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A Twist In Time

Egypt, Here I Come!

(Revised)

XxXxX

…So warm…

… Almost burning…

… It's so…

HOT

Damn…

Wasn't it raining a few hours ago?

What's this…?

Wriggling her hands up and down, she touched something soft and warm - sand. It felt good. It remembered her of the beach.

She wasn't in the beach, was she?

The only answer to that was to see. She opened her eyes and when she did – she had to squint herself from the sunlight hitting her right in the face.

"EH?!"

Sitting upright with her arms placing behind her to hold her steady, she surveyed her surroundings. It took her several of minutes before she was aware that she was actually stuck in a desert.

"WHAT!"

Her mind panicked. The landscape was dry and there was no green in sight, except maybe the small plants popping out here and there…

But where was she?

"Of course I'm must be dreaming!" she laughed frantically. She didn't want to believe it. "Okay, close your eyes Mimi and count to ten," she told herself as she did so. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and started counting.

"…1...2…"

'I'm dreaming… I know that…'

"3…4…"

'I was in the mall, buying stuff…'

"...5…6…"

'It was raining… I got angry…'

"…7…8…"

'Then there was a bitch and a bastard…'

"…9…"

'And when I open my eyes, I see that I've been dreaming…'

"…10…"

She took a long and extra breath before releasing it and finally dared herself to give a small peek. But it was futile. No matter how much she would squint or blink her eyes, she couldn't make herself wish to change her view. She was indeed still in the same place. The soft sand wriggled underneath her palms as the sun stood high above, shining bright, casting hot rays at her. Feeling the warmth against her skin definitely meant this was not a dream, but in fact real.

"Oh my God…" she said slowly.

She couldn't… She wouldn't… How?

"This can't be…" she whispered. "It's impossible?!"

Mimi growled and fell back against the sand she sat upon. This was insane. How on earth did she land here? Was she transported? Got captured by aliens?

"Right…" she snickered, but frowned.

She had to know. Getting up, she brushed all the sand off her dress and began walking into a direction she took without thinking. She just hoped it would bring her to where people were living. At least she was sure she wasn't the only human around. While walking, her mind drifted somewhere else, trying to think for a logical way why she was here in the first place.

'Come on, Mimi... Think…'

But how hard she tried to remember, she couldn't find any explanation to this. She stopped marching and took a deep breath. Being here alone scared her, but she was strong and there was no way she would start crying.

She had to stay strong - she just had to.

Mimi didn't know how long she had walked, but the warmth around her was slowly getting heavy and she had a hard time to breath. She started sweating and flinched each time she took a step in the hot sand underneath her. Stopping to check out her sandals, she silently cursed. The plastic around it was melting. Taking them off now was not a good idea either since she wasn't planning on walking barefoot across the desert.

It would be a good time to find some shade to shield herself from that burning heat. It would be even better if she could find something to to drink…

Out of fatigue, her legs gave in and she fell. Maybe she could rest a bit. If she were lucky, maybe someone would notice her and bring her back. She looked up at the sky. How ironic. Now she wished anything to even have a single drop of rain falling on the tip of her nose. She smirked.

'I need to rest…' she yawned. It didn't take her long to drift herself to sleep, not noticing that a few hours later, two mystifying figures would loom over her figure.

XxXxX

"Your Highness?" asked the High Priest after opening the door of the chamber.

"Hmm… What is it, Jyou?" answered the Pharaoh, Yanhamu. His tone was unconcerned.

The Pharaoh was a handsome man in his early twenties. He had golden-blond hair that shone when the sun hit him and blue eyes that could drown you when you stared at it. They were so clear that most of the people reminded them of the Nile.

His skin was tanned and he wore a white dress that covered his torso and ended till his knees. On his waist, he held a golden belt and in the middle of it, a blue drape hung freely till his lap. The Pharaoh was also provided with a golden necklace where his name was polished in Hieroglyphs and he wore two armbands on each of his arms and wrist. To cover himself of the cold at night, but also to remind the others of who he was, he secured himself with in his pitch-black cloak.

