Chapter 4:

*Lapis's POV*

"Lapis...Lapis…." the familiar male voice speaks more and more as I get closer to Pharaoh Ahkmenrah's exhibit.

Jackal statues sees me and prepared for an attack. My eyes widened at the familiar structures of the guards. Then I snapped out of my trance when I remembered why I was here for.

"I mean you no harm," I speak to them. "May I enter please? I wish to speak with the pharaoh."

They look at me for a few moments before allowing me in.

Romantic egyptian music from earlier begins again as I take my first steps back into the tomb.

"Lapis! My queen! Are you there?" the same male voice speaks again, but this time it's almost hearable.

I turn to his scraphouse and hear loud bangs from inside, as if someone's trying to get out.

"Your majesty!" I called out, running towards him. "Your majesty, I'm here. My name is Lapis." I look around of the scraphouse and barrier to find a way to get him out when it hit me. "Pharaoh, how do you know my name?"

Muffles are heard.

"Forgive me my pharaoh. Your speech is difficult to hear," I tell him while placing a hand against the glass of the barrier. The moment when my eyes meet the eyes of the scraphouse, all I can see are a pair of green eyes. "My pharaoh," I speak softly with a smile.

"My queen," the same voice speaks to me.

My matching lapis eyes closed as a memory of some sorts came to me. A warm hand holds my cheek. He's a little older than me and wearing clothing of a pharaoh or a prince from the ancient world.

I move my lightly tanned up from his cheek to run my fingers in his dark hair. A smile appears on his dreamy face as his green eyes stares into my lapis eyes half closed.

Love touched us and our faces show each other it. Darkness surrounds us as a simple fire source slowly dies down. He leans in to join with me in a kiss when the fire completely dies down.

My eyes open big and wide. A gasp appears out of my mouth. Pharaoh Ahkmenrah is the center of my forgotten memories for a reason, but only that one memory came to me.

I look down to the golden face.

"My pharaoh, my memories of my past are forgotten," I admitted to him. "You hold them and some way somehow, I am going to free you from your scraphouse so my memories will return."

"Lapis!" Larry's voice speaks up from behind me.

I turn around and startled to see my guardian and President Roosevelt at the entrance.

"Larry, Mr. President," I greeted them, surprised of our former president.

"Are you known as Lapis the other new guard?" President Roosevelt asked me, keeping his guard up.

"Yes I am," I said with my arms up.

"Well great!" he smiles, lowering his gun.

"Please help me get him out," I begged them, looking around to find a way on the barrier.

"He can't," President says.

"What?" I asked surprised as the pharaoh's cries and bangs are being heard.

"Yell all you want, pharaoh," Mr. President tells the screaming pharaoh. "You've been in there fifty four years. You're not getting out tonight."

"My pharaoh," I am worried and concern for him.

"There's the source of all this commotion," President Roosevelt tells us, pointing to the tablet. "The Tablet of Ahkmenrah. Arrived here in 1952 from the Nile expedition. On that night, everything in this museum came to life. And every night since."

"So everything in the museum comes to life every night?" Larry asked him completely surprised and freaked about this.

"Exactly."

"It's like how my parents are, Larry," I tell him.

"And we're supposed to do what?" Larry asked.

"You two are the watchmen, Lawrence and Lapis. Venerable positions in this institution." He lets out a scream, making Larry scream as well. I give him a confused look when he laughed at Larry's scared look.

"Alright, okay, it's a one thing when Lapis's parents came to me and this is impossible," Larry stated as he drags me out of the tomb.

"Nothing's impossible," Mr. President and I said to him as I continue to look over to the lonely pharaoh in worry and concern.

"If it can be dreamed, it can be done."

"Hence the 20 foot jackal staring at you," President Roosevelt says, "don't make eye contact. Your jobs is to make sure that everyone stays inside the museum….because if the sun rises and anyone's on the outside….we turn to dust," he says, turning to us seriously.

"You turn to dust?" Larry asked for him and me.

"Dust."
"Really?"

