The next week was slow torture for Jasmine. She had spent most of the first four days in bed, unable to move much due to her injuries. Servants came to her once a day to feed her and check her healing. She hated seeing the flood of pity practically gush out of their eyes every time they looked at her state. It wasn't necessary and she was perfectly capable of reminding herself of the condition she was in, she did not need help with that. Once she was well enough to get out of bed, her misery began to worsen. She was not allowed to leave the room and as the slow hours turned into even longer days she began to wonder how long one could survive in solitude before they became insane; however, there was one positive thing that came with her current dilemma: Jafar had not returned to their room since their last exchange of words. She never ceased to be surprised when night would fall and he did not open the door. In fact, the only man who did open her door frequently was the guard Jafar had ordered to check in on her, and oh how she was beginning to loathe that guard. Every time he peered into the room he brought with him a smirk that made Jasmine flush with anger. He enjoyed seeing her captivity, it was obvious.

It was now the seventh day and Jasmine found herself yet again pacing the length of the room, pondering if there would ever be an end to this torture. For the first time she found herself truly backed into a corner. Granted, the break from Jafar was marvelous but she couldn't live out the rest of her days locked in a room...she just couldn't. She knew that the only way of escaping this prison would be if Jafar let her out, but even if he did she would then have to try and survive him on a daily basis. She stopped her feet and looked straight ahead at her own reflection in the mirror. The person that lay in front of her now seemed to be a stranger. This person was not her. This person looked not like a woman but a scared little girl. Her body had gotten thinner and her face slightly paler. She was still beautiful, but was becoming dim. No longer able to stand herself she turned her gaze to the large window that overlooked the garden. She walked to the window and watched birds fly across the burnt sky. Water flowed luxuriously from the fountain below and servants were tending to the landscape. She then realized that life had continued on without her. The feeling of the walls closing in had made her assume that the world was trapped there with her, that it was unable to move forward, but she was wrong. Everything was moving on...everything but her. She looked down on the guards to see them behaving foolishly as always. Then for a brief moment she allowed herself to imagine jumping off of the balcony and crashing to the ground below, right between their feet. Allowing this thought to linger a little longer she wondered if plunging to her death was a way to move forward and end this pain.

She then noticed a short man being escorted down the entrance way of the palace heading toward the east wing. Suddenly Jasmine lost her breath. It was her father. Tears immediately sprung up from her eyes and she so badly wanted to scream to him in hopes of him noticing her for even a second. He looked so sad, so defeated. It then occurred to her that he was undeniably feeling the same way she was. Suddenly feelings of wanting to protect him from this life welled up in her chest. No, she couldn't end her own life, what was she thinking? It would break her father's heart, he would have nothing left to live for, and Jafar would kill him regardless. She had to keep fighting, there was no choice. But what would her next move be?

And do not dare to even think about seeing that lamp again

Jafar's words of warning rang in her head. That was it! She needed to find the lamp, it would be the only way to defeat him. Jasmine leaned on the balcony, resting her chin in her palm. Where was the lamp? It most certainly was not in Jafar's secret room, he was more cunning than that. He would not leave it in any place where another may find it either. Jasmine suddenly popped her head up and her eyes widened.

"His old chamber! That's it! It must be in there!"

The realization that he most likely had spent all week in his old room showered over her. Feelings of relief and determination pumped through her veins and she knew she must somehow get into that room. But how? She must find a time when she would be certain that he was somewhere else. Actually, she must first find a way out of this damn room. Lost in her thoughts she jumped when she heard a loud voice rumble through the entrance-way of the palace.

"Out of my way."

She looked down to see Jafar gliding down the walkway, his cape brushing past the dispersing servants. He was heading toward the east wing, probably to discuss more foreign affairs with her father. Although he did not want to include her father in his business, Jafar had not built the relationship her father had with other rulers, and so his services were still needed. Suddenly a harsh knock echoed on Jasmine's door. "This is it!" she thought to herself. This was her moment to find the lamp and save both the kingdom and herself. Sheer spirit took over her and moved her frantically to the door and seconds later it was opened by the guard. Before he could even peak his head in, Jasmine snapped at him,

"I am in no mood for you today! You know very well that I am still in here, as if I could get out even if I wanted to, so leave me be and stay away!"

