His shoes shuffled over scarlet carpet, a color scheme he approved of in a place he could not stand. It was summer, but to his warm blood there was a slight chill, and he wrung his hands to shake off the feeling of ice in his bones.
Distantly, he could hear the party below, down the flights of stairs, the tapping of feet to the melodies. The warmth of the fire, the tingle of hands, the laughter, the song! Why would one want to leave the light and life of the party to ascend into the darkness above, into the cold, dim halls? Simple.
Jafar was nosy.
Arendelle was a new kingdom to the Disney World, and while all his comrades danced and chatted with lesser nobles and petty dukedoms, he could feel his curiosity peeked at the prospect of this strange, Northern world, so vastly differing from the blazing sun and elegant, cultured halls of his home.
Sure, this place was barbaric, pretending at best to esteemed, but he knew better. Northmen - whether in caves or castles - were a savage lot with no taste or design. Everything they borrowed from the Greeks and the Romans, who stole it from the East. Ergo, what is more beautiful than the heart of everything?
Adam and Eve did not rise from the tundra, did they?
His hands slipped along the window sills, the glass shell showing the eye's way to the evergreen world outside. His idle limb brushed off the dust, a layer the maids seemed to have missed. Hard to find good worker these days it seemed, here or there.
He shivered again. Strange, it wasn't this cold a minute ago...
"What are you doing here?"
The words were frustrated, angry, and impatient - yet holding a softness characteristic of their owner.
The corners of the Arab's mouth curled up into a wicked countenance. With a sweep of his robes, he turned to face the challenger.
"A thousand pardons, your majesty." the sorcerer salaamed to the snow queen. "I was merely-"
"You should not be here, Jafar. You have no place but the grand hall, where the party is held."
"Is that because I am a villain or because I am a guest?"
Her face flustered for a moment, but then a sly smile - a woman's smile, Jafar thought - appeared.
"Because you are nosy, Jafar. Such manners do not suit a man of the courts."
It was Jafar's turn to scowl. He hated appearing ignoble, save for when he purely wanted to be despicable for the joy of it.
Standing back erect, he held his worse tongue and smiled.
"A true statement, your majesty."
"Of course," she replied, suspicious of his calmness. "You are not the only noble in this palace, are you?"
He bit his silver tongue and nodded. "Correct, your majesty."
She strode forth towards him. Strange, she did not wear her ice attire - a pleasurable sight if there was one in a queen's wardrobe. Instead, it was a dark green dress - much like the evergreens in the royal gardens. Perhaps she was not feeling as liberated as normal.
"You will stay in front of me, Jafar; not 3 sword-lengths more or less. Is that understood?"
Strange, she was such a nice soul it removed her ability to sound threatening - however, it was the threat of an elemental surge that gave credence to her every word, and she knew it.
With a silent swallow and a sigh, he obliged with a bow. "Of course, your majesty."
With a turn of his robes, he made his way down the hall, the queen's heels a slight beat behind him.
"I will let you know it is not wise to be so antagonistic to guests, your majesty," the sorcerer replied. "Such manners will not be forgotten in the years to come."
"I know all about you and your kind," Queen Elsa sharply replied. "A boorish, cruel gathering of short-sighted imbeciles living off the day of their once-triumph. I don't fear such a league."
Each word sliced into his proud heart, a harsh reminder of his place in the world. Yet, he wasn't done yet. Hardening his heart once more he put on a smile and looked over his shoulder, his pace never faltering.
"A wise queen would ask questions before taking the word of others."
He didn't even need to keep looking to know the appearance of anger that crossed her face. A moment later, and she returned another barb.
"What is there to ask? By your own actions you show yourself to be less than honorable. By all rights, I could freeze you for intruding upon my castle like so, breaching the law and forcing my hand upon you."
"Yet, you seek violence before peace. You know better than to do so. Such actions would make you appear...monstrous."
The air actually began to chill, telling Jafar he was playing his cards right.
"You are wicked serpent, Jafar."
"You a poor choice for a queen."
He looked over his shoulder, and grinned.
"I have been raised, like you, for better things. But you have never cut your teeth on the finer things of politics."
