His own brothers had taken bets for the following morning, mocking Thutmose even in that way, but he had proven himself before them, and when Hatshepsut fell pregnant, he preened and pranced with a newfound confidence. After a harrowing experience during the birth of her daughter, who was almost immediately whisked away to be reared and pampered by concubines and nannies and eunuchs, the young Regent reappeared in two days' time upon her father's right hand side, much to Thutmose' utter disgust. The brief bloom of desire that had unfurled in Hatshepsut's young heart upon reaching her age was destroyed, presumably to never blossom again. Until now.
His gaze, piercing as well as riveted, were causing the bantam ruler some discomfort, as she found herself responding quite unbidden to him. “I am not. I am Ma'at-ka-Ra Hatshepsut, Regent of Karnak, Beloved of Amun.” The woman smiled as she spoke this last; having no herald to speak her titles could make her seem vain and unimportant despite their lofty sound, but Hatshepsut was empowered by them. Lapis eyes softened somewhat as she watched the man, and she was silent, waiting again for him to speak, to disclose his name, his origins.