"Your Royal Highness! May I speak with you in private?" asked a man with shoulder-length black hair and a messy, untrimmed beard
They hadn't even arrived at the luncheon before the people began to flock to them.
He bowed deeply.
They returned a slight bow.
"I would also like a chance to converse with our royal highnesses!" an elderly woman pushed forward.
"Me too!" said a middle-aged man.
"Your Highnesses, please forgive my rudeness, but you mustn't open the borders! We'll be eaten alive by those greedy, sinful witches," another woman exclaimed, pushing her way forward.
She looked haunted, as if the royals personally traumatized her.
One by one, more voices rose. A multitude of people began pushing their way in.
Joseph tensed. He protectively pulled Bastet into his arms, her back against his chest. Ramses stepped closer to Amon, his eyes fierce, his right hand twitching.
Amon raised his hands, keeping his voice steady despite the swell of unrest. "Please, I beseech you—let us remain calm. I will hear all that you wish to say-"
But his words were sliced apart by an angry voice from the crowd.
"-Your Highness! the Pharaoh has lost his mind! How can he open the borders—after everything they did to our ancestors? After the blood, the chains, the centuries of silence?"
The people were getting real close—only inches apart from them.
Before Amon could respond, a violent blast of wind erupted between us and the crowd.
The force hurled the front line of citizens backward.
People screamed, stumbled—some collapsed onto the cobblestones, clutching their garments and gasping for breath. Panic rippled like wildfire.
Amon's heart slammed against his ribs. He shot an accusational glance at Ramses.
Ramses wasn't even moving—frozen, wide-eyed.
Their gazes locked.
Amon tilted his head slightly.
Was that you?
Ramses shook his head, the faintest tremor in his golden eyes.
It wasn't me.
"HAVE YOU ANY DECENCY IN YOU!" someone thundered.
Everyone turned toward the voice.
Silence.
A young woman stood at a distance, furious. She had long, dark hair and brown skin. Her jade-green eyes blazed, and her features were twisted with anger. Her arm was stretched out.
It was Saphira.
Amon recognized her. A faithful, devout believer in the congregation. He often saw her at church, volunteering often as a cook or usher.
She marched forward with purpose.
"Everyone move back! Move, move, move!" she yelled, making her way between the princes and the people
The people immediately began stepping away.
Ahh. So it was her—an air user.
Amon's gaze followed her, but he wasn't looking at her with his eyes anymore.
He tapped into his inner sense.
The world dimmed. Everything faded to shadow—everything except Saphira's aura.
It shimmered faintly, a soft white glow pulsing with the signature rhythm of wind energy. It ripple outward in slow, labored waves—delayed, uneven. A clear sign of expending too much power.
Despite her fatigue, it was clear she wasn't a powerful user—her aura lacked the vibrancy, density, and scale typically seen in high-level air users.
Did that simple blast took enough of her energy to leave her like this? Does she lack proper technique to control her energy?
Amon eyes narrowed.
…Or perhaps she exhausted her energy earlier today? That would make more sense.
Four others joined her, forming a wall between them and the crowd.
"Your Royal Highnesses, we apologize for this unwanted situation. Please allow us to escort you to the luncheon," Saphira said respectfully.
"No apology needed, rather we're grateful for your intervention," Amon replied gratefully, as he quickly exited out of his inner sense
Amon and his siblings quickly followed her. The four others surrounded them, arms stretched out, forming a human barricade that prevented anyone from squeezing in.
--
Four figures, veiled in pristine white robes from head to toe, descended gracefully into the luncheon. Every eye turned to behold their entrance, their very presence commanding attention.
Many rose with joy to receive the esteemed royals of the realm.
"Your Royal Highness!"
"Peace be upon you!"
"Good afternoon, Crown Prince Amon!"
"His Highness Joseph and Prince Ramses are among us as well!"
"Greetings," Amon replied, bowing his head.
Soft laughter fluttered through the hall like a breeze through silk.
At a nearby table, a cluster of young ladies whispered excitedly as they passed. Their cheeks were tinged with pink, and their smiles betrayed their delight.
"How can they appear so striking when only their eyes are visible?"
"Their stature and bearing would humble most men."
