I don't own Night at the Museum
Ancient Egypt 1991 B.C.
The next afternoon, after Neferet's encounter with the horned viper, the young future queen found herself in the same room where she found Kahmunrah fighting with the statesman. During that time, she was still considered new to the household before becoming adjusted weeks later. Her eyes roamed around the room as she took in the weapons that decorated the walls, perhaps weapons that had been used during the wars of the past. She assumed that each of those weapons held a history especially of the soldier that had taken it to war. War was a thought that Neferet didn't want to think about. From what she had learned through her studies, many wars had happened to get to where Egypt was now under Pharaoh Merenkahre's reign. She could only hope that it would be the last of it for people seemed to be very happy and Egypt continued to prosper. She hoped that under Ahkmenrah's rule it would be the same and from what she had seen from Ahkmenrah, even though they barely had time for one another now, it was going to be the same.
A sigh escaped her lips as she leaned against one of the walls and waited for Kahmunrah's arrival. Neferet understood that Ahkmenrah was busy with his duties, and continuous learning, but what was the point of being his future queen if he barely had time for her? A part of her thought that she was just a mere decoration for the royals. Just someone who was simply there by Ahkmenrah's side but she knew that this wasn't the case. It was also part of her duty to produce an heir whenever that chance came and she wanted to do that, but not when Ahkmenrah finished his duties and found her sleeping for the night. There had been nights where she had tried to remain awake for his arrival but she had found herself awake the next morning to an empty bed. All she had to do was discipline herself to be patient for that time was bound to come.
The door suddenly creaked open and Neferet looked up to see Kahmunrah walking inside the room. "You're late," she said to him.
"There was something that I needed to attend to," Kahmunrah said to her, dissatisfied that she had to lightly scold him for that, "but I do appreciate your patience." A smirk formed upon his lips when he said that, causing Neferet to roll her eyes.
"It's the least I can do," she said as she walked away from the wall and over to him. "I have a free schedule for the moment, with Ahkmenrah being away and my servant attending to her mother." Last night, Zhara had not come back like Neferet had assumed and a part of her felt that Zhara's mother was probably in critical condition.
"And you think that I do have a free schedule?" Kahmunrah asked her. "I am just as occupied as everyone else around here."
Neferet raised an eyebrow to retort back to his response but kept her mouth shut. Perhaps his 'vizier duties,' which she had never seen him do, was what was keeping him from his free time. "Alright," she said as she held her hands up before letting them fall to her sides, "where are the weapons? I am ready to start training."
Kahmunrah had to give her credit for being direct with her training, but it was a naïve question. "Have you ever held a weapon before?" he asked her.
Neferet almost blushed at that question. The only time she had held a weapon was during that time when Kahmunrah had finished his training with the statesman. "Yes?" she answered.
He could tell in her voice that she was unsure. "Show me your hands," he told her.
"What?" Neferet asked.
"Let me see," he approached her and she did so. He took a hold of her hands in his and gently brushed his thumbs against the palm and back of her hand. They were as smooth as fine linen and there were no scars, cut, or calluses that he felt under his inspection. "Of course you have," he said to her, "in your dreams." He let go and her hands slipped from his and he noticed that glare in her eyes. "Weapon combat is too advanced...for now," he said to her.
Neferet let out a sigh. "But I want to learn with a weapon."
"You can, if you want to lose your hand," he told her. "To get to the status where I am, you would have had to be trained at the age of a child. The use of weaponry is something that takes years to learn, it's not an overnight achievement."
"And you have been doing that?" Neferet asked, "since you were very young?"
"Of course," Kahmunrah told her, "since I was the only son in the family during that time, I felt that it was my duty to protect my family. One can never know what might happen in later years."
"Like thieves..." Neferet said, thinking of the conversation that she had yesterday at the gardens.
"Not just the thieves," Kahmunrah said to her. He had to think of the bigger picture. Thieves were just an obstacle to the royal family but if there was ever another war, then Kahmunrah felt that he had to be ready for he knew that no one was going to get to that throne. "Now," he said as he looked at Neferet, "shall we begin with the basics?"
"What are the basics?" Neferet asked.
If this woman had even the slightest idea on how fighting worked, Kahmunrah felt that his job would have been easier. However, she had no clue on how or where to start. I took this upon myself and I feel that it needs to be finished...otherwise she won't ever shut her mouth about it he thought to himself and after being acquainted with this woman, she was a stubborn one. A trait that he felt they both shared. "Oh," was all that he said and he grabbed a pair of long wooden sticks from his left and threw one to her. "This is."
Neferet instinctively grabbed the stick and held it in front of her before looking up at Kahmunrah.
"I will attack and you will try to block my attacks," he instructed. "I want to see how sharp your senses are. When it comes to this form of combat, observation is what's important here. Are you ready?"
"I think so." She felt a little unsure of this but if this was the way that she was going to get started, then that's the way it was. After all, Kahmunrah was the most experienced.
Before Neferet could react, Kahmunrah held the stick in the air and bought it down to Neferet, who quickly held the stick in front of her and blocked the attack. "Good, but don't get too encouraged," Kahmunrah said as he bought as much force as he could upon her.
Neferet felt her knees beginning to buckle under her and she tried to use as much force as she could to push him off her. She didn't have the same strength as Kahmunrah did and she felt herself sinking deeper into the ground. Mustering as much strength as she could, she tried to bring her body up. "YAH!" she yelled but only managed to slightly move Kahmunrah off her.
"Your strength needs work," Kahmunrah commented and straightened himself whilst holding the stick in his grip.
"I hope you're not calling me weak," Neferet glared.
Kahmunrah smirked at her words. "Isn't that what the opposite of 'strength' is?" he asked her.
