A Drift of Quills – Aladdin

Today is a new edition of flash fiction Friday. Except I had to struggle through website certificate and DNS issues, and here it is Monday already!

But here we are, and our group of writers have chosen an image and we have written a short story from the same picture. As usual they are incredibly interesting and wildly different today. Check out what we’ve found…

---

Parker Broaddus

Author of  A Hero’s Curse & Nightrage Rising

Follow along on Amazon

The giant sand tiger’s jaws snapped shut, swallowing our latest chump—er, candidate, apparently not as worthy an individual as we had hoped. The teeth of the door came dangerously close to my tail feathers. I sputtered, my mouth too full of gritty sand to form a proper curse. “Of all the—”

“Patience, Iago. Patience.” Of course that was Jafar. Always ragging on me about “patience, this” or “patience, that.” Well, I’m a parrot, and my lifespan, as amazing as it may be, is only about half his lifespan. I don’t have time to dither around waiting for a disembodied tiger head to give us another goosechase. This is the door to the legendary Cave of Wonders. Supposedly. But all it does is give us riddles about a “diamond in the rough.” And eat whoever crosses the threshold. I mean, really. There’s enough treasure down there for everyone.

Talk about having your head in the sand. Hehehe.

***

Not to brag, but I’m the only reason we’ve gotten this far. I was the one who snatched the key from Arad, the traveling merchant. He wanders the eastern villages, and makes it to our capital of Agrabah once a year, trading trinkets and shinies. Mostly junk. Dotty old fool. He didn’t know what he had. And then he didn’t even realize it was gone. The key to the Cave of Wonders. That was a good day. I flew into Jafar’s workshop, the key gently struggling in my grasp, its wings fluttering helplessly. Jafar was on the far side of the cluttered room, sitting cross-legged on his meditation mat. He poses as one of the sultan’s advisers, but he’s actually a sorcerer who has been hunting the Cave of Wonders for a lifetime. He makes me call him “Master” in mixed company—but I know we’re partners. Equals. Except that he can’t fly. I try not to hold that over him.

I landed on a bench crowded with ancient texts and trinkets. I inched sideways along the bench. He was in a trance. His eyes were white as he attempted to find ways to obtain “the lamp.” Whatever that was. He’s a little kookie sometimes. Powerful, yes. But kookie. Like I said, he’s not perfect. Can’t fly, wants a magic lamp, etc. etc. I stopped at the edge of the bench, near his shoulder. I leaned in near his ear, took a deep breath, and squawked as loud as I could. Little pleasures.

I of course ducked, flapped to the floor, scuttled under a desk, and somersaulted into the air, avoiding getting blasted (too badly) by his cobra-shaped staff.

“Wait!” I hollered, grinning as wide as my beak would let me. He had his staff trained on me and I wasn’t sure how long my acrobatics would keep me from getting roasted. “I found something I think you might like.” I floated down, tail feathers only slightly smoking and held the key out in one claw.

His eyes narrowed. “What is this?” Long, spider-like fingers plucked the key out of my grasp. The key’s delicate wings gave a convulsive shudder, as if they could feel the evil in his fingers.

I chuckled. “Oh Your Mightiness, it is the key to the Cave of Wonders that you so generously gave your humble servant the task to find.” He likes it when I say stuff like that. Of course it’s hard to do it without a smirk.

He held the key up to the dim light trickling in from an arched window, studying the ancient markings. “Iago,” he breathed. “You fool. You may have actually found the key.”

“Really?” I squawked, then ruffled my feathers. “I mean, of course, Your Mightiness. How could your ingenious and magnificent servant do otherwise?”

What followed that very evening was a complicated series of spells and enchantments, whereupon he released the key into the desert night. Then I had to endure a ridiculously high-chased ride through the desert, following the winged key to the hidden sand tiger’s head—the door to the Cave of Wonders. Only, just my luck, the key was only half of the puzzle. We found the door, but couldn’t go through it. Only “one who is worthy may enter.” Which of course we all assumed would be me, but, uh, the sand tiger apparently hasn’t seen all of my gleaming interior qualities yet.

Or it just has a thing against parrots, which is very backward thinking. That kind of prejudice is so last century.

***

Now I’m flying through Agrabah, looking for “one who is worthy to enter—a diamond in the rough.” Whatever that means. I land on a ledge and peer into the alley below. A monkey is sitting on the rooftop across from me, a stupid little hat on his head. He grins at me. I sneer back. A homeless, scruffy, street rat scrambles across the roof, a loaf, obviously stolen, in his hand. “Come on, Abu!” The monkey tips his hat at me and the two of them swing down a line heavy with laundry and scamper away through the alley, the distant shouts of guards far behind. At least this street rat is quick. And nimble. Maybe he can make it further into the tiger’s mouth than the others.

I sigh. It’s so much easier to find a sucker than “one who is worthy.”

---

Robin Lythgoe

Author of As the Crow Flies

Robin’s Website

Destroyer of the World

“This is it?”
The question broke the ice of silent scrutiny, startling Issovel Johdris where she knelt at the feet of the Master Keeper. She did not shatter. She was not dead, then; had not frozen beneath the contemptuous assessment.
“My daughter, yes.” Mother remained admirably unruffled.
Head still bowed, Issovel strove to emulate her. They’d practiced this. Self-control, whether on the field or off. The Master’s next words might have undone her had she not been too cold and stiff to do more than twitch.
“I can’t give her the key. She will destroy us. Destroy the world.”

---

Patricia Reding

Author of Oathtaker

Patricia’s Website

Unfortunately, Trish is unable to join us this month. Please join us in sending good thoughts and warm wishes her way…

---

Thanks for following along! Please let me know on Facebook what you thought of Aladdin, or shoot me an email, or send me a carrier pigeon. I’m always eager to engage! Also, a special thanks to artist nedacat (DeviantArt) for letting us use the painting – you can check out more here.