The Prince and his servants arrived in the throne room of the palace from the side entrance nearest the throne. The queen was already sitting surrounded by her twelve handmaids with the Pharaohs guard lining the stairs leading from the throne to the long stretching walkway below. On either side of the vast chamber stood statues of Anubis each holding a staff, held outward, creating an archway. This served as the point which none but the royal family and their attendants could pass. As the Prince approached the throne, the queen turned her head to him and smiled.

    “My son, good to see you this morning.”

    “And on time for once” a youthful female voice said from the other side of the throne.

    The Prince moved closer to the seated queen and was finally able to see the young Princes sitting on her smaller throne on the right side of her mother. She was a beautiful young woman, with a curvy figure befitting a goddess, and eyes of bright amber just like her brother’s. On her chest, the turquoise gem of her family could be seen through the semi-sheer linen gown that adorned her dark skinned frame.

     “Good morning dear Nakh” The Prince said sarcastically. “How is my lovely little sister this morning?”

    “Tired” the girl responded honestly. “I don’t understand why these people always have to come so early!”

    “They come from a land where the sun rises much later than for us” the Queen said calmly. “For our guests, it is not very early at all.” 

    “Honestly sister, haven’t you been paying attention in your studies?” the Prince teased.

    Nakh glared at her brother and stuck her tongue out at him. The Queen shot her a quick glance. Nakh turned red and flicked her vision back to the ground. The Queen let a small smile slip across her lips as she then turned her attention back to the main entrance of the throne room.

    “Something is on your mind my son” she stated. “Did you not sleep well again?”

    “No, sadly” the Prince responded. 

    “The herbs from Geb have not helped?”

    “I fall asleep easier but I do not remain asleep” the Prince said.

    “Thane” the Queen called, “Have you been preparing the full dosage?”

    “Yes my Pharaoh” Thane said with a low bow. “I have prepared the herbs in the exact method High Priest Geb instructed.”

    “I’m sure you have” the Queen said kindly. “Thank you for looking after my son so steadfastly. I will speak to Geb about a new remedy. I worry for my son’s health if he continues to miss out on good sleep.”

    “Mother, I’m fine.”

    “Do not argue with your queen” she said with a raised eyebrow. “It is a mothers duty to worry about her children. It is a task far greater than any as a Pharaoh.”

    “Great Pharaoh!” a servant called as he raced into the throne room. “The Chinese envoy is here!”

    “Very well” the Queen said, sitting up tall. “Bring them to me.”

    The servant bowed and raced from the throne room once again. Nakh sat up straight as her handmaids helped smooth out the long train of her dress. The Prince moved to his small golden throne and sat. Thane and the Prince’s attendants moved to their usual positions on the ground around the Prince as his guards stood behind him in a straight line.

   During this moment of pause, the Prince closed his eyes and drank in the morning. The smells of sweet incense and his mothers perfumes mixed with the crisp air bringing in the scent of the markets at the foot of the palace. How he loved his home and his people. 

    Without warning his vision flashed to red under his eyelids. Images from his nightmares flooded his mind. The screams of his people and the cries of mother and sister. Those sounds above all tore at his soul. They were the most precious things to him. To lose them would be to lose himself and all purpose he might carry.

    “My Prince” Thane said, gently touching his masters leg to wake him.

    The Prince forced his eyes open, looking around in panic. The Queen’s head was already turned toward her son with concern painting her eyes.

    “I’m sorry mother” he said waving a hand through the air with a chuckle. “I seem to have dozed off for a moment. I’m alright now.”

    As the Queen though to answer, the servant appeared once again, walking through the main archway into the throne room. Behind him came two Chinese soldiers carrying tall standards with beautifully ornate flags dangling from them. The image on the flags was that of a flaming bird rising up into the clouds. Thane shifted his eyes towards his master. The Prince’s heart jumped seeing the image. Fear began to grip him for what was to happen next.

    Following the standard bearers were two lines of a dozen or so beautiful men in stunning pure white garments with crimson sashes around their waists and long pure white katana’s at their sides. As the standard bearers entered, they split and stood on either side of the statues of Anubis. The men in white then split as well and created two lines in a sharp “V”. Nakh thought they looked like a flock of Ibis, flitting across the floor in a well choreographed display. The Prince was also impressed by the display. Then his vision went to the peak of the “V” and his heart stopped.

    Standing in the peak position was a young man in white garments sashed and lined in crimson. His pure black hair was pulled up in a small bun, crowned with a gold flame that held the bun in place. The rest of his hair fell delicately down his back like a waterfall. His face was flawless and not a single hair was out of place. He strode across the floor and appeared to float rather than walk. The long train of his outer coat rippled behind him, showing off the hand-stitched image of the same firebird from the flags. As he neared the first step leading up to the throne, he bowed his upper body and circled his arms in front of himself, touching his hands together gently. The rest of his servants mirrored the same gesture, holding their bodies even lower than the beautiful man at the stairs. 

    Nakh glanced over to her brother and noticed that he hadn’t blinked once nor looked away from the beautiful man with the flame ornament in his hair.

    “Great Pharaoh Nephris” one of the white robed men said, stepping slightly closer. “May I present to you Suzaku Louhan of house Suzaku, youngest son of the Emperor and crowned Prince of the Southern Kingdoms. His father the Emperor has sent him as his representative, to show trust and good favor with this new alliance and newly opened trade route’s.”

    “It is a rare honor to play host to a Prince of China” Queen Nephris said with a nod. “I am touched by the trust the Southern Emperor places in us. We will spare not an ounce of care in keeping the Prince safe and comfortable.” The man in white bowed lowly. “Prince Suzaku this is my daughter Nakh, next in line for the throne of my great city, and my son Amun-Khet, crowned Prince of Egypt.”

    Prince Louhan lifted his head and smiled at Nakh. His smile was so sweet and lovely that Nakh couldn’t help but smile back. In honesty she was envious of his beauty. Then the Prince turned to Amun-Khet and his smile turned to a look of so much more. The Queen watched the exchange with care, sensing the tension in her sons very energy. There was something in both men’s eyes as they looked on each other for the first time. They looked on each other like long lost friends, seeing each other once again after many years. Prince Louhan raised his hands in a proper gesture and bowed his head. Amun-Khet placed his hand on his chest and bowed in return.

    The two men lifted their eyes once again and looked deeply into the others. Amber met Jade iris and soul touched soul. Amun-Khet’s whole body went hot inside and out and his vision pulsed in time with his increased heartbeat. 

    So beautiful, he thought to himself.