Ancient Love

Chapter 10: Mourning

It had been three months since Queen Irissa was killed. All of Egypt was devastated when they found out their beloved queen was no longer walking amongst them and had moved on into the afterlife. Although, no one was as devastated about her death as King Ahkmenrah. To prevent her from being disturbed in the afterlife, King Ahkmenrah had her buried in a secret location in the tomb where only he knew where it was and how to gain access to it. On her burial day, King Ahkmenrah ordered the servants, guards and Craig to wait outside and be on the lookout for anyone who dared to try to enter so that no one would find out where she was buried and how to gain access to it. Once he made sure everyone that was in attendance were having fun and distracted, he snuck inside the tomb entered the secret room as she was being placed down. After the servants left, he went over to the glass display that surrounded the sarcophagus that his beloved Irissa was in. After looking at it and admiring all of the details, Ahkmenrah put a boquet of Calla Lilies hand on the glass. "I swear to you my love, when I find who did this to you, I will avenge you! I swear on my life that my vengeance will be swift and terrible and I promise you that they will know the meaning of the word fear when I crush them like the insects they are! Then I shall burn of what remains of them and their bodies and make them burn like tiny little scarabs baking in the Sinai!" he said darkly in anger. He took a deep breath as tears rolled down his face. "Goodbye my love." He then leaned down and kissed the glass over where her lips would be. Hours later, one of the guards left their post and went to the outside of the secret door to try and make sure their king was still okay. "My king, the ceremonial feast is over. Are you ready to depart now?" the guard him. "No. Go to the carriage. I will be out there as soon as I am ready" he said coldly as he kept his gaze on the entrance to her area of the tomb. "Yes my king." the servant said meekly before he left. Once he was sure that the guard was gone, he walked over to the secret door and pushed on the secret brick that opened the door to exit where his beloved Irissa was hidden. He then left the secret room and watched the door close behind him. After they left the tomb, they went back to the palace and continued on with the day as usual. Ahkmenrah attended to his duties while Craig joined him.

The next day, when he finally got a break from his royal duties, Ahkmenrah would spend it in what was his and his beloved's room pacing back and forth while trying to figure out who killed his beloved, while Craig would wander the castle. While wandering the castle looking for his favorite imported fried dough balls, Craig saw a familiar figure in the kitchen. The figure had his back turned and all that Craig could see was the figure opening a small vial of powder, putting it into a drinking glass full of liquid and then stirring it. The figure then turned around to reveal that it was no one other than Ahkmenrah's jealous older brother, Kahmunrah. Before he could see him, Craig quickly hid behind a potted plant in the kitchen. Craig then watched Kahmunrah leave the kitchen with the glass and walk away. After Kahmunrah was out of the kitchen, Craig decided to follow him. Kahmunrah then walked to where Ahkmenrah was and entered the room. Looking through the small holes he had cut in secret, he peered through them and into the room. "So terribly sorry to hear about your loss baby brother" Kahmunrah said as he entered the room. "I don't need your sympathy Kahmunrah. What are you doing here anyways?" Ahkmenrah said as he snapped at him out of grief. "Do calm down brother. All of this will be soon be over in no time. Drink this. It will make you feel better." Kahmunrah said to Ahkmenrah as he handed him the glass. "Why are you suddenly being so nice to me?" Ahkmenrah asked him. "Now now dear brother. No need to get suspicious. When I was at sea, I had heard about what had happened to Iris and I figured you could use some company." Kahmunrah replied to him. "Now come, drink that. It will make you feel better" Kahmunrah said as he nudged the glass in Ahkmenrah's hand towards his lips. "I am not sure Kahmunrah. You have never been this nice to me before" Ahkmenrah said as he put the cup down on the table near the window. "It made mother and father feel better! After drinking it, they decided to take a long nap to try and help with the recovery process. And now they are sailing on the Nile to North Egypt to visit the rulers there and help them recover!" Kahmunrah said as he picked up the glass and handed it to Ahkmenrah. Ahkmenrah then went to go put the glass between his lips when he faintly heard a familiar voice call out. "No! Ahkie! Don't drink it!" Ahkmenrah could barely hear what the voice had said but he could almost make out whose voice it was. "Craig?" Ahkmenrah said out loud as he tried to figure out where the voice was coming from. Just as Ahkmenrah was about to put the glass down again, Kahmunrah grabbed ahold of his hands and made him drink every last drop of what was in the cup. After everything in the cup was gone, Kahmunrah smiled evilly. "Feel any better brother?" Kahmunrah said coldly. "A little." Ahkmenrah replied as his eyes begun to close and he let out a long yawn. "Dear brother, you look exhausted! Perhaps you should call it a night?" Kahmunrah said as he helped Ahkmenrah over to his bed. After Ahkmenrah settled into bed, Kahmunrah took off Ahkmenrah's crown and placed it on the table near the bed. A while later, Ahkmenrah was sound asleep. "Perfect!" Kahmunrah said as he took out the knife that was in the drawer. "Oh, look at this. To my beloved Irissia. May this protect you from those who dare to try to hurt you." Kahmunrah said as he read off the tag that was attached to the knife. After removing the tag, got ready to stab Ahkmenrah while he was sleeping. Before he could shove the knife through his heart, Ahkmenrah suddenly gasped for air and then let out a sharp exhale before he went lifeless. "Well that was easy!" Kahmunrah said as he put the knife in his pocket. "Help! Help!" Kahmunrah yelled out the doorway. "The king is dead! My brother is dead!" He yelled out again unsympathetically. When the doors burst open, guards ran into the room to see if what Kahmunrah had said was true. After the guards entered the room, the high priest came rushing in and went to Ahkmenrah's side. After trying to feel for a pulse, the priest's head fell and when he looked up, he just shook his head. Servants then came into the room with a white sheet and a gurney. The guards then helped the servants lift the body and carried it to the embalming chamber of the temple. Another three months had passed since the death of Egypt's beloved King Ahkmenrah. He was buried in the tomb in front of his tablet. After he was buried, Kahmunrah took the throne and was named pharaoh since there was no one else to take the throne that was of royal birth. Months had passed the the bodies of the old rulers, Merenkahere and his wife Shepseheret were found. Another three months later, they were buried beside their son Ahkmenrah. Before they were placed in the tomb, Kahmunrah ordered for all of the outermost parts on his brother's and parent's sarcophagus and coffins to be sealed and locked up tight with no questions asked. When his demands were met, the tomb was sealed and Kahmunrah went back to the palace as if nothing had ever happened.

