T H E S M I T H S O N I A N
Theodosia couldn't believe how lively and colourful the Smithsonian was above the archives. It seemed endless. They passed through exhibit after exhibit, each as curious as the next, moving from one new world to the next.
She imagined this is what it must have been like, that first night. If only she had left her exhibit and seen it for herself; an entire museum just waking up from an eternal slumber. It must have been exhilarating.
Her corner of the world in New York was so much smaller than she could have ever imagined. She wished Percy, Alec, and Korinna were here to see it with her, but a part of her was glad they, and the rest of her family, were safe in the shipping crate. Out here, wandering the Smithsonian, they were vulnerable.
The four of them filed into a new exhibit once again, Larry and Amelia leading the group while Theodosia and Ahkmenrah followed behind, together.
"You're quite the popular fellow, Mr. Daley," Amelia remarked as she attempted to keep up with Larry's quick pace. "Why don't you just skedaddle?"
Theodosia scrunched her nose, confused by the strange word. "What does she mean by skedaddle?"
"I think she means to flee," Ahkmenrah answered, leaning down so they could whisper in secret.
"Like a coward?" Theodosia mused, smiling up at him. "Hm, then hasn't Larry already skedaddled?"
"You aren't still angry with him for leaving, are you?" Ahkmenrah asked. "I thought after he came to rescue us, you'd be willing to forgive him?"
Theodosia laughed lightly. "I have forgiven him."
"Then, why are you insulting him?"
Theodosia looked up at him, shocked. "Don't you know me at all? I know I've forgiven him, but he doesn't. He has to suffer before I concede, obviously."
"Ah," Ahkmenrah sighed, smiling to himself. "Why hadn't I considered that?"
The group entered a new room, full of paintings in every medium. Theodosia supposed she hadn't noticed since they didn't have many paintings back at home, but even art came to life at night, a whole other world existing within their frames. If not for the small issue of being chased by a blood-thirsty ego-maniac, Theodosia could have spent the whole night looking into each of those little worlds until she had seen them all.
As they turned the corner into the art gallery, Larry was suddenly hit in the side of the face with a tiny snowball. It was so small, Theodosia almost thought she was seeing things. Everyone stopped and turned towards the painting where the snowball had come from, surprised.
"Wow," Larry remarked as they all stepped closer. "This is new."
The painting they faced was of a small, frozen pond surrounded by a snowy landscape. The only time Theodosia had seen snow had been that night when they first rescued the tablet, but it hadn't looked nearly as beautiful as in the painting. Everyone was playing in the snow, or skating across the frozen pond, dressed in warm, colourful coats and hats and mittens. It looked like a dream.
Everyone was entranced by the miniature scene.
Then, suddenly, the little illustrated people began to pull back, frightened, screaming out in terror as though they'd seen a horrible monster. Everyone looked at each other, confused. The only one who stayed was the little boy who had hit Larry, even as his mother tried desperately to pull him away.
"Hey, it's alright," Larry reassured, "I don't want to hurt you."
"I don't think it's you they're afraid of, Mr. Daley," Amelia said, backing away with Theodosia and Ahkmenrah as Kahmunrah's guards creeped into the gallery, spears at the ready.
The four of them were pushed farther back into the gallery as they were surrounded. Like an impenetrable wall, the guards trapped them against one of the corners of the room. On either side of them were only paintings and bare wall. There was nowhere to escape from their sharp weapons. Shouting orders at them in Egyptian, they advanced further. Theodosia felt utterly helpless without a weapon of her own. No one in their rag-tag group had anything that could be called a weapon, unless they used the tablet to bludgeon someone. Unarmed, they were unevenly matched. It felt just like Kahmunrah to refuse to fight fairly.
Larry and Amelia were pushed back against a painting of a man and a woman on a farm, watching the scene utterly horrified. No one in the painting Theodosia and Ahkmenrah were forced towards noticed, or cared, about what was happening just outside of them. The couple centered in the monochrome painting were lost to the world, embracing each other in a deep kiss. No one had weapon, unless you could consider kissing a weapon, and not completely and utterly useless.
Contrary to Theodosia's luck, Larry's humble farmers had a pitchfork.
"Trade you, thanks," he muttered, stealing the pitchfork out of the stunned farmer's hand, and replacing it with the golden tablet.
