The Queen's Sandcastles

First Signs

Cleo was riding her magnificent stalion on her way out of Thebes, followed by tenfolds of underlings.

Masses of people watched how she took her leave.

For them the line of magnificent stalions and the well-built people riding them were like an ensemble, a glorious parade of their beloved ruler.

Well, in their hearts she was the ruler anyway....

While they said a silent farewell and a well-spoken prayer until they could see her again, the subject of their feelings was blankly staring into the distance,not aware of their thoughts.

Since the same morning Cleo was in an imperturbable trance and her thoughts were a mess. She could still feel the warm rays of the early sun on her face and the comfortable embrace she woke up in.

To her surprise, that morning strong hot arms and a big steel-like leg were wrapped around her pushing her into a firm chest.

She was so shocked she needed around a minute to recognize the familiar smell and to look up to the ones face.

He was noone other than Karo.....and he.....was naked.

She racketed her brain,trying to remember the reason for his presence in her bed. Had she drunk too much yesterday or had she invited him to her bedroom that night ? But why would she do that?
Everything that came to mind was the messenger at the dinner, afterwards her decision to go inspect that region and how she went early to bed.

Alone.

She could have woken him up and asked him ,but she was too flustered to do that and not to forget that was the first time in her life that she was in such a situation.

Maybe ,escape was and still remained the best choice,even if her subconscious self motivated her to go back to bed beside the handsome man.

Confusion.Temptation.Indecisiveness.Worry.Shame.

It was the mix of those five feelings that kept her on edge.

She shook her head.

She shouldn't misunderstanding physical attraction or friendship for something else . Additionally, she had an important mission ahead of herself. Too bad she didn't have someone right now like John who she could have just asked about those feelings. John was one of her friends who she could have asked anything , from too intimate things that could be embarassing to the most dumb things she would think about.

After a long march through the desert they finally made a pause before the sun set down.

Back to her normal state of indifference, she settled herself down beside the burning fire.
People who worked for her and people who were hired on a whim watched together the dancing flames in awkwardness.

It was her decision to employ new people before speeding through the desert to her beloved village and afterwards to the Nile.

While the conflict in Babari wasn't even nearly solved ,she couldn't let Karo without soldiers in case of an unexpected attack. The people she didn't took with her would stay undercover tricking the enemy into thinking that they didn't have any chance to defend themselves because of the low numbers of soldiers.

She made sure that no outsider would hear about their overnight-employment of people.

So it was the perfect trap. If the organization was reckless enough to step forward ,they 'd be terminated by her team.

The only disadvantage was the team she took with herself.

It's dynamic in that same moment was just like the movement of snail. Slow.