I don't own anything from the Mummy -- I simply use it for my own enjoyment.
A/N-- Be nice, but please Critique!
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It had been a very long twenty four hours. It all started when we were attacked by a band of desert men and forced to jump from a burning boat into the Nile. We lost almost everything. All of our equipment and all of our tools... except for my guns. All of our clothing except for the outfits we had on our backs. And Beni took all of the horses, which left us with nothing to get us to Hamunaptra. So we walked a mile or two inland and found a village so small that we almost walked right past it. Thankfully, once there, the villagers were more than willing to help us. A camel trader sold Jonathan four camels for a fairly reasonable price. Jonathan still thinks he got ripped off, but the way I figure it, either you buy a camel and survive the desert, or you save your money and don't.
The women of the village were also more than willing to help us out. Which was good, because she needed new clothes, since she ended up jumping ship in her nightgown. The ladies of the village didn't hold back either... she ended up looking like an Egyptian princess of sorts...
Anyway, we left the village as soon as we could, and set out for the sands of the Sahara. Mere words can not describe the feeling of being in the desert in the middle of the day. I would have liked to have waited in the village and left for Hamunaptra in the morning, but I knew Beni wouldn't stop and rest... and he already had a head start when he got all of the horses. I had enough debt as it was... I didn't need to owe Beni and his American Gang five hundred dollars. However, between the bickering of Jonathan and the warden, and the warden's singing, the day past quickly enough. Soon dusk overcame the desert, and then we were left with nothing but the stars to light our way.
So here I am, on the back of a camel, headed towards the city I swore I would never return to. And for some reason, I'm ok with that. No, not some reason... just one. Evelyn Carnahan. The only person who has ever cared enough to stick up for me. Granted, she wasn't saving me from the selflessness of her heart, she needed me. Without me, she never could have made it to the cursed city, to find that book of hers. Except, it doesn't really matter to my why she did it. It's nice to actually be needed every now and then, and it's nice to be the one who gets saved, not the one whose doing the saving...
I need something better to think about... this is how I always spend my desert nights. The dark, Sahara nights seem to be the only thing the have ever successfully gotten me to think about myself. My needs, my wants, things I wish hadn't happened, things I wish had... usually rather destructive and depressing thoughts actually. But not tonight. Tonight they were composed mostly of the sleeping brunette riding the camel next to me. My thoughts traveled back to when I heard first seen her, and ended when I had seen her today, transformed into an Egyptian Goddess of sorts. Now, living the way I do, I've seen many beautiful women. While they're wonderful to look at, and usually fun for an evening or two, they have never really affected me. She did. I felt my heart stop for a moment when I saw her. I couldn't breathe. It was dangerous. Suddenly, I had become vulnerable. Me, who had survived growing up in a Cairo orphanage, who had survived being a legionnaire, who had even survived Cairo prison for around three years, was made completely helpless at the sight of one woman. I have no one to depend on but myself, which is why I can't afford to be helpless. But, at the same time, while I knew that my feelings were dangerous, they also reminded me that I'm human, that I'm still alive.
Consequently, my being alive had everything to do with her. Literally. If she hadn't saved me that day at the prison yard, I don't know where I'd be, but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be a better place. . . You know, maybe, just maybe I did die... because I'm certainly in a better place now than I've ever been before. I'm with her.
I knew that it was dangerous to ever make the fact that I wanted Evelyn known, but at night, when everyone else was asleep, I could pretend that she could be mine. I knew she couldn't... to many things stood in the way of that. For starters, she met me in a prison, where I assaulted her... Oh God that kiss. As bad as the timing was, and as rude as I was... it was like tasting some expensive wine and then being told you couldn't have anymore. I craved it. I needed it so bad I could feel it. I needed to know what it would be like to really kiss her. To have her look into my eyes, knowing full well what I was going to do, and then let them slip closed as our faces got closer together. The first touch of our lips would be light. Then it would get harder, more urgent, more passionate... more needy...
Just then, Evelyn's head rested lightly on top of my shoulder. The light touch of her brown curls against my cheek jarred me from my dream, and brought me crashing back into reality. Thoughts like the one that I had just had were dangerous... especially when she was so close and vulnerable. I gently leaned her back so she was once again balanced on her own camel. From the safe distance that provided, I turned to watch her while she was sleeping. When she started murmuring something under her breath, I thought I had woken her up. I was about to look away, when I realized she was talking in her sleep.
"O--." She paused in licked her lips. That about drove me mad. I wondered what she was dreaming about... if she was trying to seduce someone in her dream, or just innocently succeeding in seducing me. I wasn't wondering for long.
"O'Connell..." and then she smiled. A slow smile, a sultry smile. I thought her licking her lips was bad... I wasn't prepared for this. I was about to look away when a confused look came over her face.
