What the pharoah wants for egyptiangoddess11 and truegrave

RE: What the pharoah wants (Closed)

(It's okay.)

Haken nodded and scrawled "Show good integrity and seems loyal to family" on the scroll.
"Well, I can see with my own eyes that Kissa is beautiful. However, I would like for you to tell me of her inner beauty or explain a time when she showed great character or inner beauty."
Haken was getting good answers from her family, and it seemed like Kissa would be the favorite of the Pharaoh's candidates.

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"Kissa has always been kind to others, she helps out the elderly with chores or food when ever she is able, she doesn't pick on some of the less beautiful women who are in the village like the other girls do." Her mother answered smoothly, "When she was about five years old she distracted a group of kids from attacking an older child and came home with a black eye."

Kissa sighed wondering how long it would take for them to finish. She didn't want to become the Pharaoh's bride but it seemed she didn't have a choice, maybe he wouldn't pick her. Taking Ai's hand she snuck into the back of the hut and snatched up the laundry that needed to be done. Walking down to the lake with the other women Kissa bent down ignoring her nice clothing and jewels and began to wash as Ai swam around.

RE: What the pharoah wants (Closed)

Haken nodded. He scrawled on the papyrus scroll "shows both inner and outer beauty".
"Well, that's all the questions that I have for you. I just have one question for Kissa. Please call her in."
Haken leaned back in his chair as he waited.

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The women stood and left the hut searching for Kissa. Seeing her washing clothing she gasped and yanked her up, "Kissa! You are ruining your clothing!" She said angrily and dusted her off fixing her hair she sent her into the hut.

Walking in Kissa bowed to Haken before sitting down.

RE: What the pharoah wants (Closed)

Haken waited until Kissa's parents left the room. He shifted his body position from reclining to sitting up normally before clearing his throat.
"Miss Kissa, I'm sure you're aware that you are one of three young women that the Pharaoh has chosen to be a potential bride. However, there was a man that you had a clandestine relationship with before his untimely and unfortunate demise. So, that only leads to one question. Do you still have romantic feelings for this deceased man?"

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Kissa knelt down and tucked her legs under her spreading her hands out to the dying fire. Nervously she looked at him. Why had he choosen her to be one of the women to be interviewed? She had been rude to him, had he liked that? Hopefully he would pick one of the other women, she could only hope, and pray to the wonderful Gods that they would grant her at least this, "No, I do not have romantic feelings for him, I mourned his death, and moved on." She said softly.

RE: What the pharoah wants (Closed)

Haken scrawled on the papyrus scroll "has no romantic feelings for deceased lover", then rolled up the scroll and tied it shut. At this point, Haken, who had remained stoic throughout the whole interview, actually showed some sorrow by a light grimace at the corner of his mouth and sad eyes.
"It was not just you that mourned his death. The whole country, including all of us in the royal palace, mourned the loss of him and all of the other native sons of Egypt that perished fighting those nomadic barbarians. The Pharaoh spent three days in seclusion after he heard about the loss, mourning those men as if he had just lost his own sons. It was a terrible day for all Egyptians, reaching across economic and social divisions to unite us all in grief."

Haken stood up and tucked the scroll away.
"Miss Kissa, it is now time for you to come with us to the royal palace. The Pharaoh himself has some last minute details to take care of before the real tests begin. I will give you a moment to say goodbye to your family before we depart."
Haken left the house and stood by the wagon. He had done his job, and the rest was now up to the Pharaoh.

RE: What the pharoah wants (Closed)

Kissa gave him a sad look, "I am glad to hear the lives lost hit the pharaoh as hard as it hit us." She said softly and bowed low as he stood to leave. Hearing that she had to come with him Kissa sputtered. She wasn't ready to leave, she didn't want to leave her family. Taking a deep breath Kissa closed her eyes and nodded silently. She prayed he would not pick her. Standing Kissa turned and started to pack her clothing. She had so little Kissa quickly took the jewels out of her hair and set them with her m other's things before tying her nap sack together and hugging it close to her body.

Her parent's had tears in their eyes and Ai looked confused as to why they were sad. Reaching up to Kissa to be picked up. Kissa bent down and scooped the little girl in her arms, "You be good, I'll be home in a few days." She said more to assure herself then her sister. Kissing both her parents on the cheek she walked out of the hut and walked toward Haken ready to depart.

