Life 1

Egypt 2602 BC

Changmi looked around the courtyard and saw only idiots. She was a wife of the pharaoh, Seungri, a minor wife only but still a wife. And yet, her daily life was swamped with idiots. The servants were too scared to do anything out of bounds of propriety and the other higher ranking people refused to talk to her, believing her to simply be a of Seungri’s. The only time Changmi got any sort of actual conversation was when Seungri visited her, and those times came few and far between as he had many wives and a country to rule. Her son, Jaehyo, was a great comfort to her but the little boy couldn’t fulfill the need for conversation that consumed Changmi.

If only she could somehow become a major wife, then everyone would view her words as weighty and Seungri would come to her for political advice. Then, she thought, then her immense intelligence wouldn’t go to such waste. Changmi knew she was being arrogant but she knew her own value and her days of playing with Jaehyo and being entertained by performers were definitely not making full use of that value. She also knew that she was being greedy, wanting more when she had so much, but Changmi couldn’t but help that her heart longed for more, strove for more. She didn’t have a hard life by any means and her son was provided for, but Changmi was haunted by the feeling that something was missing. Recently, she had attributed this feeling to being a minor wife and Changmi had convinced herself that if she were just a major wife, or queen, then that feeling would dissipate. But at this point, she would just accept an honest discussion at the very least. Sighing with exasperation, she left the courtyard to retire to her own private chambers.

She entered her bedchambers to find a new slave rearranging her blankets. New slaves were rare to come by and Changmi hoped that this distraction could provide her some amusement before the slave became accustomed to the palace.  The new slave was short and round in all the right places. Changmi thought fleetingly that she was the exact opposite of herself, all skinny and taller than most men. She wore no kohl, as was typical for slaves, but her eyes were arresting nonetheless. They were the blue like the river in a way that Changmi had never seen before. It was a miracle that the woman hadn’t become a pleasure slave with a face and body like that.

She was curious about the new addition but Changmi was too proud to ask a question; as a pharaoh’s wife, answers should be provided without her having to ask. Thankfully, before Changmi’s curiosity got the best of her, her apparently former chambermaid, HyunA, walked into the room.

“My lady, this is Yunseo, your new personal slave. She was just bought today at the market so she’s still learning the customs but she’s a fast learner and will please you well.”

“What of you, HyunA? Why are you no longer mine?” Changmi never really liked HyunA but she did not particularly dislike the girl either. She asked for the sake of asking more than anything else.

“The Gods are displeased with me,” HyunA replied vaguely, resentment evident in her voice. Changmi tilted her head at the answer. How HyunA should know that she displeased the Gods would have to be through some provincial sign or from Seungri, as the only one of heavenly lineage. But the bitterness in HyunA’s tone suggested that there was another true reason for her departure. “I am to leave for the residence of one of the Pharaoh’s close advisors to repent for my actions. I must go, my lady. Yunseo will more than fill my role.” And there was that acrimony again. Yunseo was somehow involved in HyunA’s withdrawal. Before Changmi could inquire further, HyunA took her leave. But as she walked away, Changmi spotted a nasty bruise poking out from underneath HyunA’s gala. Interesting….

With HyunA’s departure, Changmi had no way to soothe her boredom other than to pester Yunseo, who had moved on to tidying her possessions.

“So, your name is Yunseo? That is a rather unusual name, is it not?” She asked. Condescension rang in her voice but Yunseo just nodded, undeterred. Changmi herself had a rather unique name but logic had nothing to do with her mood. “Doesn’t that get burdensome, all that expectation? It’s not as if your parents named you after something simple like the river or hope. No, they named you Yunseo, which I have never heard before, and people expect people with unusual names to be gifted and extraordinary.  That has got to be a lot of expectation to live up to.” Changmi was aware that she was being uselessly difficult but she had no one else to complain to except for this one slave so Changmi planned on making their time worthwhile. It was not like Seungri listened to her anyway. And she still was not allowed much time with anyone else, how was that fair? Seungri might be a descendant of the gods but Changmi was only a human and she had human needs like physical contact and personal conversation. At least, that’s how Changmi justified herself as she took to bullying the unfortunately-named servant every chance she could get.

The servant just shook her head and continued on in her chores. Changmi quickly became angry that this woman had the gall to ignore her. “Hey, you! Yunseo, are you mute or do you just choose not to speak?” The slave finally looked up from her work and turned her head towards Changmi’s general direction.

“It is not my right to speak to a Pharaoh’s wife, mistress,” she finally said, in a gentle tone that rang with something that Changmi couldn’t identify.

