Chapter 33

Jessica made her way down the small hall to the other side where a door and a window was with a few boxes off to the side. Ardeth and Kontar stood in silence keeping watch. Taking a few deep breaths, she moved slowly up behind Ardeth and wrapped her arms around him, her fingers interlocking and resting on his stomach. Kontar turned and stared thoughtfully at his kinswoman as her eyes met his briefly.

"I will take my leave," Kontar spoke and turned to walk past them only to stop at Jessica's side and silently asked her with his eyes if she was sure, she nodded her head in a yes motion and felt him squeezed her shoulder in acceptance and walked away.

She watched him till he was out of sight before turning back around and pressed her face into Ardeth's back and just waited for what seemed like a lifetime. She felt him shift and loosened her arms slightly as he turned around. Once he was facing her, she looked up and met his eyes. She raised her hand and cupped his face gently and whispered. "I am so very sorry."

He inhaled deeply and shifted and lifted her, so she was sitting on the stack of boxes, so they were the same height and moved her legs, so he was standing in between them. Jessica went to speak, she didn't know what she was going to say but paused after Ardeth covered her mouth gently and whispered. "No words woman-child."

He gently placed a kissed on her mouth, with her small gasp and with the closing of her eyes only then he deepened the kiss for a time and slightly moved his mouth from her lips, across her jawline, and down her neck and paused for a short time at the base of her throat. Jessica had her eyes closed, and she was still though her breathing was heavy, and her grip on the front of his robes was knuckle tight as his hands glided down her shoulders pushed the top part of her dress down as he pressed closer into her.

His mouth moved over her throat and stopped for a brief time at her pulse in the center of her throat as he ghosted his hands over her breasts and cupped them gently and rubbed them. Before sliding back upward over them to her neck and till finally they cupped her face, and he kissed her again, and this time she responded to him hesitantly, and he broke the kiss and caught one tear that escaped her eye with a finger.

He watched her for a short time before moving his one hand behind her head and pulled her head gently back as his other untied the top of her dress and pushed the material down. He leaned forward and started to place kisses on her breast and sucked. It was here that Jessica's eyes flown open and her breaths were uneven as one of his hands moved down and slid up her leg under her dress.

She tried to struggle to get her safe word out but couldn't. But within the next second Ardeth had frozen and stilled. He removed his hands from her person and gently brushed some tears from her face as he kindly spoke, "Thank you woman-child for being brave with the comfort that you offered."

She nodded her head and pressed herself against him as they held each other. He pulled back as a tapping noise drew his attention down the hall. He stepped back and gently put her down on her feet. She stood still up against him, and they both waited with strained ears to hear the noise again. Jessica let out a relieved sigh as silence surrounded them once more. But it was short lived. She tensed up a second later as the same sound was heard louder. Ardeth motioned for her to get behind him and she did. She moved her dress back up and fumbled with the drawstring trying to tie the upper part of her dress together as the figure of Martha stepped out of the darkness.

Her mother's words in their mother tongue had her trembling fingers steady with anger, and she managed to tie the top of the dress together and before stepping out from behind her warrior with narrowed eyes as the words registered slowly in her mind at her mother's scornful tone. "You have no shame heathen daughter of mine and with this savage nonetheless."

"He is from an honorable people and warrior! I would rather live like a savage and know that I will be loved and protected and my children cherished than be like the likes of you!"

"You will regret it Jessica Piper."

"You're wrong!"

It was during their shouting match that had the rest of the group running and as they came into the small entrance hall. They spread apart a little as they all watched on. Quinn made to move to help Jessica, but Kontar had grabbed her arm and halted her steps. She turned and looked at him with a hard expression, and he spoke near her ear, "Wait, this is her battle."

Martha felt Matthew move over to her along with her daughter and son-in-law in the darkroom, but she ignored them as everyone seem to stand still in the soft quietness of the room, as a silent will being intone felt by all. Jessica had closed her eyes, and she reopened them, as she did the gold and green of her eyes seemed brighter than before, and her skin seemed to take on a glow. Jessica's voice had an eerily note to it, "All I ever wanted from you was love and to be desired for who I was! I see how foolish I have been in my wishes and hope."

She paused briefly and looked down. It was here that Matthew went to speak, but his mouth snapped shut at his youngest voice again, "I, Jessica Piper McKinney, who is the heiress and princess to the line O' Willow. No longer consider Martha McKinney nee Benet nor Matthew Robert McKinney and Rebecca Lyn O'Shea nee McKinney my parents and sibling nor any child from those unions apart of the main bloodline anymore."

Jessica glanced up halfway with a glare and it seemed like a cold breeze drifted into the room, but none took heed of it except Jessica's former parents and sister and herself. At that moment was when pain rippled through Jessica as she dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around herself and through clenched teeth kept speaking steadily despite the horrifying pain of being split apart from inside out.

Jessica's voice tremble as she spoke again, "I will still have Ailene McKinney nee O'Briain as my grandmother. However, Aunt Adele Fateh nee O'Briain will be her daughter. Adele and Jamal Fateh will be my parents, and their son Kontar Fateh will be my brother and protector from this minute forth. As for you three, you will become my aunt, uncle, and cousin with little to no standing within the family and clan combined."

It was here that Kontar felt a shift inside of himself as he stumbled towards Jessica who was weeping not only from the pain but from the hurt and every suffering she had endure had burst from a dam wall that had been broken. He dropped to his knees and despite the pain that he felt, pulled her in his arms and with a loud whisper said, "I Kontar Fateh will be honored to not only be your protector, but I welcome you my former cousin as my sister and every way including blood." The air in the room seemed to settle and peace was felt again and the pain that Jessica had experience lessened a little. But there was something dangerous in the air though still and no one dared to move.

Across the desert to a shamble of a city in a dark room, eyes flew open of a person and mouthed a few words that couldn't be made out before collapsing into unconsciousness.

From there to the hidden valley of the Medjai into a tent of one of the people in a bedroom, Adele shot straight up in bed as she screamed in pain. Another woman came running into the room and towards her as Adele whispered, "You foolish, naive, sweet girl. I accept you as my daughter Jessica Piper McKinney and will be your mother."

The woman sat down beside her quietly, and Adele leaned into her. "We need to get to our son."

"Very well." She got up and left the room quickly and changed. They quickly moved to the stables both armed, and they saddled up their horses and mounted before riding out of the valley. Only to stop and informed one the sentries on what they were doing. He signaled for another one and explained in harsh, quick voice on what was going on. The two women raised an eyebrow at him. "I will come along, just in case."

They nodded, and he hurried away a minute later he came back with his horse, and they rode away into the night towards Cairo.