Aida couldn't believe her eyes. It was him. There he was. Achmed. Achmed who was always dressed in the most expensive of silks and satins, riding only thoroughbred stallions as arrogant as he, now lying in the dirt, his clothes torn, and looking up at her, when he had always looked down his nose at everyone.
"It can't be you."said Aida, uncertainly.
"Aida."
"It just…doesn't fit. It doesn't make any sense. What are you doing here? And in those conditions?"
"I need your help. I have no one else to turn to."
Aida looked at him with a look of bewilderment on her face.
"You…you want me to help you? You…"
"Please, I haven't eaten in days. Those miserable thieves took my mule, and everything I had with me. They left me with nothing except the clothes on my back."
"What thieves? You? Traveling all the way here, to ask for my help, because of a bunch of thieves? And what were you doing with a mule? You would never ride a mule, Achmed. Where's your horse?"
"You don't understand. I don't have my horse."
"I can see that, I think."
"What should we do with this man, Patrona?"
"We should….I guess let him in. He'll be coming with me. He's…a relative, I guess you could say. Come, Achmed. Get up."
Achmed got up with difficulty. He looked like very exhausted and worn-out. Aida led the way back to the house, with Achmed walking behind her.
"Jesus! I never thought you would allow the workers into the house, Aida!"said Ana Lupe when she saw Achmed.
"He's not a worker. This is Achmed. Prince Achmed."said Aida.
"Prince? He looks like a prince all right."commented Ana Lupe, raising her eyebrows.
Achmed didn't say anything. He looked down at the length of himself. He knew he certainly didn't look like a prince. The men outside were better clothed than he was. At least their garments were whole and they fitted well, while his were torn in all places, and while his pants were too big for him, his shirt was too small. He looked at the women. With them, he felt much more ragged. While they wore silk dresses, adorned with lace, flowers, ribbons, and plumes, and fanned themselves with their fans, which were just as fancy and extravagant as their dresses, he was dressed in these rags.
"Achmed?"observed Jasmine.
She couldn't believe her eyes. She couldn't believe this was the same over-dressed, self-absorbed Prince Achmed who had been sent to call at the Palace, recommended by her Aunt Fara.
"What…? How…?"
"I know. I was surprised, too. He said that he had no one else to turn to, and that some thieves took his mule, and everything he had with him."
"Achmed? Riding a mule?"
"That's what he told me."
"A mule?"scoffed Ana Lupe. "Only people who are trash ride mules, not gentlemen. Then, the prince doesn't look like a gentleman, does he?"
"I don't understand any of this."
"I don't either."
"Jasmine!"Aladdin called, coming down the stairs with Cassim, on their way to the parlor. He stopped when he spotted Achmed. "You!"
"You!"Achmed exclaimed at the same time.
"You know each other?"asked Aida.
Aladdin frowned.
"I don't know him. I have seen him, though."
"Where?"
"In the marketplace. He threw me in the mud when I tried to stop him from mistreating a couple of children. He said that would teach me some manners."
Achmed looked at this same street rat whom he had thrown in the mud, and he couldn't believe his eyes. He wouldn't have believed it if he wasn't seeing it with his own two eyes.
"What are you doing here, you street rat?"he asked Aladdin.
"I should be asking the same thing...your highness."he added scornfully.
"I shouldn't be surprised if he did throw you in the mud, and wanted to mistreat children. You've never had any respect for anyone, have you, Achmed. Now, what kind of joke is this? What are doing here? What are you after?"
"I don't think I will answer anything in front of this street rat."he said.
"You want to show more respect to the Sultan of Agrabah."said Cassim.
"What? That, the Sultan?"
"Yes."
"No. Only royalty may occupy the throne. This is nothing more than a worthless street rat."
"And from the looks of it, so are you."
"How dare you!"
"How dare you! It looks like we've switched roles, hasn't it?"
"Enough, all ready!"said Jasmine.