“So you do talk. Where do you hail from, Yunseo?” Changmi asked, hoping she was born in a far off, exotic land that she could describe to Changmi. The slave paused her hands’ movement and tilted her head at the question but did not reply. “By the gods, Yunseo, my slaves are not beaten for talking,” Changmi finally cried and when Yunseo’s eyes met her own then flitted away, she realized that was what Yunseo truly feared. She was afraid of being punished for speaking, even when Changmi had specifically asked her to reply. Changmi briefly wondered who her previous master had been that made her so wary of her mistress. She stored that thought away to further pursue later and got back to the task at hand. Changmi raked her eyes all over Yunseo’s body, searching for signs of physical abuse. She couldn’t spot any bruises or suspicious marks but Yunseo’s body was partially covered and there was more than one way to abuse a slave, especially one with Yunseo’s figure.

“Be at ease, Yunseo, I will not hurt you; I just want someone to talk to,” Changmi tried to reassure her new slave but Yunseo’s eyes were still guarded. It would have offended Changmi if she was not aware of how creatively cruel some masters could be. She had heard tales of some that preferred to trick their slaves into trusting them only to punish them more severely for their naivety.

“A lady of your standing should have many more interesting people to talk to, potnia,” Yunseo carefully replied. Slave masters were harsh and in Yunseo’s experience, the females could be the most cruel. She had not known this mistress long enough to get a feel for her intentions. Of all the responses Yunseo could have thought of, she was not prepared for Changmi, her new mistress and wife of the pharaoh, to cross the room and flop down on the bed, her body in a spread-eagle position.

“But I do not really have anyone to talk to. At least, not anyone that has anything important or interesting to say.” She threw her head back so she was staring at Yunseo upside-down. “You would not believe how incredibly boring the people I am allowed to socialize with are.”

Yunseo raised her eyebrows at the actions of her new mistress. This woman acted more like an eight-year-old brat than a Pharaoh’s wife, especially with her drastic mood-swings. “Allowed to socialize with? Certainly, a Pharaoh’s wife may speak to anyone she chooses.”

“I’m only a minor wife, actually,” Changmi replied, no small amount of bitterness evident in her voice. “Not quite important enough to warrant attendance to councils but still important enough to restrict my access to normal people who would want to talk about normal things with me. And my interaction with the commoners and slaves is extremely important, because it reflects back on the public perception of our family. So by important, I mean watched and carefully regulated.”

Yunseo’s defenses weakened slightly at this emission; she had never had a noble tell her the problems with their gilded life before. It was refreshing. “I did not realize there was so much politics involved,” she answered, waiting for a sharp retort on her lack of knowledge.

“No,” Changmi sighed, “you would not. My life is supposed to be perfect. I am the wife of the Pharaoh Seungri, a descendant of the gods. Our most dearly held secret is that our lives are terribly mundane.”

Yunseo almost laughed at how easily such a statement rolled off of Changmi’s tongue. It was fortunate that she was not a spy from a rival land; within months, she was sure she could obtain as much information Changmi knew and even coerce her into finding out secrets for her. Lucky for her new mistress, Yunseo had no interest in such affairs and was slowly warming to this woman-child. Time would tell if this was all some well-played act but Yunseo had a suspicion that the woman was being honest with her.

“Well, I am sure mundane is still much better than the lives some people live,” Yunseo answered, gathering her basket of garments to wash in the Nile and making to leave the room.

“No!” Changmi cried, reaching her arm out toward Yunseo. Desperation can make people do strange things, even beg a slave for attention and conversation. “Don’t leave me just yet.”

Yunseo paused in the entrance, not sure how to proceed. “Please stay, surely it would not hurt if you stayed and talked with me for a little bit.” Yunseo could see the anxiety in her mistress’ eyes and wondered just how deprived of company this woman had been. Nonetheless, she had a responsibility.

“I am afraid I must wash these, potnia. Perhaps I can find you later tonight, after all my duties have been performed, and we shall talk then.” Yunseo showed her mistress some pity, unable to resist the plea written all over Changmi’s face.

“Or,” a mischievous look crossed Changmi’s expression here, “I could join you.”

Yunseo looked warily at her mistress. There was no way she was serious in that request. Pharaoh’s wives simply did not wash clothes in the Nile like a typical commoner. But Changmi did not burst out into laugher at her own joke or snicker at Yunseo’s disbelief; no, her mistress just looked at her eagerly from her position on the bed, waiting for her response.

“Join me, potnia?” Yunseo repeated, not knowing how else to respond.

