1332 B.C.

{Glossary at the end of the chapter. Will be marked by a number}

Isobel looked around her. Everything was covered with fabric. Linen. Sunlight was filtering through the cloth, reducing its harsh intensity. It was sweltering, and she was sweating. There was sweating lining her hairline and eyebrows. She could feel the moist sweat on her upper lips. She looked down at her.

Melanin.

That was the first thing she noted. Her skin was a chocolate colour. A huge difference from her usual porcelain white. It was pretty if she dared say so. She was wearing a sheath dress. It was lined with beads and feathers. And again she was in a bodice, it was different but it was still a bodice. Over it, she was wearing a thin shawl. Her nails and hands were painted with henna and adorned with silver bracelets lined with various colourful stones. She was wearing coiled sewn sandals and her neck and head also felt heavy. She could see the voluminous necklace around her neck but not her headwear.

In front of her sat a guy wearing a linen skirt. He was wearing leopard skin around his torso like a sash. The guy was wearing just as much jewellery as her. His skin is dark brown as well. She could see his golden, silver and blue headwear and it looked heavy.

Heavy but beautiful.

She could see the three-legged knot on his shoulder. She smiled. It was Jay. She pushed her shawl and showed him the same design on her shoulder. He gave her a small smile as well.

She turned her AI on. Suddenly Alex's voice rang in her head.

[Good afternoon, Host]

'Hello.'

[You are in 1332 B.C. Right now you are in Armana, Ancient Egypt. In the body of Tey. Also known as "nurse of the Great Royal Wife". You are Ay's consort.]

She nodded along.

[You are to assist in the starting of Toutankhaton's reign. Of course, there you are to look for something which doesn't fit as well.]

'Fair enough. I've read a bit about King Tut.'

[Oh, you know nothing. You have no idea what you're about to learn.]

Isobel was a bit wary now. It felt as if it was a warning. Sometimes history can be a bit gore-y and scary. She hoped it wasn't one of the times.

[Language acquiring program. Started. Initiating memory and skill transferring program. To be completed after the completion or termination of the language acquiring process.]

"Okay, so I suppose you are Ay," Isobel asked dryly.

"Yep.," he said, popping the p. Out of all the things that she could be she was the consort of this man. Not only so, but he also looked older than her as well.

"Who is Toutankhaton th-" he started but got cut off.

[Language acquiring program. Status: Completed.]

[Initiating memory and skill transferring program.]

[Status: Completed.]

And with those words, their entire lives flashed in front of their eyes.

A baby. She was the wet nurse(1) of the baby. Her name was Nefertiti. She was, eh, what was that?

Holy shit. She was Ay's daughter and also his other consort right now.

Visions spun into her head and it looked like Alex was right. It was a scarring experience. She had paled considerably after the whole flashback. Her eyes travelled to Jay, she wouldn't lie but she was a bit scared of him. Ay could be both nice and cruel and she saw the cruelty from her eyes.

When she looked at Jay he had turned a bit green. It looked like he was going to be sick and throw up any moment now. Jay looked at her and his eyes were wide, his pupils were blown. He was scared and disgusted. Isobel realized that he was scared and disgusted with himself.

Isobel grabbed his hands to ground him. To provide him with an anchor. She couldn't fathom what it felt to be like that. Wanting to crawl out of your own skin. She was proud of him. She would have had a panic attack if it was her instead.

With a start, she realized that's probably how trans and non-binary people felt. Not exactly that but they felt they were in the wrong body. Everyday. Most of them felt dysphoria. Her respect for them just increased a thousandfold. They were all so brave.

She massaged Jayden's hand by rubbing them together. To provide a feel to them that he probably lost. The nails looked a bit blue with the numbness.

Jayden took a few deep breaths and slumped into the seat. He closed his eyes and gasped. The things that were in the flashback could give anyone trauma. And when Isobel looked at him with slight fear in her back eyes he finally lost his calm and felt on the edge of a panic attack. He was almost over the edge had Isobel not pulled him back. Finally, he was able to fully feel his hands and toes.

"Gosh! this is horrible," he said.

Isobel chuckled lightly. "It is, but bear in mind, Jay, this isn't you. This is Ay, not you, and let this be the best version of him that people remember," she told him, squeezing his hand lightly.

Jayden nodded and looked to the side. Isobel or Tey didn't even know the quarter of what he's done or what he's helped being done. He was a horrible man and he just wanted to cry seeing the glimpse. Truth be told incest and abuse didn't even come close. Jay wanted to scratch this skin off but he couldn't. He was stuck and it was horrible. His fingers were twitching to claw himself out so he laced them together.

Isobel smiled sadly. She could read Jay like an open book. In such a short period she had recognized and memorized every small action. She knew how he acted and it wasn't tough to understand why Jay didn't meet her eye or why he laced his finger.

It was clear there was more than met the eye. There were a lot of things she didn't know. One part of her wanted to tell Jay to get it off his chest but she was aware that it's not something that works every time. Jay was a strong guy and him being so closed off about it told her that making him speak them out loud will only make the demons more real.

It would only cause more damage than good.

'For the greater good.'

This wasn't a phrase Isobel believed in but there was a line where it was appropriate. Destruction of the whole world was where she supposed it was appropriate for.

Jayden's own sanity was something she thought it would be fit for.

The movement of the litter stopped and both Jayden and Isobel seemed to snap out of their thoughts.

"We have arrived." some said from the outside. They had said it in a different language, probably Egyptian. She was glad Alex had transferred the language first thing.

[Alex is a good system.]

'You are, Alex.' Isobel agreed.

Giving Jayden a last look and squeezing his shoulder, Isobel moved to make her way out of the litter and Jayden did the same on the other side.

~⁂~

(1) A wet nurse- she was someone who took care of the baby if the actual mother wouldn't or couldn't. This meant total care, including breastfeeding.