Grace's Adventure With Aladdin and the King of Thieves

Chapter 6

"I find my son, and lose my enemy" Cassim said walking through a river, carrying a torch "you did your old man proud, Aladdin"

"I was just trying to stay alive" Aladdin said while holding Grace against his shoulder

"Ha! If you didn't fight, you would have been killed" Cassim said "so says the code of the Forty Thieves"

"Does this code have any rules that don't end in death?" Iago asked

"It's a strict code. But there's one thing that I added" Cassim said "we never hurt the innocent"

Cassim stops in front of a wall covered in markings

"For future reference, I'm as innocent as the day I was hatched" Iago said

"Oh brother..." Abu said

"My men don't even know about this place" Cassim said

Cassim pulls a brooch off his cape, and puts it into a carving on the wall. The wall slides away to reveal a room. Everyone walks into the room. Cassim begins lighting the torches in the room

"Listen boy, there is a treasure. The Ultimate Treasure" Cassim throws his torch into water, extinguishing it "Compared to this, a pharaoh's tomb is a pauper's grave. A sultan's fortune nothing but... lunch money! And I am this close to it..."

Cassim makes a gesture with his hand, indicating how close

"That's tantalizingly close..." Iago said

"But it's on an island that is never in the same place twice" Cassim digs into a closet and pulls out a rug "the Vanishing Isle"

"That... would be a problem" Iago said

"What is this Ultimate Treasure?" Aladdin asked

"The big one, boy. The Hand of Midas" Cassim said

Cassim unravels the carpet. It is blue, marked with a large design of a turtle. In the middle of the turtle, there is a blue and yellow ring. Inside the ring, is a golden hand, the same hand as on Cassim's brooch and the Midas Dagger

"It's just a myth!" Aladdin rolled his eyes

"It's not a myth, boy" Cassim said

Cassim grabs a torch. He pulls aside a green curtain, revealing steps leading to the sea. Cassim makes his way down the stairs. The others follow

"It was once right here, look, there's your proof" Cassim angles the torch to the water. A reflection of a golden ship appears "from stern to stem, every piece of rigging every peg and board, all of it! Solid gold!"

"Oooh..." Abu amazed

"Adopt me Daddy-o!" Iago said

"Please don't make it weird" Grace said to Iago

"Touched by the Hand of Midas" Cassim said

"And sunk by it..." Aladdin said

Aladdin makes his way up the stairs

"You don't understand. You don't know what it's like to have nothing. To stare up at the palace and know you deserve more" Cassim throws the torch into the water "to be called street rat"

"Yes, I do" Aladdin said and Grace gave him a little hug

"I knew exactly what I wanted for my family, the best" Cassim coming through the curtain, puts his arm around Aladdin's shoulders "I couldn't give up and go back empty handed. But the weeks turned into months and the months turned into years... I came back to Agrabah one night, but I couldn't find my wife, or my son. I thought my family was lost forever. At that moment, I would have traded anything to get your mother back..."

"We never wanted gold... we wanted you. I wanted a father, I still do. Come to my wedding" Aladdin said "this time, you have an invitation"

"Aladdin, I just don't know" Cassim said

"Dad, I'm not going back to Agrabah until morning. At least think about it?" Aladdin said as he, Grace and Abu exit

At dawn, Cassim, Iago, Grace and Abu were standing outside the lair. Aladdin, riding on Carpet, flies over to them

"Hop on, Dad!" Aladdin said

"Oh no! It's a rug, you sweep dirt under it, you don't fly on it. At least, I don't" Cassim said

"Don't be afraid, it's fun!" Aladdin said

"I am not afraid!" Cassim said "now, get off that thing before you break your neck!"

"I trust Carpet with my life!" Aladdin jumps off Carpet and to Carpet "give 'em time, he'll come around"

"We'll take horses" Cassim walking up some stairs "horses were good enough for my father, and his father before him and they were always good enough for me"

"He sounds like a father, alright" Aladdin said

"Uh huh" Abu said

Aladdin and Cassim rode away from the lair on horses while Grace, Iago and Abu were riding on Carpet