A/N: What's this? Two chapters in one day? Strange, I know! But you see, I got a day off from work not too long ago and worked on this chapter then, after finishing up Chapter Six. And so, after adding some finishing touches (and reviewing/revising it, since I have no beta), I decided that instead of waiting a little while, I would just upload it now. This chapter is a litttle longer than Chapter Six, mostly because that chapter was another stepping-stone piece, to get Mahad from one point to another, and to introduce Atemet, who I am still nervous about, by the way.
Thank you again, all of you, and please let me know what you think!
Chapter Seven Meeting
Mahad had been keeping track of the days that passed, in part so that he could make sure his crops and fields were tended properly, but also so that he would know when Seto ascended the throne. After the preparation period was over, he saw a great many flames lighting the city in celebration. He watched with a kind of bittersweet loneliness; a part of him was happy for Seto, but he was also greatly saddened that Atem had been replaced, and lonely for knowing his friends were in the palace celebrating when he was too weak to bring himself to leave his farm. He prayed the Gods would understand.
And it seemed they did. The days kept passing, and he remained alive and well. Atemet stayed with him, seeming to be very content to abandon his duty as Bast's messenger to be Mahad's companion. Inside the man's very simply furnished home he had his own set of dishes; a small saucer for the fish or other meats Mahad brought back, and another for water. Next to both of the dishes was a small bundled nest made of a soft blanket for him to sleep on, but more often than not, he ended up in Mahad's bed to rest. When Mahad left to work or go into the city, Atemet would pace around the hut, his tail waving at the tingly feeling of the magician's barrier Mahad had put up around the house.
And even when he knew Mahad would return soon, Atemet paced around the house. One day, as he paced and his human friend was trying his luck net fishing, the new Pharaoh was on his way to visit. Seto was cantering on horseback through the city, flanked by his guards, his robes slightly changed. While more or less the same in design and coloration, they were more ornate, more decorated, made of finer cloth and accented with richer color and gold weavings. His tall headdress was gone, replaced by an intricate golden head-brace that arched across his forehead and graced back down the sides of his cheeks to almost touch his ears before the swept down towards his jaw-line. But his expression, his demeanor, the air around him was very much the same.
As Mahad carried his small catch back to his hut, his full-body robes dripping wet since he refused to take them off, his stopped and looked up the path that connected his farmland to one of the nearby dirt roads. Seto…? He stayed still, his net of fish slung over one shoulder, feeling the new Pharaoh's presence drawing closer. I wondered if you would visit me... He shifted, hearing the horse's hooves. I am glad you came now and not later. This makes things easier…
"Mahad!" The familiar voice rang out clearly through the still air, and Mahad smiled faintly. Seto and his guard rode up, pulling their royal horses to a stop. Mahad's resolve shivered and faltered at the sight of the new Pharaohs' fine robes; he was used to seeing that quality of clothing on only one person. But nevertheless, he set down his fish and tried to regain his composure, bowing his head slightly.
"Hello Seto." Angry, shocked protests started to rise from the guards at Mahad's lack of proper respect for the new Pharaoh, but Seto silenced them with a wave of his hand. They had been Priest's together, rivals and then an odd kind of friends; he wanted to be treated as such, not faced with the same stiff formality that was more than enough to deal with from the other Priests. And Mahad's lack of bow simply made him give a little half smirk of amusement. There is only one you will bow to now. He looked around slightly, sensing the barrier around Mahad's hut, then he swung his leg over the horse's back and dropped his feet to the dusty ground, looking at his old rival. Mahad smiled a little that Seto was willing to let his feet touch the ground of common farmland, then waved a hand and cancelled the magic barrier.
"I will not make you stay out here in the sun, Seto," he said, his voice soft since he rarely spoke aloud anymore. "Please, come inside." He picked up his net again, then walked to the hut, opening the door. Atemet meowed in welcome, trotting up to him as he walked inside. Seto ordered his guards to stay behind, ignoring their insistence about needing to keep him safe, and he followed after the ex-Priest, looking around the inside of his simple hut. It hadn't changed much; there were a few dishes on the shelves, a simple but proper bed, and a table with one chair that Mahad appeared to have made himself.
