CHAPTER TWO

That night Zoser decided to go to the dinner. He wanted to see the Princess again and wanted to discuss Raziel with his father. He sat in between his father and Minister Tazon, with Princess Ayena sitting next to his father and across from the Pharaoh. She and the Pharaoh were discussing the alliance between Egypt and her father's country. Raziel, who Zoser found out was her temporary guardian, put in a few words here and there, giving Zoser a chance to talk to Sabian.

"He threatened you?" Sabian asked in disbelief, after his son had told him about what had happened.

"Yes. And she was the one who started the conversation in the first place." Zoser was sort of embarrassed that he had let Raziel intimidate him but his arm was as thick as Zoser's head and he'd learned as a young boy not to mess with someone like that.

Zoser may have been muscular now but as a child he was a skinny boy who was constantly teased by the other children in the palace. He'd been born there, could never remember a time when he'd been outside the walls of the Pharaoh's lavish grounds, and had grown up with the same children all his life. He was pushed around, bruised, and beat up constantly. Raziel was all of those children rolled into one and that scared him.

"What else did he say?" Sabian inquired, taking a sip of wine. What Zoser didn't know was that the gesture was hiding a sneer of contempt.

"I don't know." He paused before telling his father what had happened. "I ran away before he could say anything else."

His father set his wine down and looked at Zoser. "You can't be serious." When Sabian realized that he was he said, "What did I tell you when you were younger? Didn't I tell you to stand up for yourself, to be a man when you were afraid of something? I'm shocked that you would run away from a problem. When you've become a minister for Pharaoh, you can't run away from things, you have to face them."

Zoser refrained from saying what he was thinking: What if I don't want to be a minister?

Ever since he could remember his father had been preparing him to take his place as minister. He knew that Sabian wanted him to become Prime Minister. He had heard his father many a night asking the gods to help Zoser achieve greatness. He wanted to make his father proud, wanted to make him happy but he also wanted to be happy himself. He knew that he would be even more miserable than he was now if he became a minister. It was a double-edged sword, one that he dreamed of often. Most of the dreams involved the sword, held by his father, being driven through his chest. As he died his father would become the Pharaoh dressed as the Prime Minister. Then as he took his last breath the Pharaoh's face became his own.

He shook the dream from his head and looked past his father to the Princess. She was thanking the Pharaoh for his hospitality. She had changed again and was now wearing a light blue dress with gold trim. It looked amazing against her dark skin. He felt himself being watched and knew, without looking, that it was Raziel's eyes boring into him. He tore his gaze away from Ayena and took a sip of his wine.

After the meal women came into the dining hall and danced for the Pharaoh and his dinner guests. The Pharaoh's wife, Kaia, looked at her husband, as she always did when it came to this part of the meal, knowing that he would go to the dancers' quarters later on during the night and choose one to make love to. No woman dared go against the Pharaoh's wishes, even Kaia, who wished that he would make love to her instead. Zoser knew this because he'd overheard her telling that to one of her handmaidens. He knew a lot of things that he shouldn't have and, had he not been so young and so uneducated in the ways of the world, this would have made him a very dangerous and very powerful young man. But Zoser was, although unhappy with his life as a minister's son, respectful of the Pharaoh and his family. He would never tell anyone the things that he knew because he knew that if he did he would be silenced in a rather unpleasant way.

Raziel asked if he could be excused and the Pharaoh was now talking to the Prime Minister so the Princess was free to talk to Zoser again. Zoser, his insides churning, quietly left his seat and walked over to Ayena. He hoped that nothing would be said. The Pharaoh became quite insulted when someone got up without being told that they could.

"Your majesty," Zoser whispered when he had reached Ayena's chair. He was kneeling beside it and he saw her jump a bit when he spoke.

Pharaoh laughed loudly at something Uzrel said. Ayena looked down at the attractive youth, not sure what to do. She knew that if Raziel came back she would be in trouble. He had told her not to speak to Zoser, but she found herself attracted to him, nevertheless.

"Hello, Zoser." She murmured, barely moving her lips.

"I wish to speak with you again." He said, remembering their earlier conversation. Then he added, "Without any interruptions from Raziel." He saw her nod so he continued. "Will you meet me in the gardens later tonight?"

She thought about it, knowing that Raziel was going to be in another part of the palace and so would her handmaidens. In fact, the only things that stood in her way were the two guards that were to stand outside her door every night she stayed at the palace. But she knew that she could get past them easily. She nodded slightly. "Yes," she replied. "I'll be there."

Zoser grinned at her, then said, "I will see you then."

Not thinking, he stood up right next to her seat. Pharaoh saw and said, "Young man, what are you doing? You are supposed to ask permission to leave your seat."

"Yes your majesty." He said. Zoser had always been a quick thinker. "I would have asked permission, Sire, but Princess Ayena's earring was going to fall to the floor and I wanted to catch it before it did so."

The Pharaoh nodded. "Ask permission next time, Zami."

Zoser, who had sat down in his seat again, was about to correct the Pharaoh for the second time that day but Sabian, knowing what his son was thinking, put a hand on Zoser's shoulder before he could say anything. It was most likely a test to see if Zoser had learned his lesson, Sabian explained. And he was right, for the Pharaoh smiled and nodded in approval. Zoser let out a sigh of relief, as did Sabian. Raziel was back the next minute and Zoser decided to keep his eyes off of Ayena until that night in the garden. His heart pounded as he imagined walking the grounds with the beautiful woman. He began asking the gods to speed time up so that he could be with the Princess as soon as possible.

() () () () ()

That night the pair met in the gardens. The moon was full and bright and its pure light shone down on each of the magnificent plants that Zoser and Ayena looked at. They talked softly about such things as her homeland, Egypt, their fathers, and their pasts. Zoser decided to leave a few details out and felt bad that he was doing so, but he had never met a woman as wonderful as this one and he didn't want to scare her off. Ayena kept a respectful distance between the two of them and Zoser realized that she didn't trust him yet. He'd change that in a hurry.

"Princess?" He said when they had stopped to look at a certain flower.

"Yes, Zoser?" Her voice was as smooth as silk.

"I want to show you something, if you'll let me." He gazed into her beautiful eyes, the moonlight showing on them, and he was sure that he'd heard her gasp just a bit. "It's just past here. It won't take long."

She seemed to think about it, then nodded. "I'd be delighted."

He put an arm around her shoulder and there it was: the slightest intake of breath fell upon his ears. He smiled. But little did he know, right now two men were discussing his future and had come to a decision that would change his life forever.