Incest/Taboo Pharaoh’s Curse

​

The Rise of the Pharaoh​

It had been a month since Alex (Alexandra, her given name) and her team had arrived to expand their survey of the ancient sight. A month since her son disappeared to where Alex couldn't even begin to imagine. Her sky-blue eyes glanced slyly over to Anta, who had mysteriously reappeared one morning about a week and a half ago, wearing a white linen dress with not much underneath, a golden head dress, and a particular necklace. Alex and Carla rushed to embrace her when Anta was standing in their tent that morning, bombarding her with questions about where she had been all that time. Anta would only give them vague answers if she answered at all, and when they pestered her about Andrew, all Anta would do was look over at Bast, who had reappeared at the same time as Anta, and say he was fine. It irked her to no end; that was all Anta would give them. It seemed that even Anta didn't fully know where Andrew had gone, just that he was safe. Still, Alex wished Anta didn't seem so happy as she hummed a tune Alex couldn't place as they went over the eastern wing walls to ensure they had transcribed the hieroglyphics correctly. She had even been pestering Bast about her son's whereabouts, and every time she did, all Bast would do was bop her on her nose with her paw telling her to wait. It was infuriating to her and Carla that neither one of them would tell them where Andrew was.

Then there was Dr. Rose, who had increased his arrogance every day that Andrew remained gone. Strutting around like a rooster thinking he had taken over the barnyard. How she just wanted to walk over and punch his lights out, yet she couldn't do that since she was a professional and Professors don't knock their colleague's blocks off. Even Bill and Haas, who once had been on his side, grew tired of the know-it-all in the camp. It seemed to her that even his students only put up with the man for the prospect of having hands-on fieldwork on their resumes when they entered the workforce. Alex knew that would put them in front of everyone else when whoever would be looking to hire them. The Medjay were still around, waiting patiently for Andrew's return; honestly, Alex just wanted them out of her dig site. She couldn't deny they weren't pleasant people; just how they set her son on edge before he went off to who knows where didn't sit well with her.

Her pencil fell from her grip as she studied one of the graph paper panels and what was on the wall. Looking over at the bag of tools Anta had been carrying around with her since she's been back, only to see Bast sticking her head out of the bag and yawning at her as she plucked her pencil that had landed eraser side up in the sand. Her eyes glanced up at Anta, who blushed before Bast jumped out of the bag. Looking oddly at her when Anta started to collect her tools to follow after Bast.

"But why... yes, Bast," Anta muttered, setting her bag back down.

"What's that about?" Alex asked, her dark red hair bouncing against her chest as she peered at Anta.

"I don't know; she didn't tell me," Anta grumbled.

"So... you're saying Bast has been talking to you?" Alex inquired, trying to understand what Anta's and Bast's relationship was like now. "I mean, like, really talk to you like she does with Andy?" To this, Anta simply nodded. "How?"

"I'm her priestess," Anta said proudly, knowing now that she was, she would be closer to Andrew when he returned from wherever the Gods took him.

"You're her... what?!" Alex muttered, surprised by the news. She knew Bast and Anta were close before, but that was due to Anta's love of cats, and she had noticed how Bast would follow Anta or vice versa. She did not once think Anta would become a priestess of all things.

"I'm her priestess," Anta repeated, "it lets me be closer to Andy," she said dreamily.

"Who is where, by the way?" Alex asked for the thousandth time.

"No clue," Anta said, shrugging her shoulders.

"What's going on out there?!" Alex said as a commotion could be heard from the other side of the site. Dropping her pad and pencil into the sand, as did Anta when they heard Carla's angry shout. Their hair whipped behind them as they raced out of the east wing of the complex only to find Haas and Bill holding a snarling Carla back while Dr. Rose's own students kept him from getting near Carla.

"If you ever fucking touch me again, I will rip your fucking dick off!" Carla shouted as her foot kicked sand into the air as she thrashed in Bill's and Haas' arms.

"Oh, come off of it, you're giving it out to that snake oil salesman; why not upgrade to a man who's going places, eh?" Dr. Rose uttered in a cocky tone.

