“Pshaw.” She waved her hands. “You’re close enough. Besides, the veil will cover your face. No one will get too close if you stay in the covered litter.”
I worried her gown would be too long for me, but I donned it anyways. It dragged on the floor a few inches.
Merab wrapped me with her forest green cloak. Placing a golden shawl over my head and shoulders, she handed me a thick veil.
After I dressed, she opened the door. “Quickly, go to the front gate and jump in the litter. You’re the best sister ever.”
I lingered. “Merab?”
She waved her hand. “Hurry, before Mother comes back.”
I hugged her. “I’m so scared. What if David gets hurt or killed?”
She pushed me into the hall. “Don’t worry. Likely Father will end up killing the giant himself, and you certainly can’t marry him. It’ll just turn out to be an adventure for you. Hurry before Mother returns. I’ll sleep in your room tonight.” She lifted the veil and kissed my cheek. “I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”
* * *
“Behold, the daughter of Saul.” The herald announced my arrival. Hot and sweating inside the stifling litter, I fanned my face and coughed to clear my dry throat.
Uncle Abner, my father’s general, approached the litter. “Merab, I’m glad you’re here. The men need courage.”
I didn’t reply, afraid my voice would give me away. He noticed my fanning and asked a servant to give me water. Father headed my direction. A pesky fly buzzed around me. I swatted at it, almost upsetting the bearers.
“Uncover the litter and take my daughter around the camps,” Father said. “I want every man to see the prize I’m willing to sacrifice to vanquish this heathen Philistine.”
Thankfully, a servant brought a water skin as the bearers knelt to remove the cover. I gulped the water, unmindful of how unladylike I appeared. Besides, they all thought I was Merab.
The bearers jostled me amongst the troops. Uncle Abner walked before me. “Behold, the daughter of King Saul. Whosoever brings the giant’s head shall have her hand.”
Dirty, stinking men leered at my form. “Unveil her. How do we know she’s the daughter of Saul?”
Some followed the litter, reaching up to touch me. One insolent fellow prodded me with the end of his spear shaft. The guards pushed the throng back.
“Men of Benjamin,” Abner shouted. “Who will kill Goliath and win the king’s daughter?”
“Off with the veil. Off with the veil.” The men chanted.
Abner looked toward Father’s direction, and he shook his head.
“You cowards,” Abner said. “Step forward before I offer her to another tribe.”
The men threw up their shields and thumped their spears as my litter wove through the camp, but no one volunteered.
My face grew hotter underneath the sweltering veil. Did I look like a ridiculous lump of clothes? I could be a maid servant for all they knew. I pulled the veil open a sliver and scanned the hordes of men.
Abner led the way. “Men of Judah, the king demands your attention. Kill the dirty Philistine and receive the king’s daughter.”
As the men milled, gawking and pointing, one set of eyes stared at me. My heart leapt, and I sat straighter. David. Without thinking, I flipped the veil off my face and gazed at him.
His eyes widened, and his mouth popped open. The men around him whistled and hooted, but when Abner glared their direction, they turned their faces. Again, no man raised his hand. I looked back at Father. He stood with his arms crossed, his face red with fury.
My cheeks heated. I had ruined Father’s venture. Without the dazzling beauty of Merab, no one would step forth to fight the giant, and we’d all be slaves of the Philistines. I placed the veil on my face to hide my shame. Uncle Abner grunted and ordered the bearers to keep walking. “Perhaps the tribe of Gad has a valiant man.”
My veil securely fastened, I looked after David. He argued with several young men. They pushed and shoved him. One shook a finger at him and poked his chest. He hadn’t wanted me enough, but I couldn’t blame him. He was no warrior. The bearers brought me away from the camp of Judah toward the camp of Gad.
A hush fell across the men, and all eyes turned toward the ridge. A Philistine warrior swaggered on a rock pile high above a dry riverbed. Muscular and over nine feet tall, he was clad with a bronze breastplate and leather greaves. Brandishing a stout spear, he shouted, “Where’s your champion? If he kills me, we will be your slaves. If I kill him, you become our slaves.”
