A Reluctant Queen
A
R
ELUCTANT
Q
UEEN
T
HE
L
OVE
S
TORY
of
E
STHER
J
OAN
W
OLF
© 2011 by Joan Wolf
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Publisher’s Note: This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. All characters are fictional, and any similarity to people living or dead is purely coincidental.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Wolf, Joan.
A reluctant queen : the love story of Queen Esther / Joan Wolf.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-1-59554-876-4 (trade paper : alk. paper)
1. Esther, Queen of Persia—Fiction. 2. Bible. O.T. Esther—History of Biblical events— Fiction. 3. Women in the Bible—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3573.O486R45 2011
813’.54—dc22
2011009289
Printed in the United States of America
11 12 13 14 15 16 RRD 6 5 4 3 2 1
F
OR MY DEAR FRIEND
, E
DITH
L
AYTON
F
ELBER
.
I
MISS YOU
.
C
ONTENTS
T
he languages spoken by the characters in this book would have been Persian and Aramaic. What you are reading is a “translation” into modern English.
485 BC
E
sther rose early as usual. She dressed in her brown robe and overtunic, fitted her veil over her long black hair, and went out to the courtyard behind her uncle’s house to begin making the day’s bread—more than she and her uncle needed because she gave some to the old women in their community every day. By the time Mordecai came into the courtyard, she had kneaded the dough and set the loaves out to rise.
“Tired, Uncle?” Esther asked in a teasing tone as she saw &7 Mordecai yawn. “The Great King’s feast kept you up late last night.”
Mordecai smiled ruefully. “Far later than I care to be out, chicken. But I had no choice. All of the palace staff was invited and the Head Treasurer would have noticed if I did not appear for the king’s birthday.”
He took a seat on the bench at the small table in the courtyard and Esther began to assemble their breakfast. The plates contained dates and figs and slices of yesterday’s bread, which Esther had warmed in the outdoor oven. She fetched cups of water from inside the house, Mordecai said the blessing over the food, and silence fell as they ate.
Esther waited until her uncle had finished before she spoke again. She and her friends were all curious about the new king, Ahasuerus, who had only recently arrived in Susa, the capital of the Persian Empire. It had been a huge surprise two years ago when the old king, Darius, had chosen him over his other son, Xerxes, and it made him an intriguing figure. But the real reason for the girls’ interest was the gossip they had heard in the marketplace that the king was the most handsome man who ever lived.
Unfortunately, the Jewish girls who made up Esther’s circle would probably never have an opportunity to see this paragon for themselves, but they hoped that Esther’s uncle might have seen him at the feast.
“Did you get to see the king, Uncle?”
Mordecai pushed his plate a little away from him. “No, Esther, I did not. We menials were crowded into the Apanada, while the king and the Royal Kin dined inside in splendor. But I must say that we were treated well. There were huge quantities of meat and fowl: horses, camels, oxen, donkeys, deer, ostriches, geese; the countryside must have been decimated to provide so much food. The wine served was from Damascus, I was told, and everyone assured me it was excellent.”
“Did you at least take a cup of water?” Esther asked.
Mordecai gave her a stern look and did not reply.
Esther wasn’t surprised. The Jewish community to which they belonged held strictly to the Mosaic dietary laws. Even a cup from a Persian kitchen would be unclean for Mordecai. Esther thought about how thirsty her uncle must have been and sighed. His look grew sterner. “The Law is the Law, Esther. Except if you’re that weasel Ezra and his friends. They were eating and drinking without a thought for what it means to be Jewish.” His lip curled in disgust. “They were as drunk as the Persians by the end of the evening.”
This was one topic that Mordecai could hold forth about for a long time. The Susa Jews were broken into two sects. The smaller one, to which Mordecai belonged, held strictly to Mosaic Law. The other sect, comprised of most of the wealthy Jewish merchants in the city, had assumed many of the ways of the Persians among whom they lived.
Esther nodded impatiently.
Mordecai continued, “It’s a disgrace. That the descendants of Abraham and Moses should turn their backs on the Torah and seek to become like these pleasure-loving Persians! It was Nebuchadnezzar who forced us out of our homeland of Judah and dragged us into years of subjugation in Babylon. Now these traitor Jews seek to imitate the very people who enslaved us? Bah! It is disgusting.”
Esther tried her best to cheer him. “You taught me the scriptures, so I know that such a thing has happened many times before, and we always survived. We are God’s chosen people, Uncle. No matter how many may turn away from the Covenant, we will always triumph in the end.”
He grunted, looking only slightly mollified.
Esther attempted to steer the conversation back to their original topic. “Even if you didn’t get to see the king last night, I’m sure you will see him soon. After all, you work right there in the palace. And he is going to reside in Susa now, isn’t he?”
“Yes, it appears he has decided it is time he took up the reins of government here in the capital. He’s been Great King for almost two years, but first there was that rebellion in Egypt that he had to put down, and next he decided to go to his summer palace in Ecbatana to escape the summer heat. But I understand that he has come to Susa for good.”
Esther reached across the table for her uncle’s empty plate and put it on top of her own. “There is still a chance that Rachel got to go with her brother to the procession through the city yesterday. Ahasuerus was riding in his golden chariot and she might have gotten a good look at him. I know that Sarah and Rebecca weren’t allowed to go. Nor was I.” This last statement was accompanied by a faintly reproachful look at her uncle.