The Randomness of Life~Chapter 99 for 'A Little Drabble do Ya'

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

A little break from Christmas: (this double-drabble is being expanded into a longer fic!)

                                                     

Prompted by: Not probable—The barest Chance ~Emily Dickinson

Not probable—The barest Chance—
A smile too few—a word too much
And far from Heaven as the Rest—
The Soul so close on Paradise—

What if the Bird from journey far—
Confused by Sweets—as Mortals—are—
Forget the secret of His wing
And perish—but a Bough between—
Oh, Groping feet—Oh Phantom Queen!

He walked ever so slowly within the museum corridors, the slightest crunch of sand crackling beneath his shoes. There wasn't a soul there, though he felt he was being watched by unseen eyes.

There were many present...the bodies of mummies; their skin darkened by the natron that had drawn the moisture from their bodies eons ago. The linens as black as they were, from time and resin that had been poured on them.

These ancient bodies had been rubbed and anointed with frankincense, myrrh, palm, lotus, cedar, but none of those scents remained. The air was full of a musty, perhaps mouldy scent of old death. Was one Cleopatra herself, the phantom Queen?

The odor made Napoleon's nose crinkle, finding the smell unpleasant.

He'd been to this place before...the Egyptian Museum near Tahir Square in Cairo. It had been with Illya; a favor they'd done for Waverly, as the curator's daughter and others had gone missing.

That affair nearly cost the Russian his life as well as his soul and his brief dalliance with a girl named Anucis weighed heavily on Illya's heart.

It was possible she carried his child, but after all was said and done, she disappeared. Illya returned once in search of her, but without success.

Now was not the time though for Napoleon to try to help find her. They had a new assignment to deal with...

Who was stealing priceless Egyptian treasures?