Ramses,
The king's heart flattered the moment his gaze connected with the girl's.
From the moment she entered the great hall and he couldn't take his eyes off of her.
Same as everyone in the room. It might be for different reasons, but still, she caught everyone's attention.
She was gorgeous, as beautiful as Hathor herself. Her beauty shone like the brightest star.
At that moment, he wanted to walk toward her and hide away this beautiful gem from all these prying eyes.
Akila was his only, and no one deserved to be in her presence, but he had to restrain himself.
He can't act irrationally, especially with the queen fuming beside him.
He could feel her gaze on him as well. She was trying to gauge his reaction and see how he would act.
He had to avert his gaze when Akila's pleading eyes stared right through his soul.
He knew that this was so much for her, but it must be done and right in front of all of those witnesses.
"I see, but don't get your hopes up, your highness. I'm sure this filth had attracted a lot of attention from other men. She must have been earning her bread as a street worker, I bet."
Annipe spoke in such a sweet but toxic voice and the king clenched his fists.
It was a possibility, not for Akila to be a whore but for her to be impure.
"You would think that I just caught some manure off of the streets and brought it to my palace, Annipe? You keep on testing my patience and it's wearing thin."
He said through gritted teeth, with his eyes still following the girl's every uncertain move.
She had a calm mask on her face, but he saw how she held on to her dress tightly and how her eyes kept shifting around.
"Please, your highnesses, you are attracting some attention. You need to focus on this."
Omari spoke silently, making the queen huff in annoyance and the king sneering at him.
"It doesn't matter at all. The girl will leave now, I'm sure of it. It is her turn already."
The queen said sweetly cheerful, and the king scowled at her tone. It was different seconds ago.
He looked up at his friend and Omari shook his head, not knowing what she meant or why did her demeanor change.
He stood up as the royal physician helped Akila to lie on the small bed.
The frightened girl closed her legs tightly and shook her head when the male physician said something to her.
He quickened his pace as he headed toward her, and the girl's eyes widened when she saw him.
She even flinched when he stretched his hand so he could stroke her hair soothingly.
"Don't be afraid, little mitt. No one here would ever hurt you. I would kill him the moment he thinks of it. You have my word. You are totally safe here."
Akila's wobbling lips thinned as she shut her eyes tightly and nodded her head.
She leaned against his hand that was stroking her hair and the king smiled softly at the gesture.
The physician cleared his throat and began to uncover the girl's lower part as he gave skeptical looks toward the king.
Ramses narrowed his eyes at the male, giving him a silent warning to be professional and just do his job honestly.
He didn't look down as everyone did; he just kept caressing Akila's soft hair and rosy cheeks.
The girl recoiled when the male touched her intimate part, then she bit down on her lower lip, almost drawing blood.
He tsked and freed that abused lip and stroked it tenderly, making Akila open her wet eyes and look up at him.
"It is almost done bare it a little bit with me. You are doing great little mitt."
The physician covered her up again and nodded to the girls that were with him to help Akila stand up.
Babu bowed to the king as he hugged her tenderly and stood where they were supposed to and waited.
Before Ramses could go back to his throne, he stopped the doctor and whispered in his ear.
"I will fucking kill you if you ever manipulated any of these results. And if I ever knew that the queen had a saying in this entire ordeal, I will kill you so you should think carefully before opening your mouth."
The physician swallowed audibly, and that was the answer the king needed.
The queen indeed had a little chat with the palace's doctor, and it wasn't a simple one.
He walked back angrily to his throne and sat glowering at anyone who looked his way.
The great hall became silent and tense and everyone present knew that the king's mood had soured.
"Let's be done with this. I have important things to attend to."
Ramses growled at no one in specific, and then the room erupted in action.
"After examining the seven girls, I had found out that four of them are not pure, so they are not fit to be a second wife to our esteemed king."
The doctor said in a shaky voice as he looked the king's way.
Ramses sneered at the man waiting for him to identify those girls and daring him to say Akila's name, even if she wasn't pure.
"I...I won't say names. I will just say colors. Red, yellow, green, and brown are out."
And with that said, the male ran out of the throne room. Leaving the rest to murmur in hushed voices.
He can see now why some of them were shocked. They just had the same talk with the physician same as the queen.
But Ramses has ruined everyone's plan now. He had thought that he should stay out of this, but he won't be played for a fool.
"Then it is settled. Blue, white and purple are the winners of this round."
He said as he stood up and walked toward the three girls with servants following him.
The three servants each held a golden plate that had a piece of jewelry intended as a gift for each girl.
He gave the girl with the red dress a golden flower whose petals were adorned with red gems.
The second one in the white dress had a necklace that had a small singing bird with white precious stones as feathers.
And when he stood in front of the last girl, Akila, he gave her a beautiful smile and tied the cobra necklace around her neck.
The serpent has a great significance to Egypt and especially the royalty.
It meant royalty and divine authority and in gifting it to Akila; it meant that the king had already chosen.
It was a warning to anyone and everyone who hears about this event today to stay away from her.
She is the king's property now, and gods help anyone who might try to hurt her.
Ramses stood staring at the beautiful girl more than he should have, but he didn't care anymore. He had made up his mind.
And even the gods support him. They had spoken long before he even considered having her.
"Bow to the king, my child, and kiss his right hand."
Babu whispered to Akila, and the girl did as she was told, slowly and uncertainly.
He chuckled when her soft lips kissed the ring his father left him with a frown on her face.
Ramses kissed the girl's nose before leaving and smirked when he saw everyone's expressions and their surprised gasps.
The queen stood up and left silently. She must be searching for the doctor to give him a piece of her mind.
"Was that necessary, my lord? Now you put a bigger target on that girl's back by showing her your favor."
Omari spoke in a disapproving voice the moment they entered the king's study.
"That target was on her back the moment I had chosen her, my dear friend. All I did today was sending a warning to everyone."
His advisor collapsed on top of the chair on his right and sighed tiredly.
"So the queen had a chat with the royal doctor, I presume. Now I need to find a new one."
He said, groaning, and the king threw his head back and chuckled lightly.
Even though his friend was social and dealt with every type of people, he hated doctors or anything related to them.
"I'm afraid so, Omari. She thought that Akila isn't a virgin and if not, she would get her rejected, anyway."
His friend was silent for a while before speaking again.
"I had investigated about her as you have asked. And basically, I got nothing. This woman isn't her real grandmother, she just found the girl back when the late king had his war with the sea people. Akila was bloodied and sitting alone among the Egyptian corpses. No one knew who she was or who her parents were, so the old woman took her and raised her all by herself."
The king hummed as he listened to his friend, trying to understand.
So there is a possibility that Akila might not be an Egyptian at all. Was that why she always tried to hide her face and stick to the shadows?
"Anything else?"
His friend stood up and shook his head in a no. He went to Rameses's desk and read some paper absently as he answered the king's question.
"Nothing, your highness. Just that even the girl doesn't remember how she got there or who her parents were. Some say that she went through a huge trauma that day and that is how her fragile mind cooped."
The king leaned his chin on the top of his hand and narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.
"Interesting!!!!"