The Heir
By. Jaquenetta Rosaline Fosse Schaal
He was in search of the one.
The one who would rule his land.
This one had to special.
Not just anyone.
He was on the search.
What he didn't know was that the one was closer than he thought.
His heir.
Part 1: The Death
Chapter 1: The Search Ends
Mozenrath wearily lifted himself from his throne. He could feel his energy was leaving him. His life. He had known it for a very long time. And this search for an heir wasn't helping any either. He walked over to a mirror on a nearby wall. "Where can I possibly look now," he angrily asked himself. He couldn't think of any where else to search. Xerxes slithered over and hissed ,"Agrabah." He was also weary with the search, for it was all that had been dominating life in the Citadel for many years. "Don't be a fool Xerxes. I've already tried Aladdin," he replied, shooing the eel away. He sighed as he remembered that defeat.
Not having anything better to do he gestured in front of the mirror and an image of Aladdin appeared. He didn't appear much older than when Mozenrath had seen him last. Mozenrath thought of his own tired face and how much older he, himself looked. So different from Aladdin. It was a shame he couldn't have taken over Aladdin's body, he thought. Suddenly, he noticed something in the background.
It was Jasmine, and she had children with her. Mozenrath stared intently at the children. One, a boy, appeared about 5. Another, a girl, seemed to be about 4, and the last, who was also a girl, was about 3. There was also a child that Mozenrath could see that was soon to be born. He pulled back from the image, studying it from a distance.
A trace of the old malicious Mozenrath appeared in his smirk. "Thank you, Aladdin," he said to himself. "Master find someone," Xerxes asked, with hope that his master would be less gloomy and depressed.
"Quite possibly Xerxes, quite possibly," he responded, looking more intently at each child. "That one," he said, pointing at the youngest, "Find out her name Xerxes."
"How?"
"You sneak around and wait till you hear it," he said angry at the eel's stupidity.
"Oh," Xerxes said and began to float off in the direction of Agrabah.
"Not like that you idiot," Mozenrath called. Xerxes quickly changed form into a rather ugly black bird."That'll do," Mozenrath said, "hurry back. I have preparations to make."
Mozenrath turned around and left the room as Xerxes took off for Agrabah. The old Mozenrath was back.
Chapter 2: The Family
Ali ran down the hall as fast as his small legs would carry him. He was older than Thara, but she certainly was fast for a three year old and he would have to keep this up if he didn't want to get caught. He didn't have to worry about Adira too much. She was also older than Thara, but running wasn't her specialty.
"I'm gonna get you Ali!" he heard his younger sister call.
He looked behind him to check his distance as he rounded a corner. Not looking where he was going, he ran strait into his father.
He looked up at him hoping he wouldn't be mad that they had been running in the palace again, but he shouldn't have worried. His father was laughing. His father lifted him to his feet as he asked, "What's going on?"
Just then Thara rounded the corner and, seeing her father there, squealed, and turned to run in the other direction.
Her trip was stopped short by Adira, who was rounding the corner just then. They collided with each other in a big tangle on the floor.
Aladdin laughed even harder as he went to help them up.
Thara turned, and seeing her father approaching, squealed, "You'll never catch me Daddy!"
Aladdin helped Adira up and shot after Thara calling,"We'll see about that!"
Ali and Adira where giggling when Jasmine entered the hall.
"What's going on," she asked, looking quizzically at the loud shrieks that were coming from the hall.
"Daddy and Thara are being funny, Mommy," Adira said looking up at her mother, a big grin on her face.
"Oh I see," Jasmine said, with exasperation in her voice. "Aladdin might as well be one of the children," she thought. He certainly acted like one. And he always got the children excited. She was going to put Thara down for a nap, but so much for that. She would be all worked up after their little race through the halls, which they weren't supposed to be doing in the first place. All of the children were like their father, restless and energetic, and it certainly didn't help Jasmine control them.
A squeal, followed by laughter, came from the hall, and soon Aladdin walked around the corner with Thara in his arms, laughing.
Jasmine crossed her arms and cleared her throat in an impatient manner, while Ali and Adira tried to contain their laughter. Aladdin and Thara's laughter died when they saw Jasmine. Aladdin set Thara on the floor with her siblings and rubbed the back of his neck saying, "Um, sorry Jasmine."
Thara stepped out and, trying to defend her father cried out, "I'm sorry Mommy! Daddy wasn't bad, I was!"
Seeing the sincerity in the child's eyes, she laughed. "It's okay, but no more running around all right," she said looking around at all the children and pointedly at Aladdin.
"Yes, Mommy," they replied in unison, except for Aladdin who grinned sheepishly at her.
"And now, I think it is time for someone's nap," Jasmine said reaching for Thara.
Thara's eyes widened and she ran to hide behind her father. "No Mommy please don't make me! I promise I'll be good!"
Aladdin picked her up off the ground and handed her to Jasmine. "I know you will, but if you don't, you'll be cranky when the Sultan comes to visit later, and that wouldn't be good would it," Jasmine said, carrying Thara off to her room.
"Awww, Mommy," Thara whined, as Ali and Adira giggled at her. She stuck her tongue out at them from behind her mother's back.
"Thara...," Aladdin called out warningly. She grinned at him sheepishly and turned back to her mother, snuggling in her arms.
Once they had left the hall Aladdin turned to the remaining children with a stern look on his face.
"Now you heard what Mommy said, no more running," he said, in a scolding manner.
"Yes, Daddy," they said, hanging their heads. They obviously thought they were going to be punished.
Aladdin smiled lovingly at them. "Hey, it's okay," he said, and handed them each a cookie. "Go outside and play. I think Genie's out there."
"Okay Daddy," they exclaimed happily, and ran to do just that.
"And don't tell your mother about the cookies, or you really will be in trouble," he called after them. Once they were gone he turned to catch up with Jasmine and Thara.
They hadn't gotten to far, and Aladdin soon caught up with them. He kissed Jasmine on the forehead, and looked down at the sleeping Thara.
"I guess she really was tired after all, huh," he asked stroking Thara's hair out of her eyes.
"Hmmm," Jasmine sighed, smiling lovingly down at the child. Her attention shifted to her husband. "I love you," she said, dreamily staring into his eyes.
"And I love you," he said kissing her once more.
Jasmine opened the door to Thara's room slowly, trying not to disturb the child. Thara shifted slightly and sighed contentedly in her sleep. Aladdin took the child from Jasmine's arms, as she pulled the blankets back. He softly set her down in the bed and tucked her in, kissing her on the forehead.
Jasmine watched him as he lovingly stroked Thara's hair. She came out of her trance and placed her hand on his shoulder. "If you want to play with one, play with one that's awake."
He smiled at her and put his arms around her waist.
"As you wish, your highness."
They silently left the room in each other's embrace.
Neither noticed the large black bird flying away.
Chapter 3: A Plan Forms
"Well," Mozenrath asked angrily, impatient with waiting for Xerxes to arrive.
"Name, Thara," he said cringing at the anger in his master's voice and keeping his distance to prevent any possible blows to the head.
"Very well," he said, and suddenly turned back into the room.
Xerxes followed cautiously, not sure if his master was still dissatisfied with him. As he made no other remark, and began engaging himself in another mysterious activity, Xerxes relaxed. Suddenly his curiosity brought his attention to his master's activity. What was he up to?
"What master doing," he asked trying to peer over Mozenrath's shoulder.
Mozenrath shooed him away, and turned around with a bag of powder.
"This, Xerxes is a spell of my own creation. It is a powder that when sprinkled on the person gives them the symptoms of a deadly disease. This, of course, is untrue. Though everyone will believe that the person is dying. Eventually, the person does 'die'. "
"Master going to kill her," Xerxes asked, confused.
"No fool! She won't be of any use to me dead! She will merely appear dead. No pulse, no breath, she will be deathly cold, but though the power of my magic, she will be living." He smiled at his own genius. "The plan is for her to "die" and after the burial, for us to go grave-robbing," he smiled maliciously. Xerxes became slightly frightened.
"Come Xerxes, we start tonight," he called to the eel, leaving the room.
Chapter 4: Visits
The Sultan, Aladdin, Jasmine, and the children were waiting in the court yard for the Sultan from Negarr and his family to come.
They had arrived at the gates sometime earlier, and were currently being escorted to meet with the Sultan and his family.
The children were yawning loudly, for it was well past their bed time. "Daddy, can't we go to bed now? We can meet the Sultan in the morning," Adira complained, pulling on her father's arm.
"No Adira, we have to meet them now. Besides, I hear they have a daughter your age," Aladdin said prying the child from his arm. "Now stand up strait."
Adira huffed loudly.
"You can sleep in a little in the morning," he said smiling down at the child. Adira smiled back up at him and leaned slightly on his arm.
"Where are they," Jasmine wondered out loud. "I can barely keep Thara standing," she said pushing the child up once again, to prevent her from falling over.
"I'm sure they're coming dearest," the Sultan said, also struggling to keep Ali up.
"I hope so, this isn't good for the children," she said, somewhat disgruntled at having to keep her children up this late.
Finally, the royal family rounded the corner, entering the courtyard. They did indeed have a daughter Adira's age, as well as a boy who looked about twelve or thirteen. They were trudging along wearily behind their parents.
The Sultan of Negarr smiled tiredly. "Terribly sorry that took so long. We were having a little trouble getting our things off of the caravan," he said apologetically.
"Quite all right, quite all right," the Sultan said, putting out his hand. "I welcome you to Agrabah. I am Sultan Achmed of Agrabah, and this is my family, Princess Jasmine, her husband, Prince Aladdin, and their children, Prince Ali, Princess Adira, and Princess Thara."
Each of them stepped forward and bowed formally. The Sultan of Negarr smiled.
"And I am the Sultan of Negarr, Kareem, my wife, Queen Asirah, and our children, Prince Rashad, and Princess Mala," he said, as his family also presented themselves to the Sultan.
"Very nice to meet you. Now how about we see you to your rooms. I'm sure you are quite worn out from your journey," Sultan said, and turned back into the palace, with the others following close behind.
********
Later that night, a cautious Xerxes floated up into Thara's room. The entire palace was deep in slumber, and Xerxes knew that this job wouldn't be very difficult anyway.
He peeked about the room to check if anyone was in the room. Empty. Quietly, he slithered over to Thara's bed. He hovered above the sleeping child, examining her. What did his master see in her? He canceled the thought. Everything his master did was right to him, so what did it matter?
His thoughts returned to the task at hand. Opening the bag, he very carefully avoiding touching the powder at all costs. If the spell took hold of him, he would be discovered and the whole plan would fail. With a snap of his head, he turned the bag upside down, and poured the powder on the child.
A soft blue glow encased her body, as the powder began to sink into the pores of her skin, and flow through the bloodstream. She stirred slightly in her sleep. He hovered as close as her dared. Nothing seemed different about her, but his master had said that the spell wouldn't fully take effect until morning. That was when the real trouble would start.
Xerxes chuckled at this thought, and quickly made his way back to the Citadel.
Chapter 5: The Bloom Withers
It was nearly dawn when Jasmine was awoken by a small voice calling for her.
"Mommy," the voice called. Jasmine groggily sat up in bed, looking for the owner of the voice. It was Adira. Jasmine groaned. If Adira was waking her up because of a sibling scuffle, or something like that, she wasn't going to be very happy. What was she doing up so early anyway?
"What is it honey," she asked, not entirely concerned about what was wrong. It was probably nothing that needed fussing over.
"Thara is making weird and scary noises, and I can't go to sleep," she said, coming over to the bed. Jasmine detected a note of fear and worry in her voice. Hopefully, it was nothing. Just Thara being silly.
