Abu was seated on Carpet. However, the moment they arrived, Carpet threw Abu off him and soared toward Aladdin and Jasmine.
"Hey!" Abu screamed loudly at Carpet.
A rocky platform shot up from the ground. Abu twisted his body mid-air and landed on it.
Another carpet floated beside Abu and flew around him as though urging him to hop on. But Abu folded his arms, snorted, and looked away.
"As if I'll trust your kind again," he muttered under his breath.
The carpet covered its edges with its tassels and shook as though chuckling at Abu's behaviour.
The green Carpet pulled in closer, nudging Abu with her tassels.
Abu pushed it away; however, green Carpet continued her attempts.
"Okay," Abu accepted after her persistent attempts, with a subtle blush on his face. He leapt onto the carpet, and they flew upwards, hovering in the air.
Meanwhile, Aladdin and Jasmine, catching a glimpse of what had transpired, chuckled slightly and climbed onto Carpet and sat down.
"I'll complete my tasks as quickly as I can and be there for your wedding," Rakim said as he bowed respectfully in their direction.
Rakim couldn't make it to Agrabah last time, due to the various tasks he needed to handle to keep the entire Empire running. He knew how important this responsibility was.
However, he couldn't afford to leave the future Emperor of their Empire unprotected and risk the previous event happening again, so he decided to complete today's task as quickly as he could and prepare for the wedding.
The squads of imperial guards lined up at the entrance turned toward them and bowed as well.
Aladdin and Jasmine nodded.
Aladdin removed his golden key from his neck and opened the portal to Agrabah.
A wide blue portal opened before them.
Carpet soared into the portal. The green Carpet followed suit behind them.
The portal remained open.
"Ensure that no one enters or leaves through this portal. Make no mistakes, or your heads on platters will be the least of your worries," Rakim said to the guards as he turned around and walked out of the garden.
"YES, GENERAL!!"
The imperial guards responded with resounding voices.
Agrabah,
Due to the events that had transpired five days ago, a gloomy aura covered the entire Kingdom.
The city was slowly being reconstructed by the Imperial Court's Magicians and Aladdin. Due to Aladdin's innate talent and skill in transmutation magic, he had created an independent transmutation spell to aid them in restoring the destroyed areas to an improved version of their original state.
Because of the immense magical energy required for the spell to function and the scale of the task, Aladdin had used his newly acquired knowledge from studying Nasira's magic circle to create a city-wide magic circle to assist it.
In time, he aimed to convert it into a nationwide detection magic circle capable of sensing when someone attempted to attack Agrabah with another city-wide attack or large-scale magic circle.
The only limitation was that he was currently the only one capable of operating it, alongside several Imperial Magic Court magicians working together. To combat this, Aladdin planned to open a magic academy in Agrabah. It would serve as an institution to search for and nurture magical talent within the Kingdom.
Considering that Agrabah was home to several magically talented individuals, such as Jafar, Nasira, and a few others he had only seen in the show, Aladdin didn't want the same tragedy to repeat itself again. With the agreement of the Sultan and Jasmine, construction of the academy had slowly begun.
The dead had already been collected from the rubble and wreckage. The people still grieved for the loss of their loved ones.
Three days after the attack, the Sultan hosted a mass burial for the dead.
Aladdin and Jasmine, alongside the entire royal family, nobles, and foreign dignitaries, attended not in their positions of power, but as guests grieving and mourning alongside the victims.
Because of this, the wedding had been delayed until today.
After the delay caused by recent events, Aladdin and Jasmine decided to share their wedding celebration with the people by turning an area of the city, which had been destroyed, into a venue for the wedding.
At the centre of the venue was a wide stage, decorated with flowers and fine ornaments to host the wedding. At the edges of the stage and below stood several Agrabah Guards and Ababwa Imperial Magic Court magicians standing guard.
Around the beautifully decorated stage were rows of chairs arranged in groups. At the back of the chairs were several neatly arranged standing areas for the remaining populace unable to get a seat, allowing them to observe the wedding.
