Funsani Maphane sat in the corner of his small hut, ringing his hands in nervous anticipation. He could hear the whimpers of his daughter from the bedroom even with the door closed. His stomach did flips. He had never experienced the loss of a child like many of the other parents in the village.
His son Tau watched his father shake in the corner. The young boy had light brown hair and bright blue eyes, wide with worry. "Father, is Panya going to be okay?" He asked quietly.
Funsani nodded his head vigorously. "Yes, son. She will be okay. She has to be." Especially after the loss of his wife, Funsani could not take the loss of another loved one. In the two years since his loved ones death he had lost the color to his hair and had grown wrinkles around his eyes and forehead. This worry was sure to age him further.
There was a knock on the door, to which Funsani jumped and stared dumbfounded at the wood. Tau waited a moment for his father's reaction, and then stood up to greet their guests.
In the other room, Panya lay shivering on her bed, wrapped in multiple blankets not normally needed for the warm Egyptian weather. Her ankle throbbed painfully around the snakebite she had received the previous day's morning. The tanned girl's fever had significantly risen, soaking her deep brown hair and rough linen sheets. Occasionally her eyes would flutter open, revealing deep blue orbs, when she heard low voices from the other room.
Panya's heart gave a pang of guilt when she thought about her father and brother. They were both so worried about her. In the course of one day she had gone from upbeat to sickly. At the thought of the snake's fangs from yesterday her wound throbbed again.
"Papa…" she called out as loud as she could muster, but still only managing a whisper. It seemed to work however because she could hear footsteps coming towards the room.
Funsani's face greeted her with a soft smile at the door. He slowly moved into the room, followed by her brother Tau. Four more figures entered the room afterwards. Even in Panya's state, she could still recognize the glitter of gold and fine linen robes on the figures. Obviously palace men.
Panya had never been in the presence of such high class before. She quickly attempted to roll over and stand in order to bow to the men, but only swooned and began to fall over. One of the men in royal robes rushed forward to catch her.
"There, there, child," his deep voice resonated. "I am Doctor Baniti. I am from the palace. I am here to help you."
The brunette stared up at the doctor, who had kind brown eyes and short black hair. He was well kept; much better kept than anyone Panya had laid eyes on before. He was not skinny like most village folk and was even clean, most likely from the opportunity for scheduled baths.
Panya was sure the look on her face was blank, but when the doctor caught her eye, he must have seen something else. He gave her a small smile and began to pull back the sheets of her bed. "Let me take a look at your wound."
Funsani spoke softly from the corner. "Panya, my daughter, please allow the doctor to help you. Our generous Pharaoh Aknamkanon has heard my pleas and has charitably allowed the knowledgeable Doctor Baniti to assist you. He shall heal your wound if you allow him."
Panya made no sound or movement, but simply allowed the doctor to remove the blankets from her leg and examine the swollen skin. The young girl and her family had not seen the wound since yesterday night and all cringed at the sight of the purplish-black skin. The bite was obviously infected. The doctor came to the same quick conclusion. He reached out and gently pressed on the wound, earning a quick hiss from Panya. He gave an apology before bowing his head to take a look at the bite wound.
Once done examining her leg, the doctor felt for her heartbeat by placing his hand on her chest. "Your heart is not beating as strong as it should be. You do have some poison spreading through your body, young one."
Panya heard her brother's whisper to her father. "Is she going to be okay? Will the doctor be able to help her?"
The doctor turned to stare at her older sibling, meeting his blue eyes. "I should be able to help her. Your sister should be okay within a few days to a half moon cycle." Now the doctor turned to her father. "She has a bad poisoning that will require much attention. May I speak with you in the other room about how I am able to help her?"
Panya's father led the doctor, the three palace guards, and her brother out of the room. The door softly closed behind them and sealed Panya away from the conversation, leaving her only with whispers.
At this point Panya was afraid. The doctor said he should be able to help, but 'should' is not the same as 'would'. And 'would' is not the same as 'will'. Maybe it was a few hours too late for the young girl to make it through this sickness; maybe she was doomed the moment the snake bit her leg. But Panya did not want to lose her father and brother, and she quietly vowed to make it through this ordeal as quickly and as healthy as possible. Besides, she had work to be done. The house had not been cleaned nor had dinner been placed on the table. Those were her responsibilities to this family while her father and brother worked their day in the fields. She could not let them down.
