Thanks for reviewing QHII, Kaoru and Shaami.
I noticed, by sheer fluke, that ff.net deleted at least one line of the last chapter, so it didn't make sense, I don't know if it's done it in the past as well, but I apologise. I think I'll stick to txt format instead of word format, as I don't think this error occurs with txt and will also put the previous chapter up again, this time in txt.
~-~
I trust in you Merenra, don't let me down.
Okay, enough, but not too much, it can't be that difficult to work out. I can do this; I do not fail my duty. All I need to do is answer his questions, without providing any real information. Some people do this for a living, so how difficult can it be?
"I'll ask again, why were you bought to Perensheps?"
"For a simple training exercise."
"Why?"
"It provided privacy, whilst being in the correct area for the training."
"Correct area?"
"Where the relevant challenges could be performed."
"And that was all?"
"Correct."
"Then you only refused to answer because of your vow?"
"Correct. All information was to remain between the Queen and myself."
"Why did she pretend you were Palace staff?"
"She didn't, she merely said I was under her employment."
"I see. Why were you under her employment? I mean, what was the purpose of hiring an outsider? Especially without Pharaoh's knowledge."
"I have no knowledge of that, Priest."
He nods and leaves the room, so I can only assume that he believed my lies. That should mean that the ritual will take place and that all the Queen's effort will not be wasted. I find it amusing that they believe her to be so weak, because no Noble was weak. It made it easy to fool them though; no one ever suspects anything from those they think are weak.
Hm, the thief returns, will he be satisfied with my explanations I wonder? An, Pharaoh and the priest also enter shortly after, but it is only Nub I have to worry about. I've just noticed that Pharaoh has his hand on An's shoulder, I suppose this whole ordeal must be very upsetting for An. I know I can be very callous when I'm working and he has never seen me like that before.
"My apologies if I upset you An. Please understand that my duty to the Queen must come first."
He nods and actually manages a weak smile, he's so dependant, silly little thing. I smile back, trying to look both sorry and relieved, my acting skills are a little rusty however, so I can't be sure whether I managed it or not. Nub seems to be dubious, but I'm pretty sure now that he won't say anything, he won't risk the ritual being stopped.
I wonder if they would all be so loyal if they had known what was going on back then? What is still going on for that matter. I suppose they would be, since it wasn't illegal, or any worse than being friends with a known tomb robber. Besides, everyone always obeyed her, whether they realised it or not.
Of course, there are still problems to deal with, whether they intend to 'help' or not. The past will come back to haunt us further and if they learn the truth, things could prove difficult. It is strange how closely my present and her past are linked actually; perhaps I was subconsciously continuing what she started. Perhaps that makes things easier though, considering they've forgiven everything so far. Still, I intend to keep our secrets if I can.
"Aren't we supposed to be doing other things?" I ask, more to get the attention off me than anything.
"Yes, we are."
Nub's reply is harsh and makes it obvious that he knows more is going on than there appears to be, but as I thought, he won't risk voicing his knowledge. Thankfully, he can't have any real idea of what's going on, or he would have realised I wasn't under Pharaoh's command. Though I suppose it's obvious that the Queen had other 'indiscretions' than simply 'hanging around' with a well known thief.
I think I should stop contemplating so much and just concentrate on what's important. The ritual will take place within mere hours, so the preparation must be completed as quickly a possible. We also have to find the exact location, which will be difficult, considering all the landmarks crumbled to nothing long ago. The thief seems quiet confident that he can find the right location though, where this confidence comes from is beyond me however.
"Right, let's get on. Neesan needs our help."
Yes, oh naïve Pharaoh, she does, just not quite in the manner you think. I exit the room, giving An a peck on the cheek as I do. I need to keep everything together for now and An is certainly an important factor in that. Anyway, enough thinking, I need to perform my duties.
~
Hm, seems my dear little 'helper' may need more assistance from me. He is doing fairly well, but he's over-thinking everything, which usually leads to mistakes, or slip-ups. I suppose I'll have to see if my Guardians can bring him here for a chat, because he really needs de-stressing.
