YES I'm back. This is the third and definitely the final chapter. I hadn't forgotten about this story, I'm able to keep a storyline in my head for absolutely years without writing down a single note on it. And it's only been... what... five months? Damn.At least it's only another three months until the DVD (so they say. And to think, there's an IMAX near me!) Thanks all for the reviews, the characters belong to Disney etc etc.

JUST ONE NIGHT

Chapter Three

In the dead of the night in the desert, not many creatures stirred. The sand looked black, stretching lazily over dunes from Agrabah's doorstep to places unknown. A sea of sand, undisrupted except for a horse that came bolting, sending sand flying, encouraged faster by its rider.

'Come on... you can go faster...' The rider wasn't headed for somewhere particularly far away, and though the horse ran fast, time seemed to speed up. Which was the last thing they needed. Eventually the rider and horse pulled up in front of an old almost shack, the rider slipping off the horse and tying him to a nearby post, scratching between its ears. 'Stay.'

The rider knocked on the door, and almost instantly, the door opened to reveal an old, toothless woman. 'Ah, you made it.'

'Let me in.' The old woman complied with orders and let the rider inside, closing it after them. Lighting a lantern, the shack lit up in a soft glow, letting the rider and old woman see each other somewhat more clearly. 'What if there's...'

'There isn't. This place is too far out; don't concern yourself.' The old woman pattered the rider's hand.

The rider remained steady. 'I never said I was concerning myself. Have you got it?'

'Got it?'

'You know what I mean! The whole point why I've come out here!' The rider's voice went up a notch.

The old woman clucked her tongue. 'Sssh... yes, I have it. Come with me.' The old woman grabbed the rider's hand, pulling the rider behind her with surprising force. She picked up a jar of powder. 'This is what we need. Do you want to know how I do it?'

'No.'

'Are you sure?'

'Yes!' The rider's voice became nervous as they shifted from one foot to the other. 'Just...'

'You know it's going to hurt, yes?'

The rider was quiet for a few moments. 'Yes.'

'And that there's no turning back. Do you understand the full impact of what you're about to do?' The old woman was sympathetic.

'Not really. But what choice do I have?'

'You could keep it.'

'No, I can't. And he can't know. He'd...' The rider trailed off, then sighed and sat down in a chair. 'I need to be back by sunrise.'

'I know, my dear. I'll try and be as quick as I can, but I won't rush it.' The old woman pushed back the rider's hood. 'Try to relax. Take deep, calming breaths.'

Jasmine didn't see how she ever could.

Aladdin scowled as he attempted to yank his hand away from the wall, only for it to be drawn back by the clutches. 'Back in the old dungeons.' Looking up, he studied one of his hands. The blood had stopped flowing now and his hand was coated in dried blood.

He had to admit his escape was impressive; they'd not known what hit them. He'd thrust his arm up at the last moment, clutching the blade in his hand, letting it cut deeply into his flesh. Pushing himself away, he had fled the room, only to be caught by Razoul and by the monster's instructions, been tossed into the dungeon. Last thing he'd been told was that the monster would be coming to deal with him later.

Jafar was no man. He was a monster.

Aladdin sighed. There had to be some way out. But he had no lamp with the Genie, Abu and or the carpet. Jasmine wouldn't be about to help him, and she was probably walking around somewhere above him. He briefly wondered if the Sultan knew what was going on. He looked out a window high above his head as morning sunlight streamed into the dungeon, and wondered what time it was. How much time he had left to get out of here.

A door opened at the top of the stairs leading out of the dungeon. Aladdin didn't look up; it was only going to be guards with the monster.

'Aladdin?'

Aladdin's head snapped up. Jasmine was carefully making her way down the stairs. He watched her warily, unsure of whether to be happy to see her or not. She wore the dark outfit he'd last seen her in, she radiated the hypnotism. But her voice was sweet, forthright, untainted by the spell. 'Jasmine... ?' She came to a stop in front of Aladdin, staring down at him. Dark circles were under her eyes. 'Are you - '

'You need to get out.'

Aladdin was taken aback at how flat her voice suddenly sounded. She was no longer looking at him, she was rather looking past him, staring at something no one else could see. She was thinner than she had been last, and looked unwell. She was no longer the vibrant princess he'd fallen in love with, nor was she the dark, sinister sultana who had been instructed to kill him. She was a ghost of both selves. 'What has he done to you?'

Jasmine didn't respond. She took a key out of a pouch and set Aladdin free of the chains. He stood, rubbing his wrists and staring at her.

'You have to come with me.'

'Where?'

'To Jafar. He wants to see you.'

He wants to kill me, you mean. Aladdin took a step closer to Jasmine, who in turn took a step further away. He lunged for her wrist, taking it carefully in his hands. Jasmine didn't move. 'Jasmine, what has Jafar done to you?'

'Nothing.'

Aladdin was becoming desperate. Either Jafar was controlling her at this exact moment and telling her what to say, which Aladdin wondered was possible, or something unconvieable had happened, something to make the whole situation more terrible. 'Jasmine... what's happened?'

