The Menea and Thalia Chronicles: The Uruk Years

by Ladies of Gilead

In ancient Uruk, twins are raised to become priestesses.

The Menea and Thalia Chronicles, part I: The Uruk Years

By: Ladies of Gilead

Disclaimer: We did not create the Immortal concept, we only borrowed it for the story. Most of the characters used here are ours. Highlander belongs to Panzer/Davis production, you already know that... Methos and Kronos do not belong to us either (what a shame!) and we might use the guys in our future parts but we promise just to borrow them, not to do them any harm and to return them back to their owners after we finish with them (cross our hearts and hope to die). Most of the characters used here are ours, and we do not make any profit here. It's just for fun.

We love feedback, therefore feel free to write at: ladiesofgilead@hotmail.com

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The Menea and Thalia Chronicles,

part I:

The Uruk Years

By the Ladies of Gilead

Middle East, 10^th century B.C.

You look at one and see the other,

Of a great sorrow they will be the Harbinger.

Children of the unknown by a spirit guarded,

By a servant of a God they will be protected.

After the sacrifice has been done

Make sure they stay gone

For the Chosen will not stay dead,

Cursed by the high power living in their head

1.

She looked at the sky. It would rain soon; she should hurry. The chilly wind made her shiver. Ah, she could not wait to be back to the temple. The festivities were approaching, her favorite time of year. She was busy imagining the decorations and the rituals that would be accomplished when she stopped her horse and listened. She could hear someone crying. She led her horse in the direction of the cries. Hurry, a voice whispered inside her head. Without thinking, she made the horse go faster and faster. If the Goddess motioned her to help whoever was crying, she should follow her orders. Stop, the voice said. She stopped and waited. The cave, the voice whispered. She stared at the cave in front of her and dismounted her horse. Because of the storm, the sky was dark and the surrounding woods appeared to be menacing. As if in a trance, she entered the cave. She could not see anything, therefore she waited until her eyes were used to the obscurity. And then she saw who had been crying.

Two babies and a tiger were starring at her. She did not dare move a muscle. Although tigers were rather uncommon in this region, she had seen a few on market places, showed around by merchants. And she knew better than to think they were not dangerous. But this one did not seem ready to attack her. It was lying on its flank, and the two babies were buried in its fur. Fear nothing, the voice whispered. Being a priestess, she knew she could trust the Goddess, but it was one of those occasions when the expression "easier said than done" was particularly fitting. Yet she calmed herself down quickly, stepped forward and kneeled by the babies.

Take them, the voice said. She did. Strangely enough, the tiger did not do anything. When she had the two babies in her arms, it stretched and yawned, as if it had been afraid of doing it before, in case it might harm the babies. Leave, the voice said. She agreed. The storm was about to break and she was not willing to be trapped in a cave with a tiger and two hungry babies for days. She took her cloak off, settled the babies inside it and attempted to secure them for the ride. Twisting the cloth, she managed to put one of them on her bosom and the other on her back. She moved around a little, hoping it would not break during the ride. Trust me, the voice said.

She smiled and left the cave. The tiger followed. She patted her horse and told him not to be afraid of the feline. Then she mounted and the strange group moved quickly away from the cave.

2.

"Where is Lusaa?" an old woman asked to a young girl.

As the young slave was about to confess her ignorance, a woman stepped in the room. The old woman was surprised by her appearance. Her black hair were wet and hung on her face, and she was deformed. She lift up her head, smiled, and took her burden away from her. She then walked toward the old woman and introduced her to what she was carrying.

"Attala, here are the babies the legend was talking about," she said.

"Lusaa, I…" she started, then she turned toward the slave girls and said: "help her into some dry clothes, take care of the babies, and feed them."

"Later. I need to tell you what happened."

In a few words, she summarized her adventure, and added:

"I want to adopt them as my daughters."

Attala thought for a moment before answering:

"So be it, then. But you will need the agreement of the council."

She ordered the slaves to do as she had asked before, and the girls quickly went toward Lusaa, but the tiger stepped between them, menacing.

"I think I should take care of them for the time being," Lusaa said, smiling.

She took the babies in her arms and left for her room. She went through numerous long halls, remembering well the time when she was just a child, scared of those places at night, certain that demons were waiting for her in the dark corners. On those nights, she would go to Attala's room and would share her mother's bed, and would have a safe and happy slumber.

She looked at her burden. One of the girls was watching everything she could around her while the other was quietly staring at her sister. Lusaa smiled at the idea that she felt like a mother now. Life was so amazing sometimes, and Inanna so generous to have given her such a precious gift. She ought to perform an enormous sacrifice tonight, even though she was aware she would never be able to thank Inanna properly for such a joy. She arrived at the doors of her room, which her slaves opened for her. Nodding her thanks to her helpers, she said to the babies:

"Welcome to your new home."

The baby that seemed so curious just a moment ago looked at her, then at the big and luxurious room before returning her gaze to her, as if asking her new mother about their future life. The other one just cast a quick glance at them, apparently accepting everything without any difficulties. Delighted, Lusaa laughed and wondered if it was possible that such small beings had different personalities already. If so, she would have to be careful about the curious one for she seemed to be the more active of the two. She smiled to her sister.

"You are the moderating element, aren't you little one?"

The baby sighed deeply, which made Lusaa laugh again.

"Yes you are. Living with you two will be an interesting experience, I think."

She laid the babies among the furs on her bed and called for her slaves.

"Prepare a bath for my daughters. Then go and find clothes, food and milk and bring them here. I will feed them in my room."

The slaves bowed and left. Lusaa watched her children again. They were obviously twins, such a resemblance was impossible to achieve otherwise, and were currently sleeping side by side.

"Yes," she said again, "life with you should be very interesting indeed."

She kissed them and let them sleep while her slaves prepared the bath. Lusaa could not help watching her daughters.

"I ought to give you names."

Several came to her mind but none seemed to suit them. Then she remembered a tale her child-minder had told her. The story was about two girls, Thalia and Menea, who wanted to live forever. After they died, they asked the Gods if they could come back to Earth. The Gods accepted for the two girls had always honored them and asked the girls what they wanted to become. The first one said she wanted to become Wind, because she wanted to see all the places and visit all the persons she could, as quickly as possible. The Gods granted her wish and turned her Wind. They asked the second one, who said she wanted to become Star, because she wanted to protect people and shine in order to reassure them whenever they had doubts. The Gods granted her wish and made her Star. Lusaa smiled at the remembrance of her favorite tale, then focused on her the sleeping babies and put her hand on the first one.

"I name thee Thalia. May you always be loved and live a long and happy life." Then she did the same with the second baby.

"I name thee Menea. May you always be loved and live a long and happy life."

Her smile grew even wider.

"Thalia and Menea, daughters of Lusaa."

She was distracted by the sound of the slaves coming in, their arms full of food.

"The bath is ready Mistress."

"Good. Put everything on the table, then go find a bed for my daughters and bring it here, I want them to sleep with me."

After the slaves had left, Lusaa took the two girls, opened the connecting door to her private bathroom, laid Menea on the cushions, undressed her sister and bathed her. Menea did not say a word but her eyes never left Lusaa, who was talking to both of them. Lusaa then dried Thalia, laid her on the cushions, took Menea in her arms and repeated the actions she had just done. Thalia started babbling and Lusaa answered her as if they were in a real conversation. Once the two babies were fresh and clean, she took them to her room where she intended to feed them – an occupation which was a lot messier than she had expected… she could not wait to find a wet nurse for them. When their bed arrived she put them in it and the babies fell asleep at once. Lusaa watched them for awhile then she went to her own bed, thinking about her mother. Attala had listened to her tale in silence and had left to think about everything that had happened. Lusaa was amazed by the fact that the old priestess trusted her so much with those babies.

3.

The next day, the babies were crying. Lusaa woke up at once, ready to feed them. It had been a little complicated to find out how to do it, since the tiger would not allow anyone but Lusaa near them, in other words they could not be breast fed by one of the mothers in the temple. But they seemed to accept goat milk all right. Lusaa smiled as she was feeding Menea: her chin was covered by milk, and her big baby-blue eyes were staring at her, full of love. Thalia, who waited to be fed, was quietly playing with her feet, smiling at her sister.

The four of them (Lusaa, Thalia, Menea and the tiger) turned their heads at once when Attala entered the room. The expression on her face indicated that she was here to talk business. After the usual greetings, she said:

"The council will meet this afternoon, be ready to defend your case in front of them…"

She hesitated and added:

"You still want to raise them, don't you?"

"Attala, the Goddess led me to them, I feel like it is my duty."

