Author Note: Part of the Christmas Explosion. Merry Christmas!
P.s. To think my business studies knowledge would come in handy for this chapter.
I do not own Aladdin.
Enjoy!
It was early morning in Agrababa that a hammer came in contact with a nail on a plank of wood.
Each swing could later be interpreted as sealing the fate of the Kingdom.
When morning came and people began to appear, the whole population woke up to a very rude awakening.
"1 GOLD FOR A SINGLE FRUIT!" Yelled a large woman in shock and horror, her yell rocked off the walls and made several people open their wooden windows to see what the racket was about.
"I am very sorry Ma'am. But fruit from my stall is very limited, now" said the fruit vendor. "I can not afford to sell what I have for any lower"
He knew it was a terrible decision but the ban on Ababwa goods had hit him hard, he could either let his family starve or do this.
"Preposterous!" She said. "You're a crook! A liar! A cheat! Do you think you're the only fruit Vender in this Kingdom? I bet I can find a cheaper option, easily. As long as that price is up, you won't see a single coin from me, from now on!"
She stormed off, only to come back an hour later with her face red from embarrassment.
All the fruit vendors around her had risen their prices as well and he was actually the cheapest one around because the others refused to budge on the price.
"Um, I would like 2 tomatoes and 2 turnips," she said, embarrassed and appalled that she could now only afford a fraction of her shopping list.
"Of course, madam," he said, brushing away how she treated him earlier as he put the fruit in the bag and said. "That would be 4 gold"
She paid for it and know it was only through good fortune that she was to able to afford this.
God help those who are in a worsier financial situation than her.
She walked back and dreaded the lack of tonight's meal.
The kingdom was about to learn what happens when a massive portion of the population can't afford fruit and the person in charge didn't care.
The great fruit Exodus had begun.
#Ababwa#
Meanwhile, in Abwawa the exact opposite of what was going on was happening.
People gathered around in dozens when they saw their local fruit vendor suddenly put up a new sign.
It was shocking.
'10 silver per fruit'.
"10 silver per fruit?" Said one man with his friends looking shocked. "Has old Johnny gone insane?"
"There is no insanity here, my good costumers," said the old man behind the vender to the crowd that had gathered. "I suddenly have an increase in stock that must go because the demand for the stock abroad has lessened to a degree. More stock means cheaper prices. 10 silver per fruit, step right up because you never know when this amazing turn of events will run out"
The old man was serious.
"I want 3 apples!" Yelled a woman.
"Give me, 6 tomatoes!" Shouted another.
Everybody waved their money bags filled with silver coins at him and the old man was laughing while completing everybody orders.
Jafar aimed to hurt the Kingdom but instead, he did the exact opposite.
With a whole kingdom worth of fruit no longer been accepted, nobody who was business smart would allow the goods to rot, they would rather make much less money then make no money at all from it, so naturally, they would redirect it to sources that would be happy to accept it at a cheaper price.
More goods naturally meant the worth of each good decreased and the vender would have to sell more goods to make the profit they usually made.
Which the average citizen would be more then happy to fit the bill for if they saw they were getting a good deal out of it.
It was because of this that the deal spread to the point that even Beggers were seen buying Apples.
This prosperity spread to the other Kingdoms as well and fruit was seen flying off the venders like hotcakes and those who owned Venders were grinning from ear to ear, looking forward to seeing how much money they made at the end of the day.
Meanwhile, it had only been a few days but Genie had finalised the two kids as citizens of his Kingdom.
An advert for adoption was put up all around it and many people who couldn't have children walked into the palace for the first time to see the two and be evaluated.
Not many kids got to pick and chose their parents regardless of their financial state so this was quite something.
But any decent person would know, children did not belong on the street.
In the end, both children ended up picking a couple that owned a flower shop.
Something common here but the real money came from the Kingdoms who were surrounded by nothing but desert so flowers were a rarity.
The two kids liked the calm couple and the flowers.
"Bye," said Prince Ali coming personally to see the children off and behind him was none other Genie.
Princess Jasmine watched them from a balcony.
Even she could see how amazing it was to have royalty personally come out and wave beggar children off.
When both of them were out of sight, Prince Ali vowed to come to visit the children.
He turned around and realised with joy, that he managed to get out of lessons today.
Time to ride in style and have a good look at the Kingdom, he called his own.
Prince Ali walked into the Palace and asked somebody to fetch him his personal horse.
He still couldn't believe he had a personal horse now...
He still couldn't believe his Princely lifestyle, Aladdin was a reality that kept him grounded and not enter into what many called the King's madness.
He was taken outside to the royal stables, the horse he was presented with was a great dane, it had silver hair, a thousand time better than that snotty horse that, that Prince had been riding on when he was Aladdin.