“Yes, join you. I have never washed my own clothing, how silly is that?” Changmi answered, quickly warming to the idea and she knew that her stubborn nature demanded she follow through when she had stumbled upon an inkling.  

“Why would you ever need to wash your clothes, potnia? That is why you have slaves,” Yunseo said, debating checking her mistress’s forehead to see if she had a fever.

“So? What if I get lost one day in the desert and I do not have any slaves with me and I have to wash my clothes but no one is around to help me? What am I supposed to do then?”

Yunseo skeptically appraised her mistress. “I doubt that scenario will ever come to pass.”

Changmi strengthened her resolve, reminded herself of her position, and calmly pulled rank on Yunseo. “Well, it is not for you to doubt. I am your mistress and I demand you me to the Nile and proceed to teach me the ways of washing.”

The ‘ways of washing,’ huh? Yunseo thought that Changmi made it sound so mysterious and exciting when it really was not. “The Pharaoh may not be pleased,” she countered, remembering her true master.

“I shall go in disguise,” Changmi replied, a cat-who-ate-the-canary grin brightening her regal face. Yunseo sighed, knowing that she had already lost this battle. This would be an adventure indeed….

“Stop picking at it!” Yunseo hissed to Changmi, half an hour later. She could hardly believe that she was using this tone on her mistress but truly, the woman did not demand much formality from her. They had wrapped Changmi’s face in a veil that only left her eyes showing. It had pretty beads that made Changmi look mysteriously beautiful but it was Egypt and the sun quickly made the Pharaoh’s wife impatient to rip the thing off. When Changmi was completely camouflaged, the two of them snuck out using the slaves’ passages. It had been much less mystical than Changmi had pictured – there were beetles and scorpions scuttling everywhere through the pathways – but she was still determined to enjoy the adventure.

Changmi had quickly learned that Yunseo would not engage Changmi first; she remembered her place as a slave. Yunseo would speak when spoken to, and even ask a question if she felt it proper, but she would never start a conversation. Although this suited Changmi just fine as she had always been tended to, she found herself determined to make Yunseo comfortable with her presence.

“I cannot help it!” Changmi whispered back, a whimper bubbling up from . “This is so hot! Was it really necessary to cover most of my face?”

Yunseo looked back at her mistress, dubiously. “Yes, it was,” she replied, unable to summon the energy to bicker with Changmi. She had only known the woman for about an hour and a half but she felt Changmi did not pose any threat to her. If anything, it appeared that Changmi needed her in a way no master or mistress had needed her before; intellectually, socially. 

“Are we almost there?” Changmi whined.

“Yes, potnia, we are almost to the great river,” Yunseo replied, resisting the urge to roll her eyes at the childish behavior. It really just served to remind Yunseo how young Changmi was. The Pharaoh prefered his women innocent and impressionable.

“Thank the gods, I absolutely must cool off.” Yunseo did not reply to that, preferring to just lead her mistress further down the path to the Nile.

No one else was there when they reached the river’s shore which made Yunseo feel safer. Entering the river until she was about up to her knees, Yunseo quickly began scrubbing the garments with lye. Always a quick learner, Changmi began to copy Yunseo’s actions exactly while enjoying the sensation of the open air and the water lapping at her calves. She turned to Yunseo, determined to start up conversation again.

“Have you sailed the Nile before?”

“Yes, potnia, I once sailed on the Nile.” Well, Changmi thought, that wasn’t very informative.

“Where did you go?” She tried again.

“Somewhere very far from here,” Yunseo curtly replied. Her past was not something she preferred to discuss. 

“How did you get back?” Changmi pressed on, her hands still, her garments forgotten.

“Slave traders.”

“Oh,” Changmi replied, properly discouraged. She grasped for another topic to fill the silence. “Do you have any siblings?”

 “Potnia, my history is not that important or interesting,” Yunseo protested.

“I bet it is more interesting than mine,” Changmi said, pouting.

“You are the Pharaoh’s wife, potnia, there can be nothing more interesting.” Yunseo dearly hoped that Changmi caught her subtle warning; talk like that could warrant severe punishment, even for someone as high up as her mistress.  

“I’ve always wanted Seungri to fall in love with me,” Changmi confessed suddenly. She could no more fight the words flowing out of than one can force water to climb back up a waterfall. “Since the day I became one of his minor wives, I have wanted our relationship to be filled with true love. If he made me a major wife, I would actually have a place among people,” Changmi said, unconsciously showing her desperate loneliness through her eyes. “Laugh at me if you will but since I was a child, I had this foolish notion of romance and love and marriage. It is not quite turning out the way I had pictured.” Changmi bit her lip, waiting for Yunseo to ridicule her. Even to herself, her thoughts sounded imprudent. Fortunately for them both, Yunseo was a kinder soul than that.