"But you do understand why they are reluctant to have them here?"

"Yes, Mother, I do."

Attala smiled. Even though she was her daughter, Lusaa always called her by her name, unless it was a really personal problem. And this obviously was a personal issue: was it the Goddess or her maternal instinct that told her to keep those babies? Attala could not say, nor did she care.

"All right then, I will support you before the council."

"Thank you."

"I will see you in one hour then. Be ready. And beware Urep, you know you are not one of her favorite persons."

Once her mother had left the room, Lusaa finished feeding the girls and played with them a little before getting ready for the meeting. She was nervous, but she would fight with all her might to keep those babies. And if the council refused to have them brought up to become priestesses, she would leave and raise them herself. She had devoted her life to the Goddess, but she was ready to give everything up for them.

When she entered the room, carrying the babies, the tiger by her side, Attala was impressed by the determination on her face. She was very proud of her daughter at that moment.

There were six women sitting in a semi-circle. Usually, Lusaa would sit with them as part of the council, but today her place by her mother's side was vacant, and Attala was facing her. On her right were Jegue and Mineb, and on her left Urep, Hudu and Kyti. Lusaa was standing with the babies, but Mineb invited her to settle them comfortably on the nearby cushions, and to tell the council how she had found them. She did as she was asked. During her tale, Urep stared at her with cold eyes, whereas the other priestesses often gazed at the twins, who seemed to be in deep conversation together.

"Are you aware of what you are doing?" Urep asked once Lusaa had finished her story. "Don't you remember the prediction? It is said," Urep said, raising her voice, "that twins will destroy the cult of Inanna!"

"We all understand your concern, Urep," Mineb interrupted. "But let me tell you a story: a man went to see an oracle who predicted to him that he would meet Death on his birthday. He fled to a distant place, traveling day and night, thinking that Death could never find him so far away. On that distant place he bumped into Death, who was waiting for him."

"Does your story have a point?" Urep asked sharply.

"She means," Kyti interrupted, "that one cannot escape his fate. The man was meant to die that day, no matter what he did."

"The question is, can we allow those babies to become members of the Temple? Should we allow them to enter in our sanctuary, Inanna's sanctuary?"

Attala looked the other members of the council gravely.

"Who is in favor of the babies being raised in the temple?"

All hands raised except Urep's. The priestesses who had approved the motion smiled and told Lusaa she could raise the children as her daughters if she wished to do so. The young mother took the babies in her arms and began to thank all the priestesses.

"Do they have names?" Minep asked, laughing when one of the babies grabbed her finger.

"I present you Thalia and Menea."

Attala smiled. Oh Inanna, if someone had told her she would become a grandmother within a day, she would have laughed. They had talked about it before, but Lusaa had clearly told her that she did not see herself as a mother. Lusaa was certainly a loveable person, but her frequent errands away from the city and her free spirits made her unfit for such responsibilities as raising future priestesses. And now look at her, Attala thought, proudly presenting her children to the community…

Urep, who left the room after casting a disgusted glance at the babies, broke the cheerful moment for a second.

"Beware, girls," Minep warned the babies, "you already have an enemy in the place."

4.

The tiger stayed with the girls until he considered that they were in a safe place and he disappeared overnight. The years passed, and the girls grew up among the priestesses. They remained identical twins only until their hair grew: whereas Menea's hair was as black as Lusaa's, Thalia's were of a reddish blond. But their black eyes were the same, and so were the rest of their features.

As their were growing up their personalities really began to show. Lusaa had been right when she had given the children their names. While Thalia was like the wind, always running everywhere instead of walking, Menea was more like the star from the tale, watching what happened around her with calm. But even if the sisters were different, you could not even consider separating them: they never were far from each other, going everywhere hand in hand, sleeping side by side,. They accepted their differences without any questions, as if it was just another side of their own personalities.

The little girls were everybody's favorite. The women of the Temple loved listening to them, being with them, even if Thalia sometimes turned out to be quite a handful. They all remembered the day when Thalia had tried to see what was on the other side of Temple's walls. That day, when Lusaa had awoken she had been surprised to see her daughters' bed empty. Usually at such an early hour Menea would still be sleeping (at only 5 years old the little girl already showed a tendency to sleep very late, therefore it was very surprising to imagine that she was already awake).

Lusaa had asked her slaves if they had seen the sisters but at their negative answers she had became concerned. She had sent them after the girls but she had not found them. Concerned, she had asked some of the other priestesses to help her find the girls – the Temple was not a dangerous place but it was large enough to lose two children. The little girls could have decided to go against her order not to leave the South part of it and decided to visit all the places Thalia wanted so much to see and then they could have forgotten how to get back.

It was Minep who found them in the East Garden. She heard a small voice coming from there.

"I am not sure it is such a good idea, Thalia."

Here they were! Minep smiled and sent her slave to tell everybody that the search for the runaways was over.

"Of course it is a good idea. I want to see what is on the other side of the walls."

Minep approached silently towards the twins She could see Menea but not Thalia. Then she realized the little girl was looking up. She followed Menea's look and gasped. Her sister was climbing the big tree that was just near the wall. She heard footsteps behind her. Lusaa and the others had arrived.

"Goddess," Lusaa whispered.

She did not dare to call her daughter right away, afraid that she would surprise her and make her fall – jumping when someone came behind her was one of Thalia's specialties. She decided to wait for the young tree climber to be well secured on a branch. All the persons gathered and listened to the sisters. Menea was still trying to convince her sister about the difficulties of the adventure.

"You want to see the other side but Mother forbade us to leave the South part of the temple and we are on the East part of it," she said. "We are not on the right part any more," she added to make her point.

Still climbing, Thalia asked her sister:

"And how do you know that?"

Menea shrugged.

"I just do."

"Grand Mother always says that you are too smart for your age. I am sure Jeba and Riyad don't know about South or East part of the temple and they are older than we are. I'm telling you, you don't know if we are on the wrong place. Today you are as dumb as all the others."

Minep repressed a laugh. She looked at the others and saw she was not the only one. Unaware of the audience behind them the two sisters kept on talking. Thalia slowed down a little.

"Anyway," Menea said, "Mother will find out."

"And how will she know? I don't want her to be worried. Mothers always worry about everything. We are six, Menea! We are not babies anymore."

"I agree with you, but she will know all the same."

Menea though about that before adding:

"I guess it is a gift from the Goddess."

This time Minep had to bit her tongue not to laugh out loud. Lusaa cast her a dark glance but she could not hide her own amusement. Small children were so amusing to listen to.

"I am almost there," Thalia said proudly. "You can begin to climb, Menea. It is easy, don't be afraid."

"I'm not afraid. I just want you to know what will happen."

"And what will happen?" Thalia asked in a distracted way.

"We will be punished," Menea answered matter-of-factly.

Her twin suddenly stopped and cast a quick glance at her sister.

"Are you coming or not?"

"Of course I am. If Mother punishes me, it will be for something."

Lusaa shook her head in amazement: Menea, her sweet little pragmatic daughter, was disobeying with due consideration! Casting a glance in the tree, she saw that Thalia was now sitting on a branch and was relatively safe. As Menea began to climb, Lusaa called her. The little girl turned her head but she seemed more resigned than surprised.

"I told you, Thalia!"

"I know, I know, you were right," Thalia said a little upset. "I guess I have to climb down now?"

Lusaa looked up and tried to look very stern.

"Yes you do, young girl. And we are going to have a long conversation."

When Thalia was back on the ground, Lusaa took both girls by the hand and the little crowd left the Garden. Lusaa thanked everyone and they went to their room. Menea sighed deeply. Her mother looked at her and asked what was the matter.

"I am going to be punished for not climbing in that tree!"

"You are going to be punished for disobeying an order from your mother."

The little girl thought a little and in her small voice she said:

"Yes, it makes sense."

"Why, thank you! I am glad you approve! I was afraid it would not make any sense..."

Much to Attala's surprise, Lusaa turned out to be quite a mother: she did not stop her errands, but on the contrary she took the girls with her. When asked whether it was really appropriate for future High Priestesses to run around the countryside, she would answer that is was part of their education. Attala was currently High Priestess of the Temple, and Lusaa would take her place when she died, for it was a task transmitted from mother to daughter. In case Lusaa had not had any children, the council would have chosen a new High Priestess. But since Menea and Thalia had been adopted, they were due to fulfill that position some day. Not that it prevented them from acting like regular girls, though. The only thing that separated them from the other children was their being twins: they were each other's best friend, and sometimes Lusaa suspected they could almost read each other's minds when they would burst into laughter at the same time for no apparent reason.