"Prince Amon looks most distinguished—his robes do little to conceal such a noble frame."
"His Majesty and the Queen surely raised their children with both beauty and discipline!"
"And they carry themselves with such grace and courtesy!"
Ramses' eyes met one of the women and winked.
The young ladies hastily subdued their laughter, their cheeks flushed with embarrassment upon realizing their voices had carried far enough for them to hear.
The young royals continuously offered gracious nods and waved, enjoying the warmth with which they were received, especially after what just happened.
Bastet tilted her head up towards Amon.
"Those maidens are most generous with their praise. You would do well to acknowledge such admiration, and court one of them, dear brother," she whispered
Ramses snorted softly.
"You are twenty-four, Amon," Bastet added smoothly. "It is high time you began considering a suitable match."
Joseph and Ramses chuckled under their breath. Bastet and Amon locked eyes briefly before he looked away.
I honestly don't know what to say to that.
The atmosphere went awkward.
"Here you are, Your Royal Highnesses," Saphira said, gesturing with a graceful sweep toward a vacant table. "Your meal shall be brought to you shortly."
They all sat down. Joseph took the seat beside Amon; across from them sat Ramses and Bastet.
Saphira bowed deeply. "We offer our sincerest apologies, for the troubling incident earlier."
Amon raised a hand and gave a slight bow from his seat. "No apology is necessary. If anything, we are grateful for your intervention."
Ramses, Joseph and Bastet gave respectful nods and slight bows as well.
"Indeed," Bastet added warmly, her eyes curving like crescent moons.
Sephira felt her heart race as the royals fixated their gazes on her.
Saphira gave a shy smile. "Of course, Your Highnesses."
Hmm, she's quite pretty. Bastet noted.
Amon cast a glance at his siblings. "Shall we have something to eat?"
"Not at the moment," Bastet replied softly, then turned to Ramses with a questioning tilt of her head.
"Water will suffice for me," Ramses said with a nod.
They glanced at Joseph.
"Water as well," he said.
"We're not hungry, would you please bring us two cups of water?" Amon asked politely.
Saphira dipped her head swiftly. "At once, Your Highnesses."
"Thank you, Saphira," Amon added.
Saphira felt the sincerity in his words warm her heart. Her face went pink. And her heart raced faster, as the crown prince's golden eyes laid upon her. Strange emotions stirred in her heart.
He knows of me!?
"O-of course!" Saphira stammered. She nodded her head and departed in haste.
Awkward silence.
"How do you know her?" Bastet asked, breaking the atmosphere, curiosity lighting her gaze.
Amon briefly closed his eyes. Dread crawled onto his skin, he already knew where this conversation was headed. Seeing how Bastet's eyes lit up.
"I have not spoken to her directly," Amon replied nonchalantly. "But I have observed her within the congregation. She is known to be among the most devout among the youth. I learned her name through the people I converse with."
"That certainly makes sense, She appeared quite taken aback—no, flustered—when you addressed her by name," Ramses observed, his eyes curving with amusement.
"She is most certainly blushing somewhere, overwhelmed with delight. And-" Bastet cleared her voice. "She's quite cute," she said in a low voice.
She gave Amon a pointed look.
Amon ignored her. Not daring to join the conversation.
Bastet however had no intention to stop there
She elbowed Ramses. "It wouldn't hurt Amon to get to know such fine women,right?"
"I concur," Ramses added.
His eyes curved. Clearly indicating he's smiling beneath his veil.
Amon closed his eyes and sighed.
Whenever the topic of women arises—or worse, when Amon so much as acknowledges one—his siblings seize the opportunity to tease him without restraint. Even his mother has of recently, has begun introducing him to a parade of eligible young ladies, each more demure or distinguished than the last.
It's better to not react to them before, if I don't give them the reaction they want–they'll eventually stop.
A thought crossed Amon's. He opened his eyes."It was a bold decision—using her ability within the sacred confines of the church."
Ramses inclined his head slightly. "Indeed. Should word of her actions spread, I find it unlikely she would face reprimand—for what she did was not an act of violence. Yet if, by some misjudgment, she is called to account, I shall not hesitate to stand in her defense."
