Disclaimer: There's a reason why this is on a fanfiction site...
Irene had just felt her foot touch the ground when she heard splashing behind her, and spun around to see Rick swimming toward her. "Rick, you're safe!" Irene exclaimed, and, forgetting where she was, ran toward him, but lost her footing and landed face-first into the water.
"Careful," he said, a minute too late. "It's a bit slippery here."
Irene coughed as he reached her and helped her up. "Thanks for the warning," she said sarcastically.
"We've lost everything," Evie complained as they began making their way to the shore, "All of our tools, all the equipment...all my clothes!"
"Mine too," Irene agreed, trying to squeeze excess water out of her periwinkle dress, but gave up when she saw that it would be useless.
Rick didn't get a chance to reply as a voice - which Irene recognized as Beni's - yelled smugly from the opposite bank, "O'Connell! Hey, O'Connell! It looks to me like I've got all the horses!"
"Hey Beni!" Rick yelled back, "Looks to me like you're on the wrong side of the river!"
Beni looked around, and when he realized that Rick was right, let out a string of curses and kicked the water in annoyance.
"You actually did him a favor," Irene told Rick dryly, waving a hand at Beni as she stumbled through the shallow water. "He got a head start in the water and avoided the battle."
Rick looked as though he was about to kill someone when the realization dawned upon him. "Damn," he cursed. "Should've just let one of those men kill him!" Irene opened her mouth, but before she could speak, she let out a sneeze, causing Rick to glance at her with concern. "And we should find you some dry clothes before you catch a cold," he added. "Come on, let's go."
"They're beautiful," Irene breathed with awe as she stared at the Bedouin dresses that had been laid out in front of her and Evie. They were in every shape and size, and as Irene ran her fingers through the soft material, she realized that she definitely wouldn't mind wearing them every day.
Evie nodded in agreement. "I wonder which one he would like?" she mumbled to herself, but Irene, standing next to her, heard the words perfectly.
She winked at Evie. "If you mean what I think you mean, I'd say black is a lovely color."
Evie blushed furiously as she bent down and selected the simple black gown Irene was referring to. The Bedouin women immediately offered to help her change, leaving Irene to pick out her own attire. She finally decided on a long, pale green dress with a v-neck and puffy sleeves that stopped short at her forearms, and thanked the Bedouin politely as they helped her dress.
It was then the Bedouin started yelling and slapping at something, and as Irene peered closer, she saw that the warden was trying to get a closer look at them. Serves him right! she thought, admiring the women as they pushed him out of the tent.
It didn't take the women long to finish their task, adding a final scarf to cover her mouth before leading her and Evie back to the men. Even from this far away, she could hear Jonathan arguing with the camel seller, and she shook her head with a sigh.
"We probably could have gotten them for free, all we had to do was give them your sister," she heard Rick joke to Jonathan as she came within earshot.
"Your sister would've worked well, too," Jonathan remarked when he saw Irene approach. "Awfully tempting, wasn't it?"
Rick, much to Irene's chagrin, chose not to comment on the fact that Jonathan had just suggested to trade her for the camels, and instead gaped at Evie with his mouth open. "Awfully," he agreed, nervously patting his camel as Evie smiled at him.
It didn't take them long to thank the Bedouin and set off into the desert.
"Never did like camels," Jonathan grumbled to no one in particular, "Filthy buggers. They smell, bite, they spit - " at that moment, the warden spat into the sand, leading Irene to wonder whether he was actually referring to the camels or the man. If he was talking about the warden, then Irene would have wholeheartedly agreed with him. She never did like him, and she hadn't forgotten that he was almost responsible for Rick's death. " - disgusting," Jonathan finished, and Irene found herself nodding to his words.
"I think they're adorable," Evie argued, and leaned forward to pet hers on the head.
The warden began singing in Arabic, and Irene turned and scowled at him as he spat again.
"I can see why you don't like him," Rick remarked quietly, nodding at the warden.
"How can anyone like him?" she hissed, keeping her voice low so he wouldn't hear them over his singing. "He almost killed you, Rick!"
Rick rubbed his neck, recalling the hanging with a grimace. "Well, I've almost died quite a few times, actually, so I've learned to not hold a grudge against my almost-killers, or else I'll just end up hating...everybody."
"So you almost died while serving in the Legion?!" Irene exclaimed, raising her voice. "See, I told you you should've stayed out of it! If it wasn't for me worrying over you all the time, I would probably still have my job!"
He winced at her harsh tone. "Shh," he said, "Keep your voice down, Rena. My point is that I'm still alive, aren't I? No harm done. We're here together now, so we should just enjoy whatever time we have. Besides, if I hadn't gone to Hamunaptra, I would never have gotten the chance to meet Evelyn, I mean, the Carnahans."
"Yeah, well," Irene snorted, but she couldn't help forgiving him - he was her brother, after all, and no matter what stupid stunts he did next, she would always love him for who he was...And she found it incredibly sweet that he was developing a liking to Evie. "Just don't come crying to me if you almost die again."
"I won't," Rick promised with a smile, and leaned over to pat her on her shoulder.
They fell into a comfortable silence as the day ended and night began. Evie dozed off on her camel, and, with a moan, leaned her head against Rick's shoulder. He quietly set her up straight again, and shushed the camel as it grunted.
