Disclaimer: I don't own Highlander, so just leave me alone.
Ch. 4:
"So, wait." Aurore said. "You were supposed to marry the king of Egypt. Who was your brother."
"Back then, the Pharaoh married his sister to keep the blood lines pure." Sekhmet told her. "I was Pharaoh's oldest sister, so I was supposed to be his wife."
"Okay." Aurore said. "So what happened?"
Sekhmet walked up to the doors of the main banquet hall. She stood there for a moment before shrugging off Methos' cloak and handing it back to him. She took a deep breath and pushed the doors open before striding in, her head held high. As she walked in, she felt the eyes of the court on her, especially those of her sister, Hetshepsit. She glanced over and saw her sister sending daggers at her.
'If she knew that I'd give her my place in a heartbeat, I wonder if it would sweeten her.' Sekhmet thought to herself before shaking her head. 'I doubt it. Granted, she has no idea what my place is really.'
Sekhmet looked around and fought to keep her mask in place. No one but Methos and the Pharaoh knew who and what she really was, and sometimes it was all she could do to not scream. They all looked at her as if she was just a spoiled princess, not knowing she had saved this kingdom more times than they could count.
"Dearest sister." The Pharaoh called.
She made sure her smile was in place before joining her brother. When she made it to his side, she got a pleasant surprise.
"Mistress." She said happily, greeting the High Priestess of Bast who had trained her. "I didn't know you'd be here."
"It wouldn't have stopped you from hiding for as long as you could." The High Priestess told her, smiling.
"Yes, it's a good thing Methos always goes to find you." The Pharaoh told her. "Otherwise you would've missed the announcement."
"I was feeling unwell." Sekhmet told him. "I'm sorry for worrying you."
"I know you can take care of yourself." Her brother told her. "But this announcement will be important to you."
"I'm Pharaoh's to command." Sekhmet replied, feeling faint.
She felt Methos move to stand behind her and she breathed a sigh of relief. She straightened and watched as her brother moved to the front of the crowd.
"Tonight, we have brought you all here to bear witness to an auspicious moment." The Pharaoh announced. "The choosing of our first wife."
Sekhmet felt the sick feeling she had been fighting all night come roaring back to her stomach. She felt herself waver and she would've fallen if Methos hadn't grabbed her elbow.
"You've fought more battles than most of my soldiers." He whispered quickly. "You can do this."
She nodded, swallowing.
"Tonight will be remember as the night we raised our beloved sister above all other women." The Pharaoh continued. "Tonight a princess becomes a queen. In a month, we will marry our sister…"
Sekhmet closed her eyes, praying to any god for strength.
"…Hetshepsit." Pharaoh finished.
Sekhmet's eyes snapped open and she looked at her sister. Hetshepsit was glaring at her with fierce triumph as she made her way to their brother.
"He didn't choose me." Sekhmet whispered, relief evident in her voice.
"Stay as you were." Methos whispered back.
She nodded and looked on as her brother took their sister's hand and put a ring on it.
"Tonight we also have another announcement." The Pharaoh said as Hetshepsit took her place right behind him. "As a reward for his service to his god, we have decided to reward our dear friend and general, Methos."
Sekhmet felt Methos freeze behind her.
"In honor of the love between us, we give our dear friend our sister Sekhmet to be his wife." The Pharaoh announced. "So that we might be family."
Sekhmet felt her jaw drop open as her brother made his way to them, a sour looking Hetshepsit trailing behind him.
"Did you not think I would see the love between my two best friends?" her brother asked, dropping the royal we. "You have done so much for me, Sekhmet. You and Methos. The least I can do is give you your happiness."
"Thank you, brother." Sekhmet said, her voice thick with emotion.
She took his hand and kissed it before he moved to Methos.
"She is my sister and you will be my brother." The Pharaoh told Methos. "We will always be bound by the ties of family."
"No binding could be more holding than the binds of love I already hold for my Pharaoh." Methos told him, bowing.
"Take good care of her, Methos." Pharaoh told him. "You are both very dear to me."
He clapped Methos on the shoulder before moving off.
"Well, you have your wish, little lioness." The High Priestess said, smiling at Sekhmet. "I hope you will remember to thank the gods."
"I will thank them in my nightly prayers for the rest of time." Sekhmet said, smiling at Methos.
For the first time in years, she wasn't forced to hide behind a mask. As her brother called them to his side, she smiled a real smile as Methos stood at her side as her equal. Not even Hetshepsit's hateful looks could detract from her happiness.
As they made their way through the crowd, Sekhmet felt a shiver run up her spine. She looked around and caught Methos' eye. He had felt it too.
