Men in grey robes—many with long beards—sat at the tables using the equipment, or stood about in groups, talking. Other people who were dressed in different styles of clothing, and obviously from a variety of different ethnicities, mingled with the grey robed men. Their escort led them over to an older man wearing one of the gray robes, seated on a stone bench against the wall. The man stood as they approached.
“Hello,” he said, “Welcome to Al Farnaka, my name is Asheia. You must be Dr. Scott?”
“Yes, that’s right,” said Geoffrey, shaking the man’s hand. “Allow me to introduce you to my companions. These are my two assistants, Marigold Meriwether of Tewksbury in Ardmorr and Esther Amir of Deyr. I’ve also contracted with Nkiru here,” Geoffrey gestured at Nkiru, “and her brother Oluchi to provide servant and guard duties for us.”
The man shook their hands. He had a kind face and a firm grip for his age. “It is always a privilege to have people of learning come to study and share their knowledge with the court Wisemen,” he said, “I’m impressed, Dr. Scott, not many people obtain service contracts from Easterners who aren’t Easterners themselves. I’ve been told that the quality of their contracts can’t be beat.”
“I am very fortunate indeed, Master Asheia,” said Geoffrey, “And you’ve heard correctly.”
“Please, call me Asheia,” said the old man. He looked over at Esther and Marigold. “And to have such lovely young ladies as assistants as well,” he shook his head, smiling, “You are a lucky man.”
Esther blushed and looked over at Marigold who was beaming back at the old man with a broad smile.
“Their qualities go far beyond mere beauty, Mast—…I mean, Asheia,” said Geoffrey, “Marigold’s father was a master blacksmith in Ardmorr and she herself is a very talented seamstress. She made the dress she is wearing herself.”
“Yes,” the old man coughed into his hand as he let his eyes glance down at Marigold’s somewhat revealing dress, “She is very talented indeed.”
“And Esther,” continued Geoffrey, looking into her eyes, “is probably the smartest person I have ever met, and soaks up knowledge like a sponge. Not to mention that she can dance with a skill and agility like you’ve never seen before. They both are just beginning their studies in medicine, but will make first rate nurses very soon. As you may know, in Ardmorr, there are more and more female doctors and surgeons as well, so the possibilities for these two are truly endless.”
“Hmm, yes, I’ve heard of such a thing and would like to see more of that happen here. I’m afraid that Hadiq isn’t quite as progressive as the Northern Kingdoms,” said Asheia. He turned to Esther. “I’d love to see you dance sometime. The King is hosting a ball in about a week and a half. You all must attend.”
Esther’s heart leapt into her throat when she thought about meeting the King again, afraid that meeting him might expose them somehow. Esther forced herself to relax. She probably wouldn’t even get near the King at the ball. Their previous encounter had been so brief, and the setting so different, he probably wouldn’t recognize her even if she was standing right next to him. It still made her nervous however, and lingering doubts pecked at her.
“That would be wonderful,” said Geoffrey, “except that I’m afraid I am on a traveling physicians budget and do not own the proper attire, nor could I afford to purchase them. I thank you for the invitation, however.”
“Nonsense,” Asheia said, “You are our guests and must attend. I personally will ensure that you have proper clothing.”
“That is very generous of you, Asheia,” Geoffrey replied, “I don’t know if it would be proper to accept such generosity.”
“Of course you can, and I insist” said Asheia, putting his arm around Geoffrey, “Now come, let me show you around. You will be studying with me during your time here. I’ve been a physician in Al Farnaka for the last forty years, and have been here teaching in the Hall of Scholars for the last fifteen. My hands betrayed me as I grew older,” he held up a hand that shook with age, “and I no longer have the ability to directly assist those in need, but I now pass on that knowledge to the younger generations. It’ll be a pleasure to have ones as young and full of life as yourselves to learn from me, and perhaps even teach me a few new tricks that I can pass on to others.”
