- Arius -
My lips were still tingling from the kiss. I wanted to kiss her again, but I also didn't want to push my luck. So instead, I refused let her leave that night. I made her stay, though she didn't seem too keen on that.
I had told her that I loved her, yet I felt that I knew so little about her. So I made her stay, and we talked for the whole night.
I made her tell me all about her life at home, so she told me about her friends, the women she helped, the babies who she delivered. She told me about the complications and the simplicities. She told me that her favourite thing about being a midwife was feeling a newborn baby wrap its hand around her finger. It made her feel loved... and it made her feel like she was helping to bring more love into the lives of these women.
Sometimes the women had their husbands by their sides, but most of the time the husbands were gone... either away working or dead. "A newborn," she had said, "can always console the hearts of these lonely women."
And every word she spoke made me love her more.
She was remarkable.
I had never met a girl like her. A girl so wise despite being so young.
I couldn't sleep. How could I?
All I wanted to do was listen to her speak... to tell her stories. My own worries and concerns seemed to vanish when she spoke, as she filled my mind with what goes on in hers.
I had never felt this way before.
"What made you two so close?" I asked, referring to her father. She seemed like she adored her father. She spoke very highly of him all the time. And I wasn't surprised by this. She did, in a way, give up her own life to help him.
"My mother died when I was very young, so my father tried his best to fill that void which was created when she passed," she said, "I knew what he was doing and appreciated it, a lot."
I was lying down on my bed, hands behind my head, staring at the ceiling.
Despite all that had happened tonight, she refused to relax a little and, at the very least, sit on the bed.
Instead, she sat on the floor next to me leaning her shoulder against the bed as she hugged her legs, facing me.
I turned over to my side, resting my head on my hand as I looked at her. "If you don't mind me asking, how did your mother pass?"
She smiled sadly. "She caught something, an illness of some sort, and it took her," she said. "It was odd... I remember her being extremely healthy one day and then in bed, furiously Ill the next."
"It was the same with my father," I said. "He was an extremely healthy man, and then one day he got sick, and a few days later he passed."
It was so sudden that many people wondered if he had been poisoned. No one ever found out though. Of course, many people had their suspicions.
"And your mother?"
"My mother was always quite frail," I said, remembering her thin body and pale skin. "She passed shortly after my father... my brother and I believe it was of heartbreak."
Chione smiled sadly. "I'm sorry."
"No need," I said, "it was a long time ago."
She kept smiling, looking back down at her hands.
"Any sisters or brother?"
"None," she said. "I was the only child my parents had. And my father never remarried after my mother's death. Saia is like a sister to me, though."
"And the dog," I added, remembering the small but annoying dog.
Chine laughed for the first time that night, making me happy. "Biba. Biba was always so annoying, but I miss him nonetheless. He was a good dog... and he must be so lonely back at home."
I smiled. "I was never a huge lover of dogs. I prefer horses."
Chione looked at me with shock. "Unbelievable."
I chuckled, lying down the face the ceiling again.
"So why are we here anyways?" Chione asked, "at this fort, I mean?"
My smile faded. "Because my uncle has exiled me."
"Really?"
"Yes," I nodded. "But he doesn't realize that this will actually help me."
"This feud with your uncle... it's real?" She asked, "not just a rumour?"
"It's real," I said. "My uncle despises me. I don't particularly love him either."
"But... he's the king."
"And I'm the rightful heir, but that doesn't seem to change the way he treats me." I turned my head to look at her and saw that she looked concerned.
"That's... frightening."
"It's fine," I said, smiling. "I've spent my entire life dealing with it... I can handle a little longer."
"Well you have to," she said. "Everyone is expecting you to become king."
He nodded. "Quite the pressure,"
She chuckled. "I'm sure you'll be fine. You survived two severe stab wounds."
I looked at her with a smile.
We continued to talk for the rest of the night... at least until she fell asleep.
It was morning by the time she fell asleep, so I lifted her up onto the bed and let her sleep there, though I knew she didn't want to.
While she slept there, I got ready for my morning prayers.
At first, I felt fine, but when I left the room, the fact that I spent the entire night awake finally hit me.
After the prayers, Lord Boman approached me. "You do not look well, my Prince," he said.
I smiled at him. "I just didn't get a chance to sleep well last night."
"Well you must take the next two days to rest as much as possible," he said. "Because after that, we will begin with the training."
I was surprised by this.
I had two days to rest?
That sounded phenomenal.
I hadn't had a real break in a very long time... and I think I knew exactly what I wanted to do.
- Chione -
I was fast asleep... a kind of deep sleep I hadn't had in what felt like forever.
But when my eyes fluttered open, I was immediately flustered. Not only did I not recognize the room, but I had completely forgotten how I had gotten here.
