"Good. Now that I have your full attention, let's discuss how you're going to let me go." smiled Karek.
"Do you really think we'll let you set foot outside ?" replied Jafar, annoyed at his misplaced confidence.
"Of course you will. At least if you want the princess back alive..." he breathed, bringing the knife closer to Jasmine's neck. "But maybe you know what kind of woman she is, so maybe you don't care that much about getting such a 'princess' back."
Jasmine gritted her teeth, having a vague idea of what he was talk about.
"What are you talking about ?" Jafar didn't understand what he was getting at. What could the princess have done that he could say such a thing ?
"Let me show you." Karek replied, bringing his other hand to Jasmine's hair. He grabbed it without any delicacy and yanked it back. Jafar instinctively took two quick steps toward Jasmine, as if to protect her.
"Ah ah ah !" warned Karek as he pressed the knife to her skin. Jafar stopped instantly. He was only a meter away from the princess and her captor. Seeing him stop, Karek resumed. "Good, now watch carefully." he breathed as he pulled her hair back a little more, putting her jab towards the vizier of Agrabah in full view. Jasmine didn't know how to react. Karek thought he was shocking Jafar, but little did he know that Jafar was the source of the marks on her neck. "Do you see this ? These marks ? Your precious princess was so curious about carnal pleasure that she didn't even wait for the traditional wedding ! She's nothing but a slut, a slut willing to sacrifice her virtue in exchange for a little good time." Karek scoffed, smiling broadly. "I have to say that whoever she gave herself to is lucky, she has a really great body..." Thinking back to the way Karek had dared to touch her breast, Jasmine felt shame wash over her, and a tear escaped her eyes.
This comment made Jafar's blood boil, and he saw the princess's tear. What had he dared to do ?! His fist tightened around his snake staff.
"Good. Now that you know what you're paying for, let's continue." Jasmine gritted her teeth. She hated being talked about like that. "You're the only one from Agrabah who came on horseback, at least, one of the only ones. So you leave me your horse, I'll give you back your so-called princess. I think the exchange is rather fair. A little degrading to the horse but hey..."
Jasmine began to struggle, angry at the way Karek was talking about her. And the fact that Jafar let him say it without flinching annoyed her just as much.
"Hop hop my dear, stop struggling like that. I would hate to damage you before I return you to your owners."
"I'll have your head, you hear me !" screamed Jasmine.
Jafar's breathing became heavy, as if he was holding back from anger. But this was too much, he couldn't stand to see the princess at his mercy. If he was right, Karek could not kill the princess. If he did, he would be signing his death warrant. And this man was the kind of man who was too much of a coward to give up his life for his kingdom. So he took another step forward, cautiously.
"I told you not to move !" snapped Karek, pressing the knife on Jasmine. This time she felt that if she made the slightest movement or even swallowed her saliva, the knife would cut the skin of her neck. Jafar was inches away from her, so she preferred to focus on his gaze.
But something else caught her gaze. She turned her eyes to the left and saw a strange red glow in the eyes of the snake staff Jafar used to carry around with him. That glow flashed in her mind. It was exactly the glow she had seen when Jafar had hypnotized her in her room. It meant that... Oh, so that's why he had gotten so close. She quickly looked away from the red glow before she was completely under the influence of hypnosis.
Jafar turned his staff discreetly to Karek. He saw that he was quickly captured by the gaze of his staff. A small smile crept across his lips. A few more seconds and it will be the end for him.
Jasmine felt Karek's grip weaken. After a few seconds, Jafar noticed the red hypnotic glint in Karek's eyes. His face became smooth, without emotions. This time, it was over.
"Drop that dagger, now."
Karek felt...strange. His enemy's voice sounded much more peaceful than it had earlier. He felt surprisingly good. Hearing the order given by his interlocutor, Karek couldn't help but satisfy the request of the man in front of him. So he dropped the dagger, letting it fall to the ground.
Jasmine lowered her head again, hiding the carnal mark of her blow. The sound of the knife falling to the ground had finished reassuring her. She looked at Jafar, her eyes full of gratitude.
"Now step back to the back of the room." Jafar continued, stepping forward as he did so.
Karek complied, his eyes glowing an intense red. Jasmine could no longer see the two men who had gone into the dark parts of the dungeon. Suddenly, she heard a gasp of pain. Then another. And another.
