The Will of the Gods Ch. 03

Sekhmet teleported them just outside the city, behind a stone wall so no one would see them magically appear out of thin air. The walk into the city made Nerata'ari nostalgic. The smells of spices in the market, the women selling themselves nearby, even the children at play all brought back memories for the Oracle. They stopped by the temple, it's doors were still closed, the writing in blood still faintly visible on the wall. They stood outside, hand in hand, not wanting to go in and despoil the tomb for the fallen women with their presence. The pair just stood outside the doors quietly paying their respects.

The couple continued to walk hand in hand through the town. No one really paid much attention to them, they were all too busy with their own lives to worry about someone else's. They made their way through the slums of the city, the normally oppressive heat was all the more unbearable in the stagnant, stale air here. Tan colored mud-brick homes stacked nearly on top of each other created narrow alleyways between them, stifling any breeze that might comfort them. The stench of human and animal waste hung in the air like some unseen fog waiting to choke the life out of everyone caught within it. The conversations, laughter, and screams of people hidden behind the walls while not a single person was visible in the alleys was eerie, like a strange dream both of them seemed to be walking deeper into.

After a few minutes of navigating the labyrinth of houses they arrived at their destination. Nerata'ari's brother's house looked like the rest; coarse mud-brick walls the color of the sand beneath their feet rose two storeys tall, topped with thatch roofing. A pair of windows on each floor were the only things that let light into the hovel. A thin wooden door hung on the wall, nothing but thick leather straps for hinges.

Nerata'ari froze, her stomach churning, frothing with a dozen emotions roiling inside her like snakes. She desperately wanted to see her family. She missed them, especially her nieces and nephew, more than she realized. Yet terror at the thought of losing them forever gripped her heart like a vice. Underneath it all lay a sliver of hope that maybe, just maybe, her only family in the world wouldn't throw her out in the street but accept her with open arms. She wasn't sure if that hope actually existed or she was being naive, but she clung to it like all desperate people do when faced with hardships that need to be overcome no matter the costs.

She gripped Sekhmet's hand like a python killing its prey. They looked each other in the eye, both smiling through their fear.

"You don't have to intro.."

"Yes I do" Nerata'ari interrupted. "I need to and want to." She gave her a quick kiss, "I love you."

The Oracle took a deep breath and slightly relaxed her grip on her partner's hand before knocking on the door. She heard a woman, her sister-in-law, tell one of her nieces to open the door, followed by little feet running towards them. Her heart jumped at the idea of seeing her niece again. Nerata'ari found herself smiling uncontrollably, tears welling up in her eyes.

The rickety wooden door creaked as it slowly swung open. The two women were greeted by a child half their height. Her normally beautiful long brown hair was tangled in a mess, it combined with the dirt on her face and simple dress stained with dirt to clearly show the girl had been hard at work playing with her siblings.

A special twinkle formed in the girl's already sparkling brown eyes as a smile spread almost impossibly wide across her small face. "AUNTIE NERA!" she yelled as loud as she could. She threw herself at her aunt with all her little might. Nerata'ari picked up the bundle of pure, unadulterated love as best she could considering her niece was simultaneously trying to hug her and climb her like a jungle gym. Soon all her nieces and nephews were clinging to her, showering her with affection as only small children can. Even the youngest boy Nerata'ari remembered was gripping her tightly, despite the fact that he couldn't possibly remember her. A toddler that Nerata'ari never even knew about came to investigate the commotion.

"I love you!"'s and "I missed you!"'s were shared all around, almost as much as kisses. She exchanged long overdue greetings with her sister-in-law, Anai, and brother, Badru, before introducing Sekhmet.

The Goddess was swept up in all the beauty of the reunion and nearly forgot her presents. She produced a large leather pack from behind her back, which Badru was almost certain wasn't there a minute earlier. "I brought presents for the children" she said, "I hope the clothes fit them, and they like the toys" she added. She produced another pack from her side of the door frame "We brought food too."

