Thanks and welcome back, zeusfluff! ) Here's the next batch…

Deana Lisi - April 17, 2002
"You love me?" Nefret said, hoping she hadn't heard wrong. "Truly?"

Ardeth nodded, and tried to hide a wince at moving his head. "Truly."

He didn't succeed, for Nefret suddenly gasped and sat up, staring at him wide-eyed. "Are you all right?"

Ardeth sighed, trying not to show his pain. His jaw was throbbing, as was his head. He felt dizzy and his tongue hurt; he realized that he must've bit it when he hit the ground.

"I am all right," he lied. Suddenly he remembered what had occurred, and he looked around the room. "Where are the O'Connell's? Is Alex safe?"

Nefret sighed. "Alex was taken again, and the others went after him."

"Where?"

"Luxor."

"We must follow," Ardeth said, trying to stand.

"No!" Nefret put her hands against his chest, keeping him on the bed. "You are not fit to go anywhere! You were knocked unconscious, you need rest!"

Ardeth sighed. Typical, when they get into the thick of things, he gets hurt. "They may need my help."

"What can you possibly do to help, in your condition?" Nefret countered.

"I know much, about ancient Egyptian rituals. If they reach Alex too late, and the ritual has already begun…"

Nefret sighed. Ardeth had a point, but the man was hurt!

Ardeth again tried to rise, and this time she helped him, with a sigh.

He tried to stifle a groan when his head spun, as he sat on the side of the bed. Trying to ignore it, he slowly stood up.

Nefret watched him worriedly, as she held his arm in a death grip. "Ardeth?"

"I am fine," he said, knowing she didn't believe it. "Let us go."

Nefret shook her head as they slowly started to walk, and she frowned when she noticed him limping. "Ardeth, I do not think this is a good idea…"

"We must!" he told her, anger making his voice sound stronger. He sighed when she looked away. "I am sorry, Nefret." He stopped, and reached up a hand to brush his fingers against her cheek.

She closed her eyes, feeling goose bumps erupt along her skin. She opened them again and smiled.

Ardeth smiled back at her. "Now, let us go."

Nefret nodded, and they continued on their way.

Rachel (pen name Evie of the Nile) April 18, 2002
Evelyn knew what she was in for, and therefore prepared herself by first, speaking with her husband, whom she referred to as the chief guard, to Imhotep and the priests. "I know it's absurd, but I have to do this, we are outnumbered by their players and must therefore play by their rules." She was starting to get upset as Rick argued the point, and he noticed this sympathetically.

"I'm sorry," He would have hugged her, but there were eyes watching, and to them he was the guard. "Alright, go in there, do what you must, but if she lays her hands on you I will show no mercy!" He gave in, much to his wife's amusement.

"Alright, darling." She smiled.

Just then a priest came into the room and whispered something to Imhotep, "Alright, if you'll be so kind as to come with me, your highness, everyone is ready." With this, everyone followed the head priest through the corridors to the large room, where Evelyn had been before.

Rick, Jonathan, Olympus, and Gabrielle were led to the viewing end of the room and were made to sit on the steps. Evelyn took her place at the left hand side and was given her trident. Since this was not a major event, she was not made to wear a mask.

The doors threw open and a woman stepped through, all the priests bowed at her entrance, as did Evelyn (following the rules) Anck-su-namun gave her a glance, then took her weapon. The boy backed away, and Imhotep rose from the throne in the middle.

"This is a match to declare that the estranged Princess Nefertiri really is who she addresses herself as." He started, "By the rules of Seti I and the lands of Egypt, if she is unable to prove herself as the Pharaoh's daughter, I will be made to hold her prisoner until the Pharaoh himself gives word of her release."

Evelyn was distracted by the last bit of news and blanked out for a moment. She didn't hear the beginning order and was almost knocked out by the first blow.

