Cursed Times - Only Yesterday! Sequel to Wattys 2015 winner!

Chapter 20: Trueth- At The Crossroads Part 1

Once more, she was on a ship sailing towards the palace. Sloshing up and down the Nile seemed to have become a permanent fixture in Trueth's life. It certainly beat riding the London Underground by nautical miles. The last time she had been using any British transport services, things had not ended well. Instead, she had tried to end herself.

Metjen had intervened, had come for her all the way from sunny Egypt. She had taken this for a sign of commitment which in the end it hadn't been. But she was over him now. Maybe not fully, but the pain was dulling. Believing one might lose somebody forever certainly helped to change the perspective.

He had survived. That was all that counted. Even if she was not entirely sure whether he still was the man he had been. At the very least, one streak of his fiery temper must have been channeled away; the smouldering remains giving her vibes of Imhotep 4.0.

Or maybe his confused behaviour was a result of the shock, forcing Metjen to grow up. Whoever he was now, he would always remain a significant part of her life. Just not the significant other, that one she still needed to find. Or maybe he had found her, and she was not ready for him.

What a mess.

Just make sure you never write romance novels, Trueth thought as the cooling wind of the ship's progress caressed her perspiring brow but did nothing for her inner turmoil. Or, if you do, keep the likes of those two blokes well out of them.

The lemony smoke of anti-bug joss sticks wafted across from the back deck. Not that any self-respecting mosquito would try to brave the draft. The bugs had a much better chance out in the fields, where the farmers were busy flinging dung on their crops.

'Trueth, would you be so kind as to grace us with your presence?' Metjen yelled from the impressive array of silvery cushions he was perching on; his siblings, best friend and pets dancing attendance on his wobbliness.

Trueth made sure to wait a few second before strolling across. The cats annoyed her. Had she been nothing but a stop gap for furry traitors? In any case, Metjen's entourage was hogging all the seats. It was Seisi, of course, who got up, offering his.

Metjen mind-threw a pillow across. 'I don't want you to suffer from numb-bum syndrome. There's a lot to take in.' His movement had upset Blondie; the cat heaved his body into the vertical, stalked across assorted legs, his tail quivering a question mark over his ginger rump. With a sigh, he dropped his front end on Trueth's lap and fell asleep promptly.

'Would you care to toss us mere mortals a few morsels about your exploits in the heavens?' Rani-Ra asked and bit into a sesame ring.

'Can't. I swore an oath to the circle.'

'You could at least give us some intel on Iseret. Where is she?' Ranofer lifted a couple of lids and chose a dried apricot.

'Probably in there somewhere.' Trueth reached across and tapped Metjen on the forehead. 'Hello! Anybody home?'

Metjen pushed her hand away 'Don't be silly.' His face went into meltdown mode for all of a second until he snapped back to attention. 'Fine, if you insist!'

'What?' Trueth asked.

Metjen raised his hands and dropped them again-on a dozing Mish-Mish, who jumped up and hissed. 'Sorry, cat. Iseret wants to be able to converse with all of you. Is this what you want?'

'Has being a blind passenger in your brain maybe mellowed her manners? Last time we had a chat she was pretty spooked.' Trueth snapped her fingers, the orange hairball bounced across and squeezed onto her lap next to his mate. She felt much better already.