After waiting a few moments, he looked over the crowd and bellowed with laughter. “What? Is there no valiant man in all of Israel? Where’s your god? You don’t even have enough gold to make him an image!” The entire Philistine army guffawed and jeered.
Angry murmurs smoldered through our ranks, but no man stepped up. The bearers waded through a sea of cowards, taking me to the center of the formation.
The Philistine pounded his breastplate. “I am Goliath of Gath, and I challenge the God of Israel to find me a worthy opponent.”
The Philistine host howled and banged their shields with a deafening clamor.
A sudden commotion stopped the heckling. David stretched his palms to the sky and yelled, “Dare this man reproach our God and live? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine to defy the armies of the living God?”
Soldiers on both sides stared at him. He lifted his hands again and yelled. “Is. There. Not. A. Cause?”
Not a man answered.
He wound his way to the base of my litter, between the two front bearers. I leaned forward and lifted my veil.
“Michal, is there not a cause?” His voice lowered intimately.
“There is, David. God’s cause.” I touched his hand. “God be with you.”
He held my fingers and my gaze. “And you. Pray for me.”
Abner pulled him back. “Do not touch the princess.”
David brushed off his robe and spread his hands toward my father. “Let no man’s heart fail because of him. Today, your servant will slay this Philistine, for the LORD, our God, will surely grant us victory.”
I craned my neck, thrilled with David’s boldness, but my heartbeat spiked, and my fingertips grew numb. David was so small compared to the giant. What if he were injured or worse?
He stepped into my father’s tent. Moments later, he emerged without armor or weapon. Dressed in a shepherd’s robe and carrying a staff, David washed his hands in a brook at the base of the camp.
My scalp ringed with cold sweat, I closed my eyes and prayed. Dear LORD God, bring us the victory through Your servant, David. Place Your hand on him and deliver him from the hand of the Philistine. Be with David, always. In Your name, LORD.
Across the ridge, the Philistine clambered down with his armor bearer, a muscular man who carried a huge shield before him. He shouted, “Am I a dog? That you come to me with staves? My gods curse you, boy. Come now. And I will give your flesh to the birds of prey and to the beasts of the field.”
My heart pounding to escape my chest, I twisted the skin on my arms, gasping for air. How would David go against him with a thin shepherd’s staff? I couldn’t look. My David. So foolhardy. The giant’s spear was thicker than his leg and the tip as large as his head.
Goliath advanced with the Philistine troops behind him. “This is the best of Israel? In Dagon’s name, you shall perish.”
David stood alone. “I come to you in the name of the Living God, the LORD of Israel. Today, He will deliver you into my hand, and the entire world shall know there is a God in Israel.”
Goliath raised his spear and charged. My pulse knocked furiously in my ears, and I felt as if I were jumping out of my skin. I peeked under flickering eyelids, my hands clasped to my face.
David ran toward the giant, his flaming hair a beacon amongst the shrubs and bushes. The giant raised his spear and aimed the tip at him. A silent scream crawled to my throat. What was David doing? He took out a leather tie an
d swung it over his head.
Oh, God! A whip could do nothing against an iron spear. Goliath braced his leg and hoisted his heavy spear to his powerful shoulders. I squeezed my eyelids and choked to catch my breath.
David flicked his wrist. The giant’s neck jerked backward, and the spear flew toward David. It fell short. A collective gasp swept the crowd. Goliath’s knees buckled, and he crumpled forward. David jumped and shook his fist in the air.
He charged the remaining distance, drew Goliath’s sword, hacked off his head and raised it up for all to see. The Philistines dropped their weapons and fled.
David knelt and lifted his eyes toward heaven. “The battle is the LORD’s.”
An ear-splitting cheer rose from our side, and the men of Israel rushed to pursue the panicked Philistines. Only David hiked to me, holding the head of Goliath by his hair. Blood covered his forearms and chest. When he reached the front of the litter, he smiled sideways at me. “Think your father will invite me back now?”
