Leigh woke to a thin filter of sunlight through the opening in the tent... and no Ardeth. Blinking away the sleepiness a moment, she sat up slowly and looked around. Carefully she swung her legs over the edge of the bed and immediately found her discarded clothing. Where was Ardeth?
After dressing herself quickly, Leigh managed to stand up off of the bed. Gingerly she tested her foot and found it not too painful to weight on. So she limped around the bed towards the opening, using the tent itself as something to steady herself with. Following her progress was a pair of avian eyes. The soft chirping noise startled Leigh enough that she had to clench both hands into the fabric of the tent to keep from falling over.
The eyes belonged to a small falcon perched near the bed. "Hello..." Leigh whispered. Ardeth's bird...
She chuckled and passed off the thought while she eventually made her way outside the tent. There she looked around to see if there was anything she could use as a crutch or a cane to make her way to her own tent. Seeing nothing, she groaned and took a deep breath. Letting it out slowly, Leigh began the laborious limping journey towards her tent. After about ten minutes of having to hop, then stop and regain her balance, she finally was able to grasp the flaps of her tent and make her way inside.
Plopping down on the tent, Leigh winced. Her good leg was sore from the overuse and her back was screaming in agony. She should have listened to Ardeth and just stayed in his bed. His bed... Leigh smiled. She'd felt better sleeping next to him than she ever had in her entire life. After all, what kind of life did she really have? There was the one back home with a cat and a computer and a shitty job... or there was this one in which she could get shot at every time she turned around for something she thought was worth the effort to go find. Did she REALLY want the kind of life Lara Croft led?
Either way she decided, she had to let Ardeth in on the secret. He deserved to know that she might not have a choice to stay. Not that she wanted to leave. This man had blown into her life on horseback, spanked her senseless then blew her mind with the most out of this world sex she'd ever had the grace to experience. Softly she chuckled. Oh yeah, staying with Ardeth was a given...
Her eyes widened at that realization. She wanted to stay here with him. That fact was decided last night in the middle of their little spat. She'd told him that she wanted to stay. But she quickly reminded herself that she might not have that choice. Either way, he still deserved to know that. But, until she actually saw him, she was going to do some further inspection of the murals in that main Altar Chamber. She looked around and picked up her rucksack. "God this weighs a ton..." she muttered. Of course it did, it still held the icon in it. The icon...
Leigh sighed. As long as she held the icon, neither she nor Ardeth were safe. The attackers yesterday proved that. The one had demanded the icon in return for letting her live. Who were they? Why did they want the icon itself? Surely they didn't want to test the legend and see if they could bring Apophis to the mortal world. Such a thing probably was hokum in itself. But what if it wasn't? These and a million other thoughts tumbled through Leigh's brain as she limped her way towards the entrance to the temple ruins.
Watching her progress this time was several pair of human eyes.
--
Ardeth and Sayid had spent the entire evening speaking with the elder man about Leigh and soothing his concerns. They both were surprised to learn that Hamid knew of the Med-jai and knew of the legend of The Mummy. It wasn't the Med-jai themselves that discomfited the elder man - it was Leigh herself.
"She has not been herself these past few days. The day before your raid on our camp, she injured herself. She disappeared down the main corridor towards the Altar Chamber and suddenly her torchlight disappeared. We all feared she had died. But we found her unconscious laying on the ground with the cut in her forehead. Slowly she came to and... I do not know how to describe it. Leigh has always been a woman who loved the glory of raiding the old tombs, finding the wealth and priceless treasures of the ancient ones. She never took the wealth for herself, but instead gave it to the government or whomever contracted with her to find the items. She loved trying to defeat the puzzles and the probable curses and booby-traps of the old tombs. But since the accident, she has not been herself. She started to babble on about a cat and a computer and suits and Websites and that she didn't belong here. I thought at first it was the Curse. But nothing has been right. She invited you along into the temple. The Leigh Crawford I watched grow up would have told you and your people to jump into the ocean before inviting you along. She also would have shot you for spanking her the way you did yesterday morning. I am extremely worried about her."
"I see Hamid. Shukran for telling me this. Is there any chance she is faking this difference?"
"I have known Leigh all of her life, been on more expeditions with her than I can remember. No, this is not the same Leigh that I know. This temple... would it still have the power of The Gods in it?"
"What do you mean?"
Hamid looked doubtful, like he wasn't sure if he wanted to say anything.
"Hamid...?"
"Leigh, the morning she injured herself, had been wondering what life would be like if she were not what she is."
"Strange. The Leigh you know wonders what life is like elsewhere and then wakes up as if she is someone else."
"Yes. And that night... I didn't leave her alone as she tried to sleep. I kept watch on her. Just as she was beginning to drift off to sleep, I heard her mumble that she didn't feel right, that it wasn't even her body."
Ardeth and Sayid looked at one another. What if the elder man was right and this wasn't the Leigh Crawford that he knew? They both had seen stranger things happen in the last few years. But this was impossible, wasn't it? A soul shift? If this wasn't the real Leigh Crawford's soul, then who's was it and what did it want.
