Dinner might have normally slipped his mind until Rafa reminded him not so gently that he had to eat. Today though even in the midst of pouring over the maps and reports as well as his own memories of Greek strategy from the last conflict, Oso had an ear to the door and a focus of something else to bring him out of his usual studious mood. When war was to be waged, now matter how much he despised the man commanding him for everything that had been stolen from him, Osorsen H'Moghadam could never be accused of being anyone but his grandfather's true heir.

Standing over the table in the corner with the largest map laid out before him, he wore a simple kalisaris under his deep red robe, to fight off the chill he felt on the northern side of the kingdom with the sea air blowing. Rafa had laid out the food and wine, waiting the arrival of the bastard prince that could be his hope. If Sutekh was installed on the throne, Hatshepsut would be free. Of course, all of this hinged on the monster being decapitated, and as much as he would love to do it himself here and now, in his discussions with Zoser, Abrax, and Hatshepsut herself, he knew that it was something for which he would have to bide his time.

The pharaoh was old, he would soon lose his ability to stand upright and be a commanding force for the armies of Egypt, and the ability to harm those he loved. He would not need to hurry him on, only wait. Wait for the day when he could hold Hatshepsut in his arms without fear for their lives, to kiss her and claim her as his before the world. If a faster way to that future was to help put the bastard on the throne, it was something that Osorsen was surprisingly in support of. His whole courtship he had thought he wanted the throne and nothing more, but the woman who held that power held his heart, and if giving the dream of being anointed by the gods away allowed her to be his at last, he was beginning to see a path in which he would do what it took.

Rafa's greeting of the young prince brought his focus to the front of the tent, a warm smile crossing his lips as he stood up and strode to the young man, offering his hand in friendship. It wouldn't surprise him if Sutekh feared the reason for this dinner, but he hoped to put the lad's mind at ease soon enough. With the two of them allied, there was little to stand in their way.

"Ahh, your highness welcome. Thank you for attending to me." The general waved a hand as if to brush away any worry the younger man might have for causing offence at being late. "Nonsense, I'm well versed in how fluid time can become in a field of war. All is well, I trust?" If there was any reason for him to stride from this tent and put the fear of the gods into some soldiers he would do it without hesitation, and ensure that the next time they gave Sutekh any trouble they would regret it.

Gesturing to a place across from him, Oso sat with his smile still in place and gave a nod to Rafa who poured them both wine. The Greek had been with him since the last conflict, serving as steward and valet as well as body guard on occasion, and he was one of the few who he trusted with everything.

While Oso was fairly certain in what he needed to do to secure the girl he loved, Sutekh wasn’t lucky enough to have that luxury of being able to think that far ahead. Knowing full well that he was only on this campaign so that he might die without blood getting onto the Pharaoh’s hands, Sutekh was forced to take things day by day. He could not afford to let his guard slip while in the camps as he knew that Iahotep would not be merciful enough to leave the boy’s fate to the chance of an enemy arrow striking him down. If there was a chance that he could be swiftly dispatched without getting blood on the older man’s hands, his loving brother-in-law would take it. Why shouldn’t he? It didn’t matter that Sutekh was legally unable to inherit. He was the only living son of the previous Pharaoh. Iahotep’s claim to the throne hinged on the simple fact that there were no male heirs. Now Sutekh was an obstacle to the absolute power he craved.

It didn’t matter that Sutekh had no desire to take the throne and had publicly denounced any intentions on multiple occasions. The previous Pharaoh’s blood still flowed through his veins making him a liability to Ia, but also an asset to Oso. Now the former Sheifa boy was completely in the dark about the plan that the General was concocting, just as he was unaware of the nature of his sister’s relationship with the man. This was a good thing too because if he was directly asked while still being unsure whether or not he could trust this supposed friend of Iahotep’s not to poison him; there was no way he would agree to the conspiracy. It was too risky for Sutekh. Iahotep was looking for ways to kill the boy and even catching wind that he was considering such a plan? It would be an instant death sentence for everyone involved. Although he feared for his own skin above all else, Sutekh wasn’t selfish enough to let others take that risk as well. After all, he knew how dangerous and relentless Iahotep could be. He would not even take the chance of poking that bear if he could help it.

However, if given a little time to build up some sort of personal trust that reinforced Hatshepsut’s judgment of Oso (as she had insisted that her brother put his faith in the General before they parted) and the other man was able to present a plan that could circumnavigate the issue of his bastard blood… Sutekh might be open to the idea. He would just need to be warmed up to it and if this plan to put Sutekh on the throne in Iahotep’s place was something that the Moghadam man truly wished to pursue, the groundwork for such an endeavor would be placed tonight.