"What kind of noises," she asked drawing the child closer to her.
"I don't know. I've never heard noises like these before."
"Is she just being silly," Jasmine asked, beginning to worry now.
"No, I don't think so. It doesn't sound like it. They are very scary noises," she said hugging her mother.
Just then, Ali entered the room sleepily. "Tell Thara to stop making noises, Mommy," he said, with a little bit of anger in his voice. He was obviously frustrated with his sister. "I told her to stop and she won't."
Jasmine looked over at Aladdin. He was still sound asleep. Better not wake him until she knew what was wrong. "Come on, let's go see," she said leading her children out of the room quietly, so as not to wake Aladdin.
She held the children's hands as they walked down the dark and empty corridors. A shiver ran down Jasmine's spine, and she gripped the children's hands tighter. There was something dark and foreboding about the hallway.
They entered the corridor with the children's rooms. Jasmine stopped, and listened. There was a noise coming from Thara's room. It was unlike any noise Jasmine had ever heard. It was a wheezing noise. It was rhythmic, coming every few seconds and when it came, it was loud.
Jasmine became aware of how dry her throat had gone, and swallowed hard. Slowly they approached the door and with every step the noise grew louder. Jasmine's hands grew sweaty, and reluctantly, she drew her hand from Ali's and reached for the door handle. She was afraid of what she would see in the room. Afraid for Thara. The door opened and the light from the corridor fell onto the bed.
The wheezing was very loud in here, and when it came it sounded like torture. The door was fully open now and Jasmine could see the still form of Thara in the bed.
"Stay here," she said, letting go of the children's hands. Her own hands became cold with sweat once she let go.
"Thara, what's wrong," she asked, approaching the bed. Thara didn't respond, only gave a loud wheeze. Then Jasmine saw her face.
It was as pale as the sheets of her bed. Her eyes where sunken in, with large, dark circles under them, as though she hadn't slept in days. Jasmine was horrified to discover that the wheezing sound, had been the sound of Thara breathing. It sounded as though Thara was suffocating on cotton that was shoved down her throat. With each wheezing breath her body convulsed slightly, and she constantly shivered. She had pulled the blankets tightly around her, but still her lips had an unnatural bluish tinge to them.
Jasmine threw herself upon the bed when she saw Thara. She wrapped the child in her blankets and cradled her in her arms. What had caused this? And what to do? "Get Aladdin," was her first thought.
"Ali, Adira, run as fast as you can and get your father. Tell him to bring the lamp. And HURRY!" she said, each word getting louder and more urgent than the last.
They took off down the corridor, not asking any questions.
"Oh Allah, please protect my child," she whispered under her breath. She wanted to scream, but couldn't. Her throat was dry with fear. Thara shivered in her arms, and she held her even tighter. The wheezing was terrible. It was as though she couldn't breathe. Jasmine stroked the side of her face trying to soothe her from her obvious pain. Thara convulsed in her arms and took another wheezing breath. Jasmine just didn't know what to do.
"Thara, Jasmine!"
Finally, Aladdin had arrived.
********
The morning had come and gone. As had the doctors. None of them seemed to know what was wrong with Thara. All of them had said they had never seen anything like this, and the best thing to do was make Thara as comfortable as possible.
Jasmine hated those words. They were giving up hope on Thara already. But then, there wasn't much hope left, for even Genie had no idea what was wrong with her. Jasmine knew that there wasn't much hope left.
Aladdin had stayed by the child's side the whole day. He had comforted her and soothed her when her wheezing was at it's worst. But despite this, it still continued, and progressively got worse. No one seemed to know what to do.
The Sultan had come early in the morning, but had to leave to discuss the trading issues with the visiting Sultan. His voice was filled with sadness, as he said he would be back later. The scenes of all the doctors in the bedroom, and so unsure of what was wrong, reminded him of his own wife's death, and he feared the worst.
It was much later in the night when he came back. Jasmine and Aladdin had been in there the whole day. Not eating, not really even talking, nor leaving the room. They looked so sad when he returned.
He reached out to his daughter. Perhaps he could comfort her.
"Jasmine," he started.
She looked up at him. She had obviously been crying. Her lip trembled. "Father, what will we do," she cried, tears pouring down her face.
"Dearest, I'm terribly sorry," he said, unsure of what to say. Tears of his own where beginning to drip from his eyes as well. Jasmine threw herself into his arms, and began to sob.
The Sultan comforted his daughter as best he could. He looked over at Aladdin, who had done nothing since he had entered the room.
Aladdin was crying his own tears. He was staring at his ailing daughter, cringing with each wheezing breath. He absently began to stroke her face. He seemed lost in his own world.
The Sultan called out to him. "Aladdin."
Aladdin snapped out of his trance. He didn't respond, just stared at the Sultan with teary, expressionless eyes.
"Are you all right?"
Aladdin's lips began to quiver. He looked down at his daughter as the tears began to flow more readily. He took a deep breath, in an attempt to control himself. "Why did this have to happen to her? Why her of all people in the world." His brow furrowed in anger. "Why does another one have to be taken from me," he cried.
Both Jasmine and the Sultan looked at him, somewhat startled. Aladdin had said barely anything all day. His sudden outburst was suprising.
Jasmine reluctantly left her father's embrace to comfort Aladdin. She held him in her arms. Shaking violently in her arms, he sobbed. "Why does this always happen to people I love," he cried, holding Jasmine as if she were leaving him too.
Neither Jasmine of the Sultan knew what to do. He was so emotionally distraught. Jasmine took Thara's cold hand from the bed and placed it into Aladdin's hand. It startled him somewhat, but when he felt his daughter's small hand in his own, he looked at her and tried to rub warmth into it. He released Jasmine and came closer to Thara.
"Thara...wake up," he said softly.
She stirred slightly, and with heavily lidded eyes, looked at her father. "Daddy," her weak voice called for him, "I don't feel good." She coughed and took in another wheezing breath.
Jasmine came next to Aladdin, and stroked Thara's burning forehead. She wanted so much for the child to be better. She wanted to truthfully say, that everything would be all right. She knew that as many times as she said it, it wouldn't be true. She said it anyway. She wanted the child to be happy. "It'll be all right," she said softly.
Thara smiled weakly at them. Wheezing even harder now, she seemed to struggle to say her next words. "I....lo-love you, Mommy...Daddy...everyone."
Her breathing became even more harsh and uneven. The color in her deep brown eyes began to fade. Aladdin could feel her hand in his growing cold and limp. He squeezed it vainly, trying to revive a daughter he knew was dying. Her head limply fell to one side and the color faded from her cheeks. As her eyes rolled back in her head, they could her one final wheezing breath that was her last.
Aladdin felt the tears flow hot on his face. He didn't want to believe what he had just seen. He felt the hand in his and looked at it. It was limp and cold. He couldn't feel a pulse in it.
Jasmine was beside him, sobbing. She bent over to pick up her daughter. She held her in her arms, shaking her, ever so slightly, wishing her to wake but she knew it wouldn't happen. Her heart was breaking for this child. She lay on the bed with the child in her arms. She could feel Aladdin beside her, his hand on her, in attempts to comfort her. She knew he was crying as well. Looking up, she noticed her father staring down at her, with watery eyes.
"Jasmine, Aladdin, I'm so terribly sorry," he said, choking down his sobs. He reached for her, trying to get her to set the body down. Angrily, she jerked away from his touch.
"Leave her! Don't take her from me," she screamed, grasping the dead child closer to her. She was squeezing the child in a death grip. She was shaking savagely from her tears. Her teeth were clenched and her breathing became very harsh. "I don't want another baby," she whispered under her breath. Aladdin lay down in the bed with her, holding her in his arms. He knew she hadn't meant what she had just said.
"Jasmine, this isn't right. Let her go. You only make it worse if you don't. Trust me," he said in a soothing voice, trying his best to contain his own tears. He knew he needed to stay strong for her. He knew what Jasmine was going through. This was not the first time this had happened to him. His mother had died like this, right in front of him. He hadn't wanted to let her go then. It had made every thing so much worse. The burial, the life without her. He knew he had to let Thara go.
"You want me to forget her? To bury her, and hide all pictures of her? Is that what you want," Jasmine cried, softly, yet the anger in her voice still showing.
"No, Jasmine. I mean you need to accept that she's dead. You can't attach yourself to her like this. She's dead," he said, those last horrible words echoing in his mind.
Jasmine breathed in deeply. Aladdin could tell she was trying to calm herself. He knew this was hard for her. He, himself was still trying to calm down. His heart was breaking not only for the child, but for Jasmine as well.
Reluctantly, Jasmine released the child. She stroked her forehead and kissed it before turning to Aladdin and snuggling next to him. She unclasped the necklace that usually hung from her neck. She looked at it for a long time, taking in it's features, before placing it around her own daughter's neck. "This is for Thara," she whispered, mostly to herself. Her lip began to tremble once again, and she looked up into Aladdin's eyes.
"I'm so foolish. I only think of myself," she moaned to herself. She was shaking in Aladdin's embrace.
"No Jasmine. It's okay. I know what you're going through. Your father knows what you are going through. We're there for you. But this is very difficult for us too," he said, holding her tighter to him. He could see the still form of Thara next to Jasmine. He hated seeing that. Visions of his own mother's death flashed through his mind. That was one of the first times someone had been taken from him like this. The way Thara lay there with her eyes slightly open and her blue lips, reminded him of how his dead mother looked when he had waken on the day of her death, to discover his sickly mother on the verge of dying.
~ All was quiet when a four year old Aladdin awoke. He looked over at his mother, who was still asleep. Something looked funny about her, but he just assumed it was hunger. That had plagued both of them every day. But she had been acting very funny lately. More than just a person who was very hungry.
He peeked out around the barrels they had slept behind. There were some merchants getting ready for the day's sales. He decided he would steal something for his mother to eat as soon as the morning crowds started to come in.
A gasp from behind startled him and he turned around. His mother was gasping for air and her cheeks were very pale.
He crawled over to her. "Mommy," he whispered nudging her. "Mommy, what's wrong? Are you hungry?"
She groaned in pain.
"Mommy, shhh...You'll wake up the people," he said, gesturing to the window above them.
She slowly opened her eyes. And he saw how tired and sick she looked. It startled him.
She stroked his face lovingly. "Oh, my little Aladdin. I love you."
"Should I get you something to eat," he asked her, confused.
A shock of pain seemed to stab a her body suddenly, and she groaned loudly with pain. Aladdin no longer cared about the people in the house. Something was wrong with his mother.
When she had seemingly gotten over the initial pain, she answered. "No, Aladdin. Stay with me. I wouldn't want you to get in trouble."
"But Mommy, will you be okay," he asked.
"I will be soon. Just stay with me Aladdin," she said, and began to stroke his head. Each word she said was softer and quieter than the last. Her eyes became heavy, and she struggled to keep them open. Aladdin could her breathing becoming faint and shallow.
"I will always love you Aladdin, remember that," she said, her words no louder than the quietest of whispers. Her eyes rolled back in her head and closed forever. She took in one more shallow breath, and her hand fell from his face.
"Mommy," he whispered, "mommy wake up."
Hot tears began to stream down his little face. His voice grew louder.
'Mommy, please get up! Mommy, please," he sobbed, not being able to say much anything else through the tears.
A loud noise suddenly came from the window above, and an angry man's face appeared.
"Hey get out of here you little street rat. Some people are trying to sleep. You don't belong here," he yelled. Suddenly, a small pot came flying out the window towards Aladdin's head.
Aladdin ducked and ran out of the alley, crying out as he went. The pot smashed and landed near his mother.