When their seventh birthday came, their initiation as priestesses began, and they joined the other girls to be educated. Learning was really a difficult process: the students had to learn to read and write in different languages, to learn by heart every old tradition and magic rituals. The knowledge of a priestess was really impressive and was required in her future duties as servant of the Goddess. They had to know about religion of course but also about astronomy, history, literature and politics. As future priestesses they would have to be able to understand everything that happened inside the temple, not only concerning the Gods but also concerning the human beings: they would have to give advice to anyone, on anything.

The two girls turned to possess an impressive intelligence. They understood everything at once, Thalia sometimes anticipating the next explanations of the Teachers, Menea being able to remember every single thing she read or heard, the former never ceased to amuse the teachers and the latter to amaze them. Lusaa was a very proud mother. One of her favorite moment was at night when the three of them was gathered in her room, Menea exercising her writing on her tablets and Thalia watching he sister working, contesting everything. She loved to hear them talk. Tonight, she was preparing herself for a meeting at the palace while listening to her daughters.

"Why are you writing again, Menea?" Thalia asked her sister. "You already know them by heart, it's a waste of time."

She was wearing the white dress of the future priestesses but as a child the dress only had one ornament, a gold belt. Her golden hair was done in two braids that fell on her shoulders. Though a little annoyed by her sister's silence she could not help giving her a fond and caring look. Menea looked up at her twin from her sitting position on the floor. Her own hair had been done in several braids that were falling all over her shoulders as well. She spoke to her sister in what their mother called her grown up voice.

"It would only be a waste of time if I wanted to do something else and were made to do this instead."

Lusaa repressed a laugh. She loved her daughter's logic. Even Thalia could never find anything to say against it. But that did not stop her of course.

"But I say it is a waste time because while you are doing your exercises that you already know," Thalia emphasized, "you are not playing with Teena, Praha and me. And I am lonely."

"How can you be lonely if you are playing with Teena and Praha? Three is a crowd."

Thalia rolled her eyes.

"Don't try your Menean Logic on me, sister! You very well know what I mean."

"Really?"

Menea had resumed writing. Thalia looked at her sister, amused. She knew her so well, she knew that her twin was enjoying this.

"Yes, really! You know that I want you to come and play with the three of us."

Never ceasing to write, Menea pursued the discussion.

"Then why did you not ask it from the beginning? This is a waste a time for me."

Lusaa did her best to hide a smile. Goddess was it hard to be a mother sometimes! She couldn't interfere and she did not want to laugh in case her daughters thought she was making fun of them. At nine years old, children considered everything very seriously. She focused her attention on combing her hair.

Thalia was not giving up. Her eyes narrowed and she smiled teasingly.

"Teena and Praha have something important to tell us... something very important."

That information caught her sister's attention.

"Oh yes?"

"Oh yes!"

"Well, maybe I should go with you then."

Thalia smiled.

"Maybe you should."

Menea stood up, went by her mother and laid her tablets on the table before kissing her.

"Do you mind if we go Mother?"

"Of course not. But try not to cause any trouble."

Thalia turned towards her mother and gave her her best-offended look.

"Of course not, Mother."

She held her hand out for her sister to take.

"Come, Menea."

Hand in hand, the girls left. Lusaa smiled, and then she looked at the tablets her daughter had put near her. They were finished. Menea had tricked her sister into talking more and had used that time to finish them. Her smile widened even more. Usually people who saw the twins misunderstood the way they worked together. They all considered Thalia as the one in control of her sister and of everything the duo decided to do. But the truth was the girls were equals in everything. And Menea was as cunning as her desperado sister was.

5.

All the priestesses in the Temple knew about Thalia's insatiable desire to experience new things. The Tree Incident, as some of them had called it, had always stayed in their minds. As adults, they could bear the restraints of their lives but they all understood that it could very difficult for a child and even more difficult for a child like Thalia. They had decided that they could give the girl a little of what she wanted as long as it was not too often and that it did not go against her future responsibilities. The priestesses did not leave the temple so much themselves, not unless it was for cultural duties or when the pressure of their tasks became too heavy. Lusaa was a specialist of those errands and that was the reason why she understood her daughter's need so well. That was also the reason why she took her daughters with her anytime she could, even if it was not really appropriate, and allowed them to go with some of the other priestesses when they went out.

That day Minep had decided to go the market place. She searched for the girls and asked them if they wanted to go with her.

"Outside?" Thalia asked, excited. "You want us to go with you outside?"

Minep smiled gently.

"Yes child, that is what I asked you and your sister."

"Of course we want to! Where do we go? Will there be a lot of people? How long can we stay there?"

Minep laughed.

"Well, well, so many question for such a small person! Do you not want it to be a surprise?"

"I do not like waiting, Minep," Thalia whined. "Menea says it's because I'm impatient, you know."

"Well I guess I should tell you then. We are going to the market place. So I can say that there will be a lot of people and I suppose we will stay here till you get bored."

It was Thalia's turn to laugh.

"Better take our blankets then for I will never get bored! I guess we will have to sleep there."

Menea cast a quick worried look at her sister. Sleep outside? Thalia was very well capable of such an odd thing. They were only nine, surely that was too young an age to sleep outside the temple... Yes, surely it was. On second thoughts, maybe she should ask Minep about that. But Minep was a grown up, she would not let her twin do such a curious thing. Why did Thalia want to go outside? And why today? A visitor from the Court of the Great Babylon had arrived today. She wanted to speak to her. She sighed. Well, she could not and would not let her sister go alone. Thalia was so excited that she did not seem to notice anything strange in her sister's frown, but Minep did.

"What is the matter Menea?"

Thalia stopped pacing at once and cast a look at her twin.

"Menea?" she asked her sister.

The little girl smiled at them.

"I was just thinking about the market place. I wonder if it as the slaves say."

"Well we just have to go and see by ourselves," Thalia said hugging her in her excitement.

Menea laughed at seeing her sister so happy. If it were so important to Thalia she would go with her... After all she would have other opportunities to meet people from Babylon. Her sister was the only thing that mattered. She took her hand and together they followed Minep. They put on long coats in order not to been recognized as members of the Temple. Minep did not want the little girls to be harassed by the inhabitants.

Once arrived, Menea had to admit that it was very impressive. So many people, so much noise. She did not understand lots of them. What languages could they be speaking? She looked at her sister. Thalia was in Heaven. She could not help laughing and talking to everyone that came near her. She smelled everything that was presented to her, touched everything within her reach. When they went with their mother on her errands, they always went on isolated places, where they could be safe and where they could practice without being disturbed by anyone. How could it possible that just near the temple, there were so many things she had ignored until today? So many people, so many smells, so many sounds! She realized that the Temple's world was not the real world, that the life she had inside its walls was not her life. She was happy with this life but something new began to grow in her heart: the idea that maybe she could be even happier somewhere else.

She turned toward her sister to tell her that she had just had a revelation, but instead she watched the scene that was taking place right by her side. Menea was listening to a woman who was explaining to her that she had lost her small child in an accident the week before. Why an adult would be telling a child such a personal and difficult matter, Thalia did not know, but the fact was that Menea was in a deep conversation with this woman. She was telling the grieving mother that death was only a gate to go through and that in spite of her sorrow, she must not forget her faith in the Gods. Then she put her hand on the woman's head and blessed her in the name of the Goddess. Thalia smiled sadly. Her sister would never want to leave the temple, she realized. Being a priestess was her life. When she had finished, Menea kissed the woman on the forehead and came back to her sister. People were watching her. Thalia smiled to her, both sad and amused.

"So sister, this is how you melt in the crowd not to be recognized? Very impressive."

"No," Menea answered, amused herself by her sister's teasing. "This is how I try to make a mother's grief more bearable."

Thalia sighed outrageously.

"As I always told you, you are too smart for your age."

"Well I guess some day I will be as smart as my age then."

"And you know what?" Thalia asked, smiling. "You can be quite annoying too!"

"Both smart and annoying… Aren't you lucky you're just smart! Or is it annoying?"

Thalia laughed.

"Silly!"

They kept on talking, walking through the different alleys, following Minep when suddenly, two men appeared as if from nowhere. The girls were walking one way, and the two men were walking the other way, toward them. They frowned while looking at them. They were both tall and had dark hair, and one of them had a scar on his face. They had quite strange eyes. The scarred one's were as blue as the sky while the other's were hazel-green. They slowed down as the girls approached, and the man with the scar already had his hand on his sword, but the other one put his hand on his arm to stop him from taking it out. Menea, who walked next to him, heard him mutter "Calm down, brother, they are not quite ready yet." They walked away.

