Every Last Kiss, Final Copy, June 30, 2011 (15 page)

        I noticed that she was staring in fascination at my pendant.   

        “You have your bloodstone!  How did you retrieve it?”

        “I didn’t.  Annen delivered it to me.”

        “You saw Annen! Did he say anything about Tehran or…“

        “No, he didn’t.  And he disappeared before I could ask.  But he was cryptic enough—he wanted me to have my bloodstone for my meeting with Pothinus tonight.  He said I would need it.”

        “Then by all means, make sure you wear it.  We cannot take chances with your safety.”

        I looked up at her with my eyebrows raised.  “You think it offers me protection?”

        “I know not.  But the powers that you have described it as having… they are strong.  Who knows that it doesn’t offer you protection as well?  May I see it?”

        I pulled it out of my tunic and over my head so that it could set it on my upturned palm.  She reached for it, but I stepped back.

        “No, don’t, your highness.  I don’t know how it would affect you.  You were right in that it’s magic is powerful.  You shouldn’t touch it.” 

        I was secretly terrified that it would trigger her other memories, in the same way that it released mine every life.  She would have a nervous break-down. 

        She nodded. “You’re probably right.  But wear it tonight, sweet.”  

        “I am never without it, my queen.  And perhaps you are right and it has abilities that I don’t even know about.  Maybe it will work some sort of magic tonight,” I tacked on wryly.  She shot a glare at me. 

        “I’m not doubting!” I assured her. “I was just saying that I hope it works. I haven’t actually seen it protect anything yet.”

        “It will if you believe that it will,” she muttered as she re-seated herself at her vanity and arranged her cosmetics jars neatly in front of her.  Antony’s words from the other night came back to me.  Cleopatra did have the ability to believe that she could wish things into reality.  Not so. 

        “We should prepare for dinner,” I changed the subject. “No one must know that there is anything amiss.”

        I calmly picked up her brush and began the evening ritual of winding her hair neatly so that it could be tucked away under a wig for dinner. 

        As I worked, I felt the constant heavy presence of the bloodstone against my chest. Regardless of being nestled against my warm body, the stone remained cold.  Almost as big as my fist, it was obviously visible under the thin material of my shift.  I found myself absently wondering if it did possess powers that I was unaware of.  My current situation was a glaring reminder that I hadn’t seen everything yet. 

        I finished her makeup and dug into her armoire for a jeweled collar.  I chose an intricate blue-beaded affair that would look lovely topping her white linen sheath.  Fastening it, I stood back and gazed at her.  She looked perfectly normal, every inch the queen that she was. 

        Gazing into the mirror, I found that I, on the other hand, looked out of sorts.  My cheeks were flushed in excitement and worry and tendrils of my simple bun had escaped, drifting around my face. Cleopatra followed my gaze. 

        “Well, that’s certainly not going to do, Charmian.  You can’t attract attention.”

        She rose and walked past me, trailing her musky scent behind her.  Digging through another jewelry box, she came up with coiled simple golden chains that ended in a snake’s head on each end.  I gulped at the poetic irony when I saw them.  We would die by snake bite.  I couldn’t say that I was excited about wearing one on my head, fake or not.  But I didn’t say anything. 

        She gently pushed me into her vanity chair and stood behind me, piling my hair onto my head and securing it with golden pins from her own drawers.  Winding the golden chain around my crown, she secured the snake heads in the front.  I gazed at her in amazement through the mirror.

        “What?”  She asked innocently as she finished with my hair and then she smiled. “Don’t get used to this. You have your own maid.”  

        She picked up her lip stain and brushed it carefully across my lips followed by her crushed pearl powder on my face, her slender fingers working quickly. 

        “Charmian, you are pale as a ghost.  Remember, you must act as though everything is well,” she admonished as she finished applying the make-up. 

        I stared into the mirror again with a sigh and realized that I did look better, almost normal.  I pinched my cheeks for more color and then stood.

        “Alright, let’s get this over with,” I grumbled as I stood at her side, waiting for her to start moving. 

        Custom dictated that I couldn’t walk ahead of the queen.  She grinned sideways at me and took a small step forward, then turned to me. 

