"Aladdin! Aladdin Aladdin! Al - oh right, Prince Aladdin!" The barreling ball of energy nearly ran at full speed into his knees, but he quickly sidestepped and caught the young girl in his arms. Nidi had only been with them for three nights, but already Aladdin could see a change in her skin and hair from eating the richer palace food and using the bath oils.

"Hey, Nidi!" Aladdin's greeting was echoed by Abu, who chirped as he adjusted his balance across the man's shoulders. "Were you looking for me?"

"Yep! Jafar needs to see you! Says it's important. Also you get to tell me the Snake Rules!" She blurted this last like it was a major accomplishment.

"The Sna… you mean the Four Rules? They're his rules, why would I tell you about them?"

"Because you have to remember them when he leaves in the morning," Nidi answered, and Aladdin felt his stomach sink into the floor. "Come on, he said he'd tell you. Come on!"

Aladdin kept up with the energetic girl, but his smile was hampered by his growing apprehension. They were still supposed to deal with his own former companions before Jafar made the trip to the Black Sands. Why had that changed?

In addition to his lavish chambers, Jafar had three rooms reserved for his use: a sitting area for privately entertaining guests when not using the throne room, an arcane laboratory for his personal research, and the study that they now entered. The Lord of Jafras himself stood scrutinizing a map laid out on one of the room's three writing tables. Haytham attended him, but the disguised djinn's attention was on the other person in the room: Farjah, Nidi's mother.

Nidi pulled Aladdin to a smaller table, where a cushioned seat had been placed that was clearly meant for the little girl. A small erasable slate showed the same short phrase in awkward Arabic script repeated over and over. The girl gestured for him to sit on an adult-sized perch next to hers and waited for the others' conversation to complete.

"Do our accommodations not meet with your approval?" Jafar didn't look up at Farjah, his eyes and one finger tracing a line on the intricate map.

"As I have said every day, my lord, you have been most generous and we are most grateful." The woman's eyes were hard, pleading, and Aladdin saw the same confidence in them that she knew had kept her and her daughter safe and alive for years since the death of Farjah's husband. "But I do not understand how it is that no place has been found for us in the worker's quarter, when every one of my neighbors from the fire have already found other lodging."

"Haytham," Jafar tilted his head slightly without moving his eyes, "Have you not diligently searched for lodging for Farjah and her daughter?"

"I have, Master," the man agreed. "As I explained to the good matron, more buildings are being constructed in Jafras, but there is currently nothing suitable."

"Haytham is my most trusted servant. The matter is decided; you stay here tonight. Bother me no more with it." He made a gesture as though shooing a fly.

Farjah's frown deepened, but she gave a bow. "Yes, my Lord. Nidi, come along."

At this last, Jafar stood straight and met Farjah's gaze for the first time, his hand raised towards the smaller desk where Nidi and Aladdin sat. "Not quite yet. She has finished her work for the day, but the Prince is to help her with her last lesson. You will go and mend the hallway rug you were shown this morning. By then, the girl will be ready for you to collect her."

The woman relaxed and nodded at the mention of work, reassured by the smile on Nidi's face. With another small bow, she left the room.

Aladdin expected Nidi to engage him once her mother was gone, but the girl turned in her seat. "Jafar," she said, "why don't you just tell Ma you want us to stay here?"

The man's eyes turned to hers, narrowing, even as his thin lips suppressed a smile. "I have not said so in your presence, girl."

Nidi shrugged. "You told Haytham to go out and look for lodging in the city as safe as the palace, with good food, and low cost, and a bunch of other things," she said. "And otherwise it wasn't suitable. And he said that there wasn't a place like that, and you told him to go look anyway. So… you don't want Haytham to find anywhere else. You want us to stay here."

Aladdin watched his adopted father with visible amusement. The Lord of Jafras froze, examining Nidi for a silent moment, before giving a very small nod. "I see how you arrived at that conclusion. Please do not share it with your mother, at least not yet. I am concerned that she would not choose to remain if invited directly."

"Okay."

"Boy," Jafar shifted his attention. "In the morning, Sadira and I will be leaving for the Black Sands. If we do not, I fear that Mozenrath will come here, or worse, to Agrabah."