"Wait," Bastet interjected, her golden eyes narrowing in confusion. "That wasn't you, Ramses? I had assumed you were the one who summoned that gust of wind to drive the crowd back."
"I thought the same for a moment," Joseph admitted, his emerald gaze resting upon Ramses.
"As did I," Amon confessed.
Ramses is often quick to act, his powers reacting on instinct. Earlier, Amon had seen the subtle twitch of his hand—his body ready to respond. Had he done so, it might have reflected poorly upon them.
Ramses met their eyes with a level, cool stare. "I know very well when to restrain myself."
He leaned forward slightly, his voice lowering, the gleam in his golden eyes dimming.
"Though I would be lying if I claimed I felt no desire to use my ability at that moment."
"Ay—how fare you all on this fine day?" a familiar deep voice called out with cheerful enthusiasm.
It was Mattias.
He wore neither head nor face scarf, allowing his shoulder-length ebony hair to frame his face. His skin was a deep, rich brown, and his amber eyes gleamed brightly. He smiled broadly, revealing perfect teeth.
Beside him stood his elder brother, Nathaniel. Like Mattias, he wore a wide grin. His hair was closely cropped, his skin dark, and his yellow-brown eyes held a knowing gleam.
"Mattias and Nathaniel!" Bastet called warmly.
"Peace be upon you all—how are you?" another deep voice added from the far end of our table.
It was Isaiah. One side of his head was shaved, the remaining hair long and cascading to his chest. His tan skin glowed in the sun, and a gold piercing adorned his left ear. He smiled wide.
"Let's speak casually, huh?" he said, jutting his chin playfully.
"Isaiah! Hope! It's great to see you!" Bastet exclaimed cheerfully, patting the bench beside her.
"Of course not! Show some respect to your superior," Ramses said flatly to Isaiah, his eyes coldly locked on him.
Joseph and Amon snorted.
Ramses tends to make deadpan jokes, most people take him literally, So Ramses refrains his tongue but with Mattias, Nathaniel, Hope and Isaiah, he didn't need to hold back. They all know he's joking.
Isaiah burst into laughter.
Beside him stood his sister, Hope, radiant in a long, white, strapless gown that hugged her figure. A golden belt cinched her waist, and her loose black hair flowed freely, framing her light tan complexion and soft brown eyes.
"Blessings to you all!" Hope said brightly.
They exchanged greetings with warmth and joy as they joined us at the table.
Mattias took the seat beside me.
The arrangement was as follows—from left to right:
Mattias, myself, Joseph, Nathaniel
Across from us:
Ramses, Bastet, Hope, and Isaiah.
These were their closest friends. They had grown up together in the church—with many others as well—but their parents, and they themselves, had remained especially faithful to the church.
Being faithful to the church means you're a better Christian or that our church is superior than others so the people should stay at our church, it's simply that through the good and bad, Mattias family and Isaiah's families through all those times continuously not only attend but also serve within the church.
There were many times when the people left because maybe God called them to serve at another but oftentimes people leave because of minor complaints they have of the church for example there was one time someone complained they are leaving the church because a child was crying in the middle of the service. I, Amon, hold no position in the church other than occasionally volunteering to serve food and serving as the Youth Leader's left hand man all I have is my title as crown prince maybe that's why this woman approached me because she complained to me about this situation, and to be sincere I thought this woman wasn't being understanding and was focusing on the wrong issue, I understand when baby's cry for a while it can be distracting to say the least but is this baby causing it to test her relationship with God? She claimed that she has strong faith in God and if that was true than a baby crying wouldn't hinder it. After that I never saw her again.
After attending this church for the last
Disagreements within the church were not uncommon. People often allowed emotions to rule them, leaving rather than resolving their issues.
But our parents—and we—had weathered many disagreements. We never let them get in the way of our service to the church. After all, God was our priority.
"All I had to do was follow the noise and I found you guys," Isaiah said with a grin. He and Nathaniel suddenly burst into laughter.
"Ay, Ramses, what were you saying earlier?" Mattias asked, slinging an arm around my shoulders. "And what's with the face scarf?" He tugged on my scarf gently.
Mattias grinned. "Don't tell me you guys were trying to disguise yourselves?"
