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Ardeth hovered somewhere between this world and the next. He felt lost and completely alone. All his life he had prepared for death and had never feared it. Of course, he had never really given thought to what it would be like. Suddenly, he was very frightened. Not of death, but afraid of being alone. Although he had been chief of his tribe, he had been very much on his own, with only one or two true companions his entire life. Was he doomed to spend eternity without the comfort of another? Without his Najya?
As Azeem knelt at the heads of Ardeth and Najya, closing their lifeless eyes, Zariah spoke softly to the Goddess. "She was not meant to die, Great One. It was not her time."
"This I know, my daughter," the formless entity spoke without words, but Zariah understood her plainly. "Najya was great in spirit, but as was your love for your husband, her love for the Med-jai chieftain was boundless. This we did not foresee."
"Your bloodline and that of the Priestess ends with her," Zariah clarified. "Although I will be happy to see my daughter in the afterlife, it is not as it should be. You know this to be true."
The Goddess could not argue. "If she were to be brought back..."
Zariah shook her head. "No, it would not matter. Without him, she would only repeat what you witnessed. My daughter...what have I done to you?" Before Zariah had uttered the words, Isis flowed about the room and entered the two lifeless forms.
Feeling the lightest flutter, a puff of air perhaps, across the back of his neck, Ardeth turned in its direction. He saw nothing, nothing but a thick fog that seemed to fill his brain as well as his sight. At first, the feeling seemed familiar, like the caress of his lover. But no, that was impossible. His brain must have been addled in the transition to the afterlife.
Najya frowned, for he seemed so lost and confused. She reached out, touching his shoulder lightly. Again he turned, but this time his eyes truly saw what surrounded him. She smiled softly when his eyes brightened with the knowledge that he was not lost, not alone. "Beloved, we are together."
Ardeth reached for her, just as he felt the fingers of life surround him, pulling him away from her. He struggled against it, fighting the powerful grip it had on him. He strained, reaching out for Najya just as she reached for him. Their fingertips were close to touching, if he could only stretch a bit farther. Close, so close. And with a strangled cry, he was pulled away, losing sight of her instantaneously.
Azeem, who was still at his chieftain's side, drew in a sharp breath. As he prayed over his friend, he noticed something very, very out of the ordinary. Not that the whole scene he had just witnessed was not strange. It had all been very much so. But as he looked upon his friend, it was as if time was reversing itself around the two bodies. He watched as the blood flowed back into the wounds until the ground was clean of it. It seeped back into them until the injuries they inflicted upon themselves closed, without a trace. Frightened, and yet unable to stop himself, he laid a hand to Ardeth's chest. He literally jumped when Ardeth's hand shot out to encircle his wrist.
Although dazed, Ardeth forced himself to a sitting position and reached for the prone body beside him. He cradled her in his arms, whispering to her, insisting that if he were to come back, she must also. "You cannot leave me now, Najya," he begged softly. He touched the torn area of his robes where the dagger had entered. The wound was gone, as if it had never existed. Hers had also disappeared. "You can come back. Be as your name states, my Najya. Be victorious!"
Najya walked aimlessly, heartbroken that her love had been taken from her again. Why was she being tested so? What more did she have to give?
"Hello, Najya," Zariah greeted softly as she approached the lost soul of her daughter.
"Mother!" she exclaimed. She understood now how Ardeth felt at the moment he had realized he was not alone in the afterlife. "What has happened? Where has Ardeth gone?"
Zariah smiled warmly. "He has been sent back, my daughter. His life has been restored by the Goddess."
Najya hugged her mother tightly, sobbing the invisible tears her mother had once cried for her. "I will miss him dearly, mother, but I am glad he is among the living."
Zariah nodded as she returned the hug. "It is good to hold you again, Najya. But, as has become our custom, our time is short. I love you. Blessed daughter, sweet child of Isis."
"Mother?" she questioned, feeling the pull that Ardeth had felt moments before. "What is happening?"
Sighing heavily, she released her daughter so that she could travel the path back to the living. "You must live, my sweet. Live and love...create life. That is your legacy. Our legacy."
Confused, Najya could merely nod and she drifted away from her mother. "I love you, Mother," she called out before Zariah disappeared.
Isis surrounded Zariah with energy. "Her path will not be easy."
"She is strong; she will be fine," Zariah assured. "Please forgive me for my earlier thoughts," she apologized hesitantly.
"Fear not, my daughter. I, too, love our Najya. But you must know, there was a price that had to be paid for their resurrection."
Zariah spun in a circle, trying to focus on the voice within her head. "I do not understand."
"A life for a life. To give life, one must take life."
"What...what are you saying?" She asked the question, but she already knew the answer.
"The Chieftain's seed grew within our daughter. Her life was not to have been sacrificed. To return it took no effort. His life was forfeit. Therefore, to restore it...a life for a life."
Zariah stood, speechless, as the Goddess left her to attend to otherworldly duties. In her wake she assured Zariah that they would never know the pain of their loss. For that she was grateful.
He rocked her gently, still speaking to her softly. She must awaken; it made little sense to him that he should live and she should die. His thumb caressed her cheek and as he leaned to down kiss her sweet lips, he felt the rush of air that suddenly left her lungs. Dare he open his eyes? Dare he look upon hers? Again he knew fear, fear that his hope would not be realized, and fear that his imagination had taken over his sensibilities.
"Ardeth," she whispered. His face was so close to hers and she longed for the feel of his lips upon hers, but she was too weak to move.
His eyes fluttered open, her voice floated across him, like a thick blanket warming his cold body. "MaHabbi, you have returned to me."
She smiled, somehow finding the strength to lift her hand to his neck, cupping it softly. With the slightest of pressure, she urged him closer until his lips were upon hers. It was a soft caress, not exactly a kiss, as she spoke against his lips. "As it was meant to be."
Ardeth closed his eyes tightly and pulled her tighter into his embrace. "We have died together. Now it is time for us to live."
Najya nodded as she whispered. "Live, love, and create life. That is our legacy."
He opened his eyes and gazed into hers. Their destiny was as uncertain as any future; however, he did not doubt that their souls would be entwined forever, from this world into the next. Because they had been united in the afterlife, he knew that whatever their fate, it would be one they would share together.
~finis~ ...
Thanks to everyone for their support. I hope you enjoyed your time w/ Ardeth and Najya. A sequel is whirling around in my brain and if it ever comes together...well, we'll see. Thanks again!!!! --Shel