Krista - April 19, 2002
The battle was fast and furious. Anck-su-namun was barely giving Evie any leeway, hitting her every chance she got. The enemy knew to never give your opponent any advantage, no matter who they may be. Evie was holding her own, taking certain blows only when she couldn't defend herself. Already after five minutes of fighting, she had multiple tears on her clothing and skin, fortunately not being hit in the face. If she were to take a blow to the face, she would surely fall to her death…her real one.

"You battle well, Nefertiri…" Anck-su-namun said softly in her native tongue.

"Not so bad yourself, Anck-su-namun." Evie replied.

Anck-su-namun smirked and suddenly spun around and struck. Evie was unprepared for this move and was hit in the side, already drawing blood. Rick growled in frustration at Anck-su-namun's dirty ways of playing. He wanted to help her so badly, but alas, he couldn't. He was just another "guard" in the audience. All Rick could do now was watch and pray that she would stay alive.

'This was supposed to be a wonderful family vacation…' Rick thought miserably. 'Now I'm in ancient Egypt, watching my wife battle to possibly the death, my son about to be sacrificed, and me just standing here unable to do a damned thing!'

Meanwhile, as the fight raged, Evie managed to spot a flaw in Anck-su-namun's battle tactics. Without warning, Evelyn spun around and slammed the blunt end of her trident into Anck-su-namun's stomach. Rick was, to say the least, shocked at how well his wife was now fighting. As soon as Anck-su-namun was momentarily incapacitated, the princess knocked her to the floor so hard that it made Imhotep gasp out in surprise. Evelyn stood over Anck-su-namun, the sharpest tip of the trident slipped under her neck, daring the warrior female to move. Anck-su-namun stared at the trident, then at "Nefertiri". She then smirked and closed her eyes.

"You have defeated me, Princess Nefertiri." Anck-su-namun said softly.

Evelyn smiled as she was declared the victor. She offered a hand to help up her opponent, and Anck-su-namun took it. As Evie helped her to stand, she suddenly felt herself thrown to the ground harshly, hitting the wall as she slid along the surface. Rick growled.

"Jonathan, say something! I can't speak ancient Egyptian!" Rick snapped.

"Right, now let me see if I can remember…" Jonathan mumbled.

While her brother was trying to think, Evie stumbled to her feet and glared at Anck-su-namun. How dare she cheat before everyone! This was supposed to be a battle of honor, not a battle of cheaters. She eyed Anck-su-namun's hands. They were no longer holding the trident, but now they were holding a spear. Evie 'hmphed' softly under her breath and took a spear of her own from the wall. The battle would continue.

"What's she doing?!" Rick hissed to Jonathan.

"Err, it appears she's continuing the battle, old chap." Jonathan replied quietly.

"But she won!" Rick hissed again.

"Yes well what do you want me to do about it?" Jonathan replied timidly.

Rick narrowed his eyes in distaste at his brother in law, somewhat angry with him for not even truly helping. Then again, what could he do? Not much, frankly. The American sighed softly and continued watching his wife battle. But during this battle, something was amiss. He glanced about, getting an uneasy feeling in his chest. And then he saw Imhotep whispering to the guards and drawing a dagger from his priest's cloak…

Heidi Rittner (pen name JasmineHR) April 20, 2002
Imhotep kept the dagger hidden in the folds of his cloak in the case that Nefertiri decided to finish off Anck-su-namun for daring to fight deceitfully. He watched as the battle raged on. He would have to speak with Anck-su-namun about this unacceptable behavior. Her hate for Seti and his daughter should not be made so apparent, for it could result in punishment and banishment, and quite possibly being sentenced to death. He thought back to the time when Anck-su-namun first revealed her feelings of hate towards the Pharaoh.