Nathaniel chuckled. "I bet they were thinking, 'No one will notice us if we cover our faces.'"
He lifted his forearm to shield everything but his forehead, brows, and bright eyes, then leaned forward and gave me a pointed look—as if I were the fool.
"You're far too tall, your eyes far too radiant, and your presence altogether too commanding to go unnoticed. What a jest! Wouldn't you agree, Isaiah?"
He extended a hand across the table. Isaiah laughed and shook it.
Hope gave a soft chuckle. "Indeed I acknowledge your efforts but I'm afraid your efforts went unnoticed."
Nathaniel and Mattias laughed heartily.
"We weren't trying to disguise ourselves," Ramses said, chuckling. "We just didn't feel like putting on an act,"
Mattias laughed. "I know, okay okay okay, but what were you talking about earlier–before we got here," he said, getting serious.
Joseph, Ramses and Bastet and I glanced at each other, it was clear we forgot.
"You said something about being tempted by Ramses," Mattias added.
"Oh!" Ramses eyes lit up. "It's because earlier we were ambushed talking about how they want to border close and all that–but they starting to get real close to us to the point where we felt unsafe, and I saying that I was tempted to use my air ability to push them back," Ramses explained.
"Ohhh," Mattias, Nathaniel, Isaiah and Hope all said in unison.
"Did this happen like a few minutes ago?" Hope asked.
"Yea," Bastet answered.
"Okay," Hope said, it seemed like a light bulb flashed above her head, as if she figured something out, "I heard someone scream along the lines of 'Have you guys no deceney?'" she said the last part in a loud hushed voice.
Ramses nodded quickly, "Yea, it was girl named sephora-"
"Saphira" I corrected.
"Yea," Ramses, "She used her air ability to push everyone off us and escorted us over here,"
"Oh I think I met her before, she has pretty green eyes and brown skin, right?" Hope said.
"-oh I heard that, it was really loud that everyone stopped talking." Isaiah said.
"Seriously?" Bastet asked, her eyes looking incredulous.
Isaiah nodded fiercely, "I'm pretty sure the whole church heard it."
"Yea it was pretty loud," Mattias agreed.
"Damn!" Nathaniel shook his head, he slapped Joseph's back a few times, "We missed all the drama-ahh-just kidding."
Nathaniel and Joseph laughed.
Ramses pointed at Nathanial as he joined too, Isaiah quickly following too.
Bastet and Hope giggled.
Mattias laughed as he pulled me closer. "I know! We missed all the fun Nath,"
I shook my head as I chuckled.
"By the way, where is Heqet and Amunet?" Hope asked.
"There in the back of the church." Ramses answered.
"Why?"
Ramses shrugged. "They didn't want to deal–I mean you guys just heard what happened about earlier–"
"Here are your waters," Saphira came in, carrying 2 cups..
"Thank you," Ramses said warmly.
Joseph gave a slight nod as he accepted the cup of water.
"Hello! I don't think we've met before, I'm Mattias, what's your name?" Mattias asked, his hand outstretched.
"Hello, I'm saphira," She said, accepting the handshake and bowing.
"Hello," Hope greeted, reaching over to shake her hand. "My name is Hope, this is my brother Isaiah"
"Hello" Isaiah gave a cool nod.
"I'm nathaniel"
"Nice to meet you," Saphira said, giving a timid smile. "I'm familiar with your faces, but we've never greeted each other." waving her hands around.
"Yea you started serving the church 6 years ago, right?" Mattias asked.
"Yea" Saphira nodded her head, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear,
"That's crazy the fact that after all these years we actually meet each other now," Ramses said, shaking his head.
"You should sit down with us," Bastet said, I'm pretty sure there's room on our side.
Bastet moved closer to Ramses as Hope and Isaiah also scooted to make more room.
"Oh really. Thank you." Saphira sat next to Isaiah.
"So how old are you?" Nathanial asked.
"Oh I'm 21 years old." She answered.
"Oh me too!" Hope said excitedly.
"I'm 22" Mattias said.
"I'm also 22" Isaiah said.
"I'm 20" Ramses said
"I'm 18" Bastet said.
Saphira glanced at me.
