Title: Visitation: Final Day
Author: Ryoko
Rating: PG
Email: RyokoVenus@yahoo.com
Well here we are; the final day of Maribelle's visit. I hope that you enjoyed this part of the Alesfic series… they were quite fun to write and came purely from imagination (unlike the rest of the series which was acted out).
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Aladdin sat in the menagerie out back behind the Palace. He munched on his breakfast slowly, already feeling the desert heat. Hearing the door behind him, he turned around to see Jasmine walking to him.
"I was wondering where you were," she said taking a seat near him. He continued to look out at the sky. She touched his arm to make him look at her. "Why are you being so quiet today?" she asked. He rubbed his face and tried to wake up.
"I had a long day yesterday and a hectic time last night. I'm not quite awake yet." He stated, eating more. Jasmine sat up straight.
"I never heard you come in last night…where did you go?" she questioned. He continued to watch the sand swirl from the light breeze. He turned to face her once more.
"I slept in Maribelle's room," he honestly answered. Jasmine's face grew worried.
"Where? On the floor?" she asked, almost disgusted.
"No; on the chair. It wasn't really that bad." He finished. She sighed in abhorrence and crossed her arms.
"So what time is she leaving today, hm?" Jasmine asked. Aladdin continued to chew his breakfast.
"Whenever the copter gets here…" he said and stood up, taking his tray with him. Again, Jasmine puffed thinking just how difficult he could be sometimes.
On his way back to the cafeteria, he saw Esmeralda and Maribelle eating. He dropped his tray off and headed towards them. Esmeralda looked away while Maribelle waved.
"Hey Mari! What ya got there, huh?" he asked sitting next to her.
"It's my cereal!" she sang and continued to eat. Aladdin touched Esmeralda's back and she faced him quickly, and then turned away once more.
"Oh man…" he said, seeing her beat up face. "That's bad…" he stood up and walked to the other side of the table. Hearing him head for her, she stood up and tried to walk away from him. "Es wait! That doesn't look so good!" he called, chasing her around the table. Maribelle began to laugh, thinking they were playing a game.
"Of course it doesn't look good!" she stopped, making him nearly crash into her. Her left eye was black and blue, her left ear was red and she wasn't wearing her earring. Her mouth was swollen and she had a huge scar across her neck and a few scratches on her arms. She looked at his bare chest as he studied her wounds.
"Then why didn't you let me help you last night?" he asked, angry that he let her get away the previous night. She sighed heavily and crossed her arms across her chest.
"Because the last thing we needed was to get closer," she concluded. He stepped back.
"What?" he asked, forcing a laugh. She eyed him skeptically.
"Oh don't play dumb," she scolded, heading back to her seat. He sat across from her.
"Es, if you would have let me treat those wounds, you wouldn't be in the condition you are now." Aladdin said, trying to prove himself right. Her eyebrow rose.
"Whatever." She replied, turning her attention back to Maribelle who was finishing up.
"Fine." Aladdin finished, leaving the table. As he reached the exit door, the good twin was entering. She quickly moved her hand to her mouth. "And how are your battle scars doing?" he questioned. She removed her hand, revealing the huge marking down her lip and a few cat claw marks across her body. He huffed and left. The twin then noticed her sister with her daughter. Esmeralda looked up at the same moment, making their eyes meet. She then grabbed Maribelle and the bowl and got ready to leave. As she neared the trashcan she nearly collided with her twin. They gave each other looks and then went their separate ways.
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Aladdin was kneeling in the sand while putting Maribelle's book bag on her back. She pouted her lip and stared at him cutely.
"Don't give me that look. I get it from your mother all the time," he laughed, giving her a big bear hug.
"Daddy I'm going to miss you again," she started, her little arms still around his neck.
"And I'll miss you too, Mari. But you can always come back and visit again, okay?" Aladdin gave her another hug and then lifted her up. He turned around and they looked at Esmeralda who just came outside. Her hair and dress blew in the wind and as her hand reached to her face to hold her hair back, she looked beautiful. She smiled and Aladdin brought their daughter over to her. They two exchanged a look and she took possession of the little one.
"Oh my Maribelle, I am going to miss you again," she said, hugging her little girl. Maribelle tried not to cry.
"Me too Mommy…Daddy said I can come visit again!" she excitedly reported. Esmeralda laughed and the air was filled with a chopping noise as the helicopter began to land. Aladdin shielded his eyes from any flying sand particles. Handing their daughter back to him, Esmeralda stepped back to avoid the powerful wind. Aladdin walked to the helicopter and hoisted Maribelle into it. The door was closed and she pressed her hands up to the window. Aladdin put his hands on the other side. From where she was standing, Esmeralda blew a kiss. Maribelle waved and then disappeared. And not too long after that, the helicopter was back in the air. Aladdin turned around and slowly drug his feet back to the patio-like area. Esmeralda was sitting at a table and began to eat the apple she brought out. Aladdin sat down with her.
"Now was all of that so hard?" he asked, leaning his arms on the table. Esmeralda smirked.
