The Life and Times of Bonnie Chance

Departing for Battle

Izmir watched Bonnie sleep while lying in bed next to her. It seemed a shame to wake her, so he waited until the maids came in to help them dress before he said, "Good morning," and woke her with a kiss on the cheek. They got dressed and had breakfast with Carol and Memphis, as usual. Then he and Memphis went over the recent military reports and checked that their troops were ready, as usual. He was getting used to life in Egypt with Bonnie beside him. She was still being strict with him, but her anger seemed to be softening a little. She wouldn't let him get too cozy with her, but she was warmer toward him and even responded to his attempts to be playful with small smiles. But she still seemed happiest when she was with Carol. He watched her smile brightly when she outscored Carol in bowling.

"You're too good, Bonnie!" Carol complained.

"Sorry," Bonnie said. "Better luck next time."

"Next time is now," Carol said, determined to win.

"Are you sure you don't want to rest?" Bonnie asked.

"Yes, you look tired," Unas said.

"Perhaps you should sit down for a little while," Ruka said.

"Well, maybe just a little while..." Carol agreed, feeling fatigued. She sat down in a chair for a few minutes, and nodded off.

"That was fast," Ruka said wryly.

"She keeps doing that lately..." Unas said. "Is she all right?" he asked Bonnie.

"It's normal for her to feel fatigued. It might not look like much is happening from the outside, but making human beings is hard work," Bonnie said. "At this point in time, all the major organs have begun to form, the baby's heart is beating, the arms and legs are growing, fingers and toes have begun to form, and the gender is being established. Even though the fetus still so small, it should really be starting to look like a baby now."

"You mean it didn't before?" Unas asked.

"All babies start out more or less as little blobs that gain shape and become more detailed as they grow," Bonnie said.

"Little blobs?" Ruka said.

"Sorry, but I don't feel like explaining any more," Bonnie said. "It'll turn into a whole lecture about stuff that hasn't been discovered yet. Should we move Carol to her room or keep watch over her here?"

"We should make her more comfortable," Unas said. He carefully picked Carol up and held her in his arms. "Let's take her to her room." He carried Carol through the halls of the palace with the others following.

"Alert! Alert!" a messenger shouted as he ran through the palace.

"Shhh!" Bonnie, Unas, and Ruka shushed him so he wouldn't wake Carol.

"What is it?" Izmir asked quietly, seeing the anxious look on the messenger's face.

"I have an urgent message from our spies in Babylonia!" the messenger said in a low voice.

Izmir's expression immediately became serious. "Let's find the pharaoh." He started walking away with the messenger.

"You two get Carol to bed and stay with her. I'll find out what this is all about," Bonnie told Unas and Ruka, following her husband.

"Yes!" Unas said, and he and Ruka continued toward Carol's room.

Bonnie walked with Izmir and the messenger to the throne room, where Memphis was going over some other business.

"What is it?" Memphis asked when he saw their serious expressions.

"I bring news from Babylonia!" the messenger said, kneeling before Memphis. "King Ragash is dead! They say assassins from Egypt killed him in his palace!"