by Miaka Neko
Author's notes are at the end.
Aida couldn't help but notice with a strange
bitterness how beautiful the countryside was. There was, after all,
little else to do during the long boat ride. My countryside, she
thought. My home. I'm going home.
"How much farther, Mereb?" her father asked.
With four people, the boat was crowded. No matter how she moved her
back was crushed against the king's chest.
"A couple more days, at least," Mereb answered.
"We should probably stop for the night. We could hit a rock in the
dark."
"Not until we're farther out of Egypt," Aida
said, her eyes not leaving the shore of the Nile. "It won't take
the Egyptians long to know that we are gone. No doubt they're looking
for us even as we speak."
Are they? Aida wondered, even as the words
left her mouth. She was vaguely aware of her father and Mereb exchanging
words, but she paid them no attention. Amneris had told her that
the wedding celebration would last all night long. Maybe they wouldn't
notice until the next morning that their prized prisoner was gone, along
with a worker and the slave who ran the captain's household. Or an
insignificant hand maiden.
'Every moment of my life, I'll think of you.'
That was what he had told her. Even more so than when she had parted,
Aida realized how long the rest of her life was. Another wave of
desperation swept over her heart and forbidden tears threatened to take
over her eyes. She bit her lip and looked out to the other side of
the Nile once more. Only the gods knew if they were actually in Nubia
yet. Still, her surroundings gave her some comfort. She hugged
her arms to her side for warmth. It was amazing that even the desert
could be cold. The worst is over, she reminded herself. I've
already left him. I can do this.
Despite her determination, her mind betrayed
her with possibilities. Maybe if her eyes were strong enough, she'd
see him standing at the docks all the way back in Egypt. Would Radames
command the search team himself? She shook her head. Of course,
he was the captain of the Egyptian army. Egyptian, she reminded herself.
My enemy. Radames, how…? She bit her lip harder. Better
to have lost him, when the ties were barely binding…
A few more hours passed quietly. In
the distance, she could see the beginnings of sunrise peeking across the
hills. 'The night will always end, and the sun will rise.'
Her mother had told her that once when she was young. Oh gods…
"We should stop," Mereb said, breaking the
silence as well as her thoughts. Aida looked at her father's reaction.
"We've traveled far enough."
"Alright," her father said. He turned
to the other slave in the boat who had been paddling. Aida couldn't
remember his name to save her life. The slave, or rather ex-slave
nodded, and brought the boat closer to the shore.
Aida managed somehow not to get wet as she
climbed out of the boat. Her father found a nearby rock to tie the
boat to. He and the ex-slave quickly dismissed themselves as they
surveyed the area. Aida was grateful. As much as she had missed
her father and was conscious of the loss they both almost had shared, the
atmosphere between them was as tense as it was during their meeting the
prison.
"I'll keep watch," Mereb told her.
Aida shook her head. "Don't be silly,
you must be as exhausted as the rest of us."
Mereb smiled. "To be honest, princess,
I don't think I could even sleep." He paused. "I'm…I'm going
home Aida. Gods, I don't even remember what it looks like.
But…I've never wanted anything more in my entire life." He smiled.
"Sleeping didn't even occur to me."
Aida put a hand on his shoulder. "I
understand. Nubia it's…it's more than I can put into words.
But Mereb, sleep. We have a long couple of days ahead of us.
Here, if you take the first shift, I'll take the second one."
"Aida-"
"Or I'll throw you out of the boat tomorrow,"
she said with a grin. "Fair?"
Mereb sighed. "Fair."
"I should join my father," she said.
"Aida?" Mereb asked.
She turned around.
"You…you did the right thing. I'm sorry,
I can't understand, and I don't approve, but I know it must have been hard
for you."
"Thank you," she finally said.
Aida turned away then, and faced the
Nile shore once more. From underneath her dress she pulled out the
Eye of Horus amulet. She fingered the edges like a lost jewel.
She smiled sadly to herself, then walked to the shore. "Radames,
I'm sorry…" she whispered.
"Don't let anyone get there until I've arrived!"
Radames shouted. Around him, the world was exploding into chaos.