They gathered in the family's small living room while the children marveled over their new clothes. Nerata'ari, Sekhmet, and Bardu sat on small wooden stools that looked like they wouldn't support the kids let alone a full grown adult. Sekhmet kept pulling more food out of her bag, more than should have fit, but no one seemed to notice. Anai was busy preparing the food Sekhmet was happy to give her, while Nerata'ari and Badru caught up with the goings on in each other's life.

Nerata'ari apologized profusely for not saying goodbye when her temple was "shut down" after the massacre. Badru knew she had survived it though, he had been in the crowd when she gave the rousing speech that drove them crazy with vengeance. She told him she joined a temple much further south that was in need of an oracle, as she couldn't bring herself to open this one again.

Badru for his part was doing the same. He was still working on a ferry transporting people and goods up and down the Nile. Nothing really ever changed much in their lives, except the number of children they have. Anai was currently expecting child number six.

The family feasted on the food the couple had brought. They all remarked that it was the best they had ever eaten, but Sekhmet insisted it was all because of Anai's good cooking. When no one else was looking, the Goddess touched the edge of a cup belong to one of the children, causing it to refill with water. The child sat in wide eyed amazement before squealing at the top of his lungs. He rushed to show his siblings what had happened; none of them believed him though. Sekhmet felt sad for the little boy, who came over and hugged her all the same. When the rest of them were distracted she refilled each of their cups as well. This caused great confusion amongst the children, except for one little boy who kept shouting "I told you so!" at everyone in the room.

Nerata'ari smiled a knowing smile at her partner. She knew the time was coming for her to give her family the news. Her stomach churned again, although this time it had food in it. Nerata'ari thought she might vomit, but was able to hold it down.

Her brother and sister-in-law both saw the look on her face and immediately asked simultaneously "Are you alright?" They both looked as though they were about to jump out of their chairs to get the Oracle anything she asked for.

"It's nothing" she said with a smile. "Well actually, it's something wonderful."

It was now or never, either overwhelming joy or the total loss of her family was moments away. She suddenly couldn't comprehend the magnitude of it all as a thousand thoughts flooded her mind. Why did things have to be this way? They wouldn't throw me out of their lives! They couldn't possibly accept me! What made society this way? She wanted to kill everyone who ever contributed in any way to make society stigmatize her love for Sekhmet, but also realized the selfishness, immaturity, and foolishness of such an idea. She wanted to change the world with her love, but knew it was pointless. She wanted everyone in the world to feel a love like hers, but knew the world was too harsh a place for that to happen for too many of them. I'll show them what it's like, they'll see! No one would listen to me!

She reached out and grabbed her partner's hand a bit more forcefully than she would have liked. Just that simple touch from the love of her life gave her renewed strength. Nerata'ari took a deep breath, get it over with she told herself.

"I have a confession to make. Sekhmet isn't another priestess, she's my partner."

"Partner in what?" Badru asked, thoroughly confused.

"She's my partner in life Badru." The look of confusion didn't dissipate from his face. "She's my lover."

It took her brother almost half a minute to realize what she was saying. Nerata'ari probably would have openly teased her brother for being so slow, or at least thought it, had it not been for her heart's ever steady climb up her throat as if it were terrified of the snakes in her stomach.

As woman usually are, Anai was much more quick on the draw than her husband, but not just about the two lovers in front of her, she had a suspicion about that for a little while now. No, she was putting together the whole picture. Nerata'ari was an oracle of Sekhmet, and here was a woman named Sekhmet with her. Normally it would be taboo to name a child after one of the Gods, but it was allowable if the child was destined to serve that God. But this woman wasn't a priestess according to her sister-in-law. A fact that she felt as though Nerata'ari didn't mean to let slip. Then it hit her; the bags seeming to appear out of nowhere, the presents for the children that they all loved, the clothes that fit them just right even though it would have been impossible for Nerata'ari to know their sizes, the amazing food that kept coming from a bag that should have emptied out much sooner! The kids didn't just forget that their cups were full, they were right, they were magically refilled by this Goddess. Anai didn't know to be terrified or awe struck.

