Chapter 7: A Royal Dinner
The princess was fuming in her rooms as I sat watching her. The sultan had just come by to tell us that Prince Ali would be joining us at the head of the table for dinner. The man also informed us that despite the princess's "illness", she would be expected to attend.
It was no surprise. The sultan was serious about three things: Jasmine never leaving the palace without his permission, Jasmine getting married by her 16th birthday, and his toy-making hobby. The man was very good at whittling wood figurines.
"I cannot believe this," she said. "It hasn't even been a week since Aladdin's death. Jafar knows that even if Father does not. And yet I have to court that…that idiot."
She wiped away the tears that were forming.
I sat up and went over to her, but she pushed me away. "You never liked Aladdin anyway."
It wasn't untrue, but I still wanted to make her feel better.
"I think…" she paused, "I think he loved me."
I took a deep breath in. This wasn't a surprise. I refused to be surprised.
"He proposed, Rajah. Before the guards took him away. He…" She stopped and stared at me.
I was in shock. She hadn't said any of this before. Granted she hadn't actually spoken of that night at all, but still.
"And now that he's gone. I just feel so lost." She knelt down and I knew I should comfort her, but my body was having trouble with moving.
Aladdin had proposed to her. That mangy street rat?
Jasmine let out a sob. I had to force myself to move closer to her. It felt like wading through sand dunes.
"How will I ever get through this?" she asked.
I did my best to store my emotions. I could examine them later. Jasmine needed me now. I rubbed up against her.
She embraced me and said, "Oh Rajah, I'm such a fool."
I nuzzled my head against her, trying my best to communicate that I was here. That I would be here for her.
When evening came, the sultan sent Jasmine additional maidservants. He was leaving nothing to chance. The efficient ladies took Jasmine away from me to wash and bathe her.
I made my way outside to wait. I was still in shock. Aladdin loved her. He offered to marry her. Yes, I doubt he understood the supreme difference in their classes. Jasmine had never to my knowledge revealed that she was a princess. It was part of our contract, but still.
Aladdin? The scamp who was always getting her into trouble? Who smelled like monkey, stole things from everyone including her and then blamed said monkey? The boy who had always called her a foolish girl and insulted her almost every time they met?
I shook my head. I had always been jealous, but only because he was human. I had never thought, never believed there had been anything romantic.
But why wouldn't there be? Everyone said Jasmine was a beautiful girl and Aladdin wasn't blind. But then what about Jasmine? Did she love him back?
She was sure acting like it.
I felt like roaring and rampaging through the palace, but I couldn't. Jasmine was there in her rooms. I'd never seen her as fragile as she'd been in these last few days. She needed me and I would be there.
Jasmine came out in a beautiful turquoise gown embroidered with gold to match her large earrings. I stood beside her and we walked into the dining hall. Everyone's eyes were on us, including the prince, and his advisor. To her credit, Princess Jasmine held her head up high as the court stared at her. You could almost see the ice forming around her like a shield.
Prince Ali stood up when we entered. He went up to greet us. Then he clasped one of her hands and bowed over it, staring at the princess the whole time.
When he stood back up, he said, "Princess, you are so beautiful."
So, the prince thought he had moves, did he? If only he knew how many other princes had used that exact same trick on her before.
Jasmine just inclined her head. "I am honored, Prince Ali."
"May I escort you to the table?" he asked.
I snorted. It was only a few steps away.
The princess put a hand on my head to hush me and said, "If you wish it."
The three of us walked together, me on the right side and him on her left. The prince smelled odd. It was a scent I couldn't quite place, like oil, monkey, and some sort of spice.
When we were seated, the sultan clapped his hands. "It is so nice to have new people over for dinner. Isn't it, Jafar?"
"Yes, it is… a pleasure," The grand vizier said silkily but I saw the look he gave his parrot, Iago, before he turned to the prince and asked, "Prince Ali, where did you say Ababwa was?"
"Oh, it's pretty far away. I doubt you're familiar," the prince said glancing at his advisor.
The man nodded.
I didn't understand why the prince needed his advisor's help to answer such a basic question. It looked like Jasmine was right. Prince Ali was an idiot.
"Humor me," Jafar said. "I am quite knowledgeable about all of Agrabah's neighbors and allies."
