Kingdom Hearts

Ch. 58

Agrabah

The Strange Dish Wisher

The last customer had left about a half an hour ago. The girls had already finished cleaning the tavern. Sora was tasked with moping. He droned on till every spot was shinnying. "I'm done," he called out tired and sleepy.

Jameelah replied back, "Everyone's done. Good work today girls. Finish up here. Then everybody get in the kitchen to clean up. Then wash up and go to bed." The girls bowed and went off. "Sora come with me," Jameelah said. She led him behind the building to find the living commons. She brought him to a small building in the back with a table taking up most of the room. Near the door was a cart with plain and cheap looking plates and eating utensils. "Set up the table so everyone can eat. You can also change into normal clothes." She handed him a white T-shirt and baggy shorts. "Finish up quickly and drop your dress in the laundry bin at the end of hall." Sora nodded.

Jameelah slammed the door behind her leaving Sora by himself. After being left alone he threw his shoes off to the side. He then quickly took off the dress he dreaded all day. Sora threw them to the corner before putting some regular clothes on then began setting up the table.

After he was done, he grabbed his clothes and went off down the hall. Sora made his way down the wooden path leading to the laundry room. He looked to his left to see a flower garden in an open area in the back yard. He noticed a woman sitting in the flower field looking towards the sky. It was the dish washer girl from before. Sora came across the door to the laundry room while he watched the girl. He quickly opened the door throwing his clothes in a pile and ran out to see the girl again.

After he left, she had now removed her veil revealing her face. It was Princess Jasmine. She began to frolic in the open-air dancing on the flower bed. She fell on the ground waving her arms and legs around the plants smushing them. Sora came over to her placing his head above hers. "You know you shouldn't do that. It's not good for the flowers," he said nicely.

Jasmine was startled by his presence. She got up and pulled the veil over her face. "You don't have to worry. I'm working with Jameelah for a while. It's just you seem to be having so much fun," he said smiling. Jasmine did not say a word and refused to look at Sora's face.

"But you see, your crushing the flowers by sitting on them," Sora said pointing to the plants. Jasmine turned around seeing the kind gesture. "But don't worry. See the seeds," he pointed to them nestled in between the petals. "Even if this flower dies it offspring will live on and become flowers until they grow seeds of their own and so on a so forth." Sora motioned on, "You don't talk too much. You know." Jasmine declined to answer. "Well my name's Sora. I hope to speak to you again. Hopefully then you'll want to speak back."

"Sora come here at once," shouted Jameelah. She stood on the board walk while the girls all were entering the dining room. Sora marched over to her a bit cautious. "Don't ever talk to that girl again you hear me," she said firmly.

"What but why?" he said a bit upset.

"Because I said so," she said speaking louder grabbing Sora's ear tossing him over to the door.

"Sorry I was just trying to make a friend," he claimed.

"Sora wait for me," Jiminy said jumping towards them. He landed on Sora's shoulder as the friends both entered the dining room. All the girls were seated dressed in rough, soft clothes. They were all bare foot with no covering over their hair. They were talking to each other causing quite a commotion. Everyone was here including "Penni, Nura, Nadia, and the dancer from before. He sat down next to Nura causing her to blush a bit next to him.

"Dinner is served," shouted Goofy marching into the room while balancing 15 bowls of noodles on his body. "Wowowow!" he screamed nearly tripping from where he stood. The bowls of noodles went flying in the air. Three girls took action and rushed towards Goofy. Using their skills to catch the bowls with their hands and feet.

"Alright a dinner and a show," said Jiminy proclaimed.

Goofy crashed on the ground, "A-huck ahahah."

Jameelah walked over to Goofy looking over him. "If you'd broken those. I'd increase your workload by a week," she said.

Goofy scratched his forehead, "Ahuck sorry." The three girls passed the noddle's around to everyone giving them all something to eat. All the girls began to dig in including Sora. The young keyblade wielder was wise enough to avoid cramming all the food down his throat. He observed the girls and ate like them.