The husband and wife jumped from their stools, but for very different reasons. Anai gasped and lowered herself to the floor to kneel as fast as her pregnant belly would allow while her husband began to scream. Terror coursed through Anai's body as she scrambled back to her feet "Husband be quiet!" she nearly shouted while trying to cover her husband's mouth.

Badru wasn't a bad husband, he was never mean or abusive, but between the news he just got from his sister and the way his wife was acting he became very short with her; "Take the children upstairs now!" he shouted at her.

"Badru please, behave yourself."

"DO NOT TELL ME WHAT TO DO OR HOW TO ACT IN MY OWN HOME WOMAN! NOW DO AS I SAY!"

Anai recoiled; she had never heard her husband speak to anyone like that, let alone her. She stood there in stunned silence, not sure what to do. She wanted to obey her husband, but there was a Goddess sitting in their living room, a Goddess that was about to be yelled at by her foolish husband. What would, or could, she do to them if he insulted her in any way?

Anai looked at Sekhmet and thought for a moment. She felt as though the Goddess genuinely loved Nerata'ari, and she seemed fond of the children, so she probably wouldn't do anything to them out of respect for Nerata'ari, but that was hopeful speculation at best. Maybe it would be best to take the children upstairs. It would get them out of the room and away from whatever was going to unfold, and obeying her husband right now might calm him a bit.

She turned towards Sekhmet and began to kneel, "please forgive us for anything my husband says."

"NOW!" he screamed at her.

Sekhmet rushed forward to catch the pregnant woman before she made it all the way to a kneeling position. She helped her fully stand up, "please don't kneel for me. Why don't I help you herd these little beasts upstairs?"

Anai stood speechless, her eyes and mouth wide open in amazement. A real life Goddess just helped her to her feet with the most gentle touch she ever felt, and offered to help her with her children! She thought she was about to faint. At least all the emotional ups and downs of the past few minutes were going to end with a good feeling about their survival.

"O...ok" she replied.

"Do you kids want to see something really amazing?" the Goddess asked, trying to distract them as best she could, while scooping up the youngest one in her arms. The children jumped up, excited by the thought of what was to come even though none of them knew what was coming or the nature of the person asking the question.

The last thing Nerata'ari saw before turning her attention back to her brother was Sekhmet, her hands attacking all of her nephew's ticklish body parts. A chorus of laughter capable of warming the coldest of hearts rang through the house.

Nerata'ari and Badru verbally slugged it out for over an hour. She couldn't convince her brother that she wasn't hurting anyone or that she was even in love. He was firmly convinced, in his own small mind, that her love couldn't possibly even exist. He argued feebly that if she was going to break her vow of celibacy she needed to do it with a man because it was the only correct way to love, based on how things had always been done. She pointed out the logical flaws in his reasoning, but he was too simple minded to even understand the basics of logic.

By the end both of them were exhausted, but neither had given any ground to the other. It was by no means lost on Nerata'ari as to why. Besides their society's views hindering things, it was the intellectual divide between the siblings that was causing the biggest problem. Nerata'ari could make all the logically sound arguments she wanted to, but as long as her brother remained as ignorant as he was, they all sounded alien to him and he would reject them on that alone. Badru on the other hand couldn't comprehend that his arguments against his sister were so puerile that even he shouldn't believe them. He even once resorted to using her Goddess' wrath as a reason not to travel the path she was on, as if he knew what her Goddess, or any deity, wanted. Nerata'ari desperately wanted to call Sekhmet downstairs for a good laugh at that one, but she resisted; Anai knew about Sekhmet anyway she told herself, so let her tell him about that little jewel and if he didn't believe her the children's stories of all the things the Goddess did to entertain them should work.

* * *

Sekhmet wanted nothing more than the go back downstairs and release her pent up anger out on Badru. Her lover was under attack, albeit only verbally, but she never the less thought of all the ways she could cut the small man in half. But she knew this was a battle that Nerata'ari had to fight on her own and that out of her love and respect for her, and her new found love of all the little cherubs in front of her, she would never let the man come to any harm from herself or anyone else.