“I am sorry, potnia. Perhaps if you just give the Pharaoh more time, he will come to love you on his own,” Yunseo assured, her words hopeful but rang slightly empty. From Yunseo’s experience, the Pharaoh was a selfish man only capable of loving himself – well, himself and power.

“I hope so,” Changmi smiled wistfully and walked further into the Nile, gazing into the distance. She had completely abandoned the washing but Yunseo could tell from her face that she was in a deep thinking trance. Changmi needed time to think over Yunseo’s words; she could feel Yunseo’s sincerity but she could also hear the doubt in her tone.

For her part, Yunseo could not believe her mistress was telling her these things. She knew Changmi was lonely but it appeared that she carried many secrets she no longer had the strength to bear alone. Changmi continued to stare into the horizon until Yunseo had finished all of the washing and called out to her.

“We must return, potnia,” Yunseo said, feeling guilty at the disappointment that clouded her mistress’s face.

“Must we?” Changmi asked, the thought of running away with Yunseo fleetingly crossing her mind. She knew she was placing far more trust in Yunseo than was wise but the slave hadn’t betrayed her yet and no one else had ever slipped her outside of the palace.

Yunseo did not respond, figuring it was a question that required no answer. Her mistress finally left the river and joined her on the shore. “Your son must miss you, potnia,” Yunseo gently goaded.

“Yes, my son, he’s probably the only one that noticed my absence,” Changmi remarked. At the worried look Yunseo gave her, Changmi quickly reassured her. “I meant nothing by it. Let us head back.”

Yunseo quietly followed behind her mistress as they made their way to the palace. Changmi rambled about this and that and Yunseo listened with one ear but her thoughts were on Changmi’s situation and what advice she could possibly give.

When they returned, Yunseo politely told her mistress that she had to fold the clothes and that Changmi must go eat. As she made to leave, Changmi grabbed her by the wrist.

“Thank you,” Changmi said, trusting Yunseo to understand her unsaid words. The slave searched Changmi’s face for any sign of insincerity and upon finding none, nodded. Changmi smiled and let go of Yunseo’s arm to go join those who had not even realized she was gone and probably would not care if she never came back.

Their relationship steadily grew after that until the two were practically inseparable. Changmi told Yunseo everything; her secrets, her hopes, her desires, everything she had never had the opportunity to tell anyone before. In return, Yunseo finally opened up about her home and where she came from. Changmi discovered that Yunseo did in fact hail from Egypt, not some exotic place like Changmi had hoped and guessed with those blue eyes. She had, however, traveled quite far in a slave trade gone astray, to a place very distant from Egypt where the people had all black hair like Egyptians and the same dark skin but Yunseo said they were shorter and their eyes curved in a way entirely foreign to Egypt. Yunseo claimed that the women were completely covered from neck down in clothing and that their diet consisted of tiny little white pebbles. Yunseo described them much like grain kernels but she said she never grew a taste for the things and she did not have the opportunity to learn the language before she was sold back to Egypt. Her masters there quickly grew tired of her when she could not react to their demands. Body language can only go so far.

As for her family, Yunseo still refused to discuss them with Changmi, leading the Pharaoh’s wife to conclude that some disaster had occurred. She did not pry; Changmi decided that Yunseo would tell her when she was ready.

Changmi described the way she was presented to Seungri and quickly engaged to him afterwards. He was her first male suitor ever and her romantic notions were hastily squashed within their first month of marriage. It was difficult being one of so many wives. Jaehyo was her only salvation prior to Yunseo’s arrival, but Changmi thought privately that she had discovered another.

In this fashion, Changmi and Yunseo trusted each other fully, depending on one another. There were rumors about the two of them but both master and slave ignored the spiteful whispers. They had each other and for the first time in both their lives, they woke each morning content and happy.

Changmi had already given Yunseo her heart, in a secretive, undeclared way. All her thoughts, all her desires, and hopes, and secret worries, Yunseo was privy to. Seungri might be her husband but Yunseo was just as important, if not more so. Changmi felt the need to prove this connection with some sort of physical object so she told another one of her slaves, Suzy, to find a hairpiece fit for a Pharaoh’s wife. Suzy showed many items to Changmi but none seemed to fit Yunseo until she presented a hairpiece with the heads of falcons on each end. Yunseo was as smart and witty as a falcon, and Changmi knew instantly that the hairpiece was made for her. Changmi thanked Suzy for her hard work then hid the falcon piece underneath her blanket for Yunseo to find that afternoon when she made her bed.

