Durin entered Yuki's room and she crossed her arms in defiance.
He looked at the frightened young women around him.
"Go back to the harem. You don't have to serve Queen Ra anymore."
They ran off, too frightened to notice Yuki's annoyed face. As soon as the last of them disappeared through the door, Yuki turned angrily to Durin.
"You sent your mistresses to serve your wife? That's... Disgusting!"
He looked puzzled.
"Mistresses?"
"What do women who live in a harem do?"
He shook his head.
"I didn't come here to discuss our customs with you, Yuki! I'm here to ask you to control yourself, for two weeks, until we can file for divorce, not embarrass me by dating Tykar under the same roof as me!"
"You mean that away from here I can date Tykar?"
"Yes!"
They were shouting and Yuki turned to the large balcony of her room. That 'yes' indicated that Durin had no feelings for her. Yuki couldn't understand his anguish, or even his discomfort, at seeing this reality. To be fair, Durin had never promised her anything. He never even hinted that he might have any feelings for her. If any part of her harbored that hope, it wasn't Durin's fault.
"I'm sorry, Durin. I... I didn't mean to embarrass you. At no time did Tykar and I, we didn't..."
"You don't have to explain anything to me, Yuki." He said, sounding sorry for shouting. "But watch out for my brother. Tykar is... Dangerous."
"He's your brother... But I've heard you say he's your cousin..."
"He's both. Long story."
Yuki turned to Durin.
"Do you consider him your rival?"
Durin thought for a moment.
"He's not evil. But he's not just a rival, Yuki. He's the only man in Mahagah who can replace me on the Pharaoh's throne and that kind of power frustration turns men into animals."
"He doesn't seem ambitious."
"Wouldn't you want something that would be at your disposal with just the elimination of one obstacle?" Durin answered with a rhetorical question. "Perhaps he doesn't yet know that he desires the power that Pharaoh's throne makes available to those who sit on it today. But he will desire that glory very soon."
Yuki remembered Tykar's warnings. Did he know who had taken part in the ritual that had given birth to Selytha?
"I need to tell you something, Durin."
"No. You don't have to. I don't want to know your secrets, Yuki. I don't want to get into a relationship with you, not even a friendly one. I'll need you to go back to Michigan and take care of my business. I trust only you for that."
"I can do that from here."
He looked surprised at Yuki.
"We agreed we'd get divorced in two weeks."
"I'm not asking for more time, Durin. I don't need to leave this country to keep working for you."
Durin didn't understand.
"Why do you want to stay here?"
Yuki remembered that he still didn't know about Selytha.
"It was about the reason I have for staying that I wanted to talk to you."
"No, Yuki. I really don't care. You do what you think is best, but to look after my companies, I need you to be a person who will live near my businesses."
Yuki took a deep breath.
"If that's how you wish it, Your Highness." She said and bowed debauchedly.
Durin smiled.
"You're beautiful when you try to be funny. I've missed that in you lately."
"After you asked me to marry you, I tried to look like a decent wife."
"You did a good job."
"What are you going to tell your people? That we made a mistake and decided to go our separate ways?"
"I'm going to tell the truth, Yuki. I'm going to say that I was rash when I asked you to marry me, because I didn't know that when I arrived in Mahagah, I'd find the woman I love waiting for me. People love Cinderella stories and my love will make them forget this little slip-up by their new Pharaoh, before they remember your name."
"But that's not true. You haven't fallen in love."
"No. But the old Farida... She knows our customs and would be an... easier choice, since these people need to see someone with that title by my side."
"You wouldn't have to go out of your way to win her over and she already knows how to behave at any event where her Pharaoh needs her company. A wise choice."
"Yes. And you forgot to mention that she's a beautiful woman and with my harem, I get to live the best of married life, enjoy beautiful women and I don't have to put any effort into it. I'm a lucky man, don't you think?"
"Is she blonde?" Yuki asked, looking at her black hair in the reflection of the balcony glass.
"Yes. Why?"
"You're only interested in blonde women."
Durin frowned.
"That's not true."
Yuki stared into his blue eyes.
"Tell me about a woman you've dated who wasn't blonde." She challenged with an amused look.
"You!"
"But we're not boyfriend and girlfriend. Durin! You never considered me for a girlfriend."
"That wasn't because of the color of your hair, Yuki."
"No?"
Durin looked surprised at Yuki.
"So... All this time... You believed that your hair was the reason you didn't get an invitation to go out? Yuki! That's offensive!"
"You didn't tell me about your other reasons."
"I didn't... Why? Did you wish I'd asked you out?"
"Maybe."
"Yuki... You've been working for me for two years and you became my assistant after three months working for the company. You have access to my expenses and the places where I spend money. And knowing that, you should know that I only go out with women who are willing to do so in exchange for expensive gifts. You're not like that. I've never asked you out for two reasons and one of them is the respect I feel for you."
Yuki turned red. Those words were almost a declaration of love.
"And another reason..."
Durin opened his mouth to speak, but held back and approached Yuki and lightly touched her cheek.
"I don't think I should talk about this with you, snowflake."
Yuki shied away from that contact. For a second, she felt as if the sun had invaded her entire body through that gentle touch.
"Tykar calls me that too. What does that mean?"
Durin smiled and shoved his hands into his trouser pockets.
"So Tykar knows." He said thoughtfully and looked Yuki in the eye. "Rest, wife Ra. We'll talk about our divorce tomorrow."
"I'll look forward to it."
Durin went to his own room.