Thalia and Menea stopped, and Menea told her sister what she had heard. Her eyes on the man's back, she said:

"Why do I have the feeling we will meet him again?"

Minep then called them and they postponed their conversation for a while: there was no need telling her that two grown up men had stared at them and that one of them had seemed willing to kill them. They were only nine, but they knew better than to scare Minep for no reason.

6.

Their life continued with the joys and the pains of children becoming teenagers. The only constant dark point of their existence was Urep, who seemed to hate them more and more. Menea and Thalia had learned to live with it, though, and they would avoid her as often as possible. It was not that she was doing anything mean to them, but she would always cast them cold looks. When the pressure became unbearable, Lusaa would take them in an errand for a few days. During one of them, Menea asked:

"Mother, could you explain why she hates us so much?"

"Do we really have to go through this again?" Thalia asked in a mock-annoyed way. "You know I hate that story. You're just trying to find an excuse not to fight me. You know I can beat you with my eyes closed."

Smiling, Menea gave her a defying glance:

"Oh yeah? Prove it, blondy!"

"Anytime, smart girl!"

Lusaa wanted them to be able to travel alone some day, and had therefore taught them to fight with swords. She was currently supervising one of their training sessions. She knew her daughters, she knew that they were as good as each other with a sword, and she knew that they would find any excuse to start acting like children. Why not after all? They were children. Soon enough, they would become women. Inanna, let them not lose their love for one another, she prayed.

"Hey, you're supposed to fight with your sword, not tickle me!" Menea was laughing.

"Who said we had to play fairly? All the means are good to win!" Thalia said, maintaining her sister pinned to the floor, smiling broadly.

"Stop it, you're hurting me!" Menea started to cry.

At once, Thalia let her go and was apologizing sincerely. Menea then pushed her and pinned her to the ground.

"You cheater!"

"You said all the means were good!"

"Since when do you listen to me?"

Their mother laughed, and with a glance they decided to gang up on her.

After all, she was ticklish too, was she not?

When they went back to the temple the following day, Urep still hated them all, but at least they knew they could bear it a little longer. Still, very often at night, Menea and Thalia would stay awake in the bed they shared and elaborate plans to get rid of Urep, plans that would be lost in their dreams as they fall asleep.

7.

Their childhood years had passed, and so did their teenage years. They were now priestesses with responsibilities. They became highly respected and deeply loved members of the temple. One proverb said that you had to look in a slaves' eyes when they were near their master to know the inner being of the said master; should you see fear in their eyes, you immediately knew that the master was not a good human being. As far as Teena and Praha were concerned, you only need one look at them to realize how much they value their mistresses. They belonged to the oblat community, the slaves of the temple, for as long as they could remember: as orphans they have been adopted by the temple to become slaves and had belonged to the sisters since that day they turned nine. As Thalia and Menea's responsibilities and duties grew in importance so did theirs. They were not the mere slaves of ordinary persons or even of worthies, they belonged to two high members of the temple. The two girls took their roles very seriously. They took great care of their mistresses' need for the twin's well-being influenced their performances during their duties. They knew their owners as well as they knew themselves and never missed an occasion to please them.

They also became very important in the two sister's life. They were their ears in the temple, where the two slaves collected any worthful information but more than everything they were the eyes of the young priestesses in the city of Uruk. As priestesses of Inanna they now could not leave the temple as they may have wanted to or as they were used to as children. They could go away in some occasions but always had to ask the Council and the permissions were not so frequent. So, several times a week the two sisters asked their slaves to tell them "stories of the Real Life " as Thalia called them. They stayed awake until late at night listening to everything Teena and Praha had to say.

If Menea accepted their lives in the temple without complaining (except for the early get ups of course, but for her, that did not count as real complaining) Thalia had more and more difficulties accepting the restrictions of her life. She was the one who would ask thousands and thousands questions to their slaves during those nightly meetings. She wanted every single detail that the two girls could give. She wanted to know everything. Menea always listened carefully to what was said during those nights for she knew her sister would want to discuss about it till dawn but she was not as concern as her sister was. She was really happy about her life. Serving her Goddess and receiving the temple's education really pleased her. She did not feel the need for something else. But since she loved her sister so much she knew that one day Thalia would certainly feel the need to escape from this life she loved but sometimes saw as a prison, and she also knew without a doubt that if this day should come, she would bid farewell to the Goddess and follow her beloved sister. But for now she enjoyed her life with Thalia, in the Temple.

Attala had died a couple of years before, and Lusaa was now High Priestess. Hudu had died the same year as Attala, and Menea and Thalia had taken the vacant seats in the council.

Urep's hatred had grown stronger every year, and it had now reached an apex.

The situation was so bad that she was actually plotting against them. She knew she would be suspected, therefore she had to be careful. The legend said that they would destroy the temple. The priestesses had saved her from a lifetime of prostitution. She would not let the temple of the Goddess, to whom she had devoted her life, be destroyed by those girls. Urep crept out of the temple that night, once everyone was asleep, and went to meet a man who could help her achieve her plan.

Tightening her dark cloak around her body, she entered the tavern. All the heads turned toward her, but when the men saw her face, they all went back to their drinking and talking. This attitude hurt her more than any insult: she had never been a beauty, but at least she had not repelled men. And now, she felt old and ugly, and her hatred of the young and beautiful sisters grew even more. She spotted the man she had come to meet in the back room. His dark hair was cut unevenly, and he needed a bath, but that did not prevent her from noticing that he was an attractive man, in his thirties, built as a warrior.

"Have a seat," he said in mock politeness.

"I need your help," she said once she was seated.

"Obviously," he observed matter-of-factly. "To kill the twins."

"Yes…" she answered, surprised.

"It turns out that I want to kill them too. Personal reasons. When do you want me to act?"

"As soon as possible. Make it look like an accident. They often go on errands alone, I will let you know the next time that they do. Beware, they know how to fight."

"So do I," he answered with a grin.

Once they had discussed the price he wanted Urep left the place and walked back to the temple. While she was walking, she was wondering what those personal reasons could be.

8.

He took a sip of beer while watching her leave the tavern. They had not asked for each other's names. He did not need her name after all; she was only an excuse. He was willing to kill the girls no matter what, and if he could get paid for that, so much the better.

His first attempt to destroy them had been ruined by that stupid fur ball of a tiger, some twenty years ago, up in North. Just like a gardener, he had the mission to get rid of the young plants before they grew into trees. The only difference was that in the present case, he was not dealing with plants but with Immortals. And that animal had prevented him from doing so. He still remembered the scene vividly.

He had found them by accident in a farm, where a young couple had adopted them a few days before. He shook his head at the recollection of those people: they had died bravely. Bravely for peasants that is. He had been nice and had killed them quickly. Then he had found the girls, and just when he was ready to murder them, this tiger had appeared as if from nowhere and had killed him. He shivered: to have your insides taken away from your body by a feline was not his favorite kind of death. When he had revived, the tiger and the girls where gone. He had tried to find them but had soon grown tired of the game and had found new prays, convinced that he would find a way to kill them soon enough.

He took a last sip of his beer and left the drinking place too. He needed a place to clean up. They would be less scared of a good-looking man than of a bearded savage.

9.

The next morning, Thalia woke up suddenly. She stayed still a while trying to understand the meanings of her dream and to calm down. She listened to the sounds of the temple slowly waking up. She could hear the slaves passing before their rooms, cleaning the halls certainly and doing other of their duties. Their own slaves would be coming pretty soon to prepare their bath and their robes for their daily ceremonies. Soon the whole temple would be completely awake. She would be hearings the singers and the musicians practicing their new ceremonial songs, the priestess attending to their offerings and praying, the High Priestesses performing the high sacrificial ceremonies and attending to their meetings with some of their worshippers. Thalia smiled, there would be a lot of them as usual, all those men and women asking and begging their Goddess to help them, to give them good health or wealth, all those offerings, all those praying. She could almost already hear those prayers, some of them in languages so strange but so beautiful, sounding like music to her hears, she could already smell the offerings, the blood but also the other gifts they would be giving like those strange spices that smelled so funny... She also saw in her mind the envious looks of those men and women for they would never be allowed to approach the Goddess like her or the other Priestesses. She knew that she should feel honored to live here and to serve her Inanna, but she felt that something was missing. Thalia shook her head to stop her thoughts (now was not the time to have that good old inner conversation on whether or not she should stay) and looked at her sister. She decided not to wait any longer and shook her awake. The answer that came from Menea was what was to be expected (for someone who lived in a temple and whose duties began at dawn she really was not a morning person).

"You better have a very good reason, sister," Menea said in a threatening voice.

