Chapter Text
Ever since you were little, your parents would bring you into this one bookstore. It was owned by this little old lady, who’d always give you sweets when you came in. When you were younger you had a strange obsession with ancient Egypt. You read every book you could get your grubby little hands on.
The bookstore was perfect for that. The owner used to be an archeologist and would often tell you stories of her travels and findings. She’d show you pictures of her findings often already in the Cairo Museum. She’d often direct you to books that would be about ancient Egypt that you in turn, would beg your parents to buy.
You became even more obsessed to the point that she was teaching you to read and write hieroglyphs. You couldn’t get a total grasp on speaking it though, but you’d always try your best.
As you grew, you changed interest and such. You’d still visit the bookstore though. The place always had good books and the owner knew you. Eventually you even got yourself a job there. The owner was getting older and having difficulty with things around the shop.
As more time went on, the more you helped out with the shop. You even became closer to the owner. She never had any kids of her own. “No one can tie this foxy babe down.” She was right though. Each week you’d catch her flirting with a different man.
As time went on you both got to more talking and learning from each other. After running out of similar interest to talk about you both moved on to telling life stories. You didn’t have many experiences in life, so she got to talk more.
Since you were an adult now, she could tell you more of her saucier stories. Such as her relationships with these guys named Mutou and Hawkins. She even told you more stories of her adventures hunting down people who would rob the archeological sites.
You both reminisced about how when you were younger you were super obsessed with ancient Egypt and her stories. Something about reminiscing about the past sparked something in you and rekindled your love of ancient Egypt.
Once again, you started up on learning about ancient Egypt again. This time you could read the adult books without much difficulty. You picked up reading and writing hieroglyphs once again. You tried to buy books but this time she just gave them to you. But there were some books she wouldn’t let you take.
They were on a shelf in the back room, about six of them but there were only two that you really wanted to read. The Mysteries of Kul Elna and Hidden Beneath the Sands. They looked like the oldest books in the store. Dusty, binding almost off of the books themselves. They were copies of ancient scrolls all written in hieroglyphics. She told you one day they would be yours but for now you would need to study more.
One day a stranger came into the shop while you were stacking a new shipment of books. He was tall and had a permanent scowl on his face. He was quite slim and wearing a suit. You were a bit apprehensive to greet him since he looked angry, but he was also kinda cute.
“Welcome! Do you need help finding a book?” You started.
“Bring me the owner.” He said bitterly.
You furrowed your brows a bit confused but went to go and fetch her. When you found her, you told her there was this guy asking for her.
“I hope he’s cute.” She said as she shuffled past you.
You let out a small laugh as you followed behind.
“He looks pretty mean.” You retorted.
“Nothing, I can’t handle.” She said before going to the front.
You went back to stacking books into shelves. You listened in on their conversation since today was a particularly slow day. They were talking about the bookstore and some books. When you listened in closer you realized he wanted the books that were in the back. He only wanted one of them though.
You couldn’t hear exactly which one though. You knew she wasn’t going to hand them over, so you went back to work and tuned back out. Suddenly he storms out of the shop saying something about there always being a price. Weirdo. You rushed over to the owner to hear what she thought.
“So, what happened with mr. grumpy?” You asked.
“He really wanted the book I wrote. But I told him no and he started naming prices.” She said.
“Book you wrote??” You asked.
“Yes! You asked me about it yourself not too long ago.” She said.
You watched as she walked to the back and then came back with a book. Hidden Beneath the Sands. You looked at it as she held it in her hands.
“I wrote this long ago when I found an ancient city. Was told a woman couldn’t discover shit and I was making it up.” She started.
She looked at the book lovingly before looking back at you.
“It’s the only copy that probably exists… I want you to have it.” She said before handing it to you.
“I couldn’t-“ You started.
“I’d rather you have it over that ninny. Besides I think it’s time for you to start your own adventure.” She interrupted.
You laughed when she called that guy a ninny. But you were speechless, one of her most cherished books and she was giving it to you. You felt blessed. You were also excited as hell to read about it. You doubted you’d be able to go on your own adventure like she had though.
“Thank you!” You replied.
“Today feels special. Let’s close up early.” She said.
You laughed at this because she mostly said that when she didn’t feel like working the whole day. Today did feel special though, you got a book you really wanted to read. You both proceeded to close up shop. There wasn’t much to clean up so closing was fairly quick.
Before you went you the door, you told her your goodbyes. With goodbyes out of the way you made your way back home. Once home you proceeded to read the book at an insane pace. It wasn’t a thick book, but it wasn’t a thin one either.
It started out like a journal with research put in some parts. Telling things, she experienced on her way to find this “Mythical evil” city of Kul Elna. Many people told her tall tales and contradicting stories on where it’s located. At some point she was beginning to think it was a story to tell children so they wouldn’t wander into the desert.
But she eventually came to this one village that told similar stories about its location. That it’s heavily guarded by Medjay but even they don’t dare get too close to the exact location. She was warned to never go there.
As you read on you found out that she did in fact go there. Describing her going through a lot before coming across ruins with hieroglyphs written on them. She even wrote down the hieroglyphs:
𓂽𓍇𓇾𓋳𓌩
You translate it as best as you can. It essentially says to turn back and that this land was a slaughtered city. In the book she said that the city she was looking for was probably long gone. All that remained was a stone to commemorate it.
After finding it she said something about the place felt eerily but she was drawn to it for some reason. Then one day while hanging around the remains she met the Medjay who guarded the place. They made her leave and told her to never come back.
She was intimidated so she left and wrote that one day she would come back to excavate the land. The rest of the book then went on about her trying to find people who would believer her and how the Medjay would chase her off every time anyone came close to the land.
When you finished reading it was three, twenty-six in the morning. You didn’t notice how time had flew as you read. Quickly you put the book down and went to bed. If you were lucky you would get to the shop on time if you fell asleep at that moment.
When you awake the next day, you noticed that you fell asleep past a majority of your alarms. You were late as all hell. It’s not like you would be fired for being late, probably get an earful all day though. You still didn’t like being late.
You rushed out the door and got the shop as fast as you could. When you arrived, you noticed a crowd along with a few police cars and an ambulance. Your worst fear had probably happened. She had tried to do something that she couldn’t and had seriously hurt herself.
Pushing your way through the crowd you made it to the front. There, police tape was holding people back. You ripped it up and ran to the entrance before you were stopped by cops. That’s when you saw it.
Pools of dried blood. A white sheet covering a small body. You couldn’t stop yourself from letting out a scream. The cop who stopped you, pulled you to the side where you couldn’t see the body.
You began crying once reality set in. You didn’t know what to think. You were shocked, numb, sad. If you had woken up earlier, could you have helped. You cried thinking that you could have prevented this.
After a bit an officer comes to ask you some questions. He asks what your relation is to her and if you could come to the station for questioning. You agreed since you wanted to know more about what happened.
During the interview your informed that she was murdered from a burglary gone wrong. You weren’t a suspect but since you saw her last and spent most of your day with her yesterday, you’d probably have some information. You told them the events of yesterday and the strange man who came in.
Once that was done you went back home. Your mind was hazy, and your world felt like it stopped. At some point your family called saying they heard news of a murder at the bookshop. You tell them you weren’t there when it happened.
You spent the day crying and trying not to think about what you had seen. Thinking back on it made you feel sick. The rest of the day felt like a blur and when you finally came to your senses it was night once again.
You decided to check the news, maybe they would have the answers to some questions you had. You found an article that describe it as a gang attack. It happened before you would have even arrived at work. Eventually you had to stop reading because it just made you feel worse.