A Whole New World (Disney Twisted Tales) - Liz Braswell Page 0,44

raiders have gone on their way.

They had slipped only about four houses up the street when Jasmine suddenly asked:

“Wait, who’s Morgiana?”

Aladdin sighed.

“A friend,” he decided.

“A ‘friend,’” Jasmine said skeptically.

“We’ve known each other since childhood. We grew up together. And then we sort of…went down different roads.”

“What, she became a scholar?” Jasmine teased. But she sounded relieved. “A mother? A priestess?”

“No, worse. A thief. Much worse than me. She and Duban organized their own little crime ring. They started out training the small, uncared-for Street Rats to be better beggars. Remember the ones I showed you? Yeah, those. And then they got trained to be thieves. And sometimes other not nice things. I didn’t agree with their…philosophy of life. Between that and what was going on with my family, we went our separate ways.”

“A fortnight ago I didn’t understand markets, thievery, or poverty. Today I’m learning there are different levels of thievery,” Jasmine said, shaking her head.

“Yeah, try getting stuck inside the belly of a stone tiger,” Aladdin suggested. “That will really open up a whole new world for you.”

Jasmine was delighted by their entry into Morgiana’s hideout—but not by the daggers that were suddenly pointed at her and Aladdin’s sides as soon as they arrived in the main room.

“Twice in one week, Aladdin,” Morgiana drawled. She and Duban had obviously been engaged in some sort of tense discussion: they stood close and looked unhappy. “I’m honored.”

“You should be,” Aladdin hissed, trying not to flinch when a little girl’s dagger poked his wound.

“Oh, let them go,” Duban said wearily. “Aladdin and his girlfriend are no threat to us.”

Morgiana nodded at the children and they melted into the darkness like dreams. She flashed a quick white smile at her old friend. “And a mighty impressive girlfriend at that, Aladdin. Tell me, how are you and the royal princess Jasmine acquainted?”

Jasmine looked startled. Aladdin was surprised, but only a little. Under the dirt and blood her clothes were still silk and satin; above her braids she still wore her crown, and those giant golden earrings were pretty much a dead giveaway. Morgiana was just faster on the uptake than he had been, undistracted by Jasmine’s beauty from seeing who she really was.

Plus, in his defense, Jasmine was no longer wearing a headscarf.

Jasmine went cross-eyed trying to look up at what Morgiana was indicating with a tilt of her chin. When she realized that it was her crown, she quickly took it off. She threw it at the thieves’ feet, where it hit the dirt floor with an ominous thud.

Duban and Morgiana—and even Aladdin—jumped in surprise.

“Take it. I don’t care. I’ve lost my father, I’ve lost my tiger…I’ve lost my kingdom. What’s a crown going to do for me?”

“Whoa,” Duban said.

“You didn’t have to get rid of the crown,” Aladdin said quickly. “We could have…”

“If I wanted your crown, I would have taken it myself, Princess,” Morgiana said. She used the heel of her foot to neatly snap it into the air, catching it one-handed. Then she walked over to Jasmine and held it out. “What’s mine is yours, in my house,” she said in the traditional welcome. “If you thirst, I have water.”

Jasmine took the crown back. Slowly she began to smile.

“I do, in fact, thirst. I would love a cup of water.”

“Please,” Morgiana said, indicating the low table. Jasmine collapsed as gracefully as she could into lotus position. Aladdin sank down as well, in his own graceful yet jerky way. Duban and Morgiana followed suit. The boy Hazan came forward with two cups of water: a plain silver one for Aladdin, a golden one for Jasmine.

“Many thanks,” Jasmine said, toasting them. She took a long drink, finishing it. Then she turned the cup over and looked at the bottom. “Ah…I knew it. This goblet comes from the palace. It’s from the lesser banqueting set. There’s my father’s seal.”

Morgiana spread her hands out and shrugged. “You can’t move those very easily, because of the seal. No one will buy them. They can be traced back to the palace, and the punishment for theft from the palace is death. So we use them here.”

“Uh,” Aladdin began. Duban also looked nervous.

Jasmine waved her hand tiredly at them. “It was just an observation. I find my standards for right and wrong shifting greatly these days.”

Duban and Morgiana exchanged a glance at the jaded tone in her voice.

“You guys seem nervous,” Aladdin said, shifting on his pillow and helping himself to some persimmons and a quail leg