Prologue
A/N: Hey guys! I've had this idea since around Thanksgiving (the Friday after, actually; I was in a restaurant with my cousins, aunt and mom on Venice Beach), wrote some in Music class about a week ago, but didn't get around to writing more/typing it up/publishing it until now. Sorry for the wait! Blame school, especially science fair. If anyone's burning that thing, count me in! Anyway...I hope you like this.
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters. I actually own quite a bit of the plot, though, because I had to shape it a bit differently because of the AU-ness (yeah, the mortal world totally has giant evil snakes. #sarcasm -_-).
Eight-year-old Zia Rashid was bored out of her mind. If it hadn't been for her elbow and her hand, her head would have slumped onto the desk long ago. A hot, sandy breeze puffed through the windows—though they were really just square-shaped holes spaced along the walls of the school-house that they covered with cloth when school wasn't in session. The breeze was far from calming, or refreshing, quite the opposite, though it did relieve the back of her neck, which was sticky with sweat, her short, black hair clinging to the skin. She brushed a few stray strands that had fallen out of her hair-bow back from her face, continuing to copy the spelling words as the teacher wrote them on the board. Her hand was cramping from so much writing, but Zia pushed it aside, trying to concentrate on making her script neat-looking, knowing it would be easier to study that way.
It was almost time for school to end. That thought kept her from throwing the notebook across the room in frustration. She knew what most of the words meant, despite their large size; she just couldn't spell them! Who cares if there was another 'c' meant to be added in? Zia sure didn't. You could always sound out the word; they sounded the same!
Finally, after what seemed like ages, they were released. The children burst into chatter, discussing a multitude of things, most of which Zia didn't care about. Hence, her not being included in—or wanting to, for that matter—the conversations. She quietly packed up her books and pens, before slinging her bag over her shoulder and following the rest of her class out the doors, into the dry desert they called home.
Zia headed straight for the mud-brick hut that was her house. She pushed open the door made of driftwood her father had found on the Nile years ago. Inside, her older siblings, Miyaz, Labeeb, and Yazmine were all home. While her brothers weren't in the house, minus little Alexander, she knew they were home; they didn't go to school, they worked in the fields with their father. Yazmine was sitting on the floor, playing with the twins, Alexander and Amani, who were only a year old.
Looking at the family, you would immediately know they were a family. Zia's mother had the same dark brown eyes and black hair, though hers was curly, that her children had. Except Zia, who had her father's amber eyes. Yazmine was almost exactly like their mother, though her nose was her father's. The older boys were the same as her. Alexander and Amani had their father's brown hair, and their mother's brown eyes.
"Hello," Zia greeted her family, her bag already neatly placed on the hard-packed dirt-floor near her side of the bed.
Yazmine looked up at her sister, smiling. "Hello, Zia."
"Would you like me to watch them?" She gestured the Alexander and Amani, who were playing happily together, which was nice for once.
Yazmine nodded. "I will be cooking with Mother." She stood up, and disappeared into the kitchen
Zia smiled at her sister, nodding in reply, sitting cross-legged with the twins. The three played until dinner time, when their father and brothers returned from the fields. By that time, it was sunset; the sky a blurry watercolor of pinks, oranges, blues and yellows along the horizon, the sun a fiery ball slipping behind the sand dunes in the distance.
The family sat around the roughly hand-carved dining table. Their father said the grace, and then served each of his children, before his wife, and then himself. It was a normal night for the Rashid family; laughter and discussion about their days filling the air of the dinner table. It gave the atmosphere a very homey feel; the people around the table were a family.
However normal the evening seemed, it wasn't; not at all.
The whole house was asleep, except one stirring Zia. She couldn't fall asleep, no matter how hard she tried. Yazmine mumbled into her pillow next to Zia, the former still deep asleep.
Then came the sound.
It sounded like nothing Zia had ever heard before; a loud whooshing sound, and then the distant screams of villagers. She bolted upright in bed, absently wondering if this was why she hadn't been able to fall asleep; some foretelling of some tragedy that was bound to occur. She flung herself out from underneath the blankets, bare feet pounding on the dirt.
"Zia! Get yourself out of the house! Hide in the reeds by the banks!" her mother ordered, voice commanding. It was a voice you did not disobey under any usual circumstances. But this was more than just a beating with the wooden paddle; this was life or death, her family—the only one she'd ever known—could die. "But—"
"No buts! Just go!" Zia was shoved out the door, almost tumbling into the sand, but she caught herself just in time. Making a split second decision, she took off towards the river, which wasn't all that far; maybe a few meters from her front door. Following her mother's instructions, she dove underneath the reeds by the dwindling banks of the river, her heart racing, though it felt like it was somewhere in the region of her throat rather than her chest.
