Hi! New to this fandom, such as it is. I'm sad that this movie doesn't have a bigger fandom! So sad. But I just saw the Recobbled Cut a few days ago and I'm in love with this movie! So I wrote this! :D

I guess this counts as an AU. I fiddled with the timeline and sequence of events to give Tack and Yum-Yum a bit more time together in the palace. As much as I love the movie (the Recobbled Cut, that is), the one thing I think it really needed was more development between the two of them. Their relationship is adorable, but they don't really have that much screen time together. I wanted to explore their relationship a bit further, hence this fic! Basically, we're just going to pretend that it took the Thief a day or two longer to steal the golden balls, okay? Maybe he got distracted by some other bits of shiny along the way, hmm? ;)

Also, I wrote most of this while listening to the Aladdin soundtrack. HA HA HA.

IN NEED OF A COBBLER

Princess Yum-Yum sighed quietly as she watched the polo game. She bit into the pear in her hand, chewing listlessly. She wasn't particularly fond of polo, anyway—she liked watching the horses run round, but the game itself bored her. And the game was especially boring today; she had more important issues on her mind. She leaned over the side of her plush chair, towards King Nod. He was, as usual, asleep.

"Father?" she called. "Father!" Her sleepy father woke from his doze with a start. "Do you know where my cobbler has gone to?" she asked him.

"What? No, er… isn't he with you? Fixing your shoe?" the old king asked. From the king's other side, Yum-Yum saw Grand Vizier Zigzag stifle a laugh behind one bony hand. Irritation rose within her at the sight, but she ignored him.

"He seems to have… vanished," Yum-Yum murmured, sinking back into her chair again. And then, predictably, Zigzag quickly diverted King Nod's attention back to the game. The king drifted off once more and Zigzag took the opportunity to grin at Yum-Yum over the old man's chair. She glared at him, but he just kept leering at her.

"Eugh," she groaned, then twisted and hurled her half-eaten pear at him. The old creep ducked it easily.

"Ha ha!" he crowed. She rolled her eyes and turned back to the game. But her mind quickly wandered to her missing cobbler. She bit back a smile as she thought of the pale, handsome young man she'd met the day before. He was so strange! He never spoke, not even once. He'd just sat there on the floor, working on her slipper and occasionally smiling shyly at her. Tack was nothing like Zigzag; the old Vizier would ogle her the way his ugly pet bird would eye a slab of raw meat, and it never failed to make her feel like she needed a bath to scrub herself clean. But when Tack looked at her with those wide, blue eyes, she only saw kindness—and, dare she hope, perhaps some longing? He'd certainly been blushing often enough (and so had she, to be honest). And then there was the lovely heart shape he'd woven onto her shoe!

Where in the world could he have gone to? she wondered. Yum-Yum was eager to spend more time with him, but she couldn't very well do that if he was missing. She resolved to look for him after the match. She was a bit worried for the cobbler. She knew that Zigzag wanted to get rid of him, and she feared what he might do when Tack was done fixing her slipper. I have to find him, to protect him from Zigzag!

If she could, she'd have left the match early to begin her search; but no, that wouldn't do at all. She was a princess, and she had to maintain appearances. So she forced herself to stay seated and keep her eyes on the game. If there was one thing Princess Yum-Yum knew very well, it was how to maintain appearances. She'd spent her whole life immersed in the boring politics of the royal court. So she put on a placid smile and pretended to enjoy the game.

But behind her well-trained mask, her mind was whirling. She needed to find a way to keep Tack out of Zigzag's claws—and an excuse to keep him by her side a while longer!

That night, Princess Yum-Yum gratefully returned to the privacy of her summer bedchamber. She'd been playing the gracious hostess to various nobles all day long, sitting politely by King Nod's side and smiling until her cheeks hurt. But now, at least, she would have some privacy. This bedchamber was her sanctuary, where no one could enter without her permission. It had been built especially for her—a round bed sat on a marble dais in the middle of a white-tiled courtyard. She had the night sky for a ceiling, with all its shining stars. High walls surrounded the courtyard on all sides, with a rose-covered trellis at the gate.

She sank down onto her bed with a sigh. She'd hardly had any time to search for Tack! There had been a couple of hours before dinner where she'd had nothing to do, and she'd used them to question every guard, servant, and cook she could find. None of them had seen the cobbler. She was surprised at how much she missed Tack's company. She hardly knew the man! And yet here she was, turning the palace upside-down looking for him.

Well, at least there was a bit of good news: she'd come up with her plan. She smiled to herself and retrieved a cotton bag from the steps of the dais. She untied it and upended it onto her bed; a pile of fine slippers spilled out, their colors deep and muted in the moonlight.

