Pharaoh’s Curse Pt. 07

"She and the baby are healthy; no need to worry about them; you just keep your mind focused on what you have to do to come home as quickly as possible and safely. I don't want to get a call from whoever saying something happened to you, you hear?"

"Yes, Dad, I'll be my usual self."

"That's what I'm afraid of." Andrew felt the warmth spreading through his heart at the sound of his father's chuckle. "Shoot, I have to go."

"I understand, tell Wilma I'll call her tomorrow when I'm free and if it's not too late over there," Andrew said, hearing his father's work phone ringing over the line.

"I will; I know she'll be happy to hear from you. You better be taking care of Carla and Anta while you're there. No telling if you'll ever get to see them again when you come home."

"I am."

"That's my boy; love you, son."

"Love you too, Dad, don't work too hard," Andrew said before they ended their call.

"Don't you look so down, Andy; I already told you, you would see them soon," Anta uttered in a caring tone as she lightly bumped her shoulder against his. She wasn't about to let Andrew go missing the people that he cared so much about. They had cared for him for the past five years before she and Carla came into his life. She was going to show him that she would be the best wife he could possibly hope to have. If that meant they had to fly back and forth when Andrew had time from his kingly duties. "What's going on?" she asked aloud when there was a large crowd surrounding the dock. Sharing a look with Carla when she noted the local news vans and even the local CNN, BBC, and MSNBC outlets. The reporter's voices filled the air in a mix of Arabic, English, and French, asking questions upon questions that seemed to be going unanswered by whoever continued to remain quiet. However, shouts soon replaced their questions as the three of them saw movement within the crowd. Only to come face to face with the very people Andrew had freed from Ba'al's imprisonment when she was cast down from Heaven. The news crews bucked against the backs of the men who lined the lane they had formed to keep them from approaching their Pharaoh. A man they would always honor for what he had done for them.

"My Lord!" shouted the old man in ancient Egyptian who had his arms raised in praise as he walked towards the three of them. "We were told by the Gods that your grace was returning and in need of a proper vessel to transverse the Nile. So, with the guidance of the Gods, we built this ship for you, our Pharaoh," he said, turning his body just so, so that Andrew could get a proper look at the craft that would carry him safely up the river and back.

Andrew glanced over at Bast, seeing how she had taken on a more regal pose than she could in her cat form. Wondering just what she was playing at. He wasn't even ready for the world to know who he was. He didn't think that time would ever come, and he hoped it wouldn't. Nevertheless, he doubted the Gods would simply let him stay in the shadows. Sighing in his mind, putting on a smile to hide how he so wasn't ready to step into the limelight; then again, he was sure none of the other Pharaohs were ready either to lead a nation.

"Does it please you, oh Lord?" the man asked, hoping that Andrew was indeed pleased with the work his people had tirelessly put into crafting it.

"It does," Andrew spoke in ancient Egyptian, noting how the onlookers were eyeing them and filming their exchange. "Now please, escort us on board," he directed, unsure what they were seeing being outside of the city where he had transplanted them after they were freed from Ba'al's control. Pondering if they were seeing the world as it was in 2000 B.C. He knew they couldn't see the modern world, for he knew it would only scare them to death, and no one could say what a scared populace would do.

"Of course, of course, right this way, we mustn't keep his lordship from his travels," the man said joyously as he turned on his heel and led the way to Andrew's solar barge.

Andrew looked oddly at Carla and Anta, who held their heads high and walked with grace as future Queens towards the ship. He tried to ignore the questions the reporters were peppering him with as he walked past the men that were guarding the lane who wheeled in behind him when he passed. Coming to a halt when a middle-aged man stuck his arm out and took hold of his right bicep. Holding up his hand to keep the men behind him from detaching the man from his body. He didn't need that plastered on the news.

"Young man, what in the world is going on?" the man asked in a thick Welsh accent before sticking a microphone in Andrew's face.

"The world is about to come into a great awakening, and I will be the one to usher it in, for I am Pharaoh," Andrew stated, the blue light of his divinity burning in his pupils. Scowling when those around him other than those he had helped freed, Carla and Anta burst out in laughter, thinking he was only messing with them. "Believe what you want, yet if you deny what's in front of your very noses, you will be sorely mistaken," he said, forcibly removing the man's hand from his arm. Noting, the man behind him pushed the reporter back into the crowd, turning his attention over to Carla when she took hold of his shirt sleeve.

