Chapter Two: Time's Toll
-*-*-
1926
"Ardeth
Bay! You will not keep me locked up in
this house, while treasure hunters go to the city of the dead!" Akila screamed
at him in English. Over her life of
3218 years, she had quickly accustomed herself to learning every language she
could. It helped when she was in Cairo
with tourists and she wanted to blend in – or even when she was away from
Egypt.
"Mi
Pharos…"
"Don't 'My
Princess' me! If they find The Book of
The Dead, then we are going to be in more trouble then the Medjai or I can
fix. You are taking me. I will view these people myself."
"And read
their minds?" He asked, still learning about the powers that ran in her blood.
"If need
be, then yes." She replied, pulling a cloak around her 5'6" frame. Although the cloak was long and black, her
dress – still that of the ancient land – was visible. It was white and gauzy, accented with gold threading and usually
with some ornate piece of jewelry, but Akila had taken to not wearing any with
exception of her sister's necklace. It
was of Horus, the sky god, his wings outstretched. She had also taken to walking around without shoes or sandals,
even though the Medjai had made sure she had a wardrobe of the current clothes.
Ardeth
sighed, "If you are coming, please at least wear something on your feet."
She
complied, and followed the man out of the house and to the waiting horses. Other Medjai were waiting as well, surprised
to see their princess as she hopped on to the horse. "Is there a problem, gentlemen?"
"No,
Princess. It's just surprising to see
you out here. Are you going for a
ride?" One of the men spoke up.
"I'm going
with you. And don't argue with me. I had a hard enough time with Ardeth." She
shot back, fixing her clothing so she could ride comfortably without riding
sidesaddle.
"Yes,
Princess."
Beginning
to ride off towards their destination, she cocked her head to one side, "My
name is Akila. I was a princess, but I
am not anymore. At least, to me I'm
not. I would much prefer if everyone
would call me Akila."
The men
nodded, and quickened the pace of their horses, wanting to reach Hamunaptra
before nightfall.
-*-*-
1934
Akila
stared across the sands of the desert.
Many years had passed since the first rising of Imhotep, and Akila's
demeanor had changed slightly with it.
Since her curse had been placed, life had become her own private
hell. Periods of sadness and depression
were scattered amongst the periods of normal emotions. But this was something more. Sadness wasn't predominate, but another
emotion was – the desire to have the curse lifted at any cost. She reviled the unwelcome emotion.
"Akila?"
Eshe, Ardeth's four year old daughter, called into the house.
"I'm in
here, Eshe." Akila replied in Arabic.
Following
the sound of the person Eshe thought of as her sister, she glided into the
room, "Daddy's going to be home soon, right?"
Akila
nodded, lifting the child into her lap, "Yes, he is. He just went to retrieve your brothers."
"Where are Jibade
and Hasani anyway?"
"They went
with your father for a meeting of the commanders."
"Why?"
The immortal smiled, "Because
he wanted them too."
"Oh." Eshe
smiled back, and walked away, just as Jasmyne, Ardeth's wife, walked in.
"When
Ardeth gets back, he said he'd take you to meet them." She said, gently.
Akila stood
up, "Thank you, Jas. I know you'd
rather I was not here…"
"Did I ever say that?" She
interrupted, "Akila, you maybe three thousand years older then me, but I feel
as though you are my child. I never
want you to leave. The only thing I
dislike is that you have been very upset and will not let I nor Ardeth fix it."
"Neither
your nor him can fix it. It is
this curse that has upset me, and the only way to fix it is to have it
removed." She said, taking her friend's hand in her own, "Which is why I asked
your husband to take me to O'Connell manor.
I have to meet them."
"The
O'Connell's? That's who you are going
to see?"
"Yes."
"I think I
understand now." She sighed, "Just promise me that you will come back here,
whether or not the curse is lifted."
"I
will. I'll come back." Akila sniffled,
before hugging her friend tightly.
Ardeth's
voice tore through the air at that moment, along with the sounds of eight-year
old Jibade and seven-year old Hasani.
