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Quite unlike the men he was friends and surrounded himself with, Narmer's ambitions were far smaller, his problems far bigger. Despite his sarayaa gleaming in gold back at home, the insides were tattered. To the naked eye it may seem quite adequete, yet one only needed to squint to see how the paint peeled, how some precious stones had been gone, gouged out to pay some of his servants, and how lacking of decorations and aesthetically placed golden vases in his interior.
Hei Haikaddad dearly needed gold, and he had thought he could solve the problems when he had arranged for himself to marry one of the girl's from Hei Sheifa. A new Hei, but one well known for their business savvy mindset and capability to crawl from ground up to build themselves as one of the richest Hei's around Egypt now, Narmer knew he had much to learn from his supposed-to-be in-laws. He didn't know why the numbers swam in front of him everytime he worked on the family ledger books, and why each time he tried to have a grip on the money, it still bled out. Even with asking help from Zoser, he couldn't seem to get it sorted.
In his element as the troops marched across towards the northern plains of Egypt where they would set up a military force to meet the Grecian forces, Narmer was glad to be back in the saddle. Controlling the behavior of his rowdy gelding warhorse, with his weapons strapped to his back, there was now numbers or angry villagers to deal with, and momentarily, the man could feel the stress lift off his shoulders as he exchanged regular banter with his men.
But as they set up camp for the night, and the silence crept across the fields, that was when the crushing reality of the rejection by Hei Sheifa for his marriage came hurtling back towards him. Of course, Narmer knew that if he pushed for it, he doubted Sirdsett Iaheru would settle for what her daughter wished - it would be a good union, Hei Haikaddad's name and history coupled with the wealth and smarts of Hei Sheifa, it would make the joined houses an insurmountable force - and given him the leeway to indulge in his military escapes as he allowed someone else to take charge of the finance side of his household.
He had it planned perfectly - but the damned rats.
Even now, a few days after Neithotep had directly told him she wanted no marriage - and Narmer had been too polite and of soft heart to reject her rejection - he still blamed the rodents. What was the point of a cheetah if it couldn't get rid of a few rats? Goddamn rodents. But even Narmer recognized the futility of complaining now, when he had already retracted his offer from Iaheru before leaving the sarayaa of Hei Sheifa a day or two before they had started setting off with the military force.
Back to square one it is.
This character is currently a work in progress.
Check out their information page here.
This character is currently a work in progress.
Check out their information page here.
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Deleted
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Quite unlike the men he was friends and surrounded himself with, Narmer's ambitions were far smaller, his problems far bigger. Despite his sarayaa gleaming in gold back at home, the insides were tattered. To the naked eye it may seem quite adequete, yet one only needed to squint to see how the paint peeled, how some precious stones had been gone, gouged out to pay some of his servants, and how lacking of decorations and aesthetically placed golden vases in his interior.
Hei Haikaddad dearly needed gold, and he had thought he could solve the problems when he had arranged for himself to marry one of the girl's from Hei Sheifa. A new Hei, but one well known for their business savvy mindset and capability to crawl from ground up to build themselves as one of the richest Hei's around Egypt now, Narmer knew he had much to learn from his supposed-to-be in-laws. He didn't know why the numbers swam in front of him everytime he worked on the family ledger books, and why each time he tried to have a grip on the money, it still bled out. Even with asking help from Zoser, he couldn't seem to get it sorted.
In his element as the troops marched across towards the northern plains of Egypt where they would set up a military force to meet the Grecian forces, Narmer was glad to be back in the saddle. Controlling the behavior of his rowdy gelding warhorse, with his weapons strapped to his back, there was now numbers or angry villagers to deal with, and momentarily, the man could feel the stress lift off his shoulders as he exchanged regular banter with his men.
But as they set up camp for the night, and the silence crept across the fields, that was when the crushing reality of the rejection by Hei Sheifa for his marriage came hurtling back towards him. Of course, Narmer knew that if he pushed for it, he doubted Sirdsett Iaheru would settle for what her daughter wished - it would be a good union, Hei Haikaddad's name and history coupled with the wealth and smarts of Hei Sheifa, it would make the joined houses an insurmountable force - and given him the leeway to indulge in his military escapes as he allowed someone else to take charge of the finance side of his household.
He had it planned perfectly - but the damned rats.
Even now, a few days after Neithotep had directly told him she wanted no marriage - and Narmer had been too polite and of soft heart to reject her rejection - he still blamed the rodents. What was the point of a cheetah if it couldn't get rid of a few rats? Goddamn rodents. But even Narmer recognized the futility of complaining now, when he had already retracted his offer from Iaheru before leaving the sarayaa of Hei Sheifa a day or two before they had started setting off with the military force.
Back to square one it is.
Quite unlike the men he was friends and surrounded himself with, Narmer's ambitions were far smaller, his problems far bigger. Despite his sarayaa gleaming in gold back at home, the insides were tattered. To the naked eye it may seem quite adequete, yet one only needed to squint to see how the paint peeled, how some precious stones had been gone, gouged out to pay some of his servants, and how lacking of decorations and aesthetically placed golden vases in his interior.
Hei Haikaddad dearly needed gold, and he had thought he could solve the problems when he had arranged for himself to marry one of the girl's from Hei Sheifa. A new Hei, but one well known for their business savvy mindset and capability to crawl from ground up to build themselves as one of the richest Hei's around Egypt now, Narmer knew he had much to learn from his supposed-to-be in-laws. He didn't know why the numbers swam in front of him everytime he worked on the family ledger books, and why each time he tried to have a grip on the money, it still bled out. Even with asking help from Zoser, he couldn't seem to get it sorted.
In his element as the troops marched across towards the northern plains of Egypt where they would set up a military force to meet the Grecian forces, Narmer was glad to be back in the saddle. Controlling the behavior of his rowdy gelding warhorse, with his weapons strapped to his back, there was now numbers or angry villagers to deal with, and momentarily, the man could feel the stress lift off his shoulders as he exchanged regular banter with his men.
But as they set up camp for the night, and the silence crept across the fields, that was when the crushing reality of the rejection by Hei Sheifa for his marriage came hurtling back towards him. Of course, Narmer knew that if he pushed for it, he doubted Sirdsett Iaheru would settle for what her daughter wished - it would be a good union, Hei Haikaddad's name and history coupled with the wealth and smarts of Hei Sheifa, it would make the joined houses an insurmountable force - and given him the leeway to indulge in his military escapes as he allowed someone else to take charge of the finance side of his household.
He had it planned perfectly - but the damned rats.
Even now, a few days after Neithotep had directly told him she wanted no marriage - and Narmer had been too polite and of soft heart to reject her rejection - he still blamed the rodents. What was the point of a cheetah if it couldn't get rid of a few rats? Goddamn rodents. But even Narmer recognized the futility of complaining now, when he had already retracted his offer from Iaheru before leaving the sarayaa of Hei Sheifa a day or two before they had started setting off with the military force.
Back to square one it is.
Life in the military camps was so dreadfully dull that Sutekh wasn’t quite sure if the prospect of dying out here in the sands of Egypt was such an awful alternative any longer. The Egyptian army was currently stationed at the most likely location for the Greeks to land, so now it was just a mere waiting game for when their adversaries would appear. After all, it was only a matter of time before they would arrive on their coasts.
They just had to make sure that they never actually stepped foot onto Egpytian ground.
Although many of the men were growing tired of the endless drills, Sutekh in particular was growing tired of the endless monotony that was his days. Even though he was a Deputy General, he had very little to do in terms of overseeing the men or the war effort. The Prince was given the bare minimum amounts of tasks that were required of his rank, but beyond that, he had little else to do within his role. His empty days pretty much confirmed within his mind that this was all just an elaborate ploy by the Pharaoh to have him killed during the course of the war while avoiding the red stain that would come from his blood. It was disheartening, to say the least, but there was little he could do given the circumstances as he was already here on the battlefield. All he could do was keep his head up and stay alert. Maybe that way he could stay alive.
Having finished his tasks early and fearing the condition of the rations that he had been given, Sutekh had been spent the early afternoon hopping from soldier’s tent to soldier’s tent -- sitting with the men and quietly pilfering some of their rations while he engaged in chatter with the men he was likely going to die beside whenever the Greeks would appear. Or at least that had been his itinerary until a familiar face came racing into the camp on horseback. Eager to escape the boring story of some man’s improbably conquests, Sutekh was quick to jump up and move over towards the man who was set to marry his half-sister, if his mother was to be believed, Narmer H’Haikiddad.
In truth, Sutekh pitied the poor man as he clearly had no idea what he was signing up for if he was truly seeking a union with Nia of all people. After all, his sister wasn’t exactly ‘marriage material’ as far as Sutekh was concerned. His sister was known to spend her nights in opium dens and in the company of foreign men whose names she could fail to recall in the morning. She had spent her whole life avoiding court and Sutekh was certain that he’d drop dead from shock the moment the girl showed any sort of initiative in taking responsibility as she had yet to do that once in her life. If Narmer wanted a sparring partner or some pretty animal that he would have to keep in a cage lest risk the damage she could do his family’s longstanding reputation if she was let out; then his sister was the perfect match for him. But if he wanted a respectable wife? He should have asked for Nef or Nenet -- they would make far better Sirdsetts than his middle sister ever would be.
Not that Sutekh should have an opinion on such matters anymore. He had no place to be casting such judgments when he had been tossed out of the hearts and home of the Sheifas. It didn’t matter that he had lived the last twenty-four years as their golden child. The truth of his parentage had transformed what had once been their shining gem into a hideous blot upon their legacy. Lord Onuphrious couldn’t look past the newly revealed tarnish and lies to recognize that Sutekh had always been his boy. He might not have been his son by blood, but he had still been molded into the man that he was today by the Sidar’s teachings and all the other things that had truly made Sutekh a part of their family for so long.
Though, of course, the exact things that had bonded Sutekh and his maternal siblings together for so long didn’t matter to the sister in question. Her harsh and callous words from their last encounter still ran loudly in the Deputy General’s ears as he approached the Head of the Haikiddad house. In the course of five minutes, Nia had made it more than clear that she did not care whether Sutekh lived or died in the unfolding conflict between his homeland and Greece. Even though he had also been far from kind in what could very well be their final meeting--Sutekh still couldn’t believe that his sister, his flesh and blood, couldn’t look past her own selfish and trivial troubles for just a few moments to see the bigger picture unfolding around Sutekh. Gods forbid she actually had to go to court for once! It wasn’t like Sutekh was slowly wasting away in the palace, living in mortal fear of death at the hands of either his brother-in-law or his step-mother. Not to mention needing to deal with the trauma of losing everything he had ever known and not even having the support network of his family to help him. How selfish of Sutekh to not look past his own issues to see the horrors that his own sister was going through as Onuphrious spent more time with Hena and Iaheru forced her to take on more responsibility. Surely, he was the most despicable creature alive for not taking such things into account.
She could go to Anubis for all Sutekh cared. Let Namer take on the nightmare that was the overgrown brat. It would be his own fault for not taking her reputation into account when the time finally came when he realized how awful Neithtep H’Sheifa truly was.
Little did Sutekh know that event had actually come to pass and that the engagement was now dead in the water as far as everyone involved was concerned. With how limited communication could be at the front, he had no way of knowing that his sister had shown her true colors to Narmer and had once again, selfishly, put her own desires above the good of everyone else. As the Deputy General approached the leader of the Haikiddad Harakat, he had no idea that Narmer would probably not take kindly to his once fiancee’s disgraced brother as he was likely a reminder of what he had lost even though the Sheifa family was keen to forget him. Or perhaps not. Sutekh was no position to judge how men each handled the disappointments of lost futures given the circumstances that he was currently living within.
“Sidar Narmer!” The prince called out as he approached the other man with a half of a loaf of bread still in hand, “I don’t know if you heard, General Manu wants to bring together all the lead-- Is everything alright?” Sutekh cut himself off halfway through relaying the orders that were passing through the camps as he took note of the solemn expression written across the high-ranking official’s face. For a brief moment, Sutekh worried that it may have something to do with Safiya -- one of the few friends that he still had amid the chaos of his life turning upside down on its heels overnight. However, he had a feeling that if it had to do with the bolder twin, a rumor of such would have spread through the camps. The same would apply to the rest of his family, so clearly if there was something that was truly troubling Narmer it was likely to be a private matter, which brought an instant shame to Sutekh for not thinking before asking about whatever could be the matter. “My apologies, I didn’t mean to pry. You just look troubled.”
Sheepishly smiling, trying to hide the awkwardness, Sutekh held out the bread as a form of peace offering, “Here, you missed the daily rations being distributed.” This whole interaction might have been a bit strange given Sutekh’s new ranks, but in his defense, he was new to both titles. Everything was a new complicated ground of social interactions as not only did he not know how to act like someone with the title of prince, but all those who had known him as a nobleman his entire life did not know how to approach the change in rank either. Hopefully, this whole blunder could be written off if Narmer was not pleased to be in the prince’s presence… but if he could tolerate Sutekh long enough to reveal the fiasco that had occurred between the Haikiddad and Sheifa households, both men could discover that they could have quite a lot in common to commiserate over given their shared connection to the girl who wanted nothing more to do with either of them…
This character is currently a work in progress.
Check out their information page here.
This character is currently a work in progress.
Check out their information page here.
Badges
Deleted
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Life in the military camps was so dreadfully dull that Sutekh wasn’t quite sure if the prospect of dying out here in the sands of Egypt was such an awful alternative any longer. The Egyptian army was currently stationed at the most likely location for the Greeks to land, so now it was just a mere waiting game for when their adversaries would appear. After all, it was only a matter of time before they would arrive on their coasts.
They just had to make sure that they never actually stepped foot onto Egpytian ground.
Although many of the men were growing tired of the endless drills, Sutekh in particular was growing tired of the endless monotony that was his days. Even though he was a Deputy General, he had very little to do in terms of overseeing the men or the war effort. The Prince was given the bare minimum amounts of tasks that were required of his rank, but beyond that, he had little else to do within his role. His empty days pretty much confirmed within his mind that this was all just an elaborate ploy by the Pharaoh to have him killed during the course of the war while avoiding the red stain that would come from his blood. It was disheartening, to say the least, but there was little he could do given the circumstances as he was already here on the battlefield. All he could do was keep his head up and stay alert. Maybe that way he could stay alive.
