The princess, the commoner and the sorcerer

[the princess]

Ananya shook as she changed, pulling on the skimpy top and loose bottoms. Carefully, she tucked the dagger she had hidden in her shoe into her pants using the elastic to keep it still. She breathed, calming herself. Only a cool head would allow an escape. She would need to time it just right. Ananya knew what he was doing. Stripping her of her identity, making her powerless. Yet, he knew she was wise for he had made her his advisor. She would wait and watch, observe with no comment, and gain his trust. Then, she would strike. 

[the commoner]

It had been a few days now, and the commoner's wrists were by now imprinted with the shackles. They were allowed, twice a day, to unshackle and eat, inside of their cage, watched closely by the advisor's guards. Ananya was patient, awaiting her time. He saw as she watched the advisor closely, studying and calculating him, on edge always, for she was no fool, unwilling to strike too soon. And slowly he watched as she gained his trust. Sundar kept him alive. At night, when the advisor had gone to sleep, the jinn would glide over and kiss him until he was breathless, always silent, for he was still under the advisor's control. And the princess would visit Chameli late at night and take her to her room, and unshackle the prisoners with the key she stole from the advisor using a unlocking charm the jinn had given her. Yet when morning arose she would usher them back and return his key, so the advisor would not suspect a thing. Careful, as always. 

[the sorcerer]

It was a convenient shame that brass could not be enchanted. He had sent guards to the village and had paid the locksmith handsomely to prioritize his needs, yet it would be weeks before a new key arrived. And he had read two entries in a library book that infuriated him.
"Brass is the most mysterious and magical of all metals. Its properties include that it cannot be enchanted, for it carries magic of its own. Jinn lamps are often made of this material. Brass is primarily..."
"Though it would be certainly more convenient, keys cannot be reproduced or created. They can however, be summoned and if not made from brass, even enchanted. Once upon a time, keys were made possible to reproduce and create, yet it brought great harm to this world. Some cite Pandora's Box as an excellent example of this..."
The guards had suggested he change shackles or bind them with magic. Yet he stubbornly refused, for the brass shackles were the strongest there was, and he feared their wrath if they escaped. And yet, this was not the only thing persisting his mind, for he often wondered what to do with his next wishes. The next day, it was answered for him. As he stalked past the prisoners, blatantly ignoring them, the commoner boy roughly spat in his direction, and it hit him on the face. His right cheek burning and slicked with spit, he turned angrily towards the boy, his staff raised. But he caught sight of the jinn and thought better of himself. He smoothed his robes and perched on the throne, and suddenly he was roaring, "Jinn, for my next wish, I wish you to murder your love, the commoner boy!" The jinn looked horrified but looked him truthfully in the eye.
"I cannot," whispered he. "For it is against jinn code."
The sorcerer growled in anger, tearing his hair out. "You cannot?! I thought you to be the most powerful creatures alive!" but he looked back toward the commoner and suddenly smiled, though it was not a pleasant one. He turned his staff onto him. "Do it." he choked. "Or I shall make him wish you had done the job properly."