"No, it was a nice weekend, I guess," she replied and continued to eat. "I wish it could have lasted longer. I really am going to miss her again." Aladdin's face grew serious.
"So then…WHY did you EVER want to get rid of her?" he asked. She glared at him almost evilly. Bringing that topic up was like resurrecting someone from the grave. After all, if it weren't for Esmeralda wanting to get rid of Maribelle, it's possible that they would still be together. Her past actions were taunting and she tried to avoid the topic.
"I think I'm going to call Phoebus today," she said, almost as if to stir jealously. Aladdin's eyebrows narrowed and he laughed.
"Why are you calling him???" he questioned. Eating carefully around the core, Esmeralda attempted to talk with her mouth full.
"He asked me to get back to him and I'm not going to break my promise!" she stated. Aladdin rubbed the back of his neck and looked down. Esmeralda watched him out of the corner of her eye. Her whole intention was to make him jealous. She quickly stood up and smirked as she went back inside. He put his head down on the table and sighed.
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Esmeralda leaned her back along the wall and dialed Phoebus' number furiously. She began talking and Aladdin could hear her talking down the hall so he headed in her direction.
"Meet me? Oh wow, I'd love to see you again, it's been so long!" Esmeralda replied, tangling her fingers in her dress. "Well, yes, of course! Okay… I'll talk to you then!" She smiled and saw Aladdin seating himself next to her. "Au revoir…" she ended. Aladdin looked over to her face, which was beaming.
"Guess what?" Esmeralda started, unable to contain her pride. Aladdin rested his hands on his knees and put his head down. He blinked, urging her to continue. "I'm going to meet Phoebus! He wants to fly me to France and everything! Isn't that great?" As she completed her story, Aladdin smiled evilly. "What is that look for?" she asked.
"I'm sure he'll love how you look right now," Aladdin finished sarcastically. Esmeralda's face turned to woe.
"Oh my God!" she cried. "I'm hideous! I-I can't go there looking like this!" she shouted. Aladdin slowly stood up to walk away. "No wait! You can't go!" she said, reaching for his leg. Locking her grip, he nearly tripped as she stopped him. "You have to help me! Please?" she asked. Aladdin grinned.
"Well if you insist," he stated and helped her up.
As they headed down to the hospital area, Aladdin told her that they have doctors and nurses on call. Since it was Sunday, no one was there at the time. But luckily from raising six children he'd had his share of wounds and woes and was able to treat just about anything.
"Here, have a seat," he said, clearing off the soft patient table. She hopped up and made herself comfortable. He began to get bacterial cleaners, band-aids and various helpful items. "Ouch!" he then commented. Esmeralda turned her head around quickly.
"What is it? Are you okay?" she asked.
"Oh I'm fine. But that wound on your back is huge! It has to hurt!" he finished, reaching out to touch it.
"Oh that one," she said, hanging her head. "Yea, I'm definitely going to get a scar from that one…" Aladdin thought and gathered some cotton balls.
"Not if we treat it now. It's possible to prevent the scarring if I put this on," he said, applying a cool lotion. Esmeralda hissed as the cotton made contact with her skin. Aladdin gently rubbed on the ointment. She turned her head around to look at him. "That should help it," he concluded.
"Not hardly," she said. He made a weird face and she turned her back at him once more. Then, she slowly began to remove her dress. Aladdin swallowed hard and looked away. She wasn't wearing a bra, but it was soon revealed to him the huge scar that traced down her entire back.
"Oh my—" he stated.
"Could you maybe…fix the rest of it too?" she asked, attempting to cover her breasts with her arms. As he poured more lotion onto another cotton ball, he tried to remain calm at the sight of her golden bare back. He rubbed the liniment along the rest of the wound and again she whispered a painful sound. She turned her head back slightly. "That really hurts," she literally cried. Feeling bad for her, he put down the medicines and massaged her shoulders with his hands. She hung her head and tried to stop her tears. Aladdin blinked rapidly and tried not to think of anything sexual as he tried to comfort her. But he couldn't help but feel guilty for what happened between her and her twin. "I have one on my neck also," she eventually said. Stopping his actions he grabbed the remedy and bag of cotton balls and moved around the table to her front side. She pouted at him with her hands across her chest to cover herself. Aladdin swallowed hard a few times and attempted to get some lotion on the cotton ball. But he kept making a mess by spilling it everywhere and his hands were awfully shaky. Esmeralda realized he was nervous. "Maybe I should just put this back on," she said, reaching for her dress with one arm.
"No, no, it's my fault," Aladdin said, grabbing the garment from her. She looked at him in an almost despair as he yanked her clothing from her grasp. "I should really treat those wounds or they'll just get worse," he tried to spit out. "You have to look nice for-" He stopped as she put her hands on his cheeks.