The man's wife appeared in the window next to her husband. "What's wrong Tashir," she asked sleepily, peering out the window.
"There was some little street rat hanging around and making a lot of racket," he said, looking to see if he was going to come back. The wife looked about and noticed Aladdin's mother lying limply behind the barrels.
"Tashir, his mother must have died! Look," she said pointing to her.
"Oh well," Tashir sighed. "We'll have the guards pick her up."
********
Aladdin saw the guards placing his mother in a wooden box. He hid in the shadows. If they found him they would probably punish him for stealing.
They simply dumped the box into a hole and buried her. All there was to let anyone know that this was a grave was the freshly dug up dirt and a small stone, with the word 'unknown' on it.
Once they left, Aladdin approached the grave. New tears filled his eyes, and he lay on the grave. He didn't know how long he stayed like that, all he knew was that he wanted his mother back. He wished he had a father. He didn't care if he died right there, he just wanted someone there to love him....~
His eyes watered even more, and he tried to contain his shaking, so that Jasmine would calm down. Suddenly he heard a soft voice.
"Cry my love. I know you want to."
It was Jasmine. She looked up at him with teary eyes, and stroked his face.
One look was all that it took. One look from Jasmine triggered the dam of emotions to break. The tears poured more steadily now. He wasn't screaming or yelling, just crying in Jasmine's arms, wishing that he could rewind time and prevent Thara from dying.
The Sultan quietly went to the door. He took in a deep breath before turning the knob. "I'm going to tell the others what has happened," he said quietly.
"Father," Jasmine called for him. "I love you."
"I love you too, dearest," he said sadly, with a small smile at his daughter. He then exited the room to face the worried group that had gathered around the door.
Chapter 6: The Mistake
Mozenrath smiled at the pain. Everything was working perfectly. Better than perfectly.
Xerxes hovered by his side. He looked at his master with a question mark written all over his face. He wasn't quite sure where this plan was going.
Mozenrath chuckled at Aladdin and Jasmine, who where crying together, making plans for their daughter's burial.
"Come, Xerxes. It is time to take action," he called to his familiar, as he turned away from the image of a mourning Agrabah. He went to a red, glowing hourglass. There was a very small amount in the top half.
"My time on this earth is shorter than ever. We must act sooner than planned."
"What master mean," Xerxes asked, floating over to his master.
"We don't have time to wait for her to be buried. We must take her now," Mozenrath said, somewhat disgruntled. He picked up a sack that lay at his feet. "We will transport ourselves to the outskirts of Agrabah, and work from there," he said, and with a gesture, his dark finery changed to the simple robes of a peasant.
The eel was still slightly confused. His master seemed to be losing it. He poofed into the black bird, and landed on his master's shoulder.
"Are you ready Xerxes," Mozenrath asked, a malicious smile appearing on his lips. Xerxes simply nodded. Mozenrath picked up the end of the ratty cloak he wore and with a twirl and a flash of light, he and the hideous black bird disappeared from the Citadel.
********
Aladdin and Jasmine held each other as the Sultan talked to the Sultan of Negarr, giving him his apologies.
"I am most terribly sorry that your visit was not the most pleasant. But perhaps we shall meet later," he said, his voice soft and weak from crying.
"It's quite all right. I understand. And I am most terribly sorry for what happened. It is a most tragic thing to lose such a young child." His words were full of sincerity and his eyes full of sadness. "Well, we must be going on our way. Until we meet again," he said offering his hand to the Sultan.
They shook hands, and without another word, the Sultan of Negarr and his family, turned and left for the caravan.
The Sultan sighed deeply. He turned to Aladdin and Jasmine. "Let us go inside, we have yet to make the final preparations," he said quietly and dejected.
Silently, they walked into the palace. The others were waiting inside. Genie held Ali and Adira in his arms, comforting them. To Aladdin, Jasmine, and the Sultan's surprise, Cassim and Iago were also there.
Cassim was sadly looking at the floor, and had not noticed that Aladdin and the others had entered the room. A small, sad smile broke out on Aladdin's face. The first one all day.
"Dad," he called, with a small, croaky voice. Cassim looked up from his reverence.
"Son-," Cassim said. He was at a complete loss for words. He didn't know how to comfort his son.
Aladdin said nothing, but walked over to his dad and leaned onto his chest. In a very small voice he whispered, "Hold me."
Cassim took his son into his arms and held him for a very long time.
"I heard the news and, fortunately, I was close enough that I could make it in day," Cassim said.
"I'm glad you're here," Aladdin said, looking up at his dad. His words were sincere. All day he had seen Jasmine and her father together, and though the Sultan had comforted him to, it wasn't the same. He had wanted someone closer than that. Even Genie hadn't satisfied his need for his father's love, even though Genie was more of a father than Cassim had ever been. This was *his* father that was holding him, comforting him.
"When's the funeral," Cassim asked quietly.
"Tomorrow morning," Aladdin responded, not really wanting to talk about it, just wanting to sit there in his father's arms. He was reliving the moment on his mother's grave, when he had wanted a father to hold him and to comfort him. Sitting in his father's embrace now, was making up for every moment of his life, when Aladdin had wanted comfort and security.
Cassim nodded and held his only son. They stayed like that long into the night. Sitting, father and son, in each other's arms.
********
A dark figure was leaning against an abandoned building, waiting impatiently. His arms were crossed in an angry manner, and his mouth could be seen, turned down in a scowl, from under the cowl of his cloak.
Another figure could be seen flying down the street, obviously looking for someone. The flying object turned the corner, and came face to face with the one leaning against the wall. It was grabbed out of the air, and drawn into the man's face.
"Is anyone there," he asked urgently. The squirming figure in his hand was trying to break free of his crushing grip.
"Y-yes," it managed to gasp out. Mozenrath flung Xerxes to the ground, and looked up at the palace. He checked the items that hung about his belt.
"Very well. Come Xerxes, we must work quickly," he grinned. "It's time for an old fashioned kidnapping."
With a flash of light, they appeared within seconds outside of the palace walls. All guards were off duty tonight for the most part, so security was lax. Mozenrath briefly scanned the area for any of the few guards, and tossed a rope and hook to the top of the wall. He tugged experimentally, and leapt up as far as he could to grab the rope.
He had successfully gotten to the top of the wall, and scanned the area for more guards. Seeing none, he put the rope on the other side and climbed down the wall. Once on the other side, he gave a flick of his wrist and the rope faded from view.
"What mas-," Xerxes began.
"Shut up," Mozenrath hissed, grabbing the eel's mouth shut. He glared at him with a look that could kill. Tossing the eel to the ground he crept over to a nearby window. He stood on tiptoe and peered in.
He saw Aladdin sitting in the lap of a man who looked somewhat like Aladdin. Aladdin was crying into the man's shoulder and the man was comforting him.
Mozenrath smirked to himself. "That street rat deserves it," he thought, creeping away from the window, and crawling to a nearby door that didn't have guards posted at the door.
The corridors where dark, which helped Mozenrath to sneak in and out of the shadows. The lights had been lowered in respect of the death. Almost everywhere Mozenrath turned it was deserted.
He finally turned into the hall leading to Thara's room. There was one guard posted at the door. Mozenrath rolled his eyes and smirked at easy this whole thing had been.
Concentrating on the guard, he muttered an incantation, and the guard fell to the ground, unconscious. He and Xerxes walked to the man.
"Check for any scents of magic," Mozenrath ordered. "And you better be sure there aren't any, because if there are, you will not live to see another day," he threatened, before entering the room.
Mozenrath entered the dark room. There was practically no light, except for one small lamp. He could barely make out the outline of the bed with his future heir in it. He approached the bed silently, getting the first real look at the girl he wanted for his heir. She was perfect. All she needed was his magic. That would be rather difficult for the both of them, he knew.
Shaking the thought out of his head, he began to bind and gag the girl. As he was gagging her, he noticed the golden necklace around her neck. It looked strangely familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He knew he had seen it somewhere before, but he decided that if he couldn't remember it, it wasn't all that important.
He took the small child into his arms and slid her into the bag he carried with him. Carefully, he put it on his shoulder and turned to the door. His load was light and wouldn't be hard to get out of the palace.
Once he was out of Agrabah, he knew, everything would be fairly simple. As long as there wasn't a trace of his magic, they wouldn't suspect him. They thought he was dead. Fools, they where far to trusting.
Suddenly, he became aware of a nearby presence that was not one of Xerxes's magic.
"Xerxes," he hissed. Xerxes floated into the room, looking uncomfortable and nervous.
"I think someone's coming. We must leave as quickly as possible," he said, and walked out to the balcony. His face was showing tension as he looked around, seemingly trying to decide something. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. "We must use...white magic to escape," he said firmly.
Xerxes looked at his master. "But master, that hurt."
"I know that you fool. But its the only way we can escape without being discovered. White magic doesn't leave a trace. Its our only hope," he said, looking at the door and listening to the approaching footsteps.
Xerxes gulped. He knew that this wasn't going to be a fun trip. Mozenrath looked at him angrily. Seeing the expression on his familiar's face, he sighed angrily and waved his hand at him.
"Oh, if you wish to fly home you may, but go *now*!"
Xerxes quickly obliged.
Mozenrath sighed in deeply. He would use the child's good energy to help him through this. Closing his eyes, he thought of good intentions. All he could see was a white light that burned his eyes. A tingling feeling overtook him and he focused on the child's energy to fend off the burning sensation that was stabbing at his body. It grabbed at his heart as he vanished from the balcony. He was lost in a white abyss. The energy waves all over the place conflicted with his own dark magic. He used Thara resting on his back as an anchor. If he got lost in this world he would be trapped in a world of torment forever. Concentrating very hard on his Citadel, he felt as though he were being suffocated. The magic was smothering him. The air around him became clearer and easier to breathe soon. And he let out his breath.
He lay on the floor for a few minutes, recovering. Getting up, he took the child to a small room furnished only with a bed and small table. There were some clothes laid out for Thara, that were made suited for a sorceress. He sat on the bed next to Thara and undid her bindings. He wished she would hurry up and recover. Pulling out a flask from his cloak, he took of the top and took a swig of its contents. It was a strengthening potion, and it was prolonging his life just long enough to transport his magic into Thara. That would probably take about a week if all went well.
Mozenrath looked at the girl for a moment before muttering an incantation. It took a few minutes before the spell took hold because his power was continuously growing weaker.
Her body suddenly jolted on the bed. The color rushed back to her cheeks. She rolled to her side and was sick. She moaned softly and rubbed her eyes. When she opened them, a look of confusion was written all over her face.
"Where am I," she asked, mostly to herself.
Mozenrath rose from his chair. All was working perfectly. Her memory was gone for the most part, about the only thing she could remember was her name. All he had to do was play with her mind and make her memory into what he wanted it to be. He just had to make sure Aladdin didn't show up and remind her of her old life before all of his magic was transferred into her, otherwise her memory would return. But he didn't worry. Aladdin had to tell her who he was to get her to remember, and Aladdin was no where close to figuring out what had happened to his daughter, and probably never would.
"You are in the Land of the Black Sand. You are here to begin your training as the heir of this land."
"But how did I get here?"
"Your parents abandoned you. You were a street rat in the city of…," his mind trailed off, trying to think of the nearest city. "Durhann," he said confidently. "I found you and brought you here to learn to be the ruler of these lands."
The little girl just stared at him, confused. He sighed. She was like her father. Never thinking about things.
"Just change into those clothes and Xerxes here will escort you to the throne room," he said, and left the little girl to change.
********
"I swear your highness, I left the room for a minute and I find Sahlek here lying on the floor unconscious, and the body missing."
