Another Time, Another Place

by 7Kleio

Untold stories of unsung heroes. Imhotep/Anck-su-namun shippers beware.

1. The Beginning and the End

Another Time, Another Place Chapter One The Beginning and The End

**Author's Note** As excellent as all the evil Imhotep fanfic is, I had the need to give our villain a happy ending. Yes, I'm a sucker for the villains. My character, Rhianna, was inspired by Kristen Britain's book, "Green Rider". Awesome story; I highly recommend it. It might make understanding this story a bit easier. Also: my version of Atlantis is inspired by Plato, not the movie by Disney. The usual drivel; I don't own anyone except Rhianna and a smattering of supporting characters. Ask nicely and you may borrow them. ( Anyone who sues me will get about ten bucks and a handful of sarcastic remarks.

Warning: I am severely twisting cannon here, and Anck-su-namun/Imhotep shippers WILL NOT like how this all turns out. There may be discrepancies from actual history-or the movie. (If you catch any, besides glaringly obvious ones that are there on purpose, I would appreciate it if you'd tell me.) You have been warned. So, if you're still reading and haven't skipped to the actual story already, enjoy.

**Around 1250 BC, or about a week from the beginning sequence in the first movie. I forget the exact dates. Just imagine subtitles throughout this part. **

Imhotep turned from the windows of the temple that overlooked Thebes, frustrated beyond belief. An entire week had passed since he'd last seen Anck-su-namun and it appeared that he wouldn't be seeing her anytime in the near future. He ground his teeth together, wishing death and worse upon the pompous, ignorant, and abusive fool who ran Egypt. Seti had been a fool as a boy and certainly hadn't improved with time.

Exhausted from the day's ceremonies, he rested his forehead against stone that had cooled from the day's heat. His entire being ached with the need to see his love. To just be near her. He heard soft footsteps approaching his chamber and raised his head, unwilling to allow anyone the slightest hint of his emotional turmoil.

"Problems, Imhotep? I doubt the wall can help." A teasing, rather impudent voice roused Imhotep from his thoughts.

"Your Grace," he smiled slightly, turning to the speaker, "Shouldn't you be out chasing horses?"

The slender figure that had spoken to him leaned comfortably against the doorway, shoulders slouched, one hip thrust out. She gave a silvery laugh.

"You call me that again and I'll have to threaten you with something dire." Rhianna stepped away from the doorway and into the fading light provided by the window in front of Imhotep. She grinned cheekily up at him. "Well, maybe not in front of your dear pharaoh or any other courtiers, but surely after well over twenty years you should know better than to use any of my ridiculous titles in private?"

He smiled, sadly, his eyes on the sunset. "Of course. My apologies, Rhianna."

The small woman in front of him blinked and pretended to reel back a bit. "He called me by my name! Not an insult, a formality, or an endearment, but my name!" She frowned suddenly. "Wait a moment." She cocked her head a bit and peered up at him. "My actual name, and not a hint of sarcasm or teasing about it. Either Ra is falling from the sky, or something is very wrong. Spill. And I do mean now." Rhianna crossed her arms.

Imhotep looked away and out the window again. "You wouldn't understand." He muttered, scowling darkly, and resumed grinding his teeth.

Rhianna was highly irritated by this. "Oh? Since when, pray tell, High Priest?" She approached him, undaunted by the glare he gave her, which should, by all rights, have sent her running. "You've known me since we were, what, six or seven summers? It can't be that bad, my tall friend."

"Yes it can," he whispered, turning away. The thought of Anck-su-namun, of what Seti would do to her if he found out. Hoping that no one would notice anything, that no one would find out. "It most certainly is, Rhi," he told her, using the name he'd had for her since childhood. "It can and it is."

"What," the girl laughed, "Are you suffering from that silly ailment known as love, or something? World thrown you for a loop, has it? The pyramids toppling?"

Her familiar taunts stung him more than he would admit. His love's heart was not her own to give. Curse Seti!

Rhianna drew back at the obvious pain on her friend's face at this last remark. Not even when he'd had to give the crown over to Seti, his younger brother, who was even then unfit to rule. not even then had she seen such pain in his eyes. They'd both known Seti wasn't qualified to guide any number of people, let alone the whole country. But the former high priest had insisted that Imhotep had been chosen by Osiris, which had determined his entrance into the priesthood. No, she'd never seen such evidence of what pointed to emotional trauma.

Rhianna bit her lip debating for a moment and then plunged ahead, stepping forward to lay a gentle hand on her friend's arm. "Imhotep, please. What is it?"

He shouldn't tell her. It wasn't right, would never be right, wasn't her problem, he shouldn't get her involved... "You were correct, Rhi. I am in love."

She blinked. Not what she'd expected! "That's not bad," she grinned. "That's wonderful. It's not like falling in love is forbidden to priests. Well, not in Egypt, anyway. So who is she?"

"That is the problem." Imhotep said softly, crossing the room to sit on a bench, his head in his hands. "She is Seti's."

He saw her eyes widen, her jaw drop. Under other circumstances he would have laughed at the comical expression on her face.

"Ai, Aeryc." She swore softly. "Okay, I can be wrong. That is bad." Rhianna shook her head. "Stars and suns. I can't say the man doesn't deserve to be cheated out of something, but. I mean." She shook her head again, slowly. "Of all the rotten luck."

Imhotep looked up sharply. "Luck? You don't understand, Rhi. This is treason. You should turn me in to face judgment from Seti. I should turn myself in." He trailed off into a whisper, setting his jaw and fighting the heat behind his eyes.

She seated herself next to him. "You Egyptians are a funny lot. We may have a million rules about everything back home, but how can one rule love? Isn't it all the will of Osiris, or whoever?"

"Hathor, in this case." He corrected her. Rhianna had always had a difficult time keeping Egypt's numerous deities in order. Oh, for the simplicity of her land. "This is not Atlantis, Rhianna. Merely touching the one I love is punishable by death." Imhotep shook his head and got to his feet. "I shouldn't have told you. And you ought to be going home."

Rhianna nodded, glancing out the window as she got to her feet. It was indeed time to get home-she did need to be at the Council meeting. It would already be dark in the capitol of her lands. "Well my friend," she lightly punched his shoulder, "Should you need me, my help, or any bad advice," Rhianna grinned, "you know where and how to find me."

Imhotep smiled at his friend, his one true friend who didn't care who he was, what he did, or who he loved. "Thank you, Rhi. I'll bear that in mind."

She gave a mocking bow, smiled once more, and left in the direction of the courtyard, presumably to find her horse before heading for the transport panels.

**night falls, the sun rises, morning on Atlantis**

Rhianna paced the flagstones of the courtyard, the sun glowing golden on the large slabs of rock. Sunlight filtered through the large trees that bordered the sides of the surrounding walls, bringing out highlights in everything it touched. Rhianna, heedless to the beauty of the morning, clutched two arrows in her fist as she paced, firmly resisting the urge to snap them over her knee, and doing her best not to give in to the aura of fear that seemed to surround them-- an aura that she could almost see as a thin, gray mist. Where was he? She had sent a message hours ago, stopping the morning Council session to send for Imhotep as soon as she heard the news. It felt like an eternity ago. What could possibly hold him up?

**Blast it all, Rhi, you're being stupid.**

She straightened her posture, breathing deeply and utilizing the calming meditation Plato had taught her. Of all times for Plato to decide to return to Athens... And Imhotep was late; she really needed his advice. After an evening calming the Council's sudden hysteria, a night without much sleep, a terrible wake-up call at the crack of dawn, and an even worse morning cloistered in the Council room, Rhianna was looking forward to seeing her friend. Why, why of all times for disaster to strike, did it have to be now? And when everything in her life had been going so well? As well as it ever went, anyway.

**I'm sure Imhotep's fine. It's not like he doesn't know what he's doing.**

**You little moron,** a soft voice in the back of her head hissed, one she'd learned to pay attention to in her years as the first female captain in her cousin's royal service. Females, as a rule, did not have rank. Not even on Atlantis, forward thinking aside.

