I sat down quietly to eat. Enehy and the other serving maid, whose
name I had forgotten were already seated and were gossiping away. Father
was gone on some trading trip or another, as he so often was, so we
would be eating without him.
Enehy looked up. " Mistress Kiya, where is Motab? He's normally never
late for a meal!"
I shrugged. "He said he wasn't feeling well, is all."
Enehy gave me an odd look. "He almost never gets sick. Why this time,
I wonder?"
I said nothing and continued eating. Enehy turned to the younger maid.
" Well, farther north on the Nile, in Men-Nefer, several lords' houses
have been robbed. The strange thing is, the thief seemed to know exactly
where each lord hid there gold, and how to get to it without arousing
suspicion. No guards killed, no locks smashed, no rooms ransacked in
searching. If the gold wasn't gone, no one would notice."
Maybe they'll raid Coltzans home, I said silently to myself. He sure
deserves it!
Enehy dropped her voice. The maid and I had to lean closer to hear.
" And..." She whispered, "It's rumored that the thief broke into the
tomb of the late Pharaoh."
We both gasped. That was indeed a serious offense. Anyone who defiled
a sacred tomb also destroyed the afterlife of the one housed there. Who
would do this to a pharaoh?!
" Well," She continued briskly "They're searching for the robber.
Beheading will be to good for him once they catch him." She then
changed the subject and began gossiping about how the brewer's youngest
daughter had run off with a band of traveling dancers, or something of
that nature. I tuned out and continued eating.
I was sitting in my small sleeping room, the room that had once been
my mother's. It was a simple room, with no furniture except my cot and
my trunk of clothes, but still it reminded me of her. She had died of a
sickness not so long after Motab had been born. I looked out the north-
facing window, which had been her favorite view, on the town a story
below.
The waning crescent moon illuminated the homes, workshops, and
bazaar, which were eerily still and silent. Our home was near the more
important buildings, such as the noble's palace and the monument that
was under construction. If I leaned to the left, I could see the life-
giving Nile, as well as the dock and floodplain farms on its banks.
Farther to the right lay many workshops, all of which were now closed
for the night. Then came the sprawling bazaar, which stunk of rotting
food and rat droppings. Normally it was noisy and lively, but by this
time, the fifth hour after sunset, every one of the traders was long
gone. After that came the houses. Some, nearer to my view, were as fine
as ours. Then came a large neighborhood were craftsmen and lesser
merchants lived. The farther out you went, though, the more and more
slummy the homes got, until you saw places that you could not believe
anyone would live in. To the north and east lay the barren, forbidding
desert. A cold wind ominously whispered across it, whipping up sand in
its path.
I sighed and turned from the window. I could not sleep, even though it
was so late. Whenever I dozed, I had haunting dreams, where I was faced
with a shadowy catlike creature. The creature was demanding something
from me, but I didn't know what. I would slowly and gradually become
more and more frightened, and when I finally panicked the cat would
pounce.
The dreams were unsettling, but I couldn't go on tomorrow with no
sleep at all. I would have to deal with the nightmares. Reluctantly I
lay back down. This was going to be a long night. . .
I was never happier to see the sun rise. Normally I dreaded it, as it
meant I would have to leave my comfortable bed and pleasant dreams. Now
I welcomed it with all of my heart. I jumped out of bed, and quickly
pulled my clothes on. I ran a brush through my hair and then galloped
downstairs.
I almost crashed into the maid. She glanced at me, but continued
hurrying on her way without comment. There was worry etched into every
line of her face. "What's wrong?" I called after her.
She turned around swiftly. "Motab is very ill."
Yes! Second chapter is done! Oh, by the way, I meant to put Kiya's
thoughts into italics, but the dumb site couldn't handle it. And I
promise that the story WILL have action in it. Someday. .
Shaiah: Thank you for suggesting the title. I'll be using that title
for right now, although I will probably change it in the future. Thank
you for your compliments!
orphius: I got most of the names from a computer game called Pharaoh,
believe it or not. And no, Kiya is not actually a noble, but her father
is a BIG-time merchant, so they are very rich. Thank you for telling me
the cool site!
raven: Well, I'm glad you like it! I hope I did a tad better with the
descriptions this time.
Katana no Youkai Okami: Thank you for reviewing. Now, to go off-
subject, my poem little creature was originally meant to be a rabbit,
but reading it over it could just as easily been a hare. So you're not
thick, I just didn't think about that aspect. Also, under what name has
your sister published? I couldn't find anyone called Ky Doppelganger.
IloveTJ: Thank you for reviewing! See ya in algebra class.
kalathetrumpeter: You didn't review! I review your stuff. You're
cruel.
