Chase! Wake up, we landed!" Iris announced as she kicked my foot. I groaned and opened one eye to look at her. She was standing in the aisle with her arms crossed, looking amused at me. I might have drooled a tiny bit during my nap.
"Okay, okay. You didn't have to kick me…" I grumbled and then wiped my mouth.. I stretched and groaned loudly, then stood and noticed that Jane wasn't on board the cabin.
"Where's Jane?" I asked. Iris pointed over her shoulder to a room at the back of the cabin.
"Changing room. The Pharaoh made sure the terraback was stocked with everything that Jane needed, so she's changing into appropriate attire." Iris explained. I nodded in understanding just as the door to the changing room opened, and Jane stepped out.
She was no longer wearing the tasteful sun dress that she'd had on when I took my nap. She was now dressed in a turquoise silk sleeveless blouse with matching pants that seemed to flow and flutter with her every step. Over the blouse was a white and gold sleeveless silk robe that she fastened closed at the waist by a simple jade clip in the shape of a scarab beetle. Her hair was done in a way that made it more vibrant and full as it cascaded down her back and her make up was done up with golds and blacks like Egyptian royalty, which made sense considering she was royalty.
"How do I look?" Jane asked and twirled so Iris and I could have the full effect.
"Amazing, Lady Jane." Iris said with a smile. I scratched my chin and smirked.
"Wow, dressed like that. I'd almost believe you were a princess." I teased. Jane frowned and crossed her arms.
"What do you mean almost?!" She snapped.
"Well, you say you're a princess a lot, but I don't really see you do many princessy things." I continued.
"And how would a country bumkin from the States know what prencessy things are. Your country doesn't even have a royal family. Your leader changes every eight years." Jane said.
"True…" I said, scratching my chin and flashing her a huge cheesy grin. Jane saw this and rolled her eyes.
"I needed to become presentable to meet my father and anyone that happens to be in court." Jane said. I frowned and crossed my arms.
"Wait, how many people are we talking here? I thought you weren't supposed to be known to many people outside of your immediate family?" I asked. Jane nodded and sighed.
"Yes, but there are exceptions. The minister of domestic affairs, the minister of defense, and the minister of education all know who I am as do a few of their trusted aides." Jane explained.
"And I'm guessing any one of them could be at court at any given time?" I speculated. Jane nodded.
"Then there is also my sister…." Jane said. I froze and blinked at Jane a few times.
"WAIT, YOU HAVE A SISTER!" I exclaimed. Iris arched a brow at me while Jane sighed and nodded her head wearily.
"Yes, an older sister and a younger brother…however only my brother is my full blooded sibling. My sister is only my half-sister." Jane replied. I frowned at the familiar tone at which Jane spoke about her sister. I used that same tone a lot when I talked about Logan.
"Judging by that tone, I'm guessing you and your sister aren't close." I said. Jane sighed again.
"Not really, though that's not my fault…or maybe it is…" Jane muttered, then shook her head. "Regardless if she's there, then it would be best if you kept your distance."
"Is she dangerous or something?" I asked.
"No…she's…." Jane started.
"She's a black-hearted bitch." Iris said plainly.
"IRIS!" Jane exclaimed then looked around to mack sure no one heard here. We were the only ones in the cabin. "You can't say that about my sister. She might not be royalty but she is still my sister."
I frowned and cocked my head at the two girls.
"Wait how is she not royalty?" I asked. Jane groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"To put it simply, she's a bastard…"
"Bitch works better…" Iris muttered. Jane Shor Iris a glare that made me flinch.
"…She's my father's illegitimate daughter and while she has royal blood because she was born out of wedlock she's not considered part of the royal family." Jane continued with her explanation.
"Sooooo….your dad cheated on your mom?" I asked. Jane scoffed at that and shook her head.
"No! My sister is the result of a dalliance that my father had years before he met my mother." Jane said sternly.
"Sounds like a fancy way of saying your dad whored around but okay." I said with a shrug. Jane glared at me while Iris chuckled and covered her mouth
"Chase my father is the leader of a country, the Pharaoh. He did not whore around!" Jane said sternly.
"Then how did your sister get here exactly?" I asked with a cocky smile. A vein bulged in Jane's forehead and she looked at me like she was barely restraining great rage.
"Chase, if you want to live past toady it would behoove you to never speak of such things again."
I felt a sudden and paralyzing sense of fear and danger as I looked back at the cold, furious look in Jane's eyes. She was not playing around.
"Okay…" I muttered meekly. Jane looked me up and down for a few seconds then turned on her heel and headed gracefully towards the cabin exit.
"Good, now let's hurry. It isn't done to keep a Pharaoh waiting." Jane said.
"Note to self. Don't joke about Jane's dad." I whispered to myself as I followed Jane. Iris giggled quietly at my side as the two of us left the terraback cabin.
I gasped as I saw where exactly we had landed. I had expected a large airfield or a secret landing strip in the middle of the desert. Instead I was greeted to by crystal clear waters as far as the eye could see with the terraback moored to a dock of sorts. The terraback had landed in a sort of lake or oasis. The water wasn't deep enough to submerge the terraback but let it float peacefully on top of the water thanks to its turtle shell.
