Chapter 40: Royal Negotiations
Two days later, I sat at a table in a small meeting room with Ambassador Bhushan. The stout chief ambassador of Mujulaain had originally been sent to Agrabah after my disappearance, most likely to detect foul play. He was a proud man who I had never liked very much.
However, despite my previous opinions, he'd proved himself invaluable in the last couple of days and there was something very gratifying about the way he looked at me now. As a tiger, he'd often sneered at me and Jasmine, but now my presence commanded his respect and admiration.
I smiled at him just to see the effect again.
The portly man blushed like a young maiden. "राजकुमार, दुर्गाचा प्रकाश तुझ्याद्वारे प्रकाशतो." Bhushan never spoke Arabic if he could help it.
"May she shine through us all, Ambassador Bhushan," I answered in Mujulaai.
Bhushan replied with yet another compliment and an ill-suited smile that distorted his gruff features, but who could blame him? He'd suddenly gone from an ambassador to a small no-name country by Mujulaai standards to a key advisor to a member of the royal family. It was a marked change for both of us.
It had begun yesterday morning after Jasmine had broken my curse. After I confirmed my curse was mostly gone by asking some guards for directions without transforming, Jasmine and I had found me some better clothes. Then I'd presented myself to Bhushan. It took some convincing, but my amulet assured him of my identity and from there, the three of us had plotted my reentrance into Agrabah society.
Today I would meet with the sultan and be Prince Dhiren once more. With any luck, Jasmine and I would be officially engaged by the end of next month.
There was a knock at the door. It was time. I rose from my chair and watched as the door opened.
Jasmine and her father entered the room.
Alright. I could do this.
In a steady practiced voice, I said, "Sultan Hamed and Princess Jasmine, I am most pleased to see you again." I gave them my signature greeting which had taken me countless hours to re-learn last night. It was a low and graceful bow that included a complicated Ghamese hand gesture of respect as an extra flourish.
When I stood back up, Jasmine said with a twinkle in her eye, "You could not be more pleased than we are." The princess curtsied and added, "Welcome back, Prince Dhiren."
"Thank you, princess," though I had to disagree with her. I was definitely more pleased than she was and the sultan...
He most certainly did not look happy to see me. All he did was nod slightly which in no way impeded him from his thorough examination of my person. It felt a bit like being thrown into a cold bath. It seemed like an age before the sultan at last turned to Bhushan and asked, "This is Prince Dhiren of Mujulaain?"
"होय तो मुजुलाईनचा हरवलेला राजपुत्र आहे." Bhushan said proudly.
"In Arabic," I said, shooting the ambassador a reproving look. We had been over this.
Bhushan blushed again, this time with embarrassment as he said in heavily accented Arabic, "Of course, Rājakumāra." He directed his gaze to the sultan, "Sultan Hamed, I assure you this is Prince Alagan Dhiren Rajaram of Mujulaain, the son of my king."
That was better. I nodded in approval.
Bhushan continued, "Of course, you can see the resemblance. He looks the same as I always remembered him," which was a blatant lie. The man had not noticed any sort of resemblance when I first appeared at his quarters.
It was a remnant of my curse. People could not seem to recognize me, even though I looked exactly the same. I also couldn't talk about my curse or my identity to anyone but Jasmine. Luckily or unluckily, I had my amulet.
As Bhushan was explaining to the sultan, "The pieces of the Damon Amulet are sacred relics only worn by royalty."
Though that was a bit misleading as the Damon Amulet did not exclusively belong to Mujulaai royalty. Of the five pieces, only two were owned by Mujulaain at the moment. The other three were the property of Shehrabad, Bhreenam, and Takanda. And the Bhreenam piece was not even owned by their royal family. The bearer of that piece would be part of the Akasa mountain tribe. I was tempted to correct Bhushan, but it seemed counterproductive so I let him go on.
"They are passed down from generation to generation as a birthright. This piece-" Bhushan said before he reached for my amulet. I let him hold it and rub his thumb across the lapis lazuli pendant so that the sultan could see how the engraved letters glistened like water. "-is called the Jala. Its authenticity is enough to prove Prince Dhiren's identity to any person of Mujulaain." Bhushan let go of the amulet and then gazed up at me like a pet waiting for a treat.
