I did not sleep one bit last night, though I couldn't blame myself for that. There were way too many things going on in my head and sleep would not be permitted.
Plus, part of me worried that the wizard would return. After all, it was this night that the wizard cursed me.
But I got out of bed the next morning, completely fine. I was still here. In tact. And I had not seen the wizard at all.
Being back in Egypt meant returning to being a king. And being a king meant a lot.
First and foremost... I was up before the sun had even risen. I had to take part in the morning prayers, which meant getting cleaned up and ready well before the sun was born again into the sky.
Prayers took up a good chunk of my day. The first set of prayers was at dawn, the second was at noon, and the third was right before the sun set.
Getting used to not doing that was one of the hardest things to do during my time in May's world. But I kept it going in my own way.
Now, however, was time to do it the right way. Especially since I was going to need all the help I could get to challenge the People of the Sea.
When I stepped out of my room after getting ready, Lord Hepu greeted me with a low bow. "My Pharaoh."
I nodded my head at him and when he rose, a small, sad smile formed on his face.
"You look... tired."
"I barely slept," I said as I started to walk towards the temple. I took a deep breath of the morning air and almost instantly felt a lot more awake.
I could hear the early rising animals and the distant voices of the villagers as they all prepared for the day ahead of them.
This was nothing like what I felt in May's world. I could never smell this clean air or hear nothing but calmness at any time.
"That's understandable," Lord Hepu said, "you have gone through a lot."
"Do you think everyone believes me?" I asked.
Lord Hepu was always honest. He kind of had to be. He was the High Priest of Amun and what he preached was honesty and the upholding of ma'at. It was his duty to practice what he preached.
So I trusted that he would give me an honest answer.
"I believe they find it hard to grasp, as do I, my Pharaoh," he said. "But they have no reason to think you are lying."
I nodded, feeling a little relieved. It felt a lot more satisfying to know that they believed me to some extent.
"Despite the harshness in your rule, my Pharaoh... you were never the one to lie."
I nodded again. "Well, it's a good thing I maintained one virtuous trait."
Lord Hepu smiled. "It is never too late to be forgiven for your mistakes. So long as you are honest and truthful in your apology."
"Thank you," I said.
From the corner of my eye, I saw him look at me with slight shock on his face.
I don't think he's ever heard me say those words since I was a child. But the eventual smile on his face made me feel like he was glad I said it.
During the prayers and welcoming the sun back into the sky with incense and offerings and the chants of the songstresses, I felt a relief that I had not felt in a while.
The smell of the incense and the beating of the drums and the chanting and the calm of the morning were all familiar and relaxing sensations.
I felt so much better.
Though I couldn't help but wish that May could get a chance to feel this too.
When the prayers were over, the sun had risen enough into the sky to light up my lands and wake up any of the people who were still fast asleep.
And it was only about six in the morning.
But six in the morning was when the day would start for me. I was in the throne room and ready start with a new day of doing what I could to keep my country safe.
After about a couple hours of sorting out internal affairs, we sent away the other nobles and began discussing more important things. Specifically, what to do about the People of the Sea.
Obviously the wizard had still not attacked. However, what worried me was that I had no idea what he was planning.
Or if he was even back for that matter.
What if he wasn't attacking because he never made it back? Though if that were the case, that would mean he was still in the future with May.
But even that didn't make any sense.
I sighed out loud.
In fact, none of this made sense.
"We have mobilized half of the capital's soldiers, my Pharaoh," Lord Renefer said. "The messenger has gone out to inform the soldiers at the other main cities. We should have no problem with our original plans."
"Good," I said. "Has the messenger reached my brother?"
"I do not believe so," Lord Ahmose said. "It takes a couple days to get to Memphis. I think you will have already departed by the time the messenger arrives to give the news to your brother."
I nodded. Of course I should have know that already. I guess the stress and the confusion was getting to me.
"How sure are you really that the Sea People are actually going to attack?" Lady Taka asked.
I looked at her for a moment and then sighed. "I'm not certain. But they did last time, almost immediately after I left. So I have reason to assume that they are on their way."
Lady Taka blinked, "mobilizing the army is expensive, my King."
"I know that," I said. "But like I said before, it's better to stay safe than sorry."
