Chapter 22: Escape and Capture
With the blood of its kin still dripping down her chin, Princess Jasmine charged the giant typhlopid with her flaming walking stick. However, before the fearless princess could use her makeshift weapon against her enemy, the typhlopid flicked out its forked tongue and let go of Abu.
The monkey hit the floor with a yelp as Lali slithered past them both. Jasmine turned just in time to see Lali open a cabinet with its tail. The typhlopid nabbed a pouch with its mouth and then dove into the ground, leaving the princess quite perplexed.
She turned to consult with Abu, wondering if some sort of scent signal had directed the typhlopid's sudden change in priorities, but Abu was unavailable for comment. Unlike the princess, the monkey was not the type to ponder mysteries inside a burning building. He had already fled the tent.
Seeing the merit of tabling her post-battle analysis for later, the princess followed suit and left the tent as well. Once she got accustomed to the brightness outside, Jasmine took in the cacophonous crowd before her.
None of them were paying any mind to the girl carrying a giant torch or the trail of smoke coming from the animal merchant's small tent. They were too preoccupied with something else that was further down the street.
Jasmine lacked the height needed to see what it was, so she looked for Abu again, hoping he could provide some perspective on the situation. However, her accomplice was still nowhere to be seen. Nor did she see Lali.
Jasmine tried not to feel disappointed or worried. It was likely that Abu had left of his own free will and it was perfectly reasonable for him to want to seek out Aladdin after that ordeal. In the next instant, it did not matter that Abu had abandoned her. Jasmine did not require his help to hear the enraged tiger ROAR!
Rajah!
Abu, Aladdin, and Lali would have to wait. The princess's best friend still needed her help.
With that in mind, Jasmine skirted around the edge of the crowd until she saw an opening. She lifted her stick up high and dove into the mass of people. The crowd fought back. There were elbows and exclamations, but Jasmine was determined to get to her best friend. She broke through and at last, saw what had drawn the crowd.
It was indeed Rajah.
When Jasmine had first found him lying beside her mother's throne two years ago, Rajah had been an adorable tiger cub. Most of the time, she still saw Rajah as a highly intelligent and often grumpy kitten, but in this moment, she saw what others saw:
A blood-soaked furious fully-grown tiger who was tearing into countless snakes like they were stuffed bolster pillows. Bloody bits of them were spraying everywhere as the serpents tried to fight back, bursting through the russet mud, writhing around the savage beast, and embedding their fangs in its fur. Jasmine had struggled to escape six typhlopids, and yet dozens of them were still less effective at subduing the tiger than a ball of yarn would be. Even the Agrabah guardsmen who were trying to take charge of the situation looked more like scared children with sticks than a match for the crimson-coated beast wreathed in snakes.
The entire scene was darkly mesmerizing.
It was not until one of the guards shouted out, "Don't just stand there!" that Jasmine was brought back to herself.
"Attack!" the man yelled.
The princess of Agrabah did not think. She left the crowd behind and ran toward the guards and her best friend, screaming "STOP!" at the top of her lungs.
The guards who were anxious to not be involved with this nightmare happily halted their barely begun advance, but they were soon disappointed when they realized who had given the order.
"It's just a street mouse," one said rather mournfully.
"Stay back," another barked.
"Come on, cowards!" their leader hollered. "You take orders from me, not some little girl."
The little princess did not listen to any of them. Jasmine was focused on Rajah. The tiger's blue eyes had lit up in recognition.
"Rajah!" she cried out to him, ready to join the fray with her still-burning walking stick and her intrepid valor.
Conversely, fear overtook the tiger's joyful expression. It was the only warning the princess received before an arm wrapped around her and she was jerked up into the air.