**After yesterday evening? You saw what this new twist in his life is doing to him. This girl could be manipulating him, he might get caught, he might even run into that new menace the Council's raving about.**

Rhianna kicked at a pebble, the only kickable thing in sight in her cousin's immaculate courtyard. Would that she could have been born Egyptian, Grecian, even a commoner in her own country, rather than the cousin of the man who was the head of the Council of Seven. Bloody supernatural menaces.

**And people call the Green Riders menaces. If anyone's a raven before the storm, it's that shell-shocked, incompetent, benighted Council. One apocalypse after the other with them. Worse than Plato's Illuminati organization in Athens.**

The softly glowing transport panels set in a corner of the courtyard began to shimmer, growing brighter and then fading as Imhotep stepped out of thin air.

"About time." Rhianna folded her arms.

"I'm only a few minutes-" Imhotep looked up and stopped at the expression on her face. "What is it?"

She held out the two arrows she'd been grasping. "These, for starters. I found them in the back of my best lieutenant. He rode directly into the Council hall shortly before dawn, horse and all, but he died just as we got him off his mount." She swallowed, determined not to cry in front of her friend. "He died before he could tell us anything." She would not cry. She would not cry, no matter how much it hurt.

Imhotep took the arrows, handling them gently. **Gently, but respectful of the danger emanating from them. As though handling an asp.** "You feel it too, don't you? The aura?" She tilted her head, gazing up at the frown on his face. Stars, but it was frustrating to be so short.

He nodded. "What are they? Arrows, obviously, but they have a different build than anything in Egypt. I haven't seen many Atlantian arrows, but these don't look like any your people make. They're not Grecian or of any of the Northern Tribes, either. At least, none that I know of."

She looked away, gazing at the ornate doors to the Council room. "I don't know. I was hoping you could tell me. There's writing on them. It's nothing I can identify." She looked back at him. "The Council is theorizing some new kind of enemy. I have my doubts about that, but every time I touch those things I get the feeling that my lieutenant is still in pain. That something horrible has happened." Rhianna closed her eyes, tried to breathe normally. She felt her adrenaline rising, her instincts demanding something to fight or flee from.

"And as you had no idea what to do about this, you called me?" Imhotep looked almost afraid for a moment, but recovered completely. Through the stony facade of his expression he looked as though nothing could bother him, but Rhianna knew better. After well nigh on twenty years, she knew his face quite well.

"Well, yes, but the Council thinks that if Atlantis is attacked." she trailed off.

"Then Egypt is in danger as well." Imhotep finished.

Ties between Egypt and Atlantis went back many years, back to childhood when Rhianna had stumbled into a broken transport panel and landed on top of Imhotep, who had been studying in one of the temples. They'd become immediate friends, but their countries had taken a bit longer. Atlantis and Egypt were allies and closely tied, even if they weren't always on the best of terms. The powers of Atlantian transport panels had made such close ties possible-Atlantis was actually much further north than Egypt. Egypt, Greece, and Atlantis. Rhianna remembered how fond Plato had been of referring to the locations as the points of an equilateral triangle.

"Yes, Egypt may well be in danger." Rhianna finally cut into the silence. "Council told me to take those sharding things to you and then to Seti, if you couldn't help." She snorted, a passable imitation of her horse. "As if Seti would know anything about something that stumps the two of us."

Imhotep raised an eyebrow. "Thanks for the vote of confidence. I think." He remarked dryly. "We may as well get going. Are you ready? And how long will this take?"

"Anxious to be rid of me already?" She teased.

An odd expression, part mischief, part longing, and part fearful apprehension, crossed Imhotep's face.

A flash of inspiration hit Rhianna and she laughed. "Something lined up for tonight, hmm? Well, this shouldn't make you anymore late than you usually are to everything." He looked uncomfortable and she smiled, closing the few steps between them. "Hey." She put a hand on his arm. "Look at me, Imhotep."

He sighed and obediently met her eyes. "Yes, oh exalted one?"

"Cut the sarcasm." She rolled her eyes. "I just want you to know that whatever happens with this, I'm with you all the way. I promise." He voice had become very serious, quite out of the ordinary for Rhianna.

He deigned to smile at her, and unreasonably, her heart fluttered a bit. "Oh?"

"Yes, 'oh'." Rhianna recovered quickly. "Cross my heart, by the stars, break my fingers and my horse's legs." He gaped a bit at that and she raised an eyebrow. It was the oath she would never break, the ultimate oath of a Green Rider. He smiled. Everything would be all right.

"Just let me know what I can do to give Seti the runabout." Rhianna grinned, continuing. "If anyone deserves what's happening, you and he do. You for some long overdue happiness, and he for something to prove he's not the center of the universe." She took the arrows from him, wrapped them gently in a cloth, and tucked them in her belt. "Let's get going."

They strode out of the courtyard, over to the stables. "You're taking Aspen?" Imhotep asked. "I thought this was just going to be for the afternoon."

"Even so," Rhianna grinned, "A Rider is never without her horse." She swung herself onto the saddle with practiced ease and nodded a thanks to the unobtrusive stable hand. "You need a lift?" She asked him. "I can always let you borrow a horse. Captain's authority and all that."

"No," He said quickly, thinking of the fuss it would be to have to return a mount, "I'll just walk."

"In the company of a Green Rider?" She snorted. "I think not." Aspen snorted and shook his mane. "See? He agrees." Rhianna caught his hand and pulled him up behind her, berating herself for noticing the feel of his arm around her waist. **Stop it!**

"You ready?"

Imhotep sighed and shook his head resignedly. "Very well. Let's be going."

**Thank the stars, he didn't notice me being stupid.**

She guided Aspen over to the crystal transport panels used by the stables and rode between two of them. "Egypt, Thebes, the Pharaoh's palace, southwest courtyard." Rhianna addressed the transport panel and guided Aspen across the marker. They vanished in a shimmer of air.

*****

Pharaoh Seti the first, embodiment of Horus, Lord of the two kingdoms, wearer of the double crown, and the "morning and the evening star", was irritated. It was unseasonably hot for early spring, he was bored, his wives and concubines were nothing special anymore, and Imhotep was late. Not a good morning for Pharaoh. He paced around the gardens, Med-jai following silently and unobtrusively as shadows on the breeze. He'd wanted to discuss his recent dreams with Imhotep, being that the man was the high priest, and all.

**And your older brother.** A nasty little voice whispered in the back of his head.

**Still jealous, are we?**

"Silence!" Seti whispered to himself.

"Your Majesty?" A Med-jai guard cocked his head questionably.

"It's nothing, Uathnes. Nothing." Seti sighed. The Med-jai retreated back into the shadows and ferns of the garden, unseen once more.

**Nothing?** The voice in his head sneered, **Imhotep is your *older* brother. He would have been pharaoh if the gods had not intervened. He's your elder and your better in almost everything. He must be removed.**

Seti shook his head. This was going nowhere. And quickly. Where was Imhotep?

******* Later, as Seti sat under a pavilion, he watched his concubines amusing themselves in the fountains and flowers of his gardens. Several years ago, Seti had heard of a king in Assyria who'd managed to keep thriving gardens in his palace, harsh climate not withstanding, so Seti had arranged to have his own gardens.

**And it was Imhotep who made the gardens possible,** the voice whispered, **For you wouldn't have known where to begin!**

Seti clenched his jaw. No, think of something else. Look at the path. The horse on the path, the two people on the horse, and. that was Imhotep on the horse! Prancing along the paths of the garden was a magnificent ebony horse with a silver mane. He knew that horse from somewhere.

