Lion Head Mesa pylon

the twin princesses would be given their own rooms, or had already been. ramesses did not keep his focus upon what went on among those two. sayf oversaw most of the operations in the palace and pharaoh was content to leave the running of the innermost workings to the hebsut.
he himself had grown restless. "i am going to the lake. bring the princess @Ashikaga to me," he commanded the nearest listening servant. "carry her if she is still too weak to walk so far."
he did not care to know the strength of a child. what mattered was that thus far, her schooling with qiao, tavina, sayf, and kasmut had begun. 
girls did not need to know feast days and the names of gods, and so he did not send his daughters to plague akhtar. siptah would be pharaoh. he must have all such knowledge.
ramesses eventually stood beside the sunwarmed and sluggish waters. he looked at the serpentine curl of the waves and smiled. water restored the desert. it was a balance.

Ashikaga did not know the servants names yet; there were so many of them, and to her, they were somewhat interchangeable. 

One of the fellahin came to her new quarters and said they were taking her to her father, the pharaoh. She was surprised to hear this; she rarely saw him. The princess was intrigued, and followed willingly. She could make the trip on her own, just like she could live on her own in her very own living space. She had been excited for the change, even if she did get lonely sometimes at night when she was trying to sleep. 

Ash was right on the heels of the servant when they arrived at the lake. Her father sat near the water, and she trotted over to him and took a seat. She looked up at the pharaoh, the blue of her gaze matching his. She was curious but she waited for him to speak. She was a princess, and a child at that; she had learned when to speak and when to not.

by the time the princess arrived, ramesses was sitting beside the lake.
the fellahin drifted to the trees behind the royal wolves, waiting in silence to escort ashikaga home.
ramesses looked down into the same divine blue of his own eyes.
she was thankfully silent.
"what sorts of things do you enjoy doing?" pharaoh inquired rather stiffly, as he did not know to where her speech might have advanced.

There was silence for a few moments, and she wondered why he had asked for her to be brought here if they were not going to talk. She wondered how different her father's interactions with Siptah were. Jealousy gripped her heart, intense and unfamiliar. 

But he did finally speak and it was to ask about her, about what she liked to do. I like singing, she told him. She had only just realized this recently. She was good at it too, and so she liked to play in the pretty flowers and sing songs to herself to pass the time—when she wasn't learning, of course. 

Can you sing? she asked softly, her expression curious as she continued to gaze up at her intimidating sire.

"i do."
singing was something which had always brought him pleasure. his voice was made for hymns. unbidden, his mind remembered and his tones lifted into the words.


"Praise to Amnn-Ra
The Bull of On-Heliopolis, Prince of all the Gods,
The Good and Perfect God, the Beloved One,
The Giver of Life to all animated things.
Prince of all the Gods,
Beautiful One in the form fashioned by Ptah,
Beautiful and darling Youth to Whom the Gods give honour,
Maker of things above and below,
Enlightener of the Two Lands,
The One Who joyously passes through the Sky
When They acknowledge His Majesty as Their Lord;
Lord of Terror and Fear
Greatest and Mighty,
Lord of Crowns,
Flourishing in provisions, Maker of nourishment
Glory be to You, Creator of Gods
You Who have uplifted the Sky,
You Who have stretched the Earth."

the breath was out of him and so pharaoh stopped. he looked at ashikaga now.
"i will teach these things to you."

Ash listened in silent wonder as her father sang a song she had never heard before. The words she knew were important and powerful, though she didn't quite now why or how just yet. The melody was her favorite; she would remember it and hum it to herself later. 

Her eyes never left his face. She just watched his lips move as he sang like she was glued there by the beautiful sound. 

He promised to teach her. More like that song? she asked. She wondered how many songs he knew and how long he would willing to oblige her. 

She started to hum the melody she had just heard, soft but clear. She could already repeat it back to him, having remembered all the ways the song flowed, high and low.

"more like this, yes."
ashikaga sent the tones back to him. ramesses regarded her with an inscrutable expression. "have you learned anything about the waters?" he said, gesturing to the lake.
not gods, perhaps, but healing. the natural danger of entering them. her voice resided in his ears.
"does @Makono sing?"

Just that I should not swim out too far, she answered. It wasn't much of an issue for her because she was highly unlikely to get wet unless she was bathing. She preferred to stay clean and dry. Do you know more about the water? she asked curiously. She wanted to keep his attention for as long as possible. 

As for her sister: Yes, the princess answered. She sings with me but I don't know if she likes it. Ash had never bothered to ask.

"it is good you both sing. the gods favour such melodies and those who use them well." the voice was for hymns, for prayers, for praise, for avowing. ashikaga and makono would need to find theirs early. their futures would differ from that of siptah, especially if more royal daughters were born.
"the water brings life. Osiris was unmade beside the waters and made again by them. the lake represents his renewal, and so we celebrate it."

The princess listened intently as her father told her of Osiris, how he had been unmade and then made again. The lake in front of them had made him again. 

Ash looked over the water curiously. Can others be remade here?" she asked. She wondered if the waters could bring life to anyone or if its powers were for the gods only.

ramesses was quiet. "only if the gods will it."
he put one forepaw into the current, and then the other. when four ankles were ensconced in the lake, he motioned for the princess to come closer.
pharaoh made as if to sluice water over her head, between the proud ears.
"Osiris, hear me. see that this girl of akashingo stands ready to listen. to be remade. i ask that you turn Your eyes upon her, and measure her for the greatness only You can bestow."