Resistance

by Carrot Top

Rose met Ardeth years ago. They were friends first, then something more, until one day, they were nothing. Ardeth left her, and never came back. When a twist of fate has Rose journeying to Hamunaptra, she unexpectedly finds herself reunited with him again. As truths are revealed and dangers unfold, will they find their way back to each other? Or will it drive them apart for good?

7. Chapter Six

Thank you, as always, for all of your kind words and support! I'm so grateful to everyone who has taken the time to read this story, and every review I get absolutely makes my day! So, again, thank you!

Things are gonna start getting serious now! This chapter was kind of a big one, so I hope I did it justice. Also, just a heads up, there's some foul language toward the end of the chapter – our girl Rose gets a bit of a potty mouth when she's really pissed off!

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to the Mummy franchise, only the OC's.

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Chapter Six
Hell Hath No Fury

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The Nile River. 1926.

"Do you mind if I put these here?" Evelyn asked.

Rose, who had been rifling through her duffel bag, glanced over at her friend, who was standing by the vanity with an armful of toiletries. "Go for it," Rose said with a nod, turning her attention back to her bag.

"Thank you," Evelyn said, before beginning to lay the items out on the vanity in a neat, orderly fashion.

Their cabin was, surprisingly, rather spacious…or, at least, as spacious as a cabin could get on a ship the size of the one they were currently on. There was a bed against one wall, a vanity pushed up against the adjacent wall, and a small sofa placed below the one, solitary window across from the bed. The bed itself was a bit on the small side, just barely big enough for two people to sleep relatively comfortably, and though Rose would have preferred her own bed, booking passage on such short notice hadn't left them very many options for room accommodations. The choices had been to either share with Evelyn, or get her own room and make Jonathan and O'Connell bunk up together. In the end, it had seemed much more prudent to make sure Jonathan and O'Connell were separated, so she and Evelyn had ultimately agreed that they were more than comfortable enough with one another to share a bed.

It wasn't like they were going to be on the ship for all that long, anyway. The trip south was actually slated to be far quicker than Rose had thought it would be. They were due to sail nonstop for about a day and a half, where they would then be dropped off at the same village Monty and Tariq had gone to when they had written their very last letter to her. From there, the plan was to stay for a day to rest and stock up on supplies, before Rose, Evelyn, Jonathan, O'Connell, and the oh so delightful Gad Hassan would go off into the desert together.

They were an odd assortment of individuals, there was no denying that. Rose, however, could admit that she felt a certain sense of security knowing she had some reinforcements at her back. While she didn't expect much from Evelyn should the need to defend themselves arise, Jonathan could be surprisingly scrappy when he really needed to be – assuming he didn't run away first, of course – and Rose would proudly confirm that she knew how to handle herself just fine. Gad, whom she knew little about apart from the fact that he possessed dismal negotiation skills, was a question mark. O'Connell, on the other hand, looked to be the kind of man who was born to fight. If trouble came along, she had a strong inkling that he would be able to handle it.

Though she still wasn't entirely sure how the five of them would make this journey work, she actually did feel oddly encouraged by their misfit caravan. They had a combination of intelligence, strength, and tenacity working for them, all of which they would need for an expedition such as this. And at the end of the day, there was safety numbers, which Rose considered a strong plus no matter which way she looked at it.

Rose finally found what she was looking for and pulled it from her duffel. She sat down on the bed, placing the small case she had just found on her lap, and then opened it. Inside was her Smith & Wesson revolver, which Tariq had given to her on her twentieth birthday and which she always took with her whenever she was traveling abroad. It was good to be prepared for any situation, which was something her father had drilled into her mind repeatedly when he had still been alive. Rose pulled the pistol from the box and began to check it over, making sure it was loaded and that everything looked the way it was supposed to, just in case.

"I can hardly wait to get out into the desert!" Evelyn tittered away as she finished organizing her things and went to the window to throw it open. Sunshine and hot air that smelled of river water immediately flooded their room. "Of course, I understand that our top priority is trying to find out what became of your family," she said, her eyes scanning the landscape outside their window with interest. "But I have done quite a bit of research, and I truly believe that Hamunaptra may very well be the place where the Book of Amun-Ra is. If I am right, if we could find that book, then – Good lord!"

Evelyn had turned around and noticed that Rose was holding a gun. The younger woman pressed a hand to her heart for a moment, her eyes looking from Rose, to the gun she held, then back again, before she frowned with uncertainty. "Since when do you own a gun?"

"Uncle Tariq gave this to me years ago," Rose said with a lift of her brow. "As I have told you before, Evie – excavations are unpredictable. One can never be sure when, or what kind of, trouble will come along. Better to be prepared, especially so on a mission such as this."

Evelyn gulped a little, then nodded quickly in understanding. Rose had never really asked, but she thought it safe to assume that the librarian had limited to no exposure to fire arms. She didn't appear to be entirely comfortable with them. "Yes, well…I suppose that makes sense," she said, wringing her hands together. "Just...be careful with that thing, yes?"

Rose smiled. "Always." She then returned her gun back to its case and stowed it away in her duffel, telling herself that they likely wouldn't encounter any trouble on the ship and that she would start carrying it once they were back on land.

They soon left the room to start exploring the ship. They passed by a cargo area on the lower main deck, where several horses, a few farm animals, and various boxes of supplies were being housed. They lingered to pet a friendly goat for a few moments before continuing on to a lounge area, which was filled with several tables and had a small bar off to the side stocked with several different types of drinks, both alcoholic and non. They also found the bridge on the first level, but they were quickly shooed away by the captain and some stern crewmen who didn't want them loitering around.

The upper main deck wasn't much more exciting – they found more cabins for passengers, another seating area for eating, and a small kitchen area, where busy crewmen were already cooking away. They bumped into Gad there, whom they forced themselves to make semi-polite conversation with until he wandered off toward the bar down below, then they settled into a table on the starboard side, chatting casually and watching the scenery pass by for a while until they were ready for lunch.

Once they had eaten, they made their way back downstairs, where they discovered that Jonathan had sniffed out the bar. He was standing next to Gad, nursing a glass of whiskey and nodding his head as the portly man yammered on about only God knew what. Rose and Evelyn immediately shared a look, both of them clearly thinking the same thing – alcohol often made people talk about things they shouldn't say aloud, and there was no one more guilty of drunkenly running his mouth than Jonathan Carnahan. As if coming to a silent agreement, both Rose and Evelyn immediately made their way over to the two men.

" – and then I am going to buy a palace and surround myself with the most beautiful women I can find!" Gad proclaimed, his eyes glazed over with something akin to reverence. "Women made of hips and breasts and who will answer to my every beck and call!"

From what little of the conversation she had heard, Rose would guess that Gad was telling Jonathan what he intended to do with his share of whatever wealth they might find in Hamunaptra. Jonathan smirked at the man's words and lifted his glass to the man.

"Actually sounds like a bloody splendid plan, mate," he said. "I just may do the same for myself."

Gad just laughed and clinked his glass against Jonathan's.

"Since when are you two so chummy with one another?" Rose said once she and Evelyn stood behind them.

Both men turned at her voice, their brows raising. Jonathan then smirked and shrugged a shoulder. "Well, seeing as we'll all be stuck with each other for a while, seems a good to be friendly with one another, yes?"

Rose shrugged. "I suppose so," she conceded.

Jonathan nodded once, then gestured toward his drink. "Can I interest either of you in a drink? We've got a long day ahead of us. Might as well have some fun while we're stuck on this thing."

"No, thank you," Evelyn responded for them both. "In fact, we came over here to remind you, dearest brother, that this is neither the time, nor the place, to be drinking yourself into an oblivion," she said with a stern look. "We are on a very important mission, Jonathan, and the last thing we need is you drunkenly blabbing about our business to anyone aboard this ship." Evelyn glanced at Gad. "That goes for both of you, actually," she added with a nod.

"I do not drunkenly babble – " Jonathan started to argue back. When his words were met with raised brows from both Rose and Evelyn, he heaved and rolled his eyes to the sky. "Alright, alright. I know I have the tendency to say things I shouldn't when I have a bit of drink in me," he conceded. "I promise here and now to keep my whiskey intake under control. You have my word." He even pressed his hand over his heart to drive the point home.

"Good," Rose said, satisfied. She then looked to Gad. "Mr. Hassan?"

He waved toward her with his glass of whiskey. "I already gave my word I would not tell anyone of our mission," he reminded. "I would throw myself off this ship before I did anything that might result in someone else getting filthy their paws on my treasure."

The words reinforced Rose's suspicions about how greedy Gad Hassan was, but if that greediness made him keep his mouth shut, then she wasn't going to call him out on it. "Wonderful," she said. "We shall leave you gentlemen to it, then," she said, not really feeling in the mood to watch the two drink together and feeling fairly certain that Evelyn wouldn't want to, either. "Behave," she added with a stern look toward the both of them.

Gad scoffed into his whiskey and Jonathan saluted her, and with that, she and Evelyn turned to leave. Unfortunately, Rose turned so quickly that she did not have time to see the man that had just been making his way past her. Just as Rose turned on her heel, she rammed into the stranger, which resulted in the drink he had just held in his hand sloshing down the front of her shirt. Rose froze, surprised at first, then frowning at the fact that this was the second time in less than twenty four hours that she'd found herself with alcohol spilled on her.

"I am so very sorry, miss," the man she had bumped into apologized, his accent American, but not the same as O'Connell's. He had neatly styled brown hair and was dressed smartly, wearing a beige colored suit with a light button down shirt, complete with a bowtie. He hastily set his now almost completely empty glass down on the table next to him and anxiously adjusted the glasses that perched on his nose, his expression pulled into a frown of guilt. "Forgive me. I should'a been payin' better attention to where I was goin'."

