"Isis!"

No, not yet. She was enjoying her dreams too much. She was in a beautiful golden palace, filled with jewels all meant for her.

"Isis! Wake!"

No…no, not yet!

"ISIS!"

"Mmph…" Isis groaned, rolling over to her side. Suddenly the sun was in her eyes. Curse her brother…he must have pulled back the curtains.

"Ardeth, I am asleep…"

"It is your day, are you certain you wish to sleep through it?"

Oh. That was right. She was fourteen today. That meant she would have her favorite food, and Ardeth would do any one of her chores she wished, and her mother and father would give her a gift.

Isis smiled and stood from her bed. She looked around the small room she shared with her older brother. There were two small beds her father had made for them, and a chest that contained both of their clothing, and another for the rest of their belongings. The room was bare besides those, and the window which normally had curtains over it made from an old dress of Isis's was letting in bright morning sunlight. She had already slept in late.

When Isis spotted her older brother by the window, she frowned at him.

"No, I do not wish to sleep through it," Isis admitted, "But please do not open the curtains next time!"

"It got you up, did it not?" Ardeth grinned.

Isis sighed. "I suppose."

"You ought to hurry and get dressed…or else you will have to wait to see what I bought you until tonight!"

Isis froze for a moment. "You…bought me something?

"Yes," Ardeth said, still grinning.

"You shouldn't have done that, Ardeth…you will need your money when you marry," Isis sighed.

"You're welcome," Ardeth laughed. "Do not worry about me, Isis. I may join the Med-Jai, and then I would not have to worry about finding a woman able to accept that I am simply more beautiful then she."

Isis laughed. "Explain that to mother."

"…I would rather not." Ardeth frowned. "Well, you should have been married by now yourself."

"It is not my fault my parents cannot find anyone worthy enough," Isis joked.

The siblings smiled at each other for a moment, before both slowly frowning. They knew the real reason why Isis was not married yet…No one would marry their son to a girl of such a poor farming family, no matter how beautiful Isis was. Some even thought the sun-colored hair meant that she was a favorite of Re, and so they were unwilling to marry her in case there was some sort of curse involved.

Ardeth sighed. "Well, bathe and dress quickly. You do not want breakfast getting cold!"

Isis nodded and rushed to the clothing trunk to pull out fresh clothes. She sped into the bathing room (which was also used to hold the jars of salted meats and vegetables) and set her clothes aside, and then went out of the house to the well. She pulled out two buckets of water and went to the outdoor oven (the one usually used to make tools) to heat the water. While waiting for the water to heat she went to the roof to see what her mother was cooking. Fish roasted on the oven, along with cucumber flavored with oil and nuts. Bread was already finished cooking and was left in the sun to stay warm. Isis's mother was cutting an orange melon into small pieces and placing them on a dish.

"Isis, why haven't you bathed yet?" her mother, Bastet, asked after spotting Isis attempting to sneak a piece of the melon.

Isis slowly put the melon piece down sheepishly. "The water is heating."

"Your father does not have time to wait for the water to heat," her mother said. "Go!"

Isis nodded and rushed down the stairs, back to the oven. She carefully picked up the water and walked back into the house. She poured the water into the bath and got in.

"Oh!" she exclaimed when she realized how cold it was. She washed as quickly as she could and then let the bath drain as she applied some perfumed oil, and then she changed into the clothing. She then skipped out of the room and back to the roof.

"Okay, I am ready!" she informed her mother.

"Go get your brother and father…they are in the garden," her mother said as placed the last baked cucumber on a dish.

Isis nodded and walked to the edge of the roof that overlooked the garden. She leaned over the wall and shouted,

"Father! Ardeth! It is time to eat!"

"I did not mean like that," Isis's mother sighed exasperatedly.

Isis giggled. "Sorry."

Isis's mother picked up the melon and the cucumber and began down the stairs. "Pick up the fish and bread for me, please, Isis."

Isis nodded, and went and picked up the plates. She smelled the sun-roasted fish and smiled. She couldn't wait to start eating…this was all her favorite foods in one meal!

Isis followed her mother into the dining area, and placed the plate on the table. Her father, Ahmose, was already sitting at the head of the table, with Ardeth sitting to his right. Isis's mother sat on the other end, and Isis sat on the left of her father.

They began filling their plates with fish, cucumber and melon in silence. As they began to eat, Ardeth and his father discussed how the farm was going…which wasn't well.

"Our vegetables are growing fine, but there are so many farms doing better then we are," Ahmose explained. "People are buying from those farms instead of us."

"What of mother's perfumes? Are they not selling well?" Ardeth wanted to know.

"They are selling," Bastet said, "However, not as well as we need them to."

"If this continues, we will have to live off of our land and nothing else," said the father. "However, with taxes…"

Isis swallowed her fish hard, wishing her family could speak of something else. She did not want to hear about how difficult the future was going to be.

