Reputations are Hard to Live Up To

In the private chambers of Bek and Zaya.

Zaya's eyes were amazed by the new dress and the set of jewels set out before her. She had seen amazing craftsmanship for jewels and dresses but those were for the gods, and these were too small to be of any use to the gods; these were for her and hers alone, gifts from her beloved Bek. She remembered when she has nothing and she would have been lost forever but Bek came to her in her time of judgement, bearing the greatest treasure in Egypt to secure her an afterlife.

Once upon a time rumors of having a husband as a thief would have closed doors to Zaya's face, but as the thief of legend, as Bek had become known and advisor to the king, her previous shame was now her pride and everyone sought to be favorable associated with them, even her family that had previously disowned her.

The couple had a dinner to attend, with ambassadors from foreign lands, for some that would have been the reason for a new dress, but Bek would give her anything he saw that he thought would be becoming on her. Bek did not really have to worry about dressing up because he had already chosen his robe and there was nothing that would suit him better. He always teased Zaya that everyone would rather look upon her beauty than on him anyway.

She would say that the gods and goddesses would be more pleasing to look at and he would say if you did not mind getting a stiff neck from always looking up. Bek had never been one really pay homage to the gods, unlike her, but she would not trade him for anyone else in the world for he was always honest and true to her.

In the Grand Hall.

Bek did not freely complement Horus but there were those who would fall upon themselves to do so. Horus loved having songs sung about him and his adventures, and a favorite topic was the story of his journey to be king. The falcon would watch how Bek would react to the different versions of the tale told in their presence. The former thief's reaction was at times more entertaining than the performers, but to the casual observer it would seem that king and advisor always kept their cool. Horus however treasured Bek and his opinion because in some ways he had to work harder to earn the rare praise.

Horus turned to his guests. The ambassadors were almost as tall as the gods and had some inhuman power that the mortals labelled as magic; but they too were captivated by the thief of legend, more than by the bracelet of Hathor. A faint flicker of worry crossed the king's mind but he quickly dismissed it. There were gifts presented before the court. Treasures that had never been seen in Egypt before and all were amazed. His guests had exception skills in craftsmanship. Just yesterday they had asked permission to build a palace for the use during their visit. They had built a palace overnight within the area designated by the king. They gave everyone a gift of gold and jewels. They even insisted on giving Bek and Zaya their weight in gold, and if they had worn half of the gifts they would have shone like Horus would when he had his armor on, they persuaded the young couple to come and spend the night in their palace. Horus saw no harm and allowed it, but that same night the ambassadors and their palace disappeared and they took Bek with them. Zaya was found alone in the sand under some enchantment that Thoth and Hathor work together to break. Horus was enraged at the duplicity of these guests and their gifts of gold and jewels turned to clay and dust.

Lost in the middle of nowhere.

Bek woke up and saw a different view from the window, this was a sight he had never seen in Egypt, even though he had seen the world from the ship of Ra. The ambassadors presented him to their master and Bek was surprised that it was a mortal magician.

"Who are you? What do you want from me?"

"In my world Bek, thief of legend, names are powerful in the hands of enemies and friends, so I will not give you my name. I never lie but I do not have to tell you everything. I want you to steal something for me."

"Why would I do that?"

He showed Bek an enchanted mirror that would show the one closest to his heart while that person remained in the mortal realm. Bek saw his beloved in her enchanted sleep.

"You would do anything for her wouldn't you?"

"What do I have to do?"

"I want you to steal a very special egg."

"Is that all." Bek said but there were a million questions racing through his head. Why him? What was this egg? Would he ever see Zaya again?

"Of course I do not expect you to do it alone." The magician slipped one of the many rings of his finger. "You cannot harm me by using this ring, but the genie will help you to get the egg to me."

"Genie?"

"The genie is bound to the ring, as long as you have it, the genie will do as you ask, but there are others more powerful than it."

"Why can't you just ask the genie to get you the egg?"

"The genie can only get me something that is made by man, I need a living specimen. I have read every word that has been written regarding the egg and the one who can get it for me is you. You and your unique history will make this possible."

Thoth was eventually able to solve the mystery of Zaya's enchanted sleep by destroying a serpent's egg that a traitor had hidden under Zaya's bed. She woke up and was surprised with everything they told her. When the serpent's egg was mentioned she recalled that her hosts were bragging about having collected almost every egg of every manner of creature on the earth.

Horus recalled a dangerous beast that his father refused to let him to go fight saying his eye sight would actually be a draw back because the beast only had to look you in the eyes to kill you. He could not let Bek face his danger alone, he would save his little friend.

In the Lair of the Beast

When Bek had entered the dark tunnel with many different chambers he was not prepared for what he say, chambers brimming with treasurers of all sorts. Gold, pearls, rubies, emeralds, sapphires and diamonds each filled their own chamber. He passed them without taking any, searching for the one treasure that would bring him home to his beloved. He held the torch watchful for traps, what he saw were strange paths in the sands that looked oddly familiar except for the scale of these tracks.

Something grabbed his arm causing him to drop the torch, and then everything went dark. A sudden heady scent filled his senses and he did not even manage to call for help when he legs gave way and he fell in arms that suddenly enclosed around him. He felt his legs being encircled by a large serpent's tail, and he tried to stay awake, really he tried but his eyes felt to heavy, all he managed was a small cry of help before he completely sank into darkness.

Bek tried to open his eyes and but he couldn't see a thing. He had no strength to rise, but he could hear voices talking. He wanted to sleep on this cold floor, but tried to listen.

"He is greatly loved and he also loves greatly."

"If you want him to live keep his eyes covered and leave this place."

"We need the egg."

"NO! His beloved is already awake he just needs to go home to see her."

"My master will not let him go without the egg."

"Your master would not let him go with or without the egg."

"I will not leave without him."

Bek heard a sound he was not sure he would ever hear again, the sound of wings and he felt familiar arms carrying him. "Horus."

"Your safe now Bek. We are going home."