Almost Heaven

By- An Unknown Foreign Beauty

Chapter 2- Life of a Street Rat

Aladdin couldn't deny that he enjoyed his mornings, running and jumping across the buildings, escaping from the guards. But this morning he felt different-tired- in a strange kind of way. With the help of a pulley rope, he finally settled on the roof a ruined building, and let himself fall into the soft mattresses kept for drying. He landed with a dull thud, and let his limbs sprawl over the softness of the mattress. Until his side was pressed into something hard in his pocket.

His hand slipped inside and found the earring he stole from the handmaid from the palace. There was such wonder in her eyes, so much kindness that made his heart do a little summersault whenever he thought of her. He had no idea what this feeling called, but he was sure there was some connection between the two of them. He pressed the earring to his lips and sighed. It felt like he was living in a dream.

"Hey, thief…" A harsh voice called out from a distance and jerked him away from his dream. He raised his head to meet a small figure standing near him, with her hands on her hips.

"What are you doing on my mattress?"

"Just relaxing." Aladdin winked and grinned, scrambling to his feet, and found him face to face with a girl in bright green harem pants and a red top. The color clashed her skin tone, and her curly hair tumbling her shoulder.

"What is that in your hand?" The girl narrowed her eyes; her gaze fell instantly on the glittering jewelry in his hand.

"Umm…nothing." Aladdin quietly slipped the earring into his pocket. He couldn't trust her, not anyone. In the city of Agrabah, even street thief like him had chances to be robbed. And he had to keep his eyes open in the presence of people like him. "Just something I found lying beside the road. You don't need to worry, Morgiana."

"Well," Morgiana rolled her eyes. "Care to come inside? You can't fool the guards standing here."

"Ah…" Aladdin swallowed, throwing a glance below. The guards were still tearing through the streets. "Sure."

Abu, the money chattered in agreement on his shoulder. He decided to follow Morgiana inside.

It was one of the old mosques abandoned years ago, another of the unfinished projects of the late Sultana. Since the Sultana's death, nobody had seen the Sultan or the princess out in the city, except for some of the public events. It was the royal vizier who held all the power over him. For the last ten years the guards kept tearing through the city, all the riches went to the palace or Allah knew where, while the sultanate kept spiraling deeper and deeper into poverty.

Black windows on the empty houses stared like empty eye sockets. He followed Morgiana deeper and deeper into the building, and memories began flooding into his head. His childhood…. his mother carrying him door to door for refuge. Until one of these families gave them shelter.

It was a maze. A doorway here and a stairway there. And a deadly booby trap there—which Aladdin remembered at the last moment, pulling his foot back just before stepping onto the rope that would snap around him and fling him aloft, trussed up like a rabbit.

"Ouch..." Aladdin carefully avoided the booby trap and followed inside.

"Careful..." Grinning Morgiana tossed the rope aside with her feet and ordered him to sit down into an old torn mattress.

"You look famished." She observed his face for a moment and shook her head disapprovingly. "You must eat more if you want to keep your feet running."

Until then Aladdin didn't notice how hungry he was. He hadn't had anything since last night as he had been running away from the guards. But his head was swimming into dreams, and he forgot the most basic need of human life.

"Bread will be fine." He wetted his cracked lips. Morgiana raised one eyebrow and retreated to the small storage inside.

Aladdin took his time to observe the place. Surely it was nothing like the lavish place he observed in the princess' room two nights ago. It was dark, and gloomy, flooded with loneliness and desperation. Yet this was the place, he sometimes sought refuge, while running away from the guards. And Morgiana was the one to give him a hiding place whenever he needed it.

Morgiana returned with two loaves of bread. "Lucky I have these." She smiled, setting the plate in front of him. Aladdin looked at the bread on the plate. Not exactly fresh, but still they were food. Abu had already taken his piece and munching on it. Aladdin took his piece and took a bite.

"Thank you, Morgiana." He smiled, "I don't know what to do if not you help me to hide sometimes."

Morgiana's chocolate cheeks colored. She always did whenever he spoke or talked with her. They were only ten when they met, and teamed up to rob the people blind when they were young. They were apart when Morgiana was captured and sold as a slave to a pleasure house. It was Aladdin who broke her out one night. Since then she remained his trusted friend, providing him hiding places, distracting the guards.

"I am just expressing my gratitude, Aladdin." She smiled shyly, "You know that."

Aladdin knew. He also knew what she wanted from him.

"I know," Aladdin gave her a small smile, touching her hand. Morgiana's blush spread to her ears, she quickly removed her hand from his grasp.

"Thank you."

For a moment they fell silent. Aladdin kept munching on his bread and kept looking at the girl. She was smart and kind, but somehow the handmaid from the palace paled her. Morgiana was like a sister to him. She was not the one he wanted to be with.

It was Morgiana who broke the silence finally, "You know, Aladdin, you must settle down now. You can't just keep running away from the guards forever."

Her comment somehow brought a smirk to his lips. Him and marriage…how could it was possible? "It's only a daydream." He let out a throaty laugh. Morgiana threw him a hurt look.

"You can always consider." She picked up the plate from him and rose to dump it in the washing bucket.

Consider….

Unknowingly his hand traveled to his pocket, to the sparkling earring that sat comfortably in there. He could barely fend himself. How could he fend a wife? The scent of her sweet perfume still lingered to his nose; he could still feel the softness of the fabric wrapping her petite form. Did he have any right to drag her into a life of poverty?

He patted the jewelry in his pocket. He needed to escape from his dream. He needed to tell her the truth tonight.

Review? Faves? Follows?

Next chapter- Jasmine meets his handsome thief again, but there is something more about him.

Morgiana is a character from "Ali Baba and 40 thieves.", but here she is before she meets Ali Baba. I picture her as the girl who distracted the guards during the song "One jump ahead" saying "Still I think he is rather tasty."

I am thinking about incorporating some of the other Arabian Night characters in here. Also some from Disney's twisted tales series.