Garden of the Lion and the Dove

Chapter 26

Hakuno woke the next morning sore but satisfied. She slowly crawled out of bed, careful to not disturb her sleeping King. He stirred slightly but did not awaken.

After dressing and a quick wash from her basin, she headed for the closest garden. It was the quiet time between the dawn and before the servants started their work for the day.

She took a deep breath of the crisp morning air and rubbed her arms. She paused and stared at the small bruises that dotted them. Oh Gods, how was she going to explain this to Enkidu!? And what about the guards!?

She groaned. The only way to hide them was jewelry as wearing a cloak in the castle would draw unwanted attention. A quick check of her reflection in one of the pools told her, her arms were not the only place Gilgamesh had left his mark on her.

Great, just great. Lovely.

"There you are."

She turned to the voice. "Gil?" The rest of her words were muffled as he swept her into a hug and crushed her to his chest, his face buried into her shoulder. "Gil, I cannot breathe," she squeaked.

"I woke up and you were gone."

She froze. He did not sound like the confident King he was. If he had not been hugging her so tight, she would have wrapped her arms around him. "Gil, I am not going anywhere. And even if I do, I promised you I would come back. I will always come back."

Gilgamesh did not respond but somehow managed to hug her tighter.

"Gil, I really cannot breathe right now."

He released her and took a step back, his cheeks flushed a shade of red. Hakuno had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop herself from commenting about it. He would probably get all flustered and talk about how "kings do not blush" or something like that.

"We need to plan for the trip to Suse," she said softly. "And make sure everything will be fine here while we are gone."

He rubbed the back of his neck and would not look her in the eye, but he did manage to growl, "They will pay for going after my Queen."

She shook her head but smiled. This was her king after all.

~*~*~*~*~

Hakuno could not stop the small shriek that escaped her lips as the horse skidded to a stop. She clutched the mane in a death grip, praying to every God out there.

"Hakuno, you need to let go." Gilgamesh reached around and slowly pried her fingers off the poor horse's mane.

"Infernal beasts," she murmured but she complied. Enkidu waited next to the horse and they helped her off the creature. Shub hurried to her side and began fixing up Hakuno's hair and making it seem like they have not been traveling for a half a month.

It was all part of Hakuno's plan to find out what was going on Suse. They had left Uruk soon after the New Year's Festival. With the people focused on the crops, it was probably the best time to go with the least amount of impact. They had sent a message through the captured spy that the King and Queen of Uruk would be visiting Suse. Only this time they had a decoy set up. While the decoy left in fanfare and celebration, a smaller group consisting of Gilgamesh, Hakuno, Enkidu, Shub, Urash, and Gilgamesh's private guard left under the cover of night. Gilgamesh had balked about the idea of bringing Urash along but Hakuno had argued it was a smart move. Urash had some connections to Nippur and it meant he was a source of information.

They had traveled fast and hard, only stopping to rest the horses and to sleep. And finally, they were here, right outside Suse in record time. Of course, due to how fast they traveled it meant the King and Queen or Uruk did not look like they belonged to their status.