The woman sitting in front of Imhotep looked familiar as well. She sat tall in her saddle, but against Imhotep, Seti could tell she was rather small. Long, dark hair touched with red blew in the breeze; this elegant lady wore no wig as most of the high class women in Egypt did. Her eyes sparkled, oddly colored gray-blue irises distinguishable even at this distance. No Egyptian woman, this one. Her skin was touched with the light of Ra as was the case with most Egyptians, but it was still several shades paler than normal, more like the shade of an Atlantian. Imhotep said something to her and she laughed, the silvery sound echoing against the stone columns of the palace. They rode right up to him.

****** Imhotep slid off of Aspen, patting the stallion's flank gently. "Thank you, Aspen." He smiled. Rhianna's habit of speaking to animals as if they understood was beginning to rub off on him, though he'd always suspected that the horses of the Green Riders understood far more than the average horse. They were a race apart from other animals, remaining close to the humans they served, no matter what befell them.

He made his way over the stones to Seti, bemused at the way the pharaoh was looking at Rhianna as she removed her cloak, over-tunic, and gauntlets in deference to the heat. Early spring was far colder and wetter in Atlantis. Imhotep stopped in front of Seti and gave the traditional bow, straightening to find the man's attention still on Rhianna. He groaned inwardly. He knew that look; it was the same look Seti got when he saw a woman who he wanted to conquer. **Good luck with that, my younger brother. If you attempt such a task you will need all the luck you can get.**

Imhotep gestured for Rhianna to step forward. "Surely you remember Captain Rhianna, your Majesty?" He asked, fighting a smile at the glare the woman tossed to him. She sighed, but stepped towards them.

"Atlantis wishes the Pharaoh well," Rhianna inclined her head; a not-quite- bow to another of equal rank. **Propriety be tossed to the heavens; I'm not showing more respect than I must to that idiot!** "I bring the greetings of the Council of Seven." She deliberately left off any sires, majesties, or highnesses from her greeting.

Seti smiled, though it looked a bit forced, which was most likely due to her lack of groveling. "Lady Rhianna. I must say, it has been a long time. You're looking quite well."

"Thank you." She smiled back. Her days spent in the company of the bureaucrats of Atlantis had perfected her skill in hiding her emotions; no one but Imhotep could tell that her carefully constructed mask concealed exasperation, impatience, anger, and disgust. Rhianna gave a silent thanks to her Grecian mentor. Plato had insisted that she learn everything about government in all known countries, even if she had refused the seat on the Council.

"I'm afraid I'm not here on a social call," She continued, "Pleasant as that would be. If we may go somewhere more private to speak?"

"Of course." Seti stood up. "Imhotep, you have my leave to go." He waved him away. "Come, my Lady Rhianna, let us go inside."

**Later**

Imhotep wanted to pummel his brother. Pharaoh or not, Seti was close to irrevocable damage. No one deserved the attentions of the Ruler of the Two Lands. As a trained physician, he'd had to tend innumerable concubines after they'd endured Seti's attentions. He tried to concentrate on applying a poultice of herbs to the woman's arm in front of him, a Med-jai watching carefully from the corner of the room. If Seti did this again.. His thoughts trailed off into a cloud of anger.

**You must remain calm. Think of something else. Rhianna. She's still in the throne room with Pharaoh now, alone with him. If he hurts her.**

He finished tending the woman in front of him and bowed, as tradition demanded. "Be well, my Lady."

"Thank you, my lord." The woman stood, signaling to the Med-jai that she was finished.

"Please come to me if such an. *accident* happens to you again, my Lady."

She smiled at him sadly. "Again, my lord, my thanks." The Med-jai guard held open the door for the concubine and, with a last look at Imhotep, she left quietly.

Imhotep sighed and began cleaning away the residue of blood and herbs from the table. He looked longingly at the door and whispered, "Anck-su-namun.."

The door was thrown open, but it was not his love, his brother, or the Med- jai who entered, stomping feet against the tiled floor with a rather sullen expression. It was Rhianna.

*** Rhianna knew she was being unreasonable, yet the news ate at her. The very Council themselves couldn't identify the arrows, and Imhotep had not had any ideas either. Her own efforts this morning had produced no answers, so what did the Council think they were doing, sending her to spread a message, that would either be met with contempt or panic, to a lecherous fool in hopes that he could help?

**Help? How? By calling for palaces to be built, armies to go forth, women to swoon? Ha.** The voice in the back of her head was as contemptuous of Seti as Rhianna's foremost thoughts.

What was she to do? What did the bloody Council expect of her? Her powers as an Atlantian and as one of the bloodline of the Council were nothing to what was coming. Compared to what the rumors were, if the rumors were even slightly true, her powers were mere parlor tricks.

Rhianna toyed with the medallion around her neck as she walked. The symbol bestowed on all Green Riders weighed heavy around her neck now, reminding her that she could have been on the Council, had she chosen to, could have swayed the skepticism of the members, forced the bureaucrats of her land and this one to take her seriously. She stopped a moment, closed her eyes, grieving for what could have been, other scenarios of the future playing in her head. Never mind. As Plato had told her often, the past was better off where it should be: behind her. **Oh, Plato. Why did you have to return to Athens? Now more than ever do I need your wisdom.**

She arrived back at the garden she and Imhotep had found Seti in. Aspen was still where she'd left him with a whispered order to behave himself. Rhianna smiled. No one could lift her spirits like Aspen. **Or possibly Imhotep.**

"Stop it right now." She ordered herself sternly. "This is no time to be silly." Sighing, Rhianna stroked Aspen's velvety nose. "Well, Aspen, it looks like we'll be staying tonight. Good thing I brought you along."

Aspen neighed and threw his head back, before pushing at her with his nose.

"Yes," Rhianna stroked him, "I'll get you settled. However, it's going to have to wait until I've seen Imhotep. You stay in this garden and be good." She smiled. "Try not to eat any flowers." Aspen snorted at that, cantering over to a corner of lush grass for a snack. Rhianna laughed and turned back into the palace, heading for Imhotep's rooms.

She strode past courtiers, gardens, balconies, and Med-jai alike, not even stopping to apologize when she had accidentally tripped Princess Nefertiri, Seti's rather aloof daughter. She was busy with thinking over the fate of the universe.

The sound of hooves on tile drew her attention to the entrance. One of her lieutenants was reining in his horse, a handsome bay stallion. He dismounted and dashed up to her, giving the formal salute of a Rider and holding out a scroll.

"Captain," He said, slightly breathless, "You better have a look at this."

**** Imhotep had seen Rhianna angry, murderously furious, even, but no previous experiences with her came close to what he was seeing now. He raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. He knew it was the best course of action to let her work off some feeling before asking her anything. His dark eyes followed progress around his chambers, stomping around the small alter in the corner with incense burning, pacing past the bed, low table, and cushions to storm out around the balcony, before calming down enough to come back in and let herself plop into a seat.

"I take it Seti was his usual self?" He asked gently.

Rhianna huffed a bit and folded her arms a bit more forcefully than necessary. "Yes, infuriating as usual, but that's not the worst of it. Hassan, one of my Riders, showed up with a message for me just as I left the throne room. The Council has inquired into a few more incidents, and it seems that I have to stay here until a few things calm down. Apparently, a figure in a gray cloak has been seen tampering with the transport panels in the palace and it matches the description given by people who saw Namidian when he was shot by those benighted arrows."

"How long is 'until things calm down?" He asked her, cautiously.

She glowered at the door. "Well, it had better not be past tomorrow afternoon. I need to sit in on the next Council meeting and those fools can't function without supervision."

Imhotep sighed, but said nothing, allowing his friend to continue her rant.

"A gray-cloaked archer killing Riders and tampering with transport panels, odd happenings throughout the country, and, best of all," sarcasm coated her voice, "farmers have reported seeing riders in gray all up and down the land, setting fire to crops and putting strange substances in wells and springs. Council thinks that it may be responsible for the hundred or so deaths in the last day or two, which they didn't bother to tell me about this morning." Rhianna took a deep breath and gave him a piercing look. "Someone is poisoning the wells."

