The sand swept up with the wind and rustled her skirt, hitting her legs harshly. Groaning, Ellen reached down and flattened the beige article that she was forced to wear to work every day. Something she found utterly useless and, if in need to be running, very, very bad to be wearing.
"Honestly..." She sighed, straightening up and continuing towards the Post Office.
The high sun bore down on her, bathing her with it's heat and warmth causing her to roll her eyes. Never a cool day in Egypt. Never a cool night either.
It had been many years since her last adventure in the desert. Since her last encounter with Imhotep. Chasing after him to save the world once again from his evil and insane plans. Since she'd last seen Rick, Evy, Jonathan and Alex. So many years that she honestly did know if she remembered what they looked like. And it bothered her.
But she was assured, every day, that they would see each other sooner then she expected.
She truly hated it when Ardeth told her that. Because everyday he said that, she knew the prospect of seeing her brother again was getting smaller and smaller. And that bothered her all the more.
And of course, it more then bothered her that Ardeth didn't seem to care that she was hurting over this. It flat out pissed her off. And she had finally voice that opinion to him before she left for work. Telling him that, weather he liked it or not, she was going to go see Rick and Evy. Sooner rather then later. And he didn't have to come. Matter of fact she didn't want him to come.
And his only response was to ask if she was okay.
Course she wasn't okay. She missed her family...
"Ah! Good morning miss Ellen!"
"Morning Zahi." Ellen smiled, stepping up to the post office and peering into the window at the short 10 year old who was smiling up at her. "How's business."
"Oh very good miss. Very, very good." He smiled at her, revealing his very clean and sparse teeth.
"Lost another one I see." Ellen pointed.
"Oh yes miss Ellen! Just last night miss Ellen."
"Well, seems to me you'll have a full set against really soon."
"I should hope so miss Ellen!" The child happiness brought a smile to Ellen's lips.
"So, any mail for me today?" Ellen asked hopefully, looking into the small room that was the post office, and to the wall that was covered with boxes, housing names of people around town.
"Oh yes miss Ellen! Came in just this morning miss Ellen!"
Ellen blinked, slightly shocked. "Re...really? I actually have mail?"
"Yes!" Zahi smiled, bouncing away from the window to the boxes on the wall. Rising up onto a chair, he reached up into one of the boxes and pulled out a medium sized parcel and a letter. "From London, miss Ellen! And China!"
Ellen blinked. Months without communication and all of the sudden they all wanted to talk to her. She should have known.
"There you are miss Ellen!" Zahi smiled, returning to the window and passing her the items.
"Thanks Zahi." Ellen smiled taking them and tucking them under her arm. "Make sure you stop by tomorrow, I have a new exhibit i want to show you."
"Oh!" Zahi smiled happily. "Another king?"
"Mhm." Ellen smiled, enjoying the fact that the young man took such an interest in Ancient Egypt. "I'll even let you touch him."
Zahi's round brown eyes light up as he smiled brightly, once against showing off his far and few between teeth. "Oh! Thank you miss Ellen!"
"No problem." Ellen smiled, as she turned away and headed back to the street, on her way to the Museum.
As she walked, she pulled out the parcel and looked it over, unsure as to what it could possibly be. But she knew it was from Evy from the delicate hand writing in the address. Rick had no sense of style when it came to what he put on paper.
A chuckled rose from her throat as she turned towards the Museum, thinking about the pair and how she missed them so.
"Morning Miss Ellen!"
"Morning Mula." Ellen smiled, placing the book back under her arm and forgetting it momentarily as she stepped into the museum, greeted by Mula, her dark hair, dark skinned, dark eyed assistant. "Any news today?"
"Nothing ma'am." Mula answered happily as Ellen reached up and pulled her hat off. "The dig in the Valley Of The Kings is still going as assumed. They should reached the tomb next week."
"Wonderful. Ahead of schedule." Smiling, Ellen reached over and handed her hat to Mula who took it happily, before handing her a pile of papers. "And what's this?"
"They are the lists of artifacts you requested. You wished to look over them before they were logged."
"Oh. Right!" Flipping through the papers, Ellen realized that there were many that she hadn't expected to see there. "Right... well er...maybe I'll just get this finished before lunch. Then we can go over the rest of the week. We have that class coming in on Thursday for the tour do we not?"
"Ah, yes ma'am." Mula nodded, fallowing Ellen as she made her way through the museum to the back behind the library where her office was located. The office that had once, many, many years ago, belonged to the Curator of the museum. A man who gave his life to help them destroy the creature. "Will there be anything else ma'am?"
"Um...maybe a cup of tea if you don't mind?"
"Of course!"
