NEVER NEVER NEVER

Princess Meretseger

 The Cobra Woman and I decide to leave the temple hastily. We are afraid of been caught by the bounty hunters. We disappear into the forest try not to leave any trace of where we stayed.

The sun starts to set in the distance, and the forest turns rapidly loses its color.  Before it gets completely dark, we look for a place to sleep for the night. The forest begins to get chilly when the sun hides over the mountain. I decide to look for twigs to burn a fire so wild animals won't come near us.

I am slightly nervous about burning the fire because bounty hunters might find our location. But no humans with the right mind try to advance in the pitch-black forest. The forest is filled with bad spirits and dangerous beasts.

I gather enough twigs to burn the fire until we go to sleep. Two of us warm our bodies while we are face to face surrounding the flame.

It has been a long day, and we are finally able to relax a little. I am curious about The Cobra Woman, so I begin to strike some conversations.

"Finally, we can rest a bit. I don't know anything about you." I start.

"What do you want to know about me?" Her reply is quick and brief.

"You can start with where you are from." I smile a little.

She looks at me with beautiful almond-shaped eyes.

"I was born and raised in Egypt. My father was the Pharaoh of Egypt."

I blink my eyes.

"That will make you the princess."

"Yes, that was until the Gods, and the demi-Gods invaded my country."

"Then what happened?" I lean forward.

"Exact the same things happened in Uruk happened in Egypt," she bites her lower lip.

"Did they s*******r many citizens?" I continue. 

"They created chaos in our country. Before they arrived, Egypt was peaceful, and we had our own laws and orders. Everyone obeyed lawfully, including royal families. We followed our customs dutifully."

The Cobra Woman is looking through the flame.

"They reined by force. The first thing they did was kill my father and the rest of the royal family."

My spine becomes cold with sorrow. I feel sorry for her.

"How could you survive?"

"My nanny hid me and brought me back home as if I was her own child. For many years, I lived as her daughter and part of her family. I have to say that that was the happiest moment of my life. Everyone was so kind and nice to me." She smiles as if she went back in time.

I keep myself quiet for her to continue her story.

"Once I became older, and everyone noticed my beauty. I am not trying to brag about myself. That's what everyone said. The rumor went around the city of Cairo, and the God who controlled entire Egypt ordered me to appear in front of him."

"At first, I refused. But he was threatening me; if I don't obey, my family will be slaughtered. I needed to protect them for what they have done for me. So I arrived at my old palace where my family used to live."

A strong emotion takes over me, and it chokes me. She sees what I am feeling and asks me.

"Do you want me to stop?"

"No, no. Please go ahead. I feel horrible to see what you went through. That's all!"

"That's nothing compared to what I went through in Uruk." She continues.

"I saw the God for the first time. He appeared to be a normal human, but I knew he wasn't a human. He felt very distant and cold. He told me to get n***d in front of him. I had to obey." She stops and stays quiet for a while.

"If you don't want to, we can stop here." I insist.

"No, no. I am fine."

"I was completely n***d, and he approached me. He put his hand on my chest, and his face suddenly changed. It transformed into the face of a giant lizard. It was a yellow-green reptile. His pupils were golden yellow as well."

I quickly saw the vision of the reptile who operated on me when his yellow pupils glared at me. I scream.

"I know their eyes. The mad scientist who operated on me had the same yellow pupils. I can never forget that stare." I clench my fists.

"Yes, the same eyes. He told me to become his concubine to bear demi-Gods for him."

I look at her straight in the eyes and ask her. It shocks me with my own reaction.

"What did you do?"

She smiles and says, "Of course, I refused. I would rather die than to be with him."

"So he threw me into the dungeon and tortured me day and night. You can still see the scars on my back when the soldier whipped me thousand times." She turns her back toward me. The countless black wounds reveal her dark past.

"He knew I would never change my mind with physical force. So he sold me to the slave hunter, and I was sold to the mad scientist to work in the mine."

I am speechless. Meretseger was born as the princess of Egypt, and because of the Gods, she ended up being sold as a slave.

What did she do wrong to deserve this?

Life isn't fair. 

"When I arrived in Uruk, I had no idea what they are going to do to me. Many of the Egyptians were chained and thrown into the dungeon. The mad scientist came every day and took one of us with him. When someone refused, the scientist injected some drugs with a syringe, and he or she was carried away."

"My turn finally came, and I fought like hell, but my strength runs out fighting with several demi-Gods. He shot up the d**g, and I was gone. I didn't remember how long I have been knocked unconscious. When I came back to life, the mad scientist was looking over me with that yellow pupils."

She starts to sob.

"At first, nothing seemed different until moving my arms. I wanted to feel my face with my hand, and five cobras touched my face. I froze. I couldn't believe what I saw. Then I looked at the other hand. Another five cobra heads moved like wildfire. I screamed my gut out. He created a monster out of me. I was no longer that beautiful Meretseger everyone adored. I became a beast with ten-headed cobras. Now, everyone calls me the Cobra Woman, including myself."

She no longer cries out loud. Maybe, she is already used to her disfigured appearance. But I felt so sorry for her. It must have been so painful for a woman who has known as one of the most beautiful women in entire Egypt.

She suddenly changes her subject.

"Now, I remember why I started to talk about my life. When I was in the dungeon in Egypt, I met an older woman. She was a fortune-teller. Before they sent me to Uruk, she came to me and told me something strange. She said I would meet a man who will save us all from the Gods, and I will come back to Egypt as the queen again. Isn't it funny?"

"Do you think that man is me?" I look at her.

"What do you think? She said I have to follow him and save him when he is in danger." Her stare makes me believe that I am the one.

I hesitate a little before continuing.

"Several nights before I met you in the temple, I encountered an old sage in the deep forest. In fact, he saved me from thousands of dead spirits who chased after me." I hold a moment.

"He also told me the same thing. He declared that I am the chosen one, and my life mission is to free all humans from the hands of the Gods." I stay quiet.

Princess Meretseger sees me with conviction.

"I think you are the one. You will free us all. I don't know why, but I feel it."

She seems to be convinced about my destiny more than I believe in myself.