As the afternoon set in, Farah found herself returning to the palace after spending almost the entire morning outside in the gardens. It felt good to get some fresh air and it was one place where Farah could talk to Indrani in their own language openly without fear of being heard. Indrani had confirmed Roshanak's power among the King's counsel and her numerous spies in the palace, but she had also told Farah about Lady Anemone, the King's Greek wife, and her daughter, Princess Yasmin.

"I don't think that I saw either of them the day I was presented at court" remarked Farah.

"It is said that Lady Anemone suffers from an illness that makes her weak, making it difficult for her to leave her room," said Indrani "but I have heard from the other servants that she is both mild-mannered and kind-hearted."

She sounds like the complete opposite of Roshanak "And Princess Yasmin?"

"She is about 3 years old from what I have heard. She probably stays close to her mother."

"Wait, isn't she the same age as Roshanak's son Shahin? The Prince and Princess were born around the same time?" Roshanak must have hated that.

"Yes, but I imagine that Roshanak earned more favor because she produced a male heir, even if he is sickly, as everyone says. I have heard Roshanak also keeps him out of sight. Almost no one has seen him. Not even the servants"

Farah's insides churned as she thought about her conversation with Indrani. Undoubtedly, Roshanak probably thought she had secured herself after Shahin was born. What would happen if Farah had a son? Would he be involved in a bloody battle with Shahin over the throne? Farah shook her head at the thought. Part of her hoped that she would never give birth to a son, even though it would be advantageous to her for a number of reasons. Another part of her even wished she was barren and unable to have children. Maybe the King would send her back home and she could live the rest of her life in simplicity and anonymity.

Farah shook her head at her own thoughts. Wishful thinking. She dare not voice such thoughts in front of anyone, not even Indrani. Later, as she was heading back to corridor towards her room, Farah heard what sounded like arguing. As she turned around to look, she saw a young woman firmly gripping the arm of a little girl with messy blonde curls. As she looked closer, she recognized the young woman one of Roshanak's servants who had given her a haughty smirk in the king's hall.

"Princess Yasmin! You will do as I say and come with me" yelled the young servant angrily

Princess Yasmin? Thought Farah to herself. This must be Lady Anemone's child.

The little girl continued to resist the tugging on her arm and yelled back. "No, I won't!"

"You impudent little brat! I'll teach you to yell at me!" The servant reached over and struck Yasmin plainly across the face with such force that the little girl fell to the ground crying.

This was too much for Farah to witness any longer. Before the servant could make another move, Farah ran to the little girl and put herself as a barrier between her and the servant.

"Enough." She said firmly to the servant.

The servant looked at Farah with obvious hatred in her eyes.

"I have orders to take this girl with me. This does not concern you." She almost spat.

"The child clearly did not want to come with you and she certainly won't after the way you struck her" replied Farah evenly.

The servant rolled her eyes. "I have my orders" she said tossing her head.

The level of disrespect…thought Farah to herself.

"And I am giving you mine" she replied firmly "The princess comes with me."

The servant continued look at Farah stubbornly with a rude expression on her face before she relented. Farah still had authority over her, and there was nothing she could do. Plus, she really didn't want to deal with that brat anyway, so she walked away.

As soon as the servant was gone, Farah went over to the child and lifted her to her feet.

"Child, are you alright?" asked Farah, brushing away Yasmin's tangled blonde curls away from her face.

Yasmin nodded, still red-faced from the slap, and sniffled in response.

Farah's heart went out to the poor child. She reached over and enveloped the child into an embrace.

"There, there dear" she said. "I won't let anyone hurt you."

Yasmin whimpered and buried her face into Farah, clinging to her tightly. As Farah continued to stroke her hair, rub her back, and whisper to her soothingly, she heard the sound of footsteps.

"Princess Yasmin, there you are!"

Another young servant came running towards the two of them.

"Princess Yasmin, your mother is very worried about you! You disappeared in the corridors-"

The servant halted upon noticing Farah.

"Forgive me your highness," said the servant immediately and somewhat nervously, "This humble servant pays her-"

"No need, dear. At ease." replied Farah with an understanding smile.

The servant relaxed and smiled back. "I know that you are Lady Farah. I am Lady Anemone's servant, Parisa. Lady Anemone extends her apologies. She knew you had arrived and wished to welcome you to Babylon herself. My Lady is often sickly though and was not able to make it to the King's court."

Well, she's definitely not like Roshanak. I should like to meet her. "My gratitude to Lady Anemone for her kind intentions," said Farah. "If she does not mind, may I pay a visit to her in her chambers now?"

"Certainly, Lady Farah, I am sure she will be quite pleased to see the both of you" replied the servant, motioning her head towards both Farah and Yasmin.

The three of them headed to Lady Anemone's quarters with Yasmin still in Farah's arms.

Lady Anemone's quarters were furnished simply but beautifully, and in every part there were flowers of all kinds, scents, and colors. As Parisa went to call her, Farah spent a few moments simply admiring the beauty around her until Parisa returned. Lady Anemone herself was quite the vision herself, and Farah found herself in awe of her appearance. She was taller than Farah, with eyes the color of amethysts and long loose curls the color of corn silk, and although her skin was a bit overly pale and the dark marks under her eyes were most likely due to the sickness her servant had mentioned, it did not take from her angelic beauty. Unlike Roshanak, she exuded warmth and her eyes were full of compassion.

