A/N: OK; so life is full of the unexpected. I mean, it's now at the point where I prepare myself for the shocker when I check the daily reading stats; today… 5,500!? Incredible! I'm SOOOO blown by ALL of the support for this fic that I'm…words have long since ceased to fail me…really. You are all SO epic for reading, following, reviewing and SUPPORTING this story! Thanks a Billion- billion- billion!
Quick note; I'm feeling better, happy to report. Another quick note: my knowledge of the foods, etc. of this era is skeletal, so if something historically is a bit off…plz just overlook it. I'm a plot-driven author and didn't want to take extra time to do IN DEPTH research on any details I was unsure about. Thx for understanding. Onward!
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Aladdin & the Heirs of Magic Ch. 46: A Dark Dawn
Jasmine watched in relief as they all sat: Aladdin was on her left with Abu sitting on the table beside him; Iago lounged on an amethyst pillow to her left. Rajah sat on the floor between her and Iago; his azure eyes peeking over the table; fixed on Mozenrath, who sat on the other side of the table. Sadira parked herself across from Jasmine, to the wizard's left, Xerxes hovered to his right; Genie sat at the head of the table, apparently going to play server.
Xerxes wasted no time in retrieving the coveted cluster of grapes from the fruit bowl, which sat directly in front of Mozenrath. The wizard gave him a look, but said nothing. Iago threw the eel a thorough stink eye, before setting instead on a wing full of dates instead.
Genie had brought in enough food to feed an army; which Jasmine supposed would be just enough for them—plus Xerxes. He finished the grapes quickly and Genie passed him a towering plate of pancakes to try; the plate of flat breads smothered in sticky syrup was stacked easily a meter high.
"Ooooowwww," Xerxes said in awe, before flying up to the top and diving in.
Mozenrath just smirked and shook his head, saying: "That won't last him long," and helping himself to a pear.
Jasmine filled her own plate, whispering a 'thank you,' to Aladdin, who had poured her some pomegranate juice; she dreaded what had to come next.
Only…she couldn't see any way around it.
Genie though, seemed to be the only one oblivious to the dark turn their time together was about to take; he happily urged everyone to try the exotic foods he had conjured for them: waffles, pancakes, baked pheasant, turkey sausage, a variety of egg dishes, fruit 'jellies' to be smothered on toasted bread, even what he called a 'breakfast pizza.'
Jasmine repressed the giggle; he even had various hot cereals and many types of breads: bagels, pretzel buns, small cinnamon raisin loaves, and so on. Living in Agrabah, the region's cultural center, Jasmine had been exposed to a wide array of foods from the world over…still; she enjoyed watching Mozenrath scrutinize every item on the table, sampling a bit of this and that.
No; Desdane had not let him out of the Citadel in probably his entire life, Jasmine wondered how much he traveled once he had overthrown the other sorcerer.
Probably not very much, she intuited.
But, she couldn't bring herself to force the inevitable to happen just yet; so she let herself meld into the small talk moving back and forth across the table.
The shocking thing was Mozenrath was asking Genie (not unkindly) about various items they found set before them. And, after Genie recovered from his initial shock of either being asked or the lack or rancor attached (or both), he of course, had to indulge them all in every funny story tied to any item questioned about. And, being Genie, said tales came complete with 'poofing' special effects, including, but not limited to: Wild West gun fights and horse chases, the original Mardi Gras, getting sea sick on his first travel to America (with Columbus) and Genie's own personal hunt for the Loch Ness Monster—which turned out being a sixth cousin of Genie's four times removed.
Who knew?
Jasmine and the rest were very accustomed to Genie's 'party tricks,' but it surprised Jasmine how casually Mozenrath and Xerxes took it all. Xerxes seemed curious and entertained; Mozenrath seemed…absorbent. He took in every word Genie spoke; every detail of his magical 'commentary,' with limited outward reaction, but the princess saw plainly how engrossed the wizard was behind his façade of mild apathy. Jasmine ate and mulled over why; until it hit her.
