The Wandering Goddess

Before

"For every joy, there is a price to be paid." - Eyptian Proverb.

Location : City of Heliopolis, Eygpt
Date : August 6th, 2006
Time: 10:00 A.M.

Heliopolis, the "City of the Sun", was one of the oldest cities in Ancient Egypt. It was believed that her great-great-great grandfather, Ra, resided here. The only remaining part of the Heliopolis was the Temple of Re-Atum obelisk. It was still used for worship by mortals who believed in the gods.

Although it was true that gods and goddesses lived among mortal beings, they still needed a private place to meet so they used the inside of the obelisk.

Ptah, the god of architect, hollowed out the inside and created an intricate system so there was many levels for the gods to meet after they shrunk themselves to fit inside. At the very top of the obelisk, where Qebhut was now, was the court room.

Inside the court room was enough space to hold all the gods but at this moment it was just five in total, including Qebhut.

She stood directly in front of two judges. Standing beside her was her father, Anubis, god of the dead and guardian of the underworld also known as Duat and her home. Anubis was a handsome dark skin man. Whenever he visited Heliopolis, he choose to be in human form instead of his usual jackal head.

Thoth, god of wisdom, approached Qebhut.

"Do you Qebhut, goddess of purification, promise to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?"

She looked at her father and rolled her eyes.

"Ma'at? Can we cut to the chase? We're both busy gods." She asked as politely as possible, which wasn't that polite.

Instead of replying to her, Ma'at turned to her father.

"Anubis, remember this is just a favor." Ma'at was fed up with Qebhut and wanted her to know it.

"I'm not asking you for a favor Ma'at. Just a question." Qebhut rolled her eyes again.

Ma'at was the goddess of justice, truth and order. Her feather determined where you spent your time in the afterlife; your heart was weighted against it and it determined if you were good or bad. Ma'at believed, like every other god, that she was better than everyone mostly because she was daughter of Ra, which made her Qebhut's great-great grand aunt.

"What is your question Qebhut?" Mafdet, the second judge, asked. Even though Mafdet was an excutioner of criminals, she was more bearable than Ma'at. She was strict only when necessary and more mature and older than other gods.

"Qebhut have been thinking about this for over a decade and she finally have made up her mind to ask you." Anubis answered for Qebhut. "She wants to find her consort among the mortals. She came here today to ask for your blessing, she has already received mine."

"Blessing denied." Ma'at called out.

"What?" Qebhut asked outrage.

"It is against the rules and our standards to be with a mortal."

"That's a lie!" Qebhut said accusingly.

"Now why don't you go out and find a god to be with? I heard Khonsu is single again." Ma'at said winking at her, teasing her because she knew it would upset her.

"That's my best friend's son, you sicko."

"Qebhut, I understand your pain to find love among the gods but you finding love with a mortal is more or less impossible. You live forever and one day he will die and you will be alone all over. Plus a mortal will never be up to the standards of a god. You would have to explain to him one day that you are basically the princess of the underworld because that is one secret you cannot keep forever. It is too complicated Qebhut." Mafdet tried to reason with Qebhut and Thoth nodded in agreement. She appreciated that because she was so close to ripping Ma'at to shreds.

"In other words, blessing denied." Ma'at added.

Qebhut sighed in defeat and lowered her head. "I have to go; the souls are calling me." She turned to leave and her father thanked the judges for their time. She wanted to thank her father for trying but not in front of them.

As she was walking out the court room, she heard Ma'at whisper "No wonder they called her the lost child."

Qebhut turned around quickly to face her. She was enraged.

"You know Ma'at, just because you're older than time itself doesn't mean you have the right to call me a child." She called out.

Ma'at stood up from her chair, like she was asking for a challenge. "That's enough. Leave my courtroom before I ban you from Heliopolis."

"Ban me! I dare you. You need me Ma'at to keep the souls preserve. Ban me and I'll leave the underworld."

Her father squeezed her shoulder, warning her to stop. She was surprised he put up with her behavior for so long. Usually he would not allow any of her snide remarks.

"Leave Duat and I'll make sure you have a grave afterlife."

"If you have forgotten, my father is the Guardian of the underworld and my grandfather is the god." Qebhut said. The possibility of her dying was about one percent but if she did, Ma'at would not control where she spent her afterlife.

"But I determine where you go." Ma'at said snarky. Her feather controlled the underworld although three gods worked there.

"I rather burn for eternity instead of spending another second with you." Qebhut stormed out of the court room, not giving Ma'at a chance to have the last words.

She turned to her father to see his head was back to a jackal and he was smiling.

"What?" She questioned.

"You and Ma'at are quite similar."

"Don't ever say that again." She told her father trying to be serious but realizing how right he was. Ma'at and her were similar in many ways that's why they always butt heads but she would never openly admit that. "I'm going out."

"I thought you said the souls were calling you." He questioned her looking confused.

"The souls can wait."