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"Stay here. I'll be outside if you need me," Aladdin said, opening the door and leaving. He closed it behind him.
Jasmine immediately ran to her bed, collapsed on it, and began bawling her eyes out.
Outside the room, Aladdin removed his headpiece and sat on the ground before shifting to the side and lying down beside the door, using his headpiece as a pillow.
Suddenly, Genie appeared to be passing by with a giant ice cream sundae in a large glass cup in one arm and giant pastries in the other arm, before he suddenly stopped and looked down a few times to confirm that his eyesight was correct.
The ice cream and pastries vanished. Genie leaned in, "Hey, what's the future emperor of Ababwa doing here, lying on the ground?"
"Long story," Aladdin sighed tiredly.
He hadn't expected that his actions would create a fracture in his relationship with Jasmine, which was something he had been actively trying to avoid.
"Well, I got all the time in the world," Genie responded with a raised brow.
Aladdin nodded. He explained everything that had taken place.
"Now, I don't think that she wants to talk to me again," Aladdin said.
"That's bad news. I'm certain that both of you really want to continue this relationship, and none of us wants to see it fall apart," Genie responded, sighing in contemplation.
"Well, do you want a harem? And I'm not talking about for the sake of the empire. I'm talking about… you," he asked, turning to the side and gently tapping Aladdin's chest.
Aladdin nodded.
"Are you willing to lose Jasmine for the sake of a harem?" Genie responded.
"No. I can't lose Jasmine," Aladdin shook his head in response. "I would rather not."
"So you want Jasmine and both the harem?" Genie asked, rubbing his chin as he looked at Aladdin with a thoughtful and serious expression.
Aladdin nodded.
"That's incredibly selfish of you. And here I thought that you were a beacon of selflessness," Genie shook his head and sighed. "Now, I'm starting to see another side of why you wanted that empire."
"Nonetheless, I've seen and heard worse. At least, I can tell that you aren't lying. Still, I'm disappointed."
He rubbed his hand down his face, causing it to look elastic as it bounced up and down before settling back to normal.
"Yeah. It's very selfish of me," Aladdin nodded.
"You know, when I was a kid, I never really had much experience of love, except from Abu. No mother or father. Yeah, it sounds like a sad story, but it's actually a common story on the streets of Agrabah. My one dream was to live in the palace and get to see Princess Jasmine, the priceless gem of Agrabah."
"They said that she was a princess who knew what she wanted. One so stubborn that even the Sultan couldn't control her as he desired. She didn't look at the gold or rubies of the suitors who came to seek her hand in marriage. If they didn't match what she was looking for in a man, she would turn them away without a sparing glance."
"Do you know that she had even snuck out of the palace without her personal guards, wanting an adventure that only she could taste? And that was when we first met. When people spoke about her, she felt like someone out of my reach… someone I could only admire from far away."
"Do you know that when I revealed that I wasn't a real prince and told her my wishes, her emotions toward me didn't change? It only became clearer… And now, she's here with me. I can hold her in my arms."
In his former world, his parents had perished in a government-led disaster, and with them, any record of who they were. Even when he could trace his parents' lineage, their families didn't even know that they were engaged, and it was even more difficult when he tried to integrate.
He had grown up in an orphanage, and the only solace he found was in sweeping works of fiction, stories in larger-than-life imagination, shaped by every hardship and triumph that human life had to offer.
Among them were the animated movies.
Later on, he realised that it was much easier for him to stay alone. He didn't even make it past his early twenties and become a fully pledged salary man, before he awakened as Aladdin.
He decided to make use of this opportunity to the fullest. Because what he once thought was fiction had now become his reality. So how could he not make use of his new reality?
For 12 long years, he abandoned his former life because there was nothing much to cling to and became Aladdin, the famous street rat of Agrabah. Having a harem was simply one of those desires he had awakened after emerging in this world.
But, he could not tell Genie or Jasmine this information.
Aladdin paused, lowering his gaze.
"I've lived without anyone truly belonging to me. So when I finally get something this real… something warm… someone who chose me back… It's hard not to want more of it… But I won't lie, Genie. Part of me understands why it might be impossible or even unacceptable to have a harem."