"There's no trace of magic anywhere Al," Genie said coming out of the room into the hall.
Aladdin's eyes where red and weary looking. He couldn't cry anymore. He had been doing that all day. There were no more tears left. "Well, I'm not giving up until this entire city has been searched. Post guards all along the walls of the city. If she wasn't kidnapped magically, they can't have gotten out of the city yet."
Cassim walked over to his son and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure she'll be found. Go to bed son, you look like you haven't slept in days," he said reassuringly.
Aladdin jerked away angrily. "No Dad. I can't sleep. My daughter is missing," he said sleepily, forcing his eyes open. Cassim thought up a plan.
"Well, come sit at least. The guards are going out to look for her," he said, leading Aladdin to a chair.
Aladdin sat down heavily in the seat and murmured to himself drowsily, "Yes...they'll find...her." It was only a matter of minutes before her had fallen asleep on his father's shoulder.
Genie smiled sadly at him and stroked Aladdin's head. "Poor kid," he whispered.
"Had to get him to sleep before he killed himself. That's all we need," Cassim said. Genie just gave Cassim a small smile.
Both of them suddenly jumped at a loud crash that came from around the corner. Aladdin was jolted out of his sleep. "What's wrong! Have they found her!" he practically yelled, he had been so startled.
A servant appeared before them and bowed. "No sir, its your wife, she's- she's gone into labor," he said excitedly.
"What," Aladdin yelled, and before any more words could be said he was gone out of sight.
"No sleep tonight," Cassim muttered, rolling his eyes.
Chapter 7: A New Beginning
The birth had been quick and blessed. Aladdin had been by Jasmine's side the whole time.
Later the next morning, Aladdin held the new baby girl in his arms. He didn't know how to feel. His heart was still aching from the death of Thara, but this new baby made him want to leap for joy. Jasmine slowly wakened and saw Aladdin with the new girl.
But then she frowned as she remembered the last few day's events. Aladdin hadn't slept or eaten for hours, in fact not for two days, and that didn't seem like the first thought on his mind. Thara's body still hadn't been found and everyone had lost about all hope.
She reached out and placed her hand on Aladdin's knee. He looked up and smiled at her. "She's beautiful," he whispered, his eyes tearing up again.
Jasmine smiled at him. But it was a melancholy smile. "What shall we name her," she asked, following Aladdin's suit by beginning to cry.
"Well," he said, thinking. "I was thinking...Nadia," he said with finality in his voice.
"It's beautiful," she said, "what's it mean?"
"It means...it means..," he trailed off. Jasmine nudged his knee. "It means, new beginning," he said sighing.
Jasmine really began to cry now. She wanted to hug him. "Oh, Aladdin," she moaned. He smiled at her, the tears streaming now. "Is it ok," he asked anxiously. She nodded, not being able to speak through the tears.
"I'll go tell everyone then," he said, handing Nadia back to Jasmine, kissing both of their heads and leaving the room.
Chapter 8: Defiance
Thara's body slammed against the wall. She slid to the floor moaning.
"Get up you worthless child," Mozenrath shrieked. "I don't care how hungry you are! You are going to let me give this to you, no matter how painful it is, and *then* you can eat!"
Thara crawled back over to Mozenrath, fighting off the fatigue and hunger that panged her body. Not to mention the fact that receiving the magic felt like twisting a sword through her heart.
Wearily, she stood up facing Mozenrath. She was dressed in dark finery. It was very uncomfortable and made her look older than she was.
Mozenrath closed his eyes and placed his hands over her heart. Thara knew what came next. She closed her own eyes and braced herself. It came at her without warning, like an arrow through her heart. She wanted to scream, but she remembered the first time she had screamed. Her master had blown her across the room and yelled at her. It made the whole painful process longer and more painful.
The arrow in her heart was on fire, and it twisted and turned, as if it were trying to be painful. A power was flowing to her body. She could feel it. It was powerful and so dark and heavy. It was too much for her.
The pain lasted for several minutes, and Thara was on the edge of unconsciousness. Finally though the arrow was jerked and twisted out of her heart. She collapsed to the floor with exhaustion. She could feel her fingertips burning from the new power that had been put in her. It felt like they were about to blow off her hands. She had to get rid of some it. She raised her hand at a mamluk, gathered up some energy and blasted him. He feel to the floor in a pile of human body parts.
Mozenrath grinned at the power his new apprentice had. It would only take one more day before her training was through. All he had to do was transfer some more power and get her to commit an act of pure evil. Mozenrath had been thinking something along the lines of killing her family. He looked down at her. She was beginning to look more like a ruler of the black sand. Her skin had paled some and she had dark circles under her eyes from lack of food and sleep. He snapped his fingers at Xerxes. "Xerxes, get the little apprentice something to eat."
Xerxes slithered over to Thara and nudged himself under her arm, urging her to get up. She moaned and refused to rise. Mozenrath frowned at her and strode over to her. He lifted her to her feet and pushed her after Xerxes, who had begun to float off to the dining room. "Go and eat, you little brat! you want to starve," he yelled at her. Thara suddenly perked up to attention and wearily ran after Xerxes.
Mozenrath smiled. "That's the way to do it," he thought, "keep her on her toes."
********
Thara trudged tiredly after the slithering eel, trying to keep her eyes open. He seemed to be going entirely to fast to keep up with. She could her clanging as she approached the kitchen.
When they entered, she discovered the sound had been a mamluk setting a small plate and cup on a rough table. The meal was only bread and water, but she consumed it with a raveonous hunger. Her whole body throbbed from her power. Her body wasn't used to it.
She supposed her life had been worse as a street rat. Her master had told her horrible things about it. He said her parents hadn't wanted her and that she was on the verge of death when he found her, but she couldn't recall any of this.
Thara rose from the table and went on a short walk about the Citadel before she had to endure more hours of torture. She couldn't remember a thing from her past life. In fact, life seemed to have begun when she came to this place. All that was left in her memory was her name. But she supposed she must have had a life before this. After all, people just don't appear out of nowhere do they?
She wandered down an unfamiliar corridor, peeking into rookms that were open and pulling on doors that were locked. One room she looked in struck her intrest. It had an ornately decorated wardrobe that was open. Inside it had many dresses and articles of clothing that looked for someone her size.
Being a little girl, her curiosity got the better of her and she wandered over to the wardrobe. She began to go through the clothes, pulling them out and admiring how they looked against her. She soon had gone through almost all of the clothes and had made a big mess on the floor from where she had tossed all the clothes. There were only a few left in the wardrobe.
She noticed one stuffed in the corner. Someone had obviously not wanted her to find it. When she picked it up, she saw it was only pajamas. But as the pajamas unrolled, a necklace clattered to the floor.
Thara dropped the pajamas and studied the necklace on the floor. It was a simple gold necklace. Was it hers? She picked it up. It didn't look like anything the master would give her. This was real gold! She looked at the pajamas that the necklace had come out of. They didn't look like something the master would give her to wear either.
But if she had been a street rat, how could the necklace belong to her? She certainly wouldn't have been able to afford something like this. Something felt strange about this neckalce. Sort of, familiar.
She held it up in the dark light and admired its glitter. She placed around her own neck and looked at her self through a nearby mirror. She knew this necklace, she just couldn't remember where.
She left the room after her decision to keep the necklace. There were the faint sounds of her master's ranting voice, coming from not far off. She ran in search of it, knowing how much trouble she was going to be in.
********
"Where is that wretched child," Mozenrath ranted, blasting a mamluk in the process. "How could you leave her unattended!"
"Not all by herself," Xerxes said queitly, cowering to make sure he wasn't the next thing that got blasted.
'The mamluks don't count!" Mozenrath was fuming. He raised his hand in anger at Xerxes and began to let it glow, when a faint voice came from behind.
Mozenrath turned and released his blast on Thara, who had just ran in to the room. He held her with his magic to the wall as he approached her. He was eerily calm.
"Where have you been little child," he said, in a mocking tone. He strenthened his hold. Thara began to struggle to breathe. "We were looking all over for you, and were soooo worried," he said giving her one more heavy blast of power before letting her collapse to the floor.
He turned away to let her catch her breath. A small shock seemed to prick him in his back. He knew what it was. He whirled about in an anger that was murderous.
"You *ungrateful* little *brat*. How could you use your power against your *Master*!" In one swoop he blasted the child into unconsiousness. Instantly he revived her. Even though he wanted to punish her, his time was constantly running out, and he needed to guide her through these last few steps.
"Stand by the wall," he screeched. "And if it happens again, you'll find yourself more than just unconcious."
Thara scowled at him from the floor, but obediently trudged to the wall.
"This is your last time. You are about to recieve the last of the power you need to become the ruler of this land," he said, placing his hands on her heart for the final time.
That thought cheered Thara up slightly. She braced herself for the blow that was to come.
Mozenrath closed his eyes and let his hands collect a blue light. Concentrating, he directed this light into Thara. Thara's eyes shot open. This was more painful than the others had been. Her eyes emitted an eerie blue glow. She couldn't an inch in front of her face. Her world had become a painful world of light. Light a color that now represented everything evil to her.
The gold necklace felt like a weight on her chest, that made it difficult to breathe. She tilted her head to the side, touching it with her cheek. It burned slightly, but the minute she touched it, images flashed through her mind, going at a pace so fast, she barley see what the image was.
Through the flashing images, she could faintly hear her master screaming. His scream was muffled, as though someone had put a bag over his head.
Thara could barely tell what the images where, but she could tell there was a family in most of them. She could see that much. She couldn't tell what their faces looked like though.
Suddenly, the images stopped. Thara cautiously opened her eyes. The blue faded away as her eyes adjusted. She could see her master, panting from rage and exertion.
"Where did you get this," he hissed, clenching his teeth together. He was grasping the necklace so tight, his knuckles had turned white.
She couldn't speak. Her throat had dried from fear, and she was deathly afraid he was going to kill her then and there. She stammered a minute or two before Mozenrath pressed down on her chest, amking breathing difficult. "I-I-found it," she wheezed.
Mozenrath threw the necklace to the floor, out raged at what had happend. In seeing her family, it had caused her to unconciously soak up more power than he intended to give to her at once. It had burned his mind and body to be stripped of his power so fast.
Thara was cowering in his grasp, trying to avoid his balzing eyes. He screamed and began to give her his magic. It had been unexpected for Thara, and she cried out in pain. She could feel the darkness engulf her mind. She resisted and pushed it away, thinking of the image of the happy family she had seen. She wanted to be like them, she wanted away from this evil place. She could feel the magic pouring through her viens. It was as though someone was pouring poison in a hole by her heart. She collected it as it poured in.
Hre eyes opened enough through the pain to see her master. His eyes were closed in concentration. She hated him so much. She wished he had left in her street rat life. Anywhere would be better than this.
In her rage and hatred, she flung the magical power she had been harbouring in her body at the hated master. He blasted back to the wall, knocking his head against the stone. Blood trickled on the wall from his head and he opened his eyes through the blazing pain. He knew his time was up.
Thara ran from the wall and snatched the necklace from the floor. She was going to leave this place and never come back.
Mozenrath glared at the child that had been his undoing. This kingdom's heir was going to rule over this land. She was bound to it through her magic. He saw her run for the door and called out to her, hissing through the blood. "I'll come back for you. I swear this. You will not escape from me. You are the heir to this kingdom and there's no denying that."
Thara approached him, glaring. "I never want to see you again," was all she said before running to the door. Mozenrath died right there against the wall as Thara made her escape.
Standing at the beginning at the Land of Black Sand, she searched the horizon. making up her mind, she headed toward a spot of light in the distance that was Durhann, not knowing that was to be her home for many years.
