Whew! This chapter certainly deserves the award for the longest chapter written in this fanfic. It is also the last one that Youlan has written, since I can't find any new ones after it. I only hope she decides to continue with it since this chappie ends at a bit of a cliffhanger ... and the story has finally gotten rather interesting. I better write her a e-mail to 'persuade' her to continue.
Since this is the last one, I put a little more effort into translating it than I usually do. Maybe that's why the sentences here don't seem as choppy as the other ones are.
What happens in this chapter? Basically, we have a murder, an argument, more hints to a Priest Seto/OC pairing, a long talk between two women, and the appearance of that same unnamed person watching in the shadows. What a exciting thing to happen here ...
Eh ... what else? I don't know if I want to start translating the sequel since Youlan has discontinued it after about 4 or so chapters. It's also been taken down at most of the sites I've visited. But if anyone would like to see it, maybe I could take the time to do it too ...
WaterGoddessMizu - I glad to hear you're better now. As for the story, I guess she's supposed to be depicted as a very hot-tempered person as well as being quite spoiled or something. Wonder who she is ...? Heh.
Proxima Centauri - It's a nice twist but it would have made more sense if she had added a part where someone mentions that the choosing would take place at least several days from the time they all went into the palace. That would give a reason for the girls to be wandering about like this and not seem like the story has digressed away from the main point.
Chapter 35
A gentle wind blew as the night passed and the people slept. The only light that was on was the glimmering illumination of a candle from a room in the eastern part of the palace.
Inside that room ...
"Heh Heh ..."
A person was sneering as she remembered the quarrel in the royal garden eariler in the day. She thought that the timing of that argument was truly fortunate as it happened right before she was planning on putting her plan into action.
"Hahaha ..." The woman began to laugh arrogantly, not caring if there was anyone listening in among the wall partitions. "Even the gods are on my side ..."
She closed her eyes. "It's about time for me to begin the next stage of my scheme." The woman then conveyed her thoughts to a certain person in the palace. 'Awaken ...'
In another part of the building, a woman that was fast asleep opened her tightly closed eyes at hearing the voice in her head. Her expression was passive as she pushed aside the silk quilt covering her body and sat up on the bed.
'Go ... deliver a present to Maathomeferoure for me ...'
The woman silently got out of the bed to put on her clothing and took a meticulously carved dagger from the drawer on the cosmetics table. She hid the dagger under the robes on her chest as her shadow swiftly faded away from the viewpoint of the slightly open doorway.
CLACK, CLACK --
Every morning, the maidservants would open the doors to their mistress' rooms to wake them up and attend upon them as they washed and dressed. On this day, it was no different as the maidservants went to do their work.
"Miss Maathomeferoure, it is time to get up."
One of the servants opened the door and went inside, followed by three others. Once the four had seen the picture in front of them, they all began to shout in loud voices.
"AHHHH! Miss Maathomeferoure!"
"What?! Did you say that one of the guests has been murdered in her room?!"
Atem had been just waking up when he heard the shocking news that completely drove away any thoughts of going back to sleep.
The imperial guard replied, "That's correct. The victim is an aristocrat of the Hittite Empire, Miss Maathomeferoure."
"By the Gods!" Atem promptly followed the guard to the western wing of the palace and even from a distance, he could see a crowd of people surrounding the room as they were talking to one another. The high priests who had heard the news were also there to control the situation.
"Seto!" From his position, Atem could clearly see the other's overly tall priestly headgear. He asked, "What happened here?"
The priest remained silent, only signaling with his eyes. Atem followed his gaze and saw the horrifying scene in front of him.
"Oh my ..." Involuntarily, Atem closed his eyes. Isis, who was standing nearby, turned her head away.
The floor in the room was covered with a dense and slight black colored pool of blood as it stained the floor boards. Little streams of blood was also flowing very slowly from other parts of the room. The white colored bed was placed in a corner as it was tinged with red blood, just like the safflowers that has bursts of the merciless color on them.
