Aida was sure that Jasmine wouldn't understand how much Aida wanted to see if it was possible to communicate with the spirits from the other world. After all, Jasmine was older, and had known their mother for much longer. Mother had died when Aida was only five, and had been sent to Aunt Fara since she was six years old. And of course, their two brothers who had died before they were even a month old. So, no matter how much Aladdin might rage, Aida spent most of her time in the old lab, looking through the books. Now that it was no longer a secret, Ali and Sabdullah seemed to have lost interest in it a bit, except for the fact that Aida always explained what was in the books to them.
"Are we ever going to finish going through the books?"asked Ali.
"Well, even if we don't, books are always fun. They enrichen your mind."
Outside of them, no one liked the idea that Aladdin hadn't sealed the lab, especially, Josefina, who wouldn't go near that section of the Palace.
"Oh, dear, you don't suppose someone was murdered in there?"she would say.
"I probably wouldn't doubt it."Aladdin told her, which only made her more fearful.
"You're only scaring her more, Aladdin."Jasmine told him.
"Oh, she's afraid of her own shadow."said Francisco. "I'll never understand why. She's the only one who's so modest, so shy, and so fearful. I think it comes from daydreaming so much. Just don't tell her I said that because then she'll be mad, and well, for all her fears, you don't want to be around her when she's mad. She can make your life impossible. For real."
"I really can't see that happening."said Iago.
"What you shouldn't have seen happening was opening that lab again, and not telling me about it."Aladdin told him sternly.
"Well, he did say he was sorry, Al."said Genie.
Abu nodded.
"That just doesn't mean its right."said Aladdin.
"Well, anybody can make mistakes."
"I don't think that was just a mistake, and then it wasn't just any old mistake. It could have cost a lot of people their lives. Especially while Jafar was still alive. If he wouldn't have hidden there, the guards would have caught him and none of all that would have happened."
"It would have happened anyway, Al. Jafar was determined to get his hands on that lamp. I mean, your daddy here almost lost his life to that Saluk guy when he was chasing after that Hand of Midas."
Aladdin glared at him.
"Jafar was obsessed with that lamp, see. He was determined to do anything to get it."
Genie sighed.
"Couldn't we just make up?"he asked.
"Now is one time I have to agree with Genie."said Iago, hopefully.
"A mirror!"Aida exclaimed. "What we need is a mirror!"
"A mirror for what?"
"I don't think it can be just any old mirror. Well, just one that I can put a spell on. Perhaps a small one? That way I could carry it in my pocket. Just imagine all the things we could learn!"
"I thought a mirror was to see what you looked like."said Ali.
"Oh, well, they are, but now, I'm thinking I'm going to be seeing them in a whole new way."
She ran out, and back to her bedroom, where she pulled out at small elegant mirror. She ran back to the lab.
"Fine, now the book says we must, oh, no, I don't have any of these things! Oh, well, we'll just have to find them, then, won't we."
She wrote down the list, and send one of the servants to the marketplace to buy them.
"And what do we do now?"asked Sabdullah.
"Now we get everything ready."
"What if they can't find all those herbs and everything at the marketplace?"
"Oh, well, they should, and if not, we'll just have to look for them somewhere else. And the sage must be picked at the full moon. Uh-oh."
She remembered that werewolves transformed during the full moon.
"What are we going to do? Well, I guess that just as long as we're careful, or perhaps we should take an animal with us. A werewolf is only dangerous to people, not animals. Perhaps if they think that we are just animals, it won't do anything to us."
She went to check her calendar.
"All right, in two nights."
"I don't want to go."the boys said together.
"That's all right. After all, I don't want either of you bitten by werewolves."
"What if you are bitten?"
"Oh, I wont' be."said Aida with more confidence than she felt. "Don't you worry."
Two evenings later, Aida tied the dogs and the cats on their leashes, and held them tightly in her hands.
"I only hope the light might do something to hold them off. Perhaps they don't like the light. The only, after all, transform at night. Oh, well, I mustn't think about that. Now, come on, let's go."she said to the animals, and climbing on her mare.
"Has anyone seen Aida?"asked Jasmine.
"No. She went to look for werewolves."Ali told her.
"She went to look for what!"exclaimed Josefina, and fainted right there on the spot.
Aladdin caught her.
"Oh. But why didn't she say anything?"
"Because she said she didn't want us to go and be bitten by werewolves."
Jasmine shook her head.
"See, we're not allowed to go outside during the full moon, because of the werewolves. We get on the boat early, and sail far out to sea, to see the mermaids."
"Oh, dear! Where could that girl be?"asked Hamed.
"Not to worry!"said Genie, and he turned into a search group.
"Where could she have gone? Do you know?"Jasmine asked the boys.
"She went to look for the sage."
"Oh."
The Genie's immediately went outside.
"Couldn't you have done something to stop her?"asked Iago.
"No. She said she was going."
"She couldn't have said she wasn't, could she? I think I know where she might have gone, if she's read Jafar's notes. He used to write down in the books where the best place and times was to pick what things, and such."
Iago led them somewhere in the back of the Palace.
"This place is creepy."said Francisco.
"Oh, please. Your beloved wife is probably having the time of herself. I think that she has to wait until midnight, though. And the moon has to be shining."
Just as Iago predicted, they found Aida looking at her watch, and waiting between all the dogs and cats.
"There you are!"
"What is everybody doing here?"
"We were worried about you."
"Yes, well, we only have a few minutes to wait."she said, looking at her watch.
"Maybe you should just forget all about this."Iago suggested.
"No. Not when I'm this close!"
She picked the herbs, and they left, Aladdin furious, Francisco, Hamed, and Jasmine relieved, and Aida cheerful.