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.
The Lord of the Black Sands stood besides the Sultana, a tinge of fear curling up his chest at the masses of people, but he kept his calm under pressure, even in the face of his most hated enemy. A small hand made it's way into his palm, twining fingers with his own in a show of strength as they stood together on the palace balcony, putting forth a fearless front.
"There can be no Kingdom without the Sultana and Sultan presiding over it. There is now and always has been, and will be one Sultan at this time. I am the Sultan of this Kingdom, appointed rightful heir before the late Sultan of Agrabah. Stand down Sorcerer!" Aladdin shouted.
The people erupted in turmoil. Words of condemnation and disbelief filled the air, drowning out all of Jasmine's attempts to restore order. Her voice finally able to be heard above the din as it subsided, "There seems to be some dispute with your claim, Aladdin," she said politely.
"What this rabble says is of no consequence, I am the Sultan, while I live, there can be no other." Aladdin answered unruffled by the silent hatred, rising in almost palpable waves, from the crowd.
Mozenrath spoke up then, his voice deep with authority as his form loomed over the Council and the people of Agrabah, "You've been gone a year and despite what you claim, you were cast out of this Kingdom and stripped of your position. You no longer hold any title here."
"I do not recognize the authority of the Council to perform such an act," Aladdin replied icily.
"You do not recognize?" shouted one of the Council, angrier than those about him, "What makes you think you have the right to recognize anything? The Council named you Sultan, and after you disgraced yourself and almost destroyed all of us, we threw you out!"
Aladdin drew himself up onto his full height and glared at the member, whose words had driven the mob back into silence. "Without me you would have been enslaved a thousand times over, you owed me your lives then, as you do now – Who do you think is responsible for your continued peace and prosperity, who has risked their life time and again against countless threats to Agrabah? Who among you can decry me?"
The people of Agrabah fell silent as the echo of his voice died away unanswered. Aladdin looked down on the quite throng with a victorious smile. His eye's swept the people, he had once ruled, once fought besides, now fought against.
"I have the right to decry you." Jasmine's voice broke the silence, and all eye's turned to her. "You lied to the people of Agrabah and attempted to use them for your own blood thirsty gain, you have betrayed your position as Sultan." She took a deep breath to fortify herself, and as she did Mozenrath placed a hand at her back to steady her, "Your lies broke my heart, but that is my suffering alone, and for that, perhaps, you could be forgiven. But in choosing to keep the truth from me, to keep me under your thumb, you hid your true nature from me and have condemned yourself."
Aladdin's tan face deepened to a shade of approaching purple. "Blasphemy! I told you no untruth!"
There was a quiet but audible intake of breath among the assemblage, and they began to mutter among themselves. The people of Agrabah had lost their hearts to the gentle girl, the unassuming Sultana who behaved like a respectable peasant. A deeper anger was brewing within them now, an outrage at the insulting manner in which Aladdin was treating her. Mozenrath knew that Jasmine understood this as well, that is why she smiled. It was a way of diffusing the situation before it exploded in a frenzy of loyal violence.
"Enough!" Mozenrath's voice thundered over the crowd, ringing with a multitoned echo of the magic in his blood as it amplified his vocals, he knew what was coming, and would sooner die or kill Aladdin where he stood than allow it "Rial, who is the Sultan?"
The fragile Seer looked towards the sky as the eyes of the throng locked upon him, his lips perked up a bit at the question, "There is no Sultan at this time." he said as if in a dream, lost inside himself.
"Thus says the kingdoms royal Seer, the indisputable authority!" Mozenrath cried. "My fellows, as of this moment, there is no Sultan! Your claim is rejected, Aladdin!"
After a moment of silence, the crowd erupted in hoots and cheers. Aladdin was dazed, he glared at Jasmine and Mozenrath, who were exchanging the glance of inadvertent co-conspirators. "Silence!" he snarled, and the thunderous applause diminished. "You are a leaderless rabble unable even to discern the difference between fair blood and the self-aggrandizing opportunist who took over a realm of monsters and called himself Lord"
"You're wrong there" said one of the Council in a commanding voice "I believe everyone here is able to discern who the self-aggrandizing opportunist is. Get up, Aladdin, spare yourself any further humiliation. This Council has come together to build up what you have destroyed, to fix the trust you have shattered. The Sorcerer has rid this land of the demon you are solely responsible for. Had you been any kind of ruler at all, you would not have tried to sell us to another Kingdom for your own petty purposes. Leave and go back to your thieves guild, you are a thing of the past in every sense of the word"
""We are here, this is now" Rial said, his eyes focusing for the first time, Jasmine smiled at the Seer "You are right, and so we must stop, for this is not your time, Aladdin"
"What of the future?" a voice from the assemblage cried out, "Tell us, give us hope!" The cry was taken up by the crowd; hundreds of voices railing for a conclusion.
"Tarry a moment." Jasmine answered them. "That belongs to us, not to him. Give Aladdin his due. He is leaving." The hate in Aladdin's eyes dimmed, he tried to speak but could not. He looked at Jasmine's face, a face that contained no gloat, no victory, just peace. The awfulness of the realization that he was no longer the only one who understood their past was clear to all who saw him; so was his amazement that the one who did had not lived it. For the first time in the memory of the people of Agrabah, he bowed his head in shame.
Aladdin looked balefully at Mozenrath then to Jasmine once more, before he turned and strode out of the palace and disappeared.
