258 Meeting Her Royal Pharaohness

-That's Pharoah Netiri's sarcophagi.- Aether pointed out after reading the inscription. 

The two smaller sarcophagi glowed as well. After a few seconds, two cat spirits walked out of it. One had snow-white fur, while the other had full black fur. Moments later, a spectral spirit phased out of the sarcophagi. 

The woman was elegant, with long slender body shape and tanned skin tone. She had a beaded wig on her head, with a set of cat ears made out of onyx perched on top of the hairpiece. 

As a spectral spirit, she hovered above the ground. Vy could feel the aura of the spirit. Pharoah Netiri was not an angry spirit. In the presence of the Pharaoh, Vy felt compelled to bow. 

"You do not need to bow, I am no longer a Pharaoh. I am just a humble spirit." the spectral spirit spoke in her native tongue. 

Vy was able to hear and understand her perfectly, but seeing the confused look on Lycster's face she quickly translated it for him. 

"We did not mean to disturb your resting place, Pharaoh Netiri. We merely sought refuge here from the sand storm," Vy replied. 

Pharaoh Netiri nodded as she hovered over to the cat spirits with a smile upon her face. All the cats came up to her and cuddled with her as she approached. Her long flowing linen dress reached just below her ankles. She had thick black eyeliner drawn to accentuate her eyes and bright red lipstick.

The Pharoah turned her attention to them, a smile remained on their face. 

"I do not get many visitors. At least in terms of non-hostile visitors," Pharoah Netiri explained as she looked at Vy straight in the eyes, "If you have any questions you wish to ask, feel free to do so."

Before Vy could say anything, Netiri continued to speak, "If you're wondering why I am here, that is a story in itself."

The Pharoah explained her love for cats, which resulted in her 99 royal pets that roamed the palace freely during her reign. She ruled her citizens strictly but with kindess. 

When she fell in love with a woman, her subjects worried about the line of succession. Pharaoh Netiri never cared for it, but there was a contender who wanted her hand in marriage. 

A nobleman with the support of the people came forward, asking for her hand in marriage. She refused to marry the nobleman, but he had strong support in court. Netiri did not want anything bad to happen, but the noble suggested a Combat for Marriage. 

"I did not want to agree to it, but my love…" Pharaoh Netiri turned to the sarcophagi that stood next to her own before continuing with her story, "she wanted to prove the strength of her love for me. How could I say no?"

There was nothing more to dispute, everyone respected the outcome of the battle. But the supporters of the nobleman did not, they plotted with the enemies and attacked the capital. 

Unprepared, all the soldiers and guards fought bravely, laying their lives down for their Pharoah. Some of the citizens even came out of their homes brandishing whatever weapons they could find to join in the battle. But the forces were too strong. 

"What about the Royal Army?" Vy asked out of curiosity. 

Surely the Royal Army would be ready to fight and protect their Pharaoh. Unfortunately at that time, the Royal Army was away from the Capital, securing the border in the East. That was where Netiri's lover was as well, leading the Royal Army into battle. 

The enemies infiltrated the Palace, Pharaoh Netiri arranged for everyone to escape. She waited for her enemies in the Throne room with her remaining personal guards. They chose to stay by her side until the very end. Even if it meant they laid down their lives for her. 

Netiri tried to get her cats to run away from the Palace too, but none of them was willing to leave her side. When enemies entered the Throne Room, her cats fearlessly protected her alongside her personal guards. 

She herself wielded a sword, fighting till her last breath. But she did not notice the assassin that had crept up behind her and stabbed her in the back. By the time the Royal Army received news and rushed back to the Capital City to reclaim it, it was too late. 

Much had been lost, and Netiri was nothing more than a cold body. Her lover could not bear living without her. So after the Capital City was reclaimed and the funeral arrangements began, she ended her own life so that she may join Netiri in the afterlife. 

"So you're both in the afterlife?" Lycster asked. 

Pharaoh Netiri nodded, "The work I had done for my people has been recognised by the ancient gods. Hence, I have been granted unique abilities and a spectral form that allowed me to exist here once every few months. For a short time frame.

For those who entered my tomb for greed will be punished. Those who entered and showed respect, may be rewarded with a gift."

"A gift?" Vy repeated Pharaoh Netiri's words. 

Netiri nodded. 

She held out her hand and materialised a jar. It was of a fuller shape on the top with a smaller round bottom. The jar had the head of a black jackal on it, carved out of clay. Pharaoh Netiri held it out to Lycster. 

Lycster was not about to reject a gift from the Pharoah so he reached out to receive it. As soon as Aether saw it and read the inscription on it, he realised what it was. He pondered over if he should say something. 

"Lycster that's-" it was too late, the boy already opened it. 

As soon as he realised what was in it, Lycster jumped and yelped. He released the grip on the jar, causing it to tip. But Pharaoh Netiri caught it in the nick of time, laughing heartily at the boy's reaction. 

Aether and Vy laughed too, and soon enough, Lycster joined in too. It seemed rare for Aether to laugh so heartily, Vy was pleasantly surprised. 

"My apologies, I have not met kind souls in a while," Pharaoh Netiri laughed. 

This time, she presented Lycster with a small box. 

"No tricks this time." 

In the box, was a beautifully crafted golden ankh. It resembled a cross with a loop in place of the top arm. 

"This is the symbol of life. It will offer you protection from harm," Netiri explained. 

The Pharaoh then turned to Aether, but he politely declined. 

"Anything you wish to give me, your Majesty, you may gift it to Vyrena instead," Aether said. 

This was the first time something like that had ever happened. Pharaoh Netiri was surprised by Aether's request. But, she respected it. Turning to Vy, she looked at the young woman with a bright smile upon her face. 

"Look straight into my eyes."

Vy did as she was told, staring deep into the eyes of the female Pharaoh. For a couple of moments, there was silence, nothing more. Just then, Netiri placed both of her hands around Vy's head and covered her eyes with her thumbs. 

Vy closed her eyes. She was unsure of what to expect. After a few moments, a few images and scenes flashed before her eyes. Although she could not quite make out what they were at first, Vy picked up on some key images. 

Netiri was showing her a vision. It was a vision of something Vy was searching for. A necklace that complemented her own. Hers was in the shape of a coiled dragon. The piece that fits in with hers was that of a phoenix. 

Vy had always suspected that the other half of the necklace belonged to someone who was of great importance to her. Someone she had known in her previous life. But in the vision, the phoenix necklace was not hanging around someone else's neck. 

It sat on a soft satin cushion, in a display case, surrounded by other pieces of jewellery. It seemed to be viewed by many others who were walking around. Vy could not quite make out most of the scene she saw. But she noticed a symbol at the side. 

That provided a clue to where the place could be. 

Another vision flashed across her eyes. A familiar face, she had not seen in a long time. Vy's heart ached the moment she saw the cute cat-like ears, the iconic smile and her adorable face. 

"Dotty," she whispered. 

Another scene flashed across her eyes. It looked like one of the keystone portals they saw and used all the time. But there was something different about this one. It needed an object to activate it. 

The object was a round sphere, filled with swirling colours of dark purple and blue shimmer. It fitted snuggly in the centre of a round table covered with symbols and runes. 

Before she could take a closer look, Vy was brought back to the present.