Falling for the Pharaoh

Whati - [I've Got Some Bad News]

After some drinking, I was outside of the hall with Anat. My heart was racing when I pushed her against the wall and the second my lips touched hers, I knew I would get on my knees for this woman.

Her lips were sweet, the sweetest lips I had ever tasted and she knew how to kiss.

My hands held her hips, tightening my grip on her whenever a second passed, and when she pulled her lips away to take a breath, my lips were pressed against her neck.

She let out a soft giggle when my lips touched her, which made me smile. “Has a man ever kissed you?” I asked, as I pulled away and looked at her.

She smiled and nodded. “Two.” She lifted her left hand and showed me with her fingers as well.

I began to wonder how drunk she was, but pushed aside that thought and went back to kissing her. I kissed her hard, ignoring my jealousy but wanting to show her that those men are nothing like me.

One of her hands gripped onto the gold belt I was wearing and her other was grabbing onto my tunic, right above my heart.

I dropped one of my hands, carefully lifting her knee length dress, and soon, my hand was stroking her thigh. Her small body and soft skin turned me on, but though I knew I could get into her right now, in mere seconds... for some reason I didn’t want to pull my lips away from hers.

She pulled herself closer to me, pressing her chest against mine, curling her arms around my neck and deepening the kiss.

I could feel her racing heart beat through her chest and felt something strange inside me. My own heart was beating so loudly that it was deafening, blocking out almost all of the loud music that was coming from the hall.

And I kissed her harder, not hard enough to hurt her, but hard enough to make it extremely hard to breathe. But the second I moved my hand away from her thigh to run my fingers through her smooth hair, she pushed me back.

I gasped when my lips ripped away from hers and felt a strange, unnatural pain.

She was breathing hard and looking at me with wide eyes.

We both stared at each other, I had no idea what she was thinking, but all that was running through my head was the desire to kiss her again.

She immediately adjusted her dress, pulling it down and repositioning the fallen sleeve over her left shoulder.

She turned to return to the hall but I grabbed her arm. “Wait—”

She flung herself around and slapped me across the face. “How dare you!” She asked, angrily.

I stood there, frozen and shocked.

I’ve gotten slapped before, tons of times... so many times that I always knewexactly when it was coming. But for some reason, this slap actually hurt... in more ways than one.

I looked at her and raised my eyebrows, taking in her twisted, angry features. “You were kissing me too.” I said, a little foolishly. But the thought made me feel dizzy.

“I-I...” She stuttered.

“I was wondering how long it would take for you two to finish.” I heard a voice say.

Anat and I both turned our heads and looked at the tall boy, and Anat gasped. “Master Ausar? What are you doing here?” She sounded scared, which worried me.

“Are you drunk?” He asked her.

Anat hesitated and I got angry. “What do you want?” I asked.

The boy looked at me for a moment, but then looked back at Anat. He handed her two folded pieces of papyrus. “Give this back to your Queen.” He said. “Tell her I don’t want anything to do with her.”

Anat looked at him angrily, but took the papyrus. “Then leave now.”

He smirked. “You are drunk. Wait until Lady Umi hears about your misbehaviour.”

Anat’s eyes widened.

The boy turned around and walked away.

“Who was that?” I asked Anat.

She didn’t respond. Instead, she looked worriedly at what she was holding.

I quickly grabbed one from her and opened it.

“No!” She shouted as tried to get it back.

I looked at her with a grin. “Kiss me and I’ll give it back.”

She glared at me. “You dirty little—”

She stopped herself when I opened it. And after a moment, my heart stopped.

It was a love letter, from Nathifa to Ausar. I skimmed through it realizing that it was an apology. She was begging for forgiveness. Begging him to come take her away. Telling him that she didn’t want this marriage to happen.

“This...”

“Give it back to me.” She said, tearing up.

I looked at her. “Tell me what the meaning of this is.”

“Please don’t tell the Pharaoh.” She started to cry. “Nathifa will open up to him, I know she will. Just give her time.”

I took a deep breath and looked back at the letter.

Suddenly, I felt her cool hand touch my cheek as she turned my head and pressed her lips against mine.

But the moment I closed my eyes, she grabbed the letter from me, pulled away and ran off.

I stood there with so many emotions running through my head.

What the hell was wrong with me?

And now that I knew more about my best friend’s wife... what the hell was I going to do about it?

When I returned to the hall, the celebration was over and both Anat and Nathifa were nowhere in sight.

I was then started by Atemu. “Whati!”

I turned around quickly and saw him grinning.

“Where have you been?” He asked.

I looked away, but smiled. “Nowhere... just—”

“Seriously, Whati.” He said. “I notice you’re gone, and I look around and see that the maid is gone too. What happened?”

“I guess we had some fun...”

His eyes widened. “I can’t believe...” His voice drifted off and I noticed him staring at my cheek. “She hit you?”

I looked away. “Almost got into her too.”

He burst out laughing.

I found myself laughing too... but soon, we both stood there, awkwardly silent.

“I’m surprised that you haven’t made a comment on the fact that I’m about to spend my first night with my wife.”

