Chapter 55: Cleopatra, the first Apostle. 48 BCE
[3rd POV]
In front of the Ptolemaic throne, a young woman was standing in front of a boy that was sitting on the throne. The woman looked angry, sad, frustrated, and most of all, disappointed. The boy that is sitting on a throne was surrounded by old men, advisors it seems.
“You… wanted to exile me?” said the woman in murmur, but rage filled every single word she spoke. “Me? Your wife and your sister? Your queen regent, exiled?”
“Yes. the king had spoken.” said one of the advisors. “You will depart from Alexandria at once along with your sister Arsinone.”
The woman ignored the advisor’s words, and spoke directly to her husband-brother. “Do you want this?”
Her brother just looked at her coldly. “You’ve been doing things out of your power, you are gathering power.”
“I did what I had to.” said the woman calmly. “All for the good of our dynasty while you and your advisors played around, yet you forsake me?”
“I will not say again.” said the boy, trying to look menacing, but he failed. “You are exiled, never to return again.”
The young woman could only stand in humiliation as she clenched her fist. Her husband, her brother, her family had betrayed her, she had cared for this kingdom as early as she was anointed queen, yet all of that was wasted, because of envy and petty schemes.
—
As the young woman and her sister travelled through the dusty road of Egypt using a carriage, the young woman could see the anxiousness of her sister. The guards outside were minimal, and the hot climate of the place made her sister sweat like crazy.
“What will happen to us now?” Asked Arsinone. “Death by bandits? Starved to death?”
The young woman chuckled. “Exile is not as bad as it seems, sister. We still have some of our privileges from the palace.”
“But being exiled to a deserted place? We are going to die…”
“Don’t be pessimistic.” the young woman rolled her eyes. “Our exile is just temporary. I’ll make sure we’ll return to our home.”
Arisnone flinched as she said that. “War again?”
“It’s already a last resort scenario…” murmured the young woman. “What else could we do?”
The sister sighed, looking anxious on the future they might face.
Meanwhile, the young woman looked outside the window of the carriage. She thought about the future, how to take the throne back from his young brother that is controlled by the advisors. She doesn’t want to see her kingdom fall because of corruption, she wants her people to prosper, to grow.
She thought about it, she needed allies, trusted subordinates, and friends. All of these guards won’t cut it, Caesar perhaps? Or Pompey? She didn’t know what to do, she was backed to a corner by the snakes that surrounded her brother…
As she daydreamed, something happened that made the guards panic. A giant monster’s carcass was suddenly thrown in the direction of the carriage. The guards told the young woman and her sister to get out of the carriage, which they did. Ultimately though, the carcass didn’t hit the carriage, instead, it blocked the road ahead.
The guards came to inspect the carcass. It looked like a crocodile, but it had the body of an elephant.
“What monstrosity is this?” questioned one of the guards as he poked the carcass using his spear.
Then, two men ran towards them, making the guards alert.
“Sorry,” said one of the two men who was holding a weirdly shaped spear. “Got too into it… the body then was flown away…”
“Who are you?!” the guards shouted. They surrounded the two men, spears and shields facing them.
The other man sighed. “Now I have to use my powers to erase their memories again…”
“After you Druig…” said the man who was holding a spear, smirking at the man called ‘Druig’.
Druig’s eyes then glowed golden, and the guards were suddenly in a trance, dropping their shields and spears.
While the young woman’s sister was afraid, the young woman itself was excited. What if they were her subordinates? No, she wasn’t that stupid, these men definitely won’t be her subordinates… But friends? She could try.
“Right, let’s go now.” said Druig.
The two men then turned to the deviant, and the other man who wasn’t named Druig carried the body of the monster with one arm, and put it on his shoulder.
They walked away from the carriage. The guards are still in a trance, and the blood of the monster dripping to the road.
“Wait!” shouted the young woman.
Her sister looked terrified and tugged her clothes. “What are you doing?!”
“Saving our position,” said the young woman. The two men stopped as they heard her shout. She walked up to them, and bowed like a queen.
“I am queen Cleopatra VII, thank you for saving us.”
The two men looked at each other in confusion. “But… we didn’t.”
Cleopatra shook her head. “Nonsense, if you hadn’t killed the monster, it would probably attack our carriage one way or another.”
The two men were still confused. “Okay… then goodbye.”
The queen hurriedly blocked their way. “Wait a minute, saviours. Allow me to give you some hospitality of our kingdom. Let us camp together.”
“Er… not interested…”
“I insist.”
The man that was carrying the monster then turned to Druig. “Druig?”
Druig’s eyes started to glow golden, but then Cleopatra shouted hurriedly. “Wait, Wait! Just stay with us for one night, for extra protection, then you can go after.”
Druig raised his eyebrows, and his eyes turned to normal. “Fine.”
“Wait what?” questioned the other man.
“Well, you heard it yourself man, she’s the queen.” argued Druig. “We could get some horses from her…”
“An Exiled Queen!” countered the other man, which made Cleopatra pissed off.
“There’s some horses there.” pointed Druig to the carriage, which scared Cleopatra’s sister.
The other man sighed, and turned to Cleopatra. “Can you give us the horses?”
“If you stayed with us for a night, then we’ll give you the horses.” Cleopatra negotiated.
“Fine…”