DISCLAIMER: This story is based upon the series, Charmed, that was created by Constance M. Burge. All Charmed characters are the property of Spelling Productions. The character of Professor Claire Patrick originally appeared in my R&H story, Queen Of The Nile.
THE PLACE: ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT
THE TIME: MAY 16, 2009
"Well, Hannah, here we are." Rex Buckland said as he and Hannah Webster walked along the shore line of the Mediterranean Sea. "Alexandria, the city founded by Alexander The Great himself, over two thousand years ago. Impressive!"
"I have to agree. This city is impressive, Rex." Hannah replied as she looked around.
"That's understating it, Hannah. Here in this city, you'll find remains of three of the greatest civilizations of the ancient world, Egypt, Greece, and Rome, side by side. It truly is remarkable. Think of the people who have walked the streets here, Alexander, Julius Caeser, Mark Antony, and, of course, Cleopatra." With that last name, Rex smiled and winked at Hannah.
"Speaking of which, here is our reception now." Hannah said and pointed at the dark haired woman who was approaching them.
"Rex! Hannah!" Professor Claire Patrick said to the two former Warlocks. "You made it. Thanks for accepting my invitation."
"You're quite welcome, Claire." Rex replied. "Since my classes are over for the summer break, we decided to take you up on your offer to see Alexandria. We're looking forward to having you show us around."
"I'd be honoured to." Claire said. "Mind you, Alexandria has changed quite a bit since the days of my rule."
Yeah, I guess it would have.
Hannah thought to herself as she looked at Claire. She appears to be slightly older than Rex and myself, however, she is over two thousand years old. Rex and I are probably the only two people on Earth that know this! For Claire Patrick was in fact the legendary Cleopatra, last of the Ptolemy line, lover of both Julius Caeser and Mark Antony. Rex and Hannah had discovered Claire's secret the previous fall, when Clair had been a guest lecturer for the class Rex taught at Stanford University, Ancient Languages And Cultures. Claire had come to talk about Ptolemaic Egypt, for she was an Egyptologist, who had made that period her field of study. It was a short time later that Rex and Hannah discovered that the reason Claire had made that period her field was because she had been part of it. A Demon had somehow found out her secret, and had been hounding Claire to share how she became immortal with him. However, Claire didn't have the secret, the potion that had changed her had been administered by one of her alchemists, soon after she had attempted suicide by snake bite. That secret had vanished with said alchemist. With the help of Rex and Hannah, the Demon had been disposed of, however, the two former Warlocks had kept in touch with Claire ever since. Not too long ago, Claire had invited them to come to Alexandria for a visit since Claire maintained a house in the famous Egyptian city. Now they had finally had the time to accept the invitation.
"That is true." Rex replied. "A lot of the Alexandria that you knew, Claire, is under water now, due to earthquake activity."
"I know." Claire said as she turned and looked out at the deep blue Mediterranean. "So much has changed, yet, I'm still here."
"I'm sorry, Claire, I didn't mean to upset you." Rex said.
"No, it's okay, Rex. Why don't we start that tour now." Claire suggested.
"Lead on." Rex said as he and Hannah began following her. "Show us your city."
The Museum Of Ancient Egyptian History was as impressive as Claire had said it had been. Rex and Hannah followed her as she took them on a private tour, finally ending up in a section dedicated to the Ptolemies. "Have a look at this." Claire said and pointed to the carving of the face of a woman on an ancient coin.
"Who is it?" Hannah asked as she squinted her eyes to get a better look.
"Me." Claire replied.
"Really? No offense, Claire, but I don't see the resemblance."
"None taken. There are very few images of me left."
"That is true." Rex said, as he turned to Hannah. "Octavian had every image of Cleopatra he could find destroyed, once he had won his war against her and Mark Antony."
"Why?" Hannah asked. "What was the point?"
"I guess you could call it a smear campaign." Claire said. "Octavian did his very best to erase all traces of me. He couldn't parade me through the streets of Rome, so he decided to wipe me from history."
