Twenty seven

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Damien had underestimated how large and confusing the Smithsonian was. Luckily the stone nymphs delayed the soldiers long enough for him and Ahkmenrah to dart round a corner. They were halfway to the other entrance and pushing through a tribe of native Americans when Kahmenrah's soldiers rounded the corner after them. Damien gripped Ahk's hand tighter and they picked up speed, turning out of the corridor and into what appeared a cross road of always. Ahk barely stopped, running down a white painted hall and tugging Damien after him. Both of then disappearing out of sight before the soldiers could pursue them. 

Damien let out a breath of relief as he peered round a statue plinth to see the soldiers all run down the wrong corridor.  He rested his head against the cold stone then jumped as something poked his hair. The statue standing on the plinth, a nymph girl carved in marble, made shooing motions with her hands. Ahk smiled at her and stood, Damien at his side. "Apologies", he nodded before turning.

Damien sighed as they slowly began walking away from the irritated statue, the adrenaline from the short chase fading away as they walked. The corridor they had taken was white washed walls and a slick marble floor. It seemed to be a gallery historical artefacts had faded into rows of paintings and statues standing in the middle of the floor. He peered round at the different art works, all moving and living as if they were windows. "Its strange to see paint moving like this", he commented as he watched the sky swirl dizzyingly in an impressionist painting. "I understand why photos came alive, they are just snapshots of time after all. I return to the state I am in the image every morning with nothing different but my memories. But paint, blotchy figures are suddenly moving like humans". He paused. "No offence", he added to the room at large. The paintings didn't act like they heard him. 

Ahk nodded, eyes watching the paintings with the same curiosity. "It is fascinating. There was not enough paintings in New York for me to see the tablet's magic fully at work. Do you think they are spaces beyond, just as your tent is?" 

"Maybe", Damien hummed. They kept walking shoulder to shoulder through the halls of the gallery. There was no windows here so they could not see the sky outside. He stepped out of the way of a bronze ballerina as she glided by. "Are you alright?" he asked after a minute. Ahk had been quiet at his side, a quietness with an air of thought. Deep thought judging by the soft crease of a light frown on his face. 

"I am fine Dami", Ahk replied as he reconnected their hands. Damien swung them as they continued walking. "Merely philosophising questions on my past". 

"About your brother?" 

"That and how our relationship corroded. I was young and gullible once. I trusted in my parents and my brother. We were never close, for he was many years older, but he was still my brother. My father trusted him too. It was only after I had taken the throne that he began to plot against me". His tone was nostalgic, but in a sad way. 

"I was never close with my brother either", Damien added. "But we can't change the past".  Ahk hummed in agreement. A thought suddenly occurred in the blonde's mind and he opened his mouth. "Ahk, I have a question". 

"You know you may ask me anything", Ahk smiled, curly hair messy. 

"How does Kahmenrah speak English? The tablet does not have that power. He wouldn't have known English when alive, so how do we understand him?" It was a thing he had been wondering for a little while now. By all rights, Kahmenrah shouldn't know any other language than ancient Egyptian. The research on him had yielded that he was less educated than Ahkmenrah had been, probably because he wasn't the crown prince. 

"I believe it is because I do", Ahk replied. He gave a slight shrug. "The power of the tablet is linked to my soul and my body. I learnt English after I died. Kahmen shares half of my blood so some of the powers and knowledge of the tablet must have been passed over. Including the skills and knowledge I have gathered after death. Only knowledge, I do not have his memories nor does he have mine. But it is a theory that I have been considering for a while. It would explain why Attila and his men understand English despite not speaking it. A portion of my skills is shared when the tablet brings me, and everyone else, back to life". 

"Fascinating", Damien breathed. "So the tablet was originally only designed to bring you and your family back? The rest of us are just a side effect of the magic?" 

"Yes", the pharaoh nodded. "When the prophecy was spoken that I would meet my soulmate after death, my parents had the priests alter the enchantments of the tablet so that you could be brought back to life with me. It seems that the enchantment has included everyone in the same building as me under it's magic". He paused then shrugged again. "I do not know for certain. I would have to ask my parents as I was still an infant when the tablet was made". 

"Your parents must have loved you deeply", Damien muttered softly. He couldn't begin to fathom that love. Love to change the laws of life and death for your child's happiness. His parents had never cared for his happiness so he could not understand that. 

Ahk's smile was warm. "They did. They died before they could tell me all the secrets of the tablet. I do not know where they are now". 

Damien squeezed the other's hand in his as they glanced round a corner for any more soldiers. "They were discovered in 1897 by a archeologist called Jonathan Jean, my father's cousin. Uncle Johnny was the reason I wanted to study archeology in the first place. My family always disapproved however, my father wanted me to go into politics like my older brother. They did not see the good in researching history when our family had a long history in the government. They thought it was a macabre and depressing subject that held no dignity". They stepped out and kept walking, the corridor clear. 

Ahk paused and Damien turned to face him. "I am glad you did not listen to them, although I am sorry you never received the love and support you deserved from your family", the brunette sighed as his free hand came up to brush the blonde hair from Damien's forehead. He softened at the touch and smiled gently at Ahk.

"Thank you. But as I said, we cannot change the past. Death has let me make peace with it. I found you and proved them wrong anyway". 

Ahk grinned and lifted their joined hands to press his lips to their linked fingers. "The highlight of your life". 

Damien laughed. "Cheeky". As he leaned in to give the Pharaoh a slow kiss. "But true", he chuckled as they pulled away. Ahk was grinning, green eyes still lingering on the other man's lips as he tried to pull and affronted expression. 

"I am King of Egypt. I do not know cheek". 

Daimen laughed again and opened his mouth to argue that in fact, Ahk was definitely cheeky, when a sudden voice broke their moment. "Ahkmenrah?" Both men turned to see Larry Daily coming round the corner to their corridor. He was dressed in a blue uniform not to dissimilar to his old night guard uniform and held the golden tablet under one arm. A red headed woman who seemed familiar to Damien was at his side.

"Guardian of Brooklyn", Ahk greeted, smile not as warm as a second ago. Annoyance at the interruption, only visible to his lover, fading in his eyes . "How goes your night?"



unedited  


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