It was very uncommon for a woman to not accept the ways of the world. Most women would have been extremely pleased to be chosen to become a pharaoh's wife, especially one as powerful and loved by the people as Seti, but Anck-su-namun had to be forced with threats of being disowned by the only man she ever loved at the time; her father. In a way, Imhotep was thankful that she had been chosen. It was her new status as pharaoh's mistress that had led to their meeting, otherwise, their paths would never have crossed. Seti trusted his High Priest and often asked that he watch over his daughter and teach her on many subjects, including the ways of medicine and how to discover and control the unique powers that all women of her family line were gifted with. After Seti had taken one look at his daughter's beautiful self-defense teacher, he had made arrangements to have her as his wife. He had asked that Imhotep also teach his mistress the ways of medicine. What Seti did not even think to consider was the possibility of his High Priest and new wife falling in love. Nobody knew of their affair, but Seti started to suspect that his wife was sharing the bed of another. So began Anck-su-namun's daily morning ritual of having body paint applied from head to toe by order of the Pharaoh.

Imhotep's full attention was back on the fight as Evie disarmed Anck-su-namun with a twist and twirl of her spear. It happened so fast that Anck-su-namun was taken by surprise. As soon as Evie tried to trip her and pin her with her spear, Anck-su-namun quickly sprang into a couple of back flip, and grabbed a sword from the wall. She began charging towards Evie, slashing the sword left and right, up and down, in very quick motions that showed her impressive skill. Evie was aware of the hate in Anck-su-namun's eyes and braced herself for the brutal attack. She held her spear in both hands and raised it to block the downward slash of the sword. The sword slashed through the spear handle as if it were nothing. Now the tables were turned. Evie was disarmed while Anck-su-namun came after her. Evie began to back up, concentrating on dodging the blade and getting another weapon to defend herself.

Jonathan and Olympus were near to having a nervous breakdown, while Gabrielle was itching to take on Anck-su-namun for her disgrace against honorable fighting. Rick was at his wits end. Evie had proven herself, but Anck-su-namun was going for the kill. He watched as Evie kept her eyes on Anck-su-namun, dodging blows and backing up. He noticed an obstacle in Evie's path and just as Evie was about to take the next step back, Rick jumped to his feet and yelled her name. "Evelyn!" Imhotep ignored this, thinking it was some word of caution in another language.

It was too late. Everything happened so fast. Evie stepped back onto the handle of Anck-su-namun's discarded spear and fell onto her back, knocking the wind out of herself. She looked up as Anck-su-namun stood with one leg on each side of her, and then she placed the blade next to the pulse of Evie's throat. Rick sagged back down into sitting position thinking the battle was over.

Anck-su-namun bent down, and in a whisper said, "Your father will be next." She stood back up holding the sword downward in both hands with the tip aimed at Evie's heart and raised it above her head, ready to make the final death blow. She would never forget the look of shock on Nefertiri's face. Everyone immediately stood up in shock and rage. Rick was about to charge as Anck-su-namun got ready to plunge the sword into Evie's heart, but both were stopped by a powerful voice.

"ENOUGH!" Imhotep yelled. "She has proven herself." Anck-su-namun froze. She had become so controlled by her emotions that she had forgotten they had an audience. The fight was officially over. She dropped the sword to her side and offered her hand, but was surprised as Evie kicked her leg to the side, causing Anck-su-namun to fall hard onto her backside. "Damn that felt good," Evie thought with a smile as she made her way back to Rick's side.

Diamond - April 21, 2002
Rick started to take Evie into his arms but she gave him a look and he remembered, she wasn't Evelyn O'Connell here...she was Nefertiri, and a princess didn't embrace her guards after a fight. So Rick just smiled at his wife and patted her on the shoulder. But as they were exchanging loving looks, Imhotep was sitting next to the Pharaoh's throne, getting a clue.

He hadn't taken the time to look over the oddly dressed guards and the woman Nefertiri had come in with, but as the fight was nearing its end the sight of two of the people the princess had with her caught his eye. He knew he recognized the man, Olympus. He was a bookkeeper at the Library, Imhotep remembered. But the woman...who was she? So familiar were her facial expressions and the way her dark eyes sent arrows through his when they made eye contact, he knew he must have known her once.