Rose gave him a pinched smile and shook her head. "It's quite alright," she said, wiping at her shirt with her hands. "I should have been paying better attention, as well."

"Rosie? You okay?" Jonathan asked from behind her, having obviously witnessed the collision.

"I'm fine, Jonathan," she assured.

The man looked to Jonathan, then back to Rose. He produced a kerchief from his pocket and handed it over when he saw her still struggling to clean her shirt. "Use this," he encouraged.

Rose took it with a nod of thanks and wiped at the stain on her shirt. "Sorry for making you waste your drink on my clothes," she said with a slight smile when she noticed the glass he had set down. "I can replace it, if you would like."

The man immediately waved her offer off. "I couldn't accept that, miss," he declined with a shake of his head. "Makin' a lady buy my drink is bad enough. Makin' a lady whose shirt I just ruined buy me a drink?" he huffed and shook his head. "That's downright unforgiveable."

Rose smiled at that, wiped her shirt a bit more, then handed his handkerchief back to him. "If it is any consolation, I don't think the shirt is ruined. A little soap and water will handle this problem just fine. No need to worry."

The man smiled at that. She watched his eyes scan over her from behind his wire-frame glasses, his fingers fiddling with the handkerchief. He looked back to her face and she saw something akin to interest light within his gaze. He stood a little straighter – he was actually quite tall – and then he cleared his throat. "My name is Bernard Burns," he introduced, extending a hand.

Rose politely shook it. "Rosalie Grisham."

He smiled again, his eyes sweeping over her quickly for the second time. "A pleasure to meet ya."

"Likewise."

Burns finally noticed Evelyn, who had been watching their interaction unfold with interest. "Hello, miss," he said politely, also extending a hand to her. "What might your name be?"

"Evelyn Carnahan," Evelyn introduced, shaking his head with a cordial smile.

Burns nodded, then looked back to Rose. "Sorry for so rudely interruptin' your afternoon, ladies," he apologized. "It wasn't my intention to barge in on your conversation. Unfortunately, I tend to veer on the side of clumsy time an' again," he offered with a shrug and a self-deprecating smile.

Rose smirked. "Evie knows a thing or two about clumsiness, don't you?" she said, turning a teasing look on her friend. "Destroyed an entire library only a few days ago. It was quite the beautiful disaster, if I do say so myself."

Burns raised his eyebrows in amusement, but Evelyn sighed and gave her a sideways look. "Very kind of you to bring that up, Rose," she said, her tone dry.

Rose just grinned.

"Well, I don't feel quite so bad now," Burns said to draw their attention back to him. "Though I do still feel I should make all this up to you somehow," he said, motioning to the stain still standing out clear as day on Rose's shirt. "I could start by buyin' you both a drink, if you're interested?"

Rose shared a quick look with Evelyn. Burns seemed kind enough, and it would probably be considered rude to decline the offer. But she didn't necessary feel comfortable with the interest she could still see lingering in his gaze whenever he looked at her, and though she wasn't vain enough to think that he was only offering to buy her a drink because he possibly found her attractive, she didn't think she should do anything to encourage that interest, either.

"Perhaps later," she finally said with a gentle smile. "I think I'd quite like to change out of this so that the other passengers don't write me off as a raging alcoholic," she added, motioning to her shirt.

Burns nodded at once. "Yeah, yeah. Of course," he said understandingly. "I've interfered enough. We'll rain check that drink to whenever you're ready."

Rose smiled gratefully at his understanding. "Thank you." She then looked at Evelyn. "Shall we?" she said. After Evelyn nodded, Rose turned a polite smile on Burns. "Pleasure meeting you, Mr. Burns."

"Same to you, Miss Grisham, Miss Carnahan," he replied, nodding to both of them respectfully.

They brushed past Burns and left, but even as she and Evelyn walked away, Rose could feel Burns' eyes on her back. Once they were out of hearing range, Evelyn nudged Rose with her elbow and gave her a small, knowing smile.

"I think he liked you," she whispered.

Rose rolled her eyes. "He does not even know me."

"He knows you are pretty," Evelyn countered. "And, if you ask me, he is handsome. And respectful."

Rose glanced back at Burns one last time before they left the lounge area, noting the fact that he had decided to join Jonathan and Gad at the bar.

She supposed Evelyn wasn't entirely wrong – Burns had seemed gentlemanly and he wasn't unfortunate looking. Those things were not important, however, because she had not come on this trip to find a man, nor would she have had the desire to find one even if they hadn't been searching for Hamunaptra. She was fully aware of the fact that being twenty-six and unmarried meant that she was dangerously at risk of being labeled a spinster, but she simply had nothing to offer in regards to romance and relationships. After what had happened with Ardeth, she had closed herself to the prospect of finding love again. And, truth be told, even if she had wanted to find love, she really didn't think she could.

Her heart, unfortunately, had been given away a long time ago. And she couldn't very well give her heart to someone new when it was – against her will – still with someone else.

"That isn't what we are here for, Evelyn," Rose said firmly as they reached the door that would open up to the hall their room was on. She paused with her hand on the knob to give Evelyn a stern look. "We are here to find the City of the Dead. That is the only thing that matters. Understood?"

Her tone clearly stated that she didn't want to talk about Burns anymore, and Evelyn seemed to read that loud and clear. The younger woman nodded. "Of course," she agreed. "I just…" Evelyn sighed and wrung her hands together. "I know what happened with Ardeth left a lasting…effect on you. My hope, though, is that someday you will put all of that behind you and find happiness again, Rose."

Rose could see that Evelyn genuinely meant it. She smiled and reached out to squeeze her friend's shoulder. "I am happy, Evie," she assured. "I have you and Jonathan. That's all I need. And as for Ardeth, well…I put him out of my mind a long time ago. He's in the past now, and that is where he shall remain."

Not true, of course. She thought about Ardeth nearly every day. Even when she didn't want to, even when she actively tried to avoid it, he still found a way to creep back into her thoughts. Sometimes it was for a brief second, sometimes it was for far longer. But he was always there. He never really went away, and she didn't think he ever really would.

Evelyn nodded, though there was something in her eyes that hinted she didn't quite believe Rose. "Alright." Evelyn then crinkled her nose and gave Rose a look. "Let's get you changed. You smell like a casbah."

Rose smiled, grateful that the subject of Ardeth was done being discussed. She then nodded, and finally returned to the room with Evelyn to change her shirt.

OOO

Rose had always enjoyed sunsets, and to her delight, the view of the sunset that the Nile had to offer turned out to be a rather pretty one. She sat on a bench at the stern of the ship, her feet propped up on a crate she had found and moved to use as a footstool, her eyes alternating between reading the pages of the journal she held in her hands and looking up to admire the sky, which had shifted from blue to vibrant shades of orange and pink. It was rather hot out, but the breeze on the river felt nice, the sky was pretty, and it was fairly quiet where she was sitting. Rose actually felt, for the first time in several days, content.

Her eyes turned back down to the journal in her lap. It was her father's journal, one of the few that he had left behind before pursuing Hamunaptra. She became immersed in his writing yet again, her eyes intently reading his familiar, fancy scrawl. The journal contained some of the research he and Tariq had done before leaving, and she hoped the information would help at least give her some idea what they might be up against once they were out in the desert.

Rose turned the page and kept reading, her eyes scanning the page quickly. Unconsciously, she reached up to toy with the pendant hanging from her neck, her fingers turning it over and over. She had just reached the end of the page and turned to the next one when she heard footsteps behind her. Rose glanced over her shoulder, then sat a little straighter when she saw O'Connell approaching.

"Miss Grisham," he greeted when their eyes met, inclining his head.

"Mr. O'Connell," she greeted back.

"I wasn't tryin' to interrupt," he said, motioning to the journal. "I was just…comin' out to stretch my legs."

"You aren't interrupting. I was just reading over some notes to pass the time," Rose assured.

O'Connell nodded in understanding. Rose closed her journal and placed it on her lap as he stopped next to the bench she sat on, and for a moment there was silence between them. Thus far, she had gotten the impression that O'Connell preferred to keep his own company. She had not seen him since he had first gone into his cabin, which he had promptly shut himself away in as soon as the ship had departed from Cairo. She thought it unlikely that he had purposefully come seeking her company now. Likely he had come here for exactly what she had – a quiet place to think and enjoy the scenery – and he was only talking to her because she just so happened to be there.

"I suppose I should thank you," she finally said to break the ice. "For, you know…agreeing to guide us."

O'Connell smirked a bit. "It was the least I could do, considering you and Miss Carnahan saved my life." He then reached up to rub his neck, as if he could still feel the noose that had been there only a day ago, doing its very best to strangle the life out of him. "I, uh…never did thank you for that. Either of you," he said, almost sounding guilty. "You didn't have to save me. You could'a let me swing. Don't think I even would'a blamed you if you had." He pressed his lips together for a moment, then looked down at her and nodded his head. "Thank you."

Rose smiled a bit and inclined her head. "You are welcome."

He didn't smile back, but his lips twitched into something that was close enough. He then gestured to the spot on the bench next to her, silently asking if he could join her. Rose nodded, watching him as he lowered his tall, broad frame down onto the bench. It groaned and creaked a little beneath their combined weight.

"So," he said, his eyes watching the trees on the shore sway in the wind. "Hamunaptra."

Rose almost laughed at the nonchalant way he breached the topic. "Hamunaptra," she echoed. "I'm sure you think us mad for wanting to go," she said with a sigh.

"Hit the nail on the head," O'Connell confirmed without bashfulness. "Guess I'm just as mad for going back."

Rose looked over at him, noting the frown on his lips and the faraway look in his eyes. She had to wonder if he was remembering his own experiences there. "What you said about the City…about there being things in the sand," she said slowly, almost feeling foolish for even bringing it up to begin with. "Were you speaking the truth, or were you just trying to scare us?"

