– Arius –
As the Pharaoh had promised, he left that evening, right before the sunset. Usually, people didn't travel at night, but the Pharaoh seemed so eager to leave that he didn't care. And since it was so late in the evening, not many people came to see him off.
Even Aunty Aya stayed in her room with her little baby who she named Itet, claiming that she was still in pain. I didn't think she was lying... but I also think that she wasn't telling the whole truth. I'm pretty sure she was mad at the Pharaoh.
Of course, I didn't blame her.
And once the Pharaoh had departed, I was given the crown of Egypt. I was also given the crook and the flail, both the symbols of Pharaonic rule.
Now I was the Pharaoh of Egypt... Even if it was temporary, I had gotten what I was meant to have.
And it was my chance to prove that this title was mine.
– Chione –
We were awoken quite early the next day. Aziza stormed through the Servants Quarters, shouting for us all to wake up and get out to the front of the building.
I was still half asleep as I lined up next to Saia, who was holding on to me, trying not to fall asleep.
"Alright, girls," she said, loudly. A fairly noble classed looking man by her side. "Pay close attention, I am going to pick some of you to serve at the celebration tonight to honor the Prince's temporary rise to the throne as Pharaoh. If I select you, go stand with Namare and her group."
I looked over at Namare, who was standing not too far behind Aziza with her hands crossed over her chest. There were a bunch of other thin girls standing near her.
"Then you will all head off with Lord Shadi to be assigned your roles," she said.
The man named Lord Shadi smiled a small smile.
Aziza went one by one to each maid, looking a their faces and examining their bodies before making a decision. Here and there, Lord Shadi would speak, adding his own opinion in. He seemed like an odd man... a little awkward. He wore rich looking clothing and was bald, but the weird part was that he had this odd hat on. I couldn't describe it aside from the fact that it stuck out in all directions as a big circle around his head, preventing Ra's rays from touching his face. It must have been from another countries.
A couple maids had already been pulled aside by the time Aziza got through the first half of the group of maids. The lucky maids who didn't get selected were able to go back to sleep for a bit before their work for the day started.
When Aziza got to Saia, she took her face in her hand, looked at one side, then the other. "You're old, but you look young. So go with Namare."
I could tell that Saia wanted to sigh, but didn't.
When Aziza reached me, she didn't bother to touch my face. "Too old," she said before walking off.
"Hold on," Lord Shadi said quickly. "I think we should take her."
"What?" Aziza asked. "No, my Lord. She is exceptionally old."
Exceptionally old? I thought. I'm not even half your age.
"But look at the girls eyes!" He said, grabbing my face in his hands. "They're green!"
"So what?"
"The noblemen would love her," he smiled.
"What?" I asked, not liking the sound of that.
"She looks... exotic."
I raised an eyebrow.
"Fine," Lady Aziza said. "Get over to that side, Chione."
I bowed slightly before joining Saia.
"At least we're together," she said.
I smiled at her but then frowned. Unfortunately, I really didn't want to do this. This was a celebration for Arius after all. And if all of this couldn't get any worse... I had heard all the rumors that he was the temporary Pharaoh.
I sighed in disbelief.
How could I be so stupid?
After a couple more moments, Aziza had completed the recruitment and we all followed the nobleman towards the massive banquet hall.
The banquet hall was massive, almost the size of the throne room. Along one end of the hall was a long table with a massive, golden chair in the middle. I assumed that was where the Pharaoh and his family and royal court would sit.
There was a line of tables all around the hall, for the noblemen and women, probably. And in the middle was an open court, probably for shows and dancing.
All the walls of banquet hall were stunningly painted with vibrant colours to show various, glorious scenes of the Pharaoh and the gods. The sights were so marvelous that they made my heart skip a beat. It was absolutely beautiful.
Of course, we had little time to enjoy the beauty of the place.
We didn't get a chance to catch up on our sleep the entire day. Instead, we did the opposite. We worked and worked and worked and worked. We cleaned, decorated, prepared food, and dear Ra was it all so tiring.
I felt a little bad that I was selected for this. Yesterday I had taken the day off and now today too, I wouldn't be at either the stable or at Doctor Tumini's home. I'm sure neither Ram nor Doctor Tumini would get mad at me but I still felt bad.
And I would have definitely preferred to be shoveling horse poop rather than doing this.
A full day of preparations had gone by with only a short break in between... and when the odd looking nobleman came to us with our uniforms, I wanted to roll my eyes.
"How does he expect us to wear this?" I asked as Saia and I began to change into it.
