Palace of Tears

Eviction from a harem

I remember the day we came to the Old Palace. It was such a long time ago, but it feels like yesterday. Doomed to exile, we handmaidens gathered our lady’s belongings and hoped for the best. No one had any warning, but somehow we all knew what to do. We began packing our belongings, what few we had, and set about complying with the inventory check of our lady’s possessions. Hers was more complicated. She sat on…