The Pharaoh stood and clapped his hands together. He smiled down at you as one of the priests, Shada, picked up a large box and moved forward with it as the Pharaoh lifted the lid off it.
"You are one of us now, we took the liberty of having this made in anticipation of your victory today" Isis explained and you were beckoned up.
You looked at them confused but ascended the steps up towards the throne looking into the box where you saw fine pieces of gold crafted into protective armour pieces all marked with a lion as it's symbol.
"Given your name I though the symbol was only fitting" the Pharaoh said and you took a moment but recognised the significance of course, Sekhmet was a goddess depicted with the head of a lioness it only made sense they would choose a lion for you.
"It's beautiful but I..." You began you weren't sure why they would go to all the bother for you.
"Say no more, when Phut ascended she got her own armour, it's tradition you'll be representing the palace you may as well look the part" it was Seto who spoke.
You half smirked and rolled your eyes, trust him to get a jab in, accepting the box and looking back to the Pharaoh with a smile.
"Thank you I'll treasure it" you said.
"Excellent! Now that you have offically become war advisor we must celebrate" He said.
"Celebrate?" You asked wondering if this was another tradition.
"It will be something similar to the festival of Min, after the festival if you recall" Isis explained.
"Take your time to relax and get ready I'll send a guard to get you when we are ready" the Pharaoh said and you nodded.
"Don't look like a startled animal, I'd take the opportunity to relax there'll be enough tough times to worry about" Seto spoke to you in hushed tones.
"Well if nothing else watching you miserable in a corner out of your comfort zone is something I can't miss" you teased.
He looked like he wanted to say something back but he was called away by the Pharaoh and narrowed his eyes at you, you'd watch your back for pay back later for now you had armour to put in your room and a celebration to get ready for.
After you had the armour safely in your room and you'd looked over it sighing the weight of the gold almost a physical version of the weight of the title you now held. War advisor... that is what you now were. You took a deep breath Seto had a point there was no need to stress tonight, you might as well go and have a good time. Egypt was currently in a time of peace anyway. You shook off the creeping negativity which tried to claw at you and headed for the baths, your fight had taken it out of you and made you work up quite the sweat you could take the time to relax and clean yourself up.
When you got there a few girls approached you, usually there was someone else there, but they hadn't spoken with you before. They usually chatted amongst themselves and you weren't overly pleased at them fussing over you.
"Ah hello we heard you completed your trial today Lady Sekhmet, we used to answer to Lady Phut... but since she'll be leaving we'll be here to aid you instead" one explained.
"Aid me? What kind of aid would I need?" You asked.
"Well dressing, makeup, hair and anything of that nature for events we'll be on hand to help you get ready, like tonight! There will of course be a celebration for your new position it must be so exciting" another said too excited for your liking.
"It'll just be a lot of drinking and dancing, don't you ever go to these events?" You asked.
"Oh... Oh no we are just here as servants to the war advisor we have no place at such important events, we have our own time to entertain ourselves naturally of course!" The first said quickly.
"Well I'm sorry to leave you out of a job but I'm fine to get myself ready thank you" you dismissed them and they scampered off thankfully not pressing you the last thing you needed was three girls crowding you and gossiping while trying to apply your makeup.
You could do just fine on your own making yourself 'presentable' as a member of the court. Drying off you returned to your room and looked through your clothing thankful you'd picked out some more 'regal' attire for times of events. Deciding on a flowing white one which made a chance from your usual black you grimaced remembering that you would now have to be present and help at any future festivals. The idea of having the 'adoring' public watch your every move at those events made you a little uncomfortable but you reasoned they'd be more focused on the Pharaoh and you'd get used to them in time. Sitting by your desk you moved sheets of notes you had taken out of the way opting instead for your makeup. You weren't sure exactly when you'd be called for this celebration but you were sure it wouldn't be too long from now.
You had just finished fixing your hair and makeup when there was a knock on the door, probably the guard to get you, good timing. You got up and opened the door and blinked seeing who stood there.
"Priest Seto I thought a guard was coming to get me to what do I owe the upgrade in chaperone?" You asked.
"A guard is coming to get you, I just came to check on you" he said.
"Let me guess to see if I match up to the image of my new title, I did dress for men for many years I do know what I'm doing" you crossed your arms.
