A/N: Hey again! I believe a golden number has been reached with reviews! 50! Thanks for all the support, and I hope y'all continue to read and review, so enjoy!

Bastet

I was shaking with anger. I had been calling User by his name for days, yet here he was changing my child's name. He wasn't even there, he hadn't even seen the child, yet he wanted to make this kind of a change. I began to wonder if I was in the right mental state to write such an important message.

"Wait, Bastet...what is he talking about?" Yuri asked. I froze. I had promised myself not to talk about it, ever, and Ramses' implements had passed through my head too quickly to be relished.

"It is not important." I replied coolly, then baby-talked to Nephthys as I lowered her, then User, into the bassinet in Yuri's room(I had requested it to be put in there, as I was spending more time than expected in her room). "Look what Daddy got you."

Nephthys giggled at the silly face I made, and gave me a toothless grin as I slipped the bracelet onto her arm.

"It did not sound like something not important." Yuri pressed.

"I'd...rather not talk about that."

"Is-." I didn't let whoever was speaking finish their sentence, and started playing my flute. Loudly.

Except the flute let out a screech, out of nowhere, in which I put it down quickly before the babies could be disturbed.

"Bastet." Yuri pressed, and I cried out in frustration. I would not have this conversation. Not with such a large audience.

"I'll tell you later." I replied, teeth gritted. She got the point, and nodded towards me.

But I knew she wouldn't let it go.

Yuri

The possibilities rolled through my head, too quickly for me to process, but we went out to the courtyard so a man could give us a tour.

"This is the blue deer room." The man gestured to an ornate door with the design of a blue deer etched into it.

"What's in here?" I asked curiously.

"No one knows, but whoever enters that room never comes out. I would advise you to stay away." I dismissed this quickly. It wasn't important.

"I don't care what Mattiwaza has in that room." I told the twins impatiently. "I just want to find a way out of here."

"Princess Yuri, you should wait for Prince Kail to rescue you!" Ryui scolded. Bastet scoffed.

"Please. Where we come from, it's not in the Princess Handbook to sit around like a damsel! I'm all for it, we're finding a way out." she declared.

I had expected cruel women to start gossiping about our presence here, particularly since I wasn't exactly alluring.

However, these weren't the whispers I heard.

"Look at her," a woman whispered, "what is she doing back?"

"I don't know. With the way she left here, I would have thought she would never return. Now all of our chances are surely ruined. He will never visit our quarters now." another mumbled, pouting.

She did not. I couldn't believe it, not off of this one first testimony.

So openly gawking, I ran into another woman. She looked much more grand than the others.

"You fool! Look what you have done to Princess Nadia!" a servant screeched. The twins bowed, and to my surprise, Bastet did as well as she could with Hadi and User strapped to her chest.

"My Lady," Bastet addressed, "It has been a while." The woman smiled down at Bastet.

"You have returned!" The woman exclaimed, and pulled Bastet to her feet to wrap her in a quick embrace. "You had children?" she asked. Bastet nodded, grinning like a child.

"And is this His Majesty's new concubine? Have you returned as one as well?" she asked.

"Yes. This is the one they call Ishtar." Bastet explained. "Please forgive her, she isn't well informed, she's not from this land." Princess Nadia smiled.

"I understand. I hope your time here is comfortable." I replaced my confused look with a smile. "And Bastet, you must come visit. Come, come." the princess waved, and Bastet sent me one last look before catching up with Princess Nadia.

Bastet

"Leave us." the princess commanded. I had never wanted to return to this retched place, but Nadia considered me a pupil, a friend if you will, and I considered her a role model as well.

Until she told me what she was planning.

"You were just a child, Bastet, and now you have children. You have grown beautifully." Nadia poured.

"Thank you." I replied. "And you, last time I saw you, you were pregnant still. How did the child turn out?"

"She was named Nadian." she replied quickly. "And, I've had one other after her, a boy."

"I'm happy for you." I said, lightly touching her arm. She nodded, but her smile started to fade, and I knew something important needed to be said.

"You remember my sister, yes?" she asked. I hesitated. I knew Queen Nakia, and I knew well enough that she didn't particularly favor Yuri.

"Yes, but what does she have to do with anything?" Nadia bit her lip.

"Her servant has come to me, notifying me of that girl's presence here. He wants me to get his Highness to strike her down." she explained. I felt my fury build quickly.