"Well, he sure failed on that account." Rex said. "Considering that two thousand years later, you're still pretty famous."
"Yeah, I hope that wherever he is now, Octavian is fuming over that." Claire said, a gleam in her eyes. "Say, why don't I take you two back to my house. It's not far from here and I imagine the two of you must be getting hungry by now."
"Sure." Rex said. "Hannah and I are a bit famished, now that you mention it. We could use a nice meal."
Claire's house was modest, but comfortable. "Mind you, it's not as elegant as my old palace, but it is livable." Claire said as she led Rex and Hannah into the living room.
"It's very nice." Rex said as he looked around the room. The living room was furnished as such a room would be.
"How many houses do you have, Claire?" Hannah asked, curious.
"Three." Claire replied. "My other two are in London and New York City. However, this is the one I enjoy coming to the most, since it's in Alexandria, of course. I still have a strong emotional connection to this city, even after twenty centuries."
"Well, as Rex said, this is a nice house."
"Thanks. Let me show you two my study." Claire said and led them into a smaller room just off the living room. This room contained a desk with a computer on it, and, scattered around the room, were various Egyptian artifacts. Copies of Claire's published books neatly lined a book shelf next to the desk. Also present were other books, dealing with Cleopatra and the times she had lived in.
"I see you've kept up with what has been written about you." Rex said as he examined one of the books about Cleopatra, the book in question being called Cleopatra. Last Queen Of Egypt. "Hmmm, this one is quite informative."
"Well, call it vanity, I guess." Claire replied. "I just like to see what the latest ideas are. You won't believe some of the stuff people have written about me. Of course, most of the sources are from second hand accounts. Sometimes, I wish I could go public with who I really am. That would sure blow a lot of people away."
"It sure would." Hannah said. "Trouble is, you would never again have a moment of peace."
"What about the movies made about you, Claire?" Rex asked. "Have you seen any of them? Just curious."
"Oh, I've seen a few of them, Rex." Claire said. "Elizabeth Taylor did a good job in portraying me, even if they did get a few of the facts wrong."
"I imagine your story has been told and retold countless times over the centuries, Claire. It wouldn't surprise me that some of the facts got muddled along the way."
"Yes, but sometimes I helped out. Not much to give me away, mind you, but just a few hints to some writers over the centuries. One of them being a certain playwright in Stratford, England, a few centuries ago."
"A certain.." Rex said, realizing what Claire was saying. "You're kidding, right?"
"Maybe." Claire replied, a mischievous twinkle coming into her eyes. "Maybe not. Anyway, how about that meal I promised. I don't know about you two, but I'm starving."
A short while later, Rex, Hannah, and Claire were in the dining room, finishing a nice meal that Claire had prepared. As the meal progressed, the three of them continued their conversation. "So, you two are no longer immortal?" Claire asked, for she was one of the few people on Earth who knew about Rex and Hannah's Warlock past.
"That's right." Rex replied as he took a sip of the wine that Claire had provided with the meal. "When the Angel Of Destiny realized that Hannah and I had turned our backs on evil, she returned our souls to us. Of course, this means we will age normally like all humans."
"Lucky you." Claire said. "Being mortal, I mean."
"I guess immortality does have its down sides." Hannah said as she took a sip of her own wine.
"That's true." Claire replied. "Aside from boredom, immortality means you have to watch everyone you know die. It may not be generally known, history tends to gloss it over, but I had four children."
"Yes, one by Julius Caeser and the other three by Mark Antony, if I remember my history correctly." Rex said.
"Yes, Rex, that is correct. It's also correct that all four of those children died while I lived on." Tears began forming in Claire's eyes at this statement.
"Claire I..." Rex began, but broke off when he realized he didn't know what to say. How can I tell her how it feels, when I have no idea? he thought to himself.
