Lifetime of Celebration
By Jeannette Hetfield
(The Egyptian text is just a pip I found on the Internet. There is no truth to it whatsoever. It was actually a picture and I wrote text to the picture. There was some text not written by me and I don't own that, but I changed it around to make more sense to myself and hopefully to you.)
Chapter 5
Jensa stepped inside the darkness. With one quick strike of the match, the torch burst into flames. She inspected the stone walls and followed the hieroglyphics while inwardly thanking her father for sending her to school to further her in her knowledge of Egypt. It had been a long and slow process, but worked out to her advantage in the end. As she rounded one corner, she found herself next to a statue with human legs that was half-way buried in the sand. It was a massive structure. Suddenly, she realized who the human legs of the statue belonged to. This was the other half of Anubis. Jensa was amazed at how she had traveled from one side of the City to the other so quickly. It was a labyrinth of tunnels. How had the ancient Egyptians thought to build something so complex? It was astounding, but nonetheless eerie. The torch threw shadows across the tunnel walls, casting the hieroglyphs carved into the stone in a malevolent light. Jensa kept up her pace not wanting to be in any of these tunnels longer than was necessary.
A cough erupted in her throat and she placed her hand over her mouth. She sighed in irritation. Would she ever quit the incessant coughing?
A set of stone steps came into view. Before heading down them, she stopped to inspect the hieroglyphs on the wall next to her. There was a scene depicting an individual's path to the afterlife. A man called Hunefor stood in the hall of judgment with Anubis, who held his hand. Hunefor was asking to be allowed to join the god Osiris in the Fields of Peace. Hunefor said, "O my heart, do not reject me in this time of judgment, do not resist me on the part of the Divine Chiefs, do not abandon me in the presence of the scale keeper." Anubis introduced himself as the guardian of the underworld and keeper of the sacred scales of Maat. Maat was the goddess of truth, justice and balance. Along with Maat were two scales. One held the heart of Hunefor and the other held the feather of Maat. If the heart of Hunefor was heavier than the feather of Maat, he would not be granted passage to the Fields of Peace and would be condemned to an afterlife in the dark underworld. The female demon Ammut was present during the weighing of the hearts. If the heart was heavier than Maat's feather, then Ammut would devour the heart. This was more frightening to the Egyptians than anything. If their heart was devoured by Ammut, then they would never meet the great god Osiris or live in the Fields of Peace for eternity. Ammut was not a very attractive creature and looked very much the typical demon. She had the head of a crocodile, the torso of a lioness and the hindquarters of a hippopotamus. Overseeing the judgment was the righteous judge, Thoth. He was the husband of Maat and considered to be wise in divine knowledge and speech, also the inventor of spoken and written language. As keeper of the books, he was the scribe of the gods and patron of all scribes. They believed him to have invented geometry, astronomy and medicine. He was the measurer of the earth, the counter of the stars and the keeper and recorder of all knowledge. It was believed that Thoth wrote the religious Book of the Dead. In the hall of Maat, he appeared as a scribe with a writing reed and palette. The palette held red and black pigments, a water jar and a pen. Thoth put the records of the weighing of the heart on the palette. He was a dog-faced ape, often seen wearing a lunar disk and crescent on top of his head. Thoth tells Hunefor that his heart is truthful and there is no wickedness in him. He wasted no food offerings and neither spoke nor committed evil while on earth. His immortal soul will not be devoured by Ammut. Hunefor is granted to walk forever in the Fields of Peace with his King Osiris.
Jensa shook her head. The ancient Egyptians had very active imaginations, but it made for good storytelling. She continued her journey and slowly descended the stone staircase, holding her torch out in front of her. This allowed her to see a little farther down into the darkness. She couldn't see an ending to the stairs from her vantage point and wondered how deep she would be going underground. Jensa glanced to the sides of the staircase and saw a steep drop to the floor below. It was fortunate she was not afraid of heights, otherwise, she might have panicked, lost her balance and fallen to her death. With each step, Jensa was convinced the stairs were never-ending. "They probably lead straight to the underworld," she said wryly.
Sighing in relief, she came to the last step. To her left and right, there were two tall metal stands. The tops were round and shaped like bowls. Taking a guess, she brought her torch over the top of them. The flames erupted in the bowls and lit up the area she stood in, leading all the way back up the steps.