"Well now I wouldn't class commoners and criminals on the same level as knowing how to dress in palace settings and events where your image reflects that" he smirked.
You rolled your eyes and held out your arms twirling sarcastically.
"Well do I pass the test or should I fret and change?" You asked, even if he raised an issue you wouldn't have changed regardless.
"It's acceptable, although it's strange to see you in a bright colour" he commented.
"I feel strange in a bright colour" you sighed "white holds connotations like innocence, brilliance, purity, I don't feel any of those things" you hummed.
"Do you always get inside your head about every single insignificant thing? It's a colour and it looks good on you, needlessly reading into it is only going to give you a headache" he crossed his arms.
"I suppose it's a habit, a side effect from fending for myself for so long" you meant that, you'd spent years with only really yourself to talk to you hadn't opened up to anyone since you'd left your... family and maybe... it was time to.
Another knock on the door broke you from your thoughts and a guard made himself known before bowing.
"Lord Seto, Lady Sekhmet the Pharaoh is ready to leave now" he announced.
"That's fine I'll bring her, you can go" Seto answered.
"So, you are my chaperone" you said.
"I'm already here you might need babysat by a guard I don't" he teased.
"Shouldn't you have some respect for your war advisor?" You asked.
"Hmph, regardless of your new title I still far outrank you" he smirked "you can chat all you want at the celebration, for now let's not keep the Pharaoh waiting" he added and you had to agree with that.
Following him from your room you were led to a large open space in the palace which was filled with life. Music played and dancers twirled around the floor, in the centre a rich feast like that at the festival of Min had been prepared as the others were arriving.
"Seto, Sekhmet, why am I not surprised to see you together" Isis smiled.
"I had to make sure she would show up in something respectable" Seto sneered.
"I'm sure she's had ample time to see for herself the dress code and workings of the palace, this is hardly still her first week Seto" Isis said with a sly smile "but if you must make excuses to visit then I won't stop you" she moved to walk away Seto about to snap out a response when he was cut off by the Pharaoh himself.
"If it isn't our new war advisor, come sit with me" he said.
Well how could you refuse the Pharaoh himself? You nodded and followed him sitting down beside him food was passed around as well as alcohol and you drank the wine happily to somewhat relax yourself. He seemed to just want to talk, that was fairly reasonable given the position you assumed you'd be working a lot more closely with him.
"Congratulations are in order for you, although none of us had a doubt" he said.
"I'm glad you all had the confidence in me, I certainly didn't, but I had great teachers behind me" you said, especially Seto when you thought about it, you glanced to the priest who seemed to be chatting... or bickering with Mahado.
"Well now you've proved to yourself you are capable you should have more confidence, you already have field experience and with the current state of Egypt you seemingly have a clear path ahead of you although it does pay to be cautious" he said.
"Mm, wise words" you looked around then back to him "I notice Phut isn't here... Is she alright?" You asked.
"Ah... She's already left for the temple of Ra" he said somewhat pausing to answer.
"I see... I thought maybe it had something to do with me" you said.
"Oh no, she was happy to stand down there's no animosity don't worry" he assured you.
Still you had your suspicions and worries... Had you really won or had she let you? You remembered Seto's words to you and supposed you could ask him at some point... Possibly tonight he could give you some indication of how her performance was you were sure.
"I'm surprised someone would want to leave the palace... I thought it was a lifelong commitment" or until you died you finished the sentence in your head.
"Shall I take that to mean you're comfortable here, you certainly seem a lot more relaxed these days and making a friend of Seto no less that's impressive" he said.
"People seem very interested in us lately... Is there something odd about him getting on with someone?" You asked, he had just been bickering with Mahado surely they had some sort of friendship and the Pharaoh seemed to regard him like that.
"He can be... incredibly closed off, I suppose his affinity with you isn't exactly a surprise" he said.
"What do you mean...?" You asked.
"Perhaps this isn't my place to tell you, but Seto wasn't born into this role, his test marks got him to where he was, I don't know all the details naturally he never speaks of it but I'd hazard a guess his life before the palace was one of struggle, not unlike you Sekhmet" the Pharaoh told you.
"What...? That can't be true I mean he's..." You went wide eyed at what you were hearing, Seto a common citizen? Someone like you? There was no way you were going to believe that you waited and waited for the Pharaoh to laugh and tell you it was a joke but he didn't he just confirmed the story.