Maathomeferoure's remains were placed in the middle of the room. On the left side of her stomache, a dagger was thrust in so deeply that only the handle was visible. Her pale, jade-like face was completely unrecognizable from several bloody wounds that showed flesh and bone. In all, one would not think she was an aristocratic young lady from this image.
Looking at such a scene ... it truly looked like a living hell and no person could probably bear to view it any longer then it was necessary.
Seto hadn't been frightened by the horrific scene and had turned around to ask the four crying maidservants behind him. "Who was the first to discover the body?"
"We ... We all discovered it together." They managed to choke out as the tears continued to slide down their cheeks. One of them continued to speak uneasily as she twisted her clothing. "At the time ... we were doing what we usually did ... by going into the room to wait upon the lady ... but ... we saw the bloodstains on the floor ... and the lady ... she ..." Once the maidservant thought of the sight she had just witnessed, she stopped talking in total fear and began to weep once more.
"In any case, we should find a place for Maathomeferoure's body. We can't just leave it here ..." Isis summoned several guards over. They used a plain white cloth to wrap around the remains and then temporarily moved it to a temple.
Her face somber, Isis spoke to Atem. "Your Majesty, about this assassination ... you will have to notify her family as well as having to think of how to explain this to the Hittites."
"I know." Atem placed his hands on his forehead in frustration. 'If news of a guest being murdered while staying in Egypt spreads, the kingdom's status in foreign affairs would decline considerably. The nation's significant reputation would be gone as well. This is truly a grave problem ...'
Next to him, Seto was holding the dagger that was sticking out of Maathomeferoure's body. He was peering at it with concentrated attention. 'The design of the handle and its overall appearance ... it clearly is the characteristics of the Assyrian style. Can it be that the murderer is ...' He spoke out loud. "Atem."
"Seto, please don't bother me right now." He lifted his hands and added, "I have to calm down for a while."
The priest handed over the dagger to him. "You have to look at this first."
"What are you ..." Atem absent-mindedly took the dagger from the other man. "It's just the weapon used in ... Hey!" It seems that he had noticed something too as he carefully scanned the handle. Atem finally recognized the design, commenting, "Isn't this ... an Assyrian dagger? But why would this be here?" He thought it rather odd that the murderer would forget to take away such distinct evidence to their identity. He mused, 'The assassin must have a bad memory.'
"It looks like the murderer thinks of us as a group of simple-minded fools." Seto smiled lightly, except his expression in his eyes didn't look like they were happy at all.
" ... Could he or she be trying to shift the blame to the Assyrian princess?" Atem glanced at the sharp knife, still dripping with the dark colored blood. "This person is truly clever then. But ... we should be a bit wary of the Assyrian princess. I believe the person she was having a fight with yesterday was Maathomeferoure."
Atem closed his eyes as he pondered today's events as a thought suddenly flashed in his head. He put down the dagger as he asked, "Seto ... has the 'time' you mentioned yesterday arrived yet?"
"Yes." Seto thought that since what he had feared had actually occurred, there was no reason to continue hiding it from the other.
"So ... you were referring to this event ..." Atem looked up at the other, with some disapproval and resentment in his eyes. "Why didn't you tell me then? If you had told me about this, maybe ..."
"Maybe this wouldn't have happened?" Seto completed his sentence coldly as he crossed his arms. "I did feel that something was amiss yesterday afternoon, but I didn't know that something this major would come to pass."
"But you should have told me at that moment and not wait until it has happened before you mention it!" Atem felt irate ... furious at Seto for concealing things from him and not having any faith in him. Can it be that he felt that he couldn't depend on the great Pharaoh of Egypt?!
"How did you expect me to explain this to you?!" At this moment, Seto found himself just as annoyed at Atem as the other was with him. He exclaimed, "I was only speculating on my own suspicions! I didn't know what the other person would do or what their next step would be!"
"I ..." Atem didn't know how to counter that response.
"Would you have wanted me to have guards posted at every corner of the palace?! Let me tell you, as long as the murderer wants to do something, it would be useless even if you had set the greatest traps in the land here!" Finishing his tirade, the priest walked away from the room with large steps that had his cloak fluttering.
