Jasmine slowly wrapped herself in the dress she was instructed to wear. Due to her defiant nature, it pained her to do what she was told, but seeing as there were no other clothes available in the room, the choice was made for her. Although the fabric was soft, it still scratched at her injuries and she was quickly beginning to understand the dangerous situation that she was in. It would be emotionally-and especially physically- impossible to survive this type of treatment on a daily basis. As she finished tying up her dress she was relieved to see that all of the scratches and bruises that Jafar had given to her out of..."passion"...were covered, except for the small bruise on her cheek. She knew that her father s heart would just break if he saw physical evidence of her situation, and she was glad to know that she could keep this from him...for now.
Walking down the long hallways to the dining room allowed Jasmine time to think about her situation. It had only been a little less than two days since she had married a nightmare, but she could already feel her heart and her hope shrinking. Her mind began to race with memories of the assaults acted out against her and she began to wonder just how much more she could endure. As she walked passed her old room a memory popped into her head and images of Aladdin floating by her balcony flashed through her mind. At the time she had been so exhausted by the relentless yet futile attempts of endless suitors trying to win her acceptance, but now when she found herself lightly tiptoeing through a foreign palace alone and still feeling the very real pain of betrayal, she missed this young handsome prospect more than she had ever known she had the capacity for. Stopping, she allowed herself to linger for a moment. Tracing her hands along her door handle she remembered how safe, protected, and comforted she felt in his embrace. Her mind raced back to when he saved her from the vendor at the market place; he didn't even know her then. Why would he risk so much for a complete stranger? Leaning back against the door and closing her eyes, she let out a small sigh and her memory raced back to a time where she found herself bewildered and excited as she grasped her arms around him while he flew her across the world, splitting the midnight sky. As she reminisced she crossed her arms over her chest and held herself, trying to feel even a small amount of the love she had felt that night to ease her lonely burden. The sudden sound of her father's voice brought her back into the present and she opened her eyes when she heard her name being asked for. Although she was frightened at the idea of who could be in the room with her father, longing for him pushed her to stand upright and follow the sound. When she reached the dining room she lingered in the doorway until her eyes rested on her father, who now looked so pale.
"You promised me she would be here" said the sultan imploringly to the man across the table. Jasmine's eyes followed her father's and it was then that she noticed Jafar sitting across from him, elbows on the table and his fingers clasped in front of his mouth. He was sporting his usual tone of calmness, but his eyes showed a glimpse of evil as they bore into her father. Jasmine could tell he was becoming exhausted by her father's pleading, so she decided to take Jafar's focus off of him by making a small coughing sound. Both men turned to look at the doorway and immediately stood upon noticing her.
"Jasmine, dearest!" exclaimed the sultan as his short, portly body seemed to radiate with happiness and he stretched out his hands. Jasmine quickly walked over to him and hugged him fiercely.
"Oh father..." Jasmine clung to him for several moments until finally loosening her grip. The sultan, still wrapping his hand around her back, was smiling directly into her eyes until something else caught his attention. Jasmine watched cautiously as his eyes traced over to her cheek where hues of deep purple lay. The sultan's joyous demeanor seemed to vanish as quickly as it came and extreme sadness painted itself over his face as he lightly brushed her cheek with his hand in an attempt to soothe her. Not wanting to draw attention or anger Jafar, Jasmine quickly grabbed his hand and kissed it.
"I've missed you" she said with a smile as she let go and stood upright.
"Jasmine, your increasing absence was beginning to worry me. I was beginning to think that maybe you had...lost your way."
Jafar's condescending tone angered Jasmine but she decided to pick her battles today and did not give him the satisfaction of responding. Instead she decided to sit down next to her father across from Jafar and was slightly taken aback when he did not insist that she sit beside him.
For the first few moments of the meal, the three picked at their food in silence. Jafar spent most of his time twirling his fork while his eyes zeroed in on Jasmine. He found himself moderately satisfied that she had decided to sit next to her father, it allowed him to watch her every move from a better view. He had noticed that while she spent most of her time staring at her plate or throwing reassuring small smiles toward her father she did periodically raise her eyes to meet his and Jafar took this as her way of challenging him. While he knew that he had complete power over the palace and the city now-especially with that little runt Aladdin out of the way- he still appreciated the strong bond between Jasmine and her father and understood that he must not allow them too much time together. Jasmine was strong willed and he did not want her father's mere presence raising the possibility of her plotting against him. No, she would not spend any time with her father alone, he then decided. He would, however, allow her to see her father periodically with him present just to keep her compliant. Occasional meetings with her father would remind her what was at stake if she ever decided to act against him. Upon this decision, Jafar decided to end the silence and assert his dominance by beginning conversation, and he addressed the sultan.
