after the coronation. Did Akunumkanon-Osiris never mention it?" Akunadin asked, confused. He had thought that Akunumkanon had already dealt with the question of finding a wife for Atemu.Of course he had, after all, it had been Akunumkanon who had sent out the invitations to the bride show.
"Um ... Yes, but I thought I still had time ..." Atemu objected.
Shimon smiled: "With the accession to the throne you should be able to present a royal wife to the people. It doesn't look good if the throne of the royal wife remains empty."
Atemu rolled his eyes, that couldn't be true ...

The sun shone through the rush mat with which the window had been half covered so that it didn't get too warm in the study.
The study, which had once belonged to Akunumkanon, was on the north side of the residence, but it got unbearably hot here during the day. For this reason, there was always a jug with water, which was changed every hour, and a mug on a side table. A servant with a fan also stood in the room and waved his fan so that Atemu was not disturbed while working and it did not get too hot for him.After talking to Shimon and Akunadin, he quickly fled because he wanted to avoid an open argument. The very idea of ​​wanting to marry him drove him crazy and prevented him from concentrating on the documents in front of him. All these Gau reports, which had actually already been viewed and approved more than three times, didn't really matter to him because he couldn't change anything anyway. For what had the Gauherr, the head of the barn and the corresponding vizier looked at these reports, about yields, livestock and people within the 42 Gaue in Egypt, if he still had to?
42 reports, all several papyrus pages long and in some cases in such a scraggly handwriting that it was almost impossible to decipher them. He had made 26 of these annoying reports when he grabbed his temples and massaged them lightly. It would be easier if he could concentrate on it and not have to keep thinking about the conversation with the two viziers.Again and again he forced himself to direct his attention to the list of the harvest yield of the 5th district of Lower Egypt on his table, but now it was over. Atemu wanted and couldn't anymore.
Even while he was rubbing his temples and breathing deeply, there was a knock on the door.
"YES ?!", Atemu looked up and hoped that it was whoever had mercy on him.
“My Pharaoh!” Mahado bowed deeply to his master and then stepped up to the desk: “The supplicants are there, they are waiting for you in the throne room.”
“Already?” Breath rose and groaned, Pharaoh again. "Do you know what this is about? And please! I'm still a prince."
"Forgive me, but tomorrow it will be different again ..." Mahado smiled briefly, then came back to Atemu's question: "No, where from? You should know that."
Atemu smiled pained, how should he know? His father had left him no documents or anything else and actually there was still mourning time and no working hours.He should mourn his father, send prayers to the gods and not respond to petitions.
"How far have you come?" Mahado asked: "Are you satisfied with the districts?"
"Yes ... I am ... at least about what I have achieved so far," assured Atemu and looked at the unread reports and the pile of letters that he still had to read through and sign. Signing them just like that was too dangerous. At least one servant or official might have interposed a gift or pardon.
Mahado followed his gaze: "You will soon get routine in these things. In the beginning it is always a bit difficult."
"Do you think so, Mahado?" Atemu quickly drained the water: "Where's Mana?"
"Mana?", The high priest and magician frowned: "Didn't she tell you? She rode to Hierakonpolis this morning. She wanted to have a look around there and make sure that everything is safe ..." Mahado shrugged helplessly: "I don't know what got into her.I don't know her like that, but she won't do anything there. There are enough high-ranking priests and high priests there to make up for their mistakes. "
"Hm?", Atemu searched his mind and actually found a sentence that Mana had said to him yesterday. He had just forgotten it under all the booze. "She wanted to see the princesses or something ..."
"Princesses?", Mahado held his head: "Does she ever want to make a preselection for you? I hope she doesn't offend the noble daughters ..."
Atemu went to take his friend down the corridor to the throne room and grinned furtively: "I don't think so. She knows that there can be a war. But because of me she can do it, I don't want a woman, I'm still too young for that and how I should bring all of this in line, I don't know yet. How am I supposed to devote myself to a woman, let alone decide on one I don't even know. "It was his honest opinion.Simply taking a wife as a wife just so that he would have a wife was not only unpleasant for him, it was also unfair to the woman. In addition, he did not want a stranger in the office of the first woman in the empire, this position in Kemet was far too important for that.
Atemu was about to answer, but then two of the Medjas, Nubian soldiers in his service, opened the large double doors to the throne room and the eyes turned to him.

