Rajah's Curse

Chapter 24: Correspondence

Each night, I worked on Princess Jasmine's most pressing correspondence and left recommendations for some of Agrabah's current issues. When I wasn't doing that, I began to read up on everything I missed over the last half-decade. I looked up new laws, old regulations, and even Jasmine's calculations which she never read out to me. It was just so good to be able to select reading material for myself instead of depending on Jasmine. I almost felt content.

Jasmine was in a better mood too. Each morning, the princess came into the study with a spring in her step. She eagerly went over each new thing I had worked on. We examined my handiwork together. She continued to check to make sure that there was nothing amiss with her new helper's work, but of course, there was not. So, she and I approved most of the letters and paperwork her secret advisor sent her.

By the end of two weeks, we'd established a pattern. Then one night, when I sat down to begin working, I found a letter addressed to me.

Dear Secret Advisor,

I cannot thank you enough for your aid in these past weeks. I don't

know who you are but you are literally helping me save Agrabah and

I am thankful.

I smiled. I had already heard her praise from when I was Rajah, but there was something nice about getting a handwritten letter. A letter from Jasmine. It was more than nice. It was...

I decided to read on:

But I didn't write this letter just to praise you. I have some questions

about your new government structure plan.

Ah. I should have known.

Over the last couple of weeks, I started thinking about a long-term solution to our current issues. A power vacuum was created when Jafar left but that had just been a symptom of a larger issue. The kingdom had never really recovered from the death of Jasmine's mother.

Now that Jafar was gone and I had the ability to write, I figured it was finally the perfect time to create a new government structure. Nothing too drastic. I just wanted to fill positions with competent people and restructure the government to reflect how the kingdom actually functioned now. I had started a list. After many revisions, I had left the list for Jasmine to look over.

As Rajah, I had debated the merits of my ideas with Jasmine. It had been hard to get my point across. It was more nuanced than my usual advice to her and, in the end, I had thought that we would have to continue the argument tomorrow.

Instead, I had this letter in my hands. I kept reading:

Now Rajah, my tiger, loves it and I assure you that is a grand

compliment, but I need more convincing. Please explain the

following:

After that, there was a long list of questions. My smile turned wry. That was my princess alright.

I dug into the list. It took a long time. Not because I didn't know my arguments. No, it was more because I was addressing this letter directly to Jasmine. It felt different from my usual work. My recommendation reports, the closest I'd come to talking to her, were succinct, formal, and impersonal. The letters I wrote for her could be friendly. Sometimes they bordered on sycophantic, but that was because those letters were addressed to other people who responded to that sort of thing. I never addressed her that way. I never addressed her at all and that was on purpose.