THE GREAT LADY OF ALKION

CHAPTER 33

The doors to the great hall were opened and she walked hand in hand with her husband as the courtiers and nobles of the land bowed whenever the couple passed them. They talked amongst themselves expressing how impressed they were by the choice of wife Ramses had settled on for his son.
Astrid and Seti bowed before the Pharaoh before taking their seats on his left side. On his left was Smenkhhare and Meritaten. Next to them was Rashida and Thutmose.
He was dressed in white with a leopard skin draped from his right shoulder to his waist. He wore the a double crown to represent his rule over Upper and Lower Egypt. The red one called the deshret represented Lower Egypt while the white one was the hedjet to represent Upper Egypt. The pschent was the combination of both crowns.
" I am glad to welcome you all for this great feast to celebrate the marriage of my son Seti to Astrid. Not all of you were able to attend the wedding so I had this feast arranged to celebrate them. I don't intend on speaking a lot but I hope that all of you enjoy and have a great time. May the feast begin," Ramses said and immediately musicians entered the hall playing their instruments to entertain the guests.
Everyone mingled and there were groups formed with each talking and making merry. Others danced to the music while others ate and drank.
Astrid was enjoying the feast as many came to greet her and introduce themselves to her. Seti helped her conduct the conversations and within some time she was used to talking to them and learning about them. She was the star of the feast as more and more gifts were presented to her. Maidservants took them from her after she received them and took them to her room for her to open them when she got there.
This much attention made Rashida jealous. Before Astrid, she was the one who caught everyone's attention for her beauty and for her excellent dancing skills. She knew how to dance perfectly and had done so many times earning a lot of praise but here she was with no one asking her to even dance.
She was not the only one who felt jealous. Meritaten was too. She was talking to Thutmose when she turned to talk to Smenkhhare and saw him looking at Astrid. He licked his lips when he saw her smile. He was clearly lusting over her.
"Stop staring at another man's wife," she hissed.
"I thought you were talking to Thutmose," he replied without looking at Meritaten. His gaze still fixed on Astrid.
"I was. When I turned I have found you staring at her. What do you want me to think ? I am your wife. "
"You shouldn't think about anything Meritaten. You are indeed my wife but you know that I don't have feelings for you and the sooner you accept it, the better for both of us," he replied after taking a sip of wine.
" I will not sit down and let you desire her. Don't make me overstep boundaries to show you that you are mine."
" I am not yours and I will never be. I only married you to save your reputation. Otherwise, I would have tossed you aside and enough with the threats. If you lay a finger on Astrid, I will do something to you that you won't like."
With those words he stood up and approached Astrid who was standing with some woman now that Seti was talking to the Pharaoh. Meritaten slammed her hand on the table and left the hall. Upon seeing the prince,the woman excused herself and left the two together.
"Astrid," he said and stood next to her.
"Smenkhhare," she said.
"You look beautiful tonight. You're always beautiful since I saw you back in Alkion."
"Thank you."
"How does it feel like being married to my little brother ?"
"Seti is amazing. He is a good husband."
" Is he ? He is a quiet man. A good soldier and very obedient to father. Nothing more. I don't think he was the right person for you."
" He is. You just don't know him well enough," she answered sternly. That conversation was getting uncomfortable and lucky for her Khafirin approached them followed by his daughter Asenath. She gave a sigh of relief because they saved her from the uncomfortable talk with Smenkhhare. They bowed and Smenkhhare excused himself before Khafirin spoke.
"I am the high priest of Amen-Ra and the court physician as well. It's a pleasure to have you here in Egypt with us."
"Thank you Khafirin. I saw you and your daughter with the entourage in Alkion. I am also pleased to know and see you again."
"If you need anything, my father and I are of service to you my lady," Asenath said.
" I hope to have smooth cooperation with you now that I am here."
" Don't worry Princess Astrid. You can count on the both of us. We are at your service," Khafirin said with a bow.
" Thank you," Astrid replied with a smile. Khafirin excused himself after the Pharaoh called him.
" If you don't mind my asking, was Smenkhhare disturbing you ?" Asenath asked. That was bold of her.
" It was nothing."
" He is always like that. He is a bully and has been ever since we were children."
" You grew up with them ?"
" Yes I did. My mother was Smenkhhare and Rashida's personal maidservant. Father was a regular priest here and so I've grown up with the royal children."
" Oh. I see. If I may ask, what happened to Seti and Smenkhare's mothers ? From what I know, they died when their children were young."
" Their story is somewhat dark and I don't think that it's best for you to know of it when you just arrived today. I am sure that you will learn of it very soon but please don't ask of it from Seti. He is still emotional about it till date."
" I understand. What about your mother ? I haven't seen her."
" I don't know where she is either. She left some time back with my sister Nephra. It has been some moons and nobody has heard of them since. I would rather not talk about them."
"I am sorry for being nosey but I need to know the background of my family."
" I understand you my lady. If you need anything, I will be here."
" What are the both of you discussing ?" Seti asked as he joined the two.
" Asenath here is just telling me that she is here for me and some talk about palace life."
" Did she now ?"
" Yes I did," she said with a blush. She had feelings for Seti and she had hoped to be picked as his wife during the wife selection moons ago but she was not chosen. Her sister however, was chosen to be Seti's wife but a series of events led her to lose the opportunity.