"So!" Thea replied in a chipper manner, rushing away from Ahmed. She caught him looking at her out of the corner of his eye, the same half-dreaming expression on his face. Another shiver coursed through Thea. "You did excellent work on these pots. Lets decipher them, shall we?"

That seemed to rouse Ahmed from his trance-like state, and he walked over. Thea grabbed a pair of gloves. As she watched Ahmed put on his own, her eyes fell to his ring. She wanted desperately to dispel the uncomfortable feeling that had taken up every crevice of the room.

"The shen ring can be stretched to encompass different things," Thea said, sitting in a stool and opening her file folder to begin her notes. Ahmed sat across from her, studying the other side of the vase. "It's usually carried by the two bird God's, Horus and Nekhbet. Horus was represented by a falcon while Nekhbet was represented by a vulture."

Ahmed briefly flicked his dark eyes to Thea. "Nekhbet is a Goddess."

"Yes--I know."

Ahmed nodded, pulling out a laptop to begin his own notes.

"Mut--another vulture Goddess--is associated with the shen ring, too."

Ahmed said nothing, craning his head down as he studied the vase.

"Heqet, the Goddess frog of fertility, she also was associated with the shen ring," Thea rambled on. 

"Did you know," Ahmed commented, typing away on his laptop, "that women often wore her amulets during childbirth for good luck."

"If I did, I've forgotten."

"She eventually become associated with resurrection," Ahmed said, looking back at the vase. "In fact, the phrase I am the Resurrection in Christianity stems from Heqet."

Thea laughed. "I don't know much about Christianity."

Ahmed briefly glanced at her. "Heqet was worshiped by midwives, and she was the one who breathed life into Horus. Since Horus is so closely tied with raising Osiris from the dead, she too became associated with Osiris. As time went on, she became more heavily associated with rebirth than fresh birth."

"Hmm," Thea said, studying the vase intently. Talking was helping to ease the tension. Thea thought about her dream, and she looked at Ahmed. "I'm curious; how does Ra fit into all this, then?"

Ahmed looked at her, blinking. "I don't follow."

Thea bit her lip. "The shen ring is associated with the God Aqen, one of the Gods of death."

Ahmed visibly bristled. "Not death--the underworld."

"Sorry," Thea said. "But I know Aqen was associated with Ra...Aqen brought Ra a shen ring, if I'm not mistaken?"

"That is correct."

Thea shrugged. "I'm just noticing the shen ring overlaps several different origin stories."

"It does," Ahmed said. He closed his laptop, leaning his chin in his hands and staring directly at Thea. "Mut is the mother-God, married to Ra. When she is in her bird form, she carries a shen ring in her talons."

"And Aqen delivers a shen ring to Ra."

"Correct."

"What's so important about the shen ring?"

Ahmed shrugged, leaning back and opening his laptop again. "Symbolism. It's designation is eternal protection."

"So...Aqen delivers eternal protection to Ra?"

"Correct." Ahmed dropped his eyes. "Being a holder of a shen ring, Aqen can give eternal protection to, well, anyone he chooses."

Thea shuddered, thinking of being pulled into the gaping mouth by a shen ring. She dropped her eyes, trying to make her voice sound as neutral as possible. "I don't know much about the God Aqen..."

"Well, he is a God of the Underworld. He was the personal advisor to Ra." Ahmed tilted his head down again, eyes focused intently on the vase before him. "He's also referred to as the mouth of time."

Thea's heart thudded in her chest. "What did you say?"

Ahmed still refused to look at her. "He has the ability to allow Gods and demons to pull the rope of time."

"I've never heard this," Thea said quietly, speaking as though she had just ran a marathon.

Ahmed sighed heavily. He folded his hands on the table, looking at Thea directly. "Aqen gave birth to time, as represented by a never-ending rope coming out of his mouth. In many iterations, at the end of this rope is a shen ring. Since Aqen birthed it, he has the ability to manipulate it."