Theodosia glanced back at the monochrome mess behind her. Maybe it was useful after all. It looked they were in a city, and as far as she could see, there were people. Maybe there was an escape. Could Kahmunrah's meat-head guards catch them in a place as busy, and big, as the one in the painting? Probably not, Theodosia betted.
"Back off!" Larry yelled, as he pointed the pitchfork at the guards.
"Ahkmenrah," Theodosia whispered, getting his attention. "The painting."
"What about it?" he whispered back, confused. She rolled her eyes. At least Ahkmenrah was cute.
"We can go into the painting," she explained. "It's a city, a busy one. We can hide in there."
"Are you sure?"
"Not really," she admitted, "but it's a better plan than giving up."
Ahkmenrah seemed unsured, but Theodosia was tired of watching Larry pretend he had a chance in a fight against trained Egyptian military. It was a safer bet to risk getting lost in the painting than to rely on Larry's ability to fight a group of men with a pitchfork. Fortunately, Amelia stepped in, snatching the pitchfork from Larry's hands.
"Never send a boy to do a woman's job. I spent two weeks spear hunting with a tribe in Micronesia," she said, lining up her aim at one of the guards.
Theodosia and Ahkmenrah held their breath as she threw the pitchfork. Maybe it would work? Amelia was an enigma, if anyone could somehow manage to spear someone, it would be her. But the guards were faster, much faster. As though it was completely effortless, the guard caught the handle as it whizzed by, now in possession of their only weapon.
Amelia stared ahead, shocked. "The Micronesians had much slower reflexes."
"The painting it is," Ahkmenrah decided.
"Good choice," she sighed, grabbing Ahkmenrah's waiting hand and jumping into the bustling monochromatic city. She turned back and called to Larry, who was already ahead of her. He took the tablet back from the farmer and followed Theodosia and Ahkmenrah into the exuberant party.
As they stepped into the painting, they were bombarded with loud music and boisterous cheers from the crowd around them. The street was crowded with people celebrating, but Theodosia couldn't figure out why. Maybe it was for the sake of celebrating, but the happiness filling the air reminded her of the party they had to celebrate the defeat of the old nightguards, so many years ago. The unity of that night was remarkable, and as though there were no barriers at all everyone danced the night away.
As she turned to Ahkmenrah, she realized that like everybody else, they were black and white. Never had Ahkmenrah's golden garments looked so dull. She laughed with Ahkmenrah, who missed her vibrant blue eyes, which had disappeared in the filter of the painting. Theodosia could only imagine how colourful this city really was.
"Well, this is one humdinger of a hootenanny!" Amelia cheered, smiling as she marvelled at the celebration around them. As weird as her vocabulary was, Theodosia thought she was starting to catch on. This was one hell of a party. For a moment, Theodosia almost lost herself in the hustle and bustle of the celebration, but the familiar shouts of the guards following them brought her back to reality.
"Come on!" Theodosia yelled to Larry over the clamor, and the group escaped into the crowd where they would be lost to a sea of unfamiliar faces.
They walked through the city, dodging people, and looking over their shoulders. Theodosia didn't know where they were going, and since Larry was leading the group like usual, she could only assume (and hope) he had a destination in mind.
"What are they celebrating?" Theodosia asked Larry as they walked.
"Uh, the end of the war, I think."
"What war?"
"World War 2."
"The world was at war, twice?" Theodosia exclaimed, shocked. Larry nodded. "What was everyone fighting about?"
"Uh, Hitler, mostly," he said.
"Hitler who?"
Larry paused. He was sort of hoping she would know who that was. Thankfully, before he had to answer, his phone started ringing.
"Wow, four bars in 1945," he remarked, pulling it out of his pocket and answering. He listened to the voice on the line quietly before he finally replied, "Oh, I'm way past the stairwell, Nicky."
"Nicky?" Theodosia repeated. She hadn't seen Nicky since Larry stopped working at the museum, and it hurt her more than she was willing to admit. She missed Nicky and his child-like wonder. She missed having him around. Even though Larry tried to move away, Theodosia kept her ear as close to the phone as she could. She could only imagine how much he had grown. "Let me talk to him!"
"So, you found everyone?"