Humming softly, she settled down next to the heap and picked up one of the slippers. It was quite pretty, made of emerald green silk and embroidered with golden thread in intricate designs; elegant birds and exotic plants decorated its sides and toe. She admired it for a moment, then grasped it between both hands and snapped the thin wooden sole in half. Such a shame, to have to ruin something so lovely, but it was only a slipper. She tossed it aside and the matching shoe quickly met the same fate as its mate. Another pair of broken slippers joined the pile, and then another pair, and another. Yum-Yum smiled to herself as she worked her way through all of the shoes. Now Tack would have more than adequate reason to stay at the palace! Her cheeks flushed pink. All she had to do was find him…

Yum-Yum yawned as she tossed the last shoe onto the pile. It was getting quite late. She stretched her arms and then curled up on her soft, cozy bed, nestling against her pillow. But sleep wouldn't come easily that night—she'd scarcely closed her eyes when her bed started shuddering and undulating. She sat up as the wolves rose around the edges of the bed to attack the intruder, and she gasped at what she saw: standing on the bed was a bizarre man huddled beneath a filthy cloak. He greedily clutched her broken shoes in his thin, bony hands, his yellow eyes staring out at her from beneath a white and red skullcap. There was a cloud of flies buzzing around his head. He hardly even looked human!

"Thief?" she mumbled sleepily. Then her wits returned to her. "Thief! Stop, thief!" she cried as the creature scampered off her bed and ran towards the door. She flew off the bed as well and dashed after the thief. She caught up to him quickly and delivered a solid kick to his rear. The thief dropped the slippers and bolted out into the shadowy night, waving his stick-like arms frantically. Yum-Yum let out an annoyed huff as she gathered the scattered slippers, putting them back in the cotton bag for now.

The wolves had retreated now that the intruder was gone. As Yum-Yum sank back down onto her bed, her mind returned to the subject that had occupied her thoughts all day: Tack. Where could he have gone to? she wondered once again. The longer he was gone, the more she worried, remembering how much Zigzag seemed to resent his presence. And then a terrible thought occurred to her: What if Zigzag was behind Tack's sudden disappearance?

The thought send fear spiraling through her. There was no telling what the Grand Vizier would do to the gentle cobbler. He might have just sent Tack away, but then again… She sprang up from her bed again and threw a silk robe on over her nightclothes. If her suspicions were right, then she couldn't wait until morning to resume her search. Besides, she'd never be able to sleep now anyway. As she left her bedchamber, she decided to go to the dungeon first. It was as likely a place to start as any other.

A shudder went through Yum-Yum as she descended the stone steps into the damp, cold dungeon. She hugged her arms tightly around herself, as her robe did little to keep out the chill. Her soft footfalls echoed off the stone walls, mixing with the squeaks of rats. Luckily, she'd never been afraid of rats or mice.

There was another sound drifting through the dungeon as well, growing louder: the harsh squawking of a vulture and an all-too familiar male voice, though she couldn't make out his words. Yum-Yum's fists clenched in fury and she broke into a run, charging down a second flight of steps. The old Vizier started laughing as the squawking reached a fever pitch. Yum-Yum sprinted around a corner and shouted in horror at the sight that met her eyes—Zigzag stood before the half-open door of a cell, gripping the lead line of a thrashing vulture. Feathers flew everywhere as the bird lunged into the cell. Tack! she thought, fear pushing her anger aside.

"Zigzag!" Yum-Yum exclaimed. The Vizier spun around, startled. "I order you to stop, this instant!" The words were barely out of her mouth when she heard a loud, metallic clang from inside the cell, the sound of iron hitting stone. The vulture let out a frightened shriek and scrabbled backwards. Yum-Yum smirked. Zigzag recovered his wits, yanked the bird out of the cell, and pushing the heavy door shut with his foot. The old creep smiled in what he clearly believed to be a charming manner.

"Princess, gentle of heart and fair of face! What brings you to this dreadful place?" he crooned, spreading his bony hands. His vulture screeched and screamed behind him, scratching at the cell door with its talons. She knew that Tack wasn't exactly talkative, but the silence from his cell was still unnerving. She had to get Zigzag out of here as soon as possible.

Yum-Yum glared at the Vizier. "Your disobedience," she replied coldly. "The cobbler is my guest in this palace, and he will be treated as such! You had no right to put him in this cell."

"Ah, Princess, but you forget!" Zigzag said gleefully. "This peasant attacked me, and hasn't been punished yet. He is a criminal, not a guest! We must treat him like all the rest. He must face justice for his offense—and so, you see, I've brought Phido hence. The punishment will be severe, among other things, carried out on my loyal bird's wings. Eh, Phido?" he added to the bird, grinning at it. Phido ignored him and continued lashing out at the cell door.

But Yum-Yum just smiled, unconcerned. "He shall carry out his sentence in service to me. I still need a cobbler," she said.

