"Our wedding was beautiful; everything I ever dreamed of..."
Jasmine would have liked some answers, as well. There was so much about this time that she didn't know. She learned the contraption they were in was called a car and was like a large horseless chariot. Rapunzel suddenly made a sharp turn off the road. Jasmine fell against the man called Rick O'Connell. He winced and Jasmine realized he was bleeding.
"You're hurt," Jasmine told him.
"I'm fine," Rick said.
"You're bleeding," Jasmine pointed out.
The other man, Flynn Rider, turned around to face them. "What? You better not be getting blood all over the car."
"I appreciate the concern," Rick muttered.
"I don't give a shit about you being shot. You shot me, remember?" Flynn stated.
Rick pressed his hand against his wound and shook his head. "I shot at you. It only grazed you."
Rapunzel pulled onto a dirt road that looked like barely more than a trail. They were in the woods now and the trees were dangerously close to the car. Jasmine feared they would crash, but Rapunzel seemed to navigate in a way to perfectly miss every tree. They bumped over the road for a few minutes before stopping in front of an impossibly small house.
"We're here," Rapunzel announced.
XXX
Not long after arriving at the house, which Jasmine was told was their "hideout", Flynn had gotten a fire going in the fireplace and the four of them were now gathered in the living room. Rapunzel and Flynn were sitting on a tattered couch while Jasmine sat on the floor next to Rick. Jasmine was fascinated as she watched Rick extract the bullet out of his wound. When he finally got the bullet out, he dropped it into a bowl Rapunzel had given him.
"Jasmine?"
Jasmine looked over at Rapunzel. "Yes?"
"What's going on?" Rapunzel repeated.
"It's kind of a long story," Jasmine told her.
"We have time."
Jasmine nodded. "Very well."
"Why don't you start with explaining how you know English," Flynn said. "You're from Agrabah, aren't you?" Jasmine nodded. "Agrabah is in the middle east; shouldn't you speak Arabic or something?"
"I think I need to start in the beginning," Jasmine said. "I was pressured by my father to get married, as all princesses are. There was a prince who came to Agrabah looking to marry me. His name was Sinbad. He was a dangerous man and I did not want to marry him. My father knew of Sinbad's reputation-"
"What reputation?" Flynn asked.
"Sinbad was a prince of a small kingdom. His older brother, Proteus, was next in line for the throne and Sindbad was not happy about that since he wanted to be king. So, Sinbad killed his parents and planned to kill Proteus. However, before he could kill his brother, the guards caught him and Proteus chased him out of the kingdom. Sinbad became a pirate and after having a taste of killing, he found he loved it. He killed most men he came across and became feared in every land." Jasmine brought her knees up to her chest and hugged them. "Anyways, I refused Sinbad and my father supported me. Sinbad left Agrabah without a fight. Not long after that I met Aladdin. He wasn't a prince, but I loved him. My father changed the law about me having to marry a prince and granted me permission to marry Aladdin." A tear rolled down Jasmine's cheek and she quickly brushed it away. "Our wedding was beautiful; everything I ever dreamed of. And I was so happy. But, it was short-lived. As it turned out, Sinbad was quite angry at being turned down. On my wedding night, he and his crew of pirates attacked the palace. Sinbad killed my father first. I was my father's successor; as long as I was alive and he was dead, I was the one true ruler of Agrabah. Sinbad knew this. He knew he couldn't be the ruler of Agrabah unless he married me and I died while he was my husband. He killed Aladdin in front of me."
"You poor thing," Rapunzel whispered, putting her hand on Jasmine's shoulder.
Jasmine wiped away more tears. "Sinbad forced me to marry him and I complied, knowing at least he'd kill me soon and I wouldn't have to live without Aladdin- or live with Sinbad. However, before he could kill me, the guards finally showed up. To protect himself from being killed, Sinbad put a curse on us, binding us together. If he died, so would I and vice versa. He thought this would prevent the guards from killing him since, in doing so, they would also kill me. And it worked, kind of. The guards didn't kill him. However, my half-brother, Mathayus, didn't know about the curse. He showed up late and upon seeing all the dead bodies and Sinbad, he stabbed Sinbad. Before Sinbad died he told Mathayus all about the lifesource bond and threatened to release a plague of death if he were to ever return." Jasmine looked over at Rick. He was biting his lip in concentration as he sewed up his wound. "You brought me back, Rick O'Connell. Your blood on my tomb while you read the inscription resurrected me and thus Sinbad as well. He'll be looking for me. He'll raise the dead and kill everyone he sees until he finds me and we return to Agrabah. Because it was your blood that brought me back, you and I are linked. I know English because you do. As long as we are both alive, we will always be able to understand each other and sense what the other is feeling- no matter how far away."
