The halls were quiet with the night's stillness, with the moon shining in through the scattered windows along the right side of the hallway. Suddenly a woman's shriek broke the silence like a shattered glass.
Immediately the hall lit up with several servants running down the hallway and to their Queen's bedroom. A door opened and a slave asked the passing female servant "Again?" They didn't answer, just nodded as she ran past. The slave shut the door and cursed to himself.
He wanted to run to her. To comfort her. To help her. To do anything he could for her. However, unless summoned, he was powerless to do anything. He was but a slave, with no rights or privileges. Cursing again, he paced back and forth in the room he shared with two other men.
"There is nothing you can do," one slave stated from his bed along the far side of the room.
The pacing slave stopped in his tracks and faced the other slave. His face stern, his blue eyes resolute. "I'm going to go see her..." he stated, immediately hearing his friend groan in frustration.
"You do and she will have your head. And I don't mean the one on your shoulders."
The slave knew the dangers, yet something in him wouldn't be quiet. It called out to him each time he heard his Queen shout out in pain almost every night. Just then, another scream rang out, this one more pained than the first. The sound reverberated in the slave, steeling his nerve and firming his decision.
"I have to see her..." he stated to his friend, gaining another groan. The slave walked quickly over to the door and opened it.
"You're a dead man!" his friend called after him as the slave started to run down the hallway to the room where his Queen resided.
He slowed as he approached, stopping short of opening the door. The slave breathed deep, knowing full well the dangers that awaited him if he was wrong. However, there was something deep inside of him that told him that this is where he needed to be. With an audible gulp, the slave knocked on the door softly.
After a moment, the same female servant from before opened the door and leveled a stern gaze upon him. "What are you doing here?" she hissed in a low whisper. "The Queen is..." a look of intense worry appeared in her eyes as she took a quick look back over her shoulder. "The Queen is indisposed..." the servant hissed again as she returned her eyes back to the slave.
"Let me see her..." the slave practically begged, his voice laced with worry and need. "Please..."
The woman stood still as she debated her inner self on whether to risk letting the other slave into the room.
"Who is it?" the pained voice of the Queen could be heard from in the room. She sounded drained, almost defeated, which only increased the slave's worry over her.
The woman turned to face the Queen, her hands twisting together as she fought to find the right words. She could lie and say that it was no one, yet if one thing was forbidden it was to lie to their Queen. She would know immediately that they were not telling the truth, and the punishment would be severe...
"A-a male s-slave, my Queen..." she fearfully replied.
The slave gently pushed past the woman guarding the door and entered the room. There on the bed surrounded by fluffy pillows was his Queen, holding on to herself as if she were about to break apart any second.
"Why are you here?" the Queen heatedly stated, obviously in no mood for whatever the slave wanted. She didn't even raise her head from the pillow as she spoke, her face pale and tear stains were obvious down her cheeks.
"Let me help you..." the slave stated in a plea. So sure he was that he needed to be there in the room with his Queen, the slave suddenly found himself without words. "I-I want to help you, my Queen..."
The Queen batted him away as she rolled over to her other side, away from the slave. "Leave me be. I am in no mood for your pleasures..."
The slave cautiously stepped closer to the bed, still resolute in his mission to aid her in whatever way he could. "I know you are in pain, my Queen... Let me help ease it for you. I know that I cannot take it all away, however, please let me help..." he replied in a soft, caring tone.
Something in the tone of his voice caught hold of the Queen, as she rolled back over to face the slave. "How can you help?" the Queen asked, her voice heavy with pain as tears rolled down from her eyes onto the pillow beneath.
"Please my Queen... Allow me to ease your pain..." A short moment passed where she didn't say anything, uncertainty clearly showing from her beautiful brown eyes. Then with an outstretched hand, she motioned for the slave to approach.