I. Arrivals and a puzzle-box
"The finest silks, perfumes, incenses, jewels worthy of a queen! Come one, come all!"
The voices of the sellers, competing to impose themselves upon the roaring crowd, reached Adele's ears as she walked by the bazaar. As any other morning, the city was packed with tourists. It had been ever since the day in which the radios announced that Howard Carter had found Tutankhamun's tomb. She still remembered that day clearly; at the moment she'd been in Britain, at Oxford's library doing some research. And even though this took place a few years ago, it was obvious that the imprint left on the country had been huge. The numerous visitors were solid proof of that. Adele took care of avoiding the main streets as she also prayed for a quiet morning and a walk to the museum without a hitch. With one hand clutching one of the heavy books she had taken home days ago and the other securing her hat, so it wouldn't fall off due to the sudden gusts of wind, the aspiring archaeologist made her way expertly through the bustling streets, already more than familiar with them. Upon encountering another of those gusts of wind, the young woman felt the fine sand sticking to the side of her neck due to the sweat as she turned her face to the side, trying to keep her eyes clean. "Ugh…"
She quickened up her pace. At first, before leaving her flat, Adele had tried to contact Miss Carnahan's brother, Jonathan. She'd phoned to his house to ask for help, with hopes that he would come to assist her in carrying the rest of the books she had borrowed back to the museum. However, the lack of response forced her to think that he probably was… indisposed, as usual. That's if he was even at home, in the first place. Nevertheless, Adele made up her mind and took one of the books with her, opting for returning the remainder of them one by one. She couldn't help but feel that the sun was mocking her, since today was even hotter than the average days. After a few minutes, she finally saw the building, waiting for her with open gates and marvelous shade. She happily strode over the corridors, nodding to the staff she was acquaintance with.
She was passing by the curator's office when a male thick accented voice stopped her. "Miss Jennings, a moment?"
She turned around to find Dr. Terence Bey, all in tree piece suit and with a red fez on his rather bald head, already holding his office's door open for her. "Um, of course, sir…"
"Leave that book on my desk, I'm sure it's not precisely light." Dr. Bey instructed as she stopped nearby the middle of the room. Ready and willing to do so, Adele placed the book where she was told as gently as she could.
"I was just on my way to the library, sir. Miss Carnahan needs the assignments for the new exhibition." She said, looking at the curator, who now was standing behind his desk.
"Ah, yes. I'm sure it can wait, Miss Carnahan is already busy with the recently restored volumes." He made a pause, scrutinizing the young woman's face.
"Tell me I'm not in trouble." Adele couldn't help but think. The curator had never noticed her before, at least not excesively; she was fairly certain she had never been called to a personal talk in his office before. On the contrary, it had always been Evelyn she had dealt with and who was currently paying her wage. Geez, up until now, she wasn't aware that the man even remembered her name… Apparently, he did. "How long have you been employed by Miss Carnahan?"
She daintily cleared her throat, as if that would buy her some extra time to think about the situation she was currently in. "For about two and a half years now, sir."
Dr. Bey made an "hmm" noise while stroking his grey-haired beard. She gulped. "Miss Jennings, I'd like to be frank with you. In all of these years your work has been unnoticed in its most; therefore, I don't think Miss Carnahan will need your services anymore."
Adele felt her jaw opening, leaving her mouth ajar in a very unladylike manner. "Oh God, I'm getting fired!" Trying to keep some dignity, she found the courage to speak.
"Dr. Bey, please, don't fire me!"
"Oh, Adele, you were all dignity and grace. Why not get down on your knees and beg too?" She ignored that little sassy voice inside her head. What was she gonna do now? History was her life, he couldn't do this to her! Wouldn't Evelyn have something to say in the matter? After all, she was her actual employer! Right before she could carry on listing all of her useful knowledge for the museum, Dr. Bey spoke up again.
"Fire?" He asked with a frown, "No one is going to fire you, Miss Jennings."
