Chapter 06: Lost Time
Aladdin woke up with a start, realizing he wasn't in his room at the Palace from the very moment he woke up with his face downward in a pile of sand. Or rather a whole sand dune.
"What the...how did...?" Currently, he was dressed in his royal attire instead of his sleep clothes. He hadn't remembered changing at all. That was the second fact that sent a bolt of panic through him, apart from having evidently collapsed on a sand dune that was on the outskirts of Agrabah.
His head throbbed with an ache that wouldn't let up. Aladdin hadn't felt well just before he went to sleep. Even Jasmine could tell he'd had enough for the night after the banquet. He was certain he'd fallen asleep next to her.
There had been a number of different thoughts rolling through his mind just before it drifted into sleep. But going into the city would have been the last thing on his mind. Jasmine had said that he shouldn't go alone. He had planned to make his first trip back into the Marketplace with Abu.
The most weird thing about any of this - he wouldn't have forgotten to take Genie's lamp with him. And it was notably absent. His hand grasped nothing even as his fingers reached outward, before his hand fell limp at his side.
Why am I so tired? And how did I get here?
"Friend Aladdin? My prince, is that you?" A familiar voice called to Aladdin from a distance. He knew who it was, but struggled to try to get to his feet. At one point, Aladdin managed to push himself upright, trying to get to his knees, but fell back almost as quickly.
The owner of the voice was quick to rush to his side. Kneeling over him, Siva - a merchant turned part time healer Aladdin had known for a long time in the marketplace - gasped in surprise. "Oh no, your head. Looks like a wound that reopened, from the look of it. Did you fall?"
"Probably did, but I don't remember where," Aladdin admitted.
"Oh dear. An injury like that and you're lucky to remember your own name or recognize me. Blessed that you do and that it's still early yet. I'll take you to my shop. I'll treat your wound and let you rest there."
Aladdin couldn't argue that, was even thankful for it. If there was something to be said about Siva, he helped people without a second thought or question. "Thanks Siva. I owe you one."
"No debt necessary," Siva helped Aladdin to his feet, supporting the prince. "I still 'owe' you for saving my shop from being destroyed by the last two monsters that attacked Agrabah. Further still, we've been on so many journeys by now, it's hard to keep track."
It didn't take them long to get to Siva's shop. Siva lived and worked in the same area as his merchant location in Agrabah. On one of Aladdin's adventures, Siva had been a major part of helping Aladdin and his friends fight Mirage when she'd tried to conjure a scheme where every person in Agrabah had magical powers, but at a cruel cost. Aladdin had been the only one who hadn't been "gifted" with the powers noted, which led to an adventure in which he had to rescue everyone that had been banished out of Agrabah into another magical realm. In the end, it had worked out, but not without its fair share of danger.
After Siva had finished bandaging Aladdin's wound, the prince felt at least more like himself, but the worry that knotted his gut kept Aladdin from saying much. That and he felt like he hadn't slept at all. The bed that Siva had prepared for him in the back room was comfortable, but the prince couldn't relax.
Where had he gone and why? He wasn't a typical sleepwalker. He could only recall doing it once recently. He ended up about as far as the Palace Kitchens before Genie and Carpet both turned him back around. He hadn't remembered that, but it was a source of teasing from Jasmine, Abu and Iago for at least a week after. (Much to his annoyance.)
This felt much more serious. And usually the last several times he'd had something like this happen, it didn't follow up with any good news.
"I can sense the thoughts in your mind crashing around like the most terrible of waves, Aladdin."
Aladdin flinched a little, but realized Siva had no idea of knowing what had happened mere days ago. He took a few long breaths to steady his thoughts. "I'm just trying to figure out what my last memory was. The only part I remember is going to sleep. I feel better enough to walk, but honestly don't trust myself to walk all the way back to the Palace." Had anyone noticed he was gone?
As if picking up the prince's thoughts, Siva's brows rose. "I can send a messenger to the Palace to let them know you are here. I can direct it to the Princess or Sultan as well, so that there's no fuss."
Aladdin nodded, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. "That would work for me. Hopefully there hasn't been much of that yet."
At the Palace, Aladdin's absence was definitely noticed. There had been at least a few trips on Genie and Carpet's part to figure out where Aladdin had gone. Outskirts of Agrabah, the hiding place, even asking around town early that morning from a few of the usual locals. They hadn't asked to stoke any kind of panic in anyone. It didn't seem anyone knew the prince was missing.
The one who had been the most worried - at least to the point of inconsolable - was Abu. Abu had been the last one to see Aladdin before he disappeared. Abu had been upset at Aladdin for essentially telling him - at least in his monkey opinion - that he'd been lying or mixed up somehow about what he witnessed for Aladdin's injuries.
Not only that, Abu had known what he saw in the mirror. It didn't feel like a figment of his imagination that he'd seen one shadow - maybe two - in the area behind Aladdin as the prince had prepared for the banquet. The most unbelievable thing had been the sudden appearance and disappearance of wounds and blood on Aladdin's body, like a fleeting nightmare. The more time went on, the more Abu started to doubt that it happened and that maybe Aladdin had been right to ask the questions he had.
"Is there something you want to tell me?"
