After he was done, Aladdin gave the goblet to Jasmine.
"Have a drink."
Jasmine received the goblet and drank from it.
As the water welled in her mouth, a refreshing sensation flowed down her throat, all the way to her chest, then spread to every muscle in her being. Even her spirit felt rejuvenated and lighter than before.
A few seconds later, she withdrew it from her lips.
"I feel like I can continue drinking. This is the best water I've ever tasted," Jasmine said, licking the remaining droplets from her lips.
"As long as you've tasted from the goblet, it doesn't matter how much you drink. The effects remain the same," Aladdin responded.
"Can't we keep it as a personal drinking fountain?" Jasmine furrowed her brows and asked.
"I don't think it would be a good idea if people learn that we have the Elixir of Life," Aladdin said, shaking his head. "Besides, it won't be as effective if it's drunk outside the goblet."
"Okay. I'll bring my cousins and father over to the Empire tomorrow so they can have a taste. I'm certain that they won't refuse," Jasmine replied.
Aladdin stored away the golden goblet and the Book of Destiny in his storage ring. Then, he prepared the bed.
"Good night." He leaned in and kissed her on the lips and on her forehead.
"Good night," Jasmine responded, reciprocating his actions and making herself comfortable in his arms as they fell asleep.
The next morning,
Jasmine brought her father, four cousins, and Rajah to Ababwa and gave them the gifts that Aladdin had gifted her. They all became immortals after drinking from the goblet of the Elixir of Life.
They shared a few of the fruits among themselves, saved some, and decided to plant the rest to see if they could grow them into trees.
Aladdin agreed with their endeavours as he was also interested in such an experiment. Because he didn't have the time on his hands to try out such experiments by himself.
Aladdin also gave Rakim and Abu these things. He hesitated on giving them to Cassim because he wasn't sure whether immortality and a fruit that cures all were the best gifts for a man on a journey of redemption. So he held them back for now.
Jasmine also spoke to her father about the punishment of the Forty Thieves. He agreed, leaving the issue for them to do as they saw fit.
By evening, the Forty Thieves were moved to Agrabah.
The news spread across the entire nation like wildfire.
After receiving news that their rulers had decided on the punishments to mete out to the Forty Thieves who had colluded with the dark sorceress Nasira to launch an attack on their Kingdom, they all gathered at the Bazaar.
"Sultan Ali!! Sultana Jasmine!!
"Sultan Ali!! Sultana Jasmine!!
"Sultan Ali!! Sultana Jasmine!!
Aladdin and Jasmine stood on the stage, ready to address the people.
Aladdin and Jasmine raised their hands.
The people slowly quieted down.
"As you're all aware, the Forty Thieves who had colluded with Nasira to storm this Kingdom, almost destroying it, have been imprisoned until we find a fitting punishment for them," Aladdin spoke first. His voice boomed across the area.
"Initially, we'd planned on beheading each and every one of them, but upon thinking it through, we realised that death was the easiest way out for all the things that they've done to us. So we've decided on something else.
A punishment we found more fitting, that would not only calm the souls of those who had lost their lives, but also echo across the Seven Deserts as a warning to those who wish to do us harm as well."
Murmurs rippled across the crowd.
"I speak as the Sultan of Agrabah, and I declare that twenty of the forty thieves will be beheaded on this stage, and the other twenty will be subjected to an indefinite servitude of aiding against and reforming raiders, hoodlums, and thieves across the Seven Deserts, and doing good in an effort to redeem themselves."
Jasmine stepped forward and said, "I know that many of you might find this punishment insufficient, but I assure you that with the Forty Thieves' vast knowledge of the criminal networks across the Seven Deserts, not only will this aid in curbing any more disasters that might happen in the future, but it will also make the Forty Thieves do everything they hate.
If any one of them does not keep this oath and chooses to escape, then we've ensured, through the aid of Ababwa's forces, that they're killed on the spot."
