A Suitable Gift

By Jill Weber

Part 2 of 3

(Note, this happened before "Destiny on Fire." In case you wonder about Rasoul saying he'd never ridden on Carpet before.)

Disney characters copyrighted by the Walt Disney Corp. and used without permission. The villains are mine and not to be confused with any other person, living, dead or fictional.

Aladdin changed quickly and dutifully displayed how well the new suit fit. (Well, it was a little large, but that just gave the Palace Taylor a chance to show off his skills.) After the suit was fitted properly, it was time to eat again.

The Sultan dutifully admired the suit, though privately he thought the Palace Taylor could have come up with something nicer. The discussion turned from suits to shopping, which turned to a spirited discussion of trade possibilities between Wasim's homeland and Agrabah.

This discussion lasted well into the night and only broke up when the Sultan pleaded his age and went off to bed. Jasmine excused herself as well, so the younger men also went to their assigned rooms.

Jasmine felt guilty about sleeping in the diamond necklace, but she couldn't resist. It was so beautiful that she wanted it to be the first thing she saw in the morning. But when she woke up, it was gone.

"You're sure you had it on last night?" Rasoul, the Captain of the Palace Guards asked. Jasmine folded her arms and gave him such a LOOK.

"Eh, of course," said the oversized, over muscled guard, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment, much as Aladdin had done the previous day. "And you searched your entire room."

Jasmine nodded.

Rasoul's right hand man, Fazal, eyed the breakfast on the Sultan's table wistfully. "Maybe it's stuck in your hair?" he asked, thinking if he figured out where the bauble was, he might get something to eat!

"I thought of that," Jasmine said. "So I combed my hair out... twice."

"Did you look in the Street Rat's room?" Rasoul asked snidely.

Jasmine's eyes widened and she straightened up and gave Rasoul a 'Off With His Head' glare. (And when a princess gets THAT look in her eye, it's time to start worrying.)

"Now, Rasoul!" the Sultan scolded, pushing away from table. "I know you don't like Aladdin, but there is no need to blame him without cause!"

"Without cause!" Rasoul exclaimed. "He's a thief!"

"He's reformed!" protested Jasmine.

"But, Princess, only a few people knew you had the necklace, and the only way into your room is through the corridors, past the guards... or through the window. Not many people can sneak into a window at the top of a tower! Besides, if he isn't guilty, why hasn't he come down to breakfast yet? He has almost as big an appetite as Fazal here."

"Ra-soul," the Sultan said, acquiring the same 'Off With His Head' glare that Jasmine was wearing. (When a sultan gets THAT look in his eye, it's time do more than worry, it's time to change your tune... at least, within the Sultan's hearing.)

"Well, you know what that monkey of his is like," Rasoul said, making placating gestures. "And that parrot! Perhaps one of them took the gem and Aladdin is trying to figure out how to return it without getting them into trouble. Perhaps I should ask... politely... for his help, then if one of his pets did take it, he can give it back and we'll all pretend it didn't happen."

"What if neither Abu nor Iago took it?" Jasmine asked.

Rasoul shrugged. "Then perhaps his genie could help us find a flying thief."

Rasoul and Fazal went to Aladdin's room to 'ask politely'. They burst into the guest room and found Aladdin still in bed. So they turned the room upside down, searching his clothes, the furniture and even tore through the bed with Aladdin still in it. They ignored the screeching monkey and the cursing parrot and the fluttering Magic Carpet. But they didn't find the diamond.

"He could have flown it somewhere last night," complained Fazal. "We're just wasting our time." He didn't add 'when we could be eating', that went without saying as far as he was concerned.

"So, boy, what do you have to say for yourself?" Rasoul demanded.

Aladdin didn't answer and Rasoul finally looked at him. The Street Rat was sprawled limply across the ravaged bed like a discarded toy. Nobody could have slept through that search! Nobody could have even *pretended* to sleep through that search! It finally dawned on them that something was amiss.

"There's something strange going on," Rasoul said.

"What gave you your first clue, Rocket Scientist?" barked Iago. "The fact that not even you imbeciles could wake the kid up? Or the fact we've been trying to tell you that something's wrong since you got here!? Get the royal physician! Move it!"

Rasoul scowled. "I have to recover the Princess' diamond first. If either of you have it, turn it over now and I'll forget where I found it."

The 'if' was a concession that he may have been out of line.

"DIAMOND!!" squalled Iago at the top of his not inconsiderable lungs. "The kid is DYING and you're worried about a stupid DIAMOND?"

"Dying?" Jasmine cried from behind the guards. "What... get out of my way!" she demanded, plowing into the room. Normally she did not throw her weight around with the guards, but right now she was glad that she had that weight to throw around.

"Out! Both of you! Rasoul, summon the royal physician!"

Rasoul, who had a feeling he was treading between the bread line and the royal executioner, decided that this was not the time to argue. He waved Fazal back to his regular duties and rushed off to fetch the royal physician.

