Chapter One

         "Okay, Jasmine. 
You can look now."  Aladdin removed his hands
from Jasmine's face, and she gasped.
         "Oh, Aladdin! 
This is beautiful!"  She ran forward and spread her
arms, dancing around the lush clearing.  Bright desert flowers
sprouted
everywhere, and the grass was as soft as velvet.  A small, shimmering
pond
was nearby, and the setting sun made bright flecks of orange, green,
and gold
dance upon the clear blue water.  Palm trees circled the small
area and bent
inward, as if they were whispering secrets to one another.  Indeed,
the entire
oasis seemed to be a secret, for there was no sign of human interference
in its
beauty.
         She turned back to
Aladdin.  "How did you find this?  And why isn't it
swarming with people?"
         "I came upon it on
my way home from Pitosah last week, by accident,"
answered Aladdin.  He almost expected an ornery voice to squawk,
"Came
upon by ACCIDENT?  Wouldn't it be more accurate to say you got
LOST?
Some dignified Sultan YOU'RE going to make, stopping every three miles
to
ask for directions!"
         Instead, Jasmine just
said, "I'm glad you did."  It sure had been
quiet since Iago left.  Not just quiet, but uneventful. 
After the excitement and
celebration of the wedding had tapered off, Agrabah had been unusually
free
of trouble.  Aladdin wasn't quite sure if he liked that or not.  
He still had a
craving for adventure.  Still, safety was a nice change.
         "That still doesn't
explain why it seems nobody else has ever been
here," said Jasmine slowly, and Aladdin was disappointed by the wary
note in
her voice.  He wanted her to relax and have fun.
         "Maybe it was just
waiting for us," said Aladdin, picking up a small
stone and skipping it across the water.
         "The same way the
oasis of the ah-muddy waited for us?" asked
Jasmine, but now her voice was teasing.  She bent to the ground
and knelt
beside the pond, sifting her fingers through the fine, silvery sand
on its bank.
         "Nah," said Aladdin. 
"Besides, I get a good feeling from this place.
Don't you?"
         "I do," admitted Jasmine. 
"It's like we're suppose to be here.  Maybe
what you said was true.  Maybe it was waiting for us."
         "I like to think that,"
said Aladdin.  "But I'm sorry to say I'm not the
one who discovered this place.  I looked it up as soon as I got
home that day
and found it on the map.  It's called the Lilithian Oasis, and
was apparently
discovered and charted centuries ago.  So if anything unnatural
was going on
here, we'd have heard about it."
         Jasmine's face jerked
up at the oasis's name.  She almost laughed.
"Aladdin, you've never heard of this place?  My father used to
read me stories
about it when I was a child.  But I thought it was made up." 
She pulled
herself up from the ground.  "Now I feel as if I've walked into
my old fairy-
tale book!"
         "This place probably
was named after the one you read about," said
Aladdin.  "What did the stories say?"
         "I don't remember
them very well," admitted Jasmine.  "I remember
only that this place was enchanted--no, not the entire oasis. 
Just the lake.  It
always sent people to different places on incredible adventures!"
         Aladdin smiled at
Jasmine mischievously.  "Things have been rather
uneventful around Agrabah lately," he said.  "Are you in the mood
for an
adventure?"
         "Aladdin!" laughed
Jasmine.  "You don't actually believe those things?
They were children's stories!"
         "But you believed
them once," Aladdin said.  "Didn't you?"
         "Yes," admitted Jasmine,
suddenly wishing she could go back to that
time when she could take anything told to her as the truth.  Now
she always
had to be on her guard for ulterior motives, constantly had to read
between
the lines and hear what was unsaid.
         As if he were reading
her mind, Aladdin said, "Let's believe them again,
Jasmine.  Let's test the theory and take a swim in this 'enchanted'
lake."
Aladdin was already removing his traveling boots and testing the water.
         "Nothing will happen,"
said Jasmine, even though a tiny part of herself
was beginning to believe.  She glanced up at the sky, where a
full moon was
beginning to rise and stars peaked from behind wispy clouds.
