Reflections of a Friendship

By Jedi Blu

(Formerly The Silver Songstress)

Disclaimer in 1st Chapter

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

CHAPTER TEN: A Rescue Unexpected

**************************************

PRESENT

********

Adira and Ardeth were still in their comfortable seating position when Bashshar came into the tent. He stopped in the doorway, uncertain when he saw how close the couple was, but then cleared his throat and entered. Adira smiled up at him, Ardeth continued to stare off into the distance.

Bashshar smiled back at the woman, and bowed, then said humbly, "It is good to see you looking well once more. You had many of us quite frightened. We were afraid the bravest warrior among the ranks had fallen for the last time."

The woman's smile grew, and she shook her head. "Sorry, Bashshar, but I do not plan on leaving the mortal realm for quite some time. Thank you for worrying, it means a great deal to me to count on such a friend as you."

He chuckled, then took a seat beside the two of them, noting that Ardeth was still lost in thought. "I take it you will not be traveling for a few more days."

"If I had my way," she responded, almost tartly, "I would be on the road to home now. But Ibrahim insists it would be too much for me, and my leg would be harmed every step of the way. I do not wish to remain here, though."

"I doubt you will like to hear this, then, but everyone else will be ready to go by tomorrow evening. No one has been as physically wounded as you have." Bashshar noted that Ardeth had focused in on his words once more. "Ibrahim has decided that it would be worse to keep the men here with limited supplies, he thinks that their hearts ache for the care that being with their families could give them. I must say, I am eager to see my own wife and little ones."

Nodding slightly, Adira had to admit that the physician was correct. "I had not thought along those lines, I suppose because I have no one to go home to." Adira's father had passed away years before, and her uncle had moved far across the world to take up Med-jai duties elsewhere. All she had was Ardeth, her closest and dearest friend. "It is a wise decision."

"Ibrahim is quite determined to move everyone out?" Ardeth asked, his tone soft and low.

Bashshar was startled to hear Ardeth speak in the strange tone, one he had never heard from his commander before. It was much different than anything he had heard from almost any man before. Except...except himself, when he spoke of his dearest Jaide and his two daughters, or expressed concern for them to another, or when he was in her presence. His gaze darted from his commander to Adira, then back again. He had to fight to keep from smiling. Ardeth, the savage lion, had become nothing more than a purring cat with Adira so near to him.

"Yes, except for two men, yourself, and Adira. Three horses, two pack horses."

"Three horses?" Adira interrupted, then sighed. "So he is going to hold me to riding double. Very well."

Both men chuckled, then Ardeth nodded. "I will speak to Ibrahim myself about the rest of the arrangements." Carefully he moved out from under Adira and helped her ease back down on the bedding. "I will have someone bring you the afternoon meal," Ardeth told her as he followed Bashshar out.

As soon as they were away from the tent, Bashshar cleared his throat again to gain attention. "My lord, may I ask you a rather...personal question?"

Ardeth regarded the man for a moment, then nodded. "Of course."

"How long do you intend on keeping Adira waiting before you tell her how you feel?" The question was abrupt and took Ardeth slightly off guard, then he had to smile.

"Is it so very obvious?"

"I should say so," Bashshar's dry tone only made his commander's smile wider. "Especially now. Rumors have been circulating among the men for some time, what I just saw only confirms them. My lord, do not keep her waiting long. You have both allowed yourselves to do without for too many years now."

They were coming upon the other men and Ibrahim, so Ardeth only nodded, but his thoughts were immediately back on the woman in his tent.

++++++++

PAST, 10 Years

++++++++

Adira and Ardeth were arguing, something that was rare for the two friends, and the other Med-jai wanted to be as far from that as possible. With a growl and a huff, Adira conceded at last. "Very well," she sighed. "I will allow you to go to Cairo alone. But Ardeth, I swear, if I miss the fighting...." She let the threat hang, then turned to the other men. "Ardeth wishes to send us to the perimeter of the Dark City. There we will wait, in case the Creature awakens an army of mummies which we will then cut down."

Ardeth shook his head at her obvious anger, then laid a hand on her shoulder. She stiffened, obviously not in the mood to continue any sort of discussion with him. She had wanted so badly to go see the museum curator, she wanted answers just as much as her commander did. "Adira," he said her name sternly, forcing her to turn and look at him. "I promise I will do my best to keep anything too exciting from happening. Until I return, you are in control of the men."

"I just do not understand why I cannot come with you," she responded, her tone almost helpless. "I've gone everywhere with you before."

"This just doesn't feel right, Adira. Let me find out why it's bothering me, and then I'll come and get you, we will fight this thing head on, together. It would not be the same without you by my side."

"Just remember," she sighed. "You promised." She gripped his forearm, looking into his eyes with obvious displeasure at being left behind. "And come back to us in one piece, Ardeth." Then she pulled away, hoping that nothing had escaped her constructed shield, praying he hadn't seen....

Ardeth saluted her retreating back, smiling slightly. "Until then."

+++++++

STILL IN THE PAST

+++++++

Adira was antsy, and she didn't understand why. The sun was near to setting, and still no word of Ardeth had come. He had been gone nearly a day, and the Med-jai had seen nothing. She glanced warily at the men, all of which seemed much more relaxed then she was.