"Not when I get through with you; you won't be," Alex said; her hard tone caused everything to instantly stop. "You'll be lucky if you're not run out of Egypt by the time I'm done with you. Assaulting a student is grounds for termination, and it appears there are enough witnesses here to back up Carla's story," she spoke, placing her hands on her hips and getting nods out of Bill and Haas. Pulling off her walkie-talkie from her belt, and brought it up to her lips. "Halima, could you bring two strong men down to the temple? We have someone that needs removing from the site."

"You can't..."

"You seem to forget your place here, Professor Rose; I'm in charge of this site, not you," Alex said, narrowing her eyes at the man. Ever since Andrew's been gone, the man has gotten cockier each and every day. She just didn't think he would stoop so low to assault Carla or anyone else for that matter. "The safety and wellbeing of every person on this site is my business, and when I inform the council of your conduct, I don't think you'll be teaching here or anywhere for the foreseeable future."

"We're on our way," Halima's voice came over the speaker. Alex's eyes widened as Dr. Rose charged at her, only to watch Anta move in front of her. She was so shocked by what Anta had done so quickly it left her mind rather befuddled as she stared blankly at Anta as Dr. Rose laid on the ground moaning in pain at the beat down Anta had swiftly given the man.

"You do not put your lowly hands on the Queens of Egypt," Anta spat down at the man, arching an eyebrow as she watched a red substance ooze out of the man's mouth, forming into a snake once it was fully freed from it. Instantly the Blade of Bast formed in her right hand, materializing from the bracelet she had worn on her right wrist since she had returned from her training under Bast's care. "Apophis," she sneered the name as the aspect of the Great Snake writhed in pain as her blade pierced the construct's body.

"Anta?!" Alex's voice carried hints of worry and fright within it as she stared down at her student as black inky ooze dripped off the tip of her blade as Anta rose to her feet. Blinking quickly and stupefied, she watched how that blade returned to being a simple bracelet.

"What? I did tell you I was her priestess," Anta said, feeling rather embarrassed as she felt everyone's eyes on her.

"But you just..." Alex's voice trailed off, unable to finish her sentence.

"Bast trained me," Anta said, giving Alex a vague response. Kicking Dr. Rose in the gut when he started to stir only to curl into a ball. "Carla?!" she called out as she raced over to her friend's side. "Are you okay?" Anta asked, taking Carla by the shoulders, noting how Bill and Haas were edging away from her.

"Me?! What about you!" Carla exclaimed, forgetting all about her woes and focusing on her friend.

"Perfectly fine," Anta said, smiling warmly at her friend.

"But how did..."

"I'm the high priestess of Bast; I can do lots of things now," Anta said with a sneaky smile.

"You have to tell me everything!" Carla said, pulling Anta towards the western wing.

"Dr. Sanders, you said you needed someone removed from the site?" Halima spoke as she walked up to Alex from behind her with two of her more muscled-bound peers in tow.

"Yes, thank you for coming so quickly. See that Dr. Rose is taken to his tent and watch him as he packs his things, then take him back to Cairo, where he'll face the consequences of assaulting a student," Alex instructed, taking on the pose of a Queen. "I'll call ahead and inform them of your arrival."

"Of course," Halima nodded, gesturing for the two men behind her to pick Dr. Rose off the ground.

"You can't do this to me! I'm a tenured Professor!" Rose screamed out as he was roughly hauled out of the complex.

"Not for long," Alex muttered, returning to the others who were just watching on. "The rest of you get back to what you were doing," she ordered, rubbing her forehead, knowing she's never had this much trouble on any other dig site before.

Once again, Alex was back in the eastern wing finishing up her work that had been interrupted after seeing Dr. Rose and his belongings removed from the site. Also, calling Cairo and reporting Dr. Rose's behavior to the council. Hoping that they took the man's actions seriously and did not simply brush it under the rug. There was no telling what the man would do next time if there wasn't anyone to stop him. Biting her lip, wondering if the thing that crawled out of his mouth was the cause of it... shaking her head at the notion the man was still responsible for his actions. Actions that were not one of a Professor in her view.

"What are you humming anyway?" Alex asked, peering over at Anta, who was back at her original spot beside her.

"Oh, just a little hymn I learned when I was in Bubastis," Anta stated offhandedly as she peered up at the top of the wall and back down to her pad.

"But... wait, isn't Bubastis a ruin now?!"

"Now it is, yes," Anta said with a sneaky smile.

"You're not inferring that you went back to a time when Bubastis was a bustling town, are you?" Alex asked in mystified wonder.

