"And that's basically what happened, Your Highness," Aladdin finished, standing before the sultan in the throne room. He released the long breath he had held inside as he had struggled to keep the pace of the story. Beside him, Jasmine squeezed his arm in reassurance. The fight against Mozenrath and the guardian worms had taken its toll on him, and he desperately needed rest.
The sultan frowned and looked questioningly at him. "What exactly is the problem? You have the elixir, do you not? Why not drink it?" He had posed many questions during the telling of the events but none so serious.
Aladdin's friends watched him expectantly, wondering how he would respond. He stared directly into the sultan's eyes and shook his head slowly but firmly.
"We do have the elixir, but it wouldn't be right to drink it now that Mozenrath no longer has a body. I can't just kill him," he said with conviction.
But the sultan's frown deepened. "Your motives are noble as always, but you must remember that Mozenrath is an unforgivable criminal. He has threatened all of our lives and the kingdom multiple times, and would stop at nothing to kill you if given the chance. If you do not act, I fear that is exactly what he will do."
Aladdin had feared that the conversation with the sultan might turn into an argument, and he did not feel especially equipped to debate the point so late into the evening. With tiring patience and persistence he stood his ground with as much respect for the older man as he could. At least he had Jasmine on his side. If it came down to it, he was fairly sure she could convince her father to change his mind with just a few kind words and a gentle smile. Only daughters had that effect on their fathers.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I've subdued him and I promise he won't cause trouble. Genie will also stay near me in case anything happens. But I can safely say that Mozenrath is too weak to put up a real fight at the moment. It'll give us the time to figure out how to solve this problem without committing murder."
The sultan stared at Aladdin with a shrewd sharpness that he only displayed in times of emergency. "I must reemphasize that the man in question is a criminal who would have been executed long ago if he had been apprehended and put on trial. But each time we have shown him mercy and let him free, and look what that has cost us. He almost killed you, my boy." The old man's voice was lined with concern as well as stern disapproval.
"Which means we shouldn't sink down to Mozenrath's level, father," Jasmine said gently. The sultan's eyes softened minutely as he glanced at his daughter, and Aladdin knew he would soon relent. He looked back at Aladdin kindly.
"It would not be counted against you, Aladdin. You would be enacting justice on behalf of the kingdom if you drank the elixir," the sultan persisted, but his voice held less conviction than before.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness. I won't do it. I promise that we'll keep things under control, and Mozenrath will not bring any harm upon you or anyone else," Aladdin said, looking around at his friends for agreement. All of them except Iago nodded adamantly. The bird grumbled something about how he should have bought evil sorcerer insurance.
The sultan's gaze turned toward his daughter once again, clearly worried. It seemed Aladdin had said the wrong thing. "Can you truly guarantee that Mozenrath will not bring harm upon us when he is within your mind, and you are weaker than usual? And what about my daughter? I cannot compromise her safety!"
"Father, I'll be fine," Jasmine asserted, stepping forward and taking her father's hand. "Please don't worry so much. Mozenrath can't afford to act up precisely because Aladdin has the elixir."
The sultan looked from his daughter to her fiancé and gave a dubious sigh. "But therein lays the problem, dearest. Mozenrath's perpetual presence inside Aladdin must eventually weaken the boy and what would be the first thing the sorcerer would do? Drink the elixir! You uphold a principled position, Aladdin, but I again affirm that you would not be shown the same mercy you have given. One small slip and your spirit and soul might be destroyed."
Aladdin drew in a quick breath, surprised at the Sultan's perceptiveness. He, too, had thought about the disastrous consequences if he should lose control to the sorcerer, who knew exactly where the elixir was being kept on his person. Aladdin felt a strange prickling near the corners of his thoughts, significant enough to notice but small enough to refrain from panicking. Mozenrath could obviously and easily read all of his thoughts, and this fact concerned him above all other things.
