Jafar goes to the ball as his real self

Most subjects of the sultanate would consider balls simply as events meant for fun and socialization, but for people like the sultan or Jafar, they were all about politics. As governor of the province of Jabit, it was his duty to show up at these events when they were organized by the sultan and to show his loyalty, or rather, to feign it. He was not the only one who was only pretending to be loyal to the sultan. Al-Rahman’s anti-magic policies had ruined the economy and plunged the sultanate into poverty. The people were furious and ambitious province governors like Jafar were dreaming to be the one to marry princess Aisha and to replace the old incompetent, but only one of them had mystic powers to help him achieve that goal. Jafar arrived at the door, where he was greeted by the doorman with all the reverence that was expected for someone of his rank.

He entered the ballroom and the announcer yelled "Vizier Jafar, governor of the province of Jabit". He looked around and it seemed Aisha hadn’t arrived yet. The ballroom was everything he expected: opulent, adorned with gold-leafed pillars and velvet drapes that whispered against the walls as the cool night breeze danced through the open windows. The grand chandeliers cast a warm glow over the polished marble floor, reflecting off the jewels of the nobility as they danced and mingled. The sweet scent of exotic flowers filled the air, mingling with the heady aroma of spiced wine and perfumes. The sound of laughter and music played by a live orchestra filled the grand hall, a cacophony of strings and brass that seemed to echo the rhythm of his own pulse. In front of the orchestra was the bellydancer Fatima, her hips shaking at a rhythm that dazzled the eyes and her huge breasts jiggling left and right as she danced and her long, curly hair bounced on both sides of her head. Fatima also happened to be one of the palace maids. The only one who had showed up so far, probably due to her role as a bellydancer. He couldn't help but think his member would feel great if he stuck it in her while she was shaking her hips so quickly and he thought, "Yes, and I will find out. Once I am sultan, you will be my concubine, Fatima, just like all the other palace maids." Even with that, she was so tempting that he almost had to fight the urge to take her right then and there. Bellydancers had always been his weakness and this one was quite something to behold.

As Jafar lost himself in these thirsty thoughts, the announcer’s voice echoed through the room. "All rise for Sultan Al-Rahman!" The room grew quiet as everyone turned to the entrance. Even Fatima stopped dancing to pay her respects. The sultan made his grand entrance, his eyes scanning the room, looking for any sign of disloyalty or dissent. Jafar, ever the "loyal" servant, stepped forward with a smile plastered on his face and a bow that was just deep enough to be respectful but not so deep as to be obsequious.

"As-salamu alaykum, Your Highness," Jafar said, his voice as smooth as silk. "It is an honor to be in your presence once more" he said as the sultan approached to greet him.

"And it is a pleasure to see you again, Jafar. Now, I need to seek your help for an important matter. I think a flesh wizard is hiding in my palace."

Jafar's heart skipped a beat, but his face remained calm and collected. "Indeed, your Highness," he said, his eyes flickering with amusement at the sultan's naivety. "The safety of the royal family is paramount. What makes you suspect such a thing?"

"Someone of female appearance tried to sneak into my daughter's room at 2:00am. It was dark so the guards couldn't tell who it was, but then there were reports of screams of sexual nature coming from the east wing of the maid's quarters. As if the culprit decided to have some fun with some of them after failing to get to my daughter..."

"Are you sure these two events are related...?"

Sultan Al-Rahman's face grew stern. "I am. The timing is too coincidental. And the nature of the screams... well, let's just say they were not the cries of someone who was merely surprised or scared."

"But your Highness, there hasn't been a single documented case of flesh magic in over 15 years. Our laws forbidding that have been really effective. All practitioners have been executed and all scrolls detailing this forbidden knowledge have been burned long ago. I don't see how anyone could still possess the ability to..."

"Our laws have not been as effective as you think", said the sultan, interrupting him. "There is at least one of them who is still very much alive and powerful."

"Who is it?"

"We don't know. He calls himself 'The Faceless One'. He possesses various women in various provinces and he buys what little scrolls about magic still exist on the black market. Whenever he buys a scroll, he does so possessing a different woman and of course, the woman makes the deal while veiled. That makes it difficult to track down the women he possesses and nearly impossible to track HIM down."