One night while snooping around the palace, Craig overhears Kahmunrah talking to someone. He hid around a column that was outside of the door and leaned in to listen. "I can't believe it was THAT easy!" He heard him say. "You're telling me! I snuck up behind her and stabbed her right in the back! She never even knew that it was me! For all the guards and the people think, it was your baby brother's so called best friend that killed her and then him!" He heard another voice say. He peered through the hole in the door and saw Kahmunrah with Sharifa. Hearing their confessions, Craig realized that the powder that was in Ahkmenrah's drink was a very deadly poison that Kahmunrah used to kill Ahkmenrah and that Sharifa was the one that killed Iris. Craig then quietly snuck out of hiding and ran towards where the guards, the royal priest and the royal advisor were. "I know who killed King Ahkmenrah and Queen Irissia! It was..." Craig yelled while he ran to try to get their attention. Before he could get to the high priest and the others, he felt someone hit him hard on the back of the head and he was knocked unconscious. Hours later,when he woke up he noticed that he was somewhere that was dark and very unfamiliar."What? Where am I?" Craig said confused. "Ohh look! Fried dough balls!" he said as he noticed a large platter of fried dough balls on a table across from him. As he tried reaching out for the platter, he noticed that he could not move his arms or legs. Suddenly two figures came out of the shadows. "So you found out the truth didn't you?" Sharifa asked him as she held a lit torch. "I guess now that you know the truth, we are going to have to make sure that you are 'taken care of'!" Kahmunrah said as he held up an unlit torch. "Oh well for starters, you can hand me that tray of fried dough balls!" Craig said enthusiastically. "Not like that!" Kahmunrah shouted at him as he threw the unlit torch on the ground. "Well wait, where am I?" Craig asked again. "You are in the servant quarters of the tomb. We can't have someone like you running around and telling everyone the truth!" Sharifa replied to him before she threw down the lit torch. After Kahmunrah added some more pieces of wood to the chair that Craig was tied to, his entire body caught on fire and was severely burnt to death. After Kahmunrah made sure he was dead, he had his servant come in with some embalming workers from the temple so that they could start the mummification process. After the process was done and he was wrapped, he was placed in a wooden coffin and then sealed away in the tomb.

While Kahmunrah ruled over Egypt, he was known to be very cruel and violent. The people of Egypt hated and feared him. After years of ruling in tyranny, he was eventually killed and his body was lost at sea. Since he was the last blood heir, Prince Horusaha of the North took the throne and ruled just as how his sister had. And with a kind heart and an extended open hand, he was well respected and generally well liked. However he knew that he was and will never be as beloved as his sister was when she ruled.

Many decades later, the tomb of Ahkmenrah was discovered. While his parents got shipped off to London to be put on display at the British Museum, Ahkmenrah and his tablet got shipped off to Cambridge University to be put on display in the Egyptology Department. After eighteen years of being on display at Cambridge, Ahkmenrah and his tablet then were shipped off to New York to become a permanent exhibit of the Museum of Natural History. After archaeologists explored more of the tomb, they discovered the secret burial chambers of Irissia. She, along with the other artifacts and Craig were then shipped off to Cambridge University to be put on display in the Egyptology Department.

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End of Part 1