Royals Through Time 4: The Egyptians

Part One- The Priest and the Princess

Gracina -Neferet, as a Princess of Egypt, had to help with a ceremony in one of the many temples of Egypt from time to time. This was one if those times. And she was dreading it. Today she was due to visit the Temple of Sehkmet. And according to Egyptian myth, Sehkmet was Goddess of Vengeance. Her temple, though beautiful, was small, and a certain air of evil hung around it. But maybe that was just Gracina. Of all the people who visited the temple, she was one of only two she knew who believed that the statues there were just that: statues. Gracina believed that the only true God was that of the Hebrews, who had left their land years before. Amet, her favorite guard (and her possible husband), had a father who had guarded them before their release....and who had lost his oldest son to the final plague that had descended on Egypt. Amet had been born after that, and not long after, in the palace, as had Gracina. She valued Amet immensely. And he agreed with her stand on the "gods" of Egypt. His take on the temple was that the priests may intentionally mislead thousands upon thousands of people for their own gain. But whatever the priests and priestesses of this temple or any other were trying to do, the ones here were downright scary to Gracina. Even now, as she neared the Temple of Sekhmet, she could see the dark figure that was the High Priest of the place. His name was Aapep, and he was the worst of all the priests, save for Chike, the High Priest of Anubis. And there he was, waiting for Gracina on the steps of the building, his sinister look now obvious. Gracina began mentally preparing for the charade that would ensue as soon as she stepped from her litter. And so she nodded respectfully to Aapep, and thanked God he could not see her trembling knees. The ceremony Gracina was to perform was a simple one, a daily task. But first she must be clean. She had bathed that morning, but dust from the road had made her dirty. Besides, even if she were spotless, the people of the temple would insist on her washing. As she waited for her ceremonial robes afterwards, she walked in circles on the granite floor. And then she steppes close to a window. Below were two men, priests, from their clothes. In a tree. Their words could be heard from Gracina's place: "What tricks are set for tonight?" "We'll have to do the water-to-blood trick, then the lights will go out, and the altar will glow. Then we can throw some of those minerals in the fire that make it burn green." "The people will love that!" Gracina had heard enough. She had an ear witness account of the plot unfolding. And the people believed in these people. Their entire lives they had been taught lies, and these people were feeding the fire with their trickery. Gracina took a deep breath. She could not fight the lies alone. She would need Amet, and she would need her friends.