Chapter XXXVII: The Advice

"You're not going to get anyone to follow you with that attitude," she told Bakura while sitting with him in a bar, sipping some water while he was drinking wine. He gave her a look that might have been menacing, but she played it off like she hadn't noticed. "I'm just saying, no one wants to follow an arrogant leader. Why do you think the Pharaoh's are stern, yet compassionate? Most of them are humble."

His eyebrow twitched in annoyance, "I'm a king in my own right. I'm not like that filthy bloodline." He turned away for her, waving the bartender for another cup. Ammit, that was like his third one. She didn't mind treating him out, but it was almost as if he was abusing her offer. She should've just got him beer. "People want to follow a strong and confident leader, not a wishy-washy loser."

"Confidence and arrogance are two entirely different things," she interjected.

"How did I get stuck with you?" he growled beneath his breath.

She gave him a smile, "Because you love me," she stated pointblank. "I like seeing you well fed but we haven't eaten and that's your third cup."

He glanced at his wine, "You offered. You practically begged to take me out and told me I wouldn't have to pay a thing so if you wanted limitations on what I could and couldn't get, you should've mentioned it earlier. It's too late now."

She clenched her jaw. Stupid Bakura, she didn't raid tombs to get her pay! She worked, worked! Meaning she had a limit. She cleared her throat and reached for her pouch, deciding it was their time to leave now. However, as if to spite her, Bakura flagged the bartender over again. Quickly, she took out the needed amount, slammed it on the table and waved the bartender off before glaring at her husband who went on drinking as if he hadn't done anything wrong.

"So how is Magda doing this?" she asked, "Is he just spreading the word that the Thief King is hiring or perhaps he is handing out briberies and blackmails?" she scooted closer to Bakura and began playing with his hair, humming a little. His hair was so nice, almost white and felt like fleece to her.

"I asked him to get me the best," he gave her a sideways glance. "What are you doing?"

She giggled and brushed his bangs. "You're the best, I don't know who else he is going to get."

"Hmm, flattery," he took her hand and kissed it before turning away from her to drink the last of his wine. From the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a blue scarf leaving the bar. A blue scarf… Ahmed had mentioned about a man with such a scarf, another thief more than likely. She wondered if Magda was going to get him to join Bakura's little band. Frowning, she turned her attention to gaze out the open window before she spotted a flutter of wings that she recognized. Glancing at her husband who seemed lost in thought, she slipped off her stool and looked back at the window.

"I'm going outside for a bit," she notified him which he responded with a careless wave. She maneuvered her way through the bar before stepping outside where her eyes were instantly drawn to the darter that sat at the edge of a roof. The night made it look like nothing more than a silhouette outlined against the stars. "Ata." She didn't need light to know whose bird that was. Her mouth became dry after saying his name. Balling her hands into fists, she opened her mouth to speak. "I'm not afraid of you…or you're magic. As long as I have him and…my master, I know I have nothing to fear from you so keep away." The darter stood there in silence and for a brief second she thought she made a mistake, but the creature squawked, ruffled its wings and took flight among the stars. The message may have got across; she only needed to remember though: Ata didn't fear her. He would be back, maybe not now or later, but one day…

"Hey, crazy woman," someone said from behind her. Startled, her body jolted before she turned around to see a scrawny looking crook wearing a turban and blue tattered robes, he had his hands tucked in under his tunic as he looked her over, "Move."

"Oh, sorry," she muttered, shuffling out of the way for him and a few others to enter the bar. There was a large man and a dark haired woman along with another man who seemed quite fit, but she didn't get sight of his face and then her eyes lied on Magda who was timidly following after the group that entered the bar. She blocked his way with her arm and moved in front of him. What was he up to? Was that ragtag group of thieves people he was recruiting? "Magda."

"Meskhenet," he tried smiling, but she didn't return it. She was still so unsure of this whole ordeal. Seeing she wasn't making much conversation, he continued, "Do you always talk to yourself at night?"

Not paying much attention to him, she shook her head. "Where did you pick them up from?"

"They are people, not animals. I merely ran into them at a nearby village." He frowned, "I must go inside."

"They will join?" she asked, standing in front of Magda who seemed a little exhausted. She heard a rumor about the Millennium Eye could read the thoughts of people, maybe she should ask Aknadin for help, no, she couldn't let anyone know of Bakura's…occupation. "I need to know that they're all on board."

