Soon after being chosen, Mayeen and the rest of the girls from all over the New Kingdom were handed veils by a sturdy-looking woman dressed in violent blue robes similar in fashion to the ones donned by the palace guards.

The girls were instructed to cover the lower half of their faces and made to fall into a single line.

Mayeen's eyes drifted to the head eunuch: a bald man with sea-green eyes, hook nose, and a chin that jutted out like it meant business. "Welcome to the heart of New Kingdom, girls." said the man, taking in the month's loot: the chosen girls, with a restrained smile and authoritative tone. Then turning around, he pointed at the most magnificent arched gateway, situated at the eastern end of the complex. "That's the inner palace. Your future."

Having dreamt about entering the harem for so long, she almost could not contain her excitement seeing her destination so close.

Baba, I am finally here, just like I promised. Hold on a little longer, baba; your Mayeen will make you proud.

"However, you are not there yet." The head eunuch continued, pulling Mayeen's attention to the bald man who had abruptly started walking in the opposite direction of where her destination lay.

Uncertainty crept into the girl's mind. She had heard that Tutuamen liked to keep his women near his personal quarters. It was common knowledge that not long after he had taken the reins of the kingdom in his hands, the young Pharaoh had ordered the harem to be shifted to the eastern end of the inner palace.

Two rows of broad-shouldered men flanked the girls on either side as they walked behind the head eunuch.

'Why is he taking us in the opposite direction!?' Mayeen wondered but held her peace. She noticed that the men walking alongside them were leering at them. It made bile rise to her throat.

Why does it feel like they know something that we don't?

Knowledge was power; right now, she felt out of her depth because of lack of it; Mayeen needed to fix that (without making it obvious) she moved to her right. With half of her face covered, she was only left with her eyes to work with.

Her gold-rimmed orbs caught the eyes of the man barely two feet from her. She beckoned him closer.

"I am thirsty, Sir. When will we reach the harem?"

"It will be a while before you can set foot there, I am afraid. That is if you can prove yourself. You have no idea what's in store for you, girl."

"I will bear with it then," Mayeen replied, and making sure that his eyes were on her, she bowed her head hoping to flatter the latter.

The reply made Mayeen realize that she had perhaps underestimated the situation. She couldn't be sure that she would be able to win the title of the 'Pharaoh's woman' yet. To achieve that kind of success, she not only needed to pass the tests but come out on top as well.

That meant that she needed to understand what was expected of her. One look at her surroundings informed her that the man she had to impress was the head eunuch who was presently walking with the confidence the girl had seen on nobles who knew that they held fates of commoners in their hands.

Walking faster, Mayeen closed the distance between her and the eunuch to take a closer look at his attire.

Unlike the others, the eunuch didn't carry any weapons on him. Dressed in fine bright yellow linens from head to toe, he had no jewelry on his person except for the armlets depicting two intertwined serpopards.

'They look familiar,' thought Mayeen but couldn't recall where she had seen them. Nonetheless, it was clear to her that the head eunuch was an important man whom she needed on her side.

"Halt!" The eunuch yelled and turned on the spot, coming face to face with Mayeen, who, without meaning to, had drifted closer to him than she desired.

She fell to her knees immediately; rubbing her palms together, keeping her eyes low and words drenched in fear,  she spoke, "Please punish me for my insolence, my lord. I have sullied your view. I didn't mean to do it. If you let me live, I promise, I will try my best not to disappoint you again."

To the bystanders, Mayeen appeared to be a silly girl embarrassing herself in front of a eunuch who was merely responsible for escorting them to the harem, but the girl knew better.

"What did you say your name was?" The baldy asked, and crouching next to her, he tilted her chin up, just like Hakin had done. He tried to stare into her gold-rimmed eyes, which were averted, and refused to look at him.

"Mayeen, My Lord." The girl replied; tears slipped past her lids and disappeared under the ebony veil covering the rest of her face.

No one except the girl from Zapobu saw the faint smile that lingered on the eunuch's lips before he rose to his feet. "Stand up, girl. You are delaying us. Next time,  be mindful of where your feet are leading you."

Mayeen bobbed her head and kissed the spot his feet were at moments ago, before doing what she was told, "I will. Rest assured, my lord."

Ignoring his urge to stare a little longer at the golden-eyed girl who had made him feel like the Pharaoh, albeit for a few moments, the eunuch instructed. "All of you are to enter this hall where you will stay till you are called. Is that clear?"

His eyes moved past the young woman in front of him as he gestured to the lady from earlier to approach him.

The lady in violet unrolled a scroll she was carrying and started reading:

'To the lucky ones:

I, Tutuamen, the one true ruler of the New Kingdom, welcomes you to your new home.

All of you know why you have been brought here. But before you enter the harem and try to earn my favor, I want you to understand what it means to be mine. Truly mine.
You will never step foot outside the palace. You will be at my beck and call any time of the day or night.

If you make enemies within the harem, you will be on your own unless you have won a place in my heart; none has earned that pleasure since I took the throne, and I am highly doubtful of it happening in the future.

Most of you are here because you or your family have failed to protect your Family Cards; I am not obligated to do just by you.

A concubine's life is not without complications. There are rules and strict codes of conduct you will be expected to follow, the violation of which will result in unimaginably terrible consequences, including but not limited to death.

Lastly, if you have already given your heart to another, it is time you back out. I do not want a woman who is incapable of serving me wholeheartedly.

Zeaiker.'

The woman finished and bowed politely. Then handing over the scroll to the head eunuch, she took her place behind the soldiers who had led the girls there.

The bald man sighed, "Our master is truly generous, don't you think?" He addressed the group of confused-looking girls who nodded, believing that doing otherwise would bring them harm.

"You don't need to be scared of me. After all, those who chose to stay would see me more often than our master." said the eunuch lightheartedly before elaborating, "Now that you have heard the Pharaoh's wish, those who want to be under his care, step to your right, and those who wish to leave, step to your left. I know this is a tough choice, so I will give you a few minutes to make your mind up."

Mayeen didn't have to think. She bowed her head and moved towards her right; three out of the eleven women with her followed in her footsteps; three stood rooted on the spot, while the remaining four glanced to their left. Plaintive. Forlorn. The girl from Zapobu was sure that they would choose to leave and were probably waiting for one of them to take the lead, just to make sure that they could act on their wish without enraging the Pharaoh.

In all the years she had spent planning her revenge, gathering information, and understanding what was expected of the Pharaoh's woman, Mayeen had never heard of anyone who had returned home after setting foot inside the palace.

Something wasn't adding up. Mayeen recalled the conversation she had had with the soldier not long ago.

'He looked excited. Actually, barring the eunuch, every single man here looks like he is waiting for a feast to begin.' Mayeen contemplated; she gasped soundlessly as the horrifying end that awaited every girl, who was going to step to her right, assaulted her mind. Her hands balled into fists at her sides; fear, anger, and disgust made her heart pound. 'I didn't hear anyone return because none did. They will be thrown to these vile men who will violate them as they please before passing them on to others. The women will be used and abused till nothing remains of them except their irreparably broken bodies and tattered souls.'

Mayeen gulped thickly; at that moment, she wanted nothing more than to save the clueless girls who, any moment now, would be taken away and thrown to the wolves who were waiting to pounce on them as soon as they stepped to their left.

Taking a deep breath, the girl prayed to almighty Ra to watch over her before raising her hand, seeking the bald man's attention.

[Chapter word count: 1649;
Word count so far: 11832]