"Charles? No... Andrew? Maybe... No, that's not it." What the hell is she doing now? "Alexander?" A small girlish giggle escaped her lips. "Alexander the Great? No that's not it either. Why won't you just tell me?"
I leaned in a little and whispered, "Tell you what?"
She giggled again... I could get use to that. "Your name, idiot."
Oh God. She doesn't know my name, does she? Well, there's a good reason for that. How do I explain this to someone whose sleeping? "Evelyn... I don't have much. One of the only things I have honestly is my name, and I'm reluctant to pass it out like candy. I only tell my name to someone I would trust with my life."
At this, a pout came over her face. Dear Lord, I don't know if I can handle this much longer. "Don't you trust me, O'Connell? I trust you... I told you my name."
Suddenly, I couldn't breathe. Why the hell would she trust me? What have I done to deserve that? Not a thing... not one thing. Maybe she was just leading me on... she does have an extreme curiosity. I had to know. "Do you really trust me Evelyn?"
Her face became serious... I was beginning to wonder if she was really asleep, and if she was... would she remember this in the morning? As quickly as my thoughts came, they vanished with her words. "With all my soul." I felt like a stick of dynamite had exploded in my heart, and sent red-hot blood coursing through my veins. I felt alive all over, a feeling I rarely felt. A feeling I had never gotten from words. It usually happened in the midst of battle. What was this girl doing to me?
"Evelyn, I'm not ready to..."
"It's ok; I'll wait for you." Once again... this was dangerous. I can't have this woman. I'm all wrong for her. She needs someone who is smart, who likes to read. Who lives a quiet life. Not someone with a questionable past and little hopes for a future. Time to put a stop to this before it got out of hand.
"That's more than I'd ever ask of you." Her face started to go back into a pout... not good. I pulled my camel closer to hers and tentatively reached out a hand and stroked her curls. Despite the desert sun and intense heat, her hair was still softer than silk. As gently as I could, I ran my fingers through her hair while murmuring softly, "Go back to sleep, we have a long day ahead." I felt her head loll forward and pulled my hand away. What had possessed me to do that? I'm going to need to be more careful. I turned my gaze back to the horizon, but my energy was all but spent. My last thought before the camel rocked me to sleep was: I wonder if she'll remember this in the morning?
A/N-- Be nice, but please Critique!
*--~--*--~--*--~--*--~--*--~--*--~--*--~--*--~--*--~--*--~--*--~--*--~--*--~--*--~--*--~--*
It had been a very long twenty four hours. It all started when we were attacked by a band of desert men and forced to jump from a burning boat into the Nile. We lost almost everything. All of our equipment and all of our tools... except for my guns. All of our clothing except for the outfits we had on our backs. And Beni took all of the horses, which left us with nothing to get us to Hamunaptra. So we walked a mile or two inland and found a village so small that we almost walked right past it. Thankfully, once there, the villagers were more than willing to help us. A camel trader sold Jonathan four camels for a fairly reasonable price. Jonathan still thinks he got ripped off, but the way I figure it, either you buy a camel and survive the desert, or you save your money and don't.
The women of the village were also more than willing to help us out. Which was good, because she needed new clothes, since she ended up jumping ship in her nightgown. The ladies of the village didn't hold back either... she ended up looking like an Egyptian princess of sorts...
Anyway, we left the village as soon as we could, and set out for the sands of the Sahara. Mere words can not describe the feeling of being in the desert in the middle of the day. I would have liked to have waited in the village and left for Hamunaptra in the morning, but I knew Beni wouldn't stop and rest... and he already had a head start when he got all of the horses. I had enough debt as it was... I didn't need to owe Beni and his American Gang five hundred dollars. However, between the bickering of Jonathan and the warden, and the warden's singing, the day past quickly enough. Soon dusk overcame the desert, and then we were left with nothing but the stars to light our way.
So here I am, on the back of a camel, headed towards the city I swore I would never return to. And for some reason, I'm ok with that. No, not some reason... just one. Evelyn Carnahan. The only person who has ever cared enough to stick up for me. Granted, she wasn't saving me from the selflessness of her heart, she needed me. Without me, she never could have made it to the cursed city, to find that book of hers. Except, it doesn't really matter to my why she did it. It's nice to actually be needed every now and then, and it's nice to be the one who gets saved, not the one whose doing the saving...
