Chapter 2 Starry Night
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During their first week in Suna, Gaara and Hinata had discovered a cave in the outskirts of town. Being demons, they were brave enough to sleep in a cave. This cave was particularly beautiful. There was an opening in the cave ceiling. The moon shone through. Hinata could see the stars from where she laid on the ground.
Stretching her arms out towards the sky, Hinata made hand motions like she was grabbing the stars off their midnight canvas. Despite all the horrors, she has witnessed, she was still a child. It was nice to be free.
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"Tell me a story, Hinata." Gaara suspected that Hinata had been a royal of some sort. She was far too well-read and well-spoken to be a commoner. She told beautiful stories.
"Well, let's see. This one's quite peculiar. A man found my lamp and I belonged to him for three months. Let's call him Tafah.
"One day, he found me. And he promised to free me after two wishes. He told me he wanted a perfect wife. He expected me to make him a wife out of thin air. So I told him, a djinni in a lamp could not create human life nor destroy it.
"Then, he told me to make him attractive to all women. More specifically, he asked me to make him the most handsome man on earth. I used his first wish to change his looks.
"When he became irresistible to women, Tafah decided he was far too good for one woman. He wanted all of them. He wanted a harem. So, he told me to make him rich. I used his second wish to summon a gold chest from the royal treasury."
Gaara's eyes widened at her story. "Hinata, so that time you gave me that sack of silver coins…Did you steal it?"
"Yep!" The djinni confessed. She was completely unrepentant.
"Nevermind, keep telling me the story." Gaara said.
"So after two wishes, he did not keep his promise! He refused to free me. He put my lamp on a shelf and enjoyed his harem. One day, he went to market. He saw a handsome couple who were completely devoted to each other. They had love.
"He went to me and asked me to make people love him. Well, djinn can charm people for a short time, but it does not last forever. Anyways, I was just starting out, my magic was weak. I could not yet charm people into liking each other, even if I tried.
"So, I told him to stop abusing magic before he regrets it. I asked Tafah to free me like he promised. But he refused. Until he finds true love, he said, he would not free me. Thus, I repeated to him the words of the philosopher, Rumi. There is no such thing as love without loyalty.
"Upon that realization, Tafah disbanded his harem. He journeyed to seek a maiden fair and true. Then, he found her. She was fair and beautiful. She was the most elegant lady. She had an entire castle to herself. She had hundreds of servants. Her name was Hura.
"Tafah tried to woo her. But no matter what he tried, she would not be his. Neither strength nor wit nor glory could win her. I warned him to turn back now. It was not too late. Many people found true love without the help of magic. I asked him to free me one last time.
"Tafah threaten to melt my lamp and me, if I did not fulfill his last wish. By now, Tafah knew the limits of my magic. I could not make her love him. Tafah asked me to make him perfect and pleasing in her eyes. I repeated his words, 'Make Tafah perfect and pleasing in Hura's eyes.'
"You see, Hura was as vain as Tafah had been. No man was good enough for her. She had a whole harem of men. She never wanted a husband. She wanted a slave. That was just what Tafah became. He became another slave in her harem.
"He became mute. He lost his voice forever. He could not speak. He could no longer order women around. Hura liked her men silent and obedient. Unwittingly, Tafah had wished to be pleasing to her. As punishment for his vanity, he would spend the rest of his life devoted to her. He would received nothing in return.
"Then my lamp spun and a cyclone carried me off to a new location. The end."
Gaara frowned at her story. Hinata laughed.
"Looking back, it was kind of funny!"
"That was such a sad story."
"Well think of all the people he hurt along the way. He bought girls for his harem. He could have used his money to give them dowry to marry. But he defiled them. He mistreated them. Once he was bored he turned them to the streets. Did they get a second chance at life?" Hinata reasoned.
Hinata laughs whenever she felt like crying. The blue-haired girl had downplayed her dislike of Tafah. He was an abusive man, the little girl had been terrified. She saw how he had beaten and bruised his slave girls. He starved them to keep them skinny. Hinata persuaded Tafah to disband his harem with clever words. It was up to the genie how wishes were interpreted. Hinata enslaved Tafah to ensure he would never hurt another woman again. But, Hinata did not tell Gaara of this. He would think she was wicked.
"I guess. You are right."
Being a boy, Gaara could not help but sympathize for the man Tafah. Most men would make the exact same mistakes as Tafah. Men of Persia touted harems like badges of honor. Gaara never saw it that way. Not after he saw how much it had hurt his mother.
"O well, at least nobody died. Good night, Gaara."
"Good night, Hinata."
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So...Hinata's seen some real shit. This is another dark fantasy. I guess that's what I'm in the mood for right now.
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