C7: Back to Egypt

When Aida finally began to come out of the darkness, she was aware of three things.

One; she was being carried on someone's extremely uncomfortable shoulder.

Two; she was bound by her hands and feet.

Three: she could hear multiple voices around her, none she knew.

She squinted and raised her head the best she could, blinking a few times when the image blurred.

"Aunt Aida!" Alex was looking at her, the back of his jacket and shirt being gripped in the fist of Lock-Nah as they marched forward.

"Alex," she groaned, still not completely conscious, "are you alright?"

"Keep quiet!" Lock-Nah bit out at both and jerked Alex so the young boy shook and glared at the elder.

"Leave him alone!" She struggled against her bindings, not caring if the man underneath her gripped her harshly, "You lay one finger on him I'll kill you myself!"

Lock-Nah and his guards merely laughed at her and during her struggle, she managed to fathom where they were. Dirty, metal hallways with large, rusty pipes overhead…the all too familiar sight of a lower level steamship. When her father had first brought them over, she and her siblings would sneak off for days and run around, playing games and tricks on the sailors and crew. The smell never really left her memory either.

They walked a short while more, before coming to a stop in front of a door.

"In here!" Lock-Nah pushed Alex through first and the man with Aida followed. He unceremoniously dumped her on the floor, causing her to bang her head.

'Shit!' She gritted her teeth and glared at them both.

"Get comfortable," Lock-Nah smiled down at them, "you'll be here for a while."

Alex stood and made to run out, but they shut the door and slid the bolt on the other side, locking them in.

The room itself was dark, lit only by one chunky candle. There was grime over the walls, dirty sheets laid out in a corner, a broken table, and one bucket. And unfortunately, Aida knew exactly what that bucket was for.

"You wait! My dad will come and save us and THEN you'll be sorry!" Alex pounded his fists against the door a couple more times, getting his frustrations out. Whilst his back was turned, Aida awkwardly pushed herself up until she was sat upright and wiggled her way back until she was pressed against a wall.

"Alex, come see if you can get these knots," she held out her feet and tried to pull her hands free, but she knew it was futile. The rope was new, strong, and especially tight. They were cutting into her wrists and she knew there would be bruises and potentially, open wounds on her skin.

Her nephew came over and knelt down, fumbling with the knots. With his tiny fingers, she could see he wouldn't make much of a difference, but bless his heart, he was trying.

"Sorry. It's too dark," he frowned and looked utterly dejected, "I can't do it."

"That's fine, at least I'm comfortable," she lied through her teeth and gave him a small smile, "come here. I think I need a hug. If you can put up with that?"

Alex scrambled slowly over and sat next to her. He placed his head on her shoulder and threw his arm over her.

"You are alright, Alex?" She felt him nod and sighed in relief, "Good. Did they hurt you?"

"No," he shifted and reached up to gently tap the side of her face, "you've got blood on you though. Where he hit you."

She had thought it felt a bit sore earlier.

"Not much we can do about it."

"Actually, there may be," he got up again and walked over to the table. She had not noticed it earlier, but underneath was a large jug and one cup. He picked it up, sniffed it, and brought it over to her.

"It's just water. Looks gross though," he reached into his jacket and pulled out a dirty handkerchief, "sorry, it's all I've got."

Aida tried to hide her grimace when he dipped the cloth in and gingerly began to clean her face, but she was also deeply touched by his attention. Once he had cleaned most of the blood from her face and head, he offered her a drink, but they both agreed to forego that until they were desperately thirsty. Then they may not notice the taste.

He curled back up against her and exhausted, she was ready to fall asleep. But just as she was trying to get comfortable, she felt him shudder. And then, heard a soft, stifled cry.

"Alex, it's ok to be scared. But there's hope," she placed the side of her head against the top of his and rubbed her cheek against his hair, hoping to comfort him, "your mum and your dad WILL find you. I promise."

"I shouldn't have put on the bracelet," he sniffed, trying to fight back the tears.

"You're terribly curious. I'm afraid that's the Carnahan curse," she tried to reassure him, but he continued to cry. He only stopped when he fell into a deep sleep. Aida was grateful that he could sleep at least. Because now began her long, boring watch over him. But she'd do it. She'd do it for their journey until they were saved or escaped.

A few days later…

Aida was unsure how they reached their destination so quickly, but from what she could remember when she slept, it had only taken a few days. During that time, guards would check in on them, mostly to see if they were still there. They had been given food, a little bit more water but that was it. Alex had asked for a book, but apparently, Imhotep's courteous only went so far.

When they had docked, Alex was grabbed again and Aida was hoisted over someone's shoulders, another checking her ropes were still tight. Deeming them too loose, they were re-knotted, and she knew she wouldn't be able to break free from them without a knife.

In the dead of the night, no one bothered the troupe, even when Aida and Alex grunted and fought as best, they could against their captors. They were thrown into the backseat of a car and surrounded by three men. The two of them squished together and glared out of the window. Whilst it was his first time seeing it, Aida knew they were back in Egypt. The smell. The heat. The stars in the sky. She had returned.

The car traveled for an hour or so before they were taken out and onto a train. But unlike last time, when they came to a room and opened the door, Aida was thrown onto the floor. And Alex was held back.

"No!" She cried out and tried to get up as Alex was yanked back, struggling against Lock-Nah as he tried to get to her.

"I WANT TO STAY WITH HER!"

The door slammed shut on Aida and she could still hear Alex protesting as he moved down the train. And then the sound was gone.

Feeling a renewed sense of fight, Aida struggled against her ropes again and looked around for anything to help her. Again, the only thing in the room was a bucket and a sheet. Nothing that would cut her out of her predicament.

A short while later, two guards entered, leaving the door behind them open. They picked her up and made her stand, chuckling when she wobbled and had to use them both to keep herself up.

"Oh, hello," she looked up to see another face join them.

It was the woman from the museum! Anck-Su-Namun.

She strode confidently forward and smiled.

"Welcome. I am Meela."

XxXxXxXx

Author note: Hey guys! Thanks for the lovely reviews, I'm going to try and write when I can but I just started a new job so have to get into the swing of sleeping early! Pre-warning, the next couple of chapters are going to be very heavy subject matters!