"If I feel weak, Your Highness, I promise to give the elixir to Jasmine or Genie. But I think it's safer to have it than to be without it, just in case."
The Sultan, ever the father but sometimes the politician, kept a neutral expression upon his face that showed only traces of doubt. He sighed and looked at his daughter, whose eyes were focused on Aladdin with such faith that her father had no choice but to concede.
"I do not like this at all, but I suppose we have encountered worse circumstances and survived well enough. Aladdin, I am trusting you to keep your word."
"Thank you, Your Majesty," Aladdin said as Jasmine returned to his side. He gave her a small smile, knowing her understanding had swung the argument in their favor. The Sultan watched the couple closely as they turned to walk away.
"There is one other thing," the sultan said before they could leave. "You must not put on that accursed glove at any time. Genie must keep it locked away in a safe place."
"With something better than guppies as a security system," Iago added with the expected dose of sarcasm.
Genie saluted the sultan with his right hand while surreptitiously pointing behind him with his left, firing a beam of magic at Iago. The bird squawked loudly before unceremoniously falling backward, his beak stuffed with Pepperidge Farm Goldfish crackers.
"Right, of course," Aladdin said, ignoring the muffled protests of the parrot stumbling around behind them. He tugged off the leather gauntlet and tossed it to Genie in one fluid motion. It felt strangely heavy as it left his hand, and his uncovered right arm felt weightless and exposed. He shook off the feeling of vulnerability that he now felt without it, realizing he should have taken it off much earlier. Its side effects were already becoming obvious.
"You really should get some rest," Jasmine said, leading him out of the throne room after her father dismissed them with a nod.
Aladdin let out a long breath of relief as his steps slowed and his posture slouched immediately upon leaving the sultan's line of sight. "You can say that again."
Jasmine stopped walking, alarmed at how weary he suddenly appeared. His skin looked pale and his eyes weary, so that he gazed around unseeing. She realized he was much more worn out than any of them had imagined, having kept up a front during the conversation with her father. "Aladdin, are you all right? What's the matter?"
Mozenrath, Aladdin wanted to grit out, and all the snide comments he's been making since he woke up. But he didn't want her to worry, so he refrained from telling the whole truth.
"I'm just tired. I'll be okay in the morning."
She looked at him with sympathy and affection, and she slowed her steps to match his own so that she could lead him down the hallway toward their separate chambers. She kissed him on the cheek when they arrived at the door, holding both his hands in her own. Her silky touch heated his clammy skin and his heart reached out to her even as his mind roared with frustration. He smiled down at her as genuinely as he could, brushing aside the sorcerer's voice, and Jasmine failed to notice that the smile did not reach his eyes.
She looks like she needs some...relief...as well. Why don't you invite her to join us?
Jasmine didn't catch the twitch in his expression as he responded silently to the sorcerer's insinuating remark.
Jasmine and I both need relief from you, Mozenrath! She'd never come anywhere near you!
Aladdin continued to smile warmly as she wrapped her arms around him in a long hug. She smiled at him and gave him a curious look that he responded to with another forced grin. She drew back from his arms and he immediately felt the loss of her warmth when she turned away and entered her own chambers, saying goodnight as she closed the door.
Well, street rat, I think she just did.
With Jasmine out of sight, Aladdin opened the door to his room with a sharp jerk, hands soon tightening into fists. Despite his weariness he stalked quickly toward the mirror and looked at his reflection, the tenseness in his expression, the dark circles under his eyes, the droop in his hair. For a split-second he saw the image of the sorcerer replace his own, a content smirk plastered on the man's face, before the reflection returned to normal. Aladdin folded his arms and stared at himself, into eyes that were no longer completely his.
"You're not going to win this, Mozenrath. I'm not allowing you to have permanent residency, so you better not get too comfortable."
I wouldn't use the word 'comfortable' to describe my stay thus far. The statement was dry, but the bitter malice underneath the sorcerer's cool voice held a promise of payback for the extreme pain Aladdin had inflicted on him earlier.
