A low rumble told her who her companion was, especially when he pressed his cold nose against the back of her neck.A low rumble told her who her companion was, especially when he pressed his cold nose against the back of her neck. She turned around and grabbed the large tiger's head in a soft and friendly hug. "Oh, Rajah," she sighed softly. "He's been gone so long." "Mrrrowl," Rajah agreed. He walked around to sit next to her before the warm fireplace, curling up around her. A magnificently muscled tiger, Jasmine often wondered if Rajah was entirely tiger since his stomach and rump looked more like that of a Cheetah or other running animal. "Murrrumm?" "I know, he'll be back soon," she smiled. "He took Carpet and Abu with him, too. With father gone, it's just me and you here now. None of the servants really understand. He means the world to me, Rajah, you know that. I wish I had more people who really knew how I felt. It almost makes me wish Iago was around." "Hrrrumph," Rajah snorted at the mention of the accursed parrot's name. "I know, he was as evil as his master Jafar, but at least when I talked to him he understood what I was talking about." She sighed. "I'm talking nonsense. Of course I don't wish either of them back. I'm glad they're gone for as long as we shall all live." She crossed the high-ceilinged room and crawled into her bed, too much bed for just one person alone. Rajah walked over to where his sheepskin rug lay and pulled it in front of the fire with his teeth, determined to stay warm while he got some sleep. Jasmine lay in bed, trying to remember the feel of her beloved Ali's body next to her own, his warming breath and his smooth skin sliding against hers. In her imagination he was just out of her reach. She could barely reach out and touch the ends of his silken hair. She had been so glad when he had given up wearing that stupid white headpiece with the feather; his hair was one of his most beauteous features. |