"Poisoning the wells." Imhotep frowned thoughtfully. The metaphor for coming trouble was one of few expressions common to Atlantians and Egyptians. In this case it seemed to apply both literally and figuratively, which made the events all the more disturbing. This was all very unnerving, and just now when he needed to keep his wits about him... "Hmm. I have not heard of anything amiss here, but if I have anything to say about it, the guards around the city will be doubled."

"Good." Rhianna gazed out the window at the setting sun, silent for a long moment, and Imhotep was struck by how alien she suddenly looked from the girl he'd befriended since childhood. She'd always had those odd eyes and hair, and those endearingly strange features. She was not classically beautiful, among his people or her own, but, as he'd heard one courtier say, she made you want to look at her again. But her normally bright eyes were dulled tonight, her sunny features overshadowed by worry. That was what struck him the most. Rhianna was not someone who showed that she worried. She scoffed at others who did, enjoying her reputation of riding through life without a care, teasing others that life was too short for self-inflicted misery. She'd always concealed her fears deeply, showing a facade of lightheartedness that was now noticeably absent. That simple fact struck more dread into him than when he'd held those ominous arrows that were stained with the blood of her most trusted lieutenant.

Rhianna continued to gaze out the moment, giving the landscape an odd, forced, sad smile. "And to think," she whispered, "Yesterday I didn't have a clue about any of this." She let her head fall into her hands. "How could I have missed so many signs of trouble?" She lifted her head slowly to gaze imploringly at him. "Am I really such a naïve person? Isn't this something I should have seen coming?"

Imhotep started a bit at the note of pleading in her voice, begging for reassurance. Rhianna, as a rule, did *not* beg. "No," he said softly, "Neither of us saw this coming. But the speed of which trouble has arrived is disturbing." He glanced out the window. "I don't want to be insensitive, but I am late."

"Ah, yes." Rhianna smirked, standing up, an echo of her bright teasing. "Your hot date." She gave a full grin at the shade of red this turned Imhotep. "Well, I need an escort to my temporary rooms for tonight, and I imagine it will give you a rather convenient excuse to be near the women's quarters at this time of the evening." He smiled at that and offered her his arm as they left for the other end of the palace.

After a few moments of walking and simplistic conversation that was more for the benefit of the guards they passed, Rhianna realize that Imhotep was doing some very quick thinking. The servants and guards that were always outside the quarters of any of the concubines at this time of the evening presented an impassable barrier to whomever he was seeing tonight.

**And it's because of me that he's late.**

Thinking quickly, Rhianna bade her friend a cheery 'goodnight', winking at him to give a bit of warning. Deftly twisting her ankle around the table by her door, she sent a number of vases and porcelain objects crashing to the ground, shattering and skidding all the way down the hall. Babbling apologies for her "clumsiness", Rhianna peremptorily shooed the maids and guards off to bring her some cloths and baskets to clean up with. In the confusion, Imhotep slipped past the doors across the hall, smiling at Rhianna's faked moans of regret and her commands to take themselves off to do something productive while she cleaned up. No, she didn't need help, thank you, she felt simply awful at ruining so many of His Highness' decorations, no, she could manage very well, and what did they think they were doing, couldn't they let her do it herself, she'd feel ever so much better about it.

At the end of her monologue and the lack of footsteps, Imhotep peeked back out and saw Rhianna grinning at him.

"Of course," she whispered to him, "I must do this alone to show Pharaoh how tragically sorry I am and it will take *such* a long time. Several hours, at least. You know how clumsy I am."

Imhotep blinked a bit at that. "You are most certainly not going to wear yourself out by cleaning up glass for hours at a time. I'll think of something else."

"Oh, don't be ridiculous. I'll just pop out an illusion of myself cleaning and give strict orders that I'm not to be disturbed. I can put the glass back together in less than five minutes, really. You'll have a nice mirage of myself out here for awhile while I take a nap for a few hours. I'll come get you when I can't stall anymore."

He gave his friend a soft thanks and turned to meet his love. Whispering an explanation, reassurances tinged with amusement at Rhianna's antics, he led Anck-su-namun away from the door and into a loving embrace. Rhianna always came through for him.

**night falls, the sun rises, morning in Thebes**

Rhianna woke early the next morning, enjoying the sunrise through the spacious windows; both the sunrise and the windows an amazing contrast from the ones in Atlantis. The sunrises in Atlantis tended to be short and to the point; not the elaborate and heated display of an artist's array of colors in startlingly beautiful combinations. And Atlantian windows were either narrow and cramped with overdone stained glass, tall and thin and bedecked with metal shutters, or totally non-existent. Windows in Egypt were simply openings in the wall, revealing spacious balconies or sheer drops to the ground below.

She stretched, not enjoying the straw-filled pallet on the bed nearly as much as the windows. As the only daughter of the former High Master of the Council of Seven, Rhianna could have had her choice of anything, but even the humble rooms she insisted upon in the Rider barracks had a feather and cotton filled mattress. Shrugging at cultural differences, she pulled on her underclothes, tunic, and leggings, and investigated the dressing table by the window.

She hoped Aspen had been settled well last night. After a nap and some quick glass repairs, she'd tapped on the door Imhotep had entered. He'd been in the arms of his love, whomever she was, and he was understanding after she explained that she couldn't delay the guards any longer, who would soon be coming in to check on the unknown woman. The woman had seemed a bit hostile, though. Rhianna had still been so exhausted, despite her nap, that she'd simply collapsed into bed after asking a servant to see to Aspen.

A maid entered suddenly, obviously startled to see her awake. "Milady!" the servant gasped. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I checked an hour ago and you were still sleeping, I-"

Rhianna did not give the stammering girl time to finish her apology. "Oh, that's quite all right. I'm grateful for the thought, but I don't need any help right now." She indicated her dressed form and the maid began to apologize for being unobservant.

"Oh, for Aeryc's sake." Rhianna put her hands on her hips. "Well, if it'll make you feel better, I could use help with my hair." She tossed the tangled mess over her shoulder.

"Th-thank you, Milady." The little maid spoke to the floor. "The Pharaoh, Ra's blessings be upon him, insisted that I give you assistance." She crossed timidly to Rhianna, who had seated herself at the dressing table.

Rhianna sighed at the subservience in the girl's voice. "What's your name?" **The child can't be more than fifteen, or so.**

"Miw-sher, Milady."

"Well, Miw-sher, my name is Rhianna, and I don't like to be called 'milady'. Sounds far too much like 'malady', don't you agree?"

Miw-sher giggled nervously and Rhianna lowered her guess at the girl's age to closer to twelve. "Yes, Mi- um, Rhianna. H-how would you like me to do your hair?"

"Oh, just a braid, if you don't mind. I can't do anything with this mess, normally." Rhianna yawned. Miw-sher picked up a brush and came towards her rather nervously. It suddenly occurred to Rhianna that most women in Egypt shaved their heads along with the men in deference to the heat and wore wigs. The fact alone that Rhianna had a full, thick mane of long hair was probably enough to unnerve the little maid, let alone the fact that it was not black, but a deep mahogany tinged with red.

Rhianna smiled at Miw-sher. "My hair doesn't bite, I promise."

The girl looked surprised that Rhianna had been able to guess her apprehension. "Well, it's not that, Milady."

Rhianna raised an eyebrow at her.

"Sorry. Rhianna. Well, it's just that I'm used to working with wigs and I."

"Oh, you won't hurt me. I'm tough." Rhianna smiled at the child. Miw-sher picked up a brush and began to run it through Rhianna's hair. Rhianna herself closed her eyes, relieved not to have to deal with her unruly mane. Miw-sher seemed to gain confidence as she began braiding and asked her if all the women in Atlantis had hair like Rhianna's.

