A Reluctant Queen (33 page)
Having noted, therefore, that this most singular people is continually at variance with all men, lives by divergent and alien laws, is inimical to our interests, and commits the worst crimes, so that stability of government cannot be obtained, we hereby decree that all Jews living in our empire, together with their wives and children, must leave their present dwelling places and places of business and return to the land of their origin, as once was ordered by our father, Cyrus.
If they do not obey this decree by the fourteenth day of the month of Adar of the current year, then they shall be utterly destroyed by the swords of their enemies.
Esther’s first thought was that this must be some kind of hoax, except that Ahasuerus’ seal was affixed to the bottom of the page. She looked up at her grandfather in white-faced shock.
“Ahasuerus did not write this! He would never order such a thing! He has not even been in Susa for the last six weeks!”
Arses said, “We think this is Haman’s doing, Esther. When the king went on campaign he left his Royal Seal in Haman’s keeping and this is how Haman has repaid his trust. I knew he should never have appointed a Palestinian to such a high position!”
Esther looked back at the scroll, not believing what she had just read. Surely even Haman would not dare to do such a thing behind Ahasuerus’ back.
Arses said, “Come and sit down, Granddaughter. You are as white as that scroll.”
She allowed him to lead her to the divan facing the Ahuramazda disk. As soon as she was seated she turned to him. “No one who knows Ahasuerus will believe that he would order such a thing. There is no reason for it. It’s the Mardians he was going after, not the Jews. Why did you come to me, Grandfather? It’s Mordecai you should be speaking to.”
“Esther . . .” Arses hesitated, then went on with slow gravity, “Haman has had Mordecai arrested on charges of embezzling gold from the Treasury.”
“What?” She stared at him as if he were speaking a foreign language.
“I am afraid it is true,” he said.
“It is not true. Uncle Mordecai would never steal anything!”
Arses held up his hand, as if to stop her rush of words. “I know that, Granddaughter. I may not like Mordecai, but I would never doubt his honesty. You must see, though, that accusing Mordecai of such a crime gives Haman justification for moving against the Jews.”
Esther pressed her hands over her eyes, trying to think clearly. At last she looked up, saying firmly, “Ahasuerus will never allow this to happen. Haman has overreached himself. Ahasuerus will be outraged that Haman dared to use his name to perpetrate such a monstrous deed. It is Haman who will find himself on trial, not Uncle Mordecai.”
Arses picked up her hand and held it in a firm clasp. “The point is, Esther, Ahasuerus is not here.”
The true horror of the situation dawned on Esther. The date set in the decree had been the fourteenth day of Adar and the month of Adar had already started. “He must come home immediately, Grandfather. You must send someone to get him.” She gripped Arses’ arm in her anxiety. “I cannot countermand the Grand Vizier. I do not have the power.”
He put his hand over hers, a warm, solid grip. “I realize that, my dear. What you must do is send for the king yourself. He will listen to a message from you, Esther.”
Esther shivered with panic. “But whom can I send? Everyone who would obey a commission of mine is with the king.”
“Send Hathach,” Arses replied immediately, clearly having thought this out. “He is a good horseman, and you can trust him. It must be Hathach.”
“But Hathach is with Ahasuerus, Grandfather!” she cried.
Arses scowled. “I did not know that.”
An idea finally stirred in Esther’s shocked brain. “I know what we can do. I have my own guard now, who are sworn to serve me. I will send some men from my Eunuch Guard.”
Arses’ eyes narrowed. “I have heard nothing of a Eunuch Guard. What is it?”
Esther told him.
Arses shook his head emphatically. “I would not trust a task this critical to a bunch of untrained eunuchs.”
“You wanted to send Hathach,” Esther objected.
“Hathach may be a eunuch but he has the heart of a man. I don’t know about these others. No, I will go myself.” His fierce, dark eyes met Esther’s. “Too many lives are at stake here, Esther, to take any chances.”
She turned her fingers so that she could return his grasp. “Thank you, Grandfather,” she whispered.
“It would be a black mark on Persia forever if such a thing were to be done to helpless people.” He squeezed her hand and then released it. “Have you heard anything at all from the king? Do you know where he might be?”
“I have heard nothing. He could be anywhere between here and the Persian Gates. When was this decree published?”
“It was published yesterday in Susa, but I understand that riders left a week ago for the rest of the empire. That Palestinian weasel waited until he was certain the time would be too short for the Jews to escape.”
Esther’s breath caught in her throat. Haman had calculated well.
“Pray to that God of yours that I reach the king quickly,” Arses said.
“I will,” she promised. Then, as Arses got up to leave, she reached out to hold his arm. “Wait—what about Uncle Mordecai? Where is he now? Will he be safe until Ahasuerus gets here?”
“Mordecai is being held in Haman’s own house. The weasel is taking no chances of losing his prey, but he must hold a trial before he can execute your uncle. Fortunately, the celebration of the vernal equinox is upon us and no trials can be held until it is over. I hope to be back with the king by then.”
The vernal equinox was an important religious holiday for Persians. It was the time of year when the dark part of the day was surpassed by the light, and Persians saw in this change a symbol of the eternal struggle waged between Ahuramazda, god of light, and the Evil Spirit symbolized by the Dark. The celebration went on for three days. On the day before the equinox, the Magi rekindled the sacred fire in the temples outside the city. On the day of the equinox, there was a great royal banquet at the palace. The following day, the king concluded the religious ceremonies by making a visit to Ahuramazda’s sacred spring in the mountains. A variety of rituals were held in ordinary Persian households during this three-day period also. Most importantly for Mordecai, during this holy period no public business could be transacted.
