Hidden Voices – Esther

HEGAI I saw her first.Before the perfume, before the crown, before anyone else noticed. She was the girl who asked for less.And somehow, became more. She never tried to conquer the palace.She simply stood inside it with such grace, it bent around her. And when she left my care…I knew I would never see another […]

I once believed in duty.I wore the uniform. I stood still. Spoke only when summoned. I believed that loyalty protected a man — even one like me, a shadow in silk. I was wrong. In this palace, loyalty is currency.And when you run out of favor, it buys you nothing. They Called Us Watchmen Watchmen.

They call us “keepers of the king’s threshold.”Guards. Watchmen.Whatever the title, it means the same thing:We stand while others live. I am Bigthan.I have stood outside the king’s private chambers for fifteen years. I watched his robes change. Watched queens come and go. Watched the wine flow and the empire forget. And I’ve grown tired

I was born to serve behind veils.  To walk where men do not.To speak softly, observe everything, and leave no trace. To be there, yet never truly seen. I am Hathak, royal eunuch.Assigned to the queen. Trusted with silence. But even silence trembles when the fate of a people hangs on a whisper. She Called

They call my part of the palace the quiet wing. It is not.It is full of silk and bitterness. I am Shaashgaz, eunuch of the second house of women — the ones who’ve had their moment and returned without favor.The concubines.The beautiful, forgotten. I oversee a place built not on hope, but on the fading

They came by the hundreds. Girls from every province — frightened, painted, perfumed, chosen.  I had seen it before. Each time the king hungered for something new, the search widened, and the palace filled with the scent of uncertainty and rosewater.  Some came weeping. Others came smiling with practiced charm. But most… came empty-eyed, willing