Chapter 5: The Golden Sands of Egypt

Against all odds, Arthur made a full recovery. He found himself, again, being summoned for answers he just didn't have.

Serving girls cooled Pharaoh by waiving enormous fans, as he sat upon his mighty throne questioning Arthur, "I gave no one permission to damage my property. I've heard whispers that you were pushed. I demand to know by whom, and why?"

Arthur swallowed hard. "Apologies, my lord, but I do not recall the one who nearly ended my life, or what I'd done to displease them."

Pharaoh pounded his fist on the armrest of his throne. "Is there anything you remember, prior to making a crater in the earth with your body?! Anything at all?!"

"Nothing of consequence, your majesty."

"I'll be the judge of what is consequential."

"Just the scent of mangos. This strange detail stuck out in my mind, but provided no real answers."

The slaves who'd witnessed the attempted murder of Arthur were too terrified to come forward, a sign that it was a person of high social rank. Why would anyone of nobility bother to assassinate a slave? Their motives were inconceivable. For obvious reasons, Pharaoh needed to know the motives of those he surrounded himself with. Pharaoh released Arthur with a wave of his hand. This conversation was over but the investigation was only just beginning.

Arthur returned to work in the palace of his sovereign. The soaring pillars and graceful chambers of alabaster stone had never looked more exquisite. The burning incense, rich with fragrance, had never smelled so sweet and enchanting. Arthur had cheated death and he was seeing life through different eyes.

He glanced up from the chore he was performing. He noticed that Gwen was deep in thought. He carried on preparing a soothing bath for her, in hope that she would relax and share her thoughts.

Princess Gwen bent low to lift her kitten into her arms, gently stroking the creature's fur as it purred in gratitude. Egypt had proven fond of cats; in fact, they looked upon the animals with a divinity. Gwen was grateful for this. Her cat Ra, named in honor of the sun god, was the only member of her household she'd been allowed to bring.

Ewan came to attend a school for healers and expand his medical knowledge, but he wasn't allowed anywhere near her.

Gwen often missed her home. It was greener and quite a bit lovelier than the desert lands of Egypt. The Nile River branched through Egypt like the veins of one's body pumping life into this world of never ending golden sands.

Gwen set her kitten down on the floor of her palace chamber and walked out on her balcony. She stood with her forearms resting on the cool stone banister, catching a shiver from the chilly desert night.

A myriad of gleaming stars stretched overhead with no remnants of a moon. The mighty Pyramids of Giza and the Great Sphinx, with its lion-like body and human head, stretched out before her as she imagined life with her husband to be.

Physically Emperor Helios was striking but Gwen knew little of his heart. He claimed to love her as he did all his brides, but if he knew her darkest secret would he still be making such passionate claims or would he have her executed?

In her three months in Egypt, Pharaoh had spoken with her only twice just to see how her training was progressing. All of Pharaoh's brides had to be trained for many moons before he would go forward with the wedding. Gwen's trainer was Arthur. He'd been wonderful to her and assured her during times when she doubted herself the most that she would be the greatest bride yet.

At the sound of a small hand bell Gwen turned to find Arthur was finished filling the enormous marble tub. It was built into the floor, and the surface of the water was covered in flower petals.

"Thank you." She smiled pleasantly at him as she made her way back into the chamber.

Arthur dutifully unwrapped Gwen's beaded loincloth, her only article of clothing. The rest of her body was merely covered in shimmering gold paint with decorative black lines. Pharaoh Helios liked to keep his brides as naked as possible, but the only men allowed to touch them were harem boys like Arthur: hapless eunuchs who'd been butchered as defenseless children.

Arthur removed her heavy gold armbands and the dazzling headband, which sat atop her raven hair. Gwen tied her beaded hair on top of her head as she slipped into the warm sweet smelling bath. She was careful not to wet the hundreds of meticulously woven braids that Arthur had spent all day doing.

Arthur smiled thoughtfully at her consideration. The one good thing about being a eunuch is how much time I get to spend with Gwen. We've become close, but I can tell she is hiding something from me. She's afraid and I don't know why.