"Why? What has she done for you?" I asked.

"She is my sister." she simply replied.

"Forget that! You don't understand, Yuri is not a bad person. She does not deserve to have your sister constantly hounding her!"

"Don't talk about Nakia that way. There is nothing you can do, I must fulfill this. However, I wanted you to know, so you can stay away from her. She will get you killed." she warned.

"This is unbelievable, Nadia. I have no idea what you are planning," I started as I walked toward the door. "But I won't stand by and watch you persecute a child for no reason."

The plan was unbelievable. Coming from Nadia, I was shattered, and left trying to distinguish right and wrong. She had been a role model if you will; at the time I had known her, it seemed Mattiwaza would marry her. She would get her fairy tale ending, and what girl doesn't want that? Obviously, it never happened.

To make matters worse, Yuri was waiting in my room. I sighed, and once again lowered each child into their bassinet.

"What?" I asked. "Because I have something to tell you." she hesitated before answering.

"Yes, you do. What happened here? You didn't even decide you wanted to mention that you had been in Wasuganni before, nonetheless lived in the Prince of Darkness' seraglio!"

I had promised her, in the hopes of distilling her inquiries for at least that day, but even then by postponing an explanation I had probably nursed her curiosity.

I wasn't one to break promises readily.

"I was here as a spy for Egypt a couple of years ago and he got a little attached. That's all you need to know."

"You can't be serious! A little?"

"If you really want to know the gory details of it..." I started, but I was interrupted by a vigorous head nod. I'd settle with telling Yuri the infatuation Mattiwaza had with me, not exactly the whole truth, but close enough.

I should've known. All of the worst things happen to me. Yes, I happened to be found by Ramses just 10 months ago, yet I had only spent half of that time with my only kind-of-friend.

Ramses, along with Horus, had decided I was ready for a mission, quite unfortunately. Nefertiti had agreed surprisingly. I would have thought she'd want me as near as possible to Ramses, but the direction she chose still gave me doubts, and I decided I still needed to exercise weariness with the Queen Dowager.

So, of course, I had gotten shipped off to Malatia as a gift for the Prince of Darkness, recently promoted to the Commander of the army. During that time, he had lived up to his name in his late twenties; however, he still looked boyish, with blue-black hair reaching his shoulders and his youthful features marred by a still raw scar. I had been left alone, for the first time since I had dusted off the sand on my swimsuit, the only remnant of the present I had.

I had been distracting the prince for months, and even the top concubine, Nadia, had taken me in and loved me as if I were the child growing in her stomach, despite the fact that Mattiwaza slowly began giving more attention to me than her.

We shared passionate moments, some forced on my part and some...not too forceful. He began to grow on me, more so than Ramses had in the time I had spent with him. But, Mattiwaza and my relationship wasn't love, more like courtesy. I was supposed to act as his concubine (not saying I had lost my virginity during that time or anything like that), and he was supposed to use me as his concubine. That was the way things were supposed to go.

But he mistook that for love-and maybe me too.

"I-I must tell you something, your Highness." I stuttered as he trailed kisses down my jaw. I breathed in and out. This was the day they said they'd come for me.

But I didn't want to leave.

"Leave talking for later." He mumbled, and I sighed. I felt awful knowing at this very moment, Egypt was conquering the small area of Malatia that was constantly disputed, and Horus was headed this way with a small section of the army.

"Why? We should cherish every moment, and it seems all you want to do is physical." I complained teasingly. He stopped his advances, but then I stopped what I was about to say in fear of the wrath of Egypt.

"Well?" He asked, raising one dark eyebrow. I sighed again, and cradled his face in my hands.

"Forget what I said." I replied, and kissed him.

I immediately knew what it was when the doors burst open.

"Your Highness!" a man shouted. "The castle is being stormed, and the captors are demanding Bastet!" I watched firsthand as he turned his gaze back to me and care turned into confusion, and that into mournful heartbreak.

"Tell them they will have to come get her." he snarled, and we were alone once again.

"My Lord-." I started.

"Do you honestly want to go?" he interrupted to ask. "Because I will let you walk outside right now."

"What?" I asked back. This is certainly not what I had anticipated.

"You can leave." he repeated.

In that moment, something happened I wouldn't have ever said in my right mind-and who knows, I might have started going crazy in that moment, judging by the cat fiasco that happened years later. And, my silly fourteen-year-old mind was unaware of how love and relationships worked.

