The House of the Rising Sun

Chapter Four: Egypt

Chapter Four: Egypt

Alexander

I had been in Egypt less than a day and I was already amazed. The culture was so different from Rome, but I was awed. There were some similarities; the thing we shared in common was some Greek influences.

“Alexander, are you enjoying the banquet? Your first Egyptian banquet?” Antony asked me, smiling. I looked up from my extremely exotic food and looked at him.

“It’s amazing!” I exclaimed. Antony laughed a hearty laugh.

“Is the boy enjoying himself?” asked another Senate member to Antony, and he nodded.

“Yes, Trebonius, he is. This is such a lovely party!”

The table was lively with chatter, but I was slightly out of place. These men were all older and knew what to say to each other. I was the youngest, and only Antony would speak with me. He drank out of his goblet, which had been filled with Egyptian beer.  I took a few sips from the wine in front of me, but I was careful. A sober man is the wisest of all, Antony had said to me once. I looked around the table at all the Romans and then I laid my eyes on Cleopatra, the Egyptian queen. She had dark, dark hair; her eyes lined with eyeliner, and she was wearing a golden crown. She wasn’t the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Her nose had a slight bump on it, but when she smiled she would look a little prettier. Everyone in Egypt dressed oddly. The women wore simple white dresses and a few wore jewelry, and the men wore white tunics or sometimes just white kilts, leaving them bare-chested.

“Alexander, are you just going to stare at your food or are you going to eat it? It’s delicious!” Antony laughed. I hadn’t even realized I had been staring, but I took a bite out of something exotic. No. Something Egyptian. It was delicious, and I ate some more.

“You there,” called a feminine voice.

“Me?” Antony asked, and I thought I heard a tinge of hopefulness in his voice.

“No, the one next to me. The handsome boy,” she said. I looked up and I realized it was Cleopatra who had called to me. She actually was pretty charming. I swallowed.

“Yes?” Antony elbowed me and I got the hint. “O queen?” I hoped that didn’t sound fake.

“Are you enjoying the dinner?” she cooed. She smiled.

“Yes, it’s wonderful. Thank you.” I looked at Antony and he winked. “Egypt is a beautiful land,” I added, just for extra measure. Antony patted me on the back. Cleopatra smiled, turned to Caesar, and said something to him. Caesar nodded and smiled.

“I told you she was a charmer,” Antony said to me. “Now don’t get distracted by her. Or any Egyptian girl, for that matter. Like you said, you are here for politics and for me.” Antony was slightly stern, but his mood from the party wasn’t changed.

“Finally, you aren’t pushing me to find an Egyptian girl,” I said, and he laughed.

“Alexander, just enjoy yourself here. See the culture. Learn about my politics and learn from Caesar. And,” Antony smiled mischievously at me and I saw him look at my food, “enjoy the delicacies.”

Suddenly I got the feeling that I was being watched, and I tensed up.

“Is there something wrong?” Antony asked me. I shook my head.

“No, no, I’m fine,” I lied. “The food is…chewy.” I couldn’t think of anything better to say. I looked up from the food at all the Senate members and the queen, but no eyes were on me. I looked over at the musicians, but they kept playing. I scanned over that crowd until all of a sudden two dark eyes met mine. I found who had been watching me. It was a very, very pretty girl and…I smiled. I probably looked like an idiot, and I broke the gaze to look back at my food. She smiled back. She had smiled back at me. And I looked like an idiot. I ate some food, just to show that I wasn’t a complete and utter moron. To be honest, I wasn’t hungry anymore.