Having finished his tasks early and fearing the condition of the rations that he had been given, Sutekh had been spent the early afternoon hopping from soldier’s tent to soldier’s tent -- sitting with the men and quietly pilfering some of their rations while he engaged in chatter with the men he was likely going to die beside whenever the Greeks would appear. Or at least that had been his itinerary until a familiar face came racing into the camp on horseback. Eager to escape the boring story of some man’s improbably conquests, Sutekh was quick to jump up and move over towards the man who was set to marry his half-sister, if his mother was to be believed, Narmer H’Haikiddad.
In truth, Sutekh pitied the poor man as he clearly had no idea what he was signing up for if he was truly seeking a union with Nia of all people. After all, his sister wasn’t exactly ‘marriage material’ as far as Sutekh was concerned. His sister was known to spend her nights in opium dens and in the company of foreign men whose names she could fail to recall in the morning. She had spent her whole life avoiding court and Sutekh was certain that he’d drop dead from shock the moment the girl showed any sort of initiative in taking responsibility as she had yet to do that once in her life. If Narmer wanted a sparring partner or some pretty animal that he would have to keep in a cage lest risk the damage she could do his family’s longstanding reputation if she was let out; then his sister was the perfect match for him. But if he wanted a respectable wife? He should have asked for Nef or Nenet -- they would make far better Sirdsetts than his middle sister ever would be.
Not that Sutekh should have an opinion on such matters anymore. He had no place to be casting such judgments when he had been tossed out of the hearts and home of the Sheifas. It didn’t matter that he had lived the last twenty-four years as their golden child. The truth of his parentage had transformed what had once been their shining gem into a hideous blot upon their legacy. Lord Onuphrious couldn’t look past the newly revealed tarnish and lies to recognize that Sutekh had always been his boy. He might not have been his son by blood, but he had still been molded into the man that he was today by the Sidar’s teachings and all the other things that had truly made Sutekh a part of their family for so long.
Though, of course, the exact things that had bonded Sutekh and his maternal siblings together for so long didn’t matter to the sister in question. Her harsh and callous words from their last encounter still ran loudly in the Deputy General’s ears as he approached the Head of the Haikiddad house. In the course of five minutes, Nia had made it more than clear that she did not care whether Sutekh lived or died in the unfolding conflict between his homeland and Greece. Even though he had also been far from kind in what could very well be their final meeting--Sutekh still couldn’t believe that his sister, his flesh and blood, couldn’t look past her own selfish and trivial troubles for just a few moments to see the bigger picture unfolding around Sutekh. Gods forbid she actually had to go to court for once! It wasn’t like Sutekh was slowly wasting away in the palace, living in mortal fear of death at the hands of either his brother-in-law or his step-mother. Not to mention needing to deal with the trauma of losing everything he had ever known and not even having the support network of his family to help him. How selfish of Sutekh to not look past his own issues to see the horrors that his own sister was going through as Onuphrious spent more time with Hena and Iaheru forced her to take on more responsibility. Surely, he was the most despicable creature alive for not taking such things into account.
She could go to Anubis for all Sutekh cared. Let Namer take on the nightmare that was the overgrown brat. It would be his own fault for not taking her reputation into account when the time finally came when he realized how awful Neithtep H’Sheifa truly was.
Little did Sutekh know that event had actually come to pass and that the engagement was now dead in the water as far as everyone involved was concerned. With how limited communication could be at the front, he had no way of knowing that his sister had shown her true colors to Narmer and had once again, selfishly, put her own desires above the good of everyone else. As the Deputy General approached the leader of the Haikiddad Harakat, he had no idea that Narmer would probably not take kindly to his once fiancee’s disgraced brother as he was likely a reminder of what he had lost even though the Sheifa family was keen to forget him. Or perhaps not. Sutekh was no position to judge how men each handled the disappointments of lost futures given the circumstances that he was currently living within.
“Sidar Narmer!” The prince called out as he approached the other man with a half of a loaf of bread still in hand, “I don’t know if you heard, General Manu wants to bring together all the lead-- Is everything alright?” Sutekh cut himself off halfway through relaying the orders that were passing through the camps as he took note of the solemn expression written across the high-ranking official’s face. For a brief moment, Sutekh worried that it may have something to do with Safiya -- one of the few friends that he still had amid the chaos of his life turning upside down on its heels overnight. However, he had a feeling that if it had to do with the bolder twin, a rumor of such would have spread through the camps. The same would apply to the rest of his family, so clearly if there was something that was truly troubling Narmer it was likely to be a private matter, which brought an instant shame to Sutekh for not thinking before asking about whatever could be the matter. “My apologies, I didn’t mean to pry. You just look troubled.”
Sheepishly smiling, trying to hide the awkwardness, Sutekh held out the bread as a form of peace offering, “Here, you missed the daily rations being distributed.” This whole interaction might have been a bit strange given Sutekh’s new ranks, but in his defense, he was new to both titles. Everything was a new complicated ground of social interactions as not only did he not know how to act like someone with the title of prince, but all those who had known him as a nobleman his entire life did not know how to approach the change in rank either. Hopefully, this whole blunder could be written off if Narmer was not pleased to be in the prince’s presence… but if he could tolerate Sutekh long enough to reveal the fiasco that had occurred between the Haikiddad and Sheifa households, both men could discover that they could have quite a lot in common to commiserate over given their shared connection to the girl who wanted nothing more to do with either of them…
Life in the military camps was so dreadfully dull that Sutekh wasn’t quite sure if the prospect of dying out here in the sands of Egypt was such an awful alternative any longer. The Egyptian army was currently stationed at the most likely location for the Greeks to land, so now it was just a mere waiting game for when their adversaries would appear. After all, it was only a matter of time before they would arrive on their coasts.
They just had to make sure that they never actually stepped foot onto Egpytian ground.
Although many of the men were growing tired of the endless drills, Sutekh in particular was growing tired of the endless monotony that was his days. Even though he was a Deputy General, he had very little to do in terms of overseeing the men or the war effort. The Prince was given the bare minimum amounts of tasks that were required of his rank, but beyond that, he had little else to do within his role. His empty days pretty much confirmed within his mind that this was all just an elaborate ploy by the Pharaoh to have him killed during the course of the war while avoiding the red stain that would come from his blood. It was disheartening, to say the least, but there was little he could do given the circumstances as he was already here on the battlefield. All he could do was keep his head up and stay alert. Maybe that way he could stay alive.
Having finished his tasks early and fearing the condition of the rations that he had been given, Sutekh had been spent the early afternoon hopping from soldier’s tent to soldier’s tent -- sitting with the men and quietly pilfering some of their rations while he engaged in chatter with the men he was likely going to die beside whenever the Greeks would appear. Or at least that had been his itinerary until a familiar face came racing into the camp on horseback. Eager to escape the boring story of some man’s improbably conquests, Sutekh was quick to jump up and move over towards the man who was set to marry his half-sister, if his mother was to be believed, Narmer H’Haikiddad.
In truth, Sutekh pitied the poor man as he clearly had no idea what he was signing up for if he was truly seeking a union with Nia of all people. After all, his sister wasn’t exactly ‘marriage material’ as far as Sutekh was concerned. His sister was known to spend her nights in opium dens and in the company of foreign men whose names she could fail to recall in the morning. She had spent her whole life avoiding court and Sutekh was certain that he’d drop dead from shock the moment the girl showed any sort of initiative in taking responsibility as she had yet to do that once in her life. If Narmer wanted a sparring partner or some pretty animal that he would have to keep in a cage lest risk the damage she could do his family’s longstanding reputation if she was let out; then his sister was the perfect match for him. But if he wanted a respectable wife? He should have asked for Nef or Nenet -- they would make far better Sirdsetts than his middle sister ever would be.
Not that Sutekh should have an opinion on such matters anymore. He had no place to be casting such judgments when he had been tossed out of the hearts and home of the Sheifas. It didn’t matter that he had lived the last twenty-four years as their golden child. The truth of his parentage had transformed what had once been their shining gem into a hideous blot upon their legacy. Lord Onuphrious couldn’t look past the newly revealed tarnish and lies to recognize that Sutekh had always been his boy. He might not have been his son by blood, but he had still been molded into the man that he was today by the Sidar’s teachings and all the other things that had truly made Sutekh a part of their family for so long.
Though, of course, the exact things that had bonded Sutekh and his maternal siblings together for so long didn’t matter to the sister in question. Her harsh and callous words from their last encounter still ran loudly in the Deputy General’s ears as he approached the Head of the Haikiddad house. In the course of five minutes, Nia had made it more than clear that she did not care whether Sutekh lived or died in the unfolding conflict between his homeland and Greece. Even though he had also been far from kind in what could very well be their final meeting--Sutekh still couldn’t believe that his sister, his flesh and blood, couldn’t look past her own selfish and trivial troubles for just a few moments to see the bigger picture unfolding around Sutekh. Gods forbid she actually had to go to court for once! It wasn’t like Sutekh was slowly wasting away in the palace, living in mortal fear of death at the hands of either his brother-in-law or his step-mother. Not to mention needing to deal with the trauma of losing everything he had ever known and not even having the support network of his family to help him. How selfish of Sutekh to not look past his own issues to see the horrors that his own sister was going through as Onuphrious spent more time with Hena and Iaheru forced her to take on more responsibility. Surely, he was the most despicable creature alive for not taking such things into account.
She could go to Anubis for all Sutekh cared. Let Namer take on the nightmare that was the overgrown brat. It would be his own fault for not taking her reputation into account when the time finally came when he realized how awful Neithtep H’Sheifa truly was.
Little did Sutekh know that event had actually come to pass and that the engagement was now dead in the water as far as everyone involved was concerned. With how limited communication could be at the front, he had no way of knowing that his sister had shown her true colors to Narmer and had once again, selfishly, put her own desires above the good of everyone else. As the Deputy General approached the leader of the Haikiddad Harakat, he had no idea that Narmer would probably not take kindly to his once fiancee’s disgraced brother as he was likely a reminder of what he had lost even though the Sheifa family was keen to forget him. Or perhaps not. Sutekh was no position to judge how men each handled the disappointments of lost futures given the circumstances that he was currently living within.
“Sidar Narmer!” The prince called out as he approached the other man with a half of a loaf of bread still in hand, “I don’t know if you heard, General Manu wants to bring together all the lead-- Is everything alright?” Sutekh cut himself off halfway through relaying the orders that were passing through the camps as he took note of the solemn expression written across the high-ranking official’s face. For a brief moment, Sutekh worried that it may have something to do with Safiya -- one of the few friends that he still had amid the chaos of his life turning upside down on its heels overnight. However, he had a feeling that if it had to do with the bolder twin, a rumor of such would have spread through the camps. The same would apply to the rest of his family, so clearly if there was something that was truly troubling Narmer it was likely to be a private matter, which brought an instant shame to Sutekh for not thinking before asking about whatever could be the matter. “My apologies, I didn’t mean to pry. You just look troubled.”
Sheepishly smiling, trying to hide the awkwardness, Sutekh held out the bread as a form of peace offering, “Here, you missed the daily rations being distributed.” This whole interaction might have been a bit strange given Sutekh’s new ranks, but in his defense, he was new to both titles. Everything was a new complicated ground of social interactions as not only did he not know how to act like someone with the title of prince, but all those who had known him as a nobleman his entire life did not know how to approach the change in rank either. Hopefully, this whole blunder could be written off if Narmer was not pleased to be in the prince’s presence… but if he could tolerate Sutekh long enough to reveal the fiasco that had occurred between the Haikiddad and Sheifa households, both men could discover that they could have quite a lot in common to commiserate over given their shared connection to the girl who wanted nothing more to do with either of them…
Turning in surprise, Narmer had thoroughly expected to be by himself and his thoughts in the dark night as the rest of the troops wound down for a good rest. Rest was necessary, if anyone could believe it, in the troops. Especially when they could not hazard an accurate guess as to when the Grecian troops may arrive, the soldiers would do well to take any chance they could get to rest - but rest did not come easy to Narmer. Having always been someone who had issues with sleep, he was well acquainted with the night and how she behaved. But to have someone sounding still cheery as he approached had the Haikaddad head turning with surprise in his eyes, before he smiled as he recognized Sutekh.
He could remember the fiasco that surrounded the discovered parentage of Sutekh. Having born a supposed heir to the Hei Sheifa, it had been a tarnish to the so far unblemished name of Hei Sheifa and Sirdsett Iaheru when it was discovered Sutekh to be the brother to the current queen instead of to his had-been intended wife instead.
But be that as it may, it was no place of his to poke his nose into matters that were not his Hei's, at least for now. His own Hei had much problems of their own.
"Oh, it's fine." he did his best to wave it away, as the younger man settled and cut off halfway in offering the orders he had already heard of earlier. Narmer was an leader of his own troops, a general of his own unit, but he knew Sutekh was new to his position as deputy general. The young one held promise, but what he lacked was experience, something which would come with time. At the same time however, he couldn't help but wonder why had the pharoah instated the young Sutekh as deputy general, a man who was supposed to have years of experience, instead of Sutekh's tender age.
Of course, it isn't that Narmer saw Sutekh incapable. He merely saw the young man the same as he would Kissan, and Narmer being the worrywart that he was, simply didn't thin Sutekh and Kissan were of the age yet to be facing a war of such proportions.
Taking the offered bread with a thankful smile, the man gave a semi-apologetic smile to Sutekh as he accompanied it with a respectful bow of his head. "Apologies, Prince Sutekh, I forget myself in not greeting you appropriately." Of course, everyone was still adjusting to the fact that Sutekh was now a prince, and no longer simply a Sirdar and future heir to Hei Sheifa. Breaking off a piece of the dry bread, he took a bite, and then another before, heaving another sigh. "Everything's fine, to a certain extent, I guess." He did not forget that Sutekh was still the son to Iaheru - had Iaheru told him? He couldn't help but wonder. The marriage arrangements had not yet reached the stage of being told to public of course, but with Sutekh being the son, Narmer couldn't help but wonder. Yet he didn't feel like telling himself, if Iaheru had not.
