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18th Dynasty, 1325 B.C. Cairo, Egypt: Temple of Amun.
Queen Nefertiti, the dowager queen of Egypt observed as the Priest of Amun chanted the sacred words that would summon an eligible female virgin from some unknown location, preferably Nubia. The sun had once again been eclipsed by the moon just as the ritual required and it meant she was one step further in her quest to unseat her son-in-law Pharaoh Tutankhamen from his seat of power. The boy had been causing her trouble as of late, trying to usurp her power and position of influence within the Egyptian government. Pharaoh he may be, but she was Nefertiti, former Princess of the Mitanni and the first wife of Akhenaten, the Lord of Two Lands. She would not be beaten by this little upstart, even if he was the king.
The center of the temple was suddenly filled with a glimmering blue light so bright that both Nefertiti and the priests around her were forced to avert their eyes. When they were able to look again, a young girl with dark hair and conspicuously dark eyes lay there on the cold stone work.
The girl was lightly built with a thin figure in addition to her youthful features. Her face was that of a child barely fourteen. The girl stared back at Nefertiti in mild confusion as if unsure of the true nature of her surroundings. She was oddly dressed in overly long pants and a shirt coat of some sort. Clearly the girl was part of the peasant class of some faraway country. Not that it mattered much. She'd be dead within the hour.
"Amun be praised, we have done it, my Queen."
Nefertiti nodded an affirmation before stepping forward to get a closer look at the sacrifice the ritual had produced for her. The age of the girl suggested that the likelihood she was still a virgin was great indeed. They would have no trouble using her to curse Tutankhamen within the walls of his own palace as he slept on unsuspectingly.
"May I ask where I am?" the girl said "And who you are?"
Nefertiti raised an eyebrow at the clueless peasant before her. Clearly the ritual had rattled the girl's brain if she didn't know she was in the presence of one of her betters. The Dowager Queen raised a hand to signal the priest's underlings to carry the girl to the ordained place, when a voice cut through the air cold and stern.
"And just what do you think you're doing, my Queen? Because it looked to me like you just summoned that girl out of thin air. Hoping to convince Set to rise for you once more?"
"That's a matter of opinion" Nefertiti stated as she turned to see User Ramses and his personal guard walking toward her in quick even steps, "What I do with my time is of no concern to you. Your father knew his place within our court, it is a wonder that his son does not have the same manners."
"I'm merely concerned for the health of our king, majesty." User said with a certain amount of arrogance "One doesn't usually summon a sacrifice without purpose and the means to make use of it."
"That is enough User Ramses!" King Tutankhamen commanded as he stepped out from behind one of Ramses men. "Only the king may pass judgment."
The entire room including Nefertiti bowed low in the presence of the Pharaoh.
"I ask your forgiveness, my lord king, I meant you no insult" Ramses stated lightly as he stared at the ground below his head.
"You lie, User Ramses. You are impertinent. Countless, that is a trait your father values in you, but in my presence it is more of an adherent, particularly in our current situation. You will learn, boy, that there is a time and place for everything." Tutankhamen said, sounding every bit the king. This earned Ramses a glare from his father Seti, the commander of the Egyptian Army.
His wife, Ankhesenamun, stood at his side. Her face was blank, but her eyes showed the horror she so clearly felt at the discovery of her mother's scheme.
When he considered Ramses thoroughly chastised, the Pharaoh then turned his attention to his mother-in-law.
"Queen Nefertiti, though you are the daughter of a god, you shall be punished for your crimes against Egypt and it's king," Tutankhamen informed her "you are to be sent to your palace in Lower Egypt and kept under guard, until such a time as I see fit to release you. You will have bread and water, and none alive shall ever speak your name."
Ramses raised a thoughtful eyebrow at the declaration. It was obvious that the Pharaoh had believed his father, Seti, when he found out about Nefertiti's plot to kill him. He had taken stock of the priests surrounding the Dowager Queen, the sand lines drawn in the stone, and the young girl in bizarre clothing who lay sprawled across the floor. Still, it was a harsh punishment by any means to have your name erased from the house of Egyptian royalty. Ramses had never heard of something like this happening before and judging from Seti's expression, neither had he.
