I own nothing except for what
comes out of my own head. If it looks
like it belongs to The Mummy, or The Mummy Returns, then it probably does. =)
Rebecca knelt beside Jonathan,
her expression concerned when she saw how pale his face had become. His arm was wrapped in bandages, and Evy was
in the process of cleaning the dried blood from his skin. Rebecca laid her hand against his cheek,
smiling when he opened his eyes.
"How do you
feel?" She asked, stroking his
cheek gently.
"How do I look?" He asked.
"Bloody awful." She replied honestly, sitting back on her
feet so that Evy could finish her work.
"Then that's how I'm
feeling." Jonathan told her,
wincing as Evy began to clean the injured arm. "Careful, old mum. Unless
you have whisky to dull the pain?"
"I'll get it for
you." Rebecca promised.
She rose, and went searching for
Jonathan's pack. She found it amidst
the jumble of things that were to become their camp for the night. Jonathan was too weak to travel, and the
decision to rest for the night had been greeted by all with relief. They'd ridden a safe distance from
Hamunaptra, though, to an oasis that the Medjai knew of. No one had wanted to spend the night in the
City of the Dead after all that had just occurred.
Rebecca closed her hand around
the neck of the bottle, pulling it from Jonathan's pack as she rose, turning
back to where he lay propped up by Rick and Evy's packs. Alex hovered nearby; the Book of Amon-Ra
tucked under his arm securely. There
had not been time to find out if he'd found anything; the first concern had
been for Jonathan. A hand on her arm
made her pause, and she turned to find Ardeth standing beside her. She smiled up at him, but he could see the
fatigue and tension in her eyes.
"We are setting up the camp." He told her, bringing up a hand to touch her
shoulder. "When you are ready, I
will treat your wound."
"I don't have a-" her
words trailed off as he drew his hand back from her shoulder. There was blood on his hand.
"I need to take this to
Jonathan." She said, holding the
bottle aloft. "He's hurt worse
than I am, so--"
Ardeth caught her as she slumped
forward. The bottle fell to the sand
with a thud as it slipped from her limp fingers. Her head lolled back, and he could see that her eyes had closed. Now that the adrenaline rush was over, and
she'd slowed down enough to feel the pain, her body had given over to
rest. He lifted her in his arms as Rick
approached in concern.
"What happened?"
"I think that the day has
caught up with her." Ardeth said
with a smile down at his unconscious wife. "She was bringing this to Jonathan."
His foot nudged the bottle. Rick bent and picked it up with a laugh.
"Medicine?"
"I believe that was the
intention." Ardeth said, turning
to take his wife to their tent.
=-=================-==========-=============-=============-===
Rebecca tossed and turned; her
sleep haunted by the memories of what had gone on in Hamunaptra. Ardeth crouched down next to her, reaching
out a hand to feel her forehead. Her
skin was cool, and she seemed to settle at his touch. He removed his hand, moving to the doorway to speak with his men.
"There is still
danger." He said, his voice fierce as he stepped outside. "Molnar specifically said that there
was another threat to my wife. She must
be guarded."
"We could journey to our
people." One suggested. "There is no better place to protect
her, and the O'Connell family. While we
are there, you could officially present your chosen."
Ardeth considered those words,
finally nodding his agreement.
"I will speak to our
brother." He said, meaning
Rick. "If he agrees, and his
wife's brother is well enough to travel, we can leave tomorrow."
He stepped back into his tent,
watching as the men stationed themselves close enough to keep an eye out, but
far enough away to ensure privacy. He
turned back to find Rebecca awake, staring up at him with eyes shadowed by
fatigue.
"You should be
sleeping." Ardeth said, his tone
gentle as he went to her side.
"I've slept enough, for
now." She replied, pulling herself
to a sitting position, wincing at the pain in her shoulder.
"The cut was not
deep." He assured her, seeing her
gaze go to her wound. "You slept
through the cleaning."
"That's probably a good
thing." Rebecca said with a shaky
smile. "What did he mean?"
"Who?" He asked, handing her a cup of water before
turning to prepare food.
"The one who said I needed
to be presented as your chosen."
Ardeth set a plate before
her. She looked down, her attention
snared by a slice of fruit. She sighed
at she bit in; she hadn't realized she'd been hungry till this moment. She looked back up at Ardeth, awaiting his
reply.
"The dance we shared bound
us together as husband and wife in the eyes of those who watched." He told her, pleased to see some color returning
to her face. "There is a joining
ceremony that is done before our people."
Rebecca chewed slowly, trying to
ignore the butterflies that had taken flight in her stomach. She'd committed herself to staying when
she'd remained to witness the execution of Molnar. She had remained to show her support of Ardeth, and to show she
would not back down in the face of his responsibilities.
"How many people?"
"All of them. Thousands." He replied, grinning when the color drained from her face
again. "Does that idea frighten
you?"
"Maybe. That's a lot of people." She said, twisting her hands nervously.
He knelt, taking both her hands
in his and bringing them to his lips.
"You fight as bravely as
any of my men, yet the idea of standing before my people to become my wife
scares you." He teased.
"I haven't convinced myself
that I'm good enough for you yet." Rebecca admitted, her gaze locking with his. "What will they think of me?"
"They will love you as much
as I do." He promised, bending
down to kiss her. "I promise. Now eat. You need to regain your strength."
====----====----====----====----====----====----====----====----====----====
Rebecca didn't care what Ardeth
thought. She knew they were going to
hate her. How could his people accept
someone that came from world as different as theirs? She rode beside Evy silently, chewing her lip as she contemplated
what was to come. Evy glanced over,
reaching out a hand to pat Rebecca's hand when she saw the expression on her
friend's face.
"Stop worrying." Evy said, her voice low so the others could
not hear.
"That's easy for you to
say." Rebecca answered. "Rick didn't have family for you to
impress. I have to impress an entire
tribe."
"True." Evy chuckled, earning a glare for her show
of amusement. "You've already impressed
the most important one of them all."
She indicated Ardeth with a wave
of her hand. He rode at the head of the
group, looking imposingly regal in his black robes, a cloth covering his face
to protect it from blowing sand. Rebecca's
expression softened at the sight of him, and Evy smiled knowingly.
"See. Just look at him when you get worried. Everything's going to work out fine."
Rebecca straightened, pulling
her own covering back from her face. Evy was right. She was being
silly.
"Remember how I always said I
was going to live in Buckingham Palace?" She asked Evy with a grin.
"I'll say. It looks like you've fallen a bit short of
the mark." Jonathan quipped.
Both women looked back. He was resting comfortably in a makeshift
sled that was being pulled behind Rick's horse. His arm was in a sling, and he looked much better than he had the
day before.
"What was that we used to call
you, Princess Becky or some twaddle like that?" Jonathan continued. "Way
short of the mark."
"Watch it buddy. Injured or not, I'll come back there and
shut you up." Rebecca threatened,
though her tone showed she didn't mean a word of it.
Jonathan's expression brightened
at the wordplay, and Rebecca slowed the pace of her mount so she could continue
to chat with him. She kept him company
until the procession halted. She looked
up to see Ardeth looking back at her; she urged her horse forward until she was
by his side. Her expression was
inquiring as she looked at him, and he turned to point out the way before them.
"Our destination is over the
next ridge." He told her, though
nothing indicated there was anything but sand. "I would like it if I entered the city with you by my side."
"Alright." Rebecca said as the butterflies started their
dance again. "Did you say it was a
city?"
"You shall see." He said mysteriously, as they began to
journey forward again.
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