Because of being the Pharaoh at a very young age, he had to rule Egypt on his own and he never knew the real pleasure in life. No, he was always busy. Busy with conferences. Busy making plans to build a greater and bigger Egypt. Busy in organizing soldiers, training his army when enemies wanted to confront him and of course, watching the good of his people, though there are still slaves.

But he was never alone. He still had friends to guide him and a mother that loves him. He sensed gratitude towards them, but sometimes, he wished life would be different and that his father was still alive.

But today, he was happy when he had a moment of peace. Feeling the wind, it soothed his emotions and it drifted him into some kind of reverie he wished to never wake up from. Seeing the sun from his window, setting its last minutes in the sky before it disappeared, the Pharaoh was content of the sight. It was magnificent.

"Please excuse me for disrupting you, but I need to pass your Highness something…" the voice of the High Priest Jyou was slowly getting more and more nervous.

Pharaoh Yanhamu sighed, a little upset about being interrupted, but turned around. "What is it you wanted to give me?" he posed.

The High Priest gulped and took a step backwards and bowed down. A sweat dripped down from his nose. "I – I got a request from your mother…"

From his mother? That meant only one thing…

"She wanted you to have this." And High Priest Jyou handed him a scroll of papyrus set with Hieroglyphs. As Yanhamu read it, his eyes twitched in anger for each notice there was.

"Where is she?" he asked calm, but dreadfully after he was finished.

"I – I think she is in her chamber, your Highness." High Priest Jyou informed him tensely.

"Good."

With a swift movement, he rolled it up again and handed it to his High Priest before going out of his chamber towards his mother's.

'What was she thinking? I'm the Pharaoh for Ra's sake! She can't just order me around!' he cursed. 'No one – '

But his thoughts were interrupted after hearing the person he wanted to see in the first place. He stopped in his tracks and turned around to face her.

His mother, the former queen, Nefertiry was tanned like him and is known to be most beautiful woman that ever ruled over Egypt. She had eyes as blue as her son, light-brown hair that reached till her shoulders, but roofed behind her white hood of her long cape that now swirled behind from the wind.

Above the hood, the head of an Egyptian God, Bast, the Cat Goddess, was polished in pure gold. She wore a long, white, silk dress that reached till her sandals, and a golden belt was wrapped against her waist where once again, the head of Bast took place in the centre. She was also equipped with a golden necklace of an eye and wore a ring in her right hand. And on every arm, an armband took place on her wrist.

Nefertiry was like a goddess and every woman in Egypt admired her for her beauty and the courage for the loss of her beloved husband. Every person knew she felt depressed and hurt when he left her for the other world, but after three years she hid her sorrow behind her cheerful smile.

"Ahh, my son…" she beamed out cheerfully, "did you receive my letter?" she asked him with a big smile.

"Yes." The Pharaoh answered her shortly, still enraged towards his mother.

"And…" her mother insisted.

"What do you mean I have to marry to some slob?" Her son asked, grunting.

"She is not a slob, my son, but the princess of Rome. Her name is Miritis and I surely hope you two get along somehow…" His mother corrected him sternly.

"But I barely know her! I just can't marry someone I haven't met!" The Pharaoh argued. "I bet you thought about that too when you were young!"

"I did… I was a little upset when I found out I had to marry your dad… But in the past few days, we learned to love each other and that's how it went."

"I just don't want to!"

"I knew you would oppose to the idea." She said sighing and still keeping the smile.

"Come on, mother, I can handle things myself." Yanhamu argued. "Why don't you see it? I can rule Egypt without having a wife. I have done it so far."

"Still, you must think about it…" Nefertiry told him sincerely. She still couldn't believe her son's stubbornness. Just like his father now she thought about it. "The people of Egypt are getting impatient, dear… And you must have a wife like every former Pharaoh before you."

"But why?" he whispered.

