rashepses' smile returned to the face of his gods'-gilded sun, growing into a golden beam as setemhotep laid true balm upon the soul of his pharaoh. at some point he shut his eyes to further hear, to catch at the tendril of worship and knowingness that he had seen only in one other. senmut. yes. an air of priestliness had filled this small clearing, and he had forgotten the food grown cold by now. he was within a temple, transported; he had his face uplifted to the sun, listening as the sesh surrounded him with the surety of his own life.
Have faith, Mighty One, you need only keep Ma'at.
for a long while, khaemwaset was quiet, moved, transfixed. he felt the hand of the gods upon him; he missed fiercely the scarlet stone rooms wherein he and merneith had been taught their histories both living and dead, where the portraits of a dead grandfather and his murdered queen had moved them to know themselves as Ma'at's own answer.
had he not shifted it from his brother?
had he not changed all things so that he had become pharaoh?
yes. once i have passed through. and from the Duat again we were reborn.
his voice dreamed. his heart did not.
i hear you. my ears behold your words. his mouth twitched. you remind me of a man who loved the gods so much that he was touched by divinity in the end. senmut. a peasant priest eventually made erpa-ha by my mother when she inherited first the role of queen, and then of pharaoh. he had refastened his attention to setemhotep, his eyes still faint with the glow of the power which thrummed about he and the sesh. i see in you the pinnacle of piety that i expect all to reach in satriya.
he stood, turned his face to the heavens once more. i cannot break the sky, for my sister holds the arrow. we are one, and if i am to be beautified before her years, then i will be content from this moment on that our land will always have a Horus.
khaemwaset leveled his gaze once more on the other man. my grandfather and his queen created what gave rise to me. he had all at his hands. he threw it aside in pursuit of hungers never fulfilled. he shattered the stars and Ma'at turned Her face away from him. i will remember all you have said.
another long look; then pharaoh blinked and became the idol once more. offer these mothers and their children harbor in my name, sesh. if any should come at your word, i will give them minor titles and place them in useful roles. their children, also, would be educated inside the palace, even if they were destined for the military, nobility, or even as bodyservants. and i will speak with the queen.