O'Connell gave her a flat look. "I'm not the sort of man that has time for bullshit, Miss Grisham," he told her point blank. "What I say is what I mean. That place…what happened out there…" He trailed off for a moment and shook his head, his brows furrowing further as he looked to the landscape again. "Somethin' isn't right out there."

Rose pursed her lips at his ominous words, feeling slightly uneasy about the fact that he seemed determined to believe that something was off about the City of the Dead. Still, her rational mind refused to believe that what he was saying could be real. "I've never been one to believe in curses," she said with a cocked brow.

"Me neither," O'Connell agreed, which didn't particularly make her feel any better.

Rose shifted and crossed her arms. "Perhaps you were just mistaken," she offered. "I've been in loads of tombs over the years. Anytime the workers would think something funny was going on, it always turned out to be something perfectly explainable. Like booby-traps meant to keep out thieves going off, or even just them getting so wrapped up in their own paranoia that they were just seeing things of their own mind's making."

O'Connell lifted a brow at her. "I can be paranoid, but not that paranoid. Not to the point that I hallucinate things," he said matter-of-factly.

"But you said you were in the midst of a battle, yes?" Rose pointed out. "Perhaps, in all the chaos, you got confused."

O'Connell gave her another look, one that was verging on annoyance that she seemed so determined to convince him that he had been wrong. "I know what I saw, Miss Grisham," he said in a firm, unwavering voice. "For your sake, let's hope that whatever it was is gone. Though I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you," he added with a mutter.

They seemed to have reached a stalemate on the topic of whether or not Hamunaptra was truly cursed, so, in an unspoken agreement, they let the subject drop for the time being. They sat in silence for a few moments, both of them looking upward when a swarm of birds overhead flew past.

"You've been in tombs before?" O'Connell asked to break the silence.

Rose nodded. "Grew up in them practically," she answered, which made O'Connell look at her with raised brows. "I'm an archeologist," she told him.

His brows lifted even higher with surprise. "Didn't know women did that for a living," he commented.

"There are not many who do," she admitted with a shrug.

"How did you get into it?" he asked curiously.

"My parents," Rose told him. "My mum and dad were archaeologists. I went with them on every excavation they oversaw since I was a little girl." She smiled to herself. "I've always loved it," she told him. "Getting to explore places people haven't been in for thousands of years, discovering little bits of history that nobody ever knew about. It's…exhilarating. It's all I have ever known. I have never been able to imagine doing anything else with my life."

O'Connell nodded in understanding. "What about your friends? They archaeologists too?"

"Evie is aspiring to be, and I think she will be a very fine one once she is," she told him, which made O'Connell hum in response. "As for Jonathan, well…technically he is. Unfortunately, he isn't a very good one. He's always been more about the treasure than the history. It's led to a lot of failed excavations and a rather ruined reputation, I'm afraid."

O'Connell huffed out a humorless laugh at that. "Well, at least one of you knows what the hell you're actually doin'," he commented.

Rose quirked a brow. "Was that a compliment, O'Connell?"

He gave her a wry, sarcastic smile. "Just an observation."

Rose smirked, but didn't feel offended because she didn't think he was trying to be malicious. She was realizing in that moment that she and O'Connell were actually having a rather civil conversation with one another, something she wouldn't have thought possible judging by their previous interactions. It was unexpected, but it was actually…kind of nice.

"What about you?" she asked to shift the conversation away from herself.

O'Connell crossed his arms over his broad chest. "What about me?"

"How did you end up in Egypt?" Rose inquired.

O'Connell shrugged. "Been here since I was a kid. Parents died when I was young. Ended up in a Cairo orphanage and grew up there 'til I was old enough to venture out on my own," he explained. "Been fightin' my way through life ever since."

Rose frowned. "That's, well…rather sad," she said before she could stop herself.

O'Connell snorted. "We can't all have the fairytale life, Miss Grisham," he said dryly.

Rose flushed a little, feeling embarrassed by what she had said and worried that she had offended him. "Forgive me. I did not mean to sound so patronizing. I just…wasn't it difficult? Growing up like that?" she asked unsurely.

O'Connell relaxed a little at her apology. "It certainly wasn't easy," he said with a shrug. "I had some wild years there, got into a lot of trouble. But…I got by. I made things work. Maybe not the ideal life according to your standards, but…it works well enough for me."

Rose raised her brows at what he had said, then snorted a little. O'Connell looked at her with a quirked brow, his expression clearly asking what she found so amusing. "Mr. O'Connell, I saw you nearly hanged yesterday for only God knows what and have generally been led to believe that you live like a barbarian. If this is you with your wild years behind you, I shudder to think what you would have been like back then," she said with a shake of her head.

O'Connell finally cracked a genuine smile of amusement at that. "Miss Grisham, if you had met me back then, I can almost guarantee that you would've just let me hang," he stated matter-of-factly.

Rose smirked. "Thank your lucky stars we met when we did, then."

"I'll thank those lucky stars when we make it back from Hamunaptra alive," he countered with a pointed look.

Rose nodded slowly. "Fair enough."

There was another beat of silence, but it wasn't an uncomfortable one. She was starting to relax around O'Connell now that he had shown her he could be a decent conversationalist when he wanted to be.

"So who was it?" O'Connell eventually asked, his expression turning serious again.

Rose looked at him with furrowed brows. "Who was what?" she asked unsurely.

"The people you lost to Hamunaptra," he stated. "The people that had the map."

Rose felt a heavy weight settle in her chest at the change in conversation. "My father," she answered quietly. "And his best friend, the man who was practically a second father to me. They were the ones who had the map."

O'Connell nodded. "Thought it might've been something like that," he said knowingly. "You seem pretty smart so far. Don't think you'd be stupid enough to take on something as risky as this unless it was for someone important." Rose just nodded in agreement. "You think if you go, you'll find out what happened to them?"

"That's the hope," she said with a nod. "I know fully well there's no guarantee that Hamunaptra will have the answers I'm looking for, but…if there is even the slimmest of chances that I might finally know the truth, then I have to at least try," she concluded with a determination.

O'Connell nodded in understanding. "Well…I hope you do find what you're looking for," he told her. When she looked at him with surprise, he nodded again. "I mean it."

She believed him. "Thank you, Mr. O'Connell," she said gratefully.

"You're welcome, Miss Grisham."

They ceased talking after that. It felt like they had said all they had needed to say. But they stayed there a little while longer, sitting in comfortable silence as they watched the sun eventually tuck itself behind the horizon. Rose decided right then and there that maybe she had judged Rick O'Connell a little too harshly. He was rough around the edges, of course, a byproduct of living a hard life in which he had only had himself to really depend on, and yes, he was blunt to the point of being brutal about it. But now, having actually spoken to him, she felt like she understood him a little better.

As the last rays of sunlight disappeared from the sky, she came to the conclusion that maybe Rick O'Connell wasn't nearly as bad as she had originally thought he was.

OOO

She wasn't sure how she managed to accomplish it, but she somehow got O'Connell to begrudgingly agree to have dinner with her, Evelyn, and Jonathan. The Carnahan siblings were immensely surprised when she came walking up with the burly O'Connell in tow, but they, thankfully, took the unexpected situation in stride and welcomed their American comrade into their company.

It was a rather awkward dinner, admittedly. As relaxed as O'Connell had been when it had just been the two of them talking on that bench, he clammed right back up once he was sitting with the three of them. Outnumbered and clearly the odd one out, he contributed little to the conversation, only really speaking if addressed directly. Rose tried to pull him out of his shell as best as she could, wanting Evelyn and Jonathan to see that he could be perfectly pleasant when the occasion called for it. But O'Connell must have felt too uncomfortable to show the amiable side that he had shown Rose earlier, because anytime she tried to get him to contribute to the conversation, he would only mutter out a few words before directing his attention back to his food.

They finished eating and O'Connell left the table as soon as was sociably acceptable, claiming he needed to get to his room and make sure he was ready for when they made landfall the next day. Once he was gone, Evelyn and Jonathan looked at her with raised eyebrows, as if asking what in the world she had been thinking inviting him to dinner.

"Weren't you the one saying we should all try to be friendly with one another?" Rose asked Jonathan defensively as they left the table and began making their way back downstairs. "O'Connell and I were talking before dinner and he was actually…cordial. I thought maybe if you two got to see that side of him, it would make you dislike him a little less. Make this whole thing a little bit easier for everyone."

"Well, be that as it may, he didn't seem keen on the idea of making friends with us," Jonathan commented with a huff.

"I'm not entirely sure he knows how to make friends," Rose said with a shrug. "I get the impression he hasn't had very many of them."

"And it's a wonder why," Jonathan quipped back sarcastically, his fingers unconsciously raising to touch his nose, which was still healing from the punch O'Connell had delivered to it the day before.

"You did sort of deserve that one, Jonathan," Evelyn reminded him. "You stole from the man."

"Oh, really? I had completely forgotten," Jonathan countered dryly, giving his sister a look.

Rose sighed and shook her head as the two siblings began to bicker back and forth, deciding not to waste her breath on the subject any further. So what if the Carnahan's weren't quite on board with attempting to befriend O'Connell just yet? This was only the start of their expedition, which meant there would be several days ahead of them where they would be able to get to know O'Connell better. They'd come around eventually, she was sure of it.

Once they were on the lower main deck, Evelyn, annoyed with Jonathan in light of their sibling spat, left to go and find entertainment elsewhere. Rose, however, wasn't feeling keen on the idea of being cooped up in their room just yet. The bar area was starting to fill with patrons now that night had fallen – there was even a man playing tunes on a piano that she had failed to spot when she and Evelyn had been exploring earlier. Rose glanced around at the people already drinking around them, then nudged Jonathan with her elbow.

