“How cute!” Princess Zahra said as she patted Aladdin on the head akin to the way you would pat a small child or a new puppy on the head, “Oh, look Kamire! They dressed up their servant like a Prince, simply adorable.” Her friend cried to a female servant who was busy unloading the Princesses bags from the camel that they had ridden to Agraba on. Aladdin’s expression could only be described as shocked before the annoyance set in.
“What…is…your…name?” Zahra asked, over pronouncing every word and clearly was under the impression that Aladdin did not speak English. He scowled, not finding anything about this situation even the slightest bit funny.
“I’m Aladdin, Jasmine’s husband.” He replied tensely and her green eyes widened in shock.
“Oh! Oh, I’m so sorry I just… you don’t have the face of a Prince…” Zahra paused as she took Aladdin’s hand and studied it closely, “Or the hands of one.” Aladdin looked down at his hand in confusion as Jasmine came out and greeted her fellow Princess. He studied his hand, it was callused from years of hard labor and scars littered his knuckles from thrown punches, usually in defense of course, he was not one to pick a fight. But what was a Prince’s hand supposed to look like? What was a Prince’s face supposed to look like?
“Aladdin?” Jasmine asked again as she tried to grab his attention. He snapped out of his reverie and put his hand back to his side.
“You’re not mad are you?” Zahra asked worriedly as she bit down on her full pink lip. Aladdin looked to her and lied,
“No, no I’m fine…really.” He said and avoided looking at Jasmine’s confused face. Jasmine turned to the worried Zahra with confusion.
“Mad about what?” Jasmine asked curiously and Zahra looked away with a blush of embarrassment as Kamire walked by her to bring her plethora of bags inside the palace.
“Oh, I just, um… confused your husband with a servant.” Zahra said with a nervous giggle as Aladdin returned to studying his hands self-consciously, “Woopsie?” Jasmine looked to him and took the hand he was studying.
“Zahra, why don’t you go inside and get yourself set up.” Jasmine said as she led Aladdin away from the Princess.
---xx---
Aladdin had managed to distract Jasmine from talking to him by coming up with some half thought through excuse involving some mumbled random words. He now stood in front of Jasmine’s vanity mirror trying to compare his own features with those of Princes' he had seen throughout his life.
He really didn’t know what a Prince’s face should look like. Flawless? Well that wasn’t a word to describe him at all. His face showed the hardships of his life but didn’t make him even near ugly and only added to the rugged handsomeness of his features. He pulled off his flamboyant hat and ran his hands through his thick black hair and pulled a lock in front of his caramel eyes.
He had noticed that most Princes’ he had seen had short, clean cut hair that never passed their ears while his hung shaggily. He was so enthralled with his inspection that he didn’t notice Genie waltz in. Literally waltz, he seemed to be in some sort of dance without the music but stopped mid-step when he spotted Aladdin standing in front of the mirror. Aladdin yanked his hair down over his eyes with a groan and Genie tilted his head in confusion and walked over, still unnoticed by the preoccupied Prince.
“Uh, Al?” Genie said and Al jumped in surprise as he tried to fix his hair but only ended up making his black mane stick up in odd directions, “If you’re going for a new look, Emo is definitely not your style.” Aladdin sighed, un-amused by Genie’s joking as he tried to tame his wild hair.
“Genie?” Aladdin asked as he looked up at his blue friend, “I need to ask you something and I want you to be honest. Really, really honest.” Genie nodded, now completely stoic, which was quite the rare feat for him.
“Sure, Al. What’s wrong?” Aladdin sighed and ran a hand over his jaw before looking back at Genie, “Do you think I need a new look?” Aladdin asked with complete seriousness and Genie stared before breaking out into a fit of laughter, much to Aladdin’s annoyance.
“I’m serious Genie! That Zahra girl said I didn’t have the face of a Prince. She thought I was a servant. I may have been a street rat but I’ve never been a servant.” Genie calmed his laughter and looked to his former master with a frown.
“And what’s wrong with servants?” He huffed as he crossed his large arms over his broad chest while feigning anger.
