Game of Queens (15 page)

“Very well, Hegai,” Daniel said. “If that's what you really want, I'll arrange a meeting for you with the Chief Eunuch.”

*   *   *

In those days, the Chief Eunuch of the Women's Palace was an amiable, indolent creature called Giti, who had held his office more years than I had lived. To become the Chief Eunuch was the height of ambition for my kind, so once Giti must have been capable and cunning. But now … now the king was a small child, the harem's women had belonged to the last king, and the Women's Palace languished, useless. Giti's skills languished as well, and he became content to grow old in comfort.

All Giti wished to do now was bask in sunlight and admiration, and indulge in sweet food and wine. I intended to ensure that Giti's simple wishes were granted.

That Daniel Dream-Master offered me to him pleased the Chief Eunuch a great deal. I was a visible sign that Daniel held Giti in high regard—and Giti knew how well I cared for Daniel's affairs. On the occasions I had encountered the Chief Eunuch, I had carefully flattered him and offered him admiration that was not entirely feigned. Giti had, after all, managed to grow old as Chief Eunuch; he had much of value to teach—survival is a valuable skill to learn.

So to the satisfaction of all parties involved, I became the Chief Eunuch's servant. I intended to become as indispensable to Giti as I had tried to be to Daniel. I knew I had never truly become necessary to Daniel—but Giti was a much simpler master to manipulate. I intended to become Chief Eunuch someday. Becoming essential to the current Chief Eunuch, to the smooth running of the Women's Palace, was a vital first step to that goal.

I thought at first that I would have to offer the coin of my body to obtain advancement—but although Giti openly admired my beautiful body, his true desire was to be granted the respect due his rank and age. I granted him both, as well as the added pleasure of instructing me as I listened with avid interest. By the time I was twenty, I acted as Chief Eunuch in all but name.

I intended to have the title as well, in time. The Chief Eunuch held nearly as much power as a king, or as a queen mother. Now I began an unhurried campaign to persuade Giti he wished to retire and to recommend me as his successor. Giti began to speak wistfully of rest after his long years of service, of the joy of simple living in a small palace in the cool mountains, fantasies I happily encouraged. Then Giti died by sheer mischance; between one bite of honey-cake and the next he lay dead, a look of faint surprise on his round face. I had been Giti's creature; I had acted as Chief Eunuch with Giti's goodwill, but I did not possess the title. All my careful plans lay in ruins.

Or so I thought. For even as I arranged ostentatious funeral rites I knew would have pleased Giti, I received a summons that nearly stopped my breath. Queen Mother Amestris commanded me to appear before her.

Of course I had seen the Queen Mother, but I had never been permitted near enough even to hear what her voice sounded like. Palace gossip slid around the subject of Amestris; unwary words too easily reached her ears, for she had spies everywhere—or so it was whispered. Daniel had mentioned her rarely, and Samamat cautiously. Arioch never spoke of her at all.

I had emulated Captain Arioch; I listened when others spoke of the Queen Mother. For Great Darius's death had bestowed upon the empire a new King of Kings barely five years old, and Queen Mother Amestris seized the reins of power and ruled in her son Ahasuerus's name.

Even the council of the Seven Princes bowed to Amestris's will. In the Women's Palace, rumor had it that Amestris controlled the Seven with fear and lust. No one would dare say the Queen Mother ordered death, or that she welcomed men, or women, into her bed. But somehow she knew everything—or so it seemed.

I cared only for the fact that the all-powerful Queen Mother had sent for me.

Giti must have spoken of me to her. Can she possibly wish me to replace him?
A hope I dared not indulge when I needed to prepare myself for the most important encounter of my life.

At last I would meet the true ruler of the empire, for until the king was no longer a child, power lay in Amestris's lap.

*   *   *

Of course I wore my finest garments and gems; nothing less would do for this occasion. At the appointed time, I walked through the harem gardens to the Queen's Palace, which Amestris still inhabited even though protocol demanded the Queen Mother remove herself to the Queen Mother's Palace once the king her husband died. But Amestris created her own rules.

