Disclaimer: I don't own Aladdin.
'blah' means thoughts
Author's Note: This is the third companion pieces to Of Sorcerers and Mischief (the second ending that is). It is the longest yet, but it is also my favorite piece so far.
Knock, knock.
“Come in,” Mozenrath said from his place on the bed. Jasmine walked in.
“Aladdin and the others are on a diplomatic mission.”
“Why aren't you with them?”
“It could be treacherous.” Mozenrath grinned. He could tell she was imitating her father. “Besides, it gives us a chance to do something together.”
“Like what?”
“If you could do anything, what would it be?”
“I would be reading the tomes and scrolls that are in my library.”
“In the Citadel?”
“Yes.”
“Well, why don't we go get some of them?”
“You don't mind?”
“I wouldn't have suggested it if I did.”
“Before we go...” Mozenrath trailed off. He stood up. His Gauntlet glowed blue, and his clothes changed to a smaller version of his dark blue ensemble sans the turban and neck piece. He swooned slightly before shaking his head. “Let's go.”
“Shall I get camels or horses?”
“Neither. I know a few shortcuts that will need to be traversed on foot.”
“Will we be safe from the Mamluks?”
“We should have no problem. They fear the Gauntlet.”
“I need to get my traveling cloak. Then, we can go.” Jasmine sighed. “I'll need to have a new cloak made soon.”
Mozenrath closed his eyes, and his Gauntlet glowed blue again, and Jasmine's clothes changed color from her normal green-blue to a dark blue, and a brand new dark blue traveling cloak appeared around her shoulders. The princess gasped, and her ward opened his eyes and gripped the side of his bed to keep from falling.
“Are you all right?”
Mozenrath shook his head. “I think so. Let's go.”
The duo walked out of the palace and all the way out of the city. As she followed his lead, Jasmine could tell Mozenrath was preoccupied.
“What are you thinking about?”
“What do you think about Xerxes coming back with us?”
“As long as he doesn't cause any trouble, I don't see a problem with it.” Seeing Mozenrath's smile, Jasmine asked, “You miss him, don't you?”
“Yes. Seeing Aladdin with his monkey and you with Rajah made me realize I miss Xerxes being nearby.”
Jasmine smiled and changed the topic. “How close are we?”
“After we climb this hill, there is a bridge across which my kingdom begins. The Citadel is easily seen once we cross the bridge.”
They climbed the hill and stood in front of a rickety-looking bridge.
“Is there another way?” Jasmine asked.
Mozenrath shook his head. “It would take longer.”
Jasmine grasped his left hand and said, “If we take it slow, we should be okay.”
They started to slowly cross the bridge, and the further they got the more rickety the bridge became. This continued until the bridge broke. Mozenrath grabbed a hold of the broken rope handle with his right hand and a hold of Jasmine with his left.
“You can't hold both of us!”
'If I use magic, I can.' “Jasmine, I need my other hand.”
Jasmine grabbed her ward's foot with her other hand and let go of his hand. Mozenrath grabbed the rope with his other hand and released the part of the rope his right hand was holding. My Gauntlet glowed, and the glow spread to both his body and Jasmine's. He levitated both of them to the safety of the black sand. The second their feet touched the sand glow disappeared, and Jasmine smiled. “Thank you, Mozenrath. I'm glad-Mozenrath, are you okay?”
The young sorcerer swooned slightly before falling to the ground out cold. Jasmine knelt down next to him and shook his shoulders. “Wake up, Mozenrath. Mozenrath? Mozenrath!”
No matter what she did he wouldn't wake. 'A fine time for Aladdin, Genie, and Carpet to be away. I don't know what's wrong with him.' Jasmine looked up at the Citadel and then back down at the unconscious boy. 'I have to get him inside. Then, maybe I can get help.'
Jasmine picked up the little dark-haired sorcerer and stealthily made her way to the Citadel. Avoiding the Mamluks turned out to be relatively easy thanks to her dark clothing. She pushed on the door with her back and tentatively entered the Citadel. Looking around, the princess realized she had no idea what the layout of the Citadel was.
Fortunately, Xerxes spied her. He flew over. “Why you here?”
“I need help.”
“Master not here.”
“Yes, he is.” Jasmine shifted under the slight weight of the sorcerer, effectively catching Xerxes's attention.
“Master! What wrong?”
“I don't know.”
“Get lab, get lab.” Xerxes flew off in the direction of Mozenrath's laboratory. Jasmine followed the flying eel.
Jasmine laid her ward on one of the tables. Xerxes looked around. “Where Genie?”
“He's not here. It's just me and Mozenrath.”
“Contact Genie.”
“I don't have the lamp, and he's not in a nearby city...but Eden is in Agrabah! Is there a way to contact her?”
Xerxes nudged a small hand mirror towards her. “This. Say name. Talk to her.”
