They will remember me for the crown. Not for my doubts.Not for the nights I sat awake while the empire slept.Not for the weight I carried without ever truly holding it. They will remember the glory — the gold, the goblets, the grandeur.The banquets that stretched for months.The decrees sealed in my name.The gallows ordered, […]
Xerxes – The King Between Queens Read Post »
The palace is quiet now. The crisis has passed. The gallows stand empty, the scrolls rewritten, the ink dried. Mordecai wears robes of blue and white.Esther walks with the weight of more than a crown. And I — I remain. Still king.Still draped in purple.Still bowed to. And yet… I feel smaller. The Ones I
Chapter 7: I Am the King, and Yet… Read Post »
The second banquet was smaller.Quieter.No flutes, no nobles, no spectacle. Just me.Esther.And Haman — pale as parchment, trying to look calm. I thought this would be like the first: wine, flattery, perhaps a cryptic compliment.Esther had always been cautious with her words. But that night… she unfolded. And I, the king of Persia, learned the
Chapter 6: The Banquet I Didn’t See Coming Read Post »
I could not sleep. Not for lack of wine.Not for lack of warmth or women or music echoing from distant halls. Sleep simply would not come. And I, the king of Persia, conqueror of provinces and patron of pleasure, found myself pacing in circles — defeated by silence. What Keeps a King Awake? It wasn’t
Chapter 5: The Sleepless Night Read Post »
A king does not need to understand everything.He needs to decide. That is what I’ve always believed. My father, Darius, ruled with scrolls and swords.I learned to rule with something more subtle — delegation. There is power in letting others act on your behalf.It spares you the burden of questions, and multiplies your reach like
Chapter 4: The Seal I Gave Too Quickly Read Post »
They brought her in the same way they brought all the others. Clothed in silk.Painted lips.Eyes lowered, posture rehearsed. But she did not tremble.Nor did she flirt.She simply stood — like someone who did not ask to be here, but would not be moved lightly. I have seen a thousand women bloom under palace lights,
Chapter 3: A New Rose in My Garden Read Post »
The feast ended. The nobles returned to their provinces.The courtiers offered polished farewells.The palace was cleaned, the goblets counted, the linens perfumed and folded away. But the silence remained. The kind of silence that creeps in after the music ends — when laughter has faded and the wine has turned sour on your tongue. I
Chapter 2: The Banquet That Outlived My Joy Read Post »
I ruled from India to Cush. One hundred and twenty-seven provinces bowed to my name.Their princes kissed my feet, their coins bore my image, their armies marched at my gesture. And yet, all it took was one woman’s refusal to unravel the illusion that I was untouchable. Her name was Vashti. My queen. The Banquet
Chapter 1: The Crown Is Heavy When You Have to Share It Read Post »
We Served the Throne, Not the Queen We were the king’s wise men, not because we saw far — but because we knew what not to say. In Susa, power does not belong to the wisest.It belongs to the one who can preserve order when wine has unraveled it. So when Queen Vashti refused the
The Advisors — Preserving the Throne Read Post »
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.
Chapter 5: Teresh – The Final Whisper Read Post »
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
Chapter 4: Bigthan – Before the Plot Broke Read Post »
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
Chapter 3: Hathak – The Messenger Between Worlds Read Post »
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
Chapter 2: Shaashgaz – The Ones Left Behind Read Post »
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
Chapter 1: Hegai — The Girl Who Asked for Less Read Post »
I once knew a man who walked taller than his name. He thought himself above kings, above whispers, above the laws of cause and consequence. He was clever, charming, cunning — and mine. I was proud of him once. I helped him rise. I watched him drink power like wine, and I refilled the cup.
Zeresh – The Silence After Read Post »
The March of Shame I had always imagined death would be distant. A possibility, yes — but not a certainty. Certainly not like this. Dragged through the streets I once ruled. Faces turned toward me not with fear, but with relief. The man they once bowed to… now reduced to a cautionary tale. Children stopped
Chapter 7: The Weight of the Wood Read Post »
The Weight in the Air I tried to hold my head high.I tried to wash off the scent of humiliation. But as I entered the queen’s chambers for the second banquet, I could feel it —The shift. The same hall, the same servants, the same golden goblets.But something in the air had thickened. Esther’s smile
Chapter 6: The Accusation Read Post »
A Monument to My Revenge It rose through the night like a tower of justice. Fifty cubits of sharpened timber — a throne for the man who dared defy me. The gallows were no secret.I made no effort to hide them. I wanted everyone in Susa to see it.To know what happened to men who
Chapter 5: The Gallows Read Post »
An Invitation Like No Other When the summons came from Queen Esther, I thought it was a mistake. “A private banquet,” they said.“Only the king and you, Haman.” I laughed aloud. Only me?In all the empire — advisers, generals, princes — she had chosen me to sit beside the king at her table? This was
Chapter 4: A Feast with the Queen Read Post »
