Chapter 8: Promises and Lies
Princess Jasmine awoke just in time to see Aladdin leaving. After all the crazy dreams she had suffered through last night, only one thought was in her mind. She immediately sat up and rasped, "Wait! Don't go!"
Aladdin whirled around, obviously surprised. "Abbi! You're awake?"
Jasmine cleared her throat and attempted not to seem panicked as she rose and confirmed that, "Yes, I am awake now."
"Oh, sorry," Aladdin said, rubbing the back of his neck, "I thought I was being quiet,"
"It is no problem," Jasmine assured him as she walked over. "I am glad I woke up before you left. I want to come with you."
"You do?" Aladdin asked confused. "But the sun isn't even up. Wouldn't ya rather sleep in? I'll be back in a bit with breakfast."
Jasmine shook her head. It was rather early, but she was in no mood to sleep. Regardless of her nightmares, this morning might very well be her last time in the city for years and she did not want to miss a moment of it.
"Well, okay," Aladdin conceded, still seeming confused. "Abu, do you want to come too?" he said looking past her.
Jasmine turned and saw the monkey appear out of a pile of blankets. He got up with a groan and grumbled something that might have been, "Well, I'm up now, chatterboxes," before he raced over to them and climbed onto Aladdin's shoulder.
Jasmine could not resist a smile.
Aladdin grinned at her.
Abu scowled at both of them and the three of them left out.
After Aladdin bought them bread and cheese to share, they toured some shops and Jasmine began one of the best mornings of her life.
Princess Jasmine had thought she knew all about Agrabah's famous bazaar. Even though she worked in the foreign affairs division, she was the head of the trade department so she often spoke to the merchant guilds and helped set tariffs and taxes for the city.
The princess knew that thousands of transactions occurred in Agrabah every day and that Saturdays were the busiest day of the week. She could recite all of Agrabah's top goods. She knew which fabric was trending, that the going price of oil lamps had been on the rise for the last six months, and even why there was a lemon shortage this year.
Beyond facts, the princess had experience to draw on. Firstly, on her last birthday, her father and Rajah had thrown her a world fair party, complete with an economically accurate mini Agrabah bazaar. Secondly, she still had vague memories of the marketplace from when she had visited it with her parents as a child. Last and thirdly, she had passed through the bazaar several times with Prince Nadim on their trips out. However, all those times were different from this morning.
Excluding her birthday party, her previous experiences were transient. The brief visits had her riding on an elephant or camel and looking down on her citizens from her high perch. The people of Agrabah had been in awe of her rank and showed her proper deference. It made each one of those experiences feel impersonal, formal, and restrained, like going to the royal menagerie.
Today, there was no restraint to be seen. She was out in the wild. No one made way for her or bowed to her as she passed. People were not quiet and ingratiating. They did not make themselves small for her benefit. Instead, everyone was loud. They took up space.
They were rude, and pushy, and alive! For the first time ever, she was seeing the bazaar as it truly was. All the facts and figures she had been studying for years were suddenly real. Agrabah was real and she was its princess!
The spell finally broke when Jasmine was standing beside one of the fabric stalls. The princess reached up to touch her headpiece. It was a gesture that she had repeated countless times today and for the fourth time this morning her fingers found only cloth. Once again, her headpiece seemed to be missing. The princess felt around her head just to be sure. Then she located the small mirror in the shop that she had noticed earlier.
"Oh no," Jasmine said, cutting off the vendor's explanation on the superiority of Quirkistan cotton.
The mirror provided the final confirmation of the truth. The princess's headpiece was gone. In its place was a teal headband.
"Excuse me, miss," the vendor said, affronted. "The cotton is excellent. You cannot feel for, your hands, they are dirty, but it is very good. You tell your mistress, yes?"
"Yes." Jasmine nodded absentmindedly to the vendor. "Yes, of course, but I have to go."
Jasmine grabbed Aladdin's arm and marched him away from the stall. After the princess had led him to a quieter spot between two buildings, she said, "My headpiece has gone missing. Again."
Aladdin exchanged a look with Abu who was riding on his shoulder. Then the street rat said, "No, it hasn't."
Jasmine glared at him and went to touch her headpiece again, but Aladdin was right. She frowned. "This is the fourth time this morning." And this time, the princess had irrefutable visual evidence that it had been missing.
"You mean this afternoon," Aladdin corrected.
Jasmine did not hear his quip. Her mind was occupied. Aladdin had been nice to her compared to other people without even knowing she was a princess. Moreover, he had been a great tour guide thus far. All morning, he had led her from stall to stall while remaining cheerful, funny, and informative. It was thanks to him that she had seen so many wonders today and he always had someplace new to show her. Even Abu was better than most of the nobles at court, but it did not change the fact she was now certain both Aladdin and Abu were making fun of her.
Before, she had not been able to confirm they were doing anything, so the princess had been circumspect. After the first time she had thought her headpiece was missing, she had given Aladdin and Abu the benefit of the doubt. After the second time, she had made sure they knew they could confess their crimes without fearing retribution. After the third time, she had told them a bit of why she valued her headpiece so much in the hopes that would stop the harassment.
None of these measured responses seemed to have worked. However, this time there was no reason to be cautious or doubt herself. This time she had proof, so she could finally employ her favorite tactic: the direct approach.