"They can't understand right now, but soon they will know the truth," Carla uttered low, slipping her hand into his and leading him towards his barge.

The moment they stepped onto it, they were surrounded by five women wearing very thin linen dresses while the men were bare-chested and wore kilts. Anta and Carla glared at Andrew when the sun did little to hide their bodies from his sight as they held copper trays lined with fruit, bread, and salted, thin-shaven meats. Who led the three of them to a lounge area covered with an awning while the men set out to slip the moorings to get them underway. Listening to their voices as they gave praise to Sobek[25], Hapi[26], the Elephantine Triad[27], and Shu[28], making offerings over the side of the barge as they got underway while they fanned incense into the air for their offering to Shu. Andrew looked up when the sail became taut as Shu filled it with the wind it would need to speed them on their journey.

Andrew felt their ire when the ladies fawned over him as they knelt before him, offering anything to sate his desire. Even themselves if Andrew so desired; however, he wasn't that stupid to take them up on their offer with Carla and Anta sitting right beside him. Bast was enjoying the lavish praise she was getting as she laid regally on an overstuffed pillow like she had done for thousands of years during the reign of the Pharaohs. As the barge sailed smoothly up the Nile, Andrew hoped that what had happened on the dock didn't make it onto the news that evening. He so didn't need his father calling him demanding to know what was going on and such. With the Gods' help, they made it to Helwan in less than an hour, when it usually took longer to get there by sail and due to the traffic on the Nile. Anta carefully took Bast into her arms when they neared a dock that was free that was near her own father's boat which he used to haul goods and the like up and down the Nile. Waving to her older brother, who was aboard their boat getting things ready for their trip up the Nile to the third cataract where they would be taking on a shipment of grain that would be sold off in Alexandria. Seeing the confusion in her brother's eyes when he saw her on Andrew's solar barge and noted the fanciness of it. Thanking the men who laid out the gangplank onto the dock after the ship was safely moored.

"Come, Andy, we can't keep them waiting," Anta said in a loving tone as she held out her hand to him. Feeling her heart flutter the moment his filled her hand. Hearing him tell those on the ship to wait for them, which they wholeheartedly agreed they wouldn't leave until they were back onboard. "Abubakar!" she exclaimed as her brother walked down the dock to greet them.

"Hello, sis, that's a fancy ship you show up in," Abubaker teased, hugging his sister the best he could with Bast in her arms while slyly eyeing Andrew, who stood to Anta's right. "Hello, Carla, nice to see you again," he greeted in a thick English accent.

"How's work going, Abu?" Carla asked in a friendly manner with a smile to go with it.

"Not bad; work has been picking up here lately, so Anta, who's this?" Abubakar asked, gesturing to Andrew.

"Abu," using her brother's nickname he's had since they were kids, "I like you to meet Andrew McCain; Andy, this is my older brother Abubaker," Anta said, introducing the two of them. Watching something coming over her brother, given how he normally didn't like outsiders, namely those of other countries, she had thought her brother would be ruder and whatnot, not smiling and joyously talking to Andrew like he's known him forever.

"Abu!" Came a sweet female voice as the front door of her childhood home opened, and there in the door stood Heba. "Anta!" she shouted at the sight of her sister-in-law, getting the attention of the others within the house.

"Go on, she's been worried about you since you went on that tour," Abubaker said in a brotherly tone nodding toward his wife. "So, Andrew, what do you do for a living?" he asked when Anta went to greet Heba.

"Umm... kind of in Politics," Andrew admitted; he didn't think telling Anta's brother he was Pharaoh would go well with Abubaker.

"Oh? Like working for your government?" Abubaker asked, listening to his sister and his wife chatting away about her time abroad.

"Something like that," Andrew answered vaguely.

"Anta!" her mother Nour rushed out and wrapped her daughter in her arms, causing Bast to leap out of Anta's arms and scurried over to Andrew, who stood on her hind legs and dug her claws into the skin of his left leg. Bast's green eyes glinted in evilness when Andrew looked down as he hissed in pain. "Did you bring home another cat?" Nour asked, watching the young man her daughter brought home, bending down and plucking the feline off the ground.

