Ankhesenamun

“Hello, my friends.” Vlad Dracula said as he came forward and smiled at his friends before bowing a little. “My grandfather is very pleased that you have been transferred here, and was wondering if you have some time to visit with him. Given today’s date and now that this museum is open, he figured you all could use a grandfather.” The vampire smiled wider at Tiye and Annie. "And we've missed all of you and the little one who has grown so much since we last saw her."

“Vlad,” Meketre said with a smile as he hugged one of his vampire friends before looking concerned. “Tutankhamun and I can guess why your grandfather has been in this part of the world. Are you and the team alright?”

How that day had just barely been a bit over a year and a half ago she didn't know, but she was so eternally glad she'd showed up then. Now she'd been walking around with Meketre for the afternoon, he'd finished his work early and she knew Tut would be too, so they were taking Tiye about and showing her things. Annie usually kept her tightly strapped to her chest, both for ease of carrying her and having her close. It was foolish, she knew, because she was always the picture of contentment. There was just one, teeny little part of her that was still scared something could happen so being able to feel her breathing and wriggling about eased her mind.

Seeing Tut round the corner she grinned, already shifting to get Tiye out of the wrap to giver her to her father. "There's Abi, go see," she said, smiling and kissing her little head as she handed her over. "If it's the reincarnation of Howard Carter, I get first punch," she muttered, considering what the day was she'd been highly tempted to go spray-paint something very un ladylike on his house in Thebes. She was pleased though to see Vlad, well one of the Vlads anyway and smiled broadly at him. "It is good to see you, and she is isn't she," she said proudly, standing next to Tut, "She's even starting to babble things, I swear she'll be saying Abi in no time, mark my words."

Tut could tell his friend needed a moment, so he looked at his wife with a tired and sad smile, “I…was…considered…less… than…human…” He said before closing his eyes for a minute, before she threatened to put Meketre through ridiculous headwear. “Have…mercy…hapepy.”

Just then, Ka knocked on the door before slipping in with his cousin Setka, Uncle Khaemwaset, and Uncle Ruia holding a firm stretcher. Setka and Khaemwaset were as tall as their father and eldest brother, so they could easily help Meketre move, and Ruia came in because he was one of the few people who could reach Meketre. “This is the one time we will give my stubborn twin a little slack for running himself into the ground,” Ruia said as his brother and their two nephews bowed before going over to the bed. “Thank the Gods, My Lord, My Lady.”

“Ruia…” Tutankhamun said, before pulling the woodworker into a hug, switching to Semitic-Canaanite again. “Sit…on…that…one…for…me.” He pointed to Meketre.

“My Lord, all I am trying to do right now is not bring up what Nepherhotep gave me and try not to scream because my back and stomach are on fire.” The soldier said in the same language since Ankhesenamun could understand very little of it. “I am not going to fight anyone.”

“You are not going to fight us now, but you are going to start to as soon as you feel a little better,” Ruia said as he looked directly at his twin. “I am not above tying you down and letting Herit and the kids sit on you.” He then smiled at the Queen as he said in Egyptian before starting for the side of the bed, Meketre. “The Shadow will behave, My Lady, but moving him will hurt.”

“I will do my best not to scream,” Meketre said in Egyptian as they got everything into position, and Setka apologized to his pharaoh before getting on the bed between his uncle and Tut. Tutankhamun tiredly squeezed his friend’s hand one more time before the soldier swore loudly in his native language as he was slid onto the firm stretcher.

Meketre then looked at Ankhesenamun sheepishly, considering even though she didn’t speak Semitic-Canaanite, she could probably guess the nature of what he had just said, “Sorry, My Lady.” He said in Egyptian before Setka and Khaemwaset carried him out of the room and across the hall.

“Forgive me, My Lord and My Lady,” Nepherhotep said to the royal couple as he gathered some of his things. “My brother’s condition is only a few steps above yours, and I need to get him settled, stabilized, and comfortable. I will be right across the hall if you need anything, but the main thing you both need is rest and peace.”

“Go…” Tut said just above a whisper before growing worried at what the physician just said. “Is…he…going…to…die?”

There were certainly times she still felt overwhelmed with the sheer number of their friend's family, but in this case she was pleased to see so many of them. She knew Meketre needed their help, and she knew he wouldn't accept it unless he was quite literally forced. He'd probably run himself into the ground otherwise.

