I don't own Night at the Museum
Popcorn: Hi Popcorn! Thank you so much for the review. Unfortunately, they will not bear any children but meeting Larry and the gang...I am planning on that one :D
Ancient Egypt 1991 B.C.
Maybe this was not going to be as bad as Neferet thought. After hours of her father's departure, King Merenkahre had taken Ahkmenrah with him. From what Neferet overheard the king whispering to his son was of a private matter. When he had left, Neferet turned her attention to Zhara who had made herself comfortable on one of the cushioned chairs. "What was that about?" Neferet asked when they left the room.
"Whenever his father comes to him they discuss something of a personal matter," Zhara told her.
"Does he take too long?" Neferet asked. The three of them were having such a good time conversing before King Merenkahre came and took him.
Zhara only gave her a shrug with her shoulders. "I don't have the knowledge of what he teaches him but I do believe it has to do something about him becoming a pharaoh."
When she said that, Neferet couldn't help but give her new servant a slight smirk. Zhara made no sense of emotion when she saw that smile but only looked at her. "I might not know you that well yet," the young girl began, "but I know a sly smile when I see one."
Neferet lightly laughed at her comment. "Oh yes," she said as she looked down at her polished nails and then at Zhara, "how about you and I do a little investigation?"
Zhara had never thought of that. Whenever Ahkmenrah left her, she just minded her own business and waited for his return. She looked up at Neferet and noticed the same smile and a small glint in here eye, causing her to experience a thrill of exhilaration and curiosity but this was overshadowed by a sudden thought occurred. When Ahkmenrah returned from meeting with his father, he never told her what the contents of their meeting was but then again, she had never bothered to ask. "Let's go," she said and grabbed Neferet's hand.
The two girls exited the bedroom and tiptoed across the hallway as quietly as they could. "We might get in so much trouble," Zhara whispered to Neferet when they stood next to the wall that led a lit room. Neferet slowly craned her neck and peeked from the door frame and into the room where she noticed the pharaoh and Ahkmenrah that was sitting to a throne next to his father.
Neferet squinted when she noticed an object that the old pharaoh was holding. It was a well-crafted rectangular shaped golden tablet. Just by looking at Ahkmenrah's facial expressions, Neferet could sense that he was happy to have possession of this object and his father held a pleasing look. "What's going on?" Zhara asked as she tried to push past Neferet to get a better look.
Neferet placed her back against the cold wall and looked at Zhara. "I don't know what's there to be so secretive about a golden tablet," she told her, "what is so special about it?"
"A tablet?" Zhara echoed the word, "I have never heard of this before." Then again, why should I? He doesn't tell me anything about his meetings with his father. She turned her head and looked over at Neferet, feeling slightly uneasy. "I don't think we should be here your Highness, let's so back."
Neferet held up her index finger when she heard King Merenkahre speaking softly to his youngest son. "Protect it," was what she heard him say but that did not convince her the true value that the golden tablet held. "This will eternally be yours, the Golden Tablet of Ahkmenrah." When she heard this, Neferet raised an eyebrow. So that tablet was not a gift for her but it was only for him, which made her more curious to find out the secrets of the tablet.
Zhara was starting to become anxious. She felt like she was invading her friend's personal space and this she did not want to do. "Uhh..." she said and shut her mouth when Neferet quickly turned her head and gave her an annoyed look, "I am just going to go back to your room."
"Sure," Neferet said and Zhara let out a sigh of relief. She turned on her heel and quickly disappeared from the hallway. Once she was gone, Neferet turned her attention back Ahkmenrah and his father. "I will protect this tablet," she heard Ahkemnrah tell his father.
"And no one else must know about it," his father instructed him, "only you, your mother, and I have knowledge about this tablet and no one else. Not your brother, not your little servant friend, and certainly not your wife."
She pulled herself away from the doorframe when she heard his father say that. Of course they had only met her in the mere few hours that she was here but did they not trust her?
"Why is that?" Ahkmenrah asked him. He looked down at the tablet that rested in his hands and then thought about his future wife. Surely he had to tell her sooner or later about it because he knew well enough that a marriage filled with secrets was not going to be a good happy ending for the both of them. He understood why this should be kept from his brother and also Zhara, for she had the tendency to be elated when she knew a secret and may accidentally tell someone but why his wife? "She is surely going to find out eventually."
Or right now Neferet mentally added.
"I know she means well," his father told him, "and I trust her but you can..." and this is where Neferet tried to strain her hearing as best as she could but she could not make out the whispered words that the king was telling his son. Oh never mind! she slightly lifted her arms and let them fall to her sides. Maybe it was probably for the best that she did not hear such a conversation but how was she to conceal it? She knew very well that the moment she saw Ahkmenrah, she was going to ask him where he was and what they subject of their conversation was about.
