Disney's Aladdin:
All's Fair
By J. D. Weber
characters copyrighted by Disney,
except the villains, which are all mine.
It had been a lovely evening. The dinner had been delicious,
the entertainment had been colorful, and there had been NO
interruptions by bad guys. That came afterward.
Aladdin and Jasmine strolled from the Club Nest Egg Casino to
their hotel. They could have taken Carpet, or asked Genie to magic
them over. They could even have stayed at the Club Nest Egg as
Sultan Pasta al Dente's guests. However, they had wanted some time
alone, in a quiet place, so they could talk and hold hands without
comments from the peanut gallery.
At first, they were too wrapped up in each other to notice the
shadowy figures that kept pace with them. It wasn't until they came
to an uninhabited section of the city that the shadowy figures
brought themselves to their attention.
"Look out!" Jasmine's warning came as one of the shadowy
figures struck at Aladdin with a staff. Another of the shadowy
figures grabbed Jasmine's left arm.
Aladdin dropped to the ground to avoid a swinging staff. He
caught himself with his hands and pivoted smoothy on one foot as he
kicked several of his attackers' feet out from under them. Jasmine
decked her attacker with a right cross. Aladdin rolled to his feet
and used his momentum to add power to a punch to the midsection of
another attacker. Jasmine snatched up the staff her attacker had
dropped and rammed it into the jaw of one of the attackers who was
still on his feet.
"Run!" Aladdin advised. They leaped over their sprawled
opponents and headed back the way they had come. As they ran,
Aladdin reached behind him, trying to grab the pocket of his
flapping cloak without breaking stride.
They had reached the end of the street when there was a flash
of yellowish light and more shadowy figures appeared in front of
them. Jasmine charged, shrieking and whirling her captured staff
over her head. Two of the new attackers jumped out of her way. Then
a bola whirled out of the shadows and wrapped itself around
Aladdin's knees.
An eager attacker advanced on Aladdin, only to be repelled
backwards by a kick to the jaw as Aladdin turned his fall into a
forward handspring. A warier attacker, coming up from behind, used
his bola to trap Aladdin's arms.
Aladdin lost his breath as he hit the ground hard. Seconds
later, the attackers swarmed over him, preventing him from moving or
even breathing. Jasmine whirled to face her attackers, keeping them
at bay with short rushes and feints with her staff. She could see
Aladdin turning blue, and she frantically tried to think of a way to
reach him before he suffocated.
"Surrender, Your Highness," a young man stepped forward to
address Jasmine. He was dressed in black silk and blackened steel
armor and had an aura of leadership about him.
"You had better back off," Jasmine warned. "My father..."
"Will not dare make a move against us while we have you as..."
the leader paused ominously. "A hostage." He waved his men off.
"Come now, Princess, you must realize you are trapped. You might be
able to escape, but your fiance..."
He gestured and Jasmine looked in time to see Aladdin's captors
move away from him. One of them tossed a small glass globe which
burst into a puff of greyish smoke when it hit the ground. Aladdin
could not avoid the smoke as he gasped for air and he soon went
limp.
Jasmine's eyes snapped back to the leader. "You monster!" she
snarled and raised her staff.
"He's not dead, Your Highness, I assure you," it was the
leader's words not than his raised hand that forestalled Jasmine's
charge. "But my orders were to bring you BOTH back alive. If I can't
do that, then I will kill him." He plucked a glass globe from a
pouch in his belt. "I promise you, none of my men will touch you.
But I have no more time, surrender or chose a new fiance."
Jasmine sighed and dropped her staff. The leader tossed the
globe at her feet. There was a faint pop, then a sickly odor...
Jasmine woke up in what was obviously someone's seraglio. Silk
covered furnishings, velvet covered walls... bar covered windows.
She was still dressed in the lavender velvet gown she had been
wearing when she was captured. As far as she could tell, no one had
done anything to her while she had been drugged. She started to sit
up, then had to lay down again as a wave of dizziness hit her.
Now that she had time to think, she wondered who had kidnapped
her. She also wondered where she was, where Aladdin was, how Aladdin
was, how she had gotten here. She also wondered how the kidnappers
had gotten into and out of Getsastan. Then she remembered a group of
them appearing in front of her, so obviously they used magic. She
hoped Genie would be able to find them. She now wondered where the
lamp was. Aladdin had been carrying it, she was sure. If only he'd
been able to reach it!
