Luxor, Egypt
Senemut floated in the pool.
He closed his eyes and let the cool water envelop him.
They would be leaving tomorrow.
As much as Senemut hated to admit it, he was dreading the trip home.
He had forgotten how much he loved Egypt.
Even with all the changes that had happened over the years, Egypt still felt like home.
Now I know why I don’t visit often.
Senemut let out a sigh.
Xaria, Raylin and Xander were all upstairs packing.
They weren’t ready to leave either.
They all had fun exploring the many wonders of the country.
They walked streets that Senemut had walked as a child.
They explored temples and ruins whose construction Senemut had overseen.
They had stood on the very ground where Hatshepsut’s palace, his home, had once towered over the city.
As they ventured over the landscape and shopped in the various shops, the doors that held Senemut’s ever growing emotions in check were being pushed to their limits.
Now as he lay quietly in the pool with no distractions, the flood gates threaten to burst, no longer able to hold their load.
Senemut sighed again; this time it was heavy and shaky.
I’ve got to find something to do.
Senemut swam over to the side and got out of the pool.
As he toweled himself off, his eyes fell on the big wooden door.
Senemut had explored every room of Hatshepsut’s underground fortress in his free time but that one.
He was under the impression that it was private.
A mischievous grin spread across Senemut’s face.
Senemut glanced around cautiously as he strolled over to the door.
He gently turned the polished door handle.
Locked.
Intrigue taunted Senemut.
What is so important that Hatshepsut must keep it under lock and key?
Senemut’s ponderings were interrupted by the sound of footsteps overhead.
Senemut walked casually over to the pool again and acted as if he had just gotten out.
Xander came walking briskly down the staircase whistling.
“Hey Sen!” Xander said as he walked towards the kitchen.
“Hello Xander,” Senemut said as he watched Xander go to the refrigerator and began grabbing container after container.
He placed his findings on the counter and grabbed a loaf of bread.
Senemut walked in and watched as Xander began piecing together a sandwich.
“Hungry?”
“A little,” Xander said without looking up.
“I thought I would get a snack before we went out for dinna.
What you doing?”
“Just taking a quiet moment,” Senemut said as he eyed the meat on Xander’s sandwich.
He began wondering when the last time he had eaten.
“How’s that file coming along?”
“Not very well.
It’s encrypted.
I think it’s going to take awhile, but I should be able to crack it.”
“That is all I ask.
Ready to go?”
“I guess.
I got my stuff packed, but I ain’t ready to go back to tha house.
I think this has been the best trip we’ve had in a long time.”
“I have a feeling Hatshepsut is to thank,” Senemut said as he glanced around the kitchen.
“Staying in a palace instead of a hotel can make a huge difference on a trip’s atmosphere.”
“Yeah, I guess.
I mean this place feels like home.
We didn’t have to worry bout nosy hotel staff or if our rooms were ready when we got here.
We didn’t have to worry about rental cars. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
Yeah, I guess that sort of thing can affect a trip.”
“Yes, it can,” Senemut said, his mind still pondering on his last feeding.
I may have to try to catch something on the lay over.
Big game is hard to come by here.
The thought of being trapped in a small space with a group of warm humans for hours was quickly becoming a dangerous thought.
“Sen?”
Senemut looked over at Xander.
He had been thinking so hard about feeding that he had almost forgotten that Xander was still in the room.
“Yeah, what’s up?” Senemut asked, relieved with the distraction.
“What’s it like being immortal?”
Senemut looked at Xander dumbfounded.
Xander looked at Senemut expectantly as he calmly chewed his bite of sandwich.
“That is quite a question,” Senemut finally said.
“I’m really not sure how to answer that.
What made you asked it?”
Xander shrugged.
“It’s sumthin’ I’ve been wondering for a while.
It’s not often we get to talk.”
“I suppose not.”
“Well?”
Senemut held his head down for a moment in thought.
Then he looked back up at Xander.
“How do I put this in words?” Senemut asked aloud.
“I can only tell you what it’s like for me.
If you asked Hatshepsut, she would probably give you a different opinion, but when I first realized that I was an immortal, a demon, I couldn’t wrap my mind around the concept.
Imagine time having no hold on you; death never knocking at your door.
At first, I didn’t believe it.
I was in total denial.
Death is something we Egyptians prepare our whole lives for.
Pharaohs began having their tombs commissioned as soon as they’re on the throne.
I oversaw the building of Hatshepsut’s memorial temple and her tomb.
