Return of the Medjai
Rating: T
Disclaimer: I got no rights to anything you recognize.
AN: Big thank yous to Like-Vines-We-Intertwine, FallenAngelLove, Rainbow Haired Girl, Nelle07, Discompobilated, AmethystQuill, teskodanceparty, clear skye, DiexGaaf, Ravenclaw Samurai, SingingInTheRain1989, thatredheadedchick, The-Lady-Isis, zentry, tonidepp16, Bmangaka, Gladishiva, Clarissa Avila, I Keep Goldfish In My Bra, benzene, Sidthe, Fang500, Sarah Victoria Cullen, shippolove844, Ashi-Eiketsu, MYP, Pirate Hero, Holly, Jenny88, angel19872006, QuietPoetic, cflat, RyuuZetsumei, ILuvOdie, Back in Black, and backseatgoodbyeislife for all the reviews!
Chapter 14: The Temple at Abu Simbel
The dirigible had been in the air for only a few minutes now, flying straight into the setting sun. Izzy predicted they would reach Abu Simbel in less than an hour. Then they would fly on through the night to reach whatever the next destination might be.
Tomorrow would be the fourth day of the resurrection.
Ardeth sighed, leaning forward on his elbows, perched on the edge of the dirigible. For a moment, at Karnak, he had allowed himself to believe the world might not end after all.
He should have expected nothing short of brilliance from a boy with Richard and Evelyn O'Connell for parents. The sand castles were impressive not only in theory, but practice. For an eight-year-old child to have even thought up such an idea was surprising in itself, but to have made such exact replicas of each monument required skill most people three times the boy's age did not have.
Alex O'Connell was most definitely a prodigy.
Still, Alex O'Connell was not at Philae, and Ardeth doubted the boy would be at Abu Simbel. They were following a step behind the Creature… and a step behind was too far behind.
He was worried. He was always worried. But he always had reasons. Good ones.
He glanced towards the other end of the dirigible.
Madeline was down there, staring at the horizon line.
In truth, Ardeth did not know what to do. About any of it. About the resurrection, about the Creature, about the boy… about Madeline, about Sameya, about his people… he was lost.
Madeline's admissions at Philae had thrown him. His own admissions had embarrassed him. He was confused and so he was ignoring her.
Again.
He meant most of it. That she made asinine assumptions. That she did not bother to learn about his people. That she was running scared, and not running for him.
Still, he might have been unfair. He knew what he'd been asking, four years ago. Asking her to leave her family. Leave her friends. Leave her job. Leave everything she knew for something she didn't know at all. Asking her to adopt Med-jai custom and law, when he knew she didn't agree with a lot of it, and knew almost nothing about the rest.
To hand her so much responsibility when she'd never really had any before. To tell her straight out that life with him would be difficult – that his people would frown on her, that some might never like her… it was too much to ask of anyone.
Still, he'd thought she was different. That she was strong. That she could handle it – more importantly, that she would handle it. That she could push aside all her doubts and fears and just… well, it had hurt that she chose not to do any of those things. He'd chosen her over everything else. Over his own doubts and fears. He had chosen difficulty over ease, because she was worth it.
Or so he'd thought.
And even now, with all her cards out on the table, he still felt wronged. Disappointed. And a little bitter about it all.
She had let him down. He had risked a lot on her, and she had let him down.
He wasn't going to apologize for anything – he had nothing to apologize for.
"You're being stubborn again."
The words came from Nasira, and they irritated him. He did not want to talk to his sister.
"What you and Jonathan did was foolish," he reprimanded her. His eyes never left the horizon line. "We don't have the time to waste on pranks."
"It wasn't a prank."
"Whatever it was. It was foolish, and it wasted time. You should have known better."
"You should know better. We heard what the two of you said in there. Everyone within a ten mile radius heard what you two said in there."
"I am not going to discuss this with you."
"Good. This is not a discussion; it is a lecture."
"Nasira, you are treading on thin ice."
"You are being stubborn, and you are hurting no one but yourself."
Ardeth did not reply.
"You don't have to forgive her. You don't have to apologize. You don't have to marry her and live happily ever after. But when all this is over, if we win…"
"We may not."
"I know. But if we do… well, before you return to the village and marry Sameya Al Tufayl out of spite and obligation, there is something you should know."
