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Sacrifices & The Ends of the Earth

"You're insignificant, an irritation I no longer need to tolerate once I ensure your agonising death by banishing you to the ends of the earth..."

Her heart stopped temporarily.

His betrayal instantly became irrelevant.

"N-No," She stammered, dread weaving itself through her sorrowful tone. The teardrops trickling down her gleaming cheeks suddenly subsided at the mention of Aladdin's execution. Instead, horror rippled through her brunette eyes, mirroring the unease gushing through her chest.

Alarm flashed across his facial features. This was it. He was completely mindful that his destiny was sealed since he was immobilised by Jafar's enchanted staff, in fact, he should've expected this sooner. Loopholes were non-existent at this point.

His eyes never left hers.

Jasmine noticed Aladdin surveying her earnestly, acceptance swimming in his eyes. She looked back at him, not deeming this as their final moment. But his eyes believed a different truth. In spite of knowing all too well that he would be dead in a matter of seconds, he exhibited a soothing demeanour through his eyes which declared: "it's okay." It was almost as if he was bidding her goodbye with his eyes.

Detecting the clear-cut terror slithering upon her countenance activated a fusion of relief and heartache in him; It was a privilege to know that she could overlook his deception, however, inflicting grief upon her as a result of his banishment was never his objective: he only aimed to steal the lamp so he could rescue her kingdom.

Jasmine couldn't lose him. She wouldn't justify it. Extermination was extremely inappropriate. Sure, he was dishonest about his social status, however, a lie similar to his had vacated her magenta lips before.

An insane scheme launched through her mind: She'd shove him away from Jafar's staff, hopefully hindering Aladdin's exile. She couldn't care less whether it implied her being his replacement. Her own safety was no longer her concern. She'd act as his substitute any day if it guaranteed that he lived a painless life.

In a matter of seconds, Jafar mercilessly plunged his enchanted staff against the costly, wooden flooring of the palace, producing a thundering clank and a circular hole no doubt.

"It's now or never," Jasmine murmured inaudibly, pep-talking herself.

She rushed forward, skilfully dodging her father's bodily restraint and dismissing his panicked requests, insisting for her to: "stay back". Pleading with her was hopeless since she was adamant about this. Not even her own father could get through to her. She forcefully rammed herself against his slim figure, however, he remained stationary. Abu too.

His heartbeat boosted abnormally.

"Jasmine, get out of here," Aladdin begged, concern coating his tone, making him sound as if he was on the edge of weeping, still powerless against Jafar's sorcery, "We can't prevent my banishment, but if you just move, you can be saved."

"No, Aladdin!" Jasmine declined passionately, frantically shoving him over and over again ineffectively, "I'm not leaving you for dead."

Jafar wore a chilling smirk, demonstrating his amusement. The death of the princess was the perfect ingredient to provoke Aladdin and the Sultan's suffering; Jasmine playing martyr was displeasing Aladdin, automatically igniting triumph within the depths of Jafar's mind. Executing the Sultans daughter, although initially unplanned, tasted delicious as vengeance. It sufficed, especially since his craving involved the Sultan enduring an overwhelming wave of trauma as he did for all those years.

"Jasmine, please!" Aladdin demanded, his tone wobbly.

It was too late.

SWOOSH!

A sudden, icy whirlwind enveloped the three of them. A drastic switch in weather conditions caught her off guard. She could already feel her teeth chattering from the chilling temperature that was penetrating her skin. Mid-blizzard, Abu pounced into Aladdin's vest, shielding himself from the upcoming outdoor freezer, signalling to Aladdin that movement was no longer a restriction. Aladdin retained feeling in his body seconds later, but he could no longer push Jasmine away for she was cornered by Jafar's paranormal transportation vortex. Instead, he clutched her hand reassuringly, basically grasping a handful of the ice itself. Neglecting the numbness, he squeezed his eyes shut, feeling her squeeze his hand back reassuringly.

A void of blackness invaded their eyesight.

Aladdin's unconscious form faced upwards, submerged in the glacial surface.

Abu whimpered from his vest, wrapping the shabby material around his tiny body furthermore to act as a blanket before he nestled his head against Aladdin's frigid skin. The effects weren't significant but not non-existent either. Normally, his fur served him well in chilly settings. However, it wasn't designed to protect him from deathly climates at a supposedly mythical destination.

Snow drizzled from Aladdin's eyelashes as his eyes fluttered open. Endless goosebumps decorated his strikingly lightened skin as unpreventable shudders leaked from his cracked, colourless lips. This wasn't good, it was only a matter of time before he dropped dead, before Jasmine dropped dead.

...

He immediately shot up.

