“Oh my God!” Jasmine lifted a hand to her mouth in shock. “That’s horrible!”
“It’s the way Agrabah is now,” Aladdin says. “Now that it’s controlled by Jafar.”
“We need to find a way out of here,” Jasmine whispered, glancing to her left. “Look. There’s some rocks sticking out. I think I might be able to climb out of here.”
“You’re going to climb?” Sky asked. “But I thought you were afraid of heights.”
“I’m afraid of a lot of things,” Jasmine said, glaring at him across the way. “But it doesn’t mean my fears are going to consume me.” She walked across the pillar, and lava spewed up to her left. She gasped, jumping, the lava just barely missing scorching her skin. Her foot slipping as she toppled over the edge.
“Jasmine!”
“Ahh!”
Jasmine screamed, her body falling through the air. She heard Sky and Aladdin screaming her name, but she didn’t dare look at them. She couldn’t. What could she possibly say?
“Whoomph!”
Her eyes snapped open, and she gasped when she found herself sitting on a carpet. “No way!”
“Yes!”
Aladdin jumped up and down in excitement from where he was standing. Dropping onto the carpet next to her with a light thump. “Carpet, you are a lifesaver! Sky, come on!”
“You want me to jump on that thing?” Sky asked, staring at Aladdin as if he were crazy. “It’s a carpet!”
“Oh come on, Sky. You’re not scared, are you?” Jasmine teased, running her hand along the purple and blue patterned carpet “Haven’t you ever wanted to fly?”
“Not on a rug!”
“Aren’t you the one who’s always telling me to have an open mind?” Jasmine asked. “Isn’t it time you take your own advice?”
Sky sighed. “You know, you’re really going to have to stop using my own advice against me.” He blew out a long breath, and lava spewed up behind him. The hot, orange liquid hovered over him, and Jasmine gasped.
“Sky! You have to jump! Now!”
Sky glanced at her, scrambling back, as the lava rushed toward him and he jumped.
“Carpet, now!” Jasmine gripped her hands around the carpet, the breath leaving her as it sprung forward, toward Sky. His body flew downward, and she stretched her hand out. “Sky! Take my hand!”
“Jasmine, there’s no way you can pull me up!” Sky shouted, through the roar of the wind in his ears. “I’m too heavy!”
“Would you just shut up and trust me?” Jasmine snapped. “Dammit, Sky, take my hand! I can’t lose you! You’re too important to me!”
Sky’s eyes widened at her words, and he reached his hand out, wrapping his large one around hers.
Jasmine gritted her teeth and pulled with all her might.
“Here. Let me help you.” Aladdin peered over the rug, wrapping his hand around hers, and together they pulled Sky up onto the carpet.
“Dammitt, Sky, you’re going to give me a freaking heart attack!” Jasmine snapped, punching him in the shoulder.
“Ouch!” Sky rubbed his shoulder, wincing. “Dammit, Jasmine! That hurt!”
“Good!”
Sky rubbed his shoulder, his eyes locking with hers. “Did you mean what you said? About me being important to you?”
“We’ll talk about it later,” Jasmine said. “Right now, we have more important things to take care of. Like saving the real Jasmine.”
“Right.”
“Then you better hold on tight,” Aladdin said. “Because we’re about to go on a ride. Carpet show them what you got!”
The carpet zinged upward, and Jasmine gasped, grasping the edge of the carpet. Without realizing it, her hand wrapped around Sky’s, and they flew out of the cave of wonders.
“Holy crap! This thing should come with a warning label!” Jasmine shouted, as they soared through the sky. They weaved through the clouds, and she glanced over at Sky, smiling. “Sky, look!” she shouted, pointing. “There’s the palace!”
“Pretty, isn’t it?” Aladdin asked, shouting over the roar of the wind. “Before you leave this place, you should take a ride on the carpet at night.” He winked at Jasmine. “It’s magical.”
“Subtle, Aladdin. Real subtle,” Jasmine muttered as they neared the palace. The carpet hovered just above the ground, and she jumped off. Gasping, as her knees buckled. “Whoa!”
“Give yourself a minute,” Aladdin told her. “Your body’s not used to the high altitude.”
“My body’s not used to anything in this crazy place,” Jasmine muttered, shouts sounding behind them.