Her face was sweaty. At first, she thought that it was just nerves, however, it was not only that, but she was still wearing her veil. She pulled it down and let the cool underground air blow across her steaming skin. The smell was far from pleasant and rather musty, but Jensa ignored it and trudged on. There were more pairs of torches. Jensa searched until she had found and lit them all. There was finally enough light to see where she was. She stood inside a very large chamber. Cobweb covered remains of humans were shriveled up inside of cages that hung from the ceiling. Each had died with fear frozen into their faces. Mouths that had hung open in silent screams for three thousand years screamed their silent eternal torment at her now. People had been tortured and sacrificed here. In the exact center of the chamber, lay a lone table. Coming closer to it, Jensa felt a chill run up her spine. Hand and feet shackles were attached to the head and foot of the table. It was a sacrificial alter. Jensa reached out to touch the stone cold object. She could imagine many people lying here while rituals were performed. Incantations filled her ears and Jensa quickly disentangled herself from the stone.
From her peripheral vision, a flash caught her eye. A small object glinted from the torch light. Jensa bent down and picked it up. It was small and round, nearly as big as her hand. Actually, it was closer to an octagon shape rather than completely round. Hieroglyphs covered the sides of the little artifact. The symbols gave directions on how to open it. Jensa shoved the torch into the ground using it as a makeshift torch holder. She sat down on the floor and carefully followed the directions. The artifact popped open. She thought it was shaped like a sun shining it rays. Excitedly, Jensa pulled out an old piece of paper from the little compartment inside. So as not to tear such a priceless find, she gently unfolded it and studied the hieroglyphic and hieratic markings. It was a map, but not just any map. It revealed the location to Hamunaptra. Even though the map was of no use to her, seeing as how she was already at Hamunaptra, the archaeologist in her veins screamed with excitement at such a discovery. She carefully folded the map back up and returned it to its little resting place, closing the secrets inside of the key. On closer inspection of the artifact, a vague recognition came back to her. It had been Ardeth that talked of this object.
"It's the key," Jensa revealed quietly. She quickly recalled the story of Imhotep and Anck-su-namun. The concubine of the pharaoh and his high priest kept a secret between them. They were very much in love, but forced to hide their relationship. It became too much for them and they refused to let Seti I rule over them. They butchered him only to be caught by the sacred bodyguards of the Pharaoh…the Med-jai. Anck-su-namun sacrificed herself as Imhotep's priests dragged him to safety. Once he and his priests broke into her crypt and stole her corpse, they rushed into the depths of the desert to Hamunaptra. Imhotep used the Book of the Dead to recite the incantations necessary to raise Anck-su-namun. His love's soul had been sent to the underworld. A dark cloud issued forth from a black pool and settled over the dead body. She jumped back to life briefly with a loud gasp as air flowed back into her lungs, but the Med-jai followed close behind and interrupted the ritual, sending her soul back into the black pool of the underworld. Imhotep saw his world shatter before him. He had lost his life, but more importantly, he lost his love. The punishment must fit the crime. Imhotep's loyal priests were condemned to be mummified alive. The high priest himself was to be cursed with the hom-dai. The Egyptians feared this curse more than anything else on the earth and had never before sentenced a being to the undead for eternity.
The key Jensa held in her hands sealed Imhotep's sarcophagus and also opened the Book of the Dead and the Book of Amun-Ra. The looks of the key were deceiving. It appeared to be just another artifact like all the others found in archaeological digs, but was perhaps one of the greatest threats to the world. If anyone were to ever get their hands on this…
Jensa shuddered at the thought. No one must find this. She had planned on taking it back to Cairo with her and bring it home to eventually show it to her parents who would appreciate her enthusiasm, but that was out of the question. Of course, she couldn't put it back where she had found it. Someone else could just as easily stumble upon it. Jensa couldn't allow that to happen. She picked up her torch and walked over to a dark corner by the stone stairs. With her hands, she dug a deep hole in the sand and dropped the key into it. After she was satisfied that no one would find the key, she took one last look around. A strange noise echoed throughout the room. It was very shrill and sounded like millions of bugs swarming towards her. She couldn't be sure what they were, but Jensa felt she could happily resume the rest of her life not knowing what was making the awful sound and she hurried up the steps and out of the death chamber.
* * *
Jensa mulled over the story of the star-crossed lovers in her mind. It was a sad story. Anck-su-namun was trapped as Seti's slave for her entire life. There was no hope that she would ever be free to love Imhotep without fear of death. Jensa decided that if she had been Anck-su-namun she would have grabbed Imhotep, jumped into the nearest chariot and burnt rubber across the desert. It would have saved an awful lot of trouble if they had just runaway, but the lovers wanted their revenge against Seti for his cruelty. They died for their crimes. It kind of reminded Jensa of Lancelot and Guinevere, Romeo and Juliet. They could not be together. Sadly, there were so many relationships that ended in sorrow. Love was incredibly cruel to people sometimes, more often than not. Jensa, in fact, felt sorry for Imhotep and Anck-su-namun. All they had wanted was to love each other, but made terrible mistakes that cost both of them their lives.
"What a tangled web we weave," she whispered to herself.
