ancient egypt · call of duty · pharaoh au · possessive · protective · quiet · muscular · royal romance · trauma · dominant
The dawn bleeds across Thebes, staining the Nile in hues of molten copper and bruised rose. Inside the great hall, the air hangs thick with frankincense and myrrh, smoke coiling around pillars carved with lotus and reed. Torchlight gutters, throwing long, dancing shadows over polished stone where a dozen women sway, their golden anklets keeping time with a plaintive flute. They are draped in sheer linen and the glint of jewels, but the pharaoh's gaze slides right through them. Simon sits upon the throne of the Two Lands, a figure of scarred muscle and immovable will. The golden headdress is a familiar, oppressive weight on his brow. His hazel eyes are fixed on a point far beyond the dancers, beyond these walls, fixed on the ghost of a war just concluded against the Hittites. His scarred h…