"Well, not all of them," Rhianna chuckled. "Most female children keep their hair short until they're teenagers, some even afterward, but long hair is something of a vain trend among my people." Encouraged, Miw-sher asked a few more questions, and before long, Rhianna was describing Atlantis, the landscape, the city, the people, and everything about Riding. She fell into her story-telling mode, painting vivid pictures of her home for the wide- eyed girl styling her hair.

"It sounds so beautiful." Miw-sher sighed wistfully as she finished braiding. "I wish."

"What?" Rhianna turned on her seat to regard the girl kindly.

"It's silly. I know that serving the ladies of the Pharaoh is a great honor, but I wish I could see the places I hear about. Sometimes I'm responsible for painting the designs on the women of the palace and I hear them talk to each other about stories they hear in court from ambassadors, and such. Lady Anck-su-namun mentioned something that the High Priest told her when they were--" Miw-sher cut herself off with a gasp and a hand to her mouth.

Rhianna inhaled sharply, aware of the possible danger for Imhotep in this small servant of a girl. "What were you saying?" She asked sternly. Miw- sher was aware of Imhotep's indiscretion, that much was obvious.

Miw-sher dropped to her knees. "Oh, Lady, forgive me. I meant nothing, I swear. I didn't mean. I wasn't."

Rhianna sighed, rolling her eyes disgustedly at herself. "Oh, child. I'm not angry. Not at you, anyway. How long have you known?"

"About three weeks." Miw-sher sniffed, rubbing away tears. "Please, please, don't tell anyone, Lady. Please." the girl whispered, obviously terrified.

**This was happening three weeks ago?!?** Rhianna made a mental note to throttle Imhotep for not telling her earlier. She knelt down to put an arm around the girl. "It's all right, Miw-sher, I already knew. And what did I tell you about calling me 'Lady'?"

Miw-sher looked up at her, shocked. "You knew? But- but you're Atlantian! And a Green Rider! They're supposed to defend the Pharaoh, as well as their own rulers!"

Rhianna made another mental note to discuss Egyptian views on Atlantians with Imhotep and turned back to the terrified girl.

"Miw-sher," Rhianna began, "What I'm about to tell you is absolute secret. I don't like killing young people, but if you breathe a word to anyone about any of this I will have to make sure you die. Understood?" Miw-sher looked absolutely petrified, nodding frantically.

"Okay. Now that we understand each other, I already know about Imhotep and Anck-su-namun. What I don't know is how you know about them." Rhianna gazed at the girl.

The servant girl looked as though she were about faint. "La- Rhianna," She aborted the title before it was complete, "I swore to Lady Anck-su-namun I wouldn't tell anyone about it. Please, I." Miw-sher broke off into terrified weeping.

Rhianna finally realized that she was scaring the child into stupor. "Miw- sher, look at me." The girl opened her eyes and locked eyes with Rhianna, who put both hands on the girl's shoulders. "I already knew. I don't know this Anck-su-namun, but High Priest Imhotep is my dearest friend. I understand that telling me was an accident, but is an accident that must never reoccur. I don't want either of them to get hurt for not being able to control whom they love."

Miw-sher broke into renewed tears. "But that's just it! Lady Anck-su-namun doesn't love Lord Imhotep! She loves the danger and the fact that he betrays his Pharaoh by loving her. I heard her say so! She says that she loves that fact that the two most powerful men in Egypt, who are brothers, are indirectly fighting for her favor, even though they don't know that they are!" The girl dissolved into weeping, her face buried in Rhianna's tunic.

Rhianna was in shock. This child had no reason to lie or embroider such a tale. Could it be? Could her dearest friend be in love with such a woman? She remembered the calculating eyes that had glared coldly at her last night when she'd come to warn Imhotep that it was growing late. Those eyes gave her the shivers. Like the eyes and form of the Jewel Cobra of Rhianna's homeland; beautiful, but traitorous and a bearer of the most deadly poison.

*** Imhotep strolled out of the palace gates the next morning, fighting the urge to skip, whistle, or do any number of other undignified things. Heading for the temple, he skillfully avoided merchants selling their wares, children dodging among them, stealing and playing, animals, and various obstacles that made up the main streets of Thebes. The reality in the back of his mind was still turning over the implications of the arrows Rhianna had in her possession, but his heart and the fore-front of his mind were fully concentrated on Anck-su-namun. His memories of the previous night, worries of how much Seti suspected, and all-encompassing love for the woman obliterated any room for other conscious thought. But as Imhotep entered the temple, he noticed a very familiar horse on the steps. In fact, two very familiar horses and a donkey, of all things.

He slipped past the lesser priests, going about daily rituals of devotions to Osiris, silently gliding closer and closer, until he was near enough to hear the voices of the two men whose presence had been revealed by the animals on the steps.

"-and I say that your plan is a waste of time. What does your almighty Council know of life here? Your captain will no doubt punish you as *she*," and here Imhotep could hear a definite note of bitterness, "Sees fit. The Med-jai did not ask for your presence in Thebes, nor did the Pharaoh, whom we are sworn to protect. Your captain and the other Green Riders may be incompetent enough to put your own country in danger, but the Med-jai will do no such thing. Good day to you, Lieutenant Djedefor." The figure that had been speaking whirled around, directly into Imhotep.

"My Lord Imhotep." The man nodded, and strode off, collecting the horse next to Aspen on the steps of the temple.

Imhotep blinked, not sure he believed his senses. Had that really been the captain of the Med-jai? Rhammasu? He stood quite still, staring after the departing figure. He and Rhammasu had been friends since their early teens, and Imhotep had spent a good deal of time with the boy Rhammasu when Rhianna was occasionally ensconced on Atlantis. Why was his friend treating him thus?

Thoughts of Anck-su-namun crossed his mind and, determinedly steeling himself for inevitable unpleasant news, Imhotep approached the man Rhammasu had been talking, or lecturing, to.

Rhianna's second lieutenant, Djedefor, stood ram-rod straight against the stone columns. "Lieutenant Djedefor." Imhotep greeted him, "Am I interrupting anything?"

"No." Djedefor said sharply. "Not anymore." He raked a hand through shoulder-length, blond curls and sighed. "Sorry, Imhotep. It's been a rather long morning already. You wouldn't know where Rhianna is, would you?"

"Is that not her horse outside the temple?" Imhotep frowned.

"Oh, that's Aspen, all right." Djedefor smiled indulgently. "And he's mocking me for having to ride a borrowed donkey. Not very Green Rider-esque of me at all. I'm certainly in for a telling-off from Rhianna when I see her. Expectations of the people, lack of dignity, and all." He grinned up at the priest, who was the taller by several inches. Rhianna had know Djedefor since she'd joined the service, and the man's frequent presence with his captain, even in Egypt, had led him and Imhotep to establish something of a camaraderie, if not open friendship. Djedefor never called anyone by a title, but he was just so respectful, when respect was called for, that it was impossible to take offense.

Imhotep dragged his attention back soon enough to realize that the man had been speaking to him. "-and what with all the surprise attacks, it's just not safe for her to-- Hey! Priest-man! You okay there, pal?"

"Of course. My apologies." Imhotep tried to hang onto some dignity.

"Oh, yeah. Of course." Djedefor grinned. "Rhianna mentioned something about a girl, but I never thought that even a girl could make *you* this absent- minded."

"I am not absent-minded." Imhotep intoned solemnly, knowing even as he did so that it would not make one whit of difference to Djedefor.

"Uh-huh. Sure. Whatever, man." The lieutenant winked at him. "Nope, no action with the ladies, nothing goin' on."

Imhotep blinked at that, startled that the man could discern something he thought he'd hidden so carefully. "Oh?"

"Yes, 'oh'." Djedefor leaned back against the column. "You got the same look the newer recruits get when they've seen Rhianna and know that she's the one around to keep tabs on 'em. Novices!" He rolled his eyes. "Not that the woman isn't attractive. Stars, no! I once thought about goin' for it, but she's just a tad too dangerous for my taste. Or anyone else's. Girl's gotta calm down if she wants to catch a man. And it certainly wouldn't be hard for her to catch one if she did!"