Afterall, it was a shame on him, for the woman had not wanted him.
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Turning in surprise, Narmer had thoroughly expected to be by himself and his thoughts in the dark night as the rest of the troops wound down for a good rest. Rest was necessary, if anyone could believe it, in the troops. Especially when they could not hazard an accurate guess as to when the Grecian troops may arrive, the soldiers would do well to take any chance they could get to rest - but rest did not come easy to Narmer. Having always been someone who had issues with sleep, he was well acquainted with the night and how she behaved. But to have someone sounding still cheery as he approached had the Haikaddad head turning with surprise in his eyes, before he smiled as he recognized Sutekh.
He could remember the fiasco that surrounded the discovered parentage of Sutekh. Having born a supposed heir to the Hei Sheifa, it had been a tarnish to the so far unblemished name of Hei Sheifa and Sirdsett Iaheru when it was discovered Sutekh to be the brother to the current queen instead of to his had-been intended wife instead.
But be that as it may, it was no place of his to poke his nose into matters that were not his Hei's, at least for now. His own Hei had much problems of their own.
"Oh, it's fine." he did his best to wave it away, as the younger man settled and cut off halfway in offering the orders he had already heard of earlier. Narmer was an leader of his own troops, a general of his own unit, but he knew Sutekh was new to his position as deputy general. The young one held promise, but what he lacked was experience, something which would come with time. At the same time however, he couldn't help but wonder why had the pharoah instated the young Sutekh as deputy general, a man who was supposed to have years of experience, instead of Sutekh's tender age.
Of course, it isn't that Narmer saw Sutekh incapable. He merely saw the young man the same as he would Kissan, and Narmer being the worrywart that he was, simply didn't thin Sutekh and Kissan were of the age yet to be facing a war of such proportions.
Taking the offered bread with a thankful smile, the man gave a semi-apologetic smile to Sutekh as he accompanied it with a respectful bow of his head. "Apologies, Prince Sutekh, I forget myself in not greeting you appropriately." Of course, everyone was still adjusting to the fact that Sutekh was now a prince, and no longer simply a Sirdar and future heir to Hei Sheifa. Breaking off a piece of the dry bread, he took a bite, and then another before, heaving another sigh. "Everything's fine, to a certain extent, I guess." He did not forget that Sutekh was still the son to Iaheru - had Iaheru told him? He couldn't help but wonder. The marriage arrangements had not yet reached the stage of being told to public of course, but with Sutekh being the son, Narmer couldn't help but wonder. Yet he didn't feel like telling himself, if Iaheru had not.
Afterall, it was a shame on him, for the woman had not wanted him.
Turning in surprise, Narmer had thoroughly expected to be by himself and his thoughts in the dark night as the rest of the troops wound down for a good rest. Rest was necessary, if anyone could believe it, in the troops. Especially when they could not hazard an accurate guess as to when the Grecian troops may arrive, the soldiers would do well to take any chance they could get to rest - but rest did not come easy to Narmer. Having always been someone who had issues with sleep, he was well acquainted with the night and how she behaved. But to have someone sounding still cheery as he approached had the Haikaddad head turning with surprise in his eyes, before he smiled as he recognized Sutekh.
He could remember the fiasco that surrounded the discovered parentage of Sutekh. Having born a supposed heir to the Hei Sheifa, it had been a tarnish to the so far unblemished name of Hei Sheifa and Sirdsett Iaheru when it was discovered Sutekh to be the brother to the current queen instead of to his had-been intended wife instead.
But be that as it may, it was no place of his to poke his nose into matters that were not his Hei's, at least for now. His own Hei had much problems of their own.
"Oh, it's fine." he did his best to wave it away, as the younger man settled and cut off halfway in offering the orders he had already heard of earlier. Narmer was an leader of his own troops, a general of his own unit, but he knew Sutekh was new to his position as deputy general. The young one held promise, but what he lacked was experience, something which would come with time. At the same time however, he couldn't help but wonder why had the pharoah instated the young Sutekh as deputy general, a man who was supposed to have years of experience, instead of Sutekh's tender age.
Of course, it isn't that Narmer saw Sutekh incapable. He merely saw the young man the same as he would Kissan, and Narmer being the worrywart that he was, simply didn't thin Sutekh and Kissan were of the age yet to be facing a war of such proportions.
Taking the offered bread with a thankful smile, the man gave a semi-apologetic smile to Sutekh as he accompanied it with a respectful bow of his head. "Apologies, Prince Sutekh, I forget myself in not greeting you appropriately." Of course, everyone was still adjusting to the fact that Sutekh was now a prince, and no longer simply a Sirdar and future heir to Hei Sheifa. Breaking off a piece of the dry bread, he took a bite, and then another before, heaving another sigh. "Everything's fine, to a certain extent, I guess." He did not forget that Sutekh was still the son to Iaheru - had Iaheru told him? He couldn't help but wonder. The marriage arrangements had not yet reached the stage of being told to public of course, but with Sutekh being the son, Narmer couldn't help but wonder. Yet he didn't feel like telling himself, if Iaheru had not.
Afterall, it was a shame on him, for the woman had not wanted him.
If Sutekh could read thoughts, he would not be very happy with Narmer. Despite the fact that Sutekh was more than well aware that his promotion was likely only a ruse by the Pharaoh to kill him without soiling his hands with the boy’s blood; he would have been fairly frustrated with Narmer if he knew that the Sirdar thought him to be too inexperienced for the role he was in. It just simply wasn’t true. After all, Iahotep may now be the Supreme King of Kings, but even he had to be able to justify his decision to put Sutekh in such a high ranking position. The boy, as young as he may be, did have the track record that supported this change in rank as he had left the Sheifa unit at twenty-three as a Captain. That had only been a little over a year ago. He could understand why some would think that this gap may have put him out of practice, but that also assumed that Sutekh hadn’t spent practically every free moment he had since then with a bow in hand. Had the boy stayed with the unit and if this scandal never happened, it was more than likely that he would be in this position already.
Sutekh may have been blind to it, but the reason as to why he grew so irritated when questions were raised about his qualifications had ever to do with a simple truth he still had trouble facing. His father. Pharaoh Imopehatsuma was known for his skills as a warrior king and little else. Even Sutekh himself could barely piece together anything remotely tangible about the man as everything was tainted by the possibility of him being a monster for what his father had done to Iaheru -- unless, of course, she was lying. His sister had been six when their father died so her own memories did little to provide any sort of insight to who he really was. The Queen Mother, the only person alive who truly knew the late Pharaoh, was not subtle in her hatred for the bastard boy so he couldn’t turn to her either. Fighting was the only solid connection that Sutekh could find with the man that did not rely on sorting through the viewpoints of others. It was the one thing that the boy had always been drawn to as well, making it far more tangible for him now that he knew the truth.
As much as he did not want this position as he could see the strings that were attached, Sutekh couldn’t stand being treated as if he was a child with a toy bow. Denying his experience, his skill, felt like a slap to the face as it was also denying him the only bond he could ever have with his long-dead father. After everything Sutekh had been through because of his blood, the least he deserved was this one thing that he knew that Sutekh and Imopehatsuma had in common. This one thing...
It would be best if Narmer did not mention such thoughts of Sutekh being too young for the rank of Deputy General aloud.
Sutekh was quick to wave off the man’s apologies about not using the proper rank. Truthfully it was a very conflicting mess here in the camps as most men, including the boy himself, were never sure which title was more appropriate to use given how conflicting the two that he held could be. After all, was he supposed to be treated as a prince, placing him above those in camp? Or a Deputy General where he was below the Generals? It was a confusing mess that Sutekh just tried to avoid if he could. However, at least he was lucky with Narmer as there was a common title that both men would soon hold that put them on equal footing. It was only a shame that Sutekh didn’t know that his sister’s selfish nature had already taken this from them.
“I wouldn’t worry about such things Sirdar Narmer, not when I’m hearing that we might be calling each other ‘brother’ soon enough.” Sutekh said with a somewhat mischievous grin as he divulged the fact that he knew about the engagement. It was meant to be the start of a lighthearted conversation, even though his smile was somewhat forced given the topic concerned the sister who did not care if he died out here in the sands of Egypt. Sutekh had no idea that it would be a rather touchy subject for the head of the Haikiddad household, especially as the boy had addressed it in such a direct way that Narmer would have no choice, but to elaborate on how his sister had cast aside the man before him.
That was only further deepened by the puzzled expression on the Prince’s face when Narmer tried to play off that everything was alright. Although the man surely didn’t mean to cause such a fuss at such a late hour, the General’s choice of words made it clear that things were not alright to Sutekh. The boy furrowed his brows at this. “That does not sound as if things are fine…” Sutekh started to say, more out of concern than any desire to pry, “Are you sure that you are fine? If it’s something that can’t be discussed in front of the men, my tent is nearby…” He was fairly certain that Narmer would not accept such an offer as any man would rather seek out his bed at such a late hour, but it still would be poor form for him to not at least offer the refuge. Little did Sutekh know that it would truly do the man some good as Narmer’s financial troubles had stopped him from having the same sorts of treats that Iaheru was more than happy to send her son in order to give him some sort of comfort as he was tossed onto the front lines. Sutekh had no qualms about sharing with Narmer.
Though he would certainly be a bit more eager if he knew that both of them now had a similar line of thought regarding his sister…
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If Sutekh could read thoughts, he would not be very happy with Narmer. Despite the fact that Sutekh was more than well aware that his promotion was likely only a ruse by the Pharaoh to kill him without soiling his hands with the boy’s blood; he would have been fairly frustrated with Narmer if he knew that the Sirdar thought him to be too inexperienced for the role he was in. It just simply wasn’t true. After all, Iahotep may now be the Supreme King of Kings, but even he had to be able to justify his decision to put Sutekh in such a high ranking position. The boy, as young as he may be, did have the track record that supported this change in rank as he had left the Sheifa unit at twenty-three as a Captain. That had only been a little over a year ago. He could understand why some would think that this gap may have put him out of practice, but that also assumed that Sutekh hadn’t spent practically every free moment he had since then with a bow in hand. Had the boy stayed with the unit and if this scandal never happened, it was more than likely that he would be in this position already.
Sutekh may have been blind to it, but the reason as to why he grew so irritated when questions were raised about his qualifications had ever to do with a simple truth he still had trouble facing. His father. Pharaoh Imopehatsuma was known for his skills as a warrior king and little else. Even Sutekh himself could barely piece together anything remotely tangible about the man as everything was tainted by the possibility of him being a monster for what his father had done to Iaheru -- unless, of course, she was lying. His sister had been six when their father died so her own memories did little to provide any sort of insight to who he really was. The Queen Mother, the only person alive who truly knew the late Pharaoh, was not subtle in her hatred for the bastard boy so he couldn’t turn to her either. Fighting was the only solid connection that Sutekh could find with the man that did not rely on sorting through the viewpoints of others. It was the one thing that the boy had always been drawn to as well, making it far more tangible for him now that he knew the truth.
As much as he did not want this position as he could see the strings that were attached, Sutekh couldn’t stand being treated as if he was a child with a toy bow. Denying his experience, his skill, felt like a slap to the face as it was also denying him the only bond he could ever have with his long-dead father. After everything Sutekh had been through because of his blood, the least he deserved was this one thing that he knew that Sutekh and Imopehatsuma had in common. This one thing...
It would be best if Narmer did not mention such thoughts of Sutekh being too young for the rank of Deputy General aloud.
Sutekh was quick to wave off the man’s apologies about not using the proper rank. Truthfully it was a very conflicting mess here in the camps as most men, including the boy himself, were never sure which title was more appropriate to use given how conflicting the two that he held could be. After all, was he supposed to be treated as a prince, placing him above those in camp? Or a Deputy General where he was below the Generals? It was a confusing mess that Sutekh just tried to avoid if he could. However, at least he was lucky with Narmer as there was a common title that both men would soon hold that put them on equal footing. It was only a shame that Sutekh didn’t know that his sister’s selfish nature had already taken this from them.
“I wouldn’t worry about such things Sirdar Narmer, not when I’m hearing that we might be calling each other ‘brother’ soon enough.” Sutekh said with a somewhat mischievous grin as he divulged the fact that he knew about the engagement. It was meant to be the start of a lighthearted conversation, even though his smile was somewhat forced given the topic concerned the sister who did not care if he died out here in the sands of Egypt. Sutekh had no idea that it would be a rather touchy subject for the head of the Haikiddad household, especially as the boy had addressed it in such a direct way that Narmer would have no choice, but to elaborate on how his sister had cast aside the man before him.
That was only further deepened by the puzzled expression on the Prince’s face when Narmer tried to play off that everything was alright. Although the man surely didn’t mean to cause such a fuss at such a late hour, the General’s choice of words made it clear that things were not alright to Sutekh. The boy furrowed his brows at this. “That does not sound as if things are fine…” Sutekh started to say, more out of concern than any desire to pry, “Are you sure that you are fine? If it’s something that can’t be discussed in front of the men, my tent is nearby…” He was fairly certain that Narmer would not accept such an offer as any man would rather seek out his bed at such a late hour, but it still would be poor form for him to not at least offer the refuge. Little did Sutekh know that it would truly do the man some good as Narmer’s financial troubles had stopped him from having the same sorts of treats that Iaheru was more than happy to send her son in order to give him some sort of comfort as he was tossed onto the front lines. Sutekh had no qualms about sharing with Narmer.
Though he would certainly be a bit more eager if he knew that both of them now had a similar line of thought regarding his sister…
If Sutekh could read thoughts, he would not be very happy with Narmer. Despite the fact that Sutekh was more than well aware that his promotion was likely only a ruse by the Pharaoh to kill him without soiling his hands with the boy’s blood; he would have been fairly frustrated with Narmer if he knew that the Sirdar thought him to be too inexperienced for the role he was in. It just simply wasn’t true. After all, Iahotep may now be the Supreme King of Kings, but even he had to be able to justify his decision to put Sutekh in such a high ranking position. The boy, as young as he may be, did have the track record that supported this change in rank as he had left the Sheifa unit at twenty-three as a Captain. That had only been a little over a year ago. He could understand why some would think that this gap may have put him out of practice, but that also assumed that Sutekh hadn’t spent practically every free moment he had since then with a bow in hand. Had the boy stayed with the unit and if this scandal never happened, it was more than likely that he would be in this position already.
