Sorry this isn't as long guys, but I'm pumping out chapters and felt it would be good to stop here. Don't worry, some crazy action will be happening soon! :)
Enjoy~
Peasant's Promise
"Saa do I look beautiful?" Nedjem twirled, her gown billowing around her ankles.
She had put on her purple dyed down, she had only worn it once before. The dress skirted just around the bottoms of her feet, the deep purple contrasting with her olive colored skin, giving her an ethereal glow. Saa had ringed her eyes, carefully, with charcoal, making her blue eyes seem mystical and larger than normal, Saa topped it off with some blackberry juice coloring on her lips. Nedjem began to play with her hair, wrapping it up in a beautifully intricate bun. She indeed looked beautiful, the whips of hair that fell making her almost almost beguiling; Saa noticed a slight stab in her heart as she thought of watching Nedjem and Atem having a night of fun in their spot. Certainly no man would be able to resist a woman such as Nedjem, at least until she opened her mouth – Saa almost slapped herself for thinking such a thing. She is your mistress, and you must respect her, Saa scolded herself as she looked over Nedjem one last time.
"You are alluring, Mistress." Saa forced a smile, "Shall we head to the gardens then?"
Nedjem nervously laughed, stepping away from Saa, she wrung her hands together.
"A-actually, I'm just going to go on my own tonight. I wont need you since I'm sure the Prince will have other servants there. I wanted to give you the rest of the day off, maybe relax here – o-or maybe go talk to Akila's servant?" Nedjem smiled.
Saa was supposed to feel elated, ecstatic even, but all she felt was a deep mixture of gloom and anger. Now, instead of being present in Nedjem and Atem's night, she would wonder what happened rather than watching it all unfold. This set Saa's teeth on edge, but she could not oppose her Mistress – she knew better than that. So, she bowed respectfully and gave her Mistress a convincing smile,
"Thank you Mistress, you are truly a gift from the Gods."
Nedjem grinned, liking the feeling of doing something nice for her servant,
"You work so hard, rest easy tonight Sasa. I'll be back later on!" Nedjem called as she left Saa alone.
Maybe I can go and see Mana, Saa suddenly thought, liking the idea better than sitting here alone. Saa set off for Mana's room, reaching it in quick time, and knocking on the door. The door whipped open, and there stood Mana with a grin on her face, which only grew when she saw who was standing outside her door.
"Saa! You've come!" Mana giggled, pulling Saa into her chambers.
"I thought we could begin tonight since – well, the Prince and my Mistress will be together all night." Saa bitterly spat the last part out.
Mana gave her a knowing look, but refrained from saying anything.
"Ah that is right, what a lovely poem. How strange that a woman such as her could come up with something as magnificent as that, huh?" Mana nudged her.
Saa's face heated up as she thought to the poem she had written,
"Oh yes, Nedjem has always had a way with words – a keen wordsmith." Saa nervously laughed.
"Right," Mana smirked, "Well, let's get on to learning! So, all magic is, really, is summoning willpower and a strong mind. Those are the key to being able to peform spells, you have to be able to envision yourself completing the whatever task you are setting out to do, as you chant the words of course!" Mana giggled, whipping out a large spell tome.
Saa's eyes grew wide as she took in how large the book actually was.
"This is my apprentice spell tome! There is a lot in the Magister's library, but I'm only allowed to look in the apprentice sections. It doesn't help that Mahad always follows me there too – to make sure I don't sneak a peak at things I'm not supposed to." Mana half pouted as she finished, flipping through the pages until she found whatever she was looking for.
"Ah! Let's start with something simple, levitation!" Mana grinned, pushing the tome towards Saa.
As she looked in the tome, there were paragraphs of information on one page, the other containing only one word and some diagrams of items floating. Saa tilted her head; this was going to be harder than she thought.
"It's really not that hard I promise! You just have to steel yourself, make sure your feet are planted firmly on the ground, and chant the words as you gaze upon the item you want to cast the spell on. Here I'll show you – "
Mana brought over a vase and set it on the table, taking a few steps away from the item. She inhaled and exhaled sharply, her eyes focusing on the item; she raised a hand, pointing at the vase,
"Libero!"
Mana's voice boomed, and with a rush of energy he vase leaped into the air, hovering a few inches off of the table. Saa's eyes grew as wide as saucers as she witnessed Mana's magic.
"T-That is incredible!" Saa gasped, clapping her hands together.
Mana smiled, releasing the spell and allowing the vase to settle back onto the table.
"Now it's your turn."
Saa nodded, a fire burning in her eyes; she was determined to be able to do this.
Saa crashed to the floor in exhaustion; Mana and she had been practicing for what felt like hours. Saa had been able to hold the vase an inch or so off of the table, but for no more than a few minutes. Mana had said that was amazing for a beginner, but Saa wanted to be able to impress even the Prince. He must never know, no one can know. Saa reminded herself as she sat up, her ragged breathing slowly steadied itself.
