AN. Warning. THIS CONTAINS MENTION OF GOD, PRAYERS AND MIRACLES. I CANNOT CHANGE YOUR BELIFES, BUT I CAN AND AM REQUESTING THAT IS YOU ARE KIND ENOUGH TO REVIEW; YOU WILL KEEP YOUR OPINIONS ABOUT RELIGON TO YOURSELF. REVEIWS ARE NOT MEANT AS A DISSCUSSION FORUM. THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION.
Italics are Ethers thoughts and point of view.
Persia: the imperial palace.
The doors to the throne room opened.
Standing in the entranceway was the young queen, her hair and dress soaked and dripping on the polished floor.
Two Immortals closed the door behind her.
The queen lifted her head, and began to transverse the hall towards the throne.
The scribes and dignitaries looked at each other. Such an event was unprecedented.
The princes assembled on the dais whispered amongst themselves.
The king himself stood.
Queen Esther had come before the king without a royal summons.
Her life was forfeit unless the king would extend his scepter, an event that had not occurred in living memory.
The queen did not seem to care.
She possessed an otherworldly calm and beauty.
All assembled watched with their hearts in their mouths as she drew closer to the throne.
"If I perish, I perish." so she had spoken the previous night. In every province of the empire the law was clear; no man or woman could approach the king un- summoned. The penalty was instant death unless by some miracle the king would extend the golden scepter. And now she took her life in her hands by doing exactly that. Her people were under threat of annihilation. She would go and plead for their lives. It was time to reveal the secret she had kept for so long. She was not of Persian descent. She was a Jewess, one of God's chosen people and under the recent edict sentencing the Jews to annihilation, her life was in danger if she revealed herself. Her childhood friend had brought her word from Mordicai. Her position as Queen would not save her. Deliverance for the Jews would come from another messenger, but she would die, and it was perhaps for just such a time that she had been bought to the palace and made Queen. And Hadassah daughter of Abihail known as Esther, Queen of the Persian Empire made her decision. She would go before the king without being summoned and if she died she died. The only thing she would bring with her as a talisman was the fasting and prayers of her fellow Jews. She too had fasted and prayed, not only for herself but for all her people. If she was to die in this attempt, at least let her people live.
That morning she had donned her garments of royalty. She would not go as a beggar maid before Xerxes; she would go as a daughter of God, ruler of heaven and earth, spiritually royal in her own right. Al morning she had been afraid but as soon as the doors of the throne had shut behind her, she had lost her fear. She was as Daniel in the lion's den, she thought as she past the massive lions on either side of the massive hall. With every step she drew closer to the king, she felt closer to God. HE was with her even in this pagan palace. There was no reason to be frightened. She began to mount the stairs of the dais. With every step she relieved memories of her childhood before her parents had been killed.
On the dais the princes muttered amongst themselves.
She had broken protocol, and had come uncalled for.
They called for the guard.
He slid his sword free from its scabbard.
The Queen continued to walk forward.
As she climbed the last few steps she raised her face to the king and smiled. More than ever she felt God's protection. HE would not let her come so far only to fail. Unbelievable as it was, out of every possible messenger it had been she who had been given the honor of being God's envoy to save HIS people. The guard loosed his sword and still she smiled. The sword began its descent and the miraculous happened. The king lifted his hand and blocked the sword. As she fainted in relief, she felt movement. The king had extended the golden scepter over her. Her life had been spared.
As the queen ascended the final steps toward the throne, the guard raised his sword and began to bring it down on her.
The king grabbed the sword and threw the guard to the side.
The queen fell at the king's feet.
And over her still form, the king extended the golden scepter.
The prayers of the Jews had been answered. God would deliver them as HE had so many times in the past, even though now HE would work through a human messenger. Even in exile they were no longer alone.
AN: This is my first time writing what you would call a spiritual piece. Please tell me how I did!!!!