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Sami continued his story. "I continued to observe the young human man. You can imagine I was very curious and amazed by such a strange creature. Suddenly, the young human was snatching a golden pot from the cart of a merchant without contacting a broker jinn first."

"You mean he didn't pay for the pot? He stole it?" Martha asked.

"Yeah, but I didn't know that he was stealing, back then." Sami replied. "The young human walked away and I was about to follow him, when the jinn merchant suddenly realized that the golden pot was missing. He looked around and, when he saw me, he stepped in front of me. 'Young jinn, did you take the golden cup from my cart?' he asked, with a stern voice. I felt a bit intimidated, but since I've seen the human taking the pot, I pointed him out to the merchant. Next, the merchant called a jinn guard and the thief was arrested. Of course, they found the golden pot with him and he was taken away to be tried by Lady Amhadina, later on that day.

"The court came together." Sami said. "It was a public court in the market place, with Lady Amhadina as the judge. Three persons were put on trial. The first one was a female jinn, who was tried as a pickpocket. The second was the human thief I had observed, and the last one was the human merchant."

"Wait a second!" Martha intervened. "Now I have two questions: You said the first accused was a jinn?"

"Sure, why not? All jinn have a free will and thus, they can do evil acts too. Think about Gregorios." Sami explained.

"Right. Now the second question: Why was the merchant tried? What did he do?"

"Remember, the thief was his assistant. He was made partly responsible for his crimes, too. But, I'll come to that later." Sami said. When Martha nodded in agreement, Sami continued his story: "As I said, the first defendant to be tried was the female jinn. She was brought to the middle of the marketplace, right in front of Lady Amhadina. An older jinn in the Lady's entourage brought up the accusation. The young jinn had been caught stealing by a guard. Next, Lady Amhadina asked the accused if she would plead guilty or not guilty. The jinn thief denied that she had stolen. Lady Amhadina stood up and stepped in front of the thief. She blinked and the jinn was paralyzed. Then she placed her hands on each of his temples and looked deeply in his eyes. Both pairs of eyes, his and hers went blank for a moment. Eventually, Lady Amhadina removed her hands from the thief's head and delivered the verdict: 'I see clearly in your memory that you have stolen from a fellow jinn. But, you decided to defy me and add a lie to your evil deeds. I hereby sentence you to imprisoned for 20 years and put on display in one of the bottles at the market place.' Lady Amhadia blinked and the jinn pickpocket was sucked into a huge glass bottle in the middle of the marketplace, next to other bottles and stone statues. "

"Wow, that's pretty harsh, but I guess she got what she deserved. Lying to the Lady made things even worse."

"I wouldn't say 20 years is such a long time, for a jinn. But yes, Lady Amhadina could have been easier on the thief. Other jinn were imprisoned for the same crime for only ten years."

"I guess that's ok, then. But for the human thief, even ten years would be a very long time." Martha replied.

"That's why he got a different sentence." Sami said. "He was brought next for Lady Amhadina. Like before, the old jinn brought up the accusation. Then, the human thief was asked, too if he would confess guilty or not. Fearing to be punished the same way the jinn thief was punished, he sunk to his knees. 'Great Lady of the Jinn. I confess. Yes, I stole from the merchant and I regret for what I have done. I plead for your mercy: Please don't lock me away for years in one of those bottles. I wouldn't survive such a long time.'

Then, the Lady delivered the verdict: 'We know that you humans wouldn't survive such a long time inside the bottles without food or water. But, as a human outsider, you proved to be a pretty bad example of your race. Still, I'm not without clemency. I hereby sentence you to live out the rest of your life as a lowly vermin.' The Lady blinked and the thief disappeared in the heap of his collapsing clothes. A guard stepped next to the heap of empty clothes, reached inside and pulled a scorpion from it. 'Bring him to the outskirts of Amhadina that he may live among other scorpions.' Lady Amhadina said.

Martha looked at Sami with terrified eyes. Finally, she managed to say something: "That's.... that's just cruel, Sami. He showed regret, he pleaded for mercy. And still he was sentenced for life, kind of."

"Martha, I don't understand you. You've transformed other humans too and didn't turn them back. What are you upset about now?" Sami ask seemingly astonished.

"Well..., I..." Martha babbled. Sami's word had hit her hard. He was right, like this harsh jinn lady she had sentenced other humans for life by transforming them and leaving them behind. Sure, she was a genie too, but why did she feel this punishment was unjust and - for the lack of a better word - evil? Was she turning into an downright evil jinn too? Martha was very confused.
It took her a moment until she found her speech again. "Sure, the boy committed a crime. But doesn't the genie law know the principle of equal punishment for an equal crime?"

