Good grief, I thought this chapter would be the easiest, but it's been the hardest yet to write. It's been sitting at near-complete capacity for ages just because I was struggling with a few scenes. There is no excuse; I should be flogged.

All I can say is thank you all for your continued support and patience; I appreciate it so, so much. =) Here's an extra-long chapter for you! (You also might hate me by the end of it.)

As always, this fic is NOT HISTORICALLY ACCURATE.


Natsuki nodded to the palace guards stationed outside Pharaoh's chambers before opening the doors and breezing in.

Her anteroom was small by Pharaonic standards. Which meant large by any other terms. Falcons, Pharaoh's emblem, predominated the decorations here. The rooms had been painted with vibrant ornamentation generations ago, so she had made few redecorations upon moving in two months ago. Her additions were dark cedar furnishings and fur rugs fetched by her own arrows. On the walls she kept mounts for swords, bows, armor, and other trappings of war and the hunt. Her other chambers leading off from this anteroom were similarly decorated.

Natsuki had no time to take in the sight of her home, however. She had barely shut the doors behind her and pulled off her crown in relief when someone launched himself into her arms, ecstatic at her arrival.

She laughed as she was tackled to the rugs and covered in kisses on her face, neck, hands, and anywhere else the inquisitive muzzle could reach as it checked to be sure she was still in one piece after being apart from him so long. She shifted to a more comfortable sitting position so the hilt of her belted sword would not poke her ribs as he inspected her.

"Ara, this fellow was not nearly so happy to meet me," a light voice said.

Natsuki looked over the furred head at the only other human in the room, who was sitting calmly with one knee crossed over the other in a chair along one painted wall. Arika must have brought her here after the parade to wait for Natsuki.

Point-pricked ears and a long muzzle quivered in the other woman's direction. His slender gray body and long legs flexed as if wondering whether to go bother this stranger who had settled herself in his mistress's domain. The silver band around his neck rattled as he shook his head with a snort and returned his attention to Natsuki.

The dark-haired woman introduced her two companions to each other with a chuckle. "Shizuru, this is Duran. Duran, Shizuru."

Duran was an Arrow Hound, named both for their narrow, pointed build and their use as hunting dogs. He grinned happily to have her back home. Still sitting on the floor, Natsuki rubbed her hands along his muzzle. Without realizing it, she wore a similar grin.

"He's named after his grandsire, my very first dog, given to me by... by my father." Natsuki's grin faltered and her breath hitched, as it often did when she spoke of Kanakht. She cleared her throat. "I keep a whole pack, but he knows he's the favorite, else he wouldn't be allowed in here."

Shizuru rose from her chair. "Well, unless Duran bathes with you, I suggest leaving him here for now. We have a victory banquet to prepare you for, no? What would people say if Pharaoh showed up covered in slobber?"

Natsuki cocked her head. "You really care about Pharaoh's appearance?"

"Hardly. But Arika-san was most insistent before she left," the other woman answered with a twinkle in her eye. "Come, other slaves prepared the bath while you were wandering the palace."

Natsuki gave the hound one last pat and ordered him to wait there. She whispered reassuringly in his ear, "You don't slobber, Duran," before rising and following her slave further into her quarters.

The smell of herbal concoctions filled Natsuki's nose as Shizuru led her to the bathing chamber. She must have done some exploring of these rooms to pass the time, Natsuki realized. Somehow she felt both excited and nervous that Shizuru had been in her home.

Before long, Shizuru efficiently rid her of her sword, jewelry, and clothing and installed her in the still-warm bath in the tile-floored little room. Two stools stood beside the copper tub, with fragrant soaps and hair-rinses and creams and a bunch of other nonsense on a tray atop one. Shizuru settled gracefully onto the other stool and proceeded to subject Natsuki to all that nonsense.

If she had rushed through undressing Natsuki, now Shizuru took her time laving her up and down, rubbing the washcloth along toned limbs and strong shoulders. Long, dextrous fingers threaded through dark hair. Natsuki was scrubbed, washed, rinsed, and washed again.

As she sat chest-deep in the tub, Natsuki did her best to remain stoic under Shizuru's ministrations, as she always tried. Still, oil lamps lit the chamber well, so Shizuru could pick out each little expression that passed over Natsuki's face, like they usually did when she had Shizuru bathe her. Over the splashing water came a soft laugh from the sandy-haired woman.

She just might have come to enjoy this duty a bit too much, Natsuki thought grumpily. Even so, there were still a few areas on Natsuki that Shizuru always avoided touching, and neither of them had the courage to speak of why.

Shizuru was running sudsy hands through Natsuki's long hair for the third time when she suddenly said, tone thoughtful, "Seeing your courtiers this afternoon certainly was... interesting. That Tomoe woman... and the woman next to her, the one who looked a bit like you, do they –"

"Nina does not look like me!" Natsuki barked, smacking the water.

The taller woman calmly arched an eyebrow at the outburst. Natsuki deflated a bit. "It's just... that has always been a bone of contention between us," she muttered.

Judging by the cheeky little grin on Shizuru's lips, Natsuki had just put another arrow in the woman's quiver of mockery.

I need to guard my tongue better around you, or soon you'll have all my secrets in your hands.

"So, Tomoe-san and this Nina-san who looks nothing like you... Tell me about them."

Shizuru let her hands slip out of Natsuki's hair. One hand lowered to trail slender fingertips in the water at the far end of the tub, back and forth in teasing spirals that came dangerously close to Natsuki's knees.

"Why do you want to know?" Natsuki asked absently. She unwillingly found her eyes following those slow, swirling motions. "Your duties shouldn't require interacting with them."

"Curiosity," Shizuru murmured, lidding her eyes a moment. "Indulge me?"

The younger woman shrugged. Why not? It might distract Shizuru from mischief for a few minutes.

"They're Royal Viziers, the two highest officials in Egypt, charged with administering Pharaoh's power. One for Upper Egypt here in the south, the other for Lower Egypt farther north. I can't be everywhere at once, so they're authorized to deliver my judgement in keeping with the gods' laws."

Natsuki leaned back against the copper tub and laid her arms along the edges as she told Shizuru of the legions of scribes Viziers kept to see to the daily workings of Egypt. They settled legal disputes, recorded land surveys, oversaw trade and taxes, kept census, managed construction and irrigation...

"They handle any civil issue, really. Of course, they can't do anything major without consulting me or Queen Mai. But it's no small responsibility to oversee half of Egypt. Even the governors appointed to the empire's territories don't have such a difficult task."

Natsuki shook her head in sympathy at the mountains of reports and documents a Vizier must grind through every day. Running a nation was not nearly as exciting as it sounded.

"You still haven't told me about the women themselves," Shizuru murmured, still perched atop the stool like an idol on its pedestal.

Natsuki splashed water in the general direction of that cheeky grin. Did Shizuru expect her to give a whole speech? But she decided to humor her again.

