Portrait of a Pharaoh • Ahkmenrah x Reader (NATM) ✔️

Chapter 17 | odd sensations.

It was still rather surreal to you to see Ahk alive during the day, but here you were watching him toss and turn in his sleep. Having stolen your bed again as he waited for the museum to come to life at sundown he was taking his usual nap that had become routine so he could be awake at night. You were asleep as well, having come back from class at around midday and passing out the second you were able to.

But his tossing and turning had woken you up, and you were slightly worried something was up. He seemed fine, just restless. He couldn't exactly get sick so you weren't worried about that, maybe he was having one hell of a dream?

He lay with a leg hanging off the side of the bed and an arm over his chest, which slowly rose and fell with his breathing. Every so often he'd shift to another position, it was impossible to sleep with him constantly moving around. He had to be dreaming, you couldn't think of a reason why he'd be so restless other than that. But you didn't want to wake him, he needed some sleep if he wanted to go see the museum at night.

Deciding to leave him to sleep, you figured if you couldn't you'd just get up and finish some class work. So quietly leaving him to rest, you made sure to not step on any creaky floorboards.

Ahk shifted in his sleep again, getting tangled in his robes. He's taken off the crown, beads and cloak to sleep, but left the kilt, which you always teasingly called a skirt, on. He found it more comfortable than modern pants, he didn't like them, they changed his thighs.

Spreading his limbs out, he subconsciously enjoyed the big space of the bed compared to his sarcophagus. But that wasn't why he was so restless, your guess was right, he was dreaming.

Well... he thought it was a dream.

As he slept, he could feel the gentle touch of something akin to silk brush his skin. Which wasn't what your sheets were made of, so there's be no reason he should be feeling such a thing. The silky touch embraced him, wrapped him up in a calm bliss. He felt like he was floating, his surroundings hard to describe. It looked like glitter when it was swirling around in a snow globe. Sparks of lights dancing around him in the darkness.

"Ahkmen..."

A voice he didn't recognise, calling to him.

"Ahkmenrah..."

There it was again, deep and calming voice. He couldn't pinpoint a source, it sounded like it came from all around him. The voice chattered in the distance, various words in his native language he couldn't quite make out. Some he could understand, some were too far to hear properly.

He felt his hands tingle, spreading slowly yo his arms and into the rest of his body. The voice whispering to him and the silky feeling that surrounded him making him too relaxed to really react.

Was this even a dream? It didn't feel like one but what else could it be? He was asleep and experiencing a whole other reality right now, it had to be a dream.

The voice got closer, the gentle whisper so close he could feel the breath on the back of his neck.

"Upon the rise of the sun,
The light touches the land.
Upon the rise of the moon,
The darkness cools the sand.
Under the stars they dance,
Two souls become one.
And when the sun rises again,
The deed is done"

The poem? The one in his tomb?

What did that mean? Why was he hearing it in his sleep? He had many questions, but no answers. All he could do was watch the lights dance around him, lay floating in the silky feeling and listen.

Again, the voice repeated.

"Upon the rise of the sun,
The light touches the land.
Upon the rise of the moon,
The darkness cools the sand.
Under the stars they dance,
Two souls become one.
And when the sun rises again,
The deed is done"

The tingling in his body got more intense, it felt like getting pins and needles after sitting down too long. He felt the need to shake out the feeling from his body, but he couldn't move.

"Ahkmen..."

His name again, but this time the voice sounded familiar...

"Ahkmenrah!"

He suddenly jolted from his sleep, opening his eyes to see you looking down at him. The tingly feeling immediately disappeared and he looked around to find himself in your apartment, lying in bed.

"You ok? You were sleep talking" you said.

"Sleep talking? What did I say?" He replied, rubbing his eyes and sitting up.

"No idea, something in Egyptian"

Since when did he sleep talk? He never recalled ever sleep talking or his family telling him he did.

"Strange..." he muttered.

"You good? You were tossing and turning a lot too" you asked.

"I think I was dreaming. At least I think that was a dream, it was so surreal. Such a strange feeling"

Your interest was peaked, it reminded you of how you had that dream thing with the beautiful music a while ago.

"What was it about?" You asked.

"Not sure. I was in this... space like area. Dark with sparks of light flying around me. It felt like I was floating on a bed of silk, it was so calming. My body tingled, there was a voice speaking words I couldn't quite make out. I knew it was Egyptian but the voice was too far to make out the full sentences. And then it spoke that poem in my tomb to me and... I woke up" he described.

Now that seemed suspiciously magical. And he actually remembered all of it, usually dreams are hard to recall the details of and get here he is telling you everything.

"Any... ethereal sounding music by any chance?" You asked.

"Not this time, but I did have a dream like that once..." he replied.

Something about this told you it had to do with the tablet. You couldn't explain how, you just knew.

"Call me crazy but I think it has something to do with the tablet..." you said.

"Honestly, with how surreal it felt... I wouldn't be surprised" Ahk replied.

You still had no idea what it could mean, but that fact you'd both had odd dream like experiences after touching the tablet together made you wonder. Glancing down at the branding it gave you on your hand, you had a feeling that Teddys joke suggestion might not be that far off after all.

"Maybe Teddy is right... it might be some kind of love spell. I mean this all started happening after we kissed" you pondered.

"Well I for one wouldn't mind if it was a love spell, although some answers would be very useful..." he replied, taking your branded hand into his and kissing the back of it.

You gave him a smile, playfully ruffling his hair.

"A love spell might not be that bad. I just hope theres no weird side effects"