“We have books, too, if those interest you at all.” Ahmed pointed to a section of small bookshelves against the far wall. Their spines indicated the history of the world, the oceans beneath their feet, and the sky above.
Jasmine walked over to an array of maps spread across a large table. One was titled The Greatest Kingdoms on Earth. Another one mapped out the countries with the most exotic animals. Her eyes landed then on a map with a faded legend. She glanced at the shop owner. “Sir, I was wondering if I could look at this one. It looks old, so I understand if it’s best I don’t.”
“Oh, please, call me Ahmed. And yes, of course, Princess. You’re welcome to browse anything you’d like.”
Jasmine lost herself among the shelves and tables of maps. She pored over the different legends, the tiny details of mountain ranges and paths of rivers and lakes. How different so many were from the ones she had at home! She had presumed the maps she had collected over the years were the only standard type, but there appeared now to be all sorts of ways to record the same information. There was even an entire book on the art of cartography. She could easily have stayed in this shop all day. She trailed her hands over an ancient map and saw how the borders of the world had changed and flowed over the years.
“Good surprise?” Ali asked. She looked at his boyish smile—the look of nervousness that had suddenly returned.
“I don’t know what to say,” she said, looking around. “It’s as if this store was made especially for me. It’s…it’s perfect.”
“I’m so glad you like it.”
She looked up at Ali. In just the short time they’d known each other, he knew the perfect place to take her. He understood her in a way no one else in her life did.
Jasmine reached up and hugged him. She saw his look of surprise when she leaned toward him and felt the way he melted into her embrace. She pulled back and met his gaze. His eyes were on hers; he was so close to her. His breath was sweet and warm. Were it not for Ahmed, politely busying himself not far from them and pretending not to notice, she would have kissed him right then and there.
“I don’t know if anyone has ever done anything this thoughtful for me before,” she said shyly. “Thank you for this. For bringing me here.”
“My pleasure, Princess,” Ali said, gazing intently at her.
The sun hung lower in the sky when they at last stepped out into the town square. Jasmine looked around at the stalls lining the square courtyard; they were not unlike the ones they had back home in Agrabah. A woman sold jewelry in one stall. Another had scarves in red, green, and pink, tied to the stall and flowing in the breeze. A leather maker showed off woven belts and wallets, and another seller displayed wood-carved flutes and walking sticks.
“This looks interesting,” Ali remarked as he approached a table with a medley of things from pens to candles to dress purses.
Jasmine picked up a tiny coin purse but frowned when her hands ran over it.
“Is this…” She picked it up and examined it closely. “Is this a cookie?”
“It is, Princess.” The vendor, a woman with glasses on the ridge of her nose, beamed proudly. “Designed all of these creations from flour, sugar, and a little butter right in my kitchen. With a little baking magic, I can make just about any sweet look like anything else. I do custom orders as well. Please try one!”
Jasmine watched as Ali decided which one to taste. She took in his dimple. The way his hair fluttered in the gentle breeze. It was uncanny how much he reminded her of the boy she had met at the marketplace. Maybe he had family in Agrabah? Jasmine wondered. She was about to ask him about this when a woman’s voice called out to them.
“Princess Jasmine! Prince Ali!”
Zaria, the beekeeper, approached them. Her gilded cage of bees hung from her arm, but instead of the tense expression she’d worn earlier, she was smiling.
“Just came back from Maha’s home,” the woman told them. “She drew up a few sketches, and I think the awning really will resemble the canopy they miss! At least real enough to do for now. We’re going to test a few out tonight to see if the bees will accept it. And if the bees can make honey, we’ll give some to the boy. He’s older now. It may work.”
“That’s excellent news!” Ali said.
“I hope this will put your worries at ease,” Jasmine said.
“I’m the last in the line for this trade. Broke my heart when I thought it would all end with me.”
They talked for a bit longer before Zaria walked away. Now that she’d actually helped people and seen the effect her advice could have, Jasmine didn’t know how she could bear to go back to Agrabah and be once again a girl in a gilded cage, not unlike the bees Zaria swung from her arm.
She glanced over at Ali, who was chatting with the dessert vendor. How easily he had invited her to sit with him at the advisory council. How completely he trusted her and turned to her for advice. How thoughtful he was to take her to the map shop. The menagerie.
Until this trip to Ababwa, the prospect of spending her life with another person had seemed as abhorrent as dipping her hand in a hornet’s nest. Marriage was on her father’s agenda, not hers. She thought of how Ali had joked about their staying here forever. And though she didn’t yet know if she wanted to marry Prince Ali, the idea of living here with someone who shared her sense of adventure, who was funny and kind, and who treated her as an equal—and of actually making a difference in a kingdom rather than simply dreaming about it from her living quarters—sounded more and more enticing with each passing moment.
Something tugged at her hands just then.
Looking down, she saw an empty palm; the coin-purse cookie was gone.
A little boy raced off toward the other side of the town square.
“Hey!” shouted the vendor, her cheeks flushed pink with anger. Instantly, half the townspeople in the square gave chase after the boy.
“Stop!” Jasmine shouted at them, but she was drowned out by the sounds of the angry pursuers.
Jasmine and Ali took off, rushing to keep up with the others until at last everyone came to a halt. Slipping through the crowd, they reached the front and saw the boy cornered against a brick storefront wall. He was younger than she’d first thought. He couldn’t have been more than eight or nine years old. His dark hair stuck out awkwardly at all different angles, and his clothes were at least two sizes too small and worn at the knees and elbows. His green eyes looked at the crowd with fear. The cookie was clenched in his hand, bits of it crumbling to the ground.
“Now you’ve really done it,” a man said, glowering.
“You steal from us all the time, but stealing from a princess?” shouted another.
“Princess?” The boy’s eyes widened. The cookie fell to the ground; his hands went limp at his sides. “I’m s-s-sorry,” the boy stuttered. “I d-d-didn’t know.”
“It’s only a cookie,” Jasmine said gently.
“Yes, but he didn’t know that!” said the man at the front of the crowd. His face was beet red. “Thought it was an actual coin purse, didn’t you?” He sneered. The boy blushed and the man barked out a laugh. “That’s what I figured. Now the prince will find a punishment suitable for the likes of you once and for all.”
“Wait!” Ali squeezed through the crowd and hurried over to the boy.
“He’s just a child.” Zaria turned to Ali. “Please have mercy on him, Your Majesty.”