"Be
careful."
"Isis
protects me. She will make sure that we
return. Allah will help." She said, as
they pulled apart, her interesting religious beliefs appearing for the first
time in months.
"I know."
Jas replied. But a nagging feeling told
her that something wasn't right.
-*-*-
Richard
O'Connell popped open the bottle of champagne, and poured some of the liquid in
to glasses, "Another baby." He whispered, while walking over to the study room
couch where Evelyn was watching him, "I can't believe it."
"I guess we
won't be doing much in the way of exploring for the next few months."
"Not if you
act the way you did when you were pregnant with Alex."
She smiled,
"I wasn't that bad!"
"You were mean, paranoid, and
craved food I never thought would ever be made in the first place." He replied,
before moving forward to kiss her lightly.
"Umm…" Evy
moved back a little, before moving her head closer again, and kissing him
deeper then before.
Alex chose
that moment to walk in, with Ardeth, Jonathan, and Akila following, "You two
make it very hard to live in this house."
Rick looked
over at the small cluster and then stood up, "Alex, say you're coming in the
room next time."
"Sorry." He
sighed, and turned around, "I'm going to my room. Come on, Uncle Jon." He started to walk away, "Uncle Jon?"
"I'll be up in a few minutes,
Alex." He replied. Alex walked away,
which left the adults.
"I'm sorry
if this is an intrusion." Ardeth started.
"It's
alright. Is everything okay?" Rick
asked, as Evy stood up as well.
Akila
grinned, "Mostly."
Evy looked
at her oddly, "You. I feel like I know
you."
"Well,
technically you do. My name is
Akila. Nefertiri was my sister."
Nefertiri
looked at her sister. Akila was almost
four, and a little hellion. She wreaked
havok upon every person in the palace, with the exceptions of three people –
Nefertiri, Amunet, and Ini-herit.
But
sleeping, she appeared as she always had – like an oasis in the middle of the
arid desert.
"Akila."
Evy murmured, "I remember that.
Strange, I haven't remembered any of my past life since…" Evy trailed
off.
"I figured
as much." Akila sighed, "I just wanted to meet you and Rick. It's been such a long time since I've seen
my sister or Ini-herit and you both look so much like them."
"Who was
Ini-herit?"
"My
medjai. He was my protector from the
time I was born until the time he died."
"And I look
like him?"
Akila
nodded, "Very much so. After all, you
are his reincarnate."
"What?"
"You,
Richard O'Connell, are the reincarnate of Ini-herit, medjai to Akila and lover
to Nefertiri. Ironic that you would end
up with Nefertiri's reincarnate again." She smiled, then frowned at herself,
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't refer to either
of you as reincarnates. I just miss my
family so."
Evy quickly
asked, "How old are you?"
"Three-thousand,
Two-hundred, and Twenty-six."
"Wow." Evy
murmured, before looking at the girl curiously, "Is there more to why you are
here?"
Akila
looked behind her to Ardeth, who had been silent for most of the time, and
chose to speak for her, "Akila's immortality is what she refers to as her
curse. She wants to be rid of it. However, the only way to lift it, is to prove
who her father was."
"I don't
understand." Rick stated, a bit confused.
"When I was
born, it was unknown whether Seti was my father or whether Imhotep was my
father. I was given a name by each of
them, as well as the name Olabisi which my mother gave me. However, I believe that with your help, we
could find out who my father is, and I can return to being mortal."
"You would
give up immortality?" Evy asked. Most
people would love to be in the position Akila was in.
Akila
nodded, "I remember the days of the royal court, where I was loved. I had my family and a life. Now I have no family outside of Ardeth, his
wife, and their children. Even so, one
day they are going to die, and I can't handle watching another person I love
die."
Rick and
Evy nodded and turned to look at each other, "We'll help."
"Thank
you."
-*-*-
It's short, I
know. I've been having a hard time
being able to sit down and write lately.
Too much school work.
Cassie Jamie
noahXfiles@aol.com