Chapter 21: Big news to share

Nefera and Ceo were sitting on their palace's rooftop balcony, watching the fireworks that were gracing the night sky.

"This is the beginning of something new," Cleo mumbled in a way that sounded strangely determined.

"You say that, like, every time," her sister responded, obviously in disagreement.

"This year is different," the youngest de Nile claimed.

"It's no different than the last hundred ones except for the fact that the fireworks get brighter each time."

Cleo looked away from the sky and right at her sister, who was facing the fireworks as well. "Nefera, this is 2000!"

"And? Last time it was 1999."

"It's a new century!"

"Meaning?"

Right when Cleo wanted to answer, her sister interrupted her.

"Exactly - nothing! I wonder how long you need, little sister, to finally grasp the fact that time is a social construct made up by normies."

"But monsters celebrate New Year's, too."

With the words "What do I care what some commoners do?" Nefera turned back to the sky.

Cleo rolled her eyes. In those five thousand years they had spend together, Nefera's attitude towards commoners hadn't changed a bit.

When Cleo turned to her side, she saw her father making his way to them.

Finally arrived, he sat down with his daughters and looked up the sky.

"You're late to the party," Nefera said to him when eating caviar off of a golden spoon.

"No matter. It is as boring as last year."

"Don't you think 2000 could mean a change, Father?" Cleo asked with a bit of hope left.

Ramses nodded. "Indeed."

"What's different?" Nefera asked sarcastically. "The color of your suit?"

"Your aunt has called me, informing me about the development of Scaremerica," he answered without reacting to her sarcasm.

Both Nefera and Cleo looked at Ramses with a raised eyebrow. "Scaremerica?"

"The monsters have finally outnumbered the normies," Ramses said without trying to hide a smirk.

"Can we go there, Daddy?" Nefera asked, like always, expecting a no.

"Yes. I have located a place perfect for a royal palace, and the servants will start tomorrow arranging my demands."

Nefera almost spat out her champagne.

Even Cleo was shocked. "Really?!"

"Yes. It is finally time for us to leave our beloved Egypt and integrate us in a better way. Your aunt herself has many monster acquaintances and assured me they are not dangerous. We just have to be careful not to mix with the wrong kind as most of them will be jealous of our royal lineage. But this was, of course, absolutely expected."

"And the monsters will surely understand us?" Cleo asked with hope for a better future. She imagined herself with different people than her sister, people who she might actually enjoy to be with, and who she could form some kind of bond with. A new contact would really do her good, she thought, after being forced to spend so many years just with her family.

"We are ancient Egyptian royalty, monsters from an era that has bloomed thousands of years ago," Ramses told her, "No one will ever truly understand us. Yet, we belong in a society. We have to know our underlings before we can rule over them."

"Where exactly are we moving?" Nefera asked.

"Salem, Oregon."

"Where is that?!"

"At the West Coast of the USA."

"Daddy!" Nefera whined, obviously displeased. "Why not New York or California?!"

"Do you know that those places are full of normies?!" Ramses snapped.

"But-"

"No. Salem in Oregon is by far the safest place for us to be at. No place in the world has such a small population of normies. In Salem, only 30% of the people are normies, and the areas are strictly separated."

"That sounds boring. I bet there are no nice boutiques there."

"Fine. We might as well stay here. Right, Nefera?"

"Uh..." She forced a smile onto her face. "Nevermind."

Ramses nodded, pleased with himself. "That's what I thought."

"Father? What will happen to our current palace?" Cleo asked.

"I will sell it or something. We might as well keep it in case we ever want to come back here again."

"Never!" Nefera interrupted dramatically.

"Fair enough," Ramses stated. "With a population of 70% normies, Egypt is unsafe anyway. We can be glad to have lived in a palace very far away from civilization. Otherwise, we coud be dead already, murdered by bloodthirsty normies."

"Well," Cleo admitted, "I think I will indeed feel a bit bad leaving Egypt. So much happened here that we will forever keep in our memories " - of course, she thought of her mother when speaking that part out - "and it is my first time to ever leave this country."

"Stop being selfish!" Nefera snapped. "You know how badly I wanna leave this place!"

"Well, stop making everything about yourself!" Cleo snapped back.

"I'm next in line to Father's throne - of course I make everything about myself. I am more important than you, after all!"

"Just because-"

"Ghouls!" Ramses shouted. "Stop it!"

"Cleo started."

"I didn't!"

Ramses rolled his eyes, wondering how in the world he had survived this for the past five thousand years.