My next class went surprisingly well, considering my apparent lack of sleep. Ancient Civilizations was an exciting class that seemed to wake me up and even more so now that we were doing some Egyptian material.

                Oh yes, that was the other thing on my mind: Ahkmenrah. Such a perfect gentleman, but so mysteriously shy. I couldn't stop thinking about our almost-kiss, and what it would have meant if I hadn't stepped back – would he have kissed me? Would he regret it, just like everyone else? My heart seemed to be everywhere at once when I thought about Ahkmenrah, and not just from what I felt but from what could be felt. I could very easily fall in love with that man, and he could break my heart, saying that I couldn't be with him – he is a Pharaoh, after all.

                Getting home, I glanced out the window to see the sun peeking over the tops of the buildings. As my chest fluttered with excitement and fear, I quickly ate a sandwich and grabbed my bag. I had Egyptian homework, and that made me pause before opening the door. Taking out my homework, I set it down on the kitchen counter. I didn't feel quite ready for an entire night with Ahkmenrah. I wanted to spend this night with everyone, especially Jed and Octavius. So out the door I went, locking up behind me.

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                The Museum was locked and silent when I arrived, so I knew that it was already past closing. Glancing about to make sure I wasn't seen, I knocked on one of the doors. The face I was expecting was Larry, but instead, Teddy opened the door for me, giving me one of his huge smiles.

                "Firea – I see that we haven't deterred you yet." I smiled back.

                "Not yet, you haven't. And I don't see it happening any time soon," I responded, continuing on to sit at the information booth in the foyer. From there, I watched as the rest of the Museum came to life and entered the giant room. The Huns and the Civil War soldiers were setting up some kind of soccer match, which I made a mental note of to watch when the time came. Larry got there a bit late, but was pleasantly surprised to see me sitting amidst the slight chaos of exhibits.

                "Firea, it's nice to see you. I'd like to introduce you to my son, Nick." Nick was about 10 years old, and seemed to have been here before. He sat with me after shaking my hand, pointing out his friends and warning me how to treat and react to the others.

                "So, my dad was telling me that you met Ahkmenrah. How was that?" Nick looked at me curiously.

                "It was nice. He's pleasant to talk to, and quite attractive," I said back, trying unsuccessfully to seem unfazed by that fact.

                "So you like him!"

                "I do not!"

                "Yes, you do – and I think he likes you, too," Nick said, matter-of-factly. I realized my loss and gave up, shaking my head. Instead, I thought that gossip might make things more interesting. I leaned over to whisper in Nick's ear.

                "He almost kissed me."

                "He WHAT?" Nick's reaction was instantaneous and loud, catching the attention of quite a few of the exhibits around us.

                "Hush!" I said. "You can't tell anyone, okay? Not even Larry." He looked defeated, but nodded anyways.

                "Hey, are you any good at soccer?"

                I started, looking at him in surprise. "Actually, I'm not very good. But I'm betting that no one else here is Fifa-cup worthy, so I should do fine," I joke, making Nick laugh out loud. He grabbed my hand, and was soon trying to teach me to be a soccer champion.

Unbeknownst to me, Ahkmenrah was watching from the entrance. He noticed the way my hair whipped around when I stole the ball; the way my knees bent when I went on the defence; and the way I smiled when I finally scored.

I jumped into the air, yelling and cheering. Nick and the Huns cheered with me – we were on the same side. At the end of the game, to celebrate our victory, the Huns lifted Nick and I into the air and carried us around. I smiled and laughed, loving the feeling of having friends. Then I saw it – the silent swish of a golden cape rounding a corner. Immediately, my smile fell and I got the Huns to set me down.

Running around the corner, I saw the Pharaoh ahead of me, walking sorrowfully. I ran towards him, hoping to catch him as I had done the night before, but my footsteps made him turn. The pain in his eyes made me stop – it was my pain I saw reflected there, my suffering. My chest heaved from the game and from running, as we stood in the lonely corridor.

"Ahkmenrah?" I asked, afraid that he would leave. He turned away, but didn't take any more steps. Carefully, I walked towards him. When I had reached his back, I set my hand on his shoulder.

"Please don't run away from me," I said softly, walking around to stand in front of him. Ahkmenrah was silent still, but dry sobbing wracked his body. He fell to his knees, and it was all I could do to fall with him, and wrap my arms around him. Pulling his head onto my shoulder, I made a decision.

"It breaks my heart to see you like this, Ahk," I whispered, using his nickname for the first time and loving the feel of it rolling off of my tongue. I felt him stiffen and he raised his head, his gaze meeting mine.

"You are so very beautiful, Princess," he whispered, making my heart beat faster and my breath quicken. "I watched the whole game, you know. I couldn't take my eyes off of you."

                "Why didn't you join in?" My question went unanswered, as his face told me everything – for one reason or another, he didn't want to. I held him closer to me, and he put his head in the crook of my neck and began to breathe slowly and carefully, as if it pained him to take each breath.

                "I don't think they would let me." I started, pulling back and looking intensely into his eyes.

                "What the hell makes you think that?" I said a bit too harshly. Ahk looked hurt, but still somehow kingly.

                "Because every time I've tried, they've distracted me somehow – Larry needs to talk to me, or someone else needs my help. I don't think they want me to play with them." He hung his head again. I smiled at him, and began pulling him to his feet.

                "Come on. We're going to play soccer, kay?" I smiled wider at his shocked expression, and continued to pull him towards the main foyer.

                Once there, Larry spotted us and walked over. "Firea, what is it? Is something wrong?"

                "No, everything's fine Larry. I just invited Ahk to play soccer with us," I explained, keeping a tight hold on Ahkmenrah's hand, in case he booked it the other direction.

                Larry seemed to hesitate, a look of worry passing over his features. "Uh, okay. But the headdress and the cape need to stay on the sidelines, or they'll get in the way."

                Ahk looked at Larry gratefully. He quickly handed the headdress to Larry and laid the cape over the desk. His short brown hair looked soft, and it made me want to run my fingers through it...stop staring, Firea, I thought. You can't do that.

                The game was fun, once everyone stopped being gentle with Ahkmenrah. I led them into it by accidentally kicking the ball too hard and hitting Ahk in the stomach. Unfazed, he stole the ball and kicked it right into the goal, everyone too shocked to register the goal. After a minute of making sure he was alright, they decided to treat him like everyone else, it seemed. As it turned out, he was quite good at soccer, and I vowed to be on his team next time.

                "Time flies when you're having fun" is an understatement. Before I knew it, the exhibits were returning to their places, and I said my goodbyes to Ahkmenrah. Once he had picked up his cape and replaced his headdress, he kissed the back of my hand again without breaking eye contact with me. It made my heart race and my breath quicken, but I was able to smile and bid him goodbye without my voice shaking or cracking like the previous night.

                "You like him," Larry said, resting a hand on my shoulder. I laughed.

                "Your son has already established that, yes. But I don't know where it's going quite yet...It'll be interesting to find out."