By. Jaquenetta Rosaline Fosse Schaal
He was in search of the one.
The one who would rule his land.
This one had to special.
Not just anyone.
He was on the search.
What he didn't know was that the one was closer than he thought.
His heir.
Part 1: The Death
Chapter 1: The Search Ends
Mozenrath wearily lifted himself from his throne. He could feel his energy was leaving him. His life. He had known it for a very long time. And this search for an heir wasn't helping any either. He walked over to a mirror on a nearby wall. "Where can I possibly look now," he angrily asked himself. He couldn't think of any where else to search. Xerxes slithered over and hissed ,"Agrabah." He was also weary with the search, for it was all that had been dominating life in the Citadel for many years. "Don't be a fool Xerxes. I've already tried Aladdin," he replied, shooing the eel away. He sighed as he remembered that defeat.
Not having anything better to do he gestured in front of the mirror and an image of Aladdin appeared. He didn't appear much older than when Mozenrath had seen him last. Mozenrath thought of his own tired face and how much older he, himself looked. So different from Aladdin. It was a shame he couldn't have taken over Aladdin's body, he thought. Suddenly, he noticed something in the background.
It was Jasmine, and she had children with her. Mozenrath stared intently at the children. One, a boy, appeared about 5. Another, a girl, seemed to be about 4, and the last, who was also a girl, was about 3. There was also a child that Mozenrath could see that was soon to be born. He pulled back from the image, studying it from a distance.
A trace of the old malicious Mozenrath appeared in his smirk. "Thank you, Aladdin," he said to himself. "Master find someone," Xerxes asked, with hope that his master would be less gloomy and depressed.
"Quite possibly Xerxes, quite possibly," he responded, looking more intently at each child. "That one," he said, pointing at the youngest, "Find out her name Xerxes."
"How?"
"You sneak around and wait till you hear it," he said angry at the eel's stupidity.
"Oh," Xerxes said and began to float off in the direction of Agrabah.
"Not like that you idiot," Mozenrath called. Xerxes quickly changed form into a rather ugly black bird."That'll do," Mozenrath said, "hurry back. I have preparations to make."
Mozenrath turned around and left the room as Xerxes took off for Agrabah. The old Mozenrath was back.
Chapter 2: The Family
Ali ran down the hall as fast as his small legs would carry him. He was older than Thara, but she certainly was fast for a three year old and he would have to keep this up if he didn't want to get caught. He didn't have to worry about Adira too much. She was also older than Thara, but running wasn't her specialty.
"I'm gonna get you Ali!" he heard his younger sister call.
He looked behind him to check his distance as he rounded a corner. Not looking where he was going, he ran strait into his father.
He looked up at him hoping he wouldn't be mad that they had been running in the palace again, but he shouldn't have worried. His father was laughing. His father lifted him to his feet as he asked, "What's going on?"
Just then Thara rounded the corner and, seeing her father there, squealed, and turned to run in the other direction.
Her trip was stopped short by Adira, who was rounding the corner just then. They collided with each other in a big tangle on the floor.
Aladdin laughed even harder as he went to help them up.
Thara turned, and seeing her father approaching, squealed, "You'll never catch me Daddy!"
Aladdin helped Adira up and shot after Thara calling,"We'll see about that!"
Ali and Adira where giggling when Jasmine entered the hall.
"What's going on," she asked, looking quizzically at the loud shrieks that were coming from the hall.
"Daddy and Thara are being funny, Mommy," Adira said looking up at her mother, a big grin on her face.
"Oh I see," Jasmine said, with exasperation in her voice. "Aladdin might as well be one of the children," she thought. He certainly acted like one. And he always got the children excited. She was going to put Thara down for a nap, but so much for that. She would be all worked up after their little race through the halls, which they weren't supposed to be doing in the first place. All of the children were like their father, restless and energetic, and it certainly didn't help Jasmine control them.
A squeal, followed by laughter, came from the hall, and soon Aladdin walked around the corner with Thara in his arms, laughing.
Jasmine crossed her arms and cleared her throat in an impatient manner, while Ali and Adira tried to contain their laughter. Aladdin and Thara's laughter died when they saw Jasmine. Aladdin set Thara on the floor with her siblings and rubbed the back of his neck saying, "Um, sorry Jasmine."
Thara stepped out and, trying to defend her father cried out, "I'm sorry Mommy! Daddy wasn't bad, I was!"
Seeing the sincerity in the child's eyes, she laughed. "It's okay, but no more running around all right," she said looking around at all the children and pointedly at Aladdin.
"Yes, Mommy," they replied in unison, except for Aladdin who grinned sheepishly at her.
"And now, I think it is time for someone's nap," Jasmine said reaching for Thara.
Thara's eyes widened and she ran to hide behind her father. "No Mommy please don't make me! I promise I'll be good!"
Aladdin picked her up off the ground and handed her to Jasmine. "I know you will, but if you don't, you'll be cranky when the Sultan comes to visit later, and that wouldn't be good would it," Jasmine said, carrying Thara off to her room.
"Awww, Mommy," Thara whined, as Ali and Adira giggled at her. She stuck her tongue out at them from behind her mother's back.
"Thara...," Aladdin called out warningly. She grinned at him sheepishly and turned back to her mother, snuggling in her arms.
Once they had left the hall Aladdin turned to the remaining children with a stern look on his face.
"Now you heard what Mommy said, no more running," he said, in a scolding manner.
"Yes, Daddy," they said, hanging their heads. They obviously thought they were going to be punished.
Aladdin smiled lovingly at them. "Hey, it's okay," he said, and handed them each a cookie. "Go outside and play. I think Genie's out there."
"Okay Daddy," they exclaimed happily, and ran to do just that.
"And don't tell your mother about the cookies, or you really will be in trouble," he called after them. Once they were gone he turned to catch up with Jasmine and Thara.
They hadn't gotten to far, and Aladdin soon caught up with them. He kissed Jasmine on the forehead, and looked down at the sleeping Thara.
"I guess she really was tired after all, huh," he asked stroking Thara's hair out of her eyes.
"Hmmm," Jasmine sighed, smiling lovingly down at the child. Her attention shifted to her husband. "I love you," she said, dreamily staring into his eyes.
"And I love you," he said kissing her once more.
Jasmine opened the door to Thara's room slowly, trying not to disturb the child. Thara shifted slightly and sighed contentedly in her sleep. Aladdin took the child from Jasmine's arms, as she pulled the blankets back. He softly set her down in the bed and tucked her in, kissing her on the forehead.
Jasmine watched him as he lovingly stroked Thara's hair. She came out of her trance and placed her hand on his shoulder. "If you want to play with one, play with one that's awake."
He smiled at her and put his arms around her waist.
"As you wish, your highness."
They silently left the room in each other's embrace.
Neither noticed the large black bird flying away.
Chapter 3: A Plan Forms
"Well," Mozenrath asked angrily, impatient with waiting for Xerxes to arrive.
"Name, Thara," he said cringing at the anger in his master's voice and keeping his distance to prevent any possible blows to the head.
"Very well," he said, and suddenly turned back into the room.
Xerxes followed cautiously, not sure if his master was still dissatisfied with him. As he made no other remark, and began engaging himself in another mysterious activity, Xerxes relaxed. Suddenly his curiosity brought his attention to his master's activity. What was he up to?
"What master doing," he asked trying to peer over Mozenrath's shoulder.
Mozenrath shooed him away, and turned around with a bag of powder.
"This, Xerxes is a spell of my own creation. It is a powder that when sprinkled on the person gives them the symptoms of a deadly disease. This, of course, is untrue. Though everyone will believe that the person is dying. Eventually, the person does 'die'. "
"Master going to kill her," Xerxes asked, confused.
"No fool! She won't be of any use to me dead! She will merely appear dead. No pulse, no breath, she will be deathly cold, but though the power of my magic, she will be living." He smiled at his own genius. "The plan is for her to "die" and after the burial, for us to go grave-robbing," he smiled maliciously. Xerxes became slightly frightened.
"Come Xerxes, we start tonight," he called to the eel, leaving the room.
Chapter 4: Visits
The Sultan, Aladdin, Jasmine, and the children were waiting in the court yard for the Sultan from Negarr and his family to come.
They had arrived at the gates sometime earlier, and were currently being escorted to meet with the Sultan and his family.
The children were yawning loudly, for it was well past their bed time. "Daddy, can't we go to bed now? We can meet the Sultan in the morning," Adira complained, pulling on her father's arm.
"No Adira, we have to meet them now. Besides, I hear they have a daughter your age," Aladdin said prying the child from his arm. "Now stand up strait."
Adira huffed loudly.
"You can sleep in a little in the morning," he said smiling down at the child. Adira smiled back up at him and leaned slightly on his arm.
"Where are they," Jasmine wondered out loud. "I can barely keep Thara standing," she said pushing the child up once again, to prevent her from falling over.
"I'm sure they're coming dearest," the Sultan said, also struggling to keep Ali up.
"I hope so, this isn't good for the children," she said, somewhat disgruntled at having to keep her children up this late.
Finally, the royal family rounded the corner, entering the courtyard. They did indeed have a daughter Adira's age, as well as a boy who looked about twelve or thirteen. They were trudging along wearily behind their parents.
The Sultan of Negarr smiled tiredly. "Terribly sorry that took so long. We were having a little trouble getting our things off of the caravan," he said apologetically.
"Quite all right, quite all right," the Sultan said, putting out his hand. "I welcome you to Agrabah. I am Sultan Achmed of Agrabah, and this is my family, Princess Jasmine, her husband, Prince Aladdin, and their children, Prince Ali, Princess Adira, and Princess Thara."
Each of them stepped forward and bowed formally. The Sultan of Negarr smiled.
"And I am the Sultan of Negarr, Kareem, my wife, Queen Asirah, and our children, Prince Rashad, and Princess Mala," he said, as his family also presented themselves to the Sultan.
"Very nice to meet you. Now how about we see you to your rooms. I'm sure you are quite worn out from your journey," Sultan said, and turned back into the palace, with the others following close behind.
********
Later that night, a cautious Xerxes floated up into Thara's room. The entire palace was deep in slumber, and Xerxes knew that this job wouldn't be very difficult anyway.
He peeked about the room to check if anyone was in the room. Empty. Quietly, he slithered over to Thara's bed. He hovered above the sleeping child, examining her. What did his master see in her? He canceled the thought. Everything his master did was right to him, so what did it matter?
His thoughts returned to the task at hand. Opening the bag, he very carefully avoiding touching the powder at all costs. If the spell took hold of him, he would be discovered and the whole plan would fail. With a snap of his head, he turned the bag upside down, and poured the powder on the child.
A soft blue glow encased her body, as the powder began to sink into the pores of her skin, and flow through the bloodstream. She stirred slightly in her sleep. He hovered as close as her dared. Nothing seemed different about her, but his master had said that the spell wouldn't fully take effect until morning. That was when the real trouble would start.
Xerxes chuckled at this thought, and quickly made his way back to the Citadel.
Chapter 5: The Bloom Withers
It was nearly dawn when Jasmine was awoken by a small voice calling for her.
"Mommy," the voice called. Jasmine groggily sat up in bed, looking for the owner of the voice. It was Adira. Jasmine groaned. If Adira was waking her up because of a sibling scuffle, or something like that, she wasn't going to be very happy. What was she doing up so early anyway?
"What is it honey," she asked, not entirely concerned about what was wrong. It was probably nothing that needed fussing over.
"Thara is making weird and scary noises, and I can't go to sleep," she said, coming over to the bed. Jasmine detected a note of fear and worry in her voice. Hopefully, it was nothing. Just Thara being silly.
