A/N: SHINY!!! (Glomps)

XP

"We're making some great time, but I don't think I'll ever willingly go through the Kardassian Ruins ever again. When we head back toward Egypt, let's take a boat." Alzik said.

"Agreed." Both Aizira and Tormal affirmed.

"I don't know, I kind of grew to like the place." I said, earning myself a punch in the arm from Aizira, "H-hey now!" I laughed. "I think someone's looking for trouble." I said, getting my fingers into Aizira's hip and tickling her.

She shrieked with laughter and tried to slap my hand away. "HEY! HANDS OFF! DON'T MAKE ME COME BACK THERE!!!" Alzik ordered from the front seat.

I looked up, and faked a look of wide-eyed surprise, pointing, "Watch out! A convenient distraction!" I exclaimed.

"What?!" Alzik turned around, and I used the time to grab Aizira and tickle her a bit more vigorously. "HEY!!! GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF MY SISTER, I MEAN IT!!!" He roared, and I removed my hands obediently.

"Yes sir." I said, clasping my hands in my lap.

Aizira smirked evilly, and bent over to put her arms around my neck and whisper in my ear, "This is so evil, so mean, and so much fun."

"I know, isn't it? They are going to kill me when they find out the truth though." I murmured back.

"Hey!" Alzik exclaimed. Tormal was trying to look like he wasn't there and had busied himself with looking through one of the baskets and folding up the cloth that was inside it.

"I'm not touching her!" I exclaimed, showing him my hands.

"Aizira what are you doing!? Stop encouraging him!!!" He yelled.

"I am flirting." Aizira said with a surprising amount of dignity even though her arms were wrapped around me, "And because I can't do it in private you're just going to have to deal with it!" She then turned back to me and giggled softly, "You were so brave, coming back to save me like that." She cooed loud enough for them to hear.

"Alright, I know you're doing that just to spite me, and you've made your point, now STOP IT!" Alzik exclaimed, "Tormal do something!" He ordered.

"Leave me out of this." Tormal said, flushing red and attempting to disappear behind a piece of cloth.

"Tormal doesn't have a problem with me being with Amon, so why do you?" Aizira demanded.

"For one, he doesn't have a face!" Alzik snapped. "Tormal, get up here and take the reins, now!" He ordered, and Tormal jumped up to do just that, glad of a reason to keep out of the conversation. But this left Alzik open to come over and pull Aizira off of me.

"Alzik you're touching my breasts!" Aizira exclaimed, gaining the desired reaction of a red face and mad spluttering, while I desperately tried to hold in my laughter. "And Amon has a face! Just because he doesn't feel comfortable showing you doesn't mean that I haven't seen it!" She snapped at him.

"What, you have?! You show her?!" Alzik demanded, glaring at me.

"I can deny her nothing I'm afraid." I told him. This really was that much fun. Neither Aizira and I were interested in each other in that way at all, I mean, I was straight as a flag pole and so was she. We were becoming more like secret sisters pulling an elaborate joke together, and man it was getting good!

"Okay, so what does he look like!?" Alzik demanded, "You must have an ugly face if you keep it covered." He snarled at me.

"ALZIK!!!" Aizira exclaimed, standing up and putting her hands on her hips, "I am surprised at you! How dare you treat Amon like that! For your information he is a very handsome young man!" She exclaimed.

"Then why won't you show me your face?" Demanded Alzik.

"That is because it is forbidden in my culture for me to show my face to another man. Not unless he has defeated me in battle. Only women my see our faces otherwise." I answered calmly.

That shut him up. "Oh…" He said, looking guilty, "Sorry." He muttered, "But that still doesn't mean I want you touching my sister! Or anywhere near her for that matter!" He exclaimed angrily.

"I assure you that I would not be so much as sitting next to her if the lady did not allow me the privilege." I said.

"That's right, Alzik!" Exclaimed Aizira, sitting resolutely right back down next to me and taking my hand defiantly. "And besides, it's my choice whom I court! Gods, Alzik, you just don't like the thought that I might be leaving you for Amon do you!? You're such a coward, Amon is twice the man you are!" She declared.

