He felt so happy to play with his little friend. "Dad?" he asked. Anubis turned to him. "When can I go play with the baby again?" he said. Anubis turned back around and said: "I suppose you could go visit her. She must be with the pharaoh." he replied. Nebneferib ran to the portal and jumped right in without hesitation. He appeared back in the temple and ran outside, then straight to the pharaoh's home where Benerreswet was playing with her brother. The guards were bowing down to the jackal-humanoid as he was walking towards the big door. They opened it for him as he stepped in front of it and entered. "Is the princess here?" he asked. One of the guards stepped forward and bowed down. "Princess Benerreswet is in the nursery with prince Tutankhamun, my lord." he said. Nebneferib nodded and went inside, looking around for the nursery. He heard a child laughter and found the room. Benerreswet was laughing and climbing on top of her brother to reach the toy in his hand. As soon as she noticed Nebneferib she smiled and clapped her hands: "Nose! Nose!" He smiled back lightly and sat next to them. "What are you doing?" he asked. She tried to stand up but fell back down. He pulled her back up and held her hands to help her stand. "Nose!" she said and grabbed his nose. In the meantime Tutankhamun was playing with his tail. Benerreswet looked at him and smiled: "Nebby has a pretty face!" He laughed lightly and pet her head: "Yours is too, Berry." She laughed some more clapping her hands. "Berry Berry!" Tutankhamun got a bit mad and said: "Daddy will kill you if you don't give me your tail!" Nebneferib turned around and pushed him back slightly. Benerreswet jumped and hugged him. "No kill Nebby! No!" He smiled and put her down. "He's stupid anyway." The little girl laughed and pointed: "Stupid! Stupid!" Tutankhamun crawled back to his little crib and sat next to it. As days passed, months, a few years, prince Tut got to celebrate his 15th birthday. His little sister was really happy for him. Nebneferib still kept coming to visit them every day. He would teach them all sorts of things to do. Like, riding the battle carriages, looking for treasure in the sand, sculpting and much more. Surprisingly her was very talented at sculpting. Tut, well, not so much. He did show talent for the battle carriage races however. Neb was good at it too but Tut would always beat him. When they were sculpting Benerreswet and Ankhsenamun they would always compete in who will finish the sculpture faster. Tut would win the race but his sculpture wouldn't be as nice looking as Neb's. The girls would always laugh at Tut's work. Being unaware of her beauty and thinking she is ugly, Benerreswet would always try to hide herself behind curtains or such when she would get a chance. As she was growing and becoming a woman her curves would grow as well. Others thought she was just getting fat and sometimes they didn't let her eat for two days in a row. She was very insecure of herself. One day, Nebneferib asked her to come with him so he could show her something. They went inside one of the pyramids where mummies of dead humans were taken. "I've never been inside the pyramids before." She said. "It's pretty dark inside, but it keeps the dead from complaining all the time." He said as they walked down the halls. "It's so beautiful here! I wish I could have come sooner." she said. "Aren't you scared?" he asked, glancing at her. "Yes, but that's the beauty of it!" she replied. He continued walking and finally saw a coffin he was looking for. "This is it." he said. "What's it?" she asked. He opened the coffin by himself, revealing a large amount of gold inside it. Benerreswet took a step back in surprise. "Why did you want to show me this, Neb?" she asked. He didn't have anything to say. He couldn't because he didn't want to lie to her. The gold was nothing to him, really. He found it one day and used it as an excuse to be alone with her. He just didn't know what to do now that they're alone. He would just keep basking in her smile, so full of life. Being surrounded by death everywhere he went, she was like music to his ears, an oasis in the merciless desert. Her smile was like every single star shining in the night sky, yet her personality was like a fire inside a sandstorm only surrounded by water, soothing to look at, yet you are scared to get closer even if you somehow feel like she's calling for you. He just wanted to touch her hair, just a little. That endless, wavy sea of bliss, soft like the healing mud of Nile with bronze sheen at the top was nothing like he had ever seen before. He understood how there were women in the royal family they called most beautiful but, he didn't understand how nobody else could just be so cold while being next to her. He felt like he needed to have just a small, even the smallest piece of that heavenly being. As soon as she noticed him looking at her she turned around, smiling shyly. He quickly got back to the real world and got a hold of himself. His heart was racing like a thousand horses, racing to the finish line only his heart didn't have one, it felt so endless and everlasting. He shook his head and said: "I guess we should be going now. The Pharaoh will be very upset