The Pharaoh's stomach churned, and her head pounded as she opened her eyes, tired beyond reason as her eyes scanned the infirmary, trying to understand why she was here. Her modern memories tried to assert themselves, only to be pushed under fifteen years of ancient past as she absorbed the view of her surroundings.

The limestone walls were barren here, but they absorbed the warmth of the sun that poured through the windows, leaving dust motes shimmering in its wake. The beds were reed-stuffed mattresses, raised on a frame and supported by leather strips.

They weren't as comfortable as her bed in her rooms, but if she was here and not in her rooms, then she'd clearly been too sick to be moved.

The soft, linen sheet slid off her as she pushed herself sitting, her arms shaking with the effort. They didn't have to support her long though as the medic rushed forwards and quickly slid a couple of pillows in behind her to support her.

"What happened?"

"Don't push yourself too hard, my Pharaoh." The Head Healer, Mesta, left her student, Ahset, to worry at her. "You've had a severe fever from the poison those brutes had on their blades. This is the first time you've been coherent in over two weeks."

Brutes…

Her eyes widened as she remembered the attack by the doors to the throne room. The men who'd dared to launch themselves out of the crowd, swords drawn. Thinking back, their blades had dripped with a translucent green liquid, and her hand went to her bandaged arm, where they'd managed to cut her with a poisoned blade.

Whatever their swords had been laced with, for her to be out for so long told her that it was something she was going to have to warn her Shadow about when she returned from her current mission. She didn't want Ba-Khu-Ra getting hit with the stuff and never coming home.

Then she frowned. She'd sent Mahad to collect Ba-Khu-Ra before she could leave town, so she should be back already, yet she wasn't here.

Neither of them were here.

"You said I've been here for two weeks?" She confirmed.

"Don't worry, High Priest Seth has been keeping things running smoothly in your absence."

Relief allowed the knot in her chest to loosen. Seth knew her plans for the country; he knew how she ran things. She knew she could trust him to have things in order, especially with Mahad's assistance.

She glanced around again, unhappy that her usual bodyguard was missing, replaced with a pair of unamused looking guards and the blonde foreign former slave, now guard captain, that she recognised as Shimun's ward, Djau.

"Where's Mahad? Is he helping Seth?"

The sudden nervousness on the healer's face wasn't reassuring and the Pharaoh tried to get to her feet, only for Mesta to squeak and push her back into the pillows, only to hesitate, remembering that she wasn't allowed to touch the Pharaoh without her permission when she was awake.

"Don't get up. Not yet." Mesta protested, "You need to rest, especially if you want to keep the baby."

"Keep the…"

The Pharaoh's eyes closed as the words sunk in, her shoulders sinking in both relief and exhaustion. A child was dangerous for her health, but ensured the security of her lineage and there was only one person whose child it could be.

As her, illegitimate, second cousin, Mahad had enough royal blood that her child would be royal enough for the throne.

Not that she'd planned on getting pregnant any time soon. She had too much to do, and taking two weeks just to wake up, had taken time out of negotiations with places like Mesopotamia, Neotasha and Persia that she just didn't have.

"I'm pretty sure you're only a few months along, it would be easy to lose it at this point. Your body's too weak from the poison for you to risk stressing yourself."

The Pharaoh opened her eyes and raised an eyebrow at the woman, silently asking if she'd seriously just called her Pharaoh 'weak'.

"No offence meant, my Pharaoh, but until you've had a chance to recover, you're not at your best."

She couldn't deny that, sinking back into the pillows with a sigh, allowing Mesta to do the checks she needed to do, waiting until the healer was certain that she was on the mend before turning her gaze to Djau.

"Tell Seth and Mahad that their Pharaoh requires their presence. As soon as possible."

"I…" Djau hesitated, "my Pharaoh, I can call Lord Seth, but Lord Mahad… he's dead."

"What?" The air escaped the Pharoah as if she had been punched in the gut.

"He went after Ba-Khu-Ra, the one who organised the assassination attempt. She killed him and took the Millennium Ring."

That… that made no sense.

No, Ba-Khu-Ra and Mahad had never gotten along. In fact, the Pharaoh knew there was a jealousy between them over her, but they both knew how much she needed them both. Mahad as her oldest friend, her right hand, one of her High Priests, and as the future father of her children. And Ba-Khu-Ra as her lover, Shadow and friend.

