Chapter 2 Esmeralda

The Blackamoor


King Shahryar yawned widely and turned to Scheherazad.

“What nonsense is your sister inquiring about?”

“Oh great king, in the house of my father, I often entertained by the telling of tales.”

“She is being too modest,” said Dunazad, “my sister is the greatest story teller in all of Persia... probably the world.”

“Indeed,” said the king stretching his arms broadly. “Yet another hidden talent.”

“Oh yes,” Dunazad replied, “she will steal your interest and keep you captivated.... no... breathless throughout the night.”

“Already, she has a start on that,” said Shahryar, “and sometime soon I hope to see evidence of her skill.

Sometime soon...? Why not now... Oh, I am dying of anticipation....please just a short one... and if the words put you to sleep... then what’s the harm?”.

“Very well,” said the King, “a short one..., crawl up under my arm and we will let your sister entertain us.

Scheherazad did as the king Bid and began telling the story

Once there was a king of Persia who had a vassal, the King of Ethiopia. The King of Ethiopia sent tribute every year which included many wonderful and exotic gifts. One year in particular was no exception. To provide riches, there was a cast filled with jewels, a chest of gold and rugs spun from the finest silk. For entertainment he sent seven dancing girls, skilled in the moods of men who could perform with esoteric grace, acrobatically or with a wanton and wild abandon. To contribute to the lavish splendor of the King’s palace he sent one hundred artisans accomplished in construction, painting and sculpture. Finally, to provide for palace security he sent a blackamoor slave. The Blackamoor was short in stature but powerfully built. In every aspect he was three times the size of a normal man yet his attributes were well proportioned. He had wild and woolly hair, bulging sinews and a countenance that was fearsome to behold. Just the sight of him brought fear to those about and his presence made clear that he was a force to be reckoned with.

Now the King was well pleased with these gifts and except for the Blackamoor knew how to put them all to good use. When it came to his personal security however, he was very careful about those he trusted. This is because attempts at assassination were common and while the King had little doubt of the physical qualifications of the Blackamoor, the loyalty of his body guards had to be tested many times before they were allowed into his service. One day however, it came to him how the Blackamoor could be put to good use. He ordered the Black to stand guard over his prize apple tree.

Scheherazad paused, took a deep breath and then continued.

While the king was a youth he had played behind the palace in an orchard filled with apple trees. One tree in the center had particularly delicious apples. One summer, during a period of drought, there came a plague of locus and they devoured everything including the apple orchard. The kings father however, placed 100 gardeners around that tree and after many grueling hours of flailing, succeeded in saving that one tree from the pestilence.

Thus it was that in the building of the new palace a beautiful garden was laid out, inside walls of finely crafted stone and a ceiling of glass panels that could be lifted off and put back on, depending on the weather and time of year. Through the garden a stream coursed culminating in a waterfall that cascaded into a deep pool. And across this stream was a bridge of oriental design that connected to the garden’s center where the apple tree stood showcased in splendor.

When the garden was finished the King walked about it alone and marveled at its serenity and beauty. The king had five wives and they all pleaded with him for the honor of sharing his garden. But the king put them off, even his favorite, Esmeralda, because he enjoyed the peaceful solitude and reserved to himself the pleasure it afforded him. But their subtle nagging was unrelenting and their persistence wore him down. Finally, one evening as he sat alone by the waterfall, he decided it was unfair to keep it all to himself and decided to take his first wife there for a walk.

The next morning he took Esmeralda by the hand and led her into the garden. She was extremely honored to be the first of his wives allowed to enter and when they got inside she was overwhelmed by the beauty that surrounded her and it was everything and more than she had imagined. They walked together an hour and had still not seen all the splendor it offered. At length they came to the bridge and the King took his wife out to the center span and leaning upon the railing pointed out to her the apple tree growing majestically in the center. He explained how it had been saved by his father during the swarming of the locus and how the fruit of it was the most exquisite in all the land. As they stood together, amid the splendor, in this tender moment of sharing, the King cautioned his wife.

“Recall how Eve was tempted in the Garden of Eden and how God forbid her to eat from the tree of knowledge. So I say to you, Esmeralda, first among my wives who I love above all others, do not go near that tree. For the fruit of it have been forbidden to women from my father’s time and I have sworn sacred oaths that this practice be continued. I must leave you now to attend my duties but will return for you this evening. Feel free to explore the garden fully, but do not go near that tree.”

