NOBLESSE OBLIGE
A/N: All right, this takes place a year after The Mummy (I)…so it is now 1927. Rick, Evelyn, and Jonathan are still in Cairo. And, so as to avoid any copyright infringements (ha!), the only characters in this story that belong to me (so far…there may be more later!) are Lilia Mikhailov and Vassily Mikhailov.
Oh! Ya! Anything between these things (*) denotes a thought…(e.g. *Great!* Jonathan thought)
~ St. Petersburg, Russia: 1918 ~
"Come on!" Vassily Mikhailov cried, reaching desperately for his sister's hand. The train station was filled with panicky people, all of the Russian noblesse, desperately trying to escape the anger of the Bolsheviks. Czar Nicholas and his family had, only days before, been forcibly 'removed' from the great palace in St. Petersburg, and now the damned Socialists were exacting their revenge on the aristocracy.
"Vassily! We cannot! Everything is at home…everything!" The nine-year-old girl sobbed, the closeness of the station and the screaming of the people scaring her. But, also frightening Vassily's baby sister was the knowledge of what they had left behind.
"You have it, don't you?" Vassily shouted, his brow creasing in worry as he forced his way through the throng of frightened people. This was the last train out of the city for God-only-knew how long, and Vassily wanted he and his sister aboard, away from the turmoil of the coming Revolution. But…she had to have it! If not, then it would all be for naught…she had to have it…
"Da, of course I do, but…" she started, but the girl was unable to finish. Yet, it was enough to belay Vassily's fears. As long as she had it. Plus, they had arrived at the train. Vassily shoved his younger sister, twelve years his junior, aboard, and then followed her, practically pushing away the others struggling to get aboard. He grabbed his sister's hand and led her to an empty compartment, and the train started with a steam-sounded shudder. The pandemonium of the station still echoed, though, along with the wounded cries of the Russian upper class, in its last death throes.
"We will switch trains in Sofia, to Istanbul. And from Istanbul, we shall be able to get to Cairo." Vassily comforted his sister, who was looking around with saucer-shaped eyes, her face white and her whole body shaking. Vassily cursed inside his head…those damned Bolsheviks! Didn't they see what they were doing? All this confusion…and, Lord, the Czar was probably dead. An entire way of life had been destroyed. An entire country had been enveloped, and Russia…Russia…Vassily couldn't even bring himself to think of what would happen to his beloved Russia.
"Oh Vassily…why?" The small girl sobbed suddenly, and Vassily pressed her against his body, holding her close. The damned, dirty Bolsheviks! The devils! And his parents…Vassily could not even bare to think of what could have happened to them. Vassily pictured his father, a noble, tall man, who had gone off to fight the Germans, and had been injured in so doing. What had they done to him, the Communists? What had they done to Russia?
"We shall be fine, darling, fine. Once in Cairo…once in Cairo, we will be able to rebuild what was destroyed." He comforted, but he .
"What if they find them, though? What if they find them? We have it, but what if they find the other things?" The child sobbed, but her words were blurred, and Vassily had not idea what she meant.
He would not have an idea, actually, about his baby sisters mutterings, for over nine years.
~ Cairo, Egypt: 1927 ~
A knock sounded on Rick O'Connell's front door, and he smiled. It was probably Evelyn. No matter how close they had become (and they had become quite close!) the prim and proper librarian always knocked. It was so sweet, Rick reflected, but when he opened the door, it was not Evelyn.
It was a tall, dark haired, tattooed Egyptian man with a stern visage and an overall air of mystery and magic about him.
Ardeth Bay, Med-Jai Warrior Chieftain.
"Well, hello there." Rick raised an eyebrow, a bit taken aback at Ardeth's presence. The Med-Jai raised an eyebrow right back at the American. Then, the two men smiled warmly at each other, and Rick motioned for Ardeth to enter. Ardeth nodded, and did just that.
"And how are you getting along, my friend?" The Med-Jai inquired.
"Ah, as well as can be! One year, and we're still mummy-free. Wonderful!" Rick exclaimed, laughing. Ardeth allowed a small smile.
"Let us hope it stays that way." Ardeth remarked in his usual austere manner.
"Ah. So…what can I do for you?" Rick asked, clasping his hands together.
"I was hoping to speak to Miss Carnahan, actually. I have found something that she may be interested in, and I would like to show her." Ardeth explained, taking a small box out of his long, black robes.