"I have no idea what you mean," Anta said; the light of her mirth played out in her brown eyes as she peered over at Alex. "You're not saying that time travel is real, are you, Professor? What would your peers say if they heard that?"

"Don't you sass me!" Alex said, shaking her finger at Anta with a smile on her lips. "So... I take it you can't talk about what you were doing there, can you?" To this, Anta simply nodded. "But you can talk about what Bubastis was like; surely you can, right?" Alex watched as Anta tilted her head back and closed her eyes, wondering what was going through Anta's head at that moment. Glancing down when Anta's pad dropped from her hands, and her head turned towards her with a big smile on her face.

"I've been dying to tell someone about it!" Anta squealed, causing Carla to rush into the wing when heading to refill her water jug.

"You best not leave me out!" Carla said, joining them.

"Then don't let us stop you; tell us all about it," Alex said, handing Carla her water bottle when she noted how hers was empty. Looking down, Anta took hold of her and Carla's arms and led them to the far corner of the room.

"Come on, girl, spill," Carla said excitedly as they sat down in the sand.

Alex and Carla listened intently, nodding along as the hour grew long as Anta detailed every little thing she could speak about her time away. She answered their questions the best she could without breaking her vow to Bast. When they noticed how tight-lipped Anta was about life in the temple, they focused their questions on the town itself and how life was in what appeared to be a time before the unification of Egypt to Alex's thinking. Their jaws dropped when Anta told them she had pretty much lived in Bubastis for six months before Bast was sure she had the skills she needed before bringing her back.

"Oh, no, when the men knew I was from the temple, they did not bother me," Anta answered when Carla asked if she had been harassed by the men of that era. "They knew better than to mess with a priestess of Bast," she said proudly.

"So, how was the food from that time?" Carla asked in a scientific voice.

"Don't get me started on the food!" Anta groaned, tossing her head back. "Sure, we might have had better food than what the towns people did, but not by much. Why do you think I pigged out the moment I was back? The food was so bland most of the time I would have killed for some pepper! And don't get me started on their lack of hygiene. It was worse than what we smelled in Punt," she said, shivering.

"But didn't the priests have to be ritually cleansed daily?" Alex asked, remembering what she had read about the priests of Karnak's bathing practices.

"Yeah, but it was just water, no soap within sight," Anta answered, giving Alex a look. "They used dried flower petals to mask the scent of their BO, and that hardly worked most of the time."

"But you didn't smell like a month-old sock when you returned," Carla stated.

"Yeah, because I begged Bast to give me a bar of soap and a razor so I wouldn't look or smell like a wild woman when I saw Andy again," Anta replied, feeling her body heat as his image appeared in her head.

"And you don't know where Andrew is?" Alex asked for the millionth time.

"Nope," Anta shook her head, "Bast wouldn't tell me, and trust me, I asked a lot," she said seriously. "I'm just as worried about him as you are, Alex," Anta said, reaching over and resting her hand over Alex's.

"Help me to understand, Anta; why did you do it?" Carla asked, arching an eyebrow when she watched her friend's face rapidly ripen to a nice red hue.

"To be closer to Andy," Anta said in a soft voice as she peered down at her lap. "I thought if I was apart of this," waving to their surroundings, "then I might be able to understand what Andrew is going through and maybe help him if I can," she said, fidgeting with her cargo shorts.

"Did it?" Alex asked, keeping her smile to herself when Anta looked rather cute when she got bashful when she thought about her son.

"A little, I mean, I've only scratched the surface, and I don't think I've seen half the things Andrew probably has or will in his life time. Yet I do understand some of what he's going through, I think," Anta nodded.

"Good, then you can fill us in when Andrew starts doing some crazy stuff again," Carla said, casting her friend a warm smile.

"Count on it," Anta said with a warm smile. However, their three heads jolted up when the sounds of trumpet horns blared down on the land from the sky. "Andy." His name left Anta's lips in a soft whisper.

