15 FIFTEEN: The House of Women pt 4

The first rule of the House of Women was that Queen Candidates were not allowed to leave the premises until twelve months had passed.

Candidates were free to exchange letters with their family outside the palace and receive gifts, but they could not leave for any reason without forfeiting their candidacy.

The second rule was that Candidates were not permitted to have any physical contact with a man during the twelve months spent preparing. This included male servants and family members as well.

The third and final rule of the House was that Candidates were strictly forbidden from approaching Lord Hegai without arranging a meeting prior.

None of the rules came as a surprise to Esther, as her Uncle had prepared her thoroughly for what to expect in the House of Women. She'd also been informed regarding the process of preparations.

Yet still, she found herself hanging on the matron servant's every word.

On the day that marked the official start of the twelve months, all of the Candidates had been summoned to the House's main courtyard. Thirty cushions had been set up for every Candidate to rest upon while her handmaiden knelt beside her.

While the thirty women sat with varying degrees of what Mordecai had taught Esther was the perfect poise, the matron servant, assisted by two high ranking handmaidens, began to instruct them.

"First, your skin will be prepared," the woman explained, motioning for her assistants to begin distributing bottles to each of the Candidate's handmaidens. "For six months, your servants shall perform a purification ritual of myrrh and olive oil every day."

As Baara took the vial offered her from the assistant, Esther could barely contain her curiosity regarding the precious liquid inside.

She'd never seen myrrh herself, and only ever heard of its use to prepare for the burials of deceased members of her clan. Knowing her body would be prepared with the same substance--the oil of death and funerals--sent an ominous chill down her spine.

She couldn't ignore the symbolism, as she would very literally be preparing the body of the old Esther, her old life and naïve happiness, to be laid to rest.

Forever.

"After the skin purification is complete, we will spend the last six months preparing your essence," the matron servant went on. "We will test a variety of sweet aromas and perfumes to find which is most compatible with each of you."

While the woman went on to describe the various scents available and sent her assistants around once again with trays of samples, Esther couldn't help but notice several eyes lingering on her.

As Baara passed a few glass vials under Esther's nose, she realized many of the other candidates were paying special attention to each of her reactions.

It took every bit of her self control to keep her expressions mild as each new delightful smell entered her nose, one after another.

Crushed rose petals, rich and sweet.

Frankincense, deep and earthy.

Cassia, light and warm.

Calamus, clean and woody.

Without a doubt, the rose and calamus plants were her favorite of the bunch. Evidently, it had shown on her face when she smelled them, for she soon noticed many other Candidates requesting the same vials.

"They are watching carefully," Baara whispered, leaning closer. "They wish to see how to obtain the Lord's favor."

Esther swallowed.

"It makes me uncomfortable," she whispered back. "As if I have to be even more conscious of my every move."

"I believe many of these women watch you with eyes of learning, rather than eyes of judgment," Baara responded. "Take heart in that, Queen Candidate."

If even a shred of accuracy lay in the way Mordecai described Persian women skillfully disguised their emotions, she wondered how many of the seemingly harmless gazes concealed contempt.

"I must write to my Esteemed Uncle and tell him of how I have failed to live up to his expectations," Esther sighed.

"That will not be necessary, My Lady," Baara answered, leaning until her lips nearly touched Esther's ear. "I have heard that your Uncle inquires nearly hourly at the palace gates how you have been faring."

Esther smiled, picturing Mordecai pestering the workers of the House of Women each time they passed through the palace gate.

"It seems he has already been informed of my position here then."

The matron servant's instructions ended with the invitation to enjoy tea and confectioneries among the beautiful flowers of Lord Hegai's garden. A few of the women politely declined, vanishing into other parts of the House, while many made haste toward the garden.

Esther would have liked to vanish with the other women who had turned down the teatime, but she chose to follow the largest crowd, still plagued with the pang of guilt that she had so far failed to obey her Uncle's pleading to avoid standing out.

Despite her good intentions, however, by attending the teatime, she ended up drawing even more attention to herself than she already had.

At first she hardly noticed the strange atmosphere in the garden. She was distracted by the spectacular varieties of flora and gorgeous fountains. Rather than sitting near the tables set up with various morsels, she asked Baara to place her cushion near the edge of the clearing, so that she may more fully enjoy the flowers.

Eventually, amongst admiring sweet flowers and taking small bites of the treats Baara brought to her, Esther's attention became increasingly pulled toward the group of women gathered around the tables.

The first thing that seemed out of place was the loud laughter coming from many pairs of ruby lips and the jingling of the jewelry around their ankles and wrists as they moved.

Next, the amount of women on their feet seemed odd, and the ones remaining in their seats leaned much too far back to drink a cup of tea.

But then she saw the bottles being passed among their manicured hands that hardly resembled dainty porcelain cups. Rather, they reminded her of the bottle from which Mordecai poured wine to accompany his supper.

Except, unlike Mordecai, the women seemed to be drinking more than a cup's worth of the bottles' contents. And the way they moved their bodies was different from anything Esther had ever seen.

"It seems they have begun drinking and dancing, My Lady," Baara spoke up as she noticed her master's eyes lingering on the scene.

"Are you, by chance, thinking of joining them?"