"Viziers are hand-picked by Pharaoh. They must be capable, loyal, and just. I believe my father made good choices. Nina wasn't even a noble before she became Vizier of Upper Egypt, but she has shown unwavering dedication.

"And Tomoe replaced her own father as Vizier of Lower Egypt after he died. It's unusual for the title to be inherited like that, but my father must've thought she'd fit the position well. She's certainly capable. They're both young, and have been Viziers for less than a year, but they've done their duties well so far. I saw no reason to replace them when I took the throne."

Shizuru caught her lower lip between her teeth as she mulled over this new information. She often fussed with her lips, Natsuki could not help but notice, either wetting them with the tip of her tongue when uncertain or biting the poor beauties when deep in thought.

"Any other questions?" Natsuki asked, a bit sarcastically. It would be a pleasure just to relax quietly in Shizuru's company for a while before she had to go back out there and put on Pharaoh's crown again.

"Do you trust them?"

Natsuki blinked. Odd thing to ask. Had Shizuru felt the Viziers were somehow untrustworthy? She had not even spoken to them. Natsuki took a few moments to consider her answer.

"I trust both of them with my life. But I trust neither with my kingdom."

As a child she was taught that the reason Viziers were chosen rather than inherited was to be certain of their loyalty. Viziers' influence sometimes tempted them into trying to challenge Pharaoh's rule if a careful eye was not kept on them. But it had been centuries since that happened. Not since the last time a Pharaoh had betrayed the gods by letting himself succumb to weakness and corruption, so much so that most courtiers had thrown their support behind the challenger and his new dynasty. Of course, the common people had still suffered through the resulting civil war, as they always did no matter who was the nobler man competing for the throne.

"The two of them seem... less than fond of each other," Shizuru said. Her tone showed she knew how much of an understatement that was.

Natsuki smirked. "I think that's for the best, don't you? My mother used to tell me, 'While the lions and hyenas fight over the kill, the vultures can feast.' I didn't understand what she meant until I took the throne."

She stretched her legs out lazily in the water. "Even if they are trustworthy, what better way to keep them from plotting for my power than to ensure they have to compete with each other just to hold their own positions? As long as they continue to cooperate regarding official business."

Shizuru let out a low laugh and flicked water at Natsuki with her fingertips. "Why, Natsuki, I never would have guessed you and your mother had a little deviousness hiding behind those lovely faces."

Red eyes became serious again. "Just be careful, Natsuki," she said earnestly. "Don't let those lions and hyenas pull others into their fight, or not even the vultures will be safe. I've seen how these petty rivalries can fester until the whole thing needs to be removed, and it is never a clean cut."

Surprised, Natsuki nodded slowly. It had not occurred to her that she could learn from one who had lived among her defeated enemies. After all, what could Egyptians, the crown of all peoples, have to learn from anyone? But Shizuru's advice was solid. Even Saeko would have approved.

"Thank you, Shizuru. I'll remember that." Sincerity made her voice even huskier than usual.

Shizuru rewarded her response with a smile. And then, before Natsuki could stop her, she rose abruptly from the stool and bent to grasp the hem of her dress.

Panic rose in Natsuki's chest. Shizuru was not going to... Was she?

She was. With a quick upward pull, the dress came off, and was soon followed by Shizuru's undergarments and sandals.

"W-what are you doing?"

Now just as unclothed as Natsuki, Shizuru winked at her, enjoying the scandal. "I'm sick of washing standing up. I haven't had a real bath in days."

"You can have one later!"

Unheeding, Shizuru climbed into the tub. She lowered herself in, facing Natsuki, until the water was at breast-level for them both. A wave of water was displaced and splashed to the floor tiles, and her long legs brushed slightly against Natsuki's. The bathtub was big enough for both of them, but only just.

A tingle licked across Natsuki's skin as her companion settled in so close. It must be her warmth in the water affecting me, is all, she told herself. This same stirring tingle had quickened her pulse when Shizuru had lain beside her this afternoon on the ship.

Despite the fact that her new slave had been bathing her for days now, Natsuki suddenly felt as bare as a falcon plucked of its feathers. She was tempted to pull her knees up and wrap her arms around them in modesty.

Shizuru smiled wickedly and leaned back against her end of the tub. She let out a contented sigh and wiggled her shoulders until she found a comfy rest.

Natsuki groaned inwardly. Shizuru had slithered her way into Natsuki's companionship and now into her bath, of all things. Gods forbid someone walk in and see them like this.

Yes, the annoying little voice in her head mocked her, Gods forbid someone walk in and force you to act like Pharaoh again instead of just any other woman.

Natsuki let out a huff and forced herself to take ease. The dark-haired woman let tension drain from her, let worry seep away, encouraged by Shizuru's peaceful calm.

Soothed, Natsuki regarded her beautiful but unasked-for bath partner. No, that was a mistake; calling Shizuru beautiful was like calling a throne merely a chair.

Shizuru rested her arms on the edges of the tub. Her serpentine armbands, the only things she wore, clinked against the metal, gold and copper alike glinting in the lamplight. Tall, full, and soft, she was relaxing there as if she had no idea of the effect her anguine grace had on Natsuki. Murkiness hid the lower parts of her in tantalizing ripples. Higher up, swirls of water stroked the creamy skin and breasts right at the surface, while sandy hair darkened by dampness clung to her forehead. Shizuru brushed it aside with a wet hand that dripped beads of water onto her full lips.

She might wrap Natsuki's brain in confused tangles with her bizarre behavior, but Natsuki would be lying if she said she did not enjoy looking at Shizuru sometimes.

Is that why you keep her? To feed your eyes? That annoying voice was back.

Natsuki growled at it, No, that is not why I keep her. Shizuru was... she was something else. Her cheekiness, her secretive smiles, her warm, smooth voice... Even her silent presence at Natsuki's side had been an enjoyment, a comfort these last few days.

They passed a few minutes together in silent contentment, both enjoying the hot soak after days without. Shizuru's thoughts seemed to be following Natsuki's, for she spoke out again after a bit.

"You do not treat me as you treat your other slaves," was all she said. She seemed as surprised as Natsuki that her mistress let her get away with so much in private, no matter how proper they were in public. Natsuki usually ordered the flail for others who disrespected Pharaoh, whether slave or noble.

Natsuki raised her eyebrows at Shizuru and jerked her head to indicate the bath they were sharing.

"You do not treat me as my other slaves treat their ruler," she replied, as if that were reply enough.

From the way Shizuru tapped a finger against her cheek in puzzlement, she clearly did not understand yet. Good, then. Let her be the one to stew in confusion awhile.

The sensible part of Natsuki's mind told her that this companionship would only cause trouble for them both, and would stain Natsuki's reputation if it became known. But her heart urged her to risk trust in whatever it was that was growing here. Her heart told her that if she was patient, something precious might find its way to her. And to Egyptians, the heart, not the mind, housed a person's soul.

And I will bring the blaze of Re down upon any who try to undermine me over this choice, Natsuki vowed. The Pharaohs of her dynasty were feather-soft in their affection but talon-sharp in wielding their power. She would not allow disrespect from her court, nor would she give her father cause to regret making her his heir.

