Soaring over Nile

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh

Chapter Two- I want to Soar!

Dinner that night was a silent affair. Though the family dined together as a whole, Noble Hamadi refused to speak for the most part, plunging the whole hall into gloomy silence. He had also not called for the usual musicians who played as the family ate; Amuenet had not realised the importance of the lute and harps in keeping conversation going until they were gone. It was slightly unsettling to be sitting in such stifling tension. Taking a sip from her cup, Amuenet stole a discreet look at her father as she drank.

Surprisingly, her father did not look as furious as she had expected. He was absentmindedly picking grapes off his plate, seemingly lost in thought. Abruptly, Amuenet's eyes slid over and met the sharp gaze of Neema, her father's second wife. Quickly putting her cup down and returning her gaze to her plate, Amuenet's hands tightened on her linen tunic. Obviously Neema would be blaming her for her father's lack of response, particularly as Neema was the one sitting to his right today, instead of his other wife.

Grimacing at her step-mother's expression, Amuenet glanced to her father's left, where a slim girl with long plaited hair sat demurely, her head down and hands in her lap. Shy and reserved, nine-year-old Aziza was the youngest child in the family and the daughter of her father's third wife, Eshe. Amuenet rarely saw Aziza during the day – Eshe was a very stern and proper woman who had insisted that Aziza begin her education as soon as possible. Eshe herself was seated next to Aziza, her thin face a little stern but placid nonetheless.

Aziza's shy quiet nature was, unfortunately, balanced by Omorose and Shemei's obnoxious personalities. Amuenet gave the two her best glare from across the table. It was impossible not to associate Omorose and Shemei's hideous personalities with that of their mother, Neema, her father's second wife. Neema was born of a high class family, and she treated Amuenet with utter contempt. There was always something sneaky and sly about the glint in Neema's eyes that stirred suspicion and distrust in Amuenet.

"What did you do to Father this time?" someone muttered from Amuenet's left.

Ngozi, Eshe's eldest son, raised his eyebrows at his younger half-sister from beside his mother but his younger brother by a year, Oba, was the one who had spoken to Amuenet. Amuenet shot a glare at Oba, who gave Amuenet a bemused grin and looked away.

"Father, I have heard from one of my schoolmates that the Pharaoh's Gathering in Upper Egypt will be taking place in the coming weeks," Ngozi spoke up, breaking the hostile silence that lingered in the air.

Amuenet groaned silently as her father looked up, eyes a little distant, as if waking from a daydream. There was a brief silence and Noble Hamadi seemed to snap out of his contemplation. "Oh…yes, Ngozi, you are correct."

"Well?" Shemei demanded, in a belligerent tone she rarely used with anyone except Amuenet. Noble Hamadi's brows rose and Shemei smoothly corrected herself. "What of it Father? Will we be able to go?"

"Please Father? Please may we go?" Omorose chimed in, her eyes wide and pleading.

"I do hear, husband, you have recently purchased several new barges. And we must simply try a long-distance journey on the ferry we bought a summer ago, should we not?" Neema spoke up in her sugary voice.

Amuenet glared at her plate, imagining it was the three women's faces.

Noble Hamadi looked slightly indignant. "I am one of the Pharaoh's imakhu and it is preferable we should go and introduce our family to the Pharaoh! It has been several years since we have last journeyed to Upper Egypt."

"I am not going," Amuenet spoke bluntly.

There was a silence again and Noble Hamadi's gaze turned frosty and he looked at his daughter. "Do not make me repeat what happened this afternoon Amuenet."

Turning back to Shemei and Omorose's excited faces, Noble Hamadi beckoned for his scribe and accountant. Once the men were there, Hamadi sat back down on his chair and started conversing with them. The atmosphere around the dining room lightened considerably as Omorose and Shemei's chatter filled the air.

"What do you have against Upper Egypt anyway?" Oba turned to ask Amuenet.

"It's…annoying," Amuenet mumbled. Truthfully, except for the problem of suitors, there wasn't a lot wrong with Upper Egypt. There were definitely new foods to try and, though she would never admit it, Amuenet was still a little interested in the Royal Palace.

"I know what you might find interesting," Oba said quietly, leaning over to Amuenet. "The Royal Guards in the Palace are the best fighters in Egypt. There is also a rumour that a special type of dagger is available in the marketplace in Upper Egypt that will never tarnish."

Amuenet's eyes widened at the prospect. She was just about to ask more when Oba snickered and punched her playfully on the shoulder. "Look at you; who are you trying to fool? Father would never let you own a dagger little sister." He received another glare from Amuenet for that, but the latter sighed and consented to the fact.

"It is decided," Noble Hamadi said loudly and all members of the family turned to look at him. "We shall depart in three days time. I will send an envoy of five men ahead to announce our arrival. As Neema has suggested, the family shall take the ferry and four barges containing possessions and gifts for the Pharaoh. As Ngozi is already engaged to Noble Kemsa's daughter and is close to finishing his sword training, he will remain in the Villa."

Amuenet sighed and looked up at her eldest brother, who looked reluctant. Noble Hamadi looked pointedly at Amuenet when he continued. "I will take this time to remind all of my children that this visit will also be a time to seek out potential suitors."