"How about that drink?" she suggested.

Jonatan grinned immediately, his annoyance at his sister forgotten, and slung an arm around her shoulders. "I thought you'd never ask."

They went to claim two seats close to the bar and, after ordering two whiskeys for themselves, they fell into easy conversation with one another. One glass of whiskey turned into two, and before long, Rose was laughing loudly at a positively ridiculous story Jonathan was relaying to her about one of his disastrous expeditions, the whiskey making her feel warm and relaxed, all thoughts of O'Connell and Hamunaptra temporarily fading away to the recesses of her mind.

"Why are you laughing? The damn statue nearly fell on top of me!" Jonathan exclaimed, his hands motioning wildly. "I could have been crushed like a worm!"

Rose placed a hand on his shoulder, still laughing heartily at the mental image of Jonathan shimmying up a statute like a koala climbing a tree. "What were you even thinking trying to scale a thirty foot statue in the first place?" she asked once she'd recovered a little. "Those things are thousands of years old and horribly unstable! All that for one little gem? Was it even worth it?"

"It wasn't little. It was a very respectable size, thank you very much," Jonathan defended, his lips pulling up into a smirk of amusement. "And I got it in the end, so yes. It was worth it!"

Rose snorted. "Well, I'm glad," she said with a laugh. "And for the record, I am also glad you did not get crushed like a worm. What would I even do without you, my dearest Jonathan?"

"Rosie, my love, the thought of you living in this world without me is too horrifying to even put into words," was his dramatic reply.

Rose snorted out another laugh, which made him grin. "You are positively ridiculous, Jonathan Carnahan, and I love you all the more for it," she told him, patting him fondly on the cheek. "But can you promise me something? The next time you find something you think might be important at the top of a tall statue – use a ladder. That's what they're made for, you know."

Jonathan rolled his eyes. "Are they? I had no idea," he responded sarcastically.

Rose just laughed and took another drink of whiskey.

Jonathan tossed back the rest of his whiskey, then raised his brows at her. "Want another?"

Rose waved a hand. "We shouldn't. I don't particularly want to be hungover tomorrow and Evie wouldn't approve if we got smashed."

Jonathan blew a raspberry with his lips and waved a hand. "Who cares what Evie says? She's not our mum."

Rose gave him a look, turned her eyes down to her own drink, then decided that one more wouldn't hurt. She wasn't feeling that intoxicated, and she knew when to cut herself off. Besides, this was the only chance they would really have to just kick back and relax before they really had to get down to business. Why not take advantage while they had the chance?

"Oh, alright," Rose said, throwing back the rest of her drink. Jonathan threw a victorious fist into the air, looking pleased that she had agreed. "I'll go get us another round," she said, already standing from the table and collecting their empty glasses. "Stay out of trouble while I'm gone."

"No promises!" Jonathan said with a wicked smirk.

Rose rolled her eyes, then went to the bar to order two more whiskeys. There was a bit of a wait, since four other people were there trying to accomplish the same thing that she was, but she didn't mind. Now that it was dark, the air had cooled off considerably. It felt nice to stand there with her elbows braced against the bar, enjoying the breeze as it swirled around her.

Finally, she had two fresh drinks in front of her. She thanked the bartender and slipped a tip in his direction, then grabbed the drinks and turned to rejoin Jonathan. As she left the bar, however, she realized that Jonathan was no longer alone. Three men were loitering by their table now, two of which she had never seen before. One was tall and decently built, with a strong jawline that she could've spotted from a mile away and a cowboy hat on his head. The other had dark hair, and he was at least half a head shorter than his companion with a stocky, sturdy build.

The third man, however, she did recognize. It was Bernard Burns, the man who had spilled whiskey on her earlier, still wearing that beige suit with the bow tie. She pressed her lips together as the three men chatted with Jonathan, then sucked in a breath and went to join them. As she approached, she noticed that Burns and his two companions all stood straighter the moment they caught sight of her. The one with the cowboy hat quickly took it off, revealing golden hair that brushed his ears and collar.

"Ah, Rosie! What took so long?" Jonathan asked when he spotted her.

"There was a line at the bar," she said, handing over his drink.

"Is this your missus here, Mr. Carnahan?" the blonde cowboy asked, his gaze flickering back and forth between them. Unsurprisingly, he had an American accent that matched Burns'.

"Only in my dreams, I'm afraid," Jonathan answered with a shrug.

Rose watched as the blonde nodded in understanding, his gaze returning to her again and a wide smile spreading across his face. Rose just quickly turned her attention to Burns, who looked as though he had been hoping she would acknowledge him.

"Hello again, Mr. Burns," she greeted with a polite nod.

He inclined his head quickly, giving her a big smile. "Hello, Miss Grisham."

"Wait – you know this pretty lady, Bernie?" the blonde one asked, shooting Burns an incredulous look.

Burns sputtered over his words, so Rose jumped in. "We bumped into each other earlier – literally," she said with a small smile. "He spilled his whiskey on me."

Burns' companions both gaped at him as if he had committed the worst offense imaginable. "You spilled good whiskey on this lady here?" the dark haired one asked in yet another American accent, his tone completely appalled.

"Good lord, Burns, we can't take ya anywhere," the blonde one jibed next, which made Burns turn a bright shade of pink. The blonde one tutted at Burns a moment longer, then shifted his attention to Rose. "I am truly sorry for our clumsy compadre here, miss," he said with sympathy. He then stepped forward to reach for her free hand, leaning over to kiss her knuckles. Rose fought very hard against the urge to pull a face. "How ever can we make up for his reckless behavior?"

There was a twinkle in his eye and a smile on his lips that probably would have charmed the absolute pants off just about any other red blooded woman on the planet. Rose, however, was not impressed, nor anywhere close to being won over by the American cowboy. "There is no need to make up for anything, gentlemen," she said, deftly pulled her hand from his. She glanced at Burns, who was glaring not so subtly at his blonde haired friend, then smiled. "A bit of whiskey on my shirt isn't the end of the world."

"We still insist on at least buyin' you a drink, miss," the shorter one interjected. "Whiskey for the table?"

She started to say that it wasn't necessary, but Jonathan cut in before she could get the words out. "Absolutely! That sounds splendid, doesn't it, Rosie dear?" he said, clearly liking the sound of indulging in more alcohol, especially so if it was free.

She tried not to glare at her friend, but only half succeeded. She looked from Jonathan, who was waggling his dark eyebrows at her, to the three Americans, who were looking at her with varying degrees of expectation. Feeling outvoted, she finally sighed in defeat.

"Very well, then."

Burns' companions beamed. "Wonderful!" the shorter one said. "C'mon, Henderson! Let's get some drinks an' some glasses."

The two hurried off, leaving Rose alone with Jonathan and Burns. When she looked at Burns, he flashed her a look of apology. "I apologize for my friends," he said. "They can be a little…overbearing."

Rose smiled gently. "It's quite alright, Mr. Burns." She then sat down next to Jonathan, before motioning to the empty chair on her left. "Please, sit."

Burns smiled, nodded, then eased into the seat next to her.

Rose had no idea what turn the night might take now that she and Jonathan had joined up with the three Americans, but once Burns' companions had rejoined them – bringing a full bottle of whiskey back with them – and they all settled into conversation, it actually turned out to be a lot less awkward than she expected. The blonde cowboy, whom she soon learned was named Isaac Henderson, was very chatty and, admittedly, a bit flirtier than she would have preferred, while the dark haired one, named David Daniels, had more of a gruff demeanor and dry personality. But both men were friendly enough, as was Mr. Burns, who was easy to talk to and definitely seemed to be the kindest out of the three.

She wasn't sure how it happened, but halfway through their drinks they got on the topic of poker and, before she knew it, cards and poker chips had been retrieved from someone's cabin and money was starting to get thrown out on the table. While Jonathan talked rules and wagers with Henderson and Daniels, Burns started to shuffle the cards, giving her a small smile as his eyes met hers.

"You gonna play, Miss Grisham?" he asked.

Rose pursed her lips doubtfully. Seeing as she always had been – and always would be – and abysmal liar, poker was not really her strong suit. "I probably shouldn't. I'm not very good. I'll probably just lose all my money," she said with a shake of her head.

"Aw, c'mon," Burns encouraged as he began to pass out the appropriate amount of cards to everyone. "We'll go easy on ya 'til ya get the hang of it. Promise."

"Speak for yourself," Daniels said, quirking a brow. "No offense, miss, but if there's money on the line, I ain't holdin' back."

Rose smirked at him. "I appreciate your honesty," she told him, which made him smirk back. She looked to Burns, who was looking at her and ready to give her cards if she so chose, then sighed. "Alright, I'll give it a try," she reluctantly agreed.

"Atta girl," Henderson said, shooting her a wink.

As predicted, she lost on the very first round. She had had a semi decent hand – a pair of nines – and had decided to be brave and attempt to bluff her way into making the men think she had something better. In the end, Daniels was able to pick up on the fact that she was trying to play them and quickly turned the tables on her, which resulted in her losing the three dollars she had bet.

"Gotta try harder than that, miss," Daniels said with a wide smirk at he happily collected all the chips in the center of the table.

She grimaced and looked to Burns, who had sympathy in his eyes. "Told you I was no good."

"You'll get the hang of it," he said with an optimistic nod. "Just gotta get warmed up first."

"You still talkin' about the game, Bernie, or about somethin' else?" Henderson teased.

Burns blushed furiously, while Rose frowned at the innuendo. "Now, now," Jonathan cut in with a meaningful look toward Henderson. "How about we keep it clean in front of the lady, shall we?"

