A Whole New World (Disney Twisted Tales) - Liz Braswell Page 0,39

of nuts, scrolls, and even a few games. Apparently the sultan figured the palace was safe enough from the eyes of outsiders and didn’t consider a screen—with the usual huge female guards—necessary.

Of course, it was said that Jasmine’s best friend was a tiger, so maybe guards weren’t really that necessary.

Past this room was a short hall that ended in a pair of beautifully carved golden doors that flared out like butterfly wings. On either side of them stood a pair of the usual male guards—in black and red, Jafar-style.

This was a problem.

Aladdin clenched his fists in frustration. Of course he could take them out—somehow—and in doing so make noise that would summon every last man in the palace. He found himself thinking of Morgiana, “the Shadow,” and how this was exactly the sort of situation she would have excelled in.

Something must have clicked somewhere; some invisible clock or quiet chime. The two guards raised their spears and saluted each other, then turned and marched out of the room.

Aladdin had no idea when they would return, but the instincts of a thief told him to act immediately. He might never get a better chance.

He rushed forward and pulled out his lock-pick kit again. This lock was beautiful and intricately decorated, but quite basic under all that. It would take him only a minute or—

The door suddenly opened inward.

Surprised, Aladdin looked up into Jasmine’s equally surprised face. She was pulling a pair of sharp hairpins out of the lock on her side.

“Uh, hi,” Aladdin said.

He didn’t understand—but didn’t object to—the sudden embrace she wrapped him in, hugging him more tightly than the Widow Gulbahar did on holidays.

“You’re alive!” she whispered with joy.

“Of course I’m alive,” Aladdin started to object. Then he thought about the past few days of his life. Maybe it wasn’t such an obvious conclusion. “I came back to rescue you. Which…though…now doesn’t seem that necessary.”

Her famous pet tiger took that moment to appear and glared at the intruders with flashing yellow eyes. He seemed violent and mean, with an evil-looking wound on his head. He uttered a deep, disapproving growl. Abu hopped up and down and began to chitter on Aladdin’s shoulder in hysteria. Aladdin quickly put a hand over his friend’s mouth to shut him up.

“Really. You seem to be fine,” Aladdin continued as calmly as he could.

“It’s the thought that counts.” Jasmine grinned, putting the hairpins back under her tiara and a hand on Rajah’s neck. “I’m…Jafar told me you were executed, because of me.”

“What?” Aladdin’s mind raced. “Huh. Things are starting to make sense. Sort of. Let’s talk later. We have to get out of here.”

“We have about nine minutes before the relief guards come back,” Jasmine said, nodding.

“Right.” Aladdin grabbed her hand and turned to go. Abu chittered in agreement. The carpet rose up.

“What is that?”

Jasmine tried to confine her shriek to a whisper. Aladdin was about to make some joke about her being a girly girl afraid of monsters, but stopped. A girl who was locked up in her own bedroom by a madman forcing her to marry him probably didn’t need to imagine monsters. She could probably be forgiven for being a little jumpy.

“Oh, this?” Aladdin asked casually. “Say hello to Magic Carpet. Magic Carpet, the royal princess Jasmine.”

“A real…flying…carpet…” Jasmine said in awe, eyes wide. “Amazing. We have a lot to talk about.”

“Yeah, Royal Princess Jasmine, we sure do,” Aladdin agreed with heavy irony. She had the decency to blush a little. He started down the hall. “We can do it back at Morgiana’s.”

“Who—never mind. But first we have to rescue the genie.”

“Uh, no, Jasmine. We can’t right now. We don’t have time.”

“He’s trapped. Just like me,” Jasmine said desperately. “Jafar is making him do all these horrible things, making him into the sultan, a powerful sorcerer. He doesn’t want to. We just need to grab his lamp.…”

“From a powerful sorcerer who is also the sultan, has a secret dungeon, and has already transformed the palace into his own personal…uh…palace. No way, Jasmine. Not now. We can come back better prepared—and with a plan—but just getting you out of here is going to be tough enough. You think he’s going to let his most precious possession lie around for easy taking?”

Jasmine’s face fell. “But…”

Aladdin put his hand on her arm and looked into her eyes. “I promise: if it’s that important to you, we will come back for him. But right now, there is only so much a thief, a princess, a