Summary: Chaos finds Jasmine and Aladdin bored, so he sends them on a trip through many various fairy tales and other stories. How they react to these stories becomes very interesting and funny at times
Rating: G
Categories: Aladdin
Characters: Original Characters, Other, Aladdin, Jasmine
Genres: Action/Adventure, Comedy, Crossover, Romance
Warnings: None
Challenges: None
Series: None
Published: 12/27/04
Updated: 06/01/05
Index
Chapter 1: Hello Again, Chaos
Chapter 2: Rapunzel
Chapter 3: Snow White
Chapter 4: Peter Pan
Chapter 5: Sleeping Beauty
Chapter 6: Perseus and Andromeda
Chapter 7: Beauty and the Beast
Chapter 8: The Little Mermaid
Chapter 9: Cinderella
Chapter 10: The Swan Princess
Chapter 11: The Magic Flute
Chapter 12: Chaos!
Chapter 13: Home in the Arms of My Lover
Chapter 1: Hello Again, Chaos
Stealing the Stories: Chapter One: Hello Again, ChaosChaos gazed down upon Jasmine and Aladdin. They were just sitting down on the throne together. Genie had gotten in touch with his thoughtful side and decided to take the animals on a crusade, so to let Jasmine and Aladdin have some quiet time. But when the Sultan had announced he was going to Getzistan to visit his Sultan friend, Jasmine and Aladdin had to “baby-sit” the throne.
They truly enjoyed just being with each other, but both were exhausted and tired. They were disappointed as well; the one time Genie actually acknowledges that he and the animals get in the way between Al and Jas’s love life, they can’t do anything but throne-sit.
They seem bored out of their lives! Chaos shook his head. Tisk tisk. I warned them about being bored months ago. I think I should lighten up the party a bit.
“I wonder how Father and the others are doing,” Jasmine tried to start a conversation.
Aladdin grinned, “They’re probably doing just fine.”
“That’s good,” Jasmine nodded. Okay, it’s official. We’re bored.
Chaos slunk down the pillars in the throne-room and leapt before Jasmine and Aladdin.
Aladdin put his hand to his head, “Not you again.”
Chaos grinned and licked his paw, “Miss me? I’m sure you did.”
“Why don’t you go bother somebody else?” Jasmine moaned in her laziness.
Chaos shook his head, “You are somebody else to somebody else, you know! And, I’ve been noticing that you guys are bored out of your mind! Allow me to spiffen things up!”
Jasmine and Aladdin stood up and were about to stop him, but Chaos snapped his finger, and they disappeared from the throne-room.
Aladdin found himself in a forest on a horse with English prince clothes on, “What?! Chaos! This is not funny!”
Chaos snickered, “To you, maybe not. But I am quite amused! I’ll be leaving you now!”
“No, Chaos!” Aladdin yelled, “What’s going on here, and where’s Jasmine?”
“You’re in a fairy tale! Haven’t you heard of Rapunzel? You have to defeat every obstacle in all of these fairy tales and stories! Then, I’ll let you go. Fair enough? Good. Ta ta!”
“Chaos! No!” Aladdin lunged forward to snatch Chaos, but he disappeared out of sight, “Oh, great. Now what?”
Chapter 2: Rapunzel
Stealing the Stories: Chapter Two RapunzelThen, he heard a familiar voice calling his name — Jasmine! She didn’t seem to be in distress, but she seemed somewhat frightened, so Aladdin dashed off on his horse. He followed Jasmine’s voice and came upon a clearing, where there was a huge tower. At the top was Jasmine!
“Jasmine!” Aladdin called up, “Come down here!”
“I can’t!” Jasmine called back.
“Why not?”
“Shh!” Jasmine shushed him, “She’ll hear you!”
“Who?”
“Never mind. Just climb up,” Jasmine let her hair — her very long hair — cascade down the side of the tower. Aladdin stared at it for a moment with a confused expression on his face before climbing up. When he got to the top, Jasmine pulled her hair back up.
“Do you know where we are?” Aladdin asked.
“I don’t know,” Jasmine had wide eyes, “I just found myself up here… With a nice dress and fifty feet of hair!!”
“Chaos talked to me. He said we had to defeat obstacles in stories?”
“Rapunzel,” Jasmine whispered to herself.
“What?” Aladdin asked.
“It’s a fairy tale,” Jasmine told him, “A tale where a girl was taken from birth by an old witch. The girl grew hair so long that the witch could climb it every day to feed her. Then a prince comes along to save her… I guess that’s you.”
Aladdin nodded, “So, how are we to defeat this?”
Jasmine shrugged, “In the story, the prince got caught by the witch, who sent her raven to fly both of them to different wildernesses. The prince went blind and nearly died. The girl wandered around for years until she found the prince and healed him with her love.”
Aladdin grimaced, “Years?”
Jasmine nodded, “Unless we can find some way out of her curse, Chaos’s little joyride will turn into more of a death-match.”
“Oh joy,” Aladdin gulped.
“Don’t worry,” Jasmine reassured with a smile, “You’re a whole lot more coordinated than any handsome prince.”
“Are you saying that I’m not a handsome prince?” Aladdin joked.
“Rapunzel!” a voice called before Jasmine could answer.
“The hag!” Jasmine whispered, “Quick! Hide under here!” Jasmine rushed Aladdin to her bed and let Aladdin crawl under.
“Rapunzel! Rapunzel! Let down you long hair!” the witch called.
Jasmine walked over to the window and gazed down at the witch. She thought about whether or not she should let her hair down.
“Let it down!” the witch scowled, “Else you’ll die of starvation!”
Well, here goes. Jasmine let down her hair, and the witch climbed up.
“Here’s your food. Eat,” the hag went over and sat down on the bed, “And give me the tray when you’re done.”
Jasmine scarfed up the food, in hopes that the witch would leave when she finished the last bite.
“What’s wrong with you?” the witch snapped, “You’re eating like a starving buzzard! Are you hiding something from me?”
“No, Ma’am,” Jasmine answered.
“You called me Ma’am?!!” the witched looked startled, “There is something going on!”
“No, not at all!” Jasmine tried not to panic.
The witch plopped her backside on the bed, “There’s something wrong with this bed! It’s so stiff!”
“No there’s not!” Jasmine wanted to kick herself for acting so panicky.
The hag looked at Jasmine as if she was sick and then suspiciously looked at her with one eye, “There’s not by perchance a man in here, is there?” She sniffed her nose a few times.
“Of course not, Milady,” Jasmine shook her head. “Nobody can pull the wool over your eyes.”
The hag nodded, “You’re right,” she knocked over the bed, revealing the crouching Aladdin, “They can’t!”
Aladdin scrambled to his feet and over to Jasmine’s side, “Don’t punish her please. I scaled up here and hid; she had nothing to do with it.”
The hag laughed, “No way! Nobody could possibly scale those walls!”
“I can!” Aladdin boasted.
Jasmine rolled her eyes. Oh no. Not again. Aladdin had a habit of saying he can do things — even if he wasn’t sure he could.
The hag grinned, “Then let me see yeh’. G’on. Scale the tower wall. I wanna see it!”
“If I do,” Aladdin offered, “will you let Jas- er — Rapunzel free?”
The hag laughed, “Yeah, I will. But only if you scale it with no maiden's hair to climb!” The witch drew out scissors and snapped of Jasmine’s hair. “And if you don’t, you both die.”
Aladdin held out his hand, “It’s a deal.”
The hag nearly squeezed his hand right off, and her boily unwashed hand made Aladdin grimace. The hag transported them to the base of the tower, “She doesn’t get let go until you reach the top. Ready?”
Aladdin gulped, “No… I mean yes!”
The hag rubbed her hands together, “Go!”
Aladdin looked back at Jasmine and approached the bare tower exterior. He gripped a stone and put his feet in place. With all his might, he used the stones as a rock-wall — a tiring one with barely any foot or hand space, that is. Once he was half way up, Jasmine could almost smell their first victory of the day.
But, when Aladdin only had about seven stones left until the top, the hag grew impatient, “Hey! No fair! I didn’t actually expect you to make it!” She shrieked and had vines wrap around the whole tower. Aladdin saw the vines rapidly dashing towards him and picked up his pace. But the vines were faster, and they tied Aladdin to the tower.
Jasmine yelled at the hag, “That’s not right! You made a deal!”
The hag snickered, “I never said I couldn’t bring him obstacles!” She raised her hand, and thorns slowly crept their way around the tower on the vines.
Jasmine became confident, “Then you never said I couldn’t help him either!” She rushed over to the tower and began to climb the vines. The first few steps were painful due to thorns, but she was climbing faster than the thorns and was determined to beat them up the tower.
The hag shrieked again and lifted her hand again, so the thorns got larger the higher they went. The thorns were the sizes of daggers now! Jasmine quickened her pace.
“I’m coming!” Jasmine called up.
Aladdin strained his neck to look down, “Jasmine look out!!!”
A thorn the size of a large sword shot out right next to her hand. She yelped in shock and sprung herself up a few stones. By here she could reach Aladdin’s ankle. She grabbed it and pulled herself up directly beside him.
“Hurry,” Aladdin urged and gestured with his head to the now spear-sized thorns shooting out about five feet below them. Jasmine reached for one, almost losing her balance, and plucked it off. With it, she cut the vines around Aladdin off, and the vines fell down by the hag. Now that Jasmine had nothing to hold onto, she fell. But, Aladdin caught her.
They were now holding on for dear life, and the hag was just standing there, dumbfounded.
“Hurry,” Aladdin grunted. “Climb up my arm.”
Jasmine climbed up his arm and through the tower window. She reached for Aladdin, who was losing his strength to hold on. He reached out for her, and she pulled him up. When he stumbled into the room, he stumbled directly into Jasmine’s arms.
The panting Jasmine and Aladdin walked over to the tower of the window, where the witch found herself trapped in the center of her own vines and thorns. She could have planned another attack, but she had made a deal she couldn’t break. She sighed and gave up.
Aladdin and Jasmine smiled at each other with relief. But they knew their adventure was far from over.
Chapter 3: Snow White
“Don’t worry. We’ll be back before sundown.”“Take good care of the house!”
“Haatchooo!”
“May we have some gingerbread when we come back?”
“Don’t let any strangers inside the house!!”
Jasmine waved goodbye to the seven little men, who were still rambling on as they left her sight. Jasmine shook her head. Snow white and the Seven Dwarfs, she announced to herself. It was only a matter of moments before there was a knock on the door. Jasmine opened the door to see a kindly old lady holding out a comb.
“Please accept this gift from me, Young One. Such a beautiful ornament would furnish the beauty of your silky hair.”
“No thank you,” Jasmine said politely, pretending not to know that this old lady was the evil queen.
“Oh, please! I insist! A little old lady like me has to make a living!”
“It’s just that I have the same exact one!” Jasmine told her. “Surely, there is another one of even greater beauty in your basket that might interest me?”
“No! There is none in the world more beautiful than this one! Just think — one day you are riding through the woods when a handsome prince comes to acquaintance with you! He takes one look at you and this comb and instantly falls in love!”
“All due respect, Ma’am. But I hope that I would find love for more than just physical attraction.”
“Oh, please,” the woman pretended to weep. “This was my grandmother’s and her grandmother’s before her! My life’s desire is but to pass this on to one worthy of it! I have no heir, and I find you to be suitable to acquire such an asset!”
“I assure you strongly that you are mistaken. You see, this house is filled with people; one of them is bound to sell or misplace your beautiful item. It is for certain that I would not know where it is or it would be in more than one piece by the end of this week. Are not the other things in your basket as valuable as this?”
“No,” the woman tried to hold back her anger. “I may as well pass tonight in my lonely bed with no one to pass on this treasure.” Weeping, the old lady walked away. She expected Jasmine to call her back due to guilty conscience, but she didn’t. When the hag was out of sight, Jasmine closed the door and laughed.
It helped to know when your evil stepmother queen was out to kill you with magical items. She knew she would be expecting a scarf followed by a poisonous apple. The only thing was — how was she supposed to defeat the evil queen if she didn’t die from the apple and become awakened by love’s true kiss? She couldn’t take that chance. What if Aladdin wouldn’t find her lying in her coffin in the middle of the forest? What if the wrong man would find her? No, she had to think of something. But what?
For the third time, Aladdin found himself in regal princely clothes. You’d think these fairytale writers could be a bit more creative with wardrobes.
“Charm!” a voice called.
And names! Aladdin added mentally.
“Yes, Father,” Aladdin bowed. The man summoning him was obviously his father.
“The queen of our neighboring land has lost her stepdaughter, Snow White.”
Oh no, Aladdin started to worry that this was Jasmine.
“She just disappeared a few days ago, after the queen’s royal hunter chased her into the forest. She-“
“Father!” Aladdin interrupted.
“Yes, Charm?”
“What does Snow White look like?”
“Beautiful black eyes and hair, fair skin-“
“Jasmine!”
“I beg your pardon?”
“I mean.. What happened? I’m sorry I interrupted.”
“No, it’s quite alright. Anyway, the queen is hoping she is still alive and sent out a reward to anyone who can find her and return her. You being the greatest hunter in our land, I think you would be great for the job! Besides, this could work as an alliance between our kingdoms-”
Before the king finished talking, Aladdin beamed at the opportunity, “I’ll do it!”
“Good then, my boy! The queen wishes that all young men willing to take the job would see her first.”
“Yes, thank you, Father,” Aladdin ran out of the castle and mounted the closest horse and took off, even though he didn’t know in what direction the queen’s kingdom was.
The next day, Jasmine made the dwarfs some baklava and sent them off to work. Again, it was moments after they were gone from Jasmine’s view that there was a knock at the door. Jasmine opened it to see a similar old lady standing at the door.
“Good morning, Child,” the lady smiled dearly. “What a beautiful maiden in such a beautiful morning.”
“I’m flattered,” Jasmine grinned.
“I was on my way to my dear mother’s house — she’s not doing so well — when I heard your lovely singing! Such a beautiful melody compelled me to give you something in return for bringing me peace this day. Please take this lovely crimson scarf. I spun it myself!”
A bit too tired to argue, Jasmine accepted the scarf and sent the little old lady on her way. Jasmine walked to her back yard and burned it. She wanted to leave and look for Aladdin, but she could get lost. And then the dwarfs would be worried. Or she would take too long, so the dwarfs would return and become worried. With them worried, the happy ending wouldn’t come easily. Tired of thinking too hard, Jasmine collapsed in the couch and slept.
Luckily, Aladdin found that he was going the right way; he made it to the queen’s kingdom a day after he had left. An hour after his arrival, he found his way to the queen’s castle and approached her throne humbly.
“Ah, a brave prince seeking to find my dear stepchild?” she asked magnificently. She regal and fair, older but beautiful.
“Yes, your majesty,” Aladdin bowed, feeling awkward.
“She was chased into the East Forest by my hunter. If you find her at all, that is where you would find her. If you do find her, just whistle this whistle until an assistant or I come to your side. Good luck, brave one. Go find my beloved Snow White!”
Determined and heroic, Aladdin raced off into the East Forest in search of Snow White and — hopefully — Jasmine.
But he wasn’t the only one determined to find Snow White. The fair queen of the land wished too to find her lost stepdaughter — so she could kill her! Already she had performed two attempts to bring her to her demise with a lethal comb and sash, but for some reason, Snow had rejected them! Or — in the sash’s case — dispose of them. Her last hope was to use the last thing expected to bring her demise — a handsome prince.
The next day, Jasmine awoke and once more, made them humus, and sat down in waiting for the old lady’s third visit — with the poisonous apple. But, to her surprise, there was no arrival of the old lady. Perhaps the queen realized that Jasmine knew who she was.