"Who Bast? Oh, no, she's Andrew's companion," Anta said, peering back at her husband; she had stopped calling him her boyfriend for some time now. Since when he takes his throne, the whole world will know she is his wife. She knew Carla felt the same way.

"So, a cat person, eh?" Abubaker joked.

"Not willingly," Andrew muttered, earning him a swat across his right cheek from Bast.

"I take it he is this Andrew you had spoken about when you called home on your trip?" Nour asked in that motherly tone that carried hints of worry and happiness in her voice.

"Mmmhmm," Anta hummed, "Andy, come and say hello to my Mum," waving him over to her side, wondering what the two of them were communicating, given the look Andrew was giving Bast.

"Hello, Mrs. Ali; Anta has told me a lot about you, Andrew McCain," he said, holding out his hand to her.

"I know who you are; I've seen you on the telly," Nour stated, shaking Andrew's hand. A curious look appeared in her eyes as a strange pomegranate smell filled her nostrils. "Well, come in, and you can tell her father and me how you met our daughter," she said, welcoming Andrew into her home while giving her daughter a teasing look when Anta had a rather bashful look on her face. Not something she normally saw on her daughter's face; it was rather intriguing, to say the least. "Good morning Carla; I do hope my daughter isn't getting you into too much trouble," Nour greeted as Carla entered after Andrew, who was being led by his hand towards a seat by Anta.

"Heavens, no," Carla chuckled, getting a hug from Nour, who acted like a surrogate mother to her since hers couldn't get out to Egypt due to the cost it would take to fly out from the States.

"Bennu, come and say hello to your sister and her friends!" Nour called out as Heba and Abubaker filed in and closed the door behind him. While she pulled out her cheap cell phone and texted her husband to come to the house. Grumbling could be heard from the other side of the house as the person who belonged to it ambled down the hallway.

"Watch your tone, Bennu," Anta hissed when her youngest brother made a slur when he saw Andrew sitting beside her. "Have a care on how you speak to Andrew," she said sternly. Noting her mother's studying look as she peered at her while she was dressing down her brother.

"Is there something more to the two of you than what you've told your father and me?" Nour asked as Bennu slinked over to her side to hide from his sister's fiery gaze.

"He's going to be my husband," Anta stated proudly, laying her hand over Andrew's. "I wanted to wait until it was the right time to tell the two of you, but Andrew and I will be getting married when he makes his announcement to the world."

"You're getting a little ahead of yourself," Andrew whispered into Anta's ear.

"I am not; you know what you have to do; why hide it?" Anta shot back, with Bast nodding along in Andrew's lap.

"You have far too much to do than getting married, Anta," Nour chided, keeping her shock from her face at her daughter's revelation.

"Nope, I can still do all that; Andy's going to be with me anyway, so why shouldn't I be at his side like he will be at mine. That is what a Queen consort does; she stands by her King," Anta said proudly, getting a light groan out of Andrew. "Hush," she cooed, lightly slapping his hand. "They would find out eventually; why not learn it from me instead of the television."

"Queen?! King?!" her family said as one in stunned shock as all eyes stared at Andrew and then at Anta, wondering what in Sam hill was going on. Only to have the commotion come to a cease when Jahi, Anta's father, came storming into their house, cursing up a storm in Arabic at the phone in his hand. He had just learned his license to operate his ship and business had just been revoked by the greedy government official who wanted a portion of his profits to keep him in business, which Jahi was not about to do.

"Papa, what's wrong?" Anta asked, quickly getting up from her seat to go to her father's side and give him some comfort like he had done all her life. Seeing her father's face brighten up at the sight of her before he pulled her into a warm fatherly hug.

"Nothing you need to worry about," Jahi said in Arabic. Only to take note of the strange man sitting in his living room beside his daughter's friend.

"Jahi, come sit; your daughter has something very strange to tell you," Nour stated, still not believing she was sitting across from royalty.

"What's this about?" Jahi asked, keeping to Arabic since that's the only language he knew. He understood English. He just couldn't speak it. "What!" he roared when his wife whispered into his ear once he had set down beside her. "I forbid it, Anta!" Jahi stated in a protective fatherly tone.

