Fate/stay night 1. Chapter 1

**Welcome to my newest GilXHeroine fic. ^-^ I wanted to try something different so here's a fic set in ancient times! I did research to try to make it accurate but I did take some creative liberties as well. Timeline wise, this is before Enkidu's creation. Also, like my other Fate fics, the Heroine's name is Hikaru. **

* * *

Gilgamesh was bored.

He shifted position on his throne as he listened to another peasant from his kingdom plead his case about how the locusts were eating the crops. He rested his head in his hand as the peasant droned on and on. When he was finally done yapping, the king issued an order that the problem would be dealt with and the peasant should go home and leave it to him. After thanking him profusely the peasant left and Gilgamesh got to his feet before the next one could be brought in.

"Listen to the rest of them for me. I will be in the gardens if I am required to be present," he commanded.

Ekur, his _baru_ and most trusted diviner bowed as low as his old back would allow him. "Yes my king."

Gilgamesh left the audience chamber without another word. He stepped into the inner gardens where he kept all of the lush plants he had collected over the years. There were a couple of pools and fountains scattered here and there in the garden. He had gotten the best crafts smiths to design them to his liking. A couple of slaves were tending to the garden but when they saw their king they scurried away.

He began slowly walking through the garden and slowly took in the sights and smells. Maybe he should get some animals put in here as well. A lion might be too much but maybe some deer? Naw. Then he would need to worry about where he stepped. Better not then.

Reaching the first of many stone seats that were scattered around the gardens, he sat down and closed his eyes. It was a pretty nice day, not blistering hot yet. Maybe the gods were in a good mood today.

He was beginning to doze off when he heard the sound of yelling coming from nearby. He cracked open an eye, now incredibly annoyed. A figure was running in his direction.

Without thinking, he stuck out his foot and the figure tripped over it and fell to the ground.

The king got to his feet and grabbed the person's arm before whoever it was could scurry away again. He paused as the figure turned back to look at him. Or safe to say, when the woman turned back to look at him. She was clad in a ragged simple dress. Her long dark brown hair fell to her mid-back and had definitely seen better days. She was skinny to the point that she was not eating well enough. Her face though was what the King focused on. Dark brown eyes gazed up at him, full of defiance. Her facial structure was odd, nothing like had ever seen before. Where in the land was this woman from?

"So where are you going?" he purred. He could hear the yelling of his guards from behind him.

The woman had none of his teasing. Her leg shot out and connected with Gilgamesh's only weak spot. He released her in surprise and hunched over from the pain. "Well you are feisty," he said through gritted teeth.

He could see the woman scramble to her feet and she began running again. However he had delayed her enough that the guards had been able to catch up and they were able to grab her and pin her to the ground.

"My king," spoke one of the guards when he noticed Gilgamesh hunched over on the ground. "Are you alright?"

"I'm alright," replied Gilgamesh. He recovered enough to stand up. He looked down at the woman who was pinned to the ground. Despite the fact that she probably had realized he was the king, she still glared up at him with those huge brown eyes of hers.

"My king. We found this woman raiding the storehouse and we gave chase when she began running. I am sorry you were injured because of her. We will have her taken to the court to be punished."

Gilgamesh stared down at her and her eyes just stayed focused on him. Still defiant they stared at him. How curious this woman was. "Wait a moment," he ordered as the guards hauled her to her feet. Due to how rough they were with her, she almost fell over again. It was then that he noticed that she wore no sandals on her small feet. "Woman, what is your name?"

She did not reply but instead continued to stare at him with those eyes of hers.

"The king has asked you a question!" A guard shook her roughly and for a few brief seconds Gilgamesh thought she would break apart from the touch.

She turned those eyes of hers to the guard and she blinked slowly before turning them back to Gilgamesh. She opened her mouth and spoke clearly. "Hikaru."

"Hikaru," repeated Gilgamesh. The name was foreign on his tongue. He had never heard of a name like that before. "Where do you hail from Hikaru?"

No response. She had dropped her eyes to the ground.

Narrowing his eyes, he grabbed her chin and forced her to look up at him. "I asked you, where do you hail from?"

Again. Those defiant eyes of hers met his. "I do not know," she said finally. "I was raised on a traveling caravan."

"That's better." He released her and took a step back. He gave her a once over. A girl from somewhere faraway but did not know it herself. A foreign name attached to a mysterious woman. Now this was what he would call interesting.

"My king?" asked a guard.

Gilgamesh smiled. "Do not take her to the court. I would like to keep her instead."

Both the guards and Hikaru looked at the king in surprise and confusion.

"My king? What do you mean by that?"

"Take her to the blacksmith and get a pair of shackles custom fit for her feet. I want her as a slave in the palace."

Those eyes were on him again. Questioning and yet furious eyes. Oh, his intuition was right. This woman was interesting.

One of the guards recovered from Gilgamesh's unusual proclamation and said, "Yes my king. We will have it done right away."

"Good." Gilgamesh turned away but he thought of something and turned around again. "Also, do not get her branded as a slave." He could see how his guards wanted to protest that wild request but they held their tongue. Good for them. Hikaru was staring at him questionably but she did not speak. "After getting her shackled, take her to Puabi. That is all."

"Yes my king."

While the guards dragged Hikaru away, Gilgamesh returned to the audience chamber.

"What brings you back here so soon?" chuckled Ekur. "Usually you are gone for the whole day my King."

"Do not get too comfortable for my return. I am on my way to speak with Puabi now."

"Puabi? Why is it that you wish to speak with the head of the slaves?" Ekur blinked his tired old eyes. "I thought you detested that woman."

"I do dislike her. She is much too strong-willed for my tastes however I found something quite interesting in the gardens and I need to give Puabi instructions before she is returned."

Ekur continued to stare at his king in confusion. "What have you found?"

"I will tell you the story later," he laughed. Oh what a story it was. "Return to your duties, we will speak of this later."

"Of course my king," spoke Ekur to Gilgamesh's retreating back.

* * *

Hikaru did not understand the king of Uruk.

When he had tripped her in the garden and the guards had taken her, she thought it was the end for her. She was a poor girl that lived on a traveling caravan. She had attempted to steal from the palace, steal from the King himself. She thought her life would be over then and there. The deal, she thought, would have been sealed after she had given the King a kick in a certain location…

However, none of that happened. He seemed to have been intrigued by her for some reason. Maybe it had something to do with her foreign looks? Probably.

She looked down at her feet. Metal shackles were cuffed around her ankles with a chain linking the two together. There was enough chain that she was able to walk and if she was careful she could walk briskly. That was it though. Running was out of the question. Why did he bother to have these made for her instead of branding her like one would do to a slave? She might not want a brand but practicality said it would make much more sense to do it that way instead of how he did it.

It seemed like she was really unique in that regard as well. None of the other slaves carried shackles on their feet. Only brands that adorned various parts of their skin gave away the telltale signs of being slaves. Only she was different.

Not like it helped her out any. The head of the slaves, Paubi did not care if she was chained or branded. If she had three heads she didn't think Paubi would blink. All that woman cared about was that the job got down correct and right the first time. And that was why Hikaru was currently crawling on her hands and knees in the gardens, making sure every single weed was plucked before it could spread.

At first when she was assigned to work on the gardens, she was worried about the new dress they had given her. It was much finer than anything she had seen before and she had to crawl in the dirt while wearing it? Her opinion on that matter changed quickly when Paubi threatened violence on her.

Oh how things changed so much. She pulled out another weed and put it into the small basket next to her.

"We're almost done with this section, we can move on soon," spoke up Shub from nearby. The girl was about three years younger than Hikaru but she had been raised as a slave for her whole life. Without Shub's guidance, Hikaru's first couple of days would have been rougher. The girl was glad to help out whenever she saw fit. Thinking about it now, Hikaru realized she had been in this position for almost two weeks now. Odd to think about, she had to admit.

"Maybe once Paubi sees what a good job you've been doing, maybe she will appease to the king and get your shackles removed so you can just be branded instead," Shub said hopefully.

Hikaru sighed. Again Shub has to bring up the shackles. She pulled her dress down self-consciously. The poor girl just did not understand Hikaru's dislike of the concept of the brand. Yes, it would be less annoying that having the shackles but that would mean she would be truly trapped here. Shub did not know life besides being a slave. Hikaru did and that was something she could not just let go.

"The King," squeaked Shub. She scrambled to her feet and grabbed her basket. "Come on Hikaru."

Again with this scurrying. Nowhere else did the slaves have to get out of the sight of the King. The gardens though were the only exception. She followed Shub behind a couple of bushes where they were hidden from the King's sight. She stared at the King through the leaves of the bushes.

His golden hair was shocking as compared to all of the dark haired people of this land. Like all kings, he wore the symbol of it proudly around his neck in the form a necklace with amulets attached to it. The King settled on one of the many seats scattered throughout the garden and leaned back.

Hikaru's eyes bore into the back of his head. What game was this man playing? He had ordered her to be a slave in his palace and yet he had done nothing to her for the past two weeks. In the few times she had passed him in the halls, he had given her a small cocky smile before continuing to do whatever he was doing. Besides these smiles he had done nothing! She thought she was here to be a diversion for him and he would tire of her quickly and possibly either send her on her way or have her killed. Either way, it would mean out of her current circumstances.

"Hikaru!" hissed Shub under her breath. She tugged on her fellow's slave's arm slightly. "Come. We must go. The King is going to be here for a while. We will return later to finish."

Of course. The King needed to be alone to enjoy his flowers and plants. She got to her feet and the chains of her shackles clacked against each other.

"Leaving so soon? Here I thought you were going to stay a while."

Hikaru jumped. The King was staring right at her! She shot a questioning look at Shub. How was one supposed to respond to this? Shub's eyes were wide. "Respond," she mouthed.

Her eyes flickered up to meet the King's red ones for a few brief seconds before she set them on the ground. "I thought you were going to enjoy the flowers by yourself without…" She mentally gritted her teeth."…slaves around."

"I'm sorry my king," spoke up Shub. She stood next to Hikaru and bowed her head low. "I am still teaching her the ways."

"Oh are you now?" The King grinned. "You may leave us," he directed at Shub. "I would like to speak with Hikaru in private."

"Of course my King," Shub replied quickly. She gave Hikaru a hopeful smile before she scurried away in the manner that all slaves did.

"Come closer Hikaru. There is room on this seat for two."

Hikaru's eyes narrowed as the King turned away from her and got comfortable in his seat again. This was it. It had to be. She had heard stories from the other slave girls how the King sometimes took them to his bed when they took to his fancy. Was that where this was going to end up? She detested the thought of it but if that was the only way out of this then she had no other options.

She walked around the bench and settled on the seat next to him but she kept as much space possible between the two of them.

He did not seem bothered by it as he just crossed his legs. "How has palace life been treating you? Got some more meat on those bones of you I see."

What was he up to? Why was he asking about her appearance? Yes, even the slaves in this palace ate better than she had before and she could tell that she had been gaining some weight as a result but why did that matter to this man, to this king?

"And you are still quiet," he grumbled. He leaned in close to her face and she tilted backwards to try to keep the distance between them. "What are you thinking about, woman?"

She set her eyes against the ground and stared at the chain pooled between her feet. What was up with this King? He was so strange. What did he want from her?

"I asked you a question!" he snapped. "Obey when your King orders something of you!" He grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. He was grinning as he stared at her face. What was he seeing there that amused him so much? Were her foreign looks really that funny?

She swallowed. "I was wondering why I am here," she murmured.

He released her chin and she focused back on the ground and her chained feet. "I am a King, I like collecting things. I've never seen something like you before."

She curled her hands into fists. So that is what it was? She was just a part of his private collection now? "Then why am I not on display like the other statues here? Why am I crawling on my hands and knees as a slave even though I truly am not?"

"That would not be fun," he laughed. "Plus, a brand on your skin?" He lightly stroked her cheek. "That would mean marring your skin and I would not want that to happen."

She bit her lip and focused all of her attention on her chained feet. She curled her toes in sandals she had been given. Her first real pair of shoes. She had worn hand me downs in her life in the caravans but these were the first pair that she could call her own, even if they were just another reminder of who owned her now.

"Does this mean that I am never leaving this palace?" The words left her mouth before she could stop them.

He removed his hand from her cheek. She glanced over at him from the corner of her eye. If he wanted her way with her then just let him get over and done with it! This waiting around for things to happen was torturous!

No. He did not look furious with her. Or angry in any way. She had seen anger in many forms from the various shopkeepers she had stolen from over the years and even from the people in the caravans themselves. No. He had no expression close to that. In fact, could his expression be bemused?

"I am so happy I ended up pinning you down here," he said at last. "You are the most interesting thing here at the moment."

The most interesting? What was up with this King? He spoke nonsense! Her, interesting? If it was just based on her foreign looks then she could have accepted it but there seemed to be more than that there. What though? What was there?

She opened her mouth to speak but another voice spoke up first.

"My King! I need to speak with you!" An old man hobbled into the gardens. Ekur was his name if Hikaru remembered correctly. The King's _baru_. He was a nice man. He said big hello and good morning when any slave made eye contact with him. She had also had a couple of quick greetings with him as well. Apparently that was unusual according to Shub. He never talked to any slave like that. Maybe it was because she was unique in that regard.

As soon as the old man got closer to the King, he stopped running. His eyes widen slightly. Under his arm was a tablet in a very odd shape. Hikaru narrowed her eyes as she tried to figure out what it was.

"What is it Ekur?" asked the King.

"I must speak with you in private my King," Ekur replied. He moved his arm slightly and Hikaru got a glimpse of the tablet itself. It seemed to be broken down into multiple sections and in each section was a hole. Wait. Was this one of those liver reading texts that _barus _used?

"Is this very important?" grumbled the King. "I am a bit busy at the moment."

"Yes my King. I will deem this very important." The old man tapped a section on the tablet. "We need to speak about this now."

The King sighed and got to his feet. "We will continue our conversation later Hikaru."

She lowered her eyes to the ground. Like she had any choice in that matter.

"Bow to the King," snapped Ekur.

Hikaru jumped slightly. The old man's voice was so harsh!

"No, it's alright Ekur. I like her better this way," chuckled the King.

Hikaru got to her feet and bowed slightly. "I need to return to work, my King." She turned and headed for the bushes where she and Shub were hiding to pick up her basket. Behind her she heard the sound of the King's laughter.


	2. Chapter 2

"What is so important you needed to interrupt me?" grumbled Gilgamesh as he followed Ekur to a small room near the courtyard. It was one of the spare rooms used to house guests of a lower class so the furniture was not something the King wanted to be associated with.

Ekur dropped the huge liver-shaped clay tablet on the small table. "I did a liver reading this morning after exposing the ram to Nabu's star last night in order to see what was in the future for you my King."

"You did not see something promising I am guessing?" Gilgamesh crossed his arms. Although Ekur believed in these divinations, Gilgamesh did not put his trust into them too much.

"I know you do not care but you must listen when the Gods send a message!" Ekur scolded. He pointed to the certain section of the liver. "I did the usual readings but this section turned out very odd. There was a mark here and I was not sure what it meant and I consulted some of the old liver texts. Apparently it means there is an ill omen approaching in relation to something recently that has changed."

The old man began pacing around the small room. "I also ended up doing a reading of the oil to make sure."

"Really?" Gilgamesh scoffed. If it was one thing he hated more than the liver readings it was the absurd oil and water readings.

"Do not scoff this, my King. The Gods are trying to warn us about something. There are going to be changes in this city soon and not all for the better. I fear that you will be in the center of it as well and you will be affected the most."

Gilgamesh laughed again. How absurd was this? He would be affected by this change by the Gods? He was almost one of them! He had nothing to fear from them.

"My King. You must head this omen and be careful!" insisted Ekur. "Not only the liver said it, but the oil said it as well!" He picked up the liver tablet. "I think that girl is the catalyst for what is to come as well. Please my King, heed this warning. Hurry up with whatever you plan about with the girl and then get her removed from the palace."

Gilgamesh's eyes narrowed and he turned away from his most trusted advisor. "I will keep the girl here in the palace. She is…interesting."

"My King, even if she is interesting, she might be the downfall of this kingdom."

"Enough!" The king slammed his hand against the table. "I will be keeping her here and that is final."

Ekur clamped his mouth shut and bowed as low as he could. "I am sorry my King. I will no longer speak of this subject."

"Good," replied Gilgamesh. "I want you to keep this omen to yourself. There is no point in alerting the people of this matter and I do not want her to be at risk because some way word priest decided to take matters in their own hands."

"Of course my King. But, if I may ask, why are you so concerned about this girl? Even if she is foreign, this is very unusual for you. You never showed an interest in this regard before."

The king peeked out of the room and into the long hallway. Slaves and other workers were going about their daily lives. "It was her eyes," he admitted.

"Her eyes?"

"There is something about them…" Those defiant eyes of hers. Even when he had spoken to her in the garden, her eyes had drawn him. He didn't even know if she knew what kind of expression her eyes made. If she did not, that just made her even more interesting.

Ekur chuckled. "Here I thought I would never see the day."

"What is so funny?"

"Nothing, it is nothing my King." He held the liver tablet close to his chest as he shuffled to the door. "If you will excuse me, I have other matters to attend to."

Gilgamesh stepped out of the room and the old man bowed low before he headed in the direction of the temple. The king on the other hand returned to the gardens. Unfortunately Hikaru was nowhere to be seen. Even though he could have forced her to come to him he was not in the mood for it at the moment. Instead he just sat down on the bench he had shared with her before and enjoyed his gardens alone.

* * *

"I really thought the King was going to take you next," squeaked Shub. "He was looking at you in that way and stuff."

"I thought so too," mumbled Hikaru. She shifted her feet closer to her body so the bottom of her dress covered the shackles as a couple of slaves walked past the two sitting girls. Even though her shackles were hidden, they glanced over at her for a few seconds longer than she was comfortable with before returning to whatever they were doing.

"Oh do not worry about them Hikaru. You just…..look different. That's why they are staring at you. They will get used to you in no time!" Shub pointed the piece of bread she had been given for dinner at her friend. "Just ignore them. As long as you are doing your job, they cannot complain."

Hikaru sighed. That was easier said than done. She dipped her bread in the soup bowl before she ate a piece of it. Even now she was shocked with how good the food was. If this was how the slaves ate in this palace, how did the nobles eat? How did the King eat? She shifted her foot and heard the clinking of the chain. Why did it matter how the King ate? It did not. She was still stuck here, in the palace, unable to go anywhere.

"I am sorry. I just keep saying things without thinking."

"Huh?" Hikaru looked up at Shub in surprise.

"I mean, you do not say much and here I am just giving my opinion all the time. I do not know what it is like to be you at all."

Hikaru smiled softly. "Do not say that Shub. You are a big help to me. Really, it would be much harder living here if you were not around."

The black haired girl grinned. "Glad I could be of help."

The two girls fell silent as they finished up their meals and then headed for their palettes to sleep.

Hikaru awoke the next morning before the sun had even risen. She got up and moved carefully between the sleeping slaves in the small room until she made it out of the door. She smiled to herself as she realized she had only managed to almost awake one person tonight with her shackles. "Have I been stuck here for so long that something so insignificant makes me happy?" she sighed.

She stepped into one of the long hallways that opened up on one side to one of the many gardens within the palace. Through the view of the outside, she could see the sky was only beginning to lighten from the sun. Soon the palace would be busy again with people going about their daily lives. And she would need to get to work. For now though, like every day before this one, she would enjoy the peace she had in the early morning.

Today she decided to turn down a different hallway, one she had not walked down before. A part of these walks may have been to give her a moment of peace but the other was giving her a mental map of the palace. She had most of it memorized, or at least she thought she did. Every day she seemed to find a new nook or cranny in this place.

As she passed by a room she paused and took a couple steps back to peek into it. The room had a couple of windows cut into the stone walls and through the weak morning light the room looked to be filled with tablets. Her eyes widen as she took a step into it to get a better look. Yes, it was a large room with shelves on the walls as well as shelves in the middle of the room.

"A library," she whispered. She knew there had to be one in this palace somewhere! She took a couple more steps into the room and carefully picked up the tablet closest to her. She squinted to try to see what it said. She could not see it well enough in the weak light in the room so she moved so she was closer to one of the windows and peered at the tablet closely. "Hand of…" she mumbled as she tried to figure out what the last word was in the first row.

"What are you doing in here!?"

Hikaru almost dropped the tablet in surprise at the sound of the voice. She scrambled to keep her grip on the tablet so it would not fall to the ground. Her mind whirled as she refused to turn around to the voice. How did this person sneak up on her? She was usually really good with keeping her senses sharp but these tablets just distracted her from that.

"Turn around so I can see your face," snapped the voice, a man's voice. The person sounded closer, he was probably in the room with her.

Keeping her grip tight on the tablet she slowly turned towards the voice. She blinked in surprise when she realized it was the _baru_, Ekur.

"You are the…." Ekur did not finish his sentence. He put down a couple of tablets he held on the small table. "What are you doing in here, girl?" His eyes flickered down to the tablet she had clutched tightly to her chest. "You did not drop the tablet you were holding."

"Uh…no." She looked down at the tablet and back at him. She lowered her head and shuffled over to the spot where she had taken it from, painfully aware of the clinking of her chains. She put it carefully back in the correct spot and then turned to face Ekur with her head bowed low.

"Girl, can you read?"

"Huh? Oh, uh, yes, I…I can read."

"And you are interested in texts?"

"Y…yes. I find them fascinating. I used to read a lot back in when I was in the caravans."

"So that explains the interest…" murmured Ekur.

What was he talking about?

"Do you always take walks before your work?"

Was there any point in lying? If she did, she felt like he would be able to tell. The Gods would tell him and it would end up worse for her. "Yes. I tend to get up early so I….walk around."

"And no one has caught you doing this?"

"There are slaves that work at this time. I just sit and pretend to be doing something…"

Ekur chuckled. "A clever girl you are. I can see his interest in you."

Was this a good or bad thing? She was not sure. Ekur stepped to the side so the exit was open again. "Go on girl. Your work will begin soon. I do not want to be responsible for getting you on Paubi's bad side now."

He was letting her go? Why? Again something odd has happened to her in this palace. There was no point in questioning this though. She kept her head low as she hurried past him out the door.

* * *

"I will agree with you, my King. That girl is interesting."

Gilgamesh looked up from the reports he was reading. This was one of the most annoying parts about being King. Checking in on the traders coming into Uruk, the major complaints of the farmers among other things, these reports never seemed to go away even if he had some nobles looking through them and filtering to him the ones that direly needed the King's attention. The pile was still ridiculous.

So on that note, the King was happy to turn away and focus on Ekur's words. "What changed your mind? I thought you were still going to be going on with the stars and how the deities think she is an ill omen for a month or so."

"Oh, I am not done with that thought my King. That girl I feel will bring a change to this palace." Ekur shifted his robes around as he shuffled into the large open room. "I found her early this morning in the medical library."

Gilgamesh frowned. "The medical library?" What purpose would she have in there?

"I cannot say for certain. She is very quiet and does not seem to speak much. However, I found out something interesting. She can read."

