Author's Note: Aladdin Characters © to Disney and Respective Creators

Please note that in this respective work, there are references to characters from the movie Aladdin and the TV series of the same name as well. There are spoilers, but are relatively minor and do not really detract from the overall work or enjoyment of it. Please feel free to comment on my story if you can, whether it be questions, critique, or general commentary. Thanks!

The following chapter is left unchanged from its previous version, but the ones following this chapter (Chapter 10) are revised contents of the overall story. Updates will follow in my author notes.

Exchange

"Genie, I finally have something to give Aladdin." Jasmine said, smiling. Jasmine and Genie were in the company of the Sultan in the Royal Throne room that evening, finishing up the preparations there.

"You did? Well, slap me around and call me Nixon...uh...okay that's not the phrase I was going for....so what did you get?"

"Father was the one who gave me the idea."

"Well, my dearest, you actually deserve more credit than myself, since you took the time to make it. Your craftsmanship reminds me of your mother." The Sultan smiled softly.

"Ooh, ooh, I wanna see it. I wanna, I wanna, I wanna." Genie turned into his kid form and seemed to play ring-around-the rosie with the Sultan and princess.

"Be patient." She said with a smile, as she pulled out a book with a beautiful golden cover, with the words sewn in golden lettering "Our Whole New World", and a note personally addressed to Aladdin noting the wonderful year they spent together, with sewn mini-versions of Aladdin, Jasmine, Genie, Iago, Abu, Carpet and her father inside the cover of the book. On the back cover were the lyrics to the same song they had sung to each other around the time she met him and Carpet for the first time.

"Wow! Jasmine, you made this?! How long did it take you?"

"Well, most of yesterday and today. I wanted to make Aladdin something that would remind him of us and all the friends and experiences we've had since we met. And it has many pages where we can put things for the years we spend together after. It's memory book."

"D'awww, that's so cute. I think Al will love it." Genie said.

"I hope so, Genie. I think I should give it to him soon since it's almost evening, what do you think? You don't think it's too early, do you?"

"Nah. If anything, I think now's a great time. Who needs rules as to when you can give presents, eh? If it were me, I'd make it a more frequent occasion. Presents, presents EVERYDAY!" He blew a few party horns and donned a hat with the words "Happy Anniversary" on it.

"Jasmine?" Jasmine heard Aladdin's voice from a distance away, and she tucked the book into a small silken blanket and tucked it under one arm, as she went into the lobby, where Aladdin, Iago and Abu had just arrived back from town.

"I have something to give you." They both said at the same time, holding the presents behind their backs, and both looking away embarrassed briefly at the recognition.

"Mushy stuff, I'm gonna go in the other room while this is...ack!" Iago tried to walk away, but Abu grabbed him by the tail so he couldn't saunter away, while looking admiringly at the blushing couple. "Aww." The monkey said, smiling. Iago decided that he probably couldn't leave the room without a futile excuse, so he decided to watch anyway. Genie and the Sultan watched from a distance, with smiles on their faces.

"Well, I guess, we can just give them to each other, then." Aladdin said with a sly grin, and they both exchanged gifts. Jasmine unwrapped her gift first, and gasped at the beautiful jewel with their picture at the fountain.

"Aladdin, this is beautiful! How did you...?"

"It was something I bought and decided to fix up for you. I didn't even think it would be as beautiful of a gem as it was, but I thought you'd like to add it as something you could put in a special place. I thought you'd like the picture too, though Genie helped with that."

"How can you not LOVE that picture - it was so CUTE!" Genie said cheerfully.

"I love it. Thank you, Aladdin." She leaned in to kiss him on the lips and he returned it in a smooth romantic gesture. He loved that she smelled of the finest flowers, sweet, but never too much.

"Open, open." Abu urged Aladdin, tugging on his pants leg.

"I'm already one step ahead of you there, Abu." He said winking. Lifting the silk blanket, and he saw the beautiful memory book.

"Jasmine....did you make this?!" he couldn't hide the surprise in his voice as he ran his hands over the cover, and the back of the book with the lyrics sewn on the back cover.

"Yes, I've known how to sew since I was a child. It took a little while and I was afraid I couldn't think of a gift to buy that you'd like, so...."

