I woke sometime later, to Solomon sitting beside me smiling, the sun fully risen. I became aware of the pain filling my body and the stickiness between my legs.

Solomon had covered me with a sheet, even so I still managed a blush in our surroundings, as I was still completely naked.

"You awake now?" he gently asked me.

I nodded pulling the sheet around me and sitting up.

"Good," he said, looking out the door, allowing me time to adjust once more to his presence like this, "I have caught us some fish and made us some breakfast with the apples, carrot, onions, and ginger we brought with us. I found some thyme growing so I added that too.

"We had apples, carrot and onions last night?" I asked, wondering why we did not use them last night.

"Yes, I wanted them to last a bit longer before we used them. I thought this morning would be more beneficial as we have a big day ahead of us still. I do not know if we will get lunch, it all depends on whether or not we find a place to fish, and there are fish."

I nodded, we had decided that fishing was part of our day today, but I had slept through most of it after our lovemaking. Solomon was not so disposed; he probably was use to having sex and then working. As for me, it was almost my first experience, and it tired me out.

"I need to clean up first," I commented, earning myself an interested look, seeing his look I thought I would nip it in the bud as we would get nothing done at this rate, "No, Solomon, you cannot come with me."

"Oh!" he deflated, but not for long, "That's ok, I should probably keep an eye on the breakfast anyway, so it does not burn." And he exited the tent.

I scrambled to put on my dress and hurried down the path to the waterhole. I see to my surprise some fishing traps placed at the bottom of the rapids up stream from the watering hole. I smile to myself, figuring that since we were returning tonight, it was a wise decision so that we would have something to eat by the end of the day. I was hoping that it caught fish and not crustaceans, as I knew Solomon was forbidden from eating the crustaceans.

I hurried to wash myself as the mouth-watering smell that was drifting down to me suggested that breakfast was ready. I briefly wondered why I could smell it here, but not in the tent, before my stomach complained that it had not eaten yet. I grinned ironically, and got dressed, my dress sticking to my wet skin, like a glove. I hoped that, despite the wonderful feelings that sex aroused in me, that Solomon would not react to my figure displayed such.

Solomon must have thought the same thing, as his back was away from me as I ascended back to our campsite. He had placed 2 rocks close together, he was sitting on one and I guessed the other was for me, so I sat down on it.

Solomon glanced at me, "Oh good, you are here, we can eat now." He said as he dished out the apple, onion and carrot flavoured fish.

"This smells amazing!" I compliment him, but it did not look amazing, it looked like some sort of mash.

"I am sorry, the fish was supposed to be wrapped around the vegetables, but it fell apart," Solomon apologised for the state of the food, "It would have looked appealing if it had stayed together, not to mention easier to eat."

"That's ok," I replied, "It smells delicious!' I took a bite and it melted into my mouth, I found myself smiling as the flavours mixed, "Mhmm, yum! This is delicious, even more so than the fish last night."

"You think so?" Solomon questioned me, clearly enjoying watching me eat.

I nodded, 'Yes! I do!"

We ate in silence, Solomon taking our dishes and cleaning them, putting them away into the rucksack we were taking with us to travel to the outer parts of the land. Once this was done, he looked at me, "Let's go!" he said and we left, leaving the tent behind, as it was. I could only hope that it would be safe to return to, and that no slithery's would enter the tent while we were gone.

It was a pleasant day, not to hot, unlike the days we (Mina and Abishag) had been fixing the vines on. There was a scattering of white fluffy clouds in the sky, and a mild pleasant breeze, I marvelled at how such a perfect day could exist for hiking. It was like Solomon's God had given us this perfect day at the request of Solomon.

As we walked, the landscape changed from the land suitable for sheep grazing, to a more arid and rocky area, the land became hillier as well. Yes, we started and stayed on a hill, but the area around was undulating pastures, with little pockets of beauty, the hill being one such place. The area we were headed was to a rocky outcrop that sprung out of the ground, almost like a wall.

It was because it was like a wall of granite, I had not explored it, feeling that it would be better to wait for someone to come with me than to try climb it on my own. What if I fell and hurt myself? It was, after all, an imposing rise of granite. I really wanted to see what was at the top of it, was it more arable land or was it rocky desert like the area leading up to it was?