"You should trust Bakura more," he said, trying to get around her. She wasn't going to budge.

Slightly offended, she placed a hand on Magda's chest. "I trust him. I don't trust you." She turned on her heel and went inside to see that Bakura was already speaking with the thieves. She shyly went over to his side and subconsciously placed a hand on his arm only for him to roughly pull away, shooting her a glance. What was that? Did he not want her here? She caught the gaze of the dark haired woman who offered her a smile. She seemed elegant with stormy gray eyes and hair that reached her knees in long straight waves, she held herself a few distance away from the large man which made Meskhenet realized that their men probably wanted to deal this one themselves. A little frustrated, she told Bakura she would be going before stealing a glance at the scrawny man and then walking away, passing Magda on her way out.

It wasn't too long before the black haired woman came and joined her outside. "Hello," Meskhenet tried to the woman, her eyes trailing the length of her dress which was quite fancy, light tan with a golden hem and an off shoulder neckline that was sparkling gold. She didn't wear any jewelry though. She didn't need any; the atmosphere she gave off made her somehow very…pretty on its own.

"You are close to the Thief King?" the woman asked.

"Yes…we're…" she didn't want to say married because she wondered if the thieves would judge him for being married. Didn't thieves just went to brothels or had harems? Would it be too domestic for Bakura to say he was married? Sadness filled her heart at the realization of the image she had to carry for him. "We've known each other for a while."

The woman seemed to notice her somewhat lie, but said nothing. "It is hard trying to be there for them when they have an image to present. It will get easier. I am Nailah," she offered a small bow.

"Meskhenet," she rubbed her arm, biting her lip. "Could you just…keep it a secret for now, the Thief King and I?" The woman nodded. She had no reason not to doubt that the woman wouldn't keep her word. She didn't know her though, and she chose to be weary of strangers especially thieves. "Are you going to join?"

"It depends," Nailah responded, closing her eyes and folding her hands in front of her.

"On…?"

"We need evidence to see just how good this… 'Thief King' truly is." And as if on cue, the large man came out of the bar, a drink in hand. He seemed rather happy as he placed a hand on her back and led her away. Nailah gave a small nod before disappearing in the night. Meskhenet looked back at the bar, but decided against going in to speak with Bakura. She wasn't part of this world.

When she got home, she cooked up a meal for herself and retreated to her little library but upon entering she spotted the darter at her desk with the Black Book opened, lying flat atop to a page filled with writings, her writings. She froze, her heart thumping lightly, she thought he got the message, maybe not… a chill ran down her spine and she realized that maybe Ata was here. No, no, no! She lit a fire in her hand, putting her food down at the floor as she checked her room, nothing and same for the middle room, empty. He sent his bird for a message to her and it lied in the book. Going back to her study, she kept the flame lit but as she approached the desk, the darter flew off, leaving the book behind.

"What do you want…?" she mumbled to herself as she picked the book up. It was stationed at a page that talked of the human body, the compounds it was composed of, where each organ lied and how the blood flowed to the veins. She didn't understand, why this page? Angrily, she slammed the book shut and threw it on the floor. "If you're trying to say something, I don't understand."

"Who are you speaking to?" a voice asked behind her, making her jump as she whipped around. Bakura stood there, looking vexed as he came walking towards her. "You took off."

"You didn't seem to want me there," she replied haughtily, ignoring his question. She brushed passed him and picked up her food. "I thought of going back, but thought it was pointless."

"You wanted to take me out to eat and you took off back home," oh, right, she forgot she told him that. Whatever, she decided, if he was hungry he could just steal dinner, she wasn't going to pay for anything now.

"Offer ended a while ago, I never specified a time and you should've asked. It's too late now," she mocked, retreating to her room and going over to her bed, crossing her legs and taking a piece of bread in her mouth. He didn't look happy about that, but he followed her to the bed, sitting next to her. "Are they on board or not?"

He took her bread and began eating it. "They want proof."

"Of what? You need proof too, to see that th—Bakura! Get your own food!" he snatched her apple from her plate, along with a large portion of her fish, leaving her nothing but her grapes and her cooked sliced onion.

"I am." He said with his mouth full, "What is yours is mine."

"No! Ugh!" she reached over for her fish only for him to stuff the whole thing in his mouth. She stopped trying and went to sulk while eating her onion slices. "What do they want? The woman, Nailah, said they wanted evidence."

