Phew, I finally finished the next chapter! C:
Firstly: A Huge Thank You to all of you who were so patient about me and my stupid muse who has the tendency of simply running away! Also Thanks to 123, for offering help with Arabic. I'll write you when I need a translation, okay? C:
Secondly: A Specially Huge Thanks( Yes the capital letters are needed) to: My glorious Beta MrsKitsune! And to ro781727, who send me such a nice and encouraging PM after my last A/N. Thank You!
This chapter was originally planned to be longer. Quite longer. Like, I-made-a-cut-in-about-the-middle-longer. -_-"
I really wanted to make an update again and thought I could get away with a cut here. You will most likely find the end a bit rushed, sorry, but I was really tired (32 hours of no sleep – not that much, but it was already night and I now slept around 12 hours) and I wanted to send it to MrsKitsune before I fall asleep at the computer.
My computer is still down, but I will write the chapters on my smartphone and upload it then from a computer.
For those who don't know:
One, I've uploaded a trailer for the fanfiction on YouTube. You can watch and access it over my website, Please leave a comment there.
Two, I have a poll running on my profile about the question if I should start a Reading-the-heavily-changed-books-to-fit-my-story side-along story or not. Please vote!
Three, at some points will be uploaded chapters not written from Persia's POV. This special stories will either be uploaded in this story or in a separate one, haven't decided yet.
Lastly, I've started to read the first book of the Cane-Chronicles. But, No, there will sadly be no crossover with it and this story. It is just to different what I have in mind. Sorry!
(This A/N get's way to long.)
Answers to Reviews(Guests who are called 'guest' will be numbered by date since last chapter's upload):
The Butterfly Dreamer, Acchan-Sirrah, Guest #1, Guest #2, Anime Princess, Lourdes08, Crimson, sharonpijl, Brokengirl26, killer4853, Miss Sweet Revenge, MLM24, Russian Lady, velvetbluerosa, darkplayer35, Out of the World, Gaara's-wife24, kitty4455, pandalover9914: Thank You!
Lucky Guard: Thank you. I am a bit ashamed to say it was one of the first ideas I had, if not one of the main ideas -/-
Sblck: Thank You! I'm happy you love it. That was the basic idea behind this possibility, because her baby would be: her own aunt, and her cousin(Hermes)'s grandchild. You just have to love those family-relations, right?
DelusionalFun: Thank You! You changed your name! I had asked myself, who is this and now I know! V was meant to be in it, but with the cut you will have to wait a tiny, tiny bit okay?
tvman24: Thank You! I hope it works, but even if not, It stays. I love The Mummy, too. It's hilarious that Jonathan calls Evy and Rick Mummy-Magnets, and when he goes to Peru, mummies are found there. Sadly I already have one.
emmahare: Thank You for your review. To be honestly, the pregnancy is what started the story idea. It hadn't had such a huge role in it, just the reason they leave, but after I received your review I started to think about it. I got a few ideas but I'm not telling so far. If a get reviews like this I want to please my readers, but even if it would seem unnecessary I wouldn't change it. I love the baby and the special ähm... past of it's soul. (How do you say something like this, without spoilers?) I can't wait for it, too.
The one that follows: Glad to hear that :D
Guest #3: Thank you. I really hadn't noticed that. I just changed it (I had totally forgotten about it).
Lunargirl-15: Thank You! To be honestly, my idea came from reading the stories of Perseia Jackson. In one story a character had a snake who made her swear on the River Nile and in one Percy had a baby from Luke after he was Kronos' host. I had those things in my head and my love for Egyptian Mythology mixed them to my idea.
discb: Thank You! Glad you love them too. My favs are Horus and Anubis!
Guest #4: Thank You! I can't wait, too.
Crimson: Wow, three reviews in 22 days ion the same chapter. Thanks!
Perseia Jackson: You've reviewed the first chapter, I think. I'm glad your back! Aww, I actually feel so honored if you like it. I can actually call you the Muse of my Muse! No, seriously, I wanted to finally update and started to read your stories once again. Thank You so much!
Crimson Dragon Devil: Thank You! That's the reason for this ability.
