"Of course, we can't have you in the presence of the sultan without knowing how to act, can we?" Jasmine went on.
Johniee was looking more and more terrified, but the stone, and thus his (her?) only way to fix this problem was here, and he couldn't leave it in the hands of this madwoman. He had to get it back and fix things. Somehow.
Meanwhile, Jasmine continued to think aloud. "And of course, you havn't been trained in the proper conduct or anything civilized like that, either... Perhaps it's time to test the abilities of this stone."
"I wish... That you would always be demure and submissive, as befits your station, and obey completely any orders given to you by anyone of the sultan's household."
There was a now-familiar tingle. And Jasmine began to smile in a decidedly nasty way. "Let's test how well that worked." She said. "Never touch this stone under any circumstances."
She held out the magic stone to Johniee.
"I think not" Johniee said, as he swiped the stone from her grasp.
Or at least, that's what he would have LIKED to do... However as he reached out with his hand, he found he could not grasp the stone. He knew in his mind that it was his only way out of this, but... He had been ordered not to pick it up by his mistress. He couldn't go against her wishes... NO! She had to get that stone. But her mistress would be disappointed in her... She couldn't bring such shame to herself in the eyes of her mistress. In her head, John's voice was screaming that this was wrong, but she could not help it. She could not go against her mistress's wishes.
With a satsified grunt, Jasmine withdrew her hand, and turned to Johniee. "Very well. In this case, I have some new orders for you as well."
She paused before going on.
"You will only speak when spoken to. You will reveal to no one the presence of the stone, nor the effects it has created. And you will act exactly as befits a harem girl."
Laughing, Jasmine turned to leave. "Oh, and one other thing." She said, without turning around. "You might want to consider avoiding the palace guards. Not only are they a crude lot, and unbecomming company for one of the Sultan's chosen, but you ARE under orders to do as they say.... And guards can have such crude fantasies..."
And with a swirl of her finely embroydered shawl, Jasmine walked down the hall, her laughter slowly fading with the distance.
Johniee would have cursed aloud in frustration, but that was not something his mistress's orders permitted him to do. "Well, shoot." he said to himself. "NOW what am I going to do?"