        “All will be well, Charmian,” she insisted, her face drawn into a determined expression.

        “Well, if you mean that we will somehow manage to fix this mess so that we can tragically commit suicide in the prime of our lives right on schedule… then yes,” I muttered sarcastically. “All will be well.”

        She rolled her eyes and started walking. 

        “Charmian, you are so melodramatic. Are you like this in every life?” 

        I shook my head and accompanied her as we tried to casually appear that we were simply walking to another routine banquet as usual.

* * *

Dinner was hell.

        Hasani kept one hand on me throughout our meal, whether it rested on my back, my thigh or slung loosely around my shoulders…a tell-tale give-away of his concern. 

        Normally, I wouldn’t complain about it.  But being anchored to him so tightly tonight just reminded me that he was completely aware that I was hiding something from him and it tore at my heart.   He acted as though he was afraid to let me out of his sight… for fear that something would happen to me.

        As the drums beat and the oboes played, scantily clad dancers undulated around the room, clapping and banging tambourines against their bare thighs. The candlelight glistened off of their damp skin as they moved and I allowed myself to stare absently at their lithe movement, avoiding Hasani’s gaze as much as I could. 

        I caught Cleopatra’s gaze several times throughout the evening and each time, she nodded reassuringly at me.  I must be carrying off the “normal as can be” routine adequately enough, but on the inside I was anything but.  My heart raced erratically and my hands were sweaty and jittery, bouncing nervously on the table in front of me, inadvertently keeping time with the beating drums. 

        Knowing me as well as he did, I didn’t fool Hasani even a little bit.  He watched my nervous movements and restless stares silently, but he comfortingly rubbed small circles on my back.  I knew it was in an effect to reassure me, even though he was unaware of the source of the problem.  As an acrobat twisted and turned in front of us, Hasani bent his head to huskily murmur into my ear. 

      “My love, you are as nervous as a young doe. Are you alright?” 

      As he spoke, he wrapped both of his strong arms around me, clutching me to his chest from behind.  I nodded and then leaned my head back against his rock-solid body.

      “Yes, I’m fine, sweet,” I lied through my teeth. 

      “Then relax and enjoy the dancers,” he instructed calmly, knowing full well that I had lied. 

      I nodded, not commenting further.  More than anything else, I hated lying to him.  I tried to relax my body so that I folded liquidly into his chest, a feat that was increasingly difficult as my pounding heart continued to pump adrenaline through my veins. 

      Finally, as soon as she possibly could without drawing undue attention, Cleopatra stood from Antony’s side and excused herself early.  Everyone around us looked up in surprise, since she and Antony typically stayed all evening, outlasting all of the guests. 

      “I’m sorry,” she apologized again.  “I have a slight headache and wish to retire early.  The pounding from the drums is agitating it.” 

      She waved away her personal physician’s offer to bring a herbal dressing to alleviate it. 

      “I think I will just retire early,” she reiterated firmly.  “But please, everyone stay and enjoy yourselves.  Charmian?” 

      She looked at me and I hurriedly got up to accompany her.  I felt Hasani’s reluctance as he let me slip from his grasp.  But he couldn’t say anything… the queen herself had summoned me in front of the entire table.

      As we made our way out of the room, I turned in the doorway and glanced at Hasani. He was watching me with a troubled look on his handsome face.  He knew that we were up to something. I hadn’t fooled him at all.  I swallowed hard and walked from the room without another backward glance. 

      Once inside the privacy of Cleopatra’s chambers, I quickly began stripping off my light-colored clothes and exchanging them for a brown linen sheath from Cleopatra’s closet. 

      I removed the shining gold chains from my hair and replaced them into her jewelry box and she handed me a dark brown scarf to wrap around my head and shoulders.  Kicking off my leather sandals, I examined myself in the mirror. 

      Other than my vivid green eyes, I knew I wouldn’t stand out in the darkened streets of Alexandria.  I would need to keep my eyes down though.  My eyes were fairly unique. I didn’t want to be recognized. 

        “Alright,” Cleopatra breathed as she stood in front of me. “You look like a peasant.  This is good- you won’t draw attention.  Now, what are you going to do when you get to the lighthouse?”

