By light of the flaming torch, the bunch descended the staircase and walked down a corridor. The light dimmed.
"On second thought," Iago piped up. "Maybe we should turn back -- where it's safe!"
"We're almost there," reassured Aladdin, feeling a wall. A panel slid open, revealing a rather dusty passage of the citadel. "Let's split up. We can cover more ground."
Meanwhile, the sorcerer was in the dungeon. "So you've heard of me?"
"No, not until this afternoon," answered Haywood from inside a cell. "Aladdin mentioned your name."
Mozenrath smirked. "He warned you about me?"
"I thought he was just pulling my leg. Why do you want Tabat anyway?"
"I figured that if I couldn't conquer the Seven Deserts, I'd take them over little by little. Like a malignant growth. Nothing personal, Prince Haywood. Your land was just first on my itinerary. It was ripe for the taking, with its monarch recently deceased and the only heir to the throne presumed dead. Everyone except that foolish guard fled when they saw my mamlucks coming. They can run, but they can't hide. Besides, don't you know what's just beyond Tabat?"
"The horizon?"
"Agrabah! Agrabah is less than a mile off. Once I've captured the jewel of the desert city-states, the rest of the Seven Deserts are sure to follow." Mozenrath held out a papyrus scroll. "I have a proposal. You help me get rid of Aladdin and sign your kingdom over to me, and I'll let you go."
"And if I refuse?"
Cruel laughter. "Let me put this way. If Aladdin lives to see tomorrow, you won't."
"Could I have a couple of hours to think it over?"
"I see what you're trying to do. Stall for time so Aladdin and his friends can make a rescue. I'm not falling for it."
"Why would Aladdin rescue me?"
"You don't know him very well, do you?"
"Considering I only met him today, I don't claim to. What do you have against him? He married the only girl I care about, but what did he ever do to you?"
Mozenrath's face clouded over. "Well, there's the obvious one. He foils my schemes for conquest. He's cocky and obnoxious. Not to mention he seems to be the embodiment of everything I hate -- kindness, fairness, and mercy. Once I blasted a wall of the palace trying to nail the streetrat, and I ended up dangling several feet above the ground. He actually tried to help me. In retrospect, I should have pulled back instead of trying to zap him with my gauntlet, but c'est la vie. Therefore, I'll only give you two minutes."
"Five!" argued the prince.
"Two!"
"Five!"
"Fine!" The sorcerer overturned a miniature hourglass. "Five minutes -- and I'm counting." He added under his breath "Spoiled royal brat."
"Hey, I'm a prince. I'm supposed to be bratty," replied the prince. "Though I've got to admit you've got me caught between a rock and a hard place."
The rescue party had split into three pairs, two of which were either side of the dungeon walls.
The third pair, Jasmine and Kadir, were walking through what appeared to be a study.
The princess picked up a sheet of parchment from an ebony table. "Hmm...an order stating that kola nuts can't come within a mile of the border? Why would Mozenrath ban an exotic nut from his kingdom?"
"Maybe he's allergic?" suggested the guard.
At the same time, Aladdin pressed his ear to the dungeon wall to listen.
"Just get me a quill pen, and I'll be happy to sign it," came Haywood's voice. "How do you propose we eliminate Aladdin?"
Abu squeaked loudly.
"I'm with you, Abu," whispered the adventurer. "Let's teach that traitor and Mozenrath a lesson." They moved toward the end of the hall.
"That's it?" Mozenrath asked. "No lecture? Not even a cliche 'You'll never get away with this'? Are you sure you courted Princess Jasmine?"
If I can keep feeding his ego, he might slip up, thought the prince. "Why bother? It's glaringly obvious you already have gotten away with it. Like you said, Aladdin won't get here in time to rescue me and I don't stand a chance against you on my own. You're too powerful and clever for that."
"Well, well," replied the sorcerer. "This is a refreshing change of pace. I've never seen a would-be ruler who's actually realistic about his chances before." He unlocked the cell. " Be on the lookout."
Meanwhile, Genie and Iago had also listened in on the conversation.
"Sounds like that prince was playing double agent," the genie whispered to the parrot.
"He's not as good as me, but Wizard Boy seems to be buying it," Iago hissed back.
"Oh yeah! That thing with Malcho! If you don't win the Oscar for THAT performance, there is no justice!"
Haywood had crossed the corridor and exited the citadel through one of the back doors.
"Looking for someone?" Aladdin appeared behind him.
Startled, the prince turned around. The stone flower fell from his robe. Haywood stepped back. "Aladdin! Oh--"
"How could you lie to Jasmine?"
