Solar calendar year 775, the twenty-third day after the departure of King Haddad.
There was no official announcement of the absence of Queen Bilqis, and no one dared to speak out about her whereabouts. However, faint whispers echoed in the darkness of the long corridors of the Palace of the Sun Shield, saying that she had been absent for several days, leaving behind a dam of mystery and question marks. Some claimed that she was sheltering in her suite to mourn the legacy of mourning, while others believed that she traveled secretly on a mission that no one knew. As for me, the shadow commander, I knew certainty from the moment I left. In it is her last step the corridors of the palace.
My name is known only to a few close people in the royal court, and most of them do not dare to utter it among the soldiers and nobles of Sheba, they call me "the shadow of the queen" because I move in the depths of judgment away from the light, I gather the strings and protect the throne from intrigue before our opponents smell weakness. This talent would not have crystallized without the eye of the Grand Chancellor Khazabla, who picked me up a long time ago and realized my ability to hide amid conspiracies. He once told me, "In open war, the sword saves you, but in the war of shadows. You need intelligence and discernment first" and since then, his invisible arm has been in the corridors of the palace.
When Queen Bilqis disappeared, there were initially stories saying that she was in a religious retreat, or that she was exhausted by sorrows after the death of King Al-Haddad, but some tribal sheikhs and notables doubted the veracity of this story, and did not hide their apprehension, I saw in their eyes the anticipation as they asked in a whisper, "Did you really leave? If so, why?" and to add to the fire, Khazabla maintained a firm silence without any official explanation.
Over the following days, there were numerous indications that parties in the court were planning to take advantage of the Queen's absence. Some sheikhs, especially Hamdan bin Rayan, moved in secret to stir up talk of a "tribal council" sharing her authority with the future ruler. Every night I would pierce the corners of the hospitality halls and palace corridors in my dark cloak, recording the whispering gossip I heard, and as soon as I gathered the ends of a conspiracy thread, I would arrange a quick meeting with Khazabla in an isolated corner of his library crammed with ancient manuscripts.
There, under the light of a pale candle, the Grand Chancellor received my reports with a shrewd silence in one of them, I told him that the High Priest began to promote among the common people that it was necessary for a "spiritual guide" to assume the role of co-ruler of women's power, and in another, he explicitly refers to his rejection of female rule alone without religious cover I heard Khazabla mumble when he read my words.
"Do not tell him anything, do not repel him publicly, let him dive into his illusions, until he reveals to everyone the extent of his weakness when Bilqis returns with a weapon that is not contained in politics, my hidden shadow, do not break your opponent from the beginning, but let him think that he is strong, so he shows all his methods at once."
His logic always made me aware of how savvy he was for this, I skillfully continued my mission and sent agents from the Banner of Darkness to observe the meetings of some disgruntled sheikhs, and they conveyed to me conversations of the type "Bilqis will not be able to rule us if she remains absent, and if she returns, let her submit to our masculine traditions!" I saw with my own eyes a clear rapprochement between them and men in the guard, who sought to buy their loyalty, all of which I wrote down and then conveyed to Khazabla with vigilant care.
Meanwhile, my anxiety has not subsided: What if the Queen had faced a miserable fate outside the walls of Sheba? It is true that Khazabla trusted her return, but I am not entitled to know the details of her absence when, where, and how Some nights, I would stare at the empty throne, thinking that Sheba might collapse if the queen's journey lasted any longer, so who could guarantee that opponents would not use her to light a raging fire?
Despite all my concerns, the face of the Grand Chancellor remained smiling to an exciting degree, spreading a controlled calm among the ranks of the court. According to his orders, I directed all our intelligence arms to lure the opponents to show their true face. The High Priest is speaking publicly about his right to spiritual guardianship, and Hamdan bin Rayan does not hesitate to rally tribesmen in the name of "saving Sheba from a power vacuum." They seemed confident that they were dominating the scene while I stood in the shadows, following them with my open eyes, and complying with Khazabala's instructions to pass some misinformation. that amplify their illusions.
Ten difficult days passed, a combination of planning and manoeuvring, rumors of the Queen's absence grew, and some dared to declare, "Shouldn't we know her fate? For a moment, I almost feared that the situation would explode publicly, but on the evening of the tenth day, I received a confused messenger, saying that a group coming from the desert was looming on the outskirts of the capital, including an exhausted woman and three or four men who could barely walk. Is she really back?