Jasmine grabbed the mirror. “Eden.” Magic crackled across the mirror's reflective surface before Eden's face appeared. “Eden, can you hear me?”
“Jasmine? What's going on?”
“I need your help. I'm in The Land of the Black Sand. How fast can you get to the Citadel?”
“I'm there now.”
Jasmine looked up and saw Eden. She put the mirror down. “I'm so glad you're here.”
“What do you need my help with, and why are you in Mozenrath's kingdom?”
“Mozenrath's mother turned him into a child as a punishment, and he's been staying at my palace ever since. He and I decided to come here to get some tomes and scrolls for him to read and to ask Xerxes if he wants to come with us.”
“Master wants Xerxes?” the eel questioned.
“Yes, he does. Anyway, after using magic to save our lives, he fell unconscious, and I don't know what's wrong or how to wake him up.” Jasmine led Eden over to the table Mozenrath was laying on. “Please help him.”
“I will.” Eden proceeded to conjure up a medical bag and run a lot of tests. Once she finished, the bag vanished.
“What's wrong with him, Eden?” Jasmine asked.
“From what I can tell, it seems to be some sort of magical exhaustion. His body doesn't seem to be used to the amount of magic he's been using. As for waking him up, he'll wake up once he's rested.”
“Well, that's a relief. Xerxes, please lead me to Mozenrath's room, so I can make sure he's comfortable while he rests. Eden, Genie is with Aladdin in Getzistan on a diplomatic mission. Tell him what's going on, and tell Carpet to come here so we have a way to get back to Agrabah.” Jasmine picked up the child and followed the flying eel to Mozenrath's bedroom while the female jinn left, heading for Getzistan.
Once they arrived in Mozenrath's bedroom, Jasmine laid the young sorcerer gently on the bed. She covered him a blanket and brushed a curl out of his face. Xerxes watched this from his pillow next to his master's head. He was so glad his master wanted him near, but the princess was acting weird. Didn't she hate his master? Xerxes didn't know and decided to watch and stick close to his master.
%%% HOURS LATER
Mozenrath opened his eyes, sat up, and looked around. He recognized the room he was in as his bedroom in the Citadel, but he didn't remember arriving. He was still pondering this fact, when Xerxes came in. “Master awake!”
Xerxes flew over and laid across Mozenrath's shoulders. Mozenrath lifted his left hand and started stroking his familiar. Having heard Xerxes's exclamation, Jasmine ran into the room and over to the sorcerer and his eel. She wrapped her arms around the sorcerer. “Oh, Mozenrath! I was so worried!”
“Jasmine, let go.” The sorcerer was released, and Xerxes laid across his master's shoulders once again. He had flown off when Jasmine had rushed over. “What happened?”
“Well, after you saved us, you fell unconscious, and I brought you to the Citadel, where I ran across Xerxes.”
“Xerxes help Princess,” the eel spoke up from his place across his master's shoulders.
Mozenrath brought his left hand back up and continued stroking Xerxes. “Good boy, Xerxes. Go ahead, Jasmine.”
“With Xerxes's help, I contacted Eden, Genie's girlfriend, and she discovered you were suffering from some sort of magical exhaustion.”
“What? Is she sure?” Mozenrath's left hand paused in its movement.
“From what she could tell, but she went to talk to Genie about it, and Carpet is suppose to rendezvous with us here, but that was hours ago. I hope nothing happened.”
“Hey, Jas. How is he?” called a new voice from the doorway.
All three occupants looked at the door, where Aladdin, Genie, Carpet, Abu, and Iago stood (the latter two were seated on Carpet).
“Aladdin? I thought you were on a diplomatic mission,” Jasmine spoke up.
“I was. We finished all the diplomacy stuff earlier today, and we were going to spend the night there and journey back home tomorrow, but when we heard something was wrong with Mozenrath, I gave out apologies to the sultan and told him that a family emergency has called us away.”
Genie popped over to the boy sorcerer. “He seems okay to me now.”
“You should have seen him a few hours ago!” Jasmine retorted.
“Take it easy, Princess. We came all this way 'cause Al was worried 'bout the kid,” Iago grumped. “I wanted to stay at the casinos.”
“Aladdin like Master?” Xerxes questioned.
“Yes, he does, although I have a question for him. Why would you tell the sultan it was a family emergency?” Mozenrath asked. “I'm not family.”
“You're as good as family,” Aladdin answered.
“We're so close it seems like you could be my son,” Jasmine whispered to the sorcerer.
Just then, Mirage appeared and glared at Jasmine. “Get away from my son!”
“You lost any claim to him when you did that to him!” Jasmine exclaimed, gesturing to Mozenrath.
“How I treat my son is none of your concern!”
Jasmine opened her mouth to retort, but Aladdin jumped in. “Easy, Jas. Mirage, at the moment, we have no quarrel with you, but I have a couple of questions. First and most importantly, what kind of spell did you cast on Mozenrath? We know you are not willing to reverse it, but it's causing him to experience magical exhaustion.”
