Dedication: This is dedicated to Kat. Even though I doubt she'll ever read this, 'cause she knows what I know. And to Colin, 'cause "Sweet Home Alabama" is on the radio right now.

Hoof and Horn

The hooded figure slipped into the gates of the city of Agrabah. Feet made no sound on the sand, and the dark black robes made no noise either. A cloth bag was hidden beneath the robe, hidden as well by night. It was dark, and very few people were out and about.

Letha slipped from street to street, not quite sure what had brought her here. She could here the voices, slipping into her mind like tentacles, gripping at her will. She had to keep her thoughts focused, lest they get a hold of her. She heard a noise down the street, and she gasped, looking up.

The voices got their hold, screaming inside her mind. Letha screamed, and fell to he knees, clutching the sides of her head...

Aladdin wasn't sure why he still walked the streets of Agrabah at night, but he did. He told himself he was just checking to make sure everything was right in the city, but in truth he sometimes felt closed in in the palace.

Suddenly, he heard someone screaming. He looked down the street and saw a woman, kneeling on the ground and writhing in pain. Her long blond hair was covering her face, but Aladdin could tell she was familiar.

"Are you all right?" Aladdin asked, kneeling beside her.

"Oh, make them stop!" She said, clutching at Aladdin's arm, and he saw her face. Dark violet eyes, wild with madness stared out of a pale slender face. Her lips, full and dark were open in a silent, eternal gasp. It was the woman form the bazaar, nearly a month ago.

"Make who stop?" Aladdin asked, but the woman just held on to him, gasping. He could tell she was trying to get a hold of herself. She gasped once more, and looked at him unsteadily.

"Aladdin...?" She asked, in a wavering voice.

"Uh, yeah." Aladdin said. "Hey, are you all right?"

"No. Oh, Allah, no." She rose unsteadily to her feet, with Aladdin's help.

"What is it?" He asked supporting her.

"It's too complicated to explain." She said, waving her hand. Aladdin saw she was holding something tightly. "If one were to need to dispose of a very dangerous and very powerful magical weapon, what would they do with it?"

"Well, I guess you could bury it in the desert." Aladdin suggested, wondering where this was going. What had this woman gotten her hands on?

"No! Unprotected, and just lying out there..." She sounded horrified.

"Hey, hey, calm down." Aladdin said. "It's okay..." But she screamed again and only Aladdin holding on to her kept her upright. "That's it. You're coming to the palace." He hefted her up, and carried her back to the palace, afraid and intrigued by this mysterious woman and her strange problem.

***

"Where...where am I?" Letha mumbled, coming to. She was not on her straw pallet, and the room was warm. She opened her eyes, and had to remember to shut out the gauntlet. They were chattering in the back of her mind incessantly.

"You're in the palace." A woman's voice told her. Letha turned her head and saw a pretty woman with long black hair and almond eyes.

"The palace...?" She was struggling to remember, but all that came was the chatter of the voices.

"I brought you here. You collapsed in the marketplace." Aladdin. Letha knew that name. Yes...it was starting to make sense to her.

"Yes. I collapsed." She repeated. She felt next to her, and encountered rough cloth, and a heavy box beneath it. "Get it away!" She screamed, scampering back from it.

"Whoa, it's okay." Aladdin said, taking the bag and placing it on the other side of the room. "What's in there?"

"Something that was never meant to see the light of day." Letha mumbled. "And it's touched me...they never let go, you know. I can still hear them, but so faint." She was string in the direction of the casket that held the gauntlet.

"Where did you get it?" The woman asked.

"It doesn't matter. I'd destroy it if I could, but I can't. And it's not even this body. Nothing can destroy that thing, save perhaps the maker himself." Letha wasn't even paying attention to the people around her. She couldn't make out what the voices were saying, and that was a blessing.

"I don't hear anything." Aladdin said, pulling out the silver box.

"You're mortal." Letha said, and realized by the odd look she got that that wasn't the word she was looking for. "Non-magical." She tried again.

"Oh." Aladdin said. "Why did you bring it to Agrabah?"

"I don't know. I just...I woke up, and stole it, and I ran. This is where I ended up." Letha explained. She wanted to leave Mozenrath out of this completely. If she brought up his name, they might not be so friendly.

"Is it really that dangerous?" The woman asked.

"Oh yes." Letha breathed. "I've seen what it does. Take it and put it in your darkest dungeon, surrounded by your strongest guards, and let no where near it."