Genie had been everywhere; done everything humanly (and inhumanly) possible. He could move through times and eras like people could travel from one kingdom to another. Genie had friends and acquaintances in every kingdom of every part of history: past, present…and future.
And Mozenrath knew that; but being mortal, he lacked the power to move through space and time as easily as Genie could…ergo, he was learning.
Jasmine for a long moment was stuck on the irony of it all; every time the wizard had tried to capture Genie, just to take his magic…had he thought of was a vast reservoir of knowledge their blue friend was?
She doubted it.
Meanwhile, Rajah had apparently decided that Mozenrath was going to stay on his best behavior and bee-lined immediately to Sadira. The sand witch had, over time, grown attached to Jasmine's tiger. She conjured treats and toys for the big cat as Genie finished his stories; Rajah was chasing an animated plush mouse the size of a hare around the room, batting it with his massive paws by the time breakfast had begun to wrap itself up.
Xerxes had eaten most of the items on the table, all the while praising Genie for his cooking skill.
"But, not as good as sand witch," the eel kept adding.
Sadira pursed her lips to keep from laughing at Genie's unsuccessful attempts to be indignant.
"Well, I can't do sand magic, Wonder-worm; what do you want?"
"Sand witch make food next time," the eel quipped, swallowing the last of the bagels.
Mozenrath snickered at Genie's folded arms and pouting expression. "You asked him," the wizard said simply, taking another pear.
"Yeah? Well, Wonder-worm can do the dishes then," Genie replied with mock glumness, "or he can pay the bill."
"Don't leave a tip though, Xerxes," Mozenrath put in.
Xerxes laughed, sniffing out the extra cinnamon loaves.
Everyone sat back, Jasmine and Sadira sipping their favorite hot tea, sweetened with honey, when the princess decided that there was no need to put off what had to be discussed anymore.
"Mozenrath," she prompted, and her face must have betrayed her reluctance, because the wizard turned to her, took in her countenance, and sighed in resignation.
"No," he said, holding up a hand at her imminent apology, "we should get this over with."
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They returned to the sofas and chairs after Genie poofed away the table—there was no remaining food.
Xerxes wrapped up in a ball on Mozenrath's lap, smacking his lips contentedly. The wizard shook his head, and petted the eel's brow as the lithe creature dozed off.
Aladdin held Jasmine's hand as they made themselves comfortable on the long sofa across from the matching one Mozenrath sat in; Sadira beside him, with Rajah still playing with his mouse at her feet.
Genie hovered behind the sofa, near Jasmine as Abu sat on Al's lap and Iago perched on the gilt-rimmed back of the cobalt and gold-patterned couch.
"I suppose it would just be best to ask that you tell us everything you know about Desdane," Jasmine gently said, fidgeting just enough that Al felt it, though he didn't see it.
Mozenrath grimly nodded. "It would be," he emotionlessly agreed.
Al felt his stomach twist in sympathy as the wizard magisterially took a breath, no doubt to steady himself. He had to give the sorcerer credit; Mozenrath clung to his dignity with all the ferocity of a starved lion to its prey. Even after everything he had endured of late, he still affected all of the elegance and regality of…well, of someone his station. Even at breakfast just now, his manners were just as refined as Jasmine's; and it had all been without thinking about it. Mozenrath had been too preoccupied with Genie's regalia of tales to pay attention to his etiquette; it was just habit.
Aladdin wondered if he was a lord's son or the son of a wealthy merchant before Desdane took him; it seemed likely.
Aladdin watched a dark, haunted look shadow the wizard's already onyx eyes as he opened his mouth to begin his tale.
Suddenly, it was almost impossible for Aladdin to remember that outside, the sun shone in all its brazen glory…because it was so very dark in the room in which they all sat.
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A/N: Hey all, just wanna remind you to go onto YouTube and watch the Aladdin TV episodes so you can catch all the hidden references I have to them in this fic. For ex., a chapter or two ago Iago fell into the vase and complained that "someone spit in this one too." Well, in the episode "Vocal Hero," Iago falls into a vase and complains that someone spit in it. So, FYI. Anyhow, have a great night and plz review!
