Lion Head Mesa Lotus

Merneith had not deviated from the good manners that defined her infancy, invariably tranquil and ladylike in both spirit and demeanor since her emergence. But now she glimpsed, and soon her legs were strong enough to ferry her stubby body out and across the halls, shuffling for one parent, a sibling or another.

Her voice sang in sweet gibberish, mewling joyfully for her family while simultaneously barreling from the Pharaoh’s rooms and out into the busy palatial causeways.

It was soon apparent by the furious sweep of her tail and open wonderment upon her face that Princess Merneith entered the court of Akashingo in the same way she entered the world: fearless.

The shadow considered herself above most others, and barely showed interest in anyone that was not a sibling or a parent. Gifts from fellahin, or the woman Tavina, did not garner much interest from her either. Satakhetem preferred to lurk and to study, to judge, and primarily to learn. If she was born of the divine, there had to be something inherently superior about her - right? Satakhetem was, by nature, precocious; gathering knowledge in her quiet way, and through the study of her parents and the adults that served them, a certain level of mental acuity was achieved.

She was in no means, bright, but there was a way with words. And as she now took to following Merneith and keeping to the periphery of the child's vision, Satakhetem observed the prideful bearing, and heard the chattering - meaningless as it was - and found something about the moment lacking.

Shifting from the edge of the corridor to match Neith's gait, Satakhetem petitioned, You aren't even saying words, you know? Her tone was accusatory, and while her voice was direct it was quiet, like a hiss. As if the real message was, you are divine, why act the fool?

The entrance to the sanctum beckons, sprawling, gilded, wrapped in frescos and year’s old claw-carved reliefs. It was not so unlike the chambers of Pharaoh, but never before had the girl seen a room so tall, so vast. Tipping her nose skyward, she could see no end, and vaulted eagerly out over the red stone, tiny yowls seeping through the opened heart of the concourse.

Sata was there beside her, singing the same gibberish, for all her sister knew. Neith would also find something lacking– not in this moment, but in her sister.

She was weeks away from forming full words, and many months still from understanding the true nature of her shadowed sibling.

For now, Neith was a child, romping, barking, greeting the many decorated servants as they stooped to admire her lilac eyes and pretty voice.

It was entirely possible that each child held their own language, and that the first hurdle of growing up was to find something shared. Her words might have fallen upon an adult's ears as nothing more than verbal chaos; but she knew she did not understand her sister, neither her words nor her apparent pleasure at being attended to.

This was something Satakhetem resisted utterly. As Neith was favored and prized, Satakhetem sank back, wanting nothing to do with the extra eyes and the fawning.

She felt her cheeks go red beneath the dark fur there. She saw how pleased her sister was, and did not understand why. When such attention drifted inevitably to the dark girl, Satakhetem would shrink and keep aside, but she stayed at a matching pace to the frolicking Neith.

Neith lavished the attention, taking to it naturally with a thrilled loll of her small pink tongue, batting at servants’ tails and making a game of weaving between their impossibly tall legs. Glomping onto the passing feet of a mazoi, the girl rabbit-kicked his toes with a herculean punt of her hinds.

They were all so different! Nothing like the serene elegance of mommy and papa and her siblings who she was accustomed to, aside from Auntie Tavina. But each one became enraptured in her presence, bowing their heads and muttering on their knees, showering her with sweet words she recognized only the tone of. And so the golden princess became even more captivated, wheedling for her sister’s presence as she wriggled further through the crowd of mortals.