"You should be grateful, you snake. You're only alive right now because I'm showing you mercy." To emphasize his point, Aladdin drew the flask from his belt and set it on the nightstand beside the bed. He stared at it with his own eyes, vividly imagining himself drinking the elixir, and felt Mozenrath's disquiet wash through him.
I'm only stuck in your sickeningly heroic mind because your stupid friends failed to preserve my body!
"Oh, should I feel sorry that your figure's ruined?" Aladdin said with sarcasm, and felt a bit of self-satisfaction at the sorcerer's angry reaction to the pun.
He turned away from the mirror and tried to forcibly shut out his enemy's voice from his inner hearing, wishing for sleep more than anything in the world besides getting rid of the extra occupant in his mind. But he lay awake with his eyes open, staring up at the ceiling in dread. He could not afford to fall asleep before the sorcerer did. Mozenrath knew this, and Aladdin could feel the man's smug attitude alongside his own tired frustration; although Mozenrath also shared some of his weariness, his spirit merely floated within Aladdin and thus felt no physical drain. Aladdin forced himself to sit up slightly so as not to easily succumb to the sleep he desperately craved.
He hated being so vulnerable to an enemy who already knew him so well. But now with Mozenrath lurking in the confines of his mind, he could feel a strange, constant tug on his willpower. How much longer would it be before they were able to get rid of the sorcerer? The problem was a challenging one and Aladdin felt that their only chance rested with the restoration or replication of the statue. Aladdin would just have to keep his guard up until then, taking care not to let slip any further details of his state of mind that might be used against him by his enemy.
He knew that the sultan was right, though; even if he did force Mozenrath back into his own body, the sorcerer would continue to concoct plans for the takeover of Agrabah or at least Aladdin's demise. They were mortal enemies, forever fated to play this feuding game until the hero's luck ran out or the villain was finally defeated. There could be no winning in this situation for the hero either way, because holding the moral high ground meant that any fall would be severe.
There was a light sound akin to the tinkling of small bells, and a shower of glitter lit up the growing darkness in the bedroom. Aladdin brought his feet off the end of the bed, alert, as shimmering dust from the window condensed quickly to form a blond woman clad in a long blue dress. Her skin was also blue. In her hand she held a slender wand that gave off sparkles as she tapped it against Aladdin's forehead.
"Good Aladdin, you have given so much happiness to others. You deserve to have your wish come true. Little wizard go to sleep, and your life you'll get to keep!"
Before he knew what he was doing, Aladdin swatted the wand away with an annoyed growl, his skin tingling with stray magic sparkles. "Enough with this nonsense, you fool!"
Genie's Blue Fairy imitation set her hands on her hips crossly. "Naughty sorcerer! Now you'll never be a real boy!"
Aladdin regained control over himself and immediately regretted the small outburst, even if it wasn't his own. He looked at his friend apologetically. "Sorry, Genie. He's been awake for a while, and I guess his personality's still bleeding into mine."
Liar. You were just as annoyed as I was, and it would do us both good if your moronic jinni stopped cross-dressing in front of us.
Aladdin had nothing to say to that, because it was actually true. He wasn't in any mood for jokes and magic tricks; he just wanted to sleep. But of course he wouldn't be rude to a friend just because he was tired and annoyed at an enemy. His irritation flared at Mozenrath's insults instead.
Genie reverted to his normal form and ruffled Aladdin's hair. "It's okay, Al. I'll be on babysitting duty for the next however many days 'til we solve this little conundrum. It's in the babysitter's manifesto to watch over ward and protect him from the boogieman." Genie transformed into a preteen girl with pigtails and heavy makeup. "I'm Stacey and I'll be your sitter. We'll be best friends forever so long as you're not a dweeb!" He pushed Aladdin back into a supine position and checked under the bed. "See, no boogieman!" He caught sight of Aladdin's reaction, which bristled with borderline contempt. "Oh, I guess the boogieman is stuck inside of you, huh?"
