In the village of Plaiche, Jafar sat in front of a bakery, nibbling on a piece of bread. He had asked Gaston to get ready to leave, but apparently Gaston's idea of getting ready to leave was preparing an armory that some small nations would envy. He was still sharpening a knife.
Jafar crossed the square to an interesting shop with an open book on the sign. An old, confused-looking man looked up from a book at him.
"Oh. When I heard my door open I thought it was Belle. Not many other people come in here. Of course, Belle doesn't need to, now that she has the palace library, but she still pays me a visit every so often. Who are you?"
"I am Sir Theophilus, a wandering knight from Constantinople."
"Feel free to browse my shop, sir. Most of the people here don't much like books. I know I could never turn a profit, so I mostly lend books out these days."
Jafar instantly thought there was something suspicious about the bookstore. Why was it here, if its owner and the princess were the only people who had any respect for the written word? He looked back out the window; Gaston was polishing a hunting rifle and paying no mind, so Jafar continued prowling around the shop, occasionally picking up a book here and there to put the proprietor at ease. Finally, he spotted something: a small, nearly hidden door, with a sign on it reading "Forbidden."
Jafar tried to open it. Like all forbidden doors should be, it was locked. And like all people who own forbidden doors, the owner was a bit put out by Jafar's attempt.
"You can't go back there! Why is it that the only door anyone ever wants to open is the one they're told not to!"
"Why not? Is it dangerous?" He already knew the answer. He could feel the answer. No, it was not dangerous. It could well be the City Gate of Lecroix. Good fairies and their ilk had a tendency to secure Gates in places ordinary people wouldn't snoop in, even though ordinary people couldn't open them. Taking that into account, the bookshop in a village that seemed to have no use for reading would be the most logical place to look. He'd taken a somewhat more direct approach once he'd gotten to the Gate of Agrabah; after all, it had taken a wish from that genie to find it, so he certainly wasn't going to squander it. He had simply put up signs that the oasis had poisoned water, and made sure all the local Bedouin thought so as well.
"It's not dangerous, sir. Just off-limits."
"What secrets could a small-town book seller have, I wonder." He dropped the disguise. "I'll be open with you. I'm not a wandering knight. I'm a sorcerer. And I know you have something magical behind that door. Now will you be open with me and tell me what it is."
"I'm sworn not to tell, sir. By her."
"The princess?"
"No! Even Belle doesn't know! By the Green Enchantress!"
Apparently, thought Jafar, he wouldn't need Gaston after all.
He re-thought that. No. The hunter could still prove useful. Jafar wasn't going to waste his own time on Snow White if he could help it.
Besides, Frollo had been complaining of insubordination among his guards. Perhaps Jafar could hire Gaston out to him as well.
"If you are not here to buy or borrow a book, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave!"
Jafar took a book off a shelf at random and slammed it on the counter with a piece of gold. He could see Gaston in the square, loading the last of the weapons onto their carriage. He picked the book back up (noticing that, quite apropos to his purposes, it was a political treatise by some Italian fellow) and said "Do not think you've seen the last of me" before resuming the disguise of Sir Theophilus.
He had gotten an idea. The Green Enchantress obviously trusted the book seller. Perhaps it would be wise to make a call on her after all. Besides, who knew what an idiot like Gaston would do with a map?
A few hours later, once Jafar had gotten into his carriage and left for Paris, he was already beginning to regret not using magic. In fact, he was tempted to explain what he was to Gaston and magic the both of them to Paris.
That wouldn't be very wise though. The more tangible all the evidence of his being "Sir Theophilus" was, the better. Perhaps Gaston would accept working with a sorcerer, but Minister Frollo certainly would not.
"Can we stop to hunt?" asked Gaston.
"No. We have all the food we need."
"Do we have five dozen eggs?"
Jafar had brought a basket of food along. He pointed to it and said, "Look in there."
Sure enough, when Gaston opened it, there were five dozen eggs. He would never know that the eggs hadn't been there before Jafar pointed.
