Title: When The Past Comes Alive
Authors: Alex (skettipikachu@aol.com) and Sarah (silivin@aol.com)
Rating: PG-13
Category: Action/adventure
Status: Work in progress (part 5)
Disclaimer: See part 1
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Evie was in a flurry. She rushed about the house grabbing books,
clothes, tickets, and in the case of Jonathan, plucking alcohol out of his grasp. Rick wisely grasped Ardeth by the arm and took him into
the office where he kept his weapons. Alex however wasn't quite so
lucky, he was sent scurrying about with arms piled full of clothes.
When they were packed in a satisfactory manner, Evie slowed down then finally dropped onto the couch.
"Are we done yet, mum?" Alex asked as he rubbed his forehead in an
exasperated manner.
"Yes, I do believe so." Evie smiled and beckoned him over. "Now all
we have to do is load the car. And I think Rick and Jonathan can
handle that."
"Can I boss them about?" Alex asked, suddenly rejuvenated by the
thought.
"Sure." Evie smiled at the thought. "Go tell them it's time."
"Okay!"
~~~~~~~
"Is that it?" Rick shoved the last piece of luggage into the trunk.
"Hum..." Evie looked around and then nodded. "Yes."
"Thank God!" Jonathan exclaimed. "I can't believe you're dragging me along on this...thing!"
Rick glared at him. "I think you need to be watched."
Jonathan glared back. "Oh, let up."
Alex grabbed his arm. "Come on! We might find treasure, or a mummy,
or a curse, or even..."
"What?" Jonathan was suddenly intrigued.
"A girl that could stand you!"
"What?" Jonathan shrieked. "You little..."
"That's enough, children!" Evie said, as she sailed by. "Into the car. Jonathan, Alex and I will ride in the backseat. Ardeth, you can sit up front with Rick."
Jonathan dropped into the seat and secured his seat belt. Suddenly
things looked hazy and he vaguely noticed his sister sitting down
beside him, then everything flashed and he was looking at something
else entirely...
~~~~~~
He was seated on a throne. Servants flitted here and there and he was handed a wineglass. 'Well, something's up.' Jonathan thought; he then took a drink.
A young woman was walking straight towards him. She wore a long white loose fitting dress with a fitted waist, her shoulder length black hair swished about her shoulder alluringly, and her feet made a
slight slapping noise as she approached.
"Hello, Isis." He found himself speaking. "I trust my sister is well?"
"Yes, Your Highness." She had a soft, sweet voice. "My business here does not concern her today."
Jonathan felt himself lifting an eyebrow. "It doesn't?"
"No sir." She peered up at him shyly.
Jonathan quickly took the hint. "Would you like to go for a walk?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
He stood up, and to his ultimate surprise, set his wineglass
down. "Call me Rameses." Inside Jonathan started jumping, mentally
screaming 'I was Rameses!'.
She took his offered arm and they started toward the garden. Ramses waved the Med Jai off, glancing at them annoyed.
One of them came forward. "Your Highness, you shouldn't go alone!"
Jonathan started; it was Ardeth in a wig! Okay, Ardeth with
straightened hair anyway. "I'll be fine."
"Jonathan, are you alright?" Evie's voice broke into his thoughts.
"I was!" He snapped. "I just had the most amazing daydream..."
~~~~~~
Sari Kohjar stood in the airport's departure room, awaiting the appearance of the O'Connells. She still couldn't believe her luck that Evelyn had asked her to come with them on this trip to Egypt. It was like a dream come true, plus it would enable her to spend more time with Ardeth.
She smiled at the thought of him and plucked at the collar of her blue blouse, checking for the hundredth time that she looked okay before adjusting her long black skirt. It hadn't been as bad as the night when she'd been invited round for dinner though when she had gone through her entire wardrobe in search of something that would seem nice enough. She had never really bothered to dress up before, but now she had been making an effort, even styling her hair a little in the hope that he would notice.
Speaking of her hair, she tucked it behind her ears again. Looking good could sometimes be a real pain though she had realised. She usually kept her long black hair tied back and now that she had it loose around her shoulders, it was only now that she noticed how long it had grown. Definitely time for a haircut, she thought, frowning. She knew her father wouldn't like that though. She grinned, trying to picture his reaction if she came home with short hair. He had always let Sari get away with whatever she wanted, much to her mother's dismay. But ever since her mother had died a few years ago, Sari and her father had grown that much closer and she loved making him proud.
He had been there when she had been accepted on a course in Egyptology at Oxford, he had been there when she had graduated and also when she had found her first job at the British Museum. Being his only child made him a little overprotective at times which could drive her crazy, but he was pretty easy-going considering his Arabic heritage which had probably been more due to her English mother's influence than anything else. Once he had started a new life in London, he had been unwilling to return to the east and although Sari had respected that, she had always wanted to go herself and now this was her chance.
