I walk back to my room with Ahmed in my arms. I didn't have to attend the banquet, I just wanted to go because it apparently was very important. I put Ahmed in his rocking crib, singing a soft tune to make sure he falls asleep Choosing a white, simple dress that clung to my curves perfectly, I go over to the mirror and start brushing my hair. I grabbed a wig that cropped my hair and gave me bangs, I thought I looked cute. I redid my kohl along my eyes and added some blue pigment to my eyelids.
"You two make sure he doesn't get out, Aila will come to check on him soon." I say to my cats. Aila, a very old friend of mine, was an elderly maid that usually babysat for servants who had kids. Tonight she offered to watch over Ahmed while I was at the banquet. She had been the Princes nanny when they were younger so she had a lot of respect from all the servants. Anyone who could keep the two Princes in check definitely deserved some respect. I check over my appearance one last time before slipping my sandals on and leaving to go to the banquet. I run through the empty halls, arriving much faster than I usually would have. Slipping through a side door, I find Femi in a crowd of people and quietly stand next to her.
"What did I miss?" I whisper. Femi looks over in alarm at me, then realizing who I was, she smiles.
"Girl! Look at you! You are smokin' hot!" I blush as she takes in my appearance. She leans over and whispers in my ear, "I bet even Prince Rameses couldn't resist you." I blush even harder and gently push her.
"Femi!" She smirks at my comment and pretends to flutter her eyelashes and pucker her lips. I roll my eyes. Gods, that girl was so annoying, yet she was my best friend.
"Okay, okay, fine." She says and I sigh and hug her.
"Now could you please tell me what's going on?" I ask her again.
"Prince Rameses is being named Prince Regent!" I look back and focus my attention on his speech. Me and Femi were in a secluded corner, we were the only servants there, at least that I knew of. Suddenly, everyone started clapping and we joined along. I wasn't able to hear why everyone was clapping, but I just kept clapping. Pharaoh and Queen Tuya turned to look at the curtains behind them, and in came Rameses and Moses. I laughed as their faces looked shocked and confused. The idiots had probably just arrived. Queen Tuya hugged them and whispered something, Rameses's face brightened immediately and he walked over to his father. Moses ran over to his father and brother and shouted something that everybody could hear.
"My Lord Pharaoh. I propose that the high priests offer tribute to their new regent." Pharaoh smiled and he yelled over to the priests.
"An excellent idea. Hotep! Huy!" The two snakes discussed something before Hotep ran over to take center stage. I rolled my eyes as I knew what he was doing. Another one of their 'magic' shows to impress the Princes. I knew they were just cheap tricks to keep the crowd amazed.
"By the power of Ra, we present for your delegation and delight, an exotic apparition stolen from a faraway land." He waved his hands and a large smoke cloud appeared, when it cleared up, it revealed a wall of sorts. Femi giggled in delight as she watched the whole thing with interest. The wall dropped down, revealing a beautiful Midian girl on a camel. I gasped when I saw her tied up hands. She was a slave! She looked around, her face full of panic, she was struggling with her tied hands. When she came to look at me, I smiled at her. She had a helpless expression on her face. I glared at the high priests as they looked at the Midian girl with smug expressions. I absolutely hated slavery. Before I came to the palace, I had been a slave, so of course it was a coincidence that my dead husband had been a slave enforcer. What people do for love amazes me.
I frowned when I saw the smirks on Moses and Rameses' faces. They walked toward her and I couldn't help feeling a pang of jealousy as Rameses grabbed her chin.
"Let us inspect this desert flower." The Midian girl trys to bit him, but he pulls away in time. Serves him right. "More like a desert cobra." Moses laughs at Rameses' comment.
"Not much of a snake charmer, are you?" Moses still stared at the girl. I smiled, he was in love. I remember when I first saw Ahmose, oh boy, I though it was love at first sight. Rameses pushes Moses towards her, also seeing the look on his face.
"That's why I give her to you," I scowl in disgust at Rameses' statement. I hated it when men always treated us women like pieces of property that they could constantly push around. The Midian girl glares at them with ferocity.
"No, that's generous but..."
"I won't be given to anyone. Especially an arrogant, pampered palace brat!" I was surprised when she interrupted Moses, my eyes grew wide as she insulted him in front of hundreds, maybe thousands of people.
"Are you going to let her talk to you like that?" Rameses asks while chuckling. Moses takes a few steps forward and points an accusing finger at her.
"You will show the proper respect for a prince of Egypt!" The girls takes a frightened step back before regaining her composure.
"But I am showing you all the proper respect you deserve. None!" She suddenly yanks the rope, Huy and Hotep were so surprised that Hotep actually let go. The girl starts whipping the air, twirling the rope around. Moses jumps forward and ends up grabbing the rope. She starts tugging and he doesn't let go.
