The 14th Concubine of a Harem King

Food From a Filthy Hand

Lorora

"Ulishi had the executioner in her pay! How was I to know this? You know how insane she is?" Garnam tosses some papers off his desk.
I'm in his study, yet again. And I hate this. He has been storming around it, coming up with excuses as to why Vahalia lost her head, and every one of them makes my opinion of him drop even further into hell.
"You wanted to negotiate for the life of the mother of your child in front of a crowd, in front of your children, and wives, and you thought that such a spectacle would suffer no mishap?" I snap. "You planned to demote your wife publicly without her knowledge, knowing full well that she has control of at least half the staff in this palace! Her son is the crown prince!"
"Which is why I wanted to make a spectacle of it! I'm tired of living under Ulishi's nose. She doesn't understand my ambitions anymore. If she were demoted publicly and you were elevated, then the whole nation could see it before Ulishi had a chance to stop it," he replies.
"But at an execution?! You wanted to promote a concubine at an execution! Do you not see what is wrong with that?" I scream.
He pauses. "Ah ha, see, we are already arguing like husband and wife."
I turn away before I'm charged with the crime of treason for murdering the king. I sit down on one of his stupid red cushioned chairs in his stupid, dimly lit study that's impossible to do work in properly. It's obvious who has run this country this entire time, and that person is even worse than he is.
"Be my queen and crush Ulishi for me. You can love every concubine in my harem if you like, in fact, every woman in my kingdom! I can't stop that woman on my own. I've realized that after this day, I need someone with more power and intelligence than her, and that is you," he puts his filthy hands on the back of my chair.
I scoff. "You're quick to throw away the woman who built you a kingdom the moment someone you think is better comes along."
"Ulishi is a menace. She killed my mother and killed countless of my servants to maintain her control."
"And yet, you did nothing to stop her even once until she had you and the entire kingdom in her grasp, and now your eyes are hungry for more power and prestige. So you turn to a woman who has similar political acumen but more integrity to get you out of the mess you created," I snap. "I can not express to you how little I care that the woman you sold your soul to is getting out of hand."
"You want revenge on Ulishi, do you not?" He insists.
"Yes! I'll tell one of my father's spies to destroy her themselves without even having to get my hands dirty!" I reply. "At this moment, I am trying to find the best possible way to divorce you!"
"And leave the children?" He says, a glint coming into his eyes. "Twila just lost her mother, to the rest of them, Vahalia was like a dear aunt or surrogate mother. They need you the most right now."
A twisted ugly feeling enters the pit of my stomach. "I hope you suffer, even just a smidge of what your arrogance, stupidity, and greed has brought upon your children," I whisper.
Garnam spits. "How dare you curse me regarding my children!"
I stand to my feet and face his ugly twisted one. "Then fight me, kill me! Please! Then my father can come and destroy you, make you die a slow and painful death along with Ulishi, and I will be satisfied!" I think I am going insane from this man.
"Your father, your father! That's all you know how to do is to invoke him whenever something doesn't go your way! I'm your husband! I've offered you unmatchable deals to get everything you want, but you still refuse me!" He kicks his desk and hurts his foot, hobbling for a minute before he sits down in the padded chair across from me. I smirk a little.
"It's because you are greedy, selfish, you lack empathy and familial feelings. You don't care for your kingdom's people, you care for your own prestige," I say calmly. "It doesn't matter how good the food is when it's offered from a filthy hand, it's certain to be tainted with shit."
"Become my head concubine and replace Sayra. I will promote Porchelle to queen, despite her indiscretions she has born me two children. Ulishi will be demoted to a concubine, and I will rely on you to eliminate her people from the palace with Sayra's help, of course. If you can succeed, I will release both of you on grounds of whatever you like, and you can return to your father."
"So I will be doing everything a queen does regardless?" I say.
"Yes, Porchelle lacks the abilities to manage the palace, but Sayra can control her easily if she gets out of hand."
I shake my head. "Your response to everything is to just find another woman to handle your problems."
He chuckles. "Why do you think I have a harem of 14 wives? When one fails me, i can simply find another who won't."