Chapter One; of street rats and desert nights
Aladdin, by rhetoric
Word Count: 1,199

The sprawling city of Agrabah stood out against the stark black night sky, the palace lights dimming even the lights of the city, glowing against the horizon to blot out the stars with its luminescence; the desert stretched out as far as the eye could see in every direction. 

The isolated city did not suffer because of its location; instead, it thrived in the blazing-hot desert.  Shipments came in daily from all around the world, most dropped at the palace airport.  The marketplace was lively and had expanded exponentially over the years; in the most recent decade, it had developed into something more akin to a mall than a marketplace, but the name never changed and no one contested it.

It was a night like any other, except for one small detail.

Deep in the city streets, hiding in one of the multitude of alley ways, crouched Aladdin, as he had many a night before.  But this night was different.  There was a static electricity in the air that sparked against his skin.  He had gotten used to predicting storms, and there was no indication of one brewing in the atmosphere; he wondered what was causing his nerves to be so on edge.

He rationalized that his anxiety was due to his up-and-coming evening, and the dread within him grew; he trudged on, despite such weighty fear, and made his way out of the alley once the guards were out of sight.  He shrugged his jacket tighter around him, burrowing in against the cool desert night air.  The club was a few blocks away, and he rushed there, hoping to avoid any more guards.  Inside, the dim lighting took a moment to adjust to.  It was crowded, as it always was, and bodies shoved from side to side as onlookers stepped out of the way of the brawl taking place in the center. 

Bookmakers bellowed over the uproar of the fight, calling odds and accepting bets.  He made his way silently to the back, into the small, damp locker room, and stashed his jacket in one of the unused lockers.  Aladdin ran his fingers nervously through his onyx hair and scoped out the empty space.  He was already tired; the day had been long and fruitless; but it always was, for men like him, when they sought honest work. 

An unpleasant, albeit familiar, voice hollered behind him, “Hey street rat!”

Aladdin grimaced, braced himself, and turned to face the fight coordinator.  “Hey Abdul.”

Abdul whacked him on the bare shoulder with his wide, sweaty palm, and grinned happily at him.  “Good to see you’re back, kid,” he started, making a few marks on his clipboard, “We can fit you into the next fight, if you’re interested.  We just had someone drop out.”

“Why did he drop out?”  It was too suspicious to have a conveniently opened slot like that.  Aladdin wanted to make his money and head home before the market closed, sure, but not at the risk of his life.  He knew too well what kind of fight it would be if someone else had dropped out.

Abdul gave him an exhausted sigh and rolled his shoulders, not looking up from his clipboard, “Guess he got scared.  That’s irrelevant, street rat,” he snapped, “Do you want the slot or not?  It’s the only free slot all night.”

Of course it was, Aladdin thought; conveniently, too, he’d bet.  “Fine,” he said.

He stretched briefly but the warning bell rang not long after Abdul left, and he toweled himself off quickly before making his way to the ring.  The man waiting for him was unfathomably huge; at least six-foot-six with muscles nearly as thick as Aladdin’s torso.   His opponent loomed over him as they faced off in the center of the ring, but Aladdin extended his hand out for the traditional handshake.  Clasping Aladdin’s forearm with a hand that could crush his skull, his opponent appraised him with a jeering chortle.  He said, “This should be over soon, street rat.”

Aladdin didn’t argue – trash talk had never been something he was good at; he’d long ago discovered it best to keep his tongue still and return the mockery by winning the fight.

The announcer screamed over the intercom, barely audible still over the ruckus of the club, “Round One; Maahir versus Ali.”

The bell sounded and Maahir lunged for him; but Aladdin was fast – that was his secret weapon against monsters of Maahir’s size and power.  They never expected the speed because it was a trait they could not master, and so they overlooked the smaller adversary as a worthy opponent and made their first mistake – lunging.

Side stepping, Aladdin brought his kneecap up to collide with Maahir’s broad chest; hard enough that the crack of breaking bone wasn’t just satisfying, it was devastating.  Maahir couldn’t breathe; he sucked air into his lungs in panicked, uncontrolled gasps, but very little made it all the way in.

Aladdin followed it up with a solid punch to the jaw and Maahir stumbled backward, his vision blacked out with the force of the blow.  Aladdin looked small, but he contained a raw, sinewy power beneath his taught flesh and sharp features.  There was something virile and uncontainable pulsating within him – and he let it out only when he was in the ring.  Maahir’s eyes widened as Aladdin stepped in for the final strike, and Aladdin wondered if this was the first time Maahir had been bested in the ring.  There was a virgin fear flickering behind the man’s brown eyes.

