Lion Head Mesa barque

politely, pharaoh bathed all vestige of others from every inch of himself in the warm waters that ran below the mesa. they had cooled, but he hardly remembered winter as more than a memory, and so hardly noticed. the flowers below had started to close, giving off less of their cloying fragrance. yet their musk was heady as ever to pharaoh, who rolled and rolled among the petals.
thus cleansed, ramesses padded quietly through the stone corridors and little side-rooms, searching for satsu.
whether he went above or found the careful woman within her pink-flowered chambers, it did not matter: in his jaws, a smooth green stone, a gift.
and when pharaoh found her, he lay the object at her feet where it glittered, and his eyes shone the same, with only a hint of their usual sardonicism.
"be my queen, @Satsu."

when he arrived, she had her mind elsewhere.

sitting at the far end of where he bathed himself, satsu's attention was skyward as she followed a gossamer cloud as the wind tugged it to pieces. she thought of many things at once, not taking heed of the way he swaggered towards her.

he placed some small bauble near to her and spoke. it was the civility of his tone that drew her from her thoughts; so often was pharaoh distracted by the flavor of the week or busy stroking at his own ego, that this subdued version was out of place.

she looked down and pulled the object closer with some care; watching the way the light played across it. when finally their eyes met, she saw only warmth. that faint half smile, now tempered by the same calm as his voice.

you have your women. what could you possibly need a queen for.each of them more willing than the next to fulfill his every whim.

ramesses watched satsu's small paw envelop the stone and listened to the air between them stir with her consideration. she answered him with the same regality she wore around her slender body, a length of fine-grade linen that veiled her only in a deflective mist.
but pharaoh had been prepared for the light insult and the rejection that came from satsu. "because in a place such as akashingo, one day a man will ask you for the price to your purity." she might follow behind a visitor, pale, understated glow against the cinnamon fire of jawahir, or the limestone desires provided by maggie — but satsu was always noticeable. 
"does your answer change if you understand that i seek to give you a far greater respect, and in full acceptance of never consummating this union?" pharaoh asked next, lightly. he knew why exactly satsu demurred, and had each time he had teased her in lust. she had never succumbed, and it was not for this that ramesses asked now.
"say you are queen of akashingo and no man would dare. choose a retinue; take the girl mouseberry as your handmaid. and not even she need know the truth."
a gambit. he readjusted his proverbial pieces upon their gaming-board, and waited.

satsu had no plans of ever becoming one of his collection. a shiny thing to parade out for guests, reserved for special occasions. her purposeful distance from the girls he populated the mesa with was proof enough of this. their varied conversations on the subject made satsu's will clear enough.
he had listened. that was perhaps the most surprising thing above all.
i need no help, came her swift dismissal of that offer. she had not met this mouseberry; but knowing pharaoh and his specific tastes by now, satsu made an assumption.
she was quiet then, thoughtful.
i don't know how to be a queen. came a final admittance; one she had shared with him before. but, it was not a refusal to the idea.

ramesses did not hear satsu declare more against him after that. her lovely face fell into its stoic planes of thinking. for a while, pharaoh had wondered at the father who had crafted her. but through these times in akashingo, he saw that she had only molded herself, a calf of gold whose only wish was to be seen as mere bronze.
"i am attempting to teach you," ramesses said with a quick, teasing lift of his eyebrow. "first you must be seen to the eye as a queen. mouseberry is the newest here. jawahir has not sent her to me, and she is unlike maggie."
pharaoh looked upon satsu now. "that is why i thought of her. think of her not as help, but as a companion."
the girl's status as attendant to the queen meant perhaps that she would be forbidden from ramesses. he did not care for this idea, but felt it might be a prudent sacrifice for the time being.
"and then choose whether you will be called queen, or daimyo." his eyes were half-lidded, watchful. "take sabah as your personal guard and travel with them both when you are out. to rule is to meet the appearance of royalty. you understand."
ramesses looked toward the red stone. "no matter what title you choose, it is important that we be seen as equal. the queen keeps her rooms and i keep my own. jawahir will continue to remain in charge of — such duties as you have not wished to handle yourself."
amusement played upon his mouth. "is this little act of deception so unappealing to you? there is nothing lost, much gained, and only a small change: that ramesses and satsu are bonded in marriage, and one that will remain pure and cool as alabaster."

she felt petulant in the moment; his correction was swift and with the teasing mien that so easily worked its way under her skin. but, he was right. pharaoh knew what it meant to be royalty and could impart such knowledge unto satsu, even if she felt ill-equipped to absorbing it. everything was an adjustment. she had managed well enough as a saint, she could handle being a queen.
the thought of being tended to by vermin was almost a step too far. hearing that this mouseberry would not be used by ramesses did surprise satsu, though it warmed her a little to the idea - he had taken so many as his own, she could have this one. and sabah! the girl was sweet; it was a perfect arrangement.
i suppose... a little deception, for the sake of the greater good, is alright. satsu decided.
if it keeps me away from your business in the catacombs then i am agreeable to it. i would prefer if sabah could work as my guard and my maiden, but... everyone has their place. so long as this mouseberry remains seen but not heard and knows her place well enough, which was to say, under heel, then... i accept.
this was not the betrothal that satsu had ever invisioned for herself. then again, it was a fallacy - a business arrangement and nothing more.
it was fortunate that she trusted pharaoh as much as she did.

ramesses was pleased.
"i will lay plans for our jubilee, then. we should invite others. show them that akashingo is capable of managing itself." pharaoh felt himself swept with plans for it! first blossoms of white, to cool the blue shadows of satsu's eyes. they would send invitations, and receive visitors in the ante-room. feasting, the last kills of the season, and for as many days as meat would allow. and the clouded fruits, left to thicken in a silent room until such a time as they were ready for consumption.
"it will be your responsibility to tame @Mouseberry. but first," and here he called for the girl, tilting back his head with a low and honeyed croon. "first you should meet. more than discipline, she must be assured of her place here."
it could not be said that ramesses did not lust after the girl; more than ever he did, deprived night after night of his enjoyment with a new girl.
and so he felt he was being quite gracious indeed. it showed in the proud set of his shoulders.
"i do not think you will be disappointed, satsu. in time i hope to add more maids to your court."
whether or not he would poach among them as well remained to be seen.
the subject of their wedding night was held firmly at arm's reach. for the sake of prying eyes, it would be prudent to have her spend at least those hours with him. and yet ramesses knew there was fire beneath satsu, and saw surely what it had cost her, this agreement to accept him as husband and be his wife in return.

that will not be a problem. the taming of beasts was not something satsu was trained in, but she would teach the creature of her place. so long as this mouseberry wasn't anything like the pale maggie, with her flippancy and sharp tongue, satsu would manage.

we will see.
the idea of having more vermin around did not sit well with her. however, he could have meant other wolves, and besides that - it was nice to think of this place as something real, and to consider that they might have a future here after all.

akashingo was growing, rooting itself in to place here. it gave satsu pride.