The guard's evil smile faded and was replaced with a look of shock at her nerve. After he stared stunned at her for a moment he frowned and closed the door. Jasmine pressed her ear against the door and listened to his footsteps stomp away until they were no longer audible. Smiling to herself, she looked down at the door. Yelling at him was only a ruse to distract him from the piece of paper she had wedged in the doorway to prevent it from locking. She slowly creaked open the door to make sure that not a single soul lingered in the hallway. Once she felt safe, desperation took control of her body and carried her down the hall. She tiptoed as fast as she could down the halls, making sure to stay close to the wall in case she needed to hide. Finally, she found herself in front of Jafar's old chamber door. Removing a pin from her headband she fiddled with the lock until the door popped open just the slightest. A cold gust of air was released from the room and sent chills down her spine. Taking a deep breath she entered the room and closed the door behind her. The blackness of the room seemed to reach around her throat and choke her immediately and she was frozen in place surveying what lie in front of her. There were no windows to let in the light of day. In fact, she would have been swallowed in complete darkness had it not been for two oil lamps dimly dancing in the corners of the room. The fact that they were left burning suggested that she did not have much time before Jafar would return for them. She inhaled deeply in order to calm herself, gathered her strength and began her search. She had to work swiftly and she knew she must be especially careful not to leave anything out of place. Although the room was sparsely filled, Jafar paid unwavering attention to detail and would notice the slightest change if anything was not returned to its exact location. She began at one corner of the room, delicately opening drawers and lightly looking under surfaces. Finally after many moments she found herself right back where she started and had come up empty.

"I thought for sure it would be here..." she said sadly to herself. "What will I do now? Where do I go from here? I will never find that lamp...my father and my people are going to suffer all because of me. And me? I will never get away from this monster now. I'm trapped."

Jasmine could no longer hold in her emotion and tears began to rapidly run down her face and splash onto the cold floor. The weight of her despair was too much for her to tolerate and she collapsed onto the couch beside her. Feeling a sharp stab in her side startled her. She immediately sat up and looked down at the couch. She could not see anything and then became confused. Fabric could not stab her. Wrinkling her forehead she ran her hand over the cushion. To her surprise there was a sharp object underneath the fabric and she squatted down next to it in order to get a better look. Over top of the sharp object was a hole in the fabric that had recently been stitched back up. Jasmine grabbed her hair pin again and cautiously plucked the string that was holding the fabric together. Immediately the hole split open to reveal a medium-sized wooden box. The box looked ancient and was locked. She feebly tried picking the lock with her hair pin, but it would not budge. She shook the box, waiting for it to rattle.

"Hey! Watch it out there! Some people are trying to have some peace and quiet!"

Startled by the voice she froze and stared at the box with her wide eyes.

"Genie?" she whispered, "Genie, is that you?"

"Well, it certainly isn't Allah is it? Who's this?"

"Genie, it's Jasmine...wait, why are you allowed to talk to me?"

"Jasmine! Finally, someone nice to talk to! Well, I can't help anyone but my master, but he never commanded that I stay in my lamp. He probably should've been more specific."

"The lamp IS in there!" she gasped. "Genie I need to know where Jafar put the key to this box! Please tell me where it is! Where is it? I need to know now! I'm forbidden to look for your lamp or to leave my room! Quick, tell me where it is!"

"If I knew I would tell you. All I know is that you finding my lamp made him...um, let's say a little angry...and he took me here, put me in this box and then put the box into something else-"

"He hid you in the couch cushion."

"Oh...well he hid me and the box all while rambling on and on about how no one will ever again find this lamp and destroy what he has built. I'm sorry, but I can't help you. I don't know where the key is."

Utterly devastated, Jasmine sank to the floor, pulled her knees up to her chest and tightly clenched the box against her heart.

"Oh no...Genie what am I going to do now? That key could be anywhere. I'm never going to find it. He is going to own and control me for as long as I can survive it." She began to cry again.

"Don't cry...you can find it! You seem smarter than any girl I've ever known! You found me! You can find the key!"

"This is a box! It's easier to find, it's larger! A key could be anywhere! This was my only opportunity to find the lamp and now it's ruined. I've failed. It's only a matter of time before Jafar starts dealing with me again. Genie, I am honestly unsure of how much more of him I can withstand. He is going to be the death of me."