She mirrored his confused gaze. "But, sir, you just said that-"
"I know what I was saying, Miss Jennings. But as I meant to tell you, I don't believe Miss Carnahan needs your assistance anymore because I'd like to employ you as direct staff of the museum." Now Adele was sure she looked like an idiot. She gulped again.
"I beg your pardon…?" She asked quietly.
Dr. Bey sighed impatiently. "There's a vacant post in the restoration department. After stumbling upon some of your hieratic illustrations, I thought you could be interested in filling the job. Since your work it's not enough appreciated, I found myself considering that your artistic skills could be put to a better use. If you want to keep helping Miss Carnahan at the library, you're free to do so as well."
And once a couple of minutes had passed, Adele voiced out her only thoughts. "So I'm not getting fired…" She was sure that the curator resisted the urge to roll his eyes, for the sake of professionalism. She hurried to give an answer. "Well, sir. That's… very kind of you but-"
BANG! A loud noise echoed through all of the corridors and the room. Adele and the curator exchanged a perplex gaze before both of them stood up and hurried out of the office. The commotion had sounded near the library. "Evy, what have you done now?" Adele thought as she followed Dr. Bey's tensed back. Most of the staff had held their work up, trying to see what had happened. Equally curious, she entered the library. Adele certainly did not expect to find most of the bookshelves on the floor like a domino; even some papers were still floating in the air, descending smoothly to the floor. And right in the middle of that mess, literally, was her employer with her eyes wide-open and looking shocked at her surroundings.
"Evelyn!" Adele exclaimed, walking up to her as she tried to avoid stepping onto the shelves and books that now littered the room's floor. "What happened? Are you alright?" She asked frantically.
"I-I'm fine, Adele… At least for now." Evy said softly, looking preoccupied over the other woman's shoulder. Adele turned around too to observe the curator. He was on top of a fallen bookshelf, with an expression mixed with surprise, hurt and anger plastered across his face. He had his arms spread as if saying "Why me?", and Adele couldn't help but find the whole picture too comical.
"Wha-how-ah…" Dr. Bey babbled incoherently. Yes, definitely, he was broken… Suddenly, he focused his gaze on Evelyn, and even Adele beside her didn't manage to suppress a cringe. Meanwhile, Evelyn had the sensitivity to try to hide a little smile. "Look-at-this!" He said jumping off the shelf and striding over to the two women. "Sons of the pharaohs! Give me frogs!" He yelled, throwing his hand up in the air.
"Don't you dare laughing, Adele, don't you dare…" She told herself.
"Flies! Locusts! Anything but you!" He jabbed a finger towards Evelyn. "Compared to you the plagues were a joy!"
"I'm so very sorry, it was an accident." Apologized the librarian.
"Dear girl, when Ramses destroyed Syria, that was an accident. You are a catastrophe!" He waved his hand around to emphasize his point. "Look at my library! How do I put up with you?" He asked rhetorically. Adele's gaze saddened, thinking that the last statement was too hard. She didn't dare to voice out loud her opinion, though, not to her currently very angry boss.
Evelyn faced the man, clearly offended. "Well, y-you put up with me because, because I can read and write Ancient Egyptian. A-and I can decipher hieroglyphics and hieratic. And I am the only person within a thousand miles who knows how to properly code and catalogue this library, that's why!" Miss Carnahan declared, nodding once to herself.
"I put up with you because your father and mother were our finest patrons, that's why! Allah rests their souls…"
Untangling the knot in her throat, Adele finally found the courage to speak. "Sir, Miss Carnahan is right. Just like she has caused this… accident, she's probably the only one able to fix it too…"
For the briefest moment, they thought Dr. Bey would yell again, but instead, he took a deep breath. "I don't care how you do it, I don't care how long it takes, but straight out this mess!" He may have spoken rather calmly at first, but his crescendo ended up in another order barked. He pointed a finger to Adele. "You! You help her, and later we'll continue our conversation." And just like that, he left the library still fuming.
Adele turned towards her employer. "Evelyn Carnahan, for my sake, care to tell how did you manage to do this?"