"JASMINE!!!" Aladdin hollered hysterically, unaccountable robustness surfacing randomly, prompting his unfeeling legs to spring up.

Abu squeaked in complaint after almost slipping from his vest. He cared for his companions' safety, however, identifying Jasmines whereabouts was his principal priority right now. Because of this, he simply cupped his vest, hindering Abu from plummeting into the snow.

He boundlessly trekked around the glacial landscape, wailing her name optimistically, even with zero indications of feedback. Vivid conspiracy theories surrounding her current condition swarmed his mind, only intensifying his anxiety, however, surrender wasn't an option in his manual. Searching would subside when he found her lifeless remains, well, if hypothermia hadn't wrestled him to the ground already.

Abu whimpered. The unsettling truth was transparent to him: She'd perished due to breaking her neck on impact or hypothermia. However, he couldn't destroy his best friend like that. Aladdin would certainly give him a cold shoulder. Jasmine was a protagonist in Aladdin's epitome of a contented life. Assuming Aladdin and Abu made it out alive, the truth would slaughter his aspirations for a joyous future. Coming to terms with her death was something he'd have to do on his own...

Her eyes shot open.

A hardcore throbbing tingle penetrated her skin, shuddering seemed permanent, maintaining the sufficient intake of oxygen entailed a series of strained wheezes and the masterpiece which was her freshly shampooed raven ringlets had collapsed from its half up, half down hairstyle into an unkempt frenzy with bits of frost decorating most strands. She would be astonished if her lips hadn't turned blue. Despite the pain, she stood up.

She thought she heard Aladdin desperately shouting her name. His angelic voice sounded faraway, so far away that it almost sounded like it could be a figment of her imagination. Who's to say it wasn't? However, optimism kindled the undying faith that she wasn't confined in a hallucination.

Capturing his attention was key right now.

"Aladdin," She squeaked, her voice corresponding with a mouse; unconfident, fragile and unheard.

Discouragement was gradually exterminating all his faith ferociously. She was nowhere to be found. Sure, the realm was enormous -according to his calculations, Agrabah was a mouse in comparison to the Ends of the Earth which was a dinosaur- however, they couldn't have landed extremely far from each other.

"JASMINE!"

"Aladdin!" She croaked, her vocal cords trembling as her projection amplified insignificantly. Her throat felt as if it was on fire which was quite ironic considering the opposing weather conditions. She still followed his voice.

"JASMINE!"

With a click of Genie's azure fingers, Carpet expertly zoomed through the chilling air plagued with limitless snowflakes in the route of Aladdin's quavering wails.

"JAS-"

SWISH!

Puzzlement swamped his system. How in the world were he and Abu hovering mid-air? However, the mystery merely lasted five seconds before the missing puzzle piece spontaneously locked into its designated spot; he was friends with a mystical Genie who doubtlessly sent his magic carpet to his aid.

There was no time to waste: With Carpets assistance, Jasmine's whereabouts would be clear in no time.

"Carpet, I need to find Jasmine!" He ordered frantically, an uncommon element of assertiveness altering his tone.

Carpet knew Aladdin would shred him into a pencil-thin, swirly mess of rainbow-like string with the mere pressure of his enraged stare if he refused, however, finding the Princess was already a prime concern of his. He wouldn't have left without finding her anyway. The Sultan wouldn't be impressed by Carpet retrieving Aladdin but not Jasmine.

Carpet soared through the frigid air rapidly, obeying his wishes. Aladdin himself cautiously patrolled the area from a birds-eye view, alert for any traces of Jasmine. He pictured Genie pulling out a pair of binoculars from thin air and commentating as if he was a pilot on duty. Thankfully, the Genie wasn't there because if so, Aladdin's irritation would only heighten. He doubted any of his companions would want to deal with that.

Through blurred vision, Jasmine identified a rectangular silhouette voyaging hurriedly through the sky. Evidently, it wasn't a bird, life forms didn't exist at the ends of the earth. It was a Magic Carpet, but not just any magic carpet; Aladdin's Magic Carpet.

Hope glistened in her utmost delicate era.

Her survival relied on her voice being audible from metres above. Phrases of encouragement like: "YOU CAN DO THIS!" and "KEEP FIGHTING!" replayed on an infinite loop inside her head, convincing herself that capturing his attention was achievable. She inhaled a mouthful of oxygen deeply as if she was low on the recourse. An unexplainable gust of energy extracted from an intense desire to succeed in fulfilling such a vital motive, pulsed through her veins, prompting herself not to go speechless once again:

"ALADDIN!"

An unmissable feminine voice sliced the silence like a knife, seizing his attention. He'd have to be deaf not to hear it. He turned his head so fast that he could endure whiplash and studied below frantically. Abu recognised a vibrant blend of magenta, gold and teal metres below. He poked Aladdin roughly, snapping him out of his panic-stricken quest.

