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A/N: I cannot, CANNOT believe I’m doing this. Especially with two more fics I’m supposed to be reediting. Right now, I’m willing to be that there are more than a few people ready to throw rocks at me. But if it’s any consolation, I should update this every other day b/c it’s a short fic.
Love is an inexplicable emotion; one that can only be understood when felt, so ancient Arabic literature translates it into seven shades.
It begins with attraction.
II
The day that began so mildly cool had rapidly progressed into a stifling heat. The sun burned wrathfully upon the thousands of men that marched along the desert, clad in polished armor, supple leather and bearing countless shining weapons that glinted as fiercely in the light as the faces of their owners. The leather-clad feet of Khemet’s finest soldiers marched with unbreakable determination upon the hot sand, their skin perspiring and soles blistering, standing in opposition to the enemy ranks that bristled just a league or two away.
At their head rode a tall upright figure also clad in a warrior’s outfit, but in a way that proclaimed his higher rank. He wore bronze armor over a tunic that resembled the midday sky, leather gauntlets and a polished helm underneath which a pair of razor-sharp blue eyes scanned the sweltering sea of sand. One hand gripped the reins of the dark stallion under him and the other enclosed around a killing sword that flashed with bloodlust under the sun. Not one man, friend or foe, could ever mistake the seated general. It was the infamous General Set, High Priest of the Pharaoh of Khemet and favored of the vicious Lord of Storms. It was he who made the Earth tremble when he set foot on the battlefield, it was under his command that Khemet won many of her battles, staining the desert red, and it was he who was named the most ruthless man on the face of the planet.
Indeed, that same man of steel now regarded the battlefield before him, assessed strengths and weaknesses, raised his sword hand and pointed it forward. Almost immediately, the soldiers rushed forward and the bloodbath began.
II
War, the general thought as he wiped the last flecks of blood from his blade that night, war was a powerful tool and catalyst. It shaped and crushed, it built and destroyed, it was unnecessary yet so essential. War shaped history and bought glory, but at a terrible price. The absolute waste of human life that could be put toward better tasks.
The scent was often nearly unbearable, no matter how many times he’d been through it. The scent hung over every battlefield; the acrid smell of decaying bodies, departed spirits and mourning souls. The keening wails of women and children over the loss of their men, the terrified shrieks of those whom the soldiers had gotten to, the quiet chinking of metal as valuable possessions were taken off the dead and the living rose high into the air. Those were the normal sounds of battle aftermath; Set had gotten used to that if not the smell.
In the half-illuminated obscurity, he could pick out lonely figures quietly weeping and beating their breasts; he scoffed. Foolish humans, did they really think weeping would bring their loved ones fluttering back to them? Wasn’t it only natural to die? Those men who weren’t taken by the ever hungry goddess of war would still die, so why weep? Why weep for an empty shell of a body when the soul has already flown away? Wasn’t it more logical to keep the immortal soul in one’s memory rather than cry over the temporary body?
Set sighed. People were disgustingly hard to comprehend.
He watched priests move silently among the bodies, blessing spirits of the dead. Usually, he would retire at this point to his tent for a well deserved rest, but today Set decided to keep watching them for now as they glided from one fallen body to another, looking like ghosts in the pale firelight. Perhaps it was the unusual air of the night that prompted him to make that decision, or perhaps it was his thoughtful state of mind, but either way that insignificant decision moved that entire universe and gave Fate the chance she needed to collaborate with Destiny. For that was when the general saw him.
A thin white figure knelt over the sand, silent in thought. At first, it was difficult to tell whether it was a boy or a girl, but upon closer inspection, the angles of the worn, emaciated face betrayed the waif as a male. His long brown hair framed his face, stopping just below his shoulders and his skin was of the purest white like milk given by the moon. The lips were cracked and dry, but they shone with the color of a rosy pearl as they moved inconspicuously while chanting a small prayer. He couldn’t have been older than the general’s own sixteen years.
The general Set looked upon the boy from only a few paces away. Indeed, the waif child captured his interest as he prayed like a spirit for other spirits. The pale moonlight joined the firelight in framing his hollow body with an ethereal glow. Otherwise, he looked no different from the number of orphans rounded up for sale in Khemet.
That was yet another point where the superior could have turned away, thus putting things back into normal order. However, Fate had already decided that these two lives would not miss each other, though they were on opposite ends of the spectrum.
The boy opened his eyes.
Set had often been told that he had strange eyes, but it was the first time he had actually seen them for himself. Really seen them, for the boy’s eyes seemed like home to the endless summer sky, the ocean depths and even the wings of Horus when they were painted with lapis lazuli to shine in the sun. He immediately got lost in his own reflection and the world came to a standstill.
They were two points of light in an endless void that was the universe. A tiny spark surged fleetingly across the path between their eyes. It was a spark of acknowledgement and perhaps interest. It was an attraction. Attraction felt new as if a fledgling emotion had stirred within both of them, fluttering experimentally, suddenly curious as to how far it could go.
Against his better judgment, or so he’d like to think, the general Set extended his hand to the thin waif, who took it with only a half moment’s hesitation, allowing the general to lead him toward his tent.
And now, time to thank those who reviewed my Vday fic. Had no idea it was that cute.
My sincerest thanks to: Sapphire Siren, kurosaisei, Tamlin, Nachzes, Lola, Misura, Yume No Zencho, amy Johnson and Minor Arcana.
Amy Johnson: I would be happy to do a request fic for you. I can’t guarantee it’ll be done as quickly, but I will try to do it. If you want to discuss it further more, you may e-mail me at mink9101(at)yahoo or IM me on Yahoo. My username is mink9101. Oh, if you want Seto/Seth fics, check out the C2. http: www. fanfiction. net/ c2/ 10 15 1/ 0/ 1/