The warm desert breeze blows through the high, palace windows, caressing the white, marriage vail of the young bride. Sapphire eyes gaze over the transparent mask of virtue at the lord before her.

"What story shall it be tonight?" the sultan asked.

The young bride bows. "It is one I think you will be pleased with."

A wave of a hand is the only response.

"It is one of deceit, superstitions, betrayal, magic, romance, and adventure. A poor young boy finds a magic lamp which aids him in-"

"Stop!"

The girl looks up, startled.

"You have spun this tale before. The poor street rat finds a lamp with a genie who grants three wishes. He uses one to become a prince and wins the heart of the fair princess after he defeats an evil sorcerer."

"There are some similarities it is true," the girl allows softly. "Still, I am certain you shall enjoy this tale if you allow me to tell it for there is a mermaid as well."

"Let me guess the mermaid wishes to be human to win some type of love. She finds the love of her life and they live together forever. Is that what happens? Tell me."

"Once more, it is only a similarity, my lord. My tale has not been told before. It is different of that I can assure you. It is taken from the oldest of fables."

"How is it different?" Sharp eyes narrow impatiently.

"It is different in that the street rat only wishes to make his hard working mother proud of him after years of failure and a former mermaid trying to survive in a cruel world filled with superstitions and to find a love within a year before all is lost."

Regal eyes grow wide. "Continue."

The girl sinks to her knees, her robes of white pooling around her. "Now we must dive back into the past to a starry night on the banks of a desert river with a small boy and his mother."

XxX

"Mama, look at the stars and the moon," a small child cried, craning his neck to look up at the dazzling sky. "Can Father see them from where he is?"

His mother smiled down at him, ruffling his unruly black hair. "Yes, you know he can."

The boy ducked out from his mother's grasp. For the last five years, it had just been him and his mother living in their small house. His father kept floating in and out of his life each time bringing with him a new story from his explorations. Only last year, after Aladdin's sixth birthday, he had left and had still not returned.

Though neither son nor mother was concerned, enjoying their time together; though his mother seemed distant at times lost in her own thoughts at times. Now was not one of those times.

Sitting on the bank of the river now, they took turns spinning tales for each other.

"And so the prince and princess lived happily ever after," his mother concluded her tale with a smile.

The boy made a safe. "Why does it always end like that? We don't like those types of stories."

His mother pulled her robes tighter around herself. "Oh no? And who is the 'we'?"

"We, me and the others."

"Others?"

The boy looked about him. "Mama, I don't think we are the only ones out here?"

His mother laughed softly. "Why of course we are, except for the fishes in the river."

As though answering her, a splash sounded off in the distance.

The boy turned to his mother. "That sounds like a big fish."

He stood, listening. Another splash sounded off to the right further down the beach. He started toward the sound.

"Where are you going?" His mother called.

"I just wanna look. I'll be okay," the boy called as he ran and clambered over the rocks into a small cove.

"Hello, anyone there?" He cried, his voice echoing off the moonlit walls.

The small cove was silent, only a few ripples disturbed the smooth water's surface. Had it just been his imagination? It could have just been a mere fish as his mother suggested.

Still, he sensed someone watching him. He climbed up and knelt down on one of the damp rocks to keep from frightening the creature off. He had learnt that skill while in the square trying to tame a flock of birds when he was younger.

"Come out…I won't hurt you little fishy," the boy called gently.

A light giggle sounded, echoing off the hollow walls.

The boy blinked. Had he just unlocked some type of enchantment or something? Or was he indeed letting his mind get the better of him?

Again, the light giggling returned.

"What's so funny?"

A moment passed and then a female voice spoke. "I'm not a fish."

The boy arched an eyebrow, curiosity outweighing any of his fears. "What are you then?"

"My name's Ariel," the voice said, coming closer, through the water. "I'm a mermaid."

The boy peered out into the bay, leaning out further, trying to get a better view in the moonlight.

Water engulfed him, his legs bruising as they struck against the rock he had just been perched on. His arms swung as he tried to swim toward the surface. His small lungs burned.

Vaguely, he felt a pair of arms came around his waist, hosting him back toward the surface. He let out a cry as he broke through the water, filling his lungs with air before his rescuer tugged him over to s patch of dry sand. The boy crawled up onto the small bank and retched up the salt water. A gentle hand lay across his back.

