Normally, a nice and beautiful morning would have put her in a good mood, but after a night filled with restlessness and thoughts raging through her active mind, the next morning came all too quickly to Bailey as she felt the warm rays of the sun caress her skin.

Growling, she turned over to her side, ready to try and get caught up on some much needed rest, hoping that when she woke up that it would all be just a horrible nightmare and that she would be safe and sound in the hotel room with Shala and Kahryn.

No. Unfortunately for her, the sight she had to wake up to was Bes, standing over her, with his arms crossed with a look of interest upon his face. Startled, she yelped, flinging off the sheets as she threw herself back, falling out of the bed in the process and landing hard onto the stone floor. Quickly, she attempted to regain her composure as she leaned her elbows on the mattress and pointed at him, flustered. "What the flying hell are you doing in here? Get out!"

If she wasn't awake before she sure as hell was now.

"Have you failed to notice that this palace is mine?" He replied, a smirk gradually making its way onto his face as amusement filled him. "Therefore, I am permitted to go wherever I please."

She sputtered at him. This was not how she wanted her day to start off. Fuck, she didn't want to do anything that day. Least of all she didn't want to have to deal with him. "I don't give a shit if it's your room or not, at least knock or something before barging in a room that's occupied. How long were you there anyway?"

The almighty Egyptian Gods were looking down upon her and probably laughing their fabulous, glorious asses off at her predicament.

Apparently everyone needed comic relief.

The amusement practically twinkled in his eyes as his smirk grew even wider. "Enough to hear a strange noise coming upon your mouth and to see saliva running down your chin. I had half the mind to send a servant for the healers, but you appeared to not be in any stress, so I decided against it."

Appalled. If there was one word to describe how she was feeling that would be the one. Her jaw dropped, heart skipping a beat, and her nostrils flared in outrage. "You are infuriating! You sound like a God-damned stalker! Get the hell out before I kick you out!"

This seemed to kick Bes' interest up a notch as he gave off a boisterous laugh. "I doubt that. You are short and as slim as my own mother. You could not possess the strength necessary to carry on such a feat."

Bailey snorted. "Really? As I recall I knocked you on your ass the day that we met. Please, elaborate as to how I couldn't possibly do that again."

"It was merely shock as a woman of this time would not dare think of attacking of someone of higher authority than them." He smirked. "No. I'll oblige myself and stave off your attack if you were to pursue that course of action a second time. I have battled many a time and won, Bailey. I could always send you to the dungeons with a mere snap of my fingers if that is what you would prefer?"

He was mocking her. He had the gall to enter her room and begin to relentlessly torment her. Bailey was feeling increasingly violated, and perhaps it wasn't such a big deal, but the fact that he would not move from his spot, his eyes gleaming with mirth, she was becoming more and more agitated. When her patience finally wore thin from his words she stood up, marching over to the door, she opened it and walked out.

She didn't get very far before Bes was right beside her. "You are not appropriately dressed to be walking about the palace."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." She muttered, giving him a sideways glare. "If you don't care about barging into another person's sleeping quarters than why should I give a damn about walking around the palace with nothing but my nightie on?"

"It is my palace not yours." He stated simply, giving her a concerned look. "You had missed the morning meal and instead of assigning a servant to fetch you, I myself, took the liberty of getting you. I admit I was concerned, especially after the last few days you had here. What has gotten you into such a foul mood this morning?"

She gave him a withering look. "After having a very restless sleep, I was hoping to have this day to myself, but no, I have to wake up to a guy standing over me, watching me sleep like a stalker. Gee, I wonder why I'm in such a foul mood."

Instead of coming up with a smart remark of his own like she thought that he would, he held up his hands in the universal sign of surrender instead. "I apologize for alarming you. I have a proposition for you that I wished to discuss."

Bailey wanted to jokingly ask if he was feeling sick or something, remembering well how his temperament in the books was described back home, and knowing that he very rarely gave in to showing anyone any sort of kindness was a strange sight.

She was slightly taken aback by his actions towards her. She gave him a dubious look and sighed. "Okay," she said slowly. "But...why don't we talk about it right now instead?"

He shook his head, "No. I would rather it be in a more private area. Allow us to discuss this over the midday meal?" Bes requested. Feeling slightly elated when she nodded. "Excellent. I shall leave you in order for you to dress in more appropriate attire."

Before Bailey could say anything more, Bes turned on his heel, leaving her in the corridor. Watching him walk away with a confused look, she turned, heading back towards her room.

Upon entering her room, she discarded her night clothes, rummaging through her bag and grabbed her orange and red flats, skinny jeans, and dark green tank top and began putting them on. She wondered what this proposition could be and felt slightly anxious about it.

She quickly ran her fingers through her hair before throwing it up in a messy bun. Sighing, she waited a moment before she headed out.

On her way, two younger girls stood but mere feet away from her and bowed, introducing themselves as Amunet and Nani. Feeling a bit awkward Bailey cleared her throat. "Ah, please ladies, don't bow."

"We apologize m'lady. What would you rather us do?"

She shook her head, shrugging. "Uh, nothing...just say hello. I don't know. And enough with the 'my lady' crap. It's annoying. Just call me Bailey."

Amunet and Nani exchanged knowing glances. "Apologies, it is just we had been ordered to greet you as such."

"By who?"

"His Excellency."

