Luneshale Pass the sedge and the bee

it should have occurred to nazli to bring a guard. perhaps not doing so was a greater indication towards her own self worth, or diplomatically the strength of muat-riya; they did not have the bodies to spare, and besides that the land between the Red Palace and the Pleasure Palace was controlled by the divine. nazli trusted not only the strength of toula but that of the many gods, and even now she watched the bees without any awareness.

they hummed as they moved from flower to flower. she gingerly plucked at the ones left by the bees, as they gathered what they needed and left the flowers empty.

as she worked to gather these things, she hummed a small tune that she had learned from senmut, and was wholly focused on the pleasure of her work. little by little, the bouquet grew.