A/N: Everyone stop panicking. Calm down. I know it's been horrendously long since I updated and it was rather cruel of my to keep you waiting so long, but trust me I have several very good excuses I plan to throw at you. First off, once August got here I had to begin shifting back into school mode, so the mental energy and time I had been using for writing had to be put towards lesson planning and preparing for the upcoming year. For those of you not in the States, school generally starts between the middle of August and September first. And, us teachers start several days before the kids. On top of that, I found out four days before the first day of school I was moving classrooms, so I spent several days moving and reorganizing in my new space. Then, thanks to the chaos that is the first few weeks of school, it took me a few weeks to get back into my stride and fall back into my teaching routines. I had planned to use the three day holiday weekend (it's Labor Day here in the States which we get off as a federal holiday on Monday) to get caught up on the writing I had neglected...
...but, as the universe likes to waylay my well thought out plans, I began suffering from a cold on Friday night which I believe has warped into a sinus infection. My head is pounding, my sinuses are so impacted I can barely hear out of my left ear, my throat feel like I swallowed acid, and all the meds make me want to sleep. But, luckily I had written a short start to a chapter earlier... so that is what I am going to post. I have most of the next chapter already handwritten, but not typed, and the following chapter after that is fleshed out and a few snippets are written. So, I am working, slowly but surely. No promises, but I hope to get at least two chapters posted before I go back to work on Tuesday. We will see if it happens, as it all depends on how I feel and my energy levels. Thanks for being patient and holding on. I don't have any intentions on abandoning this story, but now that school is back and session, my posts will be further apart.
I apologize this is so much shorter than my previous chapters, and that in my opinion, this feels like filler. But, I wanted to post something for you guys. More to come eventually, so be patient. In the meantime, go buy Aladdin on digital and watch that until I can get my act together.
The door to Jasmine's study was still shut when he arrived. Trying the handle, the door did not budge— locked, just as Maryam had said. Raising his fist to knock, voices on the other side stilled him, hand hovering just above the hard wood plane of the door. Turning his ear towards the sounds, the voices were far too muffled to make out any of the words in the conversation. Just as he pressed his ear against the surface, the door swung inward taking Aladdin by surprise. The motion of his body already having carried him forward, he stumbled a step into the pair of people making their way out. Crashing into Jibril and Jasmine, equally shocked at the collision they were suddenly involved in, everyone halted, staring at each other in the doorway.
"Salaam, Your Highness!" Jibril greeted him awkwardly. "You look well rested."
Glancing down at the rumpled, loose clothing he had slept in, he realized he should have probably taken the time to get dressed into attire more befitting of a prince. Then again, he hadn't expected to cross anyone but palace staff and Jasmine. He certainly hadn't expected to find Jibril coming out of her office.
Smiling tightly, eyes direct, Jasmine asked, "How long have been standing out— " she corrected, "—waiting out here?"
"Just got here actually," he replied, tilting his head in the direction of the physician. "Is everything alright? You should have woken me."
"Not at all. Jibril was just passing along the updated numbers from the bimaristan, and to get my signature on some documents for — "
"Financing," he interjected. "I needed to explain a mistake made in my math — so easy to do under the circumstances. Stress and sleep deprivation makes it so much harder to function, as you know, my prince. I made a silly error in my calculation. The Sultana was kind enough to approve the corrected amount needed to fill the gap my error left in the payment for our supplies from the caravan."
"Of course," she laughed, rather nervously. Aladdin had used laughter as a deflection in enough embarrassing and awkward moments to recognize when it was being used as a distraction, especially when it was something Jasmine so rarely did. "How could I say no? Anything to help the citizens of Agrabah in our time of need."
"Right, of course..." Aladdin agreed, barely convinced. Something was off, and Jasmine, always so graceful and composed, even under pressure, was suspiciously on edge. Curiosity peaked, he diverted from the previous task that had brought him to Jasmine's study door, feeling the need to suss out whatever was going on. " Jibril, may I walk with you? You can catch me up on what I've missed."
"No that's quite alright, "Jibril shook his head. "Nothing pressing you need to concern yourself with. Salaam to you both."
Taking a step to move past him, Aladdin cut in front of Jibril as he tried to make his exit, using his body as an obstacle to forced the man to stop.
