Preface
“Come on, we’re almost out of Agrabah!” I yelled back. My boots kicked up sand as we tore through the narrow alleyway toward the edge of the city.
Aladdin was right on my heels, but suddenly, his pace faltered.
His eyes went wide with sheer shock.
I froze and turned back. He was staring down at his chest—the tip of a cold steel blade was poking straight through his tunic.
Before he could even utter a word, the sword was violently pulled backward.
Blood spilled onto the stone, and Aladdin collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
Standing behind him, holding the blood-stained hilt, was Queen Jasmine.
“NO! MURDERER!” I shouted, my voice echoing off the mud-brick walls.
I lunged forward, but before I could take two steps, two royal guards slammed into my sides. Heavy hands gripped my arms, pinning them behind my back.
I thrashed and kicked with everything I had, straining against their weight, but they held me fast.
Jasmine stepped over Aladdin’s body without even looking down. She walked up to me with a cold, terrifying calm—not a trace of the gentle princess left in her eyes.
Her hand reached out, her fingers locking onto my chin with an iron grip, forcing my head up so I had no choice but to look directly into her eyes.
“Traitor! How could you do this to your own friend?!” Jasmine cried out, her voice cracking as she threw her hands over her face, putting on a flawless performance.
She collapsed back slightly into the arms of another guard, fake sobbing loudly. “You killed him! You killed my Aladdin!”
“No, I didn’t! I saw you murder him right in front of me!” I yelled, straining against the heavy iron grip on my arms.
Jasmine let out a sharp gasp, looking at the guards through tear-filled, wide eyes.
“Me? Murder my beloved?” She shivered, her voice trembling with perfect innocence. “How could you say such a monstrous thing? I could never do such a terrible act!”
The guards didn’t hesitate for a second. They believed every word of her royal act.
“Silence, criminal!” one of them growled, shoving me hard.
They dragged me backward through the dirt, pulling me toward the dark, stone steps leading down into the palace dungeon.
As they forced me away, I looked back over my shoulder one last time.
The tears on Jasmine’s face instantly dried up. The trembling stopped.
Standing over Aladdin’s body, Queen Jasmine slowly gave me a cold, sinister smile... and offered a gentle, delicate wave goodbye.
She had won the first round. She got away with it.
