- PART ONE: THE LAST RAYS OF A CRESCENT LOVE -
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CHAPTER 1 - PART 1
The door of the room of the Prince of Agrabah opened slowly. Azul peeked inside and shook her head smiling mischievously when she noticed the room was still dark thanks to the heavy tapestries that were closed. She sneaked inside and a small evil smile appeared on her face when she saw Ali soundly asleep. * * * * * Later that day Ali and Azul were walking down the streets of Agrabah. They had been running around, preparing all what they had to have ready for the 25th Anniversary of Sultan Aladdin and Queen Jasmine and now they were going back to Azul's home after going to the market to buy food Sadira needed to prepare dinner."When you told me you wanted to take care of the party for your parent's anniversary I never knew it'd turn out this way." Azul was saying. "I thought you had something less complicated in mind." "And you know I had." Ali was carrying the basket with the food. "But then we started to have ideas and ideas… this is going to be a real surprise to them. And you have been a great help, Azul. You have great ideas. I think my parents only expect a party, a familiar party of some sort but hey, I wanted them to have the best anniversary ever. It's been 25 years, just imagine that!" "It's a long time… 25 years… and they are still so in love. It's so inspiring to look at them. I always wonder what our future is… but I always like to picture a future as bright as your parents'… I'd love to go on through life and then look back and realize I've spent 25 years by your side." "Yeah.. 25 blessed years. And I know we'll be celebrating our 25th Anniversary very soon." Ali laughed. "But of course, first we need to marry, don't we?" "Of course." Azul smiled back at him. "Now let's see… your father told me he had arranged everything with the flower merchant. The flowers will be delivered in the palace right in time. And I talked to the palace cook last night and he said he has everything ready. We have the party ready and the ceremony as well… I think it is so cute that my parents want to renew their vows now." "It's beautiful. It's such a romantic thing to be done. Oh, it's going to be wonderful. And then the party and the fireworks, just everything. Geez, Ali, you really have everything covered." "As I said, you and your parents have been a great help." "Have you received any news from Yesny yet?" "No… not yet, but I'm sure she'll be here right in time. She would never, ever miss this." "I haven't seen her in a long time and I really want to have her here." "I'm glad you two get along so well… even though poor little me has to suffer when you two are together." Ali laughed. "Poor little you." Azul laughed. "By the way, remind me to pick up some stuff I need and it's stored in your dad's back store." "My dad's back store?" Azul giggled. "It's more like YOUR back store now. Everything for your parents' anniversary is stored there." "Geez…" Ali said sheepishly. "Well… sorry about that." "Nah, my dad is happy to help. And I'll tell you what, let's deliver this food to my mom and then we'll go to my dad's store, okay?" "That's perfect." Ali smiled. A few minutes later they were on their way back to the market. They were then in a very playful mood and Ali was chasing Azul down the street. "You can't catch me!" Azul mocked him. "You think so?" Ali laughed. "Be afraid, because when I catch you…" "What?" "I'll kiss you to death!" "That's scary!" She laughed. Azul left the main road and entered a small and lonely alley. "Hey, blue eyes, where are you going?" "I'm trying to escape!" Ali moved real fast and grabbed her by the waist. They spinned around laughing happily and Ali put Azul against the wall, trapping her there. "You have no way out!" He said with an evil smile. "Meanie!" Azul laughed. "I'm a man of honor and I shall fulfill my promise." Ali said in a serious tone. "What promise?" "Lady Azul, I want to inform you that you are about to be kissed to death by Prince Ali." "Oh sweet Allah have mercy of my soul!" Azul said smiling. Ali laughed and started to kiss Azul all over the face, her eyes, her forehead, her lips, her neck, her cheeks, her chin, just everything. "Ali!" She was laughing. "Stop it! It tickles!" "Sweet revenge!" He was saying. "You annoyed me this morning, now it's my turn!" "Ali!" "You must promise me you'll never wake me up like that again!" He said between kisses. "I won't make that promise!" Azul was laughing. "Then I'll kiss you to death!" "So be it!" Ali stopped and looked deep into her eyes, smiling playfully. "What?" She asked. For all his response Ali leaned over and kissed her passionately. Azul put her arms around Ali's neck and responded to that kiss in the same passionate way. "Wow!" She