Read Online Holiday Magick by Rich Storrs - Free Book Online

into the distance. “If Haman recognizes you as one of our tribe…”
    I touched her arm. “Then we have little time to lose in helping me work a glamour, don’t we?”

    The palace guards called us inside two dozen at a time. About two-thirds of the hopefuls were sent away immediately, for missing teeth, or deformity, or slowness of mind, or for being too old or too young. The rest of us were sent to the royal baths to wash up. The former queen’s fine clothes, makeup, and jewels were spread out in a large room, and we were told to use them to make ourselves look the best we could. There would be a feast where we would have the opportunity to meet the king and his closest advisors.
    Most of the women picked the biggest jewels they could find, draping themselves head to toe in circlets, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, rings, and ankle bands made of silver, copper, even gold. They circled their eyes in black kohl until they looked like ghouls, and rubbed red berry stain into their cheeks and lips until their faces looked bloody.
    I kept my face clean, wore no jewelry, and chose a simple white sleeveless tunic with blue embroidered curlicues at the edges. I did not want anything weighing me down or distracting me while I attempted a glamour.
    Mordechai had made me practice my disguising magic for one more day before letting me go into the palace. By that time, I had mastered changing a single feature of my face, but not my whole face at once.
    Two guards called us to the feast. While the other women shoved past one another to get out the doors of Vashti’s former bathing chambers, I lagged behind and concentrated. To catch the king’s attention, I’d need to be more than beautiful. I’d need to be exotic, something he hadn’t seen before. Something from my homeland. First, I worked on my hair. Everyone here had brown or black hair, like myself. I concentrated on making my hair coppery red. Next, keeping my hair red, I willed my eyes to change from light brown to bright green. I thought of a smaller nose and bigger, fuller lips, and finally peppered my face with freckles. The sheer amount of energy it took to keep everything disguised under the glamour drained my strength, leading me to feel that I had finally succeeded. I thought of Mordechai and my people, and pressed on.
    â€œCome on,” A guard waved me toward the door. “Time to go.”
    Too late to find a reflecting glass to see if I had changed my looks completely, I picked up the hem of my gown and walked briskly out of the room.
    Based on the way the guard could not tear his gaze off me, I assumed I had been successful. I followed the other women to the great open hall where we would feast and meet the king, and tugged on a lock of my hair.
    Red.

    At first, I thought it must have been my paranoid imagination thinking everyone stared at me and whispered, but a quick look around assured me I was right. Everyone looked right at me and covered their mouths to whisper to one another.
    A tall man with a long black beard and high gold headpiece made his way through the crowd, never taking his eyes off me. As he approached, I lowered my eyes demurely.
    â€œYour Majesty,” I said to the floor. I hoped the glamour was enough to cover the trembling in my voice.
    â€œPlease.” He took my hand and kissed the inside of my palm. A few people gasped at such an intimate gesture. I swallowed my heart. “For tonight I am simply Ahasuerus, as I cannot possibly be your king. I would have known if a creature of such unusual beauty resided in my kingdom.”
    My cheeks grew hot with a fierce blush, and I wondered if he could see it.
    â€œYou may raise your gaze to mine, my lovely.”
    I blinked, aware that everyone remained silent and watching. Grateful for the talk we were given before meeting the king on palace etiquette and rules, I replied, “But protocol forbids I should stare into the eyes of the King of