"Lady Taka," Lord Hepu called. "I think we should trust the Pharaoh's instinct."
"Of course we should," Lady Taka said. "Especially now that he's back to his senses. But I just feel like it is important to remind him that mobilizing the army is expensive."
I let out a breath as I stared at her.
I think I liked it better when everyone was terrified of me.
"If you'll allow me to speak, my Pharaoh," Lord Ahmose started. "I have a suggestion."
"Go ahead," I said, leaning back against my throne. Lord Ahmose usually had excellent advice.
"I truly believe a good way to consolidate your position is to get married and have a child."
Everyone was silent as I raised an eyebrow.
"It would make everyone feel more comfortable about your decisions... and it would also bring some fear into the hearts of any of our opponents. An heir is a great weapon."
My other court members began to nod, agreeing with him.
When I didn't respond, he continued to speak. "You are getting old, my Pharaoh. Twenty-two and still unmarried is a questionable situation."
I hesitated.
Twenty-two?
I had completely forgotten that a year had been lost now that I was here.
That birthday I had spent with May never happened.
"What do you say, my Pharaoh?" Lord Ahmose asked, "I can find you the perfect bride within a matter of hours."
I exhaled loudly, before feeling my mother put her hand on my shoulder.
"Even if he were to get married... conceiving a child takes time," my mother said. "Why worry about that now?"
"But, Mother Queen," Lady Taka started, "Lord Ahmose is right. The Pharaoh is getting old. People have been asking questions for years now. At the very least a wedding with a noteworthy woman would be beneficial."
My mother hesitated.
One thing I liked about May's world was that twenty-two was not considered old. In fact, twenty-two was considered very young.
"I just do not think now is the time for a wedding," my mother said.
I knew she was trying to defend me. Or at the very least, to make me get some time to recover from all that had happened.
And to be honest, I needed it.
In the past, I had delayed marriage on purpose. I never felt the desire to get married and I never found it as important as the other thought it was.
Now, however, a lot had changed.
Marriage didn't seem as bad as it once was.
Of course, the idea of marrying someone other than the girl I loved seemed unappealing.
But despite that feeling inside me, I surprised myself and everyone in the room with my answer.
"Fine."
Everyone stared at me in shock.
"Really?" Lord Ahmose asked.
I nodded, getting up from my throne. "It's almost time for the afternoon prayers. I should get ready."
Lord Ahmose nodded quickly as I walked off. "Yes... yes, I will get it all sorted out for you before the night comes."
I nodded again, but couldn't ignore the sinking of my heart.
How could I say no, though?
I knew I was never going to see May again.
And I couldn't whine about it for the rest of my life. If marrying someone would help my position in this upcoming battle than doing that was necessary.
However, as I took a couple steps away from the steps to my throne, I felt a sharp pain on my neck.
I placed my hand on my neck, but pulled it away when I felt heat.
When I looked down, I saw the Aunty Maya's Ankh necklace glowing brightly, yet burning my skin.
I let out a gasp and lifted the necklace off the skin of my chest, trying to stop it from burning me. But of course, it just burned my hand instead.
"What..."
"What's wrong, my Pharaoh?" Lord Renefer asked as he walked towards me.
"My son?" My mother called, looking worried.
"What is that?" Lord Ahmose asked.
I let out a breath as the light got brighter, so bright that it was blinding and I had to cover my eyes, as did the rest of the court members. There was a high-pitched screeching noise and after what felt like a long moment, it stopped, the light faded and the necklace cooled down.
When I pulled my arm away from my eyes and my eyes adjusted, I was surprised by the presence of a girl standing about a step in front of me.
It took me a moment to process it all.
A long moment.
And in that moment, Lord Renefer and Lord Ahmose had pulled out their swords and held it out in front of them. Almost immediately after preparing their swords, the two men began their attack.
"Stop!" I yelled quickly as I held my hand out, snapping back into my sense. "Don't!"
They stopped in their tracks.
I took a step forward as she looked around with complete shock on her face.
When her eyes met mine, she froze.
She picked the perfect time to appear. The moment I started to doubt ever seeing her again... that foolish girl.
I reached out and held her tightly into my arms.