“Prolonged magic causes dizzy spells and periods of unconsciousness; both of which I've witnessed!” Jasmine added.
“I cast a simple rejuvenation spell. The genie should be able to tell you about it. If not, I'm sure Mozenrath has books detailing the spell,” Mirage said.
Aladdin nodded. “My second question is why would you cast a rejuvenation spell on your own son in the first place?”
“Why don't you ask him?” Mirage purred.
“I have a question for you, Mirage. Why did you react so negatively when I said Mozenrath and I are close enough that he could have been my son?”
“He is still mine!”
“You abandoned him!”
While the two females argued, Mozenrath leaned back against his pillows, once again stroking his familiar. “Doesn't anyone care what I want?”
“Xerxes care, Master.”
“I know you do. Apparently, Jasmine didn't hear me.”
“Xerxes get Princess.” The eel flew over to Jasmine. “Princess.”
Jasmine stopped arguing and looked at Xerxes. “Yes?”
“Master speak.”
Jasmine turned to look at the little dark haired sorcerer. “Yes, Mozenrath?”
“I need you to stop arguing with Mirage.” He took a deep breath and leveled a glare reminiscent of his older self at the cat-like enchantress. “Leave.”
Mirage was slightly startled by her son's word. “What?”
“As Lord of the Black Sand, I am ordering you to leave my Citadel.” Magic crackled around the Gauntlet. “I have no qualms about using this against my own flesh and blood. This is your last chance. Leave or suffer the consequences.”
At first, it seemed as if Mirage was going to stand her ground, but she disappeared when she saw Mozenrath raising his Gauntleted hand. He lowered his hand after she disappeared and exhaled. “Good. I was concerned she was going to call my bluff.”
“What?” Aladdin questioned.
“I have no interest in falling unconscious again.”
Iago flew over to the boy sorcerer. “Ya know, you never gave us an answer as to why Mirage turned you into a kitten.”
Mozenrath back-handed the parrot. “I am not a kitten!”
Iago landed on the floor with a squawk. Aladdin stepped over the bird. “It is a good point.”
Knowing neither Aladdin nor Jasmine would drop the subject, Mozenrath sighed. “Mirage saw some of the events concerning the Book of Khartoum and the Philosopher's stone. She said I wasn't acting my age, so she wanted to teach me a lesson.”
A few moments of silence passed before Jasmine said, “Well, I, for one, am glad she did. I would miss you too much if she removed the spell, especially now that I feel that you could be our son.”
“Our son?” Mozenrath quickly looked at Aladdin.
“You would be Lord of the Black Sand and Prince of Agrabah if you decided to take us up on our offer to officially name you our heir.”
“You don't have to decide now. Let's figure out what we can do about your magical exhaustion first,” Jasmine added.
“Genie, do you know about the spell Mirage used?” Aladdin asked.
“Indeed I do, Al. A rejuvenation spell does just that. It returns the target's body to the age indicated in the spell. As for the magical exhaustion, I have an idea, but I have a question for Moze.”
“Moze?” The sorcerer raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah, it's a nickname. It takes so long to say Mozenrath.” The jinn grinned at the boy sorcerer.
“I like my name.”
“Better get used to it. Once Genie comes up with a nickname, he sticks with it,” Aladdin laughed.
Mozenrath resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “What is your question?”
“What age did you start training under Destane?
“I started when I was six.” Mozenrath's eyes widened as realization dawned on him.
Jasmine gasped. “No wonder you're experiencing magical exhaustion! Your five-year-old body isn't used to using magic at all!”
“I have to wait until I'm six before I can use magic with no side effects?”
“You got it, kiddo!” Genie ruffled the boy's hair.
Mozenrath pushed the blanket off of himself and got out of bed. Xerxes flew back and lay across his master's shoulders. Let's go get my tomes and scrolls before we go back to Agrabah.”
Everyone followed the young sorcerer to his library. He proceeded to quickly pull books off the shelves and stack them on the table. Carpet helped by lifting he sorcerer up to reach the higher shelves, and Xerxes helped by pulling scrolls off shelves and laying them on the table. When they were done, half the library was empty.
Jasmine looked at the amount of tomes and scrolls. “The question is how are we getting them home?”
“Allow me.” Genie zapped the piles, and they disappeared. “Now, they're in Moze's room.”
“Don't call me that.” Mozenrath was still standing on Carpet, and Xerxes had gone back to laying across the sorcerer's shoulders.
“Let's go home then,” Aladdin said as he, Jasmine, and Abu sat on Carpet. Mozenrath sat down as well, and Carpet took off with Genie and Iago following.
“Have you thought about our offer?” Jasmine asked.
“I have.” Mozenrath paused.
“And?”
Mozenrath grinned. “I would love to be your heir.”
Jasmine gave the boy a hug. “I'm so glad, my son.”
