Dreams of the Desert [Skye Pilot & HaveYouEverDreamed]

Before Aio’tri was born, even before he had been conceived, his life had been planned out well in advance. Being the first born son of the Pharaoh and his queen, his life had it’s destiny set in place. As soon as the Pharaoh had come to power a number of years ago, he had ordered for a temple to be built to honor his child. Years passed as the grand temple was constructed, brick by heavy brick, both by the people of Egypt and by the slaves. 4 years went by, and the Pharaoh had not even taken a bride of his choosing.

Eventually though, the Pharaoh did take a girl of his choosing for his wife. She was more than a few years younger than the Pharaoh, and quite obviously did not look like she had come from this part of the world. With much fairer skin and lighter hair, rumors quickly spread on where she might be from. Many speculated wildly about her origins and heritage, although it was never revealed to the public.

As a result, Aio’tri himself inherited traits from both of his parents. His skin was a few shades lighter and smoother than most, although he retained his father’s thick and darker hair. Aio’tri’s eyes were emerald, speckled with hazel dots within the deep green hues. Just to be in his presence seemed to be magical and divine, if for only his rare looks alone. Anywhere he went, the people bowed down to him in their unworthiness, something he learned to enjoy rather quickly. The taste of future power on his tongue was sweet at the first sample, and it was something he craved more and more. The people treated the Pharaoh and his family in the highest respects, giving anything that was demanded of them. Aio’tri adjusted to that very quickly.

But, being the son of the Pharaoh, Aio’tri was closely watched and followed. Almost everywhere he went, a small squad of guards followed, for his protection of course. When the Pharaoh passed on into the next life, it would be Aio’tri’s turn to rule all of Egypt, something he had been constantly reminded of everyday of his life, for as long as he could remember.

When Aio’tri was young, he enjoyed all the extra attention. Gold, jewels, and treasures beyond wonder were always within easy reach in the palace. He lived a complete life of luxury, just like all royalty. But, by the time he was 12, Aio’tri had grown sick of it all. From the moment he awoke, to the moment he went to sleep, everything had been planned out. When to eat, where to go, what to do. Absolutely anything he did had been scripted and planned out. The part he learned to despise the most were the long and intense rituals. One false step, one word wrong could insult the Gods, and it was really best if that were not to happen.

Aio’tri kept his despise for his orchestrated life hidden within for many years. He knew his mother would not at all understand, having been converted to such a lifestyle. And his father? Talking to him about such matters would surely result in a severe beating… something Aio’tri had experienced more times than he cared to count. The healed over scars on his back from the Pharaoh ‘s whip had become a reminder that some things are best left unsaid.

As Aio’tri grew up, the oversight only seemed to increase, although there was a slow transformation in the people that followed him. Some of the guards had always been the same, though he was quickly assembling his own set of personal slaves. By the time he was 16, nearly all of Aio’tri’s personal servants were young women, his age or younger, easily taking after his father. Anything he asked of them they would do, be it to fetch him dinner, go do some mundane errand, along with any cleaning that may be done. Of course, he had on multiple occasions needed to punish them for their occasional insolence. After his first experience of being on the other end of the whip, he instantly saw why the Pharaoh enjoyed his whip so much. It was another form of power and control over those that were supposed to serve.

Through his teenage years though, Aio’tri started to look at one of the girls in his service a little bit differently. She was a year or two younger than himself, and she had caught him looking at her more than a few times, taking in her magnificent form. At first, Aio’tri shrugged off any sort of thoughts, but gradually, they became more and more prominent in his mind, especially as her young body blossomed almost in front of his eyes. Aio’tri kept his thoughts silent, though a growing urge inside of him wanted to tell her something… anything. But, she was a slave… the lowest of the low. All Aio’tri could do for now was to dream of her in his thoughts… the only privacy he had anymore.

At 19, after so many years, his very own temple of worship was finally completed. The ceremony of dedication was quickly approaching, only a few days away now. The entire palace had been decorated, and offerings to all of the gods had been planned. The leadup to the ceremony only made Aio’tri feel even more restricted, as he rehearsed the prayers that would be required of him. He used to be able to squeeze a few moments to himself, but now, even at night, that was no longer possible. The pharaoh of course had enemies near and far, and a fear that the ceremony might give them an opportunity to strike had many in the palace on edge. The Pharaoh called for increased guards everywhere, not wanting anything to happen to himself, or his family for that matter.

It still seemed so very early. A light breeze trickled through the windows of Aio’tri's room, the long red linen drapes fluttering softly. The sun pushed it's rays between any parting in the fabric it could find, dancing the light over the young prince's bed. All he wanted was to sleep, just ignore everything for once, and not have to be caught up in the tedious and events of the day. He had memorized everything he needed for the upcomming ceremony, although the clerics, as well as his mother, demanded he study more.

