"Are they are closed?"
"They are closed tight."
Amma hesitantly swims towards the man and shakes her hand in front of his face. King Xerxes feels her presence as wet droplets splash onto his naked chest. Swiftly, he seizes her wrist and holds it.
Sh...
"Amma! Here you are!" Amma's uncle Jephte exclaimed.
Amma snapped from her distant trance and looked towards him as she sat on the balcony of their house. She came there daily to gaze at the palace in the distance, constantly thinking about the secrets and treasures that hid behind its thick stone walls.
"Amma come and eat the stew I prepared before it cools."
Amma bursts up and leaps down the dusty stairs for there is one thing Amma loved more than anything: food.
~~ "You always gaze on that balcony you strange child!" her uncle laughs. Amma was only 17, but her maturity in both mind and spirit was apparent.
Amma looked to him as she wiped the stew from her plump lips and smiled. People of the town spoke highly of Amma and all who viewed her raved of her beauty. Amma was a proud Kwadi, and is the reason why her looks differed; even her uncle bore no resemblance to her.
She was tall and lean, despite her love for food, while her skin was as dark as cocoa beans. Her hazel green eyes shined like two glossy orbs that held all the mysteries of the world while her infectious smile captivated all.
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(Anyone knows this young beauty?)
UPDATE 2/6/19 the role of Amma is played by her! If you don't like her you can picture someone else. Whatever floats your boat
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When her father and mother died, Jephte adopted Amma and raised her as his own. He and Amma's father were loyal to the end, as they knew each other since birth.
"Amma...there is something I must tell you."
"What is it, uncle?" she looks to his caring face.
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"I will be going to the palace. I wanted you to see me off...."
Amma laughs and continues to eat. Her uncle was a nobleman and frequented the palace every day.
"You will be going too Amma" her uncle sighs.
Amma looks to him in confusion and excitement.
"Uncle you don't mean--I can finally visit the palace with you? Oh! I am so excited to see its walls!" she spins blindly.
Distraught comes over Jephte as her false sense of excitement and hope pains him and Jephte looked with compassion at his vibrant niece.
"No Amma," he continues, "you will be staying there...for a while"
Amma looks to him with her hazel eyes.
"Uncle...what do you mean?" she sits down in confusion.
He hesitantly unfolds a scroll from his pocket and passes it to her. She reads it aloud "A decree from King Xerxes?"
He nods and motions to continue. Amma takes notice of her uncle's sudden muteness but continues to read the papyrus.
"And all young women will be brought to the palace of Susa for 12 months. At its end, the king will pick the woman who pleases him as his new Queen..." she reads the last part aloud in a whisper.
"Uncle.." Amma's voice shakes as she registers the details of the decree.
"No! I will not go! I refuse" she yells.
"Amma you must. I am a noble! If I refuse to honor the King's decree it will be my head, yours too."
"How can he be so cruel? Exiling his wife like some stray dog--like some harlot—-like she was some common prisoner?" Amma judged him with fury.
Her uncle stands and hold his niece to soothe her anger.
"Amma, my Amma! You must relax. You are a Moor. You have gotten through your parents' death and exiled from your country! Can you not handle 12 months of pampering under the care of the king?" he grins.
She chuckles at his truth. "I will go...to honor your name uncle, but I will make sure he does not choose me. I am sure of this" Amma says with anger as she folds her hands over her chest.
"Amma, you must not tell anyone of your heritage when you arrive." her uncle warns her.
"But I am a proud Kwadi uncle! Why—" Amma starts to protest but her uncle interjects.
"Amma, you must not tell anyone!! ".
Amma looks to him in confusion as she tries to understand.
"Amma, the Kwadians are an exiled people! They are spat at and looked down upon; you must not tell ANYONE of your race? Do you understand me?"
"Yes uncle, no one shall know" she says with a sad understanding.
Her uncle kisses her forehead and chuckles at her, trying to cheer her spirit.
"What is your name, my dear child? What is it's meaning?"
"Happiness." Amma sighs already knowing how the argument would end.
"And are you happy my dear Amma?" Jephte observes her.
"No uncle...I am not" she slowly turns her frown to a grin and starts to laugh.
" I will miss you uncle." she hugs him again.
"I will be there in the palace Amma. Do not miss me so, as my spirit will be with you."
They look to each other, and she leaves for the balcony.
The sun passed over the clear blue sky as she lay at the ledge and played with her curly brown hair.
She looked to the outline of her small town and starts to think of her future. Since birth, she wondered what hid behind the grand walls.
Her curiosity would come to life as she looked at the structure where her future would soon lie.
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