Alex was on her feet and racing out of the wing before Carla or Anta moved an inch. Her hair whipped wildly behind her as another blast of the horns vibrated the air as it announced his approach. Hearing Carla's and Anta's shouts to wait for them as they raced to catch up to Alex as she climbed the embankment. Alex was panting hard as she came to a stop, feeling Carla's and Anta's hands on her back as they looked frantically around for her son. They weren't the only ones that were gathered out on the sand in front of their little camp. All the others, too, rushed out to find what was causing that sound, yet they saw nothing. Again, the horns blared, causing Alex to cover her ears due to how loud it was. Looking down at the ground oddly when it appeared something was pulling the granules of sand towards a certain spot. Planting her feet in the sand as the wind threatened to pull her along with the sand. Throwing up her arm as a sand tornado suddenly sprung to life forty yards out from them.

"Really?! You know how sand just gets into everything! Couldn't you just like bring me back normally!" Alex's eyes flew wide at the sound of her son's voice. Her legs moved independently before her mind caught up as she raced towards her son.

"Andy!" Alex screamed out as she saw a shadowy image within the depths of that pillar of sand. Throwing up her arms to embrace her son after missing him for so long only to stop dead in her tracks at the image of her son grew more clearer. There her son stood, his tan, bronzed skin gleaming in the sunlight. Her eyes moved up and down his body, rapidly noting the definition his muscles now had when he never did. His beard undulated in the breeze as he peered down at Bast, who was walking beside him. However, none of that was what stopped her mind cold; no, it was the crown, the crown she knew oh so well, given her years in the field. The Crown of Egypt. Yet she'd never heard of it looking like a gem as it refracted the light as the rays struck it. Her heart raced; her mound grew hot as her son's blue-green eyes centered on her as he looked up. "Andy," she whispered as her eyes quivered in joy.

"Hiya," Andrew greeted, feeling rather exposed in only wearing an Egyptian kilt.

"Andy!" Alex cried out as tears reamed her eyes as she resumed her race towards her son. "I was so worried about you?!" she muttered, holding her son tight as her hand softly brushed the back of his head. "Don't you ever do that to me again!" Alex threatened, squeezing him tighter to her body, just to make sure her son was real and this wasn't all a dream. Wiping her eyes as she backed away as Carla and Anta came screaming in. Hearing his huff as Carla leapt into his arms, kissing him madly to sear the month-long wait she had to endure onto his lips.

"Andrew," Anta cooed, wrapping her hand around the back of his neck, pulling him down to her lips, and planting a toe-curling kiss upon them. Her eyes lustered as she noted the blankness of his own as he savored her taste on his lips. "Hey, baby." Grinning like mad when Andrew cleared his throat.

"Hello, Anta, I see..." Pulling up her necklace, giving Anta a look when he knew who's symbol it belonged to, "you're safe from your trip; did you enjoy it?" Andrew asked, tucking it back into her shirt.

"The knowledge, yes, the food, smells... not so much," Anta said, bending down and picking Bast up. "I'm glad your back," she uttered sweetly as she lightly bumped her shoulder into his.

"Me too," Andrew agreed.

"Andy, where did you go?" Carla asked, snuggling up to his left side. She never wanted to be apart from him for that long ever again.

"Duat, had to go get my crown," pointing up to it, "a King without a crown isn't much of a King, now is he?" Andrew asked with a lopsided smirk.

"Will you tell us about it?" Alex asked, stepping up to her son, her hand lingering on his chest, feeling his muscles beneath her touch.

"Sure, but first I need a bath, food," his stomach seconded the motion, "and something less airy," Andrew said, looking down at his kilt.

"Why? It gives us better access to your manhood," Anta purred in a wanton whisper.

"True, it does, but you don't want to know where or what I've walked through, so a sponge bath is in order," Andrew replied, peering around his mother as he heard sounds of knees hitting the sand, causing his mother to move out of the way.

"Pharaoh, it's good to see you're safe from your travels," Halima said, speaking for her group as they knelt on the sand with their heads bowed. "It does us well to see the true crown of Egypt return to the land," she spoke in reverence, getting 'Mmmhmms' out of the others that knelt in a single row to the right and left of her. "If you allow it, my lord, we will escort you back to the camp."

"Then rise," Andrew commanded. Noting how his mother was staring at him, namely his eyes. Since his time in the Duat and having to use his divinity greatly while traversing the realm, Andrew had yet to slip back into his former self. It seemed his time in the land of the Gods had harmonized his two halves, his mortal and divine.

"If you follow us, lord Pharaoh, we will see you safely back to camp," Halima said, taking up point position as the others flanked his side, protecting him and the women that were with him.

