Gem of the Deep

Chapter 1

An Ancient Secret

By Jena McWaithe

DISCLAIMER: Mummies Alive! is the property and trademark of Dic Inc. and the producers of that show. This page is intended for entertainment purposes only, and no copyright infringement is intended.

Thanx again to Mia, who's allowing me to use her character, Lyris, in this story.

1539 bc

The night was cool. The air wafted through the crevases and corners of the large building, it's peaks reaching higher than the tallest trees scattered throughout the Nile Delta.
Diphthera breathed in a huge sigh of contentment and peacefulnessas she looked around the vast garden landscape and blooming blossoms of the palace menagerie. It was here that she felt the most at home, where the pressures of buisness and everyday life couldn't reach her, and the demands of her post only seemed like distant memories sucked up by the intense lutus' lining the dark cobble pathway.
She was here because she was called upon by the great ruler, Pharaoh Amenhotep. She knew why too. The young king, new to his post and a life of monarchy and honor, had been showing signs of it for quite some time. He, the mighty king of Egypt, was in love. And she knew with who.
A dainty grin crossed her beautiful face as she picked up a crocus flower, now with it's pedals hidden from view. She brought it up to her nose, and inhaled as deeply as she could. The smell of the sweet pollen, be it faint, was enough to give her a sense of what the garden must smell like in full bloom during the heavy hours of the day.
" Diphthera, may I have a word with you?"
Her attension was brought away from the sleeping flower by a familiar voice echoeing from the entrance of the menagerie. She very quickly rose to her feet, and bowed low as the darkened figure approached her.
" You summoned me my master?" She asked, leaning low and determined to stay that way until he told her to rise.
" Yes, I did." He told her, walking up right in front of her. " Please rise." She did as told, and was met by a pair of stunning green eyes and a perfectly peaceful exteriour. Amenhotep, king of Egypt.
" I believe that you have been expecting this for some time." He began. " I also believe that you know what I am about to ask."
" And what is that my king?" She asked sheepishly, trying to play the fool in this game of strategy.
Amenhotep sighed greatly, and slowly walked Diphthera towards a large stone bench which was stationed directly in the middle of the Royal garden. " I know you love the garden," The king began once again, inviting her to sit on the limestone slab. She obeyed. " And that is why I wish to ask you here."
" What do you ask of me my king?"
The young man looked into her hazel eyes with all the seriousness and determination of one thousand generals. " Diphthera, ever since I saw you walk into this palace so many weeks ago, I have felt more content and happy than I could remember." He clasped her hands firmly in his own, her heart skipping a beat as she felt how warm and safe his touch was. " I love you."
" What?" She asked, her eyes widening with pleasure and delight.
" I love you." He repeated. " I have always loved you and I wish for you to be my queen and rule Egypt by my side." He removed his hands from hers, and moved towards a small pouch which she hadn't noticed hanging at his side. He reached into it, and the familiar chiming of jewelry echoed through her ears.
What she saw next was enough even to take the young noblewoman's breath away. " By the gods..." Were her only words.
It was a most extravagant piece of jewelry, carved of the finest gold Nubia had to offer to them. A necklace in the shape of a bird, an ibis, the symbol of Ra hanging directly above it's head, like the sublime ruler that it was. Jades, garnets, malachites, cornelia and silver flowed over it, making the ibis look almost alive, and about to fly away from the young couple. But the most spectacular ornament placed on the piece was at the very center of the golden bird. Imprisoned by a band of silver, a light blue crystal, glowing in the light of a full moon shawn throught the darkness of the never-ending sky.
For the longest time, Diphthera was at a complete loss for words. Words would have only lessened the impact that the necklace had presented her, and the sight of the great jewel was enought to flood her mind, clearing it of all consious thought. The light blue sparkles were almost mezmerizing, bringing her very being into a world higher and farther than she'd ever been.
Amenhotep grinned at his ladies reaction. He knew that words couldn't describe what she was feeling, and so they were not necessary. He held up the stunning piece of workmanship, carefully holding the two golden clasps and gently circling it around her neck, attaching them in the back.
" So," He stated, after more minutes of silence. " Will you be my queen?"
Her eyes were showing the signs of filling with tears now. His love for her she knew now, was greater and more deep than she'd ever thought possible. And to give such an extravagant gift to another was beyond imagine.
" Yes." She whispered, her heart filled with more joy than ever before. " I will be your queen."
" And with this gift, I seal my love for you." He told her, slowly standing, then sitting down on the bench beside her.
" You like the necklace I'd guess." He told her.
" It is the most, most stunning thing that I have ever seen." Diphthera answered, running a finger over the large crystal's shining surface. " But... How? How were you able to obtain such a jewel? How is such a thing possible?"
" Very far away," Amenhotep began, " Farther than Palestine or even Akkad. It was brought here on demand by the Pharaoh." She gave him a thoughtful look, realizing that it was sent all this way for her. " It was discovered, and I knew that it's rightful place was around your neck."
" But why? Why such a rare and inhuman gem?"
" No one has ever seen a stone like this before. I wanted to give you something original, something that you would treasure forever as a one of a kind matrimony present. To keep with you always, so that you may have my soul forever."
" Do you not mean that I will have your memory forever? Since whenever I wear it, I will always think of you?" She corrected, trying to sound helpful, and not to disagree with the king.
" No." He replied. " I want us to be together always. And so with this crystal, this Jewel of the Nile as it is called, I have sacrificed a part of my very being, my immortal soul to be carried around by anyone who wears it. You are that person."
" You are too generous." She told him. " To trust me with the soul of a Pharaoh, such a thing would never have been heard of in a Royal court!"
" I do not care." He told her, touching her cheek softly with the back of his hand. " I want us to be together always. To love, to rule, and to die together. And as long as you wear that necklace, we will spend eternity together, forever linked." And with that, the new couple shared their first royal kiss, moonlight falling upon them and the light blue jewel glistening through the night.

