"In the palace, right here, lived a wicked vizier; the advisor to Sultan Hamed and this part-time magician, this amateur seer, wished his boss the good Sultan dead. He was charming and slick but unspeakably sick, this despicable parasite. What a villain, boo hiss! Further proof, dears, that this is another Arabian night!"
Firm digits curled around her hand as the Sultan paired the two together—what he was hoping for by doing that, Jasmine would never know. Jafar pulled her close to him, feigning sweetness to appease his superior. Under sudden pressure, her knuckles turned white. The Vizier tightening his grip in a silent threat. But Jasmine didn't flinch at the pain, she'd never give him that satisfaction. Instead, her hand yanked free, closing the remaining distance, speaking so only Jafar could hear.
"At least some good will come of my being forced to marry. When I am Queen, I will have the power to get rid of you!"
The smile didn't reach his eyes as Jafar simulated laughter.
Their charade usually carried out the same way every time: her Baba would close his eyes and look the other way. He wanted to believe his own lie. That his daughter and most trusted ally were best friends. This morning was just another one of those moments as Sultan Hamed chuckled with rosy cheeks.
"That's nice then, all settled. Now Jasmine, getting back to this suitor business... Jasmine? Jasmine!"
Jafar growled watching the wench stomp away, "If only I had gotten that lamp!"
Iago rambled on, mimicking with precision the sweet-and-sour voice of Princess Jasmine; their hatred growing as they watched the Sultan and Princess argue far below.
"Please, just leave me alone, Baba." Jasmine called as she marched out into the palace courtyard.
"But if you'd just—."
"No."
"Darling I only—."
She turned away again.
"Jasmine, please? Tell me, darling."
Jasmine tried to walk away from the rotund man, but his little legs carried him quickly to stand in front once more.
"You don't want to talk, father. You want to order me around… It's like I'm being punished. Yes, it is. Why are you punishing me? Do you want someone to punish? Punish that monster up there for killing someone I love!"
From the balcony overlooking the courtyard, Jafar stiffened. Jasmine had thrown an accusatory finger his direction no doubt ranting about executing him. Jafar was only half listening when the parrot squawked.
"What if you were the chump husband?"
"What?" Jafar snapped at the neck and Iago fidgeted about Jafar's shoulders.
"You marry the Princess, all right. Then you, uh you, become the sultan."
A rising grin tugged at Jafar's sly mouth. The idea had merit.
"Dearest, this is not punishment. It's the law. Please, Jasmine. This union is not only for you. But for Agrabah."
"I'm not ready, father. Why can't you understand that? Sixteen is too young."
Her father chuckled, trying to remain jolly even when frustrated. "My dear, most girls marry by fourteen. Besides, you're mature for your age…"
Jasmine closed her chest off turning away from him again. It was impossible to talk to her when she got this way. Hyped up. Over agitated. Pacing around refusing to listen. What did he do to deserve such a fine yet headstrong child? Maybe he'd been too lenient during childhood years. Plus, it had originally been her mother's job to host these discussions when the time came. Unfortunately, Sultana never made it this far, leaving him utterly clueless on how to turn a little girl into a woman.
"What!?" Jasmine whirled around, long hair flipping over her shoulder.
"I'm sorry dearest, but I don't know what else to do. If you won't choose a suitor, maybe..."
"Don't say it, Baba... you wouldn't dare put me through something so humiliating."
The Sultan sank against the fountain. His heart sore at the look on his angel's face.
"A battle for your hand isn't the worst idea. Is it? Whichever suitor wins in the games… Jasmine, please come back."
This time he didn't push for cooperation, knowing she was justified in being upset. If there were any options left to show Jasmine the good in an arranged marriage, he'd have found it by now. The law was there to maintain balance, and as Sultan, he needed to enforce that balance. But imposing on his daughter's free will felt like a slow torturous death. With a small fist, Hamed took hold of his white beard; a special way to help him think. Surely this could be set right. With any luck, Allah would allow his daughter to have everything she wanted while still fulfilling the law.
Jasmine rounded the corner, trudging up the staircase of the eastern tower when something shifted in the atmosphere. From the top step, a well-dressed man with immaculate stature casted a looming shadow.
"Did that go as you hoped, Princess?" Jafar drawled silkily. Jasmine rolled her eyes then stopped at the step just beneath him. She refused to acknowledge Jafar but he blocked her path. "Unless you choose a suitor, it will be impossible to make good on your threat. You and I both know, Princess, that without true authority, you will never be rid of me."