Then he noticed, against the wall near the head of Mahad's bed, was a small table, no more than a foot high off the ground. Draped over it were Atem's robes, and sitting on top of the cloth was his golden head brace, positioned so that when the sun rose, its rays would shine through the window and illuminate it. Mahad…
The ex-Priest set his net of fish in the corner of his kitchen area and pulled out a little one, then cast a gentle cooling spell on the rest so they wouldn't spoil before he could take them to the market. Not noticing Seto's gaze, he walked over to Atemet's little food dish and placed the small fish on it. The cat mewed and hurried to the dish, crouching down to eat.
"Seto." The new Pharaoh looked away from the little shrine at Mahad's word. "I need to tell you something." Seto raised a brow but nodded and walked over to him, wondering idly why he hadn't changed out of his soaked robes.
"What is it?"
"I am going to cease speaking." Seto blinked in surprise. Mahad's expression was grim and series, his eyes a little sad, an apology in them. "There is only one person who listened to my words and heard me as me, as who I truly am. There is nothing I can say now and be heard in such a way that that bond can be replicated, for no person will ever understand the truth behind my words." Seto just watched him, hearing the pain and longing in Mahad's voice. Are you truly healing? Or are you slipping farther into that darkness? He motioned vaguely at the ceiling and the sky beyond it.
"You will only speak to him?" For the late Pharaoh, for Atem, you give up so much. Mahad nodded, then bowed his head in apology.
"Yes Seto." He looked up at the other man. "I will always be glad to see you, to listen to what you have to say. But my voice shall no longer be used to respond." Seto stayed silent for a long moment to digest what had been said, his brow furrowed, not understanding Mahad's logic. You are losing yourself, Mahad. Surely you can see that.
"Mahad. Just because we cannot… hear the same truth's that the late Pharaoh could in your words… is that any reason to simply stop speaking?" Mahad looked at him as if he didn't understand the question. Think, Mahad, you are more than capable of using logic. There was no answer, as if the ex-Priest could think of no simpler way to explain his situation. So they simply looked at each other, an awkward, almost aggressive tension forming between them until Seto shook his head. I know I cannot push him… it only makes things worse.
"I cannot say I expected this but…" He folded his arms over his chest. "Do what you must." For now. I will find a way to break this hold of grief. You are too strong a person to be in such a state. "I do not need to hear you speak to hold company with you. Silence speaks words as well." And leaves the unspoken ones to tear you apart. Mahad nodded, smiling a little.
"Thank you, Seto." There was a flickering of conflicted emotions in his eyes. "I am… happy for you, in a sense. You got to be Pharaoh, you got power as you wished." He chuckled softly. "Despite the situation…" Seto shifted, not entirely sure how he should respond to this statement.
"I am happy as well," he eventually responded, choosing his words carefully, knowing Mahad was already teetering on the brink of some grief-madness, not wanting to push him over the edge. "Though yes, I too wish the circumstances could have been different." Mahad smiled slightly at him.
"I am also glad we are…" He looked up, thinking for a moment, then chuckled softly. "Getting along better than we used to. It is nice to not have to feel such aggression from you." Seto blinked, surprised, raising a brow, reluctant to admit that he certainly enjoyed having energy to spare that wasn't spent on competitive arguing.
"It is… certainly much easier…" Mahad chuckled, then finally seemed to notice how awkward this turn of conversation had made Seto. He looked around, smiling a little.
"How long do you plan to stay?" Seto shook his head.
"I will not overstay my welcome. I simply came to check on you." He shrugged slightly. "Everyone has been worried for you." He looked at Mahad. "And I wanted to tell you that no one uses his room, even now. It is just as he left it." Mahad stayed still and silent for a moment, leaving Seto to wonder if he shouldn't have brought Atem up at all. Then the man smiled faintly at the news.
"Thank you, Seto. I am very glad to hear that." He chuckled a bit, still looking slightly dazed from the sudden mention of his lost love. "And besides, you are… you are Pharaoh now, I do not think you could overstay your welcome." Seto shook his head, tapping the ornate gold brace he wore across his forehead that symbolized his change in status.
"Pharaoh or not, Mahad. We both know full well that it matters little, here." He motioned to the hut, half smirking a little. "If even based on the amount of 'proper' respect you showed me when I arrived." He waved a hand a little to show that he cared little for Mahad treating him as the Pharaoh he now was, but even as he did so, he saw Mahad's eyes change slightly and he instantly fell silent, still being so careful to keep the ex-Priest as stable as he could on the brink of his grief. So they both lapsed into silence, the Pharaoh and farmer simply looking at each other, the latter starting to tremble just slightly in his soaked, now-cooling robes.
