The day had not begun well, but I had hope that it would not end the same way as well. Mana was that very hope whispering within my breast. She was what had tugged me through that very long, very constricting day; helping me avoid any more confrontations and preoccupying me from more chagrins. Mana was a savior, delivering unto me the only peace that dreadful month would bear. With the promise of a tender sleep from the lips of Mana herself, I'd made my way from the depths of the palace to my room. I had wished that I may have seen Pharaoh alone, but I dared not take the chance of ruining this small peace.

It was just about the time when the moon slipped out from behind the sycamores. I had been walking back towards my room, this time alone and busying my fingers by tapping out the syllables of scripture I'd learned as a child. It always kept me amused; probably because mother used to sing it to me and baby sister. And although the words themselves were more frightening than joyous, the way her supple voice tapped each consonant and glazed each rhyme was more than comforting. Unfortunately, it was the only song Harantatef alowd for her to sing. She could have sung many more beautiful scriptures. Perhaps then I would have learned them better.

"By and by, the days will go. Some fast and some slow. When it comes to the end of me, Lord Osiris will have me plea. Weigh my heart, O God of mine, and decide where I shall part. When I have sinned, I am eternally done. When I have sinned, there will be nowhere to run."

A hint of chortling reverberated from around the corner and parted me from my sentiments. With an uncanny taste of curiosity, I took a few more silent steps that lead me to the wall's end and shot a glance down the hallway. At first I saw nothing but the painting on the walls and the torch lights dancing, but the laughter came again and then a confident mumble. Hasty footsteps patted along the floor, as if someone jumping or dancing and another striding calmly. I walked down the hallway, approaching another in the middle. I then knew where this noise had lead me.

I'd been there before. But not as I was then, listening to the laughter. I was once frightened, nervous, and contemplating all the stories I'd heard from other women. This next hallway, so dark and untouched by the torches, would lead me straight to Pharaoh's bedchamber.

A figure stumbled into view, followed by another more relaxed one. My heart pounded as I made out the features of Nefemnah, the first wife of Pharaoh Atem. She giggled with a drunken excitement, letting loose one of the straps on her tunic. She teased him with seductive words, speaking anything he would want to hear. Atem took her body in his hands and pulled her close, kissing all down her neck and then on her chest. Her head lulled in pleasure. His hands reached for her sash, pulling out the knot and letting it fall to the floor. I watched it all through this tunnel vision, the long, black hallway leading me to her seemed to go on forever.

She opened her eyes again and looked down the hallway at me. She wasn't surprised in the least to see me standing there in the dim torch light. If anything, I'm sure she enjoyed an audience. She smiled at me with victory and conceit, wrapping her arms around Pharaoh as if to proclaim him as her own. The guards standing by the doors tried their very best not to watch and therefore had not seen me either.

Nefemnah whispered something in his ear and pulled him into the bedchamber. The guards closed the door behind them. They seemed to have hoped that the thick walls of the chamber would do their purpose and prevent any sound from seeping through. I, on the other hand, prayed for their sake that the walls should be thick enough to block the odor of Nefemnah's foul Qefen-t*.

I slipped back down the path from which I came. My footsteps were loud as I stormed towards my room. I fumed with anger even as I entered the threshold of my chambers and saw Mana stand in greeting.

I went straight for my vanity, flinging every piece of gold jewelry in my path off the table top and careening to the floor. Mana jumped back a little.

"Lady Amunet, whatever is the matter?"

I groaned in frustration while pounding my fist into the alabaster wall.

"Nefemnah."

Mana's eyes widened.

"She has come?"

"Oh, not yet she hasn't." I smirked, knowing that a virgin like Mana would never understand. Mana tilted her head in puzzlement. "She is now within Pharaoh's bedchambers, intending to be the first of us hemet not only to have him beg for the touch of their skin, but to deliver an heir. And she does it so with such seduction, even our divine king is powerless against her."

"I thought Pharaoh already conceived an heir."

"No. He has three daughters; they are royal, but not heirs. Two of Anahknemrure and the other of Nefemnah."

"Oh, yes. Forgive me."

I sat for a moment. My leg would not stop shaking and my heart would not slow down now matter how much I willed it so. I could not help but hear my father's voice echoing in my head to "do whatever it takes" and to "give Pharaoh a male heir". I pondered upon his threat- to have me mummified alive- and imagined all the pain and fear that must have been. It was a degrading fate to die in such a way. And then I could imagine my father giving me a speedy burial. A wooden sarcophagus with few details, blank walls, hand-me-down items simply thrown into my tomb to make it look as though someone cared, and no thought put towards tomb-raiders. And meanwhile I'd be suffocating or bleeding to death within the sarcophagus.

