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Evy felt herself walking towards the recently opened entrance as if in a trance. Something was beckoning her forward and into the darkened unknown; however, with each step, she could feel something, or perhaps someone, holding her back. She could sense Rick behind her, following a safe distance behind, but he felt miles away as each step brought her closer and closer to the now opening of the temple. The diggers all to quickly cleared a path as if welcoming her home while Alex and Jonathan watched on, frozen in their spots.
As Evy approached the door, her hand absently ran over where her blood was now smeared and dry. She could hear the blood flowing in her ears and her heart beating rapidly while her hands lightly shook. Upon her first step over the threshold of the temple she could see a set of stone stairs leading her down into the black abyss and almost instantly…everything stopped. It was quiet, a deadly quiet that shook her to the very core and as she turned to look behind her, she was shocked to see everyone present and watching her. Rick appeared to be talking to Alex, but no sound had escaped his mouth, instead he appeared to be just be mouthing random things while Alex and Jonathan nodded to mimic listening. Before Evy could move any further into the darkened opening, the ground started to shake violently.
As if a spell had been broken screaming and shouting had filled the air. Rick had leapt forward, grabbed his wife around the waist and pulled her from the tunnel, successfully saving her from the door caving in around her. Evy watched, having now been pulled from her trance as the diggers took off towards the camels they had arrived with, leaving behind their tools and other essentials in their desperate attempt to get out.
When the shaking had ceased only the four of them remained. Alex was flat on his back on the sand, looking confused while Jonathan had taken a tumble backwards and rolled down a small hill, one Evy didn't recall ever being there. Rick was on his back as well and his tight grip on her waist held her to his chest, so she didn't accidently roll off and away from him.
"Has it stopped?" Jonathan asked, attempting to stand on his feet in order to get his baring's about him.
"What the bloody hell was that?" Alex called coughing from the sand in his mouth.
"LANGUAGE!" Evy called as Rick's hold on her loosened as she fell to his side, looking up to the clear blue sky and scorching sun.
"Are you alright?" Rick worried pushing hair form her face.
"I'm fine Rick." She muttered, suddenly regretting telling him anything from their earlier conversation. She didn't want him to baby her, she just wanted him to know what was going on, of course how could she do that, when she herself didn't even know? She chided herself for snapping at him and made sure to lock eyes with an apologetic glance as he lifted her to her feet.
The four of them stood up and dusted the sand from their hair and clothes before looking about their surroundings. Amongst the shaking it appeared several structures had been unearthed. Ahead, their tent lay on its side as it now rested unevenly on a set of stairs leading down into the ground. Hills, or what appeared to be tiny mountains came up alongside them while the tops of what could only be described as buildings began to peak through the ground.
"Are we atop a city?" Jonathan asked looking around their newly developed setting. He slowly walked down from where they were towards the camp, careful as the slope of sand turned into stairs.
"Look at those!" Alex called out, pointing to the spot the diggers once resided now stood two large statues of a black cat as if representing the entrance to something.
They appeared to be over 15 feet tall and, from where Evy stood, looked as if they had just been built as opposed to having just emerged from the sand. Beyond them rested the quiet desert while behind her the temple door had collapsed and blocked any access to the stairs that lay behind the fallen rubble. Evy exhaled, it couldn't be. It was impossible, there was no way they had found the city.
After a long evening of getting their things back in order, the family of four finally reset up their camp and tried to sleep through the night, knowing if they had left so late in the day, their chances of survival were slim given the harsh terrain they had to cross just to get to their dig site. Alex had stood up in the corner, watching out past the 15-foot cat statues for any sign of life in the desert and was shocked to find none. Even as a small wind that blew around them appeared to not affect the sand inches from the statues. As Evy lay awake, she listened to the world around her, she watched as her brother slept soundly and her son attempted to stay up until sleep claimed him as well. She could feel fear within her as Rick's warm breath blew on the back of her neck, something was indeed coming, and she wasn't sure if they could stop it.