Decision made, she closed her eyes and leaned back. Her legs brushed against Shizuru's again, but she did not pull them back.

Another few minutes passed when, soft as the lapping water, Shizuru said, "I'm glad you're back."

Natsuki muttered, "What, can't find your own feet without me? I was out of your sight less than an hour this afternoon after the parade."

"No, I am glad Natsuki is back."

She cracked one green eye open, not comprehending.

"I never felt so far from you as I did watching you lead that procession today." Shizuru spoke quietly, as if shamed to admit her fears aloud. Her head lowered and wet strands of sandy hair fell to hide her cheek. "You seemed so... unreachable. So apart. Trapped in your own little oasis, as unreal to me as a mirage to a dying desert-wanderer. I was starting to wonder if I would ever truly touch Natsuki again."

The fear faded from her voice, and she looked back up to hold the green-eyed gaze staring at her in surprise.

"So... I am glad Natsuki is back."

Shizuru was smiling at her now, so warm it seemed to heat their bath water again until another tingle stirred Natsuki's skin.

The dark-haired woman closed her eyes again. She did not realize she was echoing the smile.

"I'll always come back," she murmured.

Just be patient for me, Shizuru.


Mai's regal voice filled the palace's banquet hall, carrying clearly through the huge room of sandstone pillars.

The rest of the packed room, including Natsuki at Mai's side, listened as their Queen, with the golden vulture crown gracing her head, gave a formal welcome to the gathered lords, ladies, and officials. She also praised Pharaoh for the victory that was the cause of this celebration and finally invoked the gods' blessing to begin the feast.

Natsuki, wearing Pharaoh's striped headdress again, listened to Mai's speech, grateful that the Great Royal Wife acted as hostess. It saved Natsuki from having to do it. When Mai finished and resumed her seat at Natsuki's side, she realized the redhead was much better with words anyway.

The two ruling Majesties sat on begemmed thrones overflowing with decorative inlays, while the rest of the royal family and the high courtiers had low-backed acacia chairs. Middling officials and nobility were given stools, while the rest of the banquet's attendees, the "lowest of the high", sat on reed mats on the granite floor among the pillars.

Quality wood was scarce in Egypt, but even so, Pharaoh's wealth could have provided a chair for everyone. The seating was just another way to establish precedence among the court. Show loyalty and you earned a chair, displease Pharaoh and you found out firsthand how comfy the mats were.

The vast hall was full to the seams. Egypt's finest were represented here tonight, but they were not the only ones. The empire held dozens of lesser groups under its sway, and established trade connections with dozens more.

Natsuki looked around and saw the myriad of peoples who revolved around Egypt's sun. Ribous from the west, Aegean mariners and Phoenicians from around the Mediterranean, dark-skinned Nubians from the south, nomadic Habirus from east of the Red Sea, and bearded Canaanites, the only people in the hall wearing long sleeves, apart from the Syrians.

Strangely, there were no representatives from the herder tribes who recently allied with Pharaoh through marriage. Perhaps they thought their one representative to Egypt's court was enough of a handful on her own. Natsuki eyed the vacant chair at the royal table. It was unlikely that representative would show herself tonight, despite Natsuki's offer this afternoon.

All these foreign vassals and trade connections... all just more flesh to feed Egypt's appetite for grandeur. A grandeur evident on every person in the hall, Natsuki noted. Glittering around the room seemed to be the amalgamation of half the gold ever mined in the deserts or imported from Sinai. Worn to accent the gold was jewelry of delicate Aegean silver, lapis lazuli, blood-red carnelian, and amethyst and ivory from Nubia. Even the slaves serving the food had been given a little something flashy to add to the glamor.

Lotuses and flower petals were scattered about the room, as if there was not enough color already, and small cones of animal fat smoldered in corners to keep flies from the feast. Musicians played over the general din of chatter and enjoyment, their harps and tambourines offering soft counterpoint to the revelry that was only going to get rowdier as the night wore on and wine pitchers were emptied.

Elegant dancers with very much appeal and very little clothing flowed gracefully around the hall to the musicians' tunes to provide entertainment for those courtiers who preferred something a little more earthy than wine and song. Natsuki was never comfortable with such displays, but half her court would probably rebel if she discontinued the tradition.

The hall was redolent with a hundred scents that tickled her nose, from the perfumed nobles to the flowers to the lamps burning castor oil. Not to mention the food.

Dozens of tables arrayed around the hall were creaking under the weight of platters upon platters of food, all in gold and silver dishes.

Loaves of wheat bread filled baskets, and bowls held grapes, dates, figs, and sliced melons. Dishes held boiled onions and beans, sedge tubers, cheeses, and imported almonds and apricots. There were slabs of meat, from whole roast oxen to pots of stewed mutton to roast duck to salted fish and eel. Even baked hedgehogs were a delicacy, though they had never appealed to Natsuki's taste.

Cinnamon, pepper, and other expensive imported spices flavored the dishes, and carob and honey added sweet to the spice. A bowl of porridge-like Egyptian beer sat in front of each courtier, and of course there was wine aplenty for the insane who enjoyed both wine and beer at the same meal.

Natsuki thought her stomach ought to burst just from seeing so much food.

The royal table sat at the head of the hall but distanced from the rest, where all could see but none were close enough to deprive the royal family of privacy during the meal. Mai sat at Natsuki's right so they faced the rest of the hall, while Saeko, Alyssa, and the empty chair sat opposite them.

Saeko had chosen tonight to bring up a topic of great import – to her – with her older daughter, despite the rather inappropriate setting. The only mar on Saeko's alabaster beauty was her severe expression, and a cold sense of command that demanded respect and obedience from her subjects. Her former subjects, rather.

Two months ago, it was she who sat at Pharaoh's right hand. Now she had forfeited the title of Great Royal Wife, most powerful woman in Egypt – except when Pharaoh happened to be a woman, too – to her new daughter-in-law. Saeko did approve of Mai, and it was not exactly a demotion... But it was the "not exactly" that ate at Saeko's insides like a gutworm.

"Are you listening to me, Natsuki?" she asked sharply.

Natsuki was, unfortunately. She had inherited most of Saeko's looks and some of her cold stoicism, but she hoped her heart had been warmed a little more by her father Kanakht's influence than Saeko's had. The former Queen had loved her husband dearly, but she always held to strictness when it came to what was expected of royalty, and would accept nothing less than sculpted perfection in all the family's doings.

"Now is really not the time, Mother."

"Nonsense. I have you under my eyes now, where you cannot slip away and make excuses. You know what it is we need to discuss."

Natsuki did know. Even Alyssa knew, though Natsuki saw no sympathy in the little smirk her ten-year-old sister flashed her between bites of hedgehog.

Saeko tapped her wine goblet impatiently with a fingertip. Natsuki also had a cup, but hers had only been partially filled; wine did not agree with her.

