The next morning, I woke up at 11:30 with my head slumped on Ashir's shoulder and one Hell of a hangover. I stretched my arms and neck, hearing a satisfying (but painful!) pop as my muscles unlocked.

"Mnn..." Ashir groaned, and I knew he'd be nursing one Hell of a hangover. Oddly enough, I felt just fine, though the dream I'd had that night disturbed me. I think Ashir's Mesopotamian History podcast that he listened to on the commute snuck into my subconscious mind. Why else would I be thinking about people named "Ahat" and "Abisha?"

I shuffled into the kitchen to make coffee for Ashir and myself, knowing we both needed it.

"Ash? I'm gonna toast a bagel. You want one?"

He didn't respond. He slumped over further onto the couch so that he was laying on his side, his cheek squished against the plush leather seat. He looked endearingly cute.

I assumed he would, in fact, want a bagel, so I popped two poppy seed ones into the toaster for us. Smelling the baking bread, Ashir finally rose, yawning loudly.

"I had the weirdest dream last night...I can't really remember it, though."

"Oh yeah? So did I. It was about some Mesopotamian princess going off to some place called 'Tah-ball' or something."

Ashir raised an eyebrow. "How do you know about Tabal?"

I shrugged. "Probably from that podcast you play during the drive."

"Fair enough. So, what was this princess like?"

"She really didn't like her dad, for one thing. She was trying to take her younger sister away with her, but her dad wanted to marry her off to some pervy Egyptian dude. It was really trippy and didn't make a whole lot of sense."

"You seem kinda shaken up by it," he noted sympathetically.

"I am. I guess I'm too sensitive, but...it was really sad. The two sisters seemed so desperate."

"That doesn't make you too sensitive. You have a heart, Anna. There's nothing wrong with that."

I smiled. Ashir was always so sweet to me. "Thanks. So, bagel?"

"Sure, thank you. Do you have butter?"

I scoffed playfully, but I took the butter dish out of the fridge, all the same. "It's supposed to be eaten with cream cheese."

"Cream cheese isn't salty enough!"

I laughed. "We could gossip while eating bagels, and then it would be salty enough."

"Ooh, gossip, who about?"

"Nobody." I laughed. "I swear to God, my life is so boring."

"Well /I/ have some news. Brea got back with Paul."

I sighed. "What is this...the fourth time?"

"Fifth."

"Brea...she's gotta stop letting him come back."

"That's what I tell her. She can't keep letting him leave and then a month later pretend it didn't happen."

"I feel like I could excuse a lot in a relationship...but he fucking /cheated/ on her for a /year/!"

Ashir leaned in, as if he felt too uncomfortable to speak loudly about Brea. "I heard he went to a prostitute."

I shook my head. "My God. That would be /it/ for me, even without everything else. Most of those women are trafficked!"

Ashir nodded. "And half of them are underage. He's so screwed up."

"I want to tell Brea to leave...but she gets so mad."

"I know. I have no idea why she defends him. Do you know he stole her Xanax once?"

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. He takes it to "sleep better." And he ran out of his supply."

I frowned. "I don't like this...I mean, benzos do nothing for my anxiety so I don't use them, but for Brea that must have really sucked."

"I feel like he's into all sorts of risky shit and Brea's just getting pulled deeper."

"Like what?"

"Okay, don't tell anyone I told you this, but they did coke together once."

My eyes widened so much that I felt my eyelids strain. "Seriously?!"

"I made her promise /never/ to do that again. I have no idea what to think..."

Brea was Ashir's ex girlfriend from several years back. Though he had broken up with her, he still cared about her as a friend. I knew it was painful for him to see her spiral out of control.

"I mean, part of the reason we broke up was because she was so impulsive, but I never thought it would get this bad. She'd get too drunk sometimes, but she never did hard drugs."

"I'm a huge nerd, but I honestly am so scared of that stuff. Why does anyone think it's worth the risk?"

"I have no idea. He's horrible for her. I mean, I wasn't meant for her either, but he's /bad/ to her, and I can't stand it."

"That must be hard..."

He sighed. "I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't get so invested...I just hate seeing this happen to /anyone/. I'm so glad I don't have to worry about you."

I smiled sadly. "I'm too boring to worry about."

"You're not boring." He smiled gently. "Seriously. You're /stable/. There's a huge difference."

"Eh, you haven't seen me when I'm approaching a deadline."

He laughed. "You can be a nervous wreck sometimes, sure, but so can I. Have you seen me around scorpions?"

...

Our time on the road was long- we had traveled for over three weeks through the mountain passes and lowlands. Ahat burrowed under the feathers by day- I made sure to give her several water jugs to drink from while she baked in the covered cart. When she snuck off at dusk to join me for bathing, her hair clung to her and was matted with sweat. We only spoke quietly amongst ourselves, not wanting a guard to discover her. I snuck her food whenever I could, but she usually only got a full meal during our baths.

Ahat devoured the venison I brought her while we strategized. I always gave her half of my dinner; after all, I got to eat and snack whenever I pleased. I'd give her more, but I didn't want to draw suspicion by not eating any supper.

"What will we do once we get to the palace?" She asked me. I hated to admit that I hadn't initially thought of that when stealing her away.

