Sands of Time (Complete)

Chapter 1: The Day That Became...

Laughter filled the rooms of the small home as Aadila helped her mother bring in the completed dinner for everyone. The important man from her Father's work was very polite, which she wasn't expecting. He was shy, quiet and almost too passive for someone she was thinking was going to be loud, rude and critical about everything said and done on his stay. Aadila set down the plates in front of him and his family so they could take their share first, followed by her mother doing the same. Her father's superior's wife was extremely attractive, having long jet black hair, teal eyes and flawless olive skin. It almost seemed unreal that the adorable 3 month old daughter in her arms was hers. The man was not as such, for he had a stalky build and many wrinkles on his face, too many for a man his age. His brown eyes looked worn out and his hair was already greying. The dim lighting helped somewhat, hiding the past prime man's flaws. 

Aadila took a seat beside her mother at the other end of the table, serving herself a small amount of food since she didn't really have that much of an appetite. That didn't stop the others from taking in as much as they could fill. The Eish Masri was baked to perfection which pleased Aadila, for her mother had been worrying that she had forgotten something. The fava beans were the perfect texture and the vegetable sauce made them taste so much better. Finally the fish, which mother went away for a few days to get from the coast just for this dinner was divine. Aadila had had fish before when they were visiting family on the coast, but it didn't taste anything like this. Her mother had told her that the fish was different than the one she had a few years ago, but Aadila knew there was something else to it. She just couldn't place her finger on it. 

The conversations that Aadila's father and the man were having spiked her interest when they started talking about the palace. The man had mentioned to her father that the Pharaoh was thinking of having more soldiers guard the outer city limits to protect against the possible army that was on its way. Her father gave a shocked looked, and so did Aadila, because the man said it so casually. That wasn't the only thing that intrigued her. The other was the fact that the man knew about this. How does my father know someone that is so close to the Pharaoh? She couldn't stop thinking that, but after she thought about it, she didn't even know what her father did?! So when the time came she took her chance...

"Father, I don't mean to interrupt, but how does this man know the Pharaoh's words? I don't mean to pry but we are not very high in nobility so I can't comprehend how you would associate with people in such a high standing."

Her father and the man, along with her mother and the man's gave a short laugh. The man said, "Your daughter is as you said she is my friend. It's hard to believe that she understands social class at such a young age."

"It's all that reading she does, sir. I try to get her to do things with the other children but she is pulled to those scrolls like we were to girls at her age." Her father replied with a gentle smile in Aadila's direction.

"Maybe she should take the test to become a guardian for the next Pharaoh. You never know what could happen."

The smile somewhat faded and her father's expression grew somewhat worried. "I don't think I would allow that. You hear those stories coming from the servants, I just couldn't stand hearing them know she was in the middle of all of that. I can barely stand it now."

Aadila was confused. Her father seemed to know so much about the palace and he never spoke about it with her. I wonder why?

"To answer your question Aadila, you see, I work as part of the palace guard. I'm an extension of the Pharaoh's hand, you might say, when there are things that he must not risk his life for. We need a Pharaoh to keep Egypt safe, so there needs to be people willing to keep him safe. Adofo," as he continued he put is hand on the man's shoulder, "and I are some of those people. We do things for the Pharaoh so our families can be safe." For some reason, Aadila didn't feel comfortable with this knowledge and her father read that from her face. "My child, there is nothing to worry about. You know your father can protect himself, you remember the stories your mother told of when we were younger. I swear on the Gods that I haven't lost that skill. Also, I trust our Pharaoh like you should as well. He would never put us in a situation that would cause death as the only outcome. He's an intelligent man."

"But how do you know that father? I'm not a child, I know people say nice things about the Pharaoh because they are scared that they will be hurt if they say otherwise. How do you know that it's the truth?" Aadila had tears brimming her eyes as she softly spoke. She had heard stories of men and women going missing after saying bad things about the Pharaoh.

"I've spoken with him myself, that's how I know. I speak with him almost daily and he would never harm an innocent person or creature on the planet knowingly." 

"You know the Pharaoh!?" Dakaria interrupted. "Is he really tall like all the women in the market say!? Or is he short!? Is he a good fighter like you father?! Have you ever got to fight against him!? Did you win!?..."

Dakaria continued with his questions not giving their father time to answer, causing laughter among the men and smiles among the women. Aadila giggled as well, but sighed as she got up to go outside to check on the horses. It was one of the chores she decided to keep after her mother became well again. When she got to their enclosure, something seemed off. Normally the would come over quickly to her, but they hid in the furthest corner in the shadows. She called them, but they refused to move. Then she felt something, like someone was behind her, watching her. She turned quickly only to find nothing until she saw the moonlight reflect off of something behind the storage bin. Just as she was about to start making her way over the it, her mother called her in, asking her to bid the guest farewell. Aadila quickly looked back to the bin, thinking she saw some movement, then made her way back to the house.