Princess, Crown Not Included

"I don't like it, Ariam," Femii's soft voice muttered from atop her bed.

"Me either, Femii," Ariam's replied. What they didn't like was still apparently asleep in her bed, not having got there till well into the night. Astarte had tried to be quiet when she came into the room she shared with her best friend, but as she had discovered, silent is something the happy heart does not relish being. So midnight had found Femii being woken by a giggling, humming Astarte tripping over her bed and dropping a water jug, then falling into bed with a happy sigh and, five minutes later, beginning to snore softly. Now, eleven hours later, the sleep-deprived redhead sat on her bed with Ariam, pondering the situation thoroughly.

"We should wake her up," Femii decided. "She can't sleep the whole day away, even if it is a day off." She rose from the linen sheets and, walking over to Astarte's bed, lit the lamp that stood next to it, Ariam following and yanking the blanket from her. The girl's tanned eyelids scrunched tight over her emerald irises as she pulled the pillow over her head.

"It's too early for rituals..." she muttered, curling into a tight ball and scrabbling around for the blanket with one hand. Femii and Ariam exchanged a glance.

"For one thing, no it isn't, it's almost midday," Femii informed her friend. "And for another, we have a day off today. Zahra and the rest of the sheep are "ill with distress"." She put a sarcastic turn on the last three words.

"Oh please, it's so obvious they just want another day off," Astarte grumbled, finally sitting up and combing her fingers through her hair. She shared Femii's dislike of Dendera's old gang of followers wholeheartedly. "So what do we do with ourselves for the rest of the day?"

"We go to the river and you tell us where you were that kept you awake till midnight," Ariam told her authoritatively, grabbing her arm and pulling her out of the bed. "No arguments."

********

"Right, we're at the river, now what do you want of me?" Astarte demanded as she slid from Ramla's back and onto the soft sand of the riverbank. The other two dismounted their own horses and led them over to the shore of the water, whereupon they promptly stepped their front hooves into the river and bent their heads to take a drink.

"What we want," Ariam began, placing her hands on her hips in a motherly way, "is what you were doing last night."

"I'm sure I haven't the faintest idea what you mean," she replied calmly, her cheeks colouring as she pushed a few ebony strands of hair back from her eyes. Ariam's eyebrow's shot up.

"You know perfectly well what I mean, Astarte of Taba," she said, pointing an accusing finger at her friend. "Because when you lie, you flick your hair, and you haven't taken your hands off it since we got here." Astarte remained stubbornly silent. "Then you leave me no alternative. Femii, tell me everything you know."

"You tell her a single word, Femii of Domyat!" Astarte shrieked, her eyes suddenly terrified. The two girls smirked.

"I'm afraid I haven't the faintest what she has been doing with him, but I know who she has been with," Femii informed Ariam.

"Oh really?" Ariam smirked, grabbing hold of Astarte to prevent her flying at the redhead to stop her words. "Then do tell, Femii dearest."

"Certainly, Ariam dearest." Femii cleared her throat before continuing. "Our little Astarte is in love with--"

"Femii, if you dare!"

"With the Pharaoh!" Femii yelled over her with a triumphant cackle.

"Femii, you traitor!" Astarte screamed. Ariam ignored the outburst, opting instead to stare at her in disbelief.

"The Pharaoh?!" she repeated incredulously, releasing her arms. Astarte glared.

"I'm sure I haven't the slightest idea what either of you mean," she repeated, beginning to walk off to the horses.

"Wait, wait, wait..." Ariam demanded, blocking Astarte's path with her arm. "So all this time you've been saying you're doing errands for Lady Isis, you've been seeing the Pharaoh?!" Biting her lip and blushing a little, Astarte slowly nodded. Ariam shrieked. "I knew you weren't telling the truth, but I would never have guessed you... with the Pharaoh?!"

"Yes, Ariam, the Pharaoh," Astarte laughed, dodging her friend's lunge for her throat. "Honestly, they way you're acting about it, one would think I was in love with Bakura or something!"

"... you're not in love with Bakura, are you?" Ariam asked, a note of disgust in her voice. Sighing, Astarte shook her head.

"Well, now that it's out in the open, can we finally have a gossip about it?" Femii begged, sitting cross-legged on the sandy riverbank. Ariam quickly followed suit.