The first petitioner was finished quickly, it was about gold for the establishment of a temple school on the Nile island, Elephantine. Since not only priests for the gods, but also healers and teachers were to be trained there, Atemu had agreed to his request and assured him the necessary building materials and gold. The Gauherr had left happily.
The second supplicant, on the other hand, was of a very different caliber. In addition, Atemu had never seen anyone in his life who wore this type of clothing or even remotely that skin color, hair color or demeanor.As soon as the man entered, you could see that he had to come from far. His light blue hair was longer than that of women, plus light blue clothes under a black cloak and ...
"Ice cold eyes ...", Atemu mumbled and looked at his guest. Instinctively he got up and, to the shock of Akunadin and Shimon, walked a few steps towards the stranger: "Welcome to Egypt, what brings you to the land of the Nile and who are you?"
"I come from a distant realm," the man bowed with a gallant movement, then looked up at Atemu again without showing the respect one had to show a pharaoh: "It's called Atlantis and I am its king "Dartz. I'm here to start trading with your empire as the Nile is a good way to move goods."
"Atlantis, this realm is unknown to me", Atemu thought and looked at the king in front of him: "Well, I cannot decide that here and now. At the moment it is not appropriate anyway, since we have a lot to do.I would also first have to send envoys to you who report to me whether it is an advantage or a disadvantage for us ... "And you are speaking the truth, he added in his mind.
Dartz's face remained friendly, but something about this king bothered the prince.
"Anything else would have put you in a bad light. I am of course ready to wait for your decision and hope that I can take advantage of your hospitality for as long. The journey here was very long and hard."
"How did you travel?", Shimon wanted to know: "I have not seen any entourage of yours."
"On the Nile, with a barge. I love the water and like to travel alone. It's sometimes safer than with a large entourage, it just attracts unnecessary attention," said Dartz, smiling as charmingly as he could.
"I see ...", Shimon looked around at Akunadin, who rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"You are of course our guest, King. But at the moment we can only provide you with a few servants, as our prince has to leave very soon.We too have to be on our way ... Although ... Shimon, you will stay here for sure, won't you? "
"Yes, I planned to. I will prepare the ceremony for tomorrow while you are consecrating our prince in Hierakonpolis and choosing our queen", Shimon said, hesitantly.
Atemu tensed up inside, so now more were looking for a woman to marry? So he wasn't even allowed to decide on his own?
"A woman? So you have avoided tying yourselves up until now," Dartz concluded with interest: "I will give you advice, choose a strong woman."
"Let that be my concern, whoever I take is none of your business, even as a trading partner or ally of Egypt", Atemu clarified more strictly than necessary, as he did not like the strange twinkle in Dartz's eyes.

"Funny king ... I would rather think he was a product of Sobek ..." said Seth, who was just swinging onto his horse. He had attended the audience with Mahado, but since they had not yet been officially appointed to their offices, they were not allowed to say anything.Only tomorrow, after the coronation, were they on the council of Pharaoh Atemu, as long as it was Akunadin and Shimon, the old high priests and viziers, who spoke in the name of Atemu.
"If Sobek gives birth to such creatures, he must be very angry with us," Mahado pulled the reins and patted his horse on the neck. It had to be an hour before the sun was highest. Time to leave and come to the temple. The midday rest in Hierakonpolis would certainly be very short, but that's what the others were there for. Shada, Karim, Isis and Mana, as well as other priests, novices, temple servants and temple dancers, who should at least have cleaned the chapels and shrines so far.
Atemu swung himself on the back of his white horse and looked at the sun: "Whoever this Dartz is, he will have to wait until the coronation is over. Then we will deal with the question of who he is." His horse trotted slowly the gate of the residence followed by his two friends."If you allow, I will take care of him, my prince. My ring reacted to him, even if only very weakly. But he sent out vibrations that could be dangerous for you," objected Mahado.
"And are you telling us that only now?", Seth hissed angrily: "We could have