Rajah's Curse

Chapter 10: Prince Nadim

I will never forget, the first prince who visited Jasmine after me. It was the only time I had truly failed to protect her.

When I had first transformed into a tiger, I tried everything I could think of to change back into a man. I had prayed and then begged. I had even gotten Jasmine to kiss me like in the tale about the frog. None of it worked.

Worse still, every attempt to tell anyone who I was failed. My body froze at the thought of revealing my identity, no matter how roundabout my efforts were. The whole thing was like a curse and I could not break it.

It had been two years and I had long since been declared dead. No one was looking for me anymore and I knew no one would find me if they did look. I thought my life was at its lowest, but then, on Jasmine's 13th birthday, letters were sent out to princes to invite them to visit and court the princess.

Prince Nadim was the first to come. He was the second son of a neighboring kingdom. Nadim was a merry sort of man, who liked to drink Arak and smiled a lot. The sultan and his viziers liked him. Everyone was excited at the prospect of a local alliance. Everyone except myself it seemed.

Even the princess seemed to favor Prince Nadim. Of course, the princess by that time was more affable in general, so it made sense that she was more friendly with him than she'd been when I first came. And she enjoyed talking about economic policy with anyone who would listen. Nadim had also known Jasmine's mother and knew many stories about her. Finally, the prince managed to convince the sultan to allow Jasmine to go on elephant rides outside of the palace.

Really, it was no wonder why she was fond of the man, but it still rankled me. Prince Nadim was nearly 27. He was fat and far too conservative in his beliefs. I knew he'd be a bad match and yet no one else agreed with me.

I was alone in my displeasure, so as the court spent days celebrating the prince's visit, I spent most of my time away from the prince either in my secret alcove, my rooms, or the gardens.

That was my first mistake.

It was just that I felt more trapped and dead than ever before. I had to give up on being king and now I wouldn't even get to be the princess's husband. I was merely a tiger, overlooked by everyone.

Late one night, as I was thinking these pitiful thoughts and making my way to my rooms, I heard the sounds of guards running across the gardens. I looked up and saw them all heading into the palace. I shrugged it off.

That was my second mistake.

The next morning when I went to see the princess for our usual walk. I found that her rooms were empty. I wasn't immediately concerned. I knew she would be in the palace somewhere.

I checked the dining hall, the study, the court, and then the gardens. Finally, after all those places turned up empty, I followed her scent. It led me to the stables. I vaguely recalled the princess saying she was going out with Prince Nadim the day before. I wondered if I had mixed the days and times up, but then I remembered the guards running around last night.

I felt a twinge of worry. I had hardly run into any guards today. It was strange to have them all busy like this. It would take an emergency to have this many guards missing, an emergency like a lost princess.

I decided to find Prince Nadim. He was easy to track as he always smelled faintly of Arak. Soon, the trail led me to his rooms. He was lying on the bed, fully clothed and hungover.

I stared at his sleeping body. Anger washed over me and I growled. Princess Jasmine was supposed to be with him. He was supposed to protect her.

But no. I realized I was supposed to protect her. I had let my curse and all of the fanfare distract me from that. I was still the princess's betrothed. Tiger or no tiger, the duty fell to me.

I turned and left the prince in his rooms. I knew there was no more time for moping. I had to find the princess. I might be the only one who could.

I picked up Jasmine's scent and followed it. It led me outside the palace walls and into the streets of Agrabah. I ignored my unease and searched for the princess.

That day, as I frantically looked for the princess, I vowed to myself over and over that I would never forget my duty again. I needed to protect Jasmine. She was too important to me to do anything less.