After the burial of Prince Aten, it had been a very sad week in the Palace but something good had come out of it. The bond that Loretta & Atem shared had now strengthened greatly & the pair were now closer than ever.
The young Princess on the other hand still didn't have a name so one had to be thought of quickly considering it was coming up to the time of the welcoming ceremony, sitting on her bed, Loretta sat feeding the young princess marvelling at how alike she was to her Father, "How I wish your brother was still alive" said Loretta to her child as she looked down with a sad smile on her face, running her fingers gently through the babies blonde bangs.
Having had her fill the Young Princess hiccuped & looked up at her Mother reaching up & pulling her hair "Ow, hey you little tiger, that hurt" Loretta mock scolded tickling the little one's ribs, picking the baby up & putting her over her shoulder to burp her Loretta looked at the young one out of the corner of her eye "Hmm, what are we going to name you..." Loretta started as she was cut off by a loud belch from the small child, making both giggle "Excuse you, young lady...Hey...What about Saquera (Shakira), do you like that name Saquera" said Loretta as held Saquera in her arms & nuzzled her nose into Saquera's stomach making her giggle.
"Hmm, Saquera...Saquera Rachelle Tutankhamun..." "That sounds lovely" came a deep baritone voice from the doorway "dont do that Atem, you scared me," said Loretta placing her hand over her rapidly beating heart & trying to calm her breathing down "Im sorry Loretta, I didnt mean to frighten you, I thought you had seen me...That was a beautiful name you came up with" said Atem as he walked over & sat next to Loretta on the bed gazing lovingly at his daughter "Thank you, Atem I just wish I would've come up with it sooner" Loretta chuckled sheepishly "at least our little Princess has a name now & just in time for the ceremony tomorrow, oh...I actually came to tell you that its dinner time" "would you like to hold her..." said Loretta as she looked down at Saquera who was now sound asleep in her arms "Um, maybe not, maybe after we've had dinner she might be awake"
Walking into the dining room with Atem each Royal court member stood up out of there seat to bow to Loretta as she walked past, getting to the head of the table with Atem, Loretta looked down the table & gave them all a nod to sit back down & carry on with their meal, "Loretta, what would you like to eat" Atem said gesturing to the food set out on the long wooden table "Anything will do Atem but not to much please" "Oh, are you ok Loretta" he questioned tilting his head to the side "I think i had too much for lunch & its still sitting in my stomach but I'm ok, I promise" Loretta said putting her hand on top of Atem's & caressing it with her thumb "Excuse me, your Majesty," said Isis coming up next to Loretta & bowing "Oh, hello Isis, what can I do for you" "Would it be ok if I took the young Princess while you ate your dinner" Isis said with a hopeful look on her face "Thank you very much Isis, She's starting to get abit heavy on my arm anyway" Loretta giggled as she carefully handed her daughter to the Priestess trying not to wake her.
After dinner was had everyone eventually peeled off, saying their goodnights to the King & Queen & bowing respectfully, being the last couple to leave before Atem & Loretta Isis handed Saquera back to Atem before leaving with Shada to their chambers.
Being that the night was still young & Saquera was full & contented Atem took Loretta outside into the outer courtyard so they could talk without waking or keeping awake everyone else in the Palace. "What a beautiful night it is tonight, look at the stars," said Atem gazing up as the stars glistened "I only see one beautiful star" said Loretta giggling as she looked at the back of Atem's head "Hmm, what did you say Loretta...Hey! Are you making fun of my hair again" Atem said as he narrowed his eyes but gave a 'I know what you are up to' smirk.
Standing up next to her husband & running her hand past & down his cheek "Of course not Atem, your hair is beautiful..." she said cupping the side of his face "I love it & you so much" "Thank you Loretta, I know that you love me, I have never doubted it" he said kissing her nose "Maybe we should go in now, I dont want Saquera catching a cold" Loretta said pulling the blanket up around Saquera's neck up to her little ears "Would you like to take her..." Atem said with his arms out "Just be careful not to wake her & maybe you should watch out for the side of your chest plate on her cheek" Loretta said as she saw Atem's eyes move to his left shoulder "good point, just let me remove it first before I take her, I would hate to hurt my daughter" Atem said reaching around behind his neck & unclipping the big gold plate & handling it to Loretta as she carefully passed Saquera to him.