Aladdin looked away from Genie, trying to check the range of emotions churning within him. The impulse to insult his friend was great but unnecessary and harsh. This time Aladdin wasn't sure how much of the urge to snap at his friend was rooted in Mozenrath's short temper, and it bothered him greatly. Genie backed away and took a seat near Aladdin's bed.
"I can't fall asleep before he does, Genie," he said with an exasperated sigh, lying down once again.
"Now, now, boys," Genie chided, turning into an old gray-haired lady in a flowery dress sitting in a rocking chair. "It's past your bedtime and there's no time for silly games like 'who can stay up the latest.'"
"I'm serious," Aladdin said, frustrated. "He's just waiting to take over again and then shove me out."
Genie grew serious at last, once again returning to his original form. "Don't worry. I'm here to watch you and make sure nothing funny happens in the night. Just rest easy, Al. I can handle a disembodied--er, temporarily embodied sorcerer's spirit. And besides, he can't shove you out if I hold onto this."
He took the small flask from the nightstand and tucked it into his belt, where it promptly disappeared into the mysterious realm outside of space and time where jinnis kept their belongings. He gave Aladdin a supportive half-smile that the street rat could not return. The worry was still there.
Mozenrath had grown silent in Aladdin's head, but this caused more suspicion than assurance. He knew that Mozenrath was cunning and would stop at nothing to gain control over his body, murdering him in the process. Regardless of the fact Genie was here, Aladdin would still try his hardest to stay awake and wait for the sorcerer to sleep first. Genie had changed into an old woman again and was currently knitting something out of yarn. He gave Aladdin a toothless grin and spoke in a croaking voice.
"I'm knitting you a set of mittens, dearie. They'll fit you much better than that old rotting leather thing. After that, Granny'll knit you some arm socks for your inner emo kid, I hear they're all the rage these days."
Aladdin groaned and kept his eyes open, training them on the ceiling where he tried to count the marble tiles. At least the barrage of memories and emotions had ceased. His mind was separate from Mozenrath's now—at least as separate as they could be when they shared the same several feet of space. The sorcerer seemed to have retreated out of his reach, or perhaps he actually was asleep; Aladdin could not sense his thoughts at all and did not attempt to. From what he had felt and seen so far of Mozenrath's spirit, there was darkness inside him now that would be hard to cleanse even after he dispelled the sorcerer from his body.
Eventually his suspicion faded along with the strength to keep awake, and he slowly dozed off to the soft click of knitting needles beside him.
Several hours later, the rocking chair had ceased its constant back and forth movement, its elderly occupant asleep and snoring loudly. A half-knit mitten clutched in his hand, Genie was dreaming that the chihuahuas he had set as guards in place of the guppies were using Mozenrath's gauntlet as an oven mitt to make tacos.
"Yo quiero..." he mumbled slowly, a trickle of drool sliding down his chin. He yipped unexpectedly into the night as he continued to dream.
A sleek gray form slithered through the fluttering curtains by the moonlit balcony. No alarms had been set in the chamber and the creature snaked through the area, sniffing through the darkness toward its master. Xerxes sensed Genie's magic first, but after inhaling the scent it moved closer to the wall and toward the bed. Mozenrath's essence was faint and subdued, but it was there, and it suddenly grew stronger as the street rat's eyes opened. Aladdin's head silently turned to the side, and his lips curled into an odd half-smile when he saw the eel.
"It's about time, Xerxes."
