The Pharaoh

Chapter 10

"How do I know you didn't actually kill them?" I interrogated Aiden.

He led the camel that I was on slightly to the left and let out a sigh. "How many times do I have to go over this? They had some type of poisoned tablets in their bracelets. While we were distracted they must have swallowed them," he explained for probably the fourth time.

"Yeah... but how do I know?" I questioned.

"I showed you the blisters in their mouths and throats!" He exclaimed.

I sighed and said, "You were able to burn their eyes and make it to where they couldn't see. What says that you didn't burn their throats and mouths too?"

He stopped walking and groaned, "Will you stop? We both know I didn't kill those people."

"Fine," I replied.

I looked ahead and tried not to pay any attention to the Pharaoh that was leading the camel I was on. Silence filled the air. I didn't feel super uncomfortable with it. I haven't had a lot of people talk to since my parents died. Nobody really wanted to talk to the orphan girl that was desperately trying to be reunited with her sister.

"We can still talk though!" Aiden snapped making me jump.

"What do you want to talk about?" I asked.

He let out a breath of air and answered, "I don't know."

"Then why do we need to talk?" I questioned.

"Cause I don't like silence! It makes me go inside my head too much and that's never a safe place to be," he retorted.

Seems like we found something to talk about. "What do you think about?" I questioned curiously.

"The better question is what don't I think about," he scoffed.

"Well, what do you think about the most?" I asked.

He frowned as he looked slightly to the left and seemingly past the dome. I don't know what he was trying to visualize, but whatever it was, it obviously made him pretty sad. His eyes dropped to the sand underneath his feet and he sighed. "I can't tell you that," he admitted.

My eyebrow raised and I had to stop myself from pushing him. Remember, this is a demigod. You saw what he did to those people in the tent. Don't anger him.

I stayed silent for a little bit. I don't know what to say. I don't know what he'll consider as crossing the line. Back home, wherever or maybe even whenever that is, is very different from what he's used to. Culturally we are different, and I don't know what to do to make that less painstakingly obvious.

Aiden took in a deep breath then broke the silence, "I can tell you the second one though. I think about the empire a lot. The people I freed are now endangered because of this rebellion. The gods are pissed off because their temples and statues keep getting destroyed. I'm watching millions of years go down in flames and I don't know how to stop it."

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked shocked.

He wiped some sweat off his forehead and answered, "I don't have anyone else to tell."

"What about Nyra? Or your brother, Byron?" I questioned.

"Half brother. Byron is great. He's loyal, smart, and friendly enough to win those that I can't, but he's too close to all of it. He's the one dealing with the aftermath of all of this in person. I don't want to weigh him down with my thoughts on all of it in addition to what's already there. As for Nyra, she simply doesn't care. She's staying at the palace so her mother can't contact her... but that's it. She's my friend for sure but she doesn't want to deal with the real world anymore," he replied.

My thoughts went to Nyra and I couldn't help but be confused. Nyra seems pretty... well worldly. "What does that mean?" I wondered.

"She doesn't like to think about the bad. Not that I blame her," he told me.

"Well nobody likes to think about the bad, but we all have to at some point. Plus Nyra is a demigod, she has the power to make some real change... so why doesn't she?" I asked.

Aiden stopped walking and turned to look at me, fire raging in his gray eyes. "Don't judge Nyra! She's been through a lot. She helped people... a lot of people. She's earned her rest,"

I bit my lip and held back my words. She may have earned her rest, but it's not time for it.

He let out a breath and started to walk again. He tugged on the rope around the camel's neck and urged it to trot on. A couple of seconds went by until he said, "I'm sorry for snapping. As you can tell I'm rather protective of Nyra."

"We often are over the people we care about," I replied.

"I'm not in love with her you know," he proclaimed suddenly, "I was at one point or thought I was I should say. I was young and she's beautiful but I don't love her in that way."

I opened my mouth and stuttered out, "O...okay."

He let out a frustrated sigh and tried to hide an embarrassed groan. His face wasn't visible to me for a few seconds but I have a feeling he was reprimanding himself. "Look I don't know why I said that. It's true but I don't know why... I'm gonna stop talking," he mumbled as he blushed slightly and looked downward.

He's a giant softie... isn't he? I found myself smiling and I couldn't help but find him adorable in this moment. Even an all-powerful Pharaoh has a soft side.

"You don't have to stop talking. I honestly enjoyed the show of weakness. Makes me a little less afraid of you," I told him as I held my thumb and pointed fingers up and fairly close together.

He smiled and said, "I'm pretty sure I do. Let's talk about you. What do you think the most about?"

I gave him a hesitant look and he added, "Hey I told you mine!"

"No, you didn't!" I retorted, "You told me what the second one was."

"I still told you something personal," he argued.

I rolled my eyes and debated whether or not to answer. Nyra already knows... so what's the harm in telling him? "My little sister," I revealed.

"What do you miss about her?" He questioned.

"Everything," I answered, "She's a lot younger than me. I always felt more like her mom than her sister. I got to watch her grow up. I saw her first steps, heard her first words, walked her to her first days of school, and..."

His eyebrow scrunched together as I drifted off into my thoughts. "And what?" he wondered.

"I've missed her birthday," I replied. He looked confused and I continued, "I was the one who made sure she got a birthday. I haven't seen her in over two years. That's two birthdays that I've been gone for."

He stopped walking and asked, "You haven't seen your sister in two years?" I shook my head and he added, "Why not?"

"I can't explain it. I was there. Had my arms around her as she was reading a book... then poof. I'm waking up in my room but my little sister isn't there. There wasn't even a trace that she existed," I told him.

"That is hard to explain," he replied.

I let out a dry chuckle and said, "Everything seems to be these days."

He gave me a small smile and proclaimed, "That's why we're going to Thot. He'll have answers for us."