"You have got to be kidding me." I said to him in anger. "How the heck do you get named the Prince of Darkness? You are supposed to fight. Fight for me, you cannot just let them take me!" I shouted at him.

"Why would you want me to? You are some kind of gift in disguise, correct? I am many things, but not oblivious, and I've been watching the area the Egyptians are invading for months. And I did not do anything, because I was afraid they may have taken you away earlier."

"Why just hand me to them, then?" I shouted. His tone continued to be even.

"Get out of here, Bastet." he said, and sat down on the bed in my chambers. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. When I opened them, a smile was plastered on my face. I plopped down next to him.

"I am not leaving anytime soon." I wrapped my arms around his waist and rested my head on his shoulder as he became rigid under my touch.

"You are sure?" he asked. I nodded, and he pulled me closer with his hand around my shoulder. "We must act quickly, then. You must stay here."

"No way." I replied. "I will be staying with you."

I stayed at his side as he prepared his army. I was allowed to use a bow and arrow, even.

I once again saw a look of confusion, except this time in Horus's eyes. I saw them disappear, then Horus was next to me, grabbing my arm and attempting to pull me away. I gave him a look of refusal and looked to Mattiwaza for confirmation until I saw him battling another man.

I shook my head at Horus, and then he sighed and lifted me over my shoulder.

Mattiwaza never saw a thing.

"What are you doing?" Horus asked as he put me down, safe away from battle.

"I'm not leaving." I replied, and turned back around.

"Are you crazy?" he asked. I shook my head.

"Prince Mattiwaza has been kinder to me than anyone in Egypt ever has been."

"Do you know how we have worried about you for this whole time? You sit here and tell me no one cares?" He turned his head, running his tongue across the curve of his lips and taking off his headdress to comb his hair back with trembling fingers. "Do you know how Ramses changed without your presence?" he asked.

"Does it matter? All he does back home is bring a new girl around and screw her for a month, then he moves on to another! None of his attention is directed toward me." I pointed out.

"What was one of the words you have used before? Brat? Because that is exactly what you are being right now. He's the commander of an army, soon to be general probably, and all you think about is yourself. You are being incredibly selfish. Everyone is not supposed to just dote on you all the time!" Horus shouted. I had never seen the cool-tempered warrior-musician act that way.

"But I have time for him!" I screamed back, silencing him. "I have to deal with that evil hag Nefertiti, I'm gone on assignments nearly as much as him, and I have the battle scars to prove it! But, I always make time to converse with him as soon as I'm back, or he's back, and yet he brings in these women who don't even know him! And don't you dare say I don't know anything just because I'm young and I haven't been here long, because I know him well enough!"

"Then come with him, and show him, Bastet." he replied. "He has missed you; he wants you home."

I slowly considered, and gave him an answer.

I don't regret my choice, but perhaps Mattiwaza would have been a better person with me. Who knows, maybe I would too. Nonetheless, Yuri wasn't particularly pleased with this bit of information.

"What?" she asked, brooding.

"I made him learn to love, tricked him into thinking I was on his side, and left him in the middle of battle?" I lied, phrasing my response as a question, as if I was actually afraid of her reaction. Her bangs shaded her eyes, but her mouth had an alarmingly angry set.

"You traitor!" she exclaimed.

"I'm sorry? What does that have to do with our situation at the moment?" I asked.

"You treat a person like that, no wonder the Prince of Darkness is so screwed up!"

"You're stepping out of line, Yuri." I warned, but she stood up, in full gear now.

"You broke a man's heart for no reason other than the advancement of your military. Who knows what you'd go to now?" This enraged me, insinuating that I was lying about my reasons for helping the Hittites. I stepped closer, making our noses only centimeters apart.

"Don't you dare say I have no loyalty. I have done many things to deceive others, but our friendship is certainly not a betrayal." I told her. She glared at me in silence.

"Now, you have about three seconds to get out of my room before I fight you, Yuri, because I happen to be incredibly pissed off right now. And, you may have Ishtar's favor, but I still know how to beat someone's ass. I had something important to tell you, but you have made it clear enough that you don't want my help. Let your Ishtar be with you for what's to come."

Her eyes softened into puzzlement, but she left quickly. I sat down and pinched the bridge of my nose.

Now what?