Chapter Six

Merenkahre stared at the lifeless body of his granddaughter, noticing the look of peace on her face. The tablet's power had been completely restored, and would stay this way for an eternity, and for that, he was grateful. Turning to his wife, the couple went to comfort their sons and daughter in law. Kahmunrah was grief struck over the loss of his niece, even though it meant he would be able to continue to come to life at night.

"Hey, Akh, from one father to another, I'm sorry for your loss." Larry put his hand on Akhmenrah's shoulder, and then gave a hug to the former Pharaoh.

"Thank you, Larry." Picking up tablet, Akhmenrah sighed. He would not have held it against Zahra if she had decided against saving the tablet. However, the late teenager had been wise well beyond her years.

"What do we do with her body? We can't just leave her here and how do we explain this to the school?"

"Do not worry, to the outside world, it will be as if Zahra had never been born, but to those who know the secret of the tablet, we will all remember her bravery." Cecil, who had remained silent until now, held his head in his hands and cried. Zahra did not deserve to die to save the tablet, and now he regretted trying to steal it all those years ago. He truly did. Being a father himself, he could not imagine the grief that Akhmenrah and Alexandria were going through. No parent deserved to lose their child, and this kind of grief is not something that Cecil would wish upon anyone.

"Look, something's happening!" Just then, Zahra's body had disappeared, having turned into a little orb of bright light.

"The gods will take good care of her, they have done nothing but what is best." Merenkahre said a silent prayer to the gods to take care of his granddaughter. Everyone went back inside, comforting one another over the loss of a friend.

"I'm sorry we had to meet under these circumstances." Larry said, shaking hands with Akhmenrah's parents.

"You have served my family well. I shall see to it personally that you receive a burial fit for a hero." Larry nodded.

"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind." Once the final goodbyes were said, Larry took the New York exhibits back to the crate they had come in, getting everyone packed in. Kahmunrah kept the tablet with him. The plane ride back the following morning was silent, nobody said a word. Larry sat with Cecil.

"I now truly regret trying to steal the tablet all those years ago. Zahra didn't deserve what happened to her."

"Yeah, but she did it for us. Zahra always thought of others before even starting to think of herself." When they arrived back in New York, Nick drove Cecil back to the retirement home the former night guard now called home. Akhmenrah and Alexandria went home to grieve privately over the death of their daughter while Larry saw to it that all the exhibits were put back in their appropriate places. When everyone had woken up that night, Larry had delivered the news of what had taken place, and the exhibits were either crying over the loss or they were literally stunned into silence. Taylor had surprisingly stayed at the museum that night.

"Zahra was my best friend, she was like my sister and she did this for all of us. She wouldn't want us to mourn her, Zahra would want us to celebrate her life and accomplishments and to live our lives to the fullest." Larry could see a smile come across Teddy's face. The former president was truly impressed that such a young lady could be so wise.

"Alright everyone, see you tomorrow night." Larry drove Taylor back to where she lived. As it turned out, Nick had stayed with Cecil to help him get over what had taken place and had texted Larry to let him know.

"Thank you, Larry. How did Kahmunrah hold up?" Akhmenrah made some tea for everyone.

"He's shut himself in his exhibit and won't come out. He's taking Zahra's death really hard."

"Kahmunrah just adored Zahra. He never married or had a family, and many women were scared off by his bad temper." Akhmenrah sighed. Kahmunrah had a bad temper and was prone to fits of excessive violence when angry, but he still deserved to find someone who made him happy.

"Well, I just got a text from my niece, she's moving to New York and she'll be coming on as a night guard. I can introduce the two."

"Larry, does she know about the tablet?" Larry nodded.

"Yeah, she came up for a visit not long after I first started working there and I brought her and Nick with me to the museum. She's always asking how everyone's doing. I'm going to call her and let her know what happened." Larry then excused himself.

"Taylor, I know this must be upsetting for you." Alexandria offered her a hug. Taylor had become like a second daughter, and she and Akhmenrah had ultimately adopted her to get her away from the abuse she had been through at the hands of her mother.

"Thanks. I appreciate everything you've done for me. If Zahra taught me anything, it's that I should never take anything for granted, and that I should always be grateful to those I care about, because you never know when a day will be your last.

"That's a very wise thing to say." Taylor nodded at Akhmenrah.

"Yeah. It was really cool getting to meet your parents. I'm glad I got the chance." Larry then came back.

"Okay, my niece knows what's going on and she expresses her sorrow for your loss."

"I have not seen Catherine for such a long time. How old is she now?" Akhmenrah asked.

"Catherine is almost twenty-five. She's grown so much and she's really beautiful too. Like Taylor, she's had a rough life, but never had to go through sexual abuse. In a strange way, I'm grateful for that."

"It will be nice to see her again. I'm looking forward to seeing how much she's grown." Nick then came in the door with a bag in his hand.

"I brought home stuff for dinner tonight. It'll be one less thing to worry about." Alexandria smiled.

"Thank you, Nick. That's very helpful." Over the next few days, it seemed everyone had managed to process the events that had taken place in London. Akhmenrah had gone back to the museum to see Kahmunrah, who was in quite a state.