“If Ahasuerus is still at the Persian Gates, you will not reach him in time to prevent a trial,” Esther said despairingly.
“Then for Mordecai’s sake, we must hope that the king has finished his business with the Mardians and is on his way home,” Arses replied.
Esther drew a deep, steadying breath. “If you have not returned, and if Haman calls Uncle Mordecai to a trial, then I will speak to the Head Judge myself and tell him that Uncle Mordecai is a friend of my family and that the king would not wish such a trial to take place in his absence. I think Sisames will listen to me and wait.”
Arses nodded his approval. “I think he will too. It is common knowledge around the court that you have great influence with the king. No judge would dare to execute a man you favor without Ahasuerus’ knowledge.”
“I will pray for you, Grandfather,” Esther said fervently.
Arses nodded and said stoutly, “I will do my best, Granddaughter. And with the help of the wise lord, Ahuramazda, I will succeed.”
Two days before the vernal equinox, Arses, with three of his own men riding alongside of him, left Susa. Desperate to cover as much ground in as short a time as possible, he decided to take a shortcut through the hill country and pick up the Royal Road at a point southeast of Susa. The track he chose was narrow and rough, but four men unencumbered by baggage could save a day by taking it. Neither he, nor anyone else in Susa, could know that the king was within a day’s ride of the city and that Arses, in taking the shortcut, would connect with the Royal Road behind Ahasuerus, and never know that he had missed the king.
I
t was the day before the vernal equinox and the city was buzzing with news of the king’s triumphant return. Ahasuerus had conquered the Mardians and the Royal Road was open again. There would be no more tolls. The citizens of Susa prepared to have the best vernal equinox celebration ever seen in the city.
Hathach rode into Susa early in the afternoon with a group of men from the Royal Bodyguard. They had left the king and some of the Royal Kin at Ahuramazda’s sacred temple to the north of the city, where the Magi would rekindle &7 the god’s sacred flame. Ahasuerus would remain at the temple until tomorrow, when he would come into Susa for the feast that would celebrate the day of the equinox.
Hathach left his horse with a groom, something he rarely did, preferring to look after his pride and joy himself. Today, however, he was anxious to see Luara so he could tell her all about the king’s brilliant plan and how well it had succeeded. Nor did he plan to hold back anything about his own part in the victory. Luara would be so proud of him.
Luara was in the queen’s reception room. Hathach knew Esther would also want to hear all about the Mardian defeat, and he had a smile on his face when he knocked. The first thing he saw as he stepped into the room was the glint of Luara’s bright hair. She was sitting on the floor with a pile of fabric next to her, and when she saw him she jumped to her feet and ran into his arms.
He hugged her, kissed her chastely on the cheek, and assured her that he was well. Then he looked at Esther, who was sitting at the scroll-piled table, a pen in her hand.
She was smiling at him, but her face looked tense and strained. He turned back to Luara and saw the same shadow in her blue eyes. “What is wrong?” he asked.
Luara told him briefly about the decree, then Esther picked up one of the scrolls from her table and read the exact words out loud to him.
Hathach could not remember ever being so angry. He worshipped Ahasuerus, and for Haman to have done this . . . to have made it look as if the king would issue such an evil, merciless order! Even with the Mardians, who had attacked his own troops, he had made certain that the women and children were carried to safety.
Hathach choked back the language he would like to use and said instead, “Haman didn’t think the king would defeat the Mardians in such a short time. I wish I could be there when that traitor has to explain himself to Ahasuerus!”
“I need to see the king first, Hathach.” Esther was pale. “He is returning to the palace tomorrow for the feast, is he not? Hegai has brought me a note from the Jewish community in Susa. They write that if the decree is not revoked immediately, there won’t be time to send couriers to Egypt to stop the massacre. They have begged me to try to persuade the king to revoke this edict.”
Hathach wondered why the Jewish community would be writing to the queen, but it was not his place to ask. Instead he tried to explain to her why it would be impossible to see the king tomorrow.
“My lady, perhaps you do not fully understand the religious requirements of the equinox holy days. Followers of Ahuramazda are required to keep themselves separate from women during these three days. The king will return to the palace only to attend the royal feast. He will not come to see you; it would be against his beliefs to do so. He will not even sleep in his palace apartment, but will return to the mountains directly after the feast so as to be at Ahuramazda’s sacred spring in time for the dawn.”
Esther still had the decree in her hands and now she looked down at it, then returned her gaze to Hathach. “Do you mean I will not be able to see the king until the day after tomorrow, when he returns to Susa from the sacred spring?”
If he returns from the sacred spring
. Hathach hesitated, then said, “My lady, the king has often chosen to go hunting for a few days when he is out in the mountains after the equinox. It is possible he will be away from Susa for another week.”
Esther went so white that both Hathach and Luara stepped toward her. She waved them away. “Can
you
get to see him, Hathach?”
Hathach felt wretched. “I wish I could, my lady, but I am not a follower of Ahuramazda. I will not be allowed near their religious rites. I won’t even be able to get a message to him when he arrives at the palace for the banquet. No one will deliver it.”