"What will we do?" Ardeth wondered.

"Whatever we can," Ahmose sighed, looking briefly at his daughter, and then away. Isis frowned, but did not ask what he meant.

They continued to eat in silence. Isis had finished her fish and cucumber and had begun to eat her melon when her mother spoke again.

"Well, we have a very special gift for you, Isis."

"Oh?" Isis asked, curious.

"The family has been working hard to save money for it," Ahmose said. "Even Ardeth."

Isis frowned. "You should not have, father. If the family needs the money…"

Beside her, Isis's mother suddenly bit her lip hard, and tears came to her eyes. Isis didn't understand why her family was acting so oddly.

"It is something we felt you deserved," Ahmose said, standing. He went into his and his wife's room, and then came out a moment later with a small book and a leather bag. He handed them to his daughter, who looked at them in awe.

"What is it?" she asked, looking through the sheets of empty papyrus.

"A diary," Ardeth explained. "To record your thoughts and the things that happen."

"In the bag is a stick of charcoal to write with," Bastet told her.

"Oh, thank you!" Isis jumped out of her chair to hug her mother, and then her father and brother. "I can practice my writing now."

"Yes," Ahmose said, frowning suddenly. "Yes, you can."

Isis looked at the somber faces of her parents, and then to her brother. He looked as confused as she was.

"Isis," her mother began, "We have something to speak to you about tonight."

"Yes, mother…" Isis said.

Ahmose stood suddenly.

"Come along, Ardeth. We ought to get out to the fields."

Isis sat at the dining table at dusk, watching Ardeth washing the dishes. He had come back from the fields filthy and exhausted, so Isis had been reluctant to ask him to wash the dishes for her, but he had insisted – them doing one chore for the other was a birthday tradition he did not intend to break.

Isis had helped her mother with the making of the perfumes again that day, and had cleaned and dried vegetables and repaired her father's favorite work clothes. She was resting for a moment before going to help her mother prepare dinner.

"Are you going to write in your diary?" Ardeth asked as he set aside the last dish to dry. He had decided to do breakfast and lunch's dishes and let Isis do dinner's…it was the only way she would let him do any for her at all.

"I will tonight," Isis answered, standing. "I hope I can find something to write about."

Ardeth laughed. "I'm sure you will. You could simply write about what you did today."

Isis nodded. "I hope I can write the words right."

"It will take practice," Ardeth admitted. "But I am sure you can do it."

Isis nodded again, watching as Ardeth picked up three small, clay cups they used to drink at lunch.

"Oh no, Ardeth, don't," Isis begged, stepping forward to try and snatch the cups out of his hand. Ardeth stepped back to stop her from taking the cups. "We can't afford to break one!"

"I won't break one," Ardeth insisted. "I have done this a thousand times before."

And then he tossed a cup into the air. Isis held her breath and prayed to the Gods he wouldn't drop it. And then Ardeth tossed another cup into the air. He caught the first glass, and then tossed the third. He caught the second, and then threw the first one back up.

Ardeth continued the pattern, juggling the cups higher and higher. Isis sighed in relief every time he caught one, and then gasped as he tossed another into the air. After a minute or two, he caught them all and bowed. Isis laughed and clapped her hands.

"You are so good at that!" Isis was impressed.

"So are you," Ardeth said. He handed Isis the three cups. "Let's see it."

"No…no, I don't think so," Isis said, trying to hand Ardeth back the cups. He wouldn't take them.

"Yes! Come on…I taught you, so you can't be that bad," Ardeth insisted.

Isis stared at him blankly for a moment and then decided to give it a try. She bit her lip, took in a deep breath and was about to throw the cup into the air –

"No, no!" Ardeth insisted, going around Isis to stand behind her. He massaged her shoulders for a moment. "You have to be relaxed. You can do this."

Isis released her breath and nodded. She closed her eyes for a second, then opened them and tossed the cup. Then she tossed the second one, and caught the first. She threw the third and caught the second.

"There you go, you got it!" Ardeth said, walking back around to watch Isis. "I told you could."

Isis laughed as she continued to juggle. After a minute or so she faltered – the cup brushed past her fingertip.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, catching one of the cups before it could fall, but she knew there was no way to could reach the other cup before it hit the ground. Luckily, Ardeth had good reflexes. He caught the cup before it could break, and then took the other two from Isis.

"Well, you are a beginner," he smiled. Isis laughed.

"Isis," her father said as he entered the room from the bath. "Your mother and I need to talk to you."

Ardeth and Isis both frowned. This couldn't be good.

"Ardeth, please get your mother…and Isis…sit."

Ardeth immediately left the room, and Isis shakingly took a seat at the table. Her father sat on one side of her, and when Ardeth came back into the room with their mother, she took the seat on the other side of Isis. Ardeth sat across from his sister.