The whooshing sound returned. She peered up. Through the reeds, she could see something, rather like a large bird, flying over her head, off to the side of her a few feet. It was made of metal, and there were tiny blinking lights all over the wings and body of it, whatever it was. Through the blinking lights, she could make out a face, the thing was flying so low. It was a face she could never, ever forget, no matter how hard she tried. Truthfully, she didn't want to. That face was the one she was looking for, to kill for killing her family.
Dark olive skin. No hair except a beard. Dark eyes. Regal-looking. The evil grin plastered on his lips.
It was forever burned into her memory.
###
"Carter! Stay over there, and make sure your sister does too!"
Carter Kane nodded, grabbing his sister's slight-sticky six-year-old hand and did as he was told. He pulled her into an alleyway, standing in front of her, being the protective older brother he was, even if whoever—whatever—his parents were fighting scared him.
"Let me go!" Sadie ordered, trying to wrench her hand from her brother's grip.
"No, Dad said not to let you go." Carter's brown eyes met Sadie's blue ones. The staring contest quite a while for one of the contestants being only six. The siblings were more than stubborn.
"But...but..."
A cackling laughter put a stop to the siblings' bickering. Both watched, naive eyes intent on the scene played out in front of them.
"You thought you could run and hide, didn't you?" a cold, calm voice said, with an air of superiority and accomplishment.
"We weren't running and hiding," their mom corrected the other woman, her voice just as calculating and frigid. It scared both siblings to hear their mother like that; she was always so happy and full of life. Her eyes weren't sparkling like usual; the blue color was icy. Her caramel hair was tied back in a loose ponytail, flowing down her back.
"What would you call it then?" the woman asked. Carter caught a glimpse of her around the brick wall. She was not very tall, as he'd pictured her. Her black hair was twisted into a bun at the back of her head, her eyes covered by sunglasses. Her wardrobe was all black; as if she was trying to blend in.
"Protecting our children from the likes of you," their dad shot back, as if 'you' was the worst thing in the world. "You wouldn't know, you don't have children." His posture was stiff, something that surprised both children; their dad was always relaxed, unless they were in large crowds, and they were the only people around here now. His bald head was beaded with sweat, as if he was nervous. His brown eyes were flashing, regal-looking jaw set stubbornly. His dark olive skin seemed almost paler—though because of the cold or fright was unknown to anyone but him.
Despite Cleopatra's Needle being a major tourist attraction, the dreary, rainy weather had appeared to turn off a majority of tourists; plus it was past dark, when you couldn't see it as well as during the day, which most likely turned many tourists away too.
Carter spotted the woman slip something out of her pocket, but he couldn't tell what. It sent a chill down his spine, even if he didn't know what it was.
"I actually do have children, Julius." This new fact seemed to surprise the siblings' parents. "One daughter, about your son's age, eight years old." Even from their distance, the siblings could see a playful smirk played across the woman's dark pink lips. "If they were to, ah, have an arranged marriage, your family might be safe..."
"I'm never letting my son marry your daughter," their mother cut in. Carter was thankful for that. If the woman's daughter was anything like her, he would absolutely hate being married to her. Besides, he was too young to think about marriage; he was still a little boy who wanted to play with Hotwheels and tease his sister.
Carter and Sadie both knew the instant before it happened. Both tried to call out, try to warn their parents, but it was too late.
"How will you do that when you're dead?" The woman made a swift motion with her hand, one pulling away from the other, where a small, round object lay. She flung it away from her, as if it was a rabid animal going to bite her.
There was a frenzy; no one knew what happened. Both Ruby and Julius tried to take the grenade for each other, but Ruby ended up getting the full blast, making the ultimate sacrifice for her family. There was an explosion, and suddenly everything went dark. The strange woman began to flee, taking off in another direction. Carter tried to follow her, but was stopped in his tracks by his father kneeling next to his mother, crying out, looking up at the sky and pleading.
"D-Dad? M-Mom?"
No answer from either. His mom made a strangled chocking sound, and then nothing. His dad began to sob uncontrollably, calling out her name every few moments.
Then it hit Carter. His mom was dead. And that woman was responsible. He remembered everything about her: her height, hair, face, voice, and the fact that she had a daughter.
###
Both were going to get their revenge on the people they thought were to blame. But our enemies are often masters of disguise, lurking in the shadows, turning us against each other before swooping in when we are at our worst.
A/N: Hi again. :) How'd ya like it? I rather enjoyed writing it...though the Ruby/Julius thing was so hard to write. It's so sad...I love them together...so cute...*sniffle* Anyway. Review, and put on alert/favorites? Thanks so much! Constructive Criticism and Flames are accepted.