"Achmed what are you doing here?"asked Aida. "If you've only come to cause trouble, I would suggest you leave."
"No! You can't kick me out. Don't you see I have nowhere else to go!"
"Well, if you want to stay here, you better learn to respect my brother-in-law."
"You don't understand. You just don't see."
"See what? What don't I see?"
"It…it was horrible. I…when Father died, you know Aunt Fara, Uncle Kamal's wife, wanted me to marry her niece, Princess Jasmine. So, she sent me to Agrabah, but Jasmine rejected me."Achmed smiled a bit. "Aunt Fara was so mad, you know. She said I would have been the perfect husband for her niece, and I should add, I agree with her. After all, I would have been ten times better than the worthless street rat she did marry."
"Achmed!"
Achmed threw a dirty look at Aladdin, but began to tell his story again.
"So, I would be ruling alone, without a Sultana, until Uncle Kamal could find someone for me. He did, in the end, but, Princess Liyana died very quickly. She was very sickly. We couldn't find anyone better, you know. I must say, I was very glad she did die. The girl wasn't any good. She simply took the title of Sultana, and her father did leave her a decent kingdom. That was why I chose her. However, he never told us, that there was a rebellion stirring. It looks like the merchants wanted to be allowed to sell different kinds of goods. It seems that Liyana's father was very harsh. I've never cared. They can do whatever they liked, as long as they stay out of my way. One night, they attacked the Palace. There were so many of them! My guards couldn't stop them. The miserable, ungrateful idiots took everything. They destroyed everything. I tried to contact my Aunt Fara, but she was no where to be found."
"She's probably in Venice. Aunt Fara loves Venice. She always goes there at this time of year."
"Yes, so I heard. I tried to go to Agrabah. That's where I found out you were here. It was kind of…odd, after looking at those bloody streets, that in Agrabah, everything seemed so…normal."
"Of course, Agrabah is clear all the way across the Seven Desserts."
"Well, everything there seemed normal. I went to the Palace. Rasoul let me in. By the way, he said that he wasn't captain of the guards anymore. That there was someone else in that position. He told me that you were here. I crossed the ocean on a ship, in steerage. A man gave me some food and a mule to get here. On the way, a miserable band of thieves stopped me and took everything I had."
"And that's how you got here?"
"Yes."
"Well, what do you want from us?"
"I couldn't turn to anyone else. Unless perhaps you can contact my Aunt Fara. I doubt she'll want anything to do with me, if she heard I'm no longer on the throne."
"She won't. I know. In her eyes, you are now, nothing more than a common beggar."
Achmed winced at her words.
"I am not a beggar."
"What else can you be called? You definitely aren't a prince anymore."
"Why exactly did they rebel?"
"I don't know. Apparently, it seems that Liyana's father was too…harsh with them. It seems he was determined to make life as hard as possible, if not impossible for these people. Most left, however, he also had people guarding the entrances, and no one was allowed in or out unless the Sultan wished it. So…they rebelled. Why they had to wait until the stupid princess died, I don't know."
"Maybe they were hoping you would be a better Sultan."
"As if I cared. I simply wanted to live my life in peace. With as little to do with them as possible."
"And now what are you planning to do?"
"I don't know. I've lost everything. I have nothing."
"Well…I don't know if we can help you."asked Jasmine.
"Of course we can!"Aida exclaimed suddenly. "You can work for us here. I don't know how they hire the men to do the work in the fields, but I think Francisco knows. He can hire you."
"What! Work? Me? In the fields?"
"Yes. It's honest work, you know."
"But, I don't see why I have to work."
"So you can eat."
"I think I agree with Aida."said Aladdin. "I think some honest work will benefit you immensely. It will make a new man out of you."
"But I'm royalty. I'm a prince! Not a no account merchant."
"Well, you are now. And like them, you will work. Francisco should be here in a little while. Don't worry, you'll get everything you need. A place to live, food, so forth. You just have to do your job well."
Achmed stared at her.
