Their travel is laborious for @Khusobek for how slow it is, and Nazli finds herself worrying that the man might grow frustrated by the work. She cannot walk far without aid. He has brought along an animal skin to help transport her, which staggers their progress even further. From time to time the medicine that Gil left them with makes Nazli too drowsy, or sickens her belly so that she cannot eat the rations that they gathered from Akashingo; but eventually they make it to a place Nazli has never seen before.
The grit of the earth becomes something green, and from the shelter of some foreign trees Nazli thinks she can spy the mesa! Except it is in the wrong direction—they are headed towards it, not away—and the silhouette is wrong. The light has already begun to fade and it is only the late afternoon, and at this distance Nazli could not hope to make sense of what she sees.
It is a mesa, but it is not Akashingo; this place that vanishes in to the gray murk of the November sky is their destination.
Nazli looks to Khusobek as he allocates the remaining rations for their sparse dinner, but says nothing.
The grit of the earth becomes something green, and from the shelter of some foreign trees Nazli thinks she can spy the mesa! Except it is in the wrong direction—they are headed towards it, not away—and the silhouette is wrong. The light has already begun to fade and it is only the late afternoon, and at this distance Nazli could not hope to make sense of what she sees.
It is a mesa, but it is not Akashingo; this place that vanishes in to the gray murk of the November sky is their destination.
Nazli looks to Khusobek as he allocates the remaining rations for their sparse dinner, but says nothing.
November 01, 2023, 05:27 PM
If the going was hard, khusobek did not say. if his shoulders ached, he covered this with a grin. if his legs hurt in the following hours, the crocodile told nazli a story, as much to distract himself as to remember he carried a beautiful idol to the queen's court.
they stopped. he remembered what her physicians had said and kept her meal small, offering more if she wished. "we are at the edge of muat-riya," he explained, cracking open a sheep's marrow-bone for nazli. "you will be in comfort by tonight."
khusobek stripped gristle from a rabbit's leg, more a morsel than anything in his jaws. "the prince himself wrote for you. i am surprised. these days he mostly writes the queen."
they stopped. he remembered what her physicians had said and kept her meal small, offering more if she wished. "we are at the edge of muat-riya," he explained, cracking open a sheep's marrow-bone for nazli. "you will be in comfort by tonight."
khusobek stripped gristle from a rabbit's leg, more a morsel than anything in his jaws. "the prince himself wrote for you. i am surprised. these days he mostly writes the queen."
November 01, 2023, 05:37 PM
Nazli chewed a cud of medicine while he worked, by now accustomed to being watched and waited on (at least when her health was involved). When the rations were before her she plucked at them quietly, chewing slow. The burst of flavor contended with the vegetal mass wedged against her molars.
When the man commented in his way, Nazli paused. She could not think of any prince that might favor her, and did not know what to say. She did not think of Senmut as such; and being lightly drugged by her medicine, her mind did not immediately recollect how her friend's position had shifted over time.
She swallowed.
To commune with the sun, to sing songs, to know the gods; an easier life in many respects, seemed simultaneously impossible and, in a desperate sense, inevitable.
When the man commented in his way, Nazli paused. She could not think of any prince that might favor her, and did not know what to say. She did not think of Senmut as such; and being lightly drugged by her medicine, her mind did not immediately recollect how her friend's position had shifted over time.
She swallowed.
I do not know what use I can be in my state,being a person who would need constant care, she thought herself to be obsolete when compared to another fellahin. A sesh that could not work alone was of little use, in her mind.
But I... I have half a mind to ask for a change. To be a priestess.
To commune with the sun, to sing songs, to know the gods; an easier life in many respects, seemed simultaneously impossible and, in a desperate sense, inevitable.
November 01, 2023, 05:55 PM
a palace had many roles for those who were lovely, but her beauty would not outweigh her sickliness in the eyes of any man.
in this, perhaps it was a mercy, came the cruel and idle thought. if this was to be nazli's state of being henceforth, then he agreed she should devote herself to the gods. it was why parents gave crippled or blind children to the priests; such individuals were said to have a greater connection to the lands beyond.
"ask for it, when you see the queen. we have no astrologer in akashingo. make yourself maiden of the stars and their power will never fail you."
khusobek remained powerfully interested in the missing swathes of nazli's story. how had this wisp come beneath the notice of the most powerful man — for now — in akashingo? senmut was not a romantic. what did he wish here?
in this, perhaps it was a mercy, came the cruel and idle thought. if this was to be nazli's state of being henceforth, then he agreed she should devote herself to the gods. it was why parents gave crippled or blind children to the priests; such individuals were said to have a greater connection to the lands beyond.
"ask for it, when you see the queen. we have no astrologer in akashingo. make yourself maiden of the stars and their power will never fail you."
khusobek remained powerfully interested in the missing swathes of nazli's story. how had this wisp come beneath the notice of the most powerful man — for now — in akashingo? senmut was not a romantic. what did he wish here?
November 03, 2023, 08:53 PM
She worked quietly at her meal, pondering over Khusobek's words. Learning of the stars would put her in a unique position. It would also make her oppose the priests who sang for the sun, and she wasn't sure how she felt about that. Rather, it would be nice to have company as she learned and as worked; but that came from her previous experience as fellahin.
Nazli had to adapt. Perhaps she was meant to find peace in solitude? It would be a new thing for her - to add to a list of new experiences following her body's weakness.
Nazli had to adapt. Perhaps she was meant to find peace in solitude? It would be a new thing for her - to add to a list of new experiences following her body's weakness.
You are wise for a mazoi.
November 07, 2023, 04:24 PM
"you are ambitious for a fellahin." khusobek straightened his tall frame now, diligent once more. "you should rest. it will not do if i deliver you grey and exhausted."
he flashed a grin. he was not ready to yet depart; he would finish his meal on the walk. "you are welcome to join me for a time if you do not wish to rest, however."
he flashed a grin. he was not ready to yet depart; he would finish his meal on the walk. "you are welcome to join me for a time if you do not wish to rest, however."
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