Themis, who was dressed as a man, looked at Sharon and scowled. She laughed and said, “I didn’t expect the big bad bully to be a woman. Shouldn’t you be home with a baby in your teat?”

“What kind of man talks to a woman like that?” Sharon countered

The king’s kingdom was so vast that many people who lived in it, didn’t even know that they were a part of it. Among these people, most were free to say whatever they wanted to say about the king. Nobody cared. Closer to home, though, such comments were unwise. A man could be killed for lamenting his king.

Themis lived in...