Chapter 22: The First Flash of Lightning

Picture of Kahmunrah and Ismara above. Please tell me if you think they are a good couple?

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Kahmunrah woke up again that morning, not in his own bed and not wearing his kilt. This time he wasn't startled. But the guilt still stuck to him. He looked across the bed where Ismara had just woken up. Her grey eyes as clear as a mountain stream.

He gave her a small smile. She returned it without hesitation. This small gesture had him falling head over heels all over again.

Neither of them could describe the passion that this love had brung. But it was dangerous and the both knew it. After he kissed her one more time something burned in his mind.

It was a question.

Suddenly it became clear.

"Will you marry me?" he whispered. After all marriage was the ultimate union of lovers. And they both knew that their love was something much deeper. Much sweeter. Much more passionate. Much more dangerous. All of this entwined in one.

It was not the fickle love they had once imagined themselves to be in.

Khufu wants this to happen thought Ismara. As much as she didn't want Khufu to win she couldn't say no the only man who wasn't her brother that she was sure she loved.

She looked into Kahmunrah's almost black eyes she could see demons lurking in the shadows.

Can I love a man that could be the downfall of this kingdom?

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The first day of being king would have been horrible if Sabra hadn't been there to help ignore everything. For instance joking around with her helped him ignore the bruising on his bottom for sitting on the throne for too long. He knew that today would be rather easy compared to the rest of his reign.

First a traveling Arab merchant had come by to trade. Ahkmenrah's good memory and enthusiasm had helped him learn many languages, he never needed an interpreter because he knew most of them, from the Barbaric Hun to the flowing Greek he knew all. Yet Ahkmenrah had no experience with trading but he quickly learnt the art of bartering from Sabra. She had been with traders for a while he reminded himself believing this small lie she had told him once upon a time.

Quite soon they had gotten chests of perfumes, jewels, ten horses and and rolls silks in exchange for chests of gold, some fifty or so oxen and rolls of linen. He felt proud of this little dealing but that was overshadowed by something more sinister. Kahmunrah hadn't worked up the courage to talk to him yet. That left a gaping hole inside of him.

He looked over a few statistics, quite soon his eyes were blood shot and his whole being nauseous. Sabra handed him a goblet of water and he drank gratefully.

Then he pouted looking back at the scroll. He hardly understood any of it. In a fit of annoyance he hurled it across the room. "Stupid scroll" he muttered.

Sabra rolled her eyes "You are honestly the most immature person I've met. Just like a three year old child." she huffed as she walked across the hall to pick up the scroll. Taking the scroll in her right hand she threw it back at Ahkmenrah. Unfortunately for him it landed on his face.

"And you say I'm immature." he said, rubbing his nose as he did so. It had started bleeding.

"Oh Lord! Are you aright Ahk?!"

So she does care. He didn't know why but this filled him with warmth. He grinned.

"I'll be fine Sabra don't worry yourself." He tilted his face upwards so that his nose faced the heavens.

"Idiot your not supposed to do that! You'll be vomiting your own blood if you keep that up!"

Startled Ahkmenrah stopped.

"What are you supposed to do?" he asked trying desperately not to let the blood fill his mouth as he spoke.

Sabra look around for a cloth and finally resorted to tearing off a piece of one of the linen drapings that billowed against the wind as it hung across the window..

"What the...?"

"No one will notice Ahk trust me." She dipped the cloth and water and instructed him to wipe the blood from his face. He did as she told him. She then instructed that he should hold the soft part of his nose tightly as that was most likely where the blood had come from. He did so for ten minutes until the bleeding stopped.

He looked at the linen draping that hung against the window. Slightly jagged at the bottom and slightly smaller than the others. Yet he had no intention of replacing it.

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When Khufu heard about the union between Ismara and Kahmunrah he was delighted. Everything was falling into place. Every little detail. Everything was going his way.

He now walked to the tent where Kahmunrah was probably still working on the Pyramid. He entered without asking. Kahmunrah paid him no heed.

"May I?" Khufu asked seriously.Kahmunrah nodded hastily packing the papyrus, ink and stylus away.

"What do you want?" mumbled Kahmunrah.

"Lets have a talk...man to man."

"Alright" he sighed. What am I going to lose? He though to himself.

"You wanted to be king?"

"Yes..."

"Do you realise that Ahkmenrah stole what was rightfully yours."

"Ahk wouldn't do that. He's to innocent and immature. He is still like a child."

"It grieves me to say this but many people are...deceptive"

Ahk deceptive? He couldn't believe it...but this cleared up so many things. How he always got in trouble for what Ahkmenrah did and how Ahkmenrah was chosen over him as king. Ahkmenrah being deceptive was a very real possibility. But he refused to accept it now.

"You must learn from experience Kahmun...my brother, your grandfather, was also rather deceptive. It was because of his deceptiveness my birthright was stolen. I would have been king if Merenkaure hadn't deceived my father."

The bitterness was still clear in Khufu's voice. Kahmunrah's expression soured. What if Ahk really was deceptive? It would explain why Ahkmenrah was chosen king.

"Do you know of the existence of the Tablet?" asked Khufu.

Kahmunrah's heart leapt. How did Khufu know?

"Yes, I do" he answered his voice betraying his shock.

"Did you know your father had named it The Tablet of Ahkmenrah?"

This made Kahmunrah feel another pang of betrayal. How could father do that to him? How could he, Kahmunrah, not see past all the favourtism? How could he not see this at all? All this time he had thought that Ahkmenrah was the most loved because the youngest and the most innocent and needed the most protection. All this time he had been made a fool. No doubt Ahk was laughing at him right now. Where did all their brotherhood go? Clearly it had been eaten by some sort of crocodile.

Khufu knew he had done his job. So he left.

Kahmunrah made a vow.

I will get back my birth right if its last thing I do.

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So how was it? I hope it was good enough.

Also Please check out my new story 'The Man Behind the Gun'

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