"Is she awake yet?" a young girl no older than 6 sat on the floor, looking up at a sand clad woman. Sand storms did that to people.

"Monifa, stop asking me that. If she is awake, you would know. You have been sat next to her all morning." Ain rolled her eyes, and continued to dab Hally's forehead with a damp cloth. It at least got rid of some of the sand.

"Why is her hair yellow?"

"Why is your hair black?"

"I was born with black hair."

"Well, so was Lady Halimahotep. Just with yellow hair."

"It's called blonde…(wheeze)…where I come from."

"My Lady!" Ain dropped to the floor with her little sister, and they both bowed.

"Good morning to you to." She chuckled sleepily. "What time is it?"

"The day is half young. The sun at its highest peak." Ain whispered something into Monifa's ear, and the child ran off somewhere.

"What happened? Where are we?" Hally sat up, and pushed her tangled blonde hair out of her face. She could feel at least an inch of sand stuck to her hands and face. It wasn't a nice feeling.

"Do you not remember my Lady? Yesterday was the great re-birthing of Osiris, and your birthday too if I remember right."

"Oh yes. I'm 16 at last." She chuckled.

"Only 16? I am never older than you." She gasped. "I'm 18!"

"Can I have a drink of water please?" Her throat was as dry as her hands cracked with sand.

"Oh, yes of course!" Ain jumped up and ran off somewhere. This gave Hally time to let her sapphire eyes roam around her new surroundings. The walls were a yellowy sand stone, the window was a square cut out in the wall, the floor was sand, her bed was a large cloth on the floor, and she saw a cut out whole in the wall in the shape of a door way. She couldn't see where it led to. "Here." Ain returned with a red clay jug of water. "Have as much as you like. We are quite fortunate here, the well is only down the street."

"Thank you." She had to listen hard when listening to Ain. Her dialect was a lot rougher than Imhotep's…oh gods! Imhotep! "Imhotep!" Hally gasped out loud, remembering fully what happened the day before. "Oh no, he is going to kill me!"

"We thought he might." Ain chuckled weakly. Oh Gods, she thinks he is literally going to kill me.

Wait, remember what mom and dad said…he is certainly capable of mass murder, or regular murder. He did murder the Pharaoh, and then many more to gain his power and resurrect Ancksunamun.

But he hasn't done that yet…

So would he really kill me? "So we brought you home with us."

"Us?" Hally took a mouthful of the water, feeling relief when it soothed her aching throat.

"Welcome to my home Priestess. We are a family of four. I am Ain, my younger sister who you met in the parade is Monifa, my older brother who rode home with you is Gahiji, and our mother who gave you those beads is-"

"Rehema."

"Momma!" Ain looked to the door way, and so did Hally. The woman stood there was in her late 30s, had long lank black hair, tired brown eyes, and a very swollen stomach. Why had she not noticed that before? Was she that busy dancing she didn't notice something as predominant as that? "You should be resting."

"I could not rest when the Priestess of Osiris slept in the next room. Not without paying my respects, and many thanks to my God," she whimpered, holding her stomach, and she looked in pain. "And the young woman herself. 16 and a priestess. Amazing."

"Momma, you need to sit down."

"Oh please, do sit." Hally got to her feet, and reached out to her. Rehema looked touched by this simple gesture. In her time, it was custom and the norm for the young to accommodate for the older or the pregnant as in this case. But obviously not back here. Not be a priestess to a commoner. "Please?" she had to ask again, before Rehema tearily nodded and took her hands. Hally led her over to the cloth, and helped her sit down. She then sat on the sand, on her knees. "I am Halimahotep."

"Priestess Halimahotep. Why do you not introduce yourself by your title?"

"Well, I like to introduce myself as I would like to be called. I would like to be called Hally, but no one seems to want to." She chuckled.

"When meeting such a rare person as yourself, others will wish to show you the proper respect." She smiled gratefully, and looked to Ain. "You saved my daughter and son from the wrath of the Pharaoh, by lowering yourself to their level and dancing like a common peasant. And you took the time to stop, and make a small child smile. My youngest daughter. I owe you a great deal. And simply because of your kindness."