Thank you all again! Your reviews brighten my day.
name I had forgotten were already seated and were gossiping away. Father
was gone on some trading trip or another, as he so often was, so we
would be eating without him.
Enehy looked up. " Mistress Kiya, where is Motab? He's normally never
late for a meal!"
I shrugged. "He said he wasn't feeling well, is all."
Enehy gave me an odd look. "He almost never gets sick. Why this time,
I wonder?"
I said nothing and continued eating. Enehy turned to the younger maid.
" Well, farther north on the Nile, in Men-Nefer, several lords' houses
have been robbed. The strange thing is, the thief seemed to know exactly
where each lord hid there gold, and how to get to it without arousing
suspicion. No guards killed, no locks smashed, no rooms ransacked in
searching. If the gold wasn't gone, no one would notice."
Maybe they'll raid Coltzans home, I said silently to myself. He sure
deserves it!
Enehy dropped her voice. The maid and I had to lean closer to hear.
" And..." She whispered, "It's rumored that the thief broke into the
tomb of the late Pharaoh."
We both gasped. That was indeed a serious offense. Anyone who defiled
a sacred tomb also destroyed the afterlife of the one housed there. Who
would do this to a pharaoh?!
" Well," She continued briskly "They're searching for the robber.
Beheading will be to good for him once they catch him." She then
changed the subject and began gossiping about how the brewer's youngest
daughter had run off with a band of traveling dancers, or something of
that nature. I tuned out and continued eating.
I was sitting in my small sleeping room, the room that had once been
my mother's. It was a simple room, with no furniture except my cot and
my trunk of clothes, but still it reminded me of her. She had died of a
sickness not so long after Motab had been born. I looked out the north-
facing window, which had been her favorite view, on the town a story
below.
The waning crescent moon illuminated the homes, workshops, and
bazaar, which were eerily still and silent. Our home was near the more
important buildings, such as the noble's palace and the monument that
was under construction. If I leaned to the left, I could see the life-
giving Nile, as well as the dock and floodplain farms on its banks.
Farther to the right lay many workshops, all of which were now closed
for the night. Then came the sprawling bazaar, which stunk of rotting
food and rat droppings. Normally it was noisy and lively, but by this
time, the fifth hour after sunset, every one of the traders was long
gone. After that came the houses. Some, nearer to my view, were as fine
as ours. Then came a large neighborhood were craftsmen and lesser
merchants lived. The farther out you went, though, the more and more
slummy the homes got, until you saw places that you could not believe
anyone would live in. To the north and east lay the barren, forbidding
desert. A cold wind ominously whispered across it, whipping up sand in
its path.
I sighed and turned from the window. I could not sleep, even though it
was so late. Whenever I dozed, I had haunting dreams, where I was faced
with a shadowy catlike creature. The creature was demanding something
from me, but I didn't know what. I would slowly and gradually become
more and more frightened, and when I finally panicked the cat would
pounce.
The dreams were unsettling, but I couldn't go on tomorrow with no
sleep at all. I would have to deal with the nightmares. Reluctantly I
lay back down. This was going to be a long night. . .
I was never happier to see the sun rise. Normally I dreaded it, as it
meant I would have to leave my comfortable bed and pleasant dreams. Now
I welcomed it with all of my heart. I jumped out of bed, and quickly
pulled my clothes on. I ran a brush through my hair and then galloped
downstairs.
I almost crashed into the maid. She glanced at me, but continued
hurrying on her way without comment. There was worry etched into every
line of her face. "What's wrong?" I called after her.
She turned around swiftly. "Motab is very ill."
Yes! Second chapter is done! Oh, by the way, I meant to put Kiya's
thoughts into italics, but the dumb site couldn't handle it. And I
promise that the story WILL have action in it. Someday. .
Shaiah: Thank you for suggesting the title. I'll be using that title
for right now, although I will probably change it in the future. Thank
you for your compliments!
orphius: I got most of the names from a computer game called Pharaoh,
believe it or not. And no, Kiya is not actually a noble, but her father
is a BIG-time merchant, so they are very rich. Thank you for telling me
the cool site!
raven: Well, I'm glad you like it! I hope I did a tad better with the
descriptions this time.
Katana no Youkai Okami: Thank you for reviewing. Now, to go off-
subject, my poem little creature was originally meant to be a rabbit,
but reading it over it could just as easily been a hare. So you're not
thick, I just didn't think about that aspect. Also, under what name has
your sister published? I couldn't find anyone called Ky Doppelganger.
IloveTJ: Thank you for reviewing! See ya in algebra class.
kalathetrumpeter: You didn't review! I review your stuff. You're
cruel.
Thank you all again! Your reviews brighten my day.