On it was a golden goblet.
"Elixir of Life."
This artefact had the ability to extend or restore life, purify a spirit or separate two souls that had been forcefully merged.
The next was a sack of fresh green fruits.
"Fruit from the Tree of Renewal."
"The Book of Destiny."
"Golden Monkey of Pashitan."
"Bizarre's Lamp."
The magical artefacts were gradually brought forth to Aladdin, each revealed in sequence, until the last soldier approached.
Aladdin did his best not to rub Bizarre's Lamp. This was one of the only genie lamps he was aware of, apart from Genie's future girlfriend and the genie in the ring, which he had never seen in the series but read about in the original One Thousand and One Nights.
After Genie's revelation of the Genie Union, Aladdin realised that there were many other things that he had forgotten or missed from the franchise.
Nonetheless, the accumulation of the artefacts meant that this world was an amalgamation of the Aladdin franchise. He had already deduced it from Nasira's appearance, but this only cemented that logic.
But Aladdin was no longer worried about being taken by surprise, because of one single reason.
He finally had the most mysterious artefact in the entire Aladdin franchise in his grasp, and one he had been looking forward to.
The Book of Destiny.
According to the lore, this book was capable of permanently sealing Genie Jafar, one of the most powerful genies in the Aladdin universe. That was only one of its functions.
However, Aladdin knew that there was much more to it than that for such a book with such a grand name.
He had his own assumptions and hoped that they were true.
After handing the soldiers their rewards and dismissing them, Aladdin sat on his throne with Rakim standing beside him.
"Let's see what secrets you hide," Aladdin said, rubbing his hand against the cover of the large, ornate tome before pulling it open.
A blinding light shot out from the opened book, covering Aladdin's face.
"Your Majesty," Rakim reacted, his hand reaching towards the book.
"Stand down. I'm okay," Aladdin flicked away his hand with a telepathic gesture and said.
"Be silent for a while."
Rakim's face contorted with unwillingness, but he eventually relented and nodded in understanding. He stepped back to his position while staring at the Book of Destiny in suspicion.
Aladdin continued to gaze into the book through the light, sensing a picture within it. As he focused, the scene revealed itself. What began as a static image soon became animated, like pages moving in sequence, used by animators to simulate storytelling.
Soon, it became lifelike, and Aladdin found himself observing the scene as though it were unfolding right in front of him.
Aladdin saw himself, or at least what could have happened in the original route if he had wished to become a Prince and entered Agrabah to seek Princess Jasmine's hand in marriage, before the scene shifted to the present him, becoming the heir of Ababwa before journeying to Agrabah and seeking her hand in marriage up until this very moment as he sat on the throne.
He saw himself opening the Book of Destiny.
The pages slowed down. The remaining pages were blank.
Then, they sped up once more as another scene unfolded before him.
Aladdin saw the image of a young woman resembling someone Chinese, riding a horse with a small eastern dragon flying beside her. She rode through a mountainous, snowy expanse with an arrow knocked onto her bow and aimed at an innumerable number of soldiers scattered across the snow like sand on a beach.
A cannon struck her horse, launching her and her steed onto the snowy ground.
As she stood up to face them, injured and with trembling hands, a steel resolve shone in her eyes. However, she was surrounded by the armies, and a sea of swords and steel clubs rained down on her.
As the scenes playing in Aladdin's mind came to a halt, his expression shifted into astonishment, because he was very familiar with the young woman in the book.
How could he not be? In his past life, he had watched numerous animated movies, many of them featuring unique princesses and their plights.
And this woman was one who was squeezed into that category by the populace.
Her face and the small dragon by her side made it hard for him to mistake her.
Mulan.
It was indeed her. However, the scene was vastly different from what he had remembered.
According to the story, Mulan had saved China after enduring several challenges, becoming one of its first female warriors, but within these pages, she was struck dead before any of that had any chance of happening.
What had happened?
Aladdin wished he had someone to pose that question to.
However, he sealed his lips and continued to observe as the pages turned blank before shifting into rapidly moving pages.
Another scene was displayed.
A jovial young princess with flowing red hair and a lower body resembling that of a green fist tail wished to see her prince, yet all her efforts turned to futility as she dissolved into sea form atop concrete the moment the sun rose, with no remorse.
Then, another…
A young woman as beautiful as the last, with a temperament as soothing as the previous, yet a more pitiful fate unlike the others, came upon an aged fairy godmother, wishing to attend the royal ball for the prince to find his bride. Dressed in her stunning gown and clear glass slippers, she lost one as she fled the moment the clock struck midnight, before her life turned upside down.
And another…
A princess was cursed by a sorceress to sleep and never awaken…
Another…
A princess with long, golden, beautiful hair, taken from her crib by a wicked sorceress and forced to live a life of isolation in a tower…
Another…
A princess with wild, bright red curly hair and striking blue eyes in a dark teal dress, who excelled in archery…
Another…
A beautiful frozen apocalypse conjured by the emotions of a young queen with immense power over ice...
At some point, Aladdin lost track of the reason he had opened the Book of Destiny and merely looked at the faces that had appeared in its pages. As though realising that it had fulfilled its purpose, the pages turned blank and slowed down. The light dimmed.
Aladdin stared blankly at the book.
He hadn't expected this.
All he wanted was to peek into his destiny and catch villains like Nasira in their schemes. However, the Book of Destiny had shown him that he possessed no distinct destiny like the previous Aladdin. He was his own canvas.
In truth, he had expected that, but had merely wanted to make an attempt.
But to see the familiar faces of the animated princesses from his former life, some failing to gain their happily ever after or becoming trapped in horrible events… he hadn't expected that.
Wait a minute!
Aladdin remembered that the Disney universe stories weren't the original stories. Instead, they had been cut down into bits and pieces to satisfy the imaginations of children. A few of the original versions were far darker, and somehow fitted what he had seen.
Yet these animated movies held a special place in his heart.
Aladdin's thoughts spun.
If this world were an amalgamation of the Aladdin franchise to make up a solid breathing world, did that mean that the other Disney Princesses could also be made of such an amalgamation?
As though sensing his contemplation, the light from the book shone even brighter on his face.
"I see," Aladdin uttered slowly, realisation dawning on him.
He wasn't wrong.
This world was an amalgamation of franchises formed together to create a solid, living universe. And as a result, what should have been a happily ever after was now wrestling with each piece, trying to shape the world into its own reality.
Naturally, in a world ruled by destiny and fate, this should've been impossible.
As for why? It was him.
As the protagonist, he had wrestled against his predestined fate by successfully establishing his own empire, killing Jafar, getting his Princess, and defeating Jafar's sister, while planning for an unstoppable rise that would resound across the Seven Deserts.
By doing so, he had thrown a mountain into the still waters of destiny, creating ripples that spread across the amalgamated universe. Taking advantage of those ripples were unseen hands of those wanting to fight against their own predestinies as well.
Naturally, many were bound to fail, but the results of their efforts would prove detrimental to the destinies they were fighting against, who were…
The Disney Princesses.
Aladdin used his other hand to massage his head.
He hadn't anticipated encountering such a massive revelation. Fortunately, he had chosen to sort out the Book of Destiny and learned of this, or else he would've remained ignorant of the world around him, and by the time he found out, it would've been too late.
//////
Author's Note: I needed to be very imaginative in this particular chapter, so I took my time writing it. I hope you enjoyed it.
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