Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Harry Potter.
A/N: To all the reviewers – A BIG THANK YOU.
***
The storm hit the caves full force, bringing sand and hot continuing gusts of wind in to the cave. Ahmenhotep and Norfret were huddled at the back in a foetal position, their heads covered and eyes tightly shut. They could feel the scalding sand whip against their skin like sand paper. Norfret bit back her tears and breathed carefully with her mouth trying hard not to breathe in the talcum fine sand. The grip on his hand was getting tighter by the minute but she was strangely reassured by it; the howling winds made a strange sound that made her shiver despite the hot winds. Already, Norfret was worrying about how they were to fin their way back – with all their tracks cleared by the blowing wind and a new layer of sand – they had no hope.
Norfret did not know how long they had been lying there in the dark of the cave cowering, hand in hand but she suddenly felt with a start, the winds stop and the hot attack of the sands cease. She felt strangely weighed down to earth and realised slowly that it was because of all the sand that the dessert had piled on her through out the assault – with a cry, she stood up, bringing all her sand crashing down on Ahmenhotep.
"Oy!"
"Sorry!" Hastily dusting the sand off her shoulders, Norfret reluctantly released Ahmenhotep's hand and went to the mouth of the cave to explore. . .
What met her eyes wanted to make her cry; the bright sun was already setting in the sky, casting a golden glow on the landscape of the dessert, unblemished by anything since the storm – it was beautiful, fine grains of sand set alight by the sun, making it seem like gold dust. Already the noon heat was gone and the night chill was setting in. The dessert was a cold beautiful killer. Desperately Norfret scanned for anything familiar, but the merciless storm had wiped out everything, any traces of footprints or familiar rocks. . . it had covered everything. She could feel her tears cutting a path down her cheeks where the sand had formed a fine layer, they were dead. They were trapped in a land so wide. She felt Ahmenhotep's presence behind her.
"I wonder if the others made it out alive." He remarked, almost cheerfully.
Norfret didn't answer but hastily wiped away her tears instead, taking care not to put sand into her eyes.
"Norfret? Are you crying?"
"No." Her voice betrayed her.
Ahmenhotep put his hand on her shoulders and gently turned her around, little rivers ran down her cheeks, making her look muddy as the water mixed with the sand in her attempt to wipe the tears from her face.
"We're going to get out of this god forsaken dessert alive."
Norfret shook his hand away, suddenly angry at his optimism.
"Look out there! Look! We can never find our way back. Never. Do you know which way Memphis is? Do you?" she said scathingly, waving her arms this way and that.
"No." he said simply.
"Well then." She huffed. She sucked air in and out quite violently trying to think of a way to find their way back. Ahmenhotep smiled and gently brushed the sand out of her hair, shaking it gently. His movements gradually ceased and he looked into her eyes intently. She blushed under the mud.
"You are very strange. You know that?" he brushed his thumbs over her cheek. "Strange. . .but beautiful." Moving his hand to the back of her head, he gently pulled her towards him.
Norfret almost swooned at his words but slapped his hands away. Trying to cover the obvious redness of her cheeks, she started screeching.
"Do you honestly think this is a good time for your conquest? I am not your conquest and this is hardly the appropriate time for you to be. . . for you to be. . . concentrating on this sort of thing!"
Ahmenhotep furrowed his eyebrows. "Concentrating on what sort of thing?"
"I know everything. Don't try and fool me by being NICE. You think I am deaf, but I am not. I know. I heard it form everyone from the servants to Rahimere and trust me, I won't be falling for your charms, if you have any - "
Norfret was promptly cut off.
"Rahimere? You know him? How do you know him?"
"What does it matter how I know him? It doesn't concern you!"
"Don't trust Rahimere."
Norfret narrowed her eyes dangerously. "It is not your place to tell me whom I can trust or not. I will trust whomever I will."
Ahmenhotep clenched his fists.
"Don't trust that camel dung."
Norfret snorted. "You are impossible. Your behaviour is so obvious."
Ahmenhotep unclenched his fist and grabbed her shoulders.
"What did he tell you about me?"
Norfret shook his hand off angrily. "It's none of your business!"
"Yes it is! He's been talking about me hasn't he?"
Norfret raised her head defiantly. "And what if he has?"
Ahmenhotep glared at her. "What did he say?"
"That's not for me to tell."
"Tell me or I will punish the damn bastard."
Norfret was quite taken aback. "You. . . you childish. . ."
Ahmenhotep crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at her. "Do you want to see Rahimere publicly flogged?"
Norfret shook her head, causing sand to spray over her shoulders. Ahmenhotep looked at her with an expectant expression.
"Rahimere said that your behaviour with girls was less than honourable. . ."
Ahmenhotep stared at her like she was daft for a moment and shrugged his shoulders. "That's a completely new one. Never heard that one before."
"What do you mean by that?"
"That's immaterial. Do you believe him? Do you believe what he said?"
That was a question Norfret had not given herself an answer to.
"I don't know. Look, I don't think we should be having this conversation right now. We have to find our way back or at least try. . ."
"Do you believe him?" Ahmenhotep persisted.
"I. . . I don't know alright! I am new to this whole, this whole thing. Just." Norfret sighed, her breathing wavering uncertainly. "Could we just get out of here first?" Suddenly the cave had become stifling and the air hot. Not waiting for Ahmenhotep's reply, Norfret ducked and made her way out to the narrow ledge outside the cave on the side of the dune. The sun was still up, and it seemed it was only late afternoon, perhaps around 4 or 5.
"If we set out now, we have some chance of reaching that small village we passed through at the beginning of the trip."
"Am I correct to assume we are not continuing this discussion?"
"Yes."
He sighed. "This is not finished Norfret."
She sighed and began her climb down the side of dune.