It took me quite some time to remember.
And when I did, my body flew up.
I stared, in a stare of shock, looking around at Arius' room.
The night before flashed through my mind, and though my heart fluttered, it was still panicked.
I jumped out of the bed as fast as I'd could.
Arius was no where to be seen and I assumed it was because he had left for his prayers, and I started pacing right then and there, wondering what the guards would think of I walked out of the Princes room this early in the morning.
Maybe if I was lucky, the shifts would have switched. The same guards from last night would be there.
I couldn't possibly stay here any longer, so I took a deep breath, and walked quickly out of her room.
As expected, two new guards were standing at Arius' door.
They ignored me as I walked by, knowing I was his personal maid, and I sighed in relief.
I rushed back to Lady Tabia's room as quickly as possible, hoping that she wouldn't be there. If she was, she would ask me questions... and I knew she would see through any lie I told her.
Of course, when I walked through the door, she was conveniently enough, sitting on her bed.
"There you are!" Lady Tabia smiled. She seemed to have been reading some scrolls. Imi was there too, cleaning some of Tabia's jewelry. "Where have you been?"
I let out a silent laugh. "I... I was with... the Prince."
Her eyes widened. "All night?" She asked, shocked.
"We were... having a conversation." I explained. "And then... I fell asleep, that's all."
She narrowed her eyes.
I saw that Imi also looked shocked.
"You're serious?"
I nodded.
Now she looked at me with suspicion. She looked like she wanted to ask more questions, but I saw her night gowns on a table and grabbed them questions. "I'll take these for wash," I said, quickly.
And before she could say another word, I left.
I had no idea where I was supposed to go to wash the clothes, so I had to ask the nearest soldier. He was kind and guided where the Royals, Lords and Ladies had their clothes washed.
I tried to keep my mind black as I id this, or at the very least, to think of something else, but it didn't work.
All I could think of was Arius' kiss.
Arius kissed me.
He kissed me.
The Prince of Egypt kissed me.
Why?
Because he thought I was a wonderful person?
The thought baffled me, but also made me feel unbelievable giddy. I wanted to see him again, but at the same time I was too nervous to.
Would he kiss me again?
What if he changed his mind about me?
I shook my head.
Since when did I worry about things like this?
All I needed to do was think that right now... I may have been the luckiest girl in the world.
I started smiling again, ecstatic.
- Arius -
Tabia wouldn't let the topic go. As General Kai gave us a tour of the fort, she barraged me with questions about the previous night.
I was going to tell her... I really was. Just not anywhere near General Kai, who was just as frightening of a man as Lord Boman.
"Arius," she hissed, "you can't just leave me-"
I shushed her. "Not now," I whispered. "And if you keep asking, I will never tell you."
That silenced her, but she was clearly upset.
Nonetheless, I started to ignore her presence.
The tour of the fort was long, which was understandable. This for was a force to reckon with. It was as massive as it was ancient... with thick, tall walls and gates so heavy that it took ten men to push each one open. Not to mention the fact that it was older than the oldest pyramid.
I had been here once in the past, when I was a child. I remembered being intimidated by the building. The walls were so tall that I imagined they could touch the sky.
And there was barely any colour here, only the various shades of brown in the sand, floor and walls.
It wasn't like the palace at all, where the walls were covered with paintings and flowers covered the grounds.
Though, now that I was much older, it made sense. There was no one here to maintain any sort of beauties.
Only soldiers.
When the tour was over, General Kai bowed and left both Tabia and I alone.
"Now," Tabia said.
I sighed.
I only told her what happened when we were in the privacy of my bedroom.
I was sitting at my desk, watching her every expression as she listened to what happened from the bed. She looked pleased, but at the same time nervous.
"This is bad, isn't it?"
She smiled now. "Not if it makes you happy."
I smiled back at her, knowing she meant it. Nonetheless, I put a hand on my face. "Can you imagine what would happen if uncle found out?"
"No one needs to find out until you are king," she said. "Once you are king, you can do whatever you want."
I let out a breath. "That just makes things even more complicated."
"Well it's either that, or our Pharaoh finds out about it and gets rid of her."
I looked at her, realizing something. "What if he doesn't care?" I asked. "What if he thinks that this will ruin my reputation and just let's it be?"
Tabia laughed. "Stop being a fool," she said. "You and I both know that though he may want to get rid of you, he's not going to ruin the royal family's name to do it."
I frowned.
She was right.
Who was I kidding?
"So what are you going to do about the Hittite?"
I gave her a look of confusion, "What? Who?"
"The Hittite princess?"
It took me a moment, but when I remembered my heart sank.
I groaned, realizing that I had completely forgotten about the engagement to that Hittite Princess.
