FRIEND OR FOE
Leven was dozing uncomfortably when Hazz awakened her. He told her that someone wanted to meet her. The 'someone' was Ardeth's proper intended, Radab Murr. At first, she balked at the idea, and Hazz didn't seem very enthusiastic, either. However, Leven was curious and anxious to find out what this woman wanted from her. She told Hazz to bring her. Leven sat up and smoothed her hair and clothes. She looked up as Hazz led the young woman inside. She was of slight build and seemed no taller than five feet two inches. She was dressed in long, flowing robes, but her head was uncovered. Her hair was very long and straight and inky black like Ardeth's. Her eyes were dark brown and kind. She looked no older than twenty; she was very young and timid. She was beautiful and had almost exotic good looks.
"You are the Chieftain's khaTibtee [fiancée]," she asked.
"KhaTibtee," Leven replied. "Fiancée?" Radab nodded. "Yes, I suppose I am."
"I wanted to meet the woman who won the Chieftain's heart."
Leven felt awkward around this serene woman. Something in the back of her mind was telling her not to trust her, but she thought it was more due to what had happened earlier than any real threat. She felt the need to apologize to her, but she couldn't find the words. This woman before her was nicer to her than the elders, and she was the jilted one. If anyone had a right to dislike her, it was Radab. Suddenly, Leven didn't know what to do or say. "My name is…Leven Medlem," she said. "And you are…"
Before Leven had the chance to say anything, Radab spoke up. "I am Radab Murr. My uncle is Elder Zilan. He came by to tell me that the Chieftain did not choose to marry me. I can see why he chose you. I ask that you trust me and I will help you adjust to this obviously new life. Will you allow me?"
She was completely shocked. Why would this woman offer her kindness? Something about it should have tweaked her, but it didn't. Since this morning, her emotions were so shot to hell; she would willingly accept kindness from anyone. "Thank you, but I intend to leave with Ardeth this afternoon."
"You intend to ride out to the desert? You are with child, correct? Do you think that is a good idea? Will that be good for you?"
"How did you…how did you know?"
Radab lowered her head in shame before she focused her eyes on Leven's face. "I am sorry, but my uncle can be a harsh man. He said the Chieftain put you with child. The desert is a harsh place, it is not kind. I do not think it is a good idea to go along. Stay here where you are safe and protected. I am sure the Chieftain would prefer that you stay. I see that you rely on Elder Haka for guidance and support, but you also now have mine. Keep your shelter here. Do not interact with the other women until I speak to them. Please. Consider it."
Leven said nothing further as the young woman nodded before turning away to make her leave. She was very tempted to stay. Ardeth hadn't wanted her to come along, but he thought they had no choice. He would only take her far enough to find a temporary place to stay until the storm passed amongst the elders. She slowly brought herself up to her feet and began to pace about the small room. Her life had changed so abruptly in the last twenty-four hours. Most of the changes were welcome, of course, but some were heart wrenching. She knew that their marriage wouldn't come easily to them, but she hadn't really been prepared for such a harsh reality. She continued to pace and think and to think and pace; she didn't notice when Ardeth returned. He stood watching her for a long time before she stopped and glanced at him.
"Leven? Are you all right?"
She nodded. "Yeah. I've been thinking about something, Ardeth. While you were gone, I received an interesting visit from the woman the village elders wanted you to marry."
He gave her a perplexed look. "Radab? She came to you? What did she want?"
Leven approached Ardeth and took his hands in hers. She led him over to the small cot and sat down with him. His beautiful, earnest face was awash with confusion. "I thought she came here to have some type of showdown, but she didn't. She said her uncle told her of your refusal of her, but he also told her about the baby. She reached out to me, basically, and offered her support. She asked that I stay here instead of going with you. I think I should."