said when they pulled away. "What was that for?" "Because I love you, silly." Ali said tenderly. "You are a meanie but I love you." Azul smiled and pulled Ali's bangs off his forehead softly, but they returned to their place just as quick. "Want to know a little secret?" "Yeah?" "You also are a meanie but I love you too." "I always suspected that." Ali laughed. They were going to kiss again, but a woman and her little boy entered the alley. Ali and Azul pulled away and smiled at them. "Good day, Prince Ali! Good day Azul!" The woman said. "Good day, Ma'am." Ali and Azul responded. "Say hello to them, Ahmed." The woman said. "Hello…" The kid timidly said. Azul leaned over and picked up the 3 year old boy. "How are you, Ahmed?" She said tenderly. "I'm fine." The boy smiled shyly. Ali came to caress little Ahmed's hair. "You are a cute boy." He said. "It's so nice to meet you." "You are so kind." The woman said. "Now come, Ahmed, let's go home… we don't want to disturb our prince and princess anymore." "You are not disturbing us." Azul smiled and reached into Ali's pocket and took a candy out of it. "Here." She gave the candy to the kid. "For you." "Thank you." The boy smiled. "May I have a kiss?" The boy kissed Azul's cheek and she handed him to his mother. The woman took him in her arms and looked at them. "May Allah cover you with his blessings." The woman said sincerely. "Thank you, ma'am." Ali smiled. When the woman entered her home Azul smiled up at Ali. "What a cutie!" "How did you know I had a candy in my pocket?" Ali said placing his arm around Azul's shoulder. "Sweetie, you ALWAYS have candies in your pockets." "Yeah, but how come the kid got to kiss you?" Ali pretended to be sad. "I never get to kiss you like that…" "Okay…" She laughed. "May I have a kiss?" Ali smiled and kissed her cheek fondly. "Now let's go." Azul took his hand. "Let's go to my dad's shop…" "But… are you sure this is the right way? We've never been in this alley before." "Oh, you just follow me… I'm sure it's a short cut to the market. Trust me." "Okay…" A few yards away Azul saw a store. She smiled at Ali and pointed at it. "Look Ali! An antiques store! I love antiques! Let's go there!" "Well…" Ali said. "This store is in a very weird place. It's really hidden in this alley, don't you think?" "Yeah, but hey, if they have antiques there, I want to see them!" "Alright, let's go." As soon as they entered the place they knew it was a very strange place. It was so dark and so lonely. But there were a lot of interesting objects all over the place. Azul's eyes shinned with joy. "This place is fantastic!" She smiled. "And a little creepy." Ali said. "What a scaredy boy! This looks mysterious and…" "Good day good people!" Azul jumped into Ali's arms at the sound of that voice. He laughed softly. "That's my brave girl!" He said. "Good day sir… we were just looking… you have a lot of interesting stuff in here…" "Ancient stuff." The old man smiled. "Are you interested in antiques, young ones?" "Yes, we are." Azul smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry I scared you, young lady." "That's okay." Ali laughed. "My fiancée is a very brave girl." Azul looked up at Ali in annoyance but she couldn't hide her smile. Ali pinched her cheek playfully and looked at the man. "Could we just wander around for a while?" "Sure my young friend… take your time. I'll be here." "Thanks." Ali said and turned to Azul. "You are so cute when you are annoyed, you know that?" "That's not funny!" Azul said pretending to be annoyed. Ali was laughing while looking at all the old and interesting stuff the man had in there. There were old books, daggers, sandglasses and all kind of different items. "Isn't this amazing?" Azul was saying. "So many things… such ancient stuff. When I look at this kind of stuff I always wonder what these things could tell us if they could talk…" "Believe me, blue eyes, if this stuff started talking to me, I'd freak out!" "Ali." She laughed. Ali kneeled to inspect some old furniture when he heard Azul's excited voice. "Oh, look at this… aren't they just beautiful?" "What?" Ali's head appeared behind the furniture. "These swords!" "Swords?!" Ali said coming closer. "Hey, they are really nice!" Ali took one of them in his hands and inspected it carefully. They were two identical swords. They were really beautiful and they seemed really old as well. Ali noticed a inscription on the blade. He tried to read it but it was in a strange language. "What does it mean?" He asked Azul. She inspected the inscription. "It's an ancient form of Arabic… it says… uh… 'I will change your destiny'… I think that's it." "It is…" The man came behind them. "Those are very old and powerful swords. Some say they hold magical powers within." "Really?" Ali said interested. "They are