Cautiously, Jasmine stepped out of her cottage. There was a meadow at the top of a hill about a mile away. She had plenty of time to reach it. From there, perhaps she could spot something. In less than twenty minutes, Jasmine had walked her way up the hill. She enjoyed the walk, though she was confused and lonely. The scenery’s sights and sounds were magnificent and savory.
At the top, the view was even more glorious. The sun burst majestically between trees and hills, and a small creek snuck its way in between it all. The sunrise forced Jasmine to shield her eyes with her arm until its rays seemed to be less blinding.
After a few minutes, Jasmine regained her composure and scanned the scenery. It wasn’t long before she saw a silhouette of a rider — a man! Jasmine prayed that this was Aladdin. She desperately waved her hands and jumped exuberantly. The figure paused for a second and turned to her direction then dashed towards her.
The rider was extremely expeditious, which made Jasmine worry that it was a kidnapper. But in no time, the figure revealed itself as her dear Aladdin.
“Aladdin!” Jasmine ran to him swiftly. If he hadn’t been mounted on a horse, she’d have tackled him to the ground. But he wasn’t, so when the two met, he got off of his horse and swung her in the air.
“These fairy tales are getting longer and longer!” he exclaimed. “I think I’ve solved this one, whatever it is. The queen told me to find you and I did!” In remembering this, he pulled out the whistle and blew it.
“The queen?” Jasmine asked as a small mist seemed to come out of the whistle and surround her. “The queen is the bad guy!” She began to waver as her vision went blurry. “She wants me… dead.” With this, she fell to the ground.
“She tricked me!” Aladdin exclaimed as he picked Jasmine up and listened for a heartbeat. Nothing. “Jasmine! Wake up!”
At that time, a hoard of woodland animals seemed to have run away, as Aladdin held Jasmine sorrowfully. He had messed up this fairytale badly! Moments later, seven little men hurried to his side with all the woodland creatures.
“You killed her!” one exclaimed.
“No! The queen did!” Aladdin protested in his defense. He ran his fingers through her hair. “I love her. I’d never even think about doing that.” Upon remembering his love for her, he bent down and kissed her. She began to cough.
“Jasmine! Wake up!”
“No, her name is Snow White,” one grumpily corrected him.
“I’m back,” Jasmine smiled. “You kissed me, didn’t you?”
Aladdin nodded.
“Good, that’s the way the story goes.”
The dwarves and the creatures leapt for joy as the mist started to swirl around them again. As it did, Jasmine told Jasmine, “And for future reference, if you find me sleeping in a castle surrounded by thorns, it’s Sleeping Beauty. Kiss me, and I’ll wake up. If you — “
Chapter 4: Peter Pan
"-ever...," Jasmine paused and looked at her hero and held her breath.."Not a word," Aladdin frowned. But it was all for naught. In only a matter of seconds, Jasmine was nearly rolling on the floor laughing.
"Well, I think we've found ourselves in quite a TIGHT situation!" Jasmine burst out.
"You've been hanging around Genie too much, haven't you?" Aladdin grimaced as he got a good look at his wardrobe. He had on a leafy green jumper with matching tights and a belt tied around his waste. And for a crown, he wore a small, green archer's hat with a red feather placed in it.
"Well where are we anyway?" Aladdin asked.
Jasmine looked around. They seemed to have been inside of an immense tree. "I don't recognize this one."
"Well I guess it'll unravel itself eventually."
At that moment, a band of boys dressed as savages came running down into the hideout. "You beat us, Peter! You're supposed to let us win!"
"That was so much fun!"
"Yes, it was quite enjoyable, was it not?" said one, seemingly more proper than the rest.
The smallest one, clutching a teddy bear, walked up to Jasmine, "Can we go to the In'jins again, Wendy?"
"We'll see," Jasmine smiled, hiding her confusion well.
"Yeah, and if I didn't know better," said one, "I would've said that Wendy was jealous!"
"Jealous?" Jasmine exclaimed, "Of who?"
"Princess Tigerlily!" they seemed to have all side in chorus.
"I have no reason to be jealous of Tigerlily! I have all I've ever wanted!" Jasmine protested, not knowing who this "Tigerlily" person was.
"Tell us a story now, Wendy!"
"Yeah, be our 'Mother'!"
"Your mother?" Jasmine asked. She couldn't possibly be the mother of this band of at least fifteen boys! "Well, we can pretend that I'm your mother, and I'll tell you a story."
Upon starting her story, the boys gathered around to listen, "Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess. She had everything her heart could have possibly wanted - except for one thing. Her freedom. She had never left the palace and only wanted to have real friends. So one day, she ran away. Inside the city were all kinds of people that she had never seen before. Not being used to any of their customs got her into big trouble and almost got her killed. But there was a young man who came to her rescue." Jasmine paused and looked at Aladdin, who smiled in return.
"They became good friends until..." Jasmine went on, realizing that the young boys were enthralled in her story. But, as all young children do, they eventually fell asleep to it. When all of them were sleeping, Jasmine lifted the youngest off of her lap and crept over to Aladdin.
"I liked your story," he commented.
"I think I forgot to mention that the hero of the story enjoyed wearing tights and dressing like a green bean.
"Ha ha. Very funny."
"You're never going to live that one down."
"I don't want to," Aladdin leaned over and kissed her.
"It seems safe enough so far," Jasmine said moments later. "I think I'm going to sleep."
"Hopefully, we'll all be in the same general area when we wake up," Aladdin smiled.
"Well at least we're close enough now," Jasmine commented as she fluffed her pillow.
"Good night."
"Good night."
Luckily, they all did wake up together and even at the same time.
"Come on, Peter! Lets go treasure hunting!"
"What happened after the boy got trapped in the cave? I fell asleep!"
"I wanna go wrestle some In'jins!"
"Don't you guys want anything to eat?" Aladdin asked.
There was a large pause - like the calm before the storm.
"Yeah! I wanna have some bear!"
"Lizard!"
"Beaver!"
"Lion!"
"There ain’t no lions here, Stupid!"
"Children! Settle down!" Jasmine demanded in a motherly way and then got creative. "How about we all go seeing if we can find anything new to eat? Like an adventure or a scavenger hunt?"
"Yeah!"
"I'm gonna find the best one!"
"Children!" Jasmine demanded again. "If we're too loud, we may not find anything!"
"We might scare it away?" one asked.
"Yes, we might scare it away," Jasmine nodded. "Now come on! Up we go! I'll be right behind you!"
As the boys climbed up, Jasmine turned to Aladdin, "Maybe you can figure out what we're supposed to be doing. I'll be back soon."
"I don't like this," Aladdin protested, "We're going to get separated again. Maybe I should go with you."
"I won't go more than half a mile away. I promise. Besides, you can maybe find something else to wear - maybe something not tight or something that doesn't make you look like a salad."
"Ha ha," Aladdin kissed Jasmine on the cheek.
"Be back within twenty minutes."
"And if you don't?"
"Come look for me. I'll be back before you know it!" With that, Jasmine climbed out of the hideout, but not to be greeted by a dozen overly excited little boys. She was greeted by a dozen of greedy pirates. She raised her voice to scream, but one came up from behind her and grabbed her mouth. She still squealed and bit the pirate's hand. She stepped on his foot and yelled Aladdin's name.
She broke free and grabbed the dagger from the pirate's belt and pointed it at him. But a hand grabbed her from behind and gently forced her arm lower. A manly evil, but soft voice came from the figure behind her, "Let's not get hasty, Madam. Come along with us, and-"
"Hey! Get your hands off of her!" Aladdin hollered as he made his way out of the hideout.
"Peter Pan!" the man greeted Aladdin sinisterly. "I have finally found the secret hideout of my arch nemesis, Peter Pan!"
Aladdin reached for his belt and found a small dagger. It being better than nothing, he drew it out and pointed it at Hook. Jasmine reached out her arm to the best of her ability and tossed Aladdin the dagger she held in her hand. He caught its handle.
"Let her go and prepare to fight."
Jasmine looked down to notice that this man's hand was a hook! She gasped and immediately yanked it off. The man yelled in pain.
"Oh no," a plump pirate in a blue striped shirt and red cap whimpered. "She's gotten the Hook angry. Tisk tisk."
Hook withdrew from Jasmine, who ran to Aladdin.
"Men!" Hook seemed to have given some kind of signal. Before they knew it, Aladdin and Jasmine found themselves pushed backwards and they were tumbling back down the entrance to the hideout. The pirates closed the door as soon as the landed at the bottom with a large crash. Jasmine was knocked out, and Aladdin waited nearly a half-hour until she woke up.
"Ouch! Well, I think we found our problem," Jasmine pointed out weakly.
"We have to go after them!" Aladdin urged.
"Of course," Jasmine got to her feet slowly.
"You okay, Jas?"
"I'm fine. Just a bit bruised I guess."
Aladdin took her hand and led her back up. The door was locked.
"Locked," Aladdin exclaimed. His stimulus response was to reach inside his vest and retrieve a pick. But he didn't have a vest or a pick at that moment. But he did have a feather in his cap. He pulled it out and picked at the door until it opened. "They're gone. Follow the footsteps!"
The footsteps lead to a nearby bay. In the distance was a pirate ship.
"They must be in there!" Aladdin thought aloud. "But how do we get there?"
At that moment, a small light made its way over to them. It revealed itself to be a little fairy dressed in green with pixie-like blonde hair. She was raving wildly about something having to do with the ship. She grabbed Aladdin's finger and pulled him upwards.
"I think she wants you to fly over there!" Jasmine thought aloud.
"I can't fly!"
"You don't know that. Have you tried?"
"I'll try." Aladdin jumped childishly.
The little fairy was confused. She sprinkled something on their heads. Jasmine began to rise into the air, but Aladdin remained grounded.
"How did you do that?"
"Think of a happy thought."
Aladdin did this and rose into the air, “This story keeps getting stranger and stranger. Well, come on! Let’s go! Thanks, little… fairy.”
When they landed on the ship, Jasmine immediately untied the boys as Aladdin went to seek out the captain.
“Hey, Toots!” a pirate called out as he drew his sword.
“I’ve dealt with pirates before, just to warn you,” Jasmine got to her feet. “Boys?” The boys ganged up behind her. “Get’m.”
The flock of boys ran savagely after the pirates and shoved many of them overboard. Jasmine did her share as well, using her fist against all who approached her.
As for Aladdin, he found the captain. The captain was shaving and putting on expensive — probably stolen — cologne with his assistant, whom he called “Mr. Shmee.”
“Shmee!!” he yelled angrily as he hopped to his feet, dropping the bottle of cologne and his shaving materials. “Intruders! Get me my hook!”
Mr. Shmee tossed Hook’s hook to him, and Hook caught it with his one hand. He screwed it on as Aladdin waited patiently.
“Thank you,” Hook thanked Aladdin and grabbed a sword displayed on the wall. “Now prepare to die.”
Hook jabbed at Aladdin violently, but he dodged it and returned blows. They fought vigorously out the captain’s headquarters and on board. He found that all the other pirates were either tied up or thrown overboard. The boys began to cheer Aladdin on, and Jasmine willingly joined in on their cheers.
Enjoying all the attention, Aladdin lost his focus, and Hook hit his sword out of his hand and into the ocean. He was trapped with no sword!
“Aladdin — er — Peter!” Jasmine called. “You can fly!”
Upon remembering this, Aladdin shot up into the sky. The boys began to crow like roosters, compelling Jasmine to do the same. Aladdin joined in just for the heck of it. Because there were no swords in sight, Aladdin swooped dove down and retrieved his sword. Once more engaged, Hook paused as a noise crept closer and louder. It sounded like… a clock?
Hook yelled in laughter as the boys laughed.
“It’s the croc!” they chirped. “He’s still hungry after you fed him ol’ codfish’s hand!”
Hook trembled and sunk to his knees, “Please! I will do anything if you get him away from me!”
“Don’t go soft, Peter!”
“Don’t go easy!”
They boys chorused in protest. But Aladdin was to kindhearted to deliberately feed anyone to a crocodile. So he walked to the edge of the boat, where the crocodile was smacking his lips.
“Now what do you want with an old man like him? His hands are bony! A lot bonier than the last one! They’ve lost their meat! Go on and find someone else’s!”
The crocodile whimpered like a guilty dog and slunk away. As Aladdin watched, Hook crept up behind him, raising his sword.
“Aladdin! Behind you!” Jasmine almost shrieked.
Aladdin spun around just in time to dodge Hook and send him flipping overboard. The boys burst into laughter once more and sang, “Hook is a codfish!” Hook swam away with cowardice, being chased by the crocodile. Aladdin might have rescued him, but the scene started to fill up with mist again…
Chapter 5: Sleeping Beauty
Sleeping BeautyThe sound of gleeful little boys left Aladdin’s ears, but before he could settle down, he looked up and saw a black dragon with enormous daggers in its mouth — no wait, those were its teeth! Its eyes glowed an eerie green-yellow color, and its mouth spat out fire savagely.
In the distance behind him was a large patch of thorns, almost completely concealing what Aladdin made out to be a stone castle. If you find me sleeping in a castle surrounded by thorns, it’s Sleeping Beauty. Kiss me, and I’ll wake up, Jasmine’s words resounded inside of his head. Great. She warns me about the plants but not the dragon!!
But he lifted the sword and shield he found conveniently in his hands and prepared to fight. He had faced dragons before; why should this one be any different? Deciding to get his head start towards the castle, Aladdin conjured up a plan and took off running. Of course, the dragon followed — but a lot quicker. Just in time, Aladdin made it to the field of thorn vines. The dragon spewed fire from its mouth, but Aladdin dodged it quickly.
Quickly, Aladdin climbed over the outer wall of vines, carefully missing the thorns. With much caution, he swung himself several feet into the patch. The dragon tried to fly over, but its wings were much too small for its body. So it tried to follow him on foot.
But, like any large oaf would, tripped on the vines and fell — almost on top of Aladdin — head first into the field. It gave a yelp for all of its scratches and tried once more to singe Aladdin as he swiftly took off through the vines. But, of course, the field caught fire. So he tried to race the fire.
As you may know, fire catches much more rapidly than a human man runs — even our swift hero, Aladdin. Just as Aladdin thought he had had it, the thorns and the fire all vanished out of midair. Having no more vines to hold onto, Aladdin fell on his backside and peered over at where the dragon was. It was gone too!
Waiting a moment to make sure this wasn’t just the calm before the storm, Aladdin got to his feet and took a look around. The area he was in was now a green area before a castle moat. Looking up, he noticed a significantly high tower. That’s probably where she is.
Not seeing any way to get up, Aladdin headed for the moat; he was used to having a magic carpet to float up in! The moat was closed, so - seeing no windows close enough to just leap through — he waded through the water and climbed the moat door planks. Upon reaching the top, he spotted a window just barely low enough to leap to.
He leapt up, catching the pane and climbing in. The window was high — very high. It overlooked a courtroom, where Aladdin was surprised to see a multitude of slumbering people and animals. Sleeping Beauty is nowhere to be found here. Aladdin smirked and looked for a way to get down. He bounded to a nearby chandelier and swung from there to fine, thick drapery. Experienced in this field, he slid down the drapes and landed safely and relieved on his two feet. He sighed safely and took off to the nearest set of stairs.
The castle halls wreaked pungently of sleep and drool. And many of the sleeping figures — even the daintiest of maidens — seemed squalid in their sleep. How long have they been sleeping? Cobwebs and spider webs formed from the ceiling — adding the perfect final touch to the scenery. Eager to reach the tower, Aladdin quickened his pace.
After a few minutes of climbing stairs, Aladdin came to a dead end. At that dead end was a massive door with a key placed conveniently in its lock. He turned the key and strongly pushed the door open. Feeling so far accomplished, he strode across the room confidently, where he found his sleeping beauty delicately sleeping in finely embroidered bed.
