Esther's Innocence

by Benjamin Boswell

  She let out a sigh of relief when Alborz stepped through the rear door with Shauri and the children. She ran over and gave Shauri a big hug and whispered in her ear that it would be alright, then she knelt and hugged each of the children. Shauri led the kids into a bedroom, arranging blankets and pillows as best she could, then closed the door and folded her arms tightly under her breasts, an expression of fear and worry clearly etched on her face as she walked over to the table where Esther and Alborz were sitting. Esther could see tears brimming in her eyes.

  “It’s my fault, Shauri,” said Esther, tears welling up in her own eyes. “I must have been careless with my notes, or, or…something. I don’t know.”

  “No Esther,” said Shauri, “we all knew the risks.”

  “But they were holding my papers—”

  Shauri shook her head, interrupting Esther. “You cannot blame yourself.” Esther didn’t believe her, but she nodded wordlessly.

  “I think I have a plan to rescue Malachi and the others,” she said after a moment.

  Alborz scoffed. “There is no rescuing anyone from the garrison dungeons. Its solid rock all the way around with over five thousand soldiers sitting on top of it.”

  “I don’t plan on breaking into the dungeon,” said Esther, “I plan on saving the King and he will save Malachi and the others. We have a few more pieces of evidence now. We just need to lay it before the King.”

  “What?” said Alborz sarcastically, “You think that because the Queen is having an affair with Harun, and that you saw him give some liquid in a vial to her is evidence enough that he’s trying to kill the King. I don’t think so.”

  “No, Alborz!” Esther said angrily. “Listen! I have another idea. I know that we all would have liked to approach this differently. I wish that we would have had the time to scrupulously obtain the evidence we needed and then have Malachi take it to the King—but we don’t. Time’s up. We have to act now, or not act at all. I just need to get in to see the King. So what’s it going to be? Are you going to help me, or not?”

  “Well my opinion is obviously biased,” said Shauri, her voice shaking, “but I say we try.”

  Alborz sat thinking for a moment, then sighed in frustration. “Alright, I owe Malachi my life and more. I’ll go along, but how are you supposed to get past all of the guards between you and the King? You’re wanted now and the guards at the courtyard gate have seen your face a dozen times going to and from the Hall of Scholars. They’ll arrest you the instant you show yourself.”

  “That’s where you come in Alborz,” she said, giving him a smile wicked enough to send shivers up the big man’s spine.

  CHAPTER 32

  A Desperate Gamble

  I didn’t have a choice. Like I told Alborz, it was then or never. I hate to gamble, especially when lives are on the line, but it was time to throw the dice.

  Esther stood against the corner of a building near the central market, waiting. The servant’s dress and dupatta she wore helped her remain inconspicuous. No one would think twice at seeing her standing there. Dawn’s early morning light provided a glow that cast eerie shadows. She stifled a yawn as she watched the back door of one of the shops. She hadn’t slept much and had awoken early. With the stress of yesterday added on top of it, she was exhausted. The city was quiet this early in the morning, but in a few hours, it would be crawling with people. Esther had to finish her business here before that happened. Where was Alborz?! He was supposed to be back from getting Shauri and the kids out of the city by now. Just then, as if mere thinking about him was enough to summon his presence, the large man appeared around the corner, and walked nonchalantly toward her. He was pulling a donkey and cart behind him with a large rug rolled up on it. Finally, she thought impatiently.

  A large part of her plan depended on him getting her into this merchant’s shop, and if he had taken much longer, the task would have become near impossible to do without someone seeing them and alerting the Guard.

  “Now why do we need to get into Hassim’s store again?” asked Alborz, leaving the donkey and cart behind the building.

  “Because the King placed an order for a rug last week and we need the parchment that the order was written on.”

  Alborz shrugged. “Alright, you stay here. I’ll be right back.” He walked across the street over to the back door of the shop. He pulled out a key, unlocked the door, and stepped inside, closing it behind him. Esther stood dumbfounded. Where had he gotten a key from? After a few minutes, the door opened again, Alborz stepped out, closed and locked the door behind him, then crossed back over to where Esther stood with an impish grin on his face. “Hassim and I are old friends,” he said. “We look out for each other. He’ll probably be pretty mad that I went in and took the parchment without asking, but he’ll understand.”