"Why?" Aladdin asked. "You said you stole it?"

"Yes. It...it takes control of you. I can hear the voices. Maybe I always will. That's how it tricks you, it gets into your mind." She shuddered. "And there's no escaping from it."

"Jasmine, you stay with her. I'm going to put this thing somewhere safe." Aladdin said. Jasmine. The princess.

"You'll have it guarded, won't you?" Letha demanded.

"Of course." Jasmine told her. "Don't worry. Lie back and rest. You're exhausted."

"Yes." Letha mumble, and lay back on the divan. She heard voices, not the gauntlets. Those were fading. So distance did help. Hopefully, this far, Mozenrath would be truly free of the gauntlet.

"So, uh...you willing to give us a reward for taking this off of your hands?" Letha couldn't believe what she'd just heard. She turned her head and the parrot from the marketplace was sitting on her pillow. She frowned at him.

"The simple fact that I've brought it here, not left it with its former owner is reward enough." Letha said.

"Geesh, can't blame a bird for trying." The parrot shrugged, and a sudden thought occurred to Letha.

"All set." Aladdin said, returning. Letha snapped her head up. "None one's getting near that thing. Don't worry."

"Thank you." Letha said, rising. "If you'll forgive me, I must return home before I'm missed."

"I can take you." Aladdin offered.

"No!" Letha snapped. "No, I can make it by myself. But, thank you. If, um, could I speak with your parrot for a moment?"

"What?" Jasmine asked, looking confused.

"It's about the marketplace, isn't it?" Aladdin asked, and Letha nodded, seizing the excuse.

"Yes. I never did get a chance to properly chastise him for it." Letha said, grabbing the small red bird so he couldn't escape.

"Come on guys. I'll explain outside." Aladdin said, leading the others out.

"I said I was sorry!" The parrot...Iago...told her.

"Oh, be quiet. It's not about the marketplace. I have a few questions for you, and I need you to answer me truthfully."

"Fine. Unless I'm gonna get in trouble, then this beak is sealed."

"Agreed. Where you ever a familiar?" She asked, and the look on Iago's face was all she needed for an answer.

"Yeah...a few years ago. Little bit here, little bit there." Iago said. "Why?"

"And you were familiar to the sorcerer that served in the palace?"

"Yeah..." Iago's tone was growing more cautious.

"Yes. He was speaking truth." Letha said, looking at the parrot. "Then I owe you my deepest thanks.:"

"Who said what? I didn't do it, whatever Jafar did. I was just his familiar, heck I didn't even like what he was doing!" Iago protested.

"Shh. I know." She let go of the parrot, and began walking out of the room. "His son lives." She called back. "A man now, but very much alive."

"Jafar's kid?" Iago asked. "He survived? Huh. Wish I could've known the kid."

"No. You don't." She said and spoke the spell that would take her back to her room in the Citadel.

***

"Where is it?" Mozenrath screamed, his voice bellowing throughout the Citadel. Letha woke up, her head aching. She could hear the echoes in her mind, the voices. She rose, and slipped on her black tabard, belting it at the waist. It left her arms and the sides of legs bare, but Mozenrath would not be kept waiting.

"You're yelling loud enough to wake the dead." Letha said, entering Mozenrath's bedchamber. He was sitting up in bed, his face a mask of anger and hatred.

"What did you do with my gauntlet?" He demanded, his voice quiet and hard.

"I put it somewhere you won't find it." Letha said, truthfully.

"Why?" The sorcerer demanded.

"Because it will kill you!" Letha said. "Do you really want that back? The pain, and the voices?"

"What do you know of it?" Mozenrath demanded.

"I had to hold it, Mozenrath. I heard them." She hissed. "Have you forgotten already?"

"I've forgotten nothing."

"Truly?" Letha asked, crossing the space between them and placing her hand on his right arm. She shot a bolt of pain through him, akin to that of the gauntlet. He screamed, and jerked his hand away.

"Never do that to me again." He hissed. "Never."

"Then forget your gauntlet."

"I can't! I wore it for five years. I can still hear them. Oh, it's faint, I grant you that, but still there." Mozenrath rose, and splashed water over his face. Letha sat on the edge of his bed, waiting.

"I will deal with that later." Mozenrath told her. "But not that much later. In my studying I came across a spell I had nearly forgotten about. It makes no sense to me. Here." He tossed her a book, brown leather and cracked. "The marked page."

