Lion Head Mesa benet

"bring the princess @Toula here," ramesses instructed his servants. the day was cold. he had a repast of light pine liquor and meat laid for them, and the very last berries, shriveled now in the iciness. they thawed upon the eating mats as he waited.
ramesses could not move lilitu from his mind. now that he had spoken of dissolution, the desire crept and slung slim arms around his neck. why not right the slander she had received from charles, why not make her Second Royal Wife and set brecheliant to raising his own seed in their nest?
he was not dissatisfied with treva; the opposite. but more children meant a longer legacy for pharaoh, and tucked away from the palace, a son might be safe from the crown prince.
still, only now, he wanted the company of the daughter who had quietly become his favorite. makono polished herself and ashikaga was devoted to her studies. but toula glowed with love and with piety, and he outstretched his arms to her when she at last arrived. "come and see!"
a piece of wood, whittled by teeth into the rough approximation of a wolf's eye. "i had this made for you. it is a charm of luck, the all-seeing Gaze of Ra."

<3

toula came as called, still sweet at heart even if she was growing wiser. she had not the mind to be cruel, and had yet to know any cruelty. toula was devoted to her Gods and the worship of Them, though Isis still most of all. her shrine to the woman had become a large, lovely thing, and Toula spoke with the Goddess often. in the days of @Makono's absence, the Goddess had become a loved one.
but her mother and father bore her faith and her love, and tavina still (always!). toula beamed upon seeing her father, moving into his embrace and turning to lean against him for a moment. toula would soon grow to an age where these gestures might no longer be seemly, for a royal, but she shared them in secret with her mother and father. touch was one such way toula showed her love, though words (song) and actions (dance) came closely after.
it is so lovely! she gasped, moving onto her belly to creep closer to the whittled shape, for it was! for me? she asked, voice soft, realizing belatedly she had been gifted something of such import but that she had nothing for him, this day. already her mind worked at things she might gift to him in turn; gift-giving was the third way!
she rose to lean into him once more, eyes adoring. thank you so much, father—I feel this gift already, in that I am in your wonderful presence. what good fortune Ra grants me! and this all said in earnest. toula had all that she desired; Ra, through her father and his thoughtfulness, saw fit to grant her another boon. she blinked softly, as a cat would to demonstrate their trust.
but this action brought on questions! it always seemed to. her father was an instructor, even when he did not intend to be. what other charms might exist, father? and their meanings? her tail waved; this might come with a story!

<3

toula was sweet and pious and dutiful. all he had wanted for any of his princesses, makono included.
but she had changed the fate of her future. and they all must abide, unless a son of the palace rose to challenge her.
"for you, my lotus," he said gently, and then laughed at her inquiry. "there are all sorts of marks! look!" and he drew a circle in the dust, then a lupine approximation of an ankh. "this is the world. and this is life."
"a charm can be any sacred item: a bone, a feather, a piece of wood. what matters is that it is blessed and made magick by the gods." ramesses looked at her as she spoke, seeing how despite the fact he would like her to remain small, she was not. toula's girlishness was fading, becoming the rich kohl of his own eyes and treva's grace.
his heart ached.
"have you given any mind to what you might like to do, outside the palace?"

toula swallowed the girlish squeal of delight at his confirmation. she drew it nearer to herself, knowing that good fortune had found her already. toula would treasure this gift for the rest of her life; she looked to Pharaoh, her eyes bright with her gratitude. toula gasped to learn that there were more marks; she lowered herself some, to gaze upon his approximation of an ankh. listened to its meaning.
it made her own gift from him more meaningful. was her Father not divine Himself? oh! she hummed, rising to again look to him. i will carry this with me, always, and her paw had yet to leave it!
toula looked up at her father, thinking upon his question for a moment. for she had. she thought of all of the things that brought her joy. I love to hear of @Makono, and her journeys. I love to sing, and to dance. I like to help others, and to learn from them, she thought of @Tavina, and her healing, and I love to spend time with Iset, and Ra, and... and all of Them, she spoke reverently. outside the palace, he had asked!
I... I suppose it might be nice, to see what Makono has! but... she paused, ...but I do not... want to be away from you, or mother, she admitted. did that bring him shame? she wondered how Makono had the strength that she did, to bear it! ...could we go on a trip together? she wondered, eyes bright with the idea!