Once again the door opened, revealing her now grim looking father, the palace physician, and one of the guards.
"Panya," her father slowly spoke, not meeting her gaze. "Doctor Baniti will be taking you to the palace so that he may keep an eye on you while you heal…"
"…But father…" Panya started. However her father held up his hand.
"You will be leaving with him because you will die if you do not receive his treatment. This is why our kind Pharaoh has sent us Doctor Baniti, so that you can get better. Now the doctor has promised that it will only be a half moon cycle at most to get you better, but I am ordering you to go. You need this."
"…What about…Tau…?" Panya whispered softly. While her father and her were speaking, the guard was packing up some of her clothes and toys.
"Tau will be okay. He is angry at the moment, but he also understands this is necessary for your livelihood. We will be okay for a week without you."
At this point Panya could not argue. Under her father's orders she must accompany Doctor Baniti back to the palace. She felt rotten for abandoning her father and brother, especially when she was the sole woman in the household, but she had no other choice. She merely nodded her head while allowing a few small tears to escape down her puffy red cheeks.
"Now don't cry, my dear," her father took pity, kneeling down by her side and stroking her hair. "We'll see each other in a half moon cycle's time. Just promise me you will get better."
"I promise, father."
"Good. Now just focus on your health. We'll see you soon." Her father bent down and placed a soft kiss on her forehead, then handed her her stuffed bear before picking up her heated body in his arms. He passed her off to the guard that had followed the doctor back into the room, giving her another kiss goodbye.
Both Tau and Funsani watched as the procession carried Panya back towards the looming palace, both deeply hoping their loved one would return safely to their home.
Panya did not sleep well the first night in the palace, even though she slept on the finest linen sheets she had ever witnessed. Everything was comfortable beyond compare, yet felt cold and distant in the palace. She felt very separated inside the stone walls.
The doctor paid her frequent visits the next two days, applying aloe and mint to her wound. Poppy seeds were a common sight for her meals at the palace as well. Panya had never eaten anything close to what the palace chefs served her during her stay. They were even kind enough to feed her red meat, a delicacy even for the Pharaoh.
All the special treatment made her wonder what exactly her father Funsani had asked the Pharaoh for when he had begged for help with her treatment. The only conclusion Panya could come to was that Pharaoh Aknamkanon was a kind ruler.
Even with all the delicacies and special treatment, Panya still found her stay very boring. The only thing she had to play with were her toys the guard had been kind enough to bring along. So she spent most of her time lying in bed, daydreaming about living in the palace as a ruler or someone serving the royal family. She often thought of Doctor Baniti and how interesting it was that he knew exactly how to treat her wound.
It was not until the third day that Panya had a visitor besides the physician or a maid.
The sun was shining through the huge open windows in her room, warming Panya up as she lay in her bed. Her mind was once again wandering. She could see the palace court from her room and was absentmindedly watching the guards. So absentmindedly that she did not even hear her door creak open or the young boy enter her room.
"I heard we had a guest staying in the palace. Who are you?" Came a young boy's voice, scaring Panya and making her nearly fall out of bed. She quickly rolled over and backed against the wall.
The girl's indigo orbs found the young boy at the foot of her bed, staring wide-eyed at him. He looked strange to her, for she had never seen anyone of noble birth before. His skin was not as tan as the people from her village, just a shade lighter. He did not get much time in the sun for there was always someone to shade him with a leaf. His clothes were also very expensive, such fine linen and gold. His hair was nicely groomed, but odd colored. Yellow and red streaks graced the black strands. But the most unusual thing about the boy was his violet red eyes, staring blankly back at Panya.
"Hey!" he demanded, reaching out to tug on her blanket. "Who are you?"
Panya opened her mouth slowly, wondering if it were okay for her to discuss anything with the noble child.
"I…I'm Panya."
"Huh? Panya? What kind of name is that?" The boy demanded again.
"It's my name," she defended quickly. "Besides, you haven't even told me your name."
"I'm Prince Atem," the boy spoke proudly as he pointed to his chest. "My father is Pharaoh Aknamkanon. You know, I'm next in line to have the throne."
Panya chose her next words carefully now that she knew the boy was from the royal family. "I would get up and bow, but Doctor Baniti told me that I'm not allowed to get out of bed. But it's nice to meet you, Prince Atem."
