Ardeth stood at the foot of the O'Connell manor, ebony hair falling in thick curls around his shoulders, merging with the equally black robes adorning his toned frame. Brushing a leaf absent mindedly away from his cheek tattoos, he shifted gently from one foot to the other, contemplating whether to mention the problem released in Britain only seconds ago. He was silently counting the time that passed by, since he had little to waste for his check-up on the family, and with a concise genius used the shadows around him to blend with the background. For a second laughter emitted from the household in a loud burst and he felt the urge to go in and join his friends, it was an insignificant and intolerable thought which went against his disciplines, quickly he pushed it aside. Deciding that the couple and their relatives had gone through enough, he turned briskly to the left but stopped instantly at the small crack of movement behind him. Paranoid he waited until he could audibly hear the soft breathing of an approaching human before he crouched and rotated his perfectly tan shoulders relaxingly, as if he where a black panther, tensing his legs at the same time. Pouncing, managing to somehow turn in mid air, he landed flat on top of Rick, sword drawn and eyes blazing. He both register the man's caramel brown hair and light sea-green eyes while dodging a swipe of infuriation from the other man. On top of the other he noticed that his brother Medjai would be perfect for the help he desired, it was to save the world right? Plus, though he was quite strong himself, he did not possess the brawns that this man did. Rolling off, he paused to let the other man catch his breath.
"What the HELL are you DOING? No, I change my mind, why are you HERE and where do you THINK your GOING?" the taller man emphasized the words he considered important while grabbing the front of Ardeth's clothes and pulled him roughly towards him until they where face to face.
"My friend, I have come seeking help, Imotept has risen," Ardeth said these words carefully, calculating each emotion that passed on Rick's face.
"AGAIN??!! Wont this guy ever die?!" it was an obviously rhetorical question and Ardeth didn't plan on answering it anytime soon, instead he pried away from the steel grip and began to walk towards the house, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Who said anything about ME helping YOU, anyways I promised Eve I couldn't."
"It is your destiny, fate has already been decided," Ardeth continued his hastening steps towards shelter, waving his left hand distractedly, gripping the light blade in his right, edgily, "or so it has been written. The time will come when the man from the desert shall seek help of his foreign brother to eliminate the plague in his heart and peace shall…"
"Be whole upon them, all of the World saved and calmed. The true Golden Age of freedom and prosperity," they looked at each other in surprise, "that's what the orphanages' head-master told me before I left." There was a slight tone of awe and disbelief in Rick's voice as he completed his explanation, clicking his shotgun to make sure it was fully prepared in case an unexpected mummy appeared. Shifting the two holsters that hung with hand guns beneath his armpits.
"It is fated," was Ardeth's terse reply. Entering the house they ran straight into Eve, Alex, Jonathan, and a woman Ardeth had never seen before. Her black hair was tied in a bun behind her delicate, white, ears, and the fragility of her distinctly Asian body was denied by the strong aspect in her eyes. The look of suspicion on his face was apparent as he gazed at her and there was a moment of introductions between the two of them, though he didn't pay any attention to her name, only taking in the information that this was a friend and not a foe. Turning to the rest of the family he began to explain his reason for coming, receiving panicked looks and slow nods.
"I'm sorry, old chap, but I thought that you where supposed to STOP this from happening?" Jonathan queried, his chocolate brown tresses falling above his crumpling brows.
"Yes, but…" Ardeth paused, hesitating for a moment, a look of self-loathing entering his face, "It was my follower that released him…" another pause, another hesitation, followed by the soft astonishment on the faces of his allies, "she was my wife." An awkward silence set off, many of the people in the room fidgeting in discomfort, not knowing what to say.
"May I ask why? I believe every woman has her reasons," the gentle voice of the new woman broke in, splitting the silence rather than shattering it. Her gaze was full of knowledge, but he could not answer her, and he knew he probably never would.
