The heart's Indulgence
Their voices could be heard long before the two figures rounded the corner.
"His majesty has to review this new security policy before we can implement the necessary appropriations to protocol"
Prime minister Seto accepted the sheaves of manuscripts his underling shoved into his arm and nodded briskly. The latter stepped back and the other way through a smaller corridor as the second most powerful man in all of Egypt made his way down a larger, more impressive archway to his superior's private chambers. The retinue of guards flanking each of the marbled pillars dipped their heads and their spears respectfully as he passed by, their eyes fixed on the ground beneath his feet.
He stopped in front of the two swinging doors and issued a silent command to the heavily built Nubian bodyguards that made up the last bastion of defense, they moved in concert and pushed open both doors as the royal prince walked in. Seto blinked slightly from the almost blinding display of light he stepped into; his majesty had insisted on his chambers being located on the highest point of the city, that way he would be the first to herald the sun god Ra every morning. The breeze wafted in and out from the low windows and rippled through the many hanging silk curtains that wrapped around the pillars. Seto scanned the room almost impatiently until he found the person he was looking for.
Some people were born without the element of fear or acknowledgement of danger, and his majesty Yami was one of those. He lay sprawled atop the narrow edge of the wrought gold terrace outside the room; one arm tucked under his head, while the other flicked a bronze dagger into the air. Seto felt a familiar twitch of concern for his overlord, considering it was a sheer thirty-foot drop from the terrace to the rock gardens below. He observed the ruler of Egypt unnoticed for several moments, a surge of warmth flowing through him at the object of his hidden affection. There was only one word to describe his majesty- Magnificent.
His sun bronzed skin glimmered almost as brightly as the array of jewels on his arms and neck, his shoulder length purple/black hair spilled in different directions as the wind swept to and fro. He was wearing a short hand tooled kilt and nothing much over his well defined torso except for a leather belt that wrapped from shoulder to kilt, and the royal purple cape of the Pharaoh. Yami turned slightly and his eyelashes flicked up, revealing deep blue eyes tinged with a ring of red. His eyes met with Seto's and he smiled. It was a slow smile; the kind a hungry cat would give to a rich bowl of cream, and Seto felt his gut wrench as the Pharaoh got to his feet.
"If I didn't know better, I'd think you were admiring me"
The prime minister felt his face heat up but ignored his cousin's comment, instead turning to the many rolls of papyrus in his arm.
"Pharaoh, we need to talk"
He was essentially the only person in the kingdom who dared speak to the king without the usual litany of flowery little titles and praise names. The other man shrugged and stepped closer.
"Alright you found me, but I just couldn't sit there and continue listening to Akhenaden map out my life for me without being able to let him know what I thought of it all. It was like being buried alive in my sarcophagus, which by the way isn't finished yet"
Seto sighed and placed the scrolls down on a stone dais.
"Well master Akhenaden is the most astute political adviser our nation has ever known and his expertise on these areas cannot be faulted. The political ramifications of an alliance between Egypt and the Ethiops cannot be over emphasized. For one, we won't have to worry about the seasonal spats over the use of the Blue Nile."
The Pharaoh rolled his eyes and sank unto the marble steps on the terrace. He folded his legs under him and for a moment Seto had a flash of memory of when they were children. Yami looked up and murmured quietly.
"Don't you think I know that? Of course the advantages of an alliance with the Ethiops are many, but he's expecting me to marry their princess"
Seto walked over and came to sit beside his cousin.
"Well history has shown that the longest lasting alliances are formed over the marital bed. Our nation was united in similar ways"
The other man covered his face in his hands and chuckled.
"Akhenaden keeps harping on and on about honor and duty to the state and the best interest of the people. But this is marriage we're talking about, does my duty extend into binding myself forever with someone I don't know and probably won't ever love? Don't I get the chance to be happy?"
There was silence for several minutes, and then he turned to the Prime minister.
"What do you think Seto? Does the good old crown come over the heart?"
Seto started to say something but closed his mouth, a gut wrenching pain ripping him inside. Could he in all honesty tell the Pharaoh that duty came first, seeing as his own duty made him only more and more miserable day by day? Yet who was Seto to tell his cousin to follow his heart when he was too afraid to do the same? He shut his eyes briefly and opened them, startled to see that the space between he and the Pharaoh had shortened considerably.
Seto stared into the purple eyes that had haunted his dreams and passions for so long and swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. Yami leaned closer until their noses were almost touching, their lips mere inches apart. Seto could feel his cousin's warm breath on his face, could almost taste the spiced wine on his breath. He leaned closer and brushed his lips to the Pharaoh, shockwaves of lightening running through him. They kissed again and again, each time longer and more passionate than the last.
Yami leaned back and looked down, a soft blush suffusing his features.
"I had hoped but hardly dared-Perhaps this time I can drop the crown and have my heart's indulgence"