Princess, Crown Not Included

Sighing as I pushed open the doors to my chambers, I found them exactly as I had left them: papyri scattered all over every available surface, including the floor, the bed unmade (I had ordered that no slaves should enter my chambers, lest they read anything written on the documents and tell anyone), random articles of clothing lying around- and Ra only knows what that was hanging from the torch sconce in the corner. Seto had tutted the last time he had been here, but I "kindly" reminded him that, had he been the Pharaoh of a country under the threat of attack, he would have more important things on his mind than tidying.

After a few minutes search, I finally unearthed the documents I needed and carried them through to the antechamber, a smaller but tidier room where the priests and I could discuss The Libya Problem. And in any case, it wouldn't be proper to have six priests in my private chambers in the first place.

I threw the papyri down onto the low table in the middle of the room, and myself onto one of the couches gathered around it. "This is a momentous occasion, Atem my boy," I told myself with a tired grin. "You're actually alone. Enjoy it while it lasts." My eyes slid closed for a rare moment; I could barely believe that I finally had a moment to just lie back and let the country run itself for a minute. Just a minute, though: my ridiculous sense of duty made me pull myself up and take one of the documents, scanning through it. Yet another threat from the Libyan royal council threatening all sorts of catastrophes if we didn't give in to their demands. Pillaging, taking over the royal city, three kinds of death for me and my priests... the usual things. At least, from what I could gather it was a threat. It was written mostly in Libyan, a language of which I only had the most basic grasp. Still, I liked a challenge, and translating this letter was certainly that.

The silence was shattered by a irritating and overly loud knock on the door to the antechamber. I rolled my eyes to myself and looked up to see one of the chief scribes standing there. "One of the lower temple maidens to see you, My Lord." My heart stopped for a moment- Astarte. Rising, I hastily nodded my approval, and he waved in the girl I was so desperate to see as if she were a stray cat or something. He closed the door as soon as she was in the room, and I closed the gap between us in a few steps, wrapping her in my arms tightly. I could feel her shaking against my embrace.

"You have no idea how worried I've been, Astarte," I murmured, running a hand through her hair. She gripped me tighter. "I am sorry I haven't been able to see you recently, but with... you know, certain events..."

"Please don't worry, my Pharaoh, your duty should always come before me." I could feel her trying to smile against my chest, but it was weak. I couldn't blame her.

"Haven't I told you to call me Atem?" I admonished her, smiling and placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. She tried to laugh and returned the kiss to my shoulder. "Come sit down. Try to ignore the mess," I added ruefully, releasing her reluctantly and turning to the table, meaning to try and tidy a few of the documents away.

A sudden sound of something hitting the stone floor made me turn back suddenly, worried. The sight before me shook me to the core. Astarte was kneeling on the ground, her legs crumpled awkwardly under her, her shoulders shaking as tears started to pour down her cheeks. Alarmed, I knelt next to her and tried to remove her hands from in front of her face. She shucked me away and shrank even further into herself.

"Astarte..." I murmured gently, "Tell me what it is... what's wrong?" She shook her head in her usual vehement fashion. "I love you, but that does not mean I won't play the 'I'm-the-Pharaoh' card. Now tell me what's wrong."

"It wouldn't worry you... you have far more important matters than me to attend to," she sniffed, her words distorted by badly-hidden tears.

"More important than the girl I love? Come, tell me..." Taking her hands, I pulled her up gently and lead her to the divan, where I sat and pulled her onto my lap.

"I just... I'm scared! I'm utterly terrified!" she gasped finally, her breath ragged with tears. "Everything that could be going wrong with Egypt is going wrong! Dendera, Libya- did you know that the statue of Isis in the temple fell over and cracked this morning?" she asked, looking up, her expression almost manic with worry. I bit my lip, frowning: that was a bad sign.

"Don't worry, love," I soothed, cradling her gently. I tried to follow my own advice, be strong for her. The front was easy; the actual act of not worrying was more difficult.

"How can I not?" Tears edged the words once again.

"Because you have me. I will never let anything hurt you," I promised, kissing her cheek. Slowly, I moved my lips to hers, grateful that Ra-damned scribe had left when he had. After a moment's hesitation, she slid a hand round my neck, her breathing evening out as I lost myself in her embrace once more. I moved one hand from her cheek to her back, ghosting my fingers down her spine and feeling her tense against me for a moment, before she melted again, just as she had in our first kiss, what seemed like years ago.