If he hadn’t known any better, Aladdin would have been alarmed. But, thankful for Jasmine’s earlier warning, he bent down and gently placed a kiss on her lips. Perfectly and just like a fairy tale, Jasmine fluttered her eyes open. She greeted her rescuer by stretching her arms around his neck in a hug.
“Sleeping beauty,” Jasmine nodded, still waking up. “I knew it was bound to come sooner or later.”
“I defeated the dragon and woke you up,” Aladdin wondered aloud, “So why haven’t we left this story yet?”
Jasmine shrugged, “We probably have to let the king and queen know that I’m safe.”
“Let’s go!” Aladdin took Jasmine by the hand and hurried her down the stairs.
As they flew down, Jasmine started a small conversation, “So how did you defeat the dragon?”
“I led to the vast field of thorns…” Aladdin told Jasmine the whole story.
“You do know that you could have just plunged the dragon through with your sword, right?” Jasmine gestured to Aladdin’s sword and smiled.
“Of course,” Aladdin shrugged smugly, “But that would make too much sense.”
Jasmine smiled, “Of course.” Ten seconds later, the courtroom came into view.
Aladdin stopped there, “Are you sure you don’t want to just stop here and rest before rushing off to another story?”
“It would be nice,” Jasmine smiled. “Let’s get something to eat. I’m starved!”
The two sat down at a large banquet table, as the servants realized that they had dozed off on the job. They feasted on a magnificent meal with royal food that topped even that of Jasmine’s own palace’s!
“Phillip, my boy!” one of the two kings that were in the room approached Aladdin. He was short and plump with a regal white beard and moustache. “Glad you decided to join us!”
Another king who was seemingly younger, taller and better built approached the first king’s side with who was obviously his wife. “Aurora! I don’t mean to dampen things, but you must stay supervised tonight. It is your sixteenth birthday.”
“It already happened, Father,” Jasmine informed her fairy tale father.
They didn’t even realize they had all been under a sleeping spell? Aladdin though to himself, not knowing the story.
“What do you mean?” the queen inquired.
“I pricked my finger! I think Al — Phillip — could better explain what happened. After all, he was my rescuer!”
Aladdin, knowing that Jasmine was always right, told them the whole story — of how he defeated the dragon, climbed the moat door, traveled upstairs, and awoke the sleeping princess with a true love’s kiss. The story enthralled the believing kings.
“Wonderful!” the younger king exclaimed. “You shall be wed by the end of the week!” and he turned to his nearby servant as the scene swirled, “And fix the moat.”
Chapter 6: Perseus and Andromeda
Andromeda and PerseusWhen the scene disintegrated, it materialized into a beautiful seascape, in which Jasmine found herself. The sand was perfectly one creamy color and blew magically in the wind. The sea tossed and turned peacefully under an overbearing sun. Jasmine had her hair down, and it was flowing magnificently in the wind. For clothes, she had a beautiful, long white gown with a simple twine rope wrapped around for a belt. It too, flowed beautifully in the wind.
The only thing spoiling the scenery was the fact that Jasmine was chained to a rock. And there were people around her who were crying about the loss of their beautiful princess. Once realizing where she was, Jasmine called for Aladdin.
Aladdin was a bit surprised when he appeared on the scene. He looked around, but Jasmine was nowhere to be found. He looked down and realizing he was floating very high in midair. In shock, he almost fell. But he regained his composure and realized that he had shoes with wings on them. He figured he had found himself in a Greek myth by the toga and sandals he was wearing.
Once he had gained his sanity completely, he heard a cry for help. “Jasmine!” he called, but not loud enough. He followed her voice swiftly until he found her at the edge of the shore, with a ridiculous amount of chains wrapped around a large boulder and ending on cuffs on her wrists and ankles.
“Jasmine!” Aladdin flew down to her side. “Where are we?”
“Oh, I’m so glad you came,” Jasmine said with obvious stress, talking too quickly to make fun of what he was wearing. “We’re in a Greek myth about Andromeda and Perseus. Andromeda, who is me, is the beautiful princess of this land. When her parents angered the gods, they had to sacrifice her to the sea monster! The people here are loyal subjects mourning the coming loss of their dear princess!”
“And I am Perseus come to save you!” Aladdin announced confidently. “Right?”
“Yes,” Jasmine made a horrified face and gestured to behind her hero. “Now you better get busy!”
Aladdin turned around just as the monster went to strike. It was an immense sea serpent with slippery scales and facial features much resembling the dragon from their previous adventure. Its glare was enough to kill anybody, but our brave hero fought it courageously.
Jasmine covered her eyes, upon remembering that the battle was too much for any ordinary person to handle. Even the citizens She trusted in her courageous hero and wished she could help him very much. But there isn’t much you can do when you’ve been chained to a rock at an edge of the sea.
Aladdin was confident in his skills, having battled many creatures this size before. But it seemed organized and overly prepared. It seemed extremely hungry as well — as if, when it was done with him and Jasmine, it planned to go after the nearby citizens — or the whole town for that matter!
Even our hero could have told you that it could have been his longest head-on battle! By the end of multiple hours, the serpent gave in and fell to the depths of the sea. Aladdin lost consciousness then, falling into Jasmine’s arms. She placed him down gently the best she could and let him rest. The tension from the battle had her crying; she was worn out, and I’m sure that the both of them were grateful that they had stopped to eat in Sleeping Beauty.
After half as long as the battle took, the sun began to go down. Jasmine started to worry about her fainted hero. But only a minute after sunset started, Aladdin woke up and looked up at his princess. When he weakly got to his feet, the crowd behind them cheered over the victory!
“Aladdin!” Jasmine called to her hero. “Unchain one of my wrists so that you can hold me! They probably want to see you hold me!” Aladdin did so obediently and lifted Jasmine into his arms and cradled her with his quickly returning strength. She reached her head up, turned his face toward her, and gave him a kiss. In reaction, the crowd cheered louder.
But the crowd didn’t stay for long. They left the beach and headed back after no more than five minutes in order to celebrate. This left Aladdin and Jasmine on the shore alone.
“You know, for once I’d like to not be the damsel in distress.” She stopped and turned to her savior once more, “Thank you Aladdin,” Jasmine smiled. It was almost too dark to see her smile, but Aladdin could tell she was smiling because of her voice’s happiness. She was happy, so he was happy.
“Anything for my princess,” he returned weakly.
“You need to rest again,” Jasmine adjudged. “Don’t free my other wrist. Free it in the morning, so that you can rest and we can leave tomorrow morning.
“Isn’t that uncomfortable? I don’t like the idea of sleeping with you in chains.”
Jasmine shrugged with a grin, “I’ve been in chains for longer. Really.”
In agreement, Aladdin nodded and slumped to the ground with his wife in his arms until they both fell asleep. First thing in the morning, an hour after sunrise, Aladdin and Jasmine took a deep breath as Aladdin relieved Jasmine’s bound wrist. They embraced in a kiss as the scene swirled yet again!
Chapter 7: Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the BeastTo Jasmine’s surprise, she was still engaged in a kiss when the next scene came into completion. But she didn’t seem to be kissing Aladdin. She jumped back in horror. An enormous and ferocious-looking creature in fur and a velvet suit stood before her and also jumped back in surprise.
“Aladdin?” Jasmine asked with wide-eyes.
The creature looked down, and with a confused manner, gave a holler. “Jasmine! What am I?”
As if unworried, Jasmine gave a small chuckle, “This isn’t even fair.”
“Yeah, it’s not fair. You are always normal. I get stuck in short togas, green tights, and animal skin!”
“No, I mean the story is already over!” Jasmine laughed. “It’s Beauty and the Beast. A conceited, handsome prince gets a spell cast on him that turns him into a hideous beast. Only when he can fall in love with someone who returns the love can he be human again. He loses hope, when a beauty crosses his path in search of her father. Then they eventually fall in love.”
“Sooo…”
“So,” Jasmine announced, “I love you and agree to marry you!” She kissed him, and he returned to normality. Magic swirled around, much like it does when the scene swirls but much more magical and enchanting, as he did.
When the magic left, Jasmine looked up at him and giggled, “I think I liked you better as a beast!”
Aladdin laughed in return as the scene swirled once again.
“Here we go again,” Aladdin smiled.
Chapter 8: The Little Mermaid
Part Eight: The Little MermaidJasmine stretched and yawned. Something about her atmosphere was light and lifting, and she wanted to go back to sleep.
She probably would have, if she didn't realize she wasn't waking up in her comfy palace bed. Instead, she found herself in a bluish area, where everything seemed to have been made of shells or smooth rocky material.
Gradually awaking, she stepped out of bed - No wait. She swam out of bed? Jasmine bounced back, startled upon realizing she had a long scaly fin instead of her two legs. She was smart enough to realize she was a mermaid and even smarter to realize that she was a princess mermaid! The only thing she couldn't quite bring herself to realize was what story she was in!
Aladdin didn't have much more luck than she did. Yet again, he found himself in princely apparel in a fancy castle. The heroes in these stories need more variety, Aladdin grinned to himself. It seemed to him that the authors weren't creative enough to create more character in them! The girls were the ones who had to work their ways up!
Figuring that he would eventually receive some clue as to where Jasmine was, he looked for his "father"; it had previously always been the father to clue him in. He didn't need to search for long! His father eyed him up and down.
"Do you really intend to go sailing in that?" he grimaced.
"No, Father," Aladdin said, imitating a normal, blasé, princely character with a bit of stutter. "As you say, princeliness must be portrayed all day while in the castle."
"I say that?" the king rambled childishly. "Well, I must say! I'm more coordinated with words than I thought! Nonetheless, you must prepare for the sailing trip! Wear something simple - you know, what you always wear on these trips!"
"Yes, Father," Aladdin bowed as his father left his presence. Perfect. The father helps again. Hopefully the sailing trip will bring him to Jasmine. He eagerly dressed in a plain white shirt and brown pants with sturdy boots and exited to the docks to set sail.
Jasmine swam all around the mer-city in hopes that she would find Aladdin, but there was no sign of him either. Maybe he was looking for her too! If he were, it would do no good for him if she kept moving about. But, maybe he thought she was looking for him! Then maybe he would have stopped so she could find him! Then they both would be stopped, and they would go nowhere! Jasmine shook her head, violently excusing these thoughts.
Perhaps he's still a human! Jasmine thought as she looked up, trying to squint hard enough to see the surface. She had made up her mind; she was going to the surface! She then started to swim rapidly to the surface, noting how uncomfortable the shell bra she was wearing was!
"Girl of the Sea", "The Mermaid Princess", "The Underwater Kingdom". Jasmine tried to think of any familiar titles involving a mermaid princess as she swam, but nothing rang any bells. Before she thought she was going to lose her mind, she made it to the surface and began scanning the area. No land in sight, Jasmine didn't give up and searched until she spotted a small speck that seemed to be a ship. With hope, she swam towards it rapidly until the human figures were identifiable.
Aladdin stayed his distance from most of the crew onboard. It wasn't that he didn't like them or couldn't stand them. It was just that they were dancing gaily and wildly to a piper's tune and were making sure everyone on board was in motion with them. And Aladdin wasn't much of a dancer or a drinker; much of the crew started to get drunk as the sun lowered.
Instead, Aladdin put his muscles to work and helped the rest of the men fish. They were very grateful for his help and complimented him well on his strength. Aladdin smiled proudly, thinking if only Jasmine had seen him fish! She would love to see that!
She did. As the men were pulling in their last net-full of fish, Jasmine could make out one of the crewmembers as none only than her beloved Aladdin! She smiled, I see Aladdin has picked up a new hobby. She was about to get his attention, when Aladdin gestured upwards and rushed to the other side of the ship, as if something was the matter.
It was as the fishing crew pulled in their last net of fish that Aladdin realized that the sun wasn't supposed to go down at three hours past noon! He looked up and realized that the sun wasn't setting; dark clouds were moving in as if claiming the ship as their territory!
"It looks like we have a storm!" Aladdin yelled, taking action immediately. Obediently taking heed, the crew grabbed the ropes to the mast and the captain and his assistant immediately took control of the wheel. They were ready for any storm!
Or so they thought.
It wasn't much longer before Jasmine noticed the clouds as well. She wished she could do something, but there's no stopping a storm! While thinking whether it would be a good idea to get Aladdin's attention, she got noticed.
"A mermaid!" one sailor yelled, foolishly leaving his duty. Almost half of the crew hurried over to the side of the boat to see the mermaid.
"Get a net!" many yelled as they hurried to get a net.
In realizing they intended to capture her, Jasmine swam swiftly under the boat to safety. She saw the tip of their net cast in and, after a loud noise, fell loosely to the bottom of the sea. Curiously, Jasmine swam back up to see what had happened.
Aladdin was determined; the men were ready for a storm! His confidence was shattered, though, when one sailor claimed he saw a mermaid. A large group of sailors rushed to the side to see if it was true! Apparently it was, for they rushed to retrieve a net.
"Men! We have a storm! Don't leave your posts!" Aladdin commanded, trying to sound official. But they didn't listen.
"Where did it go?" one asked as a bolt of lightning hit the boat. In shock, the sailors dropped the net and scurried back to their posts like frightened bugs. The top of the boat had caught fire, and the wind and rain started as sudden as the lightning had.
Aladdin looked up and realized that the ship was going down. He waited a moment, seeing if the rain would put out the fire. But it didn't.
"Abandon ship!" someone yelled. Obediently and willingly, the crewmembers all hurried to boats and started rowing away, shoving Aladdin out of the way as if he was less significant than they were. With no ships left, he had no choice but to jump overboard and see if he can float on something from the ship, which was on the verge of cracking and sinking.
Grabbing an empty ale barrel, he leapt from the ship. It was only a moment after this that the ship cracked in half and sunk. Now, he was hanging on for dear life while the waves were tossing him like a toy in a child's bathtub!
He was overwhelmingly relieved when a thin, wet figure rose up before him and clutched the barrel. Jasmine!
"Jasmine!" Aladdin yelled worriedly. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine!" Jasmine answered, trying to project her voice over the storm. She then swam backwards a bit and flipped her fin, showing Aladdin that she was a mermaid.
"Jasmine?! You're a mermaid?!" Aladdin was so shocked, he almost let go of the barrel. The mermaid that distracted the men!
"Yes! I'll explain later! You'll never make it in this! Let go, and I'll swim you safely to land!"
"Are you sure?"
"Yes! I'm a mermaid, remember?"
Aladdin nodded, took a breath and shakingly let go of the barrel. Jasmine swam under as he sank a few feet and lifted his head above the surface. He took a deep breath.
"Which way is land?"
Aladdin gestured with his head in the eastern direction, "That way!"
Jasmine started off amazingly quickly and confidently. After almost ten minutes, Aladdin passed out. Not having enough time to wake him, Jasmine kept going. After another ten minutes, Jasmine wearily reached the shore. She placed Aladdin down and breathed air into his mouth, followed by a strong press on his stomach. Coughing, he regained consciousness.
"Jasmine?" he asked quietly.
"The prince! He's alive!" a mob of people hurried toward them. Knowing Jasmine shouldn't be there, she backed up and dove underwater again. All of a sudden, there was a jerk on her wrist. She whirled around to see an elderly mermaid with an amazingly buff body and long beard. In his hand he held a strong black triton.
"Melody!" he boomed. "You are not yet old enough to visit the surface! Why have you disobeyed me again?"
"That human was in trouble!" Jasmine stuck up for herself from what seemed to be her father.
"Come home with me. We have much to discuss."
"I can't leave him!"
Not having a choice, Jasmine was forced to return to the mermaid land.
Aladdin felt a serene blow of wind caress his face, a feeling in which he missed dearly. He sat up in his bed of white sheets, realizing he had been sleeping.
"He's awake!" a chorus of both gender voices filled the room.
One, thin and tall approved this in a dignified manner, "Yes! He is! We were so worried about you! What are the odds you would be swept on land safely like you did!"