Doing his best to block out everything except for the comfort of his bed, Aio’tri didn't even hear the knock at his door. It wasn't until the second rapping on the wood door that he groaned in disgust to himself, and called for whoever it was to come in, even though he wished they would just go away. The door creaked open on it's hinges, a sound familiar to his ears. Aio’tri still laid on the bed as the outline of the girl stepped forward, the light scents of his breakfast drifting towards his nose.

Quickly though, he realized just which one of his personal slaves was bringing him breakfast today. He felt his heart skip a half beat, seeing the beautiful Tahirah walk into the room, carrying the straw-woven tray in her delicate hands. Aio’tri smiled at her, sitting up in his ornate canopy bed. Long white curtains covered every side of it, the fabric nearly dusting the floor. The curtains had been pulled open for some time, as this morning the air just seemed hotter than usual.

Aio’tri placed his arms behind him as he sat up, reclining some onto them. The cotton white cotton sheet covered from his waist down, just barely hiding the fact that he preferred to sleep in the nude. Aio’tri's upper body was well toned, though not overly muscular. Aio’tri watched as Tahirah offered the tray, and motioned with his hand for her to set it down. As she walked past his bed, he was able to catch the natural scent of her body, making his nostrils flare slightly, along with a familiar feeling of growing arousal bubble within his body.

Aio’tri swung his legs over the side of his bed, trailing the the soft white sheet with him, making sure he stayed covered... at least for now. Looking up to her with a smile, he nodded, before saying "Thank you," He reached over for one of the pickles first, a personal favorite of his. There was more food on the tray than she probably was allowed in a day, perhaps even two. Aio’tri ate the pickle, while the young slave girl waited there in an almost awkward silence, awaiting her dismissal.

It would be all to easy for him to take perfect advantage of the situation... something his mind had been running though and considering options ever since she came into his room. His body was already prepping itself just in case, but the thin sheet piled up on his lap concealed that fairly well. Over the past few weeks and months, his urges for her had become harder to hide... Aio’tri wasn't sure if it was lust or perhaps even love... But, in either case, he did his best to bury it all, even if he did take a few extra moments now and then to look over her beauty.

Finishing off the last bit of the pickle, he looked up to her. "Fetch my robes, girl," he commanded. Rarely did he call his servants by name, a habit he had learned from his father. He wasn't even sure if the Pharaoh cared to know their names, although Aio'tri did take the time to learn them all. After the pickle, he continued onto the beancakes, nibbling on it as she came back from his closet, his body starting to calm down some.

Aio’tri nibbled and snacked on his breakfast more, while the servant girl went to grab his robes. He took a sip of the sahlab while she tinkered with the box that contained his robes. Licking his lips, he watched her cautiously remove his robes from the container, laying them out on the bed with so much care and caution. He could fee her fear of doing something wrong... taking to long, or doing anything that could possibly be contrived as inappropriate. Aio’tri had delivered several beatings and lashings to her in the past, sometimes for something major, other times for something minor, if he was in an especially foul mood. In fact, she was one of the first few he had punished a few years back, though for what exactly he could no longer recall. He was responisble for more than one set of scars on her back.

As she finished laying out his fine set of robes, he could feel her arm nearly touching his. He wasn't quite sure what he would of done had she actually come in contact, but he would be obligated to do something for such an unwarranted touch, even by accident. Aio’tri took in a few more nibbles of breakfast as she stood there, waiting for her next order. The other maidens and servants finished up with their preparations, not many left in the large bedroom now... Aio’tri figured he should have a little bit of fun, just to perk up his otherwise boring and excessively long day.

Setting down the cup, the young prince stretched his arms over his head, nearly presenting his body to Tahirah, even if her eyes instinctively were cast away from him entirely. Without hesitation, the prince pulled the covers off of his lap, nothing in the way to shield himself from her view. His body had settled down from a few minutes ago, although it was still quite clear that the boy was gifted. Aio’tri then stood, not at all covering himself. Picking up his robes from the bed, he slipped them over his shoulders, pushing his arms through the loose sleeves. He turned, facing the slave girl, then closed the robes, fasting them shut with a sash, interacted with gold thread. A few Hieroglyphics had been sown into the front of the robe as well, making it shine and radiate wherever the sun hit the expensive thread.

Aio’tri smiled to himself, knowing just how awkward Tahirah must be feeling. "You can go now," He told her, finishing up with his clothing, making sure it was adjusted. "Don't forget the tray," he reminded, having only eaten a small portion of the food that was there in the first place, some of it completley untouched. "And try not to eat any of it this time..." he continued, a bit of scorn in his tone. "The last girl that tried sneaking a bite is... well... she lived long enough to regret it,"

Aio’tri sighed quietly to himself as the young slave girl left his room. The guards outside of his open door stepped to the side to let her through, instantly resuming their position once she had passed. He did his best to try not to think of her, as thoughts of Tahirah seemed to just fill his mind. So badly he wanted to reach out, and just have a smell of such a taboo essence... to hold her, to have her... to take her and make her his very own. Aio’tri bit down on his tongue, attempting to flush away such thoughts, though it didn't work very well at all.

