Greatwater Lake eighty-first

the war-man @Mesen-ka was henceforth sent to the woman @Zharille.

a small party of bristled guards and servants accompanied the pair of men; the priest called out when the lake was in sight.

"akashingo answers the request of the lake."

Mesen-ka should have seen this coming. He was told many of times by Rashepses to wed. So, he will fulfill his promise. He sets out with Erpa-ha Senmut not long after his brother spoke with him. Mesen-ka should have seen this coming. The King's excitement was to be his own, and the kingsguard tried to make it so. So, now why? Why is he here, blindsided?
Kingsguard raises his chest and takes in the lake that is fed by endless channels of water. It's nothing like Akashingo. How does she relate to the mesa and the desert? How did this lake woman come to relate to them? He hopes she relates to him now, because that is all there is to hope for. To make himself look like gold, and imposing. Like the kingsguard he is, because he is. There is nothing to do but wait in an eerie stillness. 

this time when they came she was not alone.

the mingled scent of zharille with kaxwaan and the blood of the meals they'd shared now lingered at the lakeside.

when the desert snake appeared zharille watched from among the trees; she saw the warriors, the servant thief-dogs, and a burly man who appeared to stand apart.

as she made herself visible to them she rumbled, deep and throaty and saurian, with her focus on the erpa-ha.

cameo and mild pp of Zharille, hope this is ok, let me know if not!

editing to add: he can be skipped

he enjoys his dance with the ogre woman and wonders if they couldn't continue their wild gambol until dark. it is rare that he finds anyone willing to entertain his artless fancies.

but the long, sustained note of a call sets his hair on end. displeasure finds kaxwaan's face a rough network of wrinkles, like a xylograph gouged from wood.

but this expression is intense as it is fleeting. he is his customary self -- prowling and unreadable -- as she peels away from him and steps out into the dying sunlight. he sees two men flanked by footsoldiers, one red and one golden.

the reptilian brain seethes. his thoughts form a living, fluid lattice, their scaled sides reflecting darkling spades of light.

"the pharaoh of the Red Land sends a husband for you in the kingsguard, mesen-ka, protector of the Divine Consort."

a powerful man of rank. he expected zharille to be pleased.

but the bright flash of verdant eye did not miss the frost-eaten knight newly flanking the lake's monster queen. the sight of them together thinned his lips into a firm line.

animals bred. kingdoms dictated.

"if the lake is to be held, you will accept mesen-ka as your husband and accept the education of any said children inside the halls of akashingo."

now he was silent. the terms must hold. he did not look at her own fresh helpmeet.

Another man is with this woman. He sees this and finds the muscles in his brows attempting to tense. While he does not look at the erpa-ha, he does not need to. Priest Senmut gives it no notice, so he does not need to either. Mesen-ka only need to look upon Zharille, and so he does. Zharille of Greatwater Lake is an amazonian. Tall, muscular, with a hickory mane and goldenrod eyes. A sandrift band is wrapped around her back. He pays attention, just as he does to how she stalks with her focus upon the priest, and not him.

The man prowling is large. Clearly, Mesen-ka is not far from her mark of tastes. "Look upon me, Zharille. Do I meet your standards?"

their voices break the stillness of the lake, and something avian launches to flight only to crash and slide far from the bank where the wolves hold their discussion.
zharille appears distracted by this. she looks to her man, then back to the snake and the creature who he brings.

even if zharille was pleased to have another man, she does not show it. rather, she takes the words of senmut and digests them; stalking closer to where they wait.

the mazoi of their party appear tense.
zharille huffs.

pharaoh not come himself? her teeth catch on her lip and flash. she did not know the make-up of akashingo any longer.

she glares at the offered man.
is this the best you can offer?

this cur! senmut was still. "mesen-ka is pharaoh's answer to you."

he wanted her cleared from the lake, gone before she had a chance to breed more brats. the mazoi stood firmer now, narrowing their eyes.

"your response, zharille?" she had always been impatient before, he did not offer her time to think now. he too needed a rejoinder with which to return to the red palace.

He's still and unfathomably patient for what is happening. Is this her response now? They have traveled this far, and Mesen-ka's now ready to turn away if this does not work. His self-worth is unquestioned, and he has business, duty, with his King.

Perhaps this will not work if she mingles with men of cowardice and can not look upon himself. These are the thoughts he knows he should be thinking, at least.

mesen-ka was the name of this one, offered up like cattle to the ogre.
senmut was eager for an answer; the man was observed, studied. zharille drew her eye away from the serpent to look over mesen-ka properly — like a butcher gone to market, witnessing the fat upon the body and the muscle, the way his weight is placed, his height, and signs of injury.

a rumble in her throat catches between her teeth as she strides close, then around the sphinx. heavy breaths follow as she inspects for trickery, and then she draws away from the offering and looks to senmut once more.
he will stay.
that will be answer enough.

mesen-ka needed to prove he could work beneath zharille's command. was he strong enough? was he obedient? was he merely a spy hoping to report her weaknesses back to the desert-people? if senmut thought the woman was so bestial that she was stupid, he would be proven wrong.
if akashingo hoped to use her womb in exchange for the lake, zharille would make sure they deserved it.

go, little man.
her rumbling eases as she draws away, towards the spectre that is the waiting kaxwaan.

the summons, accepted. senmut dipped his head and looked toward mesen-ka. "stay with her often. you are needed to be present at all times, for the moment your wife has need of you."

emphasis on the bond. the lake-woman did not need to be dragged into another discourse about it, save she comprehended that from this moment forward, matrimony tied she and akashingo together.

he backed some lax steps, half-turning as his emerald eyes slid to the shadow-man standing in watch.

Her decision is no. He has now concluded this much, and prepares for the journey back to the kingdom. Her eyes upon him mean nothing, and she has chosen the man for her season. It is then that he hears the voice of the feral woman, and she says what he least expects.

It is within these moments that kingsguard falls to answer his priest before all else. "Of course. I thank you for your escort, Erpa-ha. I would not have found my way without you. Tell Him I have made it safe." Then, "Call upon me for the palace at any time, Erpa-ha Senmut, and I will come," he swears. A passionate promise. Soon, he sees again his sworn woman, and he her sworn man. Mesen-ka will stay– against whatever odds lie ahead.