One of the men, Bashshar, came over to her as she paced. "Something wrong, Commander Haddad?"

"Adira," she corrected him as she nodded. "Something is terribly wrong. It makes me uneasy to not have heard from Ardeth."

He shrugged, "Why not send a message to him? Or...or go check the city?"

She stopped her pacing and looked over at him, wondering if the simple idea was really what she needed to put into action. At last she nodded again and began to walk to the horses. "Bashshar, you are in command while I am gone. If I am not back by sunrise, something has gone terribly wrong." She saluted him, then leapt upon her ever-ready mount and rode away. The other Med-jai watched her, then looked to Bashshar curiously. He shrugged.

As she rode out over the desert, towards the Forbidden City, her feelings became a jumble of trepidation and worry. Something had gone wrong. Terribly wrong. The City loomed up before her after an hour of riding; she was approaching it from the rear. She came to a narrow opening, a back door if you will, and dismounted. She released her horse, trusting he would be there when she returned. Without a second thought she entered the temple, sword drawn.

After another hour of wandering around through the catacombs, she began to doubt her earlier feelings. Everything was very still. Granted, all the torches were lit, which was strange, but everything else was as quiet as a tomb. 'Then again,' she thought with a smile, 'this is a tomb. Nothing out of the ordinary happening here.'

In mockery of that thought, there was a sudden hissing sound behind her. Adira turned, just in time to see a mummified priest emerging from the floor. "In the name of Allah!" she cried out, stunned for a moment too long as the priest came charging at her. Almost without thinking, the woman slashed out with her sword, lopping off the mummy's head. But it kept coming, waving arms around to find what it could not see. Growling, Adira brought her sword down firmly, slicing the body of the mummy into two almost equal halves. It lay quivering for a moment, then became still.

Something was very wrong. Adira hurried to the hole that the mummy had emerged from, only to find it had closed. Her face became the mask she wore into battle, a determined, stiff look. Her eyes, however, twinkled and sparked, ready for a fight. Glancing up and down the corridor, Adira at last took off in the direction she knew would lead to the main chambers.

On her way there, however, she heard the sound of battle. Shrieks of long-dead priests, and the growls of...a man. The battle cry that was used made her heart leap into her throat. "Ardeth," she gasped out as she ran down the hall that would take her to the battle.

What she saw only made her more determined; perhaps ten priests surrounded Ardeth, and he was fighting with nothing more than his knives. The space was too close for him to draw his sword. Adira drew her own knives, not even pausing for breath, and dove into the fray.

She began to clear a path for Ardeth to get out, slashing at the mummies' heads, arms, mid-drifts. Anything to disorient them long enough for her to reach her commander. He was wounded, she noted. There was a long gash, bleeding, from his shoulder down to his wrist. He turned slightly to see whom this was that was coming.

Ardeth had expected O'Connell to have come back for him, and he thought the man to be a great fool for doing so. But it was not the cocky American. "Adira!" he shouted, his eyes wide. He turned back to the mummies who demanded his immediate attention. Seeing her fighting so hard for him raised his own spirits, he became an even stronger warrior at that moment, knocking the mummies to either side of him.

The way was at last clear enough for them to retreat, Adira slammed her fist into the last of the mummies with a head, it crumbled into dust. "Ardeth! This way!" He turned and backed up into the open space she had made, then turned with her and retreated down the hallway.

Running side by side, the two warriors only traded glances with each other once, then made quickly for the exit. Even as they were heading out, they heard the terrible sound of stone grinding against stone. Sand began to pour down the sides of the walls.

"The City," Ardeth shouted, "is collapsing."

Adira nodded, then picked up speed as she ran. The very ground beneath them began to fall away, and the warriors had to push themselves to stay ahead of it. At last the exit was in sight, light poured into the tunnel from the setting sun.

The two emerged, leaping outside just as the last of the floor fell away. That was not enough; the rest of the city was sinking as well. Both scrambled back up to their feet and ran the distance to a small herd of camels.

"What happened," Adira panted, "to the Creature?"

Ardeth shook his head as he mounted a camel. "I am about to find out. O'Connell, the American, went after him. Imhotep stole the woman, wishing to use her as Anacksunamun's host body." He looked up at the setting sun, then towards the other side of the city. "Hang back; I will meet you a mile to the south."

She nodded and mounted another camel, knowing that her horse would have been well on his way home or at least to the nearest Med-jai oasis.

"Adira?"

She turned ready to receive an additional command.

His dark eyes bored into her, his smile, so very charming, appeared. "Thank you for rescuing me." He saluted, then turned and rode to where he hoped to find the others who had come to the Cursed City with him.

"Any time," Adira murmured, a secret smile playing across her lips.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nakhti: Thanks for your overwhelming amount of reviews and positive feedback. I have one note on your comment about Chapter One. The Med-jai may indeed be a nomadic people as a whole, but they do (in my opinion) need a base of operation, a central place to gather at for protection, a rallying point, and to store all their ancient knowledge. Make a little more sense?

So here's chapter 10 of 15. Exciting, we're 2/3's of the way there. Maybe I'll be nice and post chapter 11 tomorrow. :-) Maybe.