by W. C. Jasper
As Lord Boris grinded his teeth, Lord Akula carried on without missing a beat, “There is a domestic matter that has proven to be more complex than usual. The husband is accused of domestic violence by the wife. I believe the town judge might be unfit to rule on this as he is the accused man’s uncle. I have decided that it would be better judged by you, My King.”
Jerudia had the lowest rate of crimes of all the known lands. Cases of domestic abuse were extremely rare in Jerudia. However, matters being brought to King Jeraash on Lord Akula’s discretion was not uncommon due to the incredibly low number of judicial cases in Jerudia. King Jeraash was known for his kindness, justice, and unparalleled wisdom; but he was also feared greatly by the guilty. Criminals feared him so much, that none ever dared look him in the eyes if they could help it. It was believed that it took the King only one look to determine the truth of any matter, as if he possessed some wizardry or divine power. King Jeraash signalled for the matter to be presented; and subsequently, Lord Akula signalled for the parties to be brought into the court.
A bruised and battered woman with multiple bleeds, crying hysterically; and a man with his head hung low were brought in. The woman was sobbing uncontrollably while the man was devoid of any visible emotion and was incapable of looking at anything except the ground.
Lord Akula: “This woman accuses her husband of physical assault and mental abuse.”
King Jeraash spoke out without wasting any time, “The accuser may have their say.”
Still wailing and weeping, the woman spoke, “My most glorious and noble King! Great is your wisdom; and your rule, just! How much more pain does a woman have to endure? Is it not enough that I have been physically assaulted and tormented all my life? Is it not enough that I have been violated every day? But now I am being dragged through this humiliating and long-enduring trial?”
King Jeraash: “What does the accused say, Lord Akula?”
“Well, My King,” said Lord Akula in his ever so grounded tone, “the husband originally claimed to have caught the wife in adultery with another man, and that she is making these false accusations to twist the truth.”
King Jeraash asked with his typical, dignified and composed tone, “Did he register a case about her adultery or file a request for divorce?”
Lord Akula: “No, My King.”
Ever since the start of this entire episode, Prince Jared’s eyes kept bouncing around between the woman, the man, and Thaymas; while the woman’s eyes, pouring rivers of tears kept bouncing around the room looking mostly at the King, Lord Akula, and the Prince; and the husband’s eyes continued to stare at the ground steadily.
Lord Faris Kaaram, the Chief of Police spoke with his hardened tone and strong voice, “Well, with the husband not registering a case for the alleged infidelity and the visible physical assault, this is as clear as it could be. A wife-beater torturing a helpless woman. These creatures do not deserve to be called men. A disgrace to all men, I say. Look at this filth who does not even have the courage to look up!”
Prince Jared was staring at Thaymas with a barely discernible hint of a smile and thoughtful eyes as he started speaking now, turning towards Lord Faris Kaaram, “Tell me Lord Faris, why was the woman wailing uncontrollably while entering the courtroom? Was she assaulted just before she was brought in? I don’t think our guards are so incompetent as to have let her husband hurt her or evil enough to have hurt her themselves, correct? The incident definitely isn’t fresh, nor is this the first time she is being subjected to give an account of her ordeal. She obviously would have given her account first to the lesser courts, and then to Lord Akula because Lord Akula would not have brought the case to the King without first examining the case himself. One could say that perhaps she was overwhelmed with the experience of having been brought before the King and the thoughts of her ordeal rushing back made her have an outburst. But what we witnessed was not really an outburst, was it? It was more of an entirely unrestrained display, an… exhibition. She made not a single attempt to hold back her tears or compose herself as every normal human would do in such a situation. Instead, she was very clearly drawing out as much of it as she could. Her eyes, her… entire body language… She wasn’t shielding from hurtful memories while she cried, but drawing from them. And why was it that her eyes were scanning the room the entire time? Tell me Lord Faris, would a helpless woman who has been wronged and hurt, and is suffering because of having to relive her ordeal be reading everyone’s faces as she recites her account of her ordeal? Would her eyes not be hiding away as she narrated her ordeal? And there is zero doubt that she was not only reading us, but also dexterously trying to manipulate us with her sorrowful account. This is a woman far more cunning and devious than you, Lord Faris. You are extremely capable in what you do, and you are a great man of valour. Someone I myself respect greatly.” Lord Faris was quite visibly pleased with himself and his unwitting smile could be seen on his rough face with ivory skin and unruly blonde hair.
