Son of the SunList of players so far -Lij, the Pharaoh Knefer-Lijedefer- Elijah Sen-Adom, the harpist - Dominic Neferura-Ulive, Lij's wife and sister - Liv Menkh, Chief Advisor - Viggo Pen-Nekeb, A eunuch; body slave to Lij - Sean Astin Seti-Hop, a physician - Ian Mckellan Nefer-Aru, Lij's mother - Cate Blanchett Merit-Aton, Liv's mother - Miranda Otto Setep-Aton another royal physician - Chris Lee Orem, a eunuch, Liv's lover - Orli Captains of the Guard, Zeser-Amon - Sean Bean and His brother, Ankh-Aton - David Wenham Imhotep, the Royal architect - Billy Menep-Atifer-Ankh-Ra - Lij's Granny - An old woman with heart. Several friends, aquaintances and folks who merit mentioning, but no names, please! Part 3 � Know Thyself There was a spiked cartwheel turning behind Dom's eyes. The world was on a shaky axis. He groaned, pitiably. "There, you see, Great One, I was right. Within the hour, as I said." a low, cultured voice said from beside him. Dom groaned, again. "All he needs now, is rest, and quiet. Shall I have him removed, Majesty...? "No", the voice was low and troubled. "He shall stay here. I am grateful to you, Seti - Hop. No, he will do better here." "As you desire, Lord. Send for me if...." The voice tailed away as the speakers moved from the bed. Dom drifted off into sleep. He awoke some time later, to feel a cool hand press on his forehead. "Good!" he murmured, stroking the hand. The hand was hastily withdrawn. "Ah, do not - that hand would have cause your death if that cup had struck you one finger-width more to the right. Seti-hop, unlike most physicians, never exaggerates." Dom tried to open his eyes. Eventually he succeeded. "Which one is you, Lord? This one, or this...?" His searching hand found an answering grasp. "Sleep, now. I will not be far away. If you call me, I will come, if I can." Dom thought about this. "What shall I call, Lord, if I need ...you?" "There will be people here, Adom. Just call, and someone will come to you, and, if there is no-one present, I will come." Dom surrendered to the darkness. * He woke to a hand touching his face again. He needed to piss. Gods, he did! He felt a presence at his side. He recognised the scent of it. "Lord, I need..." He felt his tunic raised, and a vessel of some sort surround his member. He relaxed his muscles with a sigh, and let the water flow. "How did you know?" he asked, still afraid for the moment to open his eyes. A chuckle met his ears. "I could see your tunic lifting, and I knew, this time, it was nothing to do with me. I have never been a body slave, before, but..." "...but, Lord?" A mouth came close to his ear. "But I like it!" Lij whispered. "There is no one here, now, to see the Great One demean himself." Dom opened his eyes. His Lij - when in the name of all the gods did Pharaoh become his Lij? - was dressed in full regalia, crown, pectorals, arm bands - the crook and flail lay across Dom's legs. Dom did not see them, and raised one knee to ease his back. The crook clattered to the floor, and Lij bent to pick it up. "I must go, for a short while. Have you finished?" Dom nodded, and the container was removed. "Someone has insulted my Queen, and a sentence of death must be passed on the man. As he is a noble, and a distant cousin of mine, only I can authorise this action." He sighed, wearily. "I like the man - he was stupid. I warned him not to say such things in front of witnesses who would be glad to see him die. Foolish man!" Dom tried to focus his eyes on the figure by the bed, and failed. He sank back on the pillows. A cup was put to his lips - watered honey wine. He drank, gratefully. "What did he say, Lord, to warrant..." Dom was afraid he too, might fall into the same trap. He was not familiar with the Court of great Kings, or its rules. "He said my sister - my wife - was barren. It is not true. She will conceive! She is so good, and sweet, and indirectly he insults me in the process of slandering her, hinting that the fault may be mine. It cannot be countenanced. No one may criticise a god. Especially not, as this fool did, in public." Dom doubted very much that Lij was to blame for the couple's childless state. He had seen several children being carried about the Palace who had the same blue eyes that were now, no doubt, trained on him. No - fault, if fault there was - had nothing to do with Lij. He dismissed it from his mind, as there was a bigger problem he wished to address. Why had the King thrown the cup at him? Why was he so angry? What had Dom done wrong? "I must leave!", the soft voice interrupted his thoughts. "Rest until I return. Get up if you can - but... rest. I... I... rest." A hand brushed over his head, and down the side of his face. He sighed into the touch, then it was gone. Dom was left alone with his