Chapter Two

Egyptian Prince

"Let the worries slip away

And come into my arms.

I'll protect you from all the monsters in the world."

"Did you see the look on her face? You really have been working on your powers! You scared the immortal out of them with your powers!" Eros laughed in glee as we landed on a fancy statue of an Egyptian God.

The god had a head of a bird and a body of the man. I was pretty sure it was Horus, but I couldn't be sure. We were sitting by the God's feet. The statue was painted with brilliant colors that I hadn't seen back at Mount Olympus. I wondered, secretly, how many times Eros ran away to Egypt when he was bored.

Eros pulled his wings back in and stood up as I sat down and curled my knees to my chest. He bent down to my level to see me crying. "Oh Kore, what's wroooonnnggg?" He held out the word wrong just to annoy me. "Leuke is a nymph. They aren't all that loyal anyway."

"She was to me!" I finally croaked out in a weak attempt to prove him wrong.

She'll end up alone.

I couldn't believe that she said that. About me.

You'll find your love someday, I promise.

So had she been lying to me when she said that? That had to be it. She was lying to me all this time which would have to mean she didn't care about me. She was only being kind to me because she was afraid of my mother. She never cared about me…this couldn't…this…all those times.

I buried my face in my knees.

What did I do to deserve this?

Eros huffed and spat on the ground (away from the statue). "You're a wild child, so what? Who gives a care if you're not like the other goddesses? I sure don't. The other goddesses bore me to death, but you are interesting."

I gave him a look that made him frown even deeper than before, "Lets see. Artemis won't even let me near her because all she does his hunt, my mother is always staring at a mirror, Athena is always staring at a book, Eris is always with her brother, Hera is always trying to get Zeus to stay loyal, Amphitrite is always in the ocean and just as egotistical as my mom, and-"

I grinned a little, "I get your point."

"But you're different and I like that so you won't end up alone."

"My mother hates-"

"As I said before, she's boring and over protective. Come on, I'll prove it to you."

I sniffled slightly, "Prove what?"

"That any man will fall in love with you." He grabbed my hand and we walked around, invisible to the humans. I was curious as to how he was going to prove this to me, but a strange bubbling feeling in my stomach.

The humans here spoke Egyptian with a mixture of Greek and possibly Latin. The air smelled odd with humans, foods, and animals.

"Don't you want this beautiful necklace?" A shop keeper asked someone as he held out a necklace.

The world began to spin with noises.

I looked up at my friend. "What are you doing?"

"I'm looking for the prince of Egypt. He'll fall so madly in love with you that your mother and that nymph would have to shut up." Eros held my hand while doing this.

We walked up to a large palace with even larger statues of their gods. I could name all of the Egyptian gods and goddesses by heart because I found them fascinating to be honest. They were so much more interesting then my mother and the other gods and goddesses.

Isis was my favorite. She was a mother (like my own mother), a lover (like my aunt), and most of all, a friend (like Leuke). I wish she were real. Maybe she was, but I just hadn't found her yet. She was willing to let go of Osiris who was lord of the underworld after he died and she had his child.

We walked right into the door without the guards throwing a fit. The columns were tall and high. Gold glittered everywhere in the palace and Eros had to keep tugging at my arm to stop me from walking over to it. We stumbled to a bathing area where a young man with dark skin and hair was.

He was naked.

"Eep! Eros!" I pointed to the man. "He's naked you fool!"

"Of course he is. And you're going to join him."

"I'm- WHAT?!" I yelled. My angry outburst caused flowers to bloom around me. Water lilies bloomed around the man as he jumped in surprise. Eros grabbed a chunk of my tunic and gave it a hard yank. It fell apart as I nearly fell into the water. He snapped his fingers. By the gasp coming from the young man, I was visible.

Eros was so dead once I got out of this mess!

"You might want to get into the water if you don't want him to see everything." Eros pointed out as I squeaked and got in.

The mortal prince stared at me for a moment. "Who are you?" He swam closer to me, his eyes glazed over. "No one is supposed to be in here. Not that I mind." He smiled and I felt a strange warm prickly feeling spread through my skin. He sure was pretty for a mortal.

"Umm, Kore, my name is Kore." Water lilies bloomed around me as I took a few nervous steps back and covered my chest with my arms.

"Greek?"

I nodded.

"You don't look Greek. You speak perfect Egyptian-"

Perks of being a goddess, I thought.

"And you look Egyptian."

I guess he was right. I had dark skin because I played constantly in the sun and the only thing that made me stand out was my red hair. This didn't seem to bother the prince though. And now looking at him, he was getting closer and closer to me. I gulped nervously.

I smiled, "Well, umm…well my father was part Egyptian and I'm out in the sun all the time. I really loved the warmth of…"

Try not to insult humans. Hermes had once told me that. Religion had always been something that people argued.

"The warmth of Ra's embrace," I grinned at him, hoping he would believe my lie.

His smile was warm and he lightly grabbed my hair and brought it to his lips. "I hope to learn about you, Kore. How old are you?"

"Thirteen," Eros whispered.

"Thirteen," I grinned as the prince's eye brow rose, but it looked like he believed me.

He was still playing with a piece of my hair as he grinned at me. "Where do you live? Are you a slave here?"