Ba-Khu-Ra had promised she wouldn't attack Mahad unless it was in self-defence years ago, so she wouldn't have lashed out for no reason.

Mahad had agreed with her that poison wasn't Ba-Khu-Ra's style. He wouldn't have attacked her, so it made no sense for Ba-Khu-Ra to have attacked him.

Still, needing information, she squashed the confusion and upset that wanted to leak out behind a mask of calm as she said, "Fine, call Seth here. I need details and he needs to report what he's been doing, to me."

"Yes, my Pharaoh." The blonde guard saluted, relieved to see her awake, aware and handling it much better than he'd anticipated. "Bayek and Jabare will be here if something happens."

She didn't want Bayek and Jabare. She wanted her friend, but since he wasn't available and never might be again, they would do.

"Noted."

She closed her eyes as Djau left, trying to process what she'd been told and control the tears that were trying to escape. Ba-Khu-Ra had killed Mahad.

Ba-Khu-Ra, after everything the Pharaoh had done for her, had KILLED the most loyal High Priest in the Pharaoh's court.

Her friend, her bodyguard, her last tie to her brother besides the name she'd taken on, was gone.

She could feel liquid escape and trickle down her cheeks, even as she bit down on her lower lip to keep back the sobs that shook her frame. She couldn't let them out, not here, not while there were people watching. Showing weakness, especially right now, would be damaging in a way that she couldn't afford.

When she could get out of here and to her private chambers, or better yet her blue lotus garden, she could let herself cry, but right now?

Right now, she needed to be strong.

At least that was what she tried to tell herself, but still the tears flowed, tumbling onto and soaking the cotton sheets.

Still her stomach churned hard enough to make her want to vomit, even though there was nothing left in her system.

Still her heart slowly shattered in her chest in a pain that felt like it would never end.

Because her priest, her loyal ally, her dearest friend, was gone…

"My Pharaoh." Mesta's voice was soft and sympathetic as she pressed a cloth into her hand. "Lord Seth is at the door, should I send him away?"

"No. No…" The Pharaoh pressed the cloth to her eyes, drying her tears, "I sent for him. Let him in."

"My Pharaoh… I'm sorry."

The smile she gave the healer was watery at best, but the nod she got in reply helped her straighten up and, as Seth walked into the room she was able to hold her head up high and ask, "What has been going on in my absence?"

"It's good to see you awake and aware, my Pharaoh," Seth's smile was honest, "You've been delirious for weeks."

"The poison was strong. Thankfully I was stronger." The Pharaoh replied as her priest let out a heavy sigh, his shoulders sank and he dropped onto the seat next to her bed, "You're trying to distract me. Is it that bad?"

"No. Your secret is completely out now, but your ability to control the Divine Beasts has people convinced you still have divine right to rule. The news of your pregnancy has settled the doubters, for if it's a male heir, having you rule as regent until he's of age will fix their doubts."

The Pharaoh rolled her eyes. "They will doubt whoever was in charge. Be it me or anyone else. I'm almost surprised that they didn't try and install you on the throne in my place. After all, you've been my regent for almost as long as I ruled before this happened."

"There were… questions," Seth allowed. "But I put those fools in their place. I don't want to be Pharaoh. I want to be the one supporting the throne, not the one upon it. Being you seems like too much work."

That drew a desperately needed laugh out of the young woman on the bed.

"I will say that there's a sudden surplus in young noblemen and foreign ambassadors' boys that have surged in and a rapid decrease in the noble female populace, so the amount of eye candy has dropped dramatically."

"For you and for me," she grimaced. Seth knew as well as any of her close friends that her tastes ran towards the female persuasion and any male lover had to be one who she knew and trusted to within an inch of her life.

That and they had to understand that it was about the sex, not much else.

"I've had Mahad and my father's bodies prepared for burial."

The causal mention of Mahad's body stabbed through her heart life a knife, but her eyes narrowed at the second part of Seth's statement.

"Your father? His execution still happened then?"

"It was going to, but he died in custody the night before."

"What?"

That wasn't possible. Everything that he could've killed himself with had been removed from his cell. The food was supposed to be plain and basic but hearty, so he couldn't starve, and he hadn't even been put in with the general populace so it wasn't like someone could've stabbed him.