"Catch one what?" A small figure in green was visible against the shadows, a figure that hadn't been there a second ago.

"Uh, nothing." Djedefor smiled disarmingly. "How's it ridin', Rhianna?"

"Fine, Djedefor. Thank you." Rhianna cocked her head suspiciously at first him, then Imhotep, raising a delicate eyebrow when the high priest just shrugged. "Okay, whatever." Rhianna rolled her eyes. "Djedefor, would you take that nag you borrowed and dash off a message to the Council?" She held out a scroll.

"Well," her lieutenant frowned a bit, "You know they're not exactly letting anyone in."

"That changed five minutes ago. I'm telling you to get going." Rhianna informed him archly, tossing him the scroll of papyrus. Djedefor caught it and headed out, waving a quick farewell before clambering atop his rather disgraceful mount and setting off.

"Normally I'd tear his teeth out for not bringing his horse, but I didn't want to disturb anyone." Rhianna glanced over her shoulder at the worshipers.

Imhotep nodded, puzzled at her sudden capitulation to courtesy. "Shall we?" he gestured toward a rather deserted corridor.

She nodded, tossing him another papyrus scroll. "Take a look at that. It matches the markings on the arrows."

****

Rhianna and Imhotep strode slowly down the more deserted halls of the temple of Osiris, chants and rituals fading into the background noise of Thebes. Imhotep was studying the scroll his friend had given him and Rhianna was debating with herself over whether or not to mention the conversation with the palace maid, Miw-sher, that had taken place earlier that morning. She hoped Djedefor got back to Atlantis all right. This was just becoming more and more disturbing...

Rhianna, to her chagrin, jumped a fraction when Imhotep broke the near- silence. "The writing looks familiar, but I can't place it. I think I've seen similar figures on scrolls in Atlantis and from Athens, but it's nothing I can readily make out." He frowned.

His companion nodded. "I cross-referenced the writings with a few things in Pharaoh's library this morning before I got here. It's close to Mycenean in structure, but it looks a bit like early Atlantian." She pointed to a line of squiggles and other figures. "I think this line, according to what you have in the libraries, refers to the Kanmorhan Vane."

"The what?"

Rhianna raised her eyes to meet his. "The ancient name for the Blackveil Forest on Atlantis. It's towards the edge of the Saccoridian province."

Imhotep searched his memory for the scattered bits of Atlantian history he'd picked up here and there. "Isn't that the forest that the sorcerer came from? The one that started the Great War?"

"Mornhaven the Black." Rhianna nodded. "He was executed after the Great War and the forest walled off with stone work interwoven with spells. I found his name mentioned further down. I can't read all of it; some of the markings aren't anywhere to be found in your library."

Imhotep gazed out the window, thinking hard. "When did you get this? And from where?"

"This morning." Rhianna sighed, leaning back against the hall and running a hand through her hair. "Apparently, Namidian had it in his pocket. The message I received yesterday mentioned something about the volcanoes around Crete acting up, but I was a bit more concerned with the section that demanded that I stay here due to those incidents with the mysterious rider in gray. I reread it when I got a message this morning, courtesy of Djedefor. He stopped by just as I was going to find Seti. He brought this with him as well as a rather imperious order from the Council of Seven. They want guards stationed around any transport panels you have active and assistance in translating this parchment."

"End quote. It'll be interesting to see how our illustrious Pharaoh deals with the order." Imhotep smiled at her obvious frustration with the Council, neatly sidestepping the comment about Namidian. The dead lieutenant was the least of their problems now and he couldn't afford to give Rhianna time to grieve her friend, as much as he sympathized with her. "Well, most of the transport panels are deactivated, but I'll have my priests watch the ones I know about until we can convince Seti to post more Med-jai." A brief frown of puzzlement crossed his features at the mention of the Med-jai; it reminded him of Rhammasu's odd behavior this morning.

Rhianna caught the expression. "What is it?"

"Nothing, Rhammasu was just acting a bit oddly this morning." Imhotep paced back and forth a bit.

"Yeah, I noticed. I ran into him at Thoth's library this morning; the man nearly bit my head off when I commented on it." She gave Imhotep a knowing glance. "I know you two have known each other a long time, but keep your eye on that one. Especially with the developments you have going." Rhianna gave a meaningful nod out a window, gesturing toward the palace.

"I will," Imhotep assured her, knowing she was referring to his relationship with Anck-su-namun. "Now, back to this parchment. How much have you translated?"

Rhianna sighed wearily, sliding down the wall to recline against it. "Not much, and I've been working on it for several hours. I was up shortly after dawn and met Djedefor not long after that. It's only midmorning and I feel like I've had a stampede of elephants through my skull." She let her head fall into her hands as Imhotep dropped to the floor next to her. "I've only managed a word here and there, and it's not nearly enough to form anything even remotely understandable. I wish Plato was here." She moaned. "Where could Namidian have gotten the blasted thing?"

Imhotep turned it over and over in his hands, gazing at it in what Rhianna recognized as what she called 'his analytical look'. "Well, it feels similar to papyrus, but I think there was cloth involved in the production. It's not nearly as stiff as some of the ancient texts I deal with, but it's worn around the edges enough to be several hundred years old. Of course, that could also be from over-handling or a more damp climate."

"Or any combination of the above." Rhianna added wryly. "So we can we safely conclude anything?"

"Only that it's at least a century old and that it's not true papyrus, but not much more than that." He told her ruefully. "If I knew where it was made I could tell you quite a bit more about it."

"Shards take it." Rhianna cursed through her teeth. "This doesn't tell us anything."

"Could the libraries in Atlantis tell us anything?" Imhotep asked quietly.

"Maybe. Possibly." She let her breath out in a hiss. "This is absolutely infuriating!"

"Really." Imhotep smirked a bit. "I'd never have guessed."

Rhianna lightly punched his arm. "Enough sarcasm. You make your point." She gazed out a window placed high on the wall, close to the ceiling. After a moment, she asked him how his night had been. Imhotep's smile was a rather obvious answer. "Just be careful, my friend. This is wearing on my nerves."

"I'm always careful." He laughed quietly. "However, the morning is turning to afternoon; we'd both do well to go and dance a bit of attendance on the Pharaoh. Why don't you head home tonight, see what you can discover about this parchment, and sleep in your own bed? I must prepare for another ceremony this afternoon, but if you can get me a copy of this," he tapped the parchment, "Then I'll see what I can do." Imhotep stood and offered a hand to Rhianna, who took it and allowed him to help her up. He tried to ignore the flutter in his stomach at the smile she gave him.

"Good idea. I need to assign a few things back at the Rider barracks and stop in on the Council. Those fools can't function without supervision," she laughed. They walked out towards the steps, the temple now deserted except for themselves and a few of Imhotep's gold-painted priests. Rhianna strode over to Aspen who had been sniffing patiently at the ground, searching for anything to munch on. She swung into the saddle and something in the shadows caught her eye. She could just make out the lithe form of Anck-su-namun before she turned to ride away. The concubine emerged from the shadows and flowed into Imhotep's embrace as Rhianna rode away, trying to ignore the gnawing feeling in her stomach that felt far too much like jealousy...

*** Aside from the interlude in the temple, Rhianna spent the day in the throne room, trying to keep her temper. Seti's obtuseness, greed, pompous arrogance, and sheer ignorance were as obvious as the sun, yet his people doted on him with an obsessive worship that was absolutely nauseating. Only the occasional appearance by Imhotep every few hours kept her from flinging caution and diplomacy to the winds and riding back to the Green Rider barracks in Atlantis. It didn't help her temper that Seti's daughter, Nefertiri, was also in attendance, seated at the foot of the dais on which Seti's throne stood.

