Sunburned Dreams

L.A.: So sorry for the longest delay ever. I had tons of work with classes. Also, my creative writing teacher kind of lowered my self esteem in writing because I don't like writing literary fiction and refused to let me write genre fiction. So yeah, any way, here's a new chapter for you. Hope you enjoy it!

Anna scrunched up her nose as she looked in the mirror. Her face was red and her nose had peeled a little. One of the downers of having fair skin, Anna thought as she gingerly touched her nose. Jasmine gave her some oils that were supposed to protect her from the sun. Anna was a little skeptical but she was willing to try it.

The clothes also took some getting used to. They were made of a soft fabric that was light and lay nicely against the skin. Lizzie's was pale pink while Anna's was purple. The sleeves were see through and the shirt was cut short, exposing the midriff.

Anna subconsciously tugged at the shirt as she glanced at Lizzie.

Lizzie was sitting at the edge of her bed, knees up against her chest. She was busy messing with her phone.

"No matter how many times you do that, it's not going to work," Anna said.

"It might," Lizzie said. "Don't you want to get back to civilization?" She fanned herself. "Back to air conditioning?"

Have you ever thought that we might not be able to get back?" Anna asked as she walked over. "Carpet has no idea how we got here." She glanced out the window. "We could have traveled back in time."

"Yeah," Lizzie said as she leaned back. "How about we be realistic."

Anna gave her a look. "We've flown on a magic carpet and just met a genie. Can you really be realistic?"

"Okay, fine," Lizzie picked up her phone again. "All the more reason to get out of here." Seeing Anna's blank look, Lizzie added. "Ever read 1,001 Arabian Nights? They have harems here."

Anna groaned. "Lizzie, we're in the Disney's Aladdin. I highly doubt there are harems here."

There was a knock as the cloth that covered the opening to their room was pushed aside. Jasmine smiled as she entered. "How are you settling in?"

"We're fine," Anna said. "Thanks again for your hospitality."

"My father, the sultan, would like to see you when you're ready."

"Oh," Anna said, "Uh, sure. We can meet him."

Jasmine motioned them to follow her.

As they followed, Lizzie leaned towards Anna's ear and whispered. "Harem."

They followed her down a long hallway to the throne room.

The sultan was sitting on his throne, playing with his animal trinkets.

He looked up and grinned. "Why, hello there. It's a pleasure to meet you two."

Both girls bowed. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"I'd like to thank you personally for bringing Carpet back to us," The sultan said with a grin. "He has become a family member here."

"No problem," Anna said.

"Anyway," The Sultan stood up. "I heard that you have no way to get home. You two may stay at the palace as long as you like."

Taking it as their cue to leave, both girls thanked and bowed again before leaving.

As they walked out into the hallway, a tiger rounded the corner.

Both girls stiffened at the sight of the tiger while Jasmine laughed.

"That's just Rajah," Jasmine walked over and rubbed his head. "Come on and say hi."

Both of them stiffly walked towards the tiger, afraid that it would jump out and attack them.

Jasmine grabbed Anna's hand and placed it on Rajah's head. The tiger's fur felt soft and warm beneath her fingers. She let out a giggle when Rajah purred.

"Come on, Lizzie," Anna said as she stepped to the side. "It's not every day you get to pet a tiger."

Lizzie hesitantly took a step forward. She patted Rajah lightly on the head before turning to Anna and said. "Okay, let's head back to our room."

Anna let out a contented sigh as she sunk into the bath tub. All the aches and pains were easing away. The special bathing oils Jasmine had given them made her skin feel soft and smooth. It was also helping to ease her sunburn.

Unfortunately, since there was no hot water heater, the bath cooled quickly. Shivering slightly, she stepped out of the bath and wrapped a towel around her.

She slipped into her clothes before entering the room she shared with Lizzie.

Lizzie was curled up in her bed, looking quite annoyed with the whole predicament.

"Can't you just enjoy this a little bit," Anna said as she flopped onto her bed.

Lizzie turned over and glared. "No. Plus, that blue guy was creeping me out."

"Millions of Genie fans worldwide just cried at your statement," Anna said with a grin

"Please stop being so overdramatic," Lizzie said. "I don't hate the guy. He just needs to learn the meaning of personal space."

Anna let out a sigh but didn't press her. Instead, she curled up in her bed and went to sleep.

She was in the middle of the desert. At least, she thought she was. It was a little strange that the sand was black instead of orange. She pushed the thought aside as she ventured forward. The black sand felt moist between her toes as if it were trying to grip to her feet and pull her under.

A sound from up ahead startled her. A strange floating fish was busy investigating a rock up ahead. He made annoyed tisking sounds as he floated around.

"This is so weird," Anna went to step forward when someone grabbed her shoulder. She was about to scream when a hand clamped over her mouth. She turned to face her attacker and her eyes widen. Fashir stood before her. He looked just like in the series with the blindfold and long gray hair.

He took his hand off her mouth and put it to his lips. He grabbed her hands as the world began to whirl around them. When the world finally settled, they were back in the streets of Agrabah.

"You should be more careful," Fashir said as they walked down the street. "You could end up wandering for the rest of your life."

"Uh, I beg your pardon."Anna said slowly.

"You're dream walking," Fashir said. "Dreadfully annoying trait."

"What's dream walking?" Anna asked.

"It's a minor psychic ability. An ability anyone can pick up," Fashir said. "Places that your spirit is connected to, draws your spirit out at night."

"That's creepy," Anna murmured.

Fashir smiled slightly. "Perhaps what's creepier is why your spirit is drawn to a place you've never been to?"

Anna woke up with a gasp. Wiping the sweat of her brow, she looked around and nearly screamed.

It took her a moment before she realized that the strange blob was actually Carpet hovering above her.

"What's wrong?" Carpet signed.

"You just startled me." She glanced over at Lizzie and noticed she was still sleeping. Not really in the mood to lie in bed now that her adrenaline was flowing, Anna stood up and crept out of the room.

Carpet slowly floated behind her.

She walked into the courtyard and was greeted by a cool breeze. It felt nice. "It's strange how the temperature drops at night." Her eyes widened as she recognized where she was. It was the same courtyard as the one in one of her first dreams. The fountain was trickling peacefully to the right and the white birds were dozing in their house to the left.

Weird, I was dreaming about Agrabah. Maybe was Fashir said in the dream was true. She shook her head. Don't be silly, it was just a dream.

Glancing up, she noticed how clearly she could see the stars. "You have a nice view here," Anna said. "I bet you love it up there."

Carpet nodded.

As she glanced up at the night sky, she felt sleep creeping up on her again. Seeing the billions of stars sparkling was relaxing her. Too bad this image was ruined seconds later when a bag was pulled over her head.

L.A.: And yet another cliffhanger but don't worry, I'll be updating more frequently since it is summer. Yay! Anyway, you know what to do. READ and REVIEW!