Aladdin knew otherwise, but he felt it better not to mention how a mermaid had rescued him. But he had to find her! He leapt from bed and hurried down to the sea, going against the other people there's wishes.
But no one was there. He called her name a few times, but still there was no reply. She'll come back. She has to!
After a long, tedious lecture, Jasmine returned to her mermaid suite to conjure up a plan. There was no way she and Aladdin could be together when they weren't even the same species! So she had to become a human somewhere - assuming that that was what happened in the actual story.
This was obviously a fairy tale, so any trace of magic couldn't be too far away. So, with hope, Jasmine took off into the city in search of a way. She slowed her pace when she entered what seemed to have been the undersea version of a back alley. Before she knew it, she seemed to have been out of the city and into a large cave.
It was dark and musty, fitting every stereotype of a deep and mysterious cave. It seemed to never end, and after what seemed like an hour she saw a hint of light. With eagerness, she rushed towards it. At the end was a massive octopus with a human torso and face and seven tentacles - one was missing. Her face was thin and gauded with makeup.
At that moment, she spun around and faced the young princess.
"Ahh. Princess Melody! You're the last person I expected to be here! The daughter of the sea king has no business with an old witch like me!"
"A witch? Maybe I'm in the wrong - " Jasmine started to turn back, but she was stopped as the witch grabbed her with one of her sticky tentacles.
"No, you've definitely come to the right spot. Now what would bring a young mer-princess down here? Perhaps lack of clothes?"
"No-"
"Makeup?"
"No-"
"Or is it love?" The witch turned knowingly and mysteriously.
Jasmine paused then spoke, "Yes."
"Love with a human."
"How did you-"
"Darling, I'm a witch. I know these things. And, I'm kind enough to help you in your situation."
"You are?" Jasmine asked, not quite believing her.
"Yes, and stop thinking I'm lying! It's not a trick! I'll make you a human and drop you off at the shore. But only for a price."
Jasmine paused. Typical villain. "What's your price?"
"Your voice."
"My voice?"
"Yes. If you are really in love, you can get him to love you without your voice, surely!"
Jasmine nodded, "Of course!"
"Then don't worry about it. Drink this," the witch nudged a small bottle with a toxin of a mysterious color in it.
"It's poison."
"Certainly not. We made a deal, did we not?"
"Not until we shake on it," by past experiences, Jasmine knew bad things happen to magical villains when they break promises.
The witch paused, "Very well then." She held out a tentacle.
Jasmine eyed it, "And you know just because your tentacles aren't hands doesn't make this deal unofficial."
"Of course! Now shake," the witch said eagerly and persuasively.
Jasmine wavered and finally shook it. Upon her withdrawal, she hurried the toxin down her throat, surprised that it didn't taste all that bad.
"Sing for me, Child."
Jasmine opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
"See? I'm a woman of my word. Now you shall have your voice back if you get him to kiss you on the lips by sunset in three days. And it must be him to do the kissing! It has to be True love!"
"And if he doesn't'?"
"You will die."
Jasmine gulped, but didn't fear. Aladdin would probably kiss her as soon as he saw her!
"The same goes for if he gives someone else a kiss of true love."
Jasmine didn't even have to worry about that.
"Very well then. You might want to wrap this around your waste," the witch handed Jasmine a long cloth and chanted a few words. With this, Jasmine's world went black.
Aladdin hurried down to the shore after breakfast the next morning, in hopes he would find Jasmine. He stood at the point where the water crept up and tickled his bare feet. He looked in all directions. To his surprise, he saw something down the shore! It was a limp silhouette of what was shaped like a human being washed upon the shore.
Though nervous, Aladdin hurried down to it. It was Jasmine! She had legs and had a cloth pinned carefully around her waste. He dragged her unconscious figure up out of the water and laid her in the sand.
He bent down and removed the mass of hair from her face. "Jasmine?" he asked soothingly, noticing that she was breathing. "Wake up. It's me."
Jasmine took one deep breath and opened her eyes. She opened her mouth to ask if she had legs, but nothing came out.
"Jas, are you okay?"
Jasmine nodded.
"How did you become a human?"
Jasmine got to her feet and pointed to her mouth.
"You're hungry? Jas, talk to me!"
Jasmine shook her head and mouthed, 'I can't.'
"We'll talk later. We have to get you inside."
Jasmine sighed and tapped his shoulder. He turned around and Jasmine grabbed him in a loving hug. Aladdin kissed her wet seaweed-smelling hair and took her hand. Jasmine was hoping he would have kissed her, but smelling as pungently as she embarrassingly did, she didn't blame him.
The witch nearly fainted when she saw how close he got to kissing her! It was as if they had been in love for years now! It was her duty to present the king of the sea with his beloved princess's dead body in revenge for the exile he announced upon her.
She would have to keep a close watch on them. A very close watch.
Jasmine was rushed excitedly to her room by curious maidservants as soon as the princes entered the castle with this mysterious dark-haired maiden. They rushed her to take a bath and laid out fine clothes that they seemed to have had ready for any fair lady who entered the castle with their prince. The older maidservants rambled on about the "poor creature" that couldn't make a single noise!
Finally, Jasmine was ready. Taking her time, she walked down the grand staircase to the dining hall in a lovely violet taffeta dress. She had pearls delicately strung across her collar and hanging from her ears majestically. The others there marveled at this strange belle with harmless suspicion.
Aladdin stood at the bottom and held out his hand for her. She took it and gently stepped off of the final step. Upon remembering that she was not considered royalty here, Jasmine curtsied respectfully. She blushed as Aladdin admired her and kissed her white-gloved hand.
He led her to an elderly man and bowed, "Father. This is the love of my life, Jasmine."
"How peculiar that you are already in love with her! You only met her just today!"
"But, this is the girl that saved my life last night!"
"Now, did she?" the king turned and bowed to her. "Abundant thanks, Madame."
Jasmine bowed in return and almost opened her mouth in reply.
"She doesn't have much to say, does she?" the king smiled.
"She must have never met a king before!" Aladdin covered up for Jasmine, still unsure of why she hadn't uttered a word for the entire time.
"Please," the king offered, "sit with us and feast!"
Jasmine nodded and took her seat across from Aladdin. The feast was magnificent, and Jasmine felt contrite that she could not compliment it. And Aladdin was still utterly confused.
At the end of the meal and marvelous dances, Aladdin stood up with the king. Jasmine followed. They walked to the exit of the room. Aladdin turned secretively to Jasmine to ask her why she hadn't talked.
But the king interrupted, "Eric. I must speak with you in my chambers about your duties. You may wish the lady good night."
Aladdin turned and quietly talked to Jasmine, "Jas, write down what's going on a piece of paper and put it in my bedroom." Jasmine understandingly nodded as Aladdin leaned in for a kiss. But, suddenly, a fork flung in between them.
Jasmine and Aladdin reflexively turned to the direction from which it came. Nobody admitted to throwing it, so Aladdin turned back to her.
"Eric!" the king interrupted. "Please come now!"
Jasmine sighed exhaustedly. She didn't like this at all.
"Good night," Aladdin rushed a kiss on her forehead and walked towards the king.
"That was entirely too close!" the witch wiped the sweat off of her brow. "I can't keep babysitting them like this! I'll run out of forks!" The witch grinned comically and realized what she had to do. She cackled malevolently as she savagely swiped a collection of concoctions and mixed them together. She rose one bubbling cup, spoke some magical words, and chugged it.
Dear…Erik,
To sum up all that has been happening, I went to see a sea-witch to turn me into a human. She gave me legs in return for my voice. I don't know the story, but I'll be returned to normal if -
Here, Jasmine paused. If she told him he had to kiss her or else, would it still matter?
- Well. You know how all the spells in the other stories were broken. But it must be by sunset in two days - and to me! I trust you wouldn't kiss anyone else, or else I will die. See me in the morning - I'll be waiting in front of the ballroom before breakfast.
Love,
Jasmine
Jasmine slipped through the halls after delicately rolling up the letter and tying it with a ribbon. She finally made it to Aladdin's room; the layout was much like her palace's! She knocked first, but there was no answer. So she entered and placed the note on Aladdin's pillow. After this, she returned to her room and entered a peaceful slumber.
A slim figure with long, black hair and black eyes walked into the room and picked up the letter delicately placed on the bed's pillow. She unrolled it and chuckled. Crumpling it up, she threw it into the trashcan. With a grin, she walked out and prepared herself for the next day.
Jasmine rose and stretched early in the morning. She stepped out of bed and got dressed herself - no maidservants required. As quickly as she could, she hurried out of the room and made her way downstairs. Aladdin wasn't there yet, so she stood and waited for a few minutes.
Finally, she heard footsteps coming from around the corner. But it wasn't Aladdin; it was… herself? A female figure of her complete likeness approached her and grinned!
Jasmine got ready to scold whomever this was, but the girl grinned and swung an open bottle out. The liquid in it flung out and spread across Jasmine. Jasmine reflexively tried to yell as she found herself vanishing.
Her "clone" laughed a familiar cackle, "Now try to get him to love you without him seeing you!"
Jasmine sunk to the floor, invisible, and tried to cry. She thrashed at whom was apparently the witch in a copy of her body, but found herself faint and weak. She shriveled to the ground and fell unconscious for almost an hour.
"Jasmine!" Aladdin approached his true love and kissed her on the cheek. "Good morning. You were up early this morning!"
"Good morning, handsome," she reached up tenderly to kiss him on the lips. He leaned down as well. But before they reached each other, they were forced apart. The force seemed to have been invisible hands!
"What was that, Jas?"
Not used to her name, it took a second to realize he was talking to her.
"I don't know," she looked around mysteriously and scowled behind Aladdin's back.
"So, I see you're talking again!"
"Of course, when there's a prince like you in the castle there's so much to talk about!"
Aladdin smirked. The real Jasmine sat up and sighed. That was too close. He should realize he wasn't talking to her sooner or later.
It was longer than she thought.
He went the whole day believing that that witch was his Jasmine. Though there did seem to be something different about her…
Jasmine stood in Aladdin's room all night, not sleeping at all. She knew the witch was conniving and would very likely sneak in in the middle of the night to break the spell. While in there, she eyed the trashcan and noticed that there was a crumpled up letter in it - her letter!
Furiously, she uncrumpled it and saw that it was the same - just crumpled up. Why would Aladdin just throw it away like that? Jasmine shook her head; of course it was the witch. She looked around frantically for a pen to add things to it, but could not find one. Hopefully, she placed it gently on his night table and slumped down against the wall, watching her beloved sleep.
It wasn't until the sun began to rise that she realized Aladdin would wake up soon. So, she snuck out of the room and down to her room, where the witch was waking up. She smirked and mischievously locked the door from the hallway.
At breakfast, Aladdin ate alone, wondering where Jasmine was. He sent two servants up to make sure she was okay, but before they returned, the king had requested an audience with him. Sighing and tired of the story, he raised from his seat and went to his father's side. Jasmine still hadn't told him what was going on!
Jasmine just snickered to herself as the infuriated witch stomped downstairs uttering angry words about her. She looked as if she was going to pop a vein when she found she had missed breakfast!
It wasn't until lunchtime that the witch and Aladdin even saw each other. When they went to kiss, Jasmine once more pushed them apart. Every time since then, she just smacked one of them, causing one of them to jump back. She felt like a mischievous invisible sprite in the way of the humans!
Jasmine knew that Aladdin hadn't read the letter, and as evening approached, she knew he had to! This was the third day! There was never a time when they were separated that day too - Jasmine was sure the witch made sure of this. Finally, Jasmine made the hard decision to leave them unattended to fetch the note. She hurried, hoping the witch hadn't made her move on Aladdin yet.
Finally, she reached Aladdin's room and found that the letter had been knocked on the ground and floated under the bed. She crouched down and grabbed it violently. With this, she sprang up and dashed downstairs, not minding anything in her way.
It was with utter relief that Jasmine found Aladdin and the witch were not together. Too tired to think, she slipped the paper into Aladdin's coat pocket. During dinner, he noticed it and read it secretively. But he didn't go unnoticed. The witch excused herself early and scanned the room. As if she could see Jasmine, she grabbed her and dragged her into the hall.
"You won't just leave me alone, will you?!" the witch harshened as she thrust Jasmine into a closet and locked the door. Jasmine once more tried to cry, but resorted to door banging - a thing in which she was very skilled at.
The witch resumed her seat at the table and noticed that Aladdin had a very confused look on his face.
"Jas, did you write this letter?" he asked.
"What letter?" she asked innocently.
Aladdin pulled it out of his pocket. "This one. It seemed to have been written the day you came back."
The witch pretended to be confused, "No, I don't recognize it."
"Did you ever write me a letter? You've still never told me what is going on here."
"Oh, Erik. Don't worry about it."
"That's another thing. You keep calling me Erik."
"Why wouldn't I?"
"Bec-," Aladdin paused. "Do you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"It sounds like someone banging on a door!"
"I don't hear anything."
Aladdin paused, "Okay, if you say so. But I'd feel much more comfortable if I could check."
Aladdin got up, but was stopped by the witch, "I'll go check. I think I hear your father coming. He would be angry if he found you left the presence of a female guest."
She got up and walked towards the closet and chanted some magical words. Suddenly, Jasmine's banging got quiet. No matter how hard she hit, not a sound was made.
She hasn't called me "Aladdin" at all so far. Aladdin thought to himself. She speaks as if she is playing a role - as if the king is my real father and Erik is my real name! And, who would have written that note? Nobody else here knows Jasmine's real name, and that was definitely Jasmine's handwriting…
The witch returned and interrupted his thoughts, "One of your servants were locked in a closet. She's out now. Oh look! The sun is setting! How romantic!" She hurried to Aladdin's side and clutched his hand. "Come out to the balcony with me."
Aladdin took her hand and followed her. She led him out onto the balcony, which was conveniently right beside the dining table. There was a wispy cloth material strung across the way between the balcony and the dining hall, much like the material strung across between Jasmine's room and her balcony in the palace.
The witch stroked Aladdin's arm and looked up into his eyes. The sunset was magnificent and mysterious, yet Aladdin did not have the twinkle in his eyes that sunsets usually gave him. He looked down at his love, who returned an almost desperate look. She leaned up for a kiss.
Jasmine continued to bang, not realizing that nobody could hear her. She slowed down and eventually stopped as enormous blue bruises spread all over her fists. She cried a muted cry as she began to feel a tingling feeling posses her body. The sun was setting.
Aladdin looked down at who he thought was his true love. He leaned in as her lips curled into a pucker.
Jasmine dropped to her knees and held her arms in pain. It seemed to taciturn it a bit, but the sensation moved into her legs and her stomach until she could do nothing to tame it at all.
The sun was inching its way down the in the seemingly close ocean's horizon. A pang of consciousness sent a jolt of qualms through Aladdin's body as their lips almost touched.
Jasmine cried and closed her eyes. It seemed like their adventures were over. She thought angrily about how she could have done more. She could… have… done….
Aladdin forced the girl away from him in understanding.
"What are you doing?" she asked frantically.
"Finding the real owner of this kiss!" Aladdin ran into the hall where the banging had been heard at dinner and swung open the first closet he saw. He saw nothing inside, but a hand reached out and gripped his pant leg. He reached out to the invisible figure and pulled it up knowingly.
He knew where her lips were, and as soon as they were engaged in a kiss, Jasmine's suffering ended, and she was no longer invisible. The enraged witch regained her octopus form and scream for lack of water.
"Stay away from my man," Jasmine smiled and turned back to Aladdin as the scene swirled once more.
Chapter 9: Cinderella
PART TWO CinderellaA mist surrounded the two, and took them away from the balcony. But, to their dismay, they found that, once more, they did not end up together. Aladdin found himself in clothes similar to the ones he wore before, and he was in a castle. So what else was new? Aladdin began to search for Jasmine, but sensed that she wasn’t there.