Thankfully, the lot of them seemed to get him to agree to be moved, and Ankhes nodded her head when Ruia said he'd probably scream when he was moved. "I understand, don't worry," she said, trying to look encouraging even if she was worried. You didn't have to know a language to know when someone was cursing. "No sorry needed. Now REST or I can and will find a robe with spangles on it to go with the hat," she called, only half joking as he was carried out of the room.

She waved a hand dismissively when the physician expressed concern about having to leave. "Please, do not worry. You do what you must to make sure he's all right. I don't think either of us will forgive ourselves if anything happens to him." The pain in Tut's voice when he asked about their friend was horrible to hear, and she reached over to grab onto his hand and squeezed it tightly. "He'll be ok, I promise," she told him, "He's got horrible threats over his head if he doesn't behave after all. Besides, he's one of the strongest people I know. He'll be fine. Grumpy about it, but fine." Nefer nodded in agreement with a faint grin on his face, before excusing himself and leaving the room.

“Horemheb is and the army are seizing Ey’s properties and Djedefre is transferring it all to the crown as we speak," Meketre said, meaning one of his younger brothers whom Tutankhamun had appointed, along with their brother Khaemwaset, to help him with the kingdom's finances and proclamations after the last master of coin and proclamations died. “And I hand-picked the men guarding him. Ey is Vizier only in name.”

Tut grinned, considering he had already prepared and signed the proclamation naming Meketre Vizier, and gave it to Khaemwaset for safekeeping and ratification, “Not…anymore…” The young man said before looking at his sister/wife and then back at his friend. “I…am…sure…she…has…already…told…you.”

“She did, but I am not of noble or even full Egyptian blood, My Lord. Why me?” Meketre asked.

“You…have…been…more…of…a…Vizier…to…me…then…Ey…ever…has.” Tutankhamun said. “You…know…the…common…people…and…you…are…more…respected… than…you…think.” The young man then grinned like the teenager he was before switching to Meketre’s native language. “And…I…would…much…rather…have…you…right…across…the…hall… than…that…slimy…snake. Plus…it…will…be…fun…and…those…rooms…have…a…bigger… garden.”

One of these days she was going to have to at least try and learn at least a basic phrase or two in their other language because it did get a little frustrating at times not being able to follow. Knowing her husband as well as she did though always helped, she could guess his intentions without words. "I said he wouldn't object, we've talked before about what we'd do someday when he made a mistake. Not remotely a price any of us wanted to pay, but now he'll never trouble anyone again."

She smiled at the fact that he seemed to have accepted it now, and nodded her head. "We'd never dream of such a thing. Horemheb will have to take on more when you're busy of course, but he's always been a decent man I think he'd be up to the challenge," she said, nodding at him, "And of course we will. Probably me most of all. After all, my parents used to care about us and we girls were never far from court functions. It's been my entire life, I may as well help put it to use. No offense meant to you of course, Pharaohing is all you" she teased, grinning at Tut.

“All right, that is it,” Nepherhotep said before bringing over what he had been trying to get down his brother’s throat for the past half hour as Tutankhamun woke up and looked between his wife and his friend. “Meketre will be all right, My Lord, he just needs his pain medication and muscle relaxant.”

“Take…it.” The young pharaoh ordered in Semitic-Canaanite before taking one of Meketre’s hands. “And…then…breathe…” He then looked at Nepherhotep and Ankhes before saying in Egyptian. “How…bad…is…he…?”

The physician took a moment to help his brother drink what he needed before saying what he had wanted to tell Ankhesenamun about Meketre’s true condition, “Meketre’s back went out very badly, and his hips and shoulders are badly strained. He needs to be on complete bed rest for at least eight weeks and then slowly build himself back up, or he is not going to be able to stand, let alone walk.”

“Nepherhotep…” Meketre ground out to try and get his brother to shut up.

Nepherhotep ignored him and continued, “I also just found out from examining him earlier that Meketre has not been able to keep solid food down for at least a month due to stress and the fact that he has not been taking his medications. He’s lost at least twenty pounds.”

“Meketre…” Tutankhamun said as tears slipped down his cheeks, the more he heard about his friend’s suffering. “You…will…do… exactly…as…your…family…says…” He then had to rest for a minute before he could continue. “You…are…my…brother. Ankhes…and…I need…you…”

Meketre carefully moved closer to the young man and gently drew him into his arms, like he always did when Tut had fears or frustrations that he wasn’t comfortable showing in front of his sister/wife, “I will.” He said in Semitic-Canaanite. “But everything has been worth it.”

