I was all alone. Well, I had a strange man right behind me and I comfortably napped, and probably drooled, on his chest as if he was just one of my pillows. However, I was alone. I did not have any maids, any guards, anyone. I did not have Thea by my side, telling me to always listen to the Pharaoh. I did not have Seth, annoying the living hell out of me at every chance he got. Nor did I have my uncle, scolding me for simply existing, for being too loud or too quiet, for being too friendly or too isolated. I was alone. Alone and free.
I was too lost in thought that I failed to notice that we were now almost in the middle of nowhere. A colossal temple stood in the middle of the desert seemingly reaching the skies above. A temple that I had not realized, an abandoned temple.
"Do you think that this is the right time to pray? Or are you about to sacrifice me to whatever God lies there?" What was with people and offering me to the Gods? Did I have 'sacrifice' written all over my face?
"Do you ever shut up?" I was so glad for the cloak, otherwise I would have his warm breath brushing my skin.
"Do you ever answer any question? I want to know where you're taking me!" I tensed when his hold tightened around my waist.
"I told you you're coming home with me." He snapped and I could feel his muscles tense against my back.
"And you live in an abandoned temple?" Now that I actually got a closer look I know exactly what kind of temple that was. It was a huge temple dedicated to one of the older Gods, a deity that was banned from history and long forgotten. Still, it did not make any sense why we were heading there.
"We do." Was all the man said. I was about to ask what he meant by 'we' but decided to just stay silent. He was clearly not that talkative.
It did not take long before we were right in front of the massive stone gate. He hopped off of the horse and hesitantly, I followed him.
The temple was almost as big as the Palace, with two front towers on each side of the limestone gate that seemed to reach the skies up above.
"It's the king!" I heard a faint voice coming from one of the towering poles.
"The king has arrived!" I heard another man yell from the opposite pole and I was shocked, and quite relieved, to find out he was not living all by himself.
The man glanced over his shoulder, locking eyes with me, "Come." He ordered me before walking inside. He was only wearing a shendyt that was wrapped around his waist, and I got the chance to glance at the toned muscles of his wide back. His bronze glistening skin was adorned with gold bracelets which sparkled in the morning sunlight and hugged his forearms and defined biceps.
I fell into step beside him, taking in the beauty of the architecture. The inside of the temple was even greater, with sandstone towering poles and the giant statues of an unknown Pharaoh that stood on each side of the vast hallway.
"This is absolutely beautiful." I muttered under my breath, letting my gaze wander all around the grand place.
"It was used to worship an all-powerful Deity, the Goddess Sekhmet, long before she was declared 'evil.' People used to come all the way here to pray to her, asking her to take out their enemies. This is where they believed she resided." He explained, his deep, calm voice echoed all around the place.
I looked around in awe, wondering how it must have felt for her to be long forgotten and abandoned. Was that the same fate that would have awaited me if I had stayed and agreed to becoming the next Bride? Would people even remember my sacrifice? Remember me?
As we kept walking, I could hear the faintest noise coming from the end of the hallway, from the other side of the enormous building.
"You don't leave her alone, after all." I darted my eyes in his direction and the smallest smile was tugging at his lips.
"I never said I did."
I suddenly found myself walking in what looked like a city. Several children ran past me, with one of them accidentally bumping into me.
"Sorry, my lady." He stuttered before storming off to his friends who waited for him to catch up. Their light giggles filled the air.
I looked around me, there were numerous, small houses built with brownish mud bricks. I caught a glimpse of two women who sat in front of one of the tiny buildings, they were baking. Their sheer dresses fluttered lazily in the hot summer breeze.
More children were racing and playing, with some older women who kept scolding them, telling them to slow down or else they might get hurt. Three younger women walked past me, each carrying a clay pot on top of their heads, their wide hips swayed with each step they took and their long, dark hair moved with the wind, glittering brightly in the golden sunlight. My gaze kept turning from one person to another, they all seemed happy, chatting with one another as though they did not have a single care in the world.
"Who are all these people?" I broke the silence and he glanced at me, his eyes gleaming with an emotion that I could only describe as pride.
"They are my people." There was something about how he had said it that caused my heart to skip a beat. It was the feeling of being safe, of being secure, a feeling that I had longed for.
We got to yet another huge building and the man beside me paused. I looked at the two young men who apparently guarded the place. They both were about the same age as the stranger, both clad in nothing but their shendyts, and both were eyeing me closely.
"You know where to take her." He said and they both nodded.