Lion Head Mesa Ilen En-mar

it was enough for her to feel the weight of her sister ease upon her, slightly—though this was just Makono leaning toward her, to speak of things Toula did not anticipate hearing!
Shabti. her mothers position. their mother before them. one poisoned, the other...
where had her mother gone? her heart yearned, her mind reaching into the depths of darkness to just remember...
but the word Shabti frightened her now. it felt cursed. perhaps she could bless it, bear its name renewed, but Toula thought beyond that to the whimsical (and true!) stories of ancients past. descendants.
did she see it in herself? no, not before—but she sensed that Makono must, to ask her. and that the question came... Toula felt deeply honored. I never imagined it, Toula breathed. Toula had been born and prepared to be wife! she bore none of the weight that Makono had, and yet, Toula stood tall, prepared to.
she confessed her own secret to Makono. I... when father, or sometimes the Hem Senmut, would speak stories of the past... I dreamt of becoming a Queen, a silly, girlish fantasy to play with, and at! but here it was. the Gods were cruel to bring it about in this way, she thought as grief stabbed her, but were they also not good?
not just a queen. a great one. perhaps... perhaps Shabti could be renamed, a silly suggestion, perhaps—ah, perhaps another dream! but by your side... be it Shabti, be it Queen... she breathed, for Great should be an epithet earned, should it not?! I see that my dream has answered me...
she was astounded by the Gods then, and Makono, divine herself—had she known them? perhaps! Toula leaned into her sister now, a little dazed.