Nailed It

[Corson]

The demon growled as Jasmine darted away. How in the world could she even think that would work on him? Did she think he was daft?

Before he could pursue her, he noticed two large serpents making their way in the general direction where Jasmine had darted off. He raised a brow in curiosity, as he noted the python as being one of his fellow soldiers.

With a snort, he decided to let the two of them take care of the princess, while he notified Nasira. He broke into a gallop past the bazaar vendors, bringing forth a gust of wind that blew through their wares. When he spotted the necromancer, Sol, and Mystic, he came to an abrupt halt, slamming his massive hooves into the ground as he stood over her.

“Nasira. I’ve spotted the princess Jasmine down the opposite way from here. She tried to sneak off when I noticed her, but it seems that Kaa and another white snake are after her as well. I suspect we’ll see them not too long from now.”

[Rungnir]

Apep grins, forked tongue flicks out as he smells before opening up his hood, flaring behind Jasmine before in a second he had lunged forward fangs sinking into the woman’s leg injecting her with his venom. Yes, she was much bigger then his normal prey and the venom might take a tad bit longer to do it’s work but in the end it will do the same as it always did. Paralyze the victim and slowly shut down the vital organs. Not a pretty sight by the end of it.

“Let it work it’sssss magic” Apep hissed, turning to look at Kaa hardly caring if his hypnosis trick worked or not.

[Jasmine]

Jasmine yelped as soon as she felt the sudden sting on her upper leg, effectively breaking her eye-contact with Kaa. She collapsed to the ground in shock but quickly summoned the strength to get back up. She grabbed her weapon and threatened the snakes with it, hoping they'd keep their distances.
Unfortunately, Jasmine slowly began to lose her focus. She looked disturbingly at Apep, now suspecting his bite was venomous.

"What...what did you do to me?!" Jasmine asked, dropping her dagger as she noticed she was beginning to sweat a bit.

[Nasira]

"That's close enough!" a disembodied voice cut in.

Suddenly, Jasmine was surrounded. Each ghazi was armored to the teeth and stood ready to close in on on the trapped Freedom Fighter at the overseer's command. Jasmine's life would be forfeit at the slightest provocation.

"Well, well, well. You're a long way from home." Nasira lifted her chin aggressively. She had never liked Jasmine. Her father had lacked the iron hand of previous generations, so Jasmine had grown up with no sense of personal responsibility or self-control. The little tyrant had been undermining Jafar's hard work long before Aladdin came into the picture. Nasira was going to enjoy seeing her humbled.

"Hm, what should I do with you?" she mused. "Should I...put out your eyes? What do you think of that? Or cut your tongue in two like a snake?" A long forked tongue flickered out of Nasira's mouth like a flame. She then laughed, getting a kick out of this.

"It's strange to think of the days when your father was still the sultan, isn't it?" Nasira went on. She put her hands on her hips and leaned forward belligerently. "You get in any trouble, all you have to say is 'by order of the princess,' and that's it - all of your troubles are gone." She came uncomfortably close. She was tall and loomed threateningly over Jasmine. "Even now you don't realize just how privileged you were. Otherwise, we wouldn't be having this...delightful conversation. You would have known to stay away. Idiot."

Nasira noticed Jasmine's leg. "I know! I think I'll just let nature take its course," she bluffed malevolently.

It was so tempting. The denizens of Agrabah would kill to have her back. Jasmine may no longer be a princess by right of conquest, but there was no shortage of fools who would prefer the malleable girl over the new regime. Nasira had heard the masses' anger carry over the rooftops in the middle of the night. Though it had been eerily quiet for over a week now, Nasira knew that they were still out there, simmering in a quiet rage. Jasmine's death would permanently prevent those sympathizers from restoring her to the throne. And with her death, Aladdin would no longer have a claim to it. He would go right back to having no power. It would be just another loose end tied. All Nasira had to do was wait thirty minutes.

A crow cawed.

[Jasmine]

The ghazis removed Jasmine's disguise and frisked her as two guards held their tight grip around her arms.

Jasmine glared at Nasira as she approached, seeing the person responsible for the suffering of her people just made her want to spit in the tyrant's face, which wasn't even close to what she deserved. But now was not the time to be feisty, she was still weak from the viper's venom and Nasira would have her beheaded right away.

"Judging by the fact that I was born and raised here, I'd say this is my home. Which you have defiled." Jasmine said, in a weak voice, pulling away from Nasira's flickering tongue in disgust. "Agrabah was a prosperous sultanate, before your precious Blackbloods made people afraid of even stepping a foot outside their own homes."

Jasmine sighed and shook her head in disbelief. She suspected that her bold talk was probably just hot air to Nasira and she underestimated her defenses. The Blackblood regime was too well defended to be infiltrated. But she refused to give up. The people needed to know their princess had not abandoned them. If word got around she was in Agrabah, or at least still alive, it could inspire hope.

"You won't let the venom take me down, nor will you kill me, Nasira...in fact, you need me alive." Jasmine said, looking at the gathering curious crowd outside the alley. "If the people find out I'm dead, their anger and grief will be so great that there will undoubtedly be a revolution...your legion will be busy dealing with them...as well as the Freedom Fighters."

Jasmine was starting to feel weaker, the venom was truly starting to kick in. Though she tried to hide her pain from Nasira.

