Esther 4:11

All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces do know that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come unto the king into the inner court, that part of the courtyard adjoining the king's apartments and the throne-room, who is not called, there is one law of his to put him to death, except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden scepter, the long tapering staff, the symbol of royal authority, that he may live. But I have not been called to come in unto the king these thirty days; she feared that the king had become indifferent to her, and that any attempt to approach his throne without his express invitation might change his indifference into dislike, so that the venture would cost her her life. The Persian law required that all business was to be brought to the attention of the king through his ministers, including all petitions, and Esther interpreted the law to mean that, unless called and therefore also acceptable to the king, she dared not approach his throne except at the risk of her life, in spite of the fact that she was his favorite wife and officially recognized as queen.