Reflections of a Friendship

By Jedi Blu

(Formerly The Silver Songstress)

Disclaimer in 1st Chapter

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CHAPTER ELEVEN: A Woman

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Adira listened patiently to the last minute instructions of Ibrahim, nodding to show her understanding. The man was treating her like child, he kept repeating himself over and over again, and she wondered when he would realize she wasn't listening.

Ibrahim sighed at her, and she smiled sheepishly. "I suppose I am just lecturing now. I have all ready informed Ardeth of your travel plans. Please, do not be stubborn and disobey the man a second time, just do as he says so that I can see you again in one piece." The girl had become like a daughter to him, and he couldn't help but ruffle her slightly rumpled hair before he walked out.

"Yes sir," she murmured, looking at her leg splints with a scowl. She hated being dependent on other people, she was a warrior, not a child. Now she could not even walk without help. Her wrist, due to the sprain, made it difficult for her to use makeshift crutches. The splint also was not complete, and it could only injure her further to walk on the leg before it was fully seen to. Muttering a few Egyptian curses under her breath, Adira propped herself up slightly to stare out the open tent flap.

They were riding off, all of them but Ardeth and two of the unharmed men, going home to their families and celebrations of victory. With a grunt, she dropped herself back to the ground.

Ardeth walked in after the dust cleared from those who had departed, he was not wearing his cloak or hat, or weapons, but looked like any ordinary desert nomad. He knelt by her side, smiling slightly down at her, and shrugged when she looked quizzically at where his sword should be.

"Since we are alone here, and with only a few men, we are taking on the guise of nomads. The scouts, before leaving, informed me there was a small contingent of English soldiers heading this way. They should arrive in a few hours and may wish to inspect the area."

She nodded, her body tensing slightly. There was no rest for the Med-jai. "Do we have nomad clothing?"

"A little, the other two are changing now."

"Who stayed with us?"

"Halim and Jibril Najjar, the twin brothers," he answered, turning to shift through a pack at her side. He withdrew some brown robes and put them on over his black shirt and pants. He brought another cloth out as well and wrapped it around his head, knowing he could pull it up enough to conceal his telltale tattoos. "We will need to disguise you as well. The English are never satisfied until they've searched every available place."

Adira scowled. "Stuffy English. Why don't we just leave the oasis until they are gone?"

"Because they will more then likely stay here for a day or more, and the nearest places that would be suitable to stay at are too far for you to travel so soon." His eyes seemed amused by her continued scowl and he shrugged. "I am only looking after you, Adira."

She sighed. "I know, I know." Again, she propped herself up, only wincing when some weight was put on her wrist. "What will they think when they see me? It is clear I have had some horrible experience recently, they may ask questions."

"You were thrown off a horse, because you are a woman who cannot ride very well," Ardeth muttered as he bent back down to find something suitable for her.

"I beg your pardon! Why can't I be a man?" she argued, at once upset she was put into an inferior position. "I certainly could pass for a man in battle, but when I am injured I am reduced to a helpless, nomadic nothing!"

"Calm yourself, the ruse will not last long." He withdrew more robes from the bag, then held them towards her for a moment before realizing she was still glaring at him.

After realizing he didn't understand, Adira waved her good hand over her body. "I can barely hold my head up for more then a few minutes before I become dizzy and you expect me to dress myself. Ardeth, you will have to help."

For a moment, he seemed completely surprised with her suggestion, then shook his head to clear the thought. For now, he would have to think of her as a comrade, not a woman. He would only be putting the drab, black robes over what she all ready wore. He helped her sit up more fully, then helped her pull the straight garment over her head, and gently maneuvered her wrist and arms into the billowing sleeves while supporting her back. She was so near to him, so close.

Adira was miffed, and pulled her new covering down over both legs, then pointed towards the left over pieces. "These head coverings are so stuffy. Why the other Arabs make their women wear those things I will never understand. Beads covering their eyes, well at least I don't have to...." Her voice trailed off when Halim walked in caring a long head-covering that had a string of beads. "Oh no, Ardeth, you didn't...."

The Med-jai men exchanged a knowing look, then Ardeth took the items from Halim and held them towards her. "To cover the tattoos and your freshly made scar. I'm sorry, Adira, but at least you can wait until they arrive to put the covering on."

Her stare was icy as she snatched the covering out of his hand and glared at Halim as well. "Fine then." She nudged Ardeth away then lay back down, glaring at the ceiling. "Go keep watch or something," she muttered to them both. The men left silently, aware that a disgruntled woman should not be disturbed.

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As the small British battalion rode into the oasis, they could not find anything out of the ordinary. A few horses, two small tents, and three nomad men seated around a small fire while taking in the morning meal.

"Good morning chaps, mind if my men and I spend the afternoon around your little paradise here?" the captain, rather unorthodoxly, asked.

Ardeth came to his feet and bowed slightly. "The oasis belongs to all travelers of the desert. We welcome your company."