"I'm going to Heka's tomb," he took a large bite of her apple. Heka? She snatched her apple back and pondered for a moment. "Some of them are coming with me. It's a race of sorts to see who can get the Eye of Heka. If I get it first, they'll follow me, if not…"

"Heka has no tomb," she said, nibbling on her apple, lost in thought. "Osiris is the only one who was a tomb…unless you're talking about Heka the Magician."

"Hm hmm."

"No!" she protested, realizing what that meant. "Heka was a powerful magician in the times of Pharaoh Narmer. People believed his magic rivaled that of the gods and he so arrogantly proclaimed himself as Heka, the god himself. His tomb is riddled with all sorts of magic, it's not even known to the common man. It's too dangerous!"

"Don't stop me because of your pitiful housewife worries. I am a thief. I can steal whatever I want and I've been doing this for years. Traps were made by men meaning there are gaps in every plan, it is only a matter of finding those gaps."

"You're a fool. Without a powerful magician, you won't be able to get through, let alone find the damn place," she glared at him. Why did he not consider her worries? She didn't need him dead! She needed him here…without him, what was she? She got up from her bed, threw the apple at his chest and ran off outside. Curse him! Ammit! She kicked up sand and dirt and sat down outside the house. She felt icky, sad, angry and all at once confused. Wasn't life supposed to get better now that they started anew? "I guess not…"

"Get back inside," Bakura told her from the doorway.

"No," she refused stubbornly. He went to sit beside her, handing her apple back to her only for her to shove his hand way. "I don't want you here. Lately everything with you has been sex, gold, sex, and then and then and then you always leave."

"I told you this house was yours…" he muttered.

A fire burst inside of her, she snatched the apple and threw it at him again, this time as hard as she could, watching it roll to the side while he shot her a glare. "Then why marry me?! For Ra's sake, you should've just left Mallawi before ever meeting my father or—or better yet, before that! Why fool me like you were going to commit only for you to take off?! If you hadn't married me, look there wouldn't be commitment, oh! And you wouldn't have to hear me nag or complain or—"

He shot up onto his feet and approached her, looking angry as she became quiet; frightened he was going to hit her as she quieted down and flinched. "Damn it, Khenet! You know why I did all those things. You knew I was a thief! Why did you even think I was goi—"

"Get away from me!" she shouted, her heart beating wildly in her chest, not from love but from fear and anger and the rush of the moment. The same feelings she always had with Zaim whenever she spoke up against him. It was an irrational fear that the person she was angry at would turn around and hit her for yelling too loudly, for being disrespect, ungrateful… maybe she should shut her mouth. "I'm going to bed." And she walked off, but instead of going to her room, she went to her study and closed the door, sitting in front of it as she hugged her knees, looking at the Black Book across the room. That'd be the only comfort tonight.

She angrily grounded the grapes into a paste of purple pulp while Taira sat next to her, wiping down a plate she had washed. She had confided in the young girl of her husband's stupidity, leaving out many details but keeping the complaints the same. Sighing in frustration, she put the bowl down and buried her face in her hands. She felt a hand rub her back lightly as she sighed again.

"Perhaps there is a way for you to help him? You don't need his permission to help," Taira offered, patting the older girl's back. Although she had a point, Meskhenet didn't actually want to help Bakura raid a tomb this time because, well, she didn't want to make him seem weak in front of the others. She needed to convince him not to raid the tomb for his own safety.

"Maybe I can lock him up somewhere," she muttered, ruffling her own hair in frustration.

"Great Ra, no," Taira laughed, "That certainly isn't a way for you to get him to stop. You'll only upset him, and he'll probably be more inclined to ignore you."

Taira was right, but it wasn't like he wasn't ignoring her already, the stupid jerk. She sighed again and heard the door to the kitchen open, she expected to see one of the servants but was surprised to see Mahad. Oh no! She ducked below the table, somehow ending up hitting the bowl's rim and sending it flying across the room until it shattered against the wall. Taira turned to Mahad in confusion before looking beneath the table.

Meskhenet placed a finger on her lips, but it was too late. Mahad looked under the table too, he seemed surprised to see her as she sighed. Great, just the person she didn't want to see. She crawled out from beneath and stood up, sulking as she looked up at Mahad, brushing her dress before clearing her throat.