When the dizziness passed, she sat up again cautiously, but the
dizziness did not return. She slowly got to her feet, but there were
no more bouts of dizziness. Apparently the side effects of the drug
passed quickly.
She looked around and frowned. She was used to palace luxury,
but this was too much. Fountains sprayed perfume into the air, as
caged birds warbled in jeweled encrusted gold cages. There were rugs
piles on rugs, pillows piled on pillows and everything that wasn't
covered in fabric was covered in gold and jewels.
She heard the rustle of a beaded curtain behind her. So, you
are awake, my wife," a clipped baritone addressed her.
Jasmine whirled, fairly spitting fire as she confronted her
captor. "I will NEVER be YOUR wife!" She paused when she recognized
her captor. "Sultan Saddam Kadafi," she added grimly.
She remembered him clearly. He was one of her rejected suitors.
At first glance, he would not have been a bad choice, in spite of
the difference in their ages. He was tall and handsome, with a
short, well groomed beard and hair that was still more black than
grey. More importantly, as far as the suitor business was concerned,
his kingdom was prosperous, the taxes were said to be reasonable
and, as far as Jasmine and her father knew, his people loved him.
The problem had been in his attitude. At first, he had sent an
envoy to win her from her father. For once, the Sultan had been in
complete agreement with his daughter. Courting by proxy was not
acceptable. He sent a message to Sultan Saddam Kadafi to come and
ask for Jasmine's hand in person.
So Saddam had come. He spoke to Jasmine's father at length,
explaining the political, military and financial advantages of
joining their two kingdoms. Jasmine's father had been aware of all
this. Saddam had NOT talked of love, respect or friendship. He had
not asked to meet Jasmine. In fact, at no point in his negotiations
did Saddam Kadafi actually mention Jasmine.
"If you want to propose an political alliance," her father had
said. "Then I am all ears. But if you want to marry my daughter,
then give me a reason to believe you will love her."
Saddam had asked. "What does that have to do with anything?"
Jasmine hadn't seen her father lose his temper very often, and
certainly not to the extent he had at that time. Her father thrown
Saddam and his retinue out of Agrabah. It had been the talk of the
Seven Deserts for months after that. Especially as Saddam Kadafi had
NOT started a war, as many thought inevitable.
Which explained a lot about the kidnapping, Jasmine thought.
Especially why Saddam thought he could get away with it. She glared
at him as she stated her refusal to marry him.
Saddam merely looked at her with the same flat gaze as he'd
given her father when he'd asked why he should love his wife. "You
have no choice in the matter," he told her in cool tones. "I have
decided that marrying you will benefit me."
"I will never consent to marry you, and you can't force me,"
Jasmine said defiantly.
"But I can," he informed her somberly. "I have Aladdin. If you
don't marry me, I will have him executed."
Jasmine felt a tightness in her chest and sternly schooled
herself to stay calm. "You will kill him anyway," she said angrily.
Saddam shook his head. "No. I do not waste lives unnecessarily.
Why do you suppose I did not declare war after your father's
insulting actions?"
When Jasmine merely scowled at him, he continued. "Your fiance
is resourceful. I would never waste such a valuable resource.
Especially when I can turn it to my advantage."
"And how would you plan to do that?" Jasmine asked acidly.
"Aladdin loves you above everything else. His doglike devotion
to you will even extend to your children. My son by you will need a
bodyguard and Aladdin will die before letting any harm come to your
child. And YOU know he is far too resourceful to be killed easily."
With an effort, Jasmine kept from leaping, doglike, at Saddam's
throat. And she'd thought her FATHER had been obdurate in trying to
arrange her future! "Why should I believe anything you say?" she
challenged him.
Saddam merely walked to the door and knocked. It was opened
from outside by a tall, muscular guard with a stony expression.
Saddam gestured for Jasmine to precede him. He guided her down
several elaborately decorated corridors and stopped at a juncture.
"To your left, Princess Jasmine," Saddam instructed.
Jasmine walked through an archway that lead into a small room.
The room was surprising in that it was plain blue tile with no
ornamentation at all. In the center of the room was a well.