"How?"

"No one is quite certain. From the blue tint of his lips, the healers thought it might have been a heart attack. There was certainly no weapons or marks on him, but they're certain he went peacefully in his sleep."

No.

No!

That wasn't fair.

That wasn't the justice that she had promised Ba-Khu-Ra. The justice that her siblings, her father, the people of Kul Elna deserved!

She'd promised he would pay for his crimes. She'd sworn that she would do everything in her power to ensure that.

She'd spent years trying to acquire the proof to fulfil her promise, and for him to die the night before and escape without paying for his crimes, was more than she could take.

The tears she'd managed to stop flowed again as she demanded, "Did you at least record his confessions? Did you at least manage to get the truth from that bastard?"

Seth's expression hardened, as it always had when someone insulted his father, but he nodded. "I have good news and bad. He was cleared by the Scales for the death of your father, and apparently your two oldest brothers really were casualties of war, but his confessions about Kul Elna, Nephthys, Thoth, your mother and Anhur were recorded on papyrus for the records."

"What about Amunet?" The Pharaoh asked, the tightness and pain in her chest easing at the thought that they, at least, had managed to close those chapters.

"You were right," Seth grimaced, having found this the most distasteful of all. "He admitted to having her stolen away in the night and we're recovering her body now. His account was written for that too."

"He gave you the location?" Shocked relief allowed her to breathe deeply.

"Yes, and we'll be able to get her interred properly." Seth grimaced as he thought about the body pit underneath the dungeons. How his father had ever thought that there wasn't a risk of that much negative energies infecting the palace and the land and water around them was beyond him.

Still, his half-divine cousin didn't need to know about it, and he had the perfect distraction.

"He was also the mole for your and Atem's kidnapping."

She wasn't as surprised as she wanted to be. She'd long suspected that it couldn't have gotten past her uncle's sharp gaze unless he let it. Having the truth known was a relief and a pain at the same time, for it told her how much he'd hated her and her twin brother even then.

"Did he say why?"

"Partly so he could locate Anubis's camp, partly because you and Atem wanted to upend the status quo and it was going to mess up all of the complicated connections he'd built up. He didn't want either of you dead, just clinging to the security of what you knew and afraid to reach out to outsiders."

It'd nearly worked too. She'd been forced to pull back on the many plans she and Atem had been working up. Her connections had been assembled with much more caution and she'd stayed closer to the palace. Most of her contacts amongst the commoners now, were through Ba-Khu-Ra, rather than face to face, meaning those were now lost.

Still, now she knew how and why she and Atem had been allowed to be taken and that was closure she hadn't known she'd needed before now.

But that he'd gotten away with it, that he'd escaped the justice of the executioner's axe, grated upon her soul.

"The Gods will cast judgement now," Seth tried to reassure her.

"Have you seen Ba-Khu-Ra?" She changed the subject instead, needing time to process the information that her uncle had been confirmed to have been systematically offing her siblings, to go with the other murders she'd been aware of, and he'd gotten away with it.

"Ba-Khu-Ra hasn't returned to the palace since she murdered Mahad and took the Ring," Seth scowled, his voice clipped and sharp. "In fact, she's not been seen anywhere in the city. She even abandoned her son."

"How do you know about Amt?" Shock and panic made the Pharaoh's eyes widen. "Seth? What did you do?!"

"I had Isis look into previous hiding places when Mahad's death was reported," Seth grimaced at finding out that the Pharaoh had known about the child the whole time. "She saw the boy and his father would shelter her, so I sent men to collect them for leverage."

"Where are they now? Are they alright?!" She was horrified and disgusted at his actions and it showed in the paling of her skin and the scowl she shot him.

"I don't know," Seth admitted. "They escaped the guards I sent. Kali even killed one."

"Seth…"

He had no idea how much he'd screwed up. Amt was only three, there was no question that he would be attached to his mother, and Kali was the country's best smith. Attacking him, in his home, for the crimes of another, was completely uncalled for.

And Ba-Khu-Ra would never, ever forgive her for it, because she was the only one, outside that household, who'd known Amt was her child. That meant the most likely way her men could've been there, was if she'd sent them there.