After they were done Jameelah ordered everyone to clean they're dishes before going to bed. After doing so everyone reported upstairs to their rooms. Before everyone left Jameelah called to Nura. "Take Sora up to the sleeping corridors. Make sure he's doesn't share a bed."

"Of course Ma'am," she hesitated to speak. "I've never slept in the same room as a girl before," Sora said. Nura blushed even more hearing that remark.

"And it will be your last if you try anything funny," Jameelah said pulling at Sora's ear.

"Okay, okay. I wasn't planning on doing anything," he begged her to let him go.

Nura led Sora to their room with Goofy and Jiminy in tow. Jameelah stopped them from following. "Not you two, neither of you can sleep in the girl's room. I'll show you where to sleep," Jameelah pulled them away from Sora.

Back upstairs, Nura led Sora in to their room. It was small for 15 to live in despite its size for a room. Rows of 8 bunk beds proceeded down the commons. Each girl got their own bed. They all looked at Sora starring at him.

"Is he really going to sleep with us?" one whispered to another. They all whispered like girls usually do talking and starting rumors. Penni laid in a large bed at the end of the room. One fit perfect for her size. Nada slept under the dancer girl near the window.

He looked around at everyone then asked Nura a question, "Um, can you tell me who everyone is? I'll try to remember."

Nura agreed pointing out who's who. "Well there are fifteen of us. And we come from all over the world." She began to point at each girl naming them and giving some back story to boot.

"The first is Abia. She's the only one of us who was born here in Agrabah. She's not a bachelorette like the rest of us. She came here to be Jameelah's apprentice. And after the Master passes she will take over. She's the oldest and strongest of us. She's a warrior class hero who takes after Jameelah's fighting style." Abia was tall and curvy. She had white hair and almost looked like a younger version of Jameelah. They must be mistaken for mother and daughter a lot.

"The second is Baraka. She comes from the tribe of Gold far up north. Her Father was banished for stealing the tribal leaders treasure. Alone and without a Father. Her Mother sent her here to start a new life. She's a defensive mage class and carries a staff with her." The woman had dark golden skin with short blonde hair. She had small breasts but buff legs.

"The third is Oma. She has the most piratical past. As her Mother died when she was very young, and she never knew her Father. She has a nasty temper being a berserker class. She can swell energy around her body giving her great strength. She's the second oldest behind Abia. She has trouble finding love due to her anger problems." The woman had lighter skin with short pointy purple hair. She was the least clad only having a thin top and bottom on for bed.

"The fourth is Jemima. She also was an orphan, but she didn't know anything about her parents or the tribe she was born into. She was found in the desert by some merchants. She appeared to have amnesia since she can't remember where she came from. We took her in, giving her a home she never knew she needed. She's a dancer class and one of our performers." Jemima seemed to be the most beautiful having the best hourglass body figure. She rarely wore shoes and had her hair in a ponytail. But she let her hair down before going to bed. She was the third oldest.

"Me and my sister Nada are the fifth and sixth. Are parents passed away so our village sent us her.

"The seventh, eighth, and ninth are sisters named Hayda, Nowa, Maysa. They were daughters of a renowned sand pirate named Risky. But she was defeated by the Immortal Kurt and brought to justice. Her daughters were spared and sent here to start a new life. They're all theif class heroes. Don't underestimate them." They all had black skin and kept close together. They were the same girls who saved the meal from earlier. Their height revealed whose oldest to youngest with the tall one standing up and the youngest sitting on her bed. They wore bandanas over their foreheads.

"The tenth is Penni. She doesn't talk much and she's never revealed her past to anyone except Jameelah. Her life is a mystery to us all. She carries a club as a defense type hero."

