Authors Note: This is my first non-Lord of the Rings fic. Hooray for me! I am too obsessed with Lord of the Rings. And monty Python. And the Beatles. And- oh, why do you care! Oh yes, for those of you that don't know, Ardeth Bay is the Medjai guy with the long hair, black robes, and weird stuff painted on his face. It took me forever to figure out his name.
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Vanished!
Chapter one: The Grimness of Ardeth Bay
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The desert sand stretched out for miles all around, a vast, sandy void, where it seemed that no life could long survive. And yet, dispute the lack of organic foods and water, dispute the dry air and the hot sun, life did survive here. More of it than thought possible in this dry climate, Ardeth Bay thought as he sat upon his camel. His body was covered completely by long black robes, leaving only his dark eyes exposed as they surveyed the landscape.
Ardeth felt a caution growing steadily in his mind, and silently he drew a small handgun from his robes. Once again his eyes swept over the land, searching for any sign of movement, any threat, no matter how small. All was silent for miles around him.
The sun was beginning to set, and the sky had turned a deep purple, flecked with orange and crimson red. Ardeth sighed and put his handgun away. He himself was not in trouble, and neither were his Medjai. Ardeth laughed and tried to shake the feeling off. Ever since the second return of Imohtep nearly two years ago, Ardeth had been bothered by even the smallest of troubles, fearing that the Mummy would return once again. He shook his head, and then turned his camel back to the Medjai camp, which was little more than two miles away.
The sun had set completely and stars were beginning to twinkle in the velvet sky by the time he returned.
"Any news?" One of the Medjai warriors asked as Ardeth dismounted his camel.
"None. The sands are quite. What is happening in Humunatra?"
"Nothing. It is silent as well."
"Well, no news is good news." Ardeth told him, then swiftly strode towards his tent. He uncovered his head, and ran his fingers distractedly through his long, dark hair.
One of the village Midwives caught sight of Ardeth's face as he passed,
and called out too him.
"Is something troubling you, Ardeth Bay?"
"No." He lied, not managing to convince even himself.
She gave him an auspicious look. "Something is bothering you, Ardeth. When a man has as grim a face as yours, depressing matters are weighing upon his mind."
Ardeth studied the Midwife. She smiled kindly at him in return.
"Something is going ot happen." he said. "Someone is in trouble."
"Who?"
"I am not certain." Ardeth tilted his head towards the heavens. "I do not think it is a Medjai."
"How do you know it is not a Medjai if you do not know who it is?"
Ardeth did not answer, and continued to examine the stars. Perhaps it was a Medjai, he reasoned, and then smiled slightly. No, he was overreacting. It was nothing, nothing at all, not unless-
"O'Connell." Ardeth muttered silently.
"What?" The midwife asked.
"O'Connell. Of course it is him! He never can stay out of trouble very long." Ardeth shook his head. "I need to leave for London as soon as possible." Ardeth turned away from the Midwife, who had her eyebrows raised, and walked back to his tent. He paused near the entrance as he remembered the last time he had seen Rick O'Connell, his wife Evie, and their son, Alex. Evie was an Egyptologist, so the family spent much of their time traveling back-and-forth between Egypt and England. It had been nearly three months since their last visit, during which they announced to Ardeth that it would be at least a year before they returned to Egypt, for Evie was five months pregnant with their second child at the time. Ardeth smiled grimily and hoped that nothing bad had happened to Evie or any of the others.
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Wow, that was SHORT!! I hope you all like it so far. Please review? Please?
Mona Lisa
