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Quote by Liz Braswell

“Can we get outside?" he asked Jasmine in a gasp. "Up ahead," she said between breaths. "There is a columned loggia that leads to the Courtyard of the Rose-Scented Footstools." Aladdin looked at her. "Just kidding," she said with a quick smile. "They don't really smell." The tiger bounded ahead as if he knew the plan. The carpet stayed behind them as if he was guarding the rear. Aladdin wasn't sure what a loggia was, but ahead there was a hall dotted with columns that opened up into a large courtyard with no ceiling overhead. There were lemon trees, sweet-scented myrtle, and pots of roses. More columns, ornamental and abstract, decorated the interior of the courtyard along with statues depicting ancient river gods. There were indeed footstools- carved into the shape of roses.”

Quote by Liz Braswell

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A Whole New World

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Liz Braswell

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“Today wasn't the first time that Jasmine had sensed something supernatural within the palace. With so many storied figures having lived and died between these walls over the past centuries, it was only fitting that they would make their presence felt. She recognized them in the strange ring of light that sometimes skimmed across a sculpture of one of her ancestors in the Hall of Monarchs, or when her pet tiger, Rajah, would suddenly look up and growl at thin air--- as if seeing something that shouldn't be there. Eerie as it was, she had always found it strangely comforting to live with ghosts in her midst. It meant that even in her solitary childhood, she had never been alone.”

“The sultan had proven himself on the battlefield back when he was crown prince he'd earned the people's love and reverence before he'd ever taken the throne. Meanwhile, as much as Jasmine had longed to leave the palace gates, in all her eighteen years she'd barely been allowed outside. The comparisons were inevitable, and yet impossible for her to match. I'll have to find my own way, Jasmine realized as she gazed out the crowd. To turn my differences into strengths and prove myself a true leader. Maybe she too could be a diamond in the rough.”

“Aladdin may be a part of your... personal life, but he is no statesman. If you want to be taken seriously by the ministers who run your government, you would do well to separate your young romance from your role as our country's leader." His voice dripped with condescension. Jasmine felt a flash of fury. "And you would do well to remember to whom you are speaking," she said, lifting her chin to meet his gaze. "This isn't just some 'youthful romance,' as you call it. Aladdin is my intended husband. The future consort to your sultana. Speak of him with respect.”

“Baba used to tell me that there are many ways to lead," she said, remembering the words he shared with her. "Some people are strong in their physical being, others mentally, but he would say that a battle is never won on the front lines alone. It's won through hearts and minds, through commitment and strategy. As my father's daughter, I know I have what it takes within me." She stood straighter, gaining confidence. "Besides, isn't the purpose of the royal council to fill in the gaps, to balance the monarch's strengths and weaknesses? If I didn't need help defending Agrabah, then wouldn't that mean I didn't need... you?”

“She dove to the foot of the bed, dodging for the knife just before it sliced through her curtains. Rajah leaped up off the floor, roaring in fury as he tore toward the intruder, giving Jasmine a moment to slide off the edge of the bed. Her feet hit the carpet and she readied her fists, ill-equipped but determined to fight back. Whatever monster belonged to this shadow... she wouldn't let it take her.”

“I must have forgotten how young you would be, Princess. Has there ever been a sovereign of such tender age?" Jasmine paused. He might have been simply making idle conversation, or maybe this was his way of paying her a compliment, but she had a feeling it was something else. He was sizing her up, and he didn't see a leader. "Perhaps you also forgot the boy king of Egypt," she said, keeping her tone sweet as honey. "I am eighteen--- ten years older than Tutankhamun was." "Ah, yes. Of course.”

“But no matter what they did, the sultan always used their time together to share with her the business of running the kingdom, the rewards and judgements he'd handed down during the week. It occurred to Jasmine now, as she awoke on her first Friday without him, that he had been preparing her. Every time he'd told her the reasons for one decision or another, whether he'd said yes or no to a subject's plea, he was giving Jasmine a road map to follow when it was her turn to rule. He believed I could do it. And if he believed... then so do I.”