"THE ICON!" all three shouted at once.
****
After dressing herself quickly, Leigh managed to stand up off of the bed. Gingerly she tested her foot and found it not too painful to weight on. So she limped around the bed towards the opening, using the tent itself as something to steady herself with. Following her progress was a pair of avian eyes. The soft chirping noise startled Leigh enough that she had to clench both hands into the fabric of the tent to keep from falling over.
The eyes belonged to a small falcon perched near the bed. "Hello..." Leigh whispered. Ardeth's bird...
She chuckled and passed off the thought while she eventually made her way outside the tent. There she looked around to see if there was anything she could use as a crutch or a cane to make her way to her own tent. Seeing nothing, she groaned and took a deep breath. Letting it out slowly, Leigh began the laborious limping journey towards her tent. After about ten minutes of having to hop, then stop and regain her balance, she finally was able to grasp the flaps of her tent and make her way inside.
Plopping down on the tent, Leigh winced. Her good leg was sore from the overuse and her back was screaming in agony. She should have listened to Ardeth and just stayed in his bed. His bed... Leigh smiled. She'd felt better sleeping next to him than she ever had in her entire life. After all, what kind of life did she really have? There was the one back home with a cat and a computer and a shitty job... or there was this one in which she could get shot at every time she turned around for something she thought was worth the effort to go find. Did she REALLY want the kind of life Lara Croft led?
Either way she decided, she had to let Ardeth in on the secret. He deserved to know that she might not have a choice to stay. Not that she wanted to leave. This man had blown into her life on horseback, spanked her senseless then blew her mind with the most out of this world sex she'd ever had the grace to experience. Softly she chuckled. Oh yeah, staying with Ardeth was a given...
Her eyes widened at that realization. She wanted to stay here with him. That fact was decided last night in the middle of their little spat. She'd told him that she wanted to stay. But she quickly reminded herself that she might not have that choice. Either way, he still deserved to know that. But, until she actually saw him, she was going to do some further inspection of the murals in that main Altar Chamber. She looked around and picked up her rucksack. "God this weighs a ton..." she muttered. Of course it did, it still held the icon in it. The icon...
Leigh sighed. As long as she held the icon, neither she nor Ardeth were safe. The attackers yesterday proved that. The one had demanded the icon in return for letting her live. Who were they? Why did they want the icon itself? Surely they didn't want to test the legend and see if they could bring Apophis to the mortal world. Such a thing probably was hokum in itself. But what if it wasn't? These and a million other thoughts tumbled through Leigh's brain as she limped her way towards the entrance to the temple ruins.
Watching her progress this time was several pair of human eyes.
--
Ardeth and Sayid had spent the entire evening speaking with the elder man about Leigh and soothing his concerns. They both were surprised to learn that Hamid knew of the Med-jai and knew of the legend of The Mummy. It wasn't the Med-jai themselves that discomfited the elder man - it was Leigh herself.
"She has not been herself these past few days. The day before your raid on our camp, she injured herself. She disappeared down the main corridor towards the Altar Chamber and suddenly her torchlight disappeared. We all feared she had died. But we found her unconscious laying on the ground with the cut in her forehead. Slowly she came to and... I do not know how to describe it. Leigh has always been a woman who loved the glory of raiding the old tombs, finding the wealth and priceless treasures of the ancient ones. She never took the wealth for herself, but instead gave it to the government or whomever contracted with her to find the items. She loved trying to defeat the puzzles and the probable curses and booby-traps of the old tombs. But since the accident, she has not been herself. She started to babble on about a cat and a computer and suits and Websites and that she didn't belong here. I thought at first it was the Curse. But nothing has been right. She invited you along into the temple. The Leigh Crawford I watched grow up would have told you and your people to jump into the ocean before inviting you along. She also would have shot you for spanking her the way you did yesterday morning. I am extremely worried about her."
"I see Hamid. Shukran for telling me this. Is there any chance she is faking this difference?"
"I have known Leigh all of her life, been on more expeditions with her than I can remember. No, this is not the same Leigh that I know. This temple... would it still have the power of The Gods in it?"
"What do you mean?"
Hamid looked doubtful, like he wasn't sure if he wanted to say anything.
"Hamid...?"
"Leigh, the morning she injured herself, had been wondering what life would be like if she were not what she is."
"Strange. The Leigh you know wonders what life is like elsewhere and then wakes up as if she is someone else."
"Yes. And that night... I didn't leave her alone as she tried to sleep. I kept watch on her. Just as she was beginning to drift off to sleep, I heard her mumble that she didn't feel right, that it wasn't even her body."
Ardeth and Sayid looked at one another. What if the elder man was right and this wasn't the Leigh Crawford that he knew? They both had seen stranger things happen in the last few years. But this was impossible, wasn't it? A soul shift? If this wasn't the real Leigh Crawford's soul, then who's was it and what did it want.
"THE ICON!" all three shouted at once.
****