"Good. Well, this all looks like enough food for me, what will you eat?"
"Oh, I'll manage. Just leave me some of the bread and fish."
"Fish? You're welcome to it! Nasty stuff!"
Jafar decided he would have to figure out what else this bottomless pit of a man wouldn't eat. He had already gobbled up most of the eggs (which, in anticipation of this very thing, Jafar had put in the basket already boiled).
On the bright side, Jafar was already doing a very good job of seeming to be an ascetic.
"So why do you need me in Paris, anyway?" asked Gaston. "Why did you offer to take me with you instead of just buying the map with money? I'd have taken your money."
"Paris is dangerous these days, even for a knight. I am no longer in my prime, and would rather be seen with a guard than without one. Additionally, I absolutely must impress Judge Frollo, and since I cannot fight as well as I once could, I have to show him that I can still command good fighters. If I may, I would rather like to turn the question around on you. Why did you agree to come with me instead of just asking if I could pay you for the map? You said you would not hurt the inventor's daughter."
"To tell you the truth, I was starting to feel like I needed to get out of that village. They thought I wasn't any good anymore. That I had failed them. I was the closest thing to a leader they had, and I led them astray. It doesn't even make any sense. They didn't know the beast was really a prince, but now they're happy to praise him and act like I did something awful."
"So you want to make a new life for yourself in Paris? That does make some sense. I will do my best to find a place worthy of your skills." Jafar doubted he would find anything that simple.
A few days later, Aladdin and Jasmine, along with Ariel and Eric, had arrived in Paris. They went to an inn, where an innkeeper let Eric and Ariel in, but blocked the door to Jasmine and Aladdin.
"No gypsies. Do you know what Judge Frollo will do to me?"
"If my friends can't stay here," said Prince Eric, "than neither will I." He pushed past the innkeeper to go back out.
"You won't find anyone in this city who'll take gypsies, except perhaps the gypsies themselves," said the innkeeper.
"But we're Arabs!" protested Aladdin.
"Do you really think for one second that Frollo is going to say, 'Oh, you're Arabs! My mistake! Off you go, then!' A heathen foreigner is a heathen foreigner to the likes of him. I do sincerely wish I could accommodate you. Do not think I share Frollo's hatred. The day he is gone, I will let you stay in my inn."
"When the guards come, Jasmine and I can be out the window, down the street, and out of your life before the guards even come up the stairs to look in our room," said Aladdin. "I grew up on the streets of Agrabah, with guards chasing me all the time."
"Well…all right. You can stay for tonight. But try to lay low."
"Can do," said Aladdin.
"So who are all of you, anyway?" asked the innkeeper, once they were back inside.
"I am Princess Jasmine of Agrabah. My father's vizier overthrew him and I fled the city with Aladdin's help. Our ship was wrecked, and Princess Ariel rescued us. We found out that the evil vizier is coming here to Paris."
"God help us," said the innkeeper. "I thought we had problems with Frollo."
"What makes this even worse is, he's a sorcerer. And he's very crafty. If he heard what Frollo is doing, I doubt he'll be here in the form we recognize. Anyone could be him. Even a bird, or a cat, or a snake, could be him." Especially a snake, thought Jasmine; he had always seemed to be fond of them. He had even stopped the guards from killing a desert asp that had wandered into the palace gardens, instead picking it up, putting it in a cage, and riding out to the desert to let it go. Most people wouldn't have survived that. Most people who were experienced enough with snakes to survive it still wouldn't have talked to the snake through the whole process, and seemingly gotten understandable answers. It was the first time Jasmine had seen Jafar work any magic, long before he had become the most powerful sorcerer in the world.
"But why is he here? What could be in Paris that he wants?"
"Well, we heard it from a pirate captain who heard it from a different ship's crew who heard it from their captain who heard it from Jafar, though you can never be sure Jafar is telling the truth, that he had to look for 'some odd magic thing buried in the city,'" said Jasmine.
"…Didn't Ammand say that the crew said that Hook heard he was coming to see a judge about it?" asked Aladdin.