It was the sound of bird's chirping and the blinding light hitting her eyes that woke Evy up the next morning, and as she stirred in her husband's arms, he began to awaken as well. Quickly getting to her feel, Evy took in her new surroundings, shocked so much had changed overnight. Before her very eyes rested a city that had not been there the night before, a city with the whitest buildings that it almost glowed in the sunlight. Below her rested a large oasis with clear blue water and lush green trees, along the stairs she stood upon now rested little buildings that could only be used as homes while behind her a large temple now rested. Evy had to blink to take in her surroundings, none of this appeared to have been buried beneath tons of sand less than 24 hours ago and if she didn't know better she would have sworn they had been moved in the middle of the night. However, the two 15-foot statues of the black cats solidified her belief that they had not been moved, but that the city had risen around then while they slept. Between the two cat statues rested a large door with hieroglyphics on it, the door appeared to be tall, leading her to believe the statues had grown as well and though now a great distance away, she was almost positive they had.
"It's beautiful!" Alex said taking in the lush greens and the preservation of the city that looked to have been built yesterday, but with an ancient theme.
"Where are we?" Jonathan asked no one in particular, both her brother and son were oblivious to the fact there was no escape, they were stuck here until the gate below opened, and if memory served it wouldn't from their end.
"Evy? What is this place?" Rick asked in confusion as he took in each new piece of the city that had not been there before.
"I'm not certain, but if I had to guess…Zerzura."
Alex looked back at his mother, eyes wide. Jonathan looked at his sister in disbelief and Rick looked down to his wife, curiosity etched into his features.
Thebes 1299 BC
Nefertiri looked into the fire, her eyes glazed over and distant. She mindlessly threw some herbs into the flames and prayed tiredly, tears starting to form and fall from her closed eyes. She should have known better; she should have known eventually this would have all come to pass. Bastet was the Goddess of fertility and as her priestess she was a sacred vessel for the goddesses doing. It was her purpose to be a mother, but why now? Her hand rested over her still flat stomach, as her tears fell into the fire pit. Her brother would be furious, her father outraged, and in the end, her child would be without a father, that's if she were allowed to keep it.
Her tears poured from her eyes now as the black cat at her feet rolled onto it's back and purred. Not sure if she was being mocked or promised protection, Nefertiri sat in her spot in silence.
"I'm sorry. I am so sorry." She muttered into the temple, her sobs echoing back into her own ears before her body gave into exhaustion and she collapsed onto the temple floor defeated.
Nefertiri stood in the main hall of her father's temple and awaited his arrival. She had contemplated her decision long and hard and sadly enough was left with no other choice than to tell her brother and father the gut-wrenching news. Soon she would be unable to hide her misdeeds and she knew it was better to tell her secret without the world figuring it out on their own.
"Ah, my daughter." Her father called, his hands cradling her face as he approached her and placed his forehead against hers. "You have been in the temple praying far too much recently, I thought I had lost you to the Gods." He joked, she smiled back and cast her gaze to her brother who was now smiling smugly.
"Father, might we speak alone?" She muttered as he pulled away.
"We are alone, with your brother as future pharaoh he is here as if I were here alone." He looked his daughter over curiously; she knew better than to ask a future pharaoh to be dismissed from anything.
"That is not what I meant father." She whispered now, her gaze casting to the side where his father's concubine stood in the shadows, watching the interaction with her own eyes.
"Ah, yes. Of course, Anck-su-namun! Give me the area with my children." The woman's eyes squinted in scrutiny to the princess before bowing and leaving the open hall. "Now, what news have you from our great Goddess, Bastet?"
"Father, I come with news, however it is not the kind neither you nor Rameses wish to hear."
"Surely, you do not mean to push me aside yet again. A future ruler is needed to take my place should something become of me once I take the throne."