Sure enough, that afternoon as Yunseo wrapped up the blanket to take to the Nile, the hairpiece fell to the ground with a clatter. Yunseo gasped softly and hurriedly picked up the piece, hoping her mistress’s hairpiece was not scratched or broken. Upon examining it, she found it completely unharmed and breathed a sigh of relief. Looking curiously at Changmi, Yunseo was surprised to find her mistress entirely calm and watching her.

“Do you like it?” Changmi asked.

“Yes, potnia, it is quite lovely. You would look stunning with it in your hair when you visit the Pharaoh tonight,” Yunseo assured, envisioning the hairstyles she could put her mistress in with the gorgeous piece. Even as she pictured it, Changmi wished dearly she did not have to send her mistress to that monster. Yunseo did not tell her mistress when she was summoned to Seungri and she made certain to hide the bruises afterwards.

“It is not for me, Yunseo.” Changmi was enjoying this game as confusion replaced the worried look that had been on Yunseo’s face.

“Who is it for then, potnia?” Yunseo had long before forgotten that she was not supposed to ask Changmi any questions.

“It is for someone very special to me.”

Yunseo quickly ran over everyone special in Changmi’s life that she would want to get a present for but both her husband and her son were male and would not wear such a hairpiece. That only left... oh, Yunseo though, the present was for her. Changmi laughed as shocked realization appeared in Yunseo’s expression.

“Potnia, I cannot possibly accept this. This hairpiece is made for nobility,” Yunseo protested vehemently.

“Nonsense,” Changmi assured. “You are very special to me and I want everyone to know that you are more than an ordinary slave.” Yunseo’s soul soared at her words but she did not know if she could truly accept it.

“Potnia…” Yunseo did not have the heart to protest but she still felt the need to try. If she wore this necklace, Seungri would be sure to ask her about it and the other slaves would be jealous, possibly beating her just for spite. However, it would mark her as special to Changmi, and that did make Yunseo happy indeed.

“I will take no further argument, Yunseo. You will wear this and if anyone tries to take it from you, I shall have them flogged.” Changmi took the piece from Yunseo’s hands and placed it in her hair, fixing it so as to maximize the full effect. Yunseo always looked striking but with the hairpiece, she looked positively exquisite.

Yunseo stared at Changmi with so much emotion in her eyes that she did not know how to communicate with words. Changmi just smiled back, adoring the look on her only friend.

“You look gorgeous,” Changmi finally said.

“Thank you, Changmi,” Yunseo responded, her voice soft. It was the first time Yunseo had ever called Changmi by her given name. Changmi just nodded, not trusting her voice to speak around the raw emotion bubbling within her. 

With this new show of affection, Yunseo was certain that she could not let her mistress go to Seungri that night. The Pharaoh called upon her mistress once every fourteen moons and Yunseo had struggled for too long trying not to restrain Changmi. Gathering her courage, Yunseo grabbed Changmi graceful hands that had never seen a day of work, excluding that day many moons ago by the river, which Yunseo did. Changmi waited patiently as Yunseo seemed about to say something important.

“Potnia…” Damn, Changmi thought, there she went with the formality again.

“Potnia,” Yunseo finally looked up from their joined hands to meet Changmi’s eyes. “Please do not go to Seungri tonight. Stay here.”

Changmi gasped, that was defiantly not what she had been expecting. Her slave knew her desire for love between them, why would she want to take that from her? “Yunseo, I must go.”

“Please, potnia, please. Just stay.” Yunseo begged Changmi, trying to communicate with her eyes what her body had been trying so hard to hide. Seungri would lose his temper one night and expose his true nature to Changmi, Yunseo just knew it. And she did not want that for her mistress. Yunseo would gladly take any pain if it would save Changmi from suffering the same fate. She was the only noble who had ever been kind to her.

Changmi could see the desperation in Yunseo’s face but she did not understand it. Seungri was no beast to be feared. She was torn between Yunseo and Seungri but it was Jaehyo that helped her decide. If she were to ignore the Pharaoh, only the gods knew what would happen to her son.

“I will be back before dawn,” Changmi said. She hoped it would appease Yunseo and she turned to leave. She was stopped by a hand on her kalasiris. When she turned to scold Yunseo, she found her friend on her knees, clinging to Changmi.

“Don’t,” she repeated once more, her voice breaking.

