Naima found herself amidst the sand and rocks, a barren desert that stretched out before her in an infinite expanse until it met a cloudless, blue sky. But a distant figure in white broke the monotony.
It was her mother, clad in a flowing linen dress that fluttered around her ankles.
Samira stood alone in the middle of an otherwise desolate landscape, cradling an hourglass in her palm. Her face was calm, eyes fixated on the hourglass, watching as each grain of sand fell.
Then, her mother looked up and locked eyes with her, and for a brief moment, Naima felt a wave of understanding pass between them. The two stared at each other for what felt like an eternity.
"Naima." A female voice echoed in her mind.
And then everything began to unravel - the colors and shapes seeping into each other until finally fading back into the darkness.

...

Naima awoke with a jolt and immediately shielded her face. The sun's rays were blinding, piercing through her chamber like arrows. Her muscles ached, her skin was sticky from sweat as though she had spent hours thrashing in bed.

It was that same damned dream again. These past nights had been filled with vivid dreams. Scenes of sand spinning within hourglasses. Of her mother, who always appeared just out of reach. But sometimes the hourglass wasn't there. It was only her and her mother staring into each other's eyes in silence.
Naima's heart raced, but being safe in the comfort of her own chamber made her feel at ease. Her gaze darted towards Atem's side of the bed.

It was empty - he had already left for the day. She tried to ignore the lingering emptiness as she sank into the depths of her thoughts, but a sharp knock at the door brought her back to reality.

"My Queen," A servant stepped in gingerly, bowing, a cloth bag at his hip.
"The pharaoh wanted me to inform you that an urgent matter came about so he will be away for the day and did not want to wake you. He stated that he will explain at a later time. In the mean time," he produced an armful of scrolls from the bag.
"A gift from the Pharaoh to his wife.." He bowed low as he held out the scrolls to her.
"I present to you a selection of rare scrolls from the great library in Memphis, hand-picked by the librarians themselves for your reading pleasure."
The servant smiled gently with a note of admiration. "The Pharaoh did say that the Queen has a love for reading."

Naima's heart surged. All of her anxieties evaporated in an instant.
"Thank you very much." she breathed.
She glanced at him in the doorway, feeling a wave of generosity.
"You know what? You may take the rest of the day off."

The servant's eyes widened in disbelief before his face split into an ecstatic grin.
"Thank you my Queen.. thank you, thank you." he stammered, bowing repeatedly before leaving.

Naima shut the door behind him and returned to her bed, laying herself back down on the soft mattress with a languorous sigh.
"Eliyah?!" she called out.

Some distant footsteps.

"Yes, Naima?" he said from the bathroom. He was cleaning.

"Can you go find Zahra and tell her to come here? Hopefully she won't be too hard to find..." Naima said.

He grinned.
"Of course."

-o0o-

It did not take long for Zahra to arrive.
Her face was bright as she entered the chamber, and as she scanned around, the look on her face was nothing short of devilish.

"God, Naima. Look at this place." Zahra mused with a smile as she poked a decorative gold statue of a sphinx. It wobbled precariously.
"Who would have thought we'd end up here? You ruling an entire country while I get to play around in this grand palace."

"Wanna trade places for a day?"
Naima was joking, mostly.

"Fuck no!" Zahra exclaimed. "That's all you, sis. I don't rule anything and I don't want to."

Naima observed her sister's delight, feeling a confusing mixture of both warmth and concern. Zahra's nonchalance tugged at her. Naima bore responsibilities; she had a role, a purpose. But Zahra?
The question, unbidden, came to Naima's lips. "So then what will you do with your life? Sell glass figurines on the streets of Thebes?"

Zahra's indignation was immediate. "No. Maybe. I dunno."
She put her hands on her hips.
"So what if I did?"

Naima bit her lip, torn. She looked into Zahra's eyes.
"Zahra, it's not about what you choose to do. It's about the legacy we've inherited, the weight of our ancestry. No matter how much we deny it, this -" She gestured to the expansive chamber around them, the representation of their responsibility.
"This is our destiny."

"Pfft... Says who?" Zahra said, crossing her arms over her chest. "I make my own destiny."