Doing his best to force her out of his mind, the prince slipped into his sandals, lacing them up himself. Usually, the other servant girls did this, but almost always overtightened the straps that circled around his ankle and calves. It was one of the few things he preferred to do himself, and even if one of the slaves redid his work, he would find time later to do them up they way he liked.

Aio’tri went over to a chair in the corner of his room, a trio of servants awaiting him already. Sitting down in the chair, they instantly went to work with the makeup. First, they began to oil his skin. With his flesh being so much lighter than most, oiling daily was neccisary. Otherwise, he was prone to his flesh drying out quickly. As a result of daily moisturizing, his skin was much more soft and silky than almost anyone, except for the queen.

Next to go on was the green malachite eyeliner, the hue matching his emerald eyes almost perfectly. Around that was followed with a black outline, making the green even more prominent. Next to go on were golden bracelets, studded with red rubies. A sliver ankh necklace was draped about his neck, the symbol resting on the outside of his robes. A few golden rings slipped onto his fingers as well, all the shiny metal complimenting the white linen robes wonderfully. Last, they used some rouge on his cheeks and lips, turning them from pink to more of a red.

After they were all done, Aio’tri stood, his ornate jewelery ringing slightly as it clanked and move together. He picked up a few scrolls and went to the other end of his room, where one of the clerics was waiting. Knowing and loathing the daily procedure, he kneeled down, starting to recite his morning prayer perfectly. Every accent, every word, was spoken in perfection... followed by redoing it a second, third, and fourth time. The whole process took well over an hour, but even the prince was not to anger the Gods.

Once he had proven for the hundred thousandth time he knew the prayer, the cleric dismissed the prince. He stood slowly, his knees a bit sore from kneeling for so long, wincing as he did. Aio’tri then left his room, his head instructor waiting for him at the door. The instructor was both a teacher and in charge of his daily schedule. As he babbled on with his nonsense, Aio’tri walked along the stone hallways, with one of the guards from the door following behind. Just once he wished they would leave him be, if only for a moment.

As the instructor continued telling him about the day's busy schedule, Aio’tri just nodded in agreement, pretending to listen. Even if he didn't already know what was going on today, someone would undoubtedly lead him to exactly where he needed to be, exactly when he needed to be there. But, as he rambled along, the only thing that the prince had on his mind was Tahirah... again.

Aio’tri, having been going from here to there in the Palace, now had his normal entourage in flow. Usually, only one Guard would follow him about within the walls of their sanctuary. But, with the palace bustling with preparations, At least two would follow. And depending on what else might be going on, there might be 3 or more. Outside of the palace, if he had a need to leave, even more would follow, which was always standard procedure. Even though the preparations didn't seem that out of place, the Prince did wonder if his father had received another threatening message, not at all uncommon.

The rest of his entourage consisted of several teachers a cleric, and several of his personal slaves.. Aio’tri, came back to his room, while Tahirah and Raziya were still fussing with the clothing and bedding in his room. He barely noticed they were there, his mind focused on other things... mostly how the noise all the footsteps that followed him seem to grow by the day. He stepped over to that had been cut out from one of the massive stone walls, putting a few scrolls back, and looking for others. Each scrol was tied up in a neat little roll, a different colored string used to secure each one. As he searched for the one he was looking for, he caught another glimpse of Tahirah out of the corner of his eye.

After he stuffed several of the papyrus scrolls under his arm, his followers left right along with, just as swifly as they had all entered. On his way out though, Aio’tri made sure to flash Tahirah a coy little smirk. He turned his head away and walked out the door, well before he could see her reaction. After a moment, the two slave girls were alone again in the Prince's room.

The rest of the morning, Aio’tri spent doing more reciting, more prayers, and being told infomation he already new. It was all becoming so tedious anymore. He needed a break from it all, something he knew was not going to be on the schedule anytime soon. The way everyone made a such a palaver around him nearly drove him sick. Most of the time anymore he did his best to block out as much as he clould.

At lunchtime, the Pharoh had invited all of the royal officials and advisers to a grand lunch, which was exactly where the Prince was headed to now. The long wood table in the places grand halls had been covered with a golden cloth. Fresh fruit, crackers, and some cheeses were laid out all along the table, everyone casually enjoying the appetizers. He was one of the last ones to arrive, which earned him a scornful look from his father. Aio’tri pretended like he didn't see it, but it was so intimidating, he knew everyone could feel it. He knew his father had also planned some sort of announcement, though Aio’tri had no clue what exactly that might be.