Hakuno woke up the next morning feeling very confused. She was facing the doorway, her pillow much harder than it should be.
"Good morning Hakuno!" Enkidu's cheerful voice came from above her.
Confused, she glanced up to see them looking down on her. Oh! She sat up quickly. "Did I fall asleep on your leg? Why did you not wake me?"
Despite probably not getting a good night's sleep Enkidu looked bright and chipper as they always did. Now that she thought about it did Enkidu truly need sleep or was it something they learned from her?
"You were fast asleep, and I did not feel like it would be appropriate to wake you. Do not worry, I was able to sleep a little bit."
If they said so. She got to her feet and stretched.
"The King stopped by when you were asleep."
Hakuno froze and whirled around. "What did he say?" Obviously, it had not degraded into a fight as she would have most likely woken up from that.
"He spoke about his Queen." Enkidu smiled at her. "He said he will tell me stories about her someday."
Stories of his Queen?
Hakuno blushed. "You know the stories though."
"From your point of view. It will be interesting to hear them from his."
Hakuno buried her face in her hands. "Did he say anything about me though? I mean like Zaibu? I was somewhere where I should not have been."
Enkidu shook their head. "I think you are fine. There is no trouble there."
Hakuno's shoulders slumped in relief. Perhaps Enkidu was able to smooth things over. The Gilgamesh of before would probably have her beaten or executed or something due to what she did. She had no idea if the spell on her would maintain after trauma like that and that would cause much, much more difficulties that not even Gula's howling dogs could fix.
"Hakuno, have you decided on what to do? Will you reveal yourself to the King?"
Hakuno hesitated and then shook her head. "I want to. I want him to know it is me but I will not do it. I will figure out what happened that day with the bandit attack. That is the best way I can help him now." She grasped Enkidu's hands. "And you continue to do what you are doing. Heal Gil. Heal his heart in my place for now."
Gilgamesh laughed and crossed his piece over the finish line. Enkidu and Hakuno exchanged glances as the King looked as triumphed as if he had won an actual war and not just a board game.
Hakuno bit the inside of her cheek and looked down to stop herself from giggling. It reminded her so much of the Gilgamesh she had played games with. The thought made her smile. The only reason she was allowed in here today was because this game required three people and Enkidu jumped on the chance to have "Zaibu" join them.
At first it had been awkward, or she sensed Gilgamesh felt weird playing with a "slave". However, like always, once the King got into the game it did not matter who was playing with him, only that he had to win.
"I think I understand the rules of the game now, you do as well Zaibu?" Enkidu picked up the pieces and set them back on the start point.
Hakuno nodded. She knew how to play this game. It was one of the many she had played with Gilgamesh during their game nights. Of course, this was a game that only the nobles played so she had to feign ignorance and make "bad' moves.
"Well, if you want to be defeated again by me, then so be it!" Gilgamesh laughed.
Before they could start the game, Ishne stepped into the room. "My King, I am sorry to disturb you, but I wanted to warn you that the baru has returned."
Gilgamesh's eyes brightened. "Ekur has returned? Where is he? Send him in!"
"The baru is right here."
A lump rose in Hakuno's throat as Ekur pushed back the curtain and walked in, his robes swishing around him.
Ekur paused and took in Gilgamesh's guests and Hakuno forced her eyes to the ground so she would not meet his gaze. "I heard you have took in a few friend but…"
Enkidu got to their feet and approached the baru and bowed. "It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Enkidu and my companion is Zaibu. I have heard a lot about you baru Ekur."
Ekur stared at Enkidu and then at Gilgamesh. "Now where did you find this one?" he asked with a chuckle.
"In a wrestling match," replied Gilgamesh with a laugh. "It is a fun story, I must admit."
"Well I would like to hear it then. My King, will you allow it now?"
"I understand you two have some things to catch up on. Come Zaibu."
Hakuno kept her head low as she followed Enkidu out of the King's rooms. As she passed by the guards, she noticed Urash waiting on the other end of the hall, hands clasped in front of him. Seeing the movement, he looked up and his eyes met Hakuno's. His eyes narrowed slightly and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.
"Are you alright Zaibu?" Enkidu looked over at her in concern.
As they turned the corner Hakuno glanced back and saw Urash was still watching her.
"It is probably nothing," replied Hakuno. Hopefully. Urash was the apprentice of someone with "magus" gifts though. Maybe he could sense the spell on her. She hoped not.
When they entered Enkidu's room, Hakuno noticed a tablet lying on the table that was not there before as well as a few pages of parchment.
"What is it?" asked Enkidu.
Hakuno grinned as she read them over. "It's the list of all of the slaves in the palace." How did Shub get her hands on these? The parchments were written in Paubi's own hands!
"Something tells me you will be busy for the rest of the night. Do not stay up too late."
Hakuno barely heard them as she settled in the chair and began looking over the names.
"Did you find your answers or Gods?" Gilgamesh crossed his arms. A twinge of annoyance ran through him as he regarded his baru.
"I found a few answers." Ekur adjusted his robes. "I see you have made some interesting new friends."
"Friend," Gilgamesh replied crossly. "The slave is Enkidu's. They are very close to them and the game we were playing tonight required three players."
Ekur stared at Gilgamesh. "Yes, I can see that. Do you know that this Enkidu fellow is a creature of the Gods?"
"What in the world are you talking about?" scoffed the King. Enkidu, a creature of the Gods? Preposterous!