LadyKarma18: Thank you! I really want to write it! I actually designed her to be a simple bashing character, but I will tone it down a tiny bit. Triton will be extremely protective. Persia will most likely have a few boyfriends, so Triton will sometimes try to come visit and ehm... (threaten)"talk" to them. I can't wait to write his reaction to the pregnancy and then the baby. :D
Teren: Yes, I did, I also gave a warning. I can't category your review to be honest. Are you happy about it or do you not like it?
Emily Elizabeth: Thank You! Sadly all of it will have to wait till around the time of the first summer in Egypt. I can't really give you the ending, sorry, but I know how you feel. I always bugger my sister with "tell me more" then she tells me her fanfiction ideas.
Lady Cooper: Thank You! Yeah, I would be, too (I am with my followed stories). I thought you could do with a notice that I'm still there.
Sharonpojl #2 + #3: Thank You! It took me quite a while to get all the clips and put them together. I had to use two programs. One for cutting and one for the effects like the text. I' glad you like it.
Kayla: Thank You! I wanted to use Persephone in the beginning, but I thought Sally would like her daughter to have a name that is shortened to Percy and not Greek. On another side, Percy's middle name is Andromeda, to still fit the legend of the happy end.
Pandalover9914, Guest #5: Thank You! I'm glad you like it!
Answers are done!
For those who are interested, I listened in the background to Documentations about Egypt and Ivan Torrent's Icarus (It's really awesome!)
Last but not leaset, Ihope that you've noticed, that at my A/N, at the bottom that I've changed my name from SuzakuLordOfSouth to FlammenTaenzerinSuzaku (Lit.: FlameDancerSuzaku in German)
„Bold Talking" is meant to be the Common Ancient Egyptian language.
Chapter 3: Shopping
Jaíza, David, Corinna and Veronica were a strange group.
David was the eldest and hopefully the one who could control Jaíza's careless tongue. He was a bit goofy at times and liked to joke around, but he also seemed to have a soft heart. Corinna told me about his girlfriend, Erica Varbox, a daughter of Nut. If he had to, David would go to the Duat, the underworld, and fight Apep, the evilest of the Egyptian gods and Eternal Enemy of Ra, if it would help and protect her in any way. He was also considered a honorable member of his mother's warriors.
Jaíza was the daughter of Bast who had lived in Ahm Shere since her birth, after her father died soon after she was conceived. Due to that upbringing, she had been one of the most experienced fighters in Ahm Shere at the age of fourteen, now she was eighteen. It was during this time that she took over the mortal command segment of the Warriors of Bast. She was strict and forced new Blessed of Bast to be in full control of their new abilities in no more than a week. Corinna said she was best described as a "slave driver". But, as David told me quietly, she had a huge soft spot for children and her two best friends, a daughter of Horus and the current head of the Hathor Line.
Corinna and Veronica were identical twin children of Geb, but their characters were quite different.
Corinna was a carefree soul and more open than her sister. She also loved pampering herself and others and could even be found just laying on the ground relaxing. But if needed, she could, and would, join her friends in battle.
Veronica on the other hand, was more quiet and strict, she also got into more fights. Since their father was the earth, it was not surprising that they had fists as hard as rocks. They both possessed a great strength and could not be pushed back.
On another note Jaíza teased them about their preference of black-haired girlfriends, with a cheeky grin towards me, but they were happy to assure me, that while I looked cute and had a good body - I don't think so but hey I take the compliment – they were perfectly fine sharing their girlfriend, who was-by the way-my mother's aunt. You gotta love those family relations.
They told me our exact route. Since I was a daughter of Poseidon, the four of them were a bit tense about that, and Zeus had always threatened to shoot me out of the sky unless I was riding a pegasus, I wasn't very fond of flying on a plane. That was the reason why we were driving to Naukratis, where we will be boarding a ship and then sail until we reached Ahm Shere. Veronica and Corinna liked sailing as much as I liked flying, but they were okay with it. It was worse at flying.
"We are daughters of the earth," Corinna had said shuddering. "We have a serious reason to keep our feet on the ground or as near as possible. Sailing is bad as well, but here we are safer. But don't ever bring us out on the ocean."