Henderson held up a hand. "My apologies. The last thing I'd wanna do is offend the pretty lady," he said, before shooting her another wink.

Rose ignored the urge to roll her eyes, finding Henderson's attempts at charming her less than impressive. "Mr. Burns, how about we play another round?" she asked to change the subject. "I need to redeem myself."

"You got it, miss," Burns agreed, though his cheeks were still a little pink.

They played another round, which Rose was able to bow out of before any real damage could be done. By the third round, the conversation began to flow easily again, as did the whiskey. Henderson refilled everyone, starting with Rose's glass first and giving her a heartier pour than she would have asked for.

"So what brings y'all out here, anyway?" Henderson asked as he threw some chips into the pile accumulating in the center of the table.

Jonathan opened his mouth to answer, but Rose beat him to it. "We are going on an excavation," she answered vaguely.

Daniels raised his brows. "You're archaeologists?" he asked. "Both of ya?"

It did not go unnoticed by Rose how shocked he was to learn of her profession. It was a reaction she was rather used to from men like him, however, so it didn't surprise or offend her. "Indeed we are," she confirmed.

"Huh. A lady archaeologist," Daniels grunted, still sounding a bit mystified.

"And a damned fine one at that," Jonathan said with a firm nod. "Rosie here is the finest, most brilliant archaeologist I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. Far better than any of the men in her field, I would be so bold to say. Including myself," he insisted.

Jonathan's praise was appreciated, albeit also a little bit biased. "You're exaggerating," she accused good-naturedly, giving him a smile that said she was grateful for his support nonetheless.

"I would never," Jonathan said, looking appalled that she had accused him of such a thing.

Rose laughed at him and shook her head, reaching over to squeeze his arm affectionately. "I think it's great that you're an archaeologist," Burns chimed in quickly, which made her look to him again. "Not a lot of women would have the brass 'ta go venturin' into old, ancient tombs. It's very brave of you, Miss Grisham."

Daniels snorted at Burns' complimentary words and muttered something under his breath that she couldn't hear from where she sat, but which made Henderson, who sat next to him, chuckle to himself. "Thank you, Mr. Burns. But bravery has little to do with it," she said, ignoring the reaction of his companions. "I love Egypt, and I love learning anything that I can about its rich history. All I want is to bring that history out for the world to see, so that we can all better understand the past of this beautiful country. If that means venturing into old, ancient tombs, then I am more than happy to do so."

Burns smiled at her widely, looking mighty impressed. The man finally blinked when Henderson nudged him hard in the ribs. "Easy there, Bernie. Don't drool all over the lady," he teased.

Burns glared at his friend. "How about you keep your comments to yourself, Henderson?" he snapped, having apparently grown tired of Henderson's incessant teasing.

"Now, now, fellas," Daniels said before Henderson could retort. "We're all friends here. Don't fight in front of our new compadres. It might scare 'em off before we can finish the game." He clapped Henderson on the back, then reached for the whiskey to refill their glasses. "Now drink an' make up," he said pointedly.

Henderson and Burns both drank, though they still shot slightly annoyed looks at one another as they did so. Rose shared a brief look with Jonathan, who shrugged at her cluelessly, before she reached for a few poker chips to throw into the pile upon realizing it was her turn.

"So," Jonathan said to try to move past the tense moment. "What brings you chaps here to good ol' Egypt?"

"Well, as it so happens we're here lookin' for somethin' special," Daniels said with an air of mystery.

"And what might that be?" Rose asked, her fingers fiddling with her cards.

"We're here lookin' for Hamunaptra," Burns said with a distinct note of excitement, apparently forgetting his annoyance with Henderson.

Rose's stomach jolted and her eyes went wide. The Americans were looking for Hamunaptra, too? How did they know where to go? And how many men did they have with them?

"You are?" Jonathan asked with surprise. "Well, how about that! So are we!" he then blurted out.

Rose turned a look of shock and anger on Jonathan. She had specifically ordered him to keep his mouth shut about their mission, and what had he done? Exactly what she had told him not to do. Rose kicked him hard under the table, which made him wince and make a sound of pain. "Really, Jonathan? Really?"

He realized his mistake and frowned with apology as he rubbed his sore shin. "Sorry, Rosie. It just…came out!" he said remorsefully.

"Wait," Daniels said, frowning now as he looked between the two of them. "You're serious? Y'all are lookin' for Hamunaptra, too?"

The air around them shifted. Everything had, for the most part, felt rather light and comfortable between the five of them up until that point. But now the Americans looked a little tense, their brows furrowing and their lips frowning as they looked back and forth between her and Jonathan. Rose sighed, then reluctantly nodded her head in answer to Daniels' question. There was no use trying to lie about it now that Jonathan had spilled the beans. The Americans probably wouldn't believe her even if she tried.

"Yes, we are," she said, giving Jonathan another glare. He wilted under the stare, looking like a child who had just been scolded by their parent.

"Y'all actually know where it is?" Henderson asked with suspicion.

Rose had no intentions of telling them about the puzzle box, nor about the singed map they had in their possession or Rick O'Connell, who had actually been to the very place in question. Jonathan, for once, seemed to understand that he should not say anything more and wisely kept his mouth shut so that Rose could do the talking. "We have a hunch, but we are not entirely certain where it is, no." It wasn't really the truth, but it wasn't really a lie either, since they actually didn't know exactly where it was. "What about you?" she asked, turning it back around on them. "Do you know where it is?"

There was a quick look shared between the three men, before they all looked back to her. "No," Daniels answered. "Not entirely."

She was fairly certain he was lying, and when she looked at Jonathan, she had a feeling that he was fairly certain the man was lying, too. "Well," Jonathan said with a nervous titter. "Isn't that a coincidence? We're all here looking for the same thing. Small world."

"Small indeed," Henderson agreed, tapping his fingers on the table.

It was awkward now, tense as Rose and Jonathan looked at the Americans, and as the Americans looked back at them. They were all sizing each other up now, evaluating what they all now knew was the competition. The Americans, undoubtedly, would not want them at Hamunaptra so that they could take all the rumored treasure there for themselves. Jonathan, Rose surely knew, would be wanting the three men to stay away for the exact some reason. She, however, was worried what the presence of more people in Hamunaptra might mean. She wanted to explore the City before it could be disturbed, see if there was anything that might tell her anything about her father and Tariq. If the Americans were there with however many people they might have employed, that might end up being a little more difficult to do.

Burns finally cleared his throat, which made everyone stop their staring and look to him. "Er, it's your turn Henderson," he said to remind them all that they still had a poker match going.

"Right," Henderson said, giving Rose and Jonathan one last look before redirecting his attention back to his cards.

They finished the round, and after a few attempts by Burns and Jonathan to lighten the mood again, they managed to get back to a semi-normal conversation. It didn't feel the same, though, and even though they had stopped talking about Hamunaptra, she knew they were all still thinking about it.

As Burns shuffled the cards and began to pass them out again, Rose finished off her whiskey. Henderson started to refill it, but Rose waved a hand over the rim of her glass to decline. "No, thank you," she said with a small smile. "We have a busy day tomorrow. I should be cutting myself off. As should you, Jonathan," she said, giving her friend a pointed look.

Jonathan nodded quickly, while Henderson retracted the whiskey bottle. "Yeah, of course," he said, eyeing her for a moment as he set the bottle down. He started to say something else, but something behind Rose seemed to catch his attention. He sat a little straighter, then nodded to whoever he had spotted. "Evenin' there, Doc," he called out. "Didn't think you'd ever come outta that room of yours."

They all turned to see who he was addressing, and the moment Rose's eyes landed on the man in question, her brows raised. She knew that man. Not personally, of course, because she had never actually met or spoken to him. But she knew of him and had seen pictures of him before. His name was Dr. Allen Chamberlain, a British archaeologist who had made quite a reputable name for himself over the years. Unfortunately, he had fallen from grace after some sort of scandal in New York, where he had worked for many years. She had never heard what had happened to him after he had left the States, but now she had gotten her answer – he had come to Egypt and was, apparently, working with the Americans.

"Good evening, gentlemen. I see you've made yourselves comfortable here," he said, looking down his nose at the men and the cards on the table. "I also see you've found company. Who are your – ?" Dr. Chamberlain stopped short as his gaze met Rose's, his eyes widening with recognition. "Rosalie Grisham?"

She was just as surprised as everyone else at the table that he knew who she was. "You two know one another?" Burns asked uncertainly.

"No," Dr. Chamberlain answered. "But one would have to live under a rock not to hear of the work Miss Grisham has been doing here in Egypt these past few years." He looked at her again, his expression hard to read. "As it so happens, she comes from a very reputable family within the archaeology world. You would be hardpressed to find an archaeologist alive today who has not heard of the Grisham's."

Daniels whistled. "Didn't know you were archaeology royalty," he commented.

"I wouldn't it put it quite like that," Rose said quickly, giving him a look. She then turned to Dr. Chamberlain and extended a hand out of respect. "Dr. Chamberlain, it is a pleasure to meet you. I have heard much about you."

Dr. Chamberlain looked at her hand, hesitated, then shook it. "Probably more than I would have preferred," he said with a slightly bitter note to his tone. Rose did not confirm or deny this as they released each other's hands. "I had the pleasure of meeting your mother during a seminar in Cambridge some years back, though I am sad to admit I never had the privilege of meeting your father," he said. "It's a shame what happened to him. A true loss to our community and profession."

Rose's throat tightened at his words. Before she could say anything, Henderson oh so tactfully spoke up. "What happened to her father?" he blurted out.

She started to tell Henderson that it wasn't his business, but Dr. Chamberlain beat her to the punch. "Died looking for Hamunaptra, I regret to report," he answered with a click of his tongue.