She did not receive me in her reception hall with its queen's throne, but in a private chamber as brilliant as a jewel-box. Amestris formed its most precious gem. When I was ushered into her presence, she sat on a couch, playing cup-and-ball. As I bowed low, she flipped the ivory ball into the cinnabar cup with great precision. Her garments of blue and silver shimmered in the lamplight.

“Oh, rise,” she said. “I cannot judge you without seeing your face.” Her voice should have been a delight to the ear, soft and sweetly modulated. But I used my own voice as a weapon and as a mask, so I recognized the tactic.

I straightened and then, when I saw that I towered over her, I sank gracefully to one knee. “Thank you, O great queen. May you live forever.”

Amestris looked upon me, smiling; I knew she studied me as intently as I did her. “Did you know that Giti spoke of you to me?”

“No, O queen.” Truth: I did not
know
—but I had guessed, for Giti had hinted of it to me often enough. “That was kind of him.”

“He spoke very well of you. Now that he is dead, a new Chief Eunuch must be appointed.”

“As my queen says,” I murmured; behind my bland words and smooth face, my heart beat fast and hard. I could not let her see how very much I desired that appointment. The Chief Eunuch of the Women's Palace held more power in his hands than many kings.

Amestris sent the ivory ball into the air again, caught it neatly in the cinnabar cup. “Do you think yourself fit for the position?”

And here I had thought it would take hours to come to this point! I smiled. “Yes, O queen.”

“You are very direct.” She did not sound offended.

I took a risk. “So are you, O queen.”

She laughed softly. “Why, so I am. So you think yourself fit to replace our dear Giti? Well, he seemed to think so. I believe you call yourself Hegai?”

“I do, O queen.”

“Well, I suppose it is appropriate. And you are loyal, are you not?” Amestris stared at me, assessing, her eyes cold and flat as a snake's.

I bowed, so I did not have to face those serpent eyes—and so that she could not look into mine. “I am loyal to my queen,” I said, and by the time I straightened, I was smiling. To my intense relief, the Queen Mother also smiled.

“I am a generous mistress,” she said. “And I have women who can make you forget you are no longer a man.”

“Thank you, my queen. But I would rather have women who can make me remember that I am not a woman.”

“So, Hegai…” Amestris seemed to taste the name, savor it upon her tongue. She smiled, an expression I did not trust.

I kept my face smooth and bland as milk. Let Amestris speak, and so reveal her thoughts. I would keep silent, and reveal nothing.

But she surprised even me; as I stood and watched her, the Queen Mother rose gracefully to her feet and walked, slow and deliberate, down the steps from her couch. She reminded me forcibly of a panther, sleek and dark and deadly. She stood before me and regarded me with bland malice.

“So you wish to serve as ruler of the Women's Palace? You wish to command the women of the King of Kings?” To hear Amestris speak, one never would guess that the King of Kings had not yet attained the age of fourteen. “Very well, show me your skill. Undress me.”

Panther indeed; I dare not hesitate. I neither startled nor smiled. I merely said, “As my queen commands,” and unpinned the brooches at her shoulder. Nor did I pause when all that still covered her body was a shift of silk so finely woven her skin gleamed through the cloth. Since she did not countermand her order, I unlaced the gilded cords closing the shift, and then Queen Mother Amestris stood before me clad only in her jewels and her sandals of crimson leather.

“Well?” Amestris said. “What do you think, when you look upon me?”

I studied her calmly. “I think that you are very beautiful.” Small and lush and perfect, her beauty was that of a flawless sculpture. “But of course you know that. Do you wish me to remove your jewels and unbraid your hair, O queen?”

She laughed softly, and put her jeweled hand upon my chest. “No, Hegai. That is not what I wish. What I wish to know is just how great is your desire to serve me.” Her hand slid lower; I could feel the heat of her skin even through my clothing. “Are you a true eunuch, Hegai? Did the knife cut away ambition?”

So the Queen Mother wishes to test my resolve, does she? Well, let us see if I can surprise her.
I regarded her steadily. “Ambition is not what I lack, O queen. Nor do I lack skill.”