“There they are!”
Four guards raced out from the palace gates, swords drawn.
“So much for sneaking into the palace,” Sky muttered. “Jasmine, stay behind me!”
“Are you crazy?” Jasmine asked, lifting her chin. “I am not some damsel in distress, Sky. I can damned well take care of myself.” She ducked, missing the sword that came her way. She spun on her heel, kicking her leg out, her foot connecting with the guard’s nuts.
“What—” the guard scrambled backward, and Jasmine ripped the sword from his hands. She jabbed it forward, slicing the sword through his chest. He toppled to the ground, blood seeping into the sand.
“One down,” she whispered, turning, watching as one of the guards raced toward Abu. He slammed his sword down, catching sand, as Abu zigzagged in front of him. “Abu!”
The monkey glanced at her, lifting a finger to his lips. He spun in a circle, racing up the guard’s leg. The guard startled, suddenly laughing, as Abu disappeared inside his shirt. “That tickles! That tickles!” Then Abu appeared on his shoulder, grabbing his hat, and pushing it over his eyes.
Jasmine lifted a hand, giggling, as the guard toppled to the ground. “I guess someone can take care of himself,” she said, high fiving Abu as Aladdin and Sky disarmed the other two guards, knocking them unconscious.
“You have no idea,” Aladdin said, racing through the palace gates. “Come on! Let’s go!”
Jasmine and Sky hurried after Aladdin. They raced down the hallway, entering the throne room.
“Well, well, well, I see the cave of wonders still wasn’t strong enough to hold you three,” Jafar said, smiling as he turned toward them. “That’s okay! Now you can watch while I marry Jasmine.”
“That’ll never happen!” Jasmine shouted, stepping forward. “You’re nothing but an evil doer, Jafar! Only concerned about your own agenda. But you’re not powerful! You never were!”
“Jasmine! What are you doing?” Sky whispered. “You’re going to get us killed!”
“Just trust me.”
“Hmm. You know, you’re right,” Jafar murmured, tapping a finger against his lips. “I do need more power. Genie, for my second wish! I wish for you to make me an all-powerful sorcerer!”
The genie sighed. “Your wish, is my command.” He lifted his finger, zapping a bolt of lightning toward Jafar. A cloud of purple smoke swirled around Jafar, and Jasmine grabbed Sky by the hand. “Come on, Sky! Now’s our chance!”
“Our chance for what?”
“To get the staff! Come on!” She glanced across the room, her eyes landing on Rajah on the other side of the room, chained to the wall. Poor kitty. He shouldn’t be chained. “Sky, go get Rajah!”
“Why?”
“Because we might need him!” Jasmine snapped. She shoved him forward, and she raced toward the throne, her hand wrapping around the staff.
“Hiss…”
She dropped the staff, her eyes widening. “Holy crap!”
The staff curled, a large, cobra appearing on the ground in front of her. It rose, hovering high above her. It’s long tongue slithering from its mouth and it snapped toward her.
“Dammitt! Why did it have to be a snake?” she asked, jumping back, avoiding it’s fangs and shuddering. “I hate snakes! And I have seen far too many of them since becoming a witch!” She jumped back, missing its fangs once more. “Sky!”
<
br /> “Jasmine! What the hell did you do?” Sky shouted, unchaining Rajah.
“I didn’t do anything!” Jasmine shouted. “It just changed!” The snake lunged forward, its fangs striking toward her, and she quickly lunged out of the way. “Aladdin! Do something!”
“Oh, I don’t think Aladdin’s going to be doing anything, any time soon,” Jafar said, the cloud of smoke subsiding around him. “Now, you fools didn’t think I was going to leave my staff unprotected, did you? You might be smart, girl, but you’re not as smart as me,” he said, pointing a finger at Jasmine. “And you, just signed Aladdin’s death certificate.” He pointed across the room.
“Whoa!”
Aladdin jumped, a spike zinging up from the floor. “Jafar!”
“Not so easy, living in the palace now, is it, boy?” Jafar asked, laughing. He lifted his hand, spikes rising up high in the air. “And now, I will destroy you! You’ve caused me enough grief for far too long.”
“Aladdin!” Jasmine screamed, the snake’s long tail flinging forward. It wrapped around her, and she gasped, not being able to breathe. “Sky! Help!”
