Disclaimer: I don't own Aladdin or anything pertaining to the franchise.
Sadira clutched the soft fabric of the bench as she waited for the mystic to tell her what she already knew to be true. It was a back alley kind of practice, hidden in one of the darker corners of the marketplace. Her purpose there was more frowned upon than magic itself.
An old woman with hair so gray it appeared silver hobbled into the room. Her clothes were worn from frequent washing, but more refined than most. She smiled enigmatically, offering Sadira a cup of tea. She took it gladly, needing something to calm her nerves. "It is true," she said to the younger woman. "You are with child." Her eyes twinkled with a glint of mischief. "But you already knew that." Her connection to magic made her body sensitive to such changes.
"Yes," her voice was barely audible. Tears welled in her eyes, unable to fall. They were frozen with terror. The woman nodded, more intrigued than sympathetic.
"Then why did you come?"
Sadira sniffled. She raised the cup to her lips with shaking hands. "I…" she faltered. "I just wanted to hear it wasn't true."
The diviner made a noncommittal noise, shaking her head. "Firstborn sons fill mothers' hearts with unspeakable joy."
Sadira stopped floating in the abyss of self-pity and raised one of her brown eyebrows. "I-it's a boy?" she asked tentatively.
The woman squinted, as if making sure. Then she nodded. "He will grow strong in the ways of his father." The younger woman cringed – father. That was the part it petrified her to think about. "Is something wrong?"
Sadira looked like she was about to faint. She shook her head, cheeks flushing with shame. "Well, um…you see, the thing is…I'm not married…e-exactly." She didn't know why she was telling a complete stranger such personal information, but this was the only time she'd be able to talk about her situation before she had to do something about it.
The diviner smiled a wise old smile and wore the face of one who had seen nine hundred battles and a thousand victories. "Child, no married woman in Agrabah comes to a psychic for midwifery." Sadira rubbed her temples.
"Right," she said dryly. So the woman already thought she was a harlot. Well, she thought grimly, I better get used to that assumption.
She walked out into the streets feeling very much like a ghost. How was she going to tell him? She shook her head furiously. Never mind that. How was she going to tell them? Her friends didn't even know about their extended series of trysts. They despised him. The thought made her look down and cradle her still flat abdomen. Would they hate her baby too?
She walked through the sandy city, turning a number of corners until she got back to her place. Once inside, she shut her curtains to make sure no one was peeping in and grabbed a pouch of enchanted sand from under the makeshift bed. Carefully, she sprinkled some on the floor and a portal opened. She stepped through and appeared in the Land of the Black Sand.
She found Mozenrath in his study, where he almost always was. Shelves packed with magical texts lined the walls from ceiling to floor. The first time Sadira saw it she thought it may have been the greatest collection in the world – then again she didn't have much to compare it to. She took a moment to lean against the doorway and stare fondly at the mysterious sorcerer. He looked almost harmless hunched over a book like that; as much so as he could with that deadly gauntlet on his arm.
"You should really take that thing off when you're not using it," she said, finally making her presence known. It would probably save him a lot of energy.
"And you really should not lecture people who can kill you with minimal effort," he mocked her without bothering to look up, "Especially when you've just teleported into their domains completely unannounced."
Just then, Xerxes peeked out from a pile of parchment and flew toward the girl. "SADIRA!" he exclaimed, wriggling around in her arms. Sadira chuckled, feeling something other than anxiety for the first time in days.
"Why, hello Xerxes," she said pleasantly. She scratched the creature's belly fondly. "That's the warmest welcome I've ever gotten around here." She cut eyes at Mozenrath who was only half listening.
"Xerxes miss Sadira," the eel wailed. "Sadira gone too long!" he protested in his broken dialect. Sadira frowned, feeling a little guilty. She was probably the only source of kindness in the little guy's life.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I just had a few things I needed to attend to." And many more she'd have the displeasure of getting to later.
The strange pet gave a toothy smile. "Sadira no sorry for Xerxes. Master the one upset. He say he drag sand witch back from Agrabah soon if-"
"Xerxes!" Mozenrath threatened, flushing slightly. No tact – that little reptile. He would maim him later for this. Xerxes flinched and slithered out of the room, evading his punishment for the time being.
Sadira smirked, sitting on the edge of the table. She crossed her arms over her chest. "So," she challenged confidently, "You missed me." He scoffed.
"Hardly. Don't delude yourself Sadira. I have far too much planning to do to concern myself with your whereabouts." Instinctively she started running her hand through his mass of dark curls.
"I can tell," She absentmindedly twisted the gold ring around her third finger. "When was the last time you even slept?"
"With you?" he teased. "Significantly too long ago." With that he snapped his fingers and she fell into his lap, literally. She huffed in frustration.
"Would you stop transporting me without my permission? You know I hate that!" She sighed knowing that was the exact reason he did it. He pulled back the layers of her top and began to kiss her neck and collarbone. Her head tipped back as his lips caressed her cleavage and her toes curled with the sensation. They started kissing and her flesh began to heat up. After a few minutes she broke away. This was what got her into this mess in the first place.