"If I knew you were going to be this ungrateful--"
"I'm ungrateful?! You're the one trying to kill me!" Aladdin stopped. The sand under Haywood's feet was black and soft. It looked almost liquid. "Quicksand!"
"Quicksand?" Haywood looked down. He was beginning to sink into the small pit.
"If anyone deserves that fate, it's you," Aladdin said simply. "But I can't leave anyone in a situation that dire. Stay calm. You'll sink slower. I'll get a rope."
"I can't stay calm!" squealed the prince. "I don't know how much you heard, but I lied to Mozenrath."
"And why should I believe you?"
"I love Jasmine. If I laid a finger on you, she'd hate me until the end of the world."
Genie poofed in and morphed into a crane, then tossed the cable.
"What about the mamlucks?" Aladdin asked.
"Bird-man's distracting them by hiding in the shadows and giving them orders in Mozenrath's voice."
Haywood wiped the sweat off his forehead as he moved to solid ground.
Genie held out a vial of fake blood. "Al, can you play injured?"
Aladdin shrugged. "I can try. And when Mozenrath comes to get the final blow, I can jump him and knock off his gauntlet."
"What kind of injury though?" Haywood asked.
"I don't know," came a familiar voice. "Maybe a fake stab to the chest!" Mozenrath was a few feet away. He fired black-blue rays from his gauntlet at Aladdin, who dodged them.
"Mozenrath?" came Jasmine's voice. She and Kadir had entered. "How are you? You look a little...sluggish."
"You're trying to insult me," Mozenrath laughed. "How hilarious." He fired another blast, which sent Kadir into one of the Citadel's stone walls. "I haven't slept for the past three days!" He aimed at the princess. "I'm in no mood to play games!" Aladdin grabbed him from behind, and they began to struggle.
"Sheesh, and we thought he was moody when he wasn't sleep deprived," commented Genie. He glanced at the paper in Jasmine's hand. "What's that?" A smile crossed his bearded face. "That's it?"
"What's it?" Aladdin asked as he and Haywood struggled to keep Mozenrath down.
A large mug of steaming brown liquid appeared out of thin air. Genie handed it to Jasmine. "Pour it down Mozenrotten's throat."
Jasmine shrugged and obeyed.
Mozenrath spat out the liquid. "What is..." he suddenly went limp.
Iago flew in. "That wasn't poison, since a genie can't kill anyone."
"It was quawah, better known as coffee," explained Genie. "Remember when I gave Abu some?"
"How can we forget?" Iago squawked. "The monkey was bouncing off the walls!"
Genie gestured to the unconscious sorcerer. "It has the opposite effect on anyone possessing magic. Last week, Eden and I were on a date and I accidentally drank a caffeinated soda. I fell asleep in her lap."
"Zzzz..." Mozenrath snored loudly.
"Sheesh, if he snores any louder, he'll wake up the mamlucks," commented Iago.
"He didn't drink that much, though," observed Aladdin.
"Well, add three days of no sleep," Genie shrugged.
"I don't know about you guys," Kadir started. "But I don't want to be around when he wakes up." He picked up the sleeping form. "Let's take him inside."
The others followed the guard, who set the snoring Mozenrath on a pile of pillows. The sorcerer didn't even stir.
"He's out cold," Haywood commented to no one in particular.
Genie draped a blanket over Mozenrath and zapped up a teddy bear. "A nice stuffed animal and an anti-magic blanket!"
Xerxes flew in. "Master?!" He gripped the blanket in his teeth and tried to yank it off, but it was too heavy. "Curse you! Curse you!" He turned out.
Aladdin and company had already flown off on Carpet.
"Thanks for helping me take back my kingdom," sighed Haywood. "Sorry it didn't work out for us, Jazzy."
"I'm sorry too, Hay," Jasmine replied. "But I've got a future with Aladdin."
"I understand."
"Would you like to take a tour of Agrabah?" suggested Aladdin. "A lot's changed since you last visited."
"Sure. Why not?"
****************************************
Thirty minutes later, the gang was in the marketplace.
Haywood was glancing at a news-scroll. "Odiferous to Celebrate Royal Couple's Anniversary with Four Thousand-Gallon Pot of Cheese. Ol' Uncouthma found a wife?"
"Look out!" called Jasmine.
"Huh--" Haywood felt someone bang into him. The ink bottle the stranger held tumbled to the ground and shattered, spilling ink on a carpet for sale.
"My rug!" screeched the weaver. "Ink! On my beautiful creation!"
Sadira flipped through her spellbook. "Hang on a sec. I'll make the ink disappear."
"No problem," Haywood interjected, tossing several gold coins on the table. "Just send the bill to me."