very good swords… where did they come from?" "Well, the legend says this twin swords belonged to a powerful sorcerer thousands of years ago. And only the right owner of those swords can have them and use them… and something tells me you are the right owners of them." "Well," Azul smiled. "They caught my eye the moment I saw them… you know, Ali, I think this could be a wonderful present for your father. I mean, you and him, having identical swords… I'm sure your father would love it!" "You are so right…" Ali smiled still examining the swords. "These are really wonderful swords… they would make a perfect gift. I only need to clean them and I can have them carved with my name and my dad's on the blade, near the handle." "That'd be so wonderful, Ali." "It would, wouldn't it? My dad could hang them on the wall in his studio." Ali said excitedly. "Can you imagine them, crossed on the wall? Wow!" Azul smiled and looked at the merchant. "I guess that means we'll take them." "That's a decision you won't regret." The man said mysteriously. "So where did these swords came from?" Azul asked interested. "As I said before, they belonged to a powerful magician, many centuries ago." "But… two of them?" Azul said. "The magician had an apprentice." "Oh, I see." Azul smiled taking one of the swords. "And what happened then?" "I don't know. I'm nothing but a humble merchant and I don't know much about this… except that the name of the owner of these swords was Azrak." "Azrak?" Ali asked. "Interesting name…" Azul smiled amused and looked at Ali. "That means 'blue'." "Like your name!" Ali laughed. "Hey, maybe this Azrak guy is your grandfather!" "Maybe." Azul laughed. "Well," Ali smiled at the merchant. "The swords go with their rightful owners… we'll take them." "Good." The man said. * * * * * Don't you think the man in the store was very weird?" Ali was asking while walking to Bassel's store."Weird? Weird how?" "I don't know… he seemed so mysterious and… I don't know." "Well, maybe a little… but then again you thought the place was creepy." "But you jumped to the moon when the man came in." Ali laughed. "Yeah, yeah, how funny…" Azul tried to avoid her smile. "Admit it, blue eyes, you were just looking for a chance to jump into my arms." Azul smiled and looked at him. "Geez, you caught me there!" They laughed and Ali looked at the swords. "Dad is going to love these!" "I know he will… twin swords… they are going to look great clean and with your names carved on them and all." "It's more than just that. These are really good swords, Azul. Believe me, I know this kind of stuff. These are really and I mean really good swords." "It's funny… Azrak's swords…" "It is funny, isn't it? But most of all, I love the idea of my dad and I having twin swords." They arrived to Bassel's store and Azul looked at the sky. "Oh my… it's really late. We were wandering around the whole day. In a few minutes the sun will set." "Yeah, but we took care of everything we said we would. This was a good day." "Hello kids!" Bassel came to them. "How's everything going?" "Hi daddy!" Azul kissed her father's cheek. "Everything is fine. Mom is preparing dinner right now and Ali needed to pick up some stuff from the back store." "I hate to take over your back store, sir." Ali said. "But I don't know where I could store all this stuff in the palace… I'm sure they'd find it sooner or later." "That's okay son… so, what do you have in there?" "Oh, a couple of swords we got in an antiques store… look, aren't they great? I'm going to give one of them to my dad and I'll keep the other one." "They are beautiful." "The man said they belonged to a man named Azrak, a powerful sorcerer of the ancient ages, how wonderful is that, dad?" "Azrak, eh?" Bassel smiled. "That's a coincidence… I…" Bassel stopped when a couple entered the store. He looked at Ali and Azul. "My last clients of the day… after them I'll close the shop and we'll go home to have dinner… are you staying for dinner tonight, Ali?" "Oh, sure." He smiled. "Thanks… now, while you attend the customers we'll take these swords to the back store and I'll pick up the stuff I need." "Alright." Ali and Azul entered the back store. The place was filled with boxes of all kinds containing not only Bassel's merchandise but Ali's stuff. Ali placed the swords inside a box and took the stuff he needed. "Here… that's it… you know, blue eyes, I love this place!" "You do?" "Yeah, I do… it's so… hidden… the perfect spot for us." "Ali…" she smiled. The prince of Agrabah came to her and embraced her tenderly, swaying softly. "You know, in a couple of months we'll be this busy… but not preparing my parent's anniversary anymore, but our own wedding." "I know." "Oh Azul, make as many wishes as you want… I'll grant them all for you." "My only wish is you!" They