"Don't say that! Jasmine, he's not as powerful as you think he is. It's all an act! You have more influence on him than you know!"

"What? What do you mean?" she stared innocently at the box.

"You have spirit and he knows it. And he's infatuated with you. Those two things are a deadly combination aren't they?"

"How do you know what he thinks? Did he tell you?"

"Jasmine, right before you found my lamp he tried to use his last wish."

"What was it?"

"He wanted me to make you fall in love with him."

"What?" Jasmine's voice for the first time broke out of a whisper in her disgust.

"He wants to possess you. He thought that if I made you fall in love with him you would still have your willfulness but would no longer be a threat."

"But why didn't you do it? Don't you have to do what he says?"

"Well lucky for you I can't make anyone fall in love, some things are just beyond my power. Aladdin hinted around about it too in the past. But from the sounds of it he didn't need my help with winning you over even if I could have!"

Jasmine's face lit up at the sound of her lover's name. "Genie I know I already asked you this before but we were...interrupted. Is Aladdin alive? I need to know!"

"Jasmine I can't know for sure. But he was sent to the very ends of the earth. I'm sorry to say but it would be a miracle if he made it out."

"Do not say that!" Tears began to flow again. "He is all I think about. He is how I will myself out of bed every day. He is how I keep breathing each moment! He is the reason why I still keep fighting that monster! He is the reason why I haven't flung myself off of a balcony!"

"I know he is." The Genie's voice saddened. "But hey, I said I can't know for sure. Hey! Carpet did fly after him! Maybe Carpet can bring him back! Yeah, that's it! Carpet will save him! It just may take a little while for him to get back to Agrabah. It is a long trip!"

Jasmine managed to smile, "Genie you're right. The Carpet did follow him! I didn't even notice at the time! He WILL come back to me! I just have to hold on until he does. But what do I do in the mean time? I have to find that key! I just have to-"

Suddenly Jasmine began to hear Jafar shouting in the distance. He was heading inside of the palace. Jasmine gasped and shoved the box back into the cushion.

"I will come back I promise! And when I do, it will be with a key!" she whispered right before she began to frantically sew the pieces of fabric back together as quickly as her fingers would allow.

By the time she finished the last stitch her heart felt as though it was going to break through her bones from pounding. She ran to the door, took one last look to make sure that all was as it should be, and quietly left the room and locked the door behind her. She was tiptoeing at maximum speed down the hall until she had come to a curtain divider, but when she tossed the curtain out of her way the thick, heavy cloth swiped her back making contact with the lacerations that were still healing. The searing pain shocked her and made her cry out. When she opened her eyes again she noticed two servants across the way staring at her, each holding the most pathetic look of pity. They looked at her as if she was a sad, helpless child and suddenly Jasmine felt anger surge up from within her core. She was so tired of seeing the same expression from others over and over again. It made her feel weak, a feeling which she dreaded more than any other. Unable to take it any longer she yelled,

"What are you staring at?" Completely taken over by her temper she grabbed a vase nearby and threw it at their feet. Shards showered the marble floor. "I do NOT need your pity!"

Her fists were clenched at her sides and she was fuming. She turned to walk away but then noticed someone watching her from a distance. She narrowed her eyes and made the tall figure out to be Jafar. He was looming in the hallway she needed to pass in order to get back to her room and she wondered just how long he had been there. Her heart clenched at the thought of him seeing her outside of their room but the anger raging through her veins overwhelmed any other emotion that tried to present itself. She began storming down the hallway directly toward him and once she reached him she stopped for a brief moment, breathing heavy and staring unapologetically into his eyes. Although his calm air remained, his eyes were furious, but Jasmine was drowning so deep in her own anger and frustration that she did not even noticed. After a moment of staring she swiftly turned, her lush ponytail brushing against his fingers, and stormed back into their chamber.

Slamming the door behind her she began letting out her rage on the various objects in the room. She pushed over a table and threw vases until the energy was depleted from her. She was standing in the middle of the wreckage out of breath when she heard the door open and close gently. She whipped around to see Jafar with his arms crossed tightly, an eyebrow raised, and scowling at her.

A/N: Hey guys, I know this was a long chapter, sorry! I just really wanted to get the plot rolling and add some action into it. Thanks to all who have reviewed this story! It really means a lot! :-)