Again, I use a song I dont own. This time, it is "run to the water" by Live. Aslo, this is the last chapter and Ardeth shows up in this one. I hoped you, like my story...I have 2 more Nick & Ameera stories I want to write....
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The rest of the day was spent in Nick's company, laughing and talking about their lives. Everyone noticed the strange behavior of their Queen…she hardly ever acted like this. They practiced battled in the training section in the back of town, ate together, and were never away from the each other for the entire day.
"If only you knew what it was like to be me, Nick. Everyone thinks it would be so grand to be the leader of these people…but it really isn't. I am constantly having to prove myself to them and it is even harder being a woman and having to be their leader."
"I think you did prove yourself capable to them. I mean…after what we went through…"
Ameera and Nick were staring at the large bon fire in the middle of town. It was late at night and most of the Med-jai had gone to bed, but a few still milled around the city.
"You know what Omar told me today at diner? He said that it was pure coincidence that we killed the creature…because if we had not used that gold knife that had killed Steven…he would have never died."
"What are you talking about?"
"The spell to bring the creature back from the underworld consisted of the use of someone's blood. Their blood had to be entered into the creatures body…and the only way to have killed him after being brought back, was to use the same weapon used to draw the blood in the first place, kill the man whose blood was used, then kill the creature."
Nick looked at her with a blank stare. "And…um…how do we know this?"
"Omar, Radhi and Haris took the Book of the Dead to the Med-jai vault today, and they did some reading through the Book of the Living."
Nick nodded slowly. "We really don't know all that is in those books, do we?"
"No, we do not. At least now, we have then both in our possession, and that's all that matters."
"I hope that's not all that matters." He said, leaning over to kiss her quickly.
"Well…it's not the only thing…" She said with a smile. "Sing to me."
"What?"
"Sing me a song…I love your singing voice. Sing to me."
Nick chuckled.
"Oh desert speak to my heart, oh woman of the earth. Maker of children who weep for love
maker of this birth, 'til your deepest secrets are known to me, I will not be moved. I will not be moved"
He looked down and saw that she was already asleep.
~~
When Ameera opened her eyes, she was not sitting next to Nick in her town, she was in a strange jungle. She could hear birds chirping through the trees and the sound of running water was coming from somewhere below her. She was sitting on a tree that had tipped over and from behind her, she heard something coming towards her through the foliage.
Turning quickly, she saw the figure that stepped out of the jungle and cross to her, sitting down next to her on the tree.
The man that sat down was tall and handsome. His dark brown eyes staring right into her own, his dark brown hair just like hers. His face touched with the same sort of tattoos she and all the other Med-jai wore with pride.
"Hello Meera."
There was only two people in the world who have ever called her that, Andrea and her great-grandfather, Ardeth Bay.
"Papa?" She gasped out, staring into his face. It was him all right…although a much younger version then the man she had known, but it was him.
Ardeth smiled at Ameera softly, looking her over. "You look so well Meera…"
"Papa…what are you doing here?"
Ardeth chuckled and reached out one of his large hands, stroking her cheek. "Just coming by for a visit."
Ameera fell into his arms in a tight embrace, it had been so long since she had felt one of his hugs, and this one did not disappoint.
"Meera…I can not begin to tell you how proud of you we all are. Your father has been beaming for the past two days straight. I am afraid that his face is going to stick like that for good."
"Daddy? Is he here?" She pushed herself away from him a little, turning her head in every direction, looking for the face of her father.
"He is not here with us, no, but he is always at your side, in spirit." Ardeth's voice had a slight angelic ring to it, and it seemed to echo around her.
"Papa…where are we?"
"Ahm Shere…how it looked when I came here. Although…this Ahm Shere does not have the pygmies, be happy about that."
Ameera laughed.
"We have something in common now Meera, we have both seen the creature. What we don't have in common, is you had the chance to fight him, I did not."
"Believe me, you weren't missing much. In fact, be lucky you didn't have to fight him, I'm going to be bruised for the next year."
It was Ardeth's turn to laugh.
"Papa…there was something he said to me right be fore he…um…died. I guess is the word."
"I know what you mean."
"Well…he said, 'I'm not the only one.' What did he mean by that?"
Ardeth gave her a blank look.
"Could it be possible that our ancestors preformed the Hom-dai on someone else?"
"It is possible, but I have never heard of it. The only one I ever knew of who had that done was the creature himself."
"I wish I knew what he meant by that…"
"Don't wish it, Meera, it will only make your brain hurt. He is gone now…there is no way he could ever come back to this earth. Let him go, he is now a memory, a fairy tale to tell your children and grandchildren and maybe even great-grandchildren." He lightly pushed in the tip of her nose with one long finger. "Do not worry about the creature or the Hom-dai, it is nothing more then a story now."
"I know papa, I know." She sat for a minute and just stared at him. "Is this how you looked when you came to Ahm Shere?"
"Yes."
"No wonder Emily fell in love with you."
"That was two years before I met her…but thank you. I will take that as a compliment. She says 'hi' by the way."
"Oh she does?"
"Yes, they all send you their love."
Ameera laughed but could not hide the tears that were forming in her eyes.
"Are you real?" She said through her tears. "Are you really there…really you? Or are you just a part of my mind that is messing with my dreams?"
Ever so gently, Ardeth reached out and wiped away her tears. "I am real, I am really here, and no, I am no a part of your head. It's me, Meera, it's truly me."
Ameera laughed through a small sob and controlled her tears the best she could. "Papa…how did you know that Emily was the one for you?"
"I knew the second I met her. I felt something in my heart that I had never felt before. I just knew I was meant to spend every waking moment with her in my life." He looked her over. "You feel that with him, don't you?"
