Bones in Silk

Chapter One: The Parcel

Mozenrath saw the delivery cart from the palace window before it reached the outer gate. He knew what it contained, and what it contained was for him. He needed to get downstairs before the confused palace guards sent his parcel back. Mozenrath turned around and nearly collided with Xerxes.

"Make a noise next time," Mozenrath snapped.

"Xerxes sorry," Xerxes replied, then added. "Cart coming for Mozenrath?"

Mozenrath was in too good a mood to stay angry. A cunning glint came to his eye.

"It's here, Xerxes. It's finally here!"

Mozenrath walked across the beautiful rug spread on the marble floor of his palace room. He dodged Xerxes' bed – which Xerxes insisted on having right in the doorway – and then, holding fast to the wall, he carefully picked his way down the curving stairs. It took so long to get anywhere without his gauntlet. Walking was a pain.

By the time he made it to the palace entryway, a guard from the gate had brought the breastplate-sized package into the palace for Razoul, Aladdin and Jasmine to inspect. He probably only brought it in for Razoul, but Aladdin in his nose-sticking way, elbowed his way in, and Jasmine in her disgustingly-blissfully married way, followed. Actually, the princess had more reason to be there than Aladdin. In Mozenrath's time in the palace, he noticed that Jasmine acted as an adviser and almost a sort of vice-Sultan. She was far different from the helpless princess he used to think she was. But then, Mozenrath had realized that years ago: when things were normal.

"Normal, indeed."

Mozenrath spun around but there was no owner for the voice.

"What wrong?" Xerxes asked, glancing around.

It must have been one of the men ahead of him. Though the way he said "Indeed" sounded just like—

"Mozenrath."

Mozenrath jumped and turned back to face the group. Aladdin had spotted him and called out to him. Mozenrath smiled politely and approached.

"Why hello," he said, stopping beside Aladdin.

"A mysterious package arrived at the palace today," said Aladdin.

Mozenrath grinned and grabbed at the package. Razoul held it out of reach.

"What's in it, boy?"

Mozenrath jumped for it, but couldn't grab it. "Just something I thought would keep me occupied."

Xerxes bit Razoul's hand and Razoul dropped the parcel. Mozenrath reached up to catch it with his silk-wrapped right hand, but it slipped easily from his grip and hit the floor with a solid thud. Mozenrath crouched to pick it up.

"What's in the package, Ali?" Jasmine asked more sternly.

"A book. Just a book." Mozenrath picked it up with both hands and clutched it to his chest. "I'm allowed books, aren't I?" he asked as he ran back towards his room.

He carefully climbed the stairs, never glancing back. If they had really wanted to stop him, they would have. He could not outrun Aladdin: especially not now. Mozenrath made it to the top and went straight to his bed. He sat, and began to unwrap the sackcloth from the intricate wooden binding of the book. Mozenrath reverently stroked the front cover, noting that even the eyes of the carved people had pupils. The words melted into the pictures seamlessly: then again, it was written in Egyptian hieroglyphs. But that didn't matter. Under Destane, Mozenrath had become fluent.

Destane…

Why would Mozenrath hear Destane's voice? He hadn't even been thinking of him at the time. It's true, Mozenrath thought about him a lot lately – thanks to Cassim stirring up memories – but that wouldn't cause something like this. It was just a weird echo of the guard's voice; the word had been the only thing that triggered the association.

But Mozenrath wouldn't think of that now. He had finally gotten his book; he had wanted a worthwhile book for ages. Destane would stay where he had always been: locked tightly away in the past. A place Mozenrath controlled and nothing escaped except by his permission.

"Mozenrath open book now?" Xerxes prodded.

"Yes, of course," Mozenrath said, quickly opening it to the first page. A thrill passed through Mozenrath's body as soon as he noticed a phrase about magic. He couldn't wait for his skill to match his age.

'''

Jasmine watched Mozenrath hurry back out of sight.