"Thank you, Ambassador Bhushan," I told him. It had been a fair effort. Of course, the sultan was not from Mujulaain and therefore, unconvinced. However, I did not expect him to be. This was merely the opening gambit. I wished to establish the fact I had Mujulaain's support and thus had to be taken seriously.
Now that the stage was set, it was time for me to address the sultan.
"Sultan Hamed," I began, "I realized that you would perhaps desire more proof of my identity." I added the lightest emphasis on the word 'perhaps' to highlight how I and allegedly all of Mujulaain thought no more proof should be needed.
The sultan's eyebrows twitched upward in recognition.
"As such," I continued, "I have contacted the royal family of Mujulaain." Or rather Bhushan had. I had little doubt that in my current state, Kishan would be able to identify me even if no one else could. After all, my twin brother had his own amulet piece, the Vyom. I just hoped he wouldn't feel a need to visit, but surely, the "crown" prince had better things to do.
Regardless, it was a question for another day, so I finished my offer by saying, "We should hear from them next month."
The sultan nodded. "I see. It has been a while since I corresponded with Queen Deschen. Her letters are always so unique. I look forward to hearing from her and the rest of her family again." In other words, he was saying he would know if I presented him with a forgery.
I, of course, had no intention of doing such a thing, so it was easy to look unconcerned.
The sultan noted my lack of reaction and finally took his piercing gaze off me. "Ambassador Bhushan," the sultan said to him. "I do thank you for your counsel today. You may leave us now."
Bhushan began to protest. He did not want to be excluded from this important discussion.
I gave him another look and said, "I will speak with you after, ambassador."
"Yes," Jasmine put in, "You should check on dinner."
The ambassador pinned down by the wishes of a sultan, a princess, and his own prince, was forced to acquiesce. He bowed deeply before us and left.
Now it was just me, Jasmine, and her father. After checking to see that the door was shut tight, the three of us sat down: the sultan at the head of the table, Jasmine on his right and me on his left.
The sultan spoke first. "My daughter has told me quite the tale today."
I glanced at Jasmine. While I had been preparing for this meeting with Bhushan and his people most of yesterday and this morning, she'd been telling the sultan about magic, Jafar, and me. After all, my curse did not impede her speech.
Jasmine gave me an encouraging smile.
Inside I breathed a sigh of relief, but outwardly, I did my best to appear impassive as I asked the sultan, "So, you know where I've been these last five years?"
"I know where Jasmine thinks you've been," the sultan said. "It is an incredible story you must admit."
I nodded. "If you have any questions," I began.
"I do not," the sultan said. His tone was affable enough but he was still looking at me with suspicion.
Before I thought better of it, I glanced over at Jasmine again. Her smile before had made it seem like her conversation with the sultan had gone well, but had it? Her current expression gave nothing away.
"You two certainly act like good friends," the sultan said, recapturing my attention.
I smiled at him. "That's because we are." There was no need to dress up that truth.
He frowned at me, his eyebrows coming together. "I do want to believe that you are Prince Dhiren," the sultan said to me at last, "but my court has been through a lot recently as you supposedly know. And though I have not always been the best sultan or father, I intend to make up for lost time."
Jasmine sighed.
We both looked at her.
The princess had been quiet for most of this meeting thus far, but it seemed the she was at her limit. "Father, I am happy you went through all that trouble making that new law for me. However, it is cruelly contrary that after all these years of pressuring me to marry subpar princes, you wish to oppose me wanting to marry someone so suitable."
The sultan opened his mouth to say something but Jasmine wasn't done. "Dhiren is intelligent, politically savvy, easy to work with, very handsome-" She gave me a playful smile that was full of affection. "-and most importantly-" She faced her father again. "-he's a prince."
"Thank you, princess. You are too kind," I said, trying to soften the effect of Jasmine's impassioned speech.
"And he's polite," she said gesturing at me. "I forgot to mention that, but that is also quite important. Wouldn't you agree, Father?"
The sultan gave her an abashed smile. His voice was hesitant as he began, "Those are all fine qualities."
"Essential qualities," she corrected.
I smiled. I suppose even politeness was essential when Jasmine was your counterpart. One might think she was the trained warrior instead of me. She certainly seemed ready to defend my honor until her dying breath.