Ameera sat back a little and stared out into the vast jungle. "I don't know what I feel with him. I knew he is someone I am supposed to have in my life…but I don't know in what way. But I do feel something for him…in my heart."
"Well, we Med-jai are lucky because we have always known who we were meant to spend our life's with. We never have had to go through the misfortune of dating…when we met the person we were meant to be with. We spent our lives with them. That was one reason it took me so long to find my heart and soul in Em. Now you are feeling something with Nick…and if you were meant to be with him, you will be."
"Papa…you know your stuff."
"Well, they don't call me the greatest King of the Med-jai for nothing." Ardeth chuckled. "Meera, I wish I could tell you it will all get easier, I wish I could tell you its smooth sailing from here on in, but I can't. It wont get easier…the deeper you get into the life of a warrior, the more you will want to throw yourself into a pit of scarabs. So you must keep your faith in yourself…because that is what will get you through the thick of it. My father taught me that, and I taught Tom that, Tom taught Ahmad, Ahmad taught you…you too will teach someone that. That is why the past five generations have been the best for the Med-jai. Yeah…the creature came back three times, but it only made us stronger. Meera, you will always be surrounded by your loved ones; we will always be at your shoulder, helping you get by. So you will never be alone."
Ameera fell into another one of Ardeth's tight embraces. "And when things get really bad, my child, you can always have our comfort food." He said softly into her ear.
"A piece of bread with butter." She laughed. "And the one thing that made us mad about our comfort food?"
"If the bread wasn't buttery enough." Ardeth laughed.
"Papa…when will it get easier?"
"When your child takes over as leader. Yet even then, it is hard to watch them go off and do what you did."
"So it never will?"
"Never, but that is the fun of it. And if always remember one thing, it will seem easier."
"What one thing?"
"You went up against the creature once, and you killed him for good. I let him out twice, and was unable to kill him both times."
"Yeah, but you had bigger things on your mind, like fighting the Army of Anubis."
"Not the first time, I was to busy…well...being knocked out."
Ameera laughed and stared into the soft brown eyes of her favorite relative. "Yeah…but you let the O'Connell's make their way into the Med-jai history, and that was very nice of you."
"Yeah, they still tease me about it to this day." Ardeth turned and looked out into the jungle, the light was beginning to fade into a dusk setting. "I have to go soon Meera, you are going to wake up soon and start your day."
"No…I want to stay here and be with you."
"You are never with out me."
"Will I ever see you again? Like this?"
"Tell ya what, if you ever want to see me again, or you father, or anyone of us, just think about us as you fall asleep and tell us you need to talk. Then, we will be here; I will be here, in your dreams. And we will always be with you at your side. Ok?"
"Ok." Ameera watched as her great-grandfather stood up and smoothed out his Med-jai robes. "Papa, a few more things, the night before this all started, I dreamt about your encounters with the creature and the Army of Anubis…was what I saw true?"
"Yes, you saw first hand what I went through. I wanted you to see it, it gave you strength, but you woke up at the wrong time. Right after the Anubis Army was charging us, the second the first one got to us, they all burst into sand. It was one of the neatest things I have ever experienced. Of course, I had sand in places I never wanted it…but that's what you get when you live in the desert. What's the second thing?"
"I saw the creatures resurrection, was that also true?"
"Yes. Although that was Des`demona's work, not me." He saw the puzzled look in her eyes. "Des`demona is the protector of the Med-jai…every leader in history has come face to face with her, and you will to one day. It is her job to warn us of the bad things, and she too will come to you in your dreams."
Ameera also stood up and smoothed out her robes.
"One more thing, it was not Rick who made those maps to the hidden places of the desert. It was Evy. But he forced her to tell everyone he had done it, just in case they ever got in trouble with them. So his beloved Evy would never get hurt because of them. Good man, he is. Always looking out for his wife…"
He placed his hands on Ameera's shoulders and held her at arms length, looking her over.
"Your father is so proud of you, Ameera. He talks about you nonstop. You should really hear him; 'My daughter kicked the creatures ass!' it is the funniest thing to see. Him walking up to everyone and telling them that."
"That sounds like my father."
"He sends the most love out of all of us, he misses you and your family so much it hurts him."
Her eyes filled with tears again at the thought of her father. "I know…and we miss him to. Send him my love?"
"Although I don't have to, I will. He will come to you one of these nights." Ardeth once again hugged Ameera, as she breathed in his scent deeply.
"Will I remember any of this?"
"In your heart and soul, you will, but not in your clear memory. You will remember my advice, and you will use it, other wise I will have to come back and have another talk with you."
"That cant be that bad." Ameera said through her tears. He took her face in his hands and leaned down, kissing her forehead softly.
"I love you Ameera and I am proud of you. Don't ever forget what I have told you, I will always be at your side. We all will. We all love you, I love you."
"I love you to, Papa. I love all of you to."
She stared into his eyes for one last second, and he was the last thing she saw before waking up.
~~
Ameera opened her eyes slowly, not wanting to disturb the image of his face. Although when she opened her eyes fully, and took her first blink of the day, her memory of the dream faded, leaving her feeling happy and calm, but also slightly sad. She knew her dream was special, but could not remember the details of it. All she could remember, is the feeling that she was not alone.
A couple of tears slipped down her face slowly and she brushed them away. Slowly sitting up, she saw that she was in her bedroom, although she had fallen asleep next to Nick outside…he must have carried me in. She thought as she got up for the day, stretching and making her way to her chest of cloths. She had yet another ride to Cairo today, but this time, it wouldn't be all that bad of one.
The morning was cool as she crossed to the city kitchen, sitting down next to Andrea.
