Time and Again Chapter 5, a night at the museum fanfic

One week had passed since the wedding and she had learned more about the ancient Egyptian culture than the modern day scholars who spent their entire lives studying it. She had been forbidden from sleeping in any bed but Ahk's. He had kept his word, so far, and his other wives had been all but forgotten. It had made her feel guilty, but only a little. Later she learned that his father had done the same thing after marrying Shepseheret. She still found it awkward to sleep in the same bed. It wasn't because she couldn't see him as her husband. Since it was Ahkmenrah, that wasn't the issue at all. It was because he was still so very young.

As teenage boys are sometimes wont to do, he pestered her every night and sometimes during the day, for another...romp. She always denied him, wondering how long she could without being thrown out on her ear. Part of her would always argue, that they were married, so there was nothing wrong with giving in to him. But the teachings of her culture would win out. He was too young for such things, and if she gave in just once, his desires along with her own, would ensure that she'd never be able to deny him again.

Shepseheret had taken it upon herself to teach Alex everything she needed to know about being the great royal wife. There really wasn't much to it. Much to Alex's displeasure the most important thing was providing her husband with everything he asked of her. She despised the way that the pharaohs' women were treated. Having lived her entire life in almost complete freedom, it was a harsh change. Often she would find herself wishing that Ahk wasn't royal at all. The common women of this era had almost all the freedoms of the women of Alex's era. But the royal women had almost no freedom whatsoever. They weren't mistreated by any means, but unless summoned by their husband, they could only go to the royal gardens, the royal library, or remain in the wives' quarters.

Ahk, of course, would be often quizzed by his father. He would have to think of ways to solve certain scenarios that his father would make up. His other lessons had been altered, by his own request, to include more of the things that would help him to become a good ruler. When their normal lessons were over, Alex had started teaching him martial arts. The training held a dual purpose, to give him the ability to defend himself, and to keep her training strong in this new, nearly sedentary lifestyle. He actually had a natural talent for it. But he could never follow through on any of his attacks, no matter how much she assured him that she could block it.

On their first free day, she been woken by Ahk kissing the fresh, still pink scar on her cheek. He had already dressed but was in the simple skirt that he had been wearing she'd first arrived. "Come with me," he whispered. "I'm taking some goods to Savta for her to distribute among some of the other slaves." Sneaking out sounded like a very good way to spend the day. She sped through her new dressing process, but she still had issues with the ties on her sandals. He teased her on it as he kneeled before her to tie them. A light blush stained her cheeks. Was this what Cinderella had felt? For her entire life, she'd had to work hard to support herself. Now almost everything she wanted was provided for her, and it was rare that she even got to so much as dress herself. And here was her prince, slipping the shoes onto her feet.

With her sandals properly fastened he led her onto the balcony. Securing a rope to the the railing he shimmied down to the roof a good distance below. Alex followed him closely. It was evident from his confidence that he had done this many times before. Once they had landed on the flat roof, he led her across to a partially hidden staircase carved into the side of the building. Not far from there was the storage area. Each carried a sack full of grain as they carefully made their way to the slave district. Luckily no one had realized they were gone yet, and the trip was uneventful.

Savta was waiting for them. "Menes, you are an angel of God," she greeted, using his old code name. This year the grain fields had been a little less productive than normal. And many of the slave owners were greedy, rarely supplying their slaves with even enough to survive. She brought them into her house and had them set the grain in the corner. "I don't know how we could ever repay your brave kindness."

He plopped down into a chair beside the cooking fire, kicking his feet out like he was in his own home. Alex sat on the floor beside him, leaving the only other chair for the old woman. "You can repay me by keeping my secrets," he replied, staring into the fire. "And..."

"And?"

A smirk formed on his lips as his eyes shifted to the old woman. "I believe you promised me a story about my mother."

The elder chuckled merrily, as she took the seat across from them. "Indeed I did, dear boy." She paused for a moment to reminisce and to find the words for her memories. "At the time I was a slave for your mother's family. Later I would be sent to your father as part of her dowry , but that isn't part of this story. When your mother was young, much younger than you are now, she would dress herself as a boy and sneak out of her father's palace.