"A woman Pharaoh bears the same responsibilities as her forefathers," Saeko began firmly.

Mai groaned into her own cup. Natsuki shared a fatigued look with her closest friend. Saeko had brought this issue up before in the two months of their reign, though she had never gone into detail about how exactly Natsuki and Mai were to resolve it.

"Natsuki, you cannot delay any longer. You and Mai-san have a responsibility to continue our dynasty, to ensure that Egypt will have a good ruler after you are gone."

Saeko straightened intently in her chair as she came to her point.

"You need to provide an heir."

"How?" Natsuki asked bluntly. She grumpily jabbed her knife into the slab of spiced mutton on her plate.

Saeko's confidence was not at all damaged by this glaringly obvious boulder in her path. "It has happened in the past, begetting a child outside the normal way. The histories tell of Queens conceiving an heir miraculously while their Pharaoh was away at war."

Mai choked on her wine as she tried to stifle a laugh over just how "miraculous" that was. Saeko silenced her with a chilling look.

The older woman went on, "Egypt was in need of heirs, and the gods provided, just as they provide us with water and harvest. No one dared question the legitimacy of such god-born children. Nor would they question yours."

Natsuki shook her head in exasperation. Her and Mai, make a child? The idea was just plain impossible. She was about to tell her mother so, firmly, but a sudden doubt made her hesitate. Did she really know what was possible for the gods? According to the priests, the same gods had ordained her birth, had chosen her for the crown she now wore, and had even placed a divinity of sorts in her mortal body, all so she could carry out their will as Pharaoh.

She shifted uneasily in her throne. Who knew what else their will had planned for her life? But besides, even if they could convince the gods to provide, there were other reasons for her and Mai to refuse her mother's demand. Natsuki was about to say so when the youngest royal decided the conversation would benefit greatly from her input.

"I am far too young to be an aunt," Alyssa told them primly. The fact that she had to sit on a stack of cushions atop her chair just to lift her elbows off the table did not remove her conviction that her opinion was absolutely necessary to their debate.

Saeko arched an eyebrow at her younger daughter's dissent. "And if I am not mistaken, it is far too late for a certain child to still be up."

A pout formed on the girl's delicate little mouth, and big blue eyes conjured up a tearful display. Alyssa was rarely so expressive toward others, but even her best performance could not convince Saeko to relent. The older woman's expression did soften, though, and she stroked the little blonde head fondly before summoning attendants to take her to bed.

Natsuki scowled. Saeko never cossetted her so. But that was typical; Saeko had always doted upon her younger child. Perhaps lately part of the adoration was because Alyssa looked so much like Saeko's beloved husband, with that golden hair and clear blue eyes. Natsuki was not the only one grieving.

The girl had barely been escorted out of the banquet hall before Saeko took up the argument again, all softness gone. "More than one heir will likely be necessary. You know the sad numbers as well as I; near a third of children do not reach their fifth year."

Natsuki countered angrily, "And women die in childbirth all too often. You know that better than I." She bit her lip, regretting that last statement as soon she let it out.

Saeko flinched. She unconsciously cut her eyes toward the chair Alyssa had vacated. No courtier dared speak of just how close Saeko had come during the birth of her second-born, nor why there could never have been a third-born.

Mai reached across the table to lay a consoling hand on Saeko's wrist, a gentle look in her amethyst eyes. Silence held the three women for a moment, the background of song and merriment seeming especially bitter.

"I'm sorry, Mother," Natsuki whispered in apology, "I should not have -"

"No, Natsuki," Saeko interrupted. She patted Mai's hand away, drew a ragged breath, and went on. "It was... negligent of me, to grant your father his wish of being only with me, to put our love above our duty. I always held his heart, but after I became unable to bear more children..."

Saeko pursed her lips in displeasure, but forced herself to keep on. "I should have forced him to be with his lesser wives as well."

Now it was Natsuki who flinched. "How can you say that?" she demanded. The thought of her father forced into the arms of one he did not love disgusted her.

"Because he is gone now, and I have only two pieces of him left!" Saeko snapped, fiercely slapping her palm against the table, rattling the plates.

The older woman took another deep breath through gritted teeth and regained her cold composure again. Natsuki had never seen her this on edge. Normally she was all indisruptible dignity no matter what was thrown at her.

"More importantly, Egypt has only two pieces of him left, when we should have more than just Alyssa-chan and you to rely on for a stable rule."

Natsuki's hands tightened into fists. "So," she said coldly, "Not only do you want to endanger Mai's life, you want to endanger it repeatedly."

Mai touched Natsuki's shoulder in concern and tried to interject, but Natsuki ignored her friend for the moment and kept her gaze on her mother.

"And will you try to arrange more marriages for me, so I can give myself to strangers I don't love, so I can endanger their lives too?"

Saeko's green eyes narrowed harshly. Her voice came out even colder than Natsuki's. "How dare you sit there amidst all this wealth in all its obscenity and act like some kind of victim. Royalty has a simple price, yet you selfishly refuse to pay it even when you already know Mai-san is willing."

Natsuki forced her fists to unclench and slowly exhaled to cool her temper. Her father's calm voice spoke in her memory. "Never make a decision in anger. Hot heads are for the battlefield and nowhere else."

The infuriating part was that she could find no solid reason to object to Saeko's idea, if the higher powers would actually make it possible to carry out. I'm willing to risk my life in battle a thousand times, she reminded herself, If that's what it takes to protect the people the gods have put into my care. So why did this one duty seem so much harder to face? Was she just being selfish, as Saeko had accused? She was too incensed to reason it out right now.

At the break in conversation, one of the slaves who had been hovering unobtrusively some distance behind them, outside of hearing range, now walked over and held out a wine pitcher in case any of the royal women needed a refill.

"I will hear no more of this tonight," Natsuki told her mother.

Saeko arched an eyebrow, but even she knew not to press the issue any further. Not for a while anyway. The older woman held her goblet out for the slave behind Natsuki's shoulder to reach across the table and fill.

A familiar scent caught Natsuki as the slave reached past her. Surprised, she jerked her head around to meet the slave's blood-red gaze.

What was she doing here? Natsuki had told her stay in Pharaoh's chambers and have the evening to herself, where she would not have to be under the scrutiny of so many courtiers who might pick her out.

Shizuru winked discreetly at her when she finished pouring Saeko's cup and started on Natsuki's, not knowing that she did not drink wine. "You didn't think I'd miss out on a banquet, did you?" that wink asked. Natsuki doubted the other women noticed it.

"I do not think I have seen this one before, Natsuki. A new find?"

Natsuki blinked, confused by her mother's question. It took her a moment to realize that "this one" referred to Shizuru. Saeko was not being rude, not by the standards of nobility. After all, a slave was, how had Shizuru once put it, only a piece of furniture. Yet for some reason it galled Natsuki to hear this particular slave spoken of with so little regard.

Ignoring the question, she quietly thanked Shizuru for filling their cups and told her she would not be needed for the rest of the night. Shizuru bowed – to the others it seemed respectful, but Natsuki knew there was a little sarcasm in it – and retreated to the corner she had been observing them from.