She had taken it upon herself to entertain the kids and hopefully distract them from the commotion downstairs, so she did it to the best of her abilities. She started by making some of their dolls dance in the air. The children laughed and screamed so much they drowned out the adults a floor below them. She then levitated one of the boys, exciting and terrifying him at the same time. Soon all of the kids were jumping up and down at the chance to fly, so she levitate all of them. When they were done a few of them begged her to let them be able to fly whenever they wanted, and while she would have liked to please them, Sekhmet couldn't imagine that ending well, so she had to decline. One of the boys asked of she could send his oldest sister really high in the air and drop her, earning a swift but gentle admonishment from both Sekhmet and his mother. The Goddess then pulled numerous blankets from her bottomless bag and handed them out to everyone. At first the children protested bundling up, it was already too hot, but when Sekhmet chilled the room down enough to see her breath they couldn't get under their blankets fast enough. She continued cooling the room until the water in their cups froze over. Soon after it began to snow in the room, gently at first, but soon it was nearing white out conditions. Within minutes it was over, six inches of fluffy white powder covered everything in the room. Sekhmet scooped a handful of it, compressed in into a loosely packed ball, and threw it at the boy who wanted his sister dropped. The boy yelled in excitement as much as outrage at being hit in the eye with something so cold. There was a seconds pause where everyone in the room just looked at each, then the same idea hit them at the same time. In no time at all the room was full of snowballs flying through the air, blankets discarded all over the floor like the first casualties of war. The children all yelled in delight as they threw balls of frozen water at each other's faces as hard as their little arms could.

This continued for a few more minutes before Nerata'ari interrupted them. She was reluctant to do so, not only did she want to spend more time with her family, but like her nieces and nephews she had never even heard of snow, let alone seen it.

"We have to go" she said flatly.

The look of exhaustion and sadness on her face broke Sekhmet's heart. She hoped more than anything that this visit would end well, but it hadn't.

Goodbye hugs and kisses were shared by all, except Badru who was still fuming downstairs. Anai said she would talk to her husband on their behalf, then bowed to Sekhmet as low as her belly would allow. Sekhmet wanted to stop her like last time, but just let the woman do as she pleased. Anai had gotten to know the Goddess while playing with the children and knew her love for Nerata'ari was real, no matter how much she didn't understand it. Both of the women were grateful for Anai's friendship and continued support on their behalf.

Underneath the snow, in a forgotten corner of the room, Sekhmet left a bag with an ordinary bottom full of gold coins. She wasn't at all happy with Badru, but she wanted to make sure the children were well taken care of.

Outside the two women walked hand in hand through the maze of hovels, not a word was spoken between them for longer than any of them realized. Sekhmet finally broke the silence that was threatening to drive her crazy, "I'm proud of you my love. You were amazing in there. You fought your battle all by yourself, you stood your ground, and you came out even stronger I think."

"Thank you. I kept thinking about calling for you and asking for your help. I just didn't know how to get through to him, help him understand what my life is like, help him see the errors in his thinking, but nothing worked."

"Oh my love, I would have helped you in anyway I could, from communication to dismemberment, but this was your family and your fight."

Nerata'ari laughed when Sekhmet mentioned dismembering her brother, but was a little unsure why. Normally it would be taken as a joke, but she had seen her lover standing among a half dozen tomb robbers she single handedly killed, so she knew she was fully capable of cutting her brother to pieces, and it's not like she wanted that in the slightest either. "Well maybe next time it will go better."

"You mean he didn't disown you?" she asked, overjoyed at the thought.

"He never said anything of the sort, or that I couldn't come back."

Sekhmet nearly jumped at the news. Instead she grabbed Nerata'ari by the waist and hoisted her in the air as she spun around and laughed her light, joyous laughter that to Nerata'ari sounded more beautiful that all the songbirds in the world. She set her down on the soft sand in the alley and kissed her deeply, "That's great!" she squealed like the kids. Nerata'ari nodded her head, tears of joy in her eyes.

Unbeknownst to either of them, the only reason Badru didn't disown her on the spot was because he was too slow witted to think about it. That didn't matter now though, nor in the future. Nerata'ari wasn't disowned, that's all that mattered. She still had her family. However fractured that connection was it was still there, which was better than either of them expected.