"What are you staring at! All of you, get back to work!" He stopped to shout at the crowd gathered to see what the excitement was about. His voice was so sudden that it scared them into dispersing immediately.
Isis stepped forward, noticing that they had stopped fighting. "... Your Majesty."
"Isis?"
"Don't be angry at Seto."
"I should be angry!" Atem said indignantly. "Why didn't he tell me?! Am I so untrustworthy of a person?!"
Isis immediately appeased to him by saying, "That's not true, Your Majesty! That's not what he meant. He only had good intentions for hiding this from you." She thought, 'This is terrible. How can His Majesty think that way?'
"Good intentions?" He grinned bitterly. "How kind of Seto. Should I bestow a reward upon him?"
"Your Majesty ..." She creased her brows as she shook her head. "No, you've completely misunderstood his motives. Seto was only trying not to add to your problems."
"Humph ... Hasn't he given me enough problems already?" He inclined his head to the side.
Isis couldn't bear to hear any more of this from the Pharaoh and decided to simply yell in hopes of getting him to listen to her. "Your Majesty!"
"Eh ... What?" It appears that this tactic was effective as Atem was beginning to concentrate on her voice.
"Please, just listen to me speak. Seto sincerely was thinking for your sake. He saw that you were working hard every day on the country's affairs as well as finding time to deal with the guests. He just didn't wish to add to your burden so he chose to conceal this from you.
"What's more, when he had felt something was wrong yesterday, Seto had already alerted us with his expression in his eyes. He had wanted us to keep an eye on some of the people here in order to prevent anything tragic from occurring. But ... we were unable to stop it from happening ...
"He never thought that something like this would transpire here, so I ask you to please understand what he must be feeling. Seto is probably the one who blames himself the most for what happened." Isis finished softly.
Atem didn't answer at first as his eyes drooped a bit. Unexpectedly, he spun around and left the room. 'That fellow's personality is so unmanageable.' A smile appeared on his face that no one else saw.
"Your Majesty ..." Worried that he won't hear her out, Isis trailed after him as he walked, her face a mask of anxiety.
"I just don't understand that guy sometimes ... what's wrong with just telling me about this? I am quite confident in my abilities on handling problems." His expression was calm.
"What?" At first Isis didn't quite figure out what he meant but as she realized the truth behind his words, the distress in her face gradually disappeared. 'It looks like His Majesty no longer takes offense on this matter.'
"Isis ... I want you to tell him a message from me. Because he had purposely concealed the truth from me, I must punish him."
"Ah?!" She was horrified. 'Punish?! Didn't His Majesty just say he understood him?'
He didn't say anything in reply at first as he noted the disbelieving look on her face. The corners of his mouth rose slightly when he commented, "When this is all over, tell him to accompany me on an hunting expedition for three days."
Atem headed towards the audience hall, preparing to take care of the problems that came with Maathomeferoure's death. Isis watched blankly at his retreating back before a grin appeared.
"I will certainly pass on your words to him ... Your Majesty."
Seto was walking quickly along the passageway, his expression very cold and his eyes inspiring fear to all who saw it. The depressive feelings of agitation and indignation that surrounded him had been wafted by the air, so anyone who was nearby avoided him at all costs.
"Ugh!" He punched at a stone wall in disappointment but was unable to get rid of the feeling of agitation in his heart. "How abominable!" Seto cursed, not knowing if it was directed at the murderer or himself.
He was fully aware that something was bound to happen but he was powerless to stop it! 'How could I have let the murderer commit such a crime in front of me?! People are going to look down on me! I'm so useless!'
"Hmm?"
Tameri had gotten up not too long ago when she heard about the murder of one of the foreign guests. She was very worried and decided to go over to take a look. Halfway there, she came across Seto and saw him fist the wall resolutely. She was stupified. At this moment, her powers of observation which had caused many people to admire her seemed to have neglected to tell her about the depressive shroud that surrounded the man as she went over to him without a sign of hesitation.
