Okay, now we're getting somewhere! I have been dying to get to this chapter because I wanted so badly to experiment with the genie and I could only hope I've done him justice. I also feel there's a break in this Sav-Al-Jas triangle that has been formulating. Only a few more chapter to go before this fic is complete! Please leave some feedback, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Thank you.
Slowly, the little monkey scurried from his place of rest to the masculine figure, who laid unconscious on the ground. He remained still, despite the monkey's attempt to shake him awake. Abu shook him harder, with all of his might, whimpers and chatters desperate to wake the male. Aladdin slowly stirred and began to collect himself, blinking slowly as he began to refocus in the dark. How hard had he hit his head? He placed his hand to it as it throbbed and Aladdin winced. Not too far was a feminine figure; Aladdin realized it was Savannah. He crawled over to her and mimicked Abu's actions in shaking her awake.
"Sav...hey Sav..." He laid his hand upon her bare shoulder and gently rocked her, hoping to stir some kind of reaction. When she refused to wake, Al sat back and merely took her in, relieved when he saw her form rise and fall with each breath she took. At least she was still with him. He was so unsure of things, still, his mind in a complete state of confusion. Upon holding his hands up, he weighed both women in his hands. On one hand, there was Savannah. Sure, she was pretty, smart, funny, and she was his best friend. She was someone who held him at night when he was low, and he held her when she woke up from a nightmare. Savannah made sure he was fed, cared for him when he was sick and picked him up when he was down. That hand made him smile. However, when he looked at the opposite hand, he saw the princess; this gorgeous woman who simply glowed. He knew her briefly, but Aladdin could see her being the type of woman to really care for him, to pick him up, being everything Savannah is and more. Unsure as he was, Aladdin could not help but be drawn to Jasmine. When he looked into Jasmine's eyes, that spark was just there.
Not that Savannah didn't have a spark. Savannah was the type of woman that would be that wife and mother someday. Aladdin often enough dreamed of having that family he never had; that family he always wanted. He vowed to himself that his children would never roam the streets, wondering where their father was, or why they couldn't have a father of their own. No, Aladdin was going to be that father, and more often than not, Aladdin envisioned Savannah being the mother that held their newborn to her breast to nourish. But what kind of life would that be? Sure, he would be happy... He glanced to Savannah. Yes, he'd be very happy, but it would just be a repeat of his life now. Always scraping for food and ducking the guards. What kind of life would that be for his sons or daughters? It wouldn't. But with Jasmine, he could see that life, the wife and children, and not having to worry about food or shelter. As much as he hated to admit it, they would be taken care of. Not only that, Jasmine held this mystery that he wanted to explore. He wanted to get to know the woman who was locked up behind the cage. Aladdin wanted to save Jasmine.
Aladdin leaned his head back against the back of the cave. He glanced back down at Savannah, watching her sleep before he reached over to shake her awake once more. She needed to wake soon, otherwise he would really fear for her slipping into something she'd never rouse from. He shuddered at the thought. "Sav...c'mon...wake up." When the female began to stir, he let out a sigh of relief and a warm smile crept upon his features. "Easy now..." he eased her back into reality, helping her sit up and watched her look up at him with an almost helpless expression upon her face. She needed him to take care of her, and he would be happy to do it. He settled her up into a sitting position, held her back to his chest and wrapped his arms around her tightly. He never wanted to lose her, no matter what. He would fight to keep her in his life. "You alright?"
Wearily, she nodded and looked up and behind her, raising an arm, she reached up and draped it around his neck. "I'm just glad you're alright." She felt Aladdin's arms tighten around her. "And thank you...for coming back to me."
"I promised you I would," he whispered into her hair before watching her play with his fingers as she unwound one arm from her waist. "And there's another thing I promised you. Look, Sav...about Jasmine."
Savannah closed her eyes, afraid of what she was about to hear. She let out a deep breath that she had been holding in out and stared at the cave wall ahead. "What about her?"
"I'm sorry. You and I have something special, and I'm afraid I ruined that by bringing Jasmine into our lives. But...there's just something about her." Savannah closed her eyes tightly, the next intake of air a sharp, tight breath as she waited for him to continue. "You're my best friend, I love you and I don't want to ruin that. I don't want to lose you in my life. But Jasmine..." By this time, Savannah turned around and pressed her index finger to his lips. She would hear no more.
"Aladdin, you won't ever lose me, do you understand me? From the moment I smacked into you in the marketplace, you were kind of stuck with me," she laughed softly and watched a smile play upon his lips. "You mean so much to me...and I never want to lose that. All I want is for you to be happy." And if that meant pairing him with the princess for him to achieve his happily ever after, then so be it. Savannah was prepared for the heartache that would follow. Savannah decided she wanted a new change of subject. She had a strong feeling this topic would come up for discussion again, and she would be better prepared for it. For now, she would indulge herself in being safe and secure in his arms, if only for a few minutes longer.
"So, what ever happened with that lamp? Did the old man manage to run away with it?" Aladdin was at a loss for words, as a matter of fact, he was unsure of what happened to the lamp.