* * *
I returned to the palace, sweaty and dust-streaked, ready for a long, hot bath. I could hardly wait to tell Merab. David was the hero, and I would be his bride. I kissed my own hand and bounced down the hall to her chamber.
Merab met me at the door. “You won’t believe how angry Mother was. She was fit to tear out my hair. So, tell me, what happened?”
I skipped up and down, kissing her. “David killed the giant, and I’m going to marry him.”
She squealed and hugged me. “Oh, this is what you wanted. Will he be good to you?”
While the maids drew water, I told her everything. She tapped me with her fingernail. “And I endured three days of Mother pinching my arms. How are you going to repay me?”
“Repay you?” I slapped her with the tie of my robe. “You told me you’d make it up to me for taking your place.”
Mother’s maid bustled toward us, clapping. “Your mother said to wear your finest gowns for the victory banquet. Hurry, into your baths.”
When Merab did not move, the maid said, “You too, elder princess.”
Bubbling over and hardly able to stay still, I squirmed into a transparent turquoise gown layered over a white linen dress. The maids pinned my hair in loose coils and adorned me with pearls and moonstones. Wrapped in a silken shawl with silver threads, I followed a maid into the hallway.
Merab appeared in a pale-green gown decorated with golden figs. She twisted her lips wryly. “I don’t understand why I have to dress up for your betrothal.”
“Payback for going on the adventure.” I pushed her playfully, and she giggled.
My father’s guards escorted us to the banquet hall. I walked as if on golden clouds. By the end of the evening, I would be David’s, and we’d have the rest of our long lives together.
Merab sat next to me and adjusted her shawl. Neither of us talked. Mother had warned us to keep our eyes down, but I peeked at David as he entered the hall.
My breath caught deep in my ribcage. He was dressed in princely attire and sat next to my father. Dancers, accompanied by flutes, viols, and drums, entertained the assembly. A minstrel pantomimed David’s heroics: swung a leather sling and sliced off an imaginary head. While they paraded Goliath’s severed head around the hall, I caught David staring at me.
His brows furrowed, and his eyes smoldered for a heartbeat before he deliberately averted his face, his jaw set for a fight. A gust of fear raised tingles through my scalp. What happened? What had I done? Why did he look at me like he hated me?
Tears threatened. I gripped the edge of my shawl. Merab’s eyes widened with confusion and concern, and she rubbed my shaking hand.
I yanked away from her. Had David changed his mind and asked Father to give him my sister? I turned my face to the wall. Blinking, I recalled his grin of victory and the touch of his hand. How could I have been so wrong? Obviously the elder princess bestowed more prestige than the younger.
“Behold, my servant David,” Father said. “You have vanquished our mortal enemy, the Philistine, Goliath, and brought victory to Israel.”
The crowd cheered. They pounded the tables and stomped their feet. My heart skipped beats, and my stomach clenched. Hope fought with despair, and I dreaded the next minute. Merab fiddled with her shawl and bit her lips. Her expression was both sympathetic and worried.
Father clapped a hand on David. “Tonight, I give you my daughter for wife. Only be valiant for me and fight the LORD’s battles.”
All eyes turned toward us. Father approached our table and took Merab’s arm. My heart tore into shreds, and I chewed the sides of my tongue raw. Murmurs of approval shuddered through the assembly as my father and Merab walked to David’s side.
I held my breath, wanting to look away, but like the rest of the crowd, I stared at David. He bowed to the ground. “Who am I, and who is my father’s family in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?”
“My son, David, you have found favor with me.” Father lifted him to stand. “Let it be known, that I, King Saul, am a man who keeps his vow. My daughter for the head of Goliath, and my daughter you shall have.”
He joined my sister’s hand with David’s to signify their betrothal and handed him a light veil for her to wear during the year before the wedding.
My stomach twisted into a Minoan knot, and my heart tolled like a mourning bell. A soundless wail strangled my throat. How could David be so cruel?
