The Life and Times of Bonnie Chance

Banana Pancakes

'I guess I'm lucky...' Carol thought as she sat there with Bonnie and Izmir, remembering how, during the war with Hittite, there was a time when she thought Memphis might have died and how relieved she was to discover that he was still alive. 'Memphis is still with me, even though we've had a lot of close calls... I shouldn't have been so mean to him...'

Memphis entered the room cautiously and sensed a heavy atmosphere around the others. They all looked like they were thinking about something depressing. 'What on earth happened?'

"Oh, Memphis..." Carol said when she noticed him. "Memphis!" she got up and ran to him, hugging him. "I'm so glad you're alive!" She smiled at him.

Memphis was bewildered, but he was happy that Carol was hugging him and smiling at him again and not rejecting him anymore. He hugged her back. "Carol..." He looked at Izmir. "What did you do?" he mouthed.

Izmir shrugged.

Bonnie looked between the pharaoh and the prince, wondering why Memphis seemed to think Carol's new mood swing was his doing.

—∞—

In Babylonia, things were less peaceful. Isis was sitting on the throne with the militarily leaders kneeling before her.

"What do you mean we can't attack?" Isis asked, frowning at them. "We're in the middle of a war."

"Yes, but... The king has died in such an inauspicious manner. There must be period of mourning," one of the generals said. "We must take time to perform the proper rituals and offer prayers to the gods, or calamity may befall us."

"Calamity?" Isis asked. "Won't calamity befalls us if we stop fighting? The Egyptians and Hittites will have time to come up with a plan against us!"

"We can defend our borders, but we must not move any troops until this death is settled," another general said. "It is bad enough that you have ordered us to keep his death a secret."

"That is for the good of the country! If our enemies learn of my husband's death, they may see it as weakness and attack us," Isis said. 'These superstitious fools... I didn't count on this. To think they would delay going into battle at such a pivotal time!' "You would not want Hittite and Egypt to come after us when you are refusing to fight, would you?"

"The queen isn't mourning the king at all..." the Babylonian servant who had becomes suspicious of her said, watching from a distance. "She asked King Ragash to start this war, and then killed him... We are heading towards calamity, all right! Something must be done." He clenched his fists. "I will get High Priest Rimusim!" He rushed off to get ready for a journey.

—∞—

Later that evening, Bonnie was in bed with Izmir. They lay facing each other, with Izmir holding her hand. She was feeling more relaxed because she was in a normal nightgown, but Izmir was still thinking of his sister. Bonnie could tell. She hesitated for a moment, then reached out and gently touched his face. Izmir closed his eyes for a moment, enjoying her touch. He opened his eyes again, gazing at her without any ulterior motives. He looked so sad that Bonnie felt bad for him. She moved closer to Izmir. "Would you feel better if I held you?" she asked.

Izmir pulled her close and held her, kissing her forehead.

Bonnie put her arms around him. "I'm only going to hold you. Nothing else."

"I understand," Izmir said, finding comfort in her embrace. He fell asleep while Bonnie gently rubbed soothing circles on his back.

'He really loves his sister...' Bonnie thought, lying in his arms. 'I can understand that. If Carol ever...' The thought brought tears to her eyes, but she blinked them away, reminding herself that Carol was okay. Thanks to Emir, she had gotten there in time. 'He loved me, even after being reborn 3,000 years in the future... because of Izmir's memories.' She listened to the steady beating of Izmir's heart. 'For him to love me so deeply... What's going to happen between us?' She closed her eyes, lulled to sleep by the sound of her husband's heartbeat.