"Brother, you are worrying everyone." Kahmunrah seemed reluctant.

"I still wish there was something we could have done." Akhmenrah hugged his older brother.

"We all do, but Zahra did what she had to do. How hard do you think it would have been for her if she had not done so and was never able to see you ever again?"

"I never thought of it that way."

"I'm surprised you haven't. Also, Larry's niece Catherine is moving back here to New York and she's keen on meeting you."

"I don't believe you."

"Indeed, she is. I spoke with Catherine on the phone yesterday, and she is studying Egyptology and is writing her final paper on you. I think she'd appreciate it if you would answer a few questions for her. Larry thinks the two of you will get along well." Kahmunrah was surprised. He had never had a woman actually want to meet him.

"Well, I suppose I could answer a few questions for her."

"There you go! Come on, there's a soccer game starting." Kahmunrah was convinced to start interacting more with the museum inhabitants. Although Jedediah and Kahmunrah would never be friends, the two managed to get along.

"How has Kahmunrah been?" Alexandria asked Akhmenrah went he got home that morning.

"He's doing better. I told him about Catherine. You should have seen the look on his face when I told him how keen she was on meeting him." Alexandria and Taylor both snorted with laughter.

"Now that is something I would truly pay to see. It must have been hilarious!"

"It was, he didn't believe me at first!" Then there was a knock at the door, and Larry was there, followed by Nick and his niece Catherine.

"Hey Akh, you remember Catherine." Akhmenrah hugged the younger woman.

"It's wonderful to see you again. You've become a real beauty."

"Thank you. Again, I'm terribly sorry for what happened." Akhmenrah nodded.

"My wife and I appreciate your condolences. We are getting through this as best we can."

"Well, I am looking forward to meeting your brother. I'm actually really excited about it. I've been writing my dissertation on Kahmunrah for close to two years now."

"You've been working on one paper for two years? That would make anyone go insane." Taylor said.

"Well, it's more like a nine hundred page book, really."

"Fair warning, if Kahmunrah gets mad, run. He gets rather violent when he's angry." Taylor mentioned.

"I'm aware of that. He was called 'Kahmunrah the blood thirsty' for no reason." Larry took Nick and Taylor so they could take Catherine's things back to Larry's apartment.

"I should also give your fair warning that Kahmunrah has a soft spot for women, so it's very likely he'll try and flirt with you." Akhmenrah saw a faint blush come over Catherine's face.

"Well, I'm sure that I'll get along with him just fine." When it was time to head to the museum, Akhmenrah noticed that Catherine took great care in making herself look nice.

"I want to make a good impression." She told him when he asked her about it. The short drive was quiet. When Catherine walked into the lobby, she beamed.

"This brings back so many memories. Riding Rexy was my favourite." When the dinosaur in question came to life, Catherine was greeted warmly.

"Hey big guy, remember me? I know it's been a while. I promise I'll play later, okay?" Akhmenrah then took Catherine so she could meet his brother. The initial introduction had gone very well, and the two hit it off pretty quickly. Leaving the pair, Akhmenrah went back to the lobby.

"How'd it go?" Larry asked.

"It went well. Kahmunrah and Catherine are getting along extremely well." Larry nodded as he left to do his rounds. Alexandria smiled at her husband.

"I think having a friend will be good for your brother. Catherine seems like she's very patient."

"She's got the patience of a saint." Nick said as he got off of Rexy. He folded the blanket up and put it on the front desk so it would be ready for Catherine when she got back. Meanwhile, Catherine was certainly enjoying herself.

"I appreciate you being so willing to answer all my questions. I must be getting annoying."

"After...After everything that has happened in the last few weeks, it's nice to have someone to talk to." Catherine knew what he was talking about, and offered her new friend a warm hug to cheer him up.

"Listen, I know what happened in London, my uncle told me. I've had a pretty rough life myself, but I use what happened to me as a reason to better myself and move forward in life." Kahmunrah remained quiet for a moment. Catherine had obviously grown fond of him over the last few hours. She was really quite pleasant, and highly attractive as well. Catherine's watch beeped.

"I'm going to be down in the lobby if you need me or if you just want to talk. I promised Rexy I would play with him." Kahmunrah watched as Catherine left. She had stirred something within him that he thought he had repressed long ago. Putting her bag down by the desk, Catherine was excited to ride Rexy again. The dinosaur stood patiently as Catherine put the blanket on climbed aboard, adjusting herself so she had a good seat.

"Alright, let's go, boy!" Rexy then took off, resulting in shrieks of delight from the young student. Larry smiled. Catherine fit herself right back in as if she had never left in the first place. He then made one last around to ensure all the exhibits had gotten back to their appropriate places. Once the sun came up, Larry could see that his niece had certainly enjoyed herself.

"It's like I never left." Catherine said on the way back to Larry's apartment.

"Did you get a lot of good info?" He asked her.

"Yes, the information that Kahmunrah gave me is just what I need to finish this. If I get a good enough grade on it, I might even consider publishing it."

"Hey, that'd be great!" Larry opened the door to his apartment and Catherine right away went to lay down. She was exhausted from all the playing she'd done the night before.

Things were looking up for the museum after all.