Amestris raised her slim, elegantly arched brows. “Ambition and skill both?” Words almost whispered, gentle and tender—but I heard a cruel purr beneath the softness. She stepped back, as self-possessed as if she wore royal robes rather than nothing but the perfumed air. “Well, let us see—and let us see what lies beneath those splendid robes.” Now her words cracked whip-sharp.

But if she thought to see me blush or flinch, I disappointed her. “As my queen commands.” No emotion disturbed my voice or troubled my features. I neither frowned nor smiled as I obeyed Amestris's command. I did not smile even as I, too, stood naked to the lavishly scented air, and she gestured in wordless demand. I merely set my hands and then my mouth upon her, and learned her sharp harsh needs.

And as I tasted the bitterness of her perfume and felt her gilded nails etch my skin, I silently thanked the courtesan Zebbani. Of all the truths Zebbani had taught me during that one fierce night, the one that saved me was this:

The body is nothing. Never give more than your body, Jasper. If your body is all they possess, they have no power over you.

*   *   *

Afterward, Amestris ordered me to dress her again; she stood silent as I performed that task. When I had finished, I bowed, and waited—waited, calm and patient, until Amestris indicated that I might dress as well. Then I waited again. At last Amestris said, “Do you not wish to know my decision, Hegai?”

“Of course, O queen. But you will reveal it when it pleases you to do so.” I knew I dared greatly, but I could do nothing if I did not know Amestris better than she knew herself—and if she did not respect me.

Her eyes narrowed—if I had not been studying her face, I would not have seen that revealing movement. But that was all; she smiled, and said lightly, “Wise as well as beautiful and skilled. Now run along, Hegai—and think upon how you will order things now that you are Chief Eunuch over all the women in the palace.”

Over
all
the women?
I doubted my authority covered Amestris herself; Amestris intended the palace to have but one mistress—and no master.

“Whatever you wish, you have only to ask for and it will be granted.” Amestris sounded bored; she twisted a gold bracelet around her wrist, seemed intent upon the gleam of emeralds and gold.

“Anything, O queen?”
She lies. She would not grant me half the kingdom—or tell me the truth, even if I asked it from her. So this is a test.

Amestris said nothing as meaningless as “anything within reason.” Instead, she said merely, “You are clever and ambitious. Spend whatever you will upon whatever you please. And remember that with the blessing of the Lord of Light, you may be Chief Eunuch for many, many years.”

Nor did she ask if I understood her. She knew I did—and if I did not, whatever I commanded would warn her that I was either foolish, or greedy, or both. And a greedy fool would not reign over the Women's Palace for long.

“Now go.” Amestris never took her eyes from the bracelet she toyed with.

What came next seemed, when I pondered upon it later, inevitable. Destined. I bowed and backed away from the Queen Mother—and as I straightened and turned to leave, I found myself face-to-face with Haman.

Ice and fire roared through my body; I froze, incapable of movement or speech. I had awaited this moment since I was fourteen—and now that it had come, I was unprepared. All I could do was wait for Haman to—

“Welcome, Lord Haman.” Amestris sounded more bored than welcoming. “Allow me to introduce to you the new ruler of the Women's Palace. And you, Hegai, behold Lord Haman, a man of many uses.”

Her voice steadied me; I bowed. “Greetings, Lord Haman.” When I straightened, I looked into his eyes, and saw nothing there but indifference. In all my imagining and planning for just such a moment, never had it occurred to me that Haman would not know me instantly. But he did not. The last time he had looked upon my face, I had been a maddened, grief-stricken boy of fourteen. Now I was a head taller than he. Now my hair curled oiled and sleek down my back to below my waist, and malachite and kohl, gold dust and carmine, masked my face.

Haman inclined his head very slightly, but said nothing in response to my polite words. He clearly saw no reason he should bother to feign interest in me.

He does not know me.
Jubilant, I bowed again, and swept past Haman. As soon as Haman could see me no longer, I stopped and leaned against the wall. Smooth stone pressed cool against my burning skin and steadied me.

Haman. Haman and Amestris.
Now that was a pretty pairing; I wondered just how much the Queen Mother knew about her favored courtier.
They are well matched. I must tread carefully. Very, very carefully.