"If you're going to help me, just get to it already." She commanded and after stealing back her outfits, bundled up her dress at her chest. He rubbed his neck in embarrassment and went to the cabinet to get another bottle of the gel. As he searched for the ointment, Esmeralda grinned. Aladdin was still slightly under her command, she realized as he helped her out. If she were to make a move, now would be the time. It was just the two of them in the doctor office on the bottom floors of the Palace. No one would know… or would they? Esmeralda's eyes quickly scanned the corners of the room. "Are there any…" she started. Aladdin turned around and looked at her.
"Any…what?" he inquired. She tried to look innocent as she swayed her dangling feet back and forth.
"Does this Palace have high security?" she finally questioned. Aladdin spun around again to look at her. His one eyebrow was cocked, wondering just why she was asking this. He began thinking that maybe this would help him keep his mind off of 'other' things.
"I suppose it would," he started, heading for her with a box full of medical supplies. "What exactly do you mean though?" Somehow she had cleverly wrapped her dress around her upper body as a top, leaving her hands free to gesture.
"You know, lots of guards for instant military action, force fields, lasers, and…hidden cameras?" she smirked. His eyes shot up to her but he had a quizzical look on his face.
"Well yea I think we have all of that and more," he answered then turned his attention back to the supply box. "We're the biggest building in this city and the highest government and military force for miles. We're almost required to have all of that," he finished. Esmeralda suddenly grew interested. They never talked about the Palace before, on her request, but she was amazed at the information Aladdin knew.
"Required?" she asked as he ripped open a box of gauze.
"Oh yeah. Do you have any idea how much gold and treasure is stored in this place?" he laughed. "This is a royal Palace, remember?" he reminded her. She looked dumbfounded. "It's not just some pretty building where I live," he laughed and looked for a special ointment. Esmeralda felt insulted.
"I know that," she told him. "But I'm not used to being around this kind of big, fancy, high-tech, magical, richie-rich, royalty places!" she said. "In case you forgot, I'm just a poor 'street mouse', remember?" His eyes made direct contact with hers. Then he sighed heavily.
"I'm sorry," he apologized. She smiled.
"It's okay. I'm actually interested in what you have to say about this place, er…Palace. It's kinda cool to learn about," she honestly stated. Aladdin nearly bust out laughing.
"You've got to be kidding me!" he said as he went to the other side of the room for scissors. She watched him walk away.
"What is wrong with me wanting to know more about it?" she said hurtfully. Aladdin returned to her side and began to stretch out the gauze bandage tape. His mouth hung open.
"It just seems…odd, that's all." He finished. "Now turn around again, I need to cover your wounds." Esmeralda faced the wall again and sighed. She seemed to have run out of ideas to get Aladdin back in her power. As he bandaged her up, she tried to think of Phoebus. Before she met Aladdin, Phoebus was all she cared about. But since he was involved in the military, he could never stay for long. Eventually she tired of his short visits. Esmeralda found herself being pulled into a flashback…
"Esmeralda!!!" she heard from the door-area of her tent. She sighed and met him at the front of the room. "How are you!" Phoebus said and gave her a big kiss on the forehead. He threw his bags to the side and sat himself down. She put her hands on her hips and stared at him.
"What are you doing?" she asked. He smiled and stretched his arms and legs.
"I'm on another break! So of course I came to see my favorite person in the world," he said, reaching his legs around her own, making her fall on top of him. "Whaddya say we go take a hop in the sack, hm?" he said, moving his eyebrows up and down. Esmeralda grunted.
"Phoebus, I'm tired of this!" she shouted, trying to stand up. "You come here every other weekend, ask me to jump in bed with you and then you're gone the next day!" she said finally straightening herself up. He sat up and rested his elbows on his legs.
"But Esme, you're my girl!" he said standing up and wrapping his arms around her waist. She struggled to get free. "That's what you're here for!" he cockishly answered. Esmeralda smacked him in the face and pulled away.
"I want a real relationship Phoebus and this is FAR from it!" she yelled at him. He shrugged his shoulders and flailed his arms about.
"I thought you liked when I came home to visit you!" he barked back. She narrowed her eyebrows.
"Not anymore," she said and grabbed his bags.
"Esme?" he asked as she flung them into his chest. She walked to the door-area of the tent and opened the curtain. "What are you doing?" he asked, confused.
"Get out Phoebus. It's over." She said, pursing her lips and pointing to the streets. He huffed and walked past her. Before she could close the cloth he turned around.
"Slut." He mumbled and left.
She hadn't heard from him since…until this weekend when everything changed. She missed his big bear hugs and the way he would whisper in her ear. Sure, things didn't end well but their phone conversation made it seem otherwise. Esmeralda bit her lip as she thought about the situation. She needed someone to talk to about it. Someone who could understand her…
"Al? Can I talk to you?" she asked looking over her shoulder at him. He stopped what he was doing and looked at her.
"Yea? What is it?" he questioned and cut the tape. She sighed, then unraveled her dress and put it back on properly. "By the way, I covered that all up. You should be good to go. Oh, but you'll need to have the bandage changed and put this on it everyday." He said handing her a tube of gel. He grabbed a rolling chair and scooted around to her front side. "What's that face for?"