"I never would have figured that one out." Letha mumbled, opening to where the crimson silk bookmark rested. She read the spell, twice to make sure. "What don't you understand?"

"It claims that the mount of Kamzrael will make all bow before it. What good is a mountain?" Mozenrath asked.

"Not mount as in mountain, you silly man." Letha said, shaking her head. "Mount as in steed. Horse."

"Ah." Mozenrath said, nodding. "Of course. A demon steed, how ingenious. And minimal magic is needed."

"You're planning on raising the thing?" Letha asked.

"Where have you been?" Mozenrath asked, sarcastically. "This is my key to taking over Agrabah."

"Mozenrath, the Mount of Kamzrael is a unicorn." Letha explained.

"So?" Mozenrath asked. He was hardly paying attention to her anyway. He was staring at his right hand, and Letha had to smile.

"Only virgins can summon unicorns, or control them. Or get anywhere near them."

"Your point?" Mozenrath asked, fixing her with a steely gaze.

"Well...oh." Realization dawned. "Oh."

"What?" The dark haired sorcerer demanded.

"Nothing." Letha said. "I just...well...you know."

"I told you. Nothing was to distract me from my studies." Mozenrath reminded her.

"Of course." The day after she had healed him, Mozenrath had told her the entire story of his childhood. Or most of it. How he remembered all of it, she didn't know. But she suspected it had something to do with the gauntlet.

"I feel I am strong enough now. I will be in the tower. I would appreciate your help." Mozenrath said.

"I can't help you." Letha said. "I don't exactly have the qualifications."

"You aren't even human." Mozenrath said, eyeing her.

"Yes well, that happy little story I told you didn't exactly go like I told it." Letha said. "Can we drop the subject?"

"Of course. Well, I'm ure you can amuse yourself while I summon the creature." Mozenrath said, smiling a smug smile. Letha tossed her head and stormed out, smacking right into Xerxes as she went.

"Ick!" She exclaimed, cringing back.

"Master well?" Xerxes asked.

"Yes, master well and off to do another spell." She said. "You'd best leave him alone."

"Master is very strong!" Xerxes proclaimed proudly, and Letha had to smile.

"Yes, he's very strong. Come on. If you're quiet, maybe I'll tell you a story."

***

The spell was a simple on, and Mozenrath had no trouble in conjuring up the beast. He grinned as the fire shot up from the floor, and solidified itself into a jet black horse, with red eyes, mane and lions tale. It's hooves were red gold, as was the long slender spire that rose from it's head.

"Ah...such beauty." Mozenrath whispered, moving towards the beast. The unicorn threw back its head, dancing away. "Obey me!"

But the unicorn did not obey. It pranced to the edge of the tower, backing itself against the wall. Delicate lips curled back to reveal fangs, and Mozenrath fell back. I thought they could be controlled by virgins. He thought.

"Damn it all!" He turned, locking the door to the tower behind him. The beast could not escape, and Mozenrath was determined to control it.

"Letha!" He called, sweeping into the throne room. She was there, as predicted, curled up on a cushion in front of the fire. Xerxes was laying in her lap, and she had a book in front of her. She had put some decent clothing on, a simple dress of black and silver.

"Over so soon?" Letha asked, lifting her head.

"I can't control it." He said, sitting opposite from her. "You told me I'd be able to control it."

"It wouldn't let you put the bridle on?" Letha asked, confused.

"What bridle?" Mozenrath demanded. No one had said anything about a bridle.

"You have to control it with a golden bridle. It's all very traditional, you know." Letha said.

"Where does one get a golden bridle?" He demanded, telling himself he would not loose his temper.

"I can make one." Letha said. "But not today."

"Why not?" Mozenrath asked.

"Because I have to be at full strength. Tomorrow, I promise. Where is the beast?" She asked, looking around as though she expected it to pop out of the woodwork.

"In the tower."

"A good place for it." Letha agreed. "Here." She handed him a bowl of stew. "You need to keep your strength up, as well."

"Thank you." He drank the stew hurriedly, not even tasting it. He felt Letha's eyes on him, and met her gaze. She had been giving him that look more and more often. It unnerved him, and he didn't like to think about it.

"Is it all you'd hoped?" She asked.

"That and more!" Mozenrath was happy to tell her. "It's magnificent. With this creature at my beck and cll, I will be unbeatable."

