AN: I'm pretty sure there's only going to be one chapter after this, maybe even just an epilogue. But I'm on spring break next week and I won't really be writing at all, and I still have another fic I need to update before I update this one again, so it's probably going to be a touch longer than normal (if I even have a normal lol). Anyway, I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review! Even though I barely ever respond anymore because college, I read every single one of them, and they mean the world to me :)


The only thing Dalia could focus on was breathing. One breath after another. In and out. She couldn't believe that it had only been a few days since it had started. They had been the longest days of her life. But she had a job to do now, and she was going to do it. Ahmad and Tiahna needed to be let into the palace, and then, Dalia had another plan, one that she was still trying to talk herself out of.

Hakim was now standing guard near the gate, so he would be the one that she talked to.

"Pardon me, Hakim?" she gently asked as she came up to him.

"Yes, my lady," he answered with a respectful nod.

"A man and his daughter will soon be arriving. They are to be let in immediately. Their names are Ahmad and Tiahna. They helped the sultan and I in securing the antidote for the king, and must be recognized for their efforts. Please, have them given the finest suite we have, and make sure that they have everything they could possibly want," she ordered.

"It will be done, my lady," Hakim said, another nod of respect following.

"Thank you," Dalia quickly replied, then turned around and made her way not back to the sultan's quarters, but to the dungeons. She had another job to do, and she would not be afraid to do it. Her dear Gene had let it slip that Fahad still had Aladdin's wedding ring, and she was going to get it back from him, one way, or another.

She hadn't done it in years, but it was still easy enough to slip past the guards and into the dungeons. A long time ago, when she and Jasmine were much younger and much less responsible, they would sneak anywhere and everywhere that they weren't supposed to go. Really, it was Jasmine who would sneak there, and Dalia would follow her, because of course she couldn't let the girl go alone, but she was never able to stop her like she should have. Of course, Dalia was taller than she had been at the time when she and Jasmine had done most of their sneaking around, but she still knew the proper path to take and the nooks and crannies she could force herself into to hide from the guards. It worked just as well as when she was young. Dalia shook her head with a faint smile, the memories of her youth providing a much needed solace from the disaster that had been the last few days.

Once she was in the actual dungeon itself, she needed to be much more careful. She didn't know where Fahad was being kept, so she would have to do some searching in order to find him, and do that searching without getting caught. It wasn't as if she would get in trouble, but she would be sternly escorted out, and then she wouldn't be able to get the ring back, and she wouldn't be able to get the answers that she craved. Why had Fahad done this? Why would a wealthy nobleman, who had everything he could have ever needed, do this?

Dalia quickly ducked into a corner when she heard the telltale sound of guards making their rounds. It was dark enough, and she was still enough, that they passed right by without seeing her. It worked just as well as it had years before. That wasn't too much of a surprise. The guards were focused on the prisoners in their cells, not on the dark corners outside of them.

After breathing a sigh of relief, Dalia continued on her way. As she made her way down the hallways, she tuned out the whispers of the prisoners asking each other about her, and definitely didn't pay attention to any leers she heard. It didn't matter. She was down there for a reason, and she would not be dissuaded.

She passed cell after cell, each one not containing Fahad's disgusting face - she had never found him particularly unattractive, but now even the thought of his face made her sick. Getting frustration with her lack of progress wasn't going to help, but a deep breath and a positive attitude might, so that was exactly what she would do. So Dalia continued on, her head held high.

Down the hallway, Dalia could hear footsteps coming again. She needed to get somewhere where neither the prisoners nor the guards could see her. Glancing around, Dalia noticed a well. It was out of the way, and if she were behind it, no one would be able to see her. She quickly dashed over, made herself as small as possible, and settled in to wait. It didn't take long for the footsteps to grow closer, and closer, until finally, they stopped, but not in front of her. They stopped in front of one of the cells that Dalia hadn't reached yet. Straining, she could make out them talking.

"You gave up everything, you know that, right? You will never get your life back, not after trying to murder the king," one of the guards said.

Dalia heard a scoff. "A street rat can never be a real king," Fahad replied. Dalia's eyes widened. He was right there. She was so close.

"Let's go," the other guard said. "His life may be over, but our duties have just begun for the night. Let's keep moving." The continued to walk, and Dalia continued to wait. She wanted to be absolutely sure that she was in the clear. But as she started to rise from her hiding place, she heard a voice once again, a mutter that she could just barely make out.

