Announcements

(If I time it right, the thunder breaks)

Chapter Summary: Anubis was the god who watched over the process of mummifying people when they died. Priests often wore a mask of Anubis during mummification ceremonies.

HARDAI

If he had not known beforehand, Atem would have been pretty worried when a young messenger came to his door, and gave him a small note from the Pharaoh. The Note stated the place and the time where Atem was expected to appear to "discuss some matters of great importance".

Atem barely covered a snort at reading that last part, especially since the young messenger was still there waiting for an answer. As if he could actually refuse. And as if he not already knew what those "matters of great importance" were.

He folded the note, while telling the young messenger that he would be there, following the protocol that was asked of him as well as bringing a witness for his part of things. Apparently satisfied by his answer, the messenger was quick to leave.

Sitting heavily in a nearby chair, Atem contemplated what was to come. On one hand, he knew that the fact that his almost daughter was selected to be the future queen was a great honor, and that there were several people that would be pretty excited and honored to be part of this.

However, he knew that Massika would agree to all of these, not because of the illusion of the queen seat, but because she thought she had to fulfill her duties as a citizen of Kemet. He agreed with that, he just wished it was not at the expense of her true happiness.

Still, he could do nothing but to wait and see how everything evolved. And to wait for Khaba to get to the temple so he could convince him to accompany him to the negotiations with the Pharaoh's people.

"But I wonder… would that be somewhat cruel…? But then… wouldn't it be crueler to leave him wondering about everything…?"

The sudden arrival of people from the other wing of the temple interrupted his musings. He only remembered about them when Khaba found the forgotten note some hours later.

The common population of the city of Hardai, was aware of the official agenda of the Pharaoh and his entourage. As such, they were there for the prayers at the temple of Osiris, for the public hearings organized two days in a row, and for the festivities organized for the day before their last there.

What they did not know, was that in between all these important events, a series of negotiations were being held, deciding the future of a young woman. In almost any other negotiation for an arranged marriage things would run smooth and without glitches, with the future groom offering something within his possibilities and the father or tutor of the bride to simply agree to the terms before being done with it.

This time, the father figure of the girl, and the man accompanying him, were fighting tooth and nail to get a favourable deal for the girl, in spite of the several attempts of the high council to treat the girl's interests as mere inconveniences and as irrelevant matters.

Atem, the father figure, had never been as angry as whenever he left those meetings. Then again, the simmering rage shining behind Khaba's eyes, promised murder and eternal suffering if those people did not show even a bit of respect for his beloved.

Still, they managed to reach an agreement and all that was left was to notify Massika and to announce it to the rest of the city's population.

Problem was, they were not sure when or how the announcement would be made. In the Pharaoh's words "it would be somewhere I decide is the best place for these kind of news".

Even if Atem or Khaba would have wanted to tell Massika that the deal was sealed and over, and that she was now officially engaged to the most powerful man in the country, obligations around the temple and tending to some of the things relevant to the official visit of the pharaoh kept them from even crossing a pair of words with her.

Still, they were assured that they had some time before the announcement was made, especially since the pharaoh and his entourage were supposed to still be around for the next three to four days.

Big was their surprise when, the "perfect place and moment" came just while the inauguration of the new wing for the temple of Anubis was being held.

And they could actually understand it, the night was beautiful. The stars were shining brighter than ever, there was a little wind and the weather was bordering on cold but staying on the chill side. In fact, the few clouds in the sky were mostly surrounding the full moon, making it glow in a rather interesting way.

People of Hardai thought the marvelous weather was a gift from Anubis himself, as he was pleased by the expansion of his temple.

The pharaoh was convinced that the night was perfect for important announcements. And so, he ordered some of his men to go look for Massika, and bring her to the front so she could be with him while he announced their engagement.

Which, was not what he agreed with her family.

In fact, said family was a bit shocked by the sudden appearance of those men and the barely noticeable but still there aggression in which they took Massika, supposedly under the instructions of their Pharaoh. By the time they realized what was about to happen, they were unable to intervene.

Atem was watching the procedures with more sadness than irritation, wishing that he was able to break the news to her in a gentler way. Khaba on the other hand was feeling a murderous rage, in part because of the broken agreement, and in part because he could clearly see the growing discomfort in his beloved.

The speech the man was giving for the announcement was making things look like a commercial transaction instead of a marriage, as if the girl was more of a possession than a bride to be. Everybody noticed, and were confused, since everybody in the city knew for a fact that said girl had been in a relationship with High Priest Khaba for a time now.

By the time the speech was done, Khaba had moved to the back of the crowd, too angry to completely control himself and maintaining in check his powers. In the distance, high voltage lightning could be seen, and soon after they were heard and felt. The earth trembled with the force of the energy suddenly unleashed.

He closed his eyes to try to calm himself, as he did not want to create a scene in front of the rest. When he opened them again, he made eye contact with Massika, who was looking directly at him with sadness and shock in her eyes.

A lone tear rolled down her cheek.

A lone drop of water fell from the skies.

And suddenly the clear, starry sky was covered by heavy stormy clouds, and the light breeze morphed into an aggressive wind that announced the start of a thunderstorm.

Atem thought that the weather changes were because of Khaba's anger.

Khaba knew for a fact that they were not his doing, but hers.