The pharoah's captive

Chapter 1

It was the last day of my sister's trip to Egypt and I was looking for a cool memento. My sister, Malayna, is an archaeologist, so she always brings me to cool places. She finished her dig today and told me to go explore. I looked through all the stores, but I didn't see anything cool. Then I walked past a cute store. I went in. They ad tons of jewelry and clothes. I doubt I can afford anything in here, I thought to myself. I turned to walk out the door.

"Wait!" The man at the store called. "Honorable guest, if you are looking for rare treasures you must take a look at this." He pulled out a box with a bracelet with scarabs heled together with a golden chain. "This came from the king of the last prosperous Ancient Egyptian dynasty. The pharaoh, Ramses II, gave this to his favorite woman. It is even blessed by a god!" He paused and looked me in the eyes. "Well, what do you think?"

I went back to the museum, where my sister was talking to the curator. "Malayna! Look what I got!" I lifted up the bracelet. "It was only twenty bucks!" I told her excitedly.

"That's awesome Kyra! I got you something since your birthday is today." Maylana said. She turned and talked to the museum curator again. I went back to the hotel room and packed the last of my things. We had been in Egypt for a couple of months now. We always moved around to wherever Malayna needed to work. Our parents are archaeologists too. Right now they are digging up ancient Greek artifacts. They are usually gone for work so me and Malayna take care of each other. I picked up the photo of my dad and I and put it in my suitcase. I brought that picture everywhere with me.

I heard the door click as Malayna walked in. She was holding a huge box. "A little help please." She grunted. I went over and took her purse so she could put the box down. "Don't you dare open it!" She instructed, then went to the mini fridge. She brought over a cupcake with "15" written in blue icing. She started to sing happy birthday.

Once I ate the cupcake, I was allowed to open the box. It was a book. I pulled it out of the box. The book was on top of a golden stand that was shaped like a harp tuned on its side. I looked closer and saw the hieroglyphs.

"An ancient Egyptian book!" I gasped. I had been interested in Egyptian mythology since I was young. I don't know why but it always interested me. My family always tried to get me Egyptian related things. Last year for my fourteenth birthday Dad got me The Kane Chronicles book set. That is now my favorite thing to read. "It's so well preserved! This is amazing!" I said as I started to read the book. There were drawings of the different Egyptian gods. It talked about the mummification process and how the people made it to their next life. Kinda like reincarnation, I think.

"It's from Ramses II's era." Malayna told me. This dig was all about Ramses II era. She started to give me another one of her history lessons. She does this at every dig site. Apparently its important knowledge, but I doubt that. "He was a very famous pharaoh known for his fierceness, braveness, and brutality. Ramses II rule was the last prosperous era of Egypt. He was a great general and ruler. He was able to suppress the Hittites in the North and many other countries surrounding Egypt. Hie achievements even rivaled Ganis Khan's!" she explained excitedly. "He had one hundred wives, over hundreds of children, and was able to live a long life which was rare in his time. He liked things large and grand. He had large temples, a large palace, large statues, and large rituals. Although he wasn't the most successful pharaoh in history, he liked to through huge parties. The only thing my dig team couldn't find out is why he disappeared suddenly."

"That's weird. How did he just disappear?" I asked.

"He must have died but no one knows how. Let me test you," Malayna said. "He had hundreds of wives but only one standing by him in his temple. Do you know which one it is?"

"How would I know? I'm not an archaeologist nerd!" I teased her.

"Nefertari, She was described as the most beautiful and kindest person. In ancient Egypt, men dominated society. There was no other pharaoh that placed one of his wives' statues next to his. That proves ho much Ramses II loved his wife." Malayna said matter-o-factly.

Wow, the pharaoh's most beloved queen. But her name is too long. Its gonna be hard to remember. "Nefertari! Is there a reward if I remember it?" I asked her.

"Let me see the bracelet! I didn't get a close look at the museum." Malayna said.

I took it out of the bag and slipped it on my wrist. "Look! It'd the same bracelet as the one in the book!" I told her. I read the page with the bracelet on it. It's a good thing Malayna taught me how to read hieroglyphics I thought. "It says the bracelet is blessed by the God Ra. Whoever wears it will find their true love." I looked down at the bracelet again. It looked like the scarabs were glowing.

"Hey sis, do you see it glowing?" I asked.

"Kyra its an ancient bracelet, how can it glow?" Malayna answered shaking her head with a slight smile on her lips.

"Hey look!" I yelled. "The book has a spell. It says its for the bracelet." I read the spell not thinking it would do anything. Suddenly the engravings on the bracelet started to glow.

"Kyra!" Malayna screamed as she reached her hand out towards me. I brought my arm up to shield my eye from the bright light. "Kyra take off the bracelet!" She yelled. The bracelet just continued to glow brighter and brighter. I tugged at it, but I couldn't open the clasp. "Kyra!" The last thing I saw was Malayna reaching for me with both arms.