Rajah's Curse

Chapter 15: Her Return

It was evening when the doors to Jasmine's room burst open and Princess Jasmine appeared.

Thank the Mother Goddess. She was alive.

I raced up to her.

"Oh Rajah," she said taking my head in her hands. "It's good to see you too..."

I didn't hear anything else after that. I was too busy looking her over.

No signs of blood or injuries. She really was alright.

Relief washed over me. Thank goodness she was alright. Though now that my initial panic was fading, I saw that she looked better than alright. She looked happy. She was practically glowing.

I took a step back and slid out of her hands.

She was fine, so why hadn't she returned on time? Why had I spent all day worrying about her? Did she have any idea how close I had been to full-on, people-mauling panic? How many times I had been tempted to go out searching for her myself even though I knew waiting was the best option?

I had had no idea where she was. She could have been lost. Hell, she could have died today. Prince Ali was still very much a stranger. Anything could have happened. Anything.

"Rajah?"

I was growling.

Jasmine tried to reach for my head to calm me.

I took another step back.

"I know," she said. "I know. I'm horrible."

Worse than horrible.

"And irresponsible," she added.

She didn't know the half of it.

"And if you had your way, I'd be locked in a tower with no doors after what I did."

I nodded.

"Rajah!" she cried out.

I held up my head high and glared at her. My eyes were slits.

Jasmine was the sole heir to the kingdom. Sometimes I thought she had no idea how important she was to her kingdom. That she had no idea how important she was to me. No idea how I had kept thinking about what I would do if I never saw her again.

And now she was smiling. Oh, she was trying to look serious, but I could see it in her eyes. After feeling useless and being dismissed by the sultan, Jafar, and even Iago, it was too much. Did no one care about what had happened? How dare she look happy after the stunt she pulled. How dare she try to pretend that she hadn't broken one of the most important promises we had made to each other.

"You're a cruel cat, you know that?" she teased as she tried to reach for me again.

I avoided her.

She sighed. "Rajah, I really am sorry, but it was an accident. I lost track of time."

I was unmoved. That was her excuse? She had lost track of time? Sunrise isn't exactly an easy thing to ignore.

"I know it's not like me but I was distracted," she said. "Rajah, come here, I have something to tell you."

I stayed where I was.

She frowned at me but her eyes were still sparkling. "Fine. You stubborn cat. I'll just tell you. Prince Ali took me around the world last night. We visited Greece, Egypt, even China. I saw fireworks for the first time."

I snorted. So? Did she think I cared about what she did with that idiot? I didn't care if he had shown her Moksha itself. She had been late. Worse than late. She had been gone all day.

"During the fireworks show, he proposed to me."

Wait...What?

"And I said yes."

What!

"Father just now approved the match!"

I closed my eyes. Maybe if I kept them closed, I would not have to look at the world. While I was worrying out of my mind, Jasmine was getting engaged to another man, to Prince Ali of all people.

"Rajah?"

She tried to pet me again, but I shook my head, avoiding her touch. I couldn't do this. I couldn't accept this.

"Isn't this exciting?" I could sense that she was practically bouncing up and down. "I finally found a prince who isn't a jerk, a lecher, or a fool."

Please stop.

"Ali has been wonderful to me. He's kind and fun and generous. He is always willing to listen to me talk about Aladdin. And he completely understands that I plan to rule Agrabah with him as a prince consort and he's okay with that. Every time we're together..."

She moved closer to me. Her eyes were shining. She looked so happy.

I backed away.

"I feel free like I'm not just a princess. He treats me like I am a normal girl. I can't remember the last time another person has made me this happy."

I was up against the wall, growling softly, but it was like Jasmine was in her own world. The same one she'd been in for weeks.

Yes, she'd been happier recently, but she'd also been distracted and acting strange. She'd barely noticed anything around the palace. She'd barely noticed me and now she'd done this. She had broken our contract because she was now engaged?

Engaged.

"I've felt so alive last night when I rode Carpet with Ali. I saw the world. Places I'd only heard of in books and scrolls, I got to see them. I think...I think I'm in love." She reached out to me as she said, "Isn't it wonderful?"

No!

I snapped at her outstretched hand like the tiger I was.

Jasmine pulled back. That dewy-eyed expression was gone. Instead, she stared at me in shock. "You tried to bite me," she said in a hushed voice.

I looked up at her as my heart beat fast. I had tried to bite her. If she hadn't pulled her hand away, I would have chopped off her fingers. I would have hurt her, Jasmine, my best friend, my betrothed, except she wasn't my betrothed anymore.

She was...

"Rajah?" she demanded in a steady voice, but she was holding her hand to her chest and there was fear in her eyes. "Why did you do that?"

I couldn't do this. I couldn't be here and listen to her talk about Prince Ali anymore.

I pushed past the princess and ran.