The Princess and the Runaway (Alpha)

Ancient Egyptian Desert

Where on earth was she? Jemmy covered her eyes with her bright red scarf, while trying to simultaneously view the horizon. It wasn't working. She sighed. At this rate, she would end up going back to the realm of Chaos before she could find her way back to Rome. That would take a long time, and would essentially bring an end to her 'play time.'

She took another blind teleport, finding herself, unsurprisingly, still in the desert. She looked down at her bright red scarf, her familiar. "It's not like you know where we are." The scarf did not reply.

Jemmy realized that she was standing in front of a small shelter. There was a town nearby, so it wasn't unimaginable that someone could live out here. Still, if they weren't living in the town itself, then this person must have been some sort of an outcast.

Jemmy entered the small, makeshift shelter. It was actually quite comfortable. After having sand blowing around her for so long, her elegant roman dress had been soiled. She looked like a commoner now. A commoner with foreign yellow hair and bright blue eyes.

Someone was sitting at a small table, enjoying a humble meal. "Great, I'm starved," Jemmy said. "I'll take all the food you have...please."

Jemmy frowned. "I'm not going back out there." She sat down across from Maximus, resting her legs. "It is wise to be kind to travelers. I'll change your offer a bit. You give me half your food, and I'll let you live." Jemmy's voice wasn't intimidating in tone. It actually sounded like she thought she was giving him a nice deal. She smiled sweetly.

Humans could be so silly sometimes. It was hard to judge how they would react to certain things. Jemmy decided to give this man a hint about what he was supposed to do. The dirt from her hair, face, and clothes disappeared in the blink of an eye. She was now completely clean, a strange thing indeed in these lands of wind and sand.

The man gave Jemmy half of the food before sitting down to continue his quiet meal. Jemmy took a big bite, only to frown and spit it out. "This isn't very good," she complained. "Don't you have anything yummy?" She eyed him, the hunger in her eyes obvious. He may not taste too bad himself. She had indulged in human flesh before, and had taken a liking to it.

Still, she made no aggressive move. Instead, she lay down on the floor, resting her head on her hands, and stared up at the ceiling.

"I hope you have something sweet, something sugary. Or could it be you haven't heard the legends...of the sweet-toothed goddess?"

Jemmy grinned as Maximus pointed to the molasses. "Now that's being prepared." She sat up and scooted herself along the floor over to the pot of sweet sugary goodness. "If you don't have any sugar on you, the sweet-toothed goddess will eat you instead. But I guess I don't need to tell you that." Jemmy reached a hand inside the pot and pulled out sticky fingers of molasses. It was burning hot, and was probably burning her skin quite badly. Jemmy didn't seem to mind, however. She simply licked the treat from her fingers, pure delight on her face.

"So, I'm Shivering Jemmy. Do you have a name? What is it?"

"Rome, huh? You don't say. What are the odds?" She took a bite of the molasses, accidentally sinking her teeth into her own hand. "Ouch!" It didn't actually hurt, but how else were you supposed to react when you bit your own hand?

"I was just there a little while ago, and I'll be back there soon again. I made a deal with the...emperor? King? Big important guy. There's somebody in this country, Egypt, who he wants me to kill." Jemmy flashed a dastardly smile. "Don't worry, it isn't you. It's the queen. Once I find her...oh wait, I already found her. It didn't all go according to plan, but I guess she's dead now. Rome thinks they're going to control the world." Jemmy's smile turned evil again, and this time it stayed. "But what's the fun in that?"

Jemmy looked around the small, makeshift home. "So, is there a Mrs. Maximus? It seems like you'd get really lonely out here. I've seen a bunch of attractive ladies in this country. You could even buy one." Jemmy's eyes narrowed. She licked the remaining molasses off her hands in one astonishingly quick motion and set her elbows on her knees. "There are slaves in this country, you know. What do you think about slavery?"

"Well boo hoo. I'm sure those slave traders will just be heartbroken to see you frown in their general direction. What if the roles were reversed? What if you were a slave, and somebody else told you they would not do anything to help you, simply because they doubted that they could end all slavery in the world? I assure you, you would not understand. Being helpless is a sin, and so is doing nothing." Jemmy shook her head. "No wonder there is no Mrs. Maximus. You're just a coward, hiding yourself out here in the middle of nowhere."

Jemmy raised her eyebrows. 'What' he was?' Had the human done something to become branded with a name? Perhaps he was a murderer, or a thief. Humans found so many ways to become exiled from civilization, it was hard to keep up with at times. Whatever he 'was,' Maximus seemed to regret it.

Jemmy shrugged. "Of course I know what you are. As long as you just sit out here by yourself, you are nothing, Maximus. But if you get out there and do something, something that will change the lives of everyone around you forever, then you will finally start to exist. Get out of the stasis, Maximus, or else I'll have to push you." She smiled. "I don't care what you become, whether you act with greed of selflessness, but you have to do something. You can't just sit here. That is the one choice that I won't let you make."

Jemmy leaned back with her arms behind her head. "I'm glad to hear that, and I can't wait to see what you're going to do. Of course, you can't wait to see either. I'll give you 24 hours to give me a good show. If you disappoint..." Jemmy's eyes burned a furious orange. "I'll destroy that nearby city. Then maybe I'll destroy Rome. Who knows what I might do? I might even kill you."

Jemmy stood up and walked around the room, anxiously. "But I don't want to kill you, not after you've been so kind to me. So I'll give you an extra gift. If you wish, I can get you into town a lot faster than you could get yourself there. It's entirely up to you, though."