Corrupted Diamonds
The present tale is a darker alternative to the known story of Aladdin (Disney’s version).
DDA Event: Once Upon Dreams And Nightmares by @bluebird-dolly-bride!
"Corrupted Diamonds" as a darker reference to "A diamond in the rough"
Warning: Depiction of a character's death.
↓↓Story and Full image below↓↓
Summary
Corrupted Diamonds
Once upon a time, a poor, young boy wished to have it all.
Surviving day by day while others would have everything they wished for only by asking for it, is an unfair way to live.
The boy, determined to find a way out of that miserable life, wished upon stars and powerful entities for a better situation, for a life worth living, a way to show the world what he was made of... but nothing was as easy as they made it seem.
When help arrived, Aladdin easily succumbed to the greed of his heart...
In the depths of the Royal Palace, was a Princess.
Princess Jasmine faced the duty of marrying an important member of society to make the legacy of the family prevail, although nothing she ever wanted seemed to matter. Her wishes and desires drowned in the greed of those above her, as though she was but another follower.
One thousand nights romanticizing freedom weren't enough to reach it. Was it too much to ask, a voice, a love for her to choose, a chance to do what she was capable of doing...?
Jasmine swore to the moon one last time before putting her heart aside…
How far would a hopeless soul go?
I. Aladdin's side
Despair and hopelessness are enough to corrupt the most pure of hearts.
Only surviving day by day wasn’t a good way to live. Aladdin knew that well, trapped in a routine of misery and uncertainty, risking his life just to have a little more food to hang on until the next day, then everything would repeat. He took pride in his adventurous soul that helped him grow a thick skin and the ability to do what it takes to survive, no matter the cost, but how long was he supposed to live amongst danger and mischief?
Every night he would isolate in his favorite hidden spot, up in a hill of limited reach, where his personal shelter resided. Friend of the crows, who deemed him trustworthy for his tendency to share with them whatever he could get his hands on; soon enough that soft spot for the dismal birds paid off, when the feathered companions started to bring a number of interesting things to the shelter, even the food they were witty enough to take.
Up there, hidden, he had an unfiltered view of the starry sky. All those stars knew about his secrets and desires that he could hardly tell anyone else. Wishes that lived deep within a heart that little by little, in face of the circle of hopelessness that never seemed to end, had begun to darken.
Aladdin has his eyes on a goal, in more ways than one: Aside from the stars he worshiped for their purity and glow, that view also included the Royal Palace. What wouldn’t he give for a luxurious life like that one? People loving him, working for him, giving him everything he wanted while he would finally get the peace he always sought and never met. It had to be so easy to live between luxuries while people like him had to risk their lives for another day under the stars…
It made him undeniably envious.
Wishing wasn’t enough, that was clear, but what to do? If he could marry the Princess of that palace, he would have everything he wanted in the blink of an eye. Not long ago, he heard the rumors in the streets. After some incident had taken place in the Palace, the Princess turned out to be unmarried…
“If only” was something he began to repeat more and more often. If only he had more tools, more chances, more... just more. The redhead Princess no only was very well-accommodated, but also had the most eye-catching looks he had ever seen. He stood no chance.
One day like it could have been any other, one of the crows found something particularly interesting. A weird-looking lamp was now in his possession. The bird found its shiny exterior very alluring, and decided to hide it from the public view, much like they all did with the immeasurable amount of shiny little treasures.
The lamp, dusty and seemingly old, had a certain white glow. Aladdin’s curiosity got the best of him, but he also had to fight with his growing greed. Maybe it could be sold to begin his journey to a new life…?
But first, it needs a little cleaning…
II. Jasmine’s side
«Stay in your place, better seen and not heard…»
Jasmine’s life not only has become repetitive, but also humiliating. Living under the roof of the Palace as herself and as a puppet were not so different alternatives. Her Father took care of the Empire and Jasmine in equal measure. Despite her appreciation for the nurture, her sense of self was getting more and more lost whenever her words were cut off mid-sentence or her suggestions got lost in the wind. With her mother out of the picture, she had to marry someone in order to become Queen. Her Father would gladly give his position of power up to his daughter under that little yet enormous condition.
After becoming an adult, her entire life was being controlled by both her Father and the individual he chose for her to marry: A powerful sorcerer, under the name of Jaffar.
A life where “no” and “yes” had the exact same meaning was not the life Jasmine wanted for herself. No matter the wealth surrounding her or the endless candidates wanting to take Jaffar’s place, her life had become hollow to the point where she only lived blankly, day by day.
Sitting at the balcony of her room like every night, she’d look up at the sky and find the moon shining back, above the people her family ruled for. How Jasmine wanted to be like the moon... beautiful despite being scarred and imperfect, its value never questioned. It could go out when it wanted, impress everyone without effort, show the parts of itself that shone the brightest, and no one would say a thing. They couldn’t, of course, the moon was unreachable…
If only Jasmine was unreachable, like the moon, no one would be able to step on her so easily.