"Of course I have a good reason! Do you really think I would wake you up this early for nothing?"

"Whatever. What is it?"

She did nothing to hide her yawn. Goddess did she hate mornings. She loved performing her duties to Inanna even if it was at dawn yet for her it was one big sacrifice. But obviously her sister was upset about something and this was the only important thing. She looked fondly at Thalia, waiting for her twin to explain the reason of this very early waking.

"I had a dream. The two of us were killed during a ceremony, and then they took us away to clean our bodies for the funeral, but suddenly we were alive again."

Thalia had spoken very quickly, as usual, and was waiting for her sister's answer. Instead of telling her she was going mad and tell her to get back to bed at once, Menea looked thoughtful then she said:

"I had the same dream. Well, I was having the same dream before you woke me up."

"Do you think it is a premonition, or something?"

"Oh come on, everybody knows dead people stay dead. Only Gods never die, human beings only come to back to life if the Gods themselves blessed them. But no one is worth such a gift. No, humans don't come back to life, Thalia, unless they are demons!"

Then she added after a pause:

"But then again, what about the legend?"

"You look at one and see the other," they recited together, "of a great sorrow they will be the Harbinger. Children of the unknown by a spirit guarded, by a servant of a God they will be protected. After the sacrifice has been done make sure they stay gone for the Chosen will not stay dead, cursed by the high power living in their head."

They were silent for a moment, and then Thalia asked her sister what she was thinking about it.

"Nothing," she said, " except that I'm sure not a demon!"

They were both puzzled by this, but agreed that there were lots of coincidences. Too many to be ignored.

"I think we should leave the town for a few days. We need to think about it," Thalia said.

"I agree. If the omen is true, we will bring great sorrow to the temple, and Inanna knows we do not want that. I will ask the council to let us go away for a while. We need to meditate on those dreams. They will agree, I'm sure."

Two hours later, the guards saw two riders leave the town, identical except for their hair. As soon as they left the temple, a messenger was sent to warn the man that he was free to act.

There was nothing Thalia loved more than riding in the open spaces, galloping as fast as her horse could go. With the wind whipping her face, her hair flying, she felt a freedom that only eagles could experience - or at least that was the way she saw it. She loved her duties at the temple, but she was craving for more. Whenever she saw a mountain, she was dying to find out what was after that, whenever she met a traveler at the temple, she would press him with questions. At night she would dream about strange, far away places, and in the morning she would always feel a little disappointed that she had to stay. Menea loved her duties as a priestess, she could not take her away from that, and she could not leave without her sister. Maybe, some day… She made her horse slow down a little and waited for her sister.

Menea watched her sister riding freely. Although they had never talked about it, she knew Thalia craved for freedom and that she stayed for her. Letting her ride "alone" was the least she could do. Maybe some day she would agree on going far away, but she did not feel ready for that right now.

"Do you think some day people will be able to fly like eagles?" Thalia asked, looking with a smile at a bird flying in the sky, as her sister reached her side.

"If we were meant to fly, we would have wings, don't you think?" Menea said in a tone used by grown ups to answer a child's question.

Thalia knew better than to take this answer personally: her sister was only teasing her. Did she know she wanted to fly away? Probably. Even though she did not like it, she could not hide anything from her sister.

"Let's settle the camp, dreamer," Menea said, trying to call her sister back to reality. "I have no intention of starving tonight."

"I'll go get some dry wood."

The evening was spent in silence, each sister enjoying the company of the other, understanding the other without a word. The following day, they had planned on meditating, in order to find an answer to the dream that had brought them here.

10.

He could feel their weak buzz as he got closer. He settled at a safe distance from them and watched them prepare diner, eat their food, and fall asleep. Now would be a good time to start, a voice in him whispered. But he shook his head in answer. He wanted to watch them again, alive. Tomorrow. He would act tomorrow. Once he was sure they were asleep, he let himself doze off, and dreamed of them. In his dream, they were not afraid of him, they even loved him. Like slaves, they did everything he asked them to do, and even more… He woke up suddenly, his plan clear in his head: he would go to them tomorrow and ask them for food. He could be charming sometimes, and that way he could get to know them before killing them. He always liked it better when he could know his victims before killing them. Their quickening was tastier…

11.

"Thalia, are you listening to me?"

Raising her head, Thalia glanced at her sister, then at the ground. She had drawn the faces of a man and a woman on the sand. Menea sighed. It was one of her sister's favorite occupation, because it allowed her to escape in a world of thoughts. Whenever she was in that kind of trance, it was useless to try and talk to her. Menea kneeled by her side, looking at the faces in the dirt.

"Who are they?"

"I don't know, I just drew them."

"But what are their names?" she insisted.

"I don't know, I tell you! You and your habit to name everything!"

Menea thought for a second, and declared.

"She is Shyla, he is Kezan."

"So be it."

Thalia erased her drawing with her palm.

"And now they will only exist for us in our dreams."

Menea smiled.

"Come on, I'm starving. Let's fix something to eat."

They had been meditating all morning and were having some food when they had the feeling they were being watched. At the same time, they turned their head to the North, where they saw a rider coming toward them. Menea made sure their weapons were within reachable distance, in order for them to be able to defend themselves if needed. At that moment, she was very grateful that Lusaa had insisted on teaching them how to fight. They stood up, and got ready to welcome the stranger by their fireside. It would be easier to fight from a standing position than from a sitting one, Menea thought. Her sister nodded in agreement, even though no word had been spoken.

"Greetings, my ladies," the stranger said.

He was rather tall, with dark-blue hair and a skin complexion that indicated he probably was from the Far East. Thalia, delighted to meet someone from such a far away place, invited him to join them. Who knows, he might have seen wonderful things in his journeys!

"Greetings," Thalia answered. "Would you care to join us in our meal?"

"It would be my pleasure… I have some good wine too."

Menea introduced them and asked for his name. He said he was named Lurgas, and sat by the fire. While Thalia was pressing him with questions on his journeys, which he was more than whiling to answer, Menea was silent. She did not trust him. Why, she could not explain, she simply did not. And she had learned to follow her instinct. How could she warn her sister without awakening the man's suspicion? For the first time, she silently criticized her sister's love for strange places, a love that now blinded her from the obvious.

While chatting with Lurgas, Thalia could not help noticing her sister's silence, and was surprised by it, for Menea was usually a very talkative person. She knew her sister and understood that something about that man was bothering her. But what was it? It was so nice to talk to someone from the Far East countries! He was now telling them about a legend from his country on how the earth was created. She was torn apart between her confidence in her sister's judgement and her will to hear more. Finally, she decided to follow Menea's instinct – after all, she had been right in telling that they would be punished if they climbed that tree when they were children… And as Lusaa had often told her, she should learn to trust her sister's instinct sometimes. The meal was now finished, and she would ask the stranger to leave.

"Well, I certainly enjoyed the pleasure of your company, Lurgas, but I am afraid my sister and I are going to continue our meditation. We would not want to delay your journey any longer."

"Of course, of course," he answered with a charming smile. "I am actually quite in a rush. Thank you for you hospitality, and I hope to see you again some day."

Then he mounted his horse and rode away. As soon as she was sure he could not hear them, Thalia asked her twin what had happened. Menea told her how she felt about him, and her sister only nodded. Menea was relieved. She had been afraid her sister would be angry not to have been able to hear more tales. Thalia obviously read her relief in her eyes for she said:

"Hey, don't worry, I am not going to trust a total stranger instead of my own sister!"

Then she gave her a hug and prepared everything for their meditation. Menea stood still for a while, thinking that her feeling concerning Lurgas was still present even if he was gone. They would meet him again, that was certain.

12.

Bitch. Because of the dark haired one, he had had to leave! The fair haired one seemed more gullible, easier to approach. But their connection seemed so intense that he knew it would be pointless to try and break it by separating them. All right, if strategy could not work, he would use an old method that had proved very efficient: he would wait until the night, this particular moment when everything seems dead, and attack them. He would kill them during their sleep, tie them, and behead them. How simple was that?

From his hiding point, he watched them fall asleep, just like the night before. Then he went slowly toward them. Very slowly. From what he had noticed, they seemed trained for fighting, and he did not want to fight them. Closer… Closer… When he was close enough to see their eyes, he stopped, listening to their breathing. Sound asleep. He took his sword in one hand, his dagger on the other, and started walking again. Just as he was about to reach Menea, a roar filled the air, and an animal attacked him.

The sisters woke up and reached for their weapons before they could see what was happening. The scene was a strange one: lying on his back was Lurgas. He was pinned to the floor by an enormous tiger. From the amount of blood coming from the man, they understood at once that they had nothing to fear. His open body confirmed the fact that he was dead.