"All right! You've just given me an excuse to go see her!" Rick winked, and Ardeth allowed another smile, this one a bit brighter. Though he appeared mystifying and somewhat threatening, Ardeth Bay was really a kind man, and a wonderful friend to have. Especially if you had any difficulty with ancient curses and deadly mummies. Unfortunately, Rick O'Connell, his girl Evelyn Carnahan, and Evelyn's brother Jonathan Carnahan, had had their fare share of experiences with curses and mummies.
"Shall we?" Ardeth motioned.
"Yes we shall. Hopefully Jonathan will be there so I can 'ask' him to pay me back the money I lent him…in what, I assume, was a moment of blind stupidity." Rick smirked, and Ardeth actually laughed at bit.
The two men left Rick's small-but-neat house towards the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities.
***
Jonathan Carnahan, at that precise moment, was not in the Museum. Oh, he was near enough so that he could see the ornate statuary guarding the entrance, and he had actually been on his way to the Museum. He had just been a bit…side-tracked on his way.
He smiled, licking his lips.
The girl looked lost, and Jonathan was always one for helping the lost. Especially if they were young and good-looking. She didn't see him approach (which was generally a good thing, in Jonathan's case), and when he laid a hand on her shoulder, she jumped a bit.
"Ah, sorry to scare you, miss, but you seemed a bit lost to me…" Jonathan smiled smoothly.
"Nyet…I am fine, thank you." The girl replied, distractedly, shaking Jonathan's hand from her shoulder and not even really glancing at him.
Jonathan pursed his lips. He was not one to give up easily in matters such as these!
"Are you sure, miss, because I know this city quite well, and if you need help, I can surely…" Jonathan motioned, trailing off a bit, still smiling in his patented 'impress-the-ladies' manner.
"No…I am perfectly fine, thank you." The girl replied, a bit more forcibly, and she inched a few steps away from the persistent Britisher.
Jonathan simply inched a few steps closer to the girl. She had a noticeable accent to her speech…strange, definitely not Egyptian, nor American, nor English or French. It was a bit familiar, but Jonathan was not concerned with accents at that moment.
"Are you perfectly sure?" Jonathan persisted, sidling up next to the girl, who shot him a look of pure hatred. Not that Jonathan wasn't used to that, of course.
"Yes! I told you I was, will you please leave me alone?" The girl demanded, her accent becoming much thicker as her voice rose in anger.
Jonathan was about to say something when a heavy hand fell on his shoulder. With a particularly undignified 'eep!', Jonathan whirled around to face what had to be the largest man he had ever seen. Barrel-chested, towering over the Brit's slim frame, the man regarded Jonathan as one might regard a fly.
A fly that was just begging to be flicked away.
The man turned from Jonathan to the girl.
"Is he bothering you, Lilia?" the man asked in the same accent as the girl's, only much stronger.
*Russian*, Jonathan realized *They're Russian*.
"No, it's all right." The girl…Lilia…cast an annoyed look at Jonathan, and she and the man walked away, muttering in a different language. Russian, of course.
Jonathan sighed. He hated being shot down.
Suddenly, he heard someone laugh, and looked across the street. His sister, Evelyn, was practically consumed with giggles, and Jonathan sighed again. The only thing he hated worse than being shot down was having a witness to it.
"Good show, Jonathan, good show!" Evelyn exclaimed, clapping her hands.
Jonathan rolled his eyes and ran to the Museum.
"She just…ah…wasn't my type! Yeah, that's it!" Jonathan tried to sound stand-offish about the whole matter, but Evelyn had known her brother far too long to be fooled by his boasting.
"Of course, and that very large man didn't have any influence on you?" Evelyn prodded, motioning for Jonathan to follow her back into the Museum. Jonathan did so, shaking his head in pretend disgust.
"Large!? You call him large! Come now, Evy, I've face men ten times as…AHHH!" Jonathan ended his bragging with a terrified shriek, and jumped backwards, almost tripping over himself. Evelyn started laughing again, unable to control herself.
"Jonathan, that mummy is in a case, dear brother. He can't hurt you." Evelyn assured, motioning the glass encased creature that had frightened Jonathan so. The Englishman sighed, but shakily.
"Well…come now. Large men, fine, but mummies? We've had our experiences with mummies." Jonathan winked good-naturedly. Despite his boasting, womanizing, drinking, gambling, and otherwise bad habits, Jonathan could always make his sister laugh.
Evelyn nodded, and smiled at her ne'er-do-well brother.
***
"Who was that man?" Vassily Mikhailov frowned at his sister, Lilia.
"I have no idea. Some big-headed Englishman." Lilia scowled, then changed her expression to a smile as her brother snorted in laughter.
