THE SERVANT OF HATSHEPSUT
Chapter One It was a quiet day on the TARDIS and Rose decided to spend a few hours exploring. In her exploration, she discovered the library. She stepped into it and looked around in awe. Not only was the library vast, bigger than most cities, but there was an Olympic sized swimming pool about twenty feet from the door. The floor in the library was wooden except around the pool where there was cement pavement all around it. The pool area had deck chairs and umbrellas and towels draped over the backs of the chairs. The library part had tables with small table lamps on them and thousands of bookcases filled with books. Rose made a mental note to come back to swim later while she stepped in and turned to look at the bookcase nearest the doorway. Above some of the bookcases were gold plaques that she realized were subject headings like MYSTERY, EARTH HISTORY, MARS HISTORY, SCIENCE and others. Rose glanced around and headed towards the Earth History section. She hoped she could borrow a book to read. The Doctor never said anything about the library so she didn't know if she could take a book but she would bring it back once she was finished. When she got to the shelves containing books on Earth history, she noticed smaller plaques under some of the shelves that denoted further categories. Under one shelf was a plaque that indicated the books on the shelf were about the British Monarchy and she noticed that it not only included that shelf but the two shelves above it before the next plaque indicated those books were about the Russian Monarchy. She slowly walked along, reading the plaques and some of the book titles, looking for something that would strike her fancy. Five bookcases along, she found a large section of books on Ancient Egypt and stopped. She'd always been fascinated with Ancient Egypt so she perused the book titles more closely. "Ah, a fellow book reader!" She looked over her shoulder and smiled when the Doctor entered the room. He was carrying a small book with a blue leather bound cover. He laid the book down on one of the tables before sauntering over to her. "Am I allowed to take a book to read?" Rose asked. "If you promise to take good care of them." "I will, promise," Rose said. "Then you are allowed." "Cheers," Rose said before turning her attention back to the books. The Doctor came up beside her. "Ah, Ancient Egypt, love it. Are you also a lover of Ancient Egypt?" he said to her. "Yes," Rose said. "Ever since I was small, I've always been interested in mummies and pyramids and the artwork. Mum had a book that dad used to have on the artwork of Ancient Egypt. I used to sit on the sofa and stare at the photos for hours." "Any particular subject strike your fancy? Perhaps I can help you narrow your search," the Doctor said. "Well…" Rose said. "Might I make a suggestion?" "Please," Rose said. The Doctor walked over to the bookcase next to her and selected a book with a white dust jacket on it. He handed it to her and she stared at the cover. There was a statue of a feminine looking Pharaoh on the cover and under it was the title of the book. HATSHEPSUT, THE FEMALE PHARAOH. "Seriously? A female pharaoh?" Rose said. "Oh yes, she was one of the greatest pharaohs ever. Her twenty one year reign brought an era of peace and prosperity to Egypt. She was the regent for Thutmose the Third and was supposed to step down when he came of age. Instead, she took over power for herself until her death. Most of the statues and artwork depict her as a male. She's a very interesting woman. I thought you might like reading about her since she's a strong independent woman like you." "Cheers, Doctor. I do want to read this," Rose said. "Glad I could be of help. Enjoy." He smiled when Rose gave him a quick peck on the cheek and walked out of the library with the book. XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX For the next three hours, Rose sat on the sofa in the lounge and read the book, intrigued by what she was reading. In fact, the more she read, the more she wanted to meet Hatshepsut and she decided after the fourth hour to talk to the Doctor and see if they could go and meet her. She put the book on the coffee table beside the sofa and went to find the Doctor. He was still in the library. He was sitting at one of the tables near the door, wearing his glasses and making notations on a notepad while he read from a big leather bound book. He looked busy and Rose wondered if she should bother him. But he must have sensed she was there because he looked up and smiled warmly. "Enjoying the book?" he asked her as he took his glasses off and put them on the table. "Yes, I love it," Rose said, walking over to him while the Doctor got up and stretched. "What are you doing?" "Studying," the Doctor said. "There's a planet I was thinking of visiting and I wanted to go see a few cultural sites there. I was making notes on a few of them so I know what to look for. But I need a break so thanks for coming in." "Doctor…um…" "Yes?" the Doctor said as he put his hands on his back and stretched it. "I was just wondering. Could we visit Hatshepsut and meet her? She sounds so fascinating. But you're wanting to visit this planet," she said, pointing to the book. "I do but it can wait if you want to visit Ancient Egypt," the Doctor said, finishing his stretching. "I'd rather do something you want since I've seen a fair chunk of the universe. That's why I bring friends along, to take them where they want to go. If you want to meet Hatshepsut, we can do that. I can't guarantee we'll meet her but I'll try my very best. But at the very least, you can see Ancient Egypt." "Yes, please, I want to go," Rose said. "Brilliant," the Doctor said, picking up his glasses, pen and notepad. "Let me put these things away and use the toilet and then we'll set a course for Ancient Egypt."
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