Egypt was mostly dessert, and humanity was only allowed to flourish near the fertile banks of the Nile, which flooded faithfully each year. . . As young children, both Ahmenhotep and Norfret had heard some pretty horrible stories about people and the dessert. People who ended up, inevitably, dead. People who have walk for days only to find their own footprints in the sand. People freezing in the cold of night. People burning in the heat of day. People being found dry as wood because of dehydration. . .
"At lest we won't suffer from that!" Norfret had said, holding up her water skin, which was still blissfully filled up to the top.
They both walked, making fresh footprints on the soft and impressionable sand, occasionally making small talk, about anything but the bracelet and Rahimere. After walking leisurely for about 10 mins, they decided walking with no direction was totally useless.
"Well do you have any bright ideas?" Norfret asked, placing her hands on her hips.
"You do have your wand, right?"
"It's not going to lay down a path leading to Memphis." Norfret said sarcastically.
Ahmenhotep rolled his eyes, "Yes I know. But all morning, we've been racing to the south of Memphis, so if you do a four – point spell to point out north, then at least we are getting a rough estimation of the correct direction in which we are supposed to be going."
"I suppose that would work. . ."
Carefully handing the water skin to Ahmenhotep, Norfret took out her wand and performed the four - point spell; it looked as though they were walking slightly south west. They immediately changed their direction. Norfret could tell that Ahmenhotep was trying hard to look smug.
"So."
"So?"
"It's beautiful out here isn't it?" Ahmenhotep said, gesturing out at the wide expanse of dessert and the setting sun.
"Yes it is." Norfret sighed deeply.
"Norfret. I really. . .I want to know whether you believe Rahimere or not."
She didn't respond and pretended as though she hadn't heard him.
"Come on. It isn't a taboo subject is it?"
Still no response.
"Norfret!"
"I do not wish to talk about this."
"Well I do."
"Since when was your opinion worth more than that of others?"
"Since I was born."
The haughty prat.
"Why do you want to know anyway? Aren't you to high and mighty to care about what us lowly courtiers think?"
"I do care about what you think." He replied quietly.
Norfret snorted in reply. "You never cared for me, my feelings or my opinions. This seems to be an odd time to start."
"That is untrue! I care a lot about you. . ." his face flushed, "about what everyone and what they think."
Norfret walked a little slower and lowered her head; she could feel his eyes upon her. He reached out to seize her hand and pulled her towards him so that she was facing him.
"I know this is not a good place to tell you. . .or the time for that matter, but. . ."
Her breathing hitched. Was he?
"I stole that bracelet I gave you from my mother."
"What?" Norfret said. Subconsciously, she was disappointed and was furious at herself for harbouring affectionate feelings for the haughty monster before her.
"Do you want me to return it?" she asked coldly.
"No. It's not that. . .she knows about it."
"Then what?"
"Well. . .why don't you ever wear it?"
Why didn't she wear it?
Norfret shrugged, "I don't feel like it."
She continued walking again; she was a fool to think that he'd actually. . .
She could hear him jogging up to her.
"Hang on!"
"Really, I want to just. . .I just want to go home."
***
Everything was in disarray at court. Two children of possibly the two most important men in Egypt were missing. Queen Ahmose and Lady Heseret were both in hysterics, blaming everyone in sight, from the servants to their respective husbands while consoling each other and embracing each other. Pharaoh had taken his search scouts after the children as soon as the yellow mist in the air had dissipated but after few hours of searching, they had come back to court with no luck. They had searched the caves in and out but to no avail. It seemed that the children were out in the dessert, by themselves, with the fast approaching of night and a lion that was on the loose.
"You are going to have to do better than this. I want the children back before dawn. Do I make myself clear?"
The captain of the guards stepped forward and bowed respectfully.
"Divine God, we would try our best but the dessert is wide and the darkness of night enveloped the children. . ."
"No excuses."
"Yes your majesty."
The captain of the guards shook his head. It was an impossible task finding missing persons in the dessert. . . but finding them at night. Pharaoh had asked of him a monumental task.
***
"You are shivering." Ahmenhotep said with concern in his voice as he heard Norfret's teeth chatter.
"I am cold."
Ahmenhotep looked up at the sky. All the stars had come out to play. He gently touched her arm, her skin was ice to the touch.
"Norfret. Look up. It's beautiful."
Wrapping her arms about herself, she looked up and saw the star fields – she couldn't help but smile.
"Yes it is."
"I think we should stop."
"What do you mean?"
"It's too cold. . .it's too dark. We can continue tomorrow morning."
"Do you enjoy being out here?"
"No!"
"Well then I think we should press on."
"Norfret! For once, just listen to me. Look at you. You are shivering – we should light a fire and try to get some sleep."
"Sleep? Sleep? Are you out of your mind?" Norfret shrieked.
"How are we going to continue tomorrow if we don't get some rest?"
Norfret hated being outsmarted. Especially by him.
"Alright then."
Norfret whipped her wand out and made a small fire, it provided little warmth but it provided the two worn out souls with a little comfort. They lay down quietly, next to each other in silence, without touching on the soft sand, their bodies rigid.
"Speak to me Ahmenhotep." Norfret broke the silence.
"What do you want me to talk about? Every subject seemed to be banned by you." He replied resentfully.
"You can talk about. . .what ever you want. Just. . .just make me feel better Ahmenhotep. Tell me I'll have more fights with you in Memphis."
His lips curled in to a smile. He shifter closer to her in the sand and pressed himself slightly against her and felt her stiffen.
"It's to keep warm." He explained. Norfret nodded blankly.
They lay still again for a few more moments. Suddenly, Norfret broke into violent sobs and threw her arms around him.
***
A/N: I could write more but this seems like the right place to stop! Hehehe – review!