"He was flirting with you." Vassily winked at his younger sister. There were times, Vassily reflected, that the scared little girl she had been was almost invisible. But there were other times, especially at night, when he could still see a terrified nine-year-old under her grown-up exterior.
"I know it." Lilia winked back, not privy to her brother's solemn thoughts.
"Come on, let's get back home before he comes out again and I have to frighten him off." Vassily suggested, and Lilia nodded, taking his offered arm.
Brother and sister walked off together.
***
Ardeth Bay and Rick, meanwhile, were quickly approaching the Museum of Antiquities. Actually, they passed the Russian brother and sister, but neither of them registered it…there was no reason to.
"So, what exactly d'ya have for Evelyn?" Rick queried of the Med-Jai.
Ardeth smiled softly.
"An artifact I found…well, that I have always had, rather…quite an interesting piece. It is supposedly part of something much bigger, though that has never been proven. I was hoping Miss Carnahan could date it for me…" Ardeth explained as the two walked into the cool, dry Museum. Rick winced as they passed the mummy in the case, 'decorating' the entrance way. Mummies were definitely not Rick O'Connell's favorite things. Definitely not.
"Evelyn!" Rick called, his voice echoing off the high ceilings and elaborate columns of the Museum.
"Rick! I'm in the library!" Evelyn called back, the note of pleasure in her voice unmistakable. Rick smiled at that.
"I'm here too!" Jonathan called.
Rick smiled at that, as well, but it was a different sort of smile.
"Good, Jonathan! Then I can assume my fifty dollars is also here!" Rick asked sweetly, and the American was far from surprised when the Englishman did not respond to that. Shooting Ardeth a dryly amused look, Rick and his Med-Jai friend entered the musty-scented-yet-pleasant library room of the Museum.
***
The three men meant trouble. It was glaringly apparent, simply by looking at them—the way they walked, the way they held themselves, trouble floated around them like a fogbank. As the two walked through the busy, Cairo streets, the other pedestrians hung back, let them pass, afraid.
Well…that suited the three just fine.
They were Arabic, at least partially. They did have some sort of Western look to them, but they were dark of skin and hair. They were all tall, squarely built, with odd little black tattoos at the corners of their eyes, strange symbols, somehow beautiful and dangerous at the same time. The three men were young, and strong.
And they had a purpose.
Somewhere, in the city, was something they wanted. And they were going to get it, one way or the other.
A/N: All right, this takes place a year after The Mummy (I)…so it is now 1927. Rick, Evelyn, and Jonathan are still in Cairo. And, so as to avoid any copyright infringements (ha!), the only characters in this story that belong to me (so far…there may be more later!) are Lilia Mikhailov and Vassily Mikhailov.
Oh! Ya! Anything between these things (*) denotes a thought…(e.g. *Great!* Jonathan thought)
~ St. Petersburg, Russia: 1918 ~
"Come on!" Vassily Mikhailov cried, reaching desperately for his sister's hand. The train station was filled with panicky people, all of the Russian noblesse, desperately trying to escape the anger of the Bolsheviks. Czar Nicholas and his family had, only days before, been forcibly 'removed' from the great palace in St. Petersburg, and now the damned Socialists were exacting their revenge on the aristocracy.
"Vassily! We cannot! Everything is at home…everything!" The nine-year-old girl sobbed, the closeness of the station and the screaming of the people scaring her. But, also frightening Vassily's baby sister was the knowledge of what they had left behind.
"You have it, don't you?" Vassily shouted, his brow creasing in worry as he forced his way through the throng of frightened people. This was the last train out of the city for God-only-knew how long, and Vassily wanted he and his sister aboard, away from the turmoil of the coming Revolution. But…she had to have it! If not, then it would all be for naught…she had to have it…
"Da, of course I do, but…" she started, but the girl was unable to finish. Yet, it was enough to belay Vassily's fears. As long as she had it. Plus, they had arrived at the train. Vassily shoved his younger sister, twelve years his junior, aboard, and then followed her, practically pushing away the others struggling to get aboard. He grabbed his sister's hand and led her to an empty compartment, and the train started with a steam-sounded shudder. The pandemonium of the station still echoed, though, along with the wounded cries of the Russian upper class, in its last death throes.
"We will switch trains in Sofia, to Istanbul. And from Istanbul, we shall be able to get to Cairo." Vassily comforted his sister, who was looking around with saucer-shaped eyes, her face white and her whole body shaking. Vassily cursed inside his head…those damned Bolsheviks! Didn't they see what they were doing? All this confusion…and, Lord, the Czar was probably dead. An entire way of life had been destroyed. An entire country had been enveloped, and Russia…Russia…Vassily couldn't even bring himself to think of what would happen to his beloved Russia.