The sultan felt it too. His voice was cautious. "Indeed," the sultan allowed. He sent me a brief glance that warned me not to get ahead of myself before adding, "And I can see you two are fond of each other, but…"
Jasmine didn't let him continue. "Fond of each other?" she repeated, incredulous. "I'm not just fond of Prince Dhiren. I am in love with him, Father, and I want to marry him."
There was a beat of embarrassed silence. I could not believe she had really just said that in front of her father. Where I come from public declarations of love were rare. Both the sultan and I were stunned, but I recovered first.
"Princess Jasmine is right," I said, "We are," in love, but as I didn't want to shock the poor old man anymore, I continued with, "more than fond of each other, your highness. That is why we very much desire your blessing for us to be wed."
The sultan shook his head. I could not tell whether it was from lingering shock or growing disapproval.
I opted to wait, but Jasmine immediately tried to go on the attack again, "Father."
"No, no," he held up a hand. "Let me clear my head," he said.
The quiet room filled with anticipation as the sultan stared at the table unseeing. Finally, he looked up at both of us. "I believe you two had been misunderstanding me. I am not trying to stand in your way. I am merely being a bit cautious."
Jasmine opened her mouth to argue some more.
"Princess, let him finish," I said quickly. We were never going to get anywhere if we did not hear his side of things.
She glared at me, but closed her mouth and remained quiet as the sultan made the rest of his case. "I admit it may seem like I am opposing you, but that is not what I am trying to do. If you," he nodded at me, "are indeed Prince Dhiren, then I am sure that a betrothal, after a few months of courtship for you and my daughter to get to know each other better, would be more than acceptable."
"But it's not acceptable," Jasmine said, hotly.
"Why not?" I asked. The path seemed clear enough.
Jasmine and her father stared at me.
"Dhiren," she said, "We don't need a few months of courtship. I've known you for years," Jasmine pointed out. "Father is masking absurdity as compromise."
"Then let him be ab-" I glanced at the sultan and decided to rephrase. "A compromise is better than a stalemate. It'll take at least a few weeks to hear back from Mujulaain. A few months is not much longer."
"Well spoken, my boy," the sultan said, "Though I'm not sure how I feel about us being agreed on this subject."
"I know how I feel." Jasmine glowered at me. "Dhiren, you traitor!"
"I'm sorry, princess," I said, keeping a straight face despite how comical I found her outburst. Traitor…honestly. "You know if it was possible, I would marry you this instant."
"But it is possible, prince," she insisted. Then in a tone that implied that her suggestion was perfectly orthodox and reasonable, she said, "Father has the ability to marry us and if the guards outside came in to be witnesses, we could be husband and wife within the hour."
This time, I had to bite my cheek to prevent myself from laughing. That had to be one of the most ridiculous things I had heard from her in years.
"Now who's being absurd," the sultan huffed.
"Jasmine," I tried again once I was sure I could speak without chuckling.
"Are you really choosing his side over mine?" she demanded.
"I'm not choosing sides," I said, trying to mollify her. "I just want our marriage to be perfect which means getting your father's blessing, having a betrothal of acceptable length to allow Agrabah people their fanfare and celebrations, and doing a traditional ceremony that cannot be contested later. I believe the best way to achieve such a marriage is by accepting your father's terms which are within our power to grant. Do you not agree?"
Jasmine glared at me and the sultan in turns. I could almost hear her mind racing through different arguments trying to figure out which one would work on us. Though, as I expected she eventually lost some of her defiance as reason caught up to her passion. After all, if this argument was going to be won, she would have won it with her father yesterday. So, it was inevitable, that the princess would utter the words, "I agree."
The sultan beamed at us which I wished he wouldn't do, not while his daughter was so upset.
"Wonderful," he declared. He looked at me. "I've already read over the betrothal contract Jasmine gave me yesterday. I will have my viziers review it. Assuming your family claims you and the contract is as unobjectionable as it seemed, I am willing to sponsor this unconventional suit with a possible marriage in the spring."
YES!
I almost came apart from happiness, but I held myself together and I focused on the sultan, making sure to maintain a dignified mask as I said, "Thank you, your highness. I am supremely honored by your support."
I wished I could say the same for Jasmine. She was still unhappy.
The sultan again spoke to me, ignoring Jasmine's displeasure with incessant good cheer, "It is all nearly settled then. There is only one last item. Until the rest is finalized, Prince Dhiren, I think it is best you continue under the alias of Jasmine's vizier and-"
"No," Jasmine and I both spoke at once.
