The long wait is now over! The offical chapter two is up and hiatus is over! Anyway, things might get a bit confusing toward the end so refer to the bottom Author's comment for some clarification. I don't want to give anything away, thanks to people who helped throw out ideas, they did help. Anyway I really hope that everyone likes.

Disclaimer: Plot belongs to me. Red River belongs to Chie Shinohara


Upon the Morning Star

"Oh Ren, look!"

"What is it Maru?"

"It's our lame older sister!" I glared down at both twins and smacked Maru upside her head, her blue bows swayed violently. They were easy to tell apart, Maru's mouth was never shut! They truly were the most annoying pests in all of Japan. Stupid Ichiro stayed after while I just stuck walking them home, some older brother...

"The both of you shut up before I knock you both out," to think that I used to like tolerate them when they were younger... To think that I had liked my whole life back then. It was hard to imagine such a time when I looked up to my mother, she was a housewife who truly did nothing. My father was always gone on archaeological digs and argued with my mother whenever he was home... Some parents huh?

The twins continued ranting, I was so tempted to pull their brown hair and carry out with my threat. I could care less if they were going to squeal on me when we got back to the house. One year was all I had left before I escaped to college; it could not come fast enough.

I ran my slender fingers through my long black hair, almost past my upper back again, time for a cut. I had gotten my black hair from my father and my alert brown eyes from my mother. My scrawny frame had also been inherited by my mother. Ugh, to think I wasted most of my life taking gymnastics to please her merely because I was flexible like she had been. That time could have been spent more efficiently.

My brother, just like the twins, had mother's almost dark brown, almost black, hair and our grandfather's black eyes. We all had mother's waves though, and my hair almost curled toward the bottom because of them.

I hated the resemblance. Why? Why could I not stand this life? Why could I not stand my mother? Simple. Because of it's simplicity, go to school, eat, do homework, go to clubs, study some more, go to bed. I had never had a boyfriend in my life because I had always been too swamped... until this past year. I had quit archery, quit tutoring, quit gymnastics all in retaliation against my mother.

She was so nice, everyone loved her, I was told I was going to grow up just like her. It was all I dreamed about when I was little, being the kind of woman my mother was; that was while I was too naive to see that her love for my father was a lie. Oh she cared, she always seemed to care. Yet I finally had realized a couple years ago that the looks he gave her were not the same as the ones she returned. Yuri merely looked upon him with the adoration she did with everyone else... I hated her for it.

My father deserved better than the feigned love of a useless woman, who did nothing more than try to raise us kids. Now I never wanted to be like her, never wanted to have to pretend to love for the rest of my life. I would do everything in my power to make sure that my life took a different path than hers had.

I also hated the "Kale" from her stories, I figured that "Ishtar" and "Kale" were parallels of herself and her mysterious lover. I hated that she told them to me, I hate the fact that she made me love those stories and envy her, and I hate the man who stole what should have been my father's alone.

"Adalade?"

"What now?" I whirled on my sisters. They flinched back, trading secret glances, daring the other to try and speak to me.

Ren finally answered my fury, "Dad's home, we forgot to tell you."

"What?" Normally I knew when our father was returning to us, yet this was news to me. I calmed down immensely and watched both my sisters warily, expecting it all to be a trick.

"Well," Maru continued with her little junior high shrug that annoyed me to death, "Both of us stayed up late last night and heard mom talking on the phone with him. She told him she would have a nice dinner waiting for his return home."

I felt so happy that I was almost giddy, I hadn't seen him in months. I couldn't help but wonder what he had brought back for us this time. On his return to Tokyo, he would show us pictures from his last dig and have souvenirs for us all. The last time he had brought back an expensive necklace from Paris after visiting their collection to compare his findings. It was a silver heart pendant, a diamond lay resting against one of the curves; I always wore the necklace.

Smiling down at them both, I said, "Well, who wants dessert tonight? My treat." Both of their eyes lit up as they vigorously nodded. "Very well, you have until we reach the house to decide exactly what you want." I glanced up at the fast fading day, the morning star was already rising, dimly, into the evening sky.


The third prince of Anatolia, Kail Mursili, stared out at Ishtar. The morning star was making her first round through the sky since his Yuri left him. It had been a hard year to endure, but he had to. He was not about to let Nakia win just because his heart had been breaking ever since seeing his love leave. It had been regret in her eyes, he was sure of it. There was no reason why Yuri should want to leave him... yet there were several reasons to go home. Apparently there were enough to crush him underneath it all.

"Your highness?" Kail's golden eyes landed on Hadi, Yuri's head handmaiden. "It's awfully early, why not go to sleep?" It was a stupid question and she knew it. None of them except Nakia and Urhi would have been overjoyed by the outcome. They all had suffered a great lose on that night just a year ago.

The most handsome man in all of the ancient Middle East gave the woman a rueful smile, "To think that I've managed to live a year. Would it have been wrong of me to hope that Nakia had gotten her way? To have Yuri and I dead?"

"You know yourself that you could never see her dead, even if it meant her never being at your side again," Hadi could in no way feel the pain that he was going through... but she knew that death was not even in his mind. Even when Yuri had first entered the palace the prince had always been concerned with her safety. "I'm just surprised that Nakia hasn't tried to bring her back..."

Kail's gaze hardened at the thought of that witch getting her hands back on Yuri, she could be here now and he not ever know... "Yuri's foiled too many of her plans, I think she's just pleased to have her out of the way for good." Or was she? Even after the people fell in love with their Ishtar, Nakia had not given up on Yuri's blood, she thirsted for it the whole time Yuri had been among them; could she give up on her so easily?

He rose to his feet in fear, why had he never thought of this before? The Tawananna could grab her again if she wanted, after all, he had never known her to submit to defeat. "Hadi..."

"Yes?"

"I'm going to bring her back," he whirled on the girl, her eyes filled with disbelief.

Hadi could hardly comprehend what she was hearing, "Your going to go against her wish? How are you even going to bring her back?"

A smile tugged on the corner of his mouth, "Get Ilbani and Zannanza... on second thought get everyone."

"I-I don't understand your highness-"

"I have power over the winds, do I not?"

"Yes of cour-"

"And I have as much power as Nakia, correct?"

"Naturally-"

"So I'll bring her back before Nakia does. That way I can be sure she's safe, now go Hadi," he shooed her away, his spirits returning for once in many many long days. "And this time," he returned his gaze to Ishtar, "I'll convince her to stay."


I'll be more clear on this later but, Yuri left before Zannanza died, so that's why his name is mentioned.

Please please review and let me know what you all think.