Daughter of the King
Page 5
“Remember to be joyful today,” Ahinoam said as she straightened Michal’s tunic. “This is a happy occasion. Your father would have you show how pleased you are that Merab has become a bride.”
“Yes, Mother.” Michal was glad to have these instructions, since she could seldom predict either of her parents’ wishes regarding her behavior.
“Just look at your Uncle Abner over there.” Ahinoam grinned and nodded toward the men at the opposite end of the great hall. “He should ask Rizpah to color his locks green. Doesn’t he remind you of a palm tree with his shock of wild hair?” Abner could subjugate armies, but he could never control the rebellious hair that stuck straight out from his head at bizarre angles.
Michal giggled at her mother’s rare joke. At that moment, Abner glanced over his shoulder toward the women. He nodded to Ahinoam briefly and then took a step to his left, moving in front of Jonathan. Suddenly, Michal was laughing and staring directly at David across the room. She remembered to lower her eyes demurely, but not before she caught David’s expression of appreciative surprise. She felt an uncontrollable blush creeping up to the roots of her hair.
Michal stole a furtive look at Ahinoam, knowing her mother could not have missed her boldness. Yet no scolding words were spoken. If Michal did not know better, she would think she pleased her mother well.
“I am going to check on Merab’s final preparations,” Ahinoam said. She melted into the group of women, leaving Michal to wonder if her mother had been sampling the wine. Remembering her instructions to be happy, Michal smiled and went in search of Tirzah.
The festivities went on for some time. Michal and Tirzah tasted every delicacy and giggled about women whose clothing they judged to be fashionable or dreadful.
“So who shall be married next, I wonder,” Tirzah whispered. “Perhaps one of us?”
“I have lost all pleasure in the idea of marriage,” Michal said. She thought of the anxious face of her sister Merab as they dressed this morning. No doubt Merab was concerned about being stabbed.
“This is certainly a change!” Tirzah stared at her. “Last year you couldn’t wait for Merab to be engaged so your parents could begin to arrange your betrothal. Has your heart grown cold toward someone?”
Michal glanced around. “Let us not speak of this matter. Look over there at that woman in the tunic made for someone half her size!”
That evening, Michal paced restlessly. Having never slept alone before, she missed Merab’s familiar presence. The bedchamber seemed so quiet without her sister. There were bare spots where Merab’s clothing, mirror, and combs should be. Michal considered going to the place where Sarah and Tirzah slept, but she did not want the other servants to tease her for being a baby. Ahinoam rarely went to sleep early. Perhaps the queen would be willing to accept a visit from her daughter.
While Michal removed the makeup Rizpah so expertly applied, she tried to think of a reason to go to her mother’s room. Admitting she was lonely for Merab would only cause Ahinoam to lecture her on the fortitude required of a princess. As she considered complaining too much rich food upset her stomach, Sarah entered the room.
“Your parents would see you, Michal.”
Was this because of something unseemly she did at the wedding? It must have been dreadful if she must answer for it immediately. Was she being called to account for her bold smile at David? “I’m not feeling very well.”
Sarah did not bother to answer. She stood in the doorway and motioned for Michal to follow her.
No dark shadows of fury were evident on King Saul’s face. Nevertheless, Michal was on guard. “Good evening, Father. Mother.”
“My little girl.” Ahinoam did not sound angry as she caressed Michal’s hand.
“I have the good news you have been waiting for, my daughter,” King Saul announced. He nodded toward Sarah, and the handmaid left the room. “Now that your sister is married, it is time for your betrothal.”
“So soon?” Michal regretted her question, and quickly added, “It will be as you wish, Father.” She knelt before the king. “May I have your blessing?”
King Saul put his hand on Michal’s shoulder. “Are you not curious to know the name of the man I have chosen to be your husband?”
“Your wisdom is vast, Father. I know your choice will be the best for me.” Michal cast her eyes down. What difference did it make? Young or old? Rich or poor? Kind or harsh? She would be traded away like a loaf of barley bread to suit the king’s purpose. Then she would live out her days in misery, with a secret longing for the only man she could ever love.