Irene, who had been nodding off, was awoken by the warden's yell of pain: Jonathan had slapped him. He probably deserved it, she thought, grinning at Jonathan in the dark, but neighing horses caused her smile to vanish as she followed Rick's look and saw the black figures watching them from afar.
"Are they...?" she whispered, careful not to disturb Evie.
Rick, knowing what she had meant to ask, nodded. "I believe so," he informed her. "Those guys never give up, do they?"
"I wonder what they're after?" Irene murmured, gazing up at the men.
There was something mysterious about them - this was definitely not something she would see everyday back home - and the secrets they seemed to be hiding were captivating her, drawing her to these strange men. They must have had a reason for attacking the ship, and they must have a reason to watch them now, and Irene was compelled to find these answers.
Perhaps then, she thought, once we know what they want and find a way to solve their problem, they might not need to fight anymore. She did prefer peace far more than war, after all.
Rick could only shake his head, unable to answer her. "I don't think they're the type who would share their secrets with you over a cup of coffee," he joked.
"You're right," she admitted, rather disappointed that she wouldn't be able to learn more about the men in black.
Her brother must've detected the disappointment in her voice, for he squeezed her arm gently. "We have enough to worry about already," he reminded her. "Besides, you probably wouldn't be able to talk them out of killing even if you could have a conversation with them...and it's getting pretty late. Stop worrying about them and try to get some sleep, will you?"
Right on cue, Irene yawned. "Sleep does sound like a good idea," she mumbled, and, after bidding Rick good night, closed her eyes.
It didn't surprise her when the mysterious men in black haunted her dreams that night.
They met up with the Americans shortly before dawn, and Irene made a face as they approached - seeing the Americans first thing in the morning wasn't exactly her cup of tea.
"Good morning, my friends," Beni called to them in greeting.
Rick and Beni pulled their respective camels to a stop, forcing the others to stop as well. From the pained look on Rick's face, Irene could tell that he wasn't very happy about the current situation, and she didn't blame him - he must have had some horrible memories about the place.
"What the hell are we doing?" One man - Irene recognized him as the one who suggested the bet - asked impatiently.
"Patience, my good barat'm, patience," Beni answered.
"Remember our bet, O'Connell," Henderson called. "First one to the city, five hundred cash bucks!"
Irene rolled her eyes. "Yeah, like I would forget that so easily," she muttered.
"A hundred of them bucks is yours if you help us win that bet," the first man added to Beni.
"Oh, my pleasure," Beni said, nodding in thanks before turning to address Rick with "Hey O'Connell! Nice camel!"
Irene's dislike for Rick's former friend and the Americans grew by the minute, but Rick only patted his camel on the back of its head in response. It was probably a wise move not to pick a fight with them now. "Get ready for it," Rick announced, tightening his grip on the harness.
Evie looked at Rick, then at the Americans, and back at Rick again. "For what?" she asked, unable to hide the curiosity in her voice.
"We're about to be shown the way," Rick explained, just as the sun began to rise.
"This - this is - " Irene began, but she couldn't find the exact words to describe what was happening, and was stunned into silence as the city shimmered into existence right before her eyes. A few years ago, if someone was to tell her that she would travel to a city only heard of in legends, she would have dismissed the idea without a second thought. But now...she never would have imagined that she would witness something so wonderful.
Henderson leaned forward to get a better look, as though he couldn't quite believe what he was seeing. "Will you look at that?" he asked, amazement evident in his words.
"Can you believe it?" the first man added, equally amazed by the scene unfolding in front of them.
"Hamunaptra," the third American whispered.
Rick, however, did not seem impressed. "Here we go again," he said with a sigh, but before he could say any more, Beni let out a yell and whipped his camel, sending it running toward the city. Rick, of course, would have none of it, and with a roar he raced after Beni.
"Geek geek geek geek!" Evie cried, ushering her camel forward.
"As much as I don't want to hurt you, I don't have another option," Irene apologized to her camel, before striking it with her whip and urging it on to catch up to her brother, who was now almost side by side with Beni.
As Rick finally caught up, Beni suddenly started hitting Rick with his whip, causing Rick to yell out "Ow!" at the contact. He tried to block the whip with his arm, but when that did not work, he grabbed Beni by his shirt. "So long, Beni," he said, and flung the man off his camel.
"Good one, Rick!" Irene cheered, beginning to see why her brother hated the man so much. She certainly didn't like him either.
"And that serves you right," Evie added as she raced past Beni. She whooped as her camel ran on, passing Irene and Rick, and became the first one to enter the city - leading them to win the bet.
"Hamunaptra," Irene breathed as her camel joined Evie and Rick inside the city. "We're here..."
A/n: I figured that it be a good idea if Irene actually had a reason (other than finding their chieftain attractive 8D) for being interested in the Medjai, so here it is...hopefully it's a good enough reason. And I have a good idea as to what their first meeting will be like... ;)
This is a shorter chapter since it was a good stopping point, but the next one will be longer.
Leave a review and let me know what you think?
Special thanks to The Queen of Water, Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967, Brunette, and princesskitty68 for reviewing! Thank you for your continued support! :)