We reached the last bit of the creek on our land, just before midday. I used the opportunity then to refill our water casks after taste testing the water again. When I was last here the water was sweet, but I knew from experience, that there was no guarantee that this would remain the case. I cupped my hand, put it into the water, and lifted it to my mouth, checking for sedimentation in the water too. Everything was fine, the water was sweet and clear, I sighed in relief, and I felt as if a worry had been stripped away. A worry that I did not know that I had been carrying.

Solomon squatted next to me drinking from cupped hands too, "You know drinking like this is uncommon?" he asked.

I shook my head, "No, but I have always drunk this way, I could never understand why people would put their heads down and drink directly from the river."

Solomon smiled, "I don't either, but each person is different, and special in their own way."

I nodded my agreement. We left shortly afterwards and headed to where the granite wall was.

When we arrived, I looked at it. It was still as imposing as ever, and the walls were almost vertical at 80 degrees. I wondered if I would manage. "No time like the present, to try," I mutter as I placed my foot on the bottom of the wall and reached up to the minute fingerhold that was up further.

I somehow managed to take that first step and found myself like a spider on the surface of the water, scuttling up the wall. I found that once my balance was spread out and my feet and weight were adjusted to the wall, it was easier to scale it without holding onto the minute fingerholds, but instead using my hands like a gecko. I realised that this would not work in all situations, but it worked here so I started scuttling up the rock face.

Next thing I knew a hand had run up the inside of my leg and then my bum was suddenly squeezed. Not thinking, I fell back with a squeal in surprise, into a pair of laughing muscular arms. I look up to see Solomon grinning with mirth.

"What was that for?" I demanded, swatting him in mock anger.

"Your bum looked so inviting waggling in front of me!" he said with mock innocence.

"Solomon!" I said, exasperated, "How will I ever get up there if you are going to be like this?"

"Its ok, I will behave myself next time," he said with a smirk and wink, sneaking a kiss off of me, before placing me down in order for me to climb ahead of him.

When I got to the top, I looked back, Solomon was looking at me in amazement, crossed with... desire, his beard gently blowing in the breeze that had picked up a little since we had arrived.

"Are you coming?" I called to him.

"Yes!" he said and used my approach to the cliff face, taking less time than me, he scaled the surface like he had been rock-climbing all his life. When he arrived at where I had stopped, he got up, changing his stance from the scuttling spider to standing upright like a human should, "The view is really quite amazing from here isn't it?" He enquired of me trying to elicit my thoughts.

It was then I looked at the view, and was staggard. If I thought the view was amazing where we had set up camp, here was more so. We could see the hilly mound where we had set up our camp, all the way back to Jerusalem. As I had not looked at the land behind us when I arrived at the summit of the granite wall, I turned then to look behind us, hoping that the land would be good up here too. '

I was disappointed.

The land behind us was rocky desert, suitable only for goats. I must have looked crestfallen as I felt Solomon wrap his arms around me hugging me, "This is good land too you know, just different, just because it isn't suitable for sheep farming, does not make it useless.

I hiccup laughed through my tears of disappointment that had started falling out of nowhere. "How did you know I was disappointed in the land up here?"

He turned me to him then, wiping my tears, "you hunched over a little, and sighed. This land is so much better than I was expecting. Thank you for finding it."

I leant into his shoulder then, taking strength from his embrace. "I wanted this land to be perfect for you." I whispered.

"It is," Solomon said, in a voice that secured my belief that he truly thought so. I stayed in his arms awhile longer before he said, "Shall we eat here or head back home?"

"You don't want to go further in?" I ask.

"No need, I can see what I wanted to know. What about you? Did you want to travel in more?"

I look back at the land I was curious about and realised that I did not need to go any further either, "No, I have satisfied my curiosity now." I thought about the other question and decided that I would rather head 'home' to the tent then eat, "I would rather head home, if that's alright?"

"It's fine," he replied releasing me and looking out over the land towards our tent, "I was hoping you would say that."

We spider bum shuffled our way down the slope and at the bottom we paused before striking out home.

On our way home, I noticed Solomon's gaze continually drifting to my bottom and curiosity got the better of me, "Is there something on my bum?" I asked finally.

"What?" Solomon asked, glancing up at me startled.

"Then why are you always looking at it? You have only started since climbing the mountain face."

Solomon flushed a little then, "There's nothing on your bum. It's just when you climbed that cliff face..."

I looked at him confused, remembering what he did the first time I attempted climbing the rock face with a delightful shiver "What about it?"

