I don’t remember very much about the night it all happened. I do remember being shaken from a dead sleep by one of my attendants. “Princess, wake up; we have to leave the palace!” Normally, I would have rebuked her for such a rude awakening, but there was an urgency to her request that made me follow without question. She led me to a secret door that even I didn’t know existed. Behind the door was a short passage that ended in a set of winding steps leading down into the darkness. I touched the side of the wall for balance and started down without thinking. I had not yet learned to fear the dark, which would come much later. At the bottom of the stairs, a sobbing Nefera, who was holding her prized corpse flower, and my father were waiting, but by the grim look on father’s face, I could tell he was in no mood to answer questions. Father’s chief adviser soon met us with a torch, and we were led even further underground and away from the city. Wait! Where was mother? I stopped and asked, no, demanded- to know where she was and what was happening. Father hesitated, and for a brief moment, placed a hand on the wall to steady himself. Without turning, he said, “Your uncle has decided he would make a better ruler than I and has convinced many to follow him. They stormed the palace gates and broke through them. Your mother...your mother was in her garden on the other side of the palace. We were cut off, and I could not reach her.” The adviser gently broke in, “Sire, her concern was for you and the princesses. It was her desire that you see to them first. The Queen is undoubtedly already safe in her own secret room, as should you all be.” From that point on, it was a blur of running, hiding, and passing through dark, silent places. When we finally stopped, it was in front of a blank wall with no visible cracks. Father stepped forward, and placing his hands on the wall, whispered a word in a language I did not know. Faint cracks appeared in the shape of a door that pivoted in on a center hinge, and we stepped through. It appeared to be a luxurious version of the royal living quarters except for the four stone ‘beds’ in the middle. Each was lined with faintly glowing wrappings. Father was reluctant at first, but his adviser assured him that the magical wrappings would protect us from all harm, so my father agreed. My father was the first to be wrapped, then Nefera, and finally me. As the wrappings were applied, I could feel a slight tingle as the magic swirled around us. Then I became very Sleepy. The last thing I remember seeing was the torchlight disappearing as the door closed, and the last thing I heard was the sound of.. laughter?