I knew from my own experiences that once Atem was aroused, very few things would deter him. Only things such as serious crises, or perhaps news of a loved one could tear him from his perspiring and bare lover.

A smirk traveled across my lips.

"News of a loved one, eh?" I muttered.

"Excuse me?"

"He shall hear of it. Oh, yes he shall!" I stood.

"Um… Lady Amunet?"

"Mana!" I grabbed her shoulders. "What luck. The Gods must detest Nefemnah as Queen of Egypt and so had bidden fate to fetch you for me."

"I'm afraid I'm not quite following you, my lady." she gave me a concerned, quizzical look as I held her between my hands.

"Quickly now, or it shall be too late." I began digging through my belongings. Finally, I found a useful tool in such a plan as mine. A simple, old dagger that was beaten enough pass for a slave's. It was perfect. No one would suspect it was mine, or more accurately, my sister's. Although this was not it's intended purpose, I had to disobey my sister's wishes if just this once to fulfill them in another time.

Mana spotted the dagger in my hand and jumped back.

"Lady Amunet, whatever it is you are plotting, please- I beg of you to remember all the merriness we've shared today." her voice quivered.

"Oh, hush now, Mana. I remember well. I'm not going to kill you, if that is what you fear."

"Oh?"

"Mana, Pharaoh adores you. You are his friend, and he will not abandon Nefemnah now that she is deep in his bed sheets unless a tragedy should befall someone so dear to him as you."

"Lady Amunet, I beg of you-"

"It'll only be a small wound, as miniscule as the ones you bore when you were a farmer's child."

I reached for her arm, pulling her towards me. I got to my knees and caressed her smooth legs. Pharaoh Atem would surely enjoy them, and far more than Nefemnah's. What he wouldn't do for her undulating thighs beneath him. Virgins were always a favorite of Atem's. I lifted her skirts high. She squirmed uncomfortably, but only for a moment.

"Please, Lady Amunet," she begged.

"We've no time, Mana." I spoke hastily, prodding around her skin for the perfect spot. "I, and only I, can carry the heir of Pharaoh Atem. We must act quickly or Nefemnah should be seeded and perhaps with said male. Do you not understand the severity of the situation?"

At fist she hesitated, but then squeaked an answer. She would have rather been whipped than stabbed, but she knew Atem would figure that I'd been the offender. That would have been counterproductive.

"Good girl." I raised the dagger above her thigh. She looked away and prepared herself for the pain. In one swift blow, I'd pushed the dagger through her inner most thigh, just slightly below the vagina. She let out a small scream, but tried to mask it as well as she could. It went clean through, poking out slightly from the skin beneath her buttocks.

"There, there." I cradled her in my arms like a baby about to be nursed. "That wasn't so bad, was it now, Mana?"

She made no reply but a tiny whimper.

"Hear me well, love. Leave the dagger there to be found when Atem should reach for you. Go you to his bedchamber. The guards will keep watch, and there before them you shall pretend to fall, accidentally stabbing your leg. No one will question a servant's possession of a measly, old dagger in your bag. Everyone knows of Pharaoh's fondness for you, and they shall not hesitate to call him even as he beds his wife. If anyone should ask what business you had there, tell them you wished to speak to Pharaoh in private. Surely Atem could not refuse such a gentle reply from his dear, sweet, childhood friend. It will all seem an innocent accident."

"Y-Yes, m-my lady."

"Go now. Go."

Mana wiggled from my lap and sprinted into the dark hallways as fast as her injury would allow. I waited until I could hear her panting no longer before I began scrambling around to pick up my jewelry and prepare myself for Atem's eyes. Soon, I knew, another servant would come to inform me of Mana's little accident. I too would then go to see her. And there will Atem lay eyes on me again, this time more revealing in clothes and more innocent in intention.

I heard Mana scream, probably the one she had been holding in. I sat on my bed and began calmly brushing my hair as the sound of her cries entreated at my doors. As predicted, a servant came running unannounced in my room. I pretended to be appalled as I was so meagerly dressed. At first the young boy was taken aback by the sight of one of Pharaoh's beautiful and seductively dressed wives, but then he shook his head and remembered his purpose in walking in on me.

"What nonsense is this?" I yelled.