Now that was insulting. A slave? I'm a future goddess of the spring and he thought I was a slave?

"Kore! Yes! Yes you are!" Eros yelped. "Don't do anything stupid then you'll be proving Leuke and your mother right."

He was right. And I would rather go to the Underworld and back before letting Leuke having the satisfaction of being right.

I took a deep breath to control my temper. "Yes, I work on the gardens." I held up my hands as proof of this.

"Look at your hands!" He took my hand and traced the wounds. "So what are you doing in the royal's baths?"

Eros snorted, "Not that he's complaining."

I saw that my tunic was on the side of the pool so I swam over to it. I quickly covered my chest before getting out. There was a fresh set of wounds on my feet and legs. I showed them to his highness.

"My feet and legs were hurting, my lord." I said, a little weepy. "You must understand…"

He took my foot in his hand. "You don't have to explain."

"Ha! I told you that you could charm any man!" Eros cheered as I shot him a glare.

The prince got out of the water and I quickly tore my eyes away even though I was curious.

"It is hard," he began slowly, "to believe that I had never noticed you before." He smiled at me and I blushed. This can't be happening. I mean, think about it. I was not gifted with my mother's large breasts or…

He touched my shoulder, "Please say you will stay and celebrate the birth of Horus with us. It will be a large party with lots of food and wine…"

A party? That I was actually invited to?

Was this guy for real?

"Yes, I would love to come."

His face brightened as he took my hand.

"I will get you the finest of linen outfits and oil…oh yes, and flowers. Lots and lots of flowers for your hair and gold to decorate your body," He mumbled a few other things as I smiled.

This was nice.

The prince had taken me to a room where servants had showed me beautiful dresses and jewelry. No one seemed bothered that a strange young girl was suddenly in the palace. I had a feeling that this was because of the affect that I was a goddess. They left me and the prince promised me that he would return after Ra had fallen into the sky.

"Feels pretty good, doesn't it?" Eros smiled at me as he lay on the bed comfortably. "Its fun. Especially with queens."

"How many times have you done this?"

He shrugged, "Only when I was bored. I did it to a queen in another part of Africa once. She gave me everything I wanted."

"D-Did you do anything with her?"

Eros blushed at my question. "N-No! We just kissed and she touched me a little, but we never did that." He closed his eyes and looked away from me as he said this.

"What is a kiss like?" I asked, turning my back to him as I changed into the fine linen.

"You'll probably find out tonight by the prince."

"Will you tell me anyway?" I pleaded.

Eros didn't say anything. "I'm not sure how to explain."

000000

"Woah, she's…" Eros couldn't take his eyes off of the dancers who were entertaining the pharaoh at the moment. It was mainly due to the fact that the women didn't have any tops on. I blushed at Eros's reaction as the prince's fingers snuck there way under my hand.

They spoke in Egyptian and the lyrics made my fingers curl and my face bloom.

"Fight, fight, fight! Ra do not go to the underworld, but when you do please come back and warm us," The dancers sang in unison as everyone clapped.

The human world was so different then Olympus or the island my mother made for me. It was so loud and noisy here, but no one looked lonely. Sure, there was ugly, but the beauty back home looked superficial compared to the human world. Humans never took things for granted while Gods and Goddesses were always promised life even if there was no food or water. Humans fight to live, enjoy, and to protect their loved ones.

How very…admirable.

"Eat and drink to our goddesses and gods!" The pharaoh cheered as everyone in the room clapped. Everyone was laughing and talking with excitement that I had never felt before. Maybe it was just because I was with humans for the first time, but I just felt so…happy and free.

"Come, dance with me." The prince asked me as he pulled me up and twirled me around a few times. I followed to the beat of the drums and danced along with him. The anklets he gave me jingled and his warm hands always caught me if I spun too much. I laughed and I could feel my powers tingling my wrists. Flowers bloomed from outside and their warm fragrance blew into the palace.

I saw Eros flirting with one of the princesses who was giggling at the moment. The pharaoh was staring at me while the queen gave me an odd look. I hoped I hadn't gotten the prince into any trouble.

"Cry! Cry! Cry! Don't cry any more, goddess. Goddesses are never supposed to cry." The dancers continued to sing.

Goddesses can't cry?

I couldn't help, but think this as I spun around in circles with the prince holding my hand.

My head spun with the scent of flowers and alcohol that now burned my throat. I'm not really sure when the prince had taken me outside in the garden, but there I was. His arms wrapped around my waist and pressed me against him. I was warm and my skin felt tingly. His hot breath was in my hair.

"You are a goddess, Kore."

"Thank you, prince. But you're the real god, aren't you?" I laughed.

"Then you are my goddess."

The hold he had on me was almost crushing now.

"Kore…" He whispered as he lifted my chin for his eyes to meet mine. "Kiss me." He tilted his head slightly as my heart jumped into my throat. His chest was warm and surprisingly fragile against my fingers. Flowers bloomed and grew around me. It was finally going to happen. My first kiss.

"There you are!"

Sailor Ra: Thanks for the reviews. Seriously, thanks. Please review for this chapter if you want more chapters! Any guesses on who the voice is? I bet you guys can't guess!

I don't own the myth, just the characters.

Songs:

Poker Face by Lady GaGa

Conspiracy by Paramore