Jafar pummeled his enemy, now bent over on the floor, his hands over his face as if trying to protect himself. The vizier of Agrabah thought of all that the princess had had to endure, of all the threats Karek had exposed her to. In his rage, he hit the vizier harder and harder on the ground, not paying attention to his cries of pain. The violence of the scene must have broken the hypnosis because he heard Karek mumbling pleas for him to stop. But he did not listen. This rat deserved every possible torture. He hit harder and harder, so hard that his fists hurt like his shoulder still tender from the wound. He swore he heard Karek's bones break where he was hitting.
"Please stop !" he pleaded.
Wanting to silence him, Jafar brought the bottom of his snake staff to the man's windpipe and pressed down. The man began to suffocate, and despite this, he managed to bring his hands to the end of the stick, trying to push it away to get a breath of air. But the adrenaline from the rage was making Jafar much too strong and he was choking him more and more. Nothing could stop him.
Jasmine, still tied up and with her back to the scene behind her, could hear the life leaving Karek. This was clearly not the time for him to leave, not now.
"Jafar !" the young woman shouted.
Hearing the princess scream like that, Jafar was brought back to reality. He looked behind him and saw the princess still tied up. He pulled the stick from Karek's neck. Karek took the opportunity to breathe heavily. Jafar looked at him, on the ground, his face swollen from the blow. He didn't move, probably because his body was now too sore to do anything.
"Jafar...he's mine." gasped Jasmine.
The vizier of Agrabah walked back into the room and returned to Jasmine. Jasmine's expression was one of shock when she saw that Karek's blood had splattered on Jafar's face. His face were so hard. He bent down and picked up the dagger that was at his feet.
"Guards !" he shouted. A few seconds later, Razoul appeared again, followed by his three companions. "Get this vermin out of my sight. I seem to have seen a cage in front of the entrance to the room... It seems perfect to lock him in. Put the cage outside, and him inside. Then wait for us." ordered Jafar as he brought the dagger over Jasmine's head, finally cutting the bonds that held her.
"Yes my lord."
"And send for the doctors immediately." he added as Jasmine dropped into his arms, exhausted.
"As you wish !" replied Razoul as he turned back to his companions. "You two, go get the caretakers ! And you, with me." he ordered as he ran to the man lying at the back of the room. The two of them lifted him up and carried him out of the room. Karek let out a painful sigh. His whole body ached.
Now in silence, the vizier sat the young woman down on the cold floor to prevent her from wasting what little strength she had left.
"I'm so sorry, Princess..." breathed Jafar, a livid look on his face.
"Why ? None of this is your fault."
"Jasmine I..." he was interrupted as the doctors stormed into the room and rushed towards the princess.
Jafar stood up without another word and watched as the caregivers got down to Jasmine's level. They gently placed a small sheet over her shoulders to warm her up. As they began their examination, Jafar left the room. Jasmine watched him leave. She found him surprisingly distant. She let the doctors examine him from every angle, in silence, pondering the situation. They handed her a canteen filled with water, which she greedily grabbed and drank it all down. One of the men put a hand on her thigh, just to check that everything was okay. But this gesture woke up the pain on her flesh, cut by the whip she had been hit with. The pain was like an electric shock, remembering that she was not the only one who had suffered like this, and another man immediately invaded her thoughts.
"Aladdin !" roared Jasmine, suddenly standing up.
"Princess, you should not move !" implored one of the doctors.
"No you don't understand ! There is a young man here who needs care much more than I do ! Follow me quickly !" shouted Jasmine, running out of the room, panicking that something had happened to the young boy. She was careful to hold the sheet tightly against her. She didn't want anyone to see the state of her back. She hadn't seen what it looked like yet, but instead of beautiful smooth skin, she must have had two large glowing gashes. Even Jafar didn't seem to notice it in the dungeon. The room was so dark that it was difficult to see anything clearly at more than a few centimeters.
The doctors had no choice but to follow her. She ran through the entire stone corridor, until she finally found herself outside. She was again dazzled by the bright sunlight and covered her eyes with her arm. She squinted so that she could see more than a few meter away. When she removed her arm, she could finally see clearly.
"Princess, what's going on ?" asked a guard not far away.
Jasmine didn't answer and looked around. When she recognized the cart from which she had taken a crate to knock out an Arrakis soldier, she ran toward the place, under the doubting eyes of everyone who could see her. She didn't even notice the iron cage that held Karek at the exit of the corridor. She was far too busy thinking about the young man. But once she got there, she couldn't see the young man. Her heart began to beat faster at the thought that he might have been killed in the chaos of the battle. She began to look around and called out his name.
"Aladdin ?! Aladdin ?!"
"What are you doing ?" She turned as she recognized that voice she had grown accustomed to hearing.