When she explained that to him, however, his eyebrows rose and he folded his arms.

"And you care about her opinion why? She killed Mahad. She sent men to poison you. You had father arrested and tried for murder, why are you trying to protect the Thief?"

"Because I don't believe Ba-Khu-Ra was responsible for the poisoning. You know she was in my bed most nights. If she wanted me dead, she could have stabbed me in my sleep years ago. She never did, so sending men to do it now makes no sense. Maybe after the execution, but certainly not before."

Seth paused, his head tilting as he considered that. "And Mahad's death?"

She couldn't defend that. She'd sent Mahad to collect Ba-Khu-Ra, as an ally. There was no reason for her to have attacked and killed him.

And why hadn't Ba-Khu-Ra returned to the palace? Why hadn't she come to her side? Ba-Khu-Ra knew she would listen, so why hadn't she come to explain herself?

Unless she'd gone to the forge first and seen the damage done there. In which case, she was lucky to be alive and she fully expected a dagger between her ribs the next time she saw the thief.

"My Pharaoh… I know you've put a lot of trust in her, but she has betrayed you. She's stolen one of the pieces protecting Egypt," Seth's tone was softer than she had ever heard it. "And she will kill you, if given the chance."

"I know…" She had no reason to doubt it. Not after Amt had been attacked.

She would've gone after anyone who harmed her family too.

"So," Seth's smile turned smug. "I want to change our agreement."

"Your father's already escaped justice," The Pharaoh's scowl darkened, realising that the trust she had in him was about to be shattered horribly. "What more do you want from me?"

"I helped you keep your secret until it was no longer a secret. Now I want something from you."

He patted her on the arm, and she recoiled, tempted to have him arrested for touching her. The action made it painfully clear that he was secure enough in his position that he thought he could get away with anything he wanted.

"Touch me again and you'll lose a hand," she wasn't going to take it though.

"Cut off my hand, you not only lose a priest, but the nobles whose attention I've been fostering will turn on you in a heartbeat," Seth's words made her realise what other leverage he had. "I've gotten the nobles who swore oaths of loyalty to my father, to swear them to me. As long as I follow you, they will."

She wasn't stupid. In the condition she was in, it wouldn't be hard for them to overpower her physically, and there was only so long she could keep them at bay using her magic. Even with the Gods on her side.

Even once she was recovered from her two weeks of illness and incoherence, she was pregnant. She would slow down as the months went on and would have to be careful of how much magic she was throwing around and how much life energy she was spending, to prevent a miscarriage.

Without her Shadow at her back, ensuring her safety, she would be open to an attack.

"What do you want?" She asked, her shoulders sinking.

"I want a proper burial for my father. Befitting the hero he once was."

Fury flooded through her. That he would dare to ask her for an honourable burial for the dishonourable scumbag who'd admitted to killing her family and massacring an entire village was beyond unreasonable.

"Unless you think that you can defend yourself and your child from them? Because you can get rid of me, but you don't know how many nobles I have in my pocket. All it would take is one to get lucky, now you don't have Mahad or Ba-Khu-Ra at your side."

"I'd still have Mana."

"Mana is down at the southern palace, mourning her friend and learning how to utilise her powers properly, so no one else has to be lost."

Meaning the Pharaoh was alone. All her support was gone because she could no longer trust Seth.

She had her High Priests, but they couldn't be at her side at all hours. They had their own duties to attend to and taking them away from that would be a detriment to Egypt.

"I swear, give him this and I will serve you loyally. I will stay by your side and ensure your safety. I'll help you bring forth the future you desire for Egypt. I'll protect your child with my life. I'm the only one you have left. There is no one else you can trust with your secrets, or your… preferences."

She gritted her teeth at the emphasis he put on preferences, fully aware of what he meant and wondering how the hell he had found out. "I assume this means you expect me to marry you?"

"While it would make being at your bedside easier, should an attack happen in the night, and it would solidify the loyalty of my nobles, there is the servant's rooms attached to your suite." Seth shrugged, sitting back. "And considering my father was found guilty of his treachery, there are those who will not accept me as your royal husband."

"So, you want to move into my rooms."

"With Ba-Khu-Ra a threat, you shouldn't be alone at night. I can protect you better if I'm there. All it will take, is a burial for my father. It doesn't even need to have the full procession and festival. It just needs to be a proper tomb, with his body and name unaltered, so he can join Mother on the other side."