David and Jaíza had a slight aversion to water (it was actually aquaphobia but for their benefit I didn't say anything) – they were part cat after all – but they would manage. If I could travel again with them I would be getting a few flying lessons because of my flight fright with David's girlfriend. As a daughter of Nut she was an excellent pilot.
"Cat's like high places," Jaíza chuckled. "And dearrr David wishes to stay at the highest place of all, the sky. It hit him like a hammerrr on the head when he saw herrr flying. Orrr like this flying baby's arrrrow. Cupis orrr something." Cupid was roman if I'm not mistaken, so here we have the aggression again.
"How are the gods?" Sally said. "My mother? My stepfather? My brothers?" Osiris was very fond of his wife's halfblood children, since he himself could not father any ever since his brother had mummified him in that sarcophagus.
You see, a very long time ago Osiris' brother, Set, wanted to rule all of Egypt, so he thought of a plan. He held a party and brought with him a sarcophagus so beautiful that everyone present wished to have it. He said he would give it to the person who fit inside it. The guests tried it out, but it was made to fit Osiris. When he went to lay inside the box, Seth shut the lid, locked it, and took it away with him.
Isis went to search for her husband but Seth had dropped him into the Nile where he had drowned. Set then came back and took his body with him, to chop him into pieces and scatter him all over Egypt. In the following years Isis with her sister Nephthys traveled through the lands to gather the pieces of Osiris. They found all pieces but one, his penis. It had been dropped into the Nile and was eaten by a fish (which was the reason, why eating fish was forbidden for demigods and the people in Ancient Egypt. Gross.)
After reassembling her husband as the first mummy, Isis crafted a wooden penis and with the help of Thoth she revived him for just one day. This day she used and spend with him and only him. She conceived her son Horus this day.
After the day had passed, Osiris became dead again and became the King of the Underworld and the god of afterlife. He can not reside in the realm of the living for too long and as no life can be created in the realm of the dead he can't have half-blood children. And any of his time in Ahm Shere or in the mortal world is spend with Isis anyway.
"They are troubled about your arrival" Cory said and held her head in the wind as we drove. "It is the first time a Greek demigod has been granted entrance. They fear for the city after what happened during The Scorpion King's downfall. They lost enough lives, and Lord Anubis, Lord Osiris and Lady Maat were working overtime for years."
"Currently, Lady Isis and Lord Osiris are preparing your living arrangements." Rony said quietly and put her hair up in a military-like french-braid to have her hair away from her slightly sweaty forehead. "You will be given a house in the northern district, in one nearest to the temple of Lady Isis."
Ahm Shere was organized after the godly parents, similar to Camp Half-Blood, but here you can live with your mortal family, but many did not. The Line of Isis, the children of Isis and the legacies, also had a slight similarity to the Hermes Cabin. If a half-blood was brought there and was under the age of ten they were put into a family of the Isis-line and raised until they are ten. After that they move to their respective line.
"Lord Horus and Lord Anubis are awaiting you as well, but they had to mind their responsibilities as gods and will be delighted to meet you." Cory finished for her sister and smiled at her. "I also think that Lady Taweret will want to speak to you. It's about your pregnancy. She... she wants to make sure nothing happened during the fighting you told Lady Isis about."
"Okay." I said slightly worried, and brushed a hand over my flat stomach. I had been through many hardships during the war and I hadn't really thought about what my baby had had to go through. All that fighting. All the danger. I even... I stopped cold and paled drastically.
"Mom?" I asked worried. "Can... Can the baby be affected by taking a bath in the Styx?"
"I don't know" Mom said and looked at me. "We will have to wait for mother to examine you. I hope nothing happened." She drew me in her arms and Cory leaned over her seat, which was in front of me by the way, and took my hand in hers.
"Hey, don't worry." She smiled. "I'm sure your baby is fine. Just be optimistic."
"Thanks." I smiled back weakly and continued to ran a hand over my stomach.
I hope you're alright, little one.
It took a few days to reach Naukratis so we choose to sleep a night in a hotel to relax and then get a ship. As it seemed, in most of the cities knew the sign of a demigod – a golden necklace with a seal – so if you got to a car rental service you just had to show it and you got a car for free, which you then could bring to another service at your destination and just leave without paying. Though, most payed them or gave them a tip when they hadn't had enough.