"What was that?" she asked.

Aladdin nudged her. "Come on, Jasmine, Ali doesn't have much to keep him occupied. He was probably dying to read something again."

"The palace has a library."

"Yes, but you know Ali," Aladdin continued. "Always has to do things himself. He has very specific interests."

"That's what I'm worried about," Jasmine said to herself.

"There's nothing to worry about," Aladdin said, addressing a frowning Razoul, as well. "He's just a little awkward, still. Give him time."

"I can only give him so much leeway," Jasmine said, looking, Aladdin thought, very much like a queen. Jasmine turned to Razoul and the guard. "Thank you, you may go." They obeyed and Jasmine and Aladdin were alone. She turned back to Aladdin. Then she softened and sighed. "I'm glad you have so much faith in your brother. I just think we should be cautious. He's been Mozenrath longer than he's been Ali—"

"He's always been Ali."

Jasmine covered Aladdin's mouth. "But he has thought he was Mozenrath. And he's probably still struggling with that. All I mean is, we need to look out for him. Keep him out of trouble." She removed her hand from Aladdin's mouth and smiled deviously. "Like I've had to do with you at dinner parties." Playfully, she turned to walk away.

Aladdin laughed and caught her up. "I see your point."

"Hey, have you seen your father around?" Jasmine asked suddenly.

"Not since early this morning. But you know him: he likes time to himself."

"You have a very interesting family."

Aladdin laughed. "You don't need to tell me that."

"But then, what else could have turned out someone as wonderful as my husband?"

Aladdin put his arm around Jasmine's waist. "Your father raised someone even better. But I suspect you learned the art of adventuring on your own."

Jasmine smiled coyly. "What makes you say that?"

"Well—"

The sultan's slippers clacking across the marble drew their attention. "Razoul tells me a mysterious package arrived today for Mozenrath. That is, Ali. Sorry, my boy. It was just a slip of the tongue. I have only known your brother over a few months, while I've known Mozenrath for, let me see… three years? Has it been three already?"

"I'm not sure, your majesty," Aladdin replied.

"Now, now, none of that," the sultan chided. "You are a prince now. And I suppose your brother is a sort of Prince Ali. Ah, how that brings back memories." The sultan stared off for a moment and sighed. Then he cleared his throat. "But anyway, back to this parcel business."

"Ali took it to his room," Jasmine answered.

"What was it?" the sultan asked.

"We didn't get to see. He ran off with it too quickly," Aladdin replied.

"He…ran?"

"Well," Aladdin shrugged. "He didn't exactly run."

"Ah, yes."

"He said it was a book," Jasmine offered raising his eyebrows and shrugging.

"Oh," the sultan replied, removing a handkerchief form his sleeve and dabbing his forehead. "That's a relief."

Aladdin knitted his brow. "A relief?" What was the sultan implying?

"If it is just a book," the sultan went on. "Still, as I have learned the hard way, with that Jafar and whatnot, some books are dangerous. I would very much like to know what book he has purchased."

"Is he not welcome and trusted by now?" asked Aladdin.

"I mean no hostility to Ali, of course. He is your brother, Aladdin, and as such a type of son-in-law to me. But I am also Sultan, and I will protect my kingdom and my family."

"Aladdin, it's okay," Jasmine cut in. "I understand Father's point. And I agree with him. Mozenrath did cause us great harm, but Ali has only been getting better. Finding out what book he got is no big deal, and it will be easy, anyway. We'll just go upstairs and ask him. He'll probably even be happy that we are interested in it."

Both Aladdin and the sultan looked ashamed.

Aladdin spoke first. "Okay, Jasmine. You are right, of course. And you too, your highness. I just want everything to be fixed right now. I wish this tense adjustment period with Ali and Dad were over, so we can finally relax and start acting like a family."

Jasmine kissed him and stroked his cheek. "We will be," she said softly. "We just have to be patient."