"What kind of noises," she asked drawing the child closer to her.
"I don't know. I've never heard noises like these before."
"Is she just being silly," Jasmine asked, beginning to worry now.
"No, I don't think so. It doesn't sound like it. They are very scary noises," she said hugging her mother.
Just then, Ali entered the room sleepily. "Tell Thara to stop making noises, Mommy," he said, with a little bit of anger in his voice. He was obviously frustrated with his sister. "I told her to stop and she won't."
Jasmine looked over at Aladdin. He was still sound asleep. Better not wake him until she knew what was wrong. "Come on, let's go see," she said leading her children out of the room quietly, so as not to wake Aladdin.
She held the children's hands as they walked down the dark and empty corridors. A shiver ran down Jasmine's spine, and she gripped the children's hands tighter. There was something dark and foreboding about the hallway.
They entered the corridor with the children's rooms. Jasmine stopped, and listened. There was a noise coming from Thara's room. It was unlike any noise Jasmine had ever heard. It was a wheezing noise. It was rhythmic, coming every few seconds and when it came, it was loud.
Jasmine became aware of how dry her throat had gone, and swallowed hard. Slowly they approached the door and with every step the noise grew louder. Jasmine's hands grew sweaty, and reluctantly, she drew her hand from Ali's and reached for the door handle. She was afraid of what she would see in the room. Afraid for Thara. The door opened and the light from the corridor fell onto the bed.
The wheezing was very loud in here, and when it came it sounded like torture. The door was fully open now and Jasmine could see the still form of Thara in the bed.
"Stay here," she said, letting go of the children's hands. Her own hands became cold with sweat once she let go.
"Thara, what's wrong," she asked, approaching the bed. Thara didn't respond, only gave a loud wheeze. Then Jasmine saw her face.
It was as pale as the sheets of her bed. Her eyes where sunken in, with large, dark circles under them, as though she hadn't slept in days. Jasmine was horrified to discover that the wheezing sound, had been the sound of Thara breathing. It sounded as though Thara was suffocating on cotton that was shoved down her throat. With each wheezing breath her body convulsed slightly, and she constantly shivered. She had pulled the blankets tightly around her, but still her lips had an unnatural bluish tinge to them.
Jasmine threw herself upon the bed when she saw Thara. She wrapped the child in her blankets and cradled her in her arms. What had caused this? And what to do? "Get Aladdin," was her first thought.
"Ali, Adira, run as fast as you can and get your father. Tell him to bring the lamp. And HURRY!" she said, each word getting louder and more urgent than the last.
They took off down the corridor, not asking any questions.
"Oh Allah, please protect my child," she whispered under her breath. She wanted to scream, but couldn't. Her throat was dry with fear. Thara shivered in her arms, and she held her even tighter. The wheezing was terrible. It was as though she couldn't breathe. Jasmine stroked the side of her face trying to soothe her from her obvious pain. Thara convulsed in her arms and took another wheezing breath. Jasmine just didn't know what to do.
"Thara, Jasmine!"
Finally, Aladdin had arrived.
********
The morning had come and gone. As had the doctors. None of them seemed to know what was wrong with Thara. All of them had said they had never seen anything like this, and the best thing to do was make Thara as comfortable as possible.
Jasmine hated those words. They were giving up hope on Thara already. But then, there wasn't much hope left, for even Genie had no idea what was wrong with her. Jasmine knew that there wasn't much hope left.
Aladdin had stayed by the child's side the whole day. He had comforted her and soothed her when her wheezing was at it's worst. But despite this, it still continued, and progressively got worse. No one seemed to know what to do.
The Sultan had come early in the morning, but had to leave to discuss the trading issues with the visiting Sultan. His voice was filled with sadness, as he said he would be back later. The scenes of all the doctors in the bedroom, and so unsure of what was wrong, reminded him of his own wife's death, and he feared the worst.
It was much later in the night when he came back. Jasmine and Aladdin had been in there the whole day. Not eating, not really even talking, nor leaving the room. They looked so sad when he returned.
He reached out to his daughter. Perhaps he could comfort her.
"Jasmine," he started.
She looked up at him. She had obviously been crying. Her lip trembled. "Father, what will we do," she cried, tears pouring down her face.
"Dearest, I'm terribly sorry," he said, unsure of what to say. Tears of his own where beginning to drip from his eyes as well. Jasmine threw herself into his arms, and began to sob.
The Sultan comforted his daughter as best he could. He looked over at Aladdin, who had done nothing since he had entered the room.
Aladdin was crying his own tears. He was staring at his ailing daughter, cringing with each wheezing breath. He absently began to stroke her face. He seemed lost in his own world.
The Sultan called out to him. "Aladdin."
Aladdin snapped out of his trance. He didn't respond, just stared at the Sultan with teary, expressionless eyes.
"Are you all right?"
Aladdin's lips began to quiver. He looked down at his daughter as the tears began to flow more readily. He took a deep breath, in an attempt to control himself. "Why did this have to happen to her? Why her of all people in the world." His brow furrowed in anger. "Why does another one have to be taken from me," he cried.
Both Jasmine and the Sultan looked at him, somewhat startled. Aladdin had said barely anything all day. His sudden outburst was suprising.
Jasmine reluctantly left her father's embrace to comfort Aladdin. She held him in her arms. Shaking violently in her arms, he sobbed. "Why does this always happen to people I love," he cried, holding Jasmine as if she were leaving him too.
Neither Jasmine of the Sultan knew what to do. He was so emotionally distraught. Jasmine took Thara's cold hand from the bed and placed it into Aladdin's hand. It startled him somewhat, but when he felt his daughter's small hand in his own, he looked at her and tried to rub warmth into it. He released Jasmine and came closer to Thara.
"Thara...wake up," he said softly.
She stirred slightly, and with heavily lidded eyes, looked at her father. "Daddy," her weak voice called for him, "I don't feel good." She coughed and took in another wheezing breath.
Jasmine came next to Aladdin, and stroked Thara's burning forehead. She wanted so much for the child to be better. She wanted to truthfully say, that everything would be all right. She knew that as many times as she said it, it wouldn't be true. She said it anyway. She wanted the child to be happy. "It'll be all right," she said softly.
Thara smiled weakly at them. Wheezing even harder now, she seemed to struggle to say her next words. "I....lo-love you, Mommy...Daddy...everyone."
Her breathing became even more harsh and uneven. The color in her deep brown eyes began to fade. Aladdin could feel her hand in his growing cold and limp. He squeezed it vainly, trying to revive a daughter he knew was dying. Her head limply fell to one side and the color faded from her cheeks. As her eyes rolled back in her head, they could her one final wheezing breath that was her last.
Aladdin felt the tears flow hot on his face. He didn't want to believe what he had just seen. He felt the hand in his and looked at it. It was limp and cold. He couldn't feel a pulse in it.
Jasmine was beside him, sobbing. She bent over to pick up her daughter. She held her in her arms, shaking her, ever so slightly, wishing her to wake but she knew it wouldn't happen. Her heart was breaking for this child. She lay on the bed with the child in her arms. She could feel Aladdin beside her, his hand on her, in attempts to comfort her. She knew he was crying as well. Looking up, she noticed her father staring down at her, with watery eyes.
"Jasmine, Aladdin, I'm so terribly sorry," he said, choking down his sobs. He reached for her, trying to get her to set the body down. Angrily, she jerked away from his touch.
"Leave her! Don't take her from me," she screamed, grasping the dead child closer to her. She was squeezing the child in a death grip. She was shaking savagely from her tears. Her teeth were clenched and her breathing became very harsh. "I don't want another baby," she whispered under her breath. Aladdin lay down in the bed with her, holding her in his arms. He knew she hadn't meant what she had just said.
"Jasmine, this isn't right. Let her go. You only make it worse if you don't. Trust me," he said in a soothing voice, trying his best to contain his own tears. He knew he needed to stay strong for her. He knew what Jasmine was going through. This was not the first time this had happened to him. His mother had died like this, right in front of him. He hadn't wanted to let her go then. It had made every thing so much worse. The burial, the life without her. He knew he had to let Thara go.
"You want me to forget her? To bury her, and hide all pictures of her? Is that what you want," Jasmine cried, softly, yet the anger in her voice still showing.
"No, Jasmine. I mean you need to accept that she's dead. You can't attach yourself to her like this. She's dead," he said, those last horrible words echoing in his mind.
Jasmine breathed in deeply. Aladdin could tell she was trying to calm herself. He knew this was hard for her. He, himself was still trying to calm down. His heart was breaking not only for the child, but for Jasmine as well.
Reluctantly, Jasmine released the child. She stroked her forehead and kissed it before turning to Aladdin and snuggling next to him. She unclasped the necklace that usually hung from her neck. She looked at it for a long time, taking in it's features, before placing it around her own daughter's neck. "This is for Thara," she whispered, mostly to herself. Her lip began to tremble once again, and she looked up into Aladdin's eyes.
"I'm so foolish. I only think of myself," she moaned to herself. She was shaking in Aladdin's embrace.
"No Jasmine. It's okay. I know what you're going through. Your father knows what you are going through. We're there for you. But this is very difficult for us too," he said, holding her tighter to him. He could see the still form of Thara next to Jasmine. He hated seeing that. Visions of his own mother's death flashed through his mind. That was one of the first times someone had been taken from him like this. The way Thara lay there with her eyes slightly open and her blue lips, reminded him of how his dead mother looked when he had waken on the day of her death, to discover his sickly mother on the verge of dying.
~ All was quiet when a four year old Aladdin awoke. He looked over at his mother, who was still asleep. Something looked funny about her, but he just assumed it was hunger. That had plagued both of them every day. But she had been acting very funny lately. More than just a person who was very hungry.
He peeked out around the barrels they had slept behind. There were some merchants getting ready for the day's sales. He decided he would steal something for his mother to eat as soon as the morning crowds started to come in.
A gasp from behind startled him and he turned around. His mother was gasping for air and her cheeks were very pale.
He crawled over to her. "Mommy," he whispered nudging her. "Mommy, what's wrong? Are you hungry?"
She groaned in pain.
"Mommy, shhh...You'll wake up the people," he said, gesturing to the window above them.
She slowly opened her eyes. And he saw how tired and sick she looked. It startled him.
She stroked his face lovingly. "Oh, my little Aladdin. I love you."
"Should I get you something to eat," he asked her, confused.
A shock of pain seemed to stab a her body suddenly, and she groaned loudly with pain. Aladdin no longer cared about the people in the house. Something was wrong with his mother.
When she had seemingly gotten over the initial pain, she answered. "No, Aladdin. Stay with me. I wouldn't want you to get in trouble."
"But Mommy, will you be okay," he asked.
"I will be soon. Just stay with me Aladdin," she said, and began to stroke his head. Each word she said was softer and quieter than the last. Her eyes became heavy, and she struggled to keep them open. Aladdin could her breathing becoming faint and shallow.
"I will always love you Aladdin, remember that," she said, her words no louder than the quietest of whispers. Her eyes rolled back in her head and closed forever. She took in one more shallow breath, and her hand fell from his face.
"Mommy," he whispered, "mommy wake up."
Hot tears began to stream down his little face. His voice grew louder.
'Mommy, please get up! Mommy, please," he sobbed, not being able to say much anything else through the tears.
A loud noise suddenly came from the window above, and an angry man's face appeared.
"Hey get out of here you little street rat. Some people are trying to sleep. You don't belong here," he yelled. Suddenly, a small pot came flying out the window towards Aladdin's head.
Aladdin ducked and ran out of the alley, crying out as he went. The pot smashed and landed near his mother.
