Jasmine

Jasmine - final Part - For the closure

Flower blooms atop the thorns,

All in the perceiver's eyes,

Now, tell me what is beautiful,

And, what is otherwise ?

Jasmine stirred from her exhaustion to the bright sky, which was blurred at places by white clouds. She discerned with the smell of the soil that she was still in the forest. Her man was slumbering next to her with his hands wrapped around her arms, as a baby would do to his mother. She skimmed through the nearby trees and deciphered that Abu and Cipha had left them. Unbothered by a bird perched on her, Sahari was feeding on some dry grass.

Jasmine took this moment of peace to ponder on her thoughts. The scene of the fight played in her head. Jafar wasn't just evil, but he was smart too. Of all the magic he could have obtained, he went to the Goddess of death.

'Can he be killed?'

She knew he wasn't immortal; only that Nephthia chose to side him.

'What does she gain by this ?'

She settled that Jafar must have given her something which was her weakness.

Jasmine was lost in her thoughts for almost an hour. She was making rationale decisions in her head. Whether they would work or not, only time would tell. But, she had to do something better than lying down here in the forest.

'What could the worst be ? Losing the kingdom ? Death? Leaving the subjects under the wrath of someone evil like Jafar ?'

She shuddered at the last line of thoughts. She wasn't exactly competing against Jafar, but Queen of death.

She felt her right side of the neck turn numb, and to stretch it , she pulled her neck at a right angle. In the line of gaze , she saw Sahari still feeding on the leaves.

She looked on, making certain pronouncements in her head.

When the pieces of decision aligned in her head, and a determination awoke within her, she shook Aladdin gently.

"Mmm..", he murmured in his sleep.

"Aladdin, do you know how long it has been since the fight ?", she shook him again.

Aladdin opened an eye and squinted at the sky.

"Seems like late afternoon", he answered.

Jasmine had to return to meet Jafar, but she knew this would anger Aladdin. Whatever his emotions were, he needed to just trust her on this.

"Do you know what happened last night ? How many were hurt ?"

"I don't know, but I assume lot of deaths, while Jafar is still breathing."

'She always thinks of her people'

"Aladdin, didn't you go and check on those people?"

Aladdin was exasperated by her question. He was fully awake at her insult.

"Sorry, I have been taking care of you. In case you didn't notice". He swallowed the last line.

Jasmine bent her torso, and he helped her sit , balancing on a stump of a tree.

"Can we go back? I want to talk to Jafar?" , she asked finally after minutes of silence.

Aladdin gasped in shock.

"Are you out of your mind ? That man was ready to finish you, and you want to make peace with him ?"

"Will you trust me on this?", she said slowly looking into his eyes.