“Nothing, of course! It’s just… I thought I was pulling off this whole Prince thing but… she saw right through me.” Aladdin stared at his reflection darkly.
“Well, if you will recall…” Genie said as he snapped his fingers and instantaneously changed into his fashion designer persona, “I am an excellent stylist!”
---x---
“Aladdin?!” Jasmine gasped from the bottom of the grand staircase. At the top stood the redone Aladdin with his hat tucked under his arm to show off his new hairstyle. His hair was now brushed back and had been cut shorter so it no longer brushed the bottom of his neck or hung into his eyes. The light scars apparently had makeup, which to Genie’s credit blended perfectly with Aladdin’s skin tone, covering his scars, giving him a perfect softly sculpted face. He grinned from the stairs as he made his way down, his teeth having been noticeably whitened.
“Yes, Jasmine?” He replied as he made it to the bottom of the staircase, using his phony “Prince Ali” voice which was a few octaves below his normal voice range. Zahra stared in shock and fanned herself with her hand from the plush chair she sat in, Kamire doing the same, both of them visibly swooning over him. Jasmine looked back at the two women and glared as she possessively gripped Aladdin’s arm.
“Can I speak to you, Ali?” Jasmine growled as she yanked him into the large dining room and slammed the doors behind them. He dropped his plush hat onto the long table and watched Jasmine glare at him.
“What is wrong with you?” She said through gritted teeth and he scoffed.
“What’s wrong with me? I did this for you!” He replied with equal anger at the lack of appreciation. For Allah’s sake! I’m wearing makeup for this woman and she doesn’t even appreciate it! Aladdin thought angrily.
“For me? You’re not even Aladdin anymore! You’re Prince Ababua; you know how I hate him!” She yelled back and he piqued an eyebrow.
“How can you hate one side of me?” He asked now less angry and more confused. She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.
“He’s not a part of you. You made him up! He’s not real.” Jasmine said as she took Aladdin’s face in her hands and gently kissed him, “I want Aladdin. Not… this.” She said as she flicked at his now short hair. He smiled and pulled his arms around her waist and her faced twisted in confusion.
“You smell like… flowers.” She said confusedly as she sniffed his neck and he blushed lightly as he looked away.
“Genie said I had a peasant smell.” Aladdin huffed into her hair and was disturbed by the fact that the two of them smelled exactly the same.
“Anyway, you don’t want…this?” He asked as he smeared off a bit of makeup and dabbed it on her nose and she giggled.
“I wouldn’t want you any other way.” She giggled as she pressed herself to him and kissed him fiercely to drive home the point. He pressed her to the table and she attempted to run her hand through his hair when she frowned against his lips and he pulled away. He studied her disappointed face with a frown of his own.
“What? I have I lost my kissing skills? Because I’m not sure Genie can fix that.” Aladdin asked, only half joking.
“No, I just miss having something to run my fingers through.” She purred seductively and he smiled as he pressed his lips to her neck and her back arched as he attended the most sensitive spot of the nape of her neck. She gripped at the small of his back which sent an electric shiver down his spine.
“I’m sure Genie can fix it.” He growled into her throat huskily and she giggled and gripped his jaw, pulling his face up to hers. She leaned her face in close enough for her lips to brush his teasingly but still held his jaw so he couldn’t move in closer.
“So you don’t miss Ali?” Aladdin murmured as he tried to move in closer to no avail, she had some grip. She smirked as she let his jaw go and rolled out of the way, causing him to fall forward onto the table. She looked back at him flirtatiously in a way that made it maddeningly hard to think because of the blood loss from his brain.
“If I ever see him again we’ll have a problem.” She huffed as she put a hand on her hip with a smirk as he came towards her, clearly wanting to continue. She grinned as he leaned forward and she put a finger to his ready lips.
“Bring Aladdin back and then we’ll see where this leads.” She laughed at his frustrated expression.
“Genie!” Aladdin cried as he shot through the doors, “Genie, I need you, now!”
Makeover? by ZahraOfTheDesert