"Well, thank you. And you have done a lot for me too. I feel I have made a friend in at least Ain here, and you have given me shelter for the night."

"And a bath." Rehema nodded to the door. "Monifa has prepared it for you in another room."

"Oh, I wouldn't want to impose-"

"Gahiji spent half the night walking back and forth from the well to the tub, for you to have this bath. Please. At least take it for his sake."

"Very well." She chuckled. That woman was smarter than she looked. "Thank you." She bowed her head. "Thank you all of you."

"I have spoken with Ode." Ain chirped up, and walked her out of the room. "She was one of the girls yesterday. Had a veils around her wrists."

"Oh, I remember her. She looked like she was going to faint after the dance."

"Yes, she is so nervous around the Pharaoh. We all are." She smiled nervously, and Hally was led into another identical room, with a large wooden tub in the middle. In it, was a lot of water. It would be warm if it was the same as room temperature. (Remember this is Egypt). "Monifa will be back soon with some clothes for you."

"Thank you."

"And here." She passed her a bard of soap. "This will get the skin oils off you." She bowed very low to the ground, and left her to it.

Hally pealed out of her clothes, and submerged herself in the water.

Oh gosh. Imhotep. He looked so furious when I rode off on the horse with Ain and her brother. I bet it was him who cast up that sand storm too. How I knew how to counter it, I will never know. She then rolled her eyes. Ok, so I know how I countered it. Past knowledge coming back in the nick-of-time. She chuckled, and started to scrub hard at her arms. And luckily, it was coming off very easily. I think Ain assumes I am staying here. She does think Imhotep is going to have me killed. But I am not so sure he will. I don't think he would do it himself anyway. And even if he did wanted me punished with death, that is a reason for me not to stay here. If I was found being hidden by Ain and her family, they would be killed too. And after how they have looked after me, I couldn't let that happen to them. Even if I didn't know them, I wouldn't let them die for helping me. No, I will have to leave right after I get all this damn sand off! It isn't even the body oil! That is coming straight off, but this darn sand is driving me crazy! She growled, and had finally got it all off her skin. But her hair however…

"Darn. My hair is a mess." She had soaked it, but was having difficulty all the same. "Stupid hair."

"Hair isn't stupid. The owner is."

"AA! Gahiji!" Hally yelped and wrapped her arms around herself, showing her back to him. The water came up to her shoulders, but she wasn't taking any chances. If Ain was 18, and he was her older brother, then she wasn't risking ANYTHING! "What are you doing in here!"

"Forgive me Priestess." He said quickly. "I just came to give you something to get the sand out you hair." She looked over her shoulder, and his eyes were to the floor. "I meant no disrespect. I swear."

"It's ok." I need to stop thinking as a 16 year old in the 19 hundreds. This is 3000 years before all that. He probably wouldn't dare. "And thank you." He placed a long jar on the side of the tub, and left, from embarrassment. "Poor thing. I might have scared him." she chuckled, and started to wash her hair. The oils did the trick, better than any modern day shampoo, and her hair felt silky and sand free once more. She got out, and wrapped a clean hand made towel around her. They were very clean for a poor family, she thought. but then again, they weren't at the bottom of the food chain. The Hebrew workers were. That is when she thought of Akila. I hope she is alright. I will have to find her. Just to check up on her.

"Lady Halimahotep? May I enter?" She surpassed a chuckle. It was Gahiji again. But this time he was knocking first. Even if on the side of the wall.

"Yes, you may." Her long blonde hair was soon damp, and clung to her back. Gahiji entered, and looked straight to her breasts. Men. It doesn't matter what era they are from, they all like one thing…well…two… "Can I help you?"

"Oh, forgive me. I just, well, here." He kept his blushing eyes to the floor, and bowed. Holding something up for her with both hands.

"Don't bow to me Gahiji. There is no need. And thank you." She pulled the robes from his hands, and he once again, couldn't leave fast enough.