"Why?" Saia asked. "I think it's beautiful! I've never worn such a bright colour before!"
That was exactly it.
Saia was right, the outfits were beautiful. But they were orange. Well, not orange, more so a golden brown colour. On top of that, there was a vibrant, colourful collar we had to wear over our shoulders and even the headdress was colourful.
How on earth were we supposed to blend in?
We were supposed to be servers... rushing in and out without bothering anyone. Instead, we were wearing such bright colours that everyone would notice us in an instant.
We even had earrings! Huge, huge round earrings!
Some girls who had no holes in their earlobes began to panic. Apparently the earrings were mandatory and Aziza would be coming around to punch holes into the ears of girls who lacked them.
Thankfully, I had earring holes.
After getting ready, I sighed. I couldn't deny that I felt pretty in this dress. It was formfitting just up to our waists and then flowed a little until it reached our calves.
Saia did a spin in hers, looking thrilled. "Oh my goodness, this is beautiful!"
I chuckled.
"You look gorgeous Chione! Wait till Arius sees you now!"
Now I frowned.
I had told Saia what had happened and she was trying to convince me that it wasn't as bad as I thought it was.
She saw my frown and immediately changed the subject, "so, I heard Namare is singing and dancing."
My eyebrows rose.
She always looked so sick all the time that I forgot she was a dancer.
"Apparently she's really good!"
"I hope we get a chance to see it."
"We will," Saia said happily. "Other maids who have served at banquets before say we do get to see the performances!"
I smiled, "Well, good."
At least we have something to look forward to.
– Arius –
I didn't really want to have a party to celebrate... me. Aunty Aya had just lost one of her babies and I wasn't particularly in the mood to celebrate. However, I couldn't lie and say that I wasn't in a good mood in general. I was happy.
I was sitting in the throne that I hadn't sat in since my father died. When I was a child, he would often sit me beside him while he conducted his daily work as Pharaoh.
Once he died, however, my uncle Khamen never let me sit there ever again.
Now here I was, sitting in the throne, wearing the Nemes headdress... almost like a dream come true. Even if it was temporary.
"Is it really necessary for a banquet?" I asked my court.
Tabia snorted, looking so much more at ease now that my uncle was gone. "Yes, trust us. It's definitely necessary."
Khafirin looked at his fiancée before looking at me. "The nobles are quite aware that you being the king will not benefit them as much as when Pharaoh Khamen is king–"
"They're not stupid," Tabia added. "You're going to stop the fighting when you really become Pharaoh and stopping the fighting means they don't get any more land and glory."
I nodded.
I would do exactly that.
And it this fact, the fact that Khamen promoted war in order for the nobles to get land and glory, that made the nobles support him more than me. That's why he was still Pharaoh.
Everyone knew I'd be more like my father.
"But what does that have to do with the banquet?"
"Noble's love to party more than anything," Tabia said as the rest of the court members nodded thoughtfully. "Just provide them with as much alcohol and food as they want at this party and be nice and we can get a couple more people onto our side."
I sighed but nodded. If everyone in the court believed this then I would have to agree too. And unfortunately, what she said did make sense.
Overall, my first day as Pharaoh was rather uneventful. It was just the usual taxes and judging and monitoring the updates on the tomb that was being built for Uncle Khamen. However, thought today was rather boring, I was sure things would begin to get more interesting eventually... especially when I started getting into fixing some of the mess my uncle made.
But right now there was a party I had to attend.
After I returned to my room, there were a couple maids waiting outside of my door. They bowed low for me, as they were meant to around the Pharaoh, and when I told them to rise, they told me they were here to dress me for the banquet.
I didn't need help getting dressed, but they insisted that Lady Aziza would be very mad if they were sent back.
So I let them come in and put on all the jewelry for me. I was wearing a lot of jewelry, which came with the title of the Pharaoh. It made me feel rather luxurious, though I did also feel that it was entirely unnecessary.
However, it was a party.
And I guess I had to dress appropriately.
I thanked the maids who refused to make eye contact with me the entire time. Once they were done, they left quickly and I couldn't help but wonder about Chione. I wondered what she was doing and if she was still mad. Would a night have been enough time for her to get over it?
But I realized that I wouldn't know for sure until I actually saw her... so there was no point worrying about it now.
When I left my room I saw that the sun was already beginning to make its way down to set. It was getting late already and my first day as temporary Pharaoh had just flown by.
