"Are you, by chance, thinking of joining them?"
Baara tread carefully.
It was clear the woman was trying her best to appear neither supportive nor dismissive of the other Candidates' current boisterous activity.
Esther watched on a little longer, not ready to give an answer to the careful question.
Loud laughter.
Drunkenness.
Tinkling bells and bawdy dancing.
All of them were things Esther had been raised believing were an insult to the God of Abraham.
Seeing the women enjoy such acts to such an extent made her stomach churn in discomfort.
"This is wrong," she breathed to herself. "This is.."
She paused. The word haughty was the only way she thought to finish that sentence.
When Mordecai had encouraged her to act in a manner that could be described as haughty, is this what he meant?
No.
Despite how critical it was for her to fit in, she could never partake in such things.
"I do not wish to join them," she finally responded to Baara.
The woman nearly audibly breathed a sigh of relief at her master's answer. The alcohol and dancing, it seemed, displeased her as well.
"Would you like to return to your room?" her handmaiden asked.
"Yes, please."
Esther was grateful to get away from the disconcerting scene.
As soon as she rose to her feet, however, the other women seemed to finally take notice of her. Or perhaps, they had been watching her the entire time, waiting for the right moment to approach her.
"Queen Candidate! Please come join us!" one of the women, a girl who looked even younger than Esther, called out to her.
Two more bounded toward her, both looking to be in their twenties.
"We've saved a bottle for you," one of them smiled, giving the glass bottle in her hand a shake.
"I-I would kindly refuse your offer," Esther did her best to sound self-assured, but her refusal must have come off as weak as she felt inside.
"Come on now," the other woman slung her arm around Esther's shoulders, guiding her toward the large group. "We should at least be allowed to have fun."
"Ah.." Esther flinched under the sudden gesture.
Was it normal for women to act so friendly with each other, even if they were complete strangers?
Esther thought back to her daydream of frolicking through the countryside fields with friends her own age.
Was this what it was like to have friends? Did these women want to be her friends?
As they drew closer to the tables, her stomach flipped over at the pungent scent of alcohol.
Esther stopped walking.
'Don't you think everyone is drinking a bit too much?" she inquired of the woman still hung on her shoulders.
"Hahaha!" The woman erupted with laughter. "That's what makes it fun!"
"But.. right here?" Esther was becoming more and more uncertain. "Right now?"
"Oh my! Our Queen Candidate is so silly and naïve," one of the dancing girls stopped in front of her. "Do you think you're too good to play with us? Since you already have the best room?"
The alcohol was loosening the other Candidate's well-reigned emotions. Eyes that may have hid contempt were showing it openly now.
"I will be returning to my room now," Esther declared, slipping out from under the woman's arm. "I wish you all the fun you seek."
As she turned to leave, she heard various unsavory comments directed at her back.
Even without revealing her heritage, she had just handed the other Candidates a reason to bully her from now on. Desperately, she wished she would have just gone to her room in the first place.
The last thing on her mind as she walked away was how the alcohol and tinkling ornaments came into the Candidates' hands in the first place.
Later, when she gave the matter some serious consideration, she would realize that perhaps those things had been set out on purpose, as a sort of test for the Candidates. If she had been paying greater attention, she may have even noticed some of Lord Hegai's attendants wandering conspicuously through nearby garden paths, carefully observing what they saw.
In that moment, however, Esther could think of nothing more than her desire to get away from the disarray.
As she made her way out of the clearing and onto the path, her head held high despite the bitter remarks being shot at her from behind, she nearly bumped into another woman.
The woman was tall with flawless skin and dark hair that cascaded over her shoulders in shiny curls. She wore a red dress with silver embellishments, a silk sash, and was followed by four handmaidens.
Esther was certain she had never seen the woman before. Surely, she would have noticed such a striking presence among all the candidates at the earlier meeting.
"Pardon me."
Even the woman's voice was elegant. Truly, if any one in the House of Women was fit to sit on the Throne of Persia, it would be this seemingly perfect woman.
"The fault is mine," Esther found herself automatically bowing her head in respect to the stranger.
"Do you hail from a prominent clan, Queen Candidate?" the woman asked as Esther raised her head.
"I do not," Esther responded, slipping once again into the rehearsed answer Mordecai had taught her. "I hail from a small clan in the middle ring of the city."
"I see."
It may have been Esther's imagination, but the woman's gaze seemed to harden a little at her words.
"Please, carry on with your walk," Esther bid the woman a quick farewell, suddenly feeling uncomfortable.
"... You too," the woman answered only as Esther had already begun walking away.
It turned out the woman's destination was the same place Esther had just left, however, as she soon heard the elegant voice once again from far behind her.
"I wonder what you all think you're doing."
Her words were directed to the women left in the clearing.
"Such behavior is hardly appropriate of Peria's future Queen. If you do not wish to claim that position, I suggest you-"
Esther had walked too far out of earshot to hear any more of the woman's lecture, but she found herself smiling a little.
Today, she made the right choice.