“What…happened…to…me?” Tutankhamun asked in the same language as he looked at Nepherhotep and then back at Ankhesenamun.

“You were poisoned,” Nepherhotep said in Egyptian so the queen could follow the conversation. “But as soon as it happened, Meketre acted quickly and gave you something that bought him and me time to go to our mother’s village and retrieve an antidote. You, too, have a long road back, My Lord, but you are going to be fine, and you will long reign over us.”

She stood up then, looking directly down at him. "You listen to me and you listen carefully," she insisted, her voice getting louder and feeling the frustration boiling over, "You WILL do whatever your brother says and you WILL look after yourself. I will not hear another word on the subject, or about how you failed anyone. You are the reason I'm not going to become a widow, you saved Tut's life damnit! And what do you think would have happened to me then hmm? I'd have just been allowed to live my life? No because HE'D get his grimy disgusting hands on me and I'd be once again passed around like a child's toy to whoever needed me for my blood and who I was."

Sinking back down into her chair next to the bed, she was almost shocked at her sudden outburst but it was true she realized. It was highly possible she'd have been forced into marrying Ay, if she didn't take things into her own hands before he could get his claws into her.

Meketre at least seemed to have been agreeable to taking his medicine, but it was still odd to her to see her husband being so comfortable around someone else. It wasn't that she didn't trust their friends, she absolutely did, but it had been just them for so very long that she was still getting used to it. She wasn't there herself, but at least he was.

She frowned, glaring at the door when Tut asked what happened to him. Before she could try and explain, Nefer filled him in, leaving her to nod her head. She'd wanted to try to break it to him more gently, but she should have known he'd ask before everyone left.

Everyone moved quickly once the soldier was on the bed, and the queen was out of the room, and the only sound that Ankhesenamun would have been able to hear was Meketre, who couldn’t keep from screaming as his brother and nephew carefully realigned his spine. They had asked the queen to step out of the room because the procedure looked wrong and could be very upsetting to anyone who wasn’t used to it. Meketre also needed to have his tunic off, and he didn’t want Ankhesenamun to see the scarring he had from the crush injuries he sustained in a riot during her father’s reign.

Once Meketre’s back was stabilized with a back brace, he was supposed to wear when he wasn’t in his adapted armor. Nepherhotep went over and fully examined Tutankhamun before heading to the adjoining room and heard the queen ask her questions just before he knocked on the door. The physician still knocked, but he didn’t wait to enter the room and bow once the door was closed.

"Thank the Gods," she said, hand going to the wall to keep herself steady, "And you, and you over there too. I don't know how to thank you, I'd have lost him without you. Then I'd be lost too." She looked over to Meketre where he was on the bed with Tut. Her husbands' eyes had closed again, even if she wished he would have been awake still. She did know how badly he needed rest though, and mercifully he at least looked a little better and his chest was rising and falling like normal.

"Believe me, I know what it is to have a little brother you have to force to rest when he pushes himself too much. Mine's been like that since he was a child, and I don't think he'll ever grow out of it. We just have to make sure they get that rest when they get that way," she said to Nefer, nodding at him with a weak smile.

Struck by a sudden thought, and remembering she was acting Regent (Which was still a terrifying thing to her. She couldn't..at least yet..do the one thing a Queen was supposed to do and now she was in charge of the country herself?) she walked to where Ka was stationed near the door and held a hurried but quiet conversation with him. She knew it was unlikely that Tut would object to her decision anyway, and the young man practically beamed when she voiced her request, nodding enthusiastically and scurrying off.

"Just making sure we have somewhere comfortable for you to take a very well deserved rest," she said to Meketre, in response to the questioning looks she got when she returned to perch on the edge of the bed near Tut, her hand smoothing his hair off his face. "And I don't want to hear that you have things to do, because I wouldn't have him without you and I am not explaining to him you made yourself worse when he wakes up. I know him, the guilt would eat him alive."

“I’m fine,” Meketre said, even though he knew he wasn’t, but all his focus was on his friend and pharaoh at the moment. He sent a pleading look to Nepherhotep, who nodded and helped him over to the bed before the two got a liquid down Tutankhamun’s throat. It took about twenty minutes, but Tutankhamun’s breathing became deeper, his color started coming back, and he squeezed Meketre’s hand weakly. “Tutankhamun, can you hear me?” He asked in his native language before letting some tears start to fall when the young man squeezed his hand again. He then looked up at the queen. “We got to him in time, My Lady.” He said before getting out of the way and managing to catch himself on the back of a chair when his back spasmed, causing pain and his legs to almost give out.