      “I’m going to enter quietly through a side entrance, trying hard not to attract the attention of a harbor master.” 

      She nodded, interrupting.  “And there should only be one in the lighthouse at night, just so that he can tend to the fire.  It should be fairly easy to evade him.”

      I nodded in agreement.  “After I’m in, I will try to stay in the shadows as I locate Pothinus.  And after that… I’ll play it by ear.”

      She sighed long and loud. 

      “I wish I could go with you.  I don’t feel right sending you alone.” She stared wistfully at the door, probably picturing the guards stationed on either side of it.  They would certainly notice Queen Cleopatra sneaking out in peasant’s clothing.    

      “It’s alright, Cleopatra.  I’ll be fine. Iras didn’t know what we were sending her into.  But I do- and I’ll be careful.”

      A twinge of guilt stirred within me.  Poor Iras.  She’d had no idea and in hindsight, I should have given her some sort of warning about the danger.  But I would do my best to make it right.

      Cleopatra hugged me quickly, her musky scent enveloping us. 

      “Come back to me safely, Charmian,” she commanded queenly, but her warm eyes were those of a friend, not a pharaoh.

      “I will, my queen,” I replied softly, stealing out of her room quietly.  I definitely fully intended to, that was for sure.

         I ignored the curious stares of the guards as I made my way past them dressed in my peasant’s garb.  I could feel their intense gazes burning into my back as I walked quickly down the hall.  They were probably pondering what to make of it and I wondered if Cleopatra would offer them some sort of explanation.  I doubted it- the queen was above questioning.  She didn’t answer to anyone.

      I steered clear of the hallway leading to my quarters as I made my way to the ground floor of the palace.  I felt fairly confident that Hasani was waiting for me in my bedchamber.  I uttered a quick prayer that I was able to return to him later tonight unscathed.  If I didn’t return, he would be sure to sound the alarm.

      I opted to make my way quietly through the gardens behind the palace rather than stay on the stone walkways, hoping that I would run into fewer people.  Anyone I ran into while I was still on the palace grounds would be sure to wonder why a peasant girl was so close to the palace and might even call to have me removed, which would draw unwanted attention.

      As I crept silently through a sculpted section of the garden, I inhaled the night breeze deeply, enjoying the fresh, clean scent.  But I stopped abruptly in my tracks as I heard Antony’s loud voice.

      “You little minx,” he laughed.  “Get back here- I’m tired of your games.”

      I peered from behind a row of tall shrubbery to find a drunken Antony pulling a servant girl to him.  She twisted as she reached him, allowing herself to be crushed against his barrel-like chest.  He quickly bowed his head and kissed her wildly.  While their eyes were closed, I darted quickly from behind the shrubbery, disappearing into another row of small trees directly to their right.  They never saw me and I continued on my way undetected.

      As I descended the many steps down to the beach, I pondered Antony and Cleopatra’s complex relationship.  They loved each other wildly, completely uninhibited.  Yet, because of his giant appetite for women, Cleopatra willingly allowed Antony to be with servant girls at any given time.  Because she knew his heart. He loved her completely.  But it was behavior that no modern girl in the western world would ever stand for, including me.  I remembered smashing Derek’s CDs and dumping them into the bed of his truck and smiled even now at the memory. 

      As I approached the guards at the base of the staircase, they turned to me in surprise.  As each of them glimpsed my eyes, I saw the flash of recognition in theirs.  They uncrossed their spears and allowed me to pass, but just as the guards upstairs had stared at me, so too did these.  I felt their curious gazes burn into me as I quickly made my way along the darkened beach.

        I tried to breathe slowly, allowing the crash of the sea to calm me as I made my way along the beach to a pathway that led to the streets of the city.  Emerging onto the city streets, I looked around me.  Luckily, the streets were not overly busy tonight. Hopefully no one would recognize me.

        I hurried down a main thoroughfare until I reached a cross street that led to the Heptastadion, keeping my eyes averted from anyone that I came across.  As I finally stepped onto the stone causeway, I felt my pulse pick up until it was racing.  I was almost there.