the wellspring is ice cold and within it she sinks, bobbing like an apple, watching her breath plume and shimmer gold.
"shabti woman,"
wine dark eyes; teething caresses down her throat. the press of stone across the small of her back.
"regina -"
her shoulders arch and a sigh a moan a cry as -
dawn alights akashingo's ocherous steppes, creeping it's way down the spillway of the catacombs to trace paleolitic shapes upon the walls.
in her quarters satsu wakes while the dream lifts, and only @Arsenio is privy to the sight.

The woman dreamed, but the guard did not stir from his post.

Even when the dreams took over her, soft noises slipping from her muzzle into the bedchamber, Arsenio only stood with a rigid expression and stiff frame. Beneath the stony exterior, the misthofóros wondered what the Pharaoh would think if he could hear the sweet breaths fall from his queen’s lips as she rested, if he dared to think of what her dreams might betray to the man who watched outside her bed space.

When the queen woke, Arsenio still did not stir. A gentle smile curved the edges of his lips, however, and he hummed a quiet tune into the echoing chambers.

dizzy, hot, grasping for something among her bed furs, though she knows not what, until she is properly awake. it feels as though she has not slept - the dream leaves her cheeks sakura bright.
as satsu draws from the bed and tries to stand her legs feel too soft. she sinks in to the furs again and sighs, grasping at the bits of dream she can, but it is all fleeting.
when she rises again she carefully attends to her coat. off to one side of the bedspread is a collection of flowers left by tamar, and these she picks through, pressing meadowfoam against the fur if her neck and throat.
it revives something for her, and as satsu turns to the door she is smiling - until she takes notice of the guard, that is.

The guard heard the queen shuffling from her bed, rising so that she might step into her own wakefulness and away from the dream that had filled her mind. Arsenio continued to hum softly, quietly so that she would not hear unless she turned her ears to listen. He thought of the maidservant Tamar for only a moment, wondering what it was that the fiery autumn maid dreamed of in her most peaceful slumbers.

When the queen did not make as much noise, Arsenio turned his head slightly so that he could peer inside with one cold eye.

The Greek man smiled, toothy and easygoing.

All is well, vasílissa Sátsou, Arsenio assured her, the voice of a ruffian sounding throughout the chamber around him. Love is in the air. The misthofóros smiled knowingly but did not press the matter further. The striking auburn wolf waited to see if the queen would speak.

the blush diminished slowly; her smile effectively evaporated when her eyes beheld the rufous man.
she moved to step away from him - hearing his comment, looking back with a pinched expression.
had she heard that right?
where is that girl, tamar. i should not be left waiting on her. she tried to sound put off, barbed, but could not feign haughtiness if her life depended on it.
satsu looked along the corridor so as not to watch the man's face, though she felt his eyes and it did not remedy the feeling in her belly.

At once, the queen became cold to him. She asked for the maid woman Tamar, saying that it did not suit her to be kept waiting on a servant girl. Arsenio did not stir, but his pinched gaze was moved from her chamber to the long stretch of stone hall on the outside, where he sat.

I do not know, vasílissa Sátsou. Tamar could be gathering flowers, berries, boughs of fragranced leaves. The ypirétria is always seeking to tend to the lady Satsu, the misthofóros answered her at once, his tone free of any chipper, lilting suggestion. Arsenio knew better than to test the patience of the ruler’s betrothed. To the Pharaoh, he was nothing more than a simple Greek seeking to provide a home for his family.

You want for me to find her? Arsenio asked of the queen.

he was quick and honest.
satsu turned her ear to his voice and had to stop herself from doing more. what she had dreamed was a haze now, she knew there had been faces and voices among other things, but could not tell if his was among them.
—seeking to tend to the lady satsu...
the woman swallowed thickly.
tamar could have been anywhere; she had gone off to sleep in her own alcove at some point during the night, and now perhaps was hard at work.
no. she sharply answered.
a hesitation.
you may walk with me.
she began to move, but did not know where to go first. the wellspring came to mind for the wrong reasons.

There was a part of him that was disappointed not to be sent to fetch the autumn maid. The Greek could just picture the look on the woman’s face as he strolled into approach and beckoned her to follow him back to the queen. Tamar could not have avoided him then, perhaps.

Satsu made a different choice. The lady queen stated that Arsenio could walk with her. This surprised him, only because the woman had seemed quite disinterested in his presence after learning that she did not have much of a say regarding where he went. The misthofóros had been mindful to remain just in the edge of her gaze, quiet and watchful, but unobtrusive.

