Jasmine in her crude disguise found she couldn't escape all the irate shopkeepers as they had her surrounded and some were shouting for the guards. "I just wanted to feed that hungry child and that's why I took your fruit." She protested.

"And if you steal from me, how do I feed my children!" Shouted one of the angry storekeepers.

"I, I…" She found she had no answer for that. Things out here were certainly different than they were in the castle where things were given to her whenever she asked for them. She had certainly not planned this well as she had taken no money with her.

"Here now. What's going on here?" Said a horribly familiar voice. She looked up to see Razoul pushing his way through the crowd which parted before him like he was a hot knife going through butter.

She put her head down and gazed at the sand, willing him to not notice her. It was a forlorn hope as she could feel his gaze settle directly on her.

One of the shopkeepers, the man she'd robbed, grabbed her sleeve. "Guardsman, this young woman here took a fruit from me and now refuses to pay." The rest growled in sympathy.

Razoul stepped directly in front of her and his shadow threw her abruptly in the shade. "Is this true?"

She held back her reply, afraid he would recognize her voice. It did her no good for suddenly he was on his knees looking her right in the eyes. She turned her head but it was too late as he gasped and then said softly. "Princess Jasmine?"

She sighed and whispered back. "Yes, it's me, Razoul." She brought her head up defiantly. "Am I so violent that I need someone as crude and mean as you to put me under arrest?" She was trying to get back at him and upset him as his reward for capturing her.

He refused to take the bait as he rose to his feet and looked at her accuser. "How much does she owe?"

The storekeeper calculated silently for a moment. "One fruit, two denari."

"One denari would be more like it as the fruit's two days old." Someone called out and the others laughed.

Razoul dug in his vest pocket and pulled out a bronze coin. He flipped it to the man. "Here is five denari. You owe me four more fruits unless you have change." At the man's shake of his head Razoul growled. "I'll be back tomorrow to collect. Be sure you're here and they're fresh or else." He made a cutting motion under his chin and the shopkeeper found that he wished he'd ignored the strange girl as no-one in their right mind wanted Razoul mad at them.

Razoul turned and caught Jasmine's sleeve as she tried to slip away as the crowd broke up. "I'm sorry, Princess, but I have to take you back home."

She jerked her sleeve out of his grasp. "You do not have permission to touch me, Razoul."

He bowed. "I apologize, Princess." He straightened and looked intently at her. "But we have to return to the palace without raising a disturbance. I will accept your word that you will quietly go with me."

She glared at him. "What makes you think I won't try and get away from you, you thug you?"

He sighed. "Because if you give your word, you won't try and escape I know you won't even try. When you give your word, you always keep it."

She grimaced. "I don't really have a choice here, do I?"

He shook his head. "Sorry, Princess. All we can do now is preserve your dignity."

"Fine." She snapped. "You have my word and I want you to know I despise you."

He shrugged and there was pain in his voice which belied his next words. "I'll live with that." He gestured for her to step out in front of him and followed her.

She refused to say another word to him and the silence lasted until they reached the main gate where they were recognized and everything descended into mass confusion. As they waited for her father she glared angrily at him. "Thanks, Razoul, for nothing. All I wanted to be was free for a moment."

As she continued to stare at him with hatred he looked away from her. "I'm sorry, Princess, but it is my job to protect you. There are criminals in the city that would cut your throat for the fun of it and I know because I have to deal with the results of their bloody deeds almost every day. You're lucky I found you instead of one of them."

"And you did a very good job finding her and bringing her home, Razoul." The Sultan declared as he puffed up to them on his short legs followed by Jafar with Iago on his shoulder. "In fact you did such a good job, I'm appointing you one of her personal guards from now on." He turned his concern on his daughter. "Are you okay, dearest?"

"I'm fine." She snapped. She gave Razoul an angry glare. "So you're my punishment? Now I have to put up with a brute like you?"

He just nodded.

"And that is in addition to your usual job with the city guards." Jafar added. "We have to economize as tax receipts are lagging." He smiled at Razoul with no warmth whatsoever. "Good job."

Razould nodded but inside something was yelling about burning the candle at both ends. He disliked the greedy Grand vizier and if even half the stories he'd heard were true, this psychotic was a direct threat to Jasmine. He'd just have to do his best for her.

Iago bobbed his head from his perch on Jafar's shoulder. "Awk. Good job. Good job. Awk."

Jafar tapped the butt of his snakehead staff on the ground. There was a rumbling sound followed by several loud crashes. "And you won't be climbing up any more trees to get over the walls, Princess. I just turned them all into firewood. So, I think you'll be staying home like a good little girl from now on."