It was true. Though it could be argued, Jasmine was the real head of the foreign policy department at the moment, she mostly stuck to trade. Jafar had been the grand vizier for both domestic and foreign policy ever since Grand Vizier Rikisha's replacement, Qaabil, had died.
Prince Ali was saved from answering by the sultan who huffed, "Enough about that." The sultan turned to Jasmine and said excitedly, "Prince Ali, is a most accomplished fellow, Jasmine. You should have seen him. He front-flipped from his elephant and landed inside the palace."
Prince Ali sent Jasmine a cocky grin.
I growled softly while Jasmine kept her expression neutral.
The sultan continued, "And he brought so many gifts from his travels. You should just listen to him talk about his amazing journey here. Come Ali, you must start from the beginning so Jasmine can hear."
So, the prince began his story. Jasmine pretended to listen, but I could tell by the way she was petting me that she wasn't paying attention. I was though.
The prince chatted with the enthralled sultan as Jafar glowered and I couldn't exactly blame the vizier. The prince was spinning a fairy tale about his trip to Agrabah. There was no way half of what he said could be true, but the sultan just smiled and nodded.
After all, the prince was a young human man. He was well-spoken and he was rich, ridiculously rich. That seemed to be enough for the sultan.
As Jasmine stared at her plate, the sultan peppered Prince Ali with questions. All the while the rest of us suffered through hearing his fantastical answers.
Apparently…
Prince Ali was wealthy beyond compare. He owned a zoo of exotic animals including 15 unicorns and a pair of griffons. He could fight off a whole army by himself and was as strong as ten regular men because each day he ran for ten kilometers and did hundreds of push-ups, sit-ups, and squats. He also spoke 28 languages and was an excellent dancer.
I could not roll my eyes enough.
It was a relief when finally, during dessert, the prince broke off from his farcical dialogue to speak directly to Jasmine. "Princess," Prince Ali said, "you're so quiet tonight. I hope you're not bored."
Jasmine started. Her hand gripped my head in surprise. I was fairly sure she had not heard a word he'd said for the last hour. All the same, she managed a smile.
"Not at all," she lied in her court voice. "I have merely been wondering why such a wealthy and powerful noble is interested in me and my small kingdom." The princess's eyes sparkled dangerously.
It was a valid question. All eyes fixed onto the prince.
"Because of you, of course," the prince said, "Why else?" He really did look confused by her question.
Princess Jasmine smiled without humor. "You flatter me, but surely you must have other interests."
"None," he said leaning towards her.
I couldn't stop myself from growling as he said, "I already have everything else I could want. The only thing missing is a lovely wife."
Jasmine pressed her hand on my head and I did my best to control my instincts. Of all the corny lies he could have said, it was enough for me to want to bite off his pants. The only saving grace was Jasmine's silence. She was apparently stunned by how lame he sounded.
It was Jafar who cut in to continue the conversation. "I am sure your family has different feelings, Prince Ali. Please tell us more about them and your homeland."
After glancing at his advisor, the prince began to speak of his siblings and Ababwa. Jafar listened intently. While they were talking, the sultan leaned in and hissed to Jasmine, "The prince seems quite taken with you, my dear. Don't let this one go. He could be a great boon for Agrabah."
I almost snorted again. A boon indeed, more like a buffoon, the prince's answers had barely been plausible during his talk with the sultan. Now under Jafar's critical eye, Prince Ali seemed to have given up accuracy entirely. He was claiming that Ababwa was an ancient and prosperous trading city even though none of us had ever heard of it before. Even his advisor looked embarrassed for him. Prince Ali and his claims were ridiculous and no amount of apparent wealth or ill-suited compliments to the princess would fix that.
I looked up at Jasmine, hoping to see her draw the same conclusion, but her eyes had gone distant again. For now, it looked like the only man on the princess's mind was Aladdin and for once, I was glad of it.
A/N: Hi Everyone,
This chapter got a little silly. I hope you liked it. Thank you for all your support so far. I'm hoping to increase the number of chapters I publish for this story soon, so look forward to it. As always please follow and review. Thank you so much to March4fun for leaving so many reviews. They always make my day.
That's it. Bye!