Life From Your Lips (Ruby Rose fanfic)

TWENTY-SEVEN (Iselen POV)

"There he is..." I whisper staring at the limestone wall in front of me with reverence. "Ramesses III... only younger and more handsome."

"Yes, he was 24 years old when he defeated my grandparent and his pirates. He began to build this temple shortly after although the reliefs that tell the story of the wars and battles he won were carved much later, almost at the end of his life," Ruby answers quietly.

"Who are the women next to him?" I ask squinting. It's too early in the morning, the sky is still dark and it's hard to see details on the stone. "Wait... Are they Wadjet and Nekhbet? The goddesses that symbolize the Upper and Lower Egypt, I recognize them because of the crowns they're wearing."

"Yes, my dad was the Lord of both kingdoms..."

"Ladies, please, I need you to hide behind the columns of the portico. It's better if you stay far away from the action, for your safety." The police officer interrupts us abruptly and points at the courtyard, angrily. The princess nods quietly, ignoring his rude tone of voice, and takes my hand guiding me through the temple she knows well while I follow her meekly, looking up entranced.

"They're very upset, obviously," I hear her growling. "I think all these officers would rather be sleeping in their beds or eating the delicious breakfast their wives have made instead of being here, hiding in the dark, being cold and fighting the strong wind. I hate coming to Egypt at this time of the year, the sirocco brings sand from the desert that sneaks into your clothes and itches..." Ruby keeps grumbling but I'm not listening to her, too busy watching the inscriptions, the columns carved to look like lotus flowers and the paintings representing goddesses, falcons and yellow stars on a dark blue background.

"They're so well-preserved... it's amazing," I whisper grazing with my fingertips the column behind which we're waiting for this operation to start. "The red, the yellow ochre and blue shine as if the artist would've painted them yesterday... How is this even possible?"

"Because there's still a roof covering most areas of this temple and besides, it's close to the river but also on a high plateau and protected with a mudbrick wall, it never got flooded. My dad and his architects knew how to do things right," Ruby answers laughing. "It's a strange feeling, you know, I'm here and watching the broken statues, the columns fallen on the ground, the warehouses ruined walls... But, at the same time, I can see it the way it was in my mind, in all its splendour."

"How was it?" I ask excited and decide to sit down on the base of the column. The princess takes a look around, checking what the police are doing, and realizes we still have time to chat a little. They're supposed to watch the temple grounds till Lara and the crew she hired come from Luxor to work, as they usually do every morning, and if we're lucky enough Farouk will come with her too. Three men sent by the Interpol are coordinating the operation and have made sure that no one ratted us out so they can't run away. Our plan is quite simple, actually, nothing complicated: they'll be catch off guard and arrest while they're busy digging.

"Well, it was built following the model established by Ramesses II: an avenue fringed by sphynxes that leads to the monumental gate that's still there, only the reliefs on the walls were painted in flashy colours back then. Then, there's the open courtyard with colossal statues of Ramesses III as Osiris placed against the walls, another monumental gate leads into a peristyle hall, again featuring columns in the shape of Ramesses. We've just crossed the third monumental gate to get to this columned portico where we're hidden and behind us, there's the hypostyle hall with different chapels. It was covered with a wooden roof in the old days and you walked from the courtyards and the light to the darkness that smelled of incense... you felt something mystical."

"And what were all these ruined walls around us?" I ask waving my hand. "They're in very bad condition."

"Warehouses and houses for priests and servants, walls were made of mudbrick and not stone, that's why they couldn't stand the test of time. Except for that area near the entrance gate, that was a small royal palace where my dad used to sleep when he came here to check the works, walls are better quality there."