Arabian Moons

VIII

Several hours had passed as they made the preparations for the resurrection. Demona had left through a portal to gather some obscure items needed for the ritual. Once she returned the four women traveled east of Agrabah, to where the tomb of the sultana was marked by a an obelisk. The etchings on the obelisk were holy scriptures attempting to save the soul of the evil woman buried beneath. Jasmine grimaced at the obelisk and told herself she would demolish it once they were finished. The lamp hung from the band of her bikini bottom.

The tomb was quite deep, they guessed the stupid old sultan tried to bury his dead wife as deep as possible, trying to keep her supposed evil out of reach of the surface. Lara led the group into the depths and when they found the stone coffin of Jasmine's mother Demona prepared her ritual. The four women stood in a circle around the coffin after Demona wrote strange symbols onto the coffin with some of Jasmine's blood.

Demona started chanting in some unknown tongue and the coffin started to shake. Demona stepped forward and moved the lid of the coffin to the side. They heard a ghastly moan coming from inside. The disguised gargoyle peered inside and swallowed hard, clenching her teeth. When she saw Jasmine start to inch forward Demona put her hand up in a motion to stop. Jasmine continued no further.

"Make your wish." Demona told her. Jasmine pulled the lamp from her side and gently rubbed it. The djinn appeared before them in the dark depths of the sultana's tomb. Jasmine looked up to him with tears in her eyes.

"Please, I wish for my mother's health, beauty and youth to be fully restored." The djinn pointed his finger to the open coffin.

"Thy wish is granted." Jasmine dropped the lamp, startled at how she was answered so quickly. She became extremely nervous. The djinn went back inside the lamp.

Jasmine saw Demona lower one of her hands into the coffin, "Take my hand, it's ok." She retracted her hand and Jasmine felt a tingle in her spine when she saw Demona was holding a human woman's hand.

With help from Demona, the sultana stood up in the coffin then climbed over the edge onto the floor of the tomb. "Why is it so dark? Where am I?" She looked around the room to each of the women, "Who are you women?" She turned to Jasmine but in the dimness of the tomb she couldn't clearly make out the features of her daughter, much less recognize her or see the nervous expression on her face.

"We're deep inside a tomb, Sultana." Lara answered her, "We'll tell you everything once we're outside, everyone follow me." And she turned to lead them out of the tomb.

Emerging to the surface the women took deep breaths of fresh air, the cool desert night felt pleasant. Jasmine was too busy staring at her mother to remember her promise to destroy the obelisk of her mother's tomb. In the light of the moon the women were awestruck by the sight of the sultana. She wore her sultan hat with flowing sultana robes, leaving her legs exposed on the sides, with the split dark blue robes hung down in front and back. She could have been Jasmine's twin, only looking slightly older than her daughter. They were unsure if the djinn had restored her age to when she died or earlier.

The sultana looked slowly around, recognizing the landscape and getting her bearings. She then turned to the women accompanying her, looking at them one by one, taking note of their features and their odd, foreign fashion. Her gaze froze when she turned to Jasmine. At first she thought she was looking into a mirror. But her eyes were faintly glowing green as opposed to her own blue eyes. Demona spoke, "You've been dead for some time. Apparently you were executed by the sultan for witchcraft. We've resurrected you."

The sultana responded, never averting her eyes from her daughter, "You have my thanks." She aimed the words at the whole group. "How long has it- wait a minute. Jasmine? Is that you my dear?" Jasmine smiled and nodded without a word. The sultana moved forward in elegant, royal demeanor and brought Jasmine into her arms in a loving motherly embrace. Jasmine nervously hugged back, experiencing her mother's touch for the first time. Jasmine had never felt such happiness, and the other women smiled at the sight. This warm introduction lasted a few moments before the sultana graciously relaxed away from the embrace. She looked deep into her daughter's tearful eyes. "You've grown into such an incredibly beautiful woman."

The sultana then turned to address the group as a whole. "That husband of mine is going to be in for a horrible surprise when I return to the palace. He's stolen my throne and masqueraded as the sultan!"

"That won't be necessary… m-mother." Jasmine spoke, struggling to finally say the last word. New feelings erupted inside her, she had only seen a single picture of her mother. "Jafar killed him."

"Jafar?! How?" The sultana was perplexed. Jasmine then started telling the whole story as the ladies travelled back to Agrabah, Finishing as they started up the steps to the palace.

"You have an incredibly talented and smart daughter, sultana." Yoruichi said after Jasmine finished telling her about her killing blow to Jafar. Jasmine had left out some of the story, her feelings for Yoruichi and the time they spent together. She was unsure how her mother would react knowing her daughter preferred the company of women. Their kingdom's religion forbade such acts, punishable by death.

"Please, call me Karima. I hate royal titles. We must throw a celebration for your victory, my sweet daughter. All the land will know how you saved our kingdom!" The women entered the palace walls and immediately Karima took her place as ruler back, hiring all new palace guards and making preparations for a festival.