"Let us go!"
V
I am the prisoner and you the gaoler, isn't it so, Ramose?"
"No, sire, it isn't. You are my king and I am your slave.... Why do you laugh?"
"It is no use crying over sour milk, as Ay says. The thing is done, the bird is caught. There are sentries at every door: they bow down to the ground, but they don't let me pass—they cross their spears. And so this means you are my slave?"
"The guards are there to protect you, sire. You know yourself, hired assassins, sent by Tuta, are all over the city. You remember Iserker's knife and Merira's poison? Of course I must protect you! You are laughing again?"
"Forgive me, my friend. You are no good at lies: Ramose lying is like a hippopotamus catching a flea! It isn't from assassins but from myself you are trying to protect me. Be frank, tell me what do you want of me?"
"I have told you many times, Uaenra: you are king—so be a king...."