The Lord of the Nile and the Lady of Grace
Pairing: AU Miranda/Andy in ancient Egypt
Rating: G (later chapters PG13)
Disclaimer: Nothing is mine; I make no money from my scribbles. Go on and sue me if you must, I'll enjoy reading femslash out loud in court.
Authors Note: A request was made on the FB Mirandy group for a medieval AU fic, as that's not my period of expertise, I offered to do a fic set in ancient Egypt instead.
*****Please do remember this is a work of fiction not a documentary so while my expertise in Egyptology has been used so has my imagination as a writer. Therefore think of this as taking place in the generic Hollywood style version of 'The Days of Yore – Ancient Egypt." Rather than in a specific historical point in time. *****
I will however be providing some historical notes for some chapters, but will put them under a cut, so if you don't want to read them you don't have to bother with them. And of course if you'd like to discuss things Egypt logical, but not pyramidological I'm always happy to chat.
Synopsis: So this is an AU where Miranda is a female pharaoh "like" Hatshepsut, but not actually her. Andrea is a Cretan Princess who is being sent to marry the Pharaoh. There will be plots and counterplots, battle and mayhem and love will triumph and be blessed by deities and the people of the Black Land.
Prologue:
Off the coast of Byblos
The sun shone down from a bright blue sky bedecked with the odd puff of white cloud blown lazily about by a gentle breeze. This was a far more benign vision than the grey and sombre sky of the previous day's storm that had caused the ship and its' five attendant craft to take shelter in the bay of a small island only one day's sail from the busy port of Kition on the sacred island of Kypros.
On the main foredeck stood a young woman looking out of place among the sailors and soldiers of the great warship, Poseidon's Wrath. She stood solitary and proud in her full and multi-coloured skirts reaching to her ankles, her dainty feet clad in leather sandals chased in gold with garnet studs. The sun glinted off gold, roped round her neck, in her ears and coiling round her upper arms, there could be no doubt of her high station and none of the crew made any comment on her presence or attempt to break her solitude.
She was tall, slim, but with a pleasant build; curves in all the right places leading to a tiny waist, her long dark hair was curled and oiled into strands of ringlets that occasionally lifted as the breeze struck her creamy white skin. The breeze ruffled the multiple flounces on her skirt and raised goose bumps on her bared arms and neck. Her deep brown eyes, flecked with sparks of gold, watched the hazy grey line of the horizon as her quick mind listed the possible names for the lands they were sailing past. She had stood here for the better part of the morning, enjoying the freshness of the open deck after the cramped confinement of her cabin the previous day.
Her stillness and beauty reminded all who saw her that she was, or at least she had once been, the vessel of the Great Mother, the destined High Priestess to the Goddess Rhea. But that was another life, a life she would never now know as she was despatched by her royal guardian to a very different destiny, she was to be the queen and consort of the Great Pharaoh of Kemet, Werhedjheket – the Great White Ruler. Her Uncle Rusa, the Regent for her cousin the boy king of Knossos, had decided she was worth more as a means to cement relations with Kemet than a means to cement the kingdom's relationship with the Great Mother.
She had been given no say in the matter, much as she had had no say in her dedication to the Goddess when she was just five years old. The daughter of the king's sister, she had been taken from her home and sent to the great cave and temple on the mountain above the plain of Knossos, there to learn and to serve the three priestesses of the Mother until she too was old enough to take her place in their company, to serve the Goddess and the kingdom for the rest of her life. She had gotten over the fright and homesickness in time, and had taken to her training with great joy and genuine devotion to the Goddess from which all life came.
When Mother Rhea had taken the High Priestess (also named Rhea, as the earthly vessel of the Goddess) back into her womb, all in the temple had moved to take their new place in the eternal cycle. Each woman and girl was re-born into their next progression and re-named accordingly. The eldest priestess became the new Vessel and took the name Rhea, leaving her name, Gorgo, to her junior. It was at this time, when she was ten years old, that Andrea, daughter of the Princess Pasiphae, had become a full priestess and had been given the name Ariadne. Even now, eight years later, she still wasn't used to answering to it, her sisters sometimes having to call her several times. To make things more confusing, all the temple servants and supplicants would only use the title of honour due to all priestesses of the Great Mother, Chairs, as if it too was her name.