"If this boy was a jinn, he could have expected a punishment of 20 years imprisonment maximal, just like the jinn girl. And since he confessed, I'm sure he would have gotten only 10 years. Since he confessed, it would have been even less. But he was human and for them, other punishments apply." Sami replied.

"Now I'm no longer surprised why the human merchant was trialed too. I wonder what terrible punishment awaited him. Please carry on with your story."

"Alright!" Sami said. "Finally, the merchant was brought before the Lady Amhadina. 'Listen, human merchant. Recently, 30 years ago, I gave you the permission to trade with us as long as you wouldn't give away the location of our settlement. Today, you brought this human criminal with you as your new apprentice and presented him to me. I asked you if you could testify to his virtues. You said yes. But, it turned out you had chosen poorly. As his master, you are responsible for your apprentice. Do you plead guilty or not?'

The merchant sunk to his knees - 'I plead guilty and hope for your mercy, Lady Amhadina."
'Very well!' the Lady said. 'Hereby I revoke your rights as a merchant in our settlement. As every other human being who has entered this place, I sentence you to never leave our society again. Since you pleaded guilty, I will give you the form of a spirit. You won't have the powers of us jinn, but you will be allowed to live among us as a new subject of mine.' The Lady blinked and the merchants body turned transparent. His legs dissolved into mist and formed into a jinn's tail.
'Lady, how shall I earn a living as a powerless spirit?" the former merchant asked.
'You can still do manual tasks. I'm sure some jinn will take you into their service and pay you for your work', the Lady answered. 'Was this the last trial for today? Then I declare the court closed.' The Lady returned to her palace." Sami finished his tale.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Part 1: hippo2.deviantart.com/art/Jinn…
Part 2: hippo2.deviantart.com/art/Jinn…

Part 4: hippo2.deviantart.com/art/Jinn…
Part 5A: Turn the earrings back into a girl. hippo2.deviantart.com/art/Jinn…
Part 5B: Keept the girl as a pair of earrings. hippo2.deviantart.com/art/Jinn…

The genie couple in the background of Panel 2 are Vadjih fav.me/d57aqzu and Djuri fav.me/d57asn6 both OCs by

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Description
Sami continued his story. "I continued to observe the young human man. You can imagine I was very curious and amazed by such a strange creature. Suddenly, the young human was snatching a golden pot from the cart of a merchant without contacting a broker jinn first."

"You mean he didn't pay for the pot? He stole it?" Martha asked.

"Yeah, but I didn't know that he was stealing, back then." Sami replied. "The young human walked away and I was about to follow him, when the jinn merchant suddenly realized that the golden pot was missing. He looked around and, when he saw me, he stepped in front of me. 'Young jinn, did you take the golden cup from my cart?' he asked, with a stern voice. I felt a bit intimidated, but since I've seen the human taking the pot, I pointed him out to the merchant. Next, the merchant called a jinn guard and the thief was arrested. Of course, they found the golden pot with him and he was taken away to be tried by Lady Amhadina, later on that day.

"The court came together." Sami said. "It was a public court in the market place, with Lady Amhadina as the judge. Three persons were put on trial. The first one was a female jinn, who was tried as a pickpocket. The second was the human thief I had observed, and the last one was the human merchant."

"Wait a second!" Martha intervened. "Now I have two questions: You said the first accused was a jinn?"

"Sure, why not? All jinn have a free will and thus, they can do evil acts too. Think about Gregorios." Sami explained.

"Right. Now the second question: Why was the merchant tried? What did he do?"

"Remember, the thief was his assistant. He was made partly responsible for his crimes, too. But, I'll come to that later." Sami said. When Martha nodded in agreement, Sami continued his story: "As I said, the first defendant to be tried was the female jinn. She was brought to the middle of the marketplace, right in front of Lady Amhadina. An older jinn in the Lady's entourage brought up the accusation. The young jinn had been caught stealing by a guard. Next, Lady Amhadina asked the accused if she would plead guilty or not guilty. The jinn thief denied that she had stolen. Lady Amhadina stood up and stepped in front of the thief. She blinked and the jinn was paralyzed. Then she placed her hands on each of his temples and looked deeply in his eyes. Both pairs of eyes, his and hers went blank for a moment. Eventually, Lady Amhadina removed her hands from the thief's head and delivered the verdict: 'I see clearly in your memory that you have stolen from a fellow jinn. But, you decided to defy me and add a lie to your evil deeds. I hereby sentence you to imprisoned for 20 years and put on display in one of the bottles at the market place.' Lady Amhadia blinked and the jinn pickpocket was sucked into a huge glass bottle in the middle of the marketplace, next to other bottles and stone statues. "

"Wow, that's pretty harsh, but I guess she got what she deserved. Lying to the Lady made things even worse."