"What is it, Abu?" Aladdin questioned

Abu pointed out what looked like a multicoloured, eye-catching blob against the immeasurable blank white sheet of snow. A thankful smile danced across his lips, replacing the frown.

"Over there!" Aladdin instructed, grasping fistfuls of the material at the edge of the Carpet as a safety precaution prior to navigating it to travel to the right and then straight downwards. Carpet swerved sideways, following the instructions. Approximately at the speed of light, Carpet dived in the direction of her whereabouts.

Although she couldn't feel her lips move as a result of the deathly climate, they curved into an appreciative grin. She would survive. Not even the Ends of the Earths could defeat her. What a title to have: A survivor of the Ends of the Earth. As soon as she felt alive again, Jafar was in for a knuckle sandwich. How delicious.

The landing was rough, to say the least: The passengers were flung violently onto the ground with a thud. Jasmine cringed at the sound, internally hoping none of them had injured themselves. Although both had, the inflicted injuries were minor such as a fuschia bruise decorating Aladdin's knee as well as a crimson scratch mark inhabiting Abu's cheek. Aladdin picked himself up instantly, sprinting to the princess.

He soon froze and it wasn't because of the hypothermic temperature.

Jasmine resembled a corpse - he would've even mistaken her for one, however, her chattering teeth thankfully proved otherwise. Her typical radiant complexion had been drained, making her skin look shockingly pale - he'd even go as far to say that her skin probably matched the colour of the snow. Gosh, he probably looked worse.

"Are you just going to stand there and look at me as if I'm dead?" She asked, amusement flashing through her eyes.

Aladdin unfroze the second a smirk slithered upon her nearly blue lips. Gosh, he missed her, and even if it felt like they'd been apart for a lifetime, they'd only parted for twenty minutes maximum. In his defence, you tend to miss someone a lot more if you think they're deceased.

Before he had the chance to dart to her, Carpet swept them both of their feet and in the direction of Agrabah. They'd been at the Ends of the Earth long enough.

She leaned her head into the crook of his neck, squeezing her eyes shut tightly to savour the comforting feeling. His arms felt like a safe haven, mimicking the security she felt when residing in her mother's arms years earlier. It was a feeling she wasn't sure she was ever going to experience once again an hour ago.

Aladdin slid his arm around her waist protectively and also squeezed his eyes shut, praising the Lord over and over again that they'd found her before it was too late. However, guilt was still eating him up inside. If he hadn't decided against going through with Genie's advice to stay back, Jasmine being plagued with hypothermia wouldn't be a possibility.

"I'm so glad we found you," Aladdin murmured, cradling her in his arms with the intentions of never letting her go again - other than for a bathroom break, "I don't know what I would've done with myself if I lost you, especially since it's my fault you're even here in the first place."

Her heart swelled at his words.

"Hey, hey, you didn't lose me," She reassured him, unlatching herself from his embrace so she could inspect his countenance. She grasped his hand softly when discerning his regretful expression. "And this isn't your fault, Aladdin, it's Jafar's. So don't you dare blame yourself!"

Aladdin avoided her gaze at all costs, suddenly finding the setting below him rather enticing. If he looked at Jasmine, he'd only be confronted by the mess he'd made. How could she say this wasn't his fault? Venom intermixed with a tinge of vulnerability trickled from the next words he spat, "But if I hadn't reached for the lamp, you wouldn't be here. Jasmine, you could have hypothermia because of my lack of logic and patience!"

"I don't want to hear it!" Jasmine declared, "Look at me, Aladdin!"

He stubbornly continued to peer downward.

"Look at me, Aladdin!" She declared once again, her tone plagued with a assertiveness.

This time, Aladdin listened. He tilted his head upwards and looked to Jasmine. Only when he looked at her did she realise how responsible he felt. His eyes were watery and had reddened moderately. A single tear rolled down his cheek. He felt so responsible to the extent that he was crying. Jasmine extended her thumb and tenderly brushed it away.

"Aladdin, You didn't do this." She reassured him, thief eye contact with each other persisting. She then cupped his cheek. "Jafar did, okay? You didn't send me here, Jafar did. Please don't blame yourself."

"I can't help it," He sniffled, cherishing her touch despite it feeling as though the temperature of skin was below minus a million degrees. "I hate the fact that you could've died here because I made an irrational decision."

"Either way, Jafar would've done something." She informed him, "He had been mistreating us from the start. Don't blame yourself."

Aladdin still felt as if he was partly accountable, but didn't dare voice his outlook.

"I won't."

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