A/N: Warning: this is the chapter that contains threats of rape and nonconsensual kissing.


Chapter 6: Nadim and Sameer

Arak of course was just an alias Jasmine was using for Aladdin's benefit. The man's real name was Nadim. He was a prince from a neighboring kingdom. And up until that night, Jasmine had been considering marrying him. However, that had all changed.

Earlier that day, Prince Nadim had told Jasmine that he wanted to go to a certain inn on the south side of the city because they had the best Arak in Agrabah. He had promised she could try it and Jasmine had been too curious to point out what a bad idea it was. Despite her misgivings, she believed it would be fine. Her father trusted Nadim and so did she. After all, it was thanks to Nadim that she was finally able to leave the palace again.

Compared to her first suitor and the only other person Jasmine could use as a measure, Prince Nadim was a trifle old, almost thirty. He was not particularly handsome with an overlarge stomach, nose, and ears. And his political views were positively archaic, but she liked him anyway.

Nadim had first won her over by really listening to her economic policy ideas and by promising the princess that she would be able to continue her political career after their marriage. It had been unexpected, considering his other views. Then Jasmine discovered that Nadim had known her mother and was able to tell the princess stories about the young Sultana and his time in Shehrabad as a boy. Between his easy conversation, friendly demeanor, and contagious laugh, Jasmine and most of the court found the prince to be rather charming.

The last thing in his favor and possibly most important was that Prince Nadim, unlike her very first suitor, was fun. When the sun began to set outside, Nadim did not start spouting nonsense about bedtimes and early mornings like Prince Dhiren might have. Instead, he told her, "The party is just beginning."

And it had. Nadim let Jasmine play cards and praised her abilities as she accumulated tokens. Seeing him, smiling at her and actually appreciating her intelligence, was beyond gratifying. Almost everyone at court tried to make Jasmine feel like an adorable little child who Jafar was training like a pet, ignoring the fact she had done more in the last two years than some men did during their entire political career.

Even her father did not seem to understand all the work she was doing. Only Grand Vizier Jafar and Rajah truly acknowledged her triumphs, but now Nadim was starting to see it too. Jasmine believed he respected her and thus, was treating her like the adult she was.

When the other men folded and Jasmine won the jackpot, she smiled up at Nadim.

He smiled back. "You're brilliant, Jaz." He turned to the group. "Another round of your finest Arak. One drink for everyone in the bar in celebration of our champion."

There were cheers from all over the room.

Jasmine felt herself blush. Nadim's compliments were never fancy, but it felt so good for a person to notice something exceptional about her that had nothing to do with her appearance.

Everyone was served up a drink, even Jasmine though she had tried to decline this fourth mug of Arak. The princess stared dubiously at the milky white drink in front of her. She had already drunk her fill of alcohol tonight. After the initial thrill of having the forbidden substance, she found she did not much care for Nadim's favorite beverage.

It had taken her a long time to drink her first mug. She had only finished it to be polite. She did not try to finish the second mug and had gotten a server to take it away. However, none of the servers would do the same to the third mug. It had only disappeared after she had left it to go to a different gaming table. Presumably, some other patron had drunk it for her which brought her to this mug. She had no interest in it, but there would be no abandoning it while Nadim was watching her.

"Go on," he said, encouragingly, "You earned it."

Jasmine opened her mouth to refuse when one of the men burst out, "Like hell she did! There's no way she could beat all of us four whole times. She must have cheated!"

"Sameer!" Nadim snapped at his cousin, "How dare you! Jaz didn't cheat. You're just a lousy card player and a sore loser."

"Oh yeah?" Sameer said, coming over to them.

"Nadim is right!" Jasmine put in, standing beside her prince. Normally, Nadim's cousin, Sameer, was friendly, always wearing a soft knowing smile. He and Nadim were old friends, but today, he had become exceedingly rude and ill-tempered as he continued to lose at cards.

"You tell him, Jaz," Nadim said, glaring at his friend.

Bolstered by Nadim's support, she proclaimed, "Just because you are having a string of bad luck, does not mean you should be a…a wet blanket!" The tame insult was supposedly one of Prince Nadim's favorites.

Nadim laughed appreciatively.

Before Jasmine could gaze up at Nadim to share another smile, Sameer grabbed her mug of Arak off the table and flung the liquid at her.

