Chapter Two

Zahara stood in her royal Chambers silently, her maidservants removing her gown. After they were done, she sat on a cushioned stool and two of them started removing her nail polish.

"Is my bath ready?" She snapped to one of the maidservants.

"Yes, your highness." She replied cautiously.She could tell the princess was in a bad mood. Zahara was usually nice to them though,and treated them far better than the way the other Nobles treated their sunti.

"Have all the necessary oils and fragrances been mixed in thier right proportions?"

"I think so, your highness." The girl was uncertain. The princess's bath was always mixed with six oils and twelve fragrances in order to care for her smooth skin. A little drop here and a few drops there, Zahara would notice if they were mixed incorrectly.

"For your own sake, I hope they are." Zahara said icily.

The maidservants finished removing the nail polish and put on her , a light red silk bathrobe. Zahara padded softly into the bathhouse and stopped in front of a huge polished brass mirror. She looked at herself and run her fingers over the almost invisible Mark on her shoulder. It was white in color and was made of a phoenix and a drakoen intertwined with nine stars around them. The Mark was cold to touch, with no warmth since it wasn't awakened.

Zahara's eyes travelled across her reflection. She was a little tall for her age, with long black hair which fell to her waist. Her face was described by Master ça-Turune as sculpted by the Great Mother herself. Perfection. Her body was maturing, with full breasts and nicely rounded hips whilst her dark smooth skin completed the look. If it wasn't because she was the Hieress to the Throne, sculptors and painters would've flocked to use her as a model for thier work.

Zahara smiled. It was her beauty that sharpened her battle and tactical prowess. No wonder, the Emperor called her a beautiful weapon, honed to the last degree. Sigh.

Taking off her bathrobe, Zahara slipped into the ceramic tub, the scents of the soapy water tickling her nostrils. The maidservants quickly went to work. One started washing her hair whilst three of them kneaded her skin with scent-filled water, further hightening the intoxicating fragrance she always carried.

Zahara's body relaxed but her mind went into full gear. She replayed the last report from one of her spies. Panesia and his father were up to something and he intended to find out. She knew her father wouldn't approve of her using spies considering how risky it was. But she needed information and if she was to secure her Birthright.

From an early age, she had always made a point to know everything that happened in the palace. Life in the Court was very tasking and dangerous. You had to be careful to ensure that you didn't step on people's toes. Zahara's position as Hieress protected her, but she still had to be prudent. She knew a lot of secrets of many Nobles and people in the palace, keeping them for future use.

"We're done,your highness." The maidservant whispered. Zahara stood up and the soapy water was drained away. The tub was filled with cool water and she immersed herself in it, rinsing off the foam. After the bath, she was dried off and perfumed shea butter applied to her skin. Zahara put on a light study dress and her hair was pulled into a high ponytail.

Two maidservants and Suleman followed her as she made her way to the private arena which served as her lessons grounds. She had a class with Master Turune.

Immediately Zahara stepped into the arena, she held up her hand swiftly, catching a mango as it flew by her. She turned to her teacher and smiled. It was a game they always played every time. Her smile faded when she saw Panesia sitting cross-legged,an innocent look on his face. Zahara was surprised. Master Turune only taught heirs to the Throne,so Panesia being here could only mean one thing. The Emperor was starting to consider him as a possible heir, but could she blame him considering the inability of her Mark to awaken.

"What are you doing here?" Zahara's face was blank.

"Dear cousin, the Emperor requested that I start to join you in your lessons. After all." Panesia opened his palm and a blue flame appeared, hovering over it." No matter how awakened and powerful my Mark is, I still need my royal education."

He smirked and watched Zahara's reaction. Her face was emotionless,but he knew he'd hit her where it hurt the most.

Zahara's face broke into a smile." Certainly,my dearest cousin. Even low born royals need to be educated."

Panesia's face darkened and the smirk disappeared. The flame flared up and also disappeared.

Master Turune cleared his throat and ordered Zahara to sit down." Now, before we begin our history lesson. I would like you two to play a game of qao qi." He placed a large board with marked squares and removed a small box containing several carved figures. Qao qi was a board game played by most upper class Atamesians, and tested the players logical reasoning. However, this variation had a more military twist was usually played among Nobles and Generals to sharpen thier tactical abilities.

Zahara and Panesia arranged thier players on thier sides, eight in the first row,six in the second row and four in the last. The carved figures were of different shapes and performed different functions in the game. Master Turune laid out the objective." The first person to take out eight players from the opponents side , wins. You may begin."

Zahara moved first, then Panesia followed. After moving a few times, she could see that Panesia was moving his players in a Three Fanged Serpent formation, which was more of an offensive tactic. Panesia on the other hand was a little confused as to what formation Zahara was using. It looked like a cross between the Creeping Dove and the Sad Sheep, both of which were defensive tactics.

Panesia was the first to take out one of Zahara's players. He followed again,this time taking two. As the game progressed, Panesia's smile widened as he bagged a total of four players from Zahara's side.

After he took the fifth player, Zahara smiled." Dear cousin,you were so focused on taking out my players that you left your home defences very weak."

Panesia looked at the board and realized his folly. In his bid to launch an offensive campaign, he'd completely neglected his defences, therefore, allowing multiple players from Zahara's side to sneak into his home front. He was in a fix. Every move he made now would result in Zahara taking out either one or two of his players.

The slaughter begun. With just four moves, Zahara bagged eight players from his side and won the game.

Panesia's respect for her grew, even as his dislike for her increased. He saw in her,a dangerous and cunning foe. One that would require a lot of scheming and planning if he wanted to wrest the heirship from her.

They cleared away the game pieces and Master Turune begun the class, teaching them about the Salt War.

"As you both know,the Salt War was a rebellion by the people of Suma, an annex to Atamesia. The rebels were funded by some Salt Merchants because they felt that the Royal Middlemen, who bought the salt from Suma and sold it to the merchants, were gleaning a lot of profit to the detriment of the Sumanese. The war, which lasted for six months saw both sides suffer a lot of casualties. This was because the Sumanese had gannered support from the neighbouring kingdoms who detested Atamesia's power and influence. It finally ended with a treaty in which Suma still remained an annex to Atamesia, however,the Royal Middlemen were asked to cease operations after being heavily compensated by the Emperor at that time, Emperor Ayine.

This allowed for easy trading and also improved the living standards of the Sumanese. What you need to know, however,is that that wasn't the only reason they rebelled. They also rebelled because they felt that Emperor Ayine was imposing Atamesian culture and religion on them."

Master Turune looked into thier faces, hoping that they saw and understood the lesson that was to be learnt from this class. That was the reason why they learnt history, so that whoever between them became the Emperor, he or she would not the repeat the same mistakes as the past Emperors. The Gods knew they were many.