Jakob never forgot that first person he served. He didn’t like to think of them as being his masters – that made him feel too much like a slave. And even though that’s exactly what he was, he still didn’t like to be reminded of it if he could help it. But whatever he decided to call them, he couldn’t help but be a little grateful to that first one; whether the man meant to or not, he taught Jakob a lot.
He taught Jakob how to read, gave him valuable practice in granting wishes, and didn’t keep him locked up in that bottle. Jakob wouldn’t realize until later just how lucky he really was. And learning so much made it easier the next time. Each time he had to serve a new one, it got a little easier. He didn’t remember all the people he’d been forced to serve – they all started to blend together after a while. And since most of them didn’t think of him as a person anyway, it was easier not to think of them that way either. But that didn’t mean Jakob forgot their wishes.
Jakob’s second master was a woman who wished for beauty, renown, and wealth. Next he had a man who wanted to be undefeated in battle, have plenty of land, and of course, wealth. And after that came someone who wanted to be adored by everyone they met, young forever, and to have a kingdom to rule over. It seemed to Jakob that almost everyone wished for either more gold than they could ever spend or to be liked by everyone around them. Of course, more than a few of them wished for both.
Jakob had been doing this for several centuries when he found himself in Spain. The bottle was opened, and the next thing Jakob knew, he was standing face-to-face with a rather dowdy woman in a green scarf. She looked Jakob up and down, taking in his silver cuffs and lack of shirt. Mentally, Jakob shrugged; he’d gotten used to that look a couple hundred years ago.
“Well, look at you.” the woman smiled.
Jakob just stared at her, already sizing her up. Shallow, arrogant, maybe a little on the stupid side. Definitely no imagination. He figured the first thing she’d ask for would be eternal beauty. The house seemed larger than most he’d seen recently, so he figured she wouldn’t ask for gold. No, her second wish would probably be for fame. Or if she already had that, some sort of diversion. He wondered what rich people did in this city. Probably the same as the last eight places he’d been.
“What can I do for you?” he asked when he finally got tired of her staring at him like he was a prize she’d just won.
“Oh, and it talks.” the woman clapped her hands together happily.
Well, this was going to be great, Jakob thought. Now he was being referred to as it, and apparently was too stupid for conversation. The sooner he could get this over with, the better.
“You have something you’d like?” he asked again.
“Of course, dear. For starters, I’d like to be beautiful.”
Jakob nodded – he knew it. He waved his hand and suddenly the woman was actually attractive.
“Is there anything else I can do?” he asked politely.
“Wait here – let me get my mirror.” she told him.
She returned a few minutes later, looking-glass in hand. She stared at her reflection all the way back to her seat. Shallow, Jakob confirmed to himself. Finally, she managed to tear her eyes away from her own reflection and look back up at Jakob. The expression on her face suddenly made him uncomfortable.
“Well, come here.” the woman told him, smiling coyly. “Don’t be so shy.”
Obediently, Jakob walked towards the woman. Suddenly, he really wished he was standing in front of anybody else – even his sixth master would be preferable to her.
“What’s the matter?” she asked, batting her eyelashes at him. “Don’t you like me?”
“You’re very pretty.” Jakob told her.
Of course that was true now. He just hoped she didn’t ask him any other questions. He couldn’t imagine what awaited him if he was forced to admit he was repulsed by her. How could he not be? She was in complete charge of every part of his life.
“I’m more than pretty.” she told him, tossing back her hair. “I’m beautiful. It’s what I wished for, after all.”
Jakob knew she was expecting him to say something, but he wasn’t quite sure what. He’d already told her she was pretty – wasn’t that enough? He decided it was best to keep his mouth shut, remain neutral.
“But being beautiful isn’t enough, is it?” she asked.
“Excuse me?” Jakob always hated rhetorical questions.
“Just being young and beautiful isn’t enough, is it? There needs to be more to it.”
She narrowed her eyes, staring at him in concentration. Jakob would have taken a step back if he weren’t still under orders to be near her.
