Without caution, Buffy approached the table across from the strange woman, suddenly filled with the urge to sit with her. She sat down and picked up a piece of cheese and smelled it, as if she could detect any poison.
"Pardon my manners, but most vampires don't tie me up and feed me." Buffy blushed, realizing her innuendo and recalling another time when a vampire who shall not be named had done just that. Luckily, her blush had gone unnoticed as she popped the chunk of cheese into her mouth.
"Your manners do not concern me," the vampiress intoned vaguely, her eyes distant.
"What does concern you?" Buffy asked the obvious question.
There was a long pause before the woman continued: "I am concerned with your well being while you remain here as my guest."
"Guest?" Buffy asked, incredulously. "I was kidnapped!"
"I did not believe you would come here willingly, and as it is said, 'It's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission.'" Her medium jet black hair framed a benevolent smile; the scarred vampire behind her laughed; there would be no asking for forgiveness.
"Who are you?" Buffy demanded.
"Eat, my dear," the woman chided, making intense eye contact and pushing the tray closer to the Slayer. "My name is Ma'at; this is Isfet." Ma'at gestured to the vampire behind her.
Buffy did as she was told, sweeping her hair from her eyes and digging into the feast laid in front of her with enthusiasm. "And what do you want from me?" She managed through a mouthful of food.
"You will discover that in time," Ma'at beamed at Buffy again, her smile making Buffy feel at ease. "Now, this will be your room for the time you are with us."
She gestured at the corner of the room opposite them. "Your every need will be attended to, you need but to ask. There is your bed, past it there is a pool of water for you to bathe in. Clothing will be provided for you. If you are in need of anything, ask the guards at your door." Ma'at rose from the table and turned to go, Isfet following close behind, leaving Buffy suddenly alone and afraid again.
She slowly rose to her feet, hesitant to disobey Ma'at's order to eat her food, and walked towards the bed. Buffy shook her head and pulled the duvet back before crawling into bed to sleep off an impending headache.
She'd been having the same dream for weeks.
Her hair was the color of coal as she sat upon a bench of stone, her feet neatly tucked under her. In her right hand she held a scepter and in her left she held an ankh. On each arm, there were ostrich feathers extending from elbow to wrist and atop her head resided an ostrich feather crown.
A man lounged below her on the floor, facing away from her to gaze at the crowd that had gathered in front of them. They were all dressed in the ways of ancient Egyptians, long dark hair flowing. There was a man with the head of a crocodile and a man with the head of an ibis; a woman with the head of a cat and a woman with the head of a lioness; there was a woman with a scorpion affixed atop her head and another woman carrying a sun disk between long bovine horns.
No one said anything, but stared at the man on the floor and what was in his hands: a snake-a snake the color of night itself. The serpent entwined itself around and around the man, as if draping itself across its most favorite of trees.
A cacophonous noise rose up from the members of their audience at once. Buffy imagined that the noise could be heard all the way down in the Nile delta. She struggled to hear what any of them were yelling as tears welled up in her eyes. She looked down at the man below her and suddenly remembered his name.
"Isfet?" She asked hesitantly, hoping he would hear her above the noise.
Tonight, this dream was different. He looked up, and she was suddenly staring into the face of familiar sharp cheekbones and haunting blue eyes. "Yes, my Queen?"