"I used to think that too." Naima said wistfully, smiling. "But I learned the hard way, destiny has its own way of catching up with us."

Zahra frowned, confusion in her eyes. "What do you mean?"

Naima paused, pursing her lips.
"Zahra, do you ever think about our mother?" she finally said.

Zahra's eyes widened, all the playfulness dropping in an instant.
"Um... yeah.. sometimes." her voice sounded choked.

A strange response. Naima's mind whirred.
"I've been having dreams about her. About an hourglass. She's standing in the desert holding an hourglass."

Zahra stared at her with a spooked look on her face.
"You... you too?" she stammered.
"In mine, she's holding some necklace, trying to give it to me."

"That's... strange." Naima said.

"Very strange. And I don't know what it means."

"Maybe it's not the objects themselves that matter?" Naima mused, her gaze lost in the intricate patterns of the room's carpet. "Maybe it's the message behind them, or maybe just the fact that we're both dreaming of her."

"Yeah..." Zahra agreed quietly, her voice distant. After a moment, she shook her head, as if physically trying to dislodge her thoughts.
"Anyway, it's not like we can ask her."

Naima managed a small smile, reaching out to squeeze Zahra's hand comfortingly. "No, we can't. I wish we could, though."
There was an ache of longing in her chest.

The two of them sat in silence for a moment, lost in their thoughts. The dreams had unsettled them more than either cared to admit. But eventually, Naima broke the silence.
"Speaking of destinies," Naima ventured, "how is training with Isis? Are you getting a hang of your Ka yet?"

Zahra let out a huge groan. "Isis is making me meditate for hours, Naima. Hours! It's so boring! I just want to use my powers..."

Naima rolled her eyes. "My poor sister... doomed to a fate of quiet contemplation." Naima placed her hand atop Zahra's.
"The lioness must first observe before she pounces."

Zahra rolled her eyes.
"I want to learn all the cool tricks, not just how to 'contemplate'."

"Sounds about right." Naima said. "But if Isis thinks it's important, then it probably is."

Zahra rolled her eyes. "Only because you say so." she conceded.
Her gaze then softened, curiosity glinting in her eyes.
"How are things on your end? Being Queen and all... I imagine it's a whole different world high up there on the throne."

Naima snorted.
"If only ruling a kingdom was about wearing fancy clothes and plopping my ass on a throne. But no, it's all meetings. Lots and lots of meetings. And paperwork."
She grinned impishly.
"You sure you don't wanna switch spots?"

"Nope! I'd take meditation over paperwork any day. You keep your fancy crown, sis. I'll stick with training my Ka."

Naima's eyes eventually drifted to the scrolls that laid scattered across her bed.
"I was going to go to the library to read." she said. "Do you want to come with me?"

Zahra bit her lip, as if she was considering heavily and was torn. After a moment, she shook her head.
"Nah, I think I'll pass today. I've got something else planned."

Zahra's reply was casual, but Naima sensed a hidden excitement in her eyes. She raised an eyebrow.
"Oh really? Like what? I thought you'd essentially quit school."

Zahra grinned, her cheeks reddening. "It's a secret."

Naima forced herself to punch down her own burning curiosity as they both rose from the bed, their conversation still hanging in the warm air of the chamber. Zahra grinned over her shoulder as she exited, waving at Naima.

"See ya later, sis!"

"Try not to set anything on fire.." Naima called out after her.

As the echoes of Zahra's footsteps slowly faded, Naima turned her attention back to her chamber, catching sight of Eliyah just as he was about to exit.

"Eliyah!" she called, causing him to pause mid-step. "Could you do me a favor?"

Eliyah turned back, a curious glint in his eye. "Of course, Naima."

"Can you follow my sister and see what she is doing and what the big secret is? Just for the morning. Once you find out, then you may take the rest of the day off."

A slow smile spread across Eliyah's face. "Ah, so the tables have turned. Now I'm tailing the Tailer."

Naima shrugged and smirked.
"Well, it seems only fair, doesn't it?"