Something was wrong.
Suddenly, a servant rushed the Pharaoh with a dagger.
"Death to the false god!" he yelled.
Sekhmet quickly pushed her brother out of the way as Methos grabbed the boy's arm, twisting it to make him drop the dagger. When the dagger was on the ground, Sekhmet punched the boy across the face, knocking him unconscious. All around them, guests ran out of the room as soldiers entered.
"Go." She told her brother. "Methos and I will take care of this."
"Don't reveal yourself unless you have to." Her brother ordered softly.
He took Hetshepsit's arm and dragged her out.
"You go too." Methos said. "Play the part of the princess. I'll send for you when we have him secure."
She nodded and followed her brother out.
…
Pharaoh brought all of his advisers together in his war room. The men were all arguing about who was behind the attack, when the doors swung open to reveal Sekhmet.
"Princess, this is no place for a wo-" one of Pharaoh's ministers said, trailing off when he saw her state.
She was still dressed as she had been at the party, except her crown was gone and her dress was covered in blood. The men fell silent as she made her way to Methos and the Pharaoh. Neither man said anything, their only acknowledgement of her state was for Methos to cover her with his clock and for the Pharaoh to order a servant to bring water for her to clean her hands.
"What did you learn?" he asked as she cleaned up.
"Someone wanted us to think it was the Lower Kingdom rising up." Sekhmet said. "The 'death to the false god' thing was to throw us off the track."
"So you found out who was behind it from the boy?" Methos asked.
"He was paid to do it by an unknown man." Sekhmet said, shaking her head. "He didn't have any useful information beyond that he wasn't a Lower Kingdom conspirator."
"But you have an idea as to who it might be." Pharaoh said.
"Now, I really must protest, your majesty." One of the ministers broke in. "We've let this play go on, but, realistically, what could a princess know of the affairs of men?"
"This princess is trained in the orders of Bast." Sekhmet told him angrily. "This princess has defended her Pharaoh's throne both on the battlefield and in the shadows."
"You will show Ra's Lioness the proper respect." Pharaoh ordered.
Sekhmet saw Methos duck his head, smiling, as the other men murmured, recognizing the name of the hero of the soldiers.
"What do you know, sister?" Pharaoh asked.
"I remembered that Methos got a report recently." She said. "A spy said that the Tjemehu were moving their troops along our border."
"Methos?" The Pharaoh asked.
"She's right." Methos told him, pointing to the map. "My latest reports say that they're adding troops here, here, and here. I thought it was just their normal build up, but with this attack…"
"I think they're planning an invasion." Sekhmet told her brother. "I think they wanted to kill you and make us think it was the Lower Kingdom rising up so we'd be distracted when they attacked."
The Pharaoh studied the map silently for a while as Sekhmet continued to clean up. She ordered a servant to bring her a tunic and by the time Pharaoh made up his mind, she was practically presentable again.
"If the Tjemehu want a war, we'll give them one." Pharaoh announced. "Methos, ready our troops."
Methos nodded and strode out of the room, grasping Sekhmet's hand tightly as he went.
"Brother." She said softly.
"I suppose you want to ride with him?" he asked, sighing.
She stayed silent and he nodded.
"The men do seem to fight better when the Lioness is on the field with them." He said thoughtfully. "Go. And when you come back, we will celebrate your wedding."
Sekhmet bowed to her brother before following Methos out.
"Methos and I rode to war three weeks later." Sekhmet said sadly. "A month into the campaign, we pushed too hard and the Tjemehu won the battle. Methos and I were both killed. He woke up before me and found my body. He couldn't handle it and he ran. I woke up a little time after and couldn't find him. Fast forward 5,000 years and we find each other in Spanish controlled California, but another Immortal came after me and after I took his head, I fled to Holy Ground for a century. And now we're here."
The other two women were quiet, thinking about what they had just heard.
"Well, it's late." Aurore said, standing up. "Come by the shop tomorrow. I have an idea for a dress."
She nodded to the other two and left.
"Come on." Amanda said. "Let's clean up and go to bed."
Joe, Duncan, and Methos sat in the bar, sipping their drinks.
"That's one hell of a story." Joe said finally.
"Yep." Methos replied.
He drained the last of his drink.
"I'll see you." He said before grabbing his coat and leaving.
"You know, last time he proposed to her, they died." Joe said. "We should probably make this one hell of a party."
"Yeah." Duncan replied.
A/N: Let me know what you guys think. And F.Y.I. The Tjemehu are the modern day Libyans.
Abbey
