The Prince and His Slave

[Dancing]

[Chione]

It felt like forever since I had seen the Prince, I think I began to miss him. I felt strange the whole day, turning around for no reason, looking out a window, and stopping my work to go into the hallway and just wait for who knows what.

       Was I waiting for him?

       I was beginning to get angry with myself. I can’t expect him to always be here! I told myself. He is the Prince, he must be busy.

       The day passed by quickly and the sun was already setting. I remembered the argument I had with Saia the night before. I began smiling, I didn’t know why.

       “Chione!” Aziza yelled.

       I jumped when I heard her, almost dropping the pot filled with yogurt which I had in my arms. “Yes, my Lady?”

       “What’s with the smirk?” She asked me.

       I responded by shaking my head.

       “You are such a waste of time!” She yelled putting her hand on her head. “Go put that in the kitchen, help make the dinner and return to the slave quarters for more orders, understood?”

       I nodded my head, bowed and walked away.

       After I finished with the food I rushed to the slave quarters, the sun had already begun to set and I wanted to sleep so I began to rush.

       “Good, there you are.” Aziza said. She handed me a bunch of flowers in a basket. “I want you to plant these around the large tree where the Queens grave is.” She said.

       “Where is the queens grave?” I asked.

       “It is north of the fountain; you will see a statue of a woman. That is the queens grave.”

       I nodded and left to the palaces’ garden.

       I remembered the day that I was cleaning the throne room, that was when Arius told me that his mother died, I never really thought about it until now.

       I had also never noticed a statue of a woman near the fountain before, but from today on, I knew I would always remember it.

       The statue was a short walk from the fountain. It was large and made completely out of marble. The statue was beautiful and so realistic; I assumed that the woman was the mother of Arius.

       If the statue was this beautiful, I wondered how beautiful she was.

       It was so detailed that I could see the similarities between her and Arius. They had the same eye shapes, and the same nose. I smiled at it and bowed.

       I then prayed to it, and began to plant the flowers. I looked at the gravestone; in beautifully carved writing it said “Neitha Khamen Akhenaton, Daughter of the great Akhenaton, and wife of his majesty Khamen.”

       I smiled when I realized that Neitha meant ‘the Divine Mother’. I remembered Arius tell me that she was an amazing mother.

       I read on, ‘Do not dwell in the Past, Do not dream of the Future, Live in the Present, and all will be well.’ I thought about it for a second, I liked the sounds of that.

       The moon was rising when I finished planting the flowers. Thankfully the lamp men had already lit the lamps, so I could see easily. I went back to the slave quarters and met Aziza there.