The Fox Who Would Be Pharaoh

The Fox Who Would Be Pharaoh is a story by PrinceBalto.

Premise
In a furry version of ancient Egypt, Robin rules on high as pharaoh, with Marian as his queen and their son Nick as heir to the throne. The love of Nick's life is Judy, the daughter of Stu, pharaoh's grand vizier, and his wife Bonnie. All seems fine, but, one day, when grain from the royal storage silos goes missing, Nick and Judy are assigned by Pharaoh Robin to investigate. What will they find? Find out here. Robin is addressed both as "Pharaoh Robin" and other times simply as "Pharaoh". He is also sometimes called "Great Egypt".

Story
Egypt. The gift of the great river Nile. It was a prosperous time, a time of building and a time of peace. Under the wise and kind rule of its mighty pharaoh, Robin, and his queen, Marian, the land on the Nile was flourishing, and all this was due to the wars against Egypt's enemies, like the Hittites, that Robin waged in his younger years. Now, Robin's twenty-eight year old son and heir to the throne, Nick, entered the palace following a nice chariot ride in the desert. He was barechested, and wore the typical Egyptian white kilt, along with a royal headcloth adorned with the golden cobra at the front, along with gold cuffs on his arms and a broad collar necklace around his neck. He smiled as he came into the throne room.

"The prince Nick, son of pharaoh!" said Clawhauser, the cheetah royal announcer.

Nick stepped forward until he was before his father's throne. It was then that another set of eyes, those of a lovely female bunny, looked at him. Her name was Judy, and she was the love of Nick's life. She was the daughter of Stu, Pharaoh's second-in-command, and his wife Bonnie, the eldest of their 275 children. Judy smiled sweetly. She wore the typical linen dress worn by women of noble rank, along with some jewelry.

"Who is this fair young fox who has come into the house of Pharaoh?" she asked.

Nick laughed.

"It's me, cottontail," he said, using his playful nickname for her.

He then had a thought as his servants removed his chestplate, leaving him barechested and in his kilt.

"How about a walk along the Nile?" he asked.

Judy smiled.

"Of course, great prince of Egypt," she said.

With that, the two of them took off together. Robin smiled, happy to see this. He was dressed similarly to his son, barechested and in a kilt and jewelry, but with a more elaborate headcloth. Marian, seated nearby, wore a more elaborate version of the typical dress, with elaborate jewelry, and the golden royal vulture headdress. Robin smiled at her.

"Hopefully, our son has found his queen," he said.

Marian smiled back.

"I think he has," she said.

Outside, in a royal area built alongside the river, Nick and Judy walked and talked.

"So, how was your day racing chariots in the desert?" she asked him.

Nick smiled.

"Great. I love doing that," he said.

Judy nodded.

"Though I think your parents would like you to stop so you don't get hurt," she said.

Nick stopped and hugged Judy.

"I think I will. After all, I won't be able to take my future throne if I am hurt," he said.

He then kissed her sweetly. In the world outside the palace, things seemed to be going well. The workers in the worker village went about their day. The citizens of the city did their jobs. Children played. Priests went about their duties. At the royal grain storage silos, a figure approached.

"It's time..." it said.

The figure moved ever closer to the silos. What happened next was about to launch a great mystery. The next morning, the captain of the royal guard, Bogo, a massive Cape buffalo, entered. He had two massive, curved kopesh swords at both of his sides, and he looked exceedingly fierce.

"My lord Pharaoh, I bring news. The royal storage silos have been broken into, and much grain has been stolen," he said.

Robin rose from his throne.

"Do you know who did this?" he asked.

Bogo shook his horned head.

"No," he said.

Then, a new voice was heard, a meek female voice.

"I do," it said.

All eyes turned to see a sheep standing there. Robin looked curious.

"Ah, Bellwether," he began.

The sheep stepped forward.

"As you know, I work with Leodore, the grain silo manager. He is the one responsible. I know this because I saw him," she said.

