Amneris didn't hear the news of his relapse until it was nearly nightfall. She had been outside with Noribnin and a few children of Ikaita, walking the docks and seeing the boats. Amneris had no aptitude for the nautical, but she fell in love with the children and they had insisted that she go. How could she resist?

Sitting once again in her vigil, she missed those children. It was so easy to be with them. They laughed without apology and had a happier disposition than anyone she'd met in the country.

Radames lay as he had before. His eyes fluttered in fits of delirium, his breath shallow, his hands clammy, and his whole body bathed in a cold sweat. He woke after hours and looked up to the ceiling. He took some ragged breaths and slowly turned his head.

"I saw her," he whispered. He seemed to gaze not at Amneris but through her, as though she were, herself, a spirit. His mouth twisted up into a sick sort of smile, "She said my name, I heard it."

Amneris was silent for a moment as his words sank in. She lightened her face as much as she could and said calmly, "I'll return soon. Sleep, my sweet."

She ran a hand over his wet forehead, then slipped from the room. Once in the hallway, she leaned against the door and covered her face with her hands.

The fear washed over her as she stood alone in the corridor. All of her prayers had gone unanswered. All of her time sitting with him, all the reassurance and support she'd tried to give hadn't done any good. He was running out of time and now he was too far away for her to make peace with him.

She was near to tears when she heard someone approach. Her hands dropped and she tried to find a bit of composure. One thing she'd never lost was her sense of self-awareness. Years in the public eye had trained her to always act as though someone was watching, for often times, someone was.

Lucky for her, it was Kadoteas walking towards her. Her face returned to its contortion and she fell into his arms, crying into her words, trying to tell him everything through a distortion of sobs.

"I can't do this," she cried, "I'm so tired, I can't sleep in there. He's dying! He was better this morning. Now he's sick and seeing things. He sees her!"

By then, she was set into a steady ramble of words, but Kadoteas seemed to understand. He held onto her as her frustrations poured out.

"What does he see?" he asked placing a hand gently on her head to steady her tremors.

"He sees Aida," she said into his shoulder.

Kadoteas pulled away quickly and looked her in the face, a panic seemed to be in him, "He sees what?"

Amneris nodded tearfully, "He says that he's seen her. She calls him to the next world."

He watched her carefully for a moment, then sighed deeply. He checked that the hallway was still empty, then took her hand and walked her to the stairs. They entered a quaint bedroom two floors down and he shut the door behind them.

"What's this?" she asked, wiping her cheeks.

He hesitated, his thoughts caught up in something else.

"You said you couldn't sleep in there," he replied somewhat cautiously, "You can stay in here if it will help."

"Thank you," she breathed.

He nodded, "Goodnight."

He hadn't made it to the door when she called him back.

"Stay a bit," she said. He did, of course.

She sat down on the bed, her hands wrapped in the shawl around her, "Your father must think I'm a raving lunatic by now."

A slight grin came across Kadoteas' face, "No, he was quite impressed, actually. It's rare for a woman to put him in his place. You were right, anyway. Radames gave him words that he seems to have taken to heart. I think he'll concede, especially after today," he paused before his next words as the truth of them set in, "You'll be going home in no time."

She seemed to realize it too. She sat, watching her hands, "Your father was right. I don't look forwards to what my life will be there. A world stuck inside that palace, sitting behind a man who..." she looked up at him, "Who doesn't love me."

"You said you don't love him."

"I don't," she shrugged, "and I can't live that way. It was so easy before. I didn't worry about anything. I didn't care why I had luxuries or where they came from. No one mentioned that people were dying so that I could get another gold bracelet. I hate this."

"Ignorance is bliss."

She laughed at the simplicity of his rationale. It was the type of laugh that could turn to tears at any second, "It really is."

Kadoteas sat beside her, "The benefit of your position, your luxuries, is that you have power. You see an injustice and you have the ability to do something about it."

"I told you-"

"Don't sit behind him," he stopped her, "You wrote to my father, not him. You're a stronger person than you know. You barged into my father's chamber. I would have been flogged for that!" He took her face in his hands, "You're a queen. Here, that means you rule with a man, not as an accessory."