"I'm 24," I said.
"23" Joseph said without looking up.
"I'm 29," Nathanial said
"You guys are a lot more younger than I expected."
Isaiah chuckled. "Why? Do we look older,"
"No it's not that you all have a mature aura about you, so I expected you to be in your late 20s or early 30s," Saphira said defensively.
Mattias and Isaiah chuckled at the fact she looked concerned.
"Well you're not wrong Nathanial is already there," Ramses said.
Mattias, Isaiah, Hope, Saphira and Bastet all laughed.
"Shut up" Nathaniel said. "Ay let me have some of your water"
He said to Joseph, he didn't wait for him to respond, already taking his cup of water.
Isaiah stopped laughing. "Ay Amon" he said in an urgent voice, looking over my shoulder.
Immediately I became alert, everyone else stopped laughing.
"Your cousins are coming" He said in a low voice, he averted his eyes from my shoulder and grabbed Joseph's cup of water from Nathanial's hand, as if he's trying to play it cool.
Everyone except Saphira became tense, she looked confused.
Footsteps approached, a presence very strong, that the chattering from the other tables gradually grew quiet.
"Ay Amon, how are you doing?" A familiar voice said. "Ah, Joseph, Ramses and Bastet, you're here too."
From the corner of my eye I say Joseph's flashed black.
I turned around. It was Nehem, with my other cousins and his friends.
Nehem was said to be one of the most handsome man in the kingdom. Women flocked and admired him, something that he enjoyed even though he feigned modesty. He has dark brown hair, honey brown skin and light yellow eyes, he has a yellow tattoo on his neck and wears golden earrings and a necklace. He is the eldest son of my youngest uncle, Caius-Jude.
Our eyes briefly met each other, I gave a slight bow where I sat, "Nehem" I greeted.
"I'm glad we can see each other this wonderful Sunday afternoon," He smiled radiantly. "We don't see each other that often ever since we grew up,"
"Indeed" Ramses intervened. "It's a shame you don't attend church, if you did we would see each other more."
Ramses clearly made that last statement to jab Nehem. Our cousin Nehem and the others standing next did things that goes against God's words. We are all sinful human beings and I am not God, so I don't dare judge afterall I'm not perfect either. My only problem with him is he encourages other believers to follow his path. If he chooses to do sin than that's on him, but to encourage others to follow him? It doesn't look good when I don't speak well about my family, especially Nehem, since he is very popular, all I can do to the victims is encourage them to read a verse in the bible. Sadly most people ended up following Nehem. The church elders also noticed this and asked Nehem to distance himself from the church, one cannot serve and please God if they purposely do things against God's law and told him he's welcome to come back when he's ready to follow the path of God.
Nehem's eyes flashed.
"Ay Amon, we have to talk to you," A voice said behind Nehem. It was Zahra, the oldest daughter of our second youngest aunt, Keziah. she has light tan skin and coffee clored eyes, her long black hair was decorated with a circlet.
Everyone seemed to be listening as her words echoed.
"Unless you want to talk here," She said, lowering her voice.
"I see, where will you like-"
"Shouldn't you be addressing him as his royal highness," Mattias interrupted, his voice loud and clear. "I understand your family, and that you can speak casually to his highness in private, but we're not in a private setting, even you most follow tradition and address his royal highness, the crown prince properly."
They stared coldly at him.
"Am I wrong? Even his highness greeted you with a bow–you didn't so much as return the same courtesy," Mattias pressed.
I tugged gently on Mattias clothes urging him to stop.
"We're cousins, they allow us to address them casually," Nehem said coolly. "I understand that under God there is hierarchy, but I'll have you know that people still address me as his highness, therefore I'm allowed to greet Amon casually unlike you commoners,"
"Um, I'm sorry but last I check you are not the son of the Pharaoh,"
What Mattias was saying wasn't wrong, however my cousins and I were still at odds and I prefer to keep things cool. But this situation was growing tense, I can see it in my cousin's eyes.
"It's alright Mattias, I gave them permission to address me informally," I said gently.
For some reason this seemed to anger my cousins even more.