"This feels so formal, Andy," Alex said; it was one thing to think about what it would be like and another thing experience it firsthand.

"It should; things are going to move faster now," Andrew said vaguely, feeling the sand shifting beneath his bare feet. Knowing he could no longer be indecisive, no longer brush off the fact of what he was born to do. He knew if he did that, the land of Egypt and its people would suffer. That was not something he was going to do, not if he could help it. "So what happened to the loud mouth?" he asked, ignoring the stunned looks on Bill's and Haas', along with the rest, faces as he past them heading towards their tent.

"I had him expelled from the site; he assaulted Carla when she was in the western wing," Alex informed him as she watched how her son lifted the crown off his head and gently set it on the table.

"Did he now?" Andrew asked in a hard tone. Passing through the insect netting only to have Carla rush past him taking the bucket they used for their sponge baths off the floor of the tent.

"I'll get you some fresher water, Andy," Carla said, her cheeks heated as she held it to her chest. Stepping up to him and getting a quick kiss in, "I'm glad your home," she whispered before heading towards the front of the tent.

"Here, Andy, you should wear this today," Anta said, laying out his clothes for him.

"So sweet to me," Andy said, blowing Anta a kiss, getting a little squeaky moan out of her.

"So, Andrew, while we're waiting for Carla to return, will you tell us what you can about your time in the Duat?" Alex asked, eager to know what her son had endured, to look the way he does.

"One sec," Andrew said, holding up a finger. "Halima!" he called out to her.

"Yes, my lord?" Halima spoke, sticking her head into the tent.

"Have Professor Rose expelled from Egypt and ban him from ever setting foot in my kingdom again," Andrew ordered, noting the wide eyes of his mother. "No one lays a hand on my Queen and expects to get off scot-free."

"Of course, my lord, I'll send word right away," Halima nodded, pleased that he was at least being civil with her.

"So, tell me, what happened when you disappeared?" Alex asked, sitting down in her chair and setting up her tape recorder. While trying not to eye his crown, yet she was tempted to try it on.

"Don't," Andrew warned.

"What? I wasn't going to do anything?!" Alex uttered innocently.

"Uh-huh, I saw that look; I know what it means," Andrew stated, pointing at his favorite shirt only to have Anta shake her head and hold up the one she wanted him to wear. Since it was the one, she had gotten for him in Rome.

"So I wanted to try it on. Is that so bad?!" Alex sighed.

"Yes."

"And why can't we try it on, Andy?" Anta asked, not sure why he was being a hard nose about it.

"Because something bad, don't know what that would be; they didn't tell me, but something bad would happen if someone other than the next Pharaoh or I puts on that crown. I got the impression that whomever tried to wear it, their head would melt," Andrew said in all seriousness and loud enough for the Medjay to hear so they could report it back to whoever thought to usurp his throne.

"You aren't joking, are you?" Alex inquired, to which Andrew shook his head.

"Like the Nazis did in the Last Ark?" Anta asked, trying to picture it.

"Something like that," Andrew nodded.

"Then we best keep it out of reach of people," Carla said as she entered; the slushing sound of the water played on the air as she walked across the tent.

"Now back to your adventures," Alex directed, all the while her eyes were squarely on her son's groin as were Anta's and Carla's as Andrew stripped off his kilt.

"Well, Sekhmet led me on this long journey across a desert," Andrew said, looking curiously at Carla when she took the sponge from him. A sultry look appeared in her eyes as she ran the soapy sponge along Andrew's right arm. "Then this huge scarab just erupts from the sand. When I say huge, I mean like four stories big, huge, then we walked on some more. Swear it felt like days. She didn't even let me stop and rest either," he bemoaned, noting how Bast lounged on the hammock. "Then we came to this cliff that stretched all the way to the sky," nodding at his mother's skeptical look, "like what you feel, huh?" Andrew asked with a coy smirk as Carla ran the sponge across his chest.

"Mmmhmm," Carla hummed, sucking on her lower lip as she watched the water running down his chest.

"So, then Sekhmet just proceeds to leap up the cliff face expecting me to follow after her. It wasn't like I could turn back..."

"And why couldn't you?" Alex interjected.

