When the young and nubile Queen at his side stood and decided to stretch her legs, Iahotep was distracted at first by the wine being poured into his - once again - empty goblet. The chalice was gold and finely inlaid with rich jewels and colouring. It was a cup worthy of a King. A King of Kings. The morning and the evening star that he had managed to bestow upon himself through fine military work and just enough cunning to turn fine into perfection. The Council had assured him the role of Pharaoh before anyone else who might have been able or willing was able to reach for it themselves.
More fool them.
When he realised that the woman who had graced the throne beside his had headed out and into the crowd, her tiny frame elegantly coated in fine raiment and her carriage that of a Queen, Iahotep felt a stirring of desire. It was a shame the woman was so beautiful and yet so dreadfully dull in the bedchamber. It felt a double-edged sword that he had managed to make her with child so soon after their marriage. Not that they were to announce such a thing just yet. The royal physicians had insisted on waiting to be sure and Iahotep was no simpleton. He was not about to risk the jeers and jokes of achieving an almost pregnancy. He would wait until they had been given the formal verdict in a few weeks. But, if it was confirmed (as the physician expected) that little Hatshepsut was indeed with child, Iahotep had no need to dally with her in the bedroom any longer, until the child was born and another needed to be conceived. A blessing that brought with it a curse for he was newly Pharaoh. And adultery - for some reason - was frowned upon by the Council. He would have to keep his chambers quiet of women for now. At least until he could herald the excuse of the Queen being too large to mate with and his appetites needing to be quenched elsewhere...
Watching her for a moment and then standing abruptly to join her, Iahotep reached over and secured a tight and hard grasp on the young girl's hand, his beverage in the other. He neither noticed the slight sway to his step, nor remembered the number of cups he had already consumed that had led him to such a state.
"You wish to walk, my dear?" He asked, the last word a bit of a drawl as they were both aware of a limited - if not zero - affection between the two of them. "Do so in your proper position." He insisted, tugging on her hand and moving her into his side, making it clear exactly where that position was expected to be.
In the process, however, he had not stopped her steps, and the journey had taken them to a small cluster of the Egyptian nobility, each drinking or speaking in turn. His gaze shifted over the young girl of the Haikaddad. She was a twin he knew, but had zero idea or inclination to care which of the two she was. His eyes simply leered as he took in her hair and dress from top to bottom. It was a shame her breeding had brought with it a touch of the savage about her appearance. A pure Egyptian held more elegant class about her. But there was a touch of exotic that was alluring in its own way.
They had approached the group in just enough time to hear the General Osorsen address his new mother-in-law and Iahotep took the opportunity to correct the man. The options were so few and far between, he wasn't about to let this one go unclaimed.
"Queen Dowager..." He commented at the man, raising his cup to his lips as his fingers twisted in amongst his wife's. "... is the correct and polite term of address, Sirdar Moghadam." Iahotep stated without regard for any awkward embarrassment his correction might cause to those present, his eyes darkening over the rim of his cup, as he drank deeply once more from its belly.
Osorsen's uncouth words should not have caught the queen mother by surprise, and yet Isetheperu found herself taken aback. Her controlled, stony features lapsed, her brow raising, lips twitching in annoyance. She had known, of course, that the general would be upset. He certainly considered himself in the running to take her daughter as his bride, and if circumstances had been different, perhaps he would have been. After all, she had considered the man a friend of many years, and had helped him where she could as a favor to his house and out of respect for the aging Osorsen the greater.
The decisions she made regarding the future of her own house, however, were not to be made lightly and certainly not in the sake of the obviously tenuous name of friendship. Did you ever respect me at all? Isetheperu wanted to ask, as she evenly returned Osorsen's own malice-laced gaze, Or was it all a ploy for the crown?
A sudden violent urge overtook her, not for the first time. She longed for the strength of body to clean the disrespect off the man's ridiculously bearded face, but as always, she had no weapon to suit her but her words.
"Be careful not to let your tongue run away with your head, my friend," Isetheperu cautioned, her lilting voice enough to feign good humor, though anyone familiar with the once-queen would understand the threat of her tone. "You might find yourself missing them both."
The tension in the air was suddenly stirred as she sensed another approach and turned in time to catch the approach of her own daughter, tugged grudgingly to the new Pharaoh's side. Iahotep's interruption, for once, was a welcome one, as he came to defend her title against the younger man's insult. But she had to wonder whether her son-in-law did so out of regard for her dignity, or if it was a petty exercise of power over the rival who had once been his ally.
