Chapter 1: Deadly Discovery!
The hot sunshine burned the slaves' backs as they miserably dragged the carriages with stone onto the hill to build new houses. They swore as the sweat trickled down their necks, but they had to work nevertheless; it was their own fault that they worked, as punishment for being the criminals they once were and still are.
The sand was very hot to the touch, even in the palace, where the Pharaoh wandered around in the yard. After a long day filled with meetings and plans, he had finally managed to escape from his duties a few minutes to enjoy the sunny day that welcomed him outside the walls of the throne room.
A soft, but warm wind blew, making the golden streaks in the Pharaoh's tri-colored, "spiky" hair fly a bit. He took a deep breath of the wind, and sighed:
"Too bad I've little time to enjoy this wonderful day…"
Mahado glanced wonderingly at the young king, his brown hair blowing also, hidden under the white, rectangular-shaped silk of his "hat", but remained silent. However, loud voices quickly broke the peaceful silence in the palace's yard. The noise came from the guards, shouting:
"Hello there!"
"Stop!"
"You're not allowed in here!"
"Ouch!... He bit me!"
The Pharaoh turned his head around in alarm, as well as Mahado. The two of them stared at the port to the palace, where the sweaty guards tried to stop a youngster get in. His dark brown eyes were filled with tears, as he struggled to get in, kicking, biting and punching, as his blue hair tickled his face, shining out of sweat.
"Pharaoh! My Pharaoh! Please let me in!" he cried.
"What's this going on? Why are you hurting the youngster?" the Pharaoh demanded to know as he watched the guards, whom bowed their heads in shame.
"… We… we were trying to defend the palace, Pharaoh", a guard managed to say, trying to look the Pharaoh in the face, but the fierce look in the Pharaoh's eyes
made him look down again.
"Defend the palace?" Mahado frowned. "From a starving youngster, who has practically no energy left to fight? Shame on you, guards! Shame on you."
The Pharaoh turned to the youngster, whom bowed in politeness.
"What is your errand now, my friend?" the Pharaoh asked him kindly, smiling. He put his hand under the youngster's chin, making him look up. "Stand up, you're making yourself dirty in the sand."
"Pharaoh", the youngster began, "My grandfather is old, but strong. He has caught an illness, and we don't know what it is – not a single medicine can cure him, according to the healers we've met on our road to the palace, my Pharaoh… therefore, my errand here is to seek the only medicine for my grandfather. We can give up all our riches just to cure him – and to cure our happiness. That is my only request, Pharaoh…"
"How ridiculous!" a guard snorted. "Making a request from the Pharaoh…! Who do you think you are, huh?"
The Pharaoh gave the guard a piercing look, which was quite fierce. The guard fell in silence again.
"My friend, we'll fulfill your only wish…"
"… Pharaoh-sama! Pharaoh-sama…!" Mana came running out of the palace, grinning widely as she ran out of the palace, right towards the young Pharaoh, whom turned his head in astonishment once more. "You can't guess what, Pharaoh-sama!"
"Mana!" Mahado said, shocked at her behavior. "Behave!"
"… Oh, master-sama, you can't guess what either, right?... Oh, sorry, did I interrupt something…?"
"Yes, Mana, but you just came in time", the Pharaoh smiled at her. "Could you go to priestess Isis and bring her here? We need some help with healing."
"Hai!" Mana said, smiling, as she jumped onto a hazelnut-colored horse drinking water nearby, galloping off into the distance.
"Meanwhile, my friend, you can take a seat here", the Pharaoh told the stranger kindly, as he sat down, goggling curiously at the young king, not much older than himself, actually. The Pharaoh then turned to the guards. "Bring the boy water and food! He must be starved…"
"Wohooo! Here I come….!" Mana's shout could probably be heard for miles as she wildly galloped off. She knew where priestess Isis' house was, and it took too long a time to go there by foot; or to be more exact, it was funnier to go there by riding a horse. Galloping was more her type of going somewhere. Being as wild as she was, Mana loved to gallop. She was almost a horse herself, melting in together with the animal she sat on.
