I don't own Aladdin

The Sultan walked through the halls of the palace, a peaceful smile upon his lips as he was greeted with the morning rays of the sun. When he awoke, he was surprised that he had not seen Esther in the bed that they shared. Usually when he awoke, he would see her brown chocolate eyes staring back at him with a soft smile on her face as she greeted him with her soft voice. He hoped to find her hopefully in the dining hall for breakfast. There was much he had to speak to her about, one of them being about an heir to the throne. The Sultan had been a bit disappointed that she could not bear children but that did not mean that he didn't love her. One idea that came upon him was possibly to have one of her nephews become the heir of Agrabah. Surely, he was trained well enough to be aware of the policies of his country and will learn such policies in Agrabah. Hopefully, Esther would be inclined to agree with him. It was better to have their minds at rest about this whole situation.

He took a left turn down the hall and opened the doors to the dining hall. To his surprise, he did not see his beloved sultana sitting there waiting for him. The breakfast was all laid out and ready for them but he wouldn't dare sit and eat without her. "Where could she be?" the Sultan asked himself, his eyes wandering about the room as if she was going to materialize in the room.

He let out a sigh and ventured out of the dining room, awaiting for her return as he walked into the gardens of the palace. The fountain was spewing out fresh water, the little white birds happily chirping in the cage, and the flowers facing towards the sun obtaining as much of it's rays as they could. He sat down by the waterfall, not knowing himself why he came out here in the first place? It seemed like a peaceful place to think. No maps sprawled across his desk and no stacks of messages from other countries. Not that he was dismissive of them, but even a sultan needed a day of rest.

His head suddenly perked up as he turned his head towards where the noise came from. It sounded like the doors of the palace had closed. Immediately, the Sultan jumped to his feet and ran inside the palace.

"Oh come now Razoul, I have a good reason why I bought her in the palace." The voice belonged to his wife and he was more than happy to hear it. But, why was she speaking with one of the palace guards? He looked up from the floor of the staircase where he noticed his wife in her outdoor robes and a young girl by her side.

"I do not mean to interfere Sultana but what is the Sultan going to say about this?" Razoul spoke softly to her.

Esther knew that her husband may hesitate at first about adopting this young girl from the marketplace, but what were they supposed to do? She wanted a child. She needed a child and she was not going to let anyone take away this opportunity that came to her. She felt Amira gently squeezing her hand as she glued herself close to Esther's robes, looking at her surroundings of the palace in awe.

Curious to see who this little girl was, the Sultan walked down the staircase and approached his wife and Razoul. "My dearest Esther," he had a jolly smile upon his lips as Esther turned her head and looked at him with a bright smile of her own. He took her cheeks in his hands and planted a gentle kiss upon them. "Thank you Razoul, I shall take it from here," the Sultan smiled to the guard.

Razoul gave them both a nod of his head and turned on his heel, returning back to his duties.

With wide eyes, Amira watched as the guard disappeared within the hallway of the palace. "And who is this lovely young lady?" her eyes looked up at the Sultan as he looked down at her with a joyous smile. She was at a loss of words, not knowing how to act in front of this man. Amira was aware that the country was ruled by the Sultan but seeing him in front of her, she did not know whether to stay as she was or bow to him. However, Amira was very surprised when Esther took her here. Never did it cross her mind that the woman who was with her was the Sultana.

Esther looked at her husband and smiled. "Her name is Amira," as she said it, she gently stroked Amira's tangled hair and pulled her close to her, "a little girl I met at the marketplace."

The Sultan's lips titled into an every so gentle smile. "W-Well what is she doing here?"

Esther removed the garment that covered her ebony locks and let them fall across her shoulders. "I wish to speak about this with you after we have some breakfast," she nods her head to him. "It is an important matter, but first," she put her hands onto Amira's shoulders, "I want this little one to be taken care of at first. Wait here dear," she gave a gentle pat on the little girl's shoulders and walked past her and the Sultan.

The Sultan's eyes followed after his wife and turned his head back to Amira. Giving her another smile, he approached her. "Amira, that is a very lovely name."

"T-Thank you," she smiled, shyly looking up at him not knowing what else to say to him. "Y-You have a..." she was speaking too quietly which was not enough for the Sultan to hear.

"Speak up dear," he gently said to her.