***

" So my fath... I mean, King Amenhotep gave the queen this really big jewel with part of his soul in it?
" That's the way the story goes, yes." Lyris told him, sitting up from the rock sofa that sat in front of the small television. " And from that moment on, their love was truely eternal."
Presley looked at her curiously, a glint of disbelievement in his eyes. " That sounds like the kind of stuff that you only hear in fairy tales. You know, handsome princes, damsels in distress, magic dwarfs. That sort of thing."
" That's all that we thought it was for a time." Ja-kal echoed from across the room. He walked over to the two, and sat down on the hard couch that Lyris had previously abandonned. " That it was just a story. Something that the peeps of the palace made up one day, just for entertainment."
" Okay. So, if this is all just a fairy tale, then why is it so important?" Presley asked, shifting his backpack to the other arm.
" Every story has an ounce of truth in it my prince." Lyris exclaimed, zigzaging between him and Ja-kal, over to the old wooden table at the other end of the room. " You just have to learn where to find it."
" Even the hungry desert lion must search for many days to find a herd to prey upon."
" Great." Presley muttered, rubbing his head in confusion. " With your riddles and you're phrases, we're bound to get this sorted out."
Lyris smiled, picking up an ancient piece of river papyrus, it's sides worn and the lettering smuged. " Maybe it would be a good idea if we showed you what we ment." She motioned for the two to leave with her, and exited the room, heading towards the library.