Obviously the builder of the palace had intended that they never run
out of water.
There were several muscular black soldiers standing in a line
next to the well. Standing apart from the were two Arabic men, only
a few years older than Jasmine. One was the leader of the
kidnappers, both bore a definite resemblance to Saddam. Jasmine was
less than surprised when Saddam introduced them.
"My sons by my first wife," he said, gesturing. "You've met
Ghazi, the sorcerer. (Which explained how the attackers had arrived
in Getsastan, and how they had been brought here, Jasmine thought.
She did wonder why Ghazi hadn't just kidnapped them magically.)
"Ghalib, his twin, does not have magical talents, but he is useful
to me, none the less."
Jasmine could have sworn she saw a flicker of annoyance on
Ghalib's face, but she could not be sure. Then she noticed the rope
the men were holding. Jasmine felt her chest tighten again when her
gaze traced the rope into the well. Under the circumstances, she did
not need to have someone draw her a picture.
"Aladdin!" she cried, running to the well.
Ghazi gestured at the burly soldiers and they hauled back on
the rope, grinning as they did so. Aladdin could not have been under
water for very long, he came up even with the curb of the well
sputtering and coughing out words that well brought up princesses
shouldn't know about. He stopped abruptly and actually blushed when
he saw her. "Jasmine!" he gasped. "Are you all right?"
"So far," she said. "But I'll be a lot happier with you on dry
land." She reached over and grabbed Aladdin's arm and tried to pull
him over the curb. They had taken most of his clothing, leaving him
clad only in his white 'Prince Ali' style trousers. His arm was
slippery and Jasmine couldn't get a grip on him.
"Don't bother, there's a weight tied to my legs," Aladdin
informed her. He shrugged and held his bound hands out to Jasmine.
She smoothed his sodden bangs out of his eyes and touched his
hands. "I'm sorry," she said. "I never thought Saddam would resort
to something crazy like this."
"You know this creep?" Aladdin asked. His glare was ruined by a
coughing fit.
Saddam raised an eyebrow. "I am Saddam Kadafi, Sultan of
Nasayastan, Conqueror of the Troglodytes and Lord of Five of the
Seven Gems of Domination. And I will soon be YOUR master."
Aladdin made a rude noise. "MY master? NEVER!"
Saddam gestured. Ghazi plucked a wand from his flowing sleeve
and pointed it at Aladdin. A sickly yellow light encircled the
former street rat and lifted him over the rim of the well. Aladdin's
face twisted in pain, but he made no sound. Saddam nodded and Ghazi
let Aladdin fall. A nod at the solders and they released the rope,
allowing Aladdin to fall with a splash.
They pulled him out immediately. He was coughing, but not
swearing, and his head drooped. Saddam grabbed him by the hair and
forced his head up. "You will serve me. Your princess will be my
fourth wife. How well she is treated will depend on your future
behavior. Do you understand me?"
Aladdin met his gaze defiantly for a moment, then dropped his
eyes in apparent defeat. "Yes," he muttered.
"Yes, what?" Saddam prompted, twisting Aladdin's hair.
"Yes, YOUR HIGHNESS," Aladdin said grimly.
Saddam snorted, possibly with amusement. "That will do for
now." He looked at Jasmine. "Now, Princess, you have the decision as
to our next actions. Marry me, and Ghalib will cut the rope that
binds the weight to Aladdin's feet." Ghalib pulled his scimitar from
his belt. Saddam continued. "Refuse, and he cut Aladdin's throat."
Jasmine looked at Aladdin, who shook his head at her. "Don't do
it, Jasmine," he said. "Think of Agrabah."
"Agrabah has nothing to fear from me. I am a good ruler," said
Saddam. "Princess, you are out of time." He spoke matter of factly,
as if he knew what decision Jasmine was going to make. He was right,
of course, Jasmine could not stand by and let them kill Aladdin.
"You win."
Saddam nodded at the soldiers and they pulled Aladdin over the
edge of the well. Ghalib sliced the roped binding the stone to
Aladdin's feet, but he left Aladdin's hands and feet bound.
"Come," Saddam said. "I have the ceremony chamber ready for our
ceremony." He actually smiled when he added. "I had it appropriately
furnished." For the first time, Jasmine was actually afraid.