"Get out of my way, Jafar. That's an order." She dangerously warned forcing him to the side. Their eyes remained locked as they met at the top of the staircase. Jasmine brushed her chest against his, intentionally pausing there in the doorway.
"I need not be Queen to end you. Regardless, you're nothing more than a slave." Jasmine sashayed away but could feel Jafar burning a hole in her.
"Do you know what his last words were?" Jafar taunted, pleased with Jasmine's reaction as she stiffened, "the heathen. What was he called? Or perhaps rats don't have names?"
Jasmine marched up to Jafar and swatted his chest with a thud.
"Never speak of him again!"
Without flinching, Jafar caught her wrist, halting the second blow centimeters from his face. Jasmine couldn't help but gasp as he pulled her into him.
"Why is it you fell helplessly into the arms of some pitiful boy?" His breath fell inches from her mouth. "Could it be that the touch of a real man frightens you?"
Still caught in his clutches, Jasmine bared pearled teeth, ignoring the electrical charge surging in her belly. She stood on her toes to challenge his height, hissing, "I don't see a real man though do I? You're just jealous I prefer a commoner over you."
"Why you -."
"Will you two stop Fighting!?" The white-haired Sultan raised his arms in defeat. "Jasmine, Jafar, please?" Why did the two people he cared for most despise one another?
Neither backed down for a long moment but Jafar knew where he stood in this pyramid and so released the Princess, then bowed humbly to Sultan Hamed. The Grand Vizier spewed another elegant apology and Jasmine knew it would be enough for him to win Baba over. Again. Jasmine crossed her arms at the sickening display of false humility, wishing Baba had left her to deal with this on her own.
"That's quit aright, Jafar. I'm afraid this suitor business has made us all unnerved."
Her father's lack of discipline should come as a shock, but it didn't. After asking that Jafar resume his duties in the Great Hall, Hamed strolled away lost in thought.
Jafar rose from the floor as the Sultan disappeared down the corridor. Jasmine stuck her nose in the air facing the other way. Jafar appeared at her side, his billowy red sleeves tickling the hairs on Jasmine's arm in the process. They each fixed their gaze in opposing directions, but Jasmine remained highly alert to each of Jafar's hushed words as he relayed a threat of his own.
"There will come a time, Princess, when you think you are safe. When you believe all your dreams have finally come true. When that day comes, I'll be there. And I will annihilate every drop of your happiness. Everything you love. Everything you hold dear. Will be mine."
"It'll take more than empty threats, from an empty man, to scare me. I always win Jafar, haven't I proved that enough by now?"
She could feel him smirking as he walked away. Jasmine looking over her shoulder until a thick cape disappeared behind the corner.
Panic rose in his mouth in the form of bile, Aladdin forcing the acidic lump down painfully. Never before did he have to play the hero; living a life of thieving crime didn't exactly call for selfless acts against villains. Sure, quick wit and acrobats came easily to a street rat. But that was the extent. Regardless, Aladdin had been trying to set things right. There had been a plan; Jasmine was to distract Jafar by any means possible while he stole back the lamp. Unfortunately, a hole burned into that idea rather quickly. When Jafar had wished for Jasmine to fall desperately in love with him—then preceded to kiss her — Aladdin had a shot. Young Princess, however, faltered just before the kiss, and looked for help, blowing his cover; and any chance of grabbing the lamp. Now all hell had broken loose, and he was the last man standing.
"How many times do I have to kill you, boy?"
Rather, how many crazy nut jobs did it take to murder an innocent kid? This guy was sick to the core. Aladdin had, had a fair share of run-ins with guards and people who considered him a nuisance, but the pugnacious way Jafar looked now, was startling. Never did Aladdin feel someone direct that amount of revulsive hatred towards him. With large quick eyes, Aladdin found an opening, cartwheeling into a backflip avoiding the first blow Jafar swung. But then came another, which pummeled into Aladdin's gut, the snake staff cracking against bones.
"Gahk," backside sliding against the ground, the back of Aladdin's head met the wall.
"Going somewhere boy?" Jafar smiled coolly, "Running away again no doubt. But this time, you'd leave a woman to fend for herself." Jafar clicked his tongue in disapproval, "Not much of a hero are you, street rat?"
Holding his side in discomfort, Aladdin peered up, glimpsing Jasmine caught in an hourglass of rising sand. He didn't plan on running away. At least not without her. But he wanted to run. This wasn't what he had asked for. He'd wished to be a prince; not to fight a battle that wasn't even his. Maybe if he'd known his girlfriend's father's Grand Vizier was a megalomaniac, then Aladdin could've made a different set of wishes. Or freed Genie when he had the chance.
