The underground harem

2

Queen Salina hurried through the dimly lit hallways muttering under her breath,shadows dancing in her wake,her robes swishing at her feet and determination in her every stride, cold furry written all over her face. Guards and servants scurried away, wary of her anger none wishing to incur her wrath. All of them bowed and carefully avoided meeting her gaze.
She hurried from the palace into the harem taking great care to avoid the other women in there. When she got to her room she banged the door and let out a string of curses that even the most uncouth man would be embarrassed about only stopping when she realized she was not alone.
"What are you doing in my room this late at night? "she snapped redirecting her anger towards the three queens seated in her room, cheeks aflame from listening to the queen swear.
"We are sorry to bother you but we just wanted to find out how the king is. We came much earlier but we've been waiting for you a long time, " replied queen Misha
"I don't know, " queen Salina said as she dramatically dropped herself into one of the chairs in the room.
The other queens in the room looked at each other puzzled.
"What do you mean by you don't know? "Asked Misha
"Exactly that. I don't know, "said Salina as she rolled her eyes.
"How can you not know and you've been going to see him everyday this week?"
" Yes I have. "
"And? "
"And everyday I have been turned away," she said through gritted teeth,"he refuses to see me,instead he only let's in that foreign piece of crap masquerading as a queen."
The queens looked at each other communicating with their eyes. This was bad, very bad. If queen Salina was not being granted permission to see the king then things were worse than they thought.
"Forgive my audacity but I think something needs to be done about this situation. We can't let queen Rheikha upstage you nor let her so called daughter take the throne,this palace has children who have been brought up to rule but this girl what does she know?Does she even know what this kingdom needs? "
Salina turned her attention to Misha who was clearly the appointed leader of the three of them.
"Really? " she purred.
"Yes. We didn't say anything before due to our precarious positions as low ranking queens but I think it's time we took a stand."
"That's great, " Salina said an evil gleam in her eye,a smile on her face. " I suppose you also agree with her? "she asked directing her gaze to the other queens in the room.
"Yes, "they replied.
"Peeerrfffecctt," Salina purred, "tomorrow I will hold a meeting for I have matters to discuss with the rest of the harem, find me before then and I will tell you what needs to be done about this Rheikha problem. "she said dismissing them.
"Yes queen Salina, "they replied,as they got up to leave, cupping their hands towards their nose and raising it towards their temples in a sign of respect while bowing lightly.
They left Salina's chambers happy for they knew she was devious, cunning and smart and if she had a plan, it would definitely work out.
Most queens in the harem had nothing against queen Rheikha other than jealousy. She was a kind hearted woman,very compassionate, beautiful,bubbly and caring, at least that's what those who didn't know her very well knew. What they didn't know was how strong willed she was, how brave and wise and stubborn she could be. However there was a deep sadness in her eyes that no matter how hard she tried, she could not hide. In her case it really proved that the eyes are truly the window to the soul.
Rheikha was harmless but the ladies in the harem hated her for she was the king's favorite wife and to make matters worse the king intended to make her daughter the next ruling queen. He had even given her a room in the palace as well as in the harem and it was a well known fact that he consulted her before making most major decisions. Being the king's favorite came with many advantages and a prestige that many queens would kill for that position if only to lord it over the rest but to Rheikha it really made no difference,as long as the king loved her and her kids were okay, she was happy.
She had been through a lot in her life, survived everything the harem threw her way and emerged victorious but she worried. She worried about the king and her children. She knew that her children were not her,therefore they were clueless on how to deal with conniving women and in the harem where politics was worse than in the king's court they had to tread carefully and would therefore need guidance and protection for the harem was full of vipers.

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Queenphiona 💗