did toula know how much a boon she was to him? ramesses hated that her future had come to question, though he did not mistrust makono with her sister. they loved one another; he heard the adoration in his little one's voice even now.
toula spoke of the things that she loved. he watched her in adoration, and when she asked to go away with him for a time, he smiled. "i grant it. let it be spring, my lotus. your mother wishes to have a celebration, and i want you to be of help to her. where shall we go, my medallion?"
ramesses kissed the top of her soft head. he would give her all the silvered things he could. but in the end, his ultimate gift would seek to be protection.

makono was her hero as much as her own queen mother and king father was. she did not know of the strife in her fathers heart; he did not show it! she saw happiness in him now, and as he granted her wish she mirrored it tenfold. it was difficult to maintain poise and decorum, with such happiness in her own heart, but toula had the most brilliant of tutors. they would have been proud of her then, to not give into her impulse to shower him with her adoration!
spring. she could wait until spring, surely! and her mother (well, her father, but they two were one in the same to her, she loved them both so!) wished for her help?! oh! of course!, she nodded slowly, daydreaming ways in which to help her mother with this celebration. she and senmut had seen to it the shrine of Iset was built, surely she could accomplish all the things her mother wished, too! but first, what sort of celebration...? toula frowned softly, wondering if she had forgotten something of great importance.
but his next query brought her smile back. wherever else is your favorite! she declared, knowing she would love it, and mothers, too! this, she would love to see alongside them!

"a winter feast, with those your own age invited as they were not to the wedding." he hoped that this would give toula no ideas of romance below her station, but so far his little princess had not spoken of such things. perhaps she would always be devoted in such whole ways to the gods, forever.
"your mother and i have not traveled so much together. perhaps we shall go toward the mountains. who should we bring?" ramesses asked, and pulled her close with a doting kiss, she who was much loved by them all.

toula gasped. oh! may we invite all of those that are my age? toula wondered, eyes bright and full of hope! toula so loved everyone here, but the only ones that she knew were her brother, who she loved and adored... and there was also midas and medusa, too, but as a pair they inspired little conversation... as individuals, even less. it was not for lack of trying; it seemed they two preferred one another to anything else!
but toula was still sure to always send them sweet gifts. perhaps one day they would warm to her!
the Amiirad had faith that there were others in this world out there that might enjoy the same things that she did. that might speak more, too!
toula giggled as he pulled her closer, daydreaming now about this trip they would embark on all together. brother, of course, for he could not be excluded! and perhaps sister, if she is not on another trip, and our attendants, and perhaps medusa and midas, though I have not seen them greet Ra— she may well have rifled off names of all within Akashingo! for toula loved them all, too.
that is probably too many... it occurred to her, and so she looked up at her father. she squinted, trying to think of who to remove from this list, but had much difficulty. she sighed. perhaps you decide this time, she said with a small smile. toula trusted him, in all things—this list too now!

ramesses chuckled. "we may, or as many as might join." that was determinate upon the season and reception that their invitations might merit.
she named her brother and sister, the noble children, and her own favoured, pampered attendants. she was sweet to them, he saw, and ramesses saw fit to one day soon place a personal servant in her growing court.
"we shall bring the royal court and go away when it is warm, for a little while, what do you say to this?" it would do well for those outside the walls to also see their regal nature, for already pharaoh had long thought of them as their own subjects.

I say... yes! she declared, spinning in a neat pirouette. Toula looked up at him from beneath kohl-limned eyes, inherited by the One with her then. father, what was your own first trip away from home like? she asked then, wondering what all He had seen and accomplished then.
He was a much accomplished God! worthy of the worship He received! she wondered what inspiration could be garnered, from His own first journey away.

editing in a fade so u can use it for trades! <3

ramesses smiled. "it was the feast of the Apis Bull, and all the people were gathered." he had been scarcely older than her, tasked with carrying the standard. he and the royal family had formed a long and elegant column through the temples and the desert, out toward the long river, and the singing and rejoicing had formed a blinding din which he recalled even now.
for a long time he sat beside toula, regaling her with such tales of old as he could recall! of relatives and gods and servants and slaves, priests and nobles, princess and glorious heaps of tribute brought.
all her lore. all her lineage.