August, 1617
Full summer had come to Valentia, and with it, the first fruits of the new king's reign. With rebellion held down for the time being, Nasir had begun to open schools in the capital of Iska - just one or two, to begin with, to start laying the foundation for the dream of a fully literate population. There were other celebrations to be had as well - word had spread across the land that the king's Teliran was with child, carrying what might be the first heir to the throne in her womb. The royal court had been peppered with marriages, wives loyal to the king and the queen-mother given to men loyal to Valentia from the harem itself. Life had grown a little lighter, a little happier, though they were still awaiting news of the friend who had not yet reached his homeland safely.
And in the midst of this lightness, Safiya was brimming with delight. As the head of the harem now at Shahista's command, she summoned her closest friend to her quarters, pacing excitedly back and forth as she waited.
Teres came when she was called, not because the queen had summoned her so much as her closest friend - one she considered a sister. Of course, all the women of the harem were considered sisters, but the bond between Safiya and Teres had always been a close one. Her hair was still damp, testament that she had been in the baths at the time she'd been summoned, but she made no complaint and came as quickly as she could.
Slightly out of breath even as she'd hurried, she stepped into the queen's chambers. "I came as soon as I could, Safi. What is wrong?"
"Oh, goodness, maymun, you did not need to cut short your bath!" Safiya laughed gently, reaching out to clasp Teres' hands in hers, dark eyes sparkling happily. "I have such good news, for both of us. I am sorry for summoning you so abruptly, but I am so eager to share it with you!"
"You saved me from becoming as wrinkled as a prune," Teres said, a sparkle of amusement in her eyes as her friend took her by the hands, relieved she'd been summoned to hear good news and not bad. There had been too much upheaval of late; they all deserved some good news.
"You would make an adorable prune," was Safi's near instant response as she drew her friend to the padded couch. "Teres, we are to be married. You and I. The king has decided that he wishes to make me his queen, and ....and Ezra has asked him for your hand."
Teres had been about to tease her friend by asking why she and Safi should marry each other when the other woman dropped a certain name that had her gasping in shock, her face flushing with color. The fact that Safi was to marry the king came as no surprise, but the mention of her own marriage did. She'd hoped for it for some time, but had never thought it would really come to pass.
"Ezra has asked for my hand?" she echoed, in a state of shock.
"Asked for, and been given permission to approach you," Safi confirmed excitedly. "He will be named the official Keeper of Secrets at the next court session, and ....Well, I believe he would very much like to be a married man before then." She hesitated, looking worriedly into her friend's eyes. "I thought the news would please you. Do you not like him any longer?"
"No, of course, I do! I just ..." Teres trailed off, dropping onto a cushion. "It's so sudden!" she said, not to mention unexpected. "It is more than I could have ever hoped for," she said, blinking back tears at the thought that she might leave the harem to be wed to her Ezra.
"Oh, do not cry, Teres!" Safi drew closer, stroking her hand against her friend's cheek fondly. "I asked Lady Shahista how things would change with marriage for both of us. She tells me that I will be moving into the queen's apartment - the closed rooms between the harem and the king's apartment. And you will be sharing your husband's apartment within the palace as well. We will still spend much of our time here in the harem, but we will not be a part of it any longer. We can start to create the ladies' court we were talking about."
"Yes, yes, of course," Teres said, sniffling and wiping the happy tears from her face. "And we will have children - families - of our own. Oh, Safi, did you ever think it could be this way' I always thought I would belong to the harem and the king. I will be Suraan no longer."
"No, you will be Lady Teres Turzic, and I will make you my companion because I cannot do this without my friend and sister," Safiya insisted softly, squeezing her hand. "We have never been apart. If you were to leave the palace, I do not know what I would do."
"No, as much as I love Ezra, I would be lost without my sister," Teres echoed the other woman's words. "Can you believe it, Safi" Did you ever imagine it in your wildest dreams?" she asked of their fates. So much had changed since Nasir had become king.
"I could never have imagined it," Safi murmured in delight. "I cannot help but wonder who our third is supposed to be. Everything else the diviner predicted seems to have come true; if it will all be true, then Nasir will have another friend come to his side, and that friend will be given a wife from the harem." She looked mischievous for a moment. "Should we decide who it should be now, so I may suggest her when the time comes?"
"Who is it you would welcome as a second sister?" Teres asked, smiling. While others might be too jealous and possessive to welcome another woman into their circle, the women of the harem had always been like sisters. It would be a privilege and a pleasure to be able to choose the queen's closest companions.
"Sasha, perhaps?" Safiya suggested. Sasha was the most foreign of the ladies in the harem, a former slave who had been bought from the black markets in the port city of Valens and brought to the harem when she was thirteen. She had been definitely unwilling to remain, but had slowly come to terms with her new life as Shahista made a point of keeping the girl safe. She was from a land far away, but had been a slave too long to recall who she had been before. Still, she was a fierce friend, and there was a sense of loyalty she clearly felt toward Teres and Safiya for befriending her to begin with.
"Perhaps, but do you think she would be willing to be wed to a man she has never met' It is a lot to ask of any woman," Teres reasoned, and yet, it might prove a better life than that of one spent in the harem.
"It is more than most of us were ever trained to expect," Safi mused. "And Sasha has adopted our customs very well. I am sure she doesn't mean it when she says she will stab the first man who touches her without her permission."
"Perhaps we should wait to see how she reacts to this other man. Do we even know who he is?" Teres asked, relaxing a little now that the shock of her friend's news had eased, replaced with joy and excitement. Their lives were changing quickly.