"She can read?" Well, he was not expecting that one. A foreign looking girl from a traveling caravan who also could read cuneiform. What a mystery she was. "Do you know if she reads anything else?"

"I could not ask at the moment. She was spooked." Ekur chuckled. "My king, she is currently a slave in this palace. A slave in a place where she was not to be. I wanted to alleviate her fears by not bombarding her with questions."

Oh Ekur. Always thinking of the other party. "Is that the only reason you came here to tell me this?"

"No. I came here to ask something in relation to the girl. Normally I would not bother asking your permission my King but due to your interest in her, I thought it was for the best if I came to you first."

The King put down the tablet and got up. "Let's hear it."


	3. Chapter 3

Hikaru walked down the hallway with her half-full basket of weeds in hand. She was on her way to the compost ground at the back of the palace. Only in a palace would they put the compost field on the _other_ end of the gardens and kitchen. "Why must they make everything look pretty and hide all the ugly things in the corners?"

Well what did she know? Maybe there was an easy way to get there. Maybe she would be able to make the trip much faster if she was not worried about tripping due to her shackles. She thought back to what happened early this morning. Would she be in these shackles for very long? The _baru_ obeyed the King. If those tablets were medical texts then he might have gotten the wrong opinion of her. Maybe she would be removed from the palace or worse. Would that even be worth it to get out of this place?

"What do you mean you want her!?"

Hikaru stopped in her tracks. That was Paubi's loud voice. She slowly rounded the corner while mentally praying the loudness of Paubi's voice would drown out the sound of her clinking chains.

"I mean exactly what I said Paubi. This is under the orders of our king. I will have her transferred to me."

Peeking around the corner, the first thing Hikaru saw was Paubi. The large woman wore a simple white shift like all of the other slaves. A spade tattoo could clearly be seen on her forearm. The one who she was speaking to was Ekur. The old man looked like a frail twig against the larger woman.

"I do not understand this roundabout way he is going about this whole thing!" grumbled Paubi. "If he wants to take her then do it already. That girl is not cut out for this sort of life. Her mind is too open, she thinks too much. What purpose was it to bring her here like this? The other slaves look upon her in distrust as well."

Hikaru almost dropped her basket. Of course, this made sense. She was an outsider in this sphere. She looked around for a place to slip away but the only way to get to the compost pile was through the talking Ekur and Paubi. Biting her lip, she dropped her head low and hoped her long hair would cover enough of her face that they would let her pass by thinking she was just another slave. There was nothing she could do with her feet though, only hope that they would not pay that much attention.

This plan was futile though. As soon as she stepped out into the open, Paubi's eyes locked on her. "Girl, get over here!" barked the woman.

Hikaru kept her head bowed as she approached. As soon as she was in touching range, Paubi ripped the basket out of Hikaru's hands. "You are to go with _Baru _Ekur. He will be your direct Master from now on."

Hikaru looked at the old man in surprise and then back at Paubi. The woman had already begun walking away with the basket, leaving Hikaru alone with him.

"Come girl. I have work to do. Carry these for me."

Still confused to what had just happened, she held out her hands as Ekur dropped a couple tablets into them. From a quick look, they looked to be divinatory texts.

"Come on girl, I do not have all day. The temple needs me to do a liver reading for the farmers."

"Uh, yes." Hikaru walked as fast as she could after the old man.

She did not have time to ask the old man why he had taken her on. He never seemed to stop. After doing a liver reading, he had moved on to a different temple to check on the status there before returning back to the palace in order to make sure the texts were all in order in the library. At this point the moon had already begun to rise in the sky.

She was exhausted and the skin around her shackles felt raw. This was the most she had walked in one time. There was no point in complaining though, she knew that. Slaves were not supposed to. They were supposed to endure and stuff like that. Even so, she could not wait until she could return to her room and take care of her ankles without the risk of people watching.

"Girl, what are you still doing here? Go and sleep."

Hikaru set the pile of tablets back on the shelf and turned to look at the old man in surprise. "But…"

"Girl, you are tired and I cannot have a tired girl helping me. Especially during the times when I go through the archives. How are you supposed to sort them unless you can read exactly what it is?"

Was he angry with her? She could not tell. He seemed to be scolding her though. How was she supposed to respond to this?

"Do you have a question or something girl? Go to sleep."

Hikaru winced. Did she have a question? Of course she did! She had many of them mulling around her head! "Why?" she mumbled. "Why did you uh…transfer me?

"Because you are more useful working with me than with Paubi. You can read, that is one thing that is helpful to me. I have wanted to go through the old archives but finding help for that is very, very difficult." He looked down at the tablet he had been reading by lamplight. "Plus you are much safer with me."

Safer? That was an odd thing to say. Why would they be worried about her safety?

"Now, I'm tired answering questions girl. Go to bed. Return here when the sun is rising. We can get back to work then. Also you might get some free time to read some of the tablets if you work hard."

Hikaru's eyes widen and the corners of her mouth twitched to try to turn into a smile but she did not allow it to. Instead she bowed low to the old man and slipped out of the library.

When she returned to the servant quarter, Shub was waiting right by Hikaru's sleeping palette. The girl sighed in relief when her eyes rested on Hikaru in the dim lamplight. "Oh thank Nabu you are okay. I was wondering where you went." Her brown eyes were wide. "I thought you were taken to the King's quarters for the night."

"No, nothing like that." Although she knew she would probably end up there someday. "I got transferred. The _baru_, Ekur has taken me in and I order directly to him now."

"Oh wow," said Shub. Her eyes seemed to grow even wider. "Does that mean you can read?!"

"Yes, I can read." She threw her hair over her shoulders as she got comfortable on her palette.

Shub moved and settled down on her own. "That's amazing. I wish I could read."

Hikaru stared at her friend for a few seconds and then shifted her palette over slightly to reveal the floor underneath. "It might be hard to visualize but this is your name." She traced lines in the floor until she had written out Shub's name. She did it a few more times and Shub copied the movements. "I'll show you what it looks like on a tablet at a later time."

"My name," whispered the fellow slave girl. She grinned. "Thanks Hikaru."

"No problem." Hikaru turned over in her palette and shut her eyes.

* * *

Gilgamesh resisted the urge to yawn as another trader came in to complain about the safety of his wares in the city. What was he supposed to do about it? The trader had obviously left his things unattended and it had gotten stolen due to his own idiocy. And after all that he had the nerve to come here and ask the King for help about matters such as this?

"See to it that all the wares get replaced in monetary value," he commanded Ishne, the head of his guard. "Along with posting a guard outside of his shop until he leaves my kingdom."

"Yes my King," Ishne said as he bowed low. He turned to one of the younger members of the guard and barked a few orders to him.

Gilgamesh got up from his seat. "I am taking a break now. Take care of things here for me Ishne until I return. Do not come find me unless it is something that really requires my attention."

"Yes my King."

The King left the audience chamber and headed for his gardens. He massaged his shoulder with a hand as he walked. Being king at times like this was a serious bother. How can there be people so stupid out there? And of course these stupid people needed to pollute his city.

He was about to step into his gardens but at the last second he paused as he saw someone out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head and saw the tips of brown hair slip into a room. One of the many libraries in the palace from what he recalled. Grinning, he headed over to the library and peered inside. There she was. His interesting girl.

"My King, what are you doing here? Were you not supposed to be taking audiences right now?" asked Ekur.

Her eyes flickered over to him before they focused back on sorting the pile of tablets in front of her.

"I was getting bored," replied Gilgamesh. He stared at the piles of tablets in the center of the room. There was a couple on the shelves but not many. He picked up one of the tablets and skimmed it over. Ugh. A stars omen tablet. This probably was the divinatory texts library. He could never keep which library was for what straight. It was not like it mattered much to him.

"My King, you really should not skip out on the audiences," sighed Ekur.

"Nonsense," grumbled Gilgamesh. "They are just a repeat of the same thing over and over again. There is no point in me being there every week, listening to them."

"That is one the duties that you are entrusted with." Ekur sighed. "My king, I do not want you lying to Dumuzi during the Akiti festival. At the rate going I think the gods might get very angry with you."

Gilgamesh shrugged. "That is their problem, not mine." He focused on Hikaru. "How are you enjoying your new position? More enjoyable to your taste?"

She glanced over at him and then back at the tablets. "Fine," she murmured. She put a couple on a shelf and returned to the pile. He saw her pick up another tablet, give it a quick read over and then set it on a shelf before going to the next one. She could read really fast, he realized in surprise. Ekur was doing the same thing but at a much slower pace. Sometimes he even got her put the tablets away instead of him.

"My King, are you still going to watch?" asked the old man. "Would you not be missed in the audience chamber?"

He did not want to admit it but Ekur was right about that. Ugh. All he wanted to do was to stand here and watch these two work. "Come on now Ekur. I am not bothering you. Plus this is much more interesting than-"

He heard a small yelp in pain. He did not see exactly what happened but he saw the aftermath. She was on the ground. Blood could be seen on the edge of one of the tables. The King did not think.

He hurried over to her side. "Hikaru? Are you alright?"

She slowly sat up, her arms clutched tightly around a tablet. "I did not drop it. It's not broken."

"Damn the tablet," snarled Gilgamesh. She had obviously hit the back of her head as he could see the blood traveling down her hair to the ground. "Ekur, get an _azu_."

"Of course my King." He heard the sweep of Ekur's robes as the old man left.

Hikaru watched him go in surprise and then she looked at Gilgamesh. They were filled with confusion. She reached up and gently touched the back of her head. She pulled her hand away and stared at the blood on it wide-eyed. "Oh."

"Oh is right," snapped Gilgamesh.

"The tablet is fine though," she sighed and smiled as she looked down at it. "Good."

For some reason the look she gave that piece of clay annoyed him greatly. So much that he yanked it out of her hands. "Enough!" He lifted it high in the air, ready to smash it to bits.

"Be careful with it!" she cried. "It's a priceless piece that explains what happens when a child is born with three legs! I have never seen anything like that before!"

He paused and stared at her. She was glaring at him, hands clenched into fists. Her eyes were doing that thing again. They were glaring at him in defiance. He would have found it even more interesting if her blood was not beginning to soak the back of her dress.

As if she could sense his thoughts she looked away. "I turned my body to protect the table," she said. She gestured to one of the table legs. "The…chains of the shackles got stuck and I tripped. I couldn't risk it getting broken so…"

This girl risked her life for a measly piece of clay!? "How stupid can you be!?" he snapped. Damn it. She was still bleeding.

It wasn't like he knew much about this kind of stuff. That was what _azus_ were for! However, he did know a thing or two. He carefully put the piece of clay back on the pile (he would not want her to risk her life for that thing again anytime soon).He grabbed the piece of cloth that he had draped over his right shoulder and ripped it off.

"I'm really fine," she said as she tried to move away. "I is not much trouble for me to take care of it."

Gilgamesh grabbed her arm to prevent her from getting up. He bunched up the cloth and pressed it against the back of her head.

She stared at him in surprise before she lifted her own hand to hold the cloth. Her fingers brushed against his as he released it. She looked down at the ground as she pressed the cloth against her head.

Uncomfortable silence fell between them. He heard the clinking of her chains as she moved her legs to get herself into a more comfortable position. He hated those shackles at this moment. It was the reason that this had happened to her.

And yet at the same time if those shackles were not there, she would not stay here would she?

He did not want to think about this right now. What was the point in him thinking of something like this right now!? His eyes settled on the stupid tablet and caused this whole mess. "Is this measly tablet really that important?"

"Is it that important?" She stared at him, wide-eyed. "Of course it is. It is a priceless birthing text, I told you that…my King," she added quickly at the end.

He waved a hand. "Do not worry about formalities like that. Speak to me like you used to."

She seemed to be taken aback by his comment but she recovered quickly and continued. "Well, it is a priceless text. It speaks about the ill omens that would be caused by a child being born with three legs."

"I do not believe in these omens," scoffed Gilgamesh. "What is the point in them? Relying on them to tell your future for you. You should grasp it with your own hands. And figure it out for yourself and not rely on some deity to say it for you."

"That may be true but you are the King. You do not have the luxury like a commoner to ignore the gods. Any choice you make affect your people as well."

"Obviously I make the right choices. My kingdom is doing well, it is flourishing, what more could I ask for? Were the gods involved in any of that? No. It was all my doing." He grinned. What kind of response would she have for that one?

"The gods have just let you follow this path," she replied. Much to his annoyance, she shifted over slightly. "Also, not everyone in your kingdom is happy." The way she was watching him out of the corner of her eye made him think that comment was not just directed to the poor people in the slums of Uruk.

"What can I do to alleviate the sufferings of someone on my kingdom that is unhappy? Return one home to their family?"

Her eyes flickered up to look at him for a brief moment before they fell back to look at her feet. "That might be quite difficult when one lives in a traveling caravan community. They probably moved on without me, and will not return for a long time."

They left without her? Gilgamesh had heard of these traveling nomads but she was raised in that kind of life was she not? Or, at least, that is what he remembered her talking about before. "Was not much of a family if they moved on without you." He had guards keeping an eye on the city and the groups. None of them have spoken about a missing foreign girl.

"The term family is very loosely used. People leave and join all the time. It is nothing new."

For a brief second, the King felt sad for this bleeding girl. Here she was, in a palace, alone from everything she had known, living a life that she would not have expected for herself and yet there was strength to her. Those eyes of hers continued to be defiant and that spark she possessed still did not fade. What kind of woman was she?

Before he could comment to that, he heard the sound of approaching people. He got up as Ekur returned with a young _azu_ right behind him. The healer rushed to Hikaru's side and began looking over the injury. She did not move as the _azu_ carefully inspected the back of her head.

A part of him was annoyed. Why must they come in now? He felt like he had gotten somewhere with her, that he was finally figuring out something about this woman and then they had to come and ruin it.

"I'm returning to the audience chamber."

She did not look up.

The King made a 'tsk' sound as he passed by Ekur. The old man chuckled softly to himself but Gilgamesh did not stop to question what the _baru_ was laughing about.


	4. Chapter 4

**Since I've been asked about it a couple of times, I just want to say here that Enkidu will not be making an appearance in the story due to plot-related reasons.**

**Also marvellover, yes I have read the _Epic._ I've read both versions translated too in preparation for writing this.**

* * *

Hikaru collapsed on her palette and lightly leaned her head against the wall. The _azu_ had determined that the injury was not as bad as it looked. That was something she could tell him from all the texts she had read! Injuries of the head bled more than any other type!

"What am I supposed to do with this?" she wondered as she lightly touched the bandages wrapped around her head. She had not been worried about it. The plan was to slip out and take care of it but then the King had to get involved.

She gazed at the bloody cloth from the King's clothes. The _azu_ had planned on throwing it out as it could not be returned to the King but she had stopped him from doing so. When she had a little free time she was going to get it cleaned.

Her main question though was why had he reacted that way? She expected Ekur to be upset. The _baru_ was technically her master now and he would be annoyed at having his slave injured so soon. No. _He_ was the one that got upset.

Her fingers ran along the high quality cloth as she thought it over. What was his purpose of getting worried over her like that? It was not out of property concern. She made a face at the thought of that. Property. That was what she was now.

Pushing that thought away she focused back on her current through process. His actions seemed too concerned for her well-being than should have been right. Also he had seemed to have gotten genuinely upset at the text for making her injury herself so. Why? It did not look like he understood his actions either.

On that note, he seemed upset when she spoke about living a life in a traveling caravan. There was no reason for her to bring it up, but a part of her wanted to give him a little payback for forcing her to live this kind of life. And he had seemed upset by that as well if she was reading him right! What did that mean?

Before she could think further on the topic, she heard a sharp gasp from the doorway.

"Hello Shub. It looks worse than it is."

The girl collapsed next to Hikaru and clutched her friend's hands tightly within her own. "What happened? Are you okay? I heard from others that you hit your head and the _azu _came to treat you and the King stayed by your side. Is that true?"

The slave information network was astounding.

"I am alright. The injury is worse than it is. I can remove the bandages in a couple of days." _I will remove them in a couple of days_.

"But still…" Shub looked her over a few times, like she was truly trying to find something wrong with Hikaru. Her eyes settled on the bloody cloth in Hikaru's lap. "Is this what I think it is?" she squeaked. "Then is that part of the rumor really true?" Hikaru tightened her grip on the cloth as Shub felt it. "Oh! It is! It is! This is from the…" Shub dropped her voice to a whisper, "the King. He tore his clothes for you!"

"It is nothing like that," scoffed Hikaru. "He was just worried about his, oh-so-special slave." She shrugged. "He was probably worried I would die from my injury."

"A King does not sit next to just anyone to care for them," Shub replied. Her brown eyes sparkled brightly. "I know you are not from around here at all so you do not know everything about Uruk but here, a King does not do that. He would not sit next to you, and rip up his clothing for you." She shook her head. "That is unheard of."

Hikaru was beginning to feel uncomfortable under Shub's gaze. The girl used to view her as just a fellow companion but there was something more in those eyes now. Questions. Questions to what Hikaru was and why the King had taken an interest in her. She could not even answer that. It could not just be based on her exotic looks from what Shub had said. Then what was left? What was the answer to that question?

"I am sorry Shub but I cannot tell you anything." She gestured to the shackles on her feet. "I am an odd slave, I will admit that but I really do not know why he is keeping me here for so long. I thought he would…have his way and be done with it so I may move on but I am still here and now in the service of the _baru_." In a sense, would that mean she was moving up on the social ladder?

"I did not mean to say you had some motive for doing something like this. I feel like you are in the dark as well as me and everyone else here." She nodded. "Yes, I will trust in you Hikaru. As a friend."

"Thanks Shub."

"No problem." Shub got to her feet. "Well, I have to get going. I slipped out of my work to make sure you were alright." She gestured to the bloody cloth. "I have an errand to do down at the river. Would you like me to take care of that while I am down there?"

Hikaru smiled and handed the cloth to Shub. "Do not lose it now."

"A memento from the King? Do not worry, I will not let it leave my sight."

She waved goodbye as Shub returned to work. Now alone, her thoughts returned to the matter at hand. Why did he do this for her? She remembered the final moments before he left. He said he was leaving and then made an annoyed noise under his breath. Why? Was that because she did not acknowledge him leaving?

She sighed. What a child. Was he really that petty to get annoyed over something like that? Well, he did almost fling a tablet on the ground because it "hurt" her. She shook her head. He was just a boy upset about a scratched toy. That was all.

* * *

"And we are finally done with this library." Ekur collapsed in a chair.

Hikaru took a quick survey of the room to make sure that there was not a stray tablet lying on the ground. Nope. All of the tablets were stacked neatly on the shelves. Clay tablet signs were in front of each shelf and stated exactly what the stack behind them were about.

"This would have taken much longer without your help. I thank you for that."

Her eyes widen. She could not believe her ears. In the time she was here, Ekur had never really thanked her for anything she did. Lowering her head, she concealed the blush that was beginning to rise up her face.

"Next up we will tackle the one in the basement. I have heard rumors of there being texts in relation to divination with Nabu in there."

"Really?" Hikaru squeaked. "Do you think they would be liver omen texts in relation to him? Or maybe some curse texts to tie up someone's destiny?"

Thankfully, at this point, Ekur was used to Hikaru's random outbursts at the mention of a library. "Maybe," he replied. "There might also be Ugaritic texts in there as well. You can read that correct?"

She nodded. "Yes. I have spent some time in the area. It's very similar to the cuneiform used here. I can read them without trouble."

"Good," replied Ekur. He put his hands into his long robes. "I have a feeling it is going to take just as long as this room, perhaps even longer. We are also going to be underground as well."

Hikaru shifted her dress slightly. There was no point in suggesting Ekur to take on apprentice _barus_ to lower the amount of work he had to do. Ekur wanted none of it. He liked doing everything himself without a younger person telling him what to do.

"You may take the rest of the day off," he told her. "We will start on that library another day."

"Do you require help with your divination tonight?"

"No, it is alright."

Hikaru bowed before she slipped out. She blinked as the sunlight hit her eyes. "The sun is pretty high up already…" They had started the final stretch of this library before dawn. It looked like the day had marched on without them.

What was she going to do with the rest of her day? Maybe go to one of the other libraries and do some reading? Yes. That was what she would do.

She took off towards the stories and legends library. After Ekur had understood her deep love for books, he had asked the King to allow her access to all the libraries except for the ones in relation to the state. To her surprise, the King had agreed to it.

The King.

She had seen him a few times in the past couple of weeks but it had been in passing in the halls of the palace. He acknowledged her presence but nothing more than that. There was no talk like the one they had when she was injured. Did she regret that fact? She was not sure. She knew she had seen a different side to the King that no one else did but what did that mean for her? Did that even mean anything?

Her steps slowed as she reached the doors of the audience chamber. Based on the time, he should be in there now, listening to the demands of his people. Even though he had complained about listening to them, he still did the best for them. How could a man who ruled so well have such a childish personality?

She shook her head. What in the world was she doing? Hovering outside the door of the audience chamber, what nonsense was this? This was her time off! She did not have time to be standing around out here!

She walked past the chamber and turned the corner and almost bumped into Shub.

"Oh! Hikaru!"

"Shub. What-"

Shub grabbed Hikaru's arm and pulled her friend behind her.

"Shhh!" Shub hissed. Her fingers were wrapped around Hikaru's arm in a death grip.

Walking out of the audience chamber, following behind a slave, was a man. Based on his clothing and jewelry he was of the upper noble class. He was not ugly but he was not pretty to look at either. Something about his dark eyes bothered her though. She could not put her finger on it but she knew she did not want him looking at her. The man followed the slave in the opposite direction of where Shub and Hikaru were hiding.

Shub did not release her grip on Hikaru's arm until the man was finally out of sight.

"What's wrong Shub? Who is that man?"

Shub pressed her hands to her chest. "That was Naram," she whispered. "He is a noble from a neighboring kingdom. He visits every year as an ambassador."

"An ambassador…" This was the first one that Hikaru had seen in all of her time at the palace. Or maybe she has but she had not known. Nobles were always here for some reason or another. "What is the problem with him? You seemed very frightened of him."

"He is…he is a bad man. You must stay out of his sight Hikaru." Shub grabbed Hikaru's arms tightly and stared up at her friend with pleading eyes. "You must promise me that you will stay out of his sight. If you catch his attention…"

"What are you talking about?" Hikaru pulled Shub's hands away from her and held her friend's hand tightly in her own. "What do you mean he is a 'bad man'? Why should I not let him see me?"

Shub chewed her bottom lip and looked around like she expected Naram to pop up behind her. "It will be better for you if you do not. Please Hikaru."

"Alright," Hikaru relented. It was not like she had any protest to that. Naram felt really off to her and she was happy to avoid him.

"Thank you." Shub took a step back. "You will be fine Hikaru." She nodded. "I will make sure of it. You are teaching me to read after all."

"Oh it is not much." After work every day, Hikaru would have a quick lesson with Shub on reading and writing. Shub was still a bit shaky with the alphabet but they had moved on to words. It was not going as well as Hikaru liked but Shub seemed happy and for that, Hikaru had no complaints.

Shub was about to reply but her eyes widen slightly and she lowered herself to the ground in a low bow.

"Were you waiting out here for me?"

