It had been 15 years since Atem had met Loretta, no more children had been had between the couple so they spent every moment they could with the four.
Saquera who was now 20, had grown up looking exactly like her beautiful Mother except with her Fathers exotic, narrowed deep violet eyes, Her younger Brother and Sister Amenhotep and Ankara, who were both 18 years of age, were much like their parents as well, Amen' having his Fathers black and magenta spiked mane with the blonde bangs and Ankara having her Mothers long ebony hair with the exception of it being tipped with magenta.
Alexander who was only just 15, on the other hand, looked nothing like his elder Brother, he shared the same spikey mane as his Father but instead of one of his blonde bangs sticking up, it hung down on his forehead in the shape of a lightning bolt and only the tips of his seven spikes were painted with magenta.
Unfortunately for the Royal family, their eldest daughter had gone missing, which was now almost five long years ago, it pained Loretta to wake up in the morning not seeing her happy smiling daughter sitting, waiting for her Mother to arrive at the breakfast table each morning.
On the other hand Loretta had noticed that Atem would collapse suddenly in the middle of a meeting or she would have difficulty waking him up in the morning, as the days went on it was coming up to Atem and Loretta's twentieth wedding anniversary and things weren't looking very good for the king, walking up to her eldest Sons door Loretta sighed & knocked
"Good morning Mother, is everything ok, please come in and sit down" Amenhotep said opening the door for his Mother and gesturing to the couch near his bed "Good morning Amen', I've come to talk to you about your Father" Loretta sighed again as she sat down
Seeing that his Mother was looking increasingly upset, Amen' sat down next to her, gently placing his hand on top of her which sat on her knee "Is Father ok Mother?" Amen asked as his deep violet eyes lock with his Mothers sapphire ones "I'm afraid not Amen'..." Loretta said shaking her head "I took me almost an hour to wake him up this morning and then I had to wake up several times in the night to get him breathing properly" Loretta said shaking her head
"Has Father been to see lady Isis recently, she may be able to help him" Amen said hopefully "Im afraid he has and she wasn't able to do anything for him that has worked so far, your Father isnt very old so that isn't the problem I'm just worried that its something that stems back to when he fell and hit his head ten years ago" Loretta sighed letting her head drop into her hands
"Mother, would it be ok if I came to see Father" Amen' asked moving his hand to his Mothers shoulder, looking up at her Son Loretta smiled "Of course you can, come on" Loretta said as she got up, taking her Sons hand
Getting to her chamber, Loretta carefully pushed the door open to see Atem sitting up in bed reading one of the latest scrolls "Good morning Loretta, good morning Son" Atem said looking up from his scroll, smiling
"Good morning Father, how are you feeling" Amenhotep said with a bow "I'm a bit hungry actually, I was waiting for your Mother to get back so we could all have breakfast together..." Atem said Looking at Loretta who had turned away
Noticing his wife's silence Atem carefully got up and walked over to Loretta, cupping her cheek in his hand "Im sorry Loretta, I know you miss Saquera, this Palace isn't the same without her happy smiling face around but we will find her, one day" he finished kissing her nose as her lip began to tremble "I-I do miss Saquera and I wish I knew what happened to her...I put her to bed that night and tucked her in and kissed her forehead like I always do, she can't have ran away, Saquera wouldn't do something like that...I miss my daughter so much" Loretta sniffed trying not to cry
"There, there Loretta, its ok I'm here for you" Atem soothed pulling Loretta into a tight embrace "I'm here too Mother, Ankara and I miss our big Sister dearly and want her back" the young prince sniffed leaning in between his Mother and Father
"Thank you two so much, now whose hungry" Loretta smiled trying to cheer herself up "I believe I am" Atem chuckled kissing Loretta's cheek & smiling at her "I hope there is melon on the breakfast table," Amenhotep said running to the door and opening it for his parents
As the three of them walked towards the dining room the met up with Ankara and Alexander "Good morning you two" Loretta said cheerfully "Good morning Mother" the young Prince and Princess chimed "Are you ok Mother, you look like you have been crying" Ankara said looking up at her Mother with her dark sapphire eyes
"Thank you for your concern Ani, but I'm ok I think I'm still a bit tired from looking after your Father all night" Loretta smiled kissing the top of her daughters head which in turn earned a complaint from said 18 year old
Reaching the Dinning room, the royal family of five were met by Mana and Mahad and their Son Heba, who instantly ran up to Alexander, giving him a high five.