"Morning!" She said happily.
"Morning!" Her rather pregnant friend said with a smile. "How you feeling, Meera?"
"Better then I have felt in a very long time, Andi."
"Why?"
"I don't know…I am just...content."
"Could it be because of a certain Englishman you came home with the other day?"
"Maybe." Ameera giggled.
"I thought Queens don't giggle."
"Shut up Andi."
"I also thought you found him, 'rude and arrogant'."
"I still find him rude and arrogant, but also handsome and fun to be around."
"Any one I know?" Another voice came up, causing both women to spin in their seats.
"Morning, Nicky." Ameera said with a smile.
"A good morning to you, Meera." He said as he leaned down and kissed her cheek. Ameera blushed slightly and smiled.
"Shut up Andi." She said through her smile.
"I didn't say anything!"
"You were going to!"
"Only I can call her 'Meera'."
"Ardeth called me it to!"
"Yeah, but now only I can. Find another name, Nicky."
Nick laughed as he sat down next to Ameera.
"Ok, ok, I will just for you, Andrea."
"Thank you."
"You ready?" He asked Ameera softly, staring into her eyes.
"Yeah. Just about."
"You going somewhere?" Andrea asked.
"I am taking him into Cairo."
"Again? Why? You just got back!"
"He has to leave for London soon, he has other plans." Ameera's smile melted a bit. "But, I get to spend two more days with him, so…all is well."
Andrea shook her head at the two. "Who are you and what the hell has he done with my best friend?"
Ameera looked at her best friend.
"Right, 'shut up Andi.' I know you to well, Merra." Andrea said with a laugh.
~~
"Ready?" Nick said, watching as Ameera tied her turban around her head.
"Yeah, we have to get going. We have taken enough time as it is." She smiled softly. Her father had once told her that love makes every Med-jai soft, and she was finding this to be true. It was midmorning, and she knew if they didn't leave now, they never will.
Nick smiled and leaned over to kiss her. Since they were standing in the stables, they were rather unnoticed by the rest of the town. But his lips just barley touched hers when, "AMEERA!"
Omar called through the town.
"In the stables!" She yelled out, shaking her head. A second later, her cousin and second in command appeared on the stables, looking out of breath.
"What's going on?" She asked, by the look in his eyes, she could tell that she really didn't want to hear it. After a minute of catching his breath, he began.
"I know you are set to go in to Cairo...but I think you should stay here. There are people at Humanaptra, LOTS of people."
"What are you saying to me Omar? Because it is making no sense."
"There is a massive group of people at Humanaptra, must be fifty or more. The strange thing is, they look like half of them are a camera crew. They got all this equipment and stuff."
"And they are at Humanaptra?"
"Yes…I think they are going to make a…what's the word…"
"Documentary?" Nick threw in.
"Yeah, I think they are going to document the City of the Dead."
Ameera's hand found its way to her face as she let out a long sigh. It was always something!
"We can't let them do that…it would create a whole new interest in the city…dammit!" She threw her hand down in a furry. "It's always something!"
"I'm sorry, Ameera, but I think you should stay here for this."
"I know, I know…" She turned to Nick who was watching on with sad eyes. "Nick…I…"
"It's ok, Ameera, I understand. You have to do your duty…it's ok."
"No, it is not!" She turned to Omar. "Give us a minute."
"Of course." He said with a quick bow of the head, before leaving them to their peace.
"Nick…I really want to take you, but…"
"Hey! I understand! You have to go protect Humanaptra…and that is what you always have to do. I understand…its ok. We can just have someone else take me to Cairo."
"But I wanted to go with you. I wanted to spend these next two days with you! Not chasing off some fools from that city!" She threw her hands up with a sigh. "I just hate that this is coming between us."
"Hey, don't worry about it! What's two days apart?"
"Two days added to the six months!"
"Listen." He said softly, coming in closer to her. "I'll tell you what, in six months, after all this work for the museum is done with, I will come back to Cairo. And the way you will know I am back is I will have my younger sister, Cindy, throw a party and invite you. So, that way, you will have something to look forward to over these long months…our first date."
She laughed softly, feeling her anger melt away. "You got yourself a deal, O'Connell."
Their lips met in a soft kiss. Nick wrapping his arms around her back, holding her close to his body.
"Think a kiss like that could hold you over for the next few months?"
"No." She said, breathlessly.
"Ok." He pulled her into another, deeper, longer, kiss.
"Would that?"
"Maybe." She looked down from his eyes. "I wish I could go with you…but I have to do this. If they get any amount of usable film…we will have a very busy tourist season on our hands."
"I understand, really. You go off and do you Med-jai thing and I will go off and do my curator thing…and in a little while, we will meet up again and everything will be happy again."
"Ok." She took his hand and led him out of the stable, to where Omar, Haris, and Radhi were waiting a short distance away.
"Radhi, Haris, would you be so kind as to take Nick to…"
"It would be our honor, Lady Ameera." They both said at the same time.
"Thank you." She smiled sweetly at them. "I appetite it. Go get your horses ready…we will be a few minutes. Omar, excuse us."
The two warriors walked off to the stable as Ameera and Nick made their way to the privacy of her home.
"Well, I guess this is it." Nick said softly, staring into her eyes.
"Just for now. We will see each other in a little while." She said with a bright smile.
"You got the idea…" He kissed her again.
"Nick…I have no idea how to explain to you what this past week has meant to me."
"I can see it in your eyes, so you don't have to say anything."
"I have to say this…Thank you."
"For?"
"For…making it so that words could not describe this week."
He laughed a little and smiled softly. "That's what I'm hear for."
They kissed again, this time a soft knock and a soft voice interrupted them.