"Really. Now it's almost dawn. I shall help you restore order tonight, but mark my words, it's the last time I shall ever do so. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Mr. President and thank you," I smiled to him.

"Good. Let's ride," he smiles back.

Larry and I begin to follow him, but I turn back to give the pharaoh a kiss to blow with a promise that I will return.

My guardian and I go through the list of the order that President Roosevelt told us to do, but there's something that is bugging me. Why wouldn't the pharaoh be out and free like the others? He's calling out for help and nothing threatening.

"Alright, Mr. President," I speak to him when we return to him. "So the Hall of Reptiles is secure. What are you looking at?" I asked when I see him looking at Sakagawea's exhibit through his binoculars.

"I'm, uh, tracking, little lady," he answers, sounding a little nervous at first. "Man's got to track." I nod my head, letting it go. "Welcome to the family, Lawrence and Lapis. See you tomorrow night," he shakes my hand with a smile.

"Tomorrow night for sure," I smiled back, accepting it.

"Actually, I gotta be honest," Larry speaks, making us look at him as we head back to Mr. President's station. "I don't think I'm coming back."

"What?" I'm surprised. "Come on, Larry. I helped you to get the job so you can see your son."

"Besides, you've only just begun," President Roosevelt adds in.

"Yea, well, this is not exactly what I-"

"Lawrence?"

"Yea?"

"What did you do before you took this post?" he asked him.

"Well, I've done a lot of different things." Ugh, here we go again. "I invented this thing called the Snapper."

"Did you give up on that as well?" he asked, not sounding interested in the creation, still riding on his horse.

"No, I just hit a few roadblocks," Larry reasoned.

"Lapis," he turns to me. "Why did you do before taking this post?"

"Well," I begin to speak, "I just to work at the library as an librarian assistant, so I know a lot of history and literature. That's during the day and I clean for other people at night."

"Awe, so this is a perfect post for you just as well as for Lawrence," President Roosevelt says, smiling. "Do you know why?"

"No, Mr. President," I admitted.

"Some men and women are born great," he tells us. "Others have greatness thrust upon them. For you Lawrence and Lapis, this is that very moment."

He gives us one last smile before posing his museum pose in his station. Mr. President startles us making him laugh. I smirked, shaking my head.

"Bully, got you two," he laughs.

"Yea, you got us Mr. President," I chuckled. "Umm, Mr. President?" I need to ask. "Why won't Pharaoh Ahkmenrah be out?"

"Because he's dangerous, young one," he answers, making me confused.

Larry than acts a little weird.

"Say hello to your little friend!" I hear an unfamiliar male voice. "Hey!" Larry picks up something from his shirt pocket. "Put me down. I don't like to be manhandled."

"What's going on?" I asked, getting in front of us.

"Oh hello, little lady," the small cowboy figure smiles to me while being held by Larry's fingertips, "the name's Jedidiah. Can you help me here?"

"Oh, sure," I said, offering my palm of my under him so Larry can give him to me.

"Thank you little lady, being manhandled makes me feel small and powerless."

"You done?" Larry asked him annoyed.

"I'm gonna shoot you in your dang eye. In your dadgum eye," he shoots my guardian's eye with his gun and nothing came out.

"Yea, keep shooting, nothing gonna happen."

"Now you know my shame," Jedediah's annoyed with him too. "Jedediah's impotent rage."

"Should we take you back to your exhibit Mr. Jedediah?" I asked him with a smile.

"Oh yes please, anywhere to be away from him!" he points his gun at Larry as we continue on to his area.

"I don't wanna hear it, okay?" Larry groans.

"My name is Lapis," I introduced myself to the miniature cowboy.

"Lapis, huh little lady?"

"It's a gemstone."

"Gemstone? Like gold?"

"In ways yes, but it's the same color as my eyes," I tell him still smiling.

"Duck!" Larry calls out, dropping us down to the floor when the T-Rex comes over.

He returns to his slab for the day.

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall," Jedediah tells us.

"This is not worth $11.50 an hour," Larry mumbles.

"I think it is," I tell him as we head back to Jedediah's exhibit.