Well there's a picture that goes with this prompt but blogger seems unable to insert pictures for me. So just know that it's a black and white picture of a wheat field. And the prompt was that it's a very significant dream for a very significant character and what does the field mean? So here is my response (and yes I forgot to blog yesterday):
Tutanqh, the great ruler of the fifth territory, died in his sleep on the eve of a new day. Servants scrambled to awake the royal doctors, rushing them into the ruler's chambers and to the man's bedside. Just a whisper of sunlight drifted across the bottom of the adobe window, glinting off the cream drapes of the bed that hinted at a gold thread being interwoven. The doctors muttered to themselves under their breaths, passing glances to the servants and whispering some more before rising up. They declared the time of death and ushered the servants to notify the prince.
Prince Ret had only just woken up by the light of the sun streaming across his closed eyes. He remained in bed, thinking over his vivid dream. To the people of the fifth territory, dreams remembered in the morning were not something to take for granted; only dreams with deep meanings were remembered, and those forgotten were considered to have no substance. He pushed himself up and pushed his legs over the edge to sit, his deep red blanket sliding down from his well-toned chest and gathering in his lap.
His mind was brought from the dream as his father's closest servants rushed into the room. He straightened slightly, watching as they clumsily knelt before him. A strange glow seemed to take over his amber eyes. "Speak," he ordered.
"Your father, sire... we found him passed. The doctors have declared it," one of the servants explained. Ret gave a small nod. He knew of his father's failing condition. Raising to his feet, the blanket fell to the floor and revealed his naked body.
"Clean his body, prepare him for the embalmer. And tell Hatshep I require his presence at once." He paused. "And one of you prepare my bath." The servants nodded and went to do as requested. He waited in his room until the bath was drawn and then made his way into the tiled room, slipping into the steaming water and relaxing back. His gaze followed the servant before they slipped out and he rested his head back on the edge of his tub.
Things would be changing now that his father had passed, things he deemed necessary. The war with Meir would be put to an end before they lost any more land. He'd focus his efforts on Akorye, in effort to make up for lost money and resources. A long breath of stress escaped his mouth and his eyes slid closed. Everything was going to change.
"You summoned me, your majesty?" Ret smirked slightly; he liked the sound of that. He lifted his head from his tub and looked at the man covered by a black robe. Few had seen the face of Hatshep, and even fewer had ever seen his body. The idea of demanding to see him played in Ret's mind; a ruler should be privy to things commoners could never be, but to make such a demand of a man who could interpret dreams and supposedly held magic powers normally denied a mortal seemed unwise.
"I had a dream this morning," he answered.
"As we all do, sire," the other man answered. One of Ret's dark brows tugged upward on his forehead, a look of sheer boredom overtaking his face. "Ah, forgive me, sire. Please, do explain your dream," the man responded, the tone of a smile in his voice.
"I was walking through the desert of the second territory, why I was there I did not know, but I was there. I was out of water and had no means of transportation. The sun was high in the sky and as I wandered, I saw a field of wheat that rose up a steep hill. The wheat was tall and in good health and above the hill, I heard a strange noise and went to investigate. I used the wheat to help pull me up the hill, and at the top there was a brown rabbit. I thought of trying to kill it for food when a wolf came and devoured it. My next thought was of defense, but the wolf turned into the head general's daughter." Ret retold the dream, remembering it still as if it were a memory of just yesterday.
Hatshep remained silent through the story and waited for the silence that followed before speaking. "It is quite simple, sire. Your father died this morning, I have heard. The desert, I believe, represents the misfortune of having lost him, but in seeing the wheat field in the midst of it shows that you will be a great king because of this. You will encounter success, as marked by finding the rabbit, and the wolf devouring it only emphasizes that. As for it becoming Amit... have you felt any feelings for her, sire?"
Ret scoffed. "None of note." He frowned deeper at the sound of a small chuckled from the other man.
"Then perhaps you ought to look into it," he answered. Ret's eyes narrowed. The last thing he had on his mind was an affair with the general's daughter, with any woman really. He'd just inherited the throne and had great plans for his territory, plans which were now prophesied for success. No woman was needed at his side.
He raised a hand from the water and waved the man off. "That is all I required. Send in Anouke." He stooed from the bath, the water gliding over his muscular body and dripping like an orchestra back into the water. One of the royal blood never dressed themselves; only the servants did, as the servants prepared the baths and ran news from one resident to another in the royal palace. And he was ready to get dressed; he had funeral arrangements to make.
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