“I know what it is!” she said finally.
She was beaming and Jakob was instantly wary. That look was never good. And if it was directed at him, he could be in real trouble. “It’s irresistibility.” she told him triumphantly.
“Irresistibility?” he asked, trying not to sound nervous.
“Of course. If I have that, I can rule the world!”
“Just say the word.” Jakob closed his eyes as he said it. All he could do was hope she phrased it in such a way that he had a little wiggle room.
“I wish to be absolutely irresistible to any… gentleman who looks at me.” She said it with a gleam in her eye, like she already knew exactly what she would do once her wish was granted.
Jakob secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If she phrased it like a wish, he was safe; he was immune to any of their wishes, of course. It was when they made it into a trait they thought he should exhibit that he started having problems. They couldn’t change what he actually thought about anything, just the way he acted or looked. So he should be safe with this one. Still, this woman was going to give him a lot of trouble if he wasn’t careful.
He granted her wish for her, and she looked at him expectantly. He knew she was waiting for him to fall into her arms at the sight of her. The fact that he didn’t only left her confused.
“Did you not do what I asked?” She seemed indignant.
“I did.” he told her.
“Then why is nothing changing?”
“Perhaps we should find a gentleman?” Jakob suggested hesitantly, trying to find a nice way to say it. “Maybe when your husband gets home–”
“I’m not interested in my husband.” the woman snapped.
Jakob winced, but didn’t say anything. What could he possibly say to that? There were a few minutes of awkward silence as the woman got more and more angry. Finally, she spoke.
“Why don’t you just go back there?” The woman glared at him, pointing derisively at the bottle. Jakob gave a slight bow and disappeared.
He never would have thought he’d be glad to be back in here, but it was definitely preferable to being out there with her. At least she’d already made two wishes – now he just had to get through one more.
She didn’t make any more advances on him after that. In fact, she barely even acknowledged him. Jakob couldn’t believe how lucky he’d gotten.
After her final wish, Jakob expected her to seal him back in the bottle, just like every person before. Maybe she’d sell the bottle at a shop, or keep it on a shelf as a kind of souvenir. It was boring, sure, but Jakob was kind of used to it by now. And at least it meant he didn’t have to worry about serving anyone else for a little while. But as it turned out, she had something a little different in mind.
A few days after she made her final wish, she got the bottle down off its shelf. She pulled the ornate, iron stopper out and waited. Jakob appeared before her, wondering what she could possibly want. Now that she’d used up all her wishes, there didn’t seem to be any reason to keep him around. Maybe she liked having the extra servant in the house, but that was actually pretty rare. Besides, he didn’t think she was the type.
“I know our time together was a little short.” the woman said wistfully. “And I know we didn’t get to do all we planned on.”
Jakob opened his mouth to say he was sorry – more out of habit than any actual feelings of regret. But he couldn’t seem to find the words. He closed his mouth again when he remembered that he couldn’t lie to whoever was in charge.
“You’ve been very helpful to me.” the woman told him.
Jakob nodded disinterestedly. He’d heard that kind of thing before; they told him how invaluable he’d been. But they weren’t really thanking him, so he didn’t care.
“And in order to show that there are no hard feelings, I have a surprise for you.”
“A surprise?”
He didn’t like the sound of that. He’d never had a surprise that was anything but terrible.
“Exactly – I’ve decided to reward you.” she smiled at him proudly.
“You have?”
He tried not to get his hopes up, but this could really be great. In the several hundred years that he’d been doing this, he never had a reward given to him. Would she give him some time away from serving the whims of others? That was what he wanted more than anything: a chance at a normal life.
“Yes, a reward.” She stood up, clapping her hands together in anticipation. “I want to give you a chance to stay in our family.”
“You do?” Jakob wasn’t sure what to make of that, but it didn’t sound like much of a reward to him.
“Now why wouldn’t I? You know my son, Hector, of course.”
