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Princess Vyssa of Sakhmet sighed deeply, fluffing her cropped
black hair in her mirror. The reflection always looked the same to her these days.
Neat, ordered, perfect. But still lacking something so important to her. She had
no respect for herself these days, and she knew exactly why. She never thought
she would feel so guilty about all of the things she wanted happening slightly
out of control. "I wish I had never..." She started, running a brush through her
silky-smooth hair.
"I wish you had never, as well." From the door, a
soft voice drifted out of the not too distant past. A shadowy figure slipped
in and shut the door quietly, locking it securely. Behind the ethereal flowing
silks and robe, through the shadows around her, nothing could disguise the slivers
of her shining eyes. "Hello again, Vyssa."
"S-s... Sankara..." Vyssa dropped her gold and turquoise
brush with a start, the object clattering hollowly in the suddenly heavy air
of the room.
"At least you still remember. I see that much of me
hasn't yet fled from you. Not sure how long that will last, but for now it's
flattering to know you still know my name." Sankara slipped the hood from her
head, revealing the same cunningly beautiful Aisha that she had always been,
with perhaps a trace of haggardness and a little less care in her makeup and
accoutrements. How have you been, hmm? Hopefully much, much better than me..."
"Sankara, please... You can't be here. If they find
you..."
"Do you think I care? If I cared at all about "them"
or "they" I wouldn't be here. I'd still be hiding in the desert, or in little
vermin-infested thieves towns out there in the baking heat. But I'm not. I'm
here because I have something I never said, that I always wish I had."
"Don't. Please, I beg of you..." Vyssa held her hands
over her ears and closed her eyes. If she couldn't hear what Sankara had to
say and couldn't see her standing there needing to be heard, then she would
not have to do or feel a thing. "If you ever had any compassion for me you won't
say it..."
"You promised me!" Sankara hissed, soft enough to
be missed by guards that might pass, but loud enough to chastise, even through
Vyssa's half-covered ears. "You lied to me, when you made your promise to me!
You promised me, that I would never be hurt." Sankara dabbed at the corners
of her eyes, where tears had begun to gather. "You told me, that if things went
as they were supposed to, I would never get hurt."
"I-I didn't mean... I didn't want it to... I thought...
They did it -- Barca and Wessle. Those two, always together, always hiding in
dark corners. I always knew they were in love but I never expected they'd take
any chance to try and leverage power for themselves."
"Shifting the blame onto them. You're quite the politician,
even though you've never tried to practice the deceptive arts..."
"But it's true! After daddy... died... I wanted to
keep it quiet and low key. Cursory investigation by a small force of guards,
declare it unsolved and a tragedy, that's the end of it. Wessle started the
initial inquiries outside of the palace, and loose-lipped people started taking
it from Sakhmet. Barca started looking inside the palace, poking around for
evidence that one of us had been the murderer. They acted independently, but
did it for each other. Wessle wanted to confirm that no one had hired an outside
assassin to do the dirty work. Barca was trying to see what she could dig up.
Neither one wanted the other one to be guilty, but they wanted as much investigation
as possible, so they could be ready to institute a bid for the throne if it
was me, or a takeover of the military if it was Palpus. I had to go on the offensive
if I wanted to keep them from assuming control. So I had to be the one who called
for the investigation. And because of that, I didn't have the luxury to help
protect you like I swore I would."
"So a promise from you means nothing at all, am I
right, Vyssa? Just words without any meaning. You wouldn't stick your neck out
if it meant that you might be suspected? Why shy away from that? You were the
one who decided what had to be done. You made all the decisions in this little
action."
"Daddy started this. It was his fault that any of
this was necessary. You know that. You knew what he wanted to do. Wanted you
to keep away from me, saying you were a bad influence. More and more provisions,
checking into our activities, recording conversations, watching us himself.
I don't know what he suspected so much. But the last act he was prepared to
have done. The most terrible thing, to have you simply sent away..."
"He didn't want me getting you to give me the army
I wanted. He knew that if you spent any more time with me I'd convince you that
I was ready to lead. You'd then start pressuring the Senators and the people.
They'd get him to change his mind. He wanted to save his own hide and a little
money and some troops. I think he knew that he was in danger. He wanted that
dinner party, so ripe with intrigue. Because it would stop you from becoming
Queen for a time, and would mean that no matter what, he'd end up winning. And
he did. That's what galls me almost as much as being lied to. That even though
he's dead, he still won."
"Sankara..." Vyssa chewed her lower lip. She knew
that, hard as things had been on her, they were nothing when compared to Sankara's
suffering. "I wish it had been me..."
"I used to wish that. But it wouldn't be fair to wish
that. It would have put Wessle and Barca in charge. I would have been out and
you would be in the dungeon. I no longer have any malice. It was all just a
simple flip of a coin that showed us how things were going to go. That's all
it really was..."
"I didn't know what else to do. I wanted him to get
sick. Really sick. But I guess I gave you too much poison. I... I wish this
had never happened. But sometimes things just don't work out right."
"Don't worry. This will all work out, I know it. I
just had to come back and say my peace. I'll be in touch. You hurt me, you scarred
me, you sent me into the company of scum. But you never stopped caring." Sankara
turned around and reached for the knob of the door.
"No." Vyssa reached out a hand and held one to her
chest, tears in her eyes. "You can stay here. I know people. We can hide you
in the palace, or just outside of it. No one would ever know. Then once everything
is settled I can get you an army on the sly and you can take back your kingdom.
Please..."
"Vyssa..." Sankara slowly shook her head with a smile.
"I'm not the type to hide in plain sight. I will not hide out here and wait
to be found. As good as it would be to stay close by, I have to go back out
there and take my chances."
"But..." Tears started to fall from Vyssa's eyes.
"Don't worry..." Sankara said as she turned the knob.
"This is *NOT* forever. Just for now..." And Sankara slipped out and vanished
into the desert night, leaving Vyssa to wonder if she would ever return, or
remain safe. But she had to hope, to hope that it was indeed not a forever time.
But just for the time being. A little pause between.
The End
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