"No, I'll be okay." Claire said, pulling herself together. "I came to terms with it a long time ago, even though it still hurts. I'm just glad I have the two of you in my life now, people I can open up to, and talk about my past. If I tried to do this with anyone else, they'd lock me up in a padded room and throw away the key!"
"Ditto." Hannah replied. "You're one of the few people that we can trust with our own secrets, Claire. You and the Halliwell sisters, that is."
"The Halliwell sisters, those three witches you told me about." Claire said. "I'd like to meet them someday."
"Well, next time you're in San Francisco, perhaps we can arrange it." Rex said. "Of course, we won't tell them about you, Claire, we'll leave that up to you."
"Well, from what you've told me, the Halliwell sisters have already seen all kinds of incredible things. Maybe meeting Cleopatra in the flesh won't be such a big deal to them."
"You can never tell, Claire." Hannah said.
"Indeed, the world of magic is full of surprises." Rex added.
"It sure is." Claire replied. "I've been looking into it since I last saw you two. I am a Professor, after all."
"Claire, I must ask, what was it like when you ruled here?" Hannah asked, moving on to a new subject. "I mean I've heard about it, I've seen the movie with Liz Taylor. However, what was it really like?"
"Well, Hannah, that's not an easy question to answer." Claire said as she got up from the table and went over to the window. "When I was Queen, I did things that would be considered immoral, even criminal in today's world. I had to walk a fine line to keep my throne. Don't forget that I had the Roman Empire on my doorstep. I had to be a client queen in order to continue to rule Egypt."
"A client queen?" Hannah asked.
"That's how the Romans operated, Hannah." Rex said. "When they annexed a new territory, they preferred to work through the leaders that were already in place there. It made the transition to Roman rule easier for the local populations. If the local leaders agreed to pay their taxes on time and swear allegiance to Caeser, they were pretty much left alone. Mind you, they had to answer to Rome now, but they continued to run the show locally for their own people."
"And that's what you did, Claire?" Hannah asked curiously.
"Yes, I did." Claire replied. "That is until Mark Antony and I decided to take on Octavian. You already know how that worked out."
"The Romans really didn't take kindly to having their rule challenged." Rex said grimly. "My own ancestors found that out the hard way."
"Ah, yes, your Queen Boudicca." Claire said. "I kept track of her uprising. I was sad to see it fail."
"Huh? Who?" the baffled Hannah asked.
"Boudicca was a famous Queen in Ancient Britain." Rex said and then proceeded to tell Hannah of Boudicca's ill fated uprising against Roman rule. At first, things had gone well, but overconfidence finally led to Boudicca's downfall. While her forces had superior numbers, the Romans had their discipline and training to fall back on, and that had finally decided it. "After the final battle, it is said that Boudicca lost as much as thirty thousand soldiers. No one is quite sure of the exact number."
"What happened to Boudicca herself, Rex?"
"No one is quite sure of that either." Rex replied. "She disappears from history after that. They say she killed herself, took poison, or stabbed herself. However, no one really knows."
"Sounds familiar." Hannah said and looked at Claire.
"That is true, Hannah." Rex said. "For all we know, Boudicca could still be alive somewhere herself, although I doubt it. Finding one ancient ruler still alive is amazing enough. I guess two would be pushing the laws of probability."
"So, I guess it was a violent time to live in." Hannah replied slowly.
"Yes, Hannah, it was." Claire said as she sat back down at the table. "However, in a way, it was also an exciting time. The world was not like it is now, with the whole planet mapped many times over. There were still distant lands we had never heard of. North America and Australia, for example, were totally unknown to me when I ruled Egypt. Back then, travel to distant lands took a long time, but the wonder of it drove you on. My ancestor, Ptolemy, rode with Alexander The Great, and they made it as far as India. They might have gone father, except Alexander's men were tired of years of marching and were on the verge of rebelling against him if he didn't turn back. When Alexander died, his empire was divided up between his generals. Ptolemy ended up getting control of Egypt, and my dynasty was born."