Hikaru blinked slowly and turned to the King. Like always he was dressed in the finest of cloth. The necklace with golden amulets that showed he was the king stood out proudly against his bare chest. He looked as pompous and arrogant as always.

"I was not," she replied. "I was on my way to the libraries when I bumped into Shub and we were discussing a matter that does not concern you."

Hikaru heard Shub's sharp intake of breath. The King's guards also were staring at her in shock. Of course no one spoke to the King like that. Maybe it was because of that moment they shared in the library or maybe it was how Shub had told her about Naram. Either way, she had a feeling that whatever Shub was talking about, people outside of the slave sphere were not privy to know.

"Oh really now?" The King put a hand under her chin and made her look up at him.

She averted her eyes to avoid staring into his face. "Yes. It is matters in relation to the gardens and the lily flowers bathed in the light of Gula."

He released her chin and turned away. "You are spending far too much time with Ekur."

"I do not think you believe in the power the Gods hold."

The guards were shooting glances at each other and then back at Hikaru.

The King laughed. "Like I would believe in the power of some Gods. Carry on then."

"I will." Hikaru did not move as she watched the King walk away with his guards.

"I cannot believe you lied to the King like that." Shub got to her feet and dusted the bottom of her dress.

"It was not a lie. There actually was a text I found in the library in relation to Gula and lilies. I just may have exaggerated the connection between the two. Plus it was the fastest way to get him off of the trail. He hates things in relation to divination…what is it Shub? Why are you looking at me with such a weird face?"

Shub shook her head. "No, it is nothing. I just had a thought but it cannot be. Anyway, I must return to work now. Please remember to keep the promise Hikaru."

"I will, do not worry Shub. I will keep that promise."


	5. Chapter 5

Gilgamesh hated this time of year.

It was dinner time. Usually he would take his meal in the gardens so he could enjoy a peaceful evening with one of his many treasures. Instead of enjoying his gardens, he was inside, in the dining hall that he only used for special occasions. He sat at one of the long tables, the seat next to him empty. That would be where his Queen would sit, if he had one. Various ambassadors from other kingdoms were sitting at the other tables. Over dinner they spoke about various matters involving trade and whatnot in relation to Uruk.

Whenever any one of them spoke, the slave standing behind Gilgamesh would lean forward and whisper the name of the Kingdom the ambassador was from. It was not like Gilgamesh had a bad memory for this kind of thing; it was just that he did not care. What was the point of this? It was the same thing every year. Trade routes were fine, no one was going to war with each other. This was just a stupid dance that was performed every year.

He smirked. _She_ would probably refer to it like that. Or make it seem more magical than it actually was or make it seem like it actually mattered. Maybe he should find her later and ask her opinion on it. It would be more entertaining to what was going on here, that was for sure.

"My King, have I said something funny?"

Gilgamesh focused on the man who had spoken. He was one of those that traveled here every year from what the King could remember. His name began with an "N" right?

"Nanam from Nippur," murmured the slave into his ear.

Ah, alright. He got it. A couple of years ago there had been some boundary issues with Nippur. There had been a chance that the two kingdoms were going to go to war but it never did come to that.

"Of course not," said Gilgamesh. He glanced over at the slave.

"He was asking about what is to be done with keeping the trade route open," murmured the slave.

"I will get my head of guard to post more guards along the trade route," replied Gilgamesh. "Also, ask your King to post guards as well. The trade route will stay open."

Nanam lowered his head slightly. "Thank you my lord. My King will be pleased to know this."

Gilgamesh waved his hand to show he was acknowledging Nanam. Out of the corner of his eye he thought he saw an odd expression on the man's face but another ambassador had stood to speak and the King was forced to pay attention to what this one was saying.

After the end of dinner and all the plates cleared away, it was finally over. Gilgamesh got up and all the ambassadors stood. "We will continue this tomorrow," said the King before he left the room. His personal guard was close behind him. Once he was past the doors of the dining hall, he turned to his guards. "Leave me."

Leaving his guards behind, he entered one of his gardens. A couple of slaves were working late and they scurried away when their eyes fell on the King. Of course she was not one of them. He smirked. What the heck was he thinking? Why did it matter if she was here?

Not really wanting to stay here any longer, Gilgamesh turned away and left the gardens and headed for his chambers. On his way there he saw Nanam waiting outside of one of the guest rooms. He seemed to be searching for something. When the man saw Gilgamesh, he bowed his head low.

"I did not expect to see my lord out here."

"I was taking a walk around my palace," replied Gilgamesh. "Is there a purpose for you to be out here?"

Was that annoyance Gilgamesh saw in Nanam's eyes? The man just smiled. "I am not tired enough to retire for the night. I was thinking I would take a short walk to clear my head."

"The gardens are good for that," replied Gilgamesh. "You were assigned a slave for your time here correct?"

"Unfortunately I have not seen my slave," said Nanam.

What was this? Puabi would not have messed this up. That woman was meticulous. What had happened? He inwardly growled. What a bother. The King saw a slave scurry by and Gilgamesh grasped the girl's arm. She yelped in surprise but she fell silent when she saw who it was.

"Help this man with whatever he needs," growled Gilgamesh.

The girl's eyes widen and they shifted over to Nanam. She opened her mouth to speak and then shut it again. "Y…Yes my King."

Gilgamesh released the girl. "There," he said to Nanam. He began to walk away. He did not know why, but he turned back and saw Nanam put an arm around the girl and lead her into the guest room. His eyes narrowed but the King turned and walked away.

* * *

Hikaru sighed as she walked down the hallway. The ambassadors have been here for about a week now. She was surprised to find out that this was actually a major event for the kingdom as it reconnected the King of Uruk with the other neighboring kingdoms. She had kept her promise to Shub and stayed away from Nanam as much as possible. She had no idea what the problem with that man was despite his shifty look. It seemed like anyone she asked was too scared of something to reply to her questions about it. So, she just was even more careful to stay out of Nanam's sight.

"Just one more day to go," she murmured under her breath. She had been able to pull out of Ekur how long these events lasted. As soon as that man was gone she could relax. "Funny how I am getting used to living here in the palace…"

She fell silent as she heard some noise beyond the corner. It sounded like whimpering and a rough male voice. Frowning, she slowed her pace and peeked beyond the corner. Her eyes widen slightly. It was Nanam. Within his grasp was a young female slave. Hikaru couldn't remember her name exactly. Hera? Hebu? Something like that. It was not like it mattered at the moment. Nanam was handling her roughly, dragging her away. She was half-struggling against him. A slave trying to fight back but feared the retribution that would fall on her as a result. It did not take much for Hikaru to realize what was going on. Her hands tightened into fists. She could not let this poor girl get pulled into something like this!

This was probably one of the stupidest things she was about to do. It was probably worse than kicking a King in his most private area (although in her defense, she did not know he was the King). However she knew there was no way she could walk away at this very moment. Plus who would believe her? She was a slave, the lowest position in this palace. However, she did have something that most slaves did not. More freedom to do whatever she wanted. And for that reason, she would use it.

"Wait a moment!" snapped Hikaru as she rounded the corner.

Nanam's eyes settled on her. Hikaru inwardly shivered. His eyes were leery and dark. She felt dirty by the way he was staring at her. She dug her fingernails into her palms. No backing out now. She needed to commit to what she was going to do.

"Where are you from girl?" he asked. "You look foreign." He licked his lips. "Are you from a land far away?"

She suppressed the shiver that wanted to travel up her spine. _ Asaruludu protect me_, she prayed before she walked over to the man.

The girl was staring at her with wide eyes. It was like she was asking what Hikaru was doing. _Doing something crazy_, she silently replied. She focused her attention back on the man and without warning, her knee shot up and she connected it with the apex of his thighs.

He went down faster than the King did. Curses spewed out of his mouth as he glared up at her.

"Run!" She yelled at the girl before she took off herself. The girl scampered away with Hikaru right behind her. Silently she cursed the shackles. Because of those things she was forced to keep her pace at a brisk walk. She just hoped she would get enough of a head start before he would recover.

The girl yelped and Hikaru turned her head slightly to see that he was on his feet and now chasing after them.

"Run ahead," Hikaru instructed the girl when she realized the girl had slowed down just for Hikaru's sake. "Do not worry for my sake, go."

"But…"

Hearing the sounds of Naram behind them, the girl nodded and took off, leaving Hikaru behind. Good. At least she would be safe. Now to make sure she was alright. She was afraid to look back but she heard him get closer and closer to her. No way. She was going to get caught? What made matters worse was that they were in a deserted part of the palace so there were no other witnesses around.

Something clamped tightly against her arm and she was yanked backwards against Nanam's chest.

"You are quite a frisky one," he growled.

Hikaru looked up to glare at him. He was staring down at her with a twisted expression. He did not fear her, she realized. He did not fear the repercussions of taking the slaves in the palace. This lack of fear was what made him truly dangerous.

Before she could scream, he clamped a hand over her mouth while his other was tightly clamped against her waist. She struggled as much as she could but he was much too strong. Her panic got stronger as he began dragging her out of the hallway. Her struggles became more intense and she screamed into his hand. She just needed to get away! If only she could get an arm free! He twisted his body and took her with it.

She did not see the pillar until it was too late.

* * *

Shub sighed, sat up and took in her handiwork. She had finally finished the section of the garden she had worked on for the past week. She had no idea what the red flowers on the bushes were but whatever it was, it grew like crazy. There were also thorns along the stems and she had to be careful not to prick herself as she was removing the extraneous branches.

Hearing the sound of someone approaching, she checked behind her in case it was an ambassador, a noble or the King himself. With so many ambassadors in the palace right now, she never felt like she could do her work without being interrupted at least four times in a short time span.

"Hebu?" What was she doing here? She was one of the slaves that worked in the kitchens.

The girl slowed to a stop when she spotted Shub. She was breathing heavily and covered with sweat. Her eyes were wide like she had seen a phantom of some sort. "Shub…it is bad. Things wrong. Nanam there…he…she…in…trouble…"

Shub got to her feet and walked over to the girl. "You are not making any sense Hebu. Say it again and slower?" She put an arm around the shaken girl in an attempt to calm her down.

"The girl you always hang around with, the foreign looking one..."

"Hikaru? What about her?"

Hebu's lip quivered. "She…she saved me. From Nanam."

Shub was not an incredibly smart girl. It took her a while to understand concepts and she was having so much trouble learning how to read and write. However, even she understood the implication behind Hebu's words. "Where was this?"

"I was in the far west wing," whispered Hebu. "I was using it as a shortcut to get back to the kitchen-Shub, where are you going?"

Shub turned to look back at Hebu. "You return to the kitchens, I will take care of this."

"How?" whispered Hebu. "Nanam is an ambassador and a scary man. You cannot do anything to stop him."

"I may not be able to but I know someone who might be willing enough to do so."

"Ekur? But he is an old man. What can he do?"

Shub shook her head. Ekur might have been a good choice but that _baru _could be anywhere. There was another person that she had in mind and she knew exactly where he would be at this time. It might get her killed for it or even worse but that did not matter now. Hikaru was her dear friend that wasted time trying to teach simple-minded Shub how to read and write. She did not deserve this! She was not like the rest of the slaves!

"I will speak to you later!" Shub ran from the gardens as fast as her legs would take her. She ran past the many rooms, taking the twists and turns of the palace as fast as she could go without slamming into any of the walls. She took the many shortcuts that only the slaves knew about.

She reached the audience chamber and put her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. Note to self, there needed to be a faster way invented to get from the far west gardens to the audience chambers.

The guards outside the chamber were staring at her in confusion. "Are you alright?" asked Shulgi.

"I am fine," replied Shub. She stood up. "I need to get in the chambers."

"The King is currently in conference with the Assur ambassador. It is a delicate matter. No one may enter."

"Please Shulgi. This is important. The King would want to hear what I need to tell him. It is very time sensitive. I need to go in there now."

Shulgi shook his head. "I am sorry Shub. I cannot do that."

"Please Shulgi!" begged Shub. She pictured Hikaru's smiling face. She may have been brave at being forced to work in the palace but something like this might be too much for even her. "Shulgi. I am begging you." She pointed to the lances held by both guards. "I will vow on the gods themselves, any god you wish. I will swear it that what I will say is important."

Shulgi and the other guard exchanged looks. "Alright," relented Shulgi. "But I cannot promise your safety."

The guards stepped to the side and Shub pushed open the huge doors and entered the audience chambers. Her eyes widen as she took the huge space in. It was much grander than what the other slaves have described it as. Wow. It was so beautiful in here. She would love to spend a day in here examining the statues and the carvings on the walls.

"What is the meaning of this!?" roared a man who was sitting at a table across from the King. On the table, there was a bunch of clay cards. They were playing a game of some kind.

The King's red eyes locked onto Shub. "Why did the guards let you in?" His voice was low and the threat in it was clear.

Shub swallowed. She needed to stay calm. This was not for her sake. "H…Hikaru."

The King perked up at the mention of her name. "What about her?"

"She…she is in trouble." Shub could not stop the yelp of surprise from her mouth as the King jumped to his feet. Some of the cards on the table scattered in his wake as he walked from the table towards Shub.

"Explain," he growled. "How is she in trouble?"

Behind him the ambassador was protesting against this breach of protocol but the King did not seem fazed by it. His attention was focused on Shub.

"She….she was helping a fellow slave from Nanam but…it looked like she was unable to get away from him in time. He…he is going to…" She lost her voice. The King's expression terrified her. He looked like he was going to sentence everyone to death. It was like she could not breathe in his presence. She had never seen him this angry before.

"Do you know where he is?" His voice was chilled and devoid of all emotions.

"The old abandoned west wing was where he was," Shub managed to get out.

As soon as those words left her mouth, he stormed around her and left the audience chamber without another word. No longer in his presence, Shub's legs gave away and she fell to the ground. Thankfully she had managed to keep in control of her bladder.

"Are you alright?" Shulgi crouched next to her. His partner was talking to the ambassador, trying to calm the man down. "I have never seen the King that angry before. What news did you tell him?"

"A slave he cares for is going to get soiled."


	6. Chapter 6

Hikaru's head pounded painfully. It was like a blacksmith was striking a hammer into it over and over. She tried to lift a hand to rub it but found that she could move them. In a panic she tried to speak but found that she was gagged as well.

Oh, Asaruludu, she was tied up! She forced the panic down as she tried to take in her surroundings. It was a dark room with random objects lying around everywhere. Only a single oil lamp from the ceiling shed a bit of light. It was probably one of the old storage sheds from the unused part of the west wing. There were a lot of random things in those.

Hearing a noise, she turned and saw Nanam on the other end of the room. He had his back to her and he seemed to be doing something. She could feel her breath coming out quicker but she forced it to return to normal. She needed to remain calm. For her own sake, she needed to stay calm!

That mantra disappeared from her mind as he turned to look at her with those dead, cruel eyes. "I always loved coming to this kingdom. The King always keeps very interesting slaves around. Although I have never seen anything like you before." He was by her side and he ran his fingers through her hair. She tried to move away from his touch but he tightened his grip and she was forced to move towards his hand to stop the pain of him pulling her hair.

"I really would like to know where he found someone like you," murmured Nanam as he stroked her hair with one hand. His other was lightly caressing her body.

Tears sprung to Hikaru's eyes but she blinked them away as much as she could. Did she not expect something like this to happen after she had been forced to live in this palace? How was this any different from what could have happened a month ago? Was she too complacent in the life she had here? She tried to move her legs but she found she could not move them at all. He had tied those to something. There was no way she could break free from these bonds. She needed to retreat into her herself. To get away from where his wandering hands were going, she needed to not feel it anymore. All she needed to do was retreat in her mind; put her soul in the hands of the gods…

Nanam gave a startled cry and Hikaru opened her eyes in surprise. Nanam was thrown off of her with extreme force. She saw a flash of gold as the King slammed Nanam's head into the floor a couple of times. The sound was painful and made her wince. The man lay on the ground unmoving and for a few brief seconds she thought he was dead but then she noticed the faint moving of his body from his breath.

The King glared down at the man and it looked like he was going to kick him but he turned his attention to Hikaru and rushed to her side. "Do not worry," he murmured. "I will get you free." He removed the gag from her mouth and then got to work on freeing her hands.

"How?" she whispered. "How are you here?"

"That slave girl you are friends with came to see me," he said. "She told me what happened."

"Shub?" Did she run into Hebu and then ran to tell the King about this?

"Maybe that is her name, I do not care to know." He freed her and gave her a look over as if he was searching for something. "Did he?"

She shook her head and wrapped her arms around herself. "No," she whispered. "Just…touched."

He gritted his teeth and turned his attention to the unconscious man. "I shall him executed for this."

"Would this not cause problems with Nippur?"

"It might but that does not matter. No one touches what is mine," he growled.

Hikaru just stared at him. The amount of hatred that he was sending this man through his eyes was astounding. She had never seen him this angry before about anything. "Please, I just want to get out of here," she whispered.

Before she could get to her own feet, the King had put one arm against her back and another under her knees before he lifted her off of the ground. "You are much lighter than you look like," he commented in surprise.

"Wh…what are you doing?" she exclaimed. "I…I can walk." Then she thought of what he just said. "Hey, wait a moment. Were you making fun of my weight!?"

The King ignored her protests as he carried her out of the room. She blinked as the bright light of the sun hit her eyes. His personal guards had just reached the scene. "Take the man inside to the prison. Have him executed first thing in the morning."

Hikaru did not get to see if they obeyed as the King was already walking away from the scene.

Both were silent. After Nanam's creepy and disgusting touch, the King's arms against her back and knees felt warm and comforting. Against his chest she felt something she did not expect to feel. Safe. He had rushed over here to save her. That had to mean something right? However what did it mean? She was unsure.

After a while, they reached the more populated parts of the palace. She could feel the eyes of everyone on them. Of course. It was not every day that the King carried a shackled girl in his arms. Unlike her, he did not seem fazed by the stares and continued to walk.

They turned another corner and a set of guards and Hikaru realized where the King was going. His chambers.

She stiffened as they reached the doorway. What was he planning on doing? His chambers were, of course, fitting for his status. It was furnished with gold-plated furniture inlaid with various jewels. A huge bed took up the back, with expensive linens and the furs of lions. He carefully set her down on the edge of the bed.

Did he really save her from something like that to instigate something himself? She scoffed to herself. Of course he would. As the King, he got whatever he wanted whenever he did.

"You have a bump on the back of your head." Her spine stiffened as she felt his gentle touch. "Looks pretty bad. I will send for an _azu_ to take care of it." The King turned away from her. "Make yourself comfortable, I will return soon." A small grin played on his lips. "Do not steal anything while I am gone now." He walked out of the room but stopped for a few brief seconds. "The guards will not allow anyone to enter this room but me."

What was he up to? Hikaru looked down at her shackled feet and wrapped her arms around herself. A small sob escaped her mouth and she clamped her hand over her mouth to try to stop another one from leaving her mouth. However, the more she fought against it, the harder it tried to get out. She fell back on the bed and curled into a fetal position and cried.

* * *

What in the name of the underworld was he doing?

Gilgamesh stormed down another corridor. Where in the world was the _azu_ or even a slave for that matter? This place seemed deserted now! He made a mental note to buy a few more slaves to put into the palace. What was the point in having them if they were not around when he needed them!? Yes, he could have asked one of the guards posted outside his door but he did not want any less security for her.

He turned a corner and almost ran into Ekur.

"Oh, there you are my King!" The old man took a step back and straightened out his robes.

Thank the gods, he ran into Ekur of all people.

"What happened my King? The palace is buzzing about how you stormed out of a meeting with an ambassador. I know you dislike those meetings but still, you have never left one before. You have also sentenced Nanam to death on top of everything else. What is going on?"

Gilgamesh ran his fingers through his hair as he tried to figure out the best way to explain this. "Ekur, first, can you find an _azu_ quickly and have him come to my chambers?"

"Yes, but why my King?" Ekur squinted and stared.

He gritted his teeth. Of course Ekur would want an explanation. "Nanam decided to lay a hand on Hikaru."

Ekur stiffened. Like Gilgamesh, he knew about Nanam's relation with the slaves. It was not uncommon for behavior like this to happen. Usually one would turn a blind eye if it was kept discreet. Gilgamesh would admit that he had this sort of relation with slaves in the neighboring kingdoms as well.

Ekur swallowed before he asked, "Is she alright?"

"Nothing happened. I got there before it did."

Ekur relaxed. "Thank the gods. However, my King, you sentenced him to death for it?"

Of course Ekur would focus on that. Gilgamesh looked away. Just thinking about it made him uncomfortable. It made no sense no matter how much he looked at it. "When I saw her there…I just reacted. I was not thinking of anything really."

"You know this is going to cause problems with Nippur as a result correct?"

He knew where Ekur was going with this. That stupid divination of his was coming true. How annoying. "It is just a coincidence. I just wanted to protect what is mine."

"And yet you left in the middle of a discussion for the sake of saving her."

"I have no idea alright," Gilgamesh snapped. To himself though, he had some inkling. When he had heard that slave-girl mention Nanam had grabbed her, all Gilgamesh could think of was her eyes and that spark within them. If that encounter had gone through, she would no longer have that spark anymore, he knew that was true, deep in his gut. He could not let that spark vanish.

"Of course not," chuckled Ekur. He shook his head. "Oh my King."

"What?" he growled.

"I will go get the _azu_ and send him to your room. You should return to her. She should not be alone right now." He hesitated for a brief second and then continued. "However, I will be careful around her my King. She is probably in a very fragile state right now. Be kind to her."

Kind to her? He was a King! He got whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted it! However he did nod to placate Ekur before he turned and walked back to his room.

The guards stepped aside as Gilgamesh passed them and entered his chambers. She was sitting on his bed, her bare, shackled feet on the ground. Her head was bowed low with her hair forward to cover her face.

"The _azu_ will be here shortly."

She did not move. Gilgamesh walked over to the bed and stood over her. Still she did not look up at him. "Come on," he snapped. "Say something."

"What do you want me to say?" she murmured in a low voice. "You actually want me to say something? Not do something? Lie on this bed perhaps? Spread eagle maybe? Or on my stomach if that's your preference?"

What in the world was she talking about? "You make no sense woman." This was what he got for saving her?

Still she would not lift her head. Annoyed, Gilgamesh put his hand under her chin and forced her to look up at him. He froze when he noticed her eyes. Yes, they were the same defiant eyes he knew but they were overshadowed by how red and puffy they were. She had been crying?

"Why…why are you crying?" he asked dumbstruck.

She pulled away from him and lowered her head so her hair covered her eyes again. No response.

What was he supposed to do? He was not the sentimental type at all. A King did not comfort an upset person. However, seeing her face like that bothered him more than it should and it annoyed him that he did not understand why. He sat down on the bed next to her. "Why are you upset?" he asked again. "Nothing happened. I got there before it did. Why are you upset?"

A sound escaped her mouth. "Of course a King would not understand it," she whispered. She lifted her head proudly and turned those eyes of her on him. "I was unable to do _anything_. It is the fear that I am focused on. Being trapped there, unable to do anything and knowing what was to come." She shook her head. "You probably have no idea what that feels like…and what could happen next…" She turned away and wrapped her arms around herself. The tears in her eyes starting to flow again.