"Meskhenet, it is good to see you again," Mahad smiled, sending Meskhenet's heart in a pit of snakes. Last time you saw me…I was a magician… he didn't seem bothered seeing her in the kitchen, rather he smiled when he noticed that she was with Taira. "I see you've met Taira."

"Oh, yes," Meskhenet smiled, "Um…"

"I wanted to see your welcoming," Mahad interjected, surprising the redhead. So he already got word of her coming to the palace, somehow the thought made her frown. Did everyone know? Maybe just the Court members, she hoped not everyone… "I was unfortunately preoccupied with another matter. I hope it went well and that you are adjusting to it." He paused for a bit. "I'm sorry about the loss of your father."

A twinge of pain struck her, but she pushed it away, "Thank you."

Taira cleared her throat, "Well, Meskhenet and I were just speaking about her love life."

"Oh, is that going well for you to?"

Talking about Bakura made her happy, but she needed to steer clear about Bakura being a thief. "I got married."

"Congratulations," Mahad chuckled, "I'm happy to hear that. It seems quite a lot of us are getting wedded lately." His gaze shifted to Taira who pretended not to notice. Oh, was Taira getting married? She was quite young; then again, a lot of Meskhenet's old friends had got married that young.

"One day it'll be your turn to," Taira teased, "But for now, Meskhenet needs our help."

"It's really fine, I can figure things out," well, no, she couldn't. She really didn't know what to do, her thoughts kept running to locking him up somewhere. Oh, maybe she could get some shackles from the soldiers' barracks. "He's annoyingly stubborn…"

"What is the matter?" Mahad asked concerned.

"It's rather personal…"

"Well," Taira started, "Her husband is heading off somewhere and she doesn't want him to go. He won't listen to her so she's trying to find a way to make him not go." After a little pause, she added, "She thinks the place is dangerous and is worried for him."

"Why not go with him?" Mahad suggested.

"He doesn't want me to," she answered before Taira. Normally, she'd probably feel hurt that he didn't want her to come along, but right now she was angrier with him than anything. Ugh, the damn jerk! "I really don't want him to go."

"Perhaps you can surprise him there," Mahad advised, "Once you're there, he can't exactly say no." The wheels in her head started turning and suddenly Mahad's words gave her an idea. Well, he didn't need to know that she came or helped. He couldn't say no to that. Oh! She gleefully clasped her hands.

"Oh, thank you all so much!" Meskhenet exclaimed much to the confusion to the two, "I think I know what to do." She saw Taira's hesitation so added, "No, it doesn't involve locking him up. I'm going to get this place cleaned up and head down to the library." She didn't wait for either of them to speak or stop her; she rushed in cleaning but made sure it was thorough before bolting across the palace grounds passing by the young prince and his sister along with Shada who apparently was teaching him a lesson about stones and bricks, but that was all Meskhenet heard before she made a sharp turn and nearly slammed into Halima, apologizing profusely and then running down the steps to the library where she found Erina organizing some scrolls in the shelves while a sky blued eyed teen was sitting at one of the desks, seemingly reading a scroll. He had black hair and wore a rather plain looking tunic, but nonetheless was adorned in gold like most of the nobles.

When Meskhenet reached the bottoms steps of the library, Erina turned, her shawl fluttered behind her green and white dress as she greeted the redhead with a smile. "Well, hello, it has been a while," she said, "Faiz, this is Meskhenet." The teen briefly glanced up, but went back reading. "He's very busy at the moment. I apologize."

"Oh, it's no problem," Meskhenet meekly said. She certainly wasn't here for socialization; she needed to find information on that tomb! She scurried off to a section in one of the backroom shelves that was designated for magicians of the Pharaohs.

"Can I be of assistance?" Erina asked politely, placing a scroll just above Meskhenet's head.

The library was packed full of scrolls which gave the place a horrible smell of papyrus, animal hides, new and old or rather ancient. But Meskhenet being the scroll reader she was had always been accustomed to such smells so it didn't really bother her. She debated on having the scribe help her but decided it'd cut time if she did so she turned to the older woman and smiled, "Yes, if it's no trouble at all, I'm looking for any information on the Magician Heka of Pharaoh Narmer's time."