- - -
As the sun set in the West at the end of her first day, Esther walked along the parapet on the roof of the Hall of Scholars, looking out over the palace grounds. From here, she had a decent view of the backside of the palace itself, and all the grounds to its south and west.
When Esther had found out that the astronomers among the Wisemen often came up here with their telescopes and stared at the stars from the rooftop, she had shown an interest and Asheia had introduced her to one of the other Wisemen. He had provided her with a telescope and showed her where she could find the star charts in the library. Though Esther found astronomy quite interesting, especially its navigational aspects, her purpose had not been entirely scholarly. She was more interested in how much of the grounds and the palace she could see through the telescope.
She had to make quite a few adjustments to the telescope and really dial it back in order to get a decent view, but she had already experimented with it and she thought she could get it to work. After dinner, Esther had arranged to stay at the Hall of Scholars to wait for the stars to come out so that she could perform her observations. The others had already gone back to the apartment.
Looking around, she still didn’t feel this was the best spot to get a good view of the palace though, and anybody else who came up here would be wondering why her telescope was pointed at the palace and not the stars.
A big dome stood in the center of the roof. It wasn’t as large as the dome on the palace and didn’t gleam with a golden sheen, but it was still good sized. Four small minarets stood on each corner of the building. The minarets were more for artistic architectural design than anything, but each had a small door leading to a very narrow, steep spiral staircase that climbed to a trap door at the top. Esther climbed the staircase of the minaret she thought would give her the best view and pushed open the trap door, climbing up into the top of the minaret.
Six small columns around the edge of the minaret supported the rounded roof, but otherwise, the open windowed design gave her an excellent view of the palace some hundred yards away. This would be perfect. It was private, it had a great view of the back and west sides of the palace, and she’d be alerted if anyone came up the staircase and tried to open the trap door. She didn’t know what she hoped to see, but figured that spending a couple of hours at night observing could only help, since by that time, they would normally all be back at the apartment anyway.
She quickly setup the telescope as the sun began to dip below the horizon. Instead of pointing the telescope at the palace and finishing her adjustments, she waited for the sky to darken some more. She didn’t want to take the chance that someone would see her staring at the palace through the telescope lens. That wasn’t likely given that no one could see her up here unless they were standing in one of the other minarets, or from the upper stories of the palace itself, but it wasn’t worth the risk, so she waited.
As soon as she thought it was dark enough, she pointed the telescope at the palace and leaned over to look through the eyepiece, then made an adjustment to bring it into focus. Her field of vision was going to be extremely narrow, but that was okay. This way, she could see in through the doors and windows better. That thought made her feel a little awkward—spying on people like this didn’t seem right, but she had to gather information somehow, and there was very little time left. She would still try to give those she spied on as much privacy as possible though.
Alright, first, let’s see what we can see, shall we? She panned the telescope to the right, towards the back of the palace, where the royal suites were located. Soft yellow light bled through the semi-sheer curtains from the rooms inside, spilling out onto an expansive balcony. No one was o
n the balcony and she didn’t see any silhouettes through the curtains, so she panned farther to the right along the back wall.
She hadn’t gone very far when she came to a small rectangular window. Adjusting the focus on the telescope, she peered through the eyepiece into a room that appeared to be an ultra-luxurious dressing room with a large bath recessed into the floor. She saw vases of flowers and feminine articles of clothing hanging about the room. Startled, Esther stood up straight, pulling her eyes away from the telescope. This must be the queen’s private bath! Thank goodness she wasn’t using it at the moment. Esther wished she could tell the Hadiqan’s that their queen’s private bath was visible from this vantage point, but that would give away that she was spying on them.
Esther bent back over the telescope and looked through the eyepiece, directing it away from the window. She hoped that she would be able to spot the King’s Uncle, Harun. Malachi had provided them with a good description of the man before they had inserted themselves at the palace. If she was lucky, his room might be on this side of the palace and she could get eyes on him.