Two moons ago her uncle had arrived at the temple with an entourage of servants, soldiers and almost a hundred laden donkeys. He informed the High Priestess that Ariadne would be leaving the service of the Goddess and taking up her duties as a royal Princess of the House of Minos. Rhea had tried to argue that this was not the Great Mother's will, but Kyrie Rusa had pointed out that this had happened in the past on a few occasions, and as long as the priestess was still only Ariadne it was permissible. He'd called his niece forward and told her that she was Andrea again and that she would not be a priestess anymore. When she'd said she didn't want to leave the temple that she was chosen by the Great Mother for Her service, he'd smiled and praised her dedication, saying he knew she'd be as diligent in her new duties as a true Princess of Knossos.
Her uncle had spent some time in talks with the High Priestess inside the temple as everyone else waited outside. When they emerged she called all to witness that the Great Mother had spoken to her, and that it was the will of the Goddess that Andrea give up her life as Ariadne and depart from Her service. Andrea watched the woman's face, she knew the signs, what to look for after a visitation from the Mother and they weren't there, none of them were, she was lying, but the young woman didn't understand why she was lying. She ran to her and protested, begged her on her knees to let her stay, to let her fulfil her appointed destiny as a servant of the Goddess. The older woman had raised her to her feet and told her that there were many ways to serve the Mother Rhea; she did not have to be a priestess to remain Her servant. She had blessed her and pushed her away before calling the priestess Gorgo to her side and turning to enter the temple.
Andrea had been in shock, unresisting as she was led to one of the donkeys and was lifted into the seat on its' back. She watched as a young girl was led from the crowd and tears had spilled down her cheeks as she realised that she must be her replacement. It was like her life for the past thirteen years had never been, as if she had never lived. As the soldiers and nobles formed up around her and her uncle, the servants and the donkeys were being lead to the barns and out buildings to be unloaded and she finally realised that for all intents and purposes, she'd been bought.
In the subsequent weeks she'd lived in a state of shock as her new life was laid out before her, she was to marry the Great Pharaoh, to be his Queen and bear his children so that the next Pharaoh of Kemet would also be of the blood of Minos, a fact that would bind their two great empires together. No one seemed to care how truly unprepared and frightened this news made her feel, her life as a priestess had left her gravely lacking in knowledge in this area, as she was never intended to marry. It wasn't that she didn't understand the mechanics; after all, the Great Mother was the guardian of fertility and her sacred rites included both the mundane and the mystical in that regard. It was the more complex duty of interacting with a man as her husband and lord that she felt unsure about, what would be expected from her in that capacity.
She tried to learn as much about her prospective husband as she could, but her uncle and everyone else she asked were strangely vague when answering her questions. She knew that he was much older than she was; after all he'd been Pharaoh since before her own birth. Everyone was willing to mention his greatness and power, military might and firm rule of Kemet, but whenever she asked for details of what he was like as a person the answers all dried up. Even her escort, Kyrie Nashuja, the Ambassador to Kemet who had lived there for many years and attended the Pharaoh's Court regularly was often strangely reluctant to talk about her new husband. What's more, whenever she asked him he would have this sad pitying look in his eyes as he tried to fob her off with pat generalities about his hunting prowess and as he'd said once, 'well formed looks.' The only physical details she had, and they were something she'd already known, were that he had been touched by the Gods at birth and marked with eyes the colour of a summer sky and hair as white as the snows atop Mount Ida.
Prepared or not, Andrea had been sent off on the King's flagship, escorted by four of the best warships in the royal fleet and accompanied by a trade-ship, stuffed to bursting with wedding gifts for Pharaoh. She had been given servants and everything she would need to make her journey as befitted a member of the House of Minos. The journey was planned as a joyous procession and they'd stopped at several Islands as they sailed, including holy Kypros just 2 days ago.
Andrea sighed as she turned from her vigil and began to make her way back to her cabin. Tomorrow they would dock at Byblos, then Sidon, and the next stop would be their first port in Kemet, Hutwaret on the Great River. From there she had no idea how many days' sail it would be until they arrived at hundred gated Thebes the capital city of the Lord of the Two Lands WerHedjheket, her future husband.