As I stepped off the train with my rather dainty suitcase clattering somewhere behind, despite my firm grip on the handle, my eyes scanned the surrounding area for signs I was able to decipher. In all the years I had been travelling without difficulty, here and there by train, I had never felt so puzzled. My understanding was that I had been aboard that train for several hours and had finally arrived at Cairo; only problem was, I knew not how to branch away from the station in order to garner a lift of sorts toward my desired location. Of course, not a great many had been so willing to take a woman such as myself anywhere near so called forbidden destinations, so I insisted instead on having someone point me in the direction I wished to go. Even if I was made to walk it, I would much rather waste my time prancing through the desert than stuck like a lost pup in an overly heated, crowded and otherwise foul smelling cross rail. If not for the smell, I wished to be elsewhere in order to avoid the questioning glances.
"Excuse me, kind sir, might you be able to offer a young lady a bit of help? You see, I am quite lost and as I have never travelled to this location before.. have no idea where I'm to go next." I asked, approaching a nearby male, who seemed rather old given his worn complexion, though harmless.
The gentleman turned his head slowly until his eyes were fixated upon my own. My nerves shot right up through the glass roof above our heads as he continued to openly stare at me. I wondered why, but shook it off and marked it down as mere curiosity. Perhaps he was wondering why a lady such as myself, dressed as I was, had taken it upon herself to wander about Egypt for a good time. My attire had not shocked many back home, but given the obvious climate in this country, I realised how unfortunate my decision making skills were and this man, evidently, had similar doubts about my appearance.
"You are terribly mistaken, my dear. This is not somewhere.. someone like yourself.. should be exploring; do you understand?" he said, his accent thick, in turn giving me a bit of trouble comprehending, but the look on his face said it all. All I found myself able to do in return was offer a small nod. But before he could turn away from me and continue on his way, I blurted out something else.
"Please.. uh, la afham" I pressed, hoping my pronunciation was a lot more demanding than my confidence as he stopped walking, turned and closed the space between us.
"I think you do understand, bourgeois" he hissed, his lips pressed tightly together as he regarded me in silence for a moment or two. Why, I did not know. Nor did I understand why he was being so rude. "Why do you not return to your home, where you belong? Can you not see this is no place for the likes of you, to be flailing around showing off your wealth and class, before those of us who have very little in life?" he continued his little rant, but left no room for me to budge into the debate as he turned swiftly once more and took off at a brisk pace in the opposite direction, leaving me standing there very confused.
"Child, pay no mind to him. His bitterness stems from an awful tragedy and though it has long since passed, the memory lingers fresh in his mind." A woman's voice disrupted my train of thought, startling me momentarily.
My eyes drifted from staring at absolutely nothing, toward a woman not much older than myself. Ebony locks and piercing green eyes smiled into mine and I felt my lips curling upward at either corner. At least someone knew how to treat a foreigner, with extreme politeness and remarkable manners. The woman now smiled fully at me as she took a hold of my arm, guiding me away from the billowing crowd and off to a nearby antique store. If only I had my purse in hand; though in all fairness, I couldn't very well pay for anything in Egypt with British coins.
"You are in need of an exchange," she began, noticing my wandering eyes scanning the exterior of the store and the obvious pout on my lips, making her chuckle. "We will get that sorted before you leave here, do not worry. Now, where is it you wish to go on this venture of yours?" she asked, still smiling.
"Oh.. well, thank you very much for being so helpful. If not for you, I believe I would have been on the next train home." I laughed a little, somewhat uncomfortable with the situation but thankful to have someone to talk to and perhaps offer a bit of help. "I wish to visit Hamunaptra..." I added, both our eyes darting every which way around us as a group of people passing by stopped, frozen on the spot. Their faces, from what I could read, suggested that location was not ideal, but I was not going to let anything else stand in my way now. I wanted to collect several artefacts, of at least reference for future studies.
"What is your name, miss?" she asked, her head slightly tilted to one side as she too regarded me in silence, awaiting my response.
"Piper.." I answered, not willing to offer up my entire name, should it somehow prove problematic in the upcoming future. I wondered why my name was of any importance, then came to the conclusion that maybe she just wanted to know the name of who she had spoken with and was going out of her way to help me in the best way she could.