-o0o-

Excitement bubbled in Naima's veins as she marched down the hallway toward the library, the scrolls from Memphis clutched firmly in her grasp.
With a gentle push, she opened the heavy door and stepped into the chamber.
Silence greeted her, the room devoid of any presence except her own. As she took in the surroundings, the rich, musty scent of ancient papyrus wafted through the air.
Every corner of the room was a reminder of its purpose - knowledge immortalized and collected here from every kingdom and era. Towering shelves lined the walls, bending under the weight of countless books and scrolls. In this room, history whispered its tales and hidden wisdom, a slumbering beast guarding its treasures.

With a smile, Naima settled into a comfortable couch by a window overlooking the Nile, tucked away in a quiet corner. A few hours slipped by as she lost herself in tales filled with adventures, each story a gateway to another world. As she finished up the last few lines of "The Chronicles of Serqet," a sense of satisfaction mixed with longing lingered. She wanted more.

With the scrolls from Memphis neatly rolled up, she rose, her mind still hungry for more stories, and wandered through the library's labyrinthine aisles. But all she found were manuals, textbooks, religious writings... There had to be something more captivating in this massive library.
She continued to wander until she stumbled upon an area near the entrance, where a librarian's desk sat unattended. An old, forgotten piece of papyrus lay on the counter.

Catalog of the Royal Library of Thebes

Naima scanned the paper, her eyes skimming over manuals and religious texts. A twinge of disappointment crept in until something unexpected caught her eye - 'Court records'

...Court records? Naima wrinkled her brow, her mind racing.
The image of a scribe sitting silently in the corner at all of their meetings came to mind. Every single thing was documented. Every word.
The implications slowly sank in. This could be the storehouse of every momentous decision, every debate, every policy change that had happened in their kingdom. Every speech, every proclamation - even those of her mother - meticulously recorded and stored here. A subtle thrill began to pulsate through her as a realization dawned. Perhaps through these records, she could uncover more about her mother - the decisions she made, the words she spoke.

Naima's heart pounded as she approached the section of court records. The search for her mother's era amid the jumbled stacks was daunting. Scrolls from various periods lay mixed, their labels faded or missing, and frustration grew as she combed through shelf after shelf.
In the midst of her search, a faint rumbling from outside made her pause, but she shrugged it off. It was likely some commotion from the city.
After what felt like an eternity, she finally stumbled upon a pile of scrolls with a date that was from 20 years ago. Her fingers trembled with anticipation as she pulled the thick bundle from the shelf. As she heaved it onto a nearby table, a faint shadow in the corner of the room caught her eye.

It was an alcove, a nook tucked away in a corner with a desk cluttered with numerous scrolls and documents. Who had been using it? She had never encountered another soul in this library before. Curiosity gnawed at her, a quiet invitation.

It wasn't long before she had abandoned the bundle of scrolls in her arms with a silent promise to return and crossed the room to investigate further, her gaze flitting over the scattered scrolls. As she skimmed the contents, intrigue gave way to rising disbelief.
These scrolls were not related to any ordinary matter. All of them were about the god Obelisk. Historical records, theoretical discussions, descriptions of ancient rituals - it seemed like a comprehensive exploration of the deity. Someone had been researching Obelisk, and rather extensively.

Anxious, Naima immersed herself in this sea of documents. There was so much. The person who had been here had left cryptic clues. Circling of words, folded pages, but the disorganized state of the table left Naima wondering which documents were important.

At the top of the pile, an old text about Obelisk caught her eye - a passage mentioning how the god sought refuge in earth and stone. As she sifted through the scrolls, a faint connection grew more insistent, guiding her to a crumbling manuscript that detailed the tradition of constructing temples from materials associated with their gods.
Earth and stone for Obelisk. Her mind wandered, a half-forgotten memory tugging at her. The ancient temple she and Atem had visited, its weathered stones neglected and forgotten.

Then, among a set of architectural plans, she discovered a blueprint of a temple with unmistakable features. The design, layout, even the location matched that very temple. Could it be... Her heart skipped a beat as the pieces began to align.
A note within the blueprints described a hidden chamber within the temple, said to contain an ancient relic of the god.