Before he said anything, Ardeth worked her words over in his head. If she stayed, he would have incredible peace of mind. He couldn't honestly say how many days they would have to ride before they found a place suitable enough for her to stay. The thought of his pregnant wife under the brutal assault of the desert didn't sit well with him. However, Radab's kindness seemed almost too convenient, too easy. He didn't know very much about this woman, but her meeting with Leven disturbed him almost as much as the thought of her out in the desert. How long would it take him to find means to secure a safe place to stay? Two days? Four? He weighed the pros and cons. Here, she could find shelter and protection with Elder Haka. He would not allow anything to happen to Leven. Yet, the elders were not pleased with him or his choice for a wife. What kind of cruelty would she face at the hands of his people? They would not accept her as she was, and if one person knew of their unborn child, the entire village would learn of it soon enough. The outcome of that would not be good. If he took her along with him, she would be forced to sit a horse for at least two days, maybe longer. She came from a place that was relatively harsh, but it was different in the desert. He knew that she was a strong woman, one that would not wilt away just because she was with child, but a dozen things could happen to her. What if she became ill? What if she needed the services of a healer? How would that happen if she were miles away from help? What would become of him, his sanity, if something happened to her or their unborn child? Cruelty v. Safety. It was a difficult choice and he felt uncomfortable making it. She had voiced her intentions. She wanted to stay, she was willing to wait, and eventually, she would have to stay here anyway.
"You know it will not be easy for you here right now," he began. She nodded without speaking. "The thought of you hurting breaks my heart, but it is not safe for you if you come along with me. I am torn."
She took one hand out of his and brought it up to his cheek. She placed a gentle kiss to his lips, barely making contact. "My hulu, hulu jauz [sweet, sweet husband], you are such an honorable, loving man. I'll never understand how I was lucky enough to find you, to love you, and to carry your child. Whatever happens here, I can handle it, despite whether or not this woman is a friend or an enemy. If we intend to spend our lives together, I have to be here. There's no other way around it, is there?"
In a deep, emotional quandary, he looked down for a moment before focusing his eyes on her face. "No, there is not." He placed his hand on top of hers and drew it away from his cheek. He placed a gentle kiss on the palm of her hand. "There is one thing that you have wrong. It is not you who is the lucky one, it is I." He kissed her lips very gently. He drew back and stood up, bringing her to her feet. "I must leave before dusk. Would you come with me to the oasis?"
She smiled up at him silkily. "Do you have to ask?"
* * *
Ardeth didn't want Leven to follow him out, and although she wanted so very desperately to see him off, she was relieved [in a way] that he insisted she stay back. She had been separated from him for a couple of weeks and the thought of being separated yet again didn't sit well with her. She was afraid that she was having some extremely vivid, complicated dream and if he left her, she would awaken without her love beside her. Before he left her, she insisted he take his half of the Isis amulet. He had said it best. It was hers now, carrying her spirit, and she secured it with a cord and tied it about his neck. She took her half and did the same. He had left, promising to return as soon as he could. Leven returned to Hazz's quarters a little lost and afraid. She was left in unfamiliar territory in a world that would not accept her.
* * *
Elder Zilan stood and watched as the Medjai Chieftain took his leave. As he hoped, he had left without his muHibb [lover]. He smiled at that thought, his scar wrinkling grotesquely. He figured it would take the warrior a few days to return. With the help of Radab, it wouldn't take any longer than that to bring about Leven's ruination. Once she was completely and totally shunned, she would be isolated and vulnerable, a perfect target. Of course, no one, including Radab, the village elders, or the great warrior himself, knew that Zilan wasn't exactly himself lately. Zilan was merely a shell, a host. When the Curse of Set did not come about due to the interference of the Medjai and his whore, Set had bestowed yet another punishment on his minion, Sharr. He banished him inside the hideous scarred body of Elder Zilan until he paid his penance for failing. The other man's soul was floating about somewhere on the fringes of the afterlife, only to be sent onward when Sharr's mission was completed. Set had sent Sharr to destroy the woman, to end the life of this Leven Medlem. Once dead, the past events could be erased. Sharr could go back to the future, retrieve the amulet from the sleeping Medjai, and open the gateway. The events would come full circle, the curse would come to pass, and Sharr's soul would finally be released. Radab was the perfect catalyst to bring this about. She had a cold, bitter heart, and she would be absolutely merciless with the whore. Long ago, she had been promised to the Chieftain. Sharr knew that her uncle had held out on her age of promise until the marriage could be arranged. She had been ready to accept the marriage, to accept him, but her plans were thwarted. It mattered little. Radab would seek and receive her revenge. It was perfect; nothing could be more perfect than this plan.
