Yuki sat at her desk in disbelief that all this was happening. She closed her eyes and remembered her daughter's distressed blue eyes staring at her innocently. Oblivious to her plight, she sat down beside her on the hospital bed.
"Mommy, did you bring the doll?" She asked in her childish three-year-old voice.
Yuki tried to disguise her despair. The doctor had given the diagnosis. Selytha needed to be transferred to Mahagha, the only place in the world where there was effective treatment for her daughter's illness. The cost, after Yuki had managed to pass all the requirements for her daughter to be accepted at the hospital, was estimated at 837,000 dollars, and she would not be able to enter the country. The child would travel alone.
Yuki remembered her daughter's smile when she took out the rag doll and put it next to her on the bed.
And now, she would be able to enter the country and pay for her daughter's treatment and all she had to do was say yes.
She stood up when she saw a group of men who looked like important people walk through the elevator door and stop in front of her desk.
"Miss, we're here to talk to Ra Duhen. Announce our presence." One of them said arrogantly.
"Sir, I'm sorry, but..."
The door to Durin's office opened with a bang, interrupting Yuki, and Durin emerged.
"Don't worry, Yuki. I was expecting their visit." Durin said and gestured for them to come in and closed the door.
Yuki was still deciding whether to serve coffee to his boss's visitors when Durin's head popped up in the doorway.
"I need you here."
Yuki stood up and entered the room. The men were sitting comfortably on cushions on the floor that she was sure hadn't been there before, and also that they hadn't taken with them, and she sat down in a chair pointed out by Durin.
Durin sat down opposite her in another chair.
"Yuki, I need you to sign some documents in front of these gentlemen. They will explain your obligations as my wife, for each of these signed sheets."
Yuki began to sign and they started talking about things she knew she wouldn't have to do, since she would be divorced before she was a month into her marriage. She signed all the sheets and stood up.
One of the men gave her a nasty look.
"I hope you've read these documents carefully, Mrs. Yuki. You have just committed yourself to living a very different life from the one you know. You are now officially a citizen of Mahagah and very soon, a Ra wife. We expect you to know your obligations."
Yuki held her breath. She hadn't read any of the papers she had signed, as she had been concentrating on what one of the men had said about her obligations.
She looked at Durin inquiringly and he approached.
"Can you have lunch with me, Yuki?"
"Today?"
"Yes. Today."
"Uh. No, Mr. Durin. I must remind you that you sent the other secretary away and we mustn't leave the office without anyone."
Durin glared at her, but smiled.
"My love... There's no need to be formal with me. We're getting married, remember?"
Yuki felt her face grow hot with embarrassment.
"Oh... I..."
"Come on, Yuki. Let's have lunch." He said and opened the door.
Yuki followed him to the restaurant on the other side of the building and Durin didn't bother ordering lunch once he was seated. He just ordered himself a cognac and leaned towards Yuki.
"You're not being a good actress, Yuki. They can't suspect that we're not in love!"
Yuki looked coldly at Durin.
"If they haven't realized that yet, they're idiots."
"They're Gumis, Yuki. But they're outside Mahagah's territory, and that may have some influence on how they perceive things. In any case, you shouldn't give them the assurance that we're not a couple."
"What are Gumis?"
"They're a kind of minister of the kingdom. They walk among the people and listen to their complaints and then take the problems of the majority to be debated in Pharaoh's court."
"I've never heard of that."
"I'll summarize... You'll need to travel and live with me in Pharaoh's palace..."
"For two weeks." Yuki warned him.
He leaned back in his chair, looking at her thoughtfully and gestured for the waiter to approach again.
"Bring the lamb."
Yuki's eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Roast lamb with potatoes au gratin?"
Durin smiled enigmatically.
"Of course. Your favorite dish, right?"
"How would you know that?" She asked puzzled.
"I'm a good observer."
The waiter approached and poured Yuki's favorite wine and the lamb with potatoes au gratin and left.
Yuki ate in silence. Durin didn't interrupt until she leaned back in her chair with a satisfied air.
"You're going to marry me tonight."
"What are the obligations of a Ra wife?"
"A Ra wife has the obligation to serve her husband and beget his heirs."
Yuki spat the wine back into her cup and looked seriously at Durin.
"I'm not going to bear your children and we don't need to sleep in the same room in your palace."
"Does sleeping with me sound too repulsive to you?"
"No!" she said quickly, fearing she had offended him. "I just won't go to bed with a man who has no feelings for me. And since our wedding will only be for a few weeks..." Yuki interrupted herself. Durin's eyes were definitely ablaze with fire. "Your eyes..."
"Don't worry about my eyes, Yuki."
"Of course."
"You won't have to sleep in the same room with your husband. The palace is a huge building that needs many people to look after it. We won't be alone and we need to keep up the lie that we're in love. So, every night, you must be seen leaving my room."
"Won't they ask the reason for this behavior?"
"I'll tell them you snore like a tractor."
Yuki smiled amusedly.
"You'll need to lose that fear of commitment, boss. You can't ask a girl to bear your child without asking her to marry you first."
"I appreciate your concern, Yuki. But I'm going to change the rules as soon as I take the throne. I'll inherit a harem with dozens of women. One of them could be the mother of my heir."
They talked for long minutes about the reign of a Ra.
"What if I need you to sleep in the same room with me, Yuki? We're friends. At first, could you make that...sacrifice?"
"Yes. But you sleep on the carpet in the bedroom."
Durin smiled.
"Yes. I'll sleep on the carpet."
Yuki looked at the watch on his wrist.
"I think we should head back."
"First, I need you to know something."
"I'm listening."
"I always use the things I pay for."
"I don't understand."
"You don't need to understand. You just need to know that. Now go." He said and looked away.
Yuki stood up and walked away.
Durin frowned. Yuki saw the flames of Pharaoh in his eyes. But she was a Commoner. She wasn't supposed to see such things. What would that mean? Months after the pharaoh's death, would he finally inherit the power of the ancient pharaohs?