Arabians and Dancing Swords.
By LatanyaDisclaimer: I don't own anything to do with the Mummy (damn) or Ardeth Bey and the Medjai (double damn).
Chapter four: Smirks and Secret Kisses.
Kareem was in his study like he usually was when Ardeth arrived at the villa for dinner as he had been requested to. Dressed in his normal long black robes, Ardeth wondered if Tahirah had been ordered to dress, as a woman should. Shown into the study, Ardeth found the old politician talking to a servant.
"Ah Ardeth! Welcome! I was expecting you to be here soon and here you are." Kareem smiled to him before turning back to the servant, "Yes, yes, do bring her in."
The maid glanced at Ardeth nervously, "As you say Lord… but is it such a good idea?"
"Bring my granddaughter in to me. I would introduce her to Ardeth Bey before dinner." He ordered angrily, shaking his head.
Retreating from the room, the maid looked worried for the poor young woman she was to bring into the study. Holding out his hand to Ardeth, Kareem smiled gleefully and indicated that he should sit down.
"Tahirah has already told me that she knows you and she also knows that you will be here tonight. I just want to say thank you for stopping her from running havoc through Cairo this afternoon. She actually admitted to doing it before my guards got a chance to tell me." Kareem was chuckling at the thought, "I'm sure when it happened she had some very colorful words to say about you."
"I believe she did though I could not understand them. Tell me Kareem, how many languages does she speak?"
"She speaks five different languages Mr Bey." Tahirah walked in, her face veiled by a silk headscarf.
Ardeth looked up at her in amazement. She was dressed in another figure hugging silk dress only this time the dress was the color of fine amber and highlighted the natural streaks in her hair and the color of her skin. The silk of the dress clung to her body in such a way that it emphasized the curve of her waist and the slenderness of her form as well as the fullness of her breasts. Just looking up at her eyes, which were the only part of her face visible because of the veil, Ardeth felt his breath catch in his throat.
Smiling, Kareem turned to his granddaughter, "Jessica, you know Ardeth Bey don't you? He is an old friend of mine as you are well aware."
She smiled back at him, "Yes grandfather, I know Mr Bey. Welcome to this house Ardeth Bey, I hope Allah always watches and protects you."
Rising, Ardeth took her offered hand and raised it to his lips, "Thank you for your blessing Miss Alexander. Tell me; is Falcon safe after your interesting run through Cairo this afternoon? And what are the five languages you speak?"
"Firstly, Falcon is fine as one would expect and I believe you would already know that for I saw you go to the stables when you arrived. As for the languages I speak, they are English, French, German, Italian and Japanese. However, as you observed, I don't speak Arabic though it is through no fault of grandfather Kareem's." Tahirah glanced at her grandfather.
Letting her hand go, the Medjai turned to Kareem, "When I realized that she did not speak Arabic, I was stunned. Why was she never taught this part of her Egyptian culture?"
"Her English family saw to her education unfortunately and my daughter never wanted Jessica to be subjected to our culture and beliefs concerning women. However, Jessica and I have discussed that and we agree that she is of an age where she is free to choose for herself." Kareem was amused by the way the two young people were reacting to each other.
"Grandfather, please call me Tahirah! You know how much I hate to be called Jessica. Even Shari or as Bella calls me, Tahri would be preferred to Tahirah." She looked down at her feet, feeling strangely vulnerable in the clothes she wore.
Kareem shrugged, "Jessica is your name, my child and so, Jessica I call you in company."
Not wanting to get on either's bad side, Ardeth murmured, "I thought her full name was Jessica-Tahirah Shari Alexander? Does that not mean then that Jessica or Tahirah are names you can correctly call her in polite company?"
"Thank you Mr Bey, you are right. But grandfather will call me Jessica just like Grandma and Grandpa Alexander call me. Next thing he will be trying to marry me off to some rich prince like they have been trying to do for years." She growled angrily, turning away from the men and walking over to the bookshelf.
Ardeth studied her back before looking to Kareem and noting the amused smile on his face, "Has she always been so feisty and dishonorable?" He asked in Arabic.
"Dishonorable? My Tahirah? No, she plays with me Ardeth as her nature encourages her to." Kareem replied in the same language. "Tell me, your intentions will remain honorable?"
Catching her name and Ardeth's in the same sentence spoken by her grandfather, Tahirah turned her head slightly so she could watch the two men out of the corner of her eye, 'It is times like this when I wish I could understand what they are saying! Damn it, what are they saying about me? I hope they are not plotting something I won't like.' She shook her head and said, "You know, you are both being very rude."
"If you had bothered to learn Arabic granddaughter, you would know what we were saying. Now, excuse me for a moment while I just go and freshen up before dinner." The grandfather smiled and bowed his head to them before walking out of the room quickly.
Left alone, Ardeth and Tahirah stared at each other warily. Turning her back on him again, she first unveiled her face before she picked up a book from the shelf and opened it to the first page. Striding over to her, Ardeth lifted the book from her hands and walked away.
