Jasmine smiled as she took in the refreshing morning air. Finally, some freedom!

It was hard not to get emotional as she took her first breath outside the palace walls. It was unfortunate that she had to sneak out. Agrabah's outdated traditions had kept her inside the palace all her life. All she wanted was to see what it was like outside. She wasn't sure how she would get back in, but she would worry about that later.

The sun was slowly rising as Jasmine made her way to the more populated streets. She pulled her cloak further over her head. She would soon need it not only to keep from being recognized, but to protect herself from the hot sun that would soon light up the sky. As the sun climbed higher into the sky, people began to emerge from the surrounding buildings. Soon the streets were crowed, and Jasmine did her best to blend in.

Jasmine had never seen so many people before! It was impossible to know how many there were. She saw people walking the streets, working the markets, lounging on the rooftops, there were even children playing. Jasmine wondered how much she could learn about them in just one day out.

The streets only became more crowded as Jasmine continued her walk. She was amazed at all of the food on sale in the markets. Jasmine had never gone hungry living in a palace, but she had never seen so much food in one place before. However, many of the people around her didn't seem to be well fed. Having lived a sheltered life as a princess, Jasmine did not truly comprehend poverty. All she saw was hungry people with food all around, which confused her greatly.

A short distance away, a young boy was eyeing an apple cart. Jasmine could tell this boy wanted one of the apples. It was right there. Jasmine didn't understand why the boy didn't just take the apple if he was hungry. Perhaps he wasn't tall enough to reach it? Jasmine started to walk toward the pile of apples, intent on getting one for the child.

She made it about halfway there before a hooded figure stepped in front of her. He waved a small trinket in front of Jasmine while speaking a language Jasmine could not understand. She couldn't tell if this man was trying to sell her this trinket or just show it to her. Either way, Jasmine was not interested. For the first time since leaving the palace, Jasmine felt nervous. She didn't know what this man's intentions were and she wasn't sure how he would react to any attempts to get away from him.

After a few seconds Jasmine managed to weave her way around him. She could still hear him talking nonsense behind her. She walked at a quick pace hoping to get away without it seeming like she was running away. Finally, he stopped talking. Jasmine thought she was in the clear.

That's when a menacing hiss caught Jasmine's ears without warning. It was the most terrifying sound Jasmine had ever heard. It seemed to be coming from behind her....right where that stranger was. Jasmine did not dare look back, but on the edges of her vision, she saw a strange pink light. Before Jasmine could react, she felt something strike her in the the back. All she could do was let out a startled yelp before her body seized up. She found herself unable to move or make a sound. Whatever had hit her had left her completely stunned. Just as worrying, was the fact that the pink light she had seen seconds ago was now enveloping her. It spread a warm and tingling sensation through Jasmine's entire body.

Before Jasmine could try to make sense of this, she noticed her cloak seemed to be growing around her. In a matter of seconds. Jasmine's head sank beneath the hood leaving her unable to see anything except the pink glow surrounding her. Her feet also left the ground, making it seem as if she were floating in the rapidly growing cloak around her. This had to be some kind of magic. However, The cloak and strange light combined with her inability to move made it impossible for Jasmine to find out what it was doing to her.

Then, as suddenly as it appeared, the pink light faded. She fell to the ground with a hard thud. However, hitting the ground did not cause Jasmine any pain, nor did it seem to hurt her at all. In fact, she remained rigidly still through it. Jasmine knew something wasn't right as the now gigantic looking cloak fell around her. It completely covered the helpless Jasmine, leaving her stuck in a pitched-black darkness. Jasmine didn't have to remain like that for long, though. The cloak was quickly pulled away and Jasmine found her vision overwhelmed by the sunlight.

"What happened?!" Jasmine tried to ask no one in particular, but she was still unable to utter a word.

When Jasmine's vision finally came into focus, the first thing she saw was the strange man who had been waving the trinket at her. He was looking down at her, and his face seemed distant enough to make him look like a giant. He towered over Jasmine. It wasn't just him either. The buildings around them looked even taller than before. The markets looked as tall as the houses did when she first arrived on the street. Even her cloak looked absurdly tall dangling from the strangers hand. Jasmine could only conclude that she had gotten smaller.

Staring at the giant stranger, Jasmine dearly wanted to get up and run away. Unfortunately, the fading of the pink light didn't relieve the immobility it had inflicted on her. She could only stare up at him, unable to even look away or close her eyes. To her horror, he began to reach his hand toward her. Jasmine could do nothing to avoid the huge-looking hand that was quickly approaching her. The stranger grasped Jasmine and his fingers wrapped all the way around her. There was now no doubt that Jasmine had become smaller. The man's hand completely covered her, leaving only her head and feet sticking out. A frantic Jasmine tried to demand answers from the stranger, but words were also impossible in her current state. The man held her as if she were just another trinket.

With the shrunken Jasmine in hand, the man turned and began walking. Each step felt like a rumble of thunder to the now tiny Jasmine. He made his way over to a cart with a large wooden box on it. A scream failed to be voiced by Jasmine as the strange man tossed her into it. Jasmine just kept wanting to scream. She just kept falling and falling. It was only a few feet, but to Jasmine it felt as if she had been thrown off a cliff. She landed inside the box with another impact that failed to break her body's strange rigidity, apart from moving her right arm slightly forward.

Jasmine was dizzy and shocked from the fall, but she disturbingly was not breathing fast to match how she felt. When she regained her senses what she saw would have made her jump if she were able. Dolls....hundreds of dolls were staring back at her. They were all made of some glossy material that Jasmine couldn't identify. All of their faces had the same blank expression. Painted on eyes that had no life in them, a frozen smile, these features gave the dolls an uncanny look despite how realistic their appearances were. What Jasmine noticed next made being among these dolls truly terrifying.

Jasmine's right arm was now in front of her enough that she could see it. She was horrified to see that the skin on her arm looked like it was made of the same material as these dolls. Jasmine's mind was racing as she processed the meaning of this. The appearance of her arm, combined with her inability to move or speak and her small size all led her to an insane conclusion.

"Have I been turned into one of these dolls?!" Jasmine asked herself.

She felt crazy for even considering the possibility. However, the evidence was hauntingly clear. Unable to move her head, Jasmine's arm was inescapably present in her line of sight. Every second made her more aware of her transformed state. There was now no doubt that the pink light that had hit her was some sort of magic. This realization made Jasmine even more uncomfortable regarding the dolls surrounding her. Jasmine wondered if all of them had been people too. Was this strange man going around turning people into dolls and piling them into this cart? Were they all conscious and aware of their helplessness like she was? Given the sheer number of dolls, it was unlikely they had all been collected in one day.  Could some of them have been trapped like this for days, weeks, or even longer?

Jasmine couldn't ask them and they couldn't respond. There was no way to address any of Jasmine's questions or fears. She could only lie there silently among the dolls as the cart began to move. Jasmine definitely wasn't getting back to the palace any time soon.