"I will never know… She killed herself to summon him," Ardeth spat it out bitterly, pain crossing his face for a second before he regained control and sighed. Clenching his rapier, he felt the need to break, to destroy his pride for a second, and let himself become bare among his acquaintances, among the people he could slightly trust. Suddenly winds swept in from the windows, sand rushing through them, the sound of agonizing shrieks and evil Anubis dogs. Baring his teeth, he held the brilliantly gleaming weapon in front of him, eyes glowing with an underlying impatience. As a form took shape, he edged towards it, but the sword was wrenched from his grip harshly and he fell upon his knees with the force of the gusts. Papers flew everywhere and he could vaguely hear screaming and cursing in the background, when it settled down he jumped up. Rick and his family were huddled in the corner of a room, the man's massive body along with his son's shielding the women. Ardeth looked back in dread at the man he had been trying to eliminate throughout his whole life. Statuette-like, the bronze man stood in the middle of the room, his aura emitting strength that was both inhuman and yet mortal. Burning coal eyes turned to stare at him and the hawk nose curved perfectly along with his gaze, Ardeth could only think of two predators staring at each other, him and Imotept.
"Your beloved… Why?" Imotept gazed at him in turmoil, "she told me to do the forbidden."
"What?" Ardeth stiffened, his eye narrowing to determined slits, how was he going to kill the mummy without a blade in sight? Edging backwards, he shifted his body in front of the people he needed to save the World for.
"To become your lover, is what she ordered of me," both of them, actually, everyone in the room froze, Rick from standing to looking like Evy had been shot, Jonathan from cowering in the corner to gaping at the Mummy, Evy and the other women from grabbing their husbands to staring quite blatantly at Ardeth; Alex from grabbing a near-by gun to hitting himself on the ear as though he had misheard. Ardeth, on the other hand, made no funny faces but merely stood completely shocked in one position. Slowly, Imotept approached, there was no hate or desire to destroy, only weariness.
"Liar," it was a whisper that Ardeth unintentionally let out, curling his fists into balls, he punched at the other man. Sadly, he missed, all his power faltering and dying he feel to his knees and hid his face amongst his hands. An animalistic cry wrenching from supple lips, "Liar! You Lie! May you burn in Hell!" He pounded the hardwood floor, hands beginning to bleed. Clawing, he became infuriated. Shouting like a madman, he tackled the taller man, forgetting how powerless he was against magic. The rough slap he received was enough to make him stumble backwards and fall against the piano behind him, which made a dreadful sound. Sliding, he averted his face from the people in the room, tears falling to slick his face, "Allah, my Lord, forgive me! I was to arrogant to realize your disappointment. Please, my Lord, tell me what I have done wrong!" His cries where futile, his slim fingers wandering the floor… His blade. Grabbing it he aimed it at his own heart, disregarding Rick and his family, his life feeling betrayed. Abruptly the steel was ripped from his hand and a tirade of anger flooded over him.
"IDIOT! Yeah it was your wife, but SO WHAT," Rick's sharp voice echoed in the room, "Did you forget that WE are here for YOU? Because of your DUTY? Was that why you NEVER said anything? WAS IT!?" Ardeth ignored the man, he no longer cared. Fine, he thought, he would just get his worst enemy to kill him, pushing his supporter out of his way he strode mutely to the man and grabbed his wrist. Placing the warm hand upon his chest he looked at him straight in the eye, conveying his message through every twitch of his face, 'kill me.' Imotept slapped him again.
"You have people to love you and yet you would do anything because the women that couldn't love you left?" anger filled his voice, "Have you seen what I have done? What I have become? What she did to me when I needed her?" Grabbing his shoulders he shook him jarringly, before pausing, "If you do not believe that another could replace her, then I will do it." With that he leaned forward and pressed their lips together, his nose burying into Ardeth's soft flesh, eyes closing laxly. The hand on his chest moved to hi waist and the other gripped the back of his neck. Ardeth was once again, which was unusual and uncommon, shocked. His mouth responded of its own will as his brain tried to take in the information that had been introduced so suddenly.