“She asked to visit Ababwa, didn’t she?”
“How’d you know?”
“I could’ve seen that coming from a mile away, kid.” Genie shook his head. “It’s a fair question on her part, though, isn’t it?”
“I know, but how do I take her somewhere that doesn’t exist?”
“Poor Al.” Genie shook his head. “You’ve gotten yourself into quite the pickle, haven’t you?”
Aladdin looked down at the sand. He felt embarrassed. Genie was right. It should have been obvious from the beginning of their adventure that Jasmine would ask to visit his imaginary kingdom. How could he not have planned for that?
But then—Aladdin’s eyes widened as he realized something else. He turned to Genie.
“Actually, it’s not a pickle at all.” A slow smile spread across Aladdin’s face. “Because Ababwa can be real. You can make Ababwa happen. I mean, you were able to make that parade with all the elephants and guards and dancers and drums and camels. You whipped all that up out of nothing! You could make a kingdom for me, couldn’t you?”
“Of course I can.” Genie nodded. “Heck, I could make you ten kingdoms. Architecture is a pet hobby of mine, actually. It would be my absolute pleasure to design you the kingdom of your dreams.”
“Okay, great,” Aladdin said. “Let’s do it!”
“Sure thing.” Genie cracked his knuckles and magically produced the lamp.
They both looked at each other with eyebrows raised expectantly.
“Well, go on, then,” Genie finally said. “I haven’t got all day.”
“What do you mean?” Aladdin smiled.
“Seriously, kid, I don’t have time for this,” huffed Genie. “I have to get back to the handmaiden. She needs, um, distracting, as you know, and she’s really good company, I must admit. So go on and make your wish and I’ll make you the nicest and grandest kingdom you’ve ever dreamed of. Just say the magic words.”
“But that’s the thing, Genie. I don’t have to use a wish for this.”
“Oh yeah?” Genie cocked his head. “How do you figure?”
“Because this isn’t a new wish. It’s part of the first one. When you made me a prince, you made me prince of a place called Ababwa. So you have to make the place I’m the prince of, don’t you? That’s pretty much implied in the whole shebang of making me royalty, isn’t it?”
Genie’s smile froze. Then his jaw dropped.
“No. That can’t be right.” He frowned. “I mean, when I said I’d make you a prince, I…” Genie sighed and massaged his temples. “Or I guess it is right,” he said reluctantly. “You’re good, kid. I’ll give you that much. Annoying at times, but definitely good. So, let me see.” He rested his back against a palm tree. The tree trembled and a coconut rustled and tumbled to the ground next to his feet. Genie picked it up, popped in a straw, and took a sip.
“Making a kingdom isn’t going to be hard. Placing it exactly where it showed up on the map, though, that’s tricky. We can probably work around that since the magic carpet flies too fast to keep track of location. But we can’t have people already living there since they’ll wonder why a new nation popped up out of nowhere. Folks tend to notice and ask questions about that kind of thing. But then it has to be big enough to actually look realistic.” Genie took another sip of the coconut juice, and then his eyes brightened.
“That’s it!” He snapped his fingers. “Moribania!” Why didn’t I think about that first?”
“Moribania?”
“Well, it was the kingdom of Moribania,” said Genie. “They relocated not too long ago after an earthquake turned it into rubble. It’s abandoned, virtually deserted now.” Genie frowned and concentrated. “It’s far from here, but with the carpet, distance doesn’t matter anyway. Yep, I think that could work.”
“I don’t mean to disparage your skills or anything,” Aladdin said. “I mean, the dancers and the whole entourage in Agrabah were really impressive. But this is a whole kingdom we’re talking about. A palace and a village square, boats for a dock and all that. The land won’t be too much work for you, will it?”
Genie puffed up at this. “Honestly, Al. If I were a lesser genie, my ego would be royally hurt at you questioning my expertise.” He snapped his fingers and a pencil appeared behind his ear. He whipped out a scroll of blueprints from thin air and opened them wide. They floated before him, and with a ruler and pencil, Genie began to draw and jot down notes.
“So, tell me, kid,” he said. His pencil balanced in his teeth. “If you could have the perfect kingdom—which you will, when I’m done with it—what would it look like?”
“The perfect kingdom?” Aladdin asked.
“Yep.” Genie nodded. “I mean, keep in mind she’s going to have to buy that it’s real, so stay a little grounded with your choices. But otherwise, yes, dream big, kid.”
“Well, it would have to be magnificent,” Aladdin said. “Bustling and busy with lots of people, but not so busy that it’s overcrowded and overwhelming like it can get in Agrabah.” Genie kept his eyes on the paper and took notes, nodding along as Aladdin spoke. “And the palace should be really nice. I’m talking minarets that graze the clouds. Lots of grand staircases. A huge foyer! Fifty bedrooms, give or take a few. Jasmine is used to royal setups, so this one has to stand out and be fancy enough for her to really pause and take notice.”
“Super fancy.” Genie nodded. “Got it.”
“A courtyard would be good, too.” Aladdin paused. “My mother loved the courtyards of Agrabah. She’d tell me stories about the house we’d have someday with a courtyard of pastel pots and the plants we’d grow in them. It was our favorite thing to daydream about together. That part doesn’t need to be fancy. Just nice and tasteful. Oh!” Aladdin raised his eyebrows. “It should also have a pretty fantastic menagerie. It might be nice for her to see animals and birds she’s never seen before. Some uniquely sculpted gardens on the palace grounds would also be great. The town itself should be charming with cobblestone walkways and a quaint little square. Maybe a lagoon that looks like this one tucked away somewhere? Meadows and cliffs. And interesting shops.”
“What sort of shops?”
“A café, for starters. Like the one back home—you know, Bilal’s Teas and Sweets?”
“That old hole in the wall?” Genie wrinkled his nose.
“Yeah, it’s not much to look at, but his desserts are better than anything in the world,” Aladdin said. “Of course, in Ababwa, the shop would have a fresh coat of paint and chairs that didn’t wobble. Oh, and a map store! Jasmine would love that!”
“Got it. Anything else?”
“I guess I just want Ababwa to be the kind of place where people get along. It should be safe and clean and perfect.”
Genie cleared his throat and looked up from his blueprints.
“I’m not sure it can be absolutely perfect,” he reminded Aladdin. “I mean, it would make her suspicious if it looked like a land out of a fairy tale, wouldn’t it? No matter where you go, there are always issues.”