"Rameses you have years to have a worthy heir born. My condition has nothing to do with you." She shot back, the tears streaming from her eyes over the anger she felt towards her brother's narcissism.
Seti looked his daughter over, her behavior and outburst were nothing to how she normally acted. She was usually so calm and reserved, making his other children look like infants in her wake. He quickly stood in between his two eldest children to deflect them from one another, knowing his next question would be a difficult one if he was correct.
"Nefertiri? Are you with child?" Her gaze fell from her father's and her head hung low; he could only assume she was crying.
"Are you serious? You are with child and the heir is not my own?" Rameses bellowed out, his voice bouncing off the limestone and back into their ears.
"GUARDS!" Seti called, and almost instantly a group of Medjai swarmed into the room.
Nefertiri felt her heart sink, her body freeze. Her father was going to have her executed. She locked eyes with Rai as he followed in with the other's and his gaze moved quickly to his king. They all stood at attention and looked the family of three over, awaiting their orders.
"Have Rameses removed from my sight!" Instantly the 6 Medjai grabbed onto the prince and pulled him out of the temple screaming at his sister as he went. "My daughter…" He pushed softly, using his hand to cup her cheek and raise her head to meet his eyes. She let out a long exhale, shocked the Medjai had taken her brother away and not herself. "Ignore your brother, he is lost in his own mind of power and immaturity. May the Gods bless me with a long life so that his rule may be short."
Nefertiri smiled at this and chuckled along with her father. She wished to the Gods he was right. Ramses was too hot headed and immature for the throne. The man had a lot of growing to do before he would be ready to rule a kingdom. She felt her laughter turn to sobs and she embraced her father and cried in his arms. His grip on her tightened in an effort to comfort her and hold her up from collapsing on him.
"I am so sorry father." It was the first thing she had spoken in quite some time and her body heaved violently with her sobs.
"Now, now, none of that." He said pulling her out at arms-length to rid her of her tears. "I assume this interaction was wanted?"
Nefertiri nodded her head as her hand fell to her stomach for the first time in front of her father.
"Who is the man?" Her father's eyes seemed dark now, as if her next answer would determine her own life. "One of my men?"
"No father!" She lied all too quickly, hoping he wouldn't see the truth in her eyes and let this one issue pass without further inquiry, yet his gaze pushed for more information. "Your men all have wives and homes, families I have helped bless. Bastet would never forgive me of such a deed. Your other men have all vowed to Ra their undying devotion, none of them will even look at me that way, knowing whom I serve."
"Who is the man that has placed you in this position?"
"Nobody more than a weary traveler. A man who begged for a safe place to rest his head one night while I was heading home from the temple. I was in the way of pointing him to a safe place when Bastet spoke to me to welcome him into my bed. I was in no position to deny the Goddess her request."
"No, I assume not. It's only natural you would carry a child from that interaction. Serving the Goddess of fertility." Nefertiri smiled for it had been far more than just one interaction that had led here to where she stood now.
"Father, I do not believe she wished me to give Rameses a child."
"Bastet knows more than anyone the strength in a man."
"I have failed you father."
"Nefertiri, you are my favorite child. Tell your siblings that and I will deny it." She chuckled at that. "There is nothing you can do to fail me. You have performed the Goddess wishes and are now carrying the gift she will give the world."
"What of Rameses?"
"I am still pharaoh, am I not?" She nodded. "What I say goes. We will tell the kingdom the child is Rameses. With this babe born of your own flesh and blood it is still a royal, and still has a claim to the throne."
"Thank you, father." She bowed before him.
"Nefertiri, if this child is female and you do not present your brother with a male offspring, his first concubine to do so will push your daughter away from the throne, much in the same way I pushed your mother away from ruling."
