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!
Patience
Iago sat on the blue daybed pillow in one of the palace rooms, the same room that Aladdin, Abu, and Carpet had left behind some time before. Iago was annoyed in that he couldn't fall asleep, and he knew very well one thing - just because Aladdin had said they would go and be right back, didn't necessarily mean that they would. And since they weren't, that usually meant trouble.
"Not that I didn't warn 'em ahead of time! They wanna go off on some adventure, and get themselves in trouble? That's just fine with me! I'd rather stay here, livin' in luxury, and not have to worry about anything unexpected going on. Too much excitement isn't good for my long term health." Iago didn't realize he said the words aloud until he saw Genie appearing in the room, stretching his arms out. He was dressed in a nightcap and gown, holding a candle in his hand.
"A little excitement never hurt anyone, but man - do you have to be so loud? You woke me just when I counted sheep number 568. Well, not technically, it was more like 569, but it hadn't cleared the bar...."
Iago was startled by Genie's entrance, and grabbed Genie by the collar. "You tryin' to give me a heart attack?! Don't do that! It's bad enough you appear at the most inconvenient times!"
"Inconvenient times for what?" Genie picked up Iago by his tailfeathers.
"Uh...I don't know...can you take a rain check?" Iago realized he'd said too much, and that if he said anything else, he'd be in over his head. He knew what Aladdin had told him, but he would rather avoid the whole conversation all together, if he could help it.
"Iago...I can smell something fishy just as plain as the beak on your face." Genie turned into a giant talking killer whale, whose fins continued to hold Iago in place. "I know what you're hiding."
"And...what exactly would that be?" Iago asked, his voice lowering in guilt, which he hoped Genie wouldn't pick up.
"You're trying to throw me a surprise party." Genie grinned, as he transformed into his usual self, only donning a party hat and throwing streamers and confetti as he released Iago, who dropped like a rock to the floor. Iago shook some stray confetti from his feathers.
"You just gotta go and ruin the surprises, don't ya?" Iago said, his words dripping with sarcasm, as he slapped his forehead with a wing.
***
"Punch it, Carpet! They're coming!"
Aladdin grabbed Abu and leapt on Carpet just in time before the shadow beasts started charging toward the door in the darkness. They were lucky enough to startle the beasts with their sudden exit overhead, and some of them tried to claw them as they made their way out of the underground area where the door stood. Back door or not, Aladdin wondered if trying to open it must have been the reason why the beasts started to show. As he flew over the heads of the beasts, he realized that it wasn't just a few of them, there were more in the underground shadows, and he wondered how they came so quickly. Where? Why? It was only then that he realized Carpet was able to see them.
"Carpet, you can actually see them?!"
Carpet nodded frantically as he flew down the path. Abu's expression was one of confusion in their whole frantic escape. They slowed in speed when they came into the open area of the underground space, but Aladdin saw the space below them, and looked onward in an expression of amazement and horror. Some of them were wandering in packs, and a few of them were occupied in the shadows, careful to avoid the light in the area. Carpet slowed, keeping a high enough distance to avoid the beasts crawling the floor, and Aladdin's brow narrowed at the recognition of the growls and snapping fangs...seeming to be in just about every direction he looked upon the darker areas of the cave.
"There's....so many of them...but why?" Abu looked around the grounds, climbing from Aladdin's shoulder to by his side on Carpet. He looked downward. past Carpet's rim to the rocky ledges below, but shrugged his shoulders.
"I guess you can't see them, can you?"
"Uh-uh." Abu said, shaking his head.
"I don't know if it's because Carpet has magic, but between him and me, we're the only ones to see all of this. With all of these beasts, I wouldn't be surprised that he's planning something more than what he said he was."
"Who?" Abu asked.
Aladdin looked over at Abu and sighed. He didn't put much stock in fate, but if it gave him an opportunity to stop Grenden in whatever he was planning, he had his moment to play by the mystic's rules. Maybe even bend them a little. Grenden may have made his terms clear in the poisoned curse that was within him, but Aladdin knew that if there was anything his days on the street had taught him, there was always a way to outwit a rule, no matter how obscure it might be. An idea came into his mind then, and he wished in secret he'd been able to see the hole in Grenden's terms before that time. He had one more full day before the curse ended, and he was going to make it as much to his advantage as he could. And he knew that somewhere, Grenden might be watching to see what his next move was, so he knew that he had to risk getting the plan to work.
"Abu, there's something I want you to do."
