Garden of the Lion and the Dove

Chapter 5

Gilgamesh hated this time of year.

It was dinner time. Usually he would take his meal in the gardens so he could enjoy a peaceful evening with one of his many treasures. Instead of enjoying his gardens, he was inside, in the dining hall that he only used for special occasions. He sat at one of the long tables, the seat next to him empty. That would be where his Queen would sit, if he had one. Various ambassadors from other kingdoms were sitting at the other tables. Over dinner they spoke about various matters involving trade and whatnot in relation to Uruk.

Whenever any one of them spoke, the slave standing behind Gilgamesh would lean forward and whisper the name of the Kingdom the ambassador was from. It was not like Gilgamesh had a bad memory for this kind of thing; it was just that he did not care. What was the point of this? It was the same thing every year. Trade routes were fine, no one was going to war with each other. This was just a stupid dance that was performed every year.

He smirked. She would probably refer to it like that. Or make it seem more magical than it actually was or make it seem like it actually mattered. Maybe he should find her later and ask her opinion on it. It would be more entertaining to what was going on here, that was for sure.

"My King, have I said something funny?"

Gilgamesh focused on the man who had spoken. He was one of those that traveled here every year from what the King could remember. His name began with an "N" right?

"Nanam from Nippur," murmured the slave into his ear.

Ah, alright. He got it. A couple of years ago there had been some boundary issues with Nippur. There had been a chance that the two kingdoms were going to go to war but it never did come to that.

"Of course not," said Gilgamesh. He glanced over at the slave.

"He was asking about what is to be done with keeping the trade route open," murmured the slave.

"I will get my head of guard to post more guards along the trade route," replied Gilgamesh. "Also, ask your King to post guards as well. The trade route will stay open."

Nanam lowered his head slightly. "Thank you my lord. My King will be pleased to know this."

Gilgamesh waved his hand to show he was acknowledging Nanam. Out of the corner of his eye he thought he saw an odd expression on the man's face but another ambassador had stood to speak and the King was forced to pay attention to what this one was saying.

After the end of dinner and all the plates cleared away, it was finally over. Gilgamesh got up and all the ambassadors stood. "We will continue this tomorrow," said the King before he left the room. His personal guard was close behind him. Once he was past the doors of the dining hall, he turned to his guards. "Leave me."

Leaving his guards behind, he entered one of his gardens. A couple of slaves were working late and they scurried away when their eyes fell on the King. Of course she was not one of them. He smirked. What the heck was he thinking? Why did it matter if she was here?

Not really wanting to stay here any longer, Gilgamesh turned away and left the gardens and headed for his chambers. On his way there he saw Nanam waiting outside of one of the guest rooms. He seemed to be searching for something. When the man saw Gilgamesh, he bowed his head low.