I have redone my previous story The Sacrifice. Since I've been on tumblr I found a Jasmine who is really interested in my ploy line, so here it is The Sacrifice re-edited:
The sands of time have shifted in various directions. Mozenrath had come so far in successfully usurping the throne of the Land of the Black Sand but was unsuccessful in many of his unobtainable goals; ruling the Seven Deserts. The one thing he was able to salvage was the remaining time of his life, the hour glass that controlled his every minute had been successfully halted and carefully destroyed without taking his own life. He had only wanted the gauntlet to provide him with enough power to defeat Destane, after his conquest it had not been enough. He had grown attached to it, it was stronger than his own natural abilities and as long as it did not infect his mind he could maintain its hold on him. The price he paid for, its great power was the rotting away of the flesh on his right hand. He had learned to tolerate the pain.
Through trials and tribulations he had crossed paths with the citizens of Agrabah and their royal family; Princess Jasmine, the Sultan and that derelict, halfwit who had stumbled into a position of power by playing hero backed by a Genie. He had made numerous attempts to take the kingdom for his own but always his enemies, by sheer luck had thwarted his plans. Years had passed and he had gained land in smaller, city states bordering his kingdom, none of which had allied with the remaining six desert kingdoms for protection. When news reached him of Aladdin and Jasmine's wedding it had only fueled his rage. He would make sure to build his empire slowly while increasing his skills in the dark arts. There would be a day where they would meet again.
Aladdin and Jasmine barely had time to even celebrate their wedding; meanwhile the kingdom of Agrabah still took off on Holiday to celebrate the recent marriage of the princess. It took a total of six months for the marriage to become old news to its citizens and for their lives to proceed as normal. However it was only days after their wedding that Jasmine and Aladdin were slowly being ushered into the cyclic notions of soon-to-be rulers of Agrabah. Shortly after the ceremony was when her Father deemed it an appropriate time to tell her that he was growing increasingly weak and sickly. His doctors had told him he should be confined to bedrest. And so it was with a heavy and worrisome heart that Jasmine and Aladdin stood in for the city's Sultan. It took a few months for Aladdin to slip in the role so until then Jasmine took it upon herself to make most of the decisions.
It wasn't until there was a slight disturbance between Agrabah and a neighboring kingdom that Jasmine backed down to Aladdin's persistence to take care of the problem himself. The kingdom had captured a few of Agrabah's citizens stealing from a few of their treasuries and wished to execute them, which was the penalty for a crime of that caliber in their city. Jasmine however had hoped that she would be able to take the prisoners back to Agrabah and try them there. Aladdin agreed and insisted that he go to negotiate. It took him a good three days to coerce the stubborn princess in allowing him to go in her place and what's more, without her.
It had now been more than the five days they figured it would take and Jasmine grew increasingly anxious. Not only for the safety of her husband but for the palace that grew wary for the safety for their future Sultan.
Trespassers had recently been taken captive in the Land of the Black Sand. It was widely known that after Destane's demise the new king would not allow anyone through his land. Every merchant knew the only safe trade route involved the long way around the Land of the Black Sand. Every once in a while young, brave merchants would take the challenge and venture into the black sand kingdom only to be quartered by the lord's undead guardians. Mozenrath grew tired of the disobedience and vowed to personally handle the latest intruders. He had them shackled and forced to walk the long distance from the outermost point where they were captured to his citadel. Exhausted the men collapsed before the young lord. He glared down upon them is disgust. "I have needed a new set of undead guards!" The men began to plead for their lives. "Why must you insolent fools keep attempting to cross my lands?" The men explained that merchants from Agrabah were being held hostage by a neighboring kingdom as repayment for those who had broken into their treasuries. They explained that the current reigning sovereign himself, Aladdin had gone to rectify the situation. That name made Mozenrath cringe. He needn't hear more, gathering his energy he took the men's lives by causing their hearts to stop. It was not his duty to protect Agrabah or its citizens from some neighboring kingdom's political agenda.
asmine spent most of her free nights and time that she had free from political notions to pace the length of her room in pure worry. It had been weeks since Aladdin's departure and she cursed herself for allowing him to go alone. He had wanted to prove his worthiness for the position of Sultan. She had told him that he didn't have to prove anything to the citizens for they would accept him just for his heroic qualities, they wouldn't have to know that behind the scenes she handled all the political aspects. He told her he wanted to prove it to her and left. Rajah watched his master pace her bedroom in distress and whined.
Jasmine had sent men a few days ago after Aladdin and she hadn't even heard word from them. She sent a letter to the reigning Sultan of that kingdom and went about her duties in an anxious frenzy. Soon her citizens would grow as restless as she and it would be after that that her good standing with her people could be lost. At this point it was no longer her selfish notion of worried loss of her beloved one that kept her in this frantic state. Her disheveled appearance unsettled her servants and advisers. She now had dark circles under her eyes that would put insomniacs to shame. All she could do was await the return letter and hope the best for Aladdin, herself and her kingdom.