"Ready when you are, Nick." The soft voice of Radhi called in.
"Ready?" She asked him.
"Ready." He said back, reaching out his hand to her. She took it and together, they walked to the city entrance.
"Remember," Nick said softly, "we have a date in six months, and nothing is going to keep me from it. Ok?"
"Like wise."
When they got to the city entrance, they found four horses, the two Med-jai sitting on top of their own, Martin sitting on another, one waiting to be mounted.
Nick, eyes sad at the thought of leaving Ameera behind for so long, turned to her and placed both hands on her sides.
"Is this it?" She asked softly, forgetting she was in public view of her people.
"No, this is not it. We will see each other in a little while, remember?"
She nodded softly. "Be careful, Nick. Always."
"You to." His smile widened, "Six months, we have a date."
"I will be counting the days."
Nick, forgetting that they were in public as well, said softly,
"I need to remember this, so baby give me just one kiss. And let me take a long last look before we say good bye."
And with that, he took that one last kiss, as all that were watching mouths dropped to the ground. Could their leader really be kissing the O'Connell boy? Oh, the gossip that would spread over the next few days.
But Ameera didn't care about the gossip; she only cared about the kiss and the fact that it would be the last one from the man she was beginning to love. As the kiss neared its ending, they both opened their eyes and looked at each other, seeing only the others eyes staring into their own.
Then, the kiss broke and with out another word, Nick mounted his horse. With one last look at her, to fill his memory, he rode of silently. Her trusted Med-jai warriors following him. No one in town seemed to speak, for a long minute no one dared to move.
Ameera felt the strong but comforting hand on her shoulder and looked over at Omar with sad eyes.
"Ameera…"
"Don't…its ok. I'm ok." She smiled weakly at him. "Give me a few minutes alone, and then we will set out for Humanaptra." She saw him nod out of the corner of her eye as she turned and walked off towards her house. Trying to force her tears to stay deep inside of her.
With a sad sigh, she opened her door and stepped in, hoping for peace and quiet. Sadly, she did not get that. Standing in her living room, looking at the pictures on her shelves, was a tall Med-jai, about six foot one,
"I was wondering when you were going to show." He said in a thick voice, not unlike the one that belonged to Ardeth Bay.
"Have no fear, when ever things couldn't get worse, you always show up."
"Is that any way to treat a guest?" He asked, turning to face her. His bright brown eyes shining and an amused smile on his face.
"No, that is the way to treat you." She shot back. But she let out a long sigh and couldn't hold it up any longer. "I'm not in the mood for this now, Toby. Please…"
"Come here." Toby said, reaching his arms out. She crossed to them and fell into his tight embrace. "It's ok, I'm here now."
"Why are you here? And how did you get in?"
"I came for a visit after hearing about your little adventure, and I came in through the back."
Ameera laughed softly, feeling safe and right again in his arms.
"So, who was he?" Toby said softly.
"You saw?"
"For the most part, yes. Who was he?"
"Nick O'Connell."
"O'Connell? Well, that makes it more interesting."
"Still not in the mood for it, Toby. Please, do me a favor, shut up."
"What ever you say, Queen." Toby held her out at arms length. "Hi sister."
She smiled warmly, "Hi brother. I have missed you."
"Not as much as I have missed you." He noticed the tear forming in her eye. "You going to be ok?"
"No. I'm not. The man I have found myself falling in love with has just left for six months, and I couldn't even go with him to Cairo…"
"Hey…hey. You will see him again. Six months isn't that long of a time…"
She shot him a dirty look.
"Ok, so it is a long time. You can do it, you're strong!"
This caused Ameera to laugh. "Thank you Toby…"
"Any time, Meer." He smiled brightly at his older sister.
"How are things in the second tribe?"
"I will tell you later. What was it like battling the creature?"
"I will tell you later."
Toblis Bay smiled brightly. "Well, we will have much time to talk about such things. It seems that you're not busy for the next six months!"
"Yeah...shame isn't it? I am going to be bored of my ass…" She looked into his eyes, feeling a feeling of joy fall over her again. "Hey, we are about to go scare some people down at Humanaptra, want to come? It's going to be a fun one, they have a camera crew with them!"
Toby's face lit up as she walked to the front door with his sister. "Sounds great! It's been to long since I have scared visitors from the city. Do I get to draw my sword?"
"Sure. Why the hell not?"
Brother and sister walked towards the stables, filling the air around them with laughter that siblings shared. Once again, for the people of the Med-jai, everything was right.
~FIN~
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So...thats is. Like? I hope so. As said, I got two more N&A stories I want to write soooooo bad. in them, you learn about Ameera's past history with another Med-jai, the Fajarah (See The girl and the stone) come back, and something happends to a prime character. (I like being evil to my characters.) And much more.
The ending of this story...I didnt want Nick and Ameera to be together...hence...their not. I mean...it would suck to fall in love with someone and have them have to leave for so long. Though N&A will get together, some day, not today.
Toby...was the last thing that I thought about for this story. It seemed right that she be with her brother at the end of the story. and he was named after Toby, from The West Wing. I like the name.
Finally, the dream with Ardeth....I always thought him to be a family man. And I feel that he would love Ameera so much, and be so proud of her. In the next stories, we will meet Ahmad, her father, who is very much like Ardeth. Maybe throw in some adult Tom. Ardeth, in my eyes, is only a hard warrior when he has to be. We saw the hard ass warrior in The Mummy, and though soo sexy, I like to see him on the softer side. We did get to see that softer side in a few bits of The Mummy Returns(Comes out Oct 2, on video!!!!) I like that side.
Here endeth the story. I hope you, who read it, liked it. Not many have read it so far. Oh well, we cant all have hits, I guess.