Sutekh may have been blind to it, but the reason as to why he grew so irritated when questions were raised about his qualifications had ever to do with a simple truth he still had trouble facing. His father. Pharaoh Imopehatsuma was known for his skills as a warrior king and little else. Even Sutekh himself could barely piece together anything remotely tangible about the man as everything was tainted by the possibility of him being a monster for what his father had done to Iaheru -- unless, of course, she was lying. His sister had been six when their father died so her own memories did little to provide any sort of insight to who he really was. The Queen Mother, the only person alive who truly knew the late Pharaoh, was not subtle in her hatred for the bastard boy so he couldn’t turn to her either. Fighting was the only solid connection that Sutekh could find with the man that did not rely on sorting through the viewpoints of others. It was the one thing that the boy had always been drawn to as well, making it far more tangible for him now that he knew the truth.
As much as he did not want this position as he could see the strings that were attached, Sutekh couldn’t stand being treated as if he was a child with a toy bow. Denying his experience, his skill, felt like a slap to the face as it was also denying him the only bond he could ever have with his long-dead father. After everything Sutekh had been through because of his blood, the least he deserved was this one thing that he knew that Sutekh and Imopehatsuma had in common. This one thing...
It would be best if Narmer did not mention such thoughts of Sutekh being too young for the rank of Deputy General aloud.
Sutekh was quick to wave off the man’s apologies about not using the proper rank. Truthfully it was a very conflicting mess here in the camps as most men, including the boy himself, were never sure which title was more appropriate to use given how conflicting the two that he held could be. After all, was he supposed to be treated as a prince, placing him above those in camp? Or a Deputy General where he was below the Generals? It was a confusing mess that Sutekh just tried to avoid if he could. However, at least he was lucky with Narmer as there was a common title that both men would soon hold that put them on equal footing. It was only a shame that Sutekh didn’t know that his sister’s selfish nature had already taken this from them.
“I wouldn’t worry about such things Sirdar Narmer, not when I’m hearing that we might be calling each other ‘brother’ soon enough.” Sutekh said with a somewhat mischievous grin as he divulged the fact that he knew about the engagement. It was meant to be the start of a lighthearted conversation, even though his smile was somewhat forced given the topic concerned the sister who did not care if he died out here in the sands of Egypt. Sutekh had no idea that it would be a rather touchy subject for the head of the Haikiddad household, especially as the boy had addressed it in such a direct way that Narmer would have no choice, but to elaborate on how his sister had cast aside the man before him.
That was only further deepened by the puzzled expression on the Prince’s face when Narmer tried to play off that everything was alright. Although the man surely didn’t mean to cause such a fuss at such a late hour, the General’s choice of words made it clear that things were not alright to Sutekh. The boy furrowed his brows at this. “That does not sound as if things are fine…” Sutekh started to say, more out of concern than any desire to pry, “Are you sure that you are fine? If it’s something that can’t be discussed in front of the men, my tent is nearby…” He was fairly certain that Narmer would not accept such an offer as any man would rather seek out his bed at such a late hour, but it still would be poor form for him to not at least offer the refuge. Little did Sutekh know that it would truly do the man some good as Narmer’s financial troubles had stopped him from having the same sorts of treats that Iaheru was more than happy to send her son in order to give him some sort of comfort as he was tossed onto the front lines. Sutekh had no qualms about sharing with Narmer.
Though he would certainly be a bit more eager if he knew that both of them now had a similar line of thought regarding his sister…
While he had perhaps been a little hesitant about the newly discovered prince at first, Narmer breathed a sigh of relief when Sutekh seemed to be as easy-going as the people had said him to be. He had known him back when life was simpler and Sutekh had simply been of the Hei Sheifa, of course. But with a new position, new rank, and new family, he couldn't hazard a guess as to how that may have changed the boy, especially when he hadn't been able to meet him over the last few months.
Still, he grinned in return, a grin that had both relief and a familiar sense of camraderie that was common amongst those at war and in military camp. Separated from family and loved ones, there was a reason men-in-arms called themselves brothers. They lived, bathed, ate and spent almost every waking moment together that a feeling of kinship was inevitable, and for that, Narmer was thankful. Ever since the passing of his brother, Narmer lived for the feeling of kinship he discovered in the ranks of militants. It was why he had spent so many years away from his family upon the death of Narutt, as if he was trying to fill the hole left in his chest by the death of his male family members with the brothers-in-arms he had found.
While he had been wanting to engage in a little friendly ribbing with Sutekh though, the moment the young man spoke of them becoming 'brothers's soon, his smile immediately fell. It was all but certain Iaheru had told Sutekh of the supposed arrangement with Neithotep which had fell through - and now was yet another reminder of his failure in plans to help his Hei.
"Ah, about that." he paused, as if trying to figure out the best way to go about it. Afterall, he had only concluded things with Neithotep literally the day before they had set out for the Northern Niles, there was no way Iaheru had been able to update Sutekh, so this was in no way the boy's fault. The least he could do was correct the assumption before it went too far, right? "Well, that's not a.... it won't be happening anymore. It would seem your sister was less then eager to be married to me, Prince Sutekh." he finally awkwardly murmured, although it was obvious a hint of embarassment was in his voice. How could one not be embarassed, when they had basically been rejected?
"But it is no matter!" the man quickly continued, trying to brush the matter away. "I'm sure your sister has high standards, so I respect her wishes."
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While he had perhaps been a little hesitant about the newly discovered prince at first, Narmer breathed a sigh of relief when Sutekh seemed to be as easy-going as the people had said him to be. He had known him back when life was simpler and Sutekh had simply been of the Hei Sheifa, of course. But with a new position, new rank, and new family, he couldn't hazard a guess as to how that may have changed the boy, especially when he hadn't been able to meet him over the last few months.
Still, he grinned in return, a grin that had both relief and a familiar sense of camraderie that was common amongst those at war and in military camp. Separated from family and loved ones, there was a reason men-in-arms called themselves brothers. They lived, bathed, ate and spent almost every waking moment together that a feeling of kinship was inevitable, and for that, Narmer was thankful. Ever since the passing of his brother, Narmer lived for the feeling of kinship he discovered in the ranks of militants. It was why he had spent so many years away from his family upon the death of Narutt, as if he was trying to fill the hole left in his chest by the death of his male family members with the brothers-in-arms he had found.
While he had been wanting to engage in a little friendly ribbing with Sutekh though, the moment the young man spoke of them becoming 'brothers's soon, his smile immediately fell. It was all but certain Iaheru had told Sutekh of the supposed arrangement with Neithotep which had fell through - and now was yet another reminder of his failure in plans to help his Hei.
"Ah, about that." he paused, as if trying to figure out the best way to go about it. Afterall, he had only concluded things with Neithotep literally the day before they had set out for the Northern Niles, there was no way Iaheru had been able to update Sutekh, so this was in no way the boy's fault. The least he could do was correct the assumption before it went too far, right? "Well, that's not a.... it won't be happening anymore. It would seem your sister was less then eager to be married to me, Prince Sutekh." he finally awkwardly murmured, although it was obvious a hint of embarassment was in his voice. How could one not be embarassed, when they had basically been rejected?
"But it is no matter!" the man quickly continued, trying to brush the matter away. "I'm sure your sister has high standards, so I respect her wishes."
While he had perhaps been a little hesitant about the newly discovered prince at first, Narmer breathed a sigh of relief when Sutekh seemed to be as easy-going as the people had said him to be. He had known him back when life was simpler and Sutekh had simply been of the Hei Sheifa, of course. But with a new position, new rank, and new family, he couldn't hazard a guess as to how that may have changed the boy, especially when he hadn't been able to meet him over the last few months.
Still, he grinned in return, a grin that had both relief and a familiar sense of camraderie that was common amongst those at war and in military camp. Separated from family and loved ones, there was a reason men-in-arms called themselves brothers. They lived, bathed, ate and spent almost every waking moment together that a feeling of kinship was inevitable, and for that, Narmer was thankful. Ever since the passing of his brother, Narmer lived for the feeling of kinship he discovered in the ranks of militants. It was why he had spent so many years away from his family upon the death of Narutt, as if he was trying to fill the hole left in his chest by the death of his male family members with the brothers-in-arms he had found.
While he had been wanting to engage in a little friendly ribbing with Sutekh though, the moment the young man spoke of them becoming 'brothers's soon, his smile immediately fell. It was all but certain Iaheru had told Sutekh of the supposed arrangement with Neithotep which had fell through - and now was yet another reminder of his failure in plans to help his Hei.
"Ah, about that." he paused, as if trying to figure out the best way to go about it. Afterall, he had only concluded things with Neithotep literally the day before they had set out for the Northern Niles, there was no way Iaheru had been able to update Sutekh, so this was in no way the boy's fault. The least he could do was correct the assumption before it went too far, right? "Well, that's not a.... it won't be happening anymore. It would seem your sister was less then eager to be married to me, Prince Sutekh." he finally awkwardly murmured, although it was obvious a hint of embarassment was in his voice. How could one not be embarassed, when they had basically been rejected?
"But it is no matter!" the man quickly continued, trying to brush the matter away. "I'm sure your sister has high standards, so I respect her wishes."
When Narmer admitted that the engagement between the two houses had fallen through, Sutekh’s own smile faltered. The boy uncomfortably shifted his feet as his eyes fell downwards. He had not expected to hear such news from the Sirdar and the bright red, embarrassed flush covering his face had proved such a thing. In truth, Sutekh would have never expected such a union to have fallen through for a variety of reasons. The long-standing history that the Haikiddad name conjured in the council was something that Sutekh knew his father greatly coveted for the newer Hei. Even though the house’s own wealth did not compare to the Sheifa household, their reputation would have been enough to surely push a marriage through, no matter how unwilling his siblings were bound to be with such a match. So, hearing that it had fallen apart was quite a nasty shock to Sutekh.
“My apologies, I didn’t know...” He sheepishly admitted as he thought over the Sirdar’s words about how the union had fallen apart. Of course, Nia was to blame. Sutekh had known that his sister would never be fond of such a match as she had the temperament of a little brattish girl underneath that temptress exterior. His sister wouldn’t be parted from her hedonistic lifestyle if you pried her cold dead hands away from the less than savory men she spent her nights with. Sutekh had known that the marriage would be a disaster from the moment that his mother divulged that it would be occurring at all. Nia would never accept marrying anyone… unless of course, it was to Hena so she could keep her little baby doll for the rest of her life. That way at least the girl could pretend that she would never have to grow up. That wouldn’t be possible with Narmer.
Honestly, why had Narmer gone after Nia of all the Sheifa girls? Wouldn’t he have been happier with Nef or Nenet instead?
It wasn’t exactly his place to judge though and the best that Sutekh could do was offer the older man a sympathetic smile as he tried to set the man at ease with a simple joke, “Well, I guess you now have a long and pleasant life in front of you again.” The chuckle that accompanied these words was somewhat forced as Sutekh considered the implications of this union falling apart and it being Nia’s decision of all things. It would now be impossible for his family to marry her off if she now had it in her head that she could convince a man to abandon the nuptials. There’s no telling what lengths she would go to the next time some poor sap came knocking on the Sheifa’s door for her hand.
He scoffed though at the notion that his sister had high standards. Yes, she did, but the standards were so high that no one would ever suffice. If the decision was left to Nia, she would never marry. Sutekh almost wished that Onuphrious would put his foot down and marry her off to some merchant and get the girl out of their hair forever. However, clearly that would never happen, much to Sutekh’s chagrin.
“It might be better this way truthfully, my sister is not exactly the most pleasant person to be around…” Sutekh cautiously admitted, hoping that the Sirdar would have had enough of a terrible experience with her that he would not need to question the Prince’s words. Even though the siblings had never gotten along, the vitriol between them had reached a new height in the weeks following Sutekh’s removal from the Sheifa household. The girl had made it clear that she did not care if her brother died in these wretched sand dunes all because he had committed the heinous crime of attacking her for the cold shoulder she had given him since his life was uprooted. The girl couldn’t remove herself from her myopic worldview for even just few minutes for the brother who lived in constant fear of poison. If she was willing to say such things about her own flesh and blood, how bad would the fights have been between her and Narmer had they actually married?
“I would consider this union dissolving as a blessing from the gods if anything, Sirdar Narmer. You would not have had a happy life with Nia.” Sutekh finished with a note of certainty as if there was no other outcome that could have stemmed from this union. However, that was just his own opinion of the matter, stemming from his experience with the girl who had never been anything short of nasty with him. Perhaps Narmer would have had a different experience with Nia, as unlikely was given this outcome, but that didn’t stop the Bastard Prince from nervously glancing over at the other man, silently hoping that the General did not take his words as more salt into the man’s already gaping wounds…
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When Narmer admitted that the engagement between the two houses had fallen through, Sutekh’s own smile faltered. The boy uncomfortably shifted his feet as his eyes fell downwards. He had not expected to hear such news from the Sirdar and the bright red, embarrassed flush covering his face had proved such a thing. In truth, Sutekh would have never expected such a union to have fallen through for a variety of reasons. The long-standing history that the Haikiddad name conjured in the council was something that Sutekh knew his father greatly coveted for the newer Hei. Even though the house’s own wealth did not compare to the Sheifa household, their reputation would have been enough to surely push a marriage through, no matter how unwilling his siblings were bound to be with such a match. So, hearing that it had fallen apart was quite a nasty shock to Sutekh.
“My apologies, I didn’t know...” He sheepishly admitted as he thought over the Sirdar’s words about how the union had fallen apart. Of course, Nia was to blame. Sutekh had known that his sister would never be fond of such a match as she had the temperament of a little brattish girl underneath that temptress exterior. His sister wouldn’t be parted from her hedonistic lifestyle if you pried her cold dead hands away from the less than savory men she spent her nights with. Sutekh had known that the marriage would be a disaster from the moment that his mother divulged that it would be occurring at all. Nia would never accept marrying anyone… unless of course, it was to Hena so she could keep her little baby doll for the rest of her life. That way at least the girl could pretend that she would never have to grow up. That wouldn’t be possible with Narmer.