The next morning everyone in the Palace was getting ready for the welcoming ceremony & Loretta could hear the crowds starting to build around outside the Palace, putting her into a simple pink dress Loretta laid Saquera down on the bed while she herself got dressed, this was only the second time in a long time that Loretta had worn her crown "I really should wear this more often" Loretta thought to herself as she adjusted it to sit on her head better. Sticking his head through the open door Atem wolf whistled at his wife who was standing in front of the mirror putting the final touches to the kohl under her eyes "Excuse me young lady, have you seen my Queen anywhere" he said in mock concern walking around past her & running his hand around her lower back "Atem...What are you doing" she giggled, kissing his cheek when he got close enough "You look absolutely beautiful Loretta, you look like a true Queen, your Mother would be so proud of you if she saw you" he said Kissing her cheek "Thank you Atem, you are so sweet" she smiled "Are you ready? I will get Saquera for you" he offered walking over & to pick up the now awake baby.
Standing in the entrance way to the top balcony Atem & Loretta stood together as he tickled Saqueras nose making her giggle "Citizen of Egypt..." Atem announced waiting for everyone to quieten down "It is with great joy that I announce the newest member the Tutankhamun Family, Crown Princess Saquera" he finished holding Saquera up as the crowd below clapped & cheered "Long live the Pharaoh, Long live the Queen" they chanted "Thank you everybody" Atem started, raising his hand to silence his people again "I am so overjoyed to have you all here to celebrate with me but not all my news is good, unfortunately, I have bad news, there was meant to be two children born into this family but when the Princess was born, my Queen had complications giving birth to Saquera's twin brother Aten, who sadly died at birth, may his soul rest in peace" he kissed Loretta's cheek as a small stream of tears ran down his "Well done Atem, that was beautiful" she said giving him a chaste kiss as the people surrounding the palace hung their head for a moment of silence.
One whole year later Loretta observed every day how Saquera's features changed, the innocent cherubic faced baby now had sharp narrower eyes, the short black spiky hair that she once had was now past her shoulders with the ends looking like someone had dipped them in purple ink.
Loretta was amazed how fast her daughter was growing up especially one day, when during a meeting, Loretta had sat Saquera down at the foot of her throne to play with her feet & only looking away for a short moment, suddenly seeing her crawling down the steps towards Seto.
Sitting in bed together that night Atem looked at Loretta & then down to his hands that sat in his lap, clearing his throat & closing his eyes "Atem..." Loretta set a concerning glance at her husband "Is everything ok?" "I was just wondering Loretta...If you ah, um...plan to have any more children with me" he asked with a blush "Oh! What has made you ask that" Loretta smirked knowing she carried a secret "Well..." Atem coughed again clearing his throat "As you may know I will need a male heir to take my place as Pharaoh if anything should ever happen to me in the future" Atem said as Loretta started laughing "I'm sorry Atem, I just find it just amuses me that you have started talking about this" "Why, why do you find that funny, I'm serious Loretta" Atem said looking almost hurt.
Taking Atem's hand "Ive got a surprise for you," said Loretta putting it on her stomach as she saw Atem's eyes widen "Loretta...Is this true" Atem asked looking up at Loretta as she nodded "how many months are you?" "Um...Six I think" "That is amazing news, when did you find out" "Just this afternoon actually I went to see Isis after the meeting because had stomach cramp but that is only the first part of the good news" Loretta said smirking "Oh, what is the other part" Atem raised an eyebrow "We are having twins & Isis thinks that one may be a boy" Loretta said happily to Atem's shock as he sat in silence.
Taking his silence as a bad sign Loretta placed her hand on Atems shoulder "I know you are worried about me & I talked to Isis about what happened last time & we both agreed that if I start having any complications at all she will use the potion she made up for the last birth" "Ok Loretta, I trust you & Isis, she has been a very loyal member of my Royal court & she really helped out with Saquera after she was born but Im still very worried for your sake, I dont want to lose you" he said cupping Loretta's cheek in his palm "somehow I dont think these two are going to be as big as Saquera & Aten but please don't stress Atem, I will be ok" Loretta smiled softly kissing Atem's lips before she wriggled down into bed "Ok , I will try to remain positive, I love you, Queen Loretta" Atem said as he too shifted down under the blanket kissing Loretta's temple "I love you too, my Pharaoh" Loretta giggled "Goodnight" the said in unison as Atem snuggled into Loretta's back.