"Good or you." She said, and Mozenrath wasn't sure if she was being sarcastic of not.

"Is Xerxes all right?" Mozenrath asked, indicating the limp eel. "He's sleeping." Letha assured him. She placed the eel on a small cushion near her. "And how about you? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." Mozenrath said. "I told you already."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! Now stop asking." He snapped. Her voice was kind, and an instinct in Mozenrath told him not to trust her. Kind voiced people were the quickest to turn.

"You're insufferable." Letha said, with a grin.

"What can I say, I do my best." He said, grinning back.

"Consider yourself lucky I like insufferable." Letha said, leaning forward. Her voice had turned teasing, and mischievous.

"Oh, really?" Mozenrath drawled.

"Mm-hmm." Letha said. Mozenrath realized she was still leaning in towards him. Her face was coming quite close to his, and he began to panic. She couldn't mean to...she did. An instant before her lips brushed his, Mozenrath leapt back, standing up quickly.

"No!" He yelled, as memories surged into him. Letha bolted upright, a stunned expression on her face.

"What wrong?" Xerxes demanded, waking up with a jolt.

"Never, ever, do that again!" Mozenrath ordered Letha.

"All I did was..."

"I know what you did. Never again!" He turned on his heel, unable to forget...

"You know the master forbids this." Naemha said, grinning mischievously. She and Mozenrath were in an old storage room.

"Then the master had better not find out." Sixteen year old Mozenrath admonished. He placed his arms around Naemha's waist, and bent his lips to hers. She giggled softly, and Mozenrath pulled her close. So lost was he in what he was doing, he didn't hear the door open.

"How dare you!" Destane screamed, hauling Mozenrath off of Naemha. "Never, never again!" The sorcerer screamed, dragging Mozenrath back to his small room by the neck of his tunic.

"I wasn't doing anything wrong!" Mozenrath protested.

"What have I told you?" Destane demanded. "Nothing must distract you from your studies. Least of all that!" Destane threw Mozenrath down on his pallet, and the young man squeezed his eyes shut, knowing what would happen next.

"No!" Mozenrath protested, as he felt the first sting on his back.

"I'll make sure you never touch a woman again. Do you know why I don't have a child boy, do you?" Destane demanded, punctuating each word with a blow.

"No!" Mozenrath gasped out, sobbing.

"Sorcerers don't have children the first born of a sorcerer is always a boy, and that boy will rise up against him. Is that what you want?"

"No!"

"Then think twice before sneaking off to storage rooms with serving girls." Destane gave Mozenrath a final lash from the whip, and turned to go. "You will remain here for one month. I trust that will drive this lesson home."

***

Letha didn't know what had gotten into Mozenrath. Did he hate her that much? Did he really believe that she wasn't human? She fought back tears. She wouldn't cry over him. She rose, running her hand over a quivering Xerxes.

"Stay here." She cautioned the eel.

"Yes, mistress." Xerxes said, and Letha had to smile at the title. She followed after Mozenrath, knowing where he'd be headed. She was right, and caught up to him before he had entered his study. She was forbidden from entering, but she wasn't going to let this go.

"Mozenrath, wait!" She called out, and saw him freeze. "I just want to talk."

"There's nothing to talk about." The sorcerer said, not turning.

"Yes there is." Letha protested. "What happened?"

"Nothing." Mozenrath said.

"That was a whole lot of nothing. What's wrong?"

"You really want to know?" Mozenrath turned on her, and she could see the wildness in his eyes. "I'll tell you what happened." And he did. He told her about Naemha, and Destane, and the beating he had received.

"And Destane got his wish. I can hardly think of a woman that way without remembering." Mozenrath spat. "Now do you understand?"

"Oh..." Was all Letha could say. She thought her heart would break in pain for Mozenrath. So much made sense now, the way he acted. He had been abused and neglected as child ,and reared with nothing but hate. No wonder he should turn that hate to others.

"But Destane is gone." Letha said. "Yo got your revenge on him, and now he's nothing more than a walking corpse."

"It doesn't matter." Mozenrath told her. "You can't know what I feel!"

"I know that." Letha raised her voice to match Mozenrath's. "I'm not trying to!"

"Then leave me alone!"

"I won't! You're a fool who's living in the past!"

"I am not..." Mozenrath advanced on her, his right hand raised. Letha stood proudly, head up. He would not frighten her.

"Go ahead, strike me." Letha said. "Since you're not man enough to kiss me."

