Chapter 4: Forever irreversible
The youngest de Nile stopped walking, and made it very clear that she would not keep going without receiving an immediate answer.
"Where is Mother and what is happening?!"
Ramses seemed unsure what to answer. This was difficult to say... He placed his hand on the wall to steady himself, and answered the question without even turning around. He could not look his daughter in the eyes while saying, "Your uncle has decided he would make a better ruler than I, and has convinced many to follow him. They stormed the palace gates and broke through them. Your mother...your mother was in her garden on the other side of the palace. We were cut off and I could not reach her."
The adviser gently broke in, "Sire, her concern was for you and the princesses. It was her desire that you see to them first. The Queen is undoubtedly already safe in her own secret room as should you all be."
After that, the discussion did not continue. Instead, the four of them walked and walked and walked... There were phases which forced them to hide or run, but it was mainly walking. And that, far away from their home.
About twenty minutes later, they all stopped, as the passage was blocked. In front of them was a huge wall with no visible cracks. It seemed as if it had never been touched before, yet looked endlessly old.
Without hesistance, Ramses stepped forward. He placed his hands on the wall and quietly spoke out a word in a language the girls did not know. This caused the wall to show cracks in shape of a door. A second later, the family stepped through it.
Obvious were four stone 'beds' in the middle of the room. The rest, though, looked as luxurious as the standard the royal family was normally used to. The room was a version of the royal living quarters, yet feeling homely in this cold-ish room seemed impossible.
"Sire," the adviser said carefully. "These wrappings will protect you from all harm." He was pointing at faintly glowing wrappings that were lined around the 'beds'.
Ramses frowned, obviously unsure. He knew of the rooms, yet had not ever seen those wrappings. Had they always been in here, and he had just forgotten about it?
"I assure you, this is the only safe option," the adviser added, seeming both trustworthy and determined.
Ramses then made a momentous decision. He said, "Go ahead."
The adviser held back a smirk. He stepped forward and grabbed the wrappings that were lined around the first 'bed', before approaching his ruler.
Then, Ramses' arms and legs got wrapped. The process was rather short, and when finished, the adviser said gently, "It is best you take place on one of the 'beds', Sire. They exist for maximum protection."
Ramses had his doubts, but something - whatever it was - made him comply. Suddenly, he felt...sleepy. All of a sudden, it seemed as if the 'bed' was the perfect place to rest on. He would just sit down for a short while...
It did not take long until the adviser moved on to Nefera, and, lastly, Cleo, who both took place on their 'beds' as well, feeling...unusually sleepy and dizzy.
With the bandages applied, the family could feel the magic swirl around them . Clearly, something about these wrappings was off, as if there were from a different...dimension.
The adviser did not say another word. There was no need to.
As the first one to have gotten wrapped, Ramses had turned so sleepy within short minutes, that he had laid down on the 'bed' instead of just sitting on it. Whether or not he was even still open to conversation was highly questionable. The only obvious thing was that the wrappings - whatever they really were - had taken immediate effect. Even Nefera seemed to be...asleep?
Cleo, sitting on her stone 'bed', wanted to ask the adviser, her sister, her father or anyone, what was going on and what the next step would be, but she was unable to. Instead, the princess laid down and closed her tired eyes. The last thing she saw was the torch light disappearing, and the last thing she could hear was...the sound of laughter?