"Before you go, please let me apologize for my behavior earlier— "
Cutting him off, Jibril smiled softly and raised his hands in surrender. "You have nothing to apologize for, my prince. We have all been under immense stress lately, and none of us are immune to the effects of that, as my own mistakes can attest." He raised a hand to touch two fingers to his temple, indicating his mind. "When we are frustrated and tired, we are not ourselves." Aladdin was too well versed in body language and tone to miss the way Jibril's inflection changed as he continued, and the way his eyes flicked subtly towards Jasmine as if the next part was directed at her. "It makes us irrational, prone to mistakes and impulsive actions. We act before we consider the repercussions."
"Well, I appreciate and respect the will it took to stand up to your very stubborn prince." Aladdin smiled, bowing his head slightly toward Jibril. "I promise not to put you in such a position again."
"Glad to hear it. My medical advice is to continue resting, and for the health of your poor neglected Sultana, spend a much deserved evening with your wife."
"Thank you, for coming so quickly, Jibril," Jasmine almost shouted as he took another step to leave. "I mean, thank you for bringing the mistake to my attention so quickly, so we could rectify it immediately, before something bad happened."
A quiet beat passed as Jibril observed Jasmine, replying, "Nothing to thank me for, Your Majesty. Just take some time to rest as well. We all have a part to play in ensuring Agrabah makes it to the other side of this plague, and none more important than you."
"I'll see you tomorrow, Jibril." Aladdin stated. "I have a feeling we will have much to discuss."
"Until tomorrow," he nodded. "Salaam."
Finally making his escape, for lack of a better word to explain the way that Jibril had attempted to remove himself from the situation, once he was making his way down the staircase outside her study, Aladdin turned to Jasmine.
"Are you alright?"
"Wonderful," she replied a bit too quickly, before correcting. "Well, as wonderful as one can be while entirely consumed by trying to save her kingdom from a plague." She dismissed her words with a wave as if brushing chalk words from slate. "Nevermind all that. How are you feeling, doniety?"
"Fresher," he answered honestly for the first time in a long time when it came to how he felt. "Clearer. I hate to admit you were right, but I needed proper sleep."
Moving her fingers up the slope of his neck, she hummed, "Good. But, I'm not totally convinced you've come back into your senses if you're willing to admit I was right."
"Perhaps I'm suffering from some lingering mania,' he smirked, eyebrows raising playfully, "because I think Jibril is right too."A small laugh escaped Jasmine as he pressed their foreheads together. "I've been neglecting you."
"Under the circumstances, I think demanding attention from you at a time like this would be rather selfish, don't you think?"
"Well, if anyone has been selfish, it's been me, habibti. I know better than anyone how much you resent being held prisoner in the palace under the guise of protection, of what's best for you… and yet, the first demand I ever made in our marriage was exactly that."
Pulling back, her expression hardened into stony reservation. He had not seen that look on her face since the night he had come to her chambers as Prince Ali. At the mere suggestion they flee the palace and go on an adventure, his jaded princess had delivered that same skeptical expression.
I thought a princess could go anywhere?
Not this princess.
You should see these places. You want too?
How? There are guards at every door.
Who said anything about a door? Sometimes, Princess, sometimes you just have to take a risk.
"No," she said softly, interrupting the train of thought in his memory. "You were right, Aladdin. I should have stayed in the palace…"
The words were distant, broken, defeated — so fundamentally un-Jasmine. He knew exactly what she needed right now. What they both needed.
"You've been out of the world for a while. I think it misses you. It's so much less when you're not in it. I mean, look." Pointing towards the windows, their shutters thrown open to the city from which he insisted she protect herself. Ink stain was consuming the sky, chasing away the last remnants of color along the horizon. "Look how dark it is outside without you."
"I don't want to alarm you," Sarcasm turning her face less severe without losing any of it's seriousness. "That's called night, Aladdin. That's what happens when the sun goes down. But, don't panic. It comes back in the morning."
"You really know how to kill a mood, you know that, habibti?" Kissing her cheek to hide his laughter, and from giving her the satisfaction of her cutting sarcasm amidst his masterful exercise in flirtation. Instead, he brushed his lips across the sensitive skin on her earlobe, whispering, "How long has it been since I've shown you the world?"