I did not wait long, so I went out under the cover of night through a side gate as usual, no one noticed me, I followed the signs that came to me from my men, and I found in the faint distance a group struggling step by step, and when I became closer, I saw her clearly Queen Bilqis herself, and there is a look in her eyes that collects exhaustion and hardness that had exhausted her strength with those with her, but she is still standing, her hand holding tightly on something like an old manuscript.
When I approached her, I lowered my head slightly in greeting and respect, and her gaze flashed as if she was answering me with a greeting.
"I saw with my eyes some premonitions of death, my hidden shadow... But I came back."
I felt the pulses of relief pervaded my chest, I said faintly, almost a smile
"If you carry what we need to silence the voices of dissent, their date with betrayal will be the whole edifice full of the question of where are you? What are you doing when you return, sire?"
The queen removed the edge of her cloak aside, and saw an unmistakable spark in her eyes, and spoke.
I'll show them what they have long closed their eyes on, I have proof that dissolves their arguments... I will present it when their masks fall apart."
She did not dwell on the conversation, exhaustion was covering her body, and the conditions of the men accompanying her showed how much they endured on a journey that must be beyond human capacity. I turned towards them, and I saw their feelings mixed between comfort and fear of a new confrontation in the palace. I signaled them to follow me from a lane behind me, not passing through the main gate guards. We did not want people to see the return of the queen until the Chancellor was prepared for her big exit, as he had planned. On our way between the small ruins to inside the wall the capital, I heard some of the betrayed men whispering, "Here we are back alive... It never occurred to us that we would survive."
I walked with her one or two steps behind me, reassured by her pride despite the wounds of hardship that were etched in her features, and when we were about to reach a side entrance leading to the secret corridors of the palace, I lifted my head towards the stars of the night as if whispering to someone I did not see. Here she is, O Grand Chancellor, so prepare to harvest what we have sown from false calm.
I stopped and looked at the queen and found in her eyes the remnants of an unbridled determination preparing to flare up again, she smiled a side smile that hides inner satisfaction, as she realized that everyone who pinned hope on the weakness of women will collide with a new reality, O God, we obey your command, O our sun, we are the bearers of darkness, we see in the darkness only an opportunity for your sun to shine at its time and on the edge close to the inside, waiting for us chapters of confrontation will not be easy The High Priest, Hamdan bin Rayan, and their companions who were blown up by the past days arrogance.
So, wait for one night and a few days to discover that Bilqis is no longer empty-handed, but has gathered forces from the world of secrets, and with it the cunning of the Grand Chancellor and my plans in the shadows, so the wait ends and Sheba is healed again around a name that was born on the throne of the sun. As for me, I will not leave the darkness, raising my eyes to follow the next battle that is drawn by a longing fate for this woman who bears the blood of mourning... And maybe another blood they don't know anything about yet.
I removed from the vestibule an old curtain of dark cloth, and said in a voice that was barely heard by those standing next to me.
"This crossing is unknown to anyone from the main gate guards, through which we will reach the northern corridor of the palace and Khazabla advised us not to announce your appearance until we arrange the scene."
She nodded, folding her cloak firmly around her shoulders behind her, two of her loyal guards stepped back, pulling on the handle of their swords as if danger could arise at any moment. She followed me with calculated, silent steps, and no word to pierce the quietness of the vestibule was anything but a casual whisper from one of the men as they hugged the cold marble walls to catch their breath.
At the end of the vestibule, a small searchlight illuminated with dark-smelling oil stood there and we saw a face familiar with one of the eyes of the authoritative Banner of Darkness bearers, bending quietly as soon as he captured the Queen's features in the darkness.
"The Grand Chancellor is waiting for you at the library to prepare for the return publicly at the right moment"
I looked up to the queen, and I saw her pulling on the mysterious scroll between the folds of her cloak, her heart almost signaling an imminent step, as if this document she had obtained summed up a fate that her opponents dare not face, and if they did not yet know what was inside, she shook her head and spoke.
"I'm not going to prolong the private meeting, but I need to meet Khazabla right away, I want to put the dots on top of letters they thought were missing."
I signaled to my men in the dark to advance and encircle the march, and then I took her through a series of side corridors until we reached the deep library hall where we often held behind-the-scenes meetings that I had taken steps ahead of in order to open the door for him, and I saw behind him my lockers filled with old manuscripts and shelves full of skins written on the era of the blacksmith and his ancestors at the end of the hall, a huge candle was shining, its light dancing over a face that showed signs of concentration... He is the Grand Chancellor Khazabla, sitting digging through documents stamped with royal seals.