Damn it. Damn it all. What in the world was he supposed to do? Where was the _azu_!?

He could not just leave her here crying though right? Although it felt really odd, he reached out and put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her towards him. She was like a statue in his arms for a few moments. A sob escaped her throat and her fingers tightly grasped the sash he had over his right shoulder as she finally released her tears against his chest.

* * *

A couple of months ago, if she had been informed that she would end up crying in the arms of a King she would not have believed the messenger. However, here she was, in the arms of a king, getting snot and tears onto his robe.

When her eyes were cried out and her head pounding, she pulled away from him. "Sorry," she murmured. She rubbed her eyes. She probably looked like a mess now. She leaned her head forward to have her hair cover her eyes.

"Stop." The King put a hand under her chin and made her look up at him. He seemed to be searching for something in her eyes. "This has affected you so much…" Like when she had mentioned it before, there was genuine confusion in her eyes. Did he truly not understand? Of course not. He was a King. He was above everyone else.

"Do not worry about it," she murmured. She pulled away from his grasp and ran her fingers through her hair. She shivered as she thought of Nanam's fingers on her. It was not the first time that a man had put his grubby fingers on her, it was one of the many things she had to deal with while living in the traveling caravan. However she was always able to get away in time with a swift kick and her speed in running away. It just seemed that when she stepped into the palace that ability of hers had become useless.

She was broken out of her thoughts as the King touched the shackles on her ankles. "Would you have been able to get away if it was not for these?"

What was up with him? He was acting so strangely.

"Answer the question," he snapped.

She should have not been surprised. He was the same King after all. "Yes," she said simply. She rubbed her eyes again. She wanted to move her legs under her so the shackles would not be seen but he was holding the chain tightly in his arms.

"Then it was because you were put in these that, that happened to you…"

Did he actually sound remorseful about it? Was the King actually regretting something? If it was not for the fact that a part of her mind kept going back to what had happened to her, she might have been genuinely fascinated about it.

"I was being too reckless. I just have calculated how these chains would affect my movement wrong, that is all. You need not worry about it…my King."

"Gilgamesh."

She looked up at him in surprise. "What?"

"Gilgamesh. That is my name."

What was this? He had given her his name? A name that held power over this kingdom of Uruk. And yet, he had willingly given it up to a foreign woman like her? "That...that is not wise to give up your name like that. Your name holds so much power. One could personally curse you with the knowledge of knowing your name."

"And are you going to go tell people who wish to curse me?"

She closed her mouth tight and shook her head. Despite everything he had put her through, forcing her to live in the palace and whatnot, he had saved her, even if he did not understand it very well. She would not give up his name to anyone else.

"Well there is no problem then, is there?" chuckled the King. No. Gilgamesh. His name was Gilgamesh.

However she knew she could not just call him that. What if someone overheard? The walls did have ears. Any moment she could slip and someone who was not to hear would overhear her calling him by his real name. "How about I call you 'Gil'?" she suggested. "It will keep your name safe from those trying to harm you."

He let out a long sigh and shook his head like one would do to a child. "If you would like to refer to me as that, I do not mind." He gently began running his fingers through her hair. "Hikaru…" he began. "Would you…"

"Come on, hurry up! If my old legs can move this fast then you can move faster than this!" Ekur's loud voice echoed from the hallway.

Gilgamesh made an annoyed sound with his tongue before he detangled his fingers from her hair and stood. She had to crack a smile at the annoyed look on his face. He could be such a child.

"Move you silly guards! I am allowed in here! I am Ekur, the _baru_!"

"Let him in as well as the _azu_," ordered Gilgamesh.

In a few mere seconds, Ekur was in the room along with a young _azu_. "Hikaru, are you alright?" asked Ekur. He walked over to her side and gave her a quick look over.

"I…I'm alright." Her attention flickered to the young _azu_. He had kneeled behind her. He had reached up to touch her but stopped when he noticed the wide-eyed expression on her face.

"I just need to check the back of your head," said the _azu_. "Is…that alright?"

Hikaru bit her lip and nodded. She turned around so the _azu_ could get a full view of the back of her head. She was painfully aware of the young man's location behind her.

"No funny business now," growled Gilgamesh. "If your hands stray too far, you are going to lose it."

In that moment, Hikaru felt sorry for the _azu_. She could not see his face but she could imagine how nervous he was now. "Just go ahead," she murmured.

"Ekur," said Gilgamesh. "Does it matter if she is a slave under you or not?"

"No, it does not matter much to me."

What in the world was going on here? What was Gilgamesh talking about? The _azu_ had found the bump on the back of her head and she winced.

"I can say a prayer to Gula for you," offered the _azu_. "Otherwise, it will heal up on its own."

"That is fine. Do not worry about it." She turned back to the conversation between Gilgamesh and Ekur.

"Then it is settled." Gilgamesh turned to her. "You do not have a place to return to correct? This palace is your home at this time."

"You are correct," she replied. Her home was gone for months. They may come back in the next year but more than likely not. Without this palace, there was nowhere else for her to go.

"I need to smooth over matters with Assur ambassador. Ekur, can you take her to the blacksmith?"

"My King?" Ekur asked in surprise.

Hikaru was thinking the same thing.

Gilgamesh glanced over at Hikaru and down at her feet. "Take her back to the blacksmith and get the shackles removed from her feet."

"G…My King," Hikaru quickly corrected herself. "Why?"

"I do not wish for a repeat incident of this," replied Gilgamesh. He crossed his arms and looked away from her. "You will be working in the palace with actual wages from this point on. That is…if you accept this position. You are…not being forced to do this."

Ekur hid his face with his sleeve but his twinkling, amused eyes were clearly visible. "Oh my King," he chuckled under his breath.

Hikaru was struggling to keep her own smile off of her face. His childlike quality was on full display here. The poor _azu_ was finished and he was keeping quiet so he was able to watch the King act in a way that one would never get to see normally.

She crossed her legs and rested her hands in her lap. "Well, I can probably get in contact with someone in the city. The merchants here tend to know one another and I am known in the caravan enough that they do notice when my presence is missing. They might even be looking for me at this very moment."

"But you said," began Gilgamesh.

She could not control the laugh that escaped her mouth at that moment. "I am kidding my King." Although there were many people she could talk to, it would take a while. Plus most of the time she would end up at dead ends and overall it would be way too much of a hassle. "I would be honored to work under a _baru _as great as Ekur."

"Now, I know you are after the books more than my presence." Ekur waved his pointer finger at her. "Do not lie about that one girl."

"Of course," she replied with a wide grin. "Those Ugaritic texts are not going to read themselves." She turned to Gilgamesh. "Thank you."

"It is nothing like I have said," he replied with his nose turned up. "I will send a slave to get a bedchamber ready for you in the guest quarters."

"The guest quarters?" she asked in surprised. She understood that she would no longer be considered a slave but the guest quarters? That was a huge jump in status there.

"There is no other location where you can be kept for the moment so I have decided that one of the guest quarters would be the perfect location for you. You cannot argue this point."

"Of course not my King," she replied. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing at him. Such an adorable child he was.

"Now get going. Do you not have books to read or whatever?"

"Of course we do my King." Ekur gestured for Hikaru to get up. "Come. Let us go."

"You are still here?"

The _azu_ jumped as Gilgamesh's red eyes turned on him.

"N…no. Just leaving my King."

She got to her feet, her chains clinking against each other. This was probably the last time she would hear the clinking of the chains. So odd to think about and sort of sad at the same time. However she was happy as well. Finally she could be free of these things!

"Come, let us go Hikaru."

Hikaru nodded and gave Gilgamesh one last small smile before she followed the old man out of his room.

* * *

The moon bathed everything in an eerie glow. It was a full moon. If Gilgamesh was a superstitious man, he would have thought that the night was ominous and forth telling of future events. The moonlight was playing off of the waters of the Euphrates. For the superstitious it probably meant that Sin was watching this all and was casting judgment on Gilgamesh.

Of course he was not that type of man.

He looked down at the man groveling at his feet. It was not like he had a choice in the matter. Nanam was bloody and bruised his arms and legs tied. Stones were attached to his clothes along with the ends of the rope. The man was a wreck but he still glared up at the King. "Nippur will not stand idly by if you do this," he warned. "They will fight and where will your precious kingdom be in that?"

"My kingdom will be fine," growled the King. He gave Nanam a hard push with his foot in the direction of the river. "What is it that people like you believe? A test to see if the River God finds you innocent or not?"

"I am not a witch," laughed Nanam. "What is the point of this?" He twisted his head back to look at the King. "I wish I finished with that girl when I had the chance. At least this ending would be very sweet as a result."

Gilgamesh gritted his teeth as his mind flashbacked to her crying face. This man had done that to her. He had taken those strong eyes, and the strong woman and made her cry like that. "Well then, I guess you will be going to the underworld early then." With a sharp kick he sent the man tumbling over the small bridge and he fell into the water.

He waited on the bridge, staring at the water in case the man surfaced. Nothing. Not even an air bubble. "I guess the River God did not think you were innocent after all." Gilgamesh turned away and walked over to his private guard waiting on the shoreline. None of them said a word as the King got on his horse and they rode back to his city.


	7. Chapter 7

Hikaru awoke the next morning very confused. Where in the world was she? The room was large, bigger than the caravan which she spent most of her life but about the same size as the room she had shared with the other slaves. Only, it was just her. The bed was plush with pelts of who knows what. There was a chest for clothes but she had nothing but her one dress.

She stretched her legs and savored with how much she could move them now. The area around her ankles was slightly raw that would heal in time. She gently touched the spots and sighed. If only Ekur did not see the injury. Then she would not have to worry about this.

Getting to her feet, she padded over to the window and peered out. The sun was beginning to rise and it cast a warm glow over the city of Uruk. A part of her wondered if Gilgamesh had given her this room on purpose. The view was beautiful.

"Hello?"

Hikaru turned in surprise at the voice. "Shub? What are you doing here?"

Her friend was holding a tray of food in her hand and she had a wide smile on her face. "Oh! It's you Hikaru. Oh Sin! Your shackles are gone! It is true then! I would hug you but…hang on!" Shub dropped the tray on a small table near the door before she ran over and swept Hikaru up in a huge hug. "I am so happy for you!"

Hikaru took a few steps back in surprise by the addition of her friend's weight. "What are you doing here Shub?"

"I got reassigned." Shub released her and took a few steps back. "Apparently the King himself went to Paubi and requested it himself. My job is to now take care of you! Can I just call you Hikaru or should I go with 'master' or something else?"

This was weird to say in the least. She shook her head. "Just go with 'Hikaru' please Shub." She grasped her friend's hand in her own. "We are friends. I cannot picture you serving me and whatnot. Plus I was a slave a day before just like you." She wished she could do something more for Shub but unlike her, Shub had the brand on her skin.

"Anyway, it is time for you to eat." Shub gestured to the bowl of food she had left by the door. "You are meeting _baru_ Ekur in one of the old back rooms right? To look at the library? Will you be needing me there as well in case you need anything?"

Hikaru shook her head as she sat on her bed and accepted the bowl of grain porridge. A simple breakfast, not something someone of her current status level should be eating. However, she remembered from certain texts that going to a more rich diet suddenly can make one sick. "I will be fine for my work Shub. However…what happened yesterday? With…_him_."

She shivered. She could still picture his disgusting hands on her. That was something that was not going away any time soon. After she had been taken to the blacksmith and had the shackles removed she was moved into to her new room. After exploring it, she had fallen asleep.

Shub sat cross-legged on Hikaru's bed. "Wow. This is comfy!" She pushed her hair behind her ear. "Well, last night, under the light of the moon, under the light of Sin, himself, he had Nanam killed. I do not know if he did it himself but he was there."

"This is going to cause so many problems with Nippur," sighed Hikaru. Gilgamesh could be so rash sometimes. Although she agreed that he deserved it from what he had done to the various female slaves of this household.

"But I am happy the King took care of him," sighed Shub. She grinned at Hikaru. "He really cares for you. It is a surprise really. Usually he takes a woman he has an interest to his chambers for a night but that is it. He has not taken anyone since you came here so it has to mean…" She trailed off when she noticed the wide-eyed, blushing look on Hikaru's face. "Oh…sorry."

Hikaru shook her head. "No…no. That is the truth. You do not need to hide the truth from me." She heard of the stories from the other slaves of what Gilgamesh was like. She even thought that was the reason she was forced to live in the palace in the first place. Besides that one hug she had gotten yesterday, she had done nothing vulgar to her. He had fought for her as well and had a man killed for her as a result. On that note, he had even raised her standing in this kingdom as well. What was she to him?

The logic behind this was unreasonable. She shook her head. There was no point in thinking about it now. "I need to get going." She handed the bowl to Shub. "I am sorry but I need to head for the back rooms. Ekur gets cranky when he is unable to start right away."

"What do you want me to do Hikaru?"

Hikaru shrugged. "I am sorry but I do not have anything else for you to do really."

"That is alright." Shub got up. "I can go work in the gardens. I do enjoy working there. I will find you for your lunch, alright?"

Hikaru nodded and got up herself. She was going to have to get going if she was going to get there before Ekur threw a fit.

* * *

Gilgamesh walked out of the audience chamber with a headache forming in his temples. The final negotiations were over and all of the ambassadors would be heading home. Everything went well, well except for the negotiations with Nippur of course. Where that problem was going to end up, Gilgamesh had no idea but he knew it would result in many, many headaches for him. He could already hear the comments of the nobles in relation to this.

Oh well. It was not like Uruk was a weak kingdom. If it came down to War, he would be on the front lines fighting along his men. However, for now all he wanted to do was take a horse and ride out into the sunset. He smirked at the thought. Oh, how romantic would that be if anyone but him did it.

"Bring my horse out front," he ordered to a slave passing by him.

The slave bowed low to the King before he scurried off to do as he was told. Gilgamesh headed back to his room and got changed into a simpler outfit but he left the amulet necklace on that branded him as the King. As he walked down the hall towards the front gate, he noticed Hikaru coming out of her room. A tablet was clutched tightly in her hands.

"Oh hello," she said when she noticed him standing there. She tilted her head to the side slightly. "What are you doing here Gil?"

A grin formed on his lips as a thought crossed his mind. Why should he have to travel out alone when he could have company? "You are coming with me Hikaru."

"Uh…what?" She blinked slowly and stared at him.

"I am heading down to the river and you will be joining me." He walked over to her side and plucked the tablets out of her hand. It was a tablet about a princess praying to Ishtar or something like that.

"Give that back!" She stood on her tiptoes as she tried to reach the tablet that Gilgamesh now held over his head. "Gil, Ekur is waiting for me. He wants me to give him that text so can you please give it back?"

"No," huffed Gilgamesh. Really now. She should be delighted with the chance that she would get to spend some alone time with him!

She plopped down to her usual height and let out a deep sigh. "You can be such a child sometimes."

Him!? A child!? He put a hand under her chin and forced her to look up at him. Those brown eyes of her were gazing back at him in defiance, like always. He leaned in close to her face. "I am not a child," he growled. Being this close to her, he was aware of her slow steady breathes as she continued to stare up at him. He was also aware of the curve of the dress as it went down to-

"Oh."

Hearing a new voice, Gilgamesh jerked his head back and noticed a slave girl standing in the doorway of Hikaru's room with a few tablets in her hands. Well, this was perfect. "Here," said the King as he dropped the tablet he had held into the girl's hands. "Take them to Ekur. And tell him I will be borrowing Hikaru for a while."

"Really now?" Hikaru crossed her arms. "Do I really need to go stave off your boredom with you right now? We were in the middle of translating-"

"Please stop. This bores me." He put an arm around her shoulders and began leading her to the entrance. "Come. Let us go."

"Alright, alright. I can see nothing I say will deter you." She leaned her head back to make eye contact with her personal slave. "Take those to Ekur and tell him where I have gone. I will be back as soon as possible."

"Yes Hikaru," replied the girl before she scurried off.

"She is allowed to refer to you by name?"

"Of course," she replied like it was the silliest question in the world. "We were slaves together. We were friends then so it is silly to have her refer to me as her "master" or whatnot."

What a unique girl she was. Gilgamesh had seen people go up in rank and then cast away the people they had known below them. Not her. She was unique in that regard.

"My horse should be waiting for me at the front gate."

"Wait…we are going to ride a horse together!?"

* * *

Hikaru had never ridden a horse before. She had ridden an ox and a buffalo when she was younger and she had ridden in the back of a cart but that was the extent of her riding. A horse was something else entirely. Only the noble class could afford to buy one of the beautiful Arabian horses.

She would say that was an experience she did not want to experience again.

She had sat in front of Gilgamesh and she had her eyes shut the whole time, her hands gripping the mane of the horse tightly. They could not have gotten there faster. The best moment was when Gilgamesh helped her down from the horse.

"I never thought you would be scared of a horse!" he laughed as he gave the horse a pat on the neck. "I thought you would want to examine it or relate to how a deity rides one."

"I would in theory." She stood up and ran her fingers through her hair. Her stomach was finally starting to settle. For now she did not want to think of the ride back to Uruk. To avoid thinking of that, she focused her attention on the Euphrates. The river was beautiful. The setting sun was playing colors on the water. She had seen it from far away and she had traveled on it on boats but it was something else to see it on the shoreline.

"What do you think?" He came up behind her.

"It is beautiful," she replied. "I have read poems that describe the Euphrates in a beautiful sense, with Enki being the provider and whatnot but actually seeing it in person in that one is something completely different."

He walked past her and kicked off his shoes before he stepped into the river. Hikaru checked the ground around her for stray bugs before she sat down. He turned around to look at her.

"Are you not coming in?"

Hikaru shook her head. "It is alright. I am fine here."

Gilgamesh frowned and walked out of the water and over to her. "What do you mean? One does not get to swim in the Euphrates very often."

She shook her head. "No…it is alright."

Frowning, Gilgamesh bent down and scooped her up in his arms.

A wave of panic rose up within her. "What are you doing?!" she screamed.

"Letting you have some fun!" he laughed.

He had waded into the water by this point. He was laughing. "Come on Hikaru. Time for you to have some fun."

Hikaru did not care about having fun at this point. She wanted to struggle out of his grip but she was afraid of the water that went up to his waist. So, instead she threw her arms around his neck and kept her grip tight. "Do you not dare drop me!" she whispered into his shoulder.

She felt Gilgamesh stiffen under her and she felt him walk, the sound of the water moving roaring in her ears.

"I am out of the water now, I am going to put you down."

She released him as he put her down on the bank of the river. "I am sorry," She pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her head on them.

"Is something wrong?" He settled down next to her. "Why are you afraid of water?"

She shook her head. "No…it is not like I am afraid of water per say. I can cross it and what not…" She began running her finger through the dirt. "It is just that I…I…"

"Come on and spit it out already!" he snapped.

"I cannot swim!" she spit out.

"Oh," he said in surprise. "Well that makes sense. You were traveling and you did not have the time to learn how to swim. That is nothing to be ashamed of." He laughed. "But still. Your reaction was still pretty extreme I would say."

She turned to look at him. Of course he would not understand how bad this was for her. She smiled sadly at him. "It…it was not like that…"

Gilgamesh's laughter turned into a frown. "What?"

"It…it is nothing. Forget about it."

"You cannot start and then not continue!" he snapped. "What was the reason!?"

She winced at the sound of his voice. Of course. She should have not brought it up. He would react in this way and she knew he would. There was no point in hiding it now though, not like it was much to hide. "It is not a huge deal. It was back when I was a child. A bunch of children, myself included were playing by a river, I cannot remember which one. One of the children was an older boy. He was very mean, always bullying us younger children.

"He ended up pushing me into the river. It was not very deep, with my height now but as a child I was scared out of my mind. The adults were not around and he was the oldest boy there and he just watched on the shore." She shrugged. "To make matters short, I almost drowned until one of the adults noticed and saved me."

Gilgamesh was silent. She glanced over and saw that his hands were curled into fists and his eyes were flashing in anger. Typical Gilgamesh. "Do not get angry over it," she sighed. "It was long ago. I do not remember the boy's face. Plus I am not afraid of water because of it. Just afraid of swimming. I can handle shallow water but the Euphrates, I know, gets deeper further in…"

"If I could get my hands on that boy…" he growled.

"Please calm down Gil," she sighed. She ran her fingers through her hair. Why did he have to be such a child most of the time? It had happened long ago! She never had to worry about rivers usually at all. "It is not something that is hampering me in any way."

"But you cannot enjoy the Euphrates with me!" he protested.

She let out another long sigh. And of course he would relate it back to himself. He never stopped thinking of himself, did he? But maybe that was what she needed right now to stop thinking these sad thoughts. "You can go into the water Gil. I will stay here on the shore and watch. This is more enjoyable for me." She pointed to the tall reeds growing on the bank of the river. "Do you see those plants there? They were used in a text about-"

"Do not say another word." He put a hand over her mouth. "I did not bring you out here in order to babble nonsense."

"Then why did you bring me out here? Obviously I am pretty boring when it is not directly related to my knowledge and ability to translate texts from multiple languages."

"You are an infuriating woman." He ran his fingers through his hair and stood up. "However, that is what makes you very interesting at the same time."

The light of the setting sun seemed to cast a halo around him. It gave Gilgamesh a very unearthly quality to him. Like he was some sort of god.

She blinked a few times and rubbed her eyes. Nonsense. She scoffed at the thought. Gilgamesh was a man like everyone else.

"Let us return." He walked over to his horse and patted it on the neck a few times. "I know Ishne is going to throw a fit when I return. He is always telling me to take guards with me when I leave the city."

She tightened her hands into fists. She knew the only reason why he was suggesting this was through his knowledge of her inability to swim. "Really Gil, if you would like to swim, that is alright with me. You wanted to come here to escape the palace and to relax correct?" She shrugged. "I do not mind. There is still some time before the sun sets." Plus she wanted a little more time to settle her stomach before she needed to ride that underworld beast again.

At first she thought he was going to deny it but Gilgamesh dropped the reins and walked back over to her. "As you wish, we may stay here a little longer."


	8. Chapter 8

"And I win!" Gilgamesh dropped the stone cards down on the table so Hikaru could see them.

"Again!?" Hikaru whined. She leaned back in her chair and flung her cards on the table. "I just taught you this game last week. How are you so good already?"

"I am the King," laughed Gilgamesh. "Of course I am good at this game."

Hikaru shook her head. "You have to be cheating," she murmured. She stared at the cards that Gilgamesh put down and tried to figure out if it was entirely possible for him to get this set of cards calculating in the ones that have already been played. In the end she had to conclude that it was true. He had somehow won fairly. And that annoyed her greatly.

"How is it, that every game I introduce you too, you grasp it and are able to win in a manner of days?"

Gilgamesh laughed at her mental struggle.

She shook her head and began stacking the cards again. "Play another round?"

Grinning, Gilgamesh nodded. "Of course. You were close to beating me last round."

"You know Ekur will yell at you again for kidnapping me to play games with right?" Hikaru shuffled the stone cards before she dealt them out.

