Jasmine watched her old friend as they made their way down the road toward Lady Drizella's house. It seemed like another lifetime where she and "Wee Willie" ran through the forest roads and the streets of the city, swiping edibles in the marketplace and picking pockets for coin. Then Anastasia began showing up in the marketplace, and Will took a shine to her, which she returned-and Jazz fell behind and alone.
Will waited to help her make the last ledge onto the road.

"So," she said when she released his hand, "did you really go to Wonderland? People said you and Anastasia had crossed worlds. Is that where you've been all this time?"

Will winced at the mention of the woman who made him want to give up his heart. "Yeh, we went to Wonderland."

Jasmine was a bit puzzled at his reticence. "And? What did you do there?"

Will shrugged, "Oh, this and that, bit o' thievin', scrounging mostly."

Jasmine shook her head, "What about Anastasia? Where is she?"

Will stopped and turned to his friend. "Look, Jazz, let's just get one thing straight: Anastasia and I are done. She broke my heart, she left, she lied, I don't know where she is, and I bloody don't care!"

Jasmine stopped and lowered her gaze. "Oh," she said.

Immediately, Will saw how much his outburst hurt her. "What about you, Jazz? Did you ever find anybody? I would have expected to find you with some bloke's arms about you, not all alone like this."

Jasmine's dusky cheeks reddened. "Well, there was a boy..." she answered slowly.

"See? That's more like it! What's 'is name, who is 'e?"

A smile crept back onto Jasmine's face as she spoke. "I met him while scouting out the marketplace. He was stealing apples from a cart. His name's Allan, of Dale."

Will put an arm around Jasmine's shoulders. "Good ol' Jazz, that's the spirit! So, when do I get to meet this Allan?"

Jazz nudged him, "I would have thought you met already; he ran with Robin Hood's Merry Men for a while."

Will winced again and his face flushed as he remembered the whole reason he'd joined the Merry Men-infiltrated, more like. "Eh, no... Must'a been after my time."

Jazz nodded, "True; anyway, I got a job working as a handmaiden for Lady Drizella Cavendish, so now I make honest money... when I make money, that is. That's where we're headed."

"And does this Allan-a-Dale work there too?"

Jasmine bit her lip, "No; I haven't seen him for a long time. I wish-"

"Whoa!" Will suddenly whirled around and placed a hand over her mouth. "Jazz, are you daft? You've gotta be careful about making wishes, now that you have a genie to command!"

Jasmine blinked at him, wide-eyed. "Oh, Willie, I'm so sorry! I got so carried away, chatting about old times that I completely forgot!"

Will shrugged, "Well, no harm done yet. And I should tell you that there are rules for genie magic, things you can't wish for."

Jasmine tipped an eyebrow, "Like what?"

"Like..." Will's mind worked frantically, but his memory came up empty. "Somethin' about... er, Oh, cor! I'm tryin' bloody hard to remember! Uh, somethin'-oh yeah! I can't make a fella fall in love with ya, and, uh... Somethin' about the dead and the past or what have you. There were three, I know."

Jasmine smiled and started playing with a frayed seam on her skirt. "Not that I'm really wishing or anything, but what if I was to wish Allan back here with me again?"

"'ang on," Will looked down at the girl, "you mean 'e's gone?"

Jasmine nodded. "It was a long time ago; Lady Drizella saw him talking with me once, and she didn't like his looks, so she had him drafted onto a ship looking for a new cabin boy, and I haven't seen him since." She looked up at Will, her eyes pleading. "I would give anything to see him again!"

"Now see here, Jasmine," Will said uncomfortably, "magic has a cost, you know, and a wish like that might be dangerous for the both o' ya! Besides," he went on in a more tender tone, "if he's-y'know," he couldn't bring himself to say it, "there's nothin' I could do about it, and you've lost a wish."

Jasmine chewed her lip, lost in thought. "What if you helped me?"

Will frowned. "Helped you what?"

"I don't know," said Jasmine, throwing her hands in the air, "find him!"

Will stared at her. "Find Allan, who sailed away years ago to who-knows-where, and we don't even know if he's alive!"

Jasmine grabbed his hand and looked up at him with pleading eyes. "Willie, please! That's all I ever wanted; help me find him..." she suddenly grinned, "And all my wishes are yours."

"Are you sure?" Will spluttered.

Jasmine nodded. "Absolutely; I don't want any of them if they can't bring me and Allan together."

Will heaved a long sigh. "All right then, I'll help you."

Jasmine gave a little skip of happiness as they approached the grounds of Cavendish Manor. "Wonderful! We can leave tonight after Lady Drizella is asleep." She rounded the corner toward the front entrance.

Will came around the corner after Jasmine. He blinked once and then flung himself back around the corner.
"BLOODY-" he gasped. "I thought you said the lady's name was Cavendish! What the hell is she doin' 'ere?"

"Who?" Jasmine glanced up at the carriage that had just pulled up. Lady Drizella appeared on the portico to greet her guest. "Milady's sister?"

"SISTER?" Will exploded. "All this time you meant that Drizella?"
They watched as none other than Anastasia alighted and embraced Lady Drizella, proclaiming that fact herself. "Jazz," Will whispered, "I think we might as well leave as soon as possible. That," he pointed to the blond woman following Drizella into the house, "is Anastasia."