Princess Jasmine was showered in Arak. She spluttered and wiped the alcohol off her face even as the milky liquid soaked through her clothes and hair.

She had wanted to get rid of the drink but not like this.

Sameer leered at her. "Who's wet n-"

Sameer did not finish his sentence. Instead, there was the sound of skin meeting skin and a moment later, Sameer slammed against a nearby table and slumped down to the floor. Prince Nadim had punched him in the face.

There was a chorus of whoops and a splatter of applause from the crowd, but Nadim ignored his friends and turned back to Jasmine. "I'm sorry about that Jaz," he said. "Sameer has been a spoilsport all day."

"It is alright," she breathed. She could not take her eyes off Sameer who had his eyes closed and was groaning on the floor. The princess had never seen a real fight before.

"But you're all wet," Nadim complained, gripping her shoulder.

"I will be fine," she assured him. "I can get washed up when we go home later." She hoped it was later. Jasmine was not ready to end her night. She knew it was dark and she was now unclean, but she could not get enough of her visits outside the palace. They were few and far between and today was turning out to be very memorable.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Nadim said.

Jasmine felt her heart sink, but then to her surprise, Nadim called out to the innkeeper, "Prepare a bath in one of your luxury rooms."

The innkeeper nodded and summoned a servant.

Nadim looked down at her. "It wouldn't be good for you to come back to the palace smelling of booze," Nadim explained to the princess. "Even the sultan would notice that."

And Rajah would have a fit. Jasmine had long since suspected that Rajah did not like Nadim much.

She nodded.

"This will be our little secret," Nadim said with a wink.

Jasmine winked back feeling very worldly-wise and sophisticated.

The servant returned shortly and escorted Jasmine up a dark staircase and to a small set of rooms.

"The bath is ready in the next room. Undress here in the bedroom and leave your clothes on the bed," the servant instructed, gesturing at the bed covered in faded red sheets. "Someone will come in a few minutes to collect them and provide you with new clothes while yours are being washed."

Jasmine nodded. It all made perfect sense to her.

The manservant left. After the door was shut behind him, Jasmine quickly undressed, ready to get out of her sticky clothes. Then she went to the next room, closing the door behind her, and sank into the hot bathwater. It was so weird to not be bathing at the palace. She smiled. Today had been a good day. It was too bad she could not tell anyone about it. She knew Rajah and her father would not approve of her adventure. And she had no one else to talk to.

Jasmine stayed in the bath for a long time. Somehow, she just knew that when she returned downstairs it would be time to go. When the bathwater turned cold, she forced herself to get out. She grabbed the oversized Turkish towel that was folded by the bath and wrapped it around herself.

It was time to get dressed and rejoin the festivities. However, when she reentered the bedroom, she saw that there was nothing for her to get dressed in. There were no clothes on the bed. Instead, Nadim was sitting there, unclothed and watching her, like she was a piece of Zagrabah baklava.

Jasmine took a step back. Her eyes overwhelmed by the sight of naked man. She did not know where to look. "Nadim," her voice came out breathy. "Do you…need a bath too?"

Nadim stood up. His voice was slurred as he said, "Jazzy, Jazzy, Jaz, I'm sooooooo tired of waiting."

"Well, I am done now." She scuttled away from the bathroom door and gestured at it with the hand that was not holding up her towel. "Go on in." She had heard that a bath could do wonders for people who were inebriated.

Nadim ignored her words and walked right towards her. "Tooonight, the wait is over. Tooonight, we become huuusband and wife."

Jasmine stared at him, not understanding at first, and then she did. Aneesa, her nursemaid, had explained this to her once. The special dance the husband and wife did to have children. Later the princess had found out its common name:

Sex.

"Nadim," the princess said. He was close now and though he was not tall, the older man seemed to tower over her. "I do not think-"

Nadim slammed his hands against the wall behind her and he leered down at her.

"We are not married!" The princess said frantically.

"We will be," the prince declared before he leaned down and pressed his wet lips onto hers. It was horrible. Nadim's breath stank of Arak and it felt like he was trying to eat her. Jasmine tried to push him off, but he was just too big.

For a moment, she was overtaken by panic. Jasmine felt scared and trapped and for the first time ever, she wished she had never left the palace. However, that moment passed and the princess's ready mind came back to life.