"You have a nice palace," she spoke a little loud than last time but there was still a meek tone in her voice.

"Why thank you," he nodded his head to her, "it has been here for many generations."

Amira's eye widened, very curious now to know more about the palace. "Oh! I did not know that!" her lips then titled into a big smile, feeling a little comfortable now in the presence of the Sultan.

"Perhaps we can teach you more about it," he looked at her, the smile never fading from his lips.

"I would like that," she giggled, her eyes shining at the thought of it.

Suddenly, a voice from the hall was heard as both Amira and the Sultan looked to see Esther approaching them with a servant by her side. "Well, well, it is good to see you two get along." Esther walked over to Amira and looked at the servant, "Abia, I want you to set up a warm bath for Amira. I want her spick and span."

The servant, Abia, nodded her head to the sultana and held out her hand towards Amira. The young child looked at it and looked up at Esther.

"Go on dear," Esther gave her a reassuring smile as Amira hesitantly put her hand upon the servant's. Abia gave her a smile and led her away from the Sultan and sultana as Amira turned her head to look at them as she took a turn and watched them disappear.

Once Amira disappeared, the Sultan turned his attention to Esther. "What is all of this dear?"

Esther nodded her head to her husband. "I was out in the marketplace to get a breath of the morning air and see what was up and about in the marketplace."

"Next time dear," he teasingly wagged his index finger to her, "tell me where you go. I was scared to death for you."

Esther chuckled at her husband's response. "I can take care of myself, you needn't worry about me. Then, I saw this man chasing Amira. The girl had taken an apple to eat and she did not have any money."

"She stole from one of the bazaar's?" the Sultan's eyes widened. "Why would you bring a thief in the palace?"

"I am not finished, dear," Esther looked at him, "I do not care that she stole just one apple from him. The girl is practically skin and bones. I thought she was going to be snapped in half for he was about to strike her. I did not stand to see such a thing happen. I stopped him before he were to do it!"

"He could have hurt you!" the Sultan's eyes were wide as she described the event.

"If it meant saving her, then I would have sacrificed myself from getting a strike," she looked at her husband, "but the girl is an orphan. She has no one to care for her and...oh this is going to sound silly, but I felt a connection with her."

"Connection?" the Sultan raised a brow as he looked at her.

"As in I had to care for her, that is why I took her in," she looked at her husband with a smile on her lips. The Sultan opened his mouth to say something but Esther quickly intervened. "You know that I am not able to bear children, my dear husband. I was supposed to have one by now, almost five years ago. Our child would have been five now, learning from tutors and the way of the palace life. Amira is five herself and it shall take time for her to adjust but we have the best tutors for her."

She had practically answered every question that the Sultan was about to ask her. He still was a bit uneasy about Amira stealing from the bazaar but hopefully she would learn the right of way whilst living in the palace. "How will she be a proper queen then when she grows into a woman?"

"She will learn," Esther simply answered, "no one is unintelligent my dear. I know that inside of her, she is a smart young girl," she smiles to her husband as her eyes look up and see Amira. "She is here."

The Sultan turned around and looked at Amira. Her brown hair was combed and straight, the dirt was removed from her cheeks, her nails cut, and a she possessed a new wardrobe. The clothes fit loosely around her body but Esther knew that all she needed was some fattening up. "Thank you Abia," she smiles to her as she gave her a bow in return.

Once Abia left, Esther looked at Amira. "Look at you! You're glowing!" she took Amira into a gentle hug, "you must be hungry my dear. How about some breakfast, what do you say?"

Amira nodded her head in response as she waited for the Sultan and Esther to take her there. The Sultan held out his hand over to Esther as she gently put her hand upon his, leading them to a blue door. Esther opened the door and they were presented to the dining hall, where the food was set and ready for them. Amira's eyes widened at what she saw. Never before had she seen such scrumptious food before and looking at them, without knowing, she licked her tiny lips and her stomach began to rumble.

Esther chuckled. "Let's all sit down and eat."

Without hesitation, Amira ran over to a chair, pulled it away from the table, and crawled into it. The Sultan looked over at Esther with a disapproving look. He knew that this girl was young but she needed some discipline but Esther just dismissed his look and chuckled. She will learn she thought as she and her husband joined her to the table.