Jafar knew who that "Faceless One" was. He was none other than himself. He had an entire network of female informants under his power throughout the sultanate who were tasked with tracking down remaining copies of scrolls teaching various forms of magic and when one was found, he would possess the woman who had found it and buy it from its previous owner or steal it if he was unwilling to sell it. Then he would study whatever knowledge he could find on that scroll to become even more powerful.

"What makes you believe all these women are not acting on their own illegal intents and that a flesh wizard is behind all this?"

"Because we managed to arrest one of them. She had bought a scroll of snake magic, another very illegal knowledge. One of the guards **** her veil down, revealing her face and then she said 'Look at this woman's face all you want. You will never see my REAL face. She is just another mask for me.' The guards thought she was bluffing because they, like you, didn't think it was remotely possible that there remained another flesh wizard. The guards had almost apprehended her when dozens of snakes under her control crawled through the street and started attacking them. They had to flee and the woman got away. Days later, they found her again. This time, she didn't offer any resistance at all, nor did her reptile friends. She was taken to prison where she was interrogated and tortured and no matter how much we pushed her, she never changed her story: She said she had been possessed by a flesh wizard and that he had removed all memory of him from her head except for the fact that she had been possessed and that her memory was removed specifically so she could defend herself without revealing anything. Then, we started receiving threatening letters signed 'The Faceless One' ordering us to release his 'servant' immediately or else, there would be dire consequences. We ignored these warnings and eventually executed her. Three weeks later, all the guards who had taken part in her **** or execution were dead by snake bite..."

"Hmm...Indeed, that is quite troubling. And if he is powerful in snake magic as well, he could be quite dangerous! How come I have not been made aware of this?"

"Because the royal inquisitors and I were trying to stay one step ahead of him by telling as few people as possible of his existence and of our ongoing investigation on him. Also, 3 days ago, when I interrogated the maids, I pretended that I was underestimating him by having them undress. Jafar, you are aware that novice flesh wizards often have trouble keeping their shaft into the woman they possess when they are excited or under stress, right?"

"Yes, I am...vaguely...but The Faceless One doesn't seem like a novice to me. I'm not sure why you'd think that would work." Even when acting loyal, Jafar couldn’t bring himself not to mock Al-Rahman’s pathetic attempt at discovering him.

"Precisely Jafar. I never thought it would work. All I wanted to do was to get him to think I am stupid and to lower his guard. Soon, he'll make his move on my daughter, but he will fail. And I'm looking forward to it. My health may be in decline and I've got little time left in this world, but as long as I am alive, this flesh wizard will never touch my daughter. Now, the reason I’m telling you all that is that you asked me for her hand in marriage, Jafar, and if you want to have it, I need to be certain you will protect her the same way I protect her after I'm gone. Can I trust you on that?"

"Yes, of course my liege. Aisha is the crown jewel of this empire, I would never allow any user of this perverse heresy to touch her!", that’s what he said out loud, but in his head, he added "...except for me."

"Great! To be honest, you seem like the only one of the contenders who has what it takes to protect her from threats like this. I am not going to give you my final answer tonight though. I consider this to be the most important decision I'll ever take in my life and I still need to give it more thought. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to greet the other guests."

"Sure, enjoy the ball, your highness!"

Jafar couldn't believe it. The genital inspection of the maids was only a ruse to get him to underestimate the sultan and it had worked! Thankfully, the sultan was foolish enough to trust him with this information and now he knew he walked into a trap and he had to find out what it was.

And then, he thought about what the sultan had said about his demand for marriage to Aisha. He told him he'd make a decision eventually, but he knew it was a lie. He had made the demand a year ago and ever since then, he had been trying to see Aisha face to face, but the sultan wouldn't let him or any other suitor near her. Tonight was going to be the first time he had an actual conversation with her in his entire life. It was the whole reason he started setting his sights on possessing her in the first place. Since he couldn't win Aisha by courting her father and he could not court her directly, he had decided to take matters into his own hands.