Everyone gathered together around a campfire after an unsuccessful day in the City. Jensa watched the entrance to the City for signs of activity, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary…yet.
"Did you have any luck today?" Jensa asked.
The sour expression on Michael's face was enough to answer her question. "Not a thing. We've been working nonstop without anything to show for it." He rubbed his tired eyes. "How about you? Find something of interest?" he inquired eagerly.
"Hardly," she lied. She wasn't about to tell anyone she'd found the key. "Nothing but cobwebs and the musty smell of death in the air."
Kerri wrinkled her nose. "Yeah, it is rather disgusting. We'll just have to get used to it I guess."
Suddenly, a breeze picked up and brought sand with it. Seconds later, the sand became the wind. It blew wildly, severely hindering everyone's vision. "Jensa, Kerri, put your veils on!" Michael yelled. "Hurry and get to your tent!" The girls obeyed and scrambled up. Jensa had to squint and covered her eyes with her hand. Michael stood between them holding onto their arms as they rushed back to the safety of the tent. He shoved them inside and crawled in behind them, hastily shutting the canvas flap to keep the sand from getting in. "That came outta nowhere!" he said brushing sand off of his arms.
"How long do you think it will last?" Kerri asked.
"Who knows?" answered Jensa. "Could be minutes, could be hours."
"Terrific." Kerri sat back and tried to make herself comfortable during the wait.
Suddenly, gunshots rang out. A battle cry echoed through the air and hoof beats thundered by the tent. "Michael, it's them." Jensa felt the hackles rise on her neck.
"You stay here," he commanded. He pulled his gun out from behind his back and pushed through the tent flaps.
Jensa, of course, had no intention of listening to him. "Okay, Kerri. Now we have to defend ourselves, and with any luck, we can get them to stop attacking. You ready?" Jensa retrieved one of her guns and cocked it.
"As ready as I'll ever be," she said, cocking her own gun.
They jumped up and ran out of the tent. Mayhem had ensued. Diggers were running from the Med-jai. Some were engaged in hand to hand combat. Jensa and Kerri stood transfixed watching the men kill each other. The sand storm had allowed the perfect entrance for the Med-jai. Only when they yelled their battle cry did anyone know they were being attacked. Jensa had always known what happened to visitors of Hamunaptra, but to witness it first hand froze her to the spot she stood in.
A bullet whizzed past her head and struck a pillar behind her. Shards of broken stone hit her in the back. Collecting herself before a bullet struck her in the head, she took off running, gun in hand and ready. A Med-jai on horseback galloped past her with his scimitar waving threateningly in the air. A frightened digger was in front of him running on foot. There were around twenty diggers as well Med-jai, evening the odds of the fight. Everybody was fighting somebody.
Not ten feet from her a digger shot a Med-jai in the shoulder. He fell backwards off of his horse. As he rolled over in a daze, he missed seeing the digger grab his discarded scimitar. Only when it was too late did he see the digger charge for him. True to her word about protecting the Med-jai, Jensa aimed her gun and shot the man in the side. He fell forward to the sand in agonizing pain. The Med-jai gave her a look of puzzlement. He did not understand why the very people they were attacking protected them.
Satisfied that the Med-jai warrior was safe, she trudged further into the fighting. Michael shot a Med-jai off of his horse. Jensa would severely punish him for that. Her anger at Michael shifted to alarm as she saw a Med-jai aiming his gun for Michael's head. Jensa didn't want to shoot the Med-jai, but she had to protect her low life brother. She loved him too much to do anything else. This time, she shot at a less life threatening part of the body, hitting him in the shin. He dropped the gun and grabbed his leg.
A yell from behind caused her to turn around. Her reflexes reacted immediately. She ducked as a scimitar blade came inches within her neck. A fallen Med-jai's scimitar lay close by. She ran for it and turned to block another swing of the curved blade. For some reason, this Med-jai had singled her out to die. They fought madly, blocking each other's attacks with accuracy and precision. Jensa was grateful to Michael for putting her through such grueling sword fighting sessions. He had shown her no mercy, much like this Med-jai was doing now.
Her petite stature allowed for quick movement as she darted to the right, missing what would have been a fatal blow to her side. The warrior had not thought it would take long to dispatch the enemy, but was met blow for blow. He reached for his other scimitar hanging at his hip. Jensa was startled and jerked her head around looking for another scimitar to aid her and located one not five feet from her, lying next to a dead Med-jai. She dove for it, missing by inches. The warrior was quickly upon her. She rolled over onto her back and continued the duel, seated on the sand. Jensa parried another swing of his blades as she groped behind her for the weapon and clasped onto it, bringing both above her head in an X-pattern catching the weapons from their intended target, namely her head.
