Chapter 33

The nights bled into days and she felt numb to everything around. Her mind was foggy and her body paralyzed. It might be due to the drugs they fed her every now and then or the fact that she surrendered to her fate finally. she has lost everything important to her, her only family, her lover, and the future she always dreamed of not the throne or being a great queen but the future she might had with her lion, children of their own, big loving family and long peaceful life in each other’s arms.

She groaned and tried to move her body but she couldn’t, not because she was bound like a mare, no it was because her body refused to follow her command. She tried to at least open her eyes to get a glimpse of her whereabouts, yet again her body and mind denied her that simple act.

Someone approached her until she heard their certain footsteps. She stopped her futile efforts and concentrated on the voices.

“I hate what we are doing here. This woman doesn’t deserve that. And we will be cursed for treating our queen like this.” One of them grumbled, then she heard him curse under his breath.

“Shut the fuck up, you idiot. What would you do if anyone heard you? They will cut off our heads we worth nothing to them. We are lowly commoners who barely made it into the soldiers’ status.”

The other one huffed. “I didn’t take you as a coward, Adeben. We were loyal to the late king, his ancestors, and his predecessor after him. He was a just man who loved his people and you know the same as I, that the princess didn’t kill her father. You know who the true murderer is. This usurper and his ugly father committed treason against the pharaoh.”

The other man didn’t answer for while the one who just accused him of being coward crouched in front of Tiye

“Forgive me, princess, for doing this to you but if I refused, someone else would do it and they won’t be gentle with you. I’m afraid they might even violate your body.”

“Akiiki, I agree with everything you had said, but we can’t do anything more than this right now. The odds are against us and we have our family to think of. Our mother and sisters need us. We are their providers and soul supporters, but you have my word brother I will try to help her as much as I can.” Akiiki sighed.

“You are too young to remember this, but king Zosar helped us when father had passed away. Mother once went to ask for help and he listened to her plea in person, Adeben. Tell me, that bastard of a king who sits on the throne of Egypt right now; would he do such a thing? All he cares about, all he dreamed of his whole life was the king’s title, and his filthy son isn’t much better than him. Tell me what future do we have now and the rest of the people of Egypt? I know we are powerless, but we must try for ourselves, brother, to ensure that our family stays safe.”

The princess’s eyes teared. She felt sorry for them even though her situation was direr. Her heart ached for her people, because she knew they were right. They will suffer as long as her uncle and cousin sit on the throne.

She felt gentle hands raising her head and the cold water touching her dried lips, making her moan as the sweet nectar seeped through her parted lips. A man cooed at her.

“My apologies, my queen, but I couldn’t attend to you earlier. I’m under strict orders and appointments. Drink slowly so you won’t ill yourself.” She obeyed silently, thanking him inside her head.

“Adeben, pass me that piece of bread you stole, and watch the outside while I feed her quickly before giving her the drug again.” The other man shuffled to them.

“Here and I have brought a piece of dried meat, too. She needs her strength. They gave her big doses and her body is so small to endure it. What a small female such as her would do to this small army? Damn them for doing this to her.” The other man, who was called Akiiki, patted his brother on his back, answering him.

“Even though you were harsh with me for helping her, you were worried about the little queen. You even spared a piece of your ration for her. You are blushing, brother.” The man chuckled while the other left to guard the tent entrance.

“And to answer your question, the royals are blessed by the gods their blood run through them, but this one here is special more than the ones who came before her. You didn’t see what I witnessed a few days ago. She was powerful and majestic. The bastard prince was shaking with terror in that arena. I don’t know what happened to her after that. But you have my word brother, if she was in her full power, she would have wiped us from this realm in a blink of an eye.”

Tiye tried to open her eyes again and finally praise the gods they did. She saw the man cut a small piece of bread and soak it in the rest of the water to make it soft so she can easily swallow it.

She swallowed her saliva as her stomach grumbled, making her groan. When was the last time did she eat? “Your majesty you are awake. I would have kneeled, but I if I did you would fall please forgive me.” The man cast his eyes down, not meeting her gaze respectfully. She croaked.

“No need warrior thank you for your kindness, you and your brother.” The other man kneeled quickly when he heard her weak voice.

“Please stand up, I’m the one who should be kneeling before you two for showing me this much of kindness.”

The man who was holding her, she guessed Akiiki, had brought the soft piece of bread to her mouth and she accepted it, greedily eating it quickly and took a sip of water to wash it down.

“How long have I been sleeping?” She accepted another piece of bread with some dried meat. “It has been four days, my queen. Tomorrow by midday we will reach Egypt.” She considered his answer and her heart ached.

“Do you know what happened to prince Urmah? Is he… alive?” The man's face fell. “I’m sorry I don’t know of him, but after you gave yourself to prince Pilis, we left immediately.”

“What about Mandisa? Is she here too in another tent?” The man averted his eyes.

“She was heavily wounded trying to free you, but I’m not sure if she is…..” He fell silent and she didn’t need him to complete. She knew what he was about to say. She felt it deep down.

She has lost everything now and the most two precious ones to her heart, the reason she kept breathing, are dead.