The ballroom was buzzing with whispers and gossip. The nobility was dressed in their finest, the men in their silks and jewels, the women in their most revealing and expensive gowns. The music was playing softly in the background, and the sound of laughter and chatter filled the air. The smell of food was mouthwatering. Jafar knew that he had to be seen enjoying himself. He had to be seen as if he didn't have a care in the world. He had to make sure that no one suspected that he was the Faceless One. He had to make sure that he was the last person they'd suspect.

Just when he was thinking that, the whispers grew louder as Aisha entered the room. She was stunning, her beauty was indeed legendary. Her skin was the color of almonds, her eyes were like pools of dark chocolate, and her hair was a cascade of black silk that fell down her back like a waterfall. She wore a gown that was so sheer, it was like looking through a veil. Her breasts were perfectly shaped. Her hips swayed as she walked. Her maids all followed her, Layla, Jasmine and Rania among others were all there. They were all beautiful, but none came close to Aisha's level of beauty.

At first, Jafar thought it weird that the maids from the east wing had been allowed to go to the ball with Aisha, but then he realized all the maids from the east wing had red gowns, while those from the other wings had blue gowns. Guards all over the room fixated their sights on them, ever suspicious.

Anyway, now that Layla and Jasmine were close enough to him, he could start communicating with them telepathically, which he could do with any woman he had possessed or kissed in the past. An ability very few flesh wizards were ever able to master.

"Layla, Jasmine, do you hear me?" He whispered in their minds.

"Yes, master," they both responded in unison, their thoughts echoing in his mind.

Layla spoke first. "We've found a place. There is an area close to the palace where milk baths are offered to maids to care for their skin. It is on reservation only, and the staff in the area leave after preparing the bath, which is usually done hours before. It is the place where a maid goes to get some isolated peace and quiet. We have scheduled a bath for Rania, Jasmine and I in a week at 8pm. If you could just sneak in and hide in the bath right before we arrive, Rania would be all yours and no one would disturb us."

Then Jasmine spoke. "We are aware of your magical ability to breathe underwater for extended periods of time, master, or in this case, under-milk. Rania couldn't see you hidden under the liquid. She would think she would be alone with us."

Jafar mentally nodded his approval, his eyes never leaving Aisha as she mingled with the guests. "Perfect," he said, his mind racing with the delicious possibilities. "Make sure you are both ready to serve me when the time comes. I want no interruptions when I claim Rania's body for myself. Also, how is the mood among the maids? Does anyone believe there is a flesh wizard hiding among you?"

"No one believes it, master," Jasmine replied, a hint of amusement in her voice. "They think it's just the sultan's paranoia speaking. The rumors have been floating around, and nothing has come of it. They think he's just looking for an excuse to order the maids to undress in front of him. Some even think flesh wizards are just spooky stories invented by old bitter men to scare women."

Then Layla continues. "Aisha has always been one to criticize her father in front of her maids, but up until now, none of them dared to comment on the princess's opinions on the sultan. Now, some have the nerve to join in with the criticism...albeit in private only."

"Excellent," Jafar murmured, stroking his beard in thought. "The sultan's suspicion is a double-edged sword. It may serve to distract him from my true intentions, but it also means he's more likely to be prepared. I learned that he has set a trap for me. I want you both to listen in on the conversations of the guards and the palace staff. Gather information subtly, without arousing suspicion. Find out if they have any new intel on this Faceless One or any special security measures around Aisha's room you may not currently know about"

The maids nodded mentally and went back to their duties. Jafar, in his usual attire of a powerful and wealthy man, blended into the background as he observed the room. His eyes couldn't get off Aisha.

He approached her. Jafar knew very well that in order to charm a woman, a man has to remain completely stoic and not let her beauty make him lose his temper, but she was just SO attractive. Her bone structure was perfect and her face and body were the perfect blend of Rania’s innocence, Jasmine’s opulence and Layla’s naughtiness. If he had to have sex with only one woman for the rest of his life, it would be her.

"Good evening, your Highness!" he said.