"…And I know I have the power, the position… even the excuses to justify it. But personally… I cannot justify it. Because that would be an insult to Jasmine. And it would mean that I don't see her the way she sees me."
Aladdin sat upright and leaned against the door. "Perhaps, I'm still no different from a street rat who takes and takes just because he can… I want Jasmine to be enough. But if I'm not certain about that… then perhaps, I don't deserve her at all."
Genie was silent for a moment. Then, a long, withdrawn sigh escaped his lips. He floated up and sat beside Aladdin, with his arms resting on his knees.
"…Kid. That was the fifth most honest thing you've said since I popped out of that lamp," Genie spoke softly. "Look here… wanting more is not necessarily evil. That's humans, kings, beggars, sorcerers… doesn't matter who they are… y'all want more. More food, more power, more treasures… more everything."
"The problem is not wanting, but what you're willing to lose to get it."
"I've seen masters who had everything," Genie snapped his fingers, and blue lightning shot out of them, exploding into fireworks that collapsed into flickering illusions of golden palaces, crowds of women, and treasures piling up to the ceiling.
"And you know what they all had in common?" He snapped his fingers once more, and the illusion instantly vanished into thin air.
"They were all empty."
From ruthless masters who wanted to rule the Seven Deserts and conquer the world at large, to hedonistic masters who want to experience all the deadly sins, to heroic masters who want to save everyone and everything, Genie had seen it all.
Some had made him realise that there was no hope for him to ever gain his freedom, and others had made him disappointed in promises that turned out to be fake the moment they made their last wish and discarded the lamp later.
Only Aladdin had kept his word and granted his most heartfelt desire in a single day. There was no other thing that could replace that moment. One thing that he had come to realise about the kid was that he was truly honest about his feelings.
Because others wouldn't have the same courage to do so.
Genie gently stretched his fingers and tapped Aladdin's chest.
"Where your treasure is, there your heart will also be. And whatever you choose to value, whether it deserves it or not, will keep demanding more. If you don't protect what truly matters, you'll spend everything on things that leave you with nothing."
He leaned back and continued.
"So in whatever choices you make, remember that the consequences will follow. I can only steer you down the right path. In case you're still not aware of what I'm trying to convey here, newsflash… you're not gonna find a girl like her even in a million years. Believe me. I've looked. I want what's best for you."
Aladdin nodded, resting his head against his arms, which were wrapped around his knees.
He knew that Genie was right. A voice of reason was what he needed at the moment, not a yes-man. Fortunately, he had someone like Genie as his close friend.
"Genie…" Just as Aladdin opened his mouth to speak, Jasmine's voice sounded from the door behind him. She was singing.
[Something's different when you look at me…
Like your heart is far away.
You're right here, but I can feel it
You're already half gone today.]
[Tell me what you're hiding from me,
Don't leave me guessing again…
Am I still the one you chose once,
Or just where your story began?]
Aladdin swallowed back his words. He couldn't find the words to express how he felt, but couldn't articulate them. He sang; however, they came.
[[No... don't think I've stopped believing,
You're still everything to me...
But I came from empty nothing,
And it still lives inside of me.]
[I don't know how to explain it
This feeling I can't control...
Like I'm always reaching outward
Even when I've found my home.]
Jasmine response came quickly and it was as painful as he had anticipated.
[Then why does love feel like distance?
Why does truth feel like pain?
Are we holding something real here…
Or watching it slip away?]
[Am I enough for your heart tonight?
Or just a dream in fading light?
You are more than I can say…
More than I know how to stay…]
[If this is love, why does it hurt?
Why does it bend until it aches?
If I give you all of me…
Why does it feel like you need more than me?]
Soon, the melodies ended.
"Get in now," Jasmine's voice sounded from within.
"Yeah. Okay," Aladdin responded. He quickly shot up to his feet.
Just as he was about to step in, he glanced at Genie.
Genie raised two big thumbs at him with a bright, wide smile.
A 'You can do it' sign floated behind him like a carousel.
Aladdin nodded and walked into the room.
The door closed shut.
Genie took out a megaphone from his pocket and placed it against the door frame, with his ear pressed to the other side.