"Uh, sort of."
"Tell him I say 'Hi', Larry!"
"Is that Theo?"
"Uh, yeah it is. She says 'Hi.'"
"What's the flibberty-widget you're talking to," Amelia interrupted.
"Who's that?"
"It's Amelia Earhart."
"You found Amelia Earhart?!"
It took everything in Theodosia not to rip the phone out of Larry's hand. She wanted to talk to Nicky, even though she knew now wasn't the time. After this, she might never get the opportunity again. Even if they all miraculously made it back home, Larry was off living his new life. He never brought Nicky to see them. And if they didn't make it back home, she would probably never get to see Nicky again in his lifetime.
A soldier came from the crowd and offered his hand to Amelia, who took it with a smile, disappearing with him into the crowd. Larry tried to follow, but in doing so he bumped into another soldier, dropping his phone. Larry tried to move around him, but the young man held him hostage.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, buddy, what's your hurry? Didn't you hear? The war's over!" The man smiled, trying to decipher the worried look on Larry's face.
"Larry, we must go," Ahkmenrah urged.
The solider took notice of Theodosia and Ahkmenrah, laughing to himself. "Got a costume part you gotta get to?"
Theodosia scrunched her nose, offended. "Excuse me? What about your funny outfit?"
Larry shot Theodosia a warning look. "Sorry, those guys are chasing us."
"What?" The soldier looked back to see Kahmunrah's guards fighting through the crowd. "What am I looking at, Mardi Gras? You guys with them?"
"We are not, how dare you—" Theodosia took a step forward, but Ahkmenrah pulled her back, smiling apologetically at the soldier who looked more amused than offended.
"What unit are you from?"
"I'm from, uh—I'm from Brooklyn."
"What?" the soldier exclaimed, grabbing Larry's shoulder. "Are you serious? I'm from Flatbush! Hey, fellas! These so-and-so's are trying to rough up my pal here just cause he's from Brooklyn."
"Thank you," Larry said to the soldier, rushing off to find Amelia.
"You got it! And, uh, sorry for offending you Miss," the soldier smiled, winking at Theodosia before he joined his military friends. She watched him run off, stunned, until Ahkmenrah pulled her away.
Now they both disliked the soldier from Brooklyn.
They only made it a few feet before the guards were hot on their trail again. The soldiers hadn't held them off for nearly long enough, if at all. Theodosia shook her head. That boy was useless.
They had made it back to the entrance of the painting where the couple, who were still kissing, were. The guards were almost on top of them so, abandoning Theodosia and Ahkmenrah entirely, Larry ran towards the kissing couple and tapped the soldier on the back.
"Excuse me. Mind if I, uh, get in here?" He asked, moving past the soldier anyway, scooping the woman into his arms, and kissing her passionately.
"Should we...do what he's doing?" she asked Ahkmenrah frantically, looking around for anywhere to hide. "It can't really work, can it?"
"Well, I won't say no," Ahkmenrah shrugged, smiling.
Theodosia chuckled, smiling back at him. As the guards approached, and with no other cover, Theodosia pulled Ahkmenrah down towards her, connecting their lips. The kiss was half-hearted as they discreetly watched the guards run straight past them, and Larry. Theodosia pulled away, looking after them, shocked. Kissing wasn't completely useless after all.
"It worked," she gasped. "How did that work?"
"Anytime you're done, Mr. Daley," Amelia sang as she glided past Larry, grabbing his arm. The pair left the painting.
Before Theodosia could follow, Ahkmenrah pulled her back in for another kiss – a better kiss this time. Theodosia let herself melt into him, momentarily forgetting all the trouble they were in. She suddenly understood that couple – she'd much rather being doing this than running for her life from her boyfriend's crazy brother.
Ahkmenrah pulled away, smiling down at Theodosia. She smiled back, "What was that for? I don't know if you've noticed, but we're running for our lives right now."
He shrugged. "Then, I would say there's no time like the present."
Holding onto Ahkmenrah's warm hand, she led them out of the painting, climbing over the frame back into the gallery where Amelia and Larry were waiting impatiently – well, Larry seemed impatient. Theodosia ignored his frown. She was too happy to let Larry ruin her good mood. For the last two nights they had been fighting for their lives; she deserved to smile at least once before she inevitably had to say goodbye to Ahkmenrah again.