Gilgamesh shrugged. "I am the King. What could you be doing that is more important than spending time with me?"

Hikaru rolled her eyes. A couple months ago she would have found that comment so conceited but now she knew he was just saying that because that was his personality. "I need to finish translating texts today so this will be the last game."

"Oh come on! We can play more than one right?" He picked up the cards that she had given him. "I was in meetings all day! You are going to leave me to be bored by myself?"

"Yes," replied Hikaru. She dropped one of the cards on the table and picked up another from the deck. "Otherwise you can help me translate. I have a direct translation tablet you can use."

She giggled at the expression on his face.

"You know how to wound me."

"My King." Ishne's armor pieces clinked against each other as he walked into the room. He stopped before the table and bowed low.

Based on the expression on his face, Hikaru silently began gathering up the cards.

"What happened?" Gilgamesh's voice was quiet.

"Nippur has declared war," said Ishne. "Scouts have seen the army approaching Uruk. I have already begun gathering our army as a result."

"Good." Gilgamesh got to his feet.

"My King…" She was holding the cards so tightly that the edges were digging into her palms. She had seen the results of war during her traveling days.

"Do not worry. You will be fine here in the city." Gilgamesh reached out and gently ran his fingers through her hair.

"Do you need to go on the front lines?" she whispered. Stupid. She was being irrational. Of course he needed to go. That is what Kings did. They had to defend their kingdom with their own two hands with their people. If he did not go, he would be a coward, not worth of his title as a King.

"I will be back soon," he promised.

"I am sorry," she whispered. "This is my fault." If only she was not stupid and ended up in that…situation then this would not have happened.

"Do not blame yourself. I am the King and this is my responsibility. Get my armor ready," he ordered Ishne. "I will leave immediately."

"Of course my King." Ishne stood and hurried out of the room.

"Be careful..." she whispered.

"Of course," he replied. He leaned in close to her and put his arms around her.

"Gil?" Her voice was muffled against the cloth on his shoulder.

"I will return," he promised. Without another word, he released her and left the room.

Hikaru dropped the cards on the table. Her palms had pockmarks on them from holding the cards too tight. She decided to take a trip to the temple to pray.

* * *

"Here are the texts that Ekur wants you to translate next."

Hikaru looked up from the tablet she had been working on and pointed to an empty spot on her table. "Just put them there Shub, thanks."

Shub nodded and put the tablets down. "Ekur wants to know if you are going to be done with the ones he gave you last week soon?"

"I am working on it," replied Hikaru. She rubbed her eyes and stared at the cuneiforms letters on the tablet in front of her. She was writing the translation out on a piece of papyrus with a reed pen. Despite having been working on this tablet set for the past couple of days she was not even halfway done.

She felt Shub's presence still in front of her and she looked up. "Yes?"

Shub chewed her bottom lip. "It will be alright. It has only been a couple of weeks. The King has not lost any war yet. Apparently it is going well for us as well. "

"For us here in the city," replied Hikaru. She put down her pen and rubbed the bridge between her nose. "I have seen what it is like out there, for the people that get swept up in the battle. For them, this is the underworld on earth." She got up and stretched her arms over her head. "I am going to take a walk. Would you like to join me?"

Shub nodded. "Of course Hikaru."

The two girls left Hikaru's room and headed for the palace gates. "Are you sure you want to walk around the city?" asked Shub. "Did Ishne not advise you to leave without a guard of some kind?"

"That is why I brought this." Hikaru held up the cloak she had grabbed on the way out the door. "It will cover my features so no one will know I am foreign. Perfect, right?"

"At least you decided to go in the middle of the day," sighed Shub. "The King would throw a fit if he knew about this."

"He can yell at me when he returns," replied Hikaru. The two were almost to the palace gates and she was trying to think of a reason to explain why she wanted to leave the palace. She was broken out of her thoughts by yelling.

"Hikaru, look out!" Shub pulled her back as a horse barreled through the gate. There was a rider slumped on the horse's back. The horse was screaming angrily at the guards that tried to approach it. It was then that Hikaru noticed that the horse's black fur was matted with something else and it was dripping on the ground.

Blood.

The rider lifted his head and ruby red eyes locked onto Hikaru. Her hands went to her mouth as she recognized him. "Gil," she whispered.

The King slipped off the horse and Hikaru winced at the sound of his body hitting the ground. The guards had realized who it was and their voices rang out calling for _azus, barus_, anyone who knew anything about healing.

Hikaru did not know how she had gotten there, but she was by his side. She put both hands on his face so he would look at her. "Gil, Gil what happened?" She looked down at his body. He was covered in blood and deep injuries. How he had ridden a horse in his condition and not fallen off was beyond her comprehension. Thank Nabu he was here though.

"Ambushed…by a bunch of cowards." Gilgamesh winced and swallowed. "We were winning. Cowards they are…took care of them though…" He tried to raise a hand but did not seem to have the strength to even do that. "We…need to play another game…"

Hikaru could feel tears pressing against the back of her eyes but she pushed them away as she took in his injuries. Even with a skilled _azu_ invoking Gula's divine light, he would not be saved. She stared down at her hands, already red with the King's blood. Could she do it?

The warning from long ago floated into her mind. _"Do not let anyone know of your gift. Hide it. The world will brand you for it. You must hide it to keep yourself alive…"_

"I am sorry," she whispered. "He is needed for Uruk's future…"

She shut her eyes tight and sent a silent prayer to every deity she knew before she put her hand over his injury. She could feel the eyes of people on her. Possibly an _azu_ was coming over. "Make sure no one comes near me until I am finished Shub," she ordered. She opened her mental gate that held a lock on her powers and released it. Energy flowed from her hand and into his body. She could already see his injuries healing through her power.

"What are you…" he murmured.

Using her other hand, she gently stroked his hair. "Just sleep for now," she whispered. When his injuries were healed, she removed her hand and stood. The square in front of the palace gates was quiet. She could sense the bodies around her though. Everyone's eyes were on her.

"W…witch!" she heard a voice yell.

"Grab her! She is a witch!'

She did not resist as one of the guards grabbed her arms and tied them behind her. She saw a couple guards were checking on the King. "He is fine," she whispered. She noticed Ekur in the small crowd. "He is fine!" she yelled. "I did not do anything evil to him!"

She heard the _azu_ yell for an _asipu_ to be called in to banish the evil. The guard holding her gave her hard swipe to the back of her head. "No more out of you witch."

He roughly began dragging her away, in the direction of the city. Her eyes fell on Shub. Her friend's hands were clutched tightly to her chest and her eyes were wide in shock.

"I am sorry Shub," she whispered. "So sorry…"

* * *

Gilgamesh was on the way back from his campaign. They had defeated the bulk of Nippur's forces. The kingdom did not have the same strength of Uruk and had fell easily as a result. He would be back within the day, probably at night. If Hikaru was still up, he would challenge her to a round in that one tablet game from….oh where was it from again? He just knew the carved ivory playing pieces were made with such care put into them that he had to acknowledge the artist's skill.

However that plan was pushed away when they were ambushed. Apparently some of Nippur's men were lying in wait on the path back like the cowards they were.

It had been a hard struggle to break through. There were just too many of them to fight off. He had been injured greatly as a result. In the end, his soldiers gave their lives to make sure he could escape. He was bleeding onto the horse and he knew it. Would he make it? He had no idea. The hot sun was pressed against his back as he struggled to keep himself awake. If he closed his eyes, he was all over. It could not end here though. He could not let it end here.

No matter how much he struggled though, his eyes grew heavier and heavier until he could no longer keep them open.

Gilgamesh's eyes shot open. No! He could not die!

His brow furrowed as he stared up at the stone roof. Where in the world was he?

"You are awake my King."

Gilgamesh turned his head and stared at the man sitting next to the bed in confusion. "Ekur?" A quick look around made him realize he was in his own chamber. "How?" He sat up slowly. His back was stiff and his chest felt raw.

Wait.

He pulled back the animal pelts and stared down at his chest. Nothing. He knew he had been injured in that mad escape but his skin was not marred. There was not blood pouring out of gaping holes in his body.

"My King, you might find this hard to believe…"

"What happened to me?" Was someone playing a joke on him? Did the gods find this funny? If they did, he was going to strangle them with his bare hands. No one messed with him, no one. "I was injured before correct? How did I get here?"

Ekur held up a hand. "I will get to those in time. First off, you did arrive here in a horrid condition. It took a while to clean off all the blood on you. The horse as well. I am surprised that you managed to stay alive that long my King."

So he had arrived here in the condition he thought he should be in. "Then where are my injuries?"

Ekur fidgeted in his chair. "My King, it is very hard to explain that one."

"How hard can it be?" snapped Gilgamesh. "I just want an answer to my question. How was I healed? Do not tell me Gula came down from the heavens and had her dogs howl to heal me."

"Of course not." Ekur put his hands in the sleeves of his robe. "Although I will say that would make more sense than what happened."

"Spit it out Ekur!"

"It was Hikaru."

Gilgamesh froze and stared at Ekur. He expected the old man to start laughing at any second but instead Ekur's face remained solemn. He was serious. Hikaru had done this?

"She put her hand over your injury and it healed." He shook his head. "In all my years as a _baru_, I have never seen anything like it before."

Hikaru had healed him? He rested his hand on his chest but there was no trace of the injury. It felt completely fine. "Where is she now?"

Ekur let out a long sigh. "She knew what would happen to her. She did not resist."

Gilgamesh's hands curled into fists. "She was branded as a witch then?"

Ekur nodded. "Yes. The guards grabbed her when she was finished healing you. _Asipus_ had purified your body after she was done. I knew she meant no true harm to you though. Before she was taken away, she saw me in the crowd and yelled to me that she did not hurt you."

Gilgamesh got to his feet. Even though he should have felt light-headed from his wounds, he felt fine, like he had just woken from a nap. Was this a part of her power as well?

"My King, there is going to be a lot of difficult things you are going to face if you go through with this."

"I know," replied Gilgamesh. "However I am King. No one takes things away from me. Plus she was hiding that ability from me. Think of what it could do for the kingdom."

"I thought you would say that." Ekur got to his feet. "I do not want to lose my star translator as well. She works better than ten slaves put together."

A grin played on Gilgamesh's face. "I will return soon. Have a bath drawn as well as a feast."

"Of course my King."

* * *

Rocks were digging into Hikaru's knees but she made no move to make herself feel comfortable. People were around her. An _asipu_ was right behind her, speaking to the small crowd that had gathered about what she was. A witch that had come to this land in order to destroy the people and hurt the King. The only way they could be sure if she was truly a witch though was through the judgment of the god that resided into the Euphrates.

In this river would be where her life ended.

She had been taken further down than where she had been when she visited with Gilgamesh. The water was faster here and a strong swimmer would be able to swim out just fine. The current would probably drag her along until it got deeper and faster further downstream. By that point, no god would be able to save her.

Hanging her head, she smiled. It did not matter. She knew Gilgamesh would be fine. If it was one thing she had confidence in, it was her gift. Or should she refer to it as a curse? Either way, she did not regret having done it.

She felt a hand dig into her hair and force her head to look up at the water. "Your trial shall begin now!" The _ashipu's_ voice rang loud and clear. Judgment will be passed.

Her hands were freed but before she could rub them, one of the guards gave her a hard push into the river.


	9. Chapter 9

Gilgamesh pushed the horse to its limit. "Come on, faster!" he snarled. His hands were curled tightly around the mane as the horse galloped for its life. It would have taken too much time to get the horse saddled up so he went out bare-backed. He was gripping the beast's body so tightly with his legs that a small part of him was afraid he might end up crushing the horse's ribs as a result.

His citizens dove out of the way as Gilgamesh cleared a path to the Euphrates. The _ashipu_ was standing near the bank of the river. His eyes widen in surprise when he saw the King.

"My King, what are you doing here?"

Gilgamesh yanked hard on the horse's mane to force it to stop before he jumped down. The animal was panting hard and covered in sweat. It would probably not be used again after today.

A quick look around told him all he needed to know. She was not on the shore but many people were still here. They were here to see the result of the river ordeal.

He spotted brown hair in the river traveling downstream. Her head rose to the surface for a few brief seconds before it disappeared under the water again.

"Move!" Gilgamesh yanked his heavy king necklace and tossed it against the ground. It would only weigh him down.

"My King!" protested the _ashipu_ as the King dove into the water without a moment's hesitation.

The water was colder than he thought it would be. After getting over the initial shock, he began swimming with strong, powerful strokes towards her. He saw her head rise for a few brief seconds before slipping under again.

Diving underwater he searched for her. The current pulled him along but he fought against it. Where was she?

He saw movement below him. Squinting, he located her below him. Her eyes were half-open but they focused on Gilgamesh as he grabbed her arm and began swimming up.

She gasped and coughed as they broke the surface of the water.

"You are alright…you are fine…" He put an arm around her as he began swimming to the shore.

"Why…why are you here?" she whispered. "I…I am…"

"Do not worry about it. We will speak about it later."

When the water was shallow enough to walk, he scooped her up into his arms and carried her bridal style. "Do not complain and keep quiet," he murmured.

"My King! What are you doing!?" The _ashipu_ was waiting on the shore. His eyes were so wide it looked like they were going to fall out of his head. "That girl…she is a witch! She needs to be judged by the river! She's a…."

"Do not finish that sentence," he growled. His people were gathered on the shore. They were giving the _ashipu_ and Gilgamesh a wide circle.

"But my King…she is a…"

"I know what she is. And I am grateful. I am alive thanks to her and so she should not be commended as a witch. I will not have her commended as a witch."

"Gil, you need to tread lightly," murmured Hikaru. "Your position as a King might be in trouble here…"

She would be worried about him in a time like this. "Do not worry," he replied quietly. "I can handle this." He glared at the _ashipu_. "Like I said, I am alive because of her power. And I am not happy that you would attempt to drown her." His voice dropped to a low growl.

"Gil," hissed Hikaru.

The _ashipu_'_s_ eyes got even wider. The people on the shore were murmuring among themselves.

"My King…the Gods…may not be happy about this…"

Who cared about what the Gods thought!? It was because of that and the stupid fear of things unknown that Hikaru almost drowned. He opened his mouth to state his mind when another voice echoed over the people.

"The Gods have spoken!"

The people parted as Ekur walked through the crowd. The old man was wearing his most expensive robes. Silks embroidered with symbols of the gods. It gave the old man a more regal, refined look.

"A while ago I got a divination of a person that will change the land of Uruk forever." He gestured to the wet, shivering Hikaru in Gilgamesh's arms. "This girl has been blessed with Gula's gift of healing. She had to keep quiet about the ability until the time was right.

"On his way back from defeating Nippur, the King was gravely injured. He was able to make it back here but he would have passed on to the underworld. However, Hikaru stepped in, and used the power of Gula to heal our King. For that we must be grateful to her."

Ekur walked over to the _ashipu_ and placed a hand on the man's shoulder. "I know you are frightened but Gula will forgive you for this. She understands that not everyone gets her message. I should have spoken sooner but it was not time yet for me to do so."

"I…I understand…" stammered the _ashipu_.

"My King." Ekur bowed low. "Please return to the palace. Hikaru will need to pray to Gula tonight for her powers to be restored so she may help the Uruk people."

A grin played across Gilgamesh's face. Oh Ekur. If only _barus_ accepted pay raises. He would pay Ekur handsomely for this. "Yes, I shall return back to the palace now."

* * *

Again she was back in Gilgamesh's room. She had changed out of her wet clothes and was currently drying her hair with another piece of cloth. Gilgamesh was standing by the window. He would glance over at her every now and then.

She was running her fingers through her wet hair to dry it quickly. A thought crossed her mind and she let out a small laugh.

"What is it?"

Hikaru glanced over at him and shook her head. "No…I was just thinking about how I was traumatized when I was a child to hate water and now I will probably never step into a river ever again." She noticed Gilgamesh's hands were clenched. "That was a joke Gil."

"How could you joke about something like that? You almost drowned!" he snapped.

She sighed. "Please Gil. I understand why they did what they did." She looked down at her palms. "I have a power that they do not understand. Of course they will fear me and think of me as a witch…" She pressed her lips together as Gilgamesh's red eyes locked onto her. "I am guessing you also view me as a witch now too?"

He shook his head. "I do not. I find that…surprising more than anything else. Have you always been able to do that?"

She nodded. "Yes. I have always been able to. When I was a child one of the old women in the caravan advised me to hide it. It would only cause problems if people were to find out about my ability. So I kept it a secret." She rubbed her ankles. "I was using it to keep my ankles from hurting while I was wearing the shackles. I could have done more but then one would notice I was healing too fast…"

"You two are causing me so much trouble. I am losing years off of my life due to you two!" Ekur stormed into Gilgamesh's room. He was still in his impressive robes.

"Thank you Ekur," whispered Hikaru.

"Do not thank me girl. I was not lying about the divination. The King here can attest to that."

What? Hikaru's eyes widen and she glanced over at Gilgamesh and back at Ekur. There was a divination about her? "What…how did you get the divination? When?" Her mind was whirling. Why was there a divination about her in the first place?

"It was not a good divination…" murmured Gilgamesh.

"Not a good divination…" Hikaru trailed off. What did that mean?

"A liver reading as well as an oil reading," said Ekur. He was also not looking at her. "It suggested an ill omen was going to happen in the future. You would be the catalyst, a change for the city would come out of it. May it be good or bad, you are in the center of it."

Good or bad. An ill omen. Hikaru numbly looked down at her feet. What had she done? The Gods have decreed she would cause change. It was like they knew of her power and was warning everyone of it. "Why did you let me stay then?"

"Why do I need to heed the words apparently found in an animal liver?" snapped Gilgamesh.

She blinked in surprise at the anger in his words and then looked away. Why was she even surprised? Gilgamesh never heeded the words of the Gods. He did whatever he wanted. And it seems like what he wanted was her in the palace.

"What about the mentioning of Gula?" she asked. Gula probably would not be happy that her name was evoked in a lie.

"Your powers are not related to Gula?" Ekur asked in surprise.

She shook her head. "No. I do not believe so. It is just…something I was born with." She shrugged. Both of them looked confused. How to explain this? She looked down at her hands. "In my travels on the caravan, there were rumors in some areas of humans with inhuman powers. Some were thought of as witches or whatnot while others seemed to be considered heroes. I do not know much about it though, I never followed up on any rumors."

She thought of something and turned to Ekur. "Do not worry though. I know how to use my power and I can use it to heal others. I can use it in the name of Gula to help." She focused on Gilgamesh. "I can help the wounded soldiers from the war."

It was like there was a weight off of her shoulders. She did not need to hide her ability anymore. Since Ekur had invoked the name of Gula, her power would be seen as divine and good. Finally, she could use it to help others!

Ekur chuckled. "Why am I not surprised you found a blessing in this situation."

"We are not turning her into a slave to heal the people with," snapped Gilgamesh.

Both Ekur and Hikaru looked over at Gilgamesh in surprise. Why was he so angry at the idea? She sighed and got up from the bed. Such a grumpy child.

"Gil." She wrapped her hands around his and smiled up at him. "I want to do this. I can finally use my power for good. I do not have to hide it anymore. I want to use it to help."

Gilgamesh opened his mouth but he shut it again and looked out the window. "F…fine. Do what you wish."

She suppressed a giggle and stepped back. "Are the men back yet?" she asked Ekur. "I want to get started healing them right away."

"You almost drowned today and you want to get to work right away? Will you be alright?"

Hikaru waved Ekur's concern away. "I will be fine. Plus, some of them might not make it through the night. I need to take care of them right away."

Ekur put his hands in his robes. "I will take you there." A twinkle appeared in his eyes. "You better have time to translate texts for me."

Hikaru grinned and nodded. "Of course." She turned to the King and bowed low. "Thank you. For saving my life."

Gilgamesh turned away from her. "It is fine. Leave now. Do your job."

She squinted. The sun was playing weirdly on his face but it seemed to look redder than usual. "Are you blushing?"

"Nonsense! A King does not blush!"

"If you say so…" Hikaru giggled before she hurried after Ekur.

* * *

Hikaru stumbled out of the medical building. Her head was swimming but she was happy. She had healed as many people as she could. She would have healed more but her life would be danger if she pushed herself too hard.

It had been a couple of days since she had taken on her new position. It was funny how people could change their view on something so fast. They viewed her as a saint now and welcomed her in the building. She had saved so many lives in there. So many families got their husbands and father back.

Back in her room, she collapsed on her bed. So tired. She glanced over at her desk and stared at the pile of tablets that still needed translated. She had been so busy that she did not have time to translate them.

"I will get to work on them tomorrow," she promised. Ekur would complain her ear off if he found out that she did not make a dent in the text.

Her stomach growled and she sat up. Darn. She was hungry but too tired to go down to the kitchen to get anything to eat. She debated on whether she could take a nap first before getting something to eat. No. She was too hungry.

"This is going to be a long painful walk," she murmured as she sat up.

As she sat up, she noticed movement by her door. "Ummm, is someone there?"

"Uh, I am sorry to bother you…" Shub took a step into Hikaru's room. A tray was in her hands.

"Shub…" Hikaru sat up straight. Ever since she had revealed her power, Shub had kept her distance. "It is okay. Just come in."

"I brought you some dinner. I know that you were probably too focused to remember to eat."

"Oh, thanks Shub." Hikaru made some space on her desk. "You can put it here."

Shub nodded and put the tray down. "I will go now…"

"Wait Shub." Hikaru reached out and grasped her friend's wrist before she could run away. "Sorry." She released Shub's wrist a moment later. "I know that some people do not want to be touched by someone like me."

"N…no, that is not it…"

"Really, it is fine Shub." She gave her friend a wide smile. "I understand."

Shub shook her head stubbornly. "No, you do not understand! I am…I was…just surprised."

"Surprised?"

"One of my friends has been blessed by Gula and I did not know," Shub pointed out. "What was I supposed to think?" She looked away. "I am sorry for not helping you when you revealed it. I was…shocked."

Oh Shub. Hikaru reached out and hugged her friend. "Do not worry Shub. I do not blame you for not helping me." She shrugged. "I was not expecting to come out of it alive. I cannot swim so I would not have survived the river ordeal if the King did not save me."

Shub's eyes widen. She put her hand over her mouth. "Oh Hikaru…"

Maybe she should not have said that. "Please, do not look at me like that. I am fine. This is much better for me anyway. I can finally use my power for good. And I hope…we can still be friends?"

Shub was blinking fast. She rubbed her eyes. "I…I was going to ask you that…" She sniffled.

"Of course. Who else is going to help me with the texts?" She gestured to the pile of tablets. "Ekur is going to give me an earful soon."

Shub giggled. "Then we better get started?"

"Tomorrow, after I sleep…and eat!" She picked up the bowl of soup and began eating.

* * *

Gilgamesh tapped his finger against his throne. Another day of having audiences with people from his kingdom. Besides a few complaints of the people on the fringes of the kingdom, it was like last month had not happened.

Once the last person left for the day, Gilgamesh got to his feet. Finally. "I am returning to my room," he told the guard. "Send dinner there." After a moment's thought he added. "Find Hikaru and have her brought to me as well."

"My King, Lady Hikaru is probably in the _azu_'s house."