I had to turn around and hold my face in my hands, it was so, very, hard to keep myself from laughing, and I knew Aizira, once she realized exactly what she just said, was going to have a difficult time holding a straight face too.

That is, unless she honestly meant it.

She did understand I was a girl, right? And engaged, right? She remembered that, right?

"What do you think of this!?" Alzik roared at Tormal, who flinched and looked like he was seriously considering a jump off the cart.

"I…" He swallowed, but to my surprise, he stood up straight and turned to look Alzik in the eye, letting Bano pick his own way along the road, "I think that Aizira could to a lot worse than Amon, I think he could take care of her, and I think that if they decided to get married…he could make Aizira happy, and that should be good enough for you!" He said, and then he turned around, his shoulders slumped, as if huddled against the onslaught that was Alzik.

"Alright!" Alzik roared, throwing his hands in the air, "Alright, I get it, it's your decision, not mine! Marry the oh-so-mysterious son of a snake that you know nothing about! Marry the godforsaken summoner!"

"ALZIK!" She roared. But Alzik slammed himself down on the passenger seat of the cart and completely ignored us. "I think we may have gone too far…" She murmured to me.

"No, your brother has to understand that it's not his choice to make. And with men it's either all or nothing, there's no half-way point. He's got to understand that women are people just like men and have just as much right to make their own decisions as they do." I told her in an undertone. "And if this is the only way, so be it."

"You're right." She sighed, sitting down next to me, on the other side this time so Alzik couldn't see us, "I just hope he forgives us."

"You, you mean, forgives you. And he has to forgive you, you're his sister. But me? Well, I really don't care if he forgives me or not. Not like there's anything he can do." I said.

"I know…but you know he's right, you are a bit too mysterious for my taste. Why don't you tell me a bit more about yourself. What's your fiancé like?" She asked.

"He's more stubborn than a mule and just as selfish, and I love him so much. He's the only one that's ever been able to stop the nightmares, and being away from him feels like I've separated myself into two halves, leaving the other back in Babylon to wait for me to come back." I answered.

Aizira sighed dreamily, "But if you love him so much, why did you leave?" She asked quietly.

"Because there is something I have to do in India." I answered.

"What's that?"

"I'd rather you not get involved." I told her.

"Just telling me could get me involved?" She asked.

"Yes." I answered.

"Oh…alright then, tell me more about your future husband?" She said.

"He's handsome." I said.

"How handsome?"

"Very."

"Does he have a beard?" She asked.

"Some facial hair, mostly in the shape of a goatee. He's also grown his hair so that it nearly brushes his shoulders. I don't know if you like men with long hair, but I do."

"How did you meet? Was it love at first sight?" She asked.

"Oh no, no no no no." I answered, "At first sight we were tempted to kill each other." I said, which was half-way true. "But instead decided to ally ourselves with one another and fight through the labyrinth we had both been thrown into together." I told her, "At first we were simply allies, then we became friends. You can't really go through what we have without becoming fond of each other, or at least learning to tolerate one another. Our relationship grew slowly from that into a brotherly/sisterly affection, and only when we were almost through the maze did he decide he was going to marry me. I won't lie, I was very reluctant at first. It'd take too long to explain why, but you have to understand that I grew up in a world of violence, where the streets of my land were filled with blood and the bodies of slaughtered victims. I fought to survive, I became strong in order to rise above and get out of the hellhole I was born into. I grew up knowing all the negative emotions and none of the positive ones. I didn't even know that I had the ability to love before he came along and showed me how."

"That's so romantic…" She sighed, "He must love you so much…"

"To this day I still don't understand where his affection came from, but he loves me more than I can imagine, more than I feel I deserve. It's nice to have another girl to talk to about this though. Until now he was the only friend I ever had." I told her.

"I hope we can keep on being friends, I'd love to see the man who thinks he deserves a woman like you. Oh, I'm sorry, I mean, a man like you." She said, and she began giggling uncontrollably.

"See see?" I heard Tormal hiss to Alzik, and pretended that I didn't. "If he can make her laugh like that, if he can make her smile, if he loves her, then he deserves her! He's never even neared the line without Aizira's permission, Amon's the best man for her."

