A Whole New World (Disney Twisted Tales) - Liz Braswell Page 0,86
a giant banquet room.
The ridiculously long wooden table that took up most of it was devoid of food or place settings; chairs were askew, no lamps were lit. Jafar was obviously not as intrigued by dinners as the previous sultan. The only light in the abandoned room came from an eerie red glow at the far end, where the entrance to the throne room was. After Aladdin’s eyes adjusted for a moment, he realized the light was coming from the dead face of a man blocking the way.
It was Rasoul.
“We don’t have much time,” Jasmine urged Jafar. “In just a few minutes, the Street Rat army is going to launch an attack on your front door and take the palace down. Call off your assault on the city. Let’s not lose any more lives over this.”
Jafar started to laugh. Then he looked over at one of the guards waiting for orders, a captain. The guard didn’t look so amused.
“There’s hundreds of them, Your Highness. And the…living members of our army don’t want to kill women and children. There’s a lot of chaos in the city. Many of our legions are trying to put out the fires caused by their—and your—explosions.”
“Let the city burn,” Jafar growled, clenching his hands into fists.
“Who will be left to love you?” Jasmine asked, unable to keep the irony out of her voice.
Jafar narrowed his eyes. He turned to the guard.
“Get as many men as you can muster to the front of the palace. Blockade it while I figure out what to do.” He drummed his fingers on his knees and started to mutter, seemingly to himself. “So close…I am so close.…I’ve already mastered the raising of the dead. It’s only a matter of time before I learn how to break the other laws of magic. I just need more time. GENIE!” he called out suddenly.
“Yes, Master?” the genie asked tiredly.
“We need to put on a big show for the masses. The princess and I are to be married this instant.”
The genie lifted his head weakly to look at Jasmine.
“Sorry, Princess,” he said. “But if it means anything at all, I really respect what you’re doing. You would have made—you’ll make a great sultana.”
“Yes, yes, wedding dress now, all that,” Jafar said impatiently. “I’ll summon some priest or mullah or something…it doesn’t matter. On the balcony, where everyone can see.”
The genie feebly waved his fingertips. Suddenly, Jasmine was wearing the dress he had made before—the one his own wife had worn. Flowers and streamers and banners appeared all over the room and, presumably, the outside of the palace.
She watched it all, torn between laughing and crying.
Jafar walked over to the balcony and raised his hands above his head. His magically enhanced voice rang out over the kingdom.
“PEOPLE OF AGRABAH! LAY DOWN YOUR WEAPONS. THE PRINCESS JASMINE AND I HAVE COME TO AN AGREEMENT. WE ARE TO BE WED THIS VERY MOMENT. CEASE YOUR FIGHTING AND COME TO THE PALACE TO BEAR WITNESS.”
A guard came rushing into the room, pushing a confused-looking little old man in religious robes in front of him.
“I’m sorry, my lord, we couldn’t find Khosrow. This one will have to do.…”
Jasmine took a deep breath and began to walk forward.
“Stop,” undead Rasoul said. “Proceed no further.”
“Rasoul,” Aladdin said, swallowing hard. “I’m…I’m sorry about what happened to you. I never intended—I never meant for you to be killed.”
The ghoul looked at him impassively. Neither forgiveness nor anger showed in his bloody glowing eyes.
“Rasoul. Please,” Aladdin begged softly. “You swore to protect Agrabah. Against thieves like me…against harm to the people. Your army is now attacking children and forcing families to turn each other over to Jafar. He makes people line up and get branded and turns them into ghouls like you! Is this what you want to protect?”
Still Rasoul said nothing.
“Look outside, Rasoul,” Aladdin pleaded, pointing at the window. “Look. Agrabah is burning. Your city is burning.”
Rasoul turned his head to look, moving nothing else. Faint orange light flickered over his deadly white skin. Some of the glow was from the rising sun, Aladdin realized with horror.
“They did not obey,” Rasoul said slowly.
“Obey what? Obey who? Rasoul, don’t you remember anything from your life? You swore to serve a sultan who—while he might not have been the best ruler—never launched an attack against his own people. Jafar is killing and torturing anyone who disagrees with him. And if he can’t win, he’ll destroy Agrabah so no one else can have it. Don’t you see