"You're going to have to help me with this. I can't reach my back on my own," she stated. He smiled and sat on the chair.
"No problem. Now what's up?" he asked, leaning back. Esmeralda wanted to just slither right on top of him but she held her actions back. After all, she was doing so good containing herself this whole time. She quickly rethought if she wanted to mention Phoebus to Aladdin. He blinked his eyes as he stared at her.
"Never mind," she said and looked down. "I don't need to bore you with my stupid problems." She said as she hopped off the platform and headed for the door. Aladdin stood up and pushed the chair out of his way.
"What is it?" he said chasing her to the door.
"Oh, thanks for your help again, Al," she said and headed out. He followed her down the hallway.
"Ohh no, you can't do this to me," he said as he caught up with her. He grabbed her arm and spun her around so she was facing him. "You can't say you need to talk to me and then not say anything," he laughed. Her heart beat wildly as she was face to face with him. "Now what's the matter?" he asked. She tried to silence her heavy breathing.
"It's stuff that you probably don't want to hear so I'm not going to bother," she politely smiled as she loosened her arm and hurried her pace down the hall. Aladdin ran after her.
"Es, what's wrong? How do you know I don't want to hear it!" he shouted as he continued to chase her. She ran up the steps and suddenly stopped at the top making him crash into her. Aladdin knocked her over onto the marble floor and landed on top of her.
Belle heard talking and head to the balcony area of the floor level. She could see everything from where she stood on the floor above. Curious, she continued to watch.
"Oops…I'm sorry!" he said as he picked himself up. She lay on the floor and looked up at him. How good it felt for that close body contact she had missed! He offered her his hand and she took it. He pulled her up so quick it brought them face to face again. "Now, will you tell me?" he asked. Belle covered her mouth but she wanted to shout for someone to witness this with her. She couldn't hear what they were saying but it didn't look good at all. Esmeralda's eyelids lowered as she looked at him carefully. She was dying to make her move right now and plant a big kiss on him. Belle squeaked but it was loud and the two separated quickly. Aladdin's head darted around the area. Belle backed up from the ledge and stood against the wall so no one could see her. When Aladdin's head rotated behind him, Esmeralda ran the other direction. "Hey! Wait!" he said and began to chase her once more.
Esmeralda rushed up the grand staircase. Belle decided that it might help if she met her there so she headed to that section. At the top Esmeralda saw Belle and ran towards her.
"Hi!" Belle waved as she continued towards Esmeralda. She quickly put down her hand and grew a worried face because Esmeralda was running at full pace for her. "What are you doing?" Belle asked. Esmeralda slowed down and put her arms on Belle as she hung her head and tried to catch her breath.
"I'm…staying in shape! This Palace is great for exercising in!" Esmeralda panted. Belle rubbed her forehead and laughed nervously. What were they hiding? Belle could see the top of Esmeralda's back.
"What happened?!" Belle questioned and Esmeralda stood up.
"Nothing happened! I didn't do anything!" Esmeralda confessed waving her hands. Belle cocked her eyebrow.
"I mean with your back…" she finished, pointing at Esmeralda. The dancer sighed nervously and flashed a fake smile.
"Oh, my sis and I got in a little rumble," she laughed, lightly punching Belle's arm. "Good old twin fun, ya know?" Esmeralda tensely laughed. Belle grew apprehensive but tried to laugh back.
"No actually I don't know," Belle worriedly answered. "I don't have a twin!" the shy girl laughed. Esmeralda's face changed to a stupid look.
"Oh yea…" she said in a monotonous voice. She looked behind her and saw Aladdin slowly trudging up the steps. "Well, I gotta go!" she said and pat Belle on the back. Then she darted away. Belle turned around and waved.
"Yea, bye!" she cutely shouted. Aladdin collapsed at the top of the steps. "Oh my!" she said and ran to be at his side. Aladdin breathed heavily as he lay motionless. "Aladdin! Are you all right?" Belle shouted as she came closer to him. From the other side of the Palace, Esmeralda stopped when she heard Belle say that. She tried to see what was happening but a huge pillar was in her way. She ran in the opposite direction to get a peek on what was going on.
"Yea…yea…" Aladdin puffed. "I'm okay…really…" he coughed. Belle tried to help him stand up. "No, no…leave me here…the cool floor feels REALLY good…" he stupidly said. Belle dropped his lifeless arm and backed up.
"Are you…" Belle started and then nervously started to bite her fingernails.
"Hey…" Aladdin started. Belle knelt to his side. "Have you seen Es?" he asked as he continued to gasp.
"Well, yes I have," Belle answered. "Are you chasing her?" she asked with a scared face. Aladdin laughed when he saw her expression. Belle was always so timid.
"I guess you could say that…" Aladdin answered as he heaved. He slowly started to sit up. Esmeralda hid herself behind a nearby hallway wall and watched the two sitting at the top of the steps. She wondered what was taking place. But seeing that Aladdin seemed all right, she decided to run down that hallway. Belle nibbled on her fingernails again. She wanted to ask more questions but didn't want to impose on anything she shouldn't know anyway.
