Mozenrath hated to admit it, and he certainly never would aloud, but he was impressed! Jasmine sat in the throne, evading questions and prying commentary from the councilors, both local and foreign like a true professional. The moment Aladdin had disappeared, the rumors had started, the most flattering of which involved a stressed out and over pressured hero abandoning his duties. But both he and Jasmine knew better. Aladdin would never have abandoned his wife, his country, his kingdom, his people… or me. He thought cautiously.
How long had it been now? A year…not quite but close enough. He had even risen in position somewhat from 'that slave boy' to berdache to the royal family. True it still kept him in a harem like position, but it was a far cry from prostitute or conquered slave. And he had gotten permission, (actually he had spent the whole night getting permission) to continue his magical practices. That had cost him. Aladdin had every article brought from the Citadel scanned, documented and checked for any trace of dark magic, much to Mozenrath's chagrin. That had caused a hell of a row when he found out, but there wasn't much he could do about it.
Jasmine slammed her fists down on the table and interrupted the sorcerers train of thought. He smiled, after nearly a year he could tell when Jasmine's temper was at it's last restraints, and it was always fun to watch. Jasmine grit her teeth, her dark brown eyes burning like embers on her sweet face. "This discussion…" she strained not to snarl. "Has long past been tabled…" She took a deep breath and stared each man in the eyes. "It has yet to be proven to me in any way shape or form that I should consider him dead. The most I have been given is half sane accounts by broken victims of the battle who can't remember their own name much less if their Sultan survived!" Her voice was being carefully controlled. It was too easy for an angry woman to slip into the high pitched, almost whiny voice when they lost their temper. Jasmine fought hard to sound as deep and firm as a man, that was the only thing these morons recognized for power. Before they could even retaliate she snapped her hands against the throne, silencing them. "I will not be persuaded by any argument to look for a new husband."
"But you majesty, the throne…surely if your husband is found dead you will reconsider?" The tall, sharp looking man from her own council pleaded with her. The look her received was long and calculating.
"I have not yet decided…" Jasmine decided to throw in her own commentary. "I wonder my councilmen, of the loyalty to you own sultan, that when he may lie wounded and stranded, why you lack initiative to seek him out." Without waiting longer than to see their shocked faced, she turned and stormed from the room, Mozenrath waiting until the doors slammed shut to follow.
When he found Jasmine again she was in her room, head bowed down to her pillows and sobbing softly to herself. He debated leaving, a crying woman made him uncomfortable on many levels. He curled his lip in an unsure fashion but saw Jasmine look at him from the corner of her teary eyes. In his own true fashion, Mozenrath crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "What are you whimpering about? Don't tell those foolish peacocks got to you?"
Jasmine looked up at him and growled. "You…you…OHUGH!" she stood up and stormed out onto the balcony in a wave of curtains and a huff, but only after launching a pillow at the sorcerers head. Mozenrath arched an eyebrow, but said nothing. There was a very good reason for these hectic emotional outbursts, one that was only partially due to Aladdin's disappearance. He waited for a moment, then followed to see the sultana looking out at the starry sky.
"How much longer?" he said and indicated her stomach with his head.
Jasmine patted it protectively with one hand. She had not yet begun to show, but it had become increasingly obvious to anyone who knew her, the queen of Agrabah was with child. "I can't tell them now. Aladdin didn't even know." And yet somehow it had been alright to tell Mozenrath. She didn't know why, but a few weeks after Aladdin had left to track down a bandit hoard, the young wizard had become something of a confidant. She could tell him things and get an honest, if somewhat brutal, answer. And she was woman enough to recognize that was needed sometimes.
"But it may become fast necessary." Mozenrath sighed. "If he is…isn't coming back for one reason or another, that child will keep the family line firmly on the throne. They may object to you sitting there permanently, but they can not object to you being regent."
"Yes but what if my child is a girl? They won't tolerate it in the least. I'd have to choose a new husband, one who won't care if I'm no longer pure and virginal." She waved her hand at the stupidity of it.
"You have a rich kingdom, solid allies, a fine dowry…not to mention you are still young and pretty. It would be hard not to find a kingdom of some pocket nation who won't care that your baring the previous Sultan's child." Mozenrath closed his eyes and considered. He had become a private, if not recognized vizier to Jasmine and actually found the role comfortable. It wasn't as if Jasmine was her father, some addle patted old man who needed someone to direct his movements. She did however need someone to represent the more ruthless and ambitious among the less loyal of her kingdom. Supposedly, Mozenrath thought, he should be considered one of the good guys now, a protagonist. But his attitudes were still the same, he knew evil intimately, and could recognize the sharp taint of betrayal and treachery in others.
Jasmine shook her head. "Please, lets not speak of this as if we're actually considering it." She felt the odd, painful pressure or worry and loss seize her heart. It was not unfamiliar too her, this longing for something that wasn't there. She had felt it when she saw the body of her mother, made up as if a goddess forced into a mortal body, lying in preparation for burial. It had taken her completely when her father had been placed in the grave alongside his beloved wife. And now…now she could feel that burn returning as if she watched Aladdin disappear. Tears crept from her dark hazel eyes and she started crying.