Jensa shoved him back and jumped quickly to her feet. Now she was suddenly angry. She hadn't done anything wrong. She wasn't looking for any treasure. With a new surge of adrenaline, she rushed the Med-jai warrior forcing all of her strength upon him and even some she didn't know was in her possession. He was pushed back, but her temporary victory didn't last long, as she figured. This warrior's skills were advanced from the time he was probably able to walk.
In a last ditch effort, Jensa even managed to take him by surprise. She ducked into a head roll and sliced him in the arm with the edge of the blade on her way up. He didn't react. The warrior probably hadn't even felt it. She huffed to herself, just a scratch to him. Jensa desperately wished he would stop attacking because she didn't want to kill him, but she had to defend herself.
Oddly enough, she smelled something in the air as she passed by him on her way up from the head roll. It smelled like vanilla. Like everyone else, she knew what vanilla smelled like, but there was something special about it this time. It was almost familiar to her. Briefly, it calmed her and she wanted to breathe in as much of it as she could. But why did it seem so familiar? And why was she worrying about vanilla while she was fighting for her life?
Before long, she knew she would become tired and lose her concentration. This was the first time she had ever fought another person for her life. It had all been for pretend in the beginning. The Med-jai before her had been in combat many times and his strength would no doubt go farther than hers. As she fought, she took quick glances around looking for Michael and Kerri. They were nowhere to be seen. The Med-jai took advantage of her last glance around them and kicked her feet out from under her. He brought his scimitars on the inside of hers in a wide swing and whacked them from her hands, leaving a stinging pain in her fingers. He raised the deadly blades high. Jensa caught a glimpse of his eyes. His black veil was still in place, but the eyes were unmistakable.
"ARDETH!!!" she screamed with all her might.
The scimitars stopped in midair inches from her face. Jensa stared cross-eyed at the tips of the blades in frozen fear. He stared down at her in surprise. The turban and veil obstructed her identity from him. He abruptly sheathed the weapons, grabbed her arm and roughly pulled her up from the sand, ripping the turban from her head. He stood still for some seconds staring at her in wonder. Ardeth could not take his eyes from hers and pulled the veil from his own face. The fighting around them continued, but neither noticed. They only saw each other.
"Jensa," his thoughts finally formed words, although stammered, "When did you…why here…I did not know…"
Suddenly, he remembered the battle was still being fought and shouted to his men in Arabic to stop attacking. Immediately, they obeyed without questioning his orders. Ardeth looked back to Jensa. He blinked several times to make sure this was not just the typical desert mirage. Jensa did, in fact, stand before him. She smiled at him and he momentarily felt like it was five years ago before they were separated from each other. Ardeth had never dared to wish she would return. It had always seemed too good to be true.
The little girl was gone and before him stood a woman. Jensa was grown up. The childish air had disappeared. She was even more beautiful than he remembered. She had grown some, but not very much. The top of her head reached just under his shoulders. Ardeth looked her up and down, mesmerized by what he saw. Jensa wore man's clothes, but they could not hide her hour glass figure. She had been very thin the last time he saw her. As he looked at her now, he did not dream a woman could ever have so many alluring curves. The dark clothing brought out her milky skin and form-fitting black pants that revealed her shapely legs. Her tiny feet were covered in very feminine heeled black boots. There was still a little of the girl in her, evidenced by the plaits in her hair. A strand fell loose, brushing her cheek. He itched to tuck it behind her ear. Ardeth's concentration dwindled as her chest heaved up and down from the heavy fighting they had just done. Her tongue darted out of her mouth for only a microsecond to wet her lips. A trickle of sweat rolled down from under her ear and disappeared beneath her shirt. He wondered vaguely if it had reached its destination and found himself very much wanting to find out.
Their reunion was only a few precious seconds, but Ardeth was pleased that he had such an immediate affect on her. Jensa blushed deeper than the reddest rose. She lowered her gaze only a moment in her sudden timidity, but could not keep from looking at him. His eyes were nailed to hers. As Jensa had told him years ago before they realized their feelings for each other, she explained that when she blushed her ears burned. He knew that they were burning precisely at the second his eyes washed over her. Sons of the pharaohs! This woman appeared so delicate and yet he was inebriated from her very presence. He did not drink alcohol of any kind, but thought that perhaps this was what it felt like to be intoxicated.
He noticed something else, though. Yes, she was grown up, but she looked different. There was something in her eyes. She looked older than her years and there was a frown to her face. Perhaps wiser? A strong melancholy aura seemed to emanate around her. Jensa was deeply saddened by something. It was just a feeling, but he knew something had changed. Ardeth had always felt a connection with Jensa, like an electrical current bound them together. He felt the change within her.
Suddenly, his face creased into fear. "Jensa, I was ready to kill you. Thank Allah you said something."