Lime Jello, and Thanks fore reading & revewing my story. Maggi
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The rest of the day was spent in Nick's company, laughing and talking about their lives. Everyone noticed the strange behavior of their Queen…she hardly ever acted like this. They practiced battled in the training section in the back of town, ate together, and were never away from the each other for the entire day.
"If only you knew what it was like to be me, Nick. Everyone thinks it would be so grand to be the leader of these people…but it really isn't. I am constantly having to prove myself to them and it is even harder being a woman and having to be their leader."
"I think you did prove yourself capable to them. I mean…after what we went through…"
Ameera and Nick were staring at the large bon fire in the middle of town. It was late at night and most of the Med-jai had gone to bed, but a few still milled around the city.
"You know what Omar told me today at diner? He said that it was pure coincidence that we killed the creature…because if we had not used that gold knife that had killed Steven…he would have never died."
"What are you talking about?"
"The spell to bring the creature back from the underworld consisted of the use of someone's blood. Their blood had to be entered into the creatures body…and the only way to have killed him after being brought back, was to use the same weapon used to draw the blood in the first place, kill the man whose blood was used, then kill the creature."
Nick looked at her with a blank stare. "And…um…how do we know this?"
"Omar, Radhi and Haris took the Book of the Dead to the Med-jai vault today, and they did some reading through the Book of the Living."
Nick nodded slowly. "We really don't know all that is in those books, do we?"
"No, we do not. At least now, we have then both in our possession, and that's all that matters."
"I hope that's not all that matters." He said, leaning over to kiss her quickly.
"Well…it's not the only thing…" She said with a smile. "Sing to me."
"What?"
"Sing me a song…I love your singing voice. Sing to me."
Nick chuckled.
"Oh desert speak to my heart, oh woman of the earth. Maker of children who weep for love
maker of this birth, 'til your deepest secrets are known to me, I will not be moved. I will not be moved"
He looked down and saw that she was already asleep.
~~
When Ameera opened her eyes, she was not sitting next to Nick in her town, she was in a strange jungle. She could hear birds chirping through the trees and the sound of running water was coming from somewhere below her. She was sitting on a tree that had tipped over and from behind her, she heard something coming towards her through the foliage.
Turning quickly, she saw the figure that stepped out of the jungle and cross to her, sitting down next to her on the tree.
The man that sat down was tall and handsome. His dark brown eyes staring right into her own, his dark brown hair just like hers. His face touched with the same sort of tattoos she and all the other Med-jai wore with pride.
"Hello Meera."
There was only two people in the world who have ever called her that, Andrea and her great-grandfather, Ardeth Bay.
"Papa?" She gasped out, staring into his face. It was him all right…although a much younger version then the man she had known, but it was him.
Ardeth smiled at Ameera softly, looking her over. "You look so well Meera…"
"Papa…what are you doing here?"
Ardeth chuckled and reached out one of his large hands, stroking her cheek. "Just coming by for a visit."
Ameera fell into his arms in a tight embrace, it had been so long since she had felt one of his hugs, and this one did not disappoint.
"Meera…I can not begin to tell you how proud of you we all are. Your father has been beaming for the past two days straight. I am afraid that his face is going to stick like that for good."
"Daddy? Is he here?" She pushed herself away from him a little, turning her head in every direction, looking for the face of her father.
"He is not here with us, no, but he is always at your side, in spirit." Ardeth's voice had a slight angelic ring to it, and it seemed to echo around her.
"Papa…where are we?"
"Ahm Shere…how it looked when I came here. Although…this Ahm Shere does not have the pygmies, be happy about that."
Ameera laughed.
"We have something in common now Meera, we have both seen the creature. What we don't have in common, is you had the chance to fight him, I did not."
"Believe me, you weren't missing much. In fact, be lucky you didn't have to fight him, I'm going to be bruised for the next year."
It was Ardeth's turn to laugh.
"Papa…there was something he said to me right be fore he…um…died. I guess is the word."
"I know what you mean."
"Well…he said, 'I'm not the only one.' What did he mean by that?"
Ardeth gave her a blank look.
"Could it be possible that our ancestors preformed the Hom-dai on someone else?"
"It is possible, but I have never heard of it. The only one I ever knew of who had that done was the creature himself."
"I wish I knew what he meant by that…"
"Don't wish it, Meera, it will only make your brain hurt. He is gone now…there is no way he could ever come back to this earth. Let him go, he is now a memory, a fairy tale to tell your children and grandchildren and maybe even great-grandchildren." He lightly pushed in the tip of her nose with one long finger. "Do not worry about the creature or the Hom-dai, it is nothing more then a story now."
"I know papa, I know." She sat for a minute and just stared at him. "Is this how you looked when you came to Ahm Shere?"
"Yes."
"No wonder Emily fell in love with you."
"That was two years before I met her…but thank you. I will take that as a compliment. She says 'hi' by the way."
"Oh she does?"
"Yes, they all send you their love."
Ameera laughed but could not hide the tears that were forming in her eyes.
"Are you real?" She said through her tears. "Are you really there…really you? Or are you just a part of my mind that is messing with my dreams?"
Ever so gently, Ardeth reached out and wiped away her tears. "I am real, I am really here, and no, I am no a part of your head. It's me, Meera, it's truly me."
Ameera laughed through a small sob and controlled her tears the best she could. "Papa…how did you know that Emily was the one for you?"
"I knew the second I met her. I felt something in my heart that I had never felt before. I just knew I was meant to spend every waking moment with her in my life." He looked her over. "You feel that with him, don't you?"