"I think we may have to say you're my maid. It's the only thing I can think of- I'm sorry, Ahat. Eventually, if Prince Ambaris is a good man, I /will/ tell him you're my sister."

She laughed good-naturedly. "It's way better than being married to Ahmose. I'm glad I get to live with you."

I smiled, relieved that my sister had always been easygoing. "I will insist on doing my own chores whenever I can. We'll work together."

"Abisha, it's okay! I'm no longer a princess in Tabal. I may not know much about cooking, but I can learn fast, and cleaning is easy. You won't have to worry for me anymore."

I swallowed the lump growing in my throat. Tears came easily for me, those few weeks. I was so glad to have Ahat with me, so glad that I wasn't braving this new kingdom alone. She was sacrificing so much for me. If our plan were found out, I had no idea what father would do to her, what /Ahmose/ would do to her. She slept in the lonesome woods, hardly daring to breathe or sigh, with little protection from spiders or sun. She had grown thin with hunger and inactivity. Her once fine hair was matted and coarse, clinging to her head with sweat, and she must have been terrified, but still, she carried on bravely into our new life.

My sister smiled at me resolutely, and I saw a wisdom in her eyes that I hadn't noticed before. She didn't escape the palace just to avoid marriage; she left because she knew just how much I needed her.

"Ever since mother passed, I thought that I would always take care of you. Now, you are taking care of me." I glanced up, trying so hard not to cry. "You are my friend when I have no other. When did you become a woman, Ahat?"

She hugged me, her wet auburn hair sticking to my chest. "It's not fair that you always had to worry for both of us. I am no longer a child; let me carry my share of this burden."

She held me while I sobbed silently in her arms, covering my mouth so the guards wouldn't hear. The reality of this situation set in- my sister could very be punished for my selfishness. She could have been attacked by nomad or vagrant even on this path. We had to get to Tabal quickly; there was no turning back after we'd faked her suicide.

Ahat waited by the stream while I walked back to the caravan, distracting the guard by asking him about the travel itinerary. Ahat snuck back into the wagon, leaving her drying-cloth by the river.

"How many more days until we are in Tabal?"

"My lady, two more. We are about ten bêru from the palace gates."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Mursili."

The Anatolian nodded. "Please let us know if we can make your journey more comfortable." I smiled at him before he returned to his post.

/You could let my sister into the carriage, to start./

Stretching my limbs out on the cushioned bench, I anxiously imagined what my future days had in store. Would Prince Ambaris treat me well? What did that even mean? I supposed I could ask his other wives; not that they would necessarily answer honestly. Would they relay to the Prince that I had even asked such a question?

I shuddered. I had heard whispers from dancers in the harem that men in Anatolia were not harsh like Assyrian elites; that they only took one wife and even were tender. Would Prince Ambaris be like his countrymen?

My anxious stomach lurched forward as the carriage began to move. I could barely open my eyes, and I drank strong wine from my sheepskin to fall back into slumber even as Ashur* greeted the horizon.

...

A few nights later, I had another dream about Ahat and Abisha. It was so strange; normally when I had dreams, I was the main character. Why had my subconscious mind latched onto these two? After work one day, I bought a book on Mesopotamian history, but I couldn't find anything about Tabal. However, there was plenty of information on Assyria; on the ruthless kings and near-miraculous campaigns. Why had I never learned about this in school? Maybe I did, and I simply forgot. It was fascinating stuff, almost as dramatic as the shows I loved to watch. Mesopotamia was rooted in betrayal, usurpation, romance, and a pantheon of powerful, mercurial gods.

I called up Ashir. "No wonder you like these dead people so much."

"Hm?"

"I'm reading about the Mesopotamians right now. They're fascinating."

He laughed, the static clipping his voice. "I knew my podcasts would make you come around!"

"You said you knew something about a place called 'Tabal.' I keep having dreams about it. Where is it in Mesopotamia?"

"It's actually not, really. It's a part of Anatolia. Initially it was part of the Hittite Empire, but later it came under Assyrian control. It's in eastern Turkey nowadays. Why are you so fascinated in this tiny kingdom? They weren't really major players, or anything."

"I keep having dreams about it. It's so weird...there were these two sisters, Ahat and Abisha. Abisha is older and is looking out for Ahat. Their dad is the king of Assyria and he's trying to marry off Ahat to some Egyptian prince that they really don't like. Abisha is sent off to marry 'Amris,' who is the prince of Tabal, and she secretly takes Ahat with her."

"That's a very intricate dream. I don't know if this story actually happened or not, but I can take a look on the database when I get to my office."

"If you would, that would be great. I feel like I must have heard about this somewhere, because it feels so real when I dream about it."

"Do you think it's stress, making you have these vivid dreams?"

"I don't think so...work hasn't been too difficult lately."

"Maybe you're having a burst of creative energy; your mind wants to come up with something fantastic."

I laughed. "So, I should play piano more to make these dreams go away?"

He shrugged. "Couldn't hurt. Or maybe," he smiled teasingly, "dreaming about romance means you're going to meet someone special soon."

"How do you know I haven't already?"

Ashir grinned. "Have you been holding out on me, Anna? Who's the lucky guy?"

"A history graduate student. He's my special friend." I winked.

"Ooh, lala, I knew we'd wind up together, my dear!"
..