"You forgot?" Tabia scoffed. "You are unbelievable!"
I groaned some more, surprised myself at my forgetting. "What do I do?" I had my face in my hands as I picture that girl in Hatti. I could barely remember her face.
In fact, I didn't remember her at all.
"You're going to have to call that off."
"How?"
"Lie... come up with something."
I rubbed my face.
"And fast."
"Maybe I could talk to her–"
"What's up with you today, with your stupid ideas?"
"Why is that stupid?" It seemed like the most logical answer.
"Because... she is a princess who is spoiled," she said. "I've met her. She won't take no for an answer."
"Then what?"
Tabia stood up and walked over to me. "Tell uncle you want to become a soldier. And don't want to get married."
"That doesn't help me and my claim at all."
"Then just hurry up and become king so you can end it yourself," she said. "Or... the next time you see her... just do everything you can to make her not like you."
I sighed. "Let's just forget about it for now," I said. "I don't want to think about that. Not now. We'll figure it out when the time comes."
She didn't seem too pleased with that, but agreed. "So you really didn't do anything crazy with Chione last night?" She asked, changing the topic.
I felt my cheeks warm up. "No, of course not!"
"Why not?"
"Because," I rubbed the back of my neck. "She's not... some random girl."
This made Tabia wag her eyebrows. "Not some random girl, huh?"
I shrugged.
Tabia laughed, patting my shoulder before heading to the door. "I don't know if I want to keep laughing or if I want to start crying."
I looked at her. "What?"
"You poor fool," she grinned at me at the door.
"What do you mean by that?" I called after her, but she left.
So I sighed, rolling my eyes.
Part of me wished that Ramose were here. Despite all that had happened, he was still my friend... and he would know exactly what to say or do.
I wanted to reach out to him... maybe send him a letter. But at the same time, I didn't. I didn't think he deserved that. He still hadn't done what I had asked. He still didn't take charge in the entire situation with Namare.
But maybe he was just mad.
I sighed, remembering my father's words about disagreements. Always be the bigger person.
I wondered what that meant.
So after thinking about it for quite some time, I grabbed a brush and some papyrus.
I realized there were two things I needed to do right now... one has to do with a fool called Ramose and the other had to do with a dog I didn't particularly like.
- Chione -
When the moon had risen, I nervously made my way to Arius' room. I was with Tabia for most of the day, and I couldn't take her questions. I was so embarrassed, but it was clear that Arius had been honest with her about what had happened.
When I realized it was time for me to go, I was so relieved. But as I walked towards Arius' room, I began to get nervous again.
As always, there were two guards standing at his door. I reminded myself not to make the same mistake I had made the night before... I wouldn't stay the whole night.
When I entered his room, I saw him walking towards me. "Perfect timing," he said with a smile. "Let's go."
"Go?" I asked as he walked past me and out the door.
"For a walk," he said.
I followed him. "Are you allowed to?"
"We're inside a fort that impenetrable," he held his hand up to stop the guards who began to follow us. "I'm sure a Prince can walk around here safely."
The guards bowed and returned to their position at the entrance of his door.
I followed him, wondering why he would want to walk in here. There wasn't much to see at all. Just walls, walls and more walls. Well, when we reached a certain part of the building, there was co ceiling, so you can see the stars. But that was it.
We walked around for a while... and it seemed almost like it was a tour. He showed me the training grounds, the kitchens, the armoury, the stables and a bunch more.
I was quite impressed, more by his memory than by the fort itself. I knew that he had only gotten a tour this morning, yet, he seemed to remember it all.
Once we left one of the many storage rooms, we walked in silence for a bit.
"So," he started. "I sent Ramose a letter."
I looked at him with surprise. "Really?"
He nodded. "I told him that if he's ready to act like a man than he is to come here and we will talk."
"You didn't want to just let him come to you without you having to say anything?"
"I don't think we'd accomplish anything if we both let our egos get in the way of solving an important problem."
I nodded, guess he was right.
He then surprised me by taking my hand in his.
When I looked at him, he smiled. "We're in the heart of the fort. There aren't many soldiers patrolling this area because it's so deep, and they don't expect anyone to get this far."
For some reason, that made me laugh. "So is that what this is going to be? Discreet brushes of the hand and secret kissing when the moon is high in the sky?"
He stopped walking, turning me around when he did. "Secret kissing, huh?"
Now I was embarrassed.
However, I wasn't nervous anymore.
I felt at ease.
When he bent over to kiss me, I let him, smiling when his lips touched mine. He held me close, on hand on the small of my back and the other knotted in my hair.
I still couldn't believe it.
I mean yes, I saved his life and so on... but to be in love with me?
It seemed like a dream.
But like I had decided before, I was going to enjoy it while it lasted. So I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him back.