"Ah!" she exclaimed suddenly in a measure of delight. "Praise be to the King of Kings." Though every instinct in her body railed against it, Isetheperu inclined her head in a short bow before raising her own cup. She pressed her lips to the rim and tilted back, but did not drink, instead lowering it after a pause. "We were only just speaking of you."
Isetheperu did not like seeing her beautiful young Hatshepsut plastered to the new Pharaoh's side any more than Osorsen did, truly, but sacrifices had to be made. Was it not wonderfully selfless of her, to place the necessity and well-being of their future generations above her own human greed? Would the gods not smile favorably on her and her house for showing such restraint? This was one of many narratives she entertained. The truth was she felt some degree of fondness for Iahotep, at least in the degree that he was to be her instrument of power. The gods, however, needn't know this much.
After a moment she turned back to the H'Haikaddad pair, nodding politely in a way that she hoped would conceal that she had only been half-listening. "I foresee a strong future for Hei Haikaddad, if your lordship's military accomplishment is any indication. And Egypt will be that much stronger for it." Isetheperu did not issue compliments lightly, but considering that she may be about to lose a valuable alliance with Hei Moghadem if Osorsen could not resolve his pride, it was important for her to groom suitable replacements. Hei Haikaddad was not quite as powerful, at least not in recent decades. But if Isetheperu could have a hand in their reemergence, then perhaps Hei Fakhouri would have a more stable and beholden ally.
That, and despite herself, Isetheperu could not help finding some sympathy for Narmer and the situation into which he had been thrust. His circumstances were not so different from her own, she thought, trying to salvage a fading house from the brink of ruin. If she could help him in some way, perhaps her own uphill climb would not feel quite so hopeless.
"Indeed, the gods are surely smiling this night," she agreed with Narmer's last assessment, turning to grin at her daughter before addressing the group in a blithely conspiratorial wink. "And with any degree of good fortune, there will be more to celebrate in the coming months."
If there could be one who was able to chill the area they were in, it would be this man. Saifya had not met the man, at least outside of the very formal settings - which included this one - but that didn't mean she would claim knowledge of him as a person, there were persistent rumours which even Safiya had heard and they did not exactly make her feel more welcomed to be in his presence. Safiya was puzzled at how quickly a moment had ended and another had arrived; would it always be like this?
However, the swift chill that ran down her spine as he arrived and spoke those strangely cruel and cold words had her shivering with the sense of loss, namely the warmth that had been building between her and the others. Safiya felt flustered and confused, and entirely out of her depth all at the same time.
Safiya was a young courtier and it was often hard for her to truly accept the rise and fall of the various people around here, along with their tempers and moods. The only person she truly relied on was her sister, that was why she alone knew the identity of the man to whom her affections had been placed. All she could hope was that it would be enough. Safiya had no interest in speaking now, this was almost to the point that she should perhaps step back and allow them to carry on without her adding anything more. Not that Safiya was truly sure about what she might add.
The slip up had been something relatively minor, or was it? Safiya was not sure that she could speak to how true or not that was but the correction had been uttered and that was something she would just have live with, much like the one whom had been addressed. Would it continue to escalate? There was a part of her that strongly suspected that she should step away and find some excuse to make her own departure. But it was hard to handle the desire to stick around and see what exactly ended up playing out, it was almost like watching some disaster unfolding in front of her eyes.
Osorsen noted the shift in her expression as he spoke without his usual polite regard for her status. That had been lost the moment he heard that she had allowed the marriage of her daughter and the old general to take place. He couldn’t even blame the wine he’d imbibed, for he would have found it difficult to hold his tongue in any case. The threat she lobbed at him was barely veiled and he found himself grinning in a way that was more snarl and baring of his teeth than anything else.
”If you have the means to attempt such a thing, I would welcome the try. Though you may find my head and tongue more well guarded by the families of the realm than that of your new son.”
As if speaking his name drew his hated presence forth, Osorsen turned his cold gaze to the new pharaoh who clasped Hatshepsut to his side. The sight of her so close to that of his enemy made his blood boil further, and he met the man’s eyes without any sign of respect that he might have held in the past. The correction slipped past him as the dowager attempted to engage his friend in flattering discussion, one that allowed his smile to only grow. She was fishing for the wrong household. Haikaddad had always held a close alliance to Moghadam, and he and his own grandfather had taken in Narmer to conduct his military training that she so applauded.
