Nensu

'Discovery of the century' was hardly even enough to describe it. A whole undiscovered city in the fertile crescent, dating back to the dawn of civilization, and practically untouched by time. Your university was influential and just plain lucky enough to lay its hands on one of the finest discoveries- an unopened sarcophagus, shipped at unbelievable expense and ripe for study. Other researchers are flying in from across the country to help you with your work, but you're simply too excited to wait.

And so, late at night, you find yourself poking around the newly-arrived sarcophagus. You're giddy to find that the cuneiform lining the lid has much in common with known writing systems, enough to be semi-translatable. You decipher the words for "sleep", "goddess", something about "spans of years", but most intriguingly, "queen". And strangest of all is a convex carving on the top of the lid labelled, simply, "wake".

You prepare to take a picture of the carving, but in your excitement you drop your phone on it. The carving depresses into the lid. You're amazed to hear noises from within the sarcophagus- grinding, strange whines, and finally, what is unmistakably a yawn.

The lid slides open. Unbelievably, a dark-skinned woman in royal finery sits up and looks around, blinking in the bright workshop lights. "What manner of place is this?"

Her eyes land on you, and she stares in obvious confusion. "You there. The priest promised that I would slumber for a mere week, for my health. Has he seen fit to send me to some faraway land? How far are we from the city of Ulra?"

An ancient queen is not the sort of discovery you can just throw in a locker and leave overnight. There are a lot of questions the university will have to sort out later- for one, you're pretty sure she counts as an illegal immigrant- but as of now, the best option you have is simply to let her stay the night at your place.

Nensu carefully steps through the door to your apartment. She swivels her gaze across every surface, regarding everything from the computer to the television to the shoe rack with the same expression of quiet bafflement. She pokes the couch curiously, then turns to face you with a nod.

"Your home is splendid indeed; it will suffice as accommodation. I enjoyed the silver box that took us up here, the 'el-a-vator'. Was that your design?"

Before you can tackle that question, she spots the window. Her eyes widen, and she walks over and hovers her face against the glass, taking care not to touch it. She looks with fascination at the lights of the other buildings, and the cars moving on the street ten floors below.

"Magnificent! I've never seen a sight so grand, so... powerful! What have you accomplished to build such a home? Your people must respect you greatly!"

It didn't seem like a good idea to leave Nensu alone at home, so you had no choice but to take her with you to the grocery store. The car ride over was a bit tense, since she still seems to believe that humans were not meant to travel at 40 miles per hour, but the trip didn't seem to leave any lasting marks besides the grip marks in the arm rests. Once you got inside the store, it was a different story.

"Oh gods. It's just... how? How is any of this...?"

Nensu stands slack-jawed and motionless in front of the produce aisle, attracting strange looks from passerby. Her eyes rove across the stacks of fresh fruit, the rows of leafy greens, bags of potatoes. She clearly doesn't recognize everything she sees, but that doesn't seem to matter.

"I... I had a feast, in celebration of my coronation. Every merchant in the Ulra brought their bounty, representatives from one of the other cities sent gifts... but this... and this is for commoners..."

Her breathe hitches when her eyes land on a row of dispensers for shelled nuts. You think she's starting to hyperventilate.

Nensu has gotten a bit more comfortable about car trips. She's come to appreciate the convenience, and she even manages to look out the window most of the time. She still clings to the seatbelt like a lifeline, but with the traffic around here you can kind of understand.

She smiles as you buckle your seatbelt. "It pleases me to have you drive. I may be queen no longer, but still I command respect from at least one who I trust.*

Planting both feet firmly on the floor, she prepares herself for the trip. "So what is our destination today? There are still so many things from your time that I wish to see."