An Agreement's Small Print


A/N: This story's going to wind up being twenty-nine chapters in total, so only another four chapters to go after this one. Now that the end is in sight, these chapters will probably come out faster, so everyone can enjoy a complete story (I know at least one reader waiting for this!) Then I'll go back and clean everything up.

Glad you've enjoyed it so far Random Reviewer, your comment made me laugh Deshwitat :), and thanks Mad Madame for staying on with each chapter! Enjoy readers, reviewers and lurkers, this chapter and the lead-up to the end...

Chapter Twenty-Five

Aladdin shivered as he came around, from both the cold of the dungeon and the bitter taste of blood in his mouth. Through the heaviness in his head, he could sense the presence of someone nearby, someone watching him, but dreading the idea of opening his eyes on to face Jafar again, he kept them closed for now, preferring to spit the blood blindly.

He was thankful for the fact that whoever had thrown him in here had decided to tie his hands behind his back, rather than locked above his head as per his previous encounter. Moving his body slowly backwards, hoping the movement was escaping the other's sight, Aladdin pressed his wrists up against the rough stone wall, rubbing the rope quickly against it, so he could fight against whoever was nearby, fight his way back to Jasmine.

"Don't do it, Aladdin. It's not worth it."

Aladdin's eyes flew open at the voice, a voice he hadn't expected to hear, and he stopped immediately. His eyes took several moments to focus in the dark, the only light coming from the moon outside the window high above, but he quickly made out the large figure of Razoul leaning against the opposite wall, his eyes trained on him, his curved sword gleaming.

Aladdin watched him for a moment, unable to see what sort of expression was on the guard's face, before his stare flickered to a corner of the room, the corner where he'd once seen Jafar dressed as a prisoner, ensuring that by some cruel trick, he wasn't there again. Aladdin wasn't disappointed, and he looked back up at Razoul, the moonlight reflecting the sparkle in his eyes.

"Razoul, could you...?" he began, nodding his head back towards his hands, but his voice trailed off as Razoul shook his head.

"Sorry, Aladdin," he said, his usually gruff voice a little more gentle. "Then both of us will be on his chopping block."

Aladdin cringed, at Razoul's words and at the ringing inside his head. There was a moment's silence, before the guard came closer and sat down in front of the street boy, shifting his weight comfortably.

"Sorry also about knocking you out like that, Jafar's orders," Razoul continued, guessing correctly the source of Aladdin's pain. "Take a minute for it to subside; Jafar's been waiting eight years for this, he can wait another ten minutes."

But as he said this, Razoul had to stop himself from clenching his teeth together, stop himself from taking his sword and doing the job the sorcerer upstairs was waiting to do. Any sympathy for the boy was long gone the moment he'd taken the Princess from the palace, and even then, very little sympathy had been remaining by the time he'd done that anyway. He wanted nothing more than to take Aladdin by his neck and throw him down at Jafar's feet, but as he'd dragged the unconscious body into the palace, the Sultan had requested wearily for him to be gentle. For Jasmine's sake.

Razoul wasn't entirely sure that this was for Jasmine's sake – her anger right now was as quiet as much as the sorcerer's was explosive. But orders were orders, and ever since Jafar revealed himself to be a psychopathic sadist ready for taking over the world, Razoul was non-plussed where the orders came from, the Sultan and the Queen included.

"I don't care what he wants to do," Aladdin said quietly, closing his eyes against the pain. "I know Jasmine sees things from my angle."

Based on everyone's reactions upstairs, Razoul wasn't sure about this, but he wasn't one to get himself involved in royal relationship matters, so he changed subject by pulling himself up to his feet, before wrapping one large hand around Aladdin's forearm and hurling him up as well. "Well, you can find out for yourself."

*

Jasmine watched with a heavy heart as Razoul threw Aladdin down in front of their feet, his knees banging against the marble floor, rather painfully if his expression was anything to go by. A small part of her wanted to go to him, to bring what was her friend up to a more comfortable position, but for the most part, his betrayal hurt her deeply, and for that, she believed that he'd brought the pain upon himself.

She didn't want to be here, perched on the armrest of Jafar's throne, watching the show that judging by the cold, twisted smile on her husband's face, was sure to happen. She wanted to be with her daughter, who had stopped crying once they entered the palace only to start up again when Jafar had started shouting at Aziza for disobeying them; Jasmine had caught him as he'd swung his arm back ready to strike, begging him to remember that she was just a child, to forgive her, like she'd already done.

Jafar had stormed out of the room then, leaving Jasmine to deal with a hysterical child, but much to her relief, he'd returned minutes later to embrace his daughter, simply telling her to never leave the palace again without them.

The Sultan was looking over Aziza now, a little girl that by the time Jasmine was to join Jafar in the throne room, was already asking her mother for Aladdin. And despite the question that Jasmine couldn't answer – she hadn't been sure herself where Aladdin was but if Jafar was involved, he wasn't anywhere good – she wanted to be the one to hold the small Princess, rather than watch her former friend being destroyed at the hands of her lover, as she was sure that this was to happen.

But Jasmine was also sure that Jafar understood this, because as Aladdin was thrown down in front of them, she felt Jafar's fingers move from the skin on her lower back, to curl just under the waistband of her skirt, his non-verbal command to stay by his side.