Prince Jared’s monologue continued without the smallest pause, “But I assure you, you do not possess even 1/100th of the cunning this woman does.”
And just like that, his smile was shattered with cruelty.
Prince Jared’s monologue remained break-free yet again, “Her deviousness is beyond your comprehension… Anyway, Lord Faris, you have served in the police force for the longest time, so tell me something. In all the instances when you’ve seen a victim making an accusation about someone with the purpose of trying to get them punished, how many times has the person’s language been focused more on themselves than the accused? Is it more likely for an accuser to say, ‘This man has tortured me all my life’ or ‘I have been tortured all my life’? Not only did her entire statement never mention anything as the actions of the accused, which was probably because he hasn’t done anything; but her statement also focused entirely on painting herself as the most piteous victim her entire life. The intent of those words was not to draw attention to the wrongdoing of the perpetrator and get him punished, it was to draw attention to herself. Not her entire marriage, mind you, but her entire life she says she has been suffering… I doubt she was married the moment she was born. One doesn’t need the King’s intellect to know that no one is married since their birth.”
Lady Rayna Sholi, the Chief of Legal Affairs, inspecting a file of papers, looked up at the Prince without raising her head, “We all appreciate the fact that you are the leading authority on psychology in Jerudia. And we are also tremendously grateful to you for your ground-breaking progress in terms of research and never-before explored findings.” She might have meant the words she spoke, but her tone was as detached as one would expect from the Chief of Legal Affairs, “And I am also sure that in time you will come up with doctrines of psychology that can be used as solid evidence in a court of law. But that time is not yet. While the King has the power and the authority to pass judgements without having to provide any reasoning, you are only the prince, My Prince. Would you please provide us with some rather solid evidence and reasoning?”
Visibly extremely pleased with his little brother, King Jeraash said, “I believe Prince Jared is trying to have a teaching moment with his pupil, I will let him finish this up by putting the final decorations on the hilt.”
Like a cat caught stealing milk, Prince Jared had to stop downing his chips and spoke with his mouth still full and his speech impaired by his munching, “Well, I won’t mention the several indicators that line perfectly with a condition called “psychopathy” because no one other than the King and me in this room are even aware of what it is. It is a psychological doctrine that is still in its infancy. Only about seven scholars around the world are currently even studying the subject. Anyway, regarding the solid evidence… any of our medical experts, including our Chief of Medicine, Lady Chiara Tsuko,” he looked over at Lady Chiara and continued with a courtesy nod, “will confirm that each and every one of those injuries are self-inflicted. And that is as verifiable and re
liable as any piece of evidence can be.”
Lady Chiara nodded in confirmation as Thaymas’ eyes widened in shock and he cursed himself for not having noticed something that was screaming at him, something that should have been obvious to his gifted eyes.
Prince Jared continued, “Once the King summons the man that the husband points towards, it is guaranteed that he will confess to the adultery at once. There aren’t many people who possess this woman’s complete lack of conscience and devilish talent for deception and lies. Once the man stands in front of King Jeraash, he will most certainly admit to his crimes. Hey! In fact, when he stands in front of the King, he might even admit to crimes he has never committed out of sheer fear.” And broke into laughter, “Ha Ha Ha Ha!”
