[The Ambys 2023 Winner in Diverse Lit. Category]
Bhallar, a young doctor with a hidden agenda to take down the ruthless Pharaoh: the supreme ruler of the New Kingdom, finds himself in a tight spot when Mayeen, his sister, whom he thought to be dead...
Mayeen was a hell of a lot smarter than her elder brother. She always had been. From a young age, she knew how to manipulate her father to get what she desired, and after her father's passing, she had done the same to her brother.
After Bhallar's departure from Zapobu, Mayeen had honed her skills and charmed every one of her neighbors into pouring their affection on her.
Everyone loved Mayeen.
No one was aware that the young girl possessed an innate talent to decode the human psyche. Within minutes, if not seconds, of meeting someone, she could accurately guess their innermost desires. She could tell what kind of people they liked or disliked. Then like a chameleon, she used to morph into what the other would cherish most.
Almost no one was immune to her charms, and no one, not even her own mother, was aware of her talent. Contrary to what Mayeen thought, though, she was not born with it. This talent had started to manifest in her a year or so before her father's demise.
In the years following Bhallar's departure from Zapobu, Mayeen had slowly come to realize what she could do and things she could achieve if she used her gifts judiciously.
One day, seven years into Bhallar's training, her older brother had returned to pay them a brief visit. During that time, while arranging his scattered possessions, Mayeen had come across a journal with her father's name scribbled on it. The young girl had never seen it before and wondered why her brother, who told her everything, had kept it from her. Curiosity had gotten the better of Mayeen, who had taken advantage of her brother's absence to read the journal without permission.
After skimming through it, she had figured out that they were his research notes on the human body and blood. Being young and naive on that subject matter, she couldn't comprehend much more, but one thing was clear, her baba was trying to find answers. She knew his hand well, and thus, recognized his 'frustrated scribbles' after every (possibly) failed experiment. The last entry date was the one she remembered clearly.
Atmoo worked with uncle Sharre and stayed in Qulsairis four days a week. Usually, he would leave the capital on the sixth night of the week and arrive home on the morning of the seventh day. He would tend to his patients there and spend time with his family for the next three days before leaving for the capital again.
The day written in the journal was the sixth day of the week. His family was not expecting Atmoo home so early.
The first-hand had knocked on the door relentlessly till his wife had opened it. The commotion had woken up the two children, who had watched their father collapse on their mother soon after crossing the threshold.
What had transpired later was a haze in the young girl's mind, but she was sure that Bhallar was the one her baba had wanted next to him in the last moments of his life.
What had her father told her brother?
Why was it that Bhallar had gone from being a curious young boy to a determined young man overnight?
Since very young, Mayeen had seen her baba keep journals. It had struck the young girl that what she was holding in her hands was the last of the several journals her father had written in his lifetime.
On careful observation, she had noticed that the last few pages had been torn out of the notebook in such a way that if she hadn't checked it carefully, she wouldn't have known about it.
What did the last few pages contain?
If it was her brother who had torn it off, then why had he done that?
More importantly, why had her brother never told her about the last conversation between him and their baba?
Mayeen was reminded of how Bhallar always seemed to give his all to become the best in his field. Even the letters uncle Sharre had written to her mama spoke about the boy's relentless determination to excel. 'What would he achieve by becoming the best?' Mayeen had asked herself often but never received the reply until then.
Reading the journal had given her the answer.
'Dada wants to become the royal physician.' Mayeen had guessed accurately, but she needed more. Later in the day, Mayeen had used her gifts to make her brother reveal the truth. She had spoken the right words at the right time with the right emotions backing her.
Still, with everything she had going for her, Bhallar had proved to be a tough nut to crack. Try as she may, he had not taken the bait.
With no way to make him talk, Mayeen had sent a prayer to almighty Ra, begging forgiveness for spiking Bhallar's water with the nutmeg powder she had borrowed from the kitchen before offering it to her dear brother.
She had waited for the spice to take effect and then broached the subject about their father's death again. She had been more successful this time around.
Before passing out, Bhallar had told her how it was Tutuamen's fault that their baba had caught the sickness while trying to cure the sickly young boy. He had proceeded to inform her how pharaoh Re-nefer had selfishly betrayed the New Kingdom by abandoning almighty Ra just to heal his son.
"Baba wanted to stop him," Bhallar had admitted with eyelids as heavy as lead, "but he couldn't. I need to finish what he couldn't, Mayeen. I need to end that monster. I need to get close. I can't do that unless I am the best. I need to be the best, sister." Soon after emptying his heart, Bhallar had fallen on the sleeping mat that Mayeen had kept ready and closed his eyes, murmuring something about him loving Violet Genoises.
The things that her brother had let spill before falling into a deep sleep had shaken the then thirteen-year-old Mayeen to the core. She had decided then and there that she couldn't let her brother shoulder all the responsibility.
From that day forth, the purpose of the young girl's life had changed. Now, every decision she made, every action she took, was with but one objective in mind: To enter Tutuamen's harem and win his heart.
After all, only if she could rule the monster's heart could she achieve her goal.
However, she was aware that her older brother would never let her walk the path she had chosen for herself. Thus Mayeen had chosen to work alone and not involve Bhallar in her plans.
She should have, for if she had, Mayeen wouldn't have found herself in the situation she was presently facing: injured, alone and thirsty.
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[Chapter word count: 1141 Word count so far: 8662]
