“My queen, I have come with this Roman to see that his bounty is paid, as was promised by the illustrious supreme chancellor. The Roman has served us well. He has completed his commission. It is now time for us to honor our part of the agreement.”
Ganymedes leaned over the back of the chair and whispered something into the queen’s ear, all the while looking at Lucius.
When the eunuch had finished, the queen blinked once, as if to steady herself, and then said. “We have reconsidered our position in the matter. This Roman has carried his sword in the defense of our pretender sister and has slain many of our followers. He is, therefore, our enemy. He is to be removed from our presence and beheaded at once. His body is to be fed to the dogs. His head is to be thrown over the palace walls that the Romans there might see his fate and tremble at our might. We charge you, Captain, to see that it is done.”
Lucius had never expected Ganymedes to keep his end of the bargain, but he had not expected this. He glanced at Demetrius as if he might have to break away from the Alexandrian captain and try to escape, but Demetrius did not appear in any way ready to carry out the queen’s orders.
“Why, Great One?” Demetrius said simply. This caused a stir among the others in the room who were used to the queen’s wishes being fulfilled without hesitation. But this did not perturb him, and he went on. “Why must we lower ourselves to the deceptive ways of the Romans? We made an oath to this man. We have the means to fulfill it. Is that not the way of great leaders, to honor their word, and acknowledge the sacrifices of those who have served them?”
Arsinoe looked shocked by his rebuttal and Ganymedes stepped forward in anger.
“How dare you speak to Her Majesty in this fashion?” the Supreme Chancellor demanded. “You will carry out her orders, at once! You will do everything she has commanded, and you will report back here when it is done! Is that clear, Captain?”
Demetrius said nothing, but looked back at the eunuch in defiance.
“Your queen is waiting for an answer, Captain!” Ganymedes said, visibly exacerbated. He snapped his fingers and the two giant bodyguards approached to flank him, each cradling a massive curved sword. “And I’d advise you to consider your next words very carefully, Captain.”
“I have considered them,” Demetrius finally said. “I have been considering them for a long time. Too long, in fact.”
Lucius was calculating how they might fare, Demetrius's dexterity and his bandaged sword arm, up against the two well-armed giants. But, again, Demetrius did not move. He appeared completely collected as he stared down the scowling eunuch. Then Lucius saw him make eye contact with the bodyguards. A simple nod was the only gesture he made, and the two giants nodded back. The realization of what was happening flashed across Ganymedes's face just as each guard grabbed one of the eunuch’s feeble shoulders with a meaty hand.
"Treason!" Ganymedes shouted, eyeing the brutes with terror. "It's treason, Your Majesty! Guards, help! To the queen! To the queen!"
The doors burst open, and a flood of royal guards in white tunics and polished armor rushed into the room. Their swords were drawn and their faces fierce, as if they had fully expected to join a melee in progress.
"Your captain is a traitor!" Ganymedes cried at them. "Save me, and save your queen!"
But the soldiers did not respond to the order. Instead, they took up positions around the queen as if to guard her, and then their officer approached and saluted Demetrius.
"Reporting as ordered, Captain," the officer said.
"As ordered?" Ganymedes replied incredulously as he struggled beneath the iron grip of the bodyguards. "He didn't summon you in here, you fool! I did! Now arrest him, at once, and have your men deal with these beasts before they tear me in two!"
"Your orders, Captain?" The officer said, not even glancing in the struggling eunuch's direction. "We can't castrate him, sir. So, should we have this camel's turd skinned alive?"
At this, Ganymedes's face turned as white as his supreme chancellor's robe. His eyes looked across the room at Demetrius and then at the queen. "Please. Please, no! Your Majesty! Captain!" His eyes moved around the room looking for someone, anyone, who might save him from such a fate. Then he met Lucius's amused eyes. A look of hatred flashed across the eunuch's face at first, but then he assumed a piteous look toward even the Roman.
Lucius just laughed. "If you're looking for a man with no Egyptian blood to carry out this task, I'll gladly volunteer. Of course, my sword arm is a little weak right now, so it might take a good long while to get the job done."
Ganymedes’s eyes went wide with fear.
Demetrius smiled. "That was not the commission I had in mind, Centurion."
The captain then approached the royal throne.
“My lord the supreme chancellor will be taken into custody,” he said, eyeing the restrained eunuch. “Others will decide his fate. His devil’s tongue will no longer preside over this court.”
Ganymedes’s expression indicated that he was uncertain whether this was a better sentence than the one the officer had suggested for him.
“You have no authority to make such a -” he started to say, but was silenced by a single venomous look from Demetrius.
Demetrius then turned his attention to the queen, who was still seated, surrounded by the royal guard, and looking quite uncertain about the events that had just transpired.
“My lady,” Demetrius said cordially, before bowing and holding out a hand for her to take.
Visibly breathing a sigh of relief, the queen smiled at him, then took his hand in hers and rose from her seat. “Oh, my loyal Demetrius, bless the gods that I have a servant like you to protect me from such serpents lurking within my court.” She pointed to the supreme chancellor with an upturned nose as if he were now some repulsive, unsightly creature. “You may have that foul wretch put to death at once.”
Demetrius did not respond to the order as she had expected, and his cordial smile did not change as he locked eyes with her. She seemed to shudder under the stare, as if she saw something there that only she could discern. The many years they had spent together, as childhood playmates, as teasing youths, and now as queen and captain, had given her the cognizance to realize when Demetrius was being genuinely amiable, and when he was extending courtesies merely out of propriety.
“His fate is not for you to decide, my lady.”
“My lady?” She replied in an annoyed tone. “You are addressing your queen, Demetrius!”
As Arsinoe suddenly comprehended the meaning of the inappropriate address, her expression faded from that of haughty importance to that of frail dependence. The virulence left her eyes as her would-be kingdom and all of her aspirations of greatness evaporated before them.
“Lieutenant,” Demetrius called to the officer, never taking his eyes from Arsinoe. “You will take my lady Arsinoe into custody. She is not to be harmed, and every reasonable convenience is to be afforded her. But you will no longer obey her orders regarding any other matter.”
“Yes, Captain,” the officer replied, and then moved to take command of the guards surrounding the former queen.
“Is that how it must be then, Demetrius, my old friend?” she asked in a hopeless tone.
“You have left me with little choice, my lady.”
“This crocodile is responsible!” She gestured to Ganymedes. “He advised me poorly from the start. I can change, Demetrius. I can be their queen. I can lead our people to greatness, just as we have dreamed all these years, as you and I dreamed as children.”
“I fervently believe that someday we will find such a leader.” It appeared to pain Demetrius to speak each word. “But you are not the one, Arsinoe. I am sorry.”
Her face went blank, and then she swayed and held her temples as if she might faint.
“I wish to retire to my chambers,” she said feebly, reaching to the officer for support. “I am not well.”