The princess had a decent heart, Rhianna had decided long ago, but her spoiled upbringing, stubbornness, narrow mind, and lack of the language of politics made her a dangerous person to have to deal with. Nefertiri had an enormous amount of influence at court, but was very naïve, something that Rhianna knew drove Imhotep crazy. He was fond of his niece, that subject Rhianna did not doubt, but Imhotep was emotionally and politically literate enough to realize that Nefertiri saw him as a drain on her father's attention. Rhianna couldn't blame the girl for being jealous of Imhotep and everyone else at court; the girl's upbringing had not been what Rhianna would have chosen for anyone she wanted to see turn out as kind or understanding. Nefertiri saw everyone as a competitor, except her Med-jai body guard. Their affection was obvious.

Hours later, weary from arguing, frustrated with Nefertiri and Seti, and with a headache to match a pyramid, Rhianna led Aspen out of the stables and over to a transport panel. The same one she and Imhotep had come through a day and a half ago. There was an unreasonably fluttery feeling in the pit of her stomach at the thought of her friend.

**Cut it out.** She gave herself a mental slap. **What has gotten into you?!?**

Aspen whinnied quietly at her. "Hush, love." She told him, "We're going home." Mounting, Rhianna guided to horse to the transport panel and, with a nod at the guard she had insisted upon, rode through. "Atlantis, Capitol City, the eastern courtyard."

****** The opalescent glow faded quickly from her eyes, revealing the immaculate courtyard outside the Council Chamber. Rhianna gave her surroundings a quick surveillance and, finding nothing amiss, dismounted and led Aspen through the archway that led outside and to the stables. She passed by the pastures for the noblemen's horses quickly and trotted through the stables for such pampered horses even more quickly. Through the back doors of the stable lay a paddock covered in feather grass and hay; plain and a bit simple, but the best for Rider purposes. Across the small field, a lone figure was grooming an elegant horse before the Rider stables. The horse was a mare of magnificent chestnut color, with black stocking markings on her back legs and her right front leg. Her left foreleg was white to the knee, echoing the oddly crescent-shaped blaze on her forehead. The mare nickered a greeting to Aspen, who replied in kind. The figure grooming the mare, as if Rhianna didn't already know, was Djedefor.

He stood, using his long coat to sketch a mocking curtsey at Rhianna. "Welcome back, Captain." He grinned.

Rhianna threw back her head and laughed. "Djedefor, I think it's the ladies of aristocracy who curtsy, not lieutenants who forget to take their horses to Egypt. A little mixed up, are you?"

Djedefor shrugged, grinning. "Just trying to make ya laugh. You had a right mean scowl on your face, girl."

Rhianna smiled. It was a thin smile, but genuine. "Sorry, Djed. Long day."

"No kiddin'. I had the sense to come home and sleep a couple hours, but you? No, can't rest, gotta dance on your strings for His Highnessness. Really, though. What's up?" Djedefor put the curry comb away and led his mare into the stable along side Rhianna and Aspen. The two horses sniffed and whuffed at each other down the center aisle to the back.

"Well, you got a copy of Namidian's manuscript?" Rhianna tilted her head at him as she lead Aspen into his stall.

"Yep." Djedefor nudged the mare into the stall next to Aspen. She neighed in protest. "Sorry, Leda," Djedefor addressed his horse. "Really. We'll get you a good long run tomorrow, okay?" The Leda tossed her mane, but allowed Djedefor to stroke her nose, pacified.

Rhianna paused to smirk at her lieutenant while removing Aspen's saddle. "Probably just mad you forgot to take her with you this morning and had to ride a donkey instead."

Leda, apparently hearing this, neighed indignantly at her Rider and nipped at his fingers. Rhianna snickered.

"Leda! Ouch! Crazy horse, I oughta pull your teeth out!"

The mare snorted at this, turning around in the small confines of the stall until she was facing the other way. Rhianna's snickers turned into giggles.

"All right, honey girl, I'm sorry about it. I said that already." Djedefor stroked her flank, trying to appease the finicky horse and ignore his captain, who was fighting to keep her laughter quiet.

The mare did not turn around.

"Carrots tomorrow?" Djedefor offered hopefully.

Leda snorted. To the trained ear of a Rider, it sounded more than a bit derisive. Rhianna bit her fingers to muffle her laughter and hopefully shock some of her usual soberness into herself. No success.

"Apples?" Djedefor tried again. "I'll get you some of the green ones you like, huh? Green apples for a Green Rider horse?" Rhianna's soft laughter grew louder.

Leda submitted, turning around and allowing Djedefor to stroke her mane. Rhianna leaned against Aspen, tears running down her face as her mirth left her helpless.

"Huh." Djedefor snorted. He turned to Aspen. "Snap her out of that, will ya, pal?"

Aspen gently kicked his Rider with his right foreleg, which served to calm Rhianna down enough to rebuke the stallion lightly, but continue to snicker.

"You are the utter limit, Djedefor." Rhianna grinned, subsiding. "I can't wait for you to get married so I can see this sort of entertainment with your wife." They both exited the stables, wading through hay and long grass in the pasture.

Djedefor snorted again. "I'm not about to give up gallivantin' where I please to pacify some snoot of a woman about everything." He turned to Rhianna and grinned. "Besides. If I got married, who would keep up the stories during barrack nights? Gotta keep my reputation as a storyteller!"

Rhianna smiled back, thinking about the late nights when all the Riders would sit around the main area of the stable, grooming horses, mending tack, and above all, telling tales. Nights she wouldn't trade for a dozen Council seats. "No one exceeds you, Djed."

"Except perhaps my Captain and her tall, bald friend." Djedefor laughed, opening the door to the Rider barracks for her. "Admit it, Rhianna, you and Imhotep rule the story circle."

Rhianna shrugged, entering the low-ceilinged main room. "Well, all the things we've seen and done, added to any sort of imagination, makes a good story. Not exactly up to ballad standards, though." A shadow crossed her face, and she stared at the door that led down to the private rooms of her late lieutenant and the only trained bard among the Green Riders.

"Rhianna," Djedefor's countenance became downcast, "We all miss Namidian. You know that."

The Rider Captain abandoned her composure, sinking onto a cushioned chair in tears. "I know. I know."

Djedefor put an arm around the woman who was like a sister to him, wishing mightily that Imhotep was there to comfort Rhianna. Namidian had begun to creep past the walls that were around the small Captain's heart. She already had a brother substitute, many male relatives, and had been old enough when her father died to remember him. But she had never had someone to love. Namidian had emerged as a suitable candidate for Rhianna's affections, but he hadn't been exactly what the girl needed. Djedefor could have sworn that Imhotep had even been a little bit jealous of Namidian. The Riders had been taking bets on whether or not Namidian and Rhianna would get together openly, in secret, or even acknowledge anything. They would never find out, now. If only his dear friend, the little sister he'd always wanted, could find someone to share her heart with.

*** Imhotep stood beside Seti, watching the ceremonial fight between Nefertiri and Anck-su-namun. After an entire day as a go-between from the temple and the throne room where debates were raging, he was glad to simply watch the woman he loved. Her fighting gear was no hardship on the eyes, either. Neither was the sight of Nefertiri's feet being knocked from under her. His niece was very clever, but didn't know enough about the way people were to protect herself in court. It had been Imhotep who had suggested that Nefertiri learn the art of weapons. The girl was quite competent now, thanks to his love. He bit back a smile, remembering how angry Anck-su- namun had been when Seti had ordered her to train Nefertiri. She was very beautiful when she was angry. Like now.

What was Seti saying?!? When did he take it into his head to marry Anck-su- namun? Imhotep's heart screamed in agony and he had to fight his instincts to throttle Seti until the man turned purple. But he remained passive, appearing to the court as serene, prayerful, even. He caught Anck-su- namun's eyes as he walked away with his priests and gave her their sign. He had to see her tonight.

*** Rhianna tossed and turned on her bed, unable to find a comfortable position. It was near mid-night and she couldn't shake the feeling that Imhotep was in trouble. The little voices in the back of her head seemed to argue.

