"Our wedding was beautiful; everything I ever dreamed of..."
জুঁই would have liked some answers, as well. There was so much about this time that she didn't know. She learned the contraption they were in was called a car and was like a large horseless chariot. Rapunzel suddenly made a sharp turn off the road. জুঁই fell against the man called Rick O'Connell. He winced and জুঁই realized he was bleeding.
"You're hurt," জুঁই told him.
"I'm fine," Rick said.
"You're bleeding," জুঁই pointed out.
The other man, Flynn Rider, turned around to face them. "What? আপনি better not be getting blood all over the car."
"I appreciate the concern," Rick muttered.
"I don't give a shit about আপনি being shot. আপনি shot me, remember?" Flynn stated.
Rick pressed his hand against his wound and shook his head. "I shot at you. It only grazed you."
Rapunzel pulled onto a dirt road that looked like barely আরো than a trail. They were in the woods now and the trees were dangerously close to the car. জুঁই feared they would crash, but Rapunzel seemed to navigate in a way to perfectly miss every tree. They bumped over the road for a few মিনিট before stopping in front of an impossibly small house.
"We're here," Rapunzel announced.
XXX
Not long after arriving at the house, which জুঁই was told was their "hideout", Flynn had gotten a আগুন going in the fireplace and the four of them were now gathered in the living room. Rapunzel and Flynn were sitting on a tattered পালঙ্ক while জুঁই sat on the floor পরবর্তি to Rick. জুঁই was fascinated as she watched Rick extract the bullet out of his wound. When he finally got the bullet out, he dropped it into a bowl Rapunzel had প্রদত্ত him.
"Jasmine?"
জুঁই looked over at Rapunzel. "Yes?"
"What's going on?" Rapunzel repeated.
"It's kind of a long story," জুঁই told her.
"We have time."
জুঁই nodded. "Very well."
"Why don't আপনি start with explaining how আপনি know English," Flynn said. "You're from Agrabah, aren't you?" জুঁই nodded. "Agrabah is in the middle east; shouldn't আপনি speak Arabic অথবা something?"
"I think I need to start in the beginning," জুঁই said. "I was pressured দ্বারা my father to get married, as all princesses are. There was a prince who came to Agrabah looking to marry me. His name was Sinbad. He was a dangerous man and I did not want to marry him. My father knew of Sinbad's reputation-"
"What reputation?" Flynn asked.
"Sinbad was a prince of a small kingdom. His older brother, Proteus, was পরবর্তি in line for the সিংহাসন and Sindbad was not happy about that since he wanted to be king. So, Sinbad killed his parents and planned to kill Proteus. However, before he could kill his brother, the guards caught him and Proteus chased him out of the kingdom. Sinbad became a pirate and after having a taste of killing, he found he loved it. He killed most men he came across and became feared in every land." জুঁই brought her knees up to her chest and hugged them. "Anyways, I refused Sinbad and my father supported me. Sinbad left Agrabah without a fight. Not long after that I met Aladdin. He wasn't a prince, but I loved him. My father changed the law about me having to marry a prince and granted me permission to marry Aladdin." A tear rolled down Jasmine's cheek and she quickly brushed it away. "Our wedding was beautiful; everything I ever dreamed of. And I was so happy. But, it was short-lived. As it turned out, Sinbad was quite angry at being turned down. On my wedding night, he and his crew of pirates attacked the palace. Sinbad killed my father first. I was my father's successor; as long as I was alive and he was dead, I was the one true ruler of Agrabah. Sinbad knew this. He knew he couldn't be the ruler of Agrabah unless he married me and I died while he was my husband. He killed আলাদীন in front of me."
"You poor thing," Rapunzel whispered, putting her hand on Jasmine's shoulder.
জুঁই wiped away আরো tears. "Sinbad forced me to marry him and I complied, knowing at least he'd kill me soon and I wouldn't have to live without Aladdin- অথবা live with Sinbad. However, before he could kill me, the guards finally showed up. To protect himself from being killed, Sinbad put a curse on us, binding us together. If he died, so would I and vice versa. He thought this would prevent the guards from killing him since, in doing so, they would also kill me. And it worked, kind of. The guards didn't kill him. However, my half-brother, Mathayus, didn't know about the curse. He showed up late and upon seeing all the dead bodies and Sinbad, he stabbed Sinbad. Before Sinbad died he told Mathayus all about the lifesource bond and threatened to release a plague of death if he were to ever return." জুঁই looked over at Rick. He was biting his lip in concentration as he sewed up his wound. "You brought me back, Rick O'Connell. Your blood on my tomb while আপনি read the inscription resurrected me and thus Sinbad as well. He'll be looking for me. He'll raise the dead and kill everyone he sees until he finds me and we return to Agrabah. Because it was your blood that brought me back, আপনি and I are linked. I know English because আপনি do. As long as we are both alive, we will always be able to understand each other and sense what the other is feeling- no matter how far away."
