The Cursed Pharaoh's Bride

Chapter 11: 'Not-A-Date' Date Pt. 2

Carolina

I ignore Elijah as I walk through the zoo. I walk ahead and try to visit as many animals on my own as I can. At first, he leaves me alone but after visiting three different exhibits, he starts trying to get my attention. He's reaches for my hand a few times but I pull away. He places his hand on my shoulder but I just shrug him off.

"Carolina," he calls out but I just pretend like I can't hear him.

"Let's talk about this," he urges. Ignore.

"Come on. It's not that I don't trust you." Wow, never heard that one before. Block.

"Please just let me explain, darling," he whispers into my ear. I pull away from him and send him a cold glare. He smirks at my reaction. Dang it.

"My love," he drawls as he grabs my hands and brings them to his lips.

"Don't call me that," I snap, "Especially if it's not true." His eyes soften, hurt becoming evident in his gaze.

"Let's talk elsewhere about this," he whispers before pulling me towards the exit. We walk back out into the park and we find a lonely bench to sit at.

"Well," I say expectantly. He lets out a nervous, deep sigh.

"I will answer one of your questions if you answer one of mine," he says, "and your questions can't be broad. They have to be specific."

"So I can ask you as many specific questions as I want as long as I answer your questions in return?"

"Essentially," he says as he shifts in discomfort.

"What do you mean when you say we have a bond? We barely know each other," I start.

He's quiet for a minute as if trying to piece together what to say. "Our souls are connected so to speak."

"Which means what?" I urge.

"Now, now. It's my turn to asks question," he says. I let out an annoyed huff. "What do you like to do for fun when you're not busy?"

"Uh, I wouldn't really call it fun but more so relaxing. I'm a book worm at heart and I love playing piano when I get the chance. If I'm in the mood to go out after school, I like going to the movies or doing what we did today or go out to eat," I say.

"You're in school? What are you studying?" He asks.

"Nope. It's my turn," I say with a smirk and he only grimaces. "What do you mean when you say our souls are connected?"

"T-that's kind of a general question," he stutters.

"Alright, let me rephrase it. How does having our souls connected affect us individually?"

He rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. "We're just more drawn to each other than normal people. Attraction towards each other is intensified and so are any feelings we might have or develop. The stronger the connection gets, the more in sync we become and the more hyper aware we become of each other," he explains.

I'm silent as I let what he said sink in. We're drawn to each other? I mean, I find him attractive but there's some bond that's making me want to interact with him? Do I even want to get to know him? And if I do, is it because of that bond? Or is it because I genuinely want to?

"Like I asked before, what do you study at school?" He asks.

"I'm studying to get into nursing school, and become, well, a nurse," I mumble.

"A nurse? Like someone who heals, right? Or is that a doctor?"

"The nurse primarily takes care of the patient," I explain.

"Ah, so that means you're naturally a nurturing type of person," he suddenly says.

"W-what? That's quite the assumption, don't you think?" I protest.

"Well, if you aren't becoming a nurse because you like to nurture and take care of people, then why do you want to become a nurse?" He asks skeptically.

"U-uh, um, it's my turn to ask a question," I change the subject, "Is it true that you were a pharaoh of Egypt?"

He clears his throat for a second. "Yes," he states, "Back to my question: why do you want to become a nurse?"

"Well, it's basically like what you said. I just like taking care of people so I guess that means I'm nurturing. My turn now. What was it like being pharaoh?"

"It was..." he pauses. He has this distant look in his eyes as if he's trying to remember what that life was like. "It had its perks but it was a job that required a lot of responsibility. I had to make a lot of hard choices. And I've definitely made a few mistakes here and there."

We stay silent after that. I still have so many questions about this bond that we supposedly have. There has to be more to it than what he's telling me. Like why was I chosen of all people to have my soul bound to some mummy? And he didn't really give me a detailed answer about him being a pharaoh. There's still more that I want to know. Is he really the son of Horus? How did he really die? Was he always meant to be a mummy?

I feel him tug my arm as he gets up from the bench. "Come on, why don't we get some lunch?"

"But I still have so many questions," I protest.

"As do I," he smiles, "Believe me, just as you want to know everything about me, I want to know everything about you."

"I-it's not like I'm asking because I want to know you or anything, I'm just curious as to what kind of mess you have me in," I defend.

He only smirks at me, his eyes twinkling. "Oh, sure," he says sarcastically. He pulls me by the hand and leads me through the park. "If you don't mind, I know a nice place around here that we can eat at."

"Sure, as long as it's not super high class or anything," I grumble.

He lets out a chuckle. "Don't worry, it's not. I think you might like it," he reassures.

"Can I ask you one more thing?" I timidly ask.

"You just did," he replies.

"That's not the question," I groan.

He sighs. "I don't know, Carolina. I really want to take a break from all of this pharaoh talk," he says warily.

"It's not really a question about that," I whisper as I lean closer to his arm, resting my cheek on his bicep. He stiffens at first at the contact before relaxing. I hear him mumble something underneath his breath but I can't make out exactly what. 

"All right, shoot," he finally says defeated.

"How old are you? Physically, I mean," I ask.

He seems taken aback but quickly retains himself. "I was 24 when I died," he says.