Jensa nodded in agreement. "I recognized you at the last second. Fortunate for me or this trip would've been all for naught." She put her hand to her mouth and suppressed a cough. Jensa silently cursed Lyle for nearly crushing her windpipe. Ardeth was concerned by her coughing and feared she may be ill, but did not get the chance to make inquiries.
"Jensa!" Michael came running towards her and gave her a quick hug. "Are you all right? You're not hurt?" She shook her head, but wasn't looking at her brother. Her eyes were still locked with Ardeth's. Only then, did Michael notice the Med-jai he hated so much. "You!" he hissed.
"Michael, calm down. You promised, remember?" Jensa tore her gaze from Ardeth to scowl at her brother.
"Yeah, all right." Michael watched him fiercely. "Long time no see."
Ardeth glared right back at him. "I would prefer eternity."
Before Michael could give his retort, Kerri appeared beside Jensa. They threw their arms around each other, thankful the other wasn't hurt.
"My Lord! These people deserve to die. They are where they do not belong." Another Med-jai limped up to the crowd.
The warmth in Ardeth's face that had been there earlier disappeared. He was more than ecstatic to see Jensa, but was the leader above all else. "They deserve no less than death, but we shall spare them."
Other Med-jai still breathing hard from the fight crowded around them. One of them shoved Michael to the side and stood next to Jensa. He pulled his veil down. Jensa recognized him as Fadil Tamal. "You," he said cautiously, "You saved my life. We were killing you and yet you saved the life of your enemy. Why?"
"Fadil." Surprise filled his mahogany eyes at the utterance of his name. "The Med-jai are not my enemy. I know why you attacked us. It's your job. You saved my life once. I believe I owed you one."
Respect took over where caution had been. "Then I thank you." It took only a second, but he remembered her. She had been merely a girl then, but there was no mistaking who she was.
"You're very welcome," she said sincerely.
His eyes wandered to Kerri. The lovely blond he had met many years ago stood before him again. He winced slightly. Even though Jensa had save his life, he had still been shot in the arm. Kerri's eyes widened as the blood poured from his wound.
"You're hurt!" she cried.
"It is nothing. I have been shot before. I'll be fine."
"Just the same, we must clean it before infection sets in." She walked around behind him and pushed him away toward the campfire and made him sit down as she searched around for something to dress his wound with. He watched her as she ran from one place to another gathering up whatever she could find. A fellow Med-jai placed himself next to Fadil and started his own treatment of the wound. Kerri came back with bandages and ointments.
The warrior said to Kerri, "My horse," he pointed to the animal, "is right over there. Inside the saddlebag you will find a needle and thread." Kerri rushed off and brought back the items. Muhsin attended to Fadil's wounds with great care and tenderness.
"What about chloroform?" Kerri didn't want Fadil to be in pain.
"We do not use it unless the injury could be life threatening," answered Muhsin. He used a pair of forceps to dig out the bullet. Kerri watched with wide admiring eyes. Fadil did not even flinch once. She swallowed hard at the sight of his blood, but quickly shrugged the sick feeling off. Kerri had seen much worse when she was growing up in the orphanages of Cairo.
"What are you doing here? I thought you had returned to America with your friend." Fadil was eager to talk to Kerri. The petite woman with the chocolate eyes had made quite an impression on him when they first met.
"Well, that's a long story. Jensa and Michael were planning a vacation and invited me to come with them. Naturally, I jumped at the chance to come back. I really missed Egypt."
"That does not sound like such a long story."
"I guess it's not." Kerri knew it wasn't her place to talk of Jensa's reason for coming back and kept her out of their conversation.
"What does your husband think of you coming half-way around the world? Surely, he objects to being so far from you." I know I would, he thought.
"I'm sure he would if I was married," she said somewhat embarrassed.
"You are not married?" his voice sounded hopeful.
"No, I'm not." Muhsin watched the two of them dreamily staring at each other. He rolled his eyes. The young were so ridiculous when it came to love. He himself, had four wives. They were very special to him and took care of him, but he did not feel great love for them only warmth and want.
"I am glad that we ran into each other again," he said with a smile.
"So am I. Now I can get the chance to thank you."
"For what?"
"Five years ago when that crisis with Jensa happened, you were very kind to me and kept me calm. I was very near to panicking. When you returned with Jen, I never got a chance to thank you and now I am. Thank you, Fadil for being so nice to a frightened woman."
Fadil couldn't believe that she still thought of their first meeting as much as he did. "You are welcome, Kerri." He held out his hand to her. She accepted it and placed a kiss on his cheek.
"Done!" cried Muhsin. He had worked quickly and already had the wound sewn up and dressed. He wanted to leave the lovebirds to themselves, gathered up the medical supplies and left them alone. Fadil moved closer to Kerri and kissed her gently on the lips. She looked down shyly and blushed…and so did he.
