In the winding streets of the Persian Empire, a poor girl is chosen to become the third prince's concubine.
Aliya Farhad has no interest in the lofty ideas of the palace, the staff, or her lover. Prince Cairo has all the interest in his blue-eyed A...
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VI.
It has been a while since I entered the Palace, and since I have written in you. I did not know what I was expecting, but this place is truly colder than I had imagined it would be. It feels like the walls suck the energy out of your bones and the essence from your soul; I have been here for two weeks, and I feel like death.
The work in the Palace cannot be considered difficult, but I feel that each day is more draining than the last. Perhaps it is because there is no confidant for me here, but at the same time, I believe it must be better for me to stay here than to come back home. I must believe this, or I feel that whatever strength I have mustered to flee will disappear, and I will simply lose all courage.
Losing all courage is a dangerous thing. Without courage, I do not believe I can continue to hope.
***
IX.
The library within the Palace is beautiful. It is the largest thing I have seen, and it is very much a shame that I am not as literate as I wish to be. Perhaps my biggest regret in life would be that I cannot give my daughter the foundation she needs to be above me. Perhaps she will find that herself. Perhaps daughters are meant to be better than their mothers, but a selfish part of me refuses to give her what I did not have.
It doesnt matter. She will not have the chance to enter this library in this lifetime, nor this Palace. In my heart, I hope she never encounters my circumstances.
The longer I stay here, the more I feel that there is something strange in this Palace...
***
XIII.
That third prince is odd. He is the same age as my child, but when I look at him, there are no maternal feelings; I only feel cold. Perhaps it is because the bearing of a prince cannot compare to my daughter's, a poor family's child from Babylon.
Compared to the other royal children, he is very polite, almost too polite. But he is a concubine-borne prince, so it is inevitable for him to be slighted by some servants. Everytime they do so, his smile does not falter, but I feel that his eyes grow cold...
It is almost like a demon, but his face also looks like it holds much sympathy.
I wonder if I am simply used to being observant, and have started putting in too many thoughts into what I see.
It is not good for a maid to think too much, and it is a capital crime to gossip of one's royal family. However, I have no human confidant to whisper to, and no one will know what I write in you. As long as I hide you well, no one will ever know. It has been a while since I entered the Palace, and since I have written in you. I did not know what I was expecting, but this place is truly colder than I had imagined it would be. It feels like the walls suck the energy out of your bones and the essence from your soul; I have been here for two weeks, and I feel like death.