A few minutes later, he heard a 'ffwwwiiishing' sound and saw the Magic Carpet pace him. Carpet gestured him to get on with a clenched tassel. Rasoul wondered why Carpet wanted him to come... then realized the voiceless Carpet couldn't explain to the doctor what was wrong.

Rasoul had never ridden on the Magic Carpet before, but this was no time to be squeamish. He jumped on and Carpet hustled him to the royal physician's.

"Aladdin? Aladdin!? Wake up!" Jasmine sobbed, shaking Aladdin by the shoulders.

Aladdin made no response, not even a groan.

"Easy dear, you may injure him," the Sultan soothed. "Lay him down and let's get a look at him."

Aladdin did not look asleep, though he didn't look dead, either. When the breathless physician arrived on Carpet a few minutes later, Dr. Bishir was able to eliminate some possibilities. "Skin clammy. Breathing steady, but shallow. Pulse slow and steady. Pupils contracting evenly. He doesn't appear to be poisoned, or to have a concussion. It almost looks like internal bleeding, but not quite."

Jasmine backed up a few steps and sat down on Carpet, who was hovering a few feet above the ground. "Oh, Carpet, what are we going to do?"

Carpet rapped on the back of her hand with a clenched tassel and floated her over to the couch where Aladdin's new suit was lying. (Aladdin was sleeping in his old clothes.)

"What do you mean, Carpet ?" Jasmine said.

Abu scrambled over her lap and yanked the Genie's lamp from under the tunic.

"Oh, of course!" Jasmine said, snatching the lamp and rubbing it vigorously.

There was a puff of air, accompanied by a blare of raucous music and a shower of confetti. "Hey, you interrupted Dondi's party!" Genie boomed in annoyance. "Somebody had better be dying..."

Then Genie saw the too limp form on the wrecked bed. He swooped over and gathered Aladdin into his arms "Al! Little Buddy! I didn't mean it! Speak to me!"

A few hectic moments later, all was explained. Genie augmented Dr. Bishir's findings with a bunch of beeping, whirring, blinking gadgets Jasmine could not make heads nor tails of.

"No head trauma, no internal bleeding, no poison, no allergic reactions..." was the comprehensible part of Genie's report.

"Someone must have cast an evil spell on him," decided the physician.

"You're right," Genie said, soberly for once. He one-finger zapped the bed back into order, then laid Aladdin down tenderly on the ultra clean, April fresh linen. "But who? And how?"

The physician straightened up. "I'm going to look in my library to see if there are any useful spells." He looked at the Genie apologetically. "I know you probably have more knowledge on curses than my entire library, but I can't just sit around and do nothing."

He scurried off before Carpet could offer him another ride. One lost meal was enough, thank you very much.

The Sultan wrung his hands. "Jasmine, my dear," he said.

Jasmine nodded. "I know, you have to run the kingdom," she said, laying a hand on his arm. "That's all right, I understand. I'll let you know if there's any change... or any way you can help."

"Um, yes," the Sultan patted his daughter's hand and looked at Genie with tearful eyes. "Do you suppose it would help if I offered a reward for information regarding the curse? Or perhaps I should offer a reward for anybody who can cure Aladdin?"

"It couldn't hurt," Genie said. "I think I can take care of it, but if I can't, we'd better start investigating other avenues right away."

"Yes, very well, I'll post the rewards as soon as possible. And I'll be back as soon as I've dealt with Prince Wazzoo's er, Prince Wasim's trade delegation." He hurried off, determined to finish his foolish royal duties and get back to his important job... being his daughter's father... as quickly as possible.

Genie took his head off and began to pace while scratching his top knot the way he'd pet a cat.

"I think I'll start with Jafar's library." He said, screwing his head back on tightly. "That snake knew every curse ever uttered." He zapped himself into a hundred little genies (all wearing sweaters with patched elbows and bifocals) and dashed off to Jafar's hidden tower. (It was still known as Jafar's tower, because nobody wanted to go near the place.)

He came back within minutes shaking his heads. Then he poofed into one blue lug. "Sorry, I found too many sleeping curses, I don't know which cure to use. We need more information."

Genie turned to Abu and Iago. "So, what happened last night?"

"Nothing," Iago said. "We said good night to the Princess and Wazzoo, came to our room, cheated each other at Chinese checkers 'til bedtime. Then it was morning and Aladdin wouldn't wake up."

"I guess I'll have to do some detective work." Suddenly, the big blue lug was wearing deerstalker cap, an Inverness cape, and had a chocolate meershum pipe clenched in his mouth. "It could be a verbal curse... but that would leave a trace."

A large magnifying glass appeared in his hand and he peered about as if he'd lost something. Then he took the pipe from his mouth. "Nope, no curse traces. So, did you smell anything unusual last night?" he asked Abu and Iago.

Abu and Iago shook their heads.