Zigzag's smile faltered. "Fairest lady, we must not—"

"Enough! Return to your tower at once, Zigzag," Yum-Yum said angrily. Suddenly, a royal summons rang through the palace, calling the Grand Vizier to the throne room. For just a second, a dark look passed over Zigzag's face. Then he hid it away and flashed another of his loopy grins.

"Ah, affairs of state!" he said. "It seems that justice shall have to wait. Good night, dear Princess, go and rest your head. It's late, and past time you went to bed." He yanked on the lead line, pulling that awful bird away and up the dungeon stairs. Yum-Yum waited until they were out of sight and then ran to the cell door. She grasped the rough wood and heaved on it, hauling it open.

"Tack, are you all right?" she asked, alarmed. She peered into the darkness and saw Tack sitting on the wooden bench at the back of the cell. He looked up and smiled widely, the two tacks held between his lips swinging upward as she stepped into the cell. "That horrible bird didn't hurt you, did it?" she asked anxiously.

The cobbler shook his head, tapped his foot against the iron ball that was chained to his shackle, and made a dropping motion. Yum-Yum chuckled. Her worry faded away, replaced by relief that he was all right.

"If only you could have thrown it at Zigzag instead," she said wryly.

Tack nodded fervently, frowning. The tacks drooped downward. He glanced towards the floor, tugging his ankle against the shackle clamped around it.

"Oh, no!" Yum-Yum cried. "I don't have the keys!" But Tack didn't seem worried. He leaned forward, plucked one of the tacks from between his lips, and deftly picked the lock. The remaining tack shifted from one side of his mouth to the other as he worked. After a moment, the manacle fell away and Tack stood up, returning the tack to its usual place. As he did so, there was a soft squeaking from beneath the bench. Tack spun around and knelt down, reaching into the shadows. He rose with a white rat cupped in the palms of his hands. The tacks lifted up again as he smiled at the little creature. He turned back to Yum-Yum and held his hands out.

"I see you've met a new friend in here," she commented, giggling. "It's adorable!" She reached out and stroked its tiny head with the tip of her forefinger. It squeaked again and looked up at her with ruby red eyes. Tack gently tucked the little rat into one of his many pockets.

"Come on, let's leave," Yum-Yum suggested, shivering. "It's so cold down here." Tack nodded and followed her out of the cell. They left the dungeon side by side.

As they moved through the palace, Yum-Yum felt happier than she had all day. She kept stealing sideways glances at the cobbler, watching him as he walked. And she could see Tack peeking at her from the corner of her eye. Their gazes met and Tack blushed, averting his eyes. Yum-Yum felt her own face redden as well. She smiled to herself and looked down at the intricate mosaics on the floor.

"I hope you weren't stuck in that awful cell for too long," she said eventually.

Tack shook his head and then pulled something out of yet another pocket—it was a metal file!

"You were going to escape!" she exclaimed, and then she chuckling again. "It seems that old Zigzag underestimated you!"

Tack shrugged modestly and the tacks swung to the left side of his mouth. The file disappeared into his pocket again.

"Where would you have gone if you had escaped?" Yum-Yum asked. She had a sudden image in her mind of Tack wandering through the palace, lost amid its many winding halls.

He smiled shyly at her and his cheeks turned red. Then he looked away, twiddling his bandaged thumbs. Yum-Yum blushed again as well when she realized what he was trying to convey—that he would have gone to find her. Then she remembered her plan and spoke up again.

"Would you please stay at the palace a while longer? I have more shoes that need to be fixed," she said.

He nodded quickly, his blue eyes lighting up.

"Good!" she said happily. She led him to an arched doorway on the floor beneath her usual bedchamber. "This is one of the guest quarters," she explained. "You can sleep here tonight. In the morning, you're welcome to join Father and me for breakfast."

Tack's eyes widened and his tacks swung straight down. Yum-Yum couldn't help but giggle a little. The cobbler had probably never imagined that he'd ever sit at the King's breakfast table!

Yum-Yum stifled a yawn. It was very late by now. "Well, we should both get some sleep," she said. Tack nodded slowly, but then their eyes met and they both continued to stand there for a moment. Finally, Yum-Yum took a step away. "Good night, Tack," she said softly.

Tack lifted one pale hand in a wave, wiggling his long fingers at her, his tacks swinging sideways in a half smile. Yum-Yum turned and walked back down the hallway. She paused at the corner and glanced over her shoulder; Tack was still standing there, watching her leave. He waved once more, then turned and ducked through the curtained doorway. The corners of her lips curled upward and she quietly walked back to her summer bedchamber.

Yum-Yum shed her robe as she entered her bedchamber. She sank down onto her bed and sighed again—but this time, she sighed out of happiness.

There's Chapter 1! Please do review and tell me your thoughts! ^_^

Here's a relevant song for this fic! This could practically be Tack and Yum-Yum's theme song: "He Plays the Violin", from the musical 1776.

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