"And you are.. British. Have you travelled all this way, alone?" she asked.
"Indeed, I have. This is not my first time, however. I have been abroad many times without anyone by my side. It is a much more relaxing journey, don't you think?" I joked, hoping to make light of the situation but that same curiosity lingered in this woman's eyes and I knew not how to get myself out of pickles. "And you..?"
"Kalila; it is wonderful to meet someone like yourself, Piper, but where you wish to go is forbidden territory. You could be in grave danger, or put others at risk, do you understand?" she said, her voice both high and low as she spoke of possible fatalities I might face should I cross the borders into Hamunaptra. The more information I was able to take in from everything she told me, the more I feared what I knew I had to do. There would be no stopping me or holding me back. When I set my mind on something, I would stop at nothing until I had achieved that particular goal, or several.
"I understand your concerns and will pay particular attention to detail, but I must go. There are a number of things I have to do and all involve me venturing onto that land. Would you guide me there, Kalila?" I asked, my eyes filled with hope as my hands came up in prayer, waiting for her to make a decision.
It took her several minutes to decide, but when her lips parted and the first word passed through them without any hint of uncertainty, I beamed and very nearly wrapped the poor woman in an embrace had I not known better. Being so forward and open around strangers was not often my thing, but knowing I now had the help I had been searching for made me feel like a completely new person.
"Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me. I have been studying for many years, all about Ancient Egypt and it's many hidden wonders and yet, have never stumbled upon any information about this city. Most find it a gloomy subject, whilst others refuse entirely to discuss it." I said, rambling a fair amount as Kalila guided me toward a group of horses.
"Oh I.. don't know how to ride" I panicked, turning sharply toward Kalila as she offered the man minding the horses a red velvet pouch; what was inside it, I did not know, but assumed it was coins.
"There's nothing to it," she smiled in understanding before continuing, her attitude a little more vibrant now she had the opportunity to show someone the sights, regardless of whether or not it was ideal. "Just hop up on him over there and do what I do. If you earn your horses trust, he'll do most of the work for you – just direct him to follow mine."
Hopping up onto the beautiful, friesian horse, I found myself comfortable almost immediately and navigated the reins in no time at all. Gripping them firmly in the palms of my hands, I lightly tapped the horses side with my heel and marvelled at how well he was behaving. Following suit with Kalila and her own horse, we headed off over the dunes to start our journey across the vast desert. Rather than ask how long it would take before we arrived, I chose to be as patient as possible. Though, the increasing heat all around us made that task all the more difficult. The lack of trees was one of the things I disliked most about these areas and the fact that I was unable to see anything in my line of vision but sand and higher dunes further ahead, made me a little dizzy. My eyes threatened to close on me many times as we rode for a couple of hours, not once slowing or coming to a halt. I wondered if our horses were still alright to continue still; or if they perhaps needed a little break, maybe some food or water.
As with ourselves, it seemed the horses would have to be just as patient. There were no mirages in sight, nor any sign of life, save for the many scorpions crawling through tiny sand hills here and there. Thankful for my head wear, I gently patted my horses neck and he offered a short neigh in response to the reassuring gesture he had received. I wondered then, what his name might be, or if he had a name at all. I was under the impression that not many Egyptian folk gave their animals names.
"Kalila, does this horse have a name, or am I free to choose one for him?" I asked.
"The man who sold him to us had not given him a name; feel free to choose. I have named mine Eclipse.. and how about you, what shall your horses name be?" she asked, turning to throw a smile my way.
"Liquorice; I think that suits him rather well" I boasted, already very fond of the name and apparently, my horse felt no different as he craned his neck back a bit to receive a ruffled mane.
Onward and upward, we rode over what appeared to be the highest of all the dunes our horses had climbed since starting our journey all those hours ago and to say I was tired was an understatement. I could only imagine how Liquorice must be feeling, if I felt so worn out from merely riding on his back. But just as I was about to question our whereabouts and how long it would be before we arrived, the sights the dune overlooked took my breath away. Not far from where we stilled, resting on the edge of the dune and looking down at the land before us, there sat a couple of structures. They appeared to be crumbling with age, but were still standing nonetheless. I smiled at the sight and though I longed to rush ahead and let my work begin, I held back long enough for Kalila to lead the way.