"It's amazing!" He looked on the inside cover of the book. "Look - that's..that's me! And you too. Haha, look at Genie, he looks like he's about to squash Carpet. There's the Sultan. And Abu. And Iago..."

"Hold on, let me see!" Iago flew to Aladdin's side, looking at the images carefully. "Hey now, that ain't so bad, not at all. But why does Genie look like he's about to step on my head?"

All of them started laughing.

Aladdin read the note from Jasmine in the first page of the memory book in silence.

"Aladdin, we've shared so many wonderful memories in the past several years, and even more amazing experiences in our first year married. I know you love to travel and to recall stories of your travels, so I made this memory book so that we can remember all the times that have past, as well as the ones to come. You've really given me a whole new world since we've met, and I hope that we can share this world together forever, remembering our friends, and remembering each other. Love, Jasmine."

Aladdin couldn't say anything as he looked into Jasmine's eyes and embraced her with a pained expression on his face.

"Aladdin....what's wrong?"

"It's...nothing....I....I love it, Jasmine. I wish....thank you." He said, giving her a small smile, but before Jasmine could say anything else, he walked out of the room. Jasmine was about to go after him, but Genie put a hand on her shoulder.

"Well, that was kinda unexpected." Iago said, lifting a brow.

"I think Aladdin was quite taken with your gift, Jasmine, but I don't know why he seemed so sad..." the Sultan agreed.

"I don't know, Father. He seemed to happy about it at first, and then..."

"Nah, Al definitely loved it, Jasmine, but he's had such a chip on his shoulder the past few days, I wouldn't blame him for reacting that way. I'll go talk to him."

"You will, Genie?"

"Righty-O." Genie winked an eye as he turned into a cartoon cat and went marching off in the direction of Aladdin's room.

***

Aladdin placed the book with care on his bedside table and went out on the balcony to look into the darkening sky. He sighed as he folded his arms on the balcony rail. It was a moment before Genie appeared, in his usual form, above his head and floating upside down to stare Aladdin in the face.

"Hey, Al, buddy, what gives? One moment you were on Cloud 9 and the next you sunk like the Titanic. Maybe not that bad, but still..."

"It's nothing, Genie. I just...it was a beautiful gift. Jasmine took so much time to make it....the pictures of us she sewn...the message she wrote...and the lyrics to the our song..."

"I'm sensing a 'but' somewhere in that."

"NO! No, I...but what if Jasmine and I aren't together forever?" He turned to Genie with a pained expression.

"Hey...wait a minute, I know what this is about." Genie moved himself upright and floated to sit on the railing beside Aladdin. "You're worried that forever may not be for as long as you think - that something might happen to one of you."

"Something like that..." he admitted honestly, but didn't spare much words about it otherwise. He couldn't help shaking the feeling he was being watched, not to mention Jasmine's gift, as beautiful as it was, reminded him of what would happen if he didn't find the anecdote to the poison within him soon. He folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the railing, his head held down.

"Al, you have one of the most passionate relationships that would make the sands of the twenty seas envious. No one knows what the future holds, but there's no time like the present - you've gotta cherish what time you do have. And if I have anything to say about it, nothing's going to happen to my two biggest buddies in the entire cosmic universe anytime soon. Chin up, kid." Genie put one hand under Aladdin's chin, and Aladdin met his gaze reluctantly and smiled.

"Thanks, Genie. I hope Jasmine's not mad at me for walking out like that..."

"Nah, I think she got that you loved her gift." Genie winked. "I'll talk to her, but in the meantime, you get some sleep - you've done a lot today, and at least it wasn't as bad as the last few days have been. Tomorrow - we'll finish the last of the preparations and we'll be ready to PAR--TAY! You should be enjoying the days before your anniversary, not scrambling your brain so much, so get some sleep and kick back and relax! Don't let the bed bugs bite though...especially if they're piranhas."

Aladdin raised one brow, looking at Genie incredulously. "A piranha's not a bug, it's a fish."

"Really? I guess I've been calling the wrong agency then. Note to self: Bug people don't do fish problems. "

Aladdin laughed. "Looks like I'm not the only one who needs some rest, especially after you've been doing so much in the past few days. You should get some rest too."

