Lion Head Mesa hanasaka

the air had gone cold within the mesa.
it howled as it whipped across the exterior of the caverns, licking the rim of stone and bellowing along the corridors.

satsu had retreated to her former quarters.
it was warm there, but the air was stale. beneath a pile of bedfurs nested the dry ouroboros; the circlet made of lizard skin she had found in her room one day.

the bedclothes smelled strongly of tamar.

belen had slipped the chains of jawahir and kasmut. she knew where the queen slept. curiosity sliced through days of unsurety and boredom. in her mind she held the education that she had been given, and wielding it, stepped over the threshold of satsu's bedroom. her glasswater eyes stared openly at the sanctified queen of akashingo. the woman was no less beautiful than the day she had first seen the royal. would belen be so lovely one day? "what will you teach me, queen?"

there was a presence at the door.

satsu thought it was merely a fellahin, gawking. perhaps jawahir, come to harass the girl who should be queen. to harangue and make her spirit feel ever smaller.

the voice that came was younger, but with a familiar fire; it was the fire that licked at satsu now and made her rise, turn, glare. her teeth a grimace — but she saw the girl there and realized her mistake.

the grimace vanished, but her eyes did narrow.

teach you? what makes you think that is my role to play? this was the girl from before — tamar's replacement! it is not wise to roam these halls alone. the queen cautioned.

she turned away.

"because your husband wants me?" belen quipped swiftly. she inched into the room, strangely empowered by the way the queen had looked at her. it was a sliver of truth in a place draped by deception. yes. she had already been hardened. taught. the fellahin had done well with her. belen looked around the majestic room. "kasmut tells me that when i have served the pharaoh, i am to be your maid as well." this provoked a lift of her lip. "but i am here now, reina. what can i learn from you?"

because your husband wants me? mere hours within akashingo, and already the girl was corrupted. if those words were meant to scald her they missed their mark.

the girl kept on talking. satsu only listened because she could not stop the sounds from flooding forth. mumbling to herself beneath the voice of the girl, and pharaoh always gets what he wants, now, of course...

what can this one learn from a queen?

satsu faced her now, regarded her with the cool indifference that she had felt after the confrontation with ramesses in the hallway. powerless, yes, but more powerful than this orphan.

you are nothing. she answered.
get out.

the calm displayed by the queen was something new, something dangerous. the stare of her eye a touch of madness, maybe. satsu felt the wash of heat to her cheeks and a coiling of something similar in her belly, and at once wanted to scream at this girl, as if that might bring tamar back to her.

belen bowed. "your majesty." but she had seen the scowl, the anger, the coldness on that exquisite face. their queen was not happy, and here she held as much power as the pharaoh. and if she could not find joy, why was it in kasmut? what about jawahir? even sayf loved his time with ramesses. but satsu did not have the same delight. the girl backed from the door as she had been taught and was gone.

the girl obeyed.
it somehow pained satsu to witness this.
not yet broken by the fellahin in entire;
she was bold, having come here directly to speak to the queen the way that she did.
demanding answers.
the girl was gone and satsu stared at the empty space by the door, letting a small smile creep upon her face.
but this she hid as she turned, back to her bed.