"You little..." Mozenrath growled, leaping towards her. Letha caught his wrists in her hands, her heart pounding in her chest.

"Try it!" Letha hissed, staring strait into the madness and hatred that swirled in Mozenrath's eyes. She braced herself for whatever pain would come, and was surprised when instead of pain she felt Mozenrath's lips against her own.

It was a rough, unpolished kiss, and slightly savage. Letha pressed herself into it, and felt Mozenrath's hands grip her back. She felt his heart pounding against her own, and felt his body quivering. He pulled away, and Letha saw pain in his eyes now.

"Damn you." He whispered, resting his head against hers. "Damn you."

***

"The bridle is ready." Letha said, and Mozenrath took the golden harness from her. They hadn't spoken about the kiss, but the tension between them was obvious. Even Xerxes had been quiet when Mozenrath and Letha were together.

"Thank you." He said, inclining his head to her. He couldn't get the feel of her lips out of his mind, it blended with the voices and the pain. It filled him with pain, and torment and something else that he didn't want to investigate too closely. He nodded again, and turned to go. The unicorn was still in the tower, but now Mozenrath would control the beast.

"Just try and run now." Mozenrath muttered, throwing open the door of the tower. The black unicorn stood in the center, scraping it's hoof on the floor. It saw the bridle, and a look of fear entered the red eyes.

"So, you know what this is, do you?" Mozenrath asked, advancing. The unicorn pranced, but didn't retreat. It's eyes were fixed on the golden bridle, and Mozenrath slipped the nosepiece over the velvety muzzle of the beast. The unicorn immediately froze, and Mozenrath grinned, stroking the black nose as he adjusted the bridle.

"Ah my beauty." He mumbled, as the unicorn looked at him with an unreadable expression. Mozenrath held the reins in his hand, and led the unicorn docily out of the tower, and down to the throne room.

"Oh..." Letha exclaimed when she saw the unicorn. "Oh Mozenrath, he's glorious!" The unicorns lion tail swished, and his neck arched, gleaming ebony in the firelight.

"Finally, all my plans are coming into fruition." Mozenrath said. "Well my dear, what shall we call him?"

"Padamor." Letha said, without even thinking.

"Why?" Mozenrath asked.

"It means Raging Fire." She grinned evilly, and Mozenrath found himself unconsciously returning the smile.

"Yes. It suits him." Mozenrath agreed. "It suits him well."

"It is a good day for a conquest." Letha said, rising. "But why Agrabah? There's nothing there worth conquering." She attempted to move close to Mozenrath, but Padamor reared, shrieking.

"Ah-ah-ah." Mozenrath warned. "Remember."

"Of course."

"And as for Agrabah, you know very well why I wish to conquer it. Will you be joining me, or not?"

"No. I don't think Padamor would be too pleased if I were to come along." Letha said, smiling sadly. "And I think Xerxes is jealous. We'll stay here."

"Have it your way. But you're going to miss the greatest conquest since I took the land of the Black Sand." Mozenrath swung up onto Padamor, feeling the strong coils of horseflesh between his legs. It was like sitting on flame, made solid. Hot and smooth.

"I'm sure you'll tell us all about it." Letha said, smiling. Xerxes curled around her shoulders, grinning at his master.

"Oh, don't doubt it." He wheeled Padamor about, and sparks flew from the stallions hooves. Mozenrath dug his heels into the stallions flank, and charged out of the citadel and off towards Agrabah.

***

"I have a bad feeling about today." Aladdin said, pacing the length of the garden.

"Oh Aladdin, relax.' Jasmine said, putting her hands on his shoulder. "There's nothing to worry about."

"I know, I know, I just...I can't explain it." He shrugged.

"It's because of what the woman brought, isn't it?" Jasmine asked. The box had been placed in a room deep under the palace, and a guard placed.

"Yeah. I mean, she shows up in the middle of the night with something she says is dangerous, collapses, and then leaves it here without even telling us her name. And Iago won't tell us what she said to him."

"Well, you know how Iago hate's to be embarrassed." Jasmine suggested.

"I guess." Aladdin sighed, and sat on a bench. "I guess it's just been quiet for so long, I've started getting suspicious." He leaned his head on Jasmines, and they sat like that...until a guard came rushing in.

"Aladdin, Aladdin!" The guard cried. "There's trouble, in the city, come quickly!"