A long, flower-covered carpet filled with beautiful and unique flowers led from the stage to the last rows of chairs.
The venue was tightly secured and protected to prevent what had happened last time from transpiring again.
At this moment, the venue was packed with crowds of people, from young to old alike. Poor and rich. Noble and commoner. Citizen and foreigner. No one was excluded because they were all welcomed to partake in this celebration.
The gathering was like grains of sand gathered across the seashore.
The venue bustled with joyful emotions.
Several loud trumpets suddenly rang out through the air. Then drums followed, causing the venue to turn quiet.
Several guards quickly stepped forward and stood on both sides of the flower-covered carpet leading up to the stage.
As the ceremony began, two flying carpets appeared in the sky and approached the venue, stopping at the edge of the flower-covered carpet.
On the first Carpet were Aladdin, dressed in a white attire similar to princely robes except with a long cape, covering his right hand and flowing behind him and a headdress, and Jasmine, dressed in her white wedding gown with open flares at the centre. Golden accents decorated her long sleeves, and her long black hair was covered with a white veil held in place by a flowery tiara.
On the second carpet were Abu, dressed in a black tuxedo, and Rajah.
Aladdin stepped down from Carpet and helped Jasmine down as well.
Sabina and Jasmine's other cousins immediately came forward to meet them.
"We'll take it from here," Nadine said, receiving Jasmine's hand from Aladdin.
They quickly arranged Jasmine's dress and led her toward the stage.
"Genie shouldn't have left so soon," Aladdin muttered with a sigh.
Genie could have made the perfect best man at this moment.
He couldn't use Abu either because he didn't want to scare the people with a giant monkey appearing out of nowhere, especially since they were still frightened from what had transpired over the tragedy from five days ago.
Suddenly, Aladdin felt a gentle tap on his shoulder.
He looked to the side and saw Carpet standing on two tassels, with the rest of his body raised as though he were walking on two feet.
Carpet gestured toward Aladdin's arm and then toward himself, and Aladdin quickly understood what he was trying to say.
"A flying magic carpet as a best man? Well, it's a special day, might as well go for it," Aladdin said, chuckling softly.
Carpet stretched out his other tassel as though making a victorious celebration, before hooking one tassel under Aladdin's arm and leading him toward the stage.
Abu stretched his hand out toward the green Carpet. Her edges shook as though chuckling softly before one of her tassels reached out and grabbed his arm. They walked forward together.
Soon, they reached the stage.
Aladdin and Jasmine stood before the Sultan.
Carpet, Abu, the green Carpet, Sabina, Nadine, and the others stood at the side of the stage.
"Today, under the watch of the heavens and our ancestors, we are gathered here to witness the union of my beloved daughter… Oh, enough of this…" the Sultan said, stretching out his hands to grab Aladdin's and Jasmine's and place them into one another's. "By the power invested in me, Sultan Hamed Bobolonius II, I proclaim you husband and wife."
He spoke as though afraid of something happening and interfering with the wedding once more. Then, he raised his head to face the crowds. "I, Sultan Hamed Bobolonius II, will be stepping down as Sultan of Agrabah. As my descendant and successor to the throne, according to the laws of Agrabah…"
He refocused on Aladdin and Jasmine. "I henceforth crown Princess Jasmine, Sultana of Agrabah, and you, Prince Aladdin, Sultan of Agrabah. May you lead Agrabah into a new era of even greater prosperity."
Aladdin and Jasmine knelt before the Sultan, still holding hands.
The Sultan took a golden crown resembling Jasmine's crown but much larger and more brilliantly decorated with blue and turquoise gemstones, carried on a platform beside him and placed it upon Jasmine's head. He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. "I knew that you would marry a wonderful suitor."
Then, he took another golden crown, adorned with a sapphire and a tall, elegant feather at the centre, removed Aladdin's headpiece and gently placed it aside before setting the crown upon his head. "Take care of my daughter," he whispered into his ear as he adjusted the crown.