"Good evening!" She answered while turning to him. The moment she gazed upon him, her eyes grew wider. His mind raced with arousal as he saw that. She was just as attracted to him as he was to her, that much was obvious. Aisha was subjugated by his muscular bone structure, but even more by his hypnotic gaze. His eyes said so much about him but said nothing at all at the same time. They were the windows to a soul that was as vast and mysterious as the desert itself. She almost didn’t know what to say…

"Wha…what is your name, dear subject?" She asked nervously.

"I am Jafar, governor of the province of Jabit, at your service, princess."

"Jafar…ah, so you are one of those who have asked for my hand in marriage!"

"Indeed. Though your father hasn’t taken a decision on the matter yet"

"And he never will, I’m afraid. I probably shouldn’t be telling you that, but my father doesn’t want me to get married at all. He doesn’t want there to be a man more important in my life than him…"

"I’m not sure I understand…"

"Well, you see, my dear mother died 10 years ago. It was a devastating loss for him and I."

"...and you are saying it made him…a bit…controlling?" (avoiding to use the term "possessive")

"Yes! It changed him in so many ways. He started calling me ‘his sweet little baby girl’ again even though the last time he called me that was when I was five years old. Started being extremely controlling and overprotective. He began babying me at every opportunity. It’s almost as if my mother’s **** had broken his ability to accept that times are changing, that I am now a fully grown woman and that I need to get married…and it only got worse after he disbanded his harem 4 years ago when it became clear that age had got the better of him and he was no longer able to…well…you see"

"I’m going to have to stop you right there. What happens, or doesn’t happen in the harem stays in the harem. Neither you nor I are allowed to know about it and it is a crime for us to discuss it"

"You’re right, excuse me", said Aisha as she nodded in regret.

Why had she told him that? She had never told that to anyone who didn’t already know, yet here she was, spilling the beans on her father’s intimate secrets to this stranger. The answer was that this stranger had such a commanding, dominating and powerful presence and such a piercing, penetrating gaze that she felt like he was able to see right through her and that anything she didn’t tell her, he’d be able to read inside her soul anyway. That, however, was not the case. Jafar could only read the minds of the women he had already kissed or possessed. It was only due to his natural charms that she lost control over her own thoughts.

"I will avoid mentioning the harem from now on. The fact is that I am now the only woman who is part of his life and he can’t bear the thought of losing me to another man, so he jealously pushes back any man, good or bad, who tries to approach me. Months ago, he told me he would allow me to choose my future husband, but he didn’t allow any of my suitors anywhere near me, so if you’re wondering why you still haven’t been able to see me until tonight, that’s why."

"I have indeed been wondering. But now, you are here and your father doesn’t seem to try to prevent us from talking to each other, so what changed?"

"What changed is that I managed to convince him to finally let me see some of my suitors. It was hard, but I did it. It really helped that some flesh wizard supposedly tried to sneak into my room 3 days ago and father is less afraid of my suitors than he is of that supposed ‘Faceless One’, so I decided to bring me to the ball where he can keep an eye on me."

"What about you? Are you afraid of the Faceless One, princess?"

"Do you want the answer I’d tell my father or the truth?"

"The truth of course."

"I am really not sure. First of all, I don’t think he WAS the one that tried to sneak into my room, if there was someone at all. Second, if it was him, and he HAD succeeded, that would have proven that he was the one man in the world father couldn’t keep away from me and for that, he would definitely have deserved some respect..."

Jafar was impressed by how brutally honest she was with him. This was not how a princess was supposed to behave, but he admired her for it.

"And you would not have been disgusted by his use of magic?"

"What do you find disgusting about magic, Jafar?"

"I haven’t said anything about my personal opinion on magic. I was merely asking for yours."