Breaking the kiss for one agonizing moment, drawing an impatient growl from me, she shifted herself till our chests were together, one of her knees on either side of my hips. Albeit hesitantly, she wrapped her tanned legs around my waist, fingers resting softly on my shoulders, almost as if she were afraid to touch me, as if I were something that was going to break if I were touched too hard. I smiled into her lips, unable to help myself. Her innocence was so sweet, much like the kiss. She whimpered slightly when I nibbled on her lower lip, trailing my own lips along the line of her jaw, up to the hollow beneath her ear.

I laughed lightly when she shivered beneath my gentle caresses, then sighed contentedly into her skin as she tipped her head a little to the side, all to give me better access to her neck. Murmuring a small 'thank you', I continued to nip at her skin gently, still rubbing her back gently. The way she shook in my arms, like a newborn lamb, left me perturbed. Why was she so nervous? This disconcerted me deeply, but I chose not to mention it for fear that she would pull away completely. Then, well, Ra be damned, she'd make her Pharaoh cry. I wanted this so badly, to hold her close and to tell her everything would be alright, even if I myself was not sure. I just needed to console her, keep her safe, her mind off what happened to poor Dendera.

Pulling her closer to me, so that she was straddling my hips fully, I replaced my mouth back over her kiss-bruised lips once more. This time, with the whispering of sweet-nothings that I had no idea where I came up with, she responded to me a little more willfully, threading slim, calloused fingers through my wild hair. Inspired by her mounting bravery, I ran my tongue over her lips as we kissed, and she parted her lips, allowing me to deepen our kiss, the taste of my goddess filling my mind. Peaches, and cinnamon.

Letting a hand fall from her back, I allowed my hand to settle casually upon her knee, not moving it as we kissed. Not yet, at least. As she tightened her grip on my hips, making me moan quietly in return, I ran my hand up her leg and beneath the hem of her linen gown. Instantly she stiffened and pulled away, emerald eyes wide. "Wh-what are you doing?" she gasped, mouth opened in a small 'O' of shock, lips red and swollen.

Leaning back to kiss her, I frowned when she pulled away. "You don't want to...?" I asked, frustration building in my chest.

She looked down and slid from my lap, dusky cheeks turning crimson. Then she chewed her lip. "I'm sorry," she said. "But I'm... I'm not exactly ready. You do understand, don't you?"

I nodded haphazardly, no longer listening completely. Crossing my legs uncomfortably, I smiled. "Yes," I croaked out. Clearing my throat, I spoke again: "I understand completely. If you're not ready, than neither am I."

The look in her eyes was almost fear. "I'm sorry, Atem, I love you but I'm not ready for... I mean... You're not angry, are you?"

"Why would I be angry?" I smiled contritely. "It was wrong of me to push you into something you're not ready for." I pushed a strand of jet back hair back from her beautiful face and planted a soft kiss on her forehead.

"But I--"

"Shh," I silenced her with a kiss to her scarlet lips. She half-smiled shyly, the way that set my heart on fire no matter how often I saw it. "I wish you would stop worrying. It's completely unnecessary."

"I know, but I can't help but worry. You are the Pharaoh, and what am I?" She almost pouted.

"The girl I love, for one thing," I informed her, running a finger down her cheek, watching the faint blush creep across it. Bowing her head to me, she kissed me on the cheek. Curling her feet under her, she leaned against me and allowed one of my arms to snake around her slim waist, picking up one of the letters from Libya. I rubbed my face with exasperation and leaned my head back, staring up at the sky.

For the love of Ra, what this woman did to my head was nothing compared to what she did to other parts of me.

"Atem..." she gasped suddenly. I looked down to see her face pale with fear, gripping the letter she was reading and holding it as if it were on fire. "This... this is awful! Have you discussed this with the high priests yet?" I stared in amazement.

"You can read that?!" I asked incredulously. She nodded.

"My mother taught me a lot of things when I was younger, she used to live in Libya," she muttered, still reading through the text. "The first part is just your standard threats, hideous death, no hope of the Afterlife... Then it says something I don't think you'll like..."

"Tell me," I insisted, my jaw set. She nodded and began to read aloud.

""Neither you nor your people are safe from us. Know this threat to be true, and doubt it not. We will be your lap dogs no more. Reply within two moons, or face the asperity of an ally scorned. Your days are few."" Her face was pale beneath the bronze as she turned to gaze anxiously at me. "Atem, how long ago did you receive this?"

"Five days since..." I answered absently. My mind was spinning. Two moons to reach a decision and get word across the desert to Libya? Impossible.