"I could teleport us all to Agrabah… but where's the fun in that? Road trip!!" Genie said, excitedly.
"Everyone, it's time to head out and search for Prince Aladdin's heartthrob. Our destination… Agrabah!" Genie announced, staring at the entourage before him.
From his vantage point, Aladdin observed as the oasis shrank back to its normal size while they exited it and marched through the desert toward Agrabah.
***
A brown-skinned woman dressed in a turqouis two-piece royal outfit consisting of an off-the-shoulder crop top made of soft, flowing silk-like fabric, and loose, flowing harem pants sat on her bed, with a large tiger beside her.
She wept profusely, but the tiger rubbed its head against her in an attempt to calm her down.
This was none other than Princess Jasmine and her pet tiger, Rajah.
"It's all my fault. How could I let such a thing happen to him?" Jasmine said, her voice choked with tears.
Powerless.
That was all she had ever known, despite being born the Princess of Agrabah, one of the most prosperous kingdoms in the entire Seven Deserts.
Even after speaking with her father and confronting Jafar together, she still felt terrible that, despite her status, she hadn't been able to stop Jafar from beheading him. And the worst part was that this was the first man who had ever made her heart race, yet she had been unable to even learn his name.
"Jafar! I'll promise, I'll deal with you," Jasmine screamed into her pillow, gritting her teeth in anger.
She had always sensed that there was something wrong with that man. After the warning she had received from that unknown man who was now dead, she was certain that her instincts were correct.
Once she became queen, she would ensure that he was also beheaded.
"But it would be hard to do so because Father still trusts him and treats him like a capable adviser." She couldn't understand why her father continued to place such faith in a man like Jafar despite his obvious shortcomings.
Rajah growled softly in an attempt to soothe her emotions. But the more he tried, the more it seemed as though he was increasing her turmoil. Eventually, he stopped growling and simply stayed beside her, letting her know he was there.
"What's that? Is that music?" Jasmine said, startled by the sudden noise.
She wiped her eyes, stood up from her bed, and walked to her balcony to see what was happening.
"What's happening in the city? Is there a parade going on that I'm not aware of?" Jasmine asked, her voice filled with surprise and uncertainty.
She saw an advancing parade in the distance, with all the citizens of Agrabah coming out to watch it.
Suddenly, a look of understanding appeared on her face as she realised it was probably another prince who had come seeking her hand in marriage.
"Hmph! Let him come. I'll just have Rajah deal with him," Jasmine said irritably, gently petting her tiger as she turned around and returned to her room.
"You will, won't you, my dear Rajah?"
Rajah leaned into her touch, with a soft growl escaping his throat.
**
Meanwhile, in the throne room…
"Jafar, come! You must see this!" the Sultan called out as he looked at the parade occurring in the distance.
He had been in the middle of a meeting with Jafar about a law he had discovered that would help solve Jasmine's marriage predicament. But when he heard the sudden commotion outside, he quickly rushed out to see what was happening.
He soon realised that the singer leading the music must specialise in magic for his voice and instruments to be heard throughout the entire kingdom, even reaching the palace.
Upon seeing the grand parade, the Sultan quickly concluded that it must be another royal suitor who had come to ask for Jasmine's hand in marriage. That was the only explanation he could think of for such a grand and sudden display.
As such, he immediately called out to Jafar, his most trusted adviser, to come and observe the event with him.
Jafar wore a mildly annoyed expression as he stepped onto the balcony. He observed the parade in the distance with a frown, quickly piecing together what was happening.
Just moments ago, he had almost succeeded in charming the Sultan into believing a law he had devised, an idea originally suggested by Iago, that would allow him to marry Jasmine, ascend to the position of Sultan, and finally take control of the Kingdom of Agrabah.
However, his plan had been interrupted by the sudden arrival of another prince seeking the Princess's hand in marriage.
He was already barely holding back his anger because the riff-rat he had sent to retrieve the lamp had perished along with it in the Cave of Wonders. For a moment, he almost flared up in rage, but he swiftly restrained himself, hoping that Jasmine would most likely reject this prince's proposal as well.