I need something better to think about... this is how I always spend my desert nights. The dark, Sahara nights seem to be the only thing the have ever successfully gotten me to think about myself. My needs, my wants, things I wish hadn't happened, things I wish had... usually rather destructive and depressing thoughts actually. But not tonight. Tonight they were composed mostly of the sleeping brunette riding the camel next to me. My thoughts traveled back to when I heard first seen her, and ended when I had seen her today, transformed into an Egyptian Goddess of sorts. Now, living the way I do, I've seen many beautiful women. While they're wonderful to look at, and usually fun for an evening or two, they have never really affected me. She did. I felt my heart stop for a moment when I saw her. I couldn't breathe. It was dangerous. Suddenly, I had become vulnerable. Me, who had survived growing up in a Cairo orphanage, who had survived being a legionnaire, who had even survived Cairo prison for around three years, was made completely helpless at the sight of one woman. I have no one to depend on but myself, which is why I can't afford to be helpless. But, at the same time, while I knew that my feelings were dangerous, they also reminded me that I'm human, that I'm still alive.
Consequently, my being alive had everything to do with her. Literally. If she hadn't saved me that day at the prison yard, I don't know where I'd be, but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be a better place. . . You know, maybe, just maybe I did die... because I'm certainly in a better place now than I've ever been before. I'm with her.
I knew that it was dangerous to ever make the fact that I wanted Evelyn known, but at night, when everyone else was asleep, I could pretend that she could be mine. I knew she couldn't... to many things stood in the way of that. For starters, she met me in a prison, where I assaulted her... Oh God that kiss. As bad as the timing was, and as rude as I was... it was like tasting some expensive wine and then being told you couldn't have anymore. I craved it. I needed it so bad I could feel it. I needed to know what it would be like to really kiss her. To have her look into my eyes, knowing full well what I was going to do, and then let them slip closed as our faces got closer together. The first touch of our lips would be light. Then it would get harder, more urgent, more passionate... more needy...
Just then, Evelyn's head rested lightly on top of my shoulder. The light touch of her brown curls against my cheek jarred me from my dream, and brought me crashing back into reality. Thoughts like the one that I had just had were dangerous... especially when she was so close and vulnerable. I gently leaned her back so she was once again balanced on her own camel. From the safe distance that provided, I turned to watch her while she was sleeping. When she started murmuring something under her breath, I thought I had woken her up. I was about to look away, when I realized she was talking in her sleep.
"O--." She paused in licked her lips. That about drove me mad. I wondered what she was dreaming about... if she was trying to seduce someone in her dream, or just innocently succeeding in seducing me. I wasn't wondering for long.
"O'Connell..." and then she smiled. A slow smile, a sultry smile. I thought her licking her lips was bad... I wasn't prepared for this. I was about to look away when a confused look came over her face.
"Charles? No... Andrew? Maybe... No, that's not it." What the hell is she doing now? "Alexander?" A small girlish giggle escaped her lips. "Alexander the Great? No that's not it either. Why won't you just tell me?"
I leaned in a little and whispered, "Tell you what?"
She giggled again... I could get use to that. "Your name, idiot."
Oh God. She doesn't know my name, does she? Well, there's a good reason for that. How do I explain this to someone whose sleeping? "Evelyn... I don't have much. One of the only things I have honestly is my name, and I'm reluctant to pass it out like candy. I only tell my name to someone I would trust with my life."
At this, a pout came over her face. Dear Lord, I don't know if I can handle this much longer. "Don't you trust me, O'Connell? I trust you... I told you my name."
Suddenly, I couldn't breathe. Why the hell would she trust me? What have I done to deserve that? Not a thing... not one thing. Maybe she was just leading me on... she does have an extreme curiosity. I had to know. "Do you really trust me Evelyn?"
Her face became serious... I was beginning to wonder if she was really asleep, and if she was... would she remember this in the morning? As quickly as my thoughts came, they vanished with her words. "With all my soul." I felt like a stick of dynamite had exploded in my heart, and sent red-hot blood coursing through my veins. I felt alive all over, a feeling I rarely felt. A feeling I had never gotten from words. It usually happened in the midst of battle. What was this girl doing to me?
"Evelyn, I'm not ready to..."
"It's ok; I'll wait for you." Once again... this was dangerous. I can't have this woman. I'm all wrong for her. She needs someone who is smart, who likes to read. Who lives a quiet life. Not someone with a questionable past and little hopes for a future. Time to put a stop to this before it got out of hand.
"That's more than I'd ever ask of you." Her face started to go back into a pout... not good. I pulled my camel closer to hers and tentatively reached out a hand and stroked her curls. Despite the desert sun and intense heat, her hair was still softer than silk. As gently as I could, I ran my fingers through her hair while murmuring softly, "Go back to sleep, we have a long day ahead." I felt her head loll forward and pulled my hand away. What had possessed me to do that? I'm going to need to be more careful. I turned my gaze back to the horizon, but my energy was all but spent. My last thought before the camel rocked me to sleep was: I wonder if she'll remember this in the morning?