Golden Jasmine: The Ameer's concubine.

22. The Jury.

Death is inevitable but also unprecedented. Be prepared to welcome this guest at any time.

The jury took their seats amongst other officials, ready to record all that would happen in the trial. The atmosphere in the court today was serious and silent as they await to see its outcome.

Imam Annur is known for his lack of bias even among the empire's jury. The trial of the brothel was put before the court and he was the solicitor of the empire. After explaining the case to the court,
"The punishment for adultery as per the Islamic law is death by stoning. These men broke the sharia and empire's law by being associated with the running of a brothel in the state. They have been investigated and we found two foreigners from Syria and Egypt and an official from the Hooris state. They are willing to share what they know about 'The House'. Bring the suspects in!"

Zahir, who was on his divan smiled inwardly because not three but two will be coming in. He got a confirmation from his spy that the job was done. Abu Waheed was assassinated. He also knew that Amir Jaasir was there but couldn't do anything. The job was done silently, which they only realized this morning. The threat was gone and the others will be of little help indeed.

A few guards walked in with the prison guard's head, keeping the two prisoners in the middle. After being caught in such a shameful act, the men didn't dare raise their heads before the court. They stopped before the Sultan and greeted him.

"Commander Kabir, three prisoners were kept under your watch and you presented two to us. Do tell the court why is that. Where is Abu Waheed?" Imam Annur asked placidly.

Besides the officials in the court, even the Sultan was frowning.

"Forgive me but something unfortunate happened yesterday," Kabir stated apologetically. "Abu Waheed was assassinated yesterday in the prison,"

What? The whole court was astounded. This was a blatant attempt to silence the suspect.

"Why wasn't this reported, commander, Kabir? This isn't a trivial issue," Sultan Zafarullah asked sternly.

"There was no need to report because the Amir witnessed this," Kabir said immediately.

"Amir Jaasir?" The sultan frowned slightly and glanced at his son, who was watching everything calmly.

Imam Annur turned to the Amir and enquired, "One of the suspects was murdered yesterday and the commander said that you were present, what exactly happened?"

Jaasir stood up and nodded. "Abu Waheed was assassinated and I was present," he began. "The hidden brothel was enough for us to be suspicious that someone powerful was behind this but we weren't sure and then a few days ago, someone attacked me in the capital. Besides that, I had suspected that they would try silencing the suspects and so, I stationed someone inside the prison,"

"What??' Zahir was alarmed. He was informed that the job was done cleanly and silently but it seems there was more to it.

"Last night, two outsiders infiltrated the prison guards and tried to assassinate the three witnesses but we thank the Almighty that someone was stationed there," Jaasir continued amidst the silence. The more Zahir heard, the more it was hard for him to keep his composure.

"The soldier managed to stop them from assassinating all three but we still lost Abu Waheed," he said.

Sultan Zafarullah sat thoughtfully on his throne. Amongst all three suspects, Abu Waheed was more important because he was in the capital during the raid with no record of his arrival. The governor of Hooris had no record which shows that Abu Waheed was likely a pawn used by the culprit and this also shows that they might have met once and he knows who, but the man was killed now.

Imam Annur kept on with his questions. "Did Abu Waheed say anything before his death?"

Zahir felt light in his seat as he dreaded what the man must have said. He didn't expect Jaasir to have someone hidden in the prison because they knew how many soldiers he trained and all of them were sent on a task but someone was in there and was able to defeat his spies. No wonder they didn't come back with the other. The idiot told him that the job was done but they were probably caught or killed, so how did he know?

How would the prime minister know that Jaasir wasn't working alone but had the Amir of the shadow guards outside? Jaasir gave Marwan a signal and the Amir silently caught the spy. Zahir wouldn't expect the brothers to still work together after all that was happening. Jaasir was on this case and the biggest enemy to want to stop this was his brothers even if they didn't agree to it, suspicion was there but the princes had other plans.

"He did," Jaasir replied to the Imam's question, and some hearts dropped. "Abu Waheed initially mentioned that he had spoken with the boss in the house and last night, he mentioned something important. The person in the dark is an aged man and has been working for the empire for years,"

Zahir closed his eyes to calm his roaring rage and if not for being in public, he would have broken something. How can this happen now?!

Sultan Zafarullah's brows tightened as he trailed his gaze on all the officials. Under that stern look, everyone felt guilty about all this.
"So under my rule and empire, someone has been executing their dirty plans for years and they dared to keep trying to hide with no fear for Allah or the throne!" he said angrily. "Not only did they try to silence the witnesses but they dared to attack my eldest Amir inside the capital. Has my rule gotten so loose and kind that others look down on me now?!"

"Sultan Al-Mansoor!" the Officials stood up and bowed their head. The Sultan's anger was very evident. Anyone would be.

"All of you, sit down!" he raised his palm and breathed. "Abu Waheed deserved to die anyway but we are thankful that he gave us such a message. It's still not enough to catch that smelly rat but we still have two suspects. Imam Annur, continue with the trail,"

"In sha Allah, " the Imam nodded and turned to Jaasir. "Jazakallau Khair for the words Amir,"

"Wa iyyaka," Jaasir said and went back to his seat. The trail continued as the other two were interrupted before the court. Jaasir listened carefully, trying his best to put some dots together.

"Listen to my order!" the Sultan announced after the questioning and everyone listened. "Abu Waheed committed adultery alongside the others but he did help the empire with important information. His body will be sent back to Horris and he will get to be buried in his homeland. As for the merchants from Egypt and Syria, you two entered our lands and soiled it, bridging the rule of exchange, and as per the rules, you will be executed in the Qanasiyya empire. Letters would be sent to your countries to announce your death to your families. The execution would be carried out tonight in the training grounds!"

The judgment was fair and all agreed to it. Even with their crimes, the men were given some rights to their countries and families.

"Amir Jaasir," The Sultan called out and Jaasir stood up obediently. "This case is not over yet. We have more information than before and I hope you can use it to expose the culprit behind all these. By the next meeting, I want to hear a positive result,"

"In Sha Allah Sultan," Jaasir said.

Sultan Zafarullah hummed and asked for other reports.
"I have a report ya Sultan!" Amir Aman stood up and said.

"Go on," the sultan urged him.