Behold The Empress Of Akkad...

I took my bath. The maids dressed me up, after that, they applied herbs to my hair and perfume onto my skin.

I didn't go out the whole day, I sat down in my room reading the books queen mother gave to me. I wasn't sure if the emperor noticed my absence, he has not come to check if everything was fine with me. Wait! I was so stupid! The Emperor of Akkad had one thousand wives in his quarter.rs, I Ariadne, was the youngest among all! These thoughts made me sad, Queen Valeria was the only one he cared about. (The rest of us, were just numbers)

*****

It was already evening. The Emperor didn't send for me, but what was I expecting? For him to come running to me like I was his mother? "Ariadne, you expect too much from people, which is not good," I told myself.

Anne came into the room again, I wondered if she wasn't tired of running up and down. Just then, I remembered that her husband was among the soldiers that came back with the the the the emperor. I could see the excitement on her face, she was so lucky.

"I want to go and sit with the other women of the Quarters. Anne, will you come along?" I was bored of staying indoors all day.

"You didn't go to greet the Emperor and..."

"Anne!" I cut her off. She always had a way of teasing me.

"Pardon me, my lady," she apologized. I looked at Anne again, she reminded me of myself I was once a maid. How I tried my best to please princess Eva. No matter what I wasn't going to treat her the way That witch did.

"Let go". I rose from the bed and went outside my room. As usual, all the women were in their various corners chatting. There was something unique about this place, it was so lively with entertainments like singing, modeling as well as gossiping, which was my favorite!

I looked around to see if I could find the group of women, I sat with the other day, when we heard a scream coming from the door, we rushed to see who it was. Behold the Empress of Akkad! Valeria was punishing a maid with a cane, the wounds on her body tell that she couldn't take the pain anymore, and that was why she screamed.

"Forgive Empress, I am sorry" the poor maid pleaded.

"I don't think you are sorry, If I let you go free today it will give others, the right to repeat what you just did" Queen Valeria scolded. I wondered what it was, that would make someone beat a fellow human to that extent.

The door opened. The Emperor walked into the hall, with his eyes darted back and forth. He was wearing a black robe with a yellow turban on his hair. 

"Your highness, Y-you....here..." Queen Valeria stammered. She was shocked to see the emperor in the women's quarters, he hardly come to the quarters by this time. We were also surprised by him.

"What is going on here Valeria?" The Emperor asked. He was still looking at the wounded maid who was lying on the floor.

"My king. I instructed this maid here to put milk in my bathing water before I went to change my clothes. I waited for her in the bathroom for hours and this stupid thing kept me waiting" she explained.

"Is that all?" He asked.

"Yes my king, you have to punish her for doing this to me" she beckoned. Oh my Gosh! This woman was a devil, she wasn't satisfied with the punishment she inflicted on that poor maid.

"There is no need for me to do that you have done it already". He walked toward one of his wives and whispered to her. I was eager to hear what he was whispering into the ears of that woman. But it was impossible. We were not close enough.

The Emperor stared at me, while he whispered to the other woman who kept on giggling. Queen Valeria was boiling in anger as the king ignored her, she wanted him to punish the maid again, I must say she was a demon sent from hell to Akkad.

"Queen Valeria, I suggest you send this poor girl to a physician," he said out loud.

"My king…"

"I won't entertain, this", he pointed at the wounded girl. "In my quarters next time, if anyone disobeys your order punish them rightfully not this way" he scoffed.

I was enjoying this. It was one of my best moments in life as Queen Valeria got scolded for her action not just by anyone but, the emperor himself. I wished had something to record this hour.

"Queen Valeria, if this was done by another person, I would have punished him or her severely"

"Forgive me, emperor, I let my anger rule me" she apologized. Anger was ruling everyone in this palace except for me. I wondered why though.

 "I suggest, you send this slave girl to a physician," he said. If I wasn't here to witness this, I won't have believed it, if someone had told me about it, because for the first time, this man said something reasonable.

 "Your highness...I …" the emperor left the hall before she could complete the statement, Valeria was furious, she shouted at the maids and women around. I quietly left to my room, wishing I never came out of my room in the first place.