He simply needed to observe the entire charade and bide his time until the prince eventually left. He glanced at Iago, who was dancing enthusiastically to the music of the parade.
Iago quickly stopped dancing when he sensed Jafar glaring at him.
"Hmph!" Jafar muttered, returning his stern gaze to the parade.
**
On the streets of Agrabah, everyone poured out of their homes after hearing the loud music and the sounds of instruments echoing through the city as the parade made its way through the city gates.
[ Prince Ali, fabulous he, Ali Ababwa
Genuflect, show some respect.
Down on one knee.
Now try your best to stay calm.
Brush up on your Sunday salaam.
Then come meet his spectacular coterie.
Prince Ali, mighty is he, Ali Ababwa.]
Aladdin sat on the back of his elephant in his howdah as he subtly bobbed his head to the rhythm of the music.
Abu had awakened and was now lying comfortably in his own small howdah, being fed freshly peeled bananas that Genie had magically grown from the ground by a group of servants.
The fun part of all this was that Genie appeared even more lively than in the movie, performing even more exaggerated feats of magic. However, the tone and rhythm of the music remained the same.
Aladdin eagerly played along with his role.
As they approached the palace gates and the long staircase leading upward, the soldiers stationed there had already stepped aside and were dancing at the edges of the gate.
Some of Aladdin's entourage remained outside, while Aladdin and the others, led by Genie, burst through the palace gates.
The parade continued inside the Sultan's palace until Genie sent the Sultan flying playfully back onto his throne. As Genie hid himself inside Aladdin's headpiece, Aladdin took that as his cue and stepped onto the Magic Carpet, which carried him smoothly down toward the Sultan.
Then Aladdin bowed.
At that moment, Jafar had already chased everyone out of the palace and slammed the doors shut behind him.
"Splendid! Absolutely marvellous!" the Sultan said, clapping his hands joyfully at the wonderful fanfare that had just unfolded before him.
He watched Aladdin riding the flying Magic Carpet with intense fascination.
"Your Majesty, I've journeyed from the farthest lands of the Seven Deserts to seek your daughter's hand," Aladdin said with a confident smile as he stepped down from the flying carpet.
"Prince Ali Ababwa! Of course! I'm delighted to meet you," the Sultan said as he stood up from his throne and hurried over to Aladdin to shake his hand.
"This is my royal vizier, Jafar. He's delighted too," the Sultan added, pointing toward Jafar, who had arrived beside them.
Aladdin nodded, glancing at Jafar, who was observing him intently with hidden fury in his gaze. Although this was Aladdin's first time seeing Jafar's true appearance in real life, he had to admit that he looked just as menacing and sinister as he had in the movie.
He didn't seem like someone with any redeeming qualities.
Jafar tried to force a smile. "Ecstatic. I'm afraid, Prince Abooboo—"
"Ababwa. I would be pleased if you could pronounce my name correctly, Royal Vizier," Aladdin replied, narrowing his eyes at Jafar.
He was now the prince of a formidable empire, even more powerful than the Kingdom of Agrabah, and he had decided to act like one. Unlike the former Aladdin, he didn't possess low self-esteem. If he wanted to, he could capture Jafar right here and now.
But doing so would stir up political tension, which he found too problematic to handle, and he lacked any justifiable reason for such actions; after all, this was his first encounter with Jafar as Prince Aladdin.
And undermining the Sultan's authority could potentially send the wrong message to Jasmine, who was likely hiding somewhere nearby and observing their conversation. He had no choice but to stick to the script and win Jasmine first before dealing with Jafar.
He had already told Genie to keep an eye on Jafar, using the excuse that he had heard troubling rumours about him back when he was still a street rat in the city.
**
I hadn't expected this fanfic to blow up because I had only written it to blow off some steam before returning to my original novel. I hadn't planned to update consistently, but I still managed to release five chapters back-to-back.
Nonetheless, thanks for reading.
MMOORREE POWERSTONES!!