Ameera sat back a little and stared out into the vast jungle. "I don't know what I feel with him. I knew he is someone I am supposed to have in my life…but I don't know in what way. But I do feel something for him…in my heart."
"Well, we Med-jai are lucky because we have always known who we were meant to spend our life's with. We never have had to go through the misfortune of dating…when we met the person we were meant to be with. We spent our lives with them. That was one reason it took me so long to find my heart and soul in Em. Now you are feeling something with Nick…and if you were meant to be with him, you will be."
"Papa…you know your stuff."
"Well, they don't call me the greatest King of the Med-jai for nothing." Ardeth chuckled. "Meera, I wish I could tell you it will all get easier, I wish I could tell you its smooth sailing from here on in, but I can't. It wont get easier…the deeper you get into the life of a warrior, the more you will want to throw yourself into a pit of scarabs. So you must keep your faith in yourself…because that is what will get you through the thick of it. My father taught me that, and I taught Tom that, Tom taught Ahmad, Ahmad taught you…you too will teach someone that. That is why the past five generations have been the best for the Med-jai. Yeah…the creature came back three times, but it only made us stronger. Meera, you will always be surrounded by your loved ones; we will always be at your shoulder, helping you get by. So you will never be alone."
Ameera fell into another one of Ardeth's tight embraces. "And when things get really bad, my child, you can always have our comfort food." He said softly into her ear.
"A piece of bread with butter." She laughed. "And the one thing that made us mad about our comfort food?"
"If the bread wasn't buttery enough." Ardeth laughed.
"Papa…when will it get easier?"
"When your child takes over as leader. Yet even then, it is hard to watch them go off and do what you did."
"So it never will?"
"Never, but that is the fun of it. And if always remember one thing, it will seem easier."
"What one thing?"
"You went up against the creature once, and you killed him for good. I let him out twice, and was unable to kill him both times."
"Yeah, but you had bigger things on your mind, like fighting the Army of Anubis."
"Not the first time, I was to busy…well...being knocked out."
Ameera laughed and stared into the soft brown eyes of her favorite relative. "Yeah…but you let the O'Connell's make their way into the Med-jai history, and that was very nice of you."
"Yeah, they still tease me about it to this day." Ardeth turned and looked out into the jungle, the light was beginning to fade into a dusk setting. "I have to go soon Meera, you are going to wake up soon and start your day."
"No…I want to stay here and be with you."
"You are never with out me."
"Will I ever see you again? Like this?"
"Tell ya what, if you ever want to see me again, or you father, or anyone of us, just think about us as you fall asleep and tell us you need to talk. Then, we will be here; I will be here, in your dreams. And we will always be with you at your side. Ok?"
"Ok." Ameera watched as her great-grandfather stood up and smoothed out his Med-jai robes. "Papa, a few more things, the night before this all started, I dreamt about your encounters with the creature and the Army of Anubis…was what I saw true?"
"Yes, you saw first hand what I went through. I wanted you to see it, it gave you strength, but you woke up at the wrong time. Right after the Anubis Army was charging us, the second the first one got to us, they all burst into sand. It was one of the neatest things I have ever experienced. Of course, I had sand in places I never wanted it…but that's what you get when you live in the desert. What's the second thing?"
"I saw the creatures resurrection, was that also true?"
"Yes. Although that was Des`demona's work, not me." He saw the puzzled look in her eyes. "Des`demona is the protector of the Med-jai…every leader in history has come face to face with her, and you will to one day. It is her job to warn us of the bad things, and she too will come to you in your dreams."
Ameera also stood up and smoothed out her robes.
"One more thing, it was not Rick who made those maps to the hidden places of the desert. It was Evy. But he forced her to tell everyone he had done it, just in case they ever got in trouble with them. So his beloved Evy would never get hurt because of them. Good man, he is. Always looking out for his wife…"
He placed his hands on Ameera's shoulders and held her at arms length, looking her over.
"Your father is so proud of you, Ameera. He talks about you nonstop. You should really hear him; 'My daughter kicked the creatures ass!' it is the funniest thing to see. Him walking up to everyone and telling them that."
"That sounds like my father."
"He sends the most love out of all of us, he misses you and your family so much it hurts him."
Her eyes filled with tears again at the thought of her father. "I know…and we miss him to. Send him my love?"
"Although I don't have to, I will. He will come to you one of these nights." Ardeth once again hugged Ameera, as she breathed in his scent deeply.
"Will I remember any of this?"
"In your heart and soul, you will, but not in your clear memory. You will remember my advice, and you will use it, other wise I will have to come back and have another talk with you."
"That cant be that bad." Ameera said through her tears. He took her face in his hands and leaned down, kissing her forehead softly.
"I love you Ameera and I am proud of you. Don't ever forget what I have told you, I will always be at your side. We all will. We all love you, I love you."
"I love you to, Papa. I love all of you to."
She stared into his eyes for one last second, and he was the last thing she saw before waking up.
~~
Ameera opened her eyes slowly, not wanting to disturb the image of his face. Although when she opened her eyes fully, and took her first blink of the day, her memory of the dream faded, leaving her feeling happy and calm, but also slightly sad. She knew her dream was special, but could not remember the details of it. All she could remember, is the feeling that she was not alone.
A couple of tears slipped down her face slowly and she brushed them away. Slowly sitting up, she saw that she was in her bedroom, although she had fallen asleep next to Nick outside…he must have carried me in. She thought as she got up for the day, stretching and making her way to her chest of cloths. She had yet another ride to Cairo today, but this time, it wouldn't be all that bad of one.
The morning was cool as she crossed to the city kitchen, sitting down next to Andrea.
"Morning!" She said happily.
"Morning!" Her rather pregnant friend said with a smile. "How you feeling, Meera?"