"Could you two have taken any longer?" Larry quipped, rolling his eyes. Theodosia ignored him, brushing out her long skirt. As Ahkmenrah climbed out behind her, Larry shouted, "Quick!"
The guards had finally found them. She and Larry grabbed the frame of the painting and turned it around, holding it against the wall as the guards tried to escape. Once the painting was still, they pulled away.
"That actually worked," Larry breathed.
"What's next?" Amelia smiled, drawing everyone's attention.
Larry sighed as everyone took off again. "Look, nothing personal, but we're kind of in the middle of something here that's not really your fight."
"It's because I'm a woman, isn't it?"
"No, it's because we've got this ancient raised-from-the-dead evil Pharaoh guy who's willing to kill us, and probably anyone near us, to get this tablet so he can rule the world," he snapped, shooting Amelia a look.
"So, it is because I'm a woman!"
"Look—"
"No, you look, if it weren't for me, you'd still be lost in that monochromatic mayhem!"
"Lost in what?"
"The black and white photo, you boob!"
Larry shook his head, exasperated. Suddenly his attention turned on Theodosia and Ahkmenrah. "Actually, speaking of, what the hell was that back there?"
Theodosia shrugged. "We were blending in."
"You know what I meant, Theodosia," Larry scoffed.
Theodosia had meant it when she told Ahkmenrah she had mostly forgiven Larry for abandoning them to pursue a different career, but what she would never do is let Larry think for one second that he could talk to her like she was a child. But Theodosia knew it wasn't the time to fight among themselves, not with Kahmunrah's goons breathing down their neck. She took a deep breath and bit her tongue. Larry could be frustrated with them all he wanted. Theodosia's only worry tonight was keeping Ahkmenrah safe from his psychotic brother.
Trying to tamper down her glare, she sighed. "Whatever, we don't have time for this. Let's just go."
"No," Larry insisted, halting her. "You've been wanting to say something to me all night, so just say it."
"It isn't the time, Larry," she hissed. "I'm sorry you harbour some sort of guilt over your previous actions, but please refrain from projecting it onto everyone else. I didn't take you for the paranoid type, Daley."
"See, there it is," he exclaimed, shaking his head. "You can't stop yourself, Theodosia, it seeps into the tone of your voice. I might have left, but you clearly haven't changed."
"Yeah, that's right," Theodosia nodded. "You did leave. And now we're in this stupid mess because you left, and there was no one to fight for us. Now we're trapped in this giant museum, being chased by Ahkmenrah's murderous brother who would happily hurt him all over again to get what he wants. So, yeah, Larry, you're right. I am mad. I'm so mad because I won't lose the best thing that's ever happened to me because the one person who promised he would always fight for us decided he didn't want too anymore."
"I came back, didn't I?"
"So what?" Theodosia shouted. "We're still here, we're still in this mess. I have no idea where my family is, and we're around this stupid building like chickens with our heads cut off, barely evading Kahmunrah's guards. Where are we even going? We're trapped."
"I—"
"I know you have no idea, Larry!"
"Theodosia, please calm down," Ahkmenrah urged, forcing Theodosia to face him.
She hadn't realized just how much she had bottled up inside of her. She wasn't even that angry at Larry, she was just...angry. She let herself relax, holding onto Ahkmenrah's reassuring gaze as she took a deep breath.
His hands fell slowly from her shoulders, and when he was sure she was calm, he turned back to Larry and Amelia. "I think if Lady Amelia wishes to accompany us, then she should be free to do so, but no matter what, we should continue moving. Those were not the last of my brother's guards."
Amelia smiled gratefully at Ahkmenrah.
"Okay, but don't blame me if something happens to you," Larry conceded, walking away. Theodosia didn't glance back and neither did Larry.
Trying to diffuse the tension, Amelia smiled at Theodosia and Ahkmenrah with that optimistic grin on her face. "I should be so lucky."
a/n: two updates in one day! Hopefully it'll make up for the time gap. The last chapter was really short, so I uploaded another one. Although this one turned out to be really long. Oh well, hopefully no one minds lol.
As always, I hope you enjoy the chapter and thank you SO much for 20k!!! Have a great weekend, and thank you for reading!