Time Maze

Playing Cat and Mouse

Dinner time rolled in much faster than Tyson would have liked, and when the servants came to fetch them, there was nothing to do but obey. On the way to the dining hall, Tyson did his best to mimic the behavior and speech patterns of the people of the time.

Still, part of him knew that it was a useless effort. No matter how many times he had warned Marcus to stay quiet, pretend he was joking about time travel, and so on, Tyson knew that his friend was a loose cannon. It didn't matter what he did when Marcus would have too many opportunities to mess everything up.

"Do you remember everything I told you?" Tyson whispered so low that even the nearest servant couldn't hear him.

"Yes, stay quiet, don't mention time travel. If all else fails, pretend I am bonkers," Marcus said, summarizing all the warnings Tyson had given him. "I still don't see what the big deal is. Why are we even supposed to hide that we are time traveling?"

"I already told you. It can mess up with our present, but it can also kill us in the here and now. She might think we are liars or worse," Tyson said patiently.

He hoped that if Marcus understood the situation better, he would be less likely to bring up anything that could be dangerous for them.

"Right, right," Marcus said as if remembering that it was something he already knew but needed a reminder of.

Once inside the room, Tyson couldn't help but let out a gasp of astonishment. A huge, beautifully decorated table filled with the most delicious and varied food he had ever seen occupied almost all of the space there. Tyson wasn't sure if that was good news or not, having two things Marcus couldn't resist in one room. Yet, he hoped the temptation of food might distract Marcus from the bigger and more dangerous one, Cleopatra.

As Tyson thought her name, she came into view as if just thinking about her had summoned her into existence. What was worse, the expression on her face was polite but otherwise unreadable. It gave Tyson no hint of what they were getting themselves into and whether there was a way to get themselves out.

"So, Tyson, is it?" Cleopatra asked once they finished dinner, which was way too quiet for Tyson's taste.

That only the three of them were there didn't bode well. Tyson was convinced there was always a much larger dinner company for the royal types.

"Ahem, yes. Yes, Your Majesty," Tyson said, cursing his fate for not remembering even the proper way of addressing the Egyptian queen.

He was secretly hoping that whatever allowed them to speak and understand Egyptian might take over and translate it correctly, but he wasn't holding his breath.

"So, Marcus here tells me that the two of you are from the far future," Cleopatra said evenly, her voice never revealing her true sentiments.

Luckily Marcus was too busy diving into the dessert to pay too much attention to the conversation. Although Tyson was grateful for that, he wasn't sure how well he would fare against the shrewd queen even without Marcus's interference.

It only then occurred to him that she had probably asked them to join her for dinner to study them. And she did so with thoroughness worthy of the queen that she was. While they ate, she barely touched any of the food but just looked at them with the same bright smile that was difficult to decipher.

Now Tyson wondered if she had found a confirmation of what Marcus had said. Furthermore, he wasn't sure if it would be wise to lie to her.

Yet, lying was the only thing he could think of doing. Because everything else was bound to cause far more trouble than they could afford.

"I do apologize for his tall tales, Your Majesty. My friend means well. However, he sometimes gets lost in his vivid daydreams. He can't distinguish between what is real and what is just a figment of his imagination," Tyson said with all the respect and humility he could muster.

"Interesting," Cleopatra said stiffly, while her eyes roamed between Tyson's terrified face and Marcus's dirty one, stained with the food he had eaten and continued to eat. "The way I see it, either your friend is utterly mad and doesn't know what he is saying or..."

Then she made a rather long pause that Tyson feared to interrupt in fear of offending her. Fortunately, Marcus was still busy feasting on the delicacies, so he didn't say anything to defend himself.

After measuring Tyson's face for a few moments, Cleopatra sipped some of the liquid from her glass and continued speaking.

"Or you are spies sent by my enemies to seek out my weaknesses," Cleopatra finished calmly as if the fact didn't worry her too much, as if it just intrigued her.

"Your Majesty, I can assure you that my friend and I are no spies. We are and always have been your humble servants," Tyson said, lowering his head respectfully.

"I was thinking the same thing," Cleopatra said pensively. "How would such a stumbling idiot even begin to do anything useful as a spy? But then it occurred to me. That might be the best mask to put on to get into the enemy lines. The mask of a fool."

Tyson's heart was drumming in his chest as fear shot through his whole body, but he remained silent. It was clear that she wasn't finished talking, and the last thing he needed was to interrupt her.

"You see, I have considered his stories idiocies, and I know I am right. I always am. However, looking at the two of you just now made me wonder if those lies were purposefully planted in my mind. If you were trying to get me off your scent," Cleopatra said as her eyes narrowed into two piercing daggers that couldn't be escaped. "Your manners and speech are nothing like those of an Egyptian, that is easy to see. By telling me this crazy story, you hoped to create fertile ground for more lies. All of that in order to hide the fact that you are hired spies from another place sent here by my enemies."

"Your Majesty, I can assure you..." Tyson said, unable to control the defensiveness in his voice.

"I know everything that I need to know," Cleopatra said, shutting him up with one swift movement of her hand. "Guards! Arrest these people!"

Knowing they were out of options, Tyson quickly rose from his chair, hoping for a chance to make a run for it. However, the guards were upon them even before Marcus could get up after stuffing the last dessert in his mouth.

Cleopatra was already busying herself with something else, and all Tyson could hope for was that she would forget about them. Forget about the punishment long enough for him to think of an escape plan.

"Dude, that sure didn't go well," Marcus said as the guards led them down the long palace corridors.

He had been quiet until that moment because he was still chewing up the food that he had filled his mouth with. More interestingly, he didn't seem distressed in the least, full stomach making him far more positive than anyone would have been in a similar situation.

Soon, they ran into a group of servants carrying a lot of additional delicacies, and Tyson thought they had to act immediately. The perfect opportunity to make an escape that might never present itself again.

"When I say run, you run towards the boat we came in. Got it?" Tyson asked.

"Yeah," Marcus said, eager for race as he felt full of energy.

At that moment, Tyson crumbled to the ground, careful not to actually hurt himself while passing by the servants dropping their heavy trays in the process. The mess that ensued was a good little diversion that Tyson planned to take full advantage of.

"Run!" he yelled to Marcus.

And off they went like wind, dodging guards and servants as if they were just inanimate hurdles on the road. Running away from the robot Minotaur thing seemed to have paid off as they were much faster than they used to be when they first got into the maze. The question was, were they fast enough?