When she entered the room with the now sleeping Rehema, she was dressed. She was now wearing a plain brown leather deco revival piece along her neck, a thin linen white dress then fell straight down, and was semi transparent. But the linen was thicker over her breasts, and she wore a thin under-dress, to keep her dignity…her feet were not bare now, with brown leather sandals, w plain white Nemes, and she bowed to the others. She was now dressed just like Ain, and to some extent Monifa, but she didn't have the under dress, as she was only a young girl. "Thank you so much. I will not forget what you have done for me, given kindness willingly to me. I will pray to Osiris on your behalf when I return to the temple."

"No! Lady Halimahotep! You aren't really thinking of going back, are you!"

"Yes. My place is at the temple." There, I can keep a watch on the whole Imhotep/Ancksunamun situation. "But not right away. I need to go somewhere else first."

"Where? We can take you." Gahiji said eagerly, and Ain nodded with him.

"We have worked in one job or another all over this kingdom. We can take you."

"No, I have a guide in mind. But thank you again."

"But…you will leave and Imhotep will find you. We can hide you here and-"

"The word of the Priestess, is holy and final Ain." Rehema interrupted, and bowed to her from her sat down position. "Go, and attach this to your beaded necklace." Hally pulled her red, white, green and blue beaded necklace over her leather deco revival, and linked something to the front. She recognised it from her studies with her mother. It was a Menat. It looked like a long oblong shaped talisman of gold, with protective inscriptions and hieroglyphs on them. She looked down at them, and read through them with her ancient abilities once more.

"They invoke Taurt, goddess and protector of pregnant women and children."

"You are so young. I beg the goddess to look over you, and protect you from Imhotep. Thank you."

"He isn't going to kill me." She said, though she was frowning. Maybe he really was that dangerous…they certainly thought so. And all this added worry for her safety…it was starting to get to her.

"Keep it." Hally had tried to give it back. She wasn't the pregnant one. Rehema needed this more than she did. "To calm my heart."

"Thank you." She held it in both hands, using the cool feel of gold against her right thigh as comfort of her safety. Yes, she still had the sceptre. She never went anywhere without it. While she was dancing, she had it hidden on the inside of her leg, as the outside was on show. "And when the baby is born, I would like you to bring them to the temple. For a blessing, and for me to see them." she gave them a strong smile, and looked towards the door. She took a deep breath, and waved good bye.

"Farewell Lady Halimahotep! Return to us soon!"

"Be safe!" she got as far as the front door, when someone small clung to her leg.

"Don't leave!" Hally looked down at Monifa, and smiled.

"I have to go Monifa. I have to be somewhere."

"How right you are." Her entire body grew stiff. That voice, was cold and commanding…it was…

"Imhotep." She looked away from Monifa, and into his piercing eyes. He wore his usual black robes again, closed, and his arms were crossed over his powerful front. He was scowling, his mouth in a perfect line, and his eyes showing her a tempest storm of livid rage, that made her step back. She pushed Monifa behind her for safety, and trembled. This was one of those moments where she remembered all her parents had told her of this man.

A murderer.

A fiend.

A monster…

And he was right in front of her. "Good morning."

"Afternoon." He said curtly. "I seems you have lost track of time, and your senses."

"I can explain."

"I hope for your sake, that is so." He waved a hand, and a chariot with two white stallions pulled up behind him. "The journey to the temple should be sufficient for an explanation." He stated, and looked to the building behind her. "Did you rest here?"

"No." she said quickly. "But I came this morning to see if they were alright." Her hands were trembling behind her back, holding Monifa's. "They are fine."

"And you are a liar." She was silenced by that. "I have good reason to believe, that you spent the entire night here, with them." he looked over her shoulder, and Hally snapped her head round too. Her hair flew through the air, and she saw Ain and Gahiji frozen to the spot. She heard a low whinny of horses, and gasped in horror looking back, as many Med Jai dismounted their steeds, and pulled their machetes from their belts. "If they kidnapped you, a priestess, they are to be charged with treason."

"No, they didn't!" she begged, turned to Monifa. "Go inside." She ordered, and stood in the doorway. Just in time to stop Imhotep walking past her. He towered over her, and stared down into her eyes like she were a villain herself.

"Or if you ran off with them willingly, and they housed you, the same applies."