I was sure this celebration would fly by too, seeing as I would probably be getting drunk. Or, it would go by very slowly but maybe I'd enjoy it more since I was drunk.
Six guards were asked to be by my side most of the time, so when they saw I was ready, they bowed and followed behind me as I walked towards the banquet hall.
I was very stiff around them, which was a little disappointing. I was supposed to be able to trust these men with my life but thanks to a couple of their brothers, I just didn't have it in me.
Not yet, at least.
"Arius!" I heard Ramose call from behind me.
Well, now there was a soldier who I trusted with my life... though he was a complete fool. "Ramose," I said as he caught up to me.
"I am extremely glad that you are having this party," he grinned, throwing his arm over my shoulder.
"You can't call me Arius, you know?" I said. "I'm Pharaoh now. But I'll allow you to call me Atumankhkare."
Ramose rolled his eyes, "I'm your best friend, that rule applies to me too?"
"Sorry," I said, sympathetically. "But I'm telling you this for your own good. If General Boman heard–"
"Yeah, yeah, Pharaoh," he rolled his eyes, "whatever."
I let out a short laugh.
"So who's performing at the banquet?" Ramose asked.
"I have no idea," I said. "But I know Aziza is the one who's arranging it all."
Ramose looked exceptionally pleased. "Aziza may be a witch, but she picks the best dancers to perform for Pharaoh."
"Well I guess we have something to look forward to–"
"She's mine, called it."
I smacked him hard in the gut. "Pervert," I said. "I was talking about enjoying the performance."
"Sure. But I called her."
Suddenly, a guard standing behind me cleared his throat, making Ramose hesitate before removing his arm from around my shoulder.
"I mean... if you really want her... you can have her–" he said with utmost regret.
"Spare me."
Now he grinned, "this is why you're my best friend."
"Spare the young woman too. Leave her out of your conquests."
Now he frowned.
Well, at least someone was going to have a lot of fun.
– Chione –
I don't think I've ever felt so rushed before. I hated being a server. Many noblemen and women had arrived to the banquet and I was sure that everyone wasn't here yet... however I was already running around trying to serve a great number of people.
I assumed it would get worse as more people arrived... and I was right.
The sun hadn't even set yet and I was already exhausted.
When I returned to the backroom where all the food was being prepared, I leaned against the wall and took a breath. I had a moment to relax so I was going to take it.
The older maids who were preparing the food smiled sympathetically at me, though I could see the exhaustion in their eyes too.
So I smiled back, reciprocating the sympathy.
But just as I was about to sit down for a moment, I was startled by the blaring sound of trumpets.
The chattering sounds of voices vanished, replaced by the sound of trumpets.
I peeked through the door and saw the Pharaoh, Arius, entering the banquet hall, followed by the people who I assumed were a part of his court, and a few guards.
When my eyes fell on Arius, I couldn't deny that he looked unbelievably handsome in the Pharaoh attire. Not that he looked any less handsome before... it was just that now he looked like he was meant to be king.
I had heard that Pharaoh Khamen paled in comparison to Arius in terms of looks. I always assumed that it was because Arius was much younger, but now I figured that even when Pharaoh Khamen was younger, he probably was not as handsome as Arius.
Arius had a unique kind of look to him... sharp features and focused eyes, and that was what made him handsome.
Plus, he walked confidently, and his eyes looked serious... like he wasn't scared of all the duties he now had to deal with as temporary Pharaoh.
All the nobles bowed low and all the servants got to their knees. I heard some shuffling behind me and I saw that the maids who were preparing food were also on their knees, despite not being visible to Arius himself.
So I figured that I had to get on my knees to, and I did.
"All hail Pharaoh Atumankhkare!" a man shouted, "Lord of the two lands. King of Upper and Lower Egypt. Son of Re. May he live, may he prosper and may he be healthy."
"May he live, may he prosper and may he be healthy!" Many of the nobles and servants repeated.
I whispered it to myself too, despite being angry with him.
"You may all rise," I heard his deep voice say. And everyone rose, including myself and the other servants. "I thank you all for joining me today in these celebrations. I pray that with your cooperation, we can maintain the order that our Pharaoh Khamen hopes to come home too."
I could hear something odd in his voice... almost like mistrust. Like he didn't mean it.
I was quite certain that Arius did hope for order... it didn't seem like him to want any troubles. Though this made me wonder what was wrong.
"Please, let the festivities begin," Arius said. "And I hope everyone enjoys this evening."
"Chione!" I heard Aziza's harsh voice suddenly shout.
I jumped, not knowing how and when she got behind me.