Aladdin nodded fiercely.
The Sultan leaned back with a satisfied smile.
The Sultan still didn't know that Aladdin had wished to become a prince. The only people who knew were Genie, Abu, Carpet, and Jasmine. They had each decided to keep it that way.
So as the Sultan helped Aladdin and Jasmine back to their feet, they turned together to face the crowds.
Jasmine nodded at Aladdin, then stepped forward and announced loudly, "As the Sultana of Agrabah, I will make my first declaration starting from this moment… From this day henceforth, the Princess shall marry whomever she deems worthy."
Hearing Jasmine's declaration, the former Sultan's eyes widened in surprise before a smile slowly bloomed on his face. This had been Jasmine's dream ever since she had learned of the law, after all. If she hadn't changed this particular law soon after becoming Sultana, he would've thought that someone had taken possession of his daughter.
Unfortunately, Jafar was already gone, or else his head might have fallen once more at this very moment.
Waves of thunderous cheers rippled through the atmosphere as the crowd screamed in excitement.
"ALL HAIL SULTAN ALADDIN!! ALL HAIL SULTANA JASMINE!!"
"ALL HAIL SULTAN ALADDIN!! ALL HAIL SULTANA JASMINE!!"
"ALL HAIL SULTAN ALADDIN!! ALL HAIL SULTANA JASMINE!!"
Aladdin held Jasmine's hand and led her down the stage with Abu and the others behind them. Several guards and Imperial Magic Court magicians followed around them protectively.
"If only you were here to see this day, my darling. You would've been proud of our little girl as well," former Sultan Hamed said, wiping the tears from his eyes with a handkerchief.
As Aladdin and Jasmine approached the standing area, the people parted, giving them space.
The wedding music suddenly came alive. The live bands and instrumentalists scattered across the crowds matched their tunes to flow together with the wedding musicians.
"Would you like to dance, my lady?" Aladdin said, stepping to the side and stretching out his hand toward Jasmine.
"It's Sultana Jasmine to you from now on," Jasmine said with a smile as she took his hand.
Aladdin pulled her forward and wrapped his hand around her waist. "My Sultana…"
"My Sultan…" Jasmine responded, wrapping her arms around him as well.
As they danced, the music slowly filled their hearts, and Aladdin felt a deep joy rising from his chest. His thoughts scrambled to find a way to describe this moment. However, he couldn't find the right words to express it. Perhaps because he had already grown used to the feeling and how easy it was to process one's thoughts into songs in this world, Aladdin sang softly.
[There was a day I thought this kingdom
Would never feel the same again]
Jasmine, feeling the same, and not wanting to leave him hanging, sang as well.
[Too many people hurting quietly
Too much we couldn't heal]
[But standing here beside you now...]
[The world feels safer somehow]
They sang at the same time.
[Maybe healing starts like this...]
[I used to think a happy ending
Was just a story told]
[But after everything we've lived through
You stayed when things turned cold]
[Looking out at all of this
I finally understand]
[Home is simply where you stand.]
Others slowly joined in. Nadine took Carpet and led him in a dance, while the rest of her cousins picked a lucky young noble or a man or woman from the crowd and danced with them.
Abu transformed into his giant, muscular form, startling numerous people, but upon receiving reassurance from the guards and magicians nearby, who were already used to such sights, and seeing him dance gently with a magic carpet, they calmed down once more. However, they kept their distance from them.
The crowds also slowly joined in the celebration, choosing partners and dancing along to the anthem of the day.
[After everything we lost
After everything we feared
Somehow we found our way…
Back here]
[Hand in hand, we made it through
When darkness pulled us under
And here we are, still standing strong.
Still holding onto each other]
/////////
At this point, I probably don't need to remind anyone to check the Discord group whenever a new song drops.
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Join the family on: discord. gg/ EUmdp2EUVX (Remove the Space)