The Prince of Egypt: A Pharaoh's Romance

Chapter Six: "A Rude Awakening"

It was after the Banquet was over. All Izidora could think of was her family. She missed them so much and wanted to tell them everything that has been going on within the palace. All her experiences and how she made new friends like her coworkers, Zerah, Nala, and Iriz. How she became friends with the princes, Moses and Rameses. But she couldn't and that broke her heart.

She knew her mother did not have much time to live as her sickness was still attacking her. Izidora wanted to spend as much time with her as possible. She was in the middle of picking up used cups and plates. Setting them in a ben she carried so she could take them into the main kitchen to wash them. When she picked up a silver cup, she could see her reflection. She looked closer as to how her appearance changed.

She was told to cut her hair into a bob and was told to wear eyeliner. Something she had never done before. She missed her fresh long loosened dark brown curls that would show a bit of light brown when in the light. It was no longer there. Her hair grew much faster than others, so she would have to cut her hair frequently. She wondered what her mother would say. She knew why she was told to look like this, it was so she wouldn't have any individuality from the other maidens.

Everything was becoming harder and more stressful by the day. Every night she would cry as she missed her family but every morning, she would remember why she was here in the first place. "Izi, what are you doing, staring at the cup like that?" Rameses asked walking up to her. "If there's dirt just clean it, don't stare at it." He said jokingly. Causing Izidora to laugh. "I was just thinking." Izidora responded with a soft smile.

"Thinking? about what?" He asked. Izidora hesitated; she didn't want to make Rameses feel bad, but she didn't want to make it seem like she was keeping secrets from him either. "Izi?" he said looking down at her, noticing her smile was now gone. "It's just...I miss my family. So much. I haven't seen them in weeks, and I want to make sure they are okay." Izidora stated walking to the other side of the room to pick up another cup and placing it into the basket as Rameses followed her.

"Why don't you go visit them?" He asked concerned. Izidora hesitated to speak. "Pharoah is punishing me for not doing my job correctly by not allowing me to see my family tonight." Izidora responded holding back tears. Rameses quietly gasped. he felt terrible that his actions caused his friend to get into trouble. "I'm sorry. I didn't know that would happen." He spoke which sent Izidora into a venting rant as Rameses sat down on table to listen as he helped her pick up cups and plates from the table.

"I've been feeling so much pressure lately." Izidora spoke up. "Pressure?" Rameses asked as he handed her a cup. "The other maidens here bully me for being a Hebrew and having that my family are slaves. They treat me like I'm some type of monster that if someone were to get too close to me, my Hebrew essence would rub off on me, onto them. As if I'm some disease." Izidora spoke up as Rameses frowned at how Izidora was being treated behind closed doors.

"They make me do their part of their work...I cry and pray every night that I just disappear." She continued causing Rameses to gasp at those words as he cursed himself for being so blind to Izidora's pain. "But then every morning I remember why I started working here in the first place. To help my family and my mother's sickness." Izidora spoke when all of a sudden, she felt the warmth of strong arms wrapping around her.

She looked up to see Rameses hugging her and resting his head on top of hers. He did not want her to see him in a blush like state so he kept his head rested on hers. "I'm sorry you have been feeling this way, that you cannot see your family because of me, or that you are being mistreated by the other staff. If I had known sooner, I swear I would have put an end to that." He said as he stepped back and rested his hand on Izidora's shoulder. "Really?" Izidora asked even though she already knew he would.