"The present laws that you have set for Agrabah are weak and give our surrounding cities the impression that we are not to be taken seriously as a kingdom. Now is the proper time to implement change and show the rest of the Seven Deserts that Agrabah is not only a force to be reckoned with, but is the strongest and most powerful kingdom that exists."
The sultan's kind eyes widened, "But these laws have been around for years, and with good reason," he said humbly and cautiously. Stammering with fear, he continued, "Jafar, these laws have kept us from war and have done great things for-"
"Enough." said Jafar sternly as he clenched his hand closed to form a fist that rested on the table. "I am Agrabah's ruler now, and this city and all of its people WILL obey me. Your legacy of weakness has come to an end, and it is time that you come to grips with it. I will do what is necessary to transcend this nation and you will want to think carefully and weigh the consequences of going against my decisions, because I do not envy the man that goes against me...trust me."
The sultan swallowed hard and thought for a moment. He had been backed into a corner and he knew it. Although the sultan was kind, he was equally famous for his cowardice. "Alright, Jafar...I am listening."
A smile of satisfaction snaked across Jafar's face and after he allowed himself to bask in his conquest for a moment, he began explaining to the sultan the new direction of leadership that was about to take place. Jasmine had been on the edge of her seat the entire time and found a mortified lump growing up from her core as she listened to the new set of laws Agrabah's new dictator was about to implement. She knew that Jafar's new direction would only bring destruction for her city and she could not bear it. She had sacrificed herself partly for her father, but also for her people and she would not allow this monster to not hold up his end of the bargain. Finally having enough, she interrupted Jafar,
"We have an open trade policy with all of the Seven Deserts! If you end this, it will surely start the beginning of a war and that cannot ha-"
"This is NOT your place for discussion! Jasmine, you are my wife and I will not have you meddling in affairs that are not your concern." His eyes narrowed on her, but she continued, raising her voice as she spoke.
"Not my concern? These are MY people and I will NOT stand by idly while you destroy what my father has built! Stopping the open trade WILL start an epic war of epic proportion and if you think it will not than you are more foolish than I could have ever imagined!"
Jafar began breathing harder and he shot Jasmine a stare so cold that she felt her skin crawl; however, she refused to back down, this was too important. So she stared right back at him, deep into his eyes. Still staring at her, Jafar addressed the sultan,
"Leave us."
The sultan made a futile attempt to object, "Bbbb...but, but...I-"
"NOW!" Jafar snapped his head to face the sultan and slammed his fist down on the table. The noise made Jasmine jump a little, but she squeezed her father's hand and nodded reassuringly. The sultan slowly stood and sulked out of the room. Once he was out of view, Jafar met Jasmine's eyes again. Although she remained locked on him, Jafar could see that she was frightened. Deciding to capitalize on her fear, he slowly stood to tower over her. Leaning forward, his face rested inches above hers and Jasmine could feel the cold of his shadow swallow her. As her eyes remained focused on his, he began speaking in a low, stern tone,
"It seems to me, my pet, that you are slightly confused about your new role in this palace. Allow me to shed some light for you..."
His hand lightly grazed her temple and ran through her hair until reaching the back of her head, he gripped her hair tight and pulled down so that her chin raised up, almost brushing her lips against his.
"You are not a sultan, you are not even a political leader...you are my wife. And as my wife I expect you to know your place and not assert yourself where you do not belong. This was your choice and you made it. So although your little mind is telling you that you know how to run a nation, believe me when I say you wouldn't last a day in this. You should stick to the things you know how to do, like..." his eyes trailed down her neck and rested on her heaving chest, "...exciting your husband. Now that, pussycat, you excel in!"
Wanting to egg him on, Jasmine allowed a devious smile to spread across her face and she let out a small giggle. She then intently stared into his lustful eyes and moved her face even closer to his as she whispered, "You disgust me..."
Jafar's face seemed to suddenly turn red with anger and in a flash he moved around the table, grabbed her wrist and violently pulled her down the hallway toward their room as he shouted at her with each step,
"You want to be brave do you? To blatantly defy the most powerful man in the world? Well now you will see just how brave you are!"
He was walking so fast that it was all Jasmine could do to follow him close enough so that she wouldn't fall over. They brushed by palace servants who stopped and stared in disbelief as the princess was pulled through the halls, being screamed at the whole way. Finally, they made it to their room and Jafar threw open the door and catapulted Jasmine through the doorway with such force that she fell into the room. Jasmine pushed herself up onto her knees and began to panic internally. Jafar swiftly walked over to her, raised his hand high, and came down across her face with such power that she slid into the bed post.
