Untitled

By Howie Monroe & Delilah Gorbish

CHAPTER 5:

“INSIDE THE PALACE”

It did not take long for Howie and Delilah to find the Palace of King Tut. After all, this was 2056 B.C., so there weren’t that many buildings.

The first person they met was a boy named Prince Papyrus. He told them that he was the son of King Tut, but that he and Princess Nefertiti had different mothers. “We have only Tut in common,” he explained.

He seemed to know why they had come. “You have the Amulet of Rah,” he said. “Follow me.”

The palace was big, with many doors leading to many rooms.

“Think how hard it must be to keep this place clean,” remarked the keenly observant and highly sympathetic Howie. “It must be loaded with dust bunnies.”

“Dust bunnies!?” Delilah cried. “Did you say d-d-d-dust bunnies?” (See Book 1: It Came from Beneath the Bed!)

The strong and protective dachshund puppy was reassuring his frightened companion that he would not allow any dust bunnies to harm her when suddenly Delilah pushed Howie out of the way and

A door swung open and there stood Princess Nefertiti. She was beautiful, but her beauty was only a mask for the deep well of sorrow within her.

“She is filled with tragedy, loneliness, and a longing for something that once was but can never be again,” Delilah whispered, hearing echoes of her own life in the very words she uttered to describe another’s. “I wonder what secrets she harbors.”

Howie’s eyes brimmed with tears. He is so sensitive, Delilah thought, but then he has been wounded by life, and isn’t it fair to say that all whom life has wounded are made either more sensitive or hardened to the point of not feeling anything at all? How grateful Delilah was that Howie was the former, when he could so easily have been

bored! Howie grabbed the pouch (and narrative) away from Delilah and dropped it (the pouch) at Princess Nefertiti’s feet. He noticed that her toes were painted blue like the Nile, which he felt was a nice descriptive touch, then said, “Here’s your pouch, gotta run.” He was tempted to add, “After a while, crocodile,” but thought better of it when he remembered he was in ancient Egypt and didn’t know if crocodile references would be appreciated.

“Let’s go,” Howie said to Delilah, eager to get them out of the palace and off to someplace interesting. Like maybe the Pharaoh’s Tomb, where there were sure to be some screaming mummies.