         "The water is warm,"
said Aladdin.  "At least we'll get a relaxing swim
out of it.  Are you coming?"
         "Oh, why not?" laughed
Jasmine.  She kicked her shoes onto the sand
and followed as Aladdin led her around the pond to a low, jutting rock. 
They
climbed it, and together, plunged into the shimmering lake.
 

         Jasmine was first to
burst out from beneath the water.  Regaining her
breath, she glanced to the still surface of the lake beside her, which
was soon
broken by Aladdin's emerging head.  He surveyed the oasis which
was
. . . exactly as it had been when they entered the pond.
         "Are you disappointed?"
asked Jasmine.
         "A little," admitted
Aladdin, although he felt silly for actually believing
something would happen.  The only thing that had changed was that
the moon
was higher in the sky, and more stars had appeared.
         "Well, we'll get a
good swim out of it," said Jasmine.  "The water is
wonderfully warm."
         Aladdin nodded, but
something had caught his eye.  A little girl was
emerging from between the trees, gasping as if she'd been running. 
Her eyes
were large and brown, and her thick black hair had been thrown about
by the
night breeze.  She was dressed simply and appeared to be a peasant
child.
Over her arm was draped another old dress, although clearly too big
for the
child, who looked no older than seven.
         Jasmine, who had also
noticed the child, asked, "Do you think she's
lost?"
         Before he could answer,
the girl exclaimed, "Good!  You're here.
Mother told me you would be but . . . I didn't really believe her."
         Aladdin glanced at
Jasmine, and they exchanged questioning looks.
Slowly, they began emerging from the water.
         "Little girl, are
you lost?" asked Jasmine gently.
         The girl glanced at
Jasmine nonchalantly and then turned her gaze back
to Aladdin.  "My name is Yesenia," she said, speaking to him. 
"It feels funny
telling you that!  You do know who I am, don't you?"
         Jasmine looked curiously
at Aladdin.  "You've met?"
         Shaking his head,
Aladdin knelt in front of Yesenia and said, "I think
you have the wrong person.  I don't know you."
         Jasmine was surprised
to see that Yesenia appeared hurt by Aladdin's
words.  She lowered her eyes and let out a sigh.  "Mother
said this would
happen . . . But I still thought you'd know me.  You should
know me!  Why
don't you?"
         "I'm sorry," stammered
Aladdin.
         "I wish I could tell
you!" cried Yesenia.  "I wish I could tell you who
you are, because I don't like you not knowing."
         "I know who I am,"
said Aladdin gently.  "My name is Aladdin.  I live
at the palace."
         "I know that!" exclaimed
Yesenia.  "I live at the palace too!"
 Jasmine was startled by the girl's words, but then dismissed
them as
childish fantasies.  Many children wished to be royalty and could
even
convince themselves of it.
         "Really?" asked Jasmine,
humoring her.  "Do you like living there?"
         Yesenia's gaze moved
to rest on Jasmine again, and she was
discontented by the resentment in the little girl's eyes.  "Yes,
I like it there,"
she answered, coldly polite.
         Jasmine couldn't keep
from feeling offended.  What had she done to
earn this child's dislike, and how had Aladdin so easily won her favor?
         Aladdin noticed Yesenia's
attitude toward Jasmine as well, and trying
to lift the mood, said, "This is my wife, Jasmine.  I'm sure you'll
like her."
         "Mother said she might
come along," said Yesenia, once again
speaking to Aladdin and ignoring Jasmine, "although we hoped
she wouldn't."
Now she turned toward Jasmine, and held the rags she had draped over
her
arm out to her.  "Put these on," she commanded.  "No one
can know who you
are."
         "What do you mean
no one can know who I am?" asked Jasmine,
taking the clothes the girl held out to her.  She couldn't help
resenting orders
given to her by a child, and she added, "I'm the Princess of Agrabah.
Everyone already knows who I am."
         "Exactly," muttered
Yesenia.  "You can't be recognized."
         "What is going on
here?"
         "Don't question!"
warned the girl with surprising authority.  "Put those
over your clothes, veil your hair, cover your face.  It's part
of the plan."