He sat up in bed very slowly, making sure not to wake the jinni. The eel glided quietly toward him and coiled around his right arm with a grateful smile, for once not making any noise. 'Aladdin' frowned, feeling the absence of the gauntlet acutely. It was strange to feel warmth and the pulse of blood in the limb, since he had lived without them for so long. His hand tightened into a fist as he flexed the fingers, feeling the skin stretched tight over joints that felt naked. He vowed never to have to lose the gauntlet again. It was fortunate for the street rat that the glove recognized Mozenrath's spirit as its master and thus had not taken more flesh in another grisly exchange. But it mattered little to the sorcerer whether the limb was left intact or not; he was used to the phantom feeling of an arm overshadowed by the dynamic magical power of the gauntlet. Now to find it and quench his thirst for its power...
He ignored the street rat's feeble protests inside his mind with a cruel smile. Aladdin was extremely tired and made even weaker by the effects of the gauntlet's absence because he had never experienced it before. Mozenrath was well-seasoned in dealing with the torment of separation from his power, mostly thanks to Aladdin and his meddlesome jinni. At least the agony of power-starvation was paying off now. Ruthlessly pushing aside the dizzying hunger, he climbed out of the open window with Xerxes flying near him, guiding him on his way down. The street rat's body was strong and flexible, much more durable than his old form. Still, Mozenrath wasn't used to the physical exertion required to properly scale the side of a building and it took him several seconds too long to manage his new muscles. He promptly slipped and fell flat on his back on the grass below. His breath left him in a harsh gasp, and he waited in silence, hoping no one had heard him fall. Xerxes darted around, checking for guards in the area. The eel shook its head as a signal that all was clear.
He flexed his limbs as he rose from the ground, pleased with the resilience of his muscles and bones, undamaged from the impact. An irritated look crossed his face as Aladdin shouted yet another empty threat at him in his mind.
Shut up, street rat. You should have known your jinni was poor insurance against me. And I know you thirst for the gauntlet as well. I'm just going to get it for us.
With that, he effectively shut Aladdin's voice out of his consciousness with the ease of a man familiar with both the administering and receiving of mental torture.
"Now, where is the gauntlet?" he asked his familiar. He stayed on alert for any night patrols in the vicinity that Xerxes might have overlooked. The eel flew off, winding between trees and toward another tower. Mozenrath followed, keeping to the shadows and ducking down low whenever he heard footsteps nearby. An overweight, obviously exhausted guard yawned loudly as he walked by, unaware of the human form hiding in the bush behind him. Mozenrath concealed himself easily amongst the shadows though the action was unnecessary; he was in control of Aladdin's body and not a single guard would question a nighttime venture of the city's most celebrated hero, so long as he stayed away from the princess' chambers.
Regardless, Mozenrath waited in impatient silence until the man was out of sight before continuing on, his eyes following the lithe form of the eel, now weaving through the grass like a snake. They neared an old stone tower, and Xerxes sniffed around close to the ground, searching frantically under the pressure of its master's urgent mood. It finally flew in a circle over a certain patch of earth that resembled every other in the dim moonlight. Curling his mouth in distaste, Mozenrath parted the grass and weeds with his hands to reveal a tunnel too small for him to enter.
He gave Xerxes a skeptical look, but the eel was certain that this was the place. It nodded vigorously. "Gauntlet here. Only way."
Mozenrath frowned. The risk was significant, but Xerxes knew how to move with silent stealth, having spied for its master many times. He grabbed the eel around the throat and held it above the tunnel. "Go down there and get it, then. If you get caught, I'll have your skin for a belt."
Xerxes nodded with a crooked smile as the sorcerer released it, happy to be serving its master once again, abuse and all. It disappeared into the tunnel, leaving Mozenrath to wait with forced patience in the shadows.
Long beams of light strafed the expansive grassy area around the palace. Several jinnis clad in police uniforms were combing the grass with flashlights, batons held at the ready. Two of them walked by each other and swapped flashlights for no reason.
"Joe, I have footprints here. Footprints leading away from the tower."
One jinni turned around abruptly, swiveling his flashlight to illuminate the suspicious patch of ground. "Vick, the suspect is barefoot, remember? That's your boot print, you dolt."