"...should never be king, should never be allowed to live freely."

"Oh, stop your muttering," came another voice, this one from across the hall. Another prisoner. "We're all stuck down here, we don't wanna hear your ramblings." Dalia risked peaking her head up to get a look at what was going on. The man in the cell across from Fahad was staring at him, waving his arms in exasperation. "So please, just be quiet. I don't care that you tried to kill the king. Everyone who does something terrible gets thrown in here, so be quiet."

And for a moment, Fahad was quiet. But only a moment.

"Then why isn't the man who murdered my wife in here!" Fahad shouted, causing Dalia to flinch back. "He murdered her! He murdered my unborn child! Why isn't he here? Why did they not chase him down and throw him in here too?" Fahad asked, then let out a scream of frustration. For another moment, the silence returned. Then, in a quiet voice, the other prisoner spoke up once again.

"The king killed your wife?" he asked.

Fahad sighed, loudly enough for Dalia to hear. "No, not the king. The king didn't do anything. From what I've heard, he's never hurt anyone in his life."

"Then why do what you did? Why do what they say you did if the king has nothing to do with it?" the other man asked.

Dalia settled back into her hiding place, content to sit there and listen. Now that she thought about it, she could remember hearing something about a sheikh's wife getting killed right when she was brought on as Jasmine's handmaiden. That was so long ago, she could barely remember it at all, but maybe this was what Fahad was talking about.

"Because the king is the closest revenge I'll ever get for her. Because his whole life, that boy was a street rat, until somehow he won the princess' heart, and now he's king. He doesn't deserve to be king, just as my Nijah didn't deserve to be murdered by a street rat. If I cannot punish that street rat for what he did, I will punish this one instead," Fahad replied, his voice wavering only a bit.

The other man sighed, but was quiet. Dalia peeked her head over again, and saw the other man shaking his head as he moved further back in his cell, out of her view.

"I hope it was worth it," the man finally said. "You'll die for this. You know that, right? Sheikh or not, you'll be beheaded, or drawn and quartered, or-"

"Yes, I get it," Fahad interrupted. "I knew the cost if I failed, and I'm willing to accept it. I've lost. I can only hope to be reunited with Nijah now, but even that may not occur."

The other man was silent once again, as was Fahad. Dalia gave it another minute, just to be sure that they really were finished speaking, and there was nothing else that he would let slip to her. Once she was sure they were done, she strained her ears to make sure that the guards weren't coming, then, once she was sure, she finally extricated herself from her hiding position behind the well, and made her way over to Fahad's cell. She spared a short glance over at the cell across. The other man stared at her in confusion for a moment, then shrugged his shoulders and went back to leaning against the wall, his eyes closed. Fahad did not do the same. His eyes narrowed at the sight of her.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her, leaning forward a bit in his seated position.

"You took something from Aladdin. I'm here to get it back," she simply replied. Dalia wasn't going to speak with him any more than she absolutely had to at that point. She had all the answers she would probably ever get, even though his deranged thought pattern could barely be considered answers. It was time to be thankful that Gene and Aladdin were okay - hopefully, at least. If Aladdin didn't pull through, she would be foolish to think that either Gene or Jasmine would ever be the same again, or even be okay again. But she didn't have to worry about that, because the king would be fine. He was young and strong and he was going to be just fine. "His ring," she continued, when Fahad remained silent. "You still have his wedding ring with you, do you not?"

Fahad gave a soft sigh, but nodded. "Yes, I still have the boy's ring in my pocket. But why should I give it to you? Why is that boy allowed to have his wife but I am not? Why should a street rat be able to wear his ring proudly while I cannot?" he asked, but for the first time, there was no real heat behind his words. The anger that had once seemed to be all consuming seemed gone, like a candle whose flame was snuffed out. More than anything, Fahad seemed tired, too tired to put up a real fight about it. Still, Dalia wasn't going to get the ring back unless Fahad handed it to her. But what could she say? Bringing up his late wife, Nijah, probably wouldn't go over well, but there was clearly no reasoning with a man such as him.

"Fahad, please," was all Dalia could say, her voice as gentle as she could make it. She offered him a soft smile, and held out her hand through the bars. It took everything in her not to let her hand shake.

