tell me the same thing about every Princess you are visiting. The Arabian Princess was too hyped, the Egypt Princess was too distant and I really don’t want to start with the Iraq Princess!”

Joshua sighed. “I know, Dad. But when I am marrying, I want to find the perfect one. Can’t you understand that?”

“I can. But in two months is your 18th birthday. You should be married then. You are going to be sultan with 18! If you got crowned, you have no time to look for the right girl!”

JC sighed again. “I know… I really try my best…”

The sultan nodded. “Autumn was hungry today…”

Joshua sat up and looked worried to his father’s eyes. “What has she done?”

“She tried to eat Michael, Lance’s parrot. You should feed her more regular…”

Joshua nodded again. “I am sorry father. Where is she?”

“In the kitchen… I’ll tell one of our servants to bring her to your room.”

“Thanks Dad… I try to get some sleep. As you said it was a long journey.”

The sultan smiled and stood up walking out of the room. He closed the door right behind Joshua.

Shaking his head, the sultan sat on his thrown and began to play with some wood animal toys. Lance came to the sultan and stood right next to him, to advise him, whenever the sultan needed his help. Surely he would manipulate the sultan again, when he wouldn’t decide the way Lance wanted to.

“Oh Lance, I don’t know what to do. Joshua didn’t find a Princess again. This time she was annoying. How can I get some sleep, when my son doesn’t get any descendants… Who is going to rule this kingdom in future?”

“My majesty, you have too many sorrows. Maybe you should watch out for another heir to the throne. Maybe someone, who already worked here in palace and knows how to rule this kingdom.”

“That’s a nice advice Lance, but it has to be someone of royal blood. I’ll never find someone like this in two months. And the nation waits for Joshua to get the sultan, too. I can’t just pick someone else.”

Lance rolled his eyes and thought ‘If I would own this lamp, I would be sultan and don’t have to give advices to a big Baby anymore’.

“Lance, I am so thankful to have such a loyal great vizier. You are the only one I can really trust.”

“And that won’t change” Lance said and bowed in front of Chris. Michael screamed “Won’t change, won’t change” in a high parrot voice. Quietly he whispered into Lance’s ear: “How long do we have to kiss up to that outsize child? I don’t think I take it anymore.”

Lance looked angrily at Michael and signalized him to shut up.

The sultan got a big smile on his face. “Does the little birdy want a cracker?”

Michael tried to fly away, but the sultan already stuffed the cracker into Michael’s mouth. When the sultan was distracted, because he talked to Lance again, Michael spit the cracker out and complained about Chris’ moldy cracker into Lance’s mouth in a whisper.

“How can I help my king out of this misery?” Lance asked.

“Can’t you find the right Princess for my dear Joshua?”

“I try my best.” And with another bow, Lance went away.

When he left the room, Michael started to yell at Lance. “How can you allow him to stuff his nasty, squirmy cracker into my mouth? They are more than disgusting! Believe me, if I could, I would feed him with his foul cracker and I would laugh at him!”

“Calm down Michael. Our time will come. I already know, who this rough diamond is. Give me two days and we will have him and we will trick him to get us the lamp.”

“I hope you hurry with your awesome plan… The next cracker, will land into his face, I swear!”

Lance went into a corner of the palace, where mostly nobody passed. He pressed a hidden button and the wall in front of him went to the side. It opened a secret passage. Lance and Michael went into it and closed the door with another press of a button inside. The door closed and both walked through the passage. At the end of it was a door. They opened it and went into a room even the sultan didn’t know it existed.

It was Lance’s secret room. Here he mixed his potions, watched over Agrabah and practiced his hypnotically powers. It was dark magic and he had to make sure that nobody catches him, while doing and practicing it.

Michael directly flew into his cage and drank some water, to get the taste of the cracker out of his mouth. Lance went to his magic hourglass and looked what his rough diamond was doing. If he just had more time to follow his steps longer, he would already know, where he lives.

“He isn’t home again, huh?”

“Not now Michael, but soon.” Lance started to laugh evilly and Michael joined.

***

Joshua lied in his bed again. He was about to sleep, when the servant knocked on his door. Sleepily he sat up again and allowed the servant to enter the room. The door got open by him and Autumn ran into the room. She jumped on Joshua’s bed and started to lick his face. Joshua started to chuckle and cuddled her.

“Oh Autumn, you won’t believe, how much I missed you.”

Autumn began to cur. She lied next to Joshua and Josh lied his head on Autumn’s body. “I don’t want to marry one of those conceited Princesses.”

Autumn growled, when Joshua started to talk about the Princesses. Joshua told Autumn much stories and it seems like she would understand, why Joshua didn’t want to marry one of them.

Soothing Autumn licked over Joshua’s head.

“Sometimes I think of running away.”

Shocked Autumn raised her head and looked into Joshua’s eyes.

“Oh Autumn, I don’t like this idea either, but how could I stay in this palace? I am trapped, excluded from the outer world. I never had a real friend…”

Remonstrative Autumn looked at Joshua and growled quietly.

“I mean no friend except for you. You were always there for me, but… it’s just not the same…”

Autumn nudged Joshua slightly, trying to cheer him a little bit up.

Joshua pet Autumn a little bit. “I want to meet other people. I want to have human friends. I want to know how the normal life of other humans is working. I want to go on the market, I want to see the other houses… that sounds weird, doesn’t it?”

Autumn disagreed curing.

“I want to be a normal boy like everyone else. I don’t want to be a Prince. Or better! I want to be normal!”

Autumn looked up.

“Why can’t I like women, like everyone else? Why can’t I be normal?” Joshua started to cry. “I tried… I really tried to like girls, but I just can’t…”

Autumn licked Joshua’s tears away, trying to make him stop.

Joshua sighed and looked out of the window. “Someday I want to find my true love. But even if I find him, I will never get the chance to be with him… This is a fight I can’t win. And all I want is to be free.”

Joshua began to hum and at the city of Agrabah, watching all the people living their everyday life.