Nahil sat on the floor. He was confined to this room for who knows how much time. Aurelio had thrown him in there, and locked the door from the outside. He wasn't allowed to see anyone, and he didn't know whether he would even eat. He should have known that no one would believe him. After all, this was the Sultan's father. No one would believe him, an insignificant kitchen boy, next to the Sultan's father. And even if they did, it wouldn't have made much of a different. Sultan Aladdin would never have let anything happen to his father. It showed that the Sultan had a deep affection for him. He heard keys rattle in the lock, and as he looked up, Haifa came in, carrying a pitcher of water, and a chunk of bread.

"They said you are only supposed to have bread and water rations while you are confined here."she said. "Is it true you were trying to murder the Sultan's father?"

"Yes, I did. If only I had done it. Then it would all have been worth it."

"Why? He never seemed to feel any contempt for you."

"Well, I feel a lot of contempt for him!"

"Why?"

"No one will believe me."

"Princess Aida and Sultan Aladdin want me to talk to you, and ask you to forgive Mister Cassim for what he did. He says he didn't mean to, that it was an accident."said Haifa uncomfortably.

Nahil's head went up.

"And you believe him?"

Haifa looked uncomfortable.

"Well, I don't know if he was telling the truth, or not. I just know what the Princess and the Sultan told me."

"He did it with every intention!"

"I don't know."

"If you knew why were you asking me?"

"They want you to make an effort to forgive him. They say that it wasn't his intention."

"I don't care whether it was his intention, or not! He killed my mother. That's more than enough."

"Well, they said you aren't going to come out until you change the way you think about Mr.Cassim. I've never like him, either. He seems to have his eyes on the Princess, even though she is married to another man. And him old enough to be her father!"

"I wouldn't put something like that past him."

"I'm just saying what the Sultan and the Princess told me."

In the dining room, the children wanted to know what had happened last night, and Josefina couldn't come down to breakfast. She was confined in her bedroom, and wouldn't let the maid out of her sight, for fear that Nahil, Cassim, or some else might try and attack her next.

"Pobre de mi niña Josefina."said Clara. "She's shaking in her shoes."

"You can tell her the boy is under lock and key, Nana."said Francisco.

"It's not just the boy, Francisco."

Clara looked very uncomfortable.

"What else?"

"Well, the boy said that…"

"Cassim."

"Yes. She doesn't want to be in the same room as him."

"But Dad won't do anything to hurt her."said Aladdin.

"Perhaps, sir, but…the boy said that he, and she…"

"She believed him."

"Well, yes. She couldn't sleep all night."

Francisco rolled his eyes.

"Maybe if we straighten things out."said Jasmine.

"I don't know if that'll help much. Josefina is very…gullible. She'll believe just about anything. Especially if it's something dramatic. And once she believes it, it's very had to get that idea out of her head."

"So what are we going to do? Is she just going to stay locked in her room?"

"That seems to be what she plans. There really will be almost no way to unconvinced her. At least not that I know of. The only way to keep her calm is just not to leave her alone. Especially if Cassim is around."

"Oh, my."said Aida's father. "Poor girl. But…what about Nahil?"

"He's confined to his quarters until further notice. For causing such a disruption, and telling lies."

"People who lie are bad."said Josema.

"You eat your breakfast."Esther told him sternly.

"Well, I've got to go."said Francisco getting up. "Tengo que ir a ver al ganado."

Aladdin felt bad about Nahil.

"Before you go, couldn't you just forgive him?"he asked Francisco.

"I would have thought you were the one who was most interested in seeing that he got the punishment he deserved! I mean, it's your father he was accusing. And accusing of murder!"

"Well, yeah, but, maybe if we talked to him, he'd probably forget about it."

"Not until he's ready to apologize. And convince Josefina that he was drunk or something. Otherwise, she's never going to come out of that room."

"He gets along very well with Haifa."said Aida. "Perhaps she can help with him."

"Let's hope so."said Francisco, as he kissed her before he left.

Haifa begged Aida to not punish Nahil, as she handed Aida her embroidery, and brought some hot chocolate.

"Francisco is very mad at him. I mean, you don't think it's pleasant to get up in the middle of the night, and find someone attempting to commit murder, and then in the morning, see that your sister is scared to death."

"Oh, but it wasn't his intention, Princess. I assure you, Nahil thought he was doing the right thing."

"I'm sure he was, but Francisco is very upset with him. He can only come out when he's ready to apologize."

Haifa hung her head.

"Señora, tiene visitas."said Pascuala.

"Quien, Pascuala?"

"La Señoritas de Echague."

"Que pasen. Just what we need right now. And not a word to anyone. Make sure no one comments anything about last night in front of Ana Lupe and Beatrize's maids, please. I don't want anyone to find out."said Aida, as she got up, to receive the guests.

"I thought you didn't care what people thought, Aida."said Jasmine.

"Oh, I don't, but you know Miss Esther."

"What will you tell them about Josefina?"

"Oh, well, I don't know, we'll see."

Ana Lupe and Beatriz had been friends with Francisco's older sisters since their childhood days. Even though they had not been overjoyed at the fact that Francisco had been married, since they always hoped he would choose one of them, they liked Aida.

"I knitted some chambritas for you."said Beatriz, giving Jasmine a handmade bag, after she had finished admiring Ali.

"Oh, thank you."

"I hope you like the colors."

"That isn't the half of it."said Ana Lupe. "You're going to have more blankets, chambritas, and bonnets than you can count. She spends her days knitting. Just for your boy."

Beatriz blushed.

"I appreciate it, and I think you're right. Not a single person I've met here, hasn't given me at least something for Ali."

"What else could I do?"asked Beatriz, and turning to Aida, she asked about Josefina.

"Josefina is feeling a little…ill."she said.

"Oh, I hope she's all right."

"Yes. She's not ailing. She's just a little…unwell."

"Oh. Perhaps I should go see her?"

"I don't think that'll be necessary. I don't know whether she'll have you. I think she's afraid to spread it. I mean…well, you know how she is."

"Oh, yes."

"Well, we hope she gets well soon. Will you tell us as soon as she's better?"

"Yes. She shouldn't be down for more than a few days."

"Señora Aida."said one of the workers, as he came in.

"Yes?"

"You have a visitor. I think he's a visitor. He says he is. We didn't let him in on the front gates."

"A visitor? Who?"

"I don't know. He doesn't say anything anyone can understand. The only thing we understood was your name."

"A visitor who said my name?"

Aida looked at Jasmine and at Beatriz and Ana Lupe.

"Well, what does this visitor look like?"

"Like he's been traveling for days, from the looks of him. We didn't want to let him in, for the fear he might be a criminal."

"I'll go see."said Aida getting up, and walking out of the room.

Aida went out the main entrance to the house, down the steps, and towards the front gates of the hacienda.

"You say he's out there?"

"Yes."

When she got to the gates, she couldn't believe her eyes.

"Oh, my! Achmed!"