This is it and what a journey it has been! I would like to thank all of my readers from the bottom of my heart, especially those who took time to review and encourage me in my work. Blessed be and may much love and light be with you.

It felt as though she were trying to pull herself out of a deep pool of water but, after a few minutes, Farsiris finally regained consciousness and control of her body again.

She was happy and yet feeling emptier than ever before. True, she had just given birth so, in a literal way, she was indeed empty. But her spirit felt bereft of something...of someone. The princess was still there, in her subconscious, but for the most part she had returned to the underworld to be with her family. The thought made Farsiris smile.

Her smiled broadened when she saw the child in her arms. Though he looked dead and his body was cold, he was not truly dead. None of them ever were. She and Evelyn were living proof of that. "Until we meet again, little one" she said wistfully and covered the little body with a blanket before handing it to one of the priestesses. They would take it to the temple and prepare it for a proper burial, at which point the child would be laid to rest beside his mother and father. Then would commence the seventy days of mourning.

The hours passed quickly and, with help from the spell Selkenauset had given Evelyn, Farsiris was soon whole again and looked none the worse for wear. Evelyn went to give the good news to her family and to Ardeth, who lost his composure and relaxed into his cushions, relief etched into every feature of his face.

Farsiris had survived, the curse had been eliminated, and the world was a little safer now for all of them and their children.

A month later...

Farsiris stood at the entrance to the temple and stared out at the river in the distance, a thoughtful expression upon her face.

So much had happened in so little time and yet, she felt oddly indifferent. She had slept most of the day after the birth then woken up with the feeling that her life was about to change. Again. Rather tired of fated tasks, she had spoken to Evelyn and her cousin had told her of the message from Ma'at. That she should marry Ardeth. It had seemed strange to her at that time and rightfully so. She had barely known the man. But, though she thought with her own mind and was quite intimate with the mysteries of the gods, there were some things she did not question. The decree of the goddess of justice was one of them.

She looked up at the goddess Nu, whose dress changed from bright cerulean interspersed with delicate white lines of clouds during the day to obsidian decorated with thousands of stars that glittered like crystals at night. Amun blazed his way across the fragile gown in his golden chariot and later, the pale and luminous sisters Isis and Nepthys, would cross the sky in their vessel, the moon. While this was all happening, Bast would keep a silent watch over the Nile delta and the doors to the underworld and Shait, the pitiless goddess of fate and sombre scribe of souls, would be recording the history and future of humankind upon pages of human flesh. Few in this time acknowledged that the gods and goddesses existed "and that will be their undoing" Farsiris thought somewhat sadly but she and her kin would continue their worship, all but closed off from the rapidly developing and increasingly conflicted world outside.

Her thoughts soon moved elsewhere and so did the agile priestess, who would mind her duties for the day as serenely as she had before the book had been lost and Evelyn had come to seek her help. Her feet took her to the temple sanctum, where she dutifully said her prayer and laid a fragrant offering at her divine mother's feet then she went to her quarters where a semi-translucent gown lay upon her couch.

Most of the priestesses still adhered to the ancient custom of sleeping on wide couches with coverlets and a headrest, as opposed to the soft beds of the newer peoples with whom they shared their lands, and Farsiris was no exception. Her fingertips lovingly grazed the engraved wood of the headrest and a gentle smile lit her face as she remembered the day her honey-eyed mother had given it to her. It was the same day she had recieved her silver amulet from the temple and her father had been nearly bursting with pride. This, she would keep after her marriage, along with many other trinkets and her ceremonial dress. Her hand trailed across the fine linen coverlets and onto the silk of the dress. Her life was indeed about to change.

Ardeth had been a persistant suitor, to say the least. She had never recieved so many gifts in her life as she had in the last month and he'd also taken the time to write her letters. After she had recovered enough to walk on her own, she had gone to Ardeth's tent and, in her usual abrupt manner, told him she was glad to see he was recovering but that he needed to get up before his legs withered. Then she'd apologized to Jonathan for that painful kick to his groin two months earlier and hugged Alex, overjoyed to see that he had not sustained any major injuries from this impromptu trip to Egypt. He would be coming to the Med-Jai camp for warrior training during the summers when school was out and would be staying with her and Ardeth. She'd spoken with Ardeth later, in private, about their feelings and had finally seen in his eyes what Selkenauset had seen so long ago in her bodyguard. He loved her and he had confessed it, albeit with much blushing and uncomfortable fidgeting. The memory made her smile fondly. Who'd thought such a steadfast and seasoned warrior, such as he, could blush? Or fidget, for that matter.

After a week spent in the Med-Jai camp, Farsiris had accompanied Evelyn and her family back to Thebes where she'd managed to secure beds for them at a decent inn. Then she had gone back to the temple to see what, if anything, was left for her to go back to. The damage was thankfully minimal, confined to a few chipped statues, a broken vase, and a few broken planks in the wooden doors, but her priestesses were unharmed, most of them having hid in the secret compartments, and elated to see her alive.

She had, in the month afterwards, appointed her replacement after Ardeth had come and proposed to her in the middle of the temple square, in front of everyone. She'd nearly cried after accepting and the celebrations that night were comparable to those of the ancient banquets that she and Evelyn remembered.

Evelyn and her family were still in Egypt, awaiting the wedding that would take place in a week's time in the very square outside the temple, where Imhotep had first seen her and their fight to free him from evil, and save the world, had begun.