He stopped suddenly and turned to a window, the wicked and yet weary lines on his face fully manifested in the light.
"Query; the dwarfs mine too far in their mountains. Miners from the Silver Realm - or, as you know it, Cinderella's homeland - complain that the dwarfs have pushed too far into their borders. The dwarfs bring forth their proof that they lived their once, before Maleficent's goblin horde pushed them out. To represent them they call upon Queen Snow White to serve them, and she accepts. To serve them, the miners of the Silver Realm call for a legal representation, and the majesty Cinderella is obliged to serve. She declares that because her father-in-law, the King of the Silver Realm, had pushed the goblins out of that side of the mountains, it is her people's right to mine there. Yet Snow White shows older documentation."
He turned his head to her and smiled. "Who is in the right?"
Without missing a beat, Elsa replied with a smile of her own. "Snow White. The dwarfs were there first."
"Yes, but for Cinderella to accept that would cause two things - one, she would be forcing all these hard-working people, the peasantry from which she came from, to find their livelihood somewhere else. Two, it would cause her to seem weak and insufficient in the eyes of her people, and who wants a weakling to be in the royal family? Not I, certainly."
Elsa hesitated, but replied with a textbook answer. "Call for a judge - call for High King Mickey."
"High King Mickey," the sorcerer said with the hint of disgust to his tone, "refuses, because he is afraid of taking sides. He takes sides, and he appears to favor one kingdom over the other. When the royal lords are called to serve, all will remember the king's decision. When their votes are needed on matters of great concern, they will know who the king prefers."
"But King Mickey is just-"
"He is a king, a ruler of a nation. You know your history, you know your bloodline. Not every decision a good king makes is good - just practical. You must do what you need to save your people. They put their lives into your hands, and you can't fail them."
"So now you so care and concern for the people." Elsa replied, fresh bite in her tone. "I know what you have done, warlock. Your crimes will follow you as long as you live-"
"And so will yours." he remarked, hissing. "Everyone knows I am evil, or at least they think so because they all know the tale so well."
He leaned in, his sharp teeth bared.
"Yet make a mistake, appear to be the villain for one moment, and no one will ever trust you as much again. If they do at all. Because, as you know, not too many queens are prone to destroying their own kingdoms."
Anxiety filled her chest, old fears rocking her soul. Her heart palpitated, and her hands began to shake. "You don't know, you have no idea-"
She grew silent, as her head fell for a minute, only rise once more - her eyes like a storm.
"You are scum, Jafar. You and all your kind. You do not seek to better others, and anything you say is as vital to me as the dust on my windowsill. A mere bother, and nothing more."
Her words didn't harm Jafar anymore - triumph gave him strength - and he replied with an amused smile.
"Follow me just a moment," he crooned, taking a few steps forward. As he did, he spoke to her like a master does to a pupil.
"You look down upon us, but you are young - you shall see. As the years pass, you shall see. In fact..."
By now, the party had entered their sight, over and down the side to the glittering host below. "Have you ever seen a more tired association?" he turned, waving his hand to the angels below. "They are dead; walking in the flesh of the living, driven by hearts made of memories and hope - a most dreadful existence."
Elsa almost snarled back, to draw him back down into his former cowardice, but alas her eye turned to the assembly. What did he speak of? Was there not joy here, was there not happiness? Below her sister played host, always "Miss Meet and Greet" while the lords and ladies danced to the waltz. She beheld the champions, the Heroes - immortal paragons of right and wrong. She was one of them now - an eternal servant of the Mouse King, sworn to defend justice and peace till the end. It was an honor, a privilege, a...
Burden.
Did Mulan ever seem so tired? Does Snow Weight seem to bear an unseen weight? At first glance, everyone was smiling - now, it all seemed like a mask. What was this? Sorcery? Reality? Both?
"You are an evil man, Jafar, and I will see to it you will regret your audacity." Turning to the man, she set her eyes - as cold as a winter storm - upon him.
"You do not want to cross me." and as she spoke, the air seem to almost crystallize.