"What are you doing just standing there? You have work to do!"
I bowed before rushing out of the back room.
For the next little while I tried to stay hidden from Arius' view, which worked for the most part. Thankfully, there were special maids who had the privilege of serving Arius and his court, so I didn't need to go anywhere near them.
Time went by slowly. Overall, for me the party was extremely boring. It was obvious though that others did not feel the same way. The nobles were thoroughly enjoying themselves, drinking lots of beer and eating to their hearts content.
Even some of the maids looked like they were having funs. But they were all the pretty ones... the ones who got the attention of the younger nobles. Even Saia looked like she was having a good time.
I however, preferred to just do my job. I didn't want to talk to anyone.
The only point in this evening that made it entertaining was when Aziza stepped up to the table of royals, bowed and then introduced her best performers.
"I assure you, Pharaoh, that you will thoroughly enjoy this performance. Even your uncle adored the dance of this young woman."
Arius nodded, not looking skeptical or anything like that. In fact, I may even say he looked a little excited. I watched as his eyes went from Aziza to a group of people entering the room.
When I followed his gaze and looked at who he was looking at, I was surprised to see Namare as well as a bunch of other dancers. Suddenly, I was excited.
I really wanted to see Namare dance. And judging by the fact that she had a lute in her hands, I guess she could play instruments as well.
The music began almost instantly.
It started off soft, with only Namare playing her lute. She was amazing... her focus was admirable.
Then she started singing.
Saia rushed towards me, gawking. "I had no idea she could sing!" She whispered.
I agreed with her.
Namare's singing was absolutely stunning. Everyone in the hall silenced to listen to her voice as she sang a song I have never heard.
Suddenly however, a deep sounding drum began to play its beat. Namare bowed low and only rose after Arius gave her a nod.
When she did, the drum beat got quicker and the dancing began.
Everyone stared in awe as Namare sang and danced while many instruments started to play a wonderful tune. She was so beautiful, and such an amazing dancer.
In the time that I knew her, I had never seen a single hint of emotion on her face, but during this dance, I could see it all. All the emotion, her focus, her love for dancing.
It was beautiful.
When the dance was coming to an end, the deep drum beat strengthened in sound. It grew so loud that I could feel it in my bones. Whoever this drummer was, he was talented... never missing a single beat.
His beat, as Namare danced, had everyone on their toes. I know my heart was racing in excitement. I was grinning ear to ear as I watched it all in amazement.
Namare twirled as the beat quickened, coming in front of Saia and I for only a second before moving on.
And it was at that moment that Arius spotted me. His eyes went off of Namare for just a moment as we both looked at each other. But then we looked back at the dancer. I'm sure he was as amazed as I was.
Finally, the beat slowed down. Namare sang her last words before all the music came to the end.
I was still grinning in amazement, and like myself, the entire hall was silenced. Lost for words.
It was Arius who spoke first.
He stood up, causing Namare, as well as all the other performers to get onto their knees.
"Absolutely amazing!" Arius said. "Please, you may all rise."
When they rose, Arius continued with a warm smile on his face.
"The entire performance was marvelous. Namare, is your name, yes?"
Namare nodded, making sure her eyes didn't meet his directly.
"You are a talented entertainer. You have a gift and I hope to the gods that it will take you far in this life. I wish you, as well as all the other performers the best of luck."
The performers bowed again to show their thanks.
"And to thank you all for such a wonderful performance, please, help yourself to all the food and beer you want for the evening. You all deserve it."
I couldn't hold back my smile.
Arius was unquestionably kind.
If only...
I shook my head, deciding to continue on with my work. The performers did not waste a moment. They followed the orders of the Pharaoh and went on to eat and drink as much as they could. It would probably be a while until they had the chance to such luxuries again, after all.
It was as I served the kind looking drummer some beer that I was suddenly approached by Ramose. His sudden appearance behind me nearly caused me to drop my tray of drinks. It was his firm grasp on my arm that saved me from such an embarrassment.
"Ramose," I said. Though I wondered if I was allowed to call him by his name.
"Chione," he smiled a silly smile. "You should be more careful."
I wanted to argue and tell him that he was the one who came out of nowhere, but I didn't. I just smiled.
"The Pharaoh is asking for your presence at his table," he said, surprising me again.
My eyes widened as I shook my head. "I can't," I said. "The Pharaoh has special maids tending to him–"
"He wants to talk to you," Ramose almost instantly looked like he was annoyed.