"Got the feeling Sekhmet would have killed me if I did," Andrew stated, noticing how Bast's eyes narrowed at that remark. "So up I went. Day and Night, I climbed and climbed, battling things that I can't even tell you what they were, even Sekhmet wouldn't tell me; trust me, I asked. Thought she was going to send a boulder down on me with all the questions I was peppering her with. Then after what felt like two weeks of climbing, I finally reached the top, only to be met once again with a desert to cross. Yet this desert was different."

"Why's that, Andy?" Anta asked, taking the sponge from Carla so she could wash his back while Carla dried off his front.

"It felt like the place played on my arrogance, given how I was getting addicted to the strength I felt flowing through me at the time," Andrew answered, peering back at her from over his shoulder.

"What do you mean by it played on your arrogance?" Alex asked, seductively crossing her legs to give her son something to leer at and ponder what awaited him that evening.

"Well, about the tenth sand dune of the first desert, I was really getting worn out and thirsty, as you can imagine. So I called on my divinity to fortify myself. Don't think I would have made it if I hadn't, especially the ten-foot vertical gap I had to leap across to continue my climb up the cliff. Yes, I looked down, and yes, I shouldn't have done it," Andrew said, answering Carla's unspoken question, given her fear of heights since her fall from the ladder at the museum in New York. "So when I reached the second desert, I was kind of getting drunk on my own power, then Ammit just erupted from the sand and handed me my ass."

"And why would the demon do such a thing?" Alex inquired, showing off her breasts to her son as Anta and Carla switched off. Licking her lips at the slight movement of his manhood as Carla proceeded to wash his lower half.

"To teach me that just because I'm half a god does not mean I'm all-powerful," Andrew stated, noting the approval in Bast's eyes. "Then we... you keep playing with it, you're going to have to take responsibility," he said when Carla was distracting him with her fondling.

"Gladly," Carla purred, staring up at him with lust in her eyes.

"Focus, baby," Alex said, snapping her fingers. Although she, too, was lost as she watched his member start to harden. Biting the inside of her cheek, knowing it had been a month since she's had sex. Her hungry eyes told Andrew she wanted... no, needed it deep inside of her.

"So then we arrived at this swamp, and it smelled terrible. You should have seen your sister, Bast, jumping from one dry spot after another; it was amusing. Anyway, as I was wading through the water, I saw something moving beneath it. Then this huge snake bigger than an anaconda towered over me, well, just the first ten feet of it," Andrew said, seeing the fear on his mother's face.

"It was a servant of Apophis, wasn't it?" Anta asked as she caressed his ass as she waited for Carla to get done with his front.

"It was, so I tried to fight it on my own, yet I was getting nowhere. I knew if I kept on as I was, I was going to die..."

"Andy, time out," using her hands to make the symbol, "say what would have happened if you did die there?" Carla asked, peering up at him as she handed Anta the sponge.

"Oh, they would just move on to the next one," Andrew said vaguely, slyly glancing at his mother. Carla didn't miss the look, nor did Alex, who was sitting straighter in her seat.

"But didn't you say she couldn't be Pharaoh because she and Bast couldn't consummate the pact?" Carla inquired, staring at the brand on his chest.

"I did," Andrew nodded.

"But I don't..." That was when Carla's eyes flew wide as the realization struck her that Alex was pregnant, to which Andrew simply nodded.

"Baby, are you implying I'm pregnant?" Alex asked in a shocked voice, given how she hadn't felt the effects of her pregnancy yet.

"I am."

"Then... then..."

"You're carrying the heir to the throne of Egypt," Andrew stated factually, watching his mother's hand flying to her mouth to keep her shock and squeal of joy from filling the camp site.

"But how?!" Alex asked, mystified.

"Probably all those prayers to Hathor you've been doing," Andrew said with a sneaky smirk.

"Those were private?!" Alex playful teased before her hands covered her stomach as she looked down at it. She couldn't believe Hathor actually listened to her prayers. Gazing up at her son, a loving light appeared in her eyes, knowing she would not make the same mistakes twice.

"So, get back to your story; you were fighting this giant snake," Carla said, a little sad that she wasn't the first one to get pregnant.

"So I looked to Sekhmet and wondered why she was just sitting on that log and not helping, given the snake was like twenty feet away from her. Then I mentally slapped myself for forgetting what I represent and prayed to Ra for help. Which then led me to leaping into the air, holding the snake's mouth closed and bashing its brains in while it tried to drown me. So once it was dead, Sekhmet led me out of the swamp after she had asked me with this look if I learned the moral of the lesson."

