"If Princess Jasmine would allow me the honour of merely admiring her beauty, I would count myself happier than the birds that find refuge in an oasis after a long journey through the desert…"
Jasmine froze in disbelief upon hearing his words.
Her heart, which she had believed had grown cold once more, began racing furiously. She had never heard such beautiful words in her life, especially ones directed at her, and from someone she had never encountered before.
'Am I that beautiful?' Jasmine placed her hand on her cheek unconsciously.
However, she quickly snapped out of her daze and regained her composure with a light cough. As she listened to Jafar's words, her emotions turned to rage.
Without hesitation, she stepped out of the corner where she had been hiding and shouted, "ENOUGH!! I don't want to hear another word out of you, Jafar!"
Jafar unconsciously sealed his mouth shut, and all of them turned their attention to her in surprise, not expecting her to be secretly observing their conversation.
"How dare you stand there, deciding my own future?"
Aladdin sighed in relief that he had managed to avoid Jasmine's wrath. Hopefully, she would be open to discussing things with him in private.
"Jasmine, Jafar was only being protective. It just came out wrong," the Sultan said quickly.
"I don't want to hear it. He should be worried about protecting his neck, because when I become Queen, I'll make sure he has something to be protective of himself," Jasmine replied sharply.
"You, follow me!" She turned around and stormed away into the palace.
Aladdin quickly followed behind her, with Carpet flying after him, somehow sighing in relief and wiping off imaginary sweat beads from his edges with his tassels.
"I think that Jasmine is definitely going to get married this time around. I'm sure she won't be angry at you anymore after that, Jafar," the Sultan said.
He quickly hurried off to handle some of the kingdom's matters that he had set aside to welcome Prince Ababwa. As he walked away, he bobbed his head and shook his body excitedly, repeating the catchy music from the earlier parade.
Iago rolled his eyes and said, "For goodness sake, is this guy blind? Doesn't he see that Jasmine truly wants to chop off our heads and feed them to the wolves?"
"I think it's time we say goodbye to Prince Abooboo," Jafar said, his expression hardening.
Unbeknownst to them, a small dragonfly hovered above them with a mix of surprise and shock on its face as it covered its mouth with its tiny hand.
"Al was right. These guys are evil. I need to deal with them before they do anything bad to Al. No, hold it right there, Genie… You heard Al. Investigate and report back whatever plans they have brewing," Genie said to himself.
A matte black suit appeared on his dragonfly body, along with a helmet, goggles, and earpieces over his head.
"Alright, bbaaadd guys… I got my eyes on you."
Genie followed closely behind them as they exited the throne room.
***
Jasmine led Aladdin to her garden.
Aladdin froze when he saw the large tiger lying quietly beside the fountain. Seeing Rajah in real life made him a little nervous, as he wasn't used to being around wild animals, but he quickly calmed down when he remembered that Rajah was completely under Jasmine's control.
Jasmine leaned against the edge of the fountain and crossed her arms and legs as she scrutinised Aladdin intently.
"So, what do I call you? Prince Ali Ababwa or…?"
"Prince Aladdin Ababwa. The rest is simply a nickname that I chose to go by," Aladdin replied with a slight bow.
Jasmine nodded. "What's that?" She asked, looking curiously at the flying magic carpet.
"This is Carpet. He's a flying magic carpet," Aladdin replied with a smile, gesturing for Carpet to come forward.
Carpet immediately arrived before her and shook her hand with his tassels.
"Oh my. He seems lovely," Jasmine replied, amazed by his intelligence.
"You remind me of someone that I met in the marketplace. Do I know you?" she asked, refocusing on Aladdin. Her tone and expression were filled with suspicion.
Now that she had a closer look at the prince before her, she couldn't help but notice a strange resemblance between him and that man.
Perhaps…
Instantly, a ray of hope appeared in Jasmine's expression.
Aladdin took a breath and exhaled.
This was the moment of truth.
As the Princess of Agrabah, there were only a few things that Jasmine hadn't seen, a few treasures she hadn't held, and a few luxuries she hadn't enjoyed. Yet among all of them, the one thing she had never truly tasted was freedom.
As long as he revealed the truth to Jasmine, he could win her heart as well as her hand in marriage.
"I'm surprised that you recognised me, Princess Jasmine," Aladdin responded, removing his turban.
Jasmine clasped her hand against her mouth. Although she had imagined it, she had merely held false hope. After all, how could a common thief transform into such a wealthy Prince overnight?
