Chapter 11
"No no no no! Again!"
Ahkmenrah glared up at his brother before grudgingly accepting the extended hand. They squared off once more, Kahmunrah somehow making his attack moves flow like dancing, while he himself felt like his own defense resembled tiptoeing on hot coal. By the end of their training session, Kahmunrah was running his fingers through his dark cropped hair, hissing in frustration. "You're not trying. Not enough, anyway."
"I would be better if you didn't keep kicking my feet out from beneath me!"
"What do you expect the enemy will do, stand there politely while you run him through?" Eyes raised towards the skies, he put on a whiny, high-pitched feminine voice, "Oh look at me, I'm so helpless, I can't even step with my own two feet! Excuse me, esteemed warrior, would you mind standing there for me, please?"
"Shut up," Ahkmenrah mumbled. "I do not sound like that." He knew Kahmunrah did so to aggravate him, and it worked more often than he cared to admit.
"Really? You will scream like an infant if you don't improve soon- dueling day approaches!" After a couple more rounds, the last one involving Ahkmenrah nearly tripping over his own spear, Kahmunrah gave up. "How was I cursed with such a fool for a brother?"
Ahkmenrah bit back his own retort. He understood Kah's frustration (he was far from the only one), but he might as well accept it: he was no warrior. He leaned against the far wall- best to give him his space.
"Need I remind you who asked for this?" Kahmunrah continued, noticing his brother's silence.
"I remember."
"And why I agreed to do it is beyond me. Why... Cursed with..." Kahmunrah's rumbles echoed behind him like a trail of wrappings as he stomped out of the stables, leaving Ahkmenrah to muse over them. Blinking the dust out of his eyes, he sighed as he leaned against the wall, massaging his forearm- how would he be able to train tomorrow when his muscles ached so? Kahmunrah was worse than Uruk! Why was he never enough? He practiced by himself often enough. Was he truly so incompetent?
He knew better than to answer that honestly.
0o0
"Up. Get up." Ahkmenrah grumbled incoherently as he snuggled further beneath his blanket, a pillow muffling his response. Who could be waking him up now? Training was three hours away!
Next thing he knew, a light breeze disturbed him more as the sheets were whisked away. "Kah?" He blinked up in surprise.
Kahmunrah smirked down at his sibling. "Serves you right."
"For what?"
"You know perfectly well what."
Ahkmenrah almost smothered himself as he stuffed the pillow over his head. "In my defense, you are very easy to awaken." He was grateful Kah couldn't see the smirk the pillow shielded. "It's fun to hear you shriek."
"I will make you shriek if you don't get up soon. And not in a way you would like."
Grumbling, Ahkmenrah sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Having an older sibling was trying- especially when you crafted your own demon, as he'd done when he'd begged Kahmunrah to train him secretly. No point in delaying the inevitable, he thought as he slipped into his sandals. Based on how cheerful Kahmunrah appeared, nothing good awaited him. "Where are we going?" They were not heading for the stables.
Kahmunrah merely smirked in response. "You'll see."
"Kah-"
"Hush! We're almost there."
"I sweat if you're leading me to the dunes again, Mother-"
"Hush! No need to fear, our destination is nothing to worry about. Come!"
To Ahkmenrah's surprise, they approached one of the buildings in the palace complex, one of the outer ones he hadn't explored yet. Intrigued now more than irritated, he followed his sibling inside.
"You really must be quiet, the workers here prefer not to be disturbed by needless chatter, which you tend to indulge in." For once, Ahkmenrah forgot to be angry as they approached a wall. A wall that was decorated with murals.
"Kah, what is this place?"
"The Hall of Records," he replied simply. "Isn't it beautiful?"
This was surprising, considering how little patience Kahmunrah possessed when it came to writing or records. "I did not realize you were such a fan of art."
"Terrible as our scribe lessons are, I do appreciate our country's history. Especially when it is recorded so masterfully."
Thoughtfully, Ahkmenrah admired the paintings in silence as they both read the legends of their ancestors. Kahmunrah broke the contemplation. "Come, there is one particular scene I wished to show you." Gently leading him by the hand- something he hadn't done in two years- Kahmunrah lead Ahkmenrah to a battle story depicted on the far right. "Who do you see?"
One aspect of their country's art Ahkmenrah both disliked and loved was their depiction of royalty. Only through the hieroglyphs did he recognize his father, whose features were not captured accurately, but perfectly as befitted one of his rank. One did not show a god's flaws. Merenkahre towered over his soldiers, smiting the Nubian enemy and bravely leading the charge into war. In the scene they were admiring, Merenkahre was shown crossing blades with the infamous Nubian king, the pharaoh still taller by a few inches. "The Duel Between Merenkahre and Kashta, the last Nubian king," Kahmunrah murmured reverently. "According to father, Kashta was a formidable enemy, equal to him in wit and strength. In fact, he tried getting the carvers to show them as equal in height, but the artists threatened mutiny. A pharaoh must be portrayed as superior- such it has been and will forever be.
"One thing the painters captured perfectly was our father's prowess. Father has always been renown for his military prowess from an early age- he was the first pharaoh to lead his men into battle instead of observing safely from the sidelines. He is duly honored here."
Ahkmenrah studied his elder brother in a new light- here then, lay the reason he took their fighting practice so seriously. "You're more like him than you know, Kah."
Shrugging, Kahmunrah turned to him. "I realize I've been teaching you... Inappropriately. Perhaps even a bit too harshly." Ahkmenrah's eyes widened as the confession continued. "You need motivation to succeed- everyone does! So I brought you here, to see the family you were born into. We come from a line of warriors whose nobility knows no bounds. Their blood is your blood and mine. Which is why I'm baffled as to why you continue to perform so poorly." Ahkmenrah flushed, but said nothing. "I know their strength lies within you somewhere. If you agree to continue, I can't promise it will be gentle, but I will bring it out into the open. I can only do this if you try. Will you?"
Gazing upwards at the murals, where their father seemed to proudly stand over them, Ahkmenrah replied, "Yes."
I'm sorry I haven't written in so long, I've been having a serious lack of motivation to continue this story. I hope I'll at least see some reviews here today! Lol And I promise I'll keep trying.