“Meketre!” Nepherhotep yelled as he managed to get over to his brother before he totally went down.

“Lay… him… next… to… me…” Tut managed just after he opened his eyes and saw what was going on. He knew from experience that when Meketre’s back was out, they needed to get him lying down as soon as possible.

Meketre and Nepherhotep froze in shock, considering they weren’t expecting the young pharaoh to fully wake up for several more hours, and then Nepherhotep looked at his brother before forcing Meketre to do as he had been ordered. “What my brother is going to have to do to me is not pleasant, My Lady,” Meketre warned Ankhesenamun before Ka came running back in.

“Let me guess, Uncle Meketre almost ended up on the floor again.” The young soldier said in the family’s native language, then smiled when he saw Tutankhamun awake. “Thank the Gods, my Lord, do not worry, I can do the counterweight this time.”

She had to grip the edge of the bed so as not to fall when he said they'd gotten to him on time, almost tripping over her feet herself to get back to her husband's side. But then Meketre went down and everything seemed such a blur she didn't know what to do or where to look. Her mind registered Tut's voice, oh Gods even as weak as it was it had never sounded better to her in her life.

Ankhes felt frozen and completely ungrounded, her head was spinning in circles but she got out of the way to let them do what they needed to. "I'll..I'll go. I'm sorry I have to...I need to go," she stuttered out, not really wanting to leave his side but also feeling unable to stay. For all she had gotten used to the family of their friends, she still had a hard time dealing with emotions in front of everyone. If she didn't move she felt she'd burst into tears like she had in front of Iset, and she didn't want to do that.

Taking off to the adjoining room she'd gotten such completely life altering news it what seemed like ages but was just hours ago, she sunk to the floor with her arms wrapped around her knees. "It's okay, Tut's going to be ok. So will our friend " she kept telling herself, wincing at the agonizing sounds coming from inside the bedroom. There were pangs of guilt stabbing at her when she heard them, though she knew he'd just tell her not to be if she voiced such a thought.

Ka had been keeping his ear to the door for over a day and a half with guards hand-selected by his uncle Meketre at the ready, and had been just about to go in just before the queen called his name. He had the soldiers with him hold back for a moment as he opened the doors to the pharaoh and queen’s chambers and glared at Ey as he stepped inside, “I can do better than that, My Lady.” The young man said as he heard familiar footsteps running down the hall. He then switched to the Semitic-Canaanite language that his family spoke at home, knowing it would enrage the vizier even more. “We have him uncle!”

Meketre was exhausted, in pain, and had almost killed himself as he spent the last day and a half on continuous horseback using relay mounts to keep going non-stop, but as soon as he saw the doors open and heard his nephew call out, he suddenly had renewed strength and started running faster and burst into Tutankhamun and Ankhesenamun’s bedroom with a look of absolute murder on his face. The Royal couple meant more to him than monarchs; they were family. Tutankhamun had even learned his language when he was a boy.

She didn't know what they were saying, Tut was the one who'd learned their language not her, but she didn't have to know it to know the tone of voice didn't mean anything good. Her eyes widened and she raised a hand to her mouth to keep from being sick when she saw what he had in his hand. If she hadn't been there....she glanced at Tut on the bed trying not to think about it as she got to her feet.

"The dungeon, take him there now and lock him in the darkest one we have," she insisted, gesturing to the chair she'd occasionally been sitting in next to the bed, "And sit down please, no one should be on their feet after what you've done." It was with a certain amount of satisfaction she watched Ka and his companions drag her grandfather out, spitting curses the entire way. She could see Meketre's even taller physician brother coming in on their heels as they exited, a handful of the guards remaining outside.

She slowly took a deep breath, willing herself not to react or turn around to look at Ey as she reached out to hold Tut's hand. Remembering Meketre's nephew was just outside, she just prayed he'd come in before her grandfather had a chance to do something desperate. "Grandfather, he's doing well thank the Gods" she replied just as quietly, briefly glancing towards the door.

"Actually Grandfather," she went on, suddenly raising her voice just loudly enough she could hear movement at the door, "I'm glad you're here. I wanted to speak to Ka but I don't want to leave my....oh...nevermind."