"Be still." He says calmly.
"Set me free!" He smirks up at her.
"As you wish." He lets go and she loses her balance, falling into one of the ponds in the room. I immediately rush over to her. I walk down the stairs and into the pond, the water a little bit above my ankles. I put my arms around her and try to hoist her up, everyone laughing at the scene Moses created. She falls again, everyone laughs even harder as she pulls me down with her, also getting me wet. I sputter and stand up, the bottom half of my dress soaked and now clung even tighter to my hips and waist. I again offer my hand to the Midian girl and she takes it. An old man stands behind us, trying to help as much as he could.
"You there! Have her dried off, and sent to Prince Moses' chambers." Rameses says while laughing, pointing to the man behind me.
"Habibah," I glare at Moses as I turn towards him, my arm around the Midian girl. My cheeks, now red with anger and embarrassment turn even brighter red when I see him.
"Moses, don't. You'll make things more worse than you already have." His looks down in shame as I finally walk away. The sound of laughter ringing in my ears as I leave the room. I dismiss the old kind man who helped us and give him a quick smile. I wrap a towel around her and lead her towards one of the hallways that leads to Moses' room.
"Thank you." I look towards the girl's face and give her a nod.
"What's your name?" She looks at me cautiously before responding.
"Tzipporah."
"What a beautiful name."
"Thank you, what's yours?" I smile at her.
"Habibah." She looked thoughtful for a moment before responding.
"Habibah, why are you helping me?" Tzipporah asks, turning to me.
"I was once in the same situation as you when I was younger. I was sold into slavery when I was only four years old." She gasps at my response. I take her hands in mind and chuckle. "Don't worry, I'm happy here as a servant. I have a son and a lover, and so many friends. I'm happy here." I brush a wet strand of hair away from her face.
"But how could you work with those arrogant monkeys! I would run away my first week here if I worked for them." I lead her down another hallway.
"Though I love your sense of sarcasm, I grew up with those boys. They're like brothers to me." I blushed when I said that. I thought of Moses as my brother, Rameses was a whole other story.
"You're in love with one of them." I turn to her and nod, she scowls at me. "How could you love one of them?" I raise an eyebrow at her. "I mean I'm not saying that it isn't possible, I mean look at you! You're gorgeous! But, I'm talking about their personalities." I open the doors to Moses' room and I'm greeted by his two dogs. They bark when they see me and run up to me, I kneel down and allow them to kiss me. I point at the cupboard near her.
"There are sheets in those cupboards. Make a rope and climb down, the stable is not far from this room. You'll be able to find it easily." Tzipporah looks over at me in surprise.
"Why are you helping me?" I go over to her and hug her.
"Because women stick together. Now go, I'm going back to the banquet. Oh and about Moses' dogs, give them this." I pull out a little pouch and hand it to her.
"What is this?" Tzipporah holds the small pouch with clear suspicion.
"This is a sleeping powder, pour it in the dog's water bowl and they'll be asleep in two minutes tops. It only lasts one hour, so get out of here as fast ad you can." She nods and hugs me one more time. Now, I won't say I'm an expert, but I have a knack for spices, poisons, and sleeping powder. I could identify poison or a certain type of spice just by looking at it.
"Thank you again." Tzipporah says to me while I slip a bracelet off my arm and hand it to her. "I can't take this." It was a simple, yet beautiful beaded bracelet. It was a bracelet that my birth mother gave me when I was born.
"Please take it, as a tribute of my thanks." She looks me with a confused look, she pushed away my hand again. I forcefully grab her hand and put the bracelet on. I don't know why I was giving it to her, I guess I just felt like we were kindred spirits. Like I knew her somehow, even if we met like ten minutes ago. "Good luck." I give her one last nod before exiting the room and going back to my bedroom. I was tired, and I needed a new change of clothes. Besides, my presence wasn't even required at the banquet in the first place, I just wanted to see why it was so important. I opened the door and walked in, the dim light room causing my weariness to increase and I collapse on my bed. I snuggle into my soft feather mattress and just lay there, my eyes closed and wig thrown aside.
"Mommy?" I look up and see my son standing on his crib. Ahmed's little face peeking over the edge looking at me with interest. I go over and lift him up, letting him snuggle into my neck as I lay back down on the bed.
"I'm sorry, did I wake you?" I whisper to him. He just snuggles deeper into my neck and I sigh in content. These are some the moments that just make my life a lot better than it was before. I close my eyes in contentment.
"I love you, Mommy," Ahmed says deliriously.
"I love you too," I pull the covers over us and drift off into a wonderful, dreamless sleep.