It wasn't fair. It wasn't right. That Akhenaden would reach the afterlife when the people of Kul Elna, his victims, wouldn't. When Amunet's body was only just getting the burial it deserved.

"Can you really afford a civil war right now? With the Ring missing and your guard so low? Can Egypt?"

Seth's question made her hands ball up until they had scrunched the sheet beneath them.

No. No, her country couldn't afford a civil war.

Her army was still recovering from the Great War, back around when she'd been born. Her people were still healing from the loss of fathers and grandfathers and sons. Causing a war now would decimate what was left of her people and allow their enemies to sweep in and take over everything.

She would lose everything her brothers had fought for.

Everything the people of Kul Elna had been sacrificed for…

"Fine." She hated herself for saying it. "You'll have your burial, but I want a full accounting of his actions on the tomb walls, both good and bad, so Anubis can judge fairly, and an Oath. On the Shadows."

"That I can agree to, and I swear," The Millennium Rod glowed at his words. "If you allow my father to be buried in the manner he once deserved, I will serve you loyally, as long as you serve Egypt and its people. I will keep you safe, and I will protect your children as long as I live."

When the glow died down, the Pharaoh let out a soft, relieved breath.

With one concession, she'd protected her country and she'd secured Seth's loyalty going forward.

Even if she hated herself for it.

And knew her family, the people of Kul Elna, and her former lover, would probably hate her for it too.

"Arrange the burial with the priests," she ordered him, "I will not have a celebration of his life, but I will allow him to be buried properly."

"That is all I need."


The Pharaoh knew she wasn't supposed to be in the Halls of the Dead. The Living Horus wasn't supposed to have much to do with death, if they could avoid it, as it was said to draw the energies towards them and cause bad luck, but she had to visit.

She had to say goodbye.

Amunet had always seemed so big, so bright, compared to her. She'd been years older than the twins and they'd looked up to her even after she had 'run away' at age ten.

Now, years after her disappearance, her sister's body was so small, so fragile, and the Pharaoh's heart ached as she processed that the only reason they'd even been able to recognise her was because of the small body and beading in her hair. Some of the beads had been special gifts from family and friends and they had still been in place on the shrunken, air and heat mummified form of her sister, just as they'd been when the Pharaoh had seen her sister when they had gone to bed that evening.

"I'm sorry…" The Pharaoh breathed as she sank to her knees at her sister's side, "I'm so sorry Amunet. If I'd been able to do something earlier. If I could've gotten Father to question him, you'd have been buried so much sooner."

And she deserved it after all this time. A person couldn't get to the afterlife until they were properly buried, and they hadn't been able to do that until now. There'd been no body found, and the royal family had been hesitant to get the priests to do the Opening of the Mouth on a statue as a replacement for it, when they didn't even know if their daughter was dead.

"I'll get you to the afterlife. I'll send you with all the things you would've loved in life. I'll make sure that your tomb has all the proper rites and rituals engraved, I swear. You won't be alone in Duat anymore."

Silence was her only answer. It was the only answer it could be when talking to the dead, but still it weighed on the Pharaoh's soul, dragging down her shoulders and making her head bow further.

"I swear, I can't get justice for you, the bastard escaped me, but I'll pray to Anubis every damn night for him to judge Uncle for every single one of his crimes. If the Gods are good and just, they won't allow him to harm you or anyone else anymore. They won't allow him into Aaru."

Fury made her tremble harder than she already was. Walking down here had been draining in her recovering condition, and even now, a week later, too much effort exhausted her, but she'd needed to be here before the funerary rites had started. She'd needed to reassure her sister's spirit, both for Amunet's sake, and for her own.

"My Pharaoh?"

The shocked tone and sudden call made the Pharaoh shoot to her feet a little too quickly and she wavered on her feet, needing to use the stone slab her sister laid upon for support.

"I needed a moment to say farewell." The Pharaoh straightened herself, hiding her distress. "Is Mahad here too?"

"He's in a delicate stage and the fumes from the resin wouldn't be safe for you to approach. I'm sorry."