“You surprise me, Daughter,” the king said. He lifted her chin until their eyes met. “I have heard it said you are eager to be a wife.”
“I wish only to please you and Mother,” Michal said. She wanted to retreat to her bedchamber to mourn her lost childhood.
“You are betrothed to David, the son of Jesse of Bethlehem. In the next few days, Jesse and I will finalize the terms of the contract and establish the date for the wedding. Meanwhile, you are to ready yourself for marriage.”
“As you wish, Father,” Michal said. She knew the king was lying. She did not believe for an instant her father would willingly give her the one thing she wanted most, and allow her to become David’s wife.
“No delight, Michal?” Ahinoam asked.
“It is a sober thing to become a wife,” Michal replied.
“Well said,” King Saul declared. Michal felt his eyes appraising her. “You will be a dutiful wife to David, no doubt, without forgetting that you are first, last, and always my daughter. Your foremost loyalty must, in every instance, be to your family. That is, to me. Do you understand what I am telling you, Daughter?”
“Yes, Father.” Michal wished she knew the purpose behind the king’s cruel game.
Back in her bedchamber, she lay alone and sleepless in the dark, wondering if she was really to be married. If so, to whom? Would her father find pleasure in waiting until the day before her wedding to reveal her future husband’s true identity, as happened with Merab? Would she be given to someone as old as Adriel?
CHAPTER
EIGHT
“AND SAUL WAS YET THE MORE AFRAID OF DAVID; AND SAUL BECAME DAVID’S ENEMY CONTINUALLY.” I SAMUEL 18:29
A wheel banged violently into a deep rut and bounced out again. Michal grabbed the side of the cart to avoid being pitched onto the ground. She stretched her arms and shoulders, and then continued to reclaim her jewelry from the old coat. She was counting on the busy work to occupy both her hands and her mind until the head of the column reached the crossroads.
She reached through a fresh cut in the coat, pulled out her garnet ring, and put it on. She held out her hand and spread her fingers. Seven years of storage had done the ring no harm. It looked the same as it did the day she took it off and sewed it underneath a pleat inside the lining of Sarah’s ragged old coat.
Moments later the caravan slowed, then stopped. Captain Osh’s armor bearer galloped to the end of the column. Michal could not force herself to pretend she was uninterested in what was happening. A soldier brought Tirzah’s donkey to the cart and waited while she dismounted.
“We’re not moving fast enough,” Tirzah said as she settled in beside her mistress. “The captain is leaving my donkey behind because he has become lame. The slave Joash has been told to take the animal to a nearby farm while we move on to Bahurim.”
“Bahurim.” Michal had not been to that place in a very long time. “I wonder if everyone in the village is still under the command of my Uncle Abner.”
“From the talk I heard, I believe Bahurim must still be Lord Abner’s stronghold. You have been summoned in King Ishbosheth’s name, but your uncle seems to be giving the orders.”
King Ishbosheth. How the combination of those two words jangled. Alas, the brother Michal feared most was now in power. “I would love to know the reason for our hurry. It could be solely because of my Uncle Abner’s life-long impatience.”
Michal was immediately concerned. “Who was it? What did he say?”
“I didn’t know about it until later,” Tirzah answered. “Joash said the soldiers laughed at the emissary and sent him packing.”
“You know as well as I that will not stop Phaltiel. If anything, it will make him more determined,” Michal breathed. She watched with relief as Captain Osh turned the column toward Bahurim, and away from Philistine territory. She touched the hilt of her knife, silently vowing she would die before returning to Phaltiel’s house.
The noise of the cart rumbling along a rough patch of road made normal conversation impossible. Michal broke off a corner of the cheese Tirzah thrust at her, and nibbled at its edges.