"Because they are the source of giving the men inspiration to go further… They give them hope, love and trust… And of course, you can create your own family… Don't you want that?" his mother enquired.

"No…" was his answer, "I hate them…" he muttered and just when he said that, a bizarre noise came out of his mother's voice. "Err… except you of course!" he added quickly after seeing his mother's annoyance.

"Just make sure you get yourself ready when she arrives!" Nefertiry cheerfully chanted, cooling off of her son's behavior.

"What?" he gave his mother a stunned expression. 'She's kidding, right?'

"Didn't you know? The princess will arrive tomorrow morning…" she clapped her hands together as she put on another smile.

"And why didn't you tell me?" Yanhamu shouted, folding his hands into a fist.

Useless as it may be, his mother will never change her mind. He knew how badly she wanted to have grandchildren. It even scared him when he heard she already picked out names for them.

"Mother…"

"Son, this might be good for you," his mother enquired. "You need changes, you need a girl who can understand you."

"By forcing me to marry a bitch is the best thing you could think of?!" he bellowed out furiously.

"I don't care how much you argue, my son, I can't go back now. The marriage is already settled by the next full moon."

"That's fourteen days from now!!"

Her mother nodded with a smile. "I know."

"But mother!"

"No."

"Mother!"

"No."

"But, I'm the Pharaoh! You can't just order me like that!"

Hah! He got her now! No one can order the Pharaoh around! He was the ruler of the Upper and Lower Egypt and there was no way she was making him follow her orders.

But…

"I don't care if you are the Pharaoh or a God for that matter, but you stay and always be my son and that means you must obey me!"

"Fine…" he threw his arms in defeat and stalked off going back to his chamber. If he didn't love his mother that much, this conversation would've end differently.

His mother watched him go with a soft smile. 'Don't worry, my son… You'll like her…'

But he had to admit. His mother was right. Even if he doesn't want to, he knew it was for the empire's stake to get a new heir for the throne.

But why couldn't he pick one wench out? It's not like anyone wanted him, it's just the opposite. Every woman loved him. Even thousands of princesses crossed the seas just wishing to marry him, but he rejected their offer one after another. They weren't here because of love, they were here for the fortune he held, the power he had over his people – those were the things that women were getting if he married one of them.

But he didn't need a woman right now. If he wanted to, he could just simply snap his fingers and pick one since there were enough wenches to satisfy his needs.

But it looked like he had no other choice in this matter.

And just when he reached the door of the chamber, he heard his mother's footsteps.

"Son…?" Nefertiry called at him a few moments later. "I need to ask you something very important before you go inside…"

"What now." he answered a bit irritated.

"I was wondering about the decorations. Do you want jasmines or lilies for the wedding?" she asked holding out a papyrus in her left hand while the other was occupied with a plume.

"Mother!" he groaned and closed the door of his chamber in fury.

"What? Did I say something wrong?"

XxXxX

Mimi was exhausted. Those long walks used all of her energy and now she was there lying down in the sand. But sand can't hobble so much, do they? And why was it freezing? She remembered sweating not too long ago. She could also hear voices. Since she didn't quite understand it, Mimi opened her eyes. She felt a little light-headed of the strange scent that she just inhaled. Rubbing her temple with soft, delicate hands, she groaned.

"You okay?"

"Huh?" Who was that?

As Mimi cocked her head to her left, she met two, soft hazel-brown eyes.

Just like her.

Mimi continued to check out the person's features. It was a girl. While glancing further, she saw how the person slowly started to resemble her, matching pretty most everything with the exception of the clothes they were currently wearing. It was like seeing herself in the mirror.

"Gwaaah!"

And with this new realization Mimi fell from where her seat, hitting the bottom.

"No way! Come one! You gotta be kidding me!" she pointed an accusing finger towards the girl. Landing here without much explanation was enough, but a girl that actually talked and looked like her was just plain stupid and out of the ordinary!

"Miss?"

"Get away from me!" she backed away from her.

"I'm sorry, a-are you alright?"

"Where am I?" It took a few second before she could finally calm down.

