Coretta
The atmosphere was warm, as I sat amongst some Egyptian women in a cart, quietly listening to their talks. Sands blew now and then, and I had to cover my hair with the linen to avoid the grainy particles getting stuck.
"Cecilia was fed up with that evil man. And what's there in a son, another progeny?" Nofrehet, the blue linen draped woman said, rolling her eyes.
All these gracious women who had allowed me to travel with them were headed to their queen. I wonder if she was The Queen or just their girl gang leader.
"Cecilia, look, you did a great job of leaving that devil. Can't you imagine how happy our queen would be to know it? She doesn't like the women of her kingdom to be suppressed under some evil man."
Wow, this was news to me. This Egyptian woman actually divorced her husband in the fourth century BCE.
"Yes, I will," the woman named Cecilia rejoiced. "I will for the sake of my daughters Uta and Sepio."
I said a quiet congratulation, and she passed me a sweet smile.
"You look so beautiful my dear. Must you be Greek?" the woman who sat next to me asked.
She had brilliant golden skin and piercings on various parts of her face that made me wince the first time I saw. Anyhow, she was beautiful.
"Ah y- yes..." what could I say? I looked a complete foreigner compared to them, so I stuck with what she assumed.
"Your name?" she pressed on. She was holding my hands as if we were long-lost sisters. Analysing the situation from earlier, that they were stark women supporters, I had walked up to them with a humble request of meeting their Queen. It was exceptional how friendly these women were.
"Cor-," shoot, I can't tell my real name. Greek names, Greek names!
"Athena," I mumbled. Why didn't I think of pseudo names?!
"Ow wow! As if the greek goddess of war, Athena?" she smiled widely.
Oh, my holy goodness...
"Althea.. its Althea," I stuttered with an uneasy smile. God forbid if these goddesses Athena or Aphrodite were lurking around at this time, they would surely make a torture game out of me for offending them.
Peak afternoon arrived as we reached the royal residency. The bouncer-like guard seemed to know them as he opened the humongous wooden doors of the palace.
The indoors of the fortress was colourful. So bright with textured curtains and an intricate ceiling geometry that no other exhibit of the world was so gorgeous to look at. There were mirror pieces on the pillars that dazzled the sunlight inside the court, illuminating the entire area like paradise.
What was strange, there was the chanting of All Hail Queen Cleopatra! heard from within.
But this one wasn't the famous Egyptian queen Cleopatra, who had an affair with Mark Antony. She lived in the first century BCE while I was in the fourth century BCE. I shouldn't confuse it because Cleopatra was a famous name used in these times.
And then it clicked onto me. It would be rude to go without an offering.
Making an excuse for nature's call to Cecilia, before we headed to the royal court, she led me away from the group where the supposed washroom was.
I eyed the cubicle suspiciously. There was nothing, no toilet seat or shower only a small window. Stepping forward I found a hole in one corner.
Great!
I flipped open the last page of my book, took the feathered laser pen and wrote a particular code inside it.
Closing the book, I waited. Now was the time I'd put my AI book to operation at what it could yield, if and only if Warton's theory about it was correct that we could order small objects from it.
***
The court was enveloped in a mysteriously tantalising fragrance, and it felt like taking in the scent of heaven itself. I remembered how Egyptian queens were so fond of perfumes. It also helped me decide my gift.
"You deserve this, my dear!" the female pharaoh removed her ring and gave it to the newly divorced woman.
She wasn't divorced but had divorced her husband on her own accord, which still had me scratching my head. Egyptian women seemed to have far more rights than I'd learnt about.
I couldn't help but stare at the extravagant headpiece the queen wore. Beside her sat the male pharaoh who had grown terribly old. I looked at his overall makeover and shuddered.
Male pharaohs had always instilled a certain dread in me with their signature long twisted beards, and that purple striped headgear.
His hanging face could barely hold on to the golden headgear, though he tried to sit as straight as possible.
"Pharaoh Aaheru! Won't you bestow this daughter of our kingdom with your blessings on her newfound life," the queen tattled, throwing a piteous glance at him.
He mumbled something to his attendee, then continued to stare ahead. Judging by his face, that stick beard was probably an attachment.
"Pharaoh Aaheru, chief of terrors, hereby declares to give-," I pressed a hand to my mouth in a mostly inaudible cough, to suppress a sudden giggle escaping my throat at the meaning of his name, as the attendant continued to speak on behalf of the Pharaoh.
But that caused the quick kohl eyes of the queen to have a once-over at me. Her brow raised in distaste.
My heart plummeted under her scrutinizing gaze.
When the Pharaoh's speech was over, Nofrehet tugged me to the front, "My queen, this is a Greek woman over here who is not used to life without a kyrios. She is seeking some assurance that she'll be safe here," she reported, all while holding me as if I were to be imprisoned.
Kyrios aka male guardian, okay. Time to click into my identity.
"My queen, apologies for my intrusion in your heavenly abode." I bowed.
"I have heard a prestigious amount of admiration about your greatness." A small smile tugged on her brilliantly jeweled face.
"I am Althea Rosemary, from a small Greek kingdom, Macademia. If your honour would allow me to write about you and your magnificent rule, more people could know about your majestic self." I completed sweetly, with utter obedience. I could feel the sugar dripping from my voice that also had the old pharaoh gawking in my direction.
The queen squealed, or it was an evil laugh. I couldn't tell. Now she was laughing insanely, and I gulped.
Meekly, I went to her throne, clutching an old Egyptian vial in my hands. In it, I had poured a special aromatic liquid I ordered from the AI book.
"If you would be gracious enough to accept this small generosity from us," I bowed, holding out the Chanel Paris cologne in my hands.