Jasmine shut the heavy door behind her with a soft thump, nearly catching her hair in the doorway. She had gone to the library to apologize to Jafar for her childish behavior, but when she found him slumped over at a desk she couldn't bring herself to wake him. She had no idea how to assist him, so the princess had gone and gotten him a blanket and a snack so that he would know he wasn't alone. She didn't think the visizer would know who left him the little gifts, but she wanted to help the hardworking man however she could.

Her father had always kept her sheltered from things like council meetings, peace treaty signings and trade route discussions, so she had very little idea what it took to run a kingdom. It must be hard though, because she had observed how much it weighed on Jafar, and the great lengths her father took to avoid dealing with it. She loved her Baba dearly, but even she could tell that he wasn't doing his job well. Jasmine shook the dark, cumulating thoughts from her mind, pulling her focus to Aladdin instead.

Over dinner her thoughts had been consumed with trying to figure out why he had lied to her about who he was. Had he really thought she was so stupid that she wouldn't be able to tell Prince Ali from Aladdin? He hadn't changed his voice, appearance or mannerisms, and even if he had his pet monkey Abu was rather a dead giveaway. Sure, the carpet ride had been fun, but it wasn't enough to make her look at him with the same starving eyes he would watch her with. She may not know a lot about men, but she knew enough not to fully trust strangers.

The princess had been so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice that she was already back at her chambers. She pushed open the double doors and was immediately tackled by her best friend Rajah. The tiger eagerly licked her face, his happy chuffs echoing around the airy room.

"Down boy! I missed you too. I had to go see Jafar, or I would have been back sooner."

The feline cocked his head to the side in a clear invitation for her to explain. He had always been infinitely smarter than most animals, and Jasmine talked to him on a daily basis, so it was a natural exchange between the two.

"Well, to be honest I needed to apologize. I was unkind to him earlier, and lost my temper a bit."

Rajah seemed to chuckle, a held-back chuff escaping him in an ungraceful snort.

"I mean it! I brought him cookies and a blanket. I just wish he would explain things to me. I know he doesn't like Aladdin, but I think he doesn't want to upset me, so he holds things in."

The tiger, at the mention of Aladdin, let out a snarl. His tail tip began to flick in annoyance, so Jasmine ran a soothing hand over the curve of his spine. He nudged into her hand, licking it possessively for good measure.

"You don't like him either, do you boy?"

Another snarl.

"Well, father always said that everyone deserves a…"

She was cut off by the quiet, but unmistakable, sound of pottery breaking somewhere down the corridor. She and Rajah poked their heads out of her door, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Jasmine was about to dismiss it as a clumsy servant when another sound came. This time it was a muffled shout, and the princess wanted to know what was going on. The duo stepped from the brightly-lit bedroom into a shadowed hallway, the light spilling through the door their only guide. The sound had come from the empty wing of the palace, so Jasmine headed to the right.

Rajah lead the way, a growl marking that his nose had picked up a scent that didn't belong. He lead Jasmine to one of the furthest rooms, where he stopped and crouched outside of the door, his tail swishing in concentration. Jasmine silently made her way to the door, which had been left open just a crack. To her shock she could see Aladdin and Abu inside. She wanted to storm in there and demand to know what he was up to, but her intuition held her back.

"Abu! I told you to be careful. If you keep knocking things over someone is bound to come!"

The little monkey gave an apologetic shrug as he tucked some coins in his vest pocket, his attention more focused on the wealth in the room than on his friend's words.

"Al, you know you shouldn't do this!"

Jasmine couldn't see him, but the genie that Prince Ali had mentioned on their carpet ride must be out of his lamp. He, at least, was trying to remain undetected.

"It's just a little treasure to hold us over, no big deal."

"Al, you wished to be a prince and you are now. You don't have to keep stealing, and it definitely won't help you get the damsel."

"Genie, you know I want to get in good with the Forty Thieves, and this would be a great way to do it. If a prince just handed them money they'd never trust him, but a nobody who managed to steal from the palace in Agrabah would be a legend!"

"So you're willing to sacrifice Jasmine's trust for theirs? Because there's no coming back if you take this route." "Jasmine will understand! I'm sure she'll say something political about how it would be good to have a man on the inside or something."

