Lion Head Mesa Orion aims and shoots his arrows oh so far (wp)

No, of course, it was absurd, all of it! The party continued in full swing and there were enough attendants to help those in need, so of course Nazli was not always there, and she did not look poorly for it.

The sound disrupted what little grasp she had on normalcy for the moment, and when the hem sought to lead her away from the strangeness of it, her feet readily moved. She felt the ache of each step as she hurried with him, ducking around corners and dodging guests deftly, until they were somewhere else.

It smelled of incense here. It was much quieter, practically undisturbed by the milling guests. They had arrived in such a rush that Nazli was dizzy and still, she was laughing.

These people! She was giddy. I thought the mourning was too much, but this is the opposite. Everyone is... So happy, and there are so many of them! So many strangers in these halls now, behaving in all manner of ways! But why not? Akashingo had been through a change.

She looked to Senmut as the laughter faded from her. Wasn't the queen -- wasn't it all so lovely?