Jasmine found herself in rags in an expensive mansion. She was down on her knees with a rag in hand. Cinderella, Jasmine thought. Definitely Cinderella.
A voice behind Aladdin summoned him, “Charm.” Aladdin grinned at the name he was given in this story. Aladdin turned around to see who was obviously a king.
“What are you looking for?” the old man asked.
Aladdin decided that this man was trustworthy. It looked like this was supposed to be his father, “A girl.”
“My son! Looking for a girl!” the king smiled. “Tonight perhaps you’ll see this girl! For, remember, I am holding a ball in your honor! All eligible young ladies are invited!”
Aladdin smiled, “Thank you.” He only wished Jasmine would attend the ball. He felt confident about it, for Jasmine probably knows the story and how it goes.
“Cinderella!” an ugly girl Jasmine’s age stomped her foot. “You missed a spot!”
Jasmine knew she sounded dumb asking this question, but she had to: “What day is it, dear stepsister?”
The girl snorted, “Don’t kiss up to me, stupid girl. It is day seven of the week. Today we go to the ball. I’m sorry. Did I say we? I meant me, Mother and Griselda. Urchins not invited.”
Jasmine paid no attention to her lame remark and played the part, which she knew well, “Please, dear stepsister, may I not attend the ball as well? After all, I am an eligible young lady in this land.”
At that very moment, the evil stepmother walked in, “What is that?”
The stepsister replied, “Cinderella wishes to go to the ball, Mother. I told her no, because-“
“Why not?” the stepmother interrupted. “By the decree, she is eligible to go. So, I’ll allow her to attend — as long as she finishes her chores.”
At that moment, the second stepsister, Griselda, walked in, “Our Ella? Attend the ball? Ha! That’s funny! I’d like to see that!”
But the first stepsister, Elmira, was a thinker. She knew there was no maiden who was nearly as beautiful as her Cinderella. The prince would fall for her the moment he laid eyes on her. So, when her mother and sister left the room, she sneered at Jasmine, “I’ll have you know that you shan’t attend the ball tonight.” With that, she swung around and strode out of the room.
Do what you wish, Jasmine grinned. There’s no stopping a fairy godmother!
Aladdin was officially at the state of boredom, just as he was before Chaos took them on this adventure. Only, he was lonely. He tried to go off in search of Jasmine, but the guards and the king made him stay so to keep clean for the ball. Aladdin could only hold his breath and wait until the ball came that night.
Servants escorted him to his dressing room and had him dressed up in his finest. When he was finished dressing, he left his room to meet the king, who was waiting for him on a balcony in the ballroom.
Aladdin and the king gazed down on the empty room. “Tonight is a big night for you, Charm,” the king smiled. “I know you’ll use your best judgement in choosing the woman in whom you shall spend the rest of your life with.”
Aladdin nodded with a grin, “I know I will.” Even if Jasmine didn’t show up, he knew he would go out searching for her. There was nothing putting this boy down!
“Cinderella!” Griselda scowled. “Get up here, you lazy girl! And help me dress!”
Jasmine picked up her dirty skirt and hurried upstairs. All of her chores were complete, and now she just had to prepare herself and the stepsisters for the ball!
When she was finished applying makeup to the stepsisters — and lots of it I may add - , she went into her room to fetch a nice gown she spotted in her closet earlier on. But, instead of seeing her gown, she saw shreds of it on the ground.
“Your dress has definitely looked better, Cinderella,” Elmira teased and left. Jasmine wasn’t phased at all, for she knew that her fairy godmother would come for her.
“Cinderella!!!” Jasmine heard the stepmother yell with anger.
Jasmine hurried downstairs to her, but she stopped before reaching the bottom. For in front of her was a filthy foyer that she could have sworn she mopped.
“I suppose you won’t be attending the ball tonight,” the stepmother decided as she walked by Jasmine.
“Yes,” Elmira sneered, “I guess you’ll just stay here and clean up.”
The three women waved goodbye and slammed the door in Jasmine’s face. Simple, Jasmine thought to herself. I’ll just sit and wait for my fairy godmother. Jasmine waited and waited, but she forgot one thing: the fairy godmother only came because Cinderella’s sorrowful tears.
Jasmine also knew that faking to cry wouldn’t make the fairy godmother come to her. So, she had to go to the ball herself. She found a pair of exquisite shoes and headed for the door. When she walked out the door in her rags, she saw the castle all the way in the distance and knew that she wouldn’t make it on feet. So, she went into their barn and prepared for herself a horse and the only carriage left, which was shabby but maneuverable.
With confidence, she took off for the castle.
Aladdin stood at the balcony in the ballroom, gazing upon the dancing people. They looked like a bunch of spinning tops on ice. But there was one he did not see — Jasmine. Where was she? Was she coming? How was he to find her?
“The time is soon, Charm,” the king gave Aladdin a pat on the back. “The ladies will be properly introduced in just a few minutes. And you will have a wife!”
“Sounds good,” Aladdin barely paid any attention to the king; he just watched and waited.
Jasmine was close to halfway there. She had to admit it would have been fun to have a fairy godmother to aid her, but whatever it took to see Aladdin she would do. She was so determined that she failed to notice the group of thieves crouching on the side of the road.
Every time the royal family holds a ball, the finest ladies flock to the castle, and the finest ladies make the finest ransoms! So, when Jasmine rode by them, they sprung out of the darkness and raided the carriage.
Startled, Jasmine leapt to the horse pulling the carriage. The horse was spooked as well, so he was running at full speed. Jasmine gripped the reins as hard as she could as the thieves sprung towards her.
She leaned back to unhitch the horse from the carriage. One of the thieves look at her and recognized how beautiful she was. She knocked him in the head and finally broke free. Now the thieves were on a carriage with no driver and were frantically jumping off of the carriage. A few didn’t jump off, and they yelled as the carriage crashed into a brick wall.
I hope that wasn’t the finest carriage. Jasmine smiled to herself as she and the horse rode on.
“We’ll be waiting for you, young one!” one called back.
Don’t count on it. Jasmine smiled once more and rode up the castle’s road.
Aladdin yawned. There were so many ladies that were flirting with him. One even tried to kiss him. Is that even allowed?! Aladdin let out a big breath, trying to pay his respect to his guests. He was extremely relieved when Jasmine walked in.
He forgot about the lady now bowing to him and rushed over to her, “Jas! There you are! I thought you’d never come!”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“You look cold,” Aladdin took of his jacket and wrapped it around her.
The king smiled at Aladdin as his “son” welcomed this mysterious belle. The guests, in stead of sticking up their noses at Jasmine’s rags became curious. Some were enchanted that a noble prince would accept with a peasant girl so warmly.
The king clapped his hands for a servant, “Fetch this girl a long coat — the finest we have.” The servant came back with a splendid robe and handed it to Jasmine. It was perfect dancing material, so Aladdin asked Jasmine to dance.
As they danced, they wondered why the story didn’t seem to be over yet. They were finally together and happy again! Was there still evil prowling around?
Little did they know that Elmira, Griselda, and their mother were plotting to send Jasmine away from the prince. Since Jasmine was in her familiar rags and not in a regal masquerade-worthy ball gown, they recognized her quick as a flash. They were just waiting for their opportunity.
Conveniently for the scheming step-ladies, the king called Aladdin to his side alone. Aladdin looked at Jasmine, “Wait right here. Something’s just not right.” Jasmine nodded in agreement as Aladdin walked to the other side of the room.
Right when Aladdin reached the king, the gigantic doors to the ballroom were flung open. The force of the doors sent a strong wind blowing out the hundreds of candles lighting up the room. The room was filled with frightened cries and people falling on top of people. Who opened the door? There was so much commotion that nobody noticed three figures grabbing Jasmine and forcing her outside.
Jasmine recognized them as the three step-ladies. The stepmother handed Jasmine and a bag of gold to a band of thieves — the same ones she had encountered earlier on. The stepmother was commenting on how convenient it was that they showed up. Jasmine’s mouth was covered, but if it weren’t, she’d be scolding them. The story’s not supposed to go like this!! She’s supposed to be given a beautiful dress, step-men made of mice, and a carriage made from a pumpkin by a loving fairy godmother! Then she and Prince Charming are supposed to fall in love, and when she runs away at midnight, she loses a shoe.
In respect to the story, Jasmine removed one of her shoes, which was conveniently was glass. She chipped off pieces and dropped a trail of glass, using the whole “glass shoe” element of the story in a tongue-in-cheek manner.
Even in the dark ballroom, Aladdin pushed his way through the crowd and headed outside, where he saw pieces of glass. Cinderella. Aladdin remembered a fairy tale he recalled about a poor girl with a fairy godmother and glass slippers. But this wasn’t how he remembered it. Nonetheless, he followed the small trail of glass until he finally met up with the slow group of thieves.
“Excuse me!” Aladdin called out, trying to be princely. “That is my fair maiden you just happened to kidnap!”
The leader laughed, “And what do you plan to do about it?”
“Well, I didn’t really have anything in mind. Usually in these cases there’s a fight or something,” Aladdin lost his integrity for a moment.
“So be it,” the thief drew a sword. And Aladdin drew the sword that princes back then always conveniently had with them. To sum it up, the fight lasted about a minute before the thieves ran off with cowardice, leaving Jasmine for Aladdin’s taking.
“Man I hate thugs,” Jasmine approached Aladdin and hugged him. At this, the scene swirled once more.
Chapter 10: The Swan Princess
The Swan PrincessNow, this is odd. Jasmine thought to herself as she scanned her surroundings. She didn't seem to be in any danger at all, and there were no familiar characters. When she turned around, the sight she saw was almost too good to be true! It was what seemed to be an abandoned castle on the edging a flawless pond. The moon reflected marvelously off of the stone and onto the pond, creating an eerie beauty. There were lilies on lily pads floating in the midst of the cattail-rimmed water. It was like a painting!
Oddly, she placed standing in the middle of the pond, right at the rippled reflection of the moon. Jasmine stepped out and rung her the base of her plain white gown as she took a good look at her surroundings, knowing that it was too good to be true. Somehow something bad was going to happen and this perfection was going to be ruined. Making haste to find Aladdin before anything bad did happen, she took a breath and started her race through the deep forest behind her.
Aladdin was relieved to find that he was not in a castle or in princely clothes. He was clothed all in a rich brown material with a lightweight red cape and an arrow case strapped to his back. Underneath him was a chestnut steed, and a bow and arrow were placed professionally in his grasp.
On a hunt I suppose? He looked around and called Jasmine's name. Not hearing anything, he paced on in the direction he was facing, still calling her name until he finally got an answer.
"Aladdin!" Jasmine rushed toward her hero. He leapt from his horse and embraced her.
"Where are we?" he asked when they let go from each other.
"I still haven't figured that out. Maybe it's one of those stories that end with a true love's kiss."
Before they knew it, they were engaged in a kiss of true love. When they withdrew, they both stood in silence. Nothing happened.
"Maybe not," Jasmine changed her mind, "But maybe it-" She paused and felt her head tingling, causing her to touch her forehead with her fingertips.
"Jasmine?" Aladdin asked. When he got no answer, he held out his hands and grabbed her shoulders, "Are you alright?"
"I don't know-" she held her head as a swirl of light came out of nowhere and wrapped itself around her.
"Jasmine!" the startled Aladdin embraced her fiercely in protection until she seemed to have slipped out of his arms. When the light left, all was silent, "Jasmine?!"
"Down here," a voice sounded.
Aladdin looked down. Slightly higher than his knees was a white swan with a black splotch at the base of her beak. Aladdin bent down, "Jas? Is that you?"
Jasmine nodded, "It's me."
"Now do you know where we are?"
Jasmine nodded again, "The Swan Princess. A princess is betrothed to the prince of a neighboring land, which is you. But a revenge-seeking warlock kidnaps her and casts a spell on her that she would turn into a swan every night. If she wants to become a human, she must go out into the lake by his fortress. When the moonlight hits her, she will become a human again. But when the moon leaves the lake, she becomes a swan again."
Aladdin paused, confused in a way.
"Don't worry; it'll clear up eventually."
"So how do we break the spell?"
"I have to marry the warlock - Rothbart, I believe."
Aladdin shook his head in disapproval, "Isn't there another way?"
"Yes."
"What is it?" he asked eagerly.
Jasmine paused and sighed, "I can't remember."
Aladdin sighed in return then gained his confidence, "I say we go pay this warlock a visit." He strode past Jasmine bravely.
"Odette!" a voice came from only a small distance away. It was a husky middle-aged man's voice. "Odette! Where are you? Odette!"
Jasmine turned to Aladdin, "That's him! It's Rothbart!" She gestured for Aladdin to go behind the largest nearby tree. "Stay here. He won't harm me. Follow us back quietly. When the time is right for you to come out, I'll start to sing."
"Sing what?"
"Anything! Now, stay!"
"Odette!" the voice came from beside the tree.
Jasmine popped out from behind the tree.
"Odette! Where were you?"
"Gathering some fruit," Jasmine answered respectfully.
Rothbart poked his head behind the tree where Aladdin was hiding. Aladdin swiftly dodged his sight, and Rothbart returned to Jasmine. "So where is the fruit?"
Aladdin breathed an inaudible breath of relief as Jasmine covered for them, "I could not find any. I believe it is farther out into the forest." Luckily for Jasmine, there was no fruit nearby, so the warlock believed her.
"Did I hear any voices?"
"Just mine. I was singing."
Rothbart looked at her with one eye and leaned closer suspiciously. He was surprisingly intimidating, especially since Jasmine was a considerably small size. His nose protruded overbearingly from his wrinkled face, and from under a pointy brown hat spewed a mop of red, unkempt hair.
"You aren't keeping anything from me, are you?"
"What is there to keep in the middle of a forest?"
He stood up straight, not answering her. "Come back to the castle." He turned and walked away with his hands behind his back. Jasmine waited a moment and looked back. Her hero cutely poked his head out from behind the tree. Jasmine gestured to follow then gestured to stay quiet. He crept out from behind the dark tree and tiptoed quietly from tree to tree easily.
Jasmine felt silly waddling, but put up with it strongly. Then something dawned on her; she could fly! Excitedly, she flapped her wings and lifted herself gradually into the air. Aladdin looked up and watched her feathery body elevate and fly.
Realizing it would be quicker to follow Jasmine in the air rather than sneaking around and following Rothbart, Aladdin took enough steps to the side that the warlock couldn't hear him. Aladdin took off running, grateful that there were very few obstacles in the wood.
The way back to the pond was a long walk, but a quick run. Jasmine gracefully placed herself onto the pond and glided across the water, followed by a stream of ripples. The coast was very clear, but both Jasmine and Aladdin knew that Rothbart could show up at any moment. So Aladdin stayed at bay.
It was only a matter of minutes that the warlock poofed back to the scene in a cloud of thick, crimson magic. He approached the pond, where Jasmine still resided.
The warlock removed his gloves, "I didn't feel like walking." From his pocket, he removed a pouch of breadcrumbs and tossed them out to Jasmine, who willingly ate them. The fact that they were bland and soggy seemed not to affect her. "Have you thought about my proposal?"
"Is it something you expected me to actually think about?" Jasmine turned her head away stubbornly.
Rothbart growled with aggravation, "What will it take to let you see that you are making a mistake?"
"It isn't that hard to figure out."
"I will throw a wedding past your wildest dreams! Anything you want there, I will give to you!"
"How about a groom I love?"
"Give me time."
"Perhaps if you were a third your age and had more on your mind than kidnapping princesses and forcing them to marry you, I would give you time."
"But, I am giving you time!" he argued.
"I don't see what the point is! You know I would die before marrying you!"
Rothbart fumed red with anger, "Which could be arranged!"
"You wouldn't kill me."
"What makes you so sure?"