"Sure Al, sure."

"First thing in the morning we head east to find their hideout."

In a moment the group vanished, probably thanks to the genie. Jasmine shoved the door opened, a noticeably emptier room greeting her. Coins, jewelry and small statues had all been taken, as well as a few art scrolls and some silk pieces that had been on a table. This had been Jasmine's dowery room, the objects of which would have been given to her future husband's family as a sign of goodwill. Aladdin had just damaged an ancient custom, and the princess was livid.

"That, that, ahhhhhh! Who does he think he is!? I could have stood being lied to if he had come to me with the truth, but this is despicable!"

Rajah growled in agreement, his claws angrily scraping on the marbled floor.

"Princess?"

Jasmine let out a startled shriek, whipping around to see who had snuck up on her.

"Jafar! Don't scare me like that! Your clothes blend in too well with the shadows."

"My apologies princess, scaring you was never my intent. I came to thank you for the blanket and cookies when I heard your exclamation. What has happened?"

Jasmine related the information to the vizier, and by the end of it she was practically in tears.

"I am so sorry Jasmine. I know you had feelings for him. Maybe I should have killed him when I had the chance…"

"What?"

"Ah, nothing."

He saw the hurt look cross Jasmine's face, and decided to take a different course than earlier.

"Princess, I often speak delicately around you. May I be fairly frank right now?"

Jasmine looked up at Jafar. If he was actually going to open up to her then she wasn't going to do anything to dissuade him. He still looked a little sinister with his clothes so perfectly blended into the shadows, but she knew she could trust him.

"Yes, of course."

"Thank you. Prince Ali, or should I say Aladdin, also took something from me. I had heard of his reputation as a thief, so I hired him to retrieve a powerful object that I thought could help the kingdom. He decided to keep it for himself though, and in my rage I almost killed him. I could have stabbed him, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. We are on the verge of war princess, and I fear that the thing he took from me was the only thing that could have helped us."

"It was the lamp, wasn't it?"

"Yes. How did you…?"

"He was bragging about having a magic genie in his pocket earlier. I thought he was just making up a story to impress me, until I saw them magically poof out of the room."

"Now you see why I was hesitant to share this with you."

"Yes, but I thank you for finally being open with me. I'm eighteen now Jafar, not the little girl you grew up with. I don't need to be coddled, I need to be taught to rule my kingdom well. It seems like we have many topics to discuss reguarding our kingdom."

"Indeed. You continue to surprise me princess, in the best of ways."

"Good, then here's another surprise: I want to start by getting my dowry back. Will you help me?"

"What do you mean?"

"I want to go after them! I want to stop him from reaching the Forty Thieves. If he reaches them, and they start targeting Agrabah because they think it's a rich city, then that will just make all of our problems worse."

Jafar, his mind turning a thousand circles per minute, saw the logic in her plan. It would indeed help prevent civil unrest, and it could potentially help get the lamp back.

"I agree with your plan Jasmine. I'll set out at first light to follow them."

"You mean 'we', of course."

"Princess, I can't put you in danger like that! Your father would have my head, literally."

"Jafar, please? I'll be safer by your side then here without you."

She knew she had him when his normally perfect posture sagged defeatedly. She knew the risks of what she was asking, and she knew life outside of the palace was unkind, but this was something she believed she had to do for herself.

"Besides, I'll just follow you if you don't let me go with you. I have my own horse, and the guards wouldn't dare stop me."

They both knew she was right.

"Fine. I will meet you at the gates right before dawn. Go get some sleep princess, you'll need it."

"Thank you!"

On an impulse Jasmine threw her arms around the vizier. Contact with non-family males was highly frowned upon, but in her excitement she didn't think about that. She placed a brief kiss on his cheek and took off for her room. Rajah stopped long enough to give Jafar a smug look, his whiskers twitching with mirth, then he was bounding down the hall after Jasmine.

"What did I just agree to?"

His question hung in the silent air, his cheek still burning where her lips had touched his skin. His heart was beating so fast that he was sure she could hear it, and it had been all he could do to not have taken her in his arms and kissed her until she was breathless. Watching her go down the hall in her figure-hugging crop top and pants was torture, and Jafar was glad that his robes were baggy. It was going to be a hard trip.