"Wow." Hannah said. "It almost sounds like you miss those days."
"Maybe in a way, I do miss them." Claire replied. "As I said, it was a different world, a bit more exciting. Even the Romans, for all their ruthlessness, did build an empire that covered much of Europe, and parts of Asia and Africa, which lasted for half-a-millennium." Claire then fell silent as if she was thinking something over.
"What is it, Claire?" Rex asked.
"All this talk of the past has convinced me to show you something. There is another reason why I chose this house." Claire replied. "I have a secret I want to show you two, a secret I have never shown anyone else. Interested?"
"We sure are." Rex said as he and Hannah got to their feet. "Lead on."
The basement of Claire's house looked like any other basement, but that was not what interested Rex and Hannah when the three of them went down there. As the two former Warlocks watched, Claire went over to a corner and lifted one of the stone tiles of the floor, revealing a hole large enough to admit a human. A ladder could be seen sticking up near the top of the hole. "Follow me." Claire said as she got on the ladder and disappeared down the hole. Rex and Hannah quickly followed and they went down into the darkness. When they reached the bottom, Claire switched on a flashlight she had been carrying, revealing a long stone corridor. "These catacombs are older than I am, and they run for miles under Alexandria."
"I see." Rex said. "How many people know about them?"
"Not many." Claire said. "Remember when I first told you how I my alchemist, Lynnon, saved my life, and how my servants managed to smuggle me out of Alexandria under the noses of the Romans? Well, these are the catacombs they used. Of course, the parts that connected to my old palace are no longer accessible. They caved in during the same earthquake that dumped my palace into the Mediterranean. However, the rest of them are pretty much intact."
"Are they safe?" Hannah asked warily. I don't much care for the idea of being buried alive down here!
"For the most part, yes." Claire said. "I've been down here more times than I can remember, during the last twenty centuries. Follow me." With that, Claire turned and moved off down one of the corridors.
"Where is she taking us?" Hannah whispered to Rex.
"I don't know, Hannah." Rex replied. "However, I am curious to find out!"
"Here we are." Claire said after a series of left and right turns that would have left most people confused. She had stopped at what appeared to be some stone doors.
"What's in there?" Rex asked curiously.
"Oh, just my private collection." Claire said and pushed open the doors. The three of them stepped inside and found themselves in a room filled with Egyptian artifacts going back thousands of years.
"Whoa!" Hannah said as she took in the sight.
"These are from many periods of Ancient Egypt, going back from my time to the earliest dynasties." Claire said proudly. "Over the centuries I gathered them here, to keep them out of the hands of those who would sell them for money. Perhaps, someday, I will reveal them to the world, but for now, they stay here."
"This is quite impressive, Claire." Rex said as he began to move around the room. Suddenly, he stopped at a table that contained a small group of scrolls. "Are these from where I think they're from?"
"Yes, Rex, they are. These a some scrolls I managed to save from the Library Of Alexandria."
"The Library Of Alexandria?" Hannah asked.
"One of the greatest libraries of the ancient world, Hannah." Rex replied as he began to look through the scrolls. "Scholars from all over the ancient civilizations came to study and read there. Also, scrolls were delivered there from all over those same civilizations. When a ship arrived at Alexandria, any scrolls they had were turned over to the library. They were copied, and the copies were given back to the ship. The library kept the originals. That way, it was always up to date."
"Yes, our library was second to none." Claire added.
"What happened to it?" Hannah asked, noting the grim looks on the faces of Rex and Claire.
"It burned, Hannah." Rex said sadly. "No one quite knows how the fire started, but the library and everything in it was lost. It was a great loss to history."
"Yes, all I could save were those scrolls you have there, Rex." Claire said slowly. "All the rest, gone."
"Well, I..." Rex said and then stopped as he focused his attention on one of the scrolls. "Claire have you ever noticed anything different about this one?"
"No, why?"
"Because this is a copy of the Opening Spell."
