Three Months Later

Agrabah was quiet, dark, and there was a chill in the air, but Manara found herself lingering near one of the unguarded walls of the palace. Three months had passed and Manara had waited for Dajari to return, but he had not until that night; he had said it was the perfect night to kidnap the children.

As Manara lingered, silently watching the guards at the gate, Dajari appeared in a puff of smoke and leered at the young woman, "Sadira wouldn't help you?" he hissed. "She is truly weak…"

Manara shook her head; she had spent ample time talking to Sadira and trying to convince her to help in Dajari's plan, but Sadira refused. Sadira had since left Agrabah and hadn't been back since.

"I don't know how I'm going to get in there," Manara spoke softly. "The guards look strong."

Dajari chuckled darkly, "The guards are fools," he hissed. "Now, come; let us go inside the palace."

Manara cringed as Dajari took her arm and brought them into one of the palace halls in a flood of smoke, "Jafar's magic was weak," Dajari spoke quietly. "I believe we are close to the nursery."

"What should I do when I have them?" Manara asked softly. "How will I get out?"

Dajari hissed and quickly conjured a feather, "Wave this when you have the children," he replied in a dark voice. "It will get you outside the palace and I will be waiting for you at the gates to the city."

Manara took the feather, but her conscience pricked as Dajari vanished into the night. Was kidnapping children really the right thing to do or should she simply leave Aladdin be as Sadira had suggested?

Get going, you bleeding heart fool, or the magic will expire. Dajari's voice hissed angrily in her mind.

Sighing, Manara crept down the hallway and into the royal nursery, taking great care to not make any noise because she felt like Aladdin and Jasmine were sleeping nearby. She was very surprised that no guards were around and was even more surprised by the simplicity of the furniture and décor throughout the nursery. It was as if Aladdin and Jasmine wanted to keep their children living simply.

It was easy to approach Cassandra's crib and Manara took great care to lift Cassandra and put her into the chest pouch she had spent weeks sewing from scraps for this mission. Once Cassandra was secure, Manara crept over to Amal's crib and lifted him up. Amal, however, suddenly woke and began crying.

Noise and light suddenly flooded the corridor and Aladdin and Jasmine, who had been in the room next door and woken by Amal's cry, appeared, "Amal!" Jasmine cried anxiously. "Cassandra!"

"Father, Genie, Guards!" Jasmine called out in an anxious voice. "Someone's kidnapping our children!"

Aladdin ran towards Manara, intent on grabbing Amal and Cassandra, but Manara immediately waved the feather and vanished with the children. Jasmine screamed and began sobbing anxiously as Razoul and the other guards arrived with their swords out, "GENIE!" Aladdin shouted anxiously.

Genie suddenly appeared and frowned when he saw Jasmine sobbing while Aladdin stared at the two empty cribs in horror, "Some magic woman stole Amal and Cassandra!" Aladdin said anxiously.

"We'll search the city!" Razoul spoke anxiously, horrified that the royal heirs were now missing.

The Sultan silently hurried over to Jasmine and began consoling her as the guards hurried off, "Abu, Carpet, come on!" Aladdin spoke anxiously, determined to find his children. "Genie, come on!"


A cold wind greeted Manara as she reappeared in a dark alley not far from the palace with Cassandra now crying and Amal continuing to cry. Terrified that she was going to be caught and killed, Manara began to run as fast as she could with the sounds of shouting guards echoing in her ears.

"Shut up!" Manara snapped, exhausted and frazzled by the crying infants as she ran into the sleepy marketplace and grabbed some fruit off of one of the stands. "Do you brats want some fruit?"

The sight of the fruit quieted Cassandra, but Amal continued to scream loudly, "THERE THEY ARE!" a voice shouted in the distance. "YOU STOP RIGHT NOW! YOU'RE UNDER ARREST FOR KIDNAPPING!"

Shaking anxiously, Manara threw some fruit on the ground to slow the guards down and resumed running to the city gates. She could see guards in the distance, however, and knew she wouldn't make it out alive because everyone knew and recognized the royal children. She was going to end up dead.

You have them? Dajari's voice suddenly spoke in her mind. Meet me at the West Tower.

Her arms ached from carrying Amal, but Manara did as she was told. She could hear the guards following her while discussing the punishment that the Sultan would administer for her crimes.


Soon enough, the West Tower came into view and Dajari stood there, his expression dark as he towered over Manara and the infants, "Really, Manara, waking up the entire palace and causing such a ruckus over a simple task?" Dajari asked in a cold voice. "These children are prophesied to destroy the evil that lurks within the Land of the Black Sand and you cannot even handle trying to kidnap them?"

"STOP!" Razoul shouted as he and the guards suddenly appeared in view. "You are under ARREST!"

Dajari scoffed, "The same buffons that served Jafar are no match for me," he hissed coldly as he reached into the pouch and took Cassandra into his arms. "Bring the other brat to the front gate! Having only one child should be easier for you to handle! Mozenrath will hear of it if you fail me tonight!"

Manara gasped as Dajari vanished with Cassandra, but she quickly ran off with the sobbing Amal in hopes that she could find another way to the front gates. As Manara emerged back in the marketplace, however, she quickly found herself surrounded by guards, Aladdin, Abu, Carpet, and Genie.

"GIVE ME MY SON!" Aladdin shouted, fury in his voice and expression as he marched up to Manara.

As Aladdin snatched Amal away from Manara, Razoul arrived with his sword out and saw that Aladdin was holding Amal closely while glaring at Manara, "Where's Cassandra?!" Aladdin snapped angrily.

"With my master," Manara spoke in a frightened, angry voice. "He wanted both of them."

Aladdin frowned and looked to the Genie, "Genie, can you find Cassandra?" he asked worriedly.

"My master is long gone," Manara squeaked anxiously. "I…I don't think you'll find them…"

Razoul glared at Manara and promptly secured shackles on her wrists, "You are under arrest for kidnapping the royal children!" he snapped, his face full of fury. "You'll be going to the dungeon for now and then having an audience with the Sultan and Princess to answer for your crime!"

Amal continued to cry, as he disliked the cold and Aladdin held him close. Genie quickly zapped Amal into a warm blanket and Aladdin sighed anxiously, "Thanks, Genie," he spoke anxiously.

"Al, I can try to find Cassandra," Genie volunteered anxiously. "I don't know how successful I'll be."

Aladdin frowned, "You're a free Genie," he replied worriedly. "Do you think you could find Cassandra?"

"Al, even free Genies have limits in their powers," Genie replied sadly, a somber expression on his face as he watched the guards lead Manara back towards the palace. "This master may be more than even I can handle…"

Seeing the somber expression on Aladdin's face, Genie sighed, "Kid, I'll give it my best shot even if I have to look all over the world," he replied in a nervous, but kind tone. "I'm off to find Cassandra!"

As Genie vanished, however, Aladdin silently cuddled Amal and wondered if things would ever be normal again.


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