"You seem to be doing well, and I'm glad." A new voice joined in, it was my cousin Huda, the younger sister of Zahra, she has brown hair, tan skin and brown eyes. " But ever since your father decided to reopen the borders, which I'll clarify–we all disagree here," she gestured to themselves. "We've been suffering a lot of animosity and rejection from the people, when we didn't take part in making the decision and even if we did–we certainly wouldn't have agreed it should have become established."
Her voice was loud and everyone could hear what was being said.
"I have no idea, why we all must put up such treatment when we have no part in it, It's really unfair and I'll be honest I have no idea, why we need to open those borders?"
There were cheers from the table that followed with a few others. "Yea! You tell them!"
The cheering got louder.
"Additionally, you seem completely unconcerned for us, as the people adore everywhere you go which is good. But You need to step out of your bubble and pay attention to not only us but the people as well because they're the reason you're living the cloth–life you have now," Huda said commandingly.
"That's right!"
"Finally someone confronts them!"
"And it's his cousins at that"
Ramses eyes grew intense, Joseph clenched his hands into a tight fist.
Everyone was staring at me, waiting for my response.
"I'm sorry to hear that, my dear cousin," I said gently, "I also had no part in making the decision but nonetheless it was God's will, I fear and revere my creator and as a good for nothing servant of his, I will obey and follow through with his commands."
"Just like the message said that even many times we don't understand why God does what he does and why we must willingly go suffer, it becomes clear later. It's hard going through such ill treatment, but my dear cousins, please have faith in God."
"You're really good at flipping the situation, Amon," Another cousin joined in, It was Elezar the only son of our oldest uncle, Abiel. His black eyes stared down on me, his voice sharp with contempt. "You're painting us like monsters for daring to speak up—how convenient. You act like you're the only one who hears from God, yet you ignore what He might be showing you through our struggle. We serve this kingdom without complaints—and still, you look down on us like we're faithless rebels. That's not humility, it's pride disguised in piety. And if you can't see that, then maybe you're not following God—you're just hiding behind His name to protect your crown."
Ramses hands shook with rage as he observed the situation, it was so unfair.
Nathaniel and Isaiah exchanged looks of utter disbelief.
Hope's lips were pursed together as she eyed them.
With a loud crack, Ramses slammed his fist onto the table, startling everyone in the luncheon.
"Are you angry for the people," he growled, rising slowly, "or are you angry for yourselves?"
His golden eyes glinted with light and fury.
"Don't you dare posture as righteous men devoted to the Word of God—when you spend your nights reveling in the pleasures of this world. Is that what troubles you? That your indulgences have been hindered by the border crisis? That the people no longer welcome your company?"
He swept his gaze across the table. "And now you accuse us—us—of selfishness and neglect?"
His voice rang out louder, no longer restrained.
"Are you done?" Ramses asked coldly. "Because I've heard a lot of complaints today—but not a single ounce of truth."
The room hushed again.
"You say we flipped the situation, Elezar?" Ramses' voice was calm, but carried like thunder. "No—we're finally responding to it. You all came in here not to ask questions, but to accuse, to shame, and to draw attention to your own wounds. You say you're suffering—but so are we."
"You say we're adored, that we're in some royal bubble. But have any of you seen what happens when we step outside the palace gates? Do you know how many times the people spat on us as we served them soup with our bare hands? How many times have we returned to the same streets that told us we were demons in human skin?"
He stepped forward.
"You say we don't care. But where were you when we were helping the elderly? Where were you when my brothers were clearing rubble, passing out medicine, praying with the grieving? I'm not saying that we were the only ones doing this, I just want to let you know that we're not royals that enjoy the pleasures of our positions, we have greater responsibilities, and I'm not bragging when I say these things, if anything this what we should be doing,"
Silence. Even the cheering from earlier had died out.
"Do you think people who are seeking recognition would continue to do this? If we didn't care about the people, don't you think we would have neglected or silenced them just because they disrespected us?"
"Or maybe the people disrespected you guys that you guys decided to take it out on us?"
Huda looked away. Zahra shifted uncomfortably. Elezar's jaw tightened.
He looked straight at Elezar.