"Yes, I want to hear all about Astarte's new lover," she smirked, "now that I know about him at all. Come on, Star, sit and spill."

Giggling and blushing a little, Astarte sat next her friends and rubbed the back of her neck in embarrassment. "What is there to spill? I love him, he loves me, that's all there is to it."

"There's always more than that," Ariam informed her, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

"He had better be treating you right," Femii supplied, her tone threatening. She narrowed her eyes and jabbed a finger in Astarte's direction. "Just because he is the Pharaoh does not mean we waive the right to severely injure him if he hurts you in any way."

"Why must you always assume the worst of everyone?" Astarte laughed, throwing a reed at Femii's head. "Atem would never hurt me, he--"

"Oh, so it's "Atem" now, is it?!" Femii smirked. Ariam cackled and helped herself to one of the honey cakes from the basket.

"Let her alone, Femii, it's not her fault she's lovestruck," she grinned, breaking a piece off for each of them. "You're just jealous because you haven't found your true love yet."

"I am not jealous!" Femii defended herself quickly. Astarte smirked slightly, a movement that Ariam did not fail to notice.

"What's the smirk for?" she demanded wryly. Astarte cast a sideways glance at Femii, who was glancing between the two like a startled pigeon, before leaning in and whispering very loudly in Ariam's ear.

"Master Seto likes Femii," she informed her friend with a grin, loud enough for Femii to hear. Instantly, her cheeks flared as red as the hair on her head. The other two girls grinned knowingly at her.

"As in, "likes" likes?" Ariam asked. Astarte confirmed the fact with a smirking nod.
"And apparently Femii-" she began, but was silence almost instantly. With a yelp, she was all but tackled into the Nile by the redhead in question. The two girls hit the water with a splash, sending water up onto the banks.

"Alright, we get the idea!" Femii yelled, starting after her friend. Astarte shrieked and swam away, leaving Ariam laughing on the bank at the childishness of her friends.

"You'll never take me alive!" Astarte screamed between laughs. Ariam watched as Femii caught up with Astarte and somehow managed to leap onto her back, knocking them both under the water. After a tense few seconds, the pair resurfaced, river weed tangled in their hair, out of breath and laughing like maniacs.

"Come back, I saw some crocodiles over there before!" Ariam called, hiding a grin. She'd seen no such thing, but Astarte's hatred of crocodiles was so strong it was almost as funny as the two girls before her. As the ice-eyed girl predicted, the two girls in the water screamed and rushed back to the safety of the shore, sliding on the loose sand and flicking bits of weed at each other. With a final giggle, they collapsed onto the bank next to Ariam.

"That was one of the most fun things I have ever done," Femii announced, grinning.

"I've known better," Astarte replied slyly. The other two girls sat up a little straighter, or in Femii's case, just sat up. Astarte covered her grin with her hand and looked away delicately.

"Astarte, you had better tell us now before I throw you back in the Nile," Ariam threatened. The emerald-eyed girl just giggled again.

"Well it's obviously to do with Atem," Femii assessed, putting an emphasis on the Pharaoh's name. Astarte's blush grew.

"I say she's kissed him," Ariam decided. A few seconds silence passed. "BY RA'S RAYS, SHE HAS!" she screamed. She and Femii shrieked with laughter, Astarte's cheeks flaming.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me!" Femii whined when her giggles had subsided. "I thought I was your best friend, you should have at least mentioned it!"

"You are my best friend, Femii!" Astarte replied, hugging her and planting a kiss on her cheek. "But I knew how you'd react. Plus I wanted to tell you both together!" she added with a repentant smile, gesturing to Ariam.

"Yes, well..." Femii grumbled, trying to look angry. This time it was Astarte's turn to laugh.

"If it makes you feel any better, you sound just like Seto," she giggled. Femii coloured and returned to wringing the water from her hair.

"You're so lucky, Astarte," Ariam sighed wistfully after the three had sat in silence for a moment. "You've barely seen seventeen summers and already you've found your true love!"

"Don't worry," Astarte smiled, putting a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder. "You'll find him one day."

"You think so?" Ariam's eyes lit up a little, hope and happiness in her voice.

"For sure!" the would-be princess laughed. "And you know what? He'll turn up when you least expect it."