Erina seemed a little surprised but she smiled, "Heka was such an odd fella. Well, let's see if we can some information." She skimmed along the shelves, going quite far from where Meskhenet was at, it was a good thing she had asked for help, who knew how long it would take for her to find information on Heka. "Heka…" Erina pulled a scroll out, but continued looking down the list of scrolls. Meskhenet came over to the scribe who handed her the scroll which she opened.

The contents of the scroll were written by Heka himself, and by Ra, he was so full of himself. Meskhenet frowned. He thought himself a god, trapped within the mortal body of a man. Despite his arrogance, though, Meskhenet had to recognize him for founding the Court of Magicians and establishing the rules of many of the forms of magic, discovering many spells and the like. I wish I was that great of a magician… a thought crossed her mind as she looked at Erina who was beginning to pile some more scrolls onto the redhead.

"Who is the strongest magician today?"

Erina glanced at her, "You don't know?"

"Only by title, I mean… the Dark Magician, right?"

Erina nodded, "He… rather keeps himself hidden. It's rumored that he is stronger than Heka."

"Master Zaim said the same thing, something about him sealing half his power away, but I don't understand why? If I had that much power I'd change the world." She could've done so much good with magic, make the poor rich, when the harvest wasn't good, turn it into a bountiful harvest, and if war was at their land, she could obliterate the enemies without losing so many men to war; heal the wounded and cure the ill… Ah, but Master Zaim said that magic wasn't the way of life even though magicians use it often. It couldn't cure Father…

"You are correct to think that magic can change the world," Erina said sadly as she pulled seemingly the last scroll, keeping it within her hands, "But what change? The good or the bad? With so much magic, it can fall into the wrongs hands or worse, corrupt the ones it is already in. Magic is power and power hangs on a scale of morality. Without that morality, we risk going against the rule of the gods, we risk hurting more than we thought we could save. That is way the Dark Magician has sealed away half his power. That is way Heka, despite his hubris made the Court of Magicians because he even knew the rules of power, the rules of magic."

"Ah, sorry, you're right. We should leave what we can to the gods," she had to remember: Ata had tempted her on a path of dark magic. If she had the power the Dark Magician had, she would try to use it for good and probably just as well for bad. Sighing, she thanked the scribe before going to sit across the teen, Faiz who now was writing something on a scroll. She dumped the pile of scrolls on the table and the black haired boy looked up.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed, catching a few scrolls that unrolled and nearly fell of the table. "Studying?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I was just trying to look up information on Heka," she said honestly, taking the scrolls from him. He was looking at her a little weird; if anything she thought he was checking her out but she doubted that. "Sorry for disrupting you."

"Oh," he scoffed, "If anything I need the distraction. I've been here for," he looked around as if searching for Erina, "Three hours."

"Goodness," she laughed, "Are you studying to be a scribe?" he kind of shrugged like he didn't really care. His penmanship looked good though. "I like your handwriting." He beamed at her, and she returned a gentle smile before taking a seat across from him and began unrolling each scroll and looking through .

Heka certainly was one of the most arrogant person Meskhenet had ever known or rather, read about. He bragged about his noble upbringings, how his peers were inferior to him, how his own family knew nothing about his greatness and how much wonders he could do with his immense magic. The Court of Magicians was founded shortly after he entered Pharaoh Narmer's Court and then the Academy of Magic was built, during the years more and more magicians came to the Academy as spells and the ka were discovered, some dark and some light. During his old age, he made the Chamber of Osiris where hidden was the forbidden spell most magicians desired for. He lived until he was one hundred and nineteen before dying peacefully in his sleep where he was then buried almost like a pharaoh in a place near the Valley of the Kings.

She frowned. That's it? Where was his tomb? Double checking every scroll, she desperately searched for the answer. Nothing, there was nothing! She wasted so much time reading all those scrolls and for what? She banged her head on the table in frustration as she threw a scroll across the room.

"Whoa, whoa!" Faiz said as he ran behind her and grabbed her shoulders, gently lifting her to stop that. "That's not necessary."

"Where is his tomb?" Meskhenet groaned, rolling his scroll up slowly in disappointment. Bakura knew where the tomb was, how? How did he know? She shot up from her chair, knocking it down. "I'm sorry," she apologized to Faiz who seemed a little confused. She took off to the stairs then stopped and used her magic to return all the scrolls to their perspective place before dashing off.