Naima's heart began to race.
Could this old, forgotten, decrepit temple be the sacred residence of Obelisk, the manifestation of Geb? The very place where she and Atem had shared a kiss might hold a secret beyond their wildest dreams.
The words of Hasan echoed in her mind: "Obelisk is closer than you think." His cryptic phrase now held a different weight, its implications stirring within her. The home of Obelisk might have been there all along, hidden in plain sight. This person, whoever they were, seemed to believe it, their conclusions present in the array of documents spread before her. It was enough to churn her thoughts, to paint her excitement and anxiety with a new, potent shade.

Filled with resolve, Naima quickly scooped up the documents about Obelisk, along with the bundle of court records, her mind racing. A whirlpool of questions and possibilities swirled within her, along with an urgent desire to share her revelation with Atem.
For a moment, she hesitated, glancing down at the heavy load in her arms. It was too much.
The court records will have to wait for another day, she decided, and reluctantly returned them to the same spot she found them in.
With one last glance over her shoulder, she turned and briskly left the library. She needed to find Atem, and she needed to find him now.

As Naima stepped into the hallway, the ground beneath her feet trembled ever so slightly, a faint rumbling like a distant storm resonating through the stone floors. She paused, momentarily disoriented, but with urgency in her heart, she dismissed it.

In the hall, a guard stood at attention.
Naima approached him. "Do you know if Atem has returned?"

The guard paused and looked at her. His gaze held a fleeting, inexplicable look, as if he had seen a ghost. After a moment of stunned silence, he bowed his head low.
"He has returned, My Queen, along with the rest of the court," he said.

"The rest of the court...?" Naima echoed. "What do you mean? Where did everyone go today?"

"My Queen, forgive me," the guard replied, his expression reflecting a significant amount of discomfort.
"The palace has been in an uproar trying to find you. Your servant was nowhere to be found either."

A knot of embarrassment formed in Naima's stomach.
"I was in the library," she admitted, her cheeks flushing. The guard's face held an expression she couldn't decipher, as if he was privy to information she was not.

She swallowed hard, her hands balling into fists at her sides.
"What... happened?" she demanded.

The guard lowered his gaze respectfully. "I believe I am not the correct person to be informing you of the events that took place. I will take you to the Pharaoh."

With a sense of impending doom, she followed the guard, their journey taking them outside the palace walls.
Atem stood there surrounded by his court, his face tired, eyes distant, looking as if he had borne the weight of the world on his shoulders. The rest of the court's expressions were a mirror of Atem's weariness.

Fear drove her legs as she sprinted towards them.
"What happened?!" Naima demanded.

Atem turned to face her. His eyes were shadowed with a cocktail of emotions - sadness, worry, guilt. It was as if they all shared a secret that had been kept from her, a secret that weighed heavy in the air.
Naima could see the weariness in Atem's gaze, the edges of his mouth downturned, and the pain in his eyes unmistakable. He began to speak, his voice carrying a gravity that sent shivers down her spine.

"Aknadin betrayed us," he said.

Those words hit her like a punch to the gut, leaving her mind spinning in bewildered chaos as Atem recounted the day's events.
She could scarcely believe what she was hearing. All while she had been goofing off with her sister and taking her time reading in the library, a fierce battle with Bakura at the abandoned city of Kul Elna had raged. They had won, but only for a fleeting moment, until Aknadin's unthinkable actions.

He had struck Shada and stolen his Millennium Key. And then it was not so much what occurred after that, but how it was done.

"An hourglass," Atem had revealed. Aknadin had used a magic hourglass to freeze time, allowing him the nefarious opportunity to steal all the Millennium Items.
The world was a blur around her, thunderous echoes of that same word ringing clear.. An hourglass.
The same object that had been haunting her dreams.
No, she tried to rationalize, it couldn't possibly be the same one. That notion was absurd. Fantastical. And yet...
She had trembled at hearing that word. The vivid dreams of her mother, the hourglass ever present, suddenly seemed less like mere fragments of her imagination and more like ominous premonitions.