"No! No wait, make that ice water. It's much to hot for tea."
"Indeed it is Ma'am." Mula smiled, stopping as Ellen reached the door to her office.
"Oh and Mula?" Ellen called, turning slightly and looking to the woman.
"Yes ma'am?"
"Should Ardeth come in this morning..." Ellen paused, sighing, hating being angry at him but enjoying it all at the same time simply because she knew she had the right. "Tell him I'm busy."
"Of course." Mula smiled once again, before turning away as Ellen entered her office, shutting the door behind her and locking it.
The piles of paper work, the books, and sometimes small artifacts that were normally everywhere in her office had been cleaned up and pilled nearly around the room making it look more spacious and, Ellen had to admit, cooler. Ellen smiled.
"Thanks Mula." She sighed, stepping into the room and heading to her chair.
She flopped down into it, already feeling the heat of the day, a wave of nausea passing over her for a moment. Shaking it off, Ellen leaned forward to her desk and placed the items she had been holding onto the wooden surface.
On top were the parcel and the letter. One from London, the other from China.
"What's happening in the outside world then?" Ellen asked herself, reaching forward and taking hold of the parcel, ripping it open fast. "Oh...Evy." Ellen laughed, looking at the book that she held in her hands, entitled The Mummy Returns.
It had been an idea that Ellen found utterly amazing. Write a 'fictional' book about the mummy, Imhotep. And his destruction. Not only once, but apparently twice.
"Amazing." Ellen smiled, opening it up and flipped through a few pages, seeing the name of Liza every now and then, who was, as Evy had described it, a 'lighter and softer version of Ellen'. "Utterly amazing."
Coming to a stop on the inside cover of the book, Ellen smiled at the sight of an inscription from the author, her sister-in-law.
To Ellen, a fellow adventuress. May you forever live on in these pages. Both in this life, and past ones as well.
Ellen chuckled, shutting the book. "How very like you Evy." She smiled, placing the book onto the desk, and pushing it away. "And what does old Jonathan have to say?" Ellen asked herself, reaching forward and grabbing the letter, ripping it open and reading it.
"Opened up a club...running smoothly...still have lots of money." Ellen laughed. "Now that's shocking." She called out, continuing reading. "China's great...lots of friend...Alex is there?" Sitting up, Ellen scanned the pages once again. "Why in the name of god is he in China! You're supposed to be in school learning about...Ah." Ellen sighed, feeling utterly idiotic for having assumed that her nephew would simply stay in school as was expected of him, looking over the reason that Jonathan had written as she his reason for being in China. "Just like your bloody mother." She sighed, scanning over the page again, as a sudden commotion started to brew outside her door.
"But mister Ardeth! She asked that you not disturb her!" Ellen heard Mula cry out, as foot steps approached her door.
"Great..." She sighed, her hands fall into her lap as she looked up to the door, knowing exactly who was coming to call on her.
"She may have asked, but she is...Ellen? Ellen!" HE called out, as the door knob to her office started to rattle and shake violently.
Ellen sighed, leaning back in her chair, pulling the letter back up and scanning the page again, ignoring the sound of the rattling door knob. "Go away." She called, as Ardeth fought with the door. "I'm busy."
"Ellen, open this door." Ardeth called angrily.
"I said go away."
"If you wont open it I'll..."
"I'm not opening it." She called calmly, sensing his anger as the rattling suddenly stopped.
"Fine." He growled from behind the door, before the sounds of foot steps walking away could be heard.
"Thank god." Ellen groaned, rolling her eyes.
"I'll just sit out here until you decide to open the door!" Ardeth called.
"Ugh!" Ellen groaned. "You are so stubborn!" She fired back, before turning her chair away from the door and looking back down at the letter, trying to ignore the anger pulling at her inside to rush to the door, rip it open and start yelling at him.
"As are you!" He snapped back. But she ignored him, looking over the letter, her eyes scanning it faster, and faster, and faster until...
She jumped up fast, knocking her chair over as she screamed out in utter joy. "OH MY GOD!" She cried out happily, bouncing up and down.
The door suddenly started to be pounded on as Ardeth cried out to her. "What? What! Ellen? Ellen! What's wrong? Ellen let me in or I'll..."
Rushing to the door, Ellen flipped the lock and ripped it open to reveal Ardeth standing there looking horrified. "What's wrong?" He asked, reaching forward and taking her shoulder's in his hands, looking over her. "Are you all right?"
"More then all right." She smiled. "Forget about the fight. Forget I ever brought it up. Forget about everything!"
Ardeth blinked, looking highly confused. "Ellen...what are you talking about?"
"Darling." Ellen smiled, looking up at him. "We're going to China."