After a week and much fussing...

"Bloody hell, Evy, you want me to wear a skirt?!"

"It's a kilt, Jonathan, and yes, you are going to wear it"

"Kilt, skirt, same bloody difference. And why exactly are we dressing like this again?"

"It's our cousin's wedding and it is our mother's heritage. Besides, it is ninety degrees in the shade out there so you have two choices: either wear this and the top to go with it, or sweat to death in black med-jai robes. Take your pick"

In the next room, Farsiris was desperately trying not to laugh so as not to interrupt the priestess who was doing her kohl. Another stood behind her and was threading gold beads into her dark hair. She, quite honestly could not see Jonathan in ancient dress, nor the stark black robes of the Med-Jai. He was, in a word, pasty white and, unlike his sister, had not managed to get a tan in the time he had spent in the desert sun. So, she had little doubt that she would spent most of the evening trying not to giggle at the sight of him in an Egyptian kilt. Rick, of course, had chosen the robes and would be standing as best man for Ardeth. A fitting position for a past warrior and presently honorary member of the Med-Jai.

Evelyn, having made her point, reentered the room where her cousin now stood, her make-up and hair finished. "Well now, this looks familiar. Only now, you have a different groom in a different set of dark robes. What is it with you and dark brooding men?" she remarked and they both laughed. "Balance, dear Evelyn, everything is about balance. Darkness would not exist if light was a constant state of being and, without darkness to compare to, we would have no idea what light was" she said and then sighed "besides, I seem to enjoy challenges and that one-" she said, jerking her thumb towards the door, outside of which was where her groom waited in the square "will be a fitting challenge for my free spirit". They both laughed at that then proceeded to put the final touches on her bridal attire.

She put on gold earrings and a transparent veil, with a scene of Isis and Osiris embroidered upon it in gold beads, was pulled up over her braided hair but her face would remain uncovered, as in the tradition of the ancients. A moment and a dab of perfumed oil later, she was ready.

She smiled at her reflection, knowing that, though the face was new, the eyes and spirit were three millennia old. She looked every bit the pharaoh's eldest daughter, the flower of Egypt, and she beamed at Evelyn, who wore the same make-up and dress as she had worn so long ago. When Queen Hatshepsut's temple still gleamed almost white in the sun and her obelisks stood in their rightful places, the metal coated tips shining like stars. When they danced in the temples, held festivals in the open to honour the gods and goddesses who had so blessed their lives, and life had been simpler but, yet, not so. Having made her peace with her past, and supported by the vibrant energy of her Mother, it was time for her to step forward and embrace her future.

She walked out of the room and down the hall, smiling at the priestesses who shook the sistrums to announce her entrance as not just a priestess but a bride. When she entered the afternoon light and descended the stairs into the square, backed by Evelyn and her family, she gazed at the crowd that met her. The med-jai warriors were in full formal dress, their scimitars oiled and their robes cleaned, their wives, sisters, and daughters clad in regal brightly coloured shifts with transclucent elaborately beaded veils and shimmering bracelets. One of elders, who, along with the senior priestess from the temple, would be officiating the ceremony, stood in the back, his eyes bright in his aged face.

Then Ardeth stepped forward, in the dark blue robes etched with silver designs that marked his status as chief of the twelve tribes, his dark hair and eyes shining with a light that came exclusively from his heart, and she saw no one else.

With a whispered prayer and deep cleansing breath, she walked towards him and the company bowed their heads in respect for the bride and her relations. Her nerves were aided by Rick's gentle nudge of his friend, who had ceased to do anything but stare once she had come into view and she giggled softly.

Compared to man-eating bugs, undead mummies, insane henchmen, and an impromptu trip to the underworld to save the damned spirit of a loved one, wedding-day jitters were nothing. Yet she still could not help the anxiousness that pinched her stomach when she finally reached him and looked into those dark eyes, so like another pair of dark eyes she had seen long ago.

For, as she set her hand in his, wearing the bracelet he had given her in another time and body, a sacred and all too familiar scent reached her nose.

Sandalwood.

They smiled at each other in happiness and understanding and each spoke the sacred words of their joining, with a few happy tears on her side. Ardeth kissed his bride and then, in a moment of overwhelming joy, embraced her and spun her around in a circle as she laughed through her tears and clung to him. Applause broke out among the company and Jonathan and Alex teased each other, Rick rolled his eyes, and Evelyn fanned her face, smiling, and willing herself not to cry and ruin her kohl.

As the newly wedded couple recieved their blessings from both elders, a movement caught Farsiris' eye and she looked briefly across the square.

A familiar priest and priestess stood on the steps of the temple of Osiris and she was holding a baby in her arms. Next to her, stood a woman with a cobra coronet upon her brow and wide beguiling eyes and a young girl of perhaps three summers, with the same eyes. The priestess smiled warmly then nodded her head and Farsiris felt the smile in her heart. She returned the gesture in kind and then Imhotep looked at her, a small smile tugging at his mouth, before the family disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Feeling as though she had been given the final blessing for her union, she felt her nerves disappear and her heart was light as her new husband led her down the aisle. They graciously thanked those who had made the journey to be here and talked amiably with Evelyn and her family before leading the crowd away to where a meal and reception awaited them.

But, as they were leaving the square, a gentle breeze carressed Farsiris' face and a rich and ancient voice floated to her ears, filling her with serenity and happiness all over again.

"Thank you".