* * *
Radab was with the other women. A major portion of the group was married to the Medjai warriors, some of them were promised to them, and others were too young, but would eventually be promised. When Radab encountered the group of her peers, she heard them speaking of the strange woman living amongst the clan. As with any other small community, word got around. There were tentative whispers revolving about the identity of the woman, the fact that she was most likely an American, and that they had seen her with the Chieftain on a couple of occasions. They also discussed her differences, the style of her dress, and the fact that she was nothing like them physically, mentally, or attitude-wise. She was seen without the customary robes and did not bother covering her head as she was expected to do. Radab sat back and listened to the women with feigned interest. She waited for her chance to put in her thoughts, to share her information. Thus far, the conversation had been one of curiosity; no malice had entered the flow of words just yet. However, it would, because Radab would see to it.
"Do you not think it odd that the Medjai Chieftain would choose to suddenly marry this woman," Radab began. "He chose her over me. I also saw this woman exiting the Chieftain's tent just last night. Apparently, he has put her with child. She possesses his mind. He went against the wishes of the elders. He cannot function because of this woman. He is turning against his people. This woman will be the ruination of our village, of our Chieftain. If he is wasted, what will become of us?"
Sahib, the wife of Ardeth's second, Hashim, listened carefully to Radab's speech. She knew little of the Chieftain's malak [angel], but she had heard Hashim speaking of her right before he and the others returned to the fringes of Hamunaptra. In fact, she had yet to see the woman at all. There had been great talk of her, but none of the women had approached her. Of course, most of the women were following through with this due to the fact that the woman was an outsider. Yet, the reasoning was simpler to her. She stayed away because of her respect for the Chieftain. Sahib held her tongue a lot, but she didn't agree with every law the clan had to follow. She remembered Ardeth's love of Sharîk. Although they loved each other greatly, they could not wed. If the outsider made the Chieftain happy, if he truly loved her, she did not see the horror that Radab saw. There was more than a little green in the young woman's eyes.
Khajul, wife of Elder Burd's son, listened raptly. She had seen the Chieftain riding out with the woman yesterday and today. He seemed completely taken away from his mind. He saw nothing, did nothing, and acted as if no one else existed. She didn't realize that these were all signs of a man in love. "She has seduced our Chieftain," she asked incredulously. "What kind of woman is she, Radab? Do you know of her?"
Radab nodded just the slightest bit. "I know only what I saw. It is more than plain that she wishes to be apart from us. She is shamed by her situation, but she is also denying us. She wants to draw him away, to cloud his mind. She might have been sent by an ancient evil god set to destroy us."
Sahib shook her head. "Radab, you are a foolish girl. The Chieftain cannot be swayed in such a way. He is far stronger than that, far smarter than that. He would know. He has been touched by Isis and guarded by Horus."
"Would he," Radab challenged. "Is he not a man? Can he not be seduced by an outsider's charm? Surely you cannot believe that she came from our stock? If we put our trust in this woman, we are destroying our way of life. We must not let her seduce us the same way that she seduced the Chieftain. She is a fallen woman with child and who is to say if the Chieftain even fathered the child?"
"Radab, your words are disrespectful to the Chieftain," Sahib said. "You do not know any of this as fact."
"Oh yes, I know this," Radab said. "The khârij [outsider] told me that she is carrying a child. She confirmed it. She was disrespecting me, claiming that she had won. We must isolate ourselves from this woman. She cannot invade our spirits or souls. We must work together to drive her out before we lose our world. I know you are having difficulty believing what I am telling you, Sahib, but you will see for yourself. She will not interact with us. She will hide out and wait for the Chieftain to return. If he marries this woman, a fierce, horrid curse will befall us all. Mark my words."
* * *
Leven looked up as Hazz approached her. He was a sweet, gentle man. "You have not eaten today," he said.
She nodded. "I know."
"How can you be healthy without nourishment? You must eat."
"I will, Elder Haka. I can't thank you enough for what you've done for me," she said.
"You have done a great favor for us, and you should be thanked for that. I know that you were hurt by the behavior of the village elders, they do not understand, but as soon as they do, they will fall on themselves to seek your forgiveness. No other woman is suited for the Chieftain but you. If that were untrue, you would not be here today. Stay strong. Do not allow your sadness to interfere with your life. What appears today as a mixed blessing will be a great joy to all." Leven tried to respond, but Hazz held up his hand. "Pah, do not argue. If Mukhtar brings you fruit, will you eat?"
She nodded, feeling ridiculously close to tears. "I will."
"Very good, Sitt [Lady] Bay."