Disclaimer- I don't own anything apart from the plot and my OC's (Kiya, Nefer, Tal and Aten). Wish I owned my very own fuzzy Sphinx though... :D
Chapter Two
Sphinx was having the time of his life; the young demi-god swung his sword, the fabled blade of Osiris, at the green cobra that reared up and hissed at him, the muscles in his arms glistened from his exertions and he felt alive.
Ever since the banishment of Set some fifty human years previously he had felt restless somehow, almost as though his life were lacking something.
The snake struck again and he nimbly vaulted out of the way, leaving the cobra to snap harmlessly at empty air. "It was my own fault," he mused as he spun the confrontation out a little longer by flicking his leonine tail at the snake's head, "after all, scarabs aren't the only things that fall out of trees."
Out of the corner of his eye he saw his old tutor, the baboon-headed Imhotep appear on top of the tree the snake had dropped out of.
Sphinx sighed, Imhotep probably had another mission for him; the only problem was that since Set had been banished all he ever seemed to do was hunt down bandits and wild animals, hardly a fitting pastime for the hero of Heliopolis.
He struck the snake over the head with the flat of his sword, stunning it long enough for him to wander back over to Imhotep.
As Sphinx drew closer Imhotep floated down from his treetop perch.
His baboon-headed mentor launched into a tense speech the moment his sandalled feet touched the floor, "Sphinx, my young pupil I have grave news."
Sphinx's tail twitched in anticipation; he knew it had to be something big for Imhotep to ignore the ceremonial niceties of conversation and etiquette that he was normally such a stickler for.
Imhotep looked at his apprentice gravely, "It appears that Set's dark half has taken over once again and he is recruiting an army as we speak. I feel the work of a dark magician is the cause of it all." Imhotep frowned at Sphinx, "I'm afraid that Set will be more powerful than before; I can sense that he is receiving aid from another Egypt from another world. He is weak now but will soon be a formidable foe. I fear that we will have to summon help from the Hero of Thebes once again."
Sphinx grinned, canine teeth gleaming as he relished the thought of finally using his skills for something worthwhile again.
Imhotep sighed but smiled nonetheless, Sphinx was definitely an uncomplicated personality.
"Sphinx meet me on Sun shrine Island tomorrow, Bas-Ket and I will be waiting."
Sphinx nodded and watched his master's form fade from sight.
"All right," Sphinx thought, "finally a chance to do something worthwhile." He loped past the still confused serpent and headed up the hill toward the road leading to Heliopolis.
"Nefer! Nefer where are you!?"
Nefer looked up from his scrolls, Aten leapt to his feet and whined anxiously as the door to his rooms crashed open and a distraught Kiya ran in.
"Whatever is the matter child?" Nefer gathered Kiya into a comforting hug; he stroked her hair gently until the worst of her sobs subsided. When her tears became sniffles she leaned back and looked up at her favourite story-teller.
Nefer was shocked; he'd never seen Kiya so upset, not even when her mother passed on to the Western Lands had she looked so pale.
Kiya gulped back a fresh wave of tears, "I-it's awful! Pharaoh says-"
Aten pricked his ears forward and began to growl as footsteps approached Nefer's rooms.
Kiya clutched at more tightly at Nefer's shawl, "He- he followed me!"
Nefer stroked Kiya's hair reassuringly as he reached for his stout staff with his free hand.
She looked up at him, brown eyes wet with tears and haunted by fear. Kohl was streaked down her face and suddenly to Nefer she looked so young and vulnerable.
"Please don't go out there Nefer." Kiya latched onto Nefer's sleeve like a baby monkey and clung tightly, pleading with him to stay inside his quarters.
Aten laid his ears back flat and growled low in his throat. The jackal lowered his head and snarled as footsteps approached his master's door.
Kiya gasped and shrank back against Nefer
The footsteps paused outside Nefer's door, then kept walking down the corridor and faded from hearing.
Nefer eased Kiya into a more comfortable position, "Now then child, what brought all this on? What has happened?"
Kiya took a deep, shaky breath and looked up at the brown wrinkled face that was as dear to her as her own father's, "P-pharaoh told me that I'm to marry!" Kiya blurted out.
Nefer smiled indulgently, "Well Kiya you are of the right age-"
"But I don't want to marry Tal! Pharaoh says it's to seal," she paused, frowning as she tried to remember Pharaoh's exact words, "dipl-diplomatic and economic alliances. I have to go and live with Tal's people, I don't want to! I don't want to leave you!" Kiya threw her arms around Aten's neck and sobbed into his silky black fur.
Nefer sat in silence as he tried to make sense of what Kiya had told him; he'd thought that Pharaoh would have picked one of the Royal Artisans for Kiya. Tal was a prince after all, to offer him anything less than one of Pharaoh's daughters would be the gravest insult!
Nefer stroked his chin thoughtfully, Kiya was a delicate desert rose and by all accounts those barbarians from the north were a rough and well barbaric people.
"Wait here child, I'll talk to Pharaoh; there must be some mistake." Nefer got to his feet and hobbled to the door, "Aten, you stay here and look after Kiya."
Aten barked and curled up by the young girl's feet, ready and willing to spring into action at a moment's notice.
000
Nefer stood stiffly before Pharaoh as he put forward his case against Kiya's arranged marriage, "Great One, surely you must realise that Kiya would not be suitable for a foreign prince? She is too sheltered to survive outside of the Palace; let alone in the Northern Kingdoms."
Pharaoh looked down sternly at the elderly scribe from his seat on the golden throne of the Two Kingdoms, "Nefer I am truly sorry that you feel this way; however my mind is set on this course, it has been written that the match will take place; it is the will of the Gods, nothing can be done to change it now."
Nefer bowed his head sadly and hobbled from the audience chamber.
000
When Nefer returned Kiya was stretched out on his bed, fast asleep with a watchful Aten lying at her feet.
The elderly scribe held a finger to his lips when Aten began to whine. Nefer eased himself into his favourite chair, "Well Aten I did my best; Pharaoh won't bend on this one. I'm afraid Kiya has no choice but to marry that upstart princeling." Nefer bowed his head and began to nod off. On the bed Kiya stared at the wall with horror, Nefer had failed
"Well I won't marry Tal, no matter what! I'll run away to the temple of Isis or..." Kiya slowly sat up once she was sure Nefer was fast asleep, she looked across to the chest which contained the portal amulet. She silently crept across the room and lifted the lid of the chest; the amulet lay there, watching her. Kiya carefully picked it up and cradled it to her chest.
Kiya froze as Aten twitched in his sleep, the jackal moaned quietly as in his dreams he chased fleet-footed jackrabbits through the desert.
She went to step over Aten but paused when she heard the deep voices of two of the palace guards muttering just outside the door. Kiya crept closer and strained to hear what they were saying.
"Why do we have to watch the old story-tellers house?" the younger voice complained
"I don't know, but if you want to keep on breathing don't cross the Pharaoh. All I know is that no one is to go in or out of this place."
Kiya's eyes widened, the Pharaoh had put them under house arrest! She looked at the water clock on Nefer's desk, nearly midnight. She stepped back over Aten and pulled herself up and through the small window.
As she landed she knocked over a pot which smashed loudly on the cobbles. Kiya ran as she heard the shouts of the guards calling for backup.
She fled through the dark streets of Thebes, heading for the temple that Nefer had told her about; praying that it hadn't just been a story and that after all this time the amulet still worked.
AN: Well here is chapter two... sorry about the wait but I've made a resolution that any upload has to be at least four pages long to make it worthwhile!
As always reviews are very welcome.