"Ummm…" Belle started. "What happened to her back?" she spit out.
"Oh that. She and her sis got in a fight the other night," Aladdin answered. Belle mouthed an 'O', surprised that Esmeralda told her the truth.
"What were you two doing then?" she asked, gaining confidence.
"Well," Aladdin started. "I was treating the wound you saw all bandaged up. Then we talked for a bit and she said she had to tell me something," he sighed and rested his chin in his hand. "But then she said 'never mind' and wouldn't tell me. So, I chased her because I hate when people do that," he stated. "And I'm so out of shape that I couldn't handle running up all these frickin' stairs," he laughed. Belle stood up and Aladdin did too.
"Well, I have stuff to do…I'll talk to you later, okay Aladdin?" Belle said, trying to get out of the conversation. "Bye!"
Aladdin waved as she left and then continued his quest for Esmeralda. As he rounded the hallway he ran into Jasmine.
"AH!" he screamed as she appeared around the corner. Jasmine gasped loudly.
"Aladdin! Where have you been all day?" she questioned, wrapping her arm around his and changing his direction. He looked back down the hall but didn't see Esmeralda.
"Uh, I was…busy…cleaning and stuff…" he lied. "I didn't want you to see all the mess Maribelle made!" he finished. Jasmine eyed him quizzically.
"The servants took care of her room this morning…what other mess did she make?" Jasmine questioned. Aladdin hoped the sweat on his forehead wasn't visible.
"Uh, downstairs…" he remarked. Jasmine tried to believe what he was saying.
"Anyway, I'm sure glad I found you!" Jasmine said tapping his arm. Aladdin rolled his eyes. "That nice Esmeralda has a terrible wound on her face and chest area that we should take care of but none of our doctors are here today. I was wondering if-"
"No!" Aladdin retorted.
"But Aladdin, you know the medicines well! I know you could help her out and-"
"I don't really know them much at all," he lied, his eyes widening. He didn't want to have to go back down there and face temptations all over again. The good twin sometimes seemed even more appealing. Jasmine looked disappointed.
"You used to take care of those kids wonderfully! I know you could help, why don't you at least try, hm?" she asked as they stopped walking at the top of the stairs. As Aladdin looked down the stairs he felt himself growing dizzy. He wondered if he was tired from all the running or if it was from the chemicals of the doctor's office room.
"Hello Esmeralda! Look who I found!" Jasmine said waving. The good twin came running up the steps as Aladdin and Jasmine walked down.
"Perfect!" The sister said. "This one here is killing me!" she said pulling down her top slightly and revealing a big wound. Aladdin made an uneasy face at the sight of the injury on her upper breast.
"Don't you worry! This 'doctor' will take good care of you!" Jasmine said leaving the two at the top of the steps heading down to the doctors quarters. She blew Aladdin a kiss. He waved back nervously.
"So how did it go today?" She began the conversation as they walked down the steps. Aladdin rubbed the back of his neck.
"Look, I really don't think I can help you much, I'm afraid I'll do something wrong and make things worse," he said stopping his pace. The twin turned around and grabbed his hand.
"Jasmine came to me and told me you would help me. The least you could do is give me something to put on it and bandage me up," she said pulling him down the steps. As they came to the doctor's office the door was still open so the sister walked right in. "Wow! This is cool!" she said as she began to play with the instruments and cabinets.
"It would probably be better if you didn't do that," Aladdin said heading for the box full of supplies he used earlier. The twin hopped up on the platform and began to dramatically cry.
"OHH ME OHH MY!" she cried. Aladdin turned around and watched her strange spectacle. "My wounds! DOCTOR!" she yelled. Aladdin jumped back. "You have to tell me!" she said approaching him and grabbing his arms. "WILL I MAKE IT TO TOMORROW?" she shrieked, her eyes wide. Aladdin stared at her strangely. Suddenly the twin burst out into laughter. She ran back to the platform and jumped up on it. As she stood there she pretended to be shot and fell. Aladdin became frightened but brought the box over. This twin certainly got all the crazy genes. "So? Do you think they'll heal all right?" she honestly asked. Aladdin pulled out the ointment, gauze and treatment gel. He put his hands down around her legs and stared her in the face.
"You'll be fine," he said as he opened the ointment and got some cotton balls. The twin looked around the room.
"Hey…" she started as he put the ointment on her cheeks. "Nothing in this room is visible…I mean all the cabinets are closed…but when we came in, that box was already out." She observed. Aladdin continued to put it on her upper chest. "And the door was already open…" she stated. Aladdin got another cotton ball and filled it. He could see the top of the bad wound stretching out above her clothing. "It's as if-"
"You have to pull down your top," Aladdin said. The sister eyed him funny.
"Excuse me?" she said. Aladdin pointed to her wound. She noticed the size of the laceration and then smiled goofy while slowly pushing down part of her top so her injury was completely revealed but making sure that nothing else was.