"Jafar, I am looking for a young man. He was with me as a prisoner and he helped me escape ! We must find him, he is hurt !"
The vizier was surprised at this newfound concern she was showing for a young boy. "Considering you were still tied up when I arrived, I'm not sure this boy was all that useful to you." muttered Jafar icily.
Hearing his tone, which she didn't like at all, Jasmine glared at him and gritted her teeth. "You really want us to play the game of who's in the wrong in this story ? You're not exactly off the hook !" she snapped.
"What do you mean ?" he asked calmly.
Jasmine didn't like his tone with her at all. He acted as if she had forgotten that he had dared to hypnotize her, as if he was above all that was going on, as if he didn't care and it all didn't matter. In fact, he was acting like he did before this whole thing. Before they put together this whole kidnapping strategy, when they weren't used to being around each other every day, when she despised him... Why was he acting like that ?! Anyway, this was not the time to think about all this. She gritted her teeth.
"This is not the time, I have better things to do !" she tried to calm herself down as she resumed her research. Jafar watched her do so, without a word.
"Aladdin ?" shouted Jasmine. Then, she thought she heard a moan in the distance. She walked towards the noise and saw a purple stain. It was him ! She ran to the boy, on his stomach, half-buried in the sand. Perhaps this was what had saved his life during the battle.
"Aladdin, are you okay ?!" She helped him turn around and saw the large wound across his chest, full of sand. It must have burned him horribly. He was half stunned, probably from the blow he had taken to the head.
"Princess ? What happened ?" breathed Aladdin weakly.
"It's all right, it's over. We'll be back in Agrabah soon." replied Jasmine, a reassuring smile on her lips. She brushed away a lock of hair that fell into his eyes and shook his hand to comfort him.
From a distance, Jafar watched the scene and gritted his teeth. The doctors passed by him, finally catching up with the young woman, kneeling on the sand. With all their equipment, it was hard to run as fast as a princess in a panic over the disappearance of a handsome young man, Jafar grumbled. He turned and walked back to the rest of the guards, he had seen enough.
"These men will take care of you, trust them." breathed Jasmine as she walked away, leaving the doctors to do their job. Now she had one last thing to do... She turned back to a group of guards, watching over the cage containing the man who had caused all her misery. She walked briskly and determinedly, a cold look on her face, already imagining what was to come. With the wind, the sheet on her shoulders kept flapping. She was afraid that someone would see her red back. If they did, the doctors would surely leave Aladdin to attend to her. Being a princess, her health was far more precious than that of a street rat... This was not to happen. He deserved care as much as she did, if not more. Now in front of Karek's cage, he didn't even notice she was there. He was so weakened by what the vizier of Agrabah had just done to him that he didn't even have the strength to sit still. He just stood there, cowering. He was really pathetic. Accompanied by his guards, certain that he had the power and the advantage over his enemy, he was acting out. But now that he knew he had lost, he had no courage, no dignity. She gave a strong kick in the cage, wanting to make him react. But this had the effect of startling the guards around.
"Hey ! Wake up !"
"Princess, what are you doing ?" questioned Razoul, a few steps away, moving closer to the young woman.
"It's time for him to pay. Get him out." bellowed Jasmine, fury rising in her at a rapid pace.
Razoul saw the malice in her eyes. He was starting to panic. He had never seen that glint in her eye. He quietly leaned over to one of his comrade and whispered in his ear : "Go get the vizier, quick." Then he redirected his attention to the girl.
"Princess, that's not safe. He should stay in the cage until we return to Agrabah."
"Agrabah?! Do you really think I'm going to let that scum into our city ?!" she replied, raising her voice, not able to bear the thought of him staying alive that much longer. The thought of him entering Agrabah repulsed her. This man who had led his troops to destroy the walls of her city, to kill her people... No he had to die !
"He will enter it for never to leave it princess. We will sentence him to death, you can be sure of that."
Karek heard the conversation. He leaned against the bars of his prison and met Jasmine's gaze. Through his eyes, the princess saw all the evil that this repulsive vizier had done and was willing to do. All that he had done to her, to her people, to Aladdin, and to so many others around the world. This vermin didn't deserve to spend another minute on this earth.
"I said, get him out. Right now !" she snarled. Why did it always have to be that everyone challenged her orders !