RE: What the pharoah wants (Closed)

Haken ushered Kissa into the wagon with the other girls, then got into the seat. With the crack of the reins, the oxen began moving forward and carrying them to the royal palace. They were taken inside, and Haken handed the scroll to Kanen on the way to his duties. Kanen put the scroll in his robe and turned to the girls.
"Before you may be placed before the Pharaoh, you must be bathed and clothed for his inspection."
Kanen snapped his fingers, and the female servants appeared.

The girls were grabbed and roughly taken into the bathhouse. The rough treatment was mostly due to jealousy, as many of the servant girls had longed to be chosen by the Pharaoh, and couldn't stand that these girls had achieved that right instead of them. Thus, some girls were professional and bathed the prospective wives well, and others made it intentionally painful, scrubbing too hard and intentionally getting soap in their eyes. The girls were then placed in strips of leather that covered only their most private parts, so that the Pharaoh might be able to inspect them in almost their full glory. The prospective wives were hustled out of the bathhouse and ordered to stand where they had been before, clean of all dirt and grime, but with irritated skin in certain parts, perhaps still stung eyes, and perhaps humiliated by the skimpiness of their dress. Kanen stood at attention, waiting for the appearance of Pharaoh Kamenhama.

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Kissa stumbled as she was dragged to the bath house. Being pushed into the water she came up sputtering and gasping for air. Turning she glared at the women, "Just because you don't like me doesn't mean you have to be rude. I don't want to be here anymore then you want me." She hissed and snatched the soap from her pushing the women away she bathed herself struggling to keep the soap from the women who wanted to bath her instead.

Still fuming Kissa was dragged out of the water and dried off before being dressed, "If you think I'm going out there like this you've lost your mind!" She growled trying to snatched the towel from the women. Kissa was denied and dragged into the room with the other women where she stood fuming and humiliated. As soon as the pharaoh was present she crossed her arms trying to cover as much as her body as possible all the while glaring at the man.

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Pharaoh Kamenhama made his way down the stairs, dressed in his royal linens and crown. He turned to Kanen.
"You may go, Kanen. I will speak with you later."
His adviser left and the Pharaoh turned to the women. The last part of the "interview" was a personal inspection by him. His bride had to be fair in all aspects.

Hama walked in front of and behind the women. Two of them seemed nervous and ashamed, but one just seemed angry. She was hiding her body as much as she could, making it hard for him to inspect her like he needed to. All of the women were in good shape and similar height, but the one called Kissa had two things that differentiated her. Two of the women were fairly average in the bust category, while Kissa was quite large-breasted. The other difference was in her eyes, which seemed to shine like Ra himself.

The Pharaoh stood before them, his eyes looking kind but his face emotionless.
"I apologize for the rough treatment that you had to undergo before the exam. The good news is that you have all passed the inspection. Today, you will become serving girls, taking care of the palace and learning proper etiquette in all areas. You will be living at the palace, of course, but will be allowed to visit with your families the weekend of every other week. This will go on for a year, with the woman that I choose becoming my wife and her family being given the best of everything."

Kamenhama then left while the women were hustled off to be given serving girl clothes and begin their duties. He found Kanen in his office and read over the scroll. All three women were impressive, but Kissa especially impressed him, meeting all of his qualifications with perfection. Nevertheless, she seemed to hate his guts. Hama chuckled a bit and retied the scroll. The girl had spirit, and whether she knew it or not, there was not much that she could do to get Hama's eye off of her.

RE: What the pharoah wants (Closed)

Kissa stood before him hatred flaming from her dark blue eyes. It was an odd color for their people. Most having dark brown eyes very few green and only Kissa was known to have blue. It was a bright contrast against her long black curls and Ra tanned skin. Once the Pharaoh left Kissa yanked away from the touch of the other women and snatched the clothing quickly covering up before she began to calm down, "Thank you." She said to the women giving her a half bow.

Kissa sighed. She had to wait a year, an entire year before he would choose someone else and she could go home. She was devastated. Kissa was getting older, in a year there would not be many men left for her to marry, not that many of the men in the village interested her. Sighing she followed the girls to their new room as one of the women showed them around where their etiquette classes would take place, where they would eat and bath and everything else.