"Not what I came here for," she murmured into the crook of his neck. He smirked, having almost forgotten how one track minded she could be.
"You can borrow whatever spell book you wanted when we're done."
She sighed, finally prying herself from his lap. "I'm just not in the mood." She crossed her arms.
"We can fix that," he retorted. "Just give me a minute."
"Moze!" she whined, exasperated. The wizard took a second to really look at her. She seemed tired, and her magical signature was a bit off – like something extra was there.
"What's gotten into you?" he wondered out loud. Unfortunately you, she thought bitterly.
"Nothing…I'm just tired."
He considered this a moment. "Well, I suppose slumming around Agrabah like a street mouse must be tiring. I don't see why you don't just leave that destitute wasteland behind and come live here."
She brushed the idea aside almost immediately. "My friends would get suspicious if I just disappeared without a trace," she said. "And besides, if you think Agrabah is so destitute, why do you want it so badly?"
He took her hand pulling her closer yet. "Because, my pet, it's there."
She had to laugh. The arrogance of his logic was strangely endearing. "Seriously," she said. "That's it? That's the whole reason you've been doing all this?" The things money and idle time did to people.
"What are you getting at?" he asked. He was unsure about this new belligerence in her.
"I'm just saying you're like the smartest person I know…"
"Go on," he said.
She rolled her eyes. "It's just, haven't you ever thought of doing something else? Something better, maybe."
He smirked, pulling out his map of the seven deserts. "Sadira, I intend on being the all powerful ruler of a large empire. What could be better than that?" Sadira traced her fingers over the map wanting nothing more than to reduce it all to sand. Her eyes filled with tears again but she wouldn't let them fall. Not this time.
"You know what, you're right." She knew now what she had to do. He would never change so she could never tell him about their son.
"Naturally," he boasted. "Now sit down and let me tell you my latest plan to conquer the seven deserts."
Instead Sadira walked over to one of the bookshelves and took out a volume on spells of concealing. "You know what, I'm gonna have to take a rain check on that one," she said, already conjuring her portal.
"Well, alright." He went to her and placed a kiss on her lips. His fingers traced lazy patterns onto her lower back. She sighed into it and two tears slid down her cheeks. Why did it have to be like this? "Are you crying? By Allah, what is wrong with you, woman?" She placed a finger on his lips, silent tears flowing in abundance now.
"I have to leave," she said. "I'm sorry." Then she stepped into the portal, literally and metaphorically slipping from his grasp in the process.
Sadira reappeared in her room, hoping to grieve in peace and solitude, but instead she found royal guards moving trunks of her stuff. "What the-" she started, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Razoul!" She exclaimed, stopping the head guard. "What is the meaning of this?" The burly man flinched. The girl always seemed to appear out of thin air. He despised witchcraft.
"Take it up with the princess, street mouse," he condescended. "We were ordered to move all your things to the palace."
"I don't suppose it would matter if I asked you to stop," she deadpanned.
Razoul chuckled and tossed one of her trunks down to a cart below. She scowled. "I see you're a smarter street mouse than I originally thought." And he was far stupider than she could even fathom.
"Sadira! There you are." The princess Jasmine and her husband Aladdin sat by the fountain enjoying a midday snack.
She gave a halfhearted wave. "Hey guys. Mind telling me why all my things are being relocated?"
Aladdin looked to his wife, surprised. "Jasmine, you didn't ask her first?"
The princess smiled sheepishly. "Sorry! I was just too excited?"
"About?" Sadira bit the inside of her cheek, trying not to get annoyed. She had a lot to worry about without this new intrusion. Jasmine stood and clasped hands with her friend.
"Well, as you know, my father plans to step down as Sultan soon." The princess was nearly bouncing off the walls. "And, Aladdin and I would like you to act as our magic grand vizier for the duration of our reign." Agrabah hadn't had one since the great Jafar fiasco. Sadira's heart nearly melted.
"W-wow. I'm honored. What would the job entail? I'm not sure I'm exactly qualified." At least to their knowledge, she was nothing more than an amateur sand witch.
"Well, you'd represent Agrabah's interests to the magical community and you would act as an adviser to Jasmine and I. In a way, you do all these things already so you might as well have the title that goes with it."
"You'd live in the palace," Jasmine added. "And of course, you'd have your own detail of servants as well as a new wardrobe – including jewelry – and a yearly budget of…" The number was so astronomical it nearly made her ears short-circuit. She was being handed the life of a noblewoman within grasping distance of royalty – much more than a girl of her background was even allowed to dream of, but somewhere in her gut it felt like betrayal. After all, her clandestine lover was a known enemy of Agrabah. It was a conflict of interest to say the least.
Remembering the microscopic life that was growing within her, Sadira put him out of her head. She would not condemn her child to the life of a street rat because she was rotten at choosing who to tumble in the sheets with.
"So will you do it?" Jasmine asked, derailing her train of thought and strengthening her resolve.
"Of course I will."
Notes: I haven't really thought about this show in a number of years, but I recently rediscovered it through a post on tumblr. Please let me know what you think and if anything is wrong (names of things, out of character actions etc.) The next installment should be up shortly.