Mozenrath was surprised to find him wrapping his arms tightly around her body, holding the weeping woman close. She didn't need strict and confining roles of a sultana right now. She needed to be a woman, weeping for a beloved one perhaps lost. She needed to be held and given comfort, and Mozenrath found himself suddenly prepared to take that role. It was easier that way.
"How can you do this?" Jasmine whispered in a frightened little voice. "How can you act like you don't miss him this much?"
"It's not that I don't. I just don't show it, it's not in my nature to let emotion overcome better senses." Mozenrath didn't say that he felt his soul being shredded inside. He didn't say that he wanted to steal the first horse he saw and ride off into the desert looking for Aladdin. He just stayed there, holding Jasmine tightly
"That is such bullshit. I've seen you two in the bedroom together, the way you call out to him, the way you bury yourself against his body. You love him Mozenrath, just as much as I do. You can let it out in front of me, I won't tell." She was not completely surprised to be pushed away, as if he were suddenly uncomfortable with closeness. She looked up at his eyes and saw the harsh, cold glare he could make himself feel. But Jasmine wasn't fooled, there was a shine at the corner of his eyes that meant tears were not far behind. She felt a well of pity rising up in her chest, and didn't think on what she did next.
Mozenrath was shocked to find Jasmine's warm, lush lips press firmly against his own. He was even more astonished to find himself reacting naturally, pulling her close to him. It was strange, kissing a woman, she was all softness and curvature, no hard packed muscle and sinew. There was a desert heat between them. This had nothing to do with a love for one another, they did not feel that was. Nor was it animalistic need. It was hurt that brought this sudden passion on, pain and the need to know someone else felt the same way. As their bodies made way into the small couch in Jasmine's bedroom, they allowed themselves to selfishly forget, just for a few hours, that the man they loved might never return.
Jasmine found her way through Mozenrath's complicated clothing to his pale naked flesh, baring it for her own eyes. He lifted off her coverings, now more modest with her a married queen and just took in the sight of each others bodies, naked and wanting. With sudden ferociousness Mozenrath pulled Jasmine down into a crushing kiss, his lips overcoming her own with restless sensation. She slipped her tongue into his warm mouth accepting what he wanted.
He slipped fingers between her warm hips, fingering the soft folds of her pussy with gentle, careful strokes. He had only had one woman before, a prostitute Destain had brought in to teach him the rudimentary forms of sex magic. But he had watched Aladdin and Jasmine together, he had even helped both before and after, but until now the need for a woman's pleasure had not been needed. He hadn't been interested in Jasmine sexually, (other than her ability to dominate him into arousal). But it didn't really matter. Finesse was not the key right now.
Jasmine whimpered, her eyes closing to show the smoky black kohl eyeliner and soft red plush of her lips. She felt slick moisture run down her entry, preparing herself for the inevitable. Mozenrath groaned as she stroked his hard member up and down, guiding him to the warm sheath for his sword. "Please Mozenrath…" she whispered.
He didn't wait for anything else, sinking his throbbing member into her body, he pumped inside of her, the sultana's arm wrapped tight around his male body, the heavy scent to of her floral perfume invading his nose. She was tight, a warm rippled tunnel for him to be lost in. Jasmine too forgot the man in her arms was not the one she loved, at least not dearly. She bucked against the sorcerers phallus, her body accepting him in for her own pleasure. For a little while, just a little while, Aladdin visited them both. But as the night wore on, and the high of sex and need wore down, the realization would come back to them. He was not there.
Jasmine lay against the smooth male chest and Mozenrath stroked her hair. "We have to find him." She said softly and looked up at his black eyes.
Mozenrath breathed heavily and considered. "Tell the council you will go into mourning for you lost husband, specifically say lost. That will give you at least the official year of pining for Aladdin. Offer rewards, exuberant rewards for any information that may lead to his being found. Respond to every single one of them even if it's an obvious dead end. This will give you some time away from council to consider things…"
"And to be sure who my allies really are. Those who support my searching and those who think it's a waste." Jasmine sat up, fully alert. "And once it becomes obvious that I carry Aladdin's child, there will be nothing they can do to make me marry, I'll have a baby to raise, no time to fulfill duties to a new husband." She nodded. "allright, we'll implement this tomorrow…"
"We?" Mozenrath raised his eyebrow.
"We." Jasmine said firmly. "From this point on you are royal vizier to the throne, my closest advisor. If something goes down, if somebody gets the idea that now is a good time for a coup, I want them to know we have a powerful sorcerer loyal to the throne. And when Aladdin's child is born, I can place you temporarily on the throne, until I'm better to rule again."
Mozenrath chuckled ruefully. "Well, if I'd have known all it took was to sleep with you I'd have conquered Agrabah years ago!" He gulped as a hard elbow slammed into his chest. "Ow!"