Days continued to pass by, the loveless marriage was on its course. She never said yes, she never said no, but it didn’t matter anymore. Even though she could respond when she was given the final question, would anyone listen? Would anyone ask…?
Under the moonlight that made her company on the warm night before the wedding, she made a promise:
“This is the last one.”
The last order she’d ever accept, and the first and last with would agree to follow. The moon has been the one witness of the deterioration of Jasmine’s heart, but she knew that the moon itself had to get hit to get those imperfections that made her unique, worshiped and unreachable… So, she would give everyone the satisfaction of the alliance and would become Queen. Put her heart aside for a while and sacrifice her will in order to become like the moon in the only way she could find.
Thus, the Royal Wedding finally took place, and the entirety of the empire witnessed Jasmine’s determined “I do.”
One day like it could have been any other, Jasmine and Jaffar had become the new Rulers. As it was tradition in Jaffar’s legacy, he would share his powers with his wife. He’d teach her the basics, the very basics, as his main interest was, clearly, not the woman by his side. Luckily enough, the sentiment was mutual.
During the honeymoon, Jasmine accidentally learned that her husband was not just any sorcerer, but his ultimate power was given by a genie; a powerful creature that would grant any wish to those who were lucky enough to have the chance to fulfill them. The newlywed had become as powerful as a genie, for the sake of fulfilling his own greedy desires, dragging Jasmine along, and manipulating her own Father to get his way with his hypnotic powers.
Many things fell into place thanks to some subordinate that spoke a little too much, but at least they agreed to provide information to the new Queen when she demanded to know about the man she had married. Nonetheless, something inside Jasmine shattered when it was made clear that his three wishes alongside his own magic were used so selfishly to get where he was now, no matter how many people he’d humiliate and step on in the way. Power, wealth, legacy… What was that? Envy? Jealousy? Wrath? Why was it so easy for some people to get what they wanted?
That night, the dark lamp connecting Jaffar to his powerful life essence fell in Jasmine’s hands.
. . . . . .
In the dim lit room, her husband called for her to consummate their so-called love. The disgust of the redhead Queen was evident for a number of reasons.
“What love…?” Jasmine’s voice muttered, soft as ever, unheard as ever. A crescent moon shone through the window, the fireplace made the room warm. She did not make a move. In fact, she already did.
“Come over,” the man invited, extending his hand, and Jasmine gave one single step forward as her slender arms crossed below her chest. Purple hues observed him in silence, a small portion of amusement was hidden underneath that expressionless face. Before her husband could utter another word, he was surprised by a sudden, violent cough.
Jaffar’s body tensed up, his expression contorted in seconds, and now his voice left not any order, but a shriek of unbearable pain. Jasmine watched how he confusedly agonized on the mattress, calling for help, demanding Jasmine to do something, to explain, to help, as she only blinked while her lips formed a smile.
“No,” her silky voice now echoed louder. The now King felt himself burning inside out while he was trying to get out of the bed and desperately reach for her, without any luck. After falling from the bed, only a few crawls in her direction were all he was able to perform. One last shout left his throat before he quieted down and collapsed, stiff, dead.
Silence. Jasmine felt a rush of something she couldn’t comprehend. She nudged Jaffar’s arm with her foot and received no response. He was really dead. She had succeeded.
Only then, the Queen started laughing loudly for the first time in so many years.
In the meantime, the dark lamp would stay burning at the very back of the fireplace for another while, to make sure that greedy soul within the magic oil would burn in all kinds of Hell.
III. Corrupted Diamonds
Jasmine sat on the balcony like she would do every night, but it has been a while since the known hollow feeling was gone. She breathed in the dew-scented air surrounding the area and the people beneath her, living in the city under her control. No one seemed to miss her husband, and she cared little if they did. Whenever she was asked, the Queen affirmed that Jaffar had left something truly valuable for her to be able to move on after his mysterious and tragic death.
Her legs swung in the air, the dark lamp hung from her fingers. A relaxed sigh escaped her lips in the moonlit darkness when something peculiar caught her eye. Did someone just fly across the moon?
It was too fast to catch, but now she could not ignore it. Again, there it is, but closer. This time, she followed the figure with her eyes.
A man in white and golden Prince-like clothing approached in a flying... carpet?, but soon he stopped when their eyes met. He looked rather shocked, like he was doing something he was not supposed to. Given the circumstances, flying around Royal property on a carpet, no less, was enough reason to understand that it was something out of the ordinary.
“Who are you?” Jasmine inquired, the frown on her face made her distrust palpable. As though it was taken as an invitation and not as a warning, the Prince flew closer instead.
