Hey! How's life been? I'm finally updating, y'all!
Questions:
Is it me or are David and Bathsheba bstaring to become close or have an attachment to each other? No...It's not just you *smirks*. I'm aiming for them to eventually grow into a relationship where they can air their complaints easily with one another, but have a hard time understanding the other's goals and motivations. Overtime they'll grow closer but...Well, you'll see. Their relationship is supposed to be a very complex one, so please bear with me!
Who is that woman in the painting? It's a secret! But you'll eventually know; don't worry, I don't plan on introducing many more characters. It is someone I've already mentioned, so...
That being said, allow me to introduce a new character!
Catharsis
By Gold Sparrow
Chapter 10: Ester
Ester was never foolish.
She believes in many things, but she never believed in love. She figured, for the longest time, that it was people's stupid rationalization for why they felt attracted to another person. If you love someone then it's okay to feel that way. It's not animalistic, barbaric, or foolish at all.
But then, in a twist of fate, she fell in love.
He was a stupid, not-that-great-looking guy. His nose was crooked and his eyebrows thick, but he had nice, straight teeth and the gentlest hands. He picked her flowers from the meadow outside of the Gunud he worked in, bringing them to her every time he returned to the city as an apology for having to work so far away.
After a while, she gave up trying not to absolutely adore him. At the age of twenty-five, she married that idiot man, and she loved him.
He never raised his voice at her, he never hit her. He treated her with love, affection and tenderness, not to mention he was always considerate of her feelings. She always hated herself a little for not being as good to him, so to make up for it she tried to be as great a wife as possible.
But not all people are perfect like him, and like most married couples do, she had a bad fight with him. It was spring of last year, she remembers now. She was upset because he was going to back to the Gunud again- this time for a whole six months. They fought because Ester hated being alone with their baby daughter for long stretches of time- it made her feel insecure and pressured, especially since she already was unsure of her qualifications as a parent.
He left, she smarted, their daughter learned to crawl and say "selfish man".
They would tell her later that he died picking flowers.
They would tell her that if he had been inside when the Gunud's magic malfunctioned and made the Nanawei go off the handle, he would've been fine. But because he got his supervisor to let him go home to see his wife, he was outside picking her an apology gift from the gardens he grew himself with the orphans. He was mawled by the fierce claws of blue demons.
Ester knows that she murdered her husband.
If she had let him go he wouldn't have felt the need to nag his supervisor to let him come back. He wouldn't have been outside picking flowers for her. Then he would've been safe, and returned to her and their daughter
But he's never coming back. His little girl is fatherless. His wife is a widow.
That's how she meets Bathsheba Jehoahaz Abraham, by crying over the floor she's supposed to be washing.
Ester was never foolish.
She isn't now.
Which is why she mans up and hides her sobs, trying to become invisible as the woman passes her. But the so-called beast queen slows down and stops by her side, the attendant following her patiently waiting off to the side.
Ester breathes in deeply as Lady Bathsheba kneels by her side, wincing. Just her luck. Now she's going to get fired for being unprofessional, and her husband's ghost will haunt her for being unable to take care of-
A hand drops onto her head.
"I see…" The blue-haired woman murmurs. "Come with me."
Ester killed her husband.
She's a terrible mother.
And she's not a fool.
But the same sense of need fills her like when she felt the need to love her husband. A force that compels her very being and tugs against the rationality of her beliefs.
Hesitantly, Ester follows Bathsheba.
As Ester soon finds out, Lady Bathsheba is pregnant, in her second trimester.
That explains the loose robes and swollen stomach. Since she hadn't gotten a good look at the Queen before following her, Ester had incorrectly assumed she was just fat. Now she knows the truth, and tries her best not to look stupid in front of the most powerful and influential woman in the world.
"Why were you crying?"
In a moment, all her cares slip away. Bathsheba sits beside her on a coach, wrapping a warm arm around her shoulders.
"...My husband's dead…" Ester murmurs. "Today's the anniversary…"
"I see." The woman squeezes her in the half-hug, head dipped in respect for the dead. "What else?"
"My daughter…" Ester sobs. "I don't have enough money to feed the both of us…!"
Bathsheba's other arm raises up and swaddles the younger woman in an embrace.
"Life isn't always nice."
"You can say that again…" She murmurs bitterly, her eyes closing as she allows herself to lean against the warmth the older woman possesses. Her eyes slowly close, feeling like, for the first time, she's finally as safe as she was when she laid in her husband's arms.
Why is she doing this? Why is she allowing a woman she barely knows to embrace her?
Why does it feel like she cares?
"What was his name?"
"Tian," Ester whispers, revering. "He was from, like, the far east. He always-"
Her voice stops, stuck once more.
Bathsheba lightly clucks, like a mother, and gently pats Ester's hand.
"Will you sing for me?" Bath asks, softly. Ester, if she had been less hungry and less miserable, might've questioned her how she knows about her one talent. Instead, the poor woman opens her mouth and sings.
She's useless in the kitchen, and can't sew, and only has a pretty face to bargain with, but ever since she was a child she knew she could sing. It was a gift that she wrapped up in secretive isolation and shielded with love. Now she lets it loose, filling the room with long, sorrowful notes full of her sadness and despair. It tells a story, her story, from beginning to end. By the time she finishes, Bathsheba's eyes are closed and her lips are parted in amazement.
"What is your job currently?"
"Maid." Ester admits, ashamed. She, with a young daughter, hardly should be away for such a long time working in the palace. But there were no other choices for a housewife being forced into the labor force.
"I see." Bathsheba sits up, hand over her stomach, and pats Ester's head. "No more."
"Huh?"
"You're now my handmaid." The Queen rises. She smiles softly at Ester's shocked face. "Bring your daughter here. Arba has already made plans to give you your first paycheck."
It takes Ester a moment to realize she's crying.
"Thank you," She newly-made handmaid melts to her knees, tears falling down her cheeks. "Thank you."
"Mommy?" Ester picks up her daughter, spinning her around. The child squeals and giggles, putting her little hands over her little mouth.
"Sweetheart, Mommy has, like, a job!"
"A job?" The three year old wrinkles her nose. "Where?"
Ester clucks, kissing her daughter's forehead.
"The Palace."
She gasps.
"With the King and Queen, aru?"
"Mhm. I work for the Queen."
"Wow!"
Ester looks down at her child. Such a beautiful thing, with her father's emerald eyes. She inherited her mother's orange hair, which she has tied in pigtails with white ribbons. Ester smiles, kissing her baby's forehead.
"I love you, Falan."
Falan looks up, happily surprised by her mother's sudden words.
"I love you too, aru."
Yay~! I updated~!
AND YES EVERYONE, BABY FALAN HAS APPEARED! I bet you thought I was introducing another character solely for Bathsheba's character development, didn't you?! Jk but Ester will have an impact on Bath later on. This chapter was mostly just introducing another character and also expanding a bit more on the lives of the magicians in Alma Torran. No biggie~~~ The next chapter is a bit more development, more plot movement, and the beginning of the count-down towards the birth of Bath's baby! So excited~!
Got any questions or suggestions? Something wrong about the chapter? Grammatical errors, something you didn't like? PM me or leave it in the reviews, I will reply and see what I can do to make the story better/clearer for y'all to understand. ILY MY DARLING READERS!
BYE~~~~~~~