"Moral? Lesson? Andy, you're talking like this was all a test," Anta spoke, peering around him, shooting Carla a jealous look as she lightly stroked Andrew's cock. Nearly drooling at the site as she watched it getting hard in Carla's hand.

"It was, and I warned you, Carla," Andrew spoke in a firm tone, pointing down at the tent's floor and telling her to get on her knees. Something he took that she didn't mind one bit, given the smile on her face as she heeded his order.

"And what was this lesson Sekhmet was trying to impart to you?" Alex asked; her jealousy reared its ugly head as she watched Carla taking her son's member into her mouth.

"It was to show me I can't do everything without the Gods, and they can't do the important stuff without me..." Andrew tilted his head back, moaning lightly as he enjoyed the sensation of Carla's welcoming, hot mouth.

"You like that, don't you, baby?" Carla asked in a husky voice when she came up for air. Licking up the back of his cock before returning it to her mouth as Andrew moaned a yes.

Alex turned in her seat as she heard a commotion out in front of their tent, only to see the guards that stood in front of it shooing someone away from their tent. Telling whomever it was that they were preoccupied at the moment and to come back later. Alex began to squirm in her seat as her mound began to throb as she watched the sight before her. Puffing out her cheeks when Anta, too, joined in swapping Andrew's glistening tool between them.

"If you can focus, tell us what happened next?" Alex instructed, trying and failing to ignore what was happening before her.

"Well, after the swamp, we arrived in this lush marsh area; it sort of looked like Qau before it got built up over the years. Most of the Gods were there just doing things like we do; I even saw Ptah building this giant crossbow to take down Horus."

"Why would he do that?" Alex asked, trying to keep her arousal from her voice as she watched how Andrew was fighting back from giving in, yet Anta wasn't making it easy on him. At least not with the way she was sucking her son's cock. A cock, she might add, that she has missed greatly.

"Because Horus pooped on his head when I was at NeoHierakonpolis checking on the villagers when he called Horus a loud mouth," Andrew muttered, so in bliss that he didn't hear his mother stopping the recorder or getting up from her chair, nor did he hear her passing through the insect netting.

"Now you give your Queen your cum, my Pharaoh," Alex purred before sinking down on her son's cock. Her sky-blue eyes lit up in hunger at the groan that got out of him, sighing into her mind as Andrew placed his hand on the back of her head, knowing he was getting the greatest pleasure from her as she felt him exploding in her mouth. His bulbous head left her lips in a pop once she had swallowed all of her son's seed. "Now you get dressed, and we'll see if we can't wrangle up some food for..." Turning her head as Halima knocked on the tent post, getting their attention.

"Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt, but I went ahead and asked the cooks to make something for Menes; I hope I wasn't out of line," Halima said, looking at Andrew and using his royal name, also trying not to stare at his cock. A cock, she might add, would send her running for the hills given its size, not that anything was wrong with it; it was just too big for her tastes. "I'll just wait outside," turning on her heel to head back out and then stopping, "my lord?"

"Hmm?" Andrew hummed.

"While you were away in the realm of the Gods, I finished the blueprint you asked for; also, Mal got in touch with me a while ago and said the one you asked for is ready for your inspection," Halima said, keeping her back to him.

"Fetch it, and I'll look it over while I eat," Andrew spoke, knowing he couldn't stay at the site; he had far too much work to do, and very little time to do it, given the length most of the Pharaohs reigned for. Nevertheless, he planned on having a long reign like Pepi II, just without all the corruption.

"Yes, my lord," Halima nodded before exiting the tent.

"You're not staying, are you?" Anta asked, looking up at him with sad eyes.

"Not all the time; it's not like you really need me here; I have a temple to build and a tomb to construct. So Alexandra, am I interesting enough now knowing I'm going to be mummified?" Andrew joked as he slipped on a pair of clean underwear.

"Nah-uh," Alex said, shaking her head. "You're more interesting in the here and now."

"And just where is this tomb going to be, huh? You better be including us in the planning," Carla huffed, upset that Andrew would be away from the site for however long they would be there for, only coming back and seeing them when he was free. Her eyes nearly bulged out of her skull when Andrew whispered in her ear where it would be located at. "You promise?"