Neferet furrowed her brows and gripped tightly onto the stick. "How dare you?" she spoke through gritted teeth.
"Learn to take some humility," Kahmunrah told her, "no one likes a spoiled brat."
Spoiled brat? Neferet deadpanned at his words. "You will regret saying those words," she said as she ran towards Kahmunrah and swiped at him with the wooden stick.
The stick was about to fall upon Kahmunrah's shoulder but with a quick turn, he deflected the attack with his own. Neferet could feel the vibration from the clash rise from the stick and into her hands but she kept a tight hold onto the weapon. She raised the stick again to hit him on the other shoulder, but he deflected her attack once more. Attempting to attack him again, Kahmunrah bought his stick from underneath hers and twirled it out of her hands. Neferet saw the stick flying in the air before clattering onto the ground and before she knew it, Kahmunrah poked her on the chest with the stick. "That was not fair!"
"There is no fairness in fighting nor war," Kahmunrah told her, "you have to be sharp and from what I can see, you are lacking in that."
"You told me to watch your attacks, that's what I did."
"You were too distracted by your anger," Kahmunrah told her.
"You called me weak and a brat!" Neferet shouted. "Anyone can get angry at that."
Not everyone Kahmunrah thought. "And those words clouded your judgement," he continued in a mild-mannered tone of voice, "and that is the worst that you can do yourself whether you're training or in battle." Another smirk formed on his lips when he thought about her complaint. "Getting upset over being called 'weak' and a 'brat?' More harsh words have been thrown to the toughest of men, my dear, and they haven't acted they way you just did."
Neferet remained silent and only looked at him through those dark eyes. He had made good point after his observation about her, and she needed to control her emotions when it came to this form of combat. Maybe those words had been part of their training and were not meant in seriousness. There were just so many things that she knew she had to learn when it came to combat, but that didn't mean that she wanted to participate in battles. All she wanted to do was for protection if need be.
"Perhaps even this is too advanced for you," he said as he threw the wooden stick to the side and heard it clatter on the floor, "why don't we try something simple? You attack me."
Neferet was appalled at what he had proposed to her. How was she going to attack him who practically towered over her? She watched as he held the palms of his hands out in a defensive stance. "You want me to punch you?" she asked him.
"Do you think you can kick?" he sarcastically asked her.
Ugh! No, no remain calm Neferet told herself as she took a deep breath and walked over to Kahmunrah. She formed his hands into fists and raised one of them in the air and bought it down towards Kahmunrah's palm. The moment her fist made contact with his hand, he pushed her fist back and she almost lost her footing but was able to regain her balance. She did the same thing with her other fist only to have it be deflected again.
Feeling her punches against his palms, Kahmunrah could feel how feeble they were. Instead of punching straight with her knuckles she was throwing those punches in a sideway fashion. It was going to be long work for this stubborn woman but at least she had a little bit of potential in her. He continued to deflect her punches and when he noticed her arms beginning to tire out, he grabbed her wrists and almost lifted her in the air.
A yelp escaped from her mouth when he did so but he plopped her back to the ground.
"Punching requires some work too," Kahmunrah said. "The way you were throwing them will give your enemy an advantage." He walked behind her and took a hold of her arm and held it in front of them. "When you punch do not hold your fist sideways," he told her, "but try to punch straight towards the target. And don't just stand there like a tree but put in a little momentum with the rest of your body. Swing your torso when you do so, that would add more force to your punch."
He walked away from behind and stood in front of her. "Try it now," he told her as he took the same stance as before.
Straight, momentum, swing she thought to herself as she nodded her head to Kahmunrah. Taking heed to his instructions, Neferet formed her hands into fists once more and bought them straight towards Kahmunrah.
There we go Kahmunrah thought as he felt the strength of her punches into his palms. He knew that she needed more work on her strength but that would come later on in their practice. "Keep going," he told her as he sped up his defense against her punches.
Neferet kept her concentration on how quick his palms were moving against her attacks and she tried to match the same speed as he did. She felt her arms growing tired but she didn't want to think about that. She had to continue with the speed that she had gained and didn't want any distractions in her mind. Weak and a brat, I think not she thought to herself as a smirk came to her lips.
Kahmunrah kept his eyes on her attacks and it was rather impressive how she had gained her speed. A fast learner this one he thought to himself but he wasn't going to give her that satisfaction. Perhaps in their next training, he would have her learn the defensive techniques for she had to be a lot quicker against his attacks and as promised, he was not going to go easy on her. Before he knew it, Neferet's fist missed his palm and came straight towards his face. He immediately ducked her attack and grabbed her arm and threw her over his shoulder.
Neferet felt her feet being lifted from the ground. Those couple of seconds she found herself airborne before her body slammed against the ground with Kahmunrah kneeling over her and her arms pinned to the ground. "Ow! What was that for?!" she yelled.
"You were about to punch me," Kahmunrah told her. "Good attempt."
A small smile formed upon Neferet's lips. It would have served him right for calling her 'weak' and a 'brat.' "Sorry," she apologized as she felt his grip lessening on her arms. "At least I got a bit creative."
"Like a cobra," he told her and helped her to her feet. "I believe that would be enough training for you today," he told her. "As I said, you still need more practice before we have you using weapons."
There was no point in arguing with this. From what she could see in herself, she had to agree with Kahmunrah about it and of the fact that she didn't want to lose a hand either. "Tomorrow?" she asked.
"Whenever it may be," he told her. "Now tun along, I have my own training to attend to."
With a roll of her eyes, Neferet walked over to the doorway but paused before she walked out. "Thank you Kahmunrah," she said to him.
His hand hovered to one of the weapons on the wall for a slight second when she voiced her appreciation. "Think nothing of it," he said and from his side view he watched her walked out the door with the slightest of smiles upon her lips.