Heba (12 and 1/2) and Alex (15) were best friends, even though there were almost three years between the two boys, they had grown up together and formed a very close bond from the moment Alex met the young Priest's Son, it also helped too that their Fathers had a very close relationship.
Another male pair that also shared a close friendship to the surprise of the Palace staff was crown Prince Amenhotep (18) and Shada and Isis's son Horus (17), being one boy was the son of the reigning Pharaoh and the other the son of a royal court member was the surprise, until they remembered how when their Pharaoh was a Prince, he befriend the Son of one of his Father's Royal court members.
"Good morning Pharaoh" Horus and Heba said in unison bowing to Atem "Good morning boys, thank you for that warm welcome I feel better already" Atem chuckled as Loretta punched his arm
Getting a glare and a throat clearing from their parents for their rudeness the two boys stopped next to Loretta once she had sat down "Please excuse our rudeness Queen Loretta" Horus said with a bow "We are sorry for not saying good morning to you, your Majesty" Heba said with a longer bow
Rolling her eyes and giggling Loretta looked at the two boys "Like Father like Son" she said with a smile softly shaking her head and then looked up at Mahad who blushed "Thank you for your apology boys, you are excused enjoy your breakfast" Loretta finished as she popped a grape into her mouth
Once breakfast was over and the dining hall was clear, Loretta and Atem sat relaxing at the end of the table like they always did "any plans for the rest of the day Ate' " Loretta asked as she finished her last mouthful of wine
"actually 'retta..." Atem smirked using Loretta's nickname "I was planning on spending the day relaxing by the pool, I need to get out of my office for a while, I've been doing a lot of paperwork recently and I've found it makes my bad headaches worse" Atem finished rubbing his temples
"Oh Atem...How many times have I told you not to overwork yourself..." Loretta said poking his chest "you have been through so much in your life, your not a young Pharaoh anymore, you have to start taking it easy" she finished
"Im sorry Loretta, you're right and I know I do but I'm the King and as King I have a lot of paperwork that needs doing" Atem sighed releasing his wine glass "Maybe it is time that Amen' starts learning how to read and sign scrolls, he's 18 Atem, he is older than you were when you became Pharaoh" Loretta said taking Atem's hand
"Amenhotep already knows how to read scrolls, I've been teaching him about that over the years but maybe you are right, he needs to put what he has been taught into practice by stepping up and taking over from me soon" Atem sighed as he stood up
"I dont want to force you into or out of anything Atem but you are clearly struggling with your paperwork especially, if you dont want to step down from being Pharaoh this year you dont have to but at least let Amen' help you" Loretta said as she stood up placing her hand on Atem's shoulder
"I will think about it, I appreciate your support Loretta" Atem smiled taking Loretta's hand and kissing the top of it "Come on old man, lets get you to the pool to relax" Loretta giggled kissing his cheek
Getting to the pool, Loretta helped Atem sit down in his chair "Now don't you go to sleep on me, you are hard to wake up" Loretta lightly scolded looking down her nose through her sunglass at her husband "I'll try not to, just keep an eye on me" Atem chuckled pushing his glasses up his nose and laying back in his seat
"If I find you asleep Atem Tutankhamun you will get a soaking" Loretta smirked "Ok ok, I wont even close my eyes, I'm too scared to now" Atem chuckled again getting himself comfortable
Half an hour or so passed and Loretta thought it was about time to go for a swim, but there was one problem Atem was asleep "Atem...Atem can you hear me, oh no I was afraid this would happen..." Loretta said as tears pooled up in her eyes "Come on Atem, please wake up...I dont want to lose you this way, please wake up Atem" Loretta finished as more tears began to stream from her eyes
"I need help, but maybe I should try what I said I would do first" Loretta said as she began flicking water out of the pool onto Atem's face "Come on sweetheart, please wake up"
Getting up and walking over to where Atem was laying, Loretta looked down at him caressing his cheek "I need to go and see Isis but I can't leave you out here in the hot sun" Loretta said picking her husband up bridal style and carrying him into the hallway