Giving the room one last look, she turned around and started to head back into her own room. Just push it out of your mind she kept telling herself but that was not helpful. Maybe I should just tell him that I overheard their conversation...Are you an idiot? That is such a foolish thing to do! she yelled at herself. Do that and you might as well be miserable because he is never going to trust you!
"Your Highness," a voice made her jump out of her skin. She turned around and saw Zhara looking at her with a surprised look on her face, "is everything alright?"
"Oh yes, yes," Neferet assured her, "I should have not eavesdropped on them."
"Did you hear something you were not supposed to hear?" Zhara asked her.
"I did not," Neferet told her, "but I just feel a little guilty for doing that. I have this feeling that I should tell him what I did but I fear that he is going to lose faith and trust when I do."
"I would just push it out of my mind," Zhara told her as if she already did not know, "and I try not to think about and engage myself with something else. However I think it is wise to tell him about what you saw. Honesty is always best when it comes to these sort of situations."
Well I already lied to him once Neferet thought when he had asked her how she felt about getting married to him and I probably should tell him. She turned her head back to the hallway where she came from and looked back at Zhara. "I shall be right back," she told her and headed straight down the hall and to the room. However, when she got there the two thrones were empty.
Now where did he go? the princess thought as she stepped foot into the room and looked around. Maybe this was her chance to get a good look at the tablet. After all, she did like gold and the way it was handcrafted was completely beautiful. But the tablet was nowhere to be seen. Looks like I came back here for nothing she thought in disappointment.
"How delightful meeting you here," a voice said behind her and for the second time in a row, she jumped to her feet and whirled around to see Ahkmenrah's brother leaning against the doorway.
Neferet placed a hand on her chest and tried to catch her breath from the slight scare that she had just experienced.
Kahmunrah smirked when he noticed her reaction. "Oh looks like I have scared the little kitten," he chuckled and took a sip of his wine that was in the golden goblet that he held.
When he said that, Neferet's eyes shot wide open. It was the same voice and the same sentence that was in her dream before her journey. But it could not be him could it? Let alone, she could not even remember how he had looked like in her dream. After catching her breath, Neferet stood straight and looked at him, "I know that we have just met, but I would appreciate it not to call me kitten."
He took another sip of his wine and placed the goblet on a tablet that was next to him. "My apologies princess," he said.
"Excuse me?" Neferet furrowed her eyebrows when he said that.
"I just said my apologies," he repeated himself. He gave her a confused look when he caught a smile on her face, "may I ask what is so amusing?"
Neferet placed a hand on the tips of her lips and tried to suppress the laugh that was threading to make it's way out of her mouth. She felt her cheeks getting red. "I am sorry," she giggled, "but I have never heard anyone talk like that before."
"Talk like what?" he asked her, "what did I say?"
When he said the last word, she couldn't help it. "No, no I am sorry," she apologized once more, "it's not what you said it was how you said it."
Was she playing with him right now? Kahmunrah gave her a dissatisfied look, "yes, yes, I have a lisp," he said which caused her to chortle even more which made him slightly peeved.
When she finally caught her breath, her eyes were glazed over with tears and she breathed out, "again I am so sorry for laughing at the way you speak," she said once she gathered herself.
"I am sure you are," Kahmunrah said and turned to walk out of the room.
"Wait!" Neferet called and he stopped to look at her, "aren't you Ahkmenrah's brother?
"The last time I checked, yes," he told her. When he noticed her eyebrows furrowing at his answer, he couldn't help but feel a bit satisfied. "Oh come now, no need to look so upset."
"Oh I am not," she told him, "I just didn't like the way you spoke."
"Sorry bad habit," he told her. You have to know how to speak to this one he thought. Changing the subject, he asked, "might I ask what you are doing in the throne room?"
Neferet gave him a slight shrug with her shoulder. "I was just walking around the palace and thought of exploring the rooms and how they are," she lied.
"I thought that was covered when you first came here with your father was it not?" he asked her.
"A little refresher wouldn't hurt now would it?" she placed a hand on her hip and felt agitated at his questions, "but may I ask what you are doing here?" she reflected his question back to him as she folded her arms across her chest.
"I live here," he simply told her, "therefore I have the prerogative to go at which room I want. You, on the other hand, do not."
"As the future queen I do," she said and that made him chuckle.
Quite the sassy tongue this one Kahmunrah thought as he held onto a smug smile. "I am sure you would," he told her. He raised his eyes when he noticed his father and brother walking up from behind her.
"Neferet?" Ahkmenrah spoke her name and she whirled around to look at his straight in the eyes. He was just as shocked as she was to find her here in the room.
Kahmunrah looked at his brother and then at Neferet, "well," he spoke, "I shall be going. I would not like to interfere between a lover's quarrel," he said as he slinked out of the room and left Neferet, Ahkmenrah, and his father.