"Seto?" She asked in a muted voice as she moved closer to him. "What's wrong?"
The priest was still in an angry mood when he realized someone was near him and immediately began to take out his rage on the unfortunate person. "Stop bothering me! Go away!"
"What is the matter with you?" Tameri had been surprised by his sudden fury directed at her but she decided to move even closer to him.
Seto was thinking, 'How annoying! Why is this person choosing now to pester me?' He said in a gruff voice, "Didn't you hear me tell you to go away?!" and had turned around to continue his rant when he discovered ...
"Tameri?" He was startled as he thought to himself, 'Did I just vent my anger on her?! If that's what happen, then ...' Seto's mind became a blank space as he stood stiffly.
"What happened?" Not noticing anything wrong with him, Tameri's expression on her sweet face was one of concern and worry as she gently held his hands in her own. "Why did you strike the wall? Look .. it's injured."
He looked at his wounded hand as a trace of blood was flowing from the joints down to his arm and onto the pavement. The skin surrounding the joints was bruised slightly. Perhaps because he was agitated by his mood earlier, he didn't feel the piercing pain from the wound as acutely as he did now.
"Let me help you bandage the wounds." She wrinkled her brows a bit as she glanced at the red liquid flowing in a steady stream. Such a wound had to be treated immediately.
"There's no need for it." He realized how close they were standing and thought, 'This is not good ... I can't be too attached to her because ... she belongs to him.' He quickly pulled his hands away from her and tried to keep his distance from the other. "I'll go find a healer ..."
"But you're already bleeding like that. You need to bandage it with medicine now and finding a healer will only waste time. Why don't you come to my room and let me treat it?" She ignored the indifferent expression on his face and didn't see that he was trying to move away from her as she took his hand in hers.
At the moment her slender fingers touched his coarse ones, he felt like a weak electric current had coursed through his body. Surprised, he wanted to retract his hand but she didn't give him the opportunity to do so.
"Let's go. My room is nearby so it won't waste too much of your time." She held his hand tightly to hers, not letting him escape from her.
Seto saw how insistant she was and decided to let her do as she wished, even though he thought it was inappropriate. The whole time they were walking together, he was pondering about the source of that strange electric current. 'What was that? It was so short-lived, so stimulating, and a bit pleasant ... Pleasant?!' Suddenly, he felt very ridiculous. 'What am I thinking?'
Perceiving that his expression had changed slightly, Tameri raised her head to regard him with a quizzical look.
"Nothing." He answered.
Tameri had swiftly brought Seto to her room. After she had asked him to sit on her bed, she picked up a tub of clean water that Halima had brought her as well as a sheet of white linen from the desk in the corner before returning to the bed. She placed the tub in a chair next to the bed as she sat next to him. Tameri then washed the soft linen in the water, her clever little hands rinsing the cloth clean. She gently covered his wounds with the linen cloth and lightly wiped away at the red blood that was on the joints.
Watching Tameri's attention focused on helping him treat the small wounds on his hand, Seto's tall, firm and thick wall of ice seemed to have been melted away by her gentleness. A large number of different chaotic feelings were flashing across his bright blue orbs as her actions were so cautious and her full attention was on taking care of him. From the time he could remember, other than his mother who had died when he was young, no one else had ever shown so much concern for him. If one were to say he had no feelings whatsoever, then that was a lie ...
"Alright! Now all you need to do is not to move the joints too much so the blood won't keep flowing from the movement. You better go see a healer now." Tameri used the damp cloth to wrap around the wound and tied the linen into a slipknot so it can be easily removed if needed. As she spoke she lifted her head to meet the gaze of his deep blue eyes.
In that moment ... she found herself attracted and unable to resist the pull of his blue eyes, with all the different flickering emotions reflected in its depths. Tameri seemed to lose herself ... lose herself in the labyrinth of his mysterious blue color of his orbs.
'What a beautiful color ... what a deep emotion in his expression ...? Why ... is he looking at me with such passion and deep feeling? Why ...?'