"Oh Vassily…why?" The small girl sobbed suddenly, and Vassily pressed her against his body, holding her close. The damned, dirty Bolsheviks! The devils! And his parents…Vassily could not even bare to think of what could have happened to them. Vassily pictured his father, a noble, tall man, who had gone off to fight the Germans, and had been injured in so doing. What had they done to him, the Communists? What had they done to Russia?
"We shall be fine, darling, fine. Once in Cairo…once in Cairo, we will be able to rebuild what was destroyed." He comforted, but he .
"What if they find them, though? What if they find them? We have it, but what if they find the other things?" The child sobbed, but her words were blurred, and Vassily had not idea what she meant.
He would not have an idea, actually, about his baby sisters mutterings, for over nine years.
~ Cairo, Egypt: 1927 ~
A knock sounded on Rick O'Connell's front door, and he smiled. It was probably Evelyn. No matter how close they had become (and they had become quite close!) the prim and proper librarian always knocked. It was so sweet, Rick reflected, but when he opened the door, it was not Evelyn.
It was a tall, dark haired, tattooed Egyptian man with a stern visage and an overall air of mystery and magic about him.
Ardeth Bay, Med-Jai Warrior Chieftain.
"Well, hello there." Rick raised an eyebrow, a bit taken aback at Ardeth's presence. The Med-Jai raised an eyebrow right back at the American. Then, the two men smiled warmly at each other, and Rick motioned for Ardeth to enter. Ardeth nodded, and did just that.
"And how are you getting along, my friend?" The Med-Jai inquired.
"Ah, as well as can be! One year, and we're still mummy-free. Wonderful!" Rick exclaimed, laughing. Ardeth allowed a small smile.
"Let us hope it stays that way." Ardeth remarked in his usual austere manner.
"Ah. So…what can I do for you?" Rick asked, clasping his hands together.
"I was hoping to speak to Miss Carnahan, actually. I have found something that she may be interested in, and I would like to show her." Ardeth explained, taking a small box out of his long, black robes.
"All right! You've just given me an excuse to go see her!" Rick winked, and Ardeth allowed another smile, this one a bit brighter. Though he appeared mystifying and somewhat threatening, Ardeth Bay was really a kind man, and a wonderful friend to have. Especially if you had any difficulty with ancient curses and deadly mummies. Unfortunately, Rick O'Connell, his girl Evelyn Carnahan, and Evelyn's brother Jonathan Carnahan, had had their fare share of experiences with curses and mummies.
"Shall we?" Ardeth motioned.
"Yes we shall. Hopefully Jonathan will be there so I can 'ask' him to pay me back the money I lent him…in what, I assume, was a moment of blind stupidity." Rick smirked, and Ardeth actually laughed at bit.
The two men left Rick's small-but-neat house towards the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities.
***
Jonathan Carnahan, at that precise moment, was not in the Museum. Oh, he was near enough so that he could see the ornate statuary guarding the entrance, and he had actually been on his way to the Museum. He had just been a bit…side-tracked on his way.
He smiled, licking his lips.
The girl looked lost, and Jonathan was always one for helping the lost. Especially if they were young and good-looking. She didn't see him approach (which was generally a good thing, in Jonathan's case), and when he laid a hand on her shoulder, she jumped a bit.
"Ah, sorry to scare you, miss, but you seemed a bit lost to me…" Jonathan smiled smoothly.
"Nyet…I am fine, thank you." The girl replied, distractedly, shaking Jonathan's hand from her shoulder and not even really glancing at him.
Jonathan pursed his lips. He was not one to give up easily in matters such as these!
"Are you sure, miss, because I know this city quite well, and if you need help, I can surely…" Jonathan motioned, trailing off a bit, still smiling in his patented 'impress-the-ladies' manner.
"No…I am perfectly fine, thank you." The girl replied, a bit more forcibly, and she inched a few steps away from the persistent Britisher.
Jonathan simply inched a few steps closer to the girl. She had a noticeable accent to her speech…strange, definitely not Egyptian, nor American, nor English or French. It was a bit familiar, but Jonathan was not concerned with accents at that moment.
"Are you perfectly sure?" Jonathan persisted, sidling up next to the girl, who shot him a look of pure hatred. Not that Jonathan wasn't used to that, of course.
"Yes! I told you I was, will you please leave me alone?" The girl demanded, her accent becoming much thicker as her voice rose in anger.