Saddam's smile was far worse than most men's scowls.
Aladdin had trouble walking, the circulation in his legs had
been cut off for too long. At a curt order from his father, Ghalib
cut Aladdin's hobbles. Ghalib touched the side of Aladdin's throat
with his scimitar. Aladdin shot him a sideways look. Ghalib gave him
a tight grin.
They made better time after that, obviously Saddam was in a
hurry, for all that he appeared calm and collected. Jasmine knew
why. Once her father and Sultan al Dente found out where they were
being held, fur would fly. Saddam obviously was counting on the
Sultan of Agrabah not attacking his son in law.
The chamber they came to was far more elaborate than the well
chamber. It had an ornately carved ceiling, complete with a fancy
chandelier. The floor was an elaborate mosaic, there were dozens of
carved tables scattered around. There were candles and lanterns and
lamps of all descriptions sitting on the tables, in niches in the
wall, hanging from the ceiling. The room was almost too bright.
Aladdin felt sick. If he had kept the lamp in his sash, he'd
have been able to reach it before he'd been pinned and Jasmine
wouldn't be in this situation. He sighed, carrying the lamp in the
cloak's pocket had been MUCH more comfortable and he hadn't been
expecting an attack. He should have known better. Unfortunately,
Saddam apparently knew what the lamp was. It had been gone when he
woke up. His only hope was that Saddam was the gloating type and
that his comment about the chamber being 'appropriately' furnished
meant the lamp was here, somewhere.
Aladdin looked around the room and mentally crossed his
fingers. It would be a good place to hide the lamp, he thought,
amidst a hundred others. Especially if the person doing the hiding
didn't want others to know the lamp was anything special.
Saddam looked at his captives smugly. He knew there was a risk
in letting them come so close to the Genie's lamp, but he dared not
leave the lamp unwatched for long. Besides, he doubted they could
find the lamp in all the clutter. He could only spot it because he
knew where he had put it.
"Bring out the marriage contract," Saddam instructed Ghazi. The
sooner I have this woman bound to me, the sooner I can go about
incorporating Agrabah into my kingdom."
Jasmine felt certain that Genie's lamp was somewhere in the
room. It would be just like Saddam to mock them by hiding it among
all the other lamps. She looked at Aladdin and saw the same
certainty in his eyes. Aladdin's eyebrows quirked just a fraction.
'Okay, what do we do now?' seemed to be his question.
Create a diversion, was Jasmine's answer. She had no way of
conveying this to Aladdin directly, instead she turned on Saddam. "I
consented to marry you! I did not consent to give you the throne of
Agrabah!" she snapped. "I can't, my father is the ruler!"
Saddam looked at her. "He won't be long after..."
Jasmine howled, grabbed the handiest candlestick and flung
herself at Saddam. Saddam flung his hand up to grab the candlestick,
but Jasmine faked left, then struck under his guard and folded him
up. She hurled the short candlestick at a guard and grabbed a floor
length model and charged.
The guards, taken aback at being attacked by a girl, fell back
in confusion, warding off the blows, but not yet counterattacking.
Ghalib kept his scimitar at Aladdin's neck. Ghazi moved towards
Jasmine, gesturing. The sickly yellow light gathered around
Jasmine's makeshift quarterstaff and lifted it out of her hands.
Jasmine leaped at the floating candlestick, but instead of
trying to wrest it out of the air, she swung around it like a
gymnast, then used her momentum to fling herself at Ghazi and kick
him across the room. She turned her rebound into a backwards
somersault and knocked Saddam off his feet just as he was getting
his equilibrium back.
"Stop her," Saddam wheezed at Ghalib as he sprawled on the
elaborately tiled floor.
Ghalib looked at his father, then finally took his scimitar
from Aladdin's neck. He moved towards Jasmine, sword at the ready.
"Don't damage her!" Saddam bellowed.
Ghalib gave a small sigh, and sheathed his sword.
As soon as Ghalib moved away, Aladdin began his visual search
of the room. There were dozens of lamps the same style as Genie's,
but Aladdin was sure he'd be able to pick out the lamp.
"Hold this," Jasmine told Ghalib, and shoved the candlestick
into his arms.
Instinctively, Ghalib grabbed the candlestick and Jasmine
grabbed his scimitar. Now the guards pulled themselves together.