"Isis...Isis where are you, I need your help...I really hope she isn't busy with Shada" Loretta said as she continued down the hall, finally after a few minutes Isis appeared out her chamber "Oh my Queen, Im so sorry I didnt hear you calling I was tending to Horus, he's grown unwell" Isis said looking at Atem laying limp in Loretta's arms
"Apology accepted but Atem needs help, he went to sleep when we were down at the pool and when I went to go for a swim and wake him up, he wouldn't wake up" Loretta said sadly "Oh, bring him into my medical room and I will see what I can do, would you be able to take his chest plate off" Ishizu asked
Taking Atem into the medical room and laying him down on the bed, taking his chest plate off Ishizu examined the Pharaoh "his heart is still beating, which is a good sign but its also very weak" she said looking at Loretta apologetically "please help him Isis, I know Atem has been having a lot of problems but I dont want to lose him" Loretta sniffed
"I will try giving him a small boost of energy, it may start him breathing again" Isis smiled "just try anything Isis," Loretta said in a panic as she watched Isis put her hand on Atem's chest and it started to glow
After the glowing died down, Isis stood watching and waiting for results. Eventually and to the relief of Loretta, Atem's eyes began to flutter open "Oh Atem, I thought I would never see you again" Loretta said lunging over onto her husband and crying on his shoulder "I'm ok now Loretta, it's ok, ssh don't cry" Atem said in a soothing tone as he sat up
A week passed and it was now the day of Atem and Loretta's 20th wedding anniversary but the day was going to go as smoothly as they hoped
Standing up from his throne Atem cleared his throat gaining the attention of his family and Royal court "Thank you so much everyone for being here with Loretta and I today, I love Loretta so much and the last 20 years of our marriage have been very prosperous" Atem said smiling at his three children before to started to cough
Standing up from her throne Loretta looked at Atem with concern "Here, have a drink" she said offering him the chalice of water off the arm of his throne "Thank you Loretta, I think im ok now" Atem smiled weakly at his wife
"Maybe you should sit down, if there is any talking that needs to be done I will do it" Loretta said sitting her hand on Atem's chest "Happy Anniversary Loretta" Atem whispered, pecking his wife on the lips before sitting down
"Happy Anniversary Atem and thank you" Loretta smiled sitting down next to him
As the couple sat and talked, Amenhotep noticed from a distance his Father wincing in pain every so often, being that he was aware of his Fathers deteriorating health he slowly walked over to his Mother "Excuse me Mother, but I've noticed that Father looks like he is in pain" Amenhotep bowed "Thank you for being so observant Amen' I have been watching your Father and they seem to be only small waves of pain" Loretta nodded to her Son
After bowing again to his Mother, Amen' walked down the steps of her throne & back to his Brother and friends. Finishing his glass of wine Atem stood up rubbing his back "Atem, are you ok?" Loretta asked watching him walk past her "I just need a bit of fresh air and my back is a bit sore from sitting down for so long" he chuckled walking carefully down the steps
"Ok, but just be careful, actually I might come with you, I need some fresh air as well," Loretta said as she skipped over to Atem linking her arm with his "I was hoping you would come with me" Atem smiled picking up her hand and kissing it
Standing out on the main balcony together overlooking the city Atem closed his eyes taking in a deep breath and then slowly releasing it "Thank you for everything Loretta, I love you and always will" Atem said with a smile but without opening his eyes.
Watching her husband slowly swaying back and forth with his eyes still shut, Loretta took Atem's hand "Atem, open your eyes, what are you doing" she said as he gradually began to fall backwards making Loretta drop to her knees to catch him "Im sorry Loretta, I think its my time, look after the children for me and don't worry about me...I'll be fine..." he whispered before going unconscious
"No, Atem!"
Ooh cliffy, but this ends ENQ, thank you to the people who have read it, now onto the sequel, I know it doesn't end the way TFL starts but that starts as a flashback and not all flashbacks are remembered correctly