He placed the betrothal veil on Merab and led her around the hall to be congratulated. Anguish crawled from my reeling head to my cringing toes. I pulled my face into a mask of indifference and stared at the giant tapestry framed on the wall. It bore a tree of life, florid and fruitful, quite the opposite of my bleak and barren future. David would never be more than a brother.
* * *
David slipped away from Merab as soon as the celebration finished. Merab walked to her mother’s side while Michal hurried from the room. She had stared at the wall as if the entire evening bored her.
How could he have misread her? The king had laughed when he asked for her hand, told him Michal had refused. Had she meant it when she told him she wanted him? Or did she play with him and mock him with that ridiculous bride price, throwing the peace of Israel in his face?
He pounded a fist into the stone wall. He should leave well alone. After all, she had rejected him. But he had to know why.
He found Michal sitting on the bench in the guard shack, wrapped in the black Philistine cloak. Her shoulders shook with suppressed sobs as she prayed. He waited for her to finish. Her sweet jasmine fragrance awakened a longing to pull her into his arms.
“Michal.” His voice was pinched.
She jumped and clutched her necklace. He swallowed the lump, but it grew and filled his throat. She was so beautiful, dressed for the special occasion of her sister’s betrothal. He held his hand out, but she shrank from him.
“What happened?” he asked.
She turned to the wall and ignored him. He resolved to save face. She’d deny it anyway, as if he had any right to question her.
He crossed into the guard shack. “I wish you happiness. I’m sorry if I behaved inappropriately with you. If I’m going to marry your sister, we cannot have misunderstandings.”
She brushed by him toward the stairs. “I’ll give my sister your harp.”
“Keep it. I want you to have it.” He tugged her elbow.
“Why?” Her lower lip quivered. “I already threw away your stupid stone.”
Her words cut his heart. She had said she would treasure it. Obviously she had used him, found him amusing and tossed him like a piece of dirt.
“It wasn’t stupid,” he replied lamely.
She jerked her arm from his grasp. “Leave me alone. You’re marrying my sister, and she’s not happy either. Why did you have to come to our palace? To ruin our lives?”
David clenched his fists and straightened his shoulders. “Your father invited me, and I earned my reward.”
David’s jaw tightened. “Love has nothing to do with this. I earned the privilege of being son-in-law to the king.”
Her face twisted as if she were in pain. “I hate you. You’re so stupid. You should have a wife who loves you.”
“And what did you want? A husband who would be king? Even an idol worshipper?” He tore the Philistine cloak from her shoulders. “Why are you wearing this?”
“I’ll scream, David. Give it back.”
He waved it over her head and threw it over the wall. Tears overflowed his eyelids, and his heart slammed into his stomach with a hollow well of agony. Michal had rejected him for the young Philistine prince. It all made sense now.
She lifted her chin and looked at the moon, her jaw jutting defiantly, her hair fluttering in the breeze. The transparent turquoise gown outlined a figure he yearned to hold, the woman he thought God had given to him.
He rushed down the stairs and looked up for the last time. She only wept because her sister was forced to marry him, a commoner. He’d show them. Wasn’t he God’s chosen king?
The next morning he departed to fight the LORD’s battles.
Chapter 5
1st Samuel 18:20 And Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved David: and they told Saul, and the thing pleased him.
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I stepped into Father’s bedchamber and hesitated, struck by his appearance. Greasy hair hung over sweating jowls under red-rimmed eyes. The room reeked of wine and burnt hemp.
“Come in, daughter.” He gripped my shoulders. “David sent a message asking for his bride. It’s a pity your mother talked me into marrying Merab to Adriel.”
“What will you tell him?” I rubbed my fingers over tingling palms.
“Why does he think he deserves a king’s daughter, unless it’s to make himself king? If the people didn’t love him so much, I’d have him killed already. What do you think about that, my sweet?”
His words brought a chill to my spine. I lowered my face and waited. Despite Father’s jealous anger, my heartbeat quickened. David had been gone over a year. No one told him Merab had married Adriel after his wife died in childbirth. Would David settle for me?
Michal's Window Page 4
