Thea sat, eyes wide in absolute giddy excitement. Even when the fact her life was in danger frittered across her mind, it lasted only a second. She could't detach herself from the here and now; it was all very impressive, she wasn't sure anyone would have been able to.

Ankh, Lapis, and herself had been escorted across the desert via chariot to a large Colosseum. A part of her felt sad, gazing at the magnificent structure that shimmered white just like the pyramids themselves. In modern times, this structure was nowhere to be seen. Fragments hadn't even been discovered. As the trio split up at one of the arched doorways, escorted to different seats by armed guards, Thea wondered what was to befall this magnificent place.

Ankh was led to a middle viewing box. It was held up by wooden legs, and decorated with intrinsically religious symbols. Over Ankh's head was a wide canopy of white linen to keep the sun off; the opening of the viewing box was draped in opaque cloth. These too held symbols, with the boarders being trimmed with gold, while Thea caught glimpses of golden ankhs and stars as it billowed in the cool wind.

Thea watched intently as Lapis was situated to the lower right side of the Pharaoh's viewing box. Thea herself sat directly across from them. Shortly after they were seated, a line of guards entered the floor of the Colosseum. They marched shoulder to shoulder, two by two, and were five lines deep. Once they reached the middle, they took horns made from tusks off their shoulders and blew into them. It was surprisingly loud, and the excited crowd lulled into a murmur. Once that happened, the guards faced Ankh's viewing booth. When that happened, Ankh rose to his feet and walked forward so everyone could see him. 

As Ankh stepped forward, the guards began to beat their thighs with their open palms. It was slow at first, then quicker, until there was a rhythmic slapping sound. The rhythm dissipated near the end, and the guards began just beating their legs however they wanted. After a few seconds of this, they screamed, throwing their hands into the air. They were all beaming. 

Thea joined in when everyone started clapping and cheering. Taking a mental note to ask what all that was about, the crowd didn't settle until the guards were clear of the arena. Once that happened, a hush rolled over everyone.

"I extend my deepest thanks to you all for coming," Ankh said. Thea was impressed at the volume; she could hear him quite well. The distance between herself and him was large, so she had to strain her ears, but even so, he was heard by everyone. "I do not have much to say except for this:"

As though on cue, everyone lifted their hands skyward, palms up, and craned their necks back. Nervously Thea did the same, trying not to shudder at the thought of an arrow going through her neck. 

"Blessed be Ra. May his sun rays dance down on us together, protecting us, enveloping us in his love and protection, from here until death, and hold us in his tender arms, guiding us through the Afterlife."

Everyone shouted once, startling Thea. Then, just as the guards had, everyone began to pound on their thighs, creating a large ruckus. People also broke out into happy, enthusiastic cheering. Thea joined in, grinning, and looking around herself. As the people cheered, Ankh took a few moments to wave at everyone in the Colosseum. He then faced the sun, put his right fist to his left shoulder, and bowed deeply at the waist. When that was done, he sat down in his mini-throne of sandstone and gold.

From somewhere out of Thea's line of sight, horns barred again. This time, a stream of dancers ran into the arena, followed by men carrying portable instruments. Thea gasped at the sheer beauty of the performance.

Men and women alike were scantily clad. They were, to Thea's surprise, all bald; as they began to perform dances that gymnasts would envy, she assumed it was to keep them cool and also so their wigs didn't fly off mid-performance. As the drums beat rhythmically, and the horns blared, and tiny cymbals around the dancer's waists, ankles, and wrists chimed delicately, something amazing happened. They began to sing.

It wasn't just the dancers. Many voices rose up as one, singing a beautiful, chant-like song. It was sung like the other Thea had heard in the dining chamber; methodical, complicated, almost akin to traditional Japanese chants. It was exquisite and unlike anything Thea had ever heard or seen. For many minutes, she was moved to tears.

After what Thea felt like was around twenty minutes, the performance ended. The dancers danced the entire duration, not stopping once, incorporating props throughout. Seamlessly other dancers entered, carrying scarves, poles, flags, and, at one point, lit torches. These new additions spun in on their toes like ballerinas, relieving dancers who had been dancing for awhile. It was completely synchronized, obviously practiced for hours upon hours. Thea only regretted two things; one, that she didn't know the words of the songs being sang (so she couldn't join in), and two, that it ended.

Thea was under the assumption that the sport known as Pankration was strictly practiced in Greece. Any and all records of the practice in modern times shown it had been a Grecian practice only, even becoming an Olympic sport. However, as Thea watched the first two competitors enter the arena, and everyone started cheering madly, she found herself not surprised that such a popular sport would be known in Egypt.

Thea, only hearing of Pankration once years ago, had asked Lapis to fill her in. It was a hand-to-hand combat sport. There weren't very many rules; participates were separated by age (old and young), and you couldn't bite your opponents or gouge their eyes. Lapis, however, said even these rules were lax, and it was up to the referees discretion. Lapis also informed her that, while rare, sometimes athletes died because choke holds were allowed.

Thea braced herself for a very bloody, unpleasant experience as she sat. She was never really a fan of brutal sports; after a few minutes of watching boxing, for example, she'd have to turn away. From what Lapis had told her, this sounded like MMA to the enth.

"Would you like a plate?"

Surprised, Thea pulled her eyes away from the arena. There were naked servants walking through each row, carrying plates. Thea glanced to the side where stairs led to the seats. At each row stood three more sets of slaves; the next one carrying goblets, the one behind that carrying food, and the last carrying jugs. Thea was reminded of being at a baseball game, and felt a brief pang of homesickness. Pushing it away, she smiled at the servant. "Yes—thank you."

The servant handed her a plate, looking bashful at the smile. That would be something Thea would have to get used to. Perhaps Thea could convince Ankh to do away with the caste system...Yet, what historical repercussions would that have?

As Thea thanked each and every server, her mind whirled. She considered things she hadn't previously. Would her being here disrupt time? In the grand scheme of things, Ankh was a unknown Pharaoh. He hadn't done anything spectacular. But what if he did something significant after he was supposed to have died? There was a reason Thea stuck to hard facts and history; the speculations of science fiction had always made her feel ill.

However, as her eyes fluttered around, the possible disruption of history wasn't the only thing that made her feel ill. Her eyes swept to either side; her guards still sat beside her. Down to the arena her eyes focused then. One of the fighters got the upper hand. He twisted the other man's arm behind his back, pulling up on it. Much to Thea's horror, the man stomped repeatedly on his attacker's foot, trying to get him to release his arm.

Thea's eyes tore away from the gruesome scene, looking across at Ankh. The Pharaoh was watching the fight, finger to his cheek. From a distance, Thea couldn't quite make out if his expression was amused or bored. Back to the arena, where the man having his arm twisted was down on one knee now, clawing at his captors arm, screaming to be let go. The referees circled, metal sticks in hand, ready to separate the two at any given moment.

Then, a glint caught Thea's eye. For a moment she thought it was just the sun. But as her eyes focused on where Lapis sat, she saw someone with a knife. They were moving toward Lapis quickly.

"LAPIS!"

Thea was on her feet, but so was everyone else; the referees had called the match, Thea's shriek of warning being drown out by the cheering and applauding all around her.