The carpet weaver picked up the coins. "I can just weave two more rugs with this. Thank you, sir."
"Thanks," Sadira sighed. "Saved me a lot of trouble."
"My pleasure."
"You're not from around here, are you? It seems most of the gentlemen in Agrabah are taken."
"I'd say the same for the ladies, if you're taken."
"I'm single. Who are you?"
"Prince Haywood of Tabat. You?"
"I'm Sadira, Witch of the Sand."
"What a lovely name. It suits you."
"Oh, you're just saying that."
"Yuck," muttered Iago.
"Is that what you say to Thundra?" Jasmine teased.
"Haywood and Sadira?" asked Aladdin. "Next thing we know, Abu will have a girlfriend."
"Ick!" squeaked Abu.
**************************************
"OK, so one thing will remain constant," concluded Aladdin. "Abu's probably the most confirmed bachelor in the monkey population. And that's the whole crazy but true story."
Cassim, Aladdin's father, laughed. "Amusing, really." He had returned from Greece. Once the King of Thieves, he and Iago had chosen to become adventurers-for-hire. Traveling and finding lost treasures satisfied their small flames of greed and was perfectly legitimate. It wouldn't have mattered anyway, Aladdin had joked. Razoul had gone on furlough the previous day.
"It's too early to tell if Haywood and Sadira are meant to be together, but they seem to get along well. Besides, it wasn't like he was the first to want to marry Jasmine. Of course she didn't like Wazoo and Ayamaghoul, and she only used Uncouthma to make me jealous."
"Guess you had to fight for your lady. My turn. On my way back from Athens, I bumped into this odd fellow. He screamed when he saw his chiton was covered in mud, then he saw me. The guy pulled his hair and started to yell your name over and over. I'm guessing he saw the family resemblance."
"He didn't have a glass eye, did he?"
"I'm not even going to ask."
"That was Mechanicles. I'm sure Iago's told you about him."
"The crazy Greek inventor?" Cassim laughed. "Aladdin, you've certainly inherited my tendency to make enemies." He reached over and tickled his son's ribs. "Let's see if you inherited anything else."
Aladdin laughed. "Stop it, Dad!"
Iago flew in. "I'm beginning to see the resemblance here."
"Leave us alone, Iago," Cassim replied.
"Yeah," agreed Aladdin. "Can't you see we're bonding?"
The end.
"On second thought," Iago piped up. "Maybe we should turn back -- where it's safe!"
"We're almost there," reassured Aladdin, feeling a wall. A panel slid open, revealing a rather dusty passage of the citadel. "Let's split up. We can cover more ground."
Meanwhile, the sorcerer was in the dungeon. "So you've heard of me?"
"No, not until this afternoon," answered Haywood from inside a cell. "Aladdin mentioned your name."
Mozenrath smirked. "He warned you about me?"
"I thought he was just pulling my leg. Why do you want Tabat anyway?"
"I figured that if I couldn't conquer the Seven Deserts, I'd take them over little by little. Like a malignant growth. Nothing personal, Prince Haywood. Your land was just first on my itinerary. It was ripe for the taking, with its monarch recently deceased and the only heir to the throne presumed dead. Everyone except that foolish guard fled when they saw my mamlucks coming. They can run, but they can't hide. Besides, don't you know what's just beyond Tabat?"
"The horizon?"
"Agrabah! Agrabah is less than a mile off. Once I've captured the jewel of the desert city-states, the rest of the Seven Deserts are sure to follow." Mozenrath held out a papyrus scroll. "I have a proposal. You help me get rid of Aladdin and sign your kingdom over to me, and I'll let you go."
"And if I refuse?"
Cruel laughter. "Let me put this way. If Aladdin lives to see tomorrow, you won't."
"Could I have a couple of hours to think it over?"
"I see what you're trying to do. Stall for time so Aladdin and his friends can make a rescue. I'm not falling for it."
"Why would Aladdin rescue me?"
"You don't know him very well, do you?"
"Considering I only met him today, I don't claim to. What do you have against him? He married the only girl I care about, but what did he ever do to you?"
Mozenrath's face clouded over. "Well, there's the obvious one. He foils my schemes for conquest. He's cocky and obnoxious. Not to mention he seems to be the embodiment of everything I hate -- kindness, fairness, and mercy. Once I blasted a wall of the palace trying to nail the streetrat, and I ended up dangling several feet above the ground. He actually tried to help me. In retrospect, I should have pulled back instead of trying to zap him with my gauntlet, but c'est la vie. Therefore, I'll only give you two minutes."
"Five!" argued the prince.
"Two!"
"Five!"
