Part One
The festivities were all over, and Aladdin and Jasmine were slipping into bed.
“Did that beggar kinda’ give you the creeps?” Aladdin asked.
Jasmine shrugged, “Either way, it was kind of him to give me a gift like this.” She examined the diadem. “It is nice, don’t you think?”
Aladdin nodded sleepily, “You should wear it tomorrow.”
Jasmine nodded, “Okay. What do you think about the other gifts?”
Aladdin didn’t answer. Jasmine giggled at her sleeping husband; it had been a long day for the both of them.
“Good night,” Jasmine blew out the candle and fell asleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, a small little creature scurried up to his master. It was plump, short and stubby with a nose like an imp and ears like a bear. Its fur was a thin, short, and well-groomed golden color. It was dressed in a white gown an untied gold and crimson robe over it. He bowed with what is almost a squeak, “You called?”
The lady sat down after pacing back and forth for the last half-hour, “Yes, Pichi. Where is the Crown?”
“Crown?” it slunk nervously.
“The sacred crown! You know what I’m talking about! It is missing!”
“No, I haven’t see it, Ma’am — uh — your highness.”
“Bring me the gatekeeper’s scroll!”
“Right away, your highness!” It — he — Pichi — got to his two feet and scurried off, its too-small-to-work wings flapping behind him.
His master waited anxiously on the throne. Damali was her name — Queen Damali. She had an almost inhuman kind of beauty with her abnormally tall height and thin figure. Her face was long and slender with a majestically glossed set of lips and eyes a bit higher than the normal position for eyes. They seemed horizontally stretched, and their color was indeterminable — as if their color was always changing. Her eyelashes were long and shaded her eyes well. Her extremely thick brown hair seemed to never stop flowing down her back past her waste.
Damali seemed completely motionless until Pichi returned with a scroll in his grip. Bowing, he lifted it up to his master. She unrolled it carefully with her long, slender fingers. Her perfect, manicured fingernails circled around a section of words.
“There were no strangers who entered or left the kingdom in the last three days!” she exclaimed.
“It did not have to be a stranger who stole the crown!” Pichi suggested.
“Most likely not, and it seems that everyone who left has come back!”
Pichi approached the queen’s side and gazed at the scroll, “I don’t remember Matsu ever leaving!” He pointed to one of the names.
“Nor do I,” Damali agreed. “I shall have a word with him. Until then, we must do all we can to find that crown! That diadem should never be in anyone’s hand but the ruler! And that would be me!”
“We should search the kingdom!” Pichi suggested.
“Very good, Pichi! Why are you not my advisor?” she smiled, despite the situation. “Arrange a search party! All soldiers and men in the kingdom! Search the kingdom! Every house and shop!”
“Yes Lady Damali,” Pichi got to his feet and started off.
“And Pichi —“
“Yes, Lady Damali?”
“Keep on your toes. Be careful!”
“Thank you, Milady,” he bowed and left.
Damali then summoned for her advisor, “Matsu! Come by my side now please.”
A creature much like Pichi slid to the queen’s side. With a less squeaky voice — much like a sick tiger cub - he bowed, “Yes Milady.”
“The diadem — it’s missing, and you left the gates yesterday without notifying me first!”
“I have not seen the diadem, Milady. And I am unaware of any law that says I need permission to leave.”
“Nor do I, but I would prefer you tell me first. I could have been in dire need of you!”
“I apologize, Milady.”
“What do you propose we do about the crown? I have already created a search party!”
“It does contain power beyond belief, and surely if anyone stole it they would have bad intentions. Perhaps you could activate its curse to insure that they are incapable of doing such things.”
“Activate its curse, you say?”
“Then whoever wears it will pay!”
“I like the idea, Matsu. Everyone knows not to steal the Diadem. So, everyone knows there will be consequences. Matsu, fetch me my spell-book.”
Diadem by Meesh