Wings of Time

Epilogue

Atem and Set sat at an Aseb game board, eyeing down the tiny warrior pawns. He tried to keep his mind on the game. Outside the balcony, above the fronds of the front courtyard, the city of Thebes meticulously put itself back together after the defeat of Akifa. Atem still thought that battle strange. It was as though the thief suddenly lost all the dark power that had been backing him up and his monster. The pharaoh still got the distinct impression that he had missed something-as though there was a blank spot in his mind-but, again, he tried not to think about it and just focus on the game.

Set sacrificed two of his warrior pawns to move his ivory serpent closer to Atem's hawk. Then he dropped a red pebble into the box, leaving only three in his hand. Atem frowned at this.

"Aren't you playing it a bit dangerous with only three?" Atem asked. "One more score from me and you're done."

"Better not let you score then." he gave him a thin smirk.

They fell into silence for the ending of the game. They didn't talk about Set's father and his betrayal, they didn't talk about the bad choice of Atem's father, they didn't talk about the strange fall of the thief king, the loneliness, and most definitely not Aleah.

Even so, as Set tipped over his hawk with his snake, Atem felt as though they had. The empty burning in his chest made his head ache.

Set was smiling his victory smile and crowed a single triumphant laugh.

"Finally!" he said, "I have defeated you, pharaoh!"

Atem nodded, attention back to the city. He could feel Set's gaze on him and saw his grin turn into a frown out of the corner of his eye.

"Stop thinking about it." he said.

"I might as well stop breathing." said Atem.

"Then stop breathing, then. Maybe passing out will do you a bit of good."

"Ha ha."

"But really, she's not coming back. You need to move forward, for ma'at's and the kingdom's sake-"

"Did I ask you for advice?" Atem snapped, instantly regretting it at the reproachful glare he received from Set. "I'm sorry, Set-"

"You're pathetic, Atem. You're suppose to be a man, stop aching after this girl who didn't even love you back like some wobble-kneed child. There are people who need you right now." Set hesitated, breathing hard through his nose. "Your grace."

He should be mad. What Set had said was way out of line and offensive. But Atem just looked at him, hollow and head aching all the same. Without a word he stood up and walked out of the room.

In the halls he wandered blindly, feeling like a fool but, frankly, too sorry for himself to care. Nobles bowed as he passed and he nodded in turn. Set was right. Set was always right. He needed to stop feeling sorry for himself and move on. What involved moving on he didn't want to think about, for it involved producing heirs to Horus's line and finding a queen, and he just didn't have the heart for that yet. He wasn't sure if he'd ever have the heart for it.

He came to the east courtyard, his personal favorite, and walked around the edge looking for his childhood hiding spot. A small little alcove of papyrus and grass, shielded by thick tree branches, came into view as he pushed his way through bushes. He sat himself down, leaned against a tree, and pluck a strand of grass to press between his fingers until his fingernails turned green.

Slowly, once he knew he was sufficiently hidden, he bowed his head to his arms and allowed himself a quiet moan. He hated playing this part of a pining, unrequited lover. He really was pathetic. He didn't ask why she had left, because he always wondered why she would have stayed. He had treated her as a slave in a hot desert that burned her pale skin. She was avoided for her strangeness, treated as a lowly foreigner, and she couldn't trust anything about his culture, so much different from hers. There was nothing to love about him, anyways. He wasn't good with his feelings, he had a temper, he felt awkward being gentle, he was short (Ra, so short), and at times thoughtlessly cruel. Isis, he didn't even love himself much right now.

He heard a splash from the pond just behind the shelter of his branches and a curse. He felt his heart freeze, not at the chance of being discovered, but at the tone of the voice. It sounded so much like hers, but it couldn't be.

"Why'd I end up here? Oh, bother."

Tingles all along his spine and his heart in his throat, he carefully pulled back a branch and peered out.

Standing in the middle of the pond, wet up to her thighs and wearing those strange future clothes again, was Aleah. Her hair shone as a waterfall of curling white-gold down her back, and her cheeks were slightly flushed with a sunburn.

He couldn't believe it. He pushed himself through the branches and stepped into the pond without realizing he had. On hearing the splash she looked up and a large, beautiful smile spread across her face at the sight of him. She pulled a bit of her hair behind her ears.

"Sorry I appeared in your pond," she said, "guess I don't have the hang of this time travel stuff after all."

Sunlight reflected off of the water in ripples across her body, making her eyes gleam.

He ran to her. His feet slipped across the mud bottom, water splashed into his face. He wobbled like a child, but he pressed forward. Her eyes widened.

"Atem, what are you-"

He leapt the last few feet between them and swept her into the air by her waist. She squealed in surprise and delight as his spin threw up a wall of glistening diamond like water all around them. Lilies flew.

Then he brought her down to his chest and kissed her. He kept his arms tight around her, afraid she'd disappear like any other mirage in the desert.

When she kissed him back, equally passionate, he knew it was a dream and pulled away.

"Aleah," he started, though he didn't know what to say.

"I'm sorry I left," she said, "Shadi made this illusion that you were in love with Isis and, well...oh forget it, I freaking love you, so kiss me again so we can move on with our lives."

With that she dug her fingers into his wild hair and pulled him into another kiss. His mind was spinning. He felt high, as though he had been breathing incense for the last minute instead of air. The water had soaked them both, but it felt wonderful in the white-hot heat of the sun.

At last, was all he could think with her softness pressed against him and her exotic scent driving him wild. At last at last.

Author's Note: NOW it is all up. ^.^ Sorry about that. I write...a lot. But, if you liked this story which I wrote quite a long time ago, you should check out my website with all my published books and the info on every fanfiction EVAR. That is...if you want. >.> It's LoweFantasy.com