"Isis," Bastet began, her voice cracking. She shook her head, unable to go on.

"Isis, a message went out across the country," Ahmose informed her. "The Pharaoh is looking for new concubines. Every family that has an unmarried daughter is invited to send them to the palace, and the Pharaoh himself will decide who will join his harem."

Isis's whole body tensed. She did not like this….she did not like it at all.

"In return the Pharaoh will support the family of all those who have children in his harem," continued Bastet.

"Oh," Isis responded softly. She glanced to Ardeth, who looked even more upset then she felt.

"You are going to send Isis to become a concubine?"

"It is a great honor," Ahmose insisted. "A chance to serve the Pharaoh himself."

"Yes, yes…however…" Ardeth looked to Isis sadly.

Isis fought back tears. "If I go, I will not see you again…will I?"

Basted began to answer. "If you return-"

"But she will not!" Ardeth exclaimed, standing. "Her hair…her hair is like sunlight…why would the Pharaoh give something like that up? There are those who even say she was meant for the Pharaoh…"

"There is a possibility we will see you again, however…it is slight," Ahmose admitted. "Sit down, Ardeth."

Ardeth slowly took his seat again. "We will not-"

"I will go," Isis said suddenly. "I will go. I want to serve my Pharaoh, and my family. It would be an honor to be chosen."

Ahmose nodded. "It is decided, then. In order to be there in time, you must leave in the morning."

"Tomorrow?" Isis asked, surprised.

"Yes."

"I need to start dinner," Bastet said, and then stood and fled the room. Isis watched her mother leave sadly.

"Alright," Isis said. "I will go pack…"

"Put all of Ardeth's things into one chest," Ahmose said, and then stood and went after his wife.

Isis and Ardeth still sat at the table, both silent.

"…Isis, I-"

Isis stood, staring at the wood of the table. She couldn't bear to look at her brother.

"I am going to go and pack…"

"I'll come with you," Ardeth said, standing.

"No, thank you, Ardeth," she said. "I need to do this on my own."

She could see Ardeth's shadow on the table slowly nod. Isis turned and walked to their room. Once inside she flung herself on the bed and began to cry. But after only a few minutes she stood and walked to the chest of things containing her belongings. There would be time to cry later…she had to be strong now.

She knelt in front of the chest and opened it, and began removing her things. When she got to the diary she stopped. She picked up the leather bag and pulled out the charcoal. She opened to the first page and began to write.

Today I am fourteen years. My parents gave me this small book to record my thoughts and actions in, and to practice my writing. I have barely learned to write and read, so my words may not be right.

Today my thoughts are sad. My parents want me to leave home and go to the Pharaoh and become his concubine so that they may be supported. I want to help my family. I want to serve my Pharaoh. But I do not want to leave my older brother. He is very good to me and protects me. I love him.

"Isis," a voice interrupted. She looked up at her older brother.

"Yes?"

"I have spoken with father. I may, perhaps, be able to go with you to become a Med-Jai."

Isis was silent for a moment, and then sighed. "You cannot deprive our parents of both their children."

"I was going to marry and leave soon…this way I will go and serve our Pharaoh," Ardeth said.

"And what of grandchildren?"

Ardeth gave a small, sad smile. "Their grandchildren will likely be the children of the Pharaoh himself."

Isis smiled slowly. "It would be nice to know you are in the palace somewhere."

"Perhaps I will be able to protect you," Ardeth grinned.

She laughed. "Perhaps!"

Ardeth slowly walked over to his sister and knelt down beside her. She wrapped her arms around her brother and cried silently. Ardeth wrapped his arms around her back and began to rock her back and forth. They stayed like that for a moment or two when they both heard their father enter the house again.

Ardeth stood. "I am going to talk to him again."

Isis nodded, and then watched him leave. She turned back to her writing.

He says perhaps he will go with me and try to become a Med-Jai. I would like that very much.

I must help mother prepare dinner. I will write more later so I might get better at it.

Isis closed the book, stood, and left the room.

RubyMoon's Secret Place

RubyMoon: Ah, well. I'll get back into the swing of things.

Roselyn: RubyMoon has some sad news for you, folks.

RubyMoon: Oh, yeah. This will likely be the last 'RubyMoon's Secret Place'. I'm seriously thinking about changing the name to hide from…everyone, and I'm kind of tired of this name. I picked it when I was a bigger fan of Card Captor Sakura.

Roselyn: WAIT. Does this mean I get to be the biggest fan?

RubyMoon: …Sure.

Roselyn: I HAVE BEEN WAITING NINE YEARS TO HEAR YOU SAY THAT. –happy-

Nakaru: NOOOOOO! –gloumps RubyMoon- Namesake-saaaaan! I won't be able to call you Namesake-saaaaan anymore!

RubyMoon: …Which is a bonus.

Nakaru: V.V

RubyMoon: Well, please review all! Ja ne!