The roar that issued forth from the multitude swept over Jasmine like a tidal wave. It resonated through her body and her soul, and in that moment, for the first time since she became Sultana, she felt completely one with them.
She looked over the crowd for faces she recognized, and her eyes came to rest on Mozenrath. Sunlight had cracked through the cloud-blanketed sky, illuminating the man by a halo of light. The searing blue eyes visible even when shadowed under the fall of dark locks, she could see them focused on her, burning with an intensity that made her flush.
The clamor grew louder with each of the beats of her heart; they were calling and pleading, imploring to know the future. Jasmine cleared her throat, wiping the perspiration from her palms. "Don't pass the present so quickly, before you can determine what will be, it is necessary to determine what is now. I was about to answer your question about why you were called, when a minor interruption occurred"
A titter of laughter rolled through the noisy throng, "This is an omen of unity and peace being restored to this land and to the people of Agrabah. It is time to put aside your differences and become one people."
A voice, filled with sadness spoke up from the delegation of Nobles. "How can you even hope that we might, after what we have just witnessed? Even before the street-rat came into our lives there was derision and hostility among this gathering. Is it not best that we just live among the people who were here before, become a part of them and forget what we once were?" Murmurs of agreement and dissent swelled all around.
"You were a people set apart, that is no longer the case. We have endured so much warfare and bloodshed, all around there are incursions and murderous raids that have brought this land to the brink of war. If I have one message for you it is this: The past is gone. Learn from it and let it go" Jasmine swallowed hard to quell the knot that was constricting her throat and the tears that were welling her eyes; she was learning this lesson herself as she spoke to the people gathered below her.
She looked at Mozenrath, smiling broadly at her, a look of encouragement shining on his face. "We must forgive each other. We must forgive ourselves. Only then will there be a true peace."
"This Kingdom can be a place where the nations of Agrabah, and Zier and Nain can meet and confer, under the guidance of a Sultan and Sultana. It would be their responsibility to guard a lasting peace. Meet in Council to avoid war, promote peace, and make the seven deserts great once more. Be one people, diverse in your makeup while united in your goals again as you were when you came to this land."
Again the roar of the throng swept over her, she struggled to bear up under it as though standing in the face of the winds of a sand storm. The assemblage was cheering now, applauding and calling out in assent. Excited chatter rang out as the people began debating among themselves the next actions to take.
Jasmine held her hand aloft, blinking in shock at the complete and instantaneous silence that ensued, "Now, I suggest that the various speakers come together in one of the meeting rooms while the rest of us make merry and get to know each other. Perhaps that will engender goodwill enough to keep us through the next several days of session, through the selection of the new Sultan and the other work of rebuilding. You asked of the future; we are making it here"
Mozenrath strode forward then, signaling to her, "Your Majesty, may I have the floor?" Jasmine sighed wearily, she had been standing all day and her feet were sore. "You certainly may" she said, grateful for the break.
"As Aladdin said, with no Sultan there can be no Kingdom, and I feel that it is clear that though he lives, Aladdin has proven himself unfit time and again to be your leader. To this there was a general murmur of consent. Time and Aladdin's behavior had guaranteed it.
"So" Mozenrath continued in a louder voice, "to that end I nominate myself to be Sultan." he had to shout to be heard over the commotion that erupted. "I have no preference for any one group over another. I am Aladdin's opposite, the one who can bring us together where Aladdin drove us asunder. And if that is not enough, it is with great joy and consummate humility that I proclaim to you the wonderful news that Jasmine has graciously consented to be my wife"
The people of Agrabah and the seven deserts were silent for a moment; then a wave of excitement swept through the crowd, swelling into a roar of approval. Applause and acclamations in myriad languages rang out. Jasmine smiled at the cheering crowd, the sun glinting off their banners, gleaming in every eye with a radiance that bespoke hope for the new age.
A voice, recognizable to her from earlier as a heckler from the great house of nobles, shouted above the gleeful din "Mozenrath, lord of the black sands, the Abuser and the Manipulator, how did you gain our Sultana? She is unlike your line, which is why she is so well affirmed. Can you assure this assemblage that no violence or coercion was used to reach this agreement?"
The roaring throng fell silent, Mozenrath's face turned white and his hands began to shake with a mounting fury. The joy that had been in his eyes a moment before disappeared in the wake of the insult, replaced by a dark aspect. The suggestion that he would raise his hand to his bride was more than he could endure.
Before he could speak, Jasmine took his hand, "Well, I can. I'm happy to say that no, I didn't have to resort to anything like that. He agreed pretty willingly actually. So I guess I brought the sword and thumbscrews for nothing."
The crowd absorbed her words, then burst forth into gales of laughter and applause. It washed over Mozenrath sweeping his wrath away with it. He blinked as his anger passed and looked down at Jasmine; she was smiling up at him with a look of pure trust and confidence making her beautiful visage ethereal. A grin crept back over his face, and Jasmine took it in her hands, reaching up to kiss him before the eyes of her people.
Author's Note: This took me forever to write and re-read, but I am very happy with how it turned out. Nain and Zier are the other two ruling Kingdoms in the seven deserts with enough power and influence to really matter. I love my faithful reviewers MyahLyah and Liliesandroses. Thank you so much for your continuing support of this story, without you I probably would have stopped a long time ago.