The soldiers dismounted as their commander did, there were perhaps twenty of them all together. "Thank you very much. We will do what we can not to disturb you." The captain began giving orders for camp at once.

After exchanging a warning glance with his two men, Ardeth carried some of their food into his tent, then came out again almost right away. Adira was obviously still put out and was not speaking to him. That bothered him a great deal, but he was also relieved that he had more time to gather his thoughts.

"Have you a comrade in arms tucked away in there?" the captain asked with a bright smile. He was very young for one in his position, and obviously a very cheery fellow. "I must say, this is a lovely little spot."

Slightly wary of the younger man, Ardeth only nodded and settled back down to speak to his men in hushed Egyptian. Arabic the captain might understand, but Egyptian was a dead language to many.

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Captain Travis Phillips, as he had introduced himself, kept his men on the other side of the small oasis and seemed perfectly willing to leave the "Arabs" alone.

Adira had asked to feel the cool night air, and no matter how hard Ardeth tried he could not talk her out of it. She claimed she was tired of being stuffed up in the tent and would like to see the stars.

After making sure she was in her nomadic woman guise, Ardeth lifted her in his arms and took her out to place her by the fire. The soldiers were having a rather loud evening on the other side of the water. "Englishmen," Adira snorted as she leaned back into Ardeth's arms for support again. She knew she could sit up on her own fairly well, but she wanted to enjoy what she could for a while longer.

Being in love with your best friend was not easy.

Ardeth was beginning to learn that lesson as well. As they sat there, in that rather intimate position, they gazed up at the starry sky. "Nefer gereh," Ardeth murmured in Egyptian.

"Yes," she agreed softly. "It is beautiful." She turned her head slightly, just enough to glance up at him. To her surprise, he was staring down at her rather than up at the sky. Adira held her breath...his eyes were bottomless, staring at her with an intensity she had only ever seen there when he was in combat. His eyes were focused completely on her, and there was a determination there. Her heart fluttered, and she felt the bottom fall out of her stomach.

"The sky is not all that makes this night one of beauty," he murmured. Ardeth was not sure why he had chosen now to speak, but since  he had begun he could not stop. Now was his chance, the atmosphere was right, and his mind was clear. "Adira, Khenemseti (my friend), there is much I feel the need to say to you, but I do not know how to say it."

She looked down, away from his eyes, as she felt her cheeks heat up. Adira was frightened. Had he at last realized what her feelings for him were? Was he about to tell her it could never be? Offer a reproof? Or, worse yet, pity? Her eyes were all ready filling with tears at the thought of his gentle attentions ending. She dared not look back up at him until she had her emotions under complete control.

The greatest warrior the Med-jai had ever known now found himself feeling quite vulnerable, and he knew he had better say what he had to say quickly. It would have been easier had she been looking at him. "Adira," he said her name gently, his voice low, "I have been using our friendship for far too long as a...substitute for what it is I would truly wish to have. I have been sending you all the wrong messages...."

Still Adira would not look at him, and he was becoming more anxious. "Adira, you should have married long ago, as I should have. I just never...never wished or needed to marry because I had all the companionship I needed in you." He wondered why he was fumbling so with words, nothing sounded right. "Adira, could you please say something?"

Pulling herself away from him slightly, she looked up into his eyes at last, and he saw the tears threatening to fall. "Ardeth, I...I do not understand. What are you trying to say?"

Worried that he had hurt her in some way, he quickly put his hands on her arms and looked down into her tear-filled eyes urgently. "Nothing to hurt you...but...I cannot go on much longer like this, Adira. I can no longer pretend to be just your friend; I can no longer be satisfied with that."

Now the look in her eyes changed from one of confusion and hurt to hope and curiousness. "What is it you want of me, Ardeth, if it is not friendship?" Her heart was pounding in her chest, she was frightened, more so than she had ever been in her life.

"I would like...I want...." He shook his head, nothing seemed right to say, words were failing him at the moment. He felt like a fool, trying to reasonably speak of something that was far beyond reasoning. At last he gave up, wrapped one arm around her shoulder and used the other hand to remove her scarf, then leaned down to deliver a powerful, but tender, kiss.

Nothing short of heaven could have compared to the warmth and love Adira felt swell up inside her during that moment, she could hardly believe what was happening. If it was all a dream, she was determined to make the most of it. At last, when she comprehended what was going on, she leaned into the kiss and deepened it.

It was the first kiss of the woman, at twenty nine years of age she had still never known what it was like to have a man hold her the way Ardeth was now holding her, so closely, as if letting go would mean the end of the world. They seemed to fit perfectly that way, his arms now encircling her waist, one of her arms around his shoulder and a hand tangled in his thick, dark hair.

It was a moment of perfection in an imperfect world.

The warrior in her had completely vanished for the time being, and now she was nothing but a woman, clinging to the love of her life.

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I decided to be nice. :-)