Gilgamesh lifted the stylus as he finished the last cuneiform on the treaty tablet. The slave immediately whisked the tablets away to be fired in a kiln.

"Well, well, King Bilgames, it seems like Suse and Uruk are finally in unity," said King Ditanu with a chuckle.

"Yes they are." Gilgamesh put the stylus down and cracked his fingers. The past couple of days were kind of a blur for him. Just filled with meetings upon meetings. Deciding this, figuring out that. The only things to look forward to was when he returned to the rooms at night, so he could be with Enkidu and Hakuno. Even though they did not figure out where the Nippur King and Queen were, that did not matter. All he wanted to do right now was to go home and deal with this a little later.

Treaty work usually made him very tired.

"Are you sure you want to return to Uruk tomorrow?" asked King Ditanu. "Why not wait another day?"

"I have been gone from my kingdom long enough," replied Gilgamesh with a wry grin. "Soon they will learn to rule without me and that will not be a good sign."

Ditanu laughed. "That will not be. Oh, but we must have a celebration today then. A parade around the city, to show the unity between our countries."

"A parade? I am surprised you have one ready on such short notice."

"I had a feeling our feelings on the subject will be mutual, so I had them prepare a few days ago. Of course, having the extra day would be better but I am sure they can make do." He gestured for the slave waiting by the door to go.

"Well, well it is a good thing it was a favorable outcome then." Gilgamesh got to his feet. "I assume it will be this afternoon?"

King Ditanu nodded. "I will meet you at the palace gates. Unfortunately, with how long the women will take, it will probably be for the best if we have the parade with just us two. Since this is such short notice and I assume you want to be well rested for your trip back to Uruk tomorrow."

Gilgamesh nodded. "Yes, I will see you soon King Ditanu."

He was not surprised that Ditanu had it prepared. Gods, he would be concerned if it was not prepared. Kings always loved showing off their strength. He had done the same when he had defeated the country of Kish and he paraded around the city with the King of Kish, Akka. Of course, that had involved him defeating the country in war but that was just because King Akka would not submit. Huh, now that he was thinking about it, he never told Hakuno of that heroic deed. Although knowing her, she would have probably already read it in one of the history texts or something.

Urash was the only one in the rooms and he scrambled to his feet when Gilgamesh walked in.

"Where is Hakuno?" asked Gilgamesh without stopping. He grabbed a few bracelets and necklaces and quickly put them on.

"She and Enkidu are with Queen Ninki," replied Urash. "Shub is with them as well. Apparently they are going to have a lunch in the gardens and I think Princess Aea will be in attendance as well." He hesitated for a moment and then pulled one of the embroidered sashes from one of their traveling packs and held it out to the King.

Gilgamesh ripped it out of the boy's hands and slung it over a shoulder. "Get changed into something a bit more befitting of your status as the slave of the King," he growled. "King Ditanu is throwing a parade and unfortunately I am going to need to have you near me." He was already pushing it by not having the boy shadow him wherever he went and it would be very eye-brow raising if the slave was not there for a parade. Especially since this meant Gilgamesh would get some food and there was no way he was going to eat anything before the slave boy tested it.

"Yes, of course my King." Urash ducked his head low and scurried out of the room.

He debated for a moment of leaving a guard here to relay a message to Hakuno of where he was in case, they were not back before she returned to the rooms but he dismissed the idea. She would be furious if he did not take all his guards with him. And, of course, Hakuno had not brought any of her tablet translation supplies with her so he had no way of writing anything down on a piece of parchment.

Well she was smart enough to assume where he was if he was not back here, Gilgamesh decided. King Ditanu was probably boasted to everyone in the palace about signing a peace treaty with Uruk so the information will reach Hakuno if not that astute slave girl of hers.

He stepped out of the private bedrooms and gave Urash a once over. "Not great but I guess that will have to do," he said with a sigh.

Urash winced and looked down at his feet. "Sorry."

"No matter, let us go and get this over with."

The fanfare was ridiculous. It was not just a litter carrying the Kings and a slave. It was horses, oxen pulling carts with statues of the Gods, dancers with streamers, musicians and other performers that Gilgamesh was not able to place what they were doing at a quick glance.

"For something you pulled together quickly, this seems a little extreme to me," Gilgamesh said wryly.

King Ditanu laughed. "Suse is always ready to celebrate on a moment's notice." He waved out into the crowds of his people that were gathering due to the parade.

"I can see that." Gilgamesh glanced to the left and right of the litter where his guards were positioned on horses. Ishne, as if sensing the look, glanced up at him. A slight shake of the head. Nothing odd to report.

Perhaps this would just a typical parade then. He lifted his empty wine cup and held it out. Urash's hands shook as he refilled the cup from the wine skein.

"I am going to miss hunting with you," said King Ditanu. "It is sad we were not able to find the lion."

"It is sad we were not able to hunt it, but I am sure someone from your kingdom will be able to kill it and bring it to you as a trophy." Gilgamesh put a smile on his face and waved to the gathering crowds. Gods how he wished Hakuno or Enkidu was with him right now. Either one of them would make this bearable.

"We are even going to show off to the fields beyond?" asked Gilgamesh as the procession made its way past the city gates.

"Yes, there are people out in the fields that need to know of our alliance as well," replied Ditanu.

What an annoyance. Of course this king had to be the type that wanted to show off to all. He reached for one of the slices of meat but paused when he realized he was seeing double. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. A look to his left and he saw Urash looking at him straight on with unwavering brown eyes. Curses ran through the King's mind but of course he could not say any of them.

He could hear his guards yelling but he could not even turn to look as he collapsed on the litter. It couldn't be poison, Urash had tasted everything beforehand and as a King he had built up immunity to most of them over the years. Magic then. This had to be magic.

The last thing he saw before blackness took him was Urash staring down at him coldly.