It was incomprehensible.
"How is this possible?" Jasmine's expression shifted into a mix of realisation, shock and surprise.
"It's a long story. I don't know where to start. But it's the very reason I came to the palace," Aladdin responded, scratching the back of his neck.
Jasmine ran toward Aladdin and threw herself at him.
Aladdin was surprised by her actions, but he didn't hesitate to spread his arms to hold her.
"Oh, Aladdin. I thought you were dead. Tell me everything. What did Jafar do to you? How did you escape? Is this your true identity? Tell me the truth and don't lie to me," Jasmine said, wrapping her arms around him.
"Let's go somewhere where we can talk without interruption," Aladdin said.
Noticing Aladdin's gesture, Carpet soared forward and hovered on the ground before them.
Aladdin stretched out his hand. "After you."
After a slight hesitation, Jasmine grasped Aladdin's hand. "Is it safe?"
"Sure. Do you trust me?" Aladdin asked.
Jasmine's expression shifted at his question.
'It's really him?'
Her expression softened. "Yes," she nodded with a smile.
Aladdin helped her sit on the Carpet before getting on it as well.
A loud growl sounded behind them.
"I'll be back soon, Rajah. I'm not going that far," Jasmine said, looking at Rajah, who was watching her questioningly.
"Sorry, but I don't have enough space for you, big guy," Aladdin chimed in.
Carpet swiftly soared into the sky at Aladdin's command.
Rajah roared. He didn't like this prince called Aladdin one bit, because he was making his princess go through so many emotions all at once, which wasn't good for her health. He tried to chase after them but quickly gave up as they flew over the walls of the garden and into the distance.
As Aladdin gazed at Jasmine, he was completely captivated by her beauty. Not just by the way she spoke, but by how she carried herself. Each of her movements carried a subtle rhythm that could only be described as flawless.
'As expected of a princess,' Aladdin thought.
Jasmine caught Aladdin staring at her and looked at him as well.
Seeing that he had been caught, Aladdin focused his attention forward.
Just as he was thinking about how to properly explain the situation to Jasmine, he felt a song burst forth from his soul.
Aladdin didn't hold it back. He had no reason to do so.
Aladdin parted his lips and sang.
[I can show you the world
Shining, shimmering, splendid
So tell me, Princess, where did you last let your heart decide?]
Carpet understood the assignment. Even if he had been trapped for a millennium, he still knew how to woo a lady. He flew into a town, picked a flower, and handed it over to Aladdin.
Aladdin gave the flower to Jasmine.
Jasmine smiled, admiring the flower.
[A whole new world!
A new fantastic point of view
No one to tell us no
Or where to go
Or say we're only dreaming]
Jasmine looked back as Agrabah vanished into the distance while they soared in and out of the clouds.
[A whole new world
A dazzling place I never knew
But when I'm way up here
It's crystal clear
That's why I'm in a whole new world with you.
To Aladdin's surprise, Jasmine's singing matched his rhythm, just as he had watched in the movie.
[A whole new world]
[Don't you dare close your eyes]
[A hundred thousand things to see]
[Hold your breath—it gets better!]
[I'm like a shooting star
I've come so far
I can't go back to where I used to be!]
As they sang, they soared through the Nile and the Great Pyramids. They flew through Greece, where Aladdin deftly grabbed an apple from a tree and rolled it down his arm toward Jasmine.
Jasmine caught the apple in stunned silence. At the same time, a look of recognition appeared in her eyes as she realised that the man in front of her was truly the same one she had thought had died. She began looking forward to hearing how he had transformed into a prince.
What truly surprised her was how she sang from her heart, yet Aladdin managed to respond with the same energy. It was as though they were perfectly in sync with each other.
[I'll chase them anywhere
There's time to spare
Let me share this whole new world with you.]
[A whole new world
That's where we'll be]
[A thrilling chase]
[A wondrous place]
[For you and me!]
As the melodies came to an end, they arrived in China.
Carpet brought them down to the roof of one of the tallest buildings.
Aladdin and Jasmine stepped off Carpet and sat on the rooftop to watch the dazzling fireworks of the Chinese New Year celebration.
"So, are you going to tell me your true identity? Or how you became Prince Aladdin?" Jasmine asked, leaning her head against his shoulder as she stared at him with a tranquil yet playful gaze.
//////
You should be glad I didn't write down the whole verse.
Of course, I'm enjoying this. Why do you think that I've always wanted a fanfic like this?
MMOORREE POWERSTONES!