  Esther smacked Alborz on the arm—she was too short to reach his shoulder. “You had me thinking we were going to need to break into the place!” she said angrily, though she knew the smile on her face betrayed her.

  Alborz just shrugged and walked back over to his donkey and cart. “We better get moving. We need to get back to my shop. It will be best to wait until just after lunch to arrive at the palace. Harun and the King have several meetings they attend together in the afternoon and it will give us our best chance of catching them together.” Esther just shook her head in disbelief, a smile playing across her lips as she followed Alborz.

  - - -

  I’m going to suffocate, thought Esther as she lay in the middle of the rug rolled around her with her hands extended above her head. She had quickly used up all of the fresh air and she was having difficulty getting enough breathable air. Fortunately, the cart was bumping about so her movements to bring in some fresh air would hopefully go unnoticed.

  The cart came to a stop. They must have reached the second tier gates. She lay perfectly still while the guards questioned Alborz. He must have passed muster because the cart started moving forward again. Ugh, Esther thought, wiggling about again. If she didn’t suffocate, she was going to boil to death. Being wrapped in many layers of rug with the mid-day summer sun shining directly on it and little fresh air made her present position unbearably warm. “Quit moving around,” Alborz mumbled under his breath, “We’re coming up to the courtyard gate.”

  Esther froze, holding as still as possible as they went through the routine yet again. It had been a very good idea to grab the parchment with the King’s order on it—Esther didn’t think they could have gotten through without it. After what seemed like another very long time, the cart started to move forward again, riding over the cobblestones of the courtyard. After a minute, it came to a stop. Esther felt Alborz grab the rug, lifting it—and her—up onto his shoulder. It was a large rug and would have been heavy for most men, but Alborz was a very large man and seemed to handle it adequately. She was small enough that her extra weight didn’t make it impossible to lift.

  Esther heard a guard walk up. “I’ll escort you to the King and Queen,” he said, “They have just finished their lunch and are looking forward to seeing the new rug.”

  “Excellent,” said Alborz, “Master Hassim was very excited to acquire it for them. In fact, in his excitement, he procured something for Master Harun as well. Perhaps he could join the King for the presentation of the rug?”

  “You’re in luck,” the guard replied, “Master Harun had lunch with Their Majesties and is with them at this moment.”

  “Ah yes, very fortunate indeed,” Alborz replied.

  With Alborz carrying her and the rug, it moved the air around a bit, giving Esther some fresh, breathable air for which she was thankful. Being folded in half over Alborz’ shoulder as it pressed against her diaphragm made it so she could only take shallow breaths, however. Nervous anxiety started to build up within her as she realized that the moment was approaching when she would have to stand before the King and attempt to persuade him that his uncle meant to kill him. Her life, and the lives of all of her companion
s, were riding on her ability to convince the King. If she failed, the fact that she entered his presence like this would carry the death penalty. That thought almost paralyzed her with fear, but she realized that the fear would only cause her to be more likely to fail. It was a vicious circle. Fear of failure could end up causing the failure. She had to overcome and control the fear. She let out a long slow breath—as long and slow as she could, that is, while bouncing around with her stomach pressed against Alborz’ shoulder. The distraction seemed to help. She supposed that this was what being brave meant—overcoming your fears and not letting them paralyze you into inaction. She hoped she was strong enough to do that.

  “Your Majesties,” Esther heard the guard announce, “Master Alborz has arrived with your rug.”

  “Excellent,” Esther recognized the voice of the King, “Although I was a bit surprised that Master Hassim didn’t deliver it himself, I appreciate your willingness to step in for your friend, Master Alborz.”

  “Actually, Your Grace, the carpet I bear is not the one you ordered from Hassim, but bears a gift that I hope you will find infinitely more useful, if I may?”

  Esther could imagine the look of confusion on the King’s face. “Proceed,” she heard the King say.