Aladdin's eyes widened in concern. "We can't wait for Jasmine to return? She was going to help me make sure of things while you…." He swallowed. "And we were going to go see the Destiny Stone first."

"It cannot wait," the older man confirmed. "Prepared or not, you will manage things here. With Haytham to assist you."

The prince made to rise, but his Lord shook his head, nodding for him to remain seated. He continued, "Nidi will attend you, here, as we have agreed with her mother."

"The library -" Aladdin began, but was cut off.

"Eventually she will do, ah, 'work' with the orphans in the palace library, yes, but she's not ready for what they're learning there. And some of what she's learning…" his eyes turned to the girl with a fiery glow, "... they're not ready for. Which brings us to the Rules."

"The Snake Rules!" Nidi cheeped happily.

"The Four Rules," Jafar corrected. "Nidi has particular insight for her age, but she needs guidance. And you, boy, could use the reminder. So, if you please."

"First Rule," Three pairs of eyes - one young and eager, one time-worn and critical, one ageless and optimistic - fixed on Aladdin as he began. "Remember these powers. The vision to see what is. The insight to determine what must be done. And the will to do it." His eyes fixed on Nidi. "These three powers alone are within you. All else comes from the world around you."

"Taken," Jafar corrected, "all else is taken from the world around you."

The younger man grinned. "If you want my recitation, you get my improvements."

Jafar's glower was intense, but Aladdin bore his gaze placidly, never losing his own smile. Finally, it was Jafar who relented. "Proceed."

"Rule Two. The power to rule is given or taken. See? I left that one alone," Aladdin quipped.

"You're confusing the girl," Jafar commanded. "Start that one over."

"Rule Two. The power to rule is given or taken, but the ability to rule well is learned or taught. Neither of these depends on the other.

"Rule Three. Prepare for the consequences of all you have done. Nothing stays lost, locked, buried, or secret forever. All eventually comes to light."

"Rule Four." Aladdin's eyes had returned to Nidi, who nodded eagerly, absorbing what she seemed to take as unquestionable wisdom. He mentally edited the last rule.

"Use deals, rewards, and alliances only. In all your -"

"No." Jafar stepped forward, cutting Aladdin off. "I wish you to share with her my rules, Aladdin. Before I leave Jafras in your care, I need to know that you understand the principles under which I conduct myself. That you can act as a wise man should, if he wishes to survive, and to protect what matters to him." He towered above the low table where the two sat, and his voice was quiet, calm. "Say it the way it is intended, my boy. She already knows your rule would be different."

With a small nod, Aladdin murmured, "Rule Four." He inhaled then spoke at a more proper volume. "Deals before threats, rewards before punishments, alliances before rivalries. In all your dealings, be supremely fair, and honest to a fault - that none may suspect you capable of otherwise." He held eyes with Jafar as he finished it. "If you clasp hands often, you will also draw your dagger, but only rarely. Be like the serpent, who metes out death with every strike, yet knows that a single broken fang will end his life. This is why, even when their fangs drip with venom, the most deadly of snakes seldom bite."

"Okay!" Nidi said cheerfully, climbing down from her seat.

"That's… it?" Aladdin asked. "Just 'okay'?"

"Sure," Nidi said. "Make sure you bring enough water, okay Jafar? And be careful." With a wave, she ran out of the room, full speed as usual.

Haytham frowned toward the door. "Did she get any of that?"

"Time will tell." Jafar said. "Aladdin, I need to know that you understand that last rule. Snakes seldom bite, but they do bite. You cannot balk at doing what must be done."

Aladdin sighed. "I'm not ready for this."

His Lord and adopted father scowled, "Even so, it is what is needed. Please send Iago after me if he returns in good health."

Haytham walked Aladdin to the door of the study as Jafar went back to studying the map. "Hey Al, just remember that you have me. We'll do this together, all right? And it's not like some sort of giant monster is going to attack the city while Jafar is gone or anything."

Aladdin glared at his genie friend, who blushed, "I, ah, probably shouldn't have said that?"

The prince couldn't help but grin. "Probably not. But thanks, Haytham. I'm glad I can count on you, whatever happens tomorrow."