Chapter 6

The Sultan was having himself changed before dinner. He was wondering what was going on between Jasmine and Ali. He was no fool when it came to his daughter, he knew what Jasmine truly wanted. She wanted someone to love her for who she was. However, that was almost never the case for courtships with royalty. It was always some duty-bound obligation. Eventually, he thought that he would get her married to someone she found somewhat acceptable.

Until he found about Prince Ali.

Ababwa was a small country, and a lot of it was unknown. So he was hesitant to look there for a suitor. But when he found about Ali, he wanted to keep him as a last resort. He didn't think Jasmine would turn down and scare off every other suitor. His daughter was stubborn and determined when it came to this. Eventually, he had no choice but to turn to Ali in the end.

And while he liked him, there was so much mystery to him. Usually all of the princes were pretty straight forward in showing who they were. But Ali was a mystery to him. Maybe Jasmine could pry him open if it goes well with him.

He went to the dinner table and sat down waiting for Ali and Jasmine. He truly hoped that it was going well between the 2 and Jasmine could pry Ali open. He wanted to get to know more about the young man as well.

After about 15 minutes, he saw a sight he never expected to see. Ali walked in with Jasmine's arm in one arm, and Raja draped over his other arm as well. It was hard not to notice the big smile on Jasmine's face or Raja's as well. Ali had a small shy smile as well as he looked down at both of them.

"Sweetheart, I told you Raja isn't allowed to eat near the dinner table when we have guests!" The Sultan exclaimed.

Jasmine was about to answer when Ali spoke instead. "It's fine. I want him here." Ali said while Raja jumped off of him happily.

"Are you sure?" The Sultan asked confused. No Prince ever wanted to deal with Raja. Much less be ok with him at dinner.

Ali gave a nod and pet Raja happily. The Sultan also noticed Jasmine smiling wider than he ever saw before at them. Maybe she would finally pick a suitor and be happy with it.

"Can you all get Raja's food and bring it here? He'll be eating here tonight." The Sultan told the Servants. They bowed before going to get the food.

The Sultan had Ali's friends sent dinner for tonight. He wanted to have dinner with Ali and Jasmine alone. He wanted to see how they got along. And get some info on Ali as well.

Ali and Jasmine both sat down next to each other after they greeted The Sultan.

However, Jafar made his appearance known once he got closer to the table.

"Hello everyone." Jafar said smugly at everyone.

"Ah Jafar you're just in time for dinner!" The Sultan exclaimed happily.

Jasmine only gave him a look of disgust. She truly hated this man. Ali gave a small nod with hands clasped in front of him. His expression unreadable like before. Jafar never could get any sort of reaction out of him. It's like he was a machine.

"Well then let's eat!" The Sultan said as he happily dug into his food.

Jafar started eating while also taking a little for Iago as well. Jasmine was about to start eating as well when she noticed Ali. He just took his first bite of his food and he looked like he was savoring that small piece of fruit like it was the last thing he would ever eat.

"It's good." Ali said as small tears went down his face. He hadn't eaten in a long time.

Jasmine saw his left hand clench into a fist. His pain was hidden from the others, but she could see it plain as day. She moved her chair closer to him and reached out her hand and held his own. He looked down and turned his hand over and gripped hers tightly.

He wiped his tears away when he heard The Sultan speak. "So Prince Ali, what did you think of Agrabah on the way here?"

"It was nice. But I did see a lot of people that needed help." Ali said as he turned towards The Sultan.

"Help in what regard?" The Sultan asked confused. Jafar had always said that their people were thriving. And every prince had always praised Agrabah.

"The poor population. There were a lot of people that needed help." Ali said while he continued to eat.

"Well there are always going to be poor people Ali. You can't help everyone." Jafar said as he once again tried to get a rise out of Ali. He was determined to get him thrown out.

"Well I'll die trying." Ali said as he felt Jasmine's hand squeeze his. He looked back at her and saw her smile at him. He didn't smile back, but his eyes were soft and expressed how he felt towards her.

"Wait we have poor people?" The Sultan asked confused.

Ali looked up stunned. How naïve was The Sultan? First keeping this Jafar guy around, and not knowing there was any poor people? This was a bit alarming.

