Amunet stared at her senet board thoughtfully, contemplating her next move. Of course, that was proving to be slightly difficult as all her eyes wanted to do was feast on the form of her opponent. He was sprawled across one of the benches in the garden, reclining against its intricately carved back, goblet of sweet wine and plate of dates within easy reach. An intricately crafted signet ring glinted in the sunlight as he played with one of his senet pieces, and his strange eyes were slightly narrowed in concentration.

He glanced up and caught her staring. She immediately forced her eyes back to the game but the damage had already been done. A smug expression swept over his face and he leaned forward, purposely drawing her attention back to him.

"Did you see something you like?" he asked her, crossing his arms over his well-toned chest.

It's kind of hard not to, you're making a very good display of it, she thought as she said," Yes that senet piece in your hand, it's my favorite. It was carved and given to me by the hand of Anubis himself."

He looked at her startled for a moment and she could almost hear his pride deflating as he looked at it more carefully. "So this was carved by Anubis as a gift for you, I'd thought that the priests would have tried to revere it as a sacred object and not let you keep it, much less play with it."

"They did try but it kept appearing back on my senet board. Finally after several instances they stopped and I was left in peace," she paused and took a sip of her own wine," I heard that Anubis himself appeared to them and told them to leave me alone; the senet piece was a gift, not something for them to worship."

He raised an eyebrow. "Does your patron god often show up to help you?" he asked with a smile," Or does he only show up when he pleases?

"Captain, you of all people should know how the gods work. And I've heard some stories myself of your patron goddess, Hathor, appearing to you at unusual times. And do not tell me that she hasn't given you a gift or two in your time."

He smirked and raised his hard to display his signet ring. "Hathor herself crafted this and gave it to me on the eve of the Ethiopian campaign. She told me never to take it off, and as long as I wore it I would have good luck. And she has been right."

"One could hardly accuse the gods of being wrong," Amunet teased," And I bet that luck would follow you anyways, you seem to be the type to attract it."

"Is that a complement your highness?" he asked with a raised eyebrow," Or are you just conjuring up new ways to tease me?"

"It's all so easy to tease you Captain," she said with a smile as she moved her piece farther along the board," And you make it so much fun."

"Glad I can be of entertainment value," he muttered," And if I may speak so boldly, my name is Hasani. Please do feel free to use it Amunet."

She glared at him and he could almost imagine the entire Nile evaporating from her gaze. "And who told you that we were on good enough terms to be speaking without titles Captain Hasani?" she growled, fists lightly clenched.

"You did," he answered calmly and moved one oh his senet pieces," Your turn."

"What do you mean I did," she replied, completely ignoring the game," I said nothing of the kind."

"The moment you decided to tease me, you gave me permission," he told her with a grin and smoothly rose to his feet. "Now princess, I have other matters that I need to attend to."

He bowed effortlessly and left the room, leaving a very flustered Princess Amunet of Egypt behind.

She rose from her seat and scowled at the Nile from the safety of her balcony.

Annoying man, she thought, That annoying, irritating, handsome…

She paused in her mental rant. Where had that thought come from? He surely was handsome and her face warmed as she remembered his toned body and some of the very un-ladylike thoughts she had.

Keket would have a fit, she chuckled and suddenly, as if summoned by her thoughts, her teacher appeared.

A garishly braided wig covered her baldhead, and her simple linen robes hung from her emaciated form like the sails on the merchant ships in the harbor. She tucked one of her ever-present scrolls under her arm and frowned disapprovingly at her royal charge.

"My lady," she shrilled, tucking a wayward braid behind her ear," Have you not been listening to my instructions at all? A lady does not slouch, she does not…"

Amunet quickly tuned out her teacher's droning and snuck a glance at the tempting doorway. No one was there, good. She calculated the distance and began to edge toward it, rightly figuring that she could outmaneuver her teacher and be out of the door before she could process what her charge was doing. And to her delight, she did just that, leaving a very startled Keket standing on the balcony.

Quickly moving through the halls she found her way to the small, yet ornate, temple housed in the palace courtyard. She glanced up at the statue of Anubis, formed of pure gold and encrusted with gems, ruby eyes flashing enough to almost be alive. She took a stick of incense from a pouch at her side and lit it at one of the smoldering braziers. Carefully placing it in a gold dish at the statue's feet, she knelt and a prayer fell from her lips.

Soon she became aware of a presence beside her and a hand brushed against her face, a hand with canine-like nails. She drew in her breath sharply; she knew those hands and that touch.

"What does my Lord Anubis wish of his servant?" she asked, her emerald eyes meeting a pair of ruby ones.

"I have only come to talk my child," he said and leaned back against one of the pillars. He glanced up at the statue and laughed.

"I must be sure to thank the artist that did this, he did a fine job," the god mused," And I must thank your father for providing the materials."

"He felt it was the least he could do," she said softly," After all you were the one who returned my soul from the Underworld when I was born, before my heart was weighed."

"Yes my child," he said with a gentle smile and ran his hand through her white locks," And I marked you with these white locks to show that you had been saved, death had passed you by."

"I thank you my Lord," she said, bowing once again.

"None are necessary child," he said softly and then his voice grew more serious," Amunet I know that you have feelings for Captain Hasani. Do not be afraid to act on them, for Shai has cast your fates together. But a word of warning my child, be careful of your father, he is planning something, something terrible, something only you will be able to stop."

"My Lord," she said startled, but stopped when the god held up his hand," That is all I will say on this matter, now the rest I leave up to you."

There was a blinding flash of light and when she could see again, she was kneeling alone in the temple with only the scent of incense to keep her company.

Hasani absently shook the dice in his hand as he pondered his conversation with Hathor. She certainly seemed adamant that he get close to Amunet, even though the girl herself seemed against him. He snorted as he recalled their earlier conversation, only interested in the senet piece indeed.

Still Hathor had told him that he must get closer to her and soon, they didn't have much time. She also said that Amunet was going to go through fire and needed someone to be there for her, to follow her to the very Underworld if necessary. He sighed, why did she always have to be so mysterious?

The dice in his hands regained his attention and he grinned as his eyes swept over the polished alabaster board on his table, the board for a game of chance. He closed his eyes and mouthed a silent prayer to Hathor, Shai, and even a short one to Anubis. If he was truly meant to get close to her, then chance would tell him.

He rolled the dice.

Thanks everyone for waiting patiently, this new chapter has been a while in the writing. A couple things in case you didn't know. Senet was a popular board game in ancient Egypt, and it was thought that the best players enjoyed the protection of the gods. The other one is that since cards weren't invented yet in this story, our favorite gambler has to make do with dice and an ancient Egyptian gambling game, a game of chance.

Egpytian name translations:

Shai- goddess of fate