She left him alone at school the next day. He sped home on his motorcycle anyways, just in case she wanted to walk with him. He raced inside upon arrival, locked the door, and leaned against it breathing heavily. Isis looked up from her reading spot on the couch. "What happened now?"

Malik peeked out the window. "Some psycho gir-hey! What're you doing here?"

Isis turned a page. "The meeting was postponed until next week." She glanced up at him. He had gone suddenly pale. "What's the matter?"

Determined, steady footsteps approached in the outside hall. "Oh noooo…"

The doorbell rang.

Malik froze.

"Open the door, Malik," said Isis.

Slowly, he reached for the doorknob. Opening the door a crack, he looked out. "Thank you, we're not interested," he said quickly and slammed the door. "Salesman," he told Isis.

The doorbell rang again. "That's not funny, Malik," came a voice through the door.

"Who is it?" asked Isis.

"Umm…"

The doorbell rang again.

"Let whoever it is in, Malik," commanded Isis.

Very slowly, he obeyed. As he expected, Asenath stood in the doorway, her arms akimbo and her mien clearly showing the fury she felt.

Isis rose with a practiced grace despite her surprise. "How may I help you?" she asked the irate girl politely.

Asenath fixed her glinting ink-black eyes on the speaker. "Isis?"

"Yes."

"Malik said you wouldn't be here."

"I wasn't supposed to, but the previous commitment was cancelled."

"See?" put in Malik.

"Hush, Malik. Let me deal with this." Isis matched the girl eye to eye. "Won't you come in? It appears you know my brother already."

Asenath nodded stiffly and stepped into the living room. "This may be somewhat of a surprise to you, as I don't think Malik has forewarned you, but I'm here on business your father left unfinished."

Isis's hand flew to her mouth. "What about my father, may he rest in peace?"

Malik gave a bitter, suppressed laugh at her words. Peace indeed.

"Here, Neesan," he said, pulling out his wallet. "It's this."

Isis took the picture and stared at it. "Asenath," she breathed.

"That's me."

"How…how did you find us?"

"I have my methods. Besides, your brother caused a small stir as a duelist. I came for my marriage."

Isis sat down suddenly. "That's right. It's…it's what father wanted."

Asenath nodded. "It is for the pharaoh as well."

"Of course." Isis couldn't tear her eyes from the girl before her. It was like suddenly coming face to face with a character from a childhood storybook.

"She's crazy, isn't she?" cut in Malik. "I'm not getting married ever!"

Isis rolled her eyes, clearly knowing her seniority over Malik. "Be still and let me discuss this with Asenath. This is not a simple matter."

"Tell me about it," muttered Malik, stomping off to his room and slamming the door. The voices went on outside, but he could no longer understand what they said. That was fine, he didn't want to hear what they planned for his future. "Women," he groaned. "Ra take it all, they should never be given power of any kind." He flopped down on his bed. "Why? Why why why??" he complained to the wall. "I thought my life was gonna be sorta normal, and then SHE shows up."

He rolled onto his back and stared up at the blank ceiling. It could have been worse, of course. Asenath was fun to tease and frustrate. He found it very entertaining when her dark eyes snapped in annoyance at him. They were nice eyes, though, deep and intelligent… He shook his head, banishing such thoughts. He'd have to be careful. She was more clever than he cared to give her credit for, and not bad looking either… He slapped his forehead in frustration. It was happening again. Annoyed even more by the unresponding solitude of his room, he went back out to the living room in time to see Asenath leaving. She gave him a nod as she went out the door, but thanked Isis courteously. "Well?" asked Malik once the door was shut.

Isis seated herself on the couch. "She seems to be a very nice girl. I think you should count yourself lucky Father picked someone like her for you."

"But you're not gonna make me get married, right?"

"I really would like to have this all go through. I mean, it's the least you could do for Father's memory."

"I don't want to," Malik said, knowing very well how sulky he sounded.

"I know," she said with a sigh. "Think about it for a while, okay?"

Arguing would have been useless, so Malik mumbled some sort of assent and went off to his room again. He lay on his bed for a long time, trying to make sense of it all. Why? The question repeated itself endlessly in his head. Still unsure, he fell asleep, clutching the Sennen rod in his right hand. He did that sometimes when life rested heavily on his shoulders. Just having something solid in his hand was comforting, even if the rod no longer held any power.

TBC

R&R