English Version: Sands & Sparrow

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Femi's death changed the fair princess's life, casting a long shadow over her future. Only the King and Hamar conspired to hide her death. They ordered to bury her in a secret tomb unknown to the other royal family, its location guarded as fiercely as the kingdom's greatest treasures.

Days passed, and the King's health gradually weakened, like a melting candle of a flame that would soon be extinguished. His once robust frame was now frail, his voice barely above a whisper. The Queen returned from her travel, her attendants bringing news from far-flung corners of the empire. She received the news of Femi's death with an impassive face. Nevertheless, Queen Meshkenet remained stoic to emotions; no remorse showed on her face. Her eyes, once warm, now seemed cold and distant.

Before the King's health diminished, he chose a wife for the young prince, and luck was bestowed on Nefertari. The irony of the decision was not lost on those who knew the truth of Femi's fate. She married the child prince in a more somber than celebratory ceremony, the shadow of recent losses hanging over the proceedings. Soon after that, the King died.

Weeks passed, and the Queen developed an illness, a strange disease that was foreign to the doctors. None of them could tell the cause of her sickness, and their remedies and incantations proved useless. She looked frail and disoriented, her face losing color and her lips turning pale. Her emotional outburst indicated her worsening condition, her once-regal composure crumbling. She even attacked her brother, leaving a scar on Hamar's cheek. After a few days of fevered delirium, she finally succumbed to her death.

Hamar carried out the ceremony and buried the Queen within the pyramid, and the rituals were performed with meticulous care despite the haste. Her death deeply saddened him, grief shattering his soul like a hammer to glass. But his love for the kingdom compelled him to be strong. At seventeen, the empire had a new Queen—the Great Nefertari. However, the male monarch of Elydia was a child, his small frame dwarfed by the throne he sat upon. It was decided the marriage would be consummated once he was old enough to plant his lineage inside the Queen's womb, a decision that left Nefertari feeling both relieved and trapped.

The scars of the past had etched a profound transformation in the new Queen. Once a meek princess who harbored disdain for violence, she stood as a ferocious beast on the battlefield. Nefertari killed her enemies without mercy, her sword moved like lightning, and her chariot echoed like thunder across the desert sands. Queen Nefertari instilled fear among her foes yet garnered respect and admiration from her generals. With a child-husband by her side and no heir to secure the throne, the seeds of betrayal took root within the palace.

The succession game unfolded, a complex manipulation of politics and betrayal. Those next in line sought to claim her position, their machinations as intricate as they were deadly. In the middle of the deceit, the young King met his death from a venomous snake bite, and his tiny body was found cold in his chambers. Even the bloodline next to Nefertari failed to endure, as if cursed by some evil force. Now, the entire land lay under the sole rule of Queen Nefertari, her power absolute but precarious.

In the relentless game of survival, the Queen faced numerous attempts on her life. Assassins sought her death, their blades glinting in the shadows of the palace. Slaves paid the price for their failed attempts, their screams echoing through the dungeons. Corrupt generals met the gallows for conspiring against her rule, their bodies swinging as a warning to others. Even betrayal from her brothers met the swift vengeance of the Queen. Some plots, however nefarious, proved successful in coming close to ending her reign. Hamar thwarted attempts to poison her through food.

The Queen, once terrified of death, now faced it with a longing that surprised even her. The loss of her mother cast a profound sorrow in her heart, a wound that never truly healed. She had come to terms with the life she was destined to lead, each day a battle against enemies both seen and unseen. Marriage, heirs, power, and the kingdom—cycles that failed to inspire Nefertari but were irrevocably woven into her fate.