"The eleventh is Melek. She's a cleric who specializes in wind magic. She'll cause a sandstorm at will with the flick of a finger. But you may notice she has pointy ears. She was born into the Violet Tribe. Which is the richest and most prosperous tribe out there. She was a picky eater growing up and only ate what she wanted. Her Father warned her to eat what was given to her or she'll grow pointy ears. Well she didn't listen and now must live with the consequences." The girl had tan skin and long black hair. She'd already fallen asleep with her hands behind her head."

"The twelfth is Sadira. She and Melek go back being born in the same tribe. Her Father was their leader. But he openly resisted against Jafar. The Violet Tribe was then swarmed by heartless destroying their home. Sadira almost died in the conflict when her family tent was set on fire. Melek saved her and used her magic to heal her. But she was left scarred." The woman was in the bed above Melek. She had short red hair and burnt marks were scattered around her body.

"The thirteenth is Talihah. She's the dancing girl you saw on stage earlier. She was a promising girl who'd dance for money on the streets of Agrabah. She did this to earn money to help her sick Mother. But she eventually died. Jameelah then brought her home with her one day. And gave her to Jemima to teach here about dancing. Know she's just a skilled as Jemima is."

"The fourteenth is Karima. She's a bit clumsy and not the brightest out of use. She's a fighter class. The girl is very strong and could break stone with her bare hands. She started out as a bit of an introvert. But she opened up to us." The girl had a lot of muscles despite her short stature. Her back exposed her muscles showing just how strong she is. She had short green hair covering her ears.

"And the fifteenth is Zafirah she's not really a harem girl yet. She's the youngest at only twelve. But she's observing the others and hopes to become just as beautiful as us. She mostly does cleaning after the guest leave." The girl was small and had long sliver hair. She was the shortest out of everyone. Her skin was dark brown and her face was as cute as can be.

"And that is everyone. Can you remember them?" she asked continuing to walk to her bed.

"You all have had tough lives," Sora said.

"Yeah, but Jameelah always tells us our struggles in life makes us stronger woman. Our experiences make us strong," Nura explained walking off to her bed.

When Nura crossed her sister Nada's path. She spoke, "Good night sis." The older sister drifted off to sleep with everyone following her example.

Nura led Sora to a bed at the end of the hall. "Here we can sleep." She padded the bottom bunk bed. "You can sleep on the bottom if you want," she said looking back towards Sora. But he was gone. He'd already leapt on the top of the bunk bed snuggling under the covers. "Oh okay," she said. Nura climbed under him getting between the covers.

She struggled to speak, "Sorry, I tried to you know."

"Cut my throat, it's okay you're not the first person to try to kill me," he said with a bit of humor.

"Oh no. I'd never, it's just a precaution. We train just for self-defense. We often have problems with certain customers. We just learn how to fight to deal with them."

"So, what's your guys deal here. I thought you all were just employees. But you all live here. Sorry I'm not from Agrabah. So, I don't know much about this place," he asked.

"Oh yes. You see I'm actually like you. I'm from outside the city. We're all bachelorettes from the surrounding tribes. But the cooks are just regular employees. As you know the desert is a very harsh environment and Agrabah's the only real city in the world. As you can imagine, everyone wants to move here. Due to overcrowding concerns, it's largely discouraged. Though we often can visit for a short time. But for us, tribes can send some of us to one of these harem establishments to live in. Here young bachelors come to meet us and hopefully we can find love. Then if we get married we join our groom's family and become a permanent citizen. Boys normally join the Palace's armed forces. After I turned 16 my tribe sent me and my sister here to hopefully find a better life."

"That's weird. Where I come from. People share a special fruit that creates an eternal bond between the partners. That's how we find love," he explained staring at the ceiling.

"What, you have to be kidding. Where do you come from?" she asked slowly opening up to him.

"Ah ha, I'm from somewhere very far away. I couldn't even tell you where exactly I'm from," he said scratching the back of his head.

