Disclaimer: I do not own Aladdin or any of the character's they belong to Disney and co. Please R&R as the feedback is greatly appreciated.
Sometime in the afternoon they managed to get themselves together, and by unspoken agreement he used his magic to transport them into her private gardens at the palace of Agrabah.
The gazebo had been positioned to provide the most breathtaking view in all the palace, and from its cold marble benches Jasmine could see the whole of her gardens, the terrace of her bedroom, with its climbing ivy a vibrant green; and in the distance the rushing waterfall that had been unearthed and reassembled to provide a sense of peace. Finally she lowered her gaze, "All right, I'm ready" she said.
"Very well." Mozenrath said, smiling a bit nervously, "Jasmine, what I have to tell you is not pleasant, and it won't be easy for you to hear it. But before we get into it, I have one last thing to ask of you."
"Of course, what is it?" she smiled encouragingly up at him.
He took a deep breath; his voice was tender. "My flower, I know you have never refused me anything I have asked, and you have gifted me with so many favors that I haven't asked for, that it seems unbelievable I could make yet another request from you, but I have to. It's the most important thing I will ever ask of you, on behalf of both myself, and with any luck, the united people of our two lands. Will you consider it?"
Jasmine looked into his eyes, they were gleaming intensely, "Of course; of course I will," she answered, squeezing his hand reassuringly. "I've already told you, Mozenrath, that I will always be your friend and ally. You can ask whatever you need of me and I will do whatever I can to help you, if it's in my power"
He smiled, then turned her hand over in his and kissed it. "Good. Marry me, then." His words were out of his mouth before his knee touched the ground in front of her. "That's not funny, Mozenrath," Jasmine said, looking annoyed. "Get up. What did you really want?"
"Sorry, my flower, that really is what I want. It has been from the very beginning. I haven't joked about it, or argued with you about it, or even brought it up until I was certain that you would listen without prejudice, because I have never been more serious about anything in my life."
He saw her begin to go pale, and he took both of her hands and plunged ahead, afraid to let her answer yet. "I know you have long been under the assumption, fed by your council, that there is a hierarchy to which I don't belong by birth, and that it somehow is a good reason to deny us both happiness and our people the best rulers they could possibly have. My flower it isn't true, they accepted that street-rat at first simply based on the fact that you had chosen him, nothing more. They are a free people that can confirm or deny anyone they want at the council that meets when a Sultan is to be crowned."
"All I know is that I cannot live without you in any case, I don't mean this as a flowery endearment; I mean it literally. I cannot allow myself to even contemplate the loss of you from my life, for fear my other nature will take over and lay waste to everything. Please jasmine, please marry me. I know I don't deserve you – I am fully aware of that -but you love me, I know you do, and I have come to trust that love. I would give anything -"
"Stop, please," Jasmine whispered tears were streaming down her face and he fell silent. The look of shock on her face was so blatant that he was stunned, and his face mirrored the hurt he felt. "Is the prospect of being my wife so onerous, Jasmine? Have I frightened you so much that-"
"Stop." she said again, and her voice was full of pain. "Of course it isn't; what an awful thing to say" she began to sob, and buried her face in her hands. Mozenrath took her, still weeping into his arms. He held her until the storm of tears had passed, and then pulled from his breast pocket a silk handkerchief and handed it to her. "Needless to say, this is not the reaction I had so hoped for." he said as he watched her dry her eyes.
"I know how you feel, this is not exactly the question I had expected, either." she said, handing back the handkerchief. "I know, and I am sorry. But I couldn't let you go on believing that everything we've been through had been for nothing." he took her chin in his hand and gently lifted it to look into her face, "There is a limit, even if it is a distant one, to what I am willing to do as far as politics and my own responsibilities of leadership are concerned. There is a limit to my love to you, of course it would win out."
"My flower, none of these people, these things, matter. Be selfish for once in your life. Make the decision that makes you happy. I love you beyond description, and I would make your happiness my life's purpose. Forget all the rest of this; the court, Aladdin or otherwise and give me an answer, not as whatever else you perceive me to be, but as the man who loves you." he said simply, with a clarity that cut through the mountain of objections and laid the decision plainly at her feet.
Jasmine looked up at him through new eyes, cleared of the waterfall of tears. It was as if he had shown her the trail through a dark forest, one that she had been lost in since she had become Sultana. A twisted title that had put her in a place complicated by the agendas and expectations of others, dictated by their needs and prejudices. And some of her own as well; she had assumed from the beginning there was no future for them because of their different birth classes and the past turmoil he had wrought on her and the kingdom, but he had avoided the topic altogether, refusing to fight about it. She now saw that he had known all along what he wanted, and had waited until he was sure that she loved him before bringing it up.
As he caressed the paths of her tears she thought back to a conversation she had once had with her father, not long before the people had chosen Aladdin as their Sultan. 'How did the kingdom come to change it's mind about our family?' she had asked him. 'If mother was so despised when you first married, why did you do it?'
She could see his face in her memory, wrinkles pocketing around his eyes as he smiled at her, 'When you find the one thing in your life you believe in above anything else, you owe it to yourself to stand by it-it will never come again. And if you believe in it unwaveringly, the world has no other choice but to see it as you do, eventually. Don't be afraid to take a difficult stand, my daughter. Find the one thing that matters-everything else will resolve itself.'
"Yes." she said, her voice was soft, barely audible, from the tears that had clogged her throat. She coughed, unhappy with the way it had sounded. "Yes" she said again, her tone clearer, stronger.
The abject fear that had been hiding beneath the calm exterior began to evaporate, and she saw happiness start to take hold, "My, are you sure?" he laughed. She laughed with him, her mirth freeing her from the clutching tightness of duty and solitude she had felt for so long.
Mozenrath took her face in his hands, studying it in the throes of joy, and burned the image into his heart. He would need this picture to get through what was to come, he knew. Then he bent and touched her lips with his, drawing her into a kiss so tender that he could feel tears well up in her again.
They stood, lost in each other and in the passion of their kiss, until the light had begun to fade, as the warmth left the air she pulled back, looking up at him with eyes that had calmed, but still sparkled with an undying love that made him tremble. "I'm sure," she said simply.
He took her in his arms, holding her as tightly as he could, trying to keep the moment fast in his heart. The magic still needed to survive what he had to tell her.
Author's Note: Surprise! Left it at a cliffhanger for a reason, don't get mad. The next chapter has a lot of what we have all been seeking, answers. As to where Aladdin has gone and why. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did writing it. Thank you most kindly to my reviewers, I appreciate you taking the time to write and tell me you love my story thus far.