Honestly, why had Narmer gone after Nia of all the Sheifa girls? Wouldn’t he have been happier with Nef or Nenet instead?
It wasn’t exactly his place to judge though and the best that Sutekh could do was offer the older man a sympathetic smile as he tried to set the man at ease with a simple joke, “Well, I guess you now have a long and pleasant life in front of you again.” The chuckle that accompanied these words was somewhat forced as Sutekh considered the implications of this union falling apart and it being Nia’s decision of all things. It would now be impossible for his family to marry her off if she now had it in her head that she could convince a man to abandon the nuptials. There’s no telling what lengths she would go to the next time some poor sap came knocking on the Sheifa’s door for her hand.
He scoffed though at the notion that his sister had high standards. Yes, she did, but the standards were so high that no one would ever suffice. If the decision was left to Nia, she would never marry. Sutekh almost wished that Onuphrious would put his foot down and marry her off to some merchant and get the girl out of their hair forever. However, clearly that would never happen, much to Sutekh’s chagrin.
“It might be better this way truthfully, my sister is not exactly the most pleasant person to be around…” Sutekh cautiously admitted, hoping that the Sirdar would have had enough of a terrible experience with her that he would not need to question the Prince’s words. Even though the siblings had never gotten along, the vitriol between them had reached a new height in the weeks following Sutekh’s removal from the Sheifa household. The girl had made it clear that she did not care if her brother died in these wretched sand dunes all because he had committed the heinous crime of attacking her for the cold shoulder she had given him since his life was uprooted. The girl couldn’t remove herself from her myopic worldview for even just few minutes for the brother who lived in constant fear of poison. If she was willing to say such things about her own flesh and blood, how bad would the fights have been between her and Narmer had they actually married?
“I would consider this union dissolving as a blessing from the gods if anything, Sirdar Narmer. You would not have had a happy life with Nia.” Sutekh finished with a note of certainty as if there was no other outcome that could have stemmed from this union. However, that was just his own opinion of the matter, stemming from his experience with the girl who had never been anything short of nasty with him. Perhaps Narmer would have had a different experience with Nia, as unlikely was given this outcome, but that didn’t stop the Bastard Prince from nervously glancing over at the other man, silently hoping that the General did not take his words as more salt into the man’s already gaping wounds…
When Narmer admitted that the engagement between the two houses had fallen through, Sutekh’s own smile faltered. The boy uncomfortably shifted his feet as his eyes fell downwards. He had not expected to hear such news from the Sirdar and the bright red, embarrassed flush covering his face had proved such a thing. In truth, Sutekh would have never expected such a union to have fallen through for a variety of reasons. The long-standing history that the Haikiddad name conjured in the council was something that Sutekh knew his father greatly coveted for the newer Hei. Even though the house’s own wealth did not compare to the Sheifa household, their reputation would have been enough to surely push a marriage through, no matter how unwilling his siblings were bound to be with such a match. So, hearing that it had fallen apart was quite a nasty shock to Sutekh.
“My apologies, I didn’t know...” He sheepishly admitted as he thought over the Sirdar’s words about how the union had fallen apart. Of course, Nia was to blame. Sutekh had known that his sister would never be fond of such a match as she had the temperament of a little brattish girl underneath that temptress exterior. His sister wouldn’t be parted from her hedonistic lifestyle if you pried her cold dead hands away from the less than savory men she spent her nights with. Sutekh had known that the marriage would be a disaster from the moment that his mother divulged that it would be occurring at all. Nia would never accept marrying anyone… unless of course, it was to Hena so she could keep her little baby doll for the rest of her life. That way at least the girl could pretend that she would never have to grow up. That wouldn’t be possible with Narmer.
Honestly, why had Narmer gone after Nia of all the Sheifa girls? Wouldn’t he have been happier with Nef or Nenet instead?
It wasn’t exactly his place to judge though and the best that Sutekh could do was offer the older man a sympathetic smile as he tried to set the man at ease with a simple joke, “Well, I guess you now have a long and pleasant life in front of you again.” The chuckle that accompanied these words was somewhat forced as Sutekh considered the implications of this union falling apart and it being Nia’s decision of all things. It would now be impossible for his family to marry her off if she now had it in her head that she could convince a man to abandon the nuptials. There’s no telling what lengths she would go to the next time some poor sap came knocking on the Sheifa’s door for her hand.
He scoffed though at the notion that his sister had high standards. Yes, she did, but the standards were so high that no one would ever suffice. If the decision was left to Nia, she would never marry. Sutekh almost wished that Onuphrious would put his foot down and marry her off to some merchant and get the girl out of their hair forever. However, clearly that would never happen, much to Sutekh’s chagrin.
“It might be better this way truthfully, my sister is not exactly the most pleasant person to be around…” Sutekh cautiously admitted, hoping that the Sirdar would have had enough of a terrible experience with her that he would not need to question the Prince’s words. Even though the siblings had never gotten along, the vitriol between them had reached a new height in the weeks following Sutekh’s removal from the Sheifa household. The girl had made it clear that she did not care if her brother died in these wretched sand dunes all because he had committed the heinous crime of attacking her for the cold shoulder she had given him since his life was uprooted. The girl couldn’t remove herself from her myopic worldview for even just few minutes for the brother who lived in constant fear of poison. If she was willing to say such things about her own flesh and blood, how bad would the fights have been between her and Narmer had they actually married?
“I would consider this union dissolving as a blessing from the gods if anything, Sirdar Narmer. You would not have had a happy life with Nia.” Sutekh finished with a note of certainty as if there was no other outcome that could have stemmed from this union. However, that was just his own opinion of the matter, stemming from his experience with the girl who had never been anything short of nasty with him. Perhaps Narmer would have had a different experience with Nia, as unlikely was given this outcome, but that didn’t stop the Bastard Prince from nervously glancing over at the other man, silently hoping that the General did not take his words as more salt into the man’s already gaping wounds…
The apology from Sutekh was met with a simple wry, but not sad smile. Narmer had come to terms with it during the long ride they had to take from the capitol of Egypt to where they were now on the Northern Nile. The fact that Narmer hadn't been emotionally invested in this played a part of course, but now the man was largely concerned only with how he was going to help his Hei recoup their wealth and debts when he had been counting on the marriage to the richer Hei Sheifa to cover the payments.
Laughing at the joke from the younger man, perhaps if Sutekh had known Narmer better, he would see the hollowness in his laugh. Yes, while he wielded his sword and rode with his comarde in arms to battle, Narmer could forget all the problems and worries that came with shouldering the inherited Hei from his father - but it was when night fell and everyone shuffled off to do their own things, when Narmer was left to his own thoughts and the gravity of his situation with his Hei came crashing back down from him that a laugh or a smile was difficult to muster.
Raising a brow however when Sutekh spoek of his sister, Narmer momentarily had a flash of Neithotep in his mind. The girl was softspoken in as far as Narmer had observed, but most of his interactions with his supposed intended had been in the company of her mother. Otherwise, during the two short walks they had taken solo without a companion, the lady had been quite quiet and to her own thoughts. Or was that to do with the supposed man she loved instead? It would be something Narmer surmised he would never find out.
"Ah, that's the case then, Prince Sutekh?" he murmured in curiousity, obvious that he did not know of Neithotep's other side. "I must confess, I have had sparse few conversations with your sister. I do not know much of her usual behavior. What makes you say such things, my prince?" he asked. While Narmer was not a devious, gossipy person by nature, the fact that the person in question had been supposed to be his bride a scarce fourty-eight hours ago did pique his curiosity, not to mention feeding some of the lingering sense of hurt and lost he felt from her refusal to his offer of marriage at such a last second.
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The apology from Sutekh was met with a simple wry, but not sad smile. Narmer had come to terms with it during the long ride they had to take from the capitol of Egypt to where they were now on the Northern Nile. The fact that Narmer hadn't been emotionally invested in this played a part of course, but now the man was largely concerned only with how he was going to help his Hei recoup their wealth and debts when he had been counting on the marriage to the richer Hei Sheifa to cover the payments.
Laughing at the joke from the younger man, perhaps if Sutekh had known Narmer better, he would see the hollowness in his laugh. Yes, while he wielded his sword and rode with his comarde in arms to battle, Narmer could forget all the problems and worries that came with shouldering the inherited Hei from his father - but it was when night fell and everyone shuffled off to do their own things, when Narmer was left to his own thoughts and the gravity of his situation with his Hei came crashing back down from him that a laugh or a smile was difficult to muster.
Raising a brow however when Sutekh spoek of his sister, Narmer momentarily had a flash of Neithotep in his mind. The girl was softspoken in as far as Narmer had observed, but most of his interactions with his supposed intended had been in the company of her mother. Otherwise, during the two short walks they had taken solo without a companion, the lady had been quite quiet and to her own thoughts. Or was that to do with the supposed man she loved instead? It would be something Narmer surmised he would never find out.
"Ah, that's the case then, Prince Sutekh?" he murmured in curiousity, obvious that he did not know of Neithotep's other side. "I must confess, I have had sparse few conversations with your sister. I do not know much of her usual behavior. What makes you say such things, my prince?" he asked. While Narmer was not a devious, gossipy person by nature, the fact that the person in question had been supposed to be his bride a scarce fourty-eight hours ago did pique his curiosity, not to mention feeding some of the lingering sense of hurt and lost he felt from her refusal to his offer of marriage at such a last second.
The apology from Sutekh was met with a simple wry, but not sad smile. Narmer had come to terms with it during the long ride they had to take from the capitol of Egypt to where they were now on the Northern Nile. The fact that Narmer hadn't been emotionally invested in this played a part of course, but now the man was largely concerned only with how he was going to help his Hei recoup their wealth and debts when he had been counting on the marriage to the richer Hei Sheifa to cover the payments.
Laughing at the joke from the younger man, perhaps if Sutekh had known Narmer better, he would see the hollowness in his laugh. Yes, while he wielded his sword and rode with his comarde in arms to battle, Narmer could forget all the problems and worries that came with shouldering the inherited Hei from his father - but it was when night fell and everyone shuffled off to do their own things, when Narmer was left to his own thoughts and the gravity of his situation with his Hei came crashing back down from him that a laugh or a smile was difficult to muster.
Raising a brow however when Sutekh spoek of his sister, Narmer momentarily had a flash of Neithotep in his mind. The girl was softspoken in as far as Narmer had observed, but most of his interactions with his supposed intended had been in the company of her mother. Otherwise, during the two short walks they had taken solo without a companion, the lady had been quite quiet and to her own thoughts. Or was that to do with the supposed man she loved instead? It would be something Narmer surmised he would never find out.
"Ah, that's the case then, Prince Sutekh?" he murmured in curiousity, obvious that he did not know of Neithotep's other side. "I must confess, I have had sparse few conversations with your sister. I do not know much of her usual behavior. What makes you say such things, my prince?" he asked. While Narmer was not a devious, gossipy person by nature, the fact that the person in question had been supposed to be his bride a scarce fourty-eight hours ago did pique his curiosity, not to mention feeding some of the lingering sense of hurt and lost he felt from her refusal to his offer of marriage at such a last second.
Sutekh was not the most skilled in financial matters. That was something that he was more than readily able to admit the slow pace his education needed to proceed when he was younger. However, Onuphirous and Iaheru would rather be damned by the Feather of Maat than ever let their son merely scrape by when it came to matters of trade and budgeting. Although he wasn’t perfect and truly doubted his skills when faced with major decisions alone, Sutekh was more than capable of identifying problems and coming up with a plausible solution if he had a few ears to bend for reassurance that he was indeed taking the right action. Perhaps he would have been more confident in this field if he had not gone away to train as a soldier for a few years. Or better yet, had everything not had fallen apart, Sutekh was more than certain that he wouldn’t be here on the battlefield. Onuphrious would have him tucked up in some office space, doing little more than honing this skill and watching forlornly as the other men went off to war.
Quite frankly, given the current circumstances that had led him to this rank of deputy general; he’d trade it in a heartbeat to have that miserable existence.
Either way, the point was, even though Sutekh would be fairly useless in solving the problems of the Hei Haikiddad, he could provide some sort of insight that might help Narmer at least identify where the holes in the budget were. After all, money does not simply disappear. It has to go somewhere. Maybe, if the two men could develop a closer friendship in the months to come, Narmer might be willing to allow Sutekh to glance at the books. Given that the Sirdar’s expertise lay in the military and not in financial matters similar to the house that Sutekh was raised in, there might be something that he overlooked. A staff member with a salary that was too high. A family member who spent too much at the markets. Ill-thought investments that were not offering any sort of return. Simply put, there were a thousand and one different scenarios where money could be falling through the cracks. Even if it turned out to be multiple places where small trickles of money were flowing through. If Narmer was made aware of them, his family could be on the right track to repairing the damage that their financial troubles had brought.
However, at the moment, Sutekh was not aware of the fraught position that the Hei was in, if for nothing more than the sheer fact that he had bigger problems of his own to focus on. It was hard to pay attention to the gossip circuits of the court when he was constantly looking over his shoulder, fearing for the safety of his own skin.
He shook his head slightly as a nervous laugh bubbled up in at Narmer’s inquiry about who his sister really was. Sutekh wasn’t blind to the fact that everyone thought that was she some sweet pristine flower. This just wasn’t the case. Never had been if you asked the Prince. He had countless stories of the trouble she had gotten into and how little she cared for the consequences of such actions. The Neithotep that Sutekh knew cared little for others and had not even the slightest glimmer of responsibility within her. The time granted to them by Nephthys would simply not be enough to recount the terrible behavior that Sutekh had come to associate with his sister. However, would he even be willing to risk damaging his sister’s reputation in such a manner by airing her dirty laundry to the one man who was likely to also have a bit of a chip on his shoulder when it came to this girl? Even though his anger for her was spurring him to say yes, there were others to think about that could be damaged by such words. Like his sister Nenet.