"But seriously. This really is a nice place. Are there any others like this around town?" he asked looking around. "Yes, there are two others. One for each district. And only 16 tribal girls are allowed for each of them. Me and my sister were lucky. Especially since our tribe is one of the weakest and smallest. The reason the Sultan supports this is to keep Agrabah a mixed city. There are a lot of unrest between the tribes and Agrabah is the crown jewel of the world. They want different people living here so we can mix our blood together. This prevents one tribe from being seen as more dominant to others."

"That's really interesting," he said turning over in his bed.

"Well goodnight," she said turning over for a good night sleep. Sora didn't answer back he starred out the window looking towards the night sky.

Outside Goofy was sleeping under a tiny tent. The tent only covered his stomach and thighs. He slept soundly snoring while a flower petal blew over his mouth moving up and down with every breath he makes. Jiminy sat next to him trying to sleep. He used a leaf as his make shift blanket. The tiny bug used a rock as his pillow moving it around attempting to make it as comfy as possible. After a couple of attempts he was finally satisfied and fell asleep smiling.

The two friends slept near the Masters quarters where Jameelah was still up. Candles lit up her room flickering brightly. She sat on her desk writing something down on a scroll. The window above her revealed the night sky in her room. Under it was a whole shelf of scrolls sitting behind Jameelah. The door across from her desk cracked open slowly causing a brush of wind to enter the room. Jameelah looked up to see Jasmine enter her study slowly closing the door behind her. She was carful and quiet as the door did not crack a sound after being closed.

The young Princess took off her veil revealing her face to the old preparator. "So how was your first day?" Jameelah asked returning to writing on the scroll.

Jasmine answered, "Thank you. For letting me stay here. I wouldn't have lasted long without you."

Jameelah did not look up but continued writing. "Of course, I had to help you. Your Mother and I go way back. I mean you remind me of her when she was your age. Same eyes, nose and even hair styles. But she was quite tall compared to most girls. It seems you inherited your Father's short stature," she continued.

"Yes, um. By the way I would like to talk to you about something," she asked rubbing her hands together.

Jameelah put her pen down looking up at the window. "Not at the moment. We're not alone anymore," she said as a small gust of wind came in through the window. Sand then came after falling in through the opening landing on the floor. The sand then began to morph into the figure of a veiled woman.

"Dust. Your back!" said Jasmine a bit excited. She ran over hugging the veiled woman. "I am fine my child. But I have some urgent news to report," the veiled woman said.

Jasmine let go before sitting down on a chair by the desk. Dust went on to explain what's going on. "The entire city is fearful and nervous. Jafar is relentless. He's willing to set the city on fire in order to lure Jasmine out. I've been to the 3rd and 2nd districts. The mad man has called upon an army of heartless to this city. More and more are appearing every day. He's even gone as far as replacing most guards with heartless minions. But for our sake Agrabah is hard to traverse and even harder to find someone or something when they don't want to be found."

"Something," said Jasmine a bit confused.

"Yes, my child. Though I only heard rumors. I believe Jafar is searching for the Keyhole. His henchman has been asking about it around town."

"What! That's absurd. He must know the consequences if he were to tamper with it," Jameelah shouted.

"Keyhole, what do you mean? Why is that such a big deal?" asked Jasmine puzzled.

Dust sighed before turning to Jasmine, "Well it's about time you learned. As an Immortal. It's our duty to be body guards to the Sultan but that was not our initial goal. Our real duty was to protect the Keyhole. Unknown to most people. This city was built atop a sacred area. The city was once a mountain and placed somewhere on that mountain was a keyhole that leads to the heart of this world. And if a heartless or a being of darkness would claim it. The entire world will disappear into the dark."

"Oh my. But why would Jafar destroy his own kingdom. He wouldn't be able to gain anything," Jasmine argued.

"That's why it's so outrageous. To think that man would do something like that to his own people. What's going through that man's head is a mystery equivalent to the times before Agrabah.

"But this doesn't make any sense. Wouldn't the Keyhole be lost and how can one build a city from a mountain. There's no such thing for miles," said Jasmine.