”Yes. The Sirdar has grown strong under the supervision and training of his allies. Let us hope that Egypt’s strength grows in your favor.”
Without a bow, Osorsen instead upended his cup of wine with a clatter on the tray of a passing slave, letting the red liquid flow out and around it to the floor like a trail of blood. Blood he would not hesitate to spill if it came to it. He was more powerful than she gave him credit for, and whatever her reasons for choosing a common man to stand beside her daughter, she had clearly miscalculated what the power of nobility could do. Turning on his heel, he gave a whistle that had all of those associated with Hei Moghadam immediately set aside whatever entertainments they were partaking in.
It was a small show of power, as certainly some would not risk leaving and offending those royal, but those who held support for him, or were part of his holdings, all filtered out silently and he exited without regard for anything or anyone else that evening. He hadn’t outright declared a war upon them, but it was as close to the threat as he could come. They could scramble now to determine how it would all be taken.
As the Pharoah approached and saw fit to correct Osorsen in his ways of addressing the royalty, Narmer internally winced, as his gaze flickered over to his friend. Having been acquainted with the Moghadam general for so long, he knew that the man's temper was not to be trifled with. It was how Osorsen had earned his reputation on the battlefield after all. While it was a temper to be feared in battle however, it did not work as well in court of course, and sure enough, the reaction was not at all surprising to Narmer, scandalizing as it may be. It did not help that Hatshepsut, the new and young Queen, was pretty much plastered to the pharoah's side, and while that may be an appropriate place to be for her, Narmer doubted Osorsen would appreciate seeing it.
Keeping silent as he watched his friend react, his eyes turned when the Queen Dowager addressed him, and smiled. "I appreciate your strong support, Queen Dowager." He could not risk his Hei's reputation nor standing within those of royalty for now, but neither could he outright go agaisnt his friend. It was the elder Moghadam who had accepted Narmer in to continue his training after Narutt's death had left him half-way done, and Osorsen had been a boon when it came to ensuring Narmer always got a strong opponent when training.
Yet at the same time, if anyone would understand the position Narmer was put in after the untimely death of his father and brother, it would be the Queen Dowager. Like himself, Isetheperu was lodged in a difficult circumstance, to save a house on the brink of ruin, in a situation seemingly quite unsalvageable. He understood her need to make difficult decisions... but he also understood why Osorsen's temper had been, of late, out of control.
The call of Osorsen for his allies to follow him left Narmer torn - he could not go against the Pharoah and the Dowager Queen, for to do so would spell utter demise of his Hei and any support he wished to gain from it. But to not follow Osorsen would be a betrayal he did not want to see through.
Picking the middle path, instead Narmer tried to distract other's from Osorsen's display by catching the eye of his sister-in-law across the room, and nodding at her before turing to bow at both the Pharoah, Hatshepsut, and the Dowager Queen. "I must make my excuses, for my sister wishes to have an audience with my niece after not seeing her for quite some time. Your Evening Radiance, I must ask for a few moments with my niece, and shall return her shortly." With another flourishing bow at the young Queen, he gestured at Safiya, waiting till they were out of earshot and blocked by the bodies of other's before asking, "The pharoah has not been giving you or your sister problems, has he?" After all, Iahotep's reputation preceded him.
After removing her other sandal and splashing in the cooling water for a few moments, Hatshepsut stepped out of the pond and put her sandals back on. Bending down was a bit tricky, for her heavy crown and braided wig shifted a bit upon her head. She certainly didn't want it to fall off into the pool with so many eyes upon her.
As soon as she straightened up, she felt a large calloused hand grasp her own and she shivered as she looked up and met Iahotep's eyes. He seemed well into his cups and she knew better than to say anything against him. “As you wish, my husband and Pharaoh,” she agreed demurely. Though she wished to yank her small hand from his grip, any form of disharmony between them would look much worse than her crown and wig falling off.
It was an effort not to show her irritation when he pulled her to his side possessively, as if proclaiming to the world that she was his. It took even more resolve not to freeze in place when it became clear where he was leading her, directly to the group that included her mother, Sirdar H'Haikaddad, her retainer Safiya … and Osorsen. What would her lover think, seeing her in the company of the man who had taken her from him? Would he believe that she had wed Iahotep by choice? Or would he notice the sadness in her eyes and realize that she had been forced into marriage with him? I need to speak to him and explain.