were going to kiss when Bassel entered the back store. "Kids, I'm ready… let's move." Ali and Azul pulled away laughing softly. "We're not finished yet!" Ali whispered. "We never are." Azul giggled back. "Aren't you coming?" Bassel said. "We're coming…" While Bassel was closing the store Azul looked at the sky and smiled, pointing up. "Look Ali… a crescent moon!" "What does that mean?" "We'll have a full moon soon… in a couple of weeks." "Wonderful!" "And look at those stars… they are aligning." "Is that a good or a bad thing?" "Oh, it's just an interesting thing… I'm sure your brother Cassim has noticed that too." "You guys are into astronomy… for me the night sky is just plain romantic." "Specially when you get all those kisses when ever you have the names of the stars right, huh?" Azul laughed and took Ali's hand. "But of course!" "Alright kids, off to dinner… I'm starving…" Bassel said coming to them. The three of them headed to Bassel's home talking about how the day had been for them and about the plans for the upcoming anniversary celebration. * * * * * A couple of days later Ali and Azul were walking slowly in the direction of the palace library. They were talking quietly."Everything is ready now…" Ali was saying. "And I only want to take a look at the chronicles, to the part where they talk about my parent's wedding. I want to decorate the room just the way it was decorated that day. I know they had candles and flowers and I've found the tapestries they used that time in one of the storage rooms of the palace, but then again, I want to take a look at that book." "Yes, I'd love to take a look at that book too. This whole thing has me really excited. I don't know about you, but I'm enjoying this a lot." "My parents have no idea of the size of this celebration." "Well, we've been working on it for months. It has to be perfect… and I know it will be perfect. Your parents are going to love this." "I hope so. I want this day to be very special to them." Ali opened the door of the library and held it open for Azul to go in there. He bowed graciously. "After you, my fair lady." "Why, thank you." She smiled. The library was empty and Ali went directly to a bookcase and climbed on the ladder to reach a book. "Here… this one is it." He came down and sat on a cushion. Azul came to sit beside him. He put the book on the table and paged through it until he found the pages he was looking for.
"Your parents looked wonderful on their wedding day." Azul said looking at the illustration in the book. "Yes, they did. Remind me of show you some portraits they have. They looked really great… and look, they had candles, lots of candles, just like they told me they had. Isn't that romantic?" "It is." Azul whispered. "Well…" Ali said reading the book. "I think we have everything right… the same kind of flowers they had… the same tapestries… we have candles… we have everything…" All of Ali's attention was focused in the book he was reading. But Azul was just looking at Ali with a content and dreamy expression on her face. "You know what'd be so neat?" Ali said still looking at the book. "If they wear the same clothes they wore in their wedding… wouldn't it be just great?" "Yeah…" Ali noticed Azul's absent voice and looked at her. She was smiling tenderly at him and Ali couldn't help but smile back. "What?" He said. "Oh, it's nothing." She said. "I just think this whole thing is so romantic… and I can't stop thinking how excited your parents must have been 25 years ago, knowing that the big day was so close. I don't know, it's just… a warm feeling inside…" "Yes…" Ali smiled at the illustration in the book. "I can imagine that… the excitement, the warm feeling… the emotion… the nervousness… and the certainty that they'd be together forever!" Azul smiled and snuggled to Ali. He put his arm around her shoulder. They stared for a long while at the illustration in the book. Then Ali looked down at Azul's face. She smiled at him. "We are the next in the line." Ali's eyes sparkled. "Yes, we are…" Azul said. "And I must confess Ali, since we started preparing this anniversary stuff, well… I-I just…" She stopped trying to find the words. "I know, blue eyes." Ali said softly. "I have the same feeling… the same urge…" "I just keep thinking how wonderful it's going to be." She said dreamily. "You and me… together forever… two years ago this moment seemed so far away but now… now things have changed and… and…" "And we've lived through so much together in the past two years… good times, bad times… we've had troubles but the joy we've shared it has been bigger than anything. This love has been bigger and stronger than any trouble." "I know. And lately I've been having this need, this urge to be with you the whole time. Believe me Ali, every single minute I spend without