"Well, what can I say, besides the fact that if I ruled this empire, the first thing I would do is to lift the ban on the study and practice of magic, so that we could prosper again. We were the envy of the world under my grandfather, but then my father came to power and started restricting magic. At first, it was just flesh magic. Then, a few years later, he banned snake magic as well. What a terrible idea! The entire culture of our desert tribes revolved around snake magic. Every single tribe had at least one snake wizard who was tasked with controlling the minds of nearby snakes to prevent them from attacking their fellow tribesmen and to use them to hunt bigger animals to feed the tribe. Their snake wizards were so good at their job, that they could direct the snakes to bite in an area that both killed the animal quickly, and left most of the meat untainted by the venom and still safe to eat. Conditions are rough in the desert. Snake magic made life a little easier for these nomadic tribes and my father was expecting them to give all that up to follow his puritan laws! That’s just ridiculous!!! Now, conditions between the sultanate and the desert nomads have never been worse. Most of them refused to abide by the ban and to this day, any imperial soldier that tries to enforce the ban gets attacked by them on sight, that is, if he doesn’t get a nasty snake bite before even reaching the tribe…"

Jafar was well aware of all that as he had spent five years with one of these tribes to learn snake magic from their wizard who was said to be one of the best remaining in the land after the ban. Of course, he hadn’t shown his real face a single time throughout all the years he had spent there. That would have been too dangerous, as he couldn’t be seen practicing snake magic under any circumstances, not even by a nomadic tribe who hated the sultan anyway. Instead, he had possessed a woman and stayed under her guise for the entire duration of his stay there. Of course, the nomads were suspicious, as they always were, that some random woman from the cities would want to learn snake magic from them. They suspected, rightfully so, that she was possessed by a flesh wizard who was using her to hide his identity, but their suspicions died out after a month or two, because they could not conceive that a flesh wizard could ever be powerful enough to remain inside a woman’s body for more than a few weeks without interruption, but Jafar was way beyond any flesh wizard who had ever existed before him. He never left the woman’s body throughout the entire 5 years he had spent there. When he left the tribe, he was BARELY STARTING to feel drained of his energy. He thought that if he tried hard enough, he could probably remain inside her for the remainder of his life, but he had no such wish. Many flesh wizards wouldn’t even have attempted to last that long as they would quickly grow fed up with the inconveniences of femininity, but Jafar was powerful enough, he controlled the genitalia of the women he possessed as much as he controlled his own. In the same way he could prevent himself from ejaculating for however long he wished and to make himself hard again immediately after coming, he could completely halt the menstrual cycle of the women he possessed. However, despite the lack of such inconveniences, Jafar wished to see his real face in the mirror after 5 years of seeing the woman’s and he started having duties shortly afterwards when he became governor. He needed to become his real self again. The woman he had possessed suffered no consequences from this aside from a possible delayed menopause. Jafar wasn't sure if that's how things would unfold. He was still in touch with the woman, but she was still too young to have her regular menopause anyway, so only time would tell. Jafar planned to document how it would play out for the sake of posterity and research.

His power really felt limitless at times. His ability to permanently gain full control of a woman’s thoughts and actions by kissing her on the lips was a concoction of flesh magic created by him by combining various pre existing techniques and one which he was the only one to possess. Though he never felt he really needed it, since his natural charms already allowed him to get anything sexual he wanted out of any woman, given enough time. This spell only helped speed things up and to get other non-sexual favors like providing him with a network of informants to track down and bring him surviving magic scrolls for him to study…or to get into Aisha’s room. He thought of using it on Aisha right then and there. One kiss and she would be his forever, but he couldn’t. The princess and a province governor kissing before being married and in public at that would be a massive scandal that would ensure he would never become sultan, so he needed to hold back for now.

"...but then, my father REALLY crossed the line when he decided to ban ALL other forms of magic. Even the great flying carpets, which had revolutionized transportation and trade within the empire, were hit by this ban! Our trade now had to rely solely on the old camel caravans and the people slipped into poverty. At first, it was only the desert tribes who were unhappy, but now the entire empire was rioting. There were even a few open rebellions. The first ones in five generations!!! Even though it’s been decades since then, the people are still very poor and from what I heard, they are close to their breaking point. They are sick of the sultan’s mismanagement and they’re very anxious at his declining health, his lack of a male heir, and the fact that his daughter is still not married, not that she doesn’t want to. I bet many would consider the Faceless One to be some sort of revolutionary hero if they knew about him. And instead of focusing on fixing that, father forces my maids to undress in front of him."

Aisha was absolutely right about everything. Jafar tried to hold back his laughter at Aisha’s last witty comment. He never expected her to be so impressive in her intelligence and critical thinking. He desired her before, but now, he felt like he was starting to like or possibly even love her.

