Mithwer followed Ubasti through the slums, both effortlessly leaping across roofs and slipping through alleyways. They continued on for hours, until Ubasti stopped. Reaching down, she levered up a manhole cover and motioned for Mithwer to go first. “I thought you said you trusted me,” Mithwer said, peering down the abyss that lead to the sewer.

“That doesn’t mean that I’m stupid. Are you going, or do I have to push you?”

With a wry chuckle, Mithwer started down the ladder. Ubasti watched him with sad eyes, and then, hearing a grunt and a loud splash, she started down the ladder, closing the manhole cover behind her. As she descended, a careful observer would have noticed that she only stepped on certain rungs. Arriving at the bottom, she reached down and hauled Mithwer’s unconscious body onto the raft that was docked at the edge of the sewer, no mean feat, as he weighed over a hundred and thirty kilograms. Untying the raft, Ubasti pushed off, poling down the sewer with long, powerful strokes.

As she made her way through the tunnels, Ubasti thought about the events that had led her here. She had been made to be a plaything for a bored aristocrat’s teenage son, but then the most wonderful and horrible thing of her life happened. They fell in love. It was only natural, she supposed. After all, they were left alone together many times, and hormones had had their way. It was the happiest time of her life, but she would have given it all up to bring Atum back. She closed her eyes and remembered the day he died, taking her heart with him…

“Atum! What do you think you’re doing?”

Ubasti and Atum moved quickly away from each other as his father stared in shock at them. “Nothing happened, father.”

“You call kissing a half ‘nothing’? You’re a disgrace. And as for you,” he yelled, rounding on Ubasti, “return to your pen. I’ll deal with you later.”

Cringing, Ubasti turned to leave, but was stopped by Atum’s hand on her arm. “No, father. She stays. We stay, together.” His father’s face twisted into a scowl, but he visibly stopped himself, and sighed.

“Why did this have to happen, son? I thought when you were born that you would be human. That’s how you looked, anyway. Lock the door. We need to talk.