Rick stopped stitching himself up and looked at her. "Does that mean if you die, I will, too?"
"No. We would have to be bound through a curse like the one Sinbad put on me. However, I can kind of feel what you feel. For instance, the entire time you've been tending to your wound, I have felt it. I don't feel the pain as intensely as you do, it's more of a faint, dull pain. But, it's there nonetheless."
"Does that mean if you were hurt, Rick would feel the pain, too?" Rapunzel asked.
"Yes."
"If you know English because Rick does, does he know Arabic because you do?" Flynn asked.
"He should." Jasmine faced Rick again. "Marhabaan."
The corner of Rick's mouth turned up in a half smile. "She said 'hello'."
"That's so cool," Rapunzel said.
Rick shook his head. "I already know some Arabic. I would have known that anyway."
"You know Arabic?" Flynn asked.
Rick went back to stitching up his wound. "I know a little bit of a lot of languages. Enough to get by in most countries." He finished the stitches and cut the thread.
"Fi almustaqbal, min fadlik la tahsul ealaa talaqa," Jasmine told him.
Rick laughed. "No promises, princess."
"What did she say?" Flynn asked.
"In the future, please don't get shot," Jasmine translated. "It hurt feeling you dig the bullet out and sew yourself up. I can only imagine the pain of getting shot."
"Can we back up just a little bit?" Rapunzel asked. "What did you mean when you said Sinbad will raise the dead?"
"Every dead body near him will reanimate and walk the earth," Jasmine explained.
"That's awesome!" Rapunzel exclaimed. She and Flynn exchanged excited looks.
Jasmine stared at them in shock. "Excuse me? How is that awesome?"
Rapunzel grinned at her. "The zombie apocalypse is finally happening. We've been preparing for this for a couple years now."
"I don't understand," Jasmine said. "You knew Sinbad would be resurrected?"
"Well, no," Flynn corrected. "I'm guessing The Walking Dead probably doesn't mean anything to you, does it?"
Jasmine shook her head.
"Ignore them," Rick said. He got to his feet and held his hand out to her. "Come with me."
Jasmine let Rick help her up and lead her to the bathroom down the hall. He closed the door behind them and turned on the sink.
"Is there any way to stop Sinbad?" Rick asked her.
"Kill him. If Sinbad dies, so will all of the, um, zombies."
Rick picked up a small towel off the sink and stuck it under the water. "But, killing Sinbad would result in you dying, as well."
"Yes. I have already contemplated killing myself. However, I want to watch him die. I want him to suffer so he knows how I felt watching him kill Aladdin."
Rick looked at her through the reflection of the mirror. "You want revenge."
"I do." Jasmine sat down on the edge of the tub. "I loved Aladdin more than anything and Sinbad took him from me. He stole my only chance at a happy life. I won't let him get away with that."
Rick removed his shoulder holster and then his ripped shirt and set them on the floor. Jasmine couldn't help noticing all of the scars on his body. Rick caught her looking at his bare torso and gave her a smug smile. Jasmine blushed and looked away.
"You have a lot of scars, Rick O'Connell."
"You can just call me Rick, princess" he said, using the wet towel to clean the blood off his skin.
"And you can call me Jasmine," she told him.
"So, Jasmine; is there any way to kill Sinbad without killing you?"
Jasmine shook her head. "I mean, it's possible if the curse was somehow broken. But, I don't know how to do that. But, it doesn't matter. I don't belong here. I don't want to stay here."
"You're O.K. with dying?"
"Rick, I've been dead for hundreds of years. Death doesn't bother me."
Rick nodded. "But, what I don't understand is how your jewel fits into all of this."
Jasmine reached up and touched the blue jewel sewed into her dress. "What do you mean?"
"It's said that your jewel has magical properties that can bring back the dead."
"I assure you that's not true. It's just a jewel."
Rick dropped the towel on the sink. "Is it worth anything?"
"It has monetary value, but only that. Whoever told you otherwise was misinformed."
Rick eyed the jewel and Jasmine started to feel a little uneasy. "Still. I have a buyer who believes it's magic and he's ready to pay a lot of money for it."
Jasmine got to her feet. "I don't want to part with it. This stone was set in the crown my mother wore before she died. It's important to me."
Before Jasmine could register what was happening, Rick reached down, grabbed his gun and aimed it at her head. "If I kill you, I stop Sinbad and his undead army and I'll get your jewel. I see no reason to keep you alive, princess."
"I see no reason to keep you alive, princess."