"Trouble?" Aladdin leapt up. "What sort of trouble?"

"Mozenrath!" The guard cried.

"But I thought he was dead?" Jasmine said, confused.

"So did I." Aladdin agreed, rushing out of the palace and into the city. It was easy to follow the shouts and cries to where the trouble was.

It was Mozenrath. He was dressed in all his sorcerer's splendor, and atop a magnificent black horse, with flaming man and golden hooves, and a long slender horn between its eyes.

"A unicorn?" Jasmine breathed from behind Aladdin. "I thought they were only legends."

"So did I." Aladdin didn't know what to do. The guards were in a ring around the animal, and Mozenrath was laughing. Obviously, something was keeping them from attacking.

"What are you doing here, Mozenrath?" Aladdin demanded.

"Why Aladdin." Mozenrath drawled. "How nice of you to join the little party. I'm taking over the city, what else does it look like I'm doing?"

"With a horse?" Aladdin scoffed. "Nice try."

"Oh not just any horse." Mozenrath said, grinning. "Kamzrael's Mount, Padamor. A unicorn, Aladdin. And the legends are all true. You can't stop me Aladdin."

"What makes you think that?" Aladdin asked. "I can take a horse any day."

"Aladdin..." Jasmine warned.

"What? Don't worry." Aladdin said. He leapt for the unicorn, his hand grabbing one golden rien. He heard Mozenrath gasp.

"No! You can't!" The sorcerer screamed, and shot a feeble blast of blue fire at Aladdin.

"Well, this is turning out to be easier than I thought." Aladdin said. "That gauntlet of yours is losing it's strength. Isn't it time you were dead from it anyway?" The young hero grabbed Mozenrath's leg, pulling him down from off of the unicorn.

"Damn you!" Mozenrath yelled, and swung with his left hand at Aladdin, catching him on the chin. "I will kill you, once and for all!" Aladdin's head was spinning, and he struggled to regain control of himself. But Mozenrath had him pinned down, and had wrestled the reins away from him. The unicorn danced and shrieked, and Mozenrath gripped his hands around Aladdin's throat, squeezing...

A look crossed over Mozenrath's face, and the grip on Aladdin's neck loosened. Mozenrath looked towards the palace, his lips moving but not speaking. Aladdin took advantage to knock Mozenrath over, and tried to grab him, but the sorcerer scrambled away. But Aladdin was able to get the reins back.

"It's over." Aladdin said, and the guards cautiously advanced towards Mozenrath. The sorcerer stared wide eyed, before turning tail and running.

"Let him go." Aladdin said. "You saw how weak he is." Then he realized that everyone was staring at him. "What?"

"Nothing." Jasmine assured him, and approached Aladdin and the unicorn cautiously. She reached out her hand and stroked the velvety muzzle. "He's beautiful."

"And a slave." Aladdin said. He saw the fear and sadness in the animal's eyes. "Mozenrath captured him. I'm going to let him go." Aladdin slid the bridle off of the unicorn, who tossed his head and danced away into the desert.

****

Letha knew Mozenrath had failed. She watched from the library, staring intently into a crystal ball. And she knew he knew where the gauntlet was. It would take him a while to let home, but let him.

"Master fail?" Xerxes asked.

"Not exactly." Letha said. "It all depends on where you're standing." She knew Xerxes had no idea what she was talking about, but she didn't care. She was still recovering from the power it had taken to create the bridle, and she was irritable. And it would take a lot to come her down by the time Mozenrath got home.

He should have realized. But he didn't. And he'll only try again. He'll wait, and he'll do it again. Because it is a good plan. Well, not if I have anything to do with it.

***

Mozenrath crawled into the citadel three nights later, and slunk to his chambers. He bathed, and crawled into bed, not wanting to deal with Letha. Why, why couldn't he beat that street-rat? Aladdin had to be the epitome of the noble hero, didn't he? Mozenrath turned over in bed, grumbling.

"Who's there?" Mozenrath asked, hearing his door open and the soft fall of footsteps on his carpeted floor.

"It's me." Letha called, and Mozenrath sighed.

"Go away."

"No." Letha said firmly, and Mozenrath heard a rustle of silk, and felt Letha crossing the floor to stand beside his bed.

"What are you doing?" Mozenrath asked, turning to face her. He stifled a gasp when he saw her. She placed a finger over his lips and slid into bed beside him.

"Making sure you can't summon another unicorn."

The End

For now.