Fearing her wrath, Razoul walked towards the cage in spite of himself. He grabbed the key to the padlock from his pocket, and slowly approached the lock. The click was heard, he opened the door and brought his arm inside the cage. He grabbed Karek's jacket with a firm grip and threw him out of his prison with surprising force, sending him plunging into the sand. Too weak to defend himself, Karek simply lifted his head from the sand to avoid eating the grains. He began to crawl in the opposite direction of the princess. As if he could escape. Some of his bones were broken, Jasmine wasn't even sure he could stand. As Razoul was right behind her, in one swift movement, she turned and grabbed the guard's sword with one hand, pulling it from its scabbard.
"Princess, what are you doing ?!" interloqued Razoul, raising his hands to her as if to restrain her. In her gesture, Jasmine slightly let go of the sheet held over her shoulders, allowing Razoul to see a piece of her back, reddened, crossed by two scratches. He had only seen the lower part of her back, but he didn't need to see more to understand that these marks went all the way up her back. She must have suffered greatly at the hands of this vizier, which explained this hatred.
"Don't take another step !" threatened Jasmine, readjusting the sheet on her back. She moved toward Karek, who continued to crawl across the sand as far as he could. But in his condition, he hadn't gone more than 10 meters. She came back to him in a few seconds, Razoul staying away. It was perfect, she didn't need him for what was to come.
Now above Karek, she crushed his calf with her foot, preventing him from going one meter further. He grunted in pain and clenched his fists, frustrated at being put in this position by a woman. Having no free hand, Jasmine put the tip of her foot under Karek's shoulder and forced him to turn on his back so he could see her. Offering no resistance, Karek now had his gaze locked in hers.
"Well ? You're not as confident as you were earlier are you ?"
Karek didn't answer and chuckled in pain. Wanting to make him react, Jasmine brought the sword to his upper torso and slowly slid it down his abdomen, slashing his suit and penetrating his flesh. He screamed in pain as blood poured from his wound.
"So ?! You're less of a show-off now ! How does it feel to be on the side of the tortured ?!"
Between his cries, Karek finally managed to formulate his thoughts. "You...you shouldn't have...gotten away with it. What your vizier did...I can't explain it, but I know he did something to me to make me release you !" Karek pointed out, expecting another sword strike.
"I told you you couldn't win this battle." Jasmine breathed, making a new cut on his chest. A new cry of pain escaped from his dry mouth.
"I should have killed you when I had the chance !" growled Karek with difficulty.
"Yes, you should have. I wouldn't make the same mistake..." Jasmine raised her sword, preparing to deliver the final blow. She saw his eyes fill with fear. Now she was going to relieve him of his pain. She finally swung her arm at Karek, preparing to thrust her blade through him. But as the iron was about to make contact with his chest to puncture his heart, a force came to hold back her hand.
"Stop, princess."
That voice again. His voice. As she turned her face to look at her interlocutor, her eyes met Jafar's.
"Let go of me !" ordered Jasmine as she began to struggle awkwardly.
"Not until you let go of that." replied Jafar, firming his grip on her arm, making sure she didn't hurt herself with the weapon.
"He must die !" Jasmine was on the verge of tears, why was he doing this to her ? Surely he must have known what Karek had done to her. So why ?
"He's going to die princess, he's going to die. But you're not the one who has to do this. Let me do it for you." Jafar no longer had the contemptuous tone he had displayed earlier. He sounded more...fearful. Almost sentimental. "Listen to me princess, taking someone's life is not a trivial thing. You will live with this for the rest of your life. His face will haunt you until the end. Is this really what you want ? Believe me, a hate crime will change you, forever. He's not worth it, princess. Don't let him corrupt your soul." breathed Jafar without ever breaking eye contact with her.
"Why should my soul be preserved at the expense of yours ?" stressed Jasmine.
Jafar smiled at her concern. Not even minding the presence of the other guards not far from them, with his other hand, Jafar ran the back of his fingers gently against her cheek. "My soul is no longer to be preserved, for a long time, princess," Jafar admitted with a sad look on his face. Jasmine wondered what he meant. Would he believe that his soul was evil ? Why ? Hmmm, now was not the time to wonder. She felt her heart slow down at the touch of his fingers. She was torn between her revenge and Jafar's speech. She concentrated on her touch to stay calm. She looked down at the blood flowing from the sword, falling back on its owner. Looking up at Jafar, she relaxed the muscles in the arm which was ready to strike. Sensing this, Jafar came to remove the sword from the young princess' hand.
"You have done well. Back off now."
Jasmine felt quite exhausted from all this. She didn't have the strength to respond or even go against his advice. So she just backed away slowly, and walked toward the guards in front of her several feet away.
Jafar, still standing over Karek, watched the young princess walk away. He could see the pain she was dragging behind her. He knew that fighting those vengeful urges was not an easy thing to do, in fact it was almost impossible. But she had done it. He gritted his teeth as he heard the voice of the author of all this pain barge in.