Nefertiri nodded her head and bowed out from the hall. Her feet carried her out to the Nile's edge where Rai awaited her in the reeds quietly. As she embraced him, she could feel her body humming, his hands smoothed down her long hair and his lips sent electricity through her as they kissed. She held onto him furiously before pulling away to look him in the eyes. She loved this man more than anything but dreaded tell him the news of their actions. Soon he would be a father, but he would be forced to watch his child grow up from afar without his child knowing who he really was.
Egypt 1937 AD- Zerzura
"How can this be Zerzura? It's nothing more than a myth, a simple bedtime story." Jonathan said looking the bright white oasis over.
"So was Hamunaptra." Evy muttered back, still unable to believe all of this had risen from the ground whilst they slept.
"And Ahm-Shere." Alex agreed, he cringed slightly at the name of the place, but was in awe to notice if anyone else did as well.
"Question." Rick spoke up. "What is Zerzura?" He nudged his son when he received no answer from the awe-stricken siblings and was shocked when his son actually shrugged his shoulders.
"No clue, but…it's beautiful." He muttered as different colored birds flew by them and down towards the large lake of water.
"Zeraura, was…as Jonathan said…a bedtime story our mother told us as children." Evy said turning to her husband as their son listened closely.
"It was called, 'The White City' for how it glowed bright as the sun hit the buildings and the sand." Jonathan said looking down to the sand beneath its feet, shocked at how pure and white it was, as if crumbled from marble itself.
"It was once referred to as 'The City of Little Birds' because of how the city is white like a dove, also for all the different species of birds you will find within its gates." Evy looked over to her brother. "It's said Egypt's treasures rest under the sand here, some that have never seen the light of day, and that protecting it are a king and queen, both sleeping and awaiting the arrival of any one to disturb them."
"Many men have searched for Zerzura and no one has ever come close to finding it. Mother said anyone whoever did would meet their demise at the hands of the 'black giants'."
"They were said to be made of black Chalcedony and be over twenty feet tall. They were the guardians of this land and if anyone saw the inside, they…would never get out." Evy trailed off near the end, reminding herself they were the ones on the inside.
"You mean like those twenty-foot-tall statues of Bastet?" Alex asked pointing to the two matching black cat statues that served as the gate holder.
"Yes." Evy whispered. "The gate is locked from the outside, it's impossible to get out."
"So, how so we leave?" Rick asked.
"I'm not sure. Hopefully the diggers make it back and send help, until then, it's hard to say what we should do. This land didn't just rise from the ground for no reason, and I am certain Nefertiri has some business here. I am hopeful she will find a way to get us home."
"Terrified digger's or a 3,000-year-old Egyptian Princess doesn't really seem helpful, sis." Jonathan spoke up.
Rick felt Alex tense at his side and followed the boy's line of vision to see several dozen cats approaching them. They took the path of the stairs towards the family of four and as they got closer Rick was shocked to see them go from walking on all fours to their hind legs. Their features shifted from that of a feline to a more human nature. Evy's grip tightened on her husband's arm as he pulled his family close, he had even managed to grab onto Jonathan and shove the stunned English man behind him. Before their very eyes the dozen or so cats were now full-fledged human's and standing inches from the family with spears at the ready.
One man got as close to Rick as three inches from his face before speaking. His words came out as a shout as he threatened Rick with a spear inches from his neck. He continued to push his family behind him as the man continued to speak in his ancient tongue, his spear never wavering as the man behind him threatened to attack once given the word. Despite his guns and heavy arsenal of bullets, he doubted he could take them on without putting his family's life at risk and instead looked on completely confused with his next course of action.
Ahm Shere 1933
Evy could feel the cold, solid steel of the blade push into her flesh and rip through her internal organs. She could feel the jolt of her body as the weapon was pulled out furiously and replaced with the blood now exiting the open wound. Her knees gave way under her and in the distance she would hear the blood curdling scream of her husband as he pushed towards her. Her brother had been flung off into the sand not far from her, and it pained her to know this would be her son's last memory of her.
