Isis Bastet delicately sat on her little throne of gold, high above the city below. The priests were gathered around her, worshipping her. Just as they should be, for all I've done for them this last century, She thought contentedly. She peered down at the robed men and women, a flight of golden pyramid stairs below, pleased as they bowed and chanted. The gold of the pyramid gleamed in the light, and she enjoyed the warmth of the Egyptian sun that shone through her little glass throne room at the top of it.

She tilted a little ear forward to better hear the priests. "Thank you, oh Goddess of the Sun, for saving our lives with your gifts. Thank you, oh Goddess of the Sun, for guiding us during our trials. Thank you, oh Goddess of the Sun, for teaching us the ways that are right. Thank you, oh Goddess of the Sun..." They chanted.

The edge of her lip curved up just a slight, remembering all of the occasions in which they mentioned. It was always to her amusement that the humans always failed to distinguish her from her ancestors, distinct her deeds from theirs, but she didn't mind. She just let them continue thanking her, complimenting her, admiring her... Resisting the food they had left in offering...

But she had to be a Goddess to them. She and all of her ancestors before her had maintained it, and she wasn't about to ruin the ruse just because she wanted a snack.

She tried not to look at the blackberry tart that waited at the top of the offering pile just outside her little palace. She could have sworn it was taunting her with its sticky sweet filling, just calling to her.

She suddenly wished that she had done less to help these people, for maybe then they wouldn't spend multiple hours a day praying to her- hours that she had to play the sharp-eyed stone-faced Goddess.

Eventually the priests moved on to things they prayed to her for. It was white noise to her by now. "Health... Wealth... Happiness..." They droned.

Then, they moved on to personal requests- things her people asked for. "Rain for my crops... Success for my child..." Just more of what she had heard before. "Return to us the missing gods.." The priests then said amongst the list.

Missing gods? This one caught her interest. One of the dragons is missing? She made a mental note to look into that one.

For she was not the only of the gods that helped rule this part of Egypt- there was Iah, the Moon Goddess, and Set, the God of animals. There were many more of them, all dragons trying to guide the humans. I wonder who is missing...

Her little stomach growled, and she resisted the urge to shift on her talons. But sitting still in the heat always became difficult, so she did something that was acceptable- admiring herself.

Or at least she pretended to, if only to just stretch her neck and move her stiff tail. She peered down at her chest, at the white chestplates and the jeweled necklace resting atop them. She studied her wing, the membrane as pure a white as her chest, but would glow many other colors with the light through them. She looked over her scales, each perfect and polished, the color of gold and rich amber. She examined the white bone of her kitten-tooth sharp talons. She turned to a mirror in the wall to her left, looking at the overly ornate headdress that rested over her pearly white horns. She looked into her own eyes: a rich emerald green flecked with gold. She curled her tail over her front talons to look at that too- at the little white spikes that gilded her perfectly formed tail.

By the time she had finished her mock preening, she realized there was a strange silence around her. She peered down out to the area below, and saw that the priests had indeed left. Finally, she murmured mentally. She removed her headdress with her talons and set it down in a compartment underneath her throne.

She stepped down and out of her little glass palace that was her home every day for all of a few hours, and towards the offering pile. She glided down the steps on her moon white wings, making a beeline for that little blackberry tart. She could almost taste the fruity sweetness.

She landed on a piece of fruit and analyzed the tart. It was almost as big as her, so there would be no taking the whole thing with her, despite the surprising strength a pocket dragon had. She picked up the two ends of the round tart in her talons, raised it up a few inches... Then smashed it onto the bread loaf beneath it. The tart fractured into three uneven pieces.

She chose one wedge of the fractured tart, then, clutching it in her fore talons, set off into the air again. She couldn't eat in her palace- no, the priests were scrupulous enough to notice the crumbs. So instead, she had to find somewhere slightly more private.

She looked down at the city below as she flew, looking for a nice place to finally have her first meal that day. It was indeed modern, with cars and towering buildings and shops and humans galore. However, she and the other pocket dragon Gods and Goddesses of the desert had managed to retain some of its culture and spirit. The parts of Egypt that still worshipped the dragons were far better off than those that didn't- those had turned into dirty, criminal infested, disease ridden places where the air was so thick with pollution that the sky was gray.

But not here; here, her city glowed. She used her magic to heal the sick, and her wits to ensure that the untaught were taught, to make sure that her city was kept as bright and thriving as her ancestors did even before the humans came around to inventing their machines. She just had to be clever.

She finally decided on one of her favorite places to rest and eat at this time of day before attending to the rest of her duties - an obelisk in a part of the city that relieved little traffic. It was a tall, sleek, obsidian obelisk on a stone base with ancient hieroglyphs written in neat lines down it. Her grandmother and overseen its construction, and it told of her greatness as Goddess of the Sun. However, it was small, and not overly impressive, so it was rarely visited.

The perfect place for the Goddess of the Sun to escape.

She knew her guards and the priests wouldn't like her sneaking away - they placed her in the highest security. But that was no way for a dragon to live, under human supervision every waking hour. So she made sure there were times each day when there would be no priests, no guards to watch her. Times when she could slip away.

She lifted the tart to her delicate but strong snout and took a bite of the fruity pastry. She didn't care much for the bread, but the berries she enjoyed.

Isis took her time, enjoying ever moment she had to herself. To sit in silence, to just think and imagine and fantasize. She didn't think she would have ever lasted this long as Goddess if she hadn't made time for these moments.

When she had eaten all of the blackberries from the tart, she discarded the crust on the concrete by the obelisk- there were plenty of birds around who would happily eat it.

She took a moment to flex her wings, ready to return to the sky and the pyramid and being a Goddess-

When she felt solid hands suddenly close around her.

[Please remember to vote and comment if you liked it! I'd love to hear what you all think of Isis!]