Hadassah by Tommy Tenney

Author:Tommy Tenney
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Esther, Queen of Persia—Fiction, Xerxes I (King of Persia [ 519–465 or 4 B.C.]—Fiction, Bible. O.T.—History of Biblical events—Fiction, Iran—History—To 640—Fiction, Women in the Bible—Fiction, Queens—Iran—Fiction, FIC026000
ISBN: 9781441219114
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2013-11-11T16:00:00+00:00

29

Finally the year-long preparation was coming to a close. I suppose it would sound jaded and ungrateful to say that I had grown weary of hour-long baths, massages, herbal treatments and cosmetics sessions. But I can say that if she must experience it every day, day in and day out for a year, a girl can grow weary of almost anything.

By the end of that first year I was a different girl than the simple, wide-eyed commoner who had been brought into the Palace twelve months before. I walked differently. Talked differently. I looked different. I knew the special diet had given my body a leanness and maturity that radiated forth with every movement. I certainly smelled different. I had even begun to notice that Mordecai, who doused himself daily and whom I had always considered the height of refinement, now smelled earthy to my transformed nostrils. The truth is, it had taken me a whole year to reach Palace standards of readiness for the King. And the efforts had borne fruit.

The candidates’ harem nearly throbbed with nervousness and anticipation of what came next. No one knew who would be called first; no one wanted to be that first girl, either. Rumors abounded, most of which only added to the fears and uncertainties.

Those last months were filled with frantic scrambling for goals yet unmet—losing extra weight, choosing proper facial paint and hairstyle—and also selecting the wardrobe and accessories. Since every girl would be allowed to keep the accessories she wore that night, and since we had free rein of the royal treasury from which to make this selection, this last item ranked among the most hotly contested of the year.

I did not attend the girls’ next field trip to the bounty room, but Jesse described for me the mad dash into the piles and racks of hanging necklaces, diamond earrings and rings captured from nations across the world. He chuckled as he told me of the clawing, the screaming, even a near stampede for one particularly long and thick strand of pure gold that hung from the neck of a marble mannequin.

I stayed away because, as I’ve already indicated, I had a different plan. It consisted of wearing a simple gown and only one adornment. Having heard Hegai’s repeated descriptions of the King’s interests, I came up with the idea myself, then shared it with Hegai. His eyes lit up, and he laughed out loud. “His Majesty will be most pleased, I’m thinking.”

Then he patted me on the back and strode off. I took his response as his vote of approval.

I planned to enter wearing a simple silk gown of pale blue and a single piece of jewelry. And that I intended to leave behind as a gift—the means by which to remember my name.

ROYAL BEDROOM—INNER COURT—SUSA

King Xerxes of Persia threw back his third wine goblet, gulped down the remaining liquid and swore loudly. He had forsworn carnal relations for longer than he ever had since puberty, all in the hopes of being ready for tonight and the nights to follow with this new crop of candidates.

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