As expected, his uncle, General Thayman was the only one who joined in his laughter. Thaymas’ eyes widened at once, he was suddenly realising all the things that weren’t adding up. Thaymas’ instinct had been telling him something was wrong, but his mind had been telling him everything was obvious. Thaymas knew that there was something very wrong about the story, but he could not make sense of any of it because he was too shaken with the sorrowful story of the weeping victim. As much of a talent and appreciation for scepticism that Thaymas possessed, he lacked experience. Thaymas would later be taught by Prince Jared that an eye for such sociopaths and psychopaths is only developed with experience. Since Thaymas’ mind was not open to see such sociopaths and psychopaths, his mind was not open to see all the things he was looking at. Prince Jared had noticed right at the start that while Thaymas’ instinct was telling him something was not adding up, his mind was not comprehending the truth he was staring straight at. This was the first time Thaymas learned of the fact that not only was Prince Jared’s visual prowess greater than his, but it was also far more refined, proficient, and was capable of much more because of his experience, superior intellect, supreme knowledge, and wisdom.
King Jeraash spoke with a gentle laughter, “It is good to know that I can share my burden of the judiciary responsibilities when required. And Lord Faris, to address your concern, this is a man who has not only recently found out that his wife has betrayed him, but on top of it, has to deal with these vile, false allegations from his own wife. Perhaps he is staring at the ground because he is a man who is too broken and has lost his will to live.” He added with a light-hearted, funny glance to Lord Faris, “Not all men share your complete lack of sensitivity and islandic remoteness from emotion.”
The King continued, addressing the entire party, “The example of this case, with a detailed study will be shared with the judges all over Jerudia to remind them not to underestimate women. My father managed to finally convince Jerudia’s legal system that women need to be treated as equals to men. He even managed to convince our culture that women ought to share in the firstborn blessings as well. It would be a shame if we did not also recognise women to be equals to men in cunning. Men aren’t always guilty, and women aren’t always the victim. Unfortunately, there are still those in Jerudia who consider women to be lesser than men, and weaker than men. Let it be known that women are capable of just as much as men, be it good, or evil.”
He turned to the woman and added, “I am going to grant you the opportunity to help yourself by confessing to your crime before your co-labourer in adultery is presented. If you do that, your minimum sentence will be that of 30 years. If you choose to make us wait for him, your minimum sentence will be 40 years. You get five years for infidelity to your spouse, and 25 years for attempting to frame an innocent person, and an additional ten years if you make us wait for your fornicating companion. I also read in this report that the man you fornicated with was unmarried. Since your accomplice had no marriage vows of his own that he violated, he will be released back into the general civilian world after his sentence of three years for fornicating with a married woman. You, on the other hand… not only did you break your marriage vows, but you tried to frame an innocent man, for which your release into the general civilian world is not guaranteed. Once you have served your sentence of 30 or 40 years, the Council of Elders and the reigning king or queen will decide if you are to be let out into the general civilian world or into the second chances district. Let this serve as an example to everyone who tries to frame innocent people that maligning someone with lies and trying to destroy someone’s lives with falsehoods is one of the highest forms of offence.”
Many more cases were brought to the court, and were dealt with by King Jeraash with utmost cleverness and supreme wisdom. As everyone started moving out of the court, it was already evening. The Generals had quite a bit to discuss with each other in private. After which, Prince Jared called on Thaymas to walk with him as he requested the servants to prepare quarters for Thaymas. The Royal Palace of Heiwa faced the east. The Pasuhara forest, located to the north of the Heiwa Palace, was a forest that was completely untouched and unviolated in any way. By the King’s decree, this forest was protected from any kind of violation including cutting of trees and polluting the waters. Prince Jared and Thaymas exited the main gate and walked towards the forest as Thaymas contained his eagerness to ask the Prince his numerous questions. He noticed that Prince Jared, however, was excited about and looking forward to something else.
