Protect, Seduce, Deny

Art is used for many things, but it is most oft used for expression. One could never tell what the artist was thinking just by the artwork alone, especially if it were someone they were unsure of. Portrait paintings were especially deceptive; even if they seemed to be very plain. He could not help thinking appearances deceived though, especially the portrait done in the Golden Age style of what seemed to be two youths and their sister. They were dressed as the Kings and Queens of Old in the old Kingdom, the place where the river literally dictated life.

Unusually, instead of having the female in the centre, it was the youngest male instead. He looked a little uncertain, a young man with a fresh-faced look, his eyes a clear pool of dark brown, his complexion a bit on the pale side (compared to the tanned skin of his elder brother), soft, kissable lips, firm but not too taut cheeks, and short, neatly kept hair. His hazel eyes were open in wide-eyed innocence; the man was not deceived. The Was Sceptre hanging from the diadem on his forehead gave him away; he was used to domination and power, and it showed. The loincloth around his waist was held together by the symbol of the akhet, which represented the horizon where the sun rose and set.

“Yes, this boy is the beginning and the end of many things,” the man thought.

The boy’s hands, one forward, the other just behind the folds of the white loincloth, revealed two identical armlets. They were both modifications of the shen ring, and held only the divine feather, which Ma’at used to pass judgement within. Unlike the other Rulers of his time and place, he did not wear an earring, but rather only a ring with a golden rose on his ring finger. The man raised an eyebrow; it looked almost like a wedding ring. He turned a moment to the other painting, the one named “Beauty, Strength and Grace.” The composition of the other two could not have been more different.

While the previous focused on the girl in the middle, the other pulled attention away from the young boy. His brother’s arm reached from his side to his shoulder, holding him back. He wore the same symbol on the necklace around his neck and the armlet; a cartouche with a single rose flower, fully bloomed, within. His hair, unlike his brother’s, was longer and layered, almost but not quite falling into his eyes. They did not distract from the wolfish pair of sapphire-blue eyes, set in a chiselled face the colour of milk chocolate. His brother looked more like the people of the land than the other two.

Their sister, on the other hand, had deep red hair. They fell in long, thick waves, framing her angel face. She was the lightest skinned of the three, with just a hint of brown to her skin. Her eyes were a bright green, complimenting a heart-shaped face with full lips. She had only one adornment; a ring with the same rose pattern as her brothers. After all, when you had a full figure like hers covered only by the flimsiest of material, you didn’t really need adornment.

“They are more equals than they care to admit.”

Author’s note: Yes, I got lazy. Temp piece, this is for Deru‘s reference. Will elaborate more.