– Arius –

The reactions I got from the people I passed as I rode Neshny through the city of Thebes and in through the gates of the palace, was exactly what I had imagined.

Shock.

Pure shock.

I couldn't blame any of them, though.

They had spent the past two weeks thinking I was dead.

But I wasn't. I was alive, and despite the slight sharp pain in my abdomen, I was fine.

No one stopped to question me as I rode pass them. Even after I passed through the gate and handed Neshny to the stableman, no one spoke.

Everyone just stared.

And that was good because all I wanted to do was walk right into the throne room and see the look on my uncles face. Though... I wasn't exactly blaming him for anything just yet. I thought that maybe seeing his reaction would give me a clue as to whether or not he had anything to do with what those soldiers did to me.

So as I walked past the guards and straight into the throne room, I stared my uncle right in the eyes when he looked up at me.

He blinked, narrowed his eyes for a moment and then blinked again. "Atumankhkare."

Tabia, one of the royal court members and also my cousin, didn't hesitate at all when she saw me.

"Arius!" She shouted as she ran towards me, not caring at all about the fact that she was to stand still and stay silent while in the presence of the Pharaoh.

She jumped into my arms, making me wince from the pain in the abdomen. I could feel her tears on my shoulders as she thanked the gods that I was all right.

Despite being my cousin, she was like a sister to me. Plus, we were the same age so we were close.

"You're alive!" She said through her tears. When she pulled away, she kissed my cheeks and held my face in her hands. "We thought you were dead! Your guards said you were stabbed!"

I looked at her. "I'm fine, Tabia. I was saved."

She let out a laugh, still in tears, "clearly!"

"Where is Akhen?"

"He's in his room... he hasn't come out since he heard the news..."

I nodded. I would go see him next.

When I looked past her at the other court members, all of them looked relieved to see me. They were not as reckless as Tabia was, so they simply stayed in their positions and smiled warmly at me.

"What on earth happened to you?" My uncle asked, lacking the kind of smile and warmth that the rest of the court members had.

"I wasn't killed by bandits, that's for sure."

"I can see that," my uncle responded. "I am asking what happened to you. The entire kingdom thinks you're dead."

Unfortunately for me, his cold expression said nothing.

"Where are the soldiers who were accompanying me?"

"At one of the Eastern Forts," my uncle answered. "Why?"

"They betrayed me," I said, shocking the court members. Tabia, who had one arm around my waist, gasped.

"One of them stabbed me while the others watched," I said. "I want them all to return here so they can answer to me."

"And how do I know you are telling the truth?"

I narrowed my eyes before pushing back my cloak and revealing my bandaged up wound. "Here is the proof you need, though I don't see why you would need proof. I was stabbed, my Pharaoh. Twice. I almost died but I was rescued by a woman in a nearby village."

Though his face gave me no hints, his questions seemed to tell me enough. He had to have had something to do with this. Why else would he ask such ridiculous questions? As if to make me look like a fool.

"My Pharaoh," Lord Khamuza, another royal court member said as he stepped forward. "I do not think now is the time to be stressing the Prince out with more questions. I believe I should take him and have a look at his injuries. We don't want him to suffer from any infections."

The Pharaoh looked at the elderly Lord who was also the greatest physician in the palace. "Fine," he said. "Do as you please. I will send out an order to retrieve the soldiers from the Eastern Fort. We will deal with this as soon as they arrive. Lord Asim," he said, referring to another court member. "I will leave you in charge of dealing with that."

Lord Asim bowed. "Yes, my Pharaoh."

"Lord Khafirin, Tabia, I ask that you both send out a message so that all of Egypt can know that the Prince is alive."

Lord Khafirin bowed as well. "Yes, my Pharaoh."

Tabia hesitated for a moment, but then pulled away from me and bowed too.

Lord Khamuza had reached me now and grabbed my hand. "It is so good to see you safe, Prince Arius," he said. "The gods are good."

I smiled at the Lord and he then proceeded to lead me to his examination room.

When we got there, he got me to lie down on the bed as before he placed his hand on my forehead.

