The Princess of Egypt

Untitled Part 1

I am about to tell you a little known tale about ancient Egypt, or I predict it will be little known in the future when our civilization is considered ancient, for it is already a royal secret. Some in the future will be endlessly curious about this time in history, and so I hope whichever inquisitive soul finds this story badly needed to have their curiosity satiated. And I am quite sure that this story will, indeed, satiate their curiosity. Some may not even believe I speak truth, and though I am, since I happen to be a close childhood friend of the princess's and so get to know her secrets, this is just as well; this story is not meant for them. But, regardless, I do believe this will explain much to the world. And the story begins with the waking of a young girl...

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Jasmine's eyes fluttered open, her skin ice cold, her back aching, endless grey stretching on beneath her instead of a luxurious bed. She quickly rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she straightened, studying her surroundings alertly. A look out a small window revealed she was high up in a poor house by the famed priestess Fatima, far from her home. This surprised her so; she gasped quite suddenly.

"Ahh," a voice with a thick accent breathed. "I have been waiting for you many hours, my pretty Egyptian plover."

She turned in the direction of the voice to see a man with a purple outfit.

"Who are you? When did you kidnap me? Why are you watching me sleep?!?" the girl scowled. She was a gold, white, and blue blur as her slender arm whipped across the stranger's face so hard it left behind a rosy handprint.

"Yes! This is exactly what I admire about you! As independent as any man, nearly as strong as your father, even; but you ought to cool that temper of yours if you are to be my bride," was the unanticipated reply.

"You must be plain mad if you think I'd change myself to belong to a misogynist like you! Besides, what sort of freak gets excited at being slapped?" she said to her kidnapper.

"My dear, I was simply excited to see that you were just as wonderful as you seemed and your famed fierceness isn't just an act. But we shall talk later. I know you would like to know everything right away, but all in due time. That is- tomorrow morning," he said. "And I am Aladdin."

As he got up, Jasmine noticed the sign of Set, god of chaos, carved on a little lamp that hung loosely around his waist.

"Wait! Give me the lamp," she demanded. "It is unfit that the kin of my father, the human form of Horus, should be in the presence of the one who tricked and murdered Horus's father."

Although he stopped in his tracks, the man dissented, "Unfortunately, I cannot, for Set himself has been trapped in this lamp. There is an inscription on the bottom saying Isis has imprisoned him in here and lifting this lid will summon him to me. Mother was right to have named me Aladdin, as I am noble in faith. How can I not be when I'm the only priest who can summon a god so quickly?"

"You are not noble; simply an oh-I'm-so-much-better-than-everyone brat! If you are going to keep someone worth as much as me in this dingy attic, at least bring an apt meal at the correct times," Jasmine exclaimed, causing Aladdin to open the lamp, which a man with an animal head flew out of. Jasmine took the man to be Set and glared, her blood simmering in her veins to the point she believed it was a spell he cast. The god simply wrote out some hieroglyphics, growled, and returned to the lamp.

A miniature sandstorm blew across the floor and left behind some food. Jasmine warily sniffed it before giving in to her hunger and quickly devoured the scrumptious meal as juice from the melon and wine ran down her chin and the soft chicken breast melted slowly in her mouth, tasting like the honey it was flavored with and coloured like.

By then, Aladdin's footsteps had faded, and Jasmine remembered him saying he'd request her lunch and dinner when the time came.

All through breakfast, Jasmine thought of what to do. She settled on stealing the lamp.

All through lunch, Jasmine wondered how to gain possession of the lamp. She decided to sneak into Aladdin's room in his sleep.

All through dinner, Jasmine considered what wish she would make. She chose to wish her father to this terrible place to tell him of Aladdin's wrongdoings.

And finally, when night came, silently, she tiptoed down the stairs, pushed open the door, crept inside, took the lamp from the nightstand, snuck back out, carefully closed the door, and inched back to the attic, all without a whisper escaping her lips.

Only at last breathing a sigh of relief was Jasmine able to open the lamp. When Set did not appear immediately, she peered inside and took out what appeared to be a little wooden ring. The ring slowly lifted from her hand and from the ring materialized Set.

"You are wondering about the ring. It bounds me to the lamp. Only someone else can take it off the wearer and the wearer must live in the lamp, coming out to do no more than serve the holder when the master lifts the lid, but if someone other than the wearer had placed the ring on the wearer's finger, the rules do not apply," Jasmine was surprised to hear come out of the un-human mouth.

"Bring Pharaoh Ramses the Great to me!" she commanded.

Again, the harmlessly small sandstorm blew through, this time leaving behind a ruler.

"Father," the princess cried, running to him, "I've been kidnapped by a priest! The one called Aladdin." She expected, willed him to banish Aladdin, to make all her troubles go away as he's always said he would. Instead, she was rather taken aback by surprise.

"You know I can do nothing to priests who were simply listening to the will of the gods. Set clearly told Aladdin to do this," Ramses irritatedly brushed off his eldest daughter of while glancing at Set. "Return me home whatever way you brought me here, Bintanath [Only her closest friends such as myself knew she did not particularly enjoy being called a name that meant "Daughter of Anath" and wished she had been named a name that could stand for her rather than something she could not control about herself, such as her lineage. When we were very young, we had decided on Jasmine because her parents had once told her she was their precious little flower.]." And with that, another ignorable sandstorm swept him away.

That night, Jasmine despaired, crying herself asleep. She dreamt of Aladdin fingering the wooden ring, which was suddenly beautiful. She now knew what she must do.

"Set, let Aladdin see the ring as no more than beautiful and desirable jewelry," Jasmine told the weakened god.

Once the deed was done, she left it on Aladdin's bedside table early at dawn before he woke and lived the rest of her life once again in her father's palace, content she had trapped such a despicable man into a slave. With a longer lifespan as a reward from Osiris for stopping Aladdin from abusing Set's power even more than he and Set in his freedom already had, she went on to influence many pharaohs to make great decisions.

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Let it be known, now, that Princess Bintanath is a great heroine and has only kept this story private because she is so humble. She deserves glory, even if it only comes long after death.