"Do I?" and in return an aura of heat filled the air, his breath almost as fire. Taking a step in, he smiled at her as if a snake sensing it's prey.
"Elsa? Is everything alright- hey! You!"
Before Jafar could reply, a flash of red hair came to his face, and before he knew it he was staring face to face with the queen's little sister.
"Get back from my sister, you tall, ugly freak!" cried Anna, standing ready to fight. "I've punch one Villain before, and it's not gonna hurt to do a second one!"
Just then, another voice cut in.
"Ah, Jaffy ol' boy!" cried Sir Clayton, strolling up to the gathering as if it wasn't a ticking-time bomb ready to explode. "Come! We have two fine ladies waiting for us. They have specifically requested this dance and our feet for it!"
Without a single glance to the two women, he hooked his arm underneath Jafar's and pulled him out and down the hall, waving behind him to the queen and princess. "Lovely party, your majesty!"
Elsa and Anna were left speechless for a moment, but the redhead spoke first with anger in her eyes.
"Where were you, Elsa? Are you alright? And what did that creep want?" she inquired turning to meet her sister.
"Nosy...he was just being nosy." Elsa replied, placing her hands on the balcony as she looked down on the crowd - a sense of longing in her eyes that would never be filled.
Below, Clayton pulled Jafar into his side and growled.
"What the Hell were you thinking, Jafar? You were playing with fire - well, not fire, but death all the same! We are under orders to leave, not bother, the queen of Arendelle and her sister!"
"I had to see if it was true." replied the sorcerer with a smile.
"See what was true?"
But Jafar did not say a word, slipping his arm out of Clayton's with a flash in his eyes that held more than any number of words could.
"Sorry, Clayton, but I have matters to deal with."
His image blurred before Clayton's eyes and then - gone - leaving a taint of black magic in the air.
Alone, on the staircase, the Englishman sighed. Pulling out his pipe, he lit it with a weary air and looked down on the glittering host below. Strange; it no longer held the same glow as it once did.
Thank you for those of you who have read this far! I know there are some questions you probably have about the design and nature of this world our characters live with, and as a reward for reading this far I shall answer them here! :
Walt Disney made this world for his creations, an immortal realm that is sustained by the imagination of believers. Since his passing, things have continued on, but the once nirvana-like existence is seeming to fade...
All heroes and villains are immortal, unable to die because they are so popular. They, however, are forced to watch generations of others pass before their eyes. By nature, they are resilient, but human - they have emotions, and especially major events change them over time, a result of being made by human hearts.
Their world, made by an imperfect man, moves on in some strange, dream-like way, and as they live they are forced to watch it change to fit the new creations coming in. Many - such as Merlin - have spent their lives trying to understand it, to create some form of peace for their magical land. So far, none have been able to unlock the magical code Disney used to make this world.
Mickey is king of the Heroes, Pete is Lord of the Villains (yes, even above Maleficent. In my mind, Pete can be badass too if you just write him right). Certain beings - gods, demons, and so forth - live on but tend to stay away from the petty matters of the lesser beings unless they are called upon, needed, or inspired by some notion to intrude into the world.
Other movies (Dreamworks, Cartoon Saloon, etc) have sought refuge while they were alive - as they live off the belief of others - in the Disney World, and Mickey has let them in (or they have forced their way in) and so live in their own lands alongside the lands of the Disney Characters. Some, like the Dragon Riding Vikings of Berk, have proven to a force in their own right, but so long as they don't seek war, they are allowed to stay.
Yes, unless stated otherwise all the movies and series count. Rescue Rangers meets Little Mermaid 2 meets Lion King 1 and a Half meets...yeah, everything.
Because of this, continuity issues will be adressed as best as possible as I write this story out. I am human - I will make mistakes, and I will correct them as best as I can. Constructive, polite criticism is welcomed.
Other than that...yeah, ask questions, and I'll try to improve/modify this strange, fanfiction world as I can! I'm shooting for some stability and ideas, but since I'm writing fanfiction...yeah, I'm not gonna kill myself in trying to explain how the modern world of the Incredibles live next to Aurora's medieval realm. I'm here to have fun; you don't like it, move on and find something that makes you happy.