Giggling.
Whispering.
More giggling.
Isis' slender eyebrow twitched almost spasmodically as the incessant repetition of the aforementioned noises interrupted her daily prayers. Were peace and quiet really so hard to acquire? The only thing that perturbed her more than this irksome chattering was the fact that it had gone on for what seemed like hours.
It had initially happened when she had left her bedchamber to go to the temple. Upon walking through the halls of the castle, the high priestess of the Sennen Tauk had noticed clusters of hand-maidens and female servants alike acting as if they had intoxicated themselves with wine. (Apparently, she hadn't been the only one to notice, considering the all-around death glares and looks of confusion the other members of the court were giving said women.)
After her failed attempt in her divination room—where she had been fervently trying to discern whether a certain Thief King would be making his appearance anytime soon—it was safe to say that Isis had had enough.
And even that was an understatement.
So now, as she tried to—once again—resume her invocations, Isis felt that she deserved the right to know exactly what had caused all this commotion…
...so I can promptly put an end to it, she added silently."Lady Isis!"
"Have you seen Lord Seth?"
"I told you he went the other way!"
Was that what all this was about?
Isis glanced up at the group of prattling young women. "I have not seen him," she replied softly. Thank the heavens for that.
"Oh. Well, thank you anyway, my lady!"
The group moved on, walking so quickly that the high priestess found it remarkable that none of them had tripped. Yet.
"…mindless wretches…"
Isis looked up sharply as she heard a fragment of what would likely have been an extremely foul insult. With a ruffle of leaves, an evidently annoyed individual emerged from the tallest of the shrubbery.
She blinked once. Twice.
Underneath a variety of nicks, smudges of mud and tangle of leaves was the relatively unscathed figure of—as fate would have it—Seth. The high priest of the Rod removed his headdress and ran his fingers through his dark hair, still staring at where—moments ago—the group of women had scurried past.
Seemingly lost in his own exasperation, Seth failed to notice that he wasn't by himself…and Isis didn't particularly enjoy the crude remarks he was making on behalf of her gender.
Clearing her throat with obligatory courtesy, Isis spoke, carefully:
"High Priest."
Seth jerked his head to look at her, taking what appeared to be a cautious step back. She stared back at him with her usual calm demeanor. What did I do to deserve this? she asked herself half-heartedly.
Well, what did he honestly expect? Another one of his deranged admirers?
Isis chose her words meticulously, so as to avoid any unnecessary conflict. "Am I correct in presuming that you've been…concealing yourself within the greenery in order to escape the…" She gestured vaguely in the direction where the women had gone.
Seth offered a scowl in reply, which—Isis was sure—was his grudging way of admitting that she was right.
"They were bewitched."
"How very perceptive of you, my lady."
Isis made a point in ignoring the blatant sarcasm. "By whom, pray tell?"
"The magician." Seth's response was automatic. "That fool will pay for casting such a juvenile spell."
Biting back a remark that said if it was really so juvenile, then why had he not simply dispelled it, Isis said instead:
"This may sound rather forthright, but perhaps you shouldn't have encouraged Mahaado," she said quietly. "You may as well have brought all this upon yourself."
Seth's azure eyes cut across to regard her coldly. "I daresay my stunt could compare with this meaningless farce."
Isis met his gaze and held it steadily. "You put a serpent in his robes while he was bathing."
A self-satisfied smirk lit up Seth's pale face almost instantaneously.
"I don't recall it being venomous. Furthermore, serpents are common in this land."
"Do you call a half-clothed priest dashing through the halls of the palace common?"
A derisive snort. "You can't place the blame for his fear of serpents on me, Isis."
Yes, but then why go to such great lengths to provoke his fear?
"In any case," Seth began, cutting off her simmering mental tirade early, "this whole situation could have been avoided." His eyes grew icy once more.
"You could have foreseen this."
Her eyes flashed with open resentment, "I cannot foresee the futures of those who hold the Sennen Items. You know that, Lord Priest." Isis stressed the last two words for emphasis; as high priest, he should have known better.
Seth looked taken aback—briefly—before resuming his trademark frown.
"This childish rivalry needs to be laid to rest once and for all. It's ridiculous for men of your stature to resort to such trickery in attempts to outdo each other."
Seth glared daggers at her. Isis stared back unflinchingly.
One… Two… Three…
Seconds ticked by slowly as they silently remained staring at each other as thus. It was Isis who lowered her gaze first, shutting her eyes and whispering, softly:
"They're turning the corner even as we speak."
Seth swore and left with a swish of his cape. Isis opened her eyes only when his hurried footsteps grew inaudible.
Now that that was over, perhaps she could finally—
"Lord Seth! We finally found you!"
"What happened to your robes? They look so dirty… If you undress, I will get them cleaned at once!"
"Woman, if you even so much as touch me…"
She glanced in the direction of the indignant sputters versus the gentle cooing, a smile playing across her features.
Perhaps I should have mentioned which corner... she mused to herself indifferently.Delighted that she could finally finish her prayers in peace, Isis made a mental note to thank and congratulate Mahaado the next time she saw him.
Bothersome as though that whole event had been, seeing Seth fidget made up for it entirely.
And then some.
A-ha. Take that, Jezzel. This just goes to show that I -can- write a piece with Isis and Seth that doesn't turn out to be Logicshipping. Even if it may be overly random and kinda crappy.
…
FTW.