Hey guys. I am so sorry I've been MIA! The holidays, midterms, vacation, more school and just butt loads of stuff piled up on me! I am committed to finishing this story though so bear with me! I think I have about 4 maybe 5 chapters left in me. For now, enjoy this nice long chapter

"PERSIA! I have here in my hand proof! Proof of these Jews." Haman's booming voice was echoing through the crowds.

I was hiding amongst the crowd with a cloak over my head with Hegai behind me. I had taken advantage of Xerxes absence from the kingdom to come and here the secret meeting my maid had informed me about. I almost didn't believe her but standing here now listening to Haman spit vile lies about my people, I was tempted to run up on the stage and tell the truth.

"We shouldn't be here," Hegai whispered lowly behind my ear.

"I need proof for the king if he sees what Haman has written on that scroll about my people he can swiftly put an end to it all! Create a new law to counterfeit the old."

Hegai sighed, "I have a bad feeling that is all."

I patted his hand reassuringly. "If you sense danger then you may take us away." I inched closer to the stage so I could try and get a copy of the scrolls that Haman was throwing out to the crowds.

They were cheering 'end them' or 'death to the' over and over to the point where it made me want to vomit. I managed to get a scroll of the floor and tuck it into my cloak without anyone noticing.

"Come Hegai- let us go now, I have the proof."

Hegai needed no more word before taking my arm and leading me away from the ruckus. We barely made it out the door before a group of men surrounded us. I almost wished I had let Hegai bring the guards with us.

A tall, scruffy man walked closer to us with a smirk on his face.

"What do we have here? Surely, lads, these two aren't from around here with their silk clothing?"

All of the men began to laugh. "We are passing through, sir, please allow us to move on our way," I spoke in the most cordial, royal-like tone.

I wasn't quite sure if I wanted to reveal who I was. In these parts being royalty might not be the best thing.

"Allow us to move on our way."

He chuckled, "Miss you think we care about your final destination? Do we care about what you are doing here? This is a secret meeting, no one unless by invite should be here, let alone a woman." he spat.

I furrowed my brow in irritation, "By innovation? Your leader is the prince of the face and you think people don't know he's here?"

"He is doing great things for our people! He plans to get rid of the Jews once and for all."

Hegai stood in front of me, "You do not want to stand in our way, friend."

The man cocked his head back and laughed, "Friend? Your no better than the Jews, African! The human race need only be pure Agagite or Persian blood."

Hegai whispered, "Go now Esther, let me deal with this."

I shook my head, "No I will not let you get hurt, Hegai."

"I must protect you no go!"

But before I could even run I was apprehended by another man. I had to watch as Hegai was hit in the back of the head, knocking him unconscious.

"Take her to the house, she looks fancy enough to get a price out of her."

"You don't want to that!" I yelled as they dragged me.

The leader snickered, "And why not?"

"Because she's the Queen of Persia you idiot." A dark voice spoke from the dark.

We all turned to see Haman emerge from the shadows in his dark clothing. He was like a double character. He wears his princely attire in the day and his black deathly clothing in the dark both with a change of personality.

I wasn't sure how he was going to treat us. He knew who I was and who Hegai was. The leader of the group seemed to not believe what Haman had said.

"Haman, you expect me to believe the queen would be in this area of the kingdom? Listening to plots of the night?"

Haman chuckled, "Sounds crazy I know. But she's tenacious. Aren't you?"

He walked up to me to look me in the eyes.

"Haman, does the king know you lead these-these meetings? You have a burning hate for the Jewish people. You say they do these bad things but it seems as if you have a biased opinion towards them, do you not?" I was being bold by challenging him to that question.

It was dangerous for me to act like I was not the very person he hated.

Haman smiled, "It seems my lady you have an unusual appeal for these Jews we are speaking of? Tell me- why is that?"

"They are humans, I care about people unlike you."

Haman chuckled, he knew we were in a cat and mouse game. It was only a matter of time before everything unfolded.

"If the king here's about this, we will all be dead!"

Haman rolled his eyes, "Calm yourself. I will escort the queen back to the palace and we will have an understanding."

I scoffed, "Understanding? Haman the king will know of this night and you and your men will be dealt with accordingly."

But when I said these words Haman didn't even look bothered. "No my Lady I don't think so. You see if the king were to find out you were here and almost kidnapped then Hegai would almost certainly be imprisoned or worse killed."

I laughed, "The king would never harm Hegai."

"Maybe not usually, but you think if he would kill his cousin for hurting you he wouldn't kill Hegai? He entrusts him to take care of you."

I looked down at Hegai's body on the floor. He was knocked out before Haman appeared so he would not even remember this conversation.

I sighed, I needed to play my cards right. If I kissed up to Haman now rather than later it would be easier to trap him.

"Very well, you win."

He smiled triumphantly. "Go back to your houses, l shall take them from here."

The leader let go of my arm and gave me a dagger as he walked away. "One day your kind will be the ones begging us for help,"

I said nothing in response to him. I wasn't going to let them have any more leverage on me. Haman took me through the alley while he had two men carry Hegai's body behind us. He had me enter his princely carriage first and then laid Hegai in the back of it.

"If he wakes before we get to the palace, you know what to say right?"

I nodded, "Yes."

He was good, I gave him that. I sat down next to Hegai and lifted his head onto my lap. He was bleeding in the back but it seemed minimal which lifted my worry a bit. I remembered I was still carrying the scroll from the meeting in my cloak.