"I wasn't running, you snake. I'd never run from a bastard like you." Shoulders squared off allowing Aladdin to appear tougher. "Yeah… People talk in the streets. You're a bastard child—aren't you? And you have no more right here than I do."
Possibly the most idiotic plan yet; insulting the powerful sorcerer with a sadistic mindset. But before Aladdin could think better of it, the words spilled like vomit. Aladdin stood uneasily, hunched in pain as Jafar drew near with blazing eyes.
"You insignificant," his stance widened, "Miserable," ruby snake eyes glowed brightly, "Little fool!"
For a moment, Aladdin believed to be hallucinating when Jafar hissed with a snakelike tongue.
"So, a snake, am I? Perhaps you'd like to see how snakelike I can be!"
Suddenly sharp fangs overtook Jafar's wide mouth, their razor-sharp edges dripping with venom as the rest of his face transformed. The tan, wrinkled skin grew into thick, scaly bumps, curving over his face and hands, while onyx strips sliced down the center of saffron-colored eyes.
"Oh dear, Allah…" Aladdin pressed deeper into the crimson wall, wishing now more than ever that he hadn't provoked the beast. But he had. And now Jafar looked like a creature fashioned by Hades himself. Wasn't there a Genie clause that said people couldn't rise from the dead? Well, demonic beings should be included in that rule book.
"Do you know what it looks like when a king cobra devours a rat?"
Aladdin swallowed hard unable to peel his gaze from the snake-like beast.
"No? Then perhaps we shall play a game, street rat. Try to challenge me again, and I'll show you exactly how a King devours a foul trifling threat." Discolored fangs took up the better half of a sadistic smile. Jafar growled a hiss, lunging forward in a faked assault, forcing Aladdin to flinch.
Son of a bitch. Aladdin peeked, realizing the game.
"You're right, that's not amusing," Jafar stepped inwards, leaving a meager foot between them, "After all, it's impolite to play with your food." He smiled again devilishly enjoying how he made Aladdin quiver.
Nowhere to run and no more genius plans were coming to mind. If there was a man at all beneath this monster, Aladdin hoped he could get to it through reason.
"I didn't want this, Jafar. I only wanted a better life for myself. To stop living in squalor, starving and suffering. This isn't what you want either. You're not a killer."
Jafar paused, raising scaly embossed brows.
Finally, something got through to him. "Please… just… just put down your staff. Let Jasmine go. We can figure this out, safely. Nobody has to get hurt." The tension could be cut with a knife as Aladdin held his breath.
"Where is the fun in that? Street rat!"
Before he could exhale a hand was at his throat, Aladdin's feet dangling while Jafar raised him one-handedly by the neck. He clawed at the thick reptilian scales, scrambling to pry each finger from their death grip. But it was useless. As Aladdin tried to yell the grip tightened, crushing his Adam's apple.
It was barely human, the way each word formed when he rasped, "still time… set things right…"
All this and the boy still couldn't accept defeat. How like a rodent. "I think not, boy. Your time is up!"
With the giant cuffs reminding Genie of his limitations, his blue hands fell limp on the ground in defeat. He hated even looking at the damned things. If only it were possible to block out the horrid screams by closing his eyes. Then, and only then, could he try to ignore the sick feeling in his heart that said this was all his fault. Sure, he'd tried warning Al the dangers of making wishes; but that fact changed nothing. Rambling a list of rules never could have prepared his master for the tragedy the lamp brought. Yes, magic came with a price. But the cost varied drastically with each master. If only Genie knew Aladdin had enemies like Jafar; he could have prevented all this from happening.
Now it was too late as poor Aladdin tragically took his last breath. Genie cringed shutting his eyes tighter, wishing he could tune it all out. But he still saw Aladdin's face, gaunt, desperately pleading for help. Why hadn't Al freed him earlier that day? The boy promised to do it, swore up and down he'd remove Genie's bondage of ancient burdening. Even after they discussed the cost of freedom, Aladdin had sworn to use his last wish selflessly:
"But... that would mean..."
"Yes, Al."
"Genie, no. That isn't fair. There must be some other way to set you free."
Genie hugged Aladdin tightly, "But death is freedom Aladdin. It's truly the only wish I've ever wanted a master to make. To set me free from the weight of the lamp's prison. Please... It' s the only escape from a life of servitude."
When Aladdin had gone back on his promise it was heartbreaking, and Genie became cross with the boy. But if he'd known that would've been the last time they'd speak, he would have made it count. Now it was unlikely Genie would ever be free. Or see the light of day again. Once Jafar made his final wish Genie would be sucked back into the lamp, trapped there until the next person found it. And based on his impression of Jafar, it was highly unlikely anyone ever would.
