Life From Your Lips (Ruby Rose fanfic)

THIRTY-ONE (Iselen POV)

"Atet, seriously, it's not worth crying for a man like him," I whisper quietly close to her ear. "I know you're hurt and disappointed but you'll find someone better in the future and you'll be happy. Believe me..."

"I can assure you that I don't give a damn about that idiot," the Egyptian lady answers but I can sense the restrained rage in her tone of voice and see the fury with which she sticks the needle in the linen dress she's sewing. I bet she's dreaming of stabbing Amenenjat's eye with that same needle but he's too busy talking to Ruby inside the room while we're waiting on the terrace, sitting down under a mat, enjoying a fresh drink, supposedly.

"Are you sure? Because if you keep pulling the thread so hard, you'll tear the linen fabric and the princess will be livid. It's better if you strangle him if that's what you want."

"One week..."

"Sorry, what?" I ask confused.

"That's the time it took for him to announce his engagement with Tamerit after I told him that my father had forbidden me to marry a soldier. He told me he loved me, that he'd fight for us and would do whatever necessary for us to live together forever... and a week later, that silly woman was clung to his arm and giggling stupidly." Atet sticks the needle with fury once again and she flinches in pain before sucking the thumb where she's pricked herself.

"What an asshole" I grumble angrily, giving her a linen handkerchief so she doesn't stain Ruby's dress with blood. "How did he find a substitute so fast?"

"I think he realized way before I did that my father wouldn't give up and he started flirting with her weeks before we broke up, probably."

"Was he dating you two at the same time?" I ask offended while looking back over my shoulder. The boy is still talking to Ruby and doesn't pay attention to us; he's a tall, strong and handsome guy, smart and ambitious, ready to climb positions in the ranking of this court. I understand why Atet fell in love with him, they'd make a perfect match, but he's also a little selfish, self-centered and insensitive. I prefer Mahfuz, his reincarnation in the future: a happy man who loves his family, adores his grandchildren and cares about the young boys working for him in his crews. "Didn't you tell him off in front of the entire court?"

"Silence is the best answer against stupid people," Atet quotes the old Egyptian proverb and I nod slowly.

"True, but I think that stupid people need a punch on the face sometimes," I reply angrily.

"He's gone, my friend, you don't need to stab my dress with the needle anymore," Ruby smiles sitting in front of us and stealing my bowl to drink a sip of juice. "He has very nervous, if it's any consolation. It was pretty obvious you were gossiping about him while shooting angry looks over your shoulders and I think he was worried about what you were telling to Isis' messenger."

"She was telling me about how he started flirting with Tamerit weeks before breaking up with her and how they got engaged only one week after Atet told him she was unable to marry him." Ruby blinks surprised for a second before nodding sadly.

"This is a royal court, full of ambitious and scheming people, no one wastes time. If you dawdle, they'll run right over you if they get the chance and you lose your own chance of improving your status. And yet, Amenenjat made his move really fast. Anyway, he does a better job as the Medjay's captain than as a boyfriend, that's for sure."

"Did he have news?" I ask pouring more fresh juice for her.

"He sent some guards to the port and found Djedi's storehouses, they're real storehouses, apparently, and Set's sanctuary is not there, but they're watching them closely, waiting for the next shipment in order to follow the servants from the temple when they come to carry the goods to the sanctuary. The guards are also asking questions to suppliers all over the city but nobody knows anything, that's what they say, although Amenenjat suspects some of those men could be acolytes too."