         "The plan?" repeated
Jasmine, annoyed at being caught up in a child's
daydream, and apparently picked to be the villain as well.  Even
so, she
found herself donning the garments the child had given her.
         "What is this plan?"
asked Aladdin warily.
         "I wish I could tell
you!" said Yesenia sincerely.  "Really I do!  But
you won't believe me . . . and I don't understand it . . . Mother will
explain it
to you when you come back to Agrabah with me . . . Aladdin." 
The girl's
voice caught on his name, as if she were tempted to call him by another.
         Aladdin glanced at
Jasmine, who was now completely covered by
conservative peasant clothing.  Her eyes, which were the only
part of her that
was left visible, told Aladdin of her displeasure.  Nonetheless,
he felt a
strange obligation to the little girl and said, "All right.  I'll
come to Agrabah
with you."
         He had expected Jasmine
to object to his obeying Yesenia's orders, but
instead she nodded and followed behind.  For as much as she hated
to admit
it, an uncanny obligation to the girl had awakened within her as well. 
And
somehow, she knew the outcome could be devastating if she refused to
let
Aladdin take part in "the plan".
 

         Jasmine had walked
the streets of Agrabah at night many times before,
but something seemed different.  She couldn't quite put her finger
on it as she
scrutinized the city through the haze of her concealing veils, but
by the way
Aladdin glanced uneasily about, she knew he noticed it too.
         Yesenia was leading
them, and she had Aladdin's hand clutched
possessively in her own.  Even though Jasmine knew it was silly,
she felt a
twinge of jealousy.  Why has Aladdin been so easily accepted
by her, and
why have I been cast aside? she wondered. What causes this
prejudice?
         "I'm glad you're with
me," said Yesenia, smiling up at Aladdin.  "I don't
like walking alone at night.  Mother usually doesn't let me. 
She only did
tonight because I had to get you.  It's an emergency."
         "An emergency?" repeated
Aladdin.  "Yesny, what's wrong?  Are you
in trouble?"
         Jasmine noticed that
Aladdin didn't address the child with her full
name.  Instead, he'd called her 'Yesny', as if they were very
familiar with each
other . . . it was almost a pet name.  Again she envied the strange
bond she
wasn't allowed to be a part of.  She trailed behind them like
a tag-a-long, a
third wheel.  Yet, for some reason, her heart yearned to be accepted,
respected . . . loved by this little girl.  As Aladdin
was.
         "No," said the girl,
answering Aladdin's question.  "I'm not in trouble,
but my mother is.  She's very sick . . . and she needs your help."
         Why Aladdin's help?
wondered Jasmine.  Why does Yesenia's
mother think she has the right to call upon him for her personal
problems?
A sick feeling settled into Jasmine's stomach as she thought, perhaps
he
knows her mother . . . Perhaps they once . . . or do share an intimate
bond
. . .
         She shook her head,
trying to chase off her distrustful thoughts.  Yet,
she felt as if she were looking at a different Aladdin.  What
if he was
deceiving her?  What if . . .?
         "Where are you taking
us?" asked Aladdin.
         "To the palace," answered
Yesenia simply.  "To our home."
         Our . .
.?  Yesenia and her mother live in the palace?  A servant girl,
perhaps . . .?
         Jasmine looked away
from them.  If indeed they were going to the
palace, she didn't need to follow a little girl to get there. 
She knew her own
way well enough.
         She shivered in the
night air, despite her layers of clothing.  Why was
she disguised on a trip to her own home?  Suddenly, Jasmine stopped
in her
tracks.  They had been journeying through the deserted market-place,
and the
familiarity had been comforting . . . until Jasmine noticed a missing
link in the
otherwise tight chain of merchants' stands.
         "Aladdin, wait," commanded
Jasmine, placing her hand on his arm.  He
halted, causing Yesenia to jerk to a stop as well.  She looked
over her
shoulder at Jasmine, annoyance on her face.
         "What is it, Jasmine?"
         Jasmine pointed to
the empty space.  "Aladdin, what happened to
Omar's fruit stand?"
