Two Eyes Cenote scythe & scabbard

almost he rounded on her then, but instead kept the reaction to a muscle flicking just below his eye. shouting at her would do no good; he was fresh from the grief of sending safiya away and was afraid it would influence more harshness.

instead he brought her indeed to that corridor outside the mazoi quarters. stained with the filthy marks of many paws, it was an unending chore to keep clean as guards changed their positions about the palace, returned from patrol, or embarked on one.

he had found some pieces of ragged hide, good for nothing else, and they lay to the side of this long hall.

"each day, three times, you will come here and you will clean. you will bring water from the springs. you will scour with sand. you will rinse your cloths and prepare them for the next day. you will show me, tiye, as your sister has done, that you can rise to the demands of your role."

he nodded. "begin by wiping the wet dirt into a pile."

his face had softened, but his features remained solemn. "do you understand the danger of the man in that cell, tiye?"