"It's...it's you !" gasped Karek.
Jafar turned his face to him, not understanding what he meant. Karek saw the incomprehension on his face, so he continued.
"You're the one who had sex with the princess... the way you just touched her face, the way she looks at you..." spat Karek.
Jafar tightened his grip on the sword and aimed the tip at Karek's heart, then whispered : "No one had sex with the princess, but I'm the one who made that mark on her neck." he admitted with a small smile before plunging his blade into Karek's heart.
He let out a final cry that everyone around him noticed. Jasmine heard his growl. She turned to visually confirm what she had just heard. When she saw Jafar standing over Karek with his sword in his chest, she gave a barely perceptible smile and resumed her walk toward the entrance to the stone corridor.
—
20 minutes had passed. Jasmine waited patiently, sitting on a low stone wall. She was content to observe the surroundings : the guards talking among themselves, the vizier who was alone, near his horse, the doctors who were still taking care of Aladdin, Karek's body disappearing under the sand, the sun starting to set...
Discreetly, she turned her attention to the vizier. He was alone, carefully stroking the mane of his horse, as black as his robes. She could see from his face that he seemed pensive. She would pay dearly to know what was bothering him. She thought about what he had said earlier, that his soul could not be saved. Why had he said such things ? What could he have done ? The more she thought about it, the more she realized that she didn't know anything about him after all. All she knew about his past was that he had become a vizier because of her mother. One could not say that he had an easy way of talking. But...surely it wasn't once he became vizier that he did what he thought was wrong. She had studied all of Agrabah's history, and since her father had been in power, there had been no conflicts of war. He couldn't have committed a war crime... And as for his private life in the palace, she really didn't see what could justify what he said. There was never anything strange at the palace, murder or disappearance, nothing. Maybe he was seeing girls for fun, but... that wasn't a crime, that couldn't be why he thought he was bad. No, if anything, it was probably during his past before he joined the palace. Or maybe she was imagining things, maybe he had only said that to get her to drop the sword. After all, it was just like him to manipulate others... As she went deeper and deeper into her thoughts, she saw Jafar turn his eyes and their eyes met. Jasmine blushed at the idea that he had seen her spying on him so insistently. She instantly lowered her head, wanting to make herself very small. Then, her attention was drawn elsewhere.
The doctors had finally finished caring for Aladdin. They were all coming back to her, and Aladdin was walking slowly behind them.
"Princess, it's your turn ! We didn't have time to finish earlier." informed one of the old caregivers.
"No I'm fine." she replied, seeking Aladdin's gaze as he continued to stare at the ground.
"But princess..."
"I told you I was fine ! All I want is to get back to the palace."
The doctors looked at each other. The princess had a really bad temper, and they didn't want to pay for it. They walked away without another word, leaving Jasmine and Aladdin alone. There was silence as the princess waited for the caregivers to get far enough away that they couldn't hear the conversion. Once far enough away, she cleared her throat.
"Is everything okay, Aladdin ?"
"Yes...everything is fine." the young boy breathed, a sad look on his face. His chest was wrapped in white tape, keeping his wound clean.
"Hmmm, are you sure ? You don't look it..."
Aladdin swallowed and dipped his wet eyes into hers.
"You know you can talk to me." tried to reassure Jasmine. Aladdin finally approached her and came to sit beside her on the low wall.
"It's just that...you saved my life. Twice. When you knocked out the guard who was about to kill me, and just now when you sent your doctors to take care of me. And me in return, what can I bring you ? Nothing at all. It is because of me that you are here, that you have endured all these things. I am nothing, I don't deserve your attention. Besides, your doctors have made that clear to me."
Jasmine listened carefully. Even though he didn't come from the same background at all, they had more in common than it seemed. She felt sad for him, he shouldn't have to feel this way.
"Listen to me, Aladdin. Don't devalue yourself in this way. Not everything is up to you, least of all this situation. Believe me, if I am here today, it is only my fault. And I would never have saved you if you hadn't done it first... Don't listen to those doctors, they judge you without even knowing who you are. I know what I'm talking about... Only you really know what you are made of. Stay as you are, never try to change for someone else." Jasmine breathed, looking into his eyes.
Aladdin gave her a small smile. "Thank you princess. Despite the circumstances, I'm glad I got to meet you."
"Me too. And, you may call me Jasmine." the young woman replied, returning his smile.
"Hmmm, Jasmine." the young boy dared as if to savor her name on his lips. "Why do you refuse your doctors' help?"