Rick stopped stitching himself up and looked at her. "Does that mean if আপনি die, I will, too?"
"No. We would have to be bound through a curse like the one Sinbad put on me. However, I can kind of feel what আপনি feel. For instance, the entire time you've been tending to your wound, I have felt it. I don't feel the pain as intensely as আপনি do, it's আরো of a faint, dull pain. But, it's there nonetheless."
"Does that mean if আপনি were hurt, Rick would feel the pain, too?" Rapunzel asked.
"Yes."
"If আপনি know English because Rick does, does he know Arabic because আপনি do?" Flynn asked.
"He should." জুঁই faced Rick again. "Marhabaan."
The corner of Rick's mouth turned up in a half smile. "She ব্যক্ত 'hello'."
"That's so cool," Rapunzel said.
Rick shook his head. "I already know some Arabic. I would have known that anyway."
"You know Arabic?" Flynn asked.
Rick went back to stitching up his wound. "I know a little bit of a lot of languages. Enough to get দ্বারা in most countries." He finished the stitches and cut the thread.
"Fi almustaqbal, min fadlik la tahsul ealaa talaqa," জুঁই told him.
Rick laughed. "No promises, princess."
"What did she say?" Flynn asked.
"In the future, please don't get shot," জুঁই translated. "It hurt feeling আপনি dig the bullet out and sew yourself up. I can only imagine the pain of getting shot."
"Can we back up just a little bit?" Rapunzel asked. "What did আপনি mean when আপনি ব্যক্ত Sinbad will raise the dead?"
"Every dead body near him will reanimate and walk the earth," জুঁই explained.
"That's awesome!" Rapunzel exclaimed. She and Flynn exchanged excited looks.
জুঁই stared at them in shock. "Excuse me? How is that awesome?"
Rapunzel grinned at her. "The zombie apocalypse is finally happening. We've been preparing for this for a couple years now."
"I don't understand," জুঁই said. "You knew Sinbad would be resurrected?"
"Well, no," Flynn corrected. "I'm guessing The Walking Dead probably doesn't mean anything to you, does it?"
জুঁই shook her head.
"Ignore them," Rick said. He got to his feet and held his hand out to her. "Come with me."
জুঁই let Rick help her up and lead her to the bathroom down the hall. He closed the door behind them and turned on the sink.
"Is there any way to stop Sinbad?" Rick asked her.
"Kill him. If Sinbad dies, so will all of the, um, zombies."
Rick picked up a small towel off the sink and stuck it under the water. "But, killing Sinbad would result in আপনি dying, as well."
"Yes. I have already contemplated killing myself. However, I want to watch him die. I want him to suffer so he knows how I felt watching him kill Aladdin."
Rick looked at her through the reflection of the mirror. "You want revenge."
"I do." জুঁই sat down on the edge of the tub. "I loved আলাদীন আরো than anything and Sinbad took him from me. He গাউন my only chance at a happy life. I won't let him get away with that."
Rick removed his shoulder খাপ, holster and then his ripped শার্ট and set them on the floor. জুঁই couldn't help noticing all of the scars on his body. Rick caught her looking at his bare torso and gave her a smug smile. জুঁই blushed and looked away.
"You have a lot of scars, Rick O'Connell."
"You can just call me Rick, princess" he said, using the wet towel to clean the blood off his skin.
"And আপনি can call me Jasmine," she told him.
"So, Jasmine; is there any way to kill Sinbad without killing you?"
জুঁই shook her head. "I mean, it's possible if the curse was somehow broken. But, I don't know how to do that. But, it doesn't matter. I don't belong here. I don't want to stay here."
"You're O.K. with dying?"
"Rick, I've been dead for hundreds of years. Death doesn't bother me."
Rick nodded. "But, what I don't understand is how your jewel fits into all of this."
জুঁই reached up and touched the blue jewel sewed into her dress. "What do আপনি mean?"
"It's ব্যক্ত that your jewel has magical properties that can bring back the dead."
"I assure আপনি that's not true. It's just a jewel."
Rick dropped the towel on the sink. "Is it worth anything?"
"It has monetary value, but only that. Whoever told আপনি otherwise was misinformed."
Rick eyed the jewel and জুঁই started to feel a little uneasy. "Still. I have a buyer who believes it's magic and he's ready to pay a lot of money for it."
জুঁই got to her feet. "I don't want to part with it. This stone was set in the crown my mother wore before she died. It's important to me."
Before জুঁই could register what was happening, Rick reached down, grabbed his gun and aimed it at her head. "If I kill you, I stop Sinbad and his undead army and I'll get your jewel. I see no reason to keep আপনি alive, princess."
"I see no reason to keep you alive, princess."
