Lion Head Mesa sixteenth

the hem summoned the man @Bayek now.

"ramesses is dead. pharaoh has decreed that khaba be found and brought home. he injured the lady qiao during the transition of power."

"i will send someone to search for him, but for now, medjay, you must stand with pharaoh in protection. her brother and sisters will grieve and perhaps come to anger when this is known."

the priest's face was drawn. it was midmorning of the third day and he had not slept.

Bayek answered his summons with a slow walk.

The man’s amethyst gaze was set on the bright features of the Hem.

The Pharaoh was dead and Makono would be their ruler. The Medjay knew well enough of the young prince’s aspirations as a leader. Had it been a blessing from the gods or had it been an act of necessity that had taken their blue-eyed Ramesses from the mortal world? Senmut spoke of anger from the new Pharaoh’s siblings.

Pharaoh Makono will be safe with me, he said gravely. Is the lady Qiao alright?

"the sesh tells me she will live."

senmut was weary; he sat down and placed a paw over his eyes.

"khaba is loyal to pharaoh. he acted under my order, to detain the lady."

one day she would know this.

his bright green eyes lifted to bayek. "you may be called upon to purge those loyal to ramesses. will you do so?"

Senmut did not look well. He spoke of Khaba, who had been told to detain the Hemet. This was the reason she had been harmed. Now they were to punish her for the orders from the priest?

Bayek was too detached from the inner workings of Akashingo. He knew nothing that had taken place. His mind had been upon his work and upon the protection of the grounds. It was the way of Medjay to keep peace, to travel and protect. He feared that he had not done his job well enough. He feared that this was the reason they were faced with a new Pharaoh and one so young.

Would Makono stop growing, now? Bayek steeled himself against this thought.

I will do what is asked, he said plainly. But I will not bring harm to children. He spoke, of course, of Makono’s siblings.

"none of them are children now, medjay," senmut said softly. "a boy can kill as well as a man if he has divine reason to do so."

two lineages rested within akashingo: that of satsu and that of treva. he thought toula should receive the queen's throne, but would not yet suggest it. pharaoh would decide.

"stand with her. know her. she is not her father, bayek."

I will protect the Pharaoh with my life, Priest. But I will not harm the children. You cannot say a word to move me, in this.

Senmut wished for him to believe that they were not children, not anymore. It was true, in a sense. Makono was no longer a learning prince but their ruler. They had not even reached their first year, he thought. The girl was supposed to lead them after Ramesses death and she had not even turned a year old. Bayek’s mind was upon his son. His sweet dead son. He ached in the makings of his bones.

My loyalty has always been to Makono. I have walked with her. I have helped to teach her. I have spent more hours with her than I have minutes with the Pharaoh Ramesses. If she will need me, I will answer her.

Senmut did not need to tell Bayek about their differences. The Medjay did not even know the dead Pharaoh. He knew Makono well enough. He knew that she wished to do right by those beneath her. He could only hope that she would not change with her power.

then do not kill them, bash their heads as did khaba to qiao!

his mind was a snap of anger.

but he was too tired to fight with a man who offered no resistance to the change of the palace. "she is young. she will need guidance." he cleared his throat.

he looked hard at the man. "in which god do you put your faith, bayek?"

Too young for this life, he thought.

Bayek could see this weariness upon Senmut. He drew closer, sniffing softly at the sharp priest. The man’s body looked as though it had been without sleep for many nights. The Medjay could only wonder if he had suffered, if he still suffered. And what role did the priest have in the young Pharaoh’s life? He knew much about the goings on in Akashingo.

Amun, Bayek answered his question. Amun is with me at all times.

Amun was part of the Medjay’s mind and body and soul.

bayek's answer drew senmut out of the shadow of his own enmity and sorrow. his eyes sparkled with a radiant glow of worshipfulness. "The Holy Essence of That Which Lives," senmut whispered softly.

bayek then, walked with the same god upon which he himself called. the one whom ramesses had forsaken.

"he forgot the face of Amun," senmut said of the dead man. "and for it, Amun sent him into madness."

It was good that this priest spoke so reverently. He broke through the harshness of the Medjay and found his reverence for Amun beneath. Bayek bowed his head.

Senmut said that he had been taken away from the light of Amun. He had been sent to madness for his wandering. It was not a surprise to the jewel-eyed wolf.

I have known several Pharaohs to forsake their gods and wander to madness, he admitted quietly. Upon those words was the fear that they would see it again.

senmut nodded. "i do not believe she will be one of them." but he looked with interest at the man. many pharaohs. so he had seen this rage of cruelty before.

"the princess toula is very devout and a favored pupil of mine. she is without guile," he said, wondering what the medjay knew of the royal family, having been sent to the outskirts of akashingo for a long while.

Bayek hoped that Senmut was right. He did not wish to think of this way about Makono. His heart hurt to consider such things. That madness had not been born into her. If it had, she had cleaned herself of it… he must hope this to be true.

When the priest spoke of Toula, the Medjay nodded his head in understanding and agreement.

She is a good girl. Her faith is strong. I have brought her offerings for place of worship for Iset. The man thought highly of the young girl. She was bright and her heart beat with her love of the gods. If there was madness in her too, Bayek had never seen it. What role do you think she will seek in Akashingo?

"that is pharaoh's decree."

her mother had been queen and ashikaga long was silent. toula was logically next but was she ready also?

senmut's head swam with tiredness.

"Iset truly has favoured her. she will be a balance to her brother." 

if makono spared him.

Senmut proved himself as a faithful servant of their Pharaoh with each word. Bayek did not doubt that the weary man sought to boost Makono. He did not doubt that the girl would rise to the occasion. It was still a horrid scenario – to see a girl so young set to rule a kingdom that her father had built. Had she ever had the chance to be a child?

Thank you for your work, the Medjay offered in his rough voice.

A bow of his head and Bayek moved to tend to his work. There was much to do. There was much to consider.

senmut dipped his own head and watched the man depart.

he whispered a prayer for the continued strength of their ruler and went to seek his own work.