When no answer came, Saeko prodded, "I make a point of knowing which slaves you have chosen to give the honor of being your personal attendants. Picking a new one while away is not like you, Natsuki."

"It is also not your concern, Saeko-san," Mai put in firmly. By her tone, Natsuki was not the first person Saeko had criticized over choice of attendants.

"Pharaoh's behavior is every Egyptian's concern," Saeko murmured over the rim of her goblet as she sipped. Sharp green eyes trapped her daughter's identical ones. The chill in those eyes seemed to flash against the heat of the lamp-flames illuminating the hall. "The stability of royalty is every Egyptian's concern. What sort of legacy will you leave behind with your actions?"

Natsuki ground her teeth. Stability, legacy. Her mother was trying to steer the conversation back to that topic, despite Natsuki's wishes. She had had no interest in Shizuru after all save as an excuse to voice her arguments again!

Before Natsuki could let anger get the better of her once more, Mai came to her friend's rescue again. "You overstep yourself, Saeko-san. Let's all just enjoy being together again after over a month. Tonight is supposed to be about celebration."

Saeko arched an eyebrow at Mai's firm, accept-no-dissent tone, but the redhead did not shy away from her as she might have a few months ago. Saeko pursed her lips and stood.

"I have had enough celebration for one night."

With that, she bid them goodnight and swept elegantly from the hall, wearing aloofness like a crown again. The nobles at the tables she passed as she left ceased their merriment to stand and bow. Those who were not already drunk, anyway.

Natsuki sighed. She wished she had asked her father more about how to balance a Queen's power, even a former Queen. Wryly, she counted up just how many frustrating royal women – current and former – she had to deal with at the moment.

Now alone at their table, the two friends were silent. The feast carried on in front of them, most attendees too caught up in revelry to spare more than an occasional glance up at the royal table, and even then they had no idea what the women had been discussing.

"Don't be angry, Natsuki. You know she loves you," Mai said after a time.

"I'm not a little girl any more, Mai. I am Pharaoh and she is a member of my court. I need her respect and her cooperation, not just her love."

Mai tugged at a strand of fiery hair beneath her crown as she chose her next words carefully. "The Great Royal Wife should always support her Pharaoh in front of others, but... I happen to agree with Saeko-san's concerns here. Though not the way she chose to press them."

Natsuki groaned in defeat. She was tempted to yank off her own crown and run a hand through her hair in frustration.

"Oh don't whine at me, Natsuki. You haven't had Saeko-san on you like mosquitoes on a cow's tail the entire month you were gone," Mai said sourly.

Natsuki tched roughly. "You can't let her bully you, Mai, you know that. You're a high-born noble, you have your own dignity to uphold besides that of your royal title."

Nobles, wives, Viziers, foreigners, even her own mother... How many more of them would try to pluck their own piece of Pharaoh's power, like fishermen all trying to hook in the same catch until they tore the thing apart? Saeko was no longer the right hand of the throne, and if Mai would not teach her that then Natsuki would have to.

"What was I supposed to do, use my new power as Queen to punish her?" Mai sounded appalled at the notion. "She is grief-stricken, Natsuki. Do you know how she wept while you were away at war, lying awake with fear that the next day might bring news of another death of one she loved? Her slaves were so worried about her they came to me in secret, even though they knew she'd have them flogged for telling anyone."

Lost for words, Natsuki said nothing as Mai went on.

"Her arguments are good, Natsuki, you must admit that. Tonight celebrates your first successful war, but more fighting will come, that is for certain during any Pharaoh's reign. And besides, what if you were to fall to some other injury or illness? If you die without an heir, you put the responsibility of continuing your dynasty solely on Alyssa-chan's shoulders. You think she'll stand a chance of exerting her own power over all these courtiers, over Saeko-san?"

What Mai did not add, but what Natsuki already knew, was that Mai actually did want this, for more than just political reasons. She had always wanted children.

"The moon is right for me these next few days," the redhead said quietly, "Else we'll have to wait another cycle if our joining is to have any hope of success."

"But, it's..." Natsuki shifted on her throne, scrambling for a word to describe the uncomfortably hot, thorny sensation that ran down her spine, from her heart to her gut, at what Mai was asking of her. "It's too soon. Besides, you know it can't work. Me, make you conceive? It's ridiculous!"

Mai laid a calming hand on Natsuki's arm. "We've known for years that someday we might have to make heirs for Egypt. We never knew how exactly, but I'm sure the priests can devise some way to ask the gods for help with this."

She dropped her amethyst gaze and tapped her fingertips nervously on Natsuki's golden armband. A moment of hesitation, then the redhead asked, "Is the thought of me so terrible?"

Natsuki's throat tightened. She knew what Mai was asking. If they prayed to the gods to grant them an heir in such an unusual way, it was quite likely the divine powers would still require them to join in the more usual way. But Mai was her friend, her closest friend since childhood, the first person who could chip through to Natsuki's core. Their marriage, arranged by their parents when they were small, had been for political partnership, not...

Natsuki muttered, "Mai, you know that's not the issue here." Wasn't it? Anger resurfaced, anger at herself for not being able to piece together what she wanted to say.

How she wished the two of them were away from here, away from the watching eyes and the gathering that seemed so awful in its simple celebration when all Natsuki wanted to do was tear her hair out. She felt like some animal trapped in a snare. Where was her usual confidence, her willpower? Why did it always desert her when she tried to speak from the heart?

She lowered her head. Words came out hushed.

"I was ten when I almost lost my mother, and now I have lost my father. Are you now asking me to risk losing one of my few friends, too?"

Mai tilted Natsuki's face back up to meet her amethyst eyes. Her hands were warm on Natsuki's flushed cheeks, and their soothing touch gave her back a little vigor.

"Trust me with this, Natsuki," Mai said. She quoted, "'Pharaoh must be the heart of Egypt, but the Queen must be the heart of her Pharaoh.' Remember?"

Natsuki's eyes widened. She had heard that before, from...

"Your father wasn't the only royal to train his successor." Mai gave a slightly abashed smile. "She came to me herself the night before you and I were wed and handed me this crown from her head, and those were her final words of advice when she entrusted me with her title. She was entrusting me with you, really."

Her friend brushed a thumb across Natsuki's cheek.

"She chose the right one for the task," Natsuki said huskily. "I don't think our parents knew when they arranged our marriage just how much I'd come to need you." She did not want to imagine what sort of ruler she might become without Mai's compassion to temper her.

Natsuki cleared her throat uncomfortably. This sort of talk was not something she was good at. She caught Mai's hands in hers and gently tugged them down.

"Do you really believe this... this attempt would be best for Egypt?"

"Yes." Mai's voice rang with certainty. "And I think your father, Pharaoh Kanakht, would have agreed."

That was the final blow that did Natsuki in, and Mai knew it. Natsuki nodded her crowned head in acquiescence. She took a deep breath and forced some optimism into her voice.