I glanced to make sure it was still secure. I could not have Haman discovering I was carrying it. For the rest of the ride, I stayed silent. I needed to figure out how I was going to play this out. Xerxes would be back in the morning from the campgrounds and I had promised to never keep anything from him.

But if I didn't keep this a secret would he expose Haman too early? It wasn't the right time yet I knew that. I needed the Lord's guidance now more than ever. When we got to the palace know one suspected a thing. What was it that the queen was with the prince of the face?

The only thing we couldn't explain was the unconscious eunuch.

"He was kicked by a horse and knocked out. Understood?" Haman aggressively whispered. I nodded silently.

"You, come help, Hegai is unconscious."

A guard immediately followed suit and helped Haman carry Hegai out. "What happened to him?"

Haman looked up at me, it was my turn to talk. "We were at the stables and a horse kicked Hegai and he hit his head on the stone. Haman was just returning in his carriage and I asked him to help me bring him back."

I glanced at Haman who seemed impressed how easily I lied about that. Even I was surprised my nerves didn't get the best of me. We carried Hegai to his chambers and I made sure the physician was taking the best care of him.

"Aza when he wakes, tell him I'm fine, alright?"

The physician nodded, "As you wish my lady."

I walked myself out and headed down to my chambers. "Remember our deal queen Esther."

Haman was perched on the side of the pillar.

"I will my prince, but you remember this-" I walked up with a fire in my eye. He was intrigued by my passion, I could tell. "The king doesn't like to be bullied. And I'm sure you know but he values my opinion more than you all combined. So it'd do you good to stay in my good graces if not the king's." I walked away without another word.

I was shaking underneath my clothing but I made sure to be as confident as I could be in front of him. I collapsed on my bed the moment I reached my room. I had just had quite the night. Anahita helped me undress and change into my nightclothes.

"What's this?"

"What's what?" I asked.

She motioned to the scroll in her hand. She was holding my cloak in the other. My eyes widened. "Oh! I forgot about that. Here I'll take it." I smiled sweetly.

She gave me a curious look but said nothing. She handed it to be and left to hand up my garments. I let out a huff and fell back on the pillows.

I wanted to sleep away everything that had just happened. I wished Xerxes was here with me. He was my rock right now. It seemed ever since I revealed to him my secret there was an even closer bond between us. Every day with him seemed to be better than the next. I rolled over on my side so I could blow out my candle but as soon as I did a sharp pain rang through my side.

I felt a whimper escape my lips.

"Esther? Are you okay?" Anahita asked.

I nodded, "Yes, it's just my side, it's hurting a bit."

"Shall I fetch the physician?" she asked very much concerned.

"No, he needs to be with Hegai. I am fine."

I laid on my back and took a deep breath. "If I feel I need him I promise I'll say something."

"Alright, goodnight my lady."

"Goodnight."

I fell asleep easily but it didn't last long. I woke up in more pain than before. I soon found myself in fetal position. My whole stomach was in pain. It felt like my cycle cramps gut a 100x worse. I got up to check to see if It was my stitches but when I lifted my gown there was nothing wrong.

I groaned in pain. It seemed to be spreading downwards. I winced and bent down. My body was in a shock wave and my legs wouldn't move. I laid on the floor and just let my body cramp. I wanted to call out for help but I was in so much pain I couldn't talk.

I began to feel the warmth on my legs after a while. I figured it was just sweat since I was in such adrenaline but when I lifted my fingers the red stick warmth of the blood drained down my tips. I whimpered, why was I bleeding from there? I wasn't due for my womanly time for weeks more! And this didn't feel like a normal cycle.

It'd been about three months since my accident and nothing like this had happened before. I could feel the pain increasing by the minute. I managed to drag myself up to head towards the door but the blood began to drip harder.

And then it all went black.

Meanwhile,

Xerxes was tethering his horse in the stables. He had decided to come home early to surprise his queen. "See he is fed extra oats." he patted his horse.

"Yes sir." the stable boy bowed.

Xerxes breathed in the fresh night air. It seemed all was finally going well. He and Hadassah were happier than ever, the kingdom was calm and it seemed Greece had backed down for the time being.

He walked through the garden and picked a rose first so he could bring it to his love.

When he entered the palace it was quiet. Quieter than usual. He entered his chambers expecting his wife to be cuddled in between all the pillows on the bed like usual.

He smiled and walked over to the bed ready to see her beautiful face but the bed was still perfectly made up.

He frowned, usually she always stayed there even when he wasn't there. Perhaps she was in her chambers? He took his armor off and had his servants bring him his nightly robes.

"Has the queen been in here this evening?"

The servant shook his head, "No my lord."

Xerxes pondered, how unusual. He decided to walk to her chambers and check on her. Her door was closed with the two guards standing beside it as usual.

He knocked, unsure if she was being attended to or not. When no answer came he twisted the handle and entered expecting her to be up and talking with her maids.

But the sight in front of him was more horrid than any battle he had been in or fought. His wife was laying on the floor passed out with a pile of blood surrounding her.

It was smeared on the floor, on her, on the door. He immediately rushed to her side to check her wounds but they were in perfect condition still.

"Hadassah," he whispered frantically.

"My love- wake up," he begged.

The guards were already fetching the physician by the time he said her name. He felt her pulse and it was weak.

"I can't lose you again, not again." he cried.

I know, I know I'm sorry. I have a thing for anguish writing apparently... And I promise the next update won't be another month-long wait!