Shirazad felt she needed to leave this place... but unfortunately she realized this was her own room and she had nowhere else to go. She guessed she had given up on her life already when she got married. So that's why she dared answer back... But it was just so inconceivable that he would use the name "Scheherazade (whose realm is noble)" to amuse himself in such way. So now she was waiting for a death sentence.
She didn't tell Gisi about what happened. When she'd arrived at the palace, she hadn't taken any people from her father's manor with her. And here she'd befriended only Gisi, her handmaiden. But even so, she wouldn't complain to her against the king... There was only one person she could talk to...
"So what if he's the king. I am a vizier's daughter!" Shirazad wasn't very happy.
"But maybe you should take it more calmly. ...Aren't we vizier's daughters because of... him? It's His Majesty who chooses his viziers," Dunyazad replied. "Moreover, you know the law," Dunyazad reminded her. "...The moment you got married, your property became your husband's. If I also get married, my half of our manor will become my husband's... and we practically won't have anything to our names."
"Yes. Ridiculous. So what? ...Why do you have to remind me of that? Don't try to get off the subject!" Shirazad exclaimed.
"Well, do I have to tell you?! Try to become friends with the king and manipulate him. You're so cool, he's sure to fall head over heels for you..." Dunyazad laughed.
But that was far beyond Shirazad's capabilities... Shirazad was admittedly slightly spoiled, but in no way malicious. She was like those dogs that always bark but never bite. Though she was well-read and thus familiar with palace intrigues, she had a soft heart and she wasn't capable of trickery. She was unable to hold a grudge against her enemies, even those who most ardently despised her, because in the world there were too many interesting things for her. Too many tales still untold, too many fascinating wonders of nature...
... Meanwhile, Shahryar was also quite furious. Who was she to tell the king that he was not noble?! He'd left the room immediately after that because if he stayed a second longer, he didn't know what he'd do to her. They had told him this woman has a snake instead of a tongue, but he hadn't realized it was so very true.
As for Dunyazad and Shirazad, this time Dunyazad had come from far away to visit her sister, as if she'd felt that Shirazad needed to see her. The guards had been benevolent, and since they hadn't received any orders to *not* let Dunyazad in the palace, they let her in, but warned her to never come again because the king had banned Shirazad from summoning any outsiders.
Many people may have thought that at this point, Shirazad's life was quite miserable already. But there was one person who was not very happy with the current circumstances – Mehrnaz, the daughter of the second chief general, Kitos. Unlike Azdavan, Kitos had introduced his children early at court and Mehrnaz was currently working at the palace. She monitored most of the servants.
She did not try to hide her opinions.
"She is a queen in title only, but truly she is no one. A silent figure with no authority. Don't let her disturb you," she told her attendants and followers.
Sooner or later, Mehrnaz was going to meet this Shirazad in person. And truly the meeting took place soon in one of the corridors. Shirazad's handmaiden, Gisi, was escorting the queen to the library. At the same time, Mehrnaz passed nearby, together with two maids. She halted and said,
"So you are Shirazad. I hear you are smart."
Initially Shirazad couldn't recognize her because she had never seen her before, even though she had heard her name mentioned by her father.
Mehrnaz continued, "So sad this doesn't mean much in the palace. I would advise you to be respectful towards the maids and have as few errands for them as you can. Now that you are married to the king, your position is even lower than before."
Shirazad wondered why this woman was so agitated -- was she in love with Shahryar? She sounded angry at Shirazad.
When they continued on their way, Gisi explained politely to Shirazad,
"This is not related to the king at all. Mehrnaz was used to ordering people about. Now she is jealous that you will take that pleasure away from her... I wonder, what does she have to complain about? Have you ever had a single errand for any of her maids?!"
Jealous?... What for? Shirazad couldn't understand. Mehrnaz was completely right. The queen was a nobody, she had no authority. And after marriage, her inheritance became the lawful possession of her husband, thus really making her less powerful than before. So she indeed had less influence than before... In fact, because her father had kept her away from the court, she had never been very influential there. Soon, Shirazad, who was a bit too proud of her mind and wit, was going to discover that the rest of Mehrnaz's words was also true. Wit meant little in the palace if it was not accompanied by wealth.
"You'd better be careful with Mehrnaz. The way she's openly attacking you in public speaks clearly enough about her character," Gisi said.
"What she did is actually good," Shirazad replied, "She warned me to be careful. And her words are not entirely wrong."
When Shirazad and Gisi went back to the queen's quarters, servants of the king came and announced that on the king's orders, all of the queen's jewelry and regalia would be taken away. Gisi, who was normally quiet and diligent, was completely taken aback,
"But that's the queen. How can she wear ordinary clothes, worse than those of some courtiers?" And she whispered to Shirazad, "Your Highness?..."
Shirazad just smiled at her, "Those are just clothes, Gisi. Let them take them." Either way, she never paid too much attention to her wardrobe.
Once they'd left, Gisi wondered,
"I really don't understand... Shirazad, my lady, ... such things happen and you are always like 'whatever'. I admire your calmness, but how is it possible to remain calm in such a moment?"
"There is little I can do. If they decide to take my clothes, or take me away from my home... or separate me from my sister... There is nothing I can do, so 'whatever' is the only thing I can say... This doesn't mean that I don't have my own ideas and aspirations, Gisi. I just don't want to deal with unnecessary things... Taking my clothes away, they think they will make me feel unpleasant... But why? These are just clothes... One life you're a beggar, the next life you're a princess -- you have different clothes, but ultimately you're the same person."
"Oh, do you truly believe that, Your Highness? That beggars can become princesses, and princesses -- beggars?"
"Yes, I do," Shirazad was firm. "And as a beggar they may learn twice as much as what they'd learn as a princess."
"Why do you say so?" Gisi wondered.
"When you're a princess, everybody would act nice to you. Those same people who were rude to the beggar on the street will come and be polite to you. Does this make them nice people? As a princess, how can you understand who is truly a good person? If you believe them, you just get to live the illusion of a perfect life, or sometimes the illusion of a perfect marriage."
"Is it too bad if it's an illusion?"
"It depends on how true you want to be. I prefer an unpleasant truth to beautiful lies."
"But poor people also get to have unpleasant marriages and are unhappy... ..."
"Yes, but if you manage to be happy and be good when you have nothing, then you are truly something."
"Your Highness, do you tell the king this kind of stories?" Gisi was curious.
"I try to..." Shirazad was trying to remember the stories she'd told the king so far. "A rough diamond or a polished stone... What kind of a person do you want to be?" She seemed to come up with an idea. "A diamond in the rough."
Gisi felt a bit sad for Shirazad, for she thought she was a very good person and many people had a wrong opinion about her.
In a moment, Shirazad said,
"How about you, Gisi? Do you have any dreams for the future?"
"Ahh... Your Highness... I do but... Well... I would like to leave the palace and get married. I am already getting older..."
Shirazad was surprised, "Then why don't you leave? Don't worry about me."
"Mehrnaz decides who of the maids should leave every year... Usually, if you want to leave, you can go and ask her for permission, but... you know... I am *your* handmaiden, so I am afraid if I tell her what I want, she will do quite the opposite: she will try to keep me here forever... So it's better if I stay silent on the subject. Let's hope she'll decide I'm too old for this job and she'll let me go."
Shirazad was saddened. Doubly so, because she hadn't suspected that she could be causing Gisi some trouble just because she was her handmaiden, "Oh, I am so sorry," she said. "I never knew you go through so much trouble because of me..."
"It's not your fault."
"If I get the chance, I will indeed try to help you."