"Say what now?" Daniels asked. All of the Americans looked alarmed to hear of the father's fate.

"Montgomery Grisham was an intelligent and brave man. Unfortunately, he did not understand what he was getting himself into when he went after Hamunaptra," Dr. Chamberlain said. "He foolishly and recklessly endeavored after the City of the Dead when he should not have. And that recklessness cost him his life." He clicked his tongue again. "A tragic loss, indeed. One we would all do well to learn from."

Rose's jaw tightened with anger at those words. Dr. Chamberlain was being incredibly insensitive, and he seemed to think that he knew the circumstances surrounding her father's death, which, of course, he didn't. He didn't know that Monty had had a map. He didn't know the hours, days, weeks of research that he had put into that blasted map before ever stepping foot out of Cairo. He made it sound as if her father had dived head first into the expedition, as if he had been too careless and stupid to do his research before embarking on the trip that would, eventually, claim his life. To hear a man who hadn't even known her father speak about his death as if Monty had somehow brought it on himself made her blood begin to boil.

"You seem to have quite a strong opinion concerning a matter that you know nothing of, Dr. Chamberlain," she said through gritted teeth.

Dr. Chamberlain blinked at her tone, then frowned. "Have I offended you, Miss Grisham?" he asked tersely.

"Indeed, you have," she confirmed. "My father was a brilliant man. Do not speak of him as if you know him, or as if you actually know what happened to him, because you don't."

Dr. Chamberlain did not like the way she was talking to him, that much was obvious by the way he scowled at her and the way his eyes flashed. "What I know is that your father should have known better. He had a lapse in judgement when he decided to follow the footsteps of all those fools who died before him. He was an ambitious man, and that ambition killed him. He never should have gone into that desert. He was not equipped for such a dangerous task."

Rose scoffed. "And you think you are?" she asked snippily, thinking him a complete hypocrite. Why else would he have joined the Americans if not for his own ambitious reasons? How could he judge Monty for his actions when he was doing exactly the same thing?

Dr. Chamberlain blinked in surprise, then turned a glare on the Americans. "You told them we are looking for the City of the Dead?" he asked, sounding very unhappy about this.

"We're not the only ones goin' after it!" Henderson immediately defended. "They're lookin' for it, too!" he snitched, pointing at Rose and Jonathan.

Dr. Chamberlain looked back at her, his surprise evident again. "You search for Hamunaptra, even after what happened to your father?" he asked.

"I search for Hamunaptra because of what happened to my father," she said with a lifted chin. "And make no mistake, Dr. Chamberlain. I will find it."

Dr. Chamberlain began to slowly shake his head, something akin to pity flashing across his face. "I have heard so much about you. About your intelligence. About your tenacity. But now, I cannot help but think it an utter shame to hear of your mission." He paused and shook his head again. "You are either very brave, or very stupid to follow in your father's footsteps, Miss Grisham. Let us all hope that it does not turn out to be the latter of the two."

The words were spoken so condescendingly that she clenched her fist and stood from her chair, making it nearly topple over. Knowing she was about to lose her temper completely and say things that would not, under any circumstances, be even remotely ladylike, she jutted her chin into the air and gave the older archaeologist her worst glare.

"I've heard quite enough from you," she said icily. She then looked to the four men at the table, who had watched the interaction unfold with varying expressions of uncertainty, awkwardness, and, in Jonathan's case, anger. "Gentlemen. I am afraid you will have to finish your game without me," she said. "Goodnight. And good luck," she added with a meaningful look toward the Americans.

She turned to leave, making sure to give Dr. Chamberlain, whom she stood taller than, a withering glare down the length of her nose. Then, with her shoulders squared and her head held high, she left.

OOO

Rose wound up at the stern of the boat again, still fuming mad and just needing some time to be alone so that she wouldn't accidently take that anger out on anyone who didn't deserve it. She rubbed a hand over her face, then glared at the dark water below, watching the waves that the ship created in its wake as it churned along. Who did Dr. Chamberlain think he even was, saying the things he had? He hadn't even known her father, yet he had the nerve to stand there and disrespect his memory directly in front of her? Decent people simply didn't do things like that.

Dr. Chamberlain, she decided, was a bitter man just trying to make himself feel better by putting down someone who had been leaps and bounds better than he could ever dream of being himself. He was obviously going to Hamunaptra in an attempt to reclaim his former glory and restore his name, something he clearly didn't deserve. Rose vowed that she would do everything in her power to thwart him. This journey to Hamunaptra had been personal already, but Dr. Allen Chamberlain had made it even more so now. She would make sure that Hamunaptra went down in history with the names Grisham, Carnahan, and Faheem attached to it. Not Chamberlain.

She sighed heavily and reached up to toy with the Eye of Horus pendant, the habitual move soothing her nerves a little as she traced the symbol with her thumb. A bump behind her drew her attention momentarily and made her glance over her shoulder, but the only movement she saw was someone on the second level making their way toward the restaurant.

Rose turned forward again to look at the water. The time had probably come to find Evelyn and O'Connell and tell them that they might have some overeager Americans and one pompous bastard following them out into the desert. The new development would call for a change in their plans – they would have to leave the village they were headed toward sooner if they wanted to get to the City of the Dead first.

With that thought in mind, Rose pushed away from the railing and turned to make her way toward the cabins, her brows still furrowed together. She had just walked past a tall, heavy looking crate, however, when, quite out of nowhere, someone grabbed her. She made a sound of surprise that was quickly muffled by a hand, then found herself pressed against the nearest wall.

The person who had grabbed her was tall and broad and dressed all in black, their strong arms keeping her pinned and the lower half of their face concealed behind a black scarf. Rose began to struggle, knowing instantly that this wasn't right and that she was in danger. She froze, however, when the man holding her captive spoke.

"Rosalie, stop."

She had barely even had time to wonder how in the hell this person knew her by name when he reached up to pull away the scarf concealing his face. And when she saw who was looking back at her, really saw, time seemed to stand still.

It was Ardeth.

Rose blinked. Once, twice, three times. But the face in front of her didn't change, and finally she began to realize that no, she was not hallucinating. After four long years, Ardeth Bay was standing in front of her, his hair and beard and face exactly the same as when she had seen him last, but his eyes looking far older and far more stressed. He pressed his lips together tightly as their gazes held, his gaze flickering over her face. When he blinked, she finally came back to reality.

"What in the bloody hell are you doing here?" she demanded, eyes still wide with shock.

"I came to speak with you," he said, and she had almost forgotten what his voice sounded like. "What you are attempting is not safe," he continued. "You must not continue on to Hamunaptra. You must turn back."

Rose frowned, still struggling to catch up with the situation and wrap her head around the fact that Ardeth was actually standing in front of her, talking to her, touching her. "What?" she asked dumbly.

Ardeth frowned. "There is no time to explain," he said with a shake of his head. "I need the map to Hamunaptra, Rosalie, and I need the item you found it in."

Something shifted within her at those words. Ardeth had completely disappeared on her. He had left her with no warning and no explanation. Now, suddenly, he was back, but not because he had missed her or felt badly for what had happened. Because he wanted to stop her from going to Hamunaptra. Because he wanted that bloody map and that stupid, cursed trinket.

Fury rolled through her with the force of a thousand hellhounds. It didn't even register in her mind to wonder how he even knew she had the map, let alone how he knew she had been going to Hamunaptra in the first place. Rose was too busy seeing red, so utterly and completely enraged that she felt like she might breathe fire.

"Are you fucking serious?" she blurted out before she could stop herself.

Ardeth blinked in surprise and his grip on her loosened, though whether it was because of the quick change in emotions or the foul language she had used, she didn't know, nor care. "Rosalie – " he started to say.

SMACK.

He had given her just enough slack to free her arm and slap him across the face. His head jerked from the force of the hit and a red mark immediately appeared on his skin. It was immensely satisfying to see. When he looked at her again, it was with shock written all over his annoyingly handsome face. Never, not once, had she struck him out of malice or anger. She didn't even feel bad about having done it. In fact, she had half a mind to do it again.

"You show up here after four years, after disappearing on me without any warning, and have the audacity to make demands of me?" Rose growled. "What the bloody hell are you playing at?!"

Ardeth had the decency to look ashamed for a moment, before giving her a resolute look. "There are things you do not know. Things you do not understand," he said, his tone serious.

The words were familiar for some reason, but she was too infuriated to remember why. "What I know is that I am about to hit you again. And what I understand is that it will feel really bloody good to do it!"

She raised her arm to make good on her threat, but Ardeth, having always been faster and stronger than herself, caught her wrist and pinned it to the wall next to her head before she could make contact. She strained against the grip for a moment, then, upon realizing she wasn't going to break free, changed tactics. She jerked a knee upward, hoping to catch him in the groin but instead hitting his thigh. A brief struggle ensued, where Rose tried with all her might to hurt him and where Ardeth did his best to contain her. Finally, he shoved the weight of his body against hers, pressing her so tightly to the wall that she could not move an inch. She felt every inch of him against her, every hard breath he took with his chest so firm against hers, was fairly certain she could even feel his heart hammering away against his ribs.

"Stop and listen to me!" he demanded, and she could not recall any other time where he had spoken to her so harshly. He waited, and when he was sure she was not going to resume her struggle, he exhaled hard enough to stir the hair around her face. "I am sorry, Rosalie," he said, his tone more gentle now. "What I did was wrong. I hurt you, and I am sorry."

Rose blinked, then felt her eyes begin to fill with tears. Whether those were tears of anger or sadness or frustration, she couldn't really say. She pressed her lips together hard, even as those tears rolled down her cheeks, giving him a look of loathing. "Sorry isn't good enough," she said, her tone cold enough to freeze the Nile itself.