And Esmeralda replied, Thank you for choosing me first. It was a totally unexpected honor, even though I have always been true to you in thought and deed. I am the most fortunate of women to be your wife. This occasion gives me recognition of your love and happiness that is beyond all measure. It is a token that I will always chrish, as a badge of pride, and I swear by all that's holy, to remain forever worthy of your trust.

Now when the king heard her speak thus, he knew these were not empty words. For his wife had a beauty that none could match and a sweetness to go with it. Indeed so perfect was she that at times he mused that she might be an angel in disguise. This, however, he disabused himself, because he had known Esmeralda since childhood, watched her develop into a woman and on many nights, delighted in the passion of her love making. Still, as a wife she was exceptional, and if he could have changed anything, he would only have subtracted a bit of her self-righteousness.

After the King had taken his leave, Esmeralda wandered about the grounds admiring the botanical beauty of the plants, the landscaping of the water features, the abundant flowering of orchids and lilies, the sweetness of the lilacs and the singing of birds and the croaking of frogs. At length she came full circle to the bridge and walking out to the center relived the happy moments, spent recently with her husband. Looking over to the bank she saw the pathway leading to the center of the garden where the magnificent apple tree stood. It was the fall of the year and the branches hung heavy with ripe fruit.

“How could Eve have been so tempted”? she mused, and look at all the mischief she caused by not being obedient.”

At length she found herself walking down the bridge and almost without realizing, stepped off the boards and onto the path leading to the epicenter of the garden. She paused there a moment and reflected.

“My husband told me not to go near the tree but what connotes the word “Near?“ Is it a great distance or something of a lesser magnitude? Is it one hundred paces or is it fifty or maybe ever twenty-five? Is it so far away you can hardly see or is it close enough to see perfectly but still far enough as to not catch the scent? Regardless of all that, what does the distance really have to do with the sin? Clearly that is in the tasting of the fruit… but does it extend to the touching of it? Probably not, for it was in eating the apple that Eve disgraced herself, and brought suffering to women, that continues, even to this day.

And so she walked on until she stood before the tree but not under it.

“Well here I am,” she reflected,” and no great harm has befallen me. This tree, while certainly magnificent, is still a tree. And the fruit, while being ripe and without the blemish, are still apples. And I do not believe that if I were to touch one, that I would be struck dead by lightning. Still, I will not make Eve’s mistake, for I'm a wife worthy of my husband’s trust. In addition I have a willpower that is ever at my command which has enabled me to resist every temptation I've ever encountered.”

With that she stepped under the branches and began dancing about in the provocative way that she often used to excite her husband’s prurient interests. Spinning and twirling she came beneath one particularly low hanging branch where the fruit was in the fullness of maturity. She giggled and flirted beneath this cluster of apples, extending her fingers upwards and pulling them back as she rotated around, beckoning them to her bosom and lips. Then she leaned backwards, jiggling her breasts and moving her hips in a vulger and unbecoming fashion. This behavior was most uncharacteristic, and it carried her away. In her veins flowed a thrill of abandon and to her awareness came a joy and freedom never before experienced. Inside her heart, a dark spirit stirred and reared its head. She laughed hysterically and became dizzy from going around in circles. It was then that it happened.

“Oh , my goodness,” King Shahryar cried, “Foolishness, your name is woman.”

Scheherazad stopped and looked quizically, “What is your meaning master.?

“My meaning? My meaning you ask? Are you stupid or do you mock me? My meaning is that she disobeyed her husband and she will probably wiggle out of the consequences with many lame excuses. She deserves to be caned for her disobedience and set away to do penitence.”

“Oh come sire, its not like she ate the apple or even touched it.”

“You sympathize with her, you little twit…you do don‘t you? Yes, you do… I see it in your eyes and don’t try an conceal it with that innocent look. Then you deserve to be caned too and Dunazad as well for the smirk on her face. Bend over my knees, both of you. Omar, bring me a cane.“

Then his demeanor softened and his voice grew serious.

“Be advised, that I know your sentiments and if you try and change the tale to suit your sympathies, I will know your deceit and withdraw my abeyance. What that means, so there will be no doubt, is that I will wail both your scheming assess without mercy, one for the lie and the other for the smirk. Now continue with the tale and tell me what happened next; even though I have a strong suspicion of what you are about to say.”

At that moment the cock crowed and the King swore loudly. “I will see you both in this chamber at the usual time, too nights hence. There we will take up as we left off.”