He saw Jafar about to give some lame excuse so he spoke up before him. "Yes. And there's quite a lot. I talked with a few of them on the way here. The prices are too high and they don't have a credible way to get income is a lot of what I heard."

"Your Highness I assure you, everything is being done to help those Street Rats." Jafar said trying to divert The Sultan's attention away from this topic.

"Oh really, what is being done then Jafar?" Jasmine asked smugly. She wasn't going to pass up this chance to expose him.

"It would take too long to explain and it would be hard for you to understand. Let's hold that topic for another time." Jafar said a little nervously.

Jasmine was starting to get angry for Jafar implying that she wouldn't understand politics. But Ali squeezed her hand as he finished his food. "Thank you for the food. Do you have a workout room by any chance?" Ali asked The Sultan.

"Yes, but it hasn't really been used in a long time. This servant will take you there." The Sultan said as the servant came in and bowed before Ali.

"Thank you very much." Ali said as he bowed low before The Sultan and smiled. He wanted to leave now before he lost his temper at Jafar. He disregarded the people that were struggling and insulted the woman he was slowly falling for. He needed to leave and start his workout.

Jasmine started to eat a little faster once Ali left. But she noticed something else. Ali's plate was still half full when the plate was taken away. He couldn't even have a normal plateful of food? She needed to check up on him. She wanted to see him train anyway.

"Princess Jasmine, I advise you to not choose this man as your suitor. He's not your type." Jafar said. At this point he was a little desperate at this point to get rid of him. He hoped Jasmine somehow saw him as just another pompous, self-centered suitor.

"And exactly how do you know who my type is?!" Jasmine exclaimed angrily.

"What he's doing is faking to be someone else and then win you over Princess." Jafar said with an evil smirk.

"I'll be the judge of that." Jasmine replied still angry. She had already thought of that. But she saw his suffering, and Raja sensed it too. She wanted to get to know him more. He was already miles ahead of any other suitor she had ever encountered.

She finished her food and started to get up to leave before hearing her father call for her.

"Jasmine, this is the first time I've ever seen you happy with a prince. But what Jafar said is right. Don't be naïve and get to know him more." The Sultan said. He did want Jasmine to be married and taken care of when he died, but he also didn't want Jasmine to jump into anything quickly.

However, she looked back furious. How gullible did her father think she was? She turned down all those other suitors for a reason. "How stupid do you both think I am?! I turned down every other suitor for a reason! They were self-centered and arrogant. Every single one of them!"

But before she left, she gave a small smile. "Except this one." Jasmine said as she walked away to the training room Ali was in. She thought about how the day went since she met him. He was kind, courteous and truthful. She felt a more genuine connection with him than she had ever felt with anyone else.

When she got close, she heard the sound of a whipping noise. She walked in quietly and saw Ali using the jump rope. He was playing music in the background as well to get himself fired up. Jasmine had never heard much music outside of the performances in the palace. She sat quietly in the corner not wanting to disturb him.

He's so passionate and driven. I wish I was like him. Jasmine thought. Up until she met Ali, she always felt trapped and unmotivated to do much of anything. All she really did was play with Raja and study every now and then. She never had anything she was passionate about like Ali was about boxing.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard him start to hit the heavy bag. It was small pats at first that barely made any sounds, but then he started hitting harder.

"HA!" Ali yelled as he hit the heavy bag and sent it flying. He dodged it a couple times as it came back past him and continued to hit it harder and harder. Eventually, he leaned against it breathing hard. He walked back to wipe his sweat off with his towel and then he noticed Jasmine.

"What's up." Ali said with a smile. "You can talk to me while I train."

Jasmine nodded and watched him hit the speed bag. He was quick and the small bag was moving fast and not stopping. But as she came closer, she saw his eyes. During the time she was with him, she saw those eyes sparkle and then turn dull. She saw the glimpses of the fire and determination. But watching him now, his eyes continued to sparkle and have fire. She wished she had that.

Eventually her mouth opened but she didn't know what to say. But she knew what she wanted. She wanted to share this experience with him. Maybe not the starving portion, but she did want to learn how to fight and defend herself. Maybe her father will let her leave the palace if she shows that she can fight!

"C-can you- "Jasmine started to say but for once, she was nervous to ask.