"Jafar! Stop this, please!" Jasmine pleaded, pounding against the glass prison, but all her efforts went unnoticed. Warm grains of sand rushed over the peak of her hair and trickled down into a massive pile, crystals quickly rising. "Please. Don't make me die this way! Dammit, Jafar!" The name broke out as a scream.
Jafar slammed Aladdin against a wall, too consumed with strangling the boy to notice anything else.
She beat on the walls again, and again, until her hands turned red, throbbing in futility. Could no one hear her outside the thick hourglass? Jasmine scanned the throne room with wild eyes, blinking away tears. At no fault of his own Genie was of no use to anyone, and the only other in the room was the Sultan. Jasmine covered her mouth gasping at his terrible condition. Baba had fallen ill this evening after announcing her engagement to Prince Ali. When they left the podium, he had stumbled over in pain suddenly going into shock, unable to speak or move. Shortly after, Jafar enacted his wishes, taking control of the palace and her. Looking more closely at her father Jasmine noticed his humiliating outfit. Jafar had dressed Baba in a jester's uniform and strung him up like a puppet. Hamed hung limp, while he drooled, mouth agape. His large brown eyes clouded and unaware.
"Father, no... This is all my fault. Baba, I'm so sorry. Please, forgive me." Jasmine pressed her face against the glass, her tears and breath fogging it as she cried helplessly. No one could hear her, but she prayed that somehow Baba knew she was sorry.
Jafar told her he would do this. Threatened to take away everything she held dear, but she hadn't believed him. They had fought so often over the years, each saying horrible things to the other. He would mock her, challenging her while she bit back, pushing him to the limit; both knowing he could never harm her.
Now her sick father hung from the ceiling and Jafar turned her home into a house of horror. The throne room had always been a place for justice and comfort where Hamed ruled over Agrabah as a kind Sultan. Now it was unrecognizable. Jafar had destroyed the jeweled lanterns that usually decorated the walls, replacing them with carved gilded cobra heads, a candle blazing inside each open fanged mouth. Mountains of gold cluttered the polished floor, and spikes lined the doorway. Their only exit now a death trap. Even Baba's throne was transformed from an elephant to an open-mouthed viper.
Jasmine held her stomach, the beads of sand filling her navel and climbing underneath her breasts.
This is my fault, Baba. I did this, pushed Jafar over the limit. I hope you can forgive me.
Jafar and Aladdin fell into her line of sight once more and Jasmine's chest constricted. Aladdin wouldn't hold out much longer, and neither would she. Because of her stubbornness and pride, Jafar won. She should have just married some snooty random Prince. Hell, even when Jafar had tried to marry her himself, was the day she should have given in. Given up and allowed the sick bastard what he wanted. Apparently, he would get it anyway. Had pride not suffocated her judgment Aladdin wouldn't be pinned in a grip of death; and Baba wouldn't be dangling like bait on a hook, but rather in his chambers receiving the medical care needed.
"Finally, you will bow to me!"
Jasmine recalled Jafar's ridiculous command. The fool pretending to be worthy of Sultan by dressing in Hamed's white garments.
"If you won't bow before a sultan, then you will cower before a sorcerer!"
Realization yanked her from despair. With all his power Jafar could take anything his black heart desired. Anything at all. But what he could never force was genuine loyalty and respect. As it had always been, Jasmine was ready to battle him head-on, and when he commanded she bowed, she was the only one who stood up to him. She would fall on ten thousand blades before falling down on one knee for a traitorous snake; undoubtedly most of the City would feel the same.
But because the lives of the two men she loved most were at stake, Jasmine would swallow down stubborn pride. For Baba and Aladdin, she would lower her standards, and do whatever it took to vanquish the beast. After all, love and sacrifice went hand in hand. Since his mercy was non-existent, she would appeal to Jafar's swollen ego instead.
"I'll do it!" Jasmine hollered, spitting against the rising sand as the crystals poured up to her mouth. Her fists banged wildly one last time. "I'll bow Jafar! Please, just let Aladdin go…" She could have sworn Jafar twitched at her voice, maybe now he would pay attention. "I'll bow to you!"
A raw burning sensation clawed at her throat as a wave of gold seeped into her nostrils and ears. Jasmine's vision strained, the immediate suffocation overthrowing her body's functions. Thick lashes closed in defeat as the heavy sands snuffed out her existence.
This time Jasmine had lost. Jafar's promise to annihilate all she loved, had come to pass.