thoughts. So many thoughts. Why was the Pharaoh behaving like this? By the time sleep came again, he had found the answer. Lij was afraid to show open affection. It was not kingly and Dom knew that some would see it as weakness. Lij was afraid of giving his heart to another. Dom smiled. He was not afraid. He could show Lij how affection and love could be given and received. He would teach him. Yes, he would. *** Knefer-Lijedefer sat on his throne, ostensibly listening to the "evidence" of his relation�s perfidy. His mind was far away, back in his apartments, in fact, where a young man, only a few years older than himself, rested in Pharaoh's bed. Lij was ashamed of himself. Last night - or rather, this morning - he had succumbed to the terror that stalked all who held omnipotent power in kingship. Would the object of his affections try to manipulate The Pharaoh for his own ends? Would the said King lose face in court having openly chosen a man as his paramour? Lij was not one to hide in corners as if he was ashamed. He was Pharaoh, and a god. Would this Adom... Dom... think it was weak that a Pharaoh succumb to someone not of Royal blood. Would the country itself think him less of a king? What about Liv ? What about...? Frightened, he had acted as many do in such circumstances; he had struck out at the cause of his confusion...Dom. And in these desperate, tangled thoughts, he had acted irrationally, injuring something...someone precious to him...hurt something unique. For Lij now realised, for the first time in his life, he felt an urgent, all consuming passion for another. Was this love? He had loved, before, and loved now. He loved his mother, his sister, his... It was not the same. That love was warm and comforting. The feelings he had for Adom were a sirocco - hot and violent. He desired to possess him as he had desired no other. He wanted to run his lips over...... Lij dragged his mind back to the present. His cousin was putting up a spirited defence, but he knew, as did Lij, that the result was a foregone conclusion. Death was the only outcome. Setep-Ra was a fool! If only he'd kept his mouth shut in public, as Lij and Menkh had advised him. But, no! Liv was furious at the slur he had cast on her. How could the Queen, a Daughter of Isis, be barren? It was not possible; she was the daughter of a God. Setep-Ra's father, Setep-Aton, a noted physician to the King, was begging Lij for his son's life. Lij glanced at Menkh, who shook his head, gently. Ah! Kingship had onerous duties and responsibilities attached to it. All the assembly looked at him. With a start he realised they were waiting for his pronouncement. He gave it - death. Setep-Ra's wife fainted, and was carried out. She was big with child. It was not fair. Lij walked out of the room between the kneeling crowd. Passing Setep-Aton, he met a gaze that was full of hatred. Lij ignored it. The man was about to lose his eldest son. It was good that he had others, Lij thought, as he returned to his rooms, they would be a solace to him. It was obvious, from this reflection, that Lij had no child of his heart. He would learn. He went straight to Liv. He found her with her lover. Normally a man would object to his wife taking a lover, but Lij did not object to Orem, on three points. One - he was a eunuch, and could father no bastard on the queen that would have to be removed from her at birth and thrown into the dungheap. Two - he was beloved of Liv, and Lij loved his sister/wife. Three - he had been Lij's lover first. The fact that Orem, as he was known, was a foreign prince with an unpronounceable name, captured by marauding slavers, made him a slightly more acceptable lover for a queen, but their relationship was secret, and fraught with danger. Liv kept him as her body slave. Very few knew of his other function. Many people believed that eunuchs were incapable of sexual congress. This was not true, particularly if the subject had been castrated after puberty, as had Orem. This also helped disguise the relationship between the two lovers. Secrecy was paramount in this place, where every wall had ears, and eyes. Lij stood by the door of his wife's apartments and stared at Orem. He was beautiful - tall and slim, and graceful as a cat. His dark hair and even darker eyes offset by his beautiful olive toned skin. Lij smiled. He knew Liv found joy in him. That was enough to endear him to Lij, who had sampled his favours, and known him to be sweet and kind, as well as compliant. He walked towards the couple, who were alone, and seated on the low day bed. Orem saw him, and fell to his knees, bowing his head. Liv got up to welcome her Lord with a smile, and a bent knee. "Rise, my love! You and I stand on no such ceremony in private." Lij kissed her cheek, then