Usually when a person sees such a monstrous animal, he or she is scared to death and tries to fight. Instead of following common sense, Thalia and Menea just stood there, their swords down, staring at its eyes. They remembered what Lusaa at told them about the night that she had found them, how a tiger was protecting them. Thalia was the first one to put down her sword and kneel down on the floor. At once, the tiger came to her and she started patting him, soon imitated by her sister. And the animal purred like a cat. Raising her head to meet her sister's eyes, Menea was about to ask her how she explained that. But before she could formulate the question, Thalia shook her head, as if saying: "I can't explain it. Just accept it." Menea nodded in agreement, and went back to burying her fingers in the warm fur.

How long they stayed there, none of them could tell. But the magical moment was broken when they heard someone coughing and moaning near them. They both froze and looked at Lurgas. His clothes were torn and bloody, but he sat up. The tiger bounced again, but this time the man managed to avoid it. He dove for his sword, and stood in front of the tiger like a toreador in a bullfight. The tiger jumped. The man moved on the side. The animal landed on the other side. It turned at once to face him. It jumped. He collapsed under its weight. It roared and stopped moving. He pushed it away. His sword bled. It lay on the ground, dead, its bowels outside. He smiled. He had had his revenge. Mankind would always be victorious, thanks to the tools it had learned to build. And now they were his.

Lurgas turned to face the twins. He was covered in blood. The action had been so quick; the girls were still kneeling on the ground. Menea's eyes rested on the dead feline, but Thalia grabbed her sword and attacked him. He stopped her sword, stepped back, and attacked. He was surprised by her attack. Somehow, he had expected her to be in shock, just like her sister. That was why he had to kill her now. If she survived, she would be a serious opponent in the Game.

For the first time in her life, Thalia experienced hatred, and fear. Fear for her life. Fear for Menea's life. Hatred for this man whom she had trusted for a few hours. The Goddess wanted them to protect life, but now she fought to kill.

Menea saw a change in her sister's eyes, a flame she had never seen before. Murder. Her sister, her sweet sister who had cried with her at Attala's death, who had been sharing her games as a child, who drew faces in the sand, who dreamed about faraway places, could she really be the same person or was her sister gone for good? The woman before her had nothing in common with her sister. Her face was hard, her eyes darker than ever, her undone hair an aura of anger. When they had trained, no life was at stake. But now, would she really go as far as killing that man?

She did. She dug her sword in the man's chest. They leaned against each other for a few seconds. The man whispered something to her. Then he collapsed and she backed off, her sword still in her hand. She stood there, her victim at her feet, panting to catch her breath. She slowly turned to face her sister, and the look on her sister's face brought her back to reality. She had killed a man. And she felt nothing about it except joy for they were safe. Without a word, she went to gather her belongings.

13.

The journey back to the temple was a silent one. When they arrived, shortly after dawn, Teena and Praha rushed to welcome them and stopped when they saw Thalia's expressionless face. With a gesture, Menea told them not to ask anything. The slaves trusted them enough to do as they were told. Thalia let Praha undress her. How could she tell Menea, who respected life so much, who was a priestess down to the bone, who loved her, how could she tell her she felt no remorse about what she had done? That she had enjoyed killing him? Ever since Lurgas's death, she expected her sister to tell her how disappointed she was by her. For the first time in her life, she had avoided a conversation with her sister, because she was afraid Menea would hate her. She could deal with anything else but that. But how long could she avoid talking to her sister? She knew the subject would eventually come up.

Menea did not know what to do either. For the first time, silence separated them. And if she let the silence settle, they could be separated forever. She frowned, and rushed away from Teena to find her sister.

"We need to talk."

Thalia was lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She turned her head slightly to look at her sister, then went back to her occupation.

"There is nothing to talk about."

"You killed a man," Menea whispered.

"Yes," she answered in a matter-of-fact voice.

Menea sat by her sister, stroking her hair.

"Don't let your guilt overwhelm you… I am sure the Goddess understands that you did it to protect us…"

Thalia pushed her sister's hand away and stood up, speaking slowly, in order for her sister to understand every word completely:

"You think I am feeling guilty? I am happy I did it. I enjoyed doing it. I enjoyed fighting him. I enjoyed killing him."

Each word slapped Menea in the face. They were both silent for a moment. Then Menea stood up and said:

"How… how can you say that? We are Inanna's priestesses! We protect life!"

"Has it never occurred to you that there might be something beside the temple, beside the ceremonies? How do you explain he revived? Inanna never taught us anything about that."

"You are a murderer! I know you did it to protect our lives, but you murdered someone today!"

"Yes I am! You know what he said before he died? 'We will meet again'. And

I am sure we will."

"It is impossible, you killed him."

"Just like the tiger had killed him before!"

"Then he is a demon!" Menea said frantically.

Things had happened to fast, way too fast. Was it possible that they have been talking and laughing around a fire a few hours before? And now her beloved sister had killed a human being. And she did not even feel guilty about it. It has been to protect lives, yes to protect their lives. But she could not understand that such a drastic change has occurred in their lives. She looked at her sister, pleading her to sooth her fears. But Thalia was past any calm reaction.

"So are we! Do you remember the legend? Has it occurred to you that we may be the same? That we may die and revive too?"

"I am not a demon! Inanna will protect us."

"See, that is the difference between us. You are a priestess, but I am merely doing this to stay with you! If it weren't for you, I would have left long ago!"

A leaded silence fell on the room. They both stood up, staring at each other, speechless. Thalia left the room quickly. Had she really blame her sister for her choice to stay at the temple? After all, she was free to go but she had chosen to stay. Blushing in shame, she rose her head and found herself in the room where they meditated. Did the Goddess want her to think about what she had done and realize her mistakes? She shook her head and turned away. The market place, anywhere but here, those were the places she needed to be at. She left the temple.

Alone in the room, Menea sat down slowly. Her worst nightmare had come true. Her sister and her had been separated. Inanna could not let something like that happen! She stood up quickly and rushed to the meditation room. She needed her Goddess more than ever, she needed to feel her faith. Could Thalia be right? Could they be demons like Lurgas? She kneeled down, lit incense, and prayed her Goddess with all her faith.

14.

The spices filled the air. Taken away from her thoughts, Thalia looked up. A caravan had arrived, and the scent came from it. What would not she give for having the strength to join one of those and leave forever this city she now hated! She could not remember how she had arrived in that part of the town. She had been walking while thinking of her dilemma. Should she follow her heart or sacrifice herself again for her sister? She knew the answer but refused to admit it. She had to leave. Not only because she wanted to, but because her being a murderess made her unfit to serve Inanna. She smiled. Without knowing it, Lurgas had given her the greatest gift he could: her freedom.

She stopped, watching the sea of people, and took the decision to leave after the ceremony. She would miss her sister, but did Menea still love her anyway? She had become everything she hated: a murderer who rejected her religious beliefs. She could deal with her sister's disapproval, but not with her hatred. And there was no way Menea could ever forgive her.

She wanted to say goodbye, though, and the ceremony would be a perfect place. She did not want to feel like she was running away, as if she had done something bad. She wanted to explain to her sister why she was leaving. Moreover, the ceremony to come was an important one: it would officially establish Menea as the heiress of the High Priestess. Had she stayed, they would both have become Heiresses. She just hoped Menea would be okay without her. Staring at the horizon, she smiled. She was happier than she had been in a long time. She had not realized how she suffered from her situation here. She wondered for a moment if Praha might be willing to accompany her, but she shook her head. No, it was something she had to do alone. She decided to use the time she had until the ceremony to find a ship she could go onboard.

Meanwhile, Menea was in deep meditation, waiting for the Goddess to answer her prayers. She was lost in her thoughts, and she did not even notice when Teena came to put a warm cloak around her shoulders to prevent her from catching a cold. Various feelings were overwhelming her. Her love for her sister, which had become contradictory with her love for her being a priestess. Her will to follow her sister wherever she went, her will to continue being a priestess. Her hatred for what her sister had done, and the relief that she had done it.

Suddenly, a voice rang in her head. Your sister is unhappy, it said. I know but what can I do, she thought. You know what you should do, it answered, don't be afraid of taking a decision; it may be painful in a short time, but in the long time you will be happier. Are you suggesting I should leave your service, she asked. Just because you are no longer a priestess does not mean you no longer serve me, it answered. Menea opened her eyes. She knew what she had to do. She stood up, left the room and went to find Lusaa, who was in her room.

"Mother…" she started.

"You are leaving, aren't you?" Lusaa asked.

"How… how do you know?"