***

The halls were dimly lit by hanging halogen lamps and flickering torches. The faint smell of must lingered in the still air, the stone walls slightly damp from last nights previous rain storm. Their feet made quiet sounds against the cobble floor as they entered a hallway in front of a small room, which had contained urns and jars for the Rapses exibit.
None spoke. Lyris walked softly in the front, Ja-kal confidently strolling behind her. Presley lagged behind, looking at the stone walls with youthful curiosity. There had only been a few times when he had come down to this part of the Spinx, one of them being when the goddess Sekhmet had come from the other realm. It was one experience that he would have liked to forget.
" Young prince." Presley snapped out of his dreamlike trance, and turned to face Ja-kal, who was waving him into the small room. " Are you coming?"
" Ya, sure. I'll be right there." He called back, putting the memories of his experience as an amphibian behind him, and rushing through the stone doorway, into the library.
The first things he saw were the books. Hundreds of them. Each one flowing through a tall wooden bookshelf, each one containing hundreds of pages, and thousands of pieces of information about the Egyptian ways. They would be interesting, if only he could read hyroglyphs. He also noticed that the other members of the team were also there. In front of the bookcase sat Rath, once writing on a spare piece of papyrus, now in a short conversasion with Lyris that he couldn't seem to make out. Over to his far right, Nefer-tina lay silently on the small single bed, writing in a crossword from that weeks TV guide. As he entered the room, he could also, out of the corner of his eye, see Armon, with what looked like a six course meal of hamburgers, steaks and assorted tasty tidbits from the mummies fridge.
Presley began to walked over to the desk in front of the bookcase, where now Ja-kal had joined the couple, looking over Rath's shoulder to see what was written down on the papyrus reed paper. Nefer-tina got up off of the bed and walked over to greet him, crossword still in hand.
" Good day young prince." She told him, meeting him half way between the doorway and the desk.
" Hi Nef." He greeted back, holding his hand up in a welcoming wave. " What's up around here?"
" Nothing really. But I have to ask you a question. I have been trying to get all these word right in this book, but I'm having trouble with one- what's a twelve letter title for a hit TV show involving reborn royalty and an evil sorcerer?"
" I'm sure you'll get it." He told her, swerving out of her way to meet up with the others. Nefer-tina just simply shrugged her shoulder, and went to join everyone else in front of the bookcase, following Presley's path around the large stacks of books and maps that were cluttered in small heaps around the room.
"...and then Prince Rapses came in." Lyris finished telling Rath, handing the papyrus scroll to him.
" Usually when you ask someone to bring something to you, it does not take 20 minutes Lyris." He answered her, taking the scroll from her outstretched hand.
" But I was telling him a story..." She began.
" Well, that's not my problem." He interrupted.
" It isn't mine either." She defended, crossing her arms and standing there with a glimmer of triumphe in her eyes.
" Um, guys?" They both looked down to see Presley standing in front of the desk, watching the small misunderstanding with slight amusement. " Does any of this have to do with that weird little love story that Lyris told me earlier?"
Rath glanced at Lyris with a look of slight annoyance, then turned the other way towards Presley, never minding that she was still standing there, a huge smile on her face.
" It has everything to do with it young prince." He informed, sitting down at the desk once again. " Actually, for a time, no one ever believed the story to be true. It was just a fable, a legend. Such as the Spinx, the Ruins of Knossos..."
" Low-fat chicken pot pies." Armon chimed in, bringing one of his most favourite subjects (food) into the conversasion.
Rath looked at him with an odd yet distinguishable look of disapproval, but continued none the less. " But it wasn't until this year that we found out that it was all true."
" I don't get it." Presley confessed.
" It was a friend." Ja-kal began. " A young painter that we knew from way back when that was good friends with Queen Diphthera. She left us a scroll, telling us of the queens death and of her tomb. She wrote that not only did the necklace exist, but it was beyond a doubt the most beautiful and expensive piece of work on the earth at the time."
" But WHY is it so important?!" Presley blurted out, clearly annoyed that no one was answering his question adequately.
" Remeber the story that I told you Rapses?" Lyris asked him. " About King Amenhotep giving a piece of his eternal soul in the necklace for the queen?" He nodded. " Well, now Scarab wants it."
" The necklace?"
" No, the jewel." Ja-kal told him, unfolding the rolled up papyrus sheet that Lyris had brought them up from the TV room. " To become immortal."
" But I thought he needs the soul of Prince Rapses to become immortal?" Presley stated, telling them matter-of-factly.
" He needs the soul of a Pharaoh, not just of Prince Rapses." Rath explained. " And if he gets that crystal, it will spell disaster for the entire world."
Presley thought about this and scratched his chin. " So, where's the necklace now?"
Ja-kal put a hand on the young boy's shoulder, and uneasy feeling now about him and the other members of the team. " Well, we are not quite sure at the moment."
" What?! Not quite sure? So, Scarab could have it right now, this very minute, and we wouldn't know about it?" Presley exclaimed.
" No." Rath intercepted, butting in between the two of them. " Your amulet would have reacted to the Pharaoh's soul if he did, just as our amulets react to yours. Scarab doesn't have the jewel yet, but that's not to say that he won't soon."
" So we've gotta find it first." Nefer-tina piped up, pushing in from behind Armon and Lyris.
" But the question is, where do we start looking?" Ja-kal asked out loud, to no one imperticular.