He snorted impatiently. Nasira was not deterred.
"She doesn't want to marry you."
"I don't want to marry her."
"Ardeth… I wish you would listen."
"There is nothing you can tell me that…"
"There is. Ardeth… you must know any woman in our tribe would have killed to be the Council's choice. You have power. You have respect. In marriage, both that power and respect extends to your bride."
"I don't need…"
"But Sameya is not interested."
"Which is undoubtedly why the Council chose her."
"You are not listening. Ardeth, Sameya does not want to marry you because she wants to marry someone else."
Before that sentence, Ardeth really hadn't been listening to his sister. He was annoyed with her. She had locked him in an outbuilding as though they were twelve again. She had forced him to face off with the one person he'd spent the majority of the trip avoiding. And then she had sought him out on board the dirigible to scold him about things Ardeth did not want to talk about.
But this was different.
"What do you mean?"
"Sameya Al Tufayl is perhaps the one unmarried woman out of the whole confederation who does not want to marry you… and she does not want to marry you because she wants someone else."
"Who?"
"It doesn't matter who. What matters is that she wants him, and he wants her back, and if you marry her, you won't just ruin your own life, but you'll ruin the lives of two innocent bystanders along the way. If you won't stop this self-destructive path for your own good, then do it for Sameya."
He finally looked at Nasira. She stared back evenly.
"Marry someone else," she told him. "Pick one of the countless women in the confederation who actually want to marry you. Marry one of our cousins! Marry a goat, for all I care! If you want to be miserable, be miserable! Don't make that innocent girl be miserable with you."
Then she turned her back on him and stomped away.
Ardeth glared after her.
Now he really did not know what to do.
The late afternoon sun beat down on the deck of the dirigible, making it unbearably hot for its passengers. Jonathan sat beside the helm, trying to stay within the shade of the huge balloon over his head. His eyes were focused unseeingly on his sister and her husband, who were seated nearby. The unfocused stare was an effort to look unoccupied and innocent as he attempted steal back his gold stick from Izzy's bag.
He couldn't help it. He just really liked that stupid gold stick.
"You know, I know that whole mess back at Philae was your fault, you jackass."
It was Madeline's voice. Jonathan looked at her as she took a seat beside him, his lips twitching into a smirk.
"Yes, that whole mess back at Philae was in fact this jackass's fault, Maddie my dear," he returned. "And I'm bloody proud of it too."
She glared at him, but Jonathan wasn't fooled. He could see the corners of her mouth fighting to form a smile. That was his favorite part of his friendship with her… she could never stay mad at him, no matter how hard she tried.
"You're a jerk," she announced. "You locked me in a tomb!"
"It wasn't a tomb, you silly bint – it was an outbuilding of sorts. Really, I think your panties are unnecessarily in a bunch."
"You locked me in teensy shed like thing with the one man you know I am currently avoiding!"
"Which is obviously why I did it! You know, sometimes you can be so thick…"
"That was an honestly painful experience for me, Jonathan. You're supposed to be my friend."
"I am your friend," he returned, his fingers still searching the helm behind him for his prize. "And I know that was painful. But it needed to be done. More importantly, that little argument you two had in there is in no way over. You two still need to hash some things out. Make amends. Arrive at understandings. Snog yourselves useless like Brains and Brawn over there."
He gestured at Rick and Evie, who were so caught up in whatever they were discussing – undoubtedly Alex – that they had failed to notice Jonathan and Madeline.
Madeline rolled her eyes. "There will be no snogging."
"Yes, yes, so you say."
"I mean it."
"I believe you."
"You really need to let this go. I have."
Jonathan snorted. "You most certainly have not."
"Have too!"
His fingers brushed something cold and cylindrical. "Have not!"
"Jonathan, I…"
"Aha!"
He pulled the stick free of the helm and grinned at it. "Hello darling."
Madeline glared. "Stealing again I see?"
He tucked the stick inside his coat. "It isn't stealing if it's rightfully mine."
"It's not yours anymore, Jonathan."
"Sure it is. It belonged to me in the first place – your giant of an older brother had no business giving it away without my permission!"
"It was for Alex."
Silence.
Jonathan shrugged. "Yes, well, what Izzy doesn't notice until after Alex is rescued won't hurt anyone. Now you need to go over there and confront the brooding Med-jai so Nasira and I can have some peace."