He brushed his hands over the neck to soothe the horse as if he had done so, many times before, before getting on it and was about to leave when he heard.
"And where do you think you're going without me?"
He turned to see Jasmine.
"Out," he said.
"Then take me with you," said Jasmine.
Prince Ali did a double-take and said.
"This coming from the girl who has been preaching how she would go out and experience the world but all you've been doing is staying in my room, eating my food and using my servants," he said. "We haven't forbidden you from leaving the grounds. You don't want to be a princess anymore so go out there and get a job. That's what normal people do"
Jasmine was stunned before she said. "Well, I did try"
"Do you even know how to ask?" he said and she was silent before he sighed and said. "Get on my horse. I'm going to show you how to move out of my palace"
The horse dipped down and she got on behind him.
When it stood tall, she almost slipped off, clearly riding a horse and riding a tiger were two very different animals.
She found herself holding tightly to Prince Ali waist and he didn't mention it.
That is how the appeal of attraction had been shot by her actions.
"So what kind of Job are you looking for?" He said as the horse trotted along.
"I want to explore the whole world, discover new places and meet new people," she said, and he wasn't surprised
"But with what money?" He said, stunning her. "What experience? What defence skills? The Princess is missing and found to be in a travelling Caravan. Do you think that would go over well for other kingdoms? How long do you think you can hide, before somebody 'saves' you in the middle of the night and carries you back by force to cash in a reward?"
And Jasmine opened and closed her mouth.
"That's why," he said before drumming began to play in the background. "You got to start small before you go big. Luckily your in the best place to do it"
The trumpets came in.
"Princess, you've spent your high life being pampered, sheltered from the world, nobody could tell you no." he sang softly before he said. "But now you've stepped out of your bubble. You've traded your royal clothes for something so bleak. We'll when you're in Ababawa, you can not go wrong. Just sit back, enjoy and relax"
And then the chanting started as he sang. "Here in Ababawa. If your looking for a brand new start, look no further then the shops around you!"
The horse passed the market place.
"We have product coming in, from near and far" he sang and they sang 'Near and far'. "We have fine cloths, fine animals, fine fruit and brand new smiles."
Jasmine rose her eyebrows, amused.
He sang. "Ababawa isn't just a tropical land, we have many tropical jobs. We have fruit picking, fruit harvesting, weather news, builders, greeters, shop meeters, businessmen, and everything in between."
People showed up to represent the jobs for her.
He said. "This is not Agrabah where there is nothing but sand and the civilian look mad, sad and drunk." They saw pictures as he said that. "This is Ababawa, a land full of lush fields, lush smiles and its all because of that one man" he pointed to the Palace.
"...My dad is awesome too," said Jasmine.
"If he's so great then why did you abandon your Kingdom?" He said and Jasmine had no answer for that.
#Agrabah#
Agrabah citizens were going through hell right now as the shadiest looking man they had ever seen, had been made Acting Sultan because their real one 'suddenly' came down with an illness and the shady man was apparently the best person to run the Kingdom in his stay.
Jafar promised the people that hardly anything would change but the first thing he did was raise taxes and gave his men the power to do as they liked with consequences.
Poverty had skyrocketed too.
Smart people saw the writing on the wall and decided to leave.
"Be quiet. We can't get caught!" said a man to his family. "We have to leave. We won't survive here. The whole Kingdom has gone belly up"
They made it to where they would meet their secret guide, they had to give a lot of money for the man to come, disguised as a trash collector he would muggle them through the guards at the gate.
It wasn't glamorous and they risked dangerous bacteria, but no guard would look through garbage to find people, no matter how much they were getting paid.
So they made sure to close their mouth as the wagon approached the gate and they hear talking before, the sound of revulsion was heard and the wagon was allowed through.
When they heard the coast was clear, they got out, smelly but alive.
"We've done it!" They said.
"Where are we going?" Said the kid.
The guide said. "We are going to Ababwa. If there is a place cheap enough and can help you. It would be them."
"But isn't the Prince a kidnapper?" Said the father.
Their guide laughed and said. "You people actually believe that? That's why you should get out more. Prince Ali is actually quite famous for his gentle heart and respect towards all people. The other Kingdoms know that he doesn't have a kidnapping bone in his body. Plus, the Kingdom we just came from is going downhill fast. I wouldn't trust anything coming from your leaders, right now"
He was asking them to question those above, and instead of defending them, the whole family recalled the stupid decisions being made and how everybody but the very top was suffering right now.
They were leaving because they knew they would die under the new leadership.
How do you defend a regime like that?
The answer was simple.
You can not.
Power hungry men like Jafar forget one thing, there is no power if even the nobles are fleeing for a better life.