Changmi knelt down to meet Yunseo’s eye level. “I do not know what has made you like this, Yunseo, but when I return, you and I will discuss this.”

Yunseo nodded slightly, resigned to the fact that Changmi would always go back to Seungri. She only hoped tonight was not the night Seungri released his inner monster.

It was not. Later that night, after they made love, Changmi laid in Seungri’s arms, drawing senseless designs on his chest. She longed to return to Yunseo to sooth her fears but she had to ask her husband something first.

“My Pharaoh?” She was always formal with him, hoping it would show Seungri how she respected him so.

“Yes, my dear?” Seungri was usually more affectionate after , though it was not enough to make Changmi believe he truly loved her.

“Have you ever beaten my slave, Yunseo?” She asked boldly, but she was betrayed by her eyes which refused to lift from Seungri’s chest. Changmi quickly grew alarmed at the way his muscles tensed at the question.

“The puny one?” He replied, sounding calmer than his body would portray.

“Yes,” Changmi answered, needing an answer.

“No. Not once. I never even go near her.” Changmi was no fool and she knew when she was being lied to.

“Oh,” was her only response.

            “Why? Is that what the wench has been saying?” There was a cold, emotionless aspect of Seungri’s voice that Changmi had never witnessed before.

            “She is not a wench. But no, that’s not what she’s been saying. She was just acting strangely tonight, that’s all. She did not want me to leave.” Seungri went stock-still at the last comment.

            “Oh, she did not, did she?” Changmi could sense fury behind his tone and it scared her. Why should he be angry over something so small?

            “No, she did not,” Changmi confirmed. She wanted to move on from this topic, hoping she had not gotten Yunseo in trouble. She turned in his arms, reaching up to kiss him as a distraction, but was pushed away harshly. Changmi sat up, gazing at her husband in shock. He had never rejected her before or been anything less than gentle.

            “I think you should leave. Go calm your slave.” Changmi’s pride was hurt so she hastily put her clothes on and hurried out of the room, angry now too.

            When she burst into her room, Yunseo stood up from her bed, rushing over to examine her. “Did he hurt you?” She asked, looking everywhere for injuries to match Changmi’s foul mood.

            “No. He has never hurt me and he never will,” Changmi responded coldly, turning her rage on Yunseo. “Now get out of my room and let me sleep.” Yunseo stared at her mistress, hurt even when she told herself she had no right to be, and briskly left the room. The second Changmi was alone, she knew she had made a terrible mistake. With a dramatic sigh, she sunk down unto her bed. She could fix it all tomorrow. Yunseo would forgive her, Changmi just knew she would.

            The next morning, Changmi woke to the feeling of her hair being petted and she knew she was right. Changmi was a horror to wake but Yunseo found her weak spots that soothed her into consciousness. Only when she was feeling particularly affectionate did Yunseo wake her by smoothing her hair. Changmi opened one eye to the light, blinking up at Yunseo. Her slave smiled down at her, reassuring, and Changmi knew all was forgiven. Changmi matched Yunseo’s smile with one of equal brightness and got up to spend the whole day lounging around with Yunseo.

            That night, Seungri came storming into her room. He had never been inside her private chambers before and both mistress and slave jumped to their feet, one in surprise and one in fright.

            “Changmi, I would like a word with your slave. It seems that she and I have had a misunderstanding. ”

            Changmi looked at Yunseo, who was practically beside herself with fear. She did not understand what was going on here but she had no intention of letting Yunseo panic.

            “Could it wait until another time, my Pharaoh? We were just about to bathe.”

            “No, I need to speak to her now.” Changmi bit her lip, stuck between a rock and a hard place.

            “Well, she is my slave and I need her to help me remove my clothing. If you could just wait a little bit-“

            “I will not wait,” Seungri replied, grabbing Yunseo by the arm and dragging her out of the room. “I am the Pharaoh.”

            “Please,” Changmi grabbed his arm, a mistake she would later deeply regret. Seungri instantly turned to throw her off and in the sudden movement, Yunseo’s hairpiece fell. Seungri’s gaze locked on the piece, barely believing what he was seeing.

            “What do we have here?” He asked, bending down to pick it up. “Is this yours?” He looked at a trembling Yunseo.

            “I gave it to her,” Changmi replied quickly before Yunseo could answer.

            “You gave this to her?” Seungri repeated, incredulous. “You gave a slave a golden hairpiece? What were you thinking, Changmi?”

            “I -” Yunseo attempted to defend her mistress.

            Seungri slapped her before she could get another word out. “You will not speak, slave.” He turned back to a stunned Changmi. “What were you thinking?”

