I honestly don't know what gets into me sometimes. ;-) The other day I was listening to my Prince of Egypt soundtrack—particularly the song where the pharaoh's priests were singing their "Playing with the Big Boys" song and I was thinking about how if this were in Mummyverse, that would have been Imhotep singing. Lol. I had been searching my mind for an angle to begin an Imhotep/Evy story and as "The Plagues" (with Ralph Fiennes *shiver*) came on I thought it might be interesting to include the plagues, but when the temptation to make Ardeth into Moses came I thought I'd better quit while I was ahead, particularly in view of the fact that a new angle had presented itself. So I'll just leave this as is and let it speak for itself…lol

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Have a Frog

Rated: G
Author: Angela - jedinineofnine@hotmail.com - http://geocities.com/saturnfiction
Summary: Imhotep gives Nefertiri a frog.
Disclaimer: No infringement intended.

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The frogs were cute, if irritating at all hours of the night. The blood, now that had been unsettling and terrible, but at least the frogs weren't horrifying. They were an annoyance, though, with their incessant croaking and hopping everywhere. Nefertiri stood in the hallway of the grand palace, watching with absent fascination as a frog hopped along the windowsill. It stopped abruptly and stilled, watching its audience with almost thoughtful, intelligent eyes and she smiled, reaching her hand to touch it. Her hand paused when it chirped and cocked its head.

Nefertiri pursed her lips and leaned over, peering into the frog's eyes curiously. "Just what are you thinking, anyway?" she asked and of course received no answer. She sighed and reached for it again, smiling as it tried to hop away but couldn't. A small webbed foot was now caught in one of the cracks in the sill. Nefertiri carefully drew the toes out softly, then let it free, expecting it to hop away.

To her surprise, it remained. The frog blinked its green eyes and watched her with an almost thankful expression. "You know I always loved Moses. Would you mind terribly telling your brothers that, so they may let me have privacy at least in my own rooms?" She sighed when the frog failed to communicate other than a questioning croak. "My father is blind, I know. And my brother makes it worse with his lies and hard heart. The slaves are not the only ones that suffer." An image of her mother rose up within her mind, unbidden and painful.

Nefertiri swallowed and leaned against the sill, watching her little friend study her. Seti was dangerously wrapped around the finger of her brother Rameses and at his advice, would not let the Israelites leave to worship their god. Personally Nefertiri couldn't see what the big deal was. She would have let them go. "The affairs of men," she sneered, stroking a finger across the frog's back.

A shadow covered both the princess and her pet. The frog did not back down at the High Priest of Osiris' scrutiny. Nefertiri looked up into his face and he smiled in amusement. "Does this pest have you under a spell, princess, that you would speak to it as if it understood?" His hand closed around the little thing and he held it threateningly out the window.

Knitting her brow, Nefertiri grabbed his arm and hissed, "Don't you dare kill that poor little thing!"

Imhotep laughed and drew it back inside, keeping it tucked within the breadth of his hand. He looked down at it thoughtfully with that same smirk written across his lips. She watched the priest begin petting it. "It is not as if they do not invade every room within the palace, not to mention the streets. Where there is one, there are a hundred more."

"Can you do nothing, Imhotep?" she questioned and his weary sigh made her shoulders sink.

His dark eyes stayed upon the tiny guest nestled in his hand as he touched it gently. "I have tried, Princess. Unfortunately my chants have had no effect." Imhotep looked into her contemplative face. "Your father is going to ask Moses and Aaron to pray to their god to rid us of these frogs. Then he will let them go, but I fear Rameses will deter him from that yet again and bring more suffering upon us."

Nefertiri crossed her arms and looked out the window, wondering what life would bring next, conscious that the handsome High Priest watched her. Her friend and teacher, Egypt's caretaker of the dead, Imhotep was silent and that silence made her uncomfortable in a nice way. His hand made her skin feel warm when he pressed it to her bare arm. "Do not let your heart be troubled," he told her softly and she looked up with a smile. "I will protect you."

His hand found hers and turned it up. Instantly her pulse began to race as his body neared and she closed her eyes in expectation. A small slick feeling in her palm ended all romantic feelings however, when he laughed and pressed that silly frog into her hand. Nefertiri opened her eyes and frowned. "Here, princess," he said gently, looking her over with glittering eyes. "Have a frog."

Nefertiri scowled when he turned away and headed down the hallway, his black robes trailing him mysteriously. With a roll of her eyes the princess stuck her tongue out at the back facing her and held up the little frog. "He's an idiot," she told it with a certainty.

With two thoughtful green eyes the frog croaked its assessment and Nefertiri smiled.