Jewel Of The Nile [COMPLETE]

Chaper Thirty-Four

My brother nodded and stood up, his stature demanding silence.

I too stood up, although I was confused. What was going on?

Once there was complete silence, Prince Tutankhaten proceeded to speak. "My Lords and Ladies, I thank you greatly for being present at this momentous occasion. I hope you have all been enjoying the feast, however I am afraid it is time to stop eating. The Sed activities are about to begin. Once it is over, you may return to the banquet. But for now, I ask that each one of you gather over to my left where the other citizens currently are, as the Pharaoh's procession rides past."

Without a further word, he took my hand and led me over to our chariot, where the charioteer waited anxiously with the horses. We boarded the golden chariot and lined up behind the one that carried Ay and the other viziers, and the procession began.

And that's when it happened. Why they did it, I shall never know. The person was vile - corrupt, evil - a walking demon from the underworld. May his soul never find peace.

A man, someone in the crowds as we past by, clearly had had enough. He was standing eat the very front of the mob, and seemed to express his hatred in sections. First, as the court officials drove by, he spat them. Then, as we were approaching, he bent down, kicked the dust, and picked up a moderately large rock. I thought nothing of it at the time, and continued to smile and wave, but I was wrong, so wrong.

Just as we went by, the man suddenly lunged the rock at the chariot behind us.

The Pharaoh's chariot.

It hit one of the horses directly in the eye. Guards rushed forward at the exact moment of impact, and our charioteer stopped our horses immediately. My mouth fell open in shock as I watched the scene unfold.

I watched on in horror. My body was frozen in stance, like an unknown force was keeping me there, forcing my eyes to watch the scene unfolding before me. It was almost as though time had slowed down. Tutankhaten and I were safe on one chariot, while the Pharaoh and Queen faced sudden death on the other.

The horses reared upwards towards the sky, somehow unhinged themselves and bolted.

The chariot rocked violently, balancing in seemingly mid-air. I could hear my sister's screams echoing around the valley. The crowd was silent, holding their breath. The guards, holding down the person who had thrown the stone, did not take their eyes off the golden chariot. I covered my brother's eyes and held my breath.

Sete tried to run over, but the state of the chariot was too dangerous. It could have fallen onto him. I hadn't even realised that he had accompanied us, but of course Sete would be here. He was always there when we needed him, but I feared even he would not be able to help.

I couldn't imagine what it must've been like in there. Smenkhkre and Meritaten would have been rocked ferociously, being thrown against the walls of the chariot.

The moment passed. The chariot tipped over and rolled over and over in the unforgiving sand. The Queen's screaming ceased abruptly. Soldiers ran to their aid, as soon as it was safe, but even I could tell, before they pulled the mangled bodies of my half-brother and my sister out, that it had been too late.

The Pharaoh, my older brother Smenkhkre, and his Queen, my sister Meritaten, were now dead. As my father would have once said, "They are in the hands of Aten now."

*******

A horrible, deathly silence dropped amongst the crowd. A single tear dropped from my eye as the scene sunk into my mind.

Sete turned around and rushed towards us, alarmed. "Prince Tutankhaten and Princess Ankhesenpaaten, get off the chariot now! We don't want the same thing to happen to you! Get off there!"

He grabbed my hand and jerked me down to the ground. Tutankhaten followed, bewildered.

"What..did...did that just happen?" He asked in a shaky voice that betrayed his age.

Sete nodded grimly. "Your Majesties, I am so so sorry, but I promise you that the perpetrator will never see light again."

"Are you going to throw him in the cells?" I asked, dazed.

Sete nodded again. "And then he will come to you to face his punishment."

I turned around to see the large gathering of people. Most looked horrified. Others, however, looked almost...satisfied. Palace guards were struggling with the offender, who kept trying to get out of their grasp. "I won't apologise!" he shouted. "The Gods sent me to do it! I shall be rewarded in death far better than the likes of you all!"

I blocked him out from my hearing. Slowly, I watched as a disruption in the crowd made its way to the front. Fearing another incident like the one that had just occurred, I grabbed onto Tutankhaten's arm in a panic, ready to flee if needed. But I soon relaxed my grip.

"Ankhesenpaaten! Ankhesenpaaten!"

My head snapped up, scanning the crowds for the voice that I recognised. My heart ached to be with it - especially at this moment.

Kahmose and Huy had pushed themselves to the front of the crowd - clearly the cause of the disruption. As our eyes met he gave me a small, sympathetic smile. I guess he had seen what had just happened.

Sete looked at me in confusion, but as he followed my gaze, his expression changed to understanding.

"Come along, you two," he said gently. "It's time to go back to the palace."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey Everyone!

Chapter 34 finally up! And boy, was it a big one!

So: Meritaten and Smenkhkre are dead. Where does that put Ankhesenpaaten? What will happen to her next?

Thank you to everyone for getting me to over 1000 reads. It's a massive accomplishment, and I am at a loss for words.

I've been requested by @kaykayheyhey to enter this in the #wattys2017, so that's what I've done. (Thank you by the way!) I know I don't normally ask for votes, but now that JOTN is in a competition, all votes would be muchly appreciated.

Well, that's all for me. Term Two holidays are finally here! Which means I won't be swamped with assignments and exams. Which means I can update during the holidays!

See you all in the next chapter!!!