Barsine beautiful, she was a direct descendant of Cyrus the Great, the founding king of the Achaemenid dynasty. This was what made her more special than most of the others.
Esther knew all about Cyrus because the Jews also revered him. He was the king who had freed them from the Babylonian exile imposed by King Nebuchadnezzar, and it was Cyrus who had allowed her people to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. She thought now that to the Persians it must be as important to be of the line of Cyrus as it was to Jews to be of the line of David.
In fact, Barsine had so many advantages that even the other candidates thought that she would be chosen; everyone hoped to be summoned before her so they might have a chance. When finally Barsine received the call for her appointment, she surprised everyone by asking Esther to keep her company while she was being dressed. “I won’t be so nervous if you are there. There is a serenity about you, Esther, that is very calming,” she said.
So Esther sat with Barsine while the girl was prepared for the meeting that might change her life—and that of the rest of the girls in the harem. While Muran and the attendants fussed over Barsine’s hair and dress, Esther tried to think of things to say that might distract her. She mentioned a little brown bird that had flown into the harem garden the day before.
“It looked so odd among all the Birds of Paradise, but it was such a breath of real life,” she said. “Imagine, this little brown bird, pecking away in the harem of the Great King of Persia. I thought it was wonderful.”
Muran straightened up from her position on the floor beside Barsine and gave Esther a long look. “Are you thinking that perhaps you are that brown bird, Esther?”
Esther felt her eyes widen at this too-perceptive remark. She forced a laugh. “Compared with Barsine, I certainly am a brown bird, Mistress.”
At that moment, Hathach, the eunuch who had been assigned to Esther and Barsine, looked in the door and said, “It is time, Mistress.”
Barsine drew a long breath.
“Good fortune,” Esther said sincerely.
“Thank you,” Barsine whispered. Then she pulled herself together, the unusual vulnerability vanished, and she said haughtily, “I am ready.”
It was Hathach who brought Esther the news about Barsine. “The king has instructed that she be kept in the harem until he has seen the rest of the candidates. The two other girls who have been kept are to be dismissed.”
While this was not the exact news Esther had hoped for, still it was positive. Clearly Ahasuerus had liked Barsine.
Then Hathach surprised her by saying, “I am to bring you to the Mistress of the House. If you will follow me?”
Muran’s apartment was in a far more luxurious part of the harem than Esther’s small room. The Mistress turned as Hathach announced Esther, then gestured to a large cushion placed upon the floor. “Sit, Esther,” Muran said. The Mistress then lowered herself to a wide divan, lifting her legs so she could recline in comfort. Esther was amazed that so massive a woman could perform such a maneuver with what seemed to be relative ease.
“Hathach has told you about Barsine,” Muran said as she settled her robe modestly around her legs.
“Yes. And I must say I am surprised, Mistress. If the king does not want Barsine, then what can he be looking for?” Esther’s long legs were bent under her and the skirt of her orange-blossom robe spilled over the cushion.
A little silence fell as Muran’s glittering dark eyes raked over Esther’s figure. She sat quietly under the scrutiny, her spine straight, her hands folded quietly in her lap.
“Indeed,” Muran finally answered. “That is a question Hegai and I have been discussing.”
The door to the apartment opened and a young girl came in bearing a tea tray filled with sweet, sugary pastries and fruit. She put the tray down upon a low table, poured tea into pretty enameled copper cups, and brought a cup
Esther knew all about Cyrus because the Jews also revered him. He was the king who had freed them from the Babylonian exile imposed by King Nebuchadnezzar, and it was Cyrus who had allowed her people to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. She thought now that to the Persians it must be as important to be of the line of Cyrus as it was to Jews to be of the line of David.
In fact, Barsine had so many advantages that even the other candidates thought that she would be chosen; everyone hoped to be summoned before her so they might have a chance. When finally Barsine received the call for her appointment, she surprised everyone by asking Esther to keep her company while she was being dressed. “I won’t be so nervous if you are there. There is a serenity about you, Esther, that is very calming,” she said.
So Esther sat with Barsine while the girl was prepared for the meeting that might change her life—and that of the rest of the girls in the harem. While Muran and the attendants fussed over Barsine’s hair and dress, Esther tried to think of things to say that might distract her. She mentioned a little brown bird that had flown into the harem garden the day before.
“It looked so odd among all the Birds of Paradise, but it was such a breath of real life,” she said. “Imagine, this little brown bird, pecking away in the harem of the Great King of Persia. I thought it was wonderful.”
Muran straightened up from her position on the floor beside Barsine and gave Esther a long look. “Are you thinking that perhaps you are that brown bird, Esther?”
Esther felt her eyes widen at this too-perceptive remark. She forced a laugh. “Compared with Barsine, I certainly am a brown bird, Mistress.”
At that moment, Hathach, the eunuch who had been assigned to Esther and Barsine, looked in the door and said, “It is time, Mistress.”
Barsine drew a long breath.
“Good fortune,” Esther said sincerely.
“Thank you,” Barsine whispered. Then she pulled herself together, the unusual vulnerability vanished, and she said haughtily, “I am ready.”
It was Hathach who brought Esther the news about Barsine. “The king has instructed that she be kept in the harem until he has seen the rest of the candidates. The two other girls who have been kept are to be dismissed.”
While this was not the exact news Esther had hoped for, still it was positive. Clearly Ahasuerus had liked Barsine.
Then Hathach surprised her by saying, “I am to bring you to the Mistress of the House. If you will follow me?”
Muran’s apartment was in a far more luxurious part of the harem than Esther’s small room. The Mistress turned as Hathach announced Esther, then gestured to a large cushion placed upon the floor. “Sit, Esther,” Muran said. The Mistress then lowered herself to a wide divan, lifting her legs so she could recline in comfort. Esther was amazed that so massive a woman could perform such a maneuver with what seemed to be relative ease.
“Hathach has told you about Barsine,” Muran said as she settled her robe modestly around her legs.
“Yes. And I must say I am surprised, Mistress. If the king does not want Barsine, then what can he be looking for?” Esther’s long legs were bent under her and the skirt of her orange-blossom robe spilled over the cushion.
A little silence fell as Muran’s glittering dark eyes raked over Esther’s figure. She sat quietly under the scrutiny, her spine straight, her hands folded quietly in her lap.
“Indeed,” Muran finally answered. “That is a question Hegai and I have been discussing.”
The door to the apartment opened and a young girl came in bearing a tea tray filled with sweet, sugary pastries and fruit. She put the tray down upon a low table, poured tea into pretty enameled copper cups, and brought a cup
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