"Let's stop for tonight, the next time you come if you're able to hold the vase again, we can try to move it too!" Mana grinned, jumping up and down.
"Oh! Here's some water." Mana handed Saa a small cup, and Saa gulped the water down in two shakes.
"Thank you Mana, you are too kind." Saa smiled up at her, Mana returning the gesture.
"We're friends! That's what we do for each other – speaking of I wonder how much longer Atem and your Mistress will be." Mana wondered as she glanced out of her window.
No sooner had she said that did a knock resound from her door, Mana looked to Saa in surprise before opening her door.
"Mahad!" Mana smiled, allowing the man to enter.
Mahad took notice of Saa immediately, nodding to her and looking back at Mana.
"How are you, Mana?" Mahad asked, his voice as low as always.
"I'm doing well Mahad! I'm so glad you're here! Come sit with Saa and I, we were just talking about Atem!" Mana grinned, and Mahad looked a bit skeptical on whether or not he should stay.
However, he sat beside Saa and across from Mana; the three of them relaxing in the night air for a moment.
"I just left the gardens, Atem and Nedjem should be finishing their dinner soon." Mahad mumbled.
Mana clapped her hands together, "You went with him?! How was it, were they enjoying each other's company or – "
"They laughed many times, Nedjem is a lively woman." Mahad nodded.
Saa felt the familiar sting in her heart as she thought of Atem and Nedjem enjoying a night together – why am I feeling this way? Saa grumbled to herself.
"Saa?" Mana gently nudged her dark haired friend.
"Huh?" Saa looked to her, snapping out of her daze.
"I asked you what you thought of Atem and Nedjem, if they were to be wed next week?" Mana winked.
Saa inhaled sharply, pushing down a feeling of gloom.
"Well, it would be better than some of the women that have shown their faces here." Saa commented, thinking of Ikan.
"You can say that again, some of these women are so boring. Or that Ikan – she seemed just purely evil!" Mana shivered.
Mahad sent Mana a look, "Ikan does seem strange, you must admit that you could sense her bloodlust that day as well as I."
Mana nodded, "She seems to have a vendetta against Nedjem, and you for that matter Saa." Mana worriedly looked to Saa,
"How are your gashes healing?" Mahad asked.
Saa smiled, their concern was endearing.
"My back seems to be healing just fine. I am not even sore any longer. Thank you Mahad, Mana. Your skills as healers truly saved my life, I cannot repay you for such a deed but I certainly will try."
"You needn't worry, nor think of what we did as a deed that needs to be repaid. You are dear to our Prince, and therefore you are dear to us." Mahad gave Saa a rare smile, his usually harsh stare lightened slightly.
Saa felt her heart burst as she looked at her two friends, "You two are gifts from the Gods, that is the only way I am able to have friends like you. Thank you, both of you." Saa grinned, feeling lighter.
"You know what I just thought of," Mana grinned, a mischievous look on her countenance.
Mahad seemed to notice this immediately, "What are you scheming Mana?"
She rubbed her hands together meditatively, "We should spy on Atem's dinner! Isn't Nedjem's room right above the garden?!" Mana asked Saa.
Saa nodded, not wanting to admit it but she slightly wanted to spy on their dinner as well.
"Yes but, I doubt well be able to see anything from her balcony."
"Well then we'll just have to sneak into the gardens themselves!" Mana grinned wildly.
Mahad scoffed, "Mana, we shouldn't spy on our friend."
"Well why not? It'll be fun!" Mana pouted.
Mahad and Mana stared at each other for a few seconds, Mana pouting and Mahad steely looking at his friend. Finally, Mahad sighed and Mana jumped up with glee.
"Fine, but only for a few minutes. They have to be finished with dinner soon." Mahad mumbled as he stood as well.
Saa jumped up with Mana, and the three set off to the gardens. Once they reached the garden's entrance, Mahad sauntered up to the guards – telling them they were needed elsewhere. Saa was surprised that Mahad was blatantly deceive them, but that's probably what all the guards thought so they would automatically believe him. After the guards rounded the corner, the trio slipped into the gardens, shuffling through some of the brush until they spotted the duo. The two sat at a small but magnificent looking table, it was adorned with gold dishes, many exotic fruits, and candles lit the area for them to see. It was truly a beautiful sight to see, not to mention the two occupants were dressed for the occasion themselves. Nedjem sat in her beautiful plum dress, it seemed to Saa that it matched the Prince's eyes; maybe that's what she was going for. Saa took this time to look at the Prince, he was dressed slightly fancier than usual; a bigger gold necklace sat on his chest, longer earrings cuffed his ears and glittered against the candlelight, his eyes seemed to sparkle like two precious gems. Saa could feel her heart beat speeding up as she took in the appearance of the Prince, his smooth olive skin, kind eyes, lightly flushed cheeks, even the shadows cast by his collarbones seemed to draw her in. Saa caught herself staring for too long, bashfully looking away and trying to calm the reddening in her cheeks. Unbeknownst to Saa, Mana was watching her out of the corner of her eye with a light smile on her lips.