if he notices we were gone for so long." She nodded and started walking to the exit. Even though they were both just kids, they felt such sweet blissful happiness in this moment. She was hoping Nebneferib was looking her the way her father was looking at her mother. She couldn't feel happier. She thought that it was nothing special, but now she understood why it feels so good. Even though he was trying to hide his emotions he knew what his future will be. He just couldn't talk to her the way he wanted. The only was he could express his feelings about her was through his sculpting. She was hopeful, but afraid. She was afraid she was just fooling herself. How could anyone lover her? She was very insecure. She would spend some nights crying in her room, thinking she was destined to be alone forever. As they both got out of the pyramid, they went back to the temple. Tut and Ankhsenamun were gone for some reason. Ibmewet came to them. "Where were you?! I was worried sick!" she yelled. Benerreswet tried to explain, but Nebneferib stopped her. "It's my fault, miss. I'm sorry. I wanted to show Benerreswet something I had discovered recently. It will never happen again, forgive me." he said. Ibmewet was actually very happy about this news. She was getting more and more sure that there will be no problems in the future regarding her deal with Anubis. "You seem like you speak the truth. Very well. I will let you off the hook this time. Now go play." she said and left. Benerreswet turned to him and smiled in gratitude. "Well, I have to go. Mother is teaching me how to dance." she spoke. "Oh, alright. I'll just be… over there if you need me." he said and went to sit down. As soon as Benerreswet left he followed her and hid somewhere where he could see what she was doing. She had changed and was dancing with her mother. Nebneferib was watching her with curiosity and interest. He paid attention to every single movement she made. She was so beautiful. He was actually very curious why she was wearing those strange shoes. They were covering everything and were even lifted up a bit. It must be from another culture. Either way, she looked so magnificent, like she was some kind of Goddess. Her hips moved so gracefully along with her legs. She didn't do the exact moves as her mother. She was grinding her arms and hands like some kind of animal with claws. It was magical. It seemed to him that everything she did was perfect. For the first time, he felt such passion only a real man could feel. He couldn't keep the burning fire inside him. He had to let it out on something. He quickly dropped on all fours and ran out looking for small critters. He found a small pack of rats. He pounced without hesitation and started tearing their little bodies apart with his claws and jaws. Blood splashing everywhere, he didn't stop. He massacred them and tore their bodies as much as he could. His eyes became red like the blood he had spilled at such young age. His heart was pumping wildly. He stood up, breathing heavily. He looked up at the sun, howled and fell down flat on his back, panting. His eyes returned to normal. As he lied there in a small pool of blood and body parts from the rats he was trying to calm himself down. He was scared. He had never seen this side of himself. He didn't yet understand what a monster he was. He saw the princess on the balcony. "Neb! Are you ok? I heard howling." she said. He smiled at her and looked around the blood and rat body parts. "I'm fine. I was playing." he answered. She giggled and went back inside. Her laughter was so soft and soothing to his ears. As more years passed the children were growing up, at the princess' age of 16 there was a big party at the temple to celebrate the future Pharaoh's 18th birthday. Nebneferib had grown up into a real man like Tut while Benerreswet grew to be a beautiful young woman as well as Ankhsenamun. Neneferib's feelings for Benerreswet at this point were stronger than before. He spent sleepless nights working on sculptures of her. She was like his muse. He now understood that he had to have her, but yet, he was still afraid to tell her how he feels and tried to act as normal around her as possible. As for the princess, she was pretty upset for still not finding somebody who likes her and because of Ibmewet's sudden death a few years ago. She was still, always smiling. Nebneferib would sometimes lose control over himself in great desire for the princess. He would often take it all out in battle in his father's army. His desire could have only been fulfilled without Benerreswet in the battle field with his thirst for blood. It was like a substitute for a narcotic which was Benerreswet. Massacring as much humans as possible. At the celebration, he just felt like he was losing his mind. He went back to one of the chambers and sat on the balcony. The night sky was a bit more soothing then all that crowd and the fact that he couldn't find Benerreswet anywhere. On the other side was the pool. He never got to go there before, but it looked pretty nice from up there. Then suddenly, he saw her, swimming around in the pool. He couldn't believe his eyes. He felt his heart racing as blood was rushing through his vessels. His beautiful princess, his