Lion Head Mesa mandrake

this can be quick, i didn't want her to leave without seeing him first <3

the night before, she came to the chambers of her father.

the gold of @Ramesses was warmth in the chilled night air. she regarded him with warmth and respect.

father,

"crown prince of the red land," ramesses crooned. 
she was leaving against, his fierce little spearpoint. lotus no longer; that role belonged to toula alone.
"i have great pride and great faith in you, makono."

and i in you,

there had been a rift, but she could not deny the pride she felt at him still being her father. the faith she held in the things he did.

funny how it had only taken horrible pain to come to this.

did the roman speak to you? of our healer's stores? his officer injured.

of course he had, she imagined.

"he did." ramesses invited her to his side. "i do not understand why he came as nursemaid." which was to say he trusted nothing about the roman. 
the lapis eyes flickered. "keep your fellahin away from the soldiers. crass and horrid things happen within military barracks."
but he would not elaborate unless prompted. "will you worry, being away from the palace?"

it did not make sense, but so much had changed. a shift between herself and imperator had bloomed with everything else that had changed within her.

perhaps she would better hear and see within mereo.

her gaze the hot scorch of Ra at her father's warning. it went without saying that she would not let such a thing befall nazli. nothing would befall any of hers within mereo. not her lilac, not her guard.

no, she spoke plainly. you are still pharaoh here and i will return with new strength.

she rounded the conversation.

tell me of the crassness of soldiers. they showed none of that last time.

all bland, well behaved lap dogs to the roman.

"you were the princess before. now you are the crown prince. the soldiers will not show this side of themselves to you."
"but she is not royal. and she is beautiful. and they are largely men without wives. men who are not so bound act differently when royal eyes are not upon them."
makono too held her striking looks, but her future must be mapped for them. the palace's intention for nazli would not be the same.

he implied things.

things she had not heard or seen, but something of the tone left her mouth bitter. acid. stating her lack of royalty but her wealth of beauty.

i will have them if any bother her. it was not a loose threat, nor something she tossed out lightly. his men will be obedient, even if i train alongside them as a soldier.

ramesses nodded. "i know it will be so."
and still his thoughts lingered on the girl. he did not want her transformed in mereo by something not his reach. "germanicus has long resisted marriages between akashingo and his ranks. prevail upon him, makono. only when such is finished can we be assured of no betrayal."

tell me how to sell marriage,

she asked for his guidance here.

it is not as if i have a face to give him, or know which of his to take. some humor at the end of her words, but she did sit formally. prepared to hear the wisdom of father to crown prince.

ramesses was pleased. "the roman is already married, so you will not appeal to him. speak of your own future interest in a match. describe how noblewomen of akashingo would be well-placed in mereo. he is logical. speak to this part of him."
the pale tail flicked; he was restless and rose up to to pace the room. "of course, you are far too divine to be paired with the likes of roman breeding. but keep this to your own bosom."

too divine for the roman breed.

she felt too divine for any, it seemed. even after agreement of her own blood, he had vanished into the sun. she knew the role could fall to another. would, eventually, perhaps.

but nobody needed to know these things but her father. as foretold by the way he told her to hold things close.

i will find an in, she assured him softly. i will return as a proper diplomat and soldier.

ramesses nodded, and in a rare moment he swept her close and kissed her forehead. "i ask simply that you return," he said in a voice haunted by the disappearance of siptah.
in the next second he had recovered. he stood aside from her. "go and rest what hours you can, my young hawk." his lapis eyes glowed with pride.

before you know.

she placed a touch to his chin, before departing at his last words.

from a lotus to a lionesses.

now the hawk of akashingo. tomorrow she would take flight.