But nothing struck her more deeply than the thought of Aknadin's betrayal. A trusted member of the court who twisted into something unrecognizable. He had denounced his loyalty to Egypt, pledged himself to someone.. something.. called Zorc, and turned into a creature called the Great Shadow Magus. And then, in a haunting divergence from what they had ever known, he had vanished, seemingly embraced by the shadows themselves.

A lingering dread hung over them as Atem spoke of the conclusion of their battle - Zorc's imminent arrival. The name was foreign to Naima, but the look in Atem's eyes, the fear and concern, told her all she needed to know. Something dark and dangerous was coming. Time was short, and uncertainty shrouded their future. As the words sank in, Naima felt a profound sense of foreboding settle in her soul, knowing that their world had changed irreversibly, and they were on a path from which there was no turning back.

-o0o-

"How could you?" Naima spat, her voice echoing throughout their dimly lit chamber.
She seethed as she glared at Atem.
"How could you have done all of this without me behind my back? You didn't tell me about any of this! Why didn't you just wake me up?!"
They were finally alone together, surrounded by the vast intimacy of their shared space. And yet, a chasm seemed to stretch between them.
"You should have woken me! You should have told me! But no. You left me here, thinking everything would be fine?! That I would be fine?!"

Atem sat on the bed, hunched over with his elbows resting on his knees. His face tightened, his eyes filled with a mixture of pain and understanding.
"Naima, please. Listen to me. You must know that it was never my intention to leave you in the dark. It pained me more than you can imagine."

Fresh anger flared through her.
"Really. Well, you did, didn't you? You could have just woken me up! Do you have any idea how it feels to have all of this happen behind your back? With everyone else knowing what happened except you? It was almost like you were purposely trying to keep this from me."
Naima shot him a venomous glare.
"What? You think I'm some weak, powerless little girl who cowers and does nothing? Who do you take me for?!"

The storm in Atem's gaze deepened.
"No, Naima," he growled firmly. "You know very well that's not true. I've seen your strength, your courage, time and again. The notion that you are incapable is preposterous."

"Nice way to show it by treating me like a child, keeping me out of things, and giving me scrolls to distract me while you do the 'real' work."

"You have it all wrong Naima." Atem said.

"Then what?!" Naima's voice shook with rage.

Atem turned his head to the side and sighed, pausing for a moment before he continued.
"Naima, you must understand that I only had a small window of time to make a decision, and it was not taken lightly." His voice held a certain hollowness as he spoke.
"When Karim informed me early this morning that Bakura had been spotted, we did not know how long he would be there or the extent of his plans. Every second mattered and I had to make a decision quickly. Delaying could have been catastrophic."

"How long do you think it would have taken to wake me up.." she retorted nastily.

"It wasn't about the time it would have taken to wake you," Atem said, his voice strained with emotion.
"It was about me not wanting you to see us—me—... fail."

"Fail..." Naima shot back. "But why? Fail at what?"

"I had intended to give the scrolls to you at a later date. But... I didn't know if I would make it back to you today."
His voice broke slightly, and Naima saw the genuine torment in his eyes. She froze at his words.
"Naima, this morning when I received the word that Bakrura had been spotted, I had no idea what would come of today. I considered that there was a very real possibility that we would all perish. And that almost became true, at some point."
Atem's gaze was steady but filled with a burdened resolve.
"The legacy of the Millennium Items, the choices of my father, now weigh upon me. In his absence, I bear this burden. The ancient creed demands balance... a life for a life..." he muttered.

"You...what?" Naima gasped, a wave of horror washing over her.
"Don't tell me you were going to sacrifice yourself…? To fix this?"
Her voice trembled as a thousand fears raced through her mind. The mere thought of it was unbearable.

"If that was what it took, then yes, Naima." he said quietly.

She could hardly breathe, barely able to comprehend what he'd said.
"No," she said. "No, Atem. Don't you dare even think of such a thing!"

The air between them grew heavy as Atem simply sat in silence.

"Atem... please." Naima's voice shook. "You will destroy me."