She felt like she had lost her own soul and had been taken over by the devil as she gazed at him. The pair continued to gaze at the other with a fixed stare as the minutes and seconds passed since neither of them were planning on moving their gaze from the other ...
"My lady! Miss Tameri!"
At this moment, a voice from outside the room caused them to return to reality, followed by Halima rushing into the room and interrupting the intriguing atmosphere between the pair. They continued to stare at each other with a earnest look for a moment more before they quickly looked away.
"Eh ... I ..." After coming in, Halima realized something was wrong with the atmosphere in the room. Tameri's tan cheeks had a light red glow to them while on Seto's handsome but indifferent face, the passionate look hadn't completely disappeared. Looking at the two, it was unavoidable for her to have a daydream, wondering if something had occurred between them ...
Seto stood from the bed. "Thank you for bandaging my wounds, Tameri." He became aware of his actions earlier and in order to conceal it, his tone of voice was as dispassionate as it usually was.
"Oh ... it was nothing." Tameri replied blankly as she watched him go by Halima's side and quickly left the room.
"My lady ...." Halima waited until Seto's figure had become a little dot in the distance before she cautiously approached Tameri, looking like she wanted to say something but didn't know if it was wise to do so.
"Hmm? Feel free to ask me anything." Tameri knew from the expression on the other girl's face that she must have something she wanted to say. And it probably had something to do with Seto ...
Just as she expected, after she had gotten her permission, Halima gingerly opened her mouth to say, "I'd like to ask ... at first ... why was Priest Seto in your room? What happened between the two of you?"
Tameri looked at her. The expression on her face and the tone of voice she used when asking the questions seemed to reveal that she had already believed that she and Seto had done something scandalous. Tameri found herself wanting to laugh at the nonsense of it all.
"Nothing happened. Seto's hand was injured and I only helped him wash off the blood from it."
"Is that really what occurred here?"
"Otherwise what do you believe we did in this room?" Tameri saw that Halima looked like she wasn't convinced of her story and felt befuddled.
"Because when I had ran in here abruptly, I saw ..."
"What did you see?"
Halima bit lightly on her tongue before speaking slowly, "I saw you two ... staring at each other with such passion and feeling ... so I ended up misunderstanding the two of you as having a ... rather unusual relationship ..."
"Eh?!" Tameri felt shock reverberate through her whole body. 'What? Did she see what we were doing?! How embarrassing ...' She coughed lightly and tried to cover her embarrassment and awkwardness. "Don't think too much into it, Halima. There's nothing between us, really."
"Is that so? You don't feel anything towards Priest Seto?"
"Of ... of course. We're just purely friends. Besides, I love Uro ..."
She thought to herself, 'That's right ... the one I love is Uro. Seto and I are only friends, as it should be ... but ... why was I fascinated by the deep emotion in his eyes eariler? I should be in love with Uro ... that's how it should be ...'
Hearing her words, Halima looked like she had relaxed a bit and didn't pay attention to her hesitant wording of her reply. "Than everything is well."
Tameri suddenly blurted out, "Why do you care about the relationship between Seto and I? Look at how nervous you are." She wasn't prepared for how Halima's response would stupify her whole body.
"Because you are the favorite of the Pharaoh right now. If this were to continue, you would become the Queen sooner or later. As the wife of the Pharaoh, you certainly can't betray him so the only one you can love is the Pharaoh himself."
She never thought that Halima would answer her casual question with such seriousness. 'When did this start ... where my body has a label reading "Pharaoh's wife" on it? The strange and indifferent look on Seto's face eariler ... was it because he had taken this factor into consideration?'
Tameri abruptly felt that her body had a heavy weight placed upon her shoulders as the pressure almost made it impossible for her to breathe. She was frightened by it. 'Why am I feeling this pressure? Isn't it good though? Wouldn't that mean I can now be with Uro out in the open? I should be feeling very happy ...'
Contrary to what one would expect, Tameri didn't feel the least bit of joy but instead felt a lashing pain in the deepest recesses of her heart and an anguished feeling in the pit of her stomach.