Ardeth's shoulders sagged some, his eyes filling with guilt. "I know," he said quietly. "I have done unforgivable things, Rosalie, and you have every right to hate me for it. Believe me – I hate myself for it," he told her. He looked at her for a moment, a dozen unsaid things flashing through his dark eyes, then shook his head. "But right now, in this moment, there are more pressing matters at hand," Ardeth said, his voice determined now. "You need to go back to Cairo. You need to get off this ship. Now."

Rose glared and gave another attempt at freeing herself. Ardeth just held her in place, his grip never budging. "You have no bloody say in what I do with my life anymore," she growled. "You forfeited that right when you walked out on me. When you walked out on us."

Ardeth was beginning to look impatient now. "For once in your life will you cooperate? I am trying to protect you, Rosalie," he said through clenched teeth.

Rose scoffed. "Do not pretend as though you care for me now," she snapped back. "You made it pretty bloody clear how little I meant to you when you tossed me aside like yesterday's rubbish."

Now Ardeth looked infuriated. "Do not say that I did not care!" he said angrily, his grip tightening on her. "That could not be further from the truth! I have always cared for you, Rosalie! Always!"

"Oh really?" she asked with sarcasm. "You have a bloody funny way of showing it!"

He started to retort, but something caught his attention and made him stop short. She was heaving from her effort to free herself, and the movement of her chest combined with the light from the lantern over their heads drew his eyes to the Eye of Horus necklace that he had given to her during happier times. He blinked upon seeing it and looked to her eyes again, the anger on his face dissolving, replaced with something she didn't want to try to decipher. On their own accord, Rose's eyes went to his wrist, which was in sight because he was still pinning her arm to the wall. And there she saw exactly what she had been looking for.

The leather wrist band she had given to him, decorated with one pendant emblazoned with the Eye of Horus. A gift she had given to bring him luck and keep him safe. A gift she had chosen because it matched hers, because she felt like having the matching pendants was a way of telling the world that they belonged to one another.

He had never stopped wearing it.

Their eyes met again, but neither of them said a word. They both heaved for air, pressed tightly together, eyes unblinking and intense. After a beat he moved a fraction closer, and for one wild moment Rose thought he might actually kiss her. Part of her almost wanted to let him, just because it had been so long and she had missed him so damned much. The other part of her, however, was sure she might strangle him if he tried. Because he had left her, he had hurt her, and he damn well didn't deserve to kiss her anymore.

If he had been thinking about doing it, he didn't get the chance to. Suddenly the air filled with the sound of loud gunshots, gunshots that were most definitely coming from on board the ship. Rose stiffened, her eyes widening, while Ardeth frowned deeply, his eyes flickering toward the disturbance. He finally moved back from her, giving her space to breathe but keeping his hands still locked around her wrists.

"What the hell is going on?" she asked uncertainly.

Ardeth looked back to her. "My men are attacking," he said simply.

Rose blinked, then gave him a look of disbelief. "You ordered an attack on the bloody ship?" she asked incredulously.

He pressed his lips into a hard line. "I told you. I need the map and the item you found it in. If you will not hand it over, we will have to take it."

Rose began to struggle against his grip once more. The gunshots continued to go off, popping loudly in the night air. That wasn't the only sound, though – people were beginning to scream and she could hear pounding feet above them as the other passengers undoubtedly ran for safety. "Are you mad?" Rose demanded. "There are innocent people on this ship!"

"And I have ordered my men to spare anyone that they can," Ardeth countered swiftly.

Rose scoffed. "Oh, that makes everything all better, doesn't it?" she asked sarcastically.

Ardeth ignored her comment and pulled her away from the wall, using his strength to his advantage as he began to yank her toward the other side of the ship. Rose struggled against him, digging her heels into the boards of the deck to try to resist his tugs.

"What are you doing?" she demanded angrily.

"I am getting you off this ship," Ardeth said firmly.

Rose began to struggle harder. She did not think Ardeth meant her any harm – quite the opposite, in fact. But still, she did not want to go anywhere with him. She had her things on this ship. Her friends were on this ship. She could not just abandon them.

"Let me go!" Rose growled, trying to pry at his fingers to free herself. "Ardeth, let me go!"

But he wouldn't, and he ignored her shouts as he forcefully dragged her toward the railing. Just then, as she yelled and swatted at him and tried to break free, a group of passengers ran into view, looking panicked and afraid. Most paid them little attention, too worried about their own safety to think about helping her as they looked for escape. One man, however, saw what Ardeth was doing and automatically assumed the worst. He charged at them like a raging bull, fists already clenched.

"Release that woman, scum!" the stranger shouted.

Ardeth finally released her in order to turn and defend himself against her would-be savior. As the two became tangled up in a wrestling match, Rose used the distraction to her advantage and began running back the way they had come, determined to get to the cabin to collect her things and find her friends before it was too late.

"Rosalie! Stop!" Ardeth called after her.

She ignored him and left him at the mercy of the man he fought. When she reached the door that led into the cabins, she threw it open to run inside. She was forced to jump back, however, when a strong blast of heat greeted her. Rose turned her face away, shielding herself with her arms, then looked forward again with her jaw dropped.

The room she had been sharing with Evelyn was on fire. Flames were beginning to leak out into the hallway and smoke was starting to accumulate in a thick, unbreathable cloud, slipping from the hallway out onto the deck now that she had opened the door.

Fear shot through her. That fire would only continue to spread, which meant the ship was in serious trouble. Where were the friends? Were they safe? God, she prayed Evelyn had not been in that room when it caught fire.

More gunshots jolted her back to the present, sounding louder and closer now. With determination, Rose used the sleeve of her shirt to cover her mouth and nose and ducked into the impossibly hot hallway, wincing against the heat that engulfed her. She made her way into the room, but couldn't go far due to the flames. There was no sign of anyone else, which was a relief, but there was also no sign of the map or the trinket, which she had left in the room earlier.

Rose, eyes watering, turned to grab her duffel from where she had sat it at the foot of the bed, then turned to leave the room, unable to stand the heat any longer. Just as she pushed out into the hallway and headed for the opposite door, the one she knew would take her out to the bar area where she had left Jonathan, another figure dressed in dark robes appeared and grabbed her, catching her by surprise.

It was not Ardeth, and this man did not look like he was afraid of hurting her. He threw her against the wall, ignoring the flames that threatened to engulf the hallway they were in, growling menacingly as he made a move toward her. Rose quickly ducked underneath his arms, then elbowed him hard in the side. He grunted and stumbled back, giving Rose enough room to land a solid kick to his middle, which had him dangerously close to falling back into the blazing room behind him. He caught himself on the frame just in time, however, and when she tried to run away, he caught hold of her shirt and yanked her back. Rose turned to throw a punch this time, but he caught her wrist and flung her into the wall again, pinning her there. When he drew a dagger from his robes and pressed it to her throat, Rose froze.

"Where are the map and key?" he growled.

Key? What key? "I don't know what you are – " Rose started to say, eyes watering from the smoke.

She stopped talking when the man pushed his blade a fraction harder against her skin. "Do not lie to me!"

Rose started to splutter out a response, but a new voice beat her. "Stop!" Another man dressed in black had just appeared, and this time it was Ardeth. He looked ready to murder when he saw the blade being held to her neck. "Release her at once! She is not to be harmed!"

The man released her immediately and took a step back. "Chieftain – "

"Go," Ardeth ordered sternly. "Find the map and key and then leave the ship. We have little time left."

The man nodded, cast one more look at Rosalie, then disappeared. Rose looked to Ardeth, who stepped forward with a hand extended in her direct.

"Come. It is not safe here," he urged.

Without thinking about it, Rose slipped her hand into his and let him pull her out of the hallway.

They stumbled back out onto the deck where they had been before madness had erupted, smoke following them. Rose coughed as Ardeth pulled her to a sheltered area. The ship was dissolving into chaos all around them, but Ardeth didn't seem to care. He inspected her quickly, looking concerned that she might have gotten hurt, but also a little angry that she had run off in the first place.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Rose nodded. "I will be fine." She then thought about the key that both Ardeth and his comrade had mentioned, then furrowed her brows at him. "What is this key you are looking for?" she asked. "We haven't got a key."

Ardeth gave her a hesitant look. "You do. It is the trinket the map was in. That is the key."

Rose blinked with surprise. "A key to what?"

Ardeth, however, shook his head. "I cannot tell you," he said. When she made to argue, he grabbed her by the wrist again and began to pull her along with him once more. "We cannot linger here. The ship will be engulfed in flames soon. We need to leave."

He was right, of course. The fire was no longer contained to just her cabin and the hallway – it was beginning to move, and at the rate it was spreading, the ship would be done for quickly. Rose resisted his tugs, though, which made him give her an impatient look.

"I have friends on this ship," she said. "I cannot leave until I know they are safe."

"Rosalie – " Ardeth said with a frustrated heave.

"I said I am not leaving," she interrupted firmly.

Ardeth looked at her for a moment, then finally caved. "Stubborn woman," he muttered under his breath in Arabic before finally releasing her.

Rose wasted no time turning on her heel and making her way toward the front of the ship, where the bar was located. Since the hallway she had wanted to take was no longer navigable, she went the long way around, dodging falling debris as the ship began to fall apart and jumping whenever gunfire sounded in the air again. She was very much aware of the fact that Ardeth was right on her heels, now wielding his large, menacing looking sword, but she paid him little attention. There were more important things to worry about than her former love and his determination to suddenly stick to her like glue.

They were nearing a pathway she knew would get them to their destination when, out of nowhere, another male passenger who had apparently chosen to be brave and take on the men decked in black robes came charging at them, having spotted Ardeth and decided to attack. Ardeth pushed Rose out of the way, then ducked the punch that the man aimed his way. The man roared and started to swing at Ardeth again, apparently unintimidated by the sword in Ardeth's hand, but this time Rose interfered. She whacked the man with her heavy duffel, catching the man by surprise as it connected with his head and made him stagger back.