Your mother, much like you, would often bring goods to us when we were unable to sustain ourselves on what little our masters shared with us. It didn't take us long to figure out who she was and where she was getting the goods from. But we played along anyway, pretending like we thought she was a peasant boy instead of a princess. She insisted we call her 'Menes' and befriended many of the children her age. Her kindness wasn't limited to just her own people. Every kingdom she ever visited seemed to thrive while she was there.

Since her mother died giving birth, she was the only shining star in her fathers world. He could never bear to be parted from her for very long, so when he travelled to meet with the other kings, he would take her with him. And in every kingdom they travelled to, she would find those in dire need and give what provision she could spare from her own supplies. As the years passed, she blossomed into an unrivaled beauty, and even dressing as a boy couldn't hide it. So both her beauty and her heart became reknown throughout all the nine kingdoms. And to all who chanced to meet her, be they noble or slave, she shined like a jewel. That is how she became the glittering jewel of the nine kingdoms."

"Whoa," Alex said.

Ahk was shocked. "She told me the other day that she used to dress as a boy and sneak out of the palace, but I didn't know the rest."

Alex smiled up at him and put a hand on his knee. "You even chose the same name."

Resting an arm around her shoulder, he returned her smile. "I truly am my mother's son." His smile turned into a mock scowl. "But I refuse to be compared to a jewel."

The old lady chuckled. "It is your father that makes her keep that title. She would pretend like it didn't exist." Her face became serious. "You are also your father's son. You have his intellegence and his thirst for knowledge. I will tell you this: your father knows what you've been doing."

"Then why would he not stop me?"

She chuckled again. "That I do not know. If he wasn't aware of what you do, those of us receiving the grain would have been put to death for stealing from the palace." She pointed to the royal seal, sewn into the side of one of the bags.

His mouth dropped open and he silently cursed his own stupidity. "I had never considered that."

"Well now you know that you no longer have to sneak about. I was once a mother, so I can tell you how much he worries when you do. Now you should go before you are missed."

Late that afternoon Merenkahre had called Shepseheret, Ahkmenrah and Alex to meet him in the gardens. There was no particular reason, he simply wished to spend some time with his family. He set time aside every month to do so.

Ahk managed to arrive ahead of the women. His father was already waiting alone, the guards having been dismissed to the gardens' paremeter. "Father," he began than stopped, nerves stealing his voice.

"What is it, my son?" Merenkahre asked, putting a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder.

"I...I..." He took a deep breath, and stood tall. "You do not have to worry about distributing grain to the slave district this month. I took two sacks this morning." He closed his eyes waiting for a punishment, or a scolding. Nothing could prepare him for hearing his father's jovial and honest laugh.

When he could finally stop to breath, Merenkahre once again placed his hand on the young prince's shoulder. "I already knew this, my son. If I did not, my guards would have stopped you."

Ahk was confused. "But last time..."

Merenkahre interupted him. "Last time you went alone, knowing full well that you were a mark for the assassins. My guards were not going after you to bring you back, merely to protect you. And you stayed out much longer then necessary. This time you took Alex. Your wife has proven to be skilled warrior. I knew you would be safe with her at your side."

"Oh," was all he could say.

"Even though I already knew, I am overjoyed that you finally found me worthy of your...secret. Perhaps next time I will accompany you myself." Feeling stunned, sheepish and a little guilty, Ahk could only nod his responce.

When the women finally arrived, Ahk immediately grabbed Alex's hand and dragged her ahead, first discussing the conversation with his father, then pointing out all the most beautiful flowers and explaining where they had come from. Most of the flowers she had never seen before. She asked for permission to take some of the seed pods and bulbs and maybe a clipping or two to keep in her satchel, which never left her side. She never knew when she would be sent back home, and she didn't want to risk leaving her tech behind.

"I will have a servant gather the seeds for you, and I will have the seamstress make another satchel for you to carry them in," he promised, sealing it with a kiss to the hand he continued to hold. "Though I do wonder why you would desire such a thing."

