TWENTY EIGHT: New Restrictions pt 2

As Esther went about the next morning, her mind constantly whirred with questions about the afternoon's tea party.

She wondered if she should expect the same group of Queen Candidates from Habeth's first tea party, or if the girl had invited others this time. She also thought about whether an incident like the last time would occur, and how she should react.

The morning hours flew by while she wasted time giving too much thought to those questions but unable to stop herself, and soon, the time arrived to start getting dressed.

"This red fabric will look spectacular with your hair!" one of the light-haired maids cooed, displaying the dress they had selected for her to wear.

"And the gold embroidery will compliment your glowing skin," a dark-haired girl added.

Esther glanced in the mirror, putting a hand to her cheek.

Glowing was certainly the best adjective to describe it.

Her skin was smooth and supple. The light bounced off her dewy cheeks and nose. The rest of her body was the same. Thanks to many weeks of oil treatments, not just her skin, but her hair had become lush and shiny as well.

Despite the healthy glow that radiated from her, however, Esther couldn't help but imagine the woman in the garden who had also worn a red dress with metallic embellishments. The red contrasted her black hair gorgeously, creating an effect that could not be replicated by the same color against Esther's reddish hair.

The silver embellishments matched the woman's cool skin tone and cold aura. The look was entirely different from the way the gold embroidery warmed Esther's coloring.

"How could such a similar dress look so different?" Esther mused to herself as she spun around in the newly donned outfit.

This was the second time she had become unintentionally fixated on the mysterious woman with long dark curls. Perhaps, her curiosity would never be satisfied until she discovered the woman's identity, or, at least, unless she saw the woman just one more time.

Mentally, she made a note to ask Baara about the woman the next time she had the chance.

At Habeth's tea party, contrary to Esther's opinion of her attire, compliments flowed incessantly from the lips of the other attendees.

"My beautiful friend! Red suits you so wonderfully," Habeth was the first to remark concerning Esther's dress.

"It's so lovely!"

"The warm hues compliment your skin so beautifully."

"You look so elegant today, Queen Candidate."

Esther thanked them politely for their compliments, before turning to Habeth.

"Your outfit looks splendid as well," Esther told the woman, gesturing to her white, flowy dress. "It suits your delicate beauty."

Another flurry of compliments followed Esther's words as the Queen Candidates turned their gushing to Habeth's attire.

Notably silent during both sessions of complimenting was Queen Candidate Farah. She sat with a polite smile, not daring to speak.

Of the two women who had spoken ill of the Despised Clan at Habeth's last party, Farah was the only one who had been invited back. It seemed she was aware of her luck, and decided to refrain from speaking altogether lest she upset Habeth again.

In addition to Queen Candidate Farah, five other previous attendees had once again made the guest list, with three new faces filling the other spots.

Two of the seats had been empty at the last tea party, so Esther reasoned that, perhaps only the woman who brought up the Despised Clan had been excluded. Habeth seemed exactly the kind of person to do something like that, after all.

"Fortunately the new restrictions don't affect us very much," one of the new faces was in the middle of saying when Esther leaned her ear toward their conversation.

"I agree," another new face nodded. "It's not as if I had actual business in the rest of the palace."

"I'm sure some Candidates are feeling rather.. suffocated," another girl chimed in, offering a sly smile toward one of the girls near the head of the table.

Esther recognized the girl being criticized as one of the Candidates who had partaken in drinking and dancing on the first day in the House of Women.

"Well, proper ladies should have no trouble behaving themselves-" the first new face began before she was cut off by a sharp tongue click from Queen Candidate Farah.

When all the women in the conversation turned their attention to her, Farah motioned toward Habeth, putting her finger to her lips.

Habeth seemed to be engrossed in a conversation about jewelry with the Queen Candidate to her left, but a quick flick of her eyes toward the group at the end of the table was enough to silence them all.

"Proper ladies, indeed."

The woman who had been mocked refused to back down.

She continued, with a snort, "But don't you think a proper Queen Candidate ought not to bind herself to one place, save she endure an unfortunate fate?"

As she spoke, the voices at the table all quieted as if a chill wind had blown.

The woman looked rather pleased with herself as she glanced around the table. The conceit behind her smile dissipated, however, as she realized that not one of the other attendees was willing to make eye contact with her.

"Hmm what sort of unfortunate fate do you refer to?"

Habeth smiled at the girl, her eyes filled with ice.

"Ah.. no.." the woman immediately began to backtrack, finally realizing her grave mistake. "I misspoke, Queen Candidate."

"Is that so?" Habeth let out a long sigh, pressing her palm into her forehead. "Why must my table always be filled with such crude chatter?"

The women around the table gulped, and a few began offering attempts at starting light hearted conversations to appease their hostess.

Meanwhile, Esther sat like a statue, confused by the mocked Candidate's words and why they had upset everyone so.

First, she wondered about what binding oneself to one place meant, and if she was not already guilty of that, herself.

Mostly, however, she wondered about 'an unfortunate fate'.

The only conclusion she could draw was that the girl had been referring to the deposed Queen Vashti.

Yet, Esther's knowledge on that subject was still terribly lacking--too lacking to decipher the meaning behind those words. She selfishly wished the mocked Candidate had boldly answered Habeth's question rather than backing down.

Vaguely, she recalled what Uncle Mordecai had said when she questioned him about Vashti.

'The world that will call a woman sinful, simply because of the ground she plants her feet on..'

The restrictions binding them to the House of Women, the chatter about being a 'proper woman', and what happened to the late Queen..

All of it had to be connected somehow.

And Esther had a strange feeling that she needed to find out how before she likewise met an 'unfortunate fate'.