"Oy!" Rose shouted at the man. "Bugger off!"

The man looked at her as if she were insane, looked to Ardeth, then threw his hands up. "To hell with you, then!" he said, before running away.

Ardeth raised his brows at her, clearly surprised she had come to his defense. Rose herself couldn't really explain her own actions, so she didn't bother trying. She just ignored the look he gave her and continued on. When she turned onto the walkway she had been aiming for, however, she stopped short upon seeing several men dressed in black currently having a shoot out with a group of men in the bar several yards away. Judging by the hooping and hollering she heard from the people fighting Ardeth's men, she would guess it was the Americans standing their ground.

Ardeth pushed her down a different hall before any stray bullets could hit them and they continued on down a different route. They had turned a corner and were just about to step through another door when it burst open right before them. Ardeth had a hand on her at once, already pulling her back and angling himself to protect her from potential danger, his sword raising defensively. The man that had just appeared, however, was one she knew. It was O'Connell, wielding a pistol in either hand, and though he seemed relieved to see her at first, his expression immediately darkened when he saw Ardeth next to her.

"Get away from her, asshole," he growled, already raising his weapons, looking ready and willing to shoot Ardeth down.

Rose's heart lurched in her chest and she immediately jumped in front of Ardeth, throwing her arms out wide so that she shielded him. "No! Don't shoot, O'Connell!" she shouted. As angry as she was at Ardeth, as much as she hated him for what he had done, that didn't mean she wanted to watch him get shot.

Both O'Connell and Ardeth blinked in surprise. "You know this man?" they asked at the same time, before turning glares on one another.

"Yes and yes," she answered hastily, before looking to O'Connell urgently. "Where are Evie and Jonathan?"

"Evelyn's off the boat already," O'Connell answered, which was a relief to hear. "Don't know where Jonathan is, though. Last I saw he was with the Americans," he added. "Seriously, though. How do you know him?" he demanded, waving a pistol toward Ardeth questioningly.

A particularly loud round of gunfire that sounded much closer now made her shake her head. "Now isn't exactly the time to discuss it," she said. "Go back to Evie and make sure she is safe. I'll go find Jonathan and we'll meet you on the shore."

"But I told her I'd help you – " O'Connell started to argue.

"I will keep watch over Rosalie," Ardeth butted in, standing taller as he gave O'Connell a hard look.

Rose rolled her eyes as O'Connell opened his mouth to, undoubtedly, argue back. "I do not need help from either of you," she said loudly, which made them both shut up. "Go back to Evie," she ordered O'Connell once more. "Now!"

O'Connell gave Ardeth one more look of dislike, then turned his eyes to Rose. "You have a lot of explaining to do," he growled, before finally disappearing back through the door he had just barged through.

She and Ardeth went through the door themselves, but went a different direction than O'Connell had. She could hear the loud hollers of the Americans again, and though several people were still scrambling around in a wild attempt to save anything they could, nobody else attempted to go after Ardeth. She supposed it wasn't too surprising – Ardeth was armed, while most of the people around them were not. And unlike the man who had gone after him on the other side of the ship, none of these people seemed interested in a fight.

"How are you acquainted with that man?" Ardeth demanded, looking very unhappy indeed.

Rose looked up at him, quickly figured out what the gleam in his eyes meant, then felt another surge of anger. "Oh, you can sod right off with your jealousy, Ardeth Bay," she growled, her fingers itching to hit him again. "Who I spend my time with is no concern of yours!"

Ardeth stated to say something back, but the sounds of bullets ricocheting a little too close for comfort made him grab her and pull her behind a pillar for cover, instead. They had made it to the entrance of the bar area now, where the Americans were still making their stand against a few stragglers on Ardeth's side that had not yet abandoned ship. None of the loud Americans seemed to have noticed them, but bullets were being fired so haphazardly that they were ricocheting all over the place, putting everyone in the immediate area in danger.

"Jesus!" Rose said, her heart hammering in her chest.

She managed to catch her breath and peak around the pillar they hid behind, noting that the Americans had overturned tables and were using them for cover as they fired at the enemy. She scanned the area quickly, then frowned when she saw that there was no sign of Jonathan anywhere.

"Where is that bloody idiot?" she demanded aloud to nobody in particular.

The question was met with the groan of something upstairs beginning to collapse above them. She and Ardeth both looked up, then looked at one another. In that moment, Ardeth seemed to come to some sort of decision.

"Enough of this," he growled.

Before she could predict what he was going to do, he sheathed his sword, closed the space between them, grabbed her, then picked her up and flung her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. The world turned upside down, then spun around as he turned on his heel and marched to the railing. Rose barely managed to hang on to her duffel, making sounds of indignation the entire way, knowing exactly what he had planned.

"Put me down, Ardeth!" she yelled, hitting his back with her free hand. "Put me down!"

And, technically, he did. He just didn't put her down on the ship. Ardeth tossed her right over the side of the ship, and her shouts were abruptly muffled as she hit the dark water of the Nile.

She resurfaced a few seconds later, coughing up water as she did so. A few feet away, Ardeth broke the surface after having jumped over himself, his head spinning this way and that until he located her. He swam over to her, grabbed her by the shirt, then began to drag her toward the shore. As soon as they were back on dry land, she dropped her soaked duffel then turned to Ardeth, shoving him hard enough to make him lose his footing and nearly go toppling back into the water.

"How dare you! I was still looking for my friend!" She shoved him again, but he was ready for it this time and didn't topple over. "What the hell were you even thinking, attacking the ship like that?" Rose demanded. "Your men could have killed everyone!"

"But they did not!" Ardeth argued back, motioning to the many people that had managed to escape and were dragging themselves onto the shore.

Rose wasn't satisfied with his answer. She shook her head, feeling like she might explode at any moment. Everything was just so muddled, and she just felt so lost and confused and angry after everything that had happened. Rose might have imagined the many different circumstances under which she and Ardeth might meet again, but she had never, in a million years, expected it would be like this.

As she looked at the ship still burning on the river, she exhaled loudly and shook her head, before looking back at Ardeth. The man before her now was not the same one she had known four years ago. The one who had kissed her in deserted alleys and laughed with her over dinner at Habib's and held her as she cried for her lost loved ones. No. Now he attacked ships and put innocent bystanders at risk because, for some reason, her and her friends going to Hamunaptra was apparently the end of the bloody world. Ardeth had changed in their time apart. That much was very clear to her now.

Or maybe, she realized with a sinking feeling, this was who he had always been. Maybe that was why he had never told her what he did when they were apart. Because he did things like this. The thought that he might have lied to her the entire time they knew each other began to eat away at her like an infectious disease.

Ardeth, obviously recognizing the anger on her face and sensing that she was on the verge of boiling over, took a tentative step forward. "Rosalie, I know that you must have many questions right now – " he started to say in an attempt to diffuse the situation.

"Isn't that the damned understatement of the year," Rose interrupted sharply. She pinched the bridge of her nose, then heaved loudly. "I don't known what to even think right now. Is this who you have been all this time?" she asked, waving a hand to the blazing ship. "A man who burns down ships and hurts people?"

Ardeth pressed his lips together tightly. "As I have told you already, there is much you do not know."

Rose was beginning to hate those words being directed at her. "Of course there is! You never bloody well told me anything!" she shouted. "Were you just lying to me the entire time we were together?"

"No," Ardeth reported sharply. "I confess that there are things I did not tell you," he admitted. "But I did not lie."

Rose scoffed. "Omitting the truth is lying, as far as I see it," she said angrily. "I always knew you had your secrets, but I did not think it would be anything like this! How could you do this, Ardeth? Why would you do this?" she demanded to know.

Ardeth looked elsewhere for a moment, his jaw tight and his expression conflicted. Finally, he looked back to her. "Come with me," he said, which made her brows raise. "Come with me and I will explain everything. No more secrets. No more lies. You have my word."

Rose glared at him. "Your word does not hold the same worth as it once did, I am afraid," she said bitterly.

Ardeth took another step toward her, his expression pleading. "Rosalie, please."

"No." The force behind the word made him stop. "It's too late for that now. I did not come here for this. I did not ask for you to come barging back into my life after all this time!" Rose sucked in a breath, then decided she had had quite enough of this conversation. "I do not have time for this. I have friends to find and a mission to see to. Whatever you have to say…I'm not interested."

Ardeth didn't seem to know what to say as she grabbed her duffel again. It was only then that she heard her name being shouted in the distance by voices she recognized. The voices of Evelyn and O'Connell and – thank God – Jonathan, who appeared to have made it off the ship after all.

She turned to leave and rejoin her friends, but stopped when Ardeth called out to her. "Rosalie." She heaved and turned back around to look at him flatly. "I understand why you wish to be rid of me. I do. But you mustn't go to Hamunaptra," he persisted. "It is not safe. You and your friends – you will be in danger there."

Rose gave him a humorless smile. "I think I will take my chances," she said.

Ardeth's response was to press his lips together, his brows furrowing. When she made to leave again, however, he still refused to give up. "Rosalie – "

"Leave, Ardeth," Rose said, giving him one last glare over her shoulder. "Isn't that what you do best?"

Ardeth looked as though she had physically struck him again. When he said nothing more, merely stood there looking guilty and defeated, Rose finally faced forward and walked away, her chin held high as she marched in the direction her friends with determined steps.

Ardeth did not try to stop her again.

---

The dramaaaaaa. Sincerely hope you guys liked it! There is one more flashback scene coming in the next chapter, but then after that it's all present day stuff. I'm super excited for all the things to come, and I hope you are, too!