"And as for hiding behind God's name—don't you dare accuse my brother of that. He prays before every action he takes. He walks with fear and trembling before the Lord. If that makes him seem cold to you, then maybe it's your heart that needs warming—not his."
Ramses stepped back, chest rising and falling.
"I won't apologize for defending my family," he said. "But I will ask God to forgive us all for allowing bitterness to divide blood."
Then he turned to Amon. "Come. Let's not waste more time where hearts are closed."
I stood and nodded to the rest of our table.
Before leaving, I turned to face the room and bowed slightly. "Peace be with you all."
We left in silence—but it was the kind that speaks volumes.
Ramses voice began to grow louder. "How dare you criticize us? When we look more after the people than you guys do! Even when the people speak ill of us us and shut the door to our faces, we never stop serving them, we faithfully fullfill our duties more than you guys ever have."
It was dead quiet.
"Tha audicity to march in and speak such nonsense in public and at church? Something is clearly wrong with you guys." Ramses moved away from the bench.
"I'm sorry for losing my temper folks, but as someone who works hard for this nation and maintaining firm in God's word it is hard for me to remain calm when our hard work is overlooked and the people turn our backs on us." Ramses said in a moderate tone.
I got up. "Follow me" I whispered to the table.
I bowed deeply. "Please forgive us for interrupting such an exquisite meal."
I calmly led us away from the luncheon, the silence was nauseating.
When we were safely out of earshot. "That was crazy," Bastet said, shocked.
"I know, I'm still processing what just happened." Hope said.
"I found it really unfair that they criticized us when we do all the work behind the scenes and they're having a meltdown most likely because the people are excluding them," Bastet thought annoyed.
"Let's not talk about this anymore," I said. "What's done is done. Ramses next time control your anger, you did a good job holding back but it's not enough,"
"I know, I'm sorry, I just found it so unfair that I cou;dn't hold back anymore," Ramses sighed heavily.
"Nah I found it crazy the fact that they called you guys selfish," Mattias said shaking his head. "When you guys are literally doing construction alongside the people and helping them out. When your cousins don't even do that, all they do is party."
Nathaniel. "I heard Nehem got a woman pregnant."
"What?!" Everyone said in unison.
"I sometimes go to their parties and I overheard Huda saying that Nehem got her pregnant." He said quickly.
We were all shocked.
…
A group of ten young nobles sat within the confines of an ornate carriage, their fine garments rustling as frustration simmered in the air.
"Huda, why would you say that?" Zahra's voice was sharp, her eyes flashing. "Confronting him there was never part of the plan."
"Do not chide me, Zahra," Huda snapped, her arms folded tightly across her chest. "I am far too angry at the moment to be lectured."
"As am I!" Elezar groaned, dragging his hands down his face. "I loathe Ramses with every fiber of my being."
"Indeed!" Huda, Thut, Seneb, Tariq, and Zahra chorused in unison.
"I was prepared to send them flying across the room," Elezar growled, his dark brown eyes ablaze with fury.
"It would have accomplished nothing," Nehem interjected calmly, his gaze fixed out the window. "We shall return the favor in due time. Let them savor their false victory for now."
"The crown prince is truly skilled at twisting perception to his advantage," one of the young women remarked.
"Tessa, you haven't seen the half of it," Huda muttered. "He's far worse than he appears—and what vexes me most is how the entire congregation reveres him. We couldn't even defend ourselves properly with the weight of the church behind him."
"Are the people there blind?!" Tessa exclaimed. "There was something unsettling about him—those golden eyes of his made me uneasy. Don't you agree, Lana?"
"Everyone may sing praises of the Crown Prince's looks, but Nehem is far more handsome," Lana said with a confident smirk.
"You didn't even see his full face," Huda countered, a reluctant note in her voice. "And he is most certainly not unattractive."
"I refuse to believe it," Lana said firmly, her arms crossed with conviction. "After seeing Nehem's face, it's simply impossible for anyone to be more handsome than him."
"But his younger brother? Ramses? Undoubtedly hideous," Tessa said with a mischievous grin. "I don't even need to see beneath his scarf to know it—he probably has a nose so long and crooked it inhales desert sand for sport. Honestly, I'm tempted to use him to clean my floors."
A chorus of laughter erupted throughout the carriage.