It wasn’t long before Tirzah began to doze. Despite the reassurance of familiar companionship, Michal regretted Tirzah’s proximity. There was a good possibility her handmaid could have slipped away on the donkey. Seated next to Michal in the cart, Tirzah would have no better chance than her mistress to escape if things turned nasty.
Michal tried to relax and sleep, but her busy brain rejected so much as a yawn. The route they were following was consistent with the destination of Bahurim. However, suspicion and paranoia were too deeply ingrained for her to trust even the most convincing outward appearance.
After all, she remembered, there was a time when she and everyone else believed her sister Merab would be married to her own beloved David. Yet it never happened. After Merab became the wife of Adriel, the king commanded Michal to prepare to become David’s wife. Still Michal doubted the truth of her father’s words. Much as she yearned to belong to David, she did not believe such a wonderful thing could happen. She recalled how carefully she kept a tight grip on the euphoria that threatened to burst forth when King Saul announced her betrothal to David. She was certain her father would betray her at the last minute.
Michal never believed the king would give her to the man she loved until, as if in a dream, she stood in the great public room with David. The wedding ceremony was completed. When the feasting and dancing began, she realized she’d become his wife, truly and forever. And he was her husband. Michal sighed as she relived the sweetness of her happiness and the brevity of her forever.
How long were they together? A little over a year, minus the times David was called away on military duty. Just when she thought she could not bear another day of separation from her beloved, she would hear a noise in the street, or a shout in the courtyard. Michal’s heart would race, and she would run to meet her returning husband. The sight of him filled her with unspeakable joy. He smiled at her as he leapt lightly from his horse. Without removing his eyes from her face, he tossed his reins into the waiting hands of his armor bearer. Her heart almost burst with delight as he swept her inside their house and into his arms. “Did you miss me, Princess?”
“Oh, yes, even more than last time.” She laughed as he kissed her.
“I missed you, too,” he said between kisses. “I thought about you every moment I was away. Look, I brought you something pretty. Though not half as beautiful as you.”
Michal rubbed the garnet ring on her finger. Their home seemed so empty when he was gone. It was almost as if she and their household staff only came to life when David walked in the door. His exuberance affected everyone around him.
“Sarah, my dear! Is there any of your special lamb stew in the house?” The answer was always yes, because Sarah, like everyone else, did everything she could to please him. The appreciation he expressed for even the smallest service translated into a powerful energy that made the household hum with activity.
“You should join the army, Sarah,” David teased. “We would never have to fight another battle. The Philistines would smell your stew and willingly give themselves up in exchange for one taste of it.” After all these years, Michal could still close her eyes and hear his hearty voice, see the smile that involved not just his mouth, but his whole face. If she could tolerate the pain, she might allow herself to remember the way her heart raced when he touched her.
What did David say or do that made their household ring with laughter? She could not remember specific words. It was more a feeling, an atmosphere of happy anticipation. When he was home, otherwise routine events became exciting, delightful, exhilarating. Michal acknowledged that some of this joy resulted from her being so in love with her husband, but the effect stretched beyond her.
Charismatic. That was Jonathan’s word for the all-encompassing sphere of warmth in which her husband lived. All who knew him enjoyed David’s company and respected his counsel, even King Saul on his good days. Yet each time the king was in a dark mood, fear of his son-in-law seemed to intensify—giving Michal increasing concern for David’s safety.
“You are besotted with your husband,” the king accused her, striding into a palace room where Michal talked quietly with her mother and the visibly pregnant Merab.
“Of course I am, my lord.” Ahinoam’s quick hand motion warned her daughters to remain silent.
The king ignored his wife. He bent near Michal’s face and spoke menacingly. “I will not tolerate your husband’s treason, Daughter. You will be a lovely young widow, much sought after by men who know how to be loyal.” King Saul glared at her in silence for a long moment, then turned on his heel and left. The clatter of his sandals against the passageway stones faded away, while his humorless laughter floated faintly on the air.