The girl-look-alike was putting on a soft smile. "You're in my carriage and I'm on my way to see the Pharaoh." She said quietly.

'The Pharaoh?' Mimi's mind stopped. "There are no Pharaohs. Not since the last 3000 years." She remembered when she was at the museum.

The girl giggled. "You're funny. But what I say is true. The Pharaoh is waiting for me and we will arrive there tomorrow morning."

"How can that be? Unless of course I'm –"

"Are you sure you okay?" the girl said to her.

But Mimi wasn't listening to her. Somehow it hit her that this was not her time nor place. If she was right, then something must have sent her back to where Pharaohs still ruled over Egypt. And this woman in front of her was her ancestor.

'Then everyone is…'

"Miss?"

Mimi clenched her fist, while biting her lip. She forced herself not to cry.

"Miss, please don't cry." Her other self pleaded with distress.

"I'm sorry, I just –" but she couldn't finish her sentence. She shook her head, she promised herself to stay strong. She heaved a sigh and forced herself to smile. "It's nothing." She took back her place on the bench, opposite of her.

"Are you alright, you seem sad?" The girl said.

Mimi shook her head again, "I'm fine. By the way, how did you found me?"

"Ah, well, my servants found you in the middle of the dessert. It was better to take you with me instead of letting you die there. I don't think I would even like that…" the girl explained. "But what got my interest is that, well; you just look like me… Even my servants were shocked as I am."

"Ah yes… I'm surprised too." Mimi nodded and took a deep breath. "I don't know how to tell you this and if you would actually believe me, but I come from another time and somehow I landed here."

"Another time, you say?"

"And I don't know why… I don't know what I did wrong to be stuck in here."

"Hey, maybe fate has something planned for you!" the girl replied, cheering her up after seeing her sad face again. Mimi just narrowed her eyebrows at this.

"But to tell you the truth, I was already suspecting you from coming someplace foreign, just never knew it would be from another time. Your weird clothes were giving most of the hints…" the girl smiled, pointing at it.

Mimi looked down at herself. Instead, she was still in her pink skirt and white shirt while the girl in front of her was more beautiful than she could ever imagine. She wore a long, green, silk dress that stopped till her sandals. She didn't even wear many accessories as Mimi expected to. No, she was just normal and simple.

"C-can you do something for me?" the girl suddenly started to stutter and was almost fidgeting in her seat.

"Sure, what is it?" Mimi asked, confused.

"I-I wanted to know if you could do me a tiny favor. I want you to take my place…"

"Your place? What do you mean…?"

"I should've said it earlier, but I was scared that you would treat me different if you knew who I was…"

"Eh?"

"I'm sorry for not introducing myself first. It's kind of rude. I'm princess, Miritis from Rome. I am here before you because of the marriage that will take place by the next full moon. I am to marry the Pharaoh."

"You are marrying the Pharaoh?!" Mimi shrieked.

Miritis nodded.

"No." Mimi responded immediately. "You must be crazy asking me that. And you're a princess!"

"I – I know it's inappropriate, but please you must reconsider! I don't want to marry him!"

"You don't?"

"No, it is an arranged marriage. Of course I don't want to marry him, but I have to. Women who don't follow the orders of a marriage are a disgrace to the people."

"I'm sorry, but this is your problem. It's enough already that I'm in your time; so don't give me another load of complications. I have enough as it is."

"But please…"

"Why do you want to switch places anyway? I mean marrying a Pharaoh isn't that bad, I think? He has a large fortune. Doesn't any girl of your time want that?"

"I can't marry him because I'm already in love with someone else!" Miritis shouted.

Mimi was perplexed. She was in love?

"He's just a normal merchant, but every day he gives me flowers, always brightening my day and one day I fell in love. I was so happy when he returned my feelings, but our love will never grow. Not now when my fate is sealed with that of the Pharaoh…"

"I'm really sorry for you, but I just can't…"

"Please… switch places with me, it's really that simple…" The girl said, putting on a smile while slightly begging her.

