Lion Head Mesa reed

she had found a high point.

lapis gaze sharp as she looked over the expanse of akashingo. she craved attention, so why had she tucked herself away? perhaps to play the fantasy in her mind. a heart-broken grief struck princess, waiting in the tower. somebody always came for them, didn't they?

somebody would come to collect her. she knew this, she expected this.

she demanded it.

but for now she remained a statuette, perched carefully upon red stone.

somewhere in the distance rumbled thunder.

pharaoh did not come to collect her.
he had come for no reason. his days lacked purpose unless he actively created such. and yet he walked as though it all mattered note. akashingo must see his stride and know that their royal one stood proud.
he looked up. makono perched feline and regal, looking upon the flatlands. her father drew himself up nearby. he did not settle and he did not speak for a long while.
"one day you may reign here as queen."

her father was not who she expected.

it was good to see him, though, this much she could feel. his attention more valuable than any commoner or stranger.

i'd like to, she told him, some soft note of whimsy in the back of her throat. i just have to be faster than ashikaga, don't i? makono was not oblivious to the competition among her siblings. her brother most favored, her sister as eligible for the throne as herself.

yet she loathed the idea of the throne being filled.

she refused to move on from her mother's reign just yet.

"you will have to marry better than ashikaga." and that would not be up to either of them. his reign did not end until his death, and then siptah must follow.
unless treva gave him sons who ended his first.
there was no clause against the murder of a prince. princesses left their kingdoms of birth to avoid strife, only to be embroiled in another.
"but to be queen of akashingo you must marry a pharaoh."

competition reared its ugly head in makono.

her grief manifested as such.

then i will marry a pharaoh, better than any she will find. it was not said with an intent to be mean to her sister. instead it was spoken merely as if it was fact. as if she knew these things from her very soul.

he will be best at all.

lapis gaze cut sharp to look out at the mountains in the distance.

makono did not yet understand, but one day she would.
ramesses heard the insistence in her voice. "you have been at your studies. when the mourning is through you will be ready to receive visitors and perhaps go upon a journey beyond the borders, to brecheliant. it is important that you are regarded as a princess by our allies."
"i believe you and your sister should go together." he sensed makono might disagree.

and he would be right.

she did not announce her frustration just yet. instead she stewed in momentary silence, gaze staying pointed. as if she might bring down the mountain just by looking at it.

eventually it returned to the closer territories. the red stone, the meadows.

why don't we journey to different places? she did not want to journey with her sister. once more not for any sort of malice, merely for the stroke of competition that now burned like a wick. what if brecheliant thinks less because there is two princesses?

very fun figuring her out, but also sorry dad! ;;

no i love it!

ramesses shifted somewhat. "do you think the presence of two princesses will not be intimidating instead?" but he was considering. "in the mountains there is mereo, though i think you are too young to go so far." again he paused expectantly, for this aspect of makono intrigued him.
at last he sat upon his own chosen throne for the moment, keeping his eyes upon their kingdom.

perhaps, she thought. or maybe it meant they would favor one more than the other. maybe they would not look upon makono the way she deserved.

i will be old enough when i can have visitors. she told him. once more certain of this, not leaving any room for doubt in her own heart.

then i can go to mereo. she dared to offer, too blinded by her own fantasy to consider logistics. mereo has soldiers, they will respect a princess.

or she would make them.

that remained unspoken, but perhaps it was evident in the way she mimicked her father's power.

"very well, little heron." the expression that passed over his mouth was not quite a smile. "you will go to mereo. soldiers are bound to respect those who are royal."
he finally looked at makono, at how she resembled him. but her bearing was satsu's own, elegant from the first day even before her courtly training. "who will you take with you if not ashikaga?"

she felt nothing but pride. blinding never ending pride.

little heron. soon she would spread her wings and venture into other lands. to find her pharaoh — so soon!

she did not realize the scale of things.

can it be anyone?

she needed somebody who would not be so overbearing, who would not steal her spotlight.

"someone to protect you, at least. you must always travel with a guard when you leave these borders. anyone who would murder a queen would do the same to a princess. trust few, makono."
having imparted this cold wisdom to his bloodline, ramesses looked up toward birds winging through the sky. "a guard. a servant. you will not do well without either."

her ears splayed. displeased by the knowledge but knowing she must hold it close all the same.

she tried not to think about the withering of her mother too much.

who is good enough to take me then? she dared to spare a glance at her now resting father. the mazoi seemed limited and the fellahin were much too...weak, she thought.

she thought of the sesh, the priest, perhaps even sayf.

"who do you believe is good enough, makono?" there was a pause. "the roman left a soldier behind. glaukos is his name, but his name does not matter. what matters is that he is strong enough to escort you."
anyone else might think her far too young, but she was the daughter of pharaoh and samurai.
his heart was suddenly heavy with grief.

her chest puffed, but she also tucked her chin into it. a position practiced in lessons, a look meant for judgmental royals.

i want to see him first, and as if he might materialize, she looked down at the path to their perch. then i can know if he is enough. such big talk for a still small girl.

otherwise, i will pick another.

at once, she felt a near frenzy in her heart. to tear through the halls of akashingo, to tear through the flatlands entirely. as if she might find what she wanted in such a way.

she refrained.

she was born to this place. to this role. makono was very young and already she had absorbed the lessons of royalty. perhaps this birthright had been hers before her entry into the world.
"so let it be written," ramesses murmured in assurance of her first edict. "the lady lilitu is also a princess, though she is foreign and not from akashingo. she will wed prince charles, who is our prince though not of our line." would this bore her, pharaoh wondered.

she listened, intrigued by the news he shared. toes flexed in thought at the stone they laid cross over. another princess and prince, not of akashingo.

do you like them?

she did not know why she asked. perhaps for their foreign history. perhaps for the mere discussion of social topics with her father.

ramesses smirked. "i am fond of them in the way i would be fond of any other royals marrying to strengthen our claim." it was a diplomatic answer, which was to say that it was not much of an answer at all.
he pushed up from his plinth. "let us go up to say a prayer over your mother." the priest or priestess or both would be in attendance: makono might receive a blessing with him.

it could only, in the very barest way possible, be called a smile. tugging at the corner of her lips before it faded just as fast.

she understood. maybe not as deeply as her father, but she had been burdened with social roles from a young age.

okay, she agreed softly. content to fall back into a comfortable silence, no more need to boast or roar about the future. instead her demeanor would seemingly flip to the opposite. thoughtful and subdued.

her father would understand.

can fade or keep going! <3

the top of the mesa was hot. the scent of flowers only carried here in brief. maggie's long-wrapped mummy was pristine, all moisture leached from her skin and bones by the hot wind of several seasons.
satsu's own was not so beyond life.
the priest and priestess had worked over her and many trinkets with sweet-smelling flowers had been pressed beneath her wrappings and placed around her. the gifts of akashingo lay beside her head, surrounding her in a halo. 
ramesses looked down upon his queen and gave a long, low sound. "you lead our prayer to Osiris, makono."