Full summer had come to Valentia, and with it, the first fruits of the new king's reign. With rebellion held down for the time being, Nasir had begun to open schools in the capital of Iska - just one or two, to begin with, to start laying the foundation for the dream of a fully literate population. There were other celebrations to be had as well - word had spread across the land that the king's Teliran was with child, carrying what might be the first heir to the throne in her womb. The royal court had been peppered with marriages, wives loyal to the king and the queen-mother given to men loyal to Valentia from the harem itself. Life had grown a little lighter, a little happier, though they were still awaiting news of the friend who had not yet reached his homeland safely.
And in the midst of this lightness, Safiya was brimming with delight. As the head of the harem now at Shahista's command, she summoned her closest friend to her quarters, pacing excitedly back and forth as she waited.
Teres came when she was called, not because the queen had summoned her so much as her closest friend - one she considered a sister. Of course, all the women of the harem were considered sisters, but the bond between Safiya and Teres had always been a close one. Her hair was still damp, testament that she had been in the baths at the time she'd been summoned, but she made no complaint and came as quickly as she could.
Slightly out of breath even as she'd hurried, she stepped into the queen's chambers. "I came as soon as I could, Safi. What is wrong?"
"Oh, goodness, maymun, you did not need to cut short your bath!" Safiya laughed gently, reaching out to clasp Teres' hands in hers, dark eyes sparkling happily. "I have such good news, for both of us. I am sorry for summoning you so abruptly, but I am so eager to share it with you!"
"You saved me from becoming as wrinkled as a prune," Teres said, a sparkle of amusement in her eyes as her friend took her by the hands, relieved she'd been summoned to hear good news and not bad. There had been too much upheaval of late; they all deserved some good news.
"You would make an adorable prune," was Safi's near instant response as she drew her friend to the padded couch. "Teres, we are to be married. You and I. The king has decided that he wishes to make me his queen, and ....and Ezra has asked him for your hand."
Teres had been about to tease her friend by asking why she and Safi should marry each other when the other woman dropped a certain name that had her gasping in shock, her face flushing with color. The fact that Safi was to marry the king came as no surprise, but the mention of her own marriage did. She'd hoped for it for some time, but had never thought it would really come to pass.
"Ezra has asked for my hand?" she echoed, in a state of shock.
"Asked for, and been given permission to approach you," Safi confirmed excitedly. "He will be named the official Keeper of Secrets at the next court session, and ....Well, I believe he would very much like to be a married man before then." She hesitated, looking worriedly into her friend's eyes. "I thought the news would please you. Do you not like him any longer?"
"No, of course, I do! I just ..." Teres trailed off, dropping onto a cushion. "It's so sudden!" she said, not to mention unexpected. "It is more than I could have ever hoped for," she said, blinking back tears at the thought that she might leave the harem to be wed to her Ezra.
"Oh, do not cry, Teres!" Safi drew closer, stroking her hand against her friend's cheek fondly. "I asked Lady Shahista how things would change with marriage for both of us. She tells me that I will be moving into the queen's apartment - the closed rooms between the harem and the king's apartment. And you will be sharing your husband's apartment within the palace as well. We will still spend much of our time here in the harem, but we will not be a part of it any longer. We can start to create the ladies' court we were talking about."
"Yes, yes, of course," Teres said, sniffling and wiping the happy tears from her face. "And we will have children - families - of our own. Oh, Safi, did you ever think it could be this way' I always thought I would belong to the harem and the king. I will be Suraan no longer."
"No, you will be Lady Teres Turzic, and I will make you my companion because I cannot do this without my friend and sister," Safiya insisted softly, squeezing her hand. "We have never been apart. If you were to leave the palace, I do not know what I would do."
"No, as much as I love Ezra, I would be lost without my sister," Teres echoed the other woman's words. "Can you believe it, Safi" Did you ever imagine it in your wildest dreams?" she asked of their fates. So much had changed since Nasir had become king.
"I could never have imagined it," Safi murmured in delight. "I cannot help but wonder who our third is supposed to be. Everything else the diviner predicted seems to have come true; if it will all be true, then Nasir will have another friend come to his side, and that friend will be given a wife from the harem." She looked mischievous for a moment. "Should we decide who it should be now, so I may suggest her when the time comes?"
"Who is it you would welcome as a second sister?" Teres asked, smiling. While others might be too jealous and possessive to welcome another woman into their circle, the women of the harem had always been like sisters. It would be a privilege and a pleasure to be able to choose the queen's closest companions.
"Sasha, perhaps?" Safiya suggested. Sasha was the most foreign of the ladies in the harem, a former slave who had been bought from the black markets in the port city of Valens and brought to the harem when she was thirteen. She had been definitely unwilling to remain, but had slowly come to terms with her new life as Shahista made a point of keeping the girl safe. She was from a land far away, but had been a slave too long to recall who she had been before. Still, she was a fierce friend, and there was a sense of loyalty she clearly felt toward Teres and Safiya for befriending her to begin with.
"Perhaps, but do you think she would be willing to be wed to a man she has never met' It is a lot to ask of any woman," Teres reasoned, and yet, it might prove a better life than that of one spent in the harem.
"It is more than most of us were ever trained to expect," Safi mused. "And Sasha has adopted our customs very well. I am sure she doesn't mean it when she says she will stab the first man who touches her without her permission."
"Perhaps we should wait to see how she reacts to this other man. Do we even know who he is?" Teres asked, relaxing a little now that the shock of her friend's news had eased, replaced with joy and excitement. Their lives were changing quickly.