Hatshepsut didn't miss the way Iahotep lasciviously looked Safiya up and down as if considering her as a potential mistress. She had never fooled herself into thinking that he would be faithful to her. Though she could have pleased him in bed, she had chosen not to, to just lie stiff beneath him and let him have his way with her. She didn't want his attentions and if she was pregnant, as she suspected she was, perhaps he would leave her alone until the baby was born. She wanted Osorsen and nobody else.
She kept her eyes averted, afraid all of her training in hiding her emotions would not prevent her feelings for Osorsen from shining through. The young Queen inwardly winced when her husband corrected him when he wrongly addressed her mother. He had probably done that on purpose, blaming Isetheperu at least partially from wrenching his dream away from him. Hatshepsut's fingers hurt, squeezed so tightly. It seemed as if Iahotop was giving her a silent warning not to betray him.
Her mother greeted Iahotep effusively and went on to praise Sirdar H'Haikaddad and predict a bright future for his house. Osorsen responded curtly and it was only when she heard the clatter of a goblet upon a tray that she turned her gaze toward him. He had overturned his cup and now he strode away, signaling to his supporters to leave with him. She applauded him silently for his courage and hoped that Iahotep wouldn't make him suffer for it.
Sirdar H'Haikaddad then made his own excuses to leave, asking her if she could spare Safiya for a few moments so that she could speak with her aunt. “Of course, Sirdar.” Hatshepsut smiled at her retainer. “Take all the time you need, Safiya. It must be exciting to see your family again.”
Her mother's grin and wink heartened her a bit. Once the others were out of earshot, she cocked her head at the woman who had given birth to her, again feeling the shift of her crown. “How did you guess that I am with child, Mother?”
Neithotep H’Sheifa was a rare figure in the court, always having preferred her idle hours spent with friends and lovers who expected little of her. She avoided all of the parties and events that she could, only attending the ones that her mother gave her no choice on. But the Sed festival was a different beast entirely, a hedonistic revel that spoke to Nia in a way most others did not. Most importantly, it was one function in which most of her family would not be in attendance. Naturally, that fact alone was incentive for her to go.
When Akhenaten left the house that night, so did she, slipping out under the cover of darkness that her parents might not see what she was wearing and try to stop her. Though why they would, she didn’t understand. The beaded network dresses were all the fashion lately, and they were always trying to get her more involved in the things ladies her age were supposed to be interested in. Nia rolled her eyes, following closely behind her brother as they made their way into the palace of the Pharaoh. Her mother was a vexing mystery. Who’d ever heard of an Egyptian prude?
As soon as they entered the opulent building, Neithotep couldn’t help but gawk. The Sheifa household was a wonder in itself, but the Palace was on its own level of grandeur, especially decked out as it was for the festival. It didn’t take long for Nia to part from her brother and head her own way, swallowed by the sea of revelers only too eager to have her join them.
And who could blame them? Nia was particularly radiant this night, her lithe figure clad in a gown of netted silk, intricately beaded with gold and lapis lazuli that caught every flicker of the light. Rather than going barefoot as she usually preferred, delicate golden leather sandals were tied around trim ankles to accentuate the curve of her leg that much more. She also had gone heavier on the cosmetics than was her typical wont, eyes outlined and elongated with kohl and carmine darkening the pout of her lips. Long hair was immaculately braided and woven with gold whilst her wrists and neck shone with gold and jewels alike. A beauty in her own right, the young woman was absolutely resplendent in her unaccustomed finery, and she drew more than one eye as she started weaving her way through the crowd.
A smirk tugged at her lips as Nia plucked a glass of wine from a tray offered by one of the slaves, raising it to her mouth while her dark gaze roamed. Writhing bodies, gasping moans, the smell of smoke and sex… all this filled the room and more, and the woman felt her own blood surge in response. Downing the glass in hardly more than a few seconds, she set it back down and took a deep breath as she pondered everything the Sed had to offer. She wasn’t about to let a night like this go to waste.