“Good evening. I’m... your Prince,” he answered, cheeky. His hand proudly laid on his chest and his head was held high, almost too perfectly aligned with a Prince stereotype. Jasmine’s concern grew, another candidate? However, the act was off.
“You are late, sir,” her response, short and dry, triggered an over-exaggerated, bewildered whine. Despite having focused her eyes on the moon after her statement, that reaction quickly brought her attention back to the flying Prince, “...what’s the matter?”
“...I’m sorry, Princess, what do you mean by ‘late’?”
Jasmine chuckled.
“Well, what do you mean by ‘Princess’?” She looked into the so-called Prince’s eyes, whose confusion knew no limits, much to her amusement, “How come a Prince doesn’t know that the Princess he’s after has become Queen already…?”
“Queen—!?” The shock in the man’s voice finally made her laugh out loud. Not only was it funny how he only had the news her Father shared with citizens, but also it confirmed a short-lived suspicion.
“If you really were a Prince,” Jasmine started, tasting the awkwardness of the dark-haired man with exquisite care, “you might be part of a realm far away from here… far enough to not know about the news, yet not far enough to not know about me… maybe a realm living underground?” A pause, “...Seriously, now, how much did your costume cost?”
Jasmine’s eyes showed nothing but some odd joy, and perhaps that was what made the poor young man laugh along, “guilty as charged, huh… I should have known,” he scratched the back of his head, like a child who got caught red-handed, “I’m sorry, Princ— my Queen, I think I really took too long to get to you. Ahh, if you knew how hard it is to handle one of these...!” he floated around with the magic carpet, the crow that tagged along had to fly around on its own, away from him in the meantime. Shortly after, he faced the Queen once again, extending his hand towards her, “well... May I be of your service in some way to pay for this awkward inconvenience, my Queen?”
“How charming…” instead of accepting his hand, she made a gesture with hers to attract him closer, “come here, let me take a better look at you… Meanwhile, would you tell me your name?”
“Aladdin,” he introduced himself, seemingly relaxed, as if a big weight just got lifted off his shoulders. Jasmine lifted Aladdin’s face up, holding his chin rather tenderly as they made eye-contact.
“Aladdin… why would you lie to me?” The girl questioned, almost disappointed, but there was some curiosity in the midst of her judgment, still. Her amethyst glance pierced into the male’s copper rose one, admiring how suddenly devoted he’s become.
How much of that devotion was real, and how much was due to a certain magic inheritance, it was hard to tell.
“I’m… not lying to you,” Aladdin’s voice grew softer, in trance. The redhead rose a brow, quick to make clear that it was useless to keep the act up, and so he simply sighed in defeat, “okay, but this was the only way I could reach you…”
“Reach me...?” Quite an interesting choice of words, the sharp sensation in her chest would confirm it. The lamp hanging from Jasmine’s finger made a subtle movement he was too lost to catch, or to care. A glowing gas-like content, almost invisible to the mortal eye, made its way out and merged within the air they breathed, soon materializing into a translucent ghost snake that coiled around the Queen’s shoulders before sliding down her arm to personally meet this new face.
“Why are you here, Aladdin? What do you want?”
“I want… everything,” there was no hesitation in his confession. A greedy soul, Jasmine acknowledged. A greedy soul that, unlike many others, was very upfront about it. Was it because of her position of power, or was there something else behind his true intentions? The snake licked the deceitful Prince’s chin, as he continued to be unaware of it.
“Everything... including the Queen?”
Not quite to her surprise, Aladdin nodded. His crimson eyes had a strange glow added to them, matching the snake below him. Jasmine appreciated the honesty, although she could not let history repeat itself so easily.
“Cute...,” she admitted with interest, nonetheless, “if you really are willing to go to such unimaginable lengths for me, I believe I could waste a little more time on you…” Words were the only thing being wasted in the attempt to make him stay around for long enough. Her hand now stroked his hair as the ghost snake got a sign of approval to coil around him, instead.
“You will tell me who gave you these fancy things, yes? Don’t dare try to lie to me again, you won’t like what could happen, dear Aladdin.”
How grateful she was for having inherited Jaffar’s powers in moments like these… should she have disposed of the magical burnt oil inside his lamp, perhaps her charm would have been less effective. It was early to tell if there was more of the current Queen Sorceress that this young man found himself interested in, but there was no rush.
For now, a girl was eager to know how someone like him was able to reach what was meant to be unreachable with such ease. Maybe she had a thing or two to learn from this greedy Prince... Would he reach her heart just as easily, or will the wealthy temptations corrupt what’s left of him?
It wasn’t like Jasmine was afraid to use the powers she had inherited if the situation called for it, after all. Perhaps, soon enough, she would test Aladdin’s loyalty without any hypnotic snake...
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