            “She is very dear to me,” Changmi replied, feeling somewhat foolish.

            Seungri barked out a cruel laugh and grabbed Yunseo roughly by the jaw. “Did you hear that, slave? You are dear.” Yunseo flinched at his words and Seungri sneered at her. “You are never to see her again.” Changmi did not even realize he was speaking to her for a moment and the second she did, she protested.

            “Why? My Pharaoh, she has been nothing but perfect -”

            “Silence!” Seungri roared, turning a furious glare at Changmi. “Learn some respect.” Changmi began to sob, dropping to the floor. She had never felt so helpless in her life as she watched her husband manhandle her only friend out of the room. She still did not understand why he was so angry about something so insignificant.

Seungri returned to Changmi after all her tears had dried up but she had not moved off her knees. He tossed the hairpiece onto her lap and looked down at her with disgust clear on his face. “You would tell give such expensive trinkets to a mere slave? I think you have mistaken a slave for a friend, my wife.”

“What am I supposed to do while you are away? Not talk to anyone?” Changmi asked, scorn clear in her voice.

“You can talk to whoever you like, just not someone so far beneath you.”

“What have you done with her?” Changmi asked, fearing the answer.

“I sent her away. She will serve another minor wife, one who will not forget their position and you will be served by Soyeon here. She’s mute and deaf so you will not make the same mistake twice,” Seungri sneered at Changmi and stomped out of the room, leaving his wife with the new slave who had followed him in.

Changmi felt her heart drop when she realized that she had been robbed of her confidant and now she was left with someone who couldn’t even keep up a conversation about boring, mundane subjects. It scared her how fast her world turned from the happiest she had ever been to the most miserable she had ever felt.

Days passed with no sight of Yunseo even though Changmi went out of her way to visit the other minor wives. She did not see Seungri in all that time either, too fearful of his wrath. Changmi finally summed up the courage to ask after Yunseo one day and she snuck into the kitchens to speak to Suzy.

Suzy refused to let her help with any of the work, saying it was too low for a wife of the Pharaoh. Suzy was not Yunseo. Nobody was Yunseo and no one would ever fill her place.

“Suzy, have you any news of Yunseo?” She asked, leaning against the wall and pretending to be nonchalant.

Her blasé façade faded quickly when Suzy dropped the plate she had been cleaning. The slave froze for a second, afraid to answer the question, but she gathered her wits about her and began to clear the pieces of ceramic from the floor.

“Has no one told you, potnia?” Suzy asked, surprised that her mistress had been kept in the dark. She really hoped Changmi was just joking with her because if she was not, Suzy had to be the bearer of bad news, and that could be hazardous to her health with Changmi’s temper.

“Told me what?” Changmi replied, an ominous feeling of apprehension starting to creep into her.

“The Pharaoh had Yunseo stabbed and mummified. He said that she was a threat to Egypt and the gods said she had to die. She knew too many secrets from her time with you,” Suzy answered, silently hoping Changmi understood that she had no desire to follow in Yunseo’s path.

“Stabbed?” Changmi repeated. Being separated from Yunseo was punishment enough but the thought of her dear slave dying because of her, without her, alone and scared, was too much to bear.

She barely even heard Suzy’s final affirmation of “Yes, potnia,” over the rushing blood in her ears. This was it. Seungri had taken enough away from her without punishing someone else for her actions, and someone who was – no, who had been- very dear to her. Changmi stormed out of the room, away to plan some sort of revenge. Someone would pay for this. No, Seungri would pay for this; screw him being the Pharaoh, he had messed with the wrong woman and now Yunseo’s soul was lost to the universe.

That night was their usual meeting and Seungri summoned her to his room as Changmi knew he would. However, he was not greeted by the freshly tamed woman he had expected. As they passed through the entrance to his room, Seungri was grabbed by the throat and shoved against the wall.

“You had her killed?” Changmi asked, knowing the answer but needing to see Seungri’s face as he admitted his crime.

“So what if I did? You are still going on about that little mouse of a slave? I never should have brought her here; she was way more trouble than she was worth.”

“You brought her here?” Changmi repeated dumbly, not understanding why Seungri would personally buy a slave. The pharaoh had people that did those kinds of things for him. In fact, he had people that did most kinds of things for him.

“I was getting bored of you and my other wives. I wanted someone new,” Seungri explained, waiting for his wife to comprehend the motive behind his actions.

“Wanted someone new? To serve?” Changmi asked again. Her mind had begun to catch onto Seungri’s meaning and suddenly she wished she it had not.

