Daughter of the Gods (Gilgamesh x Reader)

Chapter Thirty-Five: Evil Pursuit

Outside the ziggurat, there laid a hundred tables or so where the people gathered to take part in the public banquet. The air was filled with cheers and songs sung together by the people. Yet their jolly celebration seemed like hushed voices in the ziggurat.

In contrast to the merry mood outside, the banquet held inside the ziggurat was somehow more serious. Only the higher-ups, the nobles, and the elders were of company. You, together with your now-husband, sat by the dining hall of the ziggurat. The others were situated on the lower floors of the place.

In that long table that accommodates a dozen people, were the elders of Mesopotamia. On one end, sat Gilgamesh. To his side, sat you. This was the first time you ever sat close to him during a meal because as always, you'd rather sit at the other end of the table where the great king Lugalbanda is now sitting by.

Since you've had breakfast with the citys' governors earlier, you were scheduled to have your dinner with the elders tonight. Apparently here in Mesopotamia, the elders' opinions were still of value when it comes to the state of affairs.

Siduri has given you a brief background about the elders yesterday when she discussed the flow of events for today. That is when you found out that before, during the past kings' reign, the elders always had a part when it comes to governing the people but that all changed when Gilgamesh took the throne.

Knowing Gilgamesh from what you've seen of him, you didn't find it impossible for him to reject the elders. The current king will do whatever he wants and the only thing he cares most about is his self.

Back then, you were pondering whether to once again empower the elders but you understood that you can only sort out your decisions once you've known them fully. You lack the knowledge with regards to them at the moment to make decisions within a short while. Your guts are telling you that the wisest thing you can do is to wait.

Although as you are currently here, sitting by their presence, you started thinking of withdrawing your previous platform. This is the first time since your arrival at Uruk that you were at a loss for words. Not because of awe but because of intimidation.

You swear you could feel Gilgamesh's smirk as he enjoys the current state you're in. Yet as he takes pleasure in watching you toss and turn in your seat, he still disliked the way the elders were looking at you. If there is someone he hates more than you, it's them. 

You couldn't hold your eye contact with them for too long as each of them took turns in staring you down as if judging your very existence. And so you find yourself in a state of looking back and suddenly dropping your gaze. 

Fortunately for you, King Lugalbanda was able to pull the elders' attention to him, seeing as you are uncomfortable with the way they look at you. They seemed very much in favor of the great king. On the other hand, they did not as much even give a nod of recognition to Gilgamesh.

You were starting to feel out of place. They would only talk to the great king and not to you nor the current king. You're beginning to feel like they would not approve of your coronation.

As King Lugalbanda was able to manipulate their conversation to help you join in, they'd only ever ask you trivial questions. At that moment, you want nothing else than to be able to finish your meal as soon as possible to be able to head outside and be with the people. 

This is exactly the reason why you'd rather be with common people than be with those who are socially valued. To an extent, the regular citizens are somewhat more humane.

Once you've finished up your meal and nothing was left on your plate, you immediately excused yourself. As expected, the elders gave you a look of disbelief as some of them found your actions disrespectful.

The moment you were no longer in sight, Gilgamesh simply stood and without excusing his self, he left. To him, the elders are nothing different; they're all just a bunch of mongrels hungry for power.

When he arrived at the Royal Hall, he saw you conversing with Enkidu before heading down the main staircase. Before Enkidu could follow you down, Gilgamesh stopped him. "You can watch her from here," Gil said as he reached the platform. "Don't bother following."

With a goblet of wine in hand, Gilgamesh watched you. It wasn't hard for him to spot you in the middle of the crowd since you obviously stand out. The images from earlier when you were within his reach came back to mind.

At that instant, he couldn't be more enlivened at the thought of having you tonight. He isn't a patient man and the days he spent waiting are finally over. The eleventh dusk has come and finally, you are his.

***

"The princess is currently out in the streets, now is the best time to move—" the woman currently speaking has been cut off by a hush. "Patience. Now is not the time, dear," the man who hushed her said. 

"What good would it do to further prolong this pursuit?" The hushed woman asked.

"We'll make our move eight moons from now."

"Eight moons?!" The woman asked in disbelief. "Father, that's too much time!"

"But that is a so much better option than what you just suggested. Look at the number of people who could've seen us take her."

"That's the point! With this large number of people, no one would notice that she's gone!"

Annoyed, the man pulled her daughter by her arm. "Look," he said as he pointed his hand towards the platform of the ziggurat. "As long as Enkidu is there, we can not fully touch the princess unless we're a master of presence concealment."

His daughter looked up to see Enkidu together with Gilgamesh as they watched over the banquet. Fury started to stir in her once more. Sooner or later, her jealousy will get the better of her.

"That's why you should work hard to master your presence concealment," her father said. "Only then can you easily take the princess."

The woman scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she said as she started walking away. 

"Don't you dare walk away from me like that!" Her father said. "Do you think I don't know what you did last night?"

With that, the woman stopped in her tracks. With wide eyes, she turned around. "I've told you to be patient numerous times and you still went out and attempted to assassinate her without my orders," her father continued. "What if Enkidu was able to catch you? Our plans would've crumbled to pieces right there and then because of your feeble mindset!"

Tears started to form at the corner of her eyes at the turmoil of emotions circulating within her. Because of her anger, she took a goblet of wine from one of the nearby tables and threw it to the ground before she completely walked away.

"You need to work on your daughter's temper," a voice, shivering in old age said as the figure of an old man appeared from the shadows. Changing the subject, the younger man asked, "How was your encounter with the princess?"

The old man's lip curved up into a smirk. "Magnificent!" He said, his voice reeking in trouble and overflowing menace. "Truly magnificent!"