Enigma

~Seek to do your duties to your highest abilities, this way your actions will be blameless.~ Egyptian quote

Aria laid on her bed and thought over what Pharaoh had said.

'Help Akhenaten.'

She heard his voice say.

It was pleading.

She shook her head and sat up.

Aria was afraid of the Crown Prince—of what he was capable of.

But she had seen his eyes, those same amber eyes—the same eyes she'd seen in a vision by the River Nile back home by her secret place.

Aria felt a pang in her heart as she thought of home.

She worried about her father, her mother and Eros, her younger brother.

Without warning, tears fell down her cheeks.

She let out a breath and sobbed quietly into her hands. She missed them terribly.

She hadn't seen her family in over two years and had also been a servant that equal amount.

'Why did they have to come to there—to Egypt?'

'Why had they chosen to flee to this God-forsaken place?'

They'd known nothing but suffering and pain.

A part of her loathe them—the Egyptians—for what they'd done to her people, but a larger part of her reasoned that they couldn't all be bad.

Her heart tugged within her when she thought of the Crown Prince.

'What category was he?'

'Bad, not bad...or the worst?'

•••

Akhenaten was outside in the sparring court honing his swordsmanship.

He was unbelievably fast and agile. They sparred with swords forged by the finest swordsmith in the whole of Egypt.

He'd succeeded in landing several non-lethal cuts on his equally skilled opponent.

Akhenaten noticed a presence besides the two of them.

He stopped abruptly as he was about landing a strike on his opponent's jugular.

He withdrew his sword and straightened.

He looked up at the gallery and saw Ahmes staring at him—she was wearing a gown draped with a matching headscarf.

He could see the sadness in her eyes even from where he stood.

He remembered what he'd done to her, the last time they had spoken.

He looked away and they began their sparring match again.

This time, his strikes were more concentrated, his cuts more lethal.

Akhenaten was about making the final blow—a clean slitting of the throat—when Ahmes stood between them.

Akhenaten barely stopped the blade in time. His eyes widened.

His eyes moved to her neck. It had nicked her and had drawn blood. He withdrew his sword.

"Are you insane?" He asked quietly.

There was silence.

"Why are you here?" He asked her.

"I always come to see you spar," Ahmes said undeterred.

"I could have killed you." His deep voice was low.

He wasn't looking at her.

"But you didn't." She shrugged.

He faced her.

His eyes went to her neck he had almost slit. He saw the blood, the blood her headscarf was already stained in.

"Don't you loathe me?" He asked quietly looking into her dark brown eyes.

She knew what he meant.

"I do. But I know why you did what you did."

"Do you?"

She took a few bold steps towards him and nodded.

"We grew up in the Palace together. We were close friends."

There was a pause.

"Nowadays you distance yourself from me. You push me away."

"Ahmes..." He started.

She held his hand.

"You know how I feel about you." She looked down ashamed.

She knew those feelings she'd harboured right from their childhood were misplaced—she also knew they would never be reciprocated.

And she knew why.

She wasn't supposed to have them in the first place. When she looked up, there were tears in her eyes.

"I know you don't feel the same way. You did those things to push me away, so I wouldn't get hurt."

"I know I could never be your queen because I'm Israeli, and you're aware of that too." She wiped a treacherous tear that had fallen.

She released him.

"I'm sorry Akhenaten about what I said about your parents, especially your brother." She said softly.

Her eyes were filled with regret.

He stared into them for a moment before he looked away.

"I'm sorry too." He said quietly before throwing his sword on the sandy ground and walking away.

•••

Aria went about her duties in the Palace running errands for Pharaoh.

She hadn't seen the Crown Prince, now regent in a long while.

She knew why.

He'd been attending to political issues within and outside the country-which was a good thing anyway.

She'd only met him two times since she entered the Palace-and that was a few months ago.

She loved the Palace, it always bubbled with activity.

Although, most times she felt lonely and was mostly on her own.

Her short hair had refused to grow. She guessed it was for the best.

She stood by the window near her bed.

She gazed at the River Nile that flowed in front of the Palace and how the sun reflected beautifully on it.

She saw one of the Royal fleets which had the Eye of Horus drawn boldly by its side.

She always marvelled at how magnificent and beautiful they always were.

The ship neared the port and her eyes widened when she saw him-it was the Crown Prince.

She watched him as he highlighted off the ship.

Her eyes were glued to him and she discovered she couldn't look away.

His wrists and ankles were adorned with golden bracelets. A collar made of the finest gold was worn around his neck and he had armlets worn on his arms.

He was wearing a headdress.

His eyes were deeply painted with kohl arched at the sides and his bronze skin literally glittered-he was beautiful.

