V.E.: Yes, I know, I am a horrible procrastinator and hypocrite(the last part may confuse you, but I'll keep that meaning to myself). I said I would have updated last weekend, but I didn't. To be honest I'm feeling pretty lazy, but I really need to keep writing. Otherwise, I will go through another period in which I don't write anything, and everyone knows how that goes.

I'm also going through watching children's movies while I write these chapters. Perhaps an attempt to recapture my fading childhood? I don't know. Maybe it's because I just read a biography on Walt Disney(RIP Great man). In some ways, I could relate to the guy(I understand what it means to be possessed and focused on one thing and intense boredom once I've felt I've finished with it). At other times, I was in awe and disgust of his self-absorbedness, for lack of a better word.

I guess the reason I'm thinking about Disney is because I can partially see Kisara in some of the Disney Princesses, since I'm kind of figuring out what she'll be like as a princess.

Wait a minute, this isn't about Disney or how I feel about his company's movies, this is about Kisara! And I'm pretty certain this will be a rather shorter chapter. Hey, I go with what I write.

Disclaimer: Please go to the following line after the page break.

Kisara cautiously opened her eyes to the dark of the early morning. She blinked the blue orbs a few times before sitting up in her bed and looked over her room.

It was still taking some getting used to, having a room of her own. Every time she had woken up so far, she had been partially convinced that the events that had befallen her were nothing more than a dream and she would soon wake back up in the cage her owners had placed her.

But a moment later she would realize it was real as she observed her room for what must have been the hundredth time. It was similar to the room Lady Nephthys had, though much smaller. She still marveled at the people like drawings on the walls and the small pictures beside them that Kisara had recently come to understand served as words. There was a small desk and chair on the other side of the room, the only thing aside from those things was the window next to the bed and the door, which behind it was where Kisara kept her clothes.

She stretched slightly as she got out of her bed making sure to step around the headrest she had put on the floor. Neck rest or not, the thing was uncomfortable and Kisara wasn't sleeping with it.

After that was made sure, Kisara strode over to the small door and opened it, revealing a modest selection of clean white dresses. Nephthys had said it was a poor selection and choice for a princess, but it would have to do since Kisara technically wasn't a princess. Rather, she was a princess in training. Apparently, it was a discussion that had come up in the Royal Court once it was certain that Kisara was staying. When she was officially a princess, she would be moved to an even larger room with more appropriate dresses.

She really didn't mind since she was currently in awe for the first time in her life, she had more than one thing to wear.

She selected the dress on the most right and slipped off the coarser dress she had used as a nightgown to the floor. With that, she slipped on the light white linen over her head and glanced down at it.

It was really plain, the white dress covering her neck and going slightly past her knees, but still she liked it very much. She went down to the bottom of the small closet to fetch a small golden neck collar and the golden belt. Fastening them on, she looked at least above a servant in the palace. Though her eyes' had been more drawn to the silver that Nephthys had arranged when these had been selected, the jewelry had fit together. They were simple, with no jewels or engravings on them.

She twirled slightly, marveling in it for her moment, before going to the door that led to the hall, surprising the darker maid Femi who had just been about to knock.

She quickly regained her composure and bowed her head to Kisara.

"It is time for your lessons with Lady Nephthys, my lady."

Kisara nodded.

"Of course."

Following Femi, Kisara made her way through the labyrinth of hallways in the palace, finally coming back to Nephthys' door. Femi opened the door and motioned to go in. Kisara smiled as she strode into the room which she had become familiar with.

Nephthys stood by the desk, but catching Kisara's appearance smiled her small smile and walked over to her.

"Good morning Kisara. I take it, you surprised Femi again?"

Kisara slightly chuckled as Femi gave an incredulous eye roll, like she had never served someone who had gotten up before the servant had woken them up(as a matter of fact this was true, not even Lady Nephthys got up on her own on a regular basis).

Nephthys shook these concerns aside as she guided Kisara back to the desk, full of papyrus scrolls and small tablets.

"But never mind that. Let's get onto today's lessons."

Kisara took the seat right in front of the desk while another chair had been brought right beside her for Lady Nephthys. The older woman unrolled one of the many scrolls and pointed to a beginning set of small images.

"Now let's go through a little bit of what we learned yesterday."