The girls and I descended down the boarding stairs where the flight crew was already waiting for us at the bottom of the stairs along with at least fifteen guards decked out in regal looking armor that was specifically modified to show off their Farm crystals while still offering protection.
Each member of this guard unit stepped to the side and bowed gracefully at Jane as she reached the bottom step. A guard dressed in the most ornate armor stepped forward when Jane reached the last step and dropped to one knee.
"Welcome home your highness. I hope your Journey was uneventful?" The guardsmen greeted Jane with a beaming smile.
"It was indeed Captain Rowad. I'm happy to say that it's good to be home." Jane replied flashing Rowad a smile.
I couldn't help but notice a look of envy from all the men under the captains command at being spoken to by Jane. A sideways glance to Iris told me that this was common, sje was fldlojg all she could to not roll her eyes at the display.
"Hey Jane are we going to have to fly to the palace or what?" I asked. Rowad's eyes, as well as all the eyes of the guards darted to me. They all looked at me with clear distain and distrust.
"Young…man, I don't know how you things are back at the college but as long as you are on these grounds you will refer to Her highness Lady Jane as such." Roward chastised me.
I felt a tick starting to form in my jaw at Rowad's words. I wasn't sure what it was about him that pissed me off exactly. The condescending tone, the way he looked me up and down to size me up before speaking, or the fact that he wasn't even trying to hide the fact he thought I was beneath him.
"Yeah no. Not gonna do that. I don't know how things are here but where I come from people call their friends by their names." I said dismissively then walked over to Jane and put my arm around her shoulder.
"Get your hand off the Princess this INSTANT!" Rowad growled and reached for his weapon, a Egyptian khopesh. All of the guards under his command did the same as well.
"Make me!" I said cockily and stuck my tongue out at them. Jane reached up and grabbed my tongue and pulled me in front of her. The action took Rowad and the rest of the guards by surprise.
"Chase! No fighting while at the royal palace!" She chastised. Iris walked over and smacked me on the head.
"Seriously, I thought that would be common sense!" Iris grumbled.
"Ow! Thlay yhatrd it!" I mumbled and tried to jerk my tongue out of Jane's grasp but she had her nails pinched into the delicate flesh there so I couldn't without making myself bleed.
"I was right here Chase, can you please act your age for once!" Jane groaned and let go of my tongue.
"I am acting my age!" I defended and ran my finger across my tongue. "I'm still a teen…"
"You're eighteen! Chase! You're a full grown adult!" Iris barked and slapped me again.
"But I never had the father figure in my life to show me how to act like a man…." I whimpered and flashed Iris a set of sad puppy eyes and faked a sniffle. Iris blinked at me a few times then looked over at Jane.
"Lady Jane can I kill him?" She asked in a dead pan tone.
"No. Sadly. Remember he is a guest of my father….so we should probably stop hitting him. He already has enough brain damage." Jane replied with a sigh. I heard several of the guards behind me stiffen at the mention of the Pharaoh.
I turned back to face the guards and saw all of them looking at me with barely held back malice. I ignored them and looked around.
"Well jokes about killing me aside Jane, where exactly is the palace? Do we have to take a boat or what?" I asked.
Jane took a few steps in past me further down the dock then looked over her shoulder at me and smiled.
"We're already inside the palace grounds. This is just a convenient landing strip for the terraback and the front of the garden. We'll have to walk the length of the dock in order to reach the main palace." Jane explained. I nodded in understanding.
"How long is the dock?" I asked.
"About two miles." Jane said and started down the dock. Iris quickly followed after her.
The guards, Rowad included, all parted as Jane passed. Giving her plenty of room to walk. I doubted they'd do the same for me and channeled float and gravity attribute mana throughout my body. I felt that same thing in my chest again but it disappeared quickly as I floated a few feet above the guards and girls heads and followed the girls as they started down the dock.
The guards were rendered speechless by this feat, probably confused since I didn't cast a spell sigil. Jane and Iris both looked up and frowned when they saw me flying above them.
"You couldn't have walked?" Iris asked. I flew down to the girls level and floated in pace with their steps. Physically my body was over the water and I was stretched out like I was laying down on a couch.
"I could but two miles seems so far away so I'm just going to rest my legs." I said. Jane and Iris both rolled their eyes and kept walking. Rowad and the other royal guards finally snapped out of their amazed daze at seeing me fly with no spell and quickly moved to catch up with us.
"So what exactly do you think your dad wants?" I asked Jane.
"Probably not what you crave beets." Jane said, switching to Torapos and butchering the language. Covered my mouth and snickered at her.
"No I don't normally crave beet Jane." I said keeping to universal standard. Jane's face e turned red a little as her hand came up to cover her mouth.
"Oh, I messed up on the pronunciation didn't I?" She asked, back to usijg universal standard. I nodded and laughed.