"Are you okay?" Her voice was light as a bell.

He coughed up a little more water before he turned toward her. "I'm okay, thank…" His voice trailed off as he gaped at his little rescuer full figure. Beside him, a little girl, perhaps a little younger than him, stared down at him. Her bright, pale face was framed by a mess of dampened, yet still bright red hair; her clear blue eyes, the color of the sea, filled with fear and curiosity.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of emerald green. He looked down, his dark brown eyes growing wide. Instead of the two dainty feet he expected, he saw a short emerald scaly, but graceful tail.

"You are a mermaid," he said softly.

"Of course I am," she giggled. "I'm Ariel, I told you, remember."

The boy nodded. "Hi Ariel. I'm-"

"Aladdin! Are you all right?" his mother cried from the cave's entrance.

"Aladdin," the boy finished softly to Ariel. "That's my mama coming."

"It's nice to meet you, Aladdin," Ariel said sticking out her hand.

He shook her hand with a smile. "You too, Ariel."

"Do your mama and Daddy live close to here?"

Aladdin paused and then shrugged. "It's just Mama and me. My father left to go exploring."

"Oh?" A spark of excitement shone in her eyes. "I like exploring too. Do you?"

Aladdin puffed up his chest, pretending to be his father. "Yes and one day I'm going to go explore all the new lands out there."

Ariel clapped her hands in delight and smiled. "Me too. I-"

Suddenly, she dove under the surface just as another human entered the little cove.

Aladdin turned, spotting his mother's robes as she climbed down into the little beach area. Her warm, brown eyes grew wide at the sight of his drenched state.

She ran and knelt beside him. "Are you all right, Aladdin? What happened to you?"

"Ma, I met a mermaid!" Aladdin cried, pointing out to the water. "A real one just like father said."

His mother sighed. "You are funny boy, Aladdin. There are no mermaids here."

"She's right here, I swear." Aladdin turned around and called out.

"Ariel, it's okay. My mama is really nice. Come meet her."

"Aladdin, please not this again. You don't need to lie about such things. And just look at that bump on your head. You must have imagined the whole thing."

"I didn't Mama, I swear. I never lie to you. Father said once that mermaids do exist, right?"

"Oh, son, that was a mere story from your father. He loves to make up things like that." His mother wrapped her arm around his shoulder. "Come it's getting late and you need to rest."

"I'm….huh…ti…tired," Aladdin managed in between yawns, suddenly worn out from his little adventure. "And she was real. She had bright red hair and a green tail instead of legs and she saved me when I fell in."

His mother sighed and offered an appeasing smile. "I'm sure she did, my son, but now it's time for bed."

Reluctantly, Aladdin let his mother led him out of the bay. As the mother helped him over one of the last tocks, she saw something in cast in the moonlight, a bright red piece of something hovering just above the water. Then just as quickly it vanished.

The mother shook her head at her foolishness. The piece of red could have been a simple piece of coral floating on the surface. Still, as they walked up the shoreline, she could not suppress the feeling of being watched.

His mother shook her head, twisting a simple golden band on her finger. Calm yourself. Aladdin has just been telling one of his tales again. It's probably the bump on his head. Mermaids are just a fable Cassim has told.

"Mama?"

She looked down at her son. "Yes, what is it?"

"The mermaid, Ariel, said she liked exploring like father."

"Did she now?"

He nodded. "Do you think I will see her again?"

"Perhaps, but let's get some sleep now."

Mother and son walked back home while a little mermaid swam beneath the waves back to hers.

XxX

"Well what happened? Did the mermaid and boy meet again?"

"Not for a decade, my lord."

"Then what happened? Tell me."

"Do you wish me to continue then?"

XxX

I leave it you, my readers. Should the storyteller continue with her tale of the street rat and the mermaid? I promise the story will get better, but introductions are tricky and I wanted it to be new. This is also my first try at a story such as this so I hope you will forgive me if it's not the best introduction.

As to why Abu is not here, I imagine the storyteller will bring him in soon. I as the distributer of this story must say that I do not own these two stories of Aladdin and The Little Mermaid, they belong to their respecte owners. I will give a little warning this is not strictly based on the Disney stories, but a mesh of other versions of these stories as well. I hope to hear from you on your thoughts on this new peice.