“She was a bore in bed, actually. Well-trained for sure but she cried whenever I got a little too… rough. ” Seungri smirked in memory of his extra-curricular activities that he kept from all his wives. The man was cruel in his ruling of Egypt and he was no different behind a bedroom door. His wives were off-limits however, because people were sure to notice if they returned from his bed with bruises and limps, so he only unlocked that side of himself with his little side excursions. “I saw her in the market one day and I knew I had to have her. Her curvy little body was just too tempting. It’s a shame really that I had to have her killed. You owe me a new pet.”

“Yunseo was no one’s pet!” Changmi screamed, restraining herself from slapping Seungri. She may want to murder the man with her bare hands but he was still her husband and pharaoh of Egypt. She would be extracting her own organs if she attacked him and her son needed her. “She was a good, kind, honest person. You had no right to treat her like that!”

“No right?” Seungri roared and was rewarded with the sight of Changmi flinching. “I have every right! I am the pharaoh of Egypt and I will do as I please. Who are you to tell me what I will and will not do?”

Changmi told herself that she did not fear this man and the thought of Yunseo prompted her to respond with far more spite in her voice than was ideal for her health. “I am your wife and the mother of your son.”

“That is right, Changmi. You are defined by your relation to me so I would watch my tone if I was you and put more respect into the way you act around me. Your little friend knew that much at least.” He sneered down at her as he spoke the words.

The air hastily evacuated Changmi’s lungs as she was forced to picture all the ways Seungri had Yunseo “respect” him. All the times Yunseo would walk extremely slow, the extra clothing she wore on boiling hot days, the way she had flinched at Seungri’s proximity, it all made sense. And beyond that, HyunA and the other slave girls before her who had left because the “gods” were displeased with them. It all made sense. But if Changmi’s suspicions were correct, that would mean her husband had been doing this for years and it went much farther than Yunseo. She narrowed her eyes at Seungri.

“How many?” She asked her husband. When he just appraised her with slight confusion, she continued, “How many others have there been like Yunseo, Seungri? How many woman have you abused then thrown away when they bored you?”

“Oh, that,” He answered, comprehension brightening his face, “there have been hundreds, at least. Although, Yunseo has been the first one that I have actually had to dispose of permanently. But that is your fault, is it not, my pretty wife? You ruined one of my toys with presents and ideas of importance and now I am going to have to find someone as beautiful and obedient as Yunseo.” A disgusting smirk covered his normally handsome face at the word “obedient.”

Screw it, Changmi thought, and she threw herself at Seungri, screaming as she clawed at his face like an injured cat. Yunseo was worth so much more than Seungri.

“Are you crazy, woman?” Seungri cried, trying desperately to capture her wrists with his big palms. “Do you wish to join your beloved Yunseo in the afterlife? Shall I send Jaehyo along as well?” At the threat against her son, all of the fight left Changmi’s body and she allowed Seungri to pin her wrists together. With his sudden power, Seungri pressed her against the wall, her restrained wrists above her head, in a cruel parody of how the evening had started. “That is what I thought. Now, since I no longer have Yunseo, and you have me all riled up, I think you will have to take her place for the night. How does that sound?” Changmi met his eyes with no small amount of fear in her eyes. He simply laughed and threw her on the bed. Normally, he left his wives alone but Changmi really needed to be taught a lesson in the chain of power. 

That night, as she was left bleeding and broken on his bed, bitterness coursed through Changmi like a poisonous river. She vowed to be more careful with her heart from now until her death. Not only had she lost the one person who she confided in, her husband had proved himself to be a true sadistic bastard and her hope of their blossoming love had wilted just like Yunseo’s skin as she was mummified. Her son was the only one left to her and Changmi vowed to teach him everything she knew; her temper, Seungri’s cruelty, Yunseo’s patience and kind heart. This way, she could honor Yunseo, if she could just teach her boy to be a little like her. But Changmi herself would suffer, shutting herself off from everyone because no one could ever compare to Yunseo. With Changmi’s guidance, Jaehyo would grow to be a strong leader and refrain from making all the same mistakes that she had. The mistakes that she would never make again. 

Authors Note

So for historical accuracy, Yunseo's name would be Meskenet, Changmi's Hetepheres, Jaehyo's Khufu, Seungri's Sneferu, Suzy's Beset, HyunA's Nkrumah, and Soyeon's Jendayi.

I'm thinking about adding in optional scenes in most of the chapters. Like, for this one, it would be the non-con between Seungri and Changmi. Thoughts?

I don't actually hate Seungri, even though he plays the villian in most of my stories, I just think he likes it in bed.