His desire to protect her was the only thing that kept Sutekh from truly loosening his tongue as he thought about how to answer the General. After a brief awkward pause, the Prince carefully said, trying to avoid casting too much blame onto his sister, “Nia is the sort of girl who thinks of herself first and foremost. No problem in Egypt is more taxing than her own.” His words were spoken slowly, clearly, he was trying to keep a neutral tone to his voice. However, it did not work very well as there was a certain harsh bite to his words. Naturally, Sutekh’s mind was drifting back to their last meeting where the girl told him that she did not care whether he lived or died in this war. Sutekh might be rather biased given the subject matter, but quite frankly he didn’t know what could be more selfish as she had thought nothing of kicking Sutekh while he was down… and all because she was grumpy about needing to now go to court.
“She just isn’t a suitable choice to be a Sirdar’s wife. My sister would have just become a burden on your house.” He carefully summed up, trying to bring a suitable explanation of his sister’s faults without being too upfront with everything. At least not while where all the other men could hear. Sutekh may not have any more love for Nia, but he still cared about his littlest sister. He wouldn’t accidentally bring harm to her reputation. Just in case though, Sutekh was quick to defend the other girls though as well as maybe attempt to encourage whatever dealings that were occurring between the Sheifas and the Haikiddad’s to completely fall apart because of the actions of one selfish girl. “Needless to say, she is not like other girls Sirdar Narmer. My other sisters, Nefertaari and Nenet are far better choices for a bride.” It was true. His eldest sister had the mind of their --er, her father-- and was an astute merchant in the making. Any Hei with her at the helm was bound to have grand financial success. His youngest sister could not boast the same trait, but still, she was brilliant and quiet enough that she would help usher in greatness just the same. Nia would just run her house into the ground with her inability to look past her own worldview.
However, as Sutekh mentioned the other two girls, he had a moment of doubt that he might have just made things worse if the breakdown of his sister’s union was so grand that there was no possibility of a Sheifa and Haikiddad match. This was something that he was quick to apologize for though as he gathered his wits about him. “My apologies Sirdar Narmer, I hope I didn’t accidentally cause any sort of offense with mentioning my other sisters. I just know that m-their father was always keen for a match between our houses that I assumed that there might have been a possibility of another match.” The words just sort of tumbled of his mouth, especially after he tripped up and nearly called Onuphrious his father. That was enough to throw him for a bit of a loop, but Sutekh still felt fairly confident about speaking to the Sirdar’s desires as the man had made quite an effort to push Sutekh closer to the Haikiddad girls when things were calmer. He doubted that desire had gone away in the months that Sutekh had been gone.
But then again he didn’t know the damage that Nia had done to the relationship between the houses. Maybe this just wasn’t a possibility anymore and Sutekh just didn’t know it because he was no longer considered a Sheifa.
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Sutekh was not the most skilled in financial matters. That was something that he was more than readily able to admit the slow pace his education needed to proceed when he was younger. However, Onuphirous and Iaheru would rather be damned by the Feather of Maat than ever let their son merely scrape by when it came to matters of trade and budgeting. Although he wasn’t perfect and truly doubted his skills when faced with major decisions alone, Sutekh was more than capable of identifying problems and coming up with a plausible solution if he had a few ears to bend for reassurance that he was indeed taking the right action. Perhaps he would have been more confident in this field if he had not gone away to train as a soldier for a few years. Or better yet, had everything not had fallen apart, Sutekh was more than certain that he wouldn’t be here on the battlefield. Onuphrious would have him tucked up in some office space, doing little more than honing this skill and watching forlornly as the other men went off to war.
Quite frankly, given the current circumstances that had led him to this rank of deputy general; he’d trade it in a heartbeat to have that miserable existence.
Either way, the point was, even though Sutekh would be fairly useless in solving the problems of the Hei Haikiddad, he could provide some sort of insight that might help Narmer at least identify where the holes in the budget were. After all, money does not simply disappear. It has to go somewhere. Maybe, if the two men could develop a closer friendship in the months to come, Narmer might be willing to allow Sutekh to glance at the books. Given that the Sirdar’s expertise lay in the military and not in financial matters similar to the house that Sutekh was raised in, there might be something that he overlooked. A staff member with a salary that was too high. A family member who spent too much at the markets. Ill-thought investments that were not offering any sort of return. Simply put, there were a thousand and one different scenarios where money could be falling through the cracks. Even if it turned out to be multiple places where small trickles of money were flowing through. If Narmer was made aware of them, his family could be on the right track to repairing the damage that their financial troubles had brought.
However, at the moment, Sutekh was not aware of the fraught position that the Hei was in, if for nothing more than the sheer fact that he had bigger problems of his own to focus on. It was hard to pay attention to the gossip circuits of the court when he was constantly looking over his shoulder, fearing for the safety of his own skin.
He shook his head slightly as a nervous laugh bubbled up in at Narmer’s inquiry about who his sister really was. Sutekh wasn’t blind to the fact that everyone thought that was she some sweet pristine flower. This just wasn’t the case. Never had been if you asked the Prince. He had countless stories of the trouble she had gotten into and how little she cared for the consequences of such actions. The Neithotep that Sutekh knew cared little for others and had not even the slightest glimmer of responsibility within her. The time granted to them by Nephthys would simply not be enough to recount the terrible behavior that Sutekh had come to associate with his sister. However, would he even be willing to risk damaging his sister’s reputation in such a manner by airing her dirty laundry to the one man who was likely to also have a bit of a chip on his shoulder when it came to this girl? Even though his anger for her was spurring him to say yes, there were others to think about that could be damaged by such words. Like his sister Nenet.
His desire to protect her was the only thing that kept Sutekh from truly loosening his tongue as he thought about how to answer the General. After a brief awkward pause, the Prince carefully said, trying to avoid casting too much blame onto his sister, “Nia is the sort of girl who thinks of herself first and foremost. No problem in Egypt is more taxing than her own.” His words were spoken slowly, clearly, he was trying to keep a neutral tone to his voice. However, it did not work very well as there was a certain harsh bite to his words. Naturally, Sutekh’s mind was drifting back to their last meeting where the girl told him that she did not care whether he lived or died in this war. Sutekh might be rather biased given the subject matter, but quite frankly he didn’t know what could be more selfish as she had thought nothing of kicking Sutekh while he was down… and all because she was grumpy about needing to now go to court.
“She just isn’t a suitable choice to be a Sirdar’s wife. My sister would have just become a burden on your house.” He carefully summed up, trying to bring a suitable explanation of his sister’s faults without being too upfront with everything. At least not while where all the other men could hear. Sutekh may not have any more love for Nia, but he still cared about his littlest sister. He wouldn’t accidentally bring harm to her reputation. Just in case though, Sutekh was quick to defend the other girls though as well as maybe attempt to encourage whatever dealings that were occurring between the Sheifas and the Haikiddad’s to completely fall apart because of the actions of one selfish girl. “Needless to say, she is not like other girls Sirdar Narmer. My other sisters, Nefertaari and Nenet are far better choices for a bride.” It was true. His eldest sister had the mind of their --er, her father-- and was an astute merchant in the making. Any Hei with her at the helm was bound to have grand financial success. His youngest sister could not boast the same trait, but still, she was brilliant and quiet enough that she would help usher in greatness just the same. Nia would just run her house into the ground with her inability to look past her own worldview.
However, as Sutekh mentioned the other two girls, he had a moment of doubt that he might have just made things worse if the breakdown of his sister’s union was so grand that there was no possibility of a Sheifa and Haikiddad match. This was something that he was quick to apologize for though as he gathered his wits about him. “My apologies Sirdar Narmer, I hope I didn’t accidentally cause any sort of offense with mentioning my other sisters. I just know that m-their father was always keen for a match between our houses that I assumed that there might have been a possibility of another match.” The words just sort of tumbled of his mouth, especially after he tripped up and nearly called Onuphrious his father. That was enough to throw him for a bit of a loop, but Sutekh still felt fairly confident about speaking to the Sirdar’s desires as the man had made quite an effort to push Sutekh closer to the Haikiddad girls when things were calmer. He doubted that desire had gone away in the months that Sutekh had been gone.
But then again he didn’t know the damage that Nia had done to the relationship between the houses. Maybe this just wasn’t a possibility anymore and Sutekh just didn’t know it because he was no longer considered a Sheifa.
Sutekh was not the most skilled in financial matters. That was something that he was more than readily able to admit the slow pace his education needed to proceed when he was younger. However, Onuphirous and Iaheru would rather be damned by the Feather of Maat than ever let their son merely scrape by when it came to matters of trade and budgeting. Although he wasn’t perfect and truly doubted his skills when faced with major decisions alone, Sutekh was more than capable of identifying problems and coming up with a plausible solution if he had a few ears to bend for reassurance that he was indeed taking the right action. Perhaps he would have been more confident in this field if he had not gone away to train as a soldier for a few years. Or better yet, had everything not had fallen apart, Sutekh was more than certain that he wouldn’t be here on the battlefield. Onuphrious would have him tucked up in some office space, doing little more than honing this skill and watching forlornly as the other men went off to war.
Quite frankly, given the current circumstances that had led him to this rank of deputy general; he’d trade it in a heartbeat to have that miserable existence.
Either way, the point was, even though Sutekh would be fairly useless in solving the problems of the Hei Haikiddad, he could provide some sort of insight that might help Narmer at least identify where the holes in the budget were. After all, money does not simply disappear. It has to go somewhere. Maybe, if the two men could develop a closer friendship in the months to come, Narmer might be willing to allow Sutekh to glance at the books. Given that the Sirdar’s expertise lay in the military and not in financial matters similar to the house that Sutekh was raised in, there might be something that he overlooked. A staff member with a salary that was too high. A family member who spent too much at the markets. Ill-thought investments that were not offering any sort of return. Simply put, there were a thousand and one different scenarios where money could be falling through the cracks. Even if it turned out to be multiple places where small trickles of money were flowing through. If Narmer was made aware of them, his family could be on the right track to repairing the damage that their financial troubles had brought.
However, at the moment, Sutekh was not aware of the fraught position that the Hei was in, if for nothing more than the sheer fact that he had bigger problems of his own to focus on. It was hard to pay attention to the gossip circuits of the court when he was constantly looking over his shoulder, fearing for the safety of his own skin.
He shook his head slightly as a nervous laugh bubbled up in at Narmer’s inquiry about who his sister really was. Sutekh wasn’t blind to the fact that everyone thought that was she some sweet pristine flower. This just wasn’t the case. Never had been if you asked the Prince. He had countless stories of the trouble she had gotten into and how little she cared for the consequences of such actions. The Neithotep that Sutekh knew cared little for others and had not even the slightest glimmer of responsibility within her. The time granted to them by Nephthys would simply not be enough to recount the terrible behavior that Sutekh had come to associate with his sister. However, would he even be willing to risk damaging his sister’s reputation in such a manner by airing her dirty laundry to the one man who was likely to also have a bit of a chip on his shoulder when it came to this girl? Even though his anger for her was spurring him to say yes, there were others to think about that could be damaged by such words. Like his sister Nenet.
His desire to protect her was the only thing that kept Sutekh from truly loosening his tongue as he thought about how to answer the General. After a brief awkward pause, the Prince carefully said, trying to avoid casting too much blame onto his sister, “Nia is the sort of girl who thinks of herself first and foremost. No problem in Egypt is more taxing than her own.” His words were spoken slowly, clearly, he was trying to keep a neutral tone to his voice. However, it did not work very well as there was a certain harsh bite to his words. Naturally, Sutekh’s mind was drifting back to their last meeting where the girl told him that she did not care whether he lived or died in this war. Sutekh might be rather biased given the subject matter, but quite frankly he didn’t know what could be more selfish as she had thought nothing of kicking Sutekh while he was down… and all because she was grumpy about needing to now go to court.
“She just isn’t a suitable choice to be a Sirdar’s wife. My sister would have just become a burden on your house.” He carefully summed up, trying to bring a suitable explanation of his sister’s faults without being too upfront with everything. At least not while where all the other men could hear. Sutekh may not have any more love for Nia, but he still cared about his littlest sister. He wouldn’t accidentally bring harm to her reputation. Just in case though, Sutekh was quick to defend the other girls though as well as maybe attempt to encourage whatever dealings that were occurring between the Sheifas and the Haikiddad’s to completely fall apart because of the actions of one selfish girl. “Needless to say, she is not like other girls Sirdar Narmer. My other sisters, Nefertaari and Nenet are far better choices for a bride.” It was true. His eldest sister had the mind of their --er, her father-- and was an astute merchant in the making. Any Hei with her at the helm was bound to have grand financial success. His youngest sister could not boast the same trait, but still, she was brilliant and quiet enough that she would help usher in greatness just the same. Nia would just run her house into the ground with her inability to look past her own worldview.
However, as Sutekh mentioned the other two girls, he had a moment of doubt that he might have just made things worse if the breakdown of his sister’s union was so grand that there was no possibility of a Sheifa and Haikiddad match. This was something that he was quick to apologize for though as he gathered his wits about him. “My apologies Sirdar Narmer, I hope I didn’t accidentally cause any sort of offense with mentioning my other sisters. I just know that m-their father was always keen for a match between our houses that I assumed that there might have been a possibility of another match.” The words just sort of tumbled of his mouth, especially after he tripped up and nearly called Onuphrious his father. That was enough to throw him for a bit of a loop, but Sutekh still felt fairly confident about speaking to the Sirdar’s desires as the man had made quite an effort to push Sutekh closer to the Haikiddad girls when things were calmer. He doubted that desire had gone away in the months that Sutekh had been gone.
But then again he didn’t know the damage that Nia had done to the relationship between the houses. Maybe this just wasn’t a possibility anymore and Sutekh just didn’t know it because he was no longer considered a Sheifa.
That Sutekh was likely just as well studied in the terms of finance and business matters did not occur to Narmer - afterall, he had once been in much a similar position to Sutekh, except he had his elder brother, and as a result Nakht had allowed Narmer to pretty much pursue his own passion of military and swordsmenship as he left his brother to take up the mantle of the leader of the Hei. In hindsight however, that had not been a great idea when both Nakht and Narutt had fallen into the clutches of Osiris himself. It had been what landed Narmer in the position he was in, and even if Zoser had been assisting him greatly in such matters, he couldn't rely entirely on the assistance of a scholar, not when there was too much of the ledger to go through before Narmer could even start finding out what went wrong to begin with.
So really, Narmer simply decide to escape his problems.