“Jasmine! Hold on!” Sky grabbed the sword leaning against the wall behind him. He slung it forward, the sword sailing across the room and hitting the cobra in the tail. The cobra hissed, swinging toward Sky. Its large head butting forward, slamming him back into the wall.
“Sky!”
“Jasmine!” Sky jumped to his feet, grabbing another sword from behind him. He raced across the room, running up the body of the snake. “Come on. Look at me, you bastard!”
The snake hissed, swinging toward him and Sky slung the sword forward. Slicing the blade through its neck. It fell to the ground, and Sky jumped to the ground, grabbing Jasmine by the hand. “Jasmine, come on!”
“You sure know how to use a sword, don’t you?” Jasmine asked, laughing, as they raced across the room. “Come on! We have to get to Jasmine! We have to wake her up!”
“Wait! Jasmine!” Sky pulled her to a stop. “Look!” He pointed behind them at the cobra. “There’s two of them!”
“There’s…” Jasmine trailed off, her eyes widening as she stared at the two identical cobras slithering toward them. “Just ignore it, Sky! Or them! Whatever. We have to get to Jasmine! We’re going to need her if we’re ever going to put this story back the way it’s supposed to be.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Remind her of who she really is, and who she really loves. This is a fairytale, Sky! A fairytale about love. Don’t you think reminding her of all that will undo everything Jafar has done?”
“It’s definitely worth a shot!”
“Jasmine!” Jasmine slid to a stop in front of the woman, grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her. “Come on, Jasmine! You have to wake up!
“It’s no use,” Jafar said, laughing as he hovered above her. “She’s under my spell. She’ll never wake up!” He lifted his hand, a bolt of lightning zinging toward them. The ground cracked under them, and Jasmine gasped, her body wavering.
“We’ll see about that!” she shouted. “Jasmine, come on! I know you’re in there! Listen to me! This is a spell you’re under. You don’t love Jafar!”
“Of course I love Jafar,” Jasmine said, her eyes flashing red as she stared at Jasmine. “He’s the perfect man for me!”
“No, Jasmine, he’s not!” Jasmine cried, glancing over her shoulder as Eago flew toward her. She ducked, missing his beak, grabbing him by the tail and throwing him across the room. He squawked, hitting the wall, and falling to the ground unconscious. “Sky! Watch out!” she shouted, as Jafar slung a bolt of electricity toward him. The Genie flew around them, chanting, and behind her the cobras reared up, tearing the top off of the palace. She turned back to Jasmine. “Jasmine, you have to listen to me! Jafar is not the one you love, Aladdin is! Please! You have to remember!” She gripped Jasmine’s hands in hers. “Remember, Jasmine! Remember that day in Agrabah, when you wanted to explore? When you wanted to get out of the palace? He was there, remember? And remember the magic carpet ride? The song you guys sang? The moment you fell in love? Please, Jasmine! I need you to remember. I need you to remember who you really love.”
“Aladdin.” Jasmine’s eyes suddenly flashed, the red glare disappearing from her eyes, and she jerked her head around. “I love Aladdin.”
“No!” Jafar’s shout sounded behind them, and Jasmine turned, watching as he lifted a hand. “Genie! For my final wish…”
“You want to be a genie, I know,” Jasmine said, smiling, as she looked at Jasmine. “But it won’t matter. Jasmine, go get your boy.”
“Aladdin!” Jasmine screamed, swinging her head around, as the swords zinged toward him. “No! Carpet!”
The magic carpet flew through the air, stopping in front of her, and Jasmine jumped onto it. She gripped the sides of the carpet, flying through the air. “Aladdin!” She reached her hand out. “Take my hand!”
“There’s no time, Jasmine!” Aladdin shouted, glancing over at her. “It’s too late. He’s won.”
“No! It’s never too late!” Jasmine shouted, jumping off the carpet in front of Aladdin. “I love you, Aladdin,” she whispered, just before the swords zinged forward, striking her in the chest.
“No!” Jasmine screamed, falling to the ground as it shook. “Sky!” She jerked her head around, watching as he fought off one of the cobras. “Sky! Oh shit!” She screamed, the two cobras opening their mouths, and swallowing them whole. Great. I’m going to die being devoured by a snake, she thought just as the world tilted.