His face seemed a cautious relief as his eyes fell on the queen as she entered at a slow pace, taking her place in the chest of the room as if we had all spoken soundlessly: "I came back, don't tamper with my authority anymore." He removed Khazabla in his hands and approached the queen with measured steps, then leaned down and raised his gaze to her face.
"My Majesty... Thank God for your safety, I was confident of your return, but the palace almost floundered with endless questions, and we are fortunate that the shadow protected your throne from various machinations in your absence."
She replied in a weak voice that concealed a sweeping amount of firmness:
"I did not doubt your cunning for a moment, Khazabla, and if it were not for my trust in you and the hidden shadow, I would not have ventured to leave the throne in their eyes"
I looked into his eyes and glimpsed the glimmer of satisfaction, then raised my hand to the Queen to ask her to follow up on a first report.
"In recent days, the High Priest's whispers about the necessity of spiritual guardianship have increased, and Hamdan bin Rayan has escalated with a clear quest to form a tribal council to share the decision, all of which they sensed an opportunity to feel the pulse in your sudden absence."
The Queen's eyebrow rose as she listened, and she approached a step from a small table in the center of the library, gently placed the scroll in the middle, as if she were putting her heart or soul, his cave looks blinked her and spoke
"What is this that you have brought, my lord?"
She raised her head, and a strange sparkle appeared in her eyeballs:
"An Old Testament document... If she is known in public, all their claims that women are not fit to rule will be completely timely."
A subtle smile appeared on my lips indicating that his plans were in harmony with what the queen had in store He pointed to me a slight sign of satisfaction, from which I understood that our tiered scheme pushed her opponents to show everything in their pocket was nearing completion.
At that moment, one of my men intervened and whispered that Hamdan bin Rayan and some sheikhs were preparing for a meeting tomorrow in the large banquet hall, where they intended to deliver an "escalation" speech against the queen. It seems that they have persuaded an audience of tribes to come to listen to them. Queen Bilqis turned her head up, as if the dust had been removed from her plan.
"So, they will come together and want to accuse me of weakness and ambiguity? Hassan, I will give them a public meeting that they cannot deny."
I raised my gaze to Khazabala before I could say anything, and he preempted me.
"Let them unhindered their paper and after they finish reviewing the accusations, my queen will intervene at the crucial moment and we will see what arguments they keep then."
He said it like someone leading a chessboard against amateurs who thought they were masters of the game, I felt a chill of confidence, as if I was in the middle of a vortex protected by iron minds that looked at Bilqis, who seemed to be some physical fatigue and pointed.
"Your Majesty, maybe you should rest a few hours before the confrontation, it seems that you need a rest, and if you fall short I will call you someone to prepare a hot bath and some food."
She did not object, but her voice remained coherent:
"Soon I regain my energy tomorrow is a long day and people shouldn't see me exhausted, right?"
We all nodded a fool one step further next to her and stared at the document wrapped on the table.
"Madam... This is what it could be? Does it bear the signature of the sun goddess herself?"
A bright smile echoed on her face expressing irresistible power:
"Don't forget that the blood of the mourning is not ordinary, we have traveled a way beyond imagination to prove that the sun does not distinguish between male and female When you choose the ruler tomorrow, Hamdan, the High Priest and all the skeptics will know where the true authority of Sheba shines from"
Khazabla nodded in silent admiration, then turned to me with his eyes, from which I was accustomed to categorical signals.
"Let the shadow guards spread among the people in the banquet hall and keep your eyes open so that we prevent any reckless act at the moment of revelation that I do not want bloody if it can be avoided"
"At your command we will be around every corner, and nothing will escape them"
We hurriedly ended our conversation in order to give the Queen a chance to rest, so I accompanied her and her exhausted guards to a side wing that no one could approach, and at the door of that suite I stood for a while watching her as she walked, her cloak still fluttering behind her with strings filled with desert dust, and still in her hand that ruthless evidence brought by an unforgiving destiny.
The silence of the place around me when her steps faded I looked at the corridors of the palace that resembled a labyrinth, and I remembered how it became empty of the pulse of life the moment Bilqis was absent tomorrow, everyone who dared to marginalize her will know how to be shocked by a storm that does not quench in my heart, I smiled and praised the gods for her return and that I was a witness from behind the curtain of darkness to the next chapter of her rule, which will be decided before a public council that will undoubtedly become the scene of a new history.