Robin frowned.

"And you didn't stop him?" he asked.

Bellwether shook her head.

"No, Great Egypt," she said.

Robin nodded.

"Great Egypt. Exactly right. Now, what happened?" he said.

Bellwether explained it all. Robin turned to Bogo.

"Bring me Leodore," he said.

Bogo left to do exactly that. Little did they all know that things weren't what they seemed. Bogo soon returned with Leodore. Robin looked at him. The pharaoh looked very displeased at the one who had been a close friend to him for many years, since before Nick was born.

"You have a lot of explaining to do, Leodore," he said.

Leodore looked down.

"I don't know what this is about, great Pharaoh..." he said.

Robin frowned.

"Don't play dumb with me. I know what happened. Bellwether told me everything. You have been stealing grain from the grain silos," he said.

Leodore was stunned for a moment.

"Bellwether? Why would she say that?" he asked.

Robin was silent for a moment.

"She didn't seem like she was lying, and I have known Bellwether to be honest in the past. Therefore, while I look into this matter, you will be stripped of your authority and held in the royal prison. Because of your past loyalty and excellent record, I will not execute you. So let it be written, so let it be done," he said.

The scribe wrote down Pharaoh's statment for the royal archives.

"So speaks the Pharaoh!" Stu said as Bogo led Leodore away.

Judy had been thinking about the whole matter while the sentence was being handed down. She bowed.

"Pharaoh, great lord of the Nile, I have a proposal," she said.

Robin looked down with curiosity.

"What is it, Judy?" he asked.

Judy smiled.

"If you agree, I could investigate for you," she said.

Robin considered it.

"What's your motivation?" he asked.

Judy looked at Nick.

"I want to do my service for the kingdom," she said.

Nick jumped in.

"And I will help her," he added.

The answer pleased Robin.

"Very well. Go to the silos, and then report to me. We will discuss the rest later," he said.

Nick and Judy took off to the silos. When they got there, they could see that the grain level was much lower.

"Well, that's not good. It won't be until next harvest season that they can refill these," Judy said.

Nick nodded, but, before he could speak, he saw a figure, a puma who was clearly not an Egyptian animal. He looked like someone from far away. But where? Nick watched as a message was given by a large ram.

"What is going on?" he asked.

Judy had been watching too.

"Ok, so we have a suspicious meeting with a foreigner. Pharaoh needs to hear this," she said.

Finishing their investigation, they headed back to the palace. Nick and Judy passed through the halls, their walls covered in hieroglyphs and art depicting the deeds of the different pharaohs of this great dynasty. They reached the throne room and bowed. Robin looked at them.

"Did you uncover anything?" he asked.

Nick nodded.

"We did, father," he said.

Robin looked at his son and heir.

"What is it?" the mighty pharaoh asked.

Nick nodded.

"There was a suspicious-looking puma who clearly wasn't an Egyptian. He wore clothing that I haven't seen before..." he said.

Judy took over from him, describing the puma in detail. Robin was stunned.

"His clothes sound like they are Hittite in origin. That means Leodore was dealing with the Hittites behind my back!" he said.

Marian put a hand on his shoulder.

"They must be seeking vengeance for when Robin defeated them at the Battle of Kadesh all those years ago," she said.

Robin looked at his son and the rabbit that he loved.

"Nick, Judy, I assign you to investigate this matter. Are you ready?" he asked.

Nick was eager and ready, as was Judy.

"Yes," they said in unison.

Robin was pleased.

"Then go, and may you be successful," he said.

Nick and Judy took one more bow, and then left. Nick looked at Judy.

"So, where to now?" he asked.

Judy thought about it.

"The grain administration area. We might be able to find more," she said.

Just then, they heard Bogo's voice telling them to wait. Turning around, they saw him.

"The queen sent me to protect the both of you," he said.

Nick was happy.

"Good. That will make things easier," he said.

