Ch. 36

The young man was mulling over the words he had heard earlier that day. He had to admit, his heart began to race with joy at the sound of Jasmine laughing. By far the best sound to awaken to. But, after yearning to hear her voice, he had to admit he wished he hadn't. The conversation that commenced was something he wished he had slept through. She was leaving in a few days time, and what was worse, she may leave sooner.

He had to stop her. He had to make her realize he cared for her. He had to make her see that he was finished with Mayati and was more then willing to settle for her.

Settle for her…

The words sounded wrong even in his head. Jasmine was not a person you settled for, she was a person you worked for. She was a person you worked your hardest to win. And once you had her, you had to pray she saw you the way you worshiped her. But she had been right.

When he had looked at her before, he had seen Mayati, his Mayati. There was no way he couldn't. He had tried to ignore it, to fight the urge to call her the wrong name, but it was difficult. The Egyptian from his life had consumed him so completely, he had been unable to think of anything else. Her death had destroyed him and when his betrothed had found out, she destroyed his life. But he had nothing to offer her.

When he was alive, he would have spent everything he had, his time, his love, his money, anything he had to make her happy. But he wasn't alive. She was right. He was dead and there was nothing he could do about it. He knew the best he could manage was to see her once a night. He could never walk with her in the sunlight. He would never be able to give her a home. He would never be able to give her a family. He could never hold her hand to his heart so she could feel what she did to him. He couldn't even offer her body heat. Despite being a king, he had nothing to offer her.

So what did he expect? Was she supposed to visit him every night? The two of them trying to find a moment alone because he was unable to leave the building? Was she supposed to forgo a normal life just for him? Was she supposed to abandon her job, something she loved, in order to become a recluse, sneaking away to the museum in the middle of the night? He couldn't ask her to do any of that, and he wasn't going to.

Perhaps, leaving was the best thing she could do. It may have been painful when he lost her to begin with, but he wasn't going to be the reason she abandoned everything else. She was living, he wasn't. His time had come and gone. He wasn't to try and live through her, to try and regain something he obviously wasn't meant to have. It wasn't right.

When he woke up the next time, able to leave the tomb, he would explain the conclusion he had come to, to Larry. That was if he was going to be able to wake up. He knew she was still angry about everything that had happened, but he hoped she would at least wake him to say good bye. As much as it broke his still heart, he knew it was the best possible thing to do. There was simply no other choice.

That night, Larry had thought, that perhaps this time, without her knowing, he could unleash the tablets power. He was getting bored, incredibly bored. He couldn't stand having to be an actual night guard, and he wasn't sure how others could. Two days was more then enough for him and he was going to have his fun. Slamming his fist down on the reception desk as to solidify his decision, Larry set off towards the Egyptian wing.

As he rounded the corner, he jumped slightly at the sight of the two guards in front of the door way instead of behind. It was inadvertent, but he couldn't help it. Those things freaked him out. But, he knew they weren't moving, yet, so he made his way into the display.

This was the first time he had seen the new exhibit and he liked it. The soldiers were displayed with their weapons, their make-up and clothing perfect, standing on their small platforms to make them seem more like displays instead of people lurking in the dark. As he went to walk pass the first one, something caught his eye. Turning, he saw something he wasn't expecting.

The man moved closer to the statue, eying it skeptically until he felt his breath catch in his throat. He was looking at a model of himself. Or at least, it looked like him. The guy was the same height, had the same face, and similar features. The only thing that was different was the hair style and eye color. But despite these little differences, he knew for a fact it was him. Sighing heavily, and making a mental note to kick Jasmine's ass, he walked forward.

In a case, behind the Pharaoh, was the tablet. It was displayed beautifully, like the other things in the case, the center block slightly askew. He knew she wanted the exhibit to look perfect, so instead of placing it back the way it was, she had tilted it as much as possible without actually sealing it. Clever. But, he had to admit, he was more grateful for her leaving the glass top unlocked. She knew at some point the was going to want to activate the artifact again, so she had avoided sealing the case.

Moving his sleeve down to his hand, Larry used it to open the glass. He wanted to keep it as clean as possible, avoiding his finger prints. When he was sure he had enough clearance, Larry wiggled his other hand inside and tried to stretch his finger tips to the block, avoiding the other pieces. Slowly, but surely, he made it to the gold and with a quick flick of his finger, the piece fell into place.

He felt the pulse radiate through the museum as the life giving spell spread. A smile crossed his lips at the thought of everyone being alive and well, and free once more. As he lowered the glass, letting it fall lightly into place, Larry heard a stirring inside the coffin. Moving quickly, he ran to the side and helped his friend escape his tomb.

Ahkmenrah rose once the lid was lifted. A breath of fresh air, if he had to breathe. Smiling wide, he glanced around his tomb. His smile, however, soon faded when he noticed movement behind his friend. Almost immediately, the soldiers had leapt from their platforms, charging the intruder with their weapons drawn.

Holding out his hand and shouting in Egyptian, Ahkmenrah declared himself. Instantly, they dropped to their knee, an arm across their chest to show their respect. When the Pharaoh motioned for them to rise, Larry felt himself wince when he noticed the recognition on Ahk's face.

"It looks just like you Larry." he smiled wide.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." he grumbled, glaring at the guard.

"So that is why she was laughing."

"She? Jazz was in here?"

"Yes. She woke me with her laughter."

Larry eyed him for a moment.

"What are you going to do?"

"Let her go. I have no choice." he answered in a quiet voice.

The night guard nodded slightly before stepping off the newly raised platform. He watched as Ahkmenrah swung his legs over the edge and prepared to drop. Apparently, it was further then he had guessed and when his feet hit the ground, he fumbled.

Larry tried to hold back a laugh at the sight of bright gold robes swirling through the air as the king tried to steady himself. Once the king was standing, he shot Larry a hateful look, a smile tugging at his lips.

"I have eight guards now Larry. You think it wise to press me?" he asked with a smile.

"And I have a gold block that puts you to sleep." he answered, a smile on his own face. "Your move Kingy!"

Ahkmenrah laughed at the mock fighting stance Larry had taken with his threat. The young man smiled, standing straight once more and placing his hand on the boy king's shoulder.

"Come on man. Let's go make sure the others don't kill each other."

"Of course."