"Oh, sure," Madeline rolled her eyes. "Let me just pop on over there – for you. So the pressures of matchmaking can be lifted from your shoulders."
"That's all I ask."
"Please. Even if I do make up with Ardeth, you and Nasira still won't know any peace. The two of you can't seem to go five minutes without arguing about something."
"Well, it's her fault! She's the one who morphed into a sanctimonious, arrogant, straight arrow…"
"Noble Med-jai warrior bent on protecting the treasures and secrets of her people?"
Jonathan pouted. "Whatever."
"Hey! Where's my gold stick!"
Jonathan winced at the sound of Izzy bellowing in outrage directly behind him.
Madeline smirked at him.
"You!" Izzy bellowed at Jonathan, whacking him on the head. "Where's my gold stick? You give it!"
"I have no idea what you're talking about!"
"You stole it! I know it was you! Give it back or I'll beat it out of you!"
Jonathan looked at Madeline, but she just rolled her eyes and walked away.
Izzy smacked him again.
Jonathan sighed, removed the stick from his coat, and handed it over.
He'd just have to try again. Later. When Izzy was more distracted… and there was somewhere to run besides the opposite end of the dirigible.
True to Izzy's word, the dirigible touched down at Abu Simbel just as the sun was beginning to set. Rick O'Connell sighed heavily as he surveyed the temple that, as his wife was currently telling him, had been built by Ramsses II as a monument to his favorite wife, Nefertari.
"So… you, then." Rick returned, giving Evie a smirk that didn't reach his eyes.
Evie gave him a small sad smirk of her own. "Yes, I suppose so."
His hand found her shoulder. "We're going to find him Evie."
"I know."
He smiled at her. They began trekking towards the huge temple, approaching the statues that stood as tall as city buildings in downtown London.
Evie was lying and so was he. They had no way of knowing that they would ever find their son, just as they had no way of knowing whether or not the world would end. They kept up a brave face, each one trying to be strong for the other, but bottom line; they were in a hell of a situation, there were no guarantees, and both of them knew it.
Nine years into their marriage and they were still going strong. They were happy and they were as in love with each other as they had been on their wedding night. People who didn't know them very well might assume they were still newlyweds. Rick himself wasn't sure that the honeymoon ever ended. And he knew damn well that his little sister and his brother-in-law were sick and tired of watching him and his wife make out.
It was a rare marriage that continued on in this vein, and he liked to think that meant it was going to last forever. But there was a terror in his gut right now, a terror of losing his son, and he knew if that happened it would have a lasting effect on his fairytale marriage.
He loved Alex. He lived and breathed for the kid, and for Evie. Losing either of them would destroy him. Losing both of them would kill him.
If he and Evie lost Alex, though… Rick suspected they'd lose one another too.
It was an odd thing to think, but he believed it to be true. He and Evie had wasted no time in getting married after that first adventure together out at Hamunaptra. Alex had been born early on in their marriage. No sooner had he and Evie tied the knot, but suddenly she was pregnant. Their relationship had been fast-paced, a whirlwind… their courtship lasted days, their wedding impromptu.
On top of all that, almost their entire marriage had centered around raising their son and without Alex…
Without Alex, would there be a Rick and Evie?
Rick was ashamed to admit it, but he feared that there wouldn't be.
He took comfort in small things… like how comfortable the silence between them was. He circled the ancient temple, gun at the ready, eyes peeled for any sign of his son. Evie trailed along behind him, weaponless, also on high alert.
They moved towards the entrance of the temple. There, by the feet of Ramsses II, they found the third of Alex's sandcastles.
Evie was the one to spot it. She let out an excited yelp, rushing forward and falling to her knees in the sand.
"What is it?" Rick demanded, kneeling beside her.
Evie gently brushed her fingers over the sand castle, smiling softly. "It's the ruins of Kerma. One of the ancient cities of Nubia."
"How far?"
"Half a day, maybe."
Rick sighed and ran his hand through his hair.
"We're cutting it close."
Evie nodded. "I know."
They both got to their feet, dusting off their pants, and stared down at the sandcastle.
"We'll find him, Evie," Rick said.
Evie nodded again. "I know."
And then they heard the buzzing.