"Huh!?" Hannah and Claire said at the same time.
"The Opening Spell has the capability of opening the Demonic Wasteland and releasing all the Demons imprisoned there." Rex explained. "The spell was assumed lost centuries ago, and yet here it is. It must have somehow ended up in the Library Of Alexandria."
"I assume that spell is still dangerous." Hannah said.
"Indeed it is, Hannah." Rex said as he picked the scroll up.
"In that case, I'll just take it off your hands, Buckland!" A new voice said. Before anyone could react, a Demon shimmered in and grabbed the scroll right out of Rex's hand. "Greetings, Buckland, my name is Darac, and you have just helped me!" With those words, the Demon shimmered out.
"Where the hell did he come from?" Hannah asked.
"I don't know. He must have seen us and trailed us here." Rex said.
"Can he use that scroll to release his fellow Demons?" Claire asked.
"Indeed he can." Rex said. "However, not yet. He needs to do a certain ritual first, which gives us time to track him." Rex pulled out what appeared to be a marble, which began to glow with a red pulse.
"What's that?" Claire asked.
"A little trinket I use to track Demonic energy." Rex said. "Ah, he's still in Egypt. Come on, you two, we have to find him. If Darac releases all the Demons from the Wasteland at once, even the Charmed Ones won't be able to stop them all. We have to hurry!"
THE PLACE:. THE DESERT OF WESTERN EGYPT
Almost finished. Darac thought as he drew mystical symbols in the sand. Two years I've been scouring this miserable country, looking for that scroll, and along comes Buckland who finds it in no time! Ever since the Ultimate Battle and the subsequent Warlock Revolution, Darac had been obsessed with freeing his fellow Demons from the Wasteland and restoring the Underworld to full strength. However, he had no means of doing so, until he remembered the stories about the Opening Spell. He didn't know where it was exactly, only that is had last been reported in the Library Of Alexandria. Hoping that the scroll had somehow survived, Darac had headed to Egypt, but soon was in despair of ever finding the scroll. Two years of searching had turned up nothing. When Rex Buckland had shown up in Alexandria, Darac hopes suddenly came back to life. Aside from being one of the leaders of the Warlock Insurgents, Rex Buckland also had a knack for finding old books and scrolls. So, Darac had been sure to keep close to Buckland at all times. Sure enough, Buckland's knack had happened again, and now Darac would reap the benefits from it. Soon his fellow Demons such as the Source, Zankou, and the Triad would be free, and no doubt Darac would be greatly rewarded.
"Stop!" Rex's voice called out. Darac looked up to see Rex, Hannah, and Claire standing on the hill above him. "I'm afraid I can't let you release those Demons."
"Oh yeah, and I suppose you are going to stop me, Buckland!" Darac said. "When I free my brethren, you and your hag will be punished severely for rebelling against Demon rule!"
"No, Demon, it is you who will be punished!" Claire suddenly said.
"Who the hell are you, human!?" Darac asked with contempt.
"My name is Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator, Queen of Egypt!" Claire announced, declaring her ancient full name. "You come into my land and threaten my friends. That will not stand!"
"Oh really." Darac sneered. If he was impressed by seeing the legendary Cleopatra in the flesh, he wasn't showing it. "Look, chickie, maybe you were hot stuff two thousand years ago, but you're nothing now. Go away, before I make you feel pain beyond imagination."
"When I first met Rex and Hannah, another of your kind was giving me a hard time. They helped me out, and now I return the favour." Claire said as she turned to the two former Warlocks. "As I said earlier, I've been looking into some magic on my own, and I have learned a trick or two. I thought I'd never have to use it, but now it seems that has changed.. I'll need the two of you to help me though."
"Sure, Claire, we'll be glad to. Anything to help take down a Demon." Rex replied and Hannah nodded in agreement.
"Take my hands." Claire said and held them out to Rex and Hannah. "I need your magical bodies to help channel the energy." Both Rex and Hannah held their hands out, and Claire took them. Once that was done, she mumbled some strange words.