Her shoulders sank. She'd hoped to apologize to her old friend, but she supposed she could do so face to face, when she had the strength to summon the Dark Magician, rather than risk her health now.

"If you wish to see your uncle though, he's three doors down." The Priest of Anubis offered with a small, sympathetic smile. "He's in the wrapping process now."

The knowledge that her uncle's half-mummified body was three rooms over made her hands ball into fists. She still felt bitter about having to allow his burial in the first place when so many of his victims would never get their own afterlife because their names and bodies had been lost.

Unless…

"Certainly, could I ask you something on the way?"

"Of course, my Pharaoh." The priest puffed up, suddenly proud to have the chance to speak with her. "How can I help?"

"There's a group of people who were killed during the war, whose names and bodies were lost." The Pharaoh explained as they left Amunet's room and headed down to where mummifications happened. "But they died in service of Egypt, so I was wondering if there was any way to ensure that they could reach the afterlife?"

"I… I would have to look it up for you." The priest's expression shifted to thoughtful contemplation, his lips pursing. "If you had the names, it would be as simple as doing the Opening of the Mouth on a statue. The bodies are preferred of course, but it's a last-ditch emergency method that could work in their stead, but if you're missing both than it could be impossible to get them in. Their names are needed for more than half the spells."

The Pharaoh nodded, biting her lower lip as she thought.

"So, if I can get you the names, you could do it?"

"Yes, my Pharaoh. Give me the names, preferably some information on what they did in life and identifying features, outside of their service to the country, and it will be possible to ensure their afterlives."

"Thank you."

The lightness of the heart that caused was soon slammed into the floor as she paused part of the way into the room where her uncle's body lay.

He didn't deserve this and the temptation to set the mummy on fire and let the fats and oils used in the process consume him was incredibly strong.

But she didn't, knowing that not only was it extremely sacrilegious, but it would endanger not only the priests, but the bodies of everyone else here, including Amunet.

But not her father. He was already resting in the Valley of the Kings. Tradition had ensured that he had to be buried before she could be enthroned. There'd been seventy days while his body had been being properly prepared, where she'd been the Pharaoh without having actually been 'officially' crowned and those days had been difficult thanks to the man who lay on the slab before her.

It'd been a relief for more than one reason, when, two days after officially taking the throne, he'd been arrested and she'd been able to stop worrying about what he was up to every moment of the day.

But she now couldn't help but wonder how many of the issues her father had been dealing with had been caused by the same man.

She stalked into the room, pursing her lips as she tried to think about what she wanted to say to the man. She'd gotten to talk to him after his arrest only once, and she hadn't gotten the answers she'd sought. He'd been too busy calling her names to tell her why he'd turned on his family the way he had.

"You don't win, you know." She finally decided as she reached his side, her hand going to her stomach. "I'm carrying a child. My father's line will continue, despite your best efforts."

Silence. Not the comforting and saddening emptiness of her sister, but a cold, uncaring hollowness.

"I still don't understand you. I don't understand why you hated us so much." Her voice wavered as she spoke, hands trembling. "We were family. We could have worked together, we could have made things right for the people of Kul Elna, we could have…"

She trailed off.

"And there I am, dreaming of reaching for a better future with you, just like Father did, when I know in my heart you would never reach back. You proved that when you refused to do anything to help the spirits of those you murdered. I must wonder if it was so they couldn't tell the Gods about your crimes."

She shivered and turned away, refusing even now to allow him to see how much his actions hurt her.

"I'm allowing you this burial for your son, not you. Seth is your child and he's learned his blackmail tactics from you, but he's still a much better man than you'll ever be, and he'll help me improve Egypt where you never would. I've already distributed your wealth between him and the temples you so-say served and lowered the taxes you fought so hard to keep. When my child takes the throne, it will be the throne of an Egypt that would have left you horrified, but would have made Father proud. I promise you that."

With that she headed out, wanting to get back to work, only to pause in the doorway and look back.

"Oh, and for the record, Uncle, despite what you may think of me, there's only two people I've slept with, and one of them is the father of my child, so no, I'm not a whore."


The silence was loud but the satisfaction of finally letting out her frustrations on the man who'd caused her so many, made the Pharaoh's step lighter as she strode from the temple.