The librarian grumbled in response while rubbing her index finger on her frown. "I-I don't know! One moment I was just sorting out the books when I saw "Tutmosis", and then I tried to put it on the other shelf, but I lost balance and…" She ended up her tale gesturing towards the fallen bookshelves.
Adele shifted a chuckle while shaking her head. She bent down and started to collect the papers and broken pages. It looks like the restoration department had plenty of work to do now… "Miss Carnahan, you're the real mess."
Before Evelyn could say something, they heard a soft noise behind them. It had come from the room were the collectibles of the new exhibition were kept. "I'll go check." She said, already venturing into the room. Adele watched her disappear, letting out a sigh of her own. Not long after, she heard a scream, no doubt Evy's, followed by a man's laughter. Adele shook her head lightly.
"And I was hoping for a quiet morning…"
Gold. That was Eleanor's first thought while catching her first glimpse of land. There in the horizon Egypt awaited them, shining brightly underneath the sunrays, ahead of her position on the ship's deck. With one hand on her forehead to cast shade on her face, she fixed her blue eyes intently on the buildings' shapes. Eleanor felt a light tingle in her belly and toes. Her nerves were on edge, on the same level as her new-found excitement.
Suddenly, a heavy arm fell upon her shoulders, making her jump a little. "So, what do ya think?" A southern male voice asked. She looked up to her left and found a smug smirk plastered across her friend's face. Standing this close, Eleanor was able to spot a few sweat drops on his forehead despite the brown, cowboy hat he was wearing, making some of his blond locks stick to the slightly reddish skin.
"Sizzling hot." Said she while taking the hat and placing it on her head.
"Ya know, I feel flattered, but I'm afraid I see ya more as a sister." He grinned down at her. Eleanor smacked him lightly on the chest.
"I meant the weather, you bonehead!" He laughed good-naturedly, not taking offence. She failed to hide a smile of her own. "Where's Bernie?"
The man shrugged. "Don't really know."
"He's in his cabin, just spoke to him." Another voice answered the question. They both looked at the right towards the newcomer. His dark hair was also covered by sweat, and his smaller frame was the same height as Eleanor's. "Henderson's already bothering ya, Nellie?"
She gave him a little smirk. "Just the usual, Daniels, nothing I can't handle."
The blond cowboy scoffed, his arm still lingering lazily on her shoulders. "Now, I'm sure there's a jibe in there somewhere…"
Her smirk twitched, shifting a laugh. In contrast, Daniels bursted into laughter shamelessly. "Too much of a woman for ya." He said, sending her a knowing smile. Eleanor suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. The comfort she felt around the two men, friends of not only her brother but her as well, was the only reason she had to be so outspoken and bold. She wasn't that much of a fighter, her shyness always driving her to avoid meeting new people and making her look rather meek.
"Not to mention Burns would get my head." The cowboy added, gesturing with his index finger, agreeing with the shorter man.
"Well, gentlemen, care to remind me, what's our plan?" She asked, trying to change the topic and stepping out of their side, facing them.
"Arrive at port, get some horses, get into another goddamn ship down the Nile, cross the desert, find the ruins and become totally loaded." Daniels said unconcerned, sliding a cigarette in his mouth while searching for a lighter inside his jacket's pockets.
She chuckled. "You don't make it sound as the adventure I was promised."
Henderson smirked, walking up to her. He took his hat from her and placed it once more on his own head. The blond man tilted his chin forward. "Look."
And she did. Eleanor twisted her body, giving her back to her companions and looked. And she saw that they had reached port, providing her with her first proper image of Egypt.
The water was clearer than she had expected, reflecting the light blue color of the sky. Sailing past them, she saw smaller boats with native fishers navigating them, some of them untangling nets and preparing for a hard-work day. And lifting her gaze, she descried at her right three enormous pyramids. At least they appeared enormous to her. Whether those huge triangular structures were famous or not, she couldn't care less, because they still made her hold her gaze, mesmerized. After what felt like hours admiring them from the distance, she looked at her other side, towards where the ship would dock. Eleanor discerned the colorful awnings of the small stalls that formed a little market at the foot of the rowdy docks. The sellers waved their arms, holding up their products so potential customers saw them. She also observed the other boats stationed. Both, native people and foreigners, crossed the gangways in and out of the ships and smaller boats. She even spotted a couple of camels getting out of a ship.