The first jinni looked sheepish, muttering something unintelligible before moving on. It took several minutes for the jinnis to stop as they collectively realized that treading all over the grass would erase Aladdin's tracks. It took another few seconds for them to realize it was already too late.
"What is going on here?" Rasoul demanded as he walked over briskly, the dark circles under his eyes even more pronounced than usual. The guard was obviously weary and in no mood for Genie's antics, but then again he never was.
The police officers poofed into thin air, leaving behind one guilty-faced jinni who traced the ground with his foot, flashlight clasped behind his back. "Just huntin' for worms, sir. They make mighty delicious night snacks."
Rasoul narrowed his eyes in contempt and disgust. "Take your juvenile games elsewhere, not in the way of my night patrols!"
"Yes, sir." Genie vanished quickly, teleporting himself out of the path of the irritated guard. His expression of embarrassment changed to outright worry. He began to bite his nails as he talked to himself. "Oh, I've really done it now. How could I have dozed off? Where's Al? Is evil wizard boy back in control? Are the chihuahuas really making tacos with the gauntlet?"
He tried to calm himself and think rationally. "Can't tell anyone Genie messed up again...can't let the sultan know or Al's gonna be in trouble! Okay, okay, I have things under control." He breathed in deeply and heaved his chest up high, looking important. "I am semi-phenomenal, nearly cosmic and finding a man wandering around in the middle of the night with no shirt on should be no problem." But his expression quickly grew dubious, and his large chest became a large gut as he slouched. "Except when that mortal is possessed by Mozenrath!"
He heard the quick patter of feet across the lawn as Jasmine ran toward him, Abu scampering slightly ahead of her. The worried looks on their faces said they already knew of his carelessness. Abu was chattering almost too fast for him to decipher, something about the chihuahuas almost eating him while he was trying to keep watch over the security system which Genie had set up to keep watch over the gauntlet.
"Genie," Jasmine hissed, half-winded from running. Her hair was in slight disarray as she had just woken up, still clad in her pink nightclothes. "Abu came to get me. The gauntlet's gone! Where's Aladdin?"
"Ummmm..."
"Genie!" she exclaimed in exasperation. Before she could scold him further, something caught her attention. The sleek form of Mozenrath's familiar darted toward the side of the main building, keeping close to the wall but flying upward toward the balcony of her father's chambers. "Oh no!"
Without wasting another second, Genie swept the three of them off the lawn and into a dark palace hallway, right outside the sultan's room. The telltale blue and black flame of Mozenrath's power was just receding from Aladdin's right hand as he had incapacitated the two guards posted in the hall. He turned in slight surprise before he could open the door, glaring at the trio that had managed to catch up to him on time.
"Well, well, well. Looks like the senile old jinni finally woke up from his nap. Did you have a good rest?" Mozenrath taunted.
"What have you done with Aladdin?" Jasmine demanded. She fought the urge to cringe from the cold, inhuman smirk on her fiance's face. It looked so wrong, so evil, and she willed herself to remember how Aladdin's eyes looked without the sharp coldness etched across them.
"Oh don't worry, he's still up here." Mozenrath tapped his temple, a slow sneer creeping across his mouth. "For now."
Jasmine bit her lip, desperately searching for a solution, for some way to save Aladdin without hurting him. Her eyes were drawn to the gauntlet, still covered in a dull glow, an unnatural source of light in the dimly lit hall. Mozenrath would not part with it easily. He held his right hand slightly in front of him as a defense and twisted his wrist slowly so that energy swirled around his fingertips, warning them to keep their distance. Genie gave her a helpless look. He couldn't face off against Mozenrath with his own powers here, so close to where her father slept, still unaware of the dangerous standoff playing out right beside his door.
"You're no match for me," the sorcerer said scornfully. "I have my gauntlet and now I have a strong, healthy body. And best of all, I have your precious street rat begging me for mercy with the little strength he has left."