It was the usual early morning routine in the Palace. No one had been on alert for anything going on. It was Jasmine's slightly worried question that started it all. "Genie, have you seen Aladdin? He said he wasn't feeling well last night, so I'm surprised he woke up early. I hope that's a sign he's feeling more like himself."
Genie seemed surprised. "Nah, I thought he was still sleeping in. He wasn't with you?"
Carpet's reaction had been the equivalent of shock with the way his knobs shook. That had been the cue that Aladdin hadn't gone anywhere in secret because he would have definitely taken Carpet to get around the city. And it was Genie's discovery that Aladdin had left the lamp behind that sent them all into worry, which was the final piece in the puzzle of things being really wrong.
Abu couldn't keep himself from crying. Not sniffles, but bawling to the point where Genie had to lend him three handkerchiefs. The handkerchiefs being designed with little monkey symbols that looked like him didn't help.
He had seen Aladdin the night before, fairly late, fully dressed compared to the PJs he'd been wearing earlier. From the strides he'd taken, it looked like Aladdin had somewhere intentional to go through the Palace hallway. He hadn't told anyone to Abu's knowledge. Abu had been on the opposite end of the hall, coming from the kitchen after getting a banana for a late night snack. (Okay, more like a few bananas. As much as he could comfortably carry.)
Abu had been confused at first. Then angry. Then he didn't care. Aladdin could do what he wanted. It wasn't the monkey's problem.
Until it was. It had been some hours in the morning since the unofficial search started. Abu was a little quieter, still upset. He perched on Jasmine's shoulder as the princess rubbed his back the same way Aladdin would to comfort him.
"We'll find him Abu. Please don't cry. It's not your fault."
But Iago had made more than a few direct suggestions saying that it was, at least before Genie could cover his mouth. Which stung in a different way for the monkey. It wasn't until they heard the commotion outside the throne room that suggested something was going on.
"Please I need to speak to either the Princess or the Sultan. It's important." It seemed like a merchant was trying to gain an audience with the Sultan. But they were closed that morning to visits because of Aladdin's disappearance. Razoul was giving the bearded merchant messenger a hard time. And things were reaching a fever pitch.
"I've told you again that we are closed for the morning!" Razoul snapped. "If you don't want to leave, then perhaps a night in the dungeons will be suitable for you. You will neither bother the Princess nor the Sultan with a petty complaint!"
"But it is an emergency!" the messenger noted. "I'm to deliver it either to the Princess or Sultan with upmost confidence and haste."
"If it's such an emergency, then you will state your business right here on the stairs!"
"I refuse!"
Jasmine decided to step in at that moment, with Abu still perched on her shoulder. He wondered what the urgent message was just as much as the Princess did, as they both recognized the messenger at the same time. "Razoul, let him speak. Aladdin, Abu and I know him - that's one of Siva's associates. His business is keeping news confidential until it gets to the person it's intended for. You're not helping badgering him so."
Razoul's face turned red, not realizing that the Princess had approached from behind. "M-M-My apologies, Princess. I did not realize."
Siva's associated bowed respectfully to Jasmine. "Good morning, Princess. I don't know if you wish for me to give my news to you here or in the throne room for privacy. Or if you would rather your father be with you as well. Siva wanted me to deliver it as soon as possible, since it concerns the Prince."
Jasmine's and Abu's eyes widened. At the same time, Razoul managed to sputter "Why didn't you say so sooner?!"
"Because I wanted to make sure it was delivered to either her or the Sultan directly. No one else."
Jasmine nodded. "You can say it here; I can tell my father later. You have my permission."
The messenger looked relieved. "I am to tell you that Aladdin is with Siva; he is safe. Siva found him unconscious just outside of Agrabah early this morning. He had a very bad head wound, no memory of what happened to him the previous night. Siva's treated him, but..."
That was all Abu needed to hear. The monkey took off running without any delay, even when Jasmine called for him to stop.
To Siva's it was, then.
Komal's stern tone resounded through his and Lati's space as Aladdin had drifted back into another dazed sleep. "We need a plan to get that artifact out of the Palace Treasure Room. While we have the information we need to get to it, Aladdin still has to be strong enough to pull off the heist. How are you doing with healing his wounds?"
Lati clicked her tongue. "If we hadn't kept him out all night, he would have mostly healed by now. Using your magic also set us back on his recovery. His body can only handle so much. But if he rests through most of today, we should be ready to do the heist late tomorrow, if not the next day." It was a generous estimate, but she did feel that the sooner they could do this, the better all of them would be.
Komal was silent for a long moment. "That's going to be cutting it close if we wait until the day after tomorrow. I think we should lay low tonight since they're going to be suspicious of Aladdin's lack of memory. If he's given a day to improve, without another screw up, then we can take over. You will be in charge of keeping his healing going."
Lati sighed. "As I have been from the beginning."
Komal's voice sounded tired, but firm. "If it makes you feel better, the sooner we finish this quest, the sooner that we'll all have our bodies returned to us. ALL of us."
"I hope you're right." Lati wanted to say more, but as she heard the entrance of a familiar figure screeching in the nearby room, she realized that she didn't - wouldn't - have enough time to speak to her brother before Aladdin woke. It would be a wonder if they could find enough time to pull things together. But they needed to try.