With that, they began their outing to the grain area. Things had not been easy since the thefts. Looking around, they saw another meeting with the Hittite puma, only this time, Bellwether was there! From the way she was talking, it was obvious that she, not Leodore, was responsible for the betrayal.

"Treason. This must be dealt with," Bogo said.

With that, Bogo approached.

"Pharaoh is going to want to hear about this," he said.

The sudden appearance of the guard leader frightened Bellwether.

"Uh...Captain Bogo...what a pleasant surprise," she said nervously.

Bogo frowned.

"You're not going to think what Pharaoh has to say is pleasant," he said.

Without warning, Bogo seized Bellwether. Frightened, the Hittite puma jumped in his chariot and fled, urging on his horses so that they would go as fast as they could. Soon, he was out of sight, headed toward the Sinai desert. It was now too late for Nick, Judy and Bogo to pursue.

"Ah, well, we have to get our prisoner to Pharaoh. Come on," Bogo said.

They headed back to the royal palace. Nick and Judy entered the throne room first. Upon seeing them, Robin and Marian looked at them. Nick spoke first.

"Father, Mother, we have found the person responsible for the thefts, and it wasn't Leodore," he said.

Robin was so stunned that he rose from his throne.

"Who was it then?" he asked.

Nick clapped his hands. Bogo then entered with Bellwether.

"She is responsible, Great Egypt," Judy said.

Robin was furious.

"You lied to me! Take her to the dungeon!"

Bellwether struggled to get free from Bogo, but couldn't.

"Pharaoh, please show mercy!" she begged.

Robin sighed.

"You will be questioned later," he said.

Bogo took her away as she continued to struggle. Days began to pass by, and she was starting to reveal the truth. One day, however, Stu brought news.

"Great Egypt, we have a message from one of our foremen overseeing the copper-mining operations in the mountains of Sinai. He wrote to me saying that the Hittites have set up camp in that desert, and it is obvious that they are preparing for military action," he said.

Robin rose from his throne.

"Stu, have my army prepared. Call out the soldiers, the charioteers, everyone. We are going to fight one more battle against the Hittites. Get my armor ready, and bring out the armor I had made for Nick," he said.

Nick looked at this father.

"I'm going to battle with you?" he asked.

Robin nodded.

"Yes, and you will also be in your own chariot," he said.

Minutes later, the armor-bearers came out with both sets of armor. They put both the pharaoh and his crown prince in the armor. Robin had the blue-colored war crown on his head, while Marian placed another war crown on Nick's head.

"Come home to me safe, my son," the queen said.

Nick smiled.

"I will," he said, kissing her cheek.

Robin and his son walked to where the army, both predators and prey, was assembling. They boarded their chariots and the army took off for the Sinai. Every single animal there was armed. They all had swords, spears, battle-axes, war clubs and bows and arrows. They also had their shields. Bogo had come along as well. In battle, he would be wielding his deadly kopesh swords against the enemy. After a long journey, they reached the Sinai. The Hittite camp was unprepared for the sudden attack by the Egyptians. Scrambling to grab their weapons, they began a fierce battle that they were doomed to lose. The battle was fierce. Chariots rolled every which way. Arrows were flying everywhere. Horses ran. Swords clashed. War clubs found their mark. In the end, Pharaoh Robin won yet another victory against the Hittites. After a good night's rest, as it was rather dark by the time the battle was over, they returned to Egypt in triumph. The puma and other surviving Hittites were brought as captives. Marian was so pleased when her husband and son returned triumphant at the head of the army. They excitedly rushed to greet her and Judy. Judy hugged Nick tightly.

"Welcome home," she said proudly.

Nick kissed Judy.

"The battle was amazing and glorious," he told her.

Judy listened as he described it. The next night, a great feast was held to celebrate. That night, the royal court witnessed the marriage of Nick and Judy. The fox who would be pharaoh now had his future queen.