"No, they had no choice. It wasn't there fault, they were under orders!" she shouted, her right hand hovering over the strap on her upper thigh. "I ordered them to-"

"You did no such thing! You impersonated a commoner, degraded yourself as a dancing girl, put your life in danger if you failed, and the lives of the rest of the young women, who have proven to be your consorts I see." He spat, and gripped the sides of the door, leaning over her in an intimidating manor. "You have broken the law of the Pharaoh."

"What law?"

"You are a woman of the cloth! A holy woman! You should know your duties to Osiris! You told me yourself he gave you a task, gave you unthinkable knowledge and abilities, and spat in his face! How dare you!"

"I did no such-"

"To be blessed as you were, to even have been born on the same day as the great Osiris, and repay his generosity with the despicable display you gave yesterday, is unfathomable!"

"Now just wait a m-"

"How could you, a priestess of Osiris, mock him so greatly, and conspire your own escape with common peasants!"

"If you would just shut up, then I can tell you!" the words had left her mouth before she could stop them. Well, I can't back down now. Not now I have his attention. She glared back at him now, and poked his chest firmly. "Listening? Good. I will start from the beginning. I hold my honour from Osiris close to my heart. I have never once swayed from the path he has laid for me to walk. Osiris is a good, merciful God who teaches us to be just as good, and just as merciful. I rode into town two days ago, and found Ain and her peers practising a dance, they had no lead dancer to, that they were being forced to dance before the Pharaoh. Forced!" oh boy. She was on a rampage. Imhotep stepped back, as now it was Hally's turn to do the advancing. "I saw that they were actually quite good. But their lead dancer had been carted off to the palace for some reason. They were all worried they were going to die! For the love of Osiris, they thought they were going to die!" she put one hand on her hip, and pointed at his chest again very threateningly. "I was not brought up to stand by and let people walk to their deaths. I joined in, enjoying the hospitality of the girls, when I showed a basic ability. So they literally got down on their knees and begged me to be the lead."

"You should have refused."

"I should have been honoured! And I was! And I still am! For my 16th birthday, I got to honour my God by leading his Basque to the Nile in the procession. That, is a honour."

"It is not your place to-"

"Shut up, I am not done!" Imhotep was outraged! How dare she tell him when to be silent! But to be honest, Hally was terrified of her actions right now, but too furious to back down. Like she knew she should. "So I danced for my God. I showed my respect for him, and I saved the lives of the women in that dancing group. I am proud of that. But after you saw my ring, you knew who I was and I knew you would overreact if I were to stay there. So, I ordered Ain and her brother to hide me." She ended a little too quickly. "But do you know something Imhotep? I don't even think this is about the parade. I think you are still upset about that morning after breakfast."

"Ah, yet another example of your reckless behaviour!"

"Feeding a starving child is reckless? Reckless!" they were both yelling now in the middle of the street, everyone looking out their windows and doors at the display.

This had never happened before. "I would say it is merciful."

"That girl was a worker slave."

"That girl, was a child!"

"It makes no difference!"

"Of course it matters!" she panted with fury. "No, not to you! Of course it wouldn't matter to you!"

"And what do you mean by that?"

"I mean YOU ARE HEARTLESS!" the echo of her verbal attack still whispered through the street. Although her face was set in a schooled scowl, on the inside her thoughts were more along the lines of: oh my great Osiris what did I just say! I am so, dead!

Imhotep clenched his fists at his side, and then seemed to be struggling to keep them there.

Then.

Whack.

Hally twisted back onto the sandy floor, her legs tucked behind her, and her body turned to her left so she held her cheek in one hand, and the left supported her on the floor, where she was looking in shock. He just hit me…he just…hit me… for some reason she thought he wouldn't do that. But his hand was still across his chest, from backhanding her.

"Let that teach you how to respect your betters. Do you still feel the same now?" He spat through his teeth. He dared her to counter him.

"But Imhotep…don't you see?" she whimpered, and it sent an unpleasant pang of guilt through his chest. Her face was shielded by her long golden hair, and she slowly turned her face to look at him.