Amneris looked at the man beside her and put her fingers to his face, noticing how beautiful his dark skin was when put against her light. She didn't know exactly when she'd come to love him, but she was grateful that she did. There was no comfort without him. Slowly, she leaned over and kissed him. Kadoteas slid one hand down to her shoulder and then let it fall along the length of her back before embracing her fully. They leaned back onto the bed and spent the rest of the night in each other's arms.

When Radames awoke in the night, he found himself lying on his stomach, his bedclothes strewn about him suggesting that he'd just come from a rough patch of sleep. He was glad to be uncovered. His body was hot. Every pore dripped sweat and his dry throat was in need of water. His eyes (and actually only his left eye and only that. His head still hadn't left the pillow where the right half of his face was buried) looked for a jug of water. He didn't see one and didn't have the strength to go find one. He closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

He woke an hour later when he felt someone in the room. He couldn't hear footsteps or breath, it was simply a feeling that he was not alone. Then again, he was verging on the edge of unconsciousness. It was possible he was hallucinating. He brought his left eye around once more and out of the farthest corner, he could see a blurry body.

"Radames," a woman's voice called him.

He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. She was back. He had seen her for days, a ghost haunting her father's house. Amneris hadn't believed him, but he knew he'd seen her.

The form of Aida approached the bed as it had many times before.

"You've done well," the spirit said in a rich, low voice, "but you cannot die now. You understand?"

He didn't have the strength to answer.

"Fight it. You know why this is happening. It's in your power to make it stop."

He nodded his head, or he meant to. He wasn't actually sure if he'd succeeded.

The form stepped closer. He wanted to touch her, to taker into his arms and hold her but he didn't try. His hand would touch nothing and he didn't think he could bear the disappointment. He just watched her. As beautiful as ever. Her deeps eyes, rich skin, her soft lips, long neck and delicate hands.

She seemed to be having the same difficulty. She reached her hand out a number of times to touch him, but always retracted it before contact was made. Finally, she turned to go.

Radames wanted her to stay. His desperation for her gave him a burst of strength and he stretched out his hand to pull her back. He forgot about the pain and wouldn't have cared much if he'd remembered. He couldn't let her leave.

He reached out to her hand and took hold of flesh.

Aida shot around. He was staring at where their hands were joined, his eyes outrageously wide. He looked into her petrified face and said firmly, "You're no spirit."

Amneris slept. She slept until it was nearly morning, waking only out of habit, hours before sunrise. She woke this morning to finds a pair of muscular dark arms around her bare waist. She sighed warmly as she remembered what had transpired a few hours before.

Her stir roused Kadoteas from his light slumber. He tightened his hold on her, pulling her closer to his body. He kissed her shoulder and leaned his head against her skin, breathing her in.

Amneris turned over and put her arms around him, running her hands along the muscles of his back. She wanted sleep again, just like this. Her mental and physical exhaustion should have allowed this, but something was nagging at her. She was not asleep where she should have been. Radames was alone.

"You should be sleeping," said Kadoteas.

Amneris lifted her head to her lover, her love and smiled, "Any more and I'll be groggy."

Kadoteas put his hands through her hair and studied her face. Try as she might, she couldn't hide her distraction.

"You're leaving aren't you?" he said, having already known she would.

"I'll come back," she assured him, "I just have to check on him."

"There's no nurse?"

"Not when I left," she kissed him, "I'll come back."

He kissed her, "I should get back to my room. My father will be looking for me in the morning. Will you meet me tonight?"

"You know I will."

They kissed again before leaving the warmth of the bed.

He walked her to her floor, then continued up the stairs. She didn't have far to go in the hall. About halfway to the room, she saw the door open. A young Nubian woman in a dark dress stepped out of the room with her head down. She shut the door and held the handle for a minute, breathing deeply, her shoulders shaking as though she'd been crying. Once her tears were dry, she turned to go to the stairs and found herself face to face with Amneris.

They stood for a long time, wide eyed and unable to move. Amneris took a deep breath and tried to speak, but nothing came out. Instead the energy she would have used in her words collided itself with the anger welling up in her chest and made its way down her left arm. Before either knew what was happening, Amneris brought her hand back and slapped Aida across the face.

Aida held her cheek and started at Amneris in shock, still bent over to one side from the blow.

"Get out!" Amneris spat.

Aida didn't move.

"Get out!" Amneris yelled again, "It's your fault he's like this. Get out of here!"

Slowly, Aida came out of her stupor. She stepped past Amneris, staring wildly at her, and went down the stairs.