"I think so."
"That makes sense with what I've heard," said a woman in a blue dress at the end of the bar. "I was in the Palace of Justice the other day and Frollo is annoyed at messages he's being sent by some mysterious person. Now I think your evil vizier is the same person."
"Who are you?" asked Jasmine.
"I am also a princess. My name is Belle. My husband Adam and I have been here for a while, and we have already seen what Frollo is doing to the city. For all we know, what Jafar wants him to be doing is preferable, though I doubt it."
"So how do we find out? We don't even know what Jafar will look like when he makes it to Paris. We'd have to watch everyone going into the Palace of Justice. Everyone who talks to Frollo at all. It won't be someone Frollo already knows, like a guard or a servant. It will be a new person in the city, but one that Frollo will find trustworthy, as opposed to Jafar."
"I do know a guard. He can tell you what is happening in the Palace of Justice, though he may lose his trusted position there himself. He tries to lessen the blows Frollo's orders do to the people, and Frollo is starting to realize it."
"Well, as long as he's there, he can help us. I know the collaboration between Jafar and Frollo will do nobody any good. Except Jafar."
"Not even Frollo?" asked the innkeeper.
"No," said Jasmine. "Jafar will exploit Frollo like he's exploited everyone else. You may even be rid of him, and have a city rather like Agrabah is now. A bit demoralized and overtaxed, but nobody gets killed or imprisoned for where they came from or what they look like. Those reasons are too trivial even for Jafar, who did once have a man whipped for saying he had a big nose. The one thing that restrains Jafar even a little bit is his desire to be worshipped by the populace. He can't kill them, because then there will be nobody to worship him. He has to be sure they remain apathetic, or even try to get them to like him. Before I left, he had already begun portraying my father as an incompetent fool who had to be removed from power for the good of the city. And the people believe him."
"Is he actually doing a good job ruling the city?"
"No worse than he was doing before he overthrew my father. I think a lot of people realized that he had always been in charge in all but name and that not much was going to change, so they just went along with it and flatter him and pay him the slightly higher taxes—after all, he does promise to improve the city with them, and for all I know he means to—because it's easier that way."
"So when we come back, he'll portray you as an inexperienced child who only wants to overthrow him to get your stuff back," said Aladdin.
"Aladdin, do you think he's been searching for us because of you? He's looking for me, and not just to tell the people of Agrabah things that aren't true. If he can't have me as his queen, he'll have me killed. Sometimes I don't think I should even try to go back to Agrabah."
"Well, it seems like Jafar has come to Paris," said Belle, "but I don't know any more about what he wants under the Palace of Justice than Frollo does, and you don't know any more than that it's an odd magic thing. I think we should go see Phoebus and ask him what he's found out."
Just then, two men wearing helmets walked in; one had reddish-brown hair, the other blond. "No need," said Belle. "Phoebus! Adam! Have you learned anything else?"
"Yes. A young woman came to Frollo's office and told him that she represented a wandering knight who could help Frollo solve the problems of his city. I shudder to think of what he means. Who are these people?"
Ariel, Eric, Aladdin and Jasmine introduced themselves.
"A wandering knight? I think we've found out what Jafar is going to show up as."
"Wait, who's Jafar?" asked Phoebus.
"Jafar is a wicked usurper who overthrew my father, the Sultan of Agrabah, and is apparently in pursuit of something magical hidden under the Palace of Justice. We don't think he's going to look like himself in front of Frollo."
"Why not?" asked Adam.
"Because he looks like this," said Jasmine, handing Adam a miniature painting of Jafar. "I believe Frollo is not kindly disposed towards dark-skinned foreigners."
"…Why are you carrying around a painting of him?" asked Aladdin.
"Two days before I was able to flee the palace, he gave it to me. For all I know it's been watching us."
"So why didn't you destroy it, or leave it in the palace?"