[Rungnir]

"What...what did you do to me?!"

“That’s for you to find out” Apep hisses, slithering around the wounded princess as
drops to the ground watching her stagger to her feet. His two-toned gaze turns to the python and gives a hiss of contentment, job well done.

"That's close enough!”

“Of course” Apep bowed his head, quickly moving to stand next to the other Blackblood members. Nasira had this under full control. Now, all he had to do was just sit back and watch.

[Crow]

  "Ladies. Gentlemen. If I may interrupt."

  There was a steady click, click, click, of the bottom of Crow's cane as he stepped into view. To those who had come to know him, the vizier's stride wasn't as smooth as usual today. Oh he could mask it well, following the motions of his cane as it carried him forward, but to the exceptionally attentive, there was the faintest hitch in his step. A brief second of hesitation throwing off an otherwise fluid rhythm. He had a limp.

  Crow approached the gathering that had formed in the narrow Arabian street, and stopped just shy of Jasmine's reach.

  "Good afternoon, Your Highness." There was a smile in his voice, and he lifted his free hand to tip his hat in her direction. He bowed, albeit briefly, as one should when addressing royalty. "I believe this is the first time we've formally met." His back straightened, returning the hat to its original position. "Allow me to welcome you back to Agrabah." He made a broad, sweeping gesture with one hand, his other maintaining his posture against the cane.

  There was a slight turn of his head: the only indicator he was now looking in Nasira's direction. "Nasira," he began, this time to confer with her properly, rather than simply getting her attention. "While I sympathize with your position on the matter," His head faintly inclined, as if he were considering his next choice of words. "I think I'd prefer it if Her Highness would accompany us back to the palace."

  "Alive."

[Nasira]

"You won't let the venom take me down, nor will you kill me, Nasira. In fact, you need me alive."

"No." The necromancer's voice held all the cold of winter. "I do not." Exuding calm authority in spite of her building anger, Nasira gave her unit a brief but unmistakable nod. 

"Ladies. Gentlemen. If I may."

Nasira bristled. There were only two people in Agrabah who had the authority to undermine her, and Crow was one of them. Giving Jasmine a black look, Nasira reluctantly stepped back. She wordlessly watched the vizier make his way to their quarry. Her anger subsided somewhat when she noticed that Crow's gait was slightly more rigid than usual. Guilt trickled through her. 

No sooner had those formalities of greeting been completed than Crow had said to Nasira:

"Nasira, while I sympathize with your position on the matter, I think I'd prefer it if Her Highness would accompany us back to the palace - alive."

Nasira looked at him in mild surprise, her eyes dark and questioning. It was so obvious the necromancer would have preferred to have "Her Highness" cut down right then and there and be done with it. Vendetta or not, Jasmine had trespassed and challenged Nasira in front of her entourage. But even now Nasira could see the sense in keeping Jasmine alive, and she trusted Crow's judgment. She dipped her head in assent. "Consider it done."

A hypodermic needle materialized in Nasira's left hand. "Keep our 'guest' still," she said grimly to the ghazis holding Jasmine.

In one stride, Nasira took Jasmine by the arm, jabbed the pointy needle deep in Jasmine's bicep and pressed the syringe's plunger until the contents of the barrel were empty. "There," she huffed, removing the needle and discarding it. She had been rough but efficient. The serum would bind to and neutralize the deadly venom, halting further damage.

[Jasmine]

Jasmine raised an eyebrow at Crow, surprised by his polite approach and was unsure of how she should respond. She suspected he was simply trying to warm up to her so she'd reveal her intentions.

"Thank you, kind sir, for this 'warm welcome'. Forgive me for not shaking hands." the princess said sarcastically to Crow, looking angrily at the two guards holding her back.

She then noticed Crow turning his attention to Nasira, she couldn't properly make out what they were saying but whatever it was, it made Nasira seem disappointed with something. Jasmine figured out what it was when Nasira neutralized the venom, she was apparently going to let her die before Crow convinced her to spare her.

Since Nasira and Crow planned to keep her alive, she hoped they'd take her to the palace. If they did, Jasmine would be able to analyze the Blackblood defenses and report them back to the Freedom Fighters...assuming she'd manage to escape at some point.

"So what do you plan to do with me now?" She asked Crow, hoping he would satisfy her curiosity.

[Crow]

  Crow gave an understanding nod, resting his hands over the head of his cane as Jasmine addressed him.

  "You'll have to excuse them, Your Highness." He gestured with his hand towards the guards. "We are on two different sides of a war, after all. Were the situation reversed, I imagine little would change." He gave a motion of his fingers, turning his back and beginning to walk forward. "Shall we?" He wouldn't wait for a response. The turn on his heel was fluid enough, and his gait resumed, with only the most sparse of hesitation on the leg he currently favored.

"So what do you plan to do with me now?"

  Crow lifted a finger, the simple gesture of asking one to wait. "Patience, my dear." The tone of his voice was amiable, friendly even: a jarring juxtaposition against the sea of faces that surrounded Agrabah's former princess. Either he didn't seem to notice, or the atmosphere simply suited him. There was the slightest turn of his head, and a cursory glance in Jasmine's direction. "I'm sure there will be plenty of time to talk once we get you settled in."