"This one might sting…" Aladdin said. The twin looked up to the ceiling, waiting for the pain and not wanting to watch. He held the cotton ball over the wound but he couldn't help but let his eyes wander around her chest area. It looked so familiar yet he knew it wasn't the same person. His mind began to circle. The twin faux coughed loudly and gave him a look.
"Wow I don't even feel anything…" she sarcastically said, realizing that he was focusing on something other than her cut. Aladdin swallowed hard and apologized. Then he put the cotton ball on the wound directly for immediate contact. "OWWWWWWWWWW!!!" The twin hollered. Aladdin winced at the deafening sound. He then removed the cotton ball and watched the wound begin to puss. He grabbed a wet cloth to clean it up and began to spread on the treatment. "Please tell me you don't ever have to do that again!" she pleaded. Aladdin laughed.
"Nope. It's a once and done thing. But this," he said holding up the gel bottle, "you have to do everyday." The twin nodded her head. He ripped some gauze, applied it and began to put the stuff away.
"Now…what was I saying earlier?" she asked, making sure her top was fully covered once more. Aladdin pretended not to remember.
"What are you talking about?" he said as he put the stuff away for good. As the twin watched, she began to remember.
"Ohh yea…" she started and hopped off the table. "It's almost as if you were…" she draped herself over his back, "expecting me…" Aladdin turned around and saw her face over his shoulder. He laughed nervously.
"No…" he tried to prove. "These are just very…commonly used items…that's all," he stuttered. The twin hummed in disbelief and danced around the room.
"A-HA!" she said. Aladdin slammed the cabinet door and turned around quickly. "What's this?" she said, picking up a cellphone. She shook it back and forth with a questionable face. Aladdin's eyes narrowed.
"Looks like a cellphone to me…" he sarcastically remarked, heading for the door. The twin followed.
"Well, DUH…but I mean whose?" she questioned. "Is it…YOURS?" she said putting it directly in his face. He blinked as the item was incredibly near his face.
"No, it's not mine," he said and turned off the light as he closed the door. The twin then turned the phone on and decided that she wanted to play with it. Suddenly, it rang. The two stopped in their tracks and stared at it. "Well?" Aladdin said. The twin looked confused.
"What? You want ME to answer it?" she asked throwing the phone at him. Aladdin caught it and read the screen. It said "Phoebus". His face grew enraged as he realized whose phone it was. He gave it to the twin.
"YES. Answer it." he said grinning. The twin shrugged her shoulders.
"Hello?" she said slowly.
"Darling! How are you doing?" said the other end. The twin covered the mouthpiece and made a face at Aladdin.
"Darling? Who is this?" she whispered. Aladdin motioned for her to talk back. His mouth worded 'play along'. She nodded her head. "Oh I am just great! How are you?" she girlishly answered. Aladdin laughed at her charade. He sat down along the wall and pat the floor next to him, indicating her to join him.
"That's great to hear. I'm doing rather well myself. So, are you going to come?" Phoebus said. The twin's eyes grew wide as she slid down the wall to sit. She looked to Aladdin. He shook his head 'no'. The twin laughed.
"No, I'm sorry, I can't make it!" she said trying to sound sympathetic. Aladdin laughed. He felt so evil yet great at the same time. And the poor twin didn't even know whom she was talking to. As the other end's voice rattled on, she moved the phone away. "This sounds a lot like Phoebus!" she whispered. Aladdin slowly nodded his head. He pointed out the name and number on the phone's screen. The twin grew a shocked look and then laughed.
"What's wrong?" Phoebus' voice asked. The twin quickly put the phone back to her ear.
"It seems you've caught me at a bad time," she said. "I can't talk right now I have to go!" the sister chimed.
"But Esme, what about planning your trip to visit me?" he whined. The twin grew an evil grin.
"I hate you! I can't believe I even talked to you again! Give it up Feeble-Phoebus …you're not worth my time!" she said and turned off the phone. The two burst out laughing. "Wow that was great!" she laughed.
"Yea, good job." Aladdin said patting her back and standing up.
"My sis was planning on visiting that dork?" the good twin asked as she stood up. "What is wrong with her?" she asked. Aladdin shrugged his shoulders. He then realized that he somehow needed to get the phone back to give to Esmeralda. And then he feared that the twin would ask why her sister's cellphone was in the doctor's office as well. "Here," said the twin giving Aladdin the cellphone. "I'm currently not talking to my sis so you better give it to her." She finished as they reached the top of the steps. Aladdin smiled and began to head the other way. "Oh and hey," the twin yelled. Aladdin turned around fearfully. "Thanks!" she said as she walked away.
Now all Aladdin had to do was return the phone to Es. He knew she was expecting a call from Phoebus. What perfect timing for him and the twin to destroy Es' plans. As Aladdin walked he flipped the phone in his hands. Why was he acting so jealous towards Phoebus? He didn't really know anything about him. And if his feelings for Esmeralda were gone, like he thought they were, he shouldn't have any emotions about her visiting another man. But he did and they were there and they were strong. He began to walk up the grand staircase. Just then Jasmine came running towards him waving her hand. He rolled his eyes again and stopped on the steps.