“Whoa…” She gasped, teetering, her eyes suddenly widening as she raised her head. Where’d the snakes go? she wondered, staring above her at the palace ceiling that was now back in place. What the hell happened? “Sky?”
“I’m right here, Jasmine,” Sky said, appearing by her side.
“Sky, I’m confused,” Jasmine said, scratching her head. “What happened?”
“Everything’s the way it’s supposed to be,” Sky said, pointing behind him, where a black lamp was now lying in the middle of the throne room. “Jafar’s exactly where he’s supposed to be, and Genie…” He smiled, gesturing above them as the gold cuffs were released from the Genie’s wrists. “Is free, just like in the story.”
“My favorite part,” Jasmine said, smiling, as she stared up at the Genie she had grown to love as a child. “What about Jasmine? I saw her get struck by those swords. And Aladdin?”
“Right where they’re supposed to be,” Sky said, pointing to where they were standing in front of the throne.
“I now pronounce you, husband and wife,” Jasmine’s father was saying, grinning from ear to ear. “You can now kiss the bride.”
She smiled, holding a hand to her heart, as the two kissed. “We did it?”
“No, you did it,” Sky said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. “It was a true act of bravery that returned everything back to the way it was. A true act of love, and they could have never done it without you.” He pulled her close. “By the way, you’re important to me too.”
“What?” Jasmine spun around, her eyes widening. “Oh, wait! You’re talking about what I said in the cave of wonders aren’t you?”
“I am,” Sky said. “I’ve never met anyone like you before, Jasmine. You’re funny. You’re smart. You’re beautiful, and you drive me absolutely crazy! But we can’t be together. It’s against the rules.”
“The rules?”
“The rules to being an angel. I can’t ever be with a charge, romantically. It’s a conflict of interest.”
“But…”
“You should never let rules stand in the way of true love,” Fairytale Jasmine walked up to them, her hand in Aladdin’s. “I should know. It almost kept me and Aladdin apart.”
“Then I guess the question you have to ask, is, is it worth the risk?” Jasmine said, glancing up at Sky.
Sky smiled. “Somehow, I think it is.” He leaned forward, brushing his l
ips against hers. “The rules be damned.”
Jasmine laughed, returning the kiss, and the ground suddenly opened underneath her.
“Uh oh.”
“Here we go again!” Sky cried. “Hold on, Jasmine!”
“Are we going where I think we’re going?” Jasmine asked.
“I think we’re finally going home,” Sky said, wrapping his hand around hers. “Together.”
“Stupid freaking step-mother. Who does she think she is? Telling me to sweep. To mop. To dust. To muck out the stalls. It’s not fair!” Jade let out a sound of frustration, heaving the pitch fork over her shoulder, and glancing at the Palomino behind her. “Don’t worry, I’m not mad at you,” she said, walking forward and resting her hand on his big nose. He snorted, nudging her hand, and she smiled, gazing down the row of stalls at the horses. “You know, you remind me of a horse I used to have a long time ago,” she said, softly. “A time, when things weren’t quite as confusing. When things were easier.”
“When you weren’t a witch?”
Jade glanced over her shoulder, nodding at Cinderella. “Yes. When I wasn’t a witch.”
“Do you regret it?”
“Regret what?”
“Becoming a witch.”
Jade lifted the brush, running it along horse’s coat. “I could never regret it, Cinderella. It’s part of who I am. I could never deny myself that.” She sighed, continuing to brush the horse. “But there are things I do regret. Things I’ve done, most of all, I’m saddened by some stuff.” She lifted a hand to her stomach. “I was pregnant, Cinderella. I had a baby, and I lost it. But I never dealt with my feelings. With my emotions. I just expect everything to be the same.”
“Jade…”
“Let me guess, you’re going to tell me you’re sorry, right?” Jade laughed, shaking her head. “I was in the middle of an impossible choice, Cinderella. A choice to either bring my sister back to life or lose someone I love. Although, I never expected the person to be taken from me, to be so small.” She bowed her head. “It’s father was evil. A demon. A monster, but the baby is where it’s supposed to be. Up in heaven.”
Once Upon a Hallow’s Eve Page 8