At this, Shemei smiled smugly and Omorose's whispers of excitement could be heard from across the table. Neema, sitting on her husband's right, frowned at her two daughters. Amuenet closed her eyes and bit back her groan.

"Oba, Omorose, Shemei and Amuenet, you children are all of marriageable age and you will display exemplary behaviour at all times. I will not have the family name tarnished by any of you."

"And one of the girls may even interest the Prince of Egypt, will you not agree my dear?" Neema smiled, nodding in Shemei's direction.

Amuenet resisted the urge to roll her eyes but, looking at her father's face, knew she had lost this battle. As the family rose to retire for the evening and servants hurried to collect the plates, Amuenet tried to imagine becoming a bride. All she could see standing next to her was someone like her father, presumptuous and controlling, and she shuddered at the thought. Oh well, she thought, with a small breath of relief, it's not like anyone will propose to me anyway.

0000000

The sky was dark outside as Atem stared out the window. He couldn't even picture himself getting married, let alone having to choose someone to be standing next to him. It seemed illogical, to have a child to be his heir when he, Atem, was an heir himself. He remembered Nebi, the son of one of his Father's nobles, who was two years older than him, already the father of two children. Nebi's wife was only thirteen when she bore the first child.

"My Prince."

Atem looked down at the slab of ostraca he was supposed to be writing on with a start. Mentally cursing himself for daydreaming again, he looked back up at his teacher, who was glaring quite vindictively at him. Grinning a little sheepishly, he lowered his head and began writing again.

Being the Prince, he had to be educated in the same way as scribes were. He had lessons of astronomy, astrology, mathematics, practical arts and sports as well as reading and writing hieratic and hieroglyphs. It wasn't as though the lessons weren't interesting; the idea of running around and playing with other children was a much more riveting thought.

But the girls are even more fortunate, he thought rather enviously, They do not need to be able to read at all! All they need to know is how to weave and farm and throw parties.

When the lesson finally drew to a close, Atem bade a quick farewell to his tutor and strode outside. Hearing the distant voices of soldiers outside, up at the night sky, strewn with bright stars. One day…I'll be free.

0000000

"What did the Master say at dinner?" Halyma asked quietly, running a comb through Amuenet's hair as the latter sat on her bed of woven reeds and wood.

"It looks like I'm being forced to go to Upper Egypt," Amuenet said, a hint of steel in her voice. "And Father is adamant that I am to be wed before my fifteenth birthday. Where is the reason in that?"

"You would be past the expected marriageable age at fifteen," Halyma murmured, putting down the comb and getting Amuenet's nightgown out for her.

"I just…don't want to marry someone like Father," Amuenet said, glaring at the floor. "And I hate that Father believes we have to go to Upper Egypt to find a husband. I don't want to move there when I am married."

Amuenet suddenly let out a sharp laugh, remembering Neema's sugary smile. "Marry the Prince? Oh, if Shemei ends up being the Prince's wife, she will be utterly impossible to deal with. Maybe it will be a good thing if Shemei ends up moving into the Grand Palace."

"My lady?"

"I'm just thinking if the Prince ends up marrying Shemei, he really will be the spoilt Palace brat I'm envisioning in my head right now," Amuenet explained, watching Halyma's face pale a little.

"My lady, you mustn't say such blasphemous things!"

Amuenet smiled at Halyma's anxious face, some of the anger leaving her eyes. "I'm going out to the courtyard."

Walking out into the cool evening, Amuenet let the slight breeze caress her bare arms. As she walked, she contemplated her daily lessons – weaving and dressing up and throwing parties. Omorose and Shemei excelled in those lessons but that was all that they excelled at. To Amuenet, those lessons breezed through her mind, containing little substance. She wanted to read and write like her brothers, to string an arrow and cross swords with people, to defend herself and to be a part of the dancing skill that was fighting.

It was still too strange, too unnatural for an Egyptian girl. Closing her eyes, Amuenet imagined a dance of flashing swords, making sense of the characters on the papyrus scrolls her father read; she imagined being free of all restrictions and rules and soaring in the clouds.

Her hands were now feathers and her whole body was light and streamlined. She was a swift, golden bird, darting through the air, riding on the wind. In the dark evening, Amuenet smiled to herself. One day, she would soar…she would soar over the Nile.

A/N: This chapter is significantly shorter than the last so I apologise. I have summer holidays now so maybe there will be faster updates. I've condensed a lot of scenes I felt were unecessary in the flow of the story so that might explain the length. I'm no expert in Ancient Egyptian history and was obviously not when I first wrote Soaring over Nile so I've been researching a little more and changed a few false things. I'm also trying to target character development and make all the characters more three-dimensional. Thank you Queen Lyria for all those reviews! It's obvious you've put a lot of thought into the story and I will gladly take your suggestions into consideration; I will definitely try and expand more of Atem and Amuenet's relationship. Thank you for pointing out some of the specifics about Ancient Egypt (currency etc.) and I'll be sure to change those when I get to the chapter.

Until next time
--elaeye