Xerxes' POV

The King sat in his room waiting for the nights' candidate to show up. He hoped that it would be Esther, but he had come up a plan to do away with the girl if it wasn't Esther.

The escorts came in and announced the candidate, and in she walked. A young girl of course, beautiful, and wearing a lot of jewelry. He was sitting on his stool ready to receive her.

"What do they call you?" he asked her.

"Zeldah, my lord." She replied.

"You may approach," he said to her and she took two steps closer to him.

"Tell me about yourself," he bade her.

She began to talk; Xerxes didn't even hear a word she said he was only waiting for a decent interval to pass before he feigned an illness.

She was in mid speech when he let out a loud cry, in no time at all the room was filled with people and the girl had to be taken away. The king had had a stomach upset the court was informed and needed to rest, so no candidates would be brought to him for two days.

Those two days were among the longest of Xerxes' life, many a time he longed to send for Esther but he knew that the princes would not approve of it, after all he wasn't supposed to have met her yet, and so he waited and prayed that she would be brought to him soon.

Two days after his illness a candidate was brought to him, the princes really wanted a queen and soon. He had had a scroll prepared for the candidate to read to him, he was in no mood for anything else.

"The scroll is on the stool," Xerxes said, as soon as the girl entered his room, "you may begin when you're ready."

He walked around waiting for the girl to read and then looked through the curtains, "wait, you're the one who read to me before," he told her.

At last, he thought to himself, his Esther was here.

Esther's POV

Esther was feeling broken hearted, there was no other word for it and as days went on without hearing from Xerxes she knew that she hadn't pleased him.

She dreamt about him at night, imagined him choosing her as his queen but since she was never sent for again, not even to read for him she knew her hopes were in vain.

Esther began to pray even more fervently that God would grant her favour in the king's eyes, that the king would remember her and love her as she did him.

Days passed and candidates went in to spend their one night with the king, she consoled herself that since no wedding ceremony took place he wasn't pleased with any of them.

'God grant me favour,' was her daily prayer. She talked to Hegai about her feelings and he consoled her as best he could but it wasn't near enough.

One morning while Esther was still sleeping, Hegai walked in and told her that today was her day. Esther prepared herself as best she could, wore her dress and only adorned herself with a simple necklace.

As she walked down the corridor leading to the king's room, holding tightly onto Hegai's hand, Esther wondered if he would remember her. She doubted that he would, after all he met so many beautiful people every day.

She walked slowly into the room she remembered so well.

"The scroll is on the stool, you may begin when you're ready." Esther looked at the stool and stood uncertainly. "Is there a problem?" Xerxes asked her, "Did they not tell you that I weary of this procession of candidates?"

He wasn't interested in knowing who she was; he just wanted someone to read to him.

"As if they wanted someone to-," he stopped moving around and looked straight at her and said, "wait, you're the one who read to me before. You tried to beguile me with love stories."

He remembered her.

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Xerxes couldn't believe his eyes. His prayers had been answered, his Esther had returned to him. He looked at her, she was dressed so simply not like he had come to expect, the other candidates had been wearing their weight in gold.

He wanted to take her into his arms and kiss her while asking her to marry him but instead he said, "This is how to come to see me, your only adornment before your one night with the king?"

Esther listened to his words, he was harsh, and obviously he didn't feel the way that she did.

"I was taught," Esther said softly, "that when you visit a king, rather than expect a gift, you should bring one to lay at his feet." She took off her necklace and handed it to him, "this is my most valued possession in the world. It is my past, my present, and my future and all of it is yours."

He took the necklace, he looked at it in shock; his Esther was as wise as she was beautiful, the necklace was everything he wanted.

"Love is the easiest and the most stupid purchase," Xerxes said, still reeling from her words. She had touched him deeply, he felt like Jacob working fourteen years because he was sure of what he wanted, Rachel, his love.

"If it is for sale, it is not love," Esther told him, softly.

"Even you," he told her, "even you, must have a price."

"I am neither, a buyer nor a seller of love," Esther said to him.

Xerxes was overjoyed; he wanted to shout, to praise, to dance and to pray.

"Suppose, my lady," he said, walking towards her, "a man offered you treasures, gifts, say a kingdom." He looked at her; did she not understand what he was trying to tell her? Did she not see how much he loved her?

"I only gift I would accept, is your heart," Esther told him.

"Then it is yours," he replied, "and you need not serve fourteen years to get it."

He took her into his arms and twirled her around and around.

"Esther, my love," he said to her, "marry me."

"Yes," she replied, and he kissed her.

They spent the night talking, planning their future.

In the morning their engagement was announced and the wedding took place a few days later.

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