"Well, that's too bad, Papa, my King has asked for my hand, and I intend to marry Andrew," Anta said plainly as she retook her seat beside Andrew.

"He looks American! Americans don't have royalty, Anta! He's deceiving you," Jahi spoke, trying to get his daughter to see reason.

"Andy, please, show them for me?" Anta pleaded when she turned to look at him and placed her hands on his left forearm. "I know you don't like doing it, but they won't understand until you show them who you really are." Pressing her lips together when a sigh escaped his lips as his chin lowered.

"You know, if you weren't so cute, I wouldn't even consider this," Andrew said, not having to look at Anta to know she was grinning like mad as Bast moved off his lap to rest in Carla's.

"I know, but that's what you love about me," Anta chirped happily, her face burned red hot when the word 'True' escaped his lips.

Andrew rose to his feet, feeling the ankh ring on his right hand growing hot as he tapped into its magic. Years upon years of knowledge flooded his mind as the Pharaohs of old divulged their experience to him. Raising his arm, extending his right hand towards Anta's father, "I am Pharaoh Menes II, the ruler of Egypt," Andrew stated; his Nemes[29] shimmered into view as his divinity burned in his pupils.

"There is..."

"I. Am. Pharaoh," Andrew said sternly, his gaze burnt into Bennu's form when he cut the young man off from voicing his descent. "I know how it sounds, trust me, yet I am the ruler of the two lands," he said, referring to upper and lower Egypt.

"Well, shake my future husband's hand, Papa," Anta bemoaned when her father just stared in shock at what he and the rest of them had just witnessed.

"Just wait a second," Abubaker cut in, "just how can you be Pharaoh when there hasn't been one in thousands of years?"

"I am one of the last living descendants of Pharaoh Pepi II, the last ruler of the Sixth Dynasty. Yes, I know, I was skeptical too; trust me, you think I want all this weird shit that being Pharaoh entails? Hardly, yet even if I wanted to back out, there are things that won't allow me to, no matter how much I want to go back to New York."

"But how?" Nour asked, very confused.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Andrew said sincerely.

"How long have you known about this Anta?" Jahi asked, peering around Andrew's body.

"For some time now, Papa, you remember when the Nile waters were pouring over the dam? Andy's the one that stopped it from destroying everything. He is Egypt, and Egypt is him, don't ask me to explain; I honestly don't understand most of it, yet what I have seen cannot be denied," Anta said, knowing this was how it would have gone when she told her family who she was marrying.

"This man is making a fool out of you all!" Bennu sneered in disgust only to feel the heat burning his skin as Andrew's crook materialized in his left hand and pointed it at his throat.

"You doubt my power? You doubt the will of Egypt, then you stand against the man that will end this stagnation and bring about the restoration of this land back to its rightful place as a leader in the world," Andrew said with the authority of a King. "Now kneel before your Pharaoh," he commanded, wondering if Ra's blessing would work like that. Which it did, given how Bennu quickly got to his knees, who looked very confused by what had just happened. "Now, doubt me all you want, yet you cannot say I am not the Pharaoh of this land. I understand your concern for your daughter's welfare; it isn't my intention to allow harm to come to her; what kind of King would I be if I allowed harm to come to my future wife?" Andrew asked, peering down at Anta's parents, feeling Anta's huge grin burning into his back as he stood before them. Noting how Bennu was trying to stand, yet his body wouldn't heed his command as Andrew returned the crook back to its owner.

"See, I'm perfectly in good hands, Papa and Mum," Anta stated, sitting regally in her seat. "Next time you insult my husband, you won't get off so easily," she hissed at her little brother.

"Anta, are you sure this is what you want?" Nour asked in a worried motherly tone, thinking her daughter didn't know what she was getting herself into.

"Mmmhmm," Anta nodded as she hummed. "You won't believe the things I've seen or the things Andy has done. I know this isn't what you thought I'd be doing when I went off to college; however, I just feel I need to be by his side," she sighed happily as she rested her head on Andrew's left shoulder when he retook his seat between Carla and herself. Anta turned her gaze towards her little brother when he leapt to his feet once he was no longer under Andrew's compulsion, only to rush into their kitchen. The sounds of metal clanged about as Bennu sought a weapon to use against the man who had hoodwinked his sister.