Unfinished Gems

Sands of Time - 3

Chapter 3

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Atem had to wonder if this was how commoners courted. Either way he openly enjoyed the 'chase'. Lotus was a true delight once she realized he really was trying to court her properly and not simply get under her tunic.

The again she had put a very quick stop to that the second his hand wandered too far during a heavy make-out session, explaining that her people had a hand-fasting ceremony that would partially merge the magical cores of two people into a synergistic whole. This would enable both parties to use their partner's magic and cast greater spells at a much lower cost.

However there were specific requirements, and the most effective version required that the female remain chaste. There was no known records of what would happen if both parties refrained from having intimate relations, but the ritual firmly stated that at least one party had to be.

Atem was fascinated by such a concept, and agreed to hold off on such things until he was ready to make a more permanent commitment.

Or until Lotus cottoned on that his interest in her was not going to suddenly disappear as she seemed to believe.

The thing was, some of his advisors (namely Akhenaden) were pressuring him to find a woman to bear his children so that they could finally put the issue of an heir to rest.

He just didn't know how Lotus would take his offer of becoming his wife. Even with his limited knowledge of females, he knew convincing her would be an extremely delicate matter.

Someone had hurt her, badly.

If Atem ever found out who, they would be lucky if he merely put them through an extremely traumatic shadow game as punishment.

Which was why Atem was going to make a bold move and hope it didn't go badly for him. He really enjoyed spending time around Lotus, as her world-view was very refreshing without being a political disaster.

Atem sought the advice of the royal healers, who directed him to several local flowers that had useful healing properties in herbal remedies on top of looking rather attractive to females. From what he knew of Lotus, she would appreciate their beauty on top of their usefulness in her remedies.

Lotus' expression when she saw them made the effort of finding them worth it.

"These are lovely!" said Lotus with genuine pleasure.

Atem smiled, relieved his plan was working so far.

"I secured a private boat trip on the river for the next star shower. I was hoping you would join me," he said.

Private in that no one would bother them, but that there would be men to row the actual boat if things went badly. Lotus already knew he was nobility, but seemed unaware he was the Pharoah. Or if she had guessed, she had made no mention of it.

Lotus perked up at the suggestion, What Atem didn't know was that she wasn't as clueless as he believed. She had subtly been shifting more and more of her responsibilities of her tavern to her most trusted assistant, who had recently started a family that would need a source of stable income.

Rather than force her to find another job once she started having children, Lotus was planning to simply shift ownership of the business to her and her husband as a wedding gift. Along with a sizeable chunk of the past two month's revenue to help in the event of any unforeseen issues that would need a bit of extra money.

Coincidentally she had started these preparations around the same time she came to the conclusion she had actual feelings for the odd Atem and there was a possibility he might like her back. All their interactions certainly pointed that way, once she explained the issue to her female employees who were more than sympathetic and happy to clarify them for her. Thanks to them she could be reasonably assured that there was something more than simple lust between them.