"Set, Iset, can you call Merenra here?" I ask softly.
"Of course my lady." Set replies.
Both of them sit on the floor and meditate, the Chaos Realm being by far the hardest realm to manipulate. I return to the 'viewing globe' and watch Merenra as he quickly and efficiently completes his assigned tasks. He was always very reliable, that's why I kept him around. He passes out suddenly, so I realise that Set and Iset have completed their task. Turning around, I can't help but laugh at his awe-struck face.
"My lady!"
"Hello Merenra."
"I'm sorry for my failure."
"You haven't failed silly. I bought you here because you're thinking too much and getting stressed over it."
"My apologies. Your orders my Queen?"
"Merenra, relax. The past doesn't matter any more, because we can't get it back. So just forget about it."
"So, we're just releasing you and that's it?"
"That was all this was ever about and I'm sorry if you thought otherwise. It should have been common sense though."
"Then why make me take the vow?"
"To protect myself, that's it."
I feel kind of guilty now he looks really hurt. Still, I can't help it if he assumed it was some big scheme, rather than thinking logically. He'll just have to deal with disappointment, like everyone else. Actually, if I say the same thing to him as I did to Nub, perhaps that will satiate him.
"I should go then." Merenra really does sound down now.
"There's something I should tell you first."
"Teiou?"
"In life, we can't get the past back, once life is passed however, we can."
"So we can carry on the game in the afterlife?"
"That's right."
He smiles at that, which is what I wanted. Even if that may not be true, hope is required in their lives, so I shall at least give them that much, even if I cannot fulfil it.
~-~
I think that'll do, before I butcher the poor fic any further. I've really strayed from the original plot, but never mind.
Anyway, hope the chapter was enjoyed, despite it being weird; I'll try updating Merwahwen shortly and maybe put a new one-shot up.
I'm think I should shut up now, so just remember to review the poor little fic and I won't need to talk anymore. Ja!
I noticed, by sheer fluke, that ff.net deleted at least one line of the last chapter, so it didn't make sense, I don't know if it's done it in the past as well, but I apologise. I think I'll stick to txt format instead of word format, as I don't think this error occurs with txt and will also put the previous chapter up again, this time in txt.
~-~
I trust in you Merenra, don't let me down.
Okay, enough, but not too much, it can't be that difficult to work out. I can do this; I do not fail my duty. All I need to do is answer his questions, without providing any real information. Some people do this for a living, so how difficult can it be?
"I'll ask again, why were you bought to Perensheps?"
"For a simple training exercise."
"Why?"
"It provided privacy, whilst being in the correct area for the training."
"Correct area?"
"Where the relevant challenges could be performed."
"And that was all?"
"Correct."
"Then you only refused to answer because of your vow?"
"Correct. All information was to remain between the Queen and myself."
"Why did she pretend you were Palace staff?"
"She didn't, she merely said I was under her employment."
"I see. Why were you under her employment? I mean, what was the purpose of hiring an outsider? Especially without Pharaoh's knowledge."
"I have no knowledge of that, Priest."
He nods and leaves the room, so I can only assume that he believed my lies. That should mean that the ritual will take place and that all the Queen's effort will not be wasted. I find it amusing that they believe her to be so weak, because no Noble was weak. It made it easy to fool them though; no one ever suspects anything from those they think are weak.
Hm, the thief returns, will he be satisfied with my explanations I wonder? An, Pharaoh and the priest also enter shortly after, but it is only Nub I have to worry about. I've just noticed that Pharaoh has his hand on An's shoulder, I suppose this whole ordeal must be very upsetting for An. I know I can be very callous when I'm working and he has never seen me like that before.
"My apologies if I upset you An. Please understand that my duty to the Queen must come first."