"Oh Aladdin, thank you!" she said skipping down the stairs. She reached him and hugged him. Aladdin suddenly got a strange feeling.
"Jasmine?" he started as they walked up the stairs. She turned to him and wrapped her arm in his. "Why did you ask me to take care of the nice Esmeralda and not the other one as well?" Jasmine looked down at her shoes as they climbed.
"Well…she asked me to help her out. And I knew you could. The other one never even came to me, not that I'm surprised at that but I couldn't n-"
"She told me that you approached her!" Aladdin said when they reached the top. Jasmine looked away.
"Well yes maybe I mixed that up, but sh-"
"Ugh! Jasmine!" Aladdin shouted shaking his hands around his head and walking away. Jasmine followed.
"I'm sorry Aladdin, but I do not like that evil woman! I never have, I never will! What do you expect me to do? She has yet to apologize to me for all th-"
"No that's not it Jasmine. It's not her place to apologize. She didn't do anything to you, not a SINGLE thing! It was me! I'm the one who hurt you which is why I apologized!" Aladdin shouted as he continued to walk away. Jasmine hurried after him. "I thought," he said as he stopped and turned to face her, "I thought that you were a nice, caring, helpful, forgiving, considerate person," he said. She nodded her head as he listed. "But…" he said holding his finger up to her face. "I guess I was wrong," he turned around and continued to walk.
"Aladdin!" she screamed following him again. "How dare you say I'm not like that! I am very much the essence of all of it! But I refuse to-" He turned around and faced her once more with an angry expression. She sighed and crossed her hands across her chest. "Why do you care so much about this anyway?" she asked, tapping her foot. Aladdin opened his mouth. But then he turned away. Jasmine grew offended. "You still like her, don't you?!" she shouted. Then she groaned and threw her hands in the air as she walked past him. Aladdin followed her.
"How come everytime I question you on your integrity you have to turn it around and throw it back on me? Huh?" he shouted while chasing her. Jasmine continued to charge away.
"The whole reason you brought this entire thing up is because of her! You were offended that I didn't offer to help her! 'Oh, poor Esmeralda, she's hurt too!'" Jasmine mocked. Belle heard shouting and looked up from her book. She saw Aladdin walking fast after Jasmine and heard the two of them clamoring at each other.
"Ohh no…" Belle said and ran towards the cafeteria area. Once she entered she could see the twin Megaras' and twin Pocahontas'. She quietly ran over to where they were sitting and gabbing. Sitting herself down neatly next to them she began to listen in on their conversation and act like nothing was bothering her. Slowly the girls quieted down and began to stare at Belle who was nervously twiddling her fingers. "What?" Belle said, uneasily. Megara raised her eyebrow.
"What's up Belle?" she questioned. Belle looked down at her fidgety hands. Suddenly Jasmine came storming into the cafeteria. The girls all turned around and saw Aladdin chasing her. Jasmine approached their table, smiled sweetly and sat down with them. They stared at her awkwardly.
"So, girls, how are you doing?" she asked calmly. Suddenly Aladdin was at the head of the girls' table. "Aladdin this is a girl's table," Jasmine stated. The Pocahontas twins began to laugh.
"Don't be so immature," he said as he grabbed her shoulder tightly. She looked up at him in fear and anger. He grabbed her with both hands and began to stand her up.
"Aladdin! Let me go!" she shouted. The Megara next to her tried to hold on to Jasmine. But Aladdin was too strong and already pulled her legs out from underneath the table. "Aladdin! Stop this at once!" she commanded.
"No, you stop! I'm sick of your snobby attitude!" he shouted as he held onto her shoulders tightly. The girls at the table watched in alarm. As Aladdin went into a frenzy of words, the good Esmeralda had just reached the doorway of the cafeteria. She gasped and ran towards the scene of action.
"Aladdin! Let her go, stop this!" she said as she lunged herself onto his arm and pulled him off of the crying princess. As Aladdin turned around and saw the twin his eyes softened and he let Jasmine go, leaving her to fall to the ground and faint. The girls at the table got up from their seats and ran to her side. "Are you crazy? What's wrong with you?!" the twin scolded. Aladdin rubbed his hand through his hair. His eyes were huge and wild and he was panting heavily. The good sister latched her arm into his. "C'mon, you need some fresh air," she said as she began to lead him outside. Belle watched them go. Now here he was with the other twin. She felt so confused and wished that she could do something to help everyone out.
Right at the back doors of the Palace stood Esmeralda. She was staring out the glass doors and watching the sand swirl in the breeze. She held her arms across her chest and kept staring at her cell phone from time to time.
"Outta the way, sis!" she heard her sister shouting. She turned around and her twin came barging through the doors dragging Aladdin behind her. Esmeralda's mouth hung open and she followed them outside. The twin sat him down on the divan and he stared out into the open desert land. "The breeze should help cool this temper of yours," she said staring him directly in the eye. Aladdin turned his head slowly and looked at her.