That was the reason we had one of the most expensive rooms of the hotel and a ship organized to be boarded in the morning. Our group then went to the market. I had only a few feminine clothes and we wanted to get me a few more. I was a bit torn about dresses and skirts, because I always wanted to wear some, but I figured I would feel a bit uncomfortable since I'm not used to it.
Mom wanted to also look for some things for the baby, even if I was only in the third month. We had taken some old things from when I was a baby with us, but it was only a few pairs of clothes and one or two stuffed toys. While packing, Mom had discovered that Gabe had thrown out most of my old baby stuff that was still packed and stored away. If he wasn't already a statue I would love to kick his ugly ass.
Jaíza would go with us and show us where the best shops where and get something for herself. One of her best friends, the daughter of Hathor, had had a baby two years ago and she wanted to get something for the little one. A little boy.
On the other hand, David, Cory and Rony wanted to get some gifts for their lovers. They hadn't told us what they wanted to bring, but I felt a bit of envy. I would have loved to have a boy love me like that and bring me something back, even if it was a only a small thing like a bracelet or a T-shirt.
Our first stop was a stand where they sold clothes suited for warm temperatures. They were made from thin materials and shirts were embroidered on the collar and the seam and were loose, and much of the same only shorter for the pants. Mom and I just took a few pieces each. I took three black balloon pants, which ended a few inches under my knee, and about three different kaftan-styled shirts in two colors each. They were loose fitting and made out of thin material, so we wouldn't sweat more than we had to. We also bought two pairs each of ballet-flat like shoes, which were decorated with tiny pearl beads.
Jaíza showed us a shop which sold toys for children, made of fabric or wood. When we asked what she had in mind for her friend's kid, she held up a set of cute figurines to play with, about six inches tall, and styled like the hieroglyphic gods. I recognized Bast, Sekhmet, Thoth, Horus, Anubis, Isis, Osiris, Seth, Ra and Hathor. They were secured in a wooden box, and I smiled as I thought how the boy could play with them.
"I 'ave to rrremove the staffs and otherrr starrrp objects firrrst though." She said grinning, as she paid. I noticed that she had her demigod-pendant rested over her shirt and after a glance at it the merchant gave her a considerably cheaper price for the set than for a tourist who had bought one himself about twenty minutes before.
"It's so 'e can see not to trrreat us as tourrists. They always get overrrprrriced." She explained as she caught me looking. I just grinned back.
"Yeah, that might be true." I grinned. Then I whipped my head around and sniffed a bit. "Do you smell that?"
Jaíza turned into the same direction and smelled deeply, before making a face of disgust and groaning.
"It's one of 'is stands." She growled. "It's a chain of shops and stands all overrr Egypt. "The Embalmerrr's Scent" arrre selling perrrfumes, oils and things like that. Made by Anubis and 'is childrrren. They arrre verrry popularrr. The most wanted, and best ones, arrre the custom made ones."
"I think Anubis told me about that." Mom said thinking. "He said it's used to pay for things from outside of Ahm Shere. Food, exported things and anything the like. He was quite proud of all that. He also mentioned that Lord Ptah had stands and shops too, selling things he or his children crafted."
"Come, let's see who's selling them 'errre." Jaíza said before casually before taking a nasal spray and spraying it into her nose. Mom and I shared looks, before looking at her questioningly. Jaíza noticed our stares and grinned sheepishly.
"My nose is verrry sensitive." She explained. "The sprrray numbs it, since the odorrrs will be too strrrong forrr my nose. Come on." With a little spring in her step she walked towards the stand's direction and Mom and I followed her. With a small frown I pressed a hand on the skin of my upper arm and sighed as I felt the heat it was emitting and how dry it was. Great, now I also had sunburns.
I thought back at when Mom told me about things Anubis made as embalmer and remembered the bit about body balms. They were made just like the perfumes and body oils. It was used to moisturize the skin after bathing and to prevent sun burn, while making sure the skin got a beautiful golden tan. I wanted to buy all of it.
"Ah, Steven!" Jaíza called happily as we approached the stand where a brunet young man was showing a woman in her fifties a flagon of what must be perfume. He turned to us for a moment and then sighed deeply while rolling his eyes.