For the past week or so, these little picture like things had been Kisara's immediate tasks. Nephthys would scratch out a picture and sound it out, having Kisara repeat it several times before she attempted to write it herself. It was a slow, tedious process, small letters eventually evolving into small words that Kisara was beginning to slightly understand. Even after the day's lessons were done, Kisara used the papyrus on her desk to practice these little scribbles.

Still, even though Kisara knew she was nowhere near knowing everything, she had found the lessons interesting and she had taken to learning the drawings that seemed like little scenes on their own. With so little else to do, she was progressing quite rapidly.

Still, the lessons were painstakingly long and tedious. Nephthys would correct her sternly, though not unkindly because she did make mistakes and if they were wrong she often had to start the whole thing all over again. Her main duty was copying what she was reading.

The things being told on the scrolls were actually the interesting part. As Nephthys had stated, she would be learning all about the past pharaohs and the Egyptian gods, and that was part of the stuff Kisara had been reading about. First it had merely been their names, now she was learning a little more about what those names meant.

So she scrunched her eyes and focused on the exact place where Nephthys was pointing and began reciting allowed.

"The…..great….god…..Ra...rises with…..the morning…."

Kisara looked up to which Nephthys nodded.

"Go on."

"…..in his boat…..tri…..tri…"

Nephthys spoke in a firm tone.

"Triumphant, dear."

"Triumphant….from his battle…..with…the demons….So it….is…every…..morning…and for….all eternity."

Nehpthys nodded.

"Good, though you could have less pauses between the words. Though for hieratic, you're doing quite well. Maybe we'll have time to move onto cuneiform before these six months are up. Now let's move on to this next one…."

"So how were things yesterday at court?"

Nephthys gave out a small sigh as she was seated very lady like in her seat.

"Rather tedious according to Rashidi. There was Lord Khepri of Lower Egypt asking for more land, the Pharaoh postponed his request. Also, the High Priest of Amun went over the details of an upcoming festival in another city."

Kisara just nodded along with the conversation as she was seated.

"Anything going on outside of Egypt?"

Nephthys shook her head.

"Aside from the regular bandits, there doesn't seem to be any problems politically. The note the current of ruler of Hatti sent was pretty typical, starts his letters with flattery and ends with a threat. But that is pretty normal for him."

Kisara smiled as she broke the tone the two had been speaking.

"So how'd I do today?"

Nephthys sat back, shaking her head in disbelief.

"It's official, I can teach you nothing in the spoken word."

Kisara just gave an uneasy smile as she chuckled. Every day for their afternoon meal, Nephthys didn't just discuss their previous lessons or what was going on in the royal court, she would test Kisara's language limits. Apparently, it seemed there weren't any as Kisara had been able to respond to every language the priestess had thrown at her.

To this Nephthys was still shaking her head as she spoke once more.

"How do you do that?"

Kisara just shrugged, she could no more explain it than Nephthys could. She just knew languages the same way she knew that she could summon her dragon if she wished.

Nephthys sighed as Femi and the sisters Akila and Dendera arrived with the plates of food.

"I suppose that is a mystery that will have to wait for another day. Time for lunch."

The plates were set on the table, appetizing to behold but Kisara didn't make any movement. Nephthys was back to regular composure as she spoke.

"How does a Hatti warrior shown he has demonstrated his first kill?"

"He shaves his facial hair."

Nephthys nodded, posing another question.

"And what sort of things is Egypt known for trade wise? Also what would we receive from some of our best allies?"

Kisara took a breath before she answered.

"Egypt is known for its gold, linen, papyrus, and grain. Sometimes there will be stolen treasures from a pharaoh's tomb. From our best allies, we expect copper and iron."

Nephthys nodded.

"Good, now we may eat."

Kisara breathed a mental sigh of relief. Throughout these meal times, Nephthys would often lecture on other matters regarding Egypt. She also expected the young girl to remember what she said, even if it had been a few days ago.

She knew that Nephthys was a good teacher, though she was pretty certain Nephthys could be a little bit more patient. Everything about the woman was direct, demanding, and to the point. Still, Kisara enjoyed her company immensely, partially because Nephthys was one of the only people she had been able to see and talk to since entering the palace.