Dust went on explaining, "That's because this city wasn't built. It was crafted by a magical entity. You know the story of "The Boy and the Magic Lamp?"

Jasmine remembered the story from her childhood, "Yes, my Mom would read me that story often when I was little. It was another fairy tale about Agrabah and how it came to be."

"Yes, that's because most of the story may be truer than people realize. Most ancient tales have some truth to them no matter how farfetched it may be. We know that the boy in the tale was the First Sultan and it was with the power of the lamp that he able to unify the tribes and build Agrabah. To understand everything, we must go back to before the building of this great city. And what was this world like before it."

Dust went on telling the tale of how the city of Agrabah was created.

The Boy and the Magic Lamp

A long time ago before the Age of Dust. Water around was abundant and free to anyone who wished for it. But as time went on the world began to change and the pools and ponds disappeared turning to sand. Gone forever. Not to long after numbers began to dwindle as people would fight over the remaining water supply. This was the time known as the "War of All Against All." (To be clear, The First Sultan did not end the war like it is commonly believed. He was born generations later. But for historical significance he was branded the one who ended it. But back to the story.) The war raged on decreasing our population even more till there was less than a fraction of men and woman alive. Soon there was not enough people to go to war with anymore and there was now enough water to go around for the tiny population. Thus the long wars ended. But as the survivors began to marry and bore children they knew that the conflicts will arise again if their numbers increase. They must choose to adapt or die. Through many a trial our ancestors managed to find a way to live a life without water. By developing a type of substance magic that turns the body into sand. Now one does not need to drink for they are one with the dust of the plains. The survivors split off into 10 different tribes each with their own color symbol. The substance magic is very hard to learn. And it could take months to master. And when children come of age. They must learn it or die of thirst. And one boy among them was fated to be one of the fallen. He was deemed a failure for being unable to transform. He was forced to live on the short supply of water till he was twelve. Out trying to master his magic in the wilderness a sandstorm came from the south blinding the boy. When the storm lifted the boy had been separated from his home. He lost his way back to his tribe and he continued wandering across the desert sands for nearly three days. The boy was thirsty and was on the verge of dying. He eventually fell into quick sand sinking to the bottom. He lashed and cried but no one heard him. He sank to the bottom like a rock. The young boy excepted his fate until the sand spit him out. He fell on top of a large sand dune in a cavern under a rocky layer above. And what he found was something he's never seen before. The ruins of a city. The boy has never seen architecture like this before living all his life in tents. The boy nearly half dead wandered through the city till he came across a pool of water. He drank up till he was thirsty no more. He looked across the pool to see something perched on a rock at the end of the pool. It was an old dusty lamp left all by its lonesome. He went over to check the small item. The boy noticed it was dusty and rubbed the lamp. The lamp began to burst with lights and fire as smoke pervaded from it. With that a bright blue figure appeared in front of him. The being wailed out loud causing the entire cavern to rumble. He looked down at the boy noticing the lamp in his hands. The blue being fell before him thanking the boy for releasing him after all these years. The blue being revealed himself to be a genie and he now owes the boy three wishes. The boy turned snarky doubting the genies power. The Genie scoffed at his master's rejection. To prove his worth the Genie transported the young boy out of the caverns back to the surface. The Genie stood before his master expecting applause. The young boy thanked him and demanded to make his first wish. But the Genie denied him saying he only had two wishes left. But the boy was clever. He pointed out that he did not wish for the Genie to free him from the cave and that the genie did it himself of his own free will. The genie was shocked that he was bamboozled by a child. He gave into his master allowing for three wishes. The boy then paused to think about what he could wish for. The boy was interested in the city that laid below him and with a simple command. He wished for the Genie to build him a city in the most important place in the world. The Genie shouted with glee transporting them to such a new location. The boy found himself in front of a giant mountain sticking out of the sands like a tree. With one snap, the Genie fulfilled his masters wishes and the mountain was transformed into a beautiful city that oversaw the desert. The city would later be named Agrabah. The boy was grateful for his servant's efforts but noticed the city was too big for just one person. So, he then made his second wish. He wished that people all over the world would come to live here under him. The Genie did as he was told and with the wave of a finger. The leaders and their people from every tribe appeared before the great city. The people from all over caused a commotion till their eyes came across the lavish city. The young boy appeared before his servants revealing Agrabah to be his creation. And that they can all live in peace together here. The people of the world came before him and asked who will rule. The leaders of the tribe's step forward proclaiming each of them were worthy of the title of Sultan. The boy pleaded that he will rule over them. But the men and woman laughed him off declaring they will not follow the boy for he was too young to lead anyone. The boy was dumbfounded. He thought that people will take him as Sultan but they rejected him. He then began to think of a way for the people to accept him. He then got an idea and called out to the people, "If I can make water from nothing. Then you shall make me Sultan." The people of the world all laughed at him saying that's impossible. They agreed confidently not knowing what the boy had in store. He then took the lamp and rubbed it making his third and final wish. "Genie I wish for you to teach me how to make water with my bare hands alone. The Genie came out and handed him a pot and taught him how to make water appear inside. The boy then took the pot and brought it to the people. He took it and placed the lid over it. He closed his eyes and concentrated. After a few moments, he lifted the lid revealing water inside the old pot to the masses. The spectators were in awe. One of the tribal leaders knelt to drink the water. He confirmed it to be the real. "It was a miracle," proclaimed the crowds of people. They lifted the boy up carrying him to the Palace to make him their ruler. He was named Sultan and gained domain over the 10 tribes. He taught the magic of water making to the tribal leaders who took it back to their camps. The art was simple and easy to learn. To the point where even children could perform it. Substance magic became unnecessary and the practice was eventually abandoned. But a few choose to continue to live by the ways of the sand. They broke from their tribes and came together to form a new one disappearing into the desert. In time, the whole world submitted to the Sultan. The boy was pleased with what he wished for and searched for his Genie friend to thank him. But the magic lamp had disappeared and the Genie with it after he used his third wish. The Sultan came to terms with what he did and lived a long successful life as the worlds new ruler.