Aladdin pivoted on one heel and landed a violent kick to Maahir’s chest as he rose, foolishly; the blow sent him flying back into the unforgiving arms of the crowd.

The bell sounded as Maahir lost consciousness.

Aladdin stepped out of the ring and made his way back to the locker room.  He toweled off for the second time and threw the towel into the dirty rags bin across the room.  The locker door swung open.  Abdul walked in with a smirk on his lips, and Aladdin wondered what he’d managed to trick someone into, briefly, before deciding it was better if he simply did not know.

Abdul quirked an eyebrow at Aladdin as he removed his jacket from the locker.  “Where are you going, street rat?”

Aladdin froze.  Was it possible that he had been the one Abdul got something over on?  “Home,” Aladdin said, hoping his gut was wrong.

“Not just yet, you’re not,” Abdul said, a tisk-tisk following his scolding statement.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You took a slot that was in the competition.  You have six more fights before you can collect your winnings.”

Aladdin threw his jacket back into the locker and slammed it shut.  The entire row shook with the impact.  “You son of a b*tch!”

Abdul offered him a smile that dripped with hubris, and Aladdin resisted the urge to beat him to a bloody pulp and leave him in the locker room.

But he was hungry, and if he wanted to eat, he needed the money.

Six fights, he told himself.

If they were all as easy as Maahir, he’d be done within an hour.

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Author guidance for This story

Oh I come from a land, from a faraway place - where the caravan camels roam; where it's flat and immense and the heat is intense. It's barbaric, but hey, it's home. When the wind's from the east and the sun's from the west, and the sand in the glass is right, come on down. Stop on by, hop a carpet and fly to another Arabian night.

Arabian nights, like Arabian days, more often than not are hotter than hot, in a lot of good ways.

Arabian nights, beneath Arabian moons, a fool off his guard could fall and fall hard, out there on the dunes.

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Collab rules:
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[centered]Chapter Number; title
Character, by author
Word count: here[/centered]
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Cast of Characters:

Name: Aladdin
Author: rhetoric
Secondary Author: undecided
Age: 26
Appearance: tanned and slender, well muscled and tall. hazel-brown eyes and jet-black hair. somewhat shabbily dressed, but keeps himself reasonably clean.
*

Name: Jasmine
Author: Shally16
Secondary Author: undecided
Age: 24
Appearance: Jet balck hair, usually up in a princess type braid, tied with gold hir bands. Usually wears loose fitting pants with elastic at the bottom, andshirts that fall to the top of her stomach with medium length puffy sleeves. She has a very pretty, innocent face.
*

Name: Khalid (Genie)
Author: HeyJude
Secondary Author: undecided
Age: ancient
Appearance: Larger than life, he has a blue tinge to his appearance. Neither man nor spirit, the genie has a semi-solid feel to his body. He is quite muscular and strong, much like his human form, and retains the easy humour from his previous life.
Preferred Human Form: Although a shapeshifter who is able to turn into anything, Khalid has a special human form that he goes back to time and time again. This human form has hazel eyes and midnight-black hair, with a muscular and lean frame. He has a grace to his step, and appears every inch the artist/performer that he would've been had he not turn into a genie.
*

Name: Sultan; Abbas (meaning "father")
Author: HarryPotter.lover
Secondary Author: undecided
Age: in his 50s
Appearance: White hair and brown eyes. He has a long beard and a mustache, which is slightly curled. He wears a hat, with a feather coming out of the middle. He is very short and chubby.
*

Name: Rajah
Author:
Secondary Author: undecided
Age: 23
Appearance: long, straight black hair. Green eyes, dark skin, thin
*

Name: Abu
Author: JSimmons
Secondary Author: undecided
Age: 25
Appearance: Shaggy dark hair, big dark eyes, tanned and skinny. Same general outfit as Aladdin.
*

Name: Jafar
Author: mycayla
Secondary Author: undecided
Age: undecided; late 30s/early 40s
Appearance: tall, lean, mean! He always wears a red and black robe and black hat with a red plume.
*

Name: Aseim
Author: TheBear73
Secondary Author: none
Age: 26
Appearance: kinda tall at 5'10", always wearing his assassin robes which are loose thin tunic, loose but not baggy cloth pants, with a shall wrapped around his face, he has a scar over and under his left eye where another assassins blade tried to take his eye but failed. Clothes are black.
*

Name: "Iago"
Author: available
Secondary Author: undecided
Age:
Appearance:
*

Name: Razul (Guard)
Author: available
Secondary Author: undecided
Age:
Appearance: *









Name:
Author:
Secondary Author:
Age:
Appearance:
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updated Feb 22 by rhetoric