         Aladdin's face registered
his surprise.  "I don't know.  I know
Agrabah's streets like the back of my hand . . . and there's never
been a space
there before."
         "Omar entered paradise
three days ago," said Yesenia bluntly,
continuing on her path to the palace.  "The lot is open now. 
I think his
brother will move there.  There's more important things to worry
about."
         Aladdin gave Jasmine
a questioning look before running forward to
catch up with Yesenia.  "You mean Omar . . . died?" he asked. 
"But why
didn't word reach the palace?  Jasmine and I didn't know."
         Yesenia looked up
into Aladdin's eyes and sighed.  "There's a lot you
don't know."
 

         As they entered the
palace, Jasmine was surprised to find that Yesenia
was leading them as if they didn't know the way themselves.  She
was even
more surprised when they were led to the east wing instead of the west.
         "Excuse me," she said,
bringing herself up beside Yesenia.  "Our
quarters are in the west wing, Yesenia.  The east wing is for
guests."
         Yesenia gave Jasmine
a look that said she had no idea what she was
talking about.  "Aladdin can sleep in the west wing if he wants
to," said
Yesenia.  "But you have to sleep in the east wing tonight."
         "Aladdin is my husband,"
said Jasmine, trying to hide her annoyance.
"We will share a bed-chamber."
         "Then you'll both
sleep in the east wing."
         "But our quarters
are in the west wing!" argued Jasmine. "Yesenia, the
palace is our home!"
         Yesenia whirled angrily
on her.  "Not yours, not now.  You don't
understand the plan, so stop fighting it.  Like Aladdin."
         "Aladdin may be happy
to follow you blindly into this, but I'm not,"
said Jasmine.  "I want to know what's going on here."
         "Jasmine," said Aladdin. 
"Relax."
         Jasmine stilled her
tongue, but the resentment within her wasn't so
easily quelled.  She was left out of too much, had too many questions
unanswered.  Why didn't she feel welcome in her own home? 
Why did
Aladdin so willingly follow the girl's orders?  And why did Yesenia's
mother
call upon Aladdin in her illness?  What right would she have,
unless . . .?
         Again Jasmine tried
to shake such feelings off, but she wasn't
successful.  As soon as she and Aladdin had been shown into their
guest
room, she let her frustration explode.
         "Aladdin, what is
going on here?" she demanded.
         He looked surprised. 
"How am I suppose to know?  This is as much a
mystery to me as it is to you."
         "That's not the way
I see it," admitted Jasmine.  "To me, it looks as if
you've known this child all your life.  And why aren't you hesitant
to
participate in her plan?  For all we know, she could have been
sent by
Mozenrath, or Mirage, or Sadira!"
         "You don't really
believe that, Jasmine," said Aladdin.  "The child is a
bit bossy, but she isn't devious or evil.  We'd feel that."
         "Aladdin, you do
know her," pressed Jasmine.
         "I don't!"
         "You know her mother
then.  Don't you?"
         Aladdin shook his
head.  "I don't know anything about her except that
she needs our help."
         "Your help,"
corrected Jasmine.  "It's clear that I'm not to be a part of
this.  And why does Yesenia's mother think she has the right to
call upon you
anyway?  There has to be something going on."
         "Jasmine, there isn't!"
insisted Aladdin. "Don't you trust me?"
         That silenced her. 
Hadn't she fallen in love with Aladdin because he
had been so easy to trust?  Had she ever seriously doubted her
trust in him
before?  Had he ever betrayed it?
         "Yes," she murmured. 
"Aladdin, I'm sorry.  But this doesn't make
sense to me."
         "It doesn't make sense
to me either, Jasmine," he said.  "But I feel a
strange connection with Yesenia . . . like a bond.  And I know
we have to
help her."
         "I can tell," admitted
Jasmine, not wanting to tell Aladdin that, despite
the girl's disapproval of her, she felt something there too. 
Only to her, it was
irritating, because the feeling wasn't mutual as it was with Aladdin
and
Yesenia.  "But why?  Why are you drawn to her?"
         "Actually," said Aladdin
slowly, "she reminds me of you."