"Mmmhmm," Andrew hummed as his shirt slid down his chest.

"Good, because your wives should be with you in your eternal rest," Carla said, peering up at him with a huge smile on her face.

"Andrew, aren't you going to put your shoes on?" Alex called after him as Andrew walked towards the exit of the tent.

"No, had to throw them away in the Duat given how much muck was in them; I would never get the smell out of them," Andrew said, looking back at his mother.

"You sure? Because aren't these your shoes?" Anta asked quizzically as she pulled out his pair of tennis shoes behind their bags. "And your clothes you left in, is this your phone?" she uttered, holding it up once she had pulled it out of his left shoe. Genuinely seeing the surprise on his face at the sight of it. Her chest heaved as he walked right up to her with that look in his eyes. How she melted at the soft, sensuous kiss, he placed on her lips as he took the items from her. Looking back at their hammock as Andrew knelt down at its side, watching Bast padding along the cover they used so they didn't have the rope digging into them during the night.

"Thanks, Bast; I thought I'd never see it again," Andrew said in a loving tone, feeling the warmth of her silver fur on his forehead as she pressed her own against it. Her green eyes stared into his, reminding him to take his wallet out of his pants so it didn't get stolen. "Aww, you do love me," he teased, then a devilish grin appeared on his lips. Only to watch Bast's eyes widen before bolting off the hammock and out of the tent as the image of him giving her a belly rub played across their connection. He honestly had no idea why she was so against the act; he just liked teasing her with it. It was amusing to watch an all-powerful goddess act that way. "Okay, let's eat," he spoke, getting to his feet as he pocketed his phone and wallet.

As Andrew exited the tent, he saw Halima standing off, away from it, with something white rolled up in her hands. Waving for her to approach as the other three filed out behind him with the guards flanking him. Something he didn't know if he would ever get used to.

"I made these to your specifications, you had given me; also, I added a design for a pylon if you care to add it to the construction of the temple, wherever you're going to build it at," Halima informed him as she handed over her hard work.

"I see; you took a great deal of time making these," Andrew said, unrolling the bundled blueprints.

"I did; I hope you're pleased with the results," Halima stated, watching how his eyes moved over the paper as they walked towards the mess tent.

"So far, they do, but they are hard to read and walk simultaneously," Andrew joked.

"True, but you do it so well," Halima spoke, adding to the levity.

"Learned it in high school when I didn't study for a test," Andrew said, feeling his mother's gaze burning into his back.

"Andrew?!"

"What, it was a joke; relax, I graduated, didn't I," Andrew said, peering back at his mother. "Here," laying out the blueprint on the table, "you can show me what you did while I eat," he instructed, nodding his thanks to the cooks for making him his meal when it was two hours past lunchtime.

"Certainly," Halima said happily.

Nodding along as he slowly savored the first meal he had in a month. He honestly had no idea how he survived in Duat without any food, yet he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. His eyes followed Halima's finger as she pointed out things he might find interesting. In truth, if Andrew didn't have all the knowledge he had in his brain about other Pharaohs building grand structures, he wouldn't know what Halima was talking about.

"Would a two percent grade on the roof hinder the structural stability of the building?" Andrew asked, seeing how that clearly surprised Halima and the others.

"No, it shouldn't; it's not that big of a grade to put undo stress on the walls, but what your asking for is like you're thinking about the rain that only happens along the coast, not anywhere else below Cairo," Halima said factually, not liking the smile on his lips.

"I know, but big changes are coming to Egypt," Andrew said cryptically.

"Are you implying that Egypt, the whole of Egypt, is actually going to see rain for the first time in... I don't know, for how many years now?!" Halima inquired, becoming flabbergasted as Andrew nodded.

"A Pharaoh can not feed his people if there's no rain to water the fields," Andrew said ominously.

"Andrew, what you're talking about is a radical change in the climate; you have no idea what chaos that would bring to the land," Alex said, leaning on the table.

"I'm not the one that will be doing it; the Gods are; this is their plan, not mine. If I had my way, I'd still be in New York, happy, if not lonely," Andrew said, looking over at Anta and Carla. "But as it is, I am Pharaoh, and I am the oracle of the Gods, so show me this pylon you designed," he mumbled around his food as he pointed his fork at the blueprints. "Nice looks better than the one Ramesses put up; I like it."​