He nods and actually manages a weak smile, he's so dependant, silly little thing. I smile back, trying to look both sorry and relieved, my acting skills are a little rusty however, so I can't be sure whether I managed it or not. Nub seems to be dubious, but I'm pretty sure now that he won't say anything, he won't risk the ritual being stopped.
I wonder if they would all be so loyal if they had known what was going on back then? What is still going on for that matter. I suppose they would be, since it wasn't illegal, or any worse than being friends with a known tomb robber. Besides, everyone always obeyed her, whether they realised it or not.
Of course, there are still problems to deal with, whether they intend to 'help' or not. The past will come back to haunt us further and if they learn the truth, things could prove difficult. It is strange how closely my present and her past are linked actually; perhaps I was subconsciously continuing what she started. Perhaps that makes things easier though, considering they've forgiven everything so far. Still, I intend to keep our secrets if I can.
"Aren't we supposed to be doing other things?" I ask, more to get the attention off me than anything.
"Yes, we are."
Nub's reply is harsh and makes it obvious that he knows more is going on than there appears to be, but as I thought, he won't risk voicing his knowledge. Thankfully, he can't have any real idea of what's going on, or he would have realised I wasn't under Pharaoh's command. Though I suppose it's obvious that the Queen had other 'indiscretions' than simply 'hanging around' with a well known thief.
I think I should stop contemplating so much and just concentrate on what's important. The ritual will take place within mere hours, so the preparation must be completed as quickly a possible. We also have to find the exact location, which will be difficult, considering all the landmarks crumbled to nothing long ago. The thief seems quiet confident that he can find the right location though, where this confidence comes from is beyond me however.
"Right, let's get on. Neesan needs our help."
Yes, oh naïve Pharaoh, she does, just not quite in the manner you think. I exit the room, giving An a peck on the cheek as I do. I need to keep everything together for now and An is certainly an important factor in that. Anyway, enough thinking, I need to perform my duties.
~
Hm, seems my dear little 'helper' may need more assistance from me. He is doing fairly well, but he's over-thinking everything, which usually leads to mistakes, or slip-ups. I suppose I'll have to see if my Guardians can bring him here for a chat, because he really needs de-stressing.
"Set, Iset, can you call Merenra here?" I ask softly.
"Of course my lady." Set replies.
Both of them sit on the floor and meditate, the Chaos Realm being by far the hardest realm to manipulate. I return to the 'viewing globe' and watch Merenra as he quickly and efficiently completes his assigned tasks. He was always very reliable, that's why I kept him around. He passes out suddenly, so I realise that Set and Iset have completed their task. Turning around, I can't help but laugh at his awe-struck face.
"My lady!"
"Hello Merenra."
"I'm sorry for my failure."
"You haven't failed silly. I bought you here because you're thinking too much and getting stressed over it."
"My apologies. Your orders my Queen?"
"Merenra, relax. The past doesn't matter any more, because we can't get it back. So just forget about it."
"So, we're just releasing you and that's it?"
"That was all this was ever about and I'm sorry if you thought otherwise. It should have been common sense though."
"Then why make me take the vow?"
"To protect myself, that's it."
I feel kind of guilty now he looks really hurt. Still, I can't help it if he assumed it was some big scheme, rather than thinking logically. He'll just have to deal with disappointment, like everyone else. Actually, if I say the same thing to him as I did to Nub, perhaps that will satiate him.
"I should go then." Merenra really does sound down now.
"There's something I should tell you first."
"Teiou?"
"In life, we can't get the past back, once life is passed however, we can."
"So we can carry on the game in the afterlife?"
"That's right."
He smiles at that, which is what I wanted. Even if that may not be true, hope is required in their lives, so I shall at least give them that much, even if I cannot fulfil it.
~-~
I think that'll do, before I butcher the poor fic any further. I've really strayed from the original plot, but never mind.
Anyway, hope the chapter was enjoyed, despite it being weird; I'll try updating Merwahwen shortly and maybe put a new one-shot up.
I'm think I should shut up now, so just remember to review the poor little fic and I won't need to talk anymore. Ja!