It started with light; soft lights that flickered gently like...candles, and Evy slowly opened her eyes as her senses gradually returned. She blinked once, then twice, before snapping fully awake and sitting upright, looking around her with a growing sense of deja vu. The room was oddly familiar but she knew that she had never been there before. At least not in her current life. Yet, she remembered the soft linens that covered her lower body and the coolness of the ebony headrest against her scalp. Across the room, the filmy gold curtains that concealed the entrance to a balcony were billowing gently in the breeze blowing in from the desert and the scents of jasmine and sandalwood met her nose.

Where was she? And more importantly who?

Rising from the couch, she decided that the answers to those questions were likely just beyond the curtains and would have gone directly through them had she not discovered something rather crucial.

She was naked.

Then, a voice behind her made her jump "it is time to get dressed, your highness. Amun Ra is well on his way across the sky and pharaoh will be cross with you if you are late for breakfast"

To her credit, despite her confusion, it only took her a second to realize that the person was speaking ancient Egyptian. She turned around and faced a young woman who wore only a gold band about her hips and had hair, or a wig, that was as black as ebony. Other than her large dark eyes, which were rimmed with kohl, the girl was very plain looking and both from that and her attire – or lack thereof – Evy knew she had to be a maid. What she didn't know, however, was how to respond to her.

She spoke Ancient Egyptian, of course, but she had never counted on actually needing to use it for anything other than to impress the crotchety old men that ran Bembridge Scholars...well, and putting long-dead mummies back where they rightfully belonged. She also didn't know the girl's name.

"Of course" she finally said and the girl immediately looked relieved then set to work, laying out a finely made linen dress that was nearly translucent, along with a black wig ornamented with gold and lapis lazuli beads and an elaborate collar with several semi-precious stones set in yet more gold.

A little under an hour later, Evy dismissed the maid quietly then picked up the hand mirror on the carved vanity and looked into it, the blood drained from her face at what she saw. The face staring back at her was the same one she had seen in so many visions since her first encounter with Imhotep several years before and her confusion was abruptly replaced with disbelief and dread.

Nefertiri.

She turned and practically flew through the gauzy curtains onto the balcony then stopped dead, her heart pounding, already guessing what she was going to see outside. Pyramids, obelisks, people dressed in linen kilts and shifts, and monuments decorated with vibrant colours that, in time, would fade and leave only the stone beneath. Above all, she heard hundreds of voices and all of them were speaking the ancient tongue. "Oh gods" she breathed, looking about anxiously, oblivious to the fact that several pairs of eyes were now on her.

She had gone back in time.

Those who knew Farsiris well enough could attest to her ability to make an entrance, no matter where she was. So said people would have been completely unsurprised to hear that she awoke, screaming at the top of her lungs, in the middle of a temple, surrounded by many startled priestesses. Her questions, however, were less along the lines of where and who she was and more towards who had brought her here in the first place and for what purpose.

After realizing that she had switched lives entirely, she assured the other women that she was alright and stayed put while they finished the morning prayer before quickly exiting the temple after leaving an offering in the form of lotus flowers that had somehow ended up in her hands. It was only the first of several odd occurrences that would happen to her that day.

Like Evy, though, her search for answers was halted midway by a startling discovery. She was at least six months pregnant and her belly was swollen to the point that it was difficult to run. Just when she thought the situation couldn't get any worse, the sight of a very familiar high priest coming towards her made her stomach flip alarmingly and her jaw would have dropped had she not been clenching her teeth so hard that they hurt.

Imhotep was clad in his usual linen kilt and robes, his pendant of status sitting prominently on his breastbone, but his brow was knit with concern and she was familiar enough with him to take an educated guess as to why. She probably looked scared out of her wits and, if that wasn't enough, her scream had probably carried across the square and alerted the various priests who were constantly milling about.

"Are you alright, my love?" he asked quietly and looked even more worried when she flinched away from the hand he raised to caress her cheek. Mentally kicking herself as all the variables of her old/new identity fell neatly back into place, she tried to smile but was pretty sure that he wouldn't buy it so she tried something else. Something that could be attributed to her condition "yes. I thought I spotted a scarab in the temple but it was just a harmless beetle. I must be tired" she lied and he nodded but his expression did not soften even slightly and she wondered if he could tell that she was not his wife even though she was in his wife's body.

"You were very agitated in your sleep last night" he conceded worriedly "perhaps I should take you back to our chambers so that you can rest for a while"

Her gratitude was so profound that she could have kissed him but she settled for a gentle nod of agreement then took his hand, wondering if Evy and Rick were here somewhere as well. Letting her husband lead her back to the palace, she made a mental note to ask someone in the palace to retrieve Nefertiri for her. If she had been returned to Selkenauset's body then it seemed reasonable to assume that Evy had been returned to the younger princess'. Which would also mean that Rick and Ardeth could, quite possibly, have been brought here as Med-Jai guards.

If Evy wasn't Nefertiri, however, then she would know that she was likely on her own - which, considering her condition, could only mean trouble.

Rick regained consciousness only to find that he was laying on a small bench of sorts, naked, with skin that was several shades darker than usual, and holding a wicked looking scythe. Shocked to the marrow of his bones and with a queasy feeling in his stomach, he got up and was immediately confronted with the first unfortunate part of his new reality. After two unexpected encounters with other men who looked similar to himself, he found himself regretting his constant refusal to learn ancient Egyptian from Evy, despite her persistence. Judging by how often they ended up in Egypt, it would have been a worthwhile investment. In this new - or was it old? - place, without it, he obviously could not communicate with anyone he came in contact with nor could he understand them either.

The room was small and simply furnished, with a bed, a plain wooden trunk of sorts, and a table with a variety of small vessels and a small paintbrush upon it. Next to the brush was a bronze circle with a short handle, that he assumed served as a mirror, and what looked like a leather helmet.

Acutely aware of his nakedness and unable to see a closet or dresser of any kind, he figured that the trunk had to have clothing in it and went over to it. Opening the lid, he was not disappointed and found a variety of kilts and tunics made of off-white linen but there was also a kilt and gauntlets that were made of sturdy leather. By this point, he was sick of feeling vulnerable and, after a few tries, managed to put on the leather outfit with the matching sandals that were beside what he assumed was supposed to be a bed.

With that done, he crossed the room to the table and paused before picking up the mirror to see exactly how complete his transformation was. That was another shock.

He was completely bald and tattooed across his forehead and cheeks were symbols that he recognized as those of the Med-Jai. Staring at himself with the sort of expression that was normally only seen on animals caught in the glare of bright lights, he frowned and tried to make some sense of what had happened. He had apparently been transported back to ancient Egypt but, if that was the case, where was Evy? She had been beside him when that strange blueish form had come through their window and knocked them out cold but she definitely wasn't here now.

Just then, another Med-Jai poked his head carefully through the doorway, stared at him for several seconds, then spoke to him and it was then that he finally understood something. Because, included in that statement, was a name that Evy had mentioned to him several days before: Nebi-ni-Heru.

His name.

Everything suddenly came together and he realized where Evy had to be. If he was a Med-Jai, just as both she and Ardeth had tried to tell him several times before, then he could correctly assume that she would have been brought back as her former self as well. The pharaoh's youngest daughter, Nefertiri: a princess whom he was not allowed to address in public unless she called upon him first.

The other Med-Jai was still standing in his doorway, looking rather unsettled in the silence, and he looked closely at the man's face. There was something familiar about those piercing dark eyes and he decided to take a risk.

"Ardeth?"