Lion Head Mesa lotus

she was busy, truthfully.

her schedule had shifted grandly from lessons of an amiirad to that of crown prince. her days busy as she worked alongside sayf with thoughts of the meadow and wrapping up any diplomatic festivities that needed her attention here in akashingo.

but soon she would be destined for mereo.

it was late into the night. misty and chilled, not in her rooms.

instead she stood atop the mesa. the place news had broke with her father, her brother's abandonment and all the things she would pick up in his place. a nearby fellahin accompanied her as usual, but she beckoned the servant closer. bending her muzzle near to the ear of her attendant.

word would be sent at once by the fellahin in the search for @Nazli.

makono had a million great needs of her.

A quick-bodied fellahin came bounding down the hall to where she worked, issuing an order of summons, to which Nazli was meant to follow without question. She had been half finished a task and the fellahin agreed to finish it for her, and prompted her to move quickly; the princess waited.

It had been some time since Nazli had been summoned in such a way, and with the onset of the party and then the ritual, and the resulting chaos of being needed in the palace for cleaning and the like, Nazli was not expecting to be called forth. She moved quickly to find the girl and drew up behind her, sucking in a quick breath so as to steady her racing heart.

Divine one, she murmurs, crouching there in wait for orders.

her eyes turned to look through the mist.

warm in the chilled night. bedazzled by the fine droplets of the mist. the both of them! makono motioned gently for the crouched form of nazli to rise.

the world was silent at this hour.

i am crown prince now. she breathed these words, shoulders setting as she said so.

i am meant to return to mereo soon. this time for a soldier's training.

her gaze moved away from nazli, turned towards the mountains in the distance. only where she knew they should be, obscured by the mist and shadows.

She waited and Makono spoke, confirming almost all that Senmut had said, which was a blessing as much as it was a steep change, and therefore frightening. Makono had more power now than ever before, and it was destined only to grow! Nazli was proud, in so far as she could be proud. She was a maidservant, not something of great value to a crown prince.

A soldier's training. I am sure you will learn quickly, and -- and maybe even out-do Germanicus himself. She lavished praise where maybe it was not welcome, unsure of how to speak to her friend now that she was even further above her; but she hoped Makono heard the pride in her voice.

out-do germanicus.

for a moment it felt like there was no other option. that she must learn until she was better than the eagle himself. nazli's pride was not lost upon the new crown prince.

but how long would such a task take?

it brought her to one the more vital things she needed to know of her lilac. a matter that needed to be sorted now, no later.

say you will come with once more,

she could demand it, she could push nazli's hand into accepting. she could leave no other decision to the fellahin!

but there was kindness in framing it this way, more questioning and longing than an outright demand.

Senmut had been right to worry, and now that the word was spoken Nazli thought of the trinket he had gifted her, and warmed to it. She hid her feeling from her face before the crown prince, and instead became her usual yammering, shy self.

If you wish it, of course! I serve you, divine one. Her head was bowed again. There was no fighting against the will of the divine and Nazli was not about to start rebelling now, especially when it was her dear friend who asked.

I am your eyes and ears, always.

she shivered with a wave of relief, with the kiss of the cold air.

i know, and she spoke it full of warmth. perhaps some hint of praise. her treasured lilac had never disappointed her.

not once had she ever felt truly incapable of calling upon the fellahin.

you being my eyes and ears will be twice as important now. i am there above the ranking that i was last time. they knew this. they both knew this and still she vocalized it, as if every beating moment needed to be solidified.

and there was a moment, where she looked softer in the face. not hardened by Ma'at or the Apis Bull, not the amiirad who had offered the sacrifice.

did you see him before he left?

exiled.

she could not bring herself to speak his name in this way.

The princess was glad, Nazli could see it even before the look crossed her features. For a moment it was like they were sisters again; but never were they connected by blood, no matter what Jawahir claimed of the fellahin's parentage. Still, they were close enough for a moment - as they had been during their first trip to Mereo.

Did you see him before he left? The princess asked.
See -- oh, she did not know at first of whom the crown prince spoke, and then thought to herself about it. No, your grace. I was meant to... Your father asked me to be available to him, and... I was so busy, I thought I would wait until after the nuptials to start.

It was too late now, and Nazli suddenly understood that she'd failed, in some regard. I am sorry.

no, her tongue pushed against the back of her teeth.

you have nothing to apologize for here. do you understand?

she had not forgotten that her father wished to give nazli to siptah. as if her lilac was nothing more than a trinket. makono had...put so much into her. seen so much!

something in her darkened and soured. she once more turned her gaze out over the land, instead of over the fellahin.

Nazli heard, and gave a slow nod of understanding. When she glanced fleetingly to Makono she found their eyes were not upon her now, but afield. She looked as if she contained a storm, and maybe that was what she'd summoned with the sacrifice of the horse; those blue eyes were so dark, now.

She did not know if it was right to pry, or to break the quiet. Instead she lingers there and waits for dismissal - or to hear what is on her mind, whichever comes first.

she could speak such sour things.

she could turn nazli into a dagger dipped in poison against those she wished, but nazli was not an assassin. or anything of such an idea.

makono treasured her as she was.

you have been so busy. go. rest, be well.

she ordered with a softness, even if she would not be budging from her own position.

Once the order is given she bows carefully, and slides her way back, to drift among the shadowed halls to find herself respite. Should the princess have need of her Nazli would be easily found.