The House of the Rising Sun

Chapter Six: She Shows Me Alexandria

Chapter Six: She Shows Me Alexandria

Alexander

I stood there in the alleyway, leaning against the house, thinking. The fire dancer—Selene had left a few hours ago—or had it been minutes? Time in Egypt seemed stranger now. I couldn’t help but feel…dumbfounded. It had been minutes. Helios had barely moved through the sky.

“Holy Venus,” I whispered to myself. What had just happened? I had been heading out to explore the city when suddenly that strange cat—Nofre-Ari, Selene had called her—had appeared, and suddenly a girl had fallen. The strangest part seemed to be that they were both soaking wet, which made me wonder what had happened to both cat and girl. She stood up…and I swear I had never seen anything more beautiful. I had recognized the dancer immediately. Only she was more beautiful up close. Today her long, dark hair cascaded down her shoulders and her dark brown eyes seemed even more strikingly deep. I was…struck. By what, I don’t know, but I was struck.

And the strange man with her. He was tall and just wearing the traditional Egyptian kilt and some sandals. He was well built, certainly not someone I’d like to take on in the coliseum. Intimidating. I could sort of sense hostility; however I couldn’t understand him. I wondered if they had something going on. What if they were married? I wouldn’t be surprised.

I kicked the dirt at the thought and my neck grew hot. I took a deep breath and ran my fingers through my hair. Time to go explore the city and forget what happened. I couldn’t associate myself with Selene and I knew it.

I looked down the alley and started on my way, slowly at first, but I picked up my pace. I was eager to see Egypt, to be honest. I wanted to see the buildings up close, the temples, the people, and the food… Before I knew it I was running, and then sound hit me when the alley opened up onto a busy street. I slowed my pace again and I just lost myself wandering through the streets of Egypt.

The Egyptians noticed me right away. Hey—I didn’t look anything like them. However the smell of spices and exotic food drew me through the crowd. I realized I wasn’t particularly hungry, but I reached a market where the smells were the strongest. There were many spices to be sold, along with many different fabrics and silks imported from Asia. I wove through that market and found myself on the other side of the street. I passed houses, an inn, a restaurant, and many other stores. I decided not to wander through them, since I didn’t know when Antony wanted me back.

I stopped going straight and took a turn, then another, and then another, until I found myself under the shadow of a great building. Marble steps led up to an open-air hall held up by massive columns painted with scenes depicting strange people—or were they gods? One had a jackal head, and I remembered learning that that was Anubis, god of mummification. I figured they were almost all gods. I walked up the steps and stood just outside the temple. It seemed that there were three temples in one, but I couldn’t name them for the life of me. I knew mathematics, astronomy, art, the history of Rome—but not Egypt. I would need someone to guide me.

“Oh, Alexander!” I heard a voice from behind me. I turned around and Antony was at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at me and smiling. “I see you’re out and about enjoying Egypt like me.” I smiled and walked down the steps and greeted Antony.

“Good afternoon,” I greeted, and bowed my head. Antony lifted my chin and smiled.

“Now, now, none of that. The other senators are not here. Right now, I am just your friend.” I smiled.

“Okay,” I said. “So what are we discussing tomorrow?”

Antony looked at me and placed his arm around my shoulder. “Don’t you worry about that until tomorrow. I want to talk to you. Who were you talking with this morning?”