you seems to last eternally. I stay awake in the night just thinking about you… I cannot close my eyes because you are there… it's so… powerful…" "Yeah, the same thing happens to me. It's so hard to say good bye every night. I just… I cannot live without you, Azul." They looked deep into each other's eyes and Azul smiled, caressing Ali's face. "Do you think we are ready now? Do you think our moment has come? Do you think all this stuff are signs?" "I believe so." Ali smiled. "I think we've grown up together a lot in the past two years. And yes, I firmly believe our moment has come. We are ready now." "I think so too." Ali rested his forehead on Azul's and cupped her cheeks. "As soon as the anniversary is over we'll have a really important talk… we'll set the date for our own wedding." "Oh Ali!" She smiled. "I love you." He whispered tenderly. "Kiss me if you love me too." Azul smiled and put her hands on Ali's cheeks pulling him to a kiss. They were smiling happily while kissing. "You know, Ali…" She said when they pulled away. "I think I have to go back to your siblings… it's been a long time for a recess." "Aw, but you are tutoring the other royal kid now!" "I know." She said playfully tapping the tip of his nose. "But I must attend my part time job with the kids so I can be done early and then I can dedicate the rest of my day to my full time job with the other royal kid." "Hmmm…." Ali said happily. "Finish the lessons early today, please?" "Ali, I---" "I know the kids would appreciate it… I know I definitely would appreciate it." "Well… maybe I could assign them some homework and…" "Yes, please?" Ali said rubbing his nose to her cheek. "You've been working real hard with them lately… the three of you deserve a break… you need a rest." "And I assume you're going to help me with that rest?" "Of course… I promise it, you won't regret it." "Alright." Azul said standing up and taking the book. "You convinced me." Ali smiled broadly and looked at her tenderly. She smiled back at him mischievously and started to climb the ladder to put the book back in its place. Ali rushed to grab the ladder to prevent it from moving. "Where does this book go?" She asked. "There, between those two… at your left…" When Azul was going to put the book back in the shelf she noticed another book stuck behind the other books. She looked at it curiously and looked down at Ali. "You know, there's a book stuck in here." "It is? What kind of book?" "I… I think it's another of the Royal Chronicles… it's blue and it looks like the chronicles." "How weird." Ali said. "Can you take it out of there?" "I guess so…" Azul said trying to reach the book. "Here, I got it! Allah, this is stuck!" "Pull it out!" "It's so stuck!" Azul said in a hoarse voice. "Stubborn book!" Azul pulled the book a little too hard and the book finally came out. But the sudden action made Azul lose her balance on the ladder. Ali tried to keep it in balance but as much as he tried he just couldn't. Azul lost her grip on the ladder and fell back. Ali tried to catch her to prevent her from hitting the floor, but Azul fell on Ali and they both ended up on the floor in the middle of a big noise.
The young prince looked around, an annoyed look on his face. The place was a mess, several books were on the floor, the ladder was on the floor and worst of all, Ali and Azul were on the floor. Cassim let out a frustrated sigh. "Do you REALLY have to be doing this in here?" Ali and Azul looked at each other and tried to stifle a giggle. "Oh, alright…" Cassim tried to look annoyed. "Don't mind me… but I really think you two at least should have the decency of put some kind of warning on the door." Cassim turned to the door, sent them a last disapproving look and left the library. Ali and Azul laughed softly. Azul moved away slowly. "Ali, how are you? You shouldn't have! Oh Ali, I'm sorry… Are you alright?" Ali propped himself up on his elbow groaning. "I think I broke my back, my neck and my ribs… and my chest is about to explode… other than that… I think I'm perfect…" He said trying to smile and placing his hand on his ribs. "I'm so sorry!" Azul said standing up and helping him up. "That's okay. It wasn't all that bad... I think it was worth it." Ali said mischievously, still rubbing his ribs. "Ali!" Azul laughed softly. "Well… I hope at least you've got that book." Azul looked around and picked up the books, placing them on a table. She took a look at them and smiled. "Yeah, here it is… and I was right, it's a chronicle book." "Great." Ali said hoarsely. "Now… could you please help me to go to my room? I think I have to lay down for a while…" "Sure!" Azul placed Ali's arm around her shoulders and supported him all the way to his room. Once they were there, she helped him to lay on his bed and fixed his