Kaisaros: The Roman Pharaoh

Chapter Four: Poison

Turns out I didn't have to plan that far. During lunch, another of my soldiers had rushed into my tent, saying Cleopatra had harmed herself.
So now here we are, Antony, Agrippa, and I rushing through the halls of the palace.

My guards storm into the room and we rush in soon after. I freeze up at what I see.
Agrippa curses. Stunned, I walk over to Cleopatra's body and the bodies of her handmaidens.
"Poison," I mutter.
"Seems like a snake bite," Antony sighs.
Agrippa suddenly pulls me back, his grip firm.

"The snake is still here," Agrippa warns.
"Get back, all of you!" Antony shouts, seeing the movement before I do and slices the snake's head off with a quick swipe.
"Did it bite any of you?" Antony asks, looking back at us.
"No," I admit. Agrippa shakes his head.

We walk closer to the body of Cleopatra.
"So much for the victory tour back," Agrippa groans, sitting in a chair.
"So what do we do?" I ask.
"Maybe a speech, come sunrise," Antony plans, pacing as he walks, wincing somewhat as he moves. "To say what happened to the queen and plan from there."
"That could work," I admit, gazing at the snake body leaving a pool of blood on the marble floor.
***
At dawn, Agrippa, a few of my men, and I stand on a wooden stage in front of one of the Egyptian temples. To keep up appearances that Antony's fate is unknown, Antony had agreed to put his cloak on and hide in the shadows somewhere in the gathering crowd.

Agrippa nudges my shoulder and motions to Antony in the shadow of a pillar, silently watching.
The heat from the sun is almost unbearable to me, but the others don't seem bothered. I always never did well in the heat, anyways.
I exhale and walk forward a few steps. The people of Alexandria already know about Cleopatra's death and are clearly anxious about what I will do now.

I begin my speech, switching from Latin to Greek:
"People of Alexandria, I know many of you are frightened of me. With the deaths of Queen Cleopatra and Caesarion, you all look to me for answers.
Be calm. I come to you all not as a usurper, but as an equal. Alexandria is a glorious city, even I can see that. I come here not to bring harm, but to bring peace. No more shall Egypt and Rome fight. I do not know how your customs work, but I will ensure yours and Egypt's safety from this day forward."

We watch a few of them whisper amongst themselves, to the point I cannot understand them even if I spoke Egyptian. Then one of them, a boy no older than ten raises his arms towards me and cries out: "Patéras!"
Then a woman cries out the same phrase. Others join in, chanting pleads in Greek, many of them even bowing in respect.

They cry out the word father, I realize, feeling a tightness in my chest. Even Antony looks alarmed from the crowd. Some of my soldiers around the stage raise their shields up, stopping any of the people from coming any closer.
I look to Agrippa for guidance, but he only shrugs, just as lost as I.
I raise my hand up, alarmed at how fast the people become calm once more at such a simple signal.

"You all...view me as your Pharaoh?" I question in Greek, hardly believing my eyes.
Many more of them bow now, faces against the dirt road. "You may rise, all of you," I instruct, watching them do so.
I am the only one left to take the throne, I realize. They do think Antony is dead, leaving me the supposed sole survivor of so many years of war.

I've already been playing the role of a commander for years, why not play the role of a Pharaoh?
"You all are too kind to me," I say, smiling. Many of them visibly relax when they see me calm.
"But I do not know the customs of a crowning. Let alone what to do first. Give me time to think this over. I shall give you all an answer tomorrow."
****
Antony, Agrippa, and I end up staying in the palace for the night, hearing the people down below already celebrating their new, foreign Pharaoh.
"Quite the energetic bunch," Agrippa muses, leaning against a pillar and looking down at the city from a window.

"You'll get used to it," Antony adds, removing his black cloak and laying down on a couch. We end up planning in the throne room, the room so shiny even at night in the torchlight it hurts my eyes. After what feels like hours of planning, I explore the palace, looking for a place to sleep.

I end up in what appears to be Cleopatra's old room, and am somewhat alarmed to see one of the queen's handmaidens unmaking her large circular bed.
She sees me lingering in the doorway and bows her head in respect.
"Your Highness," she whispers in nervous Greek.
"It's all right," I murmur, walking over.

She wears the simple white dress of a personal servant, hair donned in a black wig.
"I'm not going to harm you. What is your name?"
She blinks, eyes lined with dark kohl.
"Eros, Your Highness," she answers.
"Eros," I repeat, walking over to the queen's dresser and looking at all of the cosmetics.

"Have you always served the queen?" I ask, glancing at myself in the golden circular mirror.
"Since I was a young girl. She was good to me."
"And I will be good to you as well," I respond, seeing her relax somewhat in the mirror reflection.
"Do you think you could make me look presentable tomorrow for my announcement?"
****
The wooden stage is set. To show I am on Egypt's side, I wear the simple robe of a Pontifex Maximus, Rome's High Priest, not wearing armor for the first time since stepping foot in such a hot place.

Eros had kept to her word, spending most of the morning guiding me in how to look the part. With a small stick, she had traced my eyes with kohl, darkened my eyebrows, and colored my eyelids with paint made from a bright blue mineral.
Even now, with the pallium of my robe up and face hidden, I can't deny the nervousness I feel.

I keep my head lowered as I walk on stage, feeling their eyes on me even as I look down. As a final touch, Eros had painted a stripe in the center of my bottom lip. I haven't told Agrippa or Antony about this either.
Closing my eyes, I lift my head and lower the pallium from my head, hearing the Egyptian people cheer and yell.

Many of them chant out father in Greek or the name Kiasaros, a new name that catches me off guard. Even most of my troops hit their swords against their shields as a sign of respect. I open my eyes to see Antony and Agrippa looking up at me as well.

Agrippa looks surprised. Antony looks...vaguely smitten seeing me in makeup.
"People of Alexandria," I begin, hearing the crowd's excitement die down. "I have accepted your plea, but I still do not know your customs. I shall have a coronation soon, that much I can assure you all. Take me to your temples, let me bow to your gods, do whatever you must to make me your Pharaoh. No more war, no more fighting. I will do my best to ensure your safety from this point forward."

I watch many of the Egyptians bow to me again, singing praises to a god called Amun or Aten, I cannot tell from their foreign language. Either way, they've accepted me as their Pharaoh. That's all that matters.