Daughter of a Jinn: A Mother's Wish and Sacrifice

The knowledge threatened this event as it always tried to do, seeping into every positive moment. Even still the smile wrinkled her eyes as it commanded the rest of her face. She watched the girl as she stepped, so graceful, flowing with the sound of the instruments. Her body twerked with each beat of the drum and her arms waved with the sound of the flutes. She spun and moved* with practiced precision of one with the talent* of music. Her father sat beside her mother watching her with that same enthralled, starry eyed look. It didn't matter that there were other girls of the tribe dancing before everyone. They didn't see them. They seen her. The dress swirled out as she twisted, and the dangles* had a life of their own. As the music ended, all of the dancers froze in their positions, with their skin glistening. The crowd's silence died off with the first holler. The dissonance of applause congratulated the girls with more yips and shouts. The mother watched as her daughter was swept up into the air by her father, spinning her yet again. She smiled again, watching them as if missing even a second would cost her their presence.

“Immagel* she was fantastic!”

The serenity was broken with the woman's approach.

“Your Azul* was magnificent! She moved with the grace of a cool breeze over the dunes.”

“Oh You are too kind Immagel!” she replied as she knelt next to Immagels coushion.

The girl's father had turned, speaking with a number of the other men from the tribe of their daughters as the girls had collected to themselves and were jumping, twisting, and otherwise showing their glee.

“Now that we've had the food, drink, and music, Immagel tell us all another story!”

Immagel looked from her companion, to her companion’s husband as he walked across the carpet.

“Matul*! Leave the woman alone! I swear, if it weren't for your infatuation with my cooking, I'd think you'd follow Immagel around like a vulture!”

“Does she cook too?” He asked with bright eyes and a widening smile.

“Matul! You DOG!” shouted Izulitia as she jumped to her feet. she pulled back her hand to slap him and he playfully shied away.

“You are going to tip over Matul!”

“It's the sand. I swear. It wasn't grated well enough.”

“It has nothing to do with that being your third glass?”

Immagel looked at them both with a smile. “If everyone wants I can tell a story.” Her gaze changed to looking around the tent* as the voices died down. Izulitial was shooing her husband back to his seat across the tent, as were everyone else. Immagel's stories were frequent but well loved by most all in the tribe. children of all ages joined the girls who'd been dancing as they all knelt or sat in front of Immagel. Her daughter took her place in front of her mother, facing the children, as she began to pull out the braids, even though there was no need for them to be fixed. Her daughter's eyes closed in the tussling of her hair and preparation of the story. “What is an idea for tonight.”

“Jinns!“ “sultans!” shouted a couple of children.

Surveying the small crowed as some lit pipe while others calmed fussy babies, immagel seen that the interest was there.

“Very well. You have all heard of Alladin, what have you heard of the sultan who wished to be as his subjects?” The children all responded in disbelief, and even some of the adult's faces were perplexed. “Oh yes.” She looked down at her daughter's hair. “There was a sultan, a young man, who did not like that he'd never known what it was like to live as his people did. He lived in absolut luxury an--”

“With all of the cakes?”

“Oh, yes. Large feasts!” she replied to the excited boy leaning forward on his knees, as she acted as if she were gobbling up the air around her.

“What about water?!”

She turned to the girl and with wide eyes said, “vases* overflowing and pools big enough to swim in!”

Shocked, the rocking girl fell back upon her seat.

“Pools…big enough…to swim in?” she muttered in wonder, looking at her nearest peers.

“He lived in absolute luxury and felt like he was too disconnected from his people to understand their daily worries. So he devised a plan. He would go and live among them for one year. He would have his courts stand in his stead by day so he could lead the life of one of the populace and by night he would do his sultan duties. His guards* and confidants were quite worried for his safety and demanded him to let them accompany him. He told them of how folly that would be, for how could he dream of being presumed one of them if his palace guards accompanied him. No, that would not do. So do you know what was devised?”