Ancient Egyptian . Rex thought to himself as he felt a strange energy flow through his body.
"Am I supposed to be impressed?" Darac sneered. "Well, I..." the Demon broke off as the sand around him seemed to come to life and then they appeared. Hundreds of scarabs, the legendary Egyptian beetles, swarmed out of the sand and flowed over Darac. The Demon tried to shimmer away, but found that he couldn't. Whatever energy that was directing the scarabs held him in place. The Demon shrieked as the scarabs began to eat him. "GET THEM OFF ME! GET THEM OFF MEEEE... YAAGGGHHHH!" As Rex, Hannah, and Claire looked on, Darac was totally consumed. Once the Demon was gone, the spell was broken and the scarabs quickly disappeared back into the sand. Soon nothing remained except the scroll, containing the Opening Spell, lying on the ground.
"Well, I guess that settles that." Rex said as he walked over and picked up the scroll.
ALEXANDRIA
Once safely back at Claire's house, Rex produced a pack of matches from his pocket and the scroll was soon burned to ashes. "Normally I hate to destroy ancient knowledge, but I think we can make an exception in this case. This spell is just too dangerous to leave lying around."
"Wait, Rex, didn't you say that when a scroll was given to the Library Of Alexandria, a copy was made and returned to whomever submitted the original scroll?" Hannah asked.
"Yes, I did, Hannah." Rex replied. "So, the possibility does exist that the copy of this spell is still out there somewhere, however, that is a problem for another day."
"So I guess we continue on our tour now. There is still much I'd like to see." Hannah said.
"We will, Hannah." Rex replied. "However, I thought we'd take a small detour, as a thank you to Claire."
"Huh? I don't understand." Claire said, baffled.
"Yeah, where are we going now, Rex?" Hannah asked.
"Well, Hannah, in fact we are not going anywhere, in space that is."
"I don't get it."
"You will." Rex said as he pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and quickly wrote something down on it. "This should work very nicely." Rex said as he read what he had written on the paper. When he had finished, a vortex appeared in front of him. "Well, what are you two waiting for?" Rex asked as he vanished into the vortex. Hannah and Claire briefly exchanged glances and followed him through it.
THE PLACE: ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT
THE TIME: MAY 16, 60 BC
The Pharos lighthouse stood tall and proud over the harbour of Alexandria as Rex, Hannah, and Claire appeared. "Where are we, Rex?" Hannah asked as she looked around.
"Alexandria." Rex replied. "Just at a different time. Just over two thousand years ago."
"It's my time!" Claire said as she looked around and recognized the sights. "This is Alexandria as it was when I ruled here!"
"Well, give or take a few years." Rex said, smiling.
"What about our clothes." Hannah said as she looked down at her 21st Century attire. "Won't they give us away?"
"No, Hannah, they won't. This isn't a normal time travel spell, no one in this time will be able to see, hear, or touch us." Rex replied and turned to Claire. "I had to be careful, we can't risk changing history. We can look, but not touch."
"Of course." Claire said.
"So, why did you bring us here, Rex?" Hannah asked.
"Well, I thought that Claire could give us another guided tour, this time showing us the Alexandria that she grew up in. If you don't mind that is, Claire."
"Of course not." Claire said. "I'd be happy to show you two my city. Where do you want to start? The Library, the Pharos lighthouse, where exactly?"
"Why don't you pick the place to visit first, Claire." Rex said and smiled at Hannah. "Give us the whole grand tour! I arranged it for the spell to last twenty-four hours, before returning the three of us to 2009. That should give us more than enough time to see the sights."
"Right, if you two will follow me. I'll give you a sight of Alexandria you two will never forget. Thank you for this wonderful gift."
As the sun shone down on ancient Alexandria, Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator proudly gave Rex Buckland and Hannah Webster a tour of her city.
THE ADVENTURES OF REX AND HANNAH CONTINUE!