"Give me back that book!" She cried out indignantly. "That was not nice at all!"
"I was curious about what was keeping your attention so well." He looked down at the page and chuckled. "Interesting. You know, you would not be able to read this anyway Tahirah. It's written in Arabic."
She sniffled, walking over to him with her hands held out for the book, "Well if you would kindly return it to me, I will put it back on the shelf and look for a book in a language I can understand. If you had given me the chance to look at the page, I would have seen that for myself."
Holding the book out to her, Ardeth waited until she reached for it before he dropped the book and grabbed her wrists. "We never got to finish our kiss this morning sweet Tahirah."
Pulling her against him, Ardeth captured her lips in a kiss. Surprised, Tahirah did not resist him. Deepening the kiss, Ardeth let go of her wrists and wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her tightly against him. Putting her arms around his neck, Tahirah closed her eyes, letting him hold her.
"Ardeth stop, this is wrong. If my grandfather was to find out he would either demand your head or demand that we marry." She whispered when Ardeth lifted his lips from hers.
"Does it matter? You are intelligent, beautiful, desirable and I would not argue with your grandfather." He murmured back, staring into her wide blue eyes.
She shivered at the deepness of his voice, "Yes but I would. I told you yesterday about my beliefs concerning marriage."
"Shhh…" Ardeth leant in and kissed her again.
Kareem watched through the spy hole in glee. It was going as planned and he hoped that Tahirah would fall in love with Ardeth. Rubbing his hands together, he quickly made sure he looked clean and neat before walking out of his room and going next door to his study. Knocking on the door before he opened it, Kareem was greeted with the look of Ardeth and Tahirah standing apart looking guilty.
"I see you took very little time to unveil your face Tahirah." He scolded, ignoring their expressions. "Forgive my granddaughter Ardeth, she doesn't agree with wearing a veil like a woman in this country should."
Ardeth shrugged, "It is not as if we are out in public and since she is your granddaughter, I do not think it is a problem if she does not wear a veil."
"Well shall we go and sit down to dinner? I believe it is ready to be served almost." Kareem smiled faintly and led them out of the study.
Tahirah watched Ardeth like a hawk, hoping he would not say a word concerning her marrying anyone. She was seated opposite Ardeth while her grandfather had the end of the table. As they were the only ones dining that night, they were in the small dining room and only one end of the table was set for them. 'He knows I'm watching him. Damn, he knows what effect he has on me!' She thought as Ardeth pulled out her chair for her to sit down.
He smiled as if he knew what she was thinking and walked around to take his place on the other side of the table. Smirking even more when he noticed her look away when their eyes met, Ardeth decided to ignore her and turned to discuss a political issue with Kareem.
'The bastard is playing with me.' She growled in her mind. 'This dinner is going to be hell! By Allah I wish there was another woman here I could talk with while they speak of political things.'
Watching her out of the corner of his eye, Ardeth saw the growing frustration at being left out of the conversation on her elegant face. He turned to her and asked, "What do you think of how the world is going Miss Alexander?"
She brightened up, "I think that the path that the world is taking now is a strange path indeed. Women are gaining more rights and men less; there are new and innovating things being discovered and every year something new is being invented which will further the cause of humankind."
"And what of religion?" Her grandfather queried thoughtfully.
"Which religion do you mean? There are so many different religions and now, there is also atheism where you believe in science rather than a divine being. When I was in the Eastern countries of India, Japan and China, I studied their religions and decided that the basis of the Hindu religion is a wonderful idea. If there is any religion that I would happily take up as my own it would be Hinduism." Tahirah shook her head sadly.
Ardeth frowned, "And what is the basis of this Hindu religion that has you so enraptured in the religion?"
"Well, Hindus believe that what you do in your past lives is paid for in your current life. If you do great evil in your past life, karma is returned to you in bad luck. Where as if you do a great and wonderful deed in your past life, good karma is returned to you in this one. Then there is the Karma Sutra which is a doctrine which deals with the art of love but I did not learn anything more of it for it seems much too heathen." She blushed and looked away.
"Allah is the god of all men Miss Alexander, there are not other gods than he. Perhaps he is named differently in other religions but he is still the same." Ardeth spoke slowly, as if he were treating Tahirah like a child.
"Actually, I believe that mankind created religions so they would not have to worry about where they came from. Darwin's theory of evolution states that we evolved from apes and I'm somewhat partial to agree with that. There are too many similarities between many religions for there to be any other explanation. Man was not created in the image of god; rather, god was created in the image of man to serve man's needs for a reason for life. But we are in an age where technology is foremost and who knows what men may have created in a few years… or even women!" Her eyes were lit up with the prospect of a debate.