She kept eating even though she couldn’t see the reason for doing it and drank the bitter liquid he gave her, not caring if it was poison or not. She just surrendered to her destiny, silently praying that she will join her loved ones sooner.

She kept coming and going the rest of the night by the morning; the drugs wore off and her absent mind regained some of its clarity. The sun was shy from being in the heart of the sky when the carriage she was bound inside came to a stop.

And the eldest one of the two men who were tending to her the night before came holding a long rope in his hands.

“Forgive me, my queen, but I need to touch you right now. I beg your forgiveness for what I’m about to do. May the gods have mercy on both of us.”

He whispered as if he was afraid to be caught talking to her respectfully, so she nodded her head, and extended her hands, which were tided roughly with iron shackles.

After binding her hands in front of her, he turned to her feet and did the same. The robes weren’t tight, but still the harsh material bit into her bruised flesh, but she endured it knowing what would come next would not be that merciful. She was left alone again, but all around her the men talked.

Some were excited about what will happen next and some were eager to go back to their families. She closed her eyes and recalled her lover’s face, but sadly, it wasn’t his smiling, handsome one.

It was the one who was fighting death, the one that was smeared with blood and pale as milk. Her heart ached, and she flinched when she felt a ghost of a stab tearing her chest.

“My love, whatever falls upon me this day, I will do whatever it takes to follow you into the afterlife. It doesn’t matter where your soul ends. I will tear that realm apart and be with you, my Urmah, and that’s my vow to you, love. Just wait for me a little longer and by all the cursed gods, I will find you. I will hold you again. Just have some patient, my one.”

The rough movement made her open her eyes again and be greeted by her cousin’s hideous face.

“You are awake. That’s good. I want you to see how your people will meet your blissful return.” He chuckled while caressing his leather whip.

“You have my word princess; it will be something you have never seen before. Today you will see the true face of your subjects and where their loyalty belong.” He turned to his escorts and shouted.

“Bring her and tie those ropes to the saddle of my mount and be respectful. After all, she was royalty.” His dark words and chuckle were stabbing her pride, but she refused to bow. If this was the day, she will be reunited with her father and lover, so be it, she will never feed his ego.

The men harshly dragged her and did as they were commanded. And their party moved to the city gates. She didn’t know that they were at the doorsteps of Memphis, at the head. There was a man with a big gong calling at the people in the street to gather in the market.

“Hear hear, by his command the Pharaoh king Hanbal and his royal highness prince Pilis the heir to the throne of Egypt, you all are summoned to behold the capture of the traitor, Tiye the daughter of the late great king Zosar the first and witness the punishment that befalls her.”

The words didn’t faze her or the people’s gaze that varied between hatred and compassion. Some people spit, others cursed, and some eyes teared. She held her head high through it all. It didn’t matter how she was drained and impatient to rest in peace in the hole they will dig for her corpse.

But she gasped as the heat of the sun hit her head and she sweated profoundly. The sharp solid mud and hot sand grated on her sensitive feet making her feel the heat coming from the ground ten times folds but her agony didn’t last long they finally reached the middle of the market where her uncle was sitting on her father’s throne waiting for them.

Pilis dismounted his horse and bowed respectfully to his father. “Your highness, your dutiful son, has returned and carried out your commands. I have captured the murderer who has brought sorrow to your heart by killing your brother. May his soul be resting in peace now and enjoy his long journey in the afterlife among the gods.” Hanbal smiled approvingly at his son and stood, addressing the people who have gathered.

“My dear subjects, now we all can rest in peace and end our long mourning. Today is the day that we will pay our final respect to the late king. Today will be the day that we will start a new era, following the footsteps of my brother. Egypt will start a new dynasty. I king Hanbal, the Pharaoh of upper and lower Egypt, the one chosen by the gods, condemn Tiye, the daughter of king Zosar, by death for murdering her father.”

By that he left with entourage back to the royal palace, his son took his place on the throne and gave orders to his men to strap her on the wooden platform. Her hands were each tied to a pole while her neck was held by a leash behind her, making her kneel with her spine straight. She bit her lip, fighting her pain, and looked everyone who stared at her in the eye.

“Still looking arrogant cousin.” Pilis whispered in her ears, his fingers digging into her jaw, forcing her to face him, but she refused to meet his eyes.

“I always admired that fire inside you, but the day you humiliated me, I vowed to repay your generosity. But I never in million years imagined it would be like this, and let me say seeing you like that kneeling before me, making my cock swell with blood, giving me other ideas and whispering other ways to punish you.” She sneered at him and spit on his face. He stood and chuckled, turning to the man closer to him.

“Take off those rags; let us see how will she behave after this.” The man harshly tore her clothes off, baring her to all eyes to see. Her eyes burned with unshed tears but she bit her lip hard, drawing blood and again faced the crowed with dignity.

But all this had crumbled when she saw the horrified face of the young boy she deeply adored. That was her last straw.

She raised her head to the sky and screamed with all her might, screamed that her ears rang, screamed that her throat bled, screamed that all she could feel, hear and see was her agony and pain.

End of book 1