"Well, then, who am I to defy the Great Royal Wife?" The attempt at levity sounded feeble even to her own ears. "I'll talk to the high priest tomorrow and see what he can arrange for this rather unique circumstance. Maybe Mother was right, and the gods will provide for us if we make the proper offerings. They've certainly done stranger things."

Natsuki was still skeptical that this idea would even work, but what could they do but try? If it failed... She shuddered. If it failed, she did not want to think about what they would have to resort to to continue the royal line.

Decision made, Natsuki turned back to her food. Yet she found she had no more appetite. She caught sight of the wine goblet in front of her. The one Shizuru had filled for her.

Shizuru...

Natsuki sighed. A drink sounded damn fine right about now.


Oil lamps filled the banquet hall with a rich light, save for a few corners between thick pillars that formed protected nests of shadow the light could not reach.

Shizuru had staked out a little lair of sorts in one such corner. The dimness did not hide her completely, but it meant glances would wander over her without really noticing she was there.

Hooded red eyes, darkened by kohl and masked by the shadows, peered out at the rest of the banquet. She stood at the end of the hall, behind the royal table and away from any others. She was close enough to come if Natsuki needed her, though.

The sweet song of a harp reached Shizuru's ears. She hummed softly along with it as she watched the scene before her.

She held a wine pitcher in one hand, her excuse for lurking near the high table, though she had only approached them that once. She might serve the other lords and ladies if asked, but they were in for a surprise if they expected any obsequiousness from her. She could accept servitude, but she refused degradation.

The former queen still wore the plain white dress of a slave, her only adornment the golden armbands Natsuki gave her the night they met and the protective amulet from her fellow slave and new friend Arika. The blue-eyed girl was wandering the other end of the hall, keeping an eye on her duties but obviously distracted by all the excitement.

The banquet was rather entertaining, Shizuru had to admit. She let her attention wander to one of the dancers, a gorgeous girl in nothing but a delicate gold belt and earrings, swaying to the rhythm of tambourines.

Shizuru forced her eyes away from the tempting sight. Beautiful women were a weakness of hers, but she had a much more fascinating – and appealing – subject to observe tonight.

She could not pass up this opportunity to observe the strange creature who was now her mistress in her own environment. Shizuru would stay nestled here silently, patiently, for hours if she had to, just to snatch one scrap of information. There was still so much she wanted to learn about Natsuki, despite the younger woman's attempt to keep Shizuru away from the banquet.

It had been a pathetically sweet attempt to make things easy for Shizuru; she could tell Natsuki feared her new slave would resent having to wait on the same kind of people she had once been counted among. She need not have worried. Natsuki had also said she did not want anyone to bother Shizuru, but so far no one, even other slaves, had paid any special attention to her.

It was an odd sort of invisibility, being a slave. Only noticed when needed and then promptly forgotten once the need was satisfied. She was glad there was at least one Egyptian whose eyes saw more than just another slave when looking at Shizuru. But what exactly Natsuki saw in her, if not another slave, was still a mystery. Hence the need for careful observation.

Natsuki's mother – Saeko, Arika had told her earlier – rose from their table, drawing Shizuru's focus. The older woman cast a severe look at her daughter before walking away.

Shizuru could not help following Saeko with her eyes as the cold, elegant noblewoman left the hall. As soon as she was gone, Shizuru's gaze returned to Natsuki and looked her up and down, considering.

Saeko was certainly the more beautiful of the two. So why was it that this strange, weightless fluttering in the chambers of Shizuru's heart only surfaced when she looked at Natsuki, when she heard her name called in that low, rough voice?

Capturing me and carrying me off was not enough for you, was it? she thought. Now you must torment me without even realizing it.

So lost in thought was she that she did not hear the approach of another person into her secluded little den.

"Good evening, Your Highness," an unmistakable voice said softly. Shizuru had only heard it once before, but no one else sounded like that.

She twitched in shock and almost dropped the pitcher. She spun to stare at the young woman now at her side, who seemed to be waiting eagerly for a response. The other woman wore the same sleeveless white robe and abundant jewelry as she had when Shizuru first saw her outside the palace this afternoon. Grayish-purple eyes studied her from beneath black-painted lids. She held a wine goblet in one hand and was twirling it idly between her fingertips.

When Shizuru could not find words, Tomoe prodded, "Am I not in the presence of the Queen of Fuuka?"

Startled questions swarmed in Shizuru's head. Why on earth would Tomoe leave her own table and come pick her out like this? How could the Vizier know who she used to be? Was that why she had touched Shizuru with that unnerving stare earlier today?

Still shaken, Shizuru pulled up her defenses. She answered warily, "Fuuka no longer has a queen, or a king. Only a Pharaoh."

Shizuru inhaled the Tomoe's flowery perfume as she spoke. She had worn a similar kind herself only a week ago, yet she had grown used to having Natsuki's strong herbal perfume on her hands after she rubbed it onto her mistress's skin each morning. Somehow, it was now the much sweeter flowery scent that had become unappealing to Shizuru.

"Do you know Fuuka well... my Lady?" Shizuru hesitated over the title. She was unsure how a slave was supposed to address a Vizier. But she had overheard other dignitaries called such tonight.

No other slaves or courtiers seemed to notice the two women in the dim corner, too busy with celebration were they. Though she was sure it would raise quite a few eyebrows if one of the highest officials in the land was seen conversing with a slave.

Tomoe made a slow, dismissive gesture with the hand holding her goblet. Pearl bracelets clattered as she moved.

"I care nothing for tiny countries along our empire's borders. Others of the camarilla may be blind, but when I saw you with Pharaoh this afternoon, I just had to learn more about you. I have my sources, and they told me you rode into Pharaoh's camp wearing a coronet the night she took Fuuka's capital. I am not a fool, to be unable to figure out who you must be."

Even apart from that slick-smooth voice, Tomoe had an unusual inflection to Shizuru's ears. An odd blend of formality and almost… contempt?

"And they found me your name... Fujino Shizuru." She caressed the name with her tongue, tasted every syllable as it left her mouth. "Strange, but lovely. As you yourself."

Shizuru supposed a Fuukan name would sound strange to an Egyptian, as they did not take family names. Possibly the Vizier's "sources" asked other new slaves captured from Fuuka and they had known the name of their king's wife.

"I must say, I can see why Pharaoh wanted to snatch you up for herself." The younger woman caught the tip of her tongue between her teeth in a gesture that was probably intended to be either cheeky or mocking and managed to be both.

Shizuru's tongue, however, unconsciously darted out to wet her lips in uncertainty. This intruder into her lair seemed to be feeling her out, probing cautiously as if deciding whether to steal an egg from its nest while the falcon's back was turned. What sort of response was the woman looking for?

She did not respond to Tomoe's efforts. Let her stretch herself out a little more so Shizuru could see her aim.

Tomoe swirled her goblet slowly. The Vizier tried a different angle of approach.

"You must hate her. Pharaoh."