Arthur began to clean away her heavy black eyeliner, and sponge the golden paint from her breasts, arms, and belly. She closed her eyes and leaned back, allowing him to work his magic. It felt amazing as always, but tears streamed from the creases of her shut eyes.

"Am I being too rough, Princess," Arthur asked with concern.

"No," she wept as the residual eye makeup stung her obsidian eyes.

"Please tell me what you are afraid of," Arthur implored as he continued to bathe her. "I'm your friend. I want to help you."

"No one can help me." She shut down like a steel trap.

Arthur sighed deeply and finished her bath. He toweled her off and tucked her into bed. He extinguished the torches on her walls and was about to leave when she spoke at last, "come to me, Arthur."

He walked over in the now dark room, "Princess?"

She pulled back the cover for him and he climbed in with his best friend. She asked him hesitantly, "do you ever miss having your… your…"

"It's hard to miss what you never had," he answered honestly. "I was little more than a toddler when Pharaoh had me cut."

She sniffled. "Do you ever have desires?"

Arthur was grateful that the darkness of the room hid the huge blush in his cheeks. "Only one in ten slaves survives a full castration, where the surgeons take most of the stem along with the berries. In order to have a squadron of twenty harem boys Pharaoh must have 200 children butchered, 180 of which would bleed to death."

Gwen's hand shot to her mouth in horror.

Arthur calmed her and explained, "that was too much slave labor to lose, so Pharaoh ended the practice of full castrations, and went with a safer procedure. I was fortunate that he only took my berries; he left the stem. I sometimes get a bump down there when I'm working in the harem or tending to one of the brides but I would never harm you," he promptly assured.

"I didn't think you would," she quickly assured him.

"Then why are you asking me these things?"

She answered his question with a question, "does that mean that you can make love, that you can fall in love?"

"I… I suppose so. I never gave it much thought," That was a lie. I've thought of it every second since I met you. It makes no sense that I have desires at all. The purpose of mutilating a slave is to ensure that he can serve and defend Pharaoh's women without being tempted to bed them. "Why are you asking me these questions?"

"I… I don't know." she broke down.

He pulled her into his arms, placing gentle kisses upon her forehead. "I have been honest with you, Princess Guinevere. It is time you were honest with me."

"I want you to make love to me, Arthur. If you cannot I'll understand, but I want us to love one another before I die."

He gasped and held her even closer. "Why do you think you're going to die, Guinevere?" Her words were so shocking that he forgot to use her title.

After a silence that seemed to span an infinity she confessed, "out of pubescent curiosity and yearning I broke myself. It was stupid. I didn't realize how important a simple veil of flesh was until I was forced into this betrothal. I don't know what to do, Arthur. Pharaoh Helios is going to find out in less than a week and once he does, he'll assume another man has had me. He will cut off my head."

He tried to soothe her but he was crying too. He didn't want her to die, especially over a childish mishap, an innocent mistake.

"Make love to me, Arthur."

"No." She could feel him shaking his head against hers. "You only want to because you are scared and you are giving up, but there may be a way to remedy this."

"How?"

"It is written that every ten years the stars align and create a portal to Fertility Goddess Qetesh. We'll bring an offering and plead for her to restore that which has been broken."

"When will the stars next align?"

"Two weeks from now."

"By then it will be too late."

Arthur spoke hurriedly, "tell Pharaoh that you've done the math and you don't want your menses to fall on your wedding night. He will postpone the nuptials, and then I will tell him that you have fallen ill and everyone should stay clear of your chamber for a few days. That will give us time to make the trip and return."

"What kind of offering do I need?"

"The eyes of a Pharaoh," he admitted reluctantly. "I'm going to have to rob a tomb."

"Arthur! The tombs are heavily guarded!"

"There is no other way!"

Gwen took his hand. Her eyes were bearing into his in the dark palace chamber as she asked, "for me you would steal the eyes from a Pharaoh?"

"For you I would steal the sun itself from the mighty Ra."