"Shut up." Alzik hissed through gritted teeth. "They're not really in love, I know Aizira too well, she'd just doing this to make us mad, and Amon's in on the entire thing."

"They're on to us." I whispered to her.

"Do they know?"

"No, but they suspect you're not really in love with me." I answered.

"You heard them? I could barely make out the whispering over the wagon." She asked.

"I've got good ears. Alzik knows you're just doing this to make him mad, and I'm in on it. I think that's why he's so angry at me." I answered.

"Should we try taking it up a notch?" She asked me.

"No, let's wait and see if he's got the picture. If not, then we'll do something truly evil." I answered.

"What do you have in mind?" She asked.

"Well, it would be very bad, and he might kill me for it, but perhaps we should get caught trying to take a bath together." I said.

"I think that might be too much, but I would like a bath. We can take one together anyways when they go to sleep, we're riding along the stream, so there's plenty of water." She said.

"Sounds good to me." I said.

XD

"And you're absolutely sure they're asleep?" Aizira asked.

"I poked him with a stick, he's asleep." I answered, unwrapping the belt around my front tunic and tossing it across the tree branch we were using for our clothes. We had found ourselves a nice spring, and though it was fairly cool, it was bearable. I pulled off the tunic, then my pants, which left my regular outfit beneath which also came off.

"Your hair, it looks like…like fire, or blood." Aizira said, "It's so beautiful."

"Thank you. I get that a lot, there aren't many red haired people around here…check that, there are none. Without the hood I stick out like a soar thumb, even without the tattoos." I said, slipping down into the water. Aizira slipped out of her last article and followed me. "Aaaaaah, this is nice." I sighed, sinking down to my knees so that I was up to my shoulders. I dipped my head down into the water and came back up, shaking it out. "Aizira? What's wrong?" I asked, suddenly realizing that she was sitting down a ways away from me, her back to me with her hands held tightly around herself.

I stood up and walked slowly over to her, pulling my hair up over both shoulders so I could run my fingers through it. "Is there something the matter?" I asked her, touching her shoulder lightly.

"It's just that…I…I don't know if I can do this." She murmured, making sure every part of her was covered whether by water or her arms as she stood up, her back to me.

"Aizira are you, shy?" I asked gently.

She turned so she could look at me, and she did look at me, she looked me up and down, and I could see a very distinct look oh her face…envy. "It's just that, you're so beautiful…" She murmured.

"And you don't think you are?" I asked her, putting my hands on my hips, "Aizira I'm not beautiful, I'm simply different, I'm unique, exotic. That's all my beauty is. You put me up against another woman of my own land and I'm nothing particularly special." I told her.

"But you're so perfect, your body, your hair, your face…I…I just don't compare…" She murmured.

"Aizira look at me!" I said, spinning her around so she had to face me, "You have never seen yourself in a mirror, have you? Don't compare yourself to me! You are a beautiful young lady, you are! You've got a little dirt on your face, sure, but that can come off with a bit of water and soap if we can get it." I told her.

Aizira looked at me, and then she flung herself into my arms and sobbed. Slightly surprised, and a bit terrified, I awkwardly put my arms around her and patted her on the back.

This sweet little scene was ruined, however, as I suddenly felt my arm being wrenched away from her, and a force I had not expected sent me flying away from her into the water. I spun around so I could fall on my hands, and Aizira let out a shriek of outrage. "ALZIK WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!?"

"I SHOULD BE ASKING YOU THAT!!!" He roared, and I could tell by his tone that this time, this time he wasn't going to let it go.

"What a way to ruin the moment." I grumbled.

"You shut up! I've had enough of this, it's gone too far! I swear, Amon, if you don't get out of here right now, I will kill you! I don't care how much stronger you are than me!!! From now on I'd better not see your face, or your little mask, ever again!" He bellowed.

"Alzik, wait! Amon's not—"

"AND YOU!!!" He roared, and I heard a slap and a gasp from Aizira. "HOW DARE YOU! YOU SLUT!!! YOU SWORE THAT YOU WOULDN'T DO THAT UNTIL YOU'RE MARRIED, HOW COULD YOU!?"