Genie smiled. "Will do. Night kiddo."

***

It was a little while after Genie left that Aladdin went back into his room from the balcony - night had fallen completely by that time. He'd gazed at the memory book Jasmine had given him for quite some time while sitting on his bed, and it made him wonder what he would put inside it, but at the same time his mind kept coming back to the curse. It was only after some time when he shook his head of the thought, moving his hand across the sewn lines of the memory book that he heard the sound of low growls. He looked up to see Grenden's menacing figure in the mirror and three shadow beasts only a short distance away, their dark fur seemed to burn into nothingness. It startled him enough for him to take to his feet, first in an initial state of fear, but he met Grenden's gaze with a glare that matched the mystic's.

"What a touching scene, Aladdin. I take it you might choose the Genie is your confidant. Pity you choose him over your own wife, especially since you promised her you wouldn't keep any further secrets. And she made such an endearing book for you...if you want to keep track of the next day or so."

"Grenden....you saw that?!" Aladdin noted through his teeth, clenching his fists.

"I see everything. And I don't regret being invasive, it's my nature. The only thing I do regret is letting this lovey-dovey charade go on for as long as it has. Time to give you a glimpse into my world, street rat. The world of darkness and illusion that you'll soon join. And I'll take an immense amount of pleasure watching you lose your humanity." The beasts didn't seem to move as Grenden spoke, standing poised and ready to leap upon order.

"I know your plan. How dare you take the souls of the people you poison and use them for your own power."

"Of course I do. I'm surprised it took you so long to figure it out. But my plan goes beyond simply controlling souls - it's creating fear in the hearts of all, within the entire world. Fear breeds power." Grenden's shadow emerged from the mirror, like a billowy unfurling of black smoke, and cornered Aladdin, until he'd had his back to the wall. "What I love most about using my poisons are creating the terms upon which those poisoned obey. It's far too droll to simply poison someone and watch them die, quickly or slowly. No, mystic poison adds a bit of a touch - a slow torture that gives the poisoned party a false sense of hope - that they can get out if they agree to the terms within. But no one has ever escaped my terms alive, Aladdin. There was certainly one who tried, and came very close - but he lost his friends and life before he could. You should consider yourself fortunate - to only know the pain of what it's like to taste death. But I think it's time your friends knew of the secrets you keep, and if you can't choose a confidant, then I'll aid you in the process."

With dark mists emerging from his hands, Grenden aimed his magic at Aladdin, and tried to fire, but Aladdin was quick on his feet and rolled out of the way of the blast. Grenden snapped his fingers for the beasts to attack, but Aladdin was quicker to respond to them. He dodged one who charged, running into a wall and disappearing into a puff of dark mist. The other tried to leap at Aladdin from behind, but Aladdin turned in time and fell against the ground on purpose, able to use his feet to meet the beast's belly and thrust it over his head, crashing into the wall and disappearing just as quickly as the first beast. The third tried to bite at Aladdin's leg when Aladdin rose to his feet, but Aladdin was able to dodge it just as quickly, and the beast disappeared.

"How's that for a street rat, Grenden?" He said, confident, and meeting the angry, crimson eyes of the mystic, who seemed to growl beneath his own breath, no different from the shadow beasts Aladdin had just fended off.

"Oh, you want to be difficult, Aladdin? Okay, let's play it your way."

He aimed more dark blasts at Aladdin, who dodged as much as he could. It was only the last minute when Aladdin noticed one shadow beast that leapt at him from out of nowhere, and nearly bit his arm. But Aladdin pushed himself away and swung at the beast so that it disappeared into a puff of dark smoke.

The distraction was enough for Grenden to take aim and put a large blast of dark magic into Aladdin's heart. Aladdin's body was thrown back to the railing of the balcony outside, as he yelled in pain, but was able to grip the railing to keep himself from tumbling over.

"I think your friends might be hearing you now, street rat. Let's see if one of them can save you in time before you fall to your death."

"No....don't!" But it was too late as the blast hit Aladdin's heart again, and he tumbled backward from the balcony.