What he saw, shocked him. Her sapphire eyes were wide and filled to the brim with tears, her lips parted as she whimpered and trembling with fear, with her right hand holding her cheek from sight. "…you just proved me right…" she almost whispered, and saw his expression change very quickly. His face fell into a expressions of shock, as he looked to his own hand. The hand, he had used to beat her with. He then shuck his head, and returned to glaring at her.

"I am your High Priest. I will be obeyed."

"Why am I disobeying you by being humane?"

"You have a place in society. Remember that. These peasants." He looked around them all. "They are beneath us. And so they are not our problem."

"And when you are ill, and you pray to Osiris and his children to heal you, should he ignore you? You are beneath him after all. You wouldn't be his problem then, would you?"

"Silence."

"Is the truth upsetting, Imhotep?" she didn't take a cocky or even slightly defiant tone with him. Her voice was calm, as she rose to her feet. And she still held her cheek. "Should I be quite, so you don't have to listen to me?"

"I said silence!"

"Or what Imhotep? Will you hit me again?" he seemed to have trouble finding his voice. "We have both seen that hitting me, doesn't make me go away."

"Get in the chariot."

"No." she shuck her head slowly. "I will not."

"Why are you so troublesome."

"Why do you find me so troublesome?"

"Get, in, the chariot."

"Are you going to make me Imhotep? Are you going to drag me inside that chariot by my hair? It will make no difference. You will just show me how right I am. All you are doing is proving my point."

"I will not ask again."

"Good. Because I am finished listening to you." She whimpered. "I thought you were a great man. I heard terrible things about you, but after you saved me and I looked into your eyes. I thought I saw a man." she closed her eyes and held herself with her other arm. She had yet to release her stinging cheek. As she turned her back to him, she whimpered. "But all I see now is a monster." And that was it. Hally bolted down the street, tears falling in her wake and leaving a small tear shaped flower where every drop hit the sand. Imhotep watched as she ran away from him, shaken by her words, but clambered into the chariot. He whipped at the reins, and followed her as fast as the horses would let him. He hadn't even registered why, when he found her. She was knelt next to a well, her arms folded and on the stone ring, with her head buried in her arms. Her golden hair fanned over her face and arms, as she wept.

"Halimahotep." His voice was empty and blank. He needed to keep his defensive walls up now. "You didn't run very far."

"I have nowhere to go." She sobbed, and her shoulders shuck with her cries. "I am all alone. I never asked for this. I just woke up one morning and bam, I'm Halimahotep, priestess of Osiris. I have people counting me…" she sobbed. "No, I had people counting on me. But they're dead now!" she dug her fingers into the stone of the well, as Imhotep stepped out of the chariot. They were alone now.

"You have somewhere to stay. I gave you a room at the temple."

"I can't stay there."

"Why not?"

"Because…" she sniffled, and pushed herself up. She leaned on her hands on the well, and her head hung forward. "Because I can't."

"I want a real explanation." He reached out to her shoulder, but pulled it back when she walked away from him. though she had not seen his 'almost act of kindness'.

"You want, you demand." She folded her arms. "I must obey, I have my place. If to do as you wish, I must be cruel, and let children starve and people die for stupid reasons…" she held her sides as if in pain, tears running freely down her face. "I hate this. I hate seeing people suffering and not being allowed to do anything about it."

"It is not your place to intervene with the will of the Gods. People with misfortune have misfortune for a reason. We are a hierarchy. The peasants are the base. If you take out the lower levels, the foundation, the pyramid will collapse. You can not help everyone."

"Why not?" Now she felt his hand on her shoulder.

"Because you were not meant to."

"How do you know that?" she looked up at him with misty eyes, and he looked to her angry red cheek. "How do you know if I was meant to let it be, let it lye, or act, and do something about it?"

"Because it is the will of the Gods. Osiris has us beneath him. and he does not make us as wealthy and immortal as himself."

"But we could help."

"There are rules to be obeyed. By humans to the Gods, by people to the Pharaoh."

"And by me to you." She said, her voice giving nothing away.