"Patience isn't one of my strong suits," Aladdin admitted.

"Even though it is difficult, I don't regret bringing them both here," continued Jasmine. "It was infinitely worth the trouble."

"Now that is something which I agree with completely," said the sultan.

'''

Mozenrath grabbed one of the pieces of parchment lying on his study table. He grabbed one of the pieces of sharpened charcoal and, sitting at the table, he slumped over his new book, as though he were shielding it from the outside world. Xerxes lay on his shoulders, peering at the hieroglyphs, seeing nothing but an intriguing picture.

Mozenrath heard a noise and looked over his shoulder. Upon seeing his brother and his brother's wife, he looked back at his work.

"No, please, don't knock. Come right in," he said in a teasing, irritated voice.

Aladdin approached. "Hey, what book did you get?" he asked, Mozenrath thought, a little too eagerly. Oh well. Mozenrath smiled. He liked it when Aladdin was interested in what he was doing.

He put the book down for a moment and rested his elbow on the back of the chair. "It is a book from the high priests of Egypt, that contains instructions for some new spells."

"Egypt, huh?" Aladdin said. He and Jasmine approached the table. He leaned in to glance at the pages. "Jasmine and I were there for a little while, weren't we?"

"On our first magic carpet ride," Jasmine added. They both sank into a rose-colored reverie.

Mozenrath rolled his eyes. "And I'm sure it was magical," he said, turning back to his book. "Now, if you would excuse me—"

"What spells does it teach you?" Jasmine interrupted.

Mozenrath raised an eyebrow. My, they were acting weird. Sensing his master's thoughts, Xerxes came from behind and sniffed the couple.

"As you can see by its voluminous page count, a great many," he said steadily.

"You're learning them to better your magic, aren't you?" Aladdin inquired. "Now that you don't have the gauntlet."

Even though it wasn't meant that way, it still felt like a taunt. Mozenrath breathed deeply. "That is correct."

Silence ensued.

"Is that all you came to ask?" Mozenrath ventured.

Aladdin looked at Jasmine, who looked back at Aladdin. They shrugged in unison. Seriously, this couple. How was Mozenrath related to this sap?

"Just curious," Jasmine said. "And also, it was an excuse to say 'hi.'"

"But you saw me downstairs," Mozenrath said, glancing between them, his lip a little raised.

"Yeah, but visits are nice, right?" Aladdin added. "Visits with family…getting to know each other… bonding…"

Mozenrath turned his full attention to his book. "Yes, well, bonding is fine and all, but please, next time, be a little less eerie when you engage in it, alright? You'd think I was under house arrest." He looked up suddenly, to catch the reaction in their eyes. He was fishing. And, to his dismay, there was a reaction.

"No, no, no," Jasmine said, smiling a little too much. "Why would you say that?"

"You're one of us, Ali!" Aladdin punched him in the shoulder. Mozenrath rubbed his new sore spot.

"Isn't that sweet," Mozenrath mumbled into his book. "If you're finished, I have a lot of work to do. I want to be out of intermediate level and starting advanced spells by next month, so…a little privacy? I can't concentrate with too many people around."

"Of course, of course," Aladdin said as he and Jasmine started for the doorway.

"Will you be down for lunch?" Jasmine asked.

"Am I ever not?" Mozenrath called back.

Jasmine nodded awkwardly. Then she and Aladdin left.

Mozenrath sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Aladdin and Jasmine acting strange," Xerxes noted.

"It's probably nothing," Mozenrath said. "And I'm sure the Sultan put them up to it. I don't blame them. They've treated me better than I have any right to expect."

A/N: I'm super excited for this story, though I was hesitant to start it officially. I have a folder with several scenes and an outline and brainstorming stuff, but it was all so disorderly that I didn't want to bother sorting it out into a real story. But, I read some Aladdin fics, and I can't help myself anymore. This is probably going to be a pretty long story. Lots will happen. :3