Very well, whenever you are ready, the auburn wolf agreed with a small nod. Arsenio stretched his torso and legs outward, feeling the pull of his muscles beneath his coat. It would be good to walk with Satsu for a while. Arsenio had begun to fear that he might grow fat in Akashingo.

together they traversed the halls in silence.
after a few moments, and feeling that arsenio's eyes were lingering upon her as she walked, satsu spoke.
what was it that possessed you to accept this.. assignment, to protect me?
it was worth asking. satsu did not appreciate the forward manner of the man nor the fact he had been chosen by the rōnin rather than her fiancee, or even herself.
more importantly, she disliked the tension in the air, even if it was likely one-sided.
i would like to know who it is that watches my chambers.
and dares witness me dream.

The woman was curious about him. Curiosities did not lead to anything good, especially when the guard was spending his free time trying to pry his way into the autumn maid’s heart, fool the Pharaoh, and protect a high-profile queen under time of war. Arsenio did not wish to answer her question, only to plod on in miserable silence.

Ah, I am a simple man. I come from a small fisherman’s village where boys did not learn much more than to fight and swim and to grow strong, the Greek told her. His voice was steady, he kept his eyes on the path at their front, but he was careful about the information that was given to the queen. The Roman soldier wanted her protected, claimed that she had no part in this war of fiends, but what was the woman Satsu really like?

War finds many of us, vasílissa Sátsou. I fought in my first war when I was a yearling. I watched my brothers die around me. My second war followed six months after, and the third a year after that. I know very little more than fighting.

When the cold blue of his eyes returned to the slender features of the queen’s face, it was with a hardened glint. Arsenio smiled sharply.

And I am good at what I do.

the man spoke openly about his origins.
satsu slowed and then turned to regard him as arsenio boasted, but it was not pride she heard, or even hurt. she studied the heft of his body with a glance and her mind drifted.
he spoke of brothers dying, which brought a frown to her face.
the gregarious mannerisms did not fit well with the image he tried to paint of himself: this lowly fisherman's son, somehow exalted, made a warrior, made to fight.
warriors were nobles born to a daimyo, so far as satsu knew. the loss he spoke of kept her from deeply studying whatever else he said, though.
i had brothers. she said softly.
her gaze was dark, but she said no more about them, and turned around to continue winding her way through the catacombs and up, towards the daylight outside.
it was strange; she tried to think of their faces and couldn't quite fashion them in her mind. she saw arsenio, germanicus, and even ramesses lined up together instead, as if to welcome their execution as her kin had.
it was sobering.

The queen stated that she had brothers, though her shift in demeanor suggested that they were no longer apart of their mortal realm.

Arsenio smiled swiftly at her. The fool’s grin had become easier and easier to produce.

Not all peasant boys are fortunate to be touched by the Gods. Elysium is for the proven.

The Greek man believed that he might wear her down with his words, if he continued to prattle about a past that never existed. Her silence was invitation enough. The auburn wolf continued his pace beside her, eyes fixed on the path ahead, but he stepped into an easy gait. The chill of autumn on his fur was pleasant.

We all must die one day. It is what we do with the life we have, hm? The Gods granted me a boon. A boy who dreamed of nothing but fish and sunshine, can you imagine? The Greek laughed and shook his head. Perhaps it is those of us who come from humble origins that have the most to prove, what do you think, vasílissa Sátsou?

his voice filled the space, echoing along the hallway or within the sloping stairway, not loud enough to disturb any of ramesses' collection should they take notice - but too loud for satsu, who remained silent.
while she had wanted to get to know the man - this watcher - a little more, now she found his voice was like a river which flowed and flowed. it was her own fault for prompting him, she thought.
what did she care for his gods or his view of the world? he seemed as simple as any other common folk who worked the han.
i think i will make a visit to my orchard, she declared.
the trees there were old and dry, unlikely to carry any fruit, but it had served as her hideaway before.
perhaps tamar is there. tending the plants, or tidying the space for later use in the day, it did not matter.
onward then, as if the guard were no longer present.

It seemed the questions had died away. The queen did not ask any further questions about his past, about why he took the job to protect her. Arsenio was pleased with himself. The cheery grin had settled into a pleasant smirk upon his face. The twitch of his whiskers was the only show of it. If the lady should look at him and see such an expression, it could likely be attributed to his brazenness.

At least he was making good impressions on the Akashingo natives.

Yes, the orchard. The smell of fruit will be very nice, vasílissa Sátsou, Arsenio agreed with her warmly. The Greek man would not speak again for some time, allowing her to return to her silent pondering without interruption. 


Arsenio's mind was on Tamar.