"To tell you the truth, I'm tired of this trip. All I want to do is go back to the palace and take a nice bath."
Aladdin bowed his head, overwhelmed by so much wealth and comfort that would always be unavailable to him. He could only dream about it and use his imagination. Realizing her awkwardness in front of the poor boy, Jasmine puckered her lips.
"Oh I'm sorry, Aladdin. I spoke without thinking."
"Don't apologize, it's nothing. My life as a street rat is not as horrible as one might think."
Jasmine raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah really ?" she asked, curious. She thought he'd said that to reassure her. How could a life without financial stability be okay ?
"Well, it's definitely going to stay more horrible than yours. But I'm fine with it for now. It's true that I have to steal to get to eat. But there are still advantages. I can do what I want when I want. Nobody has to tell me what to do. I don't work myself to death at a job that will pay me a pittance. I know that stealing from those who work is not a good thing. But I only steal from the rich. There is no way I would burden the poor people who are doing their best to survive. When I see all the wealthy people, so full of themselves, getting rich on the backs of their slaves, it makes me sick." He directed his gaze to the princess, fearing he had said something he shouldn't have. "Oh of course I'm not talking about you. I know that the royal family is still different. I mean, it's always been that way, and you have to be there. If only to keep order, to protect us. It's just that sometimes the injustice of this world is too cruel."
"Yes I see..." replied Jasmine, thinking about everything he was telling her. It was interesting to have a different perspective. Aladdin lived in poverty, he reflected all the mistakes of the system currently in place. He was proof that things needed to change for the good of all the people of Agrabah. The rich were too rich, and the poor were far too poor. Things had to change. "When we get to the palace, you will stay with us for a few days while you get back on your feet. My father will not be able to refuse when I tell him what you have done for me."
Surprised by this proposal, Aladdin raised his eyebrows. It was true that he had always wondered what was hidden behind the walls of the palace. He had always been curious about what it was like to live in luxury. To think that he could taste it for a few days electrified him. Of course, he would refuse to immerse himself in luxury for long, knowing how many poor people in the streets were in his situation. He thought of two young children he had recently helped. He had stolen a loaf of bread for his dinner, but when he saw these children rummaging through a dirty old pot hoping to find some leftovers, he couldn't bring himself to keep the bread for himself. If he hadn't been there, he couldn't imagine what would have happened. Maybe they would have died of hunger... Anyway, all this to say that he would be much more useful in the streets than in a luxurious house.
"Ooh uh, thanks a lot princess ! I don't deserve so much, in fact it's you who has done so much for me." he breathed, sheepishly.
"Didn't I tell you not to devalue yourself anymore ?" replied Jasmine in a mocking tone.
Aladdin smiled and blushed at her kindness. "Thank you, Jasmine." She returned his smile and their eyes met. Jasmine felt herself softening in the young man's presence. She felt like she could talk to him without risking judgment.
The next second, Razoul appeared before them and broke the silence.
"Princess, we are leaving."
Upon hearing him, she immediately stood up, thrilled to finally be leaving this infamous place.
"Perfect !"
"Come along princess. The vizier has had a horse prepared for you." informed the guard, a horse held by another guard a few feet behind him.
Jasmine was surprised. The last time, Jafar had not hesitated to have her ride with him on his horse. And now, he was sending his guard to warn her of their departure, to give her a horse... She glanced in his direction. He was far away, already on his horse, with his back to them, as if he was only waiting for everyone to be ready to take the road. The rest of the soldiers were lining up, preparing to leave. Did he want to stay away ? So be it.
"Very well, thank you. And could you bring one back for Aladdin ?"
Razoul sent the young man an evil look. His face was all too familiar to him. He was one of the little vermin he used to chase through the streets of Agrabah. What a pity he didn't die in this battle...
He cleared his throat. "Hmmm, sorry your highness. But no horses are available for this...young man. We had not planned to bring in any extra people and the horses we have are for transporting the wounded." informed Razoul as he bowed to her.
"Oh I see. Very well, in this case he will go up with me." she said with a small triumphant smile.
Razoul pitted inwardly. "As you wish, your highness." he contented himself, indicating with his arm to follow him.
Jasmine walked towards the waiting horse, with Aladdin following closely behind, uncomfortable that he might be causing tension between the princess and the others.
