ㅤㅤㅤBe........ b-b-b-be!??! M...My... mine.....? my...!!?... m-my VALENTINE !??! The sheer audacity was enough to send her 'jackal ears' whose regality and mightiness harbored the power of awakening the dead to find themselves shooting straight up like darts in a perfectly stiff 90° angle in a state of pure astonishment. To the outside, her reaction might have evoked the impression that she has seen a piece of forbidden knowledge, of something that was not meant for her to be the recipient of; or that these may have been words meant for a a far more experienced and knowledgeable pharaoh to comprehend and receive. In a way, all these thoughts felt true.
Was he speaking to her? Has she, once again, forgotten to turn off the simulation room and started to doze on dreams beyond her control? of impossibilities that she's never experienced in life before? Even when she strictly visited the simulation rooms in Chaldea only in order to train her mind and courage to help her become a pharaoh worthy of the title, it was a bit amusing how during the days she would tiredly drag herself back to train once more, innocent fantasies would sometimes emerge past her control in this mirage of impossibilities, just like a tired woman dozing off of memories that have never existed in the first place after taking a long, long sip of wine.
Guilty of it, she's dreamed of it. Of having fallen in love, of having received gifts and warm hugs from children and their parents from all over the kingdom thanking her for her arduous work, of having built the most magnificent palaces for her people, of having led a prosperous long life devoid of envy, resentment, vengeance, ire, and fear. It was during those times that she would face the dreams of a human rather than those of a pharaoh, or well, the type she believed in her limited experience were necessary to abandon upon taking such precious responsibility; impossible dreams of a woman who had willingly stepped on fire for her sins of murder and for having betrayed the honor of ma'at; of balance and harmony, an offense she could only cowardly repay with her own life.
Across all this rightful guilt she's firmly been carrying over her shoulders for all this time, it was curious how intrinsically, she's never been able to fully and consciously separate her humanity from her duties.
Valentine's day. She was not a foreigner when it came to these types of festivities. On the contrary, with the fortune of having a physical body and consciousness in this realm, she's been able to jolly participate in festivities she's never heard of in her time; or well, love has always been universally celebrated, yet the curious act of preparing delicious chocolates for loved ones in this particular day, or well in her case, to those that have been so kind as to lend their trust on her despite her lack of experience was something she has participated on before. It was sweet, it was during these days that it felt sp joyous to be so boldly alive.
Sensing her nervousness (and shaky knees! she's an old lady alright! But don't tell her that) , the Medjed lords caught immediately on their duties and began rapidly spinning in circles around her legs. TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP. The sound of bare feet tapping against the cold tiles proved to be efficient in giving her a bit more time to wind down and analyze the situation rather than having to awkwardly stutter incomprehensible words in front of Zeke.
The... The audacity he has !!! she begins with that old excuse once again. Is he even aware of who he is asking to !? Maybe... Maybe he's hit his head along the way! surely! with that height of his it wouldn't be too difficult to imagine after all- Maybe he is practicing for his real valentine! but then again... Such shamelessness! to practice asking for a lady's hand with none other than the pharaoh! Didn't... Didn't he have any friends?? No.. That would be so sad...!! It is fine, Zeke!! As the merciful pharaoh she is, she will lend her gracious help, certainl-
As her mind keeps harvesting more uncertainty and a thousand more thoughts, his eyes remain locked to hers, and his hand remains extended forward to her.
And her heart? oh, that terrifying beating organ does something more than pump courage this time. It does something as silly and akin to a little jump of joy, or maybe of hope, or enthusiasm, or excitement, or nervousness, or maybe a bit of all of those.
ㅤㅤI blinked. And suddenly, I had a valentine.
The Medjeds have long stopped running around, and gently do their palms finally touch. ❝ Then promise me you will be in time. ❞ She speaks with a smile difficult to hide. ❝ I wi― I shall...!! Be looking forward to it, Zeke ! ❞
