Daughter of the Nile (a Percy Jackson AU)

The Dreadful Fate of Owning a Papyrus Farm

***Nico***
      "You have been found guilty of threatening the pharaoh," Hazel pronounced, not taking her golden eyes off of the scrawny, bound figure in front of her.
        I curled my lip at Octavian. "Give me one reason that I shouldn't tell my sister to execute you," I growled.
    Octavian's thin lips reached towards the sky goddess Nut. "Well, I am the high priest of Amun-Ra," he drawled. "Executing me could cause a rebellion."
I exchanged a panicked look with my sister, but her gaze hardened like molten gold that was beginning to cool off. "Octavian," she said. "You are no longer the high priest of Amun-Ra," she declared. "Furthermore, I will punish you with house arrest."
Octavian laughed. "I have five fine estates," he boasted.
My hands fossilized into fists. "And now you'll have one," I growled.
Hazel nodded. "I'm sending you to a papyrus farm," she informed him. "Be grateful to the gods for the leniency that you faced."
As the guards took Octavian away, he didn't even struggle, but walked out with his chin held high, as if he was the pharaoh. I wanted to execute him then and there, but my sister has a soft streak that I admire, though it sometimes irritates me.
I turned to face my sister, whose eyes were still side and innocent. She might be the pharaoh, but she had still been sheltered from the world. We were all so protective of her, but maybe we were doing her a disservice. I waved to her and left to meet my lover in the gardens.
Grover and Juniper were tending the acacia trees, making sure that they were healthy. Acacia was used by women to prevent pregnancies and they could never grow enough. I'm sure they were glad that none was needed for me.
    Grover looked at me and winked before leaving, hand-in-hand with Juniper, who was blushing like a young bride, though they had been wed three years ago. I breathed in the warm air of Egypt and relaxed, feeling the sun warm my cold body.
     I felt a warmth breathe on my neck and turned to see Will. Will was a physician at my family's court. After years of infatuation with Percy, I managed to get over my unrequited love and pick up my life with Will. I had told no one-not even my sister-that I had a lover, but four people knew: Grover, Juniper, Jason, and Octavian.
     Grover and Juniper has discovered us holding hands in the garden and had kept our secret, though their faces often bore smiles when they saw the two of us together. Jason had walked in on me and Will in my chambers, which was embarrassing to say the least. Instead of laughing at me or spilling out my secret, he had left and said nothing.
     Octavian had found out when he saw Will and I swimming together in the Nile, enjoying each other's company. He had blackmailed me for months about it, threatening to spill my secrets unless I gave him gold, which I did. Now, he was exiled to a papyrus farm and I hoped that was the last I heard of the filthy, former priest.
       Will and I enjoyed each other's company in silence. As the sun got lower, I winked at him and we left our separate ways, checking to see that no one was following us. We met in my room and he kissed me, though I pushed him away when he dove in for another kiss. "I'm worried, Will," I said softly, staring at my swinging legs.
     "About us?" he asked softly. "We're not like Horus and Ra. No one will think less of you for this. There have been pharaohs will make lovers before and you're the brother of the pharaoh, not the pharaoh herself."
       I shook my head. "And you're the worst medicine I ever took," I said.
    His eyes widened like a shocked baboon. "Me, bad medicine?" he said in mock horror. "You're the worst patient I've ever had!"
        "I doubt you prescribe romantic relationships to your other patients," I shock back.
     He folded his arms and threw back his head. "As a matter of fact, I do," he said, grinning malevolently.
       "You've been unfaithful?" I asked.
         "Nico," he said. "Of course not. You'd have me executed. Besides, I love you. I just may have told your sister that a certain General is in love with her."
      I snorted in laughter. "You dared say that to the pharaoh?" I asked in mock indignation.
     He put his hands on his hips. "I am the physician to the entire court," he said, "including the pharaoh."
        I laughed and he laid down beside me. I snuggled closer and listened to his breathing slow down and grow gentler, like a soft breeze blowing over the Nile. I had never spent the entire night with Will before, but tonight exhaustion overtook my natural caution and I fell asleep in his arms.
      I woke up to hear a shocked scream. I bolted awake and rubbed my puffy eyes. Beside me, Will's face had taken the color of the robes of Isis: a deep red. My private chambers were littered with unwelcome courtiers. Hazel's new scribe, Annabeth, was quickly taking notes, while her newest vizier, Reyna, was smiling at me. Jason and Piper gave me quick smiles, looking suspiciously close together. Percy was rolling his eyes and Frank was shaking his head silently, as if he had known about this all along.
     Leo was bouncing around my chambers like a frisky, young crocodile that had too much sun. "And you told nobody!" he said, whooping. "Classic. Classic!"
      My sister marched up to me, her curly hair falling to her clenched shoulders and her hands on her hips. Her golden eyes were brighter than the sun. "Why didn't you tell me?" she asked.
        "I-I," I stuttered, unable to form a coherent sentence.
      Will laid a reassuring hand on my shoulder, causing me to feel as if I had soaked up sunshine all day long. I looked up at my sister and saw affection in her eyes warring with something else. She still looked scandalized. "Well, Nico," she said. "You cannot simply just see this man. I'll be arranging your wedding!"