"Forgive me, my lady, but I'm afraid it is urgent. Your handmaiden has been injured. She is just some ways from the Pharaoh's bedchamber."

"Mana? Oh no!" I followed him out, acting as though I'd forgotten the place where I'd lost my very own virginity; once, my most valuable game piece.

Mana laid sprawled out on the floor as I could see from the beginnings of the hallway. Blood seeped from her thigh and tainted the fabric of her tunic. I could have said she was a marvelous entertainer, but I knew that such distress could have hardly been faked. Atem had her head propped onto his quickly clothed lap and held her dearly.

"Mana? Speak to me. Are you alright?"

She nodded. Opening her mouth would have lead to her scream and she dared not do so in Pharaoh's presence. I almost congratulated myself on raising her so well.

"How did this happen? Guards!"

"We'd seen her running, sir, towards your chambers. When I had commanded her to halt, I believe she was caught by surprise and she must have fallen onto her knife. Forgive me, my pharaoh. I was only doing my duty."

He sighed stressfully.

"Where are my surgeons? They should not be taking this long."

Nefemnah was standing in the doorway when I finally made my way through the dark hallway. She wrapped a sheet around herself to cover her naked body, already sodden with sweat and passion. There was nothing more malignant than the look in her beige eyes when she spotted me. I'd given her a quick, victorious smirk before putting on yet another face.

"Mana!" I reached down for my handmaiden, striking fear in my own expression. "Oh, Mana, you foolish girl. I told you to leave your bag in the room. Now look what happened." I sobbed without it sounding too much like an allegation.

I took Mana's hands in mine and she looked up at me. I could not figure if the look in her eyes was resentful or longing, perhaps asking me if I was proud of her for all the pain she had to go through. I wondered if she felt appreciated or if she hated me then. I wondered if she ever imagined such a life or servitude and if I abused that life.

"She will be alright, yes?"

And that was no act. I felt genuinely concerned for her, quickly regretting the measure I had taken to prevent Nefemnah's victory. I told myself that in the morning, all would be well again. Mana would return to normal, and as would I. That sunrise feeling would soon come to me. I almost wanted to taste that peace.

"It is a small wound." Atem looked at me. "But it pierced all the way through her flesh. There must have been a great deal of force to do that; it almost appears malicious."

I looked at Mana and then back at Atem. My eyes took everything in slowly. I thought that maybe he knew it was my intent, but dared not point me out with such a concerned crowd gazing upon us.

"It was an accident." Mana managed to say. "I…I only wanted to see you, my pharaoh. I'd been rushing. The th-thought of seeing you again filled me with such joy. In doing so, however, I fear I've disobeyed my lady and now I'm paying the price."

Both my and Atem's eyes lit up. His heart may have been uplifted with her tender desperation. Alas, I then grew sick to my stomach. Even I knew that that was far too believable to be an act. This whole thing was! I knew then that Mana truly did want to see Atem, and perhaps to tell him of my own plot. He too harvested some sort of secret- and illegal- affection for her. In this "accident", I feared I may have brought out those affections even more. And that was the true accident there.

The surgeons came and intruded upon my still moment. Two men stole Mana from the Pharaoh's arms and carried her to the medicine man. Atem and I were left kneeling on the floor, a far cry from our high ranks in society, and our knees tipped with Mana's warm blood. The onlookers left and the guards took their positions at the door again.

"Nefemnah." Pharaoh called without taking his eyes away from me.

"Yes, Pharaoh?"

"Get dressed. I will take my rest for the night."

She hesitated a moment, as if in disbelief. She took one look at Pharaoh's back and hoped he'd quickly recant his statement. He stayed motionless. Then she looked at me with all the fury in her heart and stormed over to her clothes that had been thrown all over his floor.

"Binti el ahba." she hissed as she passed me by when dressed.

Daughter of a prostitute she called me. Daughter of a prostitute!

I sat there before Pharaoh and bit my tongue. Had I not, I'm sure he would have seen all my refinement and elegance peel away with every degrading slur I only wished I could have screamed in her ears. I clenched my fists and looked away, listening to her footsteps fade.

"Pay no mind to her, Amunet. She is not herself at the moment. See, I sought her out for a more private audience and we'd not expected to be interrupted."

I had not realized that Atem had stood until he reached out his hand to me. I took it gently, wishing I could soak in just slightly more of his godly touch, and stood to meet his eyes.