The Medjai chief looked astounded at her comment and could only shake his head, "Allah will bring you to the road of salvation when he is ready to do so. Until then, do not preach your ideas out loud to the world of men. Keep them to yourself and to those who also believe them. For such beliefs, you would very well be punished by your family or husband if you lived here in Egypt."
She snapped at him, angry that he would dare to scold her believes. "Then it is a good thing that I don't live in Egypt because in New Zealand, such ideas are not frowned on though they are kept quiet."
He was about to reply when Kareem shot him a warning look. Bowing his head, Ardeth conceded to her, "Let us agree to disagree Miss Alexander."
Chuckling, Kareem looked up as the food was served, "I made sure that the chefs made you a meal without red meat or seafood granddaughter. Are you not glad that I remembered your eating habits?"
"You do not eat red meat or seafood Miss Alexander?" The Medjai seemed surprised at this fact, "What do you eat then?"
"Mainly rice and vegetables Mr Bey. I grew used to eating only vegetables and rice while I was in Japan and India for that is the basis of their diet. Occasionally I will eat chicken or fowls but not very often for I have forsworn meat."
Kareem nodded, "Actually, I admire the self discipline Jessica-Tahirah shows in doing so. Most women would not dream of doing something so limiting but I believe that Bella, the Frenchwoman who serves my granddaughter, has made it her mission to learn as many recipes which involve just those foods which she will eat."
Admiring the woman all the more, Ardeth smiled, "The Medjai do not often eat meat so this meal is a rare treat for me. I hope you will not be too disgusted with your grandfather and I for eating meat in your presence Miss Alexander."
She shook her head, "No, it does not bother me at all. I have chosen this path for myself and would not expect anyone to bend his or her normal ways for me because of it. However, my choice of not eating seafood comes from the fact that I suffer sever allergies to fish and therefore put my life in jeopardy if I eat it."
They fell silent at her last comment and Kareem said a brief prayer to Allah in Arabic. Eating quietly, both men had to approve of how elegantly Tahirah managed her food. It was not soon before the men were talking again of matters that did not concern her too much but she tried to listen in though she could not understand a single word they said.
"So what do you think of the horses you brought from Ardeth granddaughter? Are they what you were looking for in Arabian horses from Egypt?" Kareem turned to her suddenly, leaving off the conversation he had been having with Ardeth.
Tahirah's face lit up brightly and her eyes glittered happily, "The horses are wonderful! The black stallion that Ardeth gifted to me is a beautiful animal and the ride I enjoyed this afternoon showed me that the Arabians of this country are of the finest breeding and are all gifted with perfect gaits. Never have I ridden a horse as smooth and easy to control as Falcon."
The men exchanged looks at her speech and Kareem liked her reaction. She smiled faintly, returning to her meal while Ardeth watched her thoughtfully.
"You know Kareem, your granddaughter paid an absurd price for the horses he brought from me. How much was it that you paid Miss Alexander?" Ardeth spoke quietly.
"I believe it was eighteen thousand pounds, which is a perfectly reasonable price for the horses I brought from you. The black stallion alone is worth at least five thousand pounds in most western countries." She looked at him, wondering when he was going with this.
Her grandfather looked shocked, "That is an awful lot to pay for a horse Jessica but if that is the price you chose to pay, that is your choice and I hope that Ardeth will not argue any more with you over it. However, next time I should expect you to pay what the person selling wants you to pay."
Ardeth smiled faintly, "Do you think I was right in letting her pay what she did? Should I have insisted on a slightly more reasonable price?"
"Ardeth, you can insist all you wish when it comes to that young lady opposite you but you will never win. Jessica is more stubborn than her mother ever was and most men would have disciplined her rather harshly by now." Kareem glanced at Tahirah expecting to see a look of pure fury on her face. When he saw none, he was pleased.
Clenching her teeth, Tahirah smiled darkly and finished her dinner, 'Oh that man is going to die a very painful death when I get my hands on him. Grandfather will probably send me away and forbid me ever coming back but I can live with that as soon as I get my revenge on Ardeth Bey. Slow and painful.'
The dinner was finished soon after and Kareem disappeared into his study again with Ardeth, dismissing his granddaughter without a second thought. She rushed to her room with the intention of getting out of the dress as quickly as humanly possible. Being careful not to rip it, Tahirah was changed into a pair of loose cotton pants and a shirt for bed.
Falling into bed, she sighed and curled up. It was not long before she fell asleep. However, Ardeth disturbed her dreams again as he had the night before. While she was tossing about fitfully in her sleep, Tahirah was watched over by a concerned Kareem. He observed his granddaughter for a while before finally going to bed and hoping that she would rest better once she had been asleep for a while.
Tahirah however, woke up around three in the morning and sat up, struggling to breath. She had no idea why he haunted her dreams like he had since she had met him two days before but she had every intention on making sure he did not get close to her again. Drifting off to sleep again, Tahirah soon returned to her dreams of Ardeth.
Her first thought when she woke up again at her normal time was:
'Is there no possible way she could free herself of this man?'