  Esther felt Alborz lift her off his shoulder. The world suddenly spun about as he unrolled the rug and Esther came tumbling out. It took a moment for Esther to get her bearings as she brushed the hair out of her face. They were in a small room in what looked to be a private audience chamber. The King and Queen sat on cushioned seats on a small raised dais. Four guards stood near them. Esther recognized Jeshua, the head of the guards who had been with the King in the market. Harun stood a few feet away as well. Comfortable furnishings were placed throughout the room and the space felt…lived in—much more so than the grand ballroom and main audience chamber. Stunned looks of surprise met her gaze and caused her to smile briefly before the guards leapt forward, drawing their swords.

  “Stop!” the King yelled. He stood slowly and took a step toward her. “Esther?”

  “My Lord,” said Esther, bowing her head, “Please forgive me for the manner in which I present myself to you, but I have something terribly important to tell you, and this was the only way I could think of to see you.”

  “Asserius! The penalty—” Harun started to say, but the King held up a hand without taking his eyes off of Esther.

  “You do know that you risk death itself by coming to me uninvited in such a manner, don’t you?” asked King Asserius.

  “I do, My Lord.”

  The King looked up at Alborz to ask him the same question, but must have seen the answer in his eyes because the King simply turned around and returned to his seat.

  “Speak,” he said, his face stern with none of the friendliness she had seen there before.

  Esther swallowed hard. “My Lord, the matters I bring before you are of the gravest nature and I would beg your indulgence to hear me out completely.”

  The King nodded and Esther started from the beginning. Without going into detail, she told the King about her being present during the raid on Ardmorr, her capture, and her brief time onboard the Nautilus. As she approached the part about the Madrausan High Priest and the information that he had given her, she began to provide more specific details. She described the man, to include the markings on his bald head. She described his periods of lucidity, and those when he was less clear. She tried to describe it exactly as it had happened, without trying to embellish or present the information in a biased manner. When she told them what the High Priest had said regarding Harun’s plot to kill Asserius, Harun scoffed and tried to interrupt, but King Asserius held up his hand again, and gestured for Esther to continue.

  Esther saw the doubt on Asserius’ face and her confidence began to waver. She forced herself to continue, however, and told them about being rescued by the Easterners and their arrival in Deyr. She had left out the part about Ikenna of course, and glossed over any help and support that the Satrap had given them—in case things didn’t turn out well. Instead she just said that they had made their way to Al Farnaka and that, with the help of Malachi, they were going to bring the information to the King when they had enough evidence and an opportunity to do so.

  “Asserius, I think we have listened to this nonsense long enough!” said Harun. “This is nothing more than a plot instigated by the Madrausan’s to sew discord among us. Malachi and this girl’s other associates have been arrested for insurgency. They are spies for Madraus who have been working with the criminal underground in this city. Malachi is their leader. This is simply a last ditch effort to salvage something from their failed operation.”

  “Is this true, Esther?” the King asked her, studying her face, “Do you have any evidence to support your tale?”

  “No, My Lord, what Master Harun says is not true! Malachi is a good man, and a loyal servant of the King. I think you will find that there is one other person in this room who can corroborate and confirm what I have said.”

  “Who? Alborz?” scoffed Harun, “He brought you here—illegally I might add—and is obviously a part of this…insurgency.”

  “No, Master Harun, not Alborz. The Queen can attest to what I have said,” Esther turned to the King, “For the child she carries is not yours, My Lord Asserius, but Harun’s, and she would see your body lying dead on the throne as well.”

  The stunned looks of surprise when Esther had come tumbling out of the carpet had been nothing compared to the shocked silence that now filled the room. Asserius whipped his head around to Vana. A look of profound surprise mixed with shame and guilt was plainly written on her face. Suddenly, she began to sob, her hands covering her face. She turned and ran from the room. Jeshua went to grab her, but the King held up his hand.

  “Let her go,” he said, those three simple words filled with the weight of despair. He turned to look at Harun, his eyes filled with pain.