Lord Khamuza was an old man who was also loyal to my father when he was alive. He had three sons, one who was a general, the other who was a doctor at Memphis, and his youngest son was also a doctor here in the palace.

He was tall, though he often bent forward, and always wore a somewhat long, grey beard on his face and his hair was short and beginning to fall out.

Though he looked fairly old, he certainly didn't act that way. He had a strong voice and walked well too. I always assumed it was because he was a doctor and knew how to take care of himself.

After checking my forehead, he pulled out a knife and started to cut open my bandages. "Who did you say treated you while you were gone?"

"A villager."

"Where?"

"It's a village not too far from here. It took me three days to travel by horse, and I passed Gebtu on the way here."

"You traveled that far on your own with stab wounds, my Prince?" he asked rather angrily. "You cannot be that foolish!"

I hesitated.

But when he pulled open the bandages, he looked surprised. "A villager, you said?"

I nodded.

I felt his cool fingers touch my skin as he inspected the wound. "For a villager, he did a good job treating you. Obviously he's not an expert, but much better than what I expected."

"It was a young woman."

He looked at my face. "A woman?"

"Yes. And she's actually more trained in attending to births."

Lord Khamuza let out a small laugh. "I must say, I'm impressed. The gods must truly favor you. It's not everyday you see such a talented peasant," he started. "Though the second injury could use some more work..."

His voice trailed off as he turned around to find whatever he needed to help me. And as I waited I put one arm over my eyes to block out the light of the sun that was coming through the window.

I hadn't slept much on the ride home, and I was very tired.

He was silent as I felt a little burning at my side as he cleaned up my wound.

Chione had done the same thing multiple times when I was with her. It caused me a lot of distress when my wound was wide open, but now it wasn't so bad.

"You don't know how relieved we are, son, to see you home safe." Lord Khamuza said.

I smiled, arm still over my eyes. But then I decided to speak my mind. "I truly do think the Pharaoh planned this," I said to Lord Khamuza.

I felt his fingers lift off of my skin for a moment, but then he got back to work. "How certain are you?"

"Not too certain... but I have reasons to think this. Did you hear what he asked me when I arrived?"

Lord Khamuza sighed. "I don't mean to further your suspicions but, to be honest with you, son... the court believed the same thing when we first heard the news of your supposed death."

I looked at him.

"We thought it was too suspicious that you would be killed immediately after he engaged you off to a foreigner."

Oh yes... the engagement. I thought. I had completely forgotten about that.

I took a deep breath, suddenly reminded of all the stress I would have to deal with now that I was back home.

"But our suspicions could do nothing for us," Lord Khamuza suddenly said, firmly. "Just as your suspicions cannot do anything for you, my son."

I hesitated.

"Without any evidence–"

"We can force it out of the soldiers, can't we?"

"Be realistic, my Prince. We both know that your uncle will probably have them executed before they can even try to run away."

I let out a breath. He was right.

"What you need to remember, son, is that he cannot take the throne to his name as long as you are alive and healthy. And making defaming accusations is not going to help you stay that way." Lord Khamuza looked me straight in the eyes as he spoke.

I could see the worry... almost as if he were begging me to listen to him.

"I suggest that you hold your tongue and deal with his antics until it is time for you to take the throne and fulfill your fathers will."

I understood what he was saying but I just didn't know how I was going to deal with this. "But, if he's going as far as trying to kill–"

"My Prince, do you know horrified your brother was upon hearing of your supposed death?" Lord Khamuza asked.

I felt my heart sink.

"If you aren't going to protect yourself for your own sake, at least do it for your brother. He has no one aside from you. You are his only family left. Do not do anything rash that would cost you your life.

I stared at him for a moment.

"Just be vigilant, my Prince," Lord Khamuza continued. "Be vigilant and wise and you well get through this."

I placed my hand back over my eyes. "Fine."

After Lord Khamuza bandaged me up once more, I went straight to my brother's room. Apparently he had locked himself up and refused to come out since he heard the news, and I guess it was about time I relieved him of his sadness.

