A few months passed since Ardeth and I had spoken about my past m;;emories coming to me. We fully healed except for the nightmares still waking me up. I wasn't afraid of the mummies, or Imhotep returning to the flesh. I woke to Ardeth dying in the explosion that bought us the time we needed to get to my ancient brother. This night was the same as usual. Wake up in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat, trying to catch my breath. I sat up and sighed before pulling a thin blanket over my shoulders. I left my tent and walked around for a moment. Ardeth would be appointing a new curator to replace the one who'd died to protect us. I walked around the camp deep in thought never noticing the woman watching me.

"Kat?" I looked up to see Dana watching me with curious eyes.

"Dana? What are you doing up?" I asked her.

"It's nearly dawn." She told me and my eyes widened at the realization. Had I really been awake for that long? "Why are you awake?"

"Just getting some air." I told her simply.

"And how long have you been getting air tonight?" she asked me with a knowing look on her face.

"You seem to know me too well." I said with a smile.

"You've stuck around long enough for you to be known." She said with a smile on her face and a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Get that look out of your eyes, Dana. The elders wouldn't allow it even if it is what Ardeth wanted." I told her.

"Is it what you want?" she asked me and I looked past her to the horizon and the tents covering the desert sand.

"It doesn't matter what I want." I told her remembering the conversation Ardeth and I'd had months previous. "We are all destined for someone else, aren't we?" I asked with a forced smile before turning to my tent once more.

That afternoon, I was in the training area helping the young warriors. We gave verbal instruction while showing how to perfect the move they'd be trying to do before they tried the move against someone again. It was nice to be able to do something simple before having to go to Cairo. Ardeth had to assign another Medjai to take over the Curator's position. It must have been hard for him to decide. The last Curator was his father's younger brother. There was more than one way to get hurt, and he managed to have it all happen in just a few days.

"You're swinging too far away from your body." I told the young boy. I showed him the right way to swing it and had him try again. He was still messing up. I grabbed his arm and showed him the right way. "Try again." I told him. He tried again and did a lot better. "Good."

"Katherine." I turned to look see Ardeth standing outside of the fencing.

"Give me a moment." I told him before turning back to the boy. "Don't forget to keep practicing." I told him before going to Ardeth.

"It's time." He told me and I nodded.

"You ready for this?" I asked him.

"It doesn't matter." He told me and I gave him a look.

"Of course it matters, Ardeth." I told him. "He was your uncle and you're allowed to mourn him."

"I have to do what is best for the tribes." He told me and I sighed.

"Just remember, Ardeth, you're only one man." I told him placing my hand over his. "You need help."

"Just remember, Rameses, you're only one man." I told him worriedly. "You need help."

"I have help." He told me taking my hands in his. "I have you." I smiled at him and shook my head.

"I don't know much about politics, my love." I reminded him. "You need someone who can help you with these matters."

"They are simple matters." He told me and I gave him a look.

"Your father is training you to take his place on the throne, and even he needs help." I reminded him. "You need someone to advise you on these things."

"My father has your brother, and I have you. I need no one else." He told me and I sighed.

"Rameses, please. I worry about you." I told him and he just smiled at me.

"There's no need." He told me. "If it'll make you feel, I'll ask your brother for advice." I smiled at him.

"Thank you." I said sitting in his lap and kissing him.

"I wish to ask you something." He told me.

"You can ask me anything, you know that." I told him.

"Marry me."

"Katherine?" I blinked my eyes to refocus and shook my head.

"Sorry." I said smiling at him. "My mind wandered."

"Another memory?" he asked me and I nodded. "What did you see?"

"Rameses. Not my first memory of him, but it was the first of them together." I told him. "Seems he was a stubborn as you are." I told him. "He was working on something that was probably stressing him, and she was worried about him. Kept telling him to get help. He also asked her to marry him."

"What did she say?" he asked me and I shook my head.

"I don't know." I sighed before smiling at him. "Come on, we better get going."

I backed into a wall, fear filling my very being as I stared up at the man in front of me.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked him. "He trusts you, we both do."

"He took someone very important from me." He told me. "He needs to know the pain of losing the one he loves most."

"We tried to help your wife. My brother did all he could." I told him. "I'm sorry we couldn't help her, or the child she carried."

"I couldn't care less about that woman. She was a means to an end." He told me and I tried to feel around for something to defend myself.

"You've gone mad…" I said trying to move along the wall. He slammed his hand next to my head to stop my progress making me scream.

"No, I just want what belongs to me." He said getting closer to me. "You and I know you don't belong with Rameses, little queen."

"Is that what this is about?" I asked him confused. "That Rameses and I chose each other?"

"I hear you're with child." He said.

"The entire kingdom knows I'm with child." I said. "It's not something we've kept quiet about."

"The problem I have is that you are with his child!" he shouted at me. "You are mine! How could you let that man touch you?!"

"I've never been yours!" I shouted back. His hand flew to my throat and I struggled for breath while trying to remove his hand.

"You're mine, Amunet." He told me harshly. "I just need to fix one small problem first." I gasped and my eyes widened before looking down to see a knife inside my womb.

"No…" I cried.

"If I can't have you, no one will." He told me with a grin on his face. I felt my strength draining from me as he pulled the knife from me. "Goodbye, little queen." He left me alone, finally, and I fell to the ground, my blood pooling around me.