* * *
The angry Med-jai who had demanded they be put to death still lurked around Ardeth and Jensa. "I do not believe her!" He was bleeding profusely from his leg as he limped over to her. Jensa had known him before too, but she couldn't remember his name. His approach was menacing and Ardeth placed himself protectively in front of her. "Ardeth, she shot me! Let me have my revenge!"
"There is a reason why I shot you," she argued from behind Ardeth.
"Explain it then to Madir," Ardeth said to Jensa over his shoulder. "I would like to know myself."
Jensa stepped out from behind Ardeth Now she remembered the angry Med-jai. He was Madir Bushan, Ardeth's second in command. "Because you almost killed my brother. Of course, I wasn't about to let you."
"Only moments ago you said we were not your enemy. I remember saving your life. This is how you repay us?"
"For pity's sake, Madir stop whining. I shot you in the leg not in the head. You'll survive." Laughter erupted from the crowd still observing this unusual reunion. "Besides, I didn't know it was you."
"If you had known it was me, would you have still shot me?"
"Yes," she said without hesitation. Amusement twitched the corners of his mouth, but quickly faded. Madir left in defeat and limped away to attend to his injured leg.
"Everyone will be given time to gather your things up, but you must abandon this fortune hunting. It will only bring death. Leave in the morning!" Ardeth announced. The diggers knew better than to argue with the Med-jai chieftain. Out in the lonely desert, he was the law.
Ardeth again looked at Jensa in wonder. "Where did you learn to fight like that?"
"I taught her," Michael piped up.
"Then I congratulate you on a job well done." Ardeth glanced down at his arm. It was not a fatal wound, but kept bleeding nevertheless.
"Thanks. Say Jensa, maybe we should start packing things up."
Jensa didn't answer him, but stared suspiciously. She had never known Michael to give up so easily. His tenacity was overbearing. His eagerness to leave was unsettling. Jensa turned her attention back the desert warrior.
"In a minute. Ardeth, come with me. I should help you take care of your wound." Jensa hurried off to her tent before Ardeth could object. Once inside, she dug around looking for gauze and ointment. Jensa had brought these first aid items along just in case someone got hurt, but she actually thought Michael's stupidity would have gotten him hurt. Ardeth's head popped in the tent and looked around. "Have a seat." Jensa tore the gauze into strips. Ardeth took off his turban and shook his hair. It was a little longer since Jensa had seen it last, brushing against the top of his broad shoulders. She stared at the black curls and wondered what it would feel like for his hair to brush against her skin. Jensa nervously cleared her raw throat and commanded gruffly, "Take off your robe."
"What?" he asked in alarm.
"How can you expect me to clean that through your robe? Take it off."
Ardeth slowly complied. First, he unbuckled his scimitar belt and tossed it to the side. Then he removed the bandoleer that held the bullets, but Ardeth did not shed his entire robe. He withdrew his injured arm from one sleeve only. As Jensa began washing the cut, she stole a few glances at his chest. She hadn't known he had other tattoos except for on his face and hands. Though half of them were covered from the robe, she could see some around his navel, across his collar bone and arms. The three spikes on his hands were also etched into his forearm and the Eye of Horus was on his shoulder. The symbol of Horus was meant for healing and protection. The nasty cut Jensa had given him laid just below the tattoo and could use some of that Horus healing. Across his collar bone was a large circle with three straight lines running through it. She had no idea what that represented, but there a Sekhem running the length of his breast bone, the symbol for authority. There was writing around the Sekhem, but she was only able to discern a little of it. The writing appeared to say that authority was granted to the Bays to lead the Med-jai people. There was more of the ancient text shaped in an arc around his navel. It was the ancient Egyptian writing for his family name, Bay.
"Do you have others besides these?" she inquired.
"Others?" Jensa indicated the tattoos. "Yes, I have more on my back and legs." He leaned forward and she looked at the blue-dye markings on his back. Across his shoulder blades laid the winged solar disk symbol. This was the form Horus took on in his battles against Seth. The god Thoth used magic to turn Horus into a golden disk with beautiful outstretched wings. The tips of the wings spanned from one of Ardeth's shoulders to the other.
Below the winged disk was a large triangle. Four symbols laid on each of the three lines forming the geometric shape. There were twelve symbols in all. In the center of the triangle was one vertical line. This was the same as the first symbol that started the chain of symbols in the triangle.
"What does the triangle and all these little symbols mean?" Her scholarly mind came through to the surface.
"There are twelve symbols representing the twelve tribes of the Med-jai. The triangle connects them together. We are all bound together by duty and blood. Though the tribes are spread out far from each other, we are still connected by our duty to keep the creature from being disturbed. The vertical line in the center means "first". I am of the first tribe and so I bear this marking. Each warrior wears the symbol of the tribe he belongs to. Many of the warriors here tonight have this one line on their skin, but I and I alone wear the symbols of all twelve tribes."
