Sands In The Darkest Night

The Crown Prince

*How the Palace is supposed to look like above.*

At the Palace, Aria was made to clean the hallways and stables.

It turned out Kamuzu was nice, he was a far cry from her previous master.

Her clothing changed though, she now wore servant's clothing of the Royal house—which was in form of an ankle-length sheath dress made of linen of lesser quality.

She was given jewellery and had make-up done on her face, her eyes were painted with kohl as well.

Aria almost didn't recognize herself as she stared at her reflection in the waters of one of the oasis that surrounded the unbelievably massive Palace.

The chambers were so big and wide and numerous that it was possible to get lost if one didn't know their way around them.

The servant's chambers where she slept was like a luxurious home-a vast contrast to where she used to sleep.

One thing she loved the most about the Palace was that it was beautiful, serene and no one disturbed her.

She knew her duties and she performed them religiously. All the other servants seemed approachable and they treated her well.

She was surprised to see that she was the only Israeli in the Palace, and it made her uneasy for some reason.

It was late and it was already dark out. The cold air seemed to pick up-it was usually cold in the deserts at night.

She looked up and stared at the stars—they were so beautiful. She could make out Orion, she had recognised it from one of her previous master's astrology charts—the constellation with the seven stars.

She yawned and rubbed her eyes.

She quickly disposed of some of the horse dung that would later be used as manure for the Royal Family's plantation fields.

She traced her steps through the labyrinth of hallways and chambers until she reached the servant's chambers.

She laid on what was given her as a bed—a mattress of cotton. Most of the servants were already asleep with a single oil lamp lit.

As she laid on her bed, Aria couldn't sleep. She closed her eyes for a moment and hoped sleep would take her quickly.

Without being able to stop it, thoughts of Ammon filled her mind.

Her heart fluttered a little thinking about him. She remembered his kohl painted expressionless eyes.

She released a breath, which came out in a whisper.

She'd thought about him over the past two years, briefly. And each time her heart always seemed to flutter.

He was a mystery.

She placed a hand over her face. She'd only met him twice, barely even spoken much to each other but those eyes, she knew there was a story behind those eyes.

Moments later, Aria fell asleep, thoughts of him plaguing her dreams.

•••

The next day, Aria went about her duties.

She'd been instructed to sweep the inner chambers. She never went to that part of the Palace—the east wing.

That was where Pharaoh resided.

Unfortunately, she had missed her way; she had taken the wrong turns and had found herself at a small lake that flowed at a partially unused part of the Palace—at least that was what she thought.