"Because if you did, you'd be right back where you were before you kidnapped me - only without any hope of marrying an heir to my father's kingdom. You would have to wait until the next king has an heir. And by then, you would be too old to conjure a good conspiracy, and you would have only a few years to rule. In addition, you'd be too old to produce an heir. It would be all for naught." Jasmine was surprised by her monologue, and smirked.
Aladdin smiled proudly from behind the tree as Rothbart tried to think of a rebuttal. She was using his trickery method; he had taught her well!
"Then perhaps I could conjure a different plan - other than using you!"
"Sounds like you should have done that in the first place!"
"Maybe I should have!"
"Or maybe you tried to, but you couldn't think of anything else because your senescence was starting to kick in. So, you used the most overused plan - to kidnap the princess and persuade her to marry you. You're quite a villain! I must say!"
Rothbart turned to the side and crossed his arms obstinately, "Are you saying I can't think of a reasonable plan?
"Perhaps -"
"Is that a challenge?"
"Perhaps-"
"Challenge accepted!" Rothbart grinned, and the red in his face faded. "I will come up with a different way."
Jasmine grinned, feeling accomplished. But a malevolent grin slithered across his face as he turned and faced Jasmine, "Which means I won't be needing you anymore." In a fashion that reminded her of Mozenrath, Rothbart raised his right hand as it began to glow a red color. As he hurled a red ball of fire at Jasmine, she sprung from the water and flew. Reflexively, Aladdin leapt from behind the tree.
"Wait! No!" Jasmine called out to him. Aladdin stopped; Rothbart didn't notice him.
Rothbart, thinking she was talking to him, laughed, "Would you rather marry me?"
Jasmine flapped her wings in one position as she analyzed her situation; she could battle him now or she could agree to marry him and sneak off safely. It would be so much quicker just to battle him, especially with an experienced hero with her.
On the other hand, she wasn't all that sure that battling him would break the spell. In the original story, it wasn't actually suggested as a way to break the spell until Rothbart had told the prince that he would let Odette live if the prince could defeat him. But, Rothbart hadn't yet made that agreement.
If she agreed to marry him now, she would be offered safety until the wedding. Then, she would be able to run away to Aladdin's castle, where there was to be a ball the next night.
Rothbart saw laughed at her hesitation, "You aren't willing to die! You would rather marry me than die! I knew it!" Jasmine made an angry, but determined, face as she decided what to do. She gave a wink to Aladdin, a gesture in which he missed. Rothbart hurled one more red flame at her, and she plunged into the lake below her.
"No!" Aladdin leapt forward and tackled the warlock to the ground. The warlock threw him off of his back as his hands began to glow red again. "An interference! So are you who little Odette has been so madly in love with?"
"Yes," Aladdin answered through gritted teeth.
"You may as well go home now. She's gone."
"No, she's not!" Aladdin lunged at him again, this time knocking Rothbart's head on a large rock on the pond's edge, knocking him unconscious.
"Jasmine?!" he called out and waited. After a minute, Aladdin noticed bubbles surfacing to the top of the lake. He raised his head with hope as a soaking white figure emerged from underneath the water. Jasmine poked her head up and gasped in air.
"Jasmine!" he rushed to the side, where Jasmine crept out of the water. He noticed she was unscathed. "Are you okay?"
"He didn't hit me," Jasmine said healthily.
"You faked it?"
Jasmine nodded, "And I remembered something when I was down there."
Aladdin smiled and noticed Rothbart was stirring, "Come back with me!"
"No! I can't!"
"Why not? I'm getting tired of this fairytale very quickly!"
"Because I remembered how to break the spell! You must make a vow of everlasting love to me to the world!"
"To the world?!"
"There is going to be a ball at your mother's castle tonight. There will be people from all around the world! I will go there tomorrow!"
"He won't let you go!"
Jasmine shook her head, "As far as he knows, I'm dead. Let's keep it that way."
"But then he'll come up with another plan like you challenged him to!"
Jasmine shook her head, "He won't. He's not capable of it. It took him sixteen years to come up with this one!"
"It will be safer if you come back with me until the ball tomorrow!"
Jasmine shook her head, "So you can make a vow of everlasting love to a bird?"
"Then at least let me stay with you here."
"No! If you stay here, your mother will worry you have been lost and may cancel the ball!"
Aladdin sighed, "Couldn't I just battle him?"
"I'm not sure if that will change me back or not; he didn't mention it in his spell."
"That's the way all sorcerers work!"
"He's a warlock."
Rothbart stirred again and put his hand to his head.
"GO!" Jasmine rushed Aladdin back into the forest and plunged back into the water. There was a hole underwater where water leaked into a dungeon. She squeezed herself through that hole and popped into the dungeon, where there was plenty of air.
Aladdin took off running. Behind him, he heard Rothbart calling angry words swearing vengeance. Aladdin was overcome with worry. He didn't feel right leaving her back there, where he didn't know what was to become of her. He slowed to a stop and looked back. He should go back; he was her husband! He was supposed to protect her!
He turned around and began to run back, but once more slowed to a stop. He was also her friend and confidant. He was supposed to trust her! He stood there for another moment in confusion. Deciding to go with what Jasmine would want him to do, he turned around once more and luckily found his horse. He hopped onto it, hoping he was doing the right thing and rode back to his mother's castle; the horse knew the way.
Jasmine floated on the water in the flooded dungeon; it showed no sign of being filthy, so she wasn't bothered. What if Rothbart knows I'm down here? Jasmine thought of another place to hide. It would be safer in the forest, wouldn't it be? But perhaps there were animal hunters looking for a good meal? That's when she remembered that she could fly! But what if there were human hunters looking for a good meal? They would have bows and arrows!
She did not know if there was a place in the castle where Rothbart didn't go, but she figured, if there was one, it would be the dungeon. Realizing she was in the safest place she could think of, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.
"Dearest son!" a thin, old lady approached Aladdin as she walked into the castle. "Did you find her?"
"Find who?"
"Oh don't be silly, Odette of course!"
"No," Aladdin lied and hung his head.
"Don't give up hope; tomorrow there will be plenty of marriable young ladies at the ball."
"I won't give up hope," Aladdin smiled and followed an escort to his room.
"The poor boy," the queen said sadly to a thin man her age. "He's still in love with her."
"Hopefully, he will find an even more suitable young lady tomorrow at the ball," the man answered.
Aladdin grinned as he heard this. I'm sure I will.
Morning dawned, but no light poured into the dungeon; Jasmine got to sleep in. It wasn't until noon that she awoke. She was startled to find herself a bird, but she regained her awareness soon enough to remember her situation. Wondering what time of day it was, she cautiously wriggled through the hole once more and popped her head above the surface of the water. It was about noon.
Almost blinded by the sudden light, she dove back under and made her way back into the dungeon. As much as she tried to find a way to entertain herself, she couldn't escape the fact that she was bored out of her mind.
It was about an hour after she woke up that she heard hollers coming from inside of the castle. They were Rothbart's hollers! She heard the smashing of glass and decided that he had drunk himself drunk!
Jasmine didn't know whether she was supposed to pity him or feel that it served him right. So she decided to feel both for the hours that he went on. Eventually, a snoring noise echoed through and Jasmine decided that he was asleep and it was safe to leave the dungeon.
She once more writhed through the hole and came to the surface. Only this time, she wasn't shrouded with light; it was dusk already! She knew the sun would go down in less than an hour, and the moon would transform her. In the meantime, she occupied herself by snacking on some flowers.
Aladdin was rushed to a big room with many tables filled with bottles of perfumes and makeup that he was unfamiliar with. A band of servants shoved him to the back of the room, where a tub of hot water was waiting for him.
"But I just showered this mo-" he tried to protest as they closed the curtains around him and left without a distinguishable word.
After his bath, he put on some plain clothes. It wasn't even a minute until the same stampede of servants came bumbling in, telling him that those clothes wouldn't do for a ball! They made him sit on a bench while they bustled around the room. Female servants went through wardrobes and dressers upon dressers, throwing clothes behind them complaining that they would "never do."
Male servants smelled every fragrance in the room, spraying them wildly until Aladdin started coughing up a storm. The clash of the smells was dreadful! What he wouldn't have given to be back in Agrabah, where his servants knew he could dress himself and bathe himself.
After what seemed like an hour, they finally made up their made and proudly presented him a gaudy outfit. They shoved it to his chest, looked him up and down, and nodded approvingly. They shoved him behind the curtains where the tub was and threw over the outfit. He caught it, not allowing it to drop in the still filled tub. He put it on to the sounds of the servants fussing over whether or not it was acceptable. After a couple minutes, they starting whining on why he was taking so long and whether or not he was okay. He had to assure him numerous times he was okay; he was just taking his time.
When he came out, he squinted as they suddenly squirted an unbearable amount of perfume all over him. They handed him a crown and pushed him out the door. Then, they hurried out the door as frantically as they had gone in and hurried down the hall. Aladdin paused for a moment, taking in the silence. He looked to both sides; he was in a well-lit corridor with not a soul to be seen. The faint melody of music was heard in the background. The ball! Aladdin eagerly made his way to the ballroom to meet his princess.
It was inescapably dark, and Jasmine had been waiting on the lake for over an hour since she had come out! Even more suspicious, there were streams and beams of red lights - obviously magic - shooting out of the chimneys and windows of the castle. Jasmine just figured Rothbart was still drunk and was taking his fury out on inanimate objects.
Her assumption changed when the drawbridge behind her suddenly opened. It was unexpected and frightening when it opened and fell directly over her! Luckily, it did not hit her; there was a sizable amount of space between it and the water - just enough for her to peek her head to the side of it to see what was happening.
Rothbart walked across the drawbridge alone and took a stroll into the forest. He was definitely sober. What was he doing? He raised his hand, and the drawbridge lifted and slammed shut as quickly as it had fallen. Jasmine nervously watched him disappear into the trees.
Even more nervously, she looked up into the clear sky and realized something - there was no moon!
Time was passing quicker than the ladies were passing Aladdin. If there was a single woman his age who wasn't giggling over how adorable he was, she was staring at him obsessively. Aladdin watched the clock tediously as the hands moved so painstakingly slow. His mom urged every single young lady into his arms and convinced him it was in the kingdom's best interest that he needn't be so picky!
Aladdin started to worry. He excused himself, using the timeless "I must relieve myself" excuse. He brushed by cooing girls to the ballroom's exit.
"But the privy is that… way," the queen sighed. "The poor boy is so worked up."
Upon realizing this, Jasmine didn't know what else to do except to fly. She flew swiftly to the castle as it surprisingly started to storm. She knew there was no storm in the original plot of the story; Rothbart had to be up to something! She worriedly picked up her pace.
Aladdin hurried to the library, where he knew there was a gigantic window to look out.
"Prince Derek! Aren't you supposed to be attending the ball?" servants asked curiously with concern as he hurried past them, not even noticing them.
As soon as he made it to the gigantic window, a flash of lightning struck so close, he felt himself go blind for a minute. When he regained his sight, he peered out the window. The weather went from clear skies to a raging storm! He thought Jasmine would have told him if there was to be a deadly storm!
All of a sudden, the marvelous window smashed into an uncountable amount of shards of glass, cutting him all over. The wind blew uncontrollably as everyone in the library hurried to places they may have thought as safe. Books flew everywhere, hitting everyone still in there in the head - some were knocked unconscious. Bookshelves tumbled onto each other like dominos! Aladdin tried to get to his feet, but failed. He gritted through his teeth painfully as the cold air swept over his cuts, as good as that would have normally felt.
A familiar laugh was heard, accompanied by many streams of red magic, "If I can't take the kingdom, then I will take revenge!"
As Jasmine neared the castle, she began to realize what was happening. There were cyclones forming around it and beams of red magic shooting into it! Rothbart was either taking over the castle or destroying it for the thrill of revenge! Either way, Jasmine could not allow it! Her true love was in there! She flew through the wind; it picked up greatly the closer she got to the castle.
A wind current finally picked up her up and hit her against the roof of the castle. Jasmine gave out a seemingly soundless yelp of pain, but willed herself to stay conscious as the wind was slowly plucking her feathers. Looking down, she realized that Rothbart was attacking Aladdin! Aladdin was hurt, and Rothbart was hitting him with his magic!
Furiously, Jasmine pushed herself off of the roof, and the wind threw her onto Rothbart. He gave out a cry as her small body smacked his face. Feathers flew into his mouth. He grabbed her and threw her onto Aladdin. Aladdin grabbed her, realizing who it was, and clutched her. Seeing his cuts, she began to cry.
"So you tricked me!" Rothbart yelled at Jasmine. "If I thought you were dead, you would be able to see your prince and live happily ever after!" Here, he laughed and raised his hands. "I would ask you to marry me again, but I've gotten so far, and I'm having so much fun! And what better a way to get revenge on your father than to kill you and your true love and his castle!"
As Rothbart shot a red beam of magic, Aladdin and Jasmine dodged different ways, separating them. Rothbart grinned again and turned to Aladdin, "You first." He raised his glove and shot at him, but he was too weak to dodge it.
"No!" Jasmine shrieked and jumped in front of her prince, taking the blow.
Rothbart laughed, as Jasmine's body returned to normal and fell into Aladdin's red arms, "She couldn't wait her turn! And now she is going to die!"
"Aladdin," Jasmine moaned as Aladdin began to cry.
Aladdin looked down at her, then back to Rothbart. Knowing what he had to do, he managed enough strength to lift himself up and dash out the library's door.
"Wait! Where are you going?" Rothbart yelled after him.
The corridors were quiet, though the sounds of panicking people and Rothbart starting to follow them were heard.
"Aladdin," Jasmine moaned again.
"Hang in there, Jasmine," Aladdin pressed on, "I'll get you your vow!"
Aladdin made it to the top of the grand stairwell that overlooked the ball. The people in there were afraid of noises they thought they heard coming from upstairs, but they were even more afraid when they looked up and saw their prince bleeding with his clothes tattered.
"Good heavens, Derek!" the queen exclaimed, "What happened? And isn't that?" She gasped in realizing who Aladdin had in his arms.
"I must announce," Aladdin hollered as strongly as he could, "that I - "
Rothbart finally made it and crashed through the walls, hollering an overused villain exclamation, "Hate to crash the party!"
"I! Love! Jasmine!" Aladdin's voice wavered in announcing her name.
"Stop that!" Rothbart hollered as he lifted his hands once more.
"And I vow a vow of ever! Lasting! Love! To her!" he finished as Rothbart hurled one last shot of red at him, and Aladdin's world went blank.
Chapter 11: The Magic Flute
The Magic FluteAfraid to open her eyes, Jasmine felt a comforting surge of strength come over her body. She felt comforting breezes and smelled fragrant rose petals. Sighing, she breathed lightly with a sigh. She clutched her hands and felt soft, warm, cloth. But it wasn’t a blanket — it was... a shirt? Suddenly, she realized where she was — in a man’s arm!
She sprung up immediately from what she saw to be a big easy chair and slapped the sleeping man across his face with a frantic yelp. In return, he sprung up from the chair alertly, “What did I do?”
“Aladdin!” Jasmine put her fingertips to her mouths.
Aladdin sat back down and rubbed his cheek, where she had slapped him, “Wow. No wonder those villains keep away from you when you slap them.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry, I just woke up and thought you were — “
“It’s okay, I would have been alarmed too,” Aladdin stretched.
“I guess we survived that last one.”
“I guess so, too,” he looked around. “Now where are we?”
“I don’t know yet, but at least we are together for once!”
“A definite good thing.”
There was a knock on the door, “Your majesty, may I enter?”
“Who is it?” Jasmine asked.
“It is I, Manastitos.”
“My nasty toast?” Aladdin mumbled into Jasmine’s ear.
“It’s his name,” Jasmine answered, “The name is familiar. It’ll come to me.” She refocused her attention to the door, “Yes, you may enter.”