The man's wife appeared in the window next to her husband. "What's wrong Tashir," she asked sleepily, peering out the window.
"There was some little street rat hanging around and making a lot of racket," he said, looking to see if he was going to come back. The wife looked about and noticed Aladdin's mother lying limply behind the barrels.
"Tashir, his mother must have died! Look," she said pointing to her.
"Oh well," Tashir sighed. "We'll have the guards pick her up."
********
Aladdin saw the guards placing his mother in a wooden box. He hid in the shadows. If they found him they would probably punish him for stealing.
They simply dumped the box into a hole and buried her. All there was to let anyone know that this was a grave was the freshly dug up dirt and a small stone, with the word 'unknown' on it.
Once they left, Aladdin approached the grave. New tears filled his eyes, and he lay on the grave. He didn't know how long he stayed like that, all he knew was that he wanted his mother back. He wished he had a father. He didn't care if he died right there, he just wanted someone there to love him....~
His eyes watered even more, and he tried to contain his shaking, so that Jasmine would calm down. Suddenly he heard a soft voice.
"Cry my love. I know you want to."
It was Jasmine. She looked up at him with teary eyes, and stroked his face.
One look was all that it took. One look from Jasmine triggered the dam of emotions to break. The tears poured more steadily now. He wasn't screaming or yelling, just crying in Jasmine's arms, wishing that he could rewind time and prevent Thara from dying.
The Sultan quietly went to the door. He took in a deep breath before turning the knob. "I'm going to tell the others what has happened," he said quietly.
"Father," Jasmine called for him. "I love you."
"I love you too, dearest," he said sadly, with a small smile at his daughter. He then exited the room to face the worried group that had gathered around the door.
Chapter 6: The Mistake
Mozenrath smiled at the pain. Everything was working perfectly. Better than perfectly.
Xerxes hovered by his side. He looked at his master with a question mark written all over his face. He wasn't quite sure where this plan was going.
Mozenrath chuckled at Aladdin and Jasmine, who where crying together, making plans for their daughter's burial.
"Come, Xerxes. It is time to take action," he called to his familiar, as he turned away from the image of a mourning Agrabah. He went to a red, glowing hourglass. There was a very small amount in the top half.
"My time on this earth is shorter than ever. We must act sooner than planned."
"What master mean," Xerxes asked, floating over to his master.
"We don't have time to wait for her to be buried. We must take her now," Mozenrath said, somewhat disgruntled. He picked up a sack that lay at his feet. "We will transport ourselves to the outskirts of Agrabah, and work from there," he said, and with a gesture, his dark finery changed to the simple robes of a peasant.
The eel was still slightly confused. His master seemed to be losing it. He poofed into the black bird, and landed on his master's shoulder.
"Are you ready Xerxes," Mozenrath asked, a malicious smile appearing on his lips. Xerxes simply nodded. Mozenrath picked up the end of the ratty cloak he wore and with a twirl and a flash of light, he and the hideous black bird disappeared from the Citadel.
********
Aladdin and Jasmine held each other as the Sultan talked to the Sultan of Negarr, giving him his apologies.
"I am most terribly sorry that your visit was not the most pleasant. But perhaps we shall meet later," he said, his voice soft and weak from crying.
"It's quite all right. I understand. And I am most terribly sorry for what happened. It is a most tragic thing to lose such a young child." His words were full of sincerity and his eyes full of sadness. "Well, we must be going on our way. Until we meet again," he said offering his hand to the Sultan.
They shook hands, and without another word, the Sultan of Negarr and his family, turned and left for the caravan.
The Sultan sighed deeply. He turned to Aladdin and Jasmine. "Let us go inside, we have yet to make the final preparations," he said quietly and dejected.
Silently, they walked into the palace. The others were waiting inside. Genie held Ali and Adira in his arms, comforting them. To Aladdin, Jasmine, and the Sultan's surprise, Cassim and Iago were also there.
Cassim was sadly looking at the floor, and had not noticed that Aladdin and the others had entered the room. A small, sad smile broke out on Aladdin's face. The first one all day.
"Dad," he called, with a small, croaky voice. Cassim looked up from his reverence.
"Son-," Cassim said. He was at a complete loss for words. He didn't know how to comfort his son.
Aladdin said nothing, but walked over to his dad and leaned onto his chest. In a very small voice he whispered, "Hold me."
Cassim took his son into his arms and held him for a very long time.
"I heard the news and, fortunately, I was close enough that I could make it in day," Cassim said.
"I'm glad you're here," Aladdin said, looking up at his dad. His words were sincere. All day he had seen Jasmine and her father together, and though the Sultan had comforted him to, it wasn't the same. He had wanted someone closer than that. Even Genie hadn't satisfied his need for his father's love, even though Genie was more of a father than Cassim had ever been. This was *his* father that was holding him, comforting him.
"When's the funeral," Cassim asked quietly.
"Tomorrow morning," Aladdin responded, not really wanting to talk about it, just wanting to sit there in his father's arms. He was reliving the moment on his mother's grave, when he had wanted a father to hold him and to comfort him. Sitting in his father's embrace now, was making up for every moment of his life, when Aladdin had wanted comfort and security.
Cassim nodded and held his only son. They stayed like that long into the night. Sitting, father and son, in each other's arms.
********
A dark figure was leaning against an abandoned building, waiting impatiently. His arms were crossed in an angry manner, and his mouth could be seen, turned down in a scowl, from under the cowl of his cloak.
Another figure could be seen flying down the street, obviously looking for someone. The flying object turned the corner, and came face to face with the one leaning against the wall. It was grabbed out of the air, and drawn into the man's face.
"Is anyone there," he asked urgently. The squirming figure in his hand was trying to break free of his crushing grip.
"Y-yes," it managed to gasp out. Mozenrath flung Xerxes to the ground, and looked up at the palace. He checked the items that hung about his belt.
"Very well. Come Xerxes, we must work quickly," he grinned. "It's time for an old fashioned kidnapping."
With a flash of light, they appeared within seconds outside of the palace walls. All guards were off duty tonight for the most part, so security was lax. Mozenrath briefly scanned the area for any of the few guards, and tossed a rope and hook to the top of the wall. He tugged experimentally, and leapt up as far as he could to grab the rope.
He had successfully gotten to the top of the wall, and scanned the area for more guards. Seeing none, he put the rope on the other side and climbed down the wall. Once on the other side, he gave a flick of his wrist and the rope faded from view.
"What mas-," Xerxes began.
"Shut up," Mozenrath hissed, grabbing the eel's mouth shut. He glared at him with a look that could kill. Tossing the eel to the ground he crept over to a nearby window. He stood on tiptoe and peered in.
He saw Aladdin sitting in the lap of a man who looked somewhat like Aladdin. Aladdin was crying into the man's shoulder and the man was comforting him.
Mozenrath smirked to himself. "That street rat deserves it," he thought, creeping away from the window, and crawling to a nearby door that didn't have guards posted at the door.
The corridors where dark, which helped Mozenrath to sneak in and out of the shadows. The lights had been lowered in respect of the death. Almost everywhere Mozenrath turned it was deserted.
He finally turned into the hall leading to Thara's room. There was one guard posted at the door. Mozenrath rolled his eyes and smirked at easy this whole thing had been.
Concentrating on the guard, he muttered an incantation, and the guard fell to the ground, unconscious. He and Xerxes walked to the man.
"Check for any scents of magic," Mozenrath ordered. "And you better be sure there aren't any, because if there are, you will not live to see another day," he threatened, before entering the room.
Mozenrath entered the dark room. There was practically no light, except for one small lamp. He could barely make out the outline of the bed with his future heir in it. He approached the bed silently, getting the first real look at the girl he wanted for his heir. She was perfect. All she needed was his magic. That would be rather difficult for the both of them, he knew.
Shaking the thought out of his head, he began to bind and gag the girl. As he was gagging her, he noticed the golden necklace around her neck. It looked strangely familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He knew he had seen it somewhere before, but he decided that if he couldn't remember it, it wasn't all that important.
He took the small child into his arms and slid her into the bag he carried with him. Carefully, he put it on his shoulder and turned to the door. His load was light and wouldn't be hard to get out of the palace.
Once he was out of Agrabah, he knew, everything would be fairly simple. As long as there wasn't a trace of his magic, they wouldn't suspect him. They thought he was dead. Fools, they where far to trusting.
Suddenly, he became aware of a nearby presence that was not one of Xerxes's magic.
"Xerxes," he hissed. Xerxes floated into the room, looking uncomfortable and nervous.
"I think someone's coming. We must leave as quickly as possible," he said, and walked out to the balcony. His face was showing tension as he looked around, seemingly trying to decide something. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. "We must use...white magic to escape," he said firmly.
Xerxes looked at his master. "But master, that hurt."
"I know that you fool. But its the only way we can escape without being discovered. White magic doesn't leave a trace. Its our only hope," he said, looking at the door and listening to the approaching footsteps.
Xerxes gulped. He knew that this wasn't going to be a fun trip. Mozenrath looked at him angrily. Seeing the expression on his familiar's face, he sighed angrily and waved his hand at him.
"Oh, if you wish to fly home you may, but go *now*!"
Xerxes quickly obliged.
Mozenrath sighed in deeply. He would use the child's good energy to help him through this. Closing his eyes, he thought of good intentions. All he could see was a white light that burned his eyes. A tingling feeling overtook him and he focused on the child's energy to fend off the burning sensation that was stabbing at his body. It grabbed at his heart as he vanished from the balcony. He was lost in a white abyss. The energy waves all over the place conflicted with his own dark magic. He used Thara resting on his back as an anchor. If he got lost in this world he would be trapped in a world of torment forever. Concentrating very hard on his Citadel, he felt as though he were being suffocated. The magic was smothering him. The air around him became clearer and easier to breathe soon. And he let out his breath.
He lay on the floor for a few minutes, recovering. Getting up, he took the child to a small room furnished only with a bed and small table. There were some clothes laid out for Thara, that were made suited for a sorceress. He sat on the bed next to Thara and undid her bindings. He wished she would hurry up and recover. Pulling out a flask from his cloak, he took of the top and took a swig of its contents. It was a strengthening potion, and it was prolonging his life just long enough to transport his magic into Thara. That would probably take about a week if all went well.
Mozenrath looked at the girl for a moment before muttering an incantation. It took a few minutes before the spell took hold because his power was continuously growing weaker.
Her body suddenly jolted on the bed. The color rushed back to her cheeks. She rolled to her side and was sick. She moaned softly and rubbed her eyes. When she opened them, a look of confusion was written all over her face.
"Where am I," she asked, mostly to herself.
Mozenrath rose from his chair. All was working perfectly. Her memory was gone for the most part, about the only thing she could remember was her name. All he had to do was play with her mind and make her memory into what he wanted it to be. He just had to make sure Aladdin didn't show up and remind her of her old life before all of his magic was transferred into her, otherwise her memory would return. But he didn't worry. Aladdin had to tell her who he was to get her to remember, and Aladdin was no where close to figuring out what had happened to his daughter, and probably never would.
"You are in the Land of the Black Sand. You are here to begin your training as the heir of this land."
"But how did I get here?"
"Your parents abandoned you. You were a street rat in the city of…," his mind trailed off, trying to think of the nearest city. "Durhann," he said confidently. "I found you and brought you here to learn to be the ruler of these lands."
The little girl just stared at him, confused. He sighed. She was like her father. Never thinking about things.
"Just change into those clothes and Xerxes here will escort you to the throne room," he said, and left the little girl to change.
********
"I swear your highness, I left the room for a minute and I find Sahlek here lying on the floor unconscious, and the body missing."