Imhotep almost fell out of his chair when he remembered. Gabrielle had turned her head a certain way and he automatically recalled everything. No wonder she was looking at him like she had been. But what was she doing with Princess Nefertiri? And Olympus as well? Gabrielle had been banished from her family when she refused to marry Imhotep and no one had heard from her since. Word had it that she was friends with Olympus, so that explained their relationship, but how did they know the Princess?

But then a more disturbing thought came to the priest's mind. What if Gabrielle told someone what he had done to her? What would that do to his position as high priest? He was supposed to be pure and Gabrielle was living proof of otherwise. Something had to be done about her.

Imhotep was still deep in thought when Anck-su-namun was tripped by Nefertiri, and was still zoned when Anck-su-namun got up and walked to him with angry eyes. She was talking to him, but he wasn't paying attention.

"Imhotep...Imhotep!" She hissed.

When he didn't respond Anck-su-namun glared and stomped off from him.

He was still watching Gabrielle...the priests were now showing her and Olympus to their rooms, the two guards (Jonathan and Rick) of Nefertiri following. Something had to be done...anything.

Milo (pen name milo-n-vaughn) April 21, 2002
Gabrielle was a bit sulky still, and was absolutely disgusted at sleeping in the same building as Imhotep was. The guards had shown them to their rooms and the only good thing that had come out of it was that the group agreed that Jonathan and Gabrielle should share a room. They'd decided that it was only logical that a 'guard' should stay in both rooms, and Nefertiri would be left alone with the bodyguard the palace had already for her (which, of course, put Rick on edge all night).

Jonathan had walked into the room after having a conference with Rick and Olympus and spotted Gabrielle sitting on the window sill staring out into the dimming sunset. He felt a flicker of hope in his heart, he'd always been the best at cheering Evie up...hopefully he could do the same for Gabrielle.

He started to say something, but was completely out of words....she looked so amazing in the sunset light...so he just walked over and kissed her on the cheek, startling her quite a bit.

She gasped, and looked up at him, trying to hide the teary ness in her eyes, "Oh...Horus, Jonathan you scared me."

Jonathan offered her a cute little smile and she had to smile back. It was amazing...she hardly knew him, but she felt like she'd known him all her life.

"I'm sorry about Imhotep...if I could...I'd-"

"Don't..." Gabrielle interrupted firmly, then smiled a bit, "I know."

He reached out to touch her cheek and was surprised when she backed away quickly. Jonathan frowned and tilted his head slightly to the side, he realized then that it was the first time they'd been alone in a room together, and that she was afraid of him.

The thought of her frightened of him made Jonathan's heart melt. He stared at her like he couldn't believe what was happening, "I won't hurt you Gabrielle."

She looked down and didn't respond, and this worried Jonathan even more. "Gabrielle I could never hurt you! You're the most amazing…" He put his hand on her cheek again, and she moved away again, trying not to look at him. His voice got very choked up, "I love you."

Gabrielle's breath caught and she looked at him with wide eyes, "You…you what?"

Jonathan took one of her hands and this time she didn't even flinch, he looked at her like she was crazy, smiling a little in his seriousness, "I love you Gabrielle."

She looked either dumbfounded or disbelieving, or both, but Jonathan was tired of waiting for her to respond and kissed her full on the lips. Surprisingly enough, she kissed him back and put her hands on his cheeks when he reached up for hers. Their kiss was very passionate and was growing even more when Jonathan picked her up off of the window sill and carried her to the bed.

When he laid her down there she broke the kiss and looked at him, Jonathan suddenly realized that this might not be the best time to be doing what he was planning on. "Oh…I'm sorry…" He started, but she started shaking her head the moment after he began speaking.

She smiled at him excitedly, like she had something urgent to tell him, "No…I just wanted to….I…I love you Jonathan." She blurted out. They exchanged smiles and Gabrielle put her hand on the nape of his neck and pulled him down to her kissing him again.