A man entered with a sweet smile on his face — a little too sweet, Aladdin thought. He was well built with high cheekbones. He looked at least fifty and very strong in a weak kind of way. His head was shaved on the top with a skirt of black hair surrounding the bald part. He put his palms together and bowed, as if for religious reasons. If it weren’t for the regal coat he was wearing over a purple robe, he would be taken for a friar!
“Your highnesses,” he started respectfully, as if he only expected one of them to be in the room, “The king has wished an audience with his daughter.”
“Okay, take me to him,” Jasmine walked towards Manistitos.
“And I, as well,” Aladdin walked to her side, “But, first, could you remind me where I was?”
Manistitos seemed a bit taken back that he had not known where he was, “Why, the Kingdom of the Light, of course!” He squinted and seemed to have examined Aladdin’s face as if he had gone a bit dull. Then, as if suspicious, he did the same to Jasmine. “And his highness wishes for his audience with the princess to be a private one.” Then a grin crept across his face, a suspicious one, but neither Aladdin nor Jasmine picked up on it, “But, if you wish, you may go to the queen’s quarters.”
Aladdin looked at Jasmine, who thought for a minute. She liked finally starting a story out with Aladdin and resented ruining it. She did not give him a sign of resentment or consent.
“When, may I ask, will my meeting with… Father be over?” Jasmine asked.
“Oh, only in perhaps one half of an hour,” Manastitos answered smoothly.
“It seems pretty urgent,” Aladdin butted in, “ that he is only sharing it with his daughter.”
Manastitos hesitated, “Well, when a princess has plans for marriage, the king always gives her a talk. And, I’m sure the queen would love to meet the man who crossed the lakes of death and the mysterious lake’s deadly cave all for her daughter’s sake!”
Aladdin became smug, “That’s me!”
Jasmine rolled her eyes.
“And I would love to meet your queen!” he finished.
“Excellent,” Manistitos grinned. He opened the door and motioned Aladdin and Jasmine to his side. Outside the door were two dark corridors, completely made of stone, with only lanterns placed firmly in wooden holders to light them.
“If you follow the left corridor,” Manastitos pointed in that direction, “you will find yourself having to choose between two flights of stairs. Take the one heading downstairs. The queen’s room is the second from last on the right side. Make sure you knock first!”
“Yes, sir. Thank you.”
“And I will take the lady down to the king’s chamber.”
“Meet me here in one hour,” Jasmine told Aladdin.
Aladdin nodded with a smile.
“Come, you highness! Your father awaits you!” Manastitos started walking. Jasmine followed.
Aladdin took to the left and followed the corridor. At the end, he saw not two staircases, but five. He scratched his head and noticed two of them were going up. He chose one and took it. Not much of a Kingdom of the Light, he thought to himself. It was very quiet and dark, and it wasn’t for a couple minutes of walking that servants came into view. All of a sudden, the halls became less creepy and more lively.
He stopped one servant, “Excuse me. Could you tell me where I can find the queen?”
The servant, a boy his age with curly brown hair, freckles, and a medium case of acne, answered, “A queen? There hasn’t been a queen since around when I was born! I think you have been fooled.” He returned to his business, joining a few servants who laughed at the confused prince.
I’ve been fooled. Aladdin though. Manastitos is a liar. That’s when it dawned on him; Jasmine was in the hands of a liar!
“We are so glad to have you back, Pamina,” Manastitos told Jasmine.
“I am glad to be back,” Jasmine made something up. “Wait, what did you call me?”
“Pamina,” Manastitos answered funnily as he reached for a doorknob and turned it slowly.
“Pamina?” The Magic Flute! “Then you’re Manastitos the —“
Before she could finish, Manastitos swung open the door and pushed her through it.
“-liar!” She yelled as she fell. The door led to the outside, and she was at least three stories up! Luckily, she landed on cushions… Surrounded by a cage! She sat up and glared at Manastitos as he closed the door like nothing had happened. “Aladdin!” She yelled and looked around her to find herself in a giant cage on a cart led by a horse and driver. Directing her gaze to the driver, she noticed that he/she was hooded. But, that was all she noticed because the driver’s back was to her. The driver flicked the horse’s reins and dashed off.
“Aladdin!” she yelled again. But there was no answer. Then she realized that there was no queen in The Magic Flute. Where did they send him? Where were they sending her?
Aladdin took off, almost bumping into the servants, as soon as the thought struck him. He returned to the room he and Jasmine had found themselves in. For safety, he opened the door and saw no one in it. So, he dashed down the corridor that Manastitos had taken Jasmine down.
After only a minute, he ran into Manastitos — literally. They both toppled to the ground. Manastitos swore while rubbing his bottom, one eye squinting with pain. Aladdin, used to impact, immediately got up.
“Why the hurry?” Manastitos grumbled.
“Where did you take Jasmine?”
“Who?”
“Where did you take — er — the princess?”
“Princess Pamina?”
“Yes,” Aladdin drew the sword conveniently sheathed at his belt and pointed it to Manastitos’s chin.
“Have you gone mad?” Manastitos said nervously, “Are you drunk?”
“No! Tell me where she is!”
“In audience with the king like I said! She is in the king’s chamber!”
“Then take me there!”
Manastitos looked up at him like a threatened child. He paused then relaxed a bit, still wide-eyed, “Yes. Yes. I will take you to her! Please put the sword away!”
Aladdin paused and consented, putting his sword back to its place. Manastitos paused to make sure Aladdin was serious, then he got to his feet. “Follow me, Your Highness.”
Aladdin followed Manastitos down the hall. He knew he was lying because if Manastitos had really taken Jasmine to the king’s chamber, he would have turned around to the direction he was coming from.
After less than five minutes, Manastitos reached two regal doors. They looked suitable enough to be a courtyard or a king’s chamber, but they seemed unused. Manastitos stood and motioned for Aladdin to enter. As Aladdin approached the door, Manastitos took a knife from his belt and raised it behind Aladdin’s back.
One swift stabbing motion, and a loud holler resounded throughout the castle.
There was no use in trying to stop the driver. Despite Jasmine’s frequent hollers and even pleas, the ghostly driver kept driving in ignorance. Jasmine eventually plopped back on the comfortable cushions and recollected the story.
A princess was kidnapped from birth by a witch — “the queen of the night” — who raised her, claiming to be her loving mother. Before she turned sixteen, her father’s men found her and stole her from the witch and returned her home.
The furious witch searched for and found a brave prince to “rescue” her beautiful daughter from the “evil King Sarastro.” She gave him only a magic flute to aid him in his journeys. The dashing prince, whose name was Tamino, led a rescue team — of this team, she could remember little — to the king’s castle. The princess willingly went with Tamino, not realizing that Sarastro was really her father. But they were captured, and the rescue failed.
Lord Sarastro proved to Pamina and Tamino, who had had fallen in love, that he was indeed Pamina’s true father. As Pamina mourned the truth, Lord Sarastro demanded that Tamino be thrown into the dungeon for attempting to kidnap his daughter for the Queen of the Night. Claiming that he had not known better and he had fallen in love with Pamina, he was sent on a quest to prove his love for her. He returned from the quest safely and was promised Pamina’s hand.
Manastitos was Sarastro’s advisor — another evil vizier. Great. He wanted the throne and made a deal with the Queen of the Night that he would give her Pamina and kill Lord Sarastro if she would share the throne with him. So, he tricked Pamina into a trap, and she was escorted swiftly back to the Queen of the Night, where she was told to drink a cup of poison for Tamino’s sake.
The one thing she couldn’t remember was — why? Why was she kidnapped? Why did the Queen of the Night want her dead towards the end?
Before she could answer herself, the driver went over a drawbridge and stopped abruptly in a field of dirt surrounded by castle walls — the Kingdom of the Night. The driver turned around, revealing her face to be female — the Queen of the Night! She was beautiful with pale skin and complexion. Her cheekbones made her look thin and elegant, and her grin was taunting. Jasmine did not see her hair color, for the blue robe was covering everything but her face — and her outstretched hand that held a goblet of bubbling lime-green poison.
All was quiet as everyone on that whole side of the castle froze, wondering who — or what — gave the cry.
Aladdin had suspected Manastitos would ambush him eventually and had seen his shadow. Quickly, he had whirled around and thrust Manastitos to the ground, causing him to accidentally stab his own foot. That was when Manastitos gave out the cry. He lifted the knife from his foot, shocked. He was unsure of whether his cry was out of pain or shock — or both.
“Guards! Traitor! Help!” Manastitos hollered fearfully. Aladdin looked side to side and saw one escape — a window. He rung his arm around Manastitos’s chest and leapt through it. Together, they fell two stories — a sum in which would have been three, if Aladdin had not caught an outstretch tree-branch with his free hand.
“What, are you mad?” Manastitos growled.
“Crazy mad or angry mad?” Aladdin asked, then dropped Manastitos ten feet without waiting for an answer. He then allowed himself to fall the ten feet as well, but was able to land on his feet. He drew his sword again.
“I’ll ask you again,” he said, once more pointing the sword to Manastitos’s neck. “Where is the princess?”
Manastitos gave up and panicked, “She has been taken back to the Queen of the Night!”
“Why?”
“So the queen can take her powers from her!”
“Where is the Queen of the Night?”
“It is —“
Manastitos stopped when Aladdin snapped his head from Manastitos and noticed that guards were filing hurriedly, and some were peeking their heads from windows and pointing, yelling, “There they are, men!”
This reminded Aladdin of Rasoul, and he smirked. The smirk didn’t last long, for he snapped back to Manastitos, “You would lie anyway.” Aladdin jerked the almost-crying Manastitos to his feet and threw him onto a horse that was conveniently standing alone and ten yards from their position.
“What do you want? You need me no more!” Manastitos begged.
“I’m not so sure,” Aladdin felt barbaric as he tied the cowardly Manastitos to the horse’s saddle. He flicked the reins and followed the path as guards were making their way outside the castle.
“He’s kidnapping Manastitos!” they yelled and charged.
Jasmine eyed the potion.
“Take it,” the witch urged.
Jasmine shook her head.
“Or else,” the witch paused and waved her hands. In her palm appeared a portal — like a miniature version of Mozenrath’s portals. In the portal the image of Aladdin was riding swiftly on a horse with a abrasion-covered Manastitos tied to the saddle.
Yes, Aladdin! Go! Go!
“I will have my henchman KILL him!”
“How? He is tied to a saddle!”
“Magic, of course!” she replied. She was lying.
“Manastitos knows no magic!”
“Ah, but how can you be so sure they don’t?” the queen motioned towards the guards chasing closely behind Aladdin.
“They are guards, not magicians.”
The queen made an angry face, “I surely did not teach you to be so stubborn!” she mumbled. Then, she threatened again, “But I do happen to know some magic! I could make the weather block your hero, so that the guards capture him! Kidnapping the king’s royal advisor is a serious crime too. They would probably all plunge their swords into him without trial as soon as they catch up to him! Or they would just shoot him with their arrows.”
Jasmine shook her head. She knew Aladdin would be able to escape that, and he wouldn’t want her to drink the poison for that.
“Do you love him not?” the queen was taken back.
Jasmine shook her head in denial, “Love him not I.”
“Then whom do you love?”
“Nobody.”
“Nobody but yourself!” the queen said angrily as he thrust a knife at Jasmine, missing her flesh, but cutting her higher arm. “Surely, I will kill you myself if you do not drink this potion!”
Jasmine placed her hand to her arm, her elegant pink dress stained red. She looked at the queen and could have sworn her eyes had turn completely gray like an orb of clouds. The queen smiled evilly and held out the cup once more. Jasmine eyed it and remembered why the queen wanted her so badly. On the sunset of her sixteenth birthday, she was to receive great powers through the medallion she wore around her neck. But, she must be dead in order for the witch to acquire them. Jasmine clutched her medallion and realized that if she took the potion, she would be surrendering great powers to the queen. This could mean grave danger for Aladdin. She refused once more.
The queen became red with anger and splashed the contents of it onto Jasmine. Jasmine gave out a quick shriek as the toxins burned at her cut. The queen laughed as it splashed onto her arm and torso and face, and one single drop managed to slip into her mouth.
Luckily, the path only split twice, so Aladdin kept straight. He was dashing at full speed and could see a small inch of darkness creeping up from behind the trees. It looked like a tower! Manastitos looked and saw that Aladdin was concentrating deeply on the road and the sight of the tower in the background. Taking advantage of this opportunity, he reached for Aladdin’s belt, where something smooth, round, and shiny, was tightly tied.
Aladdin noticed this and slapped Manastitos’s free hand. As soon as he had done this, he looked up and found himself standing at the drawbridge of a sinister castle. A quick shriek was heard from inside, followed by evil laughter.
“Jasmine!” Aladdin took the rope that tied Manastitos and untied him. He swung the rope over the castle wall and grabbed Manastitos once more. He waded into the water, relieved to find no crocodiles. He then mightily climbed up and onto the wall. He sat atop it, hauling the reluctant Manastitos onto it.
“Please,” begged Manastitos, “let me be! Why do you drag me here?”
“You know more than I do, possibly including what I need to know!” He said, before jumping and once again catching a tree branch. He dropped with Manastitos five feet from there to the ground.
“What has she done?” Aladdin asked, as she saw the queen lying Jasmine down on a large slab of stone fifty yards from them. Jasmine was motionless and limp, with a cut on her left upper arm and what seemed like water drenching her torso.
“She is preparing to take Princess Pamina’s powers.”
“Is she-“
“Dead? Yes. Now, let’s leave.”
All of a sudden, there was a huge thud on the drawbridge door.
“Intruders?” the queen asked furiously. “I hate intruders!” She paced towards the drawbridge, seemingly preparing a spell in her hands. Aladdin dashed to Jasmine in seeing that the queen was distracted by the guards that were now trying to barge into the courtyard. He shook her and talked to her quietly, trying to wake her up. But Manastitos was right. She was dead.
The queen raised her hands dramatically and thrust them towards the drawbridge. It exploded and sent the guards flying backwards at least a mile. Aladdin had never seen that happen before and became alarmed. He convinced himself that Jasmine was under a spell — they had been through several fairytales where a kiss or a vow or something to that affect would bring her back. He pressed his lips against her, but she stayed motionless.
What more? Before he could think of something else, the queen spotted him and charged towards him. She threw humungous forces of magic at him, but he dodged all of them. Realizing his skills, she smirked and transformed into a great dragon. This reminded Aladdin of Sleeping Beauty. A sleeping princess was being guarded by a witch-turned-dragon. He drew his sword and plunged it into the witch. It was uselessly devoured by her magma-like scales.
She laughed as Aladdin dashed back to Manastitos. “What do I do?” He asked frantically.
Manastitos laughed at him as well and shook his head, seeing that Aladdin could not threaten him with a sword any longer. That’s when it dawned on him that Manastitos had been reaching for something at his belt on the ride over; it couldn’t have been his sword, for his sword was on the other side of his belt. Aladdin grasped the object that was tightly tied to his belt as the dragon stomped towards him.
He eyed it quickly, acknowledging it as a masterpiece of a flute. He lifted it to his lips, somehow knowing he had to play it. He could only play what he had learned from snake charmers, and the fingering was the same. However, he found the aura of the flute making his finger movements involuntary. And, in one long breath, he played a melancholy tune that was enough to break anybody’s heart. A tear even crept from his eye.
But it had no effect on the dragon. She laughed, “You are foolish to think that that would work on me! Why would I give you something that would harm me?” Much to the witch’s dismay, but to Aladdin’s joy, Jasmine slowly crept up into a sitting position.
“Jasmine!” Aladdin exclaimed happily, “You’re okay! The flute! It worked!”
