30 THIRTY: Uncanny Resemblance pt 1

"Pardon? Oh, yes."

Esther cleared her throat.

"You informed me that it would open many doors for me."

"Indeed."

Lord Hegai, much to Esther's relief, offered the tag for her to take once again. It seemed her rehearsed response was for naught, after all.

"I also said that anything you desired, you only need ask of me," he added as she gingerly took the wooden token once more.

"I truly am undeserving of your grace," Esther bowed her head.

Lord Hegai hardly allowed her to finish her sentence before he asked, "So Esther, is there something you desire?"

Esther froze, her head still bowed and eyes glued to the ground between her feet and the Lord's.

As Lord Hegai already knew from what he overheard earlier, she desired to know the details concerning Vashti's deposition. In fact, he had hinted that her desire for answers could be fulfilled in the record hall.

With that in mind, the desire he wanted her to answer him with was clear.

Esther smiled knowingly to herself before raising her head.

"I desire to continue visiting the record hall, My Lord," she asserted, "in spite of the new restrictions placed on the Queen Candidates."

Her answer was correct. She knew it.

Despite the way Lord Hegai's servants tightened their clasped hands and the tiniest catch in Baara's breath behind her, she knew she was right.

Contrary to the reactions of everyone else surrounding them, Lord Hegai's lips curved contentedly.

"With this tag," he spoke, motioning to the totem Esther still held in her hands, "nobody can stop you from leaving my house."

'So that is the reason he brought up the tag in the first place,' Esther thought to herself. 'He wanted to inform me of another power granted by this small piece of carved wood.'

"You are free to come and go, Queen Candidate, but, as your guardian, I ask you to obey one request."

"I shall obey any and all of your requests, My Lord!" Esther unintentionally responded far too enthusiastically to Lord Hegai.

The man's face softened at her eagerness before growing serious again.

"After roaming freely around the palace as they attend to official business, the envoys will spend their evenings in the palace's banquet halls, attending parties prepared by the princes," he explained.

"My request is that you venture outside of these walls only when the sun has begun to set and the parties have gathered all the foreigners."

"I understand, My Lord."

Later that evening, while the other Queen Candidates were preparing to retire to bed, Esther was preparing to go out.

She had sent away all her attendants save Baara and the tall maid, who would accompany her to the hall of records.

Though Lord Hegai had already informed her that the evening parties would gather most people in the palace, Esther was still surprised to see how barren the paths of Shushan were as she trekked toward the record hall.

The vacant palace was bathed in the golden light of the setting sun, and the soft rustling of leaves in the gardens could be heard in the eerie quiet.

"It's so empty," Esther mused, glancing around in awe as she walked.

"Evenings in the Shushan palace are only lively in the banquet halls," Baara offered.

Briefly, Esther wondered what chaos must be contained inside the banquet halls if they had absorbed all the usual bustle of the palace. More than that, however, she was grateful for the peace afforded her by that absorption.

Additionally, she had the thought that she was extremely grateful for the parties keeping the Princes occupied. What a stroke of luck that she was guaranteed not to run into Prince Teresh again during her visit to the record hall.

Or so she had thought.

The moment she set foot inside the building, she noticed a figure hunched over a low shelf, engrossed in browsing the records kept there.

With long black hair and wide shoulders, the figure was unmistakable.

Esther gulped, shifting her gaze rapidly between the man and the door she just came through.

To avoid greeting the man was more than impolite; it was blasphemous. If she ran out and away from the building fast enough, however, there was a chance he wouldn't recognize her.

She looked at the door one last time before letting out a sigh of defeat.

Even if the palace looked vacant, there were still eyes and ears everywhere. She couldn't hope to escape the consequences of her actions, regardless of how fast she ran.

"Good evening, My Prince. I hope I have not interrupted you," she bowed deeply. "I will leave you to your business."

Her greeting had been rude, and she excused herself instead of waiting for the command of the higher ranked individual, but at least now she could leave without any more repercussions than being branded a brash woman.

Such a branding may be useful for her, anyway, if it could deter others from trying to get close to her.

"Halt."

Groaning internally, Esther paused in front of the door. Of course, she shouldn't have expected to escape so easily.

"What an absurd way to greet a Prince of Persia."

Footsteps thudded toward her.

Esther whirled around.

'Please, My Prince, I must ask you to-"

She froze as she made eye contact with the man approaching her and rapidly dropped her head in another bow.

"Forgive me, My Lord. I mistook you for someone else."

The resemblance to Prince Teresh was uncanny. Even the man's bone structure resembled the handsome Prince's.

But the eyes that had met hers were not Teresh's. If the Prince's eyes were the brilliant blue sky, this man's were the gray storm clouds that engulfed it.

"It seems you are displeased with one of the Princes," the man remarked, "and have vented your anger on an innocent party."

"I beg your forgiveness, Sir," Esther pressed her lips together, afraid to lift her head.

How could she have made such a foolish mistake?

She prayed the man would be better tempered than Prince Teresh, and let her go without giving much thought to the incident.

Like the man he so resembled, however, the gray-eyed man had no intention of doing so.