"Better then I have felt in a very long time, Andi."
"Why?"
"I don't know…I am just...content."
"Could it be because of a certain Englishman you came home with the other day?"
"Maybe." Ameera giggled.
"I thought Queens don't giggle."
"Shut up Andi."
"I also thought you found him, 'rude and arrogant'."
"I still find him rude and arrogant, but also handsome and fun to be around."
"Any one I know?" Another voice came up, causing both women to spin in their seats.
"Morning, Nicky." Ameera said with a smile.
"A good morning to you, Meera." He said as he leaned down and kissed her cheek. Ameera blushed slightly and smiled.
"Shut up Andi." She said through her smile.
"I didn't say anything!"
"You were going to!"
"Only I can call her 'Meera'."
"Ardeth called me it to!"
"Yeah, but now only I can. Find another name, Nicky."
Nick laughed as he sat down next to Ameera.
"Ok, ok, I will just for you, Andrea."
"Thank you."
"You ready?" He asked Ameera softly, staring into her eyes.
"Yeah. Just about."
"You going somewhere?" Andrea asked.
"I am taking him into Cairo."
"Again? Why? You just got back!"
"He has to leave for London soon, he has other plans." Ameera's smile melted a bit. "But, I get to spend two more days with him, so…all is well."
Andrea shook her head at the two. "Who are you and what the hell has he done with my best friend?"
Ameera looked at her best friend.
"Right, 'shut up Andi.' I know you to well, Merra." Andrea said with a laugh.
~~
"Ready?" Nick said, watching as Ameera tied her turban around her head.
"Yeah, we have to get going. We have taken enough time as it is." She smiled softly. Her father had once told her that love makes every Med-jai soft, and she was finding this to be true. It was midmorning, and she knew if they didn't leave now, they never will.
Nick smiled and leaned over to kiss her. Since they were standing in the stables, they were rather unnoticed by the rest of the town. But his lips just barley touched hers when, "AMEERA!"
Omar called through the town.
"In the stables!" She yelled out, shaking her head. A second later, her cousin and second in command appeared on the stables, looking out of breath.
"What's going on?" She asked, by the look in his eyes, she could tell that she really didn't want to hear it. After a minute of catching his breath, he began.
"I know you are set to go in to Cairo...but I think you should stay here. There are people at Humanaptra, LOTS of people."
"What are you saying to me Omar? Because it is making no sense."
"There is a massive group of people at Humanaptra, must be fifty or more. The strange thing is, they look like half of them are a camera crew. They got all this equipment and stuff."
"And they are at Humanaptra?"
"Yes…I think they are going to make a…what's the word…"
"Documentary?" Nick threw in.
"Yeah, I think they are going to document the City of the Dead."
Ameera's hand found its way to her face as she let out a long sigh. It was always something!
"We can't let them do that…it would create a whole new interest in the city…dammit!" She threw her hand down in a furry. "It's always something!"
"I'm sorry, Ameera, but I think you should stay here for this."
"I know, I know…" She turned to Nick who was watching on with sad eyes. "Nick…I…"
"It's ok, Ameera, I understand. You have to do your duty…it's ok."
"No, it is not!" She turned to Omar. "Give us a minute."
"Of course." He said with a quick bow of the head, before leaving them to their peace.
"Nick…I really want to take you, but…"
"Hey! I understand! You have to go protect Humanaptra…and that is what you always have to do. I understand…its ok. We can just have someone else take me to Cairo."
"But I wanted to go with you. I wanted to spend these next two days with you! Not chasing off some fools from that city!" She threw her hands up with a sigh. "I just hate that this is coming between us."
"Hey, don't worry about it! What's two days apart?"
"Two days added to the six months!"
"Listen." He said softly, coming in closer to her. "I'll tell you what, in six months, after all this work for the museum is done with, I will come back to Cairo. And the way you will know I am back is I will have my younger sister, Cindy, throw a party and invite you. So, that way, you will have something to look forward to over these long months…our first date."
She laughed softly, feeling her anger melt away. "You got yourself a deal, O'Connell."
Their lips met in a soft kiss. Nick wrapping his arms around her back, holding her close to his body.
"Think a kiss like that could hold you over for the next few months?"
"No." She said, breathlessly.
"Ok." He pulled her into another, deeper, longer, kiss.
"Would that?"
"Maybe." She looked down from his eyes. "I wish I could go with you…but I have to do this. If they get any amount of usable film…we will have a very busy tourist season on our hands."
"I understand, really. You go off and do you Med-jai thing and I will go off and do my curator thing…and in a little while, we will meet up again and everything will be happy again."
"Ok." She took his hand and led him out of the stable, to where Omar, Haris, and Radhi were waiting a short distance away.
"Radhi, Haris, would you be so kind as to take Nick to…"
"It would be our honor, Lady Ameera." They both said at the same time.
"Thank you." She smiled sweetly at them. "I appetite it. Go get your horses ready…we will be a few minutes. Omar, excuse us."
The two warriors walked off to the stable as Ameera and Nick made their way to the privacy of her home.
"Well, I guess this is it." Nick said softly, staring into her eyes.
"Just for now. We will see each other in a little while." She said with a bright smile.
"You got the idea…" He kissed her again.
"Nick…I have no idea how to explain to you what this past week has meant to me."
"I can see it in your eyes, so you don't have to say anything."
"I have to say this…Thank you."
"For?"
"For…making it so that words could not describe this week."
He laughed a little and smiled softly. "That's what I'm hear for."
They kissed again, this time a soft knock and a soft voice interrupted them.
"Ready when you are, Nick." The soft voice of Radhi called in.
"Ready?" She asked him.
