ELEVEN: An Unexpected Encounter pt 2

"I could say the same thing to you, My Prince," she finally replied. "What is a Prince doing in the King's Garden?"

Sching!!

At Esther's provocation, the guards around the Prince all immediately drew their swords.

Brandishing their weapons, they stood still, waiting for the order to attack. One of them sneered at Esther.

"How dare you-"

"Hahaha!" the Prince exploded with laughter, cutting his guard off mid-threat.

Esther, baffled by the unexpected reaction, exchanged a look with her handmaiden, but the stocky woman could offer no clarity of the situation.

The guards hesitated with their swords half-lowered, equally confused by their master's response as Esther and Baara were.

"Put those away," The Prince waved for the guards to stand down in between his chuckles. "Ha. I haven't been this amused in a very long time."

Esther, whose emotions had changed from irritation to fear and now back to irritation, let out a sigh.

She couldn't help but wonder if all royals were as strange as this Prince. This interaction alone had made her even more motivated to avoid them as much as possible over the next year.

When he'd finished laughing, the Prince took a step forward.

Esther flinched back as he did so, maintaining the distance between them.

"You're just like a kitten with its claws out," The prince chuckled again. "I didn't mean to frighten you."

"I'm not frightened," Esther replied, straightening her back and trying very hard to appear unfrazzled.

The unending days of forcing herself to be conscious of her every expression, as directed by Mordecai, had not been wasted. Her mouth straightened and eyebrows relaxed almost instinctively.

The Prince hummed, his eyes searching her face.

Esther held the blue stare unwaveringly. There was more than just amusement behind the gaze, but she couldn't discern what it was.

"Is that so then?" the man finally responded. "Pray, what is your name, Queen Candidate?"

Esther's heart thumped so loudly she was certain it could be heard by all those standing near her.

Of the many things Mordecai had taught her, nothing seemed applicable to this situation.

She shot an apprehensive look to Baara, hoping to gain some sort of clue to what the best response would be. The woman caught her eyes only momentarily before looking away with a subtle nod.

The faint gesture was enough, however. Since it had come to this, there was no way Esther could avoid the question nor give a false name without facing consequences, so she could only answer honestly.

"I am called Esther, My Prince," she replied.

"Esther," he repeated, pausing for a moment before adding, "Well, I wish you luck as a Queen Candidate, Esther."

As he spoke, he stepped to the side and held an arm out for Esther and Baara to go past.

It was his signal that the conversation was over.

Once someone of higher status had bid farewell, the only option was to obey and disappear quietly.

"... thank you, My Prince."

The Queen Candidate and her handmaiden both bowed again before continuing on their way.

"I hope you do well, Esther," the Prince's voice floated from behind them as they walked.

His sentiments sounded sincere rather than mocking, but that made Esther all the more anxious.

With her eyes closed, she allowed Baara to lead her to the main path and out of sight of the King's Forbidden Garden.

"Did I make a mistake, Baara?" she asked when the garden was far behind them.

The handmaiden didn't reply right away, but continued walking, her brows knitted in deep thought.

After a while, she offered her opinion.

"That was an unlucky situation, My Lady," the woman remarked. "I believe you did as well as anyone could be expected to in such a predicament."

"Do you think I have given reason for my name to come across the King's presence?" Esther whispered, fearing she already knew the answer.

Baara stopped walking.

"Princes tend to be frivolous and capricious creatures, My Lady," the handmaiden said quietly. "He will likely forget about you when something else captures his interest."

"Oh, that's good then," Esther tried to smile, but her lips were numb.

The usual genuinity she sensed behind her handmaiden's words was nowhere to be found. The woman was trying to convince herself as much as her master that there was nothing to worry about.

Unfortunately, her words had failed to put either of them completely at ease as they continued their trek toward the House of Women.

They arrived at the front doors just as the morning birds began to crow.

The House of Women, or Lord Hegai's House, was massive and ornate. It didn't resemble any of the houses Esther had ever seen.

Rather than clay, the structure had been built with bricks and timbers. In place of simple, smooth finishes were intricate carvings. Bronze braziers decorated the sides of the building, still smoking from the morning douse, while large fountains adorned the grounds.

"Do all chamberlains live in houses such as these?" Esther asked, gaping at the building in awe.

"No, My Lady. Only Lord Hegai and one other chamberlain live in houses this grand," her handmaiden explained.

As she noticed Esther paying particular attention to the fountains and braziers, she added, "the other chamberlains' houses are certainly lavish, though not quite as large."

Esther nodded, her eyes eventually finding their way to the doors in front of them. Guards dressed in the same armor as the Prince's guards stood on either side, waiting to escort them inside.

"Shall we proceed, then, My Lady?" Baara spoke again.

Before answering, Esther closed her eyes and took a deep breath in.

Stepping through those doors was no different than stepping into another world, one where she was unfamiliar and disadvantaged.

Mordecai had urged her to do all in her power to simply survive, but Baara had encouraged her to use her time in the House of Women to enjoy herself.

Everything depended on her initial meeting with Lord Hegai. He controlled the placement of every Queen Candidate in his house--from large rooms with many servants, to small rooms where a woman would be all but forgotten.

A woman's placement could ensure an enjoyable or miserable twelve months of preparations, but it ultimately had no effect on the final test.

The King would select a woman who pleased him, regardless of what her living situation was in Lord Hegai's house.

So, Esther reasoned that she could follow both her Esteemed Uncle's and her handmaiden's advice. She could aim for a mid-level placement in the House of Women and live her days as contentedly, and unremarkably, as she pleased.

She let out the breath she'd been holding and opened her eyes.

"I am ready to proceed."