"One moment, Blondie." He called back before turning his gaze back to his customer with a charming smile. "This one would do well for you. It will accent your own scent perfectly and... serve your intended purpose brilliantly."
"Ohoho, my dear boy," the woman chuckled blushing and I had a sudden feeling I knew what she was intending. "You know me too well." Still blushing a bright red she paid for the perfume and Steve turned to us.
"Hello there, hairball." He said grinning and Jaíza hissed at him.
"'ello yourself, fleabag." She spat at him, but I had a feeling they were teasing each other.
"And hello to you two gorgeous ladies", he grinned at us. "How can I help you?"
"I'm Sally Jackson and this is my daughter Persia" Mom introduced us and lowered her voice. "I'm a daughter of Isis and granddaughter of Thoth."
"Ah" Steven grinned knowingly. "Nice to meet you, Auntie, cousin. I'm Steven Page, son of Anubis."
"Pleasure", I said and eyes the flagons on display. They were unlabeled, but placed in wooden boxes with the names on it. "Wow, that's a lot of scents." I said after taking a deep breath.
"Yeah, it's a bit much for one with a strong nose, like me and hairball, here", Steven said, nodding to Jaíza. "But you get used to it. I'm specialized in making them though. Most of my sisters are better at getting a person the best possible perfume of the non-custom-made ones."
"You 'ave some body oil 'ere?" Jaíza asked while rubbing her face around her nose. "Mine's empty and Corry and Rrrony 'ave extrrracts inside theirrr's that I'm allergic to. And David's is also a completely differrrent scent. Doesn't fit."
"Sure." Steven said and looked at us. "You want some too? I can give you scents with just a sprinkle of pheromone inside. They will be after you as if you're in heat." He sniffed a bit and blushed a bit. "On the other hand... better not. Given your condition... Sorry."
Now it was my turn to turn red. How did he...? He really...?
"Y-you can smell it?!" I asked and he smiled bashfully.
"Yeah, you're giving off pheromones, so I knew. Mortal's can't consciously smell it, they just register it sub-consciously and some can then just tell from that that you're pregnant. Congratulations, by the way."
"Thanks." I muttered dryly. "But can you give us some? I think I've gotten sunburn already."
"Sure thing." He said and looked behind the shop, shouting in ancient Egyptian to someone we couldn't see. "Amélie, we've got customers! For custom ones, so watch the stand for me!"
"On my way!" A voice shouted back and a few moments later a young woman stood in front of us. Her brown wavy hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail leaving a few bangs framing her face. She wore blue jean shorts, a red sleeveless shirt with the slogan: "I'm not one of these girls you can play with. If you want one go buy a barbie!" on it and a pair of brown sandals. Around her wrist she wore golden bracelets, a necklace with the demigod-pendant around her neck and scarab-earrings made of a blue stones dangled from her ears.
"I hope it will not take too long." She said rising her eyebrow. "Bea is in town and we wanted to catch up."
"You know how long it takes. I'll hurry, yes?" Steven said. "By the way, this are Sally Jackson, daughter of Isis and her daughter Persia."
"Nice to meet you, Amélie" Mom said smiling.
"Amélie Galliard, it's a pleasure." She grinned. "Now, off you go."
Steven lead us to a house not very far from the market and asked us inside. It was a lovely room, painted in warm cream colors and blue themed furniture. We went down to the basement and I gasped. Here the scents of extracts, blossoms and oils were even stronger than at the stand and I winced in sympathy for Jaíza. Without her nasal spray she would be in much pain.
"So, hairball, you first." He said and held his hand out. "I can give you a new flask and you get this one back next time."
Jaíza handed him a big red flask with golden decoration and he took a long big whiff out of it.
"Same as always?" He asked and at Jaíza's nod he started to gather extracts and oils from different positions around the room. Mom and I watched fascinated as he carefully began mixing them, but Jaíza looked bored. She seemed to have seen it many times, so she was used to it.
"Any preference on a solid or liquid form?" Steven asked Jaíza as he was carefully sloshing a glass jar with the mixture around.
"Liquid. It's easier that way, and it takes less time now." Jaíza said from where she had sat down to file her nails.
