Work Text:
The palace walls and grounds were as magnificent as they come. Ivory, jewels, and gold studded the walls, doors, and floor, all sparkling and overly decadent. Gorgeous fountains and ponds scattered about the grounds, built in symmetrically to create a picturesque view from any distance. Inside, the ceilings were massively high, connected only by giant pillars, and a few exquisite chandeliers.
Aladdin sighed and flopped down on a pile of pillows. So soft and soothing.... He closed his eyes and set his mind adrift.
All his life, he learned to sleep on hard ground and dirty, itchy cloth. At a very young age, he was forced to learn how to steal food, carefully, silently, while mingling in a busy marketplace. He didn't like it, and he even tried to learn a trade, which only resulted in being tossed out into the street, with shouts and sneers of how they refuse any help from "worthless street rats." With no parents or inheritance of any kind, Aladdin had to survive in an unforgiving world by breaking the law.
Thanks to Genie, he could remain behind the palace walls, protected and comforted from the ghosts of his past. Thanks to Genie, he could marry Jasmine, the princess, and become a rightful heir to the throne.
But was he?
Was he truly the rightful heir, whether he married Jasmine or not? Aladdin had heard stories, vague, distant memories of his mother when he was very young, of poor, peasant girls who married into royalty and lived happily ever after. But he never heard of a poor, peasant boy marrying rich! The very concept was laughable.
Aladdin burrowed his face deeper into the pillows, trying vainly to block out his doubts. And yet, a lingering thought continued to plague his mind.
Do I even belong here?