No one else seems to understand my excitement but you guys will. I opened my phone yesterday and saw that Brad Kavanagh AND Burkley Duffield followed me on Twitter… I cried of happiness. This chapter is short, but it's because I split it in two shorter ones instead of one really long one.


Chapter 4

House of Brides

"You are a foolish girl, Miss Martin."

From the corner of my mirror I caught a glimpse of Isis standing in a flowing pink dress and looking amused. "Anubis told me you'd me coming," I cooley replied not looking away from the hole I was desperately trying to squeeze my ankh earring into.

"As the patron of marriage and your soon to be aunt-in-law I wouldn't miss it for the world," the kindly goddess replied. "Besides, who else would do your hair?"

I briefly smiled while the goddess set to work on an intricate braid that reminded me a lot of Elsa's from "Frozen." (I'm dead, not living under a rock.) We worked silently for a few minutes before Isis opened her mouth and said what she came here to say. "Are you sure this is what you want, because as Anubis warned you can't just marry him and then go back to Fabian."

My hands stopped for a split second before I went back to reapplying makeup like the mention of Fabian's name didn't stab me in the heart. "I know that very well, but this is what I want. I refuse to live my death like I'm still alive."

Isis smiled sadly when she finally replied, "You know that made no sense hon, but it doesn't matter. If you're sure this is what you want then I will personally guarantee you and Anubis a happy marriage."

"Thank you… Aunt Isis."

This time, the goddess' smile was genuine, "That's exactly what you called me when you were little."

In traditional Egyptian style, my wedding ceremony was going to consist of me, and any of my guests carrying my stuff to the room Anubis and I would now share as husband and wife. Since none of my loved ones could enter the Du'at, I was fully expecting it to just be me carrying my few possessions to the other room. However, when I exited my room boxes piled high in my arms, I heard a cheerful voice greet me.

"Grams!" I cried tears of joy and surprise smudging my makeup. "How on earth are you here?"

"I'm dead, remember, and this is the palace of the dead. Perks of marrying the prince, I guess," she fondly told me. "And I'm not the only gift Anubis is giving you."

When you're raised an orphan, you sear faces into your mind without the emotional benefit. You look at a picture and know that the people in it are your mum and dad, but you don't feel it. I didn't remember my parents, but I knew who they were. I'm not like that. I might not have remembered their faces without pictures, but I felt their love anyways.

"Your Gram said you'd gotten big, but it was just so hard to picture."

How do you react to meeting your dead parents when you're also dead, about to be married, and about to become a goddess? I'm not exactly sure what the proper way is but for me I sobbed hysterically and tried to fit in a lifetime of hugs.

"Shh," my dad finally told me petting my hair. "This might be the first meeting in far too many years, but it won't be the last."

"What, what do you mean?" I asked stepping back and sniffling in an attempt to make myself look presentable. (I'm not a pretty crier.)

"Didn't Anubis tell you," Isis, who too had been busy hugging my mom, responded. "When he makes you a goddess as his wife you'll be the official weigh-er of hearts. That's death goddess territory. You'll be able to pass through all three realms."

I still wasn't exactly sure what the goddess meant, but Gram hugged me and whispered the translation in my ear, "That means you'll be able to come and visit us in the Afterlife whenever you want."

This time when I started crying again there was a beam on my face. How could Anubis be so good to me? He was not only giving me my friends while they lived, I could be with them when they died. It hurt knowing how much he loved me to do this, when I still only saw him as a friend.

"Will you please stop crying," Gram lightly chastened. "You have to go get married!"

With a blinding smile and an entourage of four, I set down the palace halls with my stuff to go and marry the kindest god in history.