Death was the only certainty in life I had, and it was ripped away.
Now as I look out to the future, it is nothing more than an empty void.
I didn’t know what to expect but after a few centuries, you become accustom to the concept, but that is when Death becomes your ultimate enemy.”
“But how?” Xander asked.
“I mean you just said you didn’t have to worry bout death ever knocking at your door.”
“Yes I did, but let me let you in on a little secret.
Immortality is nothing more than an illusion.
How many ‘immortals’ have you seen me kill?
Only thing that makes an immortal different from a mortal is longevity.
I have the potential to live forever.
It doesn’t mean I will.
Someone or something could very well come along and end me.
That is when Death becomes my enemy.
When I was human, I knew where my soul would go.
Well, I had an idea.
Now I wonder if I have a soul.
If something happens to me, I could very well be wiped out of existence or damned to the fiery lakes of Duat, but this is not what you wanted to hear.”
“I wanted to hear the truth and ya givin’ me the truth.”
“No, I’m giving you my fears and anxieties.
The truth is, after you get pass the mental and emotion issues, immortality isn’t half bad.
I have witnessed and even shaped history.
I have watched empires rise, dominate and fall.
I have lived countless lives and have met countless people.
I have loved over and over again.
I have watched friends and love ones grow old and die while I didn’t age a day.
Like anything, there are good things and there are bad things.
If I wasn’t immortal, I would have never met you, your sister or Raylin.”
“Ya just gotta be sentimental,” Xander said with disgust.
“You laugh at my sentimentality, but the ladies love a sensitive man.”
“Sure,” Xander said doubtfully.
“It hasn’t failed me yet.”
“Do I need to mention Sut?”
“Hatshepsut,” Senemut began reluctantly, “doesn’t fall in the same category as other women.
She is a different breed.”
“I’m sure she is,” Xander said putting his containers back into the refrigerator.
“She isn’t into younger guys is she?”
“Xander, believe me when I say, Hatshepsut is not the kind of woman you want.
Besides, from what I hear, she is already taken.”
“Of course she is,” Xander said grabbing up the remainder of his sandwich.
“I’m going back up to the room.
Thanks.”
“For what?”
“For letting me in your world for a little while.”
Senemut smiled slightly as he watched Xander walk out of the room.
When he no longer heard Xander’s footsteps, Senemut stepped out of the kitchen and began walking back to the mystery door.
Senemut had forgotten about it until Xander mentioned Hatshepsut’s name.
Senemut looked around again as he allowed his claws to surface.
He could have easily knocked down the door or spit acid on the locks, but he wanted to be discreet so he wouldn’t feel Hatshepsut’s wrath later when she had discovered what he had done.
Senemut knew that Hatshepsut could be quite unreasonable when she got angry.
Senemut gently picked the lock with his claw.
The door clicked and Senemut walked in.
He flipped the light switch and was immediately spellbound.
The room was small with gilded walls.
There was a chaise covered with embroidered damask.
The ivory color of the fabric blended with the golden walls of the room.
On one side of the chaise, a tall lamp stood with a small polished table beside it.
A couple of ancient statues of Hatshepsut were dotted around the room as if they were standing guard.
Tall feather fans stood behind the chaise with their feathers tilted over the lounger while the floor and the chaise were covered with soft animal pelts.
On the back wall was a large armoire.
Senemut opened it and saw it was filled with a variety of outfits sealed in clear plastic bags.
Senemut pulled out a dress and looked at.
A smile spread across his face for a moment as lost memories began to flood back.
“I remember this dress,” Senemut said to himself.
“She was wearing it the day I first came to work at the palace.”
As Senemut put it back, he flipped through the other clothes and realized that they were all items from when he and Hatshepsut were human; each having sentimental value to him and Hatshepsut.
“She wore this the night I revealed my feelings to her.
And this the first night we spent together.”
Senemut reluctantly closed the armoire, mystified.
He walked over to the other side of the room where the walls had shelves carved within.
Each shelf was covered with crude jewelry, hand woven sandals and other relics of the past.
As Senemut examine the pieces, he realized that he recognize every piece that laden the shelves.
“She kept it all,” Senemut said as he touched a gold necklace.
“She kept each piece I ever gave her.
Every ring, every dress, she kept it all.
I thought she hated me.
Why would she—?”
Senemut’s emotions rendered him speechless.
He began to back out of the room.
He glanced around the room one last time as he turned off the light and reluctantly closed the door.