"Must I?" Shizuru evaded.

"Fuuka could never match Egypt's wealth, of course, but you must have had your own bite of luxury as its queen. And then she took everything from you, forced you into servitude, and now you belong to her."

Shizuru tilted her head. "Belong to her..." she repeated. She had not thought of it in quite such terms.

Belong. Was that what she felt when she looked at Natsuki? A sense of belonging?

"No," Shizuru said softly, as much to herself as to Tomoe, "I could never hate her."

Tomoe deflated a bit, obviously confused and disappointed that the conversation was not following the course she had tried to prod it down.

She obviously felt a more direct tack was needed. She moved a step closer to Shizuru and reached a hand out.

Shizuru recoiled slightly without realizing it. "I believe Pharaoh would be most upset if someone laid a hand on her personal attendants." She had no idea if that was actually true, but she did not want this woman touching her.

The Vizier only gave her a conspiratory smile and continued forward, reaching for the taller woman's armbands, shaped like slender groundsnakes coiling around her upper arms. Tomoe traced the sinuous gold form with a fingertip but was careful not to touch the creamy skin beneath, heeding Shizuru's warning yet still determined to push her limits.

Her hooded eyes never leaving Shizuru's, Tomoe said, "You know, the cobra represents Lower Egypt. It is also my personal sigil, as Vizier of Lower Egypt. It seems you and I are alike." She pulled her hand back and smiled triumphantly, like she had won something.

"I'm afraid not, my Lady. Cobras are venomous. My groundsnakes are constrictors."

"Ahh..." Tomoe's eyes widened in anticipation. "So then, you prefer to squeeze the breath from your prey slowly, feel their little lives drain away as you wrap them in your coils?"

The elegant young woman laughed, low and rich, as if that disturbing image somehow pleased her. Her smile became a smirk. "Not my method, I must say. Fangs out, venom dripping – a sudden strike, like lightning." She snapped her fingers to demonstrate.

Unimpressed, Shizuru asked wryly, "Don't cobras hypnotize their prey before the kill?"

"That depends on whether I am merely satisfying my hunger or looking for a more pleasurable capture."

Gray-purple eyes traveled up and down Shizuru's body again, weighing just how pleasurable a capture a former queen would make.

"You are something special, Fujino Shizuru, are you not? I knew, knew the moment I saw you. Impossible for you to be just another of Pharaoh's strays."

Despite herself, Shizuru could not stop an intrigued, "Another?"

Tomoe flicked a graceful, careless hand toward a different part of the banquet hall, where another one of Pharaoh's slaves was still hovering in attendance. The one with big blue eyes so full of friendliness and an easy smile that never ceased to make Shizuru want to smile back.

"It was a few years ago. Before I became Vizier." Tomoe's tone was so dismissive of that "before" time, as if all of Egyptian history had merely been the buildup to her becoming Vizier.

"Most noticed nothing, but I have quick eyes when it comes to Pharaoh. I remember a half-starved peasant girl suddenly appearing in Pharaoh's – well, she was only heir apparent at the time – entourage one day. Naturally I had to find out her story. But the truth proved to be disappointingly uninteresting. Fourteen years the orphan of destitute peasants, then the grandmother who took the girl in died, too. My sources told me the girl had sold everything she owned – nothing much at all, really – for a decent burial for the old woman, to ensure her soul would find peace in the afterlife.

"I hear the girl was barefoot in rags when she stumbled into the street in front of the royal heir's chariot, so dazed from hunger she did not know what was happening and almost got herself trampled to death."

Tomoe laughed, entertained by her story and assuming Shizuru was also.

"And then, bizarrely inappropriately, the future Pharaoh picks the little wretch up in her own arms and drives her back to the palace, and the next day there is a new face following her around like a puppy.

"Can you imagine? Touching a girl like her? Pulling a new slave off the streets, like buying fruit from some farmer's cart? I have no idea why Pharaoh stooped to such an indignity." She laughed again, more disdainfully this time, and plainly expected the sandy-haired woman to join her.

Shizuru gripped the handle of the wine pitcher so hard her knuckles turned white. It took all the willpower she had to resist throwing it in Tomoe's face.

"I'm not surprised someone like you would not understand," Shizuru said coldly. "Someday you will choke on your own venom, cobra."

It was probably very unwise for a slave to say such things to a noble, but whether or not Natsuki protected her, Shizuru would not allow someone to speak so of her young friend.

Tomoe's eyes narrowed to slits, shock and anger glittering in them. She puffed up as if to strike, and her hand twitched like she was thinking of using it against Shizuru.

Shizuru met Tomoe's glare, matched her anger, and silently dared her to make the first move.

A few heated, precarious moments passed, then Tomoe cooled herself. That slick, confident smile returned, surer than ever that things would go her way, as though she had in her clutches some secret no one else knew.

"I always get what I want, Shizuru." Her honeyed voice was full of sick promise.

Shizuru hissed. On top of it all, this woman presumed to call her by her given name, without even an honorific! Shizuru was surprised to realize that she wanted to hear that from one person only.

Shizuru somehow managed a polite withdrawal. She would not let this woman bring her down to rudeness. "Excuse me, I see I am needed."

She walked away without bowing, and did not bother looking back to see if the Vizier's eyes were still burning at her.

Luckily, the royal table did in fact seem to need her at that moment. The feast was winding down as the night wore on. The performers had stopped, and most of the attendees had dispersed back to their own quarters. Those too wine-dazed to walk straight summoned slaves to carry them by the shoulders.

Surprisingly, it seemed Natsuki might be one of those. As Shizuru approached, she could see that Natsuki's scowling gaze was unfocused and she was gripping the table edge carefully as she tried to rise.

Shizuru blinked. What was wrong with her? I only filled her cup once. Don't tell me the awed Daughter of Re cannot handle anything more potent than beer-porridge.

Mai and Arika were laughing gently as Natsuki hauled herself out of her throne with a grunt. The younger brunette took one of Natsuki's arms over her shoulders, and her mistress slumped against her. Thankfully the remaining courtiers seemed not to notice that Pharaoh was in such a deplorable state, and the few who did were too haze-eyed to remember in the morning.

"Make sure she gets to bed in one piece, Arika-chan," Mai ordered with an affectionate chuckle.

The Great Royal Wife caught sight of Shizuru. Curiosity flickered in those amethyst eyes, but thankfully Mai decided not to pry like Saeko had. "And you, take good care of her too," was all she said.

Shizuru nodded and left the pitcher on the table before pulling Natsuki's other arm over her shoulders. She could feel Mai's eyes follow them as the two slaves led the dark-haired woman out of the hall.

Arika directed them along the sandstone corridors and back toward Natsuki's rooms. It was slow going, with Natsuki having great trouble placing her steps and growling angrily when the floor kept cunningly evading her feet, but eventually the three women made it back to Pharaoh's chambers with as much grace as possible under the circumstances. Natsuki managed to retain at least some dignity.