“So, Merab, have you located a good midwife?” Ahinoam asked, as if the king’s intrusion was nothing out of the ordinary. “Oh, I do wish those children in the garden would play more quietly.”
Michal was shaken by the incident. She feared her father’s moods while growing up, but as a child she did not fully recognize his absolute power of life and death. Michal and David spent that evening together, as they always did when they had the opportunity. They sat on the rooftop talking, enjoying the warmth of each other’s closeness, and watching the twilight deepen into darker shades of night. Michal loved the view of the valley below, the mountains in the distance, and the clear, star-dusted sky above. She loved the times when David was at home and missed him when he dined with the king, or was away on military business.
“I went to the palace to see my mother today,” Michal spoke quietly. “My father threatened you again. He called you a traitor. He frightens me, David.”
David nuzzled her hair and said, “You don’t need to worry about me, Princess.”
“I believe he’s capable of committing murder when he flies into one of his rages.” Michal fought to keep her voice from trembling.
“And so he is. You should stay out of his way as much as possible.” David grazed her forearm with the back of his fingers. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
Michal studied her husband’s calm features. “Me? I’m far down his list of threats. You are the focus of his fear and hate. Jonathan, too, but not as much as you.”
“You’re right that Jonathan is in jeopardy,” David agreed.
“And you, my love,” Michal insisted. “You most of all. Why can’t you see that?”
“You’re shivering in this night air. Do you want to go inside?”
His attitude exasperated her. Why wouldn’t her husband admit he was in danger? “I’m shaking because I’m afraid.”
David put his arm around her and pulled her close to him. “You have no need to fear, my darling. I’ll take care of you. I’ll be your own private shepherd.”
“Who will be your shepherd, husband?”
“The Lord is my shepherd. He will protect me from danger.” David looked toward the starlit sky.
“Does He love you more than anyone, the way I do?” Michal asked, snuggling against him.
“I think He loves each one of us the same, beyond what we can imagine. However, He’s not finished with m
e yet. I believe there are things God plans to do through me, Michal. Marvelous things.”
“What things?” He’d stirred her curiosity before, when he talked in general terms about a bright future.
“Someday you’ll see, when the foretold events begin to take place.” David stroked her hair and kissed her. “A more immediate concern is that we should get ourselves a son.”
Michal felt excitement course through her. “You talk like a foreigner,” she whispered as she slid her hand inside his robe.
CHAPTER
NINE
“SAUL ALSO SENT MESSENGERS UNTO DAVID’S HOUSE, TO WATCH HIM, AND TO SLAY HIM IN THE MORNING: AND MICHAL DAVID’S WIFE TOLD HIM, SAYING, IF THOU SAVE NOT THY LIFE TO NIGHT, TO MORROW THOU SHALT BE SLAIN.” I SAMUEL 19:11
Darkness fell. Soldiers with torches led the way. The pace slowed, but the column did not stop. Michal longed to get out of the small cart, stretch her cramping legs, and quench the thirst that left her mouth as dry as desert sand. When a light drizzle began to fall, Tirzah roused, yawned, and drew her shawl more tightly around her shoulders. The two women used the remnant of the old coat and rearranged their meager belongings to shelter themselves from the rain.
Damp, chilly nights always reminded Michal of the last time she saw David. She would never know what awakened her in the middle of that horrible night. Perhaps an unfamiliar noise, or maybe a guardian angel tapped her on the shoulder? She remembered opening her eyes and being filled with a sense of dread. David slept peacefully at her side while her heart pounded in response to some undefined evil.
Unable to return to sleep, Michal rose and walked barefoot to the table where she kept fresh water. Earlier that evening a three-quarter moon flooded the courtyard with light. Clouds must have gathered, for the bedroom was noticeably darker. Michal felt for the clay water jar and was about to lift it to her lips when her keen hearing picked up sounds from the street below. She tiptoed to the window and peered between the slatted shutters. Four men stood in the street. Even in the shadows, she recognized the men as members of the king’s private guard. She could hardly breathe. These men are here to murder David!