The Pharaoh's Champion

A quick interval was announced before the final match.

The crowd still stirred over Maahes's womanly reveal. Woundless, despite a fist grazing her cheek, she stood strong and stared down the crowd, daring them to judge and underestimate her. Just like her opponents before her. Wiping the sweat that beaded her brow, she spat on the ground and stormed out of the room.

  Maahes was something completely different to what he imagined him to be.

  "Quite the spirited daughter you have there, Tadal." He chuckled.

He nodded in response, slightly turned and bowed at the Pharaoh, respectfully excusing himself.

The Pharaoh nodded in support and remained on his throne, still and unmoving, like the mountains that were their boundary to the Northern territories. There were now only two choices for his Champion. The alarmingly colossal man, or the spirited, hot-headed woman.

He knew which one he would rather win.

  ****

Tadal returned, wiping the stress from his forehead. He clearly had an ordeal.

  The Pharaoh kept his gaze on the crowd as he addressed Tadal. "Is everything alright with your daughter?"

  "Yes, my Pharaoh. Everything is fine. She's simply frustrated that she hasn't been able to go all out on her opponents like I promised she could."

  The Pharaoh glared at Tadal. All out? She hasn't gone all out? More disturbingly… she wanted to go all out.

"Maahes? Such an unusual name?"

Tadal took a deep breath understanding the question, he answered as the Speaker tried to calm the rallied crowd.

"Her name is Zahra. One day, while my wife was walking with Zahra in the market. She caught sight of a doll in the market. The doll was the likeness of the King of Lions, Maahes."

Zhara, he mused. A name to means bright and shining. Like the sun.

The Speaker addressed the crowd as Zahra sauntered back into the pit, her golden braid swaying in her wake.

"After a quick meeting with our sponsors. There is no reason to disqualify this fighter from the tournament. Although she is a woman, no rules were set to prevent a woman from entering. This is a no-holds-barred fight to end. No rules. No boundaries."

She gave no heed to the judgemental crowd around her and kept her gaze firmly on her final opponent.

The divided crowd both groaned and yelled. Mainly from the sponsors of the fighters she had already knocked out. He had been informed that during the meeting at the interval, they were dead against letting her fight. Using the brutal rules as a reason not to carry on. So Tadal, who had such trust in his daughter, hit them where he knew it would hurt, their masculinity.

Memnon lifted his arms in the air and growled at the crowd. Flexing and posing to the spectators to rile them up even more.

Zahra turned her palms and looked astonished at Tadal, with a face that seemed to say, really? This guy?! Are you fucking serious?

Tadal raised his brows at his daughter and she sheepishly lowered her gaze to the ground, kicking the sand slightly with her bare foot.

  "I'm glad to see you have tamed this beast, Tadal."

  "She's not always such a beast, Atem. When you get to know her, you'll see she is a passionate, delicate, trusting person. Much like her mother before her and…", he glanced at the Pharaoh, "much like you."

His head turned back to the fight, silently intrigued by his comment. He never called him Atem unless he was tired of arguing, or scolding him.

The fight began.

Memnon launched into a frenzy of punches, flaying his arms with such force. There was no aim, that was clear from the way Zahra effortlessly dodged his boulder-like fists. If she could keep this up, Memnon would quickly tire and she would easily win, but such was the force in those fists that if they hit her, it would be game over.

As predicted, Memnon had driven Zahra into a corner of the pit and landed two of his most devastating punches, knocking her to the ground. He turned and jeered the ground, assuming his opponent was not getting up.

A foolish mistake.

Zahra rose limply to her feet, gasping to catch her breath. She wiped her mouth with her wrist, the shock on her face was genuine as she noticed her own blood dripping from her mouth. She began to laugh to herself, a maniacal and slightly disturbing laugh, and spat the rest of the blood at the ground.

Taking a stance, she readied herself for her retaliation.

Memnon turned and looked at her in disgust. "Next time, I'll make sure you stay down!" he screamed at her as he bounded like a juggernaut across the pit.

Maahes began to run towards him, quickly meeting his pace. Just before they collided, she lowered to a crouch and pushed up as he loomed over her. He landed with a winded thud.