When he heard my voice at the door, the door opened quickly as he stared at me in shock.

"They said..." he started. "I thought they were lying!"

I smiled at him right before he jumped into my arms and started to cry like a big baby.

It was two days after I returned that my good friend Ramose came barging into my bedroom. "Arius!" He shouted.

I smiled at him, "Ramose. It's good to see you."

He hugged me, giving me a good pat on the back. "We thought you were dead."

"I know. But I'm not," I said as I pulled away. "What are you doing here? I thought you were at the Eastern Fort."

"I was," he said. "But they gave me a month leave since they thought I needed time to mourn my best friends death."

I let out a laugh. "Thought?" I asked. "You say it like they were wrong."

"Are you kidding?" He snorted, "I was just about the get over your death when I heard you were actually alive."

I punched his arm, though I really needed to hear his humor.

Ramose was an interesting person. Despite being a soldier, he was often very lazy and was a huge flirt. Unfortunately, his handsome looks added to the problem. He was tall, well built and had very short hair. And it was his light brown eyes that always got him the attention he wanted.

However, though he could easily be thought to be an annoying and unhelpful person, he was actually one of the most reliable people I knew.

And that was why he was my greatest friend.

After explaining to him what had happened to me, he shook his head in disbelief. "That's unbelievable," he said. He then fell back onto my bed with his arms behind his head. "But I have to say that I agree with the old man. You should just let it go. For all you know, the Pharaoh may even be hoping for you to act up so that he can do something crazy to you again. The last thing we need is to think that you died a second time."

I let out a breath, before getting up and walking to my balcony. When I was outside, I took a deep breath and let it out again.

"But forget about that," he continued. "What about the girl who rescued you. You said she had green eyes, right? Was she pretty?"

I rolled my eyes but answered his question anyways. "She's okay, I guess. I've seen prettier girls," I said. "Though I must admit, her independence was what impressed me about her. She was a strong, independent girl despite being so skinny and frail."

"Skinny, huh?" Ramose clucked his tongue. "Not my type."

I snorted. "Trust me, you'd be ripped apart if you found yourself with a girl like her," I smiled as I said it. "She's not one to be taken advantage of."

Ramose didn't respond to that.

I then thought of something. "Can I ask you to do me a favor?" I asked as I turned around.

"What?"

I walked back into my room. "I wanted to send her some gifts to thank her for rescuing me... can you take them to her for me?"

Ramose scoffed as he sat up. "You told me it was a three day trip!"

"You could probably do it in two days with your horse. Neshny is too young to travel long distances continuously. I had to stop and rest with him a couple times."

"Arius, are you serious?"

"Of course I am! This girl saved my life," I said, thinking about how exhausted she looked all the time. "I need to repay her somehow."

Ramose placed a hand on his head. "Dear Ra, you should have just died."

I smacked him across the head, making him wince. "Remember that you're talking to the Prince of Egypt."

He smirked but then stood up. "Fine. Whatever," he said. "It's not like you're giving me a choice. And I guess it would be interesting to see a girl with green eyes."

I smiled.

– Chione –

It had been a while since Arius had left and I still hadn't heard any news from him.

Part of me wondered if he had just forgotten.

I mean, he was a busy, high classed man. I couldn't put it past him.

I didn't really think that he died somewhere along the way. I didn't know why I felt this way but I just knew that he was alive.

Maybe it was because he was a strong young man.

But anyways, I hadn't gotten any news so I couldn't help but worry every time I thought of him.

Despite the fact that he had come and gone, my life almost immediately went straight back to normal. As if he were never here.

The village continued on in mourning over the Princes' death. There were hours and hours of prayers and the village was quieter than usual for a few days. Well, at least until a rumor passed through that he wasn't actually dead.

Confusion eventually hit the village and so the prayers had been paused as we waited for an official messenger from the palace to pass on the real news.

And it was as we waited for the news, about a week or so after Arius had left, that a stranger appeared at my home.

I stepped out of my home one morning only to be surprised by a tall and rather handsome looking and unfamiliar man waiting outside with a horse.