Initially, the people were doubtful when they heard Aladdin's words, but after hearing the rest of his explanation, along with Jasmine's, they were all convinced that this was the best punishment of both worlds.
Death for half of the Forty Thieves, and servitude for the other half, doing what they hated to make the nation and the Seven Deserts a better place to live in.
"BEHEAD THE TWENTY THIEVES!! TO YOUR SERVITUDE, TWENTY THIEVES!!"
"BEHEAD THE TWENTY THIEVES!! TO YOUR SERVITUDE, TWENTY THIEVES!!"
"BEHEAD THE TWENTY THIEVES!! TO YOUR SERVITUDE, TWENTY THIEVES!!"
Aladdin and Jasmine inwardly sighed in relief, seeing as the people had accepted their decision.
Aladdin looked behind and gestured at Razoul and Rakim, standing at the corner.
They nodded their heads and walked down to the back of the stage. They returned with forty men, all bound in chains, but only twenty wore a black sack over their faces.
"Do it," Aladdin issued the command.
Rakim and Razoul nodded and immediately ordered the guards to call for the executioner.
A shirtless, large, muscular man with brown skin, carrying a large sword half his size, dressed in only a pair of grey trousers and shoes, climbed the stage.
He took one of the Forty Thieves whose head had been covered in a black sack and placed him on the executioner's table, which had already been arranged at the centre of the stage.
Jasmine buried her head in Aladdin's chest. She could steel herself to watch Jafar's beheading due to all the things that he had done, or planned to do, to her, her father, and the kingdom, but having to watch another beheading so soon was too much for her fragile heart.
She could not desensitise herself to such cruelty, and didn't wish to. So she closed her eyes and hid her gaze in Aladdin's chest.
Witnessing their Sultana's actions, the people covered the eyes of their children and comforted partners and family members whose hearts were unable to bear such a brutal scene. However, others watched with a steeled and steady gaze, not wanting to miss the sight of the death of each member of the twenty thieves.
As the executioner raised his sword, Cassim, who had listened to their speech at the back of the stage and was now facing the crowd, lowered his head, unable to watch the scene.
Tears brimmed at the corners of his eyes, but he held them back.
He didn't want to send the wrong message to the public by weeping for the individuals they wished death upon and have them turn their anger on him.
From this day onwards, the King of the Forty Thieves was no more.
Swissh!!
The executioner brought down his blade on his victim.
The head of the first criminal rolled down the stage.
"Next."
He pushed away the corpse and spoke.
The soldiers took away the body and brought another person to be decapitated.
Swissh!!
"Next."
Within ten minutes, twenty members of the Forty Thieves were decapitated.
Unable to hold back his tears, Cassim silently wept for his fallen brethren as the last fell.
The guards came and raised them up to their feet.
They forced them to look at the crowd.
What greeted them were gazes filled with satisfaction and intense hatred.
"These are the twenty thieves that will live and serve their punishments alive. As stated before, we'll ensure that they serve this punishment dutifully, so if you see them on the road, do not threaten their lives, because that will be the same as granting them death and freeing them of their punishment," Aladdin said.
"TO YOUR SERVITUDE, TWENTY THIEVES!!"
"TO YOUR SERVITUDE, TWENTY THIEVES!!"
"TO YOUR SERVITUDE, TWENTY THIEVES!!"
The crowd roared in enthusiasm and chanted.
Aladdin allowed them to remain on the stage for thirty minutes, allowing the people to pour out their emotions on them before taking them off the stage.
After the event was over, they returned to Ababwa.
Within the guest room,
Aladdin and Cassim stood before each other.
The atmosphere was tense, yet it carried a warmer aura.
"Have you made up your mind on where to go?" Aladdin asked.
"No. I plan to wander about with the group and do good deeds first. It would be a bad idea if I took the group out to battle after they had just watched their companions beheaded. That might take them a while to heal from," Cassim replied, trying his best to smile.
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