When the summons to war had come, instead of the fear some, if not most men felt, Narmer had relished in it, even if he had to act semi-reluctant in front of Na'meah. His sister-in-law had not been glad at the risk Narmer took, for if something took his life in the war, and with Kissan being along as well, who would care for the twins and her in their life? It was likely the pharoah would take the Hei back under the ownership of the crown, and that would simply leave the twins and their mother desolate.
But try as he might, Narmer simply couldn't bring himself to turn down the chance to lead men again - to be in his element, and not feel as if he was failing at every chance and turn he was given. With his weapon in hand and at the risk of losing his life, was where Narmer felt most alive, and he had not felt the same way for the past few years, he was sore to let such a chance pass by.
Not wanting to wallow in his own problems however, Narmer chose to focus on Sutekh again as he spoke, raising a brow when the brother spoke such caustically against his sister - well, half sister, if the rumors proved to be true. But with Sutekh now recognized as a prince, they were anything but fake anymore. That the young prince claimed his sister to be selfish seemed surprising, for Neithotep had seemed genuinely apologetic as she turned down his offer for a marriage just before he left for the war. While she didn't seem entirely the obedient daughter, Narmer recognized the harsh bite that suggested there being some bad blood between sister and brother.
While he recognized the value of taking perhaps either Nenet or Nefertaari as a bride, and in truth, they would bring the same value to the marriage as Neithotep herself, he had striked an agreement with Iaheru to try and keep her daughter under control should he marry her. What man would he be if he couldn't fulfill his end of the bargain? Afterall, all he wanted was the money that would come with marrying the daughter from Hei Sheifa, but he had to be able to fulfill his end of the bargain. And it was clear as day by now, that Neithotep would be far too much of a handful for him to handle.
"Oh, none at all my prince." Narmer hurriedly replied when Sutekh offered his apologies. The man was quick to paste a polite smile on his face as he waved away the apologetic words of the former Sheifa heir. "In truth, I had a promise with your mother. Sirdsett Iaheru had been keen on making sure someone could handle your sister... I thought I could, but perhaps I was overly ambitious." he paused, considering his next words as his smile turned wry. "I'm sure your other sisters would have great matches, and with the Hei Sheifa's reputation, it would not take long for marriage matches to occur. I believe however, that I am in no position to barter so long as we remain here." His last words were accompanied with a laugh, for it was common for marriage arrangements to halt as wars were fought. Afterall, how was a marriage to occur when the groom was off risking his life?
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That Sutekh was likely just as well studied in the terms of finance and business matters did not occur to Narmer - afterall, he had once been in much a similar position to Sutekh, except he had his elder brother, and as a result Nakht had allowed Narmer to pretty much pursue his own passion of military and swordsmenship as he left his brother to take up the mantle of the leader of the Hei. In hindsight however, that had not been a great idea when both Nakht and Narutt had fallen into the clutches of Osiris himself. It had been what landed Narmer in the position he was in, and even if Zoser had been assisting him greatly in such matters, he couldn't rely entirely on the assistance of a scholar, not when there was too much of the ledger to go through before Narmer could even start finding out what went wrong to begin with.
So really, Narmer simply decide to escape his problems.
When the summons to war had come, instead of the fear some, if not most men felt, Narmer had relished in it, even if he had to act semi-reluctant in front of Na'meah. His sister-in-law had not been glad at the risk Narmer took, for if something took his life in the war, and with Kissan being along as well, who would care for the twins and her in their life? It was likely the pharoah would take the Hei back under the ownership of the crown, and that would simply leave the twins and their mother desolate.
But try as he might, Narmer simply couldn't bring himself to turn down the chance to lead men again - to be in his element, and not feel as if he was failing at every chance and turn he was given. With his weapon in hand and at the risk of losing his life, was where Narmer felt most alive, and he had not felt the same way for the past few years, he was sore to let such a chance pass by.
Not wanting to wallow in his own problems however, Narmer chose to focus on Sutekh again as he spoke, raising a brow when the brother spoke such caustically against his sister - well, half sister, if the rumors proved to be true. But with Sutekh now recognized as a prince, they were anything but fake anymore. That the young prince claimed his sister to be selfish seemed surprising, for Neithotep had seemed genuinely apologetic as she turned down his offer for a marriage just before he left for the war. While she didn't seem entirely the obedient daughter, Narmer recognized the harsh bite that suggested there being some bad blood between sister and brother.
While he recognized the value of taking perhaps either Nenet or Nefertaari as a bride, and in truth, they would bring the same value to the marriage as Neithotep herself, he had striked an agreement with Iaheru to try and keep her daughter under control should he marry her. What man would he be if he couldn't fulfill his end of the bargain? Afterall, all he wanted was the money that would come with marrying the daughter from Hei Sheifa, but he had to be able to fulfill his end of the bargain. And it was clear as day by now, that Neithotep would be far too much of a handful for him to handle.
"Oh, none at all my prince." Narmer hurriedly replied when Sutekh offered his apologies. The man was quick to paste a polite smile on his face as he waved away the apologetic words of the former Sheifa heir. "In truth, I had a promise with your mother. Sirdsett Iaheru had been keen on making sure someone could handle your sister... I thought I could, but perhaps I was overly ambitious." he paused, considering his next words as his smile turned wry. "I'm sure your other sisters would have great matches, and with the Hei Sheifa's reputation, it would not take long for marriage matches to occur. I believe however, that I am in no position to barter so long as we remain here." His last words were accompanied with a laugh, for it was common for marriage arrangements to halt as wars were fought. Afterall, how was a marriage to occur when the groom was off risking his life?
That Sutekh was likely just as well studied in the terms of finance and business matters did not occur to Narmer - afterall, he had once been in much a similar position to Sutekh, except he had his elder brother, and as a result Nakht had allowed Narmer to pretty much pursue his own passion of military and swordsmenship as he left his brother to take up the mantle of the leader of the Hei. In hindsight however, that had not been a great idea when both Nakht and Narutt had fallen into the clutches of Osiris himself. It had been what landed Narmer in the position he was in, and even if Zoser had been assisting him greatly in such matters, he couldn't rely entirely on the assistance of a scholar, not when there was too much of the ledger to go through before Narmer could even start finding out what went wrong to begin with.
So really, Narmer simply decide to escape his problems.
When the summons to war had come, instead of the fear some, if not most men felt, Narmer had relished in it, even if he had to act semi-reluctant in front of Na'meah. His sister-in-law had not been glad at the risk Narmer took, for if something took his life in the war, and with Kissan being along as well, who would care for the twins and her in their life? It was likely the pharoah would take the Hei back under the ownership of the crown, and that would simply leave the twins and their mother desolate.
But try as he might, Narmer simply couldn't bring himself to turn down the chance to lead men again - to be in his element, and not feel as if he was failing at every chance and turn he was given. With his weapon in hand and at the risk of losing his life, was where Narmer felt most alive, and he had not felt the same way for the past few years, he was sore to let such a chance pass by.
Not wanting to wallow in his own problems however, Narmer chose to focus on Sutekh again as he spoke, raising a brow when the brother spoke such caustically against his sister - well, half sister, if the rumors proved to be true. But with Sutekh now recognized as a prince, they were anything but fake anymore. That the young prince claimed his sister to be selfish seemed surprising, for Neithotep had seemed genuinely apologetic as she turned down his offer for a marriage just before he left for the war. While she didn't seem entirely the obedient daughter, Narmer recognized the harsh bite that suggested there being some bad blood between sister and brother.
While he recognized the value of taking perhaps either Nenet or Nefertaari as a bride, and in truth, they would bring the same value to the marriage as Neithotep herself, he had striked an agreement with Iaheru to try and keep her daughter under control should he marry her. What man would he be if he couldn't fulfill his end of the bargain? Afterall, all he wanted was the money that would come with marrying the daughter from Hei Sheifa, but he had to be able to fulfill his end of the bargain. And it was clear as day by now, that Neithotep would be far too much of a handful for him to handle.
"Oh, none at all my prince." Narmer hurriedly replied when Sutekh offered his apologies. The man was quick to paste a polite smile on his face as he waved away the apologetic words of the former Sheifa heir. "In truth, I had a promise with your mother. Sirdsett Iaheru had been keen on making sure someone could handle your sister... I thought I could, but perhaps I was overly ambitious." he paused, considering his next words as his smile turned wry. "I'm sure your other sisters would have great matches, and with the Hei Sheifa's reputation, it would not take long for marriage matches to occur. I believe however, that I am in no position to barter so long as we remain here." His last words were accompanied with a laugh, for it was common for marriage arrangements to halt as wars were fought. Afterall, how was a marriage to occur when the groom was off risking his life?
Hearing from Sirdar Narmer that it was not the boy’s step-father that had made the arrangements was rather shocking to say the least. In fact, the Haikiddad’s confirmation that it had been Iaheru to arrange the match was so far from what the Prince expected that Sutekh’s face physically twisted into an expression of confusion as he considered the older man’s words. He just hadn’t expected such a thing, that’s all. Though if given a moment to consider it, Sutekh supposed it did make sense. Iaheru might be seen as a delicate jewel of the Nile, but his mother could be quite a ferocious businesswoman who had spent the last twenty-five years hiding the liability that was Sutekh’s blood. He knew that the Sheifas had not escaped from the revelation unscathed and their reputation was somewhat damaged in the wake of his parentage being revealed for all of Egypt to see. Knowing his mother, her desire to marry Nia off before Nef was probably the woman attempting to do damage control and prevent her other children from creating scandals that could further ruin their name. Nia definitely was a risk in that sense, so the actions were logical.
But could there be something deeper happening there?
Not that it really mattered anyway. With Sutekh being shunned by the family that raised him, he was unlikely to know the answer. Plus what did he care about the marriage prospects of the sister who wished him dead? She could go to Anubis for all he cared.
Regardless though, Narmer did have a point with his other words.. Although matters of inheritance and biological security were the sorts of things that should always be on the mind of nobles like themselves, the battlefield was not the place to be considering this. How on earth was a man supposed to draw up a contract in the back of a chariot, bearing down on an enemy? It was foolish and preposterous in every sense of the word. Even though Sutekh really had no control over the fates of his half-sisters and the boy was only trying to be supportive in the wake of a failed arrangement, the sheer embarrassment of suggesting that Narmer look to his more suitable Sheifa relatives when both men had to contend with the possibility of one arrow nick sending them to Anubis brought a light blush to the prince’s cheeks. Of course, how could he be so foolish to forget?
“Ah, yes. The Greeks have perfected the art of putting a damper on things, haven’t they?” His own words were marked with a light chuckle as well. In truth, Sutekh had forgotten what a complicated mess betrothals were in the wake of everything that had happened. A few months ago, this would have been one of the forefront topics in the former Sheifa heir’s mind especially because he had left the military for the sole purpose of returning to the duties that came with being Onuphrious’s firstborn son. Continuing that family line was one of those duties and he would not have been surprised if his parents weren’t putting together a shortlist of possible brides. But now? Sutekh was a bastard who only had a name because his sixteen-year-old sister had taken pity on him. He was entitled to nothing as even his title as Prince could be taken away just as easily as it was given to him. That alone made him a terrible option for any sirdar who cared about his daughters having a secure future. However, that didn’t even factor in the fact that Iahotep had not been subtle that it was Sutekh’s destiny to die in this war. If he did not die on the battlefield, he would be offed in other ways, but needless to say, he would not live to see the Egyptians declare victory over the northern mangy dogs. Why would Sutekh think about marriage when he needed to be more focused on ensuring that he stayed alive?
Good gods, could it really have been only a few months since he had been thinking differently? It was rather shocking to Sutekh to consider how much he had changed since his true paternity had been revealed. He felt as if he was an entirely different person. Which he supposed was a good thing. After all, he was a new person. No longer was he an heir to a wealthy Hei, a boy with a future so bright it was blinding. Now he was a Prince marked for death. Oh how the times changed.
With the topic regarding his sister Nia seemingly coming to a close, Sutekh wasn’t sure what he could say that could continue the conversation. Certainly, the Prince could ask about the twins or Kissan as Sutekh had always been fairly close with them, but the hour was late and Narmer’s journey had been long. It wouldn’t be right for the newest addition to the Naddar family to take up the General’s time with idle chatter if he had things that he needed to do. However, it felt wrong to merely say some parting words and then just walk away as if Sutekh only sought to bitch about his horrible half-sister. It would be all different kinds of disrespectful to the man who was under no obligation to converse with the boy who had inadvertently brought a great deal of shame to the Sheifa name.
So, being unsure of what else to say while Narmer was still on the back of a horse, Sutekh extended his earlier offer to the General. “Forgive me, your journey must have been long and tiring. I do not know if you have any tasks awaiting your attention, but I know that a loaf of bread is far from filling. I have more supplies in my tent, I could send for some if you’d like -- as an apology for my half-sister’s decision.” Although Sutekh’s words made it seem like the Prince would just merely send for a slave to bring the General a meal, the offer could easily extend to the two of them sharing a meal together which is something that Sutekh would not be opposed to given how General Narmer would be privy to more information than Sutekh was at this point of time. His role as Deputy General was honorary at this point and no one was willing to waste their time describing war plans to a man who was already marked for death. However, given that the two men now had a shared rapport because of his horrible sister… maybe, just maybe General Narmer might be able to help the Prince feel as if he had the full picture of what was happening in this war which was something he desperately needed if he wanted to have any chance of surviving.
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Hearing from Sirdar Narmer that it was not the boy’s step-father that had made the arrangements was rather shocking to say the least. In fact, the Haikiddad’s confirmation that it had been Iaheru to arrange the match was so far from what the Prince expected that Sutekh’s face physically twisted into an expression of confusion as he considered the older man’s words. He just hadn’t expected such a thing, that’s all. Though if given a moment to consider it, Sutekh supposed it did make sense. Iaheru might be seen as a delicate jewel of the Nile, but his mother could be quite a ferocious businesswoman who had spent the last twenty-five years hiding the liability that was Sutekh’s blood. He knew that the Sheifas had not escaped from the revelation unscathed and their reputation was somewhat damaged in the wake of his parentage being revealed for all of Egypt to see. Knowing his mother, her desire to marry Nia off before Nef was probably the woman attempting to do damage control and prevent her other children from creating scandals that could further ruin their name. Nia definitely was a risk in that sense, so the actions were logical.
