SLAVE OF THE GOA'ULD

Chapter Two

Ankhsenamen sat by a large window in her bedroom, staring out at the bustling city of Memphis. Her husband was off attending to affairs of state which meant she had nothing to do for the day. As his consort, she was not permitted to sit in on the council meetings with Tut, his vizier, Aye, his captain of the guards, Horemheb, and the priests who kept his temples running. She had no real authority which infuriated her since her father let her mother, Nefertiti, handle much of the day to day stuff when she and Tut were children, living at Amarna far away from the political intrigues and corruption of the city. While she stared out the window, a scarab walked across the window ledge and she smiled at it, thinking that perhaps Khepri, the god of rebirth and the movement of the sun, had one of his messengers pay her a visit in beetle form. Many believed that the scarabs appeared out of nowhere and the fact that the beetle appeared here on her window ledge when she was up on the third floor seemed to confirm it. But she was raised in her father's court at Amarna and her father taught her that things like that were superstitions and that the old gods had no power, only the Aten was supreme.

She wasn't completely sure her father had been correct about the Aten but one thing she did know was that the people surrounding her husband were shady and she didn't trust them one bit, especially Aye and Horemheb. Both of them were creepy and she always tried to avoid them whenever she could. The moment her father died, all of them came racing back to her husband, demanding he restore the ancient gods of Egypt to their rightful place. At that time, both she was eight and her husband was nine, young and powerless and completely at the mercy of the power hungry men who had their eyes on the throne. They were taken back to Memphis in triumph and she was wedded to her brother while her mother was taken away somewhere. She had no idea where Nefertiti was now. Her mother told them she needed to go south into Nubia with her other sisters for a visit but that was years ago and they hadn't seen her since. Ankhsenamen suspected her mother and sisters had been quietly murdered so Aye and Horemheb would be able to have full control of Tut. There was no one she trusted apart from her husband and her childhood friend, Meren, her personal servant. He had been raised with her since childhood and she knew that he would die before he would betray her.

Which was why when she got an idea to escape from the palace and roam the city, she summoned him and only him. Meren was tall and lean with dark brown skin. His head was shaved as well as his eyebrows and he wore heavy kohl makeup around his eyes and a loincloth around his waist. He knelt before his mistress.

"What is thy desire, Highness?" he said, his eyes lowered to the floor.

"I wish to leave the palace in disguise and go into the city."

Meren looked up at her.

"What will the pharaoh say, Highness?"

"I don't care what he says or what he thinks about me going out into the city, Meren. I'm bored and I want to escape this dismal palace and walk out among the people where I can view them and the city in disguise. Fetch me a plain wig and a course linen dress. I don't want anyone knowing who I am."

"As you wish, Highness, but how will we get out without the guards knowing?" Meren asked.

"Don't worry, my faithful friend, I know several secret ways out of the palace, courtesy of my husband. Just go and do as I ask."

"At once, Highness," Meren said, kneeling briefly before going off to obey his mistress's command.

"Walk like an Egyptiaaaaan," the Doctor sang as they walked through a bazaar near the palace.

"He's stuck on that song now," Rose said to Jenny.

"Yes, I noticed that," Jenny said.

"It's a brilliant song and what better place to use it than here?" the Doctor said. "All the old paintings on the tomb do the sand dance, don't ya know. If you move too quick, oh-way-oh, they falling down like a domino."

The Doctor whistled the rest of the tune while he stopped and looked at a baby cheetah in a wooden cage near one of the booths.

"How much for the kitty cat?" he asked a young Egyptian manning the booth.

"12 jugs of beer and 10 sacks of grain, interested?" the man said.

"Um, no…fresh out of beer and grain, sorry," the Doctor said before he walked away.

"What would you have done with that?" Rose asked, pointing to the cheetah as they walked away.

"Kept it as a pet and called it Spots, what'd ya think?" the Doctor said to her. "I would train it to fetch and attack Daleks and be my faithful feline."

"See, this is what I'm on about when I say the Doctor lives inside a fantasy world in his mind."

"I do not," the Doctor said while Jenny laughed. "If they're selling cheetahs, apparently you can train them to act as pets, yeah? So I want one."

"Well, go get 12 jars of beer and 10 sacks of grain and you can own Spots," Jenny said.

"Nah, I don't want to lug that stuff around Memphis."

"So, are we going to see the king here?" Jenny said.

"I thought that's what we were doing, trying to find a way into the palace," the Doctor said, looking over his shoulder.

"No, the other king. This is Memphis, right? We're here to see the King?" Jenny said.

"Oh, yes, Elvis, very clever," the Doctor said while Rose giggled. "Yes, Elvis never died, he just went back in time to Ancient Egypt and he's ruling as King Tut and you say I live in a fantasy world."

As they walked by the booths, the Doctor caught sight of a lovely young woman walking with a young man. The woman had on an ankle length linen dress and a short wig that came up to her chin line. She had heavy kohl makeup on her eyes and her skin was dark brown. The woman caught sight of the Doctor and gave him an onceover before she smiled warmly at him. The Doctor nodded his hello and tried to move past her but the woman blocked his way.

"I'm sorry, but I've never met anyone like you, where are you from?" the woman asked.

"I'm from Sparta in Greece."

"Really? I've never been there."

"Lovely place, warlike though. Men are trained from birth to be warriors."

"This…is…Sparrrrtaaaa!"

The woman gave Jenny an odd look when she said that. The Doctor looked back at Jenny with a huge grin on his face.

"Yes, we Spartans know no fear. I am Spartacus, named after Sparta. This is my wife, Portia," he said, pointing to Rose. "And this is Ziyi, our adopted daughter all the way from China. And you are…"

"I am Nefer," she said.

"Nefer, nice name. Pleased to meet you and your friend is?"

"Meren, he's a childhood friend."

"Again, nice to meet you. Have a great day," the Doctor said.

"Wait, might we follow you? We're from Thebes and visiting for the day. We were wondering if we could join you."

"Of course. We're new here as well but perhaps we can find our way around Memphis together," the Doctor said.

Ankhsenamen smiled and she looked at Meren. Meren gave them a disapproving look at the strangers while he followed his mistress.

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