"You may as well just give it to her," the man in the opposite cell called out. "They're gonna get it back after they execute you, so you may as well just give it back now," the man said with a shrug, his eyes still closed and head still resting against the wall.

Fahad rolled his eyes, but started digging around in his pocket nonetheless. He pulled out the interconnected rings hanging limply together, and held it in his hand. Fahad glanced between it and Dalia, before finally shaking his head, and holding it out to Dalia.

"Don't say I never did anything for that brat," he muttered, not looking at her.

Dalia bristled and opened her mouth to respond, then thought better of it. It just wasn't worth it. She'd gotten what she came for. She didn't need to stay there any longer. Taking a deep breath, she turned and left, not bothering to try to stay out of the way of the guards this time. If they saw her, she would be escorted out, but out was already where she was going, so it didn't matter. Either way, the walk was quiet, and she didn't run into anyone.

The night air was cool as it wafted through the palace, rustling a few curtains and providing a much needed reprieve from the desert heat. The guards seemed to relish in it, being a bit more lazy in their duties than normal, but Dalia wasn't about to scold them for it. It had been a long few days. They deserved a rest just as much as everyone else.

"Dalia!"

She stopped in her tracks and turned to look at the source of the one who called out her name, and a smile broke out as soon as she saw her. It was little Tiahna, running madly towards her and away from Ahmad, who was shaking his head and smiling as he followed his little girl.

"Hello there," Dalia responded, crouching down to give Tiahna a better view of her. She and her father had been out in the courtyard. It was close to the guest quarters, which was where they would be staying. "Do you like it here?" Dalia asked, despite knowing the answer.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Tiahna enthusiastically replied, jumping up and down. The little girl let out a happy squeal when her father lifted her up into his arms.

"You have been more than welcoming to us, you have given us far more than we deserve," Ahmad said, his face full of nothing but gratitude and awe. "How is he?" he asked. He didn't need to elaborate on who he was asking about.

Dalia sighed. "Well, when I left, he had not yet woken, but he doesn't seem to be getting worse anymore, so that's good news," she said.

Ahmad looked at her hopefully. "When can I see him?" he asked. Tiahna was asleep on his shoulder.

"I can't say for sure, since I'm not the physician, but I would say tomorrow, as long as he continues to improve," she replied.

"Thank you, my lady, for everything," he said, giving her a small, respectful bow.

"It is what you deserve," Dalia said with a smile. "Even if you don't think so. Good evening to you both," she said, looking once more to Tiahna, who had her thumb in her mouth as she slept. She truly was a precious angel. Dalia couldn't wait to have one of her own. And Gene would be the most wonderful father. In many ways, he already was one.

Dalia continued on her way back to the sultan's quarters, soon arriving. The guards let her through, and she found the scene in front of her much changed from when she had left, but it brought another smile to her face. When she had left, Jasmine had been sitting on the edge of the bed, holding Aladdin's hand in her own. Gene had been holding Aladdin close, explaining that since he'd taken up that position, Aladdin hadn't woken from another nightmare - as if he needed to justify why he felt better being in the closest proximity to Aladdin as he could. But now, Jasmine was lying down on the bed, her face mere inches from Aladdin's, fast asleep. Gene hadn't moved, but he was obviously dozing. Rajah was at the foot of the bed, and perked up when she entered room, but, upon seeing that it was only her, settled right back in. Abu was right next to him, also asleep, and Carpet was over them. Dalia shook her head at the sight, a fond smile on her face.

Quietly, she walked over and set the ring on the table next to the bed. Putting it back on Aladdin's finger wasn't her job. As carefully as she could, Dalia climbed into the bed on the opposite side of Aladdin and Jasmine, and placed Gene's arm around her. He woke up a little as she snuggled in.

"Hey," he muttered, his voice husky. "Do what you needed to?" His eyes were closed once again, but he pulled her in a little tighter to him.

"Yes, yes I did," she whispered back, letting herself relax in the arms of the love of her life. A moment later, she heard his snores once again. Dalia smiled, and closed her eyes. Things were all going to be okay.

The light of the moon and stars was bright through the balcony, but beautiful. A gentle breeze brought the cool air into the room, making the temperature absolutely perfect. As they slept, so did Agrabah. It was a beautiful night.