Halima noticed that Tameri's face had become pale after hearing her response and asked in concern, "My lady?" She wondered if she had said something she shouldn't have. 'Why is the lady's reaction like this after hearing my words?'
Tameri shook her head lightly and forced a smile on her face. "I'm fine. I want to go outside for a while ..."
"Should I accompany you?"
"No, I think I want to be alone with my thoughts ..."
Tameri left her room as she strolled the corridors in the palace. She caught sight of the guards paying their respects to her as she passed. She noticed that the way they bowed to her was clearly different from how they showed respect to the others. Unexpectedly, Tameri felt a strange dread fill her heart as she quickly turned around to leave.
She wanted to escape ... escape from the dread that seemed to engulf her in its grasp. She only wanted to find a place that could put her at ease. She needed it!
Tameri lowered her head as Halima's unintentional answer threw her into chaos. She walked quickly, her step as fast as the strong winds. 'Where should I go ...?' Her two legs seemed to separate themselves from the limits of her control as they unconsciously moved of their own accord. 'I want to find a place where I can rest ... where I can have a rest to my leisure ... but ... where is it?'
As she was talking to herself and looking for the response in her mind, a burst of pain and a groan brought her back to the real world and out of her inattentive state. The first thing she saw was a body in front of her. 'The body ... looked like it belonged to a person who was touching her chest with one hand. Her posture seemed like ... she had been bumped into by me?!'
Tameri, realizing what had happened, was alarmed and immediately kneeled down to help the person who she had bumped into. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I wasn't careful as I walked. Are you well? Did I hit you anywhere?"
"Uh ..." The other person lifted their head and Tameri stared at her, recognizing the face. The woman she had collided with was none other than the oldest candidate for the Queen competition -- Semiramide, the princess of Assyria!
"I am so sorry, Princess Semiramide." Tameri helped her up and waited until the other could stand on her own before bowing down and apologizing again, seeing it was her fault for not being careful enough.
"I'm fine ..." Semiramide was feeling a bit better and stopped the other from bowing again with her hands. She shook her head softly and asked, "What happened to you?" Semiramide wondered what could have caused the normally vivacious and optimistic Tameri to become so absent-minded as to be blind to anyone standing in front of her.
Tameri was stupified again. 'Could it be because I am so uneasy from Halima's comments eariler that even Semiramide, who only saw me a few moments ago could figure out something's wrong?'
"If it's not convenient for you, then forget I asked." Semiramide realized after seeing the reaction on the other's face to her question that it must be a painful topic and showed some consideration for the other woman by not prying any further.
Hearing Semiramide's comment, Tameri relaxed. She didn't have the courage to share with another what Halima had said to her.
"What do you say about we going outside for a walk? The air in here is so suffocating ... the smell of blood here makes me want to vomit."
"Blood?"
"You don't know?" Semiramide thought it strange that she wouldn't know about what had happened eariler. It had caused a general turmoil as news spread throughout the palace, arousing discussions from the officials down to the servants. "I think ..." She muttered to herself, "I better tell you as we walk."
"What?!" Tameri was so appalled that she couldn't speak. "Maathomeferoure ..." Her expression clearly indicated disbelief. She didn't believe that such a thing could happen.
"It's the truth. I never thought that the Egyptian palace, once claimed as the golden jail with its many guards and defenses, would be the place for such a horrendous act." Semiramide said softly.
"But I don't understand. Why would anyone want to kill her?"
Semiramide, hearing this question, turned her head to stare at the other girl. In her eyes were something that a woman of her age shouldn't have. It was full of weariness and wisdom that seemed to be able to see through a person's heart. After a good while, she looked away. "From time immemorial, who hasn't fought for power? Who hasn't tried to win an advantage over everyone else? The people have always tried their best to seek wealth and rank just as the soldiers try their hardest to advance their positions. A beautiful woman would do her best to covet power for herself." As she spoke, Semiramide crossed her arms on her chest. Her voice held a hint of sorrow and a bit more of helplessness.