The sand was split to both sides as the hooves of the horse touched it. And just as it split apart, Mana saw something glimmering in it…
She stopped the horse by jumping down sideways and holding its mane so that it stopped as well, in pain. It snorted, and started to wave its tail in impatience as Mana dug in the sand for the treasure she had just spotted.
"Oh, what is this…?" she asked herself curiously as she dug out a golden pot. She turned it upside down, and a small drop of water trickled down the edge of the pot onto the water, immediately turning dry, as though the water drop had never been there. She sat on her knees, watching curiously and blinking, as she stared at the pot. She had never seen that pattern before; neither had she ever seen such a pot. Made out of pure gold! She ran her fingers on the flat surface in wonder, the pot quite hot since it had been buried in the sand. Just then, she eyed the hole where the pot had been, and gasped out aloud, as she saw a hand! It wasn't as suntanned as her own, but suntanned it was, indeed. She stared at the hand, and realized it must belong to a human either being near death or dead, and having such a great moral, she decided to dig the human out so it could be buried properly. She dug with her hands as fast as she could, throwing the sand wildly at both sides, even at the horse. The horse turned around, snorting and shaking one of its legs to shake off the sand that had been thrown at it. Mana, however, ignored him, and continued to dig, until she saw the unmistakable face of an unconscious woman. Her hair was dark brown, just as her own, but softer to the touch. It was very dirty due to the sand that had buried it. She put her index finger under the woman's nose and felt that she was still breathing, to Mana's biggest relief. She then dug out the woman; she was wearing a light brown dress, which looked quite strange, in Mana's opinion, and a pair of dark brown sandals. Mana took her in her arms, and put her on the horse, before jumping up herself, riding away towards Isis' house as fast as she could.
"Oh, my dear gods – Mana, what have you FOUND!" Priestess Isis gasped out aloud, as she ran towards the horse. Mana stopped the horse right in front of Isis, and then jumped off the horse, to face the woman in front of her. She had black hair, soft as silk, which was well hidden under her "hat", just like Mahado's own, just that Mahado's was dark brown and long, not black, but both persons' hair were well hidden under their "hats", and both had soft and smooth hair. Isis' hair was well hidden under white silk sewed to a golden thing, that looked like a strange rainbow. In the middle of the "rainbow", was a bird's head. Its eyes were pure rubies, and its beak sharper than a needle; its wings were stretched out, and where the wings united, was a small gemstone, well recognized as an emerald. She was wearing a white silk dress, with a golden belt. The upper edge of her dress was made of gold as well, a flat sapphire attached to it. She wore two bracelets, one with golden edges and with a sapphire surface, smooth to the touch on her right arm, and a longer one made out of gold on her left arm. What covered her sleeveless upper part was a long, white silk cape, attached to the Millenium Tauk around her neck.
"I've got a task for you, Priestess Isis, from Pharaoh", Mana explained, "And on my way here, I found this woman. I think she's badly wounded; she must have been wandering around in the desert for weeks. Her golden pot is emptied out of water, and she's probably starving. She's still alive, though", she added.
"Well, she can thank the gods that she is!" Priestess Isis burst out, quite upset by the sight. "Senet, come here!"
"Yes, mistress?" A head peeked out from the opened door to Priestess Isis' house. Her hair was black as a raven's, but unlike Priestess Isis' hair, it was short, and looked quite stiff. It barely even moved in the wind that tickled their cheeks. Her eyes were dark violet, and her skin well suntanned. She was wearing a bracelet quite alike Priestess Isis' own, but it was made out of silver instead of gold. "Do you seek me?"
"Yes, I do. Come out, Senet."
Senet stepped out doubtfully, eyeing the unconscious woman in fright. She was wearing a white dress as short as Mana's, but it was also alike Priestess Isis' own. But it was also tighter and glued to her body, making her look more like a statue than a living human. Mana frowned at her. She had never really liked Senet. Her cowardice made her quite annoyed.
"She isn't dead, Senet. Nothing to be afraid of", Priestess Isis told her, crossing her arms. "Bring her inside the house into the shadows, and dry her face with a wet towel. I'll come later and give you instructions."