"I have tried explaining things to you in a verbal manner," he huffed, "but apparently it was not enough and you must be taught in a new way!" He kicked her side, causing Jasmine to lose her breath, and she lay there holding her side crying. Jafar began to pace swiftly in front of her. "I don't mind using physical reinforcement with you, Jasmine, but I would rather not. This is a waste of my energy, and frankly...purple is not your color. But when you insist on being reluctant, there is no other choice." He walked to the door and opened it. "I want you to think about this moment for the rest of the day and decide if this is how you want the rest of your life to be. No one can make that choice other than you." He paused, "Just remember" he hissed, "your body does have its limitations." And with that he was gone, leaving Jasmine in a crumbled heap on the floor.
Jasmine woke up hours later in the darkness of the room. Her side and face were on fire and as she raised her hand to her cheek she felt a dampness. Lifting herself up off the floor and sitting in front of her mirror she realized that she was bleeding. Disgusted by her appearance, she feverishly wiped her hand over her cheek to get rid of the red that had stained her skin. Resting her hands on her lap, she watched her hands tremble uncontrollably.
"If I do not come up with a different approach to this, I won t survive him" she said sadly to herself. Upon that moment she heard the door unlock and saw in the reflection Jafar enter the room and shut the door behind him. She knew that she was clearly nervous, but to her surprise, he appeared to be on edge as well, waiting for her response. He crossed his arms and slowly stepped toward her.
"Well, have you given thought to our little...incident?" he raised his eyebrows and Jasmine lowered her head, focusing on her shaking hands.
"Why are you doing this?" she whispered in a pleading manner.
"As I explained to you earlier, I tried to use reason with you, but you simply refused to hear my warning. You pushed me to this. This was your choice-"
"No..." she softly interrupted, "I mean, why are you doing this? You were going to take Agrabah either way, and you could have killed me and my father immediately, but you didn't. Why am I still here? What do you want from me?"
A tear fell down her cheek and Jafar slowly approached her and paused for a moment, carefully deciding what to say. He leaned down and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, a feeling all too familiar to Jasmine and she tried with all her might to stop herself from trembling, but her attempt was pointless.
"I realized that I could have eliminated you immediately, but I also realized that being a sultan can be a lonely job. Yes, I could have any harem woman at my disposal, but they do not have your spirit...or your beauty."
Jafar began to run his fingers along her neck, "After all of my years spent in this palace, there was not one day that I saw an ounce of leadership in your father...but I see a queen in you. I have seen many men give into the slightest presentation of power, but you fight against your fear. You are strong and spirited..." he ran his fingers over the top of her breast as he continued whispering to her, "and more beautiful than any woman I have ever seen. You can be my queen, you just need to be...cultivated."
With his last word he kissed her cheek and Jasmine winced in pain. Overwhelmed, she stood up and walked to the other side of the room. Jafar, not wanting to push her again, patiently watched her. Jasmine stood beside a small table and traced her finger over the vase that rested on top of it. After a small pause, she turned and looked at him innocently,
"How did you do it?" Jafar remained silent, not sure as to what she was asking. "The vase...the tables...that were broken, the drapes that were torn...how did you fix them?"
Jafar smirked at her but remained silent. She continued, "I just saw you wave your hand and everything was perfect..." Mustering up all the braveness she had left in her, she walked over to him and looked up into his eyes. "How did you do it?"
Jafar wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into him. "All in due time, my pet." He kissed her deeply, trailed his fingers up her arms and began to slide her dress down off of her shoulders. Jasmine feebly tried to stop his hands from pulling down any further. Her glassy eyes, looked up at him with a large amount of pleading in them, "I don't love you..."
Jafar smiled, "You would be surprised what time and acceptance will teach us to feel." With a little more force, he pulled her dress down until it fell in a circle at her feet. Rubbing his hand over her trembling stomach, he kissed her ear. Jasmine found herself frozen and he moved his hand between her thighs. She gasped as his hand disappeared, "Please...don't..." she pleaded.
Kissing her again, he looked deep into her sad and beautiful dark eyes, "Don't worry, my little flower, I promise to be gentle this time."
He picked her up by her waist and hoisted her onto the bed. Jasmine, still shaking with resistance, but too tired and wounded to fight anymore for the night, closed her eyes and heavily exhaled, accepting her fate for the night. Jafar, pleased at the opportunity, placed his hands on her knees and opened her legs. When he entered her, Jasmine felt the stream of a few tears heat up her face and squeezed her eyes closed even tighter. As he moved on top of her, he glided his hands over her arms and breasts and kissed down her neck.
"See, my pet, things will get better, they always do when we learn from our mistakes."
Jasmine remained silent for the next hour as he slowly, but gently, used her.