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The Pharaoh returned to his office of sorts and sat down to some business. The office of Pharaoh was mostly an administrative job, and the men who held it were prized for their frugal spending and lucrative tax policies. However, this part of the job bored Hama to tears. He liked being able to be the spiritual leader of his people, and he liked solving their problems. It was that thought, that he was helping the people by ensuring financial stability, that helped him trudge through the miles of numbers on tax rolls. When he had finished, he left the room for his afternoon bath.

While being bathed, Hama thought about the etiquette classes the women were taking. He wanted them to sit at his table for the meal and see how well they would handle it. He wanted to engage them in conversation and get to know them face-to-face, not just by reading the scroll. Hama loved interacting with people, and good conversation would surely help them all. Maybe that would be the way to break the ice with the girls, especially the lovely Kissa. When he was done bathing, he changed into fresh clothes and left for the office of Haken, who he sent off to let the women know of the dinner plans.

From here, the Pharaoh would need to travel for a bit. He had to go by wagon and check the fronts in Lower Egypt. His country enjoyed a good deal of peace, but lately, things were being disrupted. More and more foreign peoples were moving into the area, and while he did not distrust all of them, some had not come in peace. The recent loss of so many good young men was a reminder that peace could be shattered in but a moment. Pharaohs were not warlords, but when it came to defending his country, he needed to know who the threats were and where they would come from.

RE: What the pharoah wants (Closed)

Kissa was sat down with the two other girls and told how to sit, eat, speak, and walk for the next two hours. They were grabbed and shoved into proper positions. Finally after long grueling hours they were given lunch. It was honestly the best lunch Kissa had ever eaten. Everything was savory, or sweet for dessert the wine was decadent. She wasn't even allowed to drink wine at home. The other girls over indulged in the wine becoming tipsy and giggly with each other making fun with Kissa. Sighing Ella stood and took a sweet meat before she left the room.

Shutting the large door behind her Kissa leaned against the wall and popped the sweet meat into her mouth chewing on the dried fruit dipped in wine and nuts. She sighed and closed her eyes trying to wash this day from her mind.

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Pharaoh Kamenhama returned from his trip a relieved man. His borders had not been oppressed by any rogue nomads, and his kingdom was doing fine. It warmed his heart to see his people happy, and he had done whatever he could to help make the lives of the people who had suffered losses as easy as possible, cancelling their debts and even paying them a monthly pension to aid in their economic recovery and grief. Hama returned to his palace in time for his evening bath before dinner. The main course of that night would be roast ham. He sat down with his family and trusted associates to await the arrival of his three guests.

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A group of women came to escort the three women to dinner. Each women was bathed and dressed in fine clothing before escorted to the king's table. Kissa sighed, it seemed like hours since they had eaten lunch. She was starving, Kissa knew that dinner would be delicious. Bowing lightly she waited until the king told them to sit. Once they were allowed to be seated Kissa sat with her hands in her lap. They would not be allowed to serve themselves until the pharaoh allowed it.

One of the girls forgot herself and reached for a chunk of flat bread.

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The Pharaoh sat down and watched as one of the girls broke one of the rules of etiquette by attempting to serve herself before he had allowed it. Atra gently took her hand and pushed it back to the girl's lap, shaking her head. Hama waited a few minutes, then nodded for everyone to serve themselves. The Pharaoh took a cut of ham and began to eat.
"So ladies," he said after he had chewed and swallowed his food, "how was your first day at the palace."
"They do seem to have cleaned up nicely," Temses added.

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Kissa reached for a piece of flat bread and ham before starting to eat. The food was delicious. She knew it would be. Silently she pushed a piece of black hair away from her face wishing she could pull it back and braid it, but the women who dressed her told her to leave it loose, "It is wonderful my lord." Said one of the girls batting her eye lashes at him, "We are privileged to be here." Said the second trying just as hard to flirt with the pharaoh.

Kissa said nothing as she reached forward to take a sip of the wine. Let those girls make fools of them selves, hopefully the pharaoh would like the attention he was getting. Her only goal was to go home as soon as possible

RE: What the pharoah wants (Closed)

The Pharaoh nodded.
"Thank you, ladies."
He turned to Kissa.
"And what do you think of the meal, Kissa?"
Hama took another bite of his food. The other girls seem to be enjoying themselves, but Kissa was going to be a tougher nut to crack.