It had been about a week, but Kisara was starting to get lonely. She did exactly as Nephthys requested and stayed in her room, trusting that the priestess knew what she was doing. At first, it was relief not to deal with people's stares, but now it was just sad.

One of the reasons she was enjoying their meals together.

Kisara restrained her immediate instinct to dig right into the food. She carefully used her right hand to get the bread form one plate, bringing it to her own. Next she used her other hand to get some of the duck meat.

Once she was done selecting her current food, she sat up straighter as she took small, deliberate bites. After one portion was finished, she would use the extra sheath to wipe her mouth before she went onto the next portion.

As she went through the motions of dining, she couldn't help but feel her mind wander. All before this, Kisara had never been expected to do much except look pretty and be sold to some brothel or high class noble.

Now she was expected to know everything she had been learning about from the hieratic writing(Nephthys said hieroglyphs were used more for tombs and a bit harder to learn with the hieratic easier to write and learn), dinning manners, and rather random bits of information said in passing but not really explained.

And this was just one week! What else was she expected to learn over these next couple months?!

Nephthys had looked up then from her own plate and saw Kisara lost in thought.

"You're troubled."

Kisara looked up in surprise and didn't know what to say. How could she broach this subject with her teacher and not make it sound insulting?

But she didn't have to as Nephthys surmised what was on her mind.

"You think this stuff is too much, is that correct?"

Kisara was only moderately surprised that Nephthys had guessed the truth. She had learned that the older woman was very good at gauging a person's thoughts.

She spoke then with an unsure voice.

"It's just…well…nothing against you my lady…"

Nephthys sighed.

"Kisara, I don't mind the 'my lady,' but I would prefer you put my name somewhere in your sentences."

Kisara flinched slighty.

"Yes, Lady Nephthys."

Lady Nephthys sighed once more as she got Kisara's gaze back on her.

"Kisara, I know this seems all a bit confusing and some of this stuff may look inconsequential, but these things are important."

Kisara still wondered and voiced it.

"Are you sure I have to know all of this?"

Nephthys seemed to gather her thoughts before she spoke.

"Truthfully, some of this stuff you may never need to know, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't bother to learn it. Kisara, I know this seems so sudden and too much at once, but understand this. I am trying to teach you what most Egyptian princesses spent years learning in six months."

Kisara looked intrigued by this.

"So Egyptian princesses are expected to know a lot? I thought princesses were expected to just look pretty so to attract good offers of marriage. At least, that's what a lot of village chiefs' daughters near my homeland were mostly concerned with since they didn't really have to do any work."

Nephthys shook her head as she went onto explain.

"No, though that is probably how many people would think of it. An Egypt princess is more than just marriage and bearing children, many of them were actively part of court intrigues while some left that to the men. But I get the feeling you will not be able to turn a blind eye to what our court is."

Kisara scrunched her nose slightly as she remembered the words Nephthys had used the first day they met.

"A nest of scorpions?"

Nephthys nodded with a small satisfied smile.

"Exactly. But we needn't go into the details of that right now. Right now, just focus on what I'm teaching you. Focus on the maneuvering the court once you've gotten a better understanding Egypt."

Kisara looked interested in the change of conversation.

"What's next after writing?"

Nephthys went on.

"Well, we've been going into it a little with our lessons, but the next thing you have to learn is of the previous pharaohs and our gods. In other words, history. I'll have to ask Aknadin to send more scrolls from our supply. After that we'll see whether you can measure up in courtly conduct. I said we might have time to learn some cuneiform, but before that we'll need to focus on the structure of Egypt and how this game of court works. You'll know who's in power, who's not, and some that might be useful."

Nephthys broke off then with a contemplative gaze.

Kisara was surprised by this, she expected more.

"Is there something else?"

Nephthys looked startled before she shook her head.

"No, that's all for now at least. I might tell you this next bit later when I figure it out what it is exactly. Not even I know everything that comes in the future, despite what many might think. Now then, I think it's time for us to move onto dessert."

V.E.: Okay this is slightly longer than I expected it to be. Well, that's all good. It'll be a little while before I update Fate or Something Like It. To those who think this chapter is boring, sorry but I want to show Kisara's transition somewhat gradually.

PLEASE REVIEW!

Ps. Poll on page