The Solar Princess

Now we seem to have a problem.

Alexandria. 204 B.C.

Arsinoe had just put her son to bed. Ptolemy, named for his father and other men in the family line. Secretly, she gave credit to naming him after his grandfather and did everything possible to forget that her brother was indeed his parent of conception. The head of dark blonde curls and hazel eyes confirmed his full Greek parentage.

Quietly, she prayed for the day that her son would succeed his father. With her guidance, he would be a better king.

With that in mind, she swallowed her pride and made her way toward her husband's room. With one child born, Ptolemy had stopped seeking her bed at all. That was more than fine by her. She hated to be in his presence. And she utterly despised being near Agathoclea or Agathocles. Life in the palace was sheer torture. They never hesitated to make her day as painful as possible.

Through the years, she seemed to have gained Sosibius's respect to some point. However, she always knew that her life was merely a game piece in his intrigues. If she no longer held value, or was perceived as a threat, he wouldn't hesitate to eliminate her.

That was the purpose of her venture to find her husband. Too many years had passed since they tried for a child. If she wished to hold value, she needed to work toward another child. Her stomach churned at the idea. However, Ankhmakis had convinced her. Always her sense of reason and strength. So, she had sent him home for the night. He didn't need to be there when she went to seek her husband.

Head held high with the grace of confidence that she did not feel, she opened the doors of his private chamber.

The scene before her stopped her dead in her tracks.

Ptolemy lay naked in the middle of the floor. Sprawled out as if he lost consciousness in the heat of another orgy. Though it was the two servants who were crumpled to the ground with their throats slit that showed the true horror of the event. The sex and power crazed siblings stood over the bodies with the dark red blood splattered all over their white linens.

Arsinoe gasped as she covered her mouth and tried to back away, only to meet the heat of another body behind her.

Sosibius shoved her further into the room. "Now, we seem to have a problem. Your husband finally drank himself to death. Natural death and all. However, your son is not yet old enough to rule. And I do not trust in your ability to sway him toward our goals."

The queen tried to run, only to have Agathocles tackle her to the ground and pin her under him. His eyes wild. It sent a shiver down her spine.

*****

Her screams echoed through the marble corridors for what felt like hours.

Agathocles had brutalized her while his sister gave him suggestions and spit on her. Sosibius was disgusted by their proclivity toward rape and violence, so, he simply left. Left her to die by the hands of his own puppet. And her broken jaw wouldn't allow her to say another word.

Barely conscious, she could hear the traitors talk of their plans to hide the deaths of Ptolemy and Arsinoe. They lit fires around the room and left the blaze to claim their bodies.

Her thoughts focused on her son. She tried to move so that she could protect her son.

The heat lapped at her skin as she saw Ankhmakis crash through a door. He scooped her up and carried her from the fires. She tried to beg him, anything, just to go save her son. Yet, she was too broken to speak.

Her warrior crumbled in under the weight of his grief as he cried. "I will find a way for us to be together. I swear it. Even if I have to search all of Duat or beg the gods for more than I should. I will find away. I can't lose you Arsinoe. You are my queen. You are my life."

*****

Luxor. 1883 A.D.

"Don't move. Lie back down." Charles ordered Farouk. "You are in really bad shape boy. Covered in burns. You need to stay down."

Farouk wanted to argue, but the pain prevented much of anything. "What happened?"

The older man scoffed. "I was going to ask you the same question."

Silence.

Charles relented. "The, well... mummy woman seems to be healing. Rather remarkably, I might add."

"She's alive?" Farouk started to move again. However, he was stopped by a firm pressure on his shoulder.

"Yes. She is alive. I don't know how and I am having a hell of a time trying to keep this from making it into the news. The last thing we need is for anyone to know about whatever happened. They will start destroying perfectly good mummies out of fear."

Farouk grinned at the man's sense of priorities. At least he wasn't seeking military involvement or something.  He took a deep breath. The pain was excruciating, however, knowing that Arsinoe survived made everything worth it.

"Can I see her?"

"Well, you see..." Charles ran a hand through his grey hair. "No one has been able to speak to her and she is rather angry. So the doctors have needed to restrain her for the few days you have been unconscious."

The growl of anger that ripped from Farouk was more than enough to announce his opinions of the matter.

It took a half an hour before the doctors rolled a woman into his room. Her arms bound in a straight jacket as she tried to fight the doctors who pushed her in a wheelchair. However, Farouk would recognize her anywhere.

Long dark blonde hair was wild, her creamy skin dirty, yet her blue eyes blazed in anger. The magic that resurrected her, had fully restored her physical form and striking beauty while he sleep through several days.

"Arsinoe." He whispered.

She stopped and looked at him.

"Please don't be scared of me, my love. I kept my promise. I found a way to be with you again." He spoke in her native Greek.

She watched him closely. Her breaths felt heavy as she tried to understand, though all of the memories and emotions. "Ankhmakis?"

He smiled. "Yes."

"Oh dear lord." Charles gasped out next to Farouk's bed. Or course the archaeologist would understand their Greek.

The Egyptian ignored him. "You have no idea how many life times I have lived, searching for where my brother buried us. Searching for you. My queen. My life."

Quietly, she moved. The doctors stepped back to watch her closely. With measured steps, she found her way to his bed. "You don't look the same."

He grinned. "No. I could not come back in my body like you did. Osiris wouldn't allow that."

"Then how?"

"It doesn't matter. As long as we are together now."

She nodded as she sat next to him and turned to roll into his side as gently as possible. Her head rested on his shoulder. "What of my son?" A tear rolled down her cheek.

He leaned to kiss her temple. "Many years have passed Arsinoe. Everyone you once knew is long gone from this world. Though your son did live to be king."

She could tell that he was holding information back. However, she didn't have the strength to ask yet. Before long, she lost consciousness as her need to heal drained her of all energy.

Charles sat quietly until she was asleep. "Is she... are you...?" He didn't know where to start.

"She is who you would know as Arsinoe II. Yes. And I was Ankhmakis, I fought against her son in the years after her death. I tried to remove the foreign rule over my home. And I died for it. However, as much as I love my people and home, I have always loved her more."