"Hai!" Senet answered, and walked towards the horse carefully, taking the unconscious woman onto her back and going just as carefully back into the shadowy house. Priestess Isis' eyes followed her closely, as well as Mana's, before she turned to Mana again.
"Well, Mana, what is Pharaoh's order?"
"Somebody's sick, Pharaoh needs medicine", Mana quickly explained, just as fast as usual. Isis couldn't help but smile at Mana's quick words, and then turned to the house.
"I'll pack my medicine, and tell my servant what to do with the unconscious woman. Tell Pharaoh that I'll be coming soon… is that understood, Mana?"
"Hai!" Mana quickly jumped back onto her horse, and before she had sat properly, the horse yelled out aloud and galloped back towards the palace. Isis sighed, and still with crossed arms, went back into the house.
"Urgh… I hate these kinds of tasks", Senet muttered for herself as she put the white towel into the brown, neatly made bowl and dried the woman's face with the towel. The woman's face was practically covered in sand thanks to the oily sweat which worked as glue. She gulped, as she heard footsteps. She whirled around to see priestess Isis come in, looking quite serious. The living room was quite shadowy and nice to be in such hot days as these. The woman covered the entire sofa with her body, and priestess Isis eyed her, and then turned to Senet.
"Senet, I want you to bring Water of Life from the Dream Temple. Then come back and feed her only that, sometimes rice as well."
"R-rice!" Senet gasped. That was a luxury that only a few were allowed to eat. "I mean… hai, mistress."
"She's badly wounded, not psychically, really, but mostly her lungs. The Water of Life refreshes her throat somewhat, and together with the rice, she'll wake up quite soon, I believe. But do lock the door when you leave, Senet."
"… Hai", Senet gulped.
"Good. And leave her alone in the house, so she won't run away if she wakes up."
"… Hai", Senet said, the more nervous at the thought of her trying to run away.
"Yo, Senet-sama! Nice to see you again", the monk grinned. Senet tried not to make a grimace out of disgust as she greeted the monk in the temple. He was bald, with light grey eyes, and he was wearing a dark blue cloth.
"… Hello… monk-sama", she said, forcing a smile onto her downpointing lips. She did not know his name, and even if she had known, she did not wish to say it. Saying "monk" was also more polite, in her own opinion. She had to be polite to the monks, because they were of higher rank than her, but she did not like the monk that worked as guard for the temple, because she knew he liked her, and he was downright annoying.
"What are you doing here today?" he winked. "Looking for me?"
He leaned closer, grinning foolishly. She tried to fight the instinct to push him away or yell at him, but instead, continued to smile as much as she could.
"No, I'm not. I'm looking for Water of Life from the temple's very own well."
"Water of Life?" the monk frowned, withdrawing back to his own position. "… What do you need that for? For Priestess Isis?"
"Yes, actually. She has ordered it, anyway", Senet said, clearing her throat. "Would you please show me there, now?"
"Of course", sighed the monk, and handed her a beautifully shaped urn. It had beautiful patterns of people on it, and it was made by the finest pottery in the entire Egypt. Senet looked with greed at the urn, wishing it was her own. She sighed, too, because she really wanted that urn. It was worth a whole handful of gold, and even more; but she couldn't sell it, because it was not hers. If she sold it somewhere, people would get suspicious, and she'd be fired, and would no longer be Isis' apprentice.
"Here…"
The monk showed her in, making a gesture towards the opened door. Senet went in without another word, not wasting her time with speaking too much. She went towards the pond, which was as big as an entire lake. It almost took an hour to swim from the left side to the right. The walls were dark blue, and the floor was made of white marble, which was cool to the touch. The pond's water surface tempted her; she felt for dipping her foot in the water, because it was a hot day, and the water was certainly cool; but she was not allowed to. The Water of Life was very rare, and only used for sick people. It was said that if a dead person lied in that water, and his heart was pure, then he'd get his life back, if somebody offered his life for him instead.
