Castle in the Air

Abdullah goes to sleep and wakes in the garden. As Flower-in-the-Night runs toward him to elope, a huge djinn descends and kidnaps her. The carpet won’t obey Abdullah’s command to follow. The palace guards arrive at the commotion, and Abdullah gets the carpet to flee back to his stall.

In the morning, he is devastated. Djinns have such powerful magic that he can’t work out how to rescue Flower-in-the-Night. A party of northern mercenaries arrests him and takes him to the Sultan in chains. The Sultan reveals he found Abdullah’s nightcap in his daughter’s room, with his name sewn into it. He accuses Abdullah of abducting her and refuses to believe the story about the djinn. He reveals that the reason he kept her hidden was because it was prophesied that she would marry the first man, other than her father, that she saw. Abdullah says they aren’t yet married, hoping this might mean he will survive.

The Sultan orders him locked up in chains. He resolves to find Flower-in-the-Night, get them to marry to fulfill the prophesy, and then kill Abdullah so that she can still marry the prince of Ochinstan as planned.