Both of them whirled in the direction of the noise, expecting the end of the world… and if they hadn't known better, they just might think that was exactly what they were seeing. On the horizon line a giant black cloud had sprung up and was advancing on the temple at a speed no cloud could manage.
"Locusts?" Evie asked hopefully.
Rick shook his head. "I'm willing to bet flies."
Madeline had been expecting such a turn of events since Izzy's dirigible touched down in Philae.
It hadn't happened there, of course. There had been no locusts or fiery hail or zombies covered in sores and boils.
But here it was, just as she'd been waiting for it. One of the ten plagues of Egypt: the plague of flies.
She'd been wondering when Imhotep would leave another little present behind for them to find. He had to know they were following; he had to have noticed Alex's little breadcrumbs… he, of course, had to want to stop them, or at least slow them down.
The flies were on them in mere seconds, leaving no time for running or hiding. It wouldn't have been a big deal, she supposed, if the flies had been like the ones in London… but Egypt was known for its giant, biting flies… and what evil undead mummy conjuring up a plague of flying insects passes up flies like that?
Sharp pain snapped on her bare forearm… and then on her shoulder, as one fly bit through the fabric of her shirt. She slapped at the flies as their sharp little teeth sunk into her skin… on her face, her arms, her legs…
Most of the noise came from the flies. Their buzzing was deafening. But over the monotonous din of the flies came the occasional squeak or yelp from Evie or Jonathan. Her brother was yelling too, his deep bellows clearly audible over the buzzing.
She couldn't see her hand in front of her face. The swarming black cloud blotted out the harsh desert sun, the flies flew at her eyes.
Madeline put one hand up to shield her face and began the race back towards the dirigible. She knew the approximate direction to take, but that didn't make the trek manageable. Swatting at the flies, ducking her head, and keeping her mouth shut against the insect invaders, Madeline rushed across the hot sand, past the tall statues at the mouth of the temple.
She paused, ducking behind one giant stone leg. It wasn't much in the way of cover, but enough for the moment. Still shielding her eyes, she looked around the edge of the statue at the rest of the rescue party. Rick was ushering Evie towards the dirigible, shielding her head with his arm. Izzy was still on the balloon, swatting at the flies buzzing around his head, screaming at everyone to hurry. Nasira had her scarf covering her face as she ran, Jonathan was right behind her, his coat up over his head, and Ardeth was swatting the flies away, head whipping around, back and forth, not running, but backing towards the dirigible.
Everyone was safe. Madeline put her arm over her head again and ran for the dirigible.
Rick threw Evie on board, turned his head in Madeline's direction. When he saw her running, he nodded once and then leapt onboard the dirigible after his wife. Nasira too leapt gracefully on board and then extended a hand to help the struggling Jonathan scramble up beside her.
Ardeth's searching eyes settled on her.
He turned tail and ran for the dirigible.
It occurred to her that he might have been waiting for her – searching for her.
She made it across the sand in record time, vaulting over the edge of the dirigible. As soon as she was onboard, the dirigible began to rise from the ground.
They continued swatting at flies until they were far up in the air and moving away from Abu Simbel. Soon, the ominous black buzzing cloud was behind them, no longer a threat.
Madeline leaned against the rail, shoulders slumped, trying to catch her breath. Everyone around her was breathless too, leaning and sitting, trying to recover.
"Where…" she gasped, looking at Rick. "Where… are we going?"
"Kerma," Evie answered instead. "We should be there tomorrow morning."
Madeline nodded. She had no idea where Kerma was – or what it was, for that matter. "Ok."
She glanced at the other end of the dirigible. Jonathan had full on collapsed. He was lying on the ground, arms flung out dramatically, gasping for air. Nasira was scolding him, leaning against the rail, as breathless as he was.
Ardeth was staring at her.
She looked at him.
He looked away.
Madeline sighed, slumping to the ground. She sat, back against the side of the dirigible, staring at the sky.
He'd been worried about her.
He'd waited for her. Looked for her.
Well, that was something, wasn't it?
But it didn't mean, of course, that anything was going to change. Far from it, judging by the way he'd gone back to ignoring her.
Well, that was all right. She was used to the way things were now. It wouldn't be impossible to go back to London when this was over and forget it had ever happened.
She hoped.