Hey all, my apologies for the gap in time between chapters. My dog passed away last month, so, I was grieving-still am, but I'm better than before. Losing him was really difficult for me, but, I promised to be there until the very end with him. Cancer took my little man at the age of seven, but, his memory will live on.
So, lets talk about this chapter. I won't lie, I'm in between about this, but, I'm touching on all perspectives. I realize that Memories ended on a different note than the route I'm taking with this, but, I think this would be truer to the initial ideas that were meant for Babkak and Omar. I know the movies took a different route with Cassim's character, as they made him his father, but I wanted to hold onto Aladdin having his other two cronies.
I feel the Sultan had more of a role than being a loyal follower to tradition. I feel he was a man who had warmth and really wanted to see who Aladdin was as a person, as he was the one his daughter chose. I want to touch up on that here and there, as that is key, also, to Aladdin's development and understanding to grow.
Thank you all for sticking with this, I really appreciate your reviews and follows, I'm having a lot of fun really fleshing out Savannah's character!
Chapter Three- Eventually the Truth Comes Out, You Can't Hide Forever
After Savannah had left the room, Cassim brushed off any of his cronies that attempted to disturb him. Aladdin was alive? Cassim closed his eyes, feeling relief stretching from artery to artery in his heart. Was he well? Was he taken care of? He had to find out from Savannah without giving too much away. He was still a father, even if he had missed the most important moments of his life. On the other hand, he was with a princess, if Savannah's words were true. His boy had done well for himself. A surge of pride swelled up in Cassim.
He recalled Aladdin learning to crawl and walk, his first word being 'mama' and how he was upset that it wasn't 'dada', but he should have known that was a sign of the future. What of his wife? How was she fairing? Cassim had dreams of returning home to his family with more money than they could ever imagine, and lived the life that they deserved. Aladdin had risen to be man of the house, and he was more than confident that he was taking care of his mother.
Hands wrapped into fists, clutched together in prayer, Cassim attempted to reconnect with Allah to continue watching over Aladdin. As much as Cassim had thoughts of using Savannah at his disposal, he had to be, on some level, grateful for being at his boy's side. It was at the cost of her heart, and he saw the pain in her eyes. She was a smart girl, and she was strong. She would pull through, he was certain. And he knew, because that's what a person with less means did.
"Here's the last of the stew," Omar offered to Savannah as Babkak helped her onto the bed. She accepted the bowl and glanced between each of the men. One of them sacrificed their ration for her. With so many men, there was no way there were leftovers.
"I can't. One of you didn't have," Savannah glanced at Omar and offered the bowl back. Babkak crossed his arms over his chest. It was he who hadn't eaten, but had eaten plenty from the goods he stole on his journey. Omar looked up at Babkak, who looked the other way.
"But you need your strength. Eat." It was supposed to come out like a command, but it was far too gentle. Omar gingerly pushed the bowl back to Savannah, who slowly sipped on the lukewarm broth. He then sat at the foot of her bed, Babkak remaining in the doorway, leaning against the frame. The room was silent with the exception of Savannah's sips and the occasional slurp. Omar glanced up at her, curious of this woman.
"So, what led you here?" Omar inquired.
"Magic," Savannah commented after swallowing a gulp of broth. "What about you two? What're your stories?"
Babkak snorted at her response and rolled his eyes. The evasiveness was irritating. "Omar and I are old buddies." Omar looked up at Babkak as he stepped away from the doorway and popped a seat on the floor by the bed. No one was coming and they weren't leaving. "We come from Agrabah, too. We've got an old friend there."
"You come from Agrabah? Then why didn't you say anything?" Now she was intrigued. Why had she never seen them before? She raised herself to a higher seated position, showing she was listening.
"We're very wanted men," Omar said with a cheeky, yet sheepish grin. Shy and timid little Omar was trying to impress the young woman and all Savannah could do was laugh, which caused her to pause to hold her side and continue laughing.
"We stole from the palace. The Sultan had trinkets that could fetch a pretty penny. The city-folk were losing their gems to taxes. There was nothing for us, ya know?" Babkak shrugged his shoulders. "That big goon of a guard chased after us. I managed to knock out his tooth."
"But he saw our faces," Omar said.
"So? Razoul's seen mine loads of times." Savannah blinked.
"Buuut, when you're wanted for attempted murder-"
"They exaggerated the whole bit," Babkak huffed. "The Sultan found me, sure. I didn't want his head. I don't roll like that."
"No, but they thought you wanted his head to," Omar said. "I told you it was a bad idea!"
"Well, after that bit we left. We wandered the dessert for quite some time, left our buddy behind..." When Savannah leaned in, Babkak continued to explain. "We were thick, tight; we were blood brothers. Omar was the brains, I was the muscle, and he was the dreamer. We balanced one another out. But, this was a mission we couldn't involve him in. In case anything went wrong-"
"If you were brothers, then why didn't you involve him?" Savannah inquired.
"Because he had dreams bigger than us. He wanted so badly to be part of the palace life. He wanted better than scrounging. Who could blame him? He would steal from a fellow commoner, but not the Sultan. Omar and I? We were sick of it."