"May!"
She stood there frozen for another moment, and then wrapped her arms around me. "Atem!"
I could feel that she was crying since her cheek was touching my bare chest.
For some strange reason, though it had only been about a day, it felt like I hadn't seen her in months. Maybe even years.
"What's going on?" She whispered as she looked up at me.
When I looked back at her I saw the look of nervousness on her face. Nervousness and fear.
"Where are we?"
I held her face in my hands. "Egypt."
Her eyes widened.
She looked exactly like how she did when I left her in the parking garage of her apartment. Except now her hair was a mess and she looked exhausted.
"How did you get here? What happened?"
She shook her head in confusion. "I... um..." She hesitated. "The wizard... he hit me with something... and then there was a light and now I'm here."
My eyes narrowed.
He had sent her here?
But why?
Wouldn't that be helping me?
"What's the name of the first book we read together?" I asked.
She scowled. "Are you testing me? Seriously?"
"How can I know for sure that you aren't the wizard in disguise?"
May rolled her eyes. "For Whom the Bell Tolls."
"What's the name of your cat?"
"Neferkiti."
"What picture of you did I steal from your photo album and keep in my room?"
May raised her eyebrow, "What?"
I let out a laugh before kissing her lips.
Much to the shock of my royal court.
And my mother.
It felt nice to be able to kiss her again, even though it hadn't really been that long since I last kissed her. I felt relieved. And happy.
But at the same time, I felt horrible.
May being here was not exactly a good thing. Well, it was a good thing for me. But not for her.
This wasn't her home. What was to happen to her family and friends back in Oakville?
When I pulled away, May looked at me with a smirk. "I know now's not the time, but you stole a picture of me and kept it in your room?"
I rolled my eyes but held her hands in mine, "I'm happy to see you, May."
She smiled but it faded almost instantly as she turned her head and looked out at my gawking royal court.
I cleared my throat and kept a tight hold of one of May's hands as I turned to face them. "Well," I started in my own language. "This is May. And it is going to take me a lot of time to explain her to you... but she is my..."
I tried to think of the appropriate Egyptian translation of 'girlfriend.'
I could think of nothing.
Nothing except for 'lover.' And that felt too strong of a word to use when I was introducing her to my most trusted advisors and my mother for the first time.
But nonetheless, that was what I said. "She's my... love."
My royal court continued to gawk, but my mother gasped. A massive smile formed on her face as she stepped forward. "This is her?"
"My queen," Lord Renefer called, looking worried. "Maybe–"
"Oh, please," my mother said. "She's a young girl. She can't harm us."
"But she appeared out of nowhere, my Queen," Lady Hema said, cautiously.
My mother ignored her and kept coming towards us.
My royal court clearly didn't trust May like my mother seemed to. But I couldn't blame them. Like they said, she had appeared out of nowhere, spoke a different language and also had very strange clothing on.
It took May's friends a little while to accept me. And I assumed it would be the same situation here, with my family.
"Who is that?" May whispered in English. "What are they saying?"
But before I could answer, my mother had already reached us and had grabbed May's face in her hands. "Oh, my sweet child. Thank you."
May looked at my mother with confusion on her face, clearly not understanding what she was saying.
"What is she saying, 'Tem?" She asked. Thankfully however, May didn't look scared. Clearly she sensed that my mother meant no harm.
But suddenly, my mother lowered herself onto her knees, surprising myself and the rest of the court.
She bowed low, her hands touching the feet of May, who stepped backwards and behind me in shock. "What... what is she doing?"
"Thank you..." My mother said again. "Thank you for saving my son's life. The King's life. And thank you for changing his heart for the better. We are truly indebted to you."
The royal court looked at each other in shock, finally understanding my mother's lack of fear for this stranger who appeared out of nowhere.
And after a moment, they too got on their knees and bowed low.
"Atem!" May gasped. "What–"
"She's my mother," I smiled, knowing that she didn't understand. "And she's thanking you."
May bit her lip, shocked.
"They all are. They're thanking you for saving my life."
---
Hi everyone!
YAY!! I hope you enjoyed this update. I'm so sorry that the last couple updates were kinda sad! Thanks again for reading, as always!
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Luckycharms <3