  The Pharaoh rubbed his jaw with his hand.  "Your daughter has impressive strength."

Tadal's face was stern as he watched the battle rage on. It was clear he trusted her, though he couldn't help but notice him slightly chew his lip in worry. "Yes, she does, she always has." He folded his arms, never once taking his eyes off the battle. "As a young girl, she couldn't control it. Not realising how strong she was. Then, I taught her how to fight, and how to duel, like I did for you. It helped her to control her power. She's come so far since then..."

Memnon had landed a series of devastating punches, Atem could see Tadal wince with every blow, he hated to see his daughter hurt.

Then Zahra countered with a swift uppercut to his jaw, sending him flying into the back wall and crashing into the crowd.

Zahra straightened and relaxed, something in her had changed. She stood steadfast, not a part of her trembled, nothing else around her mattered, and she concentrated solely on her target. The eye of the storm.

The Pharaoh and Tadal watched as Memnon rose to his feet and grunted. He craned his neck and it released an inhuman click. The main chamber was decorated with golden statues, axes and spears adorned the walls. A sly grin came over his face as he turned and ripped a long axe off the wall. The lethal blade of the axe seemed to curve into a smile at Zahra as he slowly stalked towards her.

He knew that glint that suddenly shimmered in her eyes, a strange twinkle that always came before the violence.

****

She knew from her father that these weapons were not just for decoration. They were tended to and sharpened regularly. Analysing Memnon's movements as he swung the axe around, he showed impressive skill with the weapon.

Her head turned to the back wall. There stood a statue, who had her hands crossed over her chest, clutching two small rods. She knew better what they were.

The growling monster came toward her, and she raised a casual hand to signal him to wait as she sauntered towards the statue.

The crowd grew quiet, as she gracefully leapt out of the pit, and the audience parted, allowing her through. She prayed that she remembered what her father had told her about the statues of the golden women years ago, that they were modelled on the warrior women who kept the capital safe from the Northern invaders whilst the army fought the threat to the South many years ago. A war her own mother had fought in. It was this battle that left her mother unable to bear her own children, a painful memory her mother tried to keep to herself.

As she reached the statue, she gripped the rods and began to carefully pry them from their resting place. She smiled at the pair of fatal Sai.

Just what I was hoping for, she thought. As she unsheathed the weapons, the sounds of the polished metal on stone screeched around the walls. The blades were thin and long, perfect for impaling enemies. She held her new weapons by her side and jumped back into the pit.

Readying her body, she beckoned her opponent.

Don't. Hold. Back.

****

"… though she still needs to master modesty," Tadal added.

The Pharaoh chuckled lightly at his advisor's comment.

Memnon obliged her and launched another frenzied attack, throwing his heavy, devastating axe around and around. As quick as a cat, Zahra ducked and dived, dodging every fatal move with fluid motion. LHe swung with such force, eventually knocking himself off balance. Taking full advantage, Zahra kicked him further back and he stumbled to keep himself on his feet. With a short run, he raised the axe in the air and hurled it down upon her. She quickly caught it in between her Sai.

Zahra dug her feet into the ground, but Memnon's strength was so great that her feet dragged in the sand. He noticed and with a sly grin, he pushed harder.

She needed to do something, if he backed her into a corner again, it would be game over.

With swift force, she raised one Sai in the air and slashed it down the centre of the axe, slicing it in half like a knife through bread. Memnon was stunned, in one hand he held a short handle and a devastating blade, and in the other, a splintered stick.

  "Useless!", he cried, but he still had those powerful fists and threw his worthless stick to the ground.

Zahra wondered how she could take this mountain down. He was almost double her height, double her size and double her weight. She couldn't rely on brute force only, to bring him down. She needed to be clever.

That's it! Having always been able to use her strength to overcome her battles she realised the only thing she had over Memnon in abundance, was her speed. She was so much faster than him. 

But for her plan to work, she needed distance between them and holding these weapons would only weigh her down. She turned towards the throne and expertly aimed her twin Sai, propelling them through the air. The steadfast Pharaoh didn't flinch as the blades flew past his throne and impaled the neck of another statue behind him.