"Your surprise is only natural, I'm glad to see you trust someone here and to see him open to the idea of doing the same" he said.
"You speak as if we have some sort of connection" you said carefully.
"With all the time you spend together I think half the palace has come to that conclusion" he replied.
"He taught me to fight, he trained me on Ka use and also helped with the majority of my strategizing not to mention being one of the priests most commonly sent outside the palace walls, it's only natural I spend a lot of time with him, it's circumstance" you said.
"Is that all?" The Pharaoh smiled at you and studied your face.
You felt your stomach flip uncomfortably and you felt a lump in your throat not at the idea there could be more that was a very attractive idea to you as was Priest Seto a very attractive and skilled man you couldn't help but hold a great deal of respect for after your time studying under him. The idea of commitment and where it led had you feeling slightly sick, or maybe that was too much wine it was hard to tell, relationships led to marriage and marriage led to... You didn't even want to think about it. You drained your wine perhaps against better judgement.
"With all due respect I'm war advisor now, I've never been good with commitment in relationships and my position means my life expectancy is naturally lower, I don't have the time to consider that aspect of life my full attention will be on serving this country and doing my best to lead your armies to victory I assure you" you said wondering was this some kind of test.
"I have every confidence you will Sekhmet, I wasn't implying you'd be distracted and you shouldn't decide something like happiness isn't for you, I may not know your situation but you deserve to have that, when we pass on from this life what we leave here is how we live out eternity, make sure you leave without regret" he said.
"I will do my best... If I may I'd like to dance" you politely excused yourself wanting to get away from the conversation and drowned yourself in the music clearing your head to just feel the rhythm and move.
Your distraction worked for a while but eventually others came to speak to you offering congratulations and official welcomes you smiled and thanked them. Mahado and Mana stopped you Mahado being the calming voice while Mana jumped around you with endless energy excited for you.
"Mana stop crowding her" Mahado sighed detaching the girl from you as she'd thrown her arms around you.
"But this is great! She's worked so hard and now she's finally here! War advisor!" Mana said.
"She is right, you worked hard for this, well done Sekhmet" Mahado smiled at you.
"Well I had great teachers helping me along" you said.
"If only my other student worked as hard" he said looking down at Mana who shrunk and made an excuse running off.
"Looks like you have a long way to go" you teased.
"You could speak with her, try to convince her" he said it like a joke but his eyes were pleading.
"Oh no that one is all yours thank you, I've worked hard enough to convince Seto I'm not the dirt on his shoe" you joked and he laughed at that.
"He may be harsh but he does think highly of you, he wouldn't spend so much time teaching you if he didn't" he offered.
"Mmm..." You said and quickly moved past the conversation worried Mahado would be the next person to insinuate after Isis and the Pharaoh himself.
You finally got a seat and a moment to yourself. Sighing you had another cup of wine in your hand if you weren't drunk before you soon were going to be.
"And here you told me you were going to enjoy me looking miserable" a familiar voice said as the seat next to you was occupied.
"Hah... I don't like being fussed over, if it was a prophesy I was to become war advisor, why are they acting so surprised?" You asked.
"For once I agree with you, then again they tend to get excitable and irritating when drunk" Seto answered you.
"Looks like we can both be out of our comfort zone tonight" you sighed.
"That's where you're wrong, things like this don't make me uncomfortable the people at them just irritate me" he said.
"A lot of people irritate you" you pointed out.
"A lot of people are incomprehensibly stupid" he hit back you had to agree.
"Hey... That fight today, was she really trying or did she throw it?" You asked.
"Are you having another bout of uncertainty about your abilities Sekhmet?" He asked.
That name again... The name you'd taken up while working... The more it was said to you the more you didn't identify with it now, especially from him, even the connection, the memory of countless men saying it and now him, that at the very least didn't sit right with you.
"Don't call me that..." you said at last taking a breath, if you were going to take this position seriously you may as well let them in on your real name.
"Excuse me?" He asked, of course he was confused you looked around and grimaced there was too many people and you didn't need a crowd.
"I need to tell you something... To be honest with you, but not here" you said.
"Are you drunk? What are you on about?" He asked.
"If you want to know then follow me" you said, you could do with the breather anyway.