"Hmm" Steven made and concentrated on carefully filling a tall blueish flast with the now finished body oil.
"It will last for at least at least two weeks, less is you use too much." He commented as he gave her the flask and then turned to us.
"So, who first?" He asked and Mom stepped forward. "Okay, I will have to smell on every place of your body to get a good impression of your natural smell."
It was quite strange but fascinating as Steven started to smell on Moms skin. Her neck, armpits, elbows, wrists, the valley between her breasts – Mom turned beet-red at that -, Her stomach, between her legs – Mom turned even more red -, the small of her back and the backside of her knees. After that he stood there with his eyes closed and seemed to think. Then he slowly started to gather extracts and oils again and this time started to mix them slowly.
"I don't know if you know, but a perfume is a symphony of scents. It consists of the Headnote, which is the first impression of the scent and usually lasts only a few moments. Then the scent changes and becomes the Heartnote. It usually lasts a few hours. After that it changes to the Basenote which lingers for a few days." Steven started to explain and smiled. "But that is what the mortals know. There is a fourth note which is known only here in Egypt, the Crownnote. It gives the perfume the last step to perfection. Once archeologists opened a tomb and released the perfume's last lingering note, the Crownnote. They said that for one moment the whole world stopped."
I watched as he carefully measured the different extracts and oils to pour them in a great glass jar and mixed them with a glass stick.
"But that was because it had time to intensify. " Steven grinned and looked at Mom. "Do you want it in liquid form or hardened, Sally?"
"Liquid, please," Mom answered.
Steven nodded at that and carefully stirred in a yellowish oil until the perfume had doubled in volume. Humming proudly he took a flask decorated with flowers and carefully filled the mixture inside. When he had put in the stopper he held it up to the light and took a close look at it. He seemed happy with it.
With a grin he held it out to Mom and she took it from smiling, too.
"Thank you, Steven." She said.
Still grinning he turned to me and I stepped forward. He repeated the smelling process with me before he stood there again, eyes closed and thinking.
"Persia, your perfume is a bit tricky." He said slowly. "Your body is expelling huge amounts of pregnancy-pheromones. It's to ward of suitors other than the father. I have to fine-tune the perfume to either enhance the pheromones' effect or to suppress it. What do you want?"
"I'd like the suppression." I said and shuddered at the thought of everyone smelling my pregnancy. I mean, I have been a 'boy' for many years, so it was a bit anxious about such things. "In liquid-form, too."
"Okay, give me a few minutes." Steven said while walking through the shelves of oils and extracts. He took more time than he did with mom's. He would take a bottle from the shelve and think deeply. Sometimes he would put it back right away, take it to the next shelve or he would open a few bottle at one time and let the scent mingle before smelling on that. After around twenty minutes he had enough oils and began mixing them more carefully with the proportions. If he wasn't sure about the smell he would add drops of one scent with a pipette.
"Here you go!" Steven said, grinning while holding out the large flask out for me to take. It was made of a mixture of blue and sea green glass. On the bottoms were carvings of waves and sea shells.
"Thanks!" I said and took it.
"You're welcome." Steven said and then looked at Jaíza. "You paying?"
"Yeah." She said and gave him a few golden coins with Egyptian signs on both sides.
"Please come again!" He aid as we returned to the market.
"Let's rrreturrrn to ourrr hotel-rrroom." Jaíza said to us and we followed her.
"Bye!" Steven shouted after us. "Please come again!"
"Bye!" Mom, Jaíza and I shouted as one and continued to walk away.
Beta's Note: *happy trilling noises*
So Here it is! Not that long, but the moment was good.
The perfume stuff comes from watching the movie "The Perfume" (In German). I don't remember the fourth note being named but I thought "Crownnote" would fit, I thought about how Laura was the "Crownjewel" of his Creation.
If you ask why Amélie spoke in Ancient Egyptian Common language, is because she is rubbish at English. Most demigods will only speak Arabic, their mother tongue and the Ancient Egyptian Common language. Medjai and Warriors of Bast speak English.
Please Review! ( guests: Please write a name inside, so you will know which is the answer to your review)
I will try to update earlier!
FlammenTaenzerinSuzaku