"He tried killing us, Savannah. That two-faced son of a jackal got away thinking we died and trapped us in here. He probably has the-" He was interrupted by Abu's chattering as he presented the lamp from behind his hairy little back with a grin. Aladdin's lips curled into a smirk as he took the offered lamp. "Why you hairy little thief...I trained you well," he chuckled before analyzing the relic that was in his hands. He turned it from side to side and looked beneath it for any inscriptions. Upon a closer look, he glanced up at Savannah who sat up across from him and glanced back down. He perked a brow when he noticed an inscription that was barely legible and rubbed it with his hand. "I don't get it. Why would he want a beat up piece of junk like this?" Savannah shrugged her shoulders. The moment her shoulders ceased shrugging, the lamp began to wiggle in Aladdin's hands, he clutched tightly to it as a cloud of blue smoke emerged, a tail of the same light, neon blue billowed from the spout of the lamp.
A long, exaggerated yawn was given from the large form that was built before the teens, now who were huddled together as Aladdin wrapped his arms around Savannah protectively. "Ten thousand years!" His voice boomed and shook the cave, Savannah wincing as her sensitive ears rang from her throbbing head. "It'll give you such a crick in the neck!" The blue creature grunted and groaned, stretching himself and twisted his head, which earned a gasp from the female in the room. "Hm?" The resident of the lamp bent down to get a good look at the two humans that summoned him, curious as to which of the two were his master.
"So, which one of you two love birds rubbed my lamp? Look at you, so cozy looking together, it is just a picture." He adjusted his thumbs and index fingers accordingly to form a square to fit Aladdin and Savannah into the frame.
Savannah was merely in a state of shock before slowly thumbing to Aladdin, indicating that he was the lamp's master.
"Say, master, what's with your girl? It's like she's never seen a genie before," Genie chuckled and simmered down to a less intimidating size and sat across from them cross legged.
"I'm not his..." Savannah cleared her throat, reeling from her shock. "I'm not his girl."
"Coulda fooled me," Genie shrugged. "So, what is my master's name? And the name of his lovely companion?" He flashed a smile towards Savannah. "Better?"
"I, um, I'm A-Aladdin. And this is Savannah..."
"Can I just call you two Al and Sav? Maybe Salav? Throw a mix in there?" He looked for a reaction, but just received a confused look from both parties. "Alright, forgetting the Salav salad. Moving on. Jeez, rough crowd tonight."
"So wait..." Aladdin let go of Savannah and sat her back before approaching the Genie. "Master? You're really a-?"
"What do you know!" The genie slapped a graduation cap and diploma on Aladdin out of thin air. "He can be taught!" He stroked his goatee and smiled, showing off a few more parlor tricks of duplication and slid back into one genie once more. "You! Aladdin, have been awarded one genie of the lamp, with a wish fulfillment of three."
"Wait, wish fulfillment?" Aladdin asked, blinking in shock.
"That's right, three wishes!" The genie paused for a moment before eying the two cautiously. The genie vanished from his spot, then reappeared in front of Savannah, who was startled from her spot. "And you, little lady, don't go putting the idea of more wishes in his head 'cause I won't do it." He crossed his arms and looked away from her.
Savannah looked appalled. "What!? I would never!"
The genie chuckled. "She really needs to lighten up."
Aladdin glanced over to Abu who was perched on his shoulder. "Now I know I'm dreaming."
"Master! I don't think you realize what you have in front of you! Sit back, allow me to explain..." The genie trailed off from there, showing off the glitz and glamor of having a genie of his very own. Dancing girls, endless amounts of food, the heavens and beyond for Aladdin as he was enamored with the idea of this new found magic. Genie once more sat in front of the two, looking to settle business and awaited the shock to drain from their systems.
"So, you want to grant me any three wishes I want?" Aladdin asked, setting the lamp down, finally. The genie sat back and tapped his finger against his lips.
"Well, about that. There are certain limitations..." Savannah extended her arm for him to continue as Aladdin awaited to hear what he could and could not wish for. "Well, for one, I can't kill anyone." He proceeded to decapitate himself via slicing his head off with the magic in his thumb. Savannah's eyes widened. "Rule number two, I can't make anyone fall in love." He glanced from Aladdin to Savannah and back. "But I could swear you two wouldn't need that rule." Savannah shot him a look as Aladdin sighed. "Alright, alright, sorry. Rule number three, I can't bring anyone back from the dead." He suddenly transformed into a corpse and rose himself from laying on his back. "It's not a pretty picture and I don't like doing it! But other than those three, you can have whatever you want."
"Limitations?" Aladdin glanced at Savannah, who began to wonder where he was going with this. However, she would play along.
"Sounds like there are certain things he can't do, Al..."
"Yeah, but listen to him play himself up. Some all powerful genie and he can't get us out of this cave? C'mon, Sav, even you have to admit something smells weird about this. We'll just have to find our way out of here, on our own, without his almighty magic."
"Al-" A large blue foot stepped in between Aladdin and Savannah, separating them as Genie stepped in front of Al wearing a rather pained and angered expression.
"Okay, you're doubting me? You rubbed my lamp, woke me up, and brought me out here? No, no, no, you're getting your wishes." He backed Aladdin onto the carpet where Savannah had perched herself on, taking a moment to realize what she was sitting on and blinked in surprise. But then again, after meeting such a colorful and gifted person, nothing surprised her. Once the duo had sat down, the genie levitated above them and began to instruct them to not fall out once the carpet was in motion. Aggravated, he shot forth from what they thought was an enclosed space in the ceiling, Savannah held onto Aladdin's back and felt the breeze in her hair and the warmth of the sun on her skin. She could barely believe they had made it out alive.
At least now they understood why the old man have such a desire for the old relic. Savannah couldn't blame him for trying...