after taking her breakfast alone in her quarters, satsu set about her daily rituals.
tamar came to her to tend to her needs; to comb through her furs, decorate her with fresh flower scents, and be there for orders, of which there were none to be had today.
when they finished with one-another tamar was dismissed with the day's refuse: a small pile of bones that would not take long to discard.
buried among the ascendant's bedfurs was an odd little trinket that smelled like dry earth, old grass, and something sour, which itself reminded her of home: a dry husk of what could be called thorns. except upon closer examination was revealed to be a skeletal carcass of some kind of lizard, rolled in a ball, choking on its own tail.
satsu could not fathom why it had been sitting alongside her meal, yet made to pocket the thing and study it, for it was very curious.
ramesses had dismissed even his newest fellahin for these hours. he had rolled to wakefulness in the embrace of
@Kasmut, sought a meal, bathed, and now he walked in pristine tread toward the apartments of his queen.
bidding arsenio that he would see satsu, ramesses was led into her own small throne-room, where he sat and waited for the
shabti to attend her betrothed.
briefly the girl was alone with her thoughts, or as alone as she could be with arsenio at the door.
until he wasn't. and through that door came ramesses, striding proudly, led by tamar who now bowed and made herself scarce.
good morning.
satsu looked to him with warmth in her eyes, for once. her paw had gone to hide the dry creature among her bed furs but when she saw it was only ramesses come to visit, she relaxed, and drew it out.
it sat tail-to-mouth, golden and brown and quilled like a nest of barbed wire, but clearly it was once alive.
she watched him a moment, noticing the dampness to his coat. he had recently been to the onsen, then.
ramesses lay down grandly and crossed his forelegs at the ankle. "what is that ugly thing, my sweet?" he purred. he was not truly interested in it, but ramesses remained intrigued by all that satsu did.
he looked around at her well-appointed rooms.
"how does it feel to be queen?" pharaoh inquired, his teeth skimming into a sharp and charismatic smile.
i do not know. it was left with my meal this morning.
she explained.
it was an odd thing indeed. perhaps ramesses would recognize if it carried any clues upon it. so far she had only discerned
the scent of clay and grass.
it was unimportant in the grand scheme of things. tucking it softly beneath her pillow where it could be forgotten, she turned to give her attention to her fiancee.
i am not, yet, but... between the choice of queen or samurai, i think i have made the right choice.
the corners of her mouth curl.
"perhaps it wandered in here and died a fool."
ramesses had no discerning eye for whatever else the uncouth little token might mean.
satsu again demurred her place beside him; she was indeed queen ascendant, but in his estimation she was elevated at his side. they worshipped her here. they knew her as such.
"it is soon time for our wedding feast," he reminded her with a grin. "have you thought of your vows?"
in truth satsu had not thought of much beyond the war, crowfeather's injuries, or whether ramesses would come back to her.
all this time spent surrounded by servants and she had little to show for it. vows? they were not so odd for a wedding; but she did not think of herself as a wordsmith the way ramesses could be, and still hid from her own feelings on the subject of their coming marriage.
of course.
she answered quickly, her smile growing a touch.
if i told you now, what would be the point of them? you must wait for the feast.
easy lies, bashful cheeks. alone with him now, in her little room of all places.
soon she would be abandoning it all. his precious throne room - his place of love-making and personal joy - would be for her too.
satsu accepted his honeyed name. ramesses was pleased then that he had seen so righteously fit to bestow it upon her. she truly was a royal sort. he had seen her grow polished within these halls, curved and confident, commanding. curious, still.
he did not speak again of what was to come. there was little left now for pharaoh but a rampant anticipation.
"have you thought of the best way to impress our guests?" he inquired, knowing satsu to be a swift wit and as cunning as he. his eyes invited her closest thoughts.
i am sure your collection is more than enough.
she quipped.
i could train tamar to dance, that would be a sight.
she had already learned some steps from one of the mazoi that remained a mystery to satsu; it seemed only fair.
perhaps the mazoi could spar for their entertainment. it all depends on who arrives, really. what kind of people they are.
if they were warriors they would appreciate the mazoi on display - otherwise, perhaps only the fellahin on their best behavior.
have you been to a wedding before? your people - they are different from mine.
quite.
ramesses laughed. "i had the same thought."
more impressive indeed when he sent the fellahin among their wedding party in the hours that followed.
the idea of tamar dancing sent a flicker of interest through pharaoh. aside from his own queen, the maidservant had not known a man.
when that time came, he meant for it to be him.
ramesses nodded to her assessment, then to her question. "long days of feasting. dancing. at times we had a great speaker tell stories or fables. the king and queen entertained their allies and sought the best ways to gratify them. they did not retire until the early hours of the morning."
it sounded like a long party, such as the one shared with germanicus and crowfeather, but even longer than that. they would need the fellahin to gather meat for their storerooms, ample foraging, and plenty of berries - or any such things - to be gathered in time for the wedding.
some of this had been done, or was being done, by the underlings already. satsu would be sure to find tamar later and convey what extra things were required; even suss out jawahir among the corridors and sayf too, as they were often together.
we are prepared for the feasting, except for the drinking. with the season growing colder it will be hard to find fruit.
but they were in the mesa now, and between the mesa and the steppe was a swath of land worth surveying; the mazoi could do that, satsu thought.
i will send sakai, sabah, and any other of the mazoi to find substitutes. there must be things within this place that we can use.
cactus fruit, for one; agave when aged became something savory, and there were plenty of new herbs to gather.
the visitors will enjoy themselves in excess.
satsu promised.
ramesses turned a good deal more affectionate.
"my mother handled the affairs of court, day after day."
he was still. "you will do well in these as well, satsu."
he treasured her name. "perhaps later we will call your guard and your maid and go out into our land."
he shifted to his hip. "have you been to the far borders recently?"
satsu fell in place to his side, sinking softly, taking care not to lean on him. she didn't know why she wanted to touch him so badly - it wasn't like they had been without one-another for weeks, the war was behind them, they had dined and bathed and spoken daily since his return.
and yet.
i haven't gone so far as the borders. a walk would be nice.
she nods and puts aside any thought of the strange creature beneath her pillow until the night, when she'll find it once more, and wonder.
satsu was warm against him.
not for the first time did ramesses wonder if she meant to train him, to trap him — to woo him with gentle presses in one moment and spurning in the next.
he allowed himself the chaste repast of kissing just her eartip, a singular intimacy that pharaoh reserved only for her.
it was rare and selfish. some part of him hated bestowing it even now.
and yet.
he was kind to her.
not pressing her for affection,
but sharing it with her carefully.
slowly working his way through the ice around her heart, if there truly was anything there, patient and focused.
her sun.
tamar should be returning soon. there are things to plan, the fellahin to organize for the day.
if only they had someone to do this for them, satsu thought to herself - but when that work is done...
a glance away from him to the door, wondering.
shall i meet you in your room? or above.
hastily stepping around the innocuous slip of her tongue.
"meet me in my room."
so rarely did she come there.
ramesses did not know and perhaps never would that satsu had lain in his bed while he was away upon warlike activities.
his body thrummed with desire to see her framed against the sleeping-pelts — he would have them shaken out and changed before her arrival.
ramesses rose. his bow was regal.
"i shall see you there."
his gaze, as always, lingered upon her.
she had no words for him.
the look was enough to tempt her curiously forward, but she braced against the impulse.
he turned and left as swiftly as he had arrived, to do whatever it was that came to mind.
satsu, meanwhile, breathed a great sigh when he was out of earshot; but before she could step far from her door, there was
tamar.