pillows. "There… how are you?" "Not feeling very well." Ali looked at her with big eyes. "Are you going to stay here with me?" Azul placed her hands on her hips and looked down at him suspiciously. "A war veteran… acting like this?" For his response Ali looked up at her with those big eyes and a big smile appeared on his face. "Please?" "Oh, all right." She laughed. "I'll go to assign some homework to your siblings and I'll be back… do you want me to get something for you?" "Well… some pastries maybe… and don't forget to bring that book with you when you're back!" "Okay." She smiled. "I'm going to the library to pick up the book, then I'll go to your siblings' studio and then to get your pastries… I'll be back in half an hour. You try to get some rest." "I will." Azul turned to leave but Ali's voice stopped her. "Aw! It hurts!" "What?" She turned to him smiling. "It hurts really bad!" Ali said pathetically. "What hurts really bad?" Ali looked up at her, a pathetic expression on his face. "Here…" He whimpered touching his lips. "Aw, my poor baby!" Azul said leaning over and kissing his lips softly. "Feeling better?" "A little…" Azul kissed him again and when they pulled away they noticed Aladdin standing there in the door, looking at them with an amused expression on his face. "Poor baby!" Aladdin laughed softly. "What happened?" "Dad!/Sultan!" Ali and Azul said at the same time and they both blushed. "Poor Ali is going through so much pain!" Aladdin teased. "What happened kid?" "We had a little accident in the library." Ali said sheepishly. "The ladder lost balance." Azul explained. "And I fell on Ali… he hit the floor real bad and he hurt his back and his neck… and his ribs…" "Real bad." Ali said in a serious tone that made Aladdin smile. "Alright Ali." Azul said. "I'll be back in 30 minutes… see you later, Sultan." "Take care, Azul." Aladdin said. When she left the room Aladdin turned to his son and shook his head, laughing amused. "Ali, you are terrible! This cannot be that bad!" "Well," Ali said losing all of a sudden all signs of pain from his face and voice. "If she wants to pamper me, well, how could I miss the chance?" "You sneaky boy!" Aladdin laughed. Ali leaned against the headboard and motioned Aladdin to sit on the divan next to the bed. "C'mon dad… have a seat… how is everything going? I have ready all the documents you needed. They are there on my desk. I was working on them last night and I stayed up real late but I finished them." "Thanks, son." Aladdin smiled. "I knew you'd have them ready just in time… as always." "Anything else you want me to do?" "Not for now. Things have been pretty quiet here lately, which is a good thing. We've had a lot of free time to spend with our girls." "Oh yes… that is definitely a good thing… and… are you guys ready for your anniversary?" "We are." Aladdin smiled. "But your mother and I have been wondering what this whole mystery is all about." "Oh, you just wait, dad… you just wait!" Ali said mischievously. "Twenty five years." Aladdin smiled leaning against the wall. "Has it been so long?" "Yeah. Twenty five years seems like a whole life to me." Aladdin didn't respond. He was lost in his own thoughts, a smile on his face. Ali smiled at him and thought how wonderful it was for him to see his parents still so in love after so many years. It had always been very reassuring for him to know that between his parents existed such a strong bond. He was going to comment something about Aladdin's wedding but he stopped not wanting to bring bad memories of his grandfather Cassim to Aladdin. "In twenty five years you and mom are going to be planning our anniversary, dad." He said instead. Ali's voice brought Aladdin back to reality. He looked at his son and smiled. "And you'll be planning our 50th Anniversary." "Right." Ali said. "So, Ali, what about your wedding? Anything new?" "Well," Ali blushed a little. "We've decided we'll set the date after your anniversary." "That's good son. I want to know the exact date as soon as you have it. There's so much we need to prepare." "Yeah…" Ali said dreamily. "Dad… just tell me… what is it like to be a husband?" "You know, Ali." Aladdin said smiling proudly. "I think it's time for you and me to start talking about this." "Well, dad… I'm listening." Ali smiled back. A little later Azul entered the room. She stopped when she saw Ali and Aladdin talking friendly. But the men made silence as soon as she appeared there. "Oh… um… I'm sorry… I think I'm interrupting something." She said. "Oh no, that's fine." Aladdin stood up. "I need to go find Jasmine, she must be wondering where I am. I was just keeping my son company, the poor thing is going through so much pain." Aladdin winked at Ali. Azul smiled mischievously. "I'm pretty sure he is." "Anyway, we'll end this