(Anubis Pov)

     I sit at my desk impatiently waiting. I feel like I’m being punished for wanting to keep my mother’s diary to myself and that’s not fair. I hear the bedroom door open and I turn around to face Rose as she closes the door. Before I can say a word, she holds her hand up for silence. “You have things you need to do by yourself.” She gestures to the book in front of me and I tighten my grip on the book. “And I have things I need to do myself and you know you would pry if I had told you. I needed to do something myself. I will not apologize nor will I ask you about that book as it seems to be something you need to do yourself.” She says. I feel myself deflate as I slouch, feeling a little disappointed with myself.

     I look at Rose who looks more tired than I have ever seen her. She kicks off her shoes before heading to her desk on the other side of our bed. She rubs her face tiredly and lets out a sigh before she begins pulling out her tablet. Then, she pulls out the book of death and sets it on her table. She flicks to the back and removes something from the inside back cover. She palms it so I can’t see and closes her eyes. I want to ask, but before I can say anything, she lets out a long sigh before letting a bear claw drop from her hand. It dangles by a thread and for a moment I’m curious. She puts the necklace on hiding the claw under her shirt and realization dawns on me.

     “Is that?” I ask and she nods silently. “Tomorrow, along with another very personal item, I will offer it to the sun goddess. It’s the only thing I have that reminds me of what I have lost. I wasn’t strong enough back then and I am barely strong enough now. But what needs to be done will be and if this is what needs to be done so be it.” She responds. I watch her as she closes the book and puts it away before pulling out her laptop. After logging in, she begins typing up reports, ending conversation. I sigh and turn back to my mother’s diary, I run a hand over the cover before opening it to where I had left off.

     “Varanus and Rasmus went out a few days ago and have yet to return and I am suspicious that they are still poking their noses into danger. I worry everyday that they will not return. All I can do is pray to The Creator and The Fates that they are safe. I don’t know if I can deal with the loss of either of them. Rasmus would say I’m so worried because I am a mother and then tell me to take a breather in the meadows. I wish it was that easy, but it’s not. What those two are doing could get them both killed. I must go now; pack issues  to attend to. I hope those two aren’t in trouble.” I let out a frustrated sigh and run a finger down the page over my mother’s handwriting. I look over at Rose who is deep in typing and I figured she wasn’t wanting to talk to me. I watch her type and admire her beauty.

     After a moment, she stops typing and turns to me, “I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.” She offers with a soft smile. I smile slightly and nod. I close the book and hold it up. “It’s my mother’s old diary, found after James and I destroyed my father’s old office.” I say and set the book back down. She nods in consideration, but doesn’t say anything. I watch as she reaches into her breast pocket and pulls out something silver. She rolls it between her fingers before flicking it over to me and I catch it. I look down and observe an empty casing. I roll it in my fingers and find one word engraved in neat cursive along one side of the casing. It says “Sorry” and I look at her puzzled and she shrugs giving me a slight smirk, causing me to chuckle. “Alright I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.” I say flicking the casing back to her.

     She catches the casing effortlessly and smiles, “Now we're getting somewhere. I killed someone very important to Anti and myself as a form of punishment from the higher ups. He was my handler and he made me stop killing kids and brought me into the fold of helping them escape. Eventually, he was caught and to save Anti and my own life I had to put a bullet in the man's head. He knew his death was coming and gave me the bullet a few years before his execution and told me what I was going to have to do. This is the casing that held the bullet that killed my handler. He told me about gods and goddesses the same day that he gave me the bullet. Turns out there are a fair few that work for The General and it is believed he is one of the human gods (that’s why he has been able to get away with what he has been doing for so long).” She says.

     I swallow and nod as I take in the information she has given me. “I had a brother. I don’t know how long ago, but from what I’ve read so far he and my dad were already trying to break up what was beginning.” I say quietly and Rose nods. “Then, The General kills your brother and turns him into an armor piece as a trophy and a reminder that we don’t stand a chance against him.” She says quietly and bites her bottom lip. She looks at me and there is a fire in her eyes. “We’re going to win this, Anubis, don’t doubt us for a minute. We are stronger than ever before and we are going to win this. We’re going to give The General exactly what he wants and then we are going to crush him like a bug.” She says and begins laughing.

     After our conversation, Rose and I finally called it a morning and decided to get a little sleep before I took her to my mother’s meadows. For once, I was the first person to wake up. I take advantage of the time and cuddle Rose close to me and run a hand through her hair. I do this for a few minutes before Rose eventually wakes up and smiles up at me. “You make sleeping easier, it’s nice knowing I can rely on someone to protect me.” She says. I feel my heart melt and I kiss her softly and tighten my grip on her. I look into her eyes and I can’t stop the next few words that come from my mouth “I love you.” I say and immediately blush. She blushes softly “You’re such a sap! But I’d say I am starting to love you too.” She replies. It’s not exactly the response I was hoping for, but I can accept that and I kiss her softly again.

     She kisses me back before stretching and sitting up. I groan and try to pull her back down to cuddle for a little longer. “Come on, lazy bones, you’re taking me on a date to these mystical meadows that you and your father keep raving about and I need a shower.” She says. She gives my face a playful push and I laugh softly before getting up myself. Rose goes to the closet and picks out some clothes before heading to the bathroom for a shower. I debated joining her, but I know she would just scold me right now. Instead, I throw some casual clothes on before heading to the kitchens to get some food for a picnic. On my way down, I stop in my tracks as I hear someone talking urgently in the stairway. “I don’t know what they are planning. Everyone has shunned me since I lost the challenge. The most I am allowed to be in on is training and that is the most intense training I have ever seen… Sir please… No please! I’ll prove myself to you! Please don’t… Yes sir, I understand… God damn it!” I hear the distinct sound of a phone being shattered against the wall.

     I walk down the rest of the steps to find Sammi standing in the stairway fuming. “Care to explain what I just overheard? Or are you just going to accept the charges of treason?” I ask. Sammi’s face turns ghost white as she sees me “I… I… I don’t know what you are talking about.” She says defiantly. It takes all my self control not to kill her right here, right now. I don’t have time to reply when Anti appears behind her. “Don’t worry Anubis, we are already well aware of what she is. We have been letting her feed them false information. We can handle this later. You focus on getting ready for Rose.” He says putting a hand on Sammi’s shoulder, which makes her look terrified.

     I nod in acceptance and try to push the incident from my mind. I didn’t need Sammi ruining another moment I had with Rose. I walk by them and continue on my way to the kitchens. Once I am in the kitchen, instead of letting the cooks make our food, I decide to get my hands dirty. I make a few sandwiches, cut up some fruit, and put some water and lemonade into a bag.  I feel proud of myself. As I finish, I feel Rose wrap her arms around my waist and rest her head on my back causing me to smile and for a moment it’s easy to pretend that we aren’t on the edge of war. I turn around and hug Rose to me and plant a passionate kiss on her lips and I am pleased when she returns the kiss with the same amount of passion.

     We walk out to the field hand in hand and talk to anyone who stops us. Together, we play diplomats nicely. When we get to the field, Rose takes the bag from me and lets me switch first. She then helps secure the bag to one of my front paws before shifting herself. I look back at her and she chuffs in return. With one powerful beat of my wings, I am airborne. We fly side by side for a while. Rose occasionally falls behind me and underneath me making me feel like we’re dancing in the sky. We fly for a few minutes before we finally break the highest peak of the mountain. With the hardest part of the flight over, we just had to finish flying the distance to the meadows.