Genie cupped his chin in a third hand that appeared from his chest (so he wouldn't have to put down the pipe or the magnifying glass). "Figures, if it were some sort of scent, it would have gotten you two, too. What did Al eat? Drink? Anything unusual? Take any medicine? Chew on a pencil? Get bitten? Bite anybody? Prick his finger on a spindle?"

Abu shook his head again. Iago said: "He didn't put anything in his mouth the rest of us didn't eat."

Genie curled his smoke under him and scratched his head with a fourth hand that appeared from his back. "Hmm," he said, chewing on his pipestem, then blowing a large bubble that transformed into a question mark. "What else could curses be transmitted through... words, incense, drugs, gems..."

"Gems!" exclaimed Jasmine. "My diamond!"

Genie jerked around. "What diamond?" he demanded, waving both extra arms plus two new additions around.

"The one that Prince Wazzoo gave her," Iago explained. "He said he bought it in the market."

"Diamond could be it, they're notorious for carrying curses, take the Hope Diamond for example. No, wait, it hasn't been discovered yet, never mind, let's see this thing," Genie said, holding out a seventh hand that extended from his side.

"It's gone, it disappeared from my room last night," Jasmine said forlornly.

"I see, from a tower room," Genie said. He looked sternly at Iago and held out a eighth hand that appeared from the other side. "Come on, Mr. Sticky Feathers, let's have the gem."

"ME!" shrieked Iago. "Why am I always the main suspect! I'm the only shady character in Agrabah?"

"No," Jasmine said. "But you are the only shady character who knew about the diamond and who could have flown into my bedroom. Please, Iago, this is important."

"I'm tellin' you, I don't have it!" wailed Iago. "Don't you think I'd hand it over to you if I did? You think I want my friend... er... meal ticket... to DIE?!"

"Iago, who else knew about the diamond and could have flown into my room?" Jasmine asked, forcing herself to be calm and reasonable when she wanted to scream. "I doubt Carpet would have stolen..."

Carpet reached over her shoulder and dangled the missing diamond in front of her face.

"CARPET?!?!" exclaimed the other four, loud enough to wake the dead, but still not loud enough to get a response from Aladdin.

The Genie was so surprised that he poofed, making all his extra arms, and his Sherlock Holmes outfit disappear.

"Carpet, why...?" asked a hurt and bewildered Jasmine, reaching for the gem.

Carpet moved it out of reach just as Genie exclaimed "Don't touch that!"

Jasmine's eyes went wide as she connected Genie's information that gems could carry curses to the uncharacteristic behaviour of the Magic Carpet. "Is this what cursed Aladdin?" she asked.

"No," Genie said. "THAT is a Love Locket Number Nine!! A nasty little dickens with enough glamour on it to look like a gem, but it really looks like this." He poofed the magnifying glass back into existence and held it between Jasmine and the 'diamond'.

Jasmine recoiled from the arthropodous locket. "Ycchh! I was wearing THAT?" she yelped. "Why didn't it do something to me..." her eyes went wide and her hand went to her throat. "Or did it?"

Genie turned the magnifying glass on her. "Nope, you didn't have it on long enough. Good thing Carpet recognized it for what it was!"

"Yes, thank you, Carpet!" Jasmine said, bending over and kissing the rug.

Carpet did some 'aw, shucks,' gyrations and dusted the floor with one tassel.

"I don't believe it, if I'd'a done it, they'd all yell at me," Iago griped. "Bur let Carpet be the culprit, and everybody's making with the kissy face." Then he yelled: "Could we get back to the business at hand? Unless you want to dump the kid for the rug."

Jasmine blushed. "But if the diamond was a love spell, then what..."

Jasmine and Iago both whirled. Abu jumped onto the couch. "The SUIT!" they all exclaimed.

Genie swooped past them, to examine Aladdin's suit with the magnifying glass, then a microscope. "This is it. That thing's loaded with some sort of sleepy juice. Those runes on the hems are obviously a powerful sleep spell, one that's keyed to Aladdin so the juice won't affect anybody else. It's a good thing he didn't have it on for long!"

"Then he isn't dying?" whispered Jasmine tearfully. "You can break the curse, can't you, Genie?"

"Well, my powers aren't what they used to be, but I'll give it the old college try." The old college try didn't work, neither did the old university try, the old grad school try, or even the old trade school try.

"I'm sorry, Jazz, but mixing magics doesn't always work," gasped Genie between pants. "Our best bet is to find whoever cursed the suit and force him (or her) to cough up the anecdote, I mean, antidote."

"But who...? Never mind," Jasmine said, replacing her 'poor helpless princess' tears with the 'Off With His Head' glare that had so disturbed Rasoul. "I guess we all know who it HAS to be. Carpet, Abu, take care of Aladdin. I have to see a man about a rat."

"More like seeing a snake about a street rat," Iago muttered.

To Be Concluded!