"Hmpph." Jasmine threw her head up and stalked off followed by her despised new guard and her father.

Jafar called after her. "I also put your pet tiger in a cage as he didn't stop you from escaping."

Jasmine swung around. "You let him out this minute."

Jafar smiled evilly. "When I'm ready, Princess." He'd been paid well by that representative of the fop prince Abdul who wanted to kidnap her and Rajah had to be out of the way. It sounded like the perfect deal. By tomorrow she should be gone. "Sweet dreams, Princess." He made a waving motion at her.

"Drop dead, Jafar." She retorted and stormed off.

As soon as they were gone Iago got out of his dumb parrot act. "Did you find anybody in the prison cells who'll be our ticket into the Cave of Wonders?"

"Unfortunately, no. Just the usual slime balls. I've decided to try one of the mullahs as they may be more what the Guardian wants."

"A religious man. That's just crazy enough to work. But what if it doesn't work?"

Jafar shrugged. "Then we just keep on trying. It's not like we have a one-time-only ticket to get in there."

"I wouldn't bet the oasis on that, buddy. I think we need to cover all bases. There's still the possibility that you could have the Princess marry you. After all we control dear-old daddy."

Jafar sighed in disgust. "It won't work. I tried to put a spell on her to see why my snake staff couldn't make her obey me. The little witch is immune to magic, at least to my magic. Even if I made the Sultan order her to do it, she'd raise such a ruckus that she might even break my control over him."

He grinned nastily. "I got a huge bribe from Prince Abdul and when he kidnaps her it should be easy street for us." He turned back to the gate. "Come, Iago, we have other lives to ruin."

When Jasmine reached her apartments she started to go inside but Razoul stepped in front of her. "I'm sorry, Princess, but until I check things out I can't let you enter."

She snarled. "What? You think my rooms are filled with assassins? Razoul, you're letting your new powers go to your head."

He didn't budge. "You're safety is now my responsibility, Princess, and I'm sure your Father wants me to totally protect you."

"Daddy!" She protested.

The Sultan who was letting his attention wander became alert. "It'll be okay, dearest. A check will take only a few minutes." For once his mind wasn't beclouded by Jafar's magic.

"Oh, fine. Go ahead if it'll make you happy, Razoul, you cretin."

Razoul was gone for about ten minutes and when he returned Jasmine snapped. "Satisfied now."

He shook his head. "I need permission to search your private quarters and bath. The doors have locks and the maids seem to have lost the keys."

"Oh for crying out loud." Jasmine stormed past him. "Come on. I'll get the keys."

Just outside the door she reached into a vase on the table, and then pulled out and forcibly tossed a ring of keys at his face. She was disappointed when he snatched them out of the air. "I warn you, Razoul, that my underwear is quite scandalous this year."

He ignored her as he unlocked the door and entered the room. She followed right behind him and as he surveyed the room she commented sarcastically. "Be careful as I have several suitors hidden away in here."

He frowned as he stared at a large full-length mirror. "Actually you have only one."

"What? Now you're taking this too far." She turned and yelled. "Daddy, Razoul is insane and.." She didn't get to finish as he shoved her across her bed where she rolled off on the floor. She came up furious. "How dare you."

Razoul ignored her as she was now out of harm's way and pointed his sword at the mirror. "You have until I count to five to come out unhurt. Otherwise." He began to count. "One. Two."

On three there was a creaking groan and a section of the mirror rotated away to reveal the foppish prince Abdul who a couple of weeks earlier had infuriated Jasmine with his self-centeredness so much so that she'd let Rajah tear a hole out of the seat of his pants. "I decided to come back for you, Princess, and give you another chance." He declared pompously.

Jazmine who had frozen as the mirror opened came to life again. "Prince Abdul. What are you doing here?"

He smiled and shrugged. "It's amazing what a little bag of jewels can do to help people make up their minds to tell you secret things such as this old hidden compartment. It's too bad I got found out as willing or not I would've taken you with me back to my kingdom tonight to live happily ever after."

"You are something else, Ab drool." She snarled. "Kidnapping and rape. Is there anything you won't stoop too?"

He looked at his fingers and considered this before looking up with a smile. "I'm a prince. So the answer to your question is. No."

Razoul grabbed the prince and jerked him up close. "Your fate depends on Princess Jasmine. She gets two choices: one. You walk away and never come back. Two. You get to see if all your hot air can help you fly like you're on a carpet as I toss you out the window. Maybe you'll be lucky and land in one of the fountains that has water in it."

"That little witch couldn't make up what mind she has if you gave her an hour." The prince retorted. "I, who am her superior in every way, choose to walk."