But could there be something deeper happening there?
Not that it really mattered anyway. With Sutekh being shunned by the family that raised him, he was unlikely to know the answer. Plus what did he care about the marriage prospects of the sister who wished him dead? She could go to Anubis for all he cared.
Regardless though, Narmer did have a point with his other words.. Although matters of inheritance and biological security were the sorts of things that should always be on the mind of nobles like themselves, the battlefield was not the place to be considering this. How on earth was a man supposed to draw up a contract in the back of a chariot, bearing down on an enemy? It was foolish and preposterous in every sense of the word. Even though Sutekh really had no control over the fates of his half-sisters and the boy was only trying to be supportive in the wake of a failed arrangement, the sheer embarrassment of suggesting that Narmer look to his more suitable Sheifa relatives when both men had to contend with the possibility of one arrow nick sending them to Anubis brought a light blush to the prince’s cheeks. Of course, how could he be so foolish to forget?
“Ah, yes. The Greeks have perfected the art of putting a damper on things, haven’t they?” His own words were marked with a light chuckle as well. In truth, Sutekh had forgotten what a complicated mess betrothals were in the wake of everything that had happened. A few months ago, this would have been one of the forefront topics in the former Sheifa heir’s mind especially because he had left the military for the sole purpose of returning to the duties that came with being Onuphrious’s firstborn son. Continuing that family line was one of those duties and he would not have been surprised if his parents weren’t putting together a shortlist of possible brides. But now? Sutekh was a bastard who only had a name because his sixteen-year-old sister had taken pity on him. He was entitled to nothing as even his title as Prince could be taken away just as easily as it was given to him. That alone made him a terrible option for any sirdar who cared about his daughters having a secure future. However, that didn’t even factor in the fact that Iahotep had not been subtle that it was Sutekh’s destiny to die in this war. If he did not die on the battlefield, he would be offed in other ways, but needless to say, he would not live to see the Egyptians declare victory over the northern mangy dogs. Why would Sutekh think about marriage when he needed to be more focused on ensuring that he stayed alive?
Good gods, could it really have been only a few months since he had been thinking differently? It was rather shocking to Sutekh to consider how much he had changed since his true paternity had been revealed. He felt as if he was an entirely different person. Which he supposed was a good thing. After all, he was a new person. No longer was he an heir to a wealthy Hei, a boy with a future so bright it was blinding. Now he was a Prince marked for death. Oh how the times changed.
With the topic regarding his sister Nia seemingly coming to a close, Sutekh wasn’t sure what he could say that could continue the conversation. Certainly, the Prince could ask about the twins or Kissan as Sutekh had always been fairly close with them, but the hour was late and Narmer’s journey had been long. It wouldn’t be right for the newest addition to the Naddar family to take up the General’s time with idle chatter if he had things that he needed to do. However, it felt wrong to merely say some parting words and then just walk away as if Sutekh only sought to bitch about his horrible half-sister. It would be all different kinds of disrespectful to the man who was under no obligation to converse with the boy who had inadvertently brought a great deal of shame to the Sheifa name.
So, being unsure of what else to say while Narmer was still on the back of a horse, Sutekh extended his earlier offer to the General. “Forgive me, your journey must have been long and tiring. I do not know if you have any tasks awaiting your attention, but I know that a loaf of bread is far from filling. I have more supplies in my tent, I could send for some if you’d like -- as an apology for my half-sister’s decision.” Although Sutekh’s words made it seem like the Prince would just merely send for a slave to bring the General a meal, the offer could easily extend to the two of them sharing a meal together which is something that Sutekh would not be opposed to given how General Narmer would be privy to more information than Sutekh was at this point of time. His role as Deputy General was honorary at this point and no one was willing to waste their time describing war plans to a man who was already marked for death. However, given that the two men now had a shared rapport because of his horrible sister… maybe, just maybe General Narmer might be able to help the Prince feel as if he had the full picture of what was happening in this war which was something he desperately needed if he wanted to have any chance of surviving.
Hearing from Sirdar Narmer that it was not the boy’s step-father that had made the arrangements was rather shocking to say the least. In fact, the Haikiddad’s confirmation that it had been Iaheru to arrange the match was so far from what the Prince expected that Sutekh’s face physically twisted into an expression of confusion as he considered the older man’s words. He just hadn’t expected such a thing, that’s all. Though if given a moment to consider it, Sutekh supposed it did make sense. Iaheru might be seen as a delicate jewel of the Nile, but his mother could be quite a ferocious businesswoman who had spent the last twenty-five years hiding the liability that was Sutekh’s blood. He knew that the Sheifas had not escaped from the revelation unscathed and their reputation was somewhat damaged in the wake of his parentage being revealed for all of Egypt to see. Knowing his mother, her desire to marry Nia off before Nef was probably the woman attempting to do damage control and prevent her other children from creating scandals that could further ruin their name. Nia definitely was a risk in that sense, so the actions were logical.
But could there be something deeper happening there?
Not that it really mattered anyway. With Sutekh being shunned by the family that raised him, he was unlikely to know the answer. Plus what did he care about the marriage prospects of the sister who wished him dead? She could go to Anubis for all he cared.
Regardless though, Narmer did have a point with his other words.. Although matters of inheritance and biological security were the sorts of things that should always be on the mind of nobles like themselves, the battlefield was not the place to be considering this. How on earth was a man supposed to draw up a contract in the back of a chariot, bearing down on an enemy? It was foolish and preposterous in every sense of the word. Even though Sutekh really had no control over the fates of his half-sisters and the boy was only trying to be supportive in the wake of a failed arrangement, the sheer embarrassment of suggesting that Narmer look to his more suitable Sheifa relatives when both men had to contend with the possibility of one arrow nick sending them to Anubis brought a light blush to the prince’s cheeks. Of course, how could he be so foolish to forget?
“Ah, yes. The Greeks have perfected the art of putting a damper on things, haven’t they?” His own words were marked with a light chuckle as well. In truth, Sutekh had forgotten what a complicated mess betrothals were in the wake of everything that had happened. A few months ago, this would have been one of the forefront topics in the former Sheifa heir’s mind especially because he had left the military for the sole purpose of returning to the duties that came with being Onuphrious’s firstborn son. Continuing that family line was one of those duties and he would not have been surprised if his parents weren’t putting together a shortlist of possible brides. But now? Sutekh was a bastard who only had a name because his sixteen-year-old sister had taken pity on him. He was entitled to nothing as even his title as Prince could be taken away just as easily as it was given to him. That alone made him a terrible option for any sirdar who cared about his daughters having a secure future. However, that didn’t even factor in the fact that Iahotep had not been subtle that it was Sutekh’s destiny to die in this war. If he did not die on the battlefield, he would be offed in other ways, but needless to say, he would not live to see the Egyptians declare victory over the northern mangy dogs. Why would Sutekh think about marriage when he needed to be more focused on ensuring that he stayed alive?
Good gods, could it really have been only a few months since he had been thinking differently? It was rather shocking to Sutekh to consider how much he had changed since his true paternity had been revealed. He felt as if he was an entirely different person. Which he supposed was a good thing. After all, he was a new person. No longer was he an heir to a wealthy Hei, a boy with a future so bright it was blinding. Now he was a Prince marked for death. Oh how the times changed.
With the topic regarding his sister Nia seemingly coming to a close, Sutekh wasn’t sure what he could say that could continue the conversation. Certainly, the Prince could ask about the twins or Kissan as Sutekh had always been fairly close with them, but the hour was late and Narmer’s journey had been long. It wouldn’t be right for the newest addition to the Naddar family to take up the General’s time with idle chatter if he had things that he needed to do. However, it felt wrong to merely say some parting words and then just walk away as if Sutekh only sought to bitch about his horrible half-sister. It would be all different kinds of disrespectful to the man who was under no obligation to converse with the boy who had inadvertently brought a great deal of shame to the Sheifa name.
So, being unsure of what else to say while Narmer was still on the back of a horse, Sutekh extended his earlier offer to the General. “Forgive me, your journey must have been long and tiring. I do not know if you have any tasks awaiting your attention, but I know that a loaf of bread is far from filling. I have more supplies in my tent, I could send for some if you’d like -- as an apology for my half-sister’s decision.” Although Sutekh’s words made it seem like the Prince would just merely send for a slave to bring the General a meal, the offer could easily extend to the two of them sharing a meal together which is something that Sutekh would not be opposed to given how General Narmer would be privy to more information than Sutekh was at this point of time. His role as Deputy General was honorary at this point and no one was willing to waste their time describing war plans to a man who was already marked for death. However, given that the two men now had a shared rapport because of his horrible sister… maybe, just maybe General Narmer might be able to help the Prince feel as if he had the full picture of what was happening in this war which was something he desperately needed if he wanted to have any chance of surviving.
Despite having a bombshell tossed for him (for really, that was the only way Narmer could equate having your whole life upended at the age Sutekh was, when he suddenly discovered his father was not actually his father at all), Narmer had to admit much of the boy, at least in the way he behaved, still seemed much like the young son of Hei Sheifa back when he was but an heir to a Hei. It would seem being heir to a Hei was far different from being the half-brother to the current reigning Queen of Egypt... but it wasn't a question Narmer wanted to pry into.
In a way, at least Narmer was glad the young prince was a friend to his nephew and nieces. This was a perfect example of what his father and brother used to try and instill in him, that it was good to build relationships with people regardless of where he went to. Yet that was a skill that had always belonged to Narutt and not him. His brother had been the one with the people skills. Narmer far preferred speaking with weapons to his enemies on the battlefield, and was but an awkward child when it came to the play of words and the emotions of others.
That an awkward lull happened between the two should therefore come as no surprise, for keeping up a conversation had never been a skill Narmer had. When the young prince extended an offer, Narmer smiled but gently shook his head. The hour was late afterall, and if he knew the pharoah, Iahotep was definitely going to summon them all before the light breaks the dawn.
"There is no apology to be made, my prince." he murmured in a polite way to turn the other down. "Tis but simply the way Shai has meant for us all, and I have no hard feelings for anyone." Disappointment yes, but that could hardly be construed as negative feelings. It was simply that Narmer would now have to return to worrying over the finances of his Hei, but it would make no sense to drag the young Prince into it all.
As such, the general took a step away from Sutekh with a shallow bow. "I shall take my leave for now - but feel free to come look for me if you would like a chat. Even if it isn't your sister, I don't think either my nephew or my nieces would forgive me if I leave you should you need a hand." With that open offer on the table, Narmer turned and headed back towards his own tent, to at least get some shut eye before the monring dawned on them.
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This character is currently a work in progress.
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Despite having a bombshell tossed for him (for really, that was the only way Narmer could equate having your whole life upended at the age Sutekh was, when he suddenly discovered his father was not actually his father at all), Narmer had to admit much of the boy, at least in the way he behaved, still seemed much like the young son of Hei Sheifa back when he was but an heir to a Hei. It would seem being heir to a Hei was far different from being the half-brother to the current reigning Queen of Egypt... but it wasn't a question Narmer wanted to pry into.
In a way, at least Narmer was glad the young prince was a friend to his nephew and nieces. This was a perfect example of what his father and brother used to try and instill in him, that it was good to build relationships with people regardless of where he went to. Yet that was a skill that had always belonged to Narutt and not him. His brother had been the one with the people skills. Narmer far preferred speaking with weapons to his enemies on the battlefield, and was but an awkward child when it came to the play of words and the emotions of others.
That an awkward lull happened between the two should therefore come as no surprise, for keeping up a conversation had never been a skill Narmer had. When the young prince extended an offer, Narmer smiled but gently shook his head. The hour was late afterall, and if he knew the pharoah, Iahotep was definitely going to summon them all before the light breaks the dawn.
"There is no apology to be made, my prince." he murmured in a polite way to turn the other down. "Tis but simply the way Shai has meant for us all, and I have no hard feelings for anyone." Disappointment yes, but that could hardly be construed as negative feelings. It was simply that Narmer would now have to return to worrying over the finances of his Hei, but it would make no sense to drag the young Prince into it all.
As such, the general took a step away from Sutekh with a shallow bow. "I shall take my leave for now - but feel free to come look for me if you would like a chat. Even if it isn't your sister, I don't think either my nephew or my nieces would forgive me if I leave you should you need a hand." With that open offer on the table, Narmer turned and headed back towards his own tent, to at least get some shut eye before the monring dawned on them.
Despite having a bombshell tossed for him (for really, that was the only way Narmer could equate having your whole life upended at the age Sutekh was, when he suddenly discovered his father was not actually his father at all), Narmer had to admit much of the boy, at least in the way he behaved, still seemed much like the young son of Hei Sheifa back when he was but an heir to a Hei. It would seem being heir to a Hei was far different from being the half-brother to the current reigning Queen of Egypt... but it wasn't a question Narmer wanted to pry into.
In a way, at least Narmer was glad the young prince was a friend to his nephew and nieces. This was a perfect example of what his father and brother used to try and instill in him, that it was good to build relationships with people regardless of where he went to. Yet that was a skill that had always belonged to Narutt and not him. His brother had been the one with the people skills. Narmer far preferred speaking with weapons to his enemies on the battlefield, and was but an awkward child when it came to the play of words and the emotions of others.
That an awkward lull happened between the two should therefore come as no surprise, for keeping up a conversation had never been a skill Narmer had. When the young prince extended an offer, Narmer smiled but gently shook his head. The hour was late afterall, and if he knew the pharoah, Iahotep was definitely going to summon them all before the light breaks the dawn.
"There is no apology to be made, my prince." he murmured in a polite way to turn the other down. "Tis but simply the way Shai has meant for us all, and I have no hard feelings for anyone." Disappointment yes, but that could hardly be construed as negative feelings. It was simply that Narmer would now have to return to worrying over the finances of his Hei, but it would make no sense to drag the young Prince into it all.
As such, the general took a step away from Sutekh with a shallow bow. "I shall take my leave for now - but feel free to come look for me if you would like a chat. Even if it isn't your sister, I don't think either my nephew or my nieces would forgive me if I leave you should you need a hand." With that open offer on the table, Narmer turned and headed back towards his own tent, to at least get some shut eye before the monring dawned on them.