"Oh, it looks so cool", she wailed quietly for herself. "If only…"
But it was no time for 'if only's. Instead, she did as she had been told. She sank the beautiful urn into the water with a small, popping sound that was very delicate and tempting in her ears, and filled it slowly with water. The sound of the water filling the urn was lovely. It clucked wonderfully, and she just got thirstier by listening. At last, it was entirely filled, and she went back to the horse, looking longingly back at the water surface, only small waves moving across the water.
"… Ah… Pharaoh-sama! Master-sama!" Mana shouted, as she rode her horse back the same road.
"Mana!" Mahado burst out, looking horrified at Mana. "What have you done with your clothes...!"
"Oh… that", Mana said distractedly, as she blinked, astonished, at her dress. "I was digging in the sand –"
"Mana!" Mahado burst out half accusingly, half sternly.
" – Master-sama – please listen… well, I saw something strange in the sand… and then I found an unconscious woman!"
Mahado stared at her in disbelief, before giving her a look of strictness, folding his arms.
"Mana, this isn't the time for jokes. Pharaoh-sama is very busy –"
"Master-sama!" Mana exclaimed, upset. "I'm not joking at all! I found an unconscious woman, and I brought her to priestess Isis' house and informed her of her task! She did as she was told, while her apprentice, Senet, went to the temple for Water of Life!"
"Is this true?" Mahado demanded to know, looking at her dead-seriously, still looking stern.
"Master-sama!" She looked half startled, half pleading at the priest, and he sighed, and turned to the Pharaoh.
"Pharaoh-sama…", he began, but the Pharaoh cut across him:
"Let the woman rest at priestess Isis' home, until she's fully awake and can tell us why she's here, and how she came here, and everything we need to know. Since priestess Isis is fully capable of taking care of an unconscious human, I'm quite sure she'll do fine." He then smiled at Mana. He could sense her excitement behind all her panic. "She's still alive, yes?"
"Yes, Pharaoh-sama", Mana immediately responded.
"Then leave, and bid my message to Isis' apprentice", the Pharaoh finished, and with a swift 'Yes, Pharaoh-sama', Mana jumped onto her horse and was off on her way to Isis' house again.
Senet looked at the unconscious woman on the sofa and bit her lower lip. She hated this kind of thing. What if that woman woke up, and was all… violent and aggressive? Would she attack her? Senet would've to stay still. She had to follow her orders, or she'd be kicked out of the palace. Nowhere in the world was safe, she had learnt from her mother, except the palace.
When she was a little girl, she had lived in the far west of Egypt. When she was eight years old, warriors came to that part of Egypt and started their killing tournament. She and her mother escaped from the town, sound and safe, they thought – but they met bandits on their way there and her mother was killed. Eight years old, she ran all the way to Egypt's capital. There, she survived by begging and living on other women's mercy. She didn't dare bother the men; she had learnt that they were too aggressive and violent to listen – they only acted, never spoke.
The Pharaoh, whom was her own age, had that day walked out of the palace with his father to see his people. As the other folks made way for the Pharaoh, she accidentally tripped over a stone and fell right into his way. The others started booing and demanded to execute her, but the prince accused them for being merciless and brought her into the palace. There, she lived as a servant before becoming priestess Isis' apprentice.
She had really no real friends in the palace. She hung sometimes around Mana, but she was too wild for her taste. They didn't get along at times, where Mana got frustrated at her cowardice, while she got angry with Mana's taste for wild things. Spying on the Pharaoh was not a problem for Mana at all, while Senet could cower in her chamber for days after doing such a thing. She still remembered when she was fourteen; Mana had confided her to spy on Pharaoh for a secret meeting, and worst of all, they were revealed. They had been greatly punished, and Senet had cried for days. She didn't speak to Mana for months after that happening, and she felt extremely guilty afterwards.
If you said that was because of her angelic mind, no, it wasn't. Senet had never thought herself as an angelic person. She was full of hatred and greed, she knew that quite well, only that she masked the bad sides with a mask of cowardice and anxiety, while she herself could bubble with violent thoughts when smiling falsely and giving 'nice' comments. To the others, she was a 'sensible, angelic girl', while she knew herself better than that. She was devilish, full of hatred and greed and envy, and she was a coward whom only cowered under the Pharaoh's protection to survive.
