The Life and Times of Bonnie Chance

Tragedy at Coptos

"What is it, Naptera?" Carol asked, worried because Naptera looked so horrified.

"Quick! We must get over to High Priest Kapta!" Naptera said anxiously. "We must get to the bottom of this at once!"

So Carol, Naptera, and the court ladies hurried over to see Kapta. When they got there, they saw Princess Kafra's one hundred camels where being unpacked. They were laden with rich gifts of gold and other precious things. Kapta was supervising the working men, telling them where to put everything.

"Set that over there!" Kapta said when he saw a golden statue. "Yes, yes! This is very fine! Excellent color!"

"What is all of this?" Carol asked, drawing attention to her arrival. "Why has Princess Kafra...?"

"Oh, Queen Carol!" Kapta said. He was nervous at being discovered, but he put on a brave face, deciding to act as if he was doing nothing wrong. "Isn't it amazing? These are Princess Kafra's wedding gifts from the King of Libya!"

"Wedding gifts!?" Carol said, confused.

"So it is as I thought... How could you!?" Naptera asked Kapta, outraged on Carol's behalf.

"But who is the princess marrying?" Carol asked.

"Oh, Carol..." Naptera said, looking sad for her.

"Eh?" Carol said, taken aback by the expression on the older woman's face.

"Why, she's marrying Pharaoh Memphis, of course!" Kapta said boldly, shocking Carol.

"What!?" Carol said, horrified. "That can't be... That must be a lie!!"

"Why should it be?" Kapta said. "For generations the pharaohs of Egypt have married many wives. Of course Pharaoh Memphis would be the same!"

"No! He wouldn't do that to me!" Carol yelled.

"Wouldn't he?" Kapta said. "With the war with Babylonia looming on the horizon, Egypt needs the alliance with Libya more than ever! We can't afford not to have it! So, of course, he will do whatever it takes to secure it. Princess Kafra dearly wants to marry Memphis. We cannot afford to slight her! The pharaoh couldn't turn her down even if he wanted to."

"'Even if he wanted to'?" Carol said, staggered. "Don't make it sound as if Memphis would've wanted this! There's no way that's true!" But she remembered how Memphis had kept smiling so much at Kafra and the way he had let her cling to him. Tears welled up in her eyes. "Where is Princess Kafra!? I want to speak to her about this!"

"You're too late," Kapta said. "Princess Kafra left for the palace in Coptos already. I'm sure she and the pharaoh are uniting there as we speak."

"No..." Carol said, trembling with tears in her eyes, horrified. "Noooooo!!" she screamed. Carol ran from the room.

"Carol!!" Naptera exclaimed worried about her. She and the court ladies chased after their distraught queen, who ran to her room and locked herself inside. "Carol! Carol!" Naptera said anxiously, banging on the door when she couldn't open it.

"Go away! Please!" Carol sobbed, falling to her knees with tears streaming down her face. "Just leave me alone, please! I can't bear to be seen by anybody just now... Memphis... Memphis...!" she curled up, hugging herself. She felt so betrayed. She couldn't stand it. She couldn't bear thinking about Memphis and what he might be doing with Kafra at that very moment. The more she thought about it, the more angry she became. 'He told me 'love me, and only me'... How dare he say that when he's in the arms of another woman!? How dare he—!' She sobbed so hard that she was having trouble breathing. She choked and coughed, and had to force herself to calm down a little before she really hurt herself. She cried for hours. 'If it were Bonnie... She'd probably travel to Coptos and confront the two of them, give them a piece of her mind, and show them who was boss... But I...' Carol sobbed. 'I can't stand the thought of finding them together... I don't want to see his face! Ever again! I can't stay here... It hurts... It hurts too much! I want to get away! I want to go home! I want Bonnie!' Carol sniffed as she began to find a sense of resolve. 'That's it... I'll get Bonnie... I'll save her! I'll save Bonnie from Hittite myself, and then we'll go home together! We'll go back to the 20th century, where I won't even remember Memphis... Then Bonnie and I will be safe, and I won't have to worry about all of this pain!' Carol tried to stop crying, but it took a few minutes before she uttered her last sob and could dry her eyes. Carol stood up on shaky legs and looked around her room for things she could use on her journey to Hittite.