Important Author's Note: I am going onto hiatus. I am not sure when I'll be posting and writing again, but this will be my last fic for awhile.
I own nothing.
Beautiful Creation
Seth could remember the first time she had come to the palace. She was the daughter of Shenti, the new general of the royal armies. Her skin was smooth and sun kissed. Her hair was a shade darker than her skin. Standing out in sharp contrast were her eyes as they were bluer than the Nile.
He could never have her though. Once the Pharaoh had laid eyes on her, he had fallen head over heels in love with her. And she too had returned his feelings. Their wedding had been planned and Seth silently helped the other priests in preparations for the wedding.
Though it was true that he had his own woman, he just could not love her the way he had been Teana had come to the palace. Kisara, his bride-to-be, was an exotic beauty with pale skin and white hair that flowed down to her knees. Her eyes were the color of sapphires.
Do not get him wrong. He did care for Kisara, but he could never truly be faithful to her. Queen Teana had stolen his heart. He wasn't even sure when it had happened. Maybe it was the time she had given the starving slave child a piece of fruit from her own plate. Or the way she would blush and start playing with her golden bracelets –She was so fond of those. She always wore at least three or more.- when she was embarrassed.
He wondered if the Pharaoh even loved her or if he had taken her because she was something he could present on his arm. Thinking such thoughts, however, caused Seth's eyes to turn to his own heart. Did he not want her for the same reason? He barely knew her. They had only shared a few words. In truth, his love for her was quite irrational.
His chance to learn the truth presented itself after the Pharaoh had sealed himself and Zorc inside the Millennium Pendant, and then shattering it to create the Millennium Puzzle. Teana was now widowed and Seth would now assume the throne. Out of respect to the Pharaoh Atem, Seth waited a few days before going to her.
It was on the sixth day that he went to her chambers. Her room was across the corridor from the Pharaoh's quarters, his own quarters. In all respects, by now she should have been relocated and Kisara should have taken that room. No one had the heart to tell her it was time.
He announced himself before entering. He expected her to greet or acknowledge him in some way. She did nothing. She was sitting in a chair that had been pulled to the center so that she could gaze out her balcony without having to go outside. Seth went to stand before her, blocking her view, he was sure, yet she still remained silent.
The sight of her almost took his breath away. Her eyes held no emotion, no sense of life. Her cheeks were shallow and her cheek bones threatened to tear through her skin. It was as if the life had been drained out of her. Even her skin and hair had dulled.
"Teana?" Seth spoke softly.
Her eyes slowly moved upwards to meet his own. "Yes, My…Pharaoh?" She winced slightly, as if calling him that physically pained her. He supposed it just might, too.
Now that he was there, he wasn't quite sure what to say or do next. He had planned on her usual upbeat self to drive the conversation because he just wasn't…He didn't want to be commanding for once and he was certain this was not the time for it. However, it seemed wrong to ask her how she was. He swallowed thickly.
Teana's eyes filled with tears. "Oh, Seth…I loved him so much…" She confessed brokenly. Her hands fisted in her lap, wrinkling her white dress. "I'll never see him again."
Seth kneeled before her and took her hands in both of his. "Of course you will," he said with unwonted softness. "He'll be in the After Life."
She shook her head; her frizzed hair moving around her shoulders. "Not for a very long time. His soul is trapped inside the Puzzle. And…no one should ever be able to solve it. Besides, even if they could, that person would need to know his name, and he made sure that it would be erased from time." Her voice was thick with tears and cracked.
Seth took this in in silence. He had not known this. "You could always find someone else to take his place. You're young…beautiful…"
Once more, she shook her head. "There will never be anyone else. And," A ghost of a smile touched her lips. She removed one of her hands from his to caress her stomach. "I'm carrying his child."
Seth glared at her still flat belly before looking down, his hair and headpiece casted his face in shadows. "I see…"
Teana stroked her stomach lovingly. "I was never able to tell him. I wanted to wait until after he had defeated Zorc, but…I guess that time never came…"
The new Pharaoh's eyes and voice hardened. "What shall you call it?"
She was silent for a few moments, causing him to glance up at her. "I am not completely certain. If it is a boy, I wanted to name him after Atem. However, that would be against his wishes. Perhaps Baraka if it's male or Nafretiri if it's female."
Seth could sense a reoccurring thought with those names…Gift, blessing or beautiful creation…"Those are wonderful choices. I'm sure you shall cherish that child for the rest of your life," he murmured. Even in death, Atem had been sure that Teana would forever be his. Though it was in his power to force her to marry him once the child was born and to have the child dispatched, he knew he could not. Firstly, it would be wrong to Kisara to take on a second wife, though several other Pharaohs had done so. Secondly, Teana would hate him if he did that and that was the opposite of what he wanted.
Deciding to take his leave, Seth stood. "I shall leave you to be now, Lady Teana." He turned and was stopped by her voice.
"I am truly sorry, Seth."
Pharaoh Seth turned to look at her once more. "Whatever for, Teana?"
Her eyes seemed to focus in on him. "I can never love you. I never have. You have always been my friend," she whispered.
His eyes widened. "You…knew?" She nodded. "How long?" He demanded. How long had she known of his budding feelings and yet never went to him?
"Long enough," was her simple reply.
He averted his eyes. "I see."
"My Pharaoh, stay true to Kisara. She will love you for more than a life time. She does not hold the burden of a lost love nor has a child growing in her belly from that lost love. Even if I could return your feelings, I could not be true in my love because I have already given my heart away." To confirm this statement, Teana placed a hand over her chest.
Without another word, he turned back around and left the room. The inside of the room was quiet save for the shouts and white noise drifting on the wind from the courtyard. The former queen looked down at her hands. "I swear that I shall never love another until Atem and I are reunited again…" She whispered, her eyes straying to where her –their- child was growing inside of her. "So shall it be written, so shall it be done."
X
Nine months later, Teana brought into the world a healthy baby girl. Nafretiri, like her father, was born with a full head of hair. It was ebony with a streak of gold where her bangs would grow to be. Her eyes were the color of fresh blood. And Nafretiri's name proved to be true. She was truly a beautiful creation, both inside and out.
Nafretiri grew up never knowing of her father. Never knowing his name.
When years passed and all of the priests and Teana had passed on, The Great Pharaoh's name was laid to rest forever.
But not even forever lasts…
See you all around.
~MutantEnemy101