And she had no choice but to do so, as Jasmine believed what she had finally understood years ago and what she had begged Aladdin to believe – she wouldn't leave Jafar's side; the love she felt ran far too deep for that now, deeper than it had ever ran for Aladdin. But now it was too late for Aladdin to leave of his own accord, and just like she and the Sultan had warned him, Jafar was about to have his day.

It wasn't going to be a good one, she could tell from the expression from her husband's face as he began to stalk his prey, and she made an involuntary move towards him.

Jafar stood over the boy, before kicking him with surprising strength in the stomach, before digging his hand into Aladdin's hair and clearing him up from the ground, not giving in to Aladdin's wincing. "So you thought to take it upon yourself to take Aziza into Agrabah?" he hissed, before spitting out the last word, his breath heavy against Aladdin's face.

Aladdin looked over his shoulder towards Jasmine, sitting frozen on the throne, her face calm but a flicker of fear in her eyes. "Jasmine – "

"Answer me!" Jafar roared, his hand pulling tighter on Aladdin's hair, making him cry out, before dropping him like a stone. "You, you miserable street urchin, kidnapped my daughter – "

"Jafar, he didn't kidnap her!" Jasmine argued behind them, causing both of their attention to be diverted. Aladdin was relieved for the pleading in her voice, hoping that her arguments for him would save him, but confident in knowing that she would ultimately rule over Jafar's eventual decision, because she needed him, just as he needed her. "She just wanted to see the city."

"Well, doesn't that remind me of someone?" Jafar argued back, barely holding back the snap in his voice at the wounded look on his wife's face, Aladdin watching both in confusion.

"Jafar..."

Jafar closed his eyes briefly against Jasmine's begging, knowing what her silent words were, as if closing his eyes could block out the sound of her voice. For anything else, he might've given in; no, he would've given in to her. But not now, not for this. The boy had gone too far this time.

He opened his eyes and shook his head slightly at her, finding little comfort as Jasmine looked down at the floor in submission. He knew he'd have to make this up later, though on what sort of grand scale it was going to have to be he wasn't sure, but he wondered how much of her pain was watching him about to deliver the blow, or her knowledge that if she was in Jafar's place, she would be doing exactly the same thing.

With that, he turned back down to look at Aladdin, the scowl first forced onto his face as he turned, but as he stared the boy down, Jafar felt the scowl grow to be one that was genuine. "Kidnapped or taking her away without our permission, it doesn't matter," he snapped. "The point is that you took our daughter, then lost her, and for that, street boy, you are to be beheaded. Enjoy your last night in the dungeons, with your other rats." Jafar looked up at Razoul, ignoring the soft whimper from his wife and the deadly look Aladdin shot up at him. "Tomorrow, at dawn."

With that, and unable to look at Jasmine, Jafar strode out of the room, his cloak sweeping over Aladdin on his way out.

As Aladdin watched Jasmine's feet hit the ground, making to follow her husband, Aladdin looked up at her, his one last chance. "Jasmine, please, stop him," he begged, his voice hoarse at the idea of death.

But his blood froze in his body as Jasmine looked down at him, with no apparent desire to save him in her face, her eyes full of pity and resentment. "How do you expect me to do that?" she asked, her own voice bitter, not wanting to remain in the room for a moment longer than necessary.

"You're his... his... wife," Aladdin stumbled over the words, his verbal acknowledgement of her relationship with the sorcerer flinging daggers into his heart, one that was already broken by her attitude towards him, at a loss at what had changed. "You can talk sense into him."

"Aladdin, you took my daughter," Jasmine replied, her voice dangerously calm, causing Aladdin to taste the emotion of dislike in his voice at the amount of Jafar's personality that had seemed to rub off onto her. "You took Aziza out into the city, where you lost her, but then you came back. Why didn't you tell a guard out there what happened?"

"I wanted to tell you myself..."

"For what purpose?" she questioned, her voice still managing to remain calm and unaccusing. "What difference would it have made who told me?"

Aladdin remained quiet at this question, knowing that she was right – it wouldn't have mattered. But the mistake of sending himself back to the palace with the news rather than just sending a guard seemed too little to be executed for.

"Anything could've happened to her, Aladdin," Jasmine continued, her voice whispering and strangled, as she felt tears prickle at the corner of her eyes, both at the idea of her daughter lost in Agrabah and at Aladdin's future in the morning. "You know what the people out there can be like, you've lived among them. I can't understand why you left her alone; she loves you, I thought that you cared enough for her not to do something like that to her. Or to me."

Aladdin couldn't look at her, fearing that he would break completely if he did.

"Jasmine, I'm sorry. Please, just stop him – "

"It's a little too late," she replied, fear striking her coldly as she realised that while Aladdin couldn't look up at her, she could look down at him easily, with no love that she had felt for him once upon a time remaining. Her trust in him was gone, and she couldn't remain friends with someone she couldn't trust. "I told you to leave when you had the chance, there's nothing I can do anymore."

With that, not wanting to hear another word, Jasmine followed in Jafar's footsteps, with a blind motion towards Razoul, who hurled Aladdin back up to his feet with no fight from the destroyed boy.

TBC