She could not move Nadim. Thus, after she considered a few scenarios, she concluded she would have to move. An instant later, the princess dropped to the floor.

"Heeey," he said as she scurried between his legs and to freedom. "Where are you going?" He turned around slowly and took one uneven step towards her.

Jasmine ran through her options. She did not want to leave the room in just a towel, but she had little choice. The princess dashed out of the room and down the hall only to stop in her tracks.

Sameer was standing in the hallway, blocking the way downstairs and holding a lethal-looking shamshir blade.

"Princess, you aren't dressed," Sameer said pleasantly. "You should go back inside your rooms."

The princess stared at Sameer and the sword in shock. Where had he been hiding that and why was he acting so frighteningly sober when he had been drunk before?

Jasmine backed away from the man with the weapon, trying to formulate a new plan. Sameer was blocking the only exit, but she doubted she could just slip past him as she had done with Nadim. Sameer was not drunk. He was watching her with that knowing smile on his lips and a sinister look in his eyes. She needed to…

Suddenly the door behind her burst open.

The smell of vomit wafted into the hallway as a half-dressed and very ill-looking Nadim peered out. His complexion improved slightly after he took in the scene with Jasmine and Sameer. "Thaaank Allah, you stopped her, Sammy. Come here, Jazzzz."

Nadim stumbled out of his room. His bare chest or rather his full belly was much larger than she thought. It seemed to take up the entire hallway as he toddled towards her like a baby.

She was trapped with Nadim on one side and Sameer on the other.

"Come on, Jazzy mine," Nadim slurred. He reached out to grab Jasmine, but she jumped out of his grasp and shouted, "No! Get away from me!"

"Help!" she screamed, banging on the nearest door. "Help! Please! I'm under attack."

Nadim started to giggle.

Sameer said over him. "No use, princess. no one here will help you. Not when your husband is already here to protect you."

"Yeah, I'll protect you reeeeaaaallllyyyy good," Nadim assured her.

As Jasmine looked between the two men, she realized the truth. This current horrible situation had not been an accident. The two of them had planned this. They had probably been working together since the scene with the Arak and possibly before that. Possibly everything about today had been an elaborate lie.

The princess felt bile build up in her throat as she beheld the man that she had considered marrying and his friend, turned accomplice. Suddenly her path became very clear. She just had to get as far away as possible from these despicable people. Without another thought, the princess turned and ran towards Nadim.

The drunkard was so shocked by her sudden change in speed that he could barely react as she squeezed past him. He caught her towel, but the thin fabric ripped as the princess fled up the stairs, not heeding the oaths of the men below or the ominous words from Sameer about there being, "No way out."

Jasmine bolted up the stairs at top speed until she reached the roof. Her heart was pounding as she scanned the roof for something that could help her. There was nothing out here. No ladder to get back down to the ground, pots to hide in, or even a rock to throw as a weapon.

Behind her, she heard heavy footsteps and gruff voices. They were coming.

She had to think fast. Jasmine looked out at the surrounding buildings. One of the shorter buildings seemed to be within jumping distance.

The princess hesitated for only an instant. If she did not make it, all the awnings between her and the ground would probably stop her fall from being life-threatening. Considering the alternative that was enough reassurance for her.

Jasmine took two steps back. Then she sprinted towards the edge of the roof. Right before she would have fallen, she leaped off the edge praying she would reach the other side without breaking something.

The princess crashed onto the other roof, stumbled, and then went on running. She had leapt to yet another roof by the time, Sameer and Nadim got outside.

They called out for her, but neither guessed what she had done.

Princess Jasmine smiled as she finally found a roof with a ladder and scrambled down it. Despite the dire situation and the raw feelings from Nadim's betrayal, a thrill coursed through her. Against all odds, the sheltered princess had escaped.


A/N: Despite the icky parts, I really liked writing this chapter. I hope you liked it too. I am sorry it took so long. I had to balance Jasmine's naiveté with her intelligence which took a while for me to feel like I'd done a good enough job. I was also busy launching a new story, Crimson Tiger. If you like the angsty feeling of this and my action scenes, I recommend checking it out.

Next time, it is Aladdin's turn to tell a story. See you then!