"Ya know, if ya keep leaning like that, ya'll end up falling into the water." Daniels said. She blinked, and she realized that, in fact, half of her body was hanging from the edge of the ship. She almost blushed in embarrassment. The woman took a step back and looked around her. Henderson had left at some point, so only Daniels and her stood on the deck. The corner of his lips twitched, insinuating a smirk. "Good enough for yer adventure?" He asked, the lighted cigarette dangling from his mouth and moving up and down as the American spoke, drawing in the air a trail of smoke.
She smiled. "It's not a bad start."
He gazed at her and inhaled deeply. Daniels took the cigarette between his index and thumb to breathe out a mouthful of smoke, before speaking up again. "What ya gonna do?"
Eleanor waited a little before giving an answer. "I'm not sure… I thought writing about this." Daniels raised an eyebrow. She sighed. "It's quite a good idea. I mean, why should I not give it a try? Maybe I could catch the eye of a magazine, a scholar, someone who gets interested in our tale, and I could make some money…"
The black-haired man chucked, interrupting her. "Thought we were the greedy bastards. Once we get our hands in that secret treasure, ya still want to make more money becomin' a novelist."
She scoffed. "No one can ensure us that we'll find a treasure, one that has been buried beneath the sand for who knows how many years."
"You're a killjoy, ain't ya?" He said, making her sigh.
"And I'm not only driven by money, you know…" She said, frowning.
He took another puff of his cigarette and breathed out. "Then what are ya driven by?"
She stared out to the space, lost in thought. "Curiosity… Fear, excitement… Wanderlust…" Eleanor met her friend's gaze once more and smiled mischievously. "Senseless brothers and irresponsible, greedy friends…" Daniels returned the smile.
"Now, that's more alike."
Despite knowing that she would reject it, he offered her a new cigarette all the same. She shook her head, making him shrug. "Yer loss." He mumbled, lighting another one for himself.
The ship was about to dock when Burns and Henderson strode up to them. Out of the corner of her eye, Eleanor spotted Dr. Chamberlain eyeing critically the streets. She also caught sight of their guide, Mr. Gabor. She hadn't spoken to either of them yet, although she intended to. Eleanor couldn't miss how well the description her brother gave her of the Bulgarian fitted him. At first sight, there wasn't much to look at. The man was lanky, a little taller than her, and quite skinny; he didn't strike her as the brave soldier type, neither as the one mad enough to seek war. She wondered why such a person would join willingly the army. That's, willingly being the key word... She guessed Mr. Gabor was also superstitious, since she had caught glimpse of several religious symbols hanging from his neck. And, for some reason, Eleanor hadn't decided whether if he was trust worthy enough or not.
"Alright, now we go to the hotel before comin' back, the other boat will set sail late in the afternoon." Her brother's voice snapped her out of her day-dream. "We told the natives to get our stuff prepared, take just a change of cloth and whatever else you'll need at the place." He told her.
She nodded absently. The ship had finally come to a halt, and she eyed the gangway which waited for her. As if reading her thoughts, Daniels came up to her other side and said, "Welcome to Egypt, Miss Burns."
Adele was unable to make up her mind. What should she take with her? The suitcase was open and empty, waiting for its owner to pack. But no matter how many garments she laid on the bed, next to the suitcase, nor how many books she took off the shelves, she couldn't decide which ones she would take with her.
When she woke up that morning she definitely hadn't been expecting her day to take such a 180 degree turn. But it seemed like she was now in for an expedition. That's right, she was being dragged along for the trip to Hamunaptra. Not that she actually complained, it was just… unexpected. After checking the room and having the fright of her life, Evelyn went back into the destroyed library, followed by her elder brother, Jonathan, who had stopped by to pay a visit. After laughing hysterically at the picture and repeating "A bit of a mess" in a poor impression of her sister's voice, Mr. Carnahan greeted Adele and took hold of her wrist, leading her to the curator's office. Evelyn was not far behind, clutching in her hands a small object that Adele had yet to see.