Tameri listened to the other woman quietly, her attitude towards Semiramide changing from respect to admiration. As she watched the woman's figure from behind, she felt that Semiramide had such a broad tolerance for everything while she was so insignificant, so inconsiderable.
'She's not much older than I am ... why does she have such deep thoughts and feelings? Why is she so sorrowful?' It was as if a soul that had experienced the joys and sorrows of life was dwelling in her body of twenty years.
"I'm sorry ..." Semiramide said softly. "I probably scared the wits out of you yesterday in the garden."
Tameri didn't know how to respond to her so she remained silent.
Seeing this, Semiramide's smiled slightly. "Yesterday, I was so angry at Maathomeferoure that even my self-control disappeared. If I had offended you in any way, please forgive me."
"Could I ask ... why were you two fighting? Weren't everyone on friendly terms?" Tameri's tone had a slight hesitation to it.
Hearing her question, Semiramide found herself thinking that this side of Tameri was so ... innocent that it was rather cute. She could believe even such a false appearance of things. But that's the reason why she made people feel affection towards her. Semiramide sighed. 'Maybe I should say it's one of her good points.'
"What you see is just the surface." She said. "Do you know what the goal of those woman are?"
The younger girl innocently replied, "Eh ... isn't it because they have fallen in love with the Pharaoh?"
If it wasn't for her not wanting to damage her own reputation, Semiramide really wanted to bash her head against a wall. 'By the gods! How can Tameri be so simple-minded?! She completely has no idea of the dangers of the people around her!'
"That is most certainly not a reason why they came into the palace." Semiramide quickly put an end to that line of reasoning. "In truth, the goal of those women can be summed up by one word: benefits. Take the Princess of Libya, for example. The only reason why she came to Egypt is to marry into the royal family and join the two nations together. She may have feelings towards the Pharaoh, but it's not the driving force behind her ambitions." She closed her eyes and paused for a moment. "Actually, strictly speaking ... other than you, everyone else came here in hopes of joining forces with Egypt through marriage. Of course ... that includes me ..."
"Eh?!" Tameri regarded the other woman with surprise. She only saw that Semiramide's face was one of powerlessness. The other was smiling, but it looked like a sad one.
"The only reason I came here was because my father ordered me to do so. From his point of view, I am only a tool for gaining benefits for the country." She commented dejectedly.
Tameri didn't know what she should say as she stood by silently and listened to the other speak her mind.
"In my homeland of Assyria, I had a lover. He is my childhood friend and his family history was a good match to the royal family. We once made a promise to each other that we would be together until we grow old. Not too long ago, we were officially engaged." She closed her eyes again, remembering the glorious days that passed like time itself as her facial expression was one of complete happiness.
"Two weeks ago, my father annulled the engagement and personally arranged another marriage for him, wanting him to get married as soon as possible. At that time, I didn't understand why my father was so heartless as he broke us up. He didn't even give us the chance to get back together again. Because of the grief, I nearly wanted to end my own life." Semiramide took a deep breath as she tried to hold back the pain of remembering her own past.
Tameri, watching the look of agony on her face, stepped forward and softly held the other woman's hands, giving her the power to finish her story.
"Soon after that, my father wanted me to set out for Egypt in order to take part in the Queen competition here. At that moment, I realized the reason why my father broke us apart. He wanted to join hands with Egypt through marriage. For the first time in my life, I had the idea of hating someone with all my heart."
She looked towards Tameri as she spoke the last part faintly. "That man was the one who caused me to lose my one true love. That man is the current Pharaoh of Egypt -- Atem."
"What?!" Tameri was stunned and quickly answered, "This has nothing to do with Uro! Princess Semiramide, you shouldn't hate him for that."
"Why shouldn't I? If it wasn't for him holding such a stupid competition, my father wouldn't have succumbed to his own desires for wishing to be closer with Egypt and I wouldn't be separated from my lover!"