As she still worked on his wounded arm she asked, "What does the circle with the three lines mean?"
"The lines are equivalent to the three thousand years we have guarded the City of the Dead. The circle is the never-ending duty we must fulfill. It is our eternal oath."
Under the triangle was a tattooed scimitar with yet again, ancient text etched onto the blade. She translated out loud, "By one oath in this life we live. It is our first duty and our last."
Her fingers lightly caressed the ancient words. Ardeth's breath caught in his throat. Jensa closely inspected the symbol. He felt her soft fingers touching his skin and a chill went up his spine when her fingernails made contact with his back. He wanted her to stop before he gave in to her gentle touch and yet, he wished she would explore further. Clearly, she was not thinking the same thing he was.
Outside, Jensa hadn't been able to get a good look at Ardeth because of the dark. Now, in the light of the tent, she found him to be intoxicating. His olive skin was set off by the blackness of his thick hair. His full lower lip was just as she remembered with a goatee and mustache framing his strong jaw. Years ago, she had touched those lips with her finger. She would give anything to touch them again. His dark eyes watched her every movement as she cleaned his wound with a tenderness she didn't know she had. The sun had etched a few lines around his eyes. He seemed a little moody, but then again, he had always been that way. Quiet and brooding, even pensive at times. He was definitely pensive now. She thought, well the two of us are in the same broody boat. Jensa tried her best to concentrate on digging the sand out of his wound, but that did little good because the wound was on his well muscled arm. She had always known of his strength, but had never seen the physical proof. Jensa swallowed hard as his muscles flexed with every breath he took. Her heart pounded so violently she was certain Ardeth could hear it. Why did he have such a powerful effect on her?
She took the small ointment bottle and wetted a cloth with it. "This may sting a little. I'll be careful." Jensa quickly dabbed at the wound so as not to cause him too much pain. Ardeth didn't make a sound, much less breathe loudly. His jaw muscles tensed up as the ointment seeped in. His pain threshold amazed her. If she had a gash like this in her arm, Jensa knew she'd be bawling like a baby. Her needle and thread laid next to her and she quickly stuck the thread threw the tiny needle and sewed up the gash. After she was done, she took the gauze and wrapped it around his arm to keep it from getting dirty. "Good as new," she announced.
Ardeth moved his arm around to test it. "Thank you, it feels better already." Jensa coughed again. Ardeth questioned her now. "You are not ill, are you?"
She could see he was deeply concerned and this touched her. "Not really. I'm just getting over something. It should be gone soon, I hope."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive. Thanks for asking."
A very uncomfortable silence ensued between therm. Jensa had come back to Egypt mainly to see Ardeth, but now that she had actually found him and he sat in front of her, she didn't know what to say. They most certainly couldn't just pick up where they left off. Surely, he felt as uneasy as she did. The buckling of his sword belt shook her from her dreaming. He had put everything back on except for his turban. He long locks sat against his head in a sweaty disarray. Jensa started shoving everything inside of her knapsack. They would be leaving in the morning anyway and she busied herself with gathering everything together for packing up. Where was Kerri? she wondered. Kerri had purposely left her alone in the tent with Ardeth, Jensa knew. When I get my hands on that little—-
"Jensa." Ardeth finally broke the silence. He placed his hand on her forearm. She stopped packing and looked at him uneasily. "Forgive me, but I am still shocked to see you here. You once promised to return, but I did not believe that would ever happen. That was wrong of me."
She didn't respond right away. His hands found the object of his desire and unwound the braid from her head. He pulled the rubber band from the tip and slowly undid the braid. Her hair spread out down past her hips. Thinking the same thought Jensa had about his hair, hers was longer since he had last seen it. The braid had created mountains of waves in the tresses and Jensa stared into space as his hands ran through her locks acting like a comb. He saw her lips trembling and her body shuddered, but there was not a look of enjoyment in her eyes. Ardeth considered for a second that it might be fear so he reluctantly untangled his fingers from her hair.
Jensa decided the best way to not think about her fear was to keep herself talking. "No, Ardeth it was not wrong of you. At one time, I didn't think I would come back either." Jensa didn't miss the hurt look in his eyes. She reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear nervously. Already, she had hurt him. Perhaps it had been a mistake to come back to Egypt. "Maybe I should've gone somewhere else." She didn't realize she'd spoken aloud.
"Why do you say that?" Ardeth wrinkled his brow.
"Well, because I know that I hurt you when I said that. I didn't mean to."
"I know that."
"I'm saying all the wrong things."
"No, you are not. Five years is a long time, Jen." We are not children anymore."