Upon seeing the three of them, Dr. Bey had been obviously vexed, nevermind -and quite thankfully- not as furious as before. Adele almost chuckled remembering the disapproval look on the older man's face while Jonathan, who Adele had the suspicion that still was a bit drunk, tried to explain the importance of the newest trinket he had found. But fortunately for him, Evelyn came to his rescue and placed on the table a small, golden puzzle-box with eight keyed ends. She'd pressed the box's bottom and it opened, revealing what looked like a papyrus folded within. Adele had watched fascinated the little artifact and the paper. Afterwards, Evelyn had proceeded to explain the historical accuracy of the map. Once her employer had finished talking, Adele had turned to Jonathan, asking excitedly where had he found something actually valuable. He'd answered that he got it at a dig in Thebes.
However, Dr. Bey didn't hesitate to express his skepticism and his subtle prohibition of getting further involved in the myth of the City of the Dead. Of course, none of the British archaeologists had done as they were advised. Instead, Adele had offered to keep cleaning the library while the Carnahan siblings went to find out more about the way to Hamunaptra.
She shouldn't have been surprised when hours later Evelyn stormed into the museum livid, mumbling how she was going to kill Jonathan for his lies and stupidity. Apparently, Jonathan hadn't found the puzzle-box at a dig. No, he had actually stolen it. And not only that, the original owner was currently in prison... Jonathan had stolen from a drunken man at a bar, creating a fight, and said fight had got the man in prison... Adele wondered how Mr. Carnahan was still alive.
Nevertheless, Evelyn managed to make a deal with the man, so he was now leading them to Hamunaptra. Personally, she was dying to meet him. How could he be so certain of the way? How did he find the box?
Adele shook her head. The boat would sail late in the afternoon, and she had to pack. Some books would be helpful to fight occasional boredom and make a bit of research if needed, but too many would only be a dead weight, quite literally. And clothes. They surely would go through the Sahara, which meant that it was very likely that they'd ride either horses or camels, so she would need light clothes that would cover most of her body, to protect it from the burning sun, but also comfortable enough to ride one of those four-legged beasts... She'd also need a comb. After a couple of minutes, she finally started to fill up the suitcase.
By the time she was done, she heard a loud knock on her door. "Come on, Addie! Our carriage waits!" Rolling her eyes, she opened the door to find Mr. Carnahan dressed all in white, leaning against her doorframe. His face was less reddish, so she guessed he had sobered up a bit, and he was wearing what he called his "explorer hat", to get in character, he told her once...
She frowned. "What happened to your eye?" She asked. For a moment he looked confused, before suddenly remembering and giving a nervous laugh.
"This?" He asked, gesturing to his left eye. "Nothing of importance." Adele grinned, not believing a word.
"If you say so, Mr. Carnahan." She went back inside, leaving the door open for him. He entered the flat, looking around and giving a whistle.
"Nice place, can't believe I've actually never been here." He turned back to her and clapped his hands, rubbing them afterwards. "Are you ready?"
"Yes. Could you help me with this?" She asked, lifting the suitcase from the bed.
He frowned. "Why? It's your suitcase."
Adele rolled her eyes once more. "Never mind." She went to the front door and closed it, locking it. "You're no gentleman, Mr. Carnahan, you lack the manners." She said while they descended the stairs of the building. Evelyn was waiting for them outside.
"Never claimed to be one, old girl." Jonathan said cheerfully.
She sighed. "And here we go…"
A.N/: First chapter done! I've tried to avoid using too many of the original scenes of the movie. Can't wait to write the next one! I've finally got vacantions, so hopefully I'll be able to post chapters more regularly.
Thank you everyone who has read, followed and/or favorited, and special thanks to Kitty Daniels for her amazing review. Seriously girl, you made my day! ^^
Hope you all enjoy the story.
Until next time!
~Se acerca el invierno