"Ready." He said back, reaching out his hand to her. She took it and together, they walked to the city entrance.
"Remember," Nick said softly, "we have a date in six months, and nothing is going to keep me from it. Ok?"
"Like wise."
When they got to the city entrance, they found four horses, the two Med-jai sitting on top of their own, Martin sitting on another, one waiting to be mounted.
Nick, eyes sad at the thought of leaving Ameera behind for so long, turned to her and placed both hands on her sides.
"Is this it?" She asked softly, forgetting she was in public view of her people.
"No, this is not it. We will see each other in a little while, remember?"
She nodded softly. "Be careful, Nick. Always."
"You to." His smile widened, "Six months, we have a date."
"I will be counting the days."
Nick, forgetting that they were in public as well, said softly,
"I need to remember this, so baby give me just one kiss. And let me take a long last look before we say good bye."
And with that, he took that one last kiss, as all that were watching mouths dropped to the ground. Could their leader really be kissing the O'Connell boy? Oh, the gossip that would spread over the next few days.
But Ameera didn't care about the gossip; she only cared about the kiss and the fact that it would be the last one from the man she was beginning to love. As the kiss neared its ending, they both opened their eyes and looked at each other, seeing only the others eyes staring into their own.
Then, the kiss broke and with out another word, Nick mounted his horse. With one last look at her, to fill his memory, he rode of silently. Her trusted Med-jai warriors following him. No one in town seemed to speak, for a long minute no one dared to move.
Ameera felt the strong but comforting hand on her shoulder and looked over at Omar with sad eyes.
"Ameera…"
"Don't…its ok. I'm ok." She smiled weakly at him. "Give me a few minutes alone, and then we will set out for Humanaptra." She saw him nod out of the corner of her eye as she turned and walked off towards her house. Trying to force her tears to stay deep inside of her.
With a sad sigh, she opened her door and stepped in, hoping for peace and quiet. Sadly, she did not get that. Standing in her living room, looking at the pictures on her shelves, was a tall Med-jai, about six foot one,
"I was wondering when you were going to show." He said in a thick voice, not unlike the one that belonged to Ardeth Bay.
"Have no fear, when ever things couldn't get worse, you always show up."
"Is that any way to treat a guest?" He asked, turning to face her. His bright brown eyes shining and an amused smile on his face.
"No, that is the way to treat you." She shot back. But she let out a long sigh and couldn't hold it up any longer. "I'm not in the mood for this now, Toby. Please…"
"Come here." Toby said, reaching his arms out. She crossed to them and fell into his tight embrace. "It's ok, I'm here now."
"Why are you here? And how did you get in?"
"I came for a visit after hearing about your little adventure, and I came in through the back."
Ameera laughed softly, feeling safe and right again in his arms.
"So, who was he?" Toby said softly.
"You saw?"
"For the most part, yes. Who was he?"
"Nick O'Connell."
"O'Connell? Well, that makes it more interesting."
"Still not in the mood for it, Toby. Please, do me a favor, shut up."
"What ever you say, Queen." Toby held her out at arms length. "Hi sister."
She smiled warmly, "Hi brother. I have missed you."
"Not as much as I have missed you." He noticed the tear forming in her eye. "You going to be ok?"
"No. I'm not. The man I have found myself falling in love with has just left for six months, and I couldn't even go with him to Cairo…"
"Hey…hey. You will see him again. Six months isn't that long of a time…"
She shot him a dirty look.
"Ok, so it is a long time. You can do it, you're strong!"
This caused Ameera to laugh. "Thank you Toby…"
"Any time, Meer." He smiled brightly at his older sister.
"How are things in the second tribe?"
"I will tell you later. What was it like battling the creature?"
"I will tell you later."
Toblis Bay smiled brightly. "Well, we will have much time to talk about such things. It seems that you're not busy for the next six months!"
"Yeah...shame isn't it? I am going to be bored of my ass…" She looked into his eyes, feeling a feeling of joy fall over her again. "Hey, we are about to go scare some people down at Humanaptra, want to come? It's going to be a fun one, they have a camera crew with them!"
Toby's face lit up as she walked to the front door with his sister. "Sounds great! It's been to long since I have scared visitors from the city. Do I get to draw my sword?"
"Sure. Why the hell not?"
Brother and sister walked towards the stables, filling the air around them with laughter that siblings shared. Once again, for the people of the Med-jai, everything was right.
~FIN~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
So...thats is. Like? I hope so. As said, I got two more N&A stories I want to write soooooo bad. in them, you learn about Ameera's past history with another Med-jai, the Fajarah (See The girl and the stone) come back, and something happends to a prime character. (I like being evil to my characters.) And much more.
The ending of this story...I didnt want Nick and Ameera to be together...hence...their not. I mean...it would suck to fall in love with someone and have them have to leave for so long. Though N&A will get together, some day, not today.
Toby...was the last thing that I thought about for this story. It seemed right that she be with her brother at the end of the story. and he was named after Toby, from The West Wing. I like the name.
Finally, the dream with Ardeth....I always thought him to be a family man. And I feel that he would love Ameera so much, and be so proud of her. In the next stories, we will meet Ahmad, her father, who is very much like Ardeth. Maybe throw in some adult Tom. Ardeth, in my eyes, is only a hard warrior when he has to be. We saw the hard ass warrior in The Mummy, and though soo sexy, I like to see him on the softer side. We did get to see that softer side in a few bits of The Mummy Returns(Comes out Oct 2, on video!!!!) I like that side.
Here endeth the story. I hope you, who read it, liked it. Not many have read it so far. Oh well, we cant all have hits, I guess.
Lime Jello, and Thanks fore reading & revewing my story. Maggi