Wiping the sweat from his golden brow, the pharaoh closed
his DiaDhank as his faithful monsters began to disappear from the battlefield.
For three days straight, Egypt had been under an attack staged by southern
barbarians whose territory was recently acquired by the golden kingdom.
Even though the good king did not like violence, it was his
duty to protect all the people of Egypt, even if that meant subduing the
rebellious souls.
Hundreds were dead, many more injured.
His Highness raised his hand and gave the call. All Egyptian
healers rushed out to the ravaged battle grounds to collect the wounded and
bury the departed. Their orders were simply to heal and prepare the rebels for
their trials. Many will not make it past the judgment of the Pharaoh’s court as
Mahad and Seto would be harsh in their sentencing.
Feeling weary thinking about the pending trials of the
morrow, the King looked down at his fallen soldiers, thanked them for their
service and said a prayer for their souls before turning his horse around and
galloping back to his palace.
His home was already loud with celebrations after hearing
the victory of their beloved pharaoh. Music and dancers filled the palace as
the bruised king made way for his chambers. He was in no mood to celebrate when
he had failed so many of his men. So many Egyptian lives taken from him. He
knew war was a possibility after ascending the throne, but each man that laid
his life down for their king only added guilt to his broad shoulders.
As stiff fingers ran up through his multicolored spikes, a
beautiful sight in his peripheral caught his attention. Stopping his weighted
gait, Pharaoh Atem looked to take in a captured woman from the southern lands.
A princess-soon-to-be-queen to her people, she was acquired as a peace offering
when Egyptian soldiers conquered her father’s lands. Now, she served Atem and
his High Priests.
A short and slender beauty, the woman defied her appearance
with a chin held high even in Atem’s presence and eyes that spoke a champion.
She may have been ripped from her home, but she was not yet defeated. Alas, it
didn’t change one simple fact:
She was his slave maiden; he was her king.
Atem was not pleased with holding her hostage, but it was
customary to take slaves from the lands Egypt conquered. He did not wish to
enslave the people, so he made sure that they were treated well and given
suitable rooms in the palace. But even though he did not treat them as such,
the captured men and women still felt like the bondaged slaves they were.
The woman that was staring at him so squarely was not an
easy one to deal with. Twice, she had been called in front of the High Priests
for her insistence on being referred to as Princess Alani. She was no princess
here, but Alani continued to fight for her title.
She was never punished, but the pharaoh’s court told him
that he would have to deal with her, one way or another. If not, she could
manufacture a coup d’état right under their noses.
Though intrigued by the woman, Atem understood their warning
and made sure to keep an eye on her. He had recently appointed her to a special
position where he could do just that. Realizing the current turn of events, a
wry smirk touched his lips as he thought of a way to kill two birds with one
stone.
Walking towards Alani as she still stared at him in masked
disgust, he cusped her arm and silently ordered her to follow as he resumed his
journey to his chambers.
Wanting to coil away but knowing the consequences if she
did, Alani locked her jaw and followed the pharaoh, wondering where he was
taking her. She had never been to his chambers before, so she didn’t know it
was their destination until he opened the door and pulled them inside.
Gasping, Alani felt the urge to fight, but when Atem led her
past his massive bed, her brow dipped with confusion. She wanted to ask, but
she could not speak if she was not spoken to first. She could only allow
herself to be pulled further into his chambers.
Atem was weary. He was dirty, bloodied and aching. At the back
of his mind, he knew Alani was worried, but a very small part of him felt he
deserved some amusement. Finally reaching his personal bathing quarters, Atem
released her and turned to look at Alani, towering over her as he did so.
Alani was forced to look at the golden contours of her
pharaoh’s chest because she was unsure of what he would do if she was to look
him in the eyes at this proximity. She could hear his labored breathing as he
simply stared down at her. She could see the bloodied stains of his battle, the
scars he had obtained while fighting for his country. She tried to not think about her lost brethren on the battlefield, mourning them despite how foolish she found their actions. Despite her hatred, she
begrudgingly had to admit that Atem was a noble king. And as the most eligible bachelor in the Egyptian lands, she had to admit his appearance was very pleasing to the eye.
“Princess Alani,” she heard Atem say. “I know that’s what
you like to be called, so I’ll allow the title for tonight. I know you have
some questions you’d like answered, so go ahead and ask.”
Hearing him speak for the first time since their encounter,
Alani dared to raise her hazel eyes to meet his treacherous violets, slightly
put off by the third golden eye in the pharaoh’s royal headdress. Biting back her infamous retorts, the maiden refined herself and played her role.“My pharaoh,
I am only your humble slave. I do not require an explanation for your actions.”
A brow raised, Atem slowly began to circle her. “Is that so?
From the way you’ve been acting since you've arrived in my palace, I expected you
to demand an explanation. Have you had a change of heart?”
“I am still Princess Alani, my pharaoh, no matter what you
or your court says of me. However, I am only Princess Alani in this life, so it
would be foolish of me to seek death.”
Grinning, Atem grabbed a stray lock of her auburn hair and
began twisting it within his fingers. “Then you shall wear your title of
Princess as you assume the roles of a slave and wash your king.”
Alani could not prevent the indignant gasp that left her
lips. She wanted to tell him how she’d refuse to do such a petty task for an
even pettier king, but she knew she couldn’t; she was his slave. So she didn’t
fight as she turned to fill the tub with water and heat the tub with the
firewood stored in a small closet.
Once the bath was ready, she turned back to Atem and slowly
raised her hands to his shoulders. Cheeks heated with embarrassment, she began
to remove the clothing from his tall frame, doing her best not to touch the hot
skin beneath.
Despite her justifiable hatred, Alani couldn’t deny the
passions stirring within her as more of her king’s golden skin was revealed to
her. Pharaoh Atem had been chivalrous to her since her arrival and he never made her feel less than human. His kind eyes haunted her at night and her body burned whenever she was close to him. She didn't like that feeling at all, but here she was feeling hotter than ever. Alani really didn't know if Atem understood what he was doing to her.
After several agonizing moments, his royal garments fell softly to the floor
and pooled around his feet. Inaudibly, she released the breath she had
unknowingly been holding.
Atem chuckled to himself as he watched the rebellious beauty
turn into a flustering temptress, amused and almost turned on by her reserved
nature. That being said, her work wasn’t done.
“You’re not finished, Princess,” she heard him whisper above
her. Eyes widening, Alani looked up into his smothering gaze. “I seem to still
have my undergarments on.”
Fighting desperately to keep the blush from creeping across
her bronze skin, Alani looked down his sculpted chest to the remaining fabric
left on the pharaoh’s frame. She couldn’t help but ogle the defined muscle
of his legs, the tautness of his thighs, and the outline of his
burgeoning bulge pressing softly against the fabric that covered his most
private and vulnerable area.
As her hands crept to the edge of his undergarments, she
cursed beneath her breath and silently asked the gods why they had resigned the
would-be queen to such a twisted fate…
♥~To Be Continued~♥
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