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Egypt's stunning and mystical kingdom was in a nation of glamour, mystery, and sun-kissed sand. Yet, not a day would go by without something beautiful coming about.
Several years before the legendary Nameless Pharaoh took the throne, a young but ambitious couple arrived at the palace of the King. They're an odd-looking couple. The woman was tall, fit, and curvy. She was bestowed with a dancer's grace and a goddess's beauty. She had large sharp-lidded teal eyes and long black hair and wore the color royal purple. The man next to her was relatively short with crazy tri-colored hair. His huge eyes were the exact color of amethyst. His attire was rather unostentatious compared to the woman he was with.
"To think we've ultimately arrived at the palace after all this time, my husband. You've been honored with the position as one of the Pharaoh's Sacred Guardians," the sensual lady told her husband.
Her husband smiled and squeezed her hand tightly. "You'll do exceptional in your brand-new position, Solmina. You're composed and organized with a keen eye for detail. You're great at time management and have outstanding leadership skills. You'll do excellent."
"I would hope so, Shimon. Not every day, you become Head of the Pharaoh's household servants. There is so much to do with the preparation, decoration, etiquette, and more," she bit her lip apprehensively.
"You'll do fine! Let's go meet our King," as the couple strolled in. They're escorted to the throne room, where the Pharaoh formally welcomes them. Then, they're directed to their new chambers after they're appropriately greeted and given their brand-new posts.
On their first official day in the palace, they rose before Ra so they'd make a good impression by being on time for their brand-new responsibilities. They made sure to give each other a quick kiss before going in different directions.
Solmina glided to the chamber, where the household staff gathered every morning before being assigned their responsibilities. She took a few deep breaths to calm her anxiety before she entered. Inside the chamber were a staff of roughly a hundred servants and enslaved people. Taking another deep breath, she addressed them.
"Good morning to all of you. As you are aware, I've been selected as your new overseer. My name is Solmina. You may address me as Mistress Solmina.
I will say here and now that I have several expectations that I expect you to uphold. Though at the same time, I'd like to make this clear. Everyone in this room should be treated with respect and consideration, regardless of status, ancestry, or sex.
I will not permit insolence nor tolerate bullies among my ranks. Instead, I expect you to behave with self-respect, good manners, and empathy. Anyone who doesn't respect my commands or gives me their most benefit daily will be terminated immediately. Now that we've established the rules, I'll give your assignments for the day," as she began to dish out the responsibilities.
Shimon did his best to make an excellent first impression as well. But, of course, it wasn't easy not to get apprehensive when under the Pharaoh's vigilant eye. Everything you said and did was scrutinized. Still, Shimon was quick, intelligent, and practical. Despite his size, his wisdom was greater then he was tall. Also, his compassion and enthusiasm were incredibly refreshing.
A few years later, the royal family and Solmina and her husband were blessed with children. But unfortunately, this didn't make Solmina's or her husband's jobs any more manageable.
While their daughter, Samira, inherited her mother's beauty, grace, and charm. From her father, she obtained her hair, determination, and ingenuity. Neither was sure, at least when she was a baby, where her insatiable hunger came from. Samira was always hungry, too curious for her good, and had boundless energy from babyhood to about five years old. It took a lot of patience and a vigilant eye to keep their daughter in check.
One day, Solmina discovered her daughter playing a game with Prince Aknamkanon. Initially, she was furious about her daughter skipping her education. She was also troubled her daughter might have offended the Pharaoh's heir. Therefore she was amazed when the young Prince came to her daughter's defense. He was upfront that he'd played a joke on her daughter, and they're playing games to make up for the trick.
Even if the Prince hadn't been offended, Solmina felt she still needed to give her daughter stern talking. "Samira, you know how essential good behavior and proper manners are. Therefore you must treat everyone with respect. I shudder at what would happen if the Prince had been offended by your ill behavior."
"I wasn't disrespectful, Mommy. I merely stood up for myself and Efra. Besides, I was a good sport when we were playing games. So it's not like I was rude in any manner.
In any case, Mommy, Aknamkanon wouldn't ever stay mad at me. Of course, he can sometimes be a jerk, but he's never been genuinely mean to Efra or me. So I doubt anything I ever said or did would offend him."
"Nevertheless, daughter, you need to respect him. Now please finish your homework. Moreover, I'm going to speak to your father regarding this."
"Okay," she sulked as she went to her room to do her homework. Her mother collapsed into her chair and was joined by her husband half an hour later.
"What's the matter, Solmina? You seem unsettled. Is planning the feast too much for you?" he desired to know, and she shook her head.
"Our daughter and the Prince seemed to have caused quite a bit of mischief today. What would the Pharaoh say if Samira did something to offend his son?" Her husband looked at her funny for a few moments before he laughed. His wife wasn't amused. She snapped at him, "Shimon! I'm serious! What do you find this so hilarious?"
He had to fight down his laughter before he answered, "My darling wife, you need not fear anything from the Pharaoh. He's well aware of his son's crush on our daughter. Just today, we're discussing it after his meetings. He says it reminds him of when he was that age and didn't know how to talk to a girl he liked."
"Wait. What? What are you prattling on about?" his wife asked in bewilderment. Unquestionably she wasn't sure she heard right.
"The Prince has a huge crush on our daughter, Solmina," her husband replied before adding, "Except boys his age don't know how to react to those feelings. Numerous children will tease their crushes for attention. It's a very normal thing. So you shouldn't worry about it."
Solmina reached for her hairbrush as her husband undid her pigtails before she spoke, "I must admit that wasn't what I expected to hear. It's cute, but do you think Samira likes him back?" as her husband brushed her silky black locks.
"I'm not sure if Samira figured out yet that he's got a crush on her. So, therefore, I'm not sure how she feels at the moment. Although perhaps when they're older and more mature, she'll figure out how she feels."
"Hmm, I guess we'll have to watch her and see where the path of love leads her. But I feel we should talk to her about love and how you should treat your partner sooner rather than later."
"Yes, she's smarter then most children her age. I'm sure she'd understand it better then other children."
Three months later, they did have that talk with Samira. As they expected, she did understand and took to heart what they said. As the years passed, the couple and the Prince's parents could unquestionably see how their children fell helplessly, hopelessly, and recklessly in love. Consequently, it wasn't any surprise to them when Aknamkanon made it clear he intended to marry Samira. It was one of the most glamorous weddings in all of Egyptian history.
Sadly, three years later, right after Samira gave birth to her son Atem, her mother died of an illness. Therefore the young Prince wouldn't even know his grandmother. Also, Atem wasn't permitted to address his grandfather as such. This is because most of the court didn't view it as proper behavior when his grandfather was a servant to the current King and one day be his. They also didn't desire their enemies to find ways to get to the royal family by killing or holding someone hostage. Consequently, Atem never got to know his grandparents as such generally.
But there would come a day whenever it was that they could all be indeed a family. It would just take some time. Maybe another lifetime. Until then, may their love keep them all safe.