The grand room with all those people was stifling and you walked, through the corridor and to an opening out into the gardens, the night was calm and the stars twinkled in the sky at you. Having practically sped there you hadn't even looked back to see if he was following you, it was fine if he didn't even the air for a moment was welcome.
"You've dragged me out here so it better be important" that answered your question as to had he followed you.
You turned and looked up at him sighing and balling your fists wondering why you found it so hard, so daunting to just tell him your name. Sure you'd disregarded it for a long time but it was yours and names were important, symbolic, the only way to guarantee eternity in the afterlife.
"I haven't been exactly honest" you began and he waited for you to explain yourself "my name isn't Sekhmet, that was just a name I took up while working" you said "My name, my real name is ____" you finished it felt oddly like an invisible weight had been lifted.
"That's all you had to say? I mean I always did wonder, Sekhmet never really suited you... but ____, that fits more" he said.
"I haven't told anyone my name since I was 14, I left my identity and life behind it was easier to take strength from a new name, pretend I was a different person" you explained.
"Is this going somewhere? Is this your round about way of saying you can't perform the duties you now have?" He narrowed his eyes.
"No... No if I was going to back out I wouldn't have taken on Phut, I wouldn't have done all those months of training, I wouldn't have worked so hard" you said.
"If your real name is so important, why tell me?" He asked.
"Because I trust you, the others are kind, they welcomed me in and encouraged me and that's the problem, they'll smile and tell me how great it all is, it isn't genuine, you've been honest since I got here, about your dislike and distrust of me, about how I was doing and what was expected of me I feel it's only fair I'm honest with you and that included telling you my name" you said.
"and I... That name represented a part of my life I no longer need, a part I can put behind me" you finished your thoughts racing but managing to string together what you wanted to say.
He looked at you like he was weighing something up in his mind and now you'd vomited out all of your reasonings and thoughts you felt self-conscious seeing how rambling they sounded.
"You really need to get out of your own head sometimes ____" he spoke.
You didn't have a reply to that, he was probably right, keeping all your issues, worries and concerns in your head to eat away at you probably wasn't healthy but you'd never had the opportunity to open up. Men paid you for sex not for your problems and you didn't want any of them knowing anything about you anyway. The breeze rustled through the garden as you just stood and looked at him, as you looked at each other and maybe it was the wine and maybe... You stopped yourself, you were overthinking it all and getting into your own head again and you allowed you head to just be quiet for once. You moved forward closing the gap between you.
You met eachother half way, him leaning down and you leaning up, lips connecting for a moment in a soft peck, almost testing, as if to satisfy some curiosity. Pulling back a fraction and looking at eachother to confirm that yes, whatever the question was the answer was yes. The next kiss wasn't testing, it wasn't soft, his arm was firmly around your waist pulling you close to him, lips locked in a much deeper kiss. Your hand reached up knocking off his headgear in favour of threading your fingers through his hair, your other hand gripping the fabric of his tunic. You'd kissed more men than you could count in your time and none of them even came close to the feeling you currently had. Barely pulling back for air he broke it off and distanced himself picking up the now discarded headgear to hide his messed-up hair.
"They'll wonder where we are" he said.
"Let them" you said irritated, they'd insinuated all night none of their gossip would change.
"The pharaoh himself organised this celebration for you, it isn't optional, collect your thoughts and get back in there" he narrowed his eyes at you and turned to leave but you reached out and grabbed his arm.
He turned back to you, you could see he was ready to snap at you again but his gaze softened and he waited for what you had to say.
"You didn't answer me about Phut" you said.
"This again? Does it even matter whether she threw the fight or not?" He asked and placed his hands on your shoulders "she ran off, you are here partaking in your duties" he said.
"Should I take your avoidance on answering to mean she threw the fight?" You asked a wave of anger washing over you, it had seemed easy when kas came into play now you thought back.
"Don't put words in my mouth ____, she fought well today, you fought better" he said and sighed pinching the bridge of his nose.
"That was all I wanted to know... I don't need you suddenly being cryptic with me as well" you said.
With that you moved past him and back to the hall where the celebration was, truth be told you wanted to go back to your room or his you weren't going to be picky. It was obvious he was too tied to rules and tradition to let you get out of this and the music and people blurring by was beginning to give you a headache. Maybe he had viewed the kiss as a mistake... You groaned, not wanting to think and hurried to get a new cup of wine, drinking the night out of existence was as good a way to forget about it as any.