Before she could stop herself, her lips were pressed against his. She was in love with this slave boy, even if he'd never be able to love her back. On natural instinct Arthur melted into the kiss for a full five seconds before his logical mind told him to break it. "You deserve more than half a man, Guinevere."

"You are more of a man than Pharaoh will ever be." She smirked devilishly. "And I'm having trouble sleeping."

He chuckled, aware of what she was asking for. "You used to protest my massages."

"Only before I knew how good they were."

Arthur pulled back her covers and wet his hands with a bottle of scented oil from her nightstand. She moaned pleasantly as his palms and fingertips glided over her supple skin and tense muscles. Arthur poured pleasure from the nape of her neck all the way down to her toes and in a single gentle motion he repositioned her, his strong hands massaged her breasts tweaking the chocolate tips as he did this. Gwen moaned in ecstasy as Arthur slowly made his way down to her center, caressing her delicate folds as she squirmed and moaned wantonly causing his fingertips to become slippery. All harem boys were well versed in the art of erotic massage, for Pharaoh was as lazy as he was lecherous and prefered that his women already be prepared to have him. This was why Arthur started massaging Gwen to get her used to his touch by the time her wedding day came. Arthur's duty was to arouse his princess but never to penetrate her. Normally she would obey and allow Arthur to do his job but tonight she could not convince herself that this was business as usual. Gwen bit her lip at the mounting passion that was threatening to over flow and she broke a rule by opening her eyes. She gasped a little at the sight of Arthur's face; his beautiful mouth gaped in pleasure.

"You're not supposed to open your eyes," he chastised her.

"And you're not supposed to be enjoying this," Her hand curiously searched out his cock which by some miracle was hard as she suspected.

Arthur moaned low and loud. His breath caught in his throat and his eyes rolled back at the ecstasy of her stroking him, "Stop it Guinevere."

She shook her head no, breathing heavily, "Take me Arthur. I know you can. You're just scared and so am I. But I want this. I want you. We're going to fix my virginity anyway. Pharaoh never has to know"

Arthur's fingers began to work at her clit once more only this time his mouth lowered to brace hers and his tongue slid between her lips. It was not appropriate to kiss a princess, that was not part of the massage but if he did not make her cum soon she would talk him into crossing a line he could never uncross. She was still stroking him kissing him, her unused hand slid up his back tossing off his Egyptian wig to tangle her fingers in the sea of blonde locks beneath.

He felt an orgasm coming on as she suckled upon his tongue and he reluctantly pulled her hand from his rod. Gwen protested. She wanted to please him as he has pleased her so many times, but Arthur pinned both of her wrists above her head with one hand while he continued to please her with the other. Soon she cried out her climax and lied trembling in his arms.

He apologized, "I'm sorry I almost crossed the line."

"And I'm sorry I tried to snatch you over it."

"Princess"

"Yes, Arthur"

He chastised her, for not only her sake, but for the good of both kingdoms, "you haven't given our glorious Pharaoh a chance."

"Pharaoh doesn't love women. He collects them."

"You've only spoken with him twice," Arthur insisted. "The royal advisor owes me a favor. I'll do everything within my power to get you an audience with Pharaoh."

Gwen thanked Arthur and hugged him tightly, "You're right. It's only fair that I give him a chance. I don't know what I would do without you."

"There's something else," Arthur spoke hesitantly. "I know it was just passion talking but you cannot say things like you want me and you love me. You just can't. It… It gets in my head. If I was whole, I would have…" He felt so ashamed that he couldn't finish the sentence.

Gwen smiled wistfully. If only you knew how much I wish you would have. It wasn't passion talking, Arthur. Those words came from my heart.

A malevolent eye left the peephole that had been bored into Gwen's wall. A sinister smirk darkened the face of the monster who'd been watching their intimate encounter, the very monster who had tried to shove Arthur to his death. I suppose the show is over for now. I thought I would have to kill Arthur, but he is proving more useful than I imagined. He and Gwen will have their heads cleaved from their bodies, and I will attain all that I desire…