"Hatshepsut."

"Yes?" she replied.

"You are to marry Thutmose || at dawn and will become his Queen." her father, Thutmose | ordered.

"Okay."

Hatshepsut was an Egyptian princess, soon to marry her half-brother, Thutmose ||. She didn't really think anything of it; it was perfectly normal for her to marry him and on the plus side, she'd gain power as Egypt's new Queen.

The next morning, Hatshepsut and Thutmose || got married at a private ceremony in the kingdom. They had a very peaceful three years as Pharaoh and Queen, but then very unexpectedly, Thutmose || died.

What am I gonna do without him? Hatshepsut thought in despair. She had cared for him and that's why at his funeral, she had promised she would be the regent for his son (her stepson), Thutmose |||.

...^......^...

10 Years Later

"Scribes!" Hatshepsut called.

"Yes?" three scribes replied in unison as they bowed down to her.

"I have decided that I would like to remain on the throne, solo as my own Queen. I've officially crowned myself Pharaoh of Egypt, and I will be training Prince Thutmose ||| as a top soldier for our army," she explained, "I would like you and the other castle scribes to spread the word around."

"But Hatshepsut, you're just a regent. Thutmose is the Pharaoh."

"Not anymore. Now don't speak out of turn again."

"Yes, of course, Hatshepsut. We will spread the word right away."

"Good. Now go!"

As the three scribes headed off, Hatshepsut walked down the long palace hallways to her room, admiring the tapestries of the Egyptian Gods on the walls. If I'm going to make this work, I want to look like the traditional King. she decided.

While sitting in her room thinking about her plan, Hatshepsut felt her stomach grumble and decided to get something to eat.

She walked down the hallway towards the kitchen, feeling the cold, smooth floor under her bare feet, and then she heard a voice call from behind her, "Queen Hatshepsut!"

She turned around to see her cousin, Osiris. He had wavy brown hair, and his emerald green eyes seemed to stare into hers with a grimacing expression.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I heard you took over the throne. Why? Especially with that "loyalty" you've always said you had to Thutmose ||." he said with a smirk on his face.

"Because I decided I wanted to rule alone." she responded firmly.

"Hatshepsut, I know you're lying. You were in love with Thutmose ||. Taking the throne from his son would be betraying him and it's not that easy to betray someone you love."

"I decided to take the throne because I want to rule Egypt, alone. I wanted it all to belong to me, and me alone, so I took it. There's my answer, now back off!" Hatshepsut snapped, caught off guard by Osiris's comment on Thutmose ||.

Osiris was right. It's not that easy to betray someone you love. But she knew she needed to, for the good of Egypt. If what she thought was gonna happen if Thutmose ||| actually did end of ruling, Egypt was gonna fall apart. She knew that it needed a strong Pharaoh, so she took her place in providing one.

As she walked into the Palace kitchen, the aroma of garlic, vegetables, fish, lentils, and cheese filled her nose. The sight of all the food gave her delight, especially the garlic seasoned fish and vegetables that had been prepared earlier just for her.

She picked up the plate as well as a mug of beer and carefully walked outside to the palace gardens. The warmth of the sun shining on her back made her feel relaxed and the sight of all the flowers and people was absolutely gorgeous.

"Hatshepsut." someone shouted from behind her.

"What's all this talk about you being Pharaoh instead of me?" Thutmose ||| demanded, his chocolate brown hair swaying in the gentle breeze.

"Thutmose, listen," Hatshepsut said in a calm voice, "I'm only doing what I need to for Egypt. Please understand."

"I don't get it. I would've been a perfectly fine ruler." Thutmose responded.

How am I gonna explain this to him! Hatshepsut thought in panic. He couldn't know the real reason why, it would only bring fear to the kingdom.

"Please just go with it. I have my reasons and when I die, you will be Pharaoh of Egypt. Thutmose, please just wait to rule for another ten years. I will move on to another world, and I can watch over you with the Gods to make sure you do the amazing job that I know you will. Okay?"

