Chapter Text
Horus
“It’s this army from Greece that worries me,” Isis said. She and Horus were sitting in Isis’ rooms, discussing the latest reports from the military. It was early afternoon and the sky was clear. Afternoon sunshine gave the room a bright and warm feeling. They were both buried under a great deal of paperwork as they repaired all the damage Seth had caused during his reign.
“They still refuse to come back to negotiate?” Horus asked. He’d left most of that to Isis, given her longer history with negotiations and desire to take the lead on things. Horus was better left to handling paperwork as he learned what was needed to run a kingdom. It also meant that he had more free time to focus on Seth as he wished, not that he’d ever let his mother know, since she still believed Seth was off on the sun boat.
It had been over a month now, and Horus was beginning to realize there might be more to his side project than he initially realized. And Horus actually welcomed the distraction of actual work now. He was getting a bit frustrated dealing with Seth. The coffin trick did odd things to Seth, making him go quiet in a way that threats and physical punishment didn’t get out of him. Seth became something of an empty sack of god flesh, like he often did when Horus had fucked him for too long. The fear Horus had seen the second time Horus had placed him in there hadn’t returned, and Horus wasn’t sure what had changed. Had he simply already acclimated to the new torture?
The whole affair made Horus feel stymied in unusual ways, and he went back to leaving Seth out of the coffin, where he was highly accessible and could be subjected to anything Horus pleased. But that led to an odd discovery one morning, when Seth had mocked him by saying, “What, can’t keep your hands off me for five seconds?” Horus had punished him, of course, but also realized Seth was right: Horus kept touching Seth a lot lately, almost like he was hungry for the touch. Desperate, even. Horus wasn’t sure what to do about that: of course Seth was an attractive god, even beaten down and pathetic as he was now, and Horus assumed his body was responding to that. But it was a distraction, as well, and Horus wanted to focus on improving Egypt, to make up for Seth’s mistakes and failures. He was, after all, meant to restore Egypt.
So he went for the route of leaving Seth alone in the office more often while Horus went to meet in Isis’ office to talk affairs of state, hoping it might get his head back in the game of what he was supposed to be doing. Up here it was obvious he was allowing the distraction of Seth to get the better of him.
Yet somehow, despite Horus sitting at a desk beside Isis, looking over paperwork with her, a part of Horus seemed down in the office, where Seth was tied to a column and powerless, likely wondering where Horus was, and when Horus would let him go. It was tantalizing and frustrating, because Horus had much time with his mother yet, and didn’t plan to leave any time soon just to satisfy his own carnality.
Isis shook her head. “The Greeks are upset I called off using them to attack Seth, and seem to believe that now that Egypt is in a transition period, we are weaker.” She frowned. “And I hate that they’re right, in a way.” Close up, Horus realized Isis looked a bit tired, and he didn’t blame her. Even after a month, they were still figuring out who to trust and how to adjust to being in charge. Gods and administrators were learning their roles and figuring out how to help, and not everything was a success. There was more of a burden on Isis’ shoulders to manage things, especially since Nephthys refused to emerge from her cell to help Isis, and Isis’ sister would have been Isis’ best support in this situation.
But there was worse than that. “The army isn’t yet ready to face a powerful enemy force,” Horus said. They’d been reorganizing it, and trying to get it under control, but many of the soldiers were still loyal to Seth, and much of the army was devoted to dealing with the caravan problem rampant in the kingdom. Soldier numbers had dwindled as people went home to care for families. Horus had no experience leading an army: the gods he’d come with to Heliopolis had been led by Isis or stuck to their own agendas. Horus was there largely as a symbol, to use against Seth.
Horus wasn’t averse to the idea of leading an army, and thought of it as an interesting way to prove himself as a new king. But it wasn’t exactly something he looked forward to. And he was woefully aware of his lack of familiarity with the role. The soldiers he’d met were skeptical and wary of him. He'd led a few skirmishes against the slaver caravans - mostly to get himself out of Heliopolis and try to prove his mettle - and while he was powerful, he didn't work well with the humans as a unit, and he knew he wasn't earning their trust. He didn't like thinking about what would happen if he was in charge of a whole army.
Isis snorted. “It’s days like this I almost wish Seth was still here.”
Horus blinked, but didn’t otherwise react. “What do you mean?”
“He knew how to rally troops like no one else,” Isis said. She smiled ruefully. “Osiris and I could rally politicians, the public… But soldiers followed Seth. He was their protector as much as Egypt’s. And he could kick them into shape easily enough.”
Part of Horus grated at the idea that he apparently wasn’t considered good enough to lead the army himself. But much as Horus hated relying on others, and willing as Horus was, he knew his own inexperience paled in comparison to Seth’s prowess as a war god. For all Seth’s faults, he’d definitely won many war campaigns in his day. This task would likely be trivial for him. Even as Horus thought about leading the army himself, his intuition told him that would be a terrible idea and would only end in disaster. Egypt would suffer. The Greeks were right: they were weak now, even with the land being restored with Ra’s help.
The problem was, Seth was here, to be used. Usually by Horus, of course, but he was available, not stuck on the sun boat. But it was a ludicrous idea… until his intuition told him that Seth was the one who had to be sent to do his duty: protecting Egypt from her enemies.
