CHAPTER NINE

In the morning, Jean woke up very early and watched Ardeth, who was sleeping by her side, cuddling her. She didn't remember how they ended up like that, but she didn't really care about it. Jean smiled to herself. She had always believed that everyone looked more innocent when they slept. Watching Ardeth's light breathing and relaxed face, she knew it to be true. Slowly, she got up, dressed and left the tent, not wanting to disturb Ardeth's peaceful sleep, greeted Ahmad who was guarding outside and headed to the Nile's rim. There she sat, gazing at the scenery and lost in her own thoughts, until she heard a voice behind her. It was Kasim, who spoke in a deep voice.

"Nice day, right Miss Marquet?"

"Yes, very nice, sir."

"Is my nephew still sleeping… in your tent?"

Jean blushed a bit before answering. "Yes, he was very tired after what happened yesterday. I believe he is not used to being wounded."

"Let me get to the point here, Miss Marquet." 

'Here it comes,' she thought "And that would be…?"

"The Med-jai Counsel will not like to know that you are sleeping with Ardeth." He said the phrase with a small smile on his lips.

"I saw you sleep in the same tent with your father, will that be a problem too?"

"Don't try to outsmart me, woman. You can't simply come here, seduce my nephew and claim to be our leader."

"First of all, Mister Bay, I haven't seduced anybody. I invite you to spend a night with us and you will see that the fact that a man and a woman are sharing a tent, even a bed, doesn't necessarily involve sex. And second, I haven't claimed anything. I don't know what your writings say and frankly, I don't care. But you will have to face it, leader or not, I will be staying with you for a while." Her voice was calm, her tone was controlled, but she fired the words with a coldness that surprised the man standing in front of her.

"If you go on sleeping with him, you will have to marry him."

"Well, worse things can happen to me…"

"You will only bring trouble to our tribe."

"I am sorry you feel that way, Mister Bay. For your nephew, the Chieftain, doesn't think the same way. However, I believe we are in a free country and if that's your point of view, I respect it."

"But you will be proven wrong, uncle."

Jean and Kasim turned and were stunned to see Ardeth. He had followed the entire conversation and was staring at his uncle, obviously discontented.

"Ardeth, this…woman…has obnubiled you judgment."

"We will discuss this issue later. Let's go, Jean."

"Yes, before the Counsel."

"I do not care if we discuss this in front of Allah Himself. Now, I said let's go Jean." He took her hand and walked with fast paces, Jean following him. When they had reached a prudential distance from the camp, Ardeth turned to her and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"He shouldn't have treated you like that…"

"Hey, it's ok. I understand the fact that he doesn't trust me. I bet this whole thing must be something really hard to swallow."

He didn't answer; he just looked into her green eyes for a moment and then sat in the sand. Jean did the same.

"Actually, I think it was rude from me to talk to him the way I did."

"No, it wasn't. If he wanted to be respected, he shouldn't have disrespected you in the first place." Ardeth placed a hand on his chest and let out a sigh.

"How's your wound?"

"Better, thanks to you."

"It was nothing, besides…Oh God…" Jean stood up with a terrified expression, pointing a black scorpion. Ardeth smiled, took out his scimitar and cut it in half.

"Would it be very out of place for the woman who is supposed to save the world to throw up right now?"

Ardeth couldn't help but laugh. "It was just a scorpion, Jean."

"Thank you for enlightening me, Med-jai chieftain. I thought it was a shrunken Volkswagen Beetle." She joined Ardeth's laughter.

"I didn't know you feared scorpions."

"Well I do. I despise them. Although I had never met one personally before."

"I've been in contact with them since I was a child."

"What were you like as a child?" She asked.

"Why?" Ardeth said, a puzzled look on his face.

"I just wanted to know…"

"Well, I spent most of the day running around. Bugging my siblings as only an older brother could do. Sword fighting with the other kids. With Tarek. My father, who was the Chieftain as well, used to teach me how to ride a horse and fight at the same time when he was at Cairo. Those were nice days. What about you?"

"I loved to play with my Barbie dolls and wear nice clothes to go to dinner parties with my parents. I liked my world. I was a princess there and nothing could ever harm me… or so I thought." Jean smiled "When I look back, I think I had a happy childhood, with loving parents, many friends and lots of toys."

"It is funny how different our childhoods were."

"Yes, but now look at us, sitting at the Nile's shore and talking like we've known each other since then."

"Maybe we have…in another life."

"Who knows?"

"You were cold last night." Jean's cheeks reddened at the comment.

"Yes."

"That is understandable, for this is November and we are in winter."

"I can't imagine how you endure the summer."

"You get used to it in time."

"Like you had another option."

"Indeed. I like it when you blush."

"What?"

"Nowadays, women seem to have lost to capacity to do so and seeing you flushed is… refreshing."

"Look," Jean said, changing the subject. "I believe I am about to have my first fighting lesson."

Ardeth looked over and saw Ahmad and two other warriors walking towards them.

"We are here at the time you requested, my Lord."

"Good. We are going to teach Jean different fighting techniques. This place is ideal."

She looked at him, shook her head and smiled. Ardeth held out a hand, and she took it. He pulled her up gently, and put his arm around her shoulder. Pulling her close to him.

With his arm still around her shoulder, they walked to a valley between some dunes and the rest of the morning and afternoon was spent with the warriors teaching Jean different techniques. Ahmad showed her different ways to use daggers and smaller swords. The other two warriors, Hajeb and Sabi taught her different punches and kicks. And finally, Ardeth showed her some new moves with a sword. Tarek joined them and gave Jean tactical advice. At the end of it all, she was grateful they had taken the time to show her these things. But couldn't help but feel that they had gone a bit easy on her during that first day. It was around 4 o'clock when they went back to the camp. Tired, thirsty, and sore.