She glanced at the woman again, and gulping, she cautiously took off the warm towel and put on another wet one, wet with the Water of Life. The woman gasped for breath suddenly, but fell silent again. Cowering towards the wall, Senet only tilted her head to shoot another terrified glance at the woman. She had gone quiet again, but her mouth was half-open. Her lips were dry, she could see. She needed water. Gulping again, Senet slowly tiptoed forward as she took the golden goblet from the table and filled it with Water of Life, which was clear as a mirror, and reflected her anxious, pale face along with the sunlight. The splashing sound made her feel safer as she put the goblet gently to the girl's lips and slowly let the water go down. When the goblet was emptied, she put it back on the table, and tiptoed away, before she heard a clear, loud groan.
With a horrified gasp, she ran for the door, and once she was safely outside in the hot sunshine of Egypt, she panted to catch her breath in panic.
She then brandished a silvery knife, which shone in the sunlight. She gulped, as a droplet of sweat trickled down her head, and she walked inside, facing the woman, whom looked confused.
"Don't come close!" Senet gasped as the woman walked towards her, her dark-brown hair filled with sand. "Please! Don't harm me!"
She put the knife in front of her.
"If you do…", she said, a bit hesitantly. The woman stopped, and spoke in a strange language. She made gestures with her hand. Senet shook her head.
"I don't understand you", she said.
"You speak Egyptian. Alright", the woman said calmly. "I forgot I was in Egypt."
"So you know where you are?"
The woman shook her head, her sapphire-blue eyes piercing into Senet's dark violet orbs.
"You're in Priestess Isis' house. Does that name sound familiar to you?"
The woman shook her head again.
"I do know that a priestess is an important person", the woman added when Senet looked in disbelief at her. "But I don't know who Priestess Isis is. Are you Priestess Isis?"
Senet let out a small laugh. She? Priestess Isis?
"Do I look like an important person?"
She gestured at her outfit, and then eyed the stranger's one. She was not wearing Egyptian clothing… who was she? A foreign princess?
"No offense, but you don't", the woman said slowly, after eyeing Senet up and down. "So, who're you?"
"I'm Priestess Isis' apprentice… Senet. But who are you?" Senet didn't feel as anxious anymore. Even if she was still having a tight grasp on the knife, she had sunk it.
"My name is βερίκοκο", the woman said, pronouncing every letter carefully.
"Uh… what?" Senet said, looking quite confused.
"It's… Greek." The stranger sighed. "I don't have any Egyptian name. I'm sorry, Senet. I'm nameless. Because, my name is no longer βερίκοκο. I used to be her. But I'm no longer her. I became a slave, after the terrible war that is now shaking Greece, while we're resting in the shadow of a house from the sun."
"Oh, I see. Greece…", Senet mumbled excitedly. She had never been a clever girl, and she had never learnt much. She only ran errands for Priestess Isis. Greece sounded exotic… new… and fascinating. She felt tempted to ask more questions about Greece.
"My name means apricot", the woman smiled. "In Greek. Ironically enough, I love apricots; they taste and smell so sweetly." She giggled.
They heard a gasp and twirled around. Priestess Isis stared, shocked, at her apprentice and the awakened maiden.
"Mistress!" Senet bowed. Priestess Isis seemed to calm down, and eyed the woman with the Greek name, whose head was bowed. She was shuffling her feet a bit nervously.
"Don't be afraid", Priestess Isis said gently to the woman, "You're welcome to stay as long as you like as long as you don't break the palace's rules." The woman seemed to relax. "Who're you?"
"It's a long story… I was just about to begin… mistress", the woman said uncertainly, not knowing what to call her. Priestess Isis laughed.
"You don't need to call me mistress. Call me Priestess Isis, if you like, but if mistress sounds better to you, call me that."
"Yes, mistress", the woman said, a bit more eagerly, "I come from Greece…"