She rushed through her priestess training, paying little to no attention at all, using and abusing her magic to end it quickly when Halima left her on her own. After being dismissed, she took off home and ran straight into Magda, nearly running him over with Bakari. Magda wasn't exactly the person, she wanted to see, but he was the closest person to being the perfect person. He panicked and cowered on the floor like some fool while she soothed her brown horse.

"Easy boy," she whispered, petting his neck. The moon was out tonight, glowing brilliantly in the background making her horse's mane look lustrously shiny. She dismounted Bakari and marched over to Magda. He should know something. Magda stood up, brushing himself and acting like nothing happened as he cleared his throat. When he saw the look on her face, his turned to horror as he backed up. "Where is it?"

"Wha—what may I ask are you referring too?" he looked behind him as if searching for a route to bolt to.

"The tomb, where is it?" she demanded then thought that approach might've not been the best one. Sighing, she imagined containing a fire with her hands before clamping her hands over it and making it into smoke. Sighing, she dropped her arms at her sides, "Please, can you tell me where the tomb is?"

"I cannot," he replied quietly, shuffling ever so slightly away from her. She tried to contain her anger, biting her lip and opening her mouth to speak, but Magda beat her to it. "Bakura specifically told me that if anyone was to ask, I should not tell them and he also mentioned that if you were to ask, I should defiantly not tell you."

"Bakura said that?" she asked exasperated. Magda gave a faint nod. Oh, the jerk! He knew she'd ask. She debated on what to do, some kind of spell to make him talk? No, she didn't want to use magic on a person. "I'll be going now." She took hold of Bakari's reins and walked away from Magda. Bakura must have some map. Yes! That was it! A map! Giddy with joy, she pranced over to her house like a baby lamp until she reached her gates, pushing them open and leading Bakari to the mini stables before frolicking into her house. Oh, she hadn't even said goodbye to Magda, ah, well. "Bakura?" she tried, waiting for a response. Nothing.

Running, to her room, she went straight to the table, rummaging through the papers only to find that it had only hers on it. Quickly, she went to the chest, pulling out fabric after fabric: red, black, tan, white, violet, black, and then she pulled out his book—the one she gave him and lo and behold a stack of papers fell out. Ah ha! She scattered the papers to see what they were, finding the map he made of Egypt which had some points marked in red which she assumed were places he had been to. Luckily, she found another map with the words 'Tomb of Heka' scribbled atop in Bakura's messy handwriting. He needed a better place to hide his stuff. She quickly ran to her desk, copied the map before running over to return the belongings to the chest.

With a silent opening, Bakura came in to see her folding his clothes back in the chest. For a moment, she thought he knew what happened, but he merely looked at her before moving to the bed, not bothering to change his clothes. "Welcome home," she told him cheerily, glad to have found the map. Now she could help him! And he didn't need to know! What he doesn't know what hurt him! She skipped over to him, a shendyt in her hands as he flopped onto the bed. Whatever issues they had yesterday was 'gone' for now.

"Make me something," he told her while she swayed at the bedside. He seemed to notice her happiness; he narrowed his eyes at her and sat up. "What's got you so happy?" He took hold of her hand and looked it over, frowning a bit when he saw her fingers.

"Nothing," she lied, stopping to contain her glee. "Just glad to be home with you," she knelt in front of him on the bed and gave him a kiss, subconsciously dropping the shendyt in her hand. Then the thought of what Magda said tugged at the strings in her mind and she couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed. Bakura had specifically told Magda not to tell her. She sat down on his lap, breaking the kiss, trying to hide her annoyance. He saw her discomfort but made no comment. "You should get some rest." He looked her over before lying back down, pulling her along with him to lie beside him. For a moment they stared at each other then he rolled onto his side, wrapping his arms around her. "I thought you wanted something?"

"That can wait," he hugged her tighter, breathing in her scent. He didn't say anything, but judging from how tense he was and how quiet she figured something must've happened. If she recalled he left with Magda in the morning, she and him had been in somewhat bad terms because the previous night, however she was willing to put that all aside since she found a solution to their issue. I'll go to the tomb and disable the magic…most of it anyways. She placed a hand on his chest and nuzzled up against his arm. "When you act like that it makes things difficult," he suddenly said which made her look up at him. What was that supposed to mean? Act like what?

"Excuse me?" She asked offended.