He looked at me the second I stepped out and almost instantly I felt nervous.

He was a young man who was tall and built like a soldier with chiseled features and dark skin. He had short hair and an overall mature look to him, yet he had these very youthful looking, bright brown eyes that smiled when his lips did.

"Chione?" he asked as he bowed his head slightly.

I nodded. "That's me."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," he said. "My name is Ramose, I am a soldier of the palace–"

"Arius sent you?" I asked quickly, feeling relief.

The man named Ramose hesitated. "Yes," his brows scrunched together for a moment before his look softened again. "He did. I didn't realize you two were on a first name basis."

I smiled. "Is he alright?"

"Fine," he said. "Absolutely perfect, actually."

I let out a sigh of relief. "I am so glad to hear that. I've been worried ever since he left."

"I can imagine. You must have worked hard to treat his injuries. They were quite severe."

"It was a challenge."

"Well, I thank you for your hard work," Ramose said before he bowed again. "Arius is a good friend of mine and I am very glad he is alive and safe."

I smiled at him. "And I appreciate that you came all this way just to tell me he's safe."

"Actually," he started as he turned around. "I didn't come here just for that."

I hesitated for a moment and watched as he pulled a stack of things out of the bags on his horse. "What..."

He turned around and made me gasp.

In his arms were large folded pieces of fine linen in bright colours like blue and red and even yellow. I had never seen anything so lovely in my life.

Ramose placed the stack of linens into my arms before turning back around and pulling more things out.

I gawked as he pulled out earrings and makeup and more linen and a bunch of small trinkets and finally a beautiful perfume flask.

"These are gifts," he said as he gestured at all the things he had brought. "A thank you from this general."

He said general in a strange way, but I decided not to pay attention to that.

"All of this?" I gawked.

"He must be really grateful."

"I can't take this!"

"Oh please," Ramose chuckled. "It's a gift. You can't refuse a gift."

I shook my head. "No," I said. "I really can't."

He looked at me, saw my seriousness and then raised his eyebrows. "What?"

"I live in a village... I can't walk around with such luxurious things without being questioned or causing others to get envious or upset–"

"Are you serious?"

"Tell him I say thank you for all the gifts but," I walked over to his horse and carefully began to put the linens back in, "I can't take these."

Ramose looked shocked. "Are you joking?" he asked.

I shook my head after placing the last beautiful cloth back into the bag. Arius must have been much wealthier than I ever imagined him to be. "I'm serious. I appreciate all of this, but unfortunately it would be wrong for me to take it."

Ramose scoffed before he laughed. "Well... at least take something," he said. "Arius will have my head if I bring it all back. Maybe the earrings? Or this bracelet?"

I shook my head. "Please, I don't want any of it. It would be odd and out of place for me to have any of that."

"Then how about the perfume?" He held up the beautifully decorated light blue perfume flask.

And now I hesitated.

To be honest, the perfume flask wasn't so bad. I didn't need to walk around with the beautiful flask. A little dab of it on my neck in the morning would do just great.

Ramose started to smile. "I know you want at least this. It's one of the finest scents in the nation. The p–" he paused for a moment. "The general picked it out himself."

I exhaled sharply before smiling and nodding. "Alright, I'll take just that."

He grinned. "Lovely," he said as he handed it to me. He then almost immediately put the rest of the things back into the bags on the horse and climbed on. "Send a letter to the palace when you need a refill."

I scoffed.

"Again, thank you for saving him," Ramose said, getting ready to leave on his horse.

"It's nothing at all. Please tell Arius that I thank him for the gift."

Ramose nodded.

And almost immediately after that, he rode off.

After he left, I went back into my home. I knew that the couple I was visiting this morning would forgive me for being a little late.

I opened up the tightly sealed jar and sniffed the fragrance. It was absolutely delightful.

I had never owned my own fragrance before. My mother had one when she was alive and I would secretly take some of it without her knowing.

After taking another good whiff of the lovely perfume that smelled like flowers, I dabbed a bit of it onto my neck, hid it in my room and then went on with my day as usual.

Everyone complimented it.