A sturdy hand helped her step down the docks and she took in the warm air and golden horizon. The familiar scent of spices filled her nostrils. Eyes watched as people varying in different shades of brown moved to and fro some standing at stands with exotic foreign goods, others with fresh caught fish and more local fares. It was a sight she never thought she’d see again. 

    “What is this place?” Turning towards the men who had brought her to these shores, she felt emotion rise in her chest and smiled. 

    “Adulis. The port city in the Southern most part of Kush.” 

    “Ah. Busy place. I guess all port towns are like this huh?”

    “I suppose so.” 

    “Tiye.” Facing her love who emerged from the ships’s lower bunk, she felt her heart thump against her chest. 

    “Hm?”

    “We are in the right place yes?”

    “It’s not too much further out.” Pleased with her answer, he clasped hands with the captain. 

    “Thank you.” 

    “It is nothing Wangja-nim.” At that, both of them paused and a grin slowly formed on the faces of the men. 

    “No common man would have the wealth to stock our hold with as many goods as you did. Nor would they have the royal seal stamped on such fine celedon.” 

    “I…thought I kept it well hidden.”

    “Just how long have you been planning this?” She asked, bringing her eyes up to his. 

    “Long enough.” He answered, grin forming. 

    “We figured this was the rumored slave you took in your care.”

    “Her freedom has been given to her. Slave she is no more.” At that, tears welled up in her eyes and her throat grew tight. 

    “Why have you traveled all this way to see that your servant be freed? Have you no more need for her?” A strange look came over him and it sent a pain straight to her heart. 

    “The decision you’ve feared has come sarang. The choice you must make.” 

    “Don’t be foolish.” She spoke firmly, making the men around him stiffen. He, though, only stood there amongst his countrymen, eyes intense. 

    “You will come with me. To my home. You will see my brothers. My sisters. Drink of my land and enjoy her spoils. All this in thanks for having kept your promise.” 

    “Is she allowed to talk to him like that?” One of the men whispered in surprise. 

    “She’s still standing so I guess so.” 

    “Tiye…”

    “You,” She addressed the men of the ship. 

    “Take these.” Reaching up, she unraveled three or four of her gold beads, pressing them into the hand of the captain. 

    “These should enable you and your crew to have comfortable accommodations while here as well as eat a good meal. Have no fear, people from all over dwell here in Adulis. Someone from Goryeo will be here. All you have to do is look.” Smiling at them, she bowed in thanks. 

    “Under normal circumstances, I know you would not have cared one way or another for my fate. Were it not for your prince, you would not have taken on this journey. I am glad that you did. May the Gods be ever in your favor.”  The men bowed in return and bowed even lower towards their Wangja. 

    “Travel safely on your return home.”

    “You as well pyeha.” The men began to wander a ways from them and yet they stood so close together, eyes locked. 

    “The opportunity to leave was given and you didn’t take it.”

    “You should have known I wasn’t going to.” At that, he lifted his eyebrow. 

    “The moment I shared your bed I made my choice.” Reaching for his hand, she brought it to her cheek. 

    “To remain in your captivity, I will be a willing participant. It is not just my body that is in your possession Cheol-su-ah. It is my heart. My very spirit. It all belongs to you and it will not be loosed so easily.” He said not a word as he closed the distance between them, taking her lips firmly in a passionate kiss. 

    “Come dearest one.” She breathed against him, smiling against his lips as he pressed softer gentler kisses against her. 

    “Let us go.”

***

    Sandy wind whipped around them and he was glad for the scarf she’d had placed around his head. She too wore a scarf of sorts, a long burgundy orange fabric fringed with golden patterns placed over her hair, one long end wrapped across her face. The body of the horse upon which he sat was strong and shiny, the hair black and mystifying. All about them was desert, sand dunes rolling with the wind. Occasional trees and shrubs passed them but the brutal sun beat down on them. Beads of sweat dotted his hairline and slipped down his back. 

    “There.” At her voice and her finger pointing ahead, he breathed a quiet sigh of relief. It appeared a mirage, a massive fortified city ahead, surrounded by lush greenery. 

    “That is my home.” He could hear the excitement in her voice, the longing, such painful longing. He stayed quiet as they neared and at the guards that stood at the gate, his throat grew tight. They spoke in a tongue foreign to him but he watched as Tiye dismounted from her stallion. She returned the language with ease. At the arrows suddenly drawn against her, he quickly dismounted and withdrew his own. 

    “Put it down.”

    “Not a chance in hell.”

    “My love.” Turning, she lifted a hand to his bicep. 

    “Please. It’s all right.” Slowly withdrawing his weapon, he kept his gaze steely as they peered into black irises. She pulled her scarf away from her face and at once shock and disbelief fell upon their faces. They spoke something he couldn’t understand and immediately fell to their knees, hands outstretched as if she were to give them something. For the longest time, he stared at her, gaze stunned. What…what was this? 

    “Tiye…what are they…doing?” She didn’t answer yet her eyes were humored and a teasing smile formed on her plush lips. 