Jakob nodded slowly.
“I’m going to give you to him.” She smiled happily, like it was the best idea anyone had ever had. “You can play with him all day! Won’t that be great?”
“Your son?” was all Jakob could think to say. He tried not to panic, but her son was six years old. How could that ever be great?
“Exactly.” she told him. She looked away, almost as if she was dismissing him. “Hector!” she called.
A little boy with curly black hair came bounding into the room. He looked up at his mom happily, eyes shining.
“There you are!” the woman said. “I have a present for you.”
Jakob watched as she handed his bottle to the boy. He tried to keep his face neutral, but he couldn’t keep his shoulders from slumping.
“Here you are, darling.” the woman said fondly to her son. “Now remember what I told you.”
The boy nodded happily, looking like he’d just gotten the best present any kid could hope for. Jakob sighed dejectedly; he guessed the kid was right.
“Now go play, and have fun.” his mom told him.
The boy nodded again before scampering down the hall, Jakob’s bottle in his arms. The woman stood up, addressing Jakob.
“Now we’ll be together for a little while longer, won’t we?”
“It looks like it.” Jakob said stiffly.
How long would he have to stay in this house? Hadn’t this woman done enough? He knew what it was though: punishment for how he’d handled her wishes. And for not falling in love with her.
Suddenly, he felt his stomach lurch, like he was falling. The feeling spread throughout his body, and he knew instantly what it was; he was being summoned. As soon as he finished the thought, he was pulled away. The world faded out and the next thing Jakob knew, he was standing in the little brat’s chambers.
The kid looked up at him disdainfully, and Jakob knew he was in trouble.
“You’re too big.” Hector said, crossing his arms over his chest and sticking out his lip.
“No, I’m not.” Jakob said.
He knew this little kid was in charge, but he was really hoping Hector wouldn’t know it. Maybe the fact that Jakob was almost seventeen would mean he could actually take control of the situation for once.
“Yes you are! You’re too big – you can’t play.” Hector glared up a Jakob. This wasn’t going well.
“Well, that’s because I’m older than you.” Jakob told him confidently. “That’s just how it is.”
“No!” he shouted. “You have to be little – like me. You have to be this many.” He held up his hand to Jakob showing all five of his fingers.
“Oh, please no.” Jakob said desperately. He really didn’t want to do that.
“Yes! Mommy says you have to do whatever I want.” the little brat told him, stamping his foot.
And just like that, Jakob started changing.
It took only a few seconds, but Jakob hated every single one of them. He could feel himself getting shorter, the ground seemingly rushing up to meet him. A wave of dizziness overtook him for a minute, and he had to close his eyes to keep from getting sick. When he opened his eyes, he was now the same height as that bratty little kid. Great.
“See? Now you’re all better.” Hector told Jakob. “Now you can play with me.”
“I don’t really want to play.” Jakob said. He even sounded young – he couldn’t believe it.
“I want to play!”
“Then play.” Jakob told him. He might be able to make Jakob look younger and sound younger, but he couldn’t force Jakob to actually be younger.
“Mommy says you have to.”
“She’s not in charge.”
“I can make you.”
“Ok – fine.” Jakob said quickly.
He knew when he was beat. And he couldn’t afford for Hector to make that wish. But it was too late. Before Jakob could stop him, Hector made his first wish.
“I wish you would play with me whenever I want.”
“Fine.” Jakob said through gritted teeth. Not that he had a choice. He figured the only way out of this would be to make the kid waste his next two wishes and fast as possible.
As he sat there playing with this kid, Jakob suddenly hit his limit. This was it – he could finally see exactly why jinn had the reputation that they did. Jakob decided then and there that he wouldn’t let these people control him anymore. They could still make their little wishes; there was nothing he could do about that. But he wasn’t going to try to please them anymore. From now on, he’d grant the wishes in whatever way he saw fit. And if whoever was in charge at the moment didn’t like it, well they could fix it themselves.
ns 15.158.61.50da2