"I want you to stop," she said seriously.
"Stop what?" Aladdin asked.
She hated the way he said it, as if he honestly had no idea what she was talking about. She had almost believed him, despite herself, the last few times, but not now. Now, the princess had a sick feeling in her stomach. This was just like court, just like Sameer and Nadim. Here was yet another supposed friend turned bully. Jasmine did not know why this always happened to her. She had hoped that Aladdin would be different, but all well.
The princess stood up straighter and declared, "I want-"
It was a strong start, but the rest of her proclamation was interrupted by her stomach growling loudly.
Aladdin covered his mouth to stifle a laugh.
Abu did no such thing. The monkey cackled.
Jasmine held her stomach and felt even more like a fool.
"Cut it out, Abu," Aladdin chided his monkey, almost sounding sincere. "Abbi's right. It's lunchtime. What would you like to eat, Abbi?"
The princess shook her head. She did not want food. She wanted an apology. Lunch would have to- "Wait, did you say it was lunchtime?"
"Yeah," he said at the same time Abu pointed to a nearby fruit stall and declared, "Lunch."
Jasmine bit her lip. This was bad. "I did not realize it was so late. I need to get home."
Aladdin, who was wearing what she was coming to realize was his typical grin, stopped smiling. "What? Already? But there's so much more to see." He gestured around them.
"I have responsibilities," she said primly. Rajah would have been proud.
Allah above.
Rajah!
"I'm sure your chores can wait," Aladdin said easily. "The princess must have tons of other servants."
She did not. Most servants made her uncomfortable and regardless, "That does not matter. Only I care for Rajah and he is probably missing me." She had not walked the gardens with him this morning.
"And my father too," she added. It was not unusual for her to skip breakfast, but these days, her father liked to check in on her around noon to ask about her day and invite her to lunch with him and Nadim. She usually refused the invitation, but she had been enjoying the new daily ritual. She thought her father did too.
What had happened today? Had Nadim or Sameer told him she was missing or had her father just gone into the study only to find a distressed Rajah? She could just imagine it. "They must be quite worried by my extended absence," she said, her guilt building.
She had only meant to spend a couple of hours looking around, but now the whole palace was probably searching for her. Rajah and her father would be fretting themselves silly.
She needed to go home.
Immediately.
"Hey," Aladdin said, putting a hand on her shoulder, "You're thinking about this all wrong. If that tiger is as smart as you claim, he'll be fine without you for a day."
She was about to protest when Aladdin added, "And isn't your father the reason you're in this mess? A little worry is nothing compared to what might have happened thanks to him. You saved yourself, so you deserve some you time. If that means making your old man worry a bit, it's only right. It might even do him some good. Maybe next time, he'll think twice before trying to engage you to some creep."
In a weird way, Aladdin's logic made some sense, but she was still mad at him for the headpiece.
Aladdin sensed she was weakening. He pressed on, by saying, "Come on, Abbi. Let me treat you to lunch at least. No good comes from doing things on an empty belly. After we eat, I'll find you a guard who isn't a complete waste of space and we'll get you home."
Jasmine's stomach squeezed at the mention of eating. She was really hungry and Aladdin had been pretty nice to her so far. Lunch could not hurt, could it? She was on the cusp of opening her mouth to agree, when Aladdin ruined his entire argument by saying, "I promise."
Promise?
Just like that the princess was scowling at the street rat. "Like you promised to tell me about those boys last night?" she asked in a low voice.
"Uh-oh," Abu said. The monkey decided it was time to make himself scarce. He leapt off Aladdin in search of lunch. Aladdin, however, was given no such escape.
The princess pinned him down with her accusatory gaze. "Indeed," she said to him. "Uh-oh."
Jasmine had been so excited this morning that she had forgotten how last night ended, but now, it had come back to her. "How can I believe this new promise when you did not fulfil the last one?" she demanded. Jasmine was through with untrustworthy men and it showed. Unbeknownst to her, the princess's voice was becoming deeper, colder, and more dangerous with every word. "That was a breach of contract and a breach of trust," she informed him in an artic tone. "What do you have to say for yourself?"
Aladdin stared at the furious woman. "I…uh, well…" he stammered, seemingly stupefied. "I mean…you fell asleep, so…"
"Semantics," the princess said with a dismissive flick of her wrist.
"I don't have ticks!" the street rat cried out, offended.
"What?" she asked, confusion overriding her fury for a moment.
Aladdin ignored her question. His own anger had restored his confidence. His voice was scornful as he said, "And unlike you, miss high-n-mighty, I don't go pouring out my life story to the first chump I meet on the street."
Jasmine bristled. Something broke within her and suddenly her cold fury had been replaced with something raw and scorching hot. "That is not what I did," she snapped. "We made a trade!" The princess could not believe he was trying to blame her for his misconduct! Her voice rose as she said, "If you did not want to make the exchange, then you should have-"
That was as far as the princess's tirade got. The rest of it was drowned out, by the sound of a roar.
It thundered through the marketplace and drew her attention.
Princess Jasmine felt unsteady as her two worlds collided.
It could not be.
"Rajah?"
A/N: And at last, our white tiger in shining fur has arrived! What will become of our fair feline? Find out next time!