Having a beautiful woman poke at you with a long candlestick was
almost amusing, having the beautiful woman pull a sword at you was
business.
"Put those swords away!" bellowed Saddam. "And get out of here,
you're only getting in the way!"
The soldiers sheathed their swords and filed out. Ghalib
feinted with the candlestick. Jasmine parried and circled.
Everything in this room had one thing in common, Aladdin noted.
Cleanliness. There was no dust or tarnish on anything Saddam Kadafi
owned. However, the nature of Genie's lamp made it impossible to
shine WITHOUT alerting Genie. Aladdin left the lamp as it was
because Genie claimed polishing it tickled. This meant that the lamp
should be its usual battered, tarnished self. So all he had to do
was spot the area that didn't gleam as brightly as the rest.
Ghalib backed Jasmine up until she was directly in front of his
twin. She could sense Ghazi coming up behind her. So, when Ghalib
thrust at her, she dropped the scimitar, grabbed the candlestick,
and threw her weight into aiding Ghalib's advance. Off balance,
Ghalib staggered forward and crashed into his brother.
"Idiots!" snarled Saddam. He was back on his feet and behind
Jasmine. He lunged and grabbed her arm before she could dodge.
There! Among all the fine, shiny lamps was the battered and
tarnished lamp that Aladdin had brought out of the Cave of Wonders.
It was lit, which meant not only was Genie's decor being ruined, but
the lamp would be hot. He sighed, no time to worry about that.
Jasmine didn't try to pull away. Instead, she stepped into
Saddam's pull and kicked him in a place that well brought up
princesses shouldn't know about. Saddam went grey and folded up as
Aladdin lunged for the lamp.
The twins hesitated long enough for Aladdin to grab the lamp
and rub, once, before dropping it with a yelp of pain.
There was a thunderclap and a gush of wind. "AL! JAZZ! Where
have you been, we've been worried..." Genie's babble was cut off
short when he saw the scene. Jasmine was scooping up the scimitar
again, getting ready to defend herself. Aladdin was dropping to his
knees, cradling his burned hands against his chest. Saddam was
doubled up on the floor in agony and the twins were just recovering
enough to come after Aladdin to use him as a hostage again.
Genie also saw that his lamp was lit. "You ruined my comic book
collection, you creeps!" he bellowed. A wave of his hand and Saddam
and his sons were swept out of the room on a tidal wave.
"Get us out of here!" Jasmine shouted.
"Consider it..." Genie clapped his hands together and they were
back in Getsastan. "...done, Jazz."
Jasmine explained what happened as Sultan al Dente's personal
physician tended to Aladdin's minor burns. When they got home, they
had to explain the whole adventure to Jasmine's father.
"I never like him," said the shocked Sultan of Agrabah. "But I
never thought he'd go THAT far!"
"That's what Pasta al Dente said," Aladdin replied. "He thinks
there's more to this than Saddam Kadafi wanting a wife."
"I agree," the Sultan said thoughtfully. "You were just lucky
that you could spot the lamp."
Aladdin smiled at Genie. "Like I could ever mistake that lamp
for anything else?"
Genie gave him a noogie.
Back in Nasayastan, Saddam Kadafi had recovered his
equilibrium. "I obviously underestimated those two," he said
thoughtfully. "I shall have to be more careful next time."
"You will be going after Princess Jasmine again, Your
Highness?" Ghalib asked respectfully.
"Oh, yes," Saddam said. "Once I have the Seven Gems of
Domination, I will be able to rule the world. I only have five, I
need the other two."
"And Princess Jasmine is the key to obtaining the sixth gem,
Sire?" Ghalib asked curiously.
Saddam shook his head. "Princess Jasmine IS the sixth gem," he
said.
"Do we need Aladdin alive, Sire?" asked Ghalib. "Or is he the
seventh gem?"
Saddam shook his head. "No, the seventh gem isn't a person.
Yes, we need Aladdin alive." His gaze went from one son to the
other. "There must be a reason the Cave of Wonders chose HIM to
receive the Genie's lamp." He looked off into the distance. "I want
to know the reason. I WILL know the reason, once I have Aladdin,
Princess Jasmine, and the lamp in my power."
All's Fair by Jill Weber