"I am glad to hear it…" Mahad eventually murmured, looking around with a soft sigh and a little half smile. "Eventually I will have a proper place for us to sit and talk." He motioned at his single hand-made chair at the small table. Seto chuckled and shook his head a little.
"I am sure you have enough to deal with." He sighed and folded his arms loosely over his chest again. "I am glad to see you are doing alright." Perhaps as good as you can at this point. "I shall probably return to check on you again soon." Mahad nodded, smiling a little, seeming pleased by the idea of company, even from his old rival. Atemet looked back at the two of them, finally seeming to show interest in the new guest as he walked right into the conversation, purring happily, leaving the cleaned fish-bones behind as he wrapped himself around Mahad's ankles, giving soft sounds of contentment as if to contribute to the talking he'd interrupted. Seto blinked and raised a brow, looking at the cat. He chuckled softly.
"I am glad you have a companion, Mahad." Perhaps he can keep you grounded just enough that you do not lose yourself. The other man smiled a little and nodded, leaning down to run his hand over the cat's back.
"I found him in the city when I left… He was injured and hungry, and I could not just leave a messenger like that." He straightened up a little, smiling a bit. "I am just glad he decided to stay." Seto chuckled and nodded, shifting on his feet a bit.
"Perhaps he needed a companion as much as you did." Mahad blinked as if he hadn't thought of that, then smiled a little down at the feline, who was looking right back up at him with those bright, clear eyes. Seto looked out the window to the sky, gauging the position of the sun, then sighed softly and shook his head. "I am afraid I have to leave now, Mahad." He looked back to him. "I am having an audience with some dignitaries from one of our more… aggressive bordering neighbors to try and resolve our current issues to avoid them starting a petty war with us." He chuckled, still speaking carefully. "Thank you for warning me about your speaking." He nodded to him, then turned to leave. "I will see you soon." Mahad nodded, smiling slightly.
"Of course. Thank you for visiting, Seto. It was… nice to see a familiar face again." Seto chuckled, looking back at him.
"I look forward to our next meeting." He shifted to bow his head to Bast's messenger, then looked at Mahad once more before walking out. Atemet paused in his circles around Mahad's ankles to look up at his human companion, tilting his head and flicking one ear. With a soft chuckle, the ex-Priest gently petted the cat, watching the door to his hut swing shut, once again successfully closing him off from the rest of the world. Seto climbed back onto his horse, much to the relief of his anxious guard, then he looked back at the simple hut. He was silent and still for a long moment, his expression unreadable, before he took his horse's reigns and kicked his heels into it's ribs to gallop back to the palace with the soldiers.
Inside the hut, Mahad walked over to his bed, pulling his soaked robes off now that no one was here to see his body. It wasn't that there was anything wrong with it; he'd hardly changed, except that he'd lost weight from eating less. He had no scars, no marks, nothing that should have kept him from showing his body to anyone, except for the scars inside his mind. Atem had seen him, seen his body and known it like no one else had or ever could. No one else had earned the right to see him robeless now, not even enough to see him change clothes.
He dried himself off, not looking at his own body as he did so, and quickly pulled on clean, dry robes before sitting down on the bed with a soft sigh, smiling faintly as Atemet hopped up onto the bed and rubbed the sides of his face on his arm. Thank you, Bast, for allowing your messenger to remain with me. He shifted to lay down on his back on the bed, shifting onto his side when Atemet padded closer across the bed to curl up in a ball against his chest, purring. Mahad chuckled softly, petting him gently, watching the cat's eyes close as the small creature fell asleep as quickly as only cats could. He smiled faintly, folding one arm under his pillow, watching the cat. He himself knew he should take his small catch of fish to market, but his interaction with Seto had drained him of energy, leaving him to close his own eyes and gradually slip to sleep himself.
He didn't want to be awake to think about the new Pharaoh and who he had replaced.
A/N: Musical Assistant: Nothing in particular this time, I just had my media player on shuffle and skipped the more upbeat songs.
It is so hard to keep Seto in character, and I still don't think I've succeeded completely. It's just such a strange, different situation for him to be in, and I, personally, feel so bad for Mahad that it gets rather difficult to keep those feelings from bleeding into the characters I am writing. So if Seto seems a little... off, that is probably why. But do also keep in mind that he would naturally be at least a bit different, considering his new role and position.
Please tell me what you think!