The Pharaoh glanced at the statue, impressive aim, he thought. In the corner of his eye, he noticed Tadal face palm.

Zahra nimbly flipped over her head. One, two, three times. Her heel touched the cold stone of the outer edges of the pit. This was all the distance she could put between them, and it had to be enough. Her timing had to be perfect.

Memnon lifted his massive fist and axe and lunged at her. With impressive speed, she dashed a few steps and slid on her knees, right through Memnon's legs. Digging herself into the sand, she pivoted and launched. Before Memnon had time to turn, Zahra had propelled herself up and onto his back and gripped his neck in the crook of her arm.

She pulled with all her might, gritting her teeth. Memnon thrashed his weight around. He was so large he had no chance of catching the small cat that had attached herself to his back. With the fighting suit she wore like a second skin, there was nothing to grab hold of.

Soon, his face went grey, then blue from her grip, and his arms grew limp. Still, he thrashed until he fell to his knees and face-planted the pit.

The crowd went silent.

Victoriously, Zahra rose and stretched her arms.

The crowd erupted into a fit of ecstasy at the spectacle. There was nothing like victory to bring people to your side, such a fickle crowd.

Zahra turned to the crowd and gave them what they wanted. They were bloodthirsty thieves who fed on the physical pain of the victims of the tournament, especially those who sponsored people like Memnon.

After the crowd was satisfied, she turned to Tadal and bowed in respect. Tadal nodded his head in approval. Her gaze suddenly turned to the Pharaoh. She glared at him with a fierce wrath. Her face was battered and her chest huffed as she caught her breath.

The Pharaoh's golden prism that hung around his neck suddenly felt heavy. The golden eye on his forehead burnt at his skin. Yes, the Pharaoh now had the strongest fighter in the nation as his personal bodyguard, yet something told him this would not be as simple as it seemed.

****

Zahra waited in the palace gardens for the Pharaoh to arrive. This was to be her official ceremony to become the Pharaoh's Champion. She will swear an oath to the Pharaoh and forever be tied to him.

As she leaned against the pillar of a shaded area of the gardens. She felt the tightening of her wounds and the ache of the forming bruises in each muscle as the adrenaline of the tournament subsided.

With her arms crossed in defiance, she took in the scenery of the gardens. The high walls encased the spectacular gardens they stood in. Here the grass was green and the trees that were dotted around released a sweet, bewitching perfume.

In Egypt, there was always sand, and she felt such a feeling of release and happiness in the greenery of this garden. There was something about the feel of the thick blades of grass under her bare feet. She smiled to herself. Perhaps this oath to The Pharoah wouldn't be as bad as she thought if she got to be in these gardens.

As she looked down, she grimaced at her attire.

  "Zahra, straighten up. The Pharaoh will be coming soon," Tadal scolded her.

Glancing at him with narrow eyes she obeyed and stood up to straighten her dress. Her father had insisted that she wear something more presentable for her first presentation, as the Pharaoh's Champion. Though with the cuts and bruises, it felt pointless.

Zahra had the last laugh. Yes, on the outside she wore a long white dress that mostly hid her woman figure. But underneath this facade was her favoured fighting suit, and when she wore it she felt ready for anything. Her mother's golden jewellery adorned her wrists and upper arms. Her hair was combed and fell across her slender shoulders and down her back. Your hair is so golden, it's like the God Ra himself poured sunlight into you, Zahra winced at the memory of her mother.

Her father was all she had left.

She glanced over at the older man, who bowed at the Pharaoh now entering the gardens. She kept her face neutral, as she watched the young man walk down the steps of the palace, and into the gardens.

There was something about him that made her feel inferior. She struggled to make contact with his commanding, purple eyes.

He was the all-powerful Pharaoh. The ruler of their nation. The saviour of all she held dear.

When her father had broached the subject of the tournament, she absolutely refused. Why would she want to spend her life next to a man who made her feel weak? But her father insisted and he was the only man she would obey. Yet, even her father showered him with respect and loyalty. Perhaps it was the feeling of powerlessness that prevented her from giving herself to him. So, she resolved to make her own decisions about him.

