It wasn't quite the accommodation Gabrielle had been expecting Aphrodite to have arranged for the night. Instead of a glamorous palace in the best part of Alexandria she had found herself amongst a herd of goats and surrounded by the Bedouins who held her in such esteem to the southeast of Memphis. Although that being said it was a very luxurious tent and Aphrodite had absolutely insisted it was pitched downwind of the animals.
"So this is where you went," Gabrielle murmured.
The Goddess nodded and winced in sympathy as the needle passed through her lover's torn skin. She could have accelerated the healing process of course but Gabrielle was so stubborn about letting her use her powers. It wasn't life threatening. Something had changed in Gabrielle's face even as she had spoken the words. She hadn't dealt with her newfound immortality and the fact that she still thought like a mortal would make the transition difficult.
The young girl who had been stitching up the gashes finished her work and shyly lowered her eyes whilst Gabrielle inspected her work.
"Your stitching has improved Salha."
The girl beamed.
"Thank you. I can put a cover bandage on it for you to keep it free of sand."
"I'll do it," Aphrodite interjected suddenly plucking the bandage from the youngster's hands. Salha collected the bloodied rags and with a last little gleam of hero worship in her chocolate eyes toward Gabrielle left them both alone.
"You've got yourself another fan."
Aphrodite's voice had a petulant edge to it and Gabrielle looked up at her in surprise as she settled on the pile of cushions next to her. Her finger tips traced the raised neat line of stitches down her arm. Gabrielle heard her question as if she had spoken aloud.
"Dite, I'm alright."
"Today maybe…" The Goddess said winding the fabric around her bicep. "This path you lead will always bring you into harm's way. Being immortal doesn't make you immune. You'll heal quicker than a normal mortal, you'll survive when you shouldn't but you can still be hurt. This damage will mend in days instead of weeks but the next time…." Aphrodite tied the bandage off sharply. "Do you have any idea how hard it is for me to watch you fight?"
"I've never asked for your protection." Gabrielle's gaze hardened. "And I'm well aware of the consequences of getting hurt. I'm not likely to ever forget thanks to Sekhmet and because of you I'll have an eternity to remember!"
"Yeah, well that's the first totally honest thing you've said since Xena showed up."
The hardness dropped from Gabrielle's eyes and she recognised Aphrodite's mood for what it truly was; insecurity. It was a feeling she had been intimately familiar with watching Xena with Ares. The Goddess' face was now set in a pout and she folded her arms and looked away.
"I love you and you talked to her…about things you didn't tell me. I thought you trusted me?" Aphrodite returned her eyes to the warrior. "You think I can't understand? I'm like a Goddess you know! Well?"
"You love me?"
"Duh! What do you think you are to me? A fling? Is that what she told you? You're immortal now. We could be like forever. I know you're confused but this is a huge deal for me and…."
Gabrielle's lips on hers interrupted the rant and the tension between them dissolved. Sometimes words weren't the best way to resolve a dispute. Xena was a Pandora's Box of feelings she wasn't ready to examine in depth but right at this moment she knew exactly how she felt about Aphrodite. She had filled the cold lonely ache of Xena's absence in her heart with warmth and light.
"I can't be more honest than this," Gabrielle whispered. Physical intimacy had only strengthened their emotional bond. Aphrodite's fingers caressed her cheek and drew her close until their foreheads touched.
"In case you didn't realize," Aphrodite told her seriously, "I'm totally in love with you. I got a bad rep but the real thing doesn't come along for me that often. I didn't want to heap a load of pressure on you. "
"You haven't, you didn't."
"But I'm not an idiot. I know how you feel about Xena…"
"She didn't come here for me," Gabrielle said glancing down and missing the sadness flicker in Aphrodite's eyes.
The Goddess drew back slightly. "Yes she did."
"How can you know that?"
"Her heart speaks to me, same as yours." She shrugged, reading the conflict in her lover's eyes. "It's a God thing…I just want you to be sure. Forever is a long time to be without your soul mate."
Aphrodite only added to Gabrielle's confusion; telling her that she was in love with her and then distancing herself. Salha bustled back into the tent interrupting the silence that had fallen between the two lovers.