Thea was pretty sure she looked like the girl in Jurassic Park as she held trembling green jello because dinosaurs were afoot. "Could he--could he pull people through time?"

"Technically, yes." 

Ahmed laughed heartily. Thea jumped, releasing a breath she wasn't even aware she had been holding. Ahmed was so amused he clapped his hands. "Thea--why are we discussing this?"

Thea literally shook herself. Puckering her lips, she began to take notes. "Just making small chat, Ahmed."

"Thea."

Thea flicked her eyes up. Ahmed sat, arms crossed, one eyebrow raised. He didn't believe her, clearly.

"I had a dream about a mouth that was open wide. From it came a shen ring. It bound me, and pulled me into the mouth."

Ahmed smirked. "I'm sure it's just because we're studying a Pharaoh that is deeply associated with Aqen."

"We are?"

"Yes," Ahmed said. He got to his feet and came around the table, standing next to Thea. he carefully moved the vases around as he spoke, talking. "Aqen is mentioned several times all over these vases. Especially on this funeral vase. See? Aqen is shown here, presiding over the embalming."

Thea shuddered again. She didn't remember seeing Aqen's name previously. Ahmed was correct though; he was all over the vases, every single one.

"It makes sense," Thea said quietly, "Aqen was the patron God of Ankh's town..."

"You say that with such certain conviction."

Thea blinked and looked at Ahmed. He tilted his head to the side. "We do not know much about Aqen at all. I've never heard him assigned to any town, ever."

Thea's mouth went dry. "Well, I mean, we can only assume since the vases are covered in him."

"Mmm."

Thea swallowed, trying to get saliva back into her mouth. "W-well, then this really is a historic find! Not only are we studying an unknown Pharaoh, but we're learning about a lesser-known God who unfortunately didn't make it through time."

Ahmed smirked and raised his eyebrows. "Indeed."

~

Thea opened her eyes. She found herself in the room she had gone to sleep in, still smelling of the oils and soaps. She sat up on the golden sleigh-bed, yawning and stretching. Morning light poured in through a series of small windows that sat high up on the wall. 

She allowed herself time to get acclimated to waking up in Egypt, yet again. Once she felt ready, she slipped out of her night down. A pretty black outfit had been left for her; it was a robe, the skirt opaque enough to see the outline of her legs. A large, heavy, beautifully ornate belt went around her mid-section. To her amusement a small circlet crown had been left, too, golden and decorated like reeds in the front, the stems touching at her brow and the plant itself spanning outward. It was a little big, but rested comfortably on her ears. The final touch was a pair of black dyed sandals. 

When Thea left, two guards were stationed at her door. Startled, she put a hand to her chest. 

"Oh, good morning gentlemen." 

"The Pharaoh has requested your presence at breakfast," the guard on the left said.

Thea smiled. "That sounds lovely, thank you."

The guard bent slightly at the waist, and then smiled. "We did not mean to startle you, Thea."

"Oh, it's quite alright," Thea replied chipperly as they all began to walk down the hallway. 

Now that it was daytime, people bustled about. Thea tried really hard to not stare. Everything was enticing, their makeup, their hair, their clothes. Everyone seemed pleasant, too, greeting the trio as they moved. The guards responded to everyone cordially,  and they didn't seem very stuffy nor overly strict in their regimen. The large scimitars they carried, however, was a clear reminder of their position. 

Thea was lead back to the dining hall. When the doors were opened, her levity fell a little. Ankh sat at the head of the table, leaning his cheek against his palm as he listened to another man who was bent over, talking into the King's ear. Ankh looked deeply troubled, not even bothering to raise his eyes when he heard the doors open. 

The guards bowed, turned, and shut the doors behind Thea. Thea worried her lip, turning back to the troubled King. She didn't know what else to do so she stood there, patiently waiting for Ankh to acknowledge her.