"I am the High priest. Only the word of the Pharaoh can contradict anything I say. And sometimes, not even then." He held both her shoulders, and gently pulled her back against him. "I have taken a liking to you, Halimahotep. That is why your punishment was less severe than people have hoped for. Many have been tortured and hung for less." He sighed and gave her shoulders a squeeze. "I don't understand you. You are so high in society, a priestess, very close to my own rank from your ring, and yet you care for those beneath you. More than you care for yourself."

"That's just the way I am." She closed her eyes. "And I don't understand you either. You are so kind and gentle at times. Like now, and heroic, like when you pulled me from the Nile. From death. But then you can be so…"

"So what?" Hally pulled away from him, and sighed.

"So cruel. You are so ignorant to the suffering of others. And when someone asks why, or says something you don't want to hear…then you just change. It's like you are two different people. And I have looked into both of their eyes. One with awe, and one with fear."

"I am a leader of faith. I am a very powerful man. I must have respect and obedience."

"And do you have to sacrifice your heart and soul to be respected?"

"Yes."

"That isn't respect." She shuck her head, looking away. "That is fear."

"The line between fear and respect is very thin, and sometimes unseen."

"Unseen? I see that line perfectly. And I have never crossed it. Ain and her family, Akila, everyone I have met have respected me because I was kind to them. I smiled to them, and they smile back. I asked them not to call me Mistress or Lady. But they refuse to do otherwise. Because they want to respect me. I have earned their respect."

"You are an exception. That doesn't usually happen."

"It would if you let it." Hally turned and looked up at him with pleading sapphire eyes. He couldn't look away. "If you tired, it would happen. And you would like it too."

"We should return to the temple."

"You can."

"We will return to the temple." He persisted.

"Why should I go back? You said a lot of things to me. You said I disrespected Osiris, and 'spat in his face'. Why should I go back with you to his house, if that is true?" she sat on the side of the well, and waited patiently for his reply.

She had him. Either he apologised and took it back, for her to come with him. Or he stuck to his insults, and she wouldn't come back with him. Instead he said nothing. His pride not letting him. Imhotep walked over to her and held her wrists. He pulled her away from the stone well, and led her over to the chariot. "Imhotep I don't-" he pulled on her elbows, and her eyes were wide. He had silenced her with his lips, so smooth and powerful. He didn't press further, but he gently tilted his head to one side, and pulled back.

"That is why you should return. I want you to return."

"But-" she whimpered, but he nipped her bottom lip, and pulled her face forward to his. He then sucked her lip inside his mouth, and sealed his mouth against hers again. This was her first kiss, and it was as hot as hell! Hally's hands rested on his muscular biceps, and he still held her elbows.

"I am sorry." He whispered to her lips, and then looked away. He hadn't ever wanted to say that. He had no reason to apologise to anyone. But he had. Hally had torn at his heart until he relented. And she didn't even realise she was doing it. "Please come back to the temple. I-" Hally covered his mouth with her hands, and smiled softly at him. Her eyes sparkled again, and he moaned softly to himself. She was back.

"All I needed, was to hear you say, 'I'm sorry'. And you did. Nothing more is needed. I'll come back." she stopped him, saving his pride before it was too badly wounded, and took his hands. "Now, I will get in the chariot." She whispered to him with a smile.

"Yes, let's go back to the temple. I have other duties I must perform."

"Can I help with any of them?" she offered, and hooked his arm very Britishly, as she had done once before.

"There is the afternoon awakening of Osiris? You could assist in wrapping his statue once more."

"I would like that, My Lord." They got into the chariot, Imhotep at the reins. He may have thought Hally had forgiven him, and she had, but now she had something she didn't have before. She had a rude awakening just who she was dealing with. This man was dangerous, and very strong. She couldn't let him get cursed with the Hom dai for three reasons now.

One, she had a taster of what his human self could do. Coming back as a demonic creature would be far worse for her parents. And her coming back in the past had already changed enough as it is for the future.

Two, she had to save his heart as part of her task, so getting cursed is not a good idea.

And three…that kiss was still wheeling around like a bombfirenight catherinwheel. And she did like him as a friend at least. He did save her life…