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{Excerpt} Cleopatra : A Novel by: Saara El-Arifi
Chapter One 51 BCE I bit into the flesh of the fig, its skin warmed by the heat of the sun. Charmion watched me through half-lidded eyes as I chewed. The wind tousled her linen dress and tugged the collar to reveal the sun-touched glow of her skin. For all the years of my life, Charmion had been my companion and handmaiden.