Twins of Egypt

Chapter 18: Exploration || Part 1

[[June 14 B.C.E || Selene]]

During the previous two years of our twelve-year reign, we have expanded our kingdom further Northwest, South, and East. Our kingdom neighbored my homeland, which I had not inherited with Mauretania. It was adequate, and I will not argue with Caesar no longer. It seemed as if he and I are finally at peace. I never have to venture too far from my realm to meet with him, because Juba has declared that when he is gone, to do Augustus' bidding, I am Regent. As Regent and Queen, I must protect our daughter - our soul heiress - with all my power to ensure that she will never witness what we witnessed when the Romans stripped our lives - but not our blood. Temples of Isis bloomed with the Roman temples dedicated to the Roman Gods. Mixtures of Egyptian and Grecian architecture built on top of the old Middle Eastern inspired ruins. However, the thing of most importance was not yet complete. The mausoleum had not finished midway construction yet, and I was already in love with how the foundation looked. In the meantime, my brother's remains were placed in the temple of Apollo, his patron God, and Berenice was placed in the temple of Juno. As for my daughter, Alexandria, she is two and a healthy little girl with beautiful locks of curly dark brown. Her eyes still illuminated a mischievous green that would alter into mysterious colorful gray. Juba was fiercely proud of her.

I sat at my desk a quill twisting in between my first fingers. I contemplated the structure of the whole of Africa, glancing between the different maps that laid in a perplexing way around the table. I laid back against my wooden chair, supported by beautifully colored pillows. I had finished sketching the Canary Islands, Mauretania, and far off Egypt. I attempted to draw the other countries in between Mauretania and Egypt, such as Carthage and Numidia. Both kingdoms owned by Juba, which felt like spite to me. A soft knock interrupted my contemplation of Africa and I swiftly drawled, "Come in."

I sketched the African coasts, paying plenty of attention to the ebbs and flows of the tides that shaped the continent. Doran steped through the large chamber doors held by expressionless soldiers.

"Kaliméra!" Doran greeted loudly in Greek.

My stately body slave stepped into my room carrying jentaculum in his strong youthful arms. I purchased him, to save him from a voyage to Rome. He was one of the captured and smuggled prisoners from Herod's realm. Herod was still waging war with the Jews who he called his people. He caught my eye with his need to speak, regardless of how low they put him. He was whipped for it of course, but I saved him. He has become my body slave, and in a way my tutor. The man who was slightly older than Juba, settled my food down on a different table, and strolled to my desk to inspect my work.

"Hm," he scrutinized from behind me, "I find pleasure in how near you drew Hispania and Italy to the North African coasts, because in reality it is true. You drew your kingdom beautifully, your Majesty."

"You flatter me, Doran," I smirked and paid a discerning look at the space between Volubilis and Hispania. I dipped my quill into the ink box lightly and painted the ending tip of Hispania and the beginning tip of Africa. When I completed it, I picked up white linen and wiped away the ink from the metal tip of my wooden quill. I settled it down in the box and stood to greet my body slave, who has comforted me while Juba was gone. "Any news from the Canary Islands?"

"Indeed," he pulled out a letter from his ordinary brown tunic and handed it to me.

I grinned like a little girl and rushed to my bed to read Juba's newest letter to me. I skipped to my bed and leaped into it, crashing upon countless pillows.

Doran, on the other hand, left me to my own vices and went to crush the rolled oat bread into hot steamy milk. In addition, he would drown the entire thing in so much honey that it would be sickly sweet, just the way I like it. I have been having the most unusual appetites during the few weeks Juba was gone.