Semiramide's original serene mood slowly rose with her voice as it became filled with grief and indignation. She was outraged at her father's desire for more wealth. In order to get the several thousand pounds of gold, cloth and slaves each year, he would go as far as annulling her engagement and throw his own prestige into the ocean. He would consider her, his own daughter by blood, as a tool for creating a marriage bond with a wealthier country. She felt sadness at how humans can be so hideous as to sacrifice relatives and prestige as the cost of getting useless tributes in exchange. Once she thought of this, she became even more furious as her hatred for the Pharaoh became more ingrained into her mind.
"He was the one who destroyed the happiness that belonged to me! You tell me, how can I not hate him?!"
"I ..." Tameri was rendered speechless.
"Forget about it ... it's useless to talk about it now." Her voice calmed down somewhat as Semiramide's mood and body seemed to settle. The disappointment was still on her face as she sighed deeply. "The outcome has already been decided so it's futile to speak of something that can't be changed." Semiramide allowed the calmness to weave it's protective web around her, hiding her injured self beneath its security.
Tameri looked on, feeling a sense of pain for Semiramide. 'So the deep wisdom in her eyes DID come from a life experience. And the experience she has felt came from her sacrificing her own comfortable and happy life. What a sad transaction indeed!'
After a while of silence, Semiramide slowly spoke once more. "You're in love with the Pharaoh, right?"
Tameri felt her heart pull on her tightly at the question. 'Do I love Uro? If it was in the past, I could have confidently said, "Yes, I love him. He is the one I love the most in this life." But now ... If I love Uro, why did that strange incident occur between Seto and I? It shouldn't be this way ...'
Maybe it was because she wanted to escape everything or it was because she didn't want Semiramide to get the impression that something was wrong with her, Tameri simply nodded her head stiffly. "Yes, I do."
As she spoke, a small part of her heat began to tell her in a voice that wouldn't allow her to miss it, "That's not true! That's not the case at all!"
Semiramide heard this and sighed unhappily. "How nice ... you are able to have a love that is returned ... I truly envy you ..." She lifted her head to look into the distance of the clear sky, watching the white clouds change their forms freely and safely as she found herself feeling sentimental. "You have finally found the blue sky that belongs to you so you better take advantage of it."
She glanced at Tameri, thinking that she will soon have a love that everyone will admire and knew it would be difficult for her to not feel a touch of jealousy at the other girl. 'Why don't I have such good fortune? Why ...'
"Princess Semiramide ..." Tameri was not unaffected by the sadness she felt from the older woman. "I'm certain you will find a blue sky that completely belongs to you and will bring you happiness."
"Is that so ..." She smiled. "Do you know that you can only find something that fits perfectly with you only once in this lifetime? Once you lose it, you can never find a substitute."
"But ..."
Noticing that the younger woman was about to say something to comfort her, Semiramide shook her head. "That's enough. Tameri, I give you two my blessing. But, please don't forget ... you have to be on your guard with those wilful and unreasonable pampered girls."
"What? Pampered girls? Are you referring to the other candidates?"
"The Pharaoh is like a bright diamond, shining with its own brillant radiance. Anyone would want to get close to it, and take it as their own. They won't give up so easily."
"Eh? What you mean is ..."
Semiramide saw Tameri's naive expression and couldn't help but smile wryly at it. 'By the Gods! I have already said it so clearly. Don't tell me she still doesn't understand it?'
" ... To make it simple, you better be more careful in the future." Semiramide departed on her own, leaving Tameri behind.
'She ... what did she just mean?'
Maybe it was because she was a bit slow in comprehending such things, Tameri still couldn't figure out the hidden meaning behind Semiramide's statement. She became even more annoyed and confused as she tried to make any sense of it.
"AH! Forget it!" Pressing her fingers on her forehead, Tameri began to rub her temples. 'Is there anything that could help me clear away the confusing thoughts in my head?' She was still rubbing the pain in her head, and didn't notice the suspicious shadow standing in a dark corner who had heard the conversation between the two women.
The person's mouth curved up into a faint smile before disappearing into the shadows of the wall once more.
Posted on November 8, 2004.