  “Asserius…,” his uncle said, his voice trailing off. But then Esther noticed a change in Harun’s countenance, and a hardness entered his eyes. Esther tensed. Harun shifted his gaze to the guards standing next to the King and gave a slight nod. Esther’s eyes widened as she realized what was about to happen and she leapt forward. The guards drew and raised their swords. She could see Jeshua’s eyes widen in alarm as well, and he reached for his own sword, but the third guard standing next to him had been ready.

  Esther’s hand reached instinctively to her belt for her dagger, forgetting that she hadn’t brought it for fear that it would seem too threatening. Instead, she crashed into the guard to the left of the King, causing him to stumble. Esther wrenched his dagger from his belt. The guard to the right of the King—a bearded man with hard eyes—had his sword raised and was about to bring it down on the King’s head. Esther pushed off the man she’d taken the dagger from, launching herself at the bearded man. He saw her coming, however and elbowed her hard in the ribs. Pain flared in her left side as the force of the blow knocked her to the ground, her right hand instinctively going to her left side where his elbow had hit her. She looked up at the man. He stood there, staring down at her in surprise, with the dagger protruding from his chest right where his heart should be. He crumpled to the ground.

  Esther turned her head to look back at the guard that she’d taken the dagger from. The King stood over his body, his own bloodied dagger in hand. Jeshua stood on the other side of the King, holding a bleeding wound in his side, his sword thrust through the third guard. Esther heard a noise and turned to see Alborz lying in a pool of blood on the ground and Harun—sword in hand—rushing towards the King.

  “No!” she yelled, one hand still holding her injured left ribs as she scrambled to her feet and threw herself at Harun. She hadn’t been able to get any purchase on the smooth marble floor, however, and only managed to fall forward and grab tenuously onto one of his ankles. He cursed and kicked her in the face, his sword swiping at her leg, cutting her thigh. Esther rolled away, gritting h
er teeth against the pain and came to her feet. Fortunately, the cut on her leg wasn’t very deep and the leg was able to hold her weight.

  Esther heard Harun’s sword clatter to the ground and she looked up to see the King standing in front of him, his dagger between Harun’s ribs.

  “I’m sorry Uncle,” said Asserius with genuine regret in his voice, “I wish you would have chosen differently.”

  Harun fell to the ground and the King stared down at his dead uncle, then turned to Esther. “Are you alright?”

  Her ribs ached and the slice on top of her thigh stung. She would have a lot of bruises, but she had been fortunate to have come out relatively unscathed. “Yes,” she said, turning and running over to Alborz.

  Asserius turned to Jeshua, “Are you well enough to find some men that you can trust?”

  “Yes, My Lord.”

  “Then go, and send for the physicians among the Wisemen.”

  “My Lord,” said Esther, her hands covered in blood as she put pressure on Alborz’ wound where Harun had stabbed him, “Alborz is grievously wounded. Dr. Scott is a skilled combat surgeon. He was arrested with Malachi.”

  The King turned back to Jeshua who nodded. Jeshua walked swiftly out the door, leaving Esther alone with Asserius. The King walked over and knelt beside her, cutting a piece of cloth from Alborz’ tunic and handing it to Esther to help staunch the flow of blood.

  “That was an amazingly brave thing you did,” he said.

  Not knowing what else to say, Esther took Captain Karlsson’ advice and simply said, “Thank you.”

  Jeshua returned with several guards and rushed King Asserius away to safety. Things started to happen in a blur as servants and physicians arrived. The next thing she knew, they had moved her out of the way so that they could work on Alborz, and she was sitting on the steps of the small dais, holding a cloth to the cut on her leg. Geoffrey appeared some time later dressed in only his trousers. He rushed forward to lend his skills at saving Alborz. Their efforts were in vain, however—Alborz was already dead. Several men showed up a little later to take his body away. Esther sat dazed, staring at the ground, tears running down her cheeks. Geoffrey came over and knelt in front of her, lifting her dress just high enough to bandage the wound on her thigh. He might have said something to her, but she wasn’t sure. She couldn’t seem to get her eyes to focus.