You rush into your son's chamber, with tears streaming down your face, you walk to his bed and pull him into your embrace.
"You are back, Mama" Aten exclaims as you keep on hugging him.
"Who pushed into the river, who dared to do that to you, my sweet Aten?" you inquire, looking at him.
"I didn't see who it was, I just felt two hands push me into the water, Kaveh and Qais saved me from drowning"
His explanation only added to your anger, but you kept calm to not make your son feel any less comfortable.
"I'm so happy that you are safe now, sweetheart" you kiss his forehead.
Aten relaxes in your embrace and hugs you back.
"Don't worry, I won't let anyone hurt you again, and whoever has done that, will get their deserved punishment"
𓅓𓃠𓅓𓃠𓅓
"I apologize for-"
"Your apology is not accepted, Qais"
You cut off the Arabian prince sternly while standing in front of him with crossed arms.
"I know that you are angry at me, I also blame myself for not paying enough attention to him while he was playing and I..."
Qais stops speaking when he notices how you start tearing up and before he knows it, you are full-on crying.
"He could have died, my Aten could have died, my enemies want him did" you choke out the words.
This is the first time for Qais to see you in such a condition.
It's not a weakness for him, he sees how truly you care for your son.
Qais hesitates whether he should hug you or not to comfort you.
"Qais, where were Hanu and Akshin while you were conversing with Kaveh?" you ask out of nowhere.
"Akshin was in town, while Hanu was in his chamber or at least that's what I know" you frown.
For you, Akshin is not a suspect because he seems too kind to try and kill a child.
Hanu is sneaky and always seems to have tricks up his sleeve.
But in the end, you can't trust them both without evidence.
Akhn walks up to you, looking out of breath and distressed.
"Your highness, there's something important I wish to tell you" Akhn looks at Qais as a hint for him to leave.
But Qais doesn't move from his place and only stares back coldly at Akhn.
"It concerns one of our spies, he brought back important information"
You turn to Qais.
"I will meet you later to continue our conversation, Qais"
With that, you leave with Akhn.
𓅓𓃠𓅓𓃠𓅓𓃠
"So, Hanu is a prince from the Hittite empire" your advisor nods in confrontation.
"Yes, but there's also another thing"
"What is it?"
"Your handmaiden, Meri, also seems to be in a relationship with Hanu"
You smile, leaning back in your chair, finally knowing who are the traitors.
"Execute Meri" you order.
"And Hanu?"
You look at Akhn and raise an eyebrow at him.
"I will destroy him mentally and physically first, you should know that I'm merciful"