Soldiers were shouting orders, trying desperately to get into some sort
of formation. Radames couldn't help but notice how silly they looked
trying to act like an army-in their dress uniforms.
Only Amneris stood still, as if physically
unable to move. The princess was always beautiful, but in her wedding
dress she was nothing short of divine. Radames had never hated her
more than now. She turned to him. Amneris. His wife.
"Radames…" she said. There was no tone at all in her voice.
She had said his name countless times before, but now there was an alien
tone to it. Crystal blue eyes met his own. Amneris. His
wife.
She knew, Radames realized with newfound panic.
She knew. He opened his mouth to say something, anything, but turned
away. Aida. There was no time. Aida would be in that
boat.
His legs weren't moving fast enough when he
opened the flap to his tent. Save for some of his clothes, it was
barren now. Aida had seen to that. He allowed himself a glimpse
at the corner of the tent. Memories of-no, that was a lifetime ago.
Even longer, now. There was no turning back. So why am I…?
Radames quickly threw off the wedding garments
and found a gray tunic and pants. He grabbed his sword and
ran from the tent, towards the docks.
When he was younger, he used to race Amneris
down to the docks. For a girl and for a princess, she was surprisingly
fast. He usually beat her, but he had to run as fast as he could
in order to do so. But sometimes she would have a head start, or
was simply faster. In his boyish pride, he would cry out to the gods for
speed. And for a moment, he would feel nothing but pure desperation
as his body failed to connect with his mind. His heart.
The way he felt now. His feet weren't
moving fast enough. Whatever pride and strength he had gained in
adulthood left him now. In his mind, he saw her black hair waving
in the night wind. She was wearing the pink handmaiden dress Amneris
had given to her, the dress she had been wearing when he had given her
his heart. "Radames…" Aida seemingly whispered. But it was
only the wind, only his imagination.
She couldn't have, he thought. She wouldn't
have…
He didn't realize how fast he was running
until the exhaustion almost brought him to his feet. Painful gasps
of air finally escaped his lungs. Only the sound of the Nile greeted
him. The dock was empty. Radames' pace slowed, then stopped altogether.
Of course, it all made sense now. It
had all been a ruse to let her king escape. Every word, every gesture…it
was all a lie. Aida had spun her web well. And, he, Radames,
Egypt's most loyal servant, he had fallen right into it.
He suddenly felt unbelievably tired, as if
all the exhaustion from his running, all his pain from this night and all
the rest was coming crashing down on him at once. Breathe.
Breathe again. And out. Don't think, don't think…oh gods…
Radames sank to his knees. "No…!"
For the first time since his childhood, he
wept.
Someone was speaking to her. "This way,
Princess," Zoser said, putting a firm hand on her arm.
Amneris looked up. This wasn't real,
couldn't be real. But of course, nothing had been tonight.
"Zoser, what is going on?" she managed to ask.
"The King of Nubia has escaped," he told her.
"We don't know what else the slaves may do, we need to get you to safety."
"Where's…Radames?" she asked. Gone,
she told herself. In a matter of moments, the world had shattered,
her husband gone with it.
"He's going after the fugitives," he told
her. "Please, princes-"
In the distance, she caught sight of a form
sprinting towards the docks. Radames.
"Wait!" she yelled, breaking into a run.
Behind her, she heard Zoser's protests. Someone made a grab for her.
With strength she didn't know she had, Amneris pushed her unwanted protector
away.
Amneris had lived in the palace all her life,
and she knew its passages well. Some of the people she passed tried
to stop her, others were simply part of the confusion. Near the entrance
of the palace, she nearly tripped on her wedding veil. Angrily, she
ripped the garment off. She felt bitter when she remembered how she
had obsessed over that veil only a week before. Now, it was torn
and dirty, much like herself.
She didn't understand her own emotions anymore.
She remembered her childhood times of pain when she would cling to Radames
for comfort, and he would embrace her and tell her everything was going
to be alright. She needed him now.
As she neared the docks she spotted the army
assembling not far away. Captains and officers, polite when in the
presence of the princess, now spat curses and insults like commoners.
Her shoes weren't practical for the terrain, and Amneris kicked them off
too.
