A Song of Ancient Times

Under the Cherry Blossom

In the late afternoon in the palace, noise could be heard everywhere, court ladies running around to finish errands, soldiers practicing their roles in the ritual that was going to be held later that evening. Even the little ones were busy, the princes and princesses…not that they were busy with anything important.

“1,2,3…here I come!” said Yu Jun, Joon Wo’s older brother, hiding his face in his arms that were held against a tree as the rest all went to hide. Ever since the moment that Joon Wo came to the others with Tari, they have been playing none stop. It’s been hours now, and magically, they all still have the stamina to keep going, the blessing of youth.

Tari, on the other hand, was also enjoying her time. Back in her home, there weren’t any kids her age, so she had to play with Canaria but there wasn’t much that she could do with her. What she always wanted was this, playing with other kids without anyone calling her My lady or Princess.

Here they all called her by her name. For a moment she forgot that she was a princess.

She had a hard time learning and getting used to the games that they were playing, but they were more than happy to help her. But.. she had a feeling that she was forgetting something, something very important.

“Y-Yah! What are you looking at?” Joon Wo asked Min Jun with a pout on his face. Min Jun had been staring at the horizon for god knows how long. Joon Wo followed his gaze to find it on Tari…again

He flicked his finger on the younger boy’s forehead. “YAH! Get a grip. You will make her uncomfortable.” He was barely able to do that himself.

“Sorry,” he said, rubbing his forehead where he was hit with a shy smile on his tiny face.

“I got you!” Tari said as she was grabbing Jin Wo, the second youngest among his brothers, by the collar.

“Not again!” he protested as he stomped his feet on the ground.

“PRINCESS,” said a female voice coming from afar. As it got closer, Tari started to recognize whose voice it was…along with the important thing that she had forgotten.

Damn it, I’m supposed to be lost, she whispered under her breath in Hieroglyphic (ancient Egyptian language).

Canaria ran to her, falling on her knees, holding Tari by both of her shoulders. “Where have you been?! The pharaoh is looking all over for you!” she exclaimed in relief.

“I was…” before Tari was able to give her excuse, she heard loud footsteps coming from the direction that the maid came from.

Everyone halted what they were doing and turned to look at the source of that sound. It was loud. Like a hundred men running altogether at the same time.

Which it was actually, her father gathered 100 men to search for her.

“NEFERTARI!” the Pharaoh said once his honey orbs fell on his daughter, taking quick wide steps till he was on one knee, scanning Tari to see if she was hurt or unwell. A heavy sigh of relief fell from his mouth as he saw that she was fine and then looked her in the eye.

“I have been looking all over for you,” he said. She could hear a faint sign of pain mixed with relief in his voice. She had never heard of her father like this. That’s why it was easy to detect.

“Don’t do that again, okay?” he said with gentle eyes as he stroked his daughter’s cheeks.

She could only nod her head, her heart ached a little to see her father like this, since in Kemet she was always within his eyeshot, so having her disappear for a few hours in a foreign land nearly gave him a heart attack.

Everyone was standing dead silent behind the Pharaoh. Yes, they didn’t understand what he was saying to his daughter but, at moments like these, the language barrier never mattered.

Wrapping her small arms around her father's broad shoulders as tight as she could, “I’m sorry Papa, it won’t happen again,” she whispered in her father’s ears. He couldn’t help but grin at his daughter’s sweet apology.

In one swift movement, he placed one hand under her and carried her in his arms.

After being carried by her father, she realized the commotion that she had caused. She looked around and more than 100 guards were around them. He did all of this for me? By the saints' Papa! She questioned herself but questioned her father even more.

What could happen to her here anyway? She was within the palace walls with guards and court maids at every corner. She couldn’t get it but still, it felt unpleasant to see that worry on her father’s face.

She rested her head on her father’s shoulder and waved goodbye to her new friends who were standing with the worry of not being able to play with her again. They haven’t spent that much time together, but they found her to be a great friend.

“We will play again tomorrow too!” she yelled at them with a smile displayed over her round face making her eyes sparkle, “right papa?”

There was no way he was going to disappoint her when she was this excited with that smile on her face. Just like her mother’s smile… rejection had no place at that moment. She was his only beloved daughter after all.

“Sure, you will,” he said, patting her on her fluffy curly hair.

The boys excitedly waved back goodbye as they got their worry washed down the drain, and replaced by a face that was full of excitation about what was going to happen on the morrow.

~~~~

At the moment that Canaria came into his chambers and said the princess was missing! His heart fell to his knees, his head going blank.

No, not her too! he yelled under his breath and rushed out, with the image of his mother spread across his vision. This was a new place for her. She didn’t know anyone, but what was worse, was the thought that one of her enemies might have gotten their hands on her. That was the thought that kept running back and forth in his head, not knowing what he might do if that was the case, but one thing was certain…if that was true…

The culprit would have the most agonizing death humanity has ever witnessed and he wouldn’t think twice.

She was the only one he had got left. He tried to calm down his nerves and get a grip on his slamming heart as he ran around calling for her despite that dagger that was digging in his heart. Called all the guards who were within the palace to search for her.

The only memory that he has now… is how he lost his wife…

How she closed her eyes, drifting into eternal sleep, right there in his arms as the blood drained out of her body onto his hands and the ground. At that moment when he felt himself on the edge of crying, he heard the most calming voice he has ever heard.

His daughter.

The sensation that he had back then was as if someone caught that dagger in his heart, threw it aside, and embraced him tightly.

He saw her there playing around with the brightest smile he had seen on her face, that smile she had on her face melted all his worries away once he layed his eyes on her.

She is the only one next to her mother that could kneel in front of all these people without thinking twice, without one bit of embarrassment or shame. Kings from all over were dying to have him kneel beneath their feet, but they never got what they wanted, they always failed and crumbled under his wrath, begging him for forgiveness for their foolish acts. And there he is kneeling in front of a 10-year-old girl, wrapping her tight in his strong toned arms, promising to protect her until his last breath.

When she asked if she could come out to play again with them, there was no way he could say no after seeing that smile. Saints had mercy on him. He was a fool to his daughter.

For only the sake of that smile on this girl’s face, for the sake of keeping her happy, he accepted. Rejection had no place at that moment, and there was no power on earth that could make him reject his little bundle of sunshine.

That bundle of sunshine that was shining brighter than the peak of the great pyramid of Egypt Cheops under the blazing sun on a hot summer morning.