But had he really thought his somewhat joking response went unnoticed? He'd bedded plenty of women; all of his wives, excluding Ranno, and I'm sure countless others like the maids and nurses and the royal harem. Did he really think that because he outranked me in the amount of times he's bedded that'd I know less about sex than he? I should have expected something like that, though. Women never talked much about sex. Either it was scandalous for a woman to have sex or it was a prayed over ritual. Either way, it was very private, so Atem wouldn't expect a woman who'd only been bedded twice to understand. Twice that he knew of anyways.

I could not help but offer a small chuckle and a witty smile.

"You must forgive me, my dear pharaoh, but I do not intend to be ignorant of your… audiences with Nefemnah. Or the other hemet for that matter."

He too graced me with a gentle laugh.

"So you will not cower behind ignorance as many do who speak before me?"

"If you would permit me to stay as I am, then no I will not. I've always been told that a woman may wear all the fine jewels she desires, but none will shine if she accessorizes with a vacant head."

"Oh, a witty, young woman who bears also a beautiful face. Who shall I punish for such a crime?" he teased.

"Society. All of it. My, how tradition must betray you so. You must be the shame of the Gods."

"What laughingstock I am amongst the divine."

We shared a laugh together. Not a cackle or a howl, but the simplicity of playful banter. Could this have been the side of Atem, our praised, mysterious king, that only so few like Mana knew? I'd never thought I'd be standing before him, teasing him as I had once done so to Meskhenet; my dear baby sister. This dark, brooding man of power was also this charming, at ease sort of fellow with both condescending and entertaining acumen.

I knew Mana's secret just as she knew mine. And I realized why she tried so hard to hide it from me. Who could not adore such a man as he?

"I must confess," I began, "I learned my humor from Mana."

He looked over me with a smile that I could not quite place the source of.

"And of that revolutionary quote of yours, about jewelry and absent-mindedness, was that learned from her as well?"

"I could see why anyone would come to that conclusion, because I am sure she feels just the same. But, alas, I learned it from my mother. As strange as that may sound…"

"Strange? How so?" he gave me a quizzical look.

I was surprised to hear that of all those who unrightfully knew of my past, my own husband was not one of them.

"My mother…she…." I pursed my lips in a depressing laughter, "she was a prostitute, actually."

When I looked up, surprised by my own slip of the tongue, his smile was gone. It had been replaced by a bit of bewilderment and something a little more sympathetic than I was comfortable with. My face heated with redness. I could not believe that I told one of my deepest secrets- and to Atem himself! If anyone knew other than Mana of my mother's social standing, there was a good chance I'd never be made Queen of Egypt and then shall have to face not only the fury of my father, but the resentment of the palace as a whole. I was well practiced at lying and shoving the dark feelings deep down into my gut, but something that night- perhaps the thick scent of blood, or the fumes flying from the incense- had me regurgitate these unwanted truths.

I could feel myself choking on my own breath. Quickly I stepped away from Atem with no way to hide the fear on my face. I'd betrayed my own mother. Not that I thought that Atem would convey this message to all who could hear, but that I'd forever marred my own mother socially and spiritually by revealing to our Pharaoh, our fleshly deity and purest of rulers, her degradation and shame.

"Pharaoh Atem, forgive me.. I…I-"

"You are forgiven, Amunet of the Black Lands."

"Thank you. Your are most kind, dear Pharaoh. Now, if you'll pardon me, I'll be taking my rest."

"Yes, that would be best. Your nerves are probably tired and worried about Mana."

I'd almost forgotten about her. I hadn't thought about her at all now that he mentioned her.

"Yes. Very worried." I bowed my head. "Good night."

"Good night."

I left him standing there in the torch light and alone with no woman in his bed sheets that night. I thought about Mana, stabbing her, and Nefemnah, all that hate surrounding me, my father's threat, and mother's pain, and baby sister, and especially about Atem. And I could not help but question, "what in the world have I gotten myself into?"

End Chapter 4

Qefen-t: Pretty much the Ancient Egyptian term for "vagina". It's similiar to Coptic, which is the language most similar to what Ancient Egyptians spoke that is still used today.

Author's Note:

Hey, beautifuls.

Thanks for reading my story.

My next update for this fic may be a little while since I'm working on posting a fic for Yule before the holiday actually arrives.

But hopefully I can toggle between updating 3 (4?) different fics right now.

Bear with me, alright? It's competition season in cheerleading so I'll be very busy... and sore... very, very sore.

Tschüß, Schöne Menschen!