The sultan's eyebrows went up.
"He's a prince, Father," she said, "He's been hiding long enough."
"I want to start as I mean to go on," I put in.
The sultan's eyebrows furrowed ominously. "Even without my other reservations, there's the issue of you not being able to introduce yourself, Prince Dhiren. It would be better to wait until we hear from your family."
I understood his point, but-
"Nonsense, Father," Jasmine said, her good humor magically restored. "Prince Dhiren won't need to introduce himself. Everyone will know who he is after his welcome feast tonight."
My what?
"You aren't serious," the sultan said, sourly.
"Oh but, I am quite serious," she replied with a smirk. "Ambassador Bhushan and I have everything worked out. He's probably seeing to the final details as we speak."
"I see," I said, hiding my relief. I couldn't understand when she'd had time to come up with this final negotiation piece, but I was beyond glad that she had. Having a feast in my honor meant there was really no going back now.
Thank the mother goddess.
The sultan shook his head. "And you called me contrary. Fine. Daughter, you will come with me," the sultan said. "Prince Dhiren, I'll see you at dinner."
Father and daughter rose and I had a feeling the princess was in for a stern lecture. The sultan certainly looked like a man ready to begin a rant as he walked briskly out of the room. The door closed behind him.
My princess was his opposite. She was radiant and was in no hurry as she drifted over to stand by my seat.
Despite her new attitude, I had to ask. "Jasmine, about before, are you alright?"
She had been so…passionate today, almost illogical. And she had seemed shocked by my actions even though I had told her my stance on when I thought we should marry yesterday. I suspected her ridiculous counteroffer and other behavior had just been one of her more unusual negotiation tactics, but I wanted to verify that she was not actually upset with me for the way things had turned out. I knew how petulant she could sometimes get after losing an argument.
"Yes, I'm fine," she assured me.
"Really? Because-"
But before I could say more, Jasmine leaned forward and kissed me.
Even after experiencing it multiple times over the last couple days, I still was in awe by how her touch could bring forth a rush of heat. This kiss was even more ardent than what I was coming to expect. It was so warm that it almost hurt.
"Jasmine!" the sultan snapped from the other side of the door. "Stop dillydallying."
The princess broke the kiss. I felt slightly dazed as she cried, "Coming!" at the door. Then she rolled her eyes at me, before whispering, "Sometimes I miss when my father was more oblivious."
That brought me back to my senses. "Princess!" I hissed in a scandalized tone. I could not approve of such sentiments even if I felt the truth of them.
As if reading my mind, Jasmine laughed, her eyes sparkling. Between that expression of pure mirth on her face and the kiss we had just shared, I was quite certain that all really was well between us.
Unfortunately, I was also certain that it was time for her to go. She gave me another quick kiss and then said, "I'll see you tonight, prince," before she dashed out of the room.
"Until then," I said as the door slammed shut behind her.
I made no move to make my own exit. I just leaned forward and rested my hands on the table. I knew I must look absurd sitting here in the empty room and smiling at nothing, but I did not want leave just yet. Now that my lingering worries about Jasmine had been assuaged, I was left with the enormity of what just happened and I needed a moment for it all to truly sink in.
The negotiation had gone well. I was betrothed to Princess Jasmine, my true love. Conditionally, it was true, but still!
It seemed like just yesterday I was wallowing in the gardens as a tiger while the princess visited Aladdin after another failed prince. And now, I was a man again. I was a prince again. And I was betrothed to Jasmine again.
It was inconceivable and yet, it was happening. It was really happening.
I was Prince Dhiren and Princess Jasmine was going to be my wife!
A/N: Hey!
It's been a while, but I hope this long chapter makes up for it. I've been working on this arc trying to get all of the wording just so.
This chapter in particular was really interesting for me to write because Jasmine and the sultan are having a reverse of their usual fight. Jasmine is the passionate one arguing for marriage and the unenchanted sultan is on the other side trying to keep a cool head. And then there's the added factor of "Prince" Dhiren. Rajah is finally able to talk and weigh in on this age-old conflict which helped change the tide of the negotiation to reach a (satisfactory?) conclusion.
What did you think of it all?
I admit that on the whole, things seem to be going well (conditionally) but still, nothing is forever.
And on that ominous note, see you next chapter!
:D