"Fine. Have your rule, but at least put me in a position where I can help the kingdom. I want to serve."

"That can be arranged. I'll train you to be a top soldier!" Hatshepsut insured with excitement, "Now come sit with me and watch this wonderful day. The Nile looks beautiful, don't you think?"

"Yes, it does. But unfortunately, I have to go. I've gotta meet with one of the people. He said he spotted a strange creature off in the woods beside the kingdom. He probably just saw a donkey feeding, but as a Prince, it's my duty to hear him out." Thutmose groaned.

"Okay, make sure to report back to me what it was!" Hatshepsut shouted after Thutmose as he made his way back into the palace.

...^...^...

23 Years Later

"Where is Thutmose |||?" Hatshepsut asked two of the palace guards, "I need to speak with him right away about the punishment of a young prisoner that we arrested last week."

"He left in a hurry a little while ago. He didn't say where he was going." one of the guards answered.

"Great," Hatshepsut muttered sarcastically, "Please notify me as soon as he gets back. I will be taking a walk along the Nile. I do not need any guards to protect me. You will be dismissed in an hour."

"Yes, of course, your highness."

With that, Hatshepsut exited the palace and headed to the edge of the river. Music poured into her ears along with the scents of a variety of food. The sun's blistering heat burned into her skin as she walked, nothing she wasn't used to though. The day was quite beautiful, with children playing and the shallow water of the Nile River flowing peacefully.

She took a turn away from the river and headed down an alley. One her best friends lived down here; that was the reason for her walk in the first place. She wanted to play a game of Senet, and her friend was usually the only one available.

Quiet footsteps sounded behind her and she whipped around, expecting to see someone following her, but there was nothing. The only thing in sight were the dark shadows of the tall Egyptian houses crowding the alley.

A feeling of unease crept up on her as she continued walking to her friend's house. She was sure someone was there watching her, someone dangerous.

The feeling taking over, she couldn't help herself from turning around again in hope that nothing would be there.

A sharp pain of fear shot through her entire body when she saw a dark figure standing only twenty some feet away.

The figure turned into three figures and they started running towards her at a frightening speed.

As she picked up her pace and started sprinting down the alleyway, fear pulsing through her body, another figure fell down into the alley from one of the rooftops.

She immediately stopped and looked down to see a bloody man, head squished into the ground.

He's dead. she realized, another shot of fear pulsing through her body. She looked up to see who had thrown him off the roof and suddenly felt a blade slide down her back. The shock of the man had made her forget that the three figures had been gaining on her that whole time.

She winced in pain and looked down to see blood trickling off her body onto the limestone road.

She then tilted her head around to see Thutmose ||| and two guards.

"Thutmose?" she asked, her voice trembling, "What...what are you doing?"

She felt a punch slam into her chest and collapsed to the floor from the impact. Lifting her head up to look forward at Thutmose, she saw the most horrifying thing sticking out of her chest. The blood covered blade stabbed into her body was causing a little stream of blood to squirt out and soak her clothing.

"Hatshepsut, I was growing impatient waiting for you to die so I could take over. After your extra ten years of rule I allowed you to have, you should've seen this coming. I've never been loyal to you, and now that you're gonna die, I can finally take back what's been mine."

"Thutmose, I need you to listen to the real reason I took the throne," Hatshepsut said weakly, "I need you to be safe so that all of this wasn't for nothing. It's Osiris, my cousin. He was planning to assassinate you after you took power. I...I couldn't let that happen after what I had promised your father, so I took the throne so that hopefully I could rule till Osiris died, and then you could have it, and rule peacefully and safely. I never meant to betray you and your father, I just needed to protect you and I knew you wouldn't have Osiris killed based on only my word. I love you and I wish you the best over your rule. Protect Egypt, Thutmose."

Hatshepsut slowly faded away, her body choking up blood as she died in the alley.

"Please find Osiris and lock him up. His execution will be first thing in the morning." Thutmose ordered the guards.

"Yes sir." 

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