Esther's heart, which had been pounding in apprehension, stopped cold.
"Even now, I abhor the memory of it," Habeth frowned. "I simply cannot tolerate such gross topics being discussed at my table."
For the first time, Esther realized that Habeth had spoken out against the girls who ridiculed the Despised Clan only because she hated mention of it so much. She had been foolish for the brief moment she thought there might be an ally to her clan.
Her Esteemed Uncle was correct. She could trust nobody. Everyone around her was dangerous.
"I can see that you were also unhappy with that nauseating conversation," Habeth went on, leaning closer to Esther. "But you took more.. definitive action."
She blinked slowly, glancing for only a split second at the soiled dress she had discarded on the ground.
The woman's message was clear.
"I apologize for my actions causing you harm," Esther bowed her head in apology once again, her frozen chest suddenly becoming unbearably hot.
She clenched her eyes shut as she noticed Habeth raise one of her arms. It seemed rather unbecoming of a Queen Candidate, or even simply a proper lady, but would this woman hit her?
She jolted the tiniest amount as Habeth's hand landed on her head, as soft as a butterfly taking refuge on a flower petal.
"It seems you're the only one here who thinks the way I do, Queen Candidate, Esther," she smiled, stroking Esther's hair.
"As I thought, we must become friends."
Minutes later, Esther crumpled to the floor just inside the door of her room.
"Queen Candidate?! Are you quite alright?"
A flurry of maids flitted over to her, propping her back to her feet and leading her to the sofa.
"Please rest here, My Lady."
Esther nodded absently, her head still reeling with the earlier events.
Fortunately, before things had a chance to become even more uncomfortable with Habeth, one of her maids had arrived with urgent news. Esther had gratefully taken the opportunity to bid Habeth farewell and follow the maid back to her room.
"I haven't even told you the good news yet," the dark haired maid she'd previously dispatched to obtain Lord Hegai's permission spoke as she fanned Esther's face.
"Ah, right!" Esther perked up. "What came of your task?"
"The Lord has graciously agreed to grant his permission to enter the record hall," the maid explained. "But…"
She trailed off, looking uncertainly at Baara, who had not spoken a word since they arrived back at the room.
"Is the Queen Candidate unwell?" she asked softly.
Baara shook her head.
"My Lady is just exhausted from such a busy day," she replied, though she and Esther both knew that wasn't the true source of Esther's exhaustion.
"Ah, I see," the maid smiled in relief. "The Lord has requested to meet with you at your earliest convenience in order to give you the permission."
"Earliest convenience?" Esther began to stand up.
"Tomorrow morning!" Baara jumped in before Esther could speak again. "Tell Lord Hegai that the Queen Candidate will be ready to meet first thing in the morning."
"Yes, Ma'am!" the maid replied, skipping back out of the room.
The poor girl had looked so downtrodden when she was first selected to carry out the task rather than help dress Esther for the tea party, but she now seemed quite enthralled with her duty.
"She is young and silly," the tall maid shook her head as she watched the girl leave, "but she is trustworthy."
"Yes," Esther agreed. "She carried out her task well."
For the remainder of the afternoon and evening, Esther once again found herself lounging in her room, reading and eating. This time was particularly more strenuous than the others, however, as she was desperate to get the meeting with Lord Hegai over with.
Her nerves were so aflutter she could hardly rest, and her chest was filled with anticipation for what the record hall would be like.
Perhaps, there would be literatures from old kings there, back in the days when all the people believed in Abraham's God. There was a chance she would also find literatures from foreign places. Now that she had begun learning, she was hungry to know more--not just of Persia, but of the entire world.
She was much too excited to properly sleep, but the ailment was quickly remedied by some steaming herbal tea brought to her by Baara as she lay awake in her bed.
"Drink all of it, My Lady," the handmaiden demanded. "I cannot present a Queen Candidate to the Lord with dark circles under her eyes and hollow cheeks."
"Yes, Ma'am."
Under Baara's command, even Esther was made into an obedient puppy.
The tea worked like magic, however, and Esther rose the next morning feeling refreshed.
Her maids had only just begun their morning duties when she popped up out of bed, eager to be on her way to Lord Hegai's audience chamber.
"Eat slowly," Baara chided as Esther shoved bites of her breakfast into her mouth.
The two light-haired maids, busy rubbing oil into her skin and hair, giggled together at the handmaiden's nagging.
"You must be looking forward a great deal to meeting with Lord Hegai," one of the girls smiled.
The other one began to add, "Of course! The Lord is very handsome and extremely ki-"
"Girls! How dare you speak such blasphemy of a Queen Candidate!" the tall maid scolded them. "Do you not know that all the Candidates in the House of Women belong to the King?"
"W-we know, Ma'am!"
"Please, forgive us, Queen Candidate!"
The girls trembled under the tall maid's wrath.
Esther smiled at them.
"Let us not speak of the Lord in such a way from now on," she offered.
The girls nodded, grateful to be spared from punishment, and continued with their oiling.
Their words had not been incorrect. Lord Hegai was extremely handsome. He was also gracious and well-spoken.
However, he was much older than Esther. Though he didn't look it, she could distinctly feel the gap of years between them whenever they spoke.
To view such a man romantically, she couldn't even imagine it.
Perhaps, it was due to the fact that her uncle was also quite handsome. Of course, the two men hardly looked alike, but it could be that she was purposefully looking for her uncle in Lord Hegai, since she had begun to miss him very much.
Either way, the thought connecting Lord Hegai and her Esteemed Uncle made her feel much less nervous regarding the meeting.
"I'm ready to go now," she announced, straightening her shoulders as two of her maids slipped shoes onto her polished feet.
"Please, lead me to the Lord's audience chamber."