I hesitated and looked at him. “About that...”

He smiled and waited.

“Maybe you should... wait...”

“Wait?”

“Yeah... you know... you two have just met a few days ago... I don’t think you’re ready to be sleeping with her.”

He laughed and raised his eyebrows. “I was thinking that too... but wow. I never thought I’d ever hear you say something like that.”

I smiled.

But his smile faded. “What’s the matter, Whati?”

“What’s the matter? Nothing!”

He watched me carefully. “You know you can’t lie to your best friend.”

I looked at him. He was right. This always happened.

But I couldn’t tell him this. How could I do that? I didn’t want to ruin a marriage that had just started. What if Anat was serious... what if she was telling the truth when she said that Nathifa would come around?

“Tell me.” He said.

I sighed. I guess I could convince him to listen to me, I could make him understand. “I’ve got some bad news...”

He raised his eyebrows. “And?”

“After Anat slapped me, this guy came... he handed her some letters and told her to tell Nathifa that he wants nothing to do with her.”

I could see the confusion forming on his face.

“So I grabbed one of the letters from her to see if they were important, and when I realized they were important I told Anat that I’d give it back if she kissed me. Instead, she went on to curse me so I read the letter.”

I paused for a moment.

“And?”

“The letter... Nathifa was in love with someone... she was forced into this marriage and—” I cut myself off when my best friends eyes widened and his shoulders dropped.

I let him take a breath, but right after he did, he looked furious.

“Where is Lord Asim.” He asked.

“Wait, wait! Before you jump to conclusions, you need to listen to me, Tem.”

“What do you mean jump to conclusions? What other conclusions can I make?”

“Tem! Listen.” I repeated. “For all you know, this might have been a past thing... she’s probably not even in love with him anymore! We don’t know enough to be getting the Lord involved.”

“Well then what the hell do you want me to do?” He asked, angrily. “Go and sleep in the same room as a girl who probably wants nothing to do with me?”

“Talk to her.” I told him. “Ask her first.”

“How can I—”

“You can, Atemu. Just ask her how she feels.” I said. “Anat told me everything will be fine.”

He took a deep breath.

“Anat would know. She is Nathifa’s maid and close friend.”

“You’re right.” He said. “I’ll just talk to her.”

I patted his back. “Everything will be fine, Tem. Trust me.”

He nodded.

“Son!” Lady Iset called.

He hesitated, but turned around.

“Good luck, my friend.” I said to him.

“Thank you.” He said as he walked to his mother.

I trusted Atemu more than I trusted myself. So I knew that whatever he did tonight, he thought it through and was doing the right thing.

So instead of worrying too much about him, I found myself thinking about the maids kiss.

But her kiss left my mind when I saw some nobleman’s mistress waiting for me outside my room.

I guess I could think about the maid later.

Nathifa - [My Life is Over]Anat walked into my room looking horrible. Her lips were swollen, she was sweating and she was somewhat struggling to walk in a straight line.

"Anat!" My mother looked at her, shocked. "What on earth..."

I got up and ran over to her. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing." She said. "I need to talk to you! It's very important"

Her voice was clear, even though she looked drunk.

I placed my finger on her warm lips. "What happened to your lips, Anat? Were you kissing the brick walls?"

She pulled my hand away. "No! And that isn't important... I have something more important to talk to you about!"

My eyes had drifted to her neck, where on it was a new looking bruise. My eyes widened, but before I could say anything, my mother began to raise her voice.

"There is no time for that!" My mother said as she grabbed my arm and pulled me back to my stool. "Nathifa needs to be prepared."

Anat opened her mouth to speak up but my mother cut her off. "Go clean yourself up, Anat! You look horrible."

Before Anat could say anything else, my mother walked over to her and pushed her into the washroom and then closed the door. "And do not come out until you are all washed up. Today is a big day for your mistress and I want you to be nice and clean."

As my mother walked over to me she shook her head. "Maids will be maids." She said. She quickly finished off my braid and stood me up. "We're done." She smiled. "You look like a queen."

I looked down at the floor.

"Don't be scared, my child." She smiled and hugged me. "I was scared too, I remember."

I looked back at her.

"But he will be kind and gentle, I'm sure." She looked at me. "Much gentler then your father was."

"Mother!"

She laughed. "What? It's true."

I sighed. "Well, you were in love with father when you two go married."

My mother tilted her head.

"It makes a difference." I said. "How do you all expect me to go and have s*x with a man I've only spoken to... twice?"

"The only difference between what's going to happen with you and the Pharaoh of Egypt is that you're going to fall in love with him after you got married." She said. "It's still love. Love is different for everyone, yes, but it's still love."

I looked away. "But this is planned, forced, and unnatural."

"No, the gods want this. The gods want you to marry the Pharaoh, that's why this happened."

"But I-"

"Nathifa." My mom covered my mouth with her hand. "You are the Queen of Egypt. And right now, all of Egypt expects you to soon be bearing the child of the Pharaoh." She said. "You must stop worrying. You will fall in love with him. He will touch you and you will be his."

I sighed.