"I became aware of how attractive it was, and I wanted you again, but I did not want to scare you away from me."

I looked at him incredulously, "You wanted me again?"

"Yes," he smiled sheepishly.

"Wha..." I was so surprised that he could want me so soon after our interlude this morning, it honestly flustered me.

He seemed to understand my fluster, as he took my hand, sending comfort through it. We walked in silence then, it wasn't uncomfortable, not at all, if anything it was a silence filled with conversation between our two hands.

We did not stop to eat at all, choosing instead to head straight home. When we arrived, Solomon checked the fish traps while I checked the tent for snakes and scorpions. I was relieved to find there were none. I would not have known what to do if there were, but it was a pressure on my mind that had worried me since we had left this morning.

We had a quiet but intimate night that night. To my surprise Solomon did not sleep naked like I had woken up to this morning and when I asked him about it, he just said, "I think it is better for us to stay clothed when travelling. Who knows what emergency may crop up?" and left it at that.

The next day we packed up the tent and all our belonging and headed home reluctantly. We both would have liked to stay longer but Solomon's duties were never-ending, even this short time meant he would be even busier on his return.

On our way home Solomon asked, "Would you mind if we went by my parent's graves? I do not get to visit them as much as I would like with my work as King, I don't even get to visit on the days we are supposed to visit."

"Of course," I replied, smiling, feeling honoured that he would invite me to go with him to an intensely personal location. I thought about it and asked, "Would you mind if I visit them too, even when you are not around?"

At first, I thought he had not heard me, but I realised that he was thinking it over. He looked at me with his beautiful intense eyes and smiled, "Sure, I will not stop you, if this is what you want to do. It would relieve me a little knowing that you too were visiting them."

"I too?" I queried, puzzled.

He nodded, "Yes, Abishag still visits David, and my half-brother Meremoth my mother. I have been meaning to ask you, would you like further instruction in the Israelite faith. I know you asked Mina to tell you but would you be interested in something more?"

"Yes, I would Solomon, Thank you!" I enthused.

"Do not thank me yet," Solomon warned me, "I still have to ask Meremoth to teach you."

"Meremoth? You would not be teaching you yourself?" I said, feeling slightly hurt that it would not be Solomon teaching me. I should have been feeling honoured as it was his brother, he was asking to teach me. I did not even know he had an older half-brother, nor did, I am sure, most of Solomon's wives.

"Yes, there is no-one else better than I, in matters of the law," Solomon nodded, obviously seeing my disappointment, he comforted me, "If I had time to teach you, I would, but with everything, I do not have the time, my love. You still will hear some of my teaching though, like I promised."

"Thank you, my lord. I will hear your teaching?" I puzzled, confused for a second.

"Yes, remember, I said you could attend my lessons to the young men that is starting thing."

"Oh! That's right!" I smile, suddenly feeling happy, "How do you plan for me to listen."

"I thought if we set up refreshments behind several screens and you be there to serve the young men whenever they are getting hungry or thirsty, you get to listen without too much consternation over your presence. There will always be consternation to start with, but if we do it from the beginning it would be accepted as some oddity that I do."

I nodded, smiling, and we walked on in silence to visit the tombs of David and Bathsheba, "Should we bring flower or herbs to the graves?" I wondered.

"No," Solomon shook his head and his eyes alit in excitement as he spotted something on the ground. He bent down and picked up 4 small attractive stones, "We take these," he explained handing me 2 of them, "And we put them on the gravesite with our left hand. It indicates we have visited them."

I nodded my understanding, wandering what else was different from what we did as Ammonites. The Israelite religion was so different to everything I had been taught. "Do you talk to the dead or?..." I queried.

"We can say a Yizkor if you like, but it is not quite time for that yet," Solomon commented in response to my question.

"Well, I would not mind, at least it is somewhat similar to what we do when we visit," I refer to my upbringing. Solomon looked at me with one eyebrow raised, as if to ask me what it was I did when I visited my grandparents grave, causing me to continue, "We normally take flowers and talk to them, telling them about what has happened to me so far and the world around us."

"That does not sound so bad, but perhaps you could do a mix of the two, I am pretty sure my people would be offended at the flowers, but there is no reason why you can't do the pebble and talk with them."

I smiled my thanks, and determined to do just that. We then left for the temple so Solomon could meet up with Meremoth.

🍀A/N Please vote if you enjoyed this chapter. If you see any errors, please let me know.🍀