When Gyasi entered the private meeting chamber of Ankh, he paused, looking rather unsure of himself. Thea didn't fail to notice as his eyes (now rimmed with beautiful, shimmering teal eyeshadow) fell on her before shifting back to his nephew.

"Please," Ankh said, more of a command than anything as he gestures to an empty chair.

Gyasi hesitated a moment longer before he entered. In a jerking fashion, as though he were not sure of himself, Gyasi bowed with his fist to his shoulder. He then sat down rigidly.

"I owe you an apology," Ankh said, his own gaze sliding off to the side.

Gyasi couldn't hide his shock. "You do?"

Ankh looked back. "I acted--rashly. When my mother first died."

The briefest look of smugness took over Gyasi's features, but he quickly contained it. "Oh?"

"Uncle," Ankh said plainly, "I know you loved my mother. I know you wanted to marry her. But I also know you as my uncle. You are a reasonable man. You have never done anything to show you would have it in you to murder someone in a fit of jealousy."

Gyasi sighed, briefly looking relieved. "Ankh--if anything else, I wouldn't dare risk tarnishing sah."

Thea knew immediately what he meant. Ancient Egyptians took their afterlives very seriously. Their concept of the soul varied vastly from most other religions throughout history. They believed different parts comprised a person's spirit--the physical body (khet), the spiritual body (sah), ren, the name/identity, the personality (known as ba), the double (ka), ib (the heart), shut (the shadow), and the sekhem, or form. All of these comprised made akh, the intellect, and the form of all these parts comprised as a whole spirit.

It was believed that when a person died, they were judged by forty-two divine judges. If you're soul was heavy and tarnished, you would be denied entry into the afterlife. Worse, if the proper rituals, ceremonies, and preservation rituals for the physical body were not met, you would never attain sah. Often this would result in something akin to a poltergeist, an avenging spirit left to roam the world, filling those who were once loved one's with nightmares and bad luck. If your soul outright failed the weighing of the ib ceremony (in which the god Anubis put your heart on a scale and weighed it against a feather), your soul was immediately thrown to Ammit, the Devourer of Souls, to be eaten. Even though the latter carried the promise of torture and denial of rebirth in the afterlife, most considered it worse to be brought back as a shamed, lost spirit, forced to live in the world instead of the afterlife. Permanent death at the hands of Ammit outweighed the misery of missing the afterlife.

"I know," Ankh replied shamefully. "Especially given your devotion to Osiris. I am so, so sorry. May I have your forgiveness? Please?"

Gyasi got to his feet and outspread his arms. Ankh rose and, looking tearful, rushed over to embrace his uncle. When that was done, they both sat back down.

"Now," Ankh said seriously, stippling his hands. "Onto business."

Gyasi inclined his head. "But of course."

"Before I bring in Lapis," the Pharaoh said, "I wanted to ask you something privately."

Gyasi rose an eyebrow and looked at Thea. He then looked squarely at Ankh. "You wish to discuss something privately, away from Lapis, but in front of this one?"

"I want to gage your reaction," Ankh said truthfully with a shrug.

A pause, and then, "Go on."

"Do you know where Chisisi went after I became Pharaoh?"

Gyasi couldn't help but laugh. "Still not over that, eh, Ankhenaten?"

Ankh pursed his lips into a thin line. Gyasi's smile immediately fled. "Oh...Well, he no longer had a use for Egypt after he failed to become Pharaoh, so he left. Everyone knows that."

The Pharaoh narrowed his eyes. "Yes, but do you know where, exactly, he scampered off to?"

"Besides having intentions to travel east, no, I do not."

Ankh nodded curtly. He then got the attention of one of the guards standing at the ready. "Go fetch Lapis, please."

The guard bowed before leaving. Thea was intrigued. Curiously, she looked at her lover. "Who is Chisisi?"

"The person I was running against, directly, when I became Pharaoh."

"Oh." Thea blinked. "How long have you been King now?"

"Ten years."

Thea hesitated. "That's a rather long time to hold a grudge for, isn't it, my King?"

"Chisisi isn't just someone who was running against Ankhenaten," Gyasi said. "He is Ankh's brother."

"My twin brother."

Thea's eyes went huge. "Twin?"

Ankh got to his feet and began to slowly pace around the meeting chamber as he spoke. "My brother and I were the last born in my immediate family. Our mother barely survived the childbirth. Even so she was bedridden for months, and I am told we required a milk maid."

Thea lapsed into silence, listening intently.

"The fact that the three of us survived was thought to be a miracle, especially since my brother was dead upon birth. He was perceived to be blessed by the Gods themselves."

"Taken from the very hands of Ra himself," Gyasi murmured.

"It went to his head," Ankh snarled. "I was living in a state of constant disdain compared to Chisisi. The things that were given to him I had to work for. He was special, something I was reminded of nearly daily."

Thea bit her tongue. Gyasi, however, took note.

"It goes beyond jealousy," Gyasi placated.

"He became wicked and cruel," Ankh continued. "Entitled is too light of a word for how he behaved. He was a womanizer, and any woman who dared reject his advances were beaten savagely."

"It didn't stop there," Gyasi lamented.

"He began demanding riches from my mother. You see, we were of royalty on my mother's side. It's one of the only reasons why we were even considered to be anointed as King. When my mother was unable to provide him adequately, he-"

Ankh seemed unable to finish, so his uncle continued for him. "He beat her as well. The final declaration of who would be King came down to her. Normally their father would have decided, however, he somehow managed to trip down a flight of stairs a week before the coronation was to be decided--if you understand what I imply."

Thea felt sick to her stomach. "Oh my God."

"My sister was put in a difficult position," Gyasi continued delicately. "She feared Chisisi. However, his report preceded him, and she wasn't the only one who feared him. It came down to, did she appoint Chisisi King out of fear and face the wrath of not only the people but his rule, or appoint Ankh whom everyone had grown to like?"

"When I was appointed, Chisisi took it as a personal insult," Ankh said. "He left in the middle of the night, only telling his best friends that he was going to live out his days in the east."

"A new and wondrous land had been discovered recently," Gyasi said.

"No doubt he was hoping to go there and land some sort of position of power," Ankh said bitterly.

Just then the chamber door opened. Lapis was led in.

"Good morning to you all," Lapis said as he swept into the room with a slight inclination of his head.

"My dear Lapis," Ankh said, "have you found anything else through examining that beast of a snake that was siced on Thea?"

Lapis frowned. "No, my Lord, I am sorry."

"Thea has done a bit of traveling herself," Ankh said, thinking quickly on his feet. "She thinks she might have information you would find vitally fascinating."

Lapis looked at Thea.

"Oh," Thea said, hating to be put on the spot. She put her hands onto her lap. "I have been to places in the east. The creatures there grow large."

Lapis' eyes grew. "The east?"

"In fact, I think I may have seen a snake just like the one that attacked me."

Lapis' skin noticeably greyed, and when he spoke, it was barely above a fearful whisper. "Chisisi."