"Really?" Bailey sighed, really wanting to know what Bes was up to and felt frustrated that it seemed like every single person within the palace knew of what he wanted to discuss with her but her. Rubbing her hand over her face she looked at the two and, finally noticing that they also carried supplies, asked about them. "Why do you have that for?"

"To get you ready for your meal with the King."

"I'm already ready." Bailey almost winced at how childlike her response was. She hated being babied with a passion. "I know how to bathe and get dressed all on my own. You don't have to add on to your chores, girls."

"It is of no worries to us. We have been reassigned to be your own personal maids."

That stopped her right in her tracks. Her jaw dropped. "Excuse me? I don't need maids. I do know how to do stuff for myself just fine. Do you have any idea what Bes is playing at? I want a way home, not a way for me to stay here."

"We have an idea, but we are not to speak our minds lest the guards hear us and we will be given fifty lashings for it," Nani replied quietly, her dark eyes darting from one end of the corridor to the other, relaxing slightly when she saw that the guards weren't paying attention. Or, at least, they didn't seem to be paying attention.

"I'm getting sick and tired of the control he has on you guys," Bailey muttered angrily to herself. "I'm just getting frustrated with feeling out of the loop, I mean, what the hell does he have up his sleeve that needs all of this?"

Amunet gave her a timid smile. "All will be said and done shortly, my lady. Stay patient."

"It's Bailey." She corrected, giving the young girl an amused grin. "And patience has never been one of my virtues, and, I guarantee you, that it never will be."

Both girls gave her response a small laugh as they requested that she put on some different clothes for the meal. At least she could change later, she mused.

Once they were back inside Bailey's room, the girl's began their diligent work in dolling her up, so to speak. They spoke low to each other as they discussed the best course of action. It felt like an eternity had passed before everything was finished.

Looking into the mirror that they gave her, Bailey peered at her reflection and gasped. Her lips were painted with a deep red, her eyes were outlined with black, and a slight shimmer covering the lids. Her hair was straightened, with golden beads weaved in.

The clothes she had been wearing had been tossed onto the bed and she was now dressed in a beautiful, yet slightly see-through, white wrap-around robe type of dress that reached her mid-calf. A thick gold belt wrapped around her waist, matching the gold bracelets and anklets she wore. On her feet she wore flat sandals with golden coloured ribbons that wrapped around her legs and tied just beneath the hem of the dress.

All-in-all, Bailey was quite impressed by her sudden transformation.

She was brought out of her thoughts when someone cleared their throat behind her. Whirling around, she realized that it was Bes, standing there with his hands clasped behind his back. His eyes were studying her and he nodded as though he was pleased by what he saw.

"You look as beautiful as Isis herself." He admitted in a whisper, walking closer to her.

Bailey felt her face heat up as she had never heard such a compliment before. She swallowed for a moment before in a quiet voice said, "Thank you."

A moment of silence fell over them and Bailey felt slightly uncomfortable. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him staring at her. "What brings you here? I thought I was going to meet you at the meal hall?"

"I had another place in mind for our meal. Please, allow me to escort you to the gardens where we'll have more privacy and not be in the confines of the palace," he replied while holding out his arm in an invitation. Bailey hesitated a moment, wondering whether or not she should oblige him, uncertain if he was playing some sort of game at her expense. A small sigh escaped her throat as she snaked her arm through his, permitting him to lead her to the gardens were located.

As the two of them walked down the corridor butterflies were flying uncontrollably in her stomach, as a feeling she couldn't explain formed and settled in the pit. Bailey found herself focusing more on keeping her breathing normal than she was paying attention to the directions they were taking. It seemed strange.

Just what exactly did everyone else know that she didn't? The question popped up in her mind once again.

As the gardens came into view, she could, out of the corner of her eyes, see Bes opening up his mouth and closing it again. She could tell that he wanted to speak to her, but didn't know how to start or if she even wanted to talk.

After the third time of him doing this, Bailey broke down, asking if he was alright. His response was a small smile, shaking his head. She rolled her eyes, aggravated. This type of game they were playing was starting to really grind her nerves and patience to its last, thin strand.

Hopefully, as soon as they arrived at the gardens, he would bring up what he wanted to discuss with her, because, if he didn't, she was going to lose her blasted mind.

When they finally reached the gardens, Bailey was greeted by sunlight, the sound of running water, birds chirping, and the sweet smell of various types of flowers. Bringing in a contented sniff of air she smiled. She was amazed. The place was utterly beautiful and kept in excellent condition.

It could easily be somewhere she could lose herself whenever reality became too much to handle.

Upon going around a large cluster of orchids and lilies, she was slightly surprised to see a long, stone table, with intricate designs running along the sides and legs of it. Six wooden chairs aligned each other on either side. On one end two goblets sat, with three plates filled with bread, fruit, and vegetables.

"Sit." Bes commanded and Bailey fought down the sudden urge to bark at his order, but with him being unusually polite, she thought better as she muttered her thanks and took the offered seat, watching as he sat down across from her.

As they ate in awkward silence, her stomach began doing flips, her mind going over various scenarios that caused her anxiety to flare up even more. The Pharaoh seemed to notice her unease and he cleared his throat, capturing her attention. Hazel orbs met dark brown ones as the held each others gazes for a moment before the contact was broken.

Placing his utensils down, he leaned forward, making eye contact with her again before he said something that she never, not in a million years, could have imagined coming from him. Especially not considering the way they reacted around one another. It was insane on the face of it, he couldn't truly mean it, and yet he said it.

"Bailey, I should like to take you as my Queen."