The boy crinkled his nose and eyed her blanket around where her ankle was. "That's silly. You don't have to bow for me. Only for my father…or for the priests. They're pretty haughty if you don't treat them with respect. I should know. How old are you, Panya? Why are you at the palace?"
Panya was still unsure about whether or not she should be conversing with the boy, but decided that it would be even more wrong of her to ignore the prince. "I'm eight. And Doctor Baniti brought me here because I had an infected snakebite. He said he had to watch over me or I may die."
"Cool! May I see it? Your bite, I mean?" Atem did not even wait for Panya's response—of course, he didn't really have to. He was the prince and Panya felt it would be wrong of her to refuse. However Atem simply reached out and pulled up the blanket to reveal her ankle. His face cringed at the sight. The skin was much less swollen now and was finally fading into a pale yellow instead of the deep purple, but it was still disgusting. "Aw, that's so gross!" Of course this did not make Panya feel great.
After inspecting her wound for a few more moments, Atem glanced around the rest of the room. "Are these all the toys you have, Panya?" The brunette nodded her head. "Well this doesn't seem like fun! I'll go get some of my toys and we can play together!" Before Panya could respond, Atem had sped out of the room and down the hall.
That's how Panya and Atem spent the rest of the week. Every day the young prince would come to see her for a few hours, until the maids or priests called him away for training. But without a doubt Panya would see his smiling face and that would help liven her up. They would sit on the bed and play with toys or just talk about their lives, amazed at how differently everything was for one another. Atem was jealous that Panya had so many friends in the village and was able to run free most of the day. Panya was jealous that Atem lived such a lavish lifestyle with nearly everything at his beck and call. And even though they were different castes, neither seemed to mind because it was company and the two quickly became friends.
And just like a swift snap of the fingers, the week was over.
Doctor Baniti led Panya to the entrance room of the palace, the young girl in utter awe of her surroundings. Now that she was finally lucid enough to understand what was around her, the small child could not believe her eyes. The palace was beautiful, with such immaculate architecture and paintings. This only added to her jealousy of Atem's lifestyle.
When they were in front of the door, the Doctor turned to her and smiled. "Here we are, my dear. It has been a pleasure to help you. If you begin to feel any pain in your foot again, please contact me right away. Understand?"
Panya looked up and nodded meekly, her face blushing.
"Alright, Panya. One of the guards will take you back to your house." He reached down and ruffled her hair slightly. "I bid you farewell."
"Wait, wait, wait!" came a tiny, but loud voice from down the hall, making both Panya and Baniti turn. They saw the young prince hurrying down the hall, his legs carrying him as fast as he could run. "Stop hobbling so fast!"
Panya crossed her arms, not liking the fact that Atem was making fun of her walk. It was not her fault her ankle was still sore.
"Stop making fun of me, Atem!" she defended as he reached the duo. The prince merely smiled and grabbed her in a hug, laughing childishly. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing, nothing," he said, then thrust a toy into her hands. "Here is my farewell present, Panya."
Panya looked down to find that Atem had graced her with one of his dolls, actually Panya's favorite doll from his toy collection. It was the one she played with every day when he had visited her. She began to protest, but Atem plugged his ears with his stubby fingers and turned his nose to the sky.
"Nope, that's my gift to you! You keep it! I better not see it floating down the river later!"
All Panya could do was smile at this point and pull him into her own hug. "Thank you, Prince Atem. I appreciate your gift."
The guard that was to accompany Panya home strolled into the room at that moment. The children looked up at the tall man in armor and sighed. Their time was over. It was not likely that they were going to see each other again, given their different castes. It made both of them sad. For children, they did not understand that everything must come to an end and at times there was no say in the matter.
Panya looked up from under her eyelashes at Atem while blushing and barely muttered a meek "goodbye" before bowing and turning around to follow the guard. Atem did not respond, purely pouting and crossing his arms.
The sun was warm when it graced the tan child's skin, but everything felt cold with the sound of the door closing behind her. Yet as soon as it thudded close, the sound came of it creaking open again. Panya and the guard turned around, confused, and witnessed Atem glaring at her from the doorway. He seemed tiny in comparison to the massive oak.
"Hey, Panya, you better repay me for my doll! That may have been a gift, but now I need something in return!"
For a split second Panya gave him a befuddled look, but then smiled cheekily and gave the prince a thumbs up. "Of course, Atem!"