Abbie Brightstar

As the light from the sunrise made its way through Abbie’s bedroom window, she groaned and rolled out of bed. Another sleepless night!

It had been that way ever since the word came that she had been chosen. To be “chosen” was supposed to be a big honor — one that any girl of her station would be excited about, but she still didn’t know how she felt about it, or even how she should feel about it.

At eighteen years of age, her life should just be starting, and yet she feared that it might be coming to an end. Not a physical end, of course, although at times she wondered if that wouldn’t be preferable.

She had grown up hearing stories about girls from small hamlets such as hers who suddenly find their lives gloriously transformed by being chosen for high honor by the king. Those stories were fairy tales, and they always ended happily ever after. What girl wouldn’t want to go live in the palace, have the king fall in love with her, and make her into a queen?

That’s how the stories all went, but Abbie suspected that reality was not always that glorious. Being chosen meant that she could very well end up being married to the king, of course, but then again, the king already had several wives. Abbie wasn’t sure she wanted to spend her life competing with other women for her husband’s affections and attention.

Besides, being “chosen” didn’t necessarily mean that she was going to end up as a queen. It just meant that she was going to be part of the king’s royal harem. Only a select few members of the harem ever progressed beyond the status of concubine. If Abbie had qualms about being just one of many wives, she was even more troubled by the prospect of being nothing more than one of many women whose sole purpose was to satisfy the sexual appetite of the king.

“You’re just being silly,” said her mother, when Abbie expressed her concerns. “You should jump at the chance to live in the palace! You will have a life of wealth and comfort that your father and I could never provide you! And so what if you spend your life as a concubine? In many ways, that would be the preferable life; with all the women at his disposal, you probably would never be called upon more than a couple of times a year to be with the king. Look what you would get in exchange!”

Abbie shuddered at the thought of being nothing more than a royal harlot. At the same time, her mother was probably right — there were not a lot of options for someone of her station.

Then again, Abbie didn’t really aspire to wealth or comfort. What she wanted was a simple life with Ben. They had grown up together. Being two years older than her, Ben had always been the big brother she never had. Over the past few years, however, their relationship started to change, as they matured and began to look at each other differently. Abbie found herself daydreaming about Ben at every opportunity, and she wondered whether he ever looked at her with anything resembling romantic intentions.

Of course, all of that was moot now. An “invitation” to become part of the king’s harem wasn’t exactly something that could be turned down. This afternoon someone from the palace was scheduled to arrive and escort her to Central City to be indoctrinated into her new life.

She had so many questions, doubts, and a roller coaster of feelings as she began her last day at home.