"Don't start it again," he growled. Start what? It was his fault last night! The nerve! She pushed at his chest but he kept her in place. "It's tiring to deal with your outbursts and everything else so just shut up for a while." She was quiet, though seething in rage as she silently lied there. He moved a hand off her waist to touch her face. Shifting her eyes to him, she shot him a look. He merely grinned at her, "You always look better smiling." That took her by surprise, she was expecting an insult but she had to remember: this was the man she loved and he was always free to give her compliments at awkward moments which he always did so at odd times.

She sat up which he allowed, moving a hand to his face, she gave him a slow kiss on the mouth which he returned equally slow before placing a hand behind her neck and intensifying the kiss. She broke away, "let me get you something to eat." This wasn't good for her stomach, the butterflies and the seething rage were all mixed up and now she wasn't sure whether to be angry at him or not. It would be nice to just be happy with him so she let it pass…besides once he found out what she was going to do they probably would be fighting then.

"That can wait," he told her again, kissing her again until he rolled on top of her, making her squeak momentarily. Her heart was all aflutter with butterflies in her stomach until warmth spread over her when his hand tauntingly moved from her neck to her rear. He grinned at her then moved down to kiss her body; she grabbed his sash and played with it before unraveling it to watch his shendyt come undone. He smirked at her, and she merely gave him a smile in return.

"Oh, you look so wonderful!" Maat flittered about as she gave Meskhenet a tight embrace. Her scarf fell off her shoulders as she quickly went over to Bakura and gave him a hug that made him stiffen. "It feels like it has been ages since I last saw you."

"It certainly does feel like that," she laughed. Last time she saw Maat, Bakura and her were just 'friends' and Maat had been passing through to get to Thebes. "Last time you told me your in-laws wanted grandchildren I believe?" Her eyes shifting to her friend's stomach to see a slight bulge, her breasts a little bigger too in size, she defiantly was pregnant.

Maat lowered her eyes to her belly, placing a hand over it with loving eyes, "Yes, Hu and I decided to have children."

"That's wonderful! I'm so happy for you," Meskhenet said in complete honesty. Maat would make a lovely mother; she was always the nicest girl out of the group. She wondered about herself though, of having children. She turned her gaze to Bakura who seemed rather bored of the introduction and talk. She thought of them having children, he ate like a starving dog and was vulgar and rude and she? She was insecure, temperamental and tempted by darkness. She wouldn't make a good mother and Bakura wouldn't be a good father.

"So when do you plan on having children?" Maat asked, looking from Bakura to Meskhenet. Bakura shot a look at her friend then at Meskhenet who became quiet.

"It's not something we're planning." He answered for the both.

"Oh?" Maat seemed a bit surprised. Instead of answering though, she turned to her husband who Meskhenet had never met. Hu was tall with light brown hair, long and hanging over his shoulders. Although he seemed kind, his also had the look of someone who was always dreaming or rather never there. He seemed a good match for Maat though. "Hu, why don't you and…" she paused, looking at Bakura.

"Bakura," Meskhenet filled in.

"Yes, Bakura, go and…buy some…"

"Apples."

Hu merely looked at Bakura then at Maat. He nodded ever so slightly before, with the grace of a crane, moved over to her to give her a kiss on her lips. Meskhenet thought that he was very romantic and wondered why Bakura wasn't like that at all. Bakura merely followed after Hu before stealing a glance at the redhead who sighed.

"Isn't he the same stranger from Mallawi?" Maat asked, grabbing Meskhenet's arm rather suddenly. Oh, so she recognized him…

"Yes," Meskhenet blushed. "I mean…he wasn't really a stranger. We met before…long story short, we married."

"I'm happy for you," Maat grabbed her friend's hand, "I really am." The hesitation in her voice told her otherwise. A chill ran through her body at the realization that perhaps Maat was disapproving just like everyone else. "But…is that really someone you want raising a child with?"

"…" Meskhenet pulled on her sleeves till they covered her hands as she bit her lip. "It's as he said…it's not something we're planning."

"But I'm sure with the amount of sex you have, it's going to happen."

Meskhenet shot her head up in surprise at that. "W—what?"

Maat laughed, "I'm joking." A breath of relief escaped the redhead's lips. For a moment, she thought that perhaps there was something about her that gave off that type of look. She didn't want everyone knowing the amount of intercourse she and Bakura had. That was embarrassing. "He does look like that type though." The two were walking through the streets of Thebes bypassing the many rich folk as Maat ran her hand across the many shops' items, touching jewelry and clothing as they came upon them.