Esther panned the telescope back to the left until she reached the corner of the south and west walls, and then continued left along the west wall. The lower levels of the palace had no windows or doors except through the front entrance—a security measure probably—but the upper levels just below the large golden dome were furnished with balconies and windows abundantly, especially along the eastern and western walls. She saw a man and woman sitting on a balcony, apparently conversing. She didn’t know who they were and the man didn’t fit the description of Harun, so she continued to the left until she came to a balcony with an open door that appeared to lead into a hallway.
Esther focused on the hallway as it led further into the building. Just before the roof of the balcony door blocked her vision, she could see a cross-hallway intersecting the one she was looking down.
She saw a couple of palace guardsmen walking down the hall, and then, walking down the cross-hallway, she caught a glimpse of a man who appeared to match Harun’s description. He had light skin for a Hadiqan—almost as light as a Northerner—and he was wearing a green uniform. Handsome like his nephew, he didn’t look to be more than ten years older than the young King. Esther panned the telescope back to the right, attempting to follow him through the various windows and doorways. She caught glimpses, but she soon lost sight of him. Well, at least I know exactly what he looks like now.
Esther examined as much as she could of the rest of the palace, jotting down her observations on a piece of parchment—who she saw, where they were, what rooms looked occupied, and which ones were empty, guard positions and rotations, and anything else that she thought might be useful. She watched for several more hours, taking notes, until she began to feel pretty tired.
Midnight had come and gone and she really needed to get some rest, so she packed up the telescope and headed back to the apartment. The guards nodded at her as she walked through the gates. They didn’t seem surprised to see someone leaving the Hall of Scholars late at night—scholars were strange people after all—and they had probably seen it happen countless times before.
Esther felt good at having gotten a look at Harun. They weren’t really any closer to their objective, but at least now she knew what their enemy looked like. She laid down on her bed and fell asleep with a smile on her face.
CHAPTER 29
A Ball
Nothing! We have turned over every possible rock and found nothing! How can that be?
Esther frowned intensely. It had been a week and a half since first being introduced at the Hall of Scholars. In that time, they had made almost no progress towards finding evidence of Harun’s treachery. There were some warning signs—Malachi had noticed an increasing number of palace guardsmen near the King being rotated out to far off posts throughout the Empire, with men known to be loyal to Harun replacing them—but thus far they had found no proof of an actual assassination plot.
Malachi had been successful in getting Joel and Baird inserted into the criminal underground here in Al Farnaka, but they hadn’t found anything either. There wasn’t any recruiting going on to overthrow the Empire, or any other dealing among the seedier elements of society that they might have expected Harun to use. Her nightly spying activities with her telescope had yielded nothing more than pages of parchment filled with people’s movements. She had thought that maybe she would find some pattern which could be used to deduce something, but her analyses hadn’t yielded any useful results.
In addition, Malachi’s own efforts to find even a scrap of evidence had been fruitless as well. So far, he’d kept the doubt off his face whenever she saw him, but she knew that he had to be wondering if there really was a plot. Perhaps the guard rotations were simple reassignments instead of something more sinister. She was starting to wonder as much herself. Malachi never let it show, however, and neither had any of the others. They had placed complete faith in her and just kept digging.
It touched her heart and she felt a warmth spread across her chest as she thought about how much each one of her friends and companions meant to her, but the frown remained on her face as the feeling of helplessness and frustration persisted. Only seven days remained until Lammas, or Lughnasadh—depending on your cultural perspective—and they were running out of time.
Esther focused her thoughts back on the present and her frown deepened as she looked down at her current costume. Tonight was the King’s Ball and she, Geoffrey, and Marigold were expected to attend. The ball was a formal affair and Marigold had forced Esther to pull out the costume that the Satrap of Deyr had given to her. Although it was beautiful with its deep shade of blue and decorative glass gems, she had hoped she wouldn’t have to use it. The midriff baring top and low skirt made her uncomfortable. Fortunately, her best friend possessed the skills of an accomplished seamstress and they had found some semi-sheer fabric that matched. Marigold had sewed it between the top and the skirt, making it into a gown. It wasn’t much, but sewing the two pieces together helped Esther feel a bit more comfortable.