"Forget him, forget whoever you think has stolen your heart."

I looked at her.

She smiled. "What, you think I never knew that you were interested in Ausar? I'm your mother, I know everything."

"Mother-"

"Ausar is not worth all of this worry, my Love." She said. "You know your father would never have approved and you know that your father and I don't like him."

"How could you make me marry someone else when you knew?"

"Because you won't be happy with Ausar." She said. "I know you won't. He's just as heartless and conniving as his father was and I would never allow you to marry a man like him."

I opened my mouth to argue but she covered it with her hand again. "Nathifa. Do not argue with me. I love you and your siblings more than anything else in our world and you know that all I ever want is for you to be happy."

I took a deep breath.

And then there was a knock at the door.

When my mother opened the door, a young lady walked in. "I'm here to take the Queen to her room."

To my room. I thought.

My mother kissed my cheek. "You'll be fine." She smiled.

I hesitated, but turned around and followed the girl out.

I was taking deep breaths and was very disappointed when I realized his room was only a moment away from ours. So the walk was short, and I barely had any time to think things through.

When we arrived, she bowed and only walked away after knocking on the door.

Guess I can't run off anymore.

"Come in." He said. His voice sounded strangely harsh, but I chose to ignore that.

I took another deep breath and then opened the door.

His room was unbelievably big. There were paintings on every wall and doors to other rooms too. It was furnished beautifully with handcrafted drawers, plants, statues, shelves and a lot of other things.

To the right of me was a large desk that was covered with scrolls and a few other things. He clearly did a lot of reading.

On my left was a large door covered with thick curtains, but though the curtains were thick, I could see through the openings and I saw that it led to a balcony.

And right across from me was an extremely large bed covered with silks, its curtains tied up.

He was drinking something, which worried me, but after he took the last sip he placed it on his side table and looked at me. "Come here and close the door."

I stood there frozen for a moment but then turned around, closed the door and walked over to his bed. The walk seemed long, even though I stopped and stood quite far from the bed.

He stared at me for a long time and surprisingly, his eyes remained on my face. "I need you to tell me something." He said, without breaking his stare.

I waited.

"I don't care what your father told you or what your mother told you... I don't even care what my mother told you. But I need you to tell me the truth." He crossed his arms, leaning against the headboard.

I was starting to worry. What did he want me to tell him?

He watched me carefully. "Did you approve of this marriage?"

The question shocked me, my eyes widened but I just stood there without responding.

He got off his bed and I was suddenly scared. My body started to feel unbelievably wet with sweat as he walked over to me. "Well?" He asked me.

I wondered if my silence had given it away, the fact that I was wondering how to respond must have given it away.

He was standing close to me now, his eyes piercing through me. "Did you or did you not?" He raised his voice, making me jump.

I shook my head. "No." I said. "I didn't."

He let out the breath I hadn't realized he was holding and looked away. After being silent for a moment, he looked back at me. "Why didn't you say anything earlier?"

"I-I didn't know how-"

He placed his hand over his face and then ran his fingers through his hair. "Do you understand what position you've put the both of us in?"

I didn't respond. So this was my fault?

He turned around, walking away. "We're married now." He said, with his back still towards me.

I pressed my lips into a thin line, not knowing what he meant by that.

He walked back over to me. "We're married now... and neither of us can do anything about it." He said, raising his voice again. "Why didn't you open your mouth and say anything? You had four days-"

"I didn't know how!" I said, feeling my eyes get watery.

"How could you do this?" He asked.

I looked at him, confused.

"Do you think that marriage is simply a game that you can pull yourself out of whenever you want?"

I swallowed hard.

"Did you think that you could marry me today and get out of it tomorrow?"

I shook my head.

"Then what the hell was going on through your head when you were sitting in this palace for the past few days while knowing you were going to marry me?"

"My parents-"

"Are you parents the ones who are marrying me?" He asked, stepping so close to me that I could hear his heartbeat.

He looked furious, even though he was clearly trying to hold back his anger. He then took a breath and stepped back.

"This is our life." He said. "And this move... your carelessness... and I admit, my naivety..." He took a deep breath, "we've just f****d up both of our lives."

I bit my lip.

He then shook his head and walked over to a drawer, opened it and pulled out some silk blankets. He surprised me when he threw them on the floor. "Go to sleep." He said, pointing at the bed, he didn't look at me.

"But..." I hesitated. "We're supposed to..."

He ignored me, making his bed on the floor.

"I'm your wife... and Egypt and my parents and the gods... they're waiting for a child and-"

He looked at me and his sharp, angry glare cut me off. "I don't care what all of Egypt is waiting for. I don't care what your parents want. I don't care what my mother wants and I do not care what the gods want. " He said. "Wife or not, I refuse to have s*x with a woman who doesn't want to be here."

I looked at him, not knowing what to say.

"Go to sleep." He repeated, looking away again.

I hesitated but walked towards the bed. After climbing in and covering myself with a blanket, I looked over at him.

He was already on the floor, with his back towards me.

I took a deep breath and fell back into his bed and the second I closed my eyes, I felt the tears begin to escape.

My life was over.