The Pharaoh was followed by two sturdy soldiers with long spears, who stood either side of him, as he sat down on a large, ornate chair in his palace gardens.

  "Step forward, my Champion," his voice dominated.

His influence sent shivers down her spine. It took all her willpower to stop her body from shuddering. She took two steps forward, and her father stood in place next to her. The Pharaoh spoke in his authoritative tone. Reluctantly, a small part of her found it rather titillating.

Dutifully, she took a knee and bowed her head to her all-powerful ruler.

  "As my Champion, you will pledge yourself to me, forevermore."

  "I will, my Pharaoh."

  "You will devote yourself to me, as your Pharaoh and ruler."

  "I will, my Pharaoh."

  "You will heed my every command."

  "I will, my Pharaoh."

  "You will vow to protect me with your last breath."

A small grin crept over her face. For a fleeting moment, she lifted her head and made eye contact with him as she softly spoke the damning words that would surely seal her fate. "I will… My Pharaoh."

The Pharaoh narrowed his eyes at her defiant tone.

  "Very well. Now rise, as my Champion."

Zahra rose to her feet and took her first breath as Champion. A strong breeze came and blew a fresh air straight into her lungs, and soul.

****

Tadal watched his only child.

She was magnificent and beautiful. The passing years had seen her blossom from a young girl into a young woman. In her dress, she looked regal. And even in these clothes, she kept her individuality. As an infant, she refused to wear shoes, it seemed that she had to have that connection to the Earth.

He knew that she was wearing her prized fighting suit under that dress. He was her father, he knew her better than she realised. The cuts on her were barely visible, her fighting skills had dramatically increased, and he felt the same burning feeling of pride in her that he felt in his Pharaoh not so long ago.

Zahra had always been different, with her golden hair and slightly sun-kissed skin. Against the rest of the population with naturally tanned skin and inky black hair. In many ways, she was like the Pharaoh. Different, and powerful in her own right. His tri-coloured, spiky hair and infinite power made him leaps and bounds over anyone and everyone who stood in his way.

Zahra's own strength lay in her unfathomable loyalty, surprising physical power and strategic skill. Soon, she would see the same Pharaoh he saw and together, they would be a formidable team.

The Pharaoh rose to his feet and walked up the steps to the palace. The soldiers gestured for her to follow and they fell into step at the back.

Tadal watched as she ascended the steps. Now, she would be introduced to the nation as the winner of the tournament and the Pharaoh's Champion from the palace balcony.

Soon, it would be time for him to step aside and allow the next generation to move forward. He felt a catch in his throat and a tear in his eye as the doors to the palace closed. He promised his dying wife that he would do his best for their child. They had brought her up as their own, ever since he found her all those years ago.

In the Forgotten Oasis.

  ****

The Pharaoh nodded his approval and gestured for his servants to open the double doors to the balcony. As they opened, Zahra could hear the din of the crowd, eager for their Pharaoh's presence. Suddenly, a feeling of fear rooted her to the spot.

"Before we go out there, you should probably let me know your preferred name."

Zahra shuddered, something about his voice always made her off-kilter. She fought it the only way she knew.

"Why? Is Maahes not good enough for you? Do you think because I'm a woman and different to everyone else that you can make me feel inferior?", she snapped her chin away. "I beat all those men by myself, literally. With nothing but my father's support."

The Pharaoh didn't look at her as he answered the allegations that she put against him. "It means nothing to me whether you are a woman or not. I thought, that maybe you would prefer to be celebrated for who you truly are, not for who you pretended to be."

Zahra was so taken aback, that she gasped at her outburst. That was the Pharaoh she just snapped at... He could cut her down with one command. Her father always said that he was as fair as he was just and that her mouth was quicker than her reflexes. This moment proved both to be true.

The Pharaoh took a step towards the balcony doors.

  "Zahra…" she lowered her head in submission.

The Pharaoh turned and faced her.

  "My name is Zahra. It's what…", she felt a catch in her throat. "It's what my mother chose to call me."

The Pharaoh nodded. "Come, Zahra. It is time."

Maybe it was the oath she had taken to obey his every command, her feet seemed to move independently of her as she stepped towards the blinding light, and into the sound of the screaming crowd.