"Yea, saying like that does sound it easy, but my answer still remains no."

"Please… You have to do this for me, I can't accept to see my love of my life with another woman… Just please…"

'Man, this girl is even more stubborn than I am!'

She didn't know how, but her conscience told her this was all right, though she knew she'd regret it later. When Mimi saw how madly in love she was with that guy, she couldn't say no to.

"You win…" Mimi said defeated.

"T-Thank you!"

"Mimi."

"-Mimi!" And with that, the princess jumped to the other side only to give her a fierce hug. Mimi smiled at.

"Thank you so much!"

"It's the least I can do after finding me." Mimi replied smugly. And before Mimi knew, Miritis threw her some of her own clothes. "What the-"

"It's better to change yourself. Even though they haven't met me yet, we mustn't' take any risks."

'Right, and me switching places isn't?'

In less than a minute, Mimi was already sitting in her own, long, silk dress. Unlike Miritis' colors, hers was light blue. She also wore two small earrings on each side of her ear.

"Now, the important thing you need is this." As Miritis beamed, she took of her gold tiara that was set on her forehead, and gently placed it on Mimi.

"Done." She said with a satisfied smile, cheering at her masterpiece. "Just remember. Your name is Miritis and not Mimi…"

"Yes, yes, I know that by now." Mimi tucked on her long sleeve furiously.

Even if they look so beautiful from the outside, they were annoyingly ticklish in the inside. Every wrinkle was making her squirm and want to scratch the place.

"You must stop doing that. This is not how a princess must behave, you know…" Miritis giggled, seeing the sight in front of her.

"Yeah, well, tell that to your designer! This dress makes me nuts!"

"I'm very sorry for putting you into this…" Miritis apologized herself, feeling slightly guilty of herself.

"No, it's okay. Just what are you going to do now?"

She received a smile from Miritis and before Mimi knew what she was up to, she ordered the carriage to a halt. Mimi almost stumbled forward, but regained her balance by gripping her fingernails in the seat.

"What are you doing?" Mimi asked confused.

She saw Miritis stepping outside the carriage and Mimi followed her. She saw it was already evening and when she turned towards Miritis, two other figures stood next to her.

"Mimi, I want you to meet, Sora, my loyal servant." Miritis gestured towards the orange-haired woman who slightly bowed. "And this is Ken."

"Nice to meet you both. I'm Mimi." She introduced herself. She bowed as the servants gasped in horror. "What's wrong?" Mimi panicked.

"A princess may not bow unless someone is higher than her. As much as I hate to tell you this, you must watch out what you do in front of the Pharaoh. You mustn't make him upset, from what I heard."

'Great…'

"Now, Mimi, they have heard the conversation that happened between us and they know about the plan. Sora here will teach you the protocol and Ken will always be around in case you need him."

Mimi slightly nodded. "Well, it's time for me to leave this place." And as Miritis said that, Ken already came with a horse while Sora held a dark-brown cloak in her arms.

"Where are you going?" Mimi asked.

"I'm going back to Rome to find my beloved one, hoping to escape all of this and maybe building a better future for me and him. Sora, Ken. I thank you for your loyalty all these years. I'm just sorry for leaving you both."

"We understand, my lady. It's okay." The redhead smiled. Ken just nodded.

"Mimi. Having you here was a blessing. I don't know how to thank you for doing this for me. I hope you all the best and good luck to you."

And this was the last time she ever saw the real princess Miritis galloping away deeper into the desert. Mimi felt like something was missing when she saw her retreating figure. Like a part of herself was gone with her. At least she was happy now…

"Shall we continue our travel, my lady?" Sora, asked her politely.

Mimi only nodded and once she felt the carriage move on again, her mind drifted to sleep…

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To Be Continued

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A/N: Again, I made some changes in this chapter. Made it more or less dramatic than the previous one. Or maybe more funnier, I dunno, it up to you. :p Thank you again for your lovely reviews and keep them coming!

- aoi senshi