"I do not trust people who don't love themselves and yet tell me, 'I love you.' There is an African saying which is: Be careful when a naked person offers you a shirt."
― Maya Angelou

She arrived around noon that day, and when Cena saw her, she realized instantly that what people had been saying about the advisor's daughter was true. She was absolutely and undeniably beautiful. For lack of a better word, she looked perfect, and beside her, Cena felt like the ugly duckling.

Cena watched as Ketet greeted Ahkmenrah, watched as she was recieved with cheers from the crowd, watched as Ahkmenrah took her hand and as the people cheered. She watched as he kissed her so gently on the cheek, but she was filled with a feeling of relief when she saw how formal he looked. He looked as if he was kissing a distant relative on the cheek, someone he knew that he sohuld be friendly with in the eyes of his relatives, but on the inside, all he wanted to do was get as far away as possible.

Throughout the ceremony, she would catch his eye, or he would catch hers. Most of the time, one of them broke the stare for fear that someone would catch on and then they'd be exposed. But there was those rare times that neither of them could look away. The both of them would gaze at each other, blue-green locked on brown.

Ketet retreated to her room early, saying that she was tired from her journey. She didn't live close to the palace. No, she and her mother lived farther away, in an extravagant home that was beautiful, yes, but paled in comparison to the palace that Ahkmenrah lived in.

It was then that she came to his room, as she usually did. She laid out his night clothes and opened the curtains, knowing that was how he liked it. He loved feeling the breeze filter in through the window, a gentle caress on a humid night like this, when Egypt's temperature dropped.

Tonight, it was different. He entered earlier than usual, a different look in his eyes than he usually had. It was determined, passionate, set on something that he was going to do. She knew that look. It wasn't a look that she saw very often, but she knew it. It was the look in his eyes that he had when he first kissed her. She recognized it, and it almost brought color to her cheeks. Almost.

"I'll leave you now." She spoke up, feeling strangely comfortable under his gaze, although she knew that if it were anyone else looking at her in that way, she'd be extremely uncomfortable. "Goodnight." She bid him, going to walk past him.

"Not tonight." The tone in his voice was different, husky, filled with desire that sent pleasant shivers down her spine. She turned to face him, only to have him press his lips to hers, his arms winding around her waist as if they were made to fit there. She sighed blissfully, her arms going around his neck. The kisses were sweet and gentle at first, but soon turned rough and passionate. Her hands moved to his hair, gripping the tendrils as she kissed him. His fingers dug into her sides, almost hard enough to leave imprints. Still, it wasn't enough. She wanted more. She needed more.

"Ahk." She sighed, breaking apart for only a moment. He captured her lips again and she jumped, winding her legs around his waist as he caught her. He moved them to the bed, the two of them easily becoming lost in the feathered sheets in a fit of passion.

"I love you." He muttered, his eyes half-lidded, speaking nothing but desire and overwhelming attraction.

Cena gazed up at him in a similar manner, a sigh leaving her swollen, parted lips. "I love you too." She agreed. "Until my last breath and more, Ahkmenrah, I promise that I'm yours."

"That's a long time to promise, isn't it?" He asked, though the corners of his mouth were teasing with the hint of a smile, showing that he was teasing her.

Cena smiled up at him in response, nodding her head. "It is." She agreed, moving to press a kiss to the corner of his mouth. "But it doesn't seem too bad when I'm with you."

Ahkmenrah grinned like a fool in response. "Then I promise the same to you." He decided in an air of finality, sealing it with a nod of his head. "I promise that I'll never love another, so long as there's still life left in me." He paused, looking fondly at the brunette down at him, who was currently looking up at him through thick lashes. "I don't think that I ever could." He added softly.

"Isn't that touching?"

She gasped, sitting up, clutching the sheets to her chest. Luckily Ahkmenrah was still wearing his pants and so he sat up, not needed the sheet that Cena was currently clutching against her like it was her life line. Kahmenrah stepped off of the balcony, and suddenly Ahkmenrah cursed himself for constantly needed those curtains open.

"What do you want, Kahmenrah?" Ahkemnrah demanded, trying to keep control of the situation, though he knew that he was losing the reigns faster than he'd ever imagined he would.

"I don't believe that you're in a position to be giving me that attitude, brother, when you're sleeping with your servant and professing your love to her with your bride-to-be right down the hall." Kahmenrah replied, smirking. He was enjoying himself far more than he ever thought possible. "I'm just here to tell you that I now have proof of your little affair. I won't tell father though, under one condition."

"Name it." Ahkmenrah replied, almost desperately.

"You give me the throne, and we can pretend that none of this ever happened." Kahmenrah replied, playing with a candle holder that sat on his brother's dresser. "I'll forget all of this, you can keep your little servant girl, and all will be well. However, if you don't..." He paused, smirking. "I'll tell father that she's the Nubian princess and she'll be executed on the spot."

"Anyone who falls in love is searching for the missing pieces of themselves. So anyone who's in love gets sad when they think of their lover. It's like stepping back inside a room you have fond memories of, one you haven't seen in a long time."
― Haruki Murakami

AN:

MismatchedSocksandKnickers: I can't reveal anything quite yet, but don't worry, fate has it's way of working things out in the end~ Thank you so much for reading and reviewing. 3