Darius awoke with a stutter. He noticed that this time, he was wearing a well-decorated golden thaub. Atop his head, there was a golden turban with a red gem at the center.
He looked majestic, and beside him sat Deia, dressed in a beautiful dark red abaya, her red lips pulled into a smirk as she sat lazily beside Darius.
Darius noticed that Solena was wearing a red bra wrap that was covered by a black jacket and a pair of red harem pants. Her hair was tied into a long ponytail with a golden hairband.
She seemed to be around the age of 16 and her beauty made all the young princes who were in the palace throne room hover around her like flies. Darius also noticed that Miranda was squarely seated on her mother's lap, Deia caressing her spoiled daughter's hair with love.
Miranda also wore an abaya that was dark brown, and she seemed to be around 15 or 14 years old.
Standing in front of the court as the one handling the proceedings was Martin, his son who was practically a clone of himself. The fellow looked exactly like Darius did when he had been 13, only that he had Deia's beauty mixed in, making him surpass his own father's handsomeness.
Darius was pleased with this mental world, even though he knew that it was as fake as the others. He was of a high position, likely a sultan with his true family with him. Truly, his subconscious was quite vivid in its recreation, and he didn't mind living this kind of lie.
Ah, but no. This was the Test of Justice. Darius easily guessed that he was about to preside over a very troublesome matter that would put his ability to dole out justice to the test.
As before, Darius stopped to ponder the theme of the test.
What was 'Justice'? It was the quality of being fair and reasonable.
Unlike what people thought, Justice didn't always have to deal with a dispute that needed resolution. Justice was all-encompassing. When someone wronged you and you listened to their side and reacted fairly to both sides, that was Justice.
Justice wasn't about punishing the evil or righting any wrongs, those were just a part of the whole. It was understanding the rules and the truth.
One of the most mentioned persons linked to the term was King Solomon, who had been forced to decide who should get custody of a baby between two mothers.
Both women had given birth around the same time, yet one baby had died, and both claimed that theirs was the surviving one.
In the end, he had called for the baby to be split in two halves, so that both would get one half, leading one woman to give up her 'half' for the baby's survival, whereas the other had promptly agreed.
The King had recognized the first woman as the real mother, who would do anything for her child's well-being, even if she had to part with it.
In order to push Darius to the brink where he'd have to be just at a cost or forgo justice for his own benefit, it was likely the next events would pertain to actions done by himself or more likely his own family members.
"Murderer!" A voice screamed, startling the entire court that was in a state of activity.
All eyes turned to look at an old woman limping into the palace room with a dead child in hand. The child was sick with defile leprosy, a special form of the disease unique to Ludo that was super contagious and extremely fatal.
Those in the crowd instantly made way, fleeing far from the woman and her anger as if she was the embodiment of death itself.
It might also explain why she had been able to waltz this far into the palace, as the guard filed in behind her, yet kept their distance with fearful expressions.
Darius did not panic, raising a hand calmly. Using his magic, he created an isolated stage for the woman and a table.
"Place your child on the table and have a seat, dear madam. Since you have made it here, I shall address your concerns." Darius instructed calmly.
The woman was shocked to be treated so well by the Sultan, and her anger diminished as she realized what she had done. However, seeing her dead child in hand reignited the flame in her heart, but she complied with Darius' instructions and placed her child gently on the table.
She then sat down on the makeshift chair that Darius made and gazed at him, before her eyes shifted to Martin, who was panicking. The flames of hatred sparked in her eye as she pointed to Darius' lastborn and screeched once more.
"Murderer!"
This time, the situation of the entire court changed as they realized what this woman was here for and what she was trying to do, but many gazed at her with ridicule.
Looking for Justice against the son of the Sultan? Old thing, who gave you that right?
None rose up in support of her and the guards were even prepared to remove her and execute her in some corner, dumping her body in a bush somewhere.
Darius though stopped everyone and gazed at the woman.
"Madam, please state your name before you share your story." Darius requested.
Deia who sat beside him glanced at Darius for a second and then the woman below with a raised eyebrow. Darius had to admit, his subconscious had rebuilt his family's personalities quite well.
Deia's current action hadn't gone unnoticed. Her body language was asking him if there were special circumstances that forced him to behave like this. After all, she knew Darius very well, the concerns of an accuser towards his family would be the last thing on his mind.
He would have usually cleverly sidetracked this woman and found an excuse to get rid of her and turn her story on its head, making Martin out to end up looking like the hero of that story, while secretly re-educating his son to never make such a mistake again.
Darius smiled and continued. "No matter what, Justice will be served, for the Gods above are watching."
This line had different meanings to different people. To the old woman, it reassured her as she took it that the Sultan would remain fair and just. To the court, it meant that the Sultan was about to uphold fairness and had likely abandoned his son!
To Deia, it meant that Darius had no choice but to be fair this time around because some higher power - which was likely watching the ongoing proceedings - was pressuring him too.
This made her eyes narrow, but she remained silent for now.