"Don't you think I know my girls? Something happened between you and Thalia in the wilderness, and she finally realized she was not born to be a priestess. Don't judge her. People are different. Even twins are different. She took the decision to leave, and you want to go with her." She stopped and added: "Isn't it what you came to tell me?"

"Yes… Mother, don't you want to know what happened?"

"If the Goddess had thought I should know, she would have told me. It concerns only the two of you. Do not worry for the ceremony. We will postpone it. The council will unite, and elect a new Heiress." She touched Menea's cheek, where a tear was rolling. "Stop worrying, Menea. Children aren't always supposed to follow their parents' steps. I think you are doing the right thing by helping your sister. Now go and find her."

"There is something I want you to do Mother. After our departure, free Teena and Praha. I don't want them to belong to someone else. Give them some of our jewels and let them leave the Temple if they really want to."

Lusaa smiled.

"Always thinking about the details, aren't you? I will do as you ask, do not worry".

"Thank you Mother."

She kissed Lusaa warmly and went looking for her sister. As she was about to leave the temple, Thalia appeared on the doorstep. Before Menea could speak, she raised her hand to silence her, and said:

"Before you say anything, I want to apologize to you for what I said. I did not stay here because of you, I chose to stay here with you. But now it is time for me to leave… I came to say farewell."

Menea ran to her sister and hugged her, smiling. Of all the reactions she had expected from her sister, Thalia had not thought of that one.

"You silly, there is not need to say farewell. Not to me at least. Remember the legend? 'You look at one and see the other'… you and I cannot be separated: I am coming with you."

Thalia was so relieved she almost cried. Not only did Menea accept what she had done, but also she was ready to leave the temple for her! They hugged tightly for a moment, then they moved apart, and agreed on what to do.

"I am leaving with a caravan in two days, I just came to accomplish the ceremony as a farewell."

Menea opened her mouth to speak, but instead of words, it was blood that came out of her mouth. She fell into Thalia's arms, a dagger lodged in her back. She gasped, trying to catch some air. Thalia lowered her on the ground. Before she could cry for help, she fell forward on her sister, dead.

15.

It was Minep who found them a few minutes later. Lusaa arrived right away, and although her first reaction was that of a mother who is seeing her children dead, she soon remembered that she was the High Priestess and that if she panicked, everyone would panic too. She shook off her shock and painful grief and gave orders: their bodies were carried in the mortuary room, and the council was summoned at once.

Teena and Praha, who were in charge of cleaning the bodies, were crying all the time. They chose what had been their favorite dresses, and dressed their hair in the fashion they had enjoyed while they were alive. They were merely finished when Urep entered the room and summoned them to leave. Being slaves, they had to obey her. But they could not stop wondering why she wanted to be alone with the two women she hated the most. Intrigued, they decided to go talk to Lusaa about it. After all a murder had been committed.

Left alone with the twins' bodies, Urep stood in silence, staring at them with obvious delight. She would not confess to the bodies that she had paid for it. Oh no. There were so many ears dropping in this temple. But she could not hide her delight. Her joyful thoughts were postponed when Lusaa entered, followed by Teena, Praha and the council.

"What are you doing here? It is common knowledge that you hated them, don't pretend you feel sorry for their death."

"My dear, fellow priestesses just died, it is only natural that I should bid them farewell."

Lusaa was about to answer when Menea coughed, soon followed by Thalia. The sisters sat up, disoriented. The women who had witnessed their resurrection were speechless, great shock registered in their eyes.

"What… what happened?" Menea asked, standing up.

Urep was the first one to recover her ability to talk.

"Demons! They are demons! The legend was right, I told you! 'You look at one and see the other; of a great sorrow they will be the Harbinger. After the sacrifice has been done make sure they stay gone; for the Chosen will not stay dead, cursed by the high power living in their head.' All the prediction is coming true! And now they will bring a great sorrow on this temple!"

"We are not demons, old witch!" Thalia yelled, looking angry. "Instead of accusing us, why don't you all wonder who killed us?"

"Let's banish them! If they stay, they will destroy this temple! We are priestesses, we cannot protect demons!" Urep said.

Much to Thalia and Menea's surprise, even Lusaa did not contradict her.

"Mother, aren't you going to say something?" Menea asked.

"I am sorry. My children are dead. You should leave."

Taken aback by such a reaction, they walked out of the room. Before leaving, Thalia turned around to face them and told Urep: "I hope you are right and that we are demons, that way we can make you pay for what you are doing to us." And then they left.

16.

Thalia decided to go to the marketplace, where the caravan would be waiting for them. They should leave as soon as possible before the word of their resurrection spread in the city. In such a case, they would be chased and nobody would be willing to help them. It was a good thing Teena and Praha had already cleaned and dressed them: they could sell their jewels to pay for the trip but their clothes were going to attract attention. How many priestesses did walk in the middle of the night in the city wearing their fine dresses and jewels?

She found the leader of the caravan, who agreed on having another extra passenger. When this was arranged, she decided they should eat something. Taking Menea by the hand, she led her to a nearby tavern where they could have a proper meal. While sitting at the table, she looked at her sister, who was still in shock and refused to eat anything. Thalia tried to bring her back to reality, to force her to say something, but it was pointless. Her sister would not talk.

Before she could finish her meal, several soldiers entered the tavern, and spoke loudly of a witch-hunt which was about to take place: demons had appeared in one of the temples, and now the authorities wanted to burn them. Trying to stay calm, Thalia took her sister by the hand. This would be a tricky situation, but with Inanna's help they would make it. She stood up, leading her sister toward the exit door. As she opened the door, the captain of the guards asked her to stop.

"What is wrong with her?" he asked, pointing at Menea.

"Too much alcohol, what else could it be?" she answered.

The soldier stared at her pensively, and called for one of his men: "Hey, what was the description of the demons again?"

Before the other could answer, Thalia pushed her sister outside and told her to run, which fortunately she did. Thank Inanna she had come in this part of town often enough to know which aisles to take to escape the men. She had to think for the two of them now. Fortunately, Menea seemed more than willing to obey, which was a relief. Taking a number of back aisles, they managed to lose their followers. But they had to leave the city quickly: by daylight, it would be impossible.

"Let's go to the southern gate," Menea said all of a sudden.

More than surprised, Thalia chose not to ask for an explanation. Her sister was obviously still in shock, and, who knows, maybe it was some help from the Goddess. Leading her sister, they managed to arrive to the designated gate. Much to her surprise, Teena and Praha were waiting for them, with horses.

"I packed your weapons, some food and water for several days, and travel clothes. I also put some gold, that way you won't have to sell your jewelry now."

"Won't you get in trouble for that?" Thalia asked while changing in the shadow.

"It is such a turmoil that no one will notice. Plus we are free now, thanks to Mistress Menea," Praha answered, full of love. "I wish we could go with you, but I know it is impossible."

After saying farewell to their slaves, Thalia and Menea mounted their horses and left town, thanking Inanna for her help.

17.

They had been running away for a few days when Thalia decided to stop. Obviously, no one was following them. She had been afraid of it, but now she was relieved.

"How are you feeling today?"

It had become a ritual question, which she asked Menea every morning. But unlike the other mornings, she answered.

"I don't understand what is going on," she simply said.

"I don't think there is anything to understand, sweetie. Just accept it."

"Why didn't we stay dead? Why did the Goddess do that to us? There has to be a reason."

Thalia was silent for a moment. She was so sorry for her sister, so worried too. How will Menea be able to cope with what she thought as a betrayal from her Goddess? Then she said:

"If it makes you feel any better, we are probably not the only ones. Remember Lurgas?"

"Very comforting. I don't want to be like him! We are cursed! Cursed! Oh Thalia, why? Is it because I decided to leave the Temple with you? Is it a punishment?"

Thalia looked at her sister, her eyes full of compassion.

"Menea, I am sure Inanna never intended to punish you. She loves her priestesses as you love her; you know that, don't you? And at least we have each others," she said, taking her sister in her arms.

"Yes I know. And I will thank Inanna for that. I did not want to sound selfish".

Thalia smiled despite the situation.

"I will thank Inanna" Menea had said. She was a priestess in her heart, no matter what. She had not lost her faith, thank the Goddess, for Menea's faith was really an important part of her. Thalia stroked her sister's long hair that had been freed from her braids. She knew that the gesture had always soothed her twin. They remained like that for a while, not speaking, before Thalia asked her where she wanted to go. Wherever was her answer.

18.