The _azu_ house? He growled softly. That was in the city! Why was she there!? If her powers were actually given by Gula, he would have cursed the Goddess for it. Because of that, he was unable to play games with her. More specifically, he had not seen her since he had saved her life. Should she not be grateful to him about it?

"Well send a slave and go get her. I want her in my room before the sun is fully set."

"But the sun is setting now…"

"Then I would hurry up in getting her," growled Gilgamesh.

Gilgamesh returned to his room and began pacing around the room. Where in the world was she? Why was this taking so long? That guard better not have gotten lost. If he did, he was not going home tonight.

Hearing a sound, he turned to see Hikaru walk into his room. "What is it?" she sighed. "The guard was scared when he found me. What did you threaten him with?"

"Do not worry about that." He sat down at his long table and pulled out one of the many clay game boards he had stacked under it. "Let us play."

"Really? You called me here so I could play a game with you?" Hikaru sighed.

The way she was slowly blinking her eyes at him was really annoying him. What gave her the right to be annoyed with him like that!? "We used to do this before, remember? Before you revealed your power and all. We used to play games such as this together."

Again with the slow, annoying blinking.

"You are such a child," she said at last with a very long deep sigh.

"I am not enjoying you referring to me as a child," he growled. She just shrugged in response and sat down at the table. It annoyed him a bit that she did not seem to be affected at all by his angry-voice. The slaves and guards cowered when he used that voice! Not her though. She would just sigh and that was it!

"What are you upset about now?" She set the ivory-carved pieces on the 'start' space.

"Nothing," he huffed.

"With you, it is never just 'nothing'." She shook the dice a few times before rolling. "What is wrong? Do not make me recite the verses Ekur and I found in the back of one of the libraries. The 'Ode to Ishtar'. Very lovely text. It is filled with wonderful imagery of Ishtar and how the author pines for her. It goes like-"

"Alright, I get it, you can stop now!" This woman was just so…infuriating! Why did he want to play this game with her again anyway? Why did he want her around to begin with? What was it about this woman that made him want to spend time with her?

"Gil? It is your turn."

He took the dice from her outstretched hand and rolled. Four. "You have not been spending as much time at the palace like you used to."

"Of course not," she replied. "My power is not much use here in the palace. I go to the various _azu_ houses to help the injured there." She looked down at the board. Gilgamesh narrowed his eyes. In the fading sunlight and the candlelight, was she blushing? "The various _azu_ have taken to calling me Lady Hikaru and the people I have helped have referred to me as blessed by Gula's holy light. I know it is a lie and all but it still makes me happy. People want to have me around because my power can help them…

"Oh please Gil. You do not have to look at me with that look on your face."

What look? He did not know he was making any "look". Nonsense. She had to be lying. He never made "looks". He had full control of his face. He did not make a face without knowing about it!

"I can tell you are trying to deny it in your head." She let out another of her long, annoying sighs. "It is quite obvious Gil. You are missing our daily games and you wish we could go back to those days correct?"

"Nonsense!" he scoffed. He set his piece down on a card draw space. "That is not true at all. Today was a long day of audiences. I want to do something to take my mind off the boring trivialities of the common people."

"If you say so," she murmured.

"I do say so." Excellent. The card he drew would give him an advantage on his next turn.

She shook her head and took her turn. "It is not like I am never around in the palace anymore. I am still translating texts for Ekur. We are also going through one of the rooms in the west wing as well. I am usually there a couple of days in the week."

She was? He silently growled. He had visited Ekur yesterday. The _baru_ had said Hikaru had not been around for the whole week along with telling him that she did not spend as much time in the palace anymore. That meddling _baru_….

"Now do not blame Ekur. I know you are doing that in your head."

She was getting sharper by the day. Or was it something else? "Do you have the ability to read minds along with those healing powers of yours?"

She giggled. "Do not be silly. Of course not. It is just simple deduction that is all." She broke out into a wide grin as her piece crossed the finish line. "I think I won."

"No you did not!" Gilgamesh checked over the cards she had picked up along the way and thought about the numbers she had gotten on the dice. Growling, he dropped her cards onto the table. "Fine. You won this round."

"'This round'?"

"Of course. Did you really think I would be satisfied with only one round?"

"Why am I not surprised?" She rubbed her eyes before she put the tokens back at the start position.

He frowned as he watched her shuffle the cards. Now that he was really looking at her, he realized that her movements were slower than usual. She was also blinking a lot more than usual. "Are you…tired?"

She looked up at him in surprise and then returned her attention to the cards. "It takes a lot of my stamina to use my power." She gave him a smile. "Do not worry though. I am awake enough to play."

This was the few times in his life that he actually felt bad for his actions. She was obviously exhausted by using her powers to help those people and yet, here she was, playing games with him because he insisted on it.

"You did not have to come if you were tired."

"If I did not come, you would have thrown a fit," she replied. She held out the dice for him to take. "You go first."

"I would not!" he scoffed. Really. He was not a child! Why must she continue to treat him like one? "

"Well you would have probably would have exiled the guard that gave you the bad news or something else along those lines. A punishment that does not equal the crime being committed."

Nonsense! He would not do something like that!

Alright, thinking about it, it might have happened once or twice but it was not his fault! The guard was incompetent! He was unable to do his job correctly. That was why he needed to be removed.

"Let me guess, you are trying to justify your actions in your head."

"Are you lying about being unable to read minds?"

She rolled her eyes. "Believe me or not. That is your choice. Now, are you going to take the dice or not?"

Gilgamesh held the dice to the lamplight. The flickering light was casting shadow on them at various angles. He looked up at her and then put the dice down on the table. "That is enough for today. We can continue this tomorrow."

"I am fine Gil. I can play another round."

"No, you are exhausted and even I can see that." Why was this woman so infuriating? "Just return to your room and sleep. You can prepare for us to play tomorrow."

"I was going to get back to translating some texts that I have lying around but I guess I can spare some time to play a bit with you."

He crossed his arms and looked away. "If you do not want to play then fine, do not come!" he snapped. If it was that much of a burden to her, then what was the point of her coming and complaining about it? It was better that she did not come at all.

She let out another long sigh. "You say that but I am sure you are going to send a guard tomorrow to tell me to come over here to play anyway. Let us both save the guard some trouble." She got up. "I will come by when the sun begins to set. Lamplight is not very good to translate texts by. The flickering lights make it difficult to concentrate."

Gilgamesh did not understand it but he nodded.

"Well, I will see you tomorrow then."

He watched her walk to his door. She bid a farewell to his guards before her presence was gone.

He scratched the back of his head as he stood. He was not tired yet but how else was he going to spend the rest of his evening? He could always get a woman to entertain him for the night but he dismissed the thought immediately.

He paused.

Why did he dismiss that thought? Actually, now he was thinking it over, he had not taken a woman to his bed for a couple of months now. Why? Was something wrong with him? Maybe it was some sort of demon plaguing him. He scoffed at the thought. He was thinking like one of those superstitious people who saw demons over their shoulder at every turn and ran to the _ashipu_ when he stubbed his toe against a rock on his way to work. Utter nonsense that was.

He walked over to the doorway.

"My King, is there something you want?" asked one of the guards.

He opened his mouth to ask that a woman be brought to him but he paused as his thoughts flashed to Hikaru and those defiant eyes of her. He shut his mouth and turned away. "Nothing," he said. "Nothing at all."


	10. Chapter 10

"Thank you Lady Hikaru, thank you so very much."

Hikaru blushed as the old man held her hands tightly in his. Tears were streaming down his face. Lying on the bed, next to them, was a young man. She had just healed him from grave injuries caused by a rampaging bull.

"It was nothing," stammered Hikaru. "It was just perfect timing, that is all." She was just about to leave this _azu_ house when the man was brought in. Any later, he would have died. Thankfully she still had enough strength left to perform the healing.

"Hikaru, we need to head back to the palace now if we are going to make it before the sun sets," Shub said.

Hikaru slowly pulled her hands out of the old man's grasp. "I am sorry but I need to get going now. I have an audience with the King at sunset."

"Oh, of course!" He released her hands. "Thank you again Lady Hikaru."

"I do not think I can ever get used to the 'Lady Hikaru'," she admitted as the girls made their way through the streets of Uruk. Their personal guards were following them a few feet back to give the girls a bit of privacy but not too far back that they could not react if something happened.

Shub giggled. "I think you are the only slave that went from being a free person to being a 'lady' in a short period of time. You even have your own personal guard!"

"I think you are more excited about it than I am," Hikaru laughed. It was true though. In all the texts she had read, she did not find anything about slaves rising to the status of a noble in a mere couple of months. Of course how many of those slaves had inhuman abilities in the first place?

People would stop on the street and greet Hikaru as she passed them. She waved back but did not slow her pace. If she did not make it back to the palace in time Gilgamesh was sure to be grumpy and passive-aggressive the whole time. It had already happened a few times and Hikaru did not want to have to deal with a repeat of that.

"Is there anything you want me to get done while you are in your audience with the King?"

"When you say that it is an audience with the King, you make it sound like it is incredibly important," Hikaru laughed. "We just play games and whatnot."

"Well for the rest of us it is," Shub pointed out. "The King is in a much better mood after spending time with you. He is not as harsh to the slaves and guards."

Did her playing games with him really mean that much? Thinking about it, he did seem to be in a better mode after they had played. That was interesting.

"Is there anything you want to get done?" Shub prompted again.

Oh right. "I have a finished papyrus translation on my table. Can you transfer the text over to a clay tablet?"

Shub nodded. "Got it." The slave was still learning to read but Hikaru found out that she was very good at copying. That cleared up a lot of time for Hikaru. Although she translated texts onto papyrus, the texts needed to be transferred to clay tablets in order to be preserved in the harsh desert climate.

"I really wish I could help you out with translating," sighed Shub.

"One thing at a time Shub," laughed Hikaru. She let out a small yelp in surprise as someone rammed into her shoulder.

The man looked down with a clear look of surprise on his face. It was like he was not expecting someone to be there. Despite it being a hot day in Uruk, the man was wearing a black cloak. His eyes caught Hikaru. They were black, like a moonless night in the desert.

She sensed the guards bristling and moving forward to protect her.

"Sorry," mumbled the man before disappearing into the crowd.

"Are you alright?" asked Shub. "Check your pockets."

Hikaru was already ahead of her friend. "No. My money is still here. Do not go after him."

The guard paused and returned to Hikaru's side. "If you say so Lady Hikaru. However, I will advise you if the King found out about this, he will not be happy that we let the man go."

"Then do not tell him," replied Hikaru. She rolled her eyes. Even though Gilgamesh was the King, he did not have to know everything that happened to her. She survived without him around before and her street-smarts did not leave her after being elevated to the status as a noble.

Once they reached the palace, her guards went to the barracks. Shub and Hikaru walked together until they reached the main hallway.

"I will return to my room after I am done to help you with the texts." Hikaru bid farewell to Shub.

She smiled and greeted the guards outside Gilgamesh's room. They moved to the side and let her through.

"There you are!" Gilgamesh tapped clay cards on the table. "Where in the world were you? I was going to send a search party to get you back."

"I was on the far edge of the city. It takes a while to get back here by walking," replied Hikaru.

"Then you should have taken a carriage," huffed Gilgamesh. He dropped the pile of cards on her side of the table.

"I would rather not take a carriage if I do not have to." After taking her seat, she began shuffling the cards.

"But why not?" He was staring at her like she had grown a second head. "I really do not understand why you would want to walk on those dusty roads. And you would be better protected in a carriage. "

"You worry too much."

"And you worry too little. You are not as invisible as you were before," he replied.

"I am not as prolific as you though." She had to agree with his opinion though. She was getting known really well in the city, especially in the _azu_ houses. Maybe she should start taking the carriage. But would that not make it even more obvious who she was? Such a paradox.

"You are thinking about something," he murmured.

She gave him a look of surprise. "How could you tell?" She finished dealing the cards and checked hers. Not a good hand. However, if she played her cards right she could turn the game around.

"I have developed superpowers as well!" He laughed. "I can tell what you are thinking."

Alright. If he wanted to believe that, whatever. She probably got a furrow in her brow or something when she was thinking deeply and he had picked up on that. "Can you tell me exactly what I was thinking about?"

He opened his mouth to respond but shut it again. Hikaru smiled. She knew he would not risk being wrong. Instead, he removed one card from his hand, returned it to the deck and then picked up another card in its place.

"This conversation bores me. Let us speak about something else," he growled.

She bit her lip to stop herself from giggling. "Alright. What do you want to speak about then? Nothing interesting has happened to me recently. Unless you would like to hear about t a text Ekur and I have found about toothaches and the worms that cause them."

"Please spare me that knowledge," he grumbled.

"If you say so. I would say it is incredibly fascinating though!"

She had to bite her lip again to avoid laughing. The look he was giving her reminded her so much of a grumpy child who hated studying. A part of her wondered how he even became King with how much he seemed to detest studying.

"I will be leaving the city for a few days tomorrow."

"Oh? How come?"

"Business. The King of Nippur and I need to meet to discuss negotiations terms."

Hikaru was not privy to the information relating directly to the state but she thought that negotiations with Nippur were already done and over with. Maybe both kingdoms were waiting for tempers to cool a bit?

"Will you be alright? They did ambush you last time…"

"That is why I am taking more guards with me than last time," he replied. "We will also be meeting in a 'neutral' zone. If Nippur wants peace then this should go smoothly. And no, I am not getting a divination done to tell me what is going to happen," he snapped.

"You do know Ekur is going to do one anyway right?"

"Of course. That does not mean I am going to listen to it though."

"You know the divination about me was right though? I did cause some problems with me revealing my powers."

"But you ended up doing a lot of good with you being here so the divination was wrong. And you better not argue with me about this!"

She was not planning on it. It would be waste of a breath to try to change his mind when he really believed in something. "Well, I will take care of the palace in your absence. Who is going to be in charge of decisions while you are away?"

"Ekur of course. If it is one thing that man is good at, besides those divinations that you insist on believing, he is good as a substitute ruler. People believe in _barus_ and he has been with the kingdom for a long time now." He leaned over the table. "It is not like I am going to be gone forever. It is only going to be for a couple of days."

"And how long have you known that this meeting was going to happen?"

"The meeting?" He shrugged. "A couple days now….wait. What's wrong?"

Was she showing what she felt about this on her face? Darn it. She thought she would be better at hiding it. Or maybe he had spent way too much time around her and could read her better. Either way she did not want to explain her annoyance with him at the moment. It was too childish and illogical.

"Do not worry about it." She focused back on the cards in her hand. Which card should she get rid of next?

Gilgamesh's hand clamped over her cards. His blood-red eyes were glaring at her. "It is not nothing. Do not tell me to not worry about it. What made you upset?"

Why did it seem like he was getting worse with insisting to know when something was wrong with her? "I was just wondering why you never seem to tell me in advance about this kind of stuff. Usually you tell me at the last possible second."

"And that makes you angry when I do that?"

"I would not say angry. Annoyed more or less." She shook her head. "It does not matter. I understand that you are the King and do not need to inform me of your travel plans and whatnot. It is logical."

"If you want me to tell you in the future, I will tell you in advance. I just did not want to worry you or ruin our schedule in any way."

She almost dropped her cards in surprise. He actually cared about her opinion that much? Her face was heating up and she prayed the lamplight was not strong enough for him to see that she was blushing. "Do not worry. I am stronger than you think. I would be fine knowing earlier."

He chuckled. "I thought you might say that." He laid his hand of cards down on the table. "And I win."

She looked over his cards and grinned before she showed her hand. "Sorry. I think I win."

"What!?" Gilgamesh stared at her cards and then up at her. "Rematch," he growled.

Hikaru had already begun gathering the cards. "Of course," she laughed as she dealt them out again.

* * *

Hikaru passed by the King's hallway on her way to the gardens. She gave the hallway a quick glance but did not slow her pace. It had been about a day since Gilgamesh had left for negotiations and she hated to admit it, but she was missing their daily meetings already.

"I am getting way too attached to that man," she sighed.

She bid hello to a few slaves tending to the flower bushes as she made her way to the bench that overlooked the small pond at the center of the gardens. After settling on the bench she pulled a tablet out of her satchel along with a papyrus sheet.

It was a nice day today so it was a nice change in pace for her to work outside. Shub was running a few errands for her in town. She had orders to rush back if anyone in the _azu_ houses needed healing right away.

She focused her full attention on the text. Like so many of the ones she had translated recently, this one was also related to the gods. It was about demon Pazuzu and his battle to protect humanity from the demonic divinity Lamashta. It was also written in an ancient version of Sumerian. There were differences from modern Sumerian but not enough that it was unreadable. Hikaru was just rewriting it so it would be easier for people of today to read it.

"That is an interesting text you got there."

Hikaru jumped at the sound of the unfamiliar voice and almost dropped the tablet into the pond. She turned and she clamped her mouth shut in order to not have a squeak escape her lips.

It was the cloaked man from two days ago. Like last time, his black eyes were boring into her. "You are translating it?" he asked.

"Oh." She put a hand to cover the papyrus. She silently prayed that the ink had enough time to set. She did not want to have to rewrite a part of the text. "Uh, yes. I translate texts in my free time…" She noticed a boy, had to be in his early teens right behind the man. His gray eyes were flickering around nervously.

She tightened her grip on the tablet. It may be made of clay but it was still hard. It would be a good weapon. Plus there were guards everywhere in the palace along with the slaves. She was kind to them, said hello when she passed by any of them. They had to help her too if anything happened…right?

"Munzur! There you are. I was waiting for you in the palace temple." Ekur approached with a wide grin on his face. He noticed Hikaru sitting on the bench. "Hello Hikaru. Did not see you there."

Hikaru felt her shoulders relax at the sight of the old man. If Ekur knew this Munzur guy then he should be a good man right? "Hello Ekur. I am hard at work translating one of the texts from that vault." She held up the tablet. A quick check of the papyrus told her that the ink had dried, thankfully.

"You are always a hard worker," Ekur chuckled. He gestured to the man and the boy. "May I introduce you to Munzur, a traveling _baru_ and his apprentice Urash. Munzur, this is Hikaru. One of the noble ladies within Gilgamesh's kingdom." A twinkle appeared in his eye. "And also a translator of ancient texts."

"Hikaru…" said Munzur slowly. He tilted his head slightly as he examined her with his dark eyes. She wanted to break eye contact with him but she forced herself to keep eye contact with him. "You appear foreign." A spark appeared in his eye. "I have been hearing rumors of a foreign woman who can perform miracles located in this kingdom. Those rumors are…true I am assuming."

She bit her lip and dropped her eyes to the ground. She flickered her eyes over to Ekur. Should she deny it?

"Yes, that is Hikaru here," laughed Ekur. "Blessed by Gula, she is."

"Gula huh?" Munzur repeated slowly. A small smile lit up on his face. On any other person it would have looked kind, on him it seemed a bit sinister. Why though? He was a _baru_ like Ekur. His duty was to the gods and not to any worldly things. "I hope we will speak with each other in the future Lady Hikaru. We can speak...much about Gula and her power." Munzur turned to Ekur. "Shall we go?"

"Yes, of course," Ekur replied, seemingly unaware of the tension. "This way."

Hikaru gave Ekur a weak, pained smile. Urash gave her one last look before following his master. She did not realize she was gripping the tablet tightly until she tried to relax her fingers.

* * *

"You want me to keep an eye on Munzur?"

"Shhh Shub! Keep your voice down!" Hikaru looked around but no one had heard Shub's outburst. Maybe it was a bad idea to ask Shub about this in the garden. She glanced around but the slaves but they were all busy with work. She did not doubt that they were keeping an ear open to the interesting conversation happening in front of them.

"Yes, I want you to keep an eye on him," she whispered. "Ask the slaves that are taking care of him about him. Anything you can find out about him."

"Sure, of course Hikaru." Shub's eyes were filled with question. "Is there a reason why you want me to ask around about this man?"

"This might sound silly but…he gives me a bad feeling."

"A bad feeling?" Shub's eyes widen. "You do not mean… like Naram? Should I warn the female slaves to stay away from him?"

She shook he head. "No, nothing like that." Munzur did not give her the same fear sense as Naram. It was something else. Something that she just could not put her finger on. "Anyway, can you do what I asked?"

"I will take care of that right away."

"Thanks Shub."

Hikaru got to her feet and returned to her room for the rest of the day.

* * *

The next morning Hikaru checked with the guards but apparently Gilgamesh would not be returning for a couple more days. A bit nervous due to Munzur being allowed to roam the palace as a guest of Ekur, she decided to spend the day out at the various _azu_ houses.

"Is there a reason you do not want to return to the palace Lady Hikaru?" asked her guard. "We have been wandering around the streets for hours now and it seems like you do not have a place you would like to go."

"I just wanted to spend a day outside the palace, that is all," she replied lightly.

"There you are Hikaru!"

Shub weaved her way through the marketplace stalls with expert precision. "Took me forever to find you. You really should stay on one path when you go visit the _azu_ houses."

"What are you doing here Shub?"

"Looking for you obviously. You were not at the palace and I knew you would want to know what I found out. It was quite easy to find you, you know that? Just say 'the one blessed by Gula' and people usually have some idea who you are."

Hikaru put up her hands so Shub would stop talking before she got too off track. "Why were you looking for me? What did you find out?"

Her guard took a couple steps back. Shub leaned in and whispered. "So apparently everyone I talked to liked Munzur. He is a good guy and is kind to the servants. Also Ekur likes him a lot too."

Hikaru relaxed. If the slaves thought that he was a good man then he had to be right? "Thanks Shub. I am quite surprised you were able to get that information really fast."

"Do not doubt the information network in the palace. We are the best at getting information fast."

"Do not let that praise get to your head," giggled Hikaru.

"I am not!"

"Let us return to the palace now." Her guard returned to his position behind her.

The sun was setting by the time they made it back to the palace. Shub went to the kitchens to get Hikaru some supper while she headed for her chambers. She stopped in her tracks when she saw a black-cloaked figure standing outside her door.

She gulped as he turned his black eyes onto her. _Shub said he was a good man…_

"Can I help you?" She winced at how high pitch her voice sounded.

"Oh there you are. I was wondering if we could speak. About your ability."

She resisted the urge to tighten her hands into fists. This man was Ekur's guest and a _baru_. She needed to treat him with respect. "Of course." She gestured in the direction of the gardens. "Some water lilies were put in recently in the ponds. They are very pretty."

Munzur seemed surprised for a moment but then he chuckled. "Of course. A young unmarried woman should not have strange men in their rooms."

Was this really a good idea? At least the garden would have many slaves as witnesses if something was to go wrong.

She forced a pleasant smile on her face as they entered the gardens. "The lilies are over here."

"Lady Hikaru, do you know what a magus is?"

She almost tripped on her own feet. "I have heard that name once…a long time ago." Her memory flashed back to the old woman. The same one that told her to keep her powers secret had also mentioned that name.

"So you are a magus then. Not blessed by Gula."

She winced. "Ekur…thought it would be for the best if it was said like that."

"I agree with him. The everyday folk do not trust people like us."