He glared at the table, not seeing the scroll he’d been reading. The idea was preposterous, not only because Horus wasn’t able to lead Egypt himself against invaders, but also because it meant he’d have to let Seth travel beyond his sight to some degree. Horus liked keeping the god of chaos properly contained, where he couldn’t harm anyone. Seth would likely need more control of his powers to help, and that had risks of his own. What if he simply turned on their army?
I’ll have to find a way to properly control him, Horus thought as he considered it more and more, moving towards the apparently inevitable reality of it. He had a few punishment ideas he’d been thinking over recently, but they might help with controlling him in the field, too.
Funnily enough, revealing to Isis that Horus had Seth on hand was the least of Horus’ concerns. He was confident he could continue the deceit. She never turned her truth powers on him, after all, and trusted him more than she perhaps realized was good for her. And if Horus did have to reveal the truth, that was no burden, either. He was king now, and he’d been punishing Seth as he wished.
Part of Horus imagined Isis wouldn’t mind what Horus had been doing to Seth, outside the fact that she felt Horus owed Osiris the honor of punishing Seth. Certainly during their travels, Isis had wished many a horrible end on Seth, even more so than Horus could imagine. She’d be more frustrated he’d kept it from her, and lied about his arrangement with Ra. She might even be proud of him.
Another part of Horus imagined Isis would see him as just another monster: the kind she’d railed against, god or otherwise, and encouraged him to not grow into. But although Horus did his best to honor her wishes and be a just god, Horus felt the monstrousness was necessary when one dealt with monsters. What they’d gone through in their travels made people do horrible things to survive and support those you cared for, and Horus was willing to be horrible himself to take justice for his mother, their people, and himself. After everything Seth had done, particularly during the trial, it was his just desserts.
Horus wasn't sure what he'd do if Isis hated him for it. He just focused on performing his duties and keeping up the deception. Seth was on the sun boat. That was all. Until now, anyway. And if she was furious or upset with him... he'd manage it. Like he'd managed everything in his life.
All this whirled around his brain, even as the question of why Seth did all that he did rankled at Horus. Horus’ mother had been so good to Horus, yet Seth turned his back on his own son, his wife, and his siblings. He’d abandoned his people when they needed him. Isis insisted that it was in Seth’s nature to be like this, but if so, why had he lived alongside his siblings for so long in harmony? And how were so many humans still loyal to Seth if he only killed and enslaved them? Not all of them were growing wealthy off of the slave trade. If it were just in Seth’s nature, then why did Seth go quiet and distant when Horus demanded answers, as if he was hiding something?
Or perhaps he was mocking Horus’ ineptitude. Horus’ left hand tightened on his thigh. The more Seth refused to answer, the more he moved away, the more Horus felt compelled to chase after him, and pull free all his secrets. “Horus?” Isis asked, clearly wondering at his silence.
“Horus?” Isis asked, clearly wondering at his silence.
Horus considered the papers he was looking at anew, as he was reminded he was still with Isis, and had again been distracted by Seth. For the first time in a while, he thought how wearying it was to have responsibilities. But instead of saying as much, he said, “It would indeed be… convenient to have Seth back here.”
“You’re acting so serious about it,” Isis said with a raised eyebrow. “I was merely joking.”
“And if you weren’t?” Horus asked, meeting her gaze.
Isis’ eyes widened. “Horus, it’s… It’s a terrible idea. It would also likely make things worse. Who knows what trouble he’d get up to?”
“Yes…” Horus said. “Though perhaps, if the situation is as dire the messages seem to say, we should consider asking Ra to return Seth here to help with this matter.”
“But you could lead our troops,” Isis said, surprising him, and pushing back on his own frustration at trying to prove himself and not being allowed to. She looked up at him with a frown. “You’re our king.”
Much as Horus appreciated her support, he couldn’t ignore his intuition, as it had never led him astray. So he shook his head and replied, “I’m still young and inexperienced. They won’t follow me. And those who will aren’t powerful enough to make an army, or strong enough to withstand one. It would be disaster.”
Isis’ eyes widened. “…Are you certain? It might be worth a try.”
“I know it’s true. All that will happen if I try to lead is that we will have lost valuable time and troops. But Seth is a prisoner of the gods, now. We lose nothing by using him as a servant.”
Isis grimaced. “He’s serving his sentence, though.”
“This could be him working off his sentence, as well. He’s still serving Egypt, either way. And this is what he’s meant to do.”
“We wouldn’t be able to control him!” Isis said, a bit more alarmed.
“I can manage it. I have a few ideas.” He needed to ask around for advice. Follow up on some of his own ideas.
“…Well, Ra would never agree to it.”
Horus smiled. “You might be surprised on what she’ll allow.”
Isis raised an eyebrow. “I’m surprised you’re so for this. You hate him almost as much as I do.”
Horus touched a scroll nearby. “I’ve seen the troop movements and letters you’ve been sending. I know what’s ahead of us if we wait too long on this.” He smiled grimly. “I’m willing to play with a tamed lion if it means we save Egypt from more disaster.”
Isis snorted. “Seth is hardly tame.”
“Perhaps,” Horus said with a soft smile. “Perhaps he just needs the right tamer.”