Arika giggled as they half-led, half-supported Natsuki through the anteroom and into her bedchamber.

"We'll certainly eat well tomorrow," the girl said to Shizuru, "Nobles are fussy eaters, like toddlers. There's always plenty left over after banquets for slaves to feast the next day."

Somewhere along the way, Natsuki had started grumbling under her breath. Her voice rose now, though the words remained an incoherent jumble about how she was fine, that she did not need slaves to carry her, that she was damn well going to show her mother up, that Mai did not know what she was asking of her.

"What in the world are you blathering about, Natsuki?"

Natsuki dissolved into more grumbles. Abruptly, she went limp in their arms, and had to be dragged the last few steps before she could be unloaded onto the bed.

Unburdened, the two brunettes let out sighs of relief. Arika plucked the blue and gold headdress from the unconscious woman's head and placed it reverently in its ark along with her other crowns.

"Her head's going to gnaw her apart in the morning." Arika made a sound somewhere between a rueful sigh and a barely restrained laugh. "Maybe I should go get a damp cloth to put on her forehead for the night. I hear that helps."

Arika trotted out, leaving Shizuru to care for their mistress for a few minutes. With an amused little smile, Shizuru sat on the bed beside Natsuki went about her usual nightly duties of removing the younger woman's sandals, her golden armbands and wristbands, and her silver amulet, placing them on a table beside the bed.

The dark-haired woman did not stir. She simply lay there on her back, sprawled atop the leopard pelt decorating her gold-framed bed. She was well and truly asleep, too lost to notice the care her slave was giving her. Likely not even setting Duran on her would wake her.

Shizuru was about to undress Natsuki the rest of the way but decided it was not worth the effort. If the great and mighty Pharaoh was going to be so irresponsible as to let herself get clay-footed drunk and make her slaves practically carry her to bed, then the great and mighty Pharaoh would just have to deal with bed-wrinkled clothes in the morning.

For a few moments, Shizuru regarded her mistress. The bedroom was silent but for the hum of cicadas drifting in on the warm night air.

She looked so peaceful, lying there. So vulnerable. The cold conqueror overcome and made into just any other young woman.

Was this really the same woman who commanded armies and spoke with gods? The same woman who scowled and smiled and allowed Shizuru's teasing? Those emerald eyes, though hidden from Shizuru now, still held her gaze in her memories, and remembrance of the husky voice saying her name filled Shizuru's ears.

Lamplight danced over the armor and weapons decorating the walls, but Shizuru blocked out everything except the way the soft golden glow rippled across Natsuki's sun-bronzed skin.

Shizuru wanted to play her fingertips across that skin just like the light, like the harpists at the banquet who had so skillfully drawn music from their instruments.

"And now you belong to her," Tomoe said to me.

She leaned over the sleeping woman until they were close enough that strands of sandy hair brushed Natsuki's cheek as they fell.

Belong.

Natsuki was blushing beneath her. No, it was merely the wine that had set an inviting flush in her cheeks. But it was irresistible.

Shizuru reached a hand out, needing some kind of contact. Fingertips traced the small mouth, the soft lips, and came to rest upon a pink cheek. She tilted Natsuki's face ever so slightly towards her.

"Natsuki..."

Shizuru was not aware she had whispered the name aloud. She was no longer aware of anything but Natsuki. The dark-haired young woman had captured her completely just by lying there, passed out.

At that moment, Shizuru could not have held herself back any more than she could have held back the flow of the Nile. She closed the distance between them.

Shizuru breathed in the scent of her, savored the bittersweet taste of wine on her lips and the deeper taste, sweeter still, of the woman beneath. She pressed further on, caressing with her lips until Natsuki's taste and texture and scent all blended together into one exquisite experience. Warmth seemed to fill Shizuru up like pure, clear water pouring into a cup, starting from where they were joined.

Her eyes fluttered shut in ecstasy.

Tomoe was wrong. It is I who could die wrapped in your coils.

She heard something thud behind her, snatching her senses back to the outside world with painful abruptness. She broke away from Natsuki and whipped her head around, mind whirling.

Arika stood there in the doorway, a bundle of cloths fallen at her feet, jaw slack with shock, big blue eyes open almost as wide as her palms.

Shizuru cursed her own foolishness. Natsuki had so fogged her mind that she had forgotten Arika would be returning before long. Shizuru's head was spinning as if she were the drunk one.

Whatever strange feeling holding her snapped, and reason came flooding back, bringing panic and guilt with it.

Gods, what have I done? She was certain not even Natsuki's leniency would forgive such a transgression! What on earth had she been thinking?

"I, uh... I brought... brought the cloth," Arika managed weakly, "For Natsuki-sama's head..." Her eyes darted to their mistress, but the woman still had not stirred.

Shizuru cleared her throat and opened her mouth to speak. She had to stop and clear her throat again before she could get any words out.

"Thank you, Arika-san," she said regally. It amazed her, that she could manage such a self-possessed voice when her heart was still doing backflips in her chest at the memory of capturing Natsuki's mouth with hers. "I'm sure that will help her head in the morning."

Shizuru rose and walked over to Arika – she was amazed again that her legs even worked – picking up the cloths from where they had fallen. She took two over to the wash basin to wet them before returning to the bed and using one of the damp cloths to wipe the kohl from Natsuki's eyelids.

She gently laid the other cloth across Natsuki's brow. And had to resist the urge to smooth the dark hair out of that breathtaking face.

"Uh... I suppose we should go to sleep now too," Arika mumbled. She seemed to have gotten over her initial shock, but she still twirled her braids awkwardly and avoided looking at Shizuru. "Doesn't seem much else for us to do until she wakes."

Shizuru bit her lip. How was she going to explain this to her friend? Before she could even think what to say, Arika spoke again.

The girl shuffled her feet nervously. "...Uh, my little room is next door. It connects to this one in case Natsuki-sama needs to call for a slave during the night. I was going to tell you earlier, there's another cot in there, if you want..."

Shizuru swallowed a tiny shard of sadness. During the journey she had grown accustomed to sleeping in Natsuki's room – or tent, rather. But she did not know if Natsuki wanted to continue that arrangement now that she was home. The thought of no longer being able to fall asleep to the sound of her breathing somehow seemed a great loss to Shizuru.

She offered Arika the best smile she could muster at the moment. "Thank you, Arika-san, I would appreciate that."

It was sweet of Arika to still offer, considering what had happened. And it might give Shizuru the opportunity to come up with some sort of explanation. For Arika and for herself. She had to collect her thoughts by the time Natsuki woke in the morning.

Shizuru took a deep breath to steady herself and reluctantly followed her friend from the bedroom, glancing over her shoulder at the sleeping woman she could still taste on her lips.


Author's Notes: I admit there is no breed called Arrow Hound, before you dog-lovers send me vitriolic PMs. ;) His description is based on a stele I saw in a museum while researching.

Also, I know Tomoe was terribly unsubtle in this chapter, but come on, I could have made her the sweetest person in the world and you all still would have known she was rotten beneath!