"Well, your highness. Once you will rule this empire, you will be free to put your policies in place as you wish"

"Jafar, we both know that I will never rule these lands. Not in the same way my father does. My future husband will be sultan. He will have the power, not me. Sure, I will probably have more power than I have right now, but that still won’t be a lot. That is why I have to ask you, Jafar: Do you share my vision of this sultanate’s future? If we get married and you end up ruling these lands with me by your side, I want to be sure you will right the wrongs my father did and that you will help with the revival of magic. Once we are in power, I want to study magic myself (I haven’t studied it yet out of respect for my father) and I would greatly like you to study it with me. Can I count on you for that?"

Jafar became hard. Aisha really was a piece of work. She knew what she wanted and she was upfront about it, a quality very few women had. Not only that, but what she wanted was exactly what HE wanted. "Yes, my little princess" he thought to himself. "Not only am I going to study with you, but I am also going to TEACH you. You will be SO pleased when you’ll find out you’re marrying the most powerful wizard of all time and you will become powerful yourself. You will be proficient in every school of magic, except in flesh magic, since women are incapable of it"

However, he had trouble figuring out what to answer. He wanted to say "Yes", but such an answer might cause him to lose favor with the sultan, and he couldn’t afford that at this point. Finally, he answered:

"Your highness! I’ll be honest with you. Despite all the admiration I have for your father, I have always felt like banning the fabrication, sale, and use of flying carpets was the biggest mistake of his entire reign and you are right to think that allowing snake magic again would tremendously help with our relations with the desert tribes. Once I am sultan, I would be happy to legalize them again and to study them with you. Also, contrary to most sultans, I would be willing to take advice from you. You seem to be a woman of great intellect and I will always take your opinion into consideration. However, as for the use of flesh magic, I have some restraints. This is the magic of debauchery and perversion and I object to reversing the ban that’s placed on it."

That last part wasn’t even a lie. It was true that he had no intention of lifting the ban on flesh magic for the public at large. Only he and his descendants would have the privilege of using it. He would kick start a dynasty of wizard sultans whose powers would be unmatched in all of Arabian history. The secrets of all his powers including his extremely powerful mind control kiss would be transmitted from generation to generation, but they would not be allowed to fall into the hands of anyone who wasn’t part of the royal family.

"Also", he added. "Until then, your father is still our sultan and we shall obey him with the utmost loyalty and respect."

Aisha was surprised by his answer. She did not expect anything so honest and inflammatory from a province governor. These people usually abandoned all pretense at independent thought so as not to say anything that could remotely offend the sultan. He was taking a big risk by answering her that. If she reported what he said to the sultan, he could lose his position as governor, but Jafar wasn’t afraid. Even though he couldn’t actually read Aisha’s mind (yet), he had a great natural instinct at reading people, and he knew she wouldn’t say anything to Al-Rahman.

"Yes, of course" she answered. "I hope you don’t think I meant to insult my father by saying all these things. I love him very much despite his flaws. He has been an exemplary father to me, or at least he was until mother died. I simply disagree with his policies"

"I totally understand, princess"

"Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to greet other guests. Thank you for this conversation Jafar. It has been quite pleasant."

Aisha smiled at him before turning around towards other people. As she departed she briefly turned her head to look at Jafar again, sending her voluptuous hair flying over her shoulders like a shadowy wave of silk crashing against her.

As she disappeared into the crowd, Jafar couldn’t help but think of how incredible it will be when he'd get to fuck her. To feel the softness of her flesh under his body, to hear the sweet sound of her moaning his name while he fills her up with his seed, and ultimately, to possess her body and mind, making her his forever. He had to admit that he had never been so drawn to a woman before. Her beauty was intoxicating, but it was her fiery spirit and sharp wit that truly captivated him.

His mind then shifted to Rania, the innocent maid whose beauty had caught his eye during the interrogation. He once again thought of the genius idea Layla and Jasmine had of luring Rania to a milk bath where he would be hidden submerged all along and all the possibilities that came with it. He thought of how he would take her by complete surprise. It would be wonderful! But for now, he needed to simply enjoy the ball…