The End

"So, your saying it's real. That genies do exist. And what does this have to do with the keyhole?" asked Jasmine.

"We told you this because the First Sultan discovered the Keyhole in the Palace and learned of the significance it held. So, he created the Three Immortals to protect it. The location was passed down from Sultan to Sultan. Fortunately, Jafar didn't know about this till after he assumed control. And your Father never gave up the location before he died," Dust explained.

"Father," said Jasmine to herself.

"Now Jafar is looking for it and you at the same time. I don't know what his end goal is or what he plans to do to you or the Keyhole. But whatever it is. It can't be good. I know that he's having his Immortals search everywhere. I heard that they have already searched the other two harems and it's likely they'll come here tomorrow," said Dust turning to Jameelah.

"There are plenty of young girls without family working here. It's a perfect hiding place for the princess," Jameelah said.

"Then tomorrow we must leave and take Jasmine out of the city and never come back," suggested Dust.

"No wait. There's still something I have to do. It's what I wanted to talk to you about." Dust and Jameelah waited for her to speak. "Well there's this boy named Aladdin."

-Aladdin's Home-

Donald and Tarzan looked confused over a small pot on the ground. They all were gathered at Aladdin's house for the night. Aladdin sat Indian style placing his hands over the top. He concentrated as blue light shined from the crack between the lid and the pot. After the light faded, Aladdin took off the lid to see the pot completely filled with fresh water. "There we go. You can drink now," he said handing it to them.

"HOW!" they both shouted.

"Um, this is the only way to get water here. Everyone knows that," Aladdin claimed.

"You know they say that this magic was taught to man by a genie. Was it you? Were you the one they talked about in those stories?" Aladdin asked speaking over his head to the Genie starring out the window at the great city. The Genie looked back and smiled.