Jonathan was about to say something when a heavy hand fell on his shoulder. With a particularly undignified 'eep!', Jonathan whirled around to face what had to be the largest man he had ever seen. Barrel-chested, towering over the Brit's slim frame, the man regarded Jonathan as one might regard a fly.
A fly that was just begging to be flicked away.
The man turned from Jonathan to the girl.
"Is he bothering you, Lilia?" the man asked in the same accent as the girl's, only much stronger.
*Russian*, Jonathan realized *They're Russian*.
"No, it's all right." The girl…Lilia…cast an annoyed look at Jonathan, and she and the man walked away, muttering in a different language. Russian, of course.
Jonathan sighed. He hated being shot down.
Suddenly, he heard someone laugh, and looked across the street. His sister, Evelyn, was practically consumed with giggles, and Jonathan sighed again. The only thing he hated worse than being shot down was having a witness to it.
"Good show, Jonathan, good show!" Evelyn exclaimed, clapping her hands.
Jonathan rolled his eyes and ran to the Museum.
"She just…ah…wasn't my type! Yeah, that's it!" Jonathan tried to sound stand-offish about the whole matter, but Evelyn had known her brother far too long to be fooled by his boasting.
"Of course, and that very large man didn't have any influence on you?" Evelyn prodded, motioning for Jonathan to follow her back into the Museum. Jonathan did so, shaking his head in pretend disgust.
"Large!? You call him large! Come now, Evy, I've face men ten times as…AHHH!" Jonathan ended his bragging with a terrified shriek, and jumped backwards, almost tripping over himself. Evelyn started laughing again, unable to control herself.
"Jonathan, that mummy is in a case, dear brother. He can't hurt you." Evelyn assured, motioning the glass encased creature that had frightened Jonathan so. The Englishman sighed, but shakily.
"Well…come now. Large men, fine, but mummies? We've had our experiences with mummies." Jonathan winked good-naturedly. Despite his boasting, womanizing, drinking, gambling, and otherwise bad habits, Jonathan could always make his sister laugh.
Evelyn nodded, and smiled at her ne'er-do-well brother.
***
"Who was that man?" Vassily Mikhailov frowned at his sister, Lilia.
"I have no idea. Some big-headed Englishman." Lilia scowled, then changed her expression to a smile as her brother snorted in laughter.
"He was flirting with you." Vassily winked at his younger sister. There were times, Vassily reflected, that the scared little girl she had been was almost invisible. But there were other times, especially at night, when he could still see a terrified nine-year-old under her grown-up exterior.
"I know it." Lilia winked back, not privy to her brother's solemn thoughts.
"Come on, let's get back home before he comes out again and I have to frighten him off." Vassily suggested, and Lilia nodded, taking his offered arm.
Brother and sister walked off together.
***
Ardeth Bay and Rick, meanwhile, were quickly approaching the Museum of Antiquities. Actually, they passed the Russian brother and sister, but neither of them registered it…there was no reason to.
"So, what exactly d'ya have for Evelyn?" Rick queried of the Med-Jai.
Ardeth smiled softly.
"An artifact I found…well, that I have always had, rather…quite an interesting piece. It is supposedly part of something much bigger, though that has never been proven. I was hoping Miss Carnahan could date it for me…" Ardeth explained as the two walked into the cool, dry Museum. Rick winced as they passed the mummy in the case, 'decorating' the entrance way. Mummies were definitely not Rick O'Connell's favorite things. Definitely not.
"Evelyn!" Rick called, his voice echoing off the high ceilings and elaborate columns of the Museum.
"Rick! I'm in the library!" Evelyn called back, the note of pleasure in her voice unmistakable. Rick smiled at that.
"I'm here too!" Jonathan called.
Rick smiled at that, as well, but it was a different sort of smile.
"Good, Jonathan! Then I can assume my fifty dollars is also here!" Rick asked sweetly, and the American was far from surprised when the Englishman did not respond to that. Shooting Ardeth a dryly amused look, Rick and his Med-Jai friend entered the musty-scented-yet-pleasant library room of the Museum.
***
The three men meant trouble. It was glaringly apparent, simply by looking at them—the way they walked, the way they held themselves, trouble floated around them like a fogbank. As the two walked through the busy, Cairo streets, the other pedestrians hung back, let them pass, afraid.
Well…that suited the three just fine.
They were Arabic, at least partially. They did have some sort of Western look to them, but they were dark of skin and hair. They were all tall, squarely built, with odd little black tattoos at the corners of their eyes, strange symbols, somehow beautiful and dangerous at the same time. The three men were young, and strong.
And they had a purpose.
Somewhere, in the city, was something they wanted. And they were going to get it, one way or the other.