The childrens' heads all swiveled on their necks and even some of the adult's eyes had glazed over, mimicking their children's answers.

“They tried to pursuead him all night, and finally his chief confidant* offered him a lamp. It was quite beautiful, with hand engravings and pure gold.

“This my dear sultan will protect you. We ask that you keep it on your person at all times.”

“You and your superstitious beliefs! He needs the full guard if he is to be surrounded by all of those in the market!” her voice went from deeply wisened to shrill and excited.

The chief advisor did not engauge in the banter of the councel member, but instead requested, “My dear sultan, if you will just rub the lamp.”

“Bah! You are a foolish man if you think—”

The sultan humored the advisor and smoke poured from the lamp like a thick, heavy vapor. It collected in a pool around all of their feet.

“Who summons me, Jinn of fire, commander of pyre. A mere clay man?”

The sultan looked at his advisor while all of the other cousel members’ faces went white. The advisor simply nodded, tilting his head slightly.

“I, I am sultan, king of these lands and you will obey me,” commanded the sultan. Immagel’s voice had morphed into a faultering attempt at being powerful.

Immagel looked around at everyone.

The pooled vapor sent out a deep laugh.

“You cannot command even your voice, oh sultan of these lands.”

“He mocked the sultan?” gasped a little girl in the middle of the group of children.

“Oh yes, for you see, the sultan had not earned the right to command the jinn. This was his first lesson for a jinn is not man, nor is he of this world. A jinn cannot be simply made to obey as his subjects were. He had to earn the Jinn’s respect for the jinn to desire to work with him, just as most people must earn the respect of their peers.”

Immagel’s voice morphed back into the sultan’s.

“Jinn of the lamp. I need your protection. My counsel fears for my well being and my advisor believes you to be my best option for protection."

"Your voice cracks. There are none in these halls that would think you a threat."

The sultan flinched at the jive but did not retort. He had more sense than that. Instead, he had decided to sit down. He did not call for a pillow, or request even a mat. He simply sat on the marble floor to the astonished plees of his counsel. His advisor again smiled. But, unlike last time, the sultan had not looked at him for approval. Then, you know what? The fog formed first a head, and then it rose as shoulders, arms, a torso, and then the rest of the body solidified from the fog collecting inward. The Jinn now sat across from the sultan. Their eyes gazing upon one another in wonder.

"I am told that some who run a lamp are granted a wish."

"Those who do so, have not thought of what position the jinns you speak of are in. Do you think it is the greatest of joys for one created greater than another for him to be serving the lesser?"

The counselors around them gasped at such a statement and then looked to their sultan. He did not respond. Instead he was thinking.

"That sounds an awefull lot like someone that sympathizes with Shaitan."

The Jinn smiled broadly at the Sultan.

"Your maneuvers speak of years that your body does not."

"I am not looking for praise*. I can get that from my servants. I --"

"Yes, but have you earned their admiration? Or is it simply their duty because of your position? Do they admire you, or the seat you sit upon?"

"He didn't!" Squealed a boy.

"Oh, but he did."

"May God have mercy upon his soul," gasped an older man who'd sat at the outer edge of the children, cupping his good ear.

immagel smiled down at them from her pillow while she twisted a lock of her daughter's hair around two others.

The Sultan flinched yet again, but instead of losing his temper and trying to punish the Jinn, he thought. He did not move for quite a while. His advisor had pillows brought for the counselors but when the sultan did not respond, but simply continued to look upon the Jinn, the servants sat it beside him, bowing to the floor, causing a satisfied* smirk to appear on the Jinn and another flinch from the sultan.

"He needed to whip him! How dare he disrespect his sultan that way!" Cried yet another incredulous child.

Immagel looked up at him with a practiced astonished look.

"But didn't you hear he'd been fog just moments ago? How would he flog him? What would stop the Jinn from retaliation? Where would they get the flail?"

The boy flopped back down on his bum, his arms crossed in the most undesirable manner. Mirth danced among Immagel's eyes as she continued.

