5000 Years
Prologue
The precession seemed to go on for an eternity, from the gates of the new city all the way to the horizon. A young girl wrapped up in a dark brown cloak laid on a dune of sand, watching the animals and people trudge in. The city had been finished mere weeks earlier, a project that had been started by the previous Pharaoh and was now carried on by his elder son, Aknankanon, and his chief wife, the Queen of all Egypt.
A chariot passed around the dunes, catching the sun on its glittering sides. In front were the most heavenly animals known to man: horses, bred for generations for the royal family. Strong, breathtaking, and plowing along as they guided the new Pharaoh to his brand new palace. Behind him, four slaves carried a covered chair, and through the silhouette was the form of a lady, head held high and proud.
Still yet behind her was a larger, covered platform, this one carried by eight slaves. As the evening sun met the horizon, a boy tumbled from the side. He sprawled across the sand, dusk glancing off of his golden jewelry and betraying his royal status.
Everyone stood, frozen in a moment of shock, then bowed so that their foreheads were pressed against the sand before running to his aide. Once he was properly brushed off, they drew the silk curtain back and offered their lowly hands to lift him back up to his chair. Instead of taking their offering, he ran ahead, holding his little arms up to the lady in the first chair. She took him up in her arms, pulled him close and stroked his wild hair while the boys behind laughed at their joke.
The young girl felt chills running up her spine at the actions of two princes of this so-called great nation of Egypt. The thought that one of those two could someday sit upon the throne terrified her, and yet…The little one in the Queen's arms was different. After he had fallen, she could have almost been sure that his eyes had locked onto hers, while the rest of the world was oblivious to her existence. He hadn't thought a tiny brown speck on a dune was too miniscule to give his attention too.
In seconds the blinding barrage of gold-encrusted carriages was inside of the city walls, with heavy wooden doors sliding shut behind them. Her curiosity satisfied, the young girl turned over and slid carefully down the dune, much like a snake would slither silently across the sand. Her black hair wiped about in her face as the hood of her cloak fell. Her eyes were a grey that would have been icy or cold if they had been anyone else's. But set in her face, they were like the calm after a rainstorm, almost promising the sunshine that would inevitably show through the clouds.
She ran across the sands, her royal sandals keeping her feet from burning on the heat. She ducked around the familiar path, scampering between two peculiar rocks. Anyone else would have marveled at the wonders of the world they lived on, but she and her people knew it was the doorway to their hidden city. Their world…Living in the great land of Egypt beside the reigning race of people. If they ever dared show their faces they would be slaughtered, but their faces weren't as human as hers was. She, their princess, was determined to end the Great War and make peace with that prince. The prince who would one day be Pharaoh.