I felt a tug inside my chest pulling my conscious out from where I had borrowed inside myself. My neck creaked from lack of use as I raised it up to look around me. I saw a boy with dark messy hair about 20 feet away from me. The fur on my neck rose in alarm. He was dangerous, in a yummy, sexy kind of way. I shook my fox head and stood shakily with a growl only to collapse back down onto the bottom of my cage. My name is Jasmine, by the way. A long time ago, longer now than it seems, I was banished into this cell that lies at the very bottom, the oldest part, of the Da'at. The few things I know about the changing of the world have been through the eyes of my friends, the foxes of Earth. A few millenniums after I was placed here, I had grown weak, too weak to leave in my human form, so I had changed into my counter-part, the fox, but sadly, I do not have the strength yet to come out. By now, my muscle and fat have dwindled down into nothing really. You could count every rib and bone in my body.
The boy slowly came closer to the bars, trying not to startle me. If I were I not weak as a new born pup, I would've been insulted. He looked about sixteen and wore dark, baggy jeans, black combat boots, and a sexy leather jacket. His stance reminded me one of a jackal's. I watched him as he unlocked and stood at the entrance. When he spoke, I felt a shiver of something entirely new to me run down my back, "Horus wishes to see you, you majesty." Confusion settled in me at the name and the boy. I hadn't the slightest idea who either of them was or who's command over-ruled Ra's. He seemed to recognize this and mumbled to himself, "How long have you been down here?" then spoke louder to me, thinking I didn't hear him, "Horus is the Pharaoh, King of the Gods. A lot has changed since in your exile, princess. Many of us, included myself, did not know of your existence or had forgotten until now. My name is Anubis, your majesty. I work in the hall of judgment under Lord Osiris." His voice was careful but sounded as though he wish to be anywhere but here. I didn't blame him. This place scares the bravest of gods. I shuffled slowly over to him on my stomach. Once I reached him, my strength in that small act was gone, and I let him wrap my shaking body in his warm jacket then began up the stairs into a much more stable layer of the Da'at. I was thankful for the heat from the jacket and his chest and attempted to ignore the signal of danger that radiated off him as I sank back into my slumber.
I woke to a blinding light and the sound of bustling around. The leather jacket and comforting heat of the young god, Anubis, was gone and had been replaced by a cold, hard floor and many unwelcoming stares as my eyes flashed open. I saw many flinch away from my gaze for a reason I didn't know. After scanning the room from where I lay on the floor, my eyes found the thrown and an unfamiliar man on it. Actually, everyone here was unfamiliar, except for Sho. Oh how I hated him sometimes. He matched my glare with one of his own. Sho hated me as much as I hated him. When my brothers and I were growing up, we would cause Sho so much mischief that soon he grew to hate us, or mostly me being that I usually planned everything and the boys just followed along. I looked through the many faces, looking for anyone I knew but soon realized that I truly had been down there for a very long time. I grew worried when I could not find my best friend, Nut, or my brother, Gabe.
When the unfamiliar man on the throne cleared his throat, everyone became silent. He stood and the gods and goddesses knelt to him, waiting for him to let them stand. I felt that many were unhappy about his authority but chose not to object to it. He burned his silver and gold gaze into me as I stood up shakily, refusing to submit to a man I didn't know. I heard Sho mummer quietly to where only I could hear, "Kneel, Jasmine. Kneel!" But I didn't. Many gods were amused at the small, starved fox that glared up at their king while others grew frightened for her. I knew not why I, or any of the others, were called forth here but it must have been important if the young, angry pharaoh didn't blow me to ash. Instead of that though, he motioned for everyone to rise while I begged my shaking legs to hold what little weight I was up.
The pharaoh's voice boomed across the threshold as he spoke to his subjects. His voice left a bad taste in my mouth as he spoke like he was better than them. Ra would have never spoken to any of them like this. "Welcome. You must have wondered why I called you all here today and she," He pointed his crook at me. I had to resist the urge to set it on fire or, much less, bite it, "is why. This tiny creature before you is actually a god." I'll make him think tiny. Just wait until I am back to how I used to be. Then you'll think twice about calling me small, "She was banished to the deepest part of the Da'at a long time ago. Longer before Nut became pregnant with Isis, Osiris, Set, and Nephritis and me, she was banished." Whoa! Hold it! My dear friend had him for a son?! Wow. I need to talk to her about her mothering skills.
"Why is she so small?" Someone hollered out to him.
"What is she?" Another hissed.
Horus gave me a curious look, "I don't know," He turned from me to Sho, "Why don't you answer these, old friend? You know her best."
Sho stepped forward as the pharaoh sat back down. He looked nervous, scared even. It was an odd sight, never in all my years had I seen Sho scared, "She is a fox. Foxes are small due to what they eat and how they live. Foxes are mischievous, cunning, and lethal even. They feed off of mice, rats, and fish. They have an eye for treasure. She hasn't had food, water, or anything since Sekhmet roamed the sands of Egypt. That is another reason for her slenderness. I believe that she retracted into this form to save energy that is, even now, slowly receding into nothing." He turned to Horus, "My king, please allow me or Anubis to take her to Nut. There, she will be able to actually be useful."
A beautiful woman, who instantly pissed me off as soon as my eyes landed on her, spoke urgently to Horus as he considered what Sho had said, "Son. Brother. Do not listen. She will be dangerous in their hands. Leave her here and let me and Nephritis take care of her." I growled at this then took a step backwards but my legs gave out from under me and I hit the floor. My eyes clenched shut as pain ripped throughout my body when I landed on my ribs. I refused to make any sound concerning the pain and opened my eyes again to something shocking. I huge jackal stood over me, facing the outraged pharaoh. They were glaring at each other so furiously, I thought one was about to catch on fire, preferably one that was not over me. Something in my head told me that the large jackal was Anubis and the two flanking him were some of his minions. I watched the jet black jackal in awe for a while then shook it off, chiding myself. I nipped at the jackal's leg lightly, signaling that I was fine and to back off. Anubis took a step back but only to where I lay between his two front legs, still challenging Horus with his eyes to take his mother's advice.
"She will go with Anubis to Nut's then to the Kane's after she has recovered." Horus finally decided. Isis was angry at this but didn't object. I felt Anubis bit gently on my scruff then place my in the small valley between his shoulder blades to ride in on our way there I guessed. The dip was large enough to hold my fox form and not fall off. Was I really that small or was he just that big? Not that I was complaining. His fur was soft and smelled like something unknown to me but I liked it. The muscles in his back were strong and felt good against my body. The comfortable rocking of his shoulders slowly reared me back into sleep. I was learning quickly that a lot of things about Anubis were comfortable. The last thing I heard before I was hit once again with fatigue was, "Keep her safe Anubis. She will be a very useful weapon in the war to come." A growl came from underneath me, She is not a weapon.