Hey guys this will probably be the last chapter I'll write before I start editing for the wattys 2015. But I'll update once again somewhere around my birthday (Aug 14 for those who are wondering) and if I'm lucky I'll do a few chapters before that. But there will be a definite update on Aug 14. Please don't be sad. I'll try to update regularly after Aug 31 is over. Please don't hate on me.
This chapter is short and a bit of a filler, not much action but enjoy!
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Merenkahre's immediate family had woken up with a jolt the exact moment he had died.
Shepseheret had been dreaming. She had been dreaming about millions of serpents slithering about her feet. She could feel their hot venomous breaths about her skin. She could feel their cool long bodies slithering at her feet. She could feel their fangs trying to pierce her. But they couldn't. Their fangs broke once they made contact with her skin.
But then with a jolt, as if an electric shock was to pass through her body, she woke. She looked around the room. It was serenely quiet, it reminded her of the time when she bore Kahmunrah and Ahkmenrah in this very room. Once those memories faded she felt a hollowed feeling inside her. This adding to her dream she felt something wasn't right. But she didn't suspect her husband's death for he always walked in the moonlit gardens at this time. Troubled she lay down on her side and tried to fall asleep once more.
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Ahkmenrah had been dreaming something as well. He had been dreaming about a large serpent choking his neck. He tried to fight it off but then it bound his hands too. He was in a helpless state. But then the serpent turned into a chain made of platinum. Two pendants hung from it. A sun and a moon. The sun was made of gold and the moon out of silver. He was then awoken. He saw his brother also awake. Was this a mere coincidence or was it something more sinister? They gave each other a brief look of understanding, they both felt broken and hollow inside.
As they lay back down Kahmunrah contemplated on his own dream. A serpent had been coiling around his whole body. Winding its way around his legs then his torso then his arms. The snake's head was facing him. It eyes were cold with greed, a lust for power. It had hissed and given Kahmunrah a vicious smile. But with a last bit of effort Kahmunrah had bit its neck, making it bleed. He had killed the snake. But Kahmunrah now wondered what the dream meant. He was horrible at interpreting them but there was one thing he knew. Something sinister was happening at this very moment and he could do nothing about it.
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Merenkahre's body was left there to be found by a local villager, a humble man named Ptah. His lifeless brown eyes stared aimlessly in the distance. Ptah had called his wife Mephthys. She wailed and sobbed as she saw who the murdered man was.
People's eyes filled with the tears of Nile as his body was carried back to the royal palace. Sabra had weakly walked out of the house to see what the fuss was about. When she Merenkahre's limp body she gasped. Being already weakened greatly by the crocodile incident she slump down at the earthen threshold. She couldn't...but how...when...why?
Her thought were muddled she buried her face in her hands. Seknut came to a crying Sabra.
"Sabra? What happened? Did someone hurt you? No they couldn't have! Sabra say something!!" Seknut was worried for her niece's wellbeing. She lifted Sabra to her feet. Finally Sabra choked out.
"He's dead..."
"Who is dead?"
"The Pharaoh"
Seknut gasped. She was thirty and had just lost a child when the twenty-one-year old Prince Merenkahre had asked her to look after Kahmun, it was in the same year that he had become Pharaoh. He had looked after her, took care of all her needs. How could she repay such a debt? She would have died of sorrow if Merenkahre hadn't introduced Ahk and Kahmun in her life. At least the country was in good hands. Kahmun would make an excellent king everyone knew that.
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Ahkmenrah woke to his brother's footsteps and tears. He jerked out of bed to see if everything was all right. He hated to admit it but his brother was one of those strong people and it pained him to see his tears.
"Kahmun...is everything alright?"
"See for yourself..." choked Kahmunrah handing him a piece of papyrus. It read:
To the Princes of Egypt
It grieves me to send this message, dear sons of the Pharaoh. But I am afraid the god on earth has gone to the heavenly place where his soul belongs.
Your Great-Uncle and High Priest,
Khufu
Ahkmenrah sat back down the edge of his bed. Kahmunrah sat beside him.
Then Ahkmenrah smiled grimly. "Never ceases to amaze me how officials use thirty words when they could have explained it in three."
Despite himself Kahmunrah chuckled. At least one thing hadn't changed and that was Ahkmenrah's ability to lighten ones mood.
Suddenly as if realising the immenseness of his sorrow Ahkmenrah's head drooped in his hands. Tears started to seep through the gaps between his fingers.
"But why now?" he murmured sullenly.
"The gods do everything for a reason."
"But killing off father..."
"I know Ahk...I can't believe it myself...but we'll get through this...somehow"
"Mother?" they both knew how much their parents had loved each other. They both knew that Shepseheret would be in a pitiful state. They were all she had left now; the only part of Merenkahre that still lived was his sons.
"We should go see her" affirmed Kahmunrah.
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Shepseheret was at the altar where Merenkahre's body was. It lay still and stiff, his face was content. The blood and bruises spoke pride and faith in the face of death. She was proud of her husband for that but that didn't make up for the gaping hole in her heart.
She stroked his cold forehead one last time and gave it one last kiss. She then draped the lined shroud over his body. She wiped the tears from her eyes. She took a deep breath and composed herself.
She had to be that strong woman, if not for herself but for her sons.
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Are any of you guys good at interpreting dreams? Because I wonder if these dreams are more than what they seem.
Quick Question Who is your favourite Character so far and why? I'm curious to know.