Her bare shoulders, the typical low curve of the Hadiqan necklines, and gobs of makeup Marigold had applied to Esther’s eyes still annoyed her and contributed to the presence of the intense frown on her face—but the decorative armbands around her biceps, with their long flowing pieces of cloth hanging down along her arms, and the elegant hairstyle Marigold had used to pull up Esther’s now almost shoulder-length hair made her feel a little better.
The sun was dipping towards the horizon as Esther carefully made her way up the broad steps in front of the golden domed palace with Geoffrey and Marigold. Despite the warmth of the evening air, a shiver ran up her spine giving her goosebumps. She didn’t like feeling so exposed. Esther realized then that it wasn’t really the costume that bothered her, it was the fear that the costume would draw attention to herself. It was more difficult to observe and gather data if people were concentrating on her and reacting to things she said or did. Looking at the other women walking up the steps, there were many different gowns and styles of clothing, from ornate ghagra choli skirt and blouse combinations, to more revealing outfits like Marigold was wearing. Her own more modest gown would fit in perfectly. That thought made her feel a lot more comfortable.
Marigold looked resplendent in her outfit and was already attracting appreciative glances from many of the young men—and some not so young ones as well. Esther didn’t doubt that they would soon be jockeying for position to dance with her friend once the music started.
The Great Hall, now being used as a ballroom, was beautifully decorated. Never before had she seen such extravagance. Tall pillars supported the roof around the large golden dome overhead, and white marble covered the floor. Musicians stood off to the far right side, between a set of pillars, readying their instruments. Elegantly dressed men and women—both noble and wealthy gentry or merchants—stood about conversing. Others sat at tables spaced around the outskirts of th
e Great Hall.
Geoffrey turned and stepped in front of her. Esther felt a now familiar thrill of excitement as he took her hand. He looked very handsome in the tunic and jacket that Asheia had lent him.
“I just wanted to tell you how beautiful you look,” he said.
“Thank you,” Esther said, smiling.
“Oh good, I was afraid you were going to frown the whole evening,” he teased, returning her smile.
Esther laughed. “Alright you,” she said, pushing him playfully, “Hint taken. I will attempt to enjoy myself.”
“Good.” He looked around as music started to play. “I would be honored if you’d favor me with a dance?” he said, holding out his hand.
“Of course,” she replied, taking it and letting him lead her out onto the dance floor.
At first, Geoffrey tried to hold her with his right hand on her hip and his left holding hers, in the traditional Northern style. As they started to dance, however, it quickly became apparent that the Northern style wasn’t going to work with the rhythm of the music and Geoffrey kept stepping on Esther’s feet. She couldn’t help but giggle.
“Okay, here, let me show you,” said Esther. She was much more familiar with the Southern dancing styles than Geoffrey was, so she took his hands and started dancing, moving her hips to the rhythm of the music. Normally, she’d feel bad about leading, but it was obvious that Geoffrey was lost when it came to the unfamiliar dance style. Fortunately, it didn’t take him long to pick up the rhythm and the basics, and they were soon moving and twirling about the dance floor almost as readily as the other dance couples. For a few minutes, Esther was able to forget the cares that weighed so heavily upon them and simply enjoy Geoffrey’s company and being surrounded by beautiful finery.
As soon as the song ended, trumpets sounded and she turned to see the King enter the ballroom through a large door set on top of rounded stairs at the far end of the Great Hall. He looked even more handsome than he had in the marketplace and wore a pure white tunic and a burgundy jacket embroidered with golden thread. The golden crown sat lightly upon his head. Beside him, the queen looked radiant in a turquoise gown that had been tailored to provide a little more room where a baby bump was starting to show. Esther’s eyes narrowed as she saw the King’s uncle, Harun, enter the ballroom.
Esther's Innocence Page 32