*Something was wrong. He needed her help. Something was wrong!* **Shut up! It's your imagination! Imhotep's fine. He's probably sound asleep by now, as you would be if you had any sense!**

*He's not fine! Something awful is happening!*

Abandoning all attempt to sleep, Rhianna threw off the light blanket covering her, tossed on her clothes, and stalked out of her rooms, down the hall, and into the common area of the barracks. She'd just go check on him. Get permission to use the Pharaoh's library again. Might as well do something useful if she couldn't sleep.

"Going somewhere?" Djedefor leaned against the door. "Little late."

"Library." Rhianna growled, pushing past him. "I can't sleep."

"You too, huh?" Djedefor shook his head, following her outside the barracks and across the Rider paddock. "Is it just me, or does it feel like somethin' real bad is about to happen?"

Rhianna stopped dead halfway across the paddock to the stable. "You feel it too? I thought I was just imagining things."

"I feel it, all right." Djedefor frowned as they entered the stable. "Almost like there's some really bad storm coming. Something's about to happen."

Nodding, Rhianna shook Aspen out of his doze and put on his gear. "Sorry, Aspen," she told the stallion, "But we have to get back to Thebes. Djedefor," She addressed the Lieutenant, "If I'm not back in an hour or so, go to the Council."

"No way." Djedefor shook his head emphatically. "I'm comin'."

"Djed, please." Rhianna swung into the saddle. "I feel like you're needed here."

The man folded his arms and sighed. "All right. I'll stay. But by Stars, I'm doin' it under protest."

"Thanks." Rhianna whispered, riding across the panel.

*** Imhotep was numb with grief. Anck-su-namun was dead. No matter. He would resurrect her, and they would be together. Not even Seti could separate them. Not anymore. His chariot, bearing the body of his love, raced across the sands of the desert, bound for Hamunaptra.

*** Rhianna emerged from the transport panels to chaos.

"The Atlantian! Seize the Green Rider!!"

Med-jai and courtiers surrounded her, pulling Rhianna forcibly off of Aspen. There wasn't even time for her to draw her sword. Fighting all the way, Rhianna was dragged into the palace and thrown at Nefertiri's feet. The princess stared coldly down at the confused Rider, tears running down the front of an otherwise icy visage.

"Green Rider Rhianna of Atlantis. You are hereby charged of conspiring to kill Pharaoh Seti I." Nefertiri, her eyes red but cold, turned away. "Take her away and do with her as you will.", the princess addressed the Med-jai.

Rhianna reeled back, shocked. "Wh-WHAT?" The Med-jai seized her arms, dragging her into what she recognized as a the closest Egyptians had to a dungeon. "You can't do this! When the Council finds out they'll declare war on your country! You're destroying all that has been achieved between Atlantis and Egypt! Release me! Release me immediately!"

Rhianna screamed until she was hoarse. Silence was her only answer.

*** Hours later, Rhianna was awakened by shrieks of pain. She shuddered, having a pretty good idea of what was happening to whomever was being tortured. Plato's lessons of Egyptian government had been well-learned, after all.

The door of her cell opened. A figure in black, with the head of Anubis, stood in the doorway. Two more figures joined the first and Rhianna was dragged into what appeared to be an embalming chamber. What met her eyes when she looked around made her mouth drop open.

Imhotep was being wrapped in bandages, his face contorted in pain. Tears began to stream down Rhianna's cheeks. "No." She whispered. "No!" She launched herself at the Med-jai hurting her dearest friend in the world, trying to help him. No matter what Imhotep had done, he didn't deserve this torture. Rhianna screamed and clawed at the Med-jai who restrained her. A gag was forced into her mouth, and she found herself struggling for breath.

"We found the Atlantian's horse outside." One of the Med-jai spoke to one of the figures in a jackal mask, holding out a bloodstained cloth. "He is restrained. Let the curse proceed."

Fresh tears streamed down Rhianna's cheeks. What would they do to her beloved Aspen? Panicked, she began to struggle again, screaming around the gag when she saw Imhotep lowered into a sarcophagus and a bucket of scarab beetles poured in after him. What right had the Med-jai to torture them so!?!? How dare they!?!? She twisted in the grasp of her captors, ropes grinding into her wrists and blood flowing down her arms.

"The Wanderer's Curse?" A masked figure asked.

"It seems fitting, as her conspirator suffers the Hom-dai." A Med-jai spoke. "Get on with it."

Rhianna recognized the voice. She managed to spit out the wad of cloth and twist in her captor's grip to face the Med-jai. "Rhammasu! Please! For the sake of your friendship with Imhotep-"

Rhammasu struck her sharply across the face and reinserted the gag. "Begin." He commanded, addressing the masked figures.

One of them nodded, turning the pages of an enormous book of what looked to be obsidian. He began to chant a stream of syllables, pain lancing through Rhianna's body at every sound. Through the pain she realized that she could no longer feel the grip of the Med-jai on her arms. The world began to spin and she felt herself flying through the air. Flying under the stars of the night sky in Egypt. Impossible. The pain intensified and Rhianna lost consciousness. **** Rhianna woke gradually, a soft and slightly damp sensation dragging her back to awareness. She blinked, squinting a bit in the light of what appeared to be a sunset. Aspen was nuzzling her cheek and she was lying sprawled in the sand. Rhianna groaned and pulled herself to her feet. She turned to look at Aspen and gasped.

Her horse, her normal, ebony-colored, saddled and bridled horse, was transparent and glowing a faint blue. Rhianna raised her hands to touch Aspen, sure it was just an illusion. She stopped, staring at her hands, then her arms, and then her body. The same phenomena extended to her. Rhianna whirled around, seeking something normal in the sand and statues.

Hamunaptra. They were at Hamunaptra.

She reached out to touch a stone pillar. Her hand went directly through.

Aspen came up behind her, laying his head on her shoulder and neighing mournfully. Tears already coursing down her cheeks, Rhianna turned, burying her face in Aspen's mane, and sobbed, her heart shattered. ***** Epilogue:

Time had passed, but she didn't know how long. She remembered Djedefor coming to the ruins, speaking to thin air. She had tried to touch him, to speak to him, but he remained unaware of her presence. But he spoke aloud, sitting in the sand, eyes closed. She remembered how he'd wept, telling her of what he'd learned when he'd come to find her. Imhotep, Seti, the Hom- dai, and her own curse. He spoke to the air, not even knowing if she heard him, speaking of the eternal isolation that had been forced upon her. And then he'd spoken of Atlantis.

The Council had failed.

The mysterious figure, known as the Gray Rider, had slaughtered the entire Council of Seven and had taken over. The populace, too frightened to do anything, had bowed to the Gray One's commands and Atlantis was now cut off from the world. With Atlantis' shields firmly in place, the very ocean itself had swallowed the island leaving a handful of Riders scattered in the world. No one knew, Djedefor had said, if Atlantis existed under the ocean's depths, or if it had been totally wiped out.

Rhianna had sat in front of Djedefor, weeping for her people, her friends, her Riders. For Imhotep.

Med-jai had found Djedefor later that day and attempted to execute him for his presence. He escaped with Leda into the desert, but Djedefor was not trained for desert survival. Rhianna knew in her heart that her lieutenant would die.

Rhianna found that she could not die, could not kill herself. And not a living thing was the slightest bit aware of her presence. Aspen remained with her, her only companion. The Med-jai guarded Hamunaptra, totally focused on the so-called threat Imhotep presented. Rhianna was forgotten.

Generations passed. Sometimes, Med-jai warriors would say they saw a figure in green upon a horse, a figure that disappeared whenever anyone tried to get closer. A legend was born of a spirit who could not rest, the Wanderer who guarded the keys to a lost world and waited for the time to take vengeance.

Sometimes Med-jai near Hamunaptra would swear they heard a silvery voice on the wind, singing forgotten spells against an ancient evil.

But Rhianna wept, for Imhotep and Atlantis were gone.