The Pharaoh's guards stood and began arresting the Dowager Queen and the Priests of Amun. They were surrounded and physically restrained and shackled to one another so none could escape.
Nefertiti shouted her objection, only to be silenced by Ankhesenamun. The former Queen was then summarily disowned by her own daughter and sent away to the Lower Palace at the south of the Nile.
In the midst of this the strange girl who was to have been Nefertiti's sacrifice to the gods, had seemingly come to her senses after remaining silent throughout the whole ordeal. The girl proceeded to gain her footing and stood there idly looking around at the temple in utter confusion.
"You there! Girl! Lower yourself in the presence of His Majesty, the great King Tutankhamen!" General Seti shouted to the insolent girl. Ramses sighed quietly, it was clear that the girl had no idea where she was or how she was supposed to behave. That wouldn't save her from the Pharaoh's wrath though, or his old man's.
The Pharaoh himself made to approach the girl and she made the mistake of staring directly at him. Ramses flinched. This girl was going to be trouble, he just knew it. She had guts, to stand up in the face of the Pharaoh without bowing to him or showing any kind of respect. The problem was, she wasn't likely to live very long after doing it.
"She's just a girl" said Ankhesenamun "and she looks dazed. Clearly she isn't in her right mind, my husband."
The Pharaoh gave his wife a measured look before turning back toward the dark haired girl. He walked toward her and made as if to smack her for her insolence. Ramses in a moment of utter stupidity as his father would later describe it, deserted his post within the line of his father's guards and moved next to the girl. He pushed her down harshly.
"You will bow in the presence of the Pharaoh, insolent girl! For he is the son of a god and his life is worth more than yours!" Ramses shouted theatrically, though it seemed to do the trick. The girl lay in the ground, seemingly bowing low with his hand on her back keeping her there. She shivered slightly beneath his fingers. The girl was just a child, only a few years younger than he, it seemed such a waste to let her die like this and in the Temple of Amun of all places.
"Well well" Tutankhamen said as Ramses lowered himself beside the girl, keeping a firm hand on her "I've rarely seen you take such an interest in a child, User. Don't tell me the girl has actually caught your eye."
"No Excellency, I fear it will be years before she is a woman of my standards."
Tutankhamen laughed at the statement.
"I simply believe that the girl has no idea of how to properly behave, Your Majesty, she is clearly too rattled by the efforts of the Priest of Amun to even know her own state of mind" Ramses said in the most humble tone of which he was capable "It is no fault of her own, that she does not know greatness when she see it. A fool cannot but help being blind."
"Well spoken, User Ramses. I leave this girl in your care. You may keep her or return her to whatever country from whence she came, I care not, for I will have nothing further to do with her." Tutankhamen said with an amused expression on his face.
Ramses glanced around and saw that his father Seti was smirking. He probably thought his son's current predicament was some sort of retribution for all the trouble he'd gone through to raise him. It wasn't really all that funny. The girl was simply confused and misguided. Could none of these men see that she was so foreign that she likely barely spoke their language, never mind recognized a member of the royal family when she saw one. Ramses sighed mentally, and now he was to be her keeper.
Once the Pharaoh and his Queen had retreated from the temple along with his father General Seti, Ramses was left alone with his personal guard. He offered the dark haired girl his hand and she reluctantly took it.
"What is your name?" Ramses asked her as he stared at his charge "How did your former master refer to you?"
The girl looked up at him with those mysterious dark eyes, they were almost black, then she pointed to herself and said one word "Yuri".
18th Dynasty, 1324 B.C. Cairo, Egypt: Household of General Seti.
Naptera, formerly known as Yuri, had grown quite a lot since her arrival into Egypt. After being accepted into the house of General Seti, the commander of Pharaoh Tutankhamen's army, she had set about learning the language. The young man who had so brutally pushed her to the ground was Seti's son, User Ramses. Upon learning the nature of Egyptian culture with an odd smattering of politics, it became apparent to her that "Ramses" had saved her life that day. The Pharaoh would have been well within his rights to execute her for her perceived insolence in his presence.