Why is my heart beating so fast, Saa questioned as she continued to watch the duo eat. Nedjem was nibbling on some after dinner snack, while Atem seemed to be telling her a story of some kind. Saa immediately felt the ugly feeling creeping back up into her heart as she saw Nedjem laughing at something the Prince had said, what was he saying?
"They seem to be having fun together at least." Mana whispered.
"Yes, the Prince seems relaxed." Mahad agreed, looking towards the two women for a moment.
Saa nodded, "Yes, I have never seen Nedjem like this before."
Mana giggled, but she must have laughed too hard because the Prince cast his gaze towards the three hiding in the brush. Mahad slapped a hand over Mana's mouth and dragged her down to the ground, holding a solidary finger to his lips to signal her to be quiet. Saa watched the event unfold with a warm grin on her lips, it did not take a fool to see the two had feelings for one another – or at least Mana had feelings for Mahad. Mana's cheeks were tinted with a light rouge as Mahad separated himself from her, looking back towards the table again. Saa returned to gaze to the Prince as well, his gaze still laid in the trio's direction; he shook his head side to side once before chuckling and saying something to Nedjem. He then stood, helping Nedjem up, and two left the gardens – heading to Ra knows where.
"Mana! This is your fault, if you hadn't laughed so loud the Prince would have never noticed us!" Mahad lightly scolded Mana.
Mana shrugged, "What could I do?! I couldn't hold back my laugh – it was too cute!"
"Now what do we do?" Saa asked, at a loss of what to do next.
The three conversed amongst each other, each one sending out a different idea. Mana wanted to follow them, however Mahad suggested they return to Mana's room since they had been caught once, Saa thought the three of them should return to Mana's room as well – she did not want to be caught spying on the Prince. The three of them were so engrossed in arguing that they did not notice Atem walk up to them, standing over the trio hiding in the bush.
"Well well well, my friends! What are you doing in the brush? I'm sure it would be more comfortable to – "
Saa screamed out, surprised and slightly scared by Atem's sudden appearance. She jumped out of the bush, her eyes wide like an animals, and took two steps back.
"I-it isn't what it looks like!"
"Yeah! We were playing a game!" Mana agreed, standing by Saa, but chuckling at her friend's behavior.
Atem cocked his head to the side, a look of disbelief on his face.
"Mahad will tell me the truth, I can always count on him." Atem stated as he turned to the only other male in the group.
Mana shot Mahad a death stare, daring and pleading with him to keep his mouth shut.
"I cannot lie to you Prince, we did come here to see you." Mahad nodded, crossing his arms.
"See was that so hard, Mana?" Atem smirked, looking triumphant. "Now why would you three spy on my dinner with Nedjem?"
"Well, we were curious to see how it was going is all! So, how did it go?" Mana grinned.
Atem shrugged, "She certainly is not like some of these other women, but – never mind." He waved off whatever he was going to say.
"Well, I assume you've sent Nedjem back to her room, meaning I should return as well before she becomes too suspicious about my whereabouts." Saa smiled, but she felt no happiness in leaving her friends.
She turned to go, but was stopped by a hand on her wrist. She looked back to see the Prince had grabbed her, a subtle look of distress on his features.
"Would you like me to walk you back to your room?" he asked.
Saa shook her head, a light smile on her lips.
"No Atem, thank you. It would seem a little too suspicious then wouldn't it? You walking Nedjem back to her room, then appearing with me later on?"
Atem exhaled, nodding in agreement.
"I suppose you are right, goodnight Saa. I will see you tomorrow right?"
"Oh give it up! We know you two meet here to talk!" Mana laughed, grabbing Atem by the shoulders.
Saa's cheeks furiously flushed, her heart quickening. Atem's own cheeks tinted themselves a light rouge as he avoided eye contact,
"Very well then, will I see you here tomorrow night?"
Saa nodded, "Y-yes, if you want me here, I will be here."
Atem couldn't help but smile at Saa's response, she us a true friend.
"I will see you then, sleep well Saa."
Saa bowed, and turned on her heel to leave, waving goodbye to Mana and Mahad.
"You like her don't you?" Mana teased, poking Atem on his shoulders.
Atem rolled his eyes, ignoring Mana and walking in the direction of his own room.
"Hey! You can't ignore me! Come back here!" Mana cried out, running after him.
Mahad lightly chuckling to himself as he paced after the duo.