"But why did you not tell us about this?" Miso looked at her brother and frowned.
"Whoever killed our mother, wanted to attain her ashes. I never told you that our house was already on fire when I reached, the day our mother died. You were also inside the house, with mother holding you tightly in her embrace. You were too young to remember all this. I somehow rescued you and our mother"s half burnt body. I thought she had died due to the fire. I took her body to the old priest, who studied her face and realised she was poisoned! I feared for your life, thus took you away permanently to yellow river, under old priest"s guidence."
Tears dropped down from Miso"s eyes, while Cho hugged her lovingly.
"But who killed her?" Khufu frowned and looked at Dalilah.
"We could never find out. Your father and I tried to find all possible clues, but could not find anything." Dalilah replied, feeling helpless.
"Father knew her too?" Khufu gaped at his mother in surprise
Dalilah smiled, as if remembering the past. "Offcourse! They both shared a wonderful bond. She was like an elder sister to your father. He would often visit her, back in qing dynasty and Orfea too visited us in the new kindom many times, with her husband. Your father was a different man back then. After the incident, for many years we thought that Miso too died in the fire and we could not find Cho anywhere. Just few years back, I spotted him in the market and I found out through him, that Miso was alive."
"Then you and father must have been very happy after meeting them after so long." Khufu smiled at her mother.
"I rushed to tell it to your father in his chamber, when I found out his dirty secret. He hired prost.i.tutes for himself everyday. Our relation was already falling apart, but the day I realised his secret, I lost love for him. I never told him about Cho and Miso because he was no longer the same man."
"So father still believes that Miso died in the fire?"
Suddenly, Miso intervened in between the mother and son"s conversation. "He knows it now. That day inside the hot water spring, he learnt that I was indeed an enchantress."
Dalilah looked at her in surprise. "Was he happy to see you? Did he bless you?"
"I...I...was too angry to notice that. Since that day, I have not seen him."
Dalilah"s face saddened even more and Cho patted her lovingly on her back. "Don"t be sad my dear."
Khufu noticed, Cho"s intimate action towards his mother. "You...You..?"
"Yes son! We love each other. From the day I found out about your father"s dirty secret, Cho has been my constant support." Dalilah looked into her son"s eyes, studying them.
Khufu was stunned to hear his mother"s words. This was too much of revelation in one day, for him to handle.
Dalilah then looked at Miso and held her hands. "You were born before my eyes. When I saw you for the first time after so many years, I felt so proud. Your mother adored you and you have grown up looking exactly like her!"
Miso smiled back at Dalilah and immediately hugged her, as if she had found a mother in her. "Thank you!"
Dalilah then looked at Khufu, who stood attentively, looking at her. "The moment you were born, Orfea picked you up in her arms, she sensed something special in you. At that moment, she had decided to declare you as the righful owner."
"But if she had already declared me as the righful owner, then why was she killed? The weapon will work only for me, as per the enchantress"s wis.h.!.+" Khufu frowned in confusion and looked at Dalilah. The more facts her mother revealed, more confusion it created in his mind.
Dalilah closed her eyes, as if in deep pain. She looked at Cho, who now looked equally disturbed. "Who ever killed Orfea, actually wanted Miso"s ashes. They knew, it would not have been possible to burn Miso, if Orfea was alive. So they poisened her and burnt the entire house for Miso to die to ashes. They must have planned to use the ashes after the entire house burns down. But Orfea embraced her tightly, before dying and by that time Cho came back unexpectidely. Who ever killed her, knew that Cho had to go for a few days and also the person was close enough to be trusted by Orfea!"
"What???!!!! My mother died because of me?" Tears dropped down Miso"s eyes, she sat down on her knees over the ground, as if not having the energy to stand.