The Golden Queen

Twenty Eight

He titled his head and brushed his fingers over my cheek. The moonlight that cascaded over his sharp features created ghostly shadows that danced on his lips as they lifted into a wistful smile. "I had a feeling that would be your answer. Your unpleasant experiences in your past have made you afraid to trust me."

Confused, I started to question him, but instead he continued, "Come with me. I have something I want to show you."

Taking my hand, he led me out of the room and into the corridor that was darkened by night. A lantern guided us through the shadows created by the torches that lined the hall.

He remained close beside me as we passed by the tall pillars that led to his great throne room. The marble tiles glistened under the firelight of the torches. Ahmose went ahead of me as I lagged behind to observe the room. Behind his throne was a golden altar. Ahmose stood before it, placed his hand on the bundle of rich cloth that sat atop before turning back to face me.

"The way you view marriage is sacred and honorable, as a union full of love," he said. "I have been with only one woman; Neferure. Though I was married once before, in my entire life, I have only loved one woman. That woman is you. I do not know what you have learned about the pharaohs in your twenty-first century, but I am a different kind of man than most. I want to only be with the woman I love."

I approached the altar as he stretched his hand out to me.

"If you marry me, I swear there will never be anyone else. As long as you and I are married, I will be with only you."

I sighed in relief and wrapped my arms around his neck. Holding him against me, I said, "I'm sorry, Ahmose. I did not mean to offend you."

He looked into my eyes, the warmth returning to their golden luster. "I want your trust."

"I do not enjoy hearing about a man's romantic past, but I had to know you loved only me before I could give myself to you." I lay my head against his warm chest, listening to his heart beating inside. It was a strong, steady rhythm, nearly beating in sync with mine.

"In our marriage, there will only be you and I. You will be my only wife and my only lover, and I will be your only husband and you will love only me." He bent down to kiss me. "I did not want to make this promise to you with words only. So I have created a covenant for us, stating all that we have said. That we will be with each other and no one else in heart and body for the rest of our lives." Ahmose lifted the scarlet fabric bundled on the altar, unwrapping the sacred treasure that lay underneath. Air suddenly rushed from my lungs.

"I can't believe it," I gasped in disbelief. "It's the tablet!"

The stone object Ahmose cradled in his arms was his mysterious tablet, the one Father had discovered so long ago, the only reminiscence of him in the future. The tablet had drawn me to him, had caused me to dream of his discovery, and was the covenant of our marriage. It was here in his hands, written in stone.

The twenty-first century was where I came from, though it was not where I belonged. I would always miss Clair, my friends, and my old life, but with them I did not belong. I had always sensed it; even during my earliest years, I knew I was traveling the wrong path. Only while Father shared his work with me, his stories of Egypt's enchanting past, that I became a little more whole. My missing piece that I lacked all of this time was never right in front of me in the twenty-first century. He had been millennia in the past, longing for me just as vehemently as I had longed for him. I could not deny it any longer: we belonged together.

Ahmose wrapped his arms around me as I nearly collapsed to the floor. I grasped the tablet in my hands and gazed at it, exactly as it was in my time, only now the inscriptions were complete and perfect. Some were difficult to read, far beyond my simple grasp of hieroglyphics.

"Do you mean the tablet your father found in the desert?" he asked.

"Yes, it is exactly that one!" I threw my arms around him. "We are meant to be together. That is why I am here. I can see it no other way now!"

Ahmose pulled me into a deep kiss. The amber scarab ring on my finger would remain there forever. I broke the kiss and pulled back to look at him.

"Please read the inscriptions to me," I requested. "In my time, most of them were worn away, and so only a few words could be deciphered. Please read our marriage covenant to me."

Ahmose brushed his fingertips over the carved words and began to read, "I, King Ahmose II, son of Thutmosis II and Hatshepsut..."

That was all that could be deciphered in my time, and so my heart pounded as he read the rest, finally solving the riddle of the tablet.

"...shall be wed to Kara Walker, daughter of Doctor Robert Walker and niece of Doctor Clair Walker."

Ahmose remembered everything I had told him about my family, about Father and Clair's work as doctors of Egyptology, and how I had resented my mother for abandoning me for drugs when I was a child. What if these inscriptions had never been worn away in my time? What would Father and Clair have thought if they could see our names carved into this slab of history?

"Pharaoh of Egypt declares this marriage will be the unification of he and Kara Walker, and no marriage or relation shall occur outside of this union. Pharaoh's will be done, sayeth the law."

At the bottom of the tablet, Ahmose carved his cartouche into the stone, and gave me a chisel so I could carve my name beside his.

"Forever," he murmured and kissed me.

Together we walked back to our sleeping quarters, enjoying the quiet corridors as the palace went to sleep.

Coming to my door, he wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me against him. "I love you, Kara, and I too have issues due to past betrayals. I will not allow my fears to imprison me," he whispered gently. "I will never close myself to you."

I pressed my lips to his as we closed the door behind us. "I love you and I want to be with you," I mumbled against his mouth.

"You are with me," he breathed between kisses.

"No," I said and took his hands into my own. "I want to be with you. Here, now; I want to be close to you."

Understanding my words, he gazed into my eyes for a long moment. Their reflections sparkled like amber in the lowlight of the alabaster lamps. He lifted his hand and tentatively reached out to touch my hair. "Are you sure that is what you want?" he asked gently.

His eyes fluttered closed as his fingers brushed my jaw. His touch was hesitant, almost timid. When they opened again, the look he held in his eyes was a longing I had never before seen in him.

"Yes," I breathed, feeling my heart thrum violently. I fumbled with his clothes as he reached for my robe, slipping it over my shoulders, and taking me into his arms.

As he closed down on me in my bed, my body felt encased by fire, allowing his hot flesh to consume mine. His lips found mine and kissed me until our breathing became labored. And then we became one. Our bodies united in an explosion of passion, and we clung to one another, losing ourselves until the grip of desire released us and we lay next to each other, spent.

The sheets around us were tossed and lay in a messy bundle at the edge of the bed. Ahmose propped himself on his elbow and gazed down at me, running his fingers down my stomach. "You are my life now," he murmured.

I curled up by his side and rested my head on his chest. "We have belonged to each other for thousands of years," I sighed, falling asleep to the sound of his heart humming against my ear.