"I wouldn't say 20 years is such a long time, for a jinn. But yes, Lady Amhadina could have been easier on the thief. Other jinn were imprisoned for the same crime for only ten years."

"I guess that's ok, then. But for the human thief, even ten years would be a very long time." Martha replied.

"That's why he got a different sentence." Sami said. "He was brought next for Lady Amhadina. Like before, the old jinn brought up the accusation. Then, the human thief was asked, too if he would confess guilty or not. Fearing to be punished the same way the jinn thief was punished, he sunk to his knees. 'Great Lady of the Jinn. I confess. Yes, I stole from the merchant and I regret for what I have done. I plead for your mercy: Please don't lock me away for years in one of those bottles. I wouldn't survive such a long time.'

Then, the Lady delivered the verdict: 'We know that you humans wouldn't survive such a long time inside the bottles without food or water. But, as a human outsider, you proved to be a pretty bad example of your race. Still, I'm not without clemency. I hereby sentence you to live out the rest of your life as a lowly vermin.' The Lady blinked and the thief disappeared in the heap of his collapsing clothes. A guard stepped next to the heap of empty clothes, reached inside and pulled a scorpion from it. 'Bring him to the outskirts of Amhadina that he may live among other scorpions.' Lady Amhadina said.

Martha looked at Sami with terrified eyes. Finally, she managed to say something: "That's.... that's just cruel, Sami. He showed regret, he pleaded for mercy. And still he was sentenced for life, kind of."

"Martha, I don't understand you. You've transformed other humans too and didn't turn them back. What are you upset about now?" Sami ask seemingly astonished.

"Well..., I..." Martha babbled. Sami's word had hit her hard. He was right, like this harsh jinn lady she had sentenced other humans for life by transforming them and leaving them behind. Sure, she was a genie too, but why did she feel this punishment was unjust and - for the lack of a better word - evil? Was she turning into an downright evil jinn too? Martha was very confused.
It took her a moment until she found her speech again. "Sure, the boy committed a crime. But doesn't the genie law know the principle of equal punishment for an equal crime?"

"If this boy was a jinn, he could have expected a punishment of 20 years imprisonment maximal, just like the jinn girl. And since he confessed, I'm sure he would have gotten only 10 years. Since he confessed, it would have been even less. But he was human and for them, other punishments apply." Sami replied.

"Now I'm no longer surprised why the human merchant was trialed too. I wonder what terrible punishment awaited him. Please carry on with your story."

"Alright!" Sami said. "Finally, the merchant was brought before the Lady Amhadina. 'Listen, human merchant. Recently, 30 years ago, I gave you the permission to trade with us as long as you wouldn't give away the location of our settlement. Today, you brought this human criminal with you as your new apprentice and presented him to me. I asked you if you could testify to his virtues. You said yes. But, it turned out you had chosen poorly. As his master, you are responsible for your apprentice. Do you plead guilty or not?'

The merchant sunk to his knees - 'I plead guilty and hope for your mercy, Lady Amhadina."
'Very well!' the Lady said. 'Hereby I revoke your rights as a merchant in our settlement. As every other human being who has entered this place, I sentence you to never leave our society again. Since you pleaded guilty, I will give you the form of a spirit. You won't have the powers of us jinn, but you will be allowed to live among us as a new subject of mine.' The Lady blinked and the merchants body turned transparent. His legs dissolved into mist and formed into a jinn's tail.
'Lady, how shall I earn a living as a powerless spirit?" the former merchant asked.
'You can still do manual tasks. I'm sure some jinn will take you into their service and pay you for your work', the Lady answered. 'Was this the last trial for today? Then I declare the court closed.' The Lady returned to her palace." Sami finished his tale.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Part 1: hippo2.deviantart.com/art/Jinn…
Part 2: hippo2.deviantart.com/art/Jinn…

Part 4: hippo2.deviantart.com/art/Jinn…
Part 5A: Turn the earrings back into a girl. hippo2.deviantart.com/art/Jinn…
Part 5B: Keept the girl as a pair of earrings. hippo2.deviantart.com/art/Jinn…

The genie couple in the background of Panel 2 are Vadjih fav.me/d57aqzu and Djuri fav.me/d57asn6 both OCs by

Proofreading by