her hand. He looked at Orem and smiled. "Shall I leave, Great One?" the eunuch asked, in his melodious voice. Lij shook his head, and indicated that the pair should be seated. "He is dead, Liv. Foolish man! If only he had used his head, he would not have ended up...well, I didn't ask how...only that it be quick." Lij wandered about the room, picking up an object here and there, and examining it. He came to the point, eventually. There was no need to inform his wife of his intentions, a king could do as he pleased, but he had been used to confiding in his sister, who was four years older than him, and saw no reason to stop when he had become king, and his sister became his wife. "I am taking a lover, Liv. The musician, Sen-Adom... I am...much taken with him, and..." Liv jumped up and embraced her husband, warmly. "It will be good for you, Lord! He will be good for you. I had words with him the other day. I do not believe he is indifferent to you, my Lij." She clasped his shoulders, and squeezed them. A smile reshaped her lovely lips. "May you have as much pleasure in him, as I..." She glanced at her lover, seated quietly, staring at her with liquid love in his eyes. Lij took her hand and kissed it, again. "You are a woman whose worth is beyond price!" he laughed, as he left the room. * He walked back to his apartments as quickly as his dignity allowed. He found the physician, Seti-Hop there, holding up one of Dom's eyelids, and staring into his eye. He knelt swiftly, when he saw the king, who indicated that he should rise. "How is he, old man?" Lij asked as he approached the bed. He looked down at Dom, and saw that, though he was still pale, and the lump on his forehead more pronounced, his eyes were open, and he was staring back at Lij with a soft look in his grey eyes. "He is better, Lord, but still weak. He should keep to his...stay in bed for another day - that should do it. Then he should try to walk about a little. That will help his balance, which is still unsteady. Have I your leave, Lord? The wife...widow...of Setep-Ra has gone into labour with shock. I promised Setep-Aton I would attend the birth. It is likely to be difficult with the woman so distressed...your pardon, Lord", the physician said quickly as Lij had stopped smiling, and was frowning at him. "Yes, you have leave to go. It is sad when a child has to be brought into the world, fatherless. Go, now!" Seti-Hop made his obeisance and left, swiftly. For an old man, he was surprisingly agile. Lij sat on the bed, and took Dom's hand in his. "And you look better!" he remarked, cheerfully. Dom blushed. It was most endearing. Lij felt the heat rise in his groin. He called his slave, whom he could see fussing about in the next room. "Pen-Nekeb!" The man came running. "Yes, Great One?" He stared at Lij with anxious eyes. "Clear my rooms, I wish for some privacy." Pen-Nekeb's eyes darted from Lij to Dom, and back again. Lij smiled, wryly. "And keep your inquisitive ears from my door, Nekeb, or I shall have them removed! Then what would your catamite have to hang on to when you take him in your mouth?" "Yes, Lord!" replied Pen-Nekeb, hastily, and dashed out of the room before he was dismissed. Soon, Lij and Dom found themselves alone. Lij ran his hand up Dom's leg, savouring the feel of smooth, warm skin under his hand. "How do you feel, Adom? Are you...have I...I have hurt you. I am sorry." Lij sat on the bed, and took Dom's hand in his. "I have little or no experience of acts of passion, only the lust required to make my seed strong. This is new to me, and I was frightened by it. I thought...I was afraid you would..." Dom squeezed the hand grasping his. "I know", he whispered, and Lij, staring into the kind grey eyes saw that Dom did indeed know. "If you feel well enough, I have a mind to try it for myself ...if you promise not to tell a living soul that Pharaoh demeaned himself so." Lij was growing hard under his kilt. The linen felt warm against his straining erection. Dom, who was suffering, Lij noted, from the same delicious condition, looked puzzled. "I feel well, Lord, just a trifle dizzy when I move too quickly....try what, my..." Lij bent down, and dragged the tunic over Dom's head, and kissed his belly. "What Nekeb's boy enjoys nightly, Adom...Dom. A mouth around his shaft. This I would savour. And you need not move at all." Lij's lips touched the tip of Dom's arousal. Gods, how sweet! Lij thought. As the fluid gathered at the tip, Lij licked it off. Dom groaned with pleasure, grasping the linen sheets with surprising force. This will be... interesting, Lij thought. Dom groaned again, lifting his hips to Lij's mouth. Lij smiled around his prize. He reassessed his opinion, quickly. Interesting? - it will be...absolutely miraculous! |