That he would grow old, meet a nice woman and when asked of his mother, the first image to flash before his eyes would be his father taking her slowly slipping form into his arms and turning her on her back. It would be forever engrained in his mind his father desperate for something to stop the bleeding as he struggled to comprehend what was going on, that he himself was also in the process of dying along side her. Her heart ached for her son, he wouldn't be leaving this place with either parent, and she prayed Jonathan could muster up the maturity to care for her son the way he had done for her when their parents died. He had it in him, she was living proof of that, well had been living proof.
"Take care of Alex." She begged him, knowing it was falling on deaf hears, hopefully maybe her brother heard. "I love you." And she did, so much. He was her everything. She had once been a bookish librarian adamant on spending her life alone or with a man who would restrain her from what she loved.
Instead she found him, a dashing legionnaire who had shown her the world, shown her how to shoot a gun and given her the confidence to never take no for an answer. She wished one day Alex would meet someone who brought out his best like Rick had in her. She had hoped for many more years with him but was beyond grateful for the time she had. Her world faded to black, the cold dissipated, and she felt nothing.
Suddenly, as if all at once, she could feel another presence nearby, sense the warmth of someone approaching, as if a piece of her were returning home to make her complete. She didn't know how long she had been there or what else was to be expected, but she had a feeling Rick had finally come to join her. What she got instead took her by surprise when a woman resembling herself approached dressed in ancient garb.
"My apologies." She muttered, though she spoke in ancient Egyptian, she had no problem understanding her as if she herself were fluent in the language. "I am sorry for the pain you have went through, I knew Anck-su-namun would recognize you and see you as a threat, I had hoped for this."
"You planned for all of this?"
"Naturally. I needed you to find the bracelet, only I knew where it was and could bring it to the surface, my connection with you allowed that to happen. Given the year of the scorpion, I also knew Anck-su-namun would speak to this woman to awaken Imhotep and bring him back to the mortal world."
"But why?"
"Imhotep would awaken his beloved mistress, both of them traitors for what they did to my father. But I knew she would seek vengeance on…us."
"But why do any of this? I could be home with my husband and son." Tears were streaming from her eyes, the betrayal. Her life was cut short by something, or rather someone, she had trusted.
"Son?" Her gaze shot to the English woman standing before her. "You have a son?"
"Alex, yes. And my husband…"
"Rai…I am glad he found you in this life much as I found him in the last. I had promised him we would be together again; I was just never certain how long it would be."
"Why take me from them?" Evy cried out, the pain stinging her heart.
"There is an evil out there, far greater than Imhotep or the Scorpion King. Something evil hidden beneath the sands of this earth. I brought you here to return with you, for only I can stop it."
"Return?"
"Of course, you have taught your child the ways of your past. He is of your womb, he will know to locate the book of the dead and awaken you, I will return with you."
"You planned this all, just so you could come back?"
"What I have done was not for selfish reasons, I have prevented myself from moving on into the afterlife for a millennia to meet my beloved because I knew this evil would rise. I knew it would return and I was the only one to stop it. I have made it so you and your husband will have years more together and I can correct a mistake I made over 3,000 years ago."
Evy looked to the woman in wonderment and disbelief, unsure if she should believe her when she noticed the other version of herself reach her hand forward and it phased through her own as if one of them were a ghost. Suddenly, she could hear Alex's voice speaking in ancient Egypt and the warmth of life began to flow through her body. Evy chanced a glance to Nefertiri and noticed her looking back with an all-knowing smirk.
Ok! That was Chapter 4. I am honestly putting off doing homework right now because this chapter hit me all at once today at work. SO I have written it. Chapter 5 may be up soon, I am not sure. Mid terms are coming up and I should be studying. I originally started this fic with no real purpose other than a cute fluff with mild plot, however it seems the plot grew it's own mind so given that I will be continuing, but rest assured the fluff will still be present. Zerzura is an actual mythical city, and I tried to include as many 'facts' as I could while still taking a creative twist to fit the story.