"No!" Jasmine gasped, "Your Anastasia? I had no idea."

"What's between us is over; she's not mine anymore." Will's face remained strangely calm; if he still had his heart, there was no telling how much it would be aching at that moment.

Jasmine put a hand on his shoulder. "All right; we'll leave right away. You just stay right here and hidden; I have to grab a few things."

"All right," Will answered, "Hurry!"

"What a surprise to see you, dear sister!" Drizella gushed as they entered the parlor of the grand, empty mansion. A footman brought a tray of tea and sandwiches. "I thought you had gone off and married the man of your dreams and I would never hear from you again!" she tittered gracefully. "And here you are! So, Annie, dear, tell me all about your amazing adventures!"

Anastasia smiled back at her sister; how refreshing to be in a place where no one harbored resentment toward her. "There's not much to tell, Driz; I went to Wonderland, you know-"

"Wonderland!" Drizella gushed, "Ooh, that sounds lovely! Is it a new carnival that I haven't heard yet about?"

Anastasia pressed her lips to keep her rising frustration in check. "No, it's a whole new world-"
"Fancy!" Drizella's token word for anything she found interesting, however briefly. "And what did you do there?"

"Well..." The memories flashed through Anastasia's mind: attended a ball, met the king, became queen, learned magic, met Jafar, hunted a genie, learned the folly of her ways, was torn away from the man she always wanted-
"I went there with Will, you know."

Drizella still gave that vapid smile. "That's lovely; who is he, darling?"

Anastasia felt a lump in her throat; would they ever see each other again?
"He's-"

The sound of a creaking door interrupted them. Anastasia turned to see a young serving girl in dirty clothes doing her best to creep discreetly down the hall. But it was the thing she carried that grabbed Anastasia's attention: a tall, narrow bottle with ornate decorations.
"a genie," she whispered, as she realized that she was closer to Will than she ever thought possible.

"What was that, darling?" Drizella asked absently.

Anastasia recovered her composure just in time. "Nothing!" she replied. "Will was just someone I met. We parted ways, oh, such a long time ago!" She glanced back over her shoulder once more to see if she could predict which way the serving girl went.

"What's got you so interested in my servants?" Drizella sat up and peered at her sister with a sudden glint in her eye.

"Nothing," Anastasia answered quickly; perhaps her eldest sister was not so vacuous as she so often appeared. "So what about you, Drizella? Mother said you married a fine nobleman, and now you have this fine house, and the servants."

"Yes, poor man; died of a hunting accident so soon after we wed. Of course, then it came out where he got the money, you know, and all sorts of people made such a fuss about it, I was practically beside myself!"

"What do you mean, where he got the money?"

Drizella began to fidget. "Well, my dear, apparently he wasn't any kind of noble at all; people just called him the Baron. He was a collector of some sort."

Anastasia was having trouble following her sister's logic. "What did he collect?"

"Money, mostly; he started collecting jewels and heirlooms from people, too, and that's when they nabbed him. It's been just little old me all alone ever since." Drizella paused to take a dainty sip of her tea, still keeping her eyes fixed on her sister. "It doesn't have anything to do with that bottle she was carrying, does it?"

Anastasia was shocked at the suddenness of the question. "What?"

Drizella smiled coldly. "Footman!" she called.

A young boy with shocking-red hair entered and bowed to his mistress.

"Go to Jasmine's quarters and bring me the bottle you find there," Drizella ordered.

The footman bowed again and withdrew to fulfill her command.

Not even Drizella missed the pain in Anastasia's face. "While we're waiting, why don't you tell me more about this bottle you seem so interested in?"

"It's nothing, really," Anastasia attempted to keep her tone light. "It just reminded me of something I saw in Wonderland."

The footman returned bearing the bottle. It took all her willpower not to leap up and grab it right there. So close! Will had to be just inside! Anastasia's skin crawled as Drizella took the bottle and caressed it in her hands.

"Careful, Driz!" she said, as she saw the hands skim the magic-laden surface of the bottle. There was no hope for it now. "There's a genie in there!"

Drizella's eyes lit up greedily. "A genie?" She wasted no time in pulling the stopper-

But no cloud burst forth... and more importantly, no Will.

Drizella frowned and held the bottle upside down, shaking it as if the genie she wanted was nothing more than a glob of molasses sticking to the bottom of the jar. She glared accusingly at Anastasia.

"Where is it?" she demanded hotly. "Where is my genie?"

Anastasia allowed herself a tiny smile of relief; Drizella hadn't gotten Will-but neither had she! "I think it's been opened already. He's not in the bottle anymore."

Drizella actually came out of her chair, drawing herself up to her full regal height, eyes burning. "Then where is he?"

Anastasia smiled at her sister's outrage. "You'll have to ask your servant girl!" she flung back, knowing good and well that if Will had any say in the matter, they would be long gone.

"JASMINE!" Drizella shrieked.

No Jasmine appeared. A guard entered the room and bowed. "Milady, Jasmine is gone!"

"Find her!" Drizella screeched. "I want my genie!"

Anastasia felt that this would be a good time to take her leave, but Drizella snatched her hand. "Oh no, dear sister," she snarled viciously, "you're coming with me. We'll look for them together." She smiled when she saw the fear in her younger sister's eyes. "On the way, why don't you tell me absolutely everything you know about this genie?"