    “Come.” Reaching for his hand, she led him past the men who stood firm like stone, tall as giants. Skin black and smooth, just like hers. Their eyes, equally black followed him yet they spoke not a word as they resumed their post. Past the gate, a network of small dwellings and houses circled around a large deep pool of water. Women knelt by the pool, dipping gourds to the brim. Children played. Laughter sprung up. All of that activity stopped once everyone set their eyes on her. One woman dropped her gourd and it smashed against the ground, fragmented with her shock and open mouth. 

    Like a sea, the multitude of black bodies dropped to their knees, some pressing their faces against the dirt. In the same manner that of the guards outside, they stretched their hands up and out towards her as if to receive something from her. The sound of crying sounded and it took him a minute to realize that the women, some of them were crying. She knelt in front of one such woman and lifted her face, tears having run down shiny cheeks. The woman grabbed hold of her hanbok and began to sob as she pressed kisses to each cheek. 

    Pulling her head against her bosom, she cradled her close. Caught up by a strange emotion, he found he could not speak as a sharp anguished yip came from the crowd, the sound jarring and stirring the spirit. The yipping grew louder and some of the women began to sway, song on their lips. It seemed to travel through the crowd until it was a collective voice, one of worship and thanks. Pressing one last kiss to the woman’s forehead, she slowly stood. She said not a word as she took hold of his hand and led him through the parted crowd, the hands of the women slipping across her hanbok and feet. 

    They came to a corridor, massive statues standing guard on each side. In the likeness of a woman, long wings painted jade, pink and gold fell down on either side of her. Her eyes were lines with a thick gold design and her body had been painted a deep dark brown. Men clothed in white came forth, knives and arrows drawn tight in their bows. They spoke with a demanding tone. It all stopped as a woman came to push herself through the thick wall of bodyguards. Clothed much like the statue of the woman outside the corridor, her eyes were instead lined with black and her lips painted red. At the sight of Tiye, her eyes grew wide and filled with tears. She spoke something and Tiye responded, tears in her voice. The two women collided, arms wrapped around each other. The other fell against her, legs given completely out. She wept and the sound of it crushed his heart into a million pieces. 

    For the longest, Tiye didn’t say anything… only wept silently as she held onto the woman. When she turned to face him, her eyes were wet. 

    “My younger sister.” She spoke, the sound of his tongue sending relief through him. Throat tight, he gave a nod. The woman identified as her sister stood and said something else before rushing back the way she’d come. When she returned, she brought with her another woman. An older woman. Face clothed in smooth satiny black flesh, her eyes were large, brown and strong. Her cheekbones were high and prominent. Lips bare, they were full and alluring. Long thick braids traveled down her back and they were fashioned in big spikes, jutting from her head as if her very hair was itself a crown. At the sight of the woman, a sound of jubilation escaped Tiye and she ran towards her, not stopping until the arms of the woman swallowed her up.

     The two women began to cry but Tiye was louder, her emotion spilling freely and uninhibited. The scene before him brought tears to his eyes and without his control they slipped down his cheeks. The pain in his heart increased and he bit his lip as his throat filled with unshed tears. The guilt he felt…then and there…was immeasurable. He needed no assumption about her. Knowing that the woman who held her… was her mother  tore him up inside. She had been robbed of her daughter. Her sisters and sure to be brothers had been robbed of their sister. Robbed and kept in chains… in captivity by his family. Lifting eyes, he felt a chill go through him as he met the eyes of the woman who must have raised them from her weeping daughter. Though filled with tears like his, her gaze was steely and cold and most importantly, they held the most important question…Who are you? 

***

    Her warmth was one she never thought she’d feel again in this life. Set to be content by it only in her dreams, she had forgotten what it felt like to have her mother’s solid warm fragrant body pressed against hers. Even now, the familiar sweet spice of her perfume drifted into her soul. Her fingers gentle yet firm drew her face up away from her bosom. 

    “My darling child, you’ve returned to us…” Chin trembling, she spoke. 

    “Yes Mama… I have come home.”

    “Oh how I praise the gods for your return. How they have protected you my sweet child. My how you have grown.” Feeling her cheeks warm with rouge, she smiled softly as the thumbs of her mother wiped away her tears. 

    “That strange man. Who is he?” Swallowing thickly, she cleared her throat as her mother let her hands fall to her shoulders, holding them as if to protect her from him. 

    “That man has given me so much in his land. The land I was forced into.”

    “What is this land?”

    “It is known as Goryeo.” 

    “And he? Who is he in this land of Goryeo?”

    “He is the one who shall ascend to her Throne and lead his people with a just and wise hand.” Her mother was quiet for a while yet before,

    “I see.” Kissing her forehead, she smoothed back the braids from her face. 

    “Let’s get you clean and out of those strange clothes. We shall talk once you have done so.” 

    “Mama… he is no threat to you or our people. Please don’t let any harm come to him.” Clucking her tongue, she pursed her lips as servant women came to take her. 

    “Anat, please see to it that this man is treated as an esteemed guest. Provide him a bath and clothes should he want them. Have him meet my mother and I later this evening.”

    “Yes my lady.” Glancing back at him, she felt her heart pound. He looked terrified. Even though he was trying to appear put together. She could see it. The fear that spread across his features at her retreating form. 

    “Tiye…”

    “They won’t harm you my love. Go with them.” She gave a nod of reassurance and soon disappeared from his sight.