" The necklace itself has a very interesting past." Rath announced, picking up a large, worn hardcover book from the desk. " It's legend began back in Ancient Egypt, but continued through the millenia until nearly present day." He flipped through the back of the book, coming upon a page filled with hundreds of words and a small picture of the ceremonial necklace of Tutankhamen. " It says here, that like the many mysteries of Egypt, the tale of Queen Diphthera's necklace is the most mysterious. It was buried with her in her tomb when she died in 1504 bc., but like most treasures, was not recovered with the body. It is assumed that grave robbers stole the piece, and for thousands of years, the necklace has been passed along from generation to generation, until finally in 1823 the crystal was freed from the necklace and sold to a wealthy millionaire separately. "
" So, we're not even looking for a necklace anymore." Lyris stated. " Just the crystal."
Rath nodded towards her, and continued reading through the text. " After the rich man died, the jewel was distributed throughout Europe, until around the year 1910, when it was brought to England to be used in the construction of the most famous cruise ship of all time..."
" And?" Presley asked hopefully.
" Well," Rath stuttered, clearing his throat before beguinning again. " Would you believe that, the rest of the page is missing." And there, clearly shown on the page, was a small space where the rest of the paper was suppose to be.
" Just our luck!" Nefer-tina blurted out, thowing her hand up in the air. " We have to save the world, and we're stuck with second-rate material!"
" The book says that it's the most famous cruise ship of all time. Maybe we know which one it is." Lyris thought out loud, explaining her theory to the rest of them. " We just have to figure it out."
" That's going to be easy. There must be hundreds of famous ships that we don't even know about, and you expect us to pick just one?" Rath rationalized with a disbelievable voice.
" Well, when you hear the words " Famous ship" and " England", what do you think of?" Lyris asked everybody, trying to get any answer that she could at this time.
" Elton John?" Nefer-tina asked.
" MMmmm...crumpets." Armon stated, rubbing his stomach hungrily.
" Oh dear." Lyris sighed, putting her face in her hands. At this rate, they were never going to get it right.
" Titanic." Everyone suddenly turned around Presley was standing by the bookshelf, his back turned to the rest of them. In his hands, he held a large book, it's cover layed with dust and it's pages faded a dull yellow.
" Excuse me young prince?" Ja-kal asked confused, walking up to the boy. " What did you say?"
Presley turned around, holding the book cover towards him and the pages out towards the group. On the old paper was a painting of a large ship, it's decks spanning the entire area of the pages. It was an impressive vessle, the crows nest resting high above the steering room and the four long smokestacks blotted out the vast blue sky with thick, black smoke.
" The RMS Titanic." He told them.
***
" Ah yes, the Titanic. The largest ship of it's time." Rath acknowledged, looking intently at the painting on the pages. " And the most luxurious."
" It looks fabulous!" Lyris exclaimed, walking towards Presley to get a closer look at the fine craftsmanship and design. " It must have been something to see in the water."
" Ya, but only for a little while." Presley told her, pointing to the front of the gigantic ship. " After it left the docks on it's maden voyage, it hit an iceberg and sunk in the Atlantic. I think something like one-and a half thousand people died. And it was the first time that it had been out in the water too."
" So tragic." She said sadly, gently picking up the book from Presley's hands and skimming over the book with her eyes.
" Is there a chance that this...Jewel of the Nile could be on that ship?" Ja-kal suggested.
Nefer-tina looked at him smugly and crossed her arms across her chest. " If it is, good luck getting it."
Lyris felt the paper underneath her fingers, trying to get a good idea about what the ship had actually been like back then. She slowly turned her head towards the others, her eyes still planted on the page. " If it was, would there be any way to get it?"
" Not any way that I know of." Rath told her, assuming that she was addressing him. " But, there may be some way that it could be done. A portal perhaps."
" But there's no guarantee." Ja-kal stated
Rath shook his head. " Nothing is guaranteed in magic. There is also a chance that Scarab won't even be able to find it. It all depends on what means he will use to obtain it."
" Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait." Nefer-tina interrupted, holding her hand up for everyone to be quiet. " So, what you're saying is that we don't know if the jewel is on the Titanic, we don't know if we'll be able to retrieve it if it is, and we don't know if Scarab's going to be able to get it."
" Sadly, Scarab would probably have a better chance of getting it than we do. But if we were to obtain it before him, it would be a great step in our battle against him."
Ja-kal looked over Lyris's shoulder to inspect the image of the great ship. The painting was remarkable, every detail finely plotted out, every shadow cast alongside the decks, it was almost as real as actually being there.
" The only question is," He began, pointing to the center of the vessel with his index finger and quietly tapping it against the soft paper. " How would we be able to obtain it?"
" That's what we have to work out." Rath told him.
" And soon." Nefer-tina added. " If Scarab get a hold on that gem, our prince's life isn't worth squat. An then we'll be sent back to the Western Gate."
" Not to mention the rest of the world will be in Scarab's clutches for all eternity." Lyris chimed in, shifting the book over to her leftarm so that Ja-kal could have a better look at the picture covering the two index pages.
" Well then, let's get to work." Ja-kal announced, ignoring Lyris's generous offer to view the book and moved over to the desk again. " We've got an entire ship to learn about and not enought time to do it in. With any luck, we'll be able to get to it before Scarab does." And with that, they got to work, searching through books, reading through articles and watching anything on the television that would help in their search for the missing Jewel of the Nile.
End Chapter 1
To be continued in Chapter 2: Are You Ready to Return to Titanic?

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