I don't own Night at the Museum

Washington D.C., 2009 A.D.

"Ahkmenrah," Neferet's voice broke the young pharaoh out of his thoughts and he turned his eyes onto her. He felt her hand gently placing itself upon his cheek as her dark eyes deeply bore onto him.

He could hear her shallow breaths as if she tried to understand how he could be standing here, all flesh and blood, before her instead of the mummy that he had always been for thousands of years. He had fifty-four years of coming to life and seeing only darkness back at the museum in New York and during those years, some memories were still clouded in his mind. Being in the presence of his older brother and this woman, he was trying to process some of those memories but he felt he needed more time than just one night. He thought back to the previous his brother had remarked. Wife. Yes, he slightly remembered that he had a queen by his side but what had she apologized to him for? That mystery was something that Ahkmenrah felt he needed to discover and how he was going to do it, he didn't know how. Even if this woman had been his wife four thousand years ago, Ahkmenrah didn't feel any sentiment the way that she possibly did right now. He took a step back from her and watched as her hand hovered in the air before falling to her side as if she had been defeated.

Ahkmenrah didn't understand himself why he had reacted the way that he did, even if those feelings had been present before. What memory was it in his mind that caused him to have acted this way? "You asked for forgiveness," were words that he suddenly spoke to her. "What did you want forgiveness on?"

Neferet clutched onto the pendant that hung around her neck. Four thousand years and it still seemed too soon to tell him about what had happened, not just upon that fateful night, but the events that led up to it. She truly wanted to tell him everything that she could remember, but the words that were at the tip of her tongue just didn't want to come out. Why break him even more when she knew that he was already broken just by being here in their presence, and why should she shame herself again for what had happened? "I..." she whispered before looking from the ground and then up at Ahkmenrah, "I cannot bring myself to say it."

Ahkmenrah had a personality that his people had adored him for. Kind, charismatic, and patient. However, four thousand years of being in the darkness plus fifty-four years on top of that was enough to make even the most tolerant person impatient. He felt his teeth clench but tried to remain levelheaded. There was already one person in the room who was prone to volatile tempers and Ahkmenrah did not want to descend to that level. "Why is that?" he asked her with a calm tone of voice, "you were my wife."

Were. Past tense. Four thousand years ago. It pained her when he said that but she knew that she deserved it. She had begged Meretseger every morning and night for forgiveness and mercy and she didn't know if the Goddess had answered her prayers. If the balcony incident was her punishment in the past and if facing the truth was her punishment now, then she knew that she ought to repent once more of what had happened. "I wasn't the wife that you deserved," she answered Ahkmenrah. "It is too complicated of what had happened."

"Then what is there to forgive if you won't say a word?" Ahkmenrah asked her. "I have nowhere to go after being kept hostage here by that brother of mine. I have all night to heed your words."

She sensed the bitter tone when he spoke and she didn't blame him for it. If she was in the same position as him, she would act the same way but not have the patience as Ahkmenrah had. Why was it that something so ancient could still be so painful? "What would you think of me...if I were to tell you what happened?"

Ahkmenrah had nothing to think of. So many years had passed that she may as well be a stranger to him but he knew that there was a deeper connection between the both of them. Depending on what she was going to say also depended on his own opinion of her. Right now, he had no official opinion formed. "Again," he spoke trying to keep his voice at level, "you have not said a word."

A gentle sigh escaped her lips. Being the presence of not just Ahkmenrah but also all of these other people made her feel as if she was telling her secret to everyone and they were just awaiting to hear what she had to say and judge her for it. "Let us go somewhere private," she said as she took a gentle hold of his arm, "away from prying ears and eyes."

"In case you have not noticed," Ahkmenrah stopped her and pulled his arm away from her grasp, "we are surrounded by my brother's allies. There is nowhere to go and have a private conversation."

A slight blush creeped up her cheeks from embarrassment. Even if Ahkmenrah was to say yes, Kahmunrah would put a stop to that. "Then I will tell you," she said, "when the time is right." Feeling the tension that had formed between them, Neferet took a step back from Ahkmenrah and gave him the space that she felt he needed. She turned around and walked to the opposite side of the museum, having nowhere to run to, but trying to put her mind in a different place.

Ahkmenrah stood as he watched her walk away, not bothering to take a step forward and stop her. He felt no emotion to do that and if that didn't exist, then it would have been a lie. The only thing that he could do was that he wished he could grab that hourglass and break out Jedediah but seeing that the hourglass was in such close proximity with his brother made it all the more challenging.

As for Jedediah, he had been trying to listen as much as he could on what Ahkmenrah and this woman had been talking about. Being small had its advantages and eavesdropping was one of them. Whatever the relationship was between them seemed to have not ended on good terms and the way this woman walked away from Ahkmenrah proved to Jedediah that something may have happened between them.

"Well I'll be damned," he whispered to himself and continued to feel the grain of sand hitting upon his hat.