"It is wonderful to finally meet you, Lady Farah." said Lady Anemone after embracing Farah in a hug. "Parisa just told me of your kindness to Yasmin. I can't thank you enough."

As they sat down and were served refreshments by the servants, Lady Anemone smiled warmly at Farah.

"I have heard quite a bit about the Princess of India who helped the Prince of Persia regain his kingdom. I see that you are not only brave and kind but also very beautiful."

Farah, who had been sipping her tea at this point, almost choked at Lady Anemone's words. She was shocked that someone as beautiful as Lady Anemone would complement her in such a way.

"I…, uh, thank you" replied Farah, who found herself turning a bit pink.

"No, thank you" replied Lady Anemone. "Yasmin is a good child, but she is bit curious, perhaps too much for her own good. And almost every time she wanders about the corridors alone, she ends being found by one of Lady Roshanak's servants."

At the mention of Roshanak, a look of worry crossed Lady Anemone's face. This was not lost on Farah.

"I witnessed one of Lady Roshanak's servants slap your daughter" interjected Farah. "When I told her to leave the child along, she rolled her eyes and gave me attitude."

"That was probably Bahar, one of Lady Roshanak's younger servants." replied Lady Anemone with a sad sigh. "It is obvious from the way she acts that she has been taught to disrespect anyone who is not Persian by birth." Shaking her head, Anemone looked up at Farah once again. "This is also not the first time one of Lady Roshanak's servants has slapped Yasmin."

Farah raised her eyebrows as Anemone nodded. "It is the truth. Her servants will find any excuse to yell or scold Yasmin harshly for no particular reason."

"And…, the King?" asked Farah. "Have you ever brought this to his attention?

Lady Anemone coughed slightly and looked up at Farah with a sad smile.

"I rarely get an audience with the King, especially due to my...sickness. He does come to see me from time to time, but I can hardly plague him with complaints about Lady Roshanak during those rare visits."

Farah nodded, feeling bad for Lady Anemone and the position she was in. "I understand. It also doesn't seem to help that Roshanak seems to have the favor of the King and the court." she stated with a sigh.

"The court perhaps, but not the king, no. She has never had his heart."

"How do you know that?"

"His Majesty is a both just and kind man, but I know that his heart truly belongs to only one woman. That is you, Lady Farah."

Once again, Farah nearly choked on her tea. Coughing slightly, she looked up in surprise. "Sorry.., what was that?"

Anemone smiled at her. "You should have seen His Majesty when they announced that the Indian Kingdom had agreed to his offer and you were to become his wife. The happiness on his face, the look in his eyes when he spoke your name...I could tell that his feelings for you were special."

Farah felt her face getting warm and simply stared into her cup. She was not sure what to make of any of this. Had he really been that excited about her coming? Anemone had observed so much of Sherfiruz's behavior prior to her return to Babylon and knew quite a bit about her, but she was being so nice...Farah would have thought that Anemone would have some resentment towards the fact that Sherfiruz supposedly had a favorite.

"Lady Farah, I do not tell you any of this out of spite or with any malice" reassured Anemone, almost as if she had read Farah's mind. "In fact, I am going to be honest with you."

Farah looked up as Anemone reached for her hand.

"You know that I am ill, but what you do not know is that I, well, I will not get any better." Anemone paused briefly before continuing, "My condition...I grow weaker and weaker, and I know that my time is limited."

At these words, Farah felt her heart sink, and her eyes widened in shock, but she stayed silent. She had not been expecting this at all.

"Before you came, I had a good feeling about you, Lady Farah. I had heard much about your character and your personality, and I felt that you were someone I could trust. When you saved Yasmin and came to visit me, there was no doubt in my mind. Lady Farah, I ask you of a favor. I ask you to watch over my daughter, Yasmin when I am...gone."

At this point, a tear slipped out of Anemone's left eye and she paused for a second. Farah squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"Lady Anemone, you have my word. I will take care of Yasmin as if she were my own child. I promise."

Anemone's face relaxed and she smiled at Farah. "Thank you. It is all that I ask." Then suddenly, her face became serious and she placed her other hand on top of Farah's once more. " One more thing. Lady Roshanak might not have His Majesty's heart, but she has multiple spies and multiple connections both inside and outside these palace walls. Living in this palace is sometimes similar to watching over your shoulder all the time."

Farah nodded, having already heard as much from Indrani and having heard stories when she was still in India.

"Lady Roshanak is extremely shrewd and manipulative. She knows that His Majesty cares for you in a special way. She will try to exploit that or try to tamper with it in any way possible. You are to have your marriage ceremony soon, am I correct?"

Farah nodded. The ceremonies were to begin in five days.

"My dear, you must be very careful" said Anemone. "Keep your guard up. Roshanak is capable of anything, and knowing how she is, I would not be surprised if she were to try something during that time."