She saw him pause and look up.

His eyes met hers and her blood froze.

'Did he just...catch her staring at him, at that distance?'

He didn't look away, neither did she.

She was trapped.

The momentary enchantment was broken when she saw a very beautiful woman wearing a beautiful gold pleated dress with a scarf covering her beautiful long hair, walk up from behind him and touch his arm lightly.

His attention was shifted to the woman and the moment was broken.

They were both escorted into the Palace.

She turned away from the window.

She placed a hand over her chest. Her heart was beating so fast, she felt dizzy.

She was both entranced and afraid.

Something about him drew her in and also made her want to run for the deserts at the same time.

But about what Pharaoh had said, she still didn't know how she would fulfil her promise.

She didn't even still quite understand his words, but one day, she knew she would.

She gathered her dress and went down to the throne room, all the servants were supposed to welcome the Prince regent.

She almost slipped as she rounded an inscribed hallway.

Soon, she got to the throne room.

She quickly got in line and stood impossibly still.

The ailing Pharaoh was on the throne while the Crown Prince was on one knee bowing to the Pharaoh.

"Father, I have arrived." He spoke.

"I wish you hadn't." The Pharaoh's voice, although not loud rang through the high ceilings of the throne room like the bellow of one of the Royal fleet.

Everywhere was dead quiet.

Aria couldn't see his face, only his back.

His head was still bowed.

The Crown Prince was silent.

In anger, the Pharaoh stood and Aria could tell he was not as strong as he used to.

"You slaughtered an entire nation!" The Pharaoh roared.

"Why?!" He questioned him.

Akhenaten looked up at his father.

"They refused to pay tribute." He said simply.

His voice was so calm and measured, it was hard to believe he was in the presence of a wrathful Pharaoh and father.

"This is why I never let you leave the Palace. You become regent and this is what you do?!"

"Yes." His gaze never faltered.

Aria, in all the months she'd spent in the Palace, she'd never seen the Pharaoh that angry.

"What would your mother say? Ra blesses her soul." He sighed disdainfully.

"If your brother hadn't died-"

"You would have sacrificed me to the Nile." Akhenaten finished for him having heard it so many times in the past.

He stood and bowed to his father.

Without another word, he left the throne room leaving an angry Pharaoh in his wake.

Aria felt like her heart would lurch out of her throat any moment.

'Had she heard right?'

His own father would have sacrificed him-his own son.

She looked back at the Pharaoh, behind the anger, she saw regret but pride prevented it from surfacing.

She looked away and stared down at her sandaled feet.

'What is your story Akhenaten?'

•••

Aria trashed in her bed, her face dripped with sweat.

She gripped the cover tightly.

She was being chased across the desert in the cold night, bare-footed. She couldn't see anything, all she knew was that she was running, running from an invisible enemy.

Just in the far distance, she saw a lit fire.

She ran towards it for dear life but before she could reach it, she was grabbed from behind by something invisible and she was dragged under into the sands.

Aria woke up with a start, her breathing heavy and for a moment, she thought she was still in the cold desert when she saw the oil lamps lit in the large servant quarter.

She sat up and wiped her face.

For a moment, she thought she saw someone standing by her bedside. She shook her head and it was gone.

'She must be seeing things.'

She had goosebumps and her hair stood on ends.

She had a feeling something was watching her.

'It's all in her mind.' She concluded.

She got out of bed and wandered in the dark hallways.

She passed by guards easily because they knew her to be Pharaoh's handmaid.

She guarded the small oil lamp in her hand carefully as the night breeze threatened to put it out.

She paused and stared at the inscriptions on the wall.

Most of them, she couldn't read, as she wasn't all that vast in their writing culture.

But she could vaguely make out a name, Amenhotep?

'Wasn't that Pharaoh's name?'

She sighed and continued on her way.

She knew she wasn't having any more sleep that night, so she ventured around the Palace in the dark of night cutting several corners and hallways, until her feet led her to a section of the Palace she'd never been to before.

It was a fairly large chamber, conspicuously built.

There were two lit torches on the walls opposite one another.

She entered the strange chamber and looked around.

There was a kind of elevated altar made of stone.

She stood over the altar and dragged her hand across the smooth surface.

She brought her fingers up and noticed what seemed to be dry blood?

Her eyes widened and she took another look at the surrounding.

She saw all sorts of vessels and jars that were arranged in a triangular pattern.

She saw a dagger placed carefully on a holder and like a desert, storm-it dawned on her.

It was a sacrifice chamber.

Now she didn't know whether it was animal or human.

Aria placed a hand over her mouth when she noticed the silver cup filled with blood.

She was so close to emptying her stomach at that moment.