The sun had long gone down and the oil lamps were burning away merrily when the Pharaoh heard the door to her office grind against the mud brick floor. Making yet another mental note to get the door rehung so it stopped doing that, she looked up from the contracts she'd been going through to find one of her High Priests slipping into the room.

"Ah, Lady Isis, thank you for coming. I have a matter I need to discuss with you privately."

"I am always at your service, my Pharaoh, and always will be." Isis bowed, shutting the door behind her, then pausing at the sharp, high scraping noise. "Are you aware this door is grinding?"

"Has been since this was father's office," The Pharaoh chuckled in return. "Please, sit."

"Of course." As Isis sat, a soft smile sat upon her face and her head tilted, "What is it you need from me?"

"I'm sure you remember what my uncle's charge of Mass Murder was for?"

Isis's smile died as her hand went to the Millennium Necklace around her neck. She'd been as horrified as the Pharaoh when the truth of the items had come to light and was fully behind ensuring that they didn't need them in the future by making alliances and treaties with other nations.

"Unfortunately…" She sighed, her shoulders sinking. "What does it have to do with me?"

"The people who died to create the items don't have their names recorded or their bodies buried properly. Ba-Khu-Ra might have betrayed us, but her people are still suffering and they are Egyptians. Egyptians who were killed so they could serve Egypt. They deserve their afterlives."

She still didn't entirely believe that the Thief Queen HAD betrayed her, but she knew Isis didn't want to hear it. She and Mahad had been very close, close enough that the Pharaoh suspected that Mahad had also been sharing the bedchambers of more than one person and Isis had been cold on the subject of the Thief Queen since his death.

Even more so since the Pharaoh had asked her to use the Necklace to show the events that'd led to Mahad's death, and it'd proved that a badly wounded Ba-Khu-Ra, possibly so wounded that she would no longer be a threat to Egypt, had driven her blade into Mahad's stomach.

The Pharaoh had been heartbroken but was willing to believe it had been a moment of panic and self-defence.

Not that it mattered to her priests.

Ba-Khu-Ra, a commoner, had ended the life of a person whose only better was the Pharaoh.

That had he'd merged his soul with his Ka Beast and set it to serve her until her journey to Aaru just made things that much worse and was complicating the rite and rituals that would normally be done upon death.

Still, that wasn't what she had called Isis to discuss, so she took a deep breath and gave her priestess a small, sheepish smile.

"I know it's going to be a big ask, but I need you to use your Necklace in service of those people."

"In what way?"

"I need you to look back to get their names and jobs. If that information can be recovered, there's options for getting them into Aaru, where I can speak for them." The Pharaoh explained, "Ba-Khu-Ra once told me that there were around a hundred people in her village that day, so it would be about that many names."

Isis had started to scowl the moment the Thief's name had come up, but she sat back, thinking.

"It wouldn't be an easy task, nor a fast one, and I would need to take time away from my temple duties," Isis responded. "But I could certainly try."

"I'd be willing to put more funds into the Temples of Isis." The Pharaoh promised, "And arrange for more servants to work with your people."

"It's not…" Isis paused to consider her words. "My Pharaoh, the temples I run are shelters for the people who can't afford shelter of their own, or worse have had to flee their homes. The people you send will need training in how to handle sensitive situations. It can't just be any brute off the streets."

"I won't send anyone you haven't vetted."

"Myself or Priestess Aziza," Isis nodded. "I can see what sort of person they are with my Necklace, and Aziza has a knack for reading people. She's never wrong."

"Noted," The Pharaoh's flourish with a quill made Isis smile. "Is there anything else you'll need to make this easier?"

"Several more hours in a day?"

"Unfortunately, Ra's sun barge has its own path across the sky and even the living Horus cannot produce that miracle. If I could, I wouldn't be in here reading by oil lamp."

That drew an understanding chuckle from the High Priestess of Isis who often was working by oil light, into the early hours of the morning.

"Then if I may, my Pharaoh," Isis started to rise to her feet. "I will get started."

"Please do." At the Pharaoh's allowance, Isis headed for the door, "Oh and Isis?"

"Yes, my Pharaoh?"

"Please ensure that there's more than one copy of the list of names and jobs. Last thing I would want was for the original copy to be lost, stolen or damaged and all that work go to waste."

"Of course. Do you want one run to you after it's written up?"

"Yes, please."