The hours passed with Nia indulging in nearly every vice she had, lost to the whirlwind of careless pleasure that surrounded her. It only stopped when the scene with the Pharaoh and his young wife drew the attention of nearly every eye in the room, their activities halted as they all held their collective breath. Neithotep was clueless to many of the happenings of the Court in her marked avoidance of the Palace, but even she knew of the whispers that surrounded the Pharaoh, the Queen, and the Sirdar Moghadam. Judging from Osorsen’s rather pointed and abrupt departure, it would seem they were more than just whispers.
Rising from her most recent partner’s lap and standing up straighter to get a better view, she couldn’t help but notice Safiya (or maybe it was Sameerah?) H’Haikaddad snagged up in the middle of it while the barbed bickering commenced around her. Excusing herself with a kiss from the man whose name she’d already forgotten, she carefully made her way over to where her friend stood in the wake of it all. Concern for the girl’s welfare was written clearly on Nia’s pretty face; while she didn’t much care for most members of the Egyptian nobility, the Haikaddad twins had always been dear to her, particularly Safiya. And something told her Safiya could probably use a reprieve.
Before she could reach the girl, however, another man stepped in, a man she vaguely recognized as the twins’ uncle. Nalmer? Narder? Someday she’d have to start paying more attention when her mother instructed her on who belonged to what Hei…
Nia hesitated for a moment when her path was intercepted, but ultimately shrugged her shoulders and joined them. It’s not like she was particularly shy. “Safiya!” she greeted her friend, hoping she had the right twin. She was fairly sure she did, but like everyone else, there were certainly times where she had trouble telling them apart. “How have I missed you all night? Where have you been hiding?” Wrapping her in a hug, she brushed her lips across the younger woman’s cheek. Looking over at Safiya’s uncle, she nodded politely and offered a smile. “And a pleasant evening to you, Sirdar Haikaddad. Have you been enjoying the party? Aside from, well… that.”
Smiling pleasantly as they left the Pharoah and the young Queen's side, a part of Narmer found it a pity that such a young and beautiful young girl was now married to the power-hungry and obviously slightly posessive Pharoah. It was to no surprise to anyone that Iahotep had done what he had done, but perhaps what did surprise Narmer was the fact that the Queen Dowager had went through with it. To a certain extent, he had always expected the Queen Dowager to be quite protective of her only daughter. That she had chosen Iahotep for her daughter's husband and as Pharoah was a mild surprise to him.
But such matters was not of his concern, at least not for now. He had his own problems with his Hei, and three young wards to care for, two of which were now within the premises.
Before his niece could answer her question however, a burst of a young body came, and Narmer's eyes widened as the dark-haired young lady Narmer recognized as the young daughter to Hei Sheifa burst forth to greet his niece, chattering excitedly in a manner that said the two were well acquainted before this. To say that he knew of his nieces's friends would be a lie, for Narmer had not caught up with his family in his years away, and despite having been back for over a year now, matters of the Hei consumed him so much, he could not take a breath to have social chatter with the younger children of his brother. His memory wasn't exactly the greatest either, and it took all he had to remember who belonged in what Hei, enough so he did not shame his Hei.
Caught off guard when the young lady addressed him, Narmer started back into attention, and gave a respectful nod and smiled in his usual charming manner at the girl and her greeting. "And same to you, Lady Neithotep." Had he seen the girl before? Not really. Narmer had been put through lessons many years ago as a child, when Narutt had newly taken over the family Hei, and insisted his younger brother learn.
He would remember faces sketched out, and while this lady in front of him was older then the sketch he had remembered, the man dragged the memory out of the dredges of his mind. He has heard of the young second-born of the Hei Sheifa to be a girl involved in many affairs... but whether it was true or not, Narmer dared not confirm, especially when Hei Sheifa was known to be avid and powerful merchants, which essentially made them a Hei Narmer desperately would like for his to be aligned with.
Which meant, he had to treat her kindly.
"I have indeed, although it is a tad more... large, then the parties I'm used to." the chuckle that accompanied his words was tinged with a slight sense of awkwardness, as if he wasn't sure how one should carry conversations like these. Allowing his eyes to roam a little, he saw the tangle of bodies, the extravagant displays of food, and then his gaze roamed back to Neithotep, the smile still in place as he asked. "And you, my'lady?" Briefly, the man let his gaze drop to Safiya, a silent question that echoed what he had asked earlier - and if it was fine for him to leave her alone in such an excessive affair of vices.