"My King, I am closer to the Gods than you are…. unfortunately."
What was Ekur implying with that statement?
Ekur sighed. "Well I guess it does not matter at this point. If the Gods have not been insulted yet, I assume everything will go fine."
"What does that mean?"
"Do not worry about it." The baru took the seat that Enkidu had been sitting in earlier. "Now give me an update on the kingdom as a whole. I have done readings while on my travels but it is better to hear it from you." He crossed his hands in front of him. "My King, you are no longer taking women to your bed?"
"Well there does not seem to be any point to it now." Gilgamesh took his seat and put away the game. He could hear Hakuno in his mind telling him to put away the game pieces neatly so it would be ready for the next time they played.
The pain was still there. He assumed it would never go away but it was not as strong as it was before. It was not overbearing, something that he had to get out in some way shape or form. He could manage it, he could live with it.
For now at least.
"What? You have an odd smile on your face."
"It is nothing my King." Ekur leaned back. "The Gods were right after all."
Hakuno tugged hard and the weed finally popped out, spraying dirt everywhere but mostly on herself. "You are a big one." The root structure was incredibly long, no wonder she had a hard time getting it out.
She heard a giggle from nearby and saw Aralu hiding her face when she noticed Hakuno looking at her.
"I think I found one that has to have had the Gods blessing." Hakuno held out the root so Aralu could see it.
Aralu giggled and nodded. "I say so as well." Her expression darkened and she dropped her eyes and hurried away.
The hairs stuck up on the back of Hakuno's neck and she turned to see Urash at the other end of the garden. She dropped her eyes to the ground before their eyes could meet. Why was he here? He usually was a shadow to Ekur. Unless Ekur was in a meeting with Gilgamesh? No, Enkidu was with him now. They were going to be touring some of the temples in the city (as per Enkidu's request).
She inwardly cursed as Urash started walking in her direction. "May I speak with you a moment?" asked Urash before Hakuno could pack up her things and bolt.
"Uh sure," replied Hakuno slowly. A quick look around and it seemed like all the slaves had cleared out. One skill she never acquired sadly. "What is it?" She tightened her grip on her basket of weeds. The purpose of her being here was to observe Aralu, one of the newer slaves that was bought from the Nippur region. Maybe it would have been smarter to have Shub to take care of it but Shub was already doing so much for her.
Urash, thankfully, looked as uncomfortable as she felt. However he shook his head and narrowed his eyes. "Who are you and what do you want with Uruk?"
"What do you mean?" Hakuno hated how her voice squeaked.
"I know there's magic on you. It reeks on you. Who are you? What do you want?" Urash's voice was a mere whisper, like even he was afraid of being overheard. "What do you want to do here?"
Of course. Even though she was also technically a salve, she was the personal slave to Enkidu, Gilgamesh's close friend. For Urash to even confront her…
She grimaced. The less people that knew about her the better but Urash would be helpful. But his mentor had been sent by Nippur.
Urash tightened his hands into fists. "Listen, I understand if you do not want to tell me but do no harm to the kingdom. Otherwise I will need to inform Ekur."
Hakuno stared at Urash in surprise.
He seemed taken aback by her response. "What?"
"For a slave you seem very loyal to this kingdom," she replied. She gestured to the slave brand on his cheek. "From what I seen, a brand on your face means you must have done something bad."
Urash's hand went up to his face to cover the brand. "This…" He shook his head. "Perhaps I did do something bad but Ekur has been kind to me. Much kinder than my mentor and some of the people I knew before was."
Hakuno smiled. "I am sure Ekur would love to hear that, and then be very 'bah' about it."
Urash did not seem to be able to understand her statement. "How do you…"
Maybe it was silly of her to put her belief in someone like Urash. However, based on what he said, to someone new like her, he was an important ally. He also knew about Nippur, before it was conquered. Way more than she did at least. Not to mention the fact he knew there was something "off" about her and that was dangerous if he told anyone.
"Thank you for informing the King on how to save me when my prana was drained."
Urash's face paled and his mouth dropped in shock. "Ha…" He clamped his mouth shut and kneeled next to her and grabbed one of the flowers.
"I would aim for the plant next to it. That's something you do not want to pick up."
Urash's face flushed as he grabbed the actual weed. "How, what happened? What are you doing? Why…" He gave her a once over.
"I think what happened with the bandits was a trap by an enemy of Uruk. How else would they be able to overpower the King's private guard?"
Urash froze.
"Is that possible?"
Urash nodded. "You did not hear it from me but the Nippur royalty were not killed in the raid on Nippur. They were not there. The King is working on having the countryside cleaned out but the King, Queen and children were not found. Perhaps…" He grimaced. "When Munzar and I were there when Munzar was hired to remove your King from power, there was a lot of Suse representatives there. I did not think anything of it at the time…"
By the Gods, Hakuno could already see things clicking into place. "The question is, how did they know the route we were going to take there…Shub and I are currently looking into the slaves of the palace."
"The slaves are not the only ones you should look into."
Before Hakuno could ask for clarification, Urash stood straight. Following his line of sight, she saw Enkidu and Gilgamesh heading for the gardens. By the way they were positioned, there would still be a few moments before they would notice Hakuno and Urash.
"I will have Shub get a message to you," Hakuno said quickly. "Let her know your thoughts."
Urash nodded and headed for the opposite direction. Seemed like he had the slave sneaking ability figured out.