She checked her watch again, knowing that she was early, but she had been excited and impatient to get to the airport. And to see Ardeth, she reminded herself, blushing a little. God, she was behaving like a love-struck fool! She paid no attention to the thought, she was liking this. She met a lot of men at the museum seeing as it was still largely dominated by males, but this was the first time she had ever felt like this about one before. And he was an eastern one at that, a definite plus. Sari didn't consider herself to be more Arabic than British, but she had always thought western men had a certain...brashness to them. She grinned at how Ardeth had acted like a prefect gentleman and she just hoped that she could be enough of a lady for him.
It was then that the excited voice of the O'Connell's son brought her out of her thoughts and she waved. Alex came bounding over followed by his parents and uncle and, bringing up the rear was Ardeth. Her spirits lifted even more at the sight of him and she decided that she could even tolerate the advances of Johnathan, her mood was that good.
"Good morning," she greeted, smiling.
Ardeth smiled, stepping around Jonathan and smoothly offering his arm. "Good morning. How are you?"
She took his arm. "I'm very well thank you," she replied. Then she grinned. "Actually, I'm very excited. I've never been on a plane before."
Ardeth bent and picked up her bag. "They are quite memorable."
She laughed a little and thanked him, then followed him to their boarding terminal, trying to calm her excitement and failing miserably. "I can't wait," she admitted. "This is going to be so wonderful!"
"If you can get over the heat," Jonathan said. He smiled at her, hoisting another one of her bags up. "Just wait till you see the pyramids."
Sari's face lit up at the mention of the pyramids. "Oh gosh, this is amazing! I've wanted to see them since I was a child." She smiled at Johnathan. "Do you travel to Egypt a lot?"
"Oh, I used to live there, but about two years ago I decided to move back to England. We have a house there you know," he said, jerking his head in Rick and Evie's general direction.
Sari was impressed. "You do? How could you ever bring yourself to want to leave?" she asked dreamily. She shook her head and focused a little. "Is that where we will be staying?"
"Yup, that's the place." Jonathan grinned a little. "Why I left is a rather long story, but I'm sure Ardeth could tell it to you." He winked at Ardeth. "I'm off to get our tickets."
She waved as he went, wondering how she had ever thought of Johnathan as frightening before. He was really a nice chap, or at least he seemed to be. Ardeth liked him and that was good enough for her. She squeezed Ardeth's arm a little and pointed to the plane. "There it is! Isn't it wonderful?"
Ardeth grinned when she squeezed his arm. "Yes, it is isn't it."
Just then, Alex pushed past, pressing his nose up against the window. "Mum, dad, I can see the plane! Wow, this one is even bigger than the last!" He jumped up and down, laughing. "I can't wait to get on there! I wonder if Uncle John will be sick again?"
Evie stepped up behind him. "I hope not. Hello, Sari!"
"Hello, Evelyn," Sari replied, finally taking her eyes off the airplane. "Gosh, this is terribly exciting isn't it? I can't wait to get on the plane, let alone get to Egypt!"
"Oh you'll love it!" Evie smiled excitedly. "I can't wait to see your face when we land! You know, I still get chills everytime I land in Egypt."
"Oooh, I can't wait! When do we board?" she asked eagerly. "Johnathan went off to see to the tickets just a short while ago."
"I'd say about fifteen minutes. Rick has gone to make sure all of our baggage makes it onto the plane, so after they get it loaded we'll probably leave."
Sari giggled and looked back at the plane. "This is so marvellous," she said softly. She looked down when she felt a tug on her blouse.
"Sari, have you ever been on a plane before?" Alex asked.
"No, I haven't," she replied. "Have you?"
"Yep," he said proudly. "I'm the only kid in my class who's ever gone out of England. And the ladies who look after you on the plane are really nice. Well, they are until Uncle John tries to get their phone numbers, then they stop being nice for some reason."
"I do not! That only happend once and she was flirting with me!" Jonathan said as he walked up to them. He began handing out tickets.
Alex looked confused. "Uncle John, what does flirting mean?" he asked frowning.
"Um..." Jonathan looked lost.
Ardeth stepped in. "It's what people do when they like someone, and they are trying to find out if the other person likes them too."
"Oh, I see," said Alex, still not really understanding this concept. "So...if I tried to find out if my friend Harry liked me, would that mean I was flirting with him?"
"No...uh, well, your mother and father flirt all the time. I believe you and Jonathan call it, 'lovey-stuff'."
Alex's face had an expression of horror. "Lovely stuff?" he exclaimed. "Ugh, that's disgusting! All kissing and cuddling, yuck! I'm never going to kiss a girl," he announced. He saw his father approach the group and he ran up to him. "Dad, dad! Ardeth says that you and mum flirt!"