Jasmine gasped and balled her fist in anger. "Stop hurting him, Mozenrath!"
"'Stop hurting him, Mozenrath,'" the sorcerer mimicked her anxious voice. "I don't think so. He deserves to suffer the torture of my dungeons in addition to Agrabah's for what he did to me."
Jasmine didn't notice that Genie and Abu stayed strangely quiet and withdrawn as she snapped at their enemy. Her anger at Mozenrath's taunt almost made her forget where she was. "What he did to you? Aladdin's only shown you mercy that you don't deserve. That's the only reason you're still alive!"
"And unable to reproduce," Genie muttered behind her. She glanced at him in passing confusion. "Never mind," he said quickly and his eyes twitched toward the door. He felt compelled to seal the door with his magic but he didn't want to leave Jasmine's side in the face of their enemy.
Mozenrath's cool smirk, so strange on Aladdin's kind face, turned into a twisted sneer at the jinni's remark. "I'll have all of you groveling at my feet, unless you want your dear Aladdin to suffer."
"No! Don't..." Jasmine's voice sounded weak as she couldn't think of what to do. She had won battles without Aladdin's help before, but now when she had to fight him, or rather the man who had taken control of his body, she was paralyzed. She looked at her fiancé with fear and her hand stretched out to his body that was no longer his own. "Aladdin..."
A second after the broken whisper of his name, the glow from the gauntlet abruptly flickered out. Mozenrath clutched his head in consternation as Aladdin's spirit apparently began to fight harder than before.
"Leave them alone! You won't win, Mozenrath!" Aladdin shouted in his normal voice again, gritting his teeth as he leaned against the wall, trying to overpower the sorcerer.
Jasmine and Genie both stepped forward, the former with the instinctive urge to comfort him, and the latter hoping to take advantage of Mozenrath's sudden weakness. Genie raised one hand to fire a blast of magic just as Jasmine reached Aladdin's side and took hold of his arm.
"No, Jas-" Aladdin said before he was cut off by the sorcerer's smug voice. "Gotcha."
In one rapid motion he grabbed Jasmine around the waist and held her throat in his gauntleted hand. Genie immediately redirected the trajectory of his magic blast so it hit the ceiling and sent sparkles raining down around their heads.
"Let go of me!" Jasmine spat, struggling briefly before the leather-covered hand tightened around her throat. She choked on her next words and Mozenrath cut her off.
"Now princess, you don't want your street rat to suffer, do you?" he said, breathing lightly on her ear. He smiled cruelly as she went completely rigid in his arms. The rapid pulse of her heart was intoxicating; for a moment he was content to savor her fear and the possibilities of how he could control her. He shifted his grip on her throat and his other hand, which encircled her bare waist, bruised the tender skin above her hip. He looked up at the jinni and the monkey. "The same goes for you fools, in case you didn't figure that out already."
Genie didn't even offer a pointless comeback this time, too concerned for his friends to move. He watched the sorcerer smile viciously over the princess' ear, and yet it was his friend that looked at him, Aladdin's face, now full of malice and cruelty. Abu retreated slowly with a sad look on his face, tail drooping on the floor as he whimpered.
"And as for you, street rat," Mozenrath said, addressing Aladdin aloud for the benefit of his enemies. "I think you know better than to try anything, with your beloved princess in this...unique position." His smirk widened as he slowly traced her jawline with one gloved finger, feeling her shudder with a mix of revulsion and something else more interesting. "We should have invited her to join us earlier, don't you agree?"
Jasmine's heart pounded heavily in her chest as she felt the familiar contact of Aladdin's skin with her own. But where there was normally warmth and gentleness, there was now burning yet cold severity. She closed her eyes and counted another two seconds before enacting a plan she hoped desperately would work.
A/N:
Babysitter Genie: Like, tell us what you think, please!