"I wasn't hurting her," he stated. The twin shook her head.
"I know you weren't hurting her physically," she started. "But I didn't want any damage done mentally," she finished. Suddenly the twin felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked up to see her sister glaring at her angrily.
"What are you doing?" she asked as she pulled her good twin aside. The twin sighed and crossed her arms.
"I didn't want Aladdin here to lose his temper on Jasmine…it was almost a fiasco!" she stated. Esmeralda's eyes narrowed. Aladdin watched the two girls chatting. As he watched the twins arguing, his eyes widened. He realized what he was doing to poor Jasmine earlier. The pain that rushed through him made him squint his eyes. Suddenly he sat up and headed back inside. He turned around the corner to the cafeteria area and looked in. Jasmine was sitting at the table, gabbing with all the girls around. She seemed perfectly fine, so Aladdin wondered if she staged the act of 'fainting' earlier as a plan. He swallowed and walked in proudly. Belle saw him enter and whispered to all the girls that he was back. Jasmine stopped talking and watched him head towards them. All the girls watched him approach the table.
"Girls, if you don't mind, I'd like to speak to Jasmine," he said with much dignity. The girls looked at him skeptically. Jasmine sighed loudly and stood up to follow him. As he walked out of the cafeteria, he turned his head around quickly to make sure she was following. She walked slowly behind him with her head facing the ground. As soon as they were out of the cafeteria, Jasmine spoke up.
"You had no right to embarrass me in front of everyone like that!" she shouted, pointing angrily at him. He held up his hands in defense.
"Jasmine listen, I want to apologize!" he tried to say.
"First you question my in-" she started, then stopped when she realize what he said. "Apologize?" she asked. He stared at her sadly and nodded. "Well okay, let's hear it." She said, crossing her arms across her chest.
"Jasmine, I never meant to hurt you. I shouldn't have brought anything up in the first place, but I wanted to know," he said, swinging his feet around. She blinked but kept her mouth pursed. "I'm sorry," he said, looking her in the eye.
"Aladdin you need to prevent yourself from bringing 'her' up around me," she started. "You know how it makes me feel," Jasmine finished. She looked down at her own shoes. "And I'm sorry too," she added. Aladdin smiled slightly. "I should have been concerned about the injuries rather than my own fears of you being around her," she added. "I know you wouldn't ever do anything like that again," she said smiling as she looked at him. Aladdin's smile faded slightly. A part of him wish he would have said something to Jasmine about the fact that he did help Esmeralda out. But bringing it up now was the worst thing to do, so he kept silent. From outside, Esmeralda watched through the glass. She saw the two talking and then they embraced. Feeling a fear deep inside, she quickly developed a plan in her head as she ran towards them. The good twin saw her sister bolting and followed, frightened of what she might do.
"Hey Aladdin!" Esmeralda shouted, as she hurried towards him and Jasmine. The couple ended their hug and watched the girl heading for them. Jasmine narrowed her eyebrows slightly. "Listen, I wanted to say thanks," she said, pushing her hair behind her ear. Aladdin swallowed hard and smiled nervously.
"Thanks for what?" Jasmine demanded. Aladdin grabbed her shoulders and made her face him.
"Uh, I think she means thanks to… to you!" he said, making something up. Esmeralda cocked her head to the side. "For…for, uh…for letting us have Maribelle here in the Palace for the weekend, right?" he said, giving Esmeralda a glare. She looked at him confused, but slowly nodded her head.
"Well, yes, thanks Jasmine for that, but I meant thanks to you, Al," she said, smiling at him. He grew a worried look. Just then the good sister was behind her twin. She saw Aladdin's worried look and he looked at her for help with the situation.
"Oh sis, you don't have to do that for me…I'm here now!" she said, holding her sister. Esmeralda turned around.
"What are you doing here?" she meanly questioned. The twin smiled brightly.
"I was going to have her say thanks to you for helping me earlier, but now I'm here! So…thanks!" she said, flashing a faux smile to Jasmine. Jasmine smirked slightly at the twins. "Come on now sis, we have to go take care of that thing," she said, looking her sister in the eye. Esmeralda felt so confused at this point.
"What thing?" she asked. But her twin began to lead her away. Aladdin breathed a sigh of relief and turned himself towards Jasmine. She smiled awkwardly.
"Well that was…different," she chuckled. He laughed along and hugged her tightly. She lifted her head up to his and stared in his eyes. "Oh Aladdin, I just remembered! I wanted to tell you – tomorrow is the Annual Kingdom Banquet!" she exclaimed. Aladdin's eyes widened.
"The Annual…Banquet…" he repeated. She had a dazzling smile and she nodded.
"Yes and this year we're holding it here, in Agrabah!" she clapped. Aladdin felt slightly queasy at the thought of all the Indian Kingdoms meeting at their Palace while all the other Disney people ran around wildly. "Well I have much to do to prepare," she said as she stretched her arms out away from him. She turned around and walked down the hall. Aladdin rubbed his forehead and head in the direction of the study. Tomorrow was going to be a big day.
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