Aladdin - the Arabian Nights

Chapter 15

Aladdin woke to early morning sunlight streaming in through his window. For a few moments, he wondered why there was what seemed to be a lot of sweet-smelling black silk falling across his face, and when his bed had gotten so much softer than usual, so that when he tried to sit up, he sank right back into the surface. Then the memories of last night came flooding back.

Aladdin managed to sit up, Jasmine's hair sliding off his face to pool around her on the rich turquoise covers. Jasmine was still asleep, curled up on the bedcovers with a small peaceful smile on her face. Aladdin was used to waking up early after years of trying to avoid his mother and leaving the house before she had a chance to see him, but Jasmine did not stir, her chest rising and falling as though she could have stayed here all morning. The morning sun gently touched her lovely features and illuminated them. Aladdin sighed. She was so beautiful... she looked so happy and innocent lying there, without anything to worry about. Part of him wanted to just let her stay here all morning, all day, forever if she wanted. But he knew he couldn't do that. If Princess Jasmine was discovered missing and then found in Aladdin's house, he really would be accused of kidnapping her. Besides, Jasmine wasn't the only one he needed to bring back – he really should empty their outhouse before his mother woke up and tried to use it.

He thought about waking Jasmine and letting her know what was happening, and that she would see him again, that he would do this for her every night if he needed to. But she looked so peaceful and deep in slumber that he hated to disturb her, and besides, if he woke her she might want to know how he was going to send her back home, and he couldn't tell her about Genie. What would Jasmine think if she knew Aladdin was using magic?? That was one subject that had never come up last night, and Aladdin was almost scared to ask her.

So he quietly tiptoed out of the room, got the lamp from where it was stashed just outside, and summoned Genie. "How'd it go, Al?" was the first thing Genie asked, after a quick show of having just woken up and doing a morning routine. "Did you talk to her? What's she like?"

Aladdin gave a happy sigh. "She's – incredible."

Genie gave a cheer and a spin around the room to celebrate Aladdin's success. Aladdin grinned, but admitted sheepishly that Genie had been right, and Jasmine had been scared at first.

"Marrying that Jafar would be enough to scare anyone," Genie agreed, shifting his friendly blue face briefly into Jafar's long, twisted features.

Aladdin laughed, but remembered his wish. He needed Genie to put them back now, he said, keeping his voice low so as not to wake Jasmine or alert her to the presence of a Genie in the house. Just – put Jasmine and her bed back in her room, and be gentle with her so he didn't wake her up. And he could take Jafar out of the outhouse now, and Aladdin supposed they should put him back in his own quarters, wherever those were – just don't let him anywhere near Jasmine. Genie rose up into the air and flashed through the closed door to fulfill Aladdin's wish.

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She felt so calm, so happy... and part of her remembered how strange it was that she should feel happy, that something was supposed to have happened last night that would have caused very different feelings in her....

Half-asleep, her hand reached out for the boy beside her. She called out a murmured, sleepy greeting, unsure of what she should be calling him since he had never introduced himself. Her hand touched empty space. Puzzled by this, Jasmine sat up.

The boy was gone. The space beside her on the bed was empty, with nothing but a slight indentation in the covers indicating someone else had ever been there at all. Bright midmorning sunlight poured through the familiar gauzy gold-and-turquoise curtains and illuminated – her own room. Jasmine glanced around her, hoping to see the boy, but nothing was in here that wasn't usually in her bedroom. Everything looked deceptively like it did every other morning.