Ramuna had been right to send someone in to aid Ramesses. Tafari had practically carried him out. He was still healing from all his wounds but Ramesses looked as if he was struggling to hold consciousness.
Some form of yearning Ramuna did not understand pained her. She felt a need to hold Ramesses once more like she did when she went into Duat to fight Apep with him. Now that Ammut was separated from her body she knew these were her true personal feelings.
Ramuna looked over to Ammut to see what her response had been to seeing Ramesses in the awful state he was in and was surprised to see Ammut showed no sign of care.
Ammut had been truthful about Ramesses not looking like or seeming like her lover. Still her lover was there trapped in that body somewhere and they both knew it.
Ramuna became even more concerned when they reached the pub and Ramesses did not stop to ask the pub owner for a drink or even smoke. He only asked Tafari and the pub owner to help him up the stairs to his room.
Ammut had become quiet when Ramesses was near them and actually rushed to her room when they got back to the pub. Ramuna could sense the woman was in deep pain. The loss of her children and the father of her children was taking a toll on her and now she had no choice but to live in the pain instead of hiding within Ramuna's mind.
Ramuna could not blame her. She too was grieving the loss of Set and her own choice of abandoning everyone. What world would they have in front of them if she had not vanished so long ago?
Ramuna waited for the pub owner to come back down the stairs and waved at him. The man came over to her without saying a word. Matter of fact he had always been mute since she had arrived in Kemet.
"What is your name?" Ramuna asked curiously.
The man did not respond, just stared at her.
Ramuna sighed in disappointment and just decided to go on business instead of pressuring him. She pointed over to a bottle of cinnamon whiskey and a jug of water.
"Can I have one of each to take up to him?"
The pub owner acted on that and rushed down the back aisle to grab what she requested, putting it in front of her without a word and then disappearing to the back room.
She grabbed both jugs and walked up the stairs making her way to Ramesses room.
Once again she felt the painful yearning. Perhaps she was feeling this way because this man had been taking the role of Set?
The jackal mask. The spear he used to fight Apep. Maybe the thing he was keeping from her was that he was one of her husband's very own worshippers and disciples?
How else would he know what to do with Apep and take on Set's role to fight?
Ramuna did not bother knocking on the door and entered the room as quietly as she could. She was able to hear Ramesses whimpering in pain from outside the room before she had even entered. The only thing that was keeping the room lit was a small candle by his nightstand.
He was under a blanket in his bed. Some of the green poison was already staining his sheets and he had a wet cloth over his forehead. It looked as if he was struggling to heal himself.
Ramuna sat the two jugs on the nightstand and looked down at him. His eyes met hers but they were wild with anger, his eyes glowing more brightly than the candle now.
"May I?"
"No you may not," he hissed. "I would rather die than you fucking help me. Leave and take what you brought with you."
Ramuna was shocked by his anger. Perhaps if he told the truth about himself for once she would not have lied about her own identity. Regardless, his rage towards her was rather unusual. She understood why he would be mad at her but right now something was different. Something she was sure he would be reluctant to share with her as well.
"Even the water?" Ramuna asked innocently. She could tell how dehydrated he was. If anything he desperately needed water. Even his glance over to the jugs on the nightstand told himself out.
"Fuck off!" He snapped. There were tears in his eyes now. "Don't come in here and act fucking stupid. Just leave the water and go. I would rather bleed out and be in pain till the very moment I have to go back into that cave then have a god damned terrorist and thief of their own country heal me. I hope Ra doesn't show you any fucking mercy when you go back trying to play savior!"
Maybe she should have told him a different story but lying had never been Ramuna's strong suit; it's why she had asked Tafari to put her in an amnesia state countless times over the years.
"I am not giving you a choice."
Ramuna was too powerful. She had caught him trying to send a powerful echo of his own hatred into her mind and sent it right back at him tenfold. The moment it hit him he winced and twitched in pain and Ramuna used that moment to heal his body.
"Fuck you." He snarled.
To Ramuna's shock he leapt off the bed and grabbed her by the throat pulling her close to him so close that their lips were almost touching.
"Healing me was a dumb move. Wanna go toe to toe and see who's the big bad now? Promise you it's not going to be pretty you damned thief."
"You have so much hate towards me and for what?" Ramuna said, trying to catch her breath through his grasp on her throat. As she was speaking he squeezed even tighter as if trying to get her to stop talking.
"You blew up my fucking home and you don't even have a damned reason to give except that it doesn't even matter because we can all just go back and fix it. Like as if those lives you played with mean nothing because if we go back they wouldn't have existed yet anyways, am I wrong? I am not even that cruel. You have outmatched me on that one, bitch."
"Let me go, this is a warning." Ramuna said, still struggling to breathe.
Ramesses head flew back and he bursted out laughing.
Something within his actions in the low lit room was vaguely familiar to Ramuna. That yearning feeling slowly crawled up her spine again.
A memory. One that was truly her own flashed before her eyes. She was in a king sized bed with a white silk canopy, the room was lit by many candles along the wall. She was sitting in Set's lap and he leaned against the bed frame, his head back, eyes closed, laughing at something she had said while he was holding tightly to her arms. His body drenched in sweat from what they had been doing prior.
Ramuna realized she was not the only one looking at the memory she was reminiscing on and that Ramesses had decided to take that moment to peer into her mind. Maybe her eyes had given her away to what she had been thinking about instead of what was happening in the moment.
The anger left his eyes almost immediately and his grip around her throat slackened but he did not let go nor did he move away. She noticed his golden eyes were dimming as well. He placed his other hand on her back and pulled her even closer to him till her body had no choice but to lean against his and he moved his lips to her ear.
"Very interesting choice of thoughts to have when I have you gripped by the throat, Ramuna," He whispered in her ear. "Even more interesting was who you had in bed with you. Are you sure you are just a simple thief? Are you trying to play at my game now?"
"Tell me who you really are and maybe I will talk about who I am," Ramuna snapped realizing she was talking quietly as well.
That made him laugh even more. "Well I definitely do not resemble the man you were just thinking of."
"Your attitudes are the same." Ramuna responded; somehow she was admitting that to herself as well.
"Mhm. I noticed. Unfortunately, I am not him so having these feelings that I can feel burning inside you would be some kind of dishonor would it not?" Ramesses said letting her go and pushing her away from him.
Ramuna stood there in shock by his physical action of pushing her away and what he just said.
Ramesses smirked. "Not only a terrorist and thief but a god damned adulterer too. My heavens, Ramuna, you are just racking up the list of the top shittiest people of Atann aren't you?"