"Now, Piper.. you have only a limited time here, I hope you understand. Before the sun sets, we must return to a nearby city for shelter. I cannot linger, for many reasons" she spoke, her tone light, yet authoritative as she told me of their guidelines. "Will you return to my village with me this evening?"
I picked my head up from its low gaze, having been staring blankly at my horses back and feeling as small as a child. Looking over at her, I noticed she held her head high and was watching absolutely everything that moved around us. We were riding through the gate now; the smell of damp sand surrounding us. My horse, with a mind of his own and little to no concern for remaining discreet, made a beeline for a tiny pool of water just a few trots from where we had been. My reprimanding skills were, obviously, not all that wonderful as he chose not to listen and continued on until the droplets rested on his tongue. I smiled, despite how unprepared I had been for his departing of our mini caravan.
"I will do so, Kalila. I've a lot to thank you for; how could I ever repay you for allowing me to come here? And guiding me here yourself, no less?" I asked, a glorious smile adorning my lips as I hopped down off of Liquorice, patting his neck once more before wandering around the small space around him.
Hamunaptra was nothing like I had imagined it to be. There was not a great deal here for me to do an awful lot of studying on, but I hoped we would find something before sunset. My thoughts derailed and I found myself in a state of panic as I realised my suitcase was nowhere to be found. Slapping the palm of my hand clumsily against my forehead, I turned to Kalila with an apologetic look and she too seemed to understand the predicament.
"Do not worry. I will have one of our people return to Cairo tomorrow, to collect your things. I am sure someone sensible picked up your belongings and put them in a safe place" she smiled, tying Liquorice and Eclipse together beside the water pool and ushering me further into what remained of the city.
"Is there much to see here, anywhere, at all?" I asked, my head turning at odd angles to try and catch a glimpse of something; anything at all that I might be able to use for my studies. It seemed void of both life and ancient artefacts, but I was hoping Kalila could at least offer an explanation.
"This city is guarded by powerful, unstoppable and courageous warriors. They are called Medjai – they protect the world and keep it from harms way – by allowing no one to disrupt the peace. None have entered these parts in thousands of years. You must understand, this is not a safe place to be. Should we stumble into Medjai territory, we are liable to be either banished, or killed" she said, her voice low.
Gulping back a hint of fear, that was now pooling in the pit of my stomach, I picked up my pace and walked alongside Kalila. I feared for my life, hers and our horses, should we be captured by these seemingly dark and dangerous people. No matter the direction I looked, I could not see anything threatening lingering in the shadows, or at a fair distance over the dunes surrounding the hollow. Perhaps it was merely an Egyptian myth, passed down through the ages to frighten off unwelcome foreigners or those who sought to steal treasure from Ancient burial grounds, or such like.
"So, these.. Medjai, they spend their lives protecting mankind, by murdering those who dare set foot into what most believe to be a cursed city?" I asked, careful in choosing my words.
Kalila halted her steps. We had been circling the grounds and keeping an eye out for anything suspicious; and she turned to me, her eyes brimming with silent rage. "Medjai are not cruel men. They do what they must, what they had sworn to do since manhood. They protect life; if by taking life away will achieve this, yes, I suppose it is murder. But know this – if they allowed tourists, like yourself, to venture in and out of this city, some to steal gold or buried treasures, anything could happen."
Again, I gulped out of fear. I was not afraid of the woman who stood before me, but I was now fearful of what I chose to say in front of her. Yes, she was wonderful and kind in every way. Though, perhaps I had struck a nerve with my remark; yet I wondered why she had reacted so harshly.
"Do you.. know any of these.. Medjai?" I asked, my voice quiet, protecting me from further scolding.
As she looked back at me, we continued to stroll. A hint of a grin appeared on her lips and I, unknowingly, released a breath of relief. For a few moments, she said nothing and within those few moments, the sound of galloping hooves filled our ears and startled our horses as their heads shot upright out of the pool.
"Yes -" she began, her eyes trailing toward a nearby dune as mine followed. "One of them is my brother," she added, her expression one of worry and concern, though laced with excitement as she struggled to hide me to the best of her ability.