"Please, the supper is prepared Khalidah. My father has slaughtered a whole goat in your honour. I saved you a spot next to me."
"No surprise there," Aphrodite muttered rolling her eyes.
"A whole goat," Gabrielle repeated mutely blinking back the moisture in her eyes. "Be there in a few minutes. Thank you."
The warrior turned back to the Goddess; insight finding an answer.
"You're leaving aren't you?"
"For a little while," Aphrodite admitted. "What's happening here is major bad news for all of us. Not just Egypt. I need to get back to Olympus and talk to the others. The ancient texts said that Apophis will eat the sun. Usual end of the world talk but believe me Apollo is not going to be happy if Apophis steals his chariot."
She paused and stared deeply into Gabrielle's eyes entreating her to understand that she wasn't abandoning her.
"What I want to do is take you with me and just leave this place."
"I'd say no if you asked," Gabrielle finished with a sigh. "I need to be here."
"Just chill and don't do anything crazy," Aphrodite said and gazed pointedly at the khopesh Khnum had given her. "You'll be safe enough here from Sekhmet. Without a blood trail to follow it'll be harder for her to find you."
"The beauty of being insignificant," Gabrielle murmured. Xena had said that once; when they had been fleeing for their lives and Eve's at the hands of Athena. She lowered her eyes and the Goddess could sense her withdrawal.
"Hey," Aphrodite said, slender fingers tipping Gabrielle's face back toward her. "I'm coming back."
"I just don't want you to go," Gabrielle replied softly unable to shake a sudden and terrible feeling of foreboding. She couldn't even rationalise what had made her so afraid. "I don't want to lose you."
Aphrodite smiled. It was the closest the warrior had come to admitting her true feelings aloud for the Goddess. She planted the softest of kisses to Gabrielle's forehead and then her lips. "You won't lose me. Whatever happens I willalwayslove you. However you need that to be."
. . . . . .
Sekhmet had allowed Kadin the honour of clothing and bathing but had still forbidden him to shave. It was a symbol of his priesthood and he had lost the right to carry himself as an acolyte of her order. It was a humiliation to be paraded with stubble littering his cheeks and the faint buzz of hair returning to his scalp.
Despite his fear he had tried to relax his breathing; the twine still binding his lips together had settled into a familiar pain. He had fasted many times and hoped that he may yet incur the forgiveness of his Goddess before he died of thirst.
Starlight filtered into the audience chamber of the necropolis and beyond that lay the long narrow passage to her husband's tomb; sealed behind a black granite door that lay nearly six feet wide.
He followed in her wake as she rested her hand on the centre of the door and it rumbled upwards toward the roof with a dull grinding sound. Ptah's sarcophagus was ornately carved and gilded with gold and silver. An impressive number of precious stones had been inlaid into the sides and a pharaoh's wealth surrounded the last resting place of the all powerful creator God. There were wooden chests bursting with gold debens, bolts of fine linen, small statues to the lesser gods including one of the now similarly slain Khnum.
Sekhmet ignored the trinkets and her hand fell to a panel at the foot of the sarcophagus. She pressed her fingers to a depiction of Isis and a dull click sounded within the coffins structure. The hidden panel came free revealing a solitary canopic jar. It didn't bear the normal burial markings and Kadin could hear the contents slosh as she removed the lid and plunged her dagger into the liquid.
Kadin's body came alive with excitement. It could only be the venom of Apophis. This is why Sekhmet spent so much time at Ptah's necropolis; not just to mourn her husband but to renew the God killing poison on her blade. She was wise not to conceal it in her own temple where it could have been at risk of discovery. The Goddess turned as if sensing his excitement and Kadin made himself small again, head bowed, breathing steady and even. He had to survive. He knew this information was important and perhaps he could use it to save his life.
"In death Ptah protects me," Sekhmet told him, "Just as he did in life." She had not missed the man's interest at all and smiled dangerously. "We must be ready for all our enemies Kadin."
She held the dagger aloft and watched the thick viscous liquid coat the blade. "There is still so much work to be done."