Chapter 27
Horus
After toweling off, I feel refreshed. I thought Charlotte would join me in the shower, but she must still be talking with mother.
I sincerely hope that they are getting to know one another. I’ve had partners in the past, but Charlotte is different. She is someone I feel that I could spend centuries with and only just break the surface of getting to know her. She challenges me to be better and to be myself rather than the cold mask I present to everyone else. I want my mother to realize that Charlotte is here to stay.
I whistle as I walk into my closet to change into a fresh set of clothes. My heart feels light and bubbly, almost like when I’m soaring through the clouds on a sunny day. She does that to me. She makes me think of the positives of life and of my long existence.
There is a sharp knock on the door, which could only belong to Bastet. “Let yourself in, Bas!” I yell as I finish putting on my shirt.
I hear the door open but not her footsteps as she steps in. That’s the thing about Bas. She’s a predator in the body of a small female. You won’t hear her coming until it’s much too late.
As I step out of my closet, I find her leaning against my bedframe with a concerned look on her face. “Anything to report with the tablet? Also, have you seen Charlotte? Is she still speaking with my mother?”
Her face turns from concern to pity. “There’s been a development, Horus.”
“Really? Well, let’s go find Charlotte so that she can hear about it as well. Is something wrong with the tablet?”
I walk over and pick up an empty vase on my side table while I wait for her to speak. I have a feeling Charlotte would like daisies. It’s such a happy flower, surely she would like to wake up to that surprise.
“Horus.” At her urgent tone I turn towards her. “It’s about Charlotte. Isis… she told her about the betrothal. She’s gone, Horus.”
I don’t even register the vase shattering into millions of pieces as I stride over to Bastet. I put my hands on her shoulders to steady myself. “What do you mean she told her about the betrothal?” I growl. I know my eyes are glowing with power but I can’t help it. My life has been turned upside down in a matter of one word: betrothal.
“I had Sekhem monitoring their conversation. Isis told her about Hathor and that you are betrothed to her. She insinuated that you were wanting to open the gateway to get back to her.”
I let loose another growl and turn to punch the wall behind me. “You know that I’m not planning on going through with that betrothal. It was done when I was an infant.”
“I know that, Horus, but Isis is determined to have you united with a powerful goddess. Have you told her any of this?”
“Of course not. My mother has planned that union for centuries. I didn’t have a reason back then to deny it, but I was always trying to delay the inevitable.” I run a hand down my face. “I never intended to go through with it though, especially now that we have been separated for so long. Gods, what did Charlotte do?”
Bas starts to answer, but I interrupt her.
“Wait, let me just go explain it to her myself and then I’ll need to have a long talk with my mother about personal boundaries and meddling in my life choices.”
I start to walk towards the door to my chamber, but Bas stops me by saying, “I told you, Horus. She’s gone.”
I turn slowly to face her again. “What do you mean she’s gone?”
“She ran to Thoth and asked to leave immediately. Her parting words were that he promise to keep you from following her. She’s not coming back.”
“No… NOOOOO!” I throw a table, punch the wall again, and cause other rage-filled destruction before I throw my doors open and walk down the hallways in search of my mother.
I find her in the kitchen sipping tea like she hasn’t just upended my life and broken the heart of the woman I love.
“How dare you,” I growl at her as I slam my hands on the counter.
“Don’t you take that tone with me, Horus. I only informed her of the truth. It’s better she learns it now than in the future only to have her heart broken when you move on to someone else.”
“I LOVE her, mother!” I yell at her with angry tears forming in my eyes.
That shocks her. She sits unnaturally still with eyes wide as she processes this. Even I am taken aback because I haven’t fully realized it myself until I just shouted it. I love Charlotte. I don’t want to go through life without her.
Isis composes herself and sips her tea in thought. Finally, she asks, “And what about your betrothal to Hathor and your duty in this family? You are just going to give it all up for a mortal you have known for a couple of weeks?”
“You know full well I was delaying that marriage and was never going to go through with it. Since the Duat closed, we have not discussed it so I figured it would be null and void. Turns out you have just been waiting for the opportune moment to bring it up.”
“I thought all was lost, Horus! I thought we would never be able to connect to those on the other side of the gateway, but now we have hope. You can ascend to the god you were always meant to be and rule at your father and I’s side…”
“Just stop!” I interrupt. “What about my thoughts, mother? My happiness? You’ve never once asked what I wanted.”
She gives me a sad and pitied look. “Horus, as gods, we are not always afforded love and happiness. We have to do what is right for our subjects regardless of personal feelings.”
“So, you want me to give up a chance at happiness with a woman I love for duty?”
“She is mortal, Horus. What do you expect to happen? She cannot live forever and you will end up brokenhearted.”
There it is. The reason for my mother’s interference. Her heart has been irreparably broken by my father’s absence and she doesnt want me to suffer the same fate.
I get down on my knees in front of my mother, take her hands in mine, and look at her in earnest. “You mean to tell me that you wish you had never even had just a short time with father? If you could do it all over again, would you change anything knowing you would have this heartbreak?”
Her eyes get glossy and she looks away from me ashamed. “No. Never. I would not trade a single moment with him, even knowing this outcome.”
I turn her chin to look at me once more. “Then you know I feel the same. I will take whatever time I can get with Charlotte because my ka speaks to hers. She is my other half who makes me want to be a better person, a better god. Please, mother. I must get her back.”
My normally stoic mother breaks down and she holds me close. “I’m so sorry, Horus. I just wanted to spare you pain.”
I pat her back and hold her while she composes herself. “I know, mother. I know,” I murmur.
Isis sits up and dries her eyes. Once she feels like she has a hold of herself, she takes my hand and guides me out of the room. “Come, let us find your love and bring her home.”