Episode 3

About one hundred concubines were selected for the king. Very few even came to cross words with the man and that was why these women; The beauties of the king would do everything possible to be noticed by the monarch and thus win his favor. But anyone who managed to capture the king's attention was unconsciously digging his own grave. Well, the empress would be responsible for throwing them mercilessly over the precipice, being forgotten by all, even by their families who, seeing them fall into disgrace, would deny the existence of the name of said concubine in their genealogical record.

There were many beauties of the king, beautiful flowers at dawn but withered at nightfall. That was the nature of flowers; Be beautiful, express charm and freshness. But not forever, the flowers withered, their beauty was not eternal. In that other sense the beauties of the king were also flowers. For time would pass over them, their years of youth would be ephemeral, and finally they would be lost among the yellowish leaves of history.

Ezra Azzar knew very well the tricks that could be hatched by concubines and wives along with vengeful eunuchs. And although, she did not have a secret formula to avoid trouble, she knew she should not be the king's favorite. She just wanted to live quietly.

Life in the harem seemed to be peaceful, but that appearance was only the surface of an immense castle of evil or a thin cloth that divided the elements of water and air. And that at the slightest movement he plunged into the black depths of his intentions.

At the completion of the selection, all the selected concubines were distributed in large, small palaces and stately homes according to their family status and dynastic emblem. The imperial complex had about a thousand rooms. And only the largest palaces were intended for the empress, official wives and favored concubines.

Ezra entered the small palace assigned to him. It was small but livable. He toured the place in a few minutes and adjusted his belongings on a dusty table. Now, Ezra was not very comfortable with the palace, it looked more like an abandoned house. While the girl checked the state of her new home, two servants, a house cleaner, and a eunuch, entered the place.

"Greetings to the royal assistant, Madame Azzar," the servants said in a loud voice.

Madame Azzar nodded in, and they relaxed in their posts. Ezra was sure that these two people were the only staff she would count on in the cleaning and care. Letting them conduct their labors, he left the palace and raised his eyes to the luxurious and immense palace that was lost in the fog. A palace between fantasies and legends, it was the abode of the empress; also called the palace of eternal light. Although his name did not attribute at all what was lived, An immense darkness. And Ezra still did not imagine how evil a woman could be.

⟦.. ⟧

Ms. Cadi entered his palace. His house cleaner took off his thick foxskin coat once he was inside the warmth of the palace.

Anger ate away at her being and all because of the whims of the empress. Days earlier he had visited her palace in hopes of convincing her to hand over her daughter. However, the woman remained insensitive to his requests.

It was true that Ms. Cadi had been able to be one of the official wives thanks to the help of the Empress. The guarantee was to raise her daughter once she was three years old. But it had been four years since he had last seen her. She was a mother and her daughter needed her, for her she would do anything.

Ms. Cadi saw the snow fall from her palace and in her mind, she was already organizing the plan she would follow to recover her daughter.

Night came with its usual cold and the empress waited impatiently for the arrival of the king. The man had not visited his palace in recent days.

The empress moved restlessly and desirous of the king, it was the first time that the woman felt so uneasy.

Soon a house cleaner rushed into the palace and the empress breathed a sigh of relief to learn that the king had already entered the imperial harem.

"Your Highness, your majesty has entered the harem.

The empress hurried to look out the window at the king's advance. However, the smile on his face faded as the man stopped in the middle of the road. What had happened? He would choose a new concubine.

The royal caravan stopped confused amid the cruel snowfall. Not understanding why, the king had stopped and fearing for the health of the monarch, the chief eunuch approaches him with hurried steps.

"Your Majesty, which palace do you wish to enter?" —The eunuch asks while looking disguised at the emperor. It was an offense to look him in the eye.

The emperor returned his steps, managing to leave the inner complex, one filled with a variety of beauties. Following in the king's footsteps, the entourage of eunuchs goes after him.

The snow fell harder freezing the face of the ruler; With his cheekbones flushed from the cold, the man entered the great imperial palace, his abode as Caliph of one of the greatest empires in the world.

The eunuchs stood in order in front of him waiting for his instructions; They were anxious for the king to spend the night with some concubine and thus secure the future of the dynasty with an heir.

"Your Majesty, you wish...

"I don't want anything, go away.

The eunuch had failed in his objective and with no alternative withdrew with the entire army of eunuchs.

The king devoted himself to watching the wood of his bonfire burn. He was not eager to visit any palace, he did not want to see the faces and fake smiles that all his wives addressed to him.

With nothing else to do, the king fell asleep on his immense couch.

The days in the palace had passed as slowly as the walk of a turtle and the worst thing was that Ezra could not get out of there. In fact, no concubine was allowed to leave their palaces while they were learning palace etiquette.

Ezra learned that life in the king’s harem was subject to rules; including how he walked, how he sat or the tilt of his face when talking to the emperor or empress. 

At the end of each lesson the poor girl ended up tired and with intense pain in her back due to stiffness.

Ezra could not understand why young women dreamed of entering to serve the king when the harem was a cage, but a cage only lined in pure gold.