"I'm busy–"
"The pharaoh as asked for you to come over there. The pharaoh, I repeat, is telling you to come. You cannot disobey the Pharaoh," Ramose said. "Besides, he just wants you to meet his little brother. Prince Akhen has been wanting to meet the woman who saved his brother for a long time now."
I hesitated, realizing there was nothing I could do. But right then, Aziza walked over to us. "Ramose," she called, firmly. "What have I told you about talking to my maids?"
For the first time ever, I was relieved that Aziza was here.
"My lady," Ramose smiled. "I'm only here because the Pharaoh sent me."
"Did he?"
"He wanted me to bring Chione here to his table."
Before Aziza could say anything else, Ramose had firmly grabbed my arm and was pulling me towards the table.
"Chione, let me give you some advice," Ramose said as he continued to pull me. "You refuse to speak to him because he's the prince... but as the Prince, if he wants you to talk to him then you must talk to him."
I narrowed my eyes at him.
He stopped walking when we were a short distance away from the table. "The prince get's what he wants," he said as he turned around and looked at me. There was something strange about the tone of his voice... he almost sounded mean. "If the prince wants you then you tend to him. If he's tired of you then you leave. Do you understand?"
I let out a scoff before glaring at him for a moment, I spoke. "What do you think I am?" I asked, "a toy?"
He arched an eyebrow.
I pulled my arm away as aggressively as I could before turning around and looking over at Arius.
He was looking at both Ramose and I with a little bit of concern, but when I started to walk over to him, a smile formed on his face.
"My pharaoh," I said before I bowed.
I heard Arius let out a breath. "Chione," he started. "My brother has been wanting to meet you."
When I looked up, I saw the grinning little prince looking in my direction. He was a sweet looking boy who was bald for the most part. Like most other children his age however, he had a sidelock of youth on one side of his head. This was one tradition that was shared between royalty as well as people like me.
"It's a pleasure to meet you!" The young boy said. "I am so grateful that you helped my brother!"
I smiled back at him, though I felt a little nervous because I could feel the eyes of his court members on me.
"My brother wouldn't stop talking about you–"
"Akhen," Arius interrupted.
The little boy looked at his brother before looking back at me with a grin. "Your eyes are very pretty! How did you get them like that?"
"I was born with these eyes, my Prince."
"Really?" He asked, shocked. "I wish I were born with eyes like that! Right brother?"
Arius nodded. "You would have been a pretty boy."
"Handsome," Akhen corrected. "I would be handsome."
I couldn't help but smile at his childish nature. But then I bowed. "If you don't mind, I have a lot of work–"
"Oh no! Not at all," the little prince grinned. "Please come talk to me if you ever see me around!"
I smiled a warm smile at him and when I stood up, I glanced over at Arius.
"Are you still–"
"I appreciate that you gave me the chance to meet the young Prince," I said as I bowed again.
"Chione–"
"I shouldn't keep the nobles waiting much longer," I said.
When I rose from my bow, Arius gave me a short nod before I turned around and rushed off, heart racing.
I returned to the back room in order to catch my breath. I didn't know if I was panicking because I was scared or if it were for some other reason. All I knew was that I felt so relieved to be away from him and the lineup of royals.
But as I stood there, I suddenly saw a movement from the corner of my eye.
When I turned around, I saw Namare standing deep in the back room. She was holding hard onto a table, looking very ill. "Namare?" I called.
She turned to me, eyes looking dull and tired.
"Are you alright?"
She nodded, lying obviously.
I began to walk over to her. "Namare... you're ill," I said. "You must have pushed yourself too much–"
"I'm fine," she hissed back.
I froze in my spot, surprised by the harshness in her voice. But just as I was about to nod and leave, Namare lost her balance.
She stumbled, knocking a couple dishes down as she fell to the floor. In a panic, I ran to her, trying to catch her before she hit the ground.
When I reached her, I tried to hold her up but ended up falling down with her. "Namare!"
She didn't say anything, throwing her hand onto her head. She looked confused and disoriented.
"You are pushing yourself too hard!" I said as I began to stand up. "Let me call for help."
"No," she said quickly. "No!"
When I turned around, she grabbed my hand and held onto it tightly, pulling me with the little strength she had left.
"Please... no."
I hesitated.
"Just... please, just stay here. With me."
I swallowed back my worry as I sat down next to her. "Namare..."
And for the next little while, until she was able to stand up again, I just sat there silently with her, holding her hand and wondering what on earth could possibly be wrong with her?
Or at the very least... what was she hiding?