Without another thought, she turned around about to make a mad dash for the entrance when she ran into something almost losing her footing-or was it, someone?

She looked up and a scream escaped her lips when she saw a figure wrapped with dark clothing with face partially hooded.

"You are trespassing." The raspy voice sent her entire body on edge.

She stuttered trying to come up with a plausible excuse but came up blank.

She quickly apologised bowing low as she made a mad dash out the room.

She ran as fast as she could, she had to get as much distance between that horrifying place as possible.

In her fear and her panicked state, she had taken the wrong turn and had found herself running through a path that seemed vaguely familiar.

A moment later, she was by a lake-the lake.

Her eyes widened.

'Oh no.'

She panicked even more. She shouldn't be there.

She remembered what had happened the last she'd been there. The place was dark.

Her small oil lamp was getting dimmer. Aria exhaled heavily. She heard footsteps move towards her.

She gasped and turned in the direction of the sound-nothing.

She panicked even more.

She took a step back, and that was when she heard it.

"You should know by now you shouldn't be here." The voice was deep and quiet.

She knew that voice.

'It was him.'

Slowly, she turned to face him.

He was right in front of her then and slowly, the small flicker of light from the small oil lamp went out, throwing them into total darkness.

She took a step back in fear, more fear of the utter darkness than of him.

The only sound that could be heard was the shortness of her breath.

"You just can't help going to places you shouldn't, can you?" Came the calm voice.

Aria wouldn't be honest with herself if she thought the fact that she couldn't see him in that pitch darkness wasn't scary.

"Prince Akhenaten-" She paused when she heard retreating footsteps.

Her eyes widened.

'He was leaving her.'

She reached out blindly trying to take a hold of him.

She didn't feel anything. She panicked.

"No." She whispered.

She was afraid of the dark.

"Don't go...please!" She cried out.

"I'm sca- I'm afraid of the dark!"

"Please." She whispered. Her heart was racing.

A moment passed before she heard someone speak.

"I never left." Came his deep voice.

Aria gasped and turned so quickly, her head spun.

She heard a torch being lit and in a second, the entire place was illuminated-it was a wall torch.

"Follow me." Without another glance her way, he led her out the place Aria now perceived to be his special place-his secret place.

After they've walked a while, he paused and turned to her.

"You should know your way from here." He said and turned to leave.

"Wait." She called quickly.

He paused and turned slightly to her waiting for her to speak.

"Thank you and I'm sorry for wandering around in the middle of the night, invading your private place." She stared at him.

She wished he would turn and look at her.

"I saw you yesterday." She blurted out before she could stop herself.

"When you arrived at the Palace." She added.

That moment, he turned fully and faced her.

He seemed to just stare at her for a moment, but he remained silent.

That encouraged her to continue.

She knew she was treading on thin ice.

"I'm sorry it wasn't as welcoming..." The words died in her throat, she couldn't even fathom why she was saying that, or anything at all.

All of a sudden, she felt stupid, he probably thought she was a rude, intrusive servant that didn't know her place.

'She guessed she didn't.'

His eyes were not judging, or angry, or loathsome, they were just...expressionless.

She was frustrated by his silence but she didn't show it.

Feeling thoroughly stupid she greeted him goodnight.

"I'll go now." She turned to leave and that was when he spoke.

"You're an unusual one." He said.

Immediately, Aria turned back to him.

"What?" She was a little confused.

"You're an unusual one." He repeated.

Aria's brows furrowed in thought.

'Why did that statement sound familiar?'

As much as she tried to she just couldn't remember where she'd heard it.

She looked into his eyes, his amber eyes.

They were highlighted by the burning torch in his hand.

He was different, she knew.

There was something behind those eyes, something he'd kept locked away, away from prying eyes, things he didn't want anyone to see.

"So are you." She replied back softly.

Something flickered in his eyes and he moved closer to her, till he was right in front of her.

His voice was quiet.

"You don't know what you're getting yourself into." His eyes never left hers.

She refused to cower. She raised her chin.

She tried putting up a bold front but there was something about the way he said those words that made her scared, like really scared.

'What did he mean by that?'

She gulped.

"I'm not afraid." She was lying through her teeth and he knew it.

He was close to her then that she could see every outline of his beautiful face.

For a moment, she thought she saw his eyes change from amber to blue and then back again.

He leaned down and whispered into her ear.

"Leave this place...while you still can." And just like that he was gone, gone as in, he disappeared into thin air right before her very eyes.

And once again she was alone in the inscribed hallway with a single torch burning on the wall.

Her breathing was ragged and she almost threw up.

He was right.

She had no idea what she was getting herself into.

She knew she would regret it.

...