It made perfect sense. That was what she tried to explain to Aladdin for so long. Their friend sounded awfully similar to him. She was curious of their friend. She took note of Babkak's eyes and how pained he seemed. She could tell he was loyal and true to his kin and brethren, to have left him without a trace, well, that must have been a cold and hard decision. When Jasmine came along, she thought about leaving. But after being through so much with one person, she couldn't bear to do it.
"When Agrabah was mentioned before," Savannah began. "You sounded like you didn't have the slightest idea as to what I was talking about."
"Girly, we needed to cover our asses." Babkak said nothing after that.
To cover ones ass was not a bad idea. She had technically known them for only a day, but they acted as though they were her guardians. Well, they were her keepers, as per Cassim. It seemed more than that, though. She couldn't allow herself to read too much into it, because, well, that led to problems.
He had been known for getting out of problems, as opposed to getting himself into them. Being in the palace seemed to be bringing Aladdin more problems than he would have liked. As humble as the Sultan appeared, he was still Jasmine's father, and he understood that. A father who was highly protective of his daughter. Not to mention, he had just been betrayed by a man he had entrusted for probably decades. Aladdin couldn't blame the Sultan for his skepticism.
Actually, Aladdin had to admire him for remembering to be a father, as well as a ruler. The man could separate the two well. He came off the type to rule first and father second, but now that wasn't the case. The Sultan was an authoritative figure, well rounded, and looking at the potential future of Agrabah with a stern eye.
"My boy, I know we have had this discussion many a time." That never led to a good conversation. Aladdin inwardly winced. "Jasmine is the only connection I have left to her mother. She will be a good ruler, just as she was. Her mother made all the decisions, you know?" He chuckled. Aladdin kept in mind that he was letting his guard down. So far, so good.
"Jasmine takes so much after her. So strong willed and minded. Why, if she was anything but, I guarantee you she'd be married to Prince Achmed." The portly little ruler glanced at Aladdin over his shoulder. "And instead she chose for love. She chose love in you, of all people, and my boy, take no offense to that. Your means are not of your fault." He placed his hands as far as he could behind his back and paced. "No, your mother and father must have been-"
"My mother was a seamstress," Aladdin interjected before the Sultan could continue on. Ruler or not, he was speaking of his deceased mother. But, one man had respect for the other, and so the Sultan nodded. "My father left when I was very young, he said he was going to better the family. I imagine he died since he never came back." The dark and depressed tones softened the Sultan as he sighed.
"No, your means are not your fault," he repeated. "Your skill for survival is astounding, I must confess. However, you have been tested on your means of moral character. I was skeptical of you. I needed to know I could trust you with my daughter and my kingdom. Marrying Jasmine means you'll be the future of Agrabah. I have stocked my life into the care of these people, do you understand? Marrying Jasmine means not only will you father children with my daughter, but you become the father of the people."
Thoughts of this had popped into Aladdin's head before, and each time he thought about ruling people, he wondered if he could do it. He honestly didn't know, but he was assured so long as he had Jasmine at his side. He was a man who could escape an apple merchant, but to tax the same vendor and care for his needs when he wanted his head? Aladdin looked down at the Sultan; this powerful man was confiding in him and truly inquiring of his intentions for his people.
He thought of Savannah's dreams of wanting a better Agrabah. Feed the children so they wouldn't hunger. Gnawing bellies needed to be filled of all the people. Betterment for Agrabah as a whole, he compiled. She wanted community, commitment to the dream. He was struck with inspiration.
"Then we should help Agrabah," Aladdin softly introduced the concept. The Sultan turned around completely to face him.
"What do you mean, my boy?"
"Coming from the streets, your majesty, the people are hungry and sick. Taxes are high and the people suffer. I know the issues are little addressed." He tried wording it the way Jasmine had been suggesting. "But, they are issues. You talk about fathering the people. Father's help their children." No, that wasn't Jasmine, that was Savannah speaking. "So, we should nurture Agrabah and bring it to where we can thrive again." And his dreamer was talking.
A smile slowly curled to the Sultan's lips and he slowly nodded. He sensed the genuine nature in Aladdin's voice. "Yes, you're absolutely right."
His heart was thumping in his chest, anxiety reeling as he returned the Sultan's smile. "I have also one other request," Aladdin said, thinking this to be an opportune moment. Aladdin then knew he had the Sultan's full attention.
After Savannah had fallen asleep, Omar left the room and stretched his limbs, raising his arms above his head. Babkak glanced after his friend and tugged the curtain closed behind him.
"Sounds like Al's alright," Omar murmured as he looked to Babkak. How many Aladdin's could there have been? And the way Savannah described him, it was on point.
Babkak released a heavy sigh. "Yeah, found him a girl and everything. I'll be damned. He did better without us."
"Yeah, but he didn't do it alone," Omar added.
Looking back towards the direction of where Savannah laid, Babkak shook his head, "Yeah, no, he didn't. But, we can do better, Omar."