Finally, after quite some time, the sultan spoke.

"what was their predicament?"

"Is, for they still are."

"what is their predicament?"

"what is the position of one that cannot say no, but always must say yes?"

"A servant."

"You pay the Jinn?" The Jinn asked in the most mocking astonishment.

"A slave then?"

"Did I ask a question? Or tell you something that needed one?"

The sultan sighed, folding his legs, and resting his arms. The Jinn rose slightly and then settled upon the pillow as it slid to a slow stop. This provoked even the advisor to study the sultan's reaction. But again, the sultan did not respond. Instead, he began to rub his temples.

A moment later he responded, "I do not know what it is you want me to say to you."

"that is it."

Again the sultan sighed. He closed his eyes. Immagel acted out the sultan's movements, sighing herself, closing her eyes, and turning her head up to the tapered ceiling of the tent, before looking back down at the braid her hands were tiring off.

The sultan asked, "What is it?"

"You acknowledge you do not know. You show compassion, where others have lacked. And you serve patients, where others have demanded results."

Now, immagel chuckled, the sultan did look look to his advisor. The elder simply nodded slowly with the slightest of tilts to his head. She again acted the motion out, while her fingers continued weaving the locks. Again she tied off yet another braid, to the anxious looks of all watching.

"what happened next?" Cried a girl, her eyes frantically looking to the braids that now took-up* the majority of Immagel's daughter's head.

"Well, the Jinn helped him of course, " responded Immagel as she absentmindedly studied the braids and loosely tied off locks before her, as she thought about what formation she'd have them take this time. multiple groans pulled her attention back to her audience. "oh, sorry," she replied as she smiled apologetically.

The Jinn reached next to him, plucking the neck* of the hooka beside him. The counselors all murmered in at it's appearance. Remember, even though they all knew of what Jinn could do, none of them had even witnessed one. All save for the advisor as he'd obviously been the one to bring it, and so he did not react in the slightest.

"My little Sultan, you seek that which near never a person in your position searches for. For that, I would like to give you what you search for, but first, smoke with me. I promise you, never have you tasted better."

When the sultan looked to his advisor, as he hesitantly reached for the neck*, the bobbing heads of his gleeful advisors caught his eye, causing a smirk to stretch his lips, and a blushed shake of his head. The advisor's reaction was his typical nod. Spoke Immagel while her own head mimicked the counselors' vigorously.

The children all giggled, as did the elder with his hand to his ear. A few chuckles joined them from the surrounding circle.

Immagel nodded in satisfaction at the tidyness of her daughter's braids, and looked up as all of the children groaned but stood, before arguments of who was the Jinn, sultan, advisor, and counselors broke out among them.

To Immagel's glee, as she clapped her hands, Magdul* had hobbled off after them all, making quite a fuss about how he was obviously the best one to play the Jinn and his insistence at it having nothing to do with the fact that that the Jinn only sat the whole time was not argued*

A hand touched her shoulder, bringing her chin up in acknowledgment of the presence of her friend.

"Oh, that story was marvelous! Do tell your friend, your tribal-queen* what happens next!"

"Izulitial, you know I cannot do that," playfully sang Immagel.

"UGH! How rude!" Playfully corrected* Izulitial, before her face went somber." Immagel, there is something serious I must speak with you of." She stopped as if unable to find the words that would prevent strife, but seemingly failed. "Fine, I'll spit it out. We have not asked of your origins when you joined us, nor do we wish to pry, --"

She is a persistent one. It is not her fault though, as there is nothing in comparison to it in all of our tribe.

"--but the elders and I were wondering if the locket your daughter wears, could be bartered at the next city we go to. The tribe would want for nothing for many years off of it and you could live as the richest of us all. It would just be in the best interest of the tribe."

Immagel sighed.

If only she knew what that locket would do for this tribe with it staying within it's population...

Immagel smiled at her nervous friend, her voice soothing her friend physically as she responded.