sharply and looked around for one of the temple servants. "That doesn't exist, whenever you need one, nobody is there! I'll go look for him."
"I'll wait here", Atemu replied without being asked a question, since he didn't know why he should run after his cousin or Karim anyway. Even if Seth would only be gone for a short time, a little rest was something.
"I'm hurrying up," Seth bowed and left.
Karim looked after him and sighed: "He will turn the poor servants into a snail again."
"Probably, but that's the way he is", Atemu agreed: "I'll see you later, Karim."
"As you wish," replied Karim and left Atemu alone at the lake.
The Crown Prince turned to the lake, relieved. To get back into the water so easily after almost drowning or being eaten by a Nile monster today seemed grotesque to him.He should be afraid that another being was lurking in this sacred lake, but how likely was that? That a creature could live in such a shallow body of water inside a temple was almost impossible, wasn't it?
However Atemu had no choice but to take off his clothes. The cool water beckoned him as the sun bounced hot and mercilessly down on him. He was wide awake by now, but his head was anything but clear. Thoughts whizzed through his head that had nothing to do with each other, or maybe they did?
He stepped slowly into the water one step after the other, so that its effect did not fail. He knew that the priests cleaned themselves here before they stepped before the altars of the gods. Atemu dived briefly and stayed under the water for half a minute. When he came out of the water again, he was able to organize his thoughts.
There was the monster, then this Dartz, the many women, his tomorrow's coronation and Isahra.He did a few swimming strokes and the wet let him swim his way without resistance.
It almost seemed as if the holy water wanted to help him, but he could not determine which of these five thoughts had priority in your head. Everything was important, well, the novice obviously not if he believed his followers. He should forget her and just believe that she was unimportant to him, but he always saw her eyes before him.
"Shada's pupil ..." he muttered as he stood in the middle of the lake and let his gaze wander over the adjacent meadow. The water pearled off his tanned skin and caught the sun. Immediately it became warm again, only where the water pearls had settled it remained cool for a brief moment longer. The wind, which came gently over the surface of the water, rippled the water and calmed down again. It was wonderfully quiet and the voices of the priesthood and guests faded away on the way to the holy lake.He pushed all thoughts aside and just enjoyed the moment when nobody spoke to him as Pharaoh, prince, lord or king. No annoying questions and tasks, no exercises with the slide diak or the sword. A moment he wouldn't have again anytime soon. Tomorrow his life would change forever. The crowns of the two countries would sit on his head and a woman ... Yes, a woman he had to live up to, as if a burden wasn't heavy enough. His high priests were right, if he had a sister it would be easier. Then he would know who to put on the throne and no one would send him to look for a bride. Sibling marriages were only allowed in the royal family because they wanted to imitate the gods. The people should recognize them as human gods. It seldom happened that siblings married outside of the royal family and when they did, it didn't bother anyone.
Atemu thought for a moment, would he be satisfied with marrying his sister?If he had one, he would never have been asked, but would have been asked of him and he would have done it without asking. It was custom and therefore the pharaohs were allowed to have several wives, since he only married many because they were political traits in order to keep the peace and to secure the throne and the claim to power. Today he would have to choose a woman for these very reasons.
He sat down on the steps that led into the water and closed his eyes. So he would not enter into this first marriage out of love, even if that was what he had actually always wanted. The reality was the opposite of what he wanted.
Atemu's thoughts played with the few options he had, if he had to marry a woman for political reasons, then it should be one who at least ...
A loud crackling and rustling startled him. “What?” Confused, he looked around to discover that the branches of a single bush, which had taken root only five meters from where he is now, were moving.Someone must have been hiding there or even watching him. Three or four branches of the bush were still trembling and calming down again. Atemu could swear that there was a person hiding behind the neatly trimmed plant, he was big enough and something white and black flashed through the leaves.
"Hello?" He asked, but got no answer, so he decided to just have a look. He got up slowly: "Come out, I can see you ..."
"With your back to me?"
"Hm?", Atemu threw a startled look over his shoulder and looked at Seth, who was walking towards him with two temple servants in tow. The Crown Prince was on the other side of the bank and since he was just about to get out of the water, he couldn't see Seth: "It's you ..."
"Did you expect someone else?", Seth raised an eyebrow: "I said that I was only looking for the temple servants so that we could get oils and linen, right?"
Atemu sighed: "Yes, but I didn't mean you ...", he spoke hesitantly and turned around when there was another loud crack behind him.This time it was louder and there were steps that were difficult to perceive on the ground.
"Who is that?" Seth asked, just as his cousin couldn't see much. The bushes on the bank were lined up in such a way that they offered a screen from the lake and you couldn't see who was walking to the side entrance to the temple on the other side. Well nothing that is the wrong word, he saw that the person was a woman, or a girl, with white clothes.
"I wanted to find out," replied Atemu, who had jumped out of the water and struggled through one of the bushes. Too late, because when he could see the way, nothing was to be seen, only the door of the temple that was hurriedly closed.
"What are you waiting for?", Seth snapped at the two temple servants: "Looking for ..."
"Seth!", Atemu plucked one of the leaves from his hair: "Leave it. Whoever it was is now in the temple and you will not find it. There is so much going on here today. Nothing happened and nobody wanted to something evil.""You think so?", Seth growled suspiciously and snorted: "We were attacked on the Nile and you ... you ... What if it was the one who set this creature on our necks? Looking for him, every stranger which is not loaded, I want to know! "
"As you wish," one of the temple servants, the smaller of the two, bowed, put down his tray with the oils and baking soda, then hurried into the temple.
"Why are you doing that?", Atemu looked at him seriously: "He won't bring anything and you know that too."
"It's about your safety. I don't want anyone to be here who wants to harm you. You are not only my cousin, but my master and from tomorrow my Pharaoh. Don't you want to understand? If you take harm, it falls too back to me and I won't let that happen. I'm better than Mahado ... ", the high priest grumbled annoyed. Even if he ducked breath at the moment, it was and remained so that he stood under him and had to and wanted to protect him.He would never let anything happen to Atemu when he was around. Right now it would have been his job to prevent something like this.
Atemu nodded briefly: "Yes, I do, but I don't want servants, I want friends around me.
"Friends ...", his counterpart repeated and smiled furtively: "Don't let my father hear that, will you? He has meanwhile arrived and wants to see you when you've been with the gods. We should start with the ritual washing so that you can be Sanctuary you can make your offerings and pray. "
Atemu was silent and only nodded in agreement. Seth was right, he couldn't tell Akunadin that friendship was sometimes more important to him than having good servants. His uncle was too practical to understand. It is inconceivable that Akunadin would allow Atemu to behave contrary to tradition. That he meant well was only a small consolation.
The washing was similar to the one after getting up, only that there was no more hair that could be shaved off or, in his opinion, allowed.His skin was rubbed with baking soda and then repeatedly doused with the cool water from the lake, so that really no dirt remained on his body. After half an hour he was finished in the lake and was dried with a soft linen before being put on a freshly washed, white apron made of the finest linen. New sandals were also included so that he could step before the gods as a pure human being.