Atem looked away briefly before meeting Naima's pleading gaze once more.
"And that is why I could not bring myself to wake you, Naima." he murmured

Naima stared at him in horror, too stunned to speak.
But Atem's arm came up and settled around her shoulders with aching familiarity, drawing her close against the warmth of him. His other hand settled over her stomach, fingers splayed in a gesture of care and protection.
"And, something else to consider..-"
His low voice held all the intensity of a raging storm as his eyes bore into hers.
"If there is a chance you are carrying my heir, I must keep you out of harm's way."
That touch, that look in his eyes dampened whatever fire was raging in her veins as he gazed at her with the utmost care and concern.

Naima softened, and a new lump formed in her throat.
"Atem... how can you expect me to go on living and raising our child.. without you..?" she muttered, tears forming in her eyes.

Atem took her chin gently in his hand, lifting her gaze to meet his own.
"You must, Naima." he said gently, but the grave tone in his voice could not be ignored. "You must be strong. For this is something greater than both of us."

Naima peered at him, a sudden suspicion in her heart. "You speak as if this will happen. Are you planning something and not telling me?"

Atem shook his head. "No."

Naima glared at him, gritting her teeth. "Atem?"

"I'm not planning anything, Naima," he said. "But the role of a Pharaoh, the path I was destined to tread... it is filled with unpredictable moments. I don't know what lies ahead."
His grip on her tightened slightly. "I don't want to leave you, but the realm of possibilities requires me to think ahead, to ensure my legacy continues."

She took a deep breath, her mind racing. "You speak of legacy and responsibility, but what about us? Our promises and our dreams?"

His fingers brushed away the tears that had trickled down her cheeks.
"They are the core of my every decision."

Naima shook her head in frustration, the weight of his words pressing down on her.
"I want to understand, Atem. But more than that, I want you here. If we were blessed with a child, I want them to know their father, not just the tales of a brave Pharaoh who sacrificed himself for the good of the people."

Atem's face contorted with pain. "I wish it were that simple, Naima. Our obligations... they compel us to do what we cannot bring ourselves to do.."

A world of unspoken emotion swirled in the space between them. Summoning her courage, Naima drew a steadying breath.
"Atem."
He met her gaze, unwavering, waiting for her words.
"Don't lose yourself in the duty of a Pharaoh. Remember what waits for you here, what you have to come back to."

"Naima, know that every choice I make, every battle I face, is guided by the heart."
Atem's expression was unflinching, his voice steady and assured. The earnestness in his words resonated with a truth she knew all too well.
"Your presence, our love, it gives me strength and purpose. I fight not only for the legacy of the Pharaoh but for our shared future. I will return to you, always."

Naima felt her heart swell, beating so hard against her ribcage she thought it would crack. The world seemed to still around them.
"And one other thing," she declared fiercely. "Never leave me out again, Atem. I mean it. If something is going on, I want to be a part of it."

He only looked at her, the expression on his face filled with objections.

"I'm being serious." Naima said. "I will not be remembered as some helpless woman waiting by the window, pining for her king's return. I can handle myself, and I want to be there with you, every step of the way. We're in this together, and I will stand by your side."

His expression softened slightly.
"It's not a matter of doubting your strength, Naima. It is my duty to protect those I cherish, especially from the shadows that lurk within this world."

"And it's my duty," Naima interjected. "To stand with you, not behind you. We face those shadows together, Atem. We are stronger together."

She searched his eyes, seeking assurance.
Atem's gaze was initially inscrutable, likely turning her proposition over in his mind. But eventually she found a reflection of her own determination.

He nodded.
"You are right, Naima," he said, his voice firm yet gentle. "In our unity lies our strength. We have battled darkness before, and we shall face it again, together."

"Good."
Naima drew a deep breath, taking his hand gently. They shared a brief, tender moment, an oasis of calm amidst the storm that always seemed to be brewing around them. "Atem, there is also something else I need to tell you...It's about Obelisk..."
At the mention of that name, Atem's gaze sharpened, and as she spoke about her discovery that day, he hung onto every word she uttered.

Even though the path before them was shrouded with mystery, they held each other close, steeling themselves against the uncertainty that lay ahead. Unrelenting and united, they stood on the precipice of an unknown abyss, hand-in-hand, ready to confront their fate.