Tales Untold: Aladdin and Jasmine (Chapter 1)

Agrabah, 4th Century CE

   Aladdin held his newborn son in his arms. Jasmine lay on the bed next to him, exhausted from the delivery, but smiling. "What is his name?" he asked.
   "I think it should be Almas," Jasmine said. "He is a diamond, just like his father."
   "I was thinking Zain, since he is just as handsome as his mother is pretty," Aladdin said.
   "Oh, Al," Jasmine blushed. "Why don't we name him Zain Almas?"
   "Zain Almas," Aladdin said, trying it out. "I like it."
   And that was how Prince Zain Almas of Agrabah came into the world.


   "How sentimental," a voice dripping with sarcasm said from the corner of the room.  Jasmine and Aladdin whirled to see blue flames illuminating a shadowy corner of the room where an unidentifiable figure skulked.  The figure moved and they saw at once that it was Hades, Lord of the Greek Underworld.  Jasmine and Aladdin knew the stories of the world and recognized him at once.
   "Hades!" Aladdin gasped. "What are you doing here?"
   "Ah, not much, Prince Abubu..." Hades said conversationally.  "You know, hobnobbing with the dead can get a bit boring...even your friend Jafar proved to be less entertaining than I'd hoped someone as...interesting...as he was to be.  Anyway, I'd love to stay and chitchat but I've got a debt to collect." Hades peeked around Aladdin and peered at Jasmine, who was clutching baby Zain closer to her.  "Ah, there's the little sunspot," he said.
   "What do you want with our son?" Jasmine asked.
   "Don't really want to bore you with the details, Jazzy.  Let's just say I heard it from a little birdy that this little one is to be mine."
   If I can't keep a baby in the Underworld, call me a mortal, Hades thought ruefully.  He'd learned his lesson that if he wanted something done right, he had to do it himself. The Fates foretold that since I lost Nutmeg, she would be the first of many who would escape me. The son of Aladdin and Jasmine was one of those foretold to escape him, and Hades was determined to never let the kid grow strong enough to escape the clutches of Hell.  And what could a newborn mortal boy do anyway?  The child was a mewling helpless bag of flesh. Hades could definitely keep something so weak within his grasp. And if he could stop this one, then he could stop the others.  As soon as the gods on Mount Olympus heard that Hades was letting his charges escape, he'd never hear the end of it.  Being God of the Underworld sucked, but he was still in charge of an entire realm.  There were definitely gods who had it worse. Like Prometheus... Hades thought with a shudder.  
   "Anyhow, I'll take the little urchin and be on my way...don't mind me." He advanced towards Jasmine.
   "Get away from her!" Aladdin jumped in front of his wife and son, his sword drawn. Hades batted him away like he was nothing.
   Just then, they all heard a trumpet sound a charge, and the Genie came bursting through the door, shouting, "I'll save the kid!"     The Magic Carpet was riding on Genie's shoulders like a cape.  Aladdin jumped on the carpet and grabbed Zain out of Jasmine's hands, flying to the ceiling of the room.
   "You have a genie on your side?" Hades shouted, his blue hair flames turning red. "I thought you freed him!"
   "I will always protect my buddy Al," Genie said. Hades disappeared, a threat in his eye.
   "He'll be back," Jasmine whispered. "He'll be back, and there's no way to guarantee our son's safety."
   "I'll protect him, Jas, I promise," Aladdin said. "Trust me," he said with a wink. Jasmine smiled a little.
   "He's a god, Aladdin," Jasmine protested.  "He may not be our god, but he's just as powerful.  How can we hope to fight against him?"
   "There is a way," Genie said uncharacteristically quietly and solemnly. "I can protect him."
   "How?" Jasmine asked.
   "I would have to transport him to another world, far away, to the future, to where Hades will never be able to find him hurt him.  No one will know."
   "You can do that, Genie?" Aladdin asked, hope in his eyes.
   "Of course I can, Al!" Genie's boyant personality bubbled through the solemn discussion, but he sobered. "But he would have to go alone," Genie said.
   "You mean, we can't go with him?" Jasmine's eyes went to her newborn baby, sleeping peacefully with his mouth hanging open.
   "No," Genie said. "I can only take one person at a time, and both of you are needed to rule Agrabah." They looked down. "But I promise I will never leave him, and when he's old enough, I'll help him find his way back to you."
   The parents looked sadly at the snoring baby. "What if we find a way to defeat Hades?" Aladdin asked.
   "I'll keep an eye on you. I have my ways of looking," Genie said, morphing into a fortune teller, gazing into a crystal ball. "When Hades is defeated, I'll bring him back. In the meantime, it's the best chance you have of keeping him safe."
   Aladdin and Jasmine looked at each other and then at Zain. An unspoken agreement passed between them, and they both kissed their newborn son goodbye, and sent him off with Genie to a whole new world that they would never be a part of, not knowing if they'd ever see him again.
   But at least he would be safe.