"Fine!" The sorcerer overturned a miniature hourglass. "Five minutes -- and I'm counting." He added under his breath "Spoiled royal brat."
"Hey, I'm a prince. I'm supposed to be bratty," replied the prince. "Though I've got to admit you've got me caught between a rock and a hard place."
The rescue party had split into three pairs, two of which were either side of the dungeon walls.
The third pair, Jasmine and Kadir, were walking through what appeared to be a study.
The princess picked up a sheet of parchment from an ebony table. "Hmm...an order stating that kola nuts can't come within a mile of the border? Why would Mozenrath ban an exotic nut from his kingdom?"
"Maybe he's allergic?" suggested the guard.
At the same time, Aladdin pressed his ear to the dungeon wall to listen.
"Just get me a quill pen, and I'll be happy to sign it," came Haywood's voice. "How do you propose we eliminate Aladdin?"
Abu squeaked loudly.
"I'm with you, Abu," whispered the adventurer. "Let's teach that traitor and Mozenrath a lesson." They moved toward the end of the hall.
"That's it?" Mozenrath asked. "No lecture? Not even a cliche 'You'll never get away with this'? Are you sure you courted Princess Jasmine?"
If I can keep feeding his ego, he might slip up, thought the prince. "Why bother? It's glaringly obvious you already have gotten away with it. Like you said, Aladdin won't get here in time to rescue me and I don't stand a chance against you on my own. You're too powerful and clever for that."
"Well, well," replied the sorcerer. "This is a refreshing change of pace. I've never seen a would-be ruler who's actually realistic about his chances before." He unlocked the cell. " Be on the lookout."
Meanwhile, Genie and Iago had also listened in on the conversation.
"Sounds like that prince was playing double agent," the genie whispered to the parrot.
"He's not as good as me, but Wizard Boy seems to be buying it," Iago hissed back.
"Oh yeah! That thing with Malcho! If you don't win the Oscar for THAT performance, there is no justice!"
Haywood had crossed the corridor and exited the citadel through one of the back doors.
"Looking for someone?" Aladdin appeared behind him.
Startled, the prince turned around. The stone flower fell from his robe. Haywood stepped back. "Aladdin! Oh--"
"How could you lie to Jasmine?"
"If I knew you were going to be this ungrateful--"
"I'm ungrateful?! You're the one trying to kill me!" Aladdin stopped. The sand under Haywood's feet was black and soft. It looked almost liquid. "Quicksand!"
"Quicksand?" Haywood looked down. He was beginning to sink into the small pit.
"If anyone deserves that fate, it's you," Aladdin said simply. "But I can't leave anyone in a situation that dire. Stay calm. You'll sink slower. I'll get a rope."
"I can't stay calm!" squealed the prince. "I don't know how much you heard, but I lied to Mozenrath."
"And why should I believe you?"
"I love Jasmine. If I laid a finger on you, she'd hate me until the end of the world."
Genie poofed in and morphed into a crane, then tossed the cable.
"What about the mamlucks?" Aladdin asked.
"Bird-man's distracting them by hiding in the shadows and giving them orders in Mozenrath's voice."
Haywood wiped the sweat off his forehead as he moved to solid ground.
Genie held out a vial of fake blood. "Al, can you play injured?"
Aladdin shrugged. "I can try. And when Mozenrath comes to get the final blow, I can jump him and knock off his gauntlet."
"What kind of injury though?" Haywood asked.
"I don't know," came a familiar voice. "Maybe a fake stab to the chest!" Mozenrath was a few feet away. He fired black-blue rays from his gauntlet at Aladdin, who dodged them.
"Mozenrath?" came Jasmine's voice. She and Kadir had entered. "How are you? You look a little...sluggish."
"You're trying to insult me," Mozenrath laughed. "How hilarious." He fired another blast, which sent Kadir into one of the Citadel's stone walls. "I haven't slept for the past three days!" He aimed at the princess. "I'm in no mood to play games!" Aladdin grabbed him from behind, and they began to struggle.
"Sheesh, and we thought he was moody when he wasn't sleep deprived," commented Genie. He glanced at the paper in Jasmine's hand. "What's that?" A smile crossed his bearded face. "That's it?"
"What's it?" Aladdin asked as he and Haywood struggled to keep Mozenrath down.
A large mug of steaming brown liquid appeared out of thin air. Genie handed it to Jasmine. "Pour it down Mozenrotten's throat."
Jasmine shrugged and obeyed.
Mozenrath spat out the liquid. "What is..." he suddenly went limp.
Iago flew in. "That wasn't poison, since a genie can't kill anyone."