Meskhenet pursed her lips and laughed a little, "Well, he has a certain look about him, that doesn't make it necessarily true." She felt like a liar saying that. She darted her eyes across the marketplace, looking for a topic to change the current one. "So what do you do at home?"

"Me?" Maat laughed, "I'm still sewing."

"For a living?"

She shook her head, "No," she placed a protective hand over her womb, "For Hu and for our baby." She stopped and looked at her friend, "What about you? Still going to become a magician?"

Meskhenet looked at her feet, sadly. "No…" Maat dropped her smile, her expression now that of concern. "I am to be a priestess… it was my father's last wish." The thought of her ill father made her heart drop and her stomach bubble in despair as she let out a sad sigh, but she felt warmth wrapped around her as she looked at her friend who embraced her tightly.

"I'm so sorry for your lost…I couldn't imagine what it must've been like," Maat said quietly. Hesitating, she returned the embrace as a tear rolled down her eyes. No, no…I can't cry. She hiccupped and took a shaky breath, "Everything will be alright… you just need to have faith." Maat let Meskhenet go and brushed her shoulders, "You've always been strong and now you're not alone."

Meskhenet wiped her tears. "Thank you…" she sniffled. She had never considered herself strong, not physically, not mentally, she was just Meskhenet.

Maat became quiet as she looked Meskhenet over which made the redhead feel a little self-conscious. Maat was taller, maybe prettier with gorgeous eyes lined with kohl, something Meskhenet didn't always wear. "You can still do it, become a magician." She beamed, "There is plenty of priests and priestesses who are magicians as well. Priestess Halima, Priest Mahad, Priest Amun," she counted her fingers as she named them, "Priest Kateb, Priestess Isis…"

"It already takes five years to become a priestess, adding on the rest of my magician training will prolong that and besides I wanted to be a court magician, not just a magician."

"You told me you wanted a title once," Maat wagged a finger in front of her, "If you learn all types of magic then being a court magician will be a cinch so why not? It may open more opportunities for you and it can be at least some comfort to your dream. You don't have to give up everything."

"But to get a title…" Meskhenet paused; she needed to discuss it with Bakura and Zaim. Zaim was her master, but Bakura was her husband. He needed a say in it too because getting a magician title was not an easy feat. She shook her head and smiled, "I'll see what I can do." The girls giggled before continuing through the marketplace until they ran into Hu and Bakura. Hu had a basket of apples in one hand while Bakura munched on one himself. He came right over to Maat and handed her an apple which she gladly accepted.

Bakura threw an arm over Meskhenet and offered her his apple which she accepted. "What are you ladies talking about?" he asked as Meskhenet nibbled on the apple.

"I'll tell you later," she whispered.

"Want to have dinner with us?" Maat asked, turning her attention from Hu to the two. Meskhenet nodded before Bakura could answer. She wanted to spend time with her friends before heading back home and besides, it'd be nice if Maat got to know Bakura

"It'll be fun," she assured Bakura before whispering something in his ear that made him smirk. "Lead the way." She couldn't help but feel the pit in her stomach swirling with discomfort and she wasn't sure whether it was the talk of children or magic, one of them was setting her off and it made her want to freeze up and stop everything. Magic... if she continued down that path, she would become more entangled with dangers she never knew but it might be just as beneficial for her in the court. She could use her magic to protect the queen.

Bakura nudged her, a little worried. "Khenet?" Shaking her head, she smiled at him before taking his hand and following the couple. Bakura's hand was so warm, like the desert sun glowing over an oasis; his warmth made her feel safe and loved. The opposite of Ata's cold hands... ah, why was she thinking of Ata? He was the past now. Whatever happened, she would face it with Bakura.

Author's Note: I really don't like this chapter, I mean certain parts I do but others no... I just needed a bridge over to Chapter 38 and I needed to show Maat and her encouragement of Meskhenet's magic. Anyhow, most everything of the magicians and what not is made up, I just added that they have titles and such. Mahad is known to be the strongest magician but no one knows his identity (or only a few do), Pharaoh Narmer is a real pharaoh that I found :) from long before this timeline. Next chapter, more magic, another encounter with Set and babysitting for Atem and Mana~