"There's no trace of magic anywhere Al," Genie said coming out of the room into the hall.
Aladdin's eyes where red and weary looking. He couldn't cry anymore. He had been doing that all day. There were no more tears left. "Well, I'm not giving up until this entire city has been searched. Post guards all along the walls of the city. If she wasn't kidnapped magically, they can't have gotten out of the city yet."
Cassim walked over to his son and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure she'll be found. Go to bed son, you look like you haven't slept in days," he said reassuringly.
Aladdin jerked away angrily. "No Dad. I can't sleep. My daughter is missing," he said sleepily, forcing his eyes open. Cassim thought up a plan.
"Well, come sit at least. The guards are going out to look for her," he said, leading Aladdin to a chair.
Aladdin sat down heavily in the seat and murmured to himself drowsily, "Yes...they'll find...her." It was only a matter of minutes before her had fallen asleep on his father's shoulder.
Genie smiled sadly at him and stroked Aladdin's head. "Poor kid," he whispered.
"Had to get him to sleep before he killed himself. That's all we need," Cassim said. Genie just gave Cassim a small smile.
Both of them suddenly jumped at a loud crash that came from around the corner. Aladdin was jolted out of his sleep. "What's wrong! Have they found her!" he practically yelled, he had been so startled.
A servant appeared before them and bowed. "No sir, its your wife, she's- she's gone into labor," he said excitedly.
"What," Aladdin yelled, and before any more words could be said he was gone out of sight.
"No sleep tonight," Cassim muttered, rolling his eyes.
Chapter 7: A New Beginning
The birth had been quick and blessed. Aladdin had been by Jasmine's side the whole time.
Later the next morning, Aladdin held the new baby girl in his arms. He didn't know how to feel. His heart was still aching from the death of Thara, but this new baby made him want to leap for joy. Jasmine slowly wakened and saw Aladdin with the new girl.
But then she frowned as she remembered the last few day's events. Aladdin hadn't slept or eaten for hours, in fact not for two days, and that didn't seem like the first thought on his mind. Thara's body still hadn't been found and everyone had lost about all hope.
She reached out and placed her hand on Aladdin's knee. He looked up and smiled at her. "She's beautiful," he whispered, his eyes tearing up again.
Jasmine smiled at him. But it was a melancholy smile. "What shall we name her," she asked, following Aladdin's suit by beginning to cry.
"Well," he said, thinking. "I was thinking...Nadia," he said with finality in his voice.
"It's beautiful," she said, "what's it mean?"
"It means...it means..," he trailed off. Jasmine nudged his knee. "It means, new beginning," he said sighing.
Jasmine really began to cry now. She wanted to hug him. "Oh, Aladdin," she moaned. He smiled at her, the tears streaming now. "Is it ok," he asked anxiously. She nodded, not being able to speak through the tears.
"I'll go tell everyone then," he said, handing Nadia back to Jasmine, kissing both of their heads and leaving the room.
Chapter 8: Defiance
Thara's body slammed against the wall. She slid to the floor moaning.
"Get up you worthless child," Mozenrath shrieked. "I don't care how hungry you are! You are going to let me give this to you, no matter how painful it is, and *then* you can eat!"
Thara crawled back over to Mozenrath, fighting off the fatigue and hunger that panged her body. Not to mention the fact that receiving the magic felt like twisting a sword through her heart.
Wearily, she stood up facing Mozenrath. She was dressed in dark finery. It was very uncomfortable and made her look older than she was.
Mozenrath closed his eyes and placed his hands over her heart. Thara knew what came next. She closed her own eyes and braced herself. It came at her without warning, like an arrow through her heart. She wanted to scream, but she remembered the first time she had screamed. Her master had blown her across the room and yelled at her. It made the whole painful process longer and more painful.
The arrow in her heart was on fire, and it twisted and turned, as if it were trying to be painful. A power was flowing to her body. She could feel it. It was powerful and so dark and heavy. It was too much for her.
The pain lasted for several minutes, and Thara was on the edge of unconsciousness. Finally though the arrow was jerked and twisted out of her heart. She collapsed to the floor with exhaustion. She could feel her fingertips burning from the new power that had been put in her. It felt like they were about to blow off her hands. She had to get rid of some it. She raised her hand at a mamluk, gathered up some energy and blasted him. He feel to the floor in a pile of human body parts.
Mozenrath grinned at the power his new apprentice had. It would only take one more day before her training was through. All he had to do was transfer some more power and get her to commit an act of pure evil. Mozenrath had been thinking something along the lines of killing her family. He looked down at her. She was beginning to look more like a ruler of the black sand. Her skin had paled some and she had dark circles under her eyes from lack of food and sleep. He snapped his fingers at Xerxes. "Xerxes, get the little apprentice something to eat."
Xerxes slithered over to Thara and nudged himself under her arm, urging her to get up. She moaned and refused to rise. Mozenrath frowned at her and strode over to her. He lifted her to her feet and pushed her after Xerxes, who had begun to float off to the dining room. "Go and eat, you little brat! you want to starve," he yelled at her. Thara suddenly perked up to attention and wearily ran after Xerxes.
Mozenrath smiled. "That's the way to do it," he thought, "keep her on her toes."
********
Thara trudged tiredly after the slithering eel, trying to keep her eyes open. He seemed to be going entirely to fast to keep up with. She could her clanging as she approached the kitchen.
When they entered, she discovered the sound had been a mamluk setting a small plate and cup on a rough table. The meal was only bread and water, but she consumed it with a raveonous hunger. Her whole body throbbed from her power. Her body wasn't used to it.
She supposed her life had been worse as a street rat. Her master had told her horrible things about it. He said her parents hadn't wanted her and that she was on the verge of death when he found her, but she couldn't recall any of this.
Thara rose from the table and went on a short walk about the Citadel before she had to endure more hours of torture. She couldn't remember a thing from her past life. In fact, life seemed to have begun when she came to this place. All that was left in her memory was her name. But she supposed she must have had a life before this. After all, people just don't appear out of nowhere do they?
She wandered down an unfamiliar corridor, peeking into rookms that were open and pulling on doors that were locked. One room she looked in struck her intrest. It had an ornately decorated wardrobe that was open. Inside it had many dresses and articles of clothing that looked for someone her size.
Being a little girl, her curiosity got the better of her and she wandered over to the wardrobe. She began to go through the clothes, pulling them out and admiring how they looked against her. She soon had gone through almost all of the clothes and had made a big mess on the floor from where she had tossed all the clothes. There were only a few left in the wardrobe.
She noticed one stuffed in the corner. Someone had obviously not wanted her to find it. When she picked it up, she saw it was only pajamas. But as the pajamas unrolled, a necklace clattered to the floor.
Thara dropped the pajamas and studied the necklace on the floor. It was a simple gold necklace. Was it hers? She picked it up. It didn't look like anything the master would give her. This was real gold! She looked at the pajamas that the necklace had come out of. They didn't look like something the master would give her to wear either.
But if she had been a street rat, how could the necklace belong to her? She certainly wouldn't have been able to afford something like this. Something felt strange about this neckalce. Sort of, familiar.
She held it up in the dark light and admired its glitter. She placed around her own neck and looked at her self through a nearby mirror. She knew this necklace, she just couldn't remember where.
She left the room after her decision to keep the necklace. There were the faint sounds of her master's ranting voice, coming from not far off. She ran in search of it, knowing how much trouble she was going to be in.
********
"Where is that wretched child," Mozenrath ranted, blasting a mamluk in the process. "How could you leave her unattended!"
"Not all by herself," Xerxes said queitly, cowering to make sure he wasn't the next thing that got blasted.
'The mamluks don't count!" Mozenrath was fuming. He raised his hand in anger at Xerxes and began to let it glow, when a faint voice came from behind.
Mozenrath turned and released his blast on Thara, who had just ran in to the room. He held her with his magic to the wall as he approached her. He was eerily calm.
"Where have you been little child," he said, in a mocking tone. He strenthened his hold. Thara began to struggle to breathe. "We were looking all over for you, and were soooo worried," he said giving her one more heavy blast of power before letting her collapse to the floor.
He turned away to let her catch her breath. A small shock seemed to prick him in his back. He knew what it was. He whirled about in an anger that was murderous.
"You *ungrateful* little *brat*. How could you use your power against your *Master*!" In one swoop he blasted the child into unconsiousness. Instantly he revived her. Even though he wanted to punish her, his time was constantly running out, and he needed to guide her through these last few steps.
"Stand by the wall," he screeched. "And if it happens again, you'll find yourself more than just unconcious."
Thara scowled at him from the floor, but obediently trudged to the wall.
"This is your last time. You are about to recieve the last of the power you need to become the ruler of this land," he said, placing his hands on her heart for the final time.
That thought cheered Thara up slightly. She braced herself for the blow that was to come.
Mozenrath closed his eyes and let his hands collect a blue light. Concentrating, he directed this light into Thara. Thara's eyes shot open. This was more painful than the others had been. Her eyes emitted an eerie blue glow. She couldn't an inch in front of her face. Her world had become a painful world of light. Light a color that now represented everything evil to her.
The gold necklace felt like a weight on her chest, that made it difficult to breathe. She tilted her head to the side, touching it with her cheek. It burned slightly, but the minute she touched it, images flashed through her mind, going at a pace so fast, she barley see what the image was.
Through the flashing images, she could faintly hear her master screaming. His scream was muffled, as though someone had put a bag over his head.
Thara could barely tell what the images where, but she could tell there was a family in most of them. She could see that much. She couldn't tell what their faces looked like though.
Suddenly, the images stopped. Thara cautiously opened her eyes. The blue faded away as her eyes adjusted. She could see her master, panting from rage and exertion.
"Where did you get this," he hissed, clenching his teeth together. He was grasping the necklace so tight, his knuckles had turned white.
She couldn't speak. Her throat had dried from fear, and she was deathly afraid he was going to kill her then and there. She stammered a minute or two before Mozenrath pressed down on her chest, amking breathing difficult. "I-I-found it," she wheezed.
Mozenrath threw the necklace to the floor, out raged at what had happend. In seeing her family, it had caused her to unconciously soak up more power than he intended to give to her at once. It had burned his mind and body to be stripped of his power so fast.
Thara was cowering in his grasp, trying to avoid his balzing eyes. He screamed and began to give her his magic. It had been unexpected for Thara, and she cried out in pain. She could feel the darkness engulf her mind. She resisted and pushed it away, thinking of the image of the happy family she had seen. She wanted to be like them, she wanted away from this evil place. She could feel the magic pouring through her viens. It was as though someone was pouring poison in a hole by her heart. She collected it as it poured in.
Hre eyes opened enough through the pain to see her master. His eyes were closed in concentration. She hated him so much. She wished he had left in her street rat life. Anywhere would be better than this.
In her rage and hatred, she flung the magical power she had been harbouring in her body at the hated master. He blasted back to the wall, knocking his head against the stone. Blood trickled on the wall from his head and he opened his eyes through the blazing pain. He knew his time was up.
Thara ran from the wall and snatched the necklace from the floor. She was going to leave this place and never come back.
Mozenrath glared at the child that had been his undoing. This kingdom's heir was going to rule over this land. She was bound to it through her magic. He saw her run for the door and called out to her, hissing through the blood. "I'll come back for you. I swear this. You will not escape from me. You are the heir to this kingdom and there's no denying that."
Thara approached him, glaring. "I never want to see you again," was all she said before running to the door. Mozenrath died right there against the wall as Thara made her escape.
Standing at the beginning at the Land of Black Sand, she searched the horizon. making up her mind, she headed toward a spot of light in the distance that was Durhann, not knowing that was to be her home for many years.