I loved to stargaze. Sometimes it seemed that's all I'd ever wanted to do, but tonight seemed different. I couldn't get my mind of the man in Cairo.

"You'll never be truly happy with him," Ammon called after me. "I guarantee it."

"Katherine?" I turned to see Ardeth's mother, Aisha, walking up to me. "Are you alright, child?"

"Yes, just thinking." I turned back to look at the stars. "They're lovely tonight."

"Yes they are," she agreed. "Do you care for him?"

"I'm sorry?" I asked her confused.

"My son. Do you care for him?" she asked again.

"He's my best friend," I said.

"That wasn't my question." I licked my lips before looking back at her. She hadn't been looking at the stars.

"I do."

"You realize, of course, as an outsider you will have to prove yourself more than any other woman," she told me.

"I won't have to," I corrected. "Ardeth is a man who will decide whom he marries on his own."

"I've seen the way he is around you," she told me. "He cares about you."

"Please stop," I begged her. "Goodnight." I rushed back to my tent.

I rolled over in bed and placed my hand on my growing abdomen. I smiled down at the child before attempting to leave the bed.

"Where do you think you are going?" an arm wrapped around my waist and I turned and smiled at my new husband.

"For a walk," I told him. "I still can't believe your father allowed us to marry."

"Why does that surprise you?" he asked moving to support his weight on his forearms to look down at me.

"I'm not royal nor will I give Egypt anything through our marriage. I can offer no peace between countries or men for your armies."

"You offer love, and that's what my father wants for both my sister and me," Rameses told me. "Even my sister has started courting a young Medji warrior."

"He's the younger brother of the Chieftan, my love. He deserves just as much of our respect." He smiled down at me.

"Yes, I suppose he does." He pulled me to him and kissed me gently.

"My mother said she spoke to you," Ardeth mentioned as we overlooked the sands where Hamunaptra once stood.

"Oh?"

"She said you shared your feelings about a man yet do not make a move," he said, and I glanced at him. He stared out at the sands, and I did the same.

"I've come to accept that I won't marry the man I love," I told him. "I want him happy, and I'm glad to watch."

"What if he'd be happier with you by his side?" he asked me, and I sighed. I felt him move closer to me and I turned to him.

"Why are you asking me this?" I whispered. He just stared at me before taking my hand in his.

"She told me of your conversation last night, and-" he paused before starting again. "Have you found your Rameses?"

"I've known who he was for some weeks, but I feel like he isn't ready to know who he truly is yet," I told him honestly. "But I won't allow my past life to rule how I live now."

"Destiny-"

"Means nothing to me," I interrupted. "I'd rather be with someone I care about now than wait for destiny to play its hand." I raised his hand to my face and kissed it.

"Katherine-"

"This is your choice now," I whispered before returning to my horse and the camp.

I'm sorry this is so short after such a long wait. I promise the next one will be longer.