all so glorious love. Her hair shines in the water with the full moon in the sky. Her warm, soft, bare body rose slowly from the water. He felt like his hands would start shaking. Her arms were covering her chest as she approached the edge of the pool. She was looking up at the sky, drowning in deep thoughts. He could barely control himself. His desire grew stronger and stronger. He had never asked for anything until then. He had to have her. All that beauty, untouched by man. He had to have her for himself. He felt like he couldn't even breathe. His cheeks went red from loss of air in his lungs. He kept panting slowly. Just when he thought this moment couldn't be more torturing, she started to sing. That beautiful melody coming from her. The sweetest sound he had ever heard. Everything about her was too perfect. He felt like he needed to go over there and hold her in his arms. He wanted her to whisper sweet words to him with her angel voice. He wanted to feel her warm body against his. He wanted to show her all the love he had trapped inside his heart. He had to let it out and show her how much he desires her. He wanted to feel her soft hair with his hands. He wanted to feel her lips against his, but most of all, he wanted to make love to her. He wanted to claim her as his own. He deeply wanted her body and soul. He wanted to be the one she would wake up next to the following morning. He wanted to please her. He wanted to feel her pain and pleasure. He wanted to feel every single move she would make. He wanted her to feel his power. He wanted her to say his name as they would make sweet, passionate love. She didn't notice him. She just kept swimming around and singing. He enjoyed every single moment watching her. After a while she left. Nebneferib went back to his chambers and set up a stone. He just started sculpting. He spent the whole night working and sculpting. He couldn't stop thinking about her. His father told him about her. He told him that she was to be his virgin sacrifice in two years. He was scared that he may not be able to wait two more years and he didn't want to force her. He wanted her to love him back and let him take her into his embrace, claiming her as his own. Suddenly he heard voices from outside the room. "I mean it. If she continues resisting we might have to move on to another plan to get her off our backs." the female voice spoke. He recognized it. It was Kiya. "What would that be?" the other voice said. "We will have to marry Tutankhamun with his sister. I don't see any other way." Kiya answered and left with the other woman. Nebneferib was devastated by this. His heart suddenly filled with rage and jealousy. He couldn't take it. He knew what he must do. His eyes turned dark red as he sat on his bed. His hands were clutching and his fingers grinding into claw like forms. He wanted to scratch himself to the bone and bleed just to cover up the bigger pain he was feeling. He didn't hesitate. He tried to pull himself together and went back to the celebration. He was looking for Tut in the crowd until he finally found him. "Where were you? I was bored to death!" he said. Nebneferib wanted to snarl and bit his neck until he bled. Fortunately, he found enough strength to stay calm. "Since you are officially a grown man I suppose I will have to test you won't I?" he smirked. Tut laughed and said: "Is that a challenge?" Nebneferib pat his shoulder. He was struggling to cover up his rage. "Tomorrow at sunrise. We'll have a race and settle this… once and for all." he said and left. Tut was a bit confused at first but her went back to his celebration and greeting people. While he was walking towards the hallway through the crowd he bumped into the princess. "I'm so sorry! I should watch where I'm going." she apologized not even looking to see who she bumped into. "You can stop looking down. It's just me." he smiled. Benerreswet looked up and smiled brightly. "Oh, it's you! Sorry I didn't see you there. I was in a hurry. So how is the celebration so far?" she asked. "Boring. Nothing to do here, really." he looked sideways. "I know how you feel. I can't stand being with them for even an hour. I was actually hoping to find you. Do you want to go for a walk?" she smiled as she kept looking up at him with her head tilted down. He was surprised in a very good way. "Lead the way." he said as they started walking. "Have you ever felt like you are meant to be alone?" she asked. He looked at her surprised and a bit confused. "If by alone you mean meant to forever talk to my dead buddies, then yes." he smiled, trying to lighten the mood. She smiled and giggled lightly. "I'm serious. Sometimes I just feel like nobody likes me. Nobody has ever given me any hints that he may like me. I just feel like I'm going to spend the rest of my years alone and die alone." she said as her smile slowly faded away. He felt like he should tell her the truth, but he just couldn't. He just wanted to hurt himself for being such a coward. "Well, perhaps there is someone who likes you. I'm sure there is. I believe he loves you deeply, but he's just too much of a coward to tell you." he spoke. The princess smiled lightly with a touch of hope restored to her. "I just wish he