Mana sucks in a breath. She looks up at the room's ceiling and can't help but study the artwork carved of gold. Pictures of the sun and moon glittering from the moonlight entering the room.

The sun and the moon.

Ra and Khons, the two gods.

So far away, so beautiful.

She hissed slightly as the man on top of her began to thrust into her.

Hard.

Her hands tighten on the bedsheets, closing her eyes. Not daring to look at the man who was taking away her purity.

She felt disgusted and helpless. Being forced into a marriage wasn't something she ever thought she would end up in. Matter, in fact, she never dared to.

She winced at the unbearable pain but her "husband" didn't get the memo and continued his rapid and harsh movements.

She didn't want him to touch her. Not at all. However, this was one of the conditions they had agreed on when she wed him. She needed to give him a child.

A fruit of his descendants.

Biting her lips, Mana turned her head to the side and thought back to how she even ended up in this mess.

"Pharaoh Seto! You cannot dismiss this issue!"

Pharaoh Seto stayed silent as his court began to pressure him.

"Egypt needs an heir! You have no son or daughter to pass the throne too! Either you choose a bride or we will assign one!"

Pharaoh Seto stood up abruptly, hissing "How dare you! The love of my life hasn't been dead for a harvest year and you are already pressuring me to marry and produce heirs?"

Before his court could continue to argue with him Mana entered the room. Seto caught Mana's eye as she made her way to her seat. She sent him a frown, meaning something had occurred.

"Oh Priestess Mana, thank you for accompanying us. See, our Pharaoh refuses to marry and give Egypt an heir. He says it's too soon for him to marry as his lover died not so long ago."

"Perhaps Mana could differ from his argument." Priestess Isis added dully.

Everyone looked at Mana. The court with wide smiles as Seto just stared at her unfazed.

"I don't wish to talk about it, please. I-" Mana began, not liking everyone's eyes on her.

"Nonsense Mana! Tell our Pharaoh the great news!"

Mana hesitated and her expression turned from cheery to sad in a minute.

"I have been asked for."

Seto could only stare at Mana in his cold manner but inside him he was vivid. How could she? How could she have possibly moved on from his cousin in such a short time?

Here he was, his soul breaking every day at the thought of never seeing Kisara again and this girl was already moving on to the next man? Just a few months ago she had been sobbing as she held his cousin's dead body and now? Here she was like some harem girl.

Seto had never been so disgusted at her in his whole life.

"Mana's hand was asked by a wealthy Persian man who offered mountains of riches to Egypt. Isn't it wonderful?"

Mana's gaze was down at her hands. She refused to look at the Pharaoh.

"If you all may excuse us, I would like to have a word with Priestess Mana alone."

Quickly the court stood up from their seats and made their way out the room before Seto stopped Isis.

"Yes my Pharaoh?" she asked.

"Tell them that at first light tomorrow, I will have my answer to their request."

Isis nodded solemnly and gave a bow before she walked out of the room. The guards closed the door slowly as she left, leaving Pharaoh Seto and Mana alone.

"Don't you dare look at me like that!" Mana hissed, still refusing to look at his glare.

"No. How dare you act like nothing." Seto shot back with a glare at her.

"Tsk. You can't even look at me in the eyes. That's how much guilt you have."

Mana gritted her teeth at his cruel words.

"Pathetic."

Shooting up from her seat she screamed, "Shut up! Shut up! You don't know anything!"

Without any warning, Mana quickly grabbed the nearest object to her, which happened to be a bottle of wine and threw it at Seto.

"How could you believe I would ever accept that man's proposal!" Mana wept as she continued throwing things at Seto.

"How can I move on when my love for him will never die! I will never stop loving him!" Mana cried out before her knees gave in and she fell to the floor sobbing.

Seto just stayed at his place, still. Looking at the powerful sorcerer breaking down.

Later that night, as everyone was gathered together enjoying dinner, Isis silently made her way beside Seto.

"My Pharaoh," she began. He nodded silently, a sign for her to continue.

"I take it you heard about Mana's proposal and the conditions the man has offered if it proceeds," Isis says, making Seto look at her intrigued.

"No, I haven't. Continue please," he replied, his unfazed eyes on her.

"If Mana agrees to wed him, the merchant has promised to extend Persia and Egypt's trading influence. Boosting the economy." Isis said.

Seto hummed silently and looked over to where Mana sat. She had her head down and played with her food. She looked miserable. Nothing to the Mana he met when he had moved to the palace.

"This isn't the first suitor who has asked for her hand, you know?"

"Tsk,"

"Every day, about eight men ask her for marriage but she's always rejecting them. Some have even taken it as far as to threaten her with murder or violence."

He continued staring at her and saw how she was given a small bowl by one of the servants. A bowl no one else but her was offered.

He narrowed his eyes at the liquid color in the small bowl.

"She tried to take her life recently."

Seto froze his gaze.

"What?" he thought.

When did this happen? Mana never seemed ill nor on the verge of death.

"It was pure luck that I found her in her room a few minutes later. She had drunk an entire bottle of poison. When she regained consciousness, she was devastated." Isis spoke grimly, letting him know that this wasn't something she wanted to remember.

Mana drank the liquid in the small bowl slowly, a few sips at a time. Seto knew, by the small bowl and Isis story, she was drinking medicine to extract the leftover poison in her body.

"What I'm trying to say is, you are not the only one who is suffering from the loss of a significant other."

Seto didn't need to listen to Isis to know Mana had it worse than him.

At least he could choose who he could wed. Mana? Based on the proposal of the merchant, the court would happily force her to marry him to expand the economy.

She had not only lost the love of her life but had also lost her best friend, Mahad. She had lost the closest people in her life and had no family to turn to as she had been orphaned at a young age.

She was alone.

She was exactly like him.

Alone.

Both orphans, having no one and being forced to do the impossible.

"Isis," he said, cutting her off.

"Yes my Pharaoh?"

Looking at Mana's lonely figure for another second, Seto cast his attention at Isis.

"I have chosen my bride."

Isis's eyes widened. "Are you sure? You still have time till the next meeting."

"Yes," Seto replied as his heart shattered into a million pieces at the thought of getting married.

Kisara...

"Very well my Pharaoh," Isis answered before leaving Seto alone with his tragic memories.

Note:

Artwork on cover is all credited to Siosiri on Tumblr.