Ali stopped what he was doing and waited for her to speak.

"Can you teach me how to fight?" Jasmine asked.

Ali thought about it for a minute. While it would be nice sharing the experience with her, he never taught anyone before. He learned from the old man who taught him back at Ababwa. He never thought he could teach others.

"I've never taught anyone before." Ali said.

"Please! I want to be able to defend myself." Jasmine said desperately. She would get to spend even more time with Ali. And get to learn something useful in the process.

Ali gave a deep sigh before smiling. "Well, I can only teach you the basics. But alright."

Jasmine gave a small smile before jumping to hug him. However, Ali stepped back. "I'm all sweaty right now so not the best time to hug me. And don't think it'll be easy. You'll need to pass a test before we get started."

"A test?" Jasmine asked.

"Yes. If you pass, I'll teach you some boxing. If not, then I won't. Ali replied as he began to walk away. Jasmine followed right behind him.

Soon, Jasmine found herself back into the garden staring at a tree as Ali stood underneath it with his arms crossed. She was getting a little anxious now. What kind of test would this be?

"This will work." Ali said before turning back towards her.

"What will?" Jasmine asked.

"This will be your test princess." Ali said with a grin before backing his body into the tree making the leaves fall.

Jasmine watched as Ali started grabbing the leaves with grasping punches (Watch Hajime no Ippo Season 1 episode 2 to see what I mean) and pulled as many leaves as he could into his hands. When he was done he looked over at her.

"Come over here."

Jasmine walked over as Ali looked down at her. "If you want to learn how to box, you need to be able to do at least this much." Ali said as put the leaves in her hands.

Jasmine looked down and realized there were about 20 leaves in her hand that fell over! There was no way for her to do this!

"I'm not going to ask you to do all this at once. But you need to be able to grab 10 leaves using this method."

"10?!" Jasmine exclaimed.

"Yeah. Otherwise there's nothing for me to teach you." Ali said as he walked away with his hands in his pockets.

Jasmine thought about it for a second before responding. That look in his eye, the drive he had, and everything he was, she wanted that. She wanted to experience it all with him. She wanted to share it all with him. If this was the only way, so be it!

"Ok I'll do it!" Jasmine said as the wind blew by. Ali's hair and sparkling eyes were made even more beautiful to her when the wind past it. He smiled and began to walk towards her.

He stood in front of her and took her hands before answering. "You have 1 week then."

"Just 1 week?!" Jasmine shrieked. That was impossible!

Ali removed his hands and put them around her waist while Jasmine put hers around his neck while pouting. Did he really think she could do this?

"You can do it. I believe in you." Ali said as Jasmine started to tear up. No one ever told her those things before. Sure, all those other suitors gave her declarations of love and affection, but they only did that for the royal status and wealth. No one had ever truly believed she could do anything or told her so.

She brought Ali down and crashed her lips into his as he slowly back them up into the tree. Eventually, they both laid their foreheads against each other and held each other tight. Ali took Jasmine's arm and led them out of the garden and they walked until they were at Jasmine's room.

"Well princess, I really enjoyed the time I spent with you today. There's still a lot more I want to learn about you. And more I want to tell you. I'm afraid that we will have to wait tomorrow for that." Ali said as he turned and started to walk away.

"Goodnight my handsome prince." Jasmine said lovingly.

She watched as Ali turned his face and gave a half smile before turning away and speaking. "Sleep well princess."

Jasmine changed into her nightgown, and for once, actually looked forward to spending time with a man tomorrow. Maybe she could meet his friends and do something fun! But she remembered that she needed to grab 10 leaves. She wanted to become strong just like him. Eventually she went to sleep with a big smile on her face.

Ali went back to his small room quietly so he wouldn't disturb his friends. He also changed into his nightwear and laid down on his bed with his hands behind his head. Tomorrow he would introduce Jasmine to his friends. He hoped that went well. But he really looked forward to spending more time with just her. She was truly different. Maybe she could be the one for him. He also fell asleep with a big smile on his face.

A/N: This will probably be a crossover with Hajime no Ippo. It's a popular boxing manga and I enjoyed both of them a lot. Making Aladdin a prince and boxer is kind unorthodox but I'm gonna try it. Please R/R!