conversation later, Ali." "Thank you, dad." Aladdin patted Azul's shoulder affectionately and took one of the cookies she had on a plate. "Have fun kids…" He said before leaving the room. "And be good!" Aladdin said the last line in such a mischievous way that Ali and Azul blushed a little. When they were alone in the room Azul turned to Ali. "Geez, are you sure I didn't interrupt anything?" "No, that's okay." "What were you talking about?" "Guy stuff." Ali smiled mischievously at her. "Oh, I see… guy stuff." Azul said in a mocked serious tone. "Anyway big guy, here, I got this for you… wheat and honey cookies… and a glass of milk." "Yay! My favorite snack!" Ali said excitedly taking the plate and the glass and placing them on his night table. "Thank you Azul!" "And I have some news for you." She said keeping her voice low. "What?" "Well, when I went to the kitchen, I met advisor Taamir in the hall… he asked me to tell you that everything is ready in that house in the mountains for your parents' anniversary trip." "He said that?" Ali smiled. "That is wonderful… just imagine their surprise… I can't wait to see their faces when we tell them that we have everything covered for them… not only a big celebration but even an anniversary travel to their honeymoon spot… oh, this is going to be great." "Yes… everything is ready." "Oh, that's great news, Azul!" "And how are you feeling?" "Oh…" Ali said recovering his pathetic expression. "It still hurts a lot… but I think I'll survive." "Yeah, right…" Azul laughed. "Now move along. I have this book for you… and if you want I can read it for you while you have your snack." Ali smiled and made room for Azul. She sat on bed beside Ali, leaned against the headboard and placed the book on her lap. "Yay!" Ali said excitedly taking a cookie. "I just love story time!" "Alright." Azul opened the book. "Let's see the kind of stories we have here…" "My mom and dad used to tell me a lot of their stories when I was a kid…" Ali said taking a bite of his cookie. "I'm pretty sure I've heard whatever stories this book contains, but still, it's going to be great to read them." Azul smiled at him and took his hand, pulling it closer to her to take a bite of the cookie herself. "Well, you tell me what do you want to hear… we have this story about a wind jackal…" "Oh, I remember that one!" "Then there's this one about… a mermaid?" Azul asked in surprise. "Yeah." Ali laughed. "You wouldn't believe the kind of stories my parents have to tell." "Oh, believe me, I have a rough idea…" Azul said paging the book. "What else do we have in there?" "The story of the Witches of the Sand…" "The Witches of the Sand?" Ali asked taking another cookie. "Hmmm… I don't remember that one." "Well… let's see here… the Witches of the Sand were powerful magicians who used the powers of the sand to rule over the Seven Deserts in the past… see the references in the tome II of the chronicles…" "Powers of the sand?" Ali interrupted her. "That's funny… I can't imagine that… but what does that have to do with my parents? It said the Witches of the Sand lived in the past!" "Let's find out… here it says that when Sultan Aladdin and Queen Jasmine were young there was a young woman that rediscovered by accident the ancient secrets of the Witches of the Sand and became the heir of the Powers of the Sand…" "That makes sense…" Ali said getting closer to Azul and looking at the book. "Let me see that… a young woman named…." Ali stopped and then he stammered in disbelief. "A young… woman named… Sadira…" Ali looked at Azul's face. Surprise was reflected in her big blue eyes. She took the book and read it avidly. "My mother?" She said. "A witch of the sand?" Ali's eyes were wide open in surprise. "Oh, well…" He said. "I'm sure she was a good witch… I mean, she's friends with my parents… I doubt my parents would be friends with an evil witch!" "I don't know, Ali…" She looked at him. "You live your whole life with someone you think you know… and all of a sudden you discover… this." "She never mentioned that to you? Not even slightly?" "No, she never did. She doesn't talk much about her past. I know she had a very hard time being an orphan living in the streets but… that's pretty much all I know about my mother's past…" "Sounds like my dad…" "And now, all of a sudden… this… she was a witch… she had sand powers… this is… this is so weird that it's…" "Funny!" Ali and Azul laughed nervously. "Well," She said. "Let's see what this says…" "Go on…" Ali took his glass of milk. "Sadira was not an evil magician…" "See? Told you so!" "She only used her powers for one purpose… to win Aladdin's heart and steal him away from Princess Jasmine…" Azul stopped in shock and Ali spilled his milk out of his mouth. He coughed. "Mom/Dad?" They said in shock at the same time. "Oh