Rosewater Oasis ii

life in vahanet, as meryet had come to discover, was simple. it was the easiest thing she'd ever done. organization and escorting and cleaning and a surprising amount of standing in hallways while pharaoh spoke with people of higher caliber than she. work was work, always, but somehow, she didn't seem to mind her lot in the world of @Samirseti. it felt almost as though she had a real place in it.

standing guard of the king was possibly her favorite. the quiet commiseration in the sleepy afternoons, sparing glances over shoulders. she reveled in the attention it brought her when they were the only two people around.

like now.

meryet sat adjacent to her pharaoh, watching him eat a lunch that she'd plucked from the cache for him — a snowshoe hare, skinned and prepped with nothing but tooth and claw. she was nothing if not dedicated to detail.

she was silent, but she captured his gaze for a lingering moment and smiled.

you take great care in serving me, he muses with an indulgent voice.

gilded eyes trace the line of her jaw, the soft curve of her smile. he wonders, absently, if she enjoys this—if it is merely duty, or if there is something more curling beneath her ribs.

he swallows, licking a speck of crimson from his lips. then, he takes a piece of the hare between his teeth, holding it for her.

come, he invites, eyes gleaming. eat with me.