'Nothing. You have to follow me.'

'No!' Jasmine stared at Aladdin. His eyes were sharp, wanting to pry information out of her. She wouldn't speak. No one could force her to say anything. 'I don't know what's wrong. But you need to escape. You don't love him!' Aladdin sighed. 'I love you.'

'You both love me?'

'Jafar doesn't love you!' Aladdin nearly exploded. 'He has tricked you into thinking that! He is using you for his own selfish means,' his voice had now become urgent, 'and you need to get away because he'll get rid of you once he no longer needs you.'

'You're lying.' Her voice was uncertain now. If Jafar did love her and Jasmine knew that, why had she been so afraid to tell him? Why hadn't she told him, why didn't she intend on doing so?

'You know I'm not.'

Aladdin watched as Jasmine shut her eyes and slowly reopened them. She didn't want to think anymore. She was so tired, so tired. 'You have to follow me.'

There was no point in asking anymore. Aladdin knew that if he managed to make Jasmine to believe him and she broke out of the spell, he wouldn't have the old Jasmine back. Something had happened to smash any remaining spirit.

Aladdin followed her up the stairs and out of the filthy dungeon. In the corridor, Jasmine carefully looked around to see if anyone was around, and discovering there wasn't, pushed back a curtain to reveal a hidden corridor. 'Follow me.'

The corridor wasn't that long, and there wasn't any other corridors or doors attached to it. Just a solid door at the other end. He followed Jasmine down it, letting the curtain fall back in place. 'Aren't we going to Jafar?'

Jasmine didn't answer. There wasn't any point in answering anymore. She opened the door to reveal part of the palace grounds, and pointed out a tree at the far end, next to the wall surrounding the palace. 'Climb that tree to escape and do not come back.'

Aladdin stared at her. 'You're letting me escape.'

'Yes.'

'Why?'

'Just go.'

He grasped Jasmine's hands tightly in his own, and she pulled away. 'Will you follow me?'

'No. I can't. Just go, and watch your back.'

Aladdin stared at her. His heart couldn't break in two because it was already shattered. Without another word, he started making his way across the grounds carefully.

Jasmine didn't watch after him, she didn't have the heart to. She pulled the door shut and walked quickly back up the hidden corridor, slipping behind the curtain. Not a moment too soon, because Jafar came storming down the main corridor, cloak flying out around him, the bottom of his staff ramming against the marble floor. 'Where's the street rat? What's taking so long?' he yelled.

She stared at him with no emotion. There was no hate from the years beforehand, no love from the days beforehand. No fear. Nothing now. 'He must have escaped. I went down into the dungeons and he was gone.'

Jafar watched her. What sort of idiot did she take him for? He could see the curtain moving back into place behind her, he knew what had happened. He looked at her tired eyes and slight pain in her face as she stepped away from him. The spell was tiring her, but it wasn't the only thing tiring her, and he knew it.

He walked towards her as Jasmine stood a like a statute, and slipped an arm around her waist, guiding her in the direction of the dungeon. 'Come, my dear, let us take a look.'

Jasmine let herself be led, too tired to resist him. As soon as the dungeon door shut and locked behind them, though, Jasmine's blood ran cold as Jafar whispered hauntingly in her ear.

'I know what happened.'

At night, the desert was disturbed once more as another rider, darker and taller than the last one, on another horse, raced across the sand. The rider was loaded down this time, and a parrot fly merrily alongside the owner.

Aladdin quickly scaled the wall back into the palace. He had disappeared as Jasmine instructed, but then decided he could not leave her alone and unguarded in the palace against the monster.

Not even the rumors from the guards and common folk of Jafar's sudden disappearance in the night could detour him. There was nothing in the rumors about Jasmine having disappeared, which made Aladdin fearful.

There was no one around as Aladdin quickly made his way across the grounds, back to the door where Jasmine had pushed him out. He ran down the hidden corridor and carefully pushed aside the curtain. Still no one. He was about to run down the corridor when he suddenly noticed the door to the dungeon.

It wasn't closed all the way. It was open an inch or two. He was quite certain Jasmine had shut it fully when they had left it.

Aladdin slowly opened the door. There was no noise coming from inside, but as he took a couple of steps down the stairs, the stench of blood became strong in his nose. He began to run down the stairs in urgency, but slowed as he looked what lay beyond the final stair.

Jasmine. The unbreathing body of Jasmine.

She lay silently, blood sweeping her clothes. Her face was beaten, but looked peaceful. The hyponastic aura surrounding her earlier was completely gone now, and the hand that lay on the bottom stair had cracked blood under her nails. She had done her best to fought off Jafar, and had failed, paying for it.

Aladdin sat carefully on the second to last step, staring down at Jasmine's body. The blood wasn't disturbing him anymore as he glanced down and saw a scroll lying next to her hand. He picked it up.

Thought you might like to realise this - I knew. She was with my child, and never can be with yours.

Jafar hadn't needed to make himself more clearer. In pain that could not be suppressed, Aladdin buried his face in his hands.

FIN