In a foreign land steeped in grandiose history as renowned as legends of old, lived a young woman, of the tender age of sixteen.
Esther was beautiful to behold, but her real beauty came from deep within her soul. Characteristics like honor, loyalty, and sacrifice; the kind forged from suffering. These are the real jewels in her crown, but then I am getting a bit ahead of myself in this story.
Esther was orphaned at a young age and raised by her older cousin, Morrey.
Morrey didn’t have an easy life, and to be burdened at twenty-eight with the task of raising a five-year old was hard even on the best of days. Morrey knew a thing or two about honor and sacrifice, so he never complained about what he gave up by taking Esther in.
While Morrey couldn’t boast in Esther’s outward beauty, he was a most proud “father” as her character was a reflection of his.
One day, the King of this great foreign land threw a fancy party for all his rich friends and politicians. His wife, Vanny, whose nickname might as well have been Vanity, refused to attend the party. This embarrassed the king in front of all his guests, and was the rudest, most disrespectful thing a queen could do.
Due to her behavior, the king, Ashton, removed the crown from Vanny’s head and decreed he would give it to another woman.
A search went forth throughout the kingdom for young single women of great beauty. Esther never dreamed she would go to the King’s palace, as she was born into the poorest class of people in the kingdom. Her people were taken as slaves when the previous king, from another kingdom, destroyed her people in battle.
However, the official in charge of the search, Hagar, saw Esther and he insisted she come to the palace.
Morrey had spent what little money he had to buy her a nice dress to walk about the town square, ensuring she would be noticed by Hagar. Being so finely dressed, Hagar never questioned Esther about her family, nor did she volunteer to give away any of her secrets.
Esther’s modesty and loving nature won Hagar over immediately. She wasn’t like all the other girls; demanding, ungrateful, whiney, or pouty. This made Hagar very generous when it came to ensuring Esther had the best of the resources the palace had to offer.
After a year of learning royal protocols and undergoing rigorous beauty regimens, it was Esther’s turn to spend time with the king.
The king took notice of how different and special Esther was, more than any of the other women. She captured his heart and his favor.
Ashton, the king, wasted no time in making Esther his queen. The party he threw in her honor was lavish, but he loved spoiling her, after all.
As time passed, Morrey spent more and more time in the town square market, where business for the palace and king was conducted. He did this to hear any stories of how Esther was doing—oh, how he missed her.
It was on such an occasion that Morrey overheard Bill and Thomas planning an attack on the palace. Terrorists in the king’s palace sent chills down Morrey’s spine. Morrey thought, What would happen if they were successful and Esther was killed in their evil plan against Ashton?
Morrey was able to send a message to Esther about what he heard so she could warn the king.
When the investigation was concluded, they found the evidence of the terrorist plot to be true, and Morrey’s tip was noted in the case file. Bill and Thomas were justly punished for their crime.