She almost tripped again. "W…What?" Did she hear correctly? Did he say what she thought he said? "You…you are a magus too?"

He gave her a gentle smile and she wondered why she doubted him. Despite his odd black eyes and need to wear a black cloak, he seemed like a nice man.

They settled on a bench near the pond of water lilies. "What kind of powers do you have?"

"Nothing as impressive as yours," he replied with a chuckle. "It is not worth talking about."

"Nonsense. It is worth something. I just know it."

He shook his head. "I will tell you at a later date." His eyes flickered to the slaves working around them. "Unfortunately the bushes around us have ears."

Oh right. "They can be very discreet though."

"I am in the palace of a King. If word gets back to him about this…" Munzur shook his head. "I fear for my safety."

Hikaru nodded. "I understand. I almost drowned when the people first discovered my powers. If it was not for the King along with Ekur stepping in, I would probably be at the bottom of the Euphrates."

Munzur was staring at her in horror. "Thank the Gods it did not come to pass. Why did you end up revealing your power in the first place?"

She hesitated. Would this be too personal to tell? It did involve the King after all and the shaky relationship with Nippur. However Munzur was giving her such a gentle look. His face was very trustworthy, she realized. Plus he was a traveling _baru_. They did not have allegiances to any one kingdom. It would probably be safe to tell him.

"The…King was gravely injured. I used my power to save his life. It was in the courtyard that you need to pass through to get to the interior of the palace so there were many witnesses."

"How noble of you. Using your power to save the King." Munzur shifted so he was a little closer to her. "If I may ask, why did you save him? Are you loyal and a member to this kingdom? Your foreign looks say otherwise."

Hikaru shook her head. "It is a long story to how I ended up here."

"A long story?" Munzur seemed to perk up. "Do you mind telling it?"

Again she hesitated. Why did he seem so interested in learning about her? She scoffed at her distrust. Of course he would be interested! A foreign woman, a magus woman, was living in one of the best quarters in the palace of a King. Anyone would be curious how something like that could happen.

She was saved from answering as she spotted Urash walking towards them. "Your apprentice is over there."

A look of annoyance seemed to pass Munzur's face but it disappeared as fast as it had come. "What is it?" he asked gruffly.

Urash's gray eyes flickered to Hikaru before focusing back on his master. "Ekur was looking for you. You two are supposed to perform a liver reading under the light of Sin."

"Oh right, of course. I almost forgot." Munzur got to his feet. "We shall continue this conversation at a later time?"

She nodded. "That is fine by me."

"Good. Come Urash, let us go."

Hikaru turned her attention to the water lilies and enjoyed how pretty they looked.


	11. Chapter 11

"Hikaru…are you alright?"

She looked up from the text she was translating. Shub was standing on the other side of the table, her face etched with concern. "What are you talking about Shub?"

Shub looked down at her hands and then back up at Hikaru. "It is just that…you have been spending the past couple of days with Munzur… You two seem to be getting to know each other quite well."

Hikaru put down her pen. Was Shub worried about her? She smiled. "We share something in common. It is very hard to explain Shub." She shook her head. There was no way she could betray Munzur by telling Shub about him being a magus. Shub would not understand. She might even fear Munzur as a result.

"But Hikaru…you do not find this odd at all? Logically? You are not one to spend time with someone you just met and speak like you are doing."

Why were Shub's eyes so wide? She really seemed to be making a big deal out of nothing. "There is nothing to fear Shub. You are over-reacting." She glanced out her window. "Oh, it is that late already?" She got up from the chair and handed the papyrus sheet to Shub. "Can you get this copied onto a tablet?"

"Of course Hikaru. Are you…are you planning on meeting him?"

"Why do you think I am hurrying?" She laughed. "I will return soon Shub."

She left Shub in the middle of her room and hurried to the gardens. Like the past couple of days, Munzur was waiting for her on the bench by the water lily pond.

He smiled. "I thought you were not coming today."

"I was in the middle of translating a text. I lost track of the time." She settled on the bench.

"I heard the King is returning. He will be arriving here by tomorrow."

"Yes." Hikaru looked down at her sandaled feet and wiggled her toes. She giggled. "Knowing him, I know he will want to play a round in a game with me right away."

"Oh yes, I forgot you two usually spend the evening hours engaging in random board games and whatnot."

"Yes we do and he gets so cranky when I win." She let out a long sigh. "Sadly, I think these evening meetings of ours is at an end. The King is not the kind of man who likes his schedule rearranged."

"That is alright. I will be spending time at the other temples in the kingdom for the next couple of days."

"Oh really?" Hikaru felt a twinge of disappointment. She greatly enjoyed their conversations. Unlike Gilgamesh, they spoke about more intelligent topics, gods, sacred texts and even magus related matters. She had also told stories about herself and her various experiences in the traveling caravan.

A small frown crossed her face. Now that she was thinking about it, Munzur never really talked about himself. He had also never revealed what his powers are either. She voiced the question out loud.

"Oh, of course. I never did tell you did I?" Munzur chuckled. He glanced around, probably to check the locations of the working slaves. There were a couple working nearby but not close enough that they could overhear what Munzur said if he whispered.

He leaned in close. She could feel his breath on her cheek. "You will find out the truth of my powers soon enough."

She turned her head to look at him in confusion. Her whole body turned cold as she stared into the depths of his black eyes. Those eyes were not kind. They were manipulative and cold. Why did she think of him as kind? This man was anything but!

She opened her mouth to protest but no sound came out.

"Shhh. We do not want to alert the slaves," he whispered.

"What do you want from me?" she managed to choke out. "And how did you…"

"Do not worry about the details. You have given me a lot of good information these past couple of days. I must thank you for that."

Her mind whirled to try to come up with an explanation. Why did she reveal all that to him? She did not know anything about this man and yet she revealed all of that without a fuss.

"You will be a great help to me in the future, I can foresee that." Munzur got to his feet and walked away.

It was like she was rooted in place. Her eyes watched him leave but she could do nothing to go after him. Her throat would not work. She could not call out for help. Only when he was out of her sight did she feel her body relax. She scrambled to her feet and opened her mouth to call out for help.

Only nothing came out.

Frowning, Hikaru looked around. Why was she so nervous? She was in the water lily garden. Why was she here? It was not like this was one of her favorite places to go. She preferred the other garden with the pond that housed the fish. The water lilies were pretty but not that stimulating for her.

Shaking her head, she headed back to her room. With Gilgamesh returning tomorrow, she wanted to get as many texts translated as possible before then.

* * *

Gilgamesh let out a long sigh as he collapsed on his lion-pelt bed. There was nothing like returning to his comfortable bed after having to deal with the leader of another kingdom. Since they had to meet on neutral ground, he was forced to sleep in the best room of an inn. An inn! Kings should not be allowed to sleep in vile places like that. He should have gotten his bed taken with him.

Hearing a noise at the door he lifted his head to see a slave standing there. "The bath is ready for you my King. Shall I have your meal brought here when you are finished?"

Finally. He got to his feet. "Yes do that. Also, when I am having my meal, have Hikaru be brought to me."

He saw an emotion pass across the slave's face but before he could register what it was, the boy's face returned to neutral. "Of course my King. I will inform Lady Hikaru."

Before the King could ask what that expression was about, the boy was gone. Odd. It was probably nothing though. Maybe he was thinking of something that happened while Gilgamesh was away.

He smirked. What was this? He was actually thinking about the slaved as people. Obviously Hikaru was influencing him too much. "A King being influenced by a woman…" He heard of it happening to other Kings. Their Queens were the ones that ruled and they were just the mouth pieces for her. Gilgamesh on the other hand? No. He would not be controlled by any woman, no matter how smart and logical she was!

After he had finished his long, and relaxing bath, he returned to his chambers and found Hikaru waiting for him at the game table. A wide smile lit up her face as he walked in. "It has been a while Gil." She held up a checkered board. "I found something new that we can play today."

Gilgamesh took his place across her. He watched as she began setting up the pieces on the board. "How have you been the past couple of days? Missed my presence to lighten up your evenings?"

She giggled. "Sure. Let us go with that."

"What is that supposed to mean?" He watched as she began setting up a bunch of pieces on board. The pieces came in many different designs and they were set up in a very precise way.

"Nothing. I was having a lovely time taking care of people and editing texts…" She trailed off and stared down at the pieces. Her brow was hitched together slightly.

"What is wrong?"

Hikaru was about to respond but the slave had returned with Gilgamesh's meal. The boy's eyes widen in surprised for a few seconds seeing Hikaru there. He turned away and focused on the King. "Here is your meal, my King. Where should I put it?"

Why were the slave's eyes flickering to Hikaru in that odd way? Was he hiding something? He pointed to the other table in the room. "Go put it on the table. And explain to me why you are staring at Hikaru like that."

The slave jumped. "My King…I do not think…"

Gilgamesh narrowed his eyes and got to his feet.

"Please leave the boy alone Gil, you are scaring him."

"No, I need to know why he is staring at you like that."

"My King…may we speak…privately about it?"

Privately? "Fine," growled Gilgamesh.

The slave walked outside the room and the King followed close behind him. This better be good. Gilgamesh was not enjoying the fact that he was losing time to spend with Hikaru because of the look this slave was giving her.

"What is it?"

"My King…" The slave looked like he did not want to be there. "Can I speak freely?"

Gilgamesh crossed his arms. "Sure. Whatever. Speak freely."

The slave looked down at the ground. "The slaves that work the gardens have seen things…"

"Seen things?" he growled.

"Lady Hikaru was seen… with a man…"

"A man?" growled Gilgamesh. "Which man?"

The slave jumped. "A…a _baru_. They were spending every day together and their last meeting yesterday…"

"Yesterday?" prompted Gilgamesh. His hands were clenched into fists.

"The slaves working at the gardens…saw him lean close to her…he probably…"

"I do not believe in gossip like that," snapped Gilgamesh. "Leave now."

The slave was gone before Gilgamesh had turned around. The King returned to his room.

Hikaru looked up at him. "Is everything alright?"

Gilgamesh stared at her. It could not be true. Her, spending time with another man, doing something that was questionable. "Hikaru. I have a question for you. Have you been spending time with a _baru_ in the gardens for a past couple of days?"

She hesitated. Too long for Gilgamesh. "We are done for the day."

"What?" Hikaru's eyes widen and she scrambled to her feet.

"You can go. I want to eat my dinner now."

"But we have not played yet."

He turned his back to her as he focused on the meal set on the table. "Leave Hikaru."

He heard her moving behind him and then a touch on his arm. He yanked his arm away. "Leave Hikaru."

He glanced over his shoulder and saw her eyes were downcast and filled with hurt.

"Gil…"

"Do not call me that," he snarled. "Leave."

He did not move until he sensed she had left the room.

* * *

What in the name of the underworld had happened? Hikaru's eyes hurt as she collapsed on her bed. What had happened? Why did he get so angry? Why did he ask about a _baru_ in the garden? She tried to remember the past couple of days but it was hazy. What had she been doing for the past couple of days?

"Hikaru? Are you alright? You look like you are going to cry."

Hikaru looked up to see Shub standing in the doorway. "I…I am fine." She rubbed her eyes. "Gil…the King, he got really angry with me…I do not understand why though…why are you looking at me like that Shub?"

"Hikaru…are you joking?"

"What are you talking about Shub?" Why did her tone suggest that Hikaru should know what Shub was talking about?

Shub was blinking slowly. "Ummm, you have been spending time with Munzur…"

"I…I have?" Hikaru scrambled to her feet. "When? How?" Why did she not remember this? She tried to think about what she had done for the past couple of days but they were hazy. "Shub…this might sound weird…but I cannot remember what I have been doing for the past couple of days. Have I been spending time with Munzur?"

"Yes," whispered Shub. "You have been spending every evening with him for the past couple of days. And yesterday…"

"Yesterday?" prompted Hikaru.

"It…" Shub mumbled something under his breath.

Hikaru leaned forward. "What was that? I did not catch that. Speak louder please."

"It looked like you two…touched lips…"

Hikaru's eyes widen. "Kiss?" she squeaked. "We kissed?"

"The slave who saw did not have a clear view but it looked like, from her point of view, that you two…"

Hikaru numbly turned her attention to the window. She tried to remember the past few days but nothing. Just a foggy blur. "No wonder Gil was so angry," she murmured. That man got so angry over the littlest of things. Although that was a matter in and of itself, it still did not answer the question of why she could not remember it happening.

"Oh Marduk…you do not remember this happening at all, do you?"

She shook her head. "No…I do not Shub." She rubbed her eyes and dug her fingernails into her palms. "I need to tell the King about this. Obviously…he did something to me. He…he might be dangerous."

"But he is a _baru_," Shub pointed out. "However, I do agree about him being dangerous. I never liked him from the first meeting and you did not like him at first either. I found it odd that afterwards, you kept spending time with him."

Yes. Something was really wrong here. Hikaru hurried out of her room and headed for the King's. The guards outside gave her a look of surprise.

"Lady Hikaru, what are you doing here?" asked one. "You usually do not come by this late."

"I need to speak with the King."

"He is probably asleep by now," spoke the other. "He has had a long day."

She bit her lip. That was true. Gilgamesh had returned from his travels today. He was probably exhausted which also explained why he had kicked her out without letting her explain. Was this something that could wait until morning? Probably not. If Munzur had affected her memory like this, what else had he done to other people?

"This is very important though. Please. You need to let me in."

"If the King is awoken from his slumber he will have our heads…"

"Do not worry. I will wake him myself. He will only yell at me."

The guards exchanged looks and then stepped to the side. "Alright Lady Hikaru."

She gave them both a smile before she walked in between them and entered Gilgamesh's room. She waited in the doorway for a couple of moments for her eyes to adjust. It was dark; he had blown out all the lamps. Some light pooled from the moon through the window which gave her a general sense of where everything was. Not like she needed it.

Carefully she made her way over to the bed. Even in the dim light, she saw that he retained the regal aura he had while awake. Some things never changed, did they? However, now that she was staring, she noticed he also looked very innocent as well.

"They do say that the sleeping form reveals things that the awake cannot." She leaned over to shake him awake but before her hand touched him, her hand froze. Frowning, she tried to push her hand forward but something was preventing her from doing so.

It was in that moment that she felt another presence standing next to her. She turned her head but saw nothing there. She watched in horror as her body began moving on its own. Turning away from the bed, it went to the chest Gilgamesh kept against one of the walls. The chest he stored some weapons in.

What was her body doing!? Why was it not listening to her? She tried to open her mouth to scream but her mouth would not do her bidding. A voice chuckled next to her ear. A deep, male voice. Munzur.

If her eyes could widen they would have as the memories of the past couple of days slammed back into her. For the love of Ishtar…that man was a magus!

Her hand reached into the chest and pulled out a knife.

No. No. No. No.

_I will not!_ _Please. No. I cannot do this. No. No. No. No._

Her body was ignoring her pleas as it slowly returned to the bed. Gilgamesh was just lying there, fast asleep. He would not see it coming. The knife would plunge into his heart and nothing would be able to save him.

Tears were streaming down her face as the knife was lifted high above her head.


	12. Chapter 12

Gilgamesh awoke to the sound of a thud. He slowly sat up. What in the world was that? It sounded really close, like it was in the same room as him but it was not loud enough that his guards had come running.

He turned over slightly and spotted something hunched on his floor. Something moving.

He lit the lamp next to his bed. "Hikaru?"

She was curled into a ball, her body wrapped around something. Her arms? What was she doing in his room and what in the world was she doing?

"S…stay over there! Do not come over here!" Her voice was pained and full of panic.

What in the name of the underworld was going on? He took a step towards her. "What are you talking about?"

"N…no!" Her body was shaking. "I…I will not do it! You cannot make me! I will not let you make me do it!"

Who in the world was she talking to? He looked around the room but there was no one there. "What is going on here?" He was much closer now and he saw the glint of steel in her hands. A knife?

She looked up at him with red, tear-filled eyes. "Gil…you need to stay away!" she choked. "I…I am trying to hold him off…" She gritted her teeth. Her arms were shaking with much more vigor than before.

Was she possessed or something along that nature? Well whatever it was did not matter. She was in pain right before him. He could not leave her to suffer. Gilgamesh reached over and grabbed the hilt of the knife and tried to pry her fingers off of the handle.

"You have a really strong death grip there," he growled. There was no way she had this kind of strength. It was inhuman even. Her arm jerked in his direction and the knife would have plunged into his arm if he had not grabbed her wrist in time.

"Whoever this is…I am going to kill him for this…" growled Gilgamesh.

"Munzur. _Baru_.," Hikaru choked out. "He…"

The man she was seen in the garden with. Whatever the slaves saw obviously was not the truth. How could he have been such a fool? She was not that kind of person. He should have believed her when she said she had no idea what he was talking about.

"Guards!" he yelled.

His guards stopped at the doorway and seemed shocked by the scene in front of them.

This was no time to indulge them though. "Go find the _baru_ Munzur. Kill him on sight! He is a traitor to my Kingdom. Go. Time is of the essence."

He returned his attention to Hikaru just in time. Curses spewed out of his mouth as she stabbed him. Somehow she managed to divert it and it ended up nicking him in the side instead of through his gut.

"Gil," she whispered. Her hands shook but she tried to stab him again. He grabbed her wrist and attempted to pry her fingers apart again. "Gil. You need to…"

"No. You better not finish that thought." Why were her fingers so strong!? "I did not save you from drowning to let you die here alright?"

"I…I am sorry." Her broken voice hit him hard. So lost and defeated. As she really given up already? On him? The King?

"Shut up and keep fighting." He managed to pry one of her fingers off the knife. "We are getting there. Just a bit more."

He did not know if his words help motivate her but it seemed like her fingers were much easier to pull away from the knife. "Got it." He grasped the handle and flung it across the room.

As soon as the blade left her hand, she slumped, like all the strength had left her body. He wrapped his arms around her to support her body against his.

"It…it is gone. I do not feel his presence anymore…" She looked up and gave him a weak smile. "Sorry...for…"

Gilgamesh shook his head. "I should have listened to you that something was wrong."

Her eyes widen. "Are you actually…apologizing for something?"

"No I am not. I am just stating a fact."

She rolled her eyes. "Sure. We will go with that." A look of surprise crossed her face and then her body jerked violently. Her eyes widen before she curled into a ball and an inhuman scream ripped out of her throat.

* * *

Hikaru had no idea what was going on. One moment she was in Gilgamesh's arms, the feeling of being controlled by Munzur completely gone. The next, it felt like her body was on fire. Her fingernails scraped against the ground as she tried to distract herself from the pain that was wracking through her body.

It hurt.

The pain was so intense that she could barely think. It was tearing through her body, ripping through her insides. It was nothing like she had felt before.

She was going to die.

That one thought pulled itself out of her shattered body. This pain, it had to be from Munzur. He had done something more to her. Cursed her or something. She did not care in that moment.

Pain. Pain everywhere.

She felt something against her back. Her eyes were unfocused but she thought she could see Gilgamesh hovering next to her. He looked so anxious. A very odd expression for his face.

Her eyes were forced closed as another wave of pain shot through her body. It hurt. At least…at least he was here.

Suddenly the pain was gone. Her throat was hoarse, like she had been screaming.

"Hikaru? Hikaru! Hikaru!"

Was Gilgamesh calling her? Her vision was blurry. Everything was muffled. There was no way to fight it so she gave into the darkness.

* * *

Gilgamesh looked down at Hikaru's sleeping form and clenched his hands into fists. She had been screaming at the top of her lungs while curled into a ball. A couple of her fingernails were broken from scraping against the floor before he had grabbed them to prevent her from doing any more damage to herself.

Just like how it came on, she had stopped screaming. Whatever paining her was gone. However, it had taken her strength with it as she fell unconscious almost immediately after the screaming had stopped.

"Well?" he growled to the _azu_.

The _azu_ looked up at Gilgamesh and shook his head. "I am sorry my King. I do not know what is wrong with her. Her breath is weak, her pulse slow. I…I do not know how she is still alive."

"How could I let this happen…" whispered Ekur. The _baru_ had gotten to the room around the same time the _azu_ had arrived. Hikaru's slave friend was next to the bed. Tears were pouring down the girl's face.

"I should have known that something was wrong…"

"Are we just going to let her die then?" snapped Gilgamesh. No. He would not allow that. He could not allow that. After everything they had done together. All those games they played, those texts she tried to get him to read, just them talking about random topics, it could not all end right? He would never see those defiant eyes of her again.

Ekur stepped away from the bed and took a couple steps towards his King. "My King. I know this is hard. I know you love her but she does not have much time left."

Love her? Ekur believed he loved her? This infuriating know-it all woman? He opened his mouth to protest the fact but then his eyes fell on her still form. Oh Lagabanda. "That explains…"

"You were never one to understand your own feelings like that my King. Do not be so harsh on yourself."

What in the world was Ekur talking about!? "I must be harsh on myself for I did not realize this!" He went to her side and grasped her limp hand in his own. He could barely feel her pulse moving in her wrist. How much longer could she hold on? "Woman. You need to take responsibilities for making a King fall in love with you."

No response.

Her face was calm, peaceful. Her body was barely rising and falling with her breath.

Was this really how it was going to end?

"My King!"

Gilgamesh jerked his head to the door as Ishne walked in. The guard froze in his tracks when he saw Hikaru on the bed. "Oh Gula."

"What do you want?" growled Gilgamesh. He did not care if any other kingdom was invading right now. He wanted to be there when she released her last breath.

"Munzur is dead but we have also captured his apprentice. He would like to speak with you in exchange for his life. He says…he says he can help Lady Hikaru."

Gilgamesh tightened his grip on her hand. He did not want to rely on the apprentice of the _baru_ that caused this but if it could save Hikaru's life, he would walk through the underworld and back. "Bring him in."

A couple of guards dragged the boy in. Gilgamesh was glad to note that his face looked quite haggard. Looked like the guards were not too easy on the boy either.

"Speak," ordered Ishne. He prodded the boy's back with his spear.

The boy jumped slightly but focused on Hikaru. "She...my Master, cast a spell on her in order to be able to control her from afar. He has power over the mind. We were hired by Nippur to remove the King so Nippur could get revenge…"

"Scheming Nippur," growled Ishne. "And during an alliance meeting too."

Normally Gilgamesh would have agreed with Ishne's anger. Not at the moment though. His main focus was on Hikaru. "What about her? You said you could save her!"

The boy jumped and then nodded. "Y…yes. What my Master did, because they were connected through his spell, he was fighting against the people coming at him by forcefully taking her prana to use as his was running out. He could not handle the amount of people going after him though…" The boy looked down sadly.

"So?" growled Gilgamesh. Who cared about this prana stuff? That would not save her!

"She just needs to be given prana to replace what she had lost," the boy said quickly. "There are rituals that can be done and she needs to be a participant but she needs a bit more in her system now to wake up."

This prana stuff was actually important? "Alright. Do the ritual to wake her up or whatever."

The boy's face turned red. "Well…uh…I could do it…but…"

Ishne hit the boy's back with the hilt of his sword. "Get on with it boy."