"It was quawah, better known as coffee," explained Genie. "Remember when I gave Abu some?"
"How can we forget?" Iago squawked. "The monkey was bouncing off the walls!"
Genie gestured to the unconscious sorcerer. "It has the opposite effect on anyone possessing magic. Last week, Eden and I were on a date and I accidentally drank a caffeinated soda. I fell asleep in her lap."
"Zzzz..." Mozenrath snored loudly.
"Sheesh, if he snores any louder, he'll wake up the mamlucks," commented Iago.
"He didn't drink that much, though," observed Aladdin.
"Well, add three days of no sleep," Genie shrugged.
"I don't know about you guys," Kadir started. "But I don't want to be around when he wakes up." He picked up the sleeping form. "Let's take him inside."
The others followed the guard, who set the snoring Mozenrath on a pile of pillows. The sorcerer didn't even stir.
"He's out cold," Haywood commented to no one in particular.
Genie draped a blanket over Mozenrath and zapped up a teddy bear. "A nice stuffed animal and an anti-magic blanket!"
Xerxes flew in. "Master?!" He gripped the blanket in his teeth and tried to yank it off, but it was too heavy. "Curse you! Curse you!" He turned out.
Aladdin and company had already flown off on Carpet.
"Thanks for helping me take back my kingdom," sighed Haywood. "Sorry it didn't work out for us, Jazzy."
"I'm sorry too, Hay," Jasmine replied. "But I've got a future with Aladdin."
"I understand."
"Would you like to take a tour of Agrabah?" suggested Aladdin. "A lot's changed since you last visited."
"Sure. Why not?"
****************************************
Thirty minutes later, the gang was in the marketplace.
Haywood was glancing at a news-scroll. "Odiferous to Celebrate Royal Couple's Anniversary with Four Thousand-Gallon Pot of Cheese. Ol' Uncouthma found a wife?"
"Look out!" called Jasmine.
"Huh--" Haywood felt someone bang into him. The ink bottle the stranger held tumbled to the ground and shattered, spilling ink on a carpet for sale.
"My rug!" screeched the weaver. "Ink! On my beautiful creation!"
Sadira flipped through her spellbook. "Hang on a sec. I'll make the ink disappear."
"No problem," Haywood interjected, tossing several gold coins on the table. "Just send the bill to me."
The carpet weaver picked up the coins. "I can just weave two more rugs with this. Thank you, sir."
"Thanks," Sadira sighed. "Saved me a lot of trouble."
"My pleasure."
"You're not from around here, are you? It seems most of the gentlemen in Agrabah are taken."
"I'd say the same for the ladies, if you're taken."
"I'm single. Who are you?"
"Prince Haywood of Tabat. You?"
"I'm Sadira, Witch of the Sand."
"What a lovely name. It suits you."
"Oh, you're just saying that."
"Yuck," muttered Iago.
"Is that what you say to Thundra?" Jasmine teased.
"Haywood and Sadira?" asked Aladdin. "Next thing we know, Abu will have a girlfriend."
"Ick!" squeaked Abu.
**************************************
"OK, so one thing will remain constant," concluded Aladdin. "Abu's probably the most confirmed bachelor in the monkey population. And that's the whole crazy but true story."
Cassim, Aladdin's father, laughed. "Amusing, really." He had returned from Greece. Once the King of Thieves, he and Iago had chosen to become adventurers-for-hire. Traveling and finding lost treasures satisfied their small flames of greed and was perfectly legitimate. It wouldn't have mattered anyway, Aladdin had joked. Razoul had gone on furlough the previous day.
"It's too early to tell if Haywood and Sadira are meant to be together, but they seem to get along well. Besides, it wasn't like he was the first to want to marry Jasmine. Of course she didn't like Wazoo and Ayamaghoul, and she only used Uncouthma to make me jealous."
"Guess you had to fight for your lady. My turn. On my way back from Athens, I bumped into this odd fellow. He screamed when he saw his chiton was covered in mud, then he saw me. The guy pulled his hair and started to yell your name over and over. I'm guessing he saw the family resemblance."
"He didn't have a glass eye, did he?"
"I'm not even going to ask."
"That was Mechanicles. I'm sure Iago's told you about him."
"The crazy Greek inventor?" Cassim laughed. "Aladdin, you've certainly inherited my tendency to make enemies." He reached over and tickled his son's ribs. "Let's see if you inherited anything else."
Aladdin laughed. "Stop it, Dad!"
Iago flew in. "I'm beginning to see the resemblance here."
"Leave us alone, Iago," Cassim replied.
"Yeah," agreed Aladdin. "Can't you see we're bonding?"
The end.