"That's enough!" I exclaimed, rage filling me up as I heard Aizira begin to sob. I got up and spun around to face him, but found a sword pointed directly at me.

"Yes, it is enough." He snarled at me, "Leave, now, or I will kill you." He hissed.

I glared at him, and with one foot knocked the sword out of his hand, "Alright, Alzik, I want you to take a good, hard look at me. I know it's dark, but there's enough light to see enough by." I growled, and I actually pulled my hair away from my breasts just so his vision wouldn't be at all impaired, "Take a good look at what you're making such a big deal out of, Alzik."

His jaw dropped, his other sword fell into the water and sank. He stared, transfixed, disbelief all over his face, "You're…you're…"

"I'm a girl! A woman!" I hissed, letting my hair fall back over myself, "I've been pretending to be the man, Amon, for a number of reasons, and Aizira has known for a long time now. We haven't told you because we had a point to make. Aizira doesn't belong to you, she's your sister, and she's not a child, and she's not your property! Just as I belong to no one but myself, not even my fiancé owns me! And he knows that, he understands that. It's about time the rest of the male population understood that too! Unfortunately that happened to start with you.

"Now, I can understand why you're so upset, I can understand your anger, and in a way it's kind of sweet how much you love your sister, but she isn't your property. And nothing gives you the right to slap her like that! It's your bad luck that you didn't use your eyes when you saw us together, but now I suggest you go back to bed, before I make you cry!" I snarled at him, bringing out my blades and pointing one of them at him.

"I-I…I…Aizira I'm…I didn't…he—I mean, she—I thought…" He babbled.

"Just go back to bed." She sobbed, turning away from him.

Alzik turned and gave me a look that clearly wished me a very gruesome death, and he was gone.

"Never…he's never…never even so much as flicked me…" Aizira sobbed, falling back into my arms again.

"I think, this time, we did go too far." I sighed, wondering if Alzik would ever forgive me for this.

And realizing, suddenly, that I did care, it did matter. Because, reluctantly or not, Alzik had become my friend as much as Tormal and Aizira had.

I felt sick with guilt, knowing I had made a huge mistake, that my insistence that Aizira be independent probably tore her and her brother apart. I thought long and hard about turning back time while Aizira and I half-heartedly finished scrubbing at ourselves as best we could. But I knew that would be a complete act of cowardice.

It was not going to run from my mistake, this was my fault, and I was going to fix it, whether that was even possible or not, I was going to fix it.

XP

Rhea: okay, we don't have much time today, so let's do a quick FAQ! Kioko you do it!

Kioko: Gotcha.

Q: Are you sure Kaida and Aizira aren't lezbi—

Kaida: YES WE'RE SURE!!!

A: What she said.

Q: Oh boy, how's Kaida going to get out of this one?

A: Very, very, carefully.

Q: Was Alzik blind?! It had to be pretty obvious they were both girls in that river!

A: He saw the clothes and not much else I'm afraid.

Prince: I can't believe you flashed your chest at that b(beep)!

Kaida: Well it was the only thing that got through his thick skull. And it was dark, so it's not like he saw any more than a rough outline.

DP: Still, don't do that again. Those are mine and mine alone! I don't want any other man so much as looking at them! Even in the dark!

Kaida: Funny, I thought they were attached to me.

DP: Hahahahaha.

Q: How come you're all so mean to Rhea?

A: Because she's just so fun to pick on.

Kaida: Yeah, pretty much, and she's my author so I have a right to pick on her.

Rhea: Bah, I know you love me!!!

Kaida: I'M NOT A LESBIAN!!!

Rhea: I meant platonically!!!

Q: Will Alzik forgive Kaida for this?

A: Who cares?

Q: Is Alzik going to fall in love with Kaida now?

Kaida: What, are you kidding me!? He freak'n hates my guts!

Q: Okay, what about Tormal?

Kaida: Contrary to popular belief, I am not the most beautiful woman in the world. You really think very many men of this time-frame are going to be overly attracted to a independent and willful woman like me?

Rhea: Okay that's all for now. See ya next time!!!