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Kissa's head shot up when he spoke to her, "Uhm." She said nervously seeing that the other girls where looking at her as well, "It's delicious." She said simply and took another bite of her food.

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The Pharaoh nodded.
"Yes, it is quite nice."
He turned to his brother.
"So, Temses, how was the trip to North Africa?"
"Very well, brother. The Phoenicians are doing quite well in their trading empire, and our country is also reaping the benefits."

The Pharaoh took another bite.
"I head that the Phoenicians have built a city near the Mediterranean."
"Ah, yes. Carthage is what they call it."
"They are expanding into the Mediterranean region. That could be quite profitable if we could get in from the ground up."

"You're right, brother. But the Greeks definitely have an in with them. If we want to get in good with the Phoenicians, we'll have to become diplomatic with the Greeks."
"Have you ever been to Greece, Temses?"
"No, but I've heard that it has beautiful architecture."
"Go there tomorrow and find out who is in control."

"Are you sure, sir? I have heard that many strange things happen in that land."
"We need allies, Temses. Our country is not strong militarily, as those raiders proved. If we are going to defend our land, we need more money to build up an army and allies who will come to our aid. Greece may well be as bad as you have heard, but if it is not, then we may secure financial prosperity through this alliance."

RE: What the pharoah wants (Closed)

Kissa finished the food on her plate and took a final sip of wine. Sighing in contentment she leaned back into her chair and closed her eyes for a moment before looking at the Pharaoh. They were talking about politics, it seemed things were being stirred up in a few villages surrounding his kingdom. She listened to how he was planning on handling it, surprised at his take of action.

The two other girls grew bored with their topic of discussion and turned to each other chatting quietly about the beauty of the palace, the clothing and the tastiness of the food in hopes their praise will make the pharaoh happy.

Kissa ignored them and continued listing to the conversation between the pharaoh and his brother.

RE: What the pharoah wants (Closed)

Pharaoh Kamenhamen and his brother Temses continued the conversation on Greece. It was settled that Temses would travel there tomorrow and gather information about the land. If it proved well, he would send Kanen to seek an audience with the King of the most prosperous city. The meal was soon ended, and the girls were sent back to their quarters. It interested Hama that Kissa seemed interested in what he was talking about. He was happy that they found the palace to their liking, but sometimes a lack of words can draw more attention than many.

The Pharaoh took his nightly bath and retired to his bed chambers. The tests were proceeding well. The other two girls seemed happy to be there, but Kissa was not opening up too much. Perhaps given more time, she would grow to like him and the palace. It was all a bit much to take in for her, after all. Hama laid down on the bed and was soon asleep.

RE: What the pharoah wants (Closed)

The girls were summoned to the bathing room where they were told to bathe. The room was more like a small wading pool filled with steaming water and flower pettles. Not that she would addmit it but Kissa lovd the bathes, they were so lovely. Stripping the girl slid into the water and leaned back sighing.

The two other girls giggled with each other and splashed around enjoying the bathe to their fullest. As Kissa lay there she could hear the two of them whispering quietly to one another, "You know the pharaoh won't choose Kissa, she is to rude, the two of us have much more beauty then her. I have an idea." Said one of the girls grasping onto the second's arm firmly, "Which ever one of us gets chosen will have the other as their personal servant, that way we can both stay here." She said and smiled eagerly at the other girl as servants came to wash them.

Kissa thanked her own servant and sent her away as she listened to the second girl's response , "You are right, he would never chose Kissa, let's do it." The two of them giggled and Kissa turned taking the cake of soap she began to wash her body and hair before getting out. Dressing in a simple gown she walked threw the hall letting her hair dry in the hot air.

RE: What the pharoah wants (Closed)

(I'm going to skip ahead a bit.)

The first week of the women's stay at the palace went rather well. They were all making headway in their etiquette studies, and Greece was turning out to be a profitable venture. Kanen had opened negotiations with the ruler of Athens, the most beautiful and cultural city-state within Greece. There had been no barbarian attacks, so the future of Egypt looked bright. The women had been sent home for the weekend to see their families. Pharaoh Hama had not yet gotten Kissa to warm up to him, but she seemed to be adjusting better to palace life.