"Because for all I knew that would have had worse consequences, Aladdin! Do you honestly think I was carrying it around because I like to look at him? As soon as we can find him I'm going to find a way to sneak this back into his own belongings, and I will be glad to be rid of it."
"I am sure you would prefer to be rid of Jafar," said Phoebus. "All I can do is keep an eye on Frollo, but perhaps we can set up some kind of ambush."
"No, Phoebus. I am sure he put ministers in power who are no better for the city than he is. All killing him would do now is place Agrabah in their hands. I would rather he be defeated in Agrabah, so that I will be ready to return to my throne."
"You think of everything."
"I have always been interested in the proper running of my city. I hated that I had to stand by helplessly when Jafar overran it. I am going to get it back, and I hope you can all help me."
"We will, Jasmine. I just wish we knew more about what he's trying to do."
"We'll find out soon," said Phoebus. "I hope."
Jafar himself had arrived in Paris, and after sending Gaston to an inn, went in search of Drizella. She was staying with a relative of Lady Tremaine's who lived in Paris, and when Jafar reached the house he dropped the disguise.
"Oh, you're that friend of my cousin's," said the Parisian woman. "I take it you're here to see Drizella?"
"Yes."
"She's upstairs."
Jafar went up the stairs and knocked on Drizella's room door.
"Who is it?"
"Jafar!"
She opened the door. She was wearing a red dress. "Do you like my new dress? That horrid judge told me only strumpets wear red dresses so I bought this one with the money you gave me, to spite him."
"Oh. It didn't go well with Judge Frollo?"
"Oh, it went perfectly well, in terms of your plan. I just can't stand him."
"Yes, I feel much the same way. That is why I am here in person. You will not have to deal with him again."
"I think I can stay in Paris for a while. My uncle is a hat maker, and he has work for me in his shop. But I have to thank you for helping me get here. Even if the judge is a nasty fellow."
Jafar took a small coin purse out of his robe and gave it to her. "Here is a little more money. I'll call it your hazard pay. It should be enough to leave if you get tired of making hats."
"Actually, I like making hats, but the money will help anyway. Will you tell my mother I'm doing all right in Paris?"
"Yes, but I think you should tell her that yourself." He showed her the crystal and tapped it.
"Mother," said Drizella when Lady Tremaine's face appeared in the crystal, "I think I can stay in Paris for the time being."
"Very well, my dear. Write at once if you have any problems in the city."
"Now how do I shut this crystal off," whispered Drizella. Jafar waved his hand over it and the crystal went blank.
"Why did you shut it off?" asked Jafar. "I am sure Lady Tremaine had more to say."
"I didn't want her to see this," said Drizella. She stood on tiptoe and gave Jafar a kiss on the cheek. Jafar looked at her in utter puzzlement.
"There was no need for that."
"No, but I wanted to. Honestly, ever since you showed up at my house. Anastasia thinks it's terribly strange."
"As do I. I am not naïve enough to think that my flatterers in Agrabah are sincere, and yet here you are, being given so much less than I could give any Agrabanian, and showing me the only scrap of sincere admiration I have seen in decades. Did something terribly unfortunate happen to you in your youth that causes your unnatural attraction to fifty-year-old sorcerers?"
"Not that I can think of," said Drizella. "Well, anyway, I hope you get everything sorted out with Frollo. Be careful, he really is a horrible person."
"I am trying to take over the world here, and you are telling me to be careful of a corrupt town magistrate who can't even find a gypsy woman?"
"You do have a point there."
"Of course I do." He left. Once he was out the door, he became Sir Theophilus again and headed in the direction of the Palace of Justice.
Author's Note: 1. Sorry for making Jafar a bit of a Villain With Good Publicity, but I think it works well with what I've already changed about the story. We don't get to see him interact with the populace, but I think if Aladdin hadn't come back before Jafar used his third wish, and therefore it hadn't been pointed out that he had less magical power than something else, he'd have settled into being a decent ruler to get his ego stroked by the people of Agrabah. He isn't completely benevolent, but he'd rather have compliant people than rebels, so he has to give himself good publicity.