"God, I could certainly use a shower." Said Jean

"There is a place where you can bathe without being disturbed. I will take you there if you want to."

"I'd love to!"

"Then come with me."

Jean followed Ardeth to his horse. "Is it too far away?"

"No." He mounted and helped her up. "I will leave you alone there. If you need anything or want me to pick you up, fire this gun." He handed her a short shotgun.

"Ok…"

They arrived a quiet spot, where a branch of the Nile turned into a small waterfall before following its course. The trees were luscious, the air was sweet and it resembled more the Amazon rainforest than the Sahara desert. Ardeth Bay glanced around the desert, his dark eyes taking in everything around him. He and Jean had circled the place several times before determining that no one was there. Dismounting from his horse, he held the reins loosely in his left hand and rested his right hand on the hilt of his scimitar and approached the familiar site. His hawk-like eyes saw behind every bush, every tree, every boulder until he was completely satisfied that they were alone and, even then, he did not let his guard down. One could never be too careful in the Sahara, especially a man with his title and reputation accompanied by a beautiful American woman.

He then put his hands on Jean's waist to help her down. When her feet were firmly on the sand, Ardeth didn't let go of her right away. She looked up into his eyes as he stared down at her, confused by what she saw. There was a look of wonder and almost of something related to love or desire; she couldn't put a name to it, blazing in his dark eyes. She looked away quickly, wondering if she was mistaken. He removed his hands as Jean gazed at the scenery.

"This place is…breathtaking."

"I knew you would like it." Ardeth smiled at her. "Do not worry, you won't find any snakes in the water. It is too warm for them."

"I hadn't really thought about that, but thank you for telling me."

Suddenly, the horse escaped quickly towards the green, velvet-like grass.

"Looks like Quicksand is hungry."

"Quicksand???? That surely is a lovely name."

Ardeth was pleased. He had thought of that name and was proud of it. "I saw him and the name just popped into my mind."

"I like your horse very much." Jean said, going to where Quicksand was eating to ruffle the mane of the ebony animal. Ardeth smiled at her.

"He has been with me since he was born, I raised him and trained him myself."

"Wow…I always wanted to have a horse…but I lived in a city."

"I have been around horses ever since I was born. I love them, for they are very loyal. I leave now, Jean. You have nothing to fear here." He took the reins and the black Arab horse followed him obediently. "Enjoy…"

"Bye Ardeth."

She waved until he was out of sight and then looked around her. When she was certain she was alone, Jean stripped naked and entered the Nile. The water was warm, and she let out a sigh as she felt it caress her bare skin. Diving into the water cleared her head and refreshed her instantly. She floated on her back in the shallows basking in the warm sun and let herself unwind. She swam for a while and then washed her hair under the fall. The place was so full of natural beauty that it rejoiced her senses. After bathing, she put her underwear on and lay in the shade, letting the warm air dry her long hair. The sound of the waterfall relaxed her to the point of almost falling asleep. With a smile, she rose and washed her clothes. She finished dressing and took the gun.

'I am not used to this,' Jean thought as she pulled the trigger. The loud sound seemed to run through the desert and get lost in its immensity and vastness. Jean covered her head and lay in the sun while she waited for Ardeth.

She had lost track of time and his voice startled her.

"You are getting a nice suntan."

"If you think I am gonna battle for the sake of the world in the middle of the desert and return to my country as white as a fish, you are very wrong."

"That was a witty comeback. Now, are you ready?"

"Yes, although I wish I could stay here longer."

"You can come back tomorrow if you like."

"Like it???????? I adore this place." Jean mounted behind him and held on to his waist. "It's hard to believe that we are in the middle of the Sahara."

"That's the beauty of my land…you never know what to expect. And we owe it all to Allah's wisdom on giving us such a generous present as this river is."

"I feel ten years younger."

"And you surely look like you've found the Fountain of Youth."

"Well, that was a really nice compliment, Ardeth…" Jean blushed and rested her head on one of his broad shoulders.

"Do you miss your home, Jean?" His voice was soft, almost caressing her ears.

"I believe I should…but I don't." Ardeth smiled, it was the answer that he had been expecting.

"I don't think you should sleep in my tent tonight." Jean blurted.

"I promised you I would protect you and I consider being close to you as you sleep as a primordial precaution to be taken."

"But your uncle…"

"I am the leader, Jean. And this is my will."

"I just didn't want to cause you any trouble."

"You won't. Don't even think about this matter again, for it's already solved."

Jean smiled and even though he couldn't see her face, Ardeth sensed it and that made him smile too. They arrived the camp, which was almost empty, and dismounted.

"All of my men are training by the rim. My grandfather must be there too and I shall join them. Do you wish to come?"

"No, thank you. I'm gonna rest for a while."

"Ok, Ahmad is in the camp. If you need anything, send him to me."

Jean went to the main tent and saw Ahmad chewing a piece of dried meat, while he kept watch.

"Ahmad… didn't you go training?"

"No, Jean." The young man swallowed and stood up, looking at her with reverence. "It was my turn to watch the camp."

"Do you always eat that kind of food?"

"Yes, we do. It's all we have here in the desert. Besides, none of us here knows how to cook, so it's the most practical thing to do."

"Men… " Jean faced him, "How many men are here in the camp?"

"54, Jean… and you, of course."

"Woa. Then I better make myself useful." Jean started loading him with plates and glasses.

"May I know what are you going to do?"

"I am setting the table. And then, we'll make a fire."