All Mighty Allah…" Azul said looking at Ali. "This is… this is so…" "Weird!" Ali said grabbing the book and reading it. "It seems to me your mother had quite a repertory of magical acts…" "And she was really bad at them…" Azul said reading as well. "Oh my…" Ali said still in shock. "But… how? My parents never told me that… oh, this is plain weird." "She used a Sand Beast to take your mother out of the way… she exchanged places with Queen Jasmine… she almost married Sultan Aladdin… she mesmerized your dad…" "The Dragon Slayer?" Ali laughed. "Oh man, this is something I have to hear from my dad!" "This isn't funny, Ali!" Azul said worried. "Do you realize how little we really know about our parents? I mean, I know nothing about my mother… and you know almost nothing about your father." "You are right." Ali said. "I'd never imagined that my father and your mother… oh Allah, it is just so weird… just to think that you and I…" He stopped in shock looking at Azul. "We could've been brother and sister!" Azul's eyes widened. Ali shook his head and put the book aside. "Oh boy! I think I'm having a headache!" "I know everything about my father's life…" Azul was saying. "I know his family, I know his past… I know everything… but my mom, she's a mystery to me… she never talks much about her former life. It seems to me her life started when she met dad." "You know, I feel the same way about my parents… I know everything about my mom… but my dad…" They stayed there, in silence, just staring at the wall. They were lost in their own thoughts. "I can't even imagine what their life was like." Azul said after a while. "Living all alone in the streets… being just little kids… I mean, you and me, we always had a warm bed, food, love… we always got all the pampering and all the care we needed… our parents took good care of us… we never ever suffered, Ali… but them…" "I know…" Ali said absently. "We've been blessed with wonderful parents… and sometimes we forget where they come from." "I'm feeling awful here, Azul." Ali said. "Do… do you think they talk about it with my dad and with your mom?" "I-I-I think they do… I know my dad shares everything with my mom… I know she keeps all his secrets." "Yeah… my parents are the same way." "But…" Ali said almost absently. "I keep thinking what the life in the streets is like… and I can't help but think… think about horrible stuff, Azul. Stuff that maybe… that maybe my dad never dared to tell mom… I don't know…" "Do you think the same thing happens to my mom?" Ali looked at her, almost waking up from a trance. "I-I don't know… it seems to me it's easier for a woman to share her feelings and secrets with a man… but sometimes a man doesn't feel all that comfortable sharing that kind of stuff with anyone else…" "I think you are right… I've never seen my mom in pain before… she's always so happy and so full of life… I know my dad has been good to her." "Bassel is an extraordinary man." Ali smiled. "Your mother was lucky to find him." "After that crush she had on your father." "Oh Allah…" Ali almost laughed. "This is so…" "Weird!" "Well, I'll tell you what I'll do… I'm going home and I'll ask my mom to tell me everything about the Witches of the Sand… now I really want to know… do you want to come?" "Wha--?" Ali said coming back from his thoughts. "Oh… no, I really don't think so… I'll walk you home but… I think that's a conversation between you and your mom." "Okay…" She said. "I hope you don't mind this… I mean, we were supposed to spend the rest of the evening together." "Oh no, that's okay… I understand… and I think I really need to talk to my dad as well." They left the bed and looked at the book on the table. As much as they tried to stifle it, they couldn't stop their giggles. "My dad… and your mom…" Ali said. "That is scary!" Ali looked at her in surprise. "You know what's weird? You and me… I mean, your mom and my dad never had the chance and now you and I…" "Yeah… that's irony!" "No…" Ali said pulling her close to him. "That's destiny!" Azul smiled up at him mischievously. "You know what's the most amazing thing of all?" "What?" "That a few minutes ago you were in agony… and now all the sudden you are feeling alright again." "Oh… geez…" Ali said sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm in pain but… I try to be strong." "Yeah, yeah, yeah." She smiled. "When you want to be pampered, just tell me… you don't have to fake… I'm more than happy to pamper you!" "I'll keep that in mind." Ali responded in the same mischievous tone. "But, I must say it really hurt… and yet… I wouldn't mind going through it all over again." "You know, Ali." She smiled. "You're delirious now… it must be the cookies… would you take me home now?" "Of course my love…" He grabbed her hand. "Let's go!" * * * Design by The Meanies |