Rick grinned. "Well yeah, I guess we do," he replied, smiling over at Evie.
Alex just rolled his eyes. "Dad come on, we're going to board the plane soon. Hurry up!" He tugged on his father's hand.
Jonathan handed Sari her ticket. "I got you a window seat so you could see everything."
"Oh, thank you so much!" she exclaimed, clutching the ticket. Just then, someone announced that they were now allowed to board the plane. Alex was already off, dragging along his father who in turn had pulled Evie after him and Sari tugged at Ardeth's arm, eager to follow. "Shall we go?" she asked.
"After you." They quickly boarded the plane. Ardeth sat beside Sari, with Alex next to him, and Rick, Evie and Jonathan facing them.
Sari peered out of the window in excitement, waiting for the plane to take off. She was a little surprised when Alex handed her some gum. "What's this for?" she asked curiously.
"When we take off, your ears are gonna pop a little," he told her. "If you chew gum, it makes it better."
Sari smiled and accepted Alex's offering. She leaned over Ardeth when Alex yanked at her sleeve.
"Be sure to watch uncle John during take off," he whispered loudly. "His face always goes a funny green colour."
"Alex!" Jonathan snapped. "I suppose I should tell how you always get gas after you eat airline food."
"I do not!" Alex protested. "Besides, I always throw the food at you!"
"Okay, okay," Evie said. "Sari, pay them no mind." She turned to
her brother. "Johnathan, don't look at Alex. Alex, don't look at Jonathan."
Alex pouted a little. "But where else can I look?" he asked in frustration. He turned to his father. "Daaaad!"
Rick smiled. "Alex, no whining. Apologise to your uncle."
Alex sighed. "Sorry, uncle John," he said. As a peace offering, he held out his pack of gum. "Want some?"
"Is it fish flavored?" asked Johnathan.
Alex snickered. "Of course it isn't!" he said, laughing. "It tastes like mint just like always. Have some."
"Alright thank you." He turned to Sari. "You'll get used to us, even Ardeth did eventually."
Sari giggled. "Oh, I'm sure I'll be fine. You two should be a double act."
Ardeth smiled. "I think they already are." He turned to Rick. "You seem quiet my friend, are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Just haven't been sleeping well lately," Rick said, hoping he would take the hint.
"Oh...I see." Ardeth frowned. "Nothing bad I take it?"
"No, not as such, just...more complicated. Anyway, I'll tell you more about it later."
"Alright." The plane started to lift off and he glanced over at Sari to see what her reaction would be.
Sari was peering out of the window, watching as they began to take off. She clasped her hands together in excitement, marvelling as they climbed higher and all the houses below got smaller and smaller. When she felt a tapping on her shoulder, she acknowledged Ardeth, grinning widely. "It's even more amazing than I imagined!" she told him.
He smiled at her expression. "I like flying as well. You aren't feeling ill or anything are you?" he asked, there was a slight conserned tone to his voice.
"Oh no, I feel great!" she said happily. Then she remembered her manners. "Are you feeling alright?" She queried.
"Oh, I'm fine, I-" Jonathan broke in. "Well, I'm bloody not. Hand me a bag Evie."
Alex giggled. "I told you he got sick," he said. "I don't think the gum worked this time!"
~~~~~~
Rick pulled up in front of the old Carnahan home anouncing, "we're here!" Johnathan who usually took on the task of being chauffer had passed the job onto his brother in law as he had still looked a little green after they had landed. Everyone piled out of the car; Sari, Alex and Johnathan followed Evie into the house while Rick unloaded the luggage with Ardeth. "God, we didn't seem to have this much packed when we left," he muttered to himself.
Ardeth grabbed three bags at once. "So, what was keeping you awake lat night?"
Rick paused, frowning a little. He placed his share of the suitcases on the ground and pulled off his bracer, letting Ardeth take a look. It had stopped bleeding, but it still looked a little painful. "Last night I had a dream that some guy gave me this...he said I had something to achieve and that I was different. When I woke up, I was bleeding." He shrugged.
Ardeth lifted his eyebrow. "That is... strange." He ran his hand through his hair. "I don't know what to tell you. You have no idea how annoying that is for me."
"Let me tell you it's annoying for me too. It seems my fountain of all knowledge has run dry," he teased, putting his bracer back on. "Who do you suggest we turn to now then?"
"I suggest you and I ride out to my village tommorow. The Elders might be able to tell us something."
Rick looked surprised at that suggestion. "But I thought your people didnt exactly...smile upon people who aren't from your tribe," he said. "Least of all some brash American like me."
"You have the mark. You may come from the West, but somewhere there was a Med-Jai in your line. That makes you one of us."
Rick smiled slightly. "Alright, sounds like a plan to me," he replied. "Maybe now we can start getting answers from somewhere."