Prince Jared walked with his extraordinarily fast gait, which was uncomfortable for Thaymas to keep up with. They had walked about seven or eight minutes into the forest, with Thaymas reading the Prince as much as he could, trying to learn more about him; when they reached an open area with a giant grassy bed surrounded by trees on all sides. The trees were of various kinds, and ranged from 30 feet to 65 feet. The numerous variants of greens of these trees were far more enchanting and beautiful than anything we will behold today. Pasuhara was one of the most beautiful forests on Earth, blessed with numerous kinds of trees, brooks, streams, and even waterfalls of all kinds. To the north, lay Peak Pakkam, part of the most majestic and resplendent mountain range in all the Earth - Andreas mountain range. The peak was only about 11 kms away from where they stood and was approximately 2300 metres tall. Peak Pakkam was adorned by necklaces of smaller peaks around its entire surface ranging from 1000 to 1700 metres. Every smaller peak adorning Peak Pakkam wore a halo of cloud of its own.
Thaymas stood still, taking in the beauty of the forest in the evening’s orange fire of the sky, as the melodious songs of the birds put out all the questions and stress from his mind. The spell of the forest’s beauty had almost completely taken down the guards in Thaymas’ mind, when Prince Jared suddenly broke into a hasty dash with a high-pitched exclamation.
Thaymas turned hurriedly and beheld the Prince catching his daughter who charged at him like a rhino. Throwing her up in the air, struggling to handle her wild punches, and speaking like a child himself; the monstrously strong warrior whose single stare could scare entire armies, the Prince whose wisdom and intellect rivalled that of the great Forest of Ferianoy itself had now suddenly become the silliest and meekest child he had ever seen. There was no dignity in the way he played with his daughter, there was only childlike meekness. An entirely different person stood in front of him now.
One who did not know the meaning of self-respect, dignity, or pride. One who understood nothing but the language of love and affection. A soul and spirit born of sheer meekness and absolute humility. A spirit that was somehow identical to a little child’s, yet possessed the heart and soul of a father.
Princess Jeniah Meshoshanah was infinitely more beautiful than any child to ever walk the Earth. While the norm in Jerudia was for sons to don their father’s last name and daughters to don their mother’s last name; there were exceptions as well. Princess Jeniah had been given a last name that belonged neither to her mother nor her father.
She had inherited her father’s skin colour, but her skin was flawless unlike his. Her hair was curlier and darker than her father’s, as well as denser and bouncier. Her hypnotising eyes that melted everyone’s heart with a single glance were
dark brown like her father’s. Her unparallelly adorable eyes were enchantingly beautiful and carried the spell and depth of her father’s eyes; but there was also much more to her eyes than her father’s, something that could trap anyone and everyone in its charm in its first glance. Her face was a little longer than Prince Jared’s and her pointy, beak-like chin had a charm of its own. She had the most adorable visage Thaymas had ever beheld.
Thaymas could see that her energy was limitless, and he could very well estimate that taking care of a child like her with limitless energy and boundless mischief would be a most laborious and difficult task. But his estimates were nowhere close to the real measure of the challenge it was. Princess Jeniah had also inherited her father’s incredibly charming singer’s voice, but her voice was far more melodic and lovely than even Prince Jared’s. Princess Jeniah was now five years old, and her intellect and wisdom were prodigiously greater than anything a child of her age possessed - something that Thaymas had not yet had the opportunity to witness.
In her hopping around and playing with her father, Thaymas had noticed that she had also inherited her father’s nimbleness, speed, and athleticism. The way this father-daughter duo played was nothing like the ordinary; it was almost as if even in playing, Prince Jared was sparring with her and training her. She wore a frock with a light shade of royal blue with white frills and white socks reaching above her knees. Princess Jeniah was accompanied by her caretaker, Kareema Biano, who was almost as kind as she was skilled at being a bodyguard. Kareema was greatly skilled in battle; and specialised in hand-to-hand combat, archery, and ranged weapon (projectile) combat. Thaymas was trying to read Kareema when he realised that they were deep in the jungle where wild animals were a serious danger.