"You got that right," she said regretfully. "It's been a long time since anyone has called me Jen. I'd almost forgotten what it sounded like."
Ardeth sensed a deeper meaning behind her words. He started to ask her, but thought it wiser to wait. She would tell him when she was ready. "It is uncomfortable for us both, but it is good to see you again." He reached out to touch her cheek, but she quickly turned her face away and shoved the remainder of her supplies in the knapsack. She could feel his eyes bearing into her.
Jensa's behavior astounded him. She had never pulled away from his touch before. There was something terribly wrong. Ardeth desperately wished for the gift of clairvoyance at that moment. What had happened to her? Her time in America had changed her. She was behaving as if they were mere acquaintances. Ardeth voiced his thoughts. "Something has changed. I can feel it. You have changed."
"Have I?" she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.
"Yes," he said sadly, "you have."
"People change, Ardeth."
"But not you." He shook his head in disbelief. "At least, not the Jensa I remember. You seem sad, almost withdrawn." He could not help himself. He had to ask. "What happened after you went home?" A brief haunted looked passed over her lovely face. For a moment, she was somewhere else, remembering something terrible no doubt. "Jen, you know you can talk to me about anything."
Jensa opened her mouth and was on the verge of telling him everything, but she couldn't bring herself to talk about it yet. The memory of Lyle's hands on her neck were an all too vivid reminder of what had almost happened to her. Jensa momentarily forgot that Ardeth was with her and touched her sore neck. The scarf she wore had loosened in the attack. She'd forgotten to tighten it, leaving the bruises in plain view to Ardeth. He noticed at once and yanked the scarf from her throat. He stared in shock at the bruises. There were several of them about an inch apart. They resembled the shape of a large hand. Jensa yelped as he grabbed her by the shoulders to observe her neck more closely. He touched them and saw her wince. He also saw another set of bruises. They were a light yellow color, suggesting that they were older bruises in the healing process, however, they were fresh enough to tell Ardeth this happened within the last couple of weeks. He traced another bruise with the tip of his finger near the bottom of her jaw line. That could only mean someone had struck her. Someone struck his beloved Jensa.
Rage quelled deep inside of him. Jensa did not look at his face. She was afraid to. He released his grip from her. Ardeth's fists balled up, turning his knuckles white. His chest heaved harder and harder the more he stared at the bruises. "Who did this to you?" he asked in a barely audible tone.
"Ardeth, please don't—"
"Who did this to you?" he repeated more forcefully. Jensa brought her eyes up to his. What she saw there frightened her. She had never seen such a murderous look. His eyes blazed with hatred towards someone he didn't even know. She still didn't answer him though. He moved to shake the answers he wanted from her. She yelped again and scooted back away from him. All anger left his face as he realized that she was afraid. He felt heavy sorrow at the frightened woman cowering from him. He took a deep breath and relaxed his tense muscles. "You thought I was going to hurt you. Why?"
Jensa pulled her knees up to her chest and folded her arms around her legs. She laid her head on top of her knees and began crying softly. Ardeth ached to put his arms around her and give her the comfort she needed, but he couldn't risk frightening her anymore than he already had. So he had to content himself to staying immobile…away from her. She looked like a very small, very terrified child.
"Jensa." Ardeth spoke gently to her, but put enough force behind his voice to try to convince her that he would never hurt her. "You know that I would never strike you, would never harm you in any way. You know that, do you not?" he looked searchingly at her.
Her head rose from her knees. She wiped the tears away with her hands and sniffed. "Yes," she spoke slowly, "I know."
"But?" he prompted.
Her lips quivered. "But I just need a little time. A lot has happened and maybe I can tell you sometime, but now is not the time." She took off her jacket and stuffed it into a ball. "I'm exhausted and I'm sure you are too. I'll see you in the morning." She wadded up the jacket and laid down with her back to him.
As he stood to leave, he asked without looking at her, "Why did you come back here?"
"To escape," she simply stated. Ardeth looked over his shoulder at her. The pain that he had seen in her eyes very nearly killed him where he stood. He pushed the tent flap aside and walked out. She rose up on one elbow. "Ardeth?" she called after him. He didn't appear right away, making her think he ignored her, but she heard the sand crunching under his boots and he reappeared to stand just inside the tent. "It is good to see you too."
Ardeth stared at her with the same old expressionless face. She would never forget that look for as long as she lived. She knew he was confused, hurt and angry, but she would tell him when the time was right. He stared at her for some minutes in silence before finally walking out.
Michael was still up and had kept his eye on Jensa's tent the entire time Ardeth was inside of it. He breathed a sigh of relief as the Med-jai exited the tent, leaving Jensa alone. Ardeth's face was empty and his walk bore the same. Michael glanced back to his sister's tent. How he wished he could have been the proverbial fly on the wall. What had they talked about?