Jasmine pointed to behind Aladdin, where Manastitos had been tied up in tree branches — also the work of the flute. At that moment, Sarastro came galloping through the drawbridge with a small army of men behind him. He looked quite dashing, with his long blonde locks and facial hair gleaming in what remained of the sunlight. “The Queen of the Night! Quick, lad! Throw me the flute!”
Obediently, Aladdin threw the flute to Sarastro, who threw it to Jasmine, “Hurry, my daughter! Use your new powers and play the flute!”
“Nooo!!!” the witch howled and breathed one great, long, and ruthless blast of fire at Jasmine as she began to play the flute!
“Jasmine!” Aladdin yelled in alarm. The song and the continuos stream of fire lasted until the sun finished setting. After the first minute, Aladdin realized that the flute was protecting Jasmine from the queen’s magic. As the sunlight was replaced by starlight, a wondrous smoke poured from the flute and wrapped itself around the dragon, constricting it. It immediately turned the witch to stone that cracked, turned to dust, and blew away. The fire ceased, and all that remained was a moonlit princess playing the most beautiful tune ever heard by human ears.
Aladdin approached her as the song ended and knelt down before her. She spoke, “You know, some say that, when played by the magic flute, that song draws one’s true love to one’s side.”
“I guess it worked,” Aladdin said and leaned forward for a kiss.
Chapter 12: Chaos!
ChaosJasmine found herself at the top of a tower. The first thing she did to try to figure out what story she was in was to examine her outfit. She had one glass sandal tied onto her left foot; the other foot was bare. Her dress was a concoction including the styles and colors of all of her previous stories’ dresses, only the top of it was a sewn-on… shell bra? Jasmine reached back into her hair to find a blue bow.
With a mixture of confusion, fear, and curiosity, she examined her surroundings. The tower was very familiar. The outside and the tower were much like the one in Rapunzel… No! It was exactly the tower she had been in during Rapunzel! She turned around, a bit confused and made her way to the other side of the room, where she found a difference. Although one side was identical to the forest scenery, this side was being splashed by the ocean!
She whirled around, where she saw a witch staring back at her. Startled, she leapt backwards. The witch seemed to be a mix of all the witches she had encountered so far! She had a youthful and lovely face flawed by gray hair and warts. Her dress was exactly the one that the evil stepmother had worn in Cinderella. The oddest thing was that she had tentacles like the sea witch’s for each arm.
“Your prince is on the way to save you!” she grinned, her voice indescribably and inhumanly droning. She waved a tentacle, and a small cloud appeared with Aladdin shown in it. In it, he was… kissing a tree? “I could kill him easily.”
Jasmine made a strange face. She couldn’t recall any story that involved this creature… nor requiring the hero to kiss a tree…
“And I WILL kill him!” the witch snapped, regaining Jasmine’s attention, “Unless… you sew me a sweater!”
Jasmine lifted an eyebrow, “A sweater?”
“Yes,” the witch nodded as if this was the most evil plan she had ever come up with… or even her first for that matter. She pointed to Aladdin and waved the cloud away. “So what do you say?”
Jasmine created faux fear, “A sweater?” she gasped and fell helplessly to her bed.
“So what do you say?” the hag grinned.
Jasmine looked up at her with angry eyes, “I’ll do it.”
The hag grinned wider and pointed to the dusty “corner” of the circular tower room, “Using that.”
Jasmine followed the point of the hag’s finger to a dusty, cobweb-infested spindle. The hag walked over to it and dusted it off fearlessly with her tentacle. Jasmine eyed it with evaluation. With rising suspicions, she decided she couldn’t back out; she had already made a deal to sew… a sweater?
Confusedly, Jasmine sat herself on the stool, “Thread?”
The witch pulled it out of her jacket. It was puce. Why would a villain want a sweater of this color? Jasmine thought to herself, Why would anyone want a sweater of this color? She sat down and started to work it, wondering how she knew how to use one. As she did, the witch took a pair of scissors from the sewing basket next to the spindle and snipped off the incredibly long hair that Jasmine hadn’t noticed she had. At that moment, Jasmine she realized what was going on. She realized where she was! But it was too late.
She had pricked her finger on the spindle point and felt herself blacking out.
Aladdin’s grip widened as he found what he held around his arms was no longer Jasmine. He opened his eyes and found that he was still embraced in a kiss and was now kissing a tree! He immediately jumped back and wiped his lips.
“Gah!” he spit the bitter taste of tree out and backed away from it. He paused when he was finished and looked around. Jasmine was nowhere in sight. He tried calling her name, but to no avail. He turned around to find a horse conveniently waiting for him. It was a mix of all the horses he had previously ridden so far, and it was more beautiful than any of them.
Instinctively, he hopped onto the horse. As he mounted the mare, he a found a letter roller up in its bridle. Curiously, Aladdin pulled it out and read it:
Our Dear Charming Derek Tamino Perseus Pan:
Make sure you return from searching in time for your ball.
With love,
Your loving parents
Aladdin eyed this strangely as his horse suddenly leapt forward and took off with a dash. Aladdin, startled, clutched the rein in an attempt to stay mounted. He gazed back and saw what had startled the horse. Pirates! They were chasing him! A closer look showed him that, not only were there pirates, but a band of soldiers adorned with armor marked with the symbol of… The King of the Light?
His horse was far more fast than the odd band chasing after him. After only one minute of riding, Aladdin squinted as he made out a quaint scene in the distance, one hundred yards from the edge of the forest. There was a homey little wooden house with smoke pouring out slowly and classically from the chimney. The door opened and out came a child… with a beard? This one was followed by six others, when Aladdin realized they were not children, but dwarfs!
Aladdin dashed towards the house, as they started to wave for him to come their way. Obediently, he did so. Unfortunately, the horse did not stop at the door, but ran straight through the doorway. But, instead of a homey house, Aladdin found himself in a dark tunnel. He put his hand to his head and wished greatly that Jasmine had warned him about this bamboozling story!
The horse, sensing safety, slowed down to a trot. This was much to Aladdin’s relief. Aladdin felt around in the bags tied to the saddle until he finally found some foot-long matches. He struck one, and it illuminated unexpectedly well! He was able to notice what he was wearing.
He wore a regal top that was an identical combination of all the princely tops he had found himself wearing. His shoes were sandals tied up to his knee on top of… Oh no… green tights. Frantically, he patted his head to find a matching cap with a feather place in it. He sighed.
Halfway through his sigh, the horse turned a corner, revealing a sudden burst of light. Startled, the horse took off in a gallop once more. The blanched light turned into an ocean scene. The horse stopped at the beach, awfully abruptly. He scanned the surroundings and, as if he sensed something dangerous, dumped Aladdin on his back and raced off.
Aladdin sat up and rubbed his back with utter confusion. He looked around as he saw something sparkle in the distance. It started coming closer at a rapid pace.
“Ooohhh nooo,” Aladdin got up as he got a hunch at what was coming towards him.
The witch cackled greatly as Jasmine fainted. Her laugh lasted the whole thirty-four seconds it took for Jasmine to become lightheaded and fall dramatically to the floor. Then her laugh increased in decibels as her head dropped on the rug on the stones with a THUD.
However, she was interrupted by a voice coming form the base of the tower. It was definitely a man’s voice.
“Rapunzel! Rapunzel! Let down your long hair!” it boomed with a raspy, old voice.
“My darling!” the witch exclaimed as she clasped her hands together. She grabbed the long plait that was Jasmine’s hair and let it down the side of the tower. The man at the bottom climbed up it and gave the witch a peck.
“My darling!” she exclaimed. “You’ve finally arrived!”
“Yes,” he said, “Now we can wait for the charming prince and take over all of the kingdoms!”
“Yes,” the witch grinned and rubbed her hands together as she gazed at Jasmine, lying lifelessly on the floor.
Aladdin reached for his sword as the demonic sea serpent sprung from the sea. It opened its hideous mouth, and Aladdin could’ve sworn it was… ticking like a clock? Nonetheless, Aladdin knew it was a threat to his life and lunged towards it. Unlike the one he had encountered in Perseus and Andromeda, it died dramatically with one plunge of the sword.
It sunk gradually to into the shallow water and disintegrated. Relieved, Aladdin wiped the sweat from his brow. He turned around cautiously to find himself gazing up at a tower that he could’ve sworn was not there before. Thinking of no better idea, he raised his head and called up, “Rapunzel! Rapunzel! Let down your long hair!”
He was pleased to see that a lock of long, black hair — definitely Jasmine’s — was let down. However, he was smart enough to realize that there was something askew with this scene. Jasmine would probably greet him and/or show some sign of excitement to see him. Aladdin remembered how Jasmine had told him that the witch in Rapunzel had tricked the prince by cutting of Rapunzel’s hair and letting it down.
For safety, Aladdin prepared his dagger — just in case. Then he began his climb up.
The witch heard another man’s voice — one of more youth — calling, “Rapunzel! Rapunzel! Let down your long hair!”
“How does he know the code?” the man with her asked.
“It must be the charming prince. They have a way with knowing these things. Let me handle it,” the witch answered as she flung Jasmine’s plaits out the window. “Help me hold it. He might be heavy.”
The man grabbed her waste, “What are you going to do once he gets up here? He probably has a sword.”
“Don’t worry about it. I have it under control. If the thorns don’t affect him, I will,” she said evilly, flicking a snake-like tongue.
Aladdin lifted his hand to the windowsill and found himself staring straight into the eyes of a witch with tentacles for arms. Before she moved, Aladdin lifted himself high enough to see a man in the room with a hook for one of his hands and — Jasmine lying helplessly on the floor!
“Jasmine!” he called out as the witch shoved him off of the windowsill and yanked Jasmine’s hair back up into the tower. Aladdin, expecting this kind of greeting, took out his dagger and forced it into the stone wall, stopping his fall.
“Curses,” the witch exclaimed. Aladdin cringed at the inhumane screech that was her voice. Unexpectedly, the witch leapt from the window and landed safely on her rag-covered feet.
She whipped her head around to Aladdin, who had lowered himself to the ground. The hook on the man in the tower’s hand assured Aladdin that his theory was correct — the story he was in was a mix of all of the stories he had been in so far! This most likely meant that the witch was about to turn into a dragon.
As if triggered by his thoughts, the witch slowly began to transform into a huge dragon — the scales were a mix of the colors of the scales of the dragon in Sleeping Beauty and the dragon in The Magic Flute. Aladdin took out his dagger and stabbed at her, but her scales just broke his sword.
“Oh,” Aladdin look at the bare handle he held in his hand and dropped it pathetically. He looked up at the dragon looming over him, “This could be a problem.” The witch just laughed at him. This scene reminded him of a scene he was involved in earlier on. It was in The Magic Flute. He was facing a dragon who wasn’t effected by mortal weapons. So he had to face magic with magic.
With a grin, he grabbed at his belt and pulled off a smooth, beautiful instrument. A flute! Playing the flute froze the dragon and the fire that she had just breathed at him in mid air! She gave out a scream twice as inhuman as her regular voice and then broke into glassy pieces and disintegrated.
With the witch gone, he knew he had to face the man — most likely a wizard — next!
In vain attempt, he called up, “Rapunzel! Rapunzel! Let down your long hair!” But it was all for naught. There was no answer. Aladdin looked down at his pathetic outfit and remembered another story. He closed his eyes and began thinking of happy thoughts.
He thought of being back in the palace with Jasmine, even if they were bored out of their minds. They were talking and laughing, getting closer to each other, and talking about their futures. They were out of this fairy tale land and back where they belonged — in Agrabah — together.
He opened his eyes to find himself standing on the windowsill to the tower. He had flown! He stepped in heroically and glared at the man with the hook — definitely a warlock.
“Step aside,” Aladdin said confidently. The warlock shook his head and lunged towards him. Happy thoughts lifted Aladdin into the air rapidly; the warlock fell through the window with a yelp.
Aladdin smiled as he knelt down and scooped up Jasmine in his arms. He looked at her beautiful sleeping eyes and whispered, “We’re going back home.” With a kiss, her eyes fluttered open. The pushed him away from her as she started coughing wildly.
“Are you okay, Jasmine?” Aladdin asked concernedly.
Jasmine nodded as she coughed out a bite of apple onto her hand, “Snow White’s apple.” She smiled then frowned, “Behind you!”
The warlock had raised a dagger to stab Aladdin, but he turned around quickly and tripped him. Aladdin helped Jasmine to her feet.
Jasmine looked up at him and said with a hint, “Look. Doesn’t he look familiar?”
Aladdin looked at the warlock and nodded, “Rothbart. I have some news for you.”
“I declare my undying love for Jasmine to the world!” Aladdin declared.
Jasmine stepped up, “And I declare mine for Aladdin.”
The warlock screamed with anguish as he vanished into mid-air.
“Shall we end this classically?” Jasmine asked sweetly.
“Of course,” Aladdin tilted Jasmine’s chin up and leaned in for a kiss. As soon as their lips touched, Aladdin became a beast and Jasmine became a swan.
Jasmine giggled, “I think there was a bit of a mix up.”
Aladdin laughed and lifted her up and kissed her again. As soon as their lips touched, they both became human again, wearing their original Arabian outfits as the scene swirled once more, this time with a familiar feline laugh echoing all around them…
Chapter 13: Home in the Arms of My Lover
Upon withdrawal, the two lovebirds looked around. Aladdin was seated on the throne like he was when they left, only Jasmine was still comfortably embraced in his arms. The day seemed to be the same as when Chaos first visited. The final thing they noticed was that Chaos was staring at them, head in hands, as if he was enamored by their kiss.“Finally finished! Good!” Chaos got to his feet in a Cheshire-cat-like manner. “I hope you enjoyed your trips, because,” he snickered, “I sure know I did!”
“Chaos!” Aladdin warned without anger. How could he be angry? He was finally back to his home after what seemed like weeks, with his love safely in the protection of his arms.
Chaos stood up, “What? I did! Take this as a second warning! If ever you are bored again, I’ll —“
“Chaos,” Jasmine stepped out of Aladdin’s arms and approached Chaos gently. She knelt down like he was a child and looked him in the eyes, “Life isn’t always exciting. Everyone needs excitement, yes. But to expect one’s life to always have excitement is just a bit, well-“
“Crazy,” Aladdin filled in for her.
Jasmine nodded, “Exactly. Life needs a balance between peace and thrill. These things are what make life what life is. When unbalanced, things get too chaotic.”
Chaos, noticing that her speech was finished, got up and mimed putting a hat on, “Beautiful soliloquy, Princess, but very boring.”
Jasmine crossed her arms with disdain.
“I’m afraid I must leave you. Go find something fun to do! Like getting Aladdin a new pair of green tights.”
“Hey!” Aladdin let out as Jasmine giggled loudly. Aladdin rolled his eyes and mumbled sarcastically, “You slay me…”
“Well, you can’t spell ‘slaughter’ without ‘laughter!’”
When he was finished, Aladdin added, “Don’t you have somewhere else to go?”
“You’re right! The fun here is over! Au revoir!” Chaos disappeared.
Jasmine looked at Aladdin, beginning to feel the same sinking feeling that she knew Aladdin was sharing. They were going to experience boredom again.
Aladdin, dismissing this threat, approached Jasmine and picked her up again with a smile, “Our foreign affairs can wait, can’t they?”
Jasmine giggled, “Why not?”
Aladdin as he carried Jasmine up to their room, “What shall we do next?”
“We could read up on the stories,” Jasmine paused and smirked, “Or get you a new pair of green tights.” She laughed again.
“Hey, you’re not supposed to laugh at the villain’s jokes!” Aladdin smiled.
“Well when you’re this bored-“
“We’re here!” Aladdin opened the door and set Jasmine down on the bed. Aladdin, still standing, bent over and gave her a long kiss.
“How could I ever be bored with you here?” Jasmine asked dreamily.
Aladdin shook his head as they both laughed. Chaos was still watching. He shook his head with satisfaction and scurried off.