She remained silent for a moment, formulating a responce. He didn't know yet that she was from the future. If she told him, he might want more details about the future. The more he knew about the future, the more likely it was that not only he would change, so would the future. If she didn't tell him, he would eventually grow to hate her for not trusting him enough. Finally she settled on a happy medium, vague but honest. "I have a way with plants. And someday I would like to grow these flowers in my own garden."

This only confused him more. "These are your gardens as much as they are mine and my father's. Why would you wish to grow flowers which are already here?"

Maybe she really was doomed when it came to Ahkmenrah. There was always something that would keep her from being completely honest with him. "Someday I'll explain it to you. I promise. But right now I'm not sure how you'd take it."

Studying her face for a moment he finally replied, "Alright." He brought her hand to his lips and placed another kiss on it. "I trust you, love. When you are ready, I will listen." Alex stared at him. Had he always been this sappy?

Merenkahre and Shepseheret walked hand in hand, watching the younger couple. He kissed her hand and smiled at her. "I envy them the time they have left," he softly admitted.

"My love, we have had seventeen glorious years and we have many, many more ahead of us," she reassured him. She leaned against him as they walked. For a time, they continued to observe the younger couple.

They froze as they saw Alex step protectvely in front of Ahk. Alex screamed for the guards. Merenkahre could only echo her call when he realized what she had sensed. Upon hearing her cry the assassins revealed themselves. Alex fought them off as much as she could. Ahk was proving he really could carry through an attack when properly motivated. Merenkahre was skillfully swinging his staff as a club. There were twice as many of them than the last attack. Alex quickly found herself separated from Ahk. She saw one of the assassins approaching Ahk from behind, as his focus was on the opponent in front of him. Unable to reach him, she screamed his name. Just as Ahk felled the opponent in front of him, Merenkahre pushed him out of the way of the rear attack, taking the blade meant for his son's heart into his own. Shepseheret screamed her husbands name. Ahkmenrah caught him as he fell, the weight taking them both down. Too late, the guards finally responded, and with Alex's help rounded up the leftover assassins.

Three days passed. Ahk had come out of his room only to attend his father's funeral. He wasn't eating or sleeping and he hadn't even bothered to change out of his mourning clothes. His coronation was in two days, the same day as his birthday. But as things were now, Alex wasn't sure if he'd even attend his own coronation. His mother, while in mourning, was able to at least tend to the necessities. Alex admired her strength. She had been trying to give him time to cope, but he had things he had to do, people who needed him, and as he was now, he was in no condition to be any kind of leader. After helping Shepseheret with some things, she returned to their room. He was where she'd left him, laying on the bed staring at the ceiling. He didn't even bother to see who had come in. "Leave me," he said, voice thick and raw from crying. He rolled over so his back was to the door.

"Not gonna happen." With red, puffy eyes, he turned to look at her then forced himself into a sitting position. She moved to sit beside him on the bed. "Look. I know what it's like to lose a parent. The days feel like they should be cloudy and dark, but the sun shines bright. People around you are able to smile and laugh and you can't figure out how they even can." She rubbed his back in soothing circles. "The ugly truth is that life goes on without them, and you have to go with it." His tears began flowing for what must have been the millionth time. Without bothering to ask for permission she embraced him. "I know what you're going through, and I'm here for you." He began sobbing into her chest. "You have people who need you now. Someday, you'll have to face your father again. And when that day comes don't you want to be able to hold your head high?"

"It's my fault," came his muffled voice. "If I was a better warrior, if I had practised harder the things you taught me, I could have saved him."

She simply held him for a moment, choosing her words. "No you couldn't. Even if you were the best martial artist on earth, that assassin would still have snuck up from behind to try to kill you. And your father would still have jumped into the path of the blade for you. That's just what parents...well, at least real parents do. Whoever sent the assassins is the one responsible, not you." Comprehending the truth in her words, his tears began to slow. Probably because there weren't many left anymore. This was probably his first real loss, she realized. She knew from personal experience, that what he really needed was a distraction. If she could get his mind off of it just once, then he'd be able to keep his mind off it when necessary. For her it had been her grandma introducing her to martial arts. For him...For him she was about to forsake everything her culture had taught her was acceptable. She let herself fall backwards onto the bed, taking him with her, then pulled him up by the collar so she could kiss him. And he clung to the distraction with everything he had left.