AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Two
“Fate leads the willing and drags along the reluctant.”
—Seneca
~1493 B.C. Ancient Egypt. 18thDynasty, transition to reign of Thutmose II.
Seven years Shai had served the royal princess Hatshepsut as her trusted Shadow.
There was no food or drink she consumed without his tasting first. No place she went without his constant protection.
He was mostly silent in his devoted vigil. Since a child, he tended to keep his thoughts his own. Except for the times “Heba,” as those closest to her addressed the princess (certainly never Shai, never out loud, only in his mind), demanded to have his thoughts verbally expressed.
Surprisingly, she did this more often than he would have expected, given that he was merely her slave, her property. To do his duty by her, he did not need to be seen or heard.
Well, it was difficult to unsee him, much as he tried to blend into the background. His height and muscular bulk rather overshadowed all those around him.
She requested his opinions only when they were alone. Only when it was time to sleep.
He was the only one allowed within her chambers when she was most vulnerable. All other times, the royals and their entourage were constantly surrounded by people. Servants, slaves, peasants and noblemen.
Most of the time, she spoke her innermost thoughts out loud to herself as she lay upon her enormous cotton-cushioned bed and he lay upon the cool stone floor, naked but for his loincloth even in the coldest nights. He kept his arsenal of weapons within reach, however. He was never truly unarmed.
And most of the time, she didn’t require his verbal contribution. He learned that a mere hum or grunt would serve just as well.
This night, after the princess finished her bath, aided by the usual handmaidens, she stood a while in her diaphanous shift looking out of her balcony to the pristine courtyard below and the dusky skies that stretched into the distance.
Only Heba’s bed chamber possessed a balcony. None of the other royals did. It was both a risk and a luxury.
Her room was high enough in the Palace that mosquitoes and other insects would not be able to get to it. But determined assassins could potentially find ways to scale the outer walls.
On the other hand, if the threat came from within the Palace, the balcony could be an escape route, though a dangerous one, given that the steep fall would break many bones, if not kill a person outright.
Shai would never let her fall. He would use himself as a shield and break all of the bones in his body before any harm would come to her.
Seven years ago, she bought him from the slave trade. Or rather, the Pharoah did. And gifted him to his favored daughter. She’d asked for his loyalty and devotion in exchange for taking care of his parents. She kept her promise, and he kept his.
His mother was one of the weavers within the Palace. His father tended to the lush gardens and pools that surrounded it. They were given their own private quarters within the Palace base, luxuries befitting of paid servants rather than slaves.
Shai saw them almost every day, because the princess made it a point to visit their places of work.
She never mentioned it overtly, but he knew she made those rounds because of him. Whether she did it out of kindness or as a reminder of his promise to her by showing him the fulfilment of her promise to him, he didn’t know.
After watching her closely, by necessity, these seven years, the princess remained an enigma to him.
She could be exceptionally calculating, though never cruel. She could be ruthless, but never vindictive. Out of all of the Pharoah’s children, by the Great Queen and by his lesser wives, she was the shrewdest, the most cunning and also the most generous and joyful.
It was little wonder that the Pharoah loved her best.
“Papa is dying,” she murmured now, talking more to herself than Shai.
She knew he was there. He was always there. But he recognized that in this instance, she was merely getting her thoughts out, to relieve the pressure within.
It didn’t matter that he heard. He was of no importance.
“Thutmose—the Second that is—and I shall be married tomorrow. My half-brother will be announced as the new Pharoah, and I, his Great Queen.”
Shai grimaced on her behalf from his place in the shadows.