would tell me. I know I sound desperate but, I am. I just feel so lonely, you know. I know I can trust you and tell you everything and I am. Sometimes I even spend nights crying in my room. Sometimes the pain is too much." she said, frowning. It was like a knife through his heart to hear her say that. He felt like he was being burned alive upon seeing her frown. "Could you just tell him to talk to me? Please. I don't know who else to turn to." a small tear dropped on her cheek. He nodded his head because he was to weak from the pain to speak. He wanted to tell her. He just couldn't find strength to stop being such a coward. She hugged him tightly as another tear slipped from her eye on his chest. "Thank you." she whispered. He carefully put his arms around her and held her. Her skin was softer than sand and brighter than the stars in the dark sky. He felt such warmth, such bliss. How could he let something so pure and good suffer? He promised himself, for her, that he would tell her on her 18th birthday. He just wanted to make this moment last as he held her. She didn't hesitate to pull away. The secret love they felt for each other kept them warm in the cold, desert night. It was like the whole world shrunk and it was just the two of them. There was nothing else they thought about, just each other. Their hearts raced at the same beat as if they were one. The quiet night was as dark as the sky, as if they were able to hear each other's thoughts in the silence. They both felt in a heaven of sweet, sudden and new feelings of love. Experiencing how it feels to be touched by someone you care about for the first time. Confused, happy and overwhelmed with emotions, they both looked at each other at the same time. Benerreswet shyly looked away, blushing. Nebneferib just blushed and smiled as he kept looking at her. She was too shy to look back into his eyes. She kept looking away until she was sure he wasn't looking at her anymore. He finally pulled back and looked away, blushing. "We should probably get back before the pharaoh starts making a scene." he said. She just nodded and started walking beside him. She was walking closely by his side, touching him slightly occasionally. She just couldn't walk straight after being drunk of his touch. He on the other hand was as stiff as possible, trying not to give away hints of his emotions. He was actually enjoying her touches very much even if he seemed cold and emotionless, he felt his pulse racing. He saw her off at the door to her room. "Good night, Neb." she smiled. "I'm sure it will." he replied, smiled back and left. She waited for him to leave her sight and then she went back in her room. The next morning Nebneferib waited for Tutankhamun at their usual racing field with his horses and carriage. Tut came just in time. "Ready to get beaten again, Neb? I hope you brought some gold for me after I beat you." He said. Nebneferib just smirked and got into starting position. "Better give it your best then, Tut." He rushed forward as Tut followed. They were both racing like true champions. Fire in their eyes and spirit in their soul. As they raced, Nebneferib snapped his fingers. About 10 minutes later, one of the wheels on Tut's carriage went loose and it tipped over. The horses fell on their sides and Tut went tumbling down on the ground. Nebneferib stopped his horses and went to help him as he saw that he wasn't dead yet. "Are you alright?" he asked. Tut was rolling around in pain. He had broken his leg. Nebneferib picked him up and quickly went to find help. When he got to the temple the servants took him to his room and tried to help his injuries. A few moments later Benerreswet ran to the jackal-humanoid. "What happened?!" she asked. "We were racing and… his carriage just tipped over out of the blue. I ran to get help as fast as I could." he told her. She hugged him tightly. "I'm so scared, Neb! What if something happens to him?!" she cried. He held her close. He tried to comfort her as much as possible. He wanted to be there for her. He wanted to help her in her time of need when she was most vulnerable. He wanted to protect her. The next day, the dear pharaoh Tutankhamun passed away. Benerreswet was devastated by the news. She couldn't stop crying as much as they tried to comfort her. She loved her brother very much. He was her best friend. Nebneferib was with her day and night. He saw her teardrops and heard her cry in her sleep. He did everything he could to help his love, Benerreswet. One day, Ankhsenamun called him to talk in private. She told him how Tut and she were secretly married as kids because the pharaoh didn't want to have any politically involved problems with other nations. After he died and Tutankhamun became the pharaoh, Kiya made a plan to have a wedding of him and his sister. It would have been a fake wedding just to satisfy the nation capital leaders. When Nebneferib heard this he was shocked. Tut was like a brother to him, until he heard Kiya say that he will take his love away from him. It was all a scam. How could he look into Benerreswet's eyes now, knowing he killed her brother for no reason because he was blinded by rage and jealousy. He fled back to the underworld without any means to return again.