Life From Your Lips (Ruby Rose fanfic)

THIRTEEN (Iselen POV)

"Professor Langenheim, what are you doing here?"

The new National Museum of Egyptian Civilization is a very impressive building and the entrance atrium takes your breath away with the high ceiling and a wall made of alabaster that lets light in. But not less impressive are the areas that people can't visit, the offices, labs and rooms where restorers and conservators repair all kinds of artifacts taking advantage of the state-of-the-art technology available. Walking through these corridors is a privilege reserved for just a few and the highest security measures are taken but, thanks to Ruby, we've managed to go through the security checkpoint in a record time. It's funny because only a handful of professors and scholars know her in person, supposedly, but Egyptian officers and guards know her name, say hello happily and get her everything she wants.

"I'm here to apologize, Professor Stephens." My old boss stares at the beautiful woman confused while shaking her hand to greet her. "I'm going to steal your assistant, I'm afraid: Iselen has accepted to work for me in my next archaeological campaign."

"Oh, the American University scholarship, of course. Professor Ikram told me that the board members unanimously voted to give it to her impressed by the high quality of her articles," Mortimer smiles sadly while rubbing my arm with affection. "The truth is that I don't blame you for stealing her, she's a hard worker and any excavation director would be proud and happy having her in their team. And working for you will be a great opportunity for her, no doubt, she'll learn lot of things but publishing articles together and writing her name under yours will be an inestimable promotion for her. Where are you going to...?"

"In Dra Abu el-Naga necropolis," Ruby answers smiling while we walk down the long and luminous corridors with white walls. The museum staff and some restorers wearing lab coats greet us smiling, everybody seems to know my princess here and treat her with respect.

"Really? That place is a dream for an archaeologist. I'm about asking you to hire me too, please. How did you get permission to work in such a protected area?" Mortimer looks at her in shock and Ruby smirks mischievously.

"Well, it's a matter of who you know in the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and of being persuasive. Sorry, do you know if Kahled is in the conservation centre?" A guy wearing a white lab coat nods smiling and points at a door before walking away in a rush. The Museum will be opened in a few months during a great celebration, important guests will come from every corner of the world, and the staff is working around the clock to make sure the exhibition will be perfectly displayed. "Have you ever seen this area of the building?"

"No," I admit smiling. "I've seen these rooms in a TV show weeks ago... Oh wow..." I whisper in admiration. "This is massive."

"Curators and restorers must be able to work comfortably even with the biggest artifacts," Ruby smiles and points at the wooden bed covered with gold leaf that must be thousands of years old. A girl wearing a white lab coat and a dark red hijab is cleaning the lion heads embellishing the legs carefully helped by a powerful light and a magnifying glass. "Temperature an air conditions are controlled in this room to prevent the proliferation of fungi and alteration of old pigments. They have spared no expense in state-of-the-art technology because Egyptian people know very well that tourism is an important source of income for their economy and these masterpieces are crucial to be able to draw people to the country. There's the Minister... Hello, Kahled."

"Hi, Ruby, what are you doing here? I thought you were on your way back to England." The tall man with white hair smiles and shakes my girl's tattooed hand before fixing the glasses on his nose with his index. "Have you seen this amazing statue of Amum? One of my boys found it..."

"The quality is extraordinary... Is it made of granite?" The Minister nods and my princess leans forward to be able to take a closer look. "Kahled is famous for promoting young Egyptian archaeologists, sending them abroad to study and hone their skills, and he hires them later to excavate small sites that Egyptologists coming from other countries consider less interesting... But they've found very nice things, which proves that you never know what's hiding under the sand of Egypt... Professor Stephens is here looking for you to give you the excavation report, he needs you to sign those documents so he can close the tomb safely and send his team back home... He can't do that if the paperwork isn't done. Apparently, making an appointment in your office is impossible these days, your assistant always answers that you're somewhere else..."