She could see Radames in the distance now.
She didn't understand his reason for coming to the docks at all, for they
were empty. Tired with exhaustion, Amneris allowed herself to slow
to a fast walk.
"Radames!" she yelled. In her fatigue
the word hardly came out. "Radames…"
She was close enough now that she could see
him kneeling down, facing sideways towards the dock…oh gods, crying?
Amneris stopped completely. Unwillingly her hands covered her mouth.
Even when they were children, Radames had never…
For the first time in her life, Amneris couldn't
speak. The Nile silently ran its course, neverending towards its
goal. Amneris took a step closer, placing a gloved hand on his shoulder.
Radames jerked back. In surprise, Amneris
quickly withdrew her hand. Tearful eyes met her own, becoming even
more alien and frightening now that she could see into their depths.
"Radames…?"
"What do you want, Princess?" he asked bitterly,
his eyes never losing contact with her own. "She's gone now, you
know."
"Who-"
"Aida," Radames said quickly. He squeezed
his eyes shut and repeated the name again, this time louder. "Aida!"
"What…what happened?" Amneris asked.
Her mind traveled back to Radames' words to his lover. She had been
so far removed from this world that she had hardly had heard what the couple
had said at all, still reeling from the sight of their frantic kisses.
She'd only seen that look of wonder on the Captain's face when Radames
talked of his travels. With the Princess, it was one of formality
and politeness.
He laughed bitterly, something nearly as frightening
and foreign as his tears. "It was all a trap, Princess, to free her
king. She tricked us both. Hah, there's something we finally
have in common."
Now tears were starting to blink in her own
eyes as Amneris asked what she already knew in her heart. Some perverse
force made her confirm it. "It…it's true, then?"
Radames smiled angrily. "Yes Princess,
it's true. What would you like to know? I can tell you anything
you'd like. We kissed for the first time by the Nile, and the second
time it went a lot further than that. Do you want to know our positions?
I can draw a diagram if you'd like."
Finally, the tears broke loose. She
was running again, any direction but towards Radames. (more stuff)
Finally, she collapsed on the sands, sobbing.
Gods, her entire body hurt…she wanted nothing more but for someone to pick
her up and carry her from that place-her father, her mother, gone for so
long, Zoser, Radames, Aida-
A wave of hatred washed over her. Someday
you'll find a stronger suit, the slave had told her with a smile.
It was all a lie, she thought over and over again. She clenched her
fists together, not having the energy to pound them into the ground.
"Damn you," she whispered. "Damn you both, for making me care…!"
Amneris had to fight to gain breath.
Her hair had fallen into a disheveled mass. It fell over her eyes,
and as she moved her hands to push it away, she couldn't help but notice
how ugly it looked now. How unlike a princess. Finally, she
surrendered to complete mindless sobbing. Anything but to think right
now…
Radames snapped back into reality. Amneris.
She had been there, and then-
He got to his feet and turned to see the Princess
lying in a disheveled heap about thirty feet away. He nearly choked
as he remembered his own words. He had been so lost in the moment
and his own emotions that he hadn't realized that the person who had dared
disturb his memory had been Amneris. His friend. Gods, none
of this from the start had been her fault. He hadn't meant the words,
hadn't even realized he had spoken them, and now-
Radames knelt and put a hand on her back.
Much like he had only a few minutes ago, Amneris jerked away in surprise.
"Don't touch me!" she yelled. The hate in her eyes tore through his
heart.
"Amneris," he said. "I'm so sor-"
"You can go to hell for all I care," she spat,
rising to her feet. She was still struggling to gain composure.
"Gods, what did I ever do to either one of you?"
She broke off into a run. "Amneris!"
Radames yelled. "Amneris!"
Far away, a form rose to begin the second shift of her watch. Maybe as her gaze drifted down the Nile, her eyes met another two pairs at another end.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Um, okay, that probably wasn't a very nice place to leave off. But that's not the end, so don't worry. There's a lot more to come.
This was a response to a challenge on the Aida board, concerning what
would happen if Radames didn't reach the dock in time. There's quite
a bit more to go. This is just the start. Please read and review.
I'll try to have the next part up within the next week or two.