"You probably meant to say that not what you think didn't you Lazy Jane." Iris said, switching to Torapos like Jane did however her pronunciation was spot on. Jane shook her head.
"Yes! Yes! Of course! I keep messing up on consonants." Jane said.
I had been teaching the girls Torapos for the last few months since the events at the Tolapo village. Jane's kind of a slow learner when it comes to language but Iris took to it like a fish to water. While they were no way master's of the language I could talk to them and understand what they meant given enough context clues.
"I'm sure you'll get it eventually." I said then smiled as the end of the dock was finally coming into view and with it the palace.
The palace was massive, even from a distance. It was obviously ancient in its construction and made mostly of thick stone but the golf decorations that dotted the ancient Egyptian structure still shine brilliantly in the sunlight almost as if they were brand new.
A loud and sudden splash got my attention further out into the lake and it stopped in mid-air and turned to look. About forty yards away from the dock was a group of hippos floating in the water lazily.
"Hippos?!" I exclaimed. Iris and Jane both stopped and looked to where I was looking then chuckled.
"No those are Chiwa. They're evos with hippo and South African porcupine as a base. Inside the water they look like regular hippos but once you get put of the water you see they aren't. Their legs and tail are covered in thick hollow quills." Jane explained.
"And those quills are nasty. Once they get in you there is a hole at the bottom of the quills that drains your blood out, kind of like a faucet. The tiny barbs on the quills also make it extremely painful to try and get them out. Get a few of those in your gut or sides and you'll bleed out in a matter of minutes." Iris added. I shivered and floated back onto the dock and hid behind Jane and Iris.
"Yeah you can keep those things away from me. Sounds like they're death with a cute face." I said.
"That's actually what their name means. Death." Jane said then continued on towards the Palace.
"Well someone has a sense of humor…" I muttered as I followed after her. Choosing to walk since flying over the water didn't feel to safe all of a sudden.
"One of my ancestors on my mother's side. They were created by them over five hundred years ago. Now they are a staple for Egyptian navel defense. They normally guard our countries waterways." Jane explained. I nodded and glanced over at the herd of Chiwas, while not very threatening looking I did not like the idea of dying from blood loss.
I stayed on edge about the Chiwa until we finally reached the end of the dock and was on dry land. No longer constrained by narrow spaces the royal guards surrounded the girls and I and Rowad took point. Jane and Iris kept walking like it was a everyday thing to be surrounded by armed guards and I, not wanting to get trampled by the guards behind me, hurried up to keep pace with them.
The walk to the main palace was a short one compared to the walk to the peer. The walkway was paved in small tan stones that shifted slightly under my feet as I walked. The garden comment that Jane said earlier made sense now. There was a wide variety of flowers and vibrant plants that gave the whole area a calming aura almost.
The entrance into the palace was a large sandstone archway. There were two guards posted at the door who straightened when they saw Rowad and our procession approaching. They quickly stepped to the side and let us pass.
"This way to the throne room, Princess." Rowad said leading us through the palace. Jane didn't respond and instead looked back to me.
"Chase, I would hope that this goes without saying but I know you so do not do anything that would disrespect my father. Do not forget that he is the ruler of Egypt." Jane said.
"Yeah, got it. Don't do anything to embarrass daddy's little girl." I said in a teasing voice. That earned a growl and vicious glare from every one of the guards. Jane groaned and rubbed the bridge of her nose.
"Isis, great goddess, please let today end with no bloodshed…" Jane prayed to herself. I frowned and crossed my arms.
"I'm not going to fight with anybody!" I exclaimed.
"Probably should have prayed to Osiris and Anubis." Iris quipped. I rolled my eyes at Iris then looked around the hallway.
It was obviously ancient, everything was made of sandstone or some kind of tan rock. The walls were adorned in golds and precious gemstones. On some of the older looking walls were hieroglyphics that depicted something, I don't read hieroglyphics, but I guessed it was something self serving that empowered past Pharaoh's.
None of the rooms we passed had doors, just empty archways that lead into the room. The group finally came to a large set of wooden doors with massive golden door handles, embossed with the sigil of the Pharaoh. Four guards stood in front of the door and stood to attention when our group approached. Rowad brought the procession to a halt and stepped to the side to let Jane step forward.
"Princess Jane Soloman, her guardian Iris Philari, with their classmate Chase Kingston." Jane announced. All four of the guards nodded in unison then turned and pushed the door open.
One of the guards walked over to a nearby gong and rang it. Jane walked forward and Iris and I followed after her. Rowad brought up the rear while the other guards stayed outside.
"Her Royal Highness, Princess Jane Soloman, her guardian lady Iris Philari, and honored guest Chase Kingston." Someone behind me announced. Jane stopped in the center of the throne room and the rest of us followed suit.
About twenty feet in front of us on a throne made of onyx and gold and dressed in a loose but regal looking black silk shirt and white dress pants was the Pharaoh. He sat with his left arm resting on the armrest and his fingers slightly covering his mouth. He looked down at me with a hardened and calculating look in his eyes.
"Well now…what has my daughter brought back home with her…?"