Their life became nomadic from this point: whenever they established themselves in a remote location, even for a few decades, they would one day feel a strange sensation in their heads, not really painful but strange anyway. They did not know what it was but never felt the desire to find out. Life was way to odd and complicated for them as it was, they did not want to add another element in it. So each time they felt this strange sound in their heads they simply run away. Meanwhile, they got accustomed to their Immortal life, even if for the moment they were not living but merely surviving. They spent long sleepless nights, talking together trying to really fully understand what had become of their lives. They felt so thankful to be together. They could not even begin to imagine what would have become of them should have they been alone facing everything. One of the secrets of their immortality came one night, when they were peacefully discussing around a campfire.

Thalia was sitting cross-legged, listening to her sister explaining one of her numerous theories about the strange feeling they sometimes felt. Menea had lots of theories concerning their immortality. Thalia smiled sadly remembering a time when her sister accepted things as they were, never really eager to see beyond them, a time when Menea simply felt comfort in knowing that things were, for no other reason that they were meant to be. But this Menea had been lost somewhere in the past and sometimes Thalia felt like grieving about that lost part of her sister. Was her twin really happy? Thalia thought so. She looked attentively at her. How many years, centuries even, had passed since this night where they had been killed and their entire world turned upside down? Around them people died, cities fall, landscapes changed but they remained the same. So young and yet so old. She smiled at that. Old? She did not feel old and how could that be when her body was still in its mid-twenties. Would she, one day, really feel old? What was "old" really? Indeed they still had a lot to discuss...

"You did not hear a word of what I said, did you?"

Thalia looked at her sister, confused.

"What?"

Menea smiled.

"Nothing, you just answered my question. Are you all right?" she asked, a little concerned.

Her twin sighed.

"You looked so young."

Menea did not say anything then she laughed, clearly very amused.

"And you always complain you are not observant... I'm afraid you are going to have quite a shock then."

Thalia looked at her sister, rising an eyebrow, not understanding.

Menea smiled.

"You look as young as I do! Quite shocking isn't it?"

Her twin rolled her eyes.

"You are so funny, sister."

"I know. I guess it is the reason why you put up with me... I am so entertaining."

She grew serious.

"What is the matter, sister?"

"Nothing really... sometimes... it is just so... overwhelming, you know?"

It was Menea turn to roll her eyes:

"Oh yes I know. Do I need to remind you I am the one who died no less than three days ago? Dying and coming back to life is such a thrilling experience, don't you think?"

Thalia nodded silently and shuddered. She remembered very well the moment she had seen her sister disappear in a whole full of pikes, made by the inhabitants no doubt to make sure no one would enter their village. She had used the rope she always kept on her hip to go down the whole and had to pull her sister out of the pikes that had impaled her. She had almost thrown up but had done what she had to do. Then she had waited silently for her to revive, praying that it would not take too long. She did not want to meet the ingenious villagers who had made the trap and did not want to explain them how someone could have survived it... Menea had finally taken a painful gasp and had came back to life, still full of pain but conscious... Yes, being immortal was quite confusing sometimes. And they ignore so many things... Thalia finally came back to reality.

"So, what is this new theory you have now, sister?"

"Ah, you show some interest at last!" Menea teased. "Well I guess I know what is this strange feeling we have sometimes."

"I am all ears. So you do not think it is linked to weather anymore?" she asked, smiling.

Menea tried to look stern but failed.

" It could have been! Is it my fault if each time we felt two of those things at approximately the same moment, there was a storm afterwards? Talk about a coincidence! No, I thought about my death and my revival and about what you told me after."

"What did I say, again?"

Thalia tried to remember what she had said to her sister.

"How happy I was to see you alive and well? To be more careful when you walk? Or maybe to stop talking so much when you walk... Which is quite the same thing for me actually" Thalia rumbled.

"No!" Menea laughed. "That you knew when I was coming back to life because of this strange feeling in your head!"

Thalia remembered now.

"I did not pay attention to it afterwards, I was so happy to have you back. But yes, I did feel this thing just before you revive... So... you think it comes from us?"

"Yes. I feel this is a sort of sign of recognition. Immortals must give off this sign."

"But why? Is it for us to meet with each other or to avoid each other?"

"I don't know. But until we are really sure, I propose we do as usual".

Thalia nodded. She had absolutely no problem in agreeing with her sister on that. They would keep on avoiding other Immortals. But she felt like they would have to find the answers to all their questions and only an Immortal would be able to provide them with them. Thalia thought about it a moment... How to be sure that they would not be in danger when meeting an Immortal? Yes, they were two, but what if the older ones knew some dangerous secrets that they obviously ignored? What then? They knew how to fight but would it be enough? Well, one thing was sure, she did want to put her sister in any precarious situation. No matter what, she wanted to protect her. She was becoming quite more protective with her but actually she could not put the image of Menea impaled on those sticks out of her mind... Sometimes she felt as if she had dragged her beloved sister out of her destiny. Her twin always told her to shut up when she was trying to express her remorse, and after all, Menea had accepted to follow her that night, just before they were killed. But Thalia also remembered the catatonic state her sister had been in for some days after that.

"Thalia, would you stop it, please?"

"What?" she asked, taking away from her thoughts.

"Would you stop your guilt trip? I know what you are thinking my sister, and I want you to stop this nonsense."

Thalia looked at the sky, sighing mockingly.

"Menea, Great Seer of Uruk! How do you know what I am thinking about?"

"I'm your sister," she answered in her matter-of-fact voice.

"Oh and that give the power to read my mind?" Thalia asked, a little harsher than she expected.

"No need to play hard with me, sister. I told you a thousand time that nothing that happened was your fault. You did not steal my life away from me, okay? Do you remember that night? When you just had come back from the marketplace? I had came to welcome you at the Doors and told you that I had decided to follow you. I did not know where you wanted to go, but I was willing to follow you anywhere. Do you remember how happy we were at that moment?"

Thalia could only smiled at the thought.

"I guess with that amazing memory of yours, you could tell me what we said to each other word for word?"

"Yes, I could sister... And I will if you want me to. I will tell you those words of happiness and trust any time you want, over and over again. You wanted to know the Outside World, the Real World, didn't you? Well I guess you got even more that you bargain for... Are you happy about your life as it is?" Menea asked, very seriously.

"Yes... In spite of everything, of this crazy thing that is our Immortality, I am happy."

"Then it is fine by me! So... Have you decided when you wanted to go now? We have visited quite a big part of this world, don't you think?"

"Yes I think so and I know where I want to go. I want to cross the sea, to see what is behind".

Menea sighed outrageously.

"What is it with you and "to see what is behind"? Fortunately we are adults now and we won't have any trouble with "maternal authority"."

Her smile faded. Sometimes she forgot that their mother had been dead for more than four centuries now. She looked at her sister and tried to smile again.

"Anyway... You want to cross the sea, uh? I guess you want to do it by boat then?"

"That's usually how it's done, you know!"

Thalia laughed. She knew she would have to bribe her sister into doing it. Menea and water were not a happy combination. For her, a river was good, a lake was okay but sea... There was too much water in it.

"Do you know how much water there is in sea, Thalia? Well I can tell you, it is really full of it!" she whined.

Her twin could not stop laughing. Maybe it was because she already knew her sister was going to accept anyway, no matter her hatred of "so much water".

"Just stay in the boat, then."

"It doesn't seem like I have a choice, does it?"

"I am afraid not."

"So much for equality!" she rumbled.

Thalia laughed even harder.

"Oh Menea... sister, you will love Greece I am sure."

"Well... seeing that this Greece is on the other side of a sea, I can tell you that it is not a good start! What if we are attacked? What if the boat sinks? What if sharks eat us? Oh Goddess, do you think our limbs would grow back? I am sure they won't... And I will take you responsible if a shark eats my legs or my arms."

Thalia turned crept to her sister and pinned her down.

"Will you stop making such a fuss about it?"

"I am not!"

"Oh yes you are. And I think I have to tickle you for punishing you for such a fuss!"

Menea eyes sparkled with delight. Her sister always knew how to make the mood lighter.

"Don't you dare!"

"Oh yes..."

"Thalia you are four hundred and twenty five years old... You certainly realize that it is too childish an act for someone as old as you are," Menea said, already laughing hard.

"Are you implying that I am an old woman? Are you, sister?"

She began to tickle her twin mercilessly. Menea couldn't answer, she was laughing too hard. Life would be all right, Thalia promised. No matter what will happen. As long as they were together, life would be all right.

To be continued…

*****

Note from the Ladies of Gilead:

No Immortal was harmed during the making of this fan fiction.

We tried to make our story stick to historical facts, but we sometimes had to take some liberties. Inanna was an actual Goddess from Mesopotamia, and was later known as Ishtar. Uruk was an ancient city located in actual Irak.