The first step, of course, would be convincing Sutekh that Oso was indeed worthy of the Bastard Prince’s trust. This wasn’t the easiest thing in the world to do given how the boy had to be paranoid to keep his own skin intact as of late, but Oso certainly did a good job at setting Sutekh at ease when he rose from his seat and greeted the Prince. Although all the formality of their respective titles were used (something that Sutekh was not entirely used to yet given his rapid rise to royalty) there was a distinctive lack of the stiffness that came with such courtly things. The Bastard Prince couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was. Maybe it was just the natural way military life worked, where things were less formal with the threat of certain death looming over them all. Or perhaps it was the atmosphere of the General’s tent as it felt far homier than any makeshift meeting room that Sutekh had been in since joining the front. There was no doubt that these things certainly played a factor, but even Sutekh was fairly certain that he could tell what it was that had him so at ease after being wary of this invitation all day. Oso just simply was not acting like a man who was plotting to poison Sutekh.

Granted, Sutekh did not know for certain how a man would act had he been given orders by Iahotep to spike the Prince’s food, but he doubted that they would be as calm and friendly as this. As the General spoke, waving away the Prince’s concerns about tardiness and whatnot, there was a certain hint of being upfront and genuine that the younger man innately picked up on. It wasn’t enough to set the boy entirely at ease as he knew full well that nearly anyone could be an actor, but that didn’t stop the large weight of needlessly worrying from being lifted from off of his shoulders.

“It is an honor. My sister spoke highly of you before we parted.” Although Sutekh’s words were meant to be merely nothing more than the Prince continuing the polite introductions by offering equally kind words to the General that this sort of statement might be taken as more than just a mere compliment. Even though the Prince was close to his sister, he was still in the dark about the affair she was conducting with the handsome General. As far as the bastard boy was aware, Oso was a failed suitor who had left a good enough impression on Hatshepsut that she felt compelled to tell Sutekh to put his trust in him. In the prince’s mind, he was not a man who knew things about his sister that only Iahotep should be privy to. This gave a whole new context to the prince’s revelation that Hatshepsut had sung her praises to her brother. To a common man, it would like be just an honor to have the Queen say such things, but to her lover? If Sutekh had known about the affair, he would not have been surprised if Oso decided to take it as a sign that his lover was still thinking of him, even while she was married to another.

Such things were far away from the Prince’s mind though as the conversation continued with ultimately meaningless small talk about dealing with the newest conscripts and their seeming inability to tie their own shoes. It was idle chatter and nothing more, not even worth noting as Rafa moved about the space, ensuring that the room was ready for a long-lasting meeting like the Prince was expecting to occur. He was not going to lie. Sutekh had some reservations about the slave being present, not that he was in any place to speak given that he was Oso’s guest… but the Prince couldn’t really ignore the pale skin that shone brightly in the candlelight. The slave was a greek. Having him present for such discussions about how the Egyptians were going to bring those pesky Greeks to heel was a bit worrying for the Prince. He did not know Rafa and thus could not speak to the man’s loyalties… but he knew more than anyone else how strong the call of one’s own blood could be. After all, how badly did the Prince pine to return home to the Sheifas even after they had all abandoned him? He would have to trust Oso’s judgment on this, but if Sutekh had his way, Rafa would not be allowed anywhere near those plans just for that very reason.

Before Sutekh could so much as comment on the placement of a Greek slave, the sound of the tent flap rustling was heard from behind them. Turning on his heels, the Prince was surprised to see another man join the dinner party. Although Sutekh did not know them as he barely knew Oso to begin with, but he could tell from the similar uniforms that both himself and this stranger wore that he was likely a Deputy General as well. Was this Oso’s second-in-command?

Stepping back for a moment, allowing the two men to converse among themselves for a moment as the Bastard Prince knew that in times like these, messages between officers that reported directly to each other were ones that had to be treated with utmost importance. He did not realize at first that Abrax would be joining them in this meeting, but once he did, Sutekh really didn’t heed much mind to it. It wasn’t his place, after all, to dictate who would have a place at the table and who would not. If anything, the presence of another helped him feel a bit more at ease as it was harder to follow a Pharaoh’s secret orders with more witnesses present.

Knowing that it would probably be improper for the Prince to introduce himself when the other man was also Oso’s guest, the younger man stayed quiet for a moment, letting the two speak before the General invited them all to sit down. Sutekh might be a Bastard and worth nothing in the eyes of the laws, but he had still been raised a Sheifa and he was not going to tread over the line of politeness and impose himself on his gracious host this evening when Oso would already be doing the boy a massive favor by filling him in on the battle plans that would be guiding the Egyptians through this conflict.