Jazmine was quivering with rage. "Razoul, the window please."

"I hear and obey." He said with a malicious grin.

"Wait, now. I'm a prince. I'm better than you and this little puff piece."

"Let's see how well you can fly." Razoul grabbed the protesting prince by the seat of his pants and the neck of his garments and hurled him out the window. There was a scream as the prince vanished from view. This was followed by a large splash.

"Darn." Jazmine declared. "He got lucky." The two of them looked at each other and then burst out laughing.

"Oh dear, oh dear." The Sultan who had been watching all this in frozen surprise looked out the window and watched a wet and bedraggled prince claw his way out of the fountain. "Now, I'll have to apologize to his father." He left shaking his head.

Jazmine looked up at Razoul. "Thank you, Razoul, for volunteering to guard me. I think you just demonstrated why I need someone like you."

He forbade to comment that he hadn't really volunteered. As long as he got to protect her then it all worked out. He shook his head. There was certainly never going to be a dull moment guarding her.

Two months later Jafar was not so confident any more about getting into the Cave of Wonders. The mullah had failed even worse than the thief. He'd tried the butcher, the baker, and even the candlestick maker with no luck. The Guardian continued to demand the diamond in the rough.

He now began to reconsider his plans. He wouldn't even try to marry the Princess. If he succeeded, she'd probably put a dagger in his back one dark night. What he had to do was get rid of her and have the Sultan declare him to be his heir. Too bad Abdul had been such a failure.

Another two months later and he was so frustrated with the Guardian that he was becoming cuckoo for a breakfast cereal. Jafar was never very stable and now Iago could see that his buddy was becoming really psychotic. Iago might be a villain but the line at murder was not one he wanted to cross. His one attempt to settle Jafar down had nearly turned into a parrot roast and he began to catalog his best exits.

Jafar began to use the Sultan to remove several of the guards and servants from the Princess' staff and he was in no mood for fooling around when Rajah crouched down and growled at him as he tried to get past to torment the tiger's mistress who was sitting on a red cushion, glaring her hatred at him with Razoul standing on guard behind her.

Jafar growled right back. "You're a damn tiger. What you're doing here in Arabia I haven't a clue. Let's just put you where you belong." He gestured and as the tiger felt the magic Rajah leaped at him. There was a flash of light and a puff of white smoke and Rajah was gone.

Jasmine leapt to her feet. "What have you done to Rajah!?" Razoul drew his sword.

Jafar blew imaginary smoke off his fingertips. "Tigers don't belong in Arabia, Princess. I sent him back to the Punjab where he belonged."

"I demand you bring him back immediately!" She shouted.

"I'm so sorry, but I can't. You see your father has implemented more austerity measures and Rajah's food was just costing us too much money." He raised an eyebrow. "Shall we ask your Father if you don't believe me?"

Jasmine started crying but her expression was one of barely contained rage. "I hate you, Jafar. I hate you."

Jafar shrugged, turned his back and left them with a smile on his lips. This one life was getting ruined in the most delightful way.

Jasmine collapsed and put her head in her arms and wept uncontrollably. Razoul looked down at her and felt pain welling up inside him. He had always cared for her and to see her hurting so bad was just tearing him apart. At least she no longer hated him for bringing her back to the palace, but at the best she was indifferent to him whereas he still felt something for her.

From the first day he'd seen her as a young teenager accompanying her father to inspect the troops of which he was then captain he'd known that she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. There was something special that radiated from her and it called to him.

When the Sultan had asked his routine question that he always did. "Do any of you want to join the palace guard? I can always use good men." Then Razoul had stepped forward and volunteered as that way he could be near her.

He knew he could never tell her how he felt. He was a common guard and as far below her as a worm in the soil was to the humans above it. She was so far above him that he'd get a nosebleed just from trying to reach her heights.

He stepped over to the curtain and called for her maids to come and help her. He stood there while they consoled her and wished that he could help her too but knew it could never be.

He couldn't stifle a yawn while the ladies talked; not because he was bored but because he was nearly exhausted. Being both a city guard and her personal guard was going to kill him soon for lack of sleep. He'd heard there was a witch woman in town called Agatha that sold keep-awake charms. He'd have to visit her soon.

Three more months have passed and Jafar has tightened his grip even more on the Princess. For Razoul things have improved somewhat. Agatha's keep-awake charms seem to be working and Jazmine's last bit of pique over his part in the foiled escape has evaporated under the pressure of Jafar's threats. He has not become her friend as he has kept a cold reserve as befitting her guard but at least he is not an enemy and in almost a year he has become reassuringly familiar to her. However, Jafar has become even more psychotic and things have come to their boiling point.