Ramses had reluctantly taken up the position of her teacher and ultimately her baby-sitter for the past year or so. He had bought her a wig and given her proper clothing. Then he taught her the language and how to speak properly in front of people, nobles and commoners alike. It was an arduous task or so he told her.
"I'm only doing this because the Pharaoh commanded it of me" Ramses told her every time Naptera asked him why he was so patient with her mistakes. He'd give her a quick kiss on the cheek, just to get a reaction out of her. After which she'd dutifully smack him and they would get on with the lesson.
"This symbol means "Ch". Now you draw it."
Naptera did her best to copy his sand drawing with one of her own. Just as she finished, she found herself enveloped in one of Nefert's surprise hugs. Ramses rolled his eyes.
"Dear sister, we are in the middle of a lesson, how am I supposed to get this girl to understand anything when you keep interrupting us?" Ramses said in a bored tone.
"Aw, don't be a party pooper, User." Nefert exclaimed, giving her brother a put upon look "We should go out today. That's it! Naptera, let's go swimming."
"Not with you" Naptera told her firmly "the last time we did that, you pulled my clothes off in front of the entire ship. And while I'm sure they enjoyed the show, it's not an experience I'd care to repeat."
"That idea does have a certain ring to it," Ramses said with a smirk "maybe we should all go swimming today."
"Harumph! You just want to see Naptera naked, brother."
Ramses turned to look at his sister.
"You're getting what you want, what the hell do you have to complain about?"
Nefert moved away from the two and pouted a bit.
"But I wanted her all to myself."She said "We never do anything together anymore."
Naptera sighed.
"We just went to the Temple of Hathor together yesterday."
Nefert shrugged. She had a point.
"I heard you saved an urchin boy" Ramses teased "how impertinent of you."
Nefert grinned like a cat who'd gotten the cream.
"The commoners now think she's your concubine, User. They've started sending gifts to the house in her honor. Father was amused when he saw them."
Her brother raised an eyebrow at this.
"Oh? You didn't tell me about that, Naptera."
"I didn't know that it was any of your business" she said.
The urge to bang her head against the wall was almost unbearable. It was so embarrassing.
Nefert was one of the only people who even had an inkling that Naptera liked Ramses. When it had been discovered that reversing the ritual that had brought her here was an impossibility and her ensuing tears had subsided, Naptera had opted to stay here in Seti's household with User and Nefert. General Seti seemed to approve of the fact that she kept his son and daughter from getting into too much trouble, so he allowed her to remain in her current living quarters. Naptera tried to be as useful as possible, helping the staff with household chores and cooking. All behind the scenes of course. The women seemed happy enough to teach her if it meant having another person on hand to help with the work. As a result of her staying Naptera had gotten closer to User Ramses and developed some deeply romantic feelings for him. It was fortunate that despite his affluent ability to read people, he still didn't know about Naptera's feelings for him and she wanted to keep it that way for the time being.
"Hmmmm...we'll have to make an official announcement then, won't we Naptera." Ramses told her, his grin mirroring that of his sister.
Or maybe not.
"What kind of announcement?" Naptera asked, deciding to play dumb.
"Why that we are to be married of course, my dear" Ramses said as he reached a hand to cup her cheek.
Naptera put on a mock thoughtful expression.
"Alright" she said "if that's what you want I suppose I can live with that."
"Naptera!" Nefert said poking her in the back "That's not what you're supposed to say!"
Naptera smirked a little smirk of her own.
"Oh? Well if I say "Yes" are you going to run off immediately to tell the rest of the household?"
"You better believe it!"
Naptera sighed theatrically.
"I suppose I'll say yes then," she said turning toward Ramses. She placed a hand on top of the one clutching her cheek. "I'd love to marry you."
Nefert was on her feet in less than sixty seconds. She ran off swiftly to tell the entire household about her brother's engagement.
Ramses had a satisfied expression on his face as he moved to kiss her. After they broke away, they stayed sitting there for a while, her head on his shoulder.
Naptera thought that despite the twists and turns her life had taken since that one night in Egypt, things had turned out as well as could be expected. She would live her life here and be buried beneath sand that whirled across the banks of the Nile River.