"Uh…of course…" The boy walked over to Hikaru's side. His guards were close behind him. He looked down at Hikaru and then glanced up at Gilgamesh. "I…I do not think I can perform the ritual to give her a bit of prana…"

"Why not?" growled Gilgamesh. Was this boy going to back out now? "You will die on the spot if you do not do it."

He jumped. "Oh, uh alright." He leaned over her body.

Gilgamesh grabbed the boy's shoulders and shoved him away from her. "What are you doing!?"

The guards restrained the boy after giving him a couple hard punches.

"Do you take me a fool?" growled Gilgamesh.

"N..no!" cried the boy. "A kiss is the easiest way to transfer prana!"

A kiss? Gilgamesh looked down at her face and then at the boy.

"It is true!" he cried. "With the prana transferred from a kiss, she should wake up!"

A kiss… "Can I perform this ritual?" There was no way he was going to let this boy's vile lips touch Hikaru's. She was too pure for someone like him.

"I can sense great prana from you. It should be fine. Just focus on giving your energy to her."

Not much to go on but he had done much with less before. He leaned over. The remnants of a breath caressed his cheek as he placed his lips over hers. At first he was not sure what he was doing. He had kissed many women in the past but this was a whole other experience for him.

He was not sure if he was doing it right but he thought he could feel something flowing from his mouth to hers. Was this the prana thing the boy was talking about? He heard a gasp from behind him.

Lifting his head, he saw Hikaru's eyes were half open. They focused on him and she opened her mouth and croaked. "Hi Gil. Is it morning?"

* * *

Hikaru was very confused.

Why had Gilgamesh wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug? Why was everyone huddled around her bed? Wait. This was not her bed. It was Gilgamesh's. What was going on?

"You need to perform the actual ritual now."

She turned her head to the voice. Her breath hitched in her throat. Urash!

"Do not worry Hikaru. He will not hurt you." Gilgamesh released her and pointed to the guards behind him. "They will make sure of that." As if he remembered something he turned to her. "Do you know the ritual to transfer prana?"

Her mind was still a bit foggy but she nodded. "Y…yes. I know of it. Why?"

"We need to perform it to restore the rest of your prana."

The rest of her prana?

What was he…oh.

Even though her body felt like lead her mind was already working at full capacity.

"We should leave them so they may have privacy," murmured Urash. "The actual ritual is very…intimate."

"Do you agree Hikaru?" asked Gilgamesh.

She nodded numbly. She did not want her voice to give her away.

"Leave, all of you," ordered the King. "Ishne, have the boy taken to the dungeon. We will take care of him after Hikaru is better."

"Of course my King."

Hikaru wanted to sink back to sleep but she forced herself to stay awake. She knew she had been close to dying. If she fell asleep, there was a risk of her going to that place again. The amount of prana she had within her was still too low.

However…did she really want to go through with this ritual?

"How is this ritual done?" he asked after everyone was gone.

She tried to sit up but it was like she was trying to move through honey. Her limbs just did not want to obey. Guessing what she wanted, Gilgamesh helped her. She leaned her head against his shoulder. Just that simple act had her exhausted.

"Gil…how..." She shut her eyes tight. "How do you feel about me?"

"Feel about you? I do not see how that is relevant"

"It is important!" Even she was shocked at the amount of emotion she was able to project into her voice.

He put an arm around her. It was then that she noticed how much bigger he was than her. He could have easily overpowered her at any point but he had not. "This is probably embarrassing for a King to say as Ekur just pointed this out to me but I did not understand how I felt about you for a long time."

She tilted her head slightly so she could read his face. What was he implying with that statement? Did he look nervous? Why?

"Do not look at me like that…"

Was she making a face? She was not sure. Her body still felt incredibly tired.

"I was afraid for you." He grinned. "I was all set to go down to the underworld and drag your soul out of there, fighting all the demons all the way."

"Really now?" she chuckled. She may have laughed but she could picture him doing it. He would and she would willingly go back with him.

He coughed. "What I am saying with that is…you are a difficult woman you know…making me say stuff like this at a time like this. Why is this so important anyway?"

"Please continue." She had a feeling where he was going with this but she needed to hear it from his mouth.

"I am in love with you alright? Happy?" he snapped.

She giggled. "Yes. I will say I am quite happy. I am in love with you too."

She could feel his body stiffen slightly before he laughed. "Well of course you are! I am the King. The best and only choice."

She let out a weak sigh. Of course he would never change. "We should start the ritual now. I might go to sleep again if we do not start."

Gilgamesh nodded. "Alright. What needs to be done?"

"You do not have to be so nervous. You are much more experienced at this than I am." She forced her body to turn to face him. He was a bit out of focus but she should be fine once they started. Her face was burning. "In fact this will be my first time…"

"With doing this ritual?"

"You will understand soon enough…" She forced her arms to wrap around his neck before she kissed him.


	13. Chapter 13

**inal chapter guys! ^-^ I'm incredibly happy I was able to get this done before grad school got too hectic for me. I do have ideas for other stories but with my grad school schedule, I probably won't have the time to write anything. :( **

**EDIT 1/25/2015- So originally this was going to be a two-parter, with the second half dealing with figuring out what happened with Hikaru. With my school schedule and whatnot I realized it is probably not going to happen so instead I decided to just add it in here to finish it off.**

* * *

Hikaru awoke the next morning to the chirping of birds. She sat up slowly, at first disoriented to where she was. This was not her room. It hit her a moment later though when she felt the presence of someone next to her.

Glancing down she saw Gilgamesh fast asleep next to her. His bare chest was visible above the blanket and that made her think about last night. She turned away, her face burning. "I knew he was good but not _that_ good…" she murmured as she buried her face in her hands. She was going to be sore for a while, that was sure.

The ritual was a success out of all of that. She felt revitalized and full of energy. Spotting her dress on the floor she went to get it but did not make it far as a hand clamped down on her wrist.

"Where are you going?" Gilgamesh looked at her with sleepy eyes.

"I was going to get my clothes."

"No. Stay here." He pulled her back into the bed.

"Honestly, your drive is ridiculous!"

"Whose fault is that? I had not done it in months. You deprived me woman!"

"How is that my fault? I did not force you to not to do it!"

She glared up at him. There was no way he was going to bully her on this matter!

"Again with those stupid defiant eyes of yours!" He groaned and rolled off of her.

She rolled so she was now on her stomach and she rested her elbows on the bed and head in her hands as she watched him. "What do my eyes have to do with anything? You are always complaining about them!"

"That was…the first thing I noticed about you," he mumbled.

"And the reason why you had me kept in the palace in the first place." She giggled as he winced. "Do not worry. I am not mad at you about it." She shrugged. "We would have never gotten to this point if that had not happened."

"I will have to agree with that."

"So…what now?" Although this kind of encounter meant nothing to him, for her it changed everything. How would their relationship progress from here?

"I was thinking about that…" He grasped her hand in his own. "It might be awkward to suggest this in a time like this but I am the King, I can do whatever I want."

"Alright, I get it, you are the King. Continue please?"

"Well, I was wondering if you would be…willing to become my Queen."

If she was standing, she would have fallen. That was not what she was expecting him to say. "But…I am not of noble blood or anything. I am a _kur_, a foreigner. The people cannot accept a Queen like that." The highest rank someone like her could get to the King was a concubine, a secondary wife. There was no way she could be Queen!

"I will make them accept it," he growled. "Plus, they all like you already due to that power of yours. And I think a daughter of Gula is a high enough rank to be a Queen."

She buried her face into the lion-pelt blanket. Her, a Queen?

"If you do not want to…"

She shook her head. "No. I would love to be your Queen." A grin. "Someone needs to be logical in this Kingdom."

He groaned. "Great. I am going to be one of those Kings that are controlled by their Queens."

She poked him in the cheek. "Do not have to say it like that. I will not be controlling you that much."

Gilgamesh groaned again. "I am already regretting this." He was smiling though.

Hikaru sat up. "Shall we go out and tell the world I am fine? Shub looked like she was going to cry when she left last night."

"If we must," grumbled Gilgamesh. "I do need to announce your new position."

She gave him a light kiss on the cheek before getting out of the bed.

* * *

The next couple of weeks were very, very busy. Furious to Nippur's treason, Gilgamesh had went in with his troops and crushed the kingdom. With the prodding of Hikaru he ended up opening his own kingdom to the refugees.

Gilgamesh had insistence for Hikaru to move into his room but she refused. Having her own space made it easier for her to work on text translations. Even if she was Queen, she was the only one able to translate the texts. She was not going to let that knowledge go to waste.

Urash was kept in the kingdom, demoted to slave. Hikaru would visit him every now and then and the two would talk about magus matters. Despite the boy being the apprentice of a ruthless man, he was very nervous and kind. He also opened Hikaru's mind to something she never thought of before.

"Gil, I was thinking about something."

The King looked up from the reports of crop supply. "What about?"

She looked out the window and sucked in a deep breath. "I was talking to Urash-do not make that face, I do not like him like that. He is the only magus I can talk to!"

"Continue then," he grumbled.

"Apparently these powers…are hereditary-I got it from my parents."

"Your parents?"

She laughed softly. "Weird, right? I never thought much about them. The traveling caravan was my family. But this power…I got it from them." Her attention went out the window.

Gilgamesh watched her carefully. She had a far-away look in her eyes, like she was searching for something out his window. He might not have the same logical deduction skills as her but he knew where she was going with this line of thought. "You want to go find them."

She glanced back in surprise. "It is not like I do not like it here. I do. This place…is better than I could have imagined."

Gilgamesh shook his head. "You do not need to say that to make yourself feel better. I know that look in your eye. You get the same look when you are deep in reading one of those texts of yours. You are curious. You want to go out there and find out the truth of your family."

She lowered her head so her hair covered her face. "Is that wrong of me?"

"No," he replied. He got up and turned away. Despite everything that had happened he knew she would not be satisfied until she knew the truth. If he did not let her go, then she would just keep looking out the window, posing questions, just spending all of her time wondering about it. He could not allow that. So the King, even against his best judgment said, "I will send you with my best men."

"Thank you! Thank you!" She rushed over to his side and hugged him. "Thank you so much Gil."

He forced himself to smile but it probably looked like a fake smirk. She did not seem to notice as she hurried out of the room, probably to pack her things. Gilgamesh walked out the room and said to the guard. "Get Ishne. I need to speak with him."

Gilgamesh stared at the huge caravan loaded with supplies. The oxen pulling it were the finest that the King could get on short notice. His best men patrolled around the caravan, with lances in hand and swords on their belts. He would have sent Ishne as well but the man was needed at the palace. Hikaru's friend-slave was gathering up the last of the supplies to put them on the caravan. At least Hikaru would have a companion on this journey.

"Thank you for this Gil." She approached with a small, sad smile. She was no longer in the expensive garb she wore in the palace. She had donned simple clothes, all jewelry gone. It reminded him of their first meeting, only she looked much healthier this time.

"You would bothered me until I said yes," he grumbled. He could not look at her. If he did, he knew he would order her to stay here. She did not have to go on this madness of a trip. Why did it matter to find out where she had come from? The present was important!

"Please do not be like that." She grasped his hands tightly in her own. "Gil, please look at me."

He did not want to. Her nails were digging into his palms as she lightly pulled on them. There was no way out of this, was there? Her eyes were red and there were hints of tears at the edge of her eyes.

"No matter how long it takes, I will return to you. I promise you that Gil." She shook her head and stood on her toes so she could speak into his ear. "I promise you Gilgamesh, I will return."

She dropped down to her normal height and released his hands. "I need to go," she whispered.

With clenched fists, Gilgamesh turned away. "Go then."

"I will keep my promise."

The King did not turn around. He heard the sound of voices behind him. The cry of the oxen. The sounds of a moving cart. He did not turn until the sounds had faded to nothing.

Silently, the King returned to the audience chamber. Ekur was standing next to the throne and he silently bowed as Gilgamesh took his place on the seat and began his long wait.

* * *

The caravan jostled left and right. Hikaru was lying with her back against one of the walls, her hand resting on her swollen belly. Shub was by her side, looking through the reserves of food they brought for the trip.

"Are you sure you are alright?" asked Shub for the sixth time that morning.

Hikaru gave Shub a wide smile. "I am fine. Do not worry so much. This is a very natural thing remember?"

"Yes, I know that but most women do not go on an adventure when she is with child," retorted Shub.

Hikaru let out a long sigh and pulled back of the tarps that covered the cart to look out into the desert. They had passed the last kingdom a few days back and they had a few days to go before reaching the next one. That meant a couple of long days sitting in the back of the cart (the guards would not let her walk).

"There were women in the caravan I grew up in that did it."

Shub blinked slowly before she gently touched Hikaru's belly. "But you have the child of a King within you. I think that is a little different. Oh Gula, I felt him kick! He is going to be a fighter Hikaru, I just know it."

"Already taking after his father," laughed Hikaru. She fell silent as she stared at her belly. After they had traveled for a month, Hikaru had noticed something was wrong. She did not have her monthly bleeding even though she was still eating better than she did in her old home. She had gone to the ashipu and her suspicion was confirmed. She was with child.

Maybe it was selfish of her. She did not want to turn around and go back. They had only just started. Who knew how close the land of her ancestors would be? What if they were only another month of travel away? So she made them push on. Despite Shub's and her guards' protests, she wanted them to go on. If her parents had made it here, what was to say that she could not make it to where they were from?

But now it was the final month. The _ashipu_ in the last kingdom told her it was close and instructed Shub on how to help the birthing process. Since that day, Hikaru had been thinking about this quest of hers. Did it really matter at this point? She had the heir of the Uruk kingdom within her. Maybe it was best to begin the journey back. Maybe-

The canvas was pushed back and one of her guards poked his head on. "I am sorry to disturb you my queen. There are bandits on the prowl. We have sent out some scouts to take care of them but I thought you should be informed. Remember to stay out of sight."

"Bandits." Shub's hand clutched tightly to Hikaru's. "Will we be alright?"

"We will make it so."

"This is not the first time they had to take care of some bandits that attacked us." Hikaru gently rubbed Shub's hand to try to calm the girl.

"But this kind of stress is not good at this point in time," replied Shub. "Think of your child."

They silently waited in the caravan. They could hear the sounds of battle, the prayers sent to the Gods. Hikaru could quickly tell that something was wrong. Usually it would not take this long. Usually a guard would be inside with them by this point.

"Shub, we need to move," murmured Hikaru.

"What?"

Carefully, Hikaru peered out of the caravan. She struggled against the urge to recoil. Blood. There was blood everywhere. Many guards had fallen and the few left were fighting with everything they had. So much blood.

"We're outnumbered," Hikaru whispered in horror. They needed to get out. She did not know if the bandits had followed them from the last kingdom or not but either way, if they found the women in the cart…

No. She could not think of that.

"Hikaru, one of the horses is still tied to the caravan."

Thankfully the horse was tied on the other side so the cart blocked him from view. Like all of the horses that were brought on this journey, he had been bred for battle. The blood and such did not scare him. In fact, he was pawing at the ground as if he wanted to join the battle.

Hikaru carefully got out of the caravan and silently cursed herself. They should have returned months ago. She had kept the hope that they would reach the land where her parents had come from soon. Nine months later, it still has not happened. They should have turned back and returned to the kingdom.

She had a bit of trouble getting onto the horse but the horse thankfully stood still and Shub helped her on. After she was on, Shub jumped on as well. "I am not sure how to control the horse…"

Hikaru dredged up the few lessons she learned from Gilgamesh back when he tried to teach her. Somehow she managed to get the horse moving in the opposite direction of the bandits. She urged the horse on, too scared to look back. Tears rolled down her eyes.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. The guards. They all had families to return to, they had people waiting for them back home. They would never return and it was all her fault. She felt the ache in her heart so deep at first she didn't register the popping sensation in her body until Shub whispered.

"Hikaru. I think you will give birth soon."

No. No. No. No.

"This…no…not now…"

"Hikaru, we need to stop." Shub's eyes settled on a small rocky cave nearby. "Take us there. Lead the horse there."

Hikaru numbly obeyed. Not now. Why couldn't he wait? They were still in danger. One of the bandits had to have seen them escape. They could not afford to stop. Stopping in front of the cave, Shub jumped off and helped Hikaru off of the horse.

Shub took Hikaru into the cave a little bit and helped her rest against the cave wall. "You will be alright," soothed Shub. "I…I know what to do."

Hikaru could see it in the girl's eyes. She was panicked. Of course, who wouldn't be in a situation like this? They were alone out here, possibly hunted. She cracked a small smile. "We'll be fine Shub. We'll be fine."

"Pray to Gula," whispered Shub. "Please. Pray."

* * *

Hikaru didn't know how long it took.

It hurt.

There was a lot of pain.

She had bit down on her own finger to try to numb it and to keep her screams quiet.

Her eyes were unfocused as she tried to focus in on the child that was crying for his mother.

"It's a boy," whispered Shub. "A beautiful boy. The perfect child to be the next king of Uruk. Hikaru? Would you like to hold him?"

Hikaru blinked slowly. She wanted to lift her arms but they felt heavy. Her whole body felt heavy. She remembered reading about this in some of the texts. Something had gone wrong. She did not know what but something had gone wrong.

"Hikaru, please, answer me, do you want to hold him?"

She struggled to open her mouth. She needed to say the words. She needed to speak. "Shub, please…take good care of him."

"What are you saying?" Shub let off a nervous giggle. "You are fine. Just use your powers. Heal yourself."

Hikaru was able to crack a small smile. There was no point in trying. It would just drain the remaining of her energy faster. This was it. "Take care of him. Whichever way you chose, take him with you. Go to the land in the east or return to the King."

"He would want you there. You know the King. He needs you to return. Do not speak like that Hikaru-he needs you to return."

She knew that. Silently she looked up at the ceiling. Was she a fool for wanting to take this journey? Yes. She was the biggest fool of them all.

"Please, take the horse and go Shub. There is no reason to stay here. You need…you need to keep him alive. Please. An order…from me."

Hikaru's vision was blurring. She saw Shub's shape stand. Her child's voice screamed for milk. _I am sorry little one. I cannot._

Her final thought was about him. _I will return by your side one day Gil, one day so please…wait for me…_

* * *

Ekur stared at the liver before him. He blinked slowly and rubbed his eyes to make sure he was reading it right. He checked the liver text and then focused back on the liver. No. He had not read it wrong.

The old man let out a long, deep sigh and looked up at the full moon. Sin's light was exceptionally bright tonight and that was why Ekur thought it would be best to do a liver reading of the future. His main goal of this reading was to give the King an idea of when Hikaru would return.

It had already been two years since she had ridden off with the guards. At first letters would arrive at a steady rate. She was very specific as she described everything she saw. The King had been vocal about how stupid the letters were and asking why she was wasting her time with such nonsense. However, Ekur had seen how the King carefully folded the letters up before putting them away in a box in his room.

For that reason Ekur wanted to use tonight, the night when Sin's light was brightest, to give the King some answers to where she was. The liver had given him the answer, however it told the old _baru_ more than he wanted to know.

"Poor dear Hikaru…" Ekur shut his eyes and sent a silent prayer to her. He stared down at his wrinkly, skinny hands. They were shaking slightly as it really hit him how old he really was. He had seen many, many moons go by, he had seen many seasons pass on and yet he was still here.

The purpose of _barus_ was to interpret the words of the Gods for the Kings and the people. They were supposed to live for the Gods and serve as a mouthpiece, nothing more. And yet, hidden in this liver reading was a message for him. A message he knew he must follow. A message the King was surely to dislike however in his old age, there was nothing he could do about it.

"May I come in my King?"

Gilgamesh put down the papyrus and looked up at his _baru_ waiting in the doorway. "What is it Ekur? Do not tell me, you did a liver reading or something last night since the moon was really bright and you have come here to warn me about something that is come to pass?"

Ekur put his hands into the sleeves of his long robes. It was then that Gilgamesh noticed that Ekur's robes were fancier than normal. It was the robes he wore during an important announcement.

Gilgamesh's eyes narrowed. "Is it serious then? Will there be a problem for Uruk in the future?"

Ekur shook his head. "Unfortunately I am not privy to that knowledge. The information I saw within the liver was related to myself."

"Related to you?" That was odd. In all of his years as King, Gilgamesh never heard of the _baru_ getting a message for himself.

Ekur's shoulders slumped. In that moment, it really hit Gilgamesh how old his _baru_ was. Ekur had been with the kingdom a long time and the old man's eyes seemed tired.

"My King. I am going to be going on a pilgrimage."

"What!?" Gilgamesh jumped to his feet. "But you are my _baru_! You cannot leave!"

Ekur's eyes had a spark of the twinkle he usually had but it was dimmer than before. "My King. This is the path I must take." He looked down at his hands, smiled sadly and looked up. "I must go. I do not want to see you get hurt even more than you already are," he said softly.

"What are you talking about!?" Gilgamesh slammed his fist on the table, the letters from Hikaru flying in the air. "You cannot leave! I will not allow it!"

Ekur shook his head and turned away. "I'm sorry my King. I already contacted another _baru_ for your replacement. This is for the best. Please understand!"

Gilgamesh stared at the retreating back of his _baru_. No. His _ex-baru_. How could Ekur do this to him!? How could he abandon his post like this!? He looked down at the pile of letters on the table. It had been almost a full year since she had written. Had she abandoned him too? Was that the reason why she was not writing? Was this what was always going to happen to him? He would place his trust in a person and then have them leave him?

"She made me a fool!" He grabbed a letter and held him over the lamplight. He watched as the letter burned into nothing. He grabbed the rest and began feeding them one by one into the flame. His anger was mounting as each letter burned away into ashes.

Everyone. Everyone had abandoned him. What was the point in being close to anyone if they were just going to leave?

"Guard!" he called.

The guard peeked his head into the room. "Yes my King?"

"Bring me a woman for the night."

* * *

Gilgamesh opened his eyes. Around him was the swirling flow of mana. He was being summoned for a Grail War. He was not one to think of the past but for some reason, during the time it took for the summoning to be completed, he had thought of _her_. The woman that gave him a promise but never came back. The reason he went on a rampage into his city, acting more like a cocky tyrant than a ruler, stating that all women should be with him before they sleep with their husbands, all of it had stemmed from her.

It was soon after that that the gods had created Enkidu to help curb his destructive behavior. In a sense it had worked but it annoyed him greatly that she had been right about their existence.

He smirked at the thought. He never did find out what happened to her. The roads were dangerous and she probably succumbed to death on the road. At least he hoped it was a quick death and that the guards had protected her until their last breath.

Ekur on the other hand, he knew now why the _baru_ had left his post. The man was old, he had probably seen his death in that liver reading. Maybe the _baru_ thought it would be better if Gilgamesh did not see the old man wither away to nothing. He did know what to think about that.

The summoning was almost complete now. He could feel himself being drawn to the physical world. Crossing his arms, he waited.

Cool air touched his face. It was a large building with a huge window. Light from the full moon was pouring through, lighting up everything it touched. He heard a sound from behind. He turned and paused as he took in his Master. A grin crossed his face. "I ask of you, are you my Master?"

Brown defiant eyes looked at up at him. The red command seals were vivid on the back of her left hand. She was grinning herself. "Yes. I am your Master."


End file.

Fate/stay night, Romance