Once in front of the horse, Jasmine stroked it tenderly. The army was now ready to leave, they were just waiting them. Razoul knelt down in front of the princess and joined his hands so that she could put her foot on it, helping her to climb. She grabbed the front of the horse's saddle and accepted Razoul's help. Usually, she didn't like to be taken for a fool, but this horse was quite high, and she didn't have much strength left. So she placed her foot between the guard's hands and pushed hard to get on the animal. Once in place, Razoul straightened up and stared at the young boy.
Jafar had been waiting there for five minutes now, sitting on his horse without moving. What were they waiting for in the end !? He looked back at the army, but they were ready. His eyes went further, and he saw the princess on her horse. But he saw her leaning slightly to the side, holding her arm down. The next moment, the young boy she had been desperately searching for grabbed her hand and pulled himself onto the horse, right behind her. The sight instantly reminded him of the time she had ridden in front of him... when they were in the streets of Agrabah, after supposedly finding her in an old, dilapidated dwelling. She had been so close to him, her body buried in his chest, her skin touching his, the smell of her hair... He gritted his teeth and sighed quietly. She could do what she wanted. It was none of his business... He kept telling himself that he didn't care to see her like this, but he felt his heart crack a little more. He got back his gaze in front of him, breaking this unpleasant vision, and started to wait again for the two lovebirds to decide to leave here.
Now the two young people on their mount, Razoul resumed the speech.
"Well, follow me princess. We must place you in the center of our procession. That's the safest place for you to be."
"Okay..." she replied simply, waving the reins to move the animal forward. It was a good thing she had learned to ride as a child.
Razoul watched her do it and made sure she was in control of her mount. Seeing that she was doing well and that she was now in the center of the guards, Razoul ran to his own mount. He quickly climbed up and galloped to the front of the procession.
"Royal vizier, we are ready to go."
"It's about time." he commented coolly. "Forward !"
Hearing this, Razoul pointed his sword skyward and slammed it down forward, giving the signal for the remnants of the soldiers to march.
The whole troop began to move forward, the setting sun illuminating them on their way.
Aladdin was amazed, this was the first time he had had such a protective procession. And it would surely be the last. But strangely enough, he didn't feel safer than that. He was surrounded by the same guards he had been used to running away from since the beginning of his life as a rascal...
—
They had all been walking towards Agrabah for almost two hours. When the army had come all the way to the princess,, it had taken them 3 hours to get to the place where Karek was hiding. But they were on a fast run and without interruption...
Now they were only at a slow pace. Everyone was exhausted and there were casualties. They were in no condition to return as fast as they had come. Judging by their pace, they had between two and three hours to walk before returning to Agrabah, Jafar reflected, not taking his eyes off the horizon. The sun was now down, and guards had lit torches so they could move in the shadows of the cold desert. He was bored with moving at such a slow pace. All he could do was sit and wait for time to pass. He was dying to turn around and see the face of the one he had come so far to find. But he shouldn't. He had to forget. Everything had to go back to the way it was. It wasn't going to be easy knowing all the things he and the princess had been involved in. But he still had to do it, it was the right thing to do... He resisted turning around. In any case, he was sure that a young boy would come and spoil his view. He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard a horse gallop up to him.
"My lord...I have just inspected our comrades. They are all exhausted, and the cold is beginning to creep up on us. It's been an hour since the sun went down, our men need rest." confided Razoul, riding beside the vizier.
"We must not stop. We will soon be home."
Razoul knew he was lying. He had spotted well that they were still far from Agrabah. If they continued, he feared some of his men would not make it through the night. They feared that some of them would die of exhaustion. It was a lot of effort in a very short time. First, the battle at Agrabah, helping the city repair the damage, going into the desert under a terrible heat to find the princess, another battle, and more walking home... And all that with only a few hours of sleep. They definitely needed a break.
"My lord, I believe the princess is also at the end of her strength."
At the mention of the princess, Jafar widened his tired eyes. Finally, he turned instantly to glance at the young woman. She was half asleep on the horse, one hand still holding the sheet over her shoulders, the other weakly holding the front of the saddle. It was the rascal behind her who was busy holding the horse's reins to keep it moving. And this position only brought them closer together... He swallowed.
"All right then. Let's stop here for the night." Jafar authorized.
Razoul did not answer, silently thanking the heavens for changing the mind of the stubborn vizier. He turned and galloped back to his comrade-in-arms, warning them to stop and set up the bunks for the night.
Jasmine woke up with a start at the sudden noise of the guards starting to disperse. This little nap had done her a world of good. Even though it was surely only a short hour of rest, she felt better.
"What's going on ?"
"I think I heard the captain of the guard order the camp set up. We're probably stopping for the night." Informed Aladdin.
"Oh, wonderful." She felt her body get quite close to the young man. More than it should be anyway. She felt awkward. It was strange. With the vizier, she had enjoyed this closeness, letting her imagination pervert her... But with Aladdin, she felt embarrassed. "Ummm, would you mind coming downstairs ? I'd like to stretch my legs." she feigned.
"Oh uh yes of course." he replied almost jumping off the horse.
Jasmine followed suit and got off the horse carefully. She merely watched as the guards set up little tents. Its were so small that it could only hold one person. The top of these canvas dwellings must not have been more than one meter high. Their small size also explained how quickly the guards were able to install them.
"But...didn't you get your back fixed ?" asked Aladdin in a low voice.
Hearing him, Jasmine widened her eyes and instinctively brought her hands to her shoulders. The sheet ! She looked over at the horse and saw the piece of silk lying on the back of the horse. She quickly grabbed it and pulled it over her back. It had probably fallen off when Aladdin got off the horse. When she slept, the boy's body must surely have kept the sheet pressed against Jasmine, and when he left, it fell. She hadn't felt it slip, and to be honest, it had completely slipped her mind.
"No indeed, but it's okay, I feel fine. It will heal itself." she reassured him.
"Are you sure ? This whip cut your skin, there's a chance it could get infected ! Earlier you didn't want the doctors to take care of you because you didn't want to delay our departure. But now you have no excuse. Don't put your health at risk after all the effort these men have put into finding you alive !"
She had to admit that he had made a good point. Even though he was young and helpless, the young boy did not lack foresight.
"Very well, I'll go see them. But please don't tell anyone." she asked. She saw those marks on her back as a symbol of weakness, of her humiliation at the hands of Karek. The sooner it disappeared, the better.
"Yes, as you wish."
"Thank you Aladdin." she breathed, turned her attention back to the guards. They had set up camp all around the princess, so that she was in the center and therefore as safe as possible. They had almost finished setting up. Some who had already set up their tent had already slipped inside. These were the ones who were in a really laborious state. The others were busy helping those who had not finished, as well as lighting fires in the center of the camp, in a circle. The nights in the desert were cold. Fires were needed around the tents to keep the men warm. Jasmine saw Razoul and 4 other guards walking towards her.
"Princess, we're going to bring your tent up here. You will be safe and close to the campfires." One of the guards walked over to the horse and left to take it further. The others began to bring out the sleeping gear. The tent wasn't mounted yet, but she could already see that it would be bigger than all the others. It was ridiculous, she thought. She could get by just fine in the same kind of dwelling as everyone else.
"Are you sure this is really necessary ? We are only here for one night, there is no need to waste your strength on such a large tent." she informed.
"Don't worry princess, it won't take us more than a minute."
She did not insist. She was tired of always having to justify her words. If they wanted so badly to tire themselves out for nothing, let them. She and Aladdin stepped aside to make room for them. Seconds passed, and the shelter was already taking shape. It was definitely bigger than the others. You could walk in standing up, unlike all the others that were low to the ground. Three minutes later, the guards stood up.
"It's okay, your highness. You can sleep easy tonight."
"I thank you. And Aladdin ?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"A tent has been mounted for him a little further." informed Razoul, an evil look towards the boy.
"I hope for you that's true, Razoul." threatened Jasmine. She had clearly noticed that the guard had no sympathy for the young man.
"I wouldn't dare lie to you, your highness." reassured Razoul as he bowed to her.
"If anything happens to him tonight, I will hold you solely responsible, and believe me it will not be without consequence." Aladdin felt very embarrassed but remained silent, not wanting to make things worse.
Razoul bit his tongue, swallowing his pride. This filthy scoundrel should be at the bottom of a dungeon and instead, he was enjoying the good graces of the princess. He had better enjoy it, he won't always be so lucky.
"Yes, princess." content him. "Moreover, the vizier also sent me to ask you not to go far away and to stay well within the protective enclosure of the camp." informed Razoul.
"That goes without saying." replied Jasmine, discreetly looking for the vizier with her eyes. But nothing. She could scan the area with her eyes, but there was no tall man dressed in red and black on the horizon.
"Good." Razoul returned his gaze as indifferently as he could to Aladdin. "Boy, come with me so I can show you where your tent has been installed."
"Oh uh yes I'm coming." replied Aladdin in a not very reassured tone as Razoul had already started his way. "Good night Princess Jasmine." greeted the young man with a small smile.
"Good night Aladdin." she contented herself, giving him a friendly smile.
I hope you liked this chapter, and the punishment inflicted to Karek mwahaha !