The Fault in Honesty [Discontinued]

Chapter 3.5: The Pharaoh

He sighed softly as the dumb little cat once again had gotten stuck in the bird cage trying to get the bird. The cat tried to hurry and get away before its master arrived and would punish her. Unfortunately the cat was a bit scared from heights and didn't jump down quickly enough before her master took hold of her.

- Bad kitty, her master said with a stern face before telling a maid to go get food for her. How many times do I have to tell you not to try eat the bird.

He patted her head as she tried to bend her neck to lick his hand. Eventually he let his hand roam down to her mouth so that she could lick it more comfortably. While she was busy licking he called a maid over to bring him the necklace he had specially made for his cat. The maid obediently followed the order and went to get it. The pharaoh raised the cat higher up in his embrace so that they were at an eye level. The cat only innocently licked his lips in affection as her master seemed to appreciate it.

When she first met her master she was very little. She had been a bold little kitten to sneak into the palace to steal food. However she got found out by the pharaoh and was going to be punished with death but the pharaoh seemed to have taken a liking to her the minute he touched her. He began stroking her black fur and also began pamper her even more than his concubines.

The pharaoh wouldn't go anywhere without her. To him she was his lucky charm. Ever since she had come to his place his kingdom's issues started to solve almost themselves. Constructions never went bad. His people were always healthy. They never suffered a flood for months. Water never dried up even during the most driest seasons. That's why he felt like his decision back at the time when they first met was very well made. He praised himself for actually having a pretty good intuition too back then. Since he felt the tiny cat was someone he could trust.

In his study while he was reading reports a servant boy was playing with Nefertiti. He seemed to have so much fun like she had. He glanced at those two in envy. Suddenly another servant came in calmly and announced that one of his concubines had died. He himself didn't care and only told him to go tell the maids to prepare for her mummification. People dying in his harem wasn't news at all. And he didn't care about the women in it anyway. Except for their beauty they had nothing else to offer him that would please him. His children... he held no affection for them since they were just objects used for their mothers' insurance. It was the same for him when he was little.

Amhotep sighed as he went to pick up Nefertiti. The cat wasn't so excited over it and tried to scratch him to chase him away. She still hadn't learned her lesson. He glared at her until she finally gave away and started to lick him. Her sorry state was indeed very pitiful as she stared at him with big teary eyes telling him she was sorry. His eyes softened and he kissed her head and took her outside for a walk. The young servant boy walked behind them.

In all the servants eyes the most favourite being in his eyes was clearly the cat. That's why nobody wanted to even become a servant of a concubine since they all ended up badly in the harem anyway. And the queen wasn't a very kind woman either. Her servants had all suffered some sort of abuse from her due to some mistake they made or because they were simply beautiful and could catch the pharaoh's eyes. That's why any servant hoped they could end up serving either the calm pharaoh or his favourite, Nefertiti. They were even sure that if the cat wasn't an animal it would surely be their queen.

The only being the